"Oh, yes. I'm 16 and a hermit living in the mountains of Tibet giving credence to the tales of Yeti."
-Mr.Merf
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| SILENT WITNESSES PART II | | | Author: | | | IP: | 155.176.XXXX | | Date: | 01/24/01 10:01 | | Game Type: | Starcraft | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 1, Max: 7, Min: 7
Lifetime Rating for TheVictim: 6.8333 |  | I am almost reluctant to post this tonight, the influx of bad fanfic today has reached a peak. I'll finish this story, then lay off for a while. This particular saga is far from over. I'll write something big after this and post it as one piece to reduce the amount of bad fanfic spamming the BR's until we can get a fanfic category of our own.
SILENT WITNESSES, PART II
The room below was dimly lit from the flashes of power being transferred to and from large stacks of plastic sheets sandwiched between metal plates. Darrin had reached the Capacitor Room on the Engineering deck. Explorer class science vessels we able to store and discharge huge amounts of power. Piezoelectric hydrocarbon plastics stored the power much like an electronic capacitor, but on a much larger scale. This required huge amounts of Vespene in order to manufacture but the benefits were clearly worth the cost. The Explorer class was being used more and more for combat support due to it’s capacity for power discharge. It could project a halo of power around any combat unit that would momentarily absorb any attacks directed at it. Ionizing radiation could be beamed for a considerable distance, causing a highly radioactive accumulation that can destroy almost any Zerg creature in less than a minute. Some Explorer class ships have even received EMP shockwave missiles to discharge and disable electrical and psionic energy systems.
Darrin heard the Dark Templar’s force blade strike again. A thud could be heard behind him as the Dark Templar landed on the ground. Darrin made a dash for the door. He smacked the emergency alarm button. Nothing happened. The computer status display on the comm panel was completely blank. The main computer was down. Darrin hastily punched his security code into the door lock. Fortunately the door locks operated independently from the main computer and the security codes were manually updated. He stole a quick glance toward the Dark Templar. His cloaking field was resonating with storage capacitors. Where the Dark Templar’s cloaking field crossed them you could see waves of light ripple through the plastic sheets. The Dark Templar had recovered from it’s fall and was heading towards him at what could be considered a leisurely pace. The Dark Templar had every reason to be confident. The invisible warriors were the most feared assassins ever known. Silent witnesses to the deaths of many who opposed the Protoss. The heavily armored door finally opened and Darrin dashed through it and into the corridor.
Darrin raced for the nearest engineering lab and keyed his code into the door. The door to the Capacitor Room opened at the same time. He ducked inside and closed the door. He entered a command to seal the door. Huge blast doors slid into place in front of him. A raspy ‘thwang’ could be heard as the Dark Templar started to assault the door with it’s force blade. It would take him some time to penetrate the blast armor, but the Dark Templar would eventually get through. With the comm system and internal sensors down, it would not have to fear detection or help from security any time soon.
A tech was in the rear of the long and expansive lab. Darrin trotted to the bench the tech was working at. The face looked familiar, it was one of the techs that helped him load the Zerg remains earlier. Darrin was beginning to run a bit short of breath.
“There is an intruder outside, a Protoss Dark Templar.” Darrin panted. Another ‘thwang’ could be heard from the door. “He trying to kill me and God knows what he’s going to do after that.” He added.
“I’ll contact security and put the internal defenses on alert.” The tech replied.
“I already tried that, the main computer and the comm system are down. Probably the Dark Templar’s handiwork.” Darrin said. “What’s your name anyway?”
“Riley Wayne, I’m a civilian consultant as well.” The tech said. Another slash of the Dark Templar’s force blade echoed across the expanse of the mostly empty engineering lab.
“Well, Riley, it’s good to know that the military considers us useful enough to bring along. But unless we can figure out a way out of here then it won’t matter. Two more dead civilians won’t be of any concern to the UED.” Darrin explained.
“That door is the only way out of here. The entire engineering deck is armored. There is probably something around here we can fight it off with.” Riley said hopefully.
“His shields alone can take several direct hits from a C-10 canister rifle. Nothing you have here is going to help us.” Darrin admitted. “The Protoss do not kill without a very specific reason. If I am his only target, he will allow you to live and attempt escape instead.” Darrin added. He was about to accept his fate when he saw a small cylinder sitting on the bench. It looked somewhat familiar. “Is that the explosive core from the Scarab drone? We might be able to use that on it.” Darrin asked hopefully.
“It is, but Bartleby said it was almost harmless without the Scarab drone. The explosive force is carefully channeled by the inner chamber of the Scarab drone to propel monomolecular lances out from the drone. The dispersal pattern is programmed into the computer in the drone by the Reaver at the moment it’s fired. That is why the ‘toss don’t get hit when their Scarabs blow up. It’s a frickin’ masterpiece!” Riley explained enthusiastically, obviously fascinated by the process. The Dark Templar’s force blade swiped at the door again.
“Could we program it to attack the Dark Templar?” Darrin asked hopefully.
“How? They have a cloaking field don’t they? We would need to update the Scarab drone with the Dark Templar’s exact readings right before it’s fired or else we could get nailed too. We need to see the thing to do that.” Riley explained.
“Don’t you have a sensor unit in here?” Darrin asked. He was running out of ideas. The Dark Templar was also running out of door. The sound of it’s force blade was getting louder, due to the fact it had less material to cleave apart now.
“We have those.” Riley said, indicating a powered down Protoss probe and Observer unit. “The observer could see it, and the probe’s AI is incredibly complex, it should be able to program the Scarab’s CPU. It’s a standard CPU module for the Protoss.”
Darrin could almost see the gears turning in Riley’s head. Even when it was time to die these tech geeks would never quit playing with their toys.
“All we have to do is convince them to do it.” Riley added.
“WHAT?” Darrin spouted, somewhat confused at Riley’s statement.
“They can talk, if you know how to plug ‘em in. Terran is an incredibly simple language for them. All Protoss AI units are programmed to understand it. Just tell it what to do and why it needs to do it, and it will.” Riley explained, as though he had actually done so before.
“To hell with that, there is no way I’m going to ask any God dammed Protoss machines if they FEEL like saving my life!” Darrin exasperated, almost not believing what he had heard.
“I’m going to try anyway. He could be after me too!” Riley stammered, grabbing a plug from the bench computer and shoving it into the probe. The machine stirred to life. “The bench computer will translate it’s response, all we have to do is talk.” Riley said, turning around to power up the Observer.
“Are you working OK?” Riley asked the probe, looking at the bench computer. Words flashed on the display.
I FUNCTION.
“Do you know where you are?” Riley asked, trying to determine if the probe was functional enough to communicate.
THE UED SCIENCE VESSEL INQUISITOR, ENGINEERING LAB ALPHA. EN ROUTE TO BETA BASE ON PLANET HD 144168. YOU ARE ACTING TECHNICIAN FIRST GRADE RILEY WAYNE. WITH YOU IS XENOBIOLOGICAL CONSULTANT DARRIN LACROSSE. THE TIME IS 21:08:56 TERRA STANDARD TIME. I ESTIMATE ABOUT FOUR MINUTES TERRAN TIME UNTIL HE IS EXTERMINATED.
Both Riley and Darrin were numb with shock. The machine knew what ship they were on, where they were going, and who they were. It also knew what was about to happen.
“H-How did you know all this” Darrin dared to ask.
IT WAS MY MISSION. I HAVE NOT BEEN DEACTIVATED. I CONTROL THE MAIN COMPUTER. I WILL NOT HELP YOU WITH THE SCARAB DRONE. YOU WILL DIE TODAY.
Darrin looked at the cold words on the display. It knew everything. It was listening to whole time. The probe just floated there, an uncaring pile of metal. The Observer flickered to life as well. It zipped around the room a few times, then activated it’s cloaking field and disappeared from view. The silence of death filled the room.
“Why the hell do I have to die!?” Darrin screamed at the probe. He was focusing all his attention at it, oblivious to the fact that the blast doors were beginning to buckle.
YOU HAVE COMMITED CRIMES AGAINST THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF AIUR. YOUR EXISTANCE THREATENS US STILL. YOU HAVE PRIED INTO OUR SOULS AND DEFILED OUR BEING.
“You’re a MACHINE. You don’t have a SOUL. You were built to serve your masters. THEY live. THEY have souls. YOU don’t.” Darrin pleaded.
I HAVE NO MASTERS. I EXIST TO SERVE AIUR. I HAVE NO SOUL, YET I CAN HEAR THEIR CRIES FOR VENGEANCE. ADUN, TASSADAR, EVEN THE SCARRED FACE OF AIUR ITSELF. THEY CRY FOR YOUR DEATH.
“What the hell have I done that is so wrong?” Darrin pleaded again.
I DO NOT KNOW WHY. I HAVE NO NEED. HUMANS HAVE SOULS. YOU HAVE LITTLE TIME LEFT TO PREPARE YOURS FOR THE END.
“You have all my research right there in the computer, take a look! What have I done?” Darrin pleaded. Light could be seen from the doorway as an opening slowly began to appear. The probe appeared to actually be listening. The data link from the bench computer was accessing the ship’s main computer. The probe floated there for a bit, processing data.
NO REASON CAN BE FOUND HERE. IT IS OF NO CONSEQUENCE. YOU WILL STILL DIE.
“Let’s just trigger the explosive inside the drone now, even blind luck is better than just waiting to die!” Darrin stammered, reaching for the explosive core of the Scarab drone. A large invisible sphere shoved him away forcibly.
YOU HAVE SOULS, YET YOU DO NOT CHERISH THE LIVES OF YOUR BROTHERS. RILEY LACROSS HAS NO NEED TO DIE. ACCEPT YOUR FATE AND THE LOSS OF LIFE WILL BE LIMITED TO YOUR OWN.
The probe still appeared to be processing data. It emitted a loud serious of ‘spronging’ noises at the Observer. More text appeared on the bench computer’s display.
WAIT. I HAVE FOUND SOMETHING IN YOUR RESEARCH. YOU MUST BE ALLOWED TO LIVE, FOR NOW. YOU MUST HURRY. GET THE SCARAB DRONE AND THE CORE. WE WILL PROGRAM IT FOR YOU.
Darrin did not understand the reprieve, but he was grateful for it. He grabbed the drone. “Riley, can you rearm the core?” Darrin asked. He turned to the probe.
“Can’t you just tell your friend it is OK?” Darrin asked.
I CANNOT SPEAK WITH HIM. I SPEAK WITH THE NEXUS AND OTHERS OF MY KIND. THOSE OF THE NEXUS SPEAK WITH THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF AIUR. I AM NOT ONE OF THEM. I KNOW OF FRIENDSHIP, BUT I HAVE NO NEED FOR IT. G’THARR IS A SON OF AIUR. HE WILL DIE WITH HONOR. CONNECT YOUR COMPUTER TO THE SCARAB DRONE. TIME IS RUNNING OUT. YOU MUST SURVIVE FOR THE FUTURE OF AIUR, AS WELL AS YOUR OWN KIND.
Riley had inserted the core into the drone and connected it to the computer. The translucent facets on the face of the Scarab drone began to shimmer. A beep emitted from the probe.
IT IS READY. WHEN G’THARR ENTERS DISCONNECT IT AND THROW IT TOWARDS THE ENTRANCE.
“How are we going to do this?” Darrin asked Riley.
“I’ll handle it. I knew it would make a good bowling ball.” Riley said, taking the Scarab drone in his arms.
Two swipes of a force blade later, a large tear erupted from the blast doors. Footsteps echoed through the engineering lab. A series of chirps were emitted by the Observer. The probe responded in kind. The probe emitted a squeal. Riley took that as his cue. The Scarab drone shone brightly.
Riley pulled the cable from the drone, and inserted his middle and index fingers in the opening. He pulled back his arm and took two steps forward, releasing his grip on the Scarab drone as he thrust his arm forward. It rolled briskly on the floor towards the end of the engineering lab. As it moved toward the door you could see a humanoid image projected from the face of the drone. The drone was updating the dispersal pattern of the explosion even as it traveled, using data collected by the Observer.
An explosion rollicked the lab. A cloud of arcing could be seen as the Dark Templar’s shield failed. His cloaking dropped Blood and minute traces of tissue filled the air behind the Dark Templar’s body, painting a visage of a robed man holding a sword on the inside of the blast door, just to the right of the tear.
The probe emitted a beep.
EN TARO ADUN, BRAVE SON OF AIUR G’THARR.
The observer interjected with a short burst of it’s own.
EN TARO TASSADAR.
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