"I have made a decision not to have sex with the hottest girl at my school, i dont care if other guys want to do it, thats their decision, but i'm not going to."
-Merlin
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| SILENT WITNESSES PART IV | | | Author: | | | IP: | 155.176.XXXX | | Date: | 02/05/01 09:02 | | Game Type: | Other | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 1, Max: 6, Min: 6
Lifetime Rating for TheVictim: 6.8333 |  | I said action was coming, there is a little bit more here, with more to follow. I'm KNOW I'm not that great with battle scenes, let me know what you think. I'm better with the tech.
SILENT WITNESSES PART IV
“Until a combat situation occurs, I believe I’m in command here, and we need to go inside to collect samples.” Darrin said, still trying to contain his laughter. Harle looked like he was about to drop his cargo on the spot. Darrin turned to Riley.
“Cut it open here.” Darrin said, pointing to the diagram on the portable scanner. “The tissue will start to regenerate after you cut into it. Build a frame around the opening so it won’t close up.” He added.
Riley thrusted his SCV over to the side of the structure and began to cut. Liquid ran from the opening that was being produced, collecting in a pool under Riley’s SCV. Darrin walked over and collected a sample of the liquid as it ran off. The whole structure began to gurgle and wobble around a bit. Harle appeared to be turning white. He slumped off to round up some of his men.
Darrin labeled the sample tube and stuck it in a pouch on his suit’s waistband. He stuck his head into the opening. The light from his helmet lamp disappeared into a maze of sinews and bulbous formations. There would be room to move around if the sinews could be cut.
“Riley, when you’re done with that I’m going to need something to cut my way through. We have sinews in here about two to three inches in diameter, soft tissue” Darrin explained. “Maybe some cleats and claws to climb with too.” He added. Riley had just finished erecting a metal frame around the opening in the structure.
“I have enough soup for a pair of cutters and two sets of climbing gear, plus a bit left over for later.” Riley advised. “I made the framework from pipe instead of solid pieces to save soup.” He added, beginning work on the cutters.
Everyone in the UED, even civilian consultants, received training in basic SCV operations. The machine was the backbone of the entire Terran military operation. Specs resident in the SCV’s computer were enough to build and repair most basic structures from a supply depot all the way to a command center. A true master of the SCV could also construct simple parts and machinery without any specs at all. Darrin wasn’t very good in one, but he knew enough to realize that Riley was a master. He had fabricated the cutters and climbing gear in about two minutes. Riley even set his cutting torch to the exact temperature to apply a temper the cutters. Such mastery was quite rare. Riley was getting to be even more of a puzzle. Darrin was beginning to wonder if there was anything he could NOT do. Riley’s sensor drone hovered about near the opening. Darrin thought that Riley wanted a different view of the process, but did not actually notice him giving the drone any commands or controlling it.
“W-we’re ready” Harle stuttered, his men assembled behind him. Darrin could notice a marine mouth something to a comrade without speaking. Half the marines were beginning to chuckle quietly.
“You can relax, Harle.” Darrin proclaimed. “I won’t need you to go in. A couple of firebats should be plenty, I don’t think anything in there is going to surprise us. According to the scan it is just a bunch of nodules of liquid and a lot of sinews holding it together.” He reassured. Harle did indeed seem to relax a bit. Darrin did not want him off his game if a combat situation did ensue. Harle assigned him two firebats for support.
“Stand just inside the opening. Keep an eye on my position and the opening constantly if you can.” He instructed one of the firebats. “Put these on and follow me.” Darrin said, handing a set of claws and cleats to the second firebat. The soldier clipped the cleats onto his boots and put the claws over the palm of his gloves. This was a school field trip for Darrin, but he realized that Harle’s men were probably getting a bit freaked out. They just showed it less than their commander. Darrin decided that some small talk might make them a bit less nervous. He opened a second comm channel to his firebat team.
“So who are you guys and where are you from?” Darrin asked, using the cutters to clip through sinews. He tucked a few bits of sinew into a sample container to add to his collection. There was now enough room for all three to enter to Zerg structure.
“I’m private Akeem Mahalla, I’m from Mars. My family is from India on Earth. Almost everyone on this trip is from the core worlds.” The firebat following Darrin added. “After fighting the ‘toss on Grimatryon III I just moved on with the rest of the troops.”
“I’m private Lance Henderson. I’m from Idaho. My brother brought me out here. He’s outside with Harle. What is the deal with that guy anyway?” Akeem’s friend added, watching the opening to the structure.
“He was chief of security on the Inquisitor. He ran a pretty tight security team on the ship. I think things are just getting a bit weird for him now. A Dark Templar had been hiding out on the ship, waiting for a chance to kill me.” Darrin explained.
“Holy shit! how the hell did he get on there?” Lance asked excitedly.
As Darrin climbed about and drew samples of liquid from nodules within the structure, he had enough time to explain how the Dark Templar had gotten access to the ship and how they fought it off. By the time he was done, Darrin had collected over two dozen samples from various areas. Near the top of the structure he noticed that the nodules of liquid were replaced by huge bellows connected to tubes protruding from the top of the structure. As he was preparing to leave, he noticed near the ‘floor’ of the structure there was a large depression where a large pool of liquid slowly seeped into the ground. He dipped into the pool and took a large sample. It appeared to consist of many different colors and viscosities of liquid. He was finished collecting samples.
“LaCross!” Harle barked over the command channel.
“Darrin here. What’s up?” Darrin asked, tucking the last sample into his pack.
“The Inquisitor is reporting a large pack of Zerg heading toward this area at high speed. About two dozen Lings, several Hydras and a Lurker. We need to get out of here NOW!” Harle shouted.
“I’m going to need some time to get out of here. Can you hold them off for a couple of minutes?” Darrin asked. He was a bit worried, he wasn’t sure if Harle’s forces would be enough to hold off the attack. “Ask the Inquisitor to irradiate that lurker. You might be able to fend off the rest of the pack if it is gone.” Darrin suggested. He began to climb over a large lump of tissue on the way back to the opening. Darrin heard Harle bark out some orders to his squad over the command channel before he cut the channel, but did not receive any confirmation that his suggesting had been followed. If that Lurker was allowed to reach them and burrow then they would all die.
“Riley, this is Darrin. What the hell is going on out there?” Darrin asked, making his way over the lump. Lance wasn’t far behind him.
“Riley here. Harle’s troops are trenching in right in front of you. Firebats are taking point, marines and medics are in the trench behind them.” Riley explained. “There is an overlord coming up in visual range. They are going to be here any minute. You coming out yet?” Riley asked hopefully.
“Not quite yet, It will be another minute or so.” Darrin admitted. “I think we need to get ready to fight. I have an idea. Rip that frame out from the opening and let it close.” Darrin added, climbing over the last node of tissue on the way to the opening.
“Oh CRAP!” Riley exclaimed. “Harle just had the Inquisitor irradiate the damned Overlord. That isn’t going to do any good. We’re Lurker meat now!” Riley cursed. He could hear the sound of the zerglings charging. The Overlord started to retreat, then imploded with an audible ‘piff’ and crashed to the ground. Radioactive energy dissipated into the air. Riley reached down with his SCV’s armored gauntlet and ripped the framework free from the opening.
“Tell Harle to hit the Lurker first. It can’t hurt anyone if it is not buried.” Darrin added. He had reached the entrance. Lance was making his way over the last obstacle.
“Akeem, prep your flamer and keep it trained outside here. Put the barrel through the opening.” Darrin said, pointing to the flap that was beginning to seal. “Lance, I’ll cut an opening here and you get ready to flame ‘em on my signal.” Darrin commanded, beginning to cut a small hole in the wall of the structure. It was soon large enough for the flamer’s barrel. Lance braced himself against the wall of the structure and eased his weapon through.
Harle was too busy commanding his troops to even notice Riley trying to get his attention. The Zerg attack force was coming into view. The sound of Hydralisk spines zipping through the air was punctuated by several sharp screams of pain as the spines ripped through body armor, trailing blood in a stop motion slideshow illuminated by the visible flashing of the medics’ tissue regeneration units as they healed the marines’ wounds. Several Hydralisks began to tear into pieces in fits of hissing as gauss rifle rounds rained onto them. These Hydralisks appeared to be moving much quicker than Hydras that Riley had seen before. Riley cranked his SCV’s torch to maximum output and prepared to fight.
Harle ordered his troops to open fire. They were concentrating fire on the Hydras. Harle had taken up a position behind his troops, firing rounds from his C-10 canister rifle into the fray. The grenades exploded in the mass of approaching zerglings, momentarily knocking a couple off balance with the grenade’s concussive force. Riley was glad to see that Harle at least knew how to use his weapon and was not afraid to fight. His skill as a commander remained questionable though.
The approaching mass of Zerglings reached the trench line as the firebats unleashed waves of flame in front of them. Bits of hardened carapace splattered as superheated limbs from zerglings exploded in fury of the attack. Darrin ordered the firebats in the Zerg structure with him to fire their weapons. More Zerglings perished as tongues of flame lashed out from the Zerg’s own structure. Some of the Hydralisks and Zerglings turned to attack the structure. The Zerglings were also much quicker than previous battles. The proceeded to encircle the area.
The Zerglings were not perceived as a threat to humans when they were first discovered. Before humans had engaged them in battle it was theorized that their teeth and claws were not capable of penetrating infantry battle suits. Only after humanity realized the destructive power these small beasts possessed did they begin to fear the Zerg. The Zergling would use its powerful jaws and irregularly shaped teeth to secure itself to its target, then proceed to rake it with powerful claws. The creature would rear up with its back claws and rake softer targets with them. Harder targets could be penetrated by swinging the front claws overhead in an arc, gaining acceleration as they struck. The fine pointed claw on the foreleg could penetrate armor on even the toughest of Terran land vehicles.
The marines had reached a state of disarray when the Zerglings began to attack them. The attack was much quicker than expected. One firebat had been completely ripped apart as a pair of Zerglings jumped him. The fuel from his flamer pack had leaked onto the ground, starting a small conflagration. Other soldiers were not faring too well either. The frantic flashing of tissue regenerators continued to strobe the battle scene. Flamers continued to whoosh over the attackers as Zerglings ran in circles, dodging gauss rifle fire. A Zergling had made its way to Riley.
The Zergling leaped up at Riley and sank its teeth into the roll cage surrounding the SCV’s helmet. The raking of claws created a deafening rattle in Riley’s helmet. He brought his torch to bear against the creature, trying to damage its head. The bulky and unresponsive SCV was making a counterattack quite difficult. The Zergling finally quit thrashing about, its body charred badly by the SCV’s torch. Riley peeled it off and tossed it to the ground, adding the boot of his SCV to its head just in case. His armor was badly damaged and the SCV was in poor shape.
“Darrin!” Riley shouted over his comm link. “How breathable is this atmosphere?” He asked.
“You can breathe it, just not for too long. The air is a bit thinner than normal, and the CO2 level is pretty high. Acidosis will set in after a few minutes.” Darrin advised. “Why do you ask?”
“I can’t fight in this thing.” Riley said, using his remaining soup to fashion a large pike. He worked on creating the weapon with blinding speed and precision. As soon as the weapon was completed, he flipped open the cover to the SCV. With only his jumpsuit and communication helmet, he was virtually naked against the enemy. He grabbed the pike from the SCV’s grasp and proceeded toward the battle.
“Fight? What the heck are you talking about. How are you going to fight?” Darrin asked.
Harle had just dispatched a Zergling with his C-10 rifle that was attacking a medic. He looked toward Riley, who had leaped over to the entrenched position.
“Are you nuts? The dropships are almost here, retreat NOW, that’s an order!” Harle yelled. The lurker had finally reached the battle area and was looking for a spot where it could burrow and extended its lethal tentacles.
“You have to kill that damn thing now!” Riley shouted. “Its going to rip us all apart!” He emphasized. A zergling tried to intervene, jumping up on Harle’s battle suit. It quickly affixed its bite on Harle’s left shoulder, then brought its rear claws up to attack.
Riley took a quick half step back from Harle and inserted his pike under the Zergling. He gave a precise half-twist of the handle, lodging the blade of the pike in the jaws of the zergling. He yanked the pike back, dislodging the creature from Harle’s battle suit. He pulled the pike along the ground, with the Zergling still caught in the blade. Placing his foot on the thorax of the beast, Riley removed the pike with the same half twist, then brought it down into the Zergling’s head to dispatch it. Harle stared on in shock. As a science vessel security chief, he was trained in the art of hand to hand combat. He had never seen such a precisely executed polearm attack. Glancing at the bloody blade of the pike, he also made a mental note of the craftsmanship of Riley’s pike. It was extraordinary. This civilian was not just a mere technician. He decided to give Riley’s view some consideration.
“Half my men are dead and the rest are close to it!” Harle shouted. “We can’t stop that thing!” He admitted.
“It’s too late to irradiate it now, have the Iquisitor matrix me. I have an idea.” Riley said to Harle. The Lurker had found a place to burrow and was beginning to sink its tentacles into the ground. The marines had finished ridding themselves of the last of the zerglings. A couple of Hydralisks still scooted about a short distance from the battle, firing an occasional spine at the marines. The Zerg structure Darrin was investigating had taken heavy damage during the attack. With the combination of having its support sinews clipped and the damage, the whole thing had sagged over.
“Spread your men out and away from the Lurker. Concentrate fire on it. Get a position reading from the Inquisitor. When they feel the ground shake, have them dodge to the side, don’t have them run away.” Riley advised, stepping back a bit to receive the defensive matrix. Harle called in the defensive matrix support from the Inquisitor. A halo of energy surrounded him. He charged toward the Lurker as it completed burrowing.
The defensive matrix was a self-consuming storm of heavily ionized particles. Spheres of positive and negative ions annihilated each other, releasing energy. The negative sphere was attached to the unit receiving the defensive matrix. The positive sphere was placed around that. Any physical attack entering the junction of the spheres would create a type of electrical ‘short circuit’ resulting in the vaporization of the attack. Energy attacks were simply neutralized when they reached the junction. Any attack stopped in such a way decreased the amount of energy left in the spheres. It would eventually fail from enough attacks, or after about half a minute as energy was consumed or leaked to ground. Massive physical bodies such as the planet’s surface would slowly ‘ground off’ the ions, allowing the soldier or vehicle to travel without destroying the protection.
Riley took three quick steps to the left as a huge armored plate sprang from the ground to his right. A scream erupted from behind him. Fire from gauss rifles streamed past him toward the target. The Hydralisks were now firing their spines at him. His sensor drone was following him. Particles from the spines that escaped annihilation in the defensive matrix lanced into his flesh. He winced in pain, charging on toward the Lurker’s position. Another set of armored plates erupted from the ground, striking the defensive matrix beneath him. He fell from the impact, and he could also feel a sharp pain from his foot. It was bleeding heavily. He marched on despite the pain.
Reaching the Lurker’s position. He held his pike and leaped into the air, planting it into the ground. A rumble could be heard. The sensor drone emitted a ‘sprong’ to Riley. He slowly backed away from the lurker, matching the edge of the defensive matrix with his pike. Suddenly, power arched from the defensive matrix and into the pike. It shattered in a shower of lightning and shards. The rumble beneath the ground reached a peak, then subsided completely. Riley collapsed into a bloody heap. A medic arrived to administer tissue regeneration while Harle and his marines finished off the Hydralisks. The Zerg threat had been abated, for the moment.
Now there was the matter of digging Darrin and his escorts from their makeshift bunker. It had collapsed into a large pile of muck.
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