The War to End All Wars

Continued...

�Perhaps the single greatest advantage of the SCV T-280 is the ability to easily mine the mineral outcrops that provide the bulk of colonial building material.� Unexpectedly, one of the projected SCV views went fuzzy, then turned to static. It was probably just some sort of interference, but he had to cover. �And now my assistant will guide you through the creation of a base camp.� His secretary�s soothing came on over the speaker system, explaining the benefits of the T-280 for gathering Vespene gas and other useless crap. Turning away from the occupied crowd, Creed tapped at the commlink on his collar, flipping it on. �What the hell was that Sergeant?� Creed hissed into his commlink.

�Dunno sir. But we can�t re-establish contact and the location beacon isn�t going either.�
�Send some grunts out there to check.� With his luck right now, Creed figured it was the Protoss come early. �Have them well armed.�
�What happened to No. 7?�
Caius had been keeping constant commlink contact with his nine other compatriots during the construction of the command center. Kevin Bischoff, controlling SCV number 7 had been sent out to find a small mineral deposit they could use to begin the structure of the command center. About five minutes out, his screen had gone completely blank. No responses by radio, no emergency beacon, nothing. If something hadn�t gone wrong, the guy was in for one hell of a chewing out.
�Maybe he went t� go gratify himself sir?� One of the marines chuckled.
�Shut up. Give me five minutes of commlink silence alright?� Caius groaned inwardly. �Base, this is Demo Team leader, what just happened out here?�
A face popped up on the upper-left part of the SCV�s windshield HUD. �No. 7 just lost contact with base. We�re sending a team of marines to investigate, you will lead. Is that clear Wolf?� Caius smiled; his Callsign always got that kind of reaction from him. �I copy that base, where is the rendezvous point?� �You�re not meeting with the marines Wolf, you�re going before them. Last known point of SCV 7 was in sector Omega, coordinates 7-1-3-4. Two klicks directly north from your current position. We�ve got someone bringing you your gear right now.�

�Copy base.�
Beginning the slow systems shutdown for the SCV, Caius quickly informed the rest of the team to continue with the demonstration, leaving Jessie in command. �This is gonna be the best load of BS I�ve ever had to deal with.� He mumbled.

Ten minutes later, Caius stood in front of twelve Marines, each already wearing the regulation CMC-300 Powered Combat Suit. The suit was required for all marines, increasing strength, accuracy and protecting its wearer from all kinds of environments. Unfortunately, if the Protoss were behind this like the entire base feared, that didn�t mean a thing. With a barely audible click, Cause�s black helmet snapped into place, completing his entire battle ensemble. With his canister rifle in his hands and the Personal Cloaking System on his back humming along quietly, he looked like a futuristic ninja from someone�s nightmare. Most Ghosts were considered to be as much by many troops, able to sneak undetected behind enemy lines with their personal cloaking devices, and able to destroy targets with their many abilities. Ghosts wielded their ungainly C-10 canister rifles like they were a normal-sized weapons, and when given a target, did not stop unless ordered to do otherwise.

Motioning to the Marines absent-mindedly, Caius looked towards the horizon. �I�ll go ahead. Give me a five minute head start and then follow.�
Issuing a single thought to the helmet�s Psi-interface, the covering of his suit began to shimmer. Caius watched, ever in amazement as his body and equipment faded a dark gray, then turned invisible. For a few moments, Caius found himself staring at his now invisible hands. The cloaking technology was probably the only perk of the job.
Turning towards the point indicated on his HUD map, Caius broke into a light run. His steps were light and quick, inaudible to the normal ear. He moves with the smooth speed of a jungle predator, years of training now in his blood, not just his mind.
�Damn Ghosts man�� One of the marines said, looking at the barely visible blur.

Within ten minutes, Caius stopped at the point indicated on his helmet�s HUD. Lifting the visor covering his face, he scanned the wasteland, the brown desolation of un-colonized areas of Mar Sara seeming to stretch forever. Electronics were exact and useful, but they lacked instincts and gut feelings. And somehow, Caius knew, without a doubt, that the pilot had not just had an electronics malfunction.
Smoke belched from behind a small hill, the kind of smoke that vehicles made not just a brushfire. Caius began to run, stopping only to turn his radio back on. The marines should have been following him by now, and if there was a threat, they should be put to good use.
�Mark my position and get here now. I think I�ve found our missing SCV.�

�Already heading straight for you.� The reply came. Cresting the small hill slowly, Caius held his rifle at the ready, expecting to see a bunch of Protoss looming over the destroyed SCV, doing whatever it was the Protoss did. Somehow however, all of his weapons and abilities seemed as if they were useless if the Protoss had done this�

Continues..

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