The War to End All Wars

Continued...

A cloud of dust curled up from his boot as he stepped atop the hill. Sure enough, there was the SCV, looking utterly ravaged. However, the eight four-legged creatures that surrounded the vehicle�
�Jesus� the hell are those?� Caius whispered. Whatever they were, they did not look like the planet-killers he had envisioned as the Protoss. Each was the size of a large dog, but they looked nothing like man�s best friend. They were creatures form the depths of darkness, teeth, huge claws and all. Even more odd, they all looked the same, even had the same coloring. It was almost like they were ants from a colony.

As if on cue, one of the creatures began to sniff at the air, its nostrils flaring and closing with each breath. Caius utterly froze, a need to run seizing all of his body except for his legs, which were rooted to the ground. If they could see cloaked people, he was screwed. Looking back upon his movements, if he had knows what the abilities of these things were; he would have stayed way downwind also.
Turning his attention back to the situation at hand, he jumped slightly, realizing the creature was looking dead at him. Its eyes narrowed, and it let out some sort of slow chittering sound, sniffed the air again, and turned away. For the first time in his life, Caius felt relieved that someone or something would rather ravage a human body than anything else. Looking at the mangled remains of the pilot�s body, Caius was thankful that it wasn�t Jessie he had sent out to find minerals.

A sense of daring rolling through his veins, Caius took a tentative step forwards. The creatures paid no attention to him this time, growling and whining as the tore at the pilot�s body and hacked at the destroyed SCV. Somehow, their actions were awe-inspiring, like they had a single goal and a single mind�
�What the hell are those?�
Caius whirled around, looking back up the hill to see the twelve marines, looking down on the SCV with a mixture of disgust ad fear on their faces. The creatures must have interpreted the marines�s being there as a threat because they began to turn, preparing to attack the visitors.
�Son of a�� Caius whispered. He flung himself to the side as the marines opened up, showering the SCV, the body, and the creatures with a hail of the 8mm spikes shot from their rifles. Caius buried his head in the sand, waiting for the sounds of gunfire to end. If any of the marines took a bad shot, he was screwed.

Within moments, the gunfire came to a stop; the sound of guns being reloaded the only noise.
�We scrapped em� boss!� A voice said. �Think they was Protoss?�
�Dunno, but if they have any pals they know who not to mess with now!�
Caius, thoroughly pissed off at this point, pushed himself up from the ground.�You useless idiots!� He yelled. �When did I give the frigging order to fire or are you just retarded!?!�
One of the marines looked around confused, apparently not remembering whom he had been ordered to take orders from. �Who said that?�
Caius uncloaked, storming up the hill to get up close and personal with the marines. �You idiots almost killed me, and blew away what might have been a valuable live specimen.� He wiped the dust of his armor, growling. �Go back to base and report in. Tell HQ I�m bringing them an early Christmas present.�

�Beauti-damned-ful. This is the kind of breakthrough we�ve been waiting for.� Creed said, circling the body on the operating table. �What the hell is it?�
�We�re not sure what it is, but we�re pretty sure that wherever it came from, it�s not natural.�
�Good, it�s a start. Dissect it, douse it in water, make it dance, I don�t care how but I want to know everything about this thing by 0830 hours tomorrow morning. And once you finish that, start on toxins, see if we can make some sort of�� Creed looked at the creature quizzically. �Some sort of bug spray.�

�Yessir.� The base�s lead researcher could barely control his delight and excitement. A new species! This commander was known for giving his scientists some space to do things, as long as they were handled professionally. Which, of course, meant that there was a bevy of tests he could run.
�Good luck. It�s good to know I have such a competent science officer in this place.�
�Thank you sir.�
�Wirehead, send in Caius.�
�Yes sir.� The secretary�s voice could be heard outside the door to his office, telling Caius to go in.
Caius entered, moving slowly. All he could see of the Magistrate was the top of his head, his brown hair falling just in front of his face as he scanned the papers on his desk.
�Sit down Caius.� Creed said, gesturing toward a chair. �Yes sir.� Caius said, staring at his commander as he turned his head upwards. Creed, the only part of the commander�s name Caius knew, didn�t look like he had been a grunt at all. Unsurprisingly, he looked just like all the other tacticians he had seen in his life. Square jaw, unshaven scruff around his face, deep-set brown eyes, and unkempt hair. Somehow Caius saw the new Magistrate as a music star, not a leader of a colony.

�Why,� Creed said, looking at Caius. �Did we not get a single one of the creatures alive?�
�Well sir, the marines��
�Were under your direct control.�
�Yes, but they aren�t the most disciplined soldiers in the Confederacy��

Continues..

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