0400
Chau Sara
Secure derelict base and salvage useful material

“Go! Go! Go!” Shouted Sergeant Michael Vasco, “Get a perimeter set up ASAP!”
The heavy boots of the 5th infantry unit pounded down the ramp to the hard tarmac below. The marines fanned out in a circle in the darkness, and lying prone called out the clears.
“Give me a count off!” yelled Michael.
“1 clear!” “2 clear!” “3 clear!” one by one they sounded off till “24 clear!”
The dust swirled as the drop ship peeled away at top speed, engines glowing a molten orange against the deep purple-black sky. Stars twinkled above and the new moon showed as an ominous black disc hovering in wait. Then the silence that had been so quickly broken was restored. The marines lay in the dust in a circle, gauss rifles loaded and ready for trouble.
“I want radio silence from here on out,” Whispered Michael.
The marines rose as one to a crouch and in their teams of four (each team consisting of 3 Marines and one Firebat heavy Assault Trooper) crept to the crest of the hill they had landed behind. Michael took a fiber optic cable and after plugging it into the suits power supply stuck it over the ridge. The grainy image couldn’t hide the damage done to the base. The command center lay like a smashed turtle shell, with half of the outer wall blown away. Supply depots stood burning, throwing shadows around them. The barracks had been reduced to a crater, with smoke still wafting form the hole. Michael gave the all clear signal.
“Resume radio contact,” Said Michael. “squads three and two give me a sweep of the west side of the base, three start from the front and two flanking the base, same thing on the east side with squads four and five, five knock on the front door, four kick down the back.”
That raised a chuckle from the solemn Marines, their shining faceplates reflecting starlight as they looked at Michael for orders.
“Let’s get down there and kill some Zerg!” yelled one marine.
It was Michael’s turn to chuckle. “You can give the orders Meyers when you knock off those blue shoulder pads for some red ones, but you sure ain’t takin’ my command!” jibed Michael. “Now if we can return to business? I will lead one and six up the middle. The call for enemy sighted is Zeta Epsilon. Move out!”
The Marines sprang up over the crest of the hill, their midnight black suits all but invisible, their rifles swinging like toys from the power suit covered hands. Each leap took the Marines a good ten feet forward, despite the one ton of neo-steel armor covering their bodies. As they neared the base Michael ordered a halt of teams five and three. “2 and 4 loop around and click a ‘ready to go’ when you are in position.”
Mike and his team crouched in the lightening gloom sweeping the base before them with their weapons, nerves on edge. Michael’s keen silver eyes caught flickers of movement from within the base.

Meanwhile behind the same hill Michael had crept from not 30 minutes before a Vulture Hover Cycle glided to a halt and a single figure disembarked. He quickly hid the cycle and then disappeared in a shimmer of energy. If one knew what to look for they could see a wispy sphere, like the rising heat off of pavement, moving up the hill. There he checked his surroundings, found a thicket of brush to conceal himself and hid in it. He deactivated his cloak and slowly unslung his Canister Rifle. Sighting through his scope he started to survey the base, until a shadowy motion caught his eye….

Michael tracked the shadow with his rifle, his trigger finger inching the trigger back toward its breaking point, waiting for a clear shot. Suddenly the shadow disappeared and reappeared a moment later at the beginning of its course.
“Just an emergency light boss.” Confirmed the squad’s Firebat, who was taller than all of them in his orange and red fire armor. “Must have not turned it off. Reckon there was no one left to flip the switch.”
Suddenly two clicks sounded over the comm frequency, causing Michael to jump and swing his rifle around searching for a target. Then he relaxed as he realized it was two and four squad’s ready signals. “Move it in, take it slow and check every shadow and we won’t end up like this base, Clear? Good, now move out!” Ordered Michael and with that the Marines rose from their crouching positions and moved toward the base.
The Marines moved into the cover provided by the burned out missile turrets, now just hulks of useless scrap metal. Michael stood up and scanned the area. After making sure it was clear the Marines began to search the base. For the next hour Michael and his men swept the area and picked through the wreckage of the buildings, and craters that had once been buildings. Even after an hour no sign of the Zerg could be seen. There was a slight crunching noise behind Michael and he whirled around, bringing the gauss rifle to bear on the unexpected newcomer. It was team six.
“We found nothin’ boss.” Said Bill.
Michael sighed, “All teams rendezvous back at the command center once your searches are complete.” 30 Minutes later the Marines were all assembled and ready.
“Only one place left to look.” growled Jenkins.
“Oh quit whining Jenkins,” laughed Michael, “let’s saddle up, I got point.”
And with that the Marines wheeled left and disappeared into the shattered command center.

“Visual scan complete, command,” reported the hidden trooper, “Moving to thermal scan. Will report any contacts. Out.”

Michael moved cautiously through the cracked hallways of the ruined command center. Sparks shot from conduits and bounced harmlessly off his suit in a molten rainbow.
“Hey Sarge,” said Bill over the comm,” we got a door leadin’ into an underground tunnel over here. I think we should check it out.”
“Roger.” sighed Michael, “just what we need another room to check, just great.” Michael stormed off toward the point of the broadcast muttering to himself.
He arrived in the room, already filled with Marines. He noted the sky brightening with the approach of dawn through the shattered remains of the roof.
“Well let’s check it out.” ordered Michael.
One by one the marines in their bulky power suits hopped into the hole. Then Michael followed the last of the group. As he landed with a soft thud he glanced both ways down the narrow hallway now packed with Marines. Maneuverability would be a problem in the bulky armor if they ran into any trouble, thought Michael, better get this over with quick. Michael heard the sliding of metal on metal and heard a sharp click. He whirled around to find Jenkins holding a grenade in one hand and the pin in the other.
“Why did you do that corporal? Now we have to worry about you dropping the damn thing. I ought to report you!”
“Sir,” came a frightened whisper, “look down sir.” Michael slowly looked down, switching on his head lamp to illuminate the floor. There was a carpet of grey, lined with red and blue lines, like living veins and arteries.
“Oh crap.” whispered Michael.
They were standing on Creep.

A barely audible, but sudden slithering sound caused Michael to snap off his light, and switching to infrared he saw a dozen hydralisks charging around a distant corner. They screeched, ivory claws shining as Michael switched back to regular vision. He saw their hoods begin to open, ready to launch a deadly rain of poisonous spines. The cruel jaws of the lead hydralisk twisted into what seemed an evil half-smile, and with another piercing cry the group charged down the tunnel. The marines backpedaled in the confined space, working their way away from both the oncoming hydralisks and the entrance into the tunnel. The two rearmost Marines were firing at the approaching hostiles, no one but the last two could fire because of the huge suits in front of them blocking their way.
“Die, you bastards!” screamed Jenkins, as he lobbed the grenade he had been holding at the approaching hydralisks.
After an agonizing wait the grenade went off with a bang that resounded down the tunnel. The shrapnel from the blast shredded the first three hydralisks, and passed through the hood of the fourth, wounding it. Then with a low rumble the command center above the tunnel collapsed closing the hole with rocks, and sending the tunnel roof down on the hydralisks, crushing another two of their number and blocking the tunnel between the combatants.

A light clicked on. The beam cut through the dust filled hallway.
“Check in.” grumbled Michael.
“All ok.” was the general reply.
“Dammit Jenkins, way to block the tunnel!” yelled Bill.
“They would have killed us all and you know it.” whined Jenkins.
“Quit complaining and find us a way out of here Bill.” ordered Michael.

“Oh God. Control, I read a massive level of Zerg infestation of the lower passages!” yelled the Ghost into his comm. “I advise you to remove forces from the area before they are overwhelmed.”
“Negative, Alpha-one, forces are committed and have dropped out of radio contact. We will continue to try to raise them on the squawk box, until then, ready the weapon.”
“Copy that.” replied the ghost, “holding position and preparing weapon. Over and Out.”

After walking for five minutes down an unchanging passage, it opened into a cave of massive proportions. Stalagmites rose from the ground, looking like the feral spikes used by the Lurkers to impale their enemies, and stalactites hanging form the ceiling like teeth ready to grind the invaders to dust. Michael filtered out the sound of the marines heavy foot falls and heard running water. After they emerged from the tunnel completely he saw the source of the sound. A hole in the center of the cave, which had formed under a river, let the contents of the river stream down over 100 feet to a lake in the center.
“Well we can’t go through the middle, so we go right along the wall till we find another tunnel to follow.” ordered Michael. “Lets move out double-time I want to get out of here ASAP.”
The Marines moved into a crescent formation, all facing out, with their backs toward the cavern wall. Then with a final check of the area they moved out at a jog along the right wall, scanning for openings and hostiles at the same time.
Click.
Michael looked down with amazement. His foot was on solid stone.
“We cleared the creep people, we are getting close to an exit,” Said Michael, “let’s double-time it.”
The Marines now broke into a light run, footfalls pulverizing any loose gravel under a ton of armor. After nearly an hour of running from the tunnel, the cavern finally opened up. The wall slowly sloped away, and the other side of the opening couldn’t be seen.
“We are going to check this out; this could be the exit we were looking for. Fan out, I want to see how wide this passage is.” ordered Michael.
The tunnel was 200 meters wide, but it quickly narrowed as the Marines got further from the cave. Soon the Marines were in single file again. With a sudden bend the view of the waterfall was cut off, leaving the Marines in pitch black. Once again Michael switched on his helmet light and illuminated the tunnel before him. 100 meters ahead the tunnel ended in a mass of boulders.
“Probably a landslide.” said bill.
Michael walked closer; something told him that this wasn’t right. Under one of the boulders was a small patch of grey. Michael went pale.
“Oh damn.”
He quickly switched over to infrared vision, and his worst fears were confirmed. Beyond the pile of boulders, dug under the ground were three Lurker sentries, and behind them, the large blob of white of a Zerg Hive sat upon the ground.
“Crap! They wanted us to come here all along. We need to get out of here now. They wanted us to dig through this; there are lurkers on the other side of this wall. Back to the cave now!” yelled Michael, all of his cool composure now gone with the hitting of the harsh reality of how he had played right into the Zerg’s hands. The Marines whirled around, and ran back toward the cave, boots thumping on the stones, until the sound was gone. Michael thought he was losing his mind, but he glanced down to find that they were standing on creep once again. The trap the Zerg had set had snapped closed with vicious efficiency. The marines stormed around the last corner before they entered the cave, and one by one came to a grinding halt. Standing in a mob across the cave from where the Marines where standing, a mass of Zerglings and Hydralisks waited.
“They could have bottled us in here, why didn’t they?” asked Jenkins.
“They want to play with us before they kill us,” responded Michael. After a pause, he continued, “Ok we are breaking to the right to try and find an exit out of this hole.”
And with that the men of the 5th Infantry Unit charged out of the tunnel and headed to the right, once again in the crescent formation. The Zerg brood screamed and hissed, and as one jumped after the Marines. They charged right through the center of the cave toward the Marines, not stopping at the lake, instead throwing themselves into it in their haste to rip the Marines to shreds. They thrashed in the water, churning it to white foam, but they slowly sank into the depths. Fully a third of their number was drowned in the lake before the hydralisks rallied their troops and turned them around the lake, but it was just a drop in the bucket as more troops poured out of the opposite tunnel. The Marines opened fire now in short controlled bursts, cutting down the first waves of attackers at range. The Zerglings wavered and screamed as their thick carapaces cracked and shattered under the impact of hundreds of hollow point rounds, exposing the sinewy flesh and muscle below. Still more and more Zerg swarmed out of the tunnel. Michael looked ahead and saw an opening in the cave wall about 500 meters further along the curve. With a hand signal the Marines ran harder toward the opening and the shooting became less dense and less accurate. As the shooting abated the Zerg ran forward unchecked and with speed. The Marines reached the opening and halted. The Zerg now completely surrounded the Marines. The Marines faced outward and began firing once again. The Zerglings charged forward only to be cut down by the hail of rounds. The Zerg came forward still, crawling through the piles of dead accumulating on the ground. They kept dying in droves, but the piles of dead were slowly accumulating toward the Marines. Michael ordered a retreat of teams 4, 5, and 6. They ran back 100 meters into the mouth of the tunnel and the remaining Marines, prepared for another wave. To Michael’s horror it wasn’t a Zergling who stuck its ugly head over the pile of bodies, but a Hydralisk. Its hood cracked open and Michael sprayed the opening with rounds, the Hydralisk screamed and fell among its comrades, but another 20 mounted the pile, hoods spreading, Michael knew that he and his men couldn’t kill them all so he braced for an impact. The Hydralisks sprayed the Marines with poisonous spines. One spine cracked the casing on a Firebat’s plasma container, engulfing the whole right flank in flames and shrapnel as the suit exploded, taking three Hydralisks with them. Michael and the other 11 remaining Marine began to backpedal toward the prepared position inside the tunnel. The Marine next to Michael stumbled and fell, a spine through the faceplate. Another Marine was thrown into a wall and hung there, the spine that had pierced his abdomen now pinning his armor suit against the cave wall. He screamed over the comm, until Michael cut off the dying howl. The six remaining Marines crossed the line formed by the surviving teams and Michael looked back to see the bodies of his fallen comrades being ripped to shreds by the Zerg. The remaining Marines turned and began firing and backpedaling further into the tunnel. As the hydralisks ignored the bodies and continued to pepper the Marines with spines, more and more Marines fell. Suddenly Michael’s clip ran dry and he realized that he had no more ammo; the story was the same with the other Marines as weapons one by one fell silent.
“Run!” screamed Michael and an orderly retreat became a rout.
The Marines turned and ran, and the Zerg slowly gained on them. Michael ran as if the demons of hell were chasing him, which wasn’t far from the truth. Michael fell. An agonizing fall, during which time seemed to slow down; he was falling but it seemed the floor was miles away. He finally crashed to the ground, and looking down saw a Hydralisk had caught up with him. The Hydralisk was currently busy trying to extract its ivory claw from the large hole it had just made through Michael’s lower leg. Michael felt red hot gripping pain as the Hydralisk wrenched its claw out of his leg with a grinding of claw on neosteel. The pain was only temporary as the suit injected him with stim packs to ease the pain. The Hydralisk looked at Michael, its mandibles salivating at the waiting meal. The Hydralisk slithered forward slowly, playing with its prey, taunting it. Then it was in his face, staring through the face plate at Michael, seemingly piercing his soul, so depthless those black eyes were and so filled with years of horror. For a minute Michael saw the fire go out of its eyes and saw a shattered reflection of the gentle herbivore that the monster had been before the Zerg assimilated it into the brood. For a brief moment he felt for the pain this creature had endured. Yet the hydralisk snapped out of the spell, and raising its claw, struck Michael’s visor. A spider web of cracks popped out from the point of impact. It reared back and struck again and again, each time the reinforced glass came closer to breaking, then with a final blow the claw came through the visor an inch, screaming in triumph the Hydralisk swung back for the final blow. Michael closed his eyes and waited for the blow to be struck. After what seemed like ages, with no doom being brought down on him, he opened his eyes to see the Hydralisk withering away from him, covered in fiery plasma. Standing over Michael’s prone form was bill, his plasma hose spewing liquid death on the monster.
“Get out of here, now!” yelled Bill.
Michael stumbled to his feet, and ran for the turn further down the tunnel. He turned back to see Bill on his back with a Zergling on his stomach, slowly peeling away the armor layers on Bill’s suit. The Zergling hit the plasma pack and everything within a 10 meter radius caught fire in the ensuing explosion. “Bye, Bill.” whispered Michael as he turned and limped away as fast as he could.

“Alpha-one deploy the weapon.” droned control.
“Roger that control, God save my soul.” A small red light beamed out from the Ghost’s scope and targeted the mountain.

Michael staggered out of the tunnel into the daylight; screams still chasing him from the tunnel. He knew he was close to collapse, he turned, ready to face his demise, as Zerg soldiers poured out of the tunnel, and in a rush passed over Michael’s prone form. The armor around Michael’s body was being ripped to shreds, and his last action was to look skyward, to see a massive Battle Cruiser floating above the field, and a tiny dropping figure, a stark contrast against the blood red of the sunset. As the figure hit the ground, the world turned white and Michael thought no more.