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Chapter Text

Tom looked over the dry plains, the cold dust whipped by the air pelting the walls. Small clips of rocks hitting the sheet metal were the only other sound besides the roar of the wind. No one else in the town dared venture outside today. Last night, something crashed on the outskirts of the town. Rory and Bill were sent to see what it was, but they've been gone for hours. Tom doubted that they would be seen again. Being in a backwater station, you learned to expect the worse of every situation. Time often proved him right. Tom had lived at this station for 15 years now. His grim demeanor showed the experience of his years, as well as the horrible things he has seen. The Confederacy has all but abandoned these once promising colonies. Tom spit on the ground and climbed down from the wall. He cracked his neck as he walked to the Magistrate's office. As he pushed open the door, the magistrate stood up from his chair. The marshal, Alex Tannin, was a man approaching his 40's but looked younger. He was tall and strong, with green eyes popping through his thick beard. His beard and hair were peppering, showing his age a bit more, but his young gun attitude gave him a youthful aura. He came to the colony years ago from some Confederate office to be the Marshall for the sector. He recruited Tom early on as a second in command to help him get acquainted with the town. They've had no problems since. He sat down his pen and picked up his glass of whiskey. It had been a long night.

"Anything?" he asked Tom. He shook his head. Alex let out a sigh and sat back down, Tom mirroring him across his desk.

"I knew better than to send those damn kids, their mothers are worried sick," Tom growled. Alex poured him a drink and slid it across the desk to him. Tom took a long drink before talking again. "What do you reckon we do, we can't just leave em out there," he said. Tom ran his fingers through his beard.

"The SVC's are still down from that fall a few weeks back. The Goliath is old enough as it is, it'd never make it through this wind storm without toppling over, especially with what you put it through" Alex said. "I tried contacting another station but the damn radio is down." Tom cursed to himself. "Our best bet is to sit tight until this storm dies down, then we can send more men," Alex said.

"In case you hadn't noticed friend, the Confederacy took most of our men, we don't have too many of em left, and the ones that are either are too young to fight or too old to be of any use," Tom snarled. He was getting angry. He usually did when he was anxious. He didn't mean to snap at the old man. They had been friends since Tom was young. Alex had gotten Tom out of more than one heaps of trouble. Tom had spent much of his prime years in the Confederate army, leaving the station to do his part in the army. After one too many close calls, Tom decided to head home. Alex gave him a job as a deputy. Since then it's been nothing but bad news.

"Alright son, I know, let's give it an hour and we'll go out ourselves," Alex said, draining the rest of his drink. He walked across his office to a locker. He waved his ID in front of the reader and opened the cage. He reached inside and pulled out two AGR-14's, standard issue for Confederate soldiers. One of them was from Tom's days as a soldier. Alex would never tell Tom where he got the other one, and the only clue was a blue cross painted on the barrel of the rifle. Alex and Tom spent the next hour cleaning the rifles and filling magazines. At nearly noon, they walked to the main gate. The wind had died down substantially. The town was still quiet, but eyes peered from every window, watching the two men cross the town. The only person they saw on their way out was Sam, the gatekeeper. He gave the men a nod as they passed through the old rusty gate. Tom wondered how many times he saw Alex and himself walk through that gate and thought they'd never be back. He wondered if this was one of those times.

Smoke still rose from where the object crashed. Tom couldn't tell what it was, as nothing was picked up on their local radar. It burned a bright blue light in the early morning haze. Tom had been awake for a few hours at that point and saw the object with his own eyes. It was surrounded by a blinding light. He could make no marks out of its design, but he didn't think it was a ship. He thought to himself that it was just another damn satellite. He was the one who sent out Rory and Bill out after it. They seemed all too thrilled to chase it. They were barely 18 but old enough to contribute to the town. With less than 75 people, they needed all the help they could get.

Plains surrounded most of the town, with the exception of the rocky hills behind it. Stumps of old fallen trees lay as a reminder of the greener past of Mar Sara. The original purpose of this colony was to mine the hills for precious crystal minerals. They once were littered throughout the hills, now deep craters and machine tracks were the only noticeable landmarks. The Terran's had a terrible habit of bleeding planets dry. Earth, Tom heard, was no different. Mar Sara would soon share that same fate, thanks to human carelessness.

"I'm not sure we should be out here by ourselves," Alex said, gripping his rifle tighter. Tom shifted his weight a bit as he walked, clearly uncomfortable.

"I'm not about to risk anyone else's head for the sake of my mistake," Tom retorted. Alex stopped and looked at him. Tom turned and gave Alex a piercing look.

"You can't blame yourself for sending those boys out here, they were as willing and capable as anyone else!" Alex argued.

"They were kids and I was careless, and now I feel we're looking for bodies instead of a rescue mission!" Tom yelled back. He gritted his teeth and sneered. A wave of anger boiled inside him. Not at Alex, but at himself. He knew he made a wrong call and he had to deal with that. Alex was always too forgiving. A silence fell over the standoff, the wind only a whisper in the tension between the two men. Tom gestured to follow and turned back towards the crash site and began walking again. Alex scoffed to himself and followed. Tom was always hard on himself and there was often nothing he could do to change that. They walked in silence for the rest of the way.

A large rocky hill sat next to what looked to be the crash site. As they approached the crater, the air finally calmed. It was like they had entered a protective bubble from the storm. Tom raised his gun and walked carefully forward, Alex watching their surroundings. Tom focused on the crater and was about to peak over when Alex called his name.

"Tom, tracks, two sets of em," he said. Tom looked back and saw Alex kneeling. Behind him, a shimmer of dust warped the air. Before Tom could yell, a blue light appeared, its shape like a long blade. Alex was picked up to his feet, the blade coming to his neck. Behind him, the shimmer transformed into a body. A large creature, humanoid in shape but with grey skin and blue eyes, held his friend with a knife to his throat. It wore gold armor with high shoulder plates. Tom had never seen such a creature. He raised his gun up and focused it at the creatures head. Silence overcame the standoff. The creature stared at Tom, Alex squirming in its grip.

"Let him go you ugly bastard!" Tom yelled, taking a small step forward. The creature cocked its head slightly.

"Fallen, Beaten, Blue, Farewell, Und lara khar" it finally spoke. Tom gave the creature a puzzled look. What nonsense was this?

"You've got about ten seconds to start makin' sense before I blow your goddamn head off!" Tom yelled again. The creature relaxed a bit and repeated the words, this time slightly faster. Tom didn't say anything. Alex held onto the arm of the creature and tried to pry its grip away, but to no avail. The creature looked down from Tom and pressed something on its chest. It looked back up at Tom.

"Can you hear me, you small brained creature?" a voice resonated in Tom's mind. The voice was light, almost feminine, but he could sense strength to it. He lowered his gun slightly and shot a puzzled look at Alex, who looked back at him with the same inquiry.

"What is this?" Tom said aloud. The creature perked up and looked at Tom again.

"Please put your weapon down, and I will do the same," the creature's voice again said in his mind. Tom looked at Alex, the veins of his neck bulging as the creature gripped his throat with monstrous strength. After a moment of thought, Tom lowered his weapon. As promised, the creature sheathed its blade, an electronic warping sound echoed. Alex turned and backed away from the creature, gasping for breath.

"My sincerest apologies, I have had a troubled journey and do not know what creatures are hostile," it spoke in their minds again. Tom looked at the creature with a puzzled look. Never had something spoken to him in his mind before. It made Tom shiver slightly.

"You are both ignorant as to what I am, aren't you?" it said. Alex nodded. The creature almost seemed to sigh. It raised its three-fingered hand at chest level. A hologram appeared above it. Twirling planets spun in a gyro sphere while strange glyphs hovered close by. A large planet came into the center of the hologram, with a single glyph.

"This Is Auir, Homeworld of the Protoss. You may call me Stro," It said. It bowed slightly. A small drop of blue liquid fell from its head.

"What the hell is a Protoss?" Alex said, gripping the gun that he had picked up off the ground. Stro's shoulders fell slightly.

"We are the first born of the universe! The Conclave of Minds!" Stro said proudly. Stro looked at both of the men. The looked of shock and bewilderment had yet to leave their faces. It was truly a struggle to deal with lesser creatures, Stro thought to himself.

"Where are the other two men that were here?" Tom said suddenly. He held his gun and looked back at the crater. "I assume that was you," he said, gesturing to the crater.

"Yes, my ship crashed here in the dark, as for other men, I haven't a wandering thought of what you are speaking of," Stro said.

"Tom, look at this," Alex said. Tom looked over and saw him kneeling beside more tracks. Tom walked over to him. The tracks were beset by a number of other tracks, with looks of a struggle.

"I ain't never seen tracks like these Tom," Alex said. He put his hand on his chin and squinted his eyes. "Somethin with four legs I can tell, and fairly sizeable, not your average Wolfhound I'd imagine." Tom noticed Alex's draw was starting to come out again. He did his best to hide the country hick past when he was in the office. The regality of being a Marshal demanded professionalism and respect, to which Alex believed there was no room for a poor upbringing and a twang in the voice. Stro walked over the two kneeling humans.

If I may be of some assistance, I may be able to track your missing persons," Stro said, holding what looked to be a gun of some sort. Tom and Alex back away as Stro pointed it at the tracks. A hologram popped up displaying a creature of terrifying proportions. It had four legs and two great incisors on its back and bits of undeveloped wings jutting out of its sides. Stro's hand turned to a tight fist.

"What the hell is that thing?" Tom said.

"Vala dune," Stro said, growling in their minds. "Non-Tool Makers." An arrow pointed from the hologram toward the distance. Stro flipped off the hologram and began to walk at a brisk pace toward where the arrow pointed. Tom and Alex took off after him. As they passed the crater, Tom finally took a look inside. At the bottom was a small craft made of some golden metal. It had two rounded cannons on either side of the cockpit. It smoked slightly and let loose sparks every so often. A small area that looked to be the cockpit was broken open and revealed a seat and controls.

"Stro, what is a…..Vala Dune?" Alex asked. Stro said nothing but quickened his pace. The group walked around the hill and followed the tracks. Stro stayed silent until he stopped suddenly and ignited his blue blade again. He surged forward at an inhuman speed. Tom and Alex peered through the dust to see what Stro had run after. To their horror, the same creature that they saw on the hologram was dragging a body, a mangled corpse missing its legs. Blood oozed from the stumps being dragged, coating the ground a deep crimson. Another creature dragged a squirming Rory, who was now screaming as he saw where he was heading. The ground around them seemed almost alive, a pulsing goo covered every inch of dirt. At the center, a structure stood, almost vibrating. It spat out bits of the goo that covered the ground. Stro lunged onto the creature dragging Rory and sliced it in two before it could even react. The other creature dropped Bill's body and jumped toward Stro. A gunshot rang out and the creature dropped to the ground. Stro turned and saw Tom with his rifle pointed at the now motionless monster. Stro nodded at him and turned towards the structure. It was a flesh color with thick veins pulsing throughout. Stro walked forward and placed something at the base of it. It beeped loudly, it's pace quickening. He turned and grabbed a now erratic Rory and ran back to the group.

"Get down!" he yelled in their minds. Behind him, the structure exploded in a flash of blue. Bits of flesh fell from the sky and landed around them, some on fire with a blue flame. Alex helped Rory to his feet. Rory, with tears streaming down his cheeks, fell into Alex. His clothes were covered in blood and grime, though Alex suspected much of it wasn't his.

"They killed him!" he screamed between the sobs. Tom patted him on the back and turned towards Stro. Rory cried hard into Tom's shoulder. Tom looked sternly at Stro.

"I need some answers," He said.

Chapter Text

Back at the settlement, Tom and Alex sat down in the Marshal's office. Tom noticed the tattered red Confederate flags hanging behind Alex's desk, reminding him of the blood that coated his now ruined coat.

"What in God's name is going on here?" Alex asked. Tom poured two glasses of whiskey.

"I hope our new friend here can give us some clues to that exact question," Tom said. He handed Alex a glass and sat down. Stro was standing in a corner with a hologram before him. He tweaked with a few things before dismissing it. He shook his head and looked at the two men.

"My Communication array is damaged and I cannot get a signal to my fleet," Stro said telepathically. Tom chuckled to himself.

"I think that's for the best until you tell me exactly what's going on, like who are you and why you're here," Tom said sternly.

"I concur, you have helped me thus far, you deserve the truth," Stro said. He sat down beside Tom. "As I stated previously, I am one of the Protoss, the firstborn of the Universe. We have been well aware of you since you entered this sector years ago. We have kept an eye on you for some time, but recently, our eyes have been diverted elsewhere," he said. He held up his hand and a hologram of the creatures they killed appeared.

"This is what you Terrans call "Zerg" a hive mind life form bent on infestation and total assimilation of other sentient life." Stro continued. The hologram spun showing every detail of the creature they had faced earlier. Stro flashed his hand over the hologram and projected another creature, this one much larger and fierce. It looked almost like a snake but with large pincers on two arms and a large crested head. Two large mandibles jutted from its maw, thick saliva dripping from the opening. Tom peered at the creature in amazement. Never had he'd seen something so horrific. What in God's name could've made something like that?

"There are many variants of the creatures we have discovered so far, but these two seem to be the most common. We have yet to truly face them in battle, as we are often too late we arrive at a planet that is being infested. Total Annihilation is the only way to stop this swarm," Stro said. Tom looked over at Alex. He took a long drink of his whiskey.

"Why the hell haven't we heard about these things if they're so dangerous? Why hasn't the Confederacy warned us about an invasion?" Alex asked. Tom scoffed to himself. Stro gave Tom a puzzled look, his brow raised.

"You think the Confederacy gives a damn about us? They'd leave us to rot before giving a hand," Tom said. Tom walked across the room to a window. Tom peered outside towards the rest of the town. A group had gathered around Rory who was being held by his mother. He couldn't hear what was being said, the muffled yelling of the town being deafened by the thick walls of the office. Tom cursed to himself.

"So what's our time frame?" Alex asked. Stro's shoulders dropped.

"There is no time," he said. He pressed a button on his arm and a planet popped up on his hologram. Tom recognized it as Chau Sara, the sister planet of Mar Sara. It was far more populous and favored by the Confederacy. The dry hills of Mar Sara were opposed by the jungles and rivers of Chau Sara. It was a sort of hub planet for the sector, with many people deciding that Mar Sara was the ugly sister. The planet looked different this time, however. Huge swathes of firestorms spread across the surface of the planet.

"What the hell?" Alex said, stunned. Tom walked closer to the hologram. "What is this?"

"A planet you call Chau Sara, an infested planet, purified by the Protoss," Stro explained. Tom seethed. He clenched his fist and slammed it down on the desk, rattling the glasses.

"You killed them all!" Tom yelled. He grabbed Stro's armor and threw him against the wall. "That's what you're here for isn't it?!" Tom pulled his sidearm pistol from its holster and held it to Stro's face. Stro's blade ignited and brushed against Tom's throat faster than a blink.

"Yes, we are here to remove the Zerg infestation," Stro said calmly. Tom tightened his grip on the Protoss. Stro didn't move his blade. Alex stood from his desk and began walking towards them. "The Great Executor Tassadar leads our forces to stop this menace. The planet was purified nearly a month ago, yet you still do not know. Tell me, who's your real enemy?" Stro said, now sheathing his blade. Tom dropped the Protoss warrior and stepped back, holstering his pistol. Tom cursed to himself. Stro placed his hand on Tom's shoulder and looked at him kindly.

"What do we do?" Alex said. Stro looked over at him.

"If the infestation is too far gone, there is nothing you can do. The Protoss fleet is already on its way, hence why I am here. I was part of the Koprulu Expeditionary Force, a carrier fleet designed to purify planets. I was knocked down by space-faring Zerg that may have followed me down and killed your friends, for that, I am truly sorry," Stro said. He bowed his head down low and placed his hand on his chest. Tom and Alex looked at each other.

"I won't abandon the planet just because some alien says so," Alex said. Tom looked at him.

"We may not have a choice old man, looks like they're coming after us one way or another," Tom replied. Alex sat down at his desk and sighed.

"This, Protoss fleet, when are they expected to get here?" Alex asked.

"The fleet should be entering the atmosphere in a matter of hours," Stro replied. Alex felt a heat reach his forehead. "How do we tell everyone?"

"We tell them the truth," Tom said. Stro nodded. Alex stood up and walked to the window and peered out, his peppered beard splatted with blood and dirt flaking the red particles as he weaved his fingers through it.

On Alex's desk, a small device began beeping. Alex walked over and pressed a button. A hologram of a man popped up above the device.

"Raynor, what do you need dug out this time?" Alex asked. Raynor's face looked tired and beaten. A small bloody scratch lined his jaw. "What the hell happened to you?"

"We've been in a rough spot the past couple of hours, but I got some news for ya fellas, seems the Confederacy is moving out of these parts, some alien invasion as the looks. They ain't doing much against em, but I got news that some boys from Korhal are fittin' to get us colonist's outta here, a few hours from now, figured you'd like to know," Raynor said. He scratched his head and looked at Tom. He gave him a nod that Tom replied in kind.

"Many thanks, Jim, I'm surprised you got through with the storm messin' with our communication equipment. Send me the Evac coordinates and we'll meet up with ya," Alex said. Jim gave him a thumbs up and ended the call. Shortly afterward a small message popped up with a location. Tom glanced at it and plugged the numbers into a device on his wrist.

"That's 10 kilometers from here, that's gonna be a hike," Tom said. Alex rubbed his chin.

"If we can get that old dropship working, we may be able to get everyone over there nice and easy," Alex said. Stro stepped forward.

"If I may make a suggestion, if you have trouble with your machines, I may have a solution," Stro said. Tom and Alex looked at him quizzically. Stro strode out of the office, heading towards the gate they had returned from. Tom and Alex chased after him. They waved at Sam to let the Protoss through but Stro raised his hand and waved them off. He pressed a number of buttons on his armor and stood silently. A few moments passed before a beeping noise could be heard echoing through the town. Sam hurriedly opened the gate before a machine hovered through. It was the same golden color as Stro's armor but featured two large blue lights in its center, almost like eyes. A shimmer surrounded the entire machine as if it was covered in a peculiar energy force. Townsfolk began to emerge from their homes and stared at the machine and the alien standing in their settlement. Stro approached the machine and pressed a few things on it. It beeped in response and hovered slightly lower.

"This probe should be able to fix any machine you need," Stro said. Tom and Alex chuckled. This alien was definitely full of surprises, though not many of them were very pleasant. Alex turned and faced the townsfolk, who all had concerned looks on their faces. Alex motioned for them all to come nearer. Soon a large group had gathered around the two men.

"Listen up everyone, I have a few things to say. I've just received word that there's something comin, something bad, and the Confederacy isn't comin to help," Alex exclaimed. The group erupted into questions and comments.

"Did this alien tell you that?" someone in the crowd yelled. The townspeople began to become louder. Alex shook his head.

"Jim Raynor sent me a message and told me that there is an evacuation happening not far from here, and I want everyone to pack up what they can carry and meet back here in one hour!" Alex yelled over the shouting. Alex waited for the shouting to die down. Even in a rabble, the townsfolk respected Alex. He had gotten them through worse situations. Alex knew they were just scared. If he let panic rise, he would lose them. Tom stepped forward and put his hands in the air.

"Listen, we've seen what's comin, and it ain't pretty," Tom said. "Our friend is here to help us before the worse comes to pass." Whispers began emanating from the crowd. It was hard to ask someone to leave their homes because you ask them too. Colonists of Mar Sara were hardy. Most of them were miners or outcasts and lived hard lives. Mar Sara was a place where they could be left alone to do what they please without persecution by the Confederacy.

"Alright, get yer shit and let's get out of here!" Alex yelled. The crowd disbanded quickly, many of them running back to their homes. A few stood for a few moments before forming another group, quietly talking amongst themselves.

"Alright Stro, let's get that probe to work. If we got time, I'd like him to look at the old Goliath we got back there. That drop ship's probably gonna need an escort," Tom said. Stro nodded and waved to the probe. It followed Tom and Alex to an old workshop at the edge of town. Inside, an old ship lay on two large beams holding it above the ground. A large tarp lay partially covering the old machine.

"Think it can do anything with this?" Alex asked. The probe answered his question immediately. It hovered up to the ship and began to work, sparks flying from the hull. Wherever it worked, the ship instantly looked better, rust coming off of the hull and dents and scrapes buffed out revealing brand new metal beneath, as if the ship was being remade. The probe moved quickly, flying all around the ship until it looked as new as the day it left the starport. It finally flew back down to the three of them and beeped happily. Stro pressed a button on his wrist and the probe hovered closer to the ground, almost relaxed.

Alex climbed into the cockpit and brought the ship to life. It lifted off the beams silently and hovered forward. Alex brought it around to the center of the road that ran through town and touched down. He stepped out of the ship with a large smile on his face.

"This baby hasn't run this good in quite a few years," Alex said, patting the ship as he walked away from it.

"The Protoss are masters of technology, there is nothing this probe could not repair," Stro said proudly.

"Then maybe it can take a look at my goliath over here," Tom said, pointing to a large machine sitting next to the workshop. If the dropship was in disrepair, then this machine was scrap. Many electrical parts hung out of the hull. A walker type machine in its prime, one of its legs were bent at such an angle that it was useless. Its two large guns were rusted in place, and the rocket batteries on its back were nearly off their mounts. Stro grimaced at the sight of such a mangled machine. He looked at Tom with judgmental eyes.

"How did you let such a thing happen?" Stro asked. Tom laughed.

"Couple of years back, old Alex here got himself in a bit of a bind up by Mount Jacobs," Tom said, laughing slightly. Alex looked down and a slight groan. "Got caught up with a few bandits that didn't play nice. We starved em out of ammo pretty quickly, but they started using rocks and boulders against us. That Goliath took a big hit on the leg. She still stood tall and gave those lowlifes what was comin to em," Tom said. He patted Alex on the back. "And she got my friend out too." The probe worked diligently on the machine, sparks flying off the old Goliath. The sound of metal being bent and shaped echoed in the empty workshop. The probe seemed to use some sort of blue mineral to remake many of the components. It seemed it had to replace much more of the vehicle than what was there, to begin with. When it was finally done, nearly an hour had passed, but the work it had done was magnificent. The goliath stood tall and proud, its twin guns now rust free and fully powered. The probe hovered back down to Stro and beeped quietly and flashed red.

"It no longer has enough resources to function, it has done all it can," Stro said, punching in a few buttons on the probe. Tom nodded and climbed into the Goliath. It turned over easily and raised up with its newly repaired hydraulics. The cockpit faced a large open window of thick shatterproof glass, protecting Tom from many dangers in his time. He had the walker step forward, its large feet leaving huge prints in the soft dry ground. Tom smiled as he controlled the large machine. He walked it to the front of the town. The streets were filled with people scrambling to and fro, bags and cases stacked outside of the houses. Tom looked around at the panicked townspeople. He hoped he could save them all. The force that was coming, this "Zerg" menace was nothing that they could defeat by themselves. Tom doubted that even the Confederacy would have trouble with such a foe. And this new Protoss race that threatens everything on the planet. As helpful as Stro has been, he still didn't trust him. At the end of the day, humans had to stick together. Tom stopped the Goliath in front of the gate and climbed down from the machine. Alex and Stro were standing nearby. Tom walked over to them and surveyed the town.

"I figure we got another hour before Jim's evacuation plan gets going, so we should get these folks over there and get em nice and comfy," Alex said as Tom approached. Tom nodded in agreement. Stro stepping in front of the two men.

"I will help you escort your people, but I must return to my fleet soon," Stro said. Alex looked slightly disheartened. "I have been working on repairing my communication beacon, and soon I hope to contact my fleet and leave before the true infestation reached here. I shall do everything in my power to help you survive as well." Tom smiled and looked back at the townsfolk. The group that had broke off from the original was still standing in the middle of the town. They stole quick glances at the three men before one of them walked over.

"Charles, you better start packing, we're leaving shortly," Alex said. Charles shook his head.

"We're not leaving," he said.

"Now be resonable," Alex started but Charles raised his hand.

"I am being reasonable, and this is our home, and we're not going to give it up because some alien tells you to go," Charles said. "Me and a few others are gonna wait it out in the hills and pick up the pieces after, if there even is an invasion." Alex opened his mouth to speak but thought better of it. Charles walked back over to his group. They all looked at Alex before walking back to their homes.

"We'll get these people outta here, I know it," Tom said. Alex looked at him and nodded. He admired Tom's optimism. The group that decided to stay began making their way out of town. Many of the townspeople met them in the streets, hugging and crying, many begged for them to change their minds. The left through the southern gate and disappeared into the rocky hills. Alex watched them for as long as he could before returned to the center of town and helped people with their belongings. Nearly half of the town had gone with them. Alex cursed them as he worked.

Alex and Tom worked for the better part of an hour before a sound reached their ears. Overhead, a siren began to wail. Tom looked back at Sam who was shouting about something. Tom and Alex scrambled up the ladder on the wall and peered over its side. Before them were hundreds of the Zerg creatures they had seen earlier. Above them, a giant creature of some kind floated slowly towards them. Pulsing sacs littered its body, and it let loose heaps of some sort of liquid on the ground. It spread across the ground and looked to be the same substance as what was on the ground near the structure they had seen earlier. Thick tentacles hung down from the creature, twitching every so often as if they had been shocked. The Zerg clambered over themselves, trampling others around them. None of them crossed in front of the floating creature, however. Tom thought that it was some sort of leader. Stro climbed up the walls and stared at the creatures. He ignited his blade and turned towards Tom.

"The time for flight is now my friend," Stro said. Tom nodded and jumped down off the wall.

"Everyone in the ship now!" Tom yelled, waving for people to get into the dropship. The townspeople hesitated for a moment before running to the ship. Screams and panic began to emanate from the town. Mothers ran with children in their arms, dropping their belongings just to run a bit faster. Alex caught up to Tom and gave him a look of concern and held out his hand. Tom shook his hand and wished him luck, and ran back to the Goliath as Alex climbed into the cockpit of the Dropship. Stro walked calmly to Tom, who was buckling himself into the Goliath.

"I will hold them off as long as I can," Stro said, bowing his head. He turned back towards the gate and kneeled down. Tom started up the Goliath and armed the weapons. If these Zerg were here for war then he would give them a hell of a fight. The dropship began to rise above the town, dust flying in all directions. The ramp into the back of the ship closed and it began to turn. A bang came from the gate. Then another. Even with the panic, an almost silent wave came over the town, with just the bang of the gate piercing through. Tom watched the gate carefully and aimed his guns. Stro stood and readied himself. BANG. Tom looked back at the dropship as it began to rise higher and higher. BANG. Tom switched on his radio and called through.

"We'll let off a volley and run along with you," Tom said. BANG.

"Alright, just don't get left behind," Alex called back through. The gate finally burst open, and dozens of the Zerg poured through the opening. Tom let loose a hail of gunfire at the creatures. Stro dodged through the bullets and bodies and lunged himself into the mass. He cut a swath around him and yelled in some foreign language. He cut down every Zerg that approached him. Tom didn't let up the gunfire, trying his hardest to give Stro support. Dozens and dozens of Zerg fell to them both, yet more and more poured through, an endless stream of bodies. Tom began to back up the Goliath and called to Stro to follow.

"Stro, come on, we gotta follow the ship!" Tom yelled in his mind at Stro. Stro grunted in response. Tom turned the Goliaths legs around and began to walk away from the gate, the body of the walker still pointed at the mass of Zerg, firing as much as he could. The radio crackled with the voice of Alex.

"We're ready, let's get out of here!" he yelled through. The thrusters of the dropship began to heat up, a deep crackle emanated from the engines.

"Stro, let's go!" Tom yelled. The Protoss leaped from the fray into the opening in front of Tom. He looked back at Tom and held his hand to his chest.

"Best of luck my friend, I pray you find your way to safety," Stro said. He pressed a button on his wrist and summoned the probe to his side. Stro pressed another button on his wrist and the probe surged forward towards the Zerg. It hit the wall of monsters and exploded in a flash of white light. Zerg flew in all directions, body parts and blood sprayed the buildings and walls surrounding them. Tom watched in amazement the destruction the probe had caused. The Zerg numbers were diminished slightly, but still more came in through the gate. For every one that died, four more took its place. Stro turned back towards Tom and bowed low before vanishing in a bright flash of blue. Tom turned the Goliath and began to run along with the dropship. Behind him, he could hear the hundreds of Zerg running after him, anxious to tear him limb from limb. The pounding of their feet on the ground shook Tom in his Goliath. The dropship surged forward ahead of Tom. Tom kept his Goliath running at full speed, ahead of the swarm of Zerg behind him. The machine trampled rocks below it, leaving behind a dust cloud. The Zerg seemed unflustered by the dirt flying towards them. Looking through his rearview mirror, Tom could see the zerg beginning to fall behind. The caravan continued to run for several more kilometers. Alex kept the dropship close to the ground and only just ahead of Alex.

"We're losing them, and I can see the Evac center!" Alex yelled through the radio. Ahead of them, a large sign that read "Mar Sara City." Soon the city came into view. Above the city were dozens of large ships with a brand on the side that Tom recognized as the Sons of Korhal group. Tom had never dealt with the Sons of Korhal movement when he was in the Confederacy, but they had always been labeled as terrorists. Ironic now that they would be their saviors. The Dropship sped ahead towards the city. As they approached the city, the dropship dipped hard towards the ground. A large spike stuck outside of the hull. Below them, three of the serpent-like Zerg slithered towards the ship. Another spike shot from the Zerg and hit the ship again, this time taking it down. The ship crashed hard in the rocky plains. The city, not a quarter kilometer away, now seemed like a lost cause. Tom ran his Goliath towards the Zerg. He took one by surprise and crashed into it, knocking it down. Tom sprayed it with bullets as it disintegrated from the volley of gunfire. The other two creatures lunged at Tom, who stepped back and dodged two spikes shot at him. He fired his guns at one, and as it fell, Tom realized that he had used the last of the ammunition for the Goliath. As he stepped back, a shot rang out from his right. Alex, with a large red streak going down his face, held his smoking rifle to his shoulder. The Zerg fell lifelessly in front of him. Behind him, the Zerg force was running at them at a breakneck pace. Tom could hear the drumming of the ground. Alex turned back and began to help the townsfolk out of the ship. Many of them began to run towards the city. The clamored over each other as Alex tried to keep them organized and to keep them from trampling one another. They gathered just outside the wreckage next to a small grassy knoll. The road into Mar Sara city was choked with abandoned vehicles. People were weaving through the clogged mess ahead of them, all trying to make it into the city for the evacuation. After the last of the people had gotten out of the ship, Alex ran over to Tom, who opened the glass window of the Goliath.

"You get those people out of there!" Tom yelled.

"I'm not leaving you here!" Alex yelled back. Tom shook his head.

"Those things will overwhelm you, I'll buy you the time you need," Tom replied. In the distance, the large floating creature approached the men. Tom motioned for Alex to go. Alex reluctantly agreed and began to run after the townsfolk. Tom turned towards the swarm. He looked down at his controls. The Hellfire rockets were still operational, but he couldn't ever get them to lock onto a ground target. Those damn engineers always had a loophole. Tom then had an idea. He charged forward towards the swarm. The Zerg ran towards him, their mouths slobbering with thick goo. Above them, the creature floated forward, its tendrils hanging just above the running creatures. The wall of Zerg hit Tom with the force of an explosion. The thick blades tore into the Goliath, ripping apart its hull. Tom struggled to keep the Goliath upright. He pressed the weapons screen and locked his rockets onto the floating creature. The rockets flew off of the machine and hit the creature. The rockets dug into the creature and exploded, spraying flesh and blood over all of the rest of the creatures. The Zerg stopped immediately. The ones that had leaped onto the Goliath fell off passively. The rest walked around aimlessly, ignoring Tom. He raised the now broken glass shield and stepped out of the Goliath. A few Zerg had gotten through the glass and cut Tom's arm. Blood poured out of the wounds, the white of his bone poking through his ripped shirt. Tom fell to his knees and breathed deeply. He looked back at the evacuation. Many of the ships were now leaving the atmosphere. He hoped that he had bought the townspeople enough time to board the ship. In the Goliath, Tom's radio crackled.

"Tom are you there?" Alex's voice rung out. Tom walked over to the Goliath and reached in and grabbed the radio.

"Yeah, yeah I'm here," he said weakly. Tom sighed and leaned against the machine.

"You made it?!" Alex exclaimed. He could hear a crowd in the background. "I'll try and get the pilot to swing around and pick you up!" Tom chuckled to himself.

"There's no point, I'm hurt pretty bad, and there's plenty of Zerg still around," Tom said. He shifted his weight and looked at his injured arm. "You just get outta here." He leaned against the broken machine and let himself slide to the ground. Blood smeared against the dark metal frame.

"Tom, we're not gonna leave you!" Alex yelled through the radio. Tom could hear Alex arguing with the pilot.

"Alex, don't worry about me, just get those people outta here," Tom said weakly. The radio went silent. Tom looked up and saw the ships warping out of the sky. Tom raised his hand and waved, dropping the radio.

The last of the ships began warping out of the atmosphere as more and more Zerg poured into the city. He looked up the sky and squinted his eyes. The sun was beginning to set, and bright oranges and blues colored the sky. Tom sighed and rested his head back. Not long after the Sons of Korhal left, other ships warped into the atmosphere. Bright golden ships with bright blue lights appeared in the sky above him. Their rounded hulls almost looked like clouds. The sun gleamed off their plating, shining brightly in the sky. The reminded Tom of Stro broken ship, their magnificence far great than any Terran vessel. A crack echoed through the sky as they entered the atmosphere.

"The Protoss," he thought to himself. "They're finally here."

The ships began to take formation above him, large weapons charging in bright white light. Tom stared at the ships, wondering if Stro was on board, helping them charge their weapons. A large pillar of light shot down from the front ship, hitting the planet. Tom could hear the rumble from where he was. He looked over and saw where the blast had hit, not four kilometers away. A large rumble sound began to resonate. Tom closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Today had been a very long day.

Chapter Text

The room was dimly lit, a single light hung from the ceiling. It swung back and forth slightly, dancing shadows on the bare grey metal walls. A drip of water echoed through the room, some far off moisture pushing back the maddening silence. Alex lifted his head up and groaned. Dried blood caked his left temple, and a pounding headache forced him to squint to the light. His hands we bound behind him on the chair he was tied to, his feet left free. The metal chair felt cold against his bare skin, his ankles and wrists aches against the chill. He wore his tattered marshal uniform, although it was much more ripped and torn than what he last remembered. A door lay directly in front of him, metal and barred. A small slit window was at eye level to a standing man was closed on the door. Alex looked around the room. His eyes felt dry. He blinked to try and feel relief, to no avail. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, counting to ten in his head. He drew a deep breath and opened his eyes again. He looked around the room with renewed clarity. In the corner of the room, a small camera watched Alex. He stared at the small device, hard eyes peering back at whoever was watching him.

Down the hall, Admiral King leaned over a desk, a monitor displaying Alex in his cell, staring at him through the camera. King scowled at the monitor and turned it off. King's back ached and he stretched as he stood up. A smoldering cigar sat in an ashtray on his desk, unused for an hour. The office was decorated with Confederacy flags and medals, and a picture of the Admiral and another man, much older but in the same decorated Confederate uniform. Neither of them were smiling. King looked more like the other man in the picture than he did his younger self now. King straighten his jacket and walked into the hallway. Two guards in full combat armor stood at attention. They had been told to be at full combat readiness since their raid. The past two days had been exhausting for the crew of The Octavian. The guards saluted King as he walked by, giving a lazy wave back. He walked down the hallway away from Alex's cell and entered an elevator.

King reached the command center of the ship as the crew engaged forward thrusters. The ship groaned as it lurched forward, its old hull creaking under the stress. A young man ran up to the Admiral and saluted, King, responding in kind.

"Sir we are now preparing to leave Bronte's airspace, warping in 30 minutes," the man said. King nodded and sat down in the command chair. Outside the ship, debris floated weightlessly in space, the remains of both Korhal ships and General Duke's fleet. While most of the Korhal ships had escaped and done minimal damage to Duke's fleet, Admiral King was still brought in to back up the General's fleet and scour the area for any remaining Korhal ships. A fruitless battle, King thought to himself. There was no honor in this victory. A piece of debris bumped against the main front window. King reached down and pressed a button on his chair, intercom feedback playing through the ship's speakers.

"Petty Officer McBride, report to the bridge immediately," King said into the mic. A few moments later, a tall soldier walked through the elevator door. King looked up at the man standing beside, saluting. His blonde hair was slightly unkempt, something King would have reprimanded years ago. He demanded perfection on his ship. King slowly stood, grunting slightly. McBride motioned to help the old Admiral stand but King waved him off.

"Sir, you wanted to see me?" McBride said. His rigid posture didn't relax even as they walked off the bridge. King nodded slightly and mumbled to himself. As they walked, two young pilots ran by them towards the ship deck, holding their flight helmets.

"Yes McBride, there's something I need from you," Admiral King said. McBride raised his eyebrows, giving the Admiral his full attention.

"Anything sir," McBride replied. King stopped and looked up and down the hallway. The metal passageway was empty and silent.

"We have a prisoner on board, a Korhal rebel," King started. He shifted his weight slightly and looked at the officer sternly. "Talk to him, and see what he knows about the Sons of Korhal, where they're going, and see if he knows anything about....the experiments."

"Yes sir!" McBride said. The two men saluted and McBride turned back down the hallway.

"And McBride?" King called after him. McBride turned towards the old man. He had a deep scowl on his face, his brow deeply furrowed. "When you're done, get rid of him." McBride nodded and walked briskly towards the elevator.

Alex pushed against his restraints, the metal wiring cutting into his skin. He was too old for this, he thought to himself. The door in front of him suddenly opened a tall man walked through. He wore a royal navy dress and a petty officer pin. The man dragged a metal chair behind him, the screeching metal on metal pierced Alex's ears, leaving a ringing after he had pushed the chair in front of Alex. The man sat down and stared at Alex for a few seconds. He held a file in his lap, a picture of Alex printed on the front.

"Do you know why you are here?" The man asked. Alex squinted at the man. He had blonde hair and a square jaw, not unlike Alex in his youth. His hair hung in his face slightly. The stark lighting created long shadows on the man's face, swaying back and forth. The man himself did not move. Alex squirmed slightly and sat up as best he could.

"No, I have no damn idea where I even am," Alex said, his throat drier than he had anticipated. The sentence came out hoarse and thin.

"You are conspiring with the Sons of Korhal, a known terrorist cell," the man said. Alex made no movements. He read the pin on his jacket, McBride. Petty Officer McBride.

"They're not terrorists, they evacuated us from a global catastrophe when you were nowhere to be seen!" Alex retorted. Yelling hurt Alex's lungs and he coughed violently. McBride smirked slightly.

"You are a terrorist and will pay for crimes against the Confederation," McBride said. He rested his hand on a knife on his side, clicking his fingers against it. "Tell me where the fleet is heading," McBride said forcefully. He clicked his fingers harder against the handle of the knife. Alex swallowed hard.

"I'm not a terrorist, I'm a refugee," Alex said, calming down slightly. "Those Sons of Korhal evacuated us from the Zerg." McBride raised his eyebrows and clicked his tongue.

"What do you know about the Zerg?" McBride said, his voice slightly higher now. Alex could tell McBride was finally asking the real questions. He had wondered why the Confederacy didn't intervene at Mar Sara and now it was beginning to make sense. It was a cover-up. They didn't care about the Sons of Korhal being a terrorist group, they wanted the refugees silenced as to not spread panic.

"I don't really know much," Alex said. He wasn't lying. All he really knew is what Stro had shown him and the few he and Tom had killed. But he had seen quite a bit. McBride stood and began walking around Alex. He shifted his weight, Alex's eyes following the pacing officer. McBride's shoes clicked and echoed in the room, a rhythmic tap in the empty space. McBride drew a heavy sigh.

"You served in the Confederate Navy, 2960 to 2972, special forces from 2962 to a...dishonorable discharge I see, charged by admiral….interesting," McBride said behind Alex. "You've always been one for trouble it seems." McBride scoffed. Alex pulled at his bonds slightly, a slight sweat accumulating on his forehead. "What else was in the file?" he thought to himself.

"A sham, like most other Confederate trials," Alex said. Normally he kept his anti-Confederate opinions to himself. Tom had always held a certain resentment for the Confederation but he never talked about why. Alex hadn't told Tom about his discharge, or anything about his past. Neither had Tom. They held a mutual silent agreement of keeping the past where it was.

"Sham or no, you were charged with..." McBride was interrupted by the overhead Intercom.

"Attention, unknown entities entering Brontes Airspace," the female voice over the intercom announced. An alarm blared through shortly after. Red lights peeked under the door of Alex's cell. Alex could hear running outside, heavy footsteps pounding the ground.

"Damnit, what now?" McBride said and snapped the folder closed. He walked briskly to the door and swung it open. A guard stood there in full combat armor, his visor up looking worriedly down the hall. McBride opened his mouth to speak but the ship jolted hard, sending the man flying to the left. The door slammed shut as Alex fell to the side in his chair, one of his arms being knocked loose. McBride landed on his head with a dull thud. He groaned and his eyes rolled back, unconscious. Alex looked at the unconscious soldier and noticed his keys. Alex dragged himself over to the man, his metal chair scraping the ground, and grabbed the keys. Alex quickly unlocked his bounds and stood up. Another bang on the ship as Alex struggled to maintain his balance. He crept over to the door and slowly slid the hatch on the door open. The hallway was empty, save for the echoes of footsteps and the red flashing lights blasting shadows on the walls and floor. Alex grabbed the handle and turned the handle. The metal door opened with a shudder, its hinges vibrated as another blast hit the ship.

"What the hell is going on?" Alex thought to himself. He tried to get his bearings as he snuck through the hallway. He seemed to be in a ship of some sort, a Confederate one too. What happened to the Korhal ship he was on? He needed to leave, quickly. If the ship was under attack, he didn't want to be a part of whatever happened to the survivors of it. Alex moved through the ship as quietly as he could as another announcement came over the intercom.

"Zerg swarm docking ship, all crew to repel stations," the female voice said. Great, Alex thought to himself. He thought he had escaped those things. Alex began to run through the halls, checking each door designation for some way to escape. Most lead to the engine room and various maintenance shafts. Finally, he came across the lower docks. A wash of relief flooded Alex as he slipped through the door. Above him, catwalks stretched across the room. Different ships were locked into place, from Moria Wraiths to smaller ship to ship interceptors. Alex climbed a staircase to his right and looked over the docks. Various personnel ran around, loading into ships and donning combat armor. Further down the dock, dozens of men stood pointing their rifles at a closed door. Alex could hear the banging from where he was, reminding him of the Zerg attack on Mar Sara. Alex climbed further and further up the catwalks as the banging continued. Another voice came over the intercom, echoing through the expanse of the dock.

"Attention all combat personnel, repel all boarding parties, hold them off until help arrives!" a male voice said this time. Alex recognized the voice, but he shook the thought away. He had to focus. Across a catwalk, a Wraith was locked into a station, its rear ramp lowered to the floor.

"Perfect," Alex said to himself. He ran down the catwalk as a loud explosion echoed through the dock. The door that the soldiers had been watching had blown off its hinges. Through it, Zerg ran through, roaring and baring their massive teeth. They were the same small Zerg Alex had seen on Mar Sara. Gunfire rang out as well as human screams as the Zerg pounced on the nearest soldiers. Blood splattered the walls as more and more poured through the hole. Some soldier began to run, and soon the whole unit routed, running from the monstrous flood of creatures. Alex gathered himself and began running towards the Wraith again. He scrambled up the ramp and climbed into the cockpit. He flipped on the controls and fired up the engines. Alex buckled himself into the seat and checked his gauges. This ship wasn't too different from the dropship he had piloted. He grabbed the control stick and was about to take off when a loud click sounded in his right ear. Alex turned his head and saw a young woman holding a pistol to his head. She wore a pilots helmet, but a small drain of blood leaked out from underneath. Her visor was up revealing her piercing green eyes, staring down the old man. Her hand didn't shake as she held the gun to his head.

"Get off of my ship," she said sternly. Alex didn't move. The woman pushed the gun into Alex's temple, forcing his head to cock slightly. Behind him, a loud screech of metal resounded through the ship. A Zerg stood poised on the ramp of the Wraith. The woman looked at the creature and back at Alex. Alex shrugged slightly with a slight grin. The woman swung the pistol around and emptied it into the creature as it howled in pain. Alex heard the clacking of claws on the metal floor as the Zerg lurched forward at the woman. He heard her yelp as the Zerg fell with a hard thumb as Alex raised the ramp and pushed the ship forward. It barreled towards the exit, the blackness of space ahead of them. An energy field sealed off the outside from the rest of the ship but allowed spacecraft to venture in and out. Alex was pushed back into his seat. He heard the woman fall back onto the floor. Alex maneuvered the ship through the dock and out into space. He looked back and saw the woman beginning to stand up, thick red blood coated her where she fell on the Zerg body. Alex weaved the ship through scores of Zerg, the likes of which he'd never seen. They reminded him of the scaled caterpillars he'd seen on Mar Sara, but with large purple wings. He wondered how they flew in space, no air, no wind, a vacuum that should kill every living thing, yet here they were.

The woman sat down heavily in the seat next to Alex. She had taken off her helmet, revealing short fiery red hair. She had a large cut through her left eyebrow, blood dripping down to her shin. Her slightly rounded face had been battered, with other various scrapes all over. She held the gun still pointed at Alex, but he saw that the slide had been cocked back. She was out of ammo. The woman breathed heavily stared down Alex, who took quick glances to her. Her pilot's uniform was torn and a deep crimson bled through the material on her right side.

"I'm Alex," he said. He looked over at the woman. She had passed out, still pointing the empty gun at him. Alex looked at the radar and saw that they were in orbit of a planet called Brontes, a Confederate core planet filled with oceans and greenery. It wasn't far from Mar Sara, generally speaking, but it was worlds different, replacing Mar Sara's harsh dry deserts with lush jungles and deep rich oceans. It would be a good spot to recuperate and get his bearings before moving forward. He plugged in the autopilot to land them on the planet and unbuckled himself. He reached over and checked the pulse of the young woman, a strong heartbeat pumping through. A deep gash oozed blood on her side where he assumed the Zerg had caught her before filling the creature with bullets. Alex picked the woman up as carefully as he could and laid her on the floor behind the seat. He ripped her uniform to get a better look at the injury. The cut was long but not deep, but it seeped blood. Alex looked around for a medikit, checking the ships various shelves for anything to use, to no avail.

"Damn," Alex cursed to himself. He returned to the woman and took off his jacket. He ripped his tattered marshal uniform and made a crude bandage for the wound, tying it tightly. Alex placed the rest of the jacket under her head and returned to the cockpit. He scanned the settlements of Brontes, hoping to find a smaller one to land near and get the woman some help. He wasn't sure what compelled him to help her, as she had just threatened his life, but also, in turn, saved it. Alex felt he at least owed her getting medical attention for her wounds. The blue haze of the planet loomed over them as they left the battle behind them. The ship glided silently through space towards the planet. As he entered the atmosphere, the Wraith shook violently as red flames covered the canopy. Alex held on to the shaking controls, his hands sweating. He had never been a fan of reentry for spacecraft. It always made him nervous. Soon the flames cleared to reveal a deep blue ocean beneath them, clouds splattered like paint below them over the dark blue canvas. A large landmass was on the horizon and Alex steered the craft towards it. A settlement should be there, a place called Volun City. Alex flew the ship close to the water and headed straight for the landmass, the city's skyline appearing on the horizon, spires reaching upwards into the morning sun. Alex flew the ship to the outskirts of the city and landed next to a run-down fill station. He picked up the unconscious woman and lowered the ramp. He walked out of the ship as a man stepped out of the station.

"I need a doctor," Alex said.

Chapter Text

Alex washed his face in the sink of filling station, the cold water splashing relief on his dirty face. Dirt and blood leaked out of his beard into the sink, creating a brick color water in the basin. Alex stared at himself in the mirror. Dark circles hung under his eyes, contrasting to the bloodshot orbs that puffed out of their sockets. He ran his fingers through his short bristly hair and looked back at his hand. A faint red tinted his wrinkled hands. Alex dried his face and took a deep breath. What has happened? He thought back to Tom, leaving him on the planet after they ran. How could he do that to his friend? Alex fought back tears and took another breath. Now wasn't the time to grieve. He had to find his way out of this mess and get somewhere safe. He stepped back out of the bathroom and looked around. The station had a small restaurant inside, a diner without much in the way of health standards. The pilot lay on a booth, sitting up slightly, holding her side. Her breathing was labored and she winced occasionally. The station attendant was sitting beside her, a medikit in her hands. The attendant wore the bottom half of coveralls with the top tied around her waist, a dirty tank top as a shirt. She had a shaved head and a large tattoo of the moon on her right arm. She was looking over the pilot, who had taken off part of her uniform to look at her side wound.

"Glad to see yer awake," Alex said as he approached. The pilot looked up at him, her green eyes looking sternly back at him. She sat up slightly and grimaced. The table next to her was littered with bloody paper towels and water bottles the attendant had used to clean her up. The pilot used the table for support. Alex kneeled down next to the pilot and grabbed the medikit.

"You got torn up pretty bad, let me take a look at that," Alex said gesturing to the wound on the pilot's side. She paused for a second before turning towards Alex. The medikit was filled with gauss and anti-bacterial creams. A large syringe sat in the very center of the pack. Alex picked it up and examined the large tube. SP-01 was printed on the side of the glass syringe. "Where did you get this?" Alex asked the attendant.

"Picked it up off a marine troop that came through couple months back, their medic and I became fast friends," she said and winked. Alex smiled and placed the syringe back in the case. He grabbed some alcohol pads and gauze and motioned towards the pilot, who nodded and winced as Alex cleaned the wound more thoroughly.

"Dunno if you heard me earlier, my names Alex," he said, glancing up at the pilot. She shot Alex an angry look. She sighed slightly and relaxed, realizing her anger was fruitless now.

"Staff Sergeant Paige Scott," she said quickly and sharp. Alex smiled as he wrapped gauss around her cut.

"A pleasure to meet you, Sergeant Scott," Alex said. He finished up bandaging the cut and stood up. He offered her a hand as she struggled to stand but she ignored him. She peeled off the rest of her uniform top and began walking to the exit, Alex and the attendant following close behind. "So what's your plan then?"

"Plan?" Paige said without stopping. Her shoulders swayed as she walked out of the diner. Gentle rolling hills surrounded the station, with large trees in the distance looking like a city in their own right, with large trunks reaching for the heavens. A road stretched alongside the station towards the city in the far distance. Grass gently blew in the morning wind with the dew of the previous night glistening in the new light, broken apart by the determined pilot's footsteps. Moisture flung as she stomped her way to her ship. A little ways away, a man was cleaning a pump station. The attendant that had been following them had walked over to the man.

"Well, I'd imagine the Confederacy wouldn't look too kindly on someone who abandoned their post during a battle, so what's your plan?" Alex said. Paige stopped dead in her tracks and looked at Alex. She clenched her fists and stared at the old man.

"I have my own reasons for what I did, what are yours?" she retorted. Alex could tell he had struck a nerve. Her question alerted Alex to the fact that she didn't know who he was. Even though he still had no idea how he had gotten aboard that ship, it seems their captain kept everyone else in the dark as well. Typical Confederate mindset.

"I'm no soldier," Alex said. Thoughts flashed back to him of the battle of Mar Sara and their flight from it, leaving his friend to die at the hands of the Zerg. Guilt rushed to Alex's head. Paige stared at him without blinking. Alex shuddered slightly and felt the burn of tears in his eyes.

"So what are you, an engineer or something? A dock worker?" she asked. Alex pondered the query.

"I'm nobody, same as you," Alex responded. Paige smirked slightly. She gave Alex a quick nod and continued walking. Alex thought about what he was going to do. He assumed the Protoss wiped the planet like Stro said they would. Tom was gone. His home was gone. He pushed away from the thought and continued walking. They reached the ship and Paige turned back to Alex.

"I'm not going back to the Confederacy, not after what happened," Paige said. There was some hurt in her voice. "This ship has a tracking device on it, and I'm sure they already know we're down here," she explained. Alex looked at the ship curiously.

"The ship we were on, didn't the Zerg destroy it?" Alex asked.

"No way, that was a small raiding party, barely enough to board," Paige explained. Alex was shocked. Those men dying in the docks, they died to a small raiding party?

"The cruisers main guns and interceptors I'm sure took care of most of them," Paige said. Alex looked up to the sky. Dark clouds were forming, a storm approaching over the ocean. A rumble of thunder echoed through the hills.

"Then why did you abandon your post, Sergeant Scott?" Alex asked. Paige glanced at him as she climbed into the ship. She said nothing as she grabbed a bag from the back of the pilot's seat, a green backpack. She slung it over her shoulder and walked back out of the Wraith.

"The fleet is gonna pick up the ship and send a squadron down to either arrest or kill me, take a guess which," Paige said, shifted the pack on her shoulder. She gestured to the handgun stuffed in Alex's pocket. "Mind if I get that back?"

Alex pulled the gun from his pocket and examined it. Its clip had been ejected and he wasn't sure where it had gone. He pulled back the slide and looked inside the chamber, making sure it was empty.

"That depends, are you gonna put it against my head again?" Alex said. Paige laughed slightly. Alex handed her the gun. She put it in a holster on her right leg.

"You saved my life, so I owe you that," Paige said. Alex smiled.

"I have a question," Alex said. Paige looked at him inquisitively. "The refugee fleet that was with the Sons of Korhal, what happened to it?" Paige looked confused.

"I don't know anything about a refugee fleet, but General Duke did fight a Korhal fleet not two days ago," Paige said. "Most warped out but we got a few of em." Alex looked slightly disheartened. There was still a chance the townspeople were still alive. God, I hope they made it out, Alex thought to himself.

"I need to get into contact with the Sons of Korhal," Alex said. Paige didn't look surprised as Alex thought she might.

"Where do you think I'm going?" She said and smirked. "I have a contact, I'm meeting with them in four days here on Brontes, 50 miles east of here," Paige explained. Alex looked at his feet. The slight patter of rain began to fall on them. A cold wind swept through slightly as a thunderclap broke the rhythm of the rain. Alex looked up and saw the storm clouds moving silently through the sky. Behind the clouds, a Confederate battlecruiser hovered ominously in the storm. Paige looked up and saw the ship and back at Alex.

"We're running out of time, you're with me?" Paige said frantically. The rain began to pick up until it reached a downpour. Alex looked at Paige through the deluge. He nodded and buttoned his coat. The attendant that had been speaking to the other man had run over to them.

"I have no love for the Confederation, I'm with you," Alex said.

"The ship is yours, you never saw us!" Paige yelled through the downpour. The attendant smiled and looked at the ship. Paige began walking towards the forest past the hills and gestured for Alex to follow.

"We have to make it to those woods before the Confederation dispatches a squadron down," Paige said.

"Think we can hide in there?" Alex asked. Paige shrugged.

"I'd rather hide in a forest than in grassland!" Paige yelled back. Lightning struck not far from them, illuminating the hills with a highlight of yellow light. The ship above them billowed a loud horn indicating they were entering the atmosphere. Paige and Alex looked up at the large station, raindrops soaking their faces.

Above them, Admiral King stared at the view screen of the planet. Small dots of grey flew down and around the planet.

"Sir, we've picked up the missing Wraith just outside of Volun City," a radar technician said. King nodded.

"Dispatch two marine squads, I want that pilot found and brought back for questioning," King said. "And send a ghost unit, just in case," he added. Another soldier approached the admiral. King didn't acknowledge him. The soldier stood at attention silently for a while longer until King finally looked his way.

"Yes, what is it?" King said growled. The soldier looked nervous.

"Sir, Officer McBride requested an audience in the infirmary," he said quickly. King looked surprised. It was rare that he was summoned anywhere. McBride has some balls on him, that's for certain. King stood up slowly and headed to the elevator.

At the infirmary, McBride laid in a bed, a folder sitting in his lap. A small bloodstain coated the manila folder. The door to his room slid open as Admiral King stepped through. McBride quickly sat up, wincing slightly. A bandage wrapped around his head, a red spot soaked through on his crown.

"How are you feeling McBride?" King asked as he approached. He pulled up a chair and sat next to the injured officer.

"As well as I can sir," McBride responded. He felt dizzy from his exertion. The nurse said that he had a concussion as well as a small skull fracture. King relaxed in his chair, his uniform wrinkling as he sat back. The old Admiral still had an extremely fit body for his age, though he thought that the past few years had taken a toll on him. He had slowed down considerably in the time McBride has known him. King's large hands clasped together as he watched McBride attempt to sit up farther, to no avail. McBride sighed in defeat and grasped the folder.

"Sigh, I have some questions," McBride said, slightly out of breath. King didn't move or give any change of expression. "I pulled this folder from the archives." King looked at the folder and saw a name printed at the top, ALEX TANNIN. A rush of blood went to King's head.

"Sir I know you asked me to interrogate the prisoner, but I didn't know we had a record on him," McBride explained. King sat forward in his chair. "I used your passcode to retrieve the record after mine was blocked, which I just assumed was a glitch." King looked over at the bedside table and saw the nurse had left her kit there, including a sedative syringe. King looked back at McBride.

"Sir, I know I overstepped my bounds, but what I have learned endangers both you and the rest of this ship," McBride said. King stood up and stood beside McBride. He reached for the folder but McBride pulled it away.

"Are you disobeying a senior officer boy?" King said angrily. McBride looked back at him sternly, but relaxed.

"No sir, I suppose I'm not thinking straight," He said, defeated. He handed the folder to King who grabbed it quickly and held it tightly. McBride looked down at his hands. King picked up the sedative and examined it. McBride sighed deeply.

"If you knew who this man was, why didn't you warn me ahead of time?" McBride said. He didn't look up at the admiral.

"You were on a need to know basis," King said sternly. He looked at the IV bag next to McBride. He glanced down at McBride and saw his still looking down. King inserted the sedative into the IV intake and emptied the entire tube into the bag.

"But he's…he's," McBride said sleepily. He looked at King wide-eyed and at the syringe in his hand. He went to grab King but the admiral threw off his hand. King pushed McBride back and held his throat in his hand. McBride weakly struggled.

"It's for the best son," King said as he gripped the officer's throat, feeling the life leave his body. King pulled the blanket up to McBride's chest and straightened his arms out. The Admiral let out a sigh and brushed his fingers over McBride's eyes, closing them. He walked quickly out of the room and to the elevator as nurses ran to the room.

King sat in his office staring at the folder. A large cigar stuck out of his mouth as he chewed it silently.

"Damn him," he said quietly. He stood up and placed the cigar in an ashtray. He picked up the folder and held in front of him. He looked out the window into the storm clouds that surrounded the ship. King picked up a light and flicked it on. He held the open flame under the folder, its thin paper catching quickly. He threw it into the garbage can and walked away. The folder burned in the metal can, the black ink bubbling as the flames licked the paper clean. The outer folder burned revealing the pages inside, a picture of Alex in a Confederate uniform and his name printed right beside it, ALEX TANNIN KING.

Chapter Text

The woods surrounding the City of Volun were dense and lush. The green canopy prevented any sunlight from reaching the ground in most places, creating a pine needle floor. It was unusual for a Terran core planet to feature such lush vegetation, as in most other planets are stripped cleaned not long after colonization. The woods themselves were never used in any sort of construction or lumber mill practices. Much of the planet itself had been preserved to save as much of the natural vegetation as possible. Rumors of Eco-terrorist groups had always been prevalent in Brontes and in the Confederation, but nothing was ever confirmed or attributed to any such group. In fact, many of the initial colonists of Brontes initially decided to settle away from the resource hotspots such as mass forests and mineral fields. Most colonial supplies had been brought in from other planets, such as Mar Sara and Chau Sara. As a result, most of Brontes has remained untouched from Terran greed. Alex thought of this as he and Paige walked through the dark woods. Rain poured down through the leafy ceiling above them, causing Alex to blink repeatedly as the droplets spattered on his face. Paige walked ahead of him, her pace quick in the increasingly common puddles on the path that they walked. The scent of pine was light in the cool rain, relieving Alex of the headache he had been nursing since waking up in the prison cell. He breathed deeply, taking in the fresh air he hadn't experienced in a long time. Paige's hair was matted down on her head, only releasing as she swung her head back and forth to check her surroundings. The canopy above them protected them from much of the rainfall but the pair were still soaked to the bone. Paige's pilot's jacket was only slightly waterproof and Alex's marshal uniform was already ripped to shreds. A dark brown dripped off of Alex as he walked, the dirt from his uniform finally being cleaned off by nature's shower.

The woods had become dark as the woods crept inwards towards them, the thick underbrush becoming impeding on the path. The haze of the sun behind dark clouds now was completely blotted out by the dense canopy of leaves. The forest was always foreign to Alex. He had spent much of his adult life in major cities on the planets he visited. He never felt comfortable in the wilderness. Tom had always been a nature enthusiast. A boy had gone missing from their station on Mar Sara a number of years ago. Alex organized a search party of all the available men to look for him, but after a 12-hour search, their daylight had been spent and their men had tired. Alex wanted to pick it back up the next day but Tom refused to quit. Mar Sara was not a safe place to be at night. Packs of feral dogs, even the occasional Rhynadon posed a grave threat to anyone unlucky enough to stumble upon them. Alex and the men went back to town while Tom stayed out that night looking for the boy. The next morning, Alex found Tom outside of town, surrounded by a small wall of stones, and the bodies of four large dogs. The boy was sleeping soundly next to his protector. Alex wished Tom was there right now. As confident and competent a survivor as he was, Alex knew that Tom was always the stronger man. Alex looked at Paige as they walked. She had a fire about her that Alex hadn't seen in a young woman before. She walked with dignity and confidence, almost like a predator. They walked for a while longer before Paige suddenly stopped. She looked around, scanning the dark woods around them.

"We need to get off the trail," she said sharply. Alex was alarmed by her sudden aggressiveness after the silent hike. Alex nodded in agreement. Paige looked around and gestured towards a small gap in the trees. The pair hid under a large bush next to a massive tree. The bush rattled and further soaked Alex, barely noticing as his adrenaline pumped through his body. He wasn't sure why there was a sudden change in Paige's attitude. He also wasn't sure why he was blindly following her. Something compelled him to follow. Alex looked over at Paige, her sharp eyes watching the path they had just left. Her breathing was calm and controlled. Alex opened his mouth to speak but Paige brought her finger up to her lips without looking at Alex. Alex looked back at the path and watched. A shimmer appeared in the rain, negative space of water pacing down the trail. It reminded Alex of the first time he met Stro, the invisible Protoss forming from nothingness. The shimmer took the form of a slender man with a large optical device on his face. A large rifle hung on his back, and a red laser skimmed across the wet leaves of the underbrush. The man made Alex uncomfortable as he skulked up and down the path, silently wading through the air. Paige didn't look away from the man. Alex held his breath as he walked closer and closer to the two of them. The man held his hand up to his ear and bent slightly, covering his other ear with his whole hand.

"One-Two here, no sign," he said in a gravelly voice. His breath was visible in the ever chilling air. Alex was shivering slightly. He looked over at Paige, but she had disappeared. Panic grasped at Alex. He looked around frantically. His panic soon became worse as the man stopped moving and stared at Alex.

"What do we have here?" The man said as he crept towards Alex, walking with a strange strut as if his legs were too long for his body. The man raised his gun, a single beam pointing right at Alex's forehead. Rain dripped onto the barrel of the gun with a metallic ring. Alex closed his eyes and waited. The shot never came. A gurgle spurted out and a loud splash of water echoed through the woods. Alex opened his eyes and looked up. The man was on the ground, a thick lash across his throat. The rain dropped in the pooling blood, small islands of clear liquid in the deep crimson puddle. Paige stood above him, a knife in her right hand, covered in the strange man's blood. She was breathing deeply and staring at the body. Alex stood slowly and walked towards Paige. He could tell she was shaking slightly, though he doubted it was from the chill in the air.

"Paige," Alex said softly. She didn't look up at him, her eyes locked on the dead body. Alex placed his hand on her shoulder. Her gaze met his, a bright blue light emanated from her irises. It was gone quickly as her eyes returned to the normal green. Paige shook her head and buckled, Alex, catching her before hitting the ground. Alex helped her away from the body. She sat down in the mud and struggled to catch her breath. A small device beeped on the man's belt but Alex paid it little mind.

"What happened?" Paige asked. Alex looked at her sympathetically. Paige looked back down at her bloodstained hands as tears welled in her eyes. "What did I do?" The notion confused Alex. He wasn't sure how to respond to her. She didn't seem herself, almost possessed. A snap in the distance broke his thought process. Alex could hear heavy footsteps through the rain.

"Paige, we gotta go," Alex said urgently. He picked her up by the arms and started down the trail. Alex had meant to grab the man's weapon but forgot to in his haste. Paige wiped the tears from her eyes and took a deep breath. She straightened her shoulders and broke out into a run, Alex following behind her. It could've been her military training, but it took a lot more to kill a man with a knife than it did from the cockpit of a wraith. Alex juggled the thoughts in his head. The forest whipped by them in a greenish grey blur. Paige controlled her breathing as she ran. Her head swirled with what had just transpired. She wasn't sure what had come over her, a sudden instinct to kill. She shook the thought away as she heard the footsteps behind them grow louder. They ran for a while longer until they broke out into a clearing, matted grass, and mud carpeting the treeless landscape. On the other side was a sheer cliff over a valley. Distant rolling hills that mirrored the dark clouds above them. The rain drummed the bare ground with small streams forming in the cracks of the earth. Behind them, the pounding of footsteps grew louder. Paige and Alex looked at each other and turned towards their pursuers. Out into the clearing stepped 4 marines in combat armor, thick blue metal suits that encased their entire bodies. Three of the men wore their visors down over their faces with the exception of the marine in front. He was bald from what Alex could tell and had a large gap in his front teeth. The men were much taller than Alex, a size much helped by their large suits. Alex recognized their weapons as standard Confederate issue. It seems the Confederation caught up with them already. They held the guns pointed at Paige and Alex.

"Hell, that was easier 'n I thought, right on," the marine in front said with a heavy draw. Most marines were taken from border backwater planets where most laws were loose at best and the upbringings were hard. Alex imagined that these men's backgrounds were no different. A thunderclap echoed through the clearing as the marine in front raised his hand to his head.

"Command, we got em' ready for evac," he said. The marine held his gun pointed at Paige. "You shoulda known better girl." The marine spit on the ground. A large wad floated in a small puddle forming at their feet. Paige looked at the marine in disgust. He smiled back and grunted, shifting his armor around and leaned on his back foot. A hum reverberated throughout the clearing, and above them, a dropship came barreling through the storm clouds. It splashed the clearing as it landed hard on in the clearing as the Marines pushed Alex and Paige forward. They approached the dropship just as the rear ramp lowered to the ground. A gangly man walked down the ramp and stood on the incline. He wore an officer's uniform, though the suit seemed large on him. He was uncleanly shaven and had a slight knock in his jaw as he popped his hip. He crossed his arms and looked at Alex and Paige up and down. He motioned for the marines to bring them aboard. The marines shoved Alex and Paige up into the dropship. Alex didn't fight back. He knew better to start a fight with 4 heavily armed men. This was not his battleground, for now. Paige looked disheartened. The rain had begun to let up but water still streamed down her face. They walked up the ramp and sat down on opposite benches. The marines cuffed them to their seats. The officer walked the marines down the ramp.

"Don't worry, another ship will be by to pick you boys up in a jiffy, I'm taking these ones to a prison ship," the officer said in a strangely high voice. He sounded almost childlike, hardly what Alex thought to be a hardened Confederate officer. The men saluted the officer and walked out of the dropship. The ramp closed and the man walked back to Paige and Alex. Paige had lifted her head and looked at the man with fire in her eyes. Alex could feel her rage from his seat.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, we've got about 30 seconds before shit hits the fan so buckle up," the officer said enthusiastically. He threw Alex a key and ran back to the cockpit of the ship. Paige and Alex threw each other confused looks before Alex frantically unlocked his cuffs and worked on Paige's. Alex looked out the window towards the marines on the ground. They stood in a small group talking to themselves when one pressed his hand to his ear. A look of horror covered his faced as he looked up and the dropship. He yelled something to the other men as they raised their weapons and fired at the ship. Bullets rang off the hull as the officer lifted them higher and higher into the sky. The ship lurched forward into the sky, away from the battlecruiser in orbit. Paige walked towards the cockpit but was met by the officer in the doorway.

"Hello beautiful, ya must be Paige Scott," the officer said as he took off his hat and grabbed Paige's hand. She ripped it back and took a step back from the man. The man now had a heavy highlander accent, one he must have been hiding when talking to the marines. He had red hair not dissimilar to Paige's, though his hair was mixed with a blondish hue. Paige noticed that the man had a large scar on his cheek in the shape of a star.

"How do you know my name, what are you doing?" Paige asked frantically. The man laughed slightly.

"The names Ian, thanks for askin," the man said. Ian raised his arm and leaned again the threshold of the cockpit. Paige looked at Ian with a confused look on her face.

"I suppose it is a bit of a rushed meetin in all, but ya did get yerself in a wee bit of trouble there," Ian said with a laugh. He cracked his neck and took off the officer's uniform. Underneath, a ragged shirt stained with filth hung loosely on his thin frame. Suspenders held up his pants.

"Are you…?" Alex said. Ian cut him off before he could finish.

"Your Korhal contact, that'd be I," he said cheerfully. The ship lurched to the side hard, forcing everyone to stumble slightly. Ian picked himself up and quickly dived into the pilot's seat. He clicked off the autopilot button and jammed the controls down. He brought the ship up in a large loop. Another knock on the side of the ship crunched the hull with the sickening sound of bending metal.

"Damn feds are using flak artillery, trying to force us down," Ian yelled. Paige leaped into the co-pilots seat and looked over the controls.

"When we get out of this, I want some answers," Paige said, looking hard at the strange man. Ian laughed heartily and pulled the ship straight up out of the clouds. The daylight blinded them as they pierced the cloud cover, its bright yellow light creating a strange look of the storm clouds beneath them. Alex covered his eyes as the sunlight shown through the viewport. Ian kept the ship speeding straight up until the clouds beneath them looked more like the faraway ground of the planet. The battlecruiser was partially obscured by the clouds, lightning rolling around the hull, illuminating the gun grey metal of the ship. Red lights glanced off of the clouds as alarms were triggered aboard. Ian pulled the ship out of the atmosphere and pushed it towards empty space. Alex breathed a sigh of relief. Paige unbuckled herself and stood up. Ian kept his eyes on the radar in front of him, only glancing up occasionally at the viewport. Paige walked past Alex and gestured for him to follow.

"I don't trust him," Paige whispered. She threw Ian angry glances.

"What, why?" Alex responded. "Isn't this guy your contact?"

"No, my contact was a woman named Sarah, I don't know who this is," Paige hissed. She held her hand on her pistol and stroked the handle.

"Maybe she sent him," Alex offered. He knew Paige wouldn't buy it. She was fiery at the very least and demanded definite answers. Her eyes flicked back and forth and she thought.

"Ya know, instead of whisperin tales of me back there, ya could always talk ta me," Ian yelled back without looking. He followed it up with a laugh and clicked a few things on the control panel. He stood up and walked back to the two and put his hands on his hips.

"Well, what would you like to know?" Ian said with a smile.

Chapter Text

Ian leaned against the back of the pilot's seat. He lit a cigarette and dangled it in his mouth. It amazed Alex that he convinced anyone that he was an officer by looking at him now. He was unkempt and unshaven, and his hair was greasy at best, slicked back now as best as it could be with an unwashed head. Alex caught a slight whiff of motor oil on his person that he hadn't noticed before and wondered if he was a mechanic that got stuck in the middle of something far bigger than himself. If that were the case, Alex empathized completely. The past few days have been a nightmare, one that Alex couldn't even remember at times. Such a rush of events that he hadn't stopped to think for even a moment, even to grieve. As Ian stood there with the smoke surrounding him from his cigarette, Alex wondered what his next move was, staring off in the distance.

"So who are you?" Paige said, bringing Alex out of his stupor. Ian took the cigarette out of his mouth.

"I already told ya missy, but if we're doing introductions again, I wouldn't mind knowing a bit about you," Ian said as he looked Paige up and down. Paige ignored it but crossed her arms.

"If you were with the Sons of Korhal, you'd know who I am," Paige said sternly. Ian scoffed to himself.

"I know WHO ya are, a miss Paige Scott, a traitor to the Confederation, a bit o' someone who knows a little something that's beneficial to the revolution, and I've been given orders to get ya back to Umoja safe n' sound," Ian said. Alex wondered what Paige knew that could be helpful. As far as he knew, she was a pilot. Memories of Paige killing that man in the forest flashed in Alex's mind. He had almost forgotten about it, somehow. The whole situation was strange. It was like someone had taken control of him when that happened and he froze. That wasn't like him. Ian pushed himself off the seat and stood up straight.

"Now I think I did pretty good with what I was given with getting you outta your wee situation back there, and you can hold the praise until you let me buy you a drink when we get back to the world," Ian said with a wink. Paige scoffed at him. Ian laughed heartily, the joyous belt ringing through the ship.

"Now seriously!" Paige yelled. Ian quieted down, a smile still stretched across his face. "Where is my original contact, Sarah?" Ian's smiled dropped. He looked down and back up at Paige.

"She's uh, preoccupied elsewhere, but not to worry, we're on our way to Umoja now, and you can speak to the big man himself!" Ian said with rising enthusiasm. Alex stepped forward.

"The evacuation of Mar Sara, do you know anything about it?" Alex said. He looked at Ian intensely. Ian nodded.

"Aye, I do, some nasty business with the Zerg creatures, then some were caught up in the Brontes scuffle, but I heard most got on off to somewheres," Ian said. "Ya got family there?" Alex chuckled slightly.

"Something like that," Alex said. A feeling of relief washed over him. As long as those folks made it out okay, he was happy. The bigger looming problem was how he got onto that Confederate ship. Alex tried to think back to the evacuation of Mar Sara. He had argued with Tom on the radio to pick him up, but the pilot had already pushed the warp drive. He yelled at the pilot but then…nothing. He couldn't remember. It's like he lost the memory of those days.

"Welp, we've got a heading and a timeframe, so let's get ta movin, eh?" Ian said and sat back in the pilot's seat. Paige glanced at Alex and rolled her eyes.

The flight to Umoja was short and rough. Ian was hardly a competent pilot it seemed. Paige made a mental note of every bump and hard turn that he made, her standard obviously being much higher than Ian's. She sat in the back of the dropship with a pouted look on her face. Alex sat across from her, staring down at the floor of the ship. Thoughts swirled through his mind, about the townspeople, about Tom. He hadn't had time to process his grief since his death, the chaos of the past few days saturating his thoughts. Alex hoped that the townspeople were okay and safe.

"Hey Alex," Paige said through Alex's fog. He looked up at her. "You okay?" Alex sighed.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm just worried about some folks," he said.

"You said somethin about townspeople?" Paige said. Alex nodded.

"I was a marshal in a small town on Mar Sara before the Zerg attacked us," Alex explained. Paige listened intently, watching Alex's hands as he talked. "The Sons of Korhal offered us a ride out of there when the Confederation seemed to run to the hills." Alex cracked one of his knuckles. "I was separated somehow from my group and ended up on the ship you were on, I don't know anything else." Paige nodded as he spoke.

"The Confederates did attack a convoy near Brontes, but our ship was part of the cleanup crew," Paige said. "I'm not sure how you even got aboard our ship," she said. Alex tried hard to remember again but was at a loss.

"I don't know either Paige, but I want to find out," Alex said and clenched his fists. "I want to know why we were abandoned."

"Maybe we'll get some answers on Umoja," Paige suggested. Her kind eyes met Alex's. Alex hadn't seen kindness in her eyes since they met. Alex knew she wasn't a Confederate but he still didn't trust her completely. He was sure the same was for him.

"So I wanted to ask you something," Alex said. Paige's gaze turned to intrigue. "In the forest, with that man, what happened to you?" Paige went slightly pale. She looked down at her own hands and thought for a few seconds.

"I'm…..not sure," she said softly. Alex sensed a slight fear in her voice. "Something came over me, I don't know what happened exactly, it was like an instinct." Alex was confused.

"I don't understand," he said. Paige motioned to speak but said nothing, words failing her. Alex sighed.

"I can't explain it, it's like someone took over my body," Paige said. Alex looked at her as she stared at the floor. They didn't say anything for a long time. After a while, Ian called back to them.

"Hey hey, pack up, we're entering Umoja Airspace!" he yelled back. Paige perked and stood up, walking towards the front of the ship. Alex stayed sitting, contemplating their conversation. The ship shook violently as they entered the atmosphere. Alex looked out a viewport to see the red flames waving by. It suddenly gave way to a bright blue sky with green fields below them. A shimmering white city was on the horizon, reflecting the late morning sun. Umoja was a jewel of the Confederation. Its surface was green and lush and was fed by large bodies of water throughout, and its people are known for their advanced technology and fierce independence. It occurred to Alex that that was the reason they were there in the first place. Ian brought the ship low overland and spoke into his radio though Alex couldn't rightly hear what he had said. The ship glided over the planes towards the grand city. Around it buzzed hundreds of ships, like bees around a hive. Ian weaved through the clusters of vehicles and landed on the rooftop of a large building in the center of the city. Around them, the buildings stretched to the sky like white metal trees, glass reflecting the sunlight back into the sky. As busy as the city seemed, it was quiet. Alex felt strangely at ease in the metropolis. Ian powered down the dropship and lowered the ramp. He grabbed a few bags that were behind his seat and walked out of the ship, Alex and Paige following close behind. Alex and Paige marveled at the city around them. Many of the buildings twisted from their foundation and had large spires out of the top of their peaks. Ian readjusted his bag on his shoulder and turned to the pair.

"Alright then, Umoja, in all her splendor, ever been?" Ian asked. Alex and Paige shook their heads. Ian chuckled. "Aye, it's a sight to see, no doubts." As he spoke, a door opened to their right. A man in a uniform Alex didn't recognize stepped out along with two other men dressed similarly. The man in front had a large beard and a pronounced forehead with large bushy eyebrows. He was a large man, much taller than Alex. Alex watched as the men strode across the cement roof towards them.

"Are you Paige Scott?" the man said. His voice was low and powerful. Alex noticed his mustache wiggled as he spoke. Paige nodded her head and held out a hand. The man took it and grasped it tightly, his own hand completely wrapping around hers. Paige looked the man directly in the eyes.

"My name is General Steven Redford, I'm one of the military advisors to Arcturus Mengsk, leader of the Sons of Korhal," Steven said. He looked over at Alex and back at Paige. "We didn't expect you for another few days."

"Thing got a bit outta hand there, had to improvise a bit," Ian said stepping forward. He cocked his head to the slight slightly and smiled.

"Ah, Ian, always a pleasure," the general said with a certain disdain in his voice. He returned his attention to Paige. "Regardless, I'm glad to see you here and with our cause, a worthy addition to our rightful crusade," he said proudly. Alex saw Ian roll his eyes. Steven turned to Alex. "You, however, I do not know."

"My name is Alex….Tannin sir, I'm a marshal from Mar Sara," Alex said as he held his hand out. Steven took it slowly and gripped it tightly to the point it hurt. Alex laughed nervously.

"Yes, terrible business, just terrible," the general said. He looked at Alex sternly. Alex returned the gaze. "We have some refugees that arrived just yesterday, perhaps you'd like to see if your people are with them," he said. Alex's eyes brightened.

"Yes, I would like that," Alex said, almost excitedly. Steven didn't express anything. He motioned for the group to the door. Ian took the lead and walked ahead with Alex and Paige following close behind.

"Ian, show them to their rooms, and see me in my office afterward," Steven called after him. Ian raised his hand and waved without looking back. They entered an elevator and Ian pressed the number 24.

"What a tit," Ian scoffed. Paige and Alex looked at him with surprise. "His talk about a rightful cause, ha, the only reason he's here is that he couldn't get promoted in the Confederacy," Ian said with a sneer.

"Do you two have a history?" Paige asked. Ian nodded.

"Yeah, a little something like that," he said and repositioned his bag on his shoulder. The elevator stopped and the doors opened to a long hallway. It was barely decorated but carpeted in a dark red. Alex realized that he hadn't seen carpet in a long time. No one on Mar Sara had any, just the wood or metal flooring of their shacks. It's funny how you can lose the memory of something so trivial without realizing its impact. They stopped by a wooden door and Ian pulled out a card out of his bag. He slid it into the reader and opened the door. Inside was similar to the barracks Alex lived in when he was in the Army. Simple cots, a table with two chairs, and a small window to the outside world. Ian walked inside and turned towards them.

"Home sweet home eh?" he said with a smile. Paige looked around the room quietly and set her bag down on a bed. Alex walked over to the window and peered out. Ships flew by silently as the sun reached its zenith.

"Well don't get all mopey on me now, you're "freedom fighters"!" Ian said with a heap of sarcasm.

"Not much respect for your general I see," Paige said. Ian laughed.

"I'll give him his dues when I get mine," Ian said and turned out the door. "If you need anything, let me know, I'll be down the hall." The door shut behind him. Paige looked at Alex, who was still looking out the window. She sat down on the bed and laid her head on the pillow.

"I've been meaning to ask you," Paige said. Alex turned and looked at her. She had her hands behind her head and her knees bent. Her cut on her side shown slightly from her raised shirt. The gauze Alex put on was still holding. He thought to remind her to get it looked at.

"What's that?" Alex said. Paige rolled her head to look at him.

"When you find your people, what are you gonna do?" she said. Alex's brow furrowed and he ran his fingers through his beard.

"Well, I suppose I hadn't thought that far," he said. In truth, he hadn't. The past few days have been such a hellish nightmare that he hadn't had time to think. His mind wandered a bit. Alex was a cautious person and never went into a situation without thinking it through. His training had taught him to take his time and be wary of everything. Yet here he was with a stranger on a different planet without a single person he knows. Paige was still a stranger, he reminded himself. He looked at her. She looked concerned.

"Whatever you decide to do, thank you for helping me get here," she said. Alex smiled and nodded. Paige rolled her head back and stared at the ceiling. Alex looked out the window. If his townspeople were alive, they needed a leader. He needed to find out if they were alive. Alex stood and walked to the door. Paige's eyes were closed. She must have fallen asleep. Alex laid down on his own bed and stared at the ceiling. He realized that he hadn't slept in almost two days. It was his last thought before exhaustion overtook him and his eyes closed.

Alex woke with a jolt. The room was dark, aside from the flashes of lights passing by his window. Paige wasn't in her bed anymore, and out the window, the sky had turned black. He sat up and looked around. Paige's belongings were still next to her bed. Alex stood up and walked to the bathroom. He washed the sleep out of his eyes and dried his face. He waited for a few seconds before deciding to wander outside. The hallway was mostly deserted, with only a small group of people at one end chatting amongst themselves. Alex walked to the elevator and pushed the up button. Alex rode the elevator to the 48th floor. The elevator stopped and the doors opened. A hallway with a desk at the end was all that was in front of them. A man sat at the desk typing at a hologram. A large door was behind him. It was engraved with various designs and embroidered with different metal shapes. The man looked up at them and motioned from him to take a seat. Alex sat down on the hard wooden chairs. After a few minutes, the door opened and Redford stuck his head out.

"Alex, come in," he said without much enthusiasm. He walked into his office and sat down across from Redford. His desk was large and neatly organized. A stack of papers sat next to his computer and a gun cleaning kit sat opened in the corner. Alex didn't see a gun anywhere. Redford sat stiffly in his chair and looked over him.

"Alex, what can I do for you?" Redford said and clasped his hands together in front of him.

"You had mentioned refugees, I was hoping you could point me in the directions of where I might find them," Alex said. Redford nodded.

"Ah, yes, of course," he said. He reached into his desk and pulled out two large cigars. He offered one to Alex but he refused. Redford lit the cigar with a match and puffed it a few times before setting it down in an ashtray. He typed a few things into his computer before turning his attention back to Alex.

"I don't have the records in my current file right now, but the front records department should be able to point you in the right direction," Redford said and picked up his cigar. "Third floor." Alex thanked Redford and stood up and left the room. Redford puffed his cigar a few times before typing in his computer again. On the monitor displayed a picture of Alex. A small icon appeared at the bottom of his screen. Redford pressed the icon with his finger. A hologram of Admiral King appeared in front of him.

"Ah, King, I've been wondering when you would check in," Redford said. King didn't react.

"Is everything in order?" King said sternly. Redford took a long drag of the cigar and blew the smoke into the hologram.

"Yes, of course, the visitor you mentioned was with the girl," Redford said. King nodded.

"He is extremely dangerous and it is vital you keep a close eye on him," King said.

"So you've mentioned, but what you've failed to mention is HOW he is dangerous," Redford said. "He's an old man, a refugee."

"That man is far from a normal refugee," King said. Redford scoffed.

"He's an old man, I don't know what you're so afraid of," Redford said, his patience growing thin.

"Just get him back to me and it won't be an issue and you can go back to playing rebel all you want," King said. Redford growled and turned off the call.

Alex walked in the opposite direction towards a flight of stairs. The stairs winded down to the ground floor. Above him, they reached the top floor. Alex walked down the stairs until he came to the third level. The entrance to the records was a grand sight to see. The floor was made of a stone Alex hadn't seen before, a white slab with veins of purple running through it. A dark purple carpet stretched from the main entrance to a desk with a woman sitting at it with a hologram in front of her. Alex walked up to the woman but she didn't notice him. Alex stood for a few more seconds in silence before becoming slightly irritated. Finally, he spoke up.

"Excuse me, ma'am," he said. The woman's head jerked toward him. It was then that he noticed the thick wires hanging out of the back of her head and the dull grey eyes. She's an adjutant, Alex thought to himself.

"That is correct," the adjutant said. Alex stepped back in surprise. "I have been modified to be more appealing to the general public," it said in a robotic tone. It still had a feminine sound to it but the staccato sharpness to her words left no doubt that she was a machine. The mind reading was new, however.

"How did you know what I was thinking?" Alex said. The Adjutant motioned downward. Alex was standing on a small metal platform.

"This device enables me to read the foremost thought as well as communicate back. I have been forbidden to communicate this way to new users," she said. Alex noticed a small fan under her right ear.

"Well, alright, Christ," Alex said. The adjutant stared at him with no expression. "Where are the refugees from Mar Sara, are they in this building?"

"Retrieving….negative, I have no record of…Refugees….from Mar Sara," it said back. Alex was puzzled. Perhaps they were being held somewhere else.

"Alright, what about refugees being held in other buildings?" Alex said. The adjutant whirred as it searched.

"Retrieving….negative, I have no record of…refugees….planetside," it said. Alex was even more confused. "There was something wrong with their records, there had to be," Alex thought to himself. He stood there for a few more seconds in silence before leaving.

Alex returned to his room. Paige was still absent. He walked into the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. His beard was scraggly and coarse. Alex looked around and saw a shaving kit tucking in one of the drawers of the sink. He scraped away the graying hairs from his face until his smooth face was all that remained. He hadn't seen himself cleanly shaven in quite a long time. He cleaned up his mess and laid down in the bed. Alex watched the ships go by outside his window, their lights flashing through the darkness setting across the sky. He thought of the people from his town and where they were before falling into an uneasy sleep.

Chapter Text

Alex woke more rested than he had anticipated. The bed he slept on was of a higher quality than he was used to and it cradled him as he slept through the night. Paige was awake, lying on her back on the bed next to his. They exchanged their good mornings as Alex went to the bathroom to wash his face. The morning sun shone into their room with blinding brilliance, enhancing the color of the red carpeting. Alex's eyes were crusted with sleep and his lines on his face we far harsher than he remembered. You're getting old, he thought to himself and dried his face. He walked back into the room. Paige was still looking at the ceiling.

"You shaved," she said without looking at him. Alex smiled.

"Yup figured I didn't need a scraggly beard gettin in the way of things," Alex said. He noticed he was letting his draw out a little bit, something he tried to avoid.

"You look younger," she said and smiled. Alex smiled back and walked to the window. He liked the busyness of the city. Mar Sara was anything but exciting, and this was a nice change of pace. It reminded him of his youth. Alex stretched and sat back on the bed.

"So where'd you go last night?" Alex said. Paige looked over at him.

"I debriefed them on some Confederate movements and tactics, as well as any plans I knew of while under Admiral King," She said. Alex didn't respond. He sat there staring at the floor, his eyes flicking back in fourth and his bottom lip quivering a bit from him biting away the skin inside his mouth.

"Alex?" Paige said. Alex's head jerked up and looked at Paige. She looked concerned, her brow furrowed. Alex shook his head slightly and smiled quickly.

"Sorry, lost in thought, continue," he said. Paige still looked worried.

"Alright, well, they want to meet with both of us today at 0900," she said. Alex nodded. A knock on the door startled both of them. Before Alex could get up, Ian burst into the room with a large smile on his face.

"Well good mornin to ya!" he said, his energy already exhausting Alex. Paige rolled her eyes and greeted him. "I hear ya got a meetin this mornin, so I've been charged with takin care of ya," he said. He leaned up against the threshold and smiled. Alex could feel Paige's frustration from here. She rolled her eyes and sighed. Ian didn't seem to notice. The two of them slowly got ready for the day. Sometime in the night, a fresh change of clothes had been left for them at their bedsides. It was casual wear, with slacks and a white t-shirt. Alex welcomed the feeling of clean clothes after he had been blood-soaked for three days. They showered and changed as Ian patiently waited for them. They made their way back up to Redford's office and waited in the lobby. The secretary he noticed was the same model of adjutant as the one in records he had encountered yesterday. A guard also stood next to his door, wearing an ornate military uniform. Ian was leaning on the secretary's desk, looking at the adjutant as it worked silently. The door opened and a man Alex didn't recognize walked out. He strode past them and didn't look at them. He had a thick brown beard with flecks of grey through it and wavy hair. His clothes were old and ragged, a relic of an old military uniform. On his sleeve, a red logo was visible, an arm holding a whip. Alex recognized it as the Sons of Korhal insignia. Behind him, Redford stepped out of his office.

"My nine o'clock, perfect," he said and waved for them to follow. Ian went to walk in but Redford stopped him. "These two only Ian." Ian sighed and puffed, shooting the general an angry look. Alex and Paige walked into the office past the fuming Ian and sat down. Redford closed the door and sat down behind his large desk. A window behind him shown out into the city. They were high enough up that there were no vehicles whizzing by, just the vast expanse of the white city. Alex turned his attention to the general. He looked tired. Dark circles hung under his eyes, and he noticed that one of his eyes was very bloodshot. Alex also noticed a small cut on his lip that wasn't there before. Alex quickly looked around the office. Papers lay scattered across his desk and a small blinking light on his computer reflected on the polished wooden desk. On a piece of paper, Alex noticed the word King and felt a tinge of worry in the back of his mind.

"I had just spoken with my contacts with the Sons of Korhal, and they've agreed to bring you aboard as an operator," Redford said. Paige's face broke into a huge smile.

"Awesome!" she exclaimed. Her enthusiasm wasn't matched by the rest of the room. Alex laughed slightly at the young upstart. Redford didn't express any emotion. He sat there staring at Paige until her smile faltered. Alex sat up slightly.

"I have a question, sir," he said. Redford shifted his gaze to Alex. "The refugees you mentioned, they aren't in the system, and I checked records last night and…" Redford cut him off.

"That is why I brought you both here," he said. Alex raised his eyebrows. "The refugee ships were attacked by a Confederate force while they were in route and were forced down on a planet called Atticus Minor, a mining world," Redford explained.

"Are they okay, are you in contact with them?!" Alex said. He stood slightly in his excitement and leaned over the desk. Redford sat back slightly and placed his hand on his leg close to his sidearm. Alex noticed and sat back down quickly.

"Calm yourself, man!" Redford said. Paige placed her hand on Alex's shoulder. "We've gotten broken communications with them, enough to determine their position but nothing further," he said. Redford reached over to a pile of folders and grabbed two and handed one to each of them. On the front of the folders were pictures of the planet and the name at the top. Inside was information about the cities there and military presence reports, as well as the terrain and ecosystem of the planet. Paige flipped through it quickly as Alex studied each page. It was a Confederate mining planet with few major cities. The Confederation held a small military base there to keep the peace but nothing to deny a full-scale invasion.

"We plan on attacking the planet soon, those mines could prove extremely valuable to the rebellion," Redford said. Paige closed her folder and looked at the general. "I'm sending you as a rescue mission for those colonists, bring them to safety, then join back with our main force to eradicate the Confederates from the planet." Alex finally closed his folder as well.

"Do we have a plan for that?" Alex said. Redford nodded.

"You'll be debriefed on the way there, and outfitted soon" he replied. Alex felt uneasy. It all seemed so rushed. He didn't like walking into situations he didn't know anything about.

"We won't let you down," Paige said. Redford stood and held out his hand. Alex and Paige rose and shook his hand.

"I'm sure you won't," he said calmly. Paige turned and began walking out the door but Alex didn't move.

"I'll be a minute," Alex said. Paige nodded and walked out of the office and closed the door. Alex turned back to the general. "One more thing general." Redford peered at him.

"And what would that be," he said suspiciously. Alex looked at the man in eyes, the cool blue piercing through his furrowed brow.

"When I get my colonists to safety, I'm leaving," Alex said firmly. "I have no interest in your war." Redford rubbed his chin and snarled. He snorted hard and glanced at the door. Alex turned and walked out the door. Paige was waiting with Ian in the lobby. Alex walked past them and into the elevator. Paige and Ian shot each other confused looks and followed him. They rode the elevator in silence before Ian's high voice broke the calm.

"So it went well then?" he said. Ian looked at both of them with a big smile.

"Absolutely," Alex said. No one said anything for the rest of the ride.

They reached the first floor and Ian walked out first. The lobby of the building was ornate and clean, with thick marble columns reaching to the ceiling. Red carpeting stretched from the elevator to the front door, which was made of a purple-hued glass. A desk was positioned to their right that was flanked by some strange foliage in stone planters. Behind it was two large water fountains with lights underneath. The water danced in the reflected light as it was shot into the air and fell back into the pool with soft splashing. A woman was sitting at the desk, another adjutant, Alex recognized. It seems there wasn't much need for humans. The thought made Alex laugh. Irony is subtle at times. They walked out into the streets and for the first time Alex felt the grandeur of the city. Each of the buildings was made of a white metal that reflected the sun upwards. The buildings themselves were built with a wider base and spired upwards, becoming progressively thinner towards the top. It reminded Alex of a picture he saw that was supposedly from Earth of a place called the Washington Monument from hundreds of years ago. He had seen it on an old propaganda poster for the United Earth Directorate back when they were helping the Confederation government spread to more worlds. Ian had a car parked next to the curb. He held the door open for Paige and closed it for her. Alex opened his own door. Ian climbed into the driver's seat and adjusted his mirror so he could see Paige in the back seat.

"Where are we going, Ian?" Paige asked. Ian looked back at her in the mirror.

"The base of operations sweetie," Ian said. A mixture of both excitement and absolute disgust washed over Paige's face. Ian started the car and hovered it slightly before taking off with a hard lurch forwards, throwing Alex and Paige back in their seats. Ian sped and weaved through the traffic leaving behind a wake of honks and curses. Alex gripped the side of his seat until his hand hurt. The arrived at the base quickly. Both Paige and Alex's hearts were beating fast. Ian stepped out of the car and opened the door for Paige again. She got out taking deep breathes and shooting Ian angry looks. He gave her a wide smile and walked down the road. Alex and Paige followed closely behind him. The building they were at was an old Confederate Command center, probably from the initial colonization. It looks extremely out of place from the rest of the city. It had rounded metal beams surrounding it and its dark grey sheen contrasted with the pristine white city surrounding it. Two guards stood outside it in a small hut just next to the entrance. As they approached, one stepped out and ordered them to halt. Ian flashed a small insignia to the guard. He nodded and let them pass. The inside of the command center was a stark contrast to the building they were in before. Metal flooring and cramped ceilings reminded Alex of his military days. People walked to and fro around them, many in civilian clothes. The Sons of Korhal insignias were plastered over every wall, and monitors were haphazardly bolted into the walls, displaying various news reports and information channels. It felt like the center of a stock exchange more than a military rebellion. The group waded through the darting ocean of people until they reached a staircase at the end of the room. They walked up to the second floor to a much quieter scene. Around them were lockers upon lockers of equipment, from guns to armor to computers. Desks lined the outer walls and were manned by people typing away urgently with headsets on. Many of them had a sort eyepiece on that had numbers scrolling over it. At the back end of the room was a lone woman at a desk. She was reading something on the screen that Alex couldn't see. She glanced up and saw the group approaching and smiled.

"Ian!" the woman exclaimed. Ian walked quickly over to her and hugged her. The woman was much larger than Ian and towered over him. Alex thought she might crush him if they embraced for much longer. The woman held Ian by the shoulders and slapped his arm.

"Everyone, this is my sister, Emily," Ian said proudly. Alex was amazed. The woman didn't resemble Ian at all and had to be 150 pounds heavier than him. She was built like a tank, with large arms and thick legs. Her hair was a kept back in a short ponytail underneath a backward hat. Alex shook her hand and felt the immense strength of the woman. Alex wasn't a short man but she was at least 5 inches taller than he was. Paige grasped Emily's hand and shook it firmly. She looked tiny compared to Emily.

"It's quite the pleasure to meet you, I heard you were comin," Emily said. The Highlander accent was apparent and finally, Alex saw the family resemblance. The same color eyes and brow marked them as siblings. Ian stood next to his sister proudly and looked back at Alex and Paige.

"I hear ya are needing some equipment and plan," she said.

Inside his office, Redford tapped his fingers on his desk and stared at his blank monitor. The light still blinked on his computer, its red hue gave Redford a headache. A face popped up on his computer.

"Admiral," Redford said. Admiral King looked sternly at Redford.

"I trust everything went smoothly?" King said, his voice hoarse. Redford nodded.

"Yes, yes, it's all according to plan, but I have a question," Redford said. He could see a vein begin to pop on King's forehead.

"What?" he snarled. Redford had to stop himself from laughing. He had little respect for the man, and annoying him was always a pleasure.

"The girl, Paige Scott, she's an ideal candidate, but why her?" Redford said. "Why waste such a specimen?"

"It's unimportant, she left on her own volition and we'll keep letting her think that," King snapped. King's face disappeared from the monitor. Redford sat there for a long time, lost in his thoughts.

"I do wonder, what's your story girl?" Redford thought to himself.

Chapter Text

Paige sat alone in the mess hall of the USS Octavian. The hall was mostly deserted, with only a few ensigns in the back chatting amongst themselves. Paige didn’t often talk to the rest of the crew. Pilots were generally isolated to keep an “ace” pilot mindset. She pushed around her food, disgusting oatmeal-like substance. It was standard issue for the Confederacy, a vitamin-rich protein-based substance that all crew members were forced to eat. I bet the officers don’t eat this shit, she thought to herself. She rested her head on her hand and continued to push the goop around. She had nowhere to be today. Their ship had just left Chau Sara and was making their way to Mar Sara as an observational crew. That meant that she wouldn’t be in her Wraith for the entire mission. Paige had a few combat missions under her belt, but she still felt the yearning to fly. She had some dicey moments, and some of them where she didn’t think she’d make it back, but she always did, just sometimes by the skin of her teeth. Her wraith was her baby. She even assisted the mechanics with the repairs when it needed it. She had heard that the UED had just been releasing a new fighter model, the Valkyrie, but she doubted it would stand a chance against the tried and true Wraith. She had an older model, one without the cloaking mechanism. Paige didn’t mind. If she was fighting an enemy, she wanted them to see her coming and fear the Confederacy.

As Paige was staring at her meal, she didn’t notice the rest of the ensigns clear out of the mess hall and someone sat down across from her. Paige looked up and saw a woman she hadn’t met before. She had brown hair pulled back into a tight bun and bright blue eyes. They made eye contact and the woman smiled.

“I was wondering when you’d look up,” the woman said. Paige felt slightly embarrassed. She always zoned out when she was thinking too much.

“Yeah, I suppose I was kinda lost in thought,” Paige said. The woman still smiled.

“Why are you eating here by yourself instead of with the other pilots?” she asked. Paige was taken aback slightly.

“How do you know I’m a pilot?” Paige said.

“Well the wings on your jacket for one,” she said with a smirk. Paige looked down at her jacket. A brass button of two eagle wings was pinned on her breast with the words “Airmen” underneath.

“And for two, I’ve radioed you into port every mission you’ve been on,” the woman said. The realization hit Paige like a splash of water.

“You’re from command and control,” Paige said. The woman nodded and smiled.

“Amber Jones, nice to meet you,” she said and held out her hand. Paige shook it and felt warm inside. As she looked at Amber, she started to notice more of her intricate details. She had small creases on either side of her mouth and a slightly wide jaw, with squared jaw bones. She had small lips that were pulled back across her wide smile. Paige felt her heart flutter.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Paige said. She was reluctant to keep the conversation going. She was suspicious of other people

“You never answered my question,” she said and put her hands under her head.

“Oh, yeah, well, it’s not too well looked upon for the pilots to interact,” she said. Amber looked puzzled.

“They don’t want a team mentality?” Amber said. Paige shook her head.

“Our flight leader wants us all to be ace pilots, micromanaged units,” she said.

“That’s so bizarre,” Amber said and cocked her head to the left and looked down at the table. “You’d think they’d want you to think as a team and ‘fight as one’, you know what I mean?” She looked back up at Paige. Paige pushed her tray away.

“I’m sure other flight leaders run their squads that way, but not ours,” Paige said. Amber frowned.

“I find that highly irresponsible and ineffective,” she said. Paige laughed.

“I wouldn’t know any different, he’s the only flight commander I’ve had, the Octavian Bravo Squad is my first and only deployment,” Paige said. Amber sat up and stretched her back.

“I figured you would’ve had lots of experience, judging by your records,” Amber said. Paige looked confused. Amber sat back forward. “Keep in mind, I have to know everyone’s call signs when they go out for missions, and I know everyone’s by heart.”

“Is that a fact?” Paige said. She felt slightly uncomfortable with a stranger knowing so much about her. It was her job after all, but she was such a private person it made her wary nonetheless.

“Yup, it sure is ‘Afterburn’,” she said with a smirk. Paige looked Amber slightly sideways and smiled. Afterburn was the nickname she had at the Starport academy. She started out as a medic pilot. One of their training sessions was to pick up a squad of marines without stopping. Paige had trouble slowing down enough to allow the squad to get a grip on the loading bars before hitting her afterburners and surging forwards. Three dislocated arms of marines later, she was transferred to the Wraith sector, but the nickname stuck.

“So what exactly are you doing down here in the crew mess?” Paige asked, changing the topic. Amber noticed the shift and placed her hands on the table in front of her.

“I wanted to meet you,” she said with a devilish look. Paige felt uneasy. “I hear your voice coming through the comms all day but I’ve never put a face to the voice.” Amber looked Paige up and down.

“Well, here I am,” Paige said and dramatically raised her arms. Paige’s arms were toned with muscle. Small veins poked through on her forearms and biceps, the deep blue arteries winding through the clear cut muscle. Paige lowered her hands and picked up her tray and stood up. Amber stood with her.

“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable!” Amber said. Paige turned and walked towards the trashcans. She threw her entire tray in and walked out, leaving Amber still standing by the table.

---------------------------------------------------------

Paige sat in her room. She had just gotten back from the ship’s fitness center and was finally cooling off. She wore a clean white t-shirt and shorts, though she was sure she still smelled of sweat and rubber. The gym was usually filled with the meathead marines that pumped iron every day. When she first started going to the fitness center she was catcalled and harassed relentlessly. One marine thought it was a good idea to slap her behind while she was doing squats. She sent him to the infirmary with a broken nose. No one has touched her since. She looked around her room. A single lamp illuminated the room, light bouncing off the matte metal walls. Posters of Wraith schematics lined her walls, as well as a small run sheet of every mission she had been on. A small metal desk was the only other piece of furniture in the room besides her bed. On the desk was a few bits of official papers and a small notebook with a leather cover and a black pen sitting on top of it. Paige had kept a journal since she was a little girl. Her mother encouraged her to document her feelings since her father passed away. Paige hadn’t taken his death well. He was a pilot for the Confederacy. He was her hero. He was rarely home, but when he was, he regaled her with stories of far off planets and exotic places. She wanted nothing more than to go with him on his missions and see all the wonders the galaxy had to offer. When she was 10, instead of her father returning, two men in Confederate dress uniforms handed her mother a letter and a flag.

A knock on the door startled Paige. She sat up from her bed and looked through the peephole. Amber was standing there looking at the nametag on her door. Paige opened the door slowly and peered out.

“What do you want?” Paige said. Amber didn’t react.

“I wanted to apologize for being weird,” she said. Paige couldn’t help but laugh. Amber looked disheartened.

“Weird isn’t the word I would use, I think stalkerish is a better one,” she said. Paige could see tears starting to well up in Amber’s eyes. She instantly regretted the comment.

“Look, I’m sorry, I just…” she started. Tears streamed down her face. “I don’t have any friends here and you’re the only person I feel I know,” she said. She sniffed and wiped away the tears and looked up at Paige. Paige’s gaze softened.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” Paige said. “I don’t have any friends either.” Amber sniffled again. “Do you want to come in?” Amber nodded. Paige opened the door fully and Amber walked inside. Paige closed the door and sat on the bed as Amber sat on the desk chair. They sat in silence for a few minutes as Amber collected herself. She breathed deeply and dried her eyes. Paige watched her closely. She felt strangely threatened by this small girl. She couldn’t be more than 20 years old. She was wearing a Confederate Navy t-shirt and sweat pants, a far departure from the class-A uniform she wore earlier. Her hair was down now, the long straight brown hair ran down to her shoulder blades. Finally, Amber calmed herself and looked up at Paige.

“I apologize for being so forward, it’s not usually like me to be like that,” Amber said. Her eyes were still bloodshot but she had dried her tears.

“Do you want to try again?” Paige said. Amber smiled weakly and nodded. They spent the next hour talking about their jobs and where they had come from. Amber was from Tarsonis, the capital of the Confederacy. It was where she had gone to school and enlisted in the Navy. Paige listened intently and savored every word. She wasn’t used to anyone just talking to her. It felt nice to be able to relax and talk about the small things around them. The change of pace from having orders barked at her to a calm conversation was extremely relaxing and refreshing. They talked and laughed for most of the night. Amber finally left at nearly one in the morning. Paige watched her walk down the hallway towards the elevator before stepping back into her room. She lay on her bed and looked up at the ceiling, scanning the imperfections of the metal before closing her eyes. A knock on her door startled her as she sat up quickly. She walked to the door and saw Amber standing outside.

“Everything okay?” she asked as she opened the door.

“The elevators are down and I can’t make it back to my room, can I stay here?” Amber asked. Paige looked at her and didn’t say anything before stepping aside and letting her in. Paige had an extra cot that she kept underneath her own bed. She pulled it out and set it up beside her bed. They sat next to each other and talked for a little longer before Paige yawned.

“I think we should be getting to bed, it’s late,” Paige said. Amber nodded and went to stand up but stopped herself. She leaned forward and kissed Paige on the cheek. Heat rushed Paige’s head as she felt Amber’s lips press against her. Paige’s face was red as Ambers as she leaned back.

“What…was that?” Paige said. Amber laughed.

“I just felt like doing that,” she said. They both laughed. Amber leaned forward again and kissed Paige on the lips. They held there for a few moments before parting. Paige’s eyes were still closed.

“I don’t know if this feels right,” Paige said. She nervously fidgeted with her hands and scooted away from Amber.

“I know,” Amber said sadly. She moved over to the other cot and laid down facing Paige. She pulled the blanket up to her shoulders and sighed. Paige turned off the light and got into her own bed. They didn’t talk in the darkness, the only sound being their breathing and Paige’s fluttering heart.

The next day, Paige woke up to discover Amber had already left. The blanket was folded at the bottom of the cot and the pillow was sitting on top of it. Paige rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and pushed the cot back under her bed. She felt like shit. She took a shower and changed into her class-B uniform before walking down to the mess hall. The hall was filled with ensigns and marines, all eating the morning chow and talking loudly. Paige grabbed her food and ate at her normal spot in the corner by herself. She finished her meal quickly and made her way to the debriefing hall. Inside, their flight commander and a few other Wraith pilots were sitting in front of a projector. The flight commander was talking to one of the other pilots about something. When he saw Paige walk in, he stopped talking and walked over to her.

“Good morning Staff Sergeant Scott,” the commander said.

“Good morning Petty Officer McBride,” Paige said. Paige saluted him and took a seat in the middle row of chairs. Another man walked in.

“Good morning John,” the man said to McBride.

“Good morning David, now I hope you’re all comfortable,” McBride said as the man sat down beside Paige. “This morning we received intel that Korhal operatives are working around Mar Sara,” McBride said but Paige began to drone him out. She thought about last night with Amber. It wasn’t until she heard her name that she broke her daydream.

“Scott, are you listening?” McBride said. Paige blinked a few times before responding.

“Y-Yes sir!” she said loudly. Most of the room chuckled.

“Then you’ll report to Admiral King immediately, as I just said,” McBride growled. Paige hurriedly gathered her things and ran out of the room. She walked quickly to the elevator and took it up to the bridge. The elevator ride was long. The Battlecruiser Octavian was large, even by most battlecruiser standards. It had an attached research and science facility that made it ideal for research missions and reconnaissance. There was a large wing of the ship that was off limits to most crew members. There were always rumors that they performed weird science experiments there, like fusing plants and people. The thought often made her shutter.

The bridge was busy with many crew members walking around. Paige scanned the computer terminals but didn’t see Amber. She walked forward and stood in the middle of the room by the commander’s chair awkwardly. She had never been on the bridge before. A man soon approached her. He wore the same uniform that Amber did.

“Can I help you Staff Sergeant?” the man said.

“Yes, I’ve been told to report to Admiral King,” Paige responded.

“Ah yes, his office is right over here, if you’ll excuse me for just a moment,” he said and gestured towards a door to her right. Paige stood outside of the door as the man walked over to a comm station and said something into a mic that Paige couldn’t hear. He waited a few more moments before walking back over to Paige.

“You can go inside now,” the man said and smiled. Paige thanked him and knocked on the door.

“Come in!” a gravelly voice said behind the door. Paige opened the door and walked inside. Admiral King sat at his desk looking through a file. He looked up and saw Paige. He stood quickly and offered her a seat.

“Thank you, sir,” Paige said as she sat down. She sat up as straight as she could. She had never met Admiral King before but knew who he was by reputation and speculation from the crew.

“Staff Sergeant Scott, how are you?” he said. His eyes were surprisingly soft and comforting.

“I’m fine sir, thank you,” she said, not relaxing.

“Good, good,” he said and shuffled his papers around. His fingers looked like long tree branches, thin and brittle. He gathered up the papers and set them aside. He clasped his hands together and sat them on the desk.

“I’ve called you in here for a special assignment,” King said. He was soft-spoken but firm. Paige sat up even further in interest. “You’re one of our best pilots, and you’ve received multiple commendations from your Flight Commander,” he said.

“Thank you, sir,” Paige said.

“The task I have for you is rather different, however,” he said in a lower tone. “Tell me, have you heard of something called Psionic power?” Paige was confused.

“Um, yes sir, it’s the ability to do things with your mind in the physical world,” Paige said. The question had caught her off guard. She hadn’t thought it was actually real.

“Yes, in layman’s terms that is correct,” King said. “There are a few tests to see if it occurs within an organism, but they are unreliable at best,” he said. King grabbed a piece of paper from the stack. “You’ve displayed an incredible amount of skill and mental ability in the past few years Staff Sergeant, were you tested as a child?”

“I believe so sir, most everyone was,” Paige said. She was getting worried. She wasn’t used to questioning like this.

“I see,” King said. He scanned the paper one more time before setting it down. ”Well, there is a new test I’d like to try with you, to see if you perhaps have a subtle hint of it.” Two men walked into the office and stood on either side of Paige. They wore black uniforms and black cloth covered their faces.

“These men will escort you to the testing chamber, don’t be afraid,” King said. The men grabbed Paige’s arms and lifted her out of the chair. She fought them but they didn’t budge. She hit their arms but it was like she was hitting solid rock. They dragged her to the elevator. The crew on the bridge didn’t even seem to notice them pass. Paige continued to fight in the elevator but the men refused to let go. They gripped her arms tightly and held her off the ground. The elevator stopped on the 13th floor, one page had never been to. It was connected to the science facility. The men walked her down the hall. The walls were covered in white plastic. Windows were the only break in the cloud-like hallway. Around them, scientist worked on various experiments. One scientist had a small creature in a glass tube. He filled it with gas as the creature squirmed and clawed at the glass before becoming rigid and falling over. Paige resisted against the men but her strength was failing. They walked through the winding halls before coming to a doorway. One of the men pushed a button and the door slid open. The men tossed Paige inside and closed the door. The room was pitch black. Paige felt her way around. The floor was made of a metal grating. She crawled around the floor, feeling for anything that could be of use. Suddenly a light turned on next to her. Behind a thick pane of glass, Amber was sitting on a chair in the middle of a room. Paige noticed her hands and feet were bound. Paige stood up and slammed against the glass. She called Amber’s name but she doubted she could hear her. Amber was crying softly, tears streaming down her red cheeks. A door to Amber’s right opened and the men from before entered. They placed some kind of device in Amber’s lap. A timer counted down on the front facing machine. Paige recognized it as a bomb. She slammed on the glass again, feeling red-hot tears stream down her face.

“You can save her,” a voice overhead said. She didn’t recognize the voice. “Defuse the bomb Paige, use your mind,” it said. The voice sounded robotic almost. The clock counted down on the device. 24, 23, 22. Paige yelled Amber’s name again and pounded her fists on the glass. 21, 20, 19.

“Save her Paige,” the voice said. Amber squirmed in her chair. 18, 17, 16.

“Paige, I’m so sorry,” Amber sobbed. 15, 14, 13. More tears rolled down her face, splashing the bomb on her lap.

“I can’t do it, stop this!!” Paige screamed. She pressed her face close to the glass and tried her hardest to stop the bomb, but she had no idea where to start. 12, 11, 10. Paige thought of the bomb turning off, the detonator becoming powerless. Paige screamed and hit the glass as hard as she could. 9, 8, 7.

“I’m so sorry Paige!” Amber yelled. “I didn’t know!” 6, 5, 4.

“No!” Paige screamed. The glass began to crack.

“Save her Paige,” the voice said again, forcefully. 3, 2.

“God no!” Paige screamed. The timer his zero and blinked. Amber looked down and the device and back up at the glass.

“Paige?” she said before the room burst with light. Black smoke filled the room. Paige hit the glass again and shattered it. The smoke billowed into the room Paige was in as she leaped through the window jamb. The chair where Amber was sitting was splintered across the room. Blood pooled and splattered across the walls and floor. Paige screamed as she fell to her knees in the pool of blood. Around her, the metal flooring groaned under an unseen pressure. Paige slammed on the ground, leaving two large fist prints in the metal grating. She felt a sharp pain in her neck and reached for it. A small needle stuck out of her neck. She felt tired immediately and fell to the floor in the pool of blood. The two men from before walked into the room.

“She’ll do perfectly well,” one of the men said to the other. The other nodded. The men picked her up and dragged her back to her room, her boots bumping on the grated metal flooring. They changed her out of her bloody clothes and threw her into bed. They walked out of her room and closed the door quietly behind them. In the corner of her room, a shimmer stood from the chair the same chair Amber had sat in a few hours previous. She placed a small card on Paige’s chest.

You’ve seen what the Confederation is like

Contact me when you can

Sarah K