Change-Good or bad?: Part one

Author: Apocolypse

Get down! The captain barked orders from across the cramped bunker. Team, the Zerg are advancing, get ready. Cliff Burton turned to his partner. You ready Mike, he said. Hell yeah, lets roast em. Cliff chuckled, dropped a clip out of his Gauss Rifle, and popped in a new one. Ready! He looked out the hole of the bunker, and saw the Zerg bounding up the smoldering slope; swarms of zerglings followed by large Hydralisks Aim! Cliffs partner stuck his flamethrower out of the bunker, blue and orange flame tipping the end. Siege Tank shells boomed, and rows of zergling exploded as they ran, and Hydralisk spines zoomed toward the row of bunkers, closing in fast on them. Fire! Bullets and napalm, spewed out of the hatch doors, obliterating the zerglings in front of them. Acrilite shells created craters in the distance where half the swarm was. Fire Fire Fire! Few zerglings were managing to dodge the bullets and were hopping onto the top of the bunkers, tearing and chipping away the roof. Shit! A ghost in back took a step forward, and vanished into thin air. Cliff turned to his shooting, and Zerg remains lay littered about the entrances of the Terran bunkers. Silence enveloped them, and all they heard was the zerglings rearing their way through the top. A Minute later, they heard a Boom! Boom!, and the zerglings were blown off one by one. Moments later his captain spoke up. He must have got em. Keep on your guard; the Zerg swarms are numerous around here. Dismissed. Cliff took his helmet off, and exited with his partner, sweating profusely. Invigorating eh? He said to Mike, not paying any attention. Hey man whats with you lately, you hardly talk at all. Dont worry about it Cliff. Im cool, I just hope this war is over soon He looked up at the sky. It was filled with soot and the air was hot and choking. Groups of SCV were repairing the once again damaged bunkers. Cliff frowned, and his captains voice boomed over the intercom. Squadrons 1 and 2 report to CC#1 for further instructions immediately. Cliff shook his head. It never ends does it? Mike was one step ahead of him, leaving him behind not saying a word. The marine sighed.

Cliff walked into the boardroom, and the room was filled with chatter. I eyed the Veteran ghost he fought with in the last skirmish, and I walked over to him. Hey thanks for savin our asses back there. He said nothing. Cliff felt awkward, having no words. Um..Ive seen you around a lot. Did you get transferred lately? He still stood quiet. Well all right, well- His captain interrupted them. From our reports, The Zerg are attacking in intervals of every 2 hours or so, and we are running very low on supplies. It should be of no surprise to you all. I know your tired, and hurting. But the thing is, the Protoss force has overrun our supply depots in the eastern quadrant. People in the room swore and muttered. So we have a very important mission to accomplish, the captain continued. We must investigate the Dylarian Shipyards. Captain! Cliff spoke up. I thought the Dylarian plateau was taken over 3 years ago. Whats there for us? The ghost against the wall shifted weight and nodded to the captain. Yes Private, they were wiped out by the Protoss fleet in the dead of night, over 400 Terran marines and civilians slaughtered. From then on, it was abandoned and never taken back over. Our only hope is that there is some source of resources there. If there isntwell, I dont know. So im assigning Terran squadron 1,2, and 3 for this. I will be going along with you, just to make sure you dont screw up. We will depart by dropship at 0600 hours. Dismissed. Cliff turned, and found that his partner was gone. As he exited, the eyes of the mysterious ghost followed him.

It was getting dark outside, as the last of the 3 stars was setting across the pale orange sky. I found Mike sitting atop an armory roof, so I climbed up it and joined him. He had a picture in his hand. You still looking at that, mike? Yes. I miss her. Like I said, I wish this war was over, so I could return to her. Yeah, well I have no one to go home too. Youre the closest family ive had since I was 13.

They sat for a while. We dont get many nice days like this on Tarsonis do we. He looked over to his friend, and saw a single tear run from his eye.

They sat beside each other on the ship to the Dylarian Shipyards, and the drone of the engine hummed in his ears. A Heavy set firebat was across from them, playing a game boy. Mike whispered something in his ear. My mom never let me get one of thoseCliff chuckled and turned his head. The Tall ghost was with them, standing against the hatch door. He was assembling his canister Rifle in his hands, but the weird thing is, He didnt look at it once, just stared straight ahead the whole time. Cliff dozed off the sleep.

Yes Judicator. Let it go. Psst..Your not alone. Your not the only one. Call your brethren, and rise from your sleep, and sift the blood from the soil.

The marine woke with a start. What was thatit seemed so real. Cliff finally became aware of his surroundings. Boom, Clang. I guess we landed. The hatch doors opened and they exited slowly, weapons drawn. A Lone marine scouted the entrance to the ruined tunnel, and dead silence enveloped them. Right then, a group of zerglings shot out of the decomposing floor, and tackled the marine, slashing and biting him. Ahh!! Get them off of me- He was cut short by a slash to the neck by a long claw, and Mike pushed his trigger, and covered the zerglings with flaming napalm, running around and squealing, and eventually writhed and died. DamnitKirk! Yes sir! Surprisingly, the ghost he talked to earlier stepped up. You take squad 1, Ill take the second group. Meet back here at 0900 hours. Cliff and mike split up, cliff going with the ghost Kirk, mike going with squad 2. Hey mike! He yelled. He turned. Ill Cya in a bit! The firebat nodded.

Cliff followed the ghost, down the dark corridor. He stopped, and dropped his goggles to infrared vision, and stepped back suddenly. He kneeled down and aimed, making no noise. Right then, a large Hydralisk, over 8 feet tall, charged and appeared behind the group, and swung its might synth, striking a lone marine, sending blood and screaming in every direction. The group opened fire on the beast, and it let out a high-pitched shriek, as its body was being blown apart by the firepower of the marines. They started ahead again, but a line of spikes shot in a line in front of Kirk. A lurker, though Cliff. A Firebat behind him then spoke up. Were gonna have to find another- his voice was cut short as another line of spikes rose up through the ground, obliterating him, and liquid napalm and blood spilled out upon the ground. He fell broken and dead. Were Trapped!, someone yelled. The ghost had a thoughtful yet stern look on his face, and he closed his eyes. He stayed that way for at least a minute, and the group was confused, including Cliff, then a cyclone of radiated light swirled around them, and it seemed like the ground turned to glass. A comsat scan?? He thought. Then the figures of the two lurkers appeared poised in the ground. Kirk then took 2 shots with his canister rifle, 1 for each of the lurkers, and blood and carapace erupted from the ground. Nice one, he thought, and he reached into his pack and grasped a clip, and dropped out his old one, and popped in another. He looked up, and found the party gone. Damnit,not again. The corridor was forked, so he went straight down a dark hallway, and into a rounded off room that looked like a burned laboratory. He held his breath and listened. He could feel his heart beating, and could hear sobs coming from across the room. Hello? He yelled. Whos here? Cliff ran around to the other side, and stopped. There Mike was, on his knees, grasping the dirt. Mike! Come on whats wrong? We gotta get out of here! He still cried into his hands. Mike, everythings gonna be O- No! They wont! The CORE told me she was back on earth! They lied to me! I have nothing now, nothing! He broke into sobs again, and grabbed cliffs hand, and thrust a pair of tags into his hand. Keep these for me. Thanks for being there for me Cliff. And with that Mike took off down the exiting corridor. Mike, no! He chased after him, and he stopped, and lined the hallway entrance with burning napalm. Dont follow me Cliff! What? No Stop!

He was breathing hard. Where the hell have you been? His captain shouted. I fell behind, but we gotta find mike. He went off alone. What the hell for? He asked. I dont know but- a large group of Hydralisks burst out of the ground, and hundreds of spines flew through the air, and Cliff let our a scream among the dozens of others that filled the room. His leg was bleeding; lined with dozens of sharp spines. Cliff lie on the ground, and let loose with all he had. Holding the Gauss trigger down. All of you die! A vary large Hydralisk appeared above him, and swung its enormous synth downwards to cliff, only to strike the ground plating. Cliff rolled to the side, and got up. The Hydralisk struggled to free its synth, and saw a marine before him. Its eyes blazed and it opened its chest cavity, ready to fire a cliff, but the marine already had his blade in hand and was lunged at the Hydralisk, and thrust his knife into its chest cavity. Die godamnit! Cliff was sprayed with blood, and the beast let out a high pitched scream. He grasped the handle with both hands, and pulled it outward with all the energy he had in him, and the Hydralisk fell torn and writhing. We have to retreat to the dropships now captain! More Hydralisks bounded down the corridor, and the group retreated, leaving Cliff and his captain behind. No! come back! Cliff! Hel- The last thing the captain saw was a mighty Hydralisk synth before his eyes. Cliff cried out as he saw the 3 Hydralisks tear the man apart, still alive. No! He turned and ran down the hallway. A blood-curdling scream followed him. He was on the verge of tears when he entered another room. He took slow steps, grasping the trigger firmly with sweating hands. But fear hit him like a sack of bricks when he saw what he was walking on; Creep. Ohno.. trembling he dropped his clip out and popped in a new one. Turning, he saw the figure of a man in the shadows. MMike? Man im glad to see you, the captains dead. he stopped. It was Mike all right, but something was wrong. His eyes glowed red, and talons erupted from his hands. Mike?? It turned to face him finally. The creature lunged at him, and was taken down, being beaten savagely with sharp claws. No..No! He could hardly breath, he was dead. He was going to die here, as his whole body numbed from the blood and the pain. NoI wont die here..SOMBODY HELLP!!!! Right then, a pair of shining blades appeared before his eyes, impaling the creature attacking him. What the.Oh god..And with that he passed out in a pool of blood.