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| Phoenix Legion Chronicles: Part VIII | | | Author: | | | IP: | XXXX | | Date: | 10/04/99 07:10 | | Game Type: | Starcraft | | Labels: | Famous Reporter(1), Starcraft(1), Old Classic(1), Text Only(1), Fan Fiction(1), Series(1) | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 1, Max: 9, Min: 9
Lifetime Rating for .Praetor: 8.2987 |  | Well, I'm back! (and will promply disappear again, I assure you) Chapter 6 of Phoenix Legion (the main story) is up at www.sclegacy.com/phoenix. You'll be happy to know there is even a working link this time... though the paragraph spacing got messed up. Brigand, a WarCraft story, is up at www.wclegacy.com/brigand, you can read chapter 1 whenever you feel like it. Chapter 1 will probably be the item after this that gets uploaded by yours truly. For those of you who need reminding, nuclear Armegeddon rained down upon Ashrigo, destroying the Legion's south-central base. Also, the Legion recently took the center island from the Fourrier, losing a few transports in the process. Oh, and those of you who have recently arrived to battlereports.com, check the other category or search praetor to read the previous parts of this story.
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Somewhere, fans are whirring. The ubitiquous sound of every command center is only noticable when I look for it, or it is no longer there. I lay on my back, not willing to get up, listening to the fans. Such a fragile mechanism, protecting me from the volcanic ash of Ashrigo. Not to mention infitesimal mineral shards from the nearby mining, which can ruin a good set of lungs in minutes. Or the poisonous vespene gas. The quiet hummm is that of fear, or of hope. Right now it is both. Rising hope that Ashrigo will be won by the Legion. Rising fear that it will be too late, that Haven will be razed before this moon and its planet can be secured.
I get up, responsibilities kicking in. My body did manage to force almost four hours of sleep upon me, precious in the midst of a battle. I scratch my chin, not bothering to shave the stubble there. I sleep in my uniform when things are hot, as they have been constantly on Ashrigo. Grabbing an energy bar, I make my way to the operations room of my command center. I stop a few minutes outside my door, thinking of that. My Command Center. I like the way that sounds, despite the weight of responsiblity it requires I carry. I enter my operations room with a smile on my face.
"Give me an update." I take a bite of my energy bar while various officers speak to me. Base operations informs me that the new south-center command center has been recently completed. That wipes the smile off my face, as I remember the tragedy there. "Good, get some marines over there."
"We have eight golaiths stationed on the middle island." Sergeant Ummox looks as refreshed as I feel, and he's been up far longer. Ah, the energy of youth. Or is it the rush of command for the first time? "And we've still got eight vultures patrolling the central valley. They're in the north right now. A while ago we whacked a zealot, before being angrily informed that the group was on their way to the Fourrier base. At least fifteen zealots passed by after that."
I consider the information. Scan the Fourrier valley outside their main base, as well as that northern resource nook the Protoss found and started exploiting. Have the battlecruisers arrived?" Someone responds affirmatively, "Good, get me a few transports, and start up two more starports. Also, I want additional firebat and marine production, and speed up depots. I don't want to run out of ammo. Keep going on a equal tank-golaith ratio out of the factories."
The production officer nods. "We still have several hundred talents of minerals and vespene gas."
This surprises me, but I haven't given any new spending orders in some time. "All right, see what upgrades we can get to the parts being shipped over from Haven. And get some new batteries for our science vessels." That dealt with, I turn to the situation map, dark in many areas, but showing the positions of all known units. The Fourrier resource base in the valley close to their headquarters has been almost cleaned out. Nothing is left but a refinery, which will probably burn down. The northern Protoss base looks fine, at first glance. "What's that?" I point to a faint blue plume exiting the Protoss Nexus at that base.
My people work for a moment. Finally a science officer responds. "Some sort of energy discharge, the readings are kind of similar to what happens when a pylon explodes, or the Protoss lose a unit."
"A sign of damage?"
"Definitly"
I smile. It's always nice when the pieces all fit the puzzle. "Well ladies and gentlemen, I beleive we have found our thrid nuke. And the reason the Protoss send all those zealots of the Fourrier." Most of the officers in the room nod in agreement, but Sergeant Ummox looks troubled.
"Sir, how did they know it was the Fourrier. Couldn't they just have easily suspected us? They haven't exactly given us much credit so far."
The foriegn relations officer had an answer: "You forget, Sergeant, that Nezalis, the Protoss commander, had his home base do research on 'terran tribes.'"
Sergeant Ummox starts to nod when I review that opinion, "true, but we have no idea how thourough that research was, or how much Nezalis paid attention to it. And with something as big as a nuke, do you think he would leave this up to chance? I don't. Look, he as at least three assimilators working, and we've seen mostly zealots out of him so far, with a small fleet. What has all that gas been going to?"
One of the science people, in charge of knowing this and that, gets it. "Oh! Early Confederate intelligence surmised that Protoss observers were extremely gas-intensive, and we've already seen at least one. You think they could have a network of them?"
I nod. "Quite possibly, despide the missile turrets in our bases. They hardly cover a comprehensive area. From now on, whenever a comsat reaches full battery, have it scan an area around its base. Maybe we'll catch a few of them." And with four comsats, I've got plenty of scanning power. I look back at the situation map. One more detail. "I see our small task force has arrived outside the Zerg base. Siege it from the ridge, with marines guarding the tanks. You don't need to get too close either. Um, Major Renault, you can handle that. Ummox, reinforce with your vultures, using the Fourrier ramp to get on top of the ridges." I point at the women in charge of the fleet elements. "Major Torino, position the wraiths inbetween the center island and the siege operation. Take the battlecruisers and set them on the other side of the island." Major Torino nods.
During the continuing lull in battle, my officers and I allocate more material for troops, and discuss strategic moves. Major Torino is for an all-out assault. "If we take everything we have, we can raze the Zerg bases easily. The only reason we didn't take their main earlier, is because we wanted to be careful. I think we can take them, while the Protoss and the Fourrier fight each other. Then kill the Protoss and the Fourrier, who should be very weak."
Sergeant Ummox shakes his head. "No, right now our position is the most advantageous, we should consolidate what we have, and keep everyone else on their toes. If we can squash any further attempts at gaining resource nodes, the enemies will run out of forces to fight us."
Major Renault snorts, obviously finding Ummox's reasoning flawed. "That would be foolish, since once the other competitors realized our position, they could all turn upon us. And, it is not inconcievable that the Protoss, Zerg, or Fourrier could recieve reinforcements, whereas we have no hope of such a reprieve."
The foriegn relations officer nods his agreement with Major Renault. "The major is right. We should attack now, though I think the Protoss should be the objective. Once they are dealt with, we can re-evaluate our position, as their forces are the most unknown."
Ummox looks personally insulted by the opposition to his plan, and is about to report when I interrupt. "Right now the situation is thus: The Zerg are in the weakest position, as they are still significantly lacking in advanced troops, as well as being numerically weak." I smile. "At least as numerically weak as a Zerg gets. The Fourrier are next. While they have been severly hampered by the Zerg and the Protoss, they are alive, and have ghosts and nukes." Everybody acknowledges that, not happy to be facing nuclear warfare. "The Protoss are currently our strongest adversary, having at least three running bases. They aren't here to perform mining operations either, their determination is reinforced by their numbers, their production of a fleet, and the presence of TWO archons. They want this moon, and they want it bad. Probably for the same reason we do, a hidden refuge.
"If our objective was just to conquer this moon, Ummox has the right idea. Unfortunately, we must conquer this moon quickly. In case any of you have forgotten, the Praetor requires us for Haven's garrison. So we will implement an aggressive sort of the same plan." I sweep the faces of my officers. Not one of them is chewing his lip, or looking at her hands, which is good. They have confidence in me, and are waiting to hear wisdom, rather than find fault. I shift uncomfortably under the weight of responsibility. "The first step of this plan is already being carried out; the attack on the Zerg valley. I am going to organize our forces into task groups and quick response groups. The response groups we will rely upon to counter any unexpected show of force or unplanned events. Air response will be the wraiths. The five we have now, plus six more we just purchased. Ground response will be our fourteen vultures. Eight present now, six loads of vulture components being shipped. Task force East will be the twelve marines and two tanks currently attacking the Zerg valley. It will be further complimented by our four firebats and another group of eight marines. Task group north will consist of the eight golaiths sitting in our base, as well as four tanks, two new and two from the camp south of the island. Also under North's command will be the two Battlecruisers. Draw SCV's from bases as needed, right now I'm more concerned with our current forces than obtaining more. And use the comsat liberally. Task force West will be cobbled out of our remaining forces and what is being assembled at this moment. Our two transports go with North, as more arrive, we should be able to clear that bottleneck.
"North will have to plan an attack on the Protoss expansion above the main valley. It will be commanded by Sergeant Ummox. Ummox, I will tell you when I wish your forces to move out. Be ready." Ummox and everyone else are clearly startled, the expected me to put the most important command into a more experienced officer. I don't mind keeping them on their toes.
Major Renault seems slightly annoyed at Ummox's command, so I give command of East to Torino, who is more level-headed. "East will have the responsibility of taking out the Zerg valley and preventing expansion into the Eastern nook of the main valley. Torino, be flexible, I want your force to be the one I don't have to pay attention to, or send reinforcements for. Don't be afraid to retreat if necessary, indeed, be cautious. But if you do retreat, I want a plan for retaking your position." Torino nods, and folds her hands, closing her eyes as well. I don't know her well, but I assume this is how she plans.
Major Renault is a most competent officer. If he is not my favorite, there is a reason he sits at the planning table with me. "Renault, you will have command of Task Force West. You will need to plan for the defense of the Legion's bases as well as assess the feasablity of harassing the Protoss valley." Renault nods, simply acknowledging his duty. Not only have I given him the least to work with, his is the easist position from which to make a major mistake, as he has to plan for the enemy's attack.
"Oh, yes. Bases. Since each of you have a defined area, pick another officer, Renault you pick three, to run the bases in 'your' territory." I point to Ummox, "when you bring over the transports, take four SCV's as well, and get started on a base in the middle." Taking a deep breath, I tap the table once and look around. "Have I forgotten anything?"
Torino opens her eyes and looks up. "Yes. Science Vessels. We still have two from the assualt on the Zerg main."
I shake my head. I shouldn't be forgetting things like that. "Right. One North and one East." I look around at everyone. "Let's get to work."
The others get up from the table, heading out to the other parts of the operations room, grabbing officers to help them with their work. I motion for the foriegn relations officer to sit by me. "We need this ended quickly. Inform the Protoss that if they ever wish to pull out, we will compensate them for abandoned buildings, as well as pay them 3000 talents of minerals and 2000 talents of gas. However, they must take an oath never to reveal the Ashrigo system to anyone else. Make the same offer to the Zerg, but keep it to 1000 talents and 500 talents of gas."
The officer is shocked. "We don't even have enough to pay off the Zerg should they ask now! And neither will take it anyway."
I shrug. "We'd pay them, but wait until the money had been mined. I need any chance I can to end this quickly." The officer didn't like it, but there was obviously nothing more to say, so he left.
I look up at the main situation map. The Legion forces were in movement everwhere. The transports were heading north, two new wraiths joining the others. The vultures killing some Zerglings sent to kill the seemingly alone Tanks on the ledge overlooking the Zerg valley. Battlecruisers were heading north as well, and SCV's mined happily in many places. Several tell-tale comsats reveal the map as my officers start to plan. The Zerg base shows a morphing spire and Hive, as well as a few Hydralisks. I wonder what is so different about the growing Zerg buildings that the comsat can tell their eventual structure, but they look the same to the naked eye.
The Protoss valley is heavily defended, with six cannons, two of which are behind the nexus, as well as two templar, two zealots, and an odd scout. The northern Protoss base is similarly defended, with several well-spaced cannons, dragoons, templar, and zealots.
One of the new vultures places a mine at the Eastern main valley node, showing no enemy presence, before joining the other attack bikes. Accounting for the rest of the nodes, the main bases are almost certainly mined out, and the valleys near to being so, excepting the Fourrier valley. On the island in the center of this rich area, Legion turrets and a command center are being erected.
Task Force East continues raining fire upon the Zerg valley, destroying first the extractor, then the hydralisk den. The Zerg are oddly quiet, as is the rest of the area. I bide my time, frustrated that my opprotunity has not yet arrived. Vultures and wraiths reinforce the response groups, and Task Force West is also built up. It now has a respectable group of infantry and golaiths, as well as one whole tank.
I was about to take another nap when I knew the time was right.
I don't know if you've ever actually heard opprotunity knocking. Sometimes, it is slight, a trick to find. Sometimes, it has to be made up all together. This time... This time, opprotunity was knocking on a ten-foot thick reinforced bunker with a wrecking ball.
Screaming out of the Protoss valley, intercetors and upgrades scouts decimate the outlying turret and mines from the Western main valley base. Though vision is exceptionally brief, at least eight carriers are present, as well as ten scouts, and some unknown craft. I look over at Renault. "Task Force West is assigned to defense. Do what you can Major, and don't ignore evacuation procedures. Renault doesn't even look up. He is already giving orders to the men in the field. I look at Ummox, who was watching me. "Go." He nods. Just to be sure, I add, "north. Ummox, go north, get the Protoss expansion.
His eyes widen, he obviously thought he was to help defend. "But..." And then Ummox too, is lost in concentration. The klaxons sound once again. This time, everyone simply looks up and waits.
"Nuclear launch detected. Nuclear launch detected." Each person has their own response. Some shake, some whisper a prayer. I take three very quick breaths to force oxygen into my system, getting slightly hyperventilated.
"Continue with what you are doing." The reports on the launches are reported quickly, each being on the side of a white turret on the island, obviously being launched from accross the gap. "This is still the time Ummox, the center base can wait." His eyes widen again, which I didn't think was possible, and goes back to work.
With four transports at his disposal, Ummox is ready. First across the gap are four golaiths, and the vultures position themselves a bit closer, slightly away from the Zerg siege. Two tanks follow the golaiths quickly, and move into siege mode below the ridge outside of the Protoss base. The battlecruisers head northeast, and the last of the troops on the island are loaded up, heading away from the impending nuclear holocaust. I look over at the Western valley base, where Renault has scanned, and is frantically trying to defend, repairing turrets, the bunkers, and building new turrets. Every SCV has been pulled off mining. He calls for the wraiths, but I nix that. "No. They have four observers this time. Do without." Hands gripping his console in rage, Renault nods.
On the center island, two nuclear missiles fall, one obliterating the northen turrets. The second obliterates the eastern turrets, and destroys the materials exposed when the command center in production was hit by the first nuke. The two SCV's huddled on the other side of the island get to work, starting to rebuild.
With effort, I tear myself away from the main screen, and begin allocating the talents of material still availiable. I've thrown the dice, but there are still a few things I can do to weight them in my favor.
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So what have I been doing with myself? Getting settled down. I'm back at college (UC San Diego), doing grunt work much more. I don't know how this will affect my writing. I might write less, might write more (lots of homework to avoid doing). You War Room followers may notice I sent seven pages of suggestions to Blizzard, several times. In my "zeal," I actually got Rob Pardo annoyed enough (I think he was annoyed) to admit he had read my submission. Still won't comment on it though =(. My little quest has got me the names of Blizzard Office Assisstants, nice linen Blizzard Stationary, and finally an e-mail reply from the Designer himself. And I thought suggestions of my magnitude would be unique. Silly me...
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