"man, he dances around storm like he actually knows what he's doing"
-RS~Darkrogue
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| The Hunt, Part 1: Battle of the Ravine | | | Author: | | | IP: | 199.94.6XXXX | | Date: | 04/27/00 08:04 | | Game Type: | Starcraft | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 1, Max: 7, Min: 7
Lifetime Rating for Sharandar: 7.8750 |  | Well, it's been a while, but I just saw one of those games that I just HAD to report...so here goes, ina somewhat different format than usual (albeit in all-text format for my lack of any graphic skills/time to do gfx while at work =P).
Battle of the Ravine
From the viewport in the control room of the Command Center, Captain Derek Ashner could see that the cust storm had settled. It was time to get underway.
A quick look at his orders told him that this was where he was supposed to meet and support the Protoss forces that Zeratul had sent in goodwill. But then, both of them had business in this godforsaken ravine...both the renegade Protoss faction and the Terran pirates had fled here. Both Captain Asner and his Protoss ally were here to hunt down their own.
The dust storm had made any recon impossible, and to ensure that the pirate band was unable to flee again, Asner and his small contingent had landed and constracted a new command center with minial resources--they would not be noticed until it was too late, with any luck. The only thing troubling Asner was the storm--for all he knew, either of his two opponents could be enctrenched a few hundred yards from his camp and he wouldn't know it.
The viewport flickered to life. "Incoming transmission, Captain Asner." This was what he'd been waiting for.
"Put it through."
The masked visage of a Dark Templar, his red eyes boring through the viewport, materialized. "Captain Asner, I assume."
"Yes, sir. We've been underway here for almost three hours now, the troop barracks is almost finished and we'll be combat ready in approzimately thirty minutes. I was about to send out a few of my men for recon."
"I will do the same. Keep my appraised as to your progress. I will assure that out tactical data is transmitted to your command post as we recieve it." With that, the Dark Templar vanished. No explanation, no tactical information, not even an introduction. Derek had to concede that sometime he hated the protoss. But he hardly had time to think it over when a crackling came in over the comm.
"Relay, two-niner. Smoke Serpent, this is Spearhead One, respond, over." Finally. Spearhead, the recon team. Asner had sent two of his men to get their bearing as to the layout of this desolate, barren waste.
"Go ahead."
"We've got Scantids, and I mean hundreds of 'em. There's gotta be a nest or somethin' in this ravine, sir. And so far, we haven't seen a damn thing of pirates or Protoss."
"Well," Derek began, glancing at his TacMap screen, "our new friends are just south of the ravine, southwest of our location. Here, I'm uploading you the data now. What's your location?"
"I'm about halfway between them and us, sir. I've got half my team checking the other side of the ravine. I think that--" The unmistakable burst of Gauss fire tore through the comm and Asner jumped in his seat. Eyes wide, searching the TacMap for some answer, he frantically began searching for the source of the fire.
"Spearhead lead, report. Repeat, report Spearhead Lead."
The Gauss fire was cut off quickly by a sharp, electrical sound, and only static remained. Something Asner had seen a few times before. A psi blade.
Asner quickly hailed the Protoss nexus. "Executor, I believe I've found your friends. They're right between us, southwest of the main ravine."
"I will dispatch a number of my brethren to deal with them. You need not concern yourself with them any further, Capatin." No hint of insult in the Templar's voice, but Asner couldn't help but find it a bit disconcerting.
"Understood. We've got a few Arclites and Vultures rolling off the lines now, let me know if I can be of any help."
"Very well." And that was all. Asner switched on the comm channel, this time to all his men.
"Alright boys, listen up. There aren't that many of us, so most of you will be trading in your combat suits for Arclites and the speeders we've got rolling off the production lines. Spearhead and Buzzard units, fan out and find me that pirate base. Report in when you've got anything. Asner out."
He sat back uneasily. His TacMap showed him that most of the ravine's immediate area had been searched, and still the pirates were nowhere to be found. Had tactical been wrong about their location?
"Friggin' eggheads."
The Adjutant came online again, and again, the always-pleasant voice said, "Incoming transmission, captain."
Derek sighed. "Put it through."
The sound of cannon fire woke him up, and his Dark Templar ally looked far more worried than before. "Captain, the renegades located us during the storm, and have emplaced photon cannons at our only land route out of here. We are trapped, captain. And your 'pirates' are among them."
So they were here. "Alright, what do you need?"
"Your artillery, captain." An explosion blasted through the viewport, shaking the image. "We don't have much time, captain. Anything you can spare would be welcome."
"On it."
Asner checked the TacMap, and saw a window. If he could fly a dropship at low altitude past the renegade encampment, he could land a pair of tanks in his ally's base, and at least stall the enemy advance. Without it, the protoss were sure to be annihilated, and if the renegades and the pirates were working together...the outcome wasn't looking good.
Even as he planned out the dropship trajectory, something caught his eye. A weakness. Asner's eyes glimmered at the prospect as he realized what the renegade protoss, in such close proximity, had done.
Shock cannon fire rent the air, and the shields on the precious gateways were wavering. The loyal protoss could only watch as the combined pirate/renegade lay siege to their encampment.
But they couldn't advance. The Dark Templar saw to that. It would only be a matter of time, though, so long as those Photon Cannons were out there.
Just then, the roar of a fusion engine could be heard between the blasts of artillery, and a Terran dropship flew overhead, letting its cargo of two Arclite Siege Tanks soar to the ground as it went. And as it wheeled about to return home, the Protoss welcomed the reinforcements.
A Dark Templar's eyes shone as he watched with some amusement as the renegades chose that very moment to attempt an assault. The Arclites entrenched themselves in the dirt, preparing to loose volley of shock cannon fire just as the first Dragoon neared the protoss gateways.
The Dark Templar darted forward, knowing that all was not lost. The arrogance of the renegades would cost them their victory.
"Right there."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm positive. Drop them."
"Yes, sir."
Asner held his breath as the dropship moved out. It was a short flight, hardly four kilometers, to the other side of the brackish pit that separated his command center from the renegade camp.
Some distance from the renegade camp, four Vulture speeders lighted on the ground, and the dropship hovered, waiting for their return.
"Alright, boys, fan out and drop those mines. And do whatever damage you can to their probes."
Asner watched in amazement as the hoverbikes sped across the barren ground without hinderance. They swept through a Protoss base devoid of any life save for the mechanical probes, and Asner became aware that his little gamble had just payed off.
Captain Asner grinned broadly "Pay dirt. Drop the mines, boys."
The four bikes began laying mines all around the Gateways of teh Protoss...as soon as a warrior styepped through, they would be vaporized. They were all walking to their deaths.
With that, the vultures proceeded to tear through the probes. Leaning back, Asner relaxed a bit. This ought to make things go a bit more smoothly.
Dirt and dust flew through the air, and another crater was left behind. The renegade templar had barely reached the protoss stronghold before they had been blasted apart. Now it was time for the loyal forces to take to the offensive.
The photon cannons lay nothing more than a pile of smking rubble, and the now unhindered warriors of Shakuras dashed with cold precision across the rocky ground. The Pirate tanks, unaware of the danger, continued firing at the Gateways. By the time Warp Blades torn into the hull, it was far too late for them to escape.
"Sir, they're trying to escape. I can track them."
Asner stood up. "Do it. We're going to have to follow them."
"Alright, I'm on it. I doubt we can stop them, though. They're alreay four klicks off the other side of teh ravine. Should I mobilize the men?"
"No," Asner stated thoughtfully. "I'll have the Protoss finish off their base, I want to regroup and prepare to move out. We'll follow them, let thjem settle in, then wipe them out."
With that, Asner stepped out into the sunlight and looked off to the north. Those sons of bitches were out there, and he was going to track them down.
This piece of (bad) fiction was taken directly from an actual game. Hope it was of some (mild) amusement.
--Sharandar |
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