Starcraft: Queen and Country

by Wanderer D

Chapter 012: Patrolling

2504, Koprulu Sector, Planet Agria █

The colony was a lot smaller than Gallus even imagined. He had read up on Agria while waiting for his armor to be done, and then later on as they finalized preparations. The planet itself had been pretty important to the Terrans for years, a botanical and wildlife paradise created out of a barren wasteland thanks to state-of-the-art terraforming practices, and careful government. It had been such a staple of Terran achievements in the galaxy, that it had merited heavy scientific investment and even a dedicated permanent detachment of the Dominion to protect it.

Clearly, benign science was the least of the concerns for this particular government, however, as the whole of the base had been evacuated as soon as the zerg started invading the system. From the local accounts, the Dominion's army had packed what they deemed essential—namely no Terran life other than their own—and flown out, taking most of the vehicles capable of interstellar travel with them.

Dr. Ariel Hanson, who smelled like she really liked Raynor, had then taken charge of the colony after her father had retired, and when she had found out about the Dominion's betrayal had done her best to organize an evacuation.

Unfortunately, it had been too little, too late.

The single star-port that they had left was not enough to do the job of evacuating everyone, and without the army to help, the colonists had all gathered together and swarmed into the colony just before the last ships left… and now they were at the mercy of the zerg unless Raynor managed to evacuate them all in an orderly fashion.

It was probably only a few thousand colonists that needed to be evacuated, which Matt had insisted was actually not that many, but Raynor didn't miss a beat before he was already setting up barracks and defensive structures while planning the logistics. 

Gallus had never been one for the army. Griffonstone had little in the way of formal national defense other than a bunch of really angry griffons that would get together into what amounted to a mob and then storm the enemy, and what he had seen of the Royal Guard of Equestria had not left him feeling impressed. Especially considering that most of the actual combat against evil had been done by his teachers, and later on by himself and his friends, but he had to admit Raynor was sort the ideal commander that he'd expect to see in a fictional work.

The Terran simply got things done, and people followed him.

The thought of the armies (or lack thereof back in Equestria) brought with it feelings of nostalgia and fear. Were they alright? Had anycreature been hurt by that fanatic? What was Sweetie doing now? Were his teachers and friends looking for them? He growled, scaring a few of the locals as he shook himself to dismiss the thoughts. 

Right now, he had a simple mission to accomplish, which was to patrol. He had wanted to take flight but Raynor had given his armor a worried glance, and then stated that even if the attempt didn't kill Gallus outright, it was better to not let possible enemies know of his flight capabilities yet. He wanted him on the ground until the actual evacuation started, then he would be up there, overseeing and informing as needed.

Which didn't make sense, because he had wings. One look. That's all they needed and they'd know he was supposed to fly. Just how dense could someone be?

"What kind of robot do you think that is?" a Terran asked, stopping to ogle Gallus.

"Some sort of modified Predator?" another muttered, leaning in to look through Gallus's visor. Trying to discern some sort of circuitry.

"Move along, citizen," Gallus said, making them scramble away screaming. He chuckled. It was true that the helmet and armor made him look like a robot out of Spike's comic books, but it was still hilarious to help them realize their error.

As he walked he still caught snippets of conversation that the local Terrans were comfortable saying around a "robot".

"...can't believe we were abandoned."

"...can we trust these pirates to save us? What if they sell us?!"

"...I heard Raynor was on the side of the zerg!"

The Terrans at the colony had reacted with mixed feelings to being saved by Raynor's crew. It was slightly unreal to see the lack of gratitude from some of the colonists. Their own protectors had abandoned them, and yet here were more than a few who were happy to complain about being saved by Raynor.

Still, it was not his job to worry about that. He glanced at the sky. Soon he would be up there… and it wouldn't be an easy job. Zerg pods would be crashing into their area, and there were of course flying units and zerg that could shoot him out of the sky.

"Hey kid," the voice almost made him jump, but he managed to not embarrass himself.

"I'm here, what's going on?"

Raynor's voice crackled a little, as the display with his face appeared in Gallus' vision. "Matt informed me that the zerg are beginning their invasion of this part of the planet. We're starting now. I want you to get up there and communicate with my troops. Any zerg you see, you tell them, got it?"

"Got it," he replied, trying not to sound too nervous. He hefted his weapon and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. It was time to go. He took off with a powerful beat of his wings. The systems activated immediately, and with the boost, he didn't feel the weight of his armor at all, and he let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

Sure the tests had worked out, but Swann had only had time for a few basic ones with the incomplete version before Gallus had to strip it off so that it could be finished. The fact that he was not on fire right now was a good sign as far as he was concerned.

"Doing a fly by," he reported, "Nothing so far, I can see the ground vehicle."

"Alright kid, follow along with it. I have a couple of bunkers already set up ahead, keep an eye out for them, the zerg will definitely attack those if they want to take over the colony."

"Right. I mean, yes sir!"

He could hear Raynor chuckling. "You'll do fine kid. Just aim steady and shot when ready, if you can't, just relay info and stay out of combat."

Gallus swerved out of the way, the only warning he had was a darkening of the air around him—like a cloud passing in front of the sun above. However, unlike the cloud, zerg pods were enveloped in flames, quite solid, and would kill him immediately, armor or not, if he got hit by one.

He watched the organic mass splatter into the ground below, covering the area in that strange, black miasma that the zerg spread all around the ground they took. With scary speed, zerglings emerged from the mess and started heading towards the barracks.

"Zerglings approaching from the west!" he called in, watching as the turret on top of the barracks swirled immediately towards them and started firing. He saw other pods and took not of their location. "Raynor, I saw two pods crash to the east and one north east. I'll head over to observe."

"Roger that kid, stay alert and fly back immediately if you're in danger, the zerg won't chase you too far."

Gallus didn't bother replying. Tilting his wings to catch the wind, he glided over the highway, above the huge transport full of civilians that was being escorted by Raynor's troops, and past the patch of land next to it. The planet itself reminded him of the outskirts of Ponyville. It was full of farms and fields where crops were growing. He tried to figure out why the zerg would attack this place. Did they also eat the same thing? What possible advantage could they get here, other than maybe destroying the scientific research?

"Zerglings are running through the fields to the east of the road, not that many, but might just be the start of the latest batch. I don't see any sign of the pods from earlier."

He watched with a grimace as the zerglings rushed out of the foliage towards the waiting marines and were torn to shreds. It brought back sudden images of Sweetie's legs being torn to shreds right in front of him, or Quantum becoming nothing more than chunks of bloody meat, becoming nothing more than stinky piles of flesh, vapor rising from their bunt remains into the cold air of Agria. He felt sick, and suddenly very aware that he could just as easily end up as minced turkey too if he wasn't careful. 

"You alright, Gallus? Computer's showing your flight a little erratic."

"Y-yeah," Gallus said, fighting the sudden bile rising in his throat. "I just need to rest for a moment. The suit is throwing off my normal flight instincts. I see a rock formation over there I should be safe enough to perch on for a bit."

"Roger that kid, as soon as you rested, I want you back in the base. Your observations are pretty useful, but if more tweaks are needed in your suit, we'll have Swann look at it."

"R-right."

Gallus curved around the area and flapped his wings to drop his momentum, landing a bit more heavily than intended on the flat top of a large, plateau-like rock raising over the fields. All around him, he could see plants. In the distance, off to the east, northeast, he could see a few zerg pods had crashed and started spreading that goo of theirs, so he quickly reported it before taking off his helmet and taking a big gulp of air.

He made sure he was alone, turning off his microphone, before he started pacing. "What in Tartarus am I doing?" he muttered, "I'm less sturdy than any zerg! A stray bullet or a slashing claw will kill me!" Stopping again when he felt the urge to throw up, he took a moment to gather himself and breathe.

Griffons were a rowdy bunch, and Gallus knew the difference between being nervous, an adrenaline rush, or being downright terrified. He had been really nervous as they descended into the planet, cramped as he was with a bunch of bipeds into a small metal box. It had been close to triggering his claustrophobia, but the short duration of the trip had helped. He had felt tight and slightly claustrophobic in his armor—but he was able to fly and run and breathe… it was just getting used to being uncomfortable… but this… this feeling was different. It made him queasy.

It brought memories of bone and sinew and blood splattering, warm and coppery onto his face. It brought the mental image of Sweetie's face contorted in indescribable pain as she was horrendously ripped by bullets designed to bring down tanks. It brought back the guilt… that he had managed to cross. That he was safe. That his wing just hurt… that it wasn't him who had their legs turned to mince. That he wasn't staying behind. That he was glad it hadn't been him on the other side of the portal, being torn apart and watching others run.

Zeratul had said nothing, used as he was to sacrifices in battle, but Gallus wasn't a warrior. He was just a year away from graduation from the School of Friendship. Could Twilight's teachings even be relevant here, where everycreature was more likely to kill you than listen?

He shook his head, noticing the blinking red light from within his helmet.  He frowned and picked it up, trying to figure out what was wrong.

That's when the pod crashed into the side of the rock formation, black miasma and fire exploding all around him. He barely had time to scream before the world collapsed around him. He tried to flap his wings, but the rocks around him batted them down hard. If his armor hadn't been so sturdy, he would have probably broken them.

He hit the ground hard, losing his breath from the impact and coughed in the dust. Groaning, he pushed himself up. He couldn't see his helmet. It was probably crushed under the rocks behind him. High above, he could see sunlight pushing through the collapsed rocks. He should still be able to climb up there and escape… the gap was narrow, but not too small for him, even with his armor. And if it was too small for the armor… well. They could always build him another.

A skittering sound behind him made him turn around quickly, eyes wide. From the shadows deeper in the cavern emerged several toothed, scythed creatures. He knew them well. Zerglings.

Slowly, as to not to provoke them, he raised his rifle. His claws worked within his armor to activate all of its combat protocols, and he was very thankful of the time he had spent working with Swann on the armors before.

He glanced up at the crevice. If they attacked, he'd have to retreat while shooting. He might be able to use the armor's boosters to reach it quickly and…

The zerg slowly retreated into the darkness.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

And then he heard her.

"Hi Gallus…" Her voice came from all around him, an unnatural, reverberating echo to it. From within the darkness, she slowly emerged, carapace shining in the light from the sun outside, her mane made of chitinous tentacles rather than hair, although somehow still retaining her original colors. Her horn was a little longer, jagged and splitting slightly at the tip. Vicious-looking scythes stood at attention, emerging from her back, and gossamer wings buzzed lightly. She was taller, as tall as he was in his armor, slimmer and decidedly more sure of herself.

"Sweetie Belle…"