//------------------------------// // Chapter Eighteen: Point/Counter-Point // Story: Strokes of Fate // by Silbern //------------------------------// Link Dusk Breaker, Hive Mind of his own Brood, sat quietly in a rather lavish office that had a window looking over the jagged mountain side and the vast forest below. The lone candle that was alight only moments ago was extinguished to let the beautiful moon light filter in. It was a peaceful time for Dusk to collect his thoughts and think about what matters in his life. Fiddlesticks eagerly flashed through several times before he could only snarl. He blamed the Zerg. He blamed Mr. Fang. He even blamed Celestia some days for not simply killing him when she had the chance. All of these were severely outnumbered by the amount of times when Dusk could only blame himself. Dusk knew he was too weak and foolish to think that the enemy wouldn't attack Fiddlesticks instead of him. Now he was forced to do the bidding of Mr. Fang while his beloved is stranded in orbit. “You will pay for this,” a weak voice coughed out as Dusk simply turned his head in disinterest to gaze upon a beaten body on the floor. A Gryphon wearing a uniform of dark grey adorned with metals and a velvety red sash tried desperately to get back up on all fours but failed. His body was covered in blood and it also seemed that both wings were broken. “The Gryphon empire will destroy your pathetic race!” “Possibly,” Dusk simply answered as he turned back to gazing out the window with half lidded eyes. “But not today, General,” The Gryphon barely had time to respond before his body was levitated from the floor. He barely got a word in before being thrown violently out the grand window to start a deadly plummet. A stomach churning thud sounded as the Gryphon obviously impacted upon the fortress' courtyard floor. Dusk stood from the lavish office chair to inspect his bloody work before noticing all the Gryphon corpses littering the walls, ramparts and stairs amongst the stone fort. A door from the barracks burst quickly as a single Gryphon practically tripped from his desperate chance of escaping. He quickly took to the air before a spray of blood erupted from the airborne Gryphon. The creature then plummeted as the hidden predator slithered from the door way. Two large talons quickly streaked down to decapitate the bleeding Gryphon. “I'm losing everything, Sir!” a man dressed in a tan jumpsuit announced as his fingers tapped rapidly on his keyboard. His eyes quickly read all the information that he could as the multiple reports filtered in from the ship's sensor. A man of greying hair came up behind him to overlook his monitor. “What's causing the failure in the system?” his gruff voice asked as he turned to face another monitor. “Someone is disturbing our relay systems from Engineering! Cameras and satellite footage is going off line!” Someone called out as his screen was starting to lose connections. “Security, this is Captain Monoko. I need a team to Engineering ASAP. We have someone interfering our systems,” Captain Monoko called out into ship comms with his voice obviously etched with irritation. “On it, Sir!” Jager called back as he cut off his communication line with the Bridge. He sat in the barracks with a few others while still in their combat suits. They were quickly armed and running amongst the ship corridors, as many of the crew gave them plenty of room. The elevator finally halted when they arrived on Engineering deck. The door opened as they came out with rifles raised. The Engineering crew quickly told them of a stranger in a white lab coat who was at one of the command console's. It wasn't long before they found the lone figure quickly tapping away on the keyboard before her as the power flickered with the lights. “Alex? What are you doing?” Jager called out as he raised his helmet visor to look at the long haired, blonde. She didn't respond nor acknowledge them but instead furiously tapped away until the room went dark. “Stop, Alex!” The emergency lights quickly turned on to reveal a crying Alexandria. Her finger was laying over one last key. “Alex, you have to stop right now before you do something you'll regret,” Jager tried to reason with her before Alex rose a hand to stop his advances. “I'm doing this to save as many as I can,” Alex explained through her sobs before pressing down on the key. Jager's comm system suddenly was ecstatic with platoon comm chatter. “What the hell?” “Who killed the lights?” “Oi, Sergeant. We have some power problems in Containment Sector Alpha,” Jager's eyes suddenly went wide in shock as he rested them on Alex's form that begun to slowly slide to the floor. Her head covered by her hands as she sobbed uncontrollably. “Retreat! Get out of there, Corporal!” “What? What's going on, Sarge?” “Get out of there!” Jager shouted once more before he heard the alarm through the Corporal's mic. “Now opening Cell Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta. . .” “What the fuck! Who's opening the cages?” “Where's Romero?” “Holy hell! He's getting pulled into one of the cages!” “Hello boys. . .” -- 24 Hours Earlier -- Dusk Breaker stood in front of his freshly morphed Hatchery as one of the Larvae began to slowly huddle underneath his body like a child to it's parent. The Zerg Alicorn had a purpose, a crescendo, that he was building up for and now he had a target to achieve. The message that he had heard in his head was incredibly brief but it was all he needed. It carried all the fuel he needed to commit his future assault. I love you, Dusk. Dusk's low growl caused the Larvae to give a small shriek. To Dusk, it was a need or a craving to be morphed into something more useful for the Swarm. The Larvae gave another little shrill scream before crawling a few meters away; morphing into an egg. The vessel is orbiting the planet, Hive Mind. Dusk just nodded as he turned to his force of Drones that have already begun harvesting much needed resources from the forest. Oddly enough, any source of proper biomass has been simple flora. It made things almost feel like a crawl at the progress that the Swarm was currently going at. The growing amount of Zerglings he had were running border patrol in groups of two. It wasn't exactly an army with only twenty, and counting, Zerglings but Dusk knew it was a better start than last time. The Grand Galloping Gala is in ten days. Heads will roll if Fiddlesticks is not sipping punch while talking Celestia's ear off. I want her home for the first dance. Tell me everything I'll need to know on how to get her home. Understood, Hive Mind. We will need to progress our structural limits as well as stabilizing our genetic pools. We also need a Zerg strain that can survive the vacuum of space. I can suggest a Light classed Leviathan, Hive Mind. See it done. “Dusk! Dusk!” a voice cried out as mentioned Alicorn turned his head to find a Pegasus fly out of the Hatchery holding none other then a bemused Doctor Pain Killer. “He was probing around the pool again, Dusk. I caught him just before he fell in!” Avro Arrow explained as she set the grinning Doctor down. “For the last time, Avro, I am not going to fall in!” Pain Killer protested as he avidly began to scribble whatever he had on his mind in his note book. “The ability of the Zerg to consume almost any mineral and find a value in it is astonishing. I would like to find a way to retain some of the digestive pool's liquid to study in a lab!” Dusk gave a slight chuckle as he noticed Avro's face bulge as she fought back the urge to fight with Pain. “You do know, Doctor, that if you fall into that pool then you'd be slowly dissolved until we extracted every valuable essence. Don't worry though,” Dusk suddenly shifted his face into a serrated, toothy grin. “You'd have drowned long before then,” The sound of a hissing laughter soon erupted as Dusk watched both of the Ponies sat with surprised and shocked faces. Hive Mind? What is it, Swarmy? We have an intruder, Hive Mind. A winged Pony awaits with a black screen hanging from his neck. He said that he has a message for you from a Mr. Fang. Alexandra sat with her head hung low as the same footage replayed over. It was those orbs of hatred that burned at her like non-extinguishable flame. Several screens relayed imagery and live footage of the planet's surface but none of them were shockingly disturbing as the main screen that still held the paused footage of Dusk's possible discovery of the Science vessel. The room was vacant besides Alexandra Yarko and Dr. Otterman, who by any accounts did not seem to pleased. “Miss Yarko,” Otterman started as he analyzed all of the footage once more in a slow fashion. “We have been watching Mr. Dusk Breaker closely for quite a while now and although he does possess Zerg abilities, he is quite slow at exploiting them,” “But you have seen it!” Alex tried to protest as she raised her hand to the monitor that had burned into her memory. “Miss Yarko, that will be quite enough out of you!” Otterman's voice rose to a peak only a few subordinates have ever angered him to. “You are simply in a state of hysteria. You are officially under restraint for the rest of this vessel's journey,” Alexandra stood to look her mentor in the eyes even though he was taller by more then a few inches. “You can't do this, sir! I've worked too hard to be sidelined like this!” “I can do that and more, Miss Yarko,” Otterman replied before tapping a finger on his lip, a personal habit of deep thinking. “I need to know that you have control over yourself, Miss Yarko, if I am to allow you to continue your work on this project. I have invested too much to allow such a animalistic species to bring it down simply because this guy misses his girlfriend,” “You have to believe me that Dusk will come for us, sir,” Alex pleaded her case more although Otterman didn't give any emotion to her go on. “Even Fiddlesticks has said that Dusk is coming! She must have sent a neural message to him when she last escaped!” “Of course she did, Miss Yarko,” Otterman spoke as he rolled his eyes. “You knew?” Alex's mouth hung open for a moment before Otterman simply used his index to close it once more. “You young kids honestly need to learn some vision and insight to your enemy,” Otterman spouted before tapping a few keys to change the centre view screen to show a large bulbous object that had a few stabilizing fins on it. “Zerg can be beaten, Miss Yarko. They are simply as strong as their leader, and it is quite obvious that Dusk Breaker can only be described as stupid and brash,” “Is that-,” Alex began to ask before covering her mouth. Her eyes ran over the object but they ultimately stopped on one insignia on it. “A Tactical Nuclear Warhead. Enough firepower to wipe a small country off the face of the planet. Our studies will end before the Zerg become too powerful. On that day, I shall put the final nail in the abomination they call Dusk's Brood,” Otterman replied with a smile. His hands tapped a few times more to bring up the view of a few Drones bustling around, some with materials while others simply returned back into the forest. “See? I have seen several Broods that grew twice as quick. Dusk is incompetent as a Leader,” “You're going to nuke the planet?” Alex asked with utter shock. “The blast radius will kill thousands! The ecosystems will be forever damaged!” “If the Zerg remain on that planet, there will be no other species,” Otterman spoke quietly. Alexandra was quiet for a moment as she idly checked the screen. Her mind ran a mile a minute but it was pure chaos. Alex's gut screamed that Dusk was more clever then most let on but at the same time, she couldn't say no to the job of a lifetime. What she needed was answers. “I am sorry, Sir,” Alexandra begun a moment after she let out a long breath. “With your permission, I would like to inform Fiddlesticks of the next stage of tests,” “Granted,” Otterman spoke as he began turning all of the screens off. “Make sure to have a security escort assigned to you, Miss Yarko,” Alex nodded solemnly before pressing a single key to open the doors. As quickly as she could manage, she walked from the room and down the hall. “Mr. Jaeger, please look over Miss Yarko. Report anything suspicious,” A static came over the comms a moment later. “Yes, Sir,” Fiddlesticks had remained seated on her bunk as she simply waited for the days experiments to start. Fiddlesticks didn't have her head hung low or tears staining her cheeks however. The one and only Pony aboard was just tapping her hoof and smiling. If there happened to be something wrong with the dear girl, it did not show. A small hiss sounded off in Fiddlesticks room which caused her to turn to the lone door. Expecting the usual group of armoured Human's to come in with their projectile weaponry, she was honestly shocked to hear a faint knocking. Only one person knocked. “Come in, Alexandra,” Fiddlesticks chuckled as she sat patiently on her bed. The door slowly gave way to one side as Alexandra slowly peeked her head in to see the Pony smiling back at her. “Good morning, Fiddlesticks,” Alex spoke with a slight stutter as her gaze never fully focused on the Mare. “Testing will begin shortly. Today we will begin multitasking with two subjects for you to control,” Alex explained but her gaze stayed glued to the smooth metal floor below her feet. Fiddlesticks was far from dim. The Mare sat still and in silence, she narrowed her gaze until Alex took the silence in the room as a hint. The Human took almost an entire minute before she rose her gaze enough so her vision just went over her glasses. “Miss Fiddlesticks?” “Alex, if ya use Miss one more time. . .,” Fiddlesticks groaned as she rolled her head back in agitation. “Ya start teh sound like that grump, Otterman,” Alexandra was quiet for a moment before taking another step in to be considered fully inside Fiddlestick's room. The door closed behind Alex causing a small 'Eeep!' to escape her lips before turning around to see Fiddlesticks holding a hoof to her lips in a desperate effort to halt a giggle escaping. “Ah think ya need to take a seat, girl,” Fiddlesticks stated with easy amusement. Alex was hesitant but after a few moments of fully taking in Fiddlesticks smile, she closed the distance hesitantly. Alexandra could only sit there on the edge of Fiddlesticks bed as her eyes idly ran over the tablet in her hands. She wasn't reading any of the info but Alex sure did try to make it look like she was. “Ah can read you like a book, ya know,” Alex turned to face her with eyes of pure fear. “Y-you can read my mind?” “Do ya really think Ah need too?” Fiddlesticks noted with a wink before chuckling. “Yer more coiled up then a Rattle Snake being poked by a stick. What's wrong with ya?” Fiddlesticks asked as she placed a hoof on Alex's arm. Alex took the contact on her arm with a slight jump, a small gasp escaping her lungs. “Do you fear me?” Fiddlesticks voice squirmed into Alex's head like a serpent. A long moment of silence surrounded the two as Fiddlesticks just continued to gaze with unfazed intent. Alexandra could only handle Fiddlesticks gaze for a moment before looking back down to the floor. Alex's breathing became heavy as she felt a small pounding on her temples. She bent over slightly as the pain increased; her eyes closed tightly to help bare with it. “Ah understand now,” Fiddlesticks spoke as she recalled her hoof to her own side. “Humanity seems to have a pretty good reason to hate and fear us,” Fiddlesticks spoke as her own gaze fell to the floor. Alex let out a breath of relief as the pain in her head came to a sudden halt. How? When? Alex knew what the pain was but when did Fiddlesticks gain that power? “Billions dead,” Fiddlesticks said as if recalling on a distant memory. “Ah guess our friendship is over,” Alex remained silent as the question repeated in her head. Friendship. It was a word that she hasn't heard in a long, long time. For all the power that the word really contained, it almost seemed nonexistent. “You considered the two of us friends?” Alex asked as she finally turned her head to look Fiddlesticks. The young Scientist was caught off guard as the Mare could only let loose a small giggle before putting a hoof on Alex's shoulder. “'Course yer my friend! We eat lunch together and have chats don't we? Heck, yer one of the smartest Pony's I know!” Fiddlesticks spoke through a large smile before noticing Alexandria's dumbfounded expression. “Errrr. . . Ah mean yer the smartest Human Ah know,” “May I ask you something then, Fiddlesticks?” Alex asked as she suddenly stared intensely at the Mare. Fiddlesticks nodded slowly as she prepared for the obvious question. “When is Dusk coming? Can you warn us?” Alex asked with utter desperation in her tone. Fiddlesticks couldn't help but laugh at the question which caught Alex's attention. “What? What's so funny?” Alex asked as she waited for the Mare to stop her laughter. “You don't get it, do you, Alex?” Fiddlesticks answered as she wiped a tear away from her laughter. “Dusk will never let this ship leave this Planet's orbit. Everyone aboard this vessel will die,” “No!” Alex shouted as she quickly got to her feet to look down upon the Mare. “There are plenty of good people aboard this ship! Why do they have to die?” “Good people?” Fiddlesticks anger flared as she leaped from her bed to get on her hooves. “Good people don't ponyknap someone to commit experiments on! I warned all of you! Dusk will kill anyone to get me back!” “No! I refuse to believe that!” Alex shouted defiantly although the tears that began to stream down her face betrayed any strength she tried to display. “I didn't want this to happen!” “Then let me go home,” Alex went stock still as her gaze seemed to freeze on the Pony's eyes. “It's impossible,” Alex muttered as she tried to desperately get a hold of her trembling body. It didn't help when the unmistakable voice of Fiddlesticks echoed in her head. If you don't let me off of this vessel, then everyone will die. I'm giving you a chance to save many lives, Alexandria Yarko. . . “Halt!” The large Alicorn came to a stop from his slow, purposeful walk. His mane of dark silk blew with the breeze as if each strand was lighter then air itself. His carapace was smooth as it layered over his back and the less flexible positions on bis legs and chest. He was a sight to see for sure and that was only his outwards appearance. Dusk raised his his gaze to see a growing number of Gryphons garnishing a variety of spears and halberds. One particular Gryphon that had a red, velvet sash with gold trim running over his rather impeccable golden armour raised a claw to silence his fellows. His gaze closely examined Dusk as the wind was the only cause of sound in the agitated situation. “What is the reason for your trespassing on Gryphon Military property?” the Gryphon leader called out with a voice deprived of both fear and anger; voice of a cautious veteran. Dusk waited a moment before doing a quick bow low to the ground from which he recovered calling back “I was sent to discuss a fragile situation regarding Mr. Fang,” “So, the cowardly pony sends royalty to do his begging for him? Are you just another corrupt official in his money bag? Another Dog following his master's orders with blinded loyalty?” the officer called back to Dusk, obviously not pleased. Dusk cringed slightly as the insults began to churn up a rather violent hurricane within him. “Are those words what you should be saying to the Emperor of the Zerg Empire?” Dusk replied with the most calm posture he could muster. “I didn't realize the Gryphon Empire wanted to fight it's neighbours so feverishly,” The crowd of soldiers broke down to mumbling and gasps as they watched the creature before them in new light. The mumbling was cut short as the officer cleared his throat loudly to gather attention. “Tell me then, Emperor Dusk, what exactly does Mr. Fang want with me and my valiant soldiers?” “All I ask is for one meeting to discuss a truce between Lord Fang and your proud garrison. I will depart from your grace after we exchange words,” Dusk offered as he remained to hold his ground outside the large steel plated doors. “I have no words to trade with any ally of Mr. Fang. That weapons trader is scum of the earth, along with many other war criminals,” the Gryphon stated with head held high; a judge passing a sentence. “Is that your final answer? I think you should reconsider your response to my offer, Sir,” The Gryphon eyed the intruder with suspicion but otherwise only let out a huff as acknowledgement. “So be it. Let it be known that the Iron Claw Mountain Regiment refused a trade of simple words to the Zerg Empire,” Dusk called out with slight irritation but he didn't move nor make any indication of moving. “Depart from these lands, Emperor! You are no longer welcomed here,” was the solo warning issued before the Officer made the order. A single javelin arced expertly towards the intended target as the master crafted weapon dug into the dirt road only a few inches away from Dusk's position. “Depart! That was your last warning!” Dusk remained silent as his stature stood with a calm air about him. “Remove this roach, Sergeant,” The officer ordered moments before another javelin was tossed in the air. Dusk simply surrounded the incoming projectile with his dark purple aura. Another aura surrounded the imbedded javelin to his side as he took aim at the Gryphons. “Last chance to reconsider, General,” “You have tested my patience, imbecile! Platoon, ready arms!” the officer shouted as numerous missile and thrown weapons were suddenly at the ready from the ramparts. “F-” “Contact!” The General turned suddenly to the sudden call. The opposite wall to them was only guarded by a few guards who were now quickly becoming outnumbered as Zerglings began to climb over. “The bastard is flanking us! Platoon, fire on the opposite wall!” The General ordered in a frenzy as he pulled his sabre from his side. “Third platoon! Get on those ramparts to contain the breach!” The first few Zerglings let out a gurgle as they laid upon the stone walls, spears in their bellies. They were only a few of many as one foolish Gryphon tried to retrieve his spear from one dead corpse. The Zergling quickly pounced with ferocity as the talons desperately ripped off armour before gorging into the much more delicate flesh and feathers. The cries were quickly followed as Dusk's Vanguard's charged over the wall only to get peppered by the range units on the opposite wall. The entire Fortress became a flurry of activity as fighting on the ramparts were bloody and unforgiven. For every clumsy swing of a sword or jab of a spear was meet with maws of sharp teeth and talons that yearned to tare apart anything that was considered an obstacle. “General! The main gate!” A cry called out as the veteran officer turned to look down to see that the blasted Zerg Alicorn still hasn't budged from his previous position. He was surrounded with vastly different units that were breaching over the walls however. One represented a hellish spawn of a serpent with a rather large head and extremely long, dangerous talons. The other unit was bulbous and slow but something didn't sit well with the officer's gut about the slower creatures. “First Platoon! Change target! Concentrate on the slow, green ones!” The Gryphon line quickly committed themselves with a quick turn as they took aim on the approaching Zerg units until the unthinkable happened. Every unit on the road besides Dusk quickly went into a furious motion as they buried beneath into dirt and stone within moments. The General stared with disbelief for a short moment before turning back to the fight on the ramparts. Without fire support of the archers, the wall fighters were getting out numbered quickly. The Zerglings cared little for their own losses or for the death of themselves. For every Zergling the enemy managed to skewer by spear opened them up to a quick follow up attack of Talons and teeth. They were becoming out numbered and out class. The General knew that this was a losing battle if he didn't send for reinforcements. “Fall back! Fall back to the Keep!” The saving grace that the Gryphons quickly claimed was the air mobility as they quickly took to the air. Some poor souls quickly got dragged down as Zerglings pounced on the slower soldiers in mid flight. The General quickly tried to lead them out in a tight formation until disaster hit. The units that previously burrowed were showing themselves once again though the serpents showed a much different stature. The Gryphon's sharp vision quickly caught the glint off the sharpened spines that bristled from the Hydralisks. “Dive! Dive!” The order was too late as Dusk raised a hoof for a moment then lowered it. “Fire,” The air was suddenly filled with a deadly barrage of projectiles. Cries of pain and death became a cacophony as blood sprayed survivors. Some tried to carry their comrades before getting impaled themselves. It was a slaughter. “Dive to the Keep! Get inside!” The Officer bellowed as whatever forces that still held some shred of their sanity followed with haste. The single heavy set door to the Keep was quickly shut and boarded up with anything heavy. Dusk smiled at his obvious victory. The Fortress was quickly being overthrown and the inhabitants slaughtered wherever found. A quick impulse from his thoughts sent the lumbering Banelings towards the steel plated gate. The creatures happily committed suicide as the acidic sacs all over their bodies burst to spew the deadly cargo over much of the wall. The door didn't last very long as hinges, metal, wood and stone simply melted away upon the assault. I want the entire Vanguard force on perimeter patrol. Leave Hydralisk teams on hunter-killer duties. Make sure nothing survives within these walls. Your will be done, Hive Mind. Who do you need to breach the Keep? Dusk only let a toothy grin answer as he charged his horn to an incredible level. The release was a sudden burst of energy that exploded forth with everything the Zerg stood for. Speed, mobility and ruthless ferocity. The explosion destroyed any excuse for a door and sent a shower of shrapnel in all directions. “I'm hear for that discussion, General,” “Corporal? What the fuck is going on!” Jager shouted into his comm unit before a scream echoed from deeper in the shadows of the large engineering department hanger. Quickly, the few Marines made a defensive circle around the sobbing Alexandria who still clung onto the console for support. The darkness suddenly seemed to dance as figures darted from cover to cover with only the dim, red emergency lights to illuminate the surroundings. “Put yer weapons down,” Jager stood a little shocked when the order was thrown their way. Nothing moved in the shadows but Jager didn't risk anything by moving their position. “Come out peacefully, Fiddlesticks, then we can talk,” The counter offer the lead Marine proposed was apparently the bad choice. A small crate suddenly became a violent projectile as it collided with on marine to send him on his back. Weapons reacted as several rounds ricocheted off walls, floors and other large crates that granted large shadows. Yet again the silence was a nerve racking enemy that already made the Marines trigger happy. Rifles jerked left and right at any indication of motion. “Leave, Jaeger, and Ah'll let you live. Ah hope Ah don't have'n to repeat myself,” “What did you do to Alex, Fiddlesticks?” Jager asked as he retreated slowly to pull the Scientist up by her waist. “What did you do to her head?” he shouted as his eyes darted from shadow to shadow. “Ah told 'er the truth. Dusk Breaker is coming to get me and he will kill everyone on this boat,” the voice explained but it always seemed to come from a different spot; always shifting. “She did more to save everyone's life than anyone could hope too,” “We would be fine without you Zerg trying to commit genocide!” Jager shouted with rising anger. “You bastards deserve everything coming to you. Heartless bastards!” “Heartless?” a cold voice caused a shiver to crawl up Jaeger's neck moments before he noticed the hoof stepping out of the shadow as if it was part of the shadow. Everything happened in such a mad flurry of action that Jaeger almost felt like a helpless child. All the rifles were crushed making them nothing more then broken paper weights. Marines were then used as rag dolls to be scattered across the large hanger. All this time however, Jaeger had his attention focused on the Mare slowly approaching him with small, fluid steps. Her Fur was sleek, her bandana was tied around her neck like always but there was something radically different. Hot stream of tears flowed from her face as Jaeger could easily see that she was fighting the break down with all her might. “Ah'm heartless?” she asked through small sobs, her reddening eyes gazing at both Alexandria and Jaeger. Her form was shaking before all the emotions finally bubbled to the surface. The Psionic shock wave erupted from her being in a flash of visible energy that even displaced the air surrounding them. “All Ah want is to go home to mah Family!” Fiddlesticks pained shout caused Jaeger to fly backwards until his form came into contact with the bulkhead. His consciousness was fading fast but the last image he saw was the Queen of the Zerg Empire break down in honest, emotional pain. “Sir! We have a report from the Moebius Foundation! They are requesting support in a previously unexplored sector, Sir” The aged man sat with a finger slowly tapping the edge of the Holographic Map Display table. A smouldering cigarette between his lips which he exhaled most of the contents into the air. “Ignore it. Ain't worth our time.” A man in uniform stood from his position to overlook the console that displayed the report. The name Horner over his right breast. “Uh, Sir? They have confirmed Zerg Hive Mind at their co-ordinates,” Jim Raynor turned sharply before spitting out his cigarette and stomping on it. “Well? What are you waiting for?”