"Mark4 is just very happy that he got the race he picked before the game started."
-YourRoleModel
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| Dream Control Section:B | | | Author: | | | IP: | slip-32-XXXX | | Date: | 04/10/00 04:04 | | Game Type: | Starcraft | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 2, Max: 8, Min: 8
Lifetime Rating for ScreamStalker: 7.5385 |  | Well, I am back. This time with Section: B of Dream Control. After getting many compliments on Section: A, I have decided to continue with this series as long as the public approves. If you haven't had the chance to read Section A, I suggest you do so, other wise you may get lost in the story. Without any more of me yapping, here is:
Dream Control Section: B - Charon Assassination
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Calvin sat straight up in his bed. His pajamas and sheets had been soaked through by sweat, and his hair was matted to his forehead. Breathing hard, Calvin quickly scanned the room around him. No Zerglings, no Zealots, and no barren wasteland, just his familiar bedroom staring back at him. Peeling the sheets off his damp skin, Calvin padded into his nearby bathroom. He flicked on the overhead light, and after his eyes adjusted to the harsh luminescence, he lifted up his shirt. No marks, nothing. Shaking his head, disgusted that he had let a dream scare him this badly, Calvin grabbed a disposable cup from its holder on the counter, and greedily gulped down water.
Once back in his bedroom, Calvin began to reminisce on his dream. It was unlike any other dream he had ever had, and even though he was disappointed in himself that he had become frightened by it, he had still enjoyed it. Calvin thought about it for a few minutes longer, before he drifted back into the subconscious world.
Morning came without incident, and Calvin awoke to find himself surprisingly fresh and energetic. With his mind still focused on the vivid dream, Calvin performed all his normal morning tasks. In fact, the only time his brain stopped focusing on the dream was when he caught up with an extremely gorgeous girl at lunch. After she agreed to go to a movie with him that weekend, it once again focused on the memory.
As usual, Calvin was out of school as fast as he could, but he had been scheduled to work from 3-8 at his movie theatre job, so instead of heading home, he went the opposite direction to where his job was located. Work that day was boring, as not many people come to visit theatres on Thursday nights, so Calvin took his free time and jotted down everything he could remember about the dream. He had pretty much figured it out that the dream was caused by his obsessive StarCraft playing, and he had probably been the Zealot because his mind had last been concentrating on the Protoss race. One thing Calvin couldn't figure out though, was why he could remember the dream with so much detail. Normally, he could only remember bits and pieces of dreams, and he usually didn't even give them a second thought when he woke up. But with this apparition, he could recall ever detail perfectly.
Calvin arrived home at 8:17. The door to his house was unlocked, and when he entered, he found his mom relaxing on the sofa watching some sort of talk show. She smiled when he walked in and proceeded to drill him on how his day had been. Calvin sighed and answered all of her questions as best he could, leaving out the part about the dream and the date on Saturday. After Calvin had been through a full interrogation, his mom smiled, kissed him on the forehead, and hit the sack, explaining that she had to work late tomorrow and she wanted to be well rested.
After his mom had gone to bed, Calvin logged into StarCraft. Calvin also liked to switch aliases every other night, so he quickly deleted ~Asylum~ from his log in box, and replaced it with Glacier, his other alias. Once in Battle.Net, Calvin decided to see if any of his pals were on. Joining the channel NoHunters, he saw several people that he knew, and proceeded to converse with them for the better part of a half hour. Calvin then joined a game involving two other people that he knew in a free for all on Ashrigo, choosing Terran as his race. Once again, Calvin played well, but this time he did not come out victorious. After suffering severe losses from an opponent he eventually beat, he was little more then a bug to the other player. Calvin didn't feel any anger or remorse in his loss though, he had played well, and was proud of that. He proceeded to play 2 more games that night, losing both of them, before deciding that today was just not his day, and retiring for the night. After shutting down his computer, Calvin remembered he had homework to do. He spent the next hour brooding over Chemistry problems, and catching pieces of "Loveline" before going to bed.
Calvin's eyes fluttered slightly before opening completely. Once they did, the sight they absorbed was surprising. Calvin was sitting in a metal chair, which was leaning against a far wall. Ten feet in front of him was a small rounded table, which had four burly men sitting around it playing poker. Off in the corner of the room were several pinball machines, two of which were in use by tall men. The room was painted a drab gray, and was devoid of any decorations or pictures. It stank of cigarette smoke and body odor, and Calvin's eyes watered thinking about it. Several other people were off talking in another corner of the large room. Calvin quickly counted seven males and two females in the group.
Before he could open his mouth to ask someone where he was, a voice crackled out of the small speaker attached to the ceiling. The words it spit out were as follows:
"Lieutenants Black, Moby, Richardson, and Skinner report to the main training room immediately. That is all."
The message was followed by a small crackle of static before ending. Calvin, stood up out of his chair, and noticed two of the poker players also rising. Not having any idea where he was, or much less, where he was going, Calvin followed the two men as they exited. Before they left the room however they were joined by a rather attractive female from the small conversing company.
The four of them traveled out of the room and down a narrow corridor. Up three flights of stairs and down another corridor before stopping before a broad steel door. Nobody had uttered a word on the walk there. While walking, Calvin noticed for the first time what he was wearing. His entire body was clothed in a black vinyl jumpsuit, with black commando boots, and a black ball cap. Everyone else was also in the same attire. Upon entering the room, they were greeted by a small overweight man who could have been mistaken for Santa Clause. "Ah, the new recruits have arrived." He said cheerfully to no one in particular. He then produced a black clipboard he had been holding behind his back. "Let's see," he said. "Black and Moby," the two men from the poker table stepped forward, "You're to be suited up in regulation marine suits, I assume you know the drill?" Both men nodded and walked through the main training room, and into another room adjacent to it. "Skinner," the attractive woman smiled and stepped forward. "Medic duty for you." the fat man stated. Skinner nodded, and walked through the same door as Moby and Black. Before she got there, she turned around and gave Calvin a small wink. Calvin smiled back, and the man continued. "And Richardson, well well, you're to be trained as a Goliath pilot. Will this be your first time operating a Goliath suit?" Calvin's eyes widened, and he nodded. "Hehe, I used to be a Goliath commander, they're a lot of fun. Follow me please."
The old man led Calvin into the middle of the training room, and sat him in one of seven large white chairs, that looked remarkably similar to a dentist's chair. Each chair had several monitors attached to it, and was equipped with some sort of head restraining device.
"Now," the said the Sergeant, "just slide your head into the implication device, and relax. You won't feel a thing." Calvin did as he was told, resting his skull in the padded restraint and closing his eyes. In the next few seconds a he felt a small prick at the base of each of his temple's, followed by a flood of information. "There ya go, feel any different?" Calvin shook his head no. "Good, you shouldn't. Now let's get you suited up and out in the field."
The man helped Calvin out of the chair, and led him through the same door that Skinner, Moby, and Black had all gone through. The room was equipped with several different suits, and Calvin recognized most of them instantly. The fat man walked over to a small console and typed in a few numbers before stepping back. To the left of the suits that Calvin had been studying, a large blast door lifted away and revealed a completed Goliath suit. Calvin looked at it in awe. The suit stood ten feet high, and was covered in shining steel plates. Each plate was as smooth and reflective as a mirror might be. Two large machine guns were welded to each shoulder plates of the suit, and Calvin could barely make out the missile containment units that were located on the each scapula.
The Lieutenant admired it with him for a few seconds before returning to the console and pressing a few more numbers. A hiss of steam erupted from the crevices in the armor of the suit, and a section of armor from the waist up folded forward. "In you go." Said the man, producing a step stool. Calvin took the stool and climbed it. He grabbed two handles attached to the ceiling above the Goliath, and used them to hoist himself up and then in to the suit.
Once inside, Calvin felt at home instantly. The suit had somehow been adjusted to his personal features, and it fit like a glove. He barely even noticed when the portion of the suit that had lowered to let him in closed back up. "Have fun!" The Lieutenant shouted, before pointing him in the direction of a huge glass tube and exiting. Calvin took a step forward in the suit and for the first time immediately noticed that he knew how to operate the machine. It was fairly simply. The left hand controlled the movement panel. But that was only if the tracking system failed, otherwise, the Goliath suit would simply correspond to Calvin's own movements. Above the control panel sat another panel which was identical to a standard keyboard. The keyboard was for sending messages back to base, or to a certain person while in the heat of the battle. The right hand controlled both the machine guns and the missile launchers.
Taking another step toward, Calvin realized that walking in the suit would be the only thing getting used to. His real feet were actually a yard above the ground, so he had to anticipate where each foot was going to land. After walking around the changing room for a few minutes, Calvin decided he was as comfortable as he was going to get, and stepped into the plexi-glass air lock unit. The unit immediately shut as soon as Calvin had stepped inside, and began to lower much like an elevator. It came to an abrupt stop and re-opened its doors, allowing Calvin to see the battle world for the first time.
He knew it instantly. Ashrigo. No other world was like it. The molten lava pits gave off an immense heat, and the ground was charred and scorched as if set afire millions of years ago. Stepping out of the air-lock unit, Calvin saw where he was to go. A group of mixed infantry was gathered near the base of a bunker, which was quite larger the Calvin had though it would be. Jogging over to join them, several of the troops turned to look at him, a few gave him a smile but most turned away. He recognized Skinner's face instantly, smiling at him from her skin tight medic uniform. He saw her eyes deviate from his for a few seconds before returning, and a message flashed across his face plate.
"Wouldn't even have to get on my knees would I?"
Calvin felt his face go red and was thankful that the face plate was tinted. Before he could respond though, an Admiral's face appeared much like Skinner's message had. His speech was as follows:
"Fellow Terrans, I am Admiral Salkowski. In case you didn't know, I am the Commander of this station. For those of you who have not been following the television monitors in the command center, we are engaged in a life or death battle with a small band of Protoss. The battle has been going on now for several hours and we look to put a sharp end to it. Your regiment's orders are to travel along side the northern ridge of the Protoss base. From there you will be in range to shoot down the Protoss' last functioning Nexus. I leave you in the Command of General Gainey here. Follow his orders as if they were mine. You are our last hope. Salkowski out."
And with that, the Admiral's transmission ended. During the speech, Calvin had taken the time to look around and identify the other members of his group. He counted six marines, two of which he assumed were Black and Moby, an SCV, Skinner, one other Goliath, and two Siege Tanks. Once the Admiral had stopped talking, the other Goliath stepped back so that he was in view of everyone. Messages began to flash along Calvin's face plate once again.
"Good evening everyone, and welcome to the lovely world of Ashrigo. I am, if you haven't guessed, General Gainey, and I am the one responsible for your lives. You have already heard our orders from the Admiral, and I plan to follow them precisely. We will travel due North until we are 200 yards from the Protoss encampment. Once there, we are scheduled to meet several transports who will drop us on the northern ledge. I will give further instructions once we have reached that point. If we reach that point. I have never had a soldier die on me, and I never plan to. Understood? Good. Black."
One of the Marines stepped forward.
"I understand you are the ranking Marine officer in this regiment. You will be in charge of the five other marines and Skinner here. You will lead the way to the transport meeting place. Richardson."
This time, Calvin stepped forth.
"You and I will flank the infantry, you will have the right side. Ralston, the SCV, will remain between us. Boyer and Goldfield."
The two tanks rumbled forward.
"You two will be covering the rear. Remain out of Siege mode until I instruct you otherwise. If you need assistance, do not be afraid to call for it. We are not a large band and back-up will be hard to come by. So I don't want to lose anyone, as I have already said. Now, move out!"
With that finished, the small group of warriors began to move. Calvin felt like his heart was going to beat right out of his chest. For the next 30 minutes, the group walked north, without incident. The landscape was not much to look at, as it was mostly charred earth and lava pits. As time passed, Calvin found himself trading dirty messages with Skinner, the medic. This kept his mind off the upcoming battle, and he was more then happy to have a little fun, even if it was a dream.
Suddenly, Gainey's large mechanized hand rose straight up, and the message "Stop" flashed across Calvin's screen. Gainey quickly followed this message by saying;
"Black, I want you to pick a man to scout ahead of us. We still have a ways to go and any surprises are unwelcome. Ralston, begin construction of a missile turret. I have heard rumors that the Protoss have employed members of the Dark Templar and I certainly do not want to be caught pant's down with one of those. Understood?"
Ralston simply did as he was told, while Black pointed at a random marine.
"Name soldier?" Black asked.
"Mays sir." Replied the marine.
"Lieutenant Mays, your are to be my scouting eyes. I want you to run ahead to where we are to meet for transport. Report back to me every five minutes. Should you encounter any non Terran activity, report immediately. Understood?"
"Yes sir." Replied Mays, and with that he took off into the distance. Calvin watched him with some interest, until he cleared a small bluff and was lost from view.
Meanwhile, Ralston had finished construction of the turret. Again Gainey issued orders.
"We will remain here until we here a report from Mays."
Five minutes passed with no response from the Lieutenant. Calvin caught Black and Gainey exchange worried glances several times. It had been eight minutes since Mays had been dispatched before the frightening words appeared on Calvin's screen.
"Oh sweet Jesus! Commander, please God! Help me! I need help. Sweet Jesus. They're all around. Oh God, oh God. Plea……." The transmission ended.
Calvin had recognized May's voice immediately, causing him to ready his machine guns for an upcoming encounter. May's voice had barely disappeared from Calvin's monitor, before several Protoss units cleared the distant bluff. Calvin knew they were in for some trouble, as he quickly counted seven Zealots, and three Dragoons. He also noticed several shimmering patches of land, and knew that Dark Templar were also among those troops. Gainey wasted no time in barking orders.
"All Marines to the front line!" He screamed. "Stim up when you can see those bastard's eyes, or whatever the hell they have! Skinner, remain behind the Marines! Goldfield, Boyer siege up now damnit! This is gonna be huge!"
Calvin's heart began to beat faster and faster as the Protoss closed on their position. He heard the clanging and churning of gears and recognized that the tanks were in position. The faint sound of several hissing stimulation packs also reached his ears, followed by a human rally cry as the Marines charged into battle. What happened next was pure mayhem. Tanks fired their arclite shells into the Protoss band, Dragoons responded with plasma blasts, rifles exploded, blades tore the air apart, and it seems as everything was dying all at once. Fortunately for the Terrans, the Marines were of top class, and were able to take down all seven Zealots, before the last one was killed by the scythe of a Templar. The two tanks were also able to destroy the Dragoons, but one had suffered severe damage, and was not able to return to tank mode, exploding on the spot. It was then Calvin realized the danger they were in. A Dark Templar had barely set himself in range of the missile turret, and Calvin saw straight through the beast, literally. He also saw where he was headed, straight towards the defenseless Skinner.
Scanning the area for any of his comrades help, he realized he was the only one capable of saving Skinner. Ralston was busy repairing Gainey, who had had his right leg shot out from under him, and the remaining tank was busy recharging its battery. With a grunt of anger, Calvin flexed his powerful mechanized legs and launched himself at the Dark Templar. He caught the warrior in the midsection and crashed into the earth with the now struggling beast pinned beneath his immense weight. Knowing the only way he could kill the Templar in one shot would be missiles, Calvin quickly armed the right shoulder silo. Looking back out his view port, Calvin saw that he and the creature were eye to eye, and what he could make out was mostly a transparent shadow. The only concrete feature on the entire beings face, was its eyes. They were solid black flames, and they reflected to Calvin a thing of hell itself. Looking away, not allowing himself to be absorbed into the blackness of those eyes, Calvin pushed the fire button on the control panel. Instantly, he felt a giant pain rip through his left flank followed by a deafening blast, that was so powerful, Calvin exploded backwards twenty feet, to land on his back in a pile of ash.
His face mask cracked, and the left side of his suit nearly destroyed, Calvin felt himself falling. And feared he would never wake up.
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And so ends Section B of Dream Control. Well, hoped you guys all liked it. This one was quite a bit of fun to write. Don't look for another one for a while now. I have a language competition this weekend, and then it's Spring Break. I'll try to write the next installment sometime then, but don't hold your breath. =) As always. COMMENTS! Please!
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