I had just posted my last battlereport, and after securing first comment I logged onto B.net to see if anyone I knew was on. Of course they weren't. I played several 1v1's against players who assured me that their apm was over 500 (on a bad night, of course) and beat the majority of them in under six minutes. I logged off B.net in low spirits and went to bed, battlereports and 10's far from my mind.

Then the angel came to me. It swayed just out my reach for some time, not unlike a raccoon who had just found the benefits of mixing both drink and rabies after 11:00.

Then it whispered to me:

Softly at first, so as not to disturb me, but it became gradually louder. As it grew louder I pulled my cheap covers up over my face as the sound rose to a booming crescendo. Finally, the angel gave way to the sinister form of Beezlebub the Deciever, and he shouted to me one sentence.

It was a question.

Naturally I chose in favor of starcraft.

Taking the advice of the Devil as divine intervention I shrugged and logged onto broodwar in higher spirits than earlier. After two straight losses my confidence was a little shaken though, so I instead decided to focus my efforts on producing part two of my series featuring Acesaga and Star.HL. I hope you like it.

Well I've finally decided to do away with the cliche black background, if only to help you sorry Mozilla users. What follows is another Lost Temple Protoss vs. Terran game, featuring the normal combatants, Acesaga and Star.HL. If you didn't read Game 1 or want to simply refresh your memory, I suggest you do so now. As my old Grandpappy used to say there's no going forward until you go back ^_^.

Acesaga began at the 3:00 posistion, and as usual in all of my reports proceeded with a fast goon opening. Star, again as usual, walled in and laid down some quick factories for tanks and siege. Build orders as follows:

Acesaga

• 8 pylon
• 10 gateway
• 12 assimilator
• 13 cybernetics core
• 16 pylon
• 23 pylon
• First goon as well as range upgrade

Star.HL

• 9 depot
• 11 barracks
• 13 refinery
• 16 depot
• 18 factory
• 22 depot and machine shop
• First tank building with siege upgrading

Both players were quiet in the beginning, which I guess is normal considering both were teching. Five minutes in Acesaga sent three goons at the 6:00 wall in to test the terran defenses. They were met with no opposition upon reaching the wall, as Star's first tank was only 3/4 of the way through production. The three goons, after stumbling over each other for a few seconds, decided to finally attack a depot. The normal three scvs were dispatched to repair, but this time Acesaga actually realized he could attack them, and the scvs were driven off with one casualty. Time went by as the three goons continued to wear down the depot, until it reached yellow. More scvs were sent now as the depot reached red health, and after completion Star immediately sent his first tank over to destroy the goons. Once the scvs reached the depot the goons had a field day, managing to kill another four before switching targets to the tank. Even with three scvs repairing it was destroyed, and it looked as if this half-ass goon rush might just win the game for Acesaga.

But Acesaga was no longer microing the battle, instead focusing his efforts back home, where he had loaded up a shuttle with two zealots and a reaver. The goons left at 6:00 continued to fire randomly amongst the terran wall in, but finally left when Star's second tank sieged and began firing on them. It's unfortunate that they left the five HP depot standing when they left, for six scvs were ferried over to turbo-repair it. Once the goons (who had managed to destroy nine scvs and a tank) returned home both players quietly powered for a few minutes.

Yet we all know that at some point in a game of StarCraft the silence ends, and what better way than with a reaver drop? For the time had come for Acesaga to drop his korean spewing bugger on some hapless scvs. (First ya make da reava, den da reava shoot da scarab, den joo win de game!) The shuttle was sent out quickly and landed on the terran main with no resistance, looking for scvs- except that very few scvs were at the terran base. The reason was that in an act of very good timing (or God), Star finished a new command center at his natural and maynarded the majority of his scvs away before the shuttle arrived. The reaver and zealot escort managed to destroy the scvs on gas duty, as well as a tank before being shooed off by vulture reinforcements.

What's the point of dropping scvs though if they don't make for good screenshots? Longing for some bigger scv explosions (like the time I reaver dropped my opponent's one mineral patch on Fastest Map Possible- hehe) Acesaga tried his hand at reaver dropping again, this time the natural. Every scv was destroyed.

He wasn't done, however. After finishing the scvs off at the 6:00 natural, he loaded up his reaver and co. and flew the short distance back to the terran main. Two tanks and a vulture made an attempt at destroying the protoss force, but- well, let me put it into a simple analogy:

Neo vs. Christopher Hawkins.

With no units in sight (the reaver alone had over twenty kills) the protoss units began randomly attacking various terran buildings before four vultures popped out of their respective factories. Rather then staying to fight the protoss compadres flew off into the sunset (like Zoro <3!)

Star was angry now. He had been completely humiliated, losing not only ~fifteen scvs but two tanks and some vultures as well. And what had he to show for it? A reaver with its shields depleted about halfway. Rapidly comsatting his protoss opponent, Star saw expansions at the 12:00 main and 3:00 natural. Foaming at the mouth (again not unlike a raccoon who had just found the benefits of mixing drink and rabies after 11:00), he ordered several vultures to go probe poppin' at the 12:00 main. They arrived with perfect timing for the terran commander, as two cannons had not finished warping. Seven or eight scvs were destroyed before the cannons finished warping in and destroyed the vultures. Mines were laid all over the protoss real estate to keep an eye out for any sneaky tech. Unfortunately there were in the wrong place.

For in the meantime Acesaga had not been idle, and had been continuously pumping goons out of five gateways. With about fifteen of them in tow, he moved them towards the center of the map to give early warning of any terran push. He also laid down four starports and a fleet beacon at his natural... Missed that? It was only a

Fleet Beacon.

Eh? Eh.

At this point, unaware of flying hotdogs in his future, Star took his mineral only. He failed to see an observer fly over it, however, which triggered the southern movement of said fifteen goons that were loitering in the center of the temple. As soon as the command center finished construction the goons moved in, and focused all their fire on it. Star, caught in a panic, unsieged every reaver-wary tank in his base and sent them to the mineral only, placing all of his scvs on repair duty at the same time.

It was to No_Avail (keke), however, as the command center folded upon itself like a stack of soggy cards left under the tears of some, two...bit... Well, whatever it was, it was two-bit. -.- The goons were unable to follow up on their attack after destroying the expansion, for seven tanks had just finished sieging in the natural, making an assault impossible.

At this point the game becomes slightly confusing. Four carriers (what, you thought gayweb? Pffft, please) finish completeting as the rest of Acesaga's goons retreat to his natural. With the center of the temple cleared Star takes the obvious choice of producing a terran push, complete with tanks and randomly scattered missile turrets. Several waves of zealots and dragoons were sent to dislodge Star, but his defenses held with no casualties whatsoever. Just to make matters worse for Acesaga, Star had just comsatted his natural and revealed the carrier treachery afoot. Goliaths were quickly queued.

But would they finish on time? As the tank push edged ever closer to his natural and failing army, Acesaga decided to use his new carriers and sent them towards Star's 6:00 natural expansion. The familiar hum of interceptors being launched sounded across the temple, and the micro battle of Star's life began. Choosing to buy time for more goliaths to complete, he left his natural to the hands of the carriers, instead microing the tank push at the 3:00 natural. Close to ten tanks with turret support stood at the entrace of the expansion, hammering at the nexus and and any goon foolish enough to get within their range. It looked as if the game would wind down to a classic base race.

Pah, there are no base races in StarCraft! As his carriers finished off the expansion and remaining scvs at 6:00, Acesaga completed another four carriers at his natural base which leaped quickly into battle with the missile turrets. Scvs were again abused and sent on repair duty to buy time, but they all eventually fell to the one-and-two interceptor carriers. It was up to Star's goliaths to save him. Six goliaths clashed with the four carriers who had just cleaned their mouths after finishing the expansion, and focus fired each one in a desperate bid for victory... But it wasn't to be. The four (superiorly upgraded) carriers swept through the goliaths, and went on to re-destroy the rebuilt mineral only expansion. With his two only sources as well as his tank push razed, Star conceded and left the game.

There you have it. Thanks to Blitz, Ling, PLN, Javaboy, and DesertDemon for entertaining me on StarCraft over the last month; with the workload at school piling it's appreciated more than you know :). Other than that the usual "OMG I LOVE YOU ALBINO PHONE ME LATA" applies. I would also like to take a time out here, and let you all know just how good ziti is. I mean, am I the only one to have ever had it? Must be, considering I get a unanimous "?" on B.net whenever I bring up the subject.

C'mon people. Eat ziti.