Starcraft: Descent into insanity Game Thread

[LtFox]

Leviathan VII, day 1 after the sunflare. Early afternoon.

The thin atmosphere on Leviathan VII was even more uncomfortable than usual thanks to the scorching heat glaring down on them all unforgivingly.  There were crashed ships all around the research outpost, most vessels and escape craft having homed in on the transmitting beacon of the Dominion installation.  There were other science teams down on the planet, of course, but this base was by far the largest, and had some actual infrastructure built to last against the elements and the ever-present Zerg threat.  The compound was fenced with sturdy blast walls and contained a mobile command center, two barracks and several science labs.  There was a sensor and communications tower as well, plus a couple of bunkers near the entrance to the compound.

The once-secure compound was a mess right now.  One oversized dropship had come down right on one of the barracks, wrecking that as well as the neighboring science lab.  Another ship had crashlanded against the outer blast wall, blowing a quarter of the wall sky-high when it's ion engines went up in a supercharged fireball.  Several more ships had come down at varied distances, in all kinds of shapes, when they were intact at all.  More than a few fireballs were still visible in the sky were ships which had failed atmospheric entry were burning in the space, their systems shorted out explosively by that flare of unknown radiation.

The ancient ruins which had started all the commotion were a few miles to the west of the outpost, which had been built in the nearest secure valley as close to them as possible.  Unfortunately, Zerg activity had been increasing lately, and now there was a cluster of the Swarm between the outpost and the ruins, observation teams had reported spreading creep as well as organic structures starting to form.  The planet's terrain was almost completely covered in immense rainforests to begin with, plus several large cave formations underground, from where the ruins had been found as well.  The advantage of terrain was squarely on the Zerg, with plenty of hiding places for ambushes and lots of surface for creep to cling to.  The mottled purplish slime-fungi was slowly devouring the rainforest, coating trees and vines in pulsating semi-flesh as it slowly but inexorably claimed more ground.

The intermittent Protoss sightings didn't really help allay any unrest either, as no one really knew where they were.  Even their ships had disappeared from the orbit when the flare went off, so likely they were grounded as well.

Dominion Wrangler Anya Sommers looked up from the steps leading out from the command center of the compound just as an old-style science vessel came down on the compound in flames, having followed the beacon in like the other ships.  Miraculously, the old ship was still in one piece as it crashed onto the blast wall near the forward bunkers with a horrible screech of torn metal.  The spherical ship was large enough to knock down another section of the wall as its bulk came down on it.  It was also quite clear the ship wasn't going to do any more flying.  Large sections of the hull were completely torn away, contents exposed to space.  Still, it was mostly in one piece, so this particular craft might actually house some survivors.

Doctor Catseye, once a semi-esteemed Xeno researcher, slowly gets his bearing in the trashed lab, having mostly fixed himself up and donning a new lab coat to replace his destroyed one.  It was clear at a glance that the specimens in the room were a complete lost cause.  There wasn't much left of the crystal but small shards and powder where it had disintegrated.  The Zerg specimen mostly resembled minced meat after having gone through both a shower of crystal shards and several panels of cracked glass.  Nothing as much as twitched on it anymore.

Both can hear an immense screech rolling over the horizon - the Zerg are on the move.  And it doesn't seem like it's only one or two of them.

(OOC: Welcome to the game, folks!  Please post only In Game actions in this thread, and use captions like these for OOC comments, though more elaborate discussions should be held in the OOC thread.)

[Wintercat]

Leviathan VII, Sundered Sun - Research Vessel's Remnants. Day 1 ATS. Early afternoon.

Dr. Catseye stood silent before the burning labcoat, turning away finally. The flames were consuming the fabric, along with the bloodstains, the crystallized bits of blood fading with the flames. He silently wondered what had caused the blood to undergo crystallization that quickly but he did not want to ask questions there was no time to answer right now. The crash had undoubtedly drawn attention, and it might be bad, very bad in fact.

He had his gun at his side under the labcoat, more of a last resort weapon than an actual battlefield issue gear, the revolver was to keep him safe in case he ended up alone sometime, or to save himself from the pain if he got surrounded by zerg. Something that didn't seem all too distant future by the sounds of the noise outside. He quickly checked her had the dissection knife and the pocket-fitting analyzer toll with him as he began to pull himself from the wreckage, heading out of the laboratory for a punctured section of the hull, intending to get out of the ship and worry about the next step after that.

Crashed ship would offer poor protection from the Zerg afterall. His instincts told him to move. Looking at the blood, and feeling his own heart beating fast, having heard the zerg shout, he shivered a bit his gaze a little unfocused for a moment as he sought his way out of the vessel's confines.

Looking for a way to escape the vessel, he couldn't help but feel a throbbing sensation in the formerly pierced locations in his body. There was heat still present, something he could not just explain away on Adrenaline. The analyser showed symptoms that he'd have to study carefully later, but for now he moved ahead his gloved hands clenched into fists as he moved hurriedly.

This day was not starting good way at all.

[inflatetress]

Upon seeing the science vessel crash, Anya's first thought was that she wished she hadn't seen it because now she was in a position to respond.  She rolled her eyes, it was annoying but it was a disaster, she needed to help.  Despite her annoyance with the situation she made haste getting to the science vessel, for now not thinking how close it put her to what was now a very unhealthy breach in the wall...the wall that separated them from the zerg outside.  Once near the area she attempted to locate what part of the ship survivors might have been located psychically, hoping to detect their presence. 

It was after her first scan then that Anya saw one survivor emerge, wearing a lab coat, he looked dazed and disoriented, which wasn't surprising of course!  Still if there was one survivor, there could be more.  She strutted over to him and looked down, "Are you a doctor?  Are you hurt?" she tilted her head to the side a bit, some platinum hair falling into her face as she did so.

[Wintercat]

Pulling himself through the badly damaged airlock that had lost the outer set of doors entirely in the crash, Dr. Catseye shivered uncomfortably as he made his way out of the vessel. Hearing the voice and looking up at the platinum hair and the face they surrounded he blinked. He hadn't expected that sight out in this area, but he wasn't going to say that out loud.

"I'm a doctor of Xeno-Research, Daniel Catseye. I didn't see other survivors make it on the way down. I was fortunate enough to have been on a break and laying down on a bed. The crash shook me up but I had at least something soft to land against, unlike my collagues." He was lying on that part, he had been in the labs but he was not going to tell them he had just survived being slammed into a wall and showered with alien specimens as well as being hit with several shards.

Worse still, he'd have to explain how his wounds had healed up at such a progressive rate there, something he could not do right now. "I'm going to be fine, I just need a little chance to catch some breath later and cool my headache. I got shook up, a couple small bruises, none of them feel like there's serious damage, and my arm got twisted and is sore, but given the way we landed, I think I hit the jackpot in terms of how much damage I avoided taking." He tried to pass it off with a smile but something inside of him was uneasy. A presence forming it seemed. Two of them in fact. He tried his best to keep those feelings suppressed, at least till he'd get his head straight.

As always, there was a small feel of something weird about him, it was part of his usual interest in xenos perhaps, but it seemed that now there was just something strange enough about him that an average person might look twice and wonder.

"We ought to retreat inside one of the buildings before the Zerg get here, from the sounds of it earlier, they might have been lured closer by the noise to investigate." He was anxious to get to some shelter, but also anxious to avoid the questions that might otherwise come up if they didn't hurry.

[inflatetress]

The blonde psychic looks a bit confused at the man's desire to get inside so quickly, though she knew he was right...the zerg would be here soon.  "Well wait, hold on a second." she looked briefly at the hole the man had come out of and then glanced over the rest of the ship, brushing some hair out of her face as she did so.  "What about survivors...are there any others in the ship?  There is usually a whole crew of you guys in one of these things.  Here, help me look quick..." she began to help the doctor up.

[Wintercat]

Dr. Catseye cursed his luck the moment he heard her telling him to hold on, looking at her a bit warily, but sighing out as he watched her and listened to her questions. There was not much he could tell her, it hadn't been the larger battlecruisers afterall but a science vessel, studying a few relics and moving over the site, but in too high orbit to deal well with the solar activity.

When it had went down this all had began, and Dr. Catseye had no wish to really let her get too close. Some instinct told him it was risky being near her. Something about her presence was foreboding, and he knew already that if he got caught for what he was, what he thought he was now, he'd be locked up and never able to find an antidote.

Do I really need one? Thought occured to him that he hadn't expected. I survived a fall I should not be able to, and apparently recovered with piercing damage I should not have been able to survive either. I should study it and keep it contained, but an antidote? No, I should make sure to record the progress, even if it costs me my life in the end it might prove invaluable and... He shook his head, where did that odd streak of self-sacrificing concern for the whole come from? He wasn't sure and he didn't think he liked it that much at the time. Besides, revelation could mean extinction.

"We crashed with force, whoever was not already in armor was not going to make it when the inertial dampeners went out was going to die unless they had something else to cushion the blow. I am not a lazy person in general but I am lucky I was on a break. Others were not so lucky. We can debate morals and mount a rescue mission risking it out here with the Zerg, or we can retreat indoors and try and keep further casualties to a minimum."

He felt two sides raging in his mind. Awakening, more selfless, strange alien mindset not too different from a Protoss race he had come to admire for the art of their designs, and more primal, fear and survival oriented Zerg mindset which seemed to be urging him to first find shelter to begin with.

[LtFox]

As Daniel and Anya size each other up, there is clatter from another airlock of the science vessel, and Anya detects the disciplined minds of Dominion marines before the four-person security squad kicks the jammed airlock door open.  It seems they'd suited up in their CMCs before the vessel took a hit from the flare, and thus they were more or less in one piece, since their hardskin faceplates would have automatically sealed in the event of a breach.  Only one of them bore signs of overt damage, the marine's left arm was missing below the elbow.  The suit had already sealed and sterilized the wound, so it wasn't an immediate concern.  They could always grow him a new one later, assuming there was a later.

The marine with sergeant's stripes made her way to Daniel and Anya, looked them both over before addressing her words to Daniel as her faceplate unsealed with a hiss to reveal a mid-forties woman, whose lean and severe face looked like it had already been through several wars.  Daniel remembered that her name was Ramirez, and she was the only one of the security team who wasn't neurally resocialized.  For operational security reasons, the rest of the security outfit were resocs.

"You're lucky to be alive, Dr. Catseye.  Don't know how you did it, but we passed the mess hall while making out way out, and it's turned into a real mess.  According to the head count, you're the only one from the science team who made it out."

The sergeant scans the situation at the compound, as well as the surrounding areas while trying her radio, without much success.  Then she turned back to Daniel.

"I guess you count as the leader of the expedition now that everyone else is dead ...sir.  My advice would be to change positions, and fast.  That sounds like an awful lot of Zerg coming this way, and open ground is not exactly a good defensive position, now that the walls are breached."

Just on cue, Anya spotted a bulbuous Zerg flying organism crest the horizon... one of their overseers, an aerial scouting unit.

[Wintercat]

"I agree, security should be our main concern we can think of other matters after we have weathered the Zerg attack that seems to be coming. I don't know about you-" Daniel looked at Anya seriously, finding his eyes travelling a little too much over the blonde woman, an urge he couldn't stop in time to be polite but that he caught before it was excessive. -but I would rather take protection from the buildings and reinforce a defensible spot."

He let out a heavy sigh at the thought of the other scientists being dead, looking at the marines. "I was lucky, I went to take a break before the crash, and was laying on my bed when it began. I held onto the bed, and was lucky enough that it didn't tumble around. So, I think I got a few bruises but I have a mattress to thank for my survival. Though I think you'd have a riot about the weakness of my hands for being sore after that rough ride." He showed his gloved hands. "They ought to be alright in a few days but till then at least I am going to wear these." He was explaining too much. Too complex things are easier to find a flaw in. Constructing an elaborate lie is going to provide a poor shield if even one section of it comes under suspicion. There it was again, a line of thought he didn't really argue with but which seemed to surface amidst his thoughts like a discussion over a radio.

"Sergeant, I trust my safety to your hands and those of your men. I'll take your suggestion and I think one thing should be made clear from the start. Sergeant in motion outranks an officer with a stick up his ass." He smirked, trying to joke around, but as usual his humor came out crude and almost a little creepy in his grin. He was trying to let her know he'd listen to her rather than argue with a professional on such matters.

[inflatetress]

Upon spotting the horrid flying monster in the sky Anya interupted the two of them as they discussed what to do next, "Hey!  Look!  What's that!?" she pointed up at it as fear grasped her.  She then look back down towards the Marine Sergeant and the Doctor with a very concerned look up her porcelain face.  "We need to get outta here huh?"

[Wintercat]

Looking up at where Anya pointed, Dr. Catseye paused and then let out a heavy sigh. "That is trouble. That's the zerg's eye in the sky fellow, an Overseer if you want to get technical. That's the codename for them at least. They seem to witness what is going on and relay what they observe to the other Zerg, how they do so is irrelevant, main point right now is that if the prevailing theory is correct, that's about the same as if we had a scout spotting targets for us in the air. That thing probably just spotted us and told where there's meat, and Zergs are not exactly slow on the uptake about the simpler things like catching, killing, and eating."

He felt himself chattering too much already.Why aren't you already moving? There was a survival whisper in his mind and he agreed with it. "We can talk indoors, lets move!" Glancing at the buildings, he nod towards the command center. "That ought to be the best location, especially given its capabilities." He didn't want to finish what he had in mind. Especially given its capabilities to take flight if the base was overrun. The barracks were certainly another option but they could need more than just guns to survive this later on, and command center would provide them with the most in case it was in full working order, and in case things went from bad to worse. Always the optimist.

[LtFox]

The sergeant looked up and spotted the Overseer as well.  Her face tightened as she signaled her marines to form up around Daniel and Anya.

"The command center, Aye.  That seems like the most defensible structure at the moment, and it's the only fully intact one anyway.  Maybe it's comm systems can punch through this electromagnetic interference as well.  We need to get the word out, if at all possible."

The marines hustled the two in the center of the formation to the entrance of the command center.  Soon as they were inside, the doors sealed and pressure locked behind them with an audible hiss.  An intercom near the entrance crackled to life as well, which displayed the face of worried-looking systems operator.

"Officer Sommers?  What's the situation out there?  I can't get a clean read on the sensor tower, but it seems a lot of something is moving this way.  If you'd come up to the control room, there's something else you also need to see.  We picked it up only moments ago, but it could be a problem."

The somewhat static-broken voice came through the internal command center line, but even it was somewhat affected by the electromagnetic interference caused by the flare.  Wireless communications were probably a lost cause right now.

[inflatetress]

Officer Sommers looked with concern at the others once the intercom came to life.  She brushed some platinum hair out of her face and clicked the bottom to respond, "Okay I'm coming up.  There are some Marines down here and a Doctor from the science vessel that just crashed." Anya then looked at the group that had just brought her into the room, "Okay, wait here...make sure that..." she paused and wiped some sweat from her head, "...just make sure nothing gets in." The blonde psychic then went up to the control room, with haste.

[Wintercat]

Raising a brow faintly as Sommers left the marines and him at the doorway, Dr. Catseye looked at the Sergeant and then spoke seriously. "I carry a pistol with me still but I think that the most it can do is give you a sign something has gone wrong elsewhere if I have to pull it out and shoot. So I'll be trusting my life in your hands here. Hopefully I can help repay the favor in turn, find out something that can help us and increase our odds of survival later." He nodded to the marines, thinking it was best to try and make some friendly comment at least, but he was pretty bad at social interaction to begin with, his expression pretty much a firm serious one in this whole situation.

"Hmm, she told us to wait, but I think I'll go look what's going on. I'm not much help here." He nodded to the Sergeant then heading for the control room, though trying to keep some distance from the blonde woman. The officer was somehow intimidating, something about her made him wary. She might sense him. He grimaced. Caution would be a wiser path. He knew that he needed to contain the panic and he needed to think things through.

He needed information, and that meant visiting the command center's control room. He also needed to make sure to not drive the officer angry to the point of coming too close. Not too often. It might be risky, at some point. For now, he headed for the same room, wanting to hear what was going on, all they knew of at least.

[LtFox]

"You heard the doctor, boys!  Lock and load, then take defensive positions near the entrance.  I'll go with the doc.  Send us a message if something happens."

Sergeant Ramirez raised her Gauss rifle up to ready position, and took a position behind Daniel.  They made it to the control room just behind Anya, and saw that the place was something of a mess as well.  There were only four operators out of the usual twelve, and no commanding officer, which probably made Officer Sommers the commander-in-charge of the base for the time being.  There were signs of electromagnetic damage here as well, over half of the consoles were dark or sputtering with sparks.

One of the four operators, the same one who'd spoken on the intercom earlier, turned when they came in. 

"There you are!  Is that mass of moving bio-signatures Zerg?  They are closing in from the direction of the ruins.  Spreading out to surround us, most likely.  The closest forward units will make it to the compound within minutes.  There aren't any marines left alive in the bunkers by the entrance, but the automatic defences are still mostly operational.  We've lost about 20% of our camouflaged perimeter turrets when the walls came down, but the rest seem to be working.  That should give us some time, at least."

The operator gave Daniel and Sergeant Ramirez a perfunctory glance, then motioned for Anya to get closer.

"This is what we picked up moments ago, soon after the bio-signs began showing up en masse.  It seems like some kind of high-energy mass is slowly descending toward the compound's location from decaying orbit.  We estimate it will impact here in less than an hour.  We aren't sure, but from the amount of energy, we think it's some kind of protoss ship that was cloaked and in close orbit to us.  I can't even begin to estimate how much energy would be released in the crash.  Simply put, we need to vacate the compound, in something of a hurry unless we want to be around when something likely packing several megaton's yield comes down on us."

[Wintercat]

Daniel froze in his step at the news. Bio-signatures. Energy readings. This could be interesting, and definitely worth storing and going through later if there was just materials for it. He couldn't expect to get them in the current situation, he was an outside in this base afterall, but he was a man of science still. That was what he defined himself as at least, though the strange events of the crash had set him to wonder what else he was now.

Hopefully he'd find out in due time, and not in the bad way. Before conducting more throughout examinations though, he felt it would be best to get out of the way of the trouble coming their way though.

"Excuse me." He spoke up looking at the operator. "I was in position of a Xeno-Researcher aboard the last vessel, and I might be able to help identify some of those bio-signs if you are willing to give me access." He was pretty sure that the consoles would not just respond to him if he went typing around at a closed console. Most likely they'd require something first, a keycard, a password, or a handprint. Retinal scan felt, for a reason, a less desirable option for him. Either way he figured there would be some safety measures at use, but he figured it would likely be one of the two first options. Save money where you can, that seemed to be a bureocrat idea for things like this.

"I might be able to say something about the energy signature as well, but I think rather than spending time figuring out what is coming down it would be useful to figuring out if this building is capable of taking off and moving to another location?" He hoped the systems weren't that badly damaged. If the building was unable to rise, they might have to abandon it, and Shelter felt a critical necessity at this time.

[inflatetress]

Anya nodded as she listened to the situation, it seemed bleak, but at the same time one really bad thing was all that mattered.  "Okay...energy field.  I see.  Well the way I see it, it doesn't really matter...the big thing is that right now we're a few minutes away from a full fledged localized Zerg invasion." She turned around to face the others and looked them over.  "Sergeant, are the marines with you all in good health?" she then turned back to those at the command controls.  "Okay, so we need to get out, we need some kind of craft, hopefully one that is armed and can fly...fast." After a sigh she brushed some hair out of her face and then went on..."Okay, so where is the closest evacuation vessel." Then she thought for a second and looked to the doctor, "Doctor, thanks for your offer, but I can't give you access right now, I don't care what the bio signs are...they are zerg...and I don't want to be anywhere near them.  As for the energy signature...well, the zerg will kill us long before that thing gets here.  Otherwise...what do you suggest Doctor?" she asked with genuine concern.

[Wintercat]

Sighing heavily and looking at the others, Dr. Catseye spoke in a serious tone, what he thought about the situation in general at least. "Command Centers, as well as the usual sort of barracks I believe, are still built with the intent of moving them if necessary, containing machinery to allow them a limited time of flight. The machinery for this might be damaged here, I do not know for sure, but if its operational I think evacuating the base using them would be one option. Against the Zerg, I am not certain if that helped, they have their own ways to reach high targets at unpleasant times too." He scratched his cheek, thinking about it. His nails feeling strong under the gloves, but he tried to not let it bother him too much.

"As it is, I think the first thing to do is to see if the sentryguns can keep the Zerg away from this area, or if they are going to be overwhelmed. I wanted to have a look at the bio signatures for the reason of estimating if we are facing the usual 'running' Zergs, the Zerglings are a threat in numbers but they are still possible to contain with firepower in most cases. If there are larger things like Hydralisks along, then we are going to be facing a more serious threat though. I studied them a fair while, and I think I can differentiate what is on the move, at least among the more commonly encountered varieties."

What *is* out there anyway? He wondered, his mind going through the worst possibilities and then trying to think of ways to weather through them. "In anycase, how many survivors are there here? Is this it, or do the other buildings have people in them still?" He asked with some concern. If this place only held this many people, they were in for a lot of trouble soon. Though it also meant that worrying about the laboratories would be useless.

[LtFox]

The operators were scanning data on the oncoming bio-signatures, as well as the approaching energy signature from above while Daniel and Anya argued between themselves.

"The base is currently nearly empty of personnel.  Most of the people here were still at the excavation site near the ruins when that flare hit and communications went out.  We did have a small marine contingent here, but they were resting in the barrack that got flattened by that crashing shuttle a while back.  As it stand, all survivors of this base are currently in this building.  As for the liftoff functions, one of the thrusters is slightly damaged, but not enough to prevent liftoff.  We couldn't get very high, and certainly couldn't move with enough speed to get clear of the blast zone created when that things falls down here.  After some analysis, I now place the energy potential of that thing near 15 megatons.  The lethal zone will be well over 10 kilometers, and the EMP released will certainly fry all the systems in this command center."

The operator didn't address his words to anyone in particular, his hands flying over the keyboard as he performed calculations.

"I can't be certain, but from the sensor silhouettes, it seems the bio-signatures are mostly a mass of smaller lifesigns, with a few larger ones interspersed in between.  The only vessels left which might have survived the flare intact would be at the excavation site.  The landing area there is well underground, it's possible some of the shuttles there survived the blast if they weren't in use at the moment it hit."

Sergeant Ramirez was just turning towards the conversationalists, when the intercom crackled to life.  One of the marines near the entrance reported in matter-of-factly.  "Sergeant, we have contact.  The perimeter defences have engaged the xenos.  For the time being, it seems it's mostly just those small crawlers and hoppers, and the chainguns and flamethrowers are chewing them to pieces.  But I can see some larger lifeforms closing in from the rear, as well as some rolling-boulder like things which blow up real spectacular when the turrets light them up.  Might be bad if too many of those got close, though."

The operator confirmed the marine's report, putting a visual to the main screen from one of the observation cameras outside.  Waves of smaller zerg organisms were throwing themselves against the hails of bullets and gouts of flame from the perimeter defences.  For now, the tide seemed to be contained, but occasionally some zerg would get fairly close to the breaches in the walls where there were gaps in the perimeter defences.

[inflatetress]

Simmers looked at Ramirez as she recieved the news of contact, then she turned her head to the doctor before finally adressing the group, "The excavation site...of course, that's the perfect place.  It's not terribly far.  I think we should get there...whay do you think Doctor?" the blonde officer brushed some hair out of her face and shifter her weight to one side, resting a hand on the opposing hip which was now jutting out a bit.

[Wintercat]

Thinking for a moment the young man walked back and forth a few times in the hallway, then speaking firmly. "We cant stay here, we'll be overrun by Zerg eventually or even if we survived that, we'll be experiencing a heatwave and blast front far beyond the amount the walls of this building are rated for. If we are that slow right now, we would only get into worse trouble by trying to fly this thing away from this site without a real destination." He looked at the others, and sighed.

"Its a gamble, but I think our best chance is the archeological site. We might find survivors, and we might find a working shuttle to ferry us away further. If we come there and find everyone dead and machinery ruined, we might still get some cover from the stones if there is some form of a cave. The chances are it might collapse on top of us but thick, high-piled stone should still offer more protection than this place, no offense intended to the builders." He frowned. "And if there are Zerg there already, we'll sell our lives with as high cost in Zerg Blood as we can."

He disliked the situation but there was little he could do. He silently groaned and thought about things, trying to come up with some solution, before suddenly blinking. There were explosive critters amidst the others.

"Concentrating fire on the explosive critters might let some smaller ones through but in turn if they are as devastating as they sound, their destruction might actually harm the enemy advancement more than the turrets would on a regular firing pattern." He turned to the Sergeant. "Sergeant, I trust you know how to pick optimal targets for the most destructive value?" He then turned towards the other men. "Get this woman a free console linked up with the security grid, and the rest of you, get going with starting this thing's lift-off preparations."

He paused then looking at the woman in charge of things. "Please?" The afterthought was small but a bit worried. He didn't mean to stomp on her toes, and her authority, but if this worked they might have a chance.

That was a lot more aggression than he was used to handling though.

The people were scared and needed someone that at least looked like they knew what they were doing. He could deal with a scolding later, if they survived. If someone had a better idea, they'd speak up.

[LtFox]

The operators didn't hesitate, even they could recognize that this plan was the only one which offered them any kind of chance at survival.  Even if the excavation site was on the other side of the zerg horde, it was still the only place on this rock which might hold other survivors, not to mention possible escape craft.  Three of the operators immediately began warming up the massive jumpjets which could be used to propel the command center into air.

Meanwhile, the last operator linked Sergeant Ramirez into the security network, and the marine immediately reconfigured some of the turret's targeting data.  Explosions began to rip through the zerg ranks as the turrets shifted more of their fire to the highly explosive rolling zerg.  It came at a cost though, several of the smaller hoppers made it through the holes in the security net, and into the compound.  It took them a while to figure out there were no people about, though, until they finally began to converge at the command center.  The sergeant issued orders over the intercom to her soldiers stationed near the doorway, and the marines began firing through the small shutters near the entrance.  There weren't that many zerg which made it to the command center, and soon the whole building began rumbling and lurching.

"Hold onto something!  As I said, one of the thrusters is damaged!  It won't be a very smooth ride, I'm afraid!"  one of the operators yelled as they could hear hydraulics releasing the locks on the massive landing clamps as the thrusters began gatherings strength underneath the center.

[Wintercat]

"Better a little bumped and shaken than clawed and eaten." Remarking this seriously Dr. Catseye sighed with relief as the command center began to show signs of getting in the air. He could only thank his luck, and the other survivors, that they were getting this far at least. It was far from over, but at least it seemed it had given them a fighting chance.

In these circumstances it was about as much as he figured they could hope for. Silently he felt a sting of regret for not being able to save the laboratories, but given the state of affairs, there had been very little options but to get moving anyway. Looking over at Anya he cleared his throat.

"I apologise for snatching command momentarily, but we needed to get moving. I respect the chain of command though." He really didn't want to have any trouble with her. If she suspected that there was any infection, the end result would be a quick death, at best. He grimaced a bit at the thought, realizing he was still staring at her.

"Well done everyone, we're one step along the plan." At least they had a plan.

If only there was a way to adjust the falling ship's trajectory to both give more time and to distance the blast, but there would be no such luck with current resources. On the upside if the Zerg would be there still when it touched ground, they would be less likely to cause harm. Burrowing or not, that level of destructive power would purge any that didn't get out of the way.

"If you'll excuse me." He stepped a bit aside, holding a hand to his head and grimacing. Those voices, those thoughts, were they his own? It was a bit uncomfortable. His skin itched beneath the gloves. He wanted to take them off but couldn't. He wanted to take off the darkened glasses he wore, but dared not.

"Lets hope there's a ship there that can carry us onwards." He muttered, silently wondering about what lay ahead.

[inflatetress]

Anya waved off the doctor's apology, "Don't apologize, if I didn't agree with it, I would have said something.  The fact is..." she quickly grabbed hold of something as the building prepared to launch, "...the fact is, this isn't my field either, I'm willing to take the ideas and opinions and knowledge of others into consideration.  I want to get to the site as quickly as possible." She then looked to Ramirez working the automated security system and wandered over to the screen, taking small delight in watching the zerg get torn to shreds.  "Eventually, that ammo will run out I guess..." it wasn't just a guess though, she knew.

[LtFox]

The rumbling grew and grew, and finally with a great hiss and shaking bad enough to knock people off their feet the command center rose into air, it's built-in rocket engines struggling to hold something entirely unsuited to flight above ground.  The viewscreen showed that this was a timely liftoff indeed, as several explosive zerg finally made it to the defence towers and blew a gaping hole in the defensive perimeter.  As the center stabilized, they could see zerg swarming all over the compound.

With a slight tilt, the lumbering structure began drifting off over the zerg hordes towards the excavation site.  One of the operators also put up a countdown timer on the screen to show them how much time they had left until the craft crashed down and incinerated everything in over 10-kilometer radius.  They needed to be well gone at that time, or at least well underground.  The excavation site was only 25 kilometers away, even it might feel the effects of a blast that size.

The command center had just about cleared the zerg encirclement of the compound, and they could begin to spot some of the organic spires and hives that served as some kind of zerg structures, as well as the ever-pervasive Creep, that crusty slime-like substance that covered the ground where ever the zerg were present.  There were still some zerg creatures, as well as a swath of creep and buildings more or less in their way, and they could see several cracks and canyons in the ground, doubtlessly leading to the innumerable underground caves and passages this planet was dotted with.

One of operators suddenly turned his head, and shouted:

"Uh-oh, we seem to have a problem.  We've got some kind of airborne--"

There was a loud explosion, screeching of tearing metal and hisses and sparks from malfunctioning electronics.  The whole command deck of the structure shook violently.

"As I was saying, some kind of airborne zerg have just crashed into us!  Several of them, in fact!  The first ones blew apart the western quarter, which is why we're listing so badly!  I don't know how long I can keep us in air anymore.  Also... it seems that we've been boarded as well.  Registering several xeno-lifesigns near the destroyed areas, moving towards the center and this command floor!"

There was a hint of panic in the operator's voice.  No one could really feel comfortable with the idea of some face-to-face time with angry zerg.

[Wintercat]

"Science damn it, why now?" Cursing loudly and thinking a moment, Dr. Catseye looked over at the Sergeant. "Call your men, we might need to sweep them fast out of here. If they broke in, we should stop them as soon as possible. They are probably after our lives not breaking machinery and making us crash, but I'd rather not risk it."

He looked at the Operators. "You guys, can you try and keep us in the air long enough to reach the site, or get as close to it as we can at least?" Looking around briefly, he headed to the doorway while focusing on thinking. Where are they now? Dr. Catseye looked back hurriedly towards the operators. "If there are internal defences, please activate them against the zerg. In the meanwhile, we have to either go hunt them down, or find a bottleneck they have to cross on the way here and ambush them there. I need numbers, blueprints, anything to help with this.." He was visibly trembling.

This was wearing on him, he was a man of science, not a tactician, yet he recalled some brief lessons he had overheard. He had some ideas, but the sergeant and her military experience would be irreplaceable with this, and the Wrangler no doubt had her use in all this too.

"They are acting.. controlled." His mind was racing with the possibilities. "They are showing increasing intellect in the deployed tactics. Overlord Scouting, pointing out targets well in advance. Explosives to breach the compound's thick defences. Immediate response to an unreachable target." He grimaced at the conclusion. "There's someone commanding them out here."
The thought was not comforting at all. If anything, it was terrifying.

It makes perfect sense, the organization they have among their ranks suggests control, where that controller is, that is harder to say. Strong mind might be able to confuse them momentarily.

Dr.Catseye adjusted his glasses briefly, grimacing. "Officer Sommers? I need your help." He turned to face her. Anya Sommers was a woman he didn't mind looking at, before the incident, he would have been delighted to spend a little while talking with her, but now he was changed. He didn't want to let it show though. Her status as a Wrangler was shown by the badge in her outfit, so he had a reason to know it. Not just because he could feel the presence she had.

"Officer Sommers, if you would be so kind, can you try and use your psychic strength somehow? I don't know, 'jam' the area ?" He wasn't exactly sure how that worked. Nobody here was psychic powerhouse though, but if they weren't too close to whatever Zerg was controlling them, perhaps the jamming would remove their 'higher guidance' and leave them to run with pure instinct. As if that wasn't just as dangerous.

Intelligent, cunning, sadistic Zerg could be even worse however. Zerg that could form tactcs and cause them even more surprises.