Two more Creep Tumors down, each one providing increased resistance as we moved through them. We’d taken our first real loss during the last Creep Tumor, a Firebat took a spine to the head. It had been a matter of luck turning sour for him, because the Hydralisk had shot it as it died, some knee-jerk reaction finishing the shot before it lost the ability.
It had been depressing as hell as well due to that as well. Raynor grabbed the Firebats dog-tag and we loaded up again. There were two more Creep Tumors in the immediate area and we had pushed back the coming wave by three hours and lessened the number of enemies within the wave by over nine-hundred Zerg. I wasn’t really sure how that fucking shit was calculated but I wasn’t going to question it right now.
We were en route to the next Creep Tumor now, the air heavy with our first actual loss. I admitted to myself it may have been best, this heavy atmosphere. Mainly for the simple reason that almost all creatures suffer from, we were growing a bit too confident, myself top amongst them. The death brought me down to Earth, so to speak.
The Creep Tumor we had arrived at went down quicker than the last. We had worked in a sort of silent tandem, keeping ourselves aware of everything around us as best as we could. When a spike had been shot at us by a hidden Hydralisk, Nova took it out and the Firebat in question had dropped to the ground. It effectively turned him into a turtle but had saved his life. Another hour delayed and four-hundred more Zerg out of the wave.
The real complication came with the final Creep Tumor. When we arrived there, after reporting in via com to Walter who was busy building up our defenses, I was actively, violently, and vehemently cursing a storm the likes of which had everyone around me wondering what was wrong with me. They saw the fucking thing but didn’t have the same frame of context I had with the big bastard.
The thing in question guarding the final Creep Tumor we knew of was a God damn Ultralisk. They saw the size and imagined the damage it could do, I saw the size, knew its capabilities, and the fact it could fucking step on the condors, ruining them. The thing was larger than I thought it would be as well, easily five stories tall and a mass of muscle and bone blades.
“Damian, it’s a Zerg, a big one, but still something we can take.” I regarded Nova with a look that comment deserved. It was damn near scathing.
“That, Nova, is a fucking Ultralisk and is the embodiment of an Apex Predator for the Zerg Swarm, the culmination of their evolutionary ability for ground-based creatures. That ‘big one’ as you called it could wipe out everyone here in a single charge if we fuck up. I don’t even know how to take it out without an actual line of Siege Tanks and at least half a mile between us and it.”
Nova looked at the creature anew, a bit of fear there, while Raynor regarded it with an odd gleam, looking at it and the Firebats slowly, back and forth. A few minutes of that and I finally asked what the hell he was thinking about.
“Well, ya say that big mass of killing fury is dangerous and will charge us. I was thinking we rig up the extra fuel for our Firebats, as well as all the fuel they have on them, and blow it to bits when it charges us. I mean...something that big has to be careful with its legs, right? We take out even one of those it's more useless than a two-legged dog trying to hump your leg.”
A moment to bleach the image of an actual two-legged dog trying its damndest to hump me and I thought about what he said. I had no idea if it would work, though it was logical...I mean, take out even one leg and maybe its immense weight would work against it?
The issue was, I had no clue how we would do it and who would be the bait. The Firebat fuel was Napalm so we had no real issue making the explosion, just that it had a lot of armor if I remembered right. These were creatures that could take multiple shots from a fucking Battlecruiser before going down.
I wanted to take that Creep Tumor out though, I wondered exactly how it would help if it really was the last fucking one. “Fine, get it squared away,” I said through clenched teeth, really not liking the idea of facing a charging Ultralisk in any situation. More pissed that there was even one fucking here. The damn thing was an endgame unit for fuck's sake.
“Who wants to play chicken with the big beast?” I asked. My own men were eyeing it and trying to seem smaller. I really didn’t blame them, what kinda surprised me was that Raynor laughed and the insane gleam in his eye made me question my Hero worship a bit.
“Oh, that’ll be me. My plan, my ass on the line. Besides, I wanna really let loose on this Condor of yours on the open ground. Get the bomb made and in place somewhere we can maybe trap it as well, those rock outcroppings might work.”
The rocks he was talking about were scattered everywhere around us, though a few of the areas seemed large enough that they might trap the Ultralisk as it scrambled about if we took its leg off. “Right, time to strip you of that fuel boys!”
Twenty-five minutes of scrambling later we had five canisters of napalm set up in a direct line through the rock outcropping, the Condors were set to unload their own payload into the inferno we planned and increase our chances of taking out a leg. “All you now Raynor, don’t fucking die!”
He gave a whoop over the com and I heard his Condor engine let loose as he revved the damn thing. I wasn’t sure how he made it move the way he did when my own men couldn’t pilot it that effectively. Likely more to do with him being a Hero that was originally a Vulture pilot and my own men not having nearly enough experience with the machines, even if they could pilot them to a degree.
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I have to admit it was one of the single most amazing moments of my life watching Raynor move into the Ultralisks site and having it let loose a roar that was partly screeching fury, part hurricane, and all maddening nightmare before angling its body toward him and lowering its head to charge, the cone blades alongside its plated head digging into the ground as it did.
Raynor really got it going then, making tight turns here and there while moving at a speed I honestly didn’t think the Condor could manage without blowing the fucking engine. It kept him ahead of the Ultralisk as well, the big idiot trying to make tight turns to catch him and causing him to lose speed while allowing Raynor to stay ahead of it.
When he reached out little ambush site and was halfway through it, the big fucker ten feet or so behind him, if my visor was accurate, I shouted out “FIRE!!” Nova, using her rifle, hit the first canister of Napalm causing it to explode violently just about where the Ultralisks middle left leg should be. It through the beast to the side a bit, she shot again, this time the explosion going off near where hits head had been thrown. A massive roar that actually seemed to shake the air was let out when it took that hit to the head, the pain probably driving it mad. Following that the Condors moved into range, rushing in from the side and unloading grenade after grenade into its more exposed side, Raynor having made it through the rocks had turned around and was unloading them from the front. The grenades themselves caused a chain reaction with the final three canisters of Napalm, the chain reaction from the extra heat and the shrapnel causing sparks no doubt, and the entire area was rent with the sound of explosions and the roar of a dying beast that still wanted to fight.
When it was all said and done, what remained was the front half of the Ultralisk, the back-end was simply gone, burned into nothing where the Napalm had hit and simply continued to burn. The armor on the frontal section seemed to be impossible for the Napalm to stick to, oddly enough, though one of the damn bone blades had been severed in the blasts.
“Holy shit...what the hell did Swann put in those grenades, Nova?” Now I admit that the plan may have worked regardless, but I continued to forget just how much Swann had upgraded the weaponry on the Condor. “I have no idea, but I want some.” was her own, slightly, awed response.
Jim came on the com shortly after, laughter evident in his voice. “Wooie! Look at that crispy critter. Told ya it would work!” Indeed he had, the crazy Marshal had been right. We moved in to destroy the final Creep Tumor after that. This one had taken longer without the Firebats fuel, but eventually, it burst like a water balloon just like the others and we were headed back to the staging area. No notification of a delay or lessened Zerg came with that one though, and that concerned me a great deal. We still had time though, thankfully.
We were met by Walter when we returned to base, he was beaming at us like a million-watt-light bulb. I even found out why a second after actually entering the fucking base.
Congratulations Player! You have completed the ‘Desperate Alliance’ Campaign Map by destroying the Zerg staging areas within your area, cutting off access to more troops and Creep.
The difficulty will now be raised to Hell with a modifier of plus three! - Effects on surrounding area will drastically increase over time now.
Congratulations Player! You have maintained Marshal Jim Raynor's life during the mission, earning you a Random Schematic! - Obtained Siege Tank Schematic!
Congratulations Player! You have successfully held off the Zerg until evacuation came for those left on the Planet! - Five thousand Minerals and Vespene Gas have been granted to you! -Advised, due to ending the mission well before the twenty-four-hour mark an additional ten-thousand of each resource type has been granted to you!
Congratulations Player! You have killed fifty of all Zerg types assaulting the defensive area! - Obtained one Building Upgrade Card.
Building Upgrade Card - Provides a drastic increase in the capabilities of a building, as well as built-in upgrades for anything it may produce.
Congratulations Player! You have successfully destroyed five Creep Tumors! Well above the required amount for the bonus objective! - Obtained one Loyalty and Trust Card
Congratulations Player! You have successfully killed a hidden Ultralisk in the Campaign Map! For destroying a Unit classified as beyond your abilities in a standard fight you have been granted a Trophy to display within your settlement, Bastion, as well as one Random Trait Card!
Ultralisk Trophy - Gained for killing an Ultralisk before they are meant to appear in the game. Placing this item in your base will increase all damage done against Zerg Units in the Game Universe by an additional five percent as well as lessen the chance of Zerg Infestation within the base it is placed.
Congratulations Player! Your Hero Unit: Nova Terra, had increased her level to ten! All abilities naturally increased by one rank.
Nova Terra has gained the Quick Swap ability.
Quick Swap - Allows for instantaneously changing your current loadout with any available weapons and armor.
Congratulations Player! Hero Unit: Nova Terra is now the max level for your current Commander level (May level to fifteen after reaching level five as a Commander). You have earned a personal Achievement! Favored
Favored - You have favored one Hero above all others by reaching the first level milestone. Increased all skill ranks of your Heroes by one rank. (This effect will carry over to all future Hero Units)
Congratulations Player! You have become a level, four Commander!
As a level four Commander, you are now able to bring two Hero Units and twenty-five units into Campaign Maps.
Imperial Guard limit has been increased to eight!
Passive increase to all resource gathering by an additional one percent!
Passive increase to all unit damage by an additional one percent!
Now that's what I’m talking about, though I really fucking hated that loyalty and trust card. I damn near destroyed it again but decided against it. Having it may be useful, even if I never planned to use it. I closed my eyes against breaking a personal promise and the white light engulfed my men and I. Time to fight another battle, one of a far larger and more lasting scale than the Campaign Maps right now.