User Story

The room was dark. The only light was that eminating
from the Tactical Projection. It was a view pointing
Down and slightly foreward. The screen was mostly filled
with explosions and smoke, charred ground and craters.

And the remains of Dragoons and Terran Marines.

As our ship glided gacefully over the battlefield,
I could hear the anxiety of the Arbiter Crew in front
of us. I knew that I could not calm the emotions of the
newly dispatched crew. Soon they will become accustomed
to their ship, and learn the ways of the Arbiter -
If they lived long enough.

I, and the rest of the Shuttle passengers could see the
horrific display of the screen. All the dead or dying
brethren they once knew, or had wished they knew.

I could sense the Arbiter's pilot's releif turn to alarm
when the Fleet of Carriers we were sent to cover came
into view. The flashes of millions of primitive
explosive rounds coming from the Terran's weapons
hitting the Carrier's sheilds was an alarming sight
indeed - as the fleet came into direct view.

As our two ships closed in on the fleet, I could see
a flash, and a wave erupt from the Carrier we were
closest to. It's Sheilds had failed. Over the next
moments I witnessed millions of flashes sease their
relentless bombardment of the rest of the Fleet, and
focus on that lost ship.

White and Blue aura began to emit from damaged or
exposed areas of the Carrier, and soon black smoke
poured from the inner landing bays and hangars.
The rest of the fleet deployed all Interceptors to
attack the Terrans while they were focussed on the one
ship. Gradually, Marines and Goliaths began to fall.

But it was too late.

The Carrier's forward-most section began to dip towards
the surface of the Planet. More smoke came from the
underside of the front tip of the ship, and cascaded
over the mid-sections and rear as the rest of the
dying carrier started it's slow but increasingly
fast journey into oblivion. I closed my eyes and
tried to block out the screams of the Carrier crew
in my mind.

Even though I tried not to hear them, I knew I could;
and I knew their fate just as well as the crew
themselves.

I opened my eyes just as the Carrier touched the ground.
It dug into the surface slightly - then it exploded.

The screams were silenced.

By this time our little convoy was on the outer
edge of the Fleet. Graually, Carriers became only blue
outlines as the Arbiter's cloaking effect finally came
within range.

The Arbiter reached the Center of the Fleet - This was
devoid of ships - then our shuttle and the Arbiter
parted as we banked and turned toward the font of the
Fleet. Once there, the order would be called and the
Fleet would advance toward our target.

The shuttle stopped, and the engines came to a slow hum.

A wave of flashing lights came over the control panels
as the Lead Carrier gave the order to advance.

The engines powered back up, and the entire fleet moved
in the same trajectory.

As the fleet began to pass over ever increasing groups
of Terran Marines, the Arbiter was sustaining more
damage.

After what seemed like an eternity, a message came
through the comm. The order to move in the next Arbiter
was called. I could feel the sadness in the Rookie
crew as they began to drop below the flight altitude
of the fleet, and headed towards the surface. Just as
the Arbiter reached a low altitude over the ground,
another Arbiter raised up from a canyon just ahead of
the failing one behind it. The cloaking field of the new
arbiter took over, and the other doomed ship dropped
even lower to the ground.

As it closed in on a large group of Goliaths, the ship
began to rip into them with it's photon cannon.

The ship got out 5 volleys before it was destroyed in
a cloud of blue smoke and debris.

The goliaths immediately turned in the opposite
direction, and followed the fleet.

More and more Terran ground troops gathered beneath
the fleet, and shot into the sky hoping to score
some damage on the Arbiter.

After passing over the charred battle field for a steady
pace, quickly closing on our target, the fleet was
alerted to groups of Terran Dropships dropping Marines
and Golithas ahead of the Fleet and behind.
They knew our target - Mar Selena - the sister city to
Mar Sara.

Most of the Terran fleets and forces in this sector were
based here after the seige on Mar Sara.

Their forces were low, damaged and tired. I knew the
Conclave's reasoning was sound.... But so many deaths..
Was all this necessary??

I told myself not to doubt the judgement of the Conclave
and to continue on my mental preparation for what was
to come.

As the fleet closed on another canyon, a group of 5
Arbiters Joined the Fleet as the by now damaged one
fell to the rear.

We were close to Mar Selena - I could see the plumes of
smoke coming from the Terran Factories and power plants.

More and more shots were being fired at us, as we
entered the outer Perimeter of the City.

Missile Turrets began to punish the Arbiters that kept
out fleet secure from direct Seige.

The fleet slowed, and our Shuttle dropped in altitude
on a pre-prgrammed fligh path. The shuttle A.I. took
over, trying to find a suitable open area in the city
for us to deploy our few ground forces.

Several lights flashed on the left upper panel as the
shuttle slowed and dropped to what was our landing site.

The rear hatch opened and the smell of war came in.
The smell of burning Fossil Fuels and scorched land,
vespene and burning metals.

I, and the 4 other Zealots emerged from the Shuttle.

We looked up to see the blue blur of the fleet pass
over head.

We looked at each other, and quickly set out our
defensive stance.

Then, the group of Probes came from the Shuttle in
single file. As the Last probe left the shuttle, the
rear hatch closed, and the ship lifted into the air
and left for the fleet, while still in the cloaking area
of the Arbiters.

I looked back at the Probes, which were by now lined up
between us in line lines of 10, arranged in 5 rows.

We waited for several moments, when the Probes got the
signal to begin. They moved up, quickly.
At first the entire group moved ahead as we followed;
but gradually, line after line fell back behind the lead
as they opened warp rifts to Aiur.

As the last row began to open the warp rifts, we lined
up in front of the Probes. we could hear the sound of
the rifts completing their warp-in cycle.

We knew that soon the attention would be focussed at us.

Finally, after several moments the row behind us warped
in. All the probes had gone by now, and were on suicide
missions or already dead.

I gave the signal to the Command Carrier, and the hum
of Photon discharges came over us, and passed us.
Each row fired a volley as the discharge from the row
behind it passed over it. The first group of volleys
hit the buildings directly ahead of it. Then, once the
Terrans were alerted to us, and the cloaking field
of the trailing Aribter had passed, rounds began to hit
the Cannons.

The cannons already had their targets and we had ours.

The discharges destroyed structure after structure -
destroying it.

The other Zealots and I began to attack any Terrans
attempting to close on the Photon Cannons.





We killed Marine after Mairne.... Until none more came.

During the fight, the Carriers had destroyed the City.
And the Photon cannons destroyed their final targets.

I killed the last Marine that came... and he died with
a battle cry... I went limp.

I deactivated my blades, and looked to the sky as our
badly damaged shuttle passed over us, and landed behind.

The other Zealots loaded onto the Shuttle... and I stood
looking into the sky at the plumes of black smoke
raising from the ruined city. The first few Carriers
in the fleet glided over head with their usual rumble...

I looked at the corpses of the defeated terrans, and
backed into the Shuttle.

The hum of the engines lifted the ship into the air, as
it joined the remains of the Fleet. All the Arbiters
had been Destroyed, and only 4 Carriers remained.
All ships were damaged....

Various sparks came from the damaged controls.

I pressed a green light to the right of me, and the
Tactical Hologram activated with a cough of distortion.

I looked harder into the image...


Where once was a city, now there was only death.

-END-

By Chris Beisler, redleader@geek.com