Shadows from the Badlands

Michael was woken later to Dash'r gently shaking his shoulder, and the subtle voice sounding in his mind, "It is time to leave, the shuttle will be here in minutes."

Michael rubbed his eyes and looked around. It was still night out, and he guessed that the shuttle was right on time and that he had gotten only a handful of hours of sleep. He had gotten so much practice getting his armor on and off in the last few days, after having barely ever worn it in the past, that he was now able to get it on in a matter of minutes. He hadn't been paying attention, but he hoped that he could remove it even quicker.

He joined Dash'r outside. In the distance a subtle hum could be heard, gradually getting louder. Faster then he expected, and quite a bit quieter as well, the large transport landed in the small clearing. It looked different then Dash'rs ship, the solid gleaming gold resembling a crab rather then the darkened crystal he had expected. Surprisingly he spotted several punctures in the hull, looking like battle damage.

"Is that thing safe, Dash'r? It looks a little battered."

Dash'r contemplated the ship, and even though he lacked the parts to, Michael translated it into the equivalent of a frown. "I believe since the destruction of Aiur, most of the out ability to manufacture and repair ships has declined. The markings on this shuttle," he gestured to a collection of alien writing that had been partially scoured from the hull, "suggest it is very, very old, possibly brought back into service from a wreck."

"Great, guess that means my armor stays on, I definitely don't want to be on board if that thing looses pressure. What about the pilot? If you guys are anything like humans, then I find it hard to believe that he wouldn't at least scour the burn marks off."

A laugh resounded through Michael's mind, and Dash'rs voice was filled with mirth, "Indeed our pilots are vain, as are humans, yet this is an automated transport. As for your armor, I doubt it will be needed once we enter warp, and I would have expected you to relish in some of the comforts on board, as the integrity is more then adequate."

They had made it on board the sip by this point, and Michael stopped in his tracks, he incredulously asked, "It has a bed? I can sleep in a bed if I want to?"

The ship lifted off, the minor rumbling and turbulence was the only indication of movement. Dash'r continued on through the corridors, leading them to the cabins, "Yes, I believe we can both sleep in a bed. And the ship will enter warp in less then a minute."

The implication had Michael's head spinning, and the crotch of his armor suddenly felt very tight. "Well then lead..."

Michael cocked his head. His com gear had still been intercepting the radio messages from the planet. The keywords it had been searching for suddenly highlighted on every frequency he could listen in to. The distance that the transport had already covered had the transmissions still filled with static, but the message was clear.

"Can you turn the ship around, Dash'r?"

"Yes, what is happening, Michael?"

The transmissions had fallen silent one by one. Only one remained from the main settlement. The screams of the dying were interrupted by periodic small arms fire. "The colony is under attack, they're asking for assistance. From anyone. We might be able to get at least some of them on board."

Dash'r did not respond. He simply tapped a command, and the shuttle shivered, rapidly turning around and descending towards the planet once again.

"Follow me, we will land on the outskirts of the main settlement in two minutes."

The retraced their steps, and had arrived back at the bay doors just as the ship touched down. When the doors opened the noise was defining. In the distance they could hear metal being wrent, and the screams of those in pain. Dash'r immediately disappeared from normal view, but the sensors on Michael's armor showed his moving quickly towards the disturbance in the middle of town. He readied his shotgun, and double check his ammo stock.

As he passed by the few survivors, shell shocked and terrified, he directed them back to the waiting shuttle, with instructions that if they saw anyone else that they were to assist in any way they could.

He had lost track of Dash'r once he reached the center of town, but new the Protoss was nearby thanks to the subtle mental presence that became stronger every hour. The center of town had a mass of screaming colonists, running in the opposite direction, from a creature that looked similar to both the zerg and Protoss. As he watched, the massive creature lashed out with tentacle like arms, cleaving a dozen colonists in half with ease. Surrounding it we flashes of energy which occasionally flared out, setting fire to nearby buildings.

Michael raised his shotgun, knowing that it probably wouldn't even scratch the creature, but hoped it would by the fleeing civilians time to reach the shuttle. When he fired a single round, a barrier flared around the beast, causing the pellets to ricochet off in random directions. The creature, "Hybrid" was whispered in his mind, turned towards him. Another round flared against it's shield, and it began storming towards him. Michael turned and fled down a side street, occasionally turning and firing a shot back at it to keep it's attention.

When it passed between two narrow buildings, Michael caught a glimmer of Dash'rs cloak flaring from the top of one of the structures, and he watched as the Protoss lashed out in a flying arc at the hybrid. The sword penetrated the shield in a flash of energy, yet the large creature was nimble enough to avoid getting decapitated. Instead one of the tentacle arms flopped to the ground. The creature let out a bellow of rage and turned, it's other limb lashing and striking Dash'rs shield. It held, but still the Protoss was knocked sideways, skidding down the street. Hoping that the hybrids shield was still down, Michael once again took aim, and fired his shotgun on automatic, the recoil causing the rounds to go wild, but most of the pellets still impacted the creatures back due to it's size. It distracted the creature long enough for Dash'r to recover. The Protoss vanished back into the shadows, only to appear much closer, and another flash of his blade caught the creature in it's side. When Dash'r danced back, avoiding the next blow, Michael unleashed another full clip of his shotgun into it.

The creature was now leaking copious amounts of fluorescent blood on to the streets, and Michael was beginning to think that between the two of them they might actually kill it. His next clip from his shotgun tore into the creature face, and another swing from Dash'r sword cut a chunk out of it's leg. This time, however, Dash'r did not move back fast enough as the creature swung at him. His shield flared and died, and his caught a glancing strike on his own side, which sent him flying down the street towards Michael. He could see the deep gash that it had left, and Dash'r was losing blood and consciousness.

He fired his last clip into the creature, hoping to slow it down enough for them to get back to the shuttle, and ignoring the fact that it was likely excruciatingly painful, draped one of Dash'rs arms around his shoulder and dragged him to his feet. The Protoss was still partially conscious, and they staggered there way back towards the ship. The crossed paths only with the dead. When Michael hazarded a glance back at the hybrid, he saw that they had gained a respectable distance on it. Yet as he continued to look over his shoulder, he saw that the portions that had been cut free were quickly regenerating, already it had regrown most of it arm, and it's leg was starting to recover as well.

By the time he had dragged the now nearly unconscious Protoss back to the shuttle, it had almost fully recovered and was barreling towards them. Michael began frantically hitting the computer terminal by the door trying to get the ship to take off. When he finally hit the right button and the ship lurched into the air, the long tentacle swiped out. The shuttle shields flared and died, but the tentacle missed the hull and they were free.

He turned his attention to the Protoss lying at his feet. Blood continued to spill from his side, and the normal dark vivid blue was taking on an ashen color. He turned to the nearest group of refugees, and yelled, "get me a bandage, now!"