94 - For A Bushel of Wheat
94 - For A Bushel of Wheat
"Thank you so much for responding to our distress call Commander, I'm Dr. Ariel Hanson, and I represent the people of the Agria colony," the scientist in glasses said breathlessly the moment the transmission came through.
She wore the white coat seemingly stereotypical of most scientists and doctors, Jimmy noted, and despite the obviously extreme stress she was under she was also undeniably beautiful. Likely stunning, if she didn't have bags under her eyes or grime on her face. But his mind didn't linger on that long, it was a sector that he didn't much care to let his thoughts wander into these days. Instead, he focused far more on her words, and why they'd come her e anyhow. And on the fact that in the very absolute distance on her side of things, he could hear impaler rounds being fired downrange at something or other.
"Pleasure to meet ya, doc. You can call me Jim. What's the situation?"
"The zerg attacked us a short time ago," she began, pushing her glasses back up with her left hand, "The Dominion abandoned us, and took their ships with them," she shook her head, her lips pursed. "Without them, the zerg began to overwhelm our planetary defenses. We had help from MannCo mercenaries, but they could only do so much. The Dominion garrison never liked them, and restricted the amount of troops and level of equipment they could have on the planet," her voice became pained.
Jimmy nodded, then looked over to where Yuriko leaned against an unmanned console, the psychic as relaxed as could be.
"Yuriko, you know these boys?"
The psychic tilted her head left and ride in a faint bob before she walked over.
"Maybe."
Dr. Hanson looked confused before she saw Yuriko walk onto the screen.
"And…you are?"
"Yuriko Thirteen, psychic commando from MannCo," Yuriko introduced herself, the small amused smirk on her face disappearing as she actually acted completely professional for once.
A light tap against the back of his head from some unseen force made him wince. Damn it, why was it so easy to forget that she was a telepath?
"Oh!" Dr. Hanson's expression brightened.
"It's just me, unfortunately, Dr. Hanson," Yuriko said quickly, her words making the doctor's face fall, "But the Raiders are here to help anyway. My records state that it should be Colonel Wallace in charge of the specific detachment on Agria. Is he available?"
At that, Dr. Hanson's face fell further, a faint shimmer coming to her eyes. Jimmy felt his hands tightening into fists at his sides before he forced them to relax. The sight of crying women sparked something angry in him, as well as the implication of more folk dead thanks to the zerg.
"I'm…sorry, Ms. Thirteen, but Colonel Wallace fell in battle guarding the way for multiple refugee caravans to make it to our base camp. He saved three whole towns, his forces keeping the zerg back so they could get to safety," Dr. Hanson said quietly, her head bowed and a clear quaver in her voice.
"I see."
Jimmy scrutinized the psychic's face, but unfortunately he just couldn't quite tell what she was thinking at that moment. Which was rather unfair, considering that she could quite easily do the opposite to just about anyone else. Except maybe protoss.
"Right now command is with Lieutenant Frasier, but there are other MannCo contingents that have gone missing in the field," Dr. Hanson continued before looking at Raynor. "Commander, the colony is lost. We've been concentrating on evacuating as many people as we can to our safe zone, and MannCo forces are still holding on, but we need to get out of here."
The doctor's face minimized, and Jimmy blinked at the new images she was showing him, small clips of ongoing fighting between MannCo marines and firebats manning the perimeter and the zerg trying to get inside of it. Then the viewpoint shifted northwards, until centering on another point where MannCo forces were holding the line. Four massive ships sat idle on the launch pads, numerous missile turrets and bunkers defending them. There were even a few goliaths and siege tanks standing their ground.
"This is the only star port on Agria, Commander, but the zerg attacks have gotten so intense that we can't get any convoys through, and the MannCo forces left can't be spared. But if you can help guard those convoys…,"
"We can get your people out," Jimmy finished for her. "Don't you worry, Doc, we'll get your people safe."
"I can only pray you're right," Dr. Hanson shook slightly, looking at him and Yuriko with ever so slightly wild eyes. "The zerg are more terrible than I ever imagined."
Then the transmission closed, and Jimmy turned to look at Yuriko.
"Did you know Colonel Wallace?"
The psychic just scoffed.
"Of course not," she answered promptly. "MannCo is quite large, Raynor, I can't be expected to personally know each and every one of its people. I will tell you this, however," she flicked her eyes at him. "Pursuant to BD conditions, I am authorized to offer incentives to aid in MannCo recovering, reclaiming, or rescuing MannCo personnel."
She didn't seem inclined to clarify whatever the hell 'BD conditions were'.
"Oh yeah?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "What kind of incentives?"
"Significant ones," she replied vaguely before turning towards the door. "But we'll see how it goes down there, neh?"
Then she was gone.
"Commander…I really don't know if we can trust that woman," Matt said from next to him. "She's working for one of the biggest mercenary groups in the sector, and no one knows where they came from."
Jimmy chuckled and lit another cigarette.
"Aw, c'mon Matt, don't tell me you believe that hokey rumor that they're the UED come again."
The Captain of the Hyperion just shook his head.
"It's not their level of technological expertise that bothers me, sir, it's the part where they'll shoot at each other if the pay is good enough. And I've looked at the recordings. They don't seem to know the meaning of holding back."
Jimmy took a long drag and blew a single puff of smoke, his face grim.
"Yeah, well, maybe that's the kind of mentality we might need to beat the Dominion."
===============================================
Dr. Hanson had, at some point, managed to clean up slightly by the time Raynor hit Agria's surface. This time, however, he'd remained out of his armor so that he could be unhindered in the command center. As such, when he shook her hand it wasn't CMC armor engulfing hers.
"Commander Raynor, it's…nice to meet you in person," she said almost shyly through her lashes at him.
"Likewise, doc. Let's see if we can't get your people out here, huh?"
"It would be appreciated," she said with a smile, tucking an errant bit of hair over her ear.
Then Raynor turned back to the bank of screens and techs in the command center, or more specifically, to where Yuriko conversed with an incredibly bulky looking soldier with officer's stripes painted on the shoulder. It was easy to recognize them as wearing a marauder suit, but up until now he'd thought that they were a Dominion exclusive. Then again, if there was anyone with the money to buy out some marauders, it would be MannCo. Or the Kel-Morians. In either case, the marauder offered something to Yuriko and saluted before leaving, Yuriko instead walking over to Raynor.
"Commander, here are the codes for control of the command center and the rest of the buildings," Yuriko offered him the data stick. "MannCo will be asking for restitution if any of them are damaged."
Jimmy's hand snapped back down from the data stick, causing Yuriko to snort.
"Sorry, couldn't resist. That was a joke. Don't worry about it," she chortled as she placed the stick in his hand, a quiet chuckle coming from Dr. Hanson as well.
Jimmy just weathered it and plugged the it in, watching how the command screens flickered slightly before becoming lined with green.
"New battlefield commander accepted," came the soft voice of the Command Center's adjutant. "Raynor, James."
A large map of the area bloomed to holographic life, showing the colonists of Agria in white, MannCo in black, and his own forces in blue. Yuriko nodded at the sight and tapped a few buttons on the console, marking a few locations off the main road to the star port and deeper into the woods in zerg territory.
"These are the last known locations of MannCo forces that got cut off, if you can locate them or confirm their deaths, MannCo would appreciate it, Raynor," Yuriko told him primly. "Cash upon confirmation or retrieval, of course."
Jimmy just stared at her.
"That's a bit cold, ain't it? I would have sent some boys out looking regardless if you just asked."
"Ah, but money happens to be a good motivator, doesn't it?" She asked, tilting her head to the side slightly.
Again, he remembered just how low on resources the Hyperion, the Raiders, hell the entire revolution was.
"...seems to be, sure," he sighed, shoulders slumping. "I'll see what can be done."
"It's all MannCo can ask," Yuriko smiled before sliding her featureless helmet over her head once more, though her voice came through as if she weren't wearing one at all. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Stetmann has made a request that I see if I can find some good samples of the zerg to study. Oh, and watch out for the nydus worms."
"The what now?"
"The big worms that popped up on Mar Sara? They're the new horrible transportation method of the zerg, they tunnel for miles, and act as movement channels."
Jimmy didn't bother disguising his shudder. The zerg were awful enough that it wasn't worth trying to deny it.
"Is that what they're called?" Dr. Hanson asked in horrified fascination. "They're what broke through our defenses again and again, letting the zerg behind the MannCo lines more than once."
"Yeah," Yuriko nodded. "They're pretty tough, but it's almost impossible to miss them moving around under the ground. Good luck Raynor."
Then she was gone, leaving Jimmy with Dr. Hanson, who gave him a slight smile.
"Ah, I'll…leave you to it then? I should see to my people," she said quietly before turning and leaving as well.
And then aside from the crew helping run the command center, Jimmy was all alone again.
"Right," he cracked his knuckles and then tabbed the communicator. "Swann, you said you got me some firebats, right?"
"Oh, I got a lot more than that, cowboy, thanks to our resident Mistress of Mystery."
"Yeah?" He raised an eyebrow and then stared at the schematics that briefly danced across the screens. "Woah, Swann, hang on now. Do we even have anybody trained for some of this stuff? Marauder schematics…and 'Reapers' too?"
Swann chuckled.
"Ah, well, no not yet, but we still got a few boys and girls who've been itching to get back into some siege tanks and wraiths, the old school stuff. Gonna need to rig up a training program for some of the new stuff, though."
Jimmy just chuckled as he sent orders out to his forces.
"I think it'll do for now, Rory."
It would definitely do.
============================================
In the end, Jimmy had been able to rescue three of four possible MannCo groups. One had been pure infantry, from regular marines and medics to the more advanced firebats and marauders. Another had been made up of goliaths and siege tanks. The third was a mixture of infantry and vehicles. The fourth, to his dismay, was dead to a man, apparently willingly blowing themselves up in order to stop the zerg from infesting them.
"That's a shame," Yuriko said calmly when he'd reported that to her. "Still, three out of four isn't too bad, Raynor. I'll make sure you're rewarded for your effort."
"Yuriko -," he cut himself off with an explosive sigh. "I keep telling you, it ain't about the money."
"And yet, money will keep your ship fueled, your people fed, and your efforts against Mengsk supplied," she returned mildly.
Jimmy paused to direct an SCV to repair part of the bunker line that had been built up along the road before speaking again.
"People ain't just numbers, Yuriko."
"Of course they are," she said with a bit of chill, "It's just very important to remember that numbers can matter quite a lot, Raynor. Mine, for instance, is Thirteen."
"That's-,"
"Besides, don't you have an evacuation to run?"
Another pair of wraiths finished building, ready to join the ongoing efforts of the Raiders to beat back mutalisks and overlords alike, and with a swipe of his fingers he sent them on. The zerg were stepping up their attacks significantly, with greater numbers than before. Most of the colonists had gotten to the ships, but another two convoys would be needed to evacuate them all. It was too much, assigning resource harvesting, training, building, reinforcing, repairing, and more. Nydus worms kept popping up, bringing in zerg from even further away, and Matt had just reported that new zerg biomass was entering the atmosphere. The MannCo soldiers he'd managed to rescue were keeping the base more than safe, meaning more of his boys and girls could get out to fight.
"We'll finish this conversation later, Yuriko," he finally said, exasperated.
"I'm sure," she drawled back. "In the meantime, I found another chrysalis for Stetmann to look at."
Then the radio clicked off.
"Is…everything all right, Commander?" Dr. Hanson's voice came from behind him.
"Just…peachy, doc," he grunted, looking at her over his shoulder. "Can I help you with something?"
"The zerg attacks are getting worse, aren't they," she asked, clutching at herself, almost folding in slightly.
Jimmy grimaced.
"I won't lie to you, doc. We need to get your people out in a hurry. Leave everything but the absolute essentials, maybe even just without anything at all if it gets them loaded up faster. I've got a few medivac dropships, courtesy of MannCo schematics, and that can help ease some of the load to get to the star port, but not that many."
"We're trying, I swear we are," she said, looking up at him with wide eyes.
He glanced once at the screens to make sure he had a few seconds and turned away from them to face her fully. One step took him close enough to place a hand on her shoulder.
"I know. I know you and your people are scared, but I think we might need them to load all the way up, doc. Every truck, every vehicle, all at once. Raiders can hold the line, the MannCo boys can be a mobile guard for ya'll. Does that sound all right?"
A half-hearted laugh made it from her.
"It seems like we don't have a choice."
The colonists, informed that this would be the absolute last trip, finally started to get moving just a little bit faster. The buildings that could be salvaged for later supplies and resources were, those that could lift off and rejoin the Hyperion did so. Jimmy finally put on his armor and picked up his gun, this time a HEV rifle rather than a standard C-14 impaler. The moment the last convoy began to move out, the zerg really began to step it up. Rather than consistent major assaults, it became one seemingly infinite rush. Nydus worms exploded out of the ground in staggered lines, each of them vomiting forth their cargo to add even more bodies to the swarm. The colonists screamed just about the entire time, especially when a group of mutalisks came screeching in, only to get tied up with the wraiths and missiles from the MannCo goliaths.
As for Jimmy himself?
"And stay down!" He yelled at the mutalisk as it screeched and fell to the earth, racking the HEV rifle to punctuate his words.
A familiar whirring hum-screech announced the arrival of Yuriko, the invisibility bubble fading over the super vulture as she flew it at a height with the mutalisks. Its grenade launchers lobbed powerful explosives onto the zerg on the ground, while the gatling cannons and laser turret fired at the fliers. She gave him a jaunty wave before standing up again like it was a surf board, letting the super vulture's weaponry fire as she started letting loose with the hand-held siege weapon she carried around. Each time one of those charged energy bolts burst, it seemed to cause chain reactions with everything that she hit, tearing apart even more of the zerg. As a result of making herself such an obvious target, the zerg began focusing almost exclusively on her, just as she dropped back onto the super vulture and flew away, drawing off a multitude of the enemy.
Then it was back to the grueling slog, right up to the star port itself, evacuating his soldiers from the bunkers and joining the rest of their increasingly large group of units as they went, leaving as little behind for the zerg to salvage or infest as possible.
"Go, go, go!" He shouted at some of the slower moving colonists, still trying to tug suitcases and other luggage with them into the waiting cargo ships. "Get into the ships, move!"
"Commander, come in. I can get the Hyperion into position to guard the ships, but that means no support on the zerg actually moving in to attack you."
"Then you keep those ships safe, Matt!" Jimmy shouted, firing at every larger zerg he could see, knowing he was starting to run lower and lower on ammo.
One minute. Then another. In real time, he watched creep like a hyperactive sludge eating up the ground in front of him. It was how the zerg worked, how they could quickly spread creep over an entire planet, the wildlife and vegetation alike being infested by the Swarm. On the upper level of the star port, he was watching it in real time, in a way he'd never seen on the far more barren Mar Sara. Agria was full and lush with flora and fauna, all ripe for the zerg to come calling. Smaller trees were beginning to droop under ropey purple biomass, the bases of others surrounded by twitching pustules and creep tumors. The grass itself drowned beneath the zerg creep, leaving only roiling fields of twitching organic matter. Then, from those flesh fields, came the zerg, crawlers and colonies and nydus worms and more.
"Commander!"
Bang. One more hydralisk down. Bang. One more mutalisk.
"Commander!"
Jimmy paused as he reloaded, only to find the worried face of Doctor Hanson next to him.
"Little busy here, doc!" He had to raise his voice over the din of the fighting.
But something on her face made kept him from rejoining said fighting. A desperate and tired horror.
"We're almost finished loading the ships," she said quickly, "But…," she glanced at him, and then at the rest of those still holding the zerg off.
"You ain't got room for everyone," he finished grimly.
"I'm…I'm so sorry, Commander," she bowed her head, hands on his armor and leaning on him seemingly just to keep upright. "MannCo…MannCo managed to rescue just about everyone, more than our initial estimates said might be possible…and we've just…we're running out of space," she said pitifully.
"Well, that's disheartening," Yuriko spoke up, having driven her super vulture up next to them.
It's normally quiet engines were even further rendered near invisible by the sound of all the guns being fired.
"Yuriko," Jimmy turned to her, heart already aching at the decisions that would have to be made. "You heard her?"
"I read her mind, and I can also listen to the reports of the MannCo pilots on those ship," she jerked her thumb at the still transports as the last few colonists got on. "You don't have enough medivac ships for everyone, Raynor."
"…no, I don't."
Yuriko just nodded and then held up a wrist, a small screen appearing on it.
"Frasier, front and center."
A few seconds later, the marauder that Jimmy had seen before stomped over and saluted to Yuriko.
"Operative Thirteen," came a woman's voice, muffled and heavily altered by her helmet. "Reporting as ordered."
"We don't have enough transports for everyone. We're going to get the Raiders out. That means MannCo will be staying behind."
Jimmy's heart seized for a second, memories of another woman left alone, left to face the zerg, flooding to the fore.
"Woah!" He cried aloud, a smaller but similar noise coming from Dr. Hanson. "We can try to hold the line or something, do some rounds of transports up and down!"
Yuriko and Lieutenant Frasier eerily turned in unison and shook their heads at him.
"The Hyperion and what wraiths we've managed to put together aren't yet at the level of taking on the aerial capabilities of a zerg brood that's invading an entire planet," Yuriko started.
"MannCo knows the risks, MannCo takes on those risks," Lieutenant Frasier said flatly. "Combat Group 17-B's current contract is as a Planetary Defense Force is to defend the planet of Agria from aggressors, up to and including unto death."
Her part said, the marauder then turned and began to walk away, firing a grenade in a large lobbing arc right into the zerg masses, while Jimmy and Dr. Hanson gaped.
"And there you have it, Raynor," Yuriko shrugged. "Get the Raiders onto the ships, and we'll get out of here."
Jimmy stared at her, this smiling and incredibly deadly mercenary psychic, just casually accepting the death of an entire small army of MannCo troops. At the hands of the zerg no less. With her body-concealing environmental suit and additional armor plating, her helmet completely covering and featureless save for a non-reflective smooth surface of grey, surely he could be forgiven for mistaking her for an emotionless robot. There was no face, no eyes to look into, only a calm yet firm voice.
"…you're a cold one, Yuriko," he eventually said with no small amount of disgust in his voice. "Didn't you go the extra mile, promising us extra funds if we helped rescue your folks? And now you're just gonna abandon them?"
She just tilted her head at him, voice somehow soft but enunciated well enough to be perfectly clear despite the ongoing fighting.
"The funds will still be transferred, Raynor. Good deeds deserve good rewards. And we are not abandoning anyone. They knew full well the entire time that the transport capacity of those ships wouldn't be able to carry even half their number. They made their decision the moment the Raiders got here," she folded her arms over her chest. "So please, get off your high horse, and get into the transport ship."
They'd come quite some way in quite a short amount of time from Mar Sara.
"I don't get you MannCo people," he grunted. "Come on, doc. Let's get out of here."
Doctor Hanson seemed wretchedly upset, with actual tears in her eyes as she stood next to Jimmy as the transport's door began to close just after Yuriko loaded herself and her super vulture up in one of the medivac ships. He'd build more ships for next time, he swore to himself, and he'd use the blood money that MannCo seemed intent on forcing onto him to do it. All around him were Raiders and huddled Agria colonists, many of them openly weeping at the destruction of their home. Some of them were even children.
"This is…this is awful," Doctor Hanson whispered as the door sealed shut and pressurized, the sound of fighting growing more and more muted as the ship lifted up and away.
"That's the zerg, doc," he murmured, thumping a fist against a wall and just holding his weight on it. "A lot of the time, you don't 'win' against the zerg. You just survive them."
Down below, the tireless MannCo forces continued to kill zerg for another five minutes before their position was overrun and the nuclear warhead inside of the droid that was Lieutenant Frasier detonated.
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