The stunt pulled on Mar Sara got very much attention. Mengsk made public statements about the incident and put the spotlight on Raynor’s people. A good move made by the Emperor because now, many started to believe that Jim Raynor actually became a terrorist and would use innocent people to achieve his goals. Even so, the ex-marshal had bigger problems now...
After a week since the raid on Mar Sara, people aboard the Hyperion started to act weird. Some of them lost conscience had aggressive outbursts and others pretend to hear voices or see things. Medics and scientists could not find the answer for their behavior. To diminish incidents, all personal has been requested to stay in their quarters until further notice...
Marine Quarters Room 212, aboard the Hyperion
10:33 Ship Hour
*The quarter itself was a small room containing 4 bunk beds and little room to move. On the walls there are pictures with Joe, Alona and Timothy, fighting or just smiling for the camera. Also, medals are ordered and put high on the left wall in a nice frame. The two beds down are owned by Joe and Timothy and the one above Joe’s is owned by Alona. The forth one is vacant. The three stand each in their bed, talking about what is going on aboard the Hyperion... and other things...*
Corporal Timothy „Sandman” Banks
„One hydra smacked in the head with a bullet, two hydras smacked in their head with only one bullet... damn I’m good! Three hydras...”
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„Timmy, what the hell? Last time you counted hydras you got to one hundred or something. Don’t you have something else to do?”
Corporal Timothy „Sandman” Banks
„Don’t be a slick, boy! *they both laughs* We’ve been down here for almost 6 hours and nobody said anything. I got bored and when I get bored I count hydras... or you’d rather want me to play hacky sack with your balls?” *smiles*
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„Why would you do that?!”
Prv. Alona „Widowmaker” DaVilla
„All you do is yapper around without stopping. Geez! You’re like citizen women in a holomultiplex. Just shut up already! Serious business is happening aboard you count hydras. Behave like marines for God’s sake!” *serious *
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„You heard her, Tim. Start counting nukes!” *both laugh*
*A gun is heard clicking from Alona’s bed*
Prv. Alona „Widowmaker” DaVilla
„Some things never change: you sit around telling jokes and I have to worry about serious things...”
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„Just chill, Alona. The commander suggested to stay put so that they can figure what’s wrong with the crew. All scientists are working to figure it out, but in my opinion, I think it’s about stress. I feel great...”
Prv. Alona „Widowmaker” DaVilla
„I bet you do.” *very serious*
Corporal Timothy „Sandman” Banks
„Fifteen hydras knocked down by my bullet...”
*A moment of silence and then all three of them burst into laugh. Joe gets up in the vacant bed while in the background, Timothy can be heard counting hydras.*
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„Are you alright? You sound pretty tense.”
Prv. Alona „Widowmaker” DaVilla
„Sure... I’m fine...” *tries to not look at him and to appear she is cleaning her gun*
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„Alona, it’s me you’re talking with. You’re distracted, I don’t know. For the last couple of days you can’t seem to focus, even when we are at briefing you aren’t there as you used to be.”
Prv. Alona „Widowmaker” DaVilla
„Look, Joe. I’m fine. I’m having some bad dreams and can’t sleep well. That’s it.” *working even harder to clean the gun*
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„Wait a sec. You didn’t report this to the meds? Maybe too much stim pack for you. Remember last time you pushed the button too many times? You thought I was your mother...” *smiling, but then gets back serious*
Prv. Alona „Widowmaker” DaVilla
„It isn’t the stim. I haven’t used any since Mar Sara. And I told you, I’m ok...” *trying to fake a smile*
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„What do you see in those dreams?”
*Alona takes a long look at Joe.*
Prv. Alona „Widowmaker” DaVilla
„That’s troubling. I see us... somewhere on an unknown planet. We are engaged with the zerg. Protoss troops fight alongside with us. We can almost win the fight when something appears... I don’t know what it is but it resembles both to a protoss and a zerg... The sky then turns red and we all die... it looks so real...”
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„It’s just a dream. But I want you to report to the infirmary. Maybe a psi rad introspection would make it go away. Dreams are dreams...”
*The speaker announces that quarantine has been removed and everybody is free to move around the ship.*
Corporal Timothy „Sandman” Banks
„Bullshit! Damn, man, I only got to one hundred two hydras... That’s a shame...”
All the personnel now return to their active duties. Alona was on south turret guard, Timothy had to go to a briefing and Joe was out of duty. Even so, „Slick” understood Alona did not tell everything. The look she gave him was pretty serious, like a warning but fear can easily be felt. Joe thought it was time for him to get a drink, so he decided to go to the cantina.
Corridors aboard the Hyperion
12:05 Ship Hour
Joe was pretty much disturbed by Alona’s vision. He has not seen her like that for a long time. Walking down the corridor, the lights were flicking. In Joe’s mind, past events start to rollback.
*introspection and memories come up into Joe’s mind*
Joe, Alona and her sister, Lexa, were on a covert op to retrieve a data disc from a Dominion base, back on Korhal IV. It had strategically defense schematics and it was a priority one mission. The target was pretty simple to reach but once they got it, the alarm would turn on due to the barium motion sensors.
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„Just another day on the job, ey girls?” *smiling*
Prv. Alona „Widowmaker” DaVilla
„We don’t have time for this, pretty boy. Get the disc and let’s make a run for it.”
*Lexa runs by them and gunshots are heard from behind*
Prv. Lexa DaVilla
„You two lovebirds can talk all day long. Here’s the disc. Catch!” *laughs and throws it in Alona’s hands, then all of them runs”
Prv. Alona „Widowmaker” DaVilla
„Lovebir... *a bullet almost hits her helmet but ricochets into the wall* Go, I’ll make cover!”
The three run towards the exit. Many ground units are deployed to catch them. Enemy troops flanked their position and caught them off from the corridor which leads to the exit.
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„Listen, I cover your pretty asses while you run towards the end of the corridor over there and plant some plasma mines. When I run, make sure you blow them up as soon as I cross over. Got it?”
Prv. Lexa DaVilla
„Aye, aye, Joey! *blows a kiss and laughs*
Prv. Alona „Widowmaker” DaVilla
„Let’s go then!”
Joe started to lay cover fire and the two marines ran to the end of the corridor. There, they stopped to deploy plasma mines, just as planned. Alona put her mine and took cover but when Lexa tried to lay it down, a Dominion marauder shoots at her and the mine was hit causing it to explode right in Lexa’s face. Alona froze. She was stunned and did nothing. Joe saw what happened and run screaming to Alona to cover him. He grabbed Lexa and pulled her to safety. Then he used a C4 charge to cut off the corridor by collapsing it. Lexa was in pretty bad shape. Alona called her name desperately trying to make her gain consciousness but blood was all over her face and she was nonresponsive.
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„Alona! Alona! Snap out of it! I’ll grab her, you make sure we are safe and not under fire!” *he seemed calm and decisive but he was really scared*
They succeeded into getting outside the base where Timothy waited for them in a med evac unit. He was also shocked to see Lexa down. The medics tried all they could but Lexa did not make it. Alona was devastated. She blamed herself ever since for not putting the second mine herself. Yet, she managed to put that aside and make peace with herself.
For a long time she had sadness in her eyes and fear something similar would repeat. She was off duty many weeks and she attended psychological reiteration courses. Somehow, today, Joe saw the same look as the one she had then.
Suddenly, Joe wakes up from his flashback and gets vigilant. He thought he saw something. He looked back and around him but there was nothing. Only the light was fading in and out in a rapid manner. Out of nowhere, a shadow appears in front of him and goes down a corner. Joe could not believe his eyes. He has never seen such thing before. It did not resemble to anything he had knowledge of. He tries to follow it. There it was again, going towards the cantina. He runs towards it and sees how it gets through the cantina’s door. When the door opens, he sees Dr. Sheldon Carter, an astrophysicist.
Dr. Sheldon Carter
„Excuse me, Joe... you seem disoriented...”
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„Did you see that?” *looking in every direction, searching the shadow”
Dr. Sheldon Carter
„See.... what?”
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„Little green men... What do you think? The shadow or whatever it was. It ran right into the door and through it!”
Dr. Sheldon Carter
„First of all, nice joke with the green men... Classic I might add. Secondly, there is no such thing as „getting through walls”. You see, in modern science we tried to bend the structure of the atoms in such manner there would be enough space to interbind with exotic particl...”
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„Sheldon, shut up. *calming himself down” We need to talk. Something is very wrong and we are not told everything, that’s for sure. Come.”
Dr. Sheldon Carter
„Where to? I was going to perform some diagnostics and the new roach tissue found on Mar Sara...”
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„Sheldon, now!”
Dr. Sheldon Carter
„Lead the way!” *smiling*
Laboratory aboard the Hyperion
12:13 Ship Hour
Joe told Sheldon everything: Alona’s dreams and his shadow encounter. First, Sheldon thought it was a prank pulled on him but then he understood this was serious business.
Dr. Sheldon Carter
„I know stuff has been happening around. But I wasn’t told anything about dreams or shadows. Looks like a med’s job if you ask me.”
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„The med’s are clueless. And I know what I saw...”
Dr. Sheldon Carter
„Wait you said you experienced it on the way to the cantina... right before we met down there?” *a little bit puzzled*
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„Yes... It was right there. It just appeared...”
Dr. Sheldon Carter
„Beneath that corridor is this lab, actually the room next door where is the test area...”
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„So?”
Dr. Sheldon Carter
„The package you retrieved on Mar Sara is put on tests... on daily bases... It’s high tech and really helped us discove...”
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„Sheldon, what have we brought aboard?” *really serious*
Dr. Sheldon Carter
„Well, nothing to interest you, and nothing that would endanger the ship. But it’s pretty exciting stuff to work with.” *smile and laughs in a nerdy way”
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„I’m gonna ask you again, then I’m gonna pull out my gun and shoot your osmotic defiler membrane picked up last month! What’s the package?”
Dr. Sheldon Carter
„You wouldn’t dare! All right, then... It’s an alien artifact. It seems to belong to those the protoss call Xel’ Naga. But it’s just a piece. Even so, it is very interesting as it draws its power from subspace. It emits low radiations but they don’t seem to interfere in any way with human physiology. We are currently conducting some experiments by bombarding it with different radiations and laser beams. It seems to deflect almost everything except the good old X Rays... that was what we tested when....” *swallows very hard*
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„When I was passing there... I got that. So that explains my hallucination! What about Alo...”
*the general alarm goes active. Gunshots were heard in the south turret area and all near units were advised to approach with caution*
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„Alona is performing her shift over there! Thanks, doc! Report to the commander that we know what caused the strange behavior.”
Dr. Sheldon Carter
„Right on it. Sure hope he won’t forbid tests, though...” *sighs*
South turret of the Hyperion
12:23 Ship Hour
Gunshots are continuously fired towards the corridor entry. Marines cannot go in. All they know is that Alona is firing the weapon and she barricaded herself after a desk. At the site arrive both Joe and Timothy.
Corporal Timothy „Sandman” Banks
„What do I miss? Is she gone insane?”
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„Remember the package from last week? Mar Sara?”
Corporal Timothy „Sandman” Banks
„Yeah.. What about it?”
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„Some alien crap twists our head when they irradiate it...”
Corporal Timothy „Sandman” Banks
„So that’s why I saw scantids everywhere. Nice!” *laughs*
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„The fu... never mind... Alona! Alona, stop the fire, let’s talk!”
Prv. Alona „Widowmaker” DaVilla
„She’s dead because of you! You’re dead! We are all dead! *crying and shouting all over the place*
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„Calm down. We’re just fine. Please put the gun down”
Prv. Alona „Widowmaker” DaVilla
„You don’t get it. The zerg aren’t the threat. Those monsters are. And you Joe, you will die right in front of me and I can’t save you... I just can’t... Nobody can... And everybody around me dies.... I can’t take it anymore!”
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„Listen to me! I am here, alive. No one dies. It’s alright. * he tries to approach her* Remember when I was on that mission alone back on Paralta and lost comlink with base? You came after me and saved me from a whole planet infested by zerg... You neglected a direct order and came after me. I was shocked... when I saw you... Put the gun down please...”
Prv. Alona „Widowmaker” DaVilla
„It’s not gonna be the same... it’s just not gonna....”
*she falls down, drops the weapon and starts to cry. Joe grabs her and hugs her, trying to calm her down.*
Corporal Timothy „Sandman” Banks
„I knew they’ll get back eventually, hehe.” *laughs and goes back to his quarters.*
Marine Quarters Room 212, aboard the Hyperion
19:58 Ship Hour
Alona went to the infirmary and passed all tests, then she was sent to her quarters. Joe stood beside her all the time. He tried to make her more comfortable and explained everything. He tried to tell her it was just a hallucination and eventually she believed him. Timothy came back from a briefing.
Corporal Timothy „Sandman” Banks
„Are you ok, Alona?”
Prv. Alona „Widowmaker” DaVilla
„Now, I’m alright. What did the Commander say?”
Corporal Timothy „Sandman” Banks
„Well, they put a stop to the experiments. They need this artifact for some corporation or something but they wanted to study it. Tech bullshit. I don’t know... As far as Alona is concerned, she is off duty a couple of days until I feel you are right back on your feet.” *winks*
Prv. Alona „Widowmaker” DaVilla
„That’s good news. I don’t know what got into me... I’m sorry...”
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„You should... You were going to shoot me!”
Corporal Timothy „Sandman” Banks
„Maybe you deserve it... Thought about that?” *laughs*
Prv. Alona „Widowmaker” DaVilla
„You had it coming, you know, for those things back on Korhall IV...”*winks* „Just kidding’. Thanks for helping me back there...” *reaches for his hand*
Corporal Timothy „Sandman” Banks
„What about me? I ain’t getting something out of this? I am the superior rank in the chain of command...”
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„Maybe she will dust off your ranks on your marine exoskeleton, how about that?” *all of them laugh*
*Dr. Sheldon enters and calls outside Joe*
Dr. Sheldon Carter
„Heard about everything. Are you ok? Are you back with Alona?” *smiles devilish*
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„I’m alright and free of charge. *laughs* What’s up?”
Dr. Sheldon Carter
„Well, I did some research and... you know those hallucinations were symptoms everybody had but dreams, no one... We don’t know how the artifact works nor how it reacts upon human subjects but statistical speaking...”
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„You’re telling me she was the only one with vivid dreams?”
Dr. Sheldon Carter
„Yes...” *puzzled* „Why?”
Prv. Joe “Slick” Astor
„I don’t know... maybe... those dreams aren’t just dreams...”
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