Colonel Olivier leaned heavily on the oaken sill and stared straight ahead through the window, contemplating whatever men contemplate when they are faced with the deep vastness of space. He sighed quietly; it was a tired sigh, but a relieved one. This would be his last assignment; although his general had tried everything possible to keep him aboard, Olivier was through. Relatively easy, his objective was to gather information around a certain set of coordinates generated by some random bureaucratic soldiers at Central Command. He wasn’t even being allocated any fighting units; although he had permission to build what he needed should situations calling for such arise. He managed to turn away from the portal and return to his maps, sighing again for effect.

Command Center 004-G1 touched down east of an abandoned temple, the dust from its mammoth struts forming an opaque cloud. The conn ensign noted with amusement that these recent deployments almost always had some protoss monument of some sort or another sitting around. He made the usual perfunctory checks of his systems, and ordered the chief sergeant to deploy his last four SCV units. The Colonel hadn’t arrived yet, and for lack of any better assignments the sergeant sent the SCV’s to gather raw materials nearby. He felt little remorse for the men working inside the suits under the relentless sun; he too had paid his dues to the company, with more than sweat.

Olivier arrived on the bridge at 021.2 exactly, and immediately set about planning with his senior officers. "This should be routine, gentleman. I’m going to send off another command center south, with you in charge Major." He nodded at his first officer and continued: "I figure one squadron of wraiths with standard surveying equipment should be plenty for the sector we need mapped. I want this wrapped up quickly, so get too it." Olivier’s officers exchanged looks; they all knew it was his final assignment and hoped he didn’t get sloppy in his hurry to get offworld. Olivier was a brilliant tactical officer but had never lived up to harsh Dominion commanding standards. "Sergeant!" The chief sergeant turned quickly to salute his commanding officer. "Yes sir?" The Colonel pointed to his unit status display: "Is this all the SCVs you have?"

"Yes sir."

"Build more!"

"Yes sir."

When the twelfth SCV had exited its production facility, the chief sergeant was there and decided to take it himself to better supervise his men. He, for one, believed that good leaders led from the front. He was soon dispatched to make an initial scouting run north and west. The chief sergeant made a check of the camp before he left, and was rewarded with activity in the form of a built supply depot and a command center and barracks under construction. It was good to know that the big man in charge had a little sense.

Olivier was pleased. The major had taken to the air in his new command center over an hour ago, and short range scanning sweeps from the platform had determined that the approaches to the main plateau were through a narrow valley. This same valley had been shown to hold another cache of minerals nestled along its south side. Operations in the camp were progressing nicely, with several supply depots built, and a factory under construction. The security officer had suggested a bunker and some guards, which Olivier had grudgingly agreed to. The chief sergeant had reported nothing thus far, and Olivier was silently praying that the quiet continued. An idea occurred to the Colonel, and he had construction begun on another factory to be flown to the southern plateau. The narrow valley would provide a perfect kill zone for arclite siege fire, although again he felt that preparing defenses was simply inviting attack. He knew that prudence should override superstition, however difficult that was to swallow.

The chief sergeant eased west. It wasn’t tiring to pilot an SCV, but extremely boring. He entered a narrow valley, and began a small-sensor search of the cliff faces to his left and right. Surprisingly, there was a beep on his threat monitor. It was coming from his left, and he darted to the right. He slowly made his was around the cliff before finding a rockslide he could ascend. He worked his way slowly up the crumbled granite, and was thoroughly frustrated when he finally made it to the top. No sooner had he crested the hill, however, than he was pelted with rifle fire. He immediately dove back over the embankment, keying his radio as he slid dangerously to the bottom. "004-G1 come in!" "Go ahead, sergeant." The communications officer waved to Olivier and the colonel appeared at his side. "I have had contact, repeat CONTACT with terran military forces. Appear hostile. Advise, over."

"Return to base, over" the communications officer didn’t even have to turn to Olivier to know what to do.

"I’m there, ETA two hours. Chief sergeant out."

Olivier sighed and turned away, moving to the map table where his tactical officers were already plotting the coordinates of the enemy contact. "They have a similar position to ours, sir." "I’m not worried for now," the colonel replied "our current defenses are sufficient." "Perhaps a few more marines would be…"

"The defenses are suitable, LIEUTENANT." Olivier returned to his command chair. Preliminary scanner sweeps from the fleet vessels had determined no military presence up to five standard hours previous to their landing, so the opposition couldn’t have established much of a foothold since then. Olivier glanced down, and noticed the veins on his arm beginning to bulge. It was beginning again.

Things had been fairly tense for the past four hours. Plotting officers in the control room were upset at their lack of reconnaissance data, and therefore their ability to predict enemy action. The major had landed to his south on what appeared to be an island, and was beginning to set up shop there. A small guard force of five marines and a tank had been prepared, and the factory on the southern cliff was starting to build another tank to cover the valley. When the call came, it was the not the actual message but rather the content that shocked Olivier.

"Enemy contacts approaching!" Tactical2 announced.

"Identify!" Olivier ordered.

"I note ten, make that twelve, enemy soldiers." Tactical3 stated.

"Tactical2 confirms twelve sir! They’re protoss!"

Olivier’s blood chilled. Twelve protoss warriors were dangerous indeed. "What type? What formation?"

"Protoss infantry regulars, sir. Standard war party line." Tactical1 was scared out of his mind.

"Get the bunker on the ComEx." Olivier’s first instinct was to tell them to run.

"Sir we got twelve stilts inbound!" the bunker sergeant yelled, using the marine slang for the wiry protoss infantrymen.

"Allocating SCVs to repair, sir." Tactical2 was an ambitious young man.

"Get my tank on the com!" Tactical1 yelled.

"Ready to roll out sir!" a master sergeant replied.

It was too late, of course, everyone in the command room was already aware of the impending doom of the small defense force. Olivier silently looked at the tactical display as red alert beacons were activated in the barracks and the bunker. Around him the room was a commotion, mostly from the com chatter from the doomed marines.

"Sir we’ll never be able to hold them!" An open com line was now open to the bridge.

"SHIFT FIRE- LOOKOUT" the bunker was being torn apart by massive blades of energy.

The bunker failed. "RETREAT! GET TO THE COVER OF THAT TANK!"

The tank exploded seconds later, its armor no match for the seven warriors that surrounded it immediately. The sounds of the dying men reached the command room, and Olivier absentmindedly ran his tongue of the dyecinide pill under his back tooth. He wondered what a protoss interrogation was like…

"Sir, recommend we lift off." Tactical2 would have his own command some day. Olivier was jolted from his fears and remembered the simple capacity of his command center to take to the air. "Activate boosters; recall the SCVs." "There’s no time for that sir, with all due respect the ETA on that war party to this location is three minutes." Tactical1 certainly wasn’t going to risk HIS life for some enlisted men. Olivier sighed; the man was right. A single protoss warrior would easily kill the entire population of the command center, or at least most of it. "Liftoff."

"Sir! No SCVs made it aboard!" The chief sergeant and his twenty or so SCVs were a little slow in realizing that they weren’t going to be picked up.

"I realize that chief. Fight to the end. Olivier out." He terminated his own com link, but the bridge tactical link still picked up the curses from the doomed SCVs. The chief sergeant led them bravely, and the enlisted men managed to kill one protoss before they were ripped to shreds by protoss blades. Olivier stared straight ahead, and his senior officers handled the flight south.

Something had been salvaged, which was reassuring to the sobered crew. The new command center to the south was generating a substantial supply of raw materials, and the tactical officers were now drawing up a plan to land 004-G1 in the valley, protecting it with tank artillery built in the factory earlier landed on the southern plateau. An engineering bay, a factory, and the barracks had all been saved from the carnage by their ability to fly. A scout had noted the protoss leaving the area some time earlier. The remaining buildings were flown back to the main plateau, and defenses were hastily constructed. Three tanks now had their heavy emplacement guns searching for targets in the valley north of them. The major had been busy on his island, Olivier saw, constructing a ring of turrets, along with some supply depots in the event that the colonel retreated that far south. Olivier solemnly noted that this was far from a scouting mission now, and full war preparations were being made. He also cursed himself for deserting his men, and swore under his breath that the same would not happen again. A starport was being constructed in the valley, and an additional barracks and factory were being constructed on the original plateau. A work crew was sent to clear the bodies of the SCVs, and another command center was started in the original landing zone. Four hours later, a workable defense of a bunker and eight marines protected the entrance to the valley, with heavy support from three tanks on the southern heights. An academy was beginning to turn enlisted men into sergeants, and several medics began circulating around the camp. Three R35-K ComSats were launched, with control rooms at the three corresponding command centers. Routine area sweeps were established, and the minute Olivier was given news of another island to the northeast, he assembled his senior officers. This was business, and he had to continue.

"We must secure this island. ComSat sweeps have established that there is a heavy protoss presence in the north, the initial large terran group to the west, and even a small zerg colony to the south. It has already been noted that the three are fighting amongst themselves. This means that terrain is valuable, and this island is rich in resources." Olivier was certain that with two islands and his heavily fortified main base, he could secure this area once the other factions tired themselves out fighting each other. He had witnessed a vicious battle between terran infantry and protoss defenses just twenty minutes earlier. The terrans had done significant damage, but protoss reinforcements had arrived and finished off a decimated terran infantry squad that had lost its medics and firebats.

"It will be difficult to reach the island, and even harder to reinforce it." The tactical 3 sergeant major was concerned with flying a dropship over the heavy fighting occuring on the large open plain in the center of the sector.

"Agreed, Tactical2 replied. But…"

The officer was cut off by a com transmission from a lieutenant on the heights: "We have a zerg assault under way!"

"Arclite battery 2, fire!!" Thundering reports echoed through the valley, and the bunker team reported the first rank of zerg killed.

Olivier shifted attention to his field commander. "Send in your marine reinforcements, allocate medics to them as well."

The field commander, from his position in a bunker overlooking the valley from the top of the ramp, complied, and six marines raced down the incline, under heavy cover from the bunker already established in the valley. Arclite cannons raked through the forward ranks of the zerg, but three ranged zerg infantry made it through and began launching spines at the bunker. Heavy fire traced across the three from the bunker and the reinforcing soldiers, and they didn’t last long. "Zerg forces in retreat!" Tactical3 couldn’t have sounded more relieved. A collective sigh of relief went up from the command crew.

Tactical2 shifted his attention and stopped cold. "Colonel. It was a diversion."

Olivier had heard enough, but motioned to the officer to continue.