Chapter 5: Chapter 5: The Corporal

Corporal Huo sighed. He could see Athena’s face. The pain of the betrayal was so clearly reflected in the young woman’s expressions. Would she accept her fate quietly? Or would she try to make a last stand and take one of them down with her? Knowing Athena, she would likely go for the latter. It didn't matter. Even someone as tough as her wouldn’t last long before the rounds of the Defender rifles breach her power armor. After that, so many things could finally claim her life.

The shock. The blood loss. The toxic gas. The bullets. 

He wished there was another way. He really did. Despite knowing Athena didn't think highly of him, in a sense, he pitied her. After all, once upon a time, he was also a soldier like her, infinitely loyal to the cause that was drilled into his head when he was a child. It was the obligation for every Imperial citizen to serve. The only difference was that his experience got him to see the Imperium in a different light. Athena never got the opportunity, and she never would. 

What they were doing here was just too important. One mistake, and fates worse than death could be waiting for them and all of their family members. Now was not the time for sympathy.

The next second, as Corporal Huo stared at Athena and allowed his mind to wander, everything around him changed.

Without a single warning, over a dozen beasts appeared all around the nine Imperial soldiers. It was obvious these beasts weren’t all of the same type. In fact, if the troopers looked carefully, they would discover there were three different types of the beasts. 

The first type of beasts were the most plentiful in number. There were ten of them, each around one meter tall with sharp claws and leather-like carapace all over their bodies. 

The second type consisted of five lifeforms that were each over two meters tall. They didn't stand on their legs. Instead, they were hovering in the air despite having no wings or other body parts traditionally associated with flight. They were bigger than most of the animals commonly seen on Morgo IV. Their only weapon seemed to be a pair of giant claws. 

The third type was a single entity that was larger than both of the previous types. It was over three meters tall and at least two meters wide. The first two types could still be considered animals, but anyone who saw the third type would quickly identify it as a monstrosity for the simple reason that this entity looked like the upper body of a human woman attached to the limbs and torso of a giant insect. 

But counting how many different types of beasts there were was the least of the troopers’ concerns. Not when these terrifying beasts were right next to them. It wasn’t just too close for comfort. Many of the soldiers were within reach of the claws and talons of the beasts. 

There was a moment of silence in the comms as the rogue troopers in the squad tried to process what the hell just happened. What were these alien beasts? They didn't resemble any local wildlife recorded in the archives. Judging from their appearance, they were far from harmless. More importantly, where the hell did they come from?

“Mother of god…”

Corporal Huo could hear the whispers of Private Field, a young man who was one of the few members in the squad who was drafted instead of volunteered. He wished he could say something to comfort the private, to explain to him what was happening, but the corporal couldn’t. He had traveled into three different sectors during his military service, but never before had he seen something so weird. So impossible.

The first two types of lifeforms could still be predators native to this world, but the third…the abomination with the human upper body…Corporal Huo almost felt the term abomination didn't do the horror of the lifeform justice, but he couldn’t think of a better term to describe it. 

The moment of silence came to an end as the zerg units initiated the attack on the troopers, marking the start of the slaughter.

Yes. Slaughter. This was never going to be a fight. Corporal Huo knew this in the split second before it even started. If they could maintain distance and use their firepower, they still had a chance. Now that these things somehow managed to sneak right on top of them? The fate of him and his men was already sealed.

To his left, the zerglings pounced on three soldiers in the squad with such speed that none of the soldiers had the time to raise their rifles. The teeth and claws of the zerglings tore right through the Guardian-class power armors the soldiers were wearing. As soon as the power armors were breached, the soldiers were doomed. Even if the zerglings chewing on them wouldn’t kill them, the toxic gas all around them would.

To his right, two Imperial soldiers were surrounded by five drones. The drones weren’t as fast as the zerglings, and the two soldiers got the opportunity to fire their rifles at the drones. As the two troopers pulled the trigger back with all their strength, a hail of bullets landed on the three drones leading the charge and opened countless holes in their bodies. Green blood poured out and stained the ground. But before the troopers could celebrate, the three injured drones suddenly disappeared as quickly and mysteriously as they first appeared. 

Before the two troopers could give voice to their confusion, the other two drones, having already closed the distance, dug their claws into the bodies of the troopers and marked their fate. 

The zerglings and the drones were brutal, but it was Private Dubois and the two other soldiers who were taking aim at Athena that suffered the worst fate. When Athena called her zerg units into her world, she positioned the queen between herself and the three troopers as a huge meat shield. Unlike most meat shields, the queen was a deadly combatant in melee and at range. It couldn’t do much against a protoss zealot or a squad of terran marines, but against three shocked Imperial soldiers? Taking care of them was a piece of cake. 

The queen slashed her claws down across the torso of two of the troopers close to her, tanked the hail of bullets that landed on her thick layer of carapace, and fired an acidic spine into the helmet of the terrified Private Dubois. Luckily for the private, he died instantly. 

Within seconds, Corporal Huo was the only one still alive. Several seconds was all it took to kill eight fully armed and armored Imperial soldiers. 

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Corporal Huo was on his back. The thick layer of armor between him and the outside world gave him little comfort. 

Private Field laid dead ten steps from him, the terrified look was still on his face. He was one of the troopers mauled to death by the zerglings. Neither his armor nor his weapon was enough to keep him alive. The only thing Corporal Huo had that the private didn't was more experience, but something told the corporal his experience might not mean much in a situation like this.

As dozens of cold, emotionless eyes were trained on him, Corporal Huo could feel his entire body shaking in fear. Whatever these beasts were, they were very good at killing things. Their coordination was almost perfect. Their teeth and claws could easily rip through the Guardian-class power armors that most Imperial soldiers and marines wore. Their speed made them deadly infantry killers in close range. And whatever ability they used that teleported them into position…as far as the corporal knew, it was beyond the technologies of even the most advanced civilizations in the galaxy. 

Of course, there were many ways to kill these beasts. Judicator-class flamethrowers could easily roast these monstrosities alive. Artillery fire and armored vehicles would likely do well against them. The same goes for bombers and even orbital bombardment. As ferocious as these things were, could they chew through the armor of starships?

In fact, even infantry columns could likely mow down these beasts when given sufficient distance to work with. Him and his squad…they were just very unlucky to be jumped like this, surprised and outnumbered. 

So…now what? As the corporal looked around, that was the only question he had in mind. His men were dead, but why did these things keep him alive? Maybe they wanted to save the best kill for last? Or maybe they just wanted to enjoy his fear? Was that it? Sadism? 

That was when a familiar figure emerged from behind one of the MSVs. A figure in Guardian-class power armor. At first, Corporal Huo thought this was one of his men who somehow hid and survived the onslaught, but as he saw the figure’s face, his heart sank.

“You…Athena! How did you survive…”

The corporal didn't pay much attention to Athena ever since the beasts popped up, nor did he notice her during the several seconds of chaotic slaughter. He thought she was dead, just like all his men. Apparently, he couldn’t be more wrong. 

“Why are you doing this?” Athena’s voice came from the comms. She had no intention of dragging this out. Seeing the terrified man brought no joy to her. The only reason she kept him alive was for an answer. Nothing more. “Why? Why do you and your men want me dead?”

“I…” Corporal Huo’s mouth hung open as he saw how the alien beasts were treating Athena compared to how they treated him. They bore their teeth at him, ready to dig their claws into his body at a moment’s command. And how did they treat Athena? The beasts were facing her with their backs. It was a sign of submission and obedience for many animals. The implication was simple. “You…you control these things! These abominations. You did this!”

“I did what I had to to survive. You and your people forced my hands, corporal.” Athena replied quietly. She should feel sick at the sight of the bloody slaughter, but the only thing she felt was indifference. It was as if she had seen so much bloodshed that the death of a handful of people was almost meaningless. Another contribution by the old Athena, no doubt. 

Corporal Huo looked around. He knew he wasn’t going to make it back to the base alive. Not after he saw what he saw. The only difference was how he would die. 

Athena thought she knew the corporal. He was a cowardly man. A soldier who has lost his ferocity in the years of brutal war. When the zerglings surrounded him, he didn't even have what it took to fire a single shot. If he did, perhaps he could’ve killed a handful of zerglings. He would no doubt tell her everything she knew under her threats.

It turned out she was wrong, and judging a person’s nature was indeed a difficult task.

The corporal stood there for a second before looking around the battlefield. Finally, his eyes were trained on Athena, who was standing next to one of the Blackbucks. Once again, he spoke into the comms, but not to confess or beg for mercy. Instead, it was to taunt Athena. 

“You and your people will never win! One day, this twisted Imperium will burn, along with all of its corrupt overlords and their dogs! It’s just a pity I will not be there to see it!”

The next second, he reached into an ammo box on his power armor and pulled out a high explosive grenade. Just as he pulled the pin and before he could throw it in Athena’s direction, the queen positioned herself in front of Athena and fired a single acidic spine into the corporal’s chest. As acid melted through armor and flesh, the grenade fell to the ground and exploded. Hundreds of shrapnels were shot in every direction. 

Thankfully, once again, the queen acted as Athena’s guardian and shielded her from the shrapnel with her own body. The pieces of metal shrapnel buried themselves into the queen’s carapace, but the damage they did was insignificant compared to the large size of the zerg unit. 

As the dust settled, Athena’s mouth hung open in surprise. 

Ok…what the hell just happened? Who in the world did she just kill? 

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