05-23-2017, 05:54 AM
The empty catridge plopped into the sand, its bullet casings spread all around. Jim grabbed another from his back, shoved it into place, and reloaded his rifle. Despite the long, steel spikes that the Impaler spat into the possessed statue, it had done little but decorate its already ornate surface with bullet holes and cracks. Somerled's amazing manipulation of the weather may have knocked out the extra threat of those spider-man creatures, but perhaps he had used a lot of energy in that move. Jim wasn't sure what else the skinny man could do, and he sure wasn't expecting what he saw, so maybe there was more to come.
A loud boom behind him scared Jim's thoughts straight out of his head. He spun, rifle poised at the disturbance, as a wave of dust and disturbed sand rushed over him. As it cleared, Sun Ogong cheered and celebrated among the ruins of the downed statue, its body shattered into fragments from the fall.
"How in the hell did ya do that, son?" Jim asked.
Ogong grinned, hopping from foot to foot. "I pushed him over! He just broke!"
"The bigger they are ..." Somerled said.
As if furious with losing their attention, the remaining statue grumbled, a sound like an avalanche of rock scraping and scratching, and pointed its thick, blunt sword at them.
"Don't think this one's gonna fall for the same trick," Jim said.
The living sculpture stamped its foot and lashed out with its curved sword stone.
"Move!" Somerled shouted.
Ogong hopped adroitly out of the path, and did Somerled.
"Jumpjets!" Raynor yelled. The two rounded exhaust ports on the back of his CMC-400 armour angled downwards and a burst of orange flame launched him in a leap as the sword slammed into the sand. A long divot in the ground appeared as the sword ascended.
"Geez. Gotta move faster than that," Jim said to himself, having felt the wind of the sword help catapult him away.
Raynor stared at the indomitable statue as it raised its stone blade from the earth. The monkey boy managed to scatter one of these monsters by sending it teetering over. How did he even get up there?
"I climbed it!" Sun Ogong said when Jim questioned him.
"Yeah, with a little help from me," his staff said.
Obviously still pumped from his recent victory, Ogong could barely stand still. "Let's do it again!"
"Let's try a less dangerous way," Jim said. "One that don't involve scalin' a ten metre cliff face that can crush you with a sword."
Jim primed his grenade launcher and fired three shots in quick succession. The projectiles exploded in a puff of fire and smoke on impact, but left little more than surface charring and small cracks in the sturdy sculpture.
"Hmm. Need more firepower."
Another mouthless roar preceded the next attack. Both swords swung down at them like a rocky mockery of a guillotine, both falling on either side of the group, hoping to catch at least one of them escaping the danger zone. The three scrambled, dodging another opportunity to be flattened as a spray of sand and dust washed over them.
"Everyone alright?" Jim asked as the veil settled.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Somerled said.
The absence of a chirpy voice furrowed Jim's brow. "Kid? Where are you?! You OK?"
Mirthful laughter reached his ears, quickly quietening. Jim snapped his head up, peering through his visor as Sun Ogong clung to one of the rising swords, apparently loving his free ride. "I'll get this one too, guys! Woo!"
"Kid! Get down from there!" By the time Jim muttered his demand, Ogong was too high to hear it. "Shit. We better get that thing's attention if he's gonna have a chance."
Somerled nodded. He sprinted across the temple grounds, waving his hands and jumping up and down. "Hey! Down here!"
Instead of taking the bait, the horned statue kept its eyeless gaze on the tiny creature scampering along its sword.
"Oh shit," Raynor mumbled. "He's noticed him." At the top of his lungs, he screamed, "Kid! Get the hell off that thing now!" He lifted his rifle and fired barrages of spikes into the living stone, hoping that he could draw its ire to him.
A grating of rock on rock boomed from the sapient sculpture. With surprising fluidity, it shook the sword that Ogong clambered over, forcing him to hug it tightly. Back and forth he rocked, as if the monkey boy were some unwanted substance befouling the rune-inscribed weapon.
Dammit, he's not gonna hold on much longer. "Somerled! Can ya do somethin' with the winds? Maybe catch the kid or somethin'?"
Murdoch frowned, then straightened up. "No."
"Ah."
"Guys!" Sun Ogong shouted. "I want to get off this ride now!"
With one forceful flick, the statue dislodged the monkey boy from the sword. Soaring through the sky, Ogong shouted, arms and legs flailing. Murdoch sprinted into the distance, keeping his eyes on the flying monkey boy the whole time. Raynor followed, but Murdoch threw a hand up.
"I've got this!"
Somerled increased his pace and jumped onto his knees, skidding through the sand with arms curled before his chest. Sun Ogong screeched like a banshee as he plummeted downwards and into the moving form of Murdoch. The two collapsed and tumbled in a mess of limbs and dust until they came to a rest.
"Heh, that's one hell of a catch, Somerled," Raynor said.
The grating quake of the statue's roar snapped the terran commander's attention to where it belonged. The obsidian behemoth approached, its footsteps shaking the sand beneath Jim's feet, gripping the stone swords as tall as him.
The kid killed the other one by makin' it fall over, Jim thought. But I ain't climbin' no walkin' brick wall, and the kid's trick won't work a second time. If only I had something with enough force to ...
Something clicked in his mind. Swann had been working on a test routine for a long while, but he always needed an alien eye to help with the finishing touches. Karax had examined the experiment and made a few final touches to it, but there hadn't been time to field test it before Jim ran off to Coruscant. They hadn't given it much thought since. Well, what better time to test than in the field? "Adjutant! Activate Project Hellfire!"
A series of beeps sounded in his suit. "Authorisation code required," cooed the adjutant.
Jim grit his teeth. "Diamondbacks are better than Vultures." If I live through this, I'll be makin' sure Swann pays for that.
A pleasant ding reacted to Jim's words. "Authorisation code accepted. Executing Project Hellfire. Stand by ..."
The CMC armour hummed and vibrated in a way Raynor had never felt before, as if a weak stream of electricity coursed through it. The lights inside flickered, and the servos that controlled his limbs went limp. As darkness filled the cabin, Jim rose the visor. It lifted halfway before his entire suit grew heavy and he tipped over.
"Shit!" Jim said, only able to see the black feet of the approaching statue as they rose and fell. "Adjutant! Adjutant, bring all power back up! Cancel Project Hellfire!"
It stayed quiet in his armour. Grains of sand danced before his eyes at the statue's footfalls.
"Adjutant!"
A deep hum echoed within the suit, quickly crescendoing as lights and beeps signalled the reactivation of the armour. A moment later, Jim pulled himself back up only to see the goliath sculpture directly above him, swords poised to strike.
"Project Hellfire activation successful," the adjutant said.
"What?"
Jim spotted what he hoped he would, but didn't think would be possible. A long, rectangular rocket launcher lay in the desert sands beside him. The Hellfire missile pod from a Goliath combat walker.
"It worked!" Jim yelled, snatching the weapon up and kneeling. As he threw the missile pod onto his shoulder, he asked, "what happened?"
"I needed to shut down the CMC-400 power source in order to successfully complete the execution," the adjutant said. "The energy required to activate the terran-protoss warp field was immense. I will make a note of this for Chief Engineer Swann's knowledge."
"Perfect," Jim said, lining up his shot. He focused on the right knee as the two swords hurtled down towards him, and pulled the trigger.
A salvo of eight missiles screamed from the launcher, smoke trailing behind them as they swerved and weaved around each other in a cluster. A moment later they connected with their target, vanishing in a blazing plume of fire, the shockwave knocking Raynor onto his back. The knee joint was obliterated, sending chunks of etched black stone into the air like shrapnel. Unbalanced, the statue tipped over, following the momentum of its sword strike.
"Move!" Jim shouted as he struggled to his feet and legged it as fast as his suit would allow. An ear splitting crack strangled the air and Jim felt the earth move, staggering his run. He slowed and turned, taking in the segmented ruins of the last living statue, its unnatural life lost among the sands. A single leg still stood upright, the top of the thigh ending in an irregular, jagged stump.
Somerled and Sun Ogong walked over, both the worse for wear after their collision, but otherwise fine.
"Last one is down," Murdoch said. "Let's get in that temple."
Jim retrieved his Impaler rifle and saddled it in both hands. "If those damn things can't stop us, nothin' in there can either."
A loud boom behind him scared Jim's thoughts straight out of his head. He spun, rifle poised at the disturbance, as a wave of dust and disturbed sand rushed over him. As it cleared, Sun Ogong cheered and celebrated among the ruins of the downed statue, its body shattered into fragments from the fall.
"How in the hell did ya do that, son?" Jim asked.
Ogong grinned, hopping from foot to foot. "I pushed him over! He just broke!"
"The bigger they are ..." Somerled said.
As if furious with losing their attention, the remaining statue grumbled, a sound like an avalanche of rock scraping and scratching, and pointed its thick, blunt sword at them.
"Don't think this one's gonna fall for the same trick," Jim said.
The living sculpture stamped its foot and lashed out with its curved sword stone.
"Move!" Somerled shouted.
Ogong hopped adroitly out of the path, and did Somerled.
"Jumpjets!" Raynor yelled. The two rounded exhaust ports on the back of his CMC-400 armour angled downwards and a burst of orange flame launched him in a leap as the sword slammed into the sand. A long divot in the ground appeared as the sword ascended.
"Geez. Gotta move faster than that," Jim said to himself, having felt the wind of the sword help catapult him away.
Raynor stared at the indomitable statue as it raised its stone blade from the earth. The monkey boy managed to scatter one of these monsters by sending it teetering over. How did he even get up there?
"I climbed it!" Sun Ogong said when Jim questioned him.
"Yeah, with a little help from me," his staff said.
Obviously still pumped from his recent victory, Ogong could barely stand still. "Let's do it again!"
"Let's try a less dangerous way," Jim said. "One that don't involve scalin' a ten metre cliff face that can crush you with a sword."
Jim primed his grenade launcher and fired three shots in quick succession. The projectiles exploded in a puff of fire and smoke on impact, but left little more than surface charring and small cracks in the sturdy sculpture.
"Hmm. Need more firepower."
Another mouthless roar preceded the next attack. Both swords swung down at them like a rocky mockery of a guillotine, both falling on either side of the group, hoping to catch at least one of them escaping the danger zone. The three scrambled, dodging another opportunity to be flattened as a spray of sand and dust washed over them.
"Everyone alright?" Jim asked as the veil settled.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Somerled said.
The absence of a chirpy voice furrowed Jim's brow. "Kid? Where are you?! You OK?"
Mirthful laughter reached his ears, quickly quietening. Jim snapped his head up, peering through his visor as Sun Ogong clung to one of the rising swords, apparently loving his free ride. "I'll get this one too, guys! Woo!"
"Kid! Get down from there!" By the time Jim muttered his demand, Ogong was too high to hear it. "Shit. We better get that thing's attention if he's gonna have a chance."
Somerled nodded. He sprinted across the temple grounds, waving his hands and jumping up and down. "Hey! Down here!"
Instead of taking the bait, the horned statue kept its eyeless gaze on the tiny creature scampering along its sword.
"Oh shit," Raynor mumbled. "He's noticed him." At the top of his lungs, he screamed, "Kid! Get the hell off that thing now!" He lifted his rifle and fired barrages of spikes into the living stone, hoping that he could draw its ire to him.
A grating of rock on rock boomed from the sapient sculpture. With surprising fluidity, it shook the sword that Ogong clambered over, forcing him to hug it tightly. Back and forth he rocked, as if the monkey boy were some unwanted substance befouling the rune-inscribed weapon.
Dammit, he's not gonna hold on much longer. "Somerled! Can ya do somethin' with the winds? Maybe catch the kid or somethin'?"
Murdoch frowned, then straightened up. "No."
"Ah."
"Guys!" Sun Ogong shouted. "I want to get off this ride now!"
With one forceful flick, the statue dislodged the monkey boy from the sword. Soaring through the sky, Ogong shouted, arms and legs flailing. Murdoch sprinted into the distance, keeping his eyes on the flying monkey boy the whole time. Raynor followed, but Murdoch threw a hand up.
"I've got this!"
Somerled increased his pace and jumped onto his knees, skidding through the sand with arms curled before his chest. Sun Ogong screeched like a banshee as he plummeted downwards and into the moving form of Murdoch. The two collapsed and tumbled in a mess of limbs and dust until they came to a rest.
"Heh, that's one hell of a catch, Somerled," Raynor said.
The grating quake of the statue's roar snapped the terran commander's attention to where it belonged. The obsidian behemoth approached, its footsteps shaking the sand beneath Jim's feet, gripping the stone swords as tall as him.
The kid killed the other one by makin' it fall over, Jim thought. But I ain't climbin' no walkin' brick wall, and the kid's trick won't work a second time. If only I had something with enough force to ...
Something clicked in his mind. Swann had been working on a test routine for a long while, but he always needed an alien eye to help with the finishing touches. Karax had examined the experiment and made a few final touches to it, but there hadn't been time to field test it before Jim ran off to Coruscant. They hadn't given it much thought since. Well, what better time to test than in the field? "Adjutant! Activate Project Hellfire!"
A series of beeps sounded in his suit. "Authorisation code required," cooed the adjutant.
Jim grit his teeth. "Diamondbacks are better than Vultures." If I live through this, I'll be makin' sure Swann pays for that.
A pleasant ding reacted to Jim's words. "Authorisation code accepted. Executing Project Hellfire. Stand by ..."
The CMC armour hummed and vibrated in a way Raynor had never felt before, as if a weak stream of electricity coursed through it. The lights inside flickered, and the servos that controlled his limbs went limp. As darkness filled the cabin, Jim rose the visor. It lifted halfway before his entire suit grew heavy and he tipped over.
"Shit!" Jim said, only able to see the black feet of the approaching statue as they rose and fell. "Adjutant! Adjutant, bring all power back up! Cancel Project Hellfire!"
It stayed quiet in his armour. Grains of sand danced before his eyes at the statue's footfalls.
"Adjutant!"
A deep hum echoed within the suit, quickly crescendoing as lights and beeps signalled the reactivation of the armour. A moment later, Jim pulled himself back up only to see the goliath sculpture directly above him, swords poised to strike.
"Project Hellfire activation successful," the adjutant said.
"What?"
Jim spotted what he hoped he would, but didn't think would be possible. A long, rectangular rocket launcher lay in the desert sands beside him. The Hellfire missile pod from a Goliath combat walker.
"It worked!" Jim yelled, snatching the weapon up and kneeling. As he threw the missile pod onto his shoulder, he asked, "what happened?"
"I needed to shut down the CMC-400 power source in order to successfully complete the execution," the adjutant said. "The energy required to activate the terran-protoss warp field was immense. I will make a note of this for Chief Engineer Swann's knowledge."
"Perfect," Jim said, lining up his shot. He focused on the right knee as the two swords hurtled down towards him, and pulled the trigger.
A salvo of eight missiles screamed from the launcher, smoke trailing behind them as they swerved and weaved around each other in a cluster. A moment later they connected with their target, vanishing in a blazing plume of fire, the shockwave knocking Raynor onto his back. The knee joint was obliterated, sending chunks of etched black stone into the air like shrapnel. Unbalanced, the statue tipped over, following the momentum of its sword strike.
"Move!" Jim shouted as he struggled to his feet and legged it as fast as his suit would allow. An ear splitting crack strangled the air and Jim felt the earth move, staggering his run. He slowed and turned, taking in the segmented ruins of the last living statue, its unnatural life lost among the sands. A single leg still stood upright, the top of the thigh ending in an irregular, jagged stump.
Somerled and Sun Ogong walked over, both the worse for wear after their collision, but otherwise fine.
"Last one is down," Murdoch said. "Let's get in that temple."
Jim retrieved his Impaler rifle and saddled it in both hands. "If those damn things can't stop us, nothin' in there can either."
Quote:1595 words.
Jim used Tier 1 Super Attack - Hellfire Missiles. (3/4 SP remaining)
Second statue is rubble. Time to go in the temple!
![[Image: jimsig.jpg]](http://www.cytokineindustries.com/chevereto/images/2017/07/07/jimsig.jpg)