Against the Zerg

“WOOOOH!” Leoric cried, gripping the wheel like a vice.

The Harasser whistled through the air. It curved at the last second, and the vehicle missed the corner of the abandoned gun tower by a millimetre. The left-hand mirror went CLANG as it was torn clean off. He punched the brake and the Harasser skidded to a halt at the bottom of the hill. Privates Leoric and Esaias fell back into their seats with a painful THUMP. For a few seconds, they sat still, breathing loudly in the cold air as the engine whined in protest.

“Holy crap, that was great!” Leoric laughed “Let’s do it again!”

“Umm, can we call it a day?” Esaias sighed “I got my tests to do…”

Leoric sighed. So much of a downer, that Esaias. Too serious, always with his head in his books, working his damnedest to get into the space program as if the Sovereignty really were really going to choose a know-nothing country boy like him. Leoric didn’t pay any attention to that stuff. For him, military service was just an excuse to play with some cool-ass vehicles.

It was a typical day on the Northwest Esamir front. Nothing much happened, nothing ever changed. The young recruits posted to guard this little corner of nowhere knew they were never going to face the War. The Terran Republic and New Conglomerate were far too distracted exhausting centuries of mutual hatred on Amerish and Indar to waste their time fighting a small band of separatist scientists on this godforsaken wasteland.

So for now, Leoric, Esaias, and the rest of the Vipers spent their days endlessly patrolling the ancient Terran warpgate, performing acts of daring, races, or high-speed jumps, whatever it took to keep themselves going mad from boredom.

“Come on Esa, just one more!” Leoric grinned “It’ll be dark soon.”

He swung the Harasser to the left, preparing to make another pass. Esaias didn’t protest as he usually did. Instead he sat stock still, staring into the distance.

“What’s that?” Esaias pointed through the cracked windscreen.

The red warpgate shimmered two hundred metres away, a glowing relic of better times when international travel wasn’t governed by factional loyalty and military checkpoints.

“I don’t see anything, Esa.” Leoric squinted into the distance.

He shook his head “No there’s definitely something there. See that black spot – no, two – drifting in the sky on the left.”

Leoric peered intently. There was definitely something flying behind the shimmering shield. And coming closer.

“Oh shit, you’re right.” Leoric stated flatly, his mouth going dry. Only Terrans had access to this warpgate.

“I’ll -”

Esaias was already on it “Viper command, enemy contact at NW bearing… 121, 54, 930. Two, no three -”

Black spots rapidly started popping into existence. Three, five, ten, Leoric couldn’t count them all. His heart started beating rapidly.

Esaias continued, his voice wavering.

“- I, I don’t know how many.”

A Mosquito interceptor drifted lazily through the shield, casually weaving in and out of its protective field. They were powerless to react – there was no anti-air capability on this Harasser. The buzz of powerful engines grew from a quiet hum into and earth-shaking rumble as tens of Liberator gunships and Galaxy dropships loomed through the red screen.

“OK, We’re getting out of here…” Leoric shouted, his heart beating rapidly. He twisted the wheel fully and the Harasser span 180 degrees on a dime.

Esaias continued to call into the radio, his voice louder by the second.

“We’ve got bombers, troop carriers, all Terran, bearing South East.”

SNAP!

Bullets pounded the roof of the Harasser, denting the canopy in front of Leoric’s head. Puffs of white punched upwards from the snow in front. He weaved left and right in a desperate attempt to dodge the salvo of rotary bullets.

A barely-broken voiced teen from Command blared back.

“Received, Viper 4… Can you confirm numbers? Is this a drill?”

Leoric and Esaias had no time to respond. Two Mosquitos roared ahead of them, performed a full vertical loop two hundred metres in front, then flipped to face them dead on. Machine gun fire pounded the snow in a straight line towards the Harasser.

“Hold on!” Leoric cried.

The buggy pulled to the right, and Leoric launched them at a 45 degree angle up the side of the hill that bordered the road. They flew off the top, rotary bullets smashing into the hood and wheels of the flying vehicle.

Mid-air, Leoric spotted Crystal Ridge Comms a few hundred metres away. Its solitary front turret scanned the road ahead. A cluster of Vanu infantry ran back and forth, searching for defensive positions among the dusty old books and crowded laboratories. The Vanu Sovereignty were not ready for this surprise attack.

The Harasser landed with a crunch on the ridge. The suspension gave way, the buggy pulled to the left, struggling through a thick snowdrift. Leoric cursed. The bullets had blown a tire.

“Come on!” he cried, smacking the steering wheel as the squealing engine stubbornly refused to break away.

“It’s over, Leo.” Esaias stated matter-of-factly. “Accept it, Vanu wills it.”

Leoric had never been respawned. His mind whirred with horror at the thought.

“No! I don’t care what Vanu says, we’re getting out of here!” He piled his foot down on the accelerator, and the buggy began to drift down the hill. He glanced out of the left window, the scene filling him with horror. Ten, twenty, thirty Mosquito interceptors. Dozens of Liberator gunships. All heading directly towards them. The ground shook relentlessly as distant tanks and troop transports tailed the assault.

“If anyone can hear us… We need reinforcements now… It’s the whole damn Terran zerg. Get everyone here! We need everyone on Esamir!” Leoric cried into the comms. But his voice was lost in the chaotic shouting filling comm channel.

A shell slammed into the ground 10 metres away, covering the windshield in dirt.

“Run, Esa!”

Leoric dived out of the driver seat, and started to sprint as fast as he could through the snow. He spotted the first missiles trailing from the massed aircraft directly towards them. As he ran, he heard Esaias chant to himself.

“Great Vanu, please accept us for our dedication to your great works. Forgive us for our -”

BOOM!

The world filled with fire, and Leoric fell.

#

Slowly, his vision faded back into view. Leoric felt nauseous, his head was spinning, his mouth dry.

“Drink?” A voice came from beside.

He nodded silently, his voice stuck in his throat. The red cross helmet of a young medic weaved in front of dozens of men, women and children who ran back and forth across the med bay, shouting to each other with panicked voices.

The medic shoved the water line into his mouth, almost making him gag.

“Private Halon… Leoric.” The unconcerned medic ticked his name off some administrative sheet on his infopad.

“Congratulations on your first birthday. You are respawn number two of the Esamir war.” He chuckled solemnly, patting Leoric on the shoulder.

“Where – where am I?” Leoric coughed.

“Freyr Amp Station.” He muttered, distracted by the gurgle from a second patient.

“I’m sorry buddy,” he continued with a sigh “We haven’t got much time. The Terrans are coming fast, I’m needed on the walls. They’re rolling over us. You better get used to respawning quick – there may not be a medic on hand next time.”

He pointed to a pile of equipment in the corner.

“Your rifle, your armour, your rations.”

He turned to leave.

“Wait!” Leoric shouted hoarsely after him “You guys got anything here to drive?”

The medic turned and laughed. “To drive? A nanite transport if your lucky. We got a few civilian planes and infantry weaponry, that’s all. Take your pick. Give yourself five minutes to get your head straight, then get to the northern wall. Good luck. We need it.” And with that, he jogged off into the milling crowd.

Esaias was sitting cross-legged on the recovery bed just a few metres away from his own. Five minutes, hah! He laughed to himself. Respawning wasn’t so hard. He pushed himself off the bed and immediately found himself crumpled on the floor, his weak legs failing completely.

Esaias pulled him up with a strong hand, put an arm across his shoulders to support him.

“Come on Leo, let’s blow them to hell.”

#

In their ill-fitting stock Vanu Sovereignty armour, Leoric and Esaias waited atop the Northern walls of Freyr Amp Station. Several half-strength Vanu squads lined up with them, all peering nervously in the direction of the Terran warpgate, terrified of what was to come.

“We just need enough time to get the civilians out,” came the Lieutenant whoever-he-was over the radio. “We don’t matter. We respawn as many times as necessary – whatever it takes to slow them down. Every second will save civilian lives. May Vanu watch over you.”

Suddenly, the base turrets opened fire. The vanguard of the Terran Republic army roared into view, the Mosquito fighters shrieking through the air, oblivious to the flak that pounded the skies all around them. The air was full of at least forty, fifty fighters, with Liberator gunships grinding into view less than thirty seconds behind. Shells started to rain down on the defensive turrets in the corners of the base. Leoric and Esaias took cover behind the thin crenellations that lined the walls.

To the south, the few weaponless Galaxy dropships in the Freyr civilian fleet lurched off the ground in panic, abandoning many Vanu citizens to their fate on the base interior.

“Go, go, GO dammit!” Leoric shouted, horrified by the sight.

The Mosquito fighters ducked and weaved in between the pipes that covered the base. They opened up with their rotary cannons, tearing into the engines of the Galaxy dropships. In seconds, two of them were on fire, their hulls pockmarked with holes and their wings torn to shreds. With an enormous BOOM, one Galaxy crashed into the centre of the base, shattering the roof. Another coasted into a crash landing south of the base, smashing into several piece on a ridge.

Leoric cried out in anger “They’re unarmed! STOP!”

He wanted to believe that the Terrans couldn’t know that. For the attackers, they were just another military target. But that didn’t stop his anger.

Esaias just stared, shaking his head “They don’t want to defeat us, they want to destroy the Vanu Sovereignty. To kill us all.”

Leoric, enraged, turned to face the northern steppe. In between the air barrage, he could see the rumble of a line of thirty Prowler tanks grinding into position on the ridge top a few hundred metres away.

“They’re anchoring, Esa.” Leoric growled through gritted teeth. “Let’s give some back.”

Leoric picked up the rusty Annihilator anti-tank launcher and aimed down the scope. Esaias pulled up a second on the other side of the shield.

“Far left!” Leoric shouted, enraged “Just next to that cocky fucker with the cigar. Five, four -”

His ears filled with the intense whining of the Annihilator gaining a lock.

“Three, two, one. Take that motherfuckers!” Leoric roared.

The two rockets ripped across the field in a millisecond, the first tearing into the top turret, the second a direct hit on the hull. The Prowler’s engine superheated and detonated in a shower of blazing sparks. The cigar-smoking Terran engineer was blown ten metres clear, his legs finding a landing spot far from his torso.

Leoric leapt to his feet.

“YOU LIKE THAT?! HUH? YOU TERRAN BASTARDS!”

Esaias sat quietly, chanting “Vanu wills it.” While searching for the rocket ammo pack. Almost immediately, the line of Prowler tanks started pounding the base walls around them. Countless shells slammed into the exposed fortifications. Smoke billowed into Leoric’s face, the alloy structure of the blockade starting to buckle under his feet.

“One more for the road?!” he laughed desperately at Esa, his heart racing as shrapnel rained into his ramshackle armour. Shaking, he pointed the Annihilator at the sky, trying to gain lock on one of the passing Mosquitoes.

BOOM!

Leoric lost his footing, and the weapon clattered off the barricade to the frozen ground below.

“SHIT!” he cried.

Deep shadows darkened the failing ground beneath his feet, and the liberator gunships began to drop shells from above. Leoric was slammed into the wall. Tracers were flying in all directions like fiery rain. The roof was on fire, the structure was collapsing. Time to die once more.

#

Andvari Biolab, The Traverse. Both fell within days despite the valiant efforts of the hopelessly-outnumbered ragtag Northern defensive brigade. Leoric and Esaias’s youthful enthusiasm dimmed with every respawn, each one-sided engagement. Their rage and dedication to their people was the only thing that drove them to hurl themselves into battle again and again. Their sacrifices barely made a dent on the oncoming zerg, but nevertheless, they started to chip away at the resources and morale of the seemingly unstoppable Terran forces.

As Leoric and Esaias pulled back along the bridge at the Traverse, word came in that the remaining Vanu force would rendezvous at Jaeger’s Crossing in a last stand to turn back the Terran offensive. If they gained this frozen river crossing, the Terran Republic would have full control of the south of Esamir and the final stronghold of the Vanu Sovereignty on Auraxis. This was the last chance; the survival of the Vanu Sovereignty rested on this crucial engagement.

#

The next morning, as the Terran bombardment of nearby Eisa tech station echoed through the air, the entire defence force at Jaeger’s Crossing was called for an urgent meeting.

The atmosphere was tense – the distant booms of Prowler shells at Eisa tech plant just up the road kept the speeches short and tempers frayed. Then Commander Alkmaion took to the stand. Seven foot tall with broad shoulders, jet black hair, and a chest full of medals, he was an imposing sight who quickly brought the dissenting voices into line.

“Girls, boys. This is the most important battle we’ll ever face. I won’t lie to you, the odds are not good.”

He briefly outlined the state of the battle to the troops. The Vanu Sovereignty were still hopelessly outnumbered. But there was still one ace up their sleeve…

“Our only chance is to use tech that the Terran’s ain’t never seen before. This is Professor Gaius Bolter.” Commander Alkmaion nodded to the weedy young man at his side.

“He stripped every lab on Esamir to get us this top-secret tech, so you damn well better put it to good use. He’ll show you what we’ve got.”

The crowd rustled with weary anticipation as the Commander stepped aside. Professor Bolter stepped up to the podium. His long, glossy hair and thick glasses were a stark contrast to the exhausted, grimy soldiers before him.

“Ladies, Gentleman, I give you, the Magnetic Rider…”

A holo video flashed into life beside him. Leoric’s heart jumped as he caught sight of the smooth, curved form racing gracefully two feet above the ground, gliding at top speed along ridge lines and above rivers.

“Oh h*ll yeah I’m getting myself one of those!” elbowing Esaias playfully in the arm, he smiled for the first time in days.

Professor Bolter went on to demonstrate the Scythe, an advanced attack aircraft of which the Sovereignty currently had ten in battle-ready condition. The crowd, wowed by this demonstration, put down their rage and fear of the last few days forgotten, stood up and applauded the young scientist. Commander Alkmaion took the podium once again.

“No matter if we win or lose, this is our final battle on Esamir. We force back those Terran bastards, or we fight until the last man. Either way, they’ll remember how the Vanu fight! We’re outnumbered, but superior tech and the advantage of surprise, I guarantee you we can win this. We WILL win this!”

Leoric, along with the rest of the crowd, began to whoop and cheer.

“The future of the Sovereignty rests in your hands. Fight for your people. Technology equals might!”

The soldiers roared and chanted.

“TECHNOLOGY EQUALS MIGHT! TECHNOLOGY EQUALS MIGHT!”

Leoric, swept away by sudden enthusiasm, felt hope for the first time in days.

#

The Terran armour and air brigade was a non-stop buzz that made Leoric’s ears ache. Their still-formidable fleet circled the flames of Eisa tech plant like a swarm of vultures.

The diminished Vanu defence force had called for any survivor who could drive and gun. Leoric knew he was the finest driver in the Vanu military, and Esaias was an eagle-eyed gunner. They were both put straight into the ‘Advanced Armoured’ platoon, quickly rechristened the ‘Double A’s’. They were given the honour of bringing the new technologies to the battlefield – the ‘Magnetic Riders’, or ‘Magriders’ as they were affectionately known. There were only eight of these hover tanks in the entire Vanu Sovereignty.

In the hours before the battle, Leoric underwent basic driver training. He basked in the curious attention that they garnered from the press and the doe-eyed young conscripts who viewed him with awe who watched their manoeuvres from the edge of the ice sheet.

“You hold back for the signal. You absolutely DO NOT move until you hear the signal. That goes for you too, Private Halon.” Leoric nodded sheepishly as Commander Alkmaion levelled his gaze at him alone. He had already gained a reputation for reckless driving during their short training assignment.

The prototype Magrider smelled of soldered metal and fresh leather seats. Straight off the factory line, it didn’t even have a paint job. Despite this, Leoric was impressed – a real first-class machine. He soon mastered the holographic control system and had the tank weaving and strafing across the ice sheet in no time.

#

They readied their forces for the assault. The ‘Double A’s waited a long distance away, across the ice to the west of Jaeger’s Fist. Those hours felt like days. As the sun began to set on Esamir, the swarm of dark shapes started to approach from Eisa. Leoric’s hands started to shake once more at the all-to familiar rumble of the Prowler tank columns.

“OK, get ready. wait for my command!” Commander Alkmaion cried over the radio.

The flak cannons of Jaeger’s Crossing tower burst into the air, spraying the battle-weakened Liberator gunships with shrapnel. Their armour weakened by days of constant assault, a few of them burst into flames. Nevertheless, dozens continued their tireless conquest.

Below them, the column of Terran Prowlers and troop transports inched along the road from Eisa. As expected, they broke off the road just north of Jaeger’s Crossing and pushed into the hills to the west, grouping up with their brethren at the abandoned walls of Jaeger’s Fist. They searched for rocky high ground from which their Sunderer respawn trucks could hide, and their anchored Prowler tanks could bombard the tower and bridge from a relatively safe position.

“They’re falling right into our trap.” Commander Alkmaion announced over the comms “Our regular forces will distract them from the bridge, while we hit them from the river. They’ll never expect a tank assault from the ice – we’ll knock ‘em dead. May Vanu watch over you.”

A frisson of both excitement and terror passed through Leoric as the engine hummed into life.

“This is it,” He gulped “Are you ready, Esa?”

“Let’s destroy them. Annihilate them.” Esaias replied chillingly.

The Magrider squad hummed towards Jaeger’s Crossing from the west, out of view from the Terran armour. As they passed onto the ice sheet, Leoric couldn’t stop himself whooping with joy, the adrenaline coursing through his veins as he relished the retribution to come.

On the opposite side, he could just make out the turrets of the Prowler tanks falling into anchored position. With regular thuds, they opened up on the hardened defensive structure of Jaeger’s Crossing tower. The Mosquitos and Liberators above ducked and weaved in their usual circling pattern, like a flock of vultures. All were completely oblivious to the hover tanks rapidly approaching from the ice sheet below.

“Scythe team, engage in 3, 2, 1. GO GO GO!” Commander Alkmaion howled.

To the East, a phalanx of Scythe interceptors burst through the clouds above the Terran fleet. They roared into combat range, gaining locks on the unsuspecting liberator gunships with deadly photon missiles.

“Double A’s, this is it! Prepare for boost!” Alkmaion’s voice rose with anticipation.

The Magriders slid over the ice as a silent column, their engines barely a whisper. Leoric was third in line. The ridge line south of Jaeger’s Fist approached, looming steeply above them. It seemed like almost an impossible angle, but from his Harasser jumping days, Leoric knew to trust his machine, and the Magrider was one Fine Machine.

“GO!” Alkmaion roared. His leading Magrider flashed red, and turbo boosted up the steep hill.

“Hold on, Esa!” Leoric shouted.

He hit the button and the Magrider accelerated rapidly, the g-forces pushing him back into his seat. The tanks struck the bottom of the ridge at high speed and flipped to the vertical in a tenth of a second. Eight Magriders glimmered into the dying sun, shooting gracefully into the skies. They flew a full 100m over the hill one by one, gliding above the line of the unsuspecting Prowlers below.

“WOOHOOO!” Leoric cried, joy filling his heart for the first time he could remember.

The Magrider sailed through the whistling air, in between Auraxium crystals, empty battlements and the horrified faces of Terran infantry.

Their hover tank slammed into the west side of the ridge, in between in front of the Sunderer troop transports and the line of Prowler tanks. Leoric flew forward, banging his head on the ceiling. He barely noticed, his eye only on the prey dead ahead.

“Hit the tanks!” He roared to Esaias.

Led by Commander Alkmaion’s glistening grey Magrider, they powered at top speed just thirty metres behind the Prowlers. Esaias’ Saron plasma anti-tank cannon mercilessly blasted round after round into their back armour. Tank after tank popped into flame, their hapless crew either trapped within or scurrying helplessly out into the freezing air. In seconds, the Double A’s had decimated the half of the Prowler line.

Leoric laughed maniacally as the Terran front line crumpled in a blazing conflagration. Above his head, the Scythe fleet crashed into the Liberators, their superior manoeuvrability running rings around the Terran air fleet. Flaming debris of wings and cockpits plummeted to the earth all around their speeding Magrider.

BANG!

An explosion rocked Leoric back to his senses. The Terran infantry had finally woken up, scrambling with rocket launchers to take down the new threat.

“Focus on the tanks, Double A’s, the tanks are the target.” Alkmaion yelled from the lead, whose tank was already smoking from several open sores.

A swathe of dumbfire missiles passed from all directions. Several loud THUMPS jarred Leoric from side to side as the Terran infantry started to concentrate their fire.

“We did well, Double A’s.” Alkmaion clamoured over the explosions “Vanu watch-”

Ahead, the Commander’s tank exploded in an orb of blue plasma, raining melted alloy down on the Terran light assaults that had trapped it in the small valley. Ahead of them, a second Magrider sputtered to a halt, smoke pouring from its engine. Leoric swerved out of its path a few metres before the collision.

BANG!

“My turret’s blown!” Esaias coughed “It’s been a good run Leo. May Vanu -”

“H*ll no, I’m not going through that respawn tube again.” Leoric called “Esa, we can survive this!”

At the far end of the Prowler line, Leoric twisted the Magrider 180 degrees to face the line of deployed Sunderer troop transports. The infantry swarmed all over the steppe, and the surviving Prowler tanks turned their cannons to face them. Shells and rockets exploded all around Leoric, his expert strafing the only thing keeping them alive.

“Watch this trick, Esa.” Leoric grinned, spitting blood out of the side of his mouth. He pressed the boost once more, and the Magrider roared forwards again. Leoric, not even bothering to aim, held down the trigger.

Heading straight into the maw of the Terran infantry, the tank hurtled past soldiers who dived in all directions to avoid the burning flashes of the front plasma cannon.

“COME ON!” Leoric laughed maniacally as tens of Terrans were evaporated or crushed by their reckless charge. He narrowly dodged one, then a second Sunderer which was deployed on the edge of the hill.

BANG!

Cold air tore into the cabin. Leoric was buffeted into the side panelling. Raw heat and smoke began tearing through the display screens in front of him.

“It’s over Leo!” Esaias cried over the comms.

“Not yet it ain’t!” Leoric cried back, a bloody grin on his face. Smoke filled the driver’s compartment, but he could see just enough to aim the tank at the final Terran Sunderer on the border of the hill.

“I’m gonna ram it. Jump out in three, two, one! GO!”

Leoric bashed the eject button with his palm, and was punched out of the seat into the thick snow alongside. He rolled twenty feet towards the edge of the ridge before coming to a halt at the edge, grabbing the precipice with both hands.

His vision blurred and spinning, he looked up to see the flaming Magrider pile into the deployed Terran Sunderer, glancing sideways with a CRUNCH and flying off the hill just ten metres away from where he lay. The truck hung at a 45 degree angle for a few seconds, then finally obeying the laws of physics, fell onto its side, crushing two unfortunate Terran engineers who were cowering behind. Leoric laughed joyfully as the Sunderer drifted, sailed down the slope, then smashed into the ice just after his own smoking Magrider with a BANG. Both vehicles filled with icy water, then sank below the ice, a final explosion warming Leoric’s heart.

Across the plain, the final Magrider exploded in a blinding orb of white-blue, finally put down by the swarming Terran infantry. Smiling contentedly, Leoric estimated that three-quarters of the Prowlers on fire, and half of the Terran Sunderer transports were out of action. Confused and demoralised by the decimation of their armoured brigade, the Terran infantry regrouped behind the hill top.

Several squads turned angrily to face Leoric and Esaias, enraged, firing rifles and carbines as they sought vengeance against the survivors of the Double A’s. Esaias desperately crawled for cover on the opposite side of the plain. Exposed and alone, Leoric doubted either of them would get out of this alive.

PANG! Leoric was winded as a carbine shot slammed into his light chest armour. He didn’t care, and stood back up.

“BRING IT ON!” he shouted.

He felt more alive than ever – he’d more than got his own back for this week of repeated defeat and humiliation. Smiling broadly, and spitting blood, Leoric stood tall in the clearing, aiming his sidearm at the approaching Terran squads a good 100m away. Bullets slammed into the snow all around. He fired five times, his shaky shots flying harmlessly past the approaching death squad. To his right, Esaias opened fire too. Whistling blue projectiles echoed harmlessly along the valley.

Suddenly, the mass of Terran infantry stopped. Uncertain, they looked at each other, then turned, and scattered back to their cover behind the hill. Leoric, bewildered by his un-expected luck, began to laugh.

Several horns thundered close by, accompanied by the roar of running soldiers. The second wave of the Vanu assault charged across the Jaeger’s Crossing Bridge. Sunderer troop transports sped past him, the accompanying infantry bombarding the flank of the Terran positions with grenade launchers and plasma cannons. Wavering, then panicking at the sight of the approaching Vanu army, the Terrans fled, their Sunderers squealing into gear, leaving dozens of flaming vehicles and bloody corpses in their wake. Abandoning the battlefield and Jaeger’s Fist, they raced to rejoin the remainder of their forces further up the road to Eisa.

Leoric staggered awkwardly towards Esaias. Embracing joyfully, they were overtaken by the charging band of Vanu infantry and armour. Their week of hell was over.

#

The sharp end of their Terran zerg had been severely blunted by the actions of the Double A’s that evening. Their front lines over-extended, the Terrans no longer had to resources to replace their expensive Prowler tanks and Liberator gunships. In the days to come, the Terran advance faltered, then steadily fell back to the Traverse, then to Andvari Biolab, until a surprise attack by the New Conglomerate on Amerish forced them to abandon the continent completely just two weeks later. The Vanu Sovereignty was saved.

Leoric, Esaias and others were the heroes of the Sovereignty that day, and their names, along with those of all of the Double A’s, are still inscribed in the walls of the Vanu High Command. Somewhere, they fight still today. But never again would they experience a battle a glorious or vital as the last stand at Jaeger’s Crossing.