Where am I? He could remember nothing. Nothing of his past, his present, his future. Not even his own name.
What happened to me? Indeed, what had happened? He struggled to remember something, anything. Then he did. His name.
Private Terry Laurence Oda.
Private Oda sat straight up in a bed. He was sweating, fists clenched, feeling nauseous. He took a look around at his surroundings, and found out that he was in a hospital room. At least, that's what it looked like. A hospital room. What other building has square rooms with white wallpaper, one single bed, a drawer full of medicine, an unused IV, and a patient wearing a white gown?
“We thought we lost you,” said a familiar voice. Oda turned to the direction of the voice. It was Captain Kelly. At the sight of a familiar face, the Private smiled. Then, remembering the past events, the smile disappeared.
“I guess you're wondering is going on,” said the Captain, scratching his head. Oda nodded. Kelly was silent for a while, thinking, and finally explained.
“When your back was turned, something crept up behind you. So quietly that we didn't hear it coming. First Lieutenant Takahashi, with his sharp eyes, spotted something moving in the shadows. You probably heard him scream a warning, but it was too late. The thing was already in position to pounce, and it did. The Lieutenant took a dive towards you and tackled you out of the way of the....thing. Our team tried to gun it down, but it pounced away, almost taking Sergeant Dent's head with it. We managed to capture one shot of it on film.” From his pocket, he took out a piece of film paper. He showed it to Oda.
It looked like a spider. A big spider. A big spider with giant teeth and long, sharp, legs that stood upright. Could this be where the orange leg had come from? No, the legs in this picture were huge, like shields, and were black. Spots of red appeared behind the legs, close to the body section, and above its head was a big white patch. Horns protruded from either side of its forehead.
Still analyzing the picture, Private Oda didn't notice someone of importance come in. The Captain immediately stood up and saluted, standing deathly still. The man walked right up behind the Private and tapped him on the shoulder. Startled, Oda dropped the picture and whipped around, staring up into the man's eyes.
“Private Oda,” said Captain Kelly, “This is Brigadier General Nehemiah Luxor Haynesworth, General of the Third Regiment of the Army of Great Britain, First Class, Captain Detective for the Scotland Yard, decorated with the Medal of Honor.” The man extended a hand for shaking.
Private Oda had no idea what Captain Kelly just said, but obviously this was a person of great importance. He stood up, saluted, and shook the Brigadier General's hand. He eyed the Medal of Honor that was placed above his heart. He was wrong. This was not a man of great importance. This was a man of great, great importance. "I just have one question," he asked. "What's the Scotland Yard?"
Haynesworth smiled. "The Scotland Yard is a British Police Force founded in the 17th century. It's main mission was to reinforce the law within Old Greater London, now New London. This force was disassembled in 2130, prior to the Great World War, often called World War III. After the war, a surviving General created the Scotland Yard again with the hopes of it becoming a universal police force. And it has become one. I'm surprised you haven't heard of it before, as since it created the outposts on the planet Karith, and the intergalactic spaceship Tremor."
Now, Oda knew what the Brigadier General was talking about. He had been to both outposts before, during his training. He looked at the Medal of Honor again, and this time noticed something. This wasn't a normal American Medal of Honor. It wasn't an upside down star, it was an upside right six pointed star. Almost like the Star of David of the Jewish religion. He figured that this must be the Medal of Honor of the Scotland Yard.
“I am here to give insight into the subject of the picture you were previously holding,” said Haynesworth in a deep, slow voice. All Oda could do was nod. The Brigadier General grabbed a chair and sat down. He motioned for Oda to do the same, then continued.
“What you were looking at is a Dragoon.” He picked up the picture and looked at it. “This is without a doubt a very dangerous specimen. Never have we had before a Dragoon single-handedly take on an entire team of Marines and survive.”
“Wait, so you've had this happen before?” asked Oda. Haynesworth nodded. “The British Intelligence keeps many records of these attacks.” He went on.
“The Dragoon is an alien. We do not know where it comes from, and we do not know its intentions. The first incident was on July 17, 4020.” Oda thought in his head.
It's the year 4025. So they've known this for five years and didn't tell or warn anyone? “We have gathered information on every type of alien there is. They can evolve very quickly, almost immediately, without having to go through any trouble, in a bigger, more stronger alien class. How they do this, we do not know. All we do know is that it takes millions of years for a species to evolve. Apparently this is not the case.
“The Dretch is first, a small spider about the size of your head. It was the leg of a Dretch that your team found. Despite their small size, they can move with great speed and are able to climb walls without difficulty. Unlike spiders, they cannot spin webs. In place of that, they have a set of fangs that are capable of slicing through your head.
“When the Dretch is ready, it can evolve into a Basilisk. Not a giant snake, but something that looks like the bigger form of the Dretch, short two legs. The two front legs can grab onto something with over five hundred pounds of force. Once a Basilisk has you in its grasp, there is no hope of escaping. The Basilisk is also capable of evolving into a more advanced form of itself. This form can spray a poisonous gas which disorients you and causes headaches, vomiting, diarrhea, fevers, and hallucinations.
“The Marauder comes next. Basically a flat, bigger form of the Basilisk. Marauders are much faster, though, that their brothers. They can jump off walls, allowing them to travel extremely fast in small, enclosed spaces. Like the Basilisk, the Marauder can also evolve into a more advanced form. The Advanced Marauder can unleash bolts of electricity, which has been measured at 6,000 volts. How this happens, we do not know.
“Now we come to the Dragoon. The second biggest form of the alien, the Dragoon is able to pounce long distances and great heights using its powerful legs. The jaws of a Dragoon are the most powerful of all the alien classes. An advanced form of the Dragoon is much more powerful, and has the ability to project poisonous barbs from its legs. Quite like many of our animals on Earth.
“The largest and most powerful form of all alien classes is the Tyrant. Standing on six powerful legs, at over 12 feet tall, looking almost like a mythical Centaur, the Tyrant is a force to be reckoned with. When charging, nothing has escaped being trampled under it. Its most prominent feature is its two front...knives of an arm. Certain minerals and elements have been mixed together to create a substance that is stronger than diamond, lighter than titanium. We are still studying the dead carcass of a Tyrant to find out how this is so.”
“Wait a minute,” said Private Oda. “You mean you have dead aliens in your labs?”
“Of course,” said the Brigadier General casually.
“Just how many are there?”
“At the moment, we have two of each type of alien alive, and three of each type dead.”
Oda stared at him in disbelief. “You have aliens ALIVE?!” he screamed at Haynesworth. Captain Kelly stood up and tried to hush the Private. The Brigadier General was unmoving. “Do you know what these things can do?” Oda kept screaming.
“Yes, I do know,” said Haynesworth. “My legs are mechanical because of these beings.” It was then that Oda noticed a creaking whenever Haynesworth walked.
“Then why are you keeping them ali—” Oda was cut off, as a scout ran into the room and started to talk.
“Brigadier General Haynesworth, I have terrible news!” he cried. The scout shoved some papers into his superior's hands. Haynesworth looked at them, and his eyes grew wide.
“There is no time for talk anymore,” he said. “The situation has become disasterous.”
END OF CHAPTER 4
Chapter 3http://tremulous.net/forum/index.php?topic=10997.0Chapter 5http://tremulous.net/forum/index.php?topic=11142.0NOTES:
Yes, yes, I know, I missed out on a lot of stuff. Like the Grangers, and the alien buildings. Well, that's all part of the plot >
Peace,
Kael'Thas
