CodeName: Tannim (Brood War chapter 1)

The darkness surrounded Church it was like an ocean on the brink of drowning him, there was a bright flash of light Church covered his eyes in a vain attempt to block it out, the heat was intense it burned the hair of his arm and charred the flesh on his back, Church let out a scream that not even he could hear then suddenly as if someone had dropped him in a freezer Church felt cold, his arms fell to his stomach trying to keep warm, ice crystals formed on the crest of his breath, the ocean had engulfed him and now he was slowly dying unable to counter the rapid changes in temperature.
Church fell to the ground curled in the fetal position shaking as if he had had a seizure, suddenly everything flooded back, he had been in the hallways of the school the fire alarm had been sound the memory flashed to the river of students trying to flee the building, four faces caught his attention but they had flashed by so fast that he could tell who they were, after that his mind went blank and only now did he think to glance at his surroundings the area in which Church currently occupied had been cooked, the dirt had cracked and turned a faint brown it looked almost identical to the African plains but there was something else about it that bothered him, Church sat up arms holding his back up legs stretched out forward, every muscle in his body screamed at him to halt all movement but when he heard the low hum of an engine he ignored the pain and staggered to his feet the hum was getting louder Church scanned the immediate area in front of him, it was flat from point to point if a vehicle had been close enough to hear he would have seen it coming but still the sound got louder. Churches head was spinning he might have heard the sounds.
The dust that surrounded him started to curl backwards this peaked Churches curiosity he watched it as he turned the once empty landscape changed into what looked like the ruins of a city skyscrapers toppled over, in the distance he caught the sparkle of light he focused on that point manly the small shin turned into the figure of a jet it was almost clear to Church what had happened but at the same time his mind drew a blank. Taking a step forward Churches foot caught on a root or a large rock with his legs already at there maximum strain Church fell flat on his face, the dust around him spread out, as he hit the ground he heard the unmistakable sound of a heavy metal plate scraping along the ground, leaning on one arm Church looked behind himself he hadn’t tripped over a root or a rock but the smashed body of a person they were incased in a metallic suit, instincts kicked in and Church scurried a meter or so away from the corps when it didn’t react Church cautiously crawled back over to it, the visor in the helmet had been smashed through the edges were blackened they looked like they had melted, slowly Church peaked in the hole the facial features of the individual were to burnt and decayed to recognize. From one of the suits armlets a small cored snaked out, it seamed that Churches MP3 player had fallen out of his pocket the cored linked up to the USB port, Church was to occupied with the corpse to notice an alien slithering off, the blue light in the MP3 player light up the device emptied it’s folders, the suit rewrote the programming inside, and started downloading.
The Engine noise was reaching a defining level Church looked up to see the jet that moments ago was miles away dart overhead at impossible speeds it was being followed as another ship this one a black and green ship shot by it was moving faster then the first one, he watched as the first ship did a near ninety-degree angle turn straight up it’s pursuer wasn’t going to be stopped by that simple maneuver the two ships were nearly neck and neck with the black one closing in on it’s target, Church watched as the ships zipped by again this time at a higher altitude the black ship fired a pair of what looked like missiles they were only white lights at this distance but once they were off the ship turned in Churches direction it wasn’t slowing down it had seen Church and was going to kill him, in the distance Church could see the original ship do a trick U-turn it had it’s sights set on the black ship this one must not have seen Church for it opened fire the sides of the ship light up as the chain guns spun the area around Church was peppered with little impact marks the only way he could see them was from the dust being pushed away at impact.
Church was frozen in fear he had never seen anything like this in his life, Churches mind was split it was telling his feet to move and stay still at the same time, he had lost control and was in a state of shock. With one swift movement Church bent down and searched for the corpses weapon, if it had had one, he found a pistol in the holster he drew it and took aim. For some reason Church had flicked the switch in the recesses of his mind, he had always known things… things that others of his age couldn’t like strategies from the ancient days, the swaying tides of modern combat, it just must have taken a little time to collect… ‘Data’ from where he was, now he knew the good from the bad, the fact that the ship in the distance was infact a human fighter and the black and green vessel was of alien design it all made sense now. With the new knowledge implanted in his subconscious Church resighted the pistol and fired off three shots in quick succession, the metal slugs pinged off the ships outer hull only one found it’s target, a small hole probably used to open the cockpit of the ship. The alien ship turned sharply left and collided with debris, the human ship ceased firing.
Church lowered the gun and watched as the human fighter slowed and landed off to his right, he didn’t wait to see if the pilot was friendly or not he pulled the holster off the copse and tied it around his waist as Church did this he noticed a pair of dusty old dog tags he ripped them off the body and placed them in is pocket, Churches gaze turned to the MP3 player he hadn’t realized it had fallen out of his pocket he picked it up and tucked it in the opposite pocket, Churched knees ached as he stood back up, he took one last glance at the body then headed for the fighter the cockpit was open now and a figure dressed similar to the corpse was climbing out, he could make out the details of the ship now it was battered burn marks, dent’s, and scratches decorated the hull he could faintly make out the cereal number ‘X-86F’ and underneath that ‘Hawk’ was painted in a blue color it had faded from years of weathering, the model of fighter looked familiar but he couldn’t pin it down.
The armor-clad figure placed a foot on the ground turned on it’s heel and pulled it’s side arm there was a flash at the muzzle as it fired off a round, Church kept his legs still, turned and bent his body to dodge the bullet. Shirt, skin, and blood flew as the slug scrapped across his left arm Church drew his pistol and held it at head level he didn’t dare move incase the soldier fired again, it holstered the pistol with a smooth motion Church did the same as he straightened out, there was a hiss of air as the soldier unclipped it’s helmet.
“Who the hell are you?” he asked.
Church looked the man over he had at least three days growth on his face, and a scar down his right side.
The man whistled “Hey kid I asked you a question.”
Church didn’t answer, he took a step forward and his entire body shut down, he fell face first into the dirt. Gordons military training kicked in when Church hit the ground he pulled his pistol and scanned the area with his eyes… there was nothing in sight, but he could hear something it was the same it had always been since the start of the war the sound of bolts being dragged across the ground, a tank what the brood called Z-585, Gordon ran over and scooped up Church in a single movement threw him behind the pilot seat in his fighter, a large blue bolt screamed past the nose of the ship Gordon ducked down behind the hull, another bolt flew by this time it skimmed the aft armor Gordon chose this moment to climb into the cockpit, he swiftly closed the hatch and started the fighter up.
“Anu I need a number on the tanks how many are there.” Ordered Gordon
“ There are approximately five Z-585s in the north by north west grid.” Answered a relatively mechanical sounding voice
“Great… ok Anubis synch up monitor to motion give me a count.” after giving the command they both spoke simultaneously “Mark”. The Fighter lifted off the ground.
“Aft - starboard down.” Anu quickly ordered Gordon, the fighter tilted on it’s X – axis a bolt skimmed the wing, Gordon lifted the nose up and started to climb.
“Aft - port up.” The ship darted this time the bolt missed by inches “fore – port down, aft starboard up, the bolts weakened out before they even got to there targets. “We are out of weapon range.”
Gordon let out a sigh grabbed hold of the helm and plotted a course back home, he looked over his should at Church, he was still unconscious but somehow he looked troubled the expression on his face and the rapid shifting of his eyes were only two of the clues to that, but Gordon found it strange, how did a kid like him get stuck out in the middle of nowhere it just didn’t make sense, sure the UEAC had been finding stragglers, people who could or didn’t make it to a shelter in time, but this one was different his clothes were to perfect, Gordon set the auto pilot for a second he looked back at Church, he wondered, most people have a tattoo of the area in which they were born from, he brushed Churches hair out of the way, it should be right be hind the ear but it wasn’t he checked the rest of Churches head there was only one marking it was what looked like an ancient compass but the southern pointer was elongated and there were no symbols or letters to indicate the reason for it.
“Gordon we have a message incoming from the UEAC HQ in Regina.”
Gordon sat back in the pilots seat, and disengaged the autopilot.
“Alright patch it in.”
The moment Gordons hand moved away from Churches face he slowly opened his eyes, when he saw the interior of the fighter he felt a slit ting of panic strike him it wore off when he heard Gordons voice but there was something else, he could… sense something else, another entity, it spoke.
“Retuning systems and projecting.” Said the voice he had no idea what it was, actually he didn’t know who the pilot was. Church’s mind kicked back the images from after the dogfight and the faint voice of the pilot.
“Commander 234 what is your current status.” The voice of an old man of about fifty cracked over a speaker next to churches ear, he almost yelled when it did but he held it in he didn’t want to give off the fact that he was awake.
“General sorry for the delay I got cut off from my squad during a patrol.”
The General accepted that answer but he was more interested in Gordons passenger.
“234 who is that, a civilian.”
Gordon looked back, church closed his eyes and made it look like he was unconscious.
“Yes sir I found him after I delt with the ‘Gryphon’.”
“Well then get him back here on the double he might be a suitable candidate for your Squad 234.”
“Sir, yes, sir.” Gordon saluted then clicked off the comm. freq “Well ANU we get command of our own squad, lets just hope it doesn’t end up like Blue – Sigma.”
“Agreed, thous were good men and women, but being dissected and left to rot in the desert is a fate no one deserves.”
“…Except Celes.” Gordon stated he seamed agitated the Celes character must have done something unforgivable. “That son of a bitch slaughtered the entire forward command post in Niagara.”
“But why did he leave you alive sir.”
“I don’t know ANU, but before I kill him im going to find out.”
Church hadn’t heard enough there were still to many gaps to fill, like what was the enemies’ name, who or what is the UEAC, and the fact that he might be a drafted into a war he knows nothing about, he might be able to get thous answers when they land for now church would wait and listen.
The Fighter shuddered as it neared the landing pad the his of air woke church he didn’t know what was happening, through the window he could see the ruins of a great city, when he felt the final bump meaning the ship and landed he sat up and sighed.
“That was a hell of a long flight.”
Gordon whipped around to see church sitting up and smiling, there was no telling what the kid had heard during the flight.
“How long have you been awake…?” Gordon asked
“Not long I drifted in and out there for a while.” The cockpit hatch popped open Gordon motioned for church to follow him as he jumped out and onto a step ladder, church stood up he walked over to the edge, like in the desert the ground here was covered in a fine layer of dust, the armor of the fighter reflect the years of wear and tear, but the thing that caught church’s eye wasn’t the ruins or decay but one person she was being lead off by a guard, she looked so familiar but he didn’t know why, Gordon called to him, Church snapped back he looked over the edge at the ladder he grabbed hold and climbed down, Gordon was already talking with another soldier a friend of his maybe, it seamed that the fighter had taken some damage during the skirmish he was requesting supplies and tools to repair it, the mechanic looked over a lengthy list of parts a page or two flipped open before he reached the specific component that Gordon was looking for. Church walked up beside them Gordon’s head still donned the tan colored metallic helmet his voice was muffled, but you could catch the just of what he was saying.
Gordon looked over at church then spoke to some on over the radio or at least that was churches guess, after the mechanic had called in the parts he had given Gordon a time frame to return somewhere between 1600 and 1900, it occurred to church that he didn’t know the time he had slept away most of the flight he tapped Gordon on the shoulder as he was turning to lead church to another part of the facility, his reply was short and quick church could barley catch it, according to Gordon it was around 0600 hours which meant that it was 6AM in the morning, it was strange for six o-clock in the morning the sky was light and the air was warm, it occurred to church now that it had always been bright and warm from the time he was attacked to now, Gordon started walking away before church could ask him a more specific question.
Gordon had lead church into what looked like a remodeled school, church stopped as he reached the center of the main entrance he looked around there were three halls one fore of him and two more left and right they all had lockers running down them, down the left and right halls were normal lockers with names engraved upon them at eye level, but down the center hall were lockers with only three digest engraved starting from 294 and as far as church could see down to 340, this pecked his curiosity but at the same time discouraged further investigation, a soldier entered behind him she was wearing a worn green shit, gray denim jeans, a pair of blood stained boots, the blood was an odd color though more of a blue purple church’s mind tried to wrap around that, was she a cybernetic organism, or perhaps a mutant, she walked down to a locker and removed her shirt church averted his eyes then figured that there must be a reason for it he looked over at her again quickly she did have a bra on but he noticed a semi healed cut down her left bicep the area around it was red so that threw his theories out the window.
Gordon called to church from a room at the end of the fore hall church walked to the room as he did he counted the lockers it seamed that the numbers were erratic the may have started at 294 but the next was 406, 323, then 024, and so on church looked ahead at Gordon who was talking to someone inside the room it my have been the man that contacted him during there flight, Church reached the end of the hall Gordon took him by the shoulder and lead him into the room, the door shut behind them Church felt cold in the room it wasn’t the air though the room had a feel to it and the man sitting adjacent to him made the feeling even greater. The large man wasn’t the same from the transmission, but he knew of the encounter with the alien ship, Gordon started a report about how he had confronted the fighter when he got to the part about shooting at church he halted to gather his thoughts before continuing, church had been trying to remember what had happened after collecting the items off the corpse he hadn’t had time to look them over and he wasn’t going to pull them out now knowing that the man in front of him might deiced to take them away.
“So sir you see when I encountered…” he paused and looked down at church “Uh I never got his name he collapsed just before I took him aboard.”
Church looked up and Gordon then across to the man then back to Gordon.
“Well you never gave me your name…that would have saved some time.” Gordon looked church in the eyes he instructed Church to tell the man his name and area of birth, he resisted at first but it wouldn’t make any difference he’d have to talk sooner or later.
“My name is Church Gabriel Mackenzie, I was born in Edmonton Alberta.”
Both Gordon and the man looked at him in astonishment Church had no idea why, so he asked slowly and clearly as to not confuse the two men, they looked at each other, church hadn’t noticed that Gordon had removed his helmet his eyes were blue with tints of yellow his hair was straight black with on portion tinted green.
“Listen son” the man started “ Alberta was one of the first locations hit we were luck enough to find what we did when we arrived for the clean up…”
Church’s eyes shot open he had to know. “What clean up, what happened?, what the hell are you talking about.” He almost shouted, the thought that he might have been transported to another location was the dominant theory in his mind but to hear that all of Alberta had been annihilated was a shock to a damaged system, the man stood up and walked over to church, the cold feeling had disappeared it was a little warmer now.
“Son Alberta was hit in 2415, years before you could have been born.”
Church couldn’t take all this in, first being shot at twice once by a friendly, next being told that a province had been eradicated, and now he was being told that every one and everything he had ever know has been dead for more then four hundred years, church almost fainted but caught himself, he needed more information the date he needed to know the exact date, Gordon replied before the man could talk.
“It is … o six hundred on June the fourteenth twenty-five-o-seven.”
“Five… five hundre…” this time church could catch himself his eyes closed and he slid off the chair hitting the floor, he was unconscious.