I stared with amazement. Here I was, on an alien ship, with no way to contact anyone I knew. Everything had been a rush: one moment I was in one dimension, the next, I was here. These “Protoss,” on whatever mission they were devoted to, seemed friendly enough, but I felt like I was being left out of the loop. Maybe it was because in whatever was happening at this time, they had more important matters to deal with. It's just that I wanted answers. Who exactly were the Protoss? Why was there a war going on? How many factors were involved?  Two dimensions away from home, and here I was, in the middle of a soon-to-be battle.

     I was confused. To put it simply, I was out of my world and here in the front lines. It didn't seem too bad for the minute, but any second, some little thing could happen and start a fray. 

     The hologram display, called up by one of the several Protoss standing on what appeared to be the bridge, now showed a close-up of an almost endless armada of creatures. The creatures, known as the “Zerg,” were all progressing towards the same destination, and judging by the way the Protoss were acting, where ever they were heading, it had to be bad. 

     As I observed the way the Zerg traveled, it seemed that these creatures had some sort of spontaneous communication going on. The entire attack force seemed to undulate, pulsing in rhythm, as if to a marching song. It wasn't something that I had ever hoped see because these Zerg were in short, the most disgusting, evil looking, anti-life organisms I had ever seen. Not only that, the creatures seemed wrong, as if their presence was evil manifested in the worst form possible.

     Every creature, from what I could tell, had one kind of weapon or another, claws, blades, acid... In theory, they looked unstoppable, but maybe... I  snapped out of what I was thinking to listen to what was being said.

     “...And we will have to deviate by several light years to avoid detection by the Zerg force. The Terran Kat fleet has just contacted us and is on standby,” the pilot said. At least the Protoss speaking seemed like the pilot.

     “Understood. What is the estimated time until we converge with the fleet?” inquired Tassadar.

     “Thirty minutes with the adjusted flight plan, sir,” answered the pilot, through the hologram.

     Estimated time to the fleet? If this ship was meeting with other warships, did this mean that... I stopped the thought in my head. I just stared. I didn't say anything, what did I have to say? Tactical? No, I didn't even know the first thing about how the Zerg operated. If I spoke now, I would just get in the way. Simple observation was the trick to finding out what was going on, and I wasn't in any hurry to get anyone upset. Still... Only a half an hour. 

     I was now beginning to understand the feeling of true fear. I finished the thought that I had been thinking: if this ship was meeting with others, it must mean that together, with a large force there was a good chance that they, the Protoss and Terran Kats were going to attack the Zerg. And I was going to be there to see it all happen. One wrong move on the Protoss’s or Kat’s part and I would be heading to oblivion with the rest of the Protoss crew, aboard the Ganthrithor. 

     I almost said something out load, but kept it to myself. What if the attack on the Zerg failed? What then? I continued to look at the hologram images of the Zerg, as they flew, swam or just moved across the stellar void. 

     A long time later, after an unnerving silence had filled the bridge, the hologram readjusted itself to picture a immense nebula. For the most part, the nebula was a sickish green color, but it was also dotted with all the other colors of the spectrum to a lesser extent. As the Carrier proceeded to enter the gaseous cloud, I could just make out from the hologram, vague shapes coursing about, inside it.

     “Engage filers,” Tassadar commanded, and the image of the nebula changed to a deep blue, and the at-first hard to make out shapes became clear. A large number of ships, some bigger then others, were tightly packed inside the middle of the nebula, holding position. Smaller fighters moved about, on defensive duties. 

     At first none of the ships moved, but then a single ship and some smaller escorts joined alongside the Carrier as it neared the Terran Kat fleet.

     “This is the Hyperion, Raynor speaking. Are we ready to do this?” Right as the kat identifying himself as Raynor began to speak, a portion of the nebula disappeared and was replaced with his face. The kat, maybe in his thirties had that combat look, with several noticeable scars on his face, and one ear almost completely missing. 

     “Affirmative.”

     “All right, we have Wraith Flights one through thirty ready to engage the Zerg, and fifteen Battle Cruisers ready to back them up with more fire power. On route to battle are about fifteen Valkyries, but they won't be here for another twenty minutes. Proceed to attack. Raynor out.” 

     “Acknowledged. It's time to cull this swarm.”

 I stared at Tassadar for a second, and then at the hologram. The ships, all represented with lifelike icons, including the Carrier, turned and exited the nebula. From one of the few “windows” in the bridge, I could see the gases from the nebula swirling by. In several moments, the Carrier had left the protection of the cloud and was heading in a quick pace towards the Zerg. 

     As soon as the entire Kat Fleet and Ganthrithor had left the nebula, the Protoss realized something was wrong. I could see it in their faces. The Zerg, probably realizing a huge force this big was easy to detect, had split up. The group that was being detected currently, was a small force, maybe one fifth of the total mass.

     Before anyone could of asked where the rest of the Zerg were, the attack had begun. The Battle Cruisers in the back of the Kat force were either taken out or badly damaged, and several of the smaller fighters were being hit hard. The channel that had been opened to the fleet, rang out with the orders and maydays from the Terran Kat vessels. Tassadar looked shocked, and then began giving out orders.

     “Engage the Zerg attacking the rear of the Kat Fleet, I want ALL Interceptors in battle NOW! If the Zerg destroy enough of---” Tassadar started, just to be cut off by the pilot.

     “Sir, we've lost contact with most of the Terran Fleet, they're being jammed by an unknown source!”

     “Show Terran Kat Fleet, rear, maximum magnification.” 

     The view of the battle changed: the hologram zoomed in and showed a large mass of winged Zerg hammering a Battlecruiser unmercilessly. It exploded in a flash of light, taking several Zerg along with it. At the same time, smaller Kat fighters were dodging in and out of floating wreckages, trying to pick off some of the fliers. Mayhem, nothing less, nothing more. Another type of ship, one I hadn’t noticed before swept in, firing multitudes of missiles, damaging all Zerg to slow to get out of the way. They too were put out of action. Smaller Zerg, maybe the size of a car, slammed into the missile ships, taking them out of the fight. 

     Battlecruisers and the rest of the Kat Fleet kept up their furious fire, but it was to no avail. The Intercepts also were in the fray, picking off many Zerg, but in the end, not even the mighty Carrier Ganthrithor could of taken on this huge Zerg armada. 

     The channel which had been completely silent, filled with a loud, booming voice, “This is Raynor, prepare to retreat, we have taken substantial losses. Head back to base, repeat--”

     “This is GENERAL Duke, my fleet has begun their attack on the Zerg. Stand by for battle orders...” a new voice said.