text: Starcraft: Marine I hate the drops. Drops were the worst. The idea behind performing these “tactical insertion operations” is to “selectively disrupt enemy production capability” but most of us jarheads just think of it as a bug stomp. We drop in near a bug hive and kill everything we see, preferably, while the main swarm is off fighting something else, than jump out. Word from intel said that the main swarm was on the move to southern ridge of our base. They had already eaten their way through Camp Eagle and Camp Limley here on Typhon and were itching for a third meal and, since we were the last remnants of Limley, we were tagged with the “opportunity” as Lt. Korvic calls it. So here we were in the APOD-33, me and seven of my buddies jammed in tighter than a porn stars cooze at a gang bang. The only thing that could make it better would be if a flock of Muta’s showed up while we were flying over the canyons. They look like worms with wings, worms that shoot bug bullets out of there asses. I’ve seen these bullets, these “glaive worms” as the brain boys like to call them, make swiss cheese out of the AAV-5 tanks so I could only imagine what they’d do to the APOD. Korvic would love that. I’d probably enjoy it to just to see Korvic’s face as we go down in her precious ship. Bitch. I can’t rag on her though; she keeps the boys alive and is our ride out of here should the shit hit the fan. Dawn is hitting the eastern side of the ship. Drop time is coming up soon. I bark the command to perform pre-drop prep. Each of my guys reads out the HUD on their medical conditions then they start their own suit diagnostics followed by weapons checks. All of this information is relayed back to my suit which I pass on to Korvic. This was all done prior to loading up but you can never be too sure. I amble my way up to the bow and glance at the windows. It looked completely bright outside but I knew that it really wasn’t. I don’t understand the whole technology behind it but it had something to do with the ships sensors and VR displays or some nonsense. I could see the hive in the distance, once I focused on it my HUD began restating our mission objectives and highlighting key spots to target. I still haven’t gotten used to seeing these things even after three years in the corps, which, considering the life span of a marine is a long time. A skyscraper made of bruised flesh and bone, once the ship optics focused in you could see that it was crawling with the worm larva. The Intel geeks say that the larvas are “genetically versatile” which meant that they could become almost anything in the swarm, if the right conditions were met. I reminded Korvic to scan the area for any of the growths in the area as a result of those conditions. They say that the growths are similar to tumor. Once the Zerg get wind of opposition around there turf they immediately make some kind of virus which infects one of there worker bugs. Once the worker bug is ready it becomes a growth feeding off their creep and other shit around the area. The tumor forces the larva to become bigger, badder bugs. They say it’s some kind of “immunal response” from the hive like how white blood cells attack infections in the human body. I don't pretend to understand it, all I know is that blowing up the tumor buildings, yeah buildings, stops them from making meaner bugs. At the base of the hive were cocoons, which lord only knows what was growing inside of them. With my luck it'd be Ultras, big, fanged and armored bastards that could tear through ten marines in a single swipe. Korvic didn't scan any radioactive deposits in the area but I wouldn't rule them out either. The Ultras eat rad deposits or some shit like that and is a strong sign that Ultras might be nearby. West of the hive was our target area, the mineral mines. Korvic’s telling me that conditions look good. We managed to avoid the max range of there Overlords, the bug eyes in the sky, and the ones hovering near our dropzone were dispatched by Vike’s on an earlier skirmish. SATCOM says Zerg hadn’t had time to replenish their number in this area with the exception of a few hundred drones. We would be going in undetected to the mines and kill all the drones, no drones no minerals. No minerals no bugs. Simple. I shout at my crew, not that it’s necessary, the audio in our armor can filter out the background noise of the ship, but to get them pissed and ready. I remind them what the bugs have done to us, how they are eating everything they see and that they want to be the toughest sons of bitches in the universe. I remind them that once they hit the four year mark they’ll be pardoned and that all the pussy in the universe will love them and thank them for their service. I see glassy eyes and hear grunts and howls. I can tell Korvic’s pinged there suits for stims. We descend very suddenly, then immediately slow, the APOD is in its vertical take-off state. Korvic and the pilot hit it just right; we are only 10 meters above our DZ. I hear a small compressed whine within my suit. Korvic’s started my stims. As the ramp opens I can see the men stand, helmets closing on their faces, almost foaming at the mouth as the stims take effect. The dawn light hits us and I remember how I came to the corps, how I killed all of those people and that I’m only a year away from my pardon. Why would I want to leave? I can’t give this up. I don't even need the stims to kill. I sight in on the helpless worker bugs, pull the trigger and smile.