Harbinger/16

"All right everyone, no point having formalities any more. It is very likely that this will be our final conflict, even though the order of battle has yet to be determined," begun Daniel in a loud and clear-cut voice on comlink.

"We are to stay out of the fight for as long as possible or until I give the order. Under no circumstances are you to open fire against the Zerg if we are not being aggressively attacked by them," he continued as he paced up and down the operations center--some thirty feet wide at its longest.

Daniel continued: "Participating in the brute action here will get us nowhere, because we are not even a drop in the bucket for either side. No--we are here to oversee more important roles that can only be performed by us, which the Zerg may not attack immediately. As a note to those who know what I'm talking about, Operation Red Herring is now in effect."

Everyone took a deep breath as Daniel finished his speech; each one of the higher-ranking officials here had spent at least a month with Daniel and was determined to do his or her best in the coming battle.

A great many ellipsoidal vessels hung suspended in crystalline formation in high orbit over Aiur, glistening golden in the brilliant sunlight. Around them waited many more crafts, their light blue engines periodically flaring, and their gravitic drives ready at a moment's notice. They were the only barrier between a pristine, possibly utopian world with its billions of people, and the now neatly ordered formations of flyers and behemoths which were slowly advancing toward the surface, and they were a weak veil of protection.

Christopher felt the blood race through him as he watched the great hologram at the center of the operations center. Not far from him, quite a few other high-ranked officials sat at their consoles, ready to utilize their control panels to coordinate the activities of the Terran forces. Several others, most notably Sarlena and Daniel, paced back and forth, none of them giving a whit for the decorations and stars they bore, but all thinking hard and preparing themselves mentally for what was about to happen.

There was no doubt that almost all Protoss naval forces would be eradicated within the first hours of engagement. They all knew enough about Protoss pride and war-readiness to expect any less than a complete fight to the finish. That also meant that, if the Terran fleet of six battlecruisers and the Hyperion remained alongside the Protoss, they too would be eradicated. That was evidently the reason why Daniel had ordered the entire fleet to stay out of the way, hoping that the Zerg Swarm would neglect them in the Overmind's eagerness to eradicate its centuries-old enemy. By now most of the officials had learned of the antagonism between those Pure of Form and those Pure of Essence, and almost everyone felt insigifificant against the history of the war they were now participating in.

The Travincal Fleet, with its seven ships and small complement of Wraiths, Vikings and Banshees, paled in contrast with either side.

Within minutes the lush and beautiful world that was Aiur, which Christopher sadly remembered he had never set foot on nor experienced, had been tarnished by the invasion. The entire planet over, beautiful gilded structures' shields strained under the pressure of innumerable strikes from the atmosphere, and those regions that had not been covered by Protoss buildings or protections were quickly burned to a crisp.