THE TEACHER

Jets whining, the Wraiths dropped their strafing pass and banked hard to engage
the mutalisks, taking pressure off the ground lines. With any luck, they'd be able to cut
through the enemy troops and further separate the two zerg masses.
The rain of glave wurms continued to hammer at the Dominion's offense. The
zerg weren't picking individual targets, simply pinning their enemies down while they
surged back to reclaim ground. Several of the Tamed were hit and leaking fluids, firing
until they fell over in unrecognizable shreds. Loew held her breath at the thought of
Dennis being among them. She knew what had been asked of them, but knowing was
not seeing it in the flesh.
"Loew! Troop status!" the sergeant yelled.
She glanced at the data. So many dead. "Lost a lotta signals! Half strength, if that!"
"Soldiers get asked to die," came his reply. "Whatever's alive goes to the west
perimeter to prevent enemy zerg from re-forming!"
She wanted the assault to be over, but there was no telling what reserves the
zerg had. Experiments could be measured in moments, but battles could drag on
endlessly. The Tamed didn't falter, fighting with a ferocity and resolve that left even
their wild brethren cold.
What passed for daylight on Thys broke, a weak and pale pink that slopped over
everything. Countless broken bodies, mostly zerg, some human, littered the field in front
of the mining facility.
22