The NOMAD Saga

[Pr0nogo]

We'll be releasing background information on NOMAD in the form of short stories. Here's the first, written by yours truly. As more segments become available, it will elaborate and expand on the backstory of the campaign, and hopefully answer any questions you may have about the series as a whole.

Enjoy!

---

Death would reel at this scene.

The aftermath of a Zerg infestation is never pretty. The viscous pink matter often called 'creep' tends to laminate every possible surface, concealing burrowed Zerg perfectly. Strewn over the creep were charred corpses of the late inhabitants fortunate enough to be in the blast radius of a ruptured gas line.

Corporal Rick Wells retracted his previous statement. Death wouldn't reel; he'd cry.

"Yep. Visual on the bodies, alright. We got some infestation scaling the walls and covering the floors, too." The comlink in his suit would proceed to buzz in his ear for a few moments before the signal came back. It was always patchy when you were within Zerg grounds.

"Stay sharp, men. We're in enemy territory now." Wells recalled his officer training. "Morale always dips whenever you mention 'enemy territory', especially when it belongs to aliens. You have to be stronger than their fear!"

Yeah, I'll try my best. His men took position on either side of him as they slowly made their way through the installation-turned-festering alien slimehole. "Remember our objectives; we have to find cell block Delta and retrieve the prisoner." Confirmation lights blinked on Wells' HUD and the squad moved forward. A loud noise of bone on steel made everyone snap to face their left flank. Damnit! Wells quickly motioned two of his squad ahead, the rest following at a distance.

The hazy fog created by the infestation blocked their vision in the confined hallways. "Sir, the fog is gonna mess with our equipment." Wells' second in command, Jeremy Budreaux, was always thinking tactfully. The officer was deeply appreciative of the reassurance now more than ever. "Roger. Keep coms to short-range, so we don't risk straining the things too much."

They exited the corridor, which fed out into a large, open landing. Wells' eyes fell almost immediately to the Zergling dragging away the corpse of a recently-deceased Terran.

Kill the Zerg!

Before he knew what he was doing, Rick Wells had lifted his rifle arm and aimed it at the xenomorph. Thoughts that didn't belong to him flooded his consciousness, making it impossible to think clearly or even register his gauss rifle going off.

The Zerg dropped to the ground, several sizeable holes in its carapace. The rifle arm lowered, and Wells could think again. Resoc. The thought churned in him like a stomach sickness.

Criminals who were turned to soldiers for the Terran Dominion were often resocced. The resocialisation left the subject's mind clouded with false thoughts that erased any memories they had beforehand.

Being an ex-Dominion marine himself, the resoc had been "undone" by the Rastarian neurologists, but evidently, some of it remained to haunt him.

He shook his head and barked out orders, as if trying to reassert his control over his own body. "Let's keep moving, gentlemen! We don't want to keep the rest of the Zerg waiting, do we?" Confirmation lights blinked on, and the squad moved forward, intent on their destination.

[HelpMe]

Nice. I could picture it in my head quite easily. Will this "resocced" stuff be in the actual campaign? Sounds interesting.

[Pr0nogo]

Thanks man. I go for visual writing if you know what I mean.

The resocced thing is mostly for Dominion Marines, but it could easily come up anytime someone wanted someone's memories wiped without arousing suspicion.

[Pr0nogo]

Second installment.

Thoughts. Chaotic, ravenous, not unlike a caged beast. Echoing and rocketing. Never disappearing.

Echo. Echo. Echo.

Resolve fading. Weakening. You are weak. Frail. Too much like your race. Time. Yes, weak.

Echo...

Time.

No... Please, no...

Time for a new host.

---

The ear-piercing shriek caught all the marines off-guard. Even Wells, still angered by his relapse, was halted, his wariness overpowering his malice. The squad slowed to a halt like slowly-breaking aircars at a trafficking light, keeping their weapons ready. Wells' voice echoed somewhat ominously in the hallway.

"On your guard..."

The shrieking came again, suddenly coinciding with an onslaught of Zerg. From both sides of the hallway, the creatures poured in. Wells' instincts would have taken over, but the resoc kicked in again.

"Fire!"

They say echoing adds a certain atmospheric fear to things. Boots walking, doors closing, even an out-of-place cough can often put people on edge.

So, one can be certain that strained yells, bullets clanging to the ground, and bloodcurdling alien shrieks, all frightening enough alone, would easily be amplified by an echo. As fear and hatred burned brightly in the Rastarian soldiers' eyes, only one thing, one word, one command, was echoing inside Wells' head.

Survive.

So Wells did.

And a half hour later, he was still progressing, bloodied and limping in one leg. Wounded. Alone.

Hoping for nothing but a quicker death in his next life.

Echo.

[SkyStormer17]

Wow! This campaign looks so nice! I can't wait to see more of it! I wish I could make a campaign myself...

[Church]

Thanks man! Like I said before, I'd love to help if you want any with your own campaigns.

[SkyStormer17]

Thanks man! Like I said before, I'd love to help if you want any with your own campaigns.

Thank you again! Right now, I'm not working in any; it seems too much work for me to handle...

[Pr0nogo]

Nothing's beyond you if you put your mind to it, mate. Just ask and we'll help.

On a more productive note, me and Jim did a little podcast-type thing. Check it out if you want. It's since been removed.

[HelpMe]

Gah the video was removed. I've heard you need a special account or something in order to upload more lenghty vids.

[Church]

Good. Now you won't have to hear my voice
Being a little more serious... Pr0, you could try sending me the video and letting me upload it, but I'm not sure that would yield any better results, or you could split the video into a couple segments or something. I dunno, whatever works.

[Pr0nogo]

It'll have to be split. I can do that tomorrow afternoon; sorry folks.

[Pr0nogo]

They've been removed.

[SkyStormer17]

Here you are.

Great! Thanks!

[Church]

So, any thoughts on the podcast? Questions? Comments?

[HelpMe]

Jim you sound like you have the flu!

I watched until the third mission, I'm wondering if I'll get too spoiled if I watch the rest of it.

I'd only comment that some campaigners are unable to maintain the terraining and doodading quality throughout the missions, which is kind of a let down because it shows the author got half-hearted at some point and settled with the minimal effort approach. I mention the terraining aspect since it's the more visible and obvious, but what usually happens is an overall decrease in polish. I'm sure you guys won't fall prey to this though.