The Story of Ground Zero[]
"Zulu 5-9, your stats aren’t coming through. Give me a verbal on them." Damn interference. You toggle the com-link for a reply. They can move gigantic capital ships across space to rain 200,000 marines down on Stroggos like avenging hail, but they can’t maintain a simple data ...
*crackle* ... "SHIT, some ... Cowboy just clipped me ... down to 50% power!" *fzzzt* ...
Was that Bitterman? Sounded like him.
The com-link crackles again, "Come again, Zulu 5-9 we’re getting cross-channel garbage." You read the numbers off the navcomp display. Your watch has more functions than this hardware.
"Looks good Zulu 5-9, you’re in the pipe, 5 x 5, on target for the LZ."
The pod suddenly bucks and shimmies. Lights and readouts pulse brightly and fade to normal. A power surge?
"Attention all capital ships. Deployment phase completed. Fall back from orbit and wait for retrieval code. Say again: Break orbit and await retrieval codes."
Now who was that? Sounded like the Old Man. What’s he doing on a pod com-link channel. Wait-a-minute ... those LZ power scan readings are red lining off the scale ...
*crackle* ... "Admiral Crockett, sir! We’re at a 110% on the engines and holding steady, but we’re not pulling away. I show the Deimos being pulled down into ... omigod ..."
What the ... nothing in your mission briefings said that you’d be running into anything that could generate that much raw power ....
*fzzt* "... generator is increasing the planet’s gravitational field. Dammit! We’re not pulling free. Lock onto that power source and fire everything we have at it! And shut down this channel!" *crackle*
"Collision Warning" the sultry alarm whispers sweetly in your ear. *Vhroooshhhh!"* The pod thrums with vibration as something screams by. You pop the heat shield in time to see a dark shape silhouetted against the sky. Had to be a Strogg Gorgon fighter. But ... the hell ... they weren’t supposed to be active over your LZ.
"Collision Warning! ..." "Collision Warning ... " "Collision ... Collision ... Collision ..." You fight for control as the whole damn Strogg air force rushes past . Bright flashes and shock waves buffet your pod. For the moment, you’re glad enough that you aren’t a shock wave yourself.
*crackle* " ... and keep as much as you can targeted on that power source. You can divert that many? Outstanding! Attention all troops in LZ sector 54. Revised mission briefing burst coming through ... now. We’re going to give you as much covering fire as possible. You must locate and disable that generator at all costs."
*Whooshhhhhhh....Kabooom* A drop pod off to your port side fireballs as a Gorgon streaks past then drops down in front of you, matching your trajectory. Its aft weapons bay opens, glows ....
... and a huge laser beam from space slices through it like the proverbial hot knife.
The Gorgon rolls end over end and slams into ground, exploding with spectacular pyrotechnics. You brace for impact, dropping through the expanding fireball and marvelling for an extra half second that you’ve broken through the planet surface and are falling into darkness...
Introduction[]
(NOTICE: The actual spoken words of the introduction is subject to interpretation, due to poor-quality recordings and lack of effective enunciation. What follows is believed to be the current most-likely transcription)
Sergeant Hoss: Affirmative Deimos, Zulu Section 5 is clear and away. Sergeant Hoss out. Alright marines, haul your sorry asses into formation. Corporals Swampy and Wooley will take point position. Let's do this by the numbers folks, we don't want any fender benders out here.
Deimos: Keep an eye on those inertial dampers or you'll splash on impact.
Command Crew: Fifth section, start your status check.
Short Punch: Short Punch, check!
Scarfunkel: Scarfunkel, check.
Rampage: Rampage, check.
Wonimal: Wonimal, check.
Zor: Zor, check.
Rod: Rod, check.
Stepchild: Stepchild, check.
Deimos: Attention all capital ships. Deployment phase complete. Fall back from orbit, wait for retrieval.
Sergeant Hoss: Outstanding. Good luck marines, see you on the ground.
Group Leader: Rod, get your ass back in line.
Rod: I gotta touch ground, drops always make me [unintelligible].
[Explosion]
Scarfunkel: Shit, what the hell was that?
Short Punch: Heads up y'all, I'm breaking formation. Yeehaw!
Zor: Picking up a big ass power surge.
Scarfunkel: Why aren't the capital ships bugging out?
Deimos: Something's very wrong here. Power generators increasing the planet's gravitation. Damn it, we're not breaking free. Lock-on to that power source and fire everything we have at it. Shut down this channel.
Wonimal: We've got company. At least thirteen Strogg fighters verified.
Stepchild: Just flew over us.
Rampage: We'll never make the LZ. We're screwed!
Stepchild: Let's dust them.
Deimos: Attention all troops, we are unable to break orbit. They've somehow increased the planet's gravitational pull. Locate and disable that generator at all costs. We'll provide cover fire to clear your LZ.
Sergeant Hoss: You heard the man, we'll have our chance to take it down. Start for final approaches.
Stepchild: Got one on your tail, sir. It's following us in.
[Explosions]
Stepchild: Too late to bail, I'm going in!
Unit 1: Lower Mines[]
Computer: Initiate scan. Acquiring... Acquired. Personnel Located.
Computer: Tectonic Stabilizer destroyed. Now exiting... Lower Mines. Locate Base Area. Infiltrate Main Strogg Communication Facility. Disrupt Strogg ground to air transmission. End transmission...
Unit 2: Communication Facility[]
Computer: Initiate scan. Acquiring... Acquired. Personnel Located.
Computer: Ground to air transmission disrupted. Now exiting... Communication Facility. Locate Strogg Research Hangar. Secure and prep Strogg experimental fighter. End transmission...
Unit 3: Research Hangar[]
Computer: Initiate scan. Acquiring... Acquired. Personnel Located.
Computer: Experimental Strogg fighter secured. Now exiting... Research Hangar. Locate Strogg Munitions Plant. Obtain Anti-Matter Core and Containment Pod. End transmission...
Unit 4: Munitions Plant[]
Computer: Initiate scan. Acquiring... Acquired. Personnel Located.
Computer: Anti-Matter Core and Containment Pod secured. Now exiting... Munitions Plant. Locate Gravity Generator. Use Anti-Matter Bomb to destroy Gravity Well. Return to Research Hangar. Use experimental fighter for escape. End transmission...
Ending[]
Stepchild: This is Private Stepchild calling to Deimos. Stepchild calling to Deimos. I've planted the charges on the gravity well generator. Inform all remaining ground troops to evacuate the area.
Deimos: Copy that, Stepchild. Now get out of there.
Stepchild: Roger. Stepchild out.
Security Computer: Security breach detected. You are not clear for take-off.
Stepchild: Shit! I'm not going to make it!
[Explosion]
Stepchild: Stepchild to Deimos. Did it work?
Deimos: Hell yes it worked, Private. We're reporting total destruction of primary target and huge secondary chain reaction explosions all across the planet's surface. Nothing's living on that rock.
Stepchild: What about the others?
Deimos: There aren't that many left to retrieve, Stepchild. You're one of the lucky few that made it out of that inferno in one piece.
Stepchild: Let's get the hell out of here.
[Deimos Bay Doors Closing]
Notes[]
The subtitles in the Ground Zero cinematic name two of Stepchild's squad as Geronimo and Garfunkel. However, two drop pods are encountered throughout the Ground Zero campaign bearing the callsigns Wonimal (in Widow's Lair) and Scar-funkle (in Logistics Complex). It's possible that these are different Marines bearing similar-sounding callsigns, but it's also possible that the subtitles are mistaken.