Note: I don't own Starcraft
"I'm not detecting any more hostiles and the Protoss are withdrawing from the area." The Science Vessel operative reported over the comm.
"Alright, keep me posted." Sarah replied as she walked through the place with her rifle readied, inspecting the ruins of the Protoss base for hidden combatants that they might have missed when the communication channels erupted in a flurry of transmissions.
"Ma'am, I'm picking up a huge number of Zerg on the move. The teams are engaging them as we speak but we need immediate evacuation."
"Have them move to Sigma's position and dig in. I'll get Mengsk and try to get us out of here." Sarah said before accessing a different channel. "This is Kerrigan. We've neutralized the Protoss but there's a wave of Zerg advancing on our position! We need immediate evac!"
Silence and static greeted Sarah in response, leaving the ghost to wonder on what was going on. Was her equipment malfunctioning? She managed to talk to the Science Vessel operative earlier. Surely, the Zerg movements would warrant extraction.
"Uh, boys? How about that evac?" Sarah asked over the comm. Still, more silence and static and the redhead became frustrated. "Commander? Jim? What the hell's going on up there?"
Once more, no response was given and Sarah had a feeling that she and her forces had been abandoned. The loud explosions in the distance jilted her back to reality and the ghost knew all too well that the others had rigged the buildings to explode on their assailants. Still, their efforts were futile and it would only be a matter of time before they were overrun. There was no way out and outrunning the Zerg would only do so much.
Looking up into the sky, Sarah dropped her rifle and was resigned to her fate when her communication device went off in a series of beeps. Even more so, she heard the sound of aircraft engines and turned to see a fleet of transports consisting of regular shuttles and huge cargo ships arrive with Wraith escorts. Some of them landed not far away while the others continued onwards, vanishing over the horizon. Seeing the insignia of the Mar Sara colony, Sarah quickly sprinted towards the location of their landing zone. The redhead smiled, catching sight of the familiar marshal once she reached the LZ.
"Jim!" Sarah called out, elated and relieved to see him here and with transports.
"Sarah! Thank God, you're alright! But we need to get the hell out of here!" Jim replied, looking very relieved to see the redhead alive.
Sarah didn't hesitate as she quickly boarded the ship while Jim continued to get the survivors into the transports. The last ones to board were the three Siege Tanks, some of them being worse for wear due to the damage sustained. Immediately, the ships lifted off before withdrawing from the area just as the Zerg swarmed in, missing the fleeing Terrans by seconds before suddenly turning and moving elsewhere.
"Mengsk ordered the fleet to withdraw the moment he got your call. He didn't give a damn about you or the others that came with you. Just left you all to be killed by the Zerg." Jim said before explaining on what had transpired. Sarah could see the truth in Jim's mind before slumping in her seat at a loss for words. Everything she had done for him and this is how he repays her? Clenching and unclenching her fists, the redhead took some deep breaths to calm herself although she was still angry that the betrayal.
"I saw many of the transports and wraiths break off." Sarah spoke. "Where are they going?"
"Michael and the Commander are heading elsewhere to evacuate the places that sent out distress calls." Jim replied before hearing the pilot announced that the shuttle has docked with the large Battlecruiser known as the Tachyon, which was escorted by a large fleet of wraiths. "They'll meet up with us shortly on board but right now, I think we should head to the bridge."
Once everyone on the shuttle got off, both Jim and Sarah headed to the bridge.
"Captain, Lieutenant." Matt greeted. "Good to see you both. Michael is returning with civilians and soldiers that he managed to rescue."
"And Keith?" Sarah asked, wondering on what the commander was doing.
"He's on a Confederate battlecruiser called the Thunder Child, which is going to join up with us." Matt replied. "It turns out that the ship was hijacked by civilians and is helping in the evacuation of refugees from Tarsonis."
"Can you get in contact with him?" Jim asked and Matt nodded, typing onto the communications screen. It was a few moments later that the tired face of the former colonial magistrate and now ex-commander of the Sons of Korhal appeared.
"Good to see that you all made it." Keith spoke, seeing Jim, Sarah, and Matt.
"Barely." Sarah replied. "Mengsk tried to feed me to the Zerg after the Protoss were dealt with."
"I only knew about it after Jim tried to reason with him but the bastard brushed him aside." Keith said. "Jim's early intuition made a difference. Mr. Liberty should be on his way to the Tachyon with civilians and soldiers."
Matt was about to speak when the robotic adjutant alerted them to an incoming transmission from the Hyperion. Hesitantly, Jim nodded for Mengsk to be patched through while trying to rein in on his anger.
"Gentlemen, you've done very well." Arcturus spoke. "But remember, we've still got a job to do. The seeds of a new empire have been sown and if we hope to reap-"
"Aw, to hell with you!" Raynor snapped, unable to control himself.
"You're making a terrible mistake. Don't even think to cross me. I've sacrificed too much to let this fall apart." Arcturus warned.
"You mean like the way you tried to sacrifice me?" Sarah screamed with rage. "Any debt I may have owed you is paid so we're even, you bastard! Even this is how you reward loyalty, then may you burn in the deepest depths of hell!"
Arcturus was slightly shocked to see his former second-in-command alive, if not a bit ragged. But he merely narrowed his eyes.
"You all will regret that. You don't seem to understand my situation here. I will not be stopped. Not by you, or the Confederates, or the Protoss, or anyone! I will rule this sector or see it burnt to ashes around me! If you think about getting in my way, I will-"
It was then that the adjutant cut in. "The fleet is prepped and ready. Awaiting orders."
"To hell with him. We're gone." Jim replied before nodding to Matt, who immediately issued orders.
"Sir, unknown energy projectile on a course towards us!" one of the operators shouted.
"Evasive maneuvers!" Matt ordered but it was only a few seconds later that the Tachyon shook as though struck by something large.
"What the hell just hit us?" Jim quipped.
"It's more like on what just shot us." Matt replied. "Status report!"
"Critical damage has been done to all but one of the engines. We'll need to expedite repairs before the ship can go anywhere." The helmsman spoke.
"There's a space platform nearby. Let's head there." Jim suggested. "Any idea what just happened?"
"It appears that General Duke has activated Tarsonis's primary weapon, the Ion Cannon." The adjutant announced. "The cannon must be shut down if any escape attempt is to occur."
"That must have been a glancing shot. Otherwise, we would've been dead." Sarah remarked. "It looks like the platform that we're going to is not too far away from the Ion Cannon."
"Yeah, but knowing Duke and Mengsk, they'll leave some forces to deter a ground assault before wiping us out." Jim remarked. "Matt, any idea what we're up against?"
"Looks like you're right. Mengsk left one of his elite regiments and part of Alpha Squadron behind to eliminate us." Matt replied. "Incoming transmission from the Thunder Child. It's Keith."
"Hey, what the heck was that flash of light?" Keith inquired.
"General Duke activated the Ion Cannon and Mengsk left a force behind to keep us from escaping." Jim explained. "What's the situation at your end?"
"We're waiting for the last refuge transports right now." Keith replied. "With the cannon online, I don't want to risk getting the refugees killed so I can't join up with you."
"Understandable." Jim said. "Do what you can. I'm going to take that cannon out and let you know when it's gone."
"Alright then. Good luck, Jim." Keith replied before terminating the connection.
"If you're going out there, I'm coming with you." Sarah spoke, her tone filled with a mix of determination and anger.
Jim was about to protest but figured that getting in Sarah's way wouldn't be good such that he merely nodded, albeit reluctantly. Perhaps the redhead could vent her pent up anger out on the enemy troops sent to kill them.
It was a few minutes later that Jim got onto his Vulture before leaving the Tachyon's hangar bay with Sarah sitting behind him. The sound of engines drew their attention as multiple transports touched down before Michael Liberty appeared from one of the cargo ships.
"Captain, if what Matt says is true, we got a situation most dire." Michael called out.
"Duke has the Ion Cannon online and Mengsk left some of his forces behind to eliminate us." Jim replied.
"We'll talk later. The faster we destroy that cannon, the sooner we can leave." Sarah added before Jim drove off.
Reaching the Command Center, he could see several teams of SCVs moving out, some to build additional structures while the others went to gather minerals and Vespene gas. It turned out that the landing zone had some resources nearby, plentiful to build up their forces.
"Well, it looks like we're on our own." Jim remarked. "It's funny... It seems like yesterday Arcturus was the idealistic rebel crusader. Now he's the law, and we're the criminals. It kills me to know that we helped him achieve his goals of conquest."
"Mengsk will pay dearly for what he has done this day. Not just for his betrayal but for also for the genocide of an entire planet." Sarah spoke before the Vulture's communications module went off.
"This is Jimmy." Jim greeted, patching the sender through.
"Sir, I've managed to scan the platform so we'll at least have their base locations." Matt spoke. "I don't know how long it'll be before they realize that we're on to them."
"Any small help is welcomed." Sarah replied. "How go the repairs on the Tachyon?"
"The engineers say that the damage is extensive but repairable. It'll take quite a while, though." Matt answered.
"Keep me updated on anything that comes." Jim said, issuing others for a defense perimeter to be set before driving up a ramp to set some Spider Mines on higher ground when he noticed some red shapes in the distance. Taking his binoculars out, he handed them to the redhead.
"Mengsk's Elite Guard." Sarah spoke a minute later before getting off the Vulture and activating her cloak. "It's a small outpost."
"I'll keep an eye out for Science Vessels." Jim said, looking at the screen. About ten minutes later, he heard footsteps and looked to see the redhead appear, deactivating her cloak. Once the Spider Mines were planted, Jim and Sarah headed back to the base, moving past some SCVs that were heading out to construct bunkers and turrets. Siege Tanks followed them before setting themselves into their stationary mode near the construction.
"Mengsk's Elite Guard regiment will be easier to take out. Let's get them first before we handle Alpha Squadron." Sarah remarked.
"Sounds like a plan." Jim replied before typing in orders for a fleet of Wraiths to be built and driving to get another batch of spider mines from one of the supply depots. Just as he finished loading up the ordinance, another transmission came in.
"Sir, Keith and the Thunder Child are heading this way. Looks like some scouts from Alpha Squadron had detected them." Matt reported.
"Alright, have the Wraiths escort them to our location." Jim replied and it was half-hour later that another Battlecruiser along with a small fleet of escorting Wraiths appeared, flying dangerously low across the platform before reaching an empty area next to the base and landing. From the Thunder Child, a mix of Siege Tanks and Goliaths unloaded before joining up and supplementing the defense perimeter.
From that point on, it was a simple measure of building up a sizable force to overwhelm Mengsk's forces and destroy the Ion Cannon. But instead of direct confrontations, Jim and Keith coordinated hit-and-run operations while Sarah used the confusion to sneak in to either assassinate or sabotage the enemy defenses. Enemy Science Vessels became problematic with Irradiate being used, costing the lives of several marines. But the enemy units made critical errors in sending them in without proper escorts to back them up such that Jim had a team of ghosts deployed to hunt and immobilize them with Lockdown before the wraiths came to shoot them down.
It wasn't long before the two Starports completed the construction of twenty-four wraiths in total, all of which took to the air. With the marine teams and Goliaths composing a ground strike force, Jim and Sarah watched as Mengsk's Elite Guard regiment crumble entirely underneath the blitzkrieg levied onto them. Now all that was left is Alpha Squadron and the Ion Cannon. Already, enemy ghosts had attempted nuclear strikes, forcing the Comstat Stations and the newly constructed Science Vessels to work overtime in averting the disasters. Keith had three nuclear warheads constructed but instead of using the ghosts to deliver strikes, the ordinance was loaded onto some of the Wraiths that flew up high above the range of the enemy anti-air defenses, though it would leave them vulnerable to the Ion Cannon itself. However, the other Wraiths flew as a diversion to keep the Ion Cannon distracted, their agility and speed allowing the pilots to evade the deadly energy beams. Thus, almost in the blink of an eye, most of Alpha Squadron was eradicated and the stragglers were quickly dispatched. Within four hours, all enemy forces were confirmed eradicated and the Ion Cannon was now an easy target with Jim leading a team to take out the defenses around it, allowing Sarah to deliver a double nuclear strike that erased the massive structure from existence.
Even after wiping out all enemy forces off the platform, the Tachyon was still undergoing repairs. Having detected some unclaimed mineral nodes and two Vespene geysers, both Keith and Matt sent additional SCV teams to gather the resources while getting the starports to construct two additional Battlecruisers for storage. Even the civilians helped out in strip-mining the platform entirely, figuring that the resources would be needed for later.
"Now we can leave." Jim said after Matt informed that the Tachyon is fully repaired and ready to go. By that time, all minerals and Vespene gas from the platform had been harvested and stored. Once everyone and everything had been loaded up into the four battlecruisers, the small fleet left Tarsonis unopposed, leaving the planet to ruin as the Zerg and the Protoss continued to battle each other on the surface.
"So Matt, Keith. Any idea on what's next?" Jim asked.
"I plan to get the refugees settled on one of the fringe worlds away from Mengsk." Keith replied. "Agria seems like a place for resettlement although Chau Sara and Mar Sara are also viable options if the terraforming scientists can confirm the latter two to be safe enough. Afterwards, I was thinking about taking a small force to scope out New Folsom later."
"We'll need more ships and transports if we're going to be waging war against Mengsk." Matt spoke. "Sarah suggested that we make a strike the Dylarian shipyards and commandeer whatever ships are there."
"Sounds good. If we're going to cripple Mengsk in some way, we might as well start there." Jim said before looking at Keith. "So what brought about this idea of busting the prison open?"
"Aside from prisoners that would no doubtingly overthrow their captors, there's also the neosteel production and construction facilities that have been supplying the Confederacy's military." Keith explained. "If we can get our hands on them, we'll deprive Mengsk of another resource."
Jim merely nodded, seeing the merit in such a plan. He was also drawn to the fact that his old friend Tychus Findlay is imprisoned there in deep freeze. This would be a good time to break him out.
"I think we should strike the shipyards and then the prison. If anything, we'll have enough to equipment and firepower for a war against Mengsk." Jim said. "We'll also need a good planet to use as a base of operations."
"I can draw up a list while I'm helping the refugees resettle before we meet up at New Folsom." Keith offered.
"You do that." Jim replied with a nod. "Anyways, we better get going."
"One more thing, sir." Matt said, keeping a straight face. "Sarah told me to tell you that she's in the lounge. I have a feeling that she wants to speak to you."
Jim raised an eyebrow before seeing Keith smirk a bit. "What?"
"I'll let you know one thing, sir." Keith suggested. "Red-haired, green-eyed beauties can be really feisty in a good way. She's waiting for you, you lucky devil."
Jim sputtered a bit, feeling very awkward before quickly leaving the bridge while Keith and Matt shared a laugh.
On the ruins of Tarsonis and surrounded by many Zerg creatures while stationed on the creep, a large worm-like creature emerged from the massive cocoon.
"Awaken my child, and embrace the glory that is your birthright. Know that I am the Overmind; the eternal will of the Swarm, and that you have been created to serve me." The ominous voice of the Zerg Overmind spoke and the newborn Cerebrate listened intently at its master's every word. "Behold that I shall set you amongst the greatest of my Cerebrates, that you might benefit from their wisdom and experience. Yet your purpose is unique. While they carry forth my will to the innumerable Broods, you have but one task entrusted to your care."
The new Cerebrate was now very interested yet listened as the Overmind continued to speak.
"For I have found three creatures that may yet become the greatest of my agents. Even now, they reside within the protective Chrysalises, awaiting their rebirth into the Swarm. You must watch over the Chrysalises, and ensure that no harm comes to the creatures within them. Go now and keep safe my prizes."
As the Overmind finished giving its order, the Cerebrate immediately went forth to carry its master's bidding before feeling another presence speak to it.
"Greetings, Cerebrate. I am Daggoth and I have been tasked to guide you. Before you can carry out the will of the Overmind, it is imperative that you understand the basic foundations in controlling your brood."
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