StarCraft: Raiders

by MobyDickAteMeLeg

The misadventures of Raynor's Raiders, as they work as free lance mercenaries, chasing a pipe dream of someday overthrowing the Dominion, post Brood War. Reviews, welcome and please. Thank you!

1. Chapter 1

StarCraft: Raiders

Part 1: The Encounter

Like most Fringe World planets, Daphine Prime was only shaken out of its monotony when somebody from the Core World willed it. Otherwise, it was mostly the same old deal. A bunch of fringe world yokels farming all day, and eating the spoils of their labor, sometimes engaging in petty crime and violence over their turfs. Fringe squibs could turn quite vicious when they felt their lands were threatened. Not that Foreman Cardinini was worried. No matter what these fringe squibs had, it couldn't be anything more advanced than an ancient P-Series shotgun. Absolutely no match for the mighty firepower and skilled soldiers of the Kel-Morian Combine. Any fringe squib resisting would be mowed down en masse by the Gauss Rifle wielding Marines in those heavy battle armors. Cardinini was never the one for much bloodshed, and thus, hoped that there would be minimal resistance from the local "authorities", as the drop ships began to land. If there wasn't too much hostility, he might even be able to bring his wife in here. If he couldn't, tough for her. He'd have to find another woman. For all he knew, the Combine may expect him to stay on this God forsaken fringe planet for years. No way he was going that long without a woman, even if the only women here were fringe squibs.

"All Marines, prepare for drop."

On the drop ship, Cardinini sat in the first class area, where he could get off after the ship had landed. His men, on the other hand, were expected to land via landing cable first, fully armed, to clear the area of any hostiles before a man such as himself could land. About five minutes after the pilot on this particular Drop Ship made the announcement, he finished his cocktail, an even mix of fine, Antigan wine and framberry juice, and felt the ship land.

"The area has been cleared for landing, Foreman."

"Thank you adjutant."

Grabbing his coat, Cardinini walked off the ship, and took his first step on Daphine Prime. The planet was mostly farmlands, grassy crops and cattle everywhere, but to the left of him, where the grass wasn't quite so thick, he could see rows and rows of shining blue crystals, seemingly endless. So, the rumors of the planets' mineral status didn't lie. The Combine's intelligence system never did lie, but he couldn't think about the minerals for too long, because about then, he found himself distracted by the piercing gaze of about three dozen natives gathered around in front of his impressive Marine troops. Cardinini felt himself proud. He must have been quite an impressive sight to these disgusting yokels. And as such, he spoke first.

"Greetings, natives of Daphine Prime. I am Foreman Cardinini, and I come here representing the Kel-Morian Combine, who wishes to negotiate a mining deal with the major authorities of this sector."

An uneasy silence followed. The fringe squibs simply kept staring at him with their disgusting, crusty eyes, before the leader squib dog spat and started talking. Disgusting fringe squibs. He wanted to order his men to slice them all into bits. But no, he had no control himself. He had to maintain peace. For now, at least.

"And who is you, again? We ain't familiar wit' no Comb-an here, or your fancy core world gadgets. Now, this here be my land, and my family land, and I can get the Marshall here to prove it. So I suggest you all be gettin' off it, befo' things get ugly."

Typical fringe squib behavior. This one wasn't taking the hint. He would have to be more direct.

"We, the Kel-Morian Combine, are here to colonize this sector, to harvest its rich mineral resources. So unless you want to die, fringe squib, I suggest you bring me your little Marshall, so we can see which one of you gets to mine how many minerals a day around here."

The squib took offense at this one, as did the rest of them, who all tensed up. The leader squib approached him. While he had no weapons on him, if this fringe squib laid as much as a finger on his newly bought, expensive suit, he was prepared to have him, and the rest of these yokels killed.

"Listen son. I don't know what ya'll are talkin' about yo' colonizationing, but like I said befo', you don't get off my property, I'm gonna have to start kickin' some ass, and I ain't scared of no Space Marines."

Then, the squib pushed him a little. The Combine Marines tensed up a little, but they wouldn't do anything unless ordered. Cardinini on the other hand, was infuriated. He grabbed the fringe squib by his collars and began screaming in his face.

"Go ahead and try that again, fringe squib."

The squib then grew mad and hooked him in the face, after which he kicked him in the stomach. That was all that provocation the men needed. The Kel-Morian Combine Marines unleashed rains and rains of bullets on the fringe squibs with their mighty Gauss Rifles. Then, shortly after, more Drop Ships, buildings (Mostly Command Centers, Barracks and such), and Wraiths arrived. Vultures and Firebats joined the fight. Needless to say, the fringe squib who had the balls to hit the Honorable Foreman was killed instantly by the shots.

"Kill them all! Seek out and exterminate any goddamn fringe squib you see, with extreme prejudice. Burn everything down. Show these squibs how the Kel-Morian Combine treats to hostiles."

His Marines, all bloodthirsty to the extreme, were only happy to comply, as they ran through the sector, destroying, killing, pillaging. Cardinini was pleased. The area would have to be sufficiently razed, if they were to be able to set up able mining camps around. The only thing that even slightly worried him was the possibility that his men may not give these squibs a chance to surrender, thus killing them all, and eliminating all chances of slave labor. But even that worry faded away quickly, as he dusted his suit and went back into the Drop Ship for another glass of fine cocktail, leaving the burning chaos and carnage behind him.

Two weeks later….

Raynor's Raiders. No two words invoked as much fear, contempt, respect, and anger in the Koprulu Sector as the title given to a gang of mercenaries, led by Marshall James Raynor. In reality, the name was just bit of a misnomer. While Jim Raynor was still always in the center of any planning, recruiting, and missions of the Raiders, he'd been less and less an active figure. For the last few months or so, the true leader of Raynor's Raiders was a man sitting in the captain's quarters, lying down on his bed, throwing darts at a picture of Arcturus Mengsk. Matt Horner, the Captain of the Hyperion, Jim Raynor's most trusted lieutenant, genius military commander, and mediocre marksman. As he missed his fifth dart aimed for Mengsk's forehead, someone came into his room.

"Haven't you folks ever heard of knocking?"
The intruder, a young Marine, fully armored, nodded and bowed slightly.

"I'm sorry sir, but Marshall Raynor and Captain Findlay needed to see you. It seemed urgent."

"Well, if it's so goddamn urgent, maybe Jimmyboy and Tychus could fetch me themselves."

"They're planning sir, and you're already late."

"Shut up! Stop defending them!"
After sufficiently yelling at the young Marine, which boosted his fragile male ego, he pushed him out of the way and walked towards the bridge of the Hyperion, where Jim and Tychus were apparently planning something. Urgent, was it? In Tychus's book, the only urgent thing in the world was the urgent need to kill people. With Jim, it was mostly getting money to feed for his men. A combination of both, something that involved killing people, and getting paid for it. Didn't sound like anything new. Walking down the corridors of the Hyperion as if he'd rather be crawling down it, he finally got to the bridge of the ship. Tychus was already in his armor. Jim wasn't.

"A new job?" asked Matt.

"You bet it is. It's a pretty big one too. Bigger than the ones we'd been taking recently," said Jim.

"I can tell. Righteous Tychus here's packing some heavy load. Where'd you get the grenades?"

"I've had them from the last job."

"Our last job? Our last job involved assassinating a midget with a sexual fetish for gigantic explosions. Where the hell do grenades come in that?" asked Matt.

"You know, for a smart guy, you're pretty dumb," said Tychus, to Matt.

"He clearly took them after we killed the midget," said Jim.

"Petty theft. As if being a bunch of pirates weren't enough. Jim, how big is this job?"

"Pretty big. It involves a lot of things, and I'll brief you right now."
"Big enough for us to finally you know, actually do something against the Dominion for once?"

"Don't tell me you're getting caught up in that too," said Jim.

"Give the guy a break, Matt. We'll hit Dominion when we hit Dominion. Until then, let's just enjoy the ride," said Tychus.

"Well, of course you're fine with it. As long as there are people to be killed, you're fine with anything," said Matt.

Sensing an uncomfortably violent wave between his two lieutenants, Tychus and Matt, Jim interrupted, by talking.

"Alright so uh, I'll brief you both, if you don't mind being briefed. We've been hired by a Fringe World mayor His place's been taken. Kel-Morian Combine, apparently. The place has lots of mineral, and it's somewhere near the Antiga Prime sector. He wants us to liberate the place."

"A fringe world? How much is this guy offering?" asked Tychus.

"Enough to feed us for a while. It shouldn't be too hard, I mean, Kel-Morian Combine. I know we're good enough to beat them off, especially if we have the element of surprise," said Matt.

"Exactly. The pay is good. I have no idea how this yokel managed to scratch up quite a bit, but he did it. So, are we up for this, Ty?"
"I'm up for whatever you're up for Jim," said Tychus.

"I won't be able to accompany you on this particular job. I have uh, businesses to attend to," said Jim.

"What? Businesses? Where? Don't tell me you're just abandoning us to fight the Combine on the Fringe? I'm the Captain of this ship. I don't like being away from my baby." said Matt.

"Oh, suck it up. Besides, Dre will accompany you, and I'm letting you guys borrow one of the Nuke Silos. Does that make you feel better?" asked Jim.

"That guttural Ghost? Jim, I respect you and all man, but I'm really questioning your judgment here," said Matt.

"Fine. I'll leave a fleet or two above the orbit of the place, in case you bunch of babies need reinforcement. There? Anyways, if you're both ready to drop, we'll be dropping on the planet in thirty minutes. It'll be night. I expect you all to strike the place, and take it down immediately. I'll be back in five days."

"Five days with this chump. What could be more exciting?" said Matt, motioning to an increasingly murderous looking Tychus.

"Sab, get us ready for landing soon."

Sab was the Hyperion's pilot, and the object of Matt Horner's never ending hate. Maybe it was her background. Or perhaps it was her unending perkiness, and Matt's need to crush anything that remained happy for more than six hours around him, and his resulting frustration when unable to. But most likely, it was the fact that she was a Sabrina. No good ever came from girls named Sabrina, even if they shortened it to Sab. She could stand in one place doing nothing but breathing, and Horner could find something wrong with her breathing pattern. He walked up to the piloting area, directly connected to the bridge, and began his daily routine of Sab bullying, which wouldn't begin again for another five days.

"Preparing for landing, Red Baroness?" asked Matt.

"Yes, Captain. A Fringe World. Marshall Raynor made it sound like a pretty big assignment."

"That's probably because it is a pretty fucking big assignment, you fucking moron, now get your eyes back to landing."
"Yes sir. But I'll have you know, I can land and talk at the same time."

"Does it look like I care? Stop talking!"
"If you don't want me to talk, why did you come up to me?"

A moment of uneasy silence that always follows an embarrassing defeat.

"Shut up! Just keep landing, ok?"

"How big is this job?"

"I told you, really damn big."

"Well, I know that, but I wanted to know, you know, since Vi is landing and all-"

Matt stopped.

"Wait, what?
"I said, Vi is landing-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Matt ran back out the bridge, into Raynor's quarters, not far from the bridge, where he was reading something.

"Yes, Matt?"
"Vi is landing with us on this mission?"
"Yes, didn't I mention that before?"
"No, you didn't but thank you very fucking much for mentioning it now. Why in the name of God is she coming with us on a mission when even you're not accompanying?"

"Relax, soldier. We just think it would be in our best interest to have all Medic forces with you. Tychus has been getting more and more violent lately. Probably all the drinking. We need to minimize casualties."

"Yes, well, that's all fine and dandy, but is there any reason to send her down there, directly?"
"She's the Medic Commander. She'll know how to lead them better than anyone. She herself consented to it, and it's a done decision. Relax, she'll be accompanied by Dre at all times."

"Dre is a loose cannon, and I don't trust her. I'm talking to Vi about this personally."

"No, you won't. You have to get suited up first."

"I don't need my suit. I hate that thing. It's only the Kel-Morian Combine, Jim. I can handle it on a Vulture or something."

"Never underestimate the stupidity of the wealthy men, Mr. Horner. Get suited up. It might get a little hairy down there."

An alarm rang out through the Hyperion, that same alarm that always rings when they're preparing for landing. The adjutant voice ordered the Shuttles to prepare to land. After their disastrous campaign on Char, the Hyperion were left with only three major Shuttles. The Chandler, captained by Lieutenant Abernathy, whom Matt himself rarely interacted with, but saw Jim talking to all the time, the Endymion, a much larger and more powerful Shuttle that could hold more Drop Ships, and two Command Centers, The third was the Siri, but according to Raynor only the Endymion would be making a landing. It would more than suffice against the weak, hired soldiers of the Kel-Morian Combine. Being an independent faction within Dominion control, the Combine could not have its own military, and instead, hired rogue mercenaries like Raynor's Raiders. Sepoys. They were powerful, but mostly not very well trained. They were no match for the Raiders' superior firepower, battle experience, and perhaps most importantly, their fearsome reputation. Reputation could be a powerful weapon. He headed for the shuttle Endymion to be outfitted, and on the way, he caught Vi talking to Commander Julian Byrne, a Squad Leader, and the leader of the Endymion. She was fully armored in her Medic outfit, and he ran up to her.

"Vi! What are you doing here? Get out of that suit, you're not landing with us."

"Why not? I haven't seen any action in-"

"I don't give a shit! Stay on the ship!"

Byrne interrupted.

"Captain, if I may suggest, we land in less than an hour. You should get suited up yourself, and prepare to land. Everyone else is locked up, loaded, and ready to go."
"Shut up, you stupid, self-righteous dick. Go back in your Shuttle and do your make-up or something. This is urgent."

"No sir, you getting ready to lead us against the Combine in this mission is urgent."

"I outrank you, Commander. Now, I command you as the Captain of the Hyperion to go back in your little Shuttle and fix your make-up. Oh and, do Tychus's nails while you're at it."

"Matt, please. You're embarrassing me. This is nepotism. Just because I'm your sister-"

"No, listen, you have no idea what you're saying. Yes, you're my sister, and you need to be protected."

"I'm the Commander of the Medic Division of the Raiders, Matt. You've sheltered me too long. I can't lead these girls if I can't see what it's like to be there in the front line, faced with the enemy, and having to heal our boys."

The adjutant's stupid voice rang out again. Ten minutes, until landing.

"Where's Dre? Will she be with you, at all times?"

"She's suited up and ready to go. I suggest you get suited up too."

"I hate that suit. I'll manage on my Vulture. Be careful, alright? If things get too hairy, feel free to run away and ditch everyone else."

With that, Matt gave a bitter sigh and headed towards inside the massive Shuttle, to find himself a decent Vulture bike before they were all taken. Under normal circumstances, he would have asked Raynor if he could take his bike. Raynor's Vulture was the envy of anyone who had ever ridden the beautiful beast before. It was heavily locked up, and refused to everyone except Raynor himself, and extremely rarely, Matt himself. Tychus didn't have dice of a chance at piloting the thing. It boosted Matt's ego quite a bit. No, for this mission, he'd have to settled for his own bike, the Hornet, a souped up model, though not quite as much as Raynor's.

Five minutes until landing. Sab's voice announced this, instead of the usual adjutant.

A massive wave of Marines, Firebats, Medics, a few Goliaths and odd Tanks, several Vultures all rushed in, making an appearance. The boys were ready to fight. Making his way into a Drop Ship, Tychus's "flag ship", he took a sit next to Righteous Tychus.

"How are you feeling, Ty?"

"Good, I'd say. Can't wait to make some bullet holes in these Kel-Morian motherfuckers and get paid for it."

"You got any Stim?" asked Matt.

"Not on me. I thought you kicked that junk already."

"Not exactly, no. Sorry. Have you seen Dre? She and a Silo are supposed to be helping us out and protecting Vi, but-"

A sudden boom, and the Shuttle was dropped from its mothership, the Hyperion, and separated from its Captain, Matt Horner. He felt a little safe He loved the Hyperion, and hated to be separated from her, but she was in good hands. There were no better hands in the galaxy than Jim Raynor, Sab, and Engineer Swann.

Approximately five hours later….

"Surrender now, or we will have no choice but to eradicate your forces. I repeat, surrender now, or we'll fucking kill you."

Matt sometimes wondered why he always insisted on offering his enemies the chance to surrender. They never took it, stupidity on their part, yes. Mercenaries could be bloodthirsty, and would often fight to the last man, jacked up on a cocktail of Stim Pack and human adrenaline. But if fighting to the last man was what they wanted, it was what they got. Tychus led his massive army of Marines and Firebats against the remaining forces, eradicating them. And as for defense, Matt wasn't called the strategic genius of the Terran Confederacy for nothing. He'd set up a solid Siege Tank-and-Bunker defense around their base, sprinkled with some Spider Mines.

When they first arrived on the planet, they landed dangerously close to the main Command Center base of the Combine, where the biggest majority of the mineral mining was taking place. Dangerous, for them, that is. They quickly laid siege to the place, and after neutralizing all soldiers, Matt Horner contacted the leader of the Combine's division through ComSat, to offer him a chance to leave peacefully. A well dressed, sleazy looking fellow named Cardinini.

"We, the Kel-Morian Combine, do not negotiate with your kind, pirate scum."

"If you don't like the way I negotiate, foreman, than I will have no choice but to have my man Tychus J. Findlay negotiate with you instead. And believe me-"

"-You won't like the way I negotiate, punk," Tychus interrupted from behind, interrupting Matt's sentence.

"You greatly underestimate the might of the Combine. What you just took out was but a fraction of our mighty military. We'll send your criminal asses packing back to Korhal, where Mengsk will have you, pirate scum."

Of course, as with most rants by men in expensive suits, this was an overblown bluff. The "mighty military" of the Kel-Morian Combine lasted around six minutes under the heavy fire of the Raynor's Raiders. Several Drop Ships were seen fleeing as quickly as possible, before they were completely annihilated. But since none of the captured ones contained Cardinini, he presumably escaped. The fringe world yokels cheered as their oppressors fled. The Marshall and Deputy paid Matt in cash, personally. Around seven hundred thousand Dominion recognized credits, shiny new. He didn't ask where a fringe local would get his hands on such commodity. It didn't seem polite, and besides, there were quite a few questions Matt wouldn't have liked to be asked either, all of them involving stealing from the Dominion. The gang celebrated their absolute victory by setting up a camp and drinking and partying with the locals.

"Pity that foreman escaped. I would have liked to kill his ass myself," said Tychus.

"Me too. The sleazy prick. We didn't even need to use that nuke. Where's Vi, I wonder? And Dre?"

"Had any dreams you want to tell me about?"

"No. Sometimes, I'll walk around, thinking I'm dreaming. And I'll wake up, and realize, I'm not."

Vi and Dre sat in Vi's personal Medical Camp, set up near Matt's Command Center, facing each other.

"I'm tired. They had too many Siege Tanks and Goliaths. Performing all those lockdowns, tiring."

Vi took notes, and nodded.

"Your bother doesn't like me, does he?"

"No, no. He loves you. He knows I'm safe when I'm with you."

"I don't believe you. I can feel him. He thinks I'm a danger. Just like everyone else. I'm just a killing machine to them."

"Let's try to view things on the more positive side. I mean, they don't think you're useless or anything."

Nothing from Dre. She hated it when that happened, when she would just shut up completely. Dre was a Ghost. Some kind of a special Ghost that Jim found, somewhere off one of the sectors of Braxis. From the moment she first set foot on board the Hyperion, naked and covered with towel, dripping wet, everyone knew she wasn't an ordinary Ghost. But no one asked questions. She was good at what she did, an asset to the Raiders. But no one trusted her completely either. As the most skilled Medic in the forces, Vi was commissioned by Jim to help de-program her completely. A task, much easier said than done. Her Ghost programming turned her into a walking Rubik's Cube. She had personality gaps the size of Battle Cruisers. Didn't even remember her own name.

"Today, I killed thirty two men, and shot two and left them both for dead. Have you ever killed anyone, before?"

"No," said Vi, shaking her head.

"I sometimes read some of the Marines. Not many of them killed up close before. Most of them don't even see the faces of their targets. But the ones they do. When they do it, they feel pain. I don't feel anything. Is that bad? Am I a monster?"

Vi laid a hand on her shoulder.

"You're not a monster, Dre. You're a good friend, and we all love you."

"You're using the royal we again, Vi."

The door of the camp slid open, and Matt walked in.

"Vi. I'd been looking all over for you. Still with the, uh, the Ghost?"

"Matt, she has a name. Dre."

"Whatever. I want to talk to you in private, you know, where she can't read our minds or anything."

Before Vi could protest, Matt dragged her out. The last thing she saw before exiting the camp, was a rather understanding look from Dre. As understanding as her generally blank face can get, anyway.

"Matt, what was that for? That was very, very rude. Dre has self-esteem problems as it is, and you're not helping the de-programming process."

"Of course I'm not! Vi, do you realize what kind of fucked up trouble you're getting yourself into? What if she one day decided to flip out and kill us all? She's a time bomb. They all are, Ghosts. They're only good until you stick those chips in their spines and make them zombies, you take them out, they flip out and start killing people-"

"Stop it, Matt! Dre is a good girl. She's a friend, and I want to help her find herself again."

"A good girl? Good girls don't run around launching nuclear weapons at people, Vi. Give me a break. Just look at Sarah Kerrigan. She was a Ghost too, before she turned into a psycho Zerg killing machine."

"Not all Ghosts are killing machines!"

"Yes they are, Vi. Let's face it. The only reason Jim keeps her around, is because she's even more of a killing machine than any other Ghosts we've seen before. I've seen her do some scary things. Look, let's put it this way: I just don't trust anything that gets surrounded by a dozen Firebats, and kills them all without even breaking a sweat, ok? That's just not very fucking normal. I don't mind her protecting your ass on the battle field, but stay clear of her."

"I won't flip out and kill you."

Matt yelped a little, and turned around, to see Dre. Standing there, looking like an innocent little lamb in that Ghost suit of hers. A killer in lamb's clothing, that is.

"Of course not. That's what they all say."

"Vi is my friend. I won't hurt her."

"Get away from me. Come on Vi. We still have a few more kegs of Antabeer. I know how much you love that stuff."

With that, he hastily cleared the room, leaving Vi alone with Dre again.

"I'm sorry about him. He's really paranoid and overprotective-"

"It's ok. I understand where he's coming from."

"No, you shouldn't. What he said was wrong, Dre. You're a human being."

"Not to him. Not to Tychus. Not to any of the SCV pilots, or the Firebats. And not to me. Sometimes, I wish everybody was a telepath like me. So they could read me, and see how hard I'm trying. And sometimes, I have a hard time believing you're not a telepath like me, because of it."

Antabeer was first developed in Antiga Prime, but now manufactured all over the Koprulu Sector, even in Tarsonis. It was strong stuff, tasted great, and was cheap. On partying occasions like these, after victorious jobs, the Raiders drank enough of it to create a new ocean on Korhal. Drunk Marines singing, making you wish it was possible to un-hear things. Matt Horner sat in the middle of the make shift bar set up for this drunken partying occasions, drinking, until he was approached by Tychus.

"Something on yer mind?"

"What do you care?"

"Just tryin' to be a friend, pal. Loosen up for once, tight ass. We just won a lot of money, and sent a lot of Combine dumbfucks home unhealthy."

"How long have you known Jim?"

"For a while, now. I first served under him when he was backwater Marshall back on the fringe, before they locked me up."

"You go farther back than me. But I go farther back than everyone except you. No wonder we're the only true believers left."

"True believers?"

"We're not criminals, Ty, remember? We have a goal."

"Oh yeah, that's right. We're just working these oddjobs until we can raise enough funds to attack Mengsk, unite the Terran forces with the Protoss, and then attack the Zerg. To be honest, I've stopped believing that crap a long time ago. But hell, if Jim will go after it, I'll be right besides him. He's too good a friend. He sees a side of me everyone seems to just ignore."

"Have you seen some of these new recruits? They join us, thinking they're here to make lots of money. They're all petty criminals with no goals."

"Well, I don't know about all this fancy goals stuff, but anyone who badmouths Jim is gonna get a dose of old Tychus style negotiating. Antabeer?"

"Thanks."

Tychus poured Matt a cup of the stuff, which he drank down. He had too much on his mind, about Jim, about his sister, about that goddamned Ghost.

The rowdy room suddenly turned silent, and everyone, including Tychus and Matt, turned their attention to the source of the silence. Dre had walked into the room.

"I'm just passing by. Friends."

Indeed, she only passed by through the bar, outside into the camps. To patrol, maybe? Against what? The Combine was crushed. But as soon as she left, the room began to bustle again, and a few boys near Matt began mouthing off.

"Did you see that? Is that that super Ghost you were telling me about?"

"Yeah. I hear she once snapped a guy's neck for looking at her funny. Honestly, why the hell do we keep her around?"

"She kills people really well, I guess. I don't know. Raynor is a Zergin' dumbfuck, what with all his preaching about overthrowing the Dominion and what not. He's a goddamn pirate leader, ok? He needs to stop thinking he's some kind of big damn messiah-"

The Marine didn't get to finish his sentence, because about then, Matt took the liberty of leaping up and crashing his jug of Antabeer over his head, and proceeded to ram him against the wall.

"Get out of here. I don't ever want to see your sorry ass with the Raiders ever again, you goddamn pickpocket. If you want to commit crime in the name of nothing so fucking badly, be my guest, but let me catch you desecrating the good name of Marshall James Jesus Christ Raynor again, and I swear, I will feed you alive to Zerglings, you lousy piece of shit. Now fuck off."

With that, Matt let the frightened rookie down and exited the cold, silenced bar.

"And stop fucking around with Ghosts!"

Meanwhile, away from the heavily fortified Raynor's Raiders encampment, there was also a party being thrown, by the fringers who inhabited the sector, natively. They had every reason to party. Thanks to their storage of mysteriously acquired cash, they were able to free themselves from the fate of being eternal slaves to various large corporate leaders. A fate, that had stricken so many fellow fringers. Not caught by the festive mood however, was Kevin Morrow, sitting at the edge of his family's shack, watching the Raider's encampment through an endless forest of crops. His father took a seat next to him.

"So, you stil haven't given up that pipe dream, eh?"

"Pipe dream? Dad, look at us. We're fringe squibs. They don't respect us. When they came, they took us so easily. I could leave, and I could come back and bring us some respect. I could become a Dominion Commander, and then, our family will have a name to be proud of. I could do all that."
"Son, there are some folks who are meant to fly around in space ships and fight aliens, and then there are just some folks like us, who were meant to just farm crops."

"Why? So we can sit around here, until some other Core World company comes down and takes us over again? Aren't you sick of living in fear everyday? Fear of aliens, fear of other Terrans?"

"But where would we find the money to send you off into the Core Worlds? I'm sorry. I truly am. But like I said, some folks are just born luckier. If God meant for us to be respected and strong, well, we wouldn't have been born fringers."

Having offered all the consolation a father could offer to a son, he left, leaving Kevin to wallow in his sadness. Could he, possibly, ask these Raiders if he could join them? Even if they were just a bunch of mercenaries for hire, and he'd be just another cannon fodder to them, something was always better than nothing. Could he do that, possibly? A drunk figure walking his way, cursing loud enough to summon buggers all the way from Char, snapped Kevin from his thoughts.

"Hey, keep it down there!"

The cursing figure stopped stumbling and screaming a few seconds, just long enough to throw a bottle his way, and run up to him. The bottle missed, but a series of angry fists coming his way in the next few seconds didn't.

"Don't fuck with me, fringe boy. I'm not in the mood to pick fights with farm yokels like you, but I will, if I have to."

While scared, Kevin did sense an opportunity. He never saw this man before. He was most likely with the mercenaries.

"Hey, are you a Raider?"

"Are you an ugly dumbass? Now fuck off and suck off a cow or something, farm boy."

"Wait! Why aren't you with the rest of them at the camp?"

"Because they're all Zergin' retards, that's why. Now shut up, before I start making bullet holes in you."
"Look, I'm just looking for an opportunity. You Core World people like money, right? I mean, I got some skills, you know, you slicks could give me a job. What do you think?"

"Sorry kid, but we have no need for cow squeezers where we're going."

"How much work can it take to lob bombs and shoot things?"

"Way more than what churning butter, I can tell you. Just fuck off. We have enough stupid rookies as it is, without you compounding on the problem. Leave me alone."

Then, he proceeded to kneel down by a ditch and sigh, while the boy watched. Silence followed, both parties too caught up in various emotions to speak, before Matt finally said something.

"What's that smell?"

"You're right by the cesspit, uh, sir."

Yelping, he leapt up and ran away from where he was sitting, dusting himself.

"You could have told me that earlier, man."

"What, and risk getting another bottle thrown at me? No thank you."

Matt looked around a little. Behind him, in the Raiders' camp, there was still commotion, whereas the fringers had calmed down a little. Stim Pack jacked soldiers could literally party all night if they wanted to, the disgusting hogs. This boy, who looked at most 16, didn't look like he had much of a company either, and seemed amiable, despite having been attacked so viciously.

"So uh, what's your name?" asked Matt.

"Kevin. Kevin Morrow, sir."

"Ah, you're not one of my boys. No need to call me sir."

"Sorry, sir. I mean uh, sorry."

"The name's Matt. Captain Matt Horner of the Hyperion, pleased to meet you. Sorry about earlier. I was a little ratty."

"It's fine. We'd all have taken way worse beatings everyday, if you guys didn't show up to save us all."

"No need to make saints out of a bunch of criminals. You got any Antabeer?"

"No. We only drink malted beer around here, none of that fancy Core World stuff."

"Are you joking? Wait, never mind. Compared to this place, Antiga Prime is pretty core. Tell you what. If you wait just right here for about fifteen minutes or so, I'll bring us back some free bottles of Altabeer to talk some stuff over. How about it?"

"What kind of stuff?"

"Like that job that you offered me earlier, with me, onboard with the Raynor's Raiders."

"I'm in."

After retreating back to his office in the Command Center briefly, to pick up Antabeer from the fridge, and shoot up some Stim, he came back to the boy. They drank, watching the loud party go on.

"So, you've always wanted to go out into the Core Worlds and stuff?"

"Yeah. It's always been my dream to join the Dominion Military, and fight them ugly aliens and stuff."

"If you're looking to fight ugly shit, the Dominion Military is the wrong place to look at. That's where you get ugly shit barking orders at you. Believe me, the Core Worlds are not pretty."

"They've got to be better than this shithole."

"Ever heard of the Zerg?"

"I've heard they're these giant aliens. That's about it. Are they for real?"

"Sadly, yes. And we're being a bunch of heroes, trying to fight them. To raise enough funds, so we can overthrow the Dominion, and fight the Zerg side-by-side with the Protoss."

"Protoss?"

"Never mind. The point is… You have a dad?"
"Yeah."

"Does he want you to stay here?"
"How did you know?"
"You should take his advice."

Matt then heard a slight bustling from a distance. And then, in seconds, the bustling turned into a shrieking roar, as a blurring figure jumped out from the shadows at blinding speed, latching itself on to Kevin. But before any harm could be done, five booms rang out, and the creature fell dead, its disgusting blood spraying all over. Matt kicked it off of a dazed and frightened Kevin.

"What the Hell was that?"
"That would be a Zergling, and we gotta run, FAST!"

"No, wait, my parents!"

"It's too late, RUN! RUN!"

Puling the kid by his wrists, Matt Horner and Kevin Morrow ran for their lives, as the shrieking, jumping monsters multiplied at a frightening rate in the shadows, and before long, there were no less than a few hundred of them everywhere, some hot on their trails, most simply destroying and murdering.

"Zerg! There's FUCKING ZERG ON THE AREA! MAN THE STATIONS!"

"With all due respect, Captain, is this some sort of a joke?"

"No, it is NOT a fucking joke Julian. Order your men into battle formation, now! Tychus, you too! There's Zerg!"
"Too late! They're all over us!"
There were fifty Bunkers, thirty two Turrets, twenty four Siege Tanks, six hundred something Marines, Firebats, and Medics, and Spider Mines covering the area, but the defense still crumbled like a Lego buildings under the onslaught of the swarm. The Hydralisks, the Zerglings, and Mutalisks were everywhere, and while the massive firepower the Raiders had assembled under Matt Horner's orders kept them at bay well, it wouldn't be long until it was all completely breached, and they would be torn apart by these disgusting insects. But how? How would the Zerg find themselves here? On a fringe planet? Last anybody had heard of the Zerg, they'd all fled to Char, or the various moons that surrounded the volcanic, barely-habitable planet. Even Jim Raynor hadn't had any contact with them in years. Why here? Why now?

"What do I do?"
Taking a break from barking orders at his men to get into battle formations and fight alongside Tychus Findlay and Julian Byrne, Matt looked next to him. The boy, Kevin, looked about ready to piss his pants. He spied his Vulture in front of him, in the Command Center parking lot. It was a miracle it hadn't been destroyed yet. Blasting a Zergling out of his way with his handgun, he hopped himself and the boy on to the hover bike.

"Hold tight, alright? Really tight, tighter than you've ever held before."

And they took off, with Morrow wrapped around him like a parasite. Horner blasted and bashed no less than two dozen Zerglings and Hydralisks out of his way with his Vulture's attached Hellfire Cannon and his handgun, as he sped his way towards a small, secure looking bunker in the corner. They finally stopped the hellish race, and Matt ordered Kevin to get off.

"Get inside that bunker. Tell 'em Matt Horner sent you, and they'll protect you with their lives. Stay in there."

"Yes sir."

The boy leapt into the bunker. He handled himself pretty well, considering the situation. Most fringers who'd had their first encounter with the Zerg in this manner would have had a heart attack by now. There was chaos everywhere. The Marines were losing their ground, and being torn apart by the Zerglings, and the Goliaths weren't faring much better against the Hydralisks and Guardians either. And by now, a small, but sizeable Devourer population had amassed in the sky to take down the Wraiths.

"Stand your ground! Remain on your post, and keep fighting! Don't retreat!"
Suddenly, Matt was tripped off his ground by a slithering tail, and faced a Hydralisk looming above him. He fired his handgun at the thing, but only a few shots hit, and even those merely made scratches on the beast's carapace. It got in his face, snarled, and pinned him to the ground with its claws, before someone blasted its head away with a single blow.

"Better be more careful, Captain."

He couldn't see the savior of his life, but he could hear her. She was invisible, using the trademark ability of the Ghosts. A massive, white-clad armor loomed over him, and began zapping his arms with bright white beams, slowly healing the wounds.

"Vi? What are you doing here?"
"Stand still. I'm a Medic, you're a wounded soldier, now you're healed, get up and fight."

"Thanks."

A Marine soldier fell besides them, as Matt picked himself up to thank his sister for saving him. Dead, the poor thing. Matt picked up his Gauss Rifle, which felt infinitely heavy without any Marine armor, but manageable. He fired all over the place, hoping to hit whatever Zerg he could.

"They've breached defense sir! We have to retreat!"
"We're getting killed!"

"Is that an Ultralisk?"

But even in the midst of this chaotic mass of doom, Matt was able to hear a small voice from his Command Center adjutant, despite the said Command Center being assaulted by a massive army of Hydralisks. The voice gave him hope, and a need to run as fast as possible, screaming at others to do the same.

"Nuclear launch detected."

Over Tarsonis, the Hyperion and its fleet loomed endlessly. Tarsonis was, despite being the industrial center of the Terran Dominion, barely guarded. Not they needed much guarding, anyway. The Koprulu Liberation Front was pathetic in its aerial offensive tactics. If they tried to do as much as touch Tarsonis, the few rail guns and Turrets covering the planet would blast them to pieces. And other enemies of the Dominion weren't much better either. Shortly after the now-legendary Battle of Omega, where Sarah Kerrigan single handedly defeated an immense fleet of Artanis's greatest Protoss warriors, UED's mighty Terran war machines, and Mengsk's army of ruthless Dominion soldiers, the Zerg mysteriously cleared out of all planets they previously held, except Aiur, which they kept. This meant Tarsonis was free to take and rebuild once again. And rebuilt, it was. While it would never be restored to her former glory in the days of the Terran Confederacy, Mengsk and his boys didn't do a bad job overall, considering factors. Jim Raynor looked out the window of the Hyperion. It'd been a while since he came here, to Tarsonis. A year, maybe? But now, he felt he'd most likely be visiting much more often from now on, since Sliven himself had a job for him. The capital of Tarsonis was a massive wonder, aptly christened Tarsonis City. And within Tarsonis City, was a slum area known only as the Gutters, where corruption and sleaze was such the way of life, the Tarsonis Police Force, TPF, didn't even make an attempt to clean it up. When the planet was sacked a few years back, its crime lord, Fagin, who made his base in the Gutters, mysteriously disappeared and never quite reappeared, making an opening for the likes of Sliven to take over. The Gutters were actually one of the more untouched areas of the planet. It seems it was too disgusting, even for the Zerg to stomach. The planet could be easily infiltrated, even by a heavily wanted Battle Cruiser like the Hyperion, simply by broadcasting a pirate signal, to confused the Missile Turrets, and maneuvering through some space debris, to land on an empty patch of land. Engineer Swann was a genius pirate signal broadcaster, and there was no pilot better then Sab in the Koprulu Sector. Jim only had Matt to thank, for bringing her on board the Hyperion.

"Marshall Raynor, we're preparing for landing, sir," said Sab, from her pilot seat.

"Good. Mister Swann. Is the signal jammer ready?"
"Yessir. I got it all packed up, nice, and good to go."

Swann was a large, heavy set man with a mechanical arm. Jim never asked how he lost it. Quite the opposite to Sab, a small, light weight girl, with a perpetual smile, even when she was being used as Matt Horner's favorite verbal punching bag.

They made a sound landing, on a completely empty patch of land, about an hour drive from Tarsonis City. Normally, entering the city would mean getting past all sorts of identification checks and whatnot, but since they were entering through the lawless Gutters, none of this was necessary.

"Will you be going alone again, sir? Or do you want some guards with you? It's dangerous down there," said Sab, with a genuinely caring look.

"I'll be fine, Sab. Thanks for the concern, though. I'll be back in a jiffy, I promise."

With that, Jim lit himself a cigarette, mounted upon his familiar Vulture bike, and sped out the Hyperion, towards Tarsonis City. But not before checking his guns. Sab was right. Sliven wasn't to be trusted, and the Gutters could be deadly.

A nuclear holocaust struck the area like nothing anyone had ever seen before, sending many Zergs, and a few Raiders, to a much warmer place. The blast, being only one Silo, failed to kill all the Zergs, but did whittle their number down significantly, allowing the remaining Raiders to scare the rest off, or kill them all. Either way, they had survived. At a heavy cost, yes, but it was survival nonetheless. Some survival was better than no survival. Tychus was slightly wounded, but he was too busy killing to notice. This was his first time fighting the Zerg. He loved it.

"Those buggers go down so easy, it ain't even funny. Bring it on again. I'll kill 'em all."

Captain Byrne survived, mostly unharmed, although most of his air force was destroyed by the Mutalisks and the feared Devourers. The Medic Corps were busier than ever before, tending to wounded men left and right. Vi, being the Medic Commander, was the busiest of them all. The unwounded soldiers all boasted of their kills with the Zergs, of how many Zerglings, Hydralisks, or even the feared Lurkers, they'd killed.

"You saw that Hunter Killer I blasted? He was a fast one, but I got his ass!"
"See this scar? Got that from a Zergling. I was surrounded by seven of 'em, but I shot up Stim and I fucked them all with my Medic girl."

Kevin had also survived the assault, but he was too broken to speak, or do anything other than weeping. Matt had explained to him the nature of the Zerg.

"I'm really sorry, kid. But your folks aren't coming back. These buggers, they don't take no prisoners. They catch you, they tear you apart, eat your insides, and sometimes infest what's left of you into one of them. And if you're very, very lucky, they skip that last part."

He was understandably devastated, and had to be left alone. But Matt was looking for someone, all the same. The person who was responsible for their survival today. A nuclear silo of such a small size couldn't be launched so quickly, or with such force, without the aid of powerful Psi Energy guidance. Dre had saved them all, and she was merely sitting in front of the Command Center, now fixed up and patched completely by the SCV pilots, sipping a can of C4, a popular fruit drink she seemed to enjoy. He approached her rather cautiously.

"Thanks. For saving our asses, I mean. And saving my ass. That was you, who killed that Hydra, wasn't it? I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. So, thanks."

"Does this mean we're friends now?"

She said this in a completely monotone voice, and without any facial expressions. But there was a sense of innocence to that blankness. Whereas before, the blankness made her seem somehow like a machine, or a non-human creature, now, it gave her an almost childlike quality. She was pure. She didn't expect any medals, or awards in return. She only wanted to be friends. Much to his great surprise, Matt found himself warming up to her, just a little.

"We'll see."

"I only want a friend. More friends. Vi says you're a good friend. Can't you be mine?"

"Maybe you should be my friend instead, eh? Besides, I'm not a great guy. I can't kick ass like you can."

Dre gave a faint nod and an understanding gleam in her eye, her version of a smile. Matt gave a weak smile himself, and turned to leave, having sufficiently thanked her. Maybe Vi was right. Or maybe she was wrong. How can anyone trust a Ghost? But she did seem so pure. And she did save their lives. Matt felt like going up to all those arrogant Marines, Firebats, and Goliath pilots and yell at them. Look you morons, that Ghost saved your asses from getting eaten by the Zerg. Show some appreciation, will you?

"Captain Horner, sir!"

Matt turned around. It was Julian. Matt patted him on the shoulder.

"What's up, man? I thought you were preparing us to leave this planet, pronto, before they come back."

"I know, sir. But I thought you should know, there's a Terran force, just outside our encampment, wanting to see us, sir."

"What?"

Pushing his way through a crowd of Raiders, who were all staring into a single direction, Matt himself saw what they were all looking at. A gang of Terran soldiers. Very scant, only a few Marines, mostly just Infantry Units, but at the forefront of them was a sleazy, smiling figure Horner recognized all too well from hologram messages. Foreman Cardinini, of the Kel-Morian Combine, who attempted to colonize the planet, and was defeated. What was he doing here? And why wasn't he attacked by the Zerg?

"We wish to speak to Captain Matt Horner, of the Raynor's Raiders!" said Cardinini, through an amplifier phone.

"I'm going to talk to him, alone," said Matt to Tychus, standing next to him.

"Are you joking? Or are you just fucking insane?" asked Ty.

"Well, maybe not exactly alone."

Matt Horner walked out of the encampment, towards the Foreman, aiming to speak face to face. If what he suspected was true, then the situation was worse than he'd ever expected. There was only one way Cardinini could have survived the Zerg attack, and he prayed it wouldn't be it.

"I'm impressed, Captain. You have the balls to speak face to face with someone who can kill you right now, just by snapping his fingers."

"Do I look like my name is Foreman Cardinini? Now, let's talk. What the hell did you want to say before getting your ass kicked again?"

"I only wished to offer you and your men a chance to surrender. We, the Kel-Morian Combine, are willing to pay you and your men a sizeable sum of money to leave this planet, and allow us to colonize the planet."

"You won't be able to. There are Zerg on this planet, and everyone is dead."

"Oh, not everyone. We managed to salvage a few of these fringe squibs before they were all dead. And as for the Zerg…. William, why don't you show our friend Captain Horner our latest toy?"
A Marine, by the name of William, came up with a machine in his hand. A cold chill ran up his spine, as his worst suspicions were confirmed. He could recognize that vaunted machine from a mile away.

"You monster…. Where the hell did you get your slimy hands on that?" asked Matt, shaking with rage.

"What, this Psi Emitter? A few years ago, a Dominion Carrier Ship crashed on this small planet, which is how these yokels got the money they hired you with. By raiding the ship. The ship also contained one of the last Psi Emitters in existence. These squibs of course, didn't understand the significance of the device, and left it alone, unaware that you can use it to draw in and control one of the most beautiful and powerful creatures in the universe. The Dominion lost interest in Emitters, after being bitterly defeated at Omega. But luckily, we were able to salvage it."

"You have no idea what you're messing with. The Zerg are way beyond the realm of your control. You're playing with fire, boy."

"Oh, I beg to differ. The only one playing with fire here is you Captain. We have rebuilt our forces, while yours was nearly exterminated by our mighty alien friends, if it wasn't for your accursed nuclear silo. You won't be so lucky next time. Now, I suggest you leave and consider my offer, or my men will kill you right here."

Horner clapped his hands, and out of the thin air, a wisp thin figure appeared, flipped in the air at a blurring speed, and held a handgun towards the Foreman's hand, causing all of his men to react.

"A Ghost, eh?"

"Her name is Dre, and she'll paint your fancy suit a nice wine red with your brain fluid, unless you disarm your men and leave, right now. You're not the only one with fancy tricks, boy."

"Clever. You're a very smart man, Captain. I'm positive you will make the right choice."

"Oh, I will. And believe me, the right choice will end with you getting your ass eaten alive by a Lurker."

Raynor parked his Vulture, just outside the Gutters, before activating a built-in Defensive Matrix, to make it theft-proof. Even though it was technically outside the Gutters, you could never be too careful. The sun was slowly setting when they landed on Tarsonis, and by the time Raynor arrived, it was night. Walking around in the Gutters at night was never safe, not even if you were Jim Raynor. But for now, it had to be done. Tall, dilapidated buildings dominated the area, and the narrow streets were loaded with drug dealers, junkies, prostitutes, muggers, and other assorted trash. Jim made sure to holster his old T-Series model where it could be seen, as a warning to muggers, who had more to lose from trying to rob Jim Raynor than Raynor himself. Breaking, and broken, neon lights were the only sources of light provided, but in front of a small establishment, called "The Fish Place" from the sign, was a man that Jim recognized. A tall, lanky figure in a dark trench coat, and messy dirty blond hair, with a half burned cigarette in his mouth, Jaden Nero waved at Jim as a greeting.

"Took you long enough to get here," said Jaden.

"I know. I had to drop off a few of my boys down by the fringe for a job."

"Jesus, you workaholic. Want a smoke?"

"No thanks."

"Stim? On the house?"
"I don't buy anything around these parts."

"Wise policy."

"So, you gonna show me down to Sliven or what? You told me he had something to say."

"Shit, forgot all about that. Yeah, the word on the street says he has a job for you. Seemed pretty important, lots of money involved. Says its dangerous, and doesn't trust anyone outside the very best."

"So, take me."

"You know how much I hate going down there, Jim. Sliven is a worm. I can't stomach him."
"But he's a worm with lots of money, Jaden. I can't go down there myself."

"Shit, fine. But only because you're a friend. This ain't something I'd normally do."

Nero lit himself another cigarette and walked down the dirty streets of the Gutters, saying a few hellos. Nero was an insider man. He knew everyone, and everyone was on amiable terms with him, despite him essentially being a sleazy con artist. But he was a go-to guy for information regarding anything, and if something happened, he was the first to know of it. He and Jim had a long, and sometimes ugly, history together, but all in all, their friendship paid off. Nero stopped in front of a well lit, rather large night club. The Blue Angel, the sign read. It was a club, and a Stim Den, all in one, and Sliven's court. Sighing, Jaden made entrance, and Jim followed him. After passing through a passage, they were stopped by a large, hermaphroditic looking man, with no hair.

"It's Jaden Nero, here for a visit with Sliven. The good fellow here is with me."

The bald thug nodded and cleared way, revealing an entrance. The music was loud enough to be heard from here. Patting the guard on his arm, Nero slipped him a cigarette.

"Thank you, my man."

Then, he opened the door and the two entered. The music was the least of the place's many, many flaws. There was a group in the corner, devouring something ravenously. Something Jim couldn't quite make out. A harmless looking game of poker in the corner, not so harmless looking players. Stim addicts, shooting up. After walking up some stairs, they came across another door, and another large, bald guard. Only, this one spoke to them first.

"Well, look what the wind blew in."
"It's Jaden, with a friend Sliven is interested in meeting."

"The password?"

Nero leaned over, and whispered something into the guard's ear. He nodded, and cleared the passage. Nero opened the door, and the in they went, into the closest thing on Tarsonis to Hell.

Sliven's courts was rather large. Most of the space were taken up by various lackeys, junkies, gadgets, and other disgusting consorts and entourage of Sliven. Sliven himself sat on a small chair, talking to someone he dismissed as soon as he noticed Nero and Raynor. He was surrounded by a group of scantily clad women, smoking. Sliven himself was a disgusting sight to behold, and Raynor was convinced that the man was part Zerg. His skin was flaky, almost to the point of being reptilian, and his eyes were equally snake-like in its appearance and gaze. His nails weren't long, but not well kept either. The only thing well kept about this man was his outfit, a rather rich looking fabric. His hair was grey and unkempt.

"Hello there, Jaden! What brings you to my humble abode?"
"I have a friend here, who can solve a few problems you've been looking to eliminate. Jim Raynor, Sliven Kalavera, Sliven Kalavera, Jaden."

The crime lord gave a toothy smile, which Raynor did not return. Jim couldn't help but notice a scream of absolute suffering coming from the deep, darker corners of the room.

"Oh, so this is the legendary Jim Raynor I've heard so much about? Eh, I'd offer such a powerful man a seat but uh, I have none. So, shall we talk some business? I need a few rats I'd like to get rid of."

"Believe me. So do I."

"Let's just leave. We got our pay."

That was the general consensus of the troops among the Raiders, including Tychus Findlay and much to his surprise, Matt Horner's own sister, Vi.

"I thought you were suppose to be the compassionate, nice one. What happened to all that? Was it just a façade?"

"Matt, face it. We can't beat them. The Zerg, their numbers are way too massive. We've already used up our one effective weapon against them. The Combine won, but we got our pay. The logical thing to do is to leave."

"What about those innocent people they have captive?"

"They're goners, ok?" said Tychus, walking in.

"Besides, when were you such a Zergin' hero anyway? I thought you were always the more vocals ones in complaining about Jim's pipe dreams about overthrowing Mengsk, liberating the Terrans, killing Kerrigan and whatnot."

That was true. But the appearance of the young boy, Kevin Morrow, changed all that. He more than expected the Raiders to save his family and friends from the Zerg and the Kel-Morian Combine. He knew it would happen.

"We're just a mercenary gang, kid. We're no better than the average space pirate."
"But I thought you guys were fighting the Dominion, because they wouldn't fight the Zerg, or stand up for the rights of Terrans everywhere. Isn't that what you're going to do now?"

"I'm sorry."

"You're no better than them, then. All you care about is money."

Julian Byrne was of course, as always, for leaving. Whenever that stupid prettyboy found an opportunity to disagree with the Hyperion's Captain and get away with it, he took it.

"I'll leave it to you to decide, Cap," said Vi, leaving.

"I'll do whatever you want to, Captain Horner," said Dre, just behind him. He didn't even notice that she was in the room. He hated that about Ghosts. They came and went without a trace or sound. But he did appreciate one voice that didn't immediately dissent to his decision.

"Thank you, Dre."

Cardinini sat in the comfort of his office, laughing and thinking about how victorious he was. He had these fringe squibs in his hands, he controlled the Zerg, who his men found utterly repulsive, but who cared what they thought? After Raynor's stupid gang of criminals left, he'd take the Psi Emitter and use it to lob all these insects into a meteor belt somewhere, or something, then continue his plan. The Psi Emitter could make the Combine the most powerful Terran group of them all. It was an immensely potent weapon. He could most likely count on a promotion, then. It was by pure luck that he found the crashed ship, where the Emitter was. And even better luck that he had a scientist with him who recognized the otherwise useless looking gizmo, and enhance it so that it could not only draw in the Zerg, but control them.

But the Emitter's powers were limited. After a certain number had been reached, the Psi Energy it created couldn't control all of the swarm. And the few Zerg that fell out of its reach went back to the control of their regular master, Sarah Kerrigan of Char. Cardinini was business savvy, but not particularly bright, and did not count on regulating the number of his newly formed Zerg army, to keep his Psi Emitter useful, and to prevent a Zerg mutiny.

A small Lair operating outside the Emitter's control mutated into a Hive, and began birthing Hydralisks at an unheard of rate. Now, the fury of the Swarm would be unleashed on those who foolishly believed the Zerg could be controlled like puppets. The Overlords gave the order for a pair of Lurkers, accompanied by Hydralisks, to launch a covert attack on the Science Facility containing the Psi Emitter. Cardinini had made sure the facility was well guarded, but the guards were no match for the fury of the Hydralisk rush. The facility, and the Psi Emitter containing it, was devastated in seconds.

And the full fury of the Zerg descended upon the Kel-Morian Combine, like the fist of an enraged demon.

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, I'll let you fly with us on board the Hyperion."

"No thanks. I'll just go join the Dominion. You're all the same, all of you. You're all slime bags."

Kevin and Matt sat in a small cantina, drinking some spare Antabeer. Matt wanted to console him.

"I know it seems that way, but we really aren't. I'm so sorry."

"Don't even try to make excuses. You're a coward."

Someone came into the room. It was Julian Byrne.

"What is it Byrne? Come to tell me you've sent that SOS signal to the Hyperion?"

"No sir. I've come to say, I'm sorry. For disrespecting your authority, and helping to mock your decisions. I do apologize."

Horner gave a flicker of a smile.

"Thanks Byrne. Maybe you're not so bad after all. For a transvestite, I mean."
"You know who else ain't that bad?"
Tychus came into the room, beaming.

"If it isn't Righteous Tychus. What in the name of Sarah Kerrigan's left wing are you doing here?"
"To tell you the same thing Byrne said. That I'm really quite fucking sorry. I'll do whatever you want. If you want me and my boys to go out, kill some Zergs, and rescue fringe squibs or something, hey, I'm up for it."

"And so am I."

It was Vi. She came in through the back door, and waved at Byrne. Matt gave a disgusted sigh.

"If you want to do this rescue thing, the Medic Corps will support you full force, Captain."

"Even if it means facing death?"
"It's what Jim would want us to do," said Tychus.

Kevin gave a weak smile.

"Damn, this is so cheesy."

"I know Ty. God damn it, now I really don't know what to do-"

A sudden crash rang throughout the bar.

"What was that?"

The group cleared out of the room. A mass of Siege Tanks, Vultures, Wraiths, and other vehicles were charging, alongside Marines and various ground soldiers. But not towards them. They were simply running away.

"Isn't that the Combine hired soldiers? Why are they running?" asked Byrne.

"Beats me? You think I scared them all away?" asked Tychus.

"Keep dreaming," said Matt.

After a few minutes, the soldiers were gone, and a few Marines were cheering, at the idea of their enemies running away. But not Matt. If they were running away, there was something bad about to happen.

"Something terrible is going to happen, unless we run. I can feel it," said Dre, from behind.

"I agree. Byrne, Tychus, prepare for immediate evac, now!"

"What, why? They're the ones running away!"

Then, another boom and crash. From miles and miles away, Matt could see what appeared to be a massive tsunami of orange, purple, and red swarming down upon them.

"It's the Zerg."

"It's THE FUCKING ZERG! PREPARE FOR IMMEDIATE FUCKING EVAC, NOW! RUN! RUN! RUUUUUN!" screamed Tychus.

All the while, all Matt could think was how massive this swarm was. It was by far, the biggest swarm of anything, Zerg or whatever, he'd ever seen. Even larger than the onslaught he witnessed upon New Gettysburg those many years ago.

"Sir, a distress signal from Foreman Cardinini, on Daphine Prime."

One of the admins of the Kel-Morian Combine received this call from his secretary, as he flew to meet one of his newly acquired mistresses at a high-class penthouse on Korhal. He was a Korhalite, and not an Antigan or a Tarsonian, like most of his colleagues. She used to be a model, and all he could think about was how amazing it would be to have her, until this distress signal distracted him. Stupid Cardinini, always causing trouble. What was it now? Did he want a promotion? Did he need his mommy? Daphine Prime was an easy enough job, but apparently, he bungled it up, the incompetent Zerg.

"What is it?"

"He says that it's a Code 17, sir. And if I'm not mistaken, isn't that the highest distress ranking possible?"

"Yes, it is. But what the Hell could it possibly be? It's just a goddamn fringe world. Jesus, send a few fleet of Drop Ships to pick him up. When he gets back here, he's a fired man, that's all I know."

"Yes sir."

The Raiders, to their credit, made a decent get away. Into a tiny, out of the way canyon, where the Zerg wouldn't be able to spot them immediately. They fired at the Zerg as they ran, a strategy that rather worked, but they still lost countless men in the process.

"Byrne, you did send in that distress signal, right?"

"Yes, I did sir."

"Good. Jesus Jim, get over here, fast. Don't fail me now, Sab."

An adjutant voice spoke to Matt.

"Sir, the Kel-Morian Combine wishes to speak with you."

"Send them in through ComSat then. I want to know what the Hell is going on myself."

"Yes sir."

A hologram of Cardinini appeared in the middle of Horner's Command Center.

"What the fuck just happened Cardinini, you stupid fuck up?"
"We lost control of the Zerg. And we need your help."

"I guess the right choice will end with you getting eaten alive by a Lurker after all. Bye, bye."

"Wait, no! Listen, we called in for rescue, but the fleet of Drop Ships, Wraiths, and Valks sent to pick us up were incinerated before they even got here."

"What the hell does that have to do with me?"

"Means, whatever friends you sent to pick you up will be destroyed by these Zerg the same way, unless we combine forces and weaken them a little."

"That is a mighty good idea, Cardinini. I'm impressed. For a retard, you're pretty smart. But you're still gonna get eaten alive by that Lurker, so bye bye."

"No, NO!"

Then, Matt turned off the hologram, leaving only him, Byrne, Vi, and Dre in the room.

"What do we do now?" asked Vi.

"He's right. Unless we can somehow find a way to weaken the Zerg a bit, the Hyperion is toast. We have to somehow weaken them, but we can't let the Combine get ahead of us either. Boys and girls, we have to tasks at hand. Kill the Combine, and weaken the Zerg."

"Yes, but how do we go about weakening the Zerg?" asked Vi.

"I have no idea. Honestly. Could we try destroying Hive Clusters, perhaps? That could work. Since Kerrigan stopped using Cerebrates, the Zerg have been really well controlled, in terms of Psionic Control."

The adjutant began speaking again.

"Sir, a message from Marshall Raynor."

"Patch it through," said Matt, and Jim Raynor's image came up on the Center.

"Jesus guys. What kind of fucked up mess did you all get yourselves into this time?"
"Long fucking story, Jim, but basically, we're stuck here with only a huge swarm of the Zerg and the Combine soldier boys to keep us company. We need you to pick us up."

"Sab says if we try to go through the Zerg blockade like this, we'll be sliced to bits in minutes."

"I know. We have to weaken the control of the Zerg, and destroy the Combine. Otherwise, they'll build forces and highjack the Hyperion, and that will only happen over my dead fucking body. Can you ComSat the area from there really quick, and see how many Clusters are on us?"

"I'll try. Sab!"

A few seconds passed, and Raynor reappeared and started talking again.

"There are five Hive Clusters in your immediate area, but I'll only need you to take out around say, three? From there, we'll handle it."

"Thanks. God speed, Jim."

"You're the one who needs God speed, Matt."

Jim disappeared.

"We need to formulate a plan. Tychus and Byrne will attack the Combine forces. It shouldn't even be that hard, they're only on the other side of this canyon."

"What about those Zerg?" asked Vi.

"The Zerg will need to be met at full force. Get the Barracks to ready as many Marines and Firebats as humanly possible. Anything that Tychus and Byrne isn't taking is fair play, which leaves us with around a hundred Marines, and fifty Firebats. A few Goliaths, maybe? How is the Medic Corps doing, Vi?"
"We're thick and good, Cap."

Dre then appeared in the room, by de-cloaking herself.

"Will you stop doing that? Use the door for once, like normal people," said Matt.

"I'm sorry Captain. I'm just used to this way more."

"It's alright, I guess."

"I can help. I could use my Psi emission to distract control between Overlords and their minions just a tiny bit. That can have distracting effect on the Swarm, and weaken them, and maybe make the Hive Clusters easier to hit. Would you like that?"

"Absolutely Dre. Alright then, let's get to work. Tychus and Byrne already left to strike? Good. Let's go."

Vi and Dre exited the room quickly, and Matt just noticed Kevin in the corner.

"Kevin, I didn't see you."

"They're dead now, aren't they?"

No use hiding it now, he supposed.

"I'm sorry kid. I really am. I promise you, I will destroy every last bastard responsible for it. But right now, I have to fly, I'm sorry."

Then, Matt ran out, ready to lead his troops against the Zerg. And Kevin simply stood in the corner, too sad and blown away to even weep anymore. Tears were driven out of him.

Tychus and Byrne did not even offer them a chance to surrender. Poor sportsmanship? Perhaps, but this was Tychus Findlay's idea, and the element of surprise worked rather well. Byrne himself piloted a Wraith, accompanied by a small fleet of other Wraiths, and a sizeable force of Marines. But the true firepower belonged to Tychus's line of Siege Tanks and Vultures. The Goliaths of the Combine, and their weak Firebats tried to cope, but the powerful plasma blasts and thunderous roars of the tanks made short work of them all. Tychus himself however, did not pilot a tank. He never had the patience to learn how to. Instead, he led the Marines on the front line.

"Kill the Barracks, and destroy the Bunkers! Kill anything that moves!"

Tychus Findlay was a walking machine of destruction, ramming, blasting, and ripping his way through all his enemies. His men were not quite as brutal, but just as effective. The Combine's so-called superior weapons, bought through the wealth of money, their formations formulated by hired military experts, all crumbled completely. The Combine's defenses were pathetic, and no match for the Raiders' superior battle experiences.

"We've taken out all their Turrets and Bunkers Tychus. Send in the Vultures, and attack the Command Center with your Marines," ordered Byrne.

Findlay didn't need encouragement from Byrne to carry this task out. The Vultures' bombs caused explosions left and right, depriving life of any Combine men that survived the initial invasion. Then, the Command Center was showered with mass of shells and bullets, before Bryen ordered a stop.

"Why stop here? We have them totaled!" said Tychus.

Then, they all soon saw why Byrne ordered a stop on the attacking of the Command Center. Foreman Cardinini weakly crawled out of the destroyed building, waving a makeshift white flag, made with his expensive shirt.

"I surrender. Please, don't hurt me. Oh God, I don't want to die. I don't want to fucking die."

The Foreman of the Kel-Morian Combine collapsed, and broke down, weeping violently.

"Please don't kill me."

"So, you don't want to die, eh, Mr. Foreman?" asked Tychus.

"No! Please, God, NO!"

"Too fucking bad."

The attack on the Zerg Hive Cluster was rather successful, much to Matt's surprise. Matt was in a Marine suit this time, instead of riding on his Vulture, as was usual. While the Zerg far outnumbered and overpowered his boys, Dre's Psi jammings were proving to be useful.

"Dre, take out every Overlord you see. The less of them there are, the less control they have, the better. They become easier to kill."

Dre complied. Within minutes, bodies of dead, shot down Overlords began covering the Battle Field.

"Line formation, Stim, then blast down anything you see," ordered Matt, through his ComLink, which all Marines and Firebats could hear.

The Marines stood in the back, using the firepower of their Gauss Rifles and their Stim Pack enhanced strength to keep the Zerg down, while the Firebats burned down everything in sight. The Sunken Colonies, and the Zergling floods, all fell like leaves under this kind of might. But suddenly, something began destroying the battle formation, while killing Horner's soldiers. Spikes, rising from the ground. They weren't Sunken Colonies, but it was whittling down Matt's men fast.

"Shit, what are these things!" screamed a Marine, before being impaled to his death.

"Lurkers! Fuck, get some detectors in here!"

A giant, spider-like creature, covered in green cloud, rose from the ground, before stumbling a bit and dying. They were saved, and a Science Vessel loomed overhead.

"Science Vessel. Courtesy of Captain Byrne, no doubt," remarked Vi.

"They must have done it then. The Combine is goners."

A series of powerful Siege Tank blows then saw the end of this Hive. With the destruction of the Hive, the Zerg became completely weakened and passive.

"One down, two to go."

"The next batch will have aerial units, a larger size, and Ultralisks backing them up. And Dre is too tired from having used so much Psionic Energy at once."

"I can perform a few more jams, Captain," said the Ghost.

"No, you did fine. Go back to the base. Command Center, send in reinforcements, I repeat, send in reinforcements. Vi and I will lead our reinforced troops against the western front of the second Hive Cluster. Tychus and his boys can push through the east. That way, we can pincer two Hives at once."

"At once, Captain Horner."

Matt now commanded around three hundred Marines, and a hundred Firebats. But the Zergs counted their men in the thousands. And they had Queens, reaping green slime their way.

"Is this it, just Hydralisks? Seems mighty easy," said Vi.

"Here comes the Mutalisks."

Not just Mutalisks. Guardians were here as well. Two Ultralisks also began taking out Marines, en masse.

"Here comes Goliaths!"
"Goliaths? I thought Tychus and Byrne had them all on the east!"

"No, here comes a few."
A squadron of Goliaths began attacking the Mutalisks and the Guardians. The Terrans' ultimate defense against the aerial offense of the Zerg, Mutalisks fell like flies on Zerglings and Sunken Colonies.

"Captain Matt. It's me."

"Kevin? What are you doing here? In a Goliath?"

"I've driven things like this before. I decided to rally a few around that big building of yours and bring it around, just to help out a little."

"Thanks. Shoot down anything that's flying, Kev. Let us deal with the small fry."

Tychus was having a field day. Zerglings and Hydralisks everywhere, just begging to be torn apart completely. Byrne's aerial forces had long retreated, having driven most of the Zergs' aerial fighters west. It didn't matter either way. Before he knew it, Tychus and a few boys were faced against the massive Hive. But under their Gauss Rifles and flack grenades, it went down quite quickly.

"Two Hives down, Captain Horner. The last one is being guarded by Lurkers, and our Science Vessels have been taken down by the Mutalisks."

The Hive was a mighty thing, and very difficult to destroy, even with many men, But it did possess one weakness that Matt knew of. Some of them had a small opening, which you could slip a grenade through. Ones that produced much Larvae were the ones prone to this weakness. Most Hives were better guarded. He had around fifty Marines now, no more Firebats. Vi and the Medic Corps had lasted under the punishment of the Zerg quite well.

"Alright. Boys and girls, let's give it our all and rally. Charge, towards the Hive!"
"Matt, we'll all get killed."

"No, we won't. Distract the Hydralisks and try to dodge the Lurkers to the best of your abilities. I'm going in."

With that, Horner leapt into the heat of the battle, with a flack grenade in hand. He abandoned his rifle. It was too heavy, and hindered his running ability. Stim Pack ran through him, making him faster than ever before, even in his heavy suit. Men and women were being impaled to death, spined to death, and killed in all sorts of other gruesome ways all around him. He had to do this. This Hive had to go down, or else, they really would all die.

A Lurker Spike scraped his arm, making a large gash. He bled profusely, but none of this mattered. The Hive, so close.

The opening was there. Activating the grenade, he jumped and lobbed it inside the infernal Zerg structure.

A loud boom, and the Hive bled everywhere. Bled. Was that an appropriate word? Was this substance blood? Whatever you called it, it didn't matter. The Hive had survived Horner's grenade.

A sound of rattling machine gun, like the ones attached to Gooliaths.

The Hive explodes, the Zerg stops their attack, and falls dead.

Horner turns around, his Marine suit all but destroyed. A Goliath had delivered the coup de'grace to the Hive. Was it Kevin? Maybe. If it was, he couldn't hear him. The ComLink in his suit was all but shattered. The last thing Matt Horner saw before passing out was the Hyperion, and its fleet coming in. And the last thing he heard, his men cheering in their victory. A Pyrrhic victory yes, but a victory nonetheless….

Captain Matt Horner woke up on an operating bed, on board the Hyperion, with Vi stitching up his arm.

"Jesus, what were you thinking Matt? Running into a Lurker guarded Hive with a grenade like that?" asked Vi.

"Who said I was thinking?"

Tychus and the survivors were busy sharing stories of their victory, downing Antabeer. After his arm was done being stitched up, Vi gave him some painkillers.

"But no Stim. Junkie."

Raynor came up to him, in his dazed, half conscious state.

"Are you alright, Matt?"

"I'll survive. You?"

"Good. We have another assignment coming up soon. Will you be sitting that one out?"

"No. Yes. Maybe. I can't really think, man. Tell Dre I said thank you. We couldn't have done that without her. We'd all be dead by now."
"I'll be sure to. Oh, and the boy you brought. He's the only survivor of Daphine Prime now. The planet's Zerg colony. Do we keep him?"
"He's lost his family. He's really one of us now."

"I see. Good night then, Matt. And welcome home."

"Thank you Jim. Thank you."