Chapter 1: Beginnings and Power
(The Void)
The location was the polar opposite of our own positive universe. It was a place devoid of light as humans or other species perceived it. And ever since a terrific, near creation-shattering battle, the Void had become even darker and all manner of illumination had gone dark. In the midst of the darkness hovered a solitary light that, by virtue of its existence, pushed back the shadows but nothing was there to be seen. The conflict between shadows and light had left nothing but utter darkness throughout the entirety of the Void for the will that had molded and shaped it was no more and so a great absence existed, one that might be incapable of ever being healed.
The light had a familiar shape to it. It was human in form yet currently it was curled into a fetal position. It was not pain but rather a reflex of the source to preserve itself. Inside the brilliant sphere of light it projected, the consciousness of the source swirled and coalesced like oil in water or vapors forming into a cloud. The mind was in a state of absence or rather submerged so deep that it might never return. Then, like a spark of fire from a lit match in a dark room, a thought surfaced. This brought about reflection and a trail of thought. The being latched on to it and followed it to the source, a name: Kerrigan; Sarah Louise Kerrigan.
. . . . . . .
Born into a space sector engulfed in war, she had been taken without her consent into a program for "gifted" children like her. Lies, all of it. In truth it was program designed to mold the young and innocent into living weapons as adults; incapable of pity or love, merely following orders and killing without a second thought, those were the end goals. The gift many had was that they were psionic in nature, that is, they had highly advanced mental capacities that manifested in the forms of mind reading and telekinesis for starters. Power was highly sought and she had it in abundance, for when she was but a child they had to adjust the scales they used to measure the potential of their conscripts for she surpassed them. Instantly, the race was on in the minds of multiple military individuals each seeking to be the first to take advantage of her. As a child she learned all-too-quickly how to kill. Ironically, she would also become scared of her own power due to hurting some of her family without meaning to. Her own family was not safe from harm; she killed to protect them, but all the power she possessed was not enough to save them in the end. She passed her exams and became a powerful agent of the Confederacy who ruled the Kropulu sector at the time, but lacked an identity to call her own. Throughout her young life, always, she was looking from the inside out. She never got the chance to grow up. "From this day forward, all that you know ends. You exist for but one purpose, to serve the greater good and the higher powers. Know your place, know that you are nothing more than a tool, an extension of the engine that drives progress. You will fight, you will kill, you shall have no questions whatsoever. When you are told to act, you shall act. Live to serve, that is all."
Her mind was violently torn into in order to prevent her from threatening her controllers so great was her power. Neural implants, conditioning, abuse, bound in chains to cage the beast within lest it turn on them. Her life was not her own to live, and so with time she quickly became withdrawn from the world and introverted. She existed inside a small world that was overshadowed by the oppression of men and woman who only sought her for what she could do for them, not because she was a person willing to serve in any capacity of her own will. One of the more impacting actions on her part, was the assassination of the family of a man considered a radical fascist who threatened the existence of the government. The same man would actually end up rescuing her from the Confederacy in the end and request her aid in toppling the government for he had discovered certain dark secrets; furthermore, the government was abandoning worlds threatened by the alien menace known as the Zerg. She had power, and now she could do something positive with it, make a real difference. Her courage and daring, her qualities as a tactician, they served her and her benefactor very well as his lieutenant.
Still, some animosity simmered beneath the surface of Arcturus Mengsk, who desired revenge for the death of his family. Never the less, he spared her because she had proven herself to be quite valuable. She was grateful and loyal to him, partly because he had freed her from a number of the inhibitors that compromised her mental faculties and hindered her mind's natural functions. As she slowly began to heal, she became acquainted with a former Colonial Marshal by the name of James Raynor. The introductory meeting went less than smoothly. The man's thoughts were not necessarily pretty, and he had little liking for telepaths, a small side effect of the government's actions and usage of Ghosts for less than savory deeds. Still, they made a rather good impression for two people who could have cared less about each other initially. She could not help but admire his inner strength. He had no real power apart from his courage, his physical and inner strength, and the desire to do right. Something within her stirred at this. He was a rebel just like her, and yet unlike her, for he was not broken. They both had Arcturus to thank for their freedom, yet she still had not established herself in any form, she did not really know who she was or wanted to be, she had no desires to be anything really. Still in the end, she rejected him because it was a forbidden thing that would interfere with her performance. There was no room for error.
Then, she was asked by Arcturus to essentially kill a world in order to ensure the survival of the Sons of Korhal. Something within her blanched at the thought of such wholesale slaughter at the hands of the Zerg. The Psi Emitter she was to use would ensure that no one got out alive since they would be desperately fighting, and by the time they attempted to flee it would already be too late; but it wouldn't stop there, oh no, it would not stop until the entire world was overrun completely. She pleaded at the end for Arcturus to never use the devices again but he indifferently stated that he would do whatever it took to accomplish the job. For the first time since her "rescue" as it were, Kerrigan had doubts about her savior. With nowhere to go and no one else to turn to she went to James Raynor.
"So," said the rugged and tall man at the table, "you havin' the same feelings as me on this? Something just seems a little out of place here."
She did not have to poke into his head, plus she felt it rude to do so. What to say? Finally, she just opened up with the only thing she knew of: the truth. "I just…condemned an entire world to a terrible fate. I…I have killed before but this is…it's just so big. I know that Arcturus talks about serving the greater good and yet after all that's happened recently, I just, well I'm really having doubts about the purity of the cause."
"Same here," he replied. "Listen," he reached over and placed a hand on hers, "you can believe in me even if you can't in anyone else. I want to do the right thing. The Confederacy is oppressing the people even as it seeks to preserve itself over the lives of those in the line of fire. Something has to be done. But wholesale slaughter that decimates worlds is not the answer. There are solutions far cleaner than using the emitters. Regardless of how this ends, we should not be so determined to achieve victory that we sacrifice our souls in the process."
He sighed and withdrew his hand though Kerrigan actually found the gesture rather comforting. Somewhere inside she felt like crying like a child. She hadn't felt something like that in years. She flinched inwardly at a sudden tug. This man, this former Marshal with a colorful history, genuinely felt sympathy towards her. Stars, but he actually cared. It wasn't just words. Telepathy and her ears, her very heart, couldn't possibly be lying to her. She quietly grabbed his hands and pulled him in close.
She stared into his face. "I don't have very many, er, friends Jim. I know we have been assigned on missions together before, but I think I would feel a little better if you were covering my back. Somehow, I feel safer when your around. Everything just feels complete, right, when you're here."
"I wouldn't mind bein' friends either," he said. "See you here for coffee sometime soon?"
"Sounds nice actually. Deal," she said with a warm genuine smile, the first she had ever given him. He responded with one that made his features all the more handsome.
Time found them paired together for several assignments and successfully completing them. Arcturus took full advantage of their improved relationship and it paid back in spades for all of them. Prisoners freed, equipment retrieved, and little loss of allies or their own troops. Finally, Jim decided to "hang it all", as he put it, and asked her out on a date. The bar was interesting, but the man himself more so. She did not have to use telepathy around him. She found herself knowing him better without it. It was an actual real date. The sort that they had been building to it seemed since they had become close to each other. It was one of the happiest nights she had ever experienced in her life. The drink and food was good, but the friendship more so.
"So," he said standing after the food, bowing to her, one arm behind his back, "may I have this dance?"
"Dance?!" she sputtered with a smile and laughter. "You-you," she wheezed with tears of mirth, "cannot be serious. I can't dance!"
"Well," he said with a smile, "they are playin' a slow song. And I'll let in on a sad truth: neither can I."
"Oh," she said taking his hand, "I am so going to regret this. And the worst/best part is," she continued as they headed for the floor, "I could honestly care less."
Never had she felt such feelings as that night. No mental abilities were needed for any of it. She knew it in her heart, she was in love and this man with her. She could trust him and he her. They had already proven that when they played "hostage" in order to successfully break into a facility. She asked if he trusted her and he said that it "goes without saying. Slap those cuffs on me already. Let's do this."
What a night. One thing lead to another, and it finally started to move towards the great unknown with a kiss. Her first.
The next thing, she finally relented as did he, to what they felt. A night with nothing separating them, surrounded by starlight, and no secrets, fully exposed on both sides so that they found themselves closer than she had ever dreamed. That night she bared completely her fear of her power and the corruption it could bring.
"I promise," said Jim, "should the darkness ever overtake you, I will stop you. You have my word." Then he sighed and quietly whispered what he already had this night as she lay on his chest, "I'm in love with you. So madly in love that it hurts to even think of life without you in it."
"I wonder if Arcturus would do the honor of joining our hands in marriage," she sighed wearily, "bet it'd be wonderful."
He sat up at that and looked at her in the dark. "We may need to be prepared for the coming of a storm bigger than anything the Confederacy's capable of makin' cause that man…he ain't no different from them." She looked long and hard at him. Where was he going with this? "He spouts a good, magnificent speech, but deep down all the 'ideals' he mentions in all honesty are just smokescreens hiding the truth: that he is in all of this for himself. It's about personal gain."
"I suppose you are partially correct," she said slowly, "but I sincerely believe that he can bring about a better future for humanity. He's just caught up in all of this at the moment but I know that he will come around. He just has a lot to think about right now."
"Darlin'," Jim said gravely, "I'm afraid that our 'savior' is a monster. For all we know we're puttin' a dictator on the seat of power." He sighed. "Seen too many men like him. I just have a nasty feelin' about where this can, and will, go."
"Jimmy…he'll come around. You just need a little faith."
"Eh, if you say so." He did not sound entirely convinced.
That was the enormous obstacle in the starship of their lives. Arcturus had saved them both, and yet Jim lacked faith in him. Kerrigan owed him her life. Perhaps, when the time was right, she could ask that the implants be removed entirely, but in a way that she might safely learn control of her full potential. The thought was one at the back of her mind, yet she quickly dismissed it as ridiculous. Why would she ever want power when there were better things? No, best to live a life that was minimally handicapped so as to avoid problems. Besides, right now there was war to win.
Arcturus continued to confound her. In secret he planted emitters on another world in order to subdue it; in this case it was the capital of the Confederacy, Tarsonis. Looking back through her life, she should have suspected something, but ah, loyalty, it blinded her. Instead Tarsonis predictably came under threat from the Zerg and then the Protoss arrived to "cleanse" the world of the invaders. They had arrived early this time with the Terran fleet still around Tarsonis.
The Zerg would finish off the Confederacy but only so long as the Protoss did not interfere. And so, Kerrigan went down to the scene of New Gettysburg and launched an assault on the Protoss. Jim tried to convince her to have him accompany her but she refused. It was a hard struggle, but she was victorious, and then she learned what true betrayal looked like.
The whole scene had played out dramatically. The Zerg had come at their position in vast numbers. Kerrigan and her forces fought back but were overwhelmed until only she remained.
"Uh boys," she called over the intercom, feeling uncommonly desperate, "how 'bout some evac? We're completely in a bind here."
Nothing. She never heard the fateful declaration by the tyrant she had aided and who secretly conspired to end her. "Arcturus? Jim? Can anyone hear me?"
Silence. She was alone. A quick look through her visor. Yes, she was alone…but she would not be for much longer.
The rifle uselessly dropped from hands that wouldn't even raise themselves up to fight. The visor was discarded because there was nothing left to see. She just stood there because all hope was gone. She slowly looked to the heavens wishing to curse the man she had trusted, and beg forgiveness from the one who loved her. Somehow the strength never came. She was empty. Nothing remained but black hollowness. She simply closed her eyes and waited as the sounds of the Zerg came closer and then encircled her. Jim. Darkness claimed her. It was the end.