Chapter 2

Warfield's Forward Base, Char

When Raynor reached Warfield's forward base, he saw that the general was speaking to Valerian on the communicator. Most of the marines, marauders, firebats, and reapers were boarding the dropships, while others were being carried aboard by the medics, too badly wounded to move under their own steam.

Despite the fact of being his arch enemy's son, Jim did feel Valerian was somewhat different compared to Mengsk. He did seem more about helping others and less about personal gain. And unlike Mengsk, he had straightforwardly admitted to Jim he wanted to be a better emperor than his father. On the other hand, Mengsk did not reveal his plans for personal gain until after Tarsonis, though at that time Jim was still mourning over Kerrigan's death, not realizing the Zerg planned to have her transformed into the Queen of Blades.

Nevertheless, he had no intention of trusting Valerian just yet. Yes he has so far held up his end of the bargain, but to Jim, this is nothing more than a matter of waiting for the right timing. Perhaps the young prince did have ulterior motives still, but as of right now simply could not afford to reveal them to Raynor, nor can he afford to turn against him just yet. A part of Jim felt he was just being completely paranoid, but after the treachery Mengsk pulled on him on Tarsonis, he did not believe in trust so easily anymore. Nevertheless, Kerrigan's attack throughout the sector forced him to realize that in times of desperation, unusual alliances were required for survival.

Even so, if Valerian really is just like his father, he wanted to know about it as soon as possible. Normally this could be done simply by a telepathic ghost, but he had seen cases where such telepathy isn't always successful. Certain people, Mengsk among them, had the ability to conceal their thoughts from telepaths. Similarly however, Jim was not ready to crack the prince's skull open just to find out his thoughts. Fortunately for him, the ability of thought concealing depended on the psionic strength of the ghost, and he already had one who far exceeded that in just about every other ghost in both his Raiders and in the Dominion.

Warfield saw Jim approaching and waved to him, and Jim approached slowly. Despite the relief of finally getting Kerrigan back after 4 years, it did not ease the pain in which he had to kill Tychus to save her life. Before being taken by the Zerg, he had known Sarah for only a matter of weeks. On the other hand, he and Tychus first met when he was only in his teens and therefore had been with each other for more than a decade before Tychus was thrown into New Folsom prison. It was a great relief to see him again after 9 years, but the fact that he had made a deal with Mengsk to become the emperor's assassin was a clear indication that Tychus was a changed man. True he did still value his friendship with Jim, but during the weeks he had fought beside him he had continuously tried to get him to change his mind about Sarah. Not that the rest of his crew didn't, but Tychus pressed the most out of all of them, insisting that there is she is a total monster now and there is no good in her anymore.

Even after Jim had discovered that Kerrigan was essential to preventing the apocalypse from Zeratul's ihan crystal, Tychus still refused to believe she should be allowed to live. This of course wasn't completely unreasonable, and most of his crew were of the same opinion. Despite the Xel'Naga prophecy about impending doom and the Overmind's plan to thwart this by infesting Sarah, there had been absolutely no indication that her actions since becoming the Queen of Blades has done anything for anyone's benefit. On the contrary, most of his Raiders, and virtually all of the Dominion personnel who Jim had told about the prophecy, felt it should have made much more sense that she would be the one to destroy the universe instead, as that has been exactly what she had been doing all along.

This was something even Jim did not fully understand either. Besides, according to the ihan crystal, during Zeratul's encounter with Sarah on Ulaan it had clearly shown that the Queen of Blades already felt there was no hope for the universe anyway, and was ready to accept her fate, while disappointed that Zeratul refused to accept it himself. But if the she was right and the universe was doomed anyway, what was the point of the Second Great War in the first place? Jim knew Kerrigan had been scouring world after world for the Xel'Naga artifact fragments, and she told him during their encounter on Tyrador VIII she knew what the artifacts really were. Dr. Narud had explained that she feared their power, but it seemed strange that she would care about hording artifacts if she was going to be killed later on by the impending doom.

Unless, of course, the Xel'Naga artifact too had a role in this prophecy….

Jim pushed those thoughts aside for now as he greeted Warfield. Initially he disliked the general for his cocky and arrogant attitude in thinking he was the military genius while Jim was just some lucky drunken moron. However as the invasion went on Warfield had grown to respect him, and even admitted that he was wrong to believe in Mengsk's media and propaganda about him. Warfield admitted that he was horrified to hear of Mengsk using the Zerg to kill the Confederacy just so he could achieve his status as emperor of the Dominion, and ever since that broadcast was made he had become very reluctant to listen to him anymore. After praising Raynor for his accomplishments during the Char invasion after he had foolishly believed he could succeed with a mere frontal assault, it was clear to Jim now that they had accomplished what they came here to accomplish, Warfield would feel very uncomfortable about returning to a corrupt Dominion and be subject to the rule of a madman.

"I heard about what happened to Tychus," Warfield said softly. "I'm sorry. I know he was a close friend of yours."

Jim nodded. "It was another one of Mengsk's stunts of control. Either Tychus killed Kerrigan or the suit he was stuck in would have killed him. That makes him the 2nd person I've been close to who had been either controlled or manipulated by your so-called great emperor."

"Now do you understand, general?" Valerian asked from the communicator screen. "My father is not the noble ruler he has tried to convince the public to be for the last 4 and a half years. He wants the entire sector under his rule, and all who oppose them are either enslaved by him, or simply executed. Commander Jim Raynor is an honorable man who has always wanted freedom to be restored to humanity. This was something he had tried to do during the Confederacy's rule, and is still doing now due to the corruption in the Dominion, as well as the threat of the Zerg."

"And yourself, Junior?" Jim folded his arms. "You going to topple Mengsk's throne now that you got what you wanted?"

"It is certainly on the cards, Jim. However unlike my father, I am not the type who takes glory that isn't mine. I may have provided much of the Dominion fleet for the invasion, but it was you who outsmarted the Queen of Blades and got us a clear path to the primary hive cluster in the first place. You deserve most of the credit for our victory this day, not me."

"All right, I'll bite. How exactly you plan to get the rest of the people in the sector to know that?"

"Did you honestly think an event of this scale I wouldn't make public? There may not be any reporters or media personnel with me, but I made sure that all of the Dominion ships had recorded everything that happened once the troops had hit the ground via orbital scans and recordings. The invasion initially went terribly, and it was you who had rallied the survivors and gained a foothold on Char. As I speak the recordings are being broadcasted to the Koprulu public. Every world in the Dominion will soon be getting the news of what you had accomplished here on Char."

"Would they really even pay attention? After the broadcast on Korhal, world after world have gone into open revolt against your father. They'd be more busy doing that right now."

"That's only partially right, commander. The fringe worlds have already been disgusted with the way my father ruled, and abandoned them to the Zerg upon invasion. After your broadcast, they have begun declaring independence from the Dominion, while other worlds who were once loyal to the Dominion are now outraged and demand new leadership. The only reason why my father is still in control of the remaining Dominion worlds is because the Zerg invasion is the greater threat."

Jim nodded. After the broadcast even he told Matt that Mengsk had to be put on hold for the time being because their victory over him will mean nothing if the Zerg kill everyone. "What are you getting at?"

"Tell me Jim: ever since the Zerg invasion began, how much did you exactly see my father do about it?"

"Very little. I do believe Warfield in leading the different attacks against the swarm, but I did not exactly see any news about the Zerg being driven back or anything. The media network comprises of people who are barely more than mindless drones that support your father, so therefore every victory won against the Zerg they would have announced right away. Since I didn't see any, I can only assume that means the attempts to stop the Zerg proved unsuccessful. Besides, Mengsk saw the fringe worlds as expendable and only tried to protect the core worlds. It didn't surprise me that they welcomed my assistance when I showed up to help them."

"My point exactly. By now, most of the core worlds would be at the point of only trusting my father in the event the Zerg invasion ever reached their world."

"The invasion was never about conquest to begin with, Junior. Kerrigan wanted the Xel'Naga artifact fragments your Möebius Foundation located, though I admit she certainly could have changed the role to conquest if she had gotten the artifact."

"Well if that happened, do you honestly think the core worlds could have withstood such an assault?"

"Of course not! Look what the Zerg did to the Confederacy on Tarsonis all those years ago!"

"Then there you go. Had the invasion reached those worlds, they would have turned to anyone who could protect them. The broadcasts that are being sent now will prove to those people that you had saved them by stopping the Zerg. That my father did nothing to take the fight to them is clear proof to the people that their emperor does not care about anything but personal power, and when the going gets too rough, is only interested in saving his own neck."

"I'm surprised by this of you. You told me during our mission to get the last artifact fragment that you wanted to be a better emperor. Seems like you're giving me all the glory and none of it is going to you."

"You're a leader, Mr. Raynor. You had been long before you commanded your Raiders. Nevertheless, you're still a soldier at heart, and soldiers are what people look upon during times of war. During times of peace however, a different type of leader is needed. I wasn't lying to you when I said I wanted to be a better man compared to my father. But just like him, I am no military genius in the art of war. That credit goes to the Dominion military leaders. If they cannot deliver, it is my duty to find someone who can."

"Even so my leadership still took quite a heavy toll on the fleet. What's the situation on that?"

"Not good," Warfield replied, guilty at his own insistence that the Zerg would crack in a frontal assault. "The fleet strength is down to only 41 percent. The initial attacks destroyed many of our BattleCruisers and many of those that were able to drop off their cargo were overwhelmed by the Zerg forces before they had a chance to do anything. Our ammunition reserves are at 23 percent and we will not able to withstand another concentrated Zerg assault."

"We probably won't have to," Jim pointed out. "Ever since the Xel'Naga artifact neutralized the Queen of Blades, the fighting had begun to die down. The Zerg units are easily replaceable, the Queen of Blades is not. So even if they could replace their losses in a few minutes, there's no one left to give them orders anymore, at least not now."

"Then I'm glad the evacuation is just about done," Warfield said, looking at the dropships still taking off nearby. "The sooner we're off this rock the better."

"Same here, General. We've accomplished everything we came here to do. The invasion's been stopped, and Sarah's been de-infested. Despite all the losses to reach this point, it's truly one of the best victories I've seen."

"You don't have to worry about any of my boys trying to take their revenge on her, Raynor. I've given strict orders to everyone in the fleet that the former Queen of Blades is not to be harmed."

"You said the prophecy I told you about is nothing but a load of crap, General. Why the sudden change of heart?"

"I still don't believe the prophecy. But after everything I've seen you do, it's clear you're the expert around here, and I trust your judgment. Besides, you said this is the fate of the entire universe we're talking here. That is too much to be decided over mere gut instinct and the desire for revenge."

"I appreciate that," Jim said, before turning again to the communicator screen. "Well Junior, I guess we're done here. I'll be handing the artifact over to you and your Möebius boys for further studying."

"Actually Jim, it was my intention for you to hold on to it after Char." Valerian explained.

Jim frowned. "The artifact already did what I needed it to do, I have no further reason to keep it."

"Jim, did you forget who you fought to get the 1st fragment in the first place? It wasn't the Zerg, nor was it the Tal'darim Protoss. You were fighting the Dominion, who had been excavating on Mar Sara for that artifact."

Jim suddenly understood what the prince was getting at: Mengsk desired the Xel'Naga artifact as well.

As if able to read his thoughts, Valerian continued, "I'm sure it doesn't come as a surprise that my father wanted the relic also. While I did say when fully assembled the artifact would reverse Kerrigan's infestation, you knew all along everything my Möebius associates told you about it were just theories. No one knew what it would do in practice, even when it was deployed and ready for use at the primary hive cluster.

"You saw what it did with your own eyes, Jim. A single fully charged blast from it did more than just subdue the Queen of Blades, it also killed every single Zerg at the base of the hive cluster. What do you think could happen if my father got his hands on it?"

Jim sighed. Valerian had a point, Mengsk has proven to be power hungry enough as it is. The Castanar installation was clear proof of that. That Mengsk would try to create his own army of hybrids disgusted him, but at least the lab had been trashed, and his Raiders had made off with yet another prize: the schematics of the A.R.E.S. warbots for future production, as well as captured special hand grenades, plasma rounds, and a chrono-rift device, all for the benefit of Swann and Stetmann to study and replicate.

"Basically you're saying it's just too much power for one man to wield?"

"You may have fought against some Protoss, but I also know you're friends with others. Since they are creations of the Xel'Naga themselves, it would not surprise me if they had a better understand of this artifact. Besides, it'd certainly make my father's job harder in yet another grab for power."

Jim nodded. "Very well, prince. I'll hold on to the artifact, but under one condition: you dissemble it back down to the 5 fragments they were originally found in. From what I learned while I've held the pieces on my ship, this artifact is capable of killing Protoss as well, and I don't want some of my allies becoming a casualty in that."

Valerian nodded. "I'll take care of it, Mr. Raynor. "

"You're just going to hand the thing to him?" Warfield folded his arms. "I honestly expected you to claim a share to some of the pieces."

"Commander Raynor has friends among the Protoss, I do not. Therefore, he has a much better chance to understand what this Xel'Naga device is really supposed be and what it's supposed to do." Valerian turned his eyes back to Jim. "Besides Jim, after what the artifact did to the Zerg, something tells me sometime down the road you're going to need it again."

Jim nodded. The kid had a point in that too. During their trip to Char, he had been so caught up in possibility that the relic could get Sarah back that he didn't pay attention to what Valerian didn't say: he only said the device might be able to reverse the infestation, he said nothing about this reversal was a permanent one. Still, if it's only temporary, he would hesitate about using it if she became the Queen of Blades again. Valerian made it perfectly clear that there was a very real possibility that it was entirely possible the artifact's energy nova could just kill her the same way it killed the other Zerg, but Jim insisted that was a chance he was willing to take.

Nevertheless, he felt great relief when he found Sarah still alive and de-infested upon entering the hive. He had no intention of using the artifact again at the slightest sign of abnormal behavior from her. In fact he already expected such actions from her. Spending 4 years with the Zerg meant when given a 2nd chance to be human again, it won't be easy for her.

"Raynor, this is one of the last dropships," Warfield said, snapping Jim out of his thoughts. "Ready to leave this hell hole?"

"Go on ahead, General. I'll wait for another one. You may have given me command of the invasion force, but they're still your Dominion soldiers on that ship, most of them wounded. You're a CO they recognize, I'm still just a terrorist to them."

Warfield nodded, as he began walking up the ramp to the dropship. "I'll send another dropship down to pick you and the rest of your Raiders up within the hour then."

Jim watched as the dropship took off into the sky to join the rest of the Dominion fleet, or what's left of it anyway, before turning to a very slight light diffraction near him and nodding. A ghost suddenly materialized out of nothing.

"Warfield was telling the truth about ordering his troops not to harm the former Queen of Blades, Jim. Even so, I'd be careful. I'm not convinced everyone under his command will obey that order."

"And yourself?"

"My loyalty has been to the Dominion, not Mengsk himself. Still, after everything I've seen you do, it's pretty obvious that you're the true freedom fighter, while that bastard is nothing but a power hungry psychopath. I can see now I had been taken the wrong team all this time, and I should have fought by your side all along."

"I'm glad you're part of the Raiders now, Nova. You did real good today."


Authors Note: Please read and review and let me know if you think this story is interesting, or a wreck on a wreck. Although the fic will eventually focus on Raynor and Kerrigan, it is also my intention to try and develop a little bit of the supporting characters of Wings of Liberty. I feel some of them should have their voices heard to some extent, and that is exactly what I hope to do before Kerrigan enters the story. There will be some very interesting twists and turns for Raynor and Kerrigan to encounter, I promise you that.