Char, high orbit
"Will she live, Tiberias? How long will you require?"
"Ten minutes less than when you asked me the last time, Abathur. Now stop pestering me!"
Under Cain's orders, the leviathan flew away from the Zerg base of operations as fast as it could. In the safety of deep space, the Dominion would not be able to find them, allowing him to fix the infested adjutant without being interrupted. Well, except by Abathur, of course.
A crackle of electricity went through Izsha's mechanical parts. "Ah, finally." The adjutant slowly arose and looked at her new surroundings. She noticed that she wasn't on Char anymore. Turning to the two Zerg in front of her, she asked: "Where are we?"
"Deep space, away from the humans. We are safe here, at least for the moment." Cain responded.
Izsha went through her most recent memories: the invasion, the death of the Queen of Blades, the Terran occupation. They were not pleasant ones.
"I suspect that you retrieved me for a good reason. It would have been foolhardy to return to Char without one while our planet is being occupied by the Dominion." She mused aloud. The adjutant narrowed her eyes. "You were hoping that I would have a way to fix this mess, that the Queen left me with a back-up plan in the event of an invasion of this scale. If you are, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you."
"There must be something we can do." Tai spoke, hoping to save the rapidly deteriorating mood in the room. "Perhaps we could enhance one of the broodmothers to take the Queen's place, or create another Queen or…"
Izsha motioned him to stop and closed her eyes, deep in thought. "Save your breath. I believe there is a solution. The humans have been sending many transmissions proclaiming our defeat. They seem to believe the Swarm is broken and are quite elated about that."
"How could they not be…" Tai grumbled, his voice thick with disgust.
"However, there is one transmission you might find interesting. It was a heavily encoded situation report from a battlecruiser that left shortly after the final battle. It speaks of a 'former queen' having been placed in stasis. It is probable that they are referring to…"
"Our Queen…She's still alive!" Cain interrupted, unable to contain his shock.
"Impossible! It must be a ruse, or an imposter. I heard her dying screams. It is simply impossible." Abathur bellowed in an uncharacteristic outburst of emotion.
"We all have, Abathur, but apparently someone forgot to tell the Terrans. Unless you have a better idea, I suggest we break her out as soon as possible. Do you know where she is being held, Izsha, or why they are keeping her alive in the first place?"
"The transmission originated from a world called Elysium III." The adjutant answered. "As for the reason, other human transmissions speak of enacting justice. It is probable that they will try her in court."
"Then your foolish and rash rescue mission is unnecessary." Said Abathur, having put a lid on his anger. "The Queen has always acted for the good of the Swarm. Surely the Terrans would understand that."
"Somehow I don't think the humans will see things the way we do. They have always objected violently to our attempts to assimilate them into the Swarm. If she goes to trial, I'm pretty sure they're going to kill her." With a psychic command, Tai ordered the leviathan to fly to Elysium.
"Do you have a plan of action for when we get there? We know nothing of the defenses the humans may have erected."
Izsha answered "Elysium III is a dead world in a distant system, Abathur. The air is barely breathable to humans and the ground infertile and devoid of resources. There are no Terran colonies, apart from a small weapon storage facility. Few even know the planet exists."
"So the Queen is being held in a shack in the middle of nowhere?" Tiberias could hardly believe it. "Wouldn't that make it really easy for her to escape? It almost sounds like a trap."
"The Swarm has no known allies, and it is likely that the humans did not believe we would be able to decode their transmissions to organize a rescue mission on our own. Seeking her psionically would be next to impossible, even if we had the means to do so. A few dampeners would be enough to make her untraceable. If she is being held in stasis, escaping on her own would also be impossible. The Terran's course of action is not entirely unjustified, given their limited understanding of our intellect."
"Then we'll use that to our advantage. Izsha, get our leviathan to the edge of the system. I want to make sure we're not running into a trap. That would be unpleasant. Abathur, there are still some dormant zerglings in the hold. Help me revive them."
As Tai walked towards the birthing chamber, he wondered what exactly the transmission meant with 'former queen'.
Edge of the Elysium system
"Scanning. One battlecruiser detected on the far side of the planet. Minotaur class. Markings indicate Dominion affiliation." Izsha spoke in a robotic voice. If it wasn't for tendencies like these, one could forget part of her was ever an adjutant at all.
"It's a trap!"
"It's one battlecruiser, Abathur." Cain replied. "We have a Leviathan. What's on the surface?"
"Sensors detect a small base. Thermal imaging suggests no more than two dozen human bio-signatures within the structure. Electrical imaging suggests a weapons storage facility."
"So they're well armed?"
"Negative, commander." Tai liked being called that. Sure he wasn't officially her commander, but it made him feel important. Bless Izsha for her adjutant tendencies. A pity they only popped up occasionally during briefings. "Archives state these are leftover weapons and armor from the ghost program. It is improbable that the defenders would be able to use them, or know how to if they could."
"Ghosts?"
"Sensors indicate only one psionic signature with a PI above two, but it's exact nature is impossible to determine due to the inhibitors surrounding it. It is likely that this is the place where the Queen of Blades is being held."
"What's on the battlecruiser?"
"Several companies of orbital drop infantry."
Cain winced. They could make life very miserable for him if they were able to deploy. "Okay, here's our plan. Larry, me, and the zerglings are going to drop via sacs just south of the Terrans. Meanwhile, you two guide the leviathan into the battlecruiser and blindside it. Without support, the defenders will be easy pickings and the Queen will be freed." The leviathan roared with anticipation. It seemed most eager to avenge the invasion of Char.
"Sounds almost too easy. I pray you are right about this." Abathur chimed in.
"Hey, what could possibly go wrong?"
"The universe often finds a way to make things go wrong about two minutes after someone says that…"
Using a combination of natural telekinesis and pneumatized carapace, the massive beast surged forward. The leviathan had only one thought on its mind: Kill. Izsha guided the creature along a path around the planet, using Elysium's gravity to sling-shot right into the enemy vessel. Normally a leviathan would not have the speed to ambush a battlecruiser before it could bring its weapons online. This leviathan, however, had a little help from the planet. The creature slammed into the Terran vessel, ripping it apart with strikes from its tentacles and its gaping, vertical maw, shrugging off laser fire in a fit of blind rage. Mercy was utterly beyond this creature. Within minutes, the ship was torn to ribbons. The attack was so fast that the humans didn't even have a chance to send a distress signal. The base was now vulnerable.
The sacs, released before the attack, streamed through the atmosphere. Tai liked the warm, cramped, creep-filled pod. It reminded him of the chrysalis he resided in when he has being assimilated. Every time the sac was burst open by the force of the landing, he felt revitalized and reborn, ready to lay waste to all those who would dare oppose the Swarm.
The pods landed, spilling their lethal cargo of genetically perfected creatures: a hunter-killer, an infested Terran, and twenty-four zerglings, one for every person in the base. Zerg efficiency at its finest. Tai checked his surroundings. It was night, but the stars were bright enough for the Zerg to see well. Nothing but hills, dirt and the occasional bush, as far as the eye could see. The air was perfectly breathable to him, but then again, he was a Zerg. Some rules don't apply. Why anyone would name this pisshole after the ancient Roman equivalent of Heaven, he'd never know. Tiberias was noticing how suitable this place was for an ambush when he heard the remains of the Dominion battlecruiser slam into the ground behind him.
"Tiberias, the Terrans are moving out, probably to check for survivors. They will pass by your location in a few minutes." Izsha warned.
Well that's convenient.
"How many?"
"About twenty strong, all marines, along with a vehicle. Three remained behind, the vehicle seems unarmed."
Excellent. If they could take these men out in the open, the base would be theirs. He had most of the zerglings burrow on one side of the road, while he and Larry hid behind a hill on the other side. The remainder of the zerglings were held back to cut off the humans' escape. Clean, simple, no survivors. Just the way Tiberias Cain liked it.
The Terrans moved up the road towards the crash-site, unaware of the presence of the Zerg. There had to be a way to stop them in order to properly close the trap. The truck, a make-shift ambulance, was the key. Larry took aim and, with a single well-aimed shot, took out the driver. One of the Terrans, seemingly their leader, walked over, probably to grumble at the driver for stopping seemingly without reason. A perfect sniping opportunity. Larry took another shot and a spine slammed straight into the head of the lead human. This time, however, his fellows noticed the culprit and returned fire while screaming various profanities at the top of their lungs. Amateurs. They wouldn't have been able to hit a building even if they were standing inside of it. The hill would provide plenty of cover from the Terrans' poorly aimed shooting.
Tai returned fire. He knew that he wouldn't be able to hit any of them from this distance, but it didn't matter. As the humans moved closer in order to get a better shot, they didn't notice the zerglings moving behind them under Cain's psychic direction. At least half of humans probably never knew how much trouble they were in until the creatures' claws sank into their bodies. Two of the marines tried to run, only to be slaughtered by the Zerg vanguard that moved in to cut off their escape. Cain was disappointed. This was almost too easy.
On to the base. If the Terrans had any sense, they would be on their guard. A direct assault would be unwise. Their truck was still intact, maybe he could…Nah, they're not that stupid. Oh, what did it matter, it was worth a shot. Cain ordered Larry and a few zerglings into the back. Maybe this tired old movie cliché would actually work. He got in the driver's seat and turned the truck around.
As they drove to the facility, they were greeted by the three soldiers. One of them, noticing the truck, dropped his weapon and ran towards them. Good thing it was dark.
"Back already? I thought the crash was further away. Oh hell…You two, don't just stand there! Move to the back and unload the wounded, at the double! Peh, bloody resoc's, gotta tell them everything. One of these days, they're gonna forget how to breath!"
"Hey Sarge, I think we have a little Zerg problem." One of them said, in a placid tone that could only be produced by someone neurally resocialized.
"Boy, you always think there's a Zerg problem. What is it now?"
"One of them big Hydralisk thingies is looking at me. I think he wants to give me a hug."
"W-what?" The sergeant turned to Tai, only now realizing he wasn't human. Before the marine could reach for his side arm, he was felled by a volley of shells from the infested Terran's rifle. The other two were cut down in a similar fashion.
"No human Bio-signatures remaining. Well done. Good thing the Terrans tried to rescue their fellows wasn't it?" Izsha said.
"I knew they would. All part of the plan."
"Of course Tiberias. Of course." Tai couldn't help but growl. Did the adjutant just mock him? Ah, what did it matter? The Queen of Blades needed to be freed from her prison. She's probably impatiently waiting to take command of her Swarm again, as humble as it was now. No sense in keeping her waiting.