Outskirts of Augustgrad, Korhal
Leviathans were big. Really big. Fully grown, they were the size of a city and could take on a small fleet by themselves. Standing in front of one made Jim Raynor feel a little undersized. Even in his suit, he was like an ant compared to that thing. In a way, he should probably thank his lucky star that this was only a small leviathan (talk about an oxymoron!). If it were an adult, he'd probably wet himself and run back to the dropship.
Jim Raynor, however, wasn't one to run from giant, scary monsters, especially considering what was inside. Sarah Kerrigan, the queen of the Zerg and the woman for whom he invaded hell itself to save, used it as a forward command center and he wanted to pay a visit. They hadn't seen each other since he threw Mengsk into the slammer a few days ago and Raynor really needed to make sure she was alright. If she went crazy and started killing people, it would end badly for everyone involved. So here he was, fresh from a skirmish against the hybrids, contemplating the best way to impersonate Jonah from the old story about the whale. He didn't get to have a nice shower and some R&R. Not before playing a little politics first. At least, that's what he told the men. In reality, he just wanted to hold the woman he loved in his arms for a while. That wouldn't be too much for an old war veteran to ask, right?
Of course, he had to get inside without wetting himself first. It was no secret that while he loved Sarah, he still hated the Zerg. Whichever way you put it, they were still a legion of purpose-bred killing machines with a thing for turning others into more of themselves. Five years of bloody warfare against the creatures had made him wary of the Zerg, even if he knew that Sarah would never allow them to hurt him. Raynor knew that he would never be at ease with them for as long as he lived.
When he stepped into the leviathan, gaping maw, he was 'greeted' by a zergling. It was an ugly-looking mutant dog that seemed to snarl at him with cold contempt. Before even realizing it, Raynor found himself in a staring contest with the creature. If he didn't know better, he'd almost say that the zergling was sizing him up and would try to eat him if he didn't pass the muster. Of course, that would imply that it had anything resembling sentience. After a few tense moments, the critter adopted a more submissive posture around and slowly retreated into the leviathan. Figuring that the zergling was probably Kerrigan's doorman, Raynor followed it in.
The interior of the leviathan wasn't all that different from the Behemoth Sarah had used to rescue him from the White Star: a largely featureless maze of organic walls and rooms. Raynor was actually grateful for the escort, even if the zergling looked like it wanted to have him for lunch. He would have been searching for hours otherwise.
Eventually, the creature led him to a small, dark room were Sarah was staying. Or at least, where her body was. Kerrigan was sitting on a mass that resembled some sort of couch, slowly rubbing her hands together. She seemed oblivious to his presence and her eyes were glowing softly. Raynor, not wanting to startle her when she was probably busy ordering her pets around, decided to sit on a less-than-comfortable mass of flesh on the other side of the room. The zergling, on the other hand, sat down right next to its queen, as if it wanted to say: 'She's ours, Jimmy. Don't even try to take her from us.' It wasn't true, of course. Sarah may be a Zerg, but she was still human in all the ways that mattered. The claws, the yellow eyes, and the tendril-like hair running down her shoulders was just window dressing.
Still, Raynor couldn't help but frown at the Zergling, lying there with a smug grin on its face. It would have been so easy to pull out his pistol and shoot the damn thing in the head. A single motion, a short squeeze, and that damn ugly face would be gone forever…
But Sarah would probably object to him shooting her Zerg, even if they totally deserved it.
"Yes, Jimmy, I really would." A soft, wonderful voice said. Kerrigan walked over and grasped him tightly. "Missed you."
"Missed you too, honey." He returned the embrace, careful not to crush her under weight of his suit.
"You know I'm not made of glass, right?"
"I know, but this suit ain't exactly a precision instrument. You've been hurt enough already. Don't want to crush you by accident. I'm sure your pet zergling would be a little cross with me if I did."
"Right." Kerrigan leaned forward and kissed him. Jim smiled as the glow in her eyes had faded. "I wish you could come by more often."
Raynor sighed. He shared her sentiment. "Well, I've been rather busy. Valerian got it into his head that it would be better if everyone thought I was in charge of the whole Terran faction. Worse, he got Matt and Warfield believing it too. Never mind that half of the people supposedly working for me still think I'm a damn pirate. I've been running around ever since trying to build bridges."
"Well, I think Valerian is a better judge of character than you think. Besides, the Protoss think you're two steps short of godhood and, well, there's us."
"Yep, there's us." The commander conceded. "Still, Valerian is the politician. I don't know squat about running an empire."
"You really think the human race wants another Mengsk in charge so soon after the last one?" Kerrigan asked.
"Guess you got a point. Still, would have been nice to let him handle all the political bullshit. I'm just not cut out for that."
"You're doing a great job for someone who's 'not cut out for that'. Stop selling yourself short." The queen chided. "Girls love confidence, you know."
"Confidence ain't everything. There's just so much at stake now. Way more than my little human brain can handle. It almost makes me wish for the good old days when it was just me and a ship full of volunteers against Arcturus. This…I'm responsible for a whole species now."
"I can relate…"
"Guess you could…" While he didn't think that saving the Zerg was the same as saving all of humanity, he didn't feel like correcting her. "But at least I've got you this time. That makes up for a lot."
"Flatterer."
"We both know you love it, darlin'. I bet none of the Zerg say things like that."
"You'd be so jealous if they did." She said with a smirk.
"Nah, I wouldn't. I know I got all your Zerg beat in the boyfriend department. For example, Zerg can't do this." Suddenly, he reached forward and kissed her.
"Nope, they can't. At least, not until they figure out what lips are." Kerrigan laughed as Raynor grumbled in response. "Thanks for coming by. I needed it. It's been…exhausting, running the Zerg in a war."
Jim smiled sympathetically. "I guess it can't be easy, being royalty. Look on the bright side, though. You're still as beautiful as ever."
"The miracle that is Zerg physiology. I don't need to sleep and I'll never look tired…"
"You could make a fortune if you turned that into a cream or something."
"Probably. That is, if you don't mind growing scales. It's a package deal, you know." Kerrigan sighed. "Jim, I've been here for less than a month and millions of Zerg have died already."
Raynor seemed surprised. "Well, they're Zerg, honey. You can breed millions more. Last I heard, you weren't running low on manpower. Hell, you guys never run low on manpower."
"It's not that. We're alright for the moment, but…I'm telepathically connected to them. All of them. When they live, when they kill, when they die…I feel it. When so many of them die, so quickly, I just…"
"Shush, it's okay. I think I understand. I don't like losing friends either." Raynor was doing his best to understand her, but it was very difficult to wrap his head around the idea of mourning the death of a Zerg. Sure, he's met a few that weren't mindless animals, but still. The commander chalked his fears up to simple human xenophobia.
"It's more than that. It feels like a part of me dies with them and it just…infuriates me."
"You know you shouldn't bottle up your anger, right?"
Kerrigan looked at him incredulously. "I don't. I go outside and rip a few hybrids apart. Nobody touches my Zerg and gets away with it."
"Right." Jim seriously wondered if he should be worried about that. Homicidal rage wasn't something to be taken lightly. It tended to blind you at a critical moment. "I'm getting you a stressball next time. Or maybe a punching bag."
"Jim…"
"I'm serious. It's a warzone out there and I don't like the idea of you being in the middle of it."
Kerrigan actually looked offended. "I can handle myself, Jim. I'm not going to lock myself in the leviathan and fight this whole war by proxy. Besides, you're fighting and you don't have telekinetic powers to keep the hybrids from killing you."
"It's not the same, Sarah." The commander argued. "What's gonna happen if you get yourself killed? You already got a replacement lined up? You think your…what did you call them again? Broodmothers? Well, do you think those guys can go on without you? You're important, darlin', and not just because I love you. Every hybrid in the damn sector's gonna be gunning for your head the minute you step out onto the field. If one of them gets lucky…Well, I don't want to be stuck with a leaderless Swarm. Or a broken heart."
Sarah suddenly looked very guiltily. "I'm sorry, Jim. I know you're just worried about me, but please…"
"'Drop the knight-in-shining-armor routine?'" Raynor suddenly interjected.
"That's low, Jim."
"I know, but I need you to be careful. You're strong, hell, the strongest person I've ever met, but you're not invincible. If I were in charge of the hybrids, I'd be getting under your skin at every opportunity until you made a mistake."
"And what about you? You don't think the hybrids are going to hunt you? You're important too and you lead from the front just as much as I do."
"That's different." The commander shrugged. "Worst case scenario, I'll die and become a martyr. Everybody gets pissed off and then the hybrids find out why it's a bad idea to kick a monkey in the teeth. Hell, I'd probably contribute more to the war effort dead than alive."
"Don't say that." Kerrigan said, angrily. "Don't ever say that. I need you. I don't care how bad things get, you don't get to die, you hear me! I won't let you take one for the team. You've given enough already."
"Yes, ma'm." Raynor quickly realized that Kerrigan didn't find his earlier comment as funny as he did. Then again, when he said it out loud, he also realized that it sounded a lot funnier in his head. He made a note not to be so cavalier when it came to his own survival. Sarah still needed him, more than he thought at first.
"And if you aren't more careful, I'll have Matt strap you to a chair for the rest of the war." She said, picking up on his train of thought.
"This telepathy thing is kinda cheating." Jim complained in jest. "Honestly, there's got to be a rule against that somewhere."
"Don't change the subject. I'm being serious here. Keep up the cowboy stuff and I'll have that zergling over there bite you in the ass."
"I can still fight with a wound like that."
"I know, but you'll have to explain to everyone why you're walking funny, and I bet you'll never hear the end of it when you tell them your girlfriend's mutant dog sank its teeth in your behind." Kerrigan threatened, while grinning. Raynor couldn't figure out how someone could be so attractively terrifying and yet so terrifyingly attractive at the same time.
"You're threatening me with public humiliation." He said, feigning horror. "How diabolical."
Sarah's grin grew even wider. "Wow, a word with more than three syllables. I'm impressed. Anyway, I knew physical pain isn't going to stop you, but a little embarrassment…"
"You are a very mean person sometimes."
"And you're a closet masochist. I'm not the one dating a girl with claws."
"Guess I'll have to buy you some industrial strength nail-clippers too, huh? Maybe an angle grinder?"
Kerrigan playfully hit him in the shoulder, before the grin on her face disappeared. "I'm scared, Jim." She said softly, while grasping him so tightly that Raynor could her claws scratch his suit. "I want…I need this to end well, but…so much could go wrong…"
"It's okay to worry. You're only human…more or less. Besides, whatever the universe tries to shove down our throat, we'll be facing it together. Just like old times. Well, except I'm now supposed to be one of the most powerful humans alive."
"And I'm in charge of the whole Zerg Swarm."
"See, we're moving up in life!" He said. Kerrigan finally seemed to relax. Raynor loosened his grip on her and enjoyed the brief moment of peace before some new disaster came up again.
They always did, after all.
