A/N I hope this chapter is okay. I feel like I may have forced it a little bit. Please review and let me know what you think.
I would like to thank Ragnarok666 for all the ideas for my story and help with all the starcraft lore that I am unfamiliar with. Please check out Ragnarok666's story Aftermath and Revelations. It continues on a after Wings of Liberty and is a great read for any starcraft fan.
Heart of the Swarm Chapter 9
Jim guided his drop to the coordinates the Overlord had provided. He circled a few times to make sure there were no indigenous life forms or other threats.
"All clear." Jim announced after his 3rd circle. He looked at Sarah and she smiled at him. He suddenly felt foolish for searching for danger. He was with probably the most powerful creature in the sector, if not the galaxy. If there were any indigenous life forms here then they had more to fear from her than she did from them.
Jim landed the ship not far from a small lake. Steam rose steadily from its surface. Scanners had indicated that while hotter than most the temperature was not high enough to be harmful.
They disembarked and they walked side by side towards their felt strange for Jim to be doing so simple as relaxing with his-
He didn't even know what Sarah was to him. Was she his girlfriend? We're they dating? Do Zerg even have girlfriends or do they just choose a mate? He supposed they didn't since all the creatures come from the hatchery larvae? So what did that make him? He hoped he wasn't in a situation like a mantis would find itself in where after mating the female would bite off the male's -
Jim propelled forward nearly losing his balance as Sarah gave him his customary smack in the head.
"If you finish that thought then I promise you will never get anything from me ever again." Sarah continued walking, fuming.
"The things that go on in your head, I swear." Sarah was still mumbling as she stormed off.
Jim smiled. He had better try to reign in his thoughts a little more. He couldn't help himself though. Could she really blame him? How could he think about anything else with her showing off her ass like she was when walking.
"I can still hear you!" Sarah yelled at him.
Jim walked faster to catch up with Sarah. The link between them was growing even stronger if she couldn't hear his thoughts so clearly even though he was not near her.
Jim reached the lake. Pockets of steam rose out of the area. The warm air was a nice change from the coldness of space that he had grown accustomed to.
He searched around but could find no trace of Sarah. This normally would have panicked him but something inside told him not to worry, that Sarah was close by.
Just then Jim caught some movement in the water. He walked over to the edge and arrived just in time to see Sarah rise beneath the water's surface. Jim had to catch his breath.
Sarah slowly walked to him from where she had risen. The water slowly retreated from her body. The moisture left a hint of gloss on her body. He marveled at what he was seeing.
He had never seen her more beautiful than she was now. She was everything and so much more. She was beautiful yet deadly. She looked both regal and sinister at the same time. She looked every bit the name she had given herself, the Queen of Blades.
Sarah suppressed a smile as she strode towards him, amazed at how he was looking at her. "It wasn't so long ago that this form was revolting to you."
Jim rolled his eyes. "Things change."
Sarah eyed him carefully. She saw what he was thinking but seeing did not exactly mean understanding. That he felt so strongly for her thrilled her and terrified her at the same time. She knew that he would literally jump through rings of fire for her and because of who she and what she was destined for that was exactly what Jim maybe in store for.
"How 'bout u? Think the most powerful woman in the galaxy can settle for a washed up Marshall, turned wayward freedom fighter?" Jim meant to tease her but Sarah was taking him very seriously.
"You mean can I settle for a man who stopped at nothing to get me back even when he thought that I was beyond redemption? The same man who sparked a rebellion to bring down a tyrant? Who risks everything to save people he has never met." Sarah didn't like how he thought so little of his actions. She knew she probably had herself to blame for that. Her turning into the Queen, betraying Fenix, slaughtering millions. Jim thought so little of himself because he wasn't able to save any of them, especially her.
She wished she could show him that he had saved her. She stood in front of him and placed her hands on his head.
"Do you trust me?" Sarah asked him.
Jim looked at her questioningly but nodded a yes.
Sarah reached out with her mind into his. It was easier to enter his mind than ever before. It was as if his mind was use to the intrusion. She concentrated on their link. She felt the connection flow between but only this time she stretched it out so that it flowed both ways.
It was painful for the both of them for a moment. Sarah's built in mental defenses fought aggressively to keep Jim out but Sarah persisted. He needed to see what she did.
Jim was confused at what was happening at first. He was seeing images in his head they were blurry and difficult to focus on. Gradually they cleared and he was able to grasp images. They came and went in a flurry, appearing and disappearing as quickly as they came. He felt her anger, her fury. Jim felt for the first time the full might of the rage she felt inside. He felt her need to fulfill the purpose she was created for and at the same time her mind struggling to be her own person, to forge her own path.
She felt sorrow for all the misery she had caused even though she didn't remember causing it. She felt betrayed and used by everyone. The Zerg, Terrans, and Protoss they all used her for their own agendas.
Then in the midst of all that rage and despair. He saw himself as she saw him. She used him as a ship would an anchor. She was tethered to him in a way that until now he couldn't believe possible. In the midst of the whirlwind she called her life he stood as the one thing that gave her the strength to endure. He saw her unreachable dream to give him a normal life without pain or suffering. Then there was her overwhelming bitterness in the realization that she would never be able to give him that. Bitterness of a life that was denied and stolen from her, of a future that could never possibly be.
Jim opened his eyes to see Sarah sadly looking at him. "You did save me, Jim."
He was at a loss at what to say. "Sarah-I-"
That was all Jim was able to get out before the world around them exploded in brilliance. The very air seemed to crackle with energy as blasts went off around them.
The Protoss surrounded their targets as their Templar bombarded them with the fury of a psionic storm.
"We have to help them!" Matt yelled to his monitor. "There are too many Protoss for us to handle on our own."
Za'gara ignored him as she thought about what was occurring. Scouts from both the Swarm and the Terrans had reported the sudden appearance of a number of Protoss ships. It wasn't a terribly large number but enough that they would be hard pressed to win an engagement.
Instinct dictated that she avoid the battle altogether. The Protoss could provide the perfect excuse for her to take over. The Protoss would destroy her Queen and the foolish Terrans who would rush head long to their rescue while she gathered the Zerg from Aiur and other scattered pockets throughout the galaxy. With the Swarm's full might beneath her she would rule unchallenged.
"We will join you." Za'gara said after a few more moments of silence. Za'gara couldn't believe what she had just said. She had just committed herself to a foolhardy rescue attempt. One that would probably end badly for all of them.
Matt breathed out a sigh of relief upon hearing that the Zerg would help them. Jim had told him that of all of Sarah's Zerg queens, Za'gara was the most ambitious and has designs to one day rule the swarm. Matt could almost see the thoughts swirling in her head. If she wanted to rule then this would be her chance to rid herself of several obstacles at the same time.
Matt ordered his battle group to assume battle stations. More than one man had muttered a complaint that the Zerg could not be trusted in battle, that they would betray the Terrans the first chance they got. They knew the Swarm as a vicious lot that showed no mercy to their enemies. How could they possibly be expected to fight side by side.
But even all their misgivings did not stop them from realizing that if the Zerg did not help them then there would be no way they would be able to defeat the Protoss on their own. These were not the Protoss that they were used to working with. They were fanatics, a splinter group that was hell bent on vengeance. They did not care about prophecies. They had felt the sting of Kerrigan's swarm and betrayals too many times.
Matt had tried to contact them and reason with them. He tried to explain that she was no longer the enemy they thought her to be. She was an ally and that James Raynor could attest to that. They didn't believe him, of course. The Queen of Blades could not be trusted, they insisted. If the Terran warrior had to be under some sort mind manipulation. After Fenix's and Raszagal's death they could accept no less, honor dictated that Sarah Kerrigan had to die. They had given the Terrans a fair warning out of respect of what they had done to help the Protoss years ago but that was as far as they were willing to go. Any interference on their part to aid Kerrigan would be considered an act of war. The Protoss would annihilate them along with the Zerg.
Sarah slumped onto the ground, exhausted. She had been on the run for hours now, half-carrying, half dragging Jim with her. It was a miracle that she had been able to lose the Protoss chasing after them but she didn't know how much longer she would be able to elude them. She was powerful, yes but even she had her limits. She had expended much of her strength protecting Jim from the psionic storms. It was sheer luck he had survived. If their minds had not been linked so completely when the assault started she doubted that he would be anything but a shriveling corpse right now. Their linked minds allowed her to spare Jim from the brunt of the damage and instead she was able to take most of into herself.
This, of course, compounded her injuries. She wasn't invulnerable, even she lacked the power to stand against so many. Her injuries would heal eventually but she doubted those searching for her would allow her the time to recover.
Right now she was more concerned for Jim. While she had saved him from taking the full force of the assault he had yet regained consciousness. She had no way of telling what kind of damage his mind may have suffered. She had to get him some help.
She caught some movement out of the corner of her eye. Her left wing shot out immediately, seemingly aimed at nothing. The pierced flesh she felt at the tip told her otherwise. She lifted her wing up in the air as a cloaked Dark Templar materialized. It's blood ran down her wing as he trashed around trying to free himself.
Suddenly Sarah was knocked back by a blast from a stalker's particle disruptor and her would be prisoner was able to wiggle free. More and more Protoss stalkers blinked into view and before she knew it she was surrounded. She looked around for a gap in their lines large enough for her and Jim to get through but the Protoss it seemed were way ahead of her. She found the path around her blocked by multiple force fields. She belatedly saw the sentries enter the fray.
"Cast the psionic storms while she is still trapped!" Sarah saw the one she had stabbed with her wing giving orders to the others.
She looked around, terrified. Not for herself but for Jim. There was no way he would survive another round of storms.
Sarah knew that she only one choice left to her. "Wait, I would like to negotiate."
The Templar that she had injured stepped forward and confronted her. "You are in no position to negotiate, Kerrigan."
Sarah noticed that he remained far enough beyond the force fields that she could not reach him. She may not be able to reach him with her wing but she had other weapons to employ. She would save that as a last resort. She was sure that any attempt on her part to assault any of the Protoss would result in them blasting her with everything they had. Jim would be caught in the cross-fire.
"James Raynor is here with me. He is injured." Sarah hoped that Jim's name would at least give them pause.
"His survival does not out-weigh our need to end yours." He said simply.
"Attack now and I will decimate your forces. If you so much as move forward I will not stop until your race is extinct. Every planet, every colony I will burn in your name." Sarah said this with absolute conviction. They would not pause for anything else. They had to believe that she would follow through with her threats.
"But if you give me the time to heal and find help for Jim, I will give up without a fight. I will submit to whatever you deem I deserve." Sarah could see that they were all shocked by what she had said.
"A trick." She heard one of them whisper.
"No tricks. Let me save the man I love and I will come along willingly. I will not shed a drop of Protoss of blood." Her eyes did not leave Jim's body. She hoped he would be able to forgive her for what she was doing.
"Love? You? The Queen of Blades? You would sacrifice yourself for this one man" They whispered incredulously among themselves.
"Yes, even I can love. I would do anything to ensure his survival just as he has done many times for me." She knelt down beside him and placed her hand on his chest to check his breathing.
There was more muttering in the Protoss ranks at her show of affection to the man laying beneath her. They had thought Sarah Kerrigan beyond redemption. Had James Raynor done the impossible? Had he reached Sarah Kerrigan's humanity?
The Protoss had no chance to act on Sarah's bargain. The ground around her exploded into a scene of chaos. Dust and dirt lifted into the air obstructing her view of what was unfolding. She could, however, hear the sounds of battle rage around her. She could sense her Swarm descend on the unsuspecting Protoss warriors.
She heard more explosions. She looked overhead to see Vikings engaging Protoss ships. The Raiders would good but they were no that good. In the air there were none that could match a Protoss fleet head to head. They would be able to buy a few minutes at most.
She had to make the most of this opportunity. As soon as she them Kerrigan released what energy she had left at the sentries. One by one they crumpled before her , the force fields following soon after. She grabbed Jim's limped form and placed his hand around her shoulder. She dragged him past the conflict as quickly as she could. Around her the Protoss battle lines were in complete disarray. Banelings exploded across the Protoss lines preventing them from massing. Burrowed roaches sprang up to engage some stalkers but were immediately annihilated by some Templar. A few hydralisks rushed in to engage the Templar but were stopped in their tracks by the stalkers. This gave the time for the Templar merge into the massive and foreboding archons.
Once the archons were formed the battle quickly turned south for the Zerg. The archons went from creature to creature systematically obliterating all the Zerg that dared to confront them. The Zerg did not have numbers to overwhelm the Protoss and were driven back. Slowly the Zerg pulled back but in a more organized fashion than the Protoss were used to seeing. They pulled back in groups each covering for another, giving ground to the Protoss as slow as possible. It was almost like they had formed into squadron like the Terrans did. They were pulling back slowly but it was only a matter of time before retreat would turn into a full blown were buying Kerrigan as much time as they could.
A drop ship landed a yards from Sarah and Jim. She made a bee line straight for it. The door opened to a sight Sarah would never imagined seeing. Matt and Za'gara were standing side by side waiting for them. Once Sarah and Jim were in the safety of their own lines Matt and Za'gara ordered their respective forces to pull back.
Hours later on the Leviathan Sarah surveyed the damage. The losses had been greatest among the Zerg but the Raiders had suffered their share of casualties. They had been prepared for a Protoss counter-attack but it never came. The waited anxiously but there was no sign of even a single Protoss ship. Matt even ordered scanner sweeps around them at random intervals to make sure there were no cloaked ships or observers following. There was nothing but empty space.
"Still all clear. How's Jim?" Matt had just received reports from the latest sweep.
"Resting now. Physically he's okay but he still hasn't regained consciousness. The medics are running more thorough tests now." Matt could tell that Sarah didn't want to be anywhere else but by Jim's side.
Sarah could tell that he saw the pained expression on her face so she changed the subject. "I was surprised to see you aboard Matt's ship." Sarah turned to Za'gara.
Za'gara lett out a sound which could be described as a chuckle. "I was surrounded by the Protoss. The Terran drove them off. He saved me" Za'gara was still in disbelief that she had been rescued by a Terran.
This was the first time Sarah had ever heard Za'gara utter the word Terran without a hint of malice or disgust in her voice.
Matt shrugged. Za'gara was not the only who couldn't believe that Matt rescued her. He was having trouble with it himself. "Don't get used to it. You helped us save Jim so I returned the favor."
Za'gara looked at him for a moment and turned her attention elsewhere. The conversation it seemed was over.
"Are you seeing this?" Amon whispered angrily to Arcturus. They were watching the events on the Leviathan through their spy as they always did.
"They were lucky. The Protoss would have destroyed them." Arcturus hissed at the missed opportunity.
"Fool. This is why you failed. You are a fool." His servants could not see it but Amon certainly could. The interactions of the Terrans with his Zerg were affecting them. First Za'gara let a chance to take over the Swarm slip by then against all reason and instinct she joined the lowly Terrans in mounting a suicidal rescue attempt. As a result their forces were now drastically depleted. All that to save two individuals. Now it seemed Za'gara was grateful to a Terran that had helped her. This confirmed Amon's suspicions. The Queen of Blades was not the only one who had to meet her demise. James Raynor must die as well and with him all that his relationship with Sarah Kerrigan symbolized would perish. He would not risk the creatures of the galaxy uniting under one banner. He would crush them all, one way or another he would see his plans fulfilled.
A/N I hope that this wasn't too bad. I was stuck on this chapter for several hours today.
P.S. I was reading through the old chapters and noticed all the typos and sentences with missing words. Sorry. I will try to proof read more before posting.
