"Another wave of Protoss attack ships, targeting the Moros entirely this time. I think that the Protoss have worked out that we were trying to keep their attention away from it, they have several transports amongst them as well." The report from one of his bridge crew was hardly surprising to Matt, they hadn't been all that subtle in their attempts to keep the attention away from the Moros as it limped from one short jump to another, ruthlessly destroying or crippling those that had tried to break away to attack the damaged supercarrier. With the fleet they had brought to engage the Moros still waiting for a signal from either the Hyperion or the Stockade, Matt could probably have turned this staggered retreat into a proper fight, but the chances of the Protoss deciding that such a force meant they needed the golden armada as backup was something he wasn't about to risk.
Better the Protoss think that Kerrigan had been abandoned by the Zerg and forced to hide with the raiders, it would be better for everyone in the long run and might make them a little less zealous about chasing after her in such large numbers again. Resolving himself to the continued retreat, Matt activated the commlink he had with Engineer Swann, who was currently hard at work on the Moros trying to fix up its vital systems. When the screen came on Matt was alarmed to see a Protoss zealot, until his eyes took in the myriad of bullet wounds that had effectively reduced its chest to gristle and slumped against the back wall. Swann's face appeared a moment later, the bulky engineer covered in sweat and grime, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand before speaking up.
"What is it you need cowboy? The Protoss boarders really aren't making things easy for us over here but we should be up and running if you can keep them off our back for the next five minutes." Running was the preferred option for now, for all he and the others knew the golden armada was on its way.
"We will keep them away Swann, Sarah wants to try something that might make them actually back off, but in the meantime just keep on working to fix the worst of it, we can start properly repairing it when we get out of here." The burly man nodded and closed the communications so that he could get back to work, allowing Matt to turn to the three recent arrivals to the bridge. "Are you sure you want to do this Kerrigan? the Protoss are already showing that they are happy to sacrifice numerous ships in order to trap us into defending the Moros and the executor was pretty zealous about wiping your existence from the Galaxy..."
Kerrigan nodded, straightening up from where she had been using Mendez and Jim as support and standing on her own, waving the pair of them off when she stumbled for a moment before regaining her balance. She was clad in her psionic armour once more though the design of it seemed softer and more compacted, less of the jagged spikes and edges, giving her a less threatening look to her that in Matt's opinion very much matched her recent thawing from the cold hearted tactician she had once been. Her face was a different matter and despite himself Matt could quite stop the mental cringe at the angry red flesh that covered the lower half of her face, despite her Zerg regeneration doing its best to heal what the surgery couldn't.
"I have to try Matt, worst case is that the Protoss don't listen to us or try and get the Golden armada here, which is probably what they are doing right now anyways. In the meantime we either have to wait till the Moros is repaired and we can escape or till the Protoss run out of ships to send at us, neither of those things are things I can influence directly without calling the swarm here, so I must try and think of other things that I CAN do in order to not feel useless." The last part was almost a whisper and for a moment Matt thought he might have imagined it before Mendez stepped up comfortingly to the woman's side. Nodding his ascent Matt moved off to the side of the command dais, allowing Kerrigan to step up and stand in the centre of the command deck. After a moment of concentration the air in the room became charged with energy, Kerrigan being surrounded in a nimbus of light before there was a crack and an ethereal figure appeared in front of them whilst Kerrigan fell to one knee breathing harshly.
"A forced astral projection, I am surprised you did not merely crush my mind instead, such an act would have been simpler to perform I imagine. Have you brought me here as a hostage or merely to gloat as you did during the brood wars, betrayer of Fenix?" The executor had seemed familiar when they had first begun the engagement, but given the raiders long and mixed history with the Protoss it was only now she was stood in front of them so to speak that Matt recognised her as the executor that had attacked them at Haven. She stood warily, her focus solely on the still recovering Kerrigan as she seemed to weigh up her chances of breaking the connection without Kerrigan just killing her out of hand. Therefore she only noticed Jim's approach when the man spoke up before placing one hand on Kerrigan's shoulder, normally casual gaze set into a harsh glare as he spoke his piece.
"I would not bring up Fenix if I were you executor, after all it was your kind that decided to only send him and a token force to help us when we were invaded by the UED, perhaps if you had been so intent on honouring him then as you are at using him as a martyr then my friend would still be with us now. But you were all too busy cowering behind your golden armada that you are all so proud of so that doesn't really surprise me." The executor reacted as if struck and with good reason Matt thought, many amongst the process had respect for the man who fought with Tassadar only a few levels below the slayer of the Overmind himself.
"You dare, I shou..." Pride warred with respect for a moment and then the executor seemed to shrink in on herself slightly and nodded her head. "If you were not known for your honour and deeds amongst us as you are I would kill you where you stand Queen of Blades be damned. But perhaps you are right Friend Raynor, after the fall of Aiur to the Overmind and the actions of its pet, we were perhaps too cautious with our remaining forces, if we had taken your request for aid seriously I don't think we would be having this conversation. But I implore you to come to your senses friend Raynor, Kerrigan has betrayed us all more than once, how can you be sure that she won't do the same again once she has her power back?" Jim looked across as Kerrigan raised herself to a crouch, guilty smile on his face as he traced the angry scar on her cheek with a mixture of affection and apology in his gaze.
"Oh I think once you know what happened today executor you wouldn't consider that idea for a moment longer. But I think we can cover that later, when you have finished trying to aggravate Sarah into killing you I think you should listen to her, if not for your sake then for the sake of all of your kind who will die in trying to continue this feud." Jim's pointed comment about the rather pissed off superhuman next to him seemed to bring her out of the state she had been in, trying to restrain herself from doing exactly as Jim said and wiping the executor from existence, though despite her seeming to calm a little there was still a sparking energy field around each of her clenched fists as the executor looked back at her a mixture of amused and cautious.
"I did not think it would be so easy to get under the skin of the legendary Queen of Blades, even more importantly I did not imagine that she would be capable of resisting her base instincts for so long. Very well, I am intrigued enough to hear what you will have to say in person. Release me and I will order our fleets to stop their attacks, though if they sense treachery or deceit..."
"They will call the Golden Armada and all of us shall perish in terrible fire, yeah we get it. I think you Protoss need some new threats that don't revolve around you all dying and hoping we will stick around to let ourselves be killed." Kerrigan's smirk returned in full force as her words vanished any trace of humour on the executors face, but Sarah held her hands up in a placating manner a moment later before the argument could continue further. "Apologies, I am still recovering from my earlier actions so I am a little short tempered. I will not hold you here any longer executor, and once you have called your fleet back we can arrange an in person meeting to discuss things further." The executor nodded and disappeared a moment later, Kerrigan giving a big sigh of relief the moment they were alone.
"If this meeting continues in the same vein I cannot promise I will not take that woman apart just to shut her up. But at least this will have bought Swann some time..." Not exactly promising for the negotiations ahead but as Kerrigan had said at least they had time now.
"Right, well perhaps we can use this... grace period to send some more engineers and troops over to the Moros. Then even if things do go badly we can get out of here without risking leaving the Moros behind anymore." Mendez broke the slightly awkward silence by focussing on the practicalities of the situation which Matt appreciated very much as it broke the awkward tension in the room and made the crew focus on their particular jobs once more. Matt could only hope that things remained this peaceful after the negotiations actually started.
"Well that was about as much fun as Tarsonis rodeo..." Jim chuckled at his own bad joke while Kerrigan glared at him for a moment before shaking her head with a tired smile. Negotiations had been tense to say the least as they met with the executor and her troops on the nearby planet of Davos, she had been forced to knock out three zealots who had accompanied the executor when they tried to kill her at the start of the talks. Thankfully the other Protoss hadn't taken the opportunity to try and finish her off and had let them at least try and come to a agreement.
Kerrigan had let Jim take the lead regarding the negotiations, the man showing that he was more than just a charismatic rogue as he politicked his way into the Protoss' good books even whilst defusing the worst of the hate they directed at her. Certainly her main offer also helped with the progress of the talks, and the sheer surprise she felt emanate from the Protoss when she made it had helped mitigate her anger to their attempts to aggravate her.
*Flashback*
They had been at it for almost an hour when one of the Protoss, a High Templar from his grand robes, pointed angrily at her over Jim's shoulder and made his exclamation clear to everyone there.
"Enough of letting Friend Raynor speak for you Queen of Blades, I desire more than flowery words of peace and reconciliation to repay the blood of my brothers who have been slaughtered by your Zerg. You say that you were controlled during your time as the Queen of Blades, but what can you offer us in order to prove your different intentions towards us?" What about the fact she was letting them live to see another day despite the fact that they had been the ones to attack first and were quite determined to kill her and her men without a thought?
That was probably a little bitter of her given her history with the Protoss but she really wanted to get this whole thing over with as she hadn't rested now in almost 48 hours, healing coma notwithstanding. And given the actions of both the Overmind and her own Zerg forces would make the Protoss very wary of working directly with her forces in her lifetime... But perhaps she could use something she had already been doing with her forces to her advantage here. Nodding her head to Jim as he tried to step in, the man being able to read her so that no words were needed in order to let him know she was okay with this.
"You wish for me to promise something solid enough that it will stop the possibility of Augustgrad ever happening again, which is understandable given the actions of the Queen of Blades in the past." Her entire party had been clear from the start that they separated the Queen of Blades from Kerrigan when they spoke, whilst it obviously angered the Protoss for them to do so she and Jim felt that it would help with negotiations in the long term.
"I think that you know as well as I that there is nothing I could promise you short of my own life that would satisfy you immediately." She paused for effect and saw Felicity's eyes widen as she said this, obviously worried about how far she might go given her recent actions, but Jim placed a hand on her shoulder to calm the woman as she spoke up once more.
"But after the events of today and the time since my... Release, I cannot give you that satisfaction and to do so would just make things harder between our three races. I have been shown that I cannot give into selfish or easy decisions as I used to when I just commanded the Zerg, and I intend to do my best to look at the big picture to make things better for all of us if I can." It was clear that the Protoss didn't believe her and that wasn't really at all surprising given her past, so Kerrigan decided to get straight to her point that she hoped that even if it didn't win the Protoss over it would at least make them consider their priorities a little more.
"I bring to the table the might of my swarm and the offer to assist the Protoss with any attempts to clear any hostile forces from Protoss worlds or former holdings that the Zerg have led to you abandoning, for a few things in return of course..." Whilst some people might have just made the offer of assistance without the proviso of strings attached, but Kerrigan knew if she did that would just make the Protoss even more suspicious, she would be the same if they did the same to her. But the tantalising offer that she had implied rather than directly stated with her rather specific wording should be becoming obvious right about...
"Qu-Kerrigan, are you saying..." Kerrigan allowed a slight smile to cross her face as the executor used her actual name, the first time a non-Rifle affiliated Protoss had done willingly since Fenix, before nodding her head and doing her best to keep her tone steady and not condescending as she confirmed the executor's hopes.
"Yes Executor, when I have dealt with Mengsk and secured peace in the sector for the time being, I am offering the full strength of my swarm and the Queen's Rifles in the liberation of your home world. If you wish me to that is..." The statement caused more than one of the assembled Protoss to reel back in mild shock, even as Raynor stepped to her side supportively.
"Me and my Raiders will also stand with Kerrigan, in memory of Fenix and Tassadar we will give your race Aiur!" The declaration of unconditional support from Raynor helped, more than half of the Protoss, mainly the youngest present, were expressing emotions such as hope and excitement. Of course there were others that were still firmly suspicious of her and obviously very leery of her offer in any form...
*Flashback End*
Despite the continued suspicion and hostility from some of the Protoss camp, such a split in opinion was definitely better than the universal condemnation that she usually received. Whilst it might still be wishful thinking on her behalf at this point, Kerrigan liked to think that her long term chances of survival had just shot through the roof, especially if she could bring the executor on board before they departed.
Assuming she survived whatever this prophecy Zeratul was steering her into was about, but she could worry about that in the morning, or whatever time she actually managed to sleep until. For now both groups had constructed small bases on the planet to stay at whilst negotiations continued, their respective ships withdrawn to the sides of the planet to avoid conflict and reduce tension. So she could leave the Raiders and the Rifles to plan things and to organise the defences just in case the Protoss decided they couldn't trust them, honestly a bed in one of the bunks set up at the base was the only thing on her mind right now...
If she had been a little more awake and aware, Kerrigan might have noticed the almost muffled feeling that came over her psionics as she made it back to the Raider camp, or the almost unnoticeable psionic presence of hundreds of Zerg organisms that were being quickly and silently conveyed to the planet by overlord. Their purpose drove them relentlessly as their masters only instruction was branded psionically into their primitive minds, only waiting until their secret weapons were fully matured before launching their assault.
'Bring me the body of the one known as Kerrigan, Queen of Blades of the False Zerg...'
Kerrigan had woken instantly as the sounds of gunfire pre-empted the shouting of sentries about an attack. Leaping to her feet she realised she had barely managed two hours of sleep judging by the encroaching darkness outside the bunk area. Grabbing her rifle, which she had made a conscious effort to remember in order to further distance her image from the Queen of Blades, Kerrigan reached out with her mind to find out what was happening. But instead of the usual clear sense of what was going on around her that she usually had, Kerrigan instead found herself in what seemed to be a psionic fog, her senses barely making it beyond the camp itself before failing.
That distance was enough however for her to realise what was happening as she took off at a run, leaping through the air to land in front of the outermost bunker of the camp as waves of Zerg charged towards them. After a few shots Kerrigan had to shoulder the rifle and abandon her pretences of normality in order to combat the numbers of enemies being sent her way. Even with the psionic fog all around her she should have been able to establish a link with the zerglings in front of her if they were feral, the fact that she couldn't meant that they already had a master controlling them and that wasn't good news.
Whether it was a Broodmother trying to usurp her position after the psionic blast she had released seemed to signify her death Kerrigan couldn't be sure, but until she found out whatever was causing this psionic dampening it wasn't really important... Well it was but it was more there was little she could do about it. Forming the psionic armour around her as the zergling swarm closed on her, Kerrigan leapt through the air and started lashing outwards in a whirlwind of death with her blades. The Zerg forces seemed to hone in on her as she did that, reinforcing the idea that they were here for her and not anyone else.
'Kerrigan, what is the meaning of this treache...' The astral projection of the executor cut off her accusation even as Kerrigan slipped under a pair of spines fired her way by a hydralisk, Kerrigan turning the hydralisk's entire upper body into gristle and gore a moment later with a psionic blast that also took out a pair of zerglings behind it.
"A little busy executor, but I suggest you and your men make your way over to this base if you wish to avoid being overrun by whoever is planning this, i certainly imagine this is not the worst of it..."
And she hadn't been wrong, though after the first assault there had been a much needed breather that allowed her to take command of the Rifles and set up a small Zerg base, though trying to control more than a small number of Zerg at one time proved to be too challenging to keep up at the same time as fighting on the frontline of the conflict. Therefore she had been forced into a backline command role for the first time since Jim had released her from Amon's control, guiding the Zerg to take out the three bloated beasts that had been spread across the nearby landscape, which seemed to be the source of the psionic static.
When the last one had fallen the mist had lifted and Kerrigan had connected to the minds of the remaining Zerg she was at last able to trace the psionic connection that controlled them back to its source on the far reaches of the planetary system, hidden behind the outermost planet itself. It was only when she mentally rounded the planet that she truly comprehended what she was up against, and more importantly who it was that might be after her once more.
As she projected herself inside the Leviathan sized behemoth vessel that was surrounded by a host of smaller Zerg fighting craft and very clearly designed in an archaic and combat orientated manner, Kerrigan found herself face to face with an enemy she didn't recognise. At least, she was clueless until a familiar voice spoke in her head and the figure turned towards her.
"Kerrigan, it is good that I was mistaken about your death and that you still live. That will make the wiping out of your forces before devouring you all the more... Satisfying." She barely broke the connection before Zurvan tore her to shreds with his new arms, leaving her gasping for breath on one knee in the command room. Activating her comms unit, Kerrigan took a moment to get her breathing under control before speaking.
"Matt, signal the fleet quickly, we have a problem..." Unfortunately that was something Kerrigan was getting uncomfortably used to saying every time they seemed to make some progress...
Twenty one graves now rested upon Davos' surface, another solemn reminder if any was needed of the cost her war against Mengsk and her other enemies had. And that twenty one were only the ground casualties of the fight against Zurvan, above Davos the space battle that had lasted several hours would have undoubtedly claimed more lives. In fact if it hadn't been for the turn of the Moros with twin Yamato cannons blazing as the behemoth had started its unrelenting attack towards Davos itself then Kerrigan would have been in trouble even with the Protoss fleet and her own doing their best to prevent that.
Even that shouldn't have worked, the Moros running on a skeleton crew and with the battle damage from when they had taken it would have been no match for the behemoth if the beast had actually attacked it head on, but it seemed that Zurvan was being cautious after the events on Zerus. The ancient Zerg instead decided to withdraw at that point, merely stating that he would return at some point to finish things between them, not exactly what Kerrigan needed at this point but there was nothing she could do about it for now.
"You all right there darling? You were mighty quick to leave the funeral..." Raynor's appearance and question was hardly a surprise to Kerrigan, with the psionic mist of the creatures that the Rifles had started naming 'Hive Beasts' Kerrigan had decided she had been complacent and thus her psionic senses were on a knife edge. So she had sensed his and Mendez's approach long before the pair had got within speaking distance, though given who it was Kerrigan had felt content with waiting for their arrival without the need to stand and face them.
"Just adding another enemy to those that are trying to kill me, it seems that no matter how many we win there is always someone else just waiting in the shadows to strike at us next..." Her voice trembled ever so slightly part way through and she hated herself for it even as Jim came to stand beside her, his face showing that he was as tired as she felt.
"And I will do everything in my power to finish every last one of them, with my own two hands if I have to. That's a promise I would follow to the gates of hell if need be." Despite the obvious weariness in his voice Jim's confidence made her smile slightly before she felt she had to ask, even if she already knew the answer.
"Speaking of promises Jim, why did you let me live after purifying me on Char? I know your promise to Fenix meant everything and you couldn't know I was freed before you saved me from Tychus..." Jim to her surprise didn't even flinch when she brought up something that had been in the back of her mind ever since he had told her what happened. Instead he gave a wistful smile up at the stars even as Felicity sat on Kerrigan's other side and pulled Kerrigan awkwardly into her shoulder, obviously Felicity's best attempt at comforting her that she could manage at this time.
"There was something that Tassadar told me and Fenix actually in the zenith of our battle with the Overmind, when both of us tried to accompany him on his final charge and keep the promises that we had made to see this thing through to its conclusion. It was something that Fenix repeated to me as he lay dying on Augustgrad after I made my promise to kill the Queen of Blades, you, for what you had done. 'Some promises are made to be broken friend, just as some great lives are not lived to their fullest.'" Jim seemed to consider saying something more, only to shake his head and settle down next to her without a word, the three weary warriors eager to take the advantage of the respite they had been given, no matter how short it would end up being...
Location- Titan, moon base Prime
Preparations were nearly complete for her ground forces, each company being drilled against the known Dominion tactics the Blade's spies had fed back to her as well as how to combat both the Protoss and Zerg if they were encountered. Lauren Feinhaus snorted slightly to herself as she looked at the data pad in front of her from her own informants in the Korpulu region, Blade must either be getting sloppy in his old age or plotting his own game if the massive difference in Intel she was receiving was correct. She was leaning towards the latter, but that was why she had sent her own men in in the first place, even if most of them had disappeared off the grid shortly after arriving and sending their first reports.
Trust, but verify, a motto she had always lived by and one that had gotten her this far despite the cutthroat diplomacy involved in UED politics. As such Lauren had augmented her already considerable forces with specific forces that the Science divisions had developed in the aftermath of the discovery of the two races. The protests of Admiral LeBlanc and his supporters had prevented her from having many of the more... Top Secret level troops and projects, under the pretence that they were worried that such technology could end up in the wrong hands like the medic and medivac technology had in DuGalle's campaign should her invasion become drawn out or even worse defeated.
Of course they were ignoring the fact that keeping such powerful tools from her force might well be the cause of such a defeat, but whilst Lauren was determined not to fall into the same sense of superiority that she suspected had been the downfall of DuGalle and his men, she was fairly confident that she should be able to triumph given the forces available to her. Especially if she managed to successfully contact the supposedly 'dead' Queen of Blades and offer her help with her revenge against Emperor Mengsk in return for supporting the UED's claiming of the Dominions territory...
A/N: 'As one enemy fell another two rose to take their place, each more powerful and terrible than the last', is pretty much the Blizzard way of writing canon, but I cannot fault them for that as it is the easiest way to write storylines without the need to think about it overly much.
So I have tried move away from the whole 'defeat one enemy, deal with them, and move on to the next'. to expand a little on the universe with this chapter, bringing a more cautious, more experienced Zurvan to the table as the background antagonist who after this isn't going to confront Kerrigan in the field directly but will work against her more peripherally in the long term.
I am wondering where to take the last segment of this story and I want people's opinions. Would people prefer more in depth story of the remaining events until the attack on Korhal? Or would they like just a couple more chapters and then a sort of summation and final battle? Let me know and then I can get this finished and start thinking about possibly making a sequel...