A/N: As Monty Python might say, "Now for something completely different". Well, not really that different, but different from the norm I have established, and inspired by the Protoss side quests in Wings of Liberty. What the Protoss side quests in Wings of Liberty have to do with this chapter? They show a different side's struggles and adventures, and as such offer a different flavor for a faction related in some way to the main one. Well, that's what this is folks!

Also, I can't wait to play Heart of the Swarm in a couple hours. Don't talk about it in the reviews though because I'm sure no-one wants any spoilers of any type!

Special thanks go out to Beyogi, izwan, Heika, Blackhole1, and OMAC001 for the very kind and helpful reviews! I am very grateful, and I hope that you all know how much your feedback means to me! That being said, I also thank the others who continue to read my story, and know that I would love to hear from you all as well! Special thanks also go out to Dragon of Death and Decay as well as devo342 for favoriting the story and theflyingfrog and devo342 for following the story!

Upon request, I have decided to clarify the time period and narrator of each section of the story. I might go back for the other chapters and retroactively do the same thing for them, but at the same time I will not be putting exact dates. It defeats the purpose of Emily not having a clue what is going on in her life, as well as the storytelling part of it. Not putting exact dates also lets me jump around continuity snares for the most part, so I think it is for the best.

Dan the Larvae and I hope you all enjoy and that you will leave me your feedback, thoughts, ideas, comments, and questions in the form of reviews! They really do help me in various ways, as some can help me improve the story while others can just help inspire me to write more (and faster!).

(Pre-2499 Mar Sara Zerg Invasion, Gerolf POV)

Knock knock knock.

Putting down my soon to be winning poker hand on the ground my team and I were at the time using as a table, I called out to whomever was knocking on my door, "Who is it?"

A cheerful woman's voice responded to me, one that drew my full attention "It's me. Can I come in?"

Having already put my cards face down, I quickly darted for the door while my team all silently snickered to themselves, "Oh, be there in a sec Lieutenant."

When the I managed to open the door to my room I was met with two people standing outside of it, one my familiar blonde boss and the other a dirty blonde haired man with glasses and civilian clothing.

I tilted my head at the sight of the man, as did those of my team in the room who could see them, but I gave space for them both to enter. Emily took no time to show the unknown man off, gesturing towards him as she looked at the entirety of the team which somehow managed to fit in the room, "Hey guys, this is Michael Liberty. He is a reporter who will be tagging along with Alpha Squadron for some time, and I'm on special assignment to watch after him. General Duke's orders."

The entire squad was caught off guard and silent at first, but the silence was soon breached by James as he did a planned spit take with the alcohol he had brought with him, "Wait, what?"

The normally silent Corporal Crowley was the next to speak, curiosity piqued in the sharpshooter, "Okay then. Who's going to be in charge of our squad then?"

Emily turned towards him and gave him a bright smile, hands happily placed on her hips, "Gerolf, of course. He's the next highest in rank after all."

The sudden prospect of being in charge made my pale face flush red in panic, but that didn't stop the smallest member of our team, Liam, from giving me a thumbs up, "Bet this will look good on your record, bud!"

Still at a loss for words, I rubbed the back of my neck nervously while Hunter gave me a reassuring nod, "I'm sure you can handle it."

My team behind me, I decided to stop being awkward and introduce myself to our guest, who was standing nervously behind Emily. I reached a hand out for the reporter to shake and gave a smile to match the gesture, "Now, Mr. Liberty is it? I am Lance Corporal Rabe. It is nice to meet you."

Liberty shook the hand and smiled back, "You're very kind. Would you mind if I met your team?"

Nodding, I pulled my hand back and pointed its thumb over my shoulder at the team, "Sure, go ahead. I'll introduce them to you."

Emily stepped to the side of the room so that she was out of Liberty's way, the reporter taking her place and looking over the various men assembled in the room. I decided to start with the closest marine and move along, first pointing at my stocky friend, "This is Hunter Slambert. He is our expert of heavy weapons because of the time he spent blasting open safes on Deadman's Port," I chuckled a bit before adding, "Back when we lived there that is."

Hunter nodded at Liberty from where he sat on the floor, not moving to get up, "It's...a pleasure."

Liberty's mouth formed an O as he did a mental check about the planet mentioned by me, "Deadman's Port? That's a pretty dangerous place from what I've heard."

Hunter shrugged before speaking sardonically "It should be telling that serving as a soldier is safer than just living on that planet. I don't miss it."

Sitting next to Hunter, James gave him a slap on the back as he laughed, "Totally agree with you there, pal! Mar Sara was probably eighty times nicer than where you grew up, even though we didn't have really anything," Looking from Hunter to Liberty, James gave another laugh, "Pardon me, I'm Private James Feld. It's nice to meet you!"

Liberty nodded back to the soldier with a smile, enjoying the enthusiasm, "Michael Liberty. So, Mar Sara? Odd that you found your way into a core world ship like this. How'd you get here?"

James grinned as he thought about how to best put his tale, "Well, I enlisted, took some tests, did some training, and bam, the only person willing to take a weakling like myself was the lieutenant. I was scared at first, but she doesn't bite."

Liberty tilted his head in confusion at that last bit, "Scared?" Not a moment later, his eyes opened up fully and his face showed that he just remembered something, giving a brief glance towards Emily, "Oh, yes, I remember."

Knowing where the situation might end up going, I gave a cough and pointed to the miniscule man who was sitting beside James, "Moving along, this is Liam Bundy," leaning towards Liberty, I whispered, "I suggest you check your pockets before you leave the room."

Liam still heard us and called me out on the indirect insult, "Hey, I don't steal from civvies!"

I grinned, as did Liberty, and moved on to my next soldier, "And his opposite in height, Pierre Crowley. Crowley is one of our sharpshooters, along with James, and is quite skilled at it," Crowley shrugged at the praise, not denying it and not confirming it, and I laughed, "How he ended up in a group of misfits like this, I have no idea."

Pierre just shrugged again before looking back at the cards in his hand, but Liberty wasn't going to let him off so easily, "To be a part of Alpha Squadron you have to be pretty good I hear, so I'm guessing you're selling yourself short, corporal."

Knowing that Crowley wouldn't respond, I decided to for him, "Possibly, but I'm not kidding about our squad's ragtag-ness," I gestured towards the next man in our squad, the only one who rivaled me in height and Hunter in musculature. Or, in other words, the largest man one might ever encounter in their entire life, "This is Mac, the most experienced marine in our group. We don't usually give him orders or specific commands. He instills peace and lawfulness just by being places, so we let him go around as he wishes."

Liberty nodded towards Mac nervously, understanding what I was talking about, "It is nice to meet you...Mac."

Mac nodded back, but like Crowley he was not one for much talking. Nearing the end of the tour, I gestured to the second shortest member of the team who sat beside big Mac, maker the Marine appear all the smaller.

"Here we have Paul, who is the only one of us with a formal education. Except possibly Mac. He doesn't really say," I said with a laugh, which was met by a huff from Mac, so I quickly quieted it. Clearing my throat, I continued the introduction, "Anyways, he's in charge of keeping us all alive when we're deployed."

Paul rolled his eyes, "Just because I finished school doesn't mean I'm a great, skilled doctor, but they thought it made sense so here we are."

James jabbed a finger at the other marine, his voice slightly indignant, "Hey, we still let you carry a flamethrower, don't we?"

Paul sighed and shook his head, "The only reason I haven't fought you morons over my position? Yes, yes you have."

Liberty looked like he wanted to laugh, but also was concerned. Having a reluctant medic could be deadly to a team after all, but I knew all of Paul's grumbling was just for his ego. He wouldn't hesitate to help any of us out if we were really in trouble and that was a fact.

"And finally we have Brian, a farmboy from Mar Sara just like James," Brian waved at Liberty, but I continued on, "You've already met our Lieutenant, and if you have any questions feel free to talk to us. I'm sure our guys will be willing to help you out with whatever reporter-things you need to do," Crolwey and Mac narrowed their eyes at me, so I gave a nervous chuckle, "Well, most of them."

The reporter smiled at us all, a genuine smile that couldn't help but make you like the guy, "That's awfully kind of you all."

Glancing at her watch, Emily nodded towards the door, "I have to show Liberty other places on the ship, the ones he is allowed to see at least, so we should get going. Have fun playing cards, and stay out of trouble guys!"

I smiled at her and saluted, "Seeya Lieutenant. I'll make sure they don't get too rowdy."

Liam frowned and crossed his arms like a child might, "Aww come on, can't ya stay for a little? The ship's insides certainly aren't going anywhere."

Emily shook her head no, "Sorry, Private Bundy, but I have my orders from General Duke himself and I must carry them out."

Reluctantly shrugging, Liam replied, "Okay...we'll be here later if you two want to visit!"

Turning to leave with Emily, Liberty kept his head faced towards us as he said farewell, "It was nice meeting you all. I'll be sure to come back when I get the chance."

The more sociable ones of the squad waved back, but I can't remember very much what we said. Usually I'm good with these things, but so many people saying so many things at once, I guess I just forgot. Might have also had to do with James putting alcohol in my lemonade when I wasn't looking, just to mess with me. I wasn't even old enough to drink it on some planets at the time.

On his way down the hallway from our room with Emily, Liberty chuckled-what?

How do I know what was going on where I was not? Liberty filled in sometime later, that's how. Now let me narrate.

On his way down the hallway from our room with Emily, Liberty chuckled as he thought back to the group he had just been introduced to, "You have quite a lively squad, Lieutenant."

Emily chuckled back, her face one bright smile, "That's one word for them. I decided to put together a group of people who were either loyal to the Confederacy, or were quirky enough or had a dark enough history to be fine with my own. They're all willing soldiers, not a single one has had to be resocialized."

Liberty nodded, "That's quite interesting. From what I've heard, about half of the Confederacy's soldiers are former criminals subjected to resocialization, but you're saying none of them are?"

Emily shook her head and continued to beam, "Nope, just me," upon saying that, her face faltered for a moment, one that Liberty caught sight of, "I probably wouldn't even realize it if some of the other squads didn't bring it up all the time," her face went back to being perky however after just another moment as she chipperly noted, "They've stopped though recently, so everyone here on the Norad II is getting along."

Liberty rose his eyebrows, confused, "Some other soldiers didn't take kindly to serving with a former killer? Aren't half of them convicts?"

"Well, it was the non-convict half. Even my own squad was a bit afraid of me..." if it was possible, Liberty noted, her face became even happier as she went on, "Gerolf put an end to that though! He's pretty nice, and he is pretty enthusiastic about protecting the Confederacy."

More interested in the whole Marine relations idea, Liberty decided to press that matter, "So how exactly did he manage to get the other soldiers to be at ease around you?"

"Well, he convinced his two longest friends Hunter and James to give me a chance, then the rest of our squad was willing to put up with me," her face continued to shine as she spoke of me I heard, and I can't say I mind, "I don't know exactly what he did after that to get the rest of the marines to be okay with me, but he told me he had handled the issue and everything's been fine since."

"I'll have to talk to him. I'm curious to be honest."

Emily laughed, "You're a journalist, it's your job to be curious!"

Liberty gave a guilty shrug, "You're right about that," rubbing his chin, the newsperson came up with another question, "So, you seem to be close with the corporal. Mind if I ask you about workplace relations-"

And that's when Emily went from being cheerful-cheerful to being serious with a chipper voice, "Mr. Liberty, I hope that you are not implying that I am intimate with one of my men."

Liberty was caught in an awkward place he really didn't wish to be in, "Well, I must apologize, I just thought that the way your face lights up around him and while we're talking about him meant-"

Her voice still sounding like she was worth a billion dollars, Emily retorted slowly, "I can throw you in the brig if I want."

"Moving on then!"

(The Present, Gerolf POV)

"Seriously, what is it with us and the worst places in the galaxy recently? There was that time we visited the wreck called Tarsonis, we just came from Char, and now we are at this junk filled, worthless-"

Not about to let his fellow sharpshooter hurt everyone's ears with his incessant whining, Pierre smacks the man across the back of the head, "How many times are you going to complain, James? The meeting place was chosen by our employer, not us. We just are here to get paid, and then we get to go free."

James goes right on complaining, ignoring the pain he felt in the back of his skull as our crew approached the planet known to the galaxy as Deadman's Port, "I know, but still, this blasted place is bad news! Why do people even live here?"

Standing in the back of the bridge, I scowl at his question. "Some call it home because of its...lax laws."

Fellow veteran of the junk planet Hunter grinned at me from his navigator's seat, "Lax? You mean non-existent."

I nod to him, and then look at the assembled crew as a whole, "Point taken, but remember there are some laws in place. Not the orderly, protective kind, but rather the law of 'survival of the fittest'. You all may have seen some good men get pushed out an airlock because of that idea in your time, but this planet lives and breathes it. The strongest gangs and groups are the ones who live. And while one does as one pleases on Deadman's Port, there is a code of honor amongst some of the more reputable groups. Don't mess with their affairs and they won't mess with yours," I glare at James, given what he did on our last brief stay here, "Keep that in mind while we're down there."

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Hunter spoke next, "Hey, boss, think we should give your old friends a visit? They probably would love seeing you, and I don't remember them being all that bad for company from when we lived here."

"Possibly, but I would rather-"

James cuts me off with a hoot, "Yeah, I remember the guys you introduced us awhile ago! It would be fun-"

I glare at my loudmouthed friend, "I said possibly, James. We'll see how things go first. Until then, shut up, don't do anything to offend any of the people down there, and sure as hell stay away from any pink haired mercenaries you effing idiot. Got it?"

The sharpshooter holds his hands up defensively, "I get it, Mira's pissed at me, calm down! Sheesh, how was I supposed to know she got hitched since we had last been near here?"

"Because we've been in contact with her and she wouldn't stop telling us about how adorable 'her Matthew' can be? Try listening more and complaining less, James, it could help you a lot," I respond in a deadpan manner.

He rolls his eyes, not taking my statement to heart, "Fine, fine. Whatever."

Our crew falls silent after this little conversation, and our ship continues on course towards the planet. Pierre took caution to activate our cloaking device, one so generously 'lent' to us by the Dominion like all of our other equipment except the little toy our benefactor lent us for the mission, so that no pirates would try and rob us. We head towards the coordinates and all agree that parking amongst the junk is the best way to hide our ship and hopefully not lose it, as the cloaking device ran out of juice just as we approached the planet's surface. Pierre landed it in/on some junk near the bar where we were supposed to meet our employer, and we all disembarked with the hope of getting out of here as soon as possible.

Sadly, upon exiting our ship, a voice calls out to us as we all get off the boarding ramp, "Hey, this is our scrapyard! If you're gonna land in it you got to pay up!"

I turn to see two large men approach us, but neither is large like Hunter, Mac or I. No, they are fat, surprising for a planet like this where a good majority goes hungry and is faced with malnutrition. Given that my entire crew is clad in our equipment and these two men are in scrapped together clothing with shoddy looking rifles in their arms, I do not feel at all threatened. A fight would be no contest, and I am honestly caught a little off guard by their audacity. Possibly gang members of some prominent gang, I note, given the many tattoos adorning their arms.

I hold my hands up, not wanting to spill any unnecessary blood. We were mercenaries, not brutes. We fought for money, and fighting here would lose us money with whatever ammo we might use, not to mention possibly make us some enemies we didn't want, "Listen, we're only going to be here a little while. It would be a huge favor if you let us just allow us to park here for a bit while we go attend to an important matter."

The one that spoke before shakes his head no, leveling his gun at us (which, I might add, was quickly countered by my men raising their own weapons towards the approaching fat men), "Sorry bub, but no can do. Pay up or you've got a problem with us, and a problem with us means a problem with Santiago's crew!"

Now only about twenty feet from the approaching men, I whisper to my crew, "Santiago? Never heard of him. Must be new. Keep your weapons up."

The talkative one keeps his weapon trained on us as he stops about fifteen feet from us all, his voice sounding slightly drunk but not to the point of slurring, "So, what's it gonna be? You gonna pay up or do we got to show you what happens to punks who think they can just do what they want on our turf?"

I gesture towards the two men and shrug lightly, "I can see that you don't want to be reasonable, so fine. Second offer," I draw my own pistols and aim one at each of them, "You let us do our thing, don't touch our ship, don't call for whatever friends you have to help you, and you do it out of the kindness in your heart. Or, with our greater numbers and better gear, we end your lives."

The two men look at eachother and then back at me, their guns still raised. Underneath my helmet I narrow my eyes, speaking in a threatening tone, "Your choice."

The fat men laugh and lower their weapons, pointing behind us, "You think we only got two guys around?" I know that some of my squad is going to check on whatever new foe is behind us, so I keep my focus on the two men ahead of us, "Hah, get em boys! Teach these bubs some mann-"

I pull the trigger before the fat duo can lift their guns again, and both fall to the ground dead. Such a shame. Two less bullets. I turn behind me to see that there are another six men, not as hefty I might add, who might have been about to fire at us if not for the swift execution of their two allies. Intent on using this chance to end any further conflict, I call out to them, "Anyone else? I really don't care to get in another fight after the way my week is going."

They all pull the trigger on their weapons and I feel a round deflect off my armor, a weak slug that would barely have penetrated it even if I hadn't had Hunter toughen it up. With a sigh I take aim again, "Well, if that's how it has to be."

Taking a step forward and shielding our group with his suit is Hunter, who just laughs off the gunfire slamming into his suit, "You know, I missed the thrill of beating some random assholes up."

I turn to my team and gesture for them to lower their weapons. Hunter had this handled now. The stocky man in gigantic armor walks towards the people firing their rifles at us, all their rounds deflecting off his heavy suit as if they were just toys. After a short walk he reaches them, swinging one large arm of his suit and batting one man away, the poor soul landing about thirty feet away in position one cannot be in while also being alive. The other gangsters all start to back up from what I can see, but Hunter just laughs at them, "I don't even have to use ammo with this suit!"

Pierre begins to take aim at one of the ones who is turning to run, but I put a hand on his arm, "Let him handle them. We're running out of supplies as it is," I take the time to go over to the two dead men near me and look at what they have on them. I see a pistol in one's pocket, so I remove it and check the ammo inside, "Ah, good, the same size ammo that my pistols use. Handy."

I take all the ammo the man has on him and put in in the extra space on my tool-belt, including the rifle ammo just in case. By the time I finish with the one man, I could hear five screams, none of which belonged to my squad, and when I turn to check on the situation I can see that Hunter has literally crushed the entire group into various bloody messes. I almost felt bad for them, but then again they had attacked us, "You done, Hunter?"

Even as far away as he and with a helmet on, I can tell he's grinning as he calls back, "Yeah, they're not going to be messing with us ever again."

"Good. Now, we should be on time. I do not wish to miss the payday this Doctor Narud has waiting for us."

I didn't think I would be coming here anymore...well, 'home sweet home' is the saying, isn't it? I wonder how Father is doing...

A/N: Different flavor for you all. For the sake of Starcraft 2 Heart of the Swarm coming out tonight, I will not be updating for a couple days, so I thought I would give you all something a bit different and develop the squad of mercenaries a bit more. I'm about to play SC2 for 24 hours straight, sleep a bit, and then play more, so I apologize about the wait you all will have to endure.

On another note, we're at the 10 chapter mark! Thank you everyone who has been helping support this story, and I would like to share with you all a bit of info: I write long stories. So where as this might be halfway through some other decent length stories on this site, I am not close to finished. I hope you all continue to enjoy, and I hope that you all will stick with me for the ride! The introduction piece to the story is complete, so now we move on!

(Pssst, Dan's gonna be back next chapter...)

Dan and I hope you all enjoyed and that you will leave us your feedback, thoughts, ideas, comments, and questions in the form of reviews! They really do help me in various ways, as some can help me improve the story while others can just help inspire me to write more (and faster!).

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