A/N Typed this one on the phone so it's a little short. I will update again soon.

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. The SC books are tied into the story and It continues on after Wings of Liberty and is a great read for any starcraft fan.

Heart of the Swarm Chapter 21

This was not how Artanis imagined the campaign to retake Aiur would begin. The allied forces were separated and cut off from one another and now a massive Zerg army was bearing down on them. Once the Zerg were sighted gathering in the woods below the plateau . Artanis had rushed to the communications building and sent out a call for help. There had to be thousands of them, even the dense forest could not hide them all. The ones that had been spotted were only a handful.

He was unsure, however, if anyone had received the transmission. Before he could very that that his message had been received all the equipment started to go haywire. Both Protoss and Terran communication equipment seemed physically intact but he could not produce anything but static no matter how much he tried.

He only understood enough of Terran technology from what they had shown him before the others departed. Logic suggested that communications were being jammed but he had never heard of the Zerg doing such a thing. He slammed his hand sown in frustration, destroying several of the useless machines.

He had no way of telling if Raynor and Kerrigan had even made it through their rescue attempt and if they had he wasn't sure how far they were from his position. If they had received his message he had no doubt whatsoever that they would come to his aid. The question is how many of them would be left alive when Kerrigan and Raynor reached them.

He walked to the highest point of the plateau and looked at the forest below. Like many of Aiur's forest it was thick and dense. It provided him with a vantage point to observe the daunting task that he was faced with. It occurred to Artanis that he and whatever forces were left in the base could abandon it but immediately scrubbed that plan. If the Zerg saw them retreating then they would attack en masse and overwhelm them before the majority could be loaded onto the ships. He also was hesitant to leave the massive mineral cache they discovered. Not only was it their foothold for retaking the planet but if the Zerg took it then they would have plenty of resources to restart all the hives.

No, he told himself mentally. The Protoss and the few others that were left would make their stand here and now. He had discussed the plateau's defense with Raynor before he had left. They had a few surprises of their own to dish out. If this was to be his end then he was determined to take as many of the enemy as he could.

Jim and Sarah's allied army slowly gathered back together after their flight from the Zerg hive. The location wasn't a preordained meeting point but a place where everyone simply collapsed in exhaustion. The retreat was not the organized fallback that they had planned. Not only did they have to outrun the Zerg but it seemed Aiur's weather had a temper of its own. The strong wind increased the rate of which the fire had spread until it was bearing down on them. Added to that was the direness of Artanis' plight and the army simply ran as fast as they could in the direction of their base. It was only when fatigue took over and the weather turned favorable were they able to catch their second wind.

Sarah observed as Za'gara organized the remainder of her brood into a fighting force. They were pleased to discover that while their losses were significant they were actually less than what they feared. Combined with the Zerg that Sarah had brought , they still had decent enough numbers that they could be effective.

She was only waiting for an exact count before returning to Jim so that they could discuss a plan of attack.

"Our forces are recovering nicely. All the injured should be mostly healed by the time we reach the base." Za'gara informed her. Jim had advised that both Zerg and Terran and recover their strength while they discussed strategy. Their combined forces would be of no help to Artanis if they were too exhausted and injured to fight.

He had asked Sarah to oversee the Zerg while Nova assisted Hastings with the Dominion soldiers and he would handle the Raiders. The medics worked diligently healing the wounded and the SCVs they brought along worked non stop to repair the damaged equipment. It was a fine line they walked. If they spent too much time repairing and recovering then Artanis would be overrun but if they they pushed too quickly then they would be in no condition for open combat.

Za'gara was eager to push back to the base to help rectify the situation she had caused but after the day's events she knew better than to question Raynor's thinking when it came to battle. She realized how right Sarah had been about her. She did have a lot to learn. Not just from Sarah but from Raynor and the Terrans as well.

Za'gara was just giving Sarah the last of the reports when Nova came barreling into view. Sweat lined her brow as she came to a stop in front of Sarah, still laboring to catch her breath.

At Nova's disheveled appearance Sarah feared the worst. She thought that maybe the Zerg they had escaped from earlier had caught up to them or maybe that the base had been overrun and Artanis had been lost.

The words that came out of Nova's mouth were the last things Sarah expected to hear.

"Jim left." She managed to get out.

"What?" Sarah tried to reach Jim through the link. What she felt confirmed what Nova had just told her. The physical distance between them was growing.

"What's going on? Where's he going?" Sarah had directed her question to Nova but it was someone else that answered.

Colonel Hastings approached them. He was flanked with a few marines, bodyguards no doubt. "I'm sorry I tried to convince him otherwise but Commander Raynor insisted."

"Insisted on what?! Where is he?!" Sarah was yelling now.

"He said he and the Raiders would buy us some time." Hastings said reverently. It took Sarah a minute to recognize the look in Hastings' eyes. It was admiration.

Hastings continued. "He said Artanis could not survive without reinforcements but that the rest of us needed a few extra hours to get ready so he would do what he could to give us that time."

Sarah could not mistake the look she saw in the eyes of Hastings and the men he brought with him as he spoke. It was clear as day. Raynors' actions inspired these men. His actions put to lie the years of propaganda Mengsk had subjected Jim too. He was willing to give everything of himself to help those who fought with him without any promise of reward or even a chance of victory. It was such a different cry from those who had previously led the soldiers of the Dominion. They were used to those being in power hardly caring about their forces. They were used and then cast aside, they thought that itwas just the way things were.

Raynor was just so different, with barely a word he and his men rushed off to save as many lives as they could. Human or not, Raynor would fight for what he believed in and the Raiders would follow him to whatever end. Hastings now understood why, despite the former emperor's best efforts, entire planets cheered at Raynor's approach.

Sarah had already known this, she already believed in Jim. To see someone grasp it for the first time was truly awe inspiring. It did nothing but increase the love she felt for the man.

Then Sarah heard something else she never thought she would hear.

"We have to help him." Za'gara joined the conversation. She had said it with an equal amount of reverence and urgency.

Sarah agreed with her whole heartedly but to hear Za'gara say it out loud almost shocked her in place.

Za'gara saw Sarah studying her. "He would- DID do the same for me."

She looked at all those gathered around her, leaders of both Terran and Zerg races were now willing to follow Jim into the very jaws of hell. Along with Artanis and the Protoss at the base, they unknowingly flocked to Jim's banner. One by one he won them over through his deeds and actions. Wether it was by design or not he was slowly uniting the sector. Sarah did not know if she was proud of him or terrified for him.

A/N That was okay? I was feeling a little inspirational towards the end there