Chapter Twenty Three: The Scales Tilt

There came a point, a little bit before the end when everyone realized the Confederacy was fucked. There had been warning signs before now. But when Alan Schezar agreed to a truce with Mengsk independent of the High Command it was the last straw. It was obvious that the Confederacy would fall.

Either Mengsk would fulfill his oath of vengeance, or Schezar would crush him. If Schezar won, he would reanimate the Confederacy of Man in a fashion more suiting his tastes. Either way, there was a general feeling that it couldn't be much worse.

Seeing as people spent two months doing nothing but fighting zerg, I'm not complaining.

-Liberty's reports, volume I.

Two months had passed since the Confederate defeat at Antiga Prime. Their situation had not improved for that decadent regime. With blood in the water, the sharks came. World after world rose in rebellion, and the Squadrons were in a constant flurry of activity. They were trying to keep the revolts down and defend from the zerg incursions. Every so often a colony would succeed in throwing off the Confederacy for a moment. Then a Squadron would come and put it down hard. But by the time they were done a dozen other rebellions would have taken place.

Meanwhile, the Sons of Korhal only grew stronger. They soon gained multitudes of new recruits. Refugees came from all over to Mar Sara and Antiga Prime. They came to start new lives free of the Confederacy and, they hoped, free of the zerg.

Then there were people who needed help.

Like the kind standing in front of them now. He was a thin bespectacled man, the Magistrate of Corisin V, a small colony much like Mar Sara. However, where Mar Sara was focused on mining, Corisin V was based around farming. His name was Steven Mcdowal, and the Confederacy could not help him.

'General Mengsk,' said Steven Mcdowal, 'thank goodness you are here. My colony has come under assault by the zerg. My militia are being taxed to the limit, and we can't hold out much longer.'

'I understand.' said Mengsk. 'My forces are already en route. Raynor's Rangers will launch an assault on their hive clusters. I'm sending my best commander, Serena Calabas with a task force to shore up your defenses.'

'Thank you sir.' said Steven. 'The Confederate Squadrons are preoccupied crushing people down. They haven't sent any help in weeks since we asked for it.'

'In time I think you will find we share your frustration.' said Mengsk. 'For now, we'll deal with the zerg.' He cut the channel. Then he glanced back. 'We hardly need a rebellion at this stage. I need only politely ask them to join us, and we would become their official government.

'Calabas' disobedience has yielded unexpected fruit, Lieutenant.'

'Yes, well she tries.' said Kerrigan. 'I got in contact with Duke. He has annihilated the zerg from that infested world. The one we had to evacuate the colonists from. I can't remember its name.' The bridge crew were enthusiastic but dutiful. Their surface thoughts were of the colonists and other normal things.

'Orion.' said Mengsk. 'Things are going very well for us indeed.' Mengsk was pleased. But also troubled, and Kerrigan knew why. He'd hoped to draw off some of the zerg from surrounding worlds to Antiga Prime, to a well-defended target.

Silence took them. The plan had been a cunning one. Liberate the doomed world of Antiga Prime to start the rebellion. Arrange for evacuation for the colonists. Then lure billions of zerg down there so that the protoss could glass the place and slow the things down. The problem was that things had gone too well, and Mengsk had had to abandon his end game.

'Now those billions of zerg were rampaging, and they had to check them.

'The problem is that the zerg keep on coming after us.' said Kerrigan. 'Between us and the squadrons we've killed billions of them. What are they after?'

'The question poses an interesting problem.' said Mengsk. 'What does an alien hive mind want? After all, they do not need to eat us. And from what we know of them they could exist on one of the barren worlds stretching out through space.

'Why lose so many of its species for the sake of something you don't need?

'But we already know what we want, don't they?' His voice was grim.

'Ghosts,' said Kerrigan, reading his thoughts well enough. 'or psychics. Is that what you mean?'

Arcturus was troubled, but he was also unreadable beyond that. His thoughts kept shifting like they did when he was nervous. 'Yes.' he said, 'Captain Raynor mentioned that the zerg infested a terran Command Center on Mar Sara. We've encountered several others like it since. It seems these creatures have an unhealthy interest in humans. And they are attracted to psionically sensitive individuals.'

'Arcturus what are you getting at?' said Kerrigan, trying to read him.

'I'm not sure.' said Mengsk. 'I'm afraid these things won't stop until they get what they want. And I'm beginning to have doubts about whether we can kill them all. For now, get in contact with General Duke, tell him to meet the Hyperion over Antiga Prime before the end of the week. It's nearly time for the big push.

'Does Serena have her story straight?'

'Of course.' said Kerrigan. 'Though she doesn't see why it was necessary to omit some of the Confederate contributions.'

'Propaganda is a tool which I use as well.' said Mengsk. 'For our purposes, the Confederacy must look not only tyrannical, but also incompetent. Which they are, to a large extent.'

'Right.' said Kerrigan. Everything was in motion.

Soon the pieces would fall into place, and they would see once and for all where public opinion really stood. Even so, Kerrigan was troubled, for something about this mission seemed very wrong.

The defenses had been erected. The core colonists had been drawn back to a defensive position. Now Serena and her men were holding their ground against an onslaught of zerg. The local militia were far too few in number to provide more than moderate support. And as the battle raged outside her HQ, she met with him.

No serious assaults had been mounted against them before this point. It was the only reason they were still alive. 'Yamanov,' said Serena, 'what is the status of the defense?'

'We're holding our ground, ma'am.' said Yamanov. 'But it looks like the Confederate garrison was pulled out a couple of hours ago.' Yamanov had been pulled off Antiga Prime to deal with the situation. Serena felt bad about pulling him off what was more or less shore leave. But crisis points like this needed every good soldier they could get.

'Odd,' said Serena, 'I was under the impression that Schezar had abandoned that strategy.' Something didn't ring right here. 'Alright shore up the defenses, and no one try to launch any assaults. Remember, we're just keeping the colony intact while Raynor's plays hero. If things go bad, we need to have the forces to pull off-world.'

A door opened, and Mcdowal entered. 'You wanted to talk to me, Commander Serena?'

'I'm not impressed with your militia, Mr. Mcdowal.' Serena said, letting her displeasure be known in her voice.

'We're just a small farming colony.' said Mcdowal.

'And this somehow makes you immune to death?' asked Serena. 'As the Magistrate of a colony, your duty is to ensure that the militia remains strong. Strong enough to defend against outside threats for days, or even weeks at a time. If we hadn't responded to your call as quickly as we did it's likely you would have been overrun.' She paused. 'As of this moment, I am initiating a series of military reforms.' Picking up a file she handed it to him.

Mcdowal looked through them. 'You want every one of capable in the militia? How could society function?'

'Quite well.' said Serena. 'They will be forced to take a few hours out of every day for training with the militia, at a minimum. As a result, you will have a large pool of manpower from which to draw an army. You don't have to use them all at once.' She paused, because something wasn't right, then opened a channel. 'Jim, what's the status on the purge?'

'There are dozens of hive clusters down here.' said Jim. 'The zerg must have been here for months. My boys and I are working on it, but it'll take time.'

'Keep at it.' said Serena, as alarmbells rung in her mind. 'There are too many zerg here.'

'We agree on that.' said Mcdowal.

'No, I mean for this level of resistance.' said Serena. 'By the time the zerg presence got to the level it is you should have all been dead. Especially since the garrison pulled out for-' She stopped. 'For no reason.' Realization dawned and something clicked into place. She scrambled for communication. 'Arcturus this is Serena! Scramble evacuation ships and pull everyone off Corisin V now! There are psi emitters on the surface!'

'Are you sure?' asked Mengsk.

'The Confederate garrison pulled out before we got here.' said Serena. 'But the Confederates haven't done that in months, the Squadrons hate abandoning worlds. The zerg are here in force, but passive. And despite this area being near Confederate space the Squadrons have made no attempt to save it.

'It's a trap!'

'Understood,' said Mengsk, 'dropships are en route. I'm ordering Raynor to begin evacuation. Stand ready to receive us.'

She turned off the channel. 'Mcdowal, get to your people and prep them for immediate evac. Tell them to take what they can, but not to burden themselves.

This place is about to become a killing ground.' Then she opened another channel. 'All militia and Sons of Korhal soldiers be advised the objective has changed. We are evacing back to the hyperion and our transport ships with the colonists in tow. Make ready to leave on a moments notice-'

A low, faint scream echoed in her mind. It was almost subconscious and yet it was terrible. This was what they had almost done to Antiga Prime. This was what they had stopped. Even before anymore zerg arrived she felt glad about that.

'Ma'am the zerg are swarming here!' said Yamanov.

'Hold your positions!' said Serena. 'The colonists are to be evaced first.'

'Strap yourselves in boys.' said a voice over the communicator.

Serena made her way outside and saw, like a great flood, refugees filtering into the dropships. They carried with thems everything they could of value. Jewelry, dolls, foodstuffs. Soon the entire fleet was filled and they took off back towards the Hyperion. Behind her, the sound of gaussfire increased.

The evacuation proceeded a few shipments at a time, and the pressure ramped up. On the fourth time, more dropships arrived, and they were able to evacuate more people. Serena felt as though any minute the zerg would arrive and destroy them.

'Raynor has been evaced.' said Mengsk. 'However, the bulk of the zerg reinforcements will be arriving soon. We'll have to speed up.'

'If you have to leave someone,' said Serena, 'leave me, get the colonists out.'

'The offer is appreciated,' said Mengsk, 'however that won't be necessary. Most of the colonists have been withdrawn from the evacuation zones already. The next shipment will bring the rest of you out.'

Finally, the dropships arrived and Serena opened a channel. 'Alright men rides here. Let's get the hell out of this place!' She paused and took one last look at her surroundings. This had once been a bustling starport where people went into the stars on one kind of business to another. Now it was a warzone. Soon it would be a ruin.

'Ma'am,' said Yamanov, 'we should go.'

'Right,' said Serena.

They rushed onto the vessels, and the doors closed behind them.

They found Mengsk back on the bridge of the Hyperion and even as they entered the ship began to turn. Serena looked around. 'Where is Kerrigan?'

'She has just returned from a bit of last minute business we had to conduct.' said Mengsk. 'For now, we're about to depart Corisin V for good. My men are making the calculations as we speak. It was a good plan in the end, use the psi disruptor to maintain a powerful number of zerg in a colony of no importance.

'We'd been lured down here and committed our full forces to the purge. Then the Confederates could have lured the zerg down on us at their leisure. Fortunately, it has failed.'

'General,' said an ensign 'we're detecting massive numbers of zerg coming out of warp space. There are way more than we can handle. What are your orders?'

Even now Serena saw them flocking in great numbers towards them. Thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions. Hundreds of millions. They were swarming forth from warp space towards the planet below. The Hyperion was right there in the middle. This was her fault. If she had done something differently, caught on faster, this wouldn't have happened.

'Any last second plans, Arcturus?' asked Raynor.

'Now that you mention it.' said Mengsk, raising a control. 'Yes.' He pushed a button. There was another psionic screeching. Instantly the zerg veered off course from their primary target towards one of the moons. In that moment Kerrigan came through the door, and they jumped.

'Well I did what you asked, Arcturus.' said Kerrigan.

'What did you do?' asked Serena.

'I set a psi emitters on the surface of Corisin's moon.' said Mengsk. 'To redirect the zerg in the event of things becoming hectic.'

A cheer came from the crew at that.

'Nice planning.' said Serena.

'It is a talent I possess.' admitted Mengsk. 'Now we had best send these colonists on their way to Korhal, and begin preparations for our end game.'

As they departed, the zerg flocked down and began to create a new bastion. Serena wasn't worried, the protoss would deal with them.

'-sixteen hours later a protoss fleet flew into orbit. They unleashed a massive orbital bombardment. All life on the planet's surface was extinguished.' said the Nova Squadron ghost, standing to attention.

Isabella received the report from her ghost with an impassive face and mind. Her hands were clasped together before her face, as though in prayer.

Nova Squadron was the smallest of the Confederate Squadrons. They were more of an elite strike force than an army. Thus it had to be more indirect in how it conducted itself. The most recent operation had been deliberate exploitation of their enemies. The Sons of Korhals tendency to play hero. The zergs attraction to psychics. And the protoss' love of glassing everything in sight.

Only one of the three had been destroyed. Yet one out of three was not nothing.

'I see.' said Isabella. 'Well done.'

'But the mission was a failure.' said the ghost.

'Mengsk's forces do remain intact.' admitted Isabella. 'However, the trap was not just for him. With all those zerg annihilated, we will have some breathing room. I'll report the success to Schezar; I'm sure he'll be pleased.'

A week later, tensions were flaring as Samir Duran met with Alan Schezar. Though he should be frustrated with the zergs progress, he could not help but be pleased. Schezar's facade of control was slipping. How marvelous it was to see one who had sought to command him now scarcely controlling his emotions.

'This truce you have arranged has proved most unfortunate.' said Duran. 'Many wonder if you only made it to disguise the fact that you failed to take back Antiga.'

'And if you had directed Duke's distress call to us, we might have!' roared Alan. Yet he mastered himself too quickly. 'How is the expansion of the colonial militia on Taronis progressing?'

'As well as can be expected.' mused Duran. 'It seems that we have a shortage of volunteers willing to fight for the Confederacy of Man. They often point to our recent defeats. I've had to introduce conscription along similar lines to Mar Sara.'

'Just keep working at it.' said Schezar. 'Essential to fighting the zerg is maintaining enough numbers. If we can build a colonial militia on the major city planets it would increase our chances of holding them. Turn away from patriotic fervor and point this out to the people.

'We can't defend everywhere at once.'

'Something the Old Families are all too aware of, Commander.' said Duran. 'Your recent record speaks of it all too plainly.'

'Well it will be your record soon enough.' said Schezar. 'I am taking Cerberus Squadron's off-world resources for a mission.'

'Which section, might I ask?' said Duran.

'All of it.' said Schezar. 'I also require you to direct the psi disruptor to the planet of Valhalla V. I want a blanket sweep. I doubt it will be entirely effective, but it must be done.'

Duran gave the appearance of surprise. 'What-'

'That information is available on a strict need to know basis.' growled Schezar. 'Suffice to say that I am confident of success in this regard. This victory will help us stabilize the situation before you can wreck it any further.'

'If I'm not mistaken,' said Duran, 'Valhalla V fell to the zerg some months ago and has massive numbers of the creatures on it. It was deemed impractical to retake by Nova Squadron.' He didn't want his fleets annihilated at this stage. 'We were waiting for the protoss to deal with it.'

'You underestimate us.' said Schezar. 'Your forces will be briefed when they arrive. They are already on route. Any more stunts like the one you pulled with Norad II will result in immediate termination. And that is not an idle threat. I have resources of my own on Tarsonis.

'I sometimes wonder if you Black Ops types have not become so absorbed with your masks of secrecy and the special interest groups who insist on them that you have forgotten the reason why you were formed in the first place!

'Personal profit and control is worthless if a horde of alien locusts eats your face! Remember the fact. Schezar out!'

The screen cut out and Duran was honestly surprised at how vehement Alan was about all this. He looked offscreen to where Arturro Calabas was sitting down. The other man was drinking from a glass of wine in his living room. Duran made his way over to him and sat down across. 'I believe we have gotten under his skin.'

'Why would he order the expansion of the colonial militia on Tarsonis?' asked Arturro Calabas. 'He must realize that any force raised here would be loyal to the one who raised them. We would control it.'

'I believe that Alan Schezar is a misguided patriot.' said Duran. 'He genuinely believes that we have mismanaged the Confederacy. And he views us as obstacles to be overcome for the greater good.' Of course, then Calabas was equally misguided. The idea that the colonial militia would be automatically loyal was laughable. Not that he would say this.

Arturro scoffed at that. 'What nonsense. The Old Families are the Confederacy. Everything else is a play for the entertainment of sheep. Tarsonis is impenetrable, that is all that matters. If a few off-world colonies fall to the zerg it is of no account so long as our interests are preserved.' He poured Duran a drink and Duran took it. 'With the passive zerg hives we are growing, it should be only a matter of time before we can use them. Then we'll put the Squadrons in their place. Then no one will be able to stop us.'

'Of course, Mr. Calabas.' said Duran before raising the cup. 'To your health.'

A door opened, and they looked up. Arturro's sister entered the room.

'Ah,' said Arturro, 'Mara what is the matter?'

'Well…' Mara paused. 'I've been thinking over the situation. It seems to me that the Squadrons can't be trusted.' Brilliant deduction. 'I mean, even if they crush the zerg and the Sons of Korhal, they will turn around and take Tarsonis for themselves.'

'Yes Mara,' said Arturro patiently, 'we have the situation under control. We're creating a planetary militia as we speak.'

'Well that is just it.' said Mara. 'I think Serena might be of use to us.'

So that was what this was about. Arturro's sister had been quite caught up in the fate of her offspring lately. She hadn't left Arturro alone about it. 'Mara,' said Arturro, voice still patient, but holding a hint of steel. 'Serena is working for the Sons of Korhal. She is now a trusted subordinate of Arcturus Mengsk.'

'Yes but we forced her into it.' said Mara. 'She saved Mar Sara, and we responded by giving her an ultimatum. We did sabotage the defense of Mar Sara, and Mengsk probably manipulated her using that.'

'Mara,' said Arturro, 'I am not going to debate this with you. These are not a women's concern, and if Serena had realized that none of this would have happened.'

'None of this would have happened if you had just encouraged her!' snapped Mara. 'Serena is brilliant, she scored at the top of her class at college, and you derided her! She mustered an army on Mar Sara, and you arrested it! She destroyed the zerg there, and you tried to bring her up on charges for treason!'

'Be quiet!' roared Arturro.

'No I will not be quiet!' roared Mara. 'I've been quiet long enough! The smart thing to do was to ignore the Sons of Korhal dropships! Just congratulate Serena and give her a heroes welcome. It would have been great PR, but you've always hated her because she wanted to be something other than what I am.'

'What you are in out of line.' snarled Arturro.

'You've created your own enemy.' said Mara. 'You created Serena because you didn't want a woman to be anything but a pretty thing to hang off a man's arm. You created Mengsk when you had ghosts murder his entire family. You created the Sons of Korhal when you voted to blast a planet filled with millions of innocent people into a lifeless husk!'

'They were rebels!' roared Arturro.

'They were people! And you murdered them!' screamed Mara.

Arturro's hand lashed out and he struck her across the face. Mara hit the ground, and ugly bruise forming on his cheek as Arturro stood over her. 'Get out. This is none of your concern.'

Mara was crying now. Duran could feel her anguish as she stood up. 'That's what you always say. You and every other puffed-up patriarch in the Old Families when someone tries to talk sense into you.

'You've done nothing but create enemies. And now you've run out of friends.'

She straightened herself up and walked out with as much dignity as she could muster. Duran realized that he respected Mara a great deal more than he did Arturro. She had a firmer grasp of the situation than Arturro did.

Moreover, Arturro Calabas was a bad man. Not the normal sort of bad coming from robbing convenience stores and raping women. It was the sort of bad which could only grow among the richest and most privileged of people. Here was a self-righteous prig who would willingly sign off an entire planet to death. Not for any cause, but simply to learn more of his enemies.

He hadn't always been like this. And judging from Arturro's expression and thoughts right now he realized the fact. When had he changed, went the thought processes? Had it been the crushing failure of his attempts to get people to like the Confederacy? Some years ago, when the Old Families had realized that to improve their public standing they would have to improve things for everyone else. And it would be at their expense. The idea was one they found abhorrent.

Instead, they retreated into themselves until their own Confederate Squadrons broke with them. Less and less were they involved in the system of brutality they had created. More and more were the agents of their power independent of them. They pursued their own vendettas and agendas. Any student of history would have seen that a New Julius Caesar was almost inevitable.

The thoughts ran through Arturro's head. He was inches away from a revelation of his own actions and turning away from them. And though he knew he ought to exert his will to influence him, Duran did not. Yet soon enough pride and vanity mastered Arturro; he could not bear to admit that he had been wrong. That there might exist a moral law, an inherent rightness in the universe by which he was a subject.

After all, if there was, Arturro was a monster. And so were all his friends. And most of his political enemies. And everyone else who had voted to launch nukes on a colony rather than accept a defeat. No, far better to double down and pretend as if everything was going according to his master plan.

Duran had enjoyed a similar thought process at times. The difference was that his master plan was actually proceeding. 'Regarding my plan for a hybrid?'

'The idea has potential.' said Arturro. 'But we'd have to capture some protoss first, and we have problems enough right now. Just… just keep working on the militia and we'll see if some kind of arrangement can be met with the other Squadrons. If we can get Reikson or Matron to jump ship, that could go a long way.

'You have my permission to make concessions.'

'Of course, Mr. Calabas.' said Duran.

Then he got a call. Duran listened to it and found it odd. 'Mr. Calabas, we have a potentially serious problem.'

'What is it?' asked Arturro.

'The Sons of Korhal are approaching.' said Duran. 'They have two ships, the Norad II and the Hyperion as well as a fleet of transport vessels. Mengsk seems to be throwing everything he has at us.'

Arturro laughed. 'The fool, Tarsonis is an impenetrable fortress. Even if he takes control of the orbital platforms, he'd have to hold it and wage a land campaign.'

'It does seem that Mengsk has overplayed his hand.' admitted Duran doubtfully. 'Yet, even so, I should not send Cerberus Squadron away. I'll contact the psi disruptor crews and tell them to obey Schezar's orders though. We aren't fighting zerg here anyway.'

Something didn't add up in this situation. Duran wasn't sure what. Mengsk wasn't stupid, and he would not attack Tarsonis without a plan for victory. Was this just a raid to gather further support? That was far riskier a move than the cunning terrorist had ever done before. Was he drunk on victory or-

'Shit.' said Duran.

'What?' said Arturro.

'Before we pulled out of Mar Sara the Jacobs Installation was raided.' said Duran. 'I ordered the data files destroyed, but it is possible that the Sons of Korhal retrieved the data.

'If so, Mengsk may seek to use one here.'

Arturro stared at him, open-mouthed. 'There are over three billion people here.' he said. 'Arcturus would never unleash the swarm on a populations center that large. Besides, this is the strongest defensive position in Confederate Space.'

'It might be best to plan for the worst.' noted Duran. 'Shall I have your personal shuttle standing by to evacuate you and your family?'

'Yes.' said Arturro. 'Yes, I think we'd better do so. Make sure you keep the skies clear.'

'Of course sir.' said Duran. 'With only the Norad II and the Hyperion to contend with, even Mengsk will not be able to control Tarsonis.' A slight thought occurred. 'Shall I make arrangements for civilian evacuation.'

'No.' said Arturro. 'It might create panic among the sheep.'

'Understood sir.' said Duran, his contempt for the man he worked for rising. 'I will send Commander Ethan Morris to take charge of the defense.'

It had become quite possible that Tarsonis would be destroyed ahead of schedule. Were that to occur Duran would need the Old Families alive. In their desperation, they would rely on him even further. And his experiments would be simple to go through. Assuming he could keep the remnants of the Confederacy intact.

And if the worst should happen, Duran would just have to improvise. He was good at that.

Authors Note:

Okay, next chapter we have the Big Push. This one was set up, and also a chance to see Serena's mother again. I didn't plan that part of the story, I'll admit, but I need to fill space, so I put her in. I think it's my favorite part of this chapter.