A/N: Special thanks to Blackhole1, Asuka Sakura26, FtDLulz, Boogerbug, mbh040, OMAC001 and Dracona Mortis for all of your reviews and your support!
I hope you enjoy and that I can hear from you in the review section below!
(Present Time, Tessa'Fash POV, Neht Flux)
Abathur's jump brought us right close to the planet's ground earth, which was luckily covered in trees larger than any I had seen before. This will now lend us an advantage, as the trees are closely situated to one another and so we have cover from above. While our pursuers no doubt have sensors for this kind of thing, they cannot just glass everything from above with the hope of striking the right place.
They'll find out quickly I would assume, but every moment counts and every moment they do not have our direct location is another we can spend harvesting materials we need and making forces.
I send my handful of Hydralisks and Drones out to do their duty with a wave of the hand, "Kill everything that moves and isn't us. Drag it back here as soon as it can't fight. We have no time to lose."
They all depart and begin tearing the local fauna a new one, and I am left onboard my Leviathan with nothing to do but worry over what will happen next. How quickly will they find us? Will we be ready for them?
A voice not belonging to the scientific advisor beside me snaps me from my thoughts, "A pitiful force, I must say. Would you care for reinforcements?"
I clench my low digited hands tightly, "That voice," the long fingers of my hands dig in deeply into my palm's chitin as my memory recalls the source, "Daggoth, where are you!"
His voice responds smugly, "Nowhere near you, I assure you. I have been watching your progress though, and it seems as if you need assistance. Will you accept mine?"
Would I willingly take his forces with my own and risk having him just slay the Queen the moment he finds her?
"You are my foe, just as they are. You would divide the Zerg."
The Cerebrate sounds furious as he responds telepathically, "The Zerg only divided because of Kerrigan's machinations. Now, while we may be rivals amongst our own kind, we both have a common foe in the Terran and Protoss threats looming on the horizon."
With how he puts it…accepting Daggoth's assistance will pose a later threat, but rejecting it could place me at a huge risk in the immediate future. Depending on the size of the force he lends and how much survives whatever encounter we have soon, I could possibly contend it using the forces we gather under my brood.
"I…accept your aid, so long as no strings are attached."
I cannot help but sense some condemnation from his voice, "None at all. Every Terran and Protoss you slay is one less I will encounter in the future. My forces are en route and will meet up with your own shortly."
My partner beside me apparently is in on this call, as he responds, "Action highly unadvisable. Daggoth's forces may turn on-"
I slap a hand over Abathur's face to shut him up, "I know the risk, but I would rather have to fight off his forces down the road if it means we do not die at this very minute."
Looking outside at my forces scurrying across the jungle planet's brush makes me long to be out there…just watching work be done is killing me inside, especially when every moment idle is another wasted and another close to death…
But going out could mean my own demise. I cheated death from a surprise strike not too long ago, and that lesson has been learned.
I remove my hand from Abathur and instead bring it to my own chin, "I suppose I should join them in the hunting, to speed things along, but I will not risk being caught out of the ship."
Abathur concurs, not seeming have minded my physical way of shutting him up, "Wise. With limited biomass obtained, only drones and Zerglings viable army choices. Drones will allow us to harvest biomass more quickly. Zerglings lend greater defensive capabilities."
While I have seen wings on Zerglings previously, that does not grant them the ability to fly any better than a penguin. Flight being the most important factor right now, that means they are practically worthless.
Drones it is then, I decide, "They cannot fly though, and that means they are useless against our current foes. Have the first two sets of biomass obtained be converted into Drones. Use those to gather more, and then hastily construct more mutalisks with what we can obtain then."
Abathur's response is grim even considering the monotone beast's norm, "Incoming Scout force."
Oh wonderful news. Just what I wanted to hear so soon. Using the same Overseers Abathur had used to find them, I peek and see through them that the Protoss are headed straight for our forces. Not our ship, which means they are trying to catch the stragglers first.
Glad I hadn't left the Leviathan a bit ago to join them.
"They're headed for our forces, who are too weak to face them," I say more to myself than to Abathur. Guess I will have to do something about that, even if what I have planned is a bit reckless.
"It seems I will have to dirty my hands. To attack us they have to be at a certain level, and they seem to be inaccurate when racing at full speed. They can hover though, and so chances are they will stop to try and pick off our forces. I can fire at them with our remaining Hydralisks and heal those who are wounded."
"If they defeat you-"
I cut his warning short as I leave the room, "If they beat back our forces before Daggoth's arrive we will have lost anyways. I don't care if we are going to face hardships further down the road if it means we live right here and now."
That's the truth…every second is not only another towards death. It's one less until my Queen finishes recovering and we rid ourselves of these pests.
(Present Time, Captain O'Shannon, Dominion Battlecruiser "Jacks")
Traveling via space jumps has always made me dizzy and now is no different. I suppose it may have to do with a previous bad experience, the same one that has left me with my prosthetic leg, but I'm going to have to ignore that feeling. There's work to be done now that we finished our jump.
"All ships accounted for?"
My lieutenant is the one to reply, "Yes sir. The Zerg and Protoss are engaged on the surface."
In the viewport ahead of us I can see the Protoss descending on the planet en masse, and while that should be a good thing I cannot help but feel my stomach drop. They have a large contingent remaining in space, and our reckless comrade is right by it. They would have no chance if the Protoss were to turn their firepower on them, and the blue skins no doubt know this.
My musings continue aloud, "The Protoss know of their force advantage I would assume. They can turn on the lone Battlecruiser while their forces pick off the remaining Zerg. Cripple our forces and chances while losing almost nothing of their own-"
"Massive Zerg readings on the planet!" My outspoken helmsman returns with a thrilling sequel to 'the enemies are all fucking leaving us and we have a stupid captain following them'.
The sinking feeling in my stomach did nothing but continue its way down, "Damnit, was this some kind of trap? How many are there?"
"Double the original amount are headed towards the fleet we had been chasing."
The specific quantity given helps slow the rush of anxiety that was going through my system. The idea that we had been caught in some elaborate ruse…I have a lot I need to do before I die, and I have come too far to just have it be thrown away so stupidly, "We still outnumber them, especially with the Protoss still here, but I do not like that a force this large was just waiting around for us. How many more can be just around the corner?"
"Unknown, sir. The Zerg have pinpoint jump accuracy that we do not possess," the helmsman responds, as if to sour my mood more. Luckily I am a realist and know something or another about our foes from experience.
I lean back in my captain's seat and lean on one side of it with my body, "Luckily it has its range, or else they could just return to Char in a heartbeat, or have reinforcements called in to supplement their now large force."
My lieutenant looks down at me, "Should we continue this pursuit, sir? While the Queen of Blades may be amongst the enemy forces, the longer things last the less they will be in our favor."
I continue to stare at the space beyond us and notice that the Protoss are taking no hostile action against us just yet. Yet is the key word there, "Unless we end it here and now. We have them cornered, and slaying the Queen of Blades could do far more good than whatever we might lose in this expedition is worth," I look up at her and flash a smile, "Fixing the biggest error at Tarsonis would be quite the feat."
The smile is lost upon the serious woman, "Sir, I understand that your family was lost there, but-"
I have more reasons that just that for wanting this, but it's a good thing none of them are selfish, "I won't let my personal feelings cloud my judgment. This opportunity is currently in our favor, to a large degree, and the payoff may just be large enough to make it all worth it."
I turn from her to the front of the room again, projecting my voice towards the talkative helmsman, "What is the Zerg status?"
"Sir, the two Zerg forces are about to join up. The main planetside Protoss force is about to reach them as well."
Given what has been reported, I think I know just how this will play out, "The Zerg will outnumber the Protoss at first and likely will press their advantage up until the point the main Protoss force arrives. The reason the Zerg are stopping is to grow their forces, and I'd like to stop that," I smirk as I continue my combat forecast, "When the Zerg strike back, hit their harvesters. Letting them bolster their air force would be a grievous error. Let our reckless comrade know that, as he will be leading the charge. Inform him of this."
"Yes sir!"
My back straightens and I sit up to my full height in my seat, ready to get to work, "I think it's about time I showed you all how I survived Tarsonis of all places."
(Present Time, Tessa'Fash POV, Neht Flux)
Blue fire, crash, explosion.
"Seven."
This was not as hard as I had first assumed it would be
Blue fire, crash, explosion.
"Eight."
So long as I heal the few Hydralisks we have when they reach critical health, they are quite adept at slaughtering these Scouts. They do not appear to be meant for fighting ground troops, whereas my Hydralisks seem quite well rounded in their capabilities against both air and ground forces.
Blue fire, crash, explosion.
"Nine-"
I hear a mental yell, akin to a battlecry, and I turn just in time to see a golden armored warrior charge at me. His skin is pale blue, no mouth like myself, and his eyes glowing bright white, not all to dissimilar to Kerrigan's.
Anyways, just as I take in all of this he strikes me in the side with a glowing blade on his wrist. A psionic construct I would assume, given its glow and ethereal look, but I am not worried greatly by the pain that I feel wrack my body. The Scouts in the sky are mostly taken care of, and even if their main force is trailing behind them we have no current threat to handle especially with Daggoth's forces nearby.
So, even if I have a very painful blade dug into my side, the more important matters are taken care of. And this fool just attacked me by himself, likely being one of the pilots we shot down. His armor is damaged and the flickering around him makes me think whatever shield he may have had is malfunctioning.
I've dealt with worse.
I use my back arm to bat him away, the force of the giant limb crashing into him so hard that he is tossed off his feet. I turn to face the warrior as he tries to rise to his feet, dazed by my blow.
"You know, you are not the first person I have fought recently with wrist blades as weapons. Yours are more painful, but I daresay you do not appear as tough as he was nor do you have his speed."
The warrior reacts as I expected to, with rage, and he races forward once again. He jumps at me and tries to send his blade right into where my heart once was. I catch his arm though with one hand to stop his attack. With this leverage I lift him into the air so that we are about eye level and I look at him closely. So this is a Protoss…
Interest waning, I tighten my grip and with the strength I have been granted I begin to break the armor around his arm as well as the limb itself. The squirms and tries to free himself before actually swiping at me with his other arm, but I just block his arm with my own free one to prevent the blade from being too close to my face.
About the time I feel the entire limb snap is when he tries a different tactic and uses his free blade to slice off his other limb right above the point I held it. He falls to the ground and quickly takes another swipe at my lower abdomen before backpedaling, but his effort is fruitless. Like a scorpion's tail, I strike with my back arm quickly and it impales the soldier through the side of his gut with the tremendous strength it contains.
I once again lift him up into the air, pulling him closer so I can grip his one remaining arm to prevent anymore funny business. To his credit he stares at me fiercely, a hatred in him that I do not fully understand but do not need to. Our kinds have many grievances against one another that is for sure, but I need not understand his side's woes to ensure my own's survival.
I lean over so that our faces are inches apart, using as threatening a voice as I can muster, "I will kill you and every last Protoss your force sends after me if it means I will survive. Your friends will know that soon enough when your body is strapped to the Leviathan as a trophy."
I toss him over onto the ground and prepare to stomp on him with one of my large legs, but in a blue flash he disappears from sight just as he collides with the ground. Well damn.
I learn something new every time I interact with these fools it seems, "Teleportation…interesting."
I turn my attention back to my forces and see that my last remaining Hydralisk has perished, albeit with an impressive amount of wreckage to show for it as far as Protoss ships go. With no air units harassing us at this time, I can safely assume the first wave is over. With how my drones have been gathering biomass this entire time, I am sure that we will have something to show for this endeavor while our Protoss friends will not.
The screams of Mutalisks in the near distance is like music to my ears, and surely enough I have Daggoth's voice to accompany them.
He sounds smug once again, speaking as if I am beneath him, "My forces have arrived. It appears as if you have none of your own to speak of."
I shrug, not caring given that I have succeeded in my temporary objectives and with the knowledge that the dead here would be quickly replaced, "Only my drones. Now, will you lend control of yours to me so I can buy them time?"
"Of course. Use them as you see fit. I have matters of my own to attend to."
With that I feel the telepathic link disconnect, but feel many lesser ones replace it. I can feel the hundreds of Zerg that comprise Daggoth's force here all come under my control, and with this feeling I decide to act.
My Overlords having sight of the main Protoss fleet approaching us, I point in their direction and command, "Drive the Protoss back! Form a perimeter around our workers and the Leviathan, do not let them through."
The hundreds of Mutalisks that had been leant to me by my temporary ally Daggoth all scream as they commit to the task I have given them, cleaning up the few remaining Scouts on their way and rushing towards what will soon be a bloodbath. What care do I have if they are to die if it lets me rebuild my own permanent force that will not be used against me?
I kick the fallen Protoss limb out of my way and start on my way back to the Leviathan. I am not needed on the frontline now it seems, "I think I have earned my rest. Abathur had better be handling our force production with urgency."
I use my link to our scientist to contact him, "Abathur, how goes the-"
Before I could finish my sentence the trees a few hundred feet to my left are suddenly swathed through by tremendous firepower. I look up through the opening now made in the forest and catch a glimpse of a sole Battlecruiser looming above us.
While I was focused on the Protoss the Terrans snuck up on me from behind. Bastards!
"All forces pull back to the Leviathan! I would rather be caught in a pincer attack than be caught spread out."
Are they coordinating this strike? The fact that my forces were caught out away from the workers they were supposed to protect would lend to that theory.
But the Protoss started long before the Terrans even arrived. Are the Terran forces just trying to play off what the Protoss are doing? If so, it's better news than them being in league with one another…
For now though I must assume they are though. I will not make lax assumptions that will get me killed, so I must fear the worst and prepare as such.
I saw what happens when you assume the best and let it cloud your judgment. You become Abathur's experiment and nothing more.
A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Please let me know what you thought in the review section below and help make a poor, hungry college student's day!
l
V
