Sewers - Augustgrad
Tate had, after some nonviolent coaxing, lead Warfield and Stukov to the refugees. Hushed whispers, quiet sobbing, and weak lights lit the tunnels ahead.
The boy is brave, I will give him that. Stukov admitted privately, impressed by his fortitude; Tate only crumbled when there was an acid-oozing zerg fist half an inch from his face.
Is terrorizing children that difficult? Warfield was sullen and angry, he did not like watching. Kids like Tate were the kind of people he signed on to protect.
Without warning, Tate leaped forwards and screamed at the top of his lungs into the dark "ZERG! RUN!" and took off running himself. Alexei took a lazy halfhearted swipe after him, but it was clear he let the kid run.
All the quiet talk and subdued noises ahead morphed into a screaming stampede so fast, Warfield was caught off guard when the urge to chase seized him. He took one long step forwards before jerked to a halt, Stukov asserting further control.
Scornful, Alexei regarded the barely contained infested man, "Look at you, General." An idea occurred to him then, and he gave Warfield an easy smile. "Barely under control, even with help." He sounded thoughtful, "Do you know what will happen to those people when I let go, Horus?"
Shaking lights were still in sight, footsteps and terrified yelling still thunderous, Warfield's eyes widened. "You wouldn't," he said.
"Wouldn't I? These people mean nothing to me; you are their hero here, not me," Alexei's eyes narrowed, "It's like riding a bike, General, I am taking off the training wheels, ride or fall now." Without a second thought, Stukov let go. "Think of the children!" he laughed.
Letting out a ragged scream, Horus fell to his knees and slammed his hands into the ground, digging in and trying to seal himself in place as the vast conscious of the swarm plucked him up. Curling into a ball, he thought about Adam, his brother and his men; in desperation, he grabbed hold of the image of Tate, the ratty kid that he was meant to stand strong for, and rode the wave.
Bucephalus - Rebel Base
"Kerrigan, I am sorry to disturb you but...I need to know what happened to my father, what happened in the palace."
"Arcturus was not there, he is either dead or hiding on this planet still. No ship would have gotten past the Swarm while it was here."
"I see, and the artifact?"
"It was Narud. Maybe your father had the artifact already somehow, I don't know, but Narud was there in the shape of Arcturus and it was Narud who pressed the button."
"Doctor Emil Narud? I am afraid I do not understand, he is a-"
"You've been duped, Valerian, tricked by a shapeshifting minion of Amon."
"Shapeshifting! Could there be more? Are we secure here?"
"He is the only one I've found, but no, no one is secure. Not by a long shot."
They both parted ways wondering where Arcturus went, but for different reasons.
In a staff lunch room, all inhabitants hastily cleared out before their arrival, stood Jim and Sarah. Guards were not far away, stationed outside of the door after some creative bullying by Jim that left Sarah privately smiling.
There was no smiling now, just this quiet sadness from Sarah and a yearning to close distance from Jim. During his time knowing her, both as Sarah and as the Queen of Blades, where vast chasms of space and hundreds upon hundreds of planets worth of distance physically parted them; but it felt now, mere feet away, she was farther than ever.
So he put it aside, though it hurt, to try and make change for the better. "All those people who died Sarah, their deaths aren't on you; they can be laid at the feet of Arcturus, and the people who made you a weapon," he said firmly.
"You can't take away the memories and experience of it all. They will never leave me," Sarah stared at a coffee machine, when was the last time she actually ate terran food? "At least...At least when I was leading, it didn't bother me."
"You can't go thinkin' like that, darlin'!" Jim ran a hand through his hair in frustration, ignoring the unpleasant sensation of spines dragging across his palms. "There's a real second chance here, a real one! And it doesn't matter what we look like," he tried to catch her eye, to hold her gaze and make her feel his sincerity. "I will take you away and we will live in peace, no matter what."
"A quaint little planet where we can live together as monsters, and no one comes hunting for my head?" Sarah faced him then, smiling sadly. "I can't read minds anymore Jim, and I might be out of touch with reality for terrans, but I know a fools errand when I hear it."
"Just, please," when her gaze met his, he felt his heart being squeezed again. Compelled, he closed the gap and took up both her hands in his, trying his damndest to ignore the fact that they were both as alien as could be, and squeezed them reassuringly. "Take things slow, step by step, and we'll deal with whatever comes our way one problem at a time. Together."
Kerrigan looked down at their entwined hands, thoughtful.
"Even if..." Jim swallowed the lump in his throat, "even if this can't work between us, don't spit in the eye of those folks who gave their lives for you. They weren't all just civilians who didn't know Sarah Kerrigan; some believed you could come back and that the artifact would work, and they were all with me on Char."
When she squeezed his hands back firmly in response, a million words could not have lifted his spirits higher just then. They stood together quietly.
Valerian's Quarters - Bucephalus
Heavy bags had begun to form under Valerian's grey eyes as he sat in his room, staring down at the list of Bucephalus personnel he had collected himself. After Kerrigan revealed the long-time traitor in his midst, Narud, the lines between enemies and allies were now blurred. Emil Narud...co-founder of the Moebius Foundation, fellow scientist, a genius in regards to the xel'naga and alien races.
Valerian's gloved hands clenched into fists, and that was all the outward anger he'd allow himself to express. Everyone associated with Moebius was suspect now, and that was a very long list, even on his ship alone. He opened a comm to one of the few people left that he could trust.
"Valerian! It is good you have called me," Mira Han's face appeared immediately, even with one eye missing she did not look very well rested either, "things are getting out of hand out here."
Pursing his lips into a tight line, Valerian let out a slow breath. "I suppose it would be too much to ask for a ground force to assist in a delicate matter then?"
"Very much so," she spoke sharply, red eye zooming in on him. "I apologize, but if you saw what was happening in the refugee centers..." Valerian had yet to see a cringe come from the rock-solid mercenary, not even when she saw the infested men for the first time.
"Tell me what is happening, Mira," he said, full aware he had all of zero men to spare at this point.
"We have been rescuing and relocating the refugees as fast as we are able. Multiple structurally sound buildings have been repurposed to house, feed and provide medical care," she paused, uncomfortable, "as soon as they became strong enough to speak, they began raving. There are not enough straightjackets on the planet to restrain this many madmen, Valerian."
His stomach might have dropped out, he could not feel it anymore. Lasarra's admission burned like acid in his memory. "Are they violent?"
"Those who can move immediately begin to self harm and draw things," he was sure the merc paled a few shades.
"Draw things?" he pressed, fine brows furrowing.
"Pictures that make no sense, hieroglyphics and other strange things...in their own blood." Mira's look hardened then, "My men want to leave."
"Damn it," Valerian hissed, "you have me at your mercy Mira! My people need help and my forces are fully committed, even if I doubled them it would not be nearly enough." He let his pride go easily then, "convince your men and the other mercenaries to see this through and you can name your price."
"That price might be too high, Emperor Mengsk," she said seriously.
"An Emperor is nothing without his people, and I care about them," Valerian glared, eyes hard.
"So be it," Mira closed the call and silence filled his room.
Closing his eyes for a minute of rest, Valerian composed himself and stood up quickly. These people needed to be assessed and he trusted no one but himself up to the task. As the door to his chamber slid open, he took a long step backwards in surprise.
Black eyes stared at him, oily pits to a terrible dimension; Valerian recognized the man, one of the lab techs assigned to study the captured infested. In one explosive motion, he took the initiative and struck first.
A line of red appeared across the mans throat as he stood rooted to the spot and staring, bright arterial blood spurting out of the wound as Valerian stood poised for another strike. Aside from profusely bleeding from a deadly blow, the man was otherwise unaffected; the Emperor's eyes widened in fear as the lab tech, impossibly, spoke.
"I live. I am coming," the voice spilling from the man was otherworldly and its malevolence burned a fiery trail of pain into Valerian's ears and brain.
Clinging to his weapon fiercely, Valerian almost dropped it regardless. He tried to recall all his training, all his hard earned killer instincts that would allow him to lunge forwards a second time and render the puppet headless, but he could not move.
Lips parting into a wide, crazed grin, the lab tech laughed as blood bubbled at the corners of his mouth and stained his teeth. With a blink, the black voids where his eyes had been disappeared, only human eyes, wide with terror, remained.
Valerian stared, mirroring the horror on the tech's face as the man reached up with a trembling hand and tried to staunch the bleeding from his nearly severed neck; coughing and gurgling, he was returned to his body only to spend his last few seconds dying. He stared at Valerian accusingly until his legs gave out and his eyes went glassy, lifeless.
Sheathing his weapon, Valerian kicked the corpse out of the doorway and into the hall, sealing himself inside. A gloved hand fisted in his hair and squeezed, the fresh pain pulling him away from flying into a panic. Think. So he thought. There is no fog, has Amon touched us all? Kerrigan was more right than he wanted to admit.
Kerrigan! Jim! He turned and ran to his work table.
Jim's smile dissipated when their quiet was dispelled by the voice of Junior.
"Jim, Sarah, report to my quarters immediately," an unmistakable note of fear tainted his voice, even over the comm, "Amon has left a message, be careful on your way."
As Sarah let go of his hand and strode towards the door at a fast pace, Jim watched all of his hard work crumble. "This can't happen while Amon is out there," she called back to him, voice hard.
Biting his tongue, he followed.
They arrived to find a corpse laying outside the door and the six marines who escorted them spread out to secure the hall, guns live and ready; Jim wondered at the absence of two as he knocked on the locked door. "We're here, Junior."
After a short delay the door hissed open and a haggard Valerian gestured them inside quickly, shutting and locking it behind them almost before they had even entered. Being an Emperor was clearly not treating the young man very well, Jim thought. Dark bags hung under his eyes and there was an animal fear inside those steely grey orbs he had never seen.
"Everything is compromised!" Valerian nearly shouted, storming to his table and gesturing at a list of some sort, "and I don't have the men to spare to secure the ship.
"Slow down now, what do you mean Junior?" Jim frowned as he came to stand beside Valerian and look at the list while Sarah quietly filtered through the room and looked everything over. "You said Amon left a message, let's hear that first."
Sharply, Valerian gestured behind himself and at the door, frustration clear. "I opened the door and he was there, inside one of my men," he stopped talking until he mastered his voice, "he said 'I live. I am coming.' and then left."
"I thought that was just the hybrid, maybe there are still some here on Korhal that-"
"No," Sarah interrupted, severe. She stood across from the two men, looking down at the list of Moebius personnel. "That message came from Amon, think about it Jim." Her wing blades curled and uncurled as she grew angry, "Narud used the artifact against me and I've been robbed of all my power. Where did it go?"
Heavy silence hung between the three.
"He used you to...resurrect a dead god?" Valerian looked up from the list and at the infested woman, how could they have known? Would he have not tried to use the artifact against her on Char, even if he knew?
"We need to get the infested boys back, Valerian." Jim frowned down at him, "you need help keeping this here ship secure and I need my Raiders."
"Jim, we have been trying this entire time!" The Emperor looked utterly defeated for a moment, before picking himself back up again, "There is a twenty-four hour rotation of scientists in the lab here, working with Egon and Matt, and I won't expect to receive word from Haven about Tychus for several more days yet."
Looking up at the young Mengsk sharply, Sarah said, "From where?" Voice deadly quiet.
Confused by the sudden interest, given their current situation, Valerian said, "Haven, Sarah. Dr. Hanson made breakthroughs in Zerg biology with only a pittance of a lab while Raynor's Raiders helped her colony relocate repeatedly. I have the highest hopes she can do more now that she has a permanent residence to operate from."
Her eyes narrowed. "Call them back," she said, her tone dire.
Jim was listening to the exchange and finally spoke, "Sarah, why? What happened to Haven?" A cold block of ice formed in his stomach, pure dread.
"With the Bucephalus and possibly my entire force compromised, I may not be able to send a recall message," Valerian humored her, "but any message I send now would not reach them before they arrive to their destination. What is wrong?"
All eyes were on Sarah as she straightened, holding Valerian's gaze. "Because," venom coated his name, "Valerian," her eyes shifted past him and upwards, as if surveying Haven from across the stars. "Haven and Dr. Hanson belong to the Swarm."
Stunned silence settled between the three.
"All those people...we fought so damn hard for them," Jim leaned heavily on the table, else he would be on his knees. He could not look at Sarah.
"Still want to forgive me?" Her voice was soft and quiet, Haven was the least of her sins.
Recovering his composure, Valerian did his best to not look angry. It was easier to forgive when your loss was not personal, this was a test. "When did Haven fall?"
"Immediately after you left. My minions were just waiting, too deep to be detected," she murmured, staring down at Jim.
Thinking, Valerian regarded his gloved hand. Not long ago these hands commanded vast armies and saved people, they felt so useless now, he wanted to rage. No. He firmly told himself. Despair is for lesser men than me.
"Jim," the renewed Emperor said, voice determined once more, "I will send a message out and we will have to hope to God it is enough, or that Jayce figures out what is going on before they land there."
When Jim did not answer, Valerian stepped aside to offer the two some quiet time while he wrote and organized the delivery of his hasty missive.
Clenching and unclenching her clawed hands, Sarah felt unsure and did not like it. Slowly, cautiously, she stepped around the table and placed a hand on Jim's shoulder, offering him comfort. He had done that and more for her, she decided that she could reciprocate.
"Sarah," he murmured, reaching a hand up and placing it over hers, "I need to know. Can they come back?" he looked to her then, desperate. "Tychus is the most stubborn man I ever met, can he fight it?"
Regarding him evenly, Sarah's sad look said it all. Still, he was owed more than an expression in answer, "The hivemind strips away all of the more tender parts of terrans...your humanity, Jim. Look what it did to me, and I was strong enough to lead every last one of the Zerg."
"Can he do it?" he repeated, face screwing up.
Squeezing his shoulder, she gave him a small shake. "I knew every one of you, every like and dislike, every good and bad deed you ever did. We were one, Jim," she paused, forcing herself to look him in the eye and give the broken man the truth he already knew.
"Your friend Tychus was not a moral man to begin with, he is not your friend anymore," Kerrigan murmured, "It's why someone like Egon came back, and that is a miracle."
Map Room - Bucephalus
There was too much darkness, too many beings crying out for help before being smothered. Lasarra cringed away from the Dark One's influence when it crept back, spreading like a disease through the populace of Augustgrad once again. Beyond exhausted, she slept where she stood, recovering while all her work was being undone.
The blinking light of an incoming transmission from Valerian was ignored, her fatigue too great to work around anymore.
Repentance - Deep Space
Clattering, clanking and cursing had been echoing through the small ship for an indeterminate amount of time, and Tychus was starting to get annoyed.
This was namely due to all that clanking meaning Jayce was putting serious effort into her claim of killing him, and a smaller part on stir craziness; he could alternate between standing, crouching and sitting uncomfortably and not much else.
Scraping his claws down the wall of his prison, the sound was an annoying and more sinister counterpoint to her own, the paristeel giving no way to the genetically enhanced bio weapons. She had yet to respond to any of his ribbing, and it was not for lack of effort on his part either; it was high time to pull out some real material.
"Mmm," he murmured, low and exaggerated, "you know, you tasted just as good as I thought you would. I can't wait for seconds."
No response; the clanking, shifting and grunting continuing unabated.
He quirked a brow, surprised. "In fact, as a gambling man I bet there's plenty of plastiscab packed up in some med box here. Figure I could just take a piece, seal you up and keep you fresh...make you last a real long time," he said.
Crossing his arms, he frowned hard. If he did not know better, he would have thought the comm was fixed and she shut him in the dark again, but it still crackled faintly under the ceaseless low humming of the electricity powering his prison.
To his relief, Jayce seemed to give up after a short while longer, her footfalls tromping heavily into the cockpit and the gentle thump of her body falling into her seat signaled the end of her attempts on his life for the time being.
Leaning against a warm cell wall, he let out a quiet huff. Warp travel must have been taking its toll on her, forcing her to take more naps than she wanted. Lucky me.
Closing his eyes, Tychus felt out with his mind. There was something out there, someone grabbing at him incessantly; a member of the swarm wanted his attention, but it was like trying to catch the hand of someone when you were rushing by at the speed of light, the connection just could not be made. Considering his worsening situation, it was maddening.
At first he noticed the lack of electrical humming and buzzing, making him tilt his head in confusion, he knew he had not gone deaf all the sudden. Curious, he stretched a hand down and laid it flat against the metal, eyes opening when he realized there was no thrumming beneath his hand. Compelled, he straightened up and placed his hand against the heavy door. Why not? He pushed.
Soundless, the cell door yielded to his touch and swung open, light pouring in. He almost laughed, but caught himself and the door before it hit the wall. Stepping out into the open, he snuck a quick peak around the corner towards the cockpit, spying Jayce's feet carelessly stretched out and limp.
He walked towards the cockpit, glad he still had the remnants of his spectre suit, with the boots there was no clattering of claws. Glancing at the myriad of different sized cables protruding from the cell when he passed, he spied a small band with a red blinking light, otherwise it seemed nothing was disturbed. He filed the information away as one more long stride brought him within arms reach of his sleeping adversary.
Large foot nearly touching her smaller one, Tychus glared down at Jayce and considered; the woman was sound asleep, hands clenching and unclenching at the straps of her buckled harness, mouth hanging half open. He reached forwards and brought the back of a thick finger to her cheek, tempted to give her the wake up call of a lifetime.
Face twisting, her entire body curled up and away from his hand, and he quirked a brow. She looked utterly disgusted and her heart rate sped up so fast he thought she would wake up screaming. Shrugging, he dropped his hand to his side and figured he must stink something fierce, what with all the blood, bile and grime still clinging to him.
A better idea presented itself when the blinking lights and steady streaming information of the HUD caught his attention. Smiling then, Tychus helped himself to the knowledge of their destination. It was a struggle not to laugh as he made his way back to his cell, a little bit of patience would make this so much more rewarding.
They were almost at Haven, after all.
Not long after he creatively wedged his cell door shut with the tip of a claw, which would not hold up to scrutiny but what the hell, Findlay heard a sound of absolute disgust from the cockpit that signaled his attempted murderess jailer waking up.
Gathering a bundle of fabric from her shirt into her fist, Jayce desperately brought it to her mouth and breathed through it heavily; whatever remained of her arm had to be seeping through the air vents of Tychus' cell, and it was sickening. Taking another long breath to regain her composure before letting the fabric drop, an idea struck her.
Bursting through the cockpit threshold and surveying the cables at the back of the cell, Jayce said, "I couldn't help but notice you're stinking up the whole damn ship, and it got me thinking." Gently prying at one of the smaller cables with her cybernetic fingertips, she checked to see what it would take to disconnect them; if she could use that HPIGNU she found in the cockpit to remotely pop them off...
"Why don't I just open up that bay door and send your ass into the nearest sun, then go on a permanent vacation and say to hell with Valerian's plan?" Jayce said.
Smiling and eyeing the tiny line of light he could not quite seal away, Tychus said, "You gonna bark all day or are you gonna do somethin'? He made especially sure to sound disinterested, just to rile her up.
Letting out a huff, she paused and pressed the palm of her hand to an eye, confused at the wave of emotion she found herself hit by. Angry at the wetness she felt there, she made damn sure not to sniff like a baby.
"I know I shouldn't, but I feel like I failed you," she admitted, "before the artifact went off you said you were scared, and I couldn't stop the Swarm from taking you." She sniffed and silently cursed herself for it, face reddening; the bastard did not deserve her feelings. "Maybe it really isn't your fault, but this is the best thing I can do for you now. For everyone."
Without missing a beat, he said, "I think they call that stockholm syndrome."
Baring her teeth, Jayce felt thankful for the mocking; it was what she needed to seal those feelings away and get the job done. Before she had so much as begun to look for a means of removing the couplings remotely, the skin-tugging feeling of warp dissipating and the sound of an incoming transmission made her face fall. I am too late.
She lunged into the cockpit and sealed the door shut behind her quickly, letting out a breath of relief before accepting the transmission. Haven was laid out in its eden-like glory before her, and she could not help but feel a trickle of happiness. Maybe, just maybe, following the plan could turn out right.
"Unknown vessel, please identify yourself," a voice, distorted but feminine, spoke immediately; the video feed was completely static and had Jayce raising a brow.
"This is the Repentance with a special delivery from Valerian. I'm one of the Raiders, here to stay for a while if it's all the same to you," Jayce said. I'm literally the only Raider. She frowned slightly at the afterthought.
"Any member of the Raiders will always be welcome here!" the voice sounded greatly cheered, and Jayce suspected who it belonged to now.
"I'm glad. Say Doc, what's up with the static?" Jayce wondered out loud.
"We are recovering from several days of severe storms, it is a wonder we can communicate with you at all right now!" Ariel Hanson seemed jovial enough about it.
Nodding, though no one could see it, Jayce said, "gotcha. Where am I headed then?"
"Sending coords to you now, a team will come to collect the package and I will personally welcome you to Haven!" Ariel said.
For the first time in a while, Jayce smiled over something that did not have to do with the thought of killing Tychus. "Thanks. Oh, hey, before you go..." she said, sheepish, remembering the comm situation, "the speaker on the cell is broken, tell your boys to keep quiet. No mentioning where we are or any names, unless you like being zerg food."
"Acknowledged, Repentance. See you on the ground," a click and an stop to the static signaled Dr. Hanson ending the call.
With a mixed rush of exhilaration and terror, Jayce strapped herself in and guided the ship through atmo. Blinking away the white speckles in her eyes as the fires of entry disappeared, she referenced the coords and steered the Repentance towards the facility that would take Tychus off her hands. Sure enough, the greenery was glowing and shining from fresh rain, though the sun was out and beaming.
After an uneventful flight, where the ship touched down on a small square of wet tarmac outside a short and long prefab lab building, Jayce unstrapped from her seat and nearly skipped past Tychus.
"Not firing me into a sun huh?" he teased.
Spirit dampened only slightly by the infringing voice, he was about to be gone forever after all, Jayce muttered, "can't always get what you want; now shut up for a change, if that's even possible."
As the ramp lowered slow and noisily, Tychus unjammed his claw from the door and stepped out, smiling.
Jayce raised her mechanical arm up and used it as a cushion, leaning on the frame of the ramp; Findlay mimicked the action behind her, stretching out and upwards with a lazy grin. He listened to her taking in a huge breath through her nose as a gentle breeze blew away the scent of ozone and brought the fresh bright smell of the woods.
Are you coming?
In a bit, we ain't got nowhere to be. I'm gonna have myself some fun. Tychus smirked at the familiar voice in his mind, watching Jayce inch forwards until the sun was in her hair and on her skin, letting out a sigh of pure happiness; he could see her stress visibly melting away.
As you wish.
It took a few minutes of enjoying herself, but it seemed Jayce was finally growing restless. Scratching the side of her head, he distinctly heard her mutter softly, "Maybe I landed at the wrong place..."
Other than the clicking of the ships engines cooling and the sound of wind filtering through nearby trees, there was a silence Jayce had not noticed until now. Straightening, her hands fell to her sides as she considered heading to the facility to see what the holdup was. A strong sense of self preservation kept her feet from leaving the ship, however.
Perfectly quiet, though dying to see her reaction, Tychus leaned off the wall and crowded up as close to her as he physically could without intruding in her peripheral vision, or touching her; it was a little game where only one person was aware of the players.
No chirping birds, buzzing insects, distant vehicles groaning, nothing; no sound but the wind. Ice began to creep up her spine as she shifted, wrestling with indecision. You are just being paranoid. Her voice of reason complained loudly.
He could not help himself. "Somethin' wrong, sweetheart?" he asked innocently.
Before he even finished saying 'something', Jayce screamed loud and sharp, legs kicking off hard from the ground. She would have gone flying several feet forwards and already been half way back to Korhal by now, were it not for the giant clawed hand that planted on her shoulder and kept her rooted to the spot.
"Whoa now, didn't think terrans could fly!" Tychus laughed, catching up the terror-infused Jayce and curling his right hand around her throat and jaw gently, tapping the pad of his index finger against her cheek; she immediately stilled as he massaged her tauntingly.
Her lips were moving, but he wanted to at least get a few words in so he kept her jaw firmly pinched shut as her face reddened. "Shh. As a man of great intellect, I couldn't help but notice you didn't plan on my cell door opening of its own accord like that. We'll get back to that though," he said smugly.
"Wait," she grit out past her shut jaw, stomping at his foot more for the attention than an attempt to hurt.
He loosened his fingers just enough for her to talk, curious.
"Don't hurt the people," she pleaded, much to his surprise, for the welfare of others. "Kill me, whatever, take the ship and go. There's nothin' here for you," her voice was already raw with emotion.
"Aw but I could just have so much fun, hunting them folks down one by one...eatin' 'em at my leisure," he leaned forwards until his chest was pressed against her back and his lips were at her ear. "A nice little hunting ground, and I never did win Doc Hanson's affections," he chuckled, "a second try couldn't hurt, I figure."
Before she could melt down too badly over it, he forced her head to turn a bit to the left. "Now now, don't go gettin' too worked up. Take a second look at that there facility."
Without subtlety, he took in a long breath through his nose. If someone told him you could smell sunshine, he would have called them a liar; but he smelled it on her hair then and smiled, Jimmy would be guilty of saying something like that.
Not presented with any other options, Jayce looked at the glass door when prompted. Saliva flooded her mouth when she saw the creep nestled up against the inside of it, and she swallowed at the bile rising up her throat. With purpose, Tychus made sure his grip was loose enough to let her talk.
"You bastard!" she accused, voice high and choked. "You found out somehow and you got them all killed!" Angry tears poured down her cheeks and over his fingers. "You even fought for them," she outright sobbed then.
As he opened his mouth to answer, her cybernetic hand jumped up and clamped around as much of his wrist as it could, squeezing for all it was worth. Jayce snarled and he growled directly into her ear in response. He had not given the robotic arm any thought, it certainly would not be stronger than a CMC limb, but it was pinching hard enough to rankle him.
Pointedly, he squeezed the shoulder of her remaining good arm and murmured. "I weren't kiddin' about that plastiscab idea, by the way."
All the fight went out of her immediately, cybernetic hand falling away as she trembled. Her mind was trying to reason, you are going to die anyways, why give up? But memories were devious things, and she knew what it was like to die. Ultimately, Jayces instinctual side very much wanted to live.
Smiling, his warm skin rubbing up against her ear, "Good girl. Now, you're givin' old Tychus more credit than he deserves. Haven was probably taken back the second we flew out of sight," he sneered.
Jayce was quiet, going still in his hands and waiting; how long would Findlay gloat and lord his victory over her? Knowing him, a good while yet.
Giving her ear a nip and chuckling when she tried to leap away, he kept her good and close, like a dog guarding its toy. "Don't you worry, they ain't all dead," he said.
"Why are you telling me?" her voice tapered off as she watched, eyes widening, as figures, dark and disfigured, began to crawl out of the soil; walk out from behind the building and even appear behind the glass door of the prefab lab. Their glowing eyes glared, animated by the force controlling them. Scenarios far worse than death, even worse than being slowly eaten alive, began to fill her head.
Suddenly, Tychus steered her away from the infested terrans slowly walking over, guiding her towards the back of his former prison and its bristling wall of cables. Jayce looked at them accusingly, how could they fail like this?
"See that blinkin' red light on the big one?" he murmured, eyeing the nondescript band intently.
She did not answer. Other thoughts began to take up residence in her mind, ones that she would not have entertained until now.
"My cell popped open when we was in space still, and I figured that little blinking light had somethin' to do with it," Tychus said.
Her teeth ground together loudly as she caught sight of it, confirming what he thought.
"Looks like Prince Charming played you for a fool too," he said, patting her shoulder, "he played all of us."
A skittering sound made him glance towards the infested terrans, one was on all fours and half way up the ramp, drool sliding out of where a jaw was meant to be. Frowning, he forced it to back off to the tarmac; seems their host was getting impatient. "You and me, just a couple loose ends; guess he figured I'd kill you or you'd kill me or we'd both end up dead somehow," he shrugged, "I bet he knew Haven was gone too."
Jayce did not want to believe it, trying to shake her head though his hand kept it firmly in place. "Why'd he give me a new arm? Why save me at all?" she wondered out loud. Surely, Valerian would not dirty his hands like the elder Mengsk.
Tychus rolled his eyes, leaning in again until his orange glowing one was peering into hers from the side. "You are a bit dumb sometimes sugar. He looks good savin' you, a real hero, and sends you off to pasture all peaceful-like; sure ain't his fault when you go an get eaten by Zerg, is it? A real tragedy right there," he said.
"Why does it matter?" she croaked, looking up and away from the cables and his eye, "he wins."
"No," he said firmly, eyes gleaming. "Knew he double-crossed us as soon as Jim died," guiding her chin with his thumb, he forced her to look him in the eye. "He had a man on the inside and we never questioned that," he said, baring his teeth at the thought.
Glaring at him sullenly, she all but hung there by her face, legs no longer caring to attempt to stand. "You can't stop him, you are just one man. He is the Emperor now," she growled. They elevated another monster to godhood, apparently.
"Why do you think I killed you?" he shook her head back and forth gently, teasing. "'Course, you're as hard to kill as it gets apparently," his demeanor shifted from playful to serious in a blink. "I'm going after him, makin' him pay. Didn't go through all this with Jimmy just to make a new Mengsk king of the hill."
An involuntary shudder ran through her as she stared into his multiple pupils, all aflame with anger. "I ain't one man. Hell, I ain't a man," he said as he straightened to a stand, shifting his left hand under her arm and half picking her up.
When they faced the infested, she knew her fate. "Tychus," she said through clenched teeth as they paused at the top of the ramp, the warm sun and rain-fresh breeze did not seem to care about what was going to happen.
"Yeah?" he listened, looking at the top of her head and privately memorizing the way the sun hit her mussed hair; it would probably be the last time.
Maybe what he tried to do was mercy, if she fully understood the scope of Findlay's intent. "When you get to him, you use whatever is left of me to kill that son of a bitch," she said.
He chuckled against her back, "I can do that." He began walking to the lab, Jayce in hand, the infested terrans shuffling aside.
Regardless of their exchange, by the time they were inside the building and walking through nightmarish fleshy halls and doorways, Jayce lost her composure and started fighting and begging. By the time he walked into the room containing their host, he was simply dragging her kicking and screaming by her ponytail.
Dr. Ariel Hanson, what was left of her, looked up from a fleshy green sac she had been caressing with claw-tipped and freakishly long fingers; it seemed four of her digits had merged to create two. Tychus could not help but feel a bit sad that the zerg virus had been so unkind to her pretty face, which now looked like a mashup of hydralisk and terran with beady red eyes deep in hollow sockets.
"You could have just left her to my children outside you know," Ariel said stiffly, already offended by Findlay's discourteous thoughts. "All Zerg are beautiful, touched uniquely by the virus;" she said insistently while gesturing towards vat-like sac with an open top, liquid bubbling inside of it, "that one will do."
"No Tychus, I've changed my mind, please! PL-" Jayce hollered hysterically right up until he lifted her up by the back of her head and shoved her inside the vat with a wet slosh.
Holding Jayce under with a meaty fist, Tychus looked towards Hanson with an air of boredom. "Good to see you too Doc. Hows about you give me the skinny on what's goin' on? I've been out of the loop," he smirked roguishly at her.
Glancing between the terran in his hand and back to the towering infested man, Hanson eyed the two thoughtfully. "The Queen of Blades stopped all experiments on terrans shortly after her transformation on Zerus. Now that she is dead, Zagara has called to us once more," the diminutive infested woman seemed happy.
"We are of use once again, given back our purpose. I was tasked with creating better, stronger infested terrans and it was my pleasure," Ariel placed her twisted, clawed hand over where her heart may or may not be anymore, blood stained and torn lab coat shifting with the gesture.
Tychus visibly perked, spines and all, as he listened to her. "Oh yeah?"
In tune with his train of thought, she made a sharp slicing gesture and shook her head. It seemed terran gestures were a hard trait to zerg out of higher functioning infested. "She will not be like you, Tychus; I am not the Queen of Blades and the virus does not work that way."
Jayce had fallen limp a while ago, and Findlay finally took notice. Withdrawing his hand, he left the body in the pool and shook the slime off. "Eugh," he muttered, "damn shame." Crossing his arms over his chest, he eyed Ariel and could not help but curl his lip in disgust as she caressed the sac she stood beside with twisted love.
"When are we leaving?" he said, flicking off one stray strand of congealing goo from his arm.
Ariel's eyes glimmered as she nearly snuggled with her unborn creation. "Can't you feel it, Tychus?" A cord of drool dripped from her mandible, "the Swarm is coming, and they want you."
He closed his eyes and ignored her strange perverse pleasure as she reached out and touched the hivemind, who knew Hanson was such a freak; Jimmy dodged a bullet with that one. Like the small infested woman said, he could feel them, distant but coming fast. "I did feel somethin', someone was trying real hard to talk to me while I was in space," he said.
"Abathur," she said immediately, seeming to sober as her eyes refocused. "He is alien even to the Swarm, I do not know why he is calling for you; I suppose you will find out." A long, snake-like tongue flicked out and felt at the inside of her mandible.
"Riiight," he looked away, glancing over his shoulder to see the pool he drowned Jayce in already sealed over and bulging upwards. "One more thing, Doc." Their eyes locked, gleaming orange and beady red.
"Yes?" she pressed, eager to be away from the big neanderthal, family or not.
"Who's in charge around here?" he asked curiously.
She raised her malformed hands and shrugged, as though it was obvious and he was truly a dunce, "I lead the brood here, Findlay."
He chuckled, low and mean, "I'll ask one more time, just for you sweet thing. Who's in charge?"
Ariel's eyes widened and she let out a surprised shriek of anger as the veil fell away and Findlay's intent was revealed. He attacked immediately.
Their material selves stood rooted in place, hissing and glaring and growling. Tychus had all but leaped on her, relying more on sheer mental brute force than surprise; no different than he would be in a physical brawl.
Spitting and letting out a long angry wail, Ariel tossed her head back and dropped to her knees, panting as her will crumbled. "Stop. I yield," she held a hand up.
"Figured you'd put up a little more fight than that, Doc," Tychus admitted, walking over and eyeing her where she lay, enjoying the win all the same. He also put himself in a better position to physically kill her if she had other plans, his arm blades made that part clear.
"I simply wish to continue with my purpose, Tychus," Ariel rasped, cautiously shifting forwards from her knees to her feet, hunched over and shrunken. "You lead here now," she looked up sharply, stringy hair framing her monstrous face and glowing eyes, "chase power all you want, Zagara will crush you."
"You leave that to me," he thumbed his chest, giving her a big toothy grin. "Zigzag and I got a score to settle. Now," he shifted his thumb and hiked it over his shoulder, "you let me know when that's done baking."
When he heard Hanson mutter, "yes Master," he felt a cosmic rush. Tychus Findlay, Notorious Outlaw, King of the Swarm. Oh yeah, he liked the sound of that, and just how close he was to realizing that goal filled him with what felt like enough might to break mountains; all he had to do was break Zagara, and the broodmother was coming in hot on a platter, delivery style.