The Reckoning – 9
Dehaka tightened his grasp on the marine's neck, slowly choking him. The terran gasped for air, his face turned blue. He tried as hard as he can to push Dehaka's arm away but to no avail. He kept on punching the Primal's arm but Dehaka was relentless. The lack the oxygen finally took over the marine. His resistances weakened. Slowly but surely his arm dropped to his side. The marine went limp as he gave out his final breath. Dehaka released his grasp and the body dropped onto the floor.
Dehaka's eyes lingered on the fallen marine for a moment. It was just like what he predicted. The terrans were indeed weak. Without those body armor and various machinery they created, they got nothing on them. But still there was one thing that caught him off guard. Despite all the weaknesses they possessed, the species had one thing that they shared with the Zerg. Resilient. Determination. Even when all hope were lost, they would still fight. A small amount of respect bloomed in his heart. He began to understand in part on why the Queen of Blades held Jim Raynor in high regard.
Dehaka of course never met Jim Raynor in person but it was clear to him that the terran had strong influences over the leader of the most powerful faction in the galaxy. He didn't really know what kind of influence that was but he intended to find out. Perhaps one day he could assimilate Jim Raynor. From there he will learn. Yes, he will assimilate him. But now wasn't the time for it all.
Dehaka tore his gaze away from the marine. The last of the powerlink was still standing proud and tall in front of him. He then gave out the command.
The Zerg Primary Hive…
There was a loud explosion and all of a sudden Kerrigan's mind was assaulted by a barrage of new information coming in. She knew what that was. She had regained control of all the Zerg formerly trapped within the psi destroyer energy field. She made a quick check and found that she had lost nearly three quarters of them. The survivors though were not in a good shape. Still, it's the number she would take and immediately she routed them to join the rest of Stukov forces.
She established a telepathic link towards the leader of the Primal pack. "Dehaka."
"Yes," came the reply.
"Have your pack regroup back at the base. You have done well. My Swarm will finish the rest."
"As you wish."
Kerrigan then opened up the communication channel with Stukov. "Stukov?"
"I take it that the Primal have done their duty?" asked Stukov.
"Yes they have. You may proceed Stukov," answered Kerrigan.
"Very well." Stukov signed out.
All the Zerg that converged around the now disabled psi destroyer generator began their descent. The defenses around the generator was clearly lacking and within minutes, the generator was destroyed.
Kerrigan gave out a sigh. One major hurdle had been cleared but the battle in front of her was still far from over. Stukov strategy in attacking the terran on both side bear some fruit and manage to tip the balance a little bit to her side. But still not much progress had been made for the past few hours. That and the fact that she was reluctant to unleash the full force of the Zerg onto the terran compounded the problem. She was well aware that she could not do that. Not yet anyway. As long as Valerian still had his own mission going on, her hands were tied. She had to tip toe around the Dominion capital city but then as the commander of the invasive force, she was well aware of the time that was ticking away. There will come the period when she could no longer afford to hold back. The tide could turn against her. The terran could gain new footing in their battle against her army. Mengsk himself could try to escape and she would be force to hunt for him throughout the galaxy. That was something she really did not want to do. Not when much bigger things were coming her way. She needed to be done with Mengsk and started preparing for the upcoming trouble that lay ahead.
Stukov's forces had since regrouped into the main attacking wave handling the left flank. Zaggara handled the right flank and Kerrigan own forces at the center. The rest of her broodmothers concentrated their fight above and beyond Korhal. Earlier on Kerrigan had to join in the fight in order to protect the hive. Assistance from Zagarra and Stukov enabled her to return to the commander mode, directing and redirecting her own troops and churning out strategies.
Kerrigan turned her attention towards the Imperial Palace, seeking him. He was still there, no doubt burying himself within his throne room scheming, manipulating or perhaps planning to escape. She then turned towards the sky. "Ryloth."
"My Queen," responded Ryloth.
"I know the battle is still intense up there but I need you to divert some of your resources to monitor for the incoming and outgoing of the terran Imperial Palace. Can you do it?" asked Kerrigan. It was simply an act of being polite coming out from her. The broodmother would still comply no matter what.
"Of course my Queen."
"Good," said Kerrigan. "Have the other broodmothers within your vicinity covering every loophole that you have resulting from my command. If they refuse, tell them that they will face my wrath."
"It shall be done my Queen," said Ryloth as she signed out.
Kerrigan then turned towards Zagarra. "Zagarra, have your troops ready to destroy the main gate that lead into the Imperial Sector. We will begin the assault once we enter Augustgrad."
"We should have started the assault sooner, My Queen," suggested Zagarra. "The battle in front of us is getting nowhere."
Zagarra was irked. That Kerrigan could understand as she shared the same sentiment as well. "I understand your frustration Zagarra, but we have an obligation to fulfill."
"That obligation would spell the death of us," said Zagarra. "We have gone this far. We cannot fail."
"I am not planning to fail, Zagarra!" Kerrigan's temper rises up. "It is my wish that the obligation be fulfill. Have you forgotten what I've teach you all this time?"
"You taught me vision."
"And wisdom as well," said Kerrigan. "Keep in mind that I can replace you with other broodmother as easily as snapping my fingers. Do not think that you are irreplaceable."
"Please forgive me my Queen," apologized Zagarra as Kerrigan mentally saw the broodmother bowed to her. "I shall not question any of your further action."
Kerrigan took a deep breath, trying as hard as she can to bring her anger under control. "You are still allowed to ask as I still want you to learn. Just be aware that there are certain limits imposed. Do not tempt my anger. That will be the last thing you will ever do."
Once again Kerrigan mentally saw Zagarra bowed to her.
Still there was some validity to what Zagarra raised to her. The longer the waiting period the more she needed to spend on her resources. She won't mind if there was no Amon. She could take her own sweet time rebuilding her forces. Unfortunately what she saw out of Narud's mind when she fought him on Skygeirr means that time was running out, at least for her.
Kerrigan sighed. She really needed to talk to them.
Hyperion command bridge…
Now this was interesting.
Two leaders, one helming the armies of the human and the other the Zerg, now appeared side by side within the same monitor right in front of everyone.
Sarah frowned as Jor-el updated Valerian on the flow of events on her side. When she first appeared on the monitor, Horner gave signaled her to be quiet and let Jor-el finished up her piece. Jor-el of course didn't realize that the Queen of Blades was listening at the same time.
"…that we didn't anticipate that kind of move from the Emperor's loyalist. Those people, they are walking into a trap. I'm not sure how that happened but it could be that amidst of the chaos they got separated from the rescue team," said Jor-el.
"Or perhaps they don't realize that those marines that escorted them don't have any intention to bring them into safety," added Valerian. "Are you sure that each and every one of your men are truly loyal to you, Joanna? We can't afford to have any more nasty surprises coming in our way."
"At this time, bringing out that kind of question is not prudent," said Jor-el sternly. "I'm not playing down any risk that some of the soldiers might defect but as a commander, I need to have faith in each and every one of them and act accordingly to events that happened. If I don't trust my own people, I'm good as dead. Besides we're rescuing people. It's perfectly within their primary job objective."
Valerian held up both hands. "Don't take it in a wrong way, Joanna. I know what kind of a commander you are. I'm simply stating possibilities. Those marines might not be one of us."
"Exactly," said Jor-el. "There is no differences in insignia between us and the one loyal to Tabascus. They all the same. Those citizens might have simply followed the wrong people."
"How many?" asked Valerian.
"Somewhere between 200 and 250," answered Jor-el.
Valerian raised his eyebrows. "That's a lot! I've known you for so long I know you won't just leave them to rot. So what's the issue here, Joanna?"
"I don't have enough manpower. My men are overtax dealing with the evacuation alone. The fight is still fierce, both in the sky and on the ground. I need you and the Raiders help to rescue those people," said Jor-el.
"Well I can hardly say no to that," said Valerian. "The Raiders are listening to our conversation, Joanna. I'm pretty sure I can rope them in."
"I hope so even if this fight is not theirs. We are all humans both on Korhal and everyone onboard the Hyperion. It will be a sad day when one decides to ignore other people's pleas. I need you to be aware of the current situation though. Things will be too dangerous to you and I can't let anything happened to the one responsible to unite all of us once this is all over. I have no choice unfortunately. I could ignore the fate of those citizens but it would be just plain wrong. Just be careful," said Jor-el.
"I will be," said Valerian. "We'll come up with something I'm sure of it. We definitely will get those people out of the harm way I promise you. How much time do you think we have?"
"Not much," replied Jor-el. "Like I said the battle above and beyond Korhal is still intense. On the ground, General Tabascus still manage to hold the Zerg ground forces. I don't know for how long he could keep it that way."
It was at this point Sarah decided to intervene, "Not for long."
Jor-el was taken by surprise. "Who is that?!"
"The infamous Queen of Blades, General Jor-el," Sarah coolly replied. "I'm simply holding back my forces, General. That army would have been obliterated hours ago if not for the fact that I agree to let you and Valerian evacuate all non-militaries."
"You are listening to everything we said?" asked Jor-el.
"Yes," replied Sarah. "Not to worry, General. There's nothing you said that I will use against you and the Raiders. I believe junior Mengsk here already told you what my intentions are."
"Indeed he has. I take it that you're not planning to deviate from your primary objective?" asked Jor-el.
"No. Not for now," replied Sarah. "I much rather do it with much lesser resistances. Guess I'm just day dreaming."
"Will you give us more time?" asked Jor-el once again. "You've already heard what we have discussed. I assume that you've already have a clear picture of our current situation. Can you hold off a bit longer?"
Sarah once again frowned. "There are limits to everything, General. The more I hold back, the more risk I will have to take. The Emperor could slip away from my grasp and I will have to hunt him. I prefer not to."
"This is about human's life. While It may not be that much to you, it meant everything to us. You were once one of us, Sarah Kerrigan. You were once a human before you turned. Has every traits of humanity lost from you?"
Everyone within the bridge saw the change in Sarah's expression. Long gone was the haughtiness she always wore, replace with sadness and no small amount of despair. She looked down. "It was never my choice to be this way. Humanity failed me before. If it wasn't for him, I would have-," she couldn't continue. She then slowly looked up. All of a sudden her eyes widened and once again it fills with sadness. It took a while for her to recompose herself. "Very well, General. Do what you must. Get those people to safety. I will hold my forces back for as long as it takes you to get those people out. But I implore you to have it done as fast as you can."
Jor-el smiled and nodded satisfactorily. "Thank you, Sarah Kerrigan."
But Sarah no longer paid any attention to Jor-el. Her eyes continue to look away, beyond Horner and Valerian and directly towards Jim.
For most part, Jim had decided to stay away from the conversation and out for sight but that conversation Sarah had with Jor-el somehow changed his mind. He stepped into the limelight and stood directly in front of Sarah's image on the monitor. Their gaze locked onto each other. There were no words spoken for a few moments. Even until now, Sarah's eyes never failed to take Jim's breath away. The color might have changed but it still beautiful as always.
"Jim?" Sarah softly said. "Are you alright?"
Jim said nothing. In all honesty, after everything that happened, he truly didn't know how to respond to her.
Sarah's expression fell. It seemed that Jim remained cold to her. That was basically what she saw. "I'm sorry for everything that I did. I know I don't deserve any of your forgiveness but I still want to apologize," she said. Sadness and sorrow laced every spoken word.
Jim remained silent.
Sarah couldn't take it much longer. She knew that she will ultimately breakdown right there and then the longer she sees him. "Please take care of yourself, Jim." She then immediately signed off.
Silence ringing throughout the bridge. No one said anything until Jor-el spoke, "It seems that there are stories behind what Sarah Kerrigan had said to Commander Raynor. I hope that we will have the chance to listen to it once this is all over. But now we have people in need of rescuing."
Valerian agreed. "You're right. We need to move-."
"I take it from here," cut in Jim.
Both Horner and Valerian looked at him, wide eyed.
"I take it from here," repeated Jim. He then turned towards Jor-el. "General Jor-el, continue with the evacuation. Both Valerian and Captain Horner here will assist you once we arrive."
"Sir?" asked Horner, apparently taken by surprise by what Jim said.
"What I'm going to do relates to everything that happened between me and Sarah, Matt," explained Jim. "Both of us are in this together. I'm going to help her. Both you and Valerian work well together and I want you to continue working with him." Jim then turned towards Valerian. "Once we arrive, you will take the rest of the ship within this fleet and head towards any designated point set up between you and the General. I let all of you work out the details yourself. I only need the Hyperion."
"But sir, one capital ship won't be enough," interjected Horner. "You won't make it."
"I will make it," said Jim. "Don't you worry about me, Matt. I will make it."
Horner shook his head. "But sir, my place is here, right beside you and on this ship."
Jim's lip pursed into a smile. That young man in front of him. He never failed to be loyal to him. "I know, Matt. I don't intend to replace you with anything or anyone. This is simply something I need to do. Just this once I like to do this myself. Besides, you hold far greater potential than being just a ship's captain. Try to learn to spread your wings."
"Sir?"
"We'll talk about this later once this is all over. For now I need you to work with him," said Jim while at the same time pointing his finger towards Valerian. "Can you do it? At least for me?"
Horner nodded. "Yes, sir."
At this point Valerian made his way towards Jim. "Welcome back, Commander. It's been a long time," he said and gave Jim a pat on his back. "I understand what you're trying to do, Commander. I'm grateful for it. Captain Horner is a fine young man. He's perfect."
Jim simply nodded. He then made his way towards the communication console and opened up the channel towards all the ship within the fleet.
"This is Commander Jim Raynor speaking…"
Fifteen minutes later the fleet began its journey towards Korhal IV.
Nova stood beside Jim. Nobody saw the turmoil raging deep within her.
To be continued…
A/n: First lets get the reviews out of the way:-
To Mythix999, Redwings019, thekellin, Ragnarok666, Leaf Ranger, MP36PH3S, 122 Generation and MSG1000, thank you for the reviews.
To ideagetthe , yes theoretically if the Xel Naga did their homework properly, I don't see any reason on why the primal couldn't merge with the Protoss. They should. Guess we'll may or may not see it in LotV.
To VisualIdentificationZeta, thanks for the tip.
To timberwolf1337, no problem. I'm just glad you're still here with us.
When I first started writing this story, I intended it to be a really short story with not more than eight, ten chapters the most. I simply want to tell the story about what happened to Jim Raynor the moment the Dominion got him. Along the way I saw the potential that it could be expanded until the end of HotS so that is basically what I did. I never intended for Nova to fall hard for Jim. It just did. Anyway what I never expected was that this story had split the readers into two camps. At one side there are those who want Jim ended up with Nova and the other with Sarah. I'm kind in a dilemma right now. There are big chances that I might not be able to satisfy both sides. I hope you guys could stomach everything that I will throw in your way and simply enjoy the story. If you can't then there's nothing I can do about it. And apology is all I could think of. And one more thing. If you expect blow by blow analysis of the battle that rage on Korhal, you'll be disappointed. I'm not really into it. I much prefer a more narrative approach unlike what other authors did for their stories in the SC section of this website.
Anyway, please read and review and I'll see you in the next chapter.