Disclaimer: I don't own Starcraft or it affiliates

WARNING: Language may be deemed coarse in this chapter. Proceed at your own risk.

End of Heresy

Using the newly captured Terrazine as their flanking point, the Terran military pushed in hard into the New Terrazine Conglomeration and broke their fragile defenses with hardly any casualties. In fact, the line broke so quickly that even rebel casualties were light! The loss of their mother state and the death of Princess Clara had dealt a near-mortal blow to the morale of the rebels, to the point where only a common enemy prevented the individual states from erupting into a bloody civil war.

However, General Takeshi knew that there was a thin line between outright hatred and sheer fear in regards to morale. At the rate the war was going, it was actually possible to shatter the morale completely and get the rebels to surrender unconditionally. To do that, he theorized that one more morale shock would win the war. The question was what was left to use for that shock?

The answer came surprisingly easy: kill the king of Terrazine. It was suggested by General Xana, who wanted nothing more than to finish off the job that started at the Siege of Fale. While slightly disturbed by her cold-hearted suggestion, Anthony approved the decision and the order was given.

Of course, the remaining Terrazine military leaders knew of this danger and took many steps in an attempt to prevent it. But it was no use. Once the order was given to the Shadow Squadron, there was no escape…

O O O

August 3rd, Year 10

"The inner circle has been breached! The king is- AH!"

"All units, fall back, we need help! Wait, please, NO!"

"RUN! ARGH!"

"Oh, quit your whining and take it like a royal guard." The black hair Ghost rolled her eyes, yanking her combat knife out of a dead body and returning the blade to its sheathe. "Die with some honor already!"

"Elise!" Nathaniel chastised his sister agent, reloading his rifle in one smooth motion and tossing an ammo clip to his brother agent. "Have some regard to the bravery these rebels display by trying to fight us!"

Oliver caught the full clip and used it to replace the depleted ammunition in his weapon. "Well, it's either bravery or idiocy that explains why they fight right now. I'm right now leaning towards idiocy after tasting their minds."

"Ugh, how can you stand them? They taste way too cold for my taste," The older of the three replied, glancing around the room. Bodies littered the entire place, all of their faces locked into a screaming expression of sorts as death enveloped their minds. It was a sickening sight in some ways, but the Ghosts held no feelings for the opinions of their master. "We secured?"

"Affirmative. And if intel is correct, the target should be in the next room." The grey hair Ghost gestured, taking up the wall space adjacent to the wooden door. Elise took up a kneeling position in front of the door as Oliver went over to the opposite side of Nathaniel, allowing for all angles to be covered. The three Terran agents nodded to each other before Elise stood up and kicked the wooden door in.

The new throne room was a far cry from the royal palace in Terrazine, barely bigger than the Commander's office and lacked decorations, giving the room a rather dry feel to it. However, that was not to say that the throne room was empty. There was one other person inside it besides the three psionic Ghosts, and he currently was the most powerful enemy that the Terran Empire had.

A wizened old man sat on a golden gilded chair in the back of the room, sweat beading on his forehead as three people wearing weird goggles and bodysuits approached him. The king tried reaching for a staff besides his throne, but the weapon glowed purple for a brief second and was flung away as one of the assassins flicked a glowing purple hand towards the weapon. The Terrazine then tried to raise his arm in an attempt to cast magic, only to shout in pain as another one of the assassins shot his shoulder using their sniper rifle. And as if that wasn't enough, the Ghost put in another bullet into each of the king's limbs.

Howling in pain, the king tried to move but could not his limbs refused to respond. He could only watch as the three Terrans slowly walked closer to him before stopping at the leader's command. The lone Ghost walked forward and raised her goggles, glaring at the last king of Terrazine. "Do you have any idea what you've just done?"

"I stood up against the tyranny that is the Terran Empire!" The old man growled, screaming as the female Ghost placed a foot against his chest and kicked, knocking the throne off its legs. But the king remained in the seat, his knuckles turning white as they gripped the inverted arm rests. "You dogs wouldn't understand! Blindly loyal to your beloved Commander, who serves only his greed for power!"

"If you want true loyalty, talk to General Cain." Elise bitterly laughed as she drew her blaster pistol. "You know nothing about being a leader, especially when you order your own children to kill each other!"

"Xana is nothing but a disobedient and rebellious threat to peace! She has corrupted everyone's mind with her ideals of peace and purpose, when the only thing she's good for is being married off-"

"DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK OF HER LIKE THAT!" The black hair girl shouted, smashing the barrel of her blaster into the king's face. "You have no idea what she is capable of doing for her friends, or hell, her subordinates! She's the perfect sister, and you tell her to go die?! I see why now she refused to come: she doesn't want to see your ugly sorry ass again!"

"Why, you little-"

"Do us all a favor and shut up forever!" The trigger was pulled and the blaster pistol spat out a single bullet that landed right between the wide eyes of the Terrazine king. His body jerked once as the metal pierced his skin and skull, but the limbs stopped flailing the minute the bullet blew his brains apart. Blood trickled down his face as Elise removed her foot from the corpse's chest, pulling back the blaster and letting the bullet shell drop to the floor. "Don't you dare talk that way about my family asshole."

O O O

With the death of the king, the New Terrazine Conglomeration gave into their people's demands and surrendered to the Terran Empire. The streets of the rebel cities became quiet as the declaration of defeat was announced, the civilians all knowing the error of their ways and the punishments that surely followed. The Commander would not show mercy to those who were guilty of the Terrazine Heresy.

Commander Anthony did issue out justified punishments to the guilty parties…meaning that the civilians were left unharmed. In his mind, the people had nothing to do with this war, meaning that only the rebel military leaders were condemned for starting the conflict. All of them promptly received the death sentence and were executed so. There were no exceptions.

The actual kingdom of Terrazine ceased to exist as it was absorbed into the fully unified bloc that was the Terran Empire. It had finally come true: Cato Terrareum was now under a single banner, the Terran Empire's. The Terran Commander was now the ruler of the world, with nothing to oppose him anymore as he looked to the stars. Conquering this world was not enough to satisfy human ambition: he wanted at least one more.

But for now, it was alright to bask in the victory created as of August Year 10. The rebellions have stopped. The Terran Empire ruled the world. Commander Anthony also wanted to give a long break to his hardworking Generals, for he knew that some needed time to rest and mourn their losses.

O O O

August 9th, Year 10

"Sleep well you two." Xana smiled as she stroked the marble urn, placing it alongside an identical burial urn in the small space. The white hair woman then took out a white envelope, kissing it before laying her final message between the two ashes of her siblings. With a gentle swing, she closed the lid and placed it inside the deep hole dug yesterday. Once that was done, her cloaking activated and she disappeared into the early morning air.

The construction workers were under orders that day to pay no attention to the white box inside the dug hole, pouring cement over it without hesitation. When the quick-drying building ingredient dried, the enormous statue was removed from the truck and carefully attached to the floor through more quick-drying cement. By the end of the day, the gigantic statue in Central HQ was finished.

The plaque read, "Terran Marines at the Siege of Terrazine, raising the flag as a symbol of victory. Dedicated to those who lost their beloved ones in the Terrazine Heresy."

O O O

"Hey, stop it!"

"You forgot to brush your teeth! Elise, you cannot be simply so unhygienic!"

"Aw, why not? I forget it all the time too!"

"Oliver, that is not acceptable either! Go and brush your teeth!"

General Rorke looked up from his writing as the three psionic Ghosts argued over their breakfast. The green hair scientist watched as they bickered and fought over the necessary qualities of brushing one's teeth, sometimes even resorting to light punches or psionic powers. It was lucky that Rorke had installed a psionic dampener in the lab, just in case the Ghosts turned on him.

It was unlikely, but his mind just wouldn't stop nagging him until it was installed. And if he wanted to, a psionic limited chip would be installed in each Ghost's head, limiting the capabilities of their powers. But as that was a bit unnecessary even under Rorke's mindset, the chip project never came to fruition.

Rorke gave a slight smile as he watched Nathaniel grab his two siblings, intent on dragging them into the bathroom for a good cleaning. He quickly cleaned his glasses before returning to his writing. He muttered one last sentence as his focus came back.

"They remind me so much of you, my lord…"

O O O

Cain barked and the rifles came up. Another command and the guns were aimed at the air. With his last shout, the blanks fired into the air.

The other students of the school bowed their heads as they watched the black coffins move past them, out of the main yard and to the families that waited just beyond. As it was a rebellion, the students of the Officer Academy joined the military to help repel those who disrupted the peace. Unfortunately, many had died in the Terrazine Heresy, never able to graduate the Academy forever.

After three rounds of shooting, the blond General clicked his heels together and brought his hand up, giving a salute to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for the Terran Empire. Without needing a command, the other living bodies followed his actions, giving one last gesture of respect to their eternal classmates. They would be missed, but not forgotten in the hearts of this generation.

O O O

"More! More drinks!" The bald headed man roared, smashing his glass onto the counter top as the bartender shakily nodded in agreement. "I have a challenge to get drunk today!"

The two companions of the General sighed in exhaustion, both of them already saddened today by the funerals of two brother-in-arms. But Abe insisted on trying to drink away his sorrow, despite not being able to get drunk at all. He would come to his senses tomorrow, or at the every least, at the end of the week.

O O O

Takeshi patted his gloved hands on his blue robe, looking at his handiwork. He nodded in satisfaction and picked up the shovel on the ground besides him, placing it on his shoulder. The black hair man then turned and walked away from the fruits of his labor.

A small sapling stood out from a patch of newly dug dirt. Its fragile shoots wavered as the autumn wind blew past, but the cherry blossom plant stood tall much like its neighbors: two rectangular tombstones in the Tate cemetery. One day, it would grow into a beautiful sakura tree, blossoming and spraying its cherry blossoms all over Tate.

And the black hair swordsman would be there to see it.

O O O

The Terran Commander poured himself another drink, sighing as he took his 7th shot of alcohol for the night. He glanced at the paperwork on his desk and rubbed his eyes, deciding to call it a night as a means of avoiding the inevitable. Anthony stood up and turned off the solitary light in his office, walking over to a small cot on the side. He was about to simply fall into it when he remembered his boots.

The mattress creaked as Anthony sat down on it, reaching down and removing his boots. The extent of the leg braces became apparent as the leather was removed from it, the metal and his flesh becoming practically intertwined. The Commander stared at it for a while, the truth sinking in now that the war was over.

He had lost his legs. They may still be there, but he could never hope to use them again without aid. A shaking gloved finger touched the base of his foot, running up to feel the scars that permanently disfigured his limbs. All because he was careless.

Anthony then closed his eyes, not wanting to wallow in pity anymore. He laid down and pulled up the blanket, with full intent to sleep. But rest would not come easy.

Especially when one had some weird fluid stuck in their eyes.