Leviathan, L-540
"So, you figured that they figured that we figured that they wouldn't send an assassin, right? Well, guess they didn't figure that, did they..."
Tai slowly pulled himself back on his feet, holding onto the walls in order to maintain his balance. The ghost's psychic blast hit him a lot harder than he would like to admit. Other Zerg massed outside the room, drawn to the commotion. Kerrigan ignored them, focusing on her unconscious captive. There was something off about her, the Zerg queen thought. She seemed strangely familiar. What worried Kerrigan even more were the few thoughts she could pull out of the ghost's mind before Cain knocked her unconscious. The assassin was…conflicted, somehow. As if she didn't want to kill Kerrigan, but couldn't stop herself from doing so. All this gave the queen a nasty feeling of déjà vu.
Kerrigan carefully pulled of the ghost's mask. To her horror, it revealed a face she recognized: This was the exact same ghost that tried to kill her back on Char.
It didn't make any sense. Kerrigan could feel the assassin hesitate, and thoughts didn't lie, not to a psychic of her caliber. This girl didn't want to kill her. Then why would she even…
"Izsha, how does the Dominion control its ghosts? Can they override someone's free will?"
"They use implants, conditioning, and memory wipes, mainly. As far as we know, that is. Naturally, the Dominion is not very forthcoming with the details." The adjutant replied. "Now that you mention it, I detected a brief energy spike from the ghost's suit before she started shooting, localized at its long-range transmitter. It is quite probable that she had no intention of killing you, but someone overrode her free will and forced her to do it anyway."
"Makes sense." Tiberias interjected. Poor bastard was still shacking on his legs. "Dominion knows you're a telepath. If she knew about her true mission, she could have unintentionally tipped you off. They make up a bogus story about some peace offering and hit the ghost's mind-control button when we turn our backs to her. It nearly worked, too."
A young ghost is told to undertake a dangerous mission that could end a war. She trusted her commanders with her life, but once she had served her purpose, the commanders betrayed her for their own, selfish gains. In the end, she ended up at the mercy of the Swarm. It could have been Kerrigan's story. Why, it was Kerrigan's story. Seeing this happen again to someone else made her blood boil.
"Izsha, can you say where that signal came from?"
"Negative, mistress. However, we have detected a Dominion warship in the shadow of this planet's moon. It is the Bucephalus, the flagship of the Dominion fleet. The vessel is currently flying under the command of Prince Valerian Mengsk."
That couldn't be a coincidence. Like father, like son, Kerrigan thought. Ideas of all the horrific things she could do to him popped into her mind. "Take the leviathan out into space. I want to have a personal word with the 'great' crown prince."
Before they could leave, however, Tiberias brought another matter to her attention. "Uhh, my lady? What should we do with her?" He said, while pointing to the incapacitated ghost. "You know, we can put her to good use. I suggest we let Abathur go to work on her. We could always use another psychic…"
Not going to happen. Kerrigan knew how the story ended for her: four years of bloodshed, destruction, and misery. She would probably never recover from what happened to her. She was not about to let that happen to anyone else on her watch. Even the thought…
She calmed herself down before replying. The Zerg inside her believed that Cain was right, but she'd never be able to forgive herself if she put anyone else through the same torment she had been. Of course, the other Zerg didn't need to know that. "If we go around infesting people, the humans will use that as proof that we're still the greatest evil in the sector. I'd like to avoid fighting a crusade, thank you very much. No, we'll make do without her." The other Zerg seemed to buy her reasoning, much to Kerrigan's relief. "What is her condition anyway?"
"Stable, though unconscious, mistress." Izsha immediately replied. "She has a severe concussion, but is otherwise physically fine, as far as I can tell. I suspect it will be a few hours before she awakens."
"Will she try to kill us when she does?"
"Uncertain. The combination of psychic feedback and physical trauma will almost certainly have damaged her controlling implants. It is unlikely that the Dominion will still be able to control her remotely anymore. If she attempts to kill anyone, it will be of her own free will. Nevertheless, I suggest removing them as soon as possible. Long term damage from the malfunctioning implants is not out of the question."
"Can't we just remove them ourselves? I know I had some implants before, and they were removed some time after the Overmind…'found' me."
"You were already assimilated into the Swarm when they were removed, mistress. Zerg are more resilient than humans are and have a far higher chance of surviving such a procedure. We do not have the expertise or ability needed for such a delicate operation. Not on a human anyway."
The Raiders probably would. Another excuse to see Jim again. Good. However, there was still a prince that needed to be gruesomely murdered. "Tell Me'dea to put her somewhere safe. We'll go find the Raiders after we deal with Valerian. I want some answers."
Hyperion, L-540 System
"I still can't believe it." General Warfield muttered as he read through the scan data. "An entire battlefleet with Morrigan in command scared off in less than a day. Look at these droppods! She must have fought off a massive army all by herself."
"Developing a crush, general?" Horner jested.
"Nah, I prefer blondes myself, captain." The general replied, aware of the captain's little joke. "Still, you have to admit that what she pulled off was pretty impressive. I mean, Morrigan was crazy, but he was one of our best when it came to Zerg. Heck, if she were still human, she'd be a lot more than a lieutenant by now."
"Yes, I suppose it was impressive…" Horner replied with a hint of worry in his voice.
"You still think she'll turn on us."
"I think it's a real possibility and that we'll be in big trouble if she does. As a revolutionary's rule of thumb, don't stir up anything you can't put down later. As far as allies go, Kerrigan scares me more than anyone else ever had. God, I almost begin to understand Raynor's obsession with the bottle."
"Try to relax a little, Horner. Or at least pretend if you can't. Soldiers get nervous when their commanders spend a lot of time worrying."
Horner had to chuckle. Warfield was right, as usual. It was good to have him around. Horner may be a good captain, but leadership of the Raiders as a whole was something he still wasn't very good at on his own, especially in times like these. The Raider fleet emerged from the previous battle heavily damaged. One ship had gone down and all the others were damaged as well. The Hyperion was pretty much being held together by duct-tape and prayers by now. It wasn't anything the engineers couldn't fix, but repairs like that would take time, especially without a shipyard. Needless to say, they were in no shape for any real combat right now.
The holographic table beeped again. Another contact. "Dominion warship… Where did that thing come from? I thought they all pulled out."
"Don't know, sir. It's very feint." One of the officers replied. "No warp signature, the engines are cold and life-signs are rather low… Looks like it's running on a skeleton crew."
"It must have been here for a while, hiding like us. Cold objects in space are easily missed." Warfield said. "Still, having such a small crew on a ship that size isn't a good idea, especially when you're near a Zerg-infested planet. Can you get the ship's name?"
"Just a second, sir…Bucephalus, sir. Valerian Mengsk's flagship."
The general blinked. "What in the seven hells is the crown prince doing out here all by himself?"
"Better yet, why didn't he run with the rest of the fleet?" Horner wondered. "If Kerrigan could stop an entire fleet, a single battlecruiser isn't going to make a difference. He'd know that, right?"
Warfield paced around for a bit, thinking. "Unless he isn't trying to fight her… If he was a part of the invasion force, he would have fled already. I know Valerian, he usually tries to talk his way out of things if he thinks he can convince his opponent. Kerrigan already saved our lives once. Maybe that's all the proof he needed to realize she's not beyond reason."
"General, if he wants to talk, why hide from her?"
"So the Zerg won't blow his ship out of the sky?" Warfield replied, bluntly.
"Fair enough, but that doesn't explain why Valerian would even want to talk with the Zerg. If the people found out about his dealings with them, his reputation would be ruined."
"He would if he knows what we know. He locked us up because he thought we were a danger to the Dominion and I didn't have the proof to convince him otherwise. The Dominion stole all your data and the scientific doodads you've collected, haven't they? How much you want to bet at least one of them contained information on the Hybrids? If he looked at any of those, he'd realized that the Zerg are necessary for our survival."
The general had a point, Horner conceded. "If that's true, Warfield, then he might not be our enemy. We should talk to him before Kerrigan does." Enemy of otherwise, the captain knew a civil conversation only works if both sides are willing to sit down and talk. "Somehow, I don't think she'd feel very inclined to talk with anyone named 'Mengsk'."
As if the Hyperion's adjutant was reading the captain's mind, it said: "Warning: class 10 Zerg flier, designated 'Leviathan', detected on intercept course with the Dominion battlecruiser 'Bucephalus'. Warning: class 11 psionic waveform detected. Zerg flier 'Leviathan' and Dominion battlecruiser 'Bucephalus' have engaged one another. Caution is advised."
The bridge officers watched the ensuing battle, if it could even be called such a thing. A single Terran battlecruiser, even the flagship of the Dominion fleet, was no match for the massive Zerg creature. However, rather than tearing the ship in half, the leviathan simply destroyed its weapon emplacements and 'docked' alongside it. Zerg life-signs started to spread along the hull.
"They're boarding the ship." Horner thought out loud. "This is getting out of control. Adjutant, call the Zerg, or anything with a transmitter. Tell them to stand down, dammit! Stand down!"
Bucephalus, in the shadow of L-540's Moon
Too easy, Kerrigan thought to herself. Boarding this ship was a joke. As powerful as the laser batteries and point defense turrets were, they couldn't hope to bring down a leviathan on their own. Thanks to Izsha, the communication systems were quickly jammed, rendering them useless. When they tried calling for help, no one would hear them. A few well-aimed pokes from the creature's tentacles, and the ship was all but helpless. She could have ordered the ship destroyed, but that would destroy her prize: the Crown Prince of the Dominion.
Once the Zerg got on-board, resistance quickly evaporated. The marines were putting up a valiant defense, but they were outnumbered and hopelessly outmatched. Kerrigan ordered everyone who put down his weapon to be spared and genuinely tried not to kill if she could avoid it. However, as time went by, holding back quickly became impossible. Most of the marines seemed to be resocs, charging into battle regardless whether or not the odds were against them. If they really had a death wish, who was she to deny it to them?
Some part of the Zerg queen seemed to enjoy picking men in full power armor off the ground and crushing them like insects. Kerrigan couldn't be bothered to force it back. She would have Mengsk's head, even that meant settling for his son. Nothing would distract her from her prey. Not even her own inner conflicts.
Eventually, she found herself on the bridge, face-to-face with Valerian. The prince tried to maintain his composure, hiding behind his shiny medal and fancy uniform. His clothes may have been a lot more impressive than Kerrigan's tattered environment suit, but he wasn't fooling anyone. It wouldn't take a psychic to see he was mere seconds away from wetting himself. In the eyes of the Zerg queen, he was weak. Pathetic. A child, barely of age to hold a gun, put in a commanding position because of his bloodline, rather than his merits. She would probably be doing the universe a favor by removing him from existence.
Valerian tried to speak, but Kerrigan cut him off by telekinetically grabbing him by the neck, lifting him a few inches of the ground while slowly suffocating him. "My parents taught me that it's rude to cut people off," She said, calmly. The queen could feel the boy's fear. Part of her was savoring every drop of it. "but I think they'd make an exception for you. They didn't like betrayers, and neither do I, as you can imagine. Especially when the betrayed happens to be someone I care about."
"Look…this is all…a little…misunderstanding…" The prince panted, gasping for air with every word.
"Oh, really? How stupid of me…" She replied, mockingly.
"Please…the package…Nova gave you…"
"Nova? The blond ghost that tried to give hand me an olive branch on your behalf? The one with a head full of mind-controlling implants? The one that tried to kill me, against her own will?! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, doesn't it?"
The prince said nothing. He just looked at her, completely stupefied. Kerrigan sifted through his mind, expecting some sort of swindle or trick. This was too big. There was no way he could be unaware of his top ghost being a time bomb, but she found nothing to convince her that he didn't. He genuinely had no idea what she was talking about…
Izsha called, relaying an urgent message. Captain Horner managed to contact her, asking them, in a firm and commanding tone, to 'stand down'. It was a good idea, standing down. Valerian wasn't his father, at least not completely. There was more to this than it seemed.
The queen reeled in the more aggressive, vengeful part of her mind and let Valerian go. He fell to the ground, clutching a nearby table while breathing heavily. She looked at herself. She was this close to brutally murdering someone for a crime she wasn't even sure he committed in the first place. What the hell had gotten into her?
She really needed a cold shower…
