Chapter Eight: Goddess of the Swarm
Being the undisputed, all-powerful Goddess of the Swarm meant you had days.
Kerrigan was presently in the midst of one. She'd watched as her incompetent Broodmothers got completely slaughtered. For a moment, it had seemed as though her forces were about to overwhelm Mar Sara. One by one, the fortresses would fail, and isolated pockets of resistance would be wiped out.
Under her guidance, after all, the Swarm had grown more powerful than ever. And if that fool Zasz could have conquered this world, Kerrigan would succeed.
But then, it hadn't really been Kerrigan's job to succeed.
Her Broodmothers had performed poorly. All that time training against one another on Char had apparently been a waste. Kerrigan was going to have to talk to Abathur about evolving their minds; he'd done a poor job with them.
For now, though, she had work to do.
"Izsha, report?" asked Kerrigan.
Izsha slithered out of the wall of the Leviathan. Her vaguely humanoid shape was the only remnant of Amanda Haley. Torturing her into Izsha had kept Abathur busy for a long time, and she had been a decent replacement.
"My Queen, Nafash, the Broodmother you sent to Kaldir has dropped out of contact," said Izsha. "All attempts to reach her have failed."
"And what about our invasion of Mar Sara?" asked Kerrigan.
"All of our primary hive clusters have been destroyed. Our remaining zerg are being hunted down," said Izsha.
That was...
A lot of damage.
The colonial militia under Serena had actually launched attacks. And apparently, Kerrigan's subordinates hadn't been up to the task. Unprepared for the aggressive assaults, many of the Broodmothers had been outmaneuvered. Those on the attack had been blocked.
The Broodmothers had been overconfident. Overconfident and stupid.
Though perhaps it was partially Kerrigan's fault for making it all look easy. She had crushed all resistance quite handily during the Brood War.
"Very well then," said Kerrigan, before opening her mind. She reached out across the many worlds where the swarm was losing. "Minions, you will assume guerilla tactics. Raid exposed areas and avoid a direct confrontation with the militia." Then she thought about the best of her Broodmothers. "What about Zagara? Where is she?"
"Zagara has attacked Agria and is fighting well against the local militia," said Izsha. "We believe that she will have gained victory over them within a week."
"A week?" asked Kerrigan.
It was a victory, but surely it should have taken mere days to overrun a farming colony.
Izsha shifted. "...Yes, my Queen.
"The terran defenses have proven far more formidable than you were told to expect. And William Mark is among them."
Kerrigan felt a twinge of irritation. The Captain of the UED had humiliated her once on Tarsonis when he found the Psi Disruptor. And his survival of her victory in the Brood War was one of the few genuine downsides. "Mark?
"What is he doing there?"
Izsha shifted, and Kerrigan wondered if she was thinking through old memories of her time as a human. It didn't matter; Izsha was not Amanda Haley. "After Raynor's Raiders rescued Dugalle's fleet from your broods, the UED restructured. Many of their ships were cannibalized to repair those that could be salvaged.
"Together, they cooperated with Raynor's Raiders and Artanis to de-infest Stukov. Through it, they delt Kaloth his first, and only, defeat."
Kaloth.
Kerrigan felt anger whenever she heard that name. The memory of her 'brother' and chief lieutenant raised such emotions. Though obedient, he'd had no end of scathing words for her actions. He'd liked Fenix. "Yes, I'm well aware of the fact.
"I don't tolerate failure in any of my subordinates. And Kaloth had already performed below expectations. He failed to wipe out the UED entirely.
"Get to the point."
"After the Brood War, William Mark and his soldiers trained militias," said Izsha. "The UED's superior tactics and discipline are responsible for the increased resistance. Many of the colonies are using their tactics.
"Later, Arcturus Mengsk managed to negotiate many of them to rejoin the Dominion. He offered economic support. I believe it is from him that the colonial resistance got their equipment.
"Mark and the other officers became colonial officers. They were offered pardon, in exchange for service, of course."
Kerrigan smiled at the idea of Mark having fallen so far. Once the second most powerful man in the sector, now he was training militia. "I think I enjoy the thought of that bastard drilling farmhands in some backwater. I'm almost glad Jim saved him."
"Our losses are a small sacrifice for your entertainment, my Queen," said Izsha.
Kerrigan looked up, catching a tinge of resentment. She wondered if she should kill Izsha. It wouldn't be the first time Kerrigan had killed a lieutenant for incompetence. "Do I detect a note of doubt, Izsha?"
"No, no doubt, I am your servant," said Izsha quickly. "I merely... well, this invasion does not seem to be progressing as planned. I fear the broodmothers are not performing at the same level as you had hoped."
Kerrigan decided to let it pass. Izsha had been a valuable subordinate. "It's natural selection at work. The weak will be purged, and the stronger Broodmothers will survive. I'll base the replacements off of the strong.
"The broodmothers are an objectively superior design to cerebrates. Once they have more experience, they will outpace even Kaloth. I'm certain of it."
Izsha shifted, and Kerrigan knew she was doubting her. If Izsha's advice wasn't usually good, Kerrigan supposed she would have killed her long ago. Then again, if there was anything left of Amanda Haley in her, existence was absolute torture. In which case, death was too good for her.
Kerrigan thought back to the sight of Zeratul butchering Raszagal. He'd apparently been close to her, and his agony had been reason enough to spare him. The only kind of enemy you didn't kill was the one you tormented by leaving alive.
"As you say, my Queen. We exist to serve," said Izsha. "...Shall we adjust our strategy?"
Kerrigan considered that there had been some miscalculations made in this invasion. Izsha's gathering of intelligence had not been good enough. The only question was what to do about it. "...I'll admit that Arcturus did a better job of preparing for this than I expected. We've run into problems, and his fleet hasn't even been deployed. But I already prepared for such an eventuality." She closed her eyes and reached out. "Abathur, what is the status of the plague?"
"Plague... has been seeded," said Abathur. "Will take... three to ten terran days to show signs once an infection begins. Refugees fleeing worlds... will spread..."
Kerrigan nodded and smiled. She liked the idea of twisting those worthless creatures into something more useful. "Alright, then.
"Leave Meinhoff alone. I don't want any of our invasion forces to end up anywhere near that system. It's a major trade route, and if we don't strike there, the refugees will flee to it. Once they get set up, they'll spread the plague everywhere.
"There's no way Arcturus will be able to seal off the entire plague once it gets started.
It should hollow out the Dominion without us having to strike a blow."
"My Queen, is it not possible that the terrans will enact a quarantine?" asked Izsha. "Or create a vaccine or cure?
"Terran medical technology has come a long way since the UED invasion."
Kerrigan shook her head. "No matter how far it comes, it is no match for the swarm.
"We crushed the UED; we'll crush the remnants of the Dominion with even greater ease."
Izsha remained silent for a moment. Kerrigan didn't like that. "My Queen, there is one I must bring to your attention?"
"What is it?" asked Kerrigan.
"Redstone is exposed," said Izsha. "Our assault upon the terrans has cost us more forces than we anticipated. Many of our reserve forces have been called up from our hives on Redstone. Although the Kel'Morians have withdrawn, they may well be aware of our weakness."
Kerrigan shrugged. "Redstone is a volcanic planet even more hostile than Char. The Overmind feared to send his broods there where I succeeded.
"The Kel'Morians only care about money. And the Dominion is otherwise occupied."
Izsha nodded. "...Of course, my Queen.
"You are, without question, greater in power and daring than the Overmind ever was. The Dominion and the Kel'Morian combine are not the only factions that could oppose us. Raynor's Raiders could be a threat."
Kerrigan greatly enjoyed being told the cold, unvarnished truth of her own divinity. "Raynor no longer has Fenix with him. And his forces are a shadow of what they once were."
"Perhaps, but he is quite... resourceful, my Queen," said Izsha. "He has already seized part of the artifact."
"Whatever artifact pieces Raynor finds will be handed over to Moebius," said Kerrigan. "Once there, I will simply destroy them and take them for myself."
"As you say," said Izsha. "My Queen..."
Kerrigan was getting really sick of Izsha refuses to flat out say things. "Yes?"
"May I ask a question?" asked Izsha.
Kerrigan decided she'd humor her. Letting a valuable subordinate answer a few questions wasn't going to kill her. "You may."
"Why are we looking for this artifact?" asked Izsha.
Kerrigan shrugged. "Moebius wants it.
"And Moebius is led by Duran. And if our shapeshifting friend wants it, I think we want it out of his hands.
"For now, I want you to call up more broods from Char. We're going to launch another invasion."
Izsha paused. "You wish to start another front?"
"Of course," said Kerrigan. "We have total superiority of numbers. The more fronts we start, the further stretched our enemies become."
"I see," said Izsha. "And where would you have us invade?"
"I'm still considering that," said Kerrigan. Maybe Kaldir might be worth her attention? "Have the protoss been active at all?"
"No," said Izsha. "They have spent most of their time creating fortress worlds. And the Golden Armada seems to be waiting to see how things unfold. However, the Tal'Darim, a splinter sect of protoss, have not been waiting. We have detected them acting in a way contrary to both Khalai and Nerazim behavior, however."
"How so?" asked Kerrigan, interest piqued.
"They have dealings with Moebius," said Izsha. "It seems that the Tal'Darim have been carrying out a series of raids on their behalf. They attacked many poorly defended Khalai colonies during the Great War. Those they captured had their populations dragged away.
"Some of our strains have sighted them, selling them to Moebius in exchange for raw materials. They also raided a number of terran settlements. Though they were always outside of the Dominion."
"Moebius probably ingratiated itself with Arcturus using that. They'd have had to offer him the same protection," mused Kerrigan. "That would give an extra incentive to join the Dominion.
"Ever the opportunist.
"Very well, I think these Tal'Darim might prove useful."
"You mean to make an alliance with them?" asked Izsha.
"Why not?" asked Kerrigan. "They seem to hate everyone else in the sector. And they can't be loyal to Moebius."
"But are you certain they will listen to anything you have to say?" asked Izsha. "After all, Praetor Fenix-"
That was too far. The memory of Fenix made Kerrigan very, very angry.
Kerrigan turned around and put a small fraction of her power forward. Izsha choked as the air was shut out of her throat. Kerrigan had left her with that element of humanity. The miserable writhing thing squirmed and tried to survive.
Her point made, Kerrigan relaxed her power. Izsha gasped for air and recovered from the agony. The burns on her flesh began to heal.
There was little better than flaunting one's own absolute power. "I think you should leave diplomacy to me, Izsha. The Overmind never had the cunning to use his enemies against one another. But I did, and I did everything he couldn't.
"I conquered Aiur, I defeated the UED, and I destroyed the Dominion.
"Never forget that."
Izsha cringed, receiving the message. "As you say, my Queen.
"With your permission, I would like to draw some of the invasion forces off of worlds I judge to be untenable. They may be of more use to you fighting in battlegrounds where victory is closer at hand."
Kerrigan didn't see anything wrong with that. "Do as you wish, Izsha.
"Just find me a Tal'Darim fleet to meet with."
It occurred to Kerrigan that Kaldir needed to be dealt with. Perhaps she'd wipe out every man, woman, and child on it later.
It was good to be Queen.
Author's Note:
So I contemplated trying to write Kerrigan as an anti-villain in line with what Blizzard wanted her to be. Sort of reconstruct her while acknowledging her canon actions and personality. Maybe set in motion a redemption arc or something. But I was determined to do so while keeping her in-character.
It didn't work out. So I just decided to run with the complete monster angle.
Funny how difficult it is to write Kerrigan as an anti-villain when you acknowledge her actions have consequences.