STARCRAFT: KERRIGAN'S REBIRTH

CHAPTER TWO: DIVERGENT PATHS



FROM THE DEMENTED MIND OF DAVID "HML" LIAO

Copyright circa 2000

"I can't believe it."
Aboard the bridge of the USS Hyperion in orbit around Tarsonis

Command ship of colonial Militia, now officially "renegades of the Terrran Dominion"

"Believe it, Jim."

"Well, what the hell do we do from here? Your call, Commander."
"You're no longer under my command, Jim. Mar Sara, my home and yours are nothing but ashes thanks to the wonderful efforts of the Zerg and the Protoss."
"I was never one fer politics. Maybe it's damn well time I retired."
"I'm not gonna let this stand, Jim. I say we go back and show Arcturus where to stick it."
"I'm with you, but look at us. The militia that came with us is outgunned, outmanned, and worn out like drunken Ragnasaurus."
"I know. Wait. Jim, I have an idea. You're still a respected man out in the fringe colonies."
"What are you getting at?"
"We could maybe convince the colonies that are still standing to help us fight the Dominion in order to guarantee the autonomy they've had since they were founded centuries ago."

"Alright, then it's decided."
"Advisor, open transmission to all dropships and wraiths."
"Yes, Commander."
"This is your Commander. I applaud your decision to stay with us and not join this new Dominion. Most of you are from the fringe colonies where no one, not even the Confederacy has bothered us much. We have kept a certain degree of freedom for a long time. And I'll be damned if we give it up to Arcturus' damn yahoos now. Now we got ourselves two choices. We can run to the distant stars like some damned chumps or we can go back home and make a stand against the Sons of bitches of Korhal. Those of you who run, I won't blame you in light of the recent horrors we have endured. Those of you who stay and fight, you will be the ones who know you did something right for you, your family, and our home. Anyone who wants to stay, plot a course over to Mar Sara."
"Commander, every ship in our convoy has laid a course to Mar Sara."
"Alright. We fringe colonists take no guff from nobody, Commander."
"Helmsman. Lay a course back to Mar Sara. Or what's left of it."

"Plotting a course to Mar Sara Colony, Commander."
"Y'know, Commander-we may be the only Mar Sarans left. Most of the ones we evac'ed have joined up with the Sons of Korhal or have set out for Earth."

"Earth? No one knows if Earth even exists anymore. I tell you, Jim-it's just us out here alone in the stars."

"Yeah, alone."
"We'll be holding a memorial service for uh, Lt. Kerrigan in mid-flight. I know that it's not closure, but..."
"We don't even know if she's dead. For all we know, she could be alive and frightened out there."





Location:UNKNOWN

"It can't be you."
"Follow me, Sarah."

Kerrigan looked back and all she saw was this faint greenish light reflecting on her smooth skin. She had no idea where she was, and stranded without weapons or any equipment. She stood there naked and trembling from the cold, pondering her next move. This mysterious man that stood before her seemed familiar and radiated no telepathic readings of hate. She had no other choice but to follow.

Her legs sloshed through the smelly liquid, but it moved around her body as if it was alive. The mental conditioning that she had received as a Ghost initiate had prepared her for anything. But even she had a breaking point. That's the first thing they tell you. That every person, no matter how stalwart, has a limit. And your job is to push those limits-no matter what.



The man then made a motion to a rock jutting out from the pool. Its shape gave a hostile and uninviting feeling. It was a few feet up but it was low enough to climb up to the top. Her hands, which had been wrapped around her trembling exposed body reluctantly unfurled. She reached for a piece of rock that was safe enough to grab onto. She pulled herself up slowly with a soft groan. Her feet covered with the goop cooperated and soon she was near the top.



The mysterious man had beaten her to the rock. He was standing at the top looking off into space when he noticed Kerrigan struggling to pull herself onto the top of the rock. He knelt down gently and took Kerrigan by her soft hand. She now almost collapsed on the floor after the ardous climb. The sweat was rolling off her unclad body, glistening. Kerrigan gently took a breath.



"Welcome, Sarah."
"Who the hell are you? I know you're not my father."

"No. But I am someone who can protect you better than your father ever did."

Kerrigan suddenly became extremely incensed. Blood boiled in her bloodvessels as she grabbed the man by his neck and flung him to the floor of the rock. Her soft and calm hands clenched into a hard, vengeful fist. She started breathing with excitement and anger in her heart.



"Good. You have the passion within you, Sarah. It is good to see I did not make a mistake."
"Talk fast, or I'll kill you right now with my bare hands."
"Relax, Sarah. I am here to help you. I am a telepath like you. But I have been around longer than you have. And you have exceptional power and the passion to use it. But the Terrans have repressed it. They are afraid of your gifts. In fact, they have caused you no end to pain since your birth."
"How did you know? You scanned my mind?"
"Your psychic power is very strong. I felt it the moment I saw you, there was no need to scan your mind. I am offering you a chance to use your gift after so much oppression."
"Thanks for the offer. But in case you haven't noticed, I am a Terran."
"But that can change."
"What?"
"Never mind. Please consider my offer. I offer you the protection of a force that has existed for millennia and has always remained strong. You will be allowed to finally unleash your fury upon the world. I am offering you a very unique opportunity for a very unique individual."
"Look, whoever you are. I'm flattered but I'd like to leave."
"And where will you go, Sarah? Home?"
"That's my business. Besides, you're not the first person to give me that offer. Arcturus promised the exact same thing, and look where it got me. Standing here naked in front of you. Not that bad."
"Arcturus betrayed you. He knew you would not support his designs, so he left you to the fury of the Zerg Swarms."

"What? He would never do that."
"Then why are you here? They have all left you and abandoned you. Terrans are a naive and arrogant race. But my covenants are truth and nature itself, and all those who abide by my rule will survive and thrive. Tell me the name of any Terran who has not betrayed you."

Kerrigan stood there in silence. Her shapely body shifted to look around at her surroundings. The murky depths of the pool below had a harsh beauty to it now that she wasn't wading through it. A tiny voice inside her heart was yelling the words, "Jim Raynor." But she instead kept her silence.



"Let me ask you a question, Sarah. Then you may decide whether or not to leave my Presence."
"Sure, why not? Doesn't look I'm going to be going anywhere for a while."

"Who is your enemy, Sarah?"
"What?"
"Who is it you have been fighting all these years? Who is truly your enemy?"
"The Confederacy."
"But the man who has called you to wage war on the Confederacy has in turn, betrayed you. So with whom does your path lie?"
"I.. don't know. So are you saying that my so-called path lies with you?"
"Perhaps. That is your decision to make. The Confederacy is gone. Your goal for the past 12 years has been accomplished. What will you do now, Sarah?"

"That's my business. But why do you want me? I'm sure there are more good-looking telepathic gals who'd be flattered at your offer."
"Because you have the power to reach across worlds and the passion to carry it out. That is something indeed rare. So what is your answer?"
"I don't know. I suppose I could still join up with someone and fight the Zerg that are still on Tarsonis."
"Why?"
"Why, what?"
"Why would you fight the Zerg?"
"Because they damn near destroyed our homes. They came at us like animals. They mowed down bunkers and bunkers of marines and firebats-and some damned good marines too. They destroyed homes, towns, and entire planets. They destroyed the fringe colonies, infested Antiga Prime and laid waste to Tarsonis. They just kept coming like some storm."

"So it is the Zerg to blame. Are they to blame for the Confederacy who captured them like animals and used them as a political ploy? Are they to blame for Arcturus Mengsk who also used them as a tool to further his own designs for empire. It is the Terrans who have allowed the Zerg into their realm. The Zerg are not the savage monsters you believe them to be. But the Zerg proved that no Terran is their master, at least not until now."
"How do you know about the Confederacy? Listen, the Zerg still have to be driven out of the fringe colonies. The Zerg have done nothing but kill and leave nothing but destruction and sadness. At least then, humans will have a chance to build a new future."
"But it is the Protoss who destroyed those planets. The Zerg are an ancient and powerful race whose goal is only to bring the galaxy under its order."
"What are you talking about? Who are you?"

That was when she felt it-something of pure destruction creep silently behind her. She felt its mind before she could see it. But it felt familiar. She swerved her head around to look into the insidious face of a hydralisk. She raced quickly to her feet looking for a small rock or a weapon of any kind. She felt a feeling of exhileration and desperation at the same time. Then she felt a reassuring hand caress her on her right shoulder.



"There is no need to fear, Sarah. You are among friends here."
"What the-who the hell are you?"
"I am Zerg, actually the first of the Zerg. I am the Overmind, the one voice of direction for the

entire Zerg Swarm. I have borne witness to the birth, rebirth, and destruction of entire worlds. I was created to be perfect, to be the ultimate power. And now is the time of the reckoning. Now is the time in which even the most strong and brave will fall to the Swarm. You need not fear the hydralisk. I control his every move, action, and yearning. He, or it rather will not harm you, not without my psychic sanction anyawy. Welcome, Sarah-to the Swarm."



END OF CHAPTER TWO





Legal Bullshit:

Oh yeah. By the way, all the characters, peeps, gadgets, an' shit are based on the Starcraft video game created by Blizzard Entertainment. So they technically own the rights to this fucking story. Sure sucks for me, huh?