H1CENTERChapter 7: First Contact/CENTER/H1
Organic gel flowed across the viewscreen. Kerrigan, Queen of Blades and Daughter of the Overmind waited calmly for the image to sharpen. After a few moments, Daggoth's visage appeared./P
[My Queen,] said Daggoth./P
[Greetings Daggoth. Here are the results of the initial splicing tests.]/P
[Interesting. Initial results show a great improvement in speed, strength, and endurance.]/P
[Lovely, isn't it?] Kerrigan could almost hear the screams of the humans as the enhanced Zerg swarmed through their fortresses. [What about those stray Zerg?]/P
Daggoth shifted uncomfortably. [They have been...destroyed.]/P
Kerrigan frowned. [Destroyed? By whom?]/P
[I believe the humans destroyed them. I felt their life dissipate and they were close to where we think their base is.]/P
She shrugged. [The cost of war. Did you find out why they strayed?]/P
[Yes, my Queen. The Overlord sent to retake them was destroyed by...her.]/P
[Her? You mean that girl? She survived the blast?]/P
[Yes. It seems her psionic powers have grown during her captivity. Fortunately, there is a high probability that she was killed by the humans as well.]/P
[But if the humans captured her instead of killing her -.]/P
[There is nothing we could do in either case, my Queen. Our plans continue to unfold.]/P
Kerrigan growled, and sent a mental pulse of pain down the link. Daggoth writhed as the telepathic blast washed through him. [My plans, Daggoth! While you are merely an extension of the Overmind's will, I am Its daughter. Never forget that!]/P
[Of course, my Queen. Please, forgive my presumption. I do have some good news, Mistress.] A Hispanic male with a goatee walked on screen. [This is Samir Duran. He is the first of the latest batch of infestations. He should register as human to X-Coms' security scans.]/P
[Excellent. Will he be in place by the time our first wave of troops are complete?]/P
[Yes, Mistress. He will infiltrate the X-Com base and all will be ready by the time we attack.]/P
BR
General Moroto walked into the observation room, which was already occupied by Doctor Horato and the Johnson twins. The twins looked up from watching the biolab's occupant, rose, and saluted the General. The doctor did not react to Moroto's arrival./P
"At ease," said the General. "So, how fares our patient, doctor?"/P
Horato looked up from his instruments. "Better than I thought. She would have awakened half an hour ago, but I applied a mindblocker to keep her sedated when I couldn't get in contact with you. Your secretary wouldn't put me through." There was an obvious note of curiosity present in his voice./P
"Yes, I was in a meeting and didn't want to be disturbed." Planning a reception for the Protoss tends to take up a lot of your time, he thought wryly. He looked into the biolab. The room itself was very plain. The décor comprised of steel gray walls, a bed in one corner, a toilet with a privacy curtain and a sink was in the other. Between the two was a panel in the wall about five feet square. Opposite the panel was a large mirror, through which the foursome watched. Beside the mirror was a door. In the center of the room was a plain steel table with three wooden chairs. The woman was lying on the bed, unconscious./P
"Shall I?" asked Horato./P
The General nodded. "Please do." Pressing a few buttons, he deactivated the mindblocker./P
BR
Kasumi slowly came to awareness. She took a deep breath, but stopped short as her left side twinged. She grimaced, then became aware of something stuck on her forehead. Opening her eyes she winced at the bright light coming from the lights above her. Reaching up, she felt the object connected to her skin. Tentatively pulling, she removed it. Looking at it, it appeared to be a small square device with circuits running through it and a few lights. She winced as she sat up. Her entire left shoulder protested. Looking around, she took stock of where she was./P
"Where on earth am I?" she asked herself. When she looked at the mirror, she gasped in horror. "My hair! It looks terrible!" She immediately began trying to arrange her hair with her fingers into a more pleasant shape, but quickly gave up. She would need more than her fingers to work with the slimy mop her hair had become. She sighed and stood. Again she looked into the mirror and began examining the organic suit she had 'obtained' from the remnants of the Zerg Hive. Thinking of the creatures, she realized that she could not feel their presence in her mind. Using her new senses, she pushed her mind out, looking for them. She was quickly stopped as she hit a...the best thing she could think of it being was a wall. Every direction she tried to go was blocked. The ceiling, the walls, the floor, it was all protected by some sort of shield. Now what was she supposed to do?/P
BR
"She's testing the psi shields," warned the Doctor./P
"Let's wait and see what happens," replied the General./P
BR
After several minutes of probing, a sweating Kasumi gave up. She sat down on the bed; her shoulders slumped in defeat. With nothing left to do, she cried out to anyone who would listen./P
"Hello? Is anyone there?" /P
Nothing. /P
She was about to call out again when a voice answered her./P
"Yes, someone is here."/P
Kasumi felt a surge of relief. "Hello? Who's there? Where am I?"/P
"My name is Hikaru Moroto. As for where you are, you are in a bio-containment cell. And what is your name?"/P
"Oh, I'm sorry to have been so impolite. My name is Kasumi Tendo."/P
There was a long silence./P
BR
All four occupants of the observation room gaped. The General was the one to recover first./P
"Get me everything we've got on Kasumi Tendo," he ordered the Doctor. "No one is to say a word of this to anyone, understand?" They nodded./P
A moment later, the doctor spoke. "Sir, all we've got on Kasumi Tendo is a name attached to Nabiki Tendo." Looking at the file he read, "Kasumi Tendo, MIA, assumed KIA five years ago during the Zerg Invasion, age at time of death, nineteen."/P
"That's it? No DNA, no iris scan, not even fingerprints or a picture?"/P
"Sir, most records before the Invasion were lost. The information here was probably given by Nabiki herself."/P
"So now what do we do?" asked Darryl./P
BR
"Tell me, Kasumi. Do you have any relatives?"/P
"Yes, I do. There's Akane, and Nabiki, my younger sisters, Soun my father, and then there's Ranma Saotome, Akane's fiance, but I guess he's not really family until they're married. Do you know them? Are they all right?"/P
"I'm sure they're fine, Kasumi. We're actually more concerned about you."/P
"Me? Why me?"/P
"Please, just bear with us. Could you tell us how you managed to get the group of Zerg to follow you?"/P
"Zerg? Is that what they're called? What happened to them? I can't...feel them? I'm sorry, but that's the best way I can describe it."/P
There was a pause. "I'm...sorry Kasumi, but they're all dead."/P
Kasumi gasped, and tears filled her eyes. "Dead?" she said faintly./P
"Yes. After you were hit, we tried to take you all alive, but they refused to surrender. In order to rescue you, we had to kill them all."/P
"But...they were just protecting me..." She turned away, wiping at the tears running down her face. "How could you?!"/P
The General sighed. "Kasumi, we've been at war with the Zerg for five years. We've learned to shoot first and ask questions later. Granted, the Zerg with you might have been different, but they attacked us first."/P
"Five...five years? It's been five years?! But I don't remember-."/P
"That's what we want to find out, Kasumi. What happened to you. What do you remember?"/P
Kasumi felt herself swooning and quickly put her head between her knees. When she had regained her equilibrium, she continued. "The last thing I remember was Ranma pulling Nabiki out from under the wall, then the wall falling on us. I don't remember anything until the Zerg pulled me out of..." She trailed off./P
"Out of where?"/P
"I don't know. I just remember waking up and seeing one of those purple clawed things near me. I was scared at first, but I eventually figured out that it needed me."/P
"Needed you? For what?"/P
"I don't really know. It was alone and scared. It needed a...guide? Friend? I don't know."/P
"Do you know where this happened?"/P
"It looked like some kind of battlefield. I remember bodies being everywhere..."/P
BR
"She was probably in the base we attacked a few days ago," Jes said. "Maybe that's why it was so heavily defended."/P
"But why was she there in the first place? What would the Zerg want with her? Why didn't they infest her?" asked the General./P
"Maybe she was more valuable to them uninfested," replied the Doctor./P
"If she's not infested, then what about the suit?" asked Darryl./P
"It's attached to her skin, not part of her DNA pattern. It's like clothing. If we removed it, she couldn't grow it back."/P
"Then what makes her so valuable? What does she have that no one else does?"/P
They thought about it for a moment. Suddenly, Doctor Horato snapped his fingers. "The Super Martial Artist gene sequence! It's what gives Ranma and Nabiki the ability to channel astral energy into their bodies. She doesn't use it like Ranma and Nabiki do, but if she's a Tendo, she has the genes. I'll bet my grandfathers' stethoscope that they wanted her for that."/P
The three others looked at him in horror. /P
"But, if they discovered the sequence then-" said Daryl./P
"-they might be able to splice the gene into their troops-." continued Jes./P
"-and create Super-Zerg," finished the General./P
They stared at each other, chilled by the possibility. General Moroto finally broke the silence./P
"So did they find it? And what do we do with her now?"/P
"The way I see it," replied Darryl, "is that she's either the biggest threat we've seen since Kerrigan was turned, or our best hope."/P
"I don't understand."/P
"She's a telepath of amazing power. Even more than Jes and I, and we're the best you've got. It's mostly latent right now, but all she lacks is skill. That makes her ripe for being converted by the Zerg."/P
"So you're suggesting we train her?"/P
"Yes. However, we can't run her though the standard training program; it would take too long. What I'm suggesting is that Jes set up a mindlink with Kasumi."/P
Jes gulped. "A mindlink? That's pretty dangerous. If something goes wrong, both our minds could be wiped out."/P
"I know, but if it works, then we'd have a powerful fully trained telepath ready in a matter of weeks instead of years. One able to control Zerg."/P
The General looked uncertain. "I don't like it. We don't have enough telepaths as it is. If we lose one of our best..."/P
"General," argued Darryl, "in my opinion, she could win us the war."/P
"You're that certain?"/P
"Yes."/P
Eventually, General Moroto nodded. "All right, do it. How long until you get started?"/P
"We'll let her rest up first. Say, tomorrow morning. Sound good to you, Jes?"/P
She nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think so."/P
"Good. When we're finished the mindlink, we can try putting a Zergling in the room with her."/P
End Chapter 7
Organic gel flowed across the viewscreen. Kerrigan, Queen of Blades and Daughter of the Overmind waited calmly for the image to sharpen. After a few moments, Daggoth's visage appeared./P
[My Queen,] said Daggoth./P
[Greetings Daggoth. Here are the results of the initial splicing tests.]/P
[Interesting. Initial results show a great improvement in speed, strength, and endurance.]/P
[Lovely, isn't it?] Kerrigan could almost hear the screams of the humans as the enhanced Zerg swarmed through their fortresses. [What about those stray Zerg?]/P
Daggoth shifted uncomfortably. [They have been...destroyed.]/P
Kerrigan frowned. [Destroyed? By whom?]/P
[I believe the humans destroyed them. I felt their life dissipate and they were close to where we think their base is.]/P
She shrugged. [The cost of war. Did you find out why they strayed?]/P
[Yes, my Queen. The Overlord sent to retake them was destroyed by...her.]/P
[Her? You mean that girl? She survived the blast?]/P
[Yes. It seems her psionic powers have grown during her captivity. Fortunately, there is a high probability that she was killed by the humans as well.]/P
[But if the humans captured her instead of killing her -.]/P
[There is nothing we could do in either case, my Queen. Our plans continue to unfold.]/P
Kerrigan growled, and sent a mental pulse of pain down the link. Daggoth writhed as the telepathic blast washed through him. [My plans, Daggoth! While you are merely an extension of the Overmind's will, I am Its daughter. Never forget that!]/P
[Of course, my Queen. Please, forgive my presumption. I do have some good news, Mistress.] A Hispanic male with a goatee walked on screen. [This is Samir Duran. He is the first of the latest batch of infestations. He should register as human to X-Coms' security scans.]/P
[Excellent. Will he be in place by the time our first wave of troops are complete?]/P
[Yes, Mistress. He will infiltrate the X-Com base and all will be ready by the time we attack.]/P
BR
General Moroto walked into the observation room, which was already occupied by Doctor Horato and the Johnson twins. The twins looked up from watching the biolab's occupant, rose, and saluted the General. The doctor did not react to Moroto's arrival./P
"At ease," said the General. "So, how fares our patient, doctor?"/P
Horato looked up from his instruments. "Better than I thought. She would have awakened half an hour ago, but I applied a mindblocker to keep her sedated when I couldn't get in contact with you. Your secretary wouldn't put me through." There was an obvious note of curiosity present in his voice./P
"Yes, I was in a meeting and didn't want to be disturbed." Planning a reception for the Protoss tends to take up a lot of your time, he thought wryly. He looked into the biolab. The room itself was very plain. The décor comprised of steel gray walls, a bed in one corner, a toilet with a privacy curtain and a sink was in the other. Between the two was a panel in the wall about five feet square. Opposite the panel was a large mirror, through which the foursome watched. Beside the mirror was a door. In the center of the room was a plain steel table with three wooden chairs. The woman was lying on the bed, unconscious./P
"Shall I?" asked Horato./P
The General nodded. "Please do." Pressing a few buttons, he deactivated the mindblocker./P
BR
Kasumi slowly came to awareness. She took a deep breath, but stopped short as her left side twinged. She grimaced, then became aware of something stuck on her forehead. Opening her eyes she winced at the bright light coming from the lights above her. Reaching up, she felt the object connected to her skin. Tentatively pulling, she removed it. Looking at it, it appeared to be a small square device with circuits running through it and a few lights. She winced as she sat up. Her entire left shoulder protested. Looking around, she took stock of where she was./P
"Where on earth am I?" she asked herself. When she looked at the mirror, she gasped in horror. "My hair! It looks terrible!" She immediately began trying to arrange her hair with her fingers into a more pleasant shape, but quickly gave up. She would need more than her fingers to work with the slimy mop her hair had become. She sighed and stood. Again she looked into the mirror and began examining the organic suit she had 'obtained' from the remnants of the Zerg Hive. Thinking of the creatures, she realized that she could not feel their presence in her mind. Using her new senses, she pushed her mind out, looking for them. She was quickly stopped as she hit a...the best thing she could think of it being was a wall. Every direction she tried to go was blocked. The ceiling, the walls, the floor, it was all protected by some sort of shield. Now what was she supposed to do?/P
BR
"She's testing the psi shields," warned the Doctor./P
"Let's wait and see what happens," replied the General./P
BR
After several minutes of probing, a sweating Kasumi gave up. She sat down on the bed; her shoulders slumped in defeat. With nothing left to do, she cried out to anyone who would listen./P
"Hello? Is anyone there?" /P
Nothing. /P
She was about to call out again when a voice answered her./P
"Yes, someone is here."/P
Kasumi felt a surge of relief. "Hello? Who's there? Where am I?"/P
"My name is Hikaru Moroto. As for where you are, you are in a bio-containment cell. And what is your name?"/P
"Oh, I'm sorry to have been so impolite. My name is Kasumi Tendo."/P
There was a long silence./P
BR
All four occupants of the observation room gaped. The General was the one to recover first./P
"Get me everything we've got on Kasumi Tendo," he ordered the Doctor. "No one is to say a word of this to anyone, understand?" They nodded./P
A moment later, the doctor spoke. "Sir, all we've got on Kasumi Tendo is a name attached to Nabiki Tendo." Looking at the file he read, "Kasumi Tendo, MIA, assumed KIA five years ago during the Zerg Invasion, age at time of death, nineteen."/P
"That's it? No DNA, no iris scan, not even fingerprints or a picture?"/P
"Sir, most records before the Invasion were lost. The information here was probably given by Nabiki herself."/P
"So now what do we do?" asked Darryl./P
BR
"Tell me, Kasumi. Do you have any relatives?"/P
"Yes, I do. There's Akane, and Nabiki, my younger sisters, Soun my father, and then there's Ranma Saotome, Akane's fiance, but I guess he's not really family until they're married. Do you know them? Are they all right?"/P
"I'm sure they're fine, Kasumi. We're actually more concerned about you."/P
"Me? Why me?"/P
"Please, just bear with us. Could you tell us how you managed to get the group of Zerg to follow you?"/P
"Zerg? Is that what they're called? What happened to them? I can't...feel them? I'm sorry, but that's the best way I can describe it."/P
There was a pause. "I'm...sorry Kasumi, but they're all dead."/P
Kasumi gasped, and tears filled her eyes. "Dead?" she said faintly./P
"Yes. After you were hit, we tried to take you all alive, but they refused to surrender. In order to rescue you, we had to kill them all."/P
"But...they were just protecting me..." She turned away, wiping at the tears running down her face. "How could you?!"/P
The General sighed. "Kasumi, we've been at war with the Zerg for five years. We've learned to shoot first and ask questions later. Granted, the Zerg with you might have been different, but they attacked us first."/P
"Five...five years? It's been five years?! But I don't remember-."/P
"That's what we want to find out, Kasumi. What happened to you. What do you remember?"/P
Kasumi felt herself swooning and quickly put her head between her knees. When she had regained her equilibrium, she continued. "The last thing I remember was Ranma pulling Nabiki out from under the wall, then the wall falling on us. I don't remember anything until the Zerg pulled me out of..." She trailed off./P
"Out of where?"/P
"I don't know. I just remember waking up and seeing one of those purple clawed things near me. I was scared at first, but I eventually figured out that it needed me."/P
"Needed you? For what?"/P
"I don't really know. It was alone and scared. It needed a...guide? Friend? I don't know."/P
"Do you know where this happened?"/P
"It looked like some kind of battlefield. I remember bodies being everywhere..."/P
BR
"She was probably in the base we attacked a few days ago," Jes said. "Maybe that's why it was so heavily defended."/P
"But why was she there in the first place? What would the Zerg want with her? Why didn't they infest her?" asked the General./P
"Maybe she was more valuable to them uninfested," replied the Doctor./P
"If she's not infested, then what about the suit?" asked Darryl./P
"It's attached to her skin, not part of her DNA pattern. It's like clothing. If we removed it, she couldn't grow it back."/P
"Then what makes her so valuable? What does she have that no one else does?"/P
They thought about it for a moment. Suddenly, Doctor Horato snapped his fingers. "The Super Martial Artist gene sequence! It's what gives Ranma and Nabiki the ability to channel astral energy into their bodies. She doesn't use it like Ranma and Nabiki do, but if she's a Tendo, she has the genes. I'll bet my grandfathers' stethoscope that they wanted her for that."/P
The three others looked at him in horror. /P
"But, if they discovered the sequence then-" said Daryl./P
"-they might be able to splice the gene into their troops-." continued Jes./P
"-and create Super-Zerg," finished the General./P
They stared at each other, chilled by the possibility. General Moroto finally broke the silence./P
"So did they find it? And what do we do with her now?"/P
"The way I see it," replied Darryl, "is that she's either the biggest threat we've seen since Kerrigan was turned, or our best hope."/P
"I don't understand."/P
"She's a telepath of amazing power. Even more than Jes and I, and we're the best you've got. It's mostly latent right now, but all she lacks is skill. That makes her ripe for being converted by the Zerg."/P
"So you're suggesting we train her?"/P
"Yes. However, we can't run her though the standard training program; it would take too long. What I'm suggesting is that Jes set up a mindlink with Kasumi."/P
Jes gulped. "A mindlink? That's pretty dangerous. If something goes wrong, both our minds could be wiped out."/P
"I know, but if it works, then we'd have a powerful fully trained telepath ready in a matter of weeks instead of years. One able to control Zerg."/P
The General looked uncertain. "I don't like it. We don't have enough telepaths as it is. If we lose one of our best..."/P
"General," argued Darryl, "in my opinion, she could win us the war."/P
"You're that certain?"/P
"Yes."/P
Eventually, General Moroto nodded. "All right, do it. How long until you get started?"/P
"We'll let her rest up first. Say, tomorrow morning. Sound good to you, Jes?"/P
She nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think so."/P
"Good. When we're finished the mindlink, we can try putting a Zergling in the room with her."/P
End Chapter 7