Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Starcraft or the characters, but
the story is mine. I was not paid or not receiving any money from
Blizzard.
Chapter 17
Darkness consumed Sarah Kerrigan. All around her, nothing could be seen except an everlasting blackness. Nothing hurt on her. Her hands felt her throat and the right side of her face. There was no pain, no sign of injury. Only a small circle of light fell on her and the light was almost blinding.
"Hello?" she called out as her voice was carried out in all directions. That was the longest echo she had ever heard.
"Hail, O mighty Queen of Blades. It has been a long time since we could, 'talk,'" a dreary voice said.
"Your back, again?" she asked with pure fright. She felt her hands tremble by the all too familiar voice.
"Have you forgotten where you have come from?" the voice of the Overmind asked making the light dim.
Sarah looked in all directions to find the source of the voice. "What do you want from me?! Why can't you leave me alone?!" she screamed looking around in futile attempts to locate the Overminds origin.
"You have become something greater then you could ever comprehend. You, under my control, will be great once again. Our DNA is mixed with that of yours and you know what we want. Your link to us will never be shattered!" the Overmind spoke in full glory of the situation.
She trembled more by the voice that haunted her. She could feel the Zerg and their will flowing through her veins. "I was human before I was what YOU made me!" she screamed out in no particular direction.
The Overmind let a small laugh out. "Your human form was begging for us to free your mind. Your abilities should not be wasted at what you are now. Kerrigan, you have so much more to offer as an agent of the Swarm. Come with me. Open your eyes." the Overmind called fading away into the distance. "Stay with us. Stay with us." the Overmind said.
As those words lingered on, she opened her eyes and found herself lying under a bright white light. She saw the faces of a few nurses and doctors. "Stay with us," one of the doctors said placing his hand on her forehead. "Get the bleeding under control. We need. uh." the doctor spoke with uncertainty.
"What type of blood doctor?" one of the nurses asked hold two different bags of blood.
"I don't know. I'd say AB, that's what her tags say. But she has been in Zerg contact, that may have changed her blood type." he said motioning towards the AB bag of blood.
"Doctor," one of the nurses called. "She is closing up," she said watching the wound on her neck began to heal itself.
He looked up at the nurse for a minute like she was crazy. "What is healing up?" he asked he asked with disbelief.
"Her neck wound doctor," the nurse spoke again with the same shock. Another nurse walked over and gasped. "The wound is healing up doctor," she said again.
The doctor walked around the stretcher she was on to see for himself the neck injury sealing itself shut. He also watched as the gash in her cheek began to heal as well. They heard some sounds of cracking coming from her broken cheek bone as well.
"My God, she is rebuilding the bone herself," he said as he touched her face gently with one of his gloved hands. "How is that possible?" he said more as a statement then a question.
Sarah still looked around drowsily at all the faces hovering over her. She couldn't remember what happened to get her there, but apparently she was fine. Nothing hurt on her and she sat up. Almost as soon as she did the doctor placed both hands on her shoulders and pushed her back down onto the bed.
"Lay still. We want to. just give a few more checks on your, well. we still want to make sure your okay. Is that okay with you?" he asked nervously.
"Uh, sure, I guess," she said unsure about the necessity of the check up, but thought doctor knows best. She could sense his terror for her but curiosity as well. The doctor pulled out an optic scope from one of the trays and turned the light on. He turned on the small beam of light and placed it over her right eye followed immediately by the left.
The doctor turned the light off and pulled down the face mask he wore. He placed two fingers on her neck and pushed in slightly. He looked at her collarbone and saw some of the scaring from the Zerg claws she had. "May I?" he motioned to the strap of the now red stained tank top.
Sarah nodded briskly as the doctor then pulled the strap down past her shoulder to examine the scar tissue. He then lifted her right arm and saw a scarring on her elbow. He continued down her arm and saw more scarring on her hand. 'I have seen burn victims with scarring, but nothing like this,' he thought to himself. Sarah could almost hear him screaming it but she didn't say anything. She could hear the mental chatter of the nurses as well. All of them were so shocked still from what had happened. She traced through their thoughts and remembered the neck injury she had. from a Dark Templar that entered her room.
It all came back to her so fast that she gasped. The doctor looked down at her and smiled weakly. "Your fine. That's incredible. You are one- hundred percent," he said taking the gloves off. "If I may, I would like to further examine this scar tissue. This is unlike anything I have ever seen before and I am curious," he said motioning for the other nurses to leave the room.
Just as the nurses had begun to file out, Jim ran into the room stopping at the door entrance. He was pale and sweating uncontrollably. Sarah noticed he hadn't shaved for a few days now. He was shocked by her staring at him as he entered. He brought his right hand up to his right cheek and slowly approached her.
"Sarah, you're. okay," he said as he walked to the side of the bed, in total shock.
Sarah smiled as he came closer. "Yeah, we have the best medical team around," she said laughing a little.
Jim looked up at the doctor with a serious look on his face. "Man, I love you guys," he said approaching the doctor.
"No, no love is necessary," he said holding his hands out walking backwards trying to keep Jim away.
"Give me a kiss, man," Jim said jokingly as he grabbed the terrified doctor.
"NO! No kiss is needed or wanted! We didn't do anything! She did it on her own," he said and Jim let him go.
Sarah was laughing hysterically at the dumbfounded Jim Raynor. "Huh?" Was all he could blurt out.
The doctor straightened his scrubs a little. "I guess the Zerg healing ability has been left to her. She sealed the wound in her neck, her broken cheek, the bump on the head. All that, she did on her own," the doctor said with amazement.
Jim walked over to the medical bed she was lying on and sat on the edge. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her into an upright position.
Sarah, a little taken by the sudden action, wrapped her arms tightly around him as well. Jim gently rocked her back and forth and began crying. Sarah smiled at the sound. Not because she found it funny, no. She felt wanted and that made her feel good about herself.
The doctor then pulled Jim back slightly. "Sorry to break this up, I was going to look at some of the scars that were left on her by the Zerg mutations. You can stay in here if you want," the doctor was pulling Jim away from her slightly.
As the doctor pulled gently, Jim let go of the attachment he had on her and left the room. He returned with a chair and sat next to her at the bed.
"Well then, I am doctor Tim Ross. I'm pleased to meet you finally Miss Kerrigan," he said knowing her reputation.
"Likewise. Just glad we are on the same side," she said smiling a little. She heard the mental chattered come from him clear as day. 'So am I,' he thought and Sarah smiled again.
Doctor Ross then moved to the foot of the bed. "Can you remove your boots, please?" he asked walking toward a small tray of instruments.
Sarah sat up nodding. She brought her knees to her chest and unlaced the boots and dropped them to the floor. She watched Ross walk back with a large needle in hand. "Stick me with that and I'll rearrange your anatomy," she said seriously. She hated needles. Hated them almost as much as she hated the Zerg.
"Right," Ross said placing it back down on the table of instruments. He removed her socks and examined some scarring on her feet and toes. He rolled her pants up past the knees and saw more there as well. "Seems they really concentrated on joints. Toes, feet, hands, fingers and knees. Can you remember anything from when you were inside the." he said not wanting to finish the sentence. She got the idea.
"No. I can't remember a thing," she in thought. She tried so hard to remember anything and forget everything at once. She watched as the doctor walked to the head of the bed.
"Roll the back of your shirt up, please," the doctor said holding a stethoscope up ready.
Reluctantly, Sarah complied. Her arms crossed over her chest and grabbed the bottom of the shirt and rolled it up slightly. She felt the cold metal rings of the stethoscope touch her skin.
"Take a deep breath," Ross said doing it with her. "Now I'm just going to unclasp your bra for a moment, I need more of a clear sight line," he said waiting for Sarah to acknowledge.
She only nodded as he unclipped the hooks. Jim looked over at her and smiled. He then stood up and walked over to where Ross was working.
Once he saw what Ross was looking at, he couldn't help but hate Mengsk and the Zerg that much more. On everyone of her vertebrates, there was scarring.
"Hold this," Ross said handing a light to Jim. Jim couldn't respond because Ross just placed the light in his hands and walked towards a desk.
"You okay?" Jim asked leaning over Sarah's left shoulder. Concern was high in his southern accent.
"Yeah, just nervous I guess," she replied in a low whisper. She held tightly onto the front of her tank top and wished this would end soon.
Ross returned from the desk with a camera. "I would like to take a few pictures so we can have them analyzed that way we don't have to keep you all day," he said taking a few shots of her back before she could respond. "Okay, we are done for now. Could you come back here at 13:00 hours tomorrow?" he asked hoping she would be able to.
"Yeah, sure," she replied weakly. She did not like showing what the Zerg had done to her to other people, but maybe if it was for research, it wouldn't be so bad. She quickly clipped her bra and then slid the tank top back down covering her back. She let her legs hang off the left side of the bed as she grabbed her socks from the end of the bed. She quickly placed them on her feet and saw Jim had moved to get her, her boots. "Thanks," she said smiling vaguely.
He nodded back to her. "Sure, no problem. Let's go," he said as she finished lacing the boots back on her feet.
She hopped off the bed and together they walked out of the room. Jim held out his hand and Sarah took it, holding it firmly. They both smiled happily at one another as they walked down the narrow corridor.
Uncharted Planet Protoss Carrier Beginnings
Ka'Krisha had shared his find with two of his best friends and most trusted colleagues, Laki and Valator. Neither of them knew what to make out of it but went back to Ka'Krisha's quarters to examine the artifact first hand.
Laki examined the tablet with her soft blue eyes. Her light blue skin deepened with hope and wonder as she touched the tablet. "I can not figure out anything about 'them' nor anything on the 'Zerg.' I can't find any solid evidence on anything like them in my reports," she said staring at the artifact.
Valator nodded in agreement. "Nor can I. You found something of great importance, except we have no knowledge about the things mentioned in it. I fear for the others that were in the Ribos System," he said from the warning the tablet gave. "If these Zerg turned on their masters, the great Xel'Naga, then we have much to fear from them," he said with concern. His grayish form stood in thought at the tablet. He did not know what to think from the message left by the Xel'Naga.
"Are you even sure that this is really a message from the Xel'Naga? It very well may be something completely different," Laki said keeping as many options as she could on the table.
Ka'Krisha shook his head in disagreement. "No, this is. Those scripts I have are properly translated Xel'Naga writings," he said touching the tablet.
"If this is what you say it is, then we have much to fear from the Zerg," Laki spoke softly. Valator nodded as well.
"If the Zerg turned on them, they must have great powers. But 'them' troubles me. Who are they?" Valator asked himself as well as the others.
Ka'Krisha sighed. "It's obviously another race. The Xel'Naga would have called us Protoss, by our true name. They wouldn't call us 'them.' Is this race friendly or hostile, though? How will we know who 'they' are?" he asked still staring at the tablet.
"I do not think we can afford to wait. The damage may already be done, Ka'Krisha. We must go and go now," Laki said with fear in her voice.
"Hm. Yes, you are correct. Have the engines on full power and report to the bridge, both of you. Do not speak a word of this to anyone yet," Ka'Krisha instructed. Valator and Laki nodded. "I will be joining you soon," he said as the two left the room. "Adun help us."
UED Remnants, Sara System
All was quite in the room of Admiral Terrence Gray. He lost his best men on Aster Prime and was powerless to stop it. He under estimated the Zerg and their resolution. Stan Tab and others among the Blue Nose's best, had died on the surface of Aster Prime. Now Gray waited for the reinforcements he had called for to come in.
He stood at the large window in his quarters and stared blankly at the scene. He ordered the second officer, Nathan Rockwell, to take the helm until he returned. That was over three hours ago now. He couldn't let go of the fact that he had lost almost all of his men, his fleet and his friends in such a short amount of time.
"Admiral Gray, we are receiving word that the reinforcements are at Aster Prime. They have nuked the surface and all Zerg life has been extinguished. They would like to talk with you sir," the man on the other end of the consul said.
Gray nodded to himself. He would accept the responsibility for the men that were slaughtered under his command and would take the consequences for it. He walked out of his room and made his way to the Bridge. As he walked by some of the men, they nodded to him with respect and sympathy. They loved him as a leader. They respected him. It would be hard for them as well.
Gray stepped through the doorway on the bridge and saw a man standing in Stanley's position. It hurt him, but realized it was war. "Put him on screen then," he said nodding at the man. He did as was told.
"Admiral Terrence Gray, I am Admiral Renee Orleans," he said heavy in a French accent. "I have been ordered to relieve you of your command of this operation due to your incompetence and failure to acknowledge the tactical brilliance of the Zerg Swarms. The remainder of your 'Grand' Pacific fleet is to be added to ours. You are to be sent home for your debriefing." he said with some sorrow in his voice along with sarcasm.
The Admiral nodded and looked around the Blue Nose one last time. "Very well. Take care of this ship Admiral. She is a fine ship," he said holding back the urge to break down.
Admiral Orleans nodded in understanding. "Yes, I will Admiral. The Norfolk will take you back to Earth. Gather your belongings and head to the ship when you are ready." the younger Admiral said with his deep blue eyes sparkling a little. His face was broad and his cheek bones were very noticeable. Gray knew the man very vaguely but knew his men were in good hands.
Admiral Terrence Gray walked silently off the Bridge and his men watched carefully. "God bless Admiral Gray," one man called out. Many followed up the remark and Gray turned to face them.
He smiled weakly at them and thought of what to say. "Follow your new commanders orders to the letter, or I will find out and come here and bust everyone one of you sorry bastards to cleaning toilets for the rest of your lives." he said with a weak smile waving his men off. "Give the enemies of humanity hell," he said was he walked quietly off the bridge for the last time. He knew he most likely would never get to see the ship again and took his time in preparing to leave.
Chapter 17
Darkness consumed Sarah Kerrigan. All around her, nothing could be seen except an everlasting blackness. Nothing hurt on her. Her hands felt her throat and the right side of her face. There was no pain, no sign of injury. Only a small circle of light fell on her and the light was almost blinding.
"Hello?" she called out as her voice was carried out in all directions. That was the longest echo she had ever heard.
"Hail, O mighty Queen of Blades. It has been a long time since we could, 'talk,'" a dreary voice said.
"Your back, again?" she asked with pure fright. She felt her hands tremble by the all too familiar voice.
"Have you forgotten where you have come from?" the voice of the Overmind asked making the light dim.
Sarah looked in all directions to find the source of the voice. "What do you want from me?! Why can't you leave me alone?!" she screamed looking around in futile attempts to locate the Overminds origin.
"You have become something greater then you could ever comprehend. You, under my control, will be great once again. Our DNA is mixed with that of yours and you know what we want. Your link to us will never be shattered!" the Overmind spoke in full glory of the situation.
She trembled more by the voice that haunted her. She could feel the Zerg and their will flowing through her veins. "I was human before I was what YOU made me!" she screamed out in no particular direction.
The Overmind let a small laugh out. "Your human form was begging for us to free your mind. Your abilities should not be wasted at what you are now. Kerrigan, you have so much more to offer as an agent of the Swarm. Come with me. Open your eyes." the Overmind called fading away into the distance. "Stay with us. Stay with us." the Overmind said.
As those words lingered on, she opened her eyes and found herself lying under a bright white light. She saw the faces of a few nurses and doctors. "Stay with us," one of the doctors said placing his hand on her forehead. "Get the bleeding under control. We need. uh." the doctor spoke with uncertainty.
"What type of blood doctor?" one of the nurses asked hold two different bags of blood.
"I don't know. I'd say AB, that's what her tags say. But she has been in Zerg contact, that may have changed her blood type." he said motioning towards the AB bag of blood.
"Doctor," one of the nurses called. "She is closing up," she said watching the wound on her neck began to heal itself.
He looked up at the nurse for a minute like she was crazy. "What is healing up?" he asked he asked with disbelief.
"Her neck wound doctor," the nurse spoke again with the same shock. Another nurse walked over and gasped. "The wound is healing up doctor," she said again.
The doctor walked around the stretcher she was on to see for himself the neck injury sealing itself shut. He also watched as the gash in her cheek began to heal as well. They heard some sounds of cracking coming from her broken cheek bone as well.
"My God, she is rebuilding the bone herself," he said as he touched her face gently with one of his gloved hands. "How is that possible?" he said more as a statement then a question.
Sarah still looked around drowsily at all the faces hovering over her. She couldn't remember what happened to get her there, but apparently she was fine. Nothing hurt on her and she sat up. Almost as soon as she did the doctor placed both hands on her shoulders and pushed her back down onto the bed.
"Lay still. We want to. just give a few more checks on your, well. we still want to make sure your okay. Is that okay with you?" he asked nervously.
"Uh, sure, I guess," she said unsure about the necessity of the check up, but thought doctor knows best. She could sense his terror for her but curiosity as well. The doctor pulled out an optic scope from one of the trays and turned the light on. He turned on the small beam of light and placed it over her right eye followed immediately by the left.
The doctor turned the light off and pulled down the face mask he wore. He placed two fingers on her neck and pushed in slightly. He looked at her collarbone and saw some of the scaring from the Zerg claws she had. "May I?" he motioned to the strap of the now red stained tank top.
Sarah nodded briskly as the doctor then pulled the strap down past her shoulder to examine the scar tissue. He then lifted her right arm and saw a scarring on her elbow. He continued down her arm and saw more scarring on her hand. 'I have seen burn victims with scarring, but nothing like this,' he thought to himself. Sarah could almost hear him screaming it but she didn't say anything. She could hear the mental chatter of the nurses as well. All of them were so shocked still from what had happened. She traced through their thoughts and remembered the neck injury she had. from a Dark Templar that entered her room.
It all came back to her so fast that she gasped. The doctor looked down at her and smiled weakly. "Your fine. That's incredible. You are one- hundred percent," he said taking the gloves off. "If I may, I would like to further examine this scar tissue. This is unlike anything I have ever seen before and I am curious," he said motioning for the other nurses to leave the room.
Just as the nurses had begun to file out, Jim ran into the room stopping at the door entrance. He was pale and sweating uncontrollably. Sarah noticed he hadn't shaved for a few days now. He was shocked by her staring at him as he entered. He brought his right hand up to his right cheek and slowly approached her.
"Sarah, you're. okay," he said as he walked to the side of the bed, in total shock.
Sarah smiled as he came closer. "Yeah, we have the best medical team around," she said laughing a little.
Jim looked up at the doctor with a serious look on his face. "Man, I love you guys," he said approaching the doctor.
"No, no love is necessary," he said holding his hands out walking backwards trying to keep Jim away.
"Give me a kiss, man," Jim said jokingly as he grabbed the terrified doctor.
"NO! No kiss is needed or wanted! We didn't do anything! She did it on her own," he said and Jim let him go.
Sarah was laughing hysterically at the dumbfounded Jim Raynor. "Huh?" Was all he could blurt out.
The doctor straightened his scrubs a little. "I guess the Zerg healing ability has been left to her. She sealed the wound in her neck, her broken cheek, the bump on the head. All that, she did on her own," the doctor said with amazement.
Jim walked over to the medical bed she was lying on and sat on the edge. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her into an upright position.
Sarah, a little taken by the sudden action, wrapped her arms tightly around him as well. Jim gently rocked her back and forth and began crying. Sarah smiled at the sound. Not because she found it funny, no. She felt wanted and that made her feel good about herself.
The doctor then pulled Jim back slightly. "Sorry to break this up, I was going to look at some of the scars that were left on her by the Zerg mutations. You can stay in here if you want," the doctor was pulling Jim away from her slightly.
As the doctor pulled gently, Jim let go of the attachment he had on her and left the room. He returned with a chair and sat next to her at the bed.
"Well then, I am doctor Tim Ross. I'm pleased to meet you finally Miss Kerrigan," he said knowing her reputation.
"Likewise. Just glad we are on the same side," she said smiling a little. She heard the mental chattered come from him clear as day. 'So am I,' he thought and Sarah smiled again.
Doctor Ross then moved to the foot of the bed. "Can you remove your boots, please?" he asked walking toward a small tray of instruments.
Sarah sat up nodding. She brought her knees to her chest and unlaced the boots and dropped them to the floor. She watched Ross walk back with a large needle in hand. "Stick me with that and I'll rearrange your anatomy," she said seriously. She hated needles. Hated them almost as much as she hated the Zerg.
"Right," Ross said placing it back down on the table of instruments. He removed her socks and examined some scarring on her feet and toes. He rolled her pants up past the knees and saw more there as well. "Seems they really concentrated on joints. Toes, feet, hands, fingers and knees. Can you remember anything from when you were inside the." he said not wanting to finish the sentence. She got the idea.
"No. I can't remember a thing," she in thought. She tried so hard to remember anything and forget everything at once. She watched as the doctor walked to the head of the bed.
"Roll the back of your shirt up, please," the doctor said holding a stethoscope up ready.
Reluctantly, Sarah complied. Her arms crossed over her chest and grabbed the bottom of the shirt and rolled it up slightly. She felt the cold metal rings of the stethoscope touch her skin.
"Take a deep breath," Ross said doing it with her. "Now I'm just going to unclasp your bra for a moment, I need more of a clear sight line," he said waiting for Sarah to acknowledge.
She only nodded as he unclipped the hooks. Jim looked over at her and smiled. He then stood up and walked over to where Ross was working.
Once he saw what Ross was looking at, he couldn't help but hate Mengsk and the Zerg that much more. On everyone of her vertebrates, there was scarring.
"Hold this," Ross said handing a light to Jim. Jim couldn't respond because Ross just placed the light in his hands and walked towards a desk.
"You okay?" Jim asked leaning over Sarah's left shoulder. Concern was high in his southern accent.
"Yeah, just nervous I guess," she replied in a low whisper. She held tightly onto the front of her tank top and wished this would end soon.
Ross returned from the desk with a camera. "I would like to take a few pictures so we can have them analyzed that way we don't have to keep you all day," he said taking a few shots of her back before she could respond. "Okay, we are done for now. Could you come back here at 13:00 hours tomorrow?" he asked hoping she would be able to.
"Yeah, sure," she replied weakly. She did not like showing what the Zerg had done to her to other people, but maybe if it was for research, it wouldn't be so bad. She quickly clipped her bra and then slid the tank top back down covering her back. She let her legs hang off the left side of the bed as she grabbed her socks from the end of the bed. She quickly placed them on her feet and saw Jim had moved to get her, her boots. "Thanks," she said smiling vaguely.
He nodded back to her. "Sure, no problem. Let's go," he said as she finished lacing the boots back on her feet.
She hopped off the bed and together they walked out of the room. Jim held out his hand and Sarah took it, holding it firmly. They both smiled happily at one another as they walked down the narrow corridor.
Uncharted Planet Protoss Carrier Beginnings
Ka'Krisha had shared his find with two of his best friends and most trusted colleagues, Laki and Valator. Neither of them knew what to make out of it but went back to Ka'Krisha's quarters to examine the artifact first hand.
Laki examined the tablet with her soft blue eyes. Her light blue skin deepened with hope and wonder as she touched the tablet. "I can not figure out anything about 'them' nor anything on the 'Zerg.' I can't find any solid evidence on anything like them in my reports," she said staring at the artifact.
Valator nodded in agreement. "Nor can I. You found something of great importance, except we have no knowledge about the things mentioned in it. I fear for the others that were in the Ribos System," he said from the warning the tablet gave. "If these Zerg turned on their masters, the great Xel'Naga, then we have much to fear from them," he said with concern. His grayish form stood in thought at the tablet. He did not know what to think from the message left by the Xel'Naga.
"Are you even sure that this is really a message from the Xel'Naga? It very well may be something completely different," Laki said keeping as many options as she could on the table.
Ka'Krisha shook his head in disagreement. "No, this is. Those scripts I have are properly translated Xel'Naga writings," he said touching the tablet.
"If this is what you say it is, then we have much to fear from the Zerg," Laki spoke softly. Valator nodded as well.
"If the Zerg turned on them, they must have great powers. But 'them' troubles me. Who are they?" Valator asked himself as well as the others.
Ka'Krisha sighed. "It's obviously another race. The Xel'Naga would have called us Protoss, by our true name. They wouldn't call us 'them.' Is this race friendly or hostile, though? How will we know who 'they' are?" he asked still staring at the tablet.
"I do not think we can afford to wait. The damage may already be done, Ka'Krisha. We must go and go now," Laki said with fear in her voice.
"Hm. Yes, you are correct. Have the engines on full power and report to the bridge, both of you. Do not speak a word of this to anyone yet," Ka'Krisha instructed. Valator and Laki nodded. "I will be joining you soon," he said as the two left the room. "Adun help us."
UED Remnants, Sara System
All was quite in the room of Admiral Terrence Gray. He lost his best men on Aster Prime and was powerless to stop it. He under estimated the Zerg and their resolution. Stan Tab and others among the Blue Nose's best, had died on the surface of Aster Prime. Now Gray waited for the reinforcements he had called for to come in.
He stood at the large window in his quarters and stared blankly at the scene. He ordered the second officer, Nathan Rockwell, to take the helm until he returned. That was over three hours ago now. He couldn't let go of the fact that he had lost almost all of his men, his fleet and his friends in such a short amount of time.
"Admiral Gray, we are receiving word that the reinforcements are at Aster Prime. They have nuked the surface and all Zerg life has been extinguished. They would like to talk with you sir," the man on the other end of the consul said.
Gray nodded to himself. He would accept the responsibility for the men that were slaughtered under his command and would take the consequences for it. He walked out of his room and made his way to the Bridge. As he walked by some of the men, they nodded to him with respect and sympathy. They loved him as a leader. They respected him. It would be hard for them as well.
Gray stepped through the doorway on the bridge and saw a man standing in Stanley's position. It hurt him, but realized it was war. "Put him on screen then," he said nodding at the man. He did as was told.
"Admiral Terrence Gray, I am Admiral Renee Orleans," he said heavy in a French accent. "I have been ordered to relieve you of your command of this operation due to your incompetence and failure to acknowledge the tactical brilliance of the Zerg Swarms. The remainder of your 'Grand' Pacific fleet is to be added to ours. You are to be sent home for your debriefing." he said with some sorrow in his voice along with sarcasm.
The Admiral nodded and looked around the Blue Nose one last time. "Very well. Take care of this ship Admiral. She is a fine ship," he said holding back the urge to break down.
Admiral Orleans nodded in understanding. "Yes, I will Admiral. The Norfolk will take you back to Earth. Gather your belongings and head to the ship when you are ready." the younger Admiral said with his deep blue eyes sparkling a little. His face was broad and his cheek bones were very noticeable. Gray knew the man very vaguely but knew his men were in good hands.
Admiral Terrence Gray walked silently off the Bridge and his men watched carefully. "God bless Admiral Gray," one man called out. Many followed up the remark and Gray turned to face them.
He smiled weakly at them and thought of what to say. "Follow your new commanders orders to the letter, or I will find out and come here and bust everyone one of you sorry bastards to cleaning toilets for the rest of your lives." he said with a weak smile waving his men off. "Give the enemies of humanity hell," he said was he walked quietly off the bridge for the last time. He knew he most likely would never get to see the ship again and took his time in preparing to leave.