Raynor felt himself practically fall into consciousness again. His head bobbed forward and he was wide-awake. He felt cold and empty, as he suffered what was called the 'stim-pack hangover'. Raynor instinctively reached for the button on his arm for another hit to get him by, but he stopped himself. There was a good chance he would need a hit to get out of here, so he had better save his energy, though his body ached for the drug so bad.
Raynor slowly picked up his scattered memories from his mind and started to piece them back together into some sort of coherent whole, but he failed very miserably, and dreaded the future at hand. His men were likely almost nowhere to be found, and he would have to find someway of getting off this planet. Likely, custody through Emperor Mengsk was the only option, and it would at least allow him to bring this planet filled with zerg to his attention. Raynor had realized a long time ago in the war that his part to play was much greater than his own life, as Fenix had told him, and although at times Raynor begged for death, he would stay alive at all costs for the good of the war.
Raynor moved up and realized suddenly a figure stood near the doorway, not meeting his gaze. Kerrigan stood with her back against the door and did not meet Raynor's eyes. The giant spines protruding from her head rested along her shoulders, and Raynor almost found a morbid beauty in her. Although she may only slightly still have resembled her former human form, Raynor realized almost with a smile that her presence was still alive.
Raynor opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly realized his situation. Why wasn't he dead? And why was she still here? Last time they had met, she had let him go, but swore that the next time they met, she would kill him. Why hadn't she? Raynor could not push coherent words out of his mouth, for he had no idea where to start.
"You'll feel a little strange." Kerrigan spoke calmly. Raynor started. Her voice had no evil overtone. "You were dying. There are parasites inside of you now. They are repairing your body."
Raynor's jaw dropped. "I-" he stuttered.
Kerrigan turned her head further away from him. "You need more rest. I'll keep watch, don't worry."
Raynor finally found the words. "Where have you been?" he asked, completely lost as where he could even begin.
Kerrigan's eyes fell. "That's not important right now. Get some rest. Hopefully we can make contact and get you off this blasted rock."
Raynor was shocked. His heart suddenly ached to see her look so in pain. Where had she been? How had she been captured and brought here? "Kerrigan," Raynor started, "what's going on here? How did you get here?"
"Later, Jim." she shot back at him, still not looking at him.
Raynor lay back against the wall, calculating the situation. Of all the things he had expected on returning home, this one surely wasn't one of them. He looked around the room and wondered how they might get out of there. "Do you have any idea where we are?" Raynor questioned.
Kerrigan shook her head.
Raynor sighed. He reached over and picked up his gauss rifle. He went through all the functions making sure that it was running well and plugged it back in to his backpack. He leaned back against the wall and sighed.
"Did he become emperor?" Kerrigan asked quietly.
Raynor simply nodded, knowing that Kerrigan knew fully well the answer to the question.
She chuckled slightly. "He always wanted that." she mused. Raynor hung on to every word as if he were dying of thirst and they were drops of water. "He said he would give up anything. Anything to become emperor."
They were silent for long moments. The oddest smile crossed Kerrigan's face, as though speaking of the past was comforting and painful all at once. "He was married, you know."
Raynor smiled as she looked at him for the first time.
"He never really spoke of it. I learned through rumor and confronted him one day. He only answered with an emotionless yes, and I didn't ask anything more."
"He gave it up for power." Raynor said.
Kerrigan looked down again. "Not at first." she said. She was silent for long moments. "He wasn't always bad. He hated the confederacy. He hated that they would sacrifice lives for their own cause." she trailed off.
Raynor now looked away as if pained.
"He hated that people got hurt by nuclear weapons testing. He hated the confederate greed." She paused for a long moment before speaking again. "I told him I'd give my life for him, but he always told me he wouldn't let that happen."
They both stared at the ground now and did not speak or look at each other. The room had been deathly quiet through her whole speech.
The door suddenly shot open and Kerrigan skittered away from it. She stopped in front of Raynor and stood up at the ready. The door opened and six marines stood rooted in their spots at the site of Kerrigan. They all raised their guns at once.
Raynor stood up immediately. "Don't shoot her!" he shouted. The men looked over at Raynor, then back to Kerrigan. "She's with me." he said. Kerrigan looked at Raynor and their eyes met and held for the first time. Her eyes had not changed through the transformation, and Raynor found suddenly that although he had only spoken to her for so short a time, he would be willing to lay his life in her hands again.
The lead marine spoke. "Sir, shuttles are on their way. We can get out of here if we can avoid the zerg." the marine sort of stuttered over the last line and looked at Kerrigan realizing the irony of the statement.
"We'll follow you then." Raynor replied. The marines gave Kerrigan one last suspicious glance, and they bolted off down the corridor. Raynor started to follow, but Kerrigan stopped.
"I can't come, Jim." she said sadly.
Raynor stopped and turned to her. "What?"
"My place isn't with the terrans. I don't want to hurt anyone-"
"Listen Kerrigan, there is no time for this right now. You have a lot of information we need right now, and I want to know what the hell is going on here. We need you right now." he said.
Kerrigan hesitated. "But, the way they looked at me, like I was some-"
"This isn't the time to worry about that, Kerrigan." Raynor joked unsuccessfully. "This goes a lot farther than either of our lives. We need to survive now cause other people need to know about this. Alright?"
Kerrigan seemed to hesitate, but also understood the seriousness of the situation. She nodded and ran behind Jim out the large doors. The six marines were ahead of them now, and the zerg around seemed to be giving chase instinctively.
Raynor saw the dropships ahead of them, ready to make the pickup outside of the spore colonies' range. The zerg seemed to be driven only by their hunger for blood and pushed forward after them. Kerrigan suddenly stopped and stared at the zerg seriously. Raynor stood beside her and the other marines around stood rooted. The spines on her head began to twitch slightly and the zerg stopped, rooted in their spot. Raynor and the marines stood staring at Kerrigan. She slowly opened her eyes and gave an embarrassed look.
"I can only hold them for so long. We need to get to the transports." she said.
Raynor nodded and pulled the six marines along. The eight made a long sprint to the shuttle and clambered inside. Kerrigan sat at the far back of the shuttle and curled up at the stares of the Terrans. Raynor gave them disapproving looks, and they all looked away, trusting his judgment.
The shuttle rocketed up into the sky and the hostile planet disappeared below. Raynor sighed as he finally removed himself from the damaged marine suit and laid back against the wall. He set himself down beside Kerrigan. The other six marines moved to the other side of the shuttle and spoke in low voices.
Kerrigan's head dipped into her hands and Raynor lay a hand on her back. "Don't worry about them." he said.
Kerrigan looked up at him and her face was filled with pain. "No." she said. "Their judgments are well deserved. I-" she stuttered, "I killed, so ruthlessly."
Raynor rubbed her back. "You were under the overmind's control."
Kerrigan shook her head. "No, I remember it so well. I remember it all. The overmind held part of my mind, but I acted on free will. He had a grip on my mind, but still." she spoke, as if saying it was like taking a knife through her chest. "I still acted out of my own hatred. I felt so betrayed. I was so angry."
Raynor sat comforting her for long moments before speaking. "I'm sorry I didn't go with you. I could have-"
Kerrigan shook her head. "It's not your fault." she said. "You had orders, just like I did. I remember hearing Mengsk's voice for that last time." her eyes suddenly widened in horror. "I remember everything. I ran into the last available bunker. I stayed inside with the marines, and when our bunker burnt down, we would run for the next bit of cover. It seemed that all along the zerg were attacking us almost half-heartedly, but-" her face softened slightly, "but they were only after me. They wanted me alive."
Raynor held had close and they sat together for long moments. The marines seemed to have calmed down, and they were falling asleep slowly. Raynor subconsciously stroked at Kerrigan now and again, but he found himself lost in his own thoughts. What was happening now? Were they on the brink of another war? He realized suddenly that the queen of blades lay sound asleep in his lap, her eyes gently closed.
Raynor shifted her aside and stood up. He moved through the bulk of the shuttle to the cockpit. The two pilots looked up.
"Captain Raynor, never thought we'd see you again."
Raynor nodded. "I guess someone wants to keep me around for awhile longer." he said jokingly. Raynor looked out into the stars. "Where are we headed?"
"The last of us have a rendezvous point set. We got the distress signal from those marines and came as fast as we could."
"Good thing too." Raynor said.
The pilot was quiet now, unconsciously asking the question.
"She's here because she knows something. Apparently there are more troubles we have back here then just the Emperor."
The pilot nodded. "I sure hope this all is over soon."
"Agreed." Raynor replied.
As if almost in answer, missiles shot out of mid air. The missiles struck the hull of the transport hard and the ship shook.
"Wraiths." the pilot cried. "They're hailing us."
Raynor felt a lump in his throat. "Put them through."
The screen came up and a wraith pilot stared at them. "Captain Raynor himself." he said proudly. "I bet the doc will be pleased to see you."
Raynor swallowed. "Boys, we're not here to fight. We got things to attend to , and we'd appreciate it if-"
The wraith pilot laughed. "You got nothing there, Raynor. No escort, no army, and you look in shitty shape too." Raynor scowled. "You're under arrest by the order of Emperor Mengsk and all your cargo on board is now in our possession. Do you surrender?"
Raynor swore and slammed a fist on the screen. How could his luck be so bad and so good all in the same day? Escaping the clutches of the zerg and finding his love, and then getting captured by Mengsk on the same day.
Raynor briefly considered being blown sky high right their and accepting his death fair and square, but he then remembered Fenix's words, and took a glance back at the back of the shuttle wear the queen of blades lay fast asleep.
"We surrender." he said. The wraith captain acknowledged and the com link closed. In the distance, Raynor watched the red shuttle approach to take them into custody, and wondered where fate would take him next.
******
Special thanks to Chrono-cross maniac for betaing this chapter for me
Raynor slowly picked up his scattered memories from his mind and started to piece them back together into some sort of coherent whole, but he failed very miserably, and dreaded the future at hand. His men were likely almost nowhere to be found, and he would have to find someway of getting off this planet. Likely, custody through Emperor Mengsk was the only option, and it would at least allow him to bring this planet filled with zerg to his attention. Raynor had realized a long time ago in the war that his part to play was much greater than his own life, as Fenix had told him, and although at times Raynor begged for death, he would stay alive at all costs for the good of the war.
Raynor moved up and realized suddenly a figure stood near the doorway, not meeting his gaze. Kerrigan stood with her back against the door and did not meet Raynor's eyes. The giant spines protruding from her head rested along her shoulders, and Raynor almost found a morbid beauty in her. Although she may only slightly still have resembled her former human form, Raynor realized almost with a smile that her presence was still alive.
Raynor opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly realized his situation. Why wasn't he dead? And why was she still here? Last time they had met, she had let him go, but swore that the next time they met, she would kill him. Why hadn't she? Raynor could not push coherent words out of his mouth, for he had no idea where to start.
"You'll feel a little strange." Kerrigan spoke calmly. Raynor started. Her voice had no evil overtone. "You were dying. There are parasites inside of you now. They are repairing your body."
Raynor's jaw dropped. "I-" he stuttered.
Kerrigan turned her head further away from him. "You need more rest. I'll keep watch, don't worry."
Raynor finally found the words. "Where have you been?" he asked, completely lost as where he could even begin.
Kerrigan's eyes fell. "That's not important right now. Get some rest. Hopefully we can make contact and get you off this blasted rock."
Raynor was shocked. His heart suddenly ached to see her look so in pain. Where had she been? How had she been captured and brought here? "Kerrigan," Raynor started, "what's going on here? How did you get here?"
"Later, Jim." she shot back at him, still not looking at him.
Raynor lay back against the wall, calculating the situation. Of all the things he had expected on returning home, this one surely wasn't one of them. He looked around the room and wondered how they might get out of there. "Do you have any idea where we are?" Raynor questioned.
Kerrigan shook her head.
Raynor sighed. He reached over and picked up his gauss rifle. He went through all the functions making sure that it was running well and plugged it back in to his backpack. He leaned back against the wall and sighed.
"Did he become emperor?" Kerrigan asked quietly.
Raynor simply nodded, knowing that Kerrigan knew fully well the answer to the question.
She chuckled slightly. "He always wanted that." she mused. Raynor hung on to every word as if he were dying of thirst and they were drops of water. "He said he would give up anything. Anything to become emperor."
They were silent for long moments. The oddest smile crossed Kerrigan's face, as though speaking of the past was comforting and painful all at once. "He was married, you know."
Raynor smiled as she looked at him for the first time.
"He never really spoke of it. I learned through rumor and confronted him one day. He only answered with an emotionless yes, and I didn't ask anything more."
"He gave it up for power." Raynor said.
Kerrigan looked down again. "Not at first." she said. She was silent for long moments. "He wasn't always bad. He hated the confederacy. He hated that they would sacrifice lives for their own cause." she trailed off.
Raynor now looked away as if pained.
"He hated that people got hurt by nuclear weapons testing. He hated the confederate greed." She paused for a long moment before speaking again. "I told him I'd give my life for him, but he always told me he wouldn't let that happen."
They both stared at the ground now and did not speak or look at each other. The room had been deathly quiet through her whole speech.
The door suddenly shot open and Kerrigan skittered away from it. She stopped in front of Raynor and stood up at the ready. The door opened and six marines stood rooted in their spots at the site of Kerrigan. They all raised their guns at once.
Raynor stood up immediately. "Don't shoot her!" he shouted. The men looked over at Raynor, then back to Kerrigan. "She's with me." he said. Kerrigan looked at Raynor and their eyes met and held for the first time. Her eyes had not changed through the transformation, and Raynor found suddenly that although he had only spoken to her for so short a time, he would be willing to lay his life in her hands again.
The lead marine spoke. "Sir, shuttles are on their way. We can get out of here if we can avoid the zerg." the marine sort of stuttered over the last line and looked at Kerrigan realizing the irony of the statement.
"We'll follow you then." Raynor replied. The marines gave Kerrigan one last suspicious glance, and they bolted off down the corridor. Raynor started to follow, but Kerrigan stopped.
"I can't come, Jim." she said sadly.
Raynor stopped and turned to her. "What?"
"My place isn't with the terrans. I don't want to hurt anyone-"
"Listen Kerrigan, there is no time for this right now. You have a lot of information we need right now, and I want to know what the hell is going on here. We need you right now." he said.
Kerrigan hesitated. "But, the way they looked at me, like I was some-"
"This isn't the time to worry about that, Kerrigan." Raynor joked unsuccessfully. "This goes a lot farther than either of our lives. We need to survive now cause other people need to know about this. Alright?"
Kerrigan seemed to hesitate, but also understood the seriousness of the situation. She nodded and ran behind Jim out the large doors. The six marines were ahead of them now, and the zerg around seemed to be giving chase instinctively.
Raynor saw the dropships ahead of them, ready to make the pickup outside of the spore colonies' range. The zerg seemed to be driven only by their hunger for blood and pushed forward after them. Kerrigan suddenly stopped and stared at the zerg seriously. Raynor stood beside her and the other marines around stood rooted. The spines on her head began to twitch slightly and the zerg stopped, rooted in their spot. Raynor and the marines stood staring at Kerrigan. She slowly opened her eyes and gave an embarrassed look.
"I can only hold them for so long. We need to get to the transports." she said.
Raynor nodded and pulled the six marines along. The eight made a long sprint to the shuttle and clambered inside. Kerrigan sat at the far back of the shuttle and curled up at the stares of the Terrans. Raynor gave them disapproving looks, and they all looked away, trusting his judgment.
The shuttle rocketed up into the sky and the hostile planet disappeared below. Raynor sighed as he finally removed himself from the damaged marine suit and laid back against the wall. He set himself down beside Kerrigan. The other six marines moved to the other side of the shuttle and spoke in low voices.
Kerrigan's head dipped into her hands and Raynor lay a hand on her back. "Don't worry about them." he said.
Kerrigan looked up at him and her face was filled with pain. "No." she said. "Their judgments are well deserved. I-" she stuttered, "I killed, so ruthlessly."
Raynor rubbed her back. "You were under the overmind's control."
Kerrigan shook her head. "No, I remember it so well. I remember it all. The overmind held part of my mind, but I acted on free will. He had a grip on my mind, but still." she spoke, as if saying it was like taking a knife through her chest. "I still acted out of my own hatred. I felt so betrayed. I was so angry."
Raynor sat comforting her for long moments before speaking. "I'm sorry I didn't go with you. I could have-"
Kerrigan shook her head. "It's not your fault." she said. "You had orders, just like I did. I remember hearing Mengsk's voice for that last time." her eyes suddenly widened in horror. "I remember everything. I ran into the last available bunker. I stayed inside with the marines, and when our bunker burnt down, we would run for the next bit of cover. It seemed that all along the zerg were attacking us almost half-heartedly, but-" her face softened slightly, "but they were only after me. They wanted me alive."
Raynor held had close and they sat together for long moments. The marines seemed to have calmed down, and they were falling asleep slowly. Raynor subconsciously stroked at Kerrigan now and again, but he found himself lost in his own thoughts. What was happening now? Were they on the brink of another war? He realized suddenly that the queen of blades lay sound asleep in his lap, her eyes gently closed.
Raynor shifted her aside and stood up. He moved through the bulk of the shuttle to the cockpit. The two pilots looked up.
"Captain Raynor, never thought we'd see you again."
Raynor nodded. "I guess someone wants to keep me around for awhile longer." he said jokingly. Raynor looked out into the stars. "Where are we headed?"
"The last of us have a rendezvous point set. We got the distress signal from those marines and came as fast as we could."
"Good thing too." Raynor said.
The pilot was quiet now, unconsciously asking the question.
"She's here because she knows something. Apparently there are more troubles we have back here then just the Emperor."
The pilot nodded. "I sure hope this all is over soon."
"Agreed." Raynor replied.
As if almost in answer, missiles shot out of mid air. The missiles struck the hull of the transport hard and the ship shook.
"Wraiths." the pilot cried. "They're hailing us."
Raynor felt a lump in his throat. "Put them through."
The screen came up and a wraith pilot stared at them. "Captain Raynor himself." he said proudly. "I bet the doc will be pleased to see you."
Raynor swallowed. "Boys, we're not here to fight. We got things to attend to , and we'd appreciate it if-"
The wraith pilot laughed. "You got nothing there, Raynor. No escort, no army, and you look in shitty shape too." Raynor scowled. "You're under arrest by the order of Emperor Mengsk and all your cargo on board is now in our possession. Do you surrender?"
Raynor swore and slammed a fist on the screen. How could his luck be so bad and so good all in the same day? Escaping the clutches of the zerg and finding his love, and then getting captured by Mengsk on the same day.
Raynor briefly considered being blown sky high right their and accepting his death fair and square, but he then remembered Fenix's words, and took a glance back at the back of the shuttle wear the queen of blades lay fast asleep.
"We surrender." he said. The wraith captain acknowledged and the com link closed. In the distance, Raynor watched the red shuttle approach to take them into custody, and wondered where fate would take him next.
******
Special thanks to Chrono-cross maniac for betaing this chapter for me