Chapter 4: Old friends, new allies
Raynor was standing angrily, his arm still suspended in that firing position so that the pistol trigger was still squeezed tightly between his fingers. His uniformed jacket was stained in crimson blood. He looked down at the man who was once his trusted second in command, Lieutenant Kirger, an officer that was now nothing more than a bloody corpse. The traitor was caught contacting the Queen of Blades, Kerrigan.
Jim Raynor's heart pulsed with rage, even after he'd killed him. The thought of emptying the entire clip just to quench his intense fury filled his mind, but then, a concerned marine timely busted into the room. He asked what was going on, a question to which Raynor answered coldly,
"What just happened is that I just killed a traitor. He got what he deserved."
"Sir!" the marine replied, "that's not the way we usually treat traitors. Why did you do that?"
"Private, that's not of your business." He snapped angrily, pausing a moment before he continued. "Anyway, help me carry this b$¬!'s body into the incinerator," he finally said. The private was surprised by the outburst, but nonetheless, he silently did what he was told. They both carried the body to the incinerator and burned it down, with the marine looking quite puzzled. The marine stood there as he watched his commander walking away, banging on the steel walls due to his great anger.
As Jim Raynor walked back to his room, the marine's words rang in his ear: "Sir, that's not the way we usually treat traitors. Why did you do that?" It kind of ticked him off. He didn't answer it at the time. He probably should have, but whatever the case, he knew the reason. He was becoming as sadistic and merciless as his enemies. And the more he thought of it, the more he yearned for this senseless war to end sooner. He sighed and said to himself: "I should be more careful now. I never thought Kirger could be a traitor. One thing's for sure: With today's events, I can't be sure of everyone's loyalty. But one thing the traitor said was true: I've been too harsh with Kalis. He's probably the most loyal of my men. Maybe I should apologize."
Afterwards, Raynor headed towards Kalis' room. Arrived there, he knocked on the door and said:
"Hey man. Sorry about earlier, but you had disregarded a direct order. Can we talk?" Seeing there was no response, he said, "Listen, I've got to speak to you, so please open your freakin' door, you hear me?" The door opened and Kalis gave sign to Raynor to come in. He was a Protoss zealot that was barely taller than Raynor, and his eyes were a deep, dark blue. He was looking at Raynor with both guilt and anger in his eyes. He said,
"If you are going to remove me from command, I understand."
"Not going to happen," Raynor replied, "since you're the most trustworthy man...no, Protoss, I've got," he corrected. "More than I can say for Kirger. I caught him contacting the zerg. In fact, I'm sure he told Kerrigan about the new treatment."
Kalis answered, unable to believe it, "Are you serious?" Raynor nodded. Kalis roared in a psionic crescendo, "The treacherous fiend. Where is he now?" his protoss energy blades materialized in front of the startled Raynor who almost reached for his pistol.
Perturbed, yet impressed, the shocked commander quickly said, "Dead. Shot him in the face when he looked surprised to see me as he was communicating with Kerrigan."
"I see." Kalis had a look of utmost disgust in his eyes. "Who will replace him?"
"I don't know. And I have to do an announcement to the crew right now. Are you coming?"
"Give me a few minutes."
After Kalis made his preparations, he and Raynor headed towards the command room. When they arrived, Raynor took a radio and turned it on, after which he announced Kirger's treachery and death to his whole army. He also said that those wanting to become leader of the terran section of the army would have to formally announce it to Raynor in the next two days. When he finished his announcement, he said to Kalis,
"I need to talk strategy with you. You got a while?"
"Yes, of course. What do you need to talk about?"
"Well, do you have an idea for finding reinforcements? And don't tell me to go to Aiur and Shakuras to see your protoss pals. The zerg have got the protoss pinned down in that sector."
"How about Zeratul?"
"He's nowhere to be found."
"And what about the Terran Dominion?"
"If we try to contact Mengsk, he's dead. Kerrigan doesn't go after him because he doesn't know about the new treatment, but if we contact him, he's busted. Maybe if he communicated with us, it would work. He does have an IJS (Interception Jamming System), so Kerrigan wouldn't hear a thing if she were to intercept the communication. Anyway, other ideas?"
"The UED, maybe."
"That's what Kerrigan thinks I will do. But I know that they're all reduced to cinders, so I won't look for them."
"And the..."
He was interrupted by a loud beep, which was announcing an incoming transmission. Then a familiar voice said,
"Hello, Jim. It's been a while." Afterwards, Arcturus Mengsk appeared on the screens near the center of the room. Raynor said:
"Mengsk? How are you doing? Is your IJS functioning?"
"My IJS?" Mengsk said in a surprised voice. "Yes. Why do you ask?"
"Because you'd be dead if it weren't."
"Mmm. Seems something heavy is going on here. Looks like the rumors were true. I was well inspired to call you. Please brief me in on the situation."
Raynor, still surprised, said, "Okay. Well, we discovered a treatment that can return infested terrans to their older selves. Only, for it to work, a person with reminiscence of the infested person as a terran has to be present. Anyway, it's long to explain. By the way, is it true that Kerrigan erased your memories of her older self, just in case?"
"I don't know what memories you are talking about. And what do you mean by older self?"
"Shit. Then she did. She's getting really dangerous. Anyway, forget about it. Now, to continue with what I was saying, we discovered that treatment, and I'm the only one with memories of Kerrigan as a terran. And if we cure her, the main zerg leader will be out of the way. But to do so, we'll need help from the protoss. Now where were Kirger's maps...ah, there they are." He then clicked on a button and holograms representing Aiur and Shakuras appeared in the center of the room. They were completely surrounded by red dots. He then said: "The red dots represent the zerg blockade which was placed around the protoss home worlds of Aiur and Shakuras recently. If we are to get help from the protoss, we'll need to obliterate that blockade. For that, I'll need all the ships you've got."
"I see." Mengsk answered. "But my fleet won't be able to destroy that many zerg air units. If only my air units had the power of siege tanks, it'd be another story, but..."
"Sir. I have an idea!" Kalis said. "Let's use your dropships!"
"What?" Mengsk and Raynor said together, and Raynor continued, "Are you nuts, Kalis? They don't even have weapons! They'll be slaughtered!"
"I don't think you understand my point." Kalis said. "If we put two siege tanks in siege mode in each, with only the cannons sticking out of the cargo doors..."
Mengsk said, "Why, young protoss, you are truly a master strategist...well, for a protoss anyway. I think it'd work rather well. We should start to adapt our dropships right away, because we'll need to hermetically close the dropships for that plan to work. We don't want our siege tanks sucked in space, do we?"
Raynor said, "I agree. Let's do the assault on the blockade in three days. I'll take Shakuras and you'll take Aiur, okay?"
Mengsk answered, laughing, "Calm down, Jim. You're too nervous." He then returned to a serious tone. "If we are to succeed, we'll need all our units to open fire at the same time. We absolutely need the element of surprise. We'll open fire exactly at 1400 hours in three days around Aiur and I advise you to do the same for Shakuras. By the way, don't forget ground units to take back any building the zerg would have conquered."
Raynor concluded, "We have an agreement. See ya, Mengsk." He turned off the screen, turned towards Kalis and said: "Go and warn all troops under your command to prepare for battle, and especially your air units. I'll warn the others." He headed back towards his office with a huge battle ahead of him.
His preparations were nothing special, other than the fact that his new terran section leader was Lieutenant Dan Kealer, a very violent firebat with very direct strategies. He was enthusiastic at becoming such a highly ranked officer, but he made it clear that he'd always hang out with "the boys", as he called the other subordinates.
It seemed like only a second had passed since the discussion with Mengsk when it was the time of the battle. Raynor was now in the Hyperion, at 1359 hours, ready to give the order. Little did he know about the huge repercussions this battle would have on the entire galaxy...
Raynor was standing angrily, his arm still suspended in that firing position so that the pistol trigger was still squeezed tightly between his fingers. His uniformed jacket was stained in crimson blood. He looked down at the man who was once his trusted second in command, Lieutenant Kirger, an officer that was now nothing more than a bloody corpse. The traitor was caught contacting the Queen of Blades, Kerrigan.
Jim Raynor's heart pulsed with rage, even after he'd killed him. The thought of emptying the entire clip just to quench his intense fury filled his mind, but then, a concerned marine timely busted into the room. He asked what was going on, a question to which Raynor answered coldly,
"What just happened is that I just killed a traitor. He got what he deserved."
"Sir!" the marine replied, "that's not the way we usually treat traitors. Why did you do that?"
"Private, that's not of your business." He snapped angrily, pausing a moment before he continued. "Anyway, help me carry this b$¬!'s body into the incinerator," he finally said. The private was surprised by the outburst, but nonetheless, he silently did what he was told. They both carried the body to the incinerator and burned it down, with the marine looking quite puzzled. The marine stood there as he watched his commander walking away, banging on the steel walls due to his great anger.
As Jim Raynor walked back to his room, the marine's words rang in his ear: "Sir, that's not the way we usually treat traitors. Why did you do that?" It kind of ticked him off. He didn't answer it at the time. He probably should have, but whatever the case, he knew the reason. He was becoming as sadistic and merciless as his enemies. And the more he thought of it, the more he yearned for this senseless war to end sooner. He sighed and said to himself: "I should be more careful now. I never thought Kirger could be a traitor. One thing's for sure: With today's events, I can't be sure of everyone's loyalty. But one thing the traitor said was true: I've been too harsh with Kalis. He's probably the most loyal of my men. Maybe I should apologize."
Afterwards, Raynor headed towards Kalis' room. Arrived there, he knocked on the door and said:
"Hey man. Sorry about earlier, but you had disregarded a direct order. Can we talk?" Seeing there was no response, he said, "Listen, I've got to speak to you, so please open your freakin' door, you hear me?" The door opened and Kalis gave sign to Raynor to come in. He was a Protoss zealot that was barely taller than Raynor, and his eyes were a deep, dark blue. He was looking at Raynor with both guilt and anger in his eyes. He said,
"If you are going to remove me from command, I understand."
"Not going to happen," Raynor replied, "since you're the most trustworthy man...no, Protoss, I've got," he corrected. "More than I can say for Kirger. I caught him contacting the zerg. In fact, I'm sure he told Kerrigan about the new treatment."
Kalis answered, unable to believe it, "Are you serious?" Raynor nodded. Kalis roared in a psionic crescendo, "The treacherous fiend. Where is he now?" his protoss energy blades materialized in front of the startled Raynor who almost reached for his pistol.
Perturbed, yet impressed, the shocked commander quickly said, "Dead. Shot him in the face when he looked surprised to see me as he was communicating with Kerrigan."
"I see." Kalis had a look of utmost disgust in his eyes. "Who will replace him?"
"I don't know. And I have to do an announcement to the crew right now. Are you coming?"
"Give me a few minutes."
After Kalis made his preparations, he and Raynor headed towards the command room. When they arrived, Raynor took a radio and turned it on, after which he announced Kirger's treachery and death to his whole army. He also said that those wanting to become leader of the terran section of the army would have to formally announce it to Raynor in the next two days. When he finished his announcement, he said to Kalis,
"I need to talk strategy with you. You got a while?"
"Yes, of course. What do you need to talk about?"
"Well, do you have an idea for finding reinforcements? And don't tell me to go to Aiur and Shakuras to see your protoss pals. The zerg have got the protoss pinned down in that sector."
"How about Zeratul?"
"He's nowhere to be found."
"And what about the Terran Dominion?"
"If we try to contact Mengsk, he's dead. Kerrigan doesn't go after him because he doesn't know about the new treatment, but if we contact him, he's busted. Maybe if he communicated with us, it would work. He does have an IJS (Interception Jamming System), so Kerrigan wouldn't hear a thing if she were to intercept the communication. Anyway, other ideas?"
"The UED, maybe."
"That's what Kerrigan thinks I will do. But I know that they're all reduced to cinders, so I won't look for them."
"And the..."
He was interrupted by a loud beep, which was announcing an incoming transmission. Then a familiar voice said,
"Hello, Jim. It's been a while." Afterwards, Arcturus Mengsk appeared on the screens near the center of the room. Raynor said:
"Mengsk? How are you doing? Is your IJS functioning?"
"My IJS?" Mengsk said in a surprised voice. "Yes. Why do you ask?"
"Because you'd be dead if it weren't."
"Mmm. Seems something heavy is going on here. Looks like the rumors were true. I was well inspired to call you. Please brief me in on the situation."
Raynor, still surprised, said, "Okay. Well, we discovered a treatment that can return infested terrans to their older selves. Only, for it to work, a person with reminiscence of the infested person as a terran has to be present. Anyway, it's long to explain. By the way, is it true that Kerrigan erased your memories of her older self, just in case?"
"I don't know what memories you are talking about. And what do you mean by older self?"
"Shit. Then she did. She's getting really dangerous. Anyway, forget about it. Now, to continue with what I was saying, we discovered that treatment, and I'm the only one with memories of Kerrigan as a terran. And if we cure her, the main zerg leader will be out of the way. But to do so, we'll need help from the protoss. Now where were Kirger's maps...ah, there they are." He then clicked on a button and holograms representing Aiur and Shakuras appeared in the center of the room. They were completely surrounded by red dots. He then said: "The red dots represent the zerg blockade which was placed around the protoss home worlds of Aiur and Shakuras recently. If we are to get help from the protoss, we'll need to obliterate that blockade. For that, I'll need all the ships you've got."
"I see." Mengsk answered. "But my fleet won't be able to destroy that many zerg air units. If only my air units had the power of siege tanks, it'd be another story, but..."
"Sir. I have an idea!" Kalis said. "Let's use your dropships!"
"What?" Mengsk and Raynor said together, and Raynor continued, "Are you nuts, Kalis? They don't even have weapons! They'll be slaughtered!"
"I don't think you understand my point." Kalis said. "If we put two siege tanks in siege mode in each, with only the cannons sticking out of the cargo doors..."
Mengsk said, "Why, young protoss, you are truly a master strategist...well, for a protoss anyway. I think it'd work rather well. We should start to adapt our dropships right away, because we'll need to hermetically close the dropships for that plan to work. We don't want our siege tanks sucked in space, do we?"
Raynor said, "I agree. Let's do the assault on the blockade in three days. I'll take Shakuras and you'll take Aiur, okay?"
Mengsk answered, laughing, "Calm down, Jim. You're too nervous." He then returned to a serious tone. "If we are to succeed, we'll need all our units to open fire at the same time. We absolutely need the element of surprise. We'll open fire exactly at 1400 hours in three days around Aiur and I advise you to do the same for Shakuras. By the way, don't forget ground units to take back any building the zerg would have conquered."
Raynor concluded, "We have an agreement. See ya, Mengsk." He turned off the screen, turned towards Kalis and said: "Go and warn all troops under your command to prepare for battle, and especially your air units. I'll warn the others." He headed back towards his office with a huge battle ahead of him.
His preparations were nothing special, other than the fact that his new terran section leader was Lieutenant Dan Kealer, a very violent firebat with very direct strategies. He was enthusiastic at becoming such a highly ranked officer, but he made it clear that he'd always hang out with "the boys", as he called the other subordinates.
It seemed like only a second had passed since the discussion with Mengsk when it was the time of the battle. Raynor was now in the Hyperion, at 1359 hours, ready to give the order. Little did he know about the huge repercussions this battle would have on the entire galaxy...