StarCraft: Open War
Prolouge
Chapter 1
It's funny. In the movies, space battles are a noisy affair, with screaming lasers and thundering explosions. In reality, it's piercing silence. Eerie, mute silence. Without air to carry it, the sounds of battle have no meaning in the void. And, silently, the remaining ships of the UED lumbered away from the Koprula sector. But their effort was fruitless, for close behind them was a lumbering mass of flesh, carapace, bone and fury known only by one name.
The Zerg swarm.
And at the helm of this swarm was its Queen, Sarah Kerrigan. She stretched her wings anxiously. A voice boomed inside her mind. "We are minutes away from the Terran fleet, my queen." Her black lips curved into a smirk.
"Annihilate them, Grazz" was her response.
"As you wish, my queen." answered Grazz.
Instantly the command went out. The thousands of creatures under Grazz's command surged forth with a zeal unmatched by anything else in the galaxy. Slowly at first, then gaining speed, the swarms of creatures barreled towards the flotilla of human ships. On board an outlying fighter carrier, a pilot, known by his callsign as "Jackal", and by his name, Jack Mitchell, sat inside his Wraith star-fighter, looking at the video monitors in his cockpit. He flipped a few switches, and then fixed his helmet unto his head. Speaking into his microphone, he uttered a simple phrase, one he had uttered countless times before.
"Ghost 1, ready for launch"
The fighter control station responded.
"Roger that Ghost 1, we are blowing the hatch in 10 seconds."
The launch crew had the final say. The magnetic catapult, a single iron track leading to the launch hatch, activated with a crackle of electricity. The Wraith taxied into the launch lock. The fighter latched into the catapult.
3 football fields away, the massive launch hatch opened. Lurching noiselessly out into the void, the hatch locked into position above the now open launch bay. Jack strapped into his seat. He fixed his harness, and activated his eject system. He gave the thumbs up to a nearby crewmember. He gave him the signal back.
"Jackal, stand by for launch."
The massive catapult powered up. The lock which held the fighter to the rob began to move. Jack closed his eyes. The lock picked up speed, faster and faster and faster, until it was at nearly 500 miles an hour. The catapult ended at the opening. The Wraith sailed out of the opening and exploded in a brilliant ball of fire and acid. Suddenly, dozens of Zerg flyers poured through the open fighter bay, a writhing mass of tentacles and claws. The launch crew desperately screamed over the radio to close the launch bay. Unfortunately, the Zerg heard them as well. Their screams echoed through the ship, as the Zerg laid waste to the carrier.
Outside the doomed Carrier, a massive battle was underway. The Zerg had penetrated the UED fleet, and tore the rag-tag fleet in half. If Grazz could smirk, he would. Victory would soon be his. His Guardians moved into position, their crab-like shapes seemingly unwelcome in the majestic beauty of space. They targeted the flagship of the UED fleet, the Alexander. Their globs of super-heated plasma filled the void with glowing greens and sickening yellows as they speed to the gigantic battlecruiser. Inside, the Grand Admiral Dugalle paced about his study anxiously. The sounds of battle were distant inside the small room. He placed a record on his antique player. He began to type a letter on his console.
Dearest Helena,
By now, the news of our defeat has reached the Earth. The
creatures we were sent here to tame are untamable---And
the colonies we were sent to reclaim have proven to be
stronger than we anticipated.
Whatever you may hear about what has happened out here,
know this: Alexei did not die a hero. I killed him---my
pride killed him. And now my pride has consumed me as well.
You will never see me again, Helena.
Tell our children that I love them, and that their father
died in defense of their future.
Drawing his service pistol, he pressed it to his temple.
"Au revior"
And so ended the life of one of the greatest admirals in human history. Outside of the Alexander, the rest of the UED fleet languished with him. As the UED fought the losing battle for their lives, a single carrier slipped away from the battle. Picking up as many fighters as it could, it fired its main thrusters, pulling it far away from the wrecked fleet. At the helm, Captain John Anderson guided the small ship away from the chaos. Carried aboard it were the remains of the Admiral and some of the original command crew. As the ship shot farther and farther from its doomed compatriots, the lone ship's crew saluted its brethren one last time, before turning to guide their ship back to the blue-green ball that was their home.
Earth.
The Zerg, unaware of the escape, continued to annihilate the UED. As the final ship was blasted into oblivion, The Queen of Blades stood among the remains of a UED command center high above the burnt-out world of Char.
"Once again I stand atop the broken bodies of my enemies...Victorious but not unscarred. The Earth-borne Directorate has been destroyed. And the Overmind lies dead and trampled beneath the ashes of Char. As for my unlikely allies, I think that I shall allow them a reprieve. For in time I will seek to test their resolve, and their strengths. They will all be mine in the end, for I am the Queen of Blades.
None shall ever dispute my rule again."