CHAPTER 5: INSURGENT
"So, Fenix, have any idea where we are?" Kerrigan asked of the Dragoon running in front of her.
"It appears that time spent on Aiur has its yields, oh Queen. We are headed towards the battleground, as to free my people of this wretched infestation," he said hungrily, hurrying his pace.
"In other words, you're lost, aren't you? We should be looking for Jim, as you know –"
"The search for Raynor is indeed our primary objective," said an irritated Fenix, wishing that a particular Queen of Blades hadn't followed him. "But eliminating a threat to my homeworld is, at the moment, more important."
Kerrigan shot him a dirty look, and responded with, "Well, I hope he doesn't Turn before we find him. Then again, he could be dead, the Hyperion is said to have gone down by a fleet of Scourges, and I'm sure that they have sent out a strike force to eliminate all survivors of the crash."
"Do you have any idea where exactly it went down? Our reports do tell of a human capital ship landing near the Ruins of Tel'Naucht, one of the first Xel'Naga encampments on Aiur that suddenly imploded. Come, we will go, it is only a little way west of here," said Fenix, his change in direction told by an angry hiss of hydraulics.
Rolling her eyes at his rash aggression, she followed the lumbering gold machine, complaining about his inability to think things through, and the fact that he was still mocking her with her Zerg title, as Tassadar had done.
"What'a mean, 'Our exit's blocked'?" asked an annoyed Jim Raynor, Captain of the Hyperion. According to his flight officer, the Zerg attempted to block them through normal tactics. It was becoming very hard to fly through the ravenous Zerg that became leaderless when the Overmind died.
"Like I said before, Captain, (Raynor noted the sarcasm in that last word) those bugs out there are swarming the ship! If we don't try and evade them, we-"
"Evade them? If you have a suggestion, sir, than please feel free to give it now!"
Raynor could tell he was yelling now, but he didn't care. Slumping into his chair, blocking his eyes with his nearest hand, he began to examine his options. His first option was to try and exit the atmosphere, but they would surely be destroyed in the attempt. He could abandon his ship, leaving the planet in shuttles capable of jumping out of the system. None of these looked to promising, as the simulations done by his chair-side computer are about ninety percent correct or something like that.
His last option was to crash his ship somewhere where the Protoss could send some reinforcements. Typing in his situation for the third time, he hit the enter key and waited, yelling at underlings for reports to pass his time. The computer chimed to signal it was completed with its task, waiting impatiently for a new one. Instantly, the image of an overview of their current position came onto the screen, and as was expected, it quickly expanded out of the monitor through the help of the four sets of 3D-imaging lights stationed around the computer, into a complete thousand cubic miles view. Ambiguous images were immediately set into motion, swimming around as the computer showed the different possibilities for an outcome.
"Sir, a course of action would be EXTREMELY helpful!" said his flight officer, a fiery young Terry Duske.
"How 'bout my foot up your –"
"Ok, ok, sheesh! How much longer 'til this thing falls apart? You there! Soon as you lock on 'em, fire! The less we got on our tail, the better!"
Returning to his original task, Raynor, who had no time for watching the simulation play out, touched the "Skip To Results" button at the closest bottom-right-hand corner. The computer cameras read this movement, and instead displayed the end results, with a percentage of probability of the action, hoping to please Raynor with this news instead.
He frowned at the results, but knew the best course of action, even though the survival percentage was about thirty-five percent without outside help. It looked grim, but he mustn't let the crew know; their fear or hopelessness would kill their chances of survival faster than any Zerg creature could.
"What would be the best place to land this bird?" Raynor asked loudly to anyone with an answer.
"Wait, I'm searching," spoke up a petty flight officer, his eyes scanning his computer screen. "EDO completed. There are a group of hills near a heavily defended Protoss city. It's swarming with those ground carriers, sir. Must be the main production center of both carrier divisions, there are also Carriers disembarking from the hangars," read the officer.
"And the Zerg?" he asked his expert, hoping his answer wouldn't match the one in his head.
"Sir, you goin' deaf? They've been slaughtered, the ground carriers got the ground, the Carriers and their fighters got the sky. They clean up good," said his tactics officer, and many Marines who have seen both in combat nodded to each other, half smiles forming on their faces.
Good, thought Raynor, it'll be easier if the crew is feeling lighthearted. To his crew, he said, "All right, the hills it is! Terry, get us there in one piece."
Again, Zeratul found himself hurtling through the purple-hued wormhole produced by the Warp Gates. His fellow Dark Templar talked amongst themselves excitedly; they were returning to fight for Aiur, a task of inconceivable honor to them. Naggirek was sitting down during their entrance, and will remain that way until they appeared in Aiur. He was meditating, Zeratul wished he could join him, but sense it is most unwise to move during a Warp, as you could fall out of the stream and appear in an undesirable situation, He stayed how he was. Perhaps this is the reason to my disliking of this method of travel, Zeratul thought to himself.
Then again, he could enter meditation whether he was sanding or sitting; it did not matter to the Protoss kind as it did to Terrans. Strange how his thoughts seem to drift toward the other groups fighting in this war, and he knew the reason was that they were new to him and his kind. They had mouths, so got their energy from chemical reactions, and their veins had a liquid inside, like Dragoons, but instead this liquid was red. Our "blood," as the Terrans had called it, consisted of a highly reactive gas, which directed energy where it was needed. They gathered oxygen, like we do, but through a cavity called a "nose."
"Zeratul, we must be getting close to Aiur. I will need to know which group of these Terrans I need to warn about the Overmind. If he doesn't know, they will not stand a chance, and I will be forced to kill him for their safety," Naggirek explained gravely.
"They are governed by a man called Jim Raynor, and he should be easy to find. Just look for someone whose thoughts dwell upon either Sarah Kerrigan or the Queen of Blades," Zeratul said, mentally smiling.
"This is no time to be comical, my brother. You understand that the Overmind has had this insurgent working in the ranks of the Terrans long before they even attacked? Do you understand it was his fault that this Sarah Kerrigan became what she is today?" he replied, annoyed with Zeratul's timing.
"He did seem quite keen on the destruction of the Overmind during the Last Battle, but I don't believe he could have been a Zerg spy," Zeratul said indignantly, still unwilling to believe that Raynor must be killed.
"He must, and you should understand this; when I destroyed the Overmind the day of my first death, I noticed a small string of energy flowing a little farther north than the location of his base. He must have been the target, the Overmind wishing to live on through his most trusted servant."
"Are you entirely sure that this stream of energy reached him as the target? He very much could've been elsewhere at the time, yet that leads to another argument: if not Raynor, than who was the Overmind after? One way that I would most definitely find displeasing would be if this character revealed him- or her- self during a time that would cause the most damage."
"If we are indeed wrong, my brother, than I will continue my search when we near Aiur. And, this Raynor will be given an apology, and of course, be allowed to live," he said impatiently.
"You make an excellent argument, my brother. Very well, begin your search for the insurgent. But, I hope you recall I do not want to be the one to swing death's blade. If you find yourself wrong, then we will spare his life," Zeratul said harshly.
Zeratul knew he may have been a little too harsh to his newfound friend, but he found it hard to believe that Raynor had been a spy for the Zerg, harder still to believe that he was now the new Overmind.
He never had a chance to be infested by the Zerg, Zeratul thought, looking over his memories of the past few months. I would have known, would have been able to do something to stop it.
No, you're just saying that to ignore the truth, Raynor is a Zerg spy, you know it!
Zeratul felt disheartened at this thought. We shall see.
"Status report! I wanna know when we're gonna plow over those hills!" bellowed Raynor. He could tell his flight officer was soaring over her calculations, and turned to him to give him the news.
"We'll touch ground in about a minute, captain. Want some wine while we wait?" she added, with her strange sense of humor.
"Will someone PLEASE get me any communication line to any Protoss base? Or am I being too specific?" he asked sarcastically.
"Sir, I already told you, their sending out help as we speak. They also grabbed a commander, Fenix, I think is his name, and will arrive soon after we do. They also uploaded us with land that wouldn't be good to land on sir. Must be potholes or somethin'" his communications officer spoke up in an irritated tone.
"You mean Fenix himself is coming out to watch us crash my 'cruiser? How nice of him," Raynor said coldly, wishing that Fenix wouldn't bother him too much about flying over the Zerg base to leave.
"Crash lock! All seat belts engaging, A.G.N.E.S. active! Say a prayer, eat your last meal, just in case, 'cause we're gonna be meeting Aiur soon!" Terry shouted, looking up over her shoulder as the words passed her lips.
"Are you certain we'll be needing the Artificial Gravity Network Emergency System? We aren't going that fast, being only having two reactor cores online," he asked Terry, shifting in his seat as his belt came across his chest and lap.
"We are carrying precious cargo, captain. It might be better if we get these Ultralisks back to our scientists before the tranquilizers wear off," she answered back, a few beads of sweat meandering down her nervous face. "Impact in five!" she yelled over the loudspeaker.
Jim closed his eyes, opened them to see out his bridge, and shut them again, telling himself to block out the noise of his beloved Hyperion crashing into the homeworld of the Protoss. He heard a loud thud, followed by dull screeching noises that signaled the Hyperion had become a fifteen million-dollar sled. Finally it slid to a stop, and the disgruntled crewmembers waited impatiently for the automatic release of the seat belts. After they opened, they all unfurled from their positions and headed, like raving drunks, toward the nearest exit, weapons held at the ready.
Awaken, by beasts. You have followed my orders well, and for this I am pleased. The time has come to stop pretending that those things made you passive, and time to cause the deaths of those who oppose the swarm. Awaken my children! Do what I know you desire.
Tergou opened his eyes, glaring out in a suppressed rage. He twitched his blade muscles, and noticed two gleaming-white blurs; he gave an appreciative growl. Excitement grew until it consumed him. He knew his master, the Overmind, had succeeded in his plan; he resided in a male commander of the humans, totally unknown by those around him.
Nudging his fellow Ultralisk gently, who gave a ferocious snarl to announce his awakening, he turned toward the metallic doors holding them inside their prison, and ran full speed at it, wishing to exit and begin his rampage. The doors buckled under his weight, and blasted open, rattling down the corridor and knocking over anyone unlucky enough to be in that hallway. Roaring in triumph, he quickly bounded down a different hallway, making it wider to fit him, looking for prey.
"Fenix, there it is, see that patch of smoke rising out of those hills?" exclaimed Kerrigan, who was astounded that Fenix knew exactly where he was going.
"Yes, but hurry, I don't know if our reinforcements made it in time," he said, stopping so quickly that Kerrigan ran right into him. Cursing, she bounced off the gold plating and nearly fell to the ground, but caught herself on a large tree.
"What are you doing, stopping without warning! Answer me!" she bellowed.
"A Shuttle approaches, and it is Zeratul and… No. It cannot be. Tassadar?" he said, and Kerrigan could tell that he was astounded. She opened her mouth to reply, when a Shuttle flew by, pausing when it was directly overhead.
"Fenix, Kerrigan, it is I, Naggirek, the reborn form of Tassadar. We fear the Overmind has had an insurgent in the ranks of Terrans, and only until now has had no use for his body. I believe that the Overmind, after being killed, resided in Jim Raynor, his spy for all this time. Unfortunately, I will need to view him in person to be able to know the truth," said a voice from inside the Shuttle.
"Wait, if he is Zerg now, than won't I be able to contact him?" Kerrigan asked, still in disbelief.
Kerrigan recognized the next person to speak; it was Zeratul who said, "Yes, search for any Zerg signals near the crash site. We also have picked up a Battlecruiser with the Sons of Korhal insignia inching closer to the Hyperion, though it won't respond to our hails. It must be Arcturus Mensk, only he wouldn't want the Protoss butting in, but it looks as though he's in trouble too."
"I'll try," Kerrigan informed them, and began broadcasting a message to all Zerg forces, asking them to reveal themselves and their motives for being in the area.
She read through the replies, some Scourges where trying to have fun chasing the birds native to Aiur, some Ultralisks were gleefully causing terror in a downed ship, and a Hydralisk was looking for the Zergling or pack of Zerglings who stuck a Marine's helmet on his head. A group of Overlords were searching for the Hydralisks and Zerglings that wandered away from their control, determined to regain it. Wait a minute, Ultralisks in a downed ship? Oh no, they must be on the Hyperion!
"Guys! There are Ultralisks on the Hyperion! We must stop-" she stopped, for a very powerful force had entered her mind from the Zerg portion.
No. It can't be you, I thought you were dead!
My darling, if you don't think that I knew the destruction of my pet wouldn't be destroyed for being accused of being the Overmind, then I wouldn't be alive today, then, would I? I gained your trust a long time ago, long before you became what you are today. The Overmind that your dear friends destroyed was nothing but red herring, while I could operate silently. But, now is the time for you to return to my side, as my Queen of the Zerg, and there is nothing that you can do to stop me. It is time for you to become another bearer of my children.
Kerrigan realized that she could no longer control herself, and the old feeling of drowning under a river of oppression revived, as she watched in horror as the Overmind used his control over her body to his benefit.
"Yes, search for any Zerg signals near the crash site. We also have picked up a Battlecruiser with the Sons of Korhal insignia inching closer to the Hyperion, though it won't respond to our hails. It must be Arcturus Mensk, only he wouldn't want the Protoss butting in, but it looks as though he's in trouble too."" Zeratul said, still inside the Shuttle and feeling cramped.
"I'll try," Kerrigan replied.
A few moments later, when Zeratul and Naggerik had gotten out of the Shuttle to formally greet them so they can hurry to Raynor's aid, she said in a scared voice, "Guys! There are Ultralisks on the Hyperion! We must stop-"
She stopped mid-sentence, and Zeratul watched her face, which was twisting in conflict. He knew the Overmind was taking her back, and knew he must do something about it.
"She has been reclaimed. Naggerik, Fenix! We must get back aboard the Shuttle, and go stop Raynor," Zeratul said, the Shuttle's gravity well lifting him off the ground.
He looked down to see Kerrigan attempting to take a chunk of Fenix's Dragoon as a souvenir, but he too had walked into the gravity well. He entered the coordinates for the Shuttle, and they left her, shaking with rage, to the sound of one anguished cry.
