Well, the year is almost over and here's my chance to say thanks to all the people who have read, faved and/or left a comment on this story. Thank you very much.
And, of course, a big thanks goes to bjlu0900 for being my beta-reader throughout all this time. Thank you, my friend.
To the reviewer who requested a Selendis/Artanis-fic: Sadly I don't feel the urge to write such a story, nor can I think of a plot that would call for a long story. I can, however, try to add things like flashbacks to this story. I said that Artanis will appear, and so far there are plenty of flashbacks. I hope that will be somewhat satisfying.
Speaking of flashbacks: This chapter is basically one huge flashback, and it's centered around Sarah. Now I know that she's probably the most-hated character in Starcraft, and there are either people who hate her or who love her. I certainly love this character.
Chapter 19
Mum Talk
A place between time and space...
Even though humanity had mastered space travel many millennia ago, there were still those who believed that the vast space between stars was nothing but cold entropy. That wasn't true, however. Just like the oceans on Earth are filled with tiny organisms like plankton, space itself isn't the empty void many think it is. Hyper-charged particles, shot out from sun flares or dying stars that turned supernova ages ago. Radio waves, the sound of collapsing black holes, traveling for billions of years, and will continue to do so until the end of time. And sometimes there are even planets traveling through the darkness, lost and abandoned by their mother stars. Most of them are cold and dark, yet even on some of them, there is life to be found. Nothing fancy, nothing that deserves the be called "spectacular". Or intelligent. But it is a testimony to how resilient life can be.
If you are blind, you will most likely never be able to appreciate the beauty of the Mona Lisa. If you are deaf, you will never be able to fully enjoy Bach's Symphony Number 9...even though he himself had been already completely deaf when he had created his final work.
And if you weren't able to become one with the universe itself, then you would never be able to just understand how magnificent space itself was.
As she was floating through space, Sarah felt how all those hyper-charged particles touched her skin, causing her to feel a prickling sensation.
It was moments like these when Sarah was closest to what most people would probably consider "godhood". Then again, what was godhood anyway? A fair question, one that she had answered for herself a long time ago when she had decided that this was a question that only those cared about that desired to be gods.
The truth was: There are no such things as gods, at least as far as Sarah was concerned. The Protoss had worshipped the Xel'Naga as gods, their gods. But had they truly been gods? Or just a very advanced race of psionically gifted creatures from a pocket-dimension where the rules of nature had been completely different?
Yes, calling them "gods" was a lot more poetic. But it was also a lot more dangerous. As long as you call someone a god, you feel inclined to worship them. Fear them. For a god is sublime, both terrible and magnificent at the same time. Yet if you take the fear away, what is left? To ants, a mere human must look like a titan, a monstrous creature that can kill countless of them simply by placing its foot in the wrong place. Yet what if ants would understand that this human isn't a god, even though it lives so much longer than any of them, is so much more powerful in every way?
Who knows, maybe ants already knew that.
Guess I should ask an ant about their opinion on that matter...
Sarah's words echoed through the vacuum of space and a smile appeared on her features. Everyone who would stumble upon her by accident now would probably not believe their eyes...or whatever they used to "see". What was floating among the stars was the glowing body of a magnificent being. Her hair, moving around like flames, was so bright that you could mistake her for a star. The rest of her body was brimming with energy, so much in fact that she had to be careful not to be carried away. The star nearby was still young and in the process of becoming stable. She didn't want to cause some damage to its magnetic field by accident. And yet, as she kept her eyes closed, Sarah Kerrigan just enjoyed how the hyper-charged particles bombarded her body. Jim had once called it a "sunbath for cosmic beings", and that wasn't too far away from the truth. Right now Sarah felt truly in tune with time and space. She could sense how the particles were dancing over her skin. How entropy was pulling everything into every direction while gravity was fighting against that pull. And during the entire time, dark matter kept the universe together. And beyond that, like the sound of the ocean in the distance, Sarah could hear the wails of the Void. A pleasant shudder ran down her spine. It was a shame that Jim wasn't very fond of doing this. Being out here, floating among the stars, it was not cold and horrible. At least not for Sarah.
In a way, it was like being in her mother's womb again.
Out here she felt protected.
A smile appeared on her face when she thought about her lover. She had once tried to show him. But his view on the vacuum of space was still rather, well, orthodox.
"Floating in space is your thing, Darlin'." he had told her. "I prefer solid ground under my feet. Or, you know, at least a ship surrounding me."
Spoilsport... she whispered as she remembered his words.
Eh', maybe in another thousand years he would change his minds. He had changed his mind on many things.
The frustrated voice in the back of Sarah's mind had almost completely vanished from her attention when suddenly-
GAWDDAMMIT!
Sarah's eyes shot open and a mental sigh escaped her. The voice echoing through her mind almost sounded exactly like her own. Almost.
Come on! COME ON! Agh! Why isn't it working? I don't get it!
Now that Sarah was listening to the voice, she could no longer ignore it. Or all the anger and frustration in it. Even though millions of miles lay between her and the source of that voice, she could make out the tiniest of details, like how the voice of the young girl was vibrating both with anger and disappointment.
She could have ignored it. That's what everyone else had suggested to her.
Maybe she'll just need space to figure it out herself. Give her some room. She will come to you if she needs help. Jim had told her.
She is of your blood. She will figure it out herself, just like you have. Izsha had told her.
Kiddo is smarter and more tenacious than both her parents combined. And double as annoying. She'll handle it. Joseph hat told her.
She has a unique insight into things. She perceives the world and everything in it both the way we do, and with wisdom that betrays her age. She does remind me of Artanis. In a good way. Karax had told her. And Sarah was not happy about the Artanis-part, not at all.
Considering where she comes from, and what you and her father had already done when you were her age, I'd say she turned out pretty damn good. Could be a more violent though, if you ask me. Tesson had told her, only to add I take the last part back.
If she had problems with producing enough larvae, then I can give her some tips. Does she use her cloaca for that or some other orifice? You always have to keep your cloaca wet so it stays flexible! Niadra had told her, and Sarah still hated the deranged broodmother for that.
Sarah tried to ignore the frustration. Not because she didn't care. No, it was quite the opposite. Sometimes she cared too much. Most of the time. Always. And so she tried her best to enjoy just drifting through space as the particles were dancing over her glowing skin. Sarah concentrated on the things nearby to distract herself. Like the star in which gravity field she was currently floating. It was a majestic beast of a stellar object, thousands of times larger than Sol, the star Earth circles around. It was so bright that even Sarah had a hard time looking directly at it. This blue giant was hot and young, burning with an invigorating intensity. If Sarah had to guess, then this star was not even twenty million years old. By cosmic standards, it was still a baby.
And yet it would probably not even live to see it's 40th million birthday.
Sarah opened her eyes and turned her head around, looking at this enormous ball of glowing plasma. Out here, not even one billion miles away from its surface, the radiation was still so powerful that any mortal creature would have perished. Even a mighty Zerg leviathan couldn't have handled the raw bombardment of particles. Yet as Sarah bathed in those particles, she only enjoyed the beauty of the electromagnetic field of this behemoth. It looked so pretty. She raised her fingers and reached out until the magnetism danced over her arm, just like the other particles did. A smile appeared on her face when blue and green lights flickered over her boy. Her very own aurora. Pretty.
And yet this star would soon enter the final part of its life-cycle. The bigger a star, the brighter it burned. However, that also meant that it would consume the hydrogen, its fuel and lifeblood, even faster. Sol, the star that gave birth to Earth and humanity, was so much smaller. Yet it was already five billion years old, and it would continue to shine for roughly five billion more years. For humans, it was impossible to imagine such a long timeline. However, Sarah had reached the point where she felt as if she could.
As she stared at this unnamed giant, she couldn't help but compare it to Sol. Much to her own surprise, she had grown fond of that golden ball of fire. Sarah was the first one to admit that she had never believed that the home system of humanity would mean something to her, other than the fact that it merely existed. Born on TarKossia, a remote colony in the Koprulu Sector, Sarah had never felt a sense of attachment to her birth-world. She had visited it in the time since but had left it shortly afterward. There was simply nothing on this world that mattered to her anymore except for bad mojo maybe. Aside from that Sarah had never truly felt attached to any world she had spent much time on.
Tarsonis, where the Confederacy had broken her and turned her into the perfect killer? Even before it had been turned into a burning husk after Arcturus' big betrayal that had led Sarah down a dark and twisted path.
Char, where the Overmind had torn her apart and reshaped her into a tool of terror and destruction? Yeah, no. Not really.
And she had never spent enough time on other worlds to grow attached to them. With one small exception...
Ramelow.
Yes, that world had been the closest thing to "home" she had ever experienced up till then. In a way, it had been a test-run on how to act in your real home. And that home...
...was Sternenheim.
Sarah turned her head away from the giant star and looked in the distance. Out there, not even 20 lightyears away, lay the most spectacular stellar nebula the Milkyway had to offer. So far no intelligent species had ever managed to come here, which meant that this place only knew peace. The nebula itself was of course not her home. No, the real home lay inside of it. Even with all her powers, there were still things that even Sarah couldn't explain. Like the fact that there was one planet inside the nebula, shielded from deadly radiation by the magnetic fields of nearby stars, a planet so beautiful that the word "paradise" was a fitting description. Karax believed that this planet wasn't natural, that someone had created it and placed it right where it was now. But who? And for what purpose?
Sarah didn't know. And she didn't care either. If someone had created this world, then they clearly didn't need it anymore. So yeah, tough luck.
In the years and decades that had passed since she and her family had left the Koprulu Sector behind, short trips there excluded, Sternenheim had become the home that she had never had in the first place. And as far as homes go, this world was pretty darn great. After all, who wouldn't like to live on a world covered with endless crystal-blue oceans and tropical islands? Sure, there were the storms. Or the storm, to be precise. One never-ending storm that would travel around the globe and hit the place where Sarah and her family lived every nine months. Then again, it was the simple pleasures that had their very special appeal to her. Like spending the weeks or relentless storms inside your own home, knowing that even if the world is coming to an end outside, you still can hang out on your own couch and enjoy reading a book.
And yet, even though Sternenheim was everything someone like Sarah needed for a home, her trip to Ancient Earth had made her think. Originally, she hadn't even wanted to go there. It had been Jim's idea. One of those ideas that she considered highly annoying. But the moment she had stepped her foot on Earth's surface, something had changed.
Earth was a Moloch, there was no doubt about it. Thousands of years of "civilization" had ruined most of the environment. And even though Sarah had become pretty proficient at fixing planets, she had to admit that she didn't even know where to start with Earth.
And yet...it was something that she wanted to try.
Because when she had stood in the middle of the barren wastelands of what once had been a mighty rainforest many centuries ago, even among all that pollution in the atmosphere and the ailing ozone-layer, the light of the sun and the blue sky had caused her to feel something she had never felt before.
...it had felt as if she had come home.
And she wasn't alone with that. Much to her surprise, she had learned of a "homecoming"-syndrome. Many humans that had never been to Earth would experience it when visiting the birthplace of humanity. While there were many worlds out there that were still pristine and full of life, Earth was different. The light of the sun, the color of the sky, the smell of the air...it was the world where humanity came from. And even after all these centuries, even though Sarah had been born lightyears away, she too could feel the call. Just like any other human. And for that...
...she was grateful.
Because it meant that what she considered her own humanity was still there. And so was-
I'M SO DONE WITH THIS CRAP! WHY ISN'T THIS THING WORKING?! Gosh, good job, Paula! You goddamn failure! I bet everyone's really proud of how useless you are!
Sarah's eyes shot wide open when she heard those words echoing inside her mind. The frustration was one thing. But Sarah could sense how the girl out there was starting to grow desperate. A sigh escaped Sarah's mind. She knew that she shouldn't get involved. Sometimes it was better for people to figure out things on their own. But a mother's instinct was powerful, and it was not in Sarah's nature to let her only child fend for herself.
...or so she thought.
Sarah's hand wandered to her belly, where she could feel a familiar sensation.
So far, she hadn't told anyone. Even though she was pretty certain that life had yet again found a way to her, she wanted to be certain before breaking the news. And this time she would make certain that neither Joseph nor Izsha would be the first one to hear about it. So perhaps...
Stupid thing! Gah, Mum will be so disappointed if she finds out...
And yet another sigh escaped Sarah's cosmic mind when she heard the little one's thoughts. What does it take for a child to realize that her parents aren't disappointed at all? That she's doing good? Well, in Sarah's case it was actually pretty straight forward.
Divine intervention.
Or, how most normal folk call it, "Mom talk".
"No. No! That doesn't go there, if you put it together like this then-" But Karax didn't get much further. The young woman who was sitting on a huge black rock with green glyphs on it while trying to put two small rocks together. The whole landscape was littered with these strange objects. The only certain thing was that they weren't just random rocks but in fact debris. The frustration was all over the young woman's face. She gritted her teeth and smashed those two pieces of black stone against each other. It was like trying to squeeze a cubic through a round hole.
"I know what I'm doing, darn it!" Paula screamed.
"I do not want to sound rude, but I have serious doubts about the validity of that statement." Karax replied as he looked up. He stood at the base of the giant rock Paula was sitting on.
"If you want to help, Paula, then there are still a few acres left of debris that needs to be cataloged."
"Last time you told me that you only managed to catalog 0.5 percent-"
"It's actually 0.76 percent." Karax interrupted her.
"Whatever. It took you almost one thousand years to figure out less than one percent. There has to be a way to speed this thing up." Paula mumbled.
"The pursuit of knowledge is a tedious task, but it is its very own reward." the phasesmith explained.
"Gosh, now you sound really old." a frustrated Paula muttered.
"I am old."
"Yeah, but old old. You get what I mean?"
"No." Karax replied truthfully. "Also: Please do not use psionics in order to try to force these debris to fuse, they tend to react very violently to that and-" That's when Paula tried to use her psionics to make those two pieces of debris to do just that. The result was, in one word, astonishing.
Another word, a more fitting one, would be flabbergasting.
For a short moment, the fraction of a second, Paula's body seemed to be infused with cosmic amounts of energies. Her brown hair started to glow and so did her hair. Karax watched in awe (and fear) how the skin of the young woman seemed to change as well as she began to glow from the inside. The two rocks in her hand reacted to the raw infuse of psionic energy...
...and basically told her to get lost.
And boy, what kind of reaction that was!
Karax had to shield his eyes and turned away. Suddenly it felt as if he was standing a couple of meters away from a goddamn star. His energy-shield, that was meant to protect him from any sudden outburst of stored energies while working on Ulnar's leftovers, kicked in immediately, saving his skin from a serious case of scorching. As for Paula, well...
"WAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" The young woman screeched in terror when the sudden outburst of energies catapulted her high up into the air like a ragdoll. Above and below exchanged places in a rapid fashion. Everything was happening so darn fast that Paula didn't even know what was happening anymore. Except for the fact that she wanted to puke. Hurled through the air, all Paula could do was to enjoy the ride. Which lasted for exactly four seconds until gravity regained its cruel dominion over her.
Meaning that it was going down.
Fast.
Far too fast for Paula to react or do anything about this whole situation. Maybe if she had time to properly prepare, if she could freeze time itself to come up with a plan and then-
Eh, no. She would still somehow screw things up. And so, all she could do was to brace herself and accept her fate with both dignity and courage.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHH! SOMEONE HELP MEEEEEEEEE!" instead she screamed as the ground was coming closer really fast. She closed her eyes, preparing for the unpreventable. And when her face was about to make contact with the ground-
"UFFF!" Her fall came to a sudden stop. Not because her face had finally made contact with the ground. Paula was pretty certain that smashing into the ground face first was supposed to hurt like hell. Instead-
Seems like I came just in time.
Paula opened her eyes in surprise and looked at two glowing...sticks?
You are looking at my legs, Paula. Look up.
And so Paula did. She looked up, only to see dirt and rubble.
The other up. You are upside down.
And so Paula looked up. Which meant that she actually had to look down. And when she did...
...she looked at the most magnificent creature in the known (and unknown) universe. A creature so powerful that only a few were able to not go down on all fours and worship her, both in fear and admiration. A creature that could destroy and heal whole worlds. A creature that once had been known as the bane of the Koprulu Sector to most, and its savior by some. Some called her a goddess. Some the devil incarnated. But to Paula, she was known by another name.
"Oh, hey Mum."
"Karax, are you alright?" Sarah asked. The phasesmith seemed completely unfazed by everything that had just happened.
"Oh, certainly. Working with Ulnar's remains is always potentially lethal, so I never do it without proper protection. Now, if you excuse me, I think I need to fix whatever Paula has ruined." And with that Karax turned around and stomped away. Even though that statement sounded mean, there wasn't even the slightest hint of sarcasm and/or malice in Karax' voice. On the contrary, he seemed rather...happy.
"I know I'm going to regret asking this..." Sarah mumbled. "...but why are you so happy that Paula blew this thing up?"
"Because now I know how these specific pieces react towards the sudden and uncontrolled influx of psionic energies of unspeakable strength. This is not meant as an insult, Lady Kerrigan, but you possess far too much control over your powers to do something so reckless and irresponsible." Instead of telling him that Paula was hiding behind a nearby rock and could hear every single word, Sarah just sighed.
"How many times did I tell you to call me Sarah, Karax?"
"Fourteen thousand six hundred and nine times."
"Feels like at least fourteen thousand six hundred and ten times..." Paula's mother mumbled before shaking her head. "Anyway, I'm sorry for what happened. I guess I should talk to Paula now." The moment she mentioned that Sarah could feel how the presence hiding behind a nearby rock winced.
"I suppose that would be for the best." Karax explained, turned around, grabbed a nearby piece of Ulnar and started to put it back together. Sarah watched him for a short moment before she sighed.
"Uhm, Karax?"
"Yes, Lady Kerrigan?" he asked and looked over his shoulder. She decided to not correct him this time. Instead...
"I'd like to talk to my daughter." Sarah informed him.
"Yes?" the still oblivious Protoss replied.
"Alone. Please?" Only then Karax finally realized what she was trying to tell him. His eyes widened and then...
"Oh. Oh! Oh, certainly! This is one of those rare bonding-moments where a female human teaches her offspring how to reproduce without using a male, isn't it?"
…
…
…
Sarah took a deep breath, closed her eyes and started to count down.
"Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven...six...five..." Her voice trailed off before it was just a whisper. And then she opened her eyes again and looked at Karax. This time he recognized her expression immediately.
"Joseph made fun of me again?"
"Joseph made fun of you again." Sarah confirmed. Karax looked around and then he pointed at some more debris in the distance.
"I think there are some parts of Ulnar in that direction that I have only checked nine times so far, not twelve times like most others. I think I should remedy this at once." he mumbled and stomped off.
"Thanks." Sarah mumbled and then added "Also: If you are still so interested in human mating rituals, then ask anyone. Except Joseph. Trust me, he has no idea how that works anyway." When Karax heard that he stopped and looked at Sarah once more.
"But he is human. Shouldn't he know how his own species works?" That question put a smile on Sarah's face.
"No, he's a man. That means that he's clueless about pretty much everything regarding that topic. Also..." she then added and tilted her head to the side. "...his girlfriend is a former Zerg. Trust me, those two are as weird as they get."
"But...you are a former Zerg too." Karax explained, to which Sarah opened her mouth and tried to reply something when...
"...you know, you got me there." she mumbled. "Fine, whatever. Shows how much I know about this whole stuff. Tell you what: If you promise me to never ask Joseph again, then I will ask Jim to draw you some pictures of how humans work down there. Deal?" And that's when Karax's eyes started to sparkle, a clear sign of how happy he was.
"You will? Oh, Lady Kerrigan, thank you! After all these centuries I thought I would never figure out how human mating works! These are wonderful news! I shall write down some questions that James Raynor and you could tell me about." And when a very happy Protoss finally stomped away, Sarah had a very bad feeling about pretty much all of it.
"I should probably be really worried that he's so happy about that. Ech..." And then Sarah sighed once more and turned around. There she was, hiding behind a nearby rock. It was the worst hiding place of all time because Ulnar (or what was left of it) was still reacting towards psionic energies. And since Paula was hiding behind a big piece of debris, it emitted a faint green light, unlike all the other pieces of rubble. Sarah's features softened when she noticed her daughter's fears and her shame. Sarah gave Paula some time to prepare before she walked forward.
A smile appeared on her face when the former Queen of the Zerg remembered when young Paula had hidden inside the remnants of Ulnar after accidentally toying with one of Niadra's larvae, who had then decided to use Joseph as its new breeding ground. Back then Paula had shown a glimpse of the potential that she possessed. There was little doubt that her strength could match that of Sarah. Perhaps not right now, but Paula's mother was certain that she would be able to do that one day.
The question was: Would she be ready for that?
"Paula?" Sarah asked as she stopped in front of the huge piece of debris. "Are you there?"
"..."
"I know that you are there."
"...then why did you ask in the first place?" a quiet whisper came from behind the rock.
"Because it is the right thing to do." Sarah replied.
"Guess that's as good as any explanation I guess..." Oh, Sarah didn't even need her psionics to hear the frustration within Paula's voice.
"Wanna talk about it?"
"No."
"Great, make some room I'm coming over!" Paula's mother declared. And so, using her immensely psionic powers that allowed her to move whole continents and make stars explode, she used all those powers...
...not at all and simply walked around the huge rock until she reached the other side, only to spot nothing of Paula.
"Paula?" Yet even though she could feel her daughter, she couldn't exactly pinpoint her location. Even with all her powers, there were still things that she couldn't do just like that. Ulnar, or what was left of it, was such a thing. Many centuries ago, to keep Ulnar out of the hands of anyone who might come after it, Sarah had decided to take it somewhere else, somewhere safe. Unfortunately, she had asked an utter idiot to do that for her. The result had been spectacular when Joseph Brent had slammed Ulnar right into the surface of Sternenheim, Sarah's chosen homeworld. Now Ulnar was everywhere, quite literally.
She didn't know if this was a side-effect of its destruction or if Ulnar was the only thing who could affect the powers of a Xel'Naga (and their successors). Karax probably had a theory, but right now Sarah wasn't in the mood to ask him.
"Paula, where are you?"
"...go away..." she heard her daughter whisper.
"You know that won't happen." Sarah explained. "Come out and we talk. Okay?" So, without the ability to feel her daughter's presence, Sarah had to rely on her other senses.
"You know, you always knew how to hide among Ulnar's rubble. I remember how you would always hide out here when you did something wrong."
"I'm not thirty anymore..." Paula replied, which allowed Sarah to pinpoint her location by not using her mental abilities but her ears.
"No, but some things will just never change. It's okay, I don't judge you. I wish I could have had such an awesome place to hide when I was younger."
"You had your own hive when you were half my age." Paula answered. The moment Sarah heard that she sighed once more. So, it was that time of the day again, huh? Darn it...
"I don't think you can compare those two things with each other, Paula." That's right, keep talking. Sarah thought but made sure that her child wouldn't hear her thoughts so she wouldn't give away her plan. It wasn't a great plan, but a solid one.
"You're right, I can't compare to you..." her offspring mumbled. She was close. Real close.
"You have no idea how happy I am to hear that." Sarah mused.
"Yeah, I kno...wait, what?" she could hear the surprise in her daughter's voice.
"I'm not making fun of you if that's what you think. I'm serious about that." And that's when Sarah spotted the place where Paula was hiding.
"Sure thing..." Paula muttered, her voice dripping with sarcasm. It was a good thing that Jim wasn't around because right now she sounded so much like Sarah that it was actually a bit scary.
"I mean it, Paula." Sarah continued. She stopped in front of a mid-sized crack and smiled. "All you did can't compare to all the mistakes I made when I was younger."
"You. Mistakes. Good one." her child whispered. Sarah knelt down and looked into the crack. It was just small enough for one lithe person to squeeze through. Oh, she could be a slippery one. For a moment Sarah thought about trying to squeeze herself into that crack. But then she realized that it was too narrow even for her. It was not necessary anyway since she could see a certain someone.
"Hey..." Sarah said.
"Hey..." Paula replied. She had slung her arms around her legs and her head was buried between her knees. Some golden pebbles were lying around her as well, which was a solid indicator that she had cried.
"Wanna come out?"
"No."
"Then, if you don't mind, I will just sit down outside. It looks like your little hideout is a bit too small for two people." When she didn't hear any complaints, Sarah sat down in the dirt and looked up into the sky. "Storm season is approaching. Do you want to spend it with your uncle and aunt?"
"...don't know."
"Well, just make sure to tell your father. He will get all worked up if he doesn't know in advance."
"...uh huh..."
A smile appeared on Sarah's face when she remembered how many times her child had hidden inside Ulnar's remains. It was Paula's very own version of "hide and seek". Sarah had only found her this quickly because her daughter had allowed her to do it.
"You know, I too tried to help Karax with restoring Ulnar. Or at least some part of it." Sarah mused. "Didn't work out so well. This place just doesn't like me. So don't take it to heart, Paula. If Ulnar decides to explode into your face, then that's probably just another proof that we are related."
"...that's not the same..." her daughter said.
"What is?"
"...that you and Ulnar don't get along. It's not the same." Paula mumbled. Sarah knew what she was trying to say, yet she still decided to ask her.
"What do you mean?"
"...you can do so many things. I can't do anything right."
"Is that what you think?" Sarah asked with a curious tone in her voice.
"Of course! You can fix whole planets, I can't even fix...I don't know, anything." Paula griped.
"That's not true, and you know it." Sarah explained. "You help Joseph with his garden all the time."
"I put plants into the ground. With my hands. You talk to them and make them grow faster." A fair point.
"Yeah, but I got a lot more training that you do. And with the right training, you too will be able to do that one day." Sarah told her.
"Yeah, right..." Boy, someone was in a foul mood.
"I mean it, Paula. You can do everything that I can. All you need is time. Time for your powers to develop, for you to grow into them." No one doubted that. No one except for Paula.
"When you were my age you could already do all these awesome things." Ah, here we go again. Suddenly Sarah felt the urge to thank Izsha for always bragging about the Queen of Blades and how great she had been. So helpful.
"You know it is not that simple." Sarah mumbled. Now she pulled her legs up to her chin. A sad smile appeared on her face. "You know that I did a lot of bad things when I was young. I was a different person once, Paula. It is true, I do have a lot more control over my powers than you do. But that's because I was trained at a very young age. I didn't have a choice. And it wasn't pleasant either. When you were born, when we realized that you have the same powers I do, that day I made a promise to myself: That, no matter what would happen, I would always protect you. That you would get the chance to develop your powers naturally. And that no one would force you to do anything you don't want to do." And then Sarah took a deep breath. "If that means that it will take a couple of centuries longer until you get where I am now, then I'd say that's worth it."
"Easy for you to say..."
"It wasn't always easy." she lectured her daughter.
"You say that, but I can't imagine it at all." Paula mumbled. "I mean, sure, you told me about all that stuff. The Queen of Blades, Mengsk, Tarsonis..." The moment Paula mentioned the name of that world, Sarah felt how an icy chill ran down her spine. Even after all that time, the name alone was enough to cause her to feel a sense of dread. It was one of the few wounds that, even after all this time, refused to truly heal. As such, she had traveled to many, maybe even most worlds within the Koprulu Sector. With one exception.
Ever since that fateful day over 900 years ago, she had never set foot on Tarsonis ever again.
"Bad mojo" was not strong enough to describe what she was feeling when even thinking about that place.
"I know it's hard to imagine. Perhaps if you had seen me back there, you would understand." Sarah explained. "I was a very different person back then. Sometimes I think that I wasn't even a person at all, not until I met your father." She slung her arms around her legs and, unbeknownst to her, looked exactly like her daughter right now. Scared and vulnerable. "There was so much rage, Paula. Both my own and that of others that was infused into me. I didn't really have a sense of what I was. Of who I was. A weapon? A tool? I learned to be what it means to be a woman long after I learned what it means to be an assassin. That left its marks on me. Even today. They say time heals all wounds, but scars still remain. And every time I watch you struggle and fall, I see myself, all that time ago, and how people would punish me. But you know what? Even though you don't have someone who whips you into shape, at the end of the day you still wipe the tears of your eyes, brush the dust off your knees and try again." And then a proud smile appeared on Sarah's face.
"And that's why I know that you will succeed." she concluded. That's when Paula said the one thing that was the ultimate proof that she was indeed her father's child.
"Bullshit."
"Bwhahahahaha!" Sarah burst out in laughter and shook her head. "Oh, how little faith ye have in ye'self. Don't worry. You will get there. Not today. Not tomorrow. And perhaps not the day after that. But if you try and try and try again, you will succeed. And until then I will always be there for you. So will all the others." And then she took a deep breath and decided to use her secret weapon to cheer her child up. "Also, please do me a favor and do not curse when I'm around."
"Why? It's a bit late for that. Uncle Joe already taught me all the naughty words." That much was true.
"Yes, and I hate him dearly for that." Sarah agreed. "You know, I kept that guy's mouth clean for almost 900 years, as long as you were inside of me. A miracle, really. Perhaps my greatest feat of all times. I know that I can't stop others from teaching my children such things, but I'll be damned if I allow this to happen before they can even talk."
"Sounds reasonable, I guess." Paula muttered, obviously not realizing what her mother was trying to tell her.
"Worked out in the end. Your first word was indeed not a cuss-word. So bear that in mind, please. I know it will be tough, but if you want to curse for the next couple of, well, a rather long time, do it far away from me. Or not at all. Consider it a good training." Time to go in for the kill.
"Good training for what?" Oh yes, she was definitely Jim Raynor's daughter...
"For being a big sister of course."
…
…
…
There was a long moment of silence. And after a while Sarah heard how someone started to hastily crawl out of the hole and when Paula emerged, she stared at her mother in disbelief. Paula's face was covered with dirt, yet all Sarah saw were those big brown eyes that were still slightly red, courtesy of all the crying.
"Wh-what?"
"Can you keep a secret?" Sarah cooed and smiled at her daughter.
"A... secret?" Paula asked, still dumbfounded.
"I have told no one yet." her mother explained.
"No one? Not even Dad?" her child asked and she nodded.
"Not even even Izsha?!" That question caused Sarah to laugh.
"Especially not Izsha. I'm afraid what will happen should she find out. Trust me, I was never more scared of her then when I told her that I was pregnant with you." Only then the gravity of what Sarah had just said was actually catching up with Paula.
"I... you...we..." Just when Sarah was about to worry, her daughter jumped forward and slung her arms around her mother's neck. "I'm gonna be a big sister?" Sarah wrapped her arms around her child and nodded.
"Sure seems that way."
"I'm gonna be a big sister!" And then the tears started to flow again, only this time tears of joy. And so Sarah just held her child in her arms and enjoyed the sweet sense of happiness that was Paula's mind right now. And when her daughter had finally calmed down...
"Are you gonna tell the others?"
"Hmm..." Sarah mumbled and pulled a brow up. "...I got a better idea. How about we keep this a secret, at least for now. Just you and me. How does that sound?"
"A secret?" Paula gasped.
"Yep. Just us girls. Not even Izsha will know. Though she will probably skin me alive if she finds out that I kept it from her. Still..." Sarah declared before wiping a golden tear off the cheek of her daughter. "...totally worth it."
"And... Dad?"
"Are you kidding? If I tell him now, then he will stick to me like chewing gum. Naaa, let them do their thing. Besides, we got plenty of time. So, how does this sound? It took 900 years until you were done. Should be more than enough time for you to get in shape. Then you can teach the little ones what it means to be an awesome big sister." And that was an argument that Paula finally won over. She threw her arms around her mother once more and pressed herself against Sarah.
"I promise that I will be the best big sister of all times." she whispered into Sarah's ear.
"This time will be enough, Paula. And I have not the slightest doubt that you will be great." And so she just enjoyed holding her child in her arms while the growing life inside of her started to react. A grin appeared on Sarah's face when she noticed that what was growing inside of her was pleased. And now-
"You hear that?" Paula suddenly mumbled and looked towards the horizon.
"Ah, looks like the cavalry has arrived." Sarah chuckled and got back on her feet. She offered her daughter a helping hand and they were already knocking the dust off their clothes when a certain someone came rushing towards their position.
"Where is she? Where is she?! WHERE IS SHE?!" Jim Raynor yelled like a madman as he raced towards them. When he finally reached them, he didn't even waste a second to greet Sarah but grabbed his daughter and looked her into the eyes. "Paula!"
"Yes, that's me." his daughter confirmed.
"Are you okay? What happened? Karax came by and told me you blew something up by accident. Are you injured?"
"She's fine, Jim." Sarah explained, equally amused and annoyed. "Takes more to crack this cookie. How did you get here so fast anyway? Please don't tell me you used that vulture bike you restored. That thing is a deathtrap!"
"It's a classic, and no I didn't use it." Jim replied. "Karax has warp gates all over this place. Sent me through one of 'em." And then he looked at Paula again. "What happened? Ulnar is dangerous, you know that! What if something happens and we aren't there? Have you-"
"That's quite enough, Mister." Sarah cut him short. "She already got the "worried parent talk" from me, she doesn't need it twice. Don't worry, I got this. How about we all just go home, hmm?" Sarah knew that Jim had his reason to act the way he did. Unlike her, he knew what it felt like to lose a child. And even though it happened ages ago, he still remembered Liddy and Johnny every day.
"Have you cried, little one?" Jim mumbled and wiped some dirt off his daughter's cheek. "Are those bruises? Gosh, Sarah, what is this? Our daughter looks like a damn lurker!" Sarah gritted her teeth when she heard him cursing, yet she decided to not say anything right now. She had told Paula to keep their little secret a, well, secret.
"Then you can take her back home and throw her into the bathtub. Besides, isn't it almost dinner time? You take the little mud-lark and make sure that she isn't traumatized."
"Are you not coming with us?" Paula asked, which earned her a smile from her daughter.
"Don't worry, I'll be right behind you. I just want to check something out first. Off you go, you two."
When they were finally gone, Sarah continued to smile for a while until she was certain that they were too far gone to see or feel her. She then looked at her own hand and frowned.
"When you were my age you could already do all these awesome things." she remembered Paula's words from earlier. It was true. Sarah had been not even thirty years old when she had, well, ascended. And even before she had been immensely powerful. The old Queen of Blades, heck, perhaps even as a Ghost she would have been able to be a threat for Paula. But not because Paula was weak. No, far from it. Paula was just as powerful as her mother. The problem was not power, it was control.
They had decided to never keep secrets from her. She knew about everything, the good and the bad. But it seemed as if telling wasn't the same as seeing things with your own eyes.
"So I guess this is how I thought about it, huh?" Sarah mumbled. She had no idea how they had done it. But she remembered that she had met a certain young woman a long time ago, long before she should have. Honestly? The very idea of traveling through time seemed absurd, even to her. But she knew it was possible. "Guess I should have told Paula to leave me a manual." She had to ask Karax for help. Perhaps he knew a way. A way to help Paula understand. Not by telling but by showing. As Sarah looked around, she could see what once had been Ulnar.
"Well, I guess there are still plenty of pieces that can be put back together..." she mused. "...but not today." And with that she turned around and walked away, towards her home. Towards her family.
Hyperion
Present time...
As Sarah opened her eyes and looked at the endless dark corridor right in front of her, she could sense every detail that was going on inside the wreckage of the Hyperion. She could sense her illustrious spouse, who was beyond embarrassed for some unspecified reason. Sarah didn't pry, but the fact that she also sensed Izsha's gloating joy probably had something to do with it. She could also sense Sirella's confusion, and Professor Allagan's disbelief while Joseph was telling him things that made him feel-
No, let's not check out what Joseph was thinking. Nothing good ever came of that.
And she could sense something else. Something old, ancient even. There was pain, plenty of it. And a strange sense of familiarity.
Stukov...
He was in pain, yes. More so than usual since Sarah could sense the mindless joy of Tesson, who was currently having the time of his life chasing the haunted creature through the insides of the Hyperion. If she would close her eyes and focus on listening to the sounds echoing through the derelict husk that once had been the Hyperion, Sarah could even hear how someone would bang against metal over and over again.
She could even sense the fear and nervousness of all the students and members of Allagan's team who were still waiting back at the camp. Oh, and she could sense a very angry Dan Bowski many miles away.
But, most importantly, she could feel Paula.
She was close, very close. And she was getting closer. Sarah crossed her arms in front of her chest and smiled while sensing her daughter approaching. Paula probably had no idea that her own mother was right ahead. The older Kerrigan noticed how much her spawn was in a hurry. And since she knew her child better than anyone else, she also knew that Paula couldn't concentrate at all when she was running. Still...
...for a moment it felt as if Paula was actually aware of her mother's presence. And that she was shielding something from Sarah's mind. Something old. Something familiar. Something that she hadn't felt in a very long time...
Just before Sarah could focus on that strange sensation, she could hear someone running. And so she straightened herself and waited for her daughter to arrive. And when she did-
"Paula, I-" Sarah started when suddenly a certain young woman stormed around the corner and straight towards her.
"Hey Mum!" Paula yelled, not even slowing down a bit. For a second Sarah wondered if she was about to slam into her, yet then Paula simply curved around her mother and vanished around the next corner.
"Bye Mum!"
Dumbfounded Sarah Kerrigan looked after her child. What had just happened? She blinked a few times. There was something wrong, she just knew it. Just when Paula had run past her, her daughter had carried something in her hands. Something green. Something that was glowing.
...something that once Jim had used, something that she recognized from the descriptions Jim had given her. He even had painted a picture of it once. So even though she had never seen this Protoss artifact with her own two eyes, she knew exactly what it was.
And suddenly Sarah Louise Kerrigan wasn't so calm and controlled anymore.
"PAULA IZSHA KERRIGAN, HAND OVER THIS IHAN CRYSTAL AT ONCE!" the redhead screamed. However, the only answer she received was-
"SORRY, MUM, NO CAN DO!" she heard the voice of her daughter screaming through the darkness. "I GOT PLANS WITH IT!" And that was probably the worst thing she could have said, since now Sarah was actually worried.