Chapter Nine: Invasion

Serena was waiting on the command deck of the Hyperion when Raynor got back from his side mission. He sat down and sighed as the lines of warp space shot out before them.

"How did it go, Jim?" asked Serena.

"We're good," said Raynor. "I've told Artanis what's going on, and he's going to meet us at Char with his main fleet. But uh, don't send any transmissions to Arcturus telling him about it."

"Why not?" asked Serena.

"I think it might be nice to remind him that we've got friends of our own," said Raynor. "Sort of a psychological type thing."

"Well, I doubt he'll be upset about the surprise. We should get to the meeting point soon," said Serena.

At this moment, Matt Horner came up from speaking with the ensigns. "Sir, something I picked up on."

"Hmm?" asked Serena.

"I've been in contact with Dominion scout ships," said Matt. "It turns out a lot of zerg are initiating an exodus to Braxis. They are assembling in force there and building a stronghold. We're talking tens of billions seeping off from Char.

"Apparently, they've been doing it for some time, subtly."

"I can't imagine Kerrigan would want to do that. Especially when she was throwing everything at the Second Overmind," said Serena. "Are they doing anything?"

"No, they just seem to be digging in," said Matt. "We've also detected some of the zerg from the Char system heading there. Even so, it's very infrequent and taking indirect paths.

"It's like...

"Like they're trying to avoid being seen. We only just picked up on it."

"By us?" asked Raynor.

"Maybe, but we've had Braxis under watch ever since Mengsk gave it to Kerrigan," mused Serena. "They must know that, so I think they're hiding it from somebody else."

"There could be some kind of infighting going on," said Matt.

"Well, it ain't got no relevance right now," said Raynor. "That's billions less for us to fight on Char anyhow. Let's focus on the task at hand."

And so they did. The fleet grew over time as contacts, and a number of Kel'Morian mercenaries met them en route. Pretty soon, they had a large force, taken from people all over the sector, except, of course, for Umoja, who remained neutral as always.

Serena wondered if they would send troops to aid the UED?

Shifting in her seat, she stretched her shoulders as they neared the exit point. The move sent her bosom swaying as she stood. And then they were out, looking down on Char.

For Serena, it was her first time.

The blackened, charred planet had oceans and rivers of lava. Instruments showed vast amounts of volcanic activity. And she was not alone, for the Dominion Fleet was waiting for them. And it was twice their present size.

Apparently, Arcturus trusted very few people. Raynor moved forward as a communication came in to greet them. Mengsk sat on his throne, veiled in shadow. "Jim, I'm glad to see you here. I take it you've seen things my way."

"Well, I couldn't exactly let you get the entire fleet killed, could I?" asked Raynor.

"I suppose not," said Raynor. "Interesting fact, we've been analyzing their dataset on Char. Nova has managed to tap into Kerrigan's main database. It seems she's been using terran tech to communicate. What with the failure of standard zerg communications.

"And Kerrigan doesn't have any maintenance crews. So Char Aleph is likely to fall apart if it sustains serious structural damage."

"Learn anything useful from the transmissions?" asked Raynor.

"Well, it seems that Kerrigan cooperated with Zeratul to destroy the Overmind. It was in exchange for returning his Matriarch," said Arcturus. "She then betrayed him and murdered his men when he expected her to pay up. It turned out she'd been broken to Kerrigan's will and had been acting as a mole this entire time.

"Zeratul took the obvious solution and rewarded her as a traitor deserved. This impressed Kerrigan, and she let him go. So we learn from William Mark, who observed the confrontation. Apparently, he and Zeratul struck a rapid enemy mine and encircled Kaloth.

"Not that it did them any good. Though the UED forces are intact, Kaloth avoided destroying them. He killed the ones in his way and those he was ordered to and left the rest."

"Do you think he's having second thoughts?" asked Raynor.

"Well, Kaloth was quite affable with Praetor Fenix," said Arcturus. "Both regarded one another as worthy opponents. Perhaps he is following orders for the sake of the swarm."

"I can relate," said Raynor. "Where's Zeratul."

Arcturus actually laughed at that. "Zeratul's location is unknown. But what is known is that Kerrigan is even less prepared for us than we'd hoped. Her Lieutenant Duran walked out on her, and she has no idea where he is or what he is doing. She didn't even notice his disappearance until he didn't show up."

"Any idea what happened to him?" asked Serena.

"My guess is that he judged his prospects of job security were dwindling and made a break for it," said Arcturus. "We're trying to track him down now.

"But what this means is that Kerrigan is commanding a swarm that has been shattered by a civil war. And one of her chief lieutenants is now gone, while the other is loyal to her at gunpoint. No doubt you received notification of the exodus to Braxis?

"I believe that Kaloth has anticipated Kerrigan will turn on him next. To this end, he is planning to break with her and set up his own swarm.

"This is a perfect opportunity.

"Wipe out her infested terran operation, and all hope for a commander-strain of zerg is dead. Her empire will cease to exist before it even forms." He smiled. "Why don't we see how she's reacting to us."

Another channel was opened, and Serena saw her enemy. Kerrigan remained beautiful in a savage and murderous way. Her chitinous hair had been tamed to go back, and her armor now clung to her curvaceous form as she spoke from a throne. One long leg was crooked over the other.

Why alter herself to look like a supermodel? Who was she trying to impress?

"Cerebrate, our scouts have just identified three separate fleets approaching this platform. With Duran having disappeared and the bulk of my broods still on the surface of Char, you'll need to hold off the invaders by yourself."

Mengsk pressed a button. "You sound worried, Kerrigan. Have I caught you at a bad time?"

Kerrigan didn't flinch and merely smiled. "Not at all, Arcturus. How'd you message to scrape up your new fleet? Been raiding the salvage dumps again?"

Mengsk shrugged. "I called in a few favors. Made a few concessions. You'd be surprised to see how many special interest groups in this sector want to see you dead."

Kerrigan looked on the screen toward Raynor and Serena, and they said nothing. Simply looked at her hard. Serena, personally, had nothing to say. Both of these people had deluded themselves that everything was going as planned. They've won some, lost some, and then convinced themselves their losses were insignificant.

So now both regarded the other as an out of touch has-been about to fade from galactic significance.

Serena was surprised that Raynor said nothing, however. Merely glared at Kerrigan, and for the first time, Kerrigan seemed taken aback. Beneath his gaze, there was a look of pure, righteous hatred. The kind you didn't need words for.

If they were face to face, Raynor would not have gloated. He'd have shot her dead and walked away.

"I'm sorry to have to disappoint your new friends, Arcturus," laughed Kerrigan after a moment. "But you really shouldn't have attempted this stunt. It'll take more than you three little fleets to bring me down."

"Three fleets?" asked Mengsk in surprise, looking to Raynor.

"Don't play dumb, Arcturus. I've already spotted the other two fleets," said Kerrigan.

Artanis then joined the conversation, pale skin bathed in golden light. And he looked furious. "Kerrigan, this is Artanis. My brethren and I have come to avenge the deaths of Fenix. The Matriarch, and all of the other Protoss who fell before the Swarm! It is long past time you paid for your crimes against our people."

Now Kerrigan had a little less confidence and composure. She was facing a level of force which as far as she knew, should not have existed. Here, in the heart of her power, she had assumed that all her enemies were destroyed. It seemed to her as if Mengsk had simply pulled entire fleets out of nowhere. "What it rains, it pours..."

Mengsk laughed again. "The Protoss, too! Care to take a guess as to who the third fleet is?"

"No need to guess," said Kerrigan. "It's DuGalle and the remainder of the UED fleet."

Dugalle made his appearance, appearing for all the world a vision of dignity. Serena had never met him before now. But she thought he was not the terrible dark lord the Dominion had painted him as. If his expression were any less stern, he might have appeared grandfatherly. "That is correct, Kerrigan. This is Admiral DuGalle. I am giving you one last chance to surrender your forces. Submit to the sovereign authority of the United Earth Directorate, and you may be spared."

Kerrigan, however, seemed to laugh off the threat posed to her. Serena guessed that she had decided this was the last gasp. Her enemies had taken everything they had left to throw at her in a final attempt at victory. But Serena knew for a fact that Dugalle still had holdings on Abaddon and several other worlds. And if he were defeated here, many neutral factions would happily offer him shelter.

His officers could act as military advisors and train up new armies of deadly militia.

"Gee, that's a tough one, Admiral," said Kerrigan. "You'll have let me think for a minute... You know, Admiral, I think I'll just massacre your remaining troops now and watch you die in agony. How would that be?"

"You vastly underestimate me, my dear," said Dugalle.

"I don't think so, Admiral," said Kerrigan. "You see, at this point... I'm pretty much the Queen Bitch of the Universe. And not all of your little soldiers or space ships will stand in my way again."

"So be it," said Dugalle.

The channel cut out, and the fleet began moving into an attack position. The Dominion Fleet, apparently, had already decided where it was headed. By providence or luck, Artanis was sending a force to the same place. Char Aleph, where Tassadar had converted him to his side.

"So, good news Jim," said Arcturus. "We'll be getting some extra help from your old friends, the protoss. I take it you knew something about this?"

"I might have thought we'd need insurance," said Raynor. "Where do you want us?"

"Stay in reserve," said Mengsk. "Once we've locked down Char Aleph, you'll move in."

The attack on Char Aleph was hard and fast. The UED descended on it in an onslaught, while the Dominion and Protoss came from other sides. The zerg flyers around it rushed to meet them and were wiped away in onslaughters of missiles. Soon the outer hive clusters were being assaulted. Marines rappeled down while firing as protoss zealots tore through.

Kaloth must have realized the situation there was untenable. He ordered the withdrawal of his forces. The outer hives were abandoned to the flame as the zerg retreated to a central platform. There they turned to repel the coming assault. Waves of infantry from all sides were repulsed, but they drew back. Reavers and tanks were brought up being, only to be ambushed by lurkers who had lain in weight for that event. Their spines tore the siege equipment apart while spore colonies fended off the air.

So it was that the first assault was repulsed, and Kaloth had time to begin prepping his defenses. It seemed that he'd kept a great many zerg beneath the structure, and these he brought up for the offense. At the same time, some strategies seemed to have been devised. The protoss, Dominion, and UED began digging into the foundations of the facility. Though to what end, Serena did not know.

And Serena could do nothing but wait. She thought about what she'd seen of Kerrigan and wondered how to react. "...Is she putting on a bold front?

"Or is she genuinely that out of touch?"

"Hmm?" asked Raynor.

"Kerrigan is not winning here," mused Serena. "She has lost all her holdings on Korhal and Moria, and we've bounced back. So have the protoss. The UED are on their way out, but the UED were an external power.

"The status quo is now exactly the same as what it was before. Perhaps even worse for her since no one will ever trust her again. If she loses here, she faces total oblivion. And if she wins, she has to build back from scratch and win another war later."

"Yes, but she's got Kaloth," noted Horner miserably.

"We already have a plan for beating Kaloth," said Arcturus. "Our forces have hemmed him in completely. Better still, he's forced to hold static defenses, something the zerg are poor at."

"And you think you can take him?" asked Raynor.

"I think I can keep the pressure on long enough to reactive the reactors set up on Char Aleph," said Mengsk. "Once they are running in full, we'll evacuate and blow the place to hell. If we destroy him in the meantime, so much the better.

"Begin your assault at these coordinates. Nova has marked the location of the infested structures."

"Let's go," said Serena.

"...Sir, the UED and protoss are dispatching troops down to the surface as well," said Matt. "No signs of a direct response just yet just scattered mutalisks.

"Nova has sent us an LZ. She cleared it with nuclear fire."

Raynor looked at it. The LZ was on an island surrounded by fire. On either side over cliffs were two large zerg hive clusters. And to the south was a vast wasteland of hive after hive. The protoss and UED were landing at different points as well.

"Matt, I'm impressed. I never took you for aggressive strategies," said Raynor.

"Either we wipe Kerrigan out in a blitzkrieg, or we get wiped out," said Matt. "Taking a few chances could help the odds."

"Fair enough," said Raynor. "Take us down."

As they shot through the atmosphere, they saw hordes of zerg flyers rushing toward them. Their wraith escorts met them in a dogfight as weaponry from the vessels shot them down. Even so, vast numbers of the enemy were determined to stop them from arriving. Even as they clustered, however, UED valkyries came swooping in. The mutalisks were annihilated in great droves by missiles.

Another contingent was obliterated in midair by protoss flyers. Their corsairs then sent nets of energy to shut down zerg spore colonies on the fair shore.

Zealots descended in great numbers, dragoons behind them.

For her part, Serena landed her troops and dispatched forces to secure their flanks. Siege tanks shelled down the sunken colonies as marines fired in great lines. The battlecruisers, normally kept aloft, took care of the others. A rain of plasma burned down all below them on the battlefield.

"Incoming transmission from Artanis," said Matt.

Artanis appeared before them. "Friend Raynor. I have heard of your exploits alongside Fenix. Together let us destroy these abominations and avenge him."

"Sounds good to me," said Raynor. Then he opened a channel. "Mengsk, where is Nova?"

Serena directed further assaults while preparing the dropships to launch further assaults. The UED were descending in the distance on enemy dropships. They were tactically dropping siege tanks onto the cliffs and firing from above. At the same time, goliaths and infantry made a slow advance, supported by medics.

"Nova had other missions to attend to and will not be joining us," said Mengsk. "Her specialty is not mass combat. You'll have to take care of the infestation on your own."

And so the battle continued. Soon, they found several of the infested structures. Serena ordered them burned to a cinder, and they were.

"Well, it looks like company's come to call. Still doing Arcturus' dirty work, Jimmy"? came Kerrigan's voice suddenly in their minds.

"I told you I'd be seeing ya. It's tomorrow, darling," said Raynor. "Let's go, people. The Queen of Blades dies tonight."

"Not tonight," thought Serena. "Tomorrow at best."

They were going to be fighting here a long time if they wanted to win.