Chapter Eleven: Justice
One more evacuation.
Endless swaths of zerg were arriving by the day. Now and then, Raynor or Mark would venture forth to find isolated patrols that fell behind. A gradual fighting retreat had little by little-seen their men withdrawing to the island.
The ships they had were focused above as air support, the Medea and Hyperion leading them. Many of the fleets had been destroyed in the battle, while others had fled upwards with the Dominion. It was only now that they began to comprehend what the war had cost them.
The blood haze had lifted. Serena looked through report after report of casualties. Some companies had been completely wiped out. Others cut in half, and much of her time was spent consolidating those that remained. The UED had it the worst, having been the smallest of the terran attack forces. Their aggressive strategies had seen many lost.
And then there were machines.
Hundreds upon hundreds of machines left broken and derelict. Scavenging teams were dispatched to salvage them for spare parts. And all the while, reports showed the zerg beginning to mass. Mark led several attacks on them, ambushing their forces in passes to delay.
But the delay was all they could do.
And as the zerg landed hive clusters in the lands around, the delay seemed to summarize their victory.
Until at last, Serena Calabas sat in the atrium of her command center. The air conditioning was not good enough to completely blot out the heat. But the trees and leaves were some comforts, given the fiery hellscape before them.
"Commander, as you ordered, we have relocated our strike force to this island," said Matt. He was looking over data on a pad. "Our position is strong enough to resist any attack by the zerg. For a while, at least."
"The good news is we won't have a lot of ammo shortages," said Raynor. "The UED had a lot of empty facilities we've been able to fill up. And we've been able to salvage a lot of the stuff from the bodies of our men.
"At the rate, we're producing, we won't run out for a while."
"Thank you," said Serena, looking at her watch. She felt like someone with an appointment, one she had to continually delay. Her life had been an exercise in getting sidetracked on the way to that appointment.
Was it the death she was waiting for? "My scans of the space around are Char complete. Kerrigan's broods have defeated the coalition. What remains of the three fleets are fleeing to what strong points they still have. It is likely that at least one of them will be overtaken and destroyed."
"Then we're all alone down here," said Raynor.
"We are not alone yet," said Mark. "If I am correct, the protoss and Dominion will have left ships to observe matters. No doubt, they will want to know how events are unfolding.
"I doubt any help will come from either of them. But the world is watching, and we are obligated to play our role in our epilogue."
Serena remembered the infested command center she and Raynor had destroyed. The visions of twisted humans, still holding on to the remnant of who they were. Slowly being consumed and begging for death. But Kerrigan...
She had accepted the infestation willingly, hadn't she? She hadn't fought against it or had ceased to fight it after a point. Whatever her justifications on Korhal, she clearly loved being what she was.
"What now?" asked Matt.
"Now, now we did well," said Mark.
Serena had to take action. "Belay that order, Captain Mark. We are not dead yet, we are well-armed, and we are experienced warriors in a defensible position. Until such a time as the universe ends. We are going to operate on the assumption that it can be saved."
"Serena is right," said Raynor. "No point in assuming everything ends in utter darkness before it happens. We oughtta keep trying to light a candle in the dark."
"I was not suggesting we give up the fight," said Mark. "Merely that the best we can reasonably hope for is to make our last stand as costly for the zerg as possible.
"We can expect no relief from any faction by this stage. The protoss have left us and are in no position to reinforce us. Admiral Dugalle is withdrawing from the sector. Mengsk is our only source of military relief."
"Just like old times," said Raynor bitterly. "Except now, Mengsk doesn't have a use for us."
"Mengsk has decayed," said Serena. "He is not the great man who led us to victory over the Confederacy. Not anymore. Mark is more or less correct in his assessment. I think Arcturus will leave us to die."
"What about the others?" asked Matt. "Maybe Artanis or Dugalle will pull something off. Or maybe Kerrigan will face other problems, like, Duran coming after her with an army of his zerg."
"Isn't this all theoretical?" asked Serena. "Even if the situation changes up there, that is beyond our ability to effect."
"But we are affecting it," said Matt. "Our presence here is tying up a significant portion of Kerrigan's broods. Once she starts attacking us, the longer we hold, the more losses she sustains. If we're overrun in a day, she'll be able to immediately start consolidating her holdings.
"If we're overrun in three weeks, that's three weeks Mengsk, Artanis, and Dugalle can use to prepare. Or perhaps even weaken her holdings in the sector."
"We are limiting her ability to project power, then," said Mark, nodding with approval. "Then perhaps we can die better than I expected."
Serena supposed there was no point in arguing with him. Mark seemed to be styling himself off some nordic hero, like Siegfried. One who died slaying some terrible beast and had his body burned in a funeral pyre. "Our priority, therefore, is delaying tactics. We will defend this island for as long as possible and conserve our resources. That will cause a disruption to Kerrigan's plans."
"Not good enough," said Mark.
"I'm sorry?" asked Serena. "What?"
"If we are indeed disrupting Kerrigan's plans, then others may do the same," said Mark. "We are not the only heroes of whom future myth shall speak of. Others have been fighting the zerg before you and will after all of us are dead.
"And some are likely fighting even now. At some point, the enemy may be distracted and have their attention drawn away. In such a situation, we must be prepared to launch an offensive."
"You're joking," said Raynor.
"Mark's right," said Matt. "If we do run into some kind of major weakness, might as well exploit it. I mean, we're not gonna be able to purge all the zerg on Char. But it could be enough to make Kerrigan paranoid about us."
"Which in turn could cause her to make mistakes in other places," said Serena, reflecting that Matt had grown up a bit. "Yes, this seems as good a plan as can be made. Very well then, we'll ready our troops as much as possible and prepare to receive the enemy."
Serena remembered Emily Swallow.
A major leader of Alpha Squadron, she'd distinguished herself with numerous stunning victories. Now, however, she was dead. Killed in one of the innumerable battles in a war that had grown far beyond its opening shots.
Was her fate to be Serena's?
What would future generations look back on when they looked to this era of blood? Would it be a triumph of human will over impossible odds? Or the utter failure of a brutal and degenerate generation, unworthy of victory?
Time would tell.
At that moment, a message came in. "Commander, I'm picking up a large amount of activity from the hive clusters. It seems that Kerrigan is focusing all her broods on us. There are more out there than we've ever detected before."
"We'll be right there," said Serena.
The group went as quickly as they could to the command deck. There they looked over reports and files and saw the zerg. A pillar of molten fire exploded over the lake of lava as the enemy began to muster. They filled the skies like a horde of giant locusts. Their ground creatures covered every inch of ground.
"...This will be the end of the Koprolu Sector as we know it," noted Mark.
"Receiving incoming transmission..." said Matt.
And on the screen, Kerrigan appeared again, looking more arrogant than ever. Her smile was a cruel one as she looked at them. Bloody skulls were around her throne, remnants of whoever she had stolen this from. "Congratulations are in order, Commander. You've set me back a lot. It's going to take me months to fix the damage you did to my experiments. And Arcturus is going to use those months.
"But let's look at the situation, shall we?
"The mighty protoss are running for their lives. The UED is in full retreat. And Mengsk is flying back home to see if he can find a way to spin this.
"Funny how he didn't send you any evac.
"You're on your own, boys and girls."
"Come and try to take us then, bitch. We'll end you before we burn out," said Raynor.
Kerrigan laughed. "You've spent too much time around the protoss, Jim. I just smashed the three most powerful fleets in the sector. No one is coming to help you.
"It doesn't matter how hard you fight. You'll both be mine in the end." And the channel cut out.
"Lock and load boys. We've got a welcoming committee to plan," said Raynor over the com. "Remember that with the fleet having moved on the good old Hyperion. That and a few other ships are the only battlecruiser support we've got. Stay sharp and keep an eye on the sky."
And he and Mark headed out to take command. Serena meanwhile, sat as the main commander. By unspoken consent, she'd taken the place of Dugalle. Mark seemed to view himself as the junior partner, and Raynor deferred to her. Meanwhile, Matt deferred to Raynor.
Mark made his own speech:
"The last die has been cast! Defeat is inevitable! The zerg are triumphant and opposed now only by monsters of equal wickedness! All our valor is in vain, and the enemy of all who lives comes upon us!
"This is our final act! Let us make an end of ourselves worthy of remembrance and counter this evil one final time!
"The valkyries ride above us, and the Directorate waits for our casualty reports! Let us keep them waiting!"
Cheers came from his men as soldiers rushed to the defenses. It seemed to rouse the UED soldiers, w
There was only a little time left, but Serena could sense despair. Misery and helplessness had taken hold of many men. Many of them had not been in battle before Char. Their baptism of fire had taken its hold, and Raynor's easy confidence had not been enough. He seemed detached to them, to be operating on another world.
They weren't like the veterans.
So, Serena decided one more speech should be enough. "Men of the Dominion.
"Our situation has not improved.
"At present, we have lost contact with the Dominion Fleet. It is possible that communications were cut. Or the decision may have been made that our position was unsalvageable. In a worst-case scenario, the Emperor is dead and the fleet destroyed.
"It is at this point irrelevant. What matters is that we are alone.
"The combined power of the swarm descends on us, and we have nothing beyond our forces on this island. All of us are tired. We have already fought an extensive campaign and won many victories, and yet we are pressed even now. If we are overrun, every single one of us will die, or worse, be infested. If we emerge victoriously, it will only to be tested harder the next day." So, what did Serena say?
Did she say there was vital need for a victory? They already knew that. Did she tell them to die well? That wouldn't help? Could she assure them help was on the way? It wasn't, and Serena was not a liar. What positive spin could she put on this to get them to go beyond what was happening now?
"...I have nothing to offer you but blood, sweat, and agony," said Serena finally. "We have ahead of us a future of war, conflict, and death. It is to be waged without hope of escape or triumph. The UED, the Dominion, and the Protoss have been repelled and will not be able to help us. We have analyzed our transportation abilities.
"However, evacuation by our own hand is impossible without abandoning our forces. And that we will not do. We stand or fall together in this godforsaken wasteland.
"So, we will fight on. One more hopeless battle is nothing new." And then she remembered a Buddhist story she'd heard once. "Our mission objectives are simple:
"We will survive for thirty minutes.
"Once that is done, I will give you more instructions. Man your posts."
It got the job done.
The men took heart and prepared for battle. A few even laughed at the memory of Mar Sara, and Serena thought it was odd. For there to be still men in this army who remembered those grueling hours. A sane man should have given up after all that had happened, but they weren't really sane.
Who would be sane after the horrors they had seen.
The battle began, and it fell hard. Immense waves of zerg came to their island with everything they had. They were in numbers beyond reckoning, and they broke on Serena's defenses like water on a rock. The terrans had spent much of their time in hopeless holdouts. Now, many of their greatest soldiers were here. They were well-armed, supported by the terrain, and they had absolutely nothing to lose.
In vast tides, the enemy came against them, and Serena felt the will of her army bolstered. Hatred had given way to the grim certainty they must hold the line, if only for thirty minutes. Explosions of blood filled the sky. Wraiths and valkyries launched their payloads, targetting overlords. Scourges attempted to go after the battlecruisers, but these too were gunned down.
On all sides, humanity raced a rising tide of demons as they stood in the depths of hell. And the demons were repelled by their power. Serena felt the will of the Swarm on them, slowly feeling the confidence wane in surprise. Kerrigan had no doubt expected an easy victory, but she was denied that. Now she knew she would have to work for her victory.
A contrast to Serena, who had nothing to do. Nothing but scan the surroundings and wait for something to commit the reserves to. Mark and she had already arranged for men on the front lines to work in shifts.
"Ma'am, thirty minutes are up. What are your orders?" said a man, sounding exhausted.
So they were.
Serena was stalling them. No, not them; she was stalling their despair. "Tell the men that they only need to hold for another thirty minutes."
"Yes, ma'am," said the man.
The assault continued in a neverending wave with no rest or respite. Fatigued squads swapped out with men in the reserves. Missile turrets launched, even as trucks moved in to resupply. Ammunition was shipped in, and vessels descended to rearm. At the same time, guardians were shot from the sky by missiles.
Many tactics were employed by the zerg, all the tactics they could employ. But the terrans had the advantage, and they held the line. Well-practiced, the terrans responded as they had been trained to different situations. But Kerrigan...
Kerrigan was alone.
She had no one to give orders save herself. And so she could only give general directions to her minions, then micromanage a small group. The zerg had perfect coordination but no ability to think for themselves. When a terran faced the kind of problems the zerg faced, they'd look for an alternative strategy.
But the zerg obeyed their god. They threw themselves without fear or hesitation into the mouth of death. Now and then, they even made landfall, only to be shelled into oblivion by siege tanks. SCV's rushed in to repair, guarded by goliaths.
"Ma'am," said another man. "We've held another thirty minutes. What are your orders?"
"Excellent work," said Serena. "I need another thirty minutes from all of you."
"Yes, ma'am," said the man.
And so it continued.
The corpses of the zerg descended into the Lake of Fire like the book of Revelation. The troops of the Dominion, of Raynor's Raiders of the UED, held their ground. Every attempt to land by air was destroyed. There were casualties, of course, but the island had been overcrowded to begin with. So it was no strain on their defenses, and the enemy was consumed in vast numbers.
Thousands upon thousands died with each passing minute.
"Ma'am!" said a soldier on an open channel. "We've held another thirty minutes! Orders, please!"
"Just another minutes," said Serena, checking her watch.
"Screw your thirty minutes!" said the man. "I've watched my brother die down here for your war! My commanding officer got shredded by mutalisk scores!
"If we're all doomed, just say it!"
"We're not anymore doomed than we were before," said Serena. "All of us would have died eventually. Most of us would have died in battle or lived with the scars.
"Whether help is coming or not doesn't really matter either.
"Kerrigan wants us all dead. We have survived for thirty minutes and so have won. We won again when we survived another thirty minutes. And then we won a third time when we survived.
"By now, we have survived for an hour and a half in hell. And the devil wants us out.
"If I'd told you to survive for an hour, or a day, or a week, you might have given into despair. You might have rightfully said, 'that's impossible' and given up. So I told you to fight for thirty minutes, and you did three times.
"Every thirty minutes we have fought, we destroyed enough zerg to overrun a colony. So we have saved three colonies. I ask now that you save three more.
"Survive for an hour and thirty minutes."
Silence.
"Yes, ma'am!" said a soldier.
"For the Dominion!" said another.
"For Mar Sara!" said a third.
"For Korhal!"
"For Fenix! For Duke!"
An hour and thirty minutes passed, and Serena told the men to do it again. So it was that the day passed. They walked one milestone after another, and the enemy attacked over and over again. Alone on the planet of Char, humanity stood its ground.
The zerg changed tactics. To the east, Serena observed before her vast numbers of zerg moving dirt. They were pouring it down onto the lake of fire, little by little, forming a ramp. But even as they did so, Mark maneuvered siege tanks to fire on them. Soon a full-blown barrage began, as droves of zerg were obliterated carrying dirt. Even so, it made it more difficult to respond to zerg landings.
The pressure had mounted. By now, six hours had passed, and no sign of a slowing in numbers had come. How many zerg were on Char? And how many were being drawn from other worlds to attack them here? How was this changing the designs of the wicked creatures that held power in this universe?
Serena could not imagine it was helping either.
And then she felt her presence in her mind and in the minds of the men. She radiated around them. "So you've destroyed my vanguard,
"So what? Do you think you'll be able to hold out against the Swarm? We are legion, and all your pitiful stand is doing is given me a hobby to work on in my spare time."
And Serena realized it was her who would answer. Raynor was occupied and had little to say he had not already. "Probably not, no.
"I suppose I could destroy quite a few, but something will go wrong, or you'll get reinforcements. Maybe Kaloth will get back.
"It really seems like this is it for us."
The Queen of Blades seemed surprised by this response. The open admission had taken her off-guard, and she seemed to analyze it. "...So you're giving up?"
"Absolutely not," said Serena, watching the fireworks. "I will never surrender to you; none of us will. Every soldier here will die fighting before you take any of us. Although I suppose it's possible, you'll take some of us prisoner and torture us to death for our defiance. But, if what you did to Zeratul is any indication, you might do that even if we surrender.
"I guess you might infest some of us after the battle is over. Replace some of your losses.
"But, that was one of the risks I accepted when I went on this mission. I wasn't expecting to come back."
"So you're feeding yourself to my broods so you can be a martyr for Arcturus?" asked Kerrigan with obvious scorn. "How noble." Did she have any emotions besides smugness, scorn, and rage? It did not seem so.
"No, not really," admitted Serena, wishing she had more to do to influence this battle. She would have loved to take her place in the bunkers. But on the off chance she needed to do some commanding, she had to be here. "I'm not overly fond of Arcturus any more than I am of you. At the moment, he's the lesser evil, but I'm certain he can find a way to change that. I came here on a mission of mercy, to destroy the infested terrans and to destroy evil."
"Evil?" laughed Kerrigan. "You're talking as if we're in a fantasy world. Who are you to call me evil? After all you've done?"
"Well, how would you refer to your actions?" asked Serena, surprised Kerrigan thought she held the moral high ground. "Cruel? Unnecessary? Destructive? I'm open to alternative suggestions."
"Justice," said Kerrigan.
Serena laughed at that and realized it had been a long time since she'd felt happy. One misery after another had always kept her occupied. But then, she'd not been very happy as a breeding mare for the Old Families either.
Perhaps she would indulge Kerrigan. "Oh really?
"Was it justice when the zerg slaughtered innocent men, women, and children. All so you could settle a personal vendetta with Mengsk? Was it justice when you tortured numerous miners into insanity? All so you could create a new strain of commander zerg. Was it justice when you betrayed Praetor Fenix? There was a man whose only crime was being proven right about your intentions? Or justice when you killed Duke in a surprise attack without defiance sent?
"Or was it was justice when you destroyed an entire city to kidnap one person who might have come willingly? Or when you blackmailed people, you had already betrayed into serving you. Only to then renege on your side of the bargain and slaughter most of them when they took her back and tried to flee.
"Which one of these things was justice? And why?"
"Shut up!" said Kerrigan. "You're hands aren't clean either! You could have stopped Arcturus from using the Psi Emitters on Antiga Prime, but you went through with it! That planet trusted you to save them, and you dragged the swarm onto them!
"You even took the credit for coming in and evacuating them from a problem you created! And you were fine with invading your own homeworld of Tarsonis! You knew that an invasion would cause mass destruction! Just because the zerg did the dirty work doesn't mean you aren't responsible!
"How many zerg have you killed, Calabas! How many cerebrates have you helped murder in your career! Why is it pure evil for me to mind rape one Matriarch? When the UED did it to the God of the entire Swarm, all of you applauded!"
Ah, so it was the hill of nationalism that Kerrigan had chosen to die on. "You are broadly correct.
"My hands are far from clean. I suppose I could make excuses for myself and say it was necessary, but not all of it was. Perhaps I could have stopped Arcturus and saved us all a lot of misery. We'll never know now.
"But haven't you killed a great many cerebrates, Kerrigan? And weren't you the one who tried to murder the Second Overmind? Who are you to pass judgment on us for actions you yourself have taken."
"I don't need to justify myself to you! You've killed billions of zerg!" said Kerrigan. "We're all killers in the end."
"How does that justify our actions?" asked Serena, curious.
"It doesn't need to," said Kerrigan. "I'm at peace with what I am."
Serena considered that response. It sounded like a mask, something Kerrigan told herself so she could sleep at night. But calling her bluff would do no good here; Kerrigan would only mock her and skin a puppy alive or something.
"Good," said Serena with a sigh.
"...What?" said Kerrigan.
"I'm pleased that some good has come out of this disastrous chain of events," said Serena. "If you are genuinely happy as a result of your actions, I am happy for you. Perhaps you don't deserve it, but none of us do.
"If the things you have done have brought you genuine joy, I don't begrudge you it."
"What are you babbling about?!" said Kerrigan. "Do you know how many lives I've ended? How many worlds I've destroyed?
"If you think you'll be able to appease me, you're mistaken."
"I'm not trying to appease you," said Serena. "Nothing has changed. My men and I will fight to the bitter end, and we will kill you if we can. Not for the sake of hatred, but for the sake of those who you would make your victims.
"As for lives, as of the beginning of the Great War, approximately eight billion people. Protoss and terrans, of course. We have no practical way of counting the numbers of zerg.
"I know only such a small fraction of them.
"Emily Swallow, Idlen, Osimov, Stukov, Duke and Fenix. Those names and many others are engraved onto my heart. I wish I could know them all, every man who sacrificed their lives in these wars I have fought. How dare I not know the names of those who died for the Confederacy. For the Sons of Korhal and the Dominion? How could I forget the unending waves of zealots who marched without fear into death? For the Conclave, for Tassadar, for Aiur, for the Nerazim.
"Each and every one of them gave their lives for the sake of something greater than themselves.
"But try to understand this; Their deaths were not in vain."
"I'm not interested in your insignificant death tolls," said Kerrigan. "You're all interchangeable to the swarm, just a more intelligent strain of apes who need to be put down.
"You can make all the pretty speeches you want, but in the end, I don't care."
Serena supposed this conversation was a waste of time. She'd known it would be dangerous coming down here to Char and probably useless. But it had to be done. "No, I suppose you don't.
"It doesn't matter. I've already forgiven you."
The statement came out of her lips before Serena could stop it, and she realized she meant it. No doubt Kerrigan sensed it as well because for a moment, the zerg recoiled and slowed their attack. Her thoughts seemed to swirl in confusion, turning in on herself. For the first time, she saw herself.
Serena sensed her thoughts now, or the shadow of them. Kerrigan found herself looking on in doubt at all she'd done. Her excuses were failing her from what Serena had said, and all she could muster was calling it a psionic attack. But Serena hadn't said it as an attack or an attempt to assert dominance.
It was a statement of fact.
"YOU FORGIVE ME?!" roared Kerrigan, and Serena realized everyone had heard their psychic conversation. "YOU DARE?!
"I AM THE QUEEN OF BLADES! YOU ARE NOTHING TO ME! YOU AND ALL YOUR RACE ARE NO MORE THAN ANTS! BENEATH MY GAZE, ALL OF YOU ARE BUT ASHES IN THE WIND!"
Kerrigan pushed her slaves to attack with rage and ruthlessness that defied all words. They rushed faster, moved dirt faster, heeded their enemy's attacks even less. When one slowed down, the others cut them apart to get past.
"Well, I don't agree, but I respect your opinion," said Serena.
"FOOL! INSECT! MY POWER IS BEYOND YOUR COMPREHENSION!" said Kerrigan. "MY NAME WAS WRITTEN IN THE FUTURE BEFORE YOUR WORTHLESS RACE WAS CONCEIVED UP BY ACCIDENT!
"I AM KERRIGAN! ALL OF PROTOSS AN TERRAN HISTORY IS BUT THE PROLOGUE TO MY ASCENSION TO DIVINITY! THE LIKES OF YOU ARE NO MORE THAN FACELESS OBSERVERS! YOU HAVE NO CHOICE IN THE FUTURE, NO PLACE, IN REALITY, SAVE TO CLEAR THE WAY FOR MY GLORY!"
"Raynor, relocate the reserves to the northern section," said Serena. She had noticed that part was having trouble. "Matt, get me a contingent of wraiths to intercept those overlords."
"YOU ARE MEANINGLESS MAGISTRATE!" roared the Queen of Blades. "YOU WILL BE WRITTEN OUT OF HISTORY BECAUSE YOUR EXISTENCE IS AN INCONVENIENCE TO MY STORY! A USELESS LOOSE END THAT ONLY DETRACTS FROM ME! JUST AS FENIX AND DUKE BEFORE YOU, YOU WILL BE FORGOTTEN FOR INTERFERING WITH MY DESIGNS!
"I AM A GODDESS! STRONG AND INDEPENDENT OF ALL! NO ONE MATCHES MY POWER! NO ONE IS FIT TO STAND IN MY PRESENCE SAVE WHEN I DEIGN YOU!
"I AM THE SWARM! VENGEANCE WILL BE MINE!"
It was about this point that Serena realized the zerg were less effective now. They were getting in one another's way, were less coordinated, and even less careful. Mutalisks before had tried to make evasive menuevers, but now they were so packed they were easy prey.
Serena tried to focus. "You already got it. Twice now, actually.
"How many times do we have to come down here before you've enough revenge?"
"YOU THINK YOU STAND BEFORE ME IN DEFIANCE AS A HERO, COMMANDER!" roared Kerrigan. "BUT YOU ARE NOTHING! I AM THE ONLY THING STANDING BETWEEN YOUR PATHETIC DOMINION AND TOTAL OBLIVION!"
Of course, the zerg were less effective in a state of rage!
A terran who went into a rage became focused and less concerned about injury. That could be useful if channeled properly. But zerg had been engineered from birth to be the ultimate killing machine. They were at their best when they were just serving the hive. So getting angry gave them all the drawbacks and none of the benefits.
Kerrigan's tantrum was only weakening their ability to organize.
"That doesn't sound particularly credible," said Serena.
"I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN FACE THEM!" said Kerrigan. "I WILL DO SO HAVING RENOUNCED EVERYTHING! MY HUMANITY! MY IDENTITY! THE MAN I LOVE!
"BUT I DO NOT FACE THIS ENEMY ALONE! I AM THE SWARM!"
"In that case, those things can't have been particularly important to you," noted Serena. "Also, how many billions of innocent people need to die for blood rites to keep them safe? That is why you carved a bloody swath across the sector, right? It wasn't just because you enjoy hurting people?"
"INSOLENT BITCH!" said Kerrigan. "YOU AND ALL YOUR KIND WILL SUFFER IN AGONY FOR YEARS! EONS! THE TORMENTS I WILL SUBJECT YOU TOO WILL STEAL AWAY YOUR VERY IDENTITY! YOUR FLESH WILL BE TORMENTED AND BROKEN UNTIL YOU ARE BUT A TWISTED MOCKERY OF YOURSELF! MINDLESS SERPENT SINGING MY PRAISES WITHOUT QUESTION OR INDEPENDENT THOUGHT!"
"You're not helping your case," said Serena before looking to Matt. Was it just her, or were the sheer numbers of zerg beginning to run out. "Matt, get me a scanner sweep on the double. What is the status on the zerg broods?"
"I'm scanning now," said Matt. "Commander, it looks like the Swarm is undergoing a complete breakdown of organization. Whole columns of zerg are just wandering off. Swarms of mutalisks have diverted course to nowhere. And the ones that are still attacking are sloppy in their execution.
"Just like when Zeratul killed the cerebrates on Aiur."
"YOU WILL PLEAD FOR THE EMBRACE OF OBLIVION WHEN I AM DONE WITH YOU, CALABAS!" said Kerrigan. "YOUR MEANINGLESS EXISTENCE CAN'T HOPE TO STOP THE DARKNESS THAT IS COMING FOR YOU! ONLY I CAN! I AM CHOSEN! SPECIAL ABOVE ALL OTHERS, THE ONLY HUMAN BEING WHO HAS EVER MATTERED! THE LIKES OF YOU ARE HARDLY FIT TO COWER AT MY FEET!
"BECAUSE I AM MIGHTY, AND YOU ARE NOT!"
Serena halted and realized the enemy's numbers had run short. Many of the overlords had been destroyed, and they weren't being replaced. Then she realized that the neverending tides of zerg would have taken logistics. Kerrigan would have had to make sure every part of the chain arrived on time. That was why there was a delay.
Now that the chain had been disrupted, the entire army was falling to pieces. Instead of an endless tide, newly arrived creatures attacked with insufficient forces. Needless to say, they were destroyed. Others waited in vain for overlords who simply hadn't shown up.
"Captain Mark, start preparing for a possible attack," said Serena.
"What? Are you nuts?" asked Raynor over the com.
"No, I am simply responding to changing circumstances," said Serena. "If we launch an attack now, we could throw the zerg into even further disarray. That may give us the opportunity we need to escape. Failing that, we may relocate or deal them a bloody nose."
"I believe it is possible," said Mark. "Though I had anticipated dying on the defense, this is much preferable."
"YOU WILL DIE BY MY HAND!" said Kerrigan, who seemed to be in frothing fury. Serena wasn't even sure Kerrigan was talking to her anymore. It was more like she was focusing on a universe that didn't revolve around Kerrigan.
"Mark," said Serena. "Can you trace her psionic signal? Find where she is."
"I shall do so," said Mark.
At this moment, Matt approached. "Ma'am, they seem to have committed their reserves. The hives are empty, and the planned reinforcements are no shows. I don't think she'll be able to call in anyone for a while."
Serena realized this was the moment they had been delaying for. The opportunity to win this war, once and for all. "...All soldiers, stand by to board dropships. We'll be using invasion plan C.
"Mark, you'll lead assault group A, Raynor, you're in charge of B. Take out the hives and break them.
"Once we've done that, we'll move on to the others.
"Move fast, people; we've got a limited opportunity here. Mark, tell me you know where Kerrigan is."
"Nearby," said Mark. "On a cliff face north of our position, watching the battle."
Serena smiled. "Then let's see if we can gain a victory worth having. By God, we have her!"
The attack was a hard one to set up, but it was quick. They had to leave much of their force behind in the defenses. Not just to keep a garrison but also because they were too exhausted to fight. Even so, the prospect of victory, real, final, victory, gave men the energy they needed.
Serena watched from the bridge of the Medea as Yamato cannons blew up the spore colonies. From there, the dropships landed, and the zerg were swept away. They responded, but they were sluggish. As though exhausted themselves, and Serena felt the will of the Queen of Blades turn to fear.
And that fear was felt by the zerg.
As the hives were overrun and burned, Serena watched as a small-looking figure jumped onto an overlord. The Queen of Blades ran from them, and as she did, her swarms broke and fled as well. Soon it a complete route, and they were moving fast.
But Raynor did not feel they were advancing fast enough. Rushing over spore colonies, it fired upon the fleeing overlords. One by one, they were eradicated and fell to the ground as the last defense was beaten down. The hives that had been landed here to hem them in were in ashes. And the Queen of Blades had been shot down, landing near a great cliff overlooking the lake of fire.
"Commander, I'm detecting life forms down there. She's alive," said Matt from the Hyperion.
"Descend and hem her in," said Serena. "Scan for any sign of the enemy but don't get careless. Don't let her escape."
The search began, and Serena felt a real sense of suspense. So long as all was hopeless, she'd been perfectly calm. But now, there was finally a chance to win, truly win. And she feared letting it slip away.
Fortunately, her men feared just as much and were meticulous. A science vessel scanned constantly.
"What do you think all that was about a prophecy?" asked Raynor.
"What do you think all Mengsk's speeches are?" asked Serena. "The more horrific the acts a tyrant commits, the greater the demon they need to justify them."
But in the end, the search was anticlimactic in conclusion.
Kerrigan was found hiding in a ditch, severely wounded and trying to escape prying eyes. Her attempts at a last stand were quite easily halted when she saw the dozens of siege tanks aiming at her. She'd run, and in the end, come to the edge of the Lake of Fire. Now, Serena, Mark, and Raynor moved forward toward the Queen of Blades.
In the end, Kerrigan had gone the way of all tyrants.
She was facing a firing squad of those she had brutalized and tormented for her own purposes. Whatever sincere intentions she once had were twisted into a mere pretense for atrocity. Now her armies had left her or been destroyed. All the world cursed her name. And whatever destiny she'd deluded was hers by right unraveled before her.
Serena wasn't sure why, but it made her sad. She wondered what Kerrigan might have been if she had betrayed her allies.
"So what's this, Mark?!" scoffed Kerrigan at the upraised guns. "Several thousand infantry standing by to take down one woman? What courageous and honorable people you are!
"Come and face me in combat if you aren't too spineless to do so without an army."
Mark seemed to take this personally. He put a hand and grasped his sword. "Certainly-"
But Raynor caught his hand. "Mark, no. Don't do it. She's not worth it."
"Jim..." began Kerrigan, looking almost vulnerable.
"Kerrigan, if you'd made that challenge a few months ago, nobody would have denied it to you," said Raynor. "A lot has happened since then. You've murdered Fenix and Duke in cold blood, under the banner of truce.
"Then you betrayed Zeratul and killed his men out of pure sadism. And that's to say nothing of your brutality and lack of mercy.
"You don't have any authority here. You don't have anything to bargain with. And you have no right to challenge anyone to an honorable ceremony."
Mark considered that. "...Well-spoken, I may have misjudged you."
"Well, I hung out a lot with the protoss. You don't give them enough credit," said Raynor.
"So, what? You're just going to gun me down and act self-righteous?!" said Kerrigan. "You're not better than me! How many tens of billions of zerg have the protoss and terrans killed? How much honor did you afford the cerebrates you slaughtered for fun? You've no right to judge me!"
Hadn't they just been here before? "How do you measure up to your own standards, Kerrigan?" asked Serena. "The Second Overmind was the legitimate successor to the First. And by all accounts, the cerebrates all favored him over you. You helped us destroy them, so the zerg would have no choice but to look to you for leadership. Then you betrayed the people who helped you get this far and murdered them.
"At the very best, you're the zerg version of Arcturus Mengsk."
"Enough of this. The battle here is not yet won," said Mark, as a wave of fire rose into the air. "We have much work to do, even after this victory. Do we execute her or take her prisoner? We must decide quickly."
"You need me," said Kerrigan quickly. "Maybe you've won here, but it's Arcturus who has really won." Her voice began to take on her confidence. "Your precious UED is wrecked, and you'll never get back control of the zerg. With my broods, you might-"
"Shut up, Kerrigan. No one has any interest in anything you have to say right now," said Raynor. "The only reason you're still alive is that you were right about all of us being killers. And, frankly, I'm kind of sick of this neverending grudge match which the sector has turned into. If you say anything else, we're going to kill you immediately.
"Got it?" Kerrigan fell silent. "Alright, do we have any moral or pragmatic reason to keep her alive?"
"Well, morally, everyone deserves a second chance," said Serena sadly. "But Kerrigan has already had that and then some. She betrayed Zeratul at Shakuras, betrayed Duke and Fenix. Then she betrayed Zeratul again just to kick the dog. Still, I find it likely that she'll work with us if we spare her until she regains her power anyway.
"Then she'll go rogue and start killing people again. Maybe, if she was grateful, she'd kill people we wanted dead. But I really don't see her becoming a better person, and if we let her go, she could cause immense misery.
"Even if she were never able to rebuild her former power, she could do something like genocide Mar Sara out of spite. It'd be an easy way to get back at us without attracting a lot of heat from the Dominion.
"I'd say we're well within our rights to kill her.
"Especially since taking her as an ally at this point would alienate Artanis and Zeratul. And also give Mengsk the proof he needs to demonize us for good."
"We..." Raynor seemed to consider it, then looked to Kerrigan. "We might be able to talk Artanis and Zeratul into... tolerating her. I mean, protoss are generally better people than us."
"No, we won't, Raynor," said Serena sadly. "You were friends with Fenix for a year or two, and you vowed revenge. Only the possibility of becoming like Mengsk caused you to have this conversation. Artanis was friends with Fenix for centuries.
"We can't even conceive of the loss Artanis has suffered. The entire protoss race has all but sworn revenge. And they take oaths much more seriously than we do.
"If Kerrigan were repentant, and the entire universe relied on her, Artanis would stay his hand. And he might be convinced not to go to war with us. But if we take this particular snake into our midst, I doubt we'll be able to count on his goodwill."
"There is a possible alternative to both," said Mark thoughtfully.
"Yes?" asked Serena, interested.
"We complete the UED's mission," said Mark. "Certainly, neither of you can count on Arcturus Mengsk to take your part. He will almost certainly seek to have you killed after this. The Aleksander is equipped with devices specifically designed to contain powerful psychics like her.
"We tamed the Second Overmind, and Kerrigan is inferior in power to it. With a new means of controlling the zerg, we could reestablish order.
"With proper drugs-"
"We are not brainwashing anyone," said Raynor. "My son died in the Confederate Ghost program, Mark. Kerrigan was turned into what she was largely by them. I'm not having anything to do with that kind of containment. No one deserves that.
"Brainpanning is wrong and always will be."
"Besides, Dugalle might be dead," noted Serena. "Kaloth hasn't been here for this showdown, so it stands to reason he got sent after the fleet. By now, you might be all that is left of the UED Expeditionary Force."
Mark looked down, seeming sad. No one had thought about the world outside much during the apocalyptic conflict.
"Also, I don't like the idea of using the zerg as a weapon," said Raynor. "Ever.
"We did it once, and it was the worst mistake we ever made. We deserved that betrayal. What are we going to do? 'Liberate' Korhal a second time using swarms of zerg, while my Raiders help infest a terran city? Look the other way while Kerrigan orders a genocide here or there just in case?
"Maybe we could slaughter an entire protoss colony cause 'we're all killers in the end.'
"Where the hell does it end?"
"You mean to say that any use of the zerg by a terran faction under any circumstances would be a moral abomination?" said Mark. "Admiral Dugalle expressed similar sentiments, once. I begin now to see the wisdom in them."
"Well, handing her over to the Dominion is out of the question for obvious reasons," said Serena. "Arcturus would do exactly what wouldn't do. The protoss would just kill her outright. They hate the zerg and her more than we can comprehend."
"We could have her stand trial," noted Raynor. "Arrest her and give people satisfaction."
"What, so she can escape?" asked Serena. "She's one of the most powerful psychics to ever live. And you can bet Duran and Kaloth will want her free if only to keep us from looking into what they are doing.
"And whose authority would we even put it under if she didn't escape?
"Mengsk is never going to accept a joint operation with the protoss, neither is Dugalle. Both are part of regimes whose defining ideology is hatred of aliens. And I should probably point out we have some pretty good reasons to hate aliens.
"Tassadar wasn't exactly diplomatic.
"Besides, we already know that they'd order her dead. So we'd really just be putting up a show trial for good publicity. It would be putting a lot of people's lives at risk for nothing.
"Especially since Mengsk might decide to fake her death and use her as a tool later. Dugalle might as well, no offense."
"I see your point," said Mark. "Such a strategy would not be beneath us were the need dire enough. And the need is indeed dire enough. Our conquest of this sector is all but at an end without the zerg." He sighed. "All choices seem bad to me now."
"The way I see it, we have three choices," said Raynor. "We can try to force her to serve us.
"We can let her go.
"Or we can execute her."
"You'd release the Queen of Blades on the promise of good behavior?" asked Mark with a laugh. "Would you take the role of Christ and tell her to 'go and sin no more?'"
"Mark is right," said Serena. "Letting her go without any strings attached is out of the question. Even if she were repentant, Artanis would view the decision as unforgivable. And Mengsk would view it as a major mistake.
"They'd come back here in a few years and kill her.
"And if she defeated them, what would we see but a repeat of the same story we've seen play out repeatedly for years. Kerrigan is the most hated person in the sector, and everyone wants her dead. Even if we forgive her, they won't.
"A lot of good people would certainly die either way.
"To say nothing of the propaganda victory, this would give Mengsk."
"Yeah, you're right," said Raynor. "No way are we handing this war down to our grandkids."
There was a moment of silence, where they wondered at what might have been. Kerrigan looked ready for a spring but then noticed the murderous looks of the marines.
"We have only one choice, in the end," said Mark. "The Queen of Blades must be destroyed. Fulfill your oath, Raynor."
Raynor got a dark look on his face as he drew out his pistol and aimed. "Fine."
For a moment, he hesitated, and Kerrigan looked suddenly like a desperate woman in over her head. She seemed to be trying to find a way out as if breaking programming which had been there before. Serena almost hoped there might be an apology or acknowledgment of guilt forthcoming.
But it was a passing moment, and pride mastered Kerrigan. Her expression became sneering and cruel, and she laughed scornfully. "Oh, come on, Jimmy. You don't have what it takes to be a-"
A gunshot shattered the silence. The bullet pierced Kerrigan's breast, and she backed away, looking down to see the blood soaking her. Her face turned into an animalistic snarl as she reached to claw at the air. Even as she did, however, she slipped and fell backward with a scream.
The scream ended suddenly.
Walking to the edge, Serena thought she saw a hand sinking charred into the lava.
"I don't think you know me nearly as well as you think you do," said Raynor, but there were tears in his eyes.
"...She was your friend," said Mark.
"My friend died on Korhal," said Raynor.
The Queen of Blades was dead.
