Chapter Twelve: No Escape
Revenge felt empty.
Logically, the feeling made no sense. Serena had not come here seeking revenge on Kerrigan and had, in fact, objected to the measure in the first place. Kerrigan was already one of the worst monsters in history, perhaps the worst. Serena had no obligation to Kerrigan and had been greatly harmed by her, as had many other people. And despite this, she had looked for every possible other option than killing her.
This despite Serena killing many other, less guilty people without the feeling. Nobody had wept for the Kel'Morian and Confederate and Dominion marines. Or for the cerebrates who had been killed. This despite them being less guilty than Kerrigan.
By all accounts, Serena was blameless.
Kerrigan would have killed her or worse, given a chance. Had she been allowed to live would not have repented. And even the act of sparing her would have caused death and chaos.
Despite all of this, she was deeply bitter.
Nor was she alone. As she looked at the faces of her men, they seemed uneasy and restless. Here within the camp, she saw them resting. Many had abandoned their posts and thrown themselves on the ground in exhaustion. Others rested against the sides of buildings. Their hands were clutching their weapons in a death grip.
The bodies of the slain were being buried, a priest giving last rites.
Serena looked over her men; her surviving men, for half, had died in the cataclysmic Battle of Omega. Mark had lost two-thirds, and he hadn't had as many, to begin with. They'd come here for blood and final reckoning, to confront the great evil of their time and defeat it.
To die standing.
Instead, they had won. The bitter fruits of victory were theirs.
"What do we do now?" asked a man suddenly.
It was the thing anyone had said since the zerg had fled. With Kerrigan's death, they had fled in terror, heedless and without a master to hide in dark holes. None dared approach, and it was well that they did not.
Serena was not sure they could beat off an attack, though many among them were armed and rested. The will had gone out of them.
Mark and Raynor were speaking together and giving orders to organize the gathering of bodies. That and the scavenging of destroyed vehicles and bases. Such things were common across the sector now, on dead worlds consumed. Places abandoned by all whose inhabits had fled the zerg onslaught—or been called away by some dark master to fight on Aiur, or Korhal, or Char.
How many had died?
How many endless billions had been consumed above in those bright stars. Those stars that were hidden beneath blighted ash clouds of hell. They might have been a comfort to some medieval people who knew nothing of them. But to men of science, to look at the stars was to contemplate what horrors lay beyond.
"...We could keep hunting zerg down here," said Raynor, glassy-eyed. "Make sure... make sure they can't rebuild."
"They won't," said Serena. "We've killed the Overmind. We've killed the cerebrates. We've killed the Queen of Blades. Their minions now walk heedless, and Kaloth alone remains of the commander brood.
"And he is gone. Perhaps never to return. Why waste anyone else hunting them?"
"I agree," said Mark, voice choking. "We have our revenge for Stukov. For Tarsonis. For Korhal. For Mar Sara and... Chau Sara and Antiga Prime.
"Outside of this base, there is nothing but a blighted hellscape. One with mindless abominations with no will of their own. Let the tortured creatures live in peace."
"Fine, fine," said Raynor. "What do we do now?"
"We..." Serena paused. They were never supposed to see this day. They were supposed to spend year after year battling the dark lord. To pass the war down to one generation after another. Or be forced to cooperate with her against some greater evil or die gloriously here...
But now, the dark lord was dead.
All her works had perished. Her plans were destroyed beyond repair or redemption. Everything she had built was undone.
Now it was their lot to live.
To live...
That would be a far more terrible challenge. To walk in a world which the darkness was gone from, but scarred still. Irrepairably so in many places. Well, Serena would have to do it. If only because no one else seemed ready to.
So she stood and drew out a communication.
"Attention defenders of the Koprolu Sector and humanity in particular," she said. "Victory is ours!
"The Queen of Blades is dead, and we are triumphant! Her body was cast into the fires of Char that forged her, and she was unmade! All that she has created, all her dark designs, are at an end. The universe is freed forever of her menace!
"We have won a great battle.
"We have won the greatest battle that has ever been fought by humankind. And we have emerged victorious! Where gods and mighty empires before us failed, we have triumphed! No matter where you go, no matter what becomes of you after this point, know that you may say:
"I fought in the Battle of Omega. I killed the Queen of Blades.
"And every race, every being in this universe, no matter faction or species or race, shall know they owe you a debt. One that cannot be repaid! You are heroes of the Dominion, heroes of humanity, heroes of the UED!
"You are victorious!"
Cheers came from the men, weak at first but growing. Soon men were standing and firing their guns into the air while others embraced one another. Serena saw a few men and women kissing. True love or a one-night stand, it really didn't matter to her.
Now time to be a killjoy.
"However, our mission is not complete," said Serena, as things died down. "Our enemy is defeated, and her forces have withdrawn. But we are still in a dangerous location. Enemies surround us without means of evacuation.
"As such, we must be alert. I want all of you to get back to your posts and keep an eye out. We'll... we'll arrange for extra rations to be sent out. However, you must be aware that-"
"Serena..." began Raynor.
"Shut up, Raynor," said Serena. "I didn't have a chance to rehearse this speech." A number of chuckles. "Rescue may not be coming for some time, so have to conserve all resources on the assumption we'll be here for..." She suddenly became aware of a light shining down on her. "Who the hell called in the air support?!"
Mark pointed upwards. Serena Calabas turned and looked upward to see the UED Aleksander high above. With them were the Protoss Vessels, as well as the rest of the UED Fleet.
"Captain Mark," said Dugalle. "Report your situation immediately."
Mark raised the com. "Victory is ours, Admiral. The Queen of Blades is dead, and her broods are scattered or destroyed. The zerg have no leadership save Kaloth.
"Regrettably, this also means that our mission to tame the zerg is a failure."
"Then we may thank God for small mercies," said Dugalle. "Are these all of your survivors?"
"There are several outlying groups," said Mark. "We sent them out for scouting and salvaging. But yet. Raynor and Serena Calabas are with us."
"Excellent," said Dugalle. "I shall dispatch medical crews and supplies. Then you must come aboard, and we shall discuss things. Judicator Aldaris, as well as Praetor Artanis will meet us en route."
"Aldaris?" asked Raynor. "Isn't he supposed to be dead?"
It was a lengthy explanation.
The reports of Aldaris' assassination were greatly exaggerated. The Khalai uprising on Shakuras had been an impulsive act with no clear leader. It had sprung up after a rogue Nerazim, Ulrezaj, who had hated Aldaris for years, had appeared. They had attempted to seize and execute him. Tensions had apparently been boiling between the two sides, and it was a spark that set things off.
Aldaris was freed from imprisonment. He was declared the leader of an organization whose existence he did not approve of. All attempts to calm the situation down had failed because of the Matriarch. Razsagal had already been in Kerrigan's power by this time, so a civil war was imminent.
To this end, Aldaris had chosen to do the only thing he could do. Take a defensive position and wait for Zeratul and Artanis to get back. Once they had attacked, he'd allowed them to slip through with a small strike force. This led to their confrontation. There, an illusion of Aldaris took about three hours to come to a simple statement.
Raszagal was under the influence of Kerrigan.
This Kerrigan used as a chance to assassinate him, which lost her the alliance and showed her true colors early. Aldaris himself had promptly fled the planet with the more zealous supporters. From there, he had been going through the remnants of the old Khalai Empire. Gathering what strength he could, he'd reorganized things as best he could.
The fall of Aiur, as it turned out, had thrown the entire empire into chaos. Much like ancient Rome, Aiur had been the center. When it was taken, no one knew who to report to anymore. During the rest of the war so, much of Aldaris' time had been putting together a fleet to confront Kerrigan.
This fleet ended up meeting with Artanis en route. But elements of it only arrived after they had been forced off. Newly strengthened, Artanis had seen the UED fleeing and the battle lost. With no hope in his mind of regaining the upper hand on Char, Artanis had moved his remaining fleets to aid the UED.
The strike force sent after Dugalle would have been more than sufficient. But against Dugalle and the protoss they had not been enough. However, Kaloth had not been in command of it. No one knew where he'd gone. But there had been a mass exodus of many zerg broods to Braxis, which was fortified even now.
Mark led them through the halls of the Aleksander, and Serena noticed they were almost empty. Most of the troops were manning stations throughout the ship and when they got to the main meeting room.
Mark moved forward to find Dugalle and Aldaris sitting side by side and looking over a star map. Dugalle looked up to Mark and nodded.
"Admiral Dugalle, I am pleased to see you well," said Raynor.
"In good health? Yes," said Dugalle. "Well?
"I fear not. And I am only in good health because my gun jammed. And because our allies came to our aid."
"You stood your ground before the enemy when all seemed lost," said Aldaris to Mark. "You men of the UED are formidable warriors and would make excellent Templar of the Protoss."
Mark seemed surprised by the compliment and said nothing as Serena and Raynor sat down next to him. Dugalle changed the screen to Char. "Now, our scans report here that the zerg around your position are mostly dispersed. We have dispatched reports of this to all our propaganda networks. You might be interested to know something. Arcturus Mengsk is presenting, describing the battle as lost due to protoss cowardice. One which he wisely kept us out of.
"We believe he'd had several different propaganda films laid out. Which one he used depended on how the battle went here. Unfortunately for him, he is playing the wrong message."
"Nice to hear that, at least," said Raynor, laughing and Serena joined in despite herself. When was the last time she'd laughed?
"Evil beings invariably trip over their own schemes," said Aldaris. "So it has always been. Still, what of the Queen of Blades?"
"Kerrigan is dead," said Mark quickly. "We cornered her, and Raynor shot her through the heart, and she fell into a lake of lava. We confirmed her death via a drone camera.
"Our mission is complete, although I fear it has failed. There is no longer any means by which the swarm can be controlled."
"Thank God," said Dugalle with a sigh. "This mission has been a cursed voyage from the very beginning. It was presumptuous of us to even attempt such a thing. We'd have more success attempting to control the hordes of hell, and it would be less morally dubious.
"And we have lost many good men in the vain attempt."
"Nelson, Duke, Fenix, Raszagal, and so many others."
"It was not in vain," said Aldaris. "Their sacrifices led to the triumph of both our races and the final defeat of the swarm. They have reached the Khala's End; there is no greater glory than that. It is our task to ensure that the victory their lives bought us will not be wasted."
"I thought only Protoss could reach the Khala's End," said Raynor.
"The Khala is the combined consciousness of all of our minds and memories," said Aldaris. "You might regard it as a collective unconscious. It is not the afterlife.
"But that is of no consequence. We have no time to mourn the fallen.
"We must decide quickly on what to do now. The swarm is broken, but the Dominion is strong and will only become more so. What policy should we take?"
"I'm not in any mood for an open war," admitted Serena.
"I agree with that," said Raynor. "Arcturus has gotten all the payback he deserves and more."
"Perhaps he has, but I expect he will seek to avenge himself on us shortly," said Dugalle. "In one way or another, if left unchecked, he will rebuild and strike us from a position of strength. No military campaign can be conducted in these circumstances.
"However, we do have an opportunity to limit his influence in the new regime."
"New regime?" asked Serena, wondering what he meant by that.
"I refer to whatever order emerges from this..." Dugalle seemed to be looking for the words. "Fiasco.
"I find it unlikely that it will be anything that those here wanted or imagined."
"Well, for a start, we gotta spread the truth of what happened here," said Raynor. "Put out all the footage we have on the net, spread the real story. Show how Mengsk ducked out."
"I wouldn't do that," said Serena. "Call him a coward; he's not one for a start, just a serpent. And it's not a good idea to say that Mengsk ducked out, even if he did. Just say that he withdrew when it became apparent to him the battle was lost."
"Why should we hold any restraint with that man?" asked Mark.
"I concur," said Aldaris. "The Conclave had the zerg invasion under control until he lured the zerg to Tarsonis. Had he continued to as he had on Mar Sara and Antiga, the Overmind's forces would have run short?"
"You call Chau Sara and Mar Sara under control?" asked Serena. "You do realize that all of those were planets where people lived, right? And we have a finite number of planets. That was a completely unsustainable strategy."
"Terran resistance was growing more formidable," said Aldaris. "The discredited Confederacy was collapsing at the seams. You could have spent a few years consolidating your power while growing in strength.
"It would have cost the zerg dearly, and I find it difficult the believe the situation could have ended any worse."
"What about the Khalai-Nerazim divide?" asked Raynor.
"Are you suggesting that the only way we could reconcile was by the loss of Aiur?" asked Aldaris, eyes flashing.
"Good point," said Raynor. "Might have taken a bit longer, but you probably would have worked something out."
"This is off-topic," said Dugalle. "Ms. Calabas is correct.
"Arcturus Mengsk is in a weak position, and we could humiliate him further. But it would lead only to further conflict. By stating the facts and nothing else, we will let people make what interpretations they will.
"It will also be an olive branch of sorts. One that is desperately needed in a sector torn by war."
"Admiral Dugalle, I do not think we should tolerate Arcturus Mengsk to survive this," said Mark. "This situation is almost entirely his fault. He should pay for his actions."
"That may be so," said Dugalle. "And god willing, he will.
"But he is nevertheless the best hope for many colonies. Just look at the sector. Entire worlds have been laid to waste. Many industrial centers have been obliterated or converted purely to military production.
"Think about the economic effect it could have if we have yet another war.
"We have to deescalate a bit, if only to deal with the humanitarian crisis that is happening right now."
"I was not aware of a humanitarian crisis among your people," said Aldaris.
"Because the entire sector has been under siege for years," said Serena. "Refugees were welcome as fresh bodies to throw against the zerg. Everyone needed all the help they could get. Mengsk had only just solidified control when the protoss and the UED toppled his empire.
"Now, though, without a need for endless supplies of marines, a lot of people are in limbo. We're going to have to regear to the economy to account for masses of disenfranchised people."
"You think that's bad, Serena?" asked Raynor. "Everyone and their mother has been given a gun at this point to help in the war. Take away the zerg as a unifying threat, and it's going to be a law enforcement nightmare. Every psycho or petty criminal in the Koprolu Sector is going to be starting their own pirate group."
"This is to say nothing of the old Khalai Empire," noted Dugalle. "Of which I have learned much.
"Judicator, do you believe it can be reconstructed."
"With a great deal of difficulty, yes," said Aldaris. "I do not think it will be as much of a problem for us, however.
"The Firstborn have a sense of... empathy with one another which prevents the atrocities that characterize your species. I believe it will be more than possible to reestablish and coordinate. We may be of some assistance in this matter.
"Our star charts are quite extensive. Artanis spent long decades traveling worlds with Fenix before the zerg came to Aiur. We may be able to find worlds which would be ideal for refugee populations."
"Yes, but there's also the matter of transportation and supplies. Not to mention experts to arrange colonization," said Serena. "Not to mention land claims, medical supplies. And fuel for all the starships we'll need. We've lost several major fuel sources, and rebuilding them will take time."
"Don't forget all the criminals," said Raynor morosely.
"Criminals?" asked Mark. "Have there not always been those?" His tone said a great deal about what he thought of the history of the sector.
"Cute," said Raynor. "Yes, we've always had criminals. But we've been in a state of total war. Nobody has time to sweat criminal activity that doesn't detract from the war effort. Mengsk handed control over to local strongmen. He gave them legitimacy and threatened to crush them if they got out of line."
"It will also be necessary to consolidate control of the UED's territory," said Dugalle. "If we remain for even a month, it will take a great deal of effort. Supply lines must be arranged, funds for upkeep raised.
"In this matter, our interests are aligned."
"Forgive me," said Aldaris. "But I do not see how your Empire is of great importance to anyone here. Although you are formidable warriors and your cause was well-intentioned, you are newcomer. Your roots do not go deep, and others would take your place if you were destroyed.
"While I have no ill will toward you, you are but one of many recent invaders."
"Harsh," said Raynor.
"That may be so," said Dugalle. "Unfortunately, the Dominion is an extremely well-organized regime. And it is one that will rise again. If Mengsk is left in total control, he is likely to gain total control of the Terran Sector. Once that happens, he will consolidate more and more power 'for the good of humanity.'
"Until eventually, no one can stop him.
"At that point, any benevolence will fall by the wayside. As a matter of historical fact, absolute power corrupts absolutely. And with respect to Captain Raynor, I do not think him capable of administering an empire.
"On the other hand, if the UED maintains a loose alliance with you, we can keep ourselves afloat. This will provide an alternative government. Mengsk will have no choice but to make concessions or lose the loyalty of his people. Of course, without you, my holding will collapse. But without us, you'll be outlaws within a few months."
Serena sighed as she realized he was right. Which meant they'd have to be very careful about how they negotiated this. Aldaris caught on as well.
"It appears that defeating the Queen of Blades will be the less difficult task," noted Aldaris.
Truer words had never been spoken.
