Fortune was not in their favor as the Dominion attacked, the Umojans fighting back as best as they can, but drop pods swamred the lab and barraged it as many of the personnel made to escape as the Adjutant spoke. "Warning, Dominion forces in sectors three, four, and six." Raynor looked in concern while being geared up in his Marine suit.
"Sarah..." Another drop pod impacted and unloaded its squad of Dominion troops, under Mengsk's orders, as Nova Terra exited it and gave her orders.
"This is Nova. Begin your sweep - find Kerrigan!"
"Bravo team, acknowledged." Bravo team rushed a room and killed the marine guards there before entering the room, Jim barely coming out to fire at them in vain as he slammed a fist on the doorafter shoulder checking it before screams rang out and he exclaimed.
"Sarah!" The door sparked with volts before a psionic blast erupted and knocked Jim back before he pulled himself up and lifted the busted door open to enter the room, Kerrigan there among the dead Bravo team before she spoke to Jim approaching her with a whispered 'Sarah?'.
"The killing will never stop until Mengsk is dead. I'm going to make him pay." Jim took her arm in speaking.
"That's enough of that." She turned to his motion and looked up to him in awe as he continued to her attention. "Get it together, darling." Nova's voice came through as Jim released Kerrigan and moved over to the ghost that had fallen to the blast.
"Bravo team, come in ...are you there Bravo?" Raynor picked up the discarded rifle as Nova gave her orders. "All units to sector six, go go go!" He turned as he finished.
"We got to go." He tossed the rifle to Kerrigan as she paused before she inspected it, falling into the motions of it as she checked ammo, loaded back in, and cocked the hammer back as she spoke.
"Been a long time..." Jim returned to the door and lifted it open as he spoke to Kerrigan coming through.
"Like riding a bike." Both paused at the opened frame before they shared a kiss as Kerrigan acknowledged.
"Yep, like riding a bike." She stepped out as Jim joined her in letting the door close and he picking up his weapon as Valerian called in.
"Jim, do you read me?" Kerrigan replied while Jim readied his rifle with additional Umojans coming to help out.
"We read you."
"Kerrigan, I'm glad you're alive. But we're cut off from your location. You'll have to fight your way across the lab to the tram station. That will take you to Jim's ship." Jim nodded as he replied back.
"Roger that, Junior. We can handle it." They headed out as Jim spoke. "Back in the saddle. Let's move out." Sarah nodded as they continued on before spotting a Marauder who turned to fire at him.
"Marauder ahead! I'll take him out with a kinetic blast." She focused and blasted, the Marauder getting sent flying as Jim called out to the door to the right opening up to the coat of red.
"Hostiles on the right!" They were easy to take care of as they pressed on to a squad of Umojans gearing from a insertion team to attack.
"Dominion insertion team! Help us take them out!" The door even opened to more Dominion troops rushing in to take them out, but were the ones to suffer the loss as they pressed on to one of the scientist showing them a charge of restorative purposes.
"Raynor, Kerrigan! This restoration charge will heal you and restore some of your energy! Good luck, I'm getting out of here!" They took it to get mended up a bit from a few nicks before they arrived behind some more Dominion having a firefight with the Umojans.
"Those marines are clustered pretty tight. I should be able to handle them all with Crushing Grip." Sarah focused again, but this time applying a field of psionic energy to lift the troops up and hurt them before the pair moved in and took them out as the Umojans moved out.
"The way is clear! Move out!" Valerian called out as another force of Dominion came crashing in.
"Another wave of Dominion insertion teams incoming!"
"Look up!" They stood their ground in taking on the forces before it cleared and Kerrigan questioned where their sponsors were going. "Where are the Umojans going?"
"Let 'em go their way, we'll go ours." They pressed on with more Dominion drops coming in before Jim exclaimed. "Almost to the tram station. It'll take us right to the shuttle bay."
"The corridor is blocked! You'll have to cut through the sublevel to reach the tram." Kerrigan groaned a bit at the sound of the sublevels, in all this chaos, the Zerg must have gotten out to run amuck in the corridors now as Raynor called up Valerian.
"Come in Valerian. The main corridor is blocked. Can you open side door A-twelve?"
"I can. Be ready though, the Zerg specimens got loose in the attack." Kerrigan extended her senses to sense Zerg beyond it as she spoke.
"Yes. I can sense them down there. But I don't think I should control them again."
"I won't ask you to do that. We'll handle them." She nodded as the rifle was brought up with the Marines doing the same as Valerian spoke.
"The door will open in... Three. Two. One!" Then came the very definition of a Zerg Rush as Zerglings swarmed out of the door as one of the Marines shouted in surprise.
"Too many Zerglings!" The door on the right was torched and Raynor shouted.
"Hostiles on the right!" Kerrigan grimaced as more Dominion had found them, but they quickly found the Zerg waiting for them as the added firepower drew them off and the pair headed down into the sublevels as Nova broadcasted from her commlink connecting to the lab's speakers.
"Kerrigan, my forces have taken control of the security hub. We are putting this facility on lockdown." Kerrigan hummed as Nova continued. "Make this easy on everyone and surrender now."
"Now I am wishing that Alex stuck around, instead of heading to Char to grab Warfield." Jim spoke as Kerrigan spoke again.
"They're trying to trap us."
"C'mon darlin'. We gotta make it through those doors!" The Dominion teams were met with liberated Zerg as Sarah and Jim moved to get to the next section of the lab before Nova closed it down, Both breathing in getting past the first hurtle before Kerrigan spoke.
"This reminds me of the old days."
"My hair's got more gray in it." Sarah raised a brow as she ran a hand through the Zerg locks.
"And my hair's got more Zerg."
"Right." Jim answered at the subject before Sarah slugged his armor.
"Still, we made it! Let's keep going." Jim nodded as they took on some Zerg in the middle section as Nova moved to seal them in when the first couldn't.
"Keep moving! They're about to seal the area!" They took out a few more, but they soon found a problem.
"An Ultralisk." Somehow, Kerrigan didn't think that the experiments were really enough if there is an ultralisk in the facility... free. "Let's see how it likes a kinetic blast!" She blasted, but it just kept going as it smashed into the debris before it shattered to its charge, but was brought down by the pair as Jim mused to the state of the whole sublevel.
"It's a mess down here."
"We've been through worse together." The moment was interrupted as a Dominion squad found them.
"Target acquired! Located Kerrigan and Raynor!" Sarah hummed to herself at the sound of it, she was a clear target to take out, but that ghost made it sound like that Raynor was ALSO on the hit list and NOT for being a rebel as they found ANOTHER Ultralisk and several Zerglings trying to get to them as Jim exclaimed with blasting a few and helping to take down the titan.
"Lord, woman, how many Zerglings did you make?"
"Yeah, I may have gone a little overboard." Still, they took out the Zerg and made it to the door before it sealed behind him and Raynor breathed.
"We made it!"
"Are you surprised?" Jim huffed as Valerian called in as they took out another Dominion squad waiting for them.
"Keep going! There's only one more door between you and the tram station!" Sarah accessed the cams into the next room and grimaced to what was waiting for them on the other side.
"I sense a lot of Dominion in the next room."
"Looks like a rough fight." Sarah pulled up the accessed data and spoke with an idea.
"They have caged Zerg in there. We can use this console to set them loose."
"Or we can use it to activate the gas defenses." She hummed in agreement as it was replacing the Terrans with Zerg or just taking out the biological troops, Sarah decided that the Dominon was going to have a headache instead as she selected the release and the Zerg poured in with tearing through the Terrans.
"Now we've got the Zerg to deal with."
"Still, it evened the odds. Let's go!" They let the Dominon fight that battle as they made for the tram and just in time as Sarah breathed in relief for the success.
"We made it! the tram is about to leave." Valerian called in as he answered to them with his safety and his next location.
"Jim, we're in full retreat. I'm en route to the Hyperion." Jim nodded as commed back.
"Roger that, Valerian. Hail us when you're on the bridge."
"Just you and me now, Jim. Let's move out." Kerrigan answered as the few Umojans there joined them on the tram and it headed out, soaring thrgouh the tunnel to get to the shuttle bay before one of the Umojan exclaimed.
"The Dominion have breached the tunnel."
"Blondie is not making it easy for us!" Jim answered as Kerrigan nodded before the starships came right for them, Vikings, Wraiths, even some loaded Medivacs as Jim called out.
"The tram's picking up pace! Stay frosty kids!" The solar light was blinding, but only for a moment as Jim continued. "We're outta the labs. We're exposed out here until we reach the shuttle bay." The Dominon attackers doubled down, but Raynor and Kerrigan were not like the standard forces in the first place as they started to approach the bay to Kerrigan's exclaimed.
"I can see the bay! We're almost there!" The heavy guns of Siege Tanks were brought in, but it was in vain as the tram made it, some damages to the engines, but none were lost as the pair met up with a readying troop of Marines.
"The Dominion is deploying some kind of heavy mech in the shuttle bay."
"Move out! We have to hold them off until the evacuation is complete!" Kerrigan nodded as Jim voiced his agreement to the idea as well.
"Almost there. Let's follow these guys to the shuttle bay." They pushed on to the bay as the Dominion made to push in and capture the Umojans and Kerrigan, the mech descending down and was revealed to be a larger, more-armed variant of the Viking fighter walker.
"Archangel in position. I've got the shuttle bay secured. All Dominion forces, push forward!" Kerrigan voiced her issue as the ship behind the Archangel was the ship needed to get out of there.
"Jim, the Archangel is between us and your shuttle!" They made to run, but a barrage of missiles blitzed the landing, taking out a small portion of the Umojans, even a pair of Siege Breakers, but more to the point was the collapse of the Bridge as Jim was forced back while Kerrigan rolled to the platform as she called out. "Jim!"
"Dammit! Sarah, I'll find another way to you."
"Well, you better hurry, or I'll kill this thing without you." Jim hurried to find a way as Kerrigan faced off with the Archangel on who was keeping the shuttle bay, Umojan Marines moving ot help him as the Archangel unleashed volleys of gatling fire and barrages of missiles before it was forced to take flight and delivered a bomb running to kill them while Drop Pods landed to deliver Dominion trooops in killing, but Kerrigan was not detruded as she forced it back again when it was trying to blitz her and the remaining Marines with missiles before taking flight again, it now on its last legs in trying ot put here down, btu Sarah Kerrigan was there to stay as it was brought down before she commed with the sighting of more Dominion coming down on them.
"Hurry up, Jim. I think another wave is incoming." But Jim had bad news as he commed back.
"Sarah, I'm cut off. I can't get to your location. Take my ship and go."
"We just found each other again. I am not leaving you behind." Neither were given much of a choice in deciding that as Valerian called in for an update.
"Raynor, Kerrigan! I'm on the Hyperion, we're setting course for the rendezvous. What is your status?"
"Kerrigan is taking my drop ship. I need extraction."
"I understand and I'm sending a team for you." Kerrigan made clear her point in getting them out of there.
"Do not screw this up, Valerian."
"Kerrigan, I'll see you at the rendezvous. And... I'm sorry I didn't listen to you sooner."
"It's too late for apologies, Valerian." Kerrigan kicked herself for trying to put so much on Valerian, but she couldn't voice her disdain right now, they were Terrans, they are not all that clam with their emotions as Kerrigan volleyed on Raynor with a playful tone at the end. "Jim, I'll take your ship, but if you get yourself killed... you are in huge trouble." Jim chuckled as he agreed.
"Yes'm. Noted." Kerrigan took the ship and lifted off, but Valerian's promise was in vain as the Dominion didn't let up.
"Jim, Dominion reinforcements are coming. The Hyperion is taking heavy fire and my team can't reach you."
"Roger that. Get the Hyperion to the rendezvous. I'll find another way off world."
"See you there." The comm cut as the way forward was breached and Jim exclaimed with his weapon up. "Nova!"
"Well well. Jim Raynor." The Ghost voiced as she had her weapon readied as well for the fight as she spoke about the Raider's Spectre pirate. "If you'd helped me with my Tosh problem, I might have looked the other way while you got out. But you chose poorly!" Jim sassed back as his visor fell.
"Alright, Blondie! Take your shot!" In one move, James Raynor, leader of the Raiders... died...
Jim's ship soared through the void in reaching the rendezvous site as Kerrigan piloted it into the Hyperion, the members cleared out a bit as Sarah went looking for him, believing that he was onboard. "Jim? Jim?" Matt turned to meet her gaze on the bridge as she demanded. "Where's Jim?" One answered and he was in charge of keeping Raynor alive and back onto the ship.
"We... couldn't get him out." That was the wrong thing to say as she growled.
"Valerian!" Her powers surged to strangle Valerian as she growled with lifting him up. "You left him behind?" Two of the Umojans onboard made to stop her, but she latched them in place before Matt exclaimed.
"Stand down!" He swiftly turned ot Kerrigan as he spoke to get her to let him go. "Let him go, Kerrigan! Valerian is helping us!"
"There is no 'us'." She pushed it more before blasting the Marines to the sides and making to strangel Valerian harder before one of the crewmates exclaimed to a perimeter breach.
"IFF negative. Multiple hostiles, inside the perimeter!" Dominion forces rolled in as Matt Horner commanded to get them time.
"Scramble tac response squads 3 through 9." They started to fight back as damages were reported Matt made the decision. "Defensive maneuver Delta-Four!" He glanced to Kerrigan for a moment before he finsihed his statement. "Prep all stations for jump!" That drew her attention as she released her psionic power and freed Valerian as she growled to Matt.
"No one is going anywhere until I see Jim." A Yamato slammed into the Hyperion as Horner scowled before he tried to hail the fleet attacking them.
"Dominion Fleet, this is Hyperion. Cease fire. Crown Prince Valerian is aboard!" Valerian spoke as some of the ships actually stopped their firing on the ship.
"My father will sacrifice any piece on the chess board to take the queen." That only made the more focused ships target the Hyperion solely for some reason, like they knew that if Valerian was aboard, so was Kerrigan or that his death would be a rousing call to hunt down the rebels across the worlds where the Dominion have been FAILING to keep in the end as Horner told Kerrigan the goal for now.
"We have to jump now. We'll lead them away and circle back for Jim." But she didn't seem to care as she stomped off back toward the hanger. "Sarah! We need to work together!"
"Do what you want. I'm going to find Jim." Sarah flew the ship back down to the planet as the rebel fleet made their escape, no weaker than before, but still not enough to handle a Dominion force anymore as Kerrigan made to find Jim and get him back to her...