Returning to Char yielded something else as Izsha spoke of a device coming aboard. "The Terrans launched thousands of these devices at our broods on Char. Broodmother Kilysa relayed this to us. It is not a weapon." No, it wasn't... it was something a bit worse as Kerrigan spoke to it coming alive.
"It's a two-way communicator." It activated to the face of Arcturus Mengsk as he scolded her.
"The Queen of Blades. I knew you'd return to your true form. A monster." She frowned at whose fault that was in the first place as he continued to speak. "Now, you'll do exactly as I tell you if you care at all about Jim Raynor." She paused in surprise at the sound of it as Arcturus spoke. "Yes... He's alive. So you'll keep your Swarm away from Korhal, and away from me, or he dies." She gripped her hand hard as Arcturus dared to keep her power on a leash. "That man sacrificed everything to give you back your humanity. And you threw it away. How he must be disgusted by you. Why, he'd be first in line to kill you. And when he does kill you, I hope everyone revels in your death." The device went quiet before Kerrigan spoke, reaching out to the abyss, but now knowing that Mengsk has played the last straw in keeping himself safe now.
"I can't sense Jim out there..." She growled with eyes blazing violet as she spoke. "If he is alive, nothing in this universe will stop me from finding him."
"My Queen." Izsha's voice brought Kerrigan out of her anger as she turned to her. "One of our Broodmothers in the Koprulu Sector is picking a strange psionic signal. It is Zerg, but is not part of the Swarm." Kerrigan raised a brow as she listened to the sent message.
"I know you seek to topple Mengsk. His alien soldiers, the hybrid, are your greatest threat." Hybrid, that didn't sound right at all and not lining up with Mengsk's obsessions' of humanity prevailing ot her for a number of reasons. "If you wish to stop them. Meet me at these coordinates." It was a world in Dominion space, a ways from Korhal, so she was good to attack it as Izsha continued.
"If the Dominion are controlling hybrid, our invasion of Korhal will fail. This lab must be destroyed." She nodded as she spoke.
"Set a course for the Shygeirr Station." The Leviathan headed out to the ringed world and its platform...
They arrived to the platform, but they also brought a infested Terran abroad as Izsha spoke of him, looking out to the platform. "My queen, the Infested Terran who contacted you waits over there. He claims to know you." Kerrigan walked over to him before she questioned him.
"Who are you?"
"You do not recognize me?" He turned and Kerrigan found herself a bit surprised by the attire of the being before her, but it was the coat of arms, the cap, and the way he held himself that shocked her, he was from the UED as he spoke with a full turn, a part of his face hollowed out with glowing orange eyes and his left side the Zerg infestation, but she could tell that something else was different about him than the old infestation or latest. "I am Alexei Stukov. We were enemies once." Kerrigan played the name over before it clicked, Vice-Admiral of the United Earth Directorate, said to have been killed inside a Psi Disrupter, those words coming from... Samir Duran, a unknown agent of the Swarm, but back then, she trusted him like no other for some reason as she spoke.
"Well, we both seem to be Zerg now."
"Indeed, and we share a common goal: the destruction of this facility." He glanced back to the facility as he spoke. "It is here that Mengsk breeds the hybrid - Combining Protoss and Zerg DNA to create monstrous creatures of immense power." Combining... Protoss AND Zerg!? Now there was something not right with the picture as she growled at the thought as she answered.
"Then we'll destroy this facility together." The Swarm moved to remain out of orbit and within range of the planet. but it would be Kerrigan coming to destroy what Mengsk was creating and bring a stop to his power here as she asked Stukov the question of his real reason. "This isn't about getting rid of the hybrid threat, is it? Why are you helping me?"
"They held me here for many years. I survived experiments, torture and worse. Now, I will see it burn. You were the only one I could think of with the power, and will, to aid me."
"Infested. Held captive. Experimented on and hunted. We have some things in common." She turned her attention to Izsha as she spread the command. "Contact the Broodmothers. Tell them to bring their leviathans to this system."
"Should they unleash their broods upon the station?"
"No, Zagara and I will lead our broods in the assault."
"So the other broods will simply hold in orbit?"
"I want them nearby. After we destroy this station, we're going after Jim." But finding Jim was going to be a needle in a galactic haystack, so she had to find someone to help her out with that... hopefully, while Dehaka and Skorck were eager to get a taste of Terran essence in their systems. Kerrigan turned back to the station as she mused. "This is the source of Mengsk's hybrid? Just getting inside is going to be an achievement." She paused and trying to reach out a bit more to something else on the station. "There is... something in there. Something dark..."
"The Infested Terran..." Kerrigan's musing stopped as Zagara joined her Queen and peered at Stukov as she spoke. "I have never seen his like. He is powerful, but closed off. Where is he from?"
"Stukov is from Earth. A few years ago, they sent an invading force here. I remember it - I destroyed them."
"As it should be."
"I thought Stukov was killed." She turned back to the man staring with a passion at the station. "I heard reports that he'd been resurrected. That he'd been infested, then cured. If he's been in prisoner here all these years, anything is possible." She headed down to the Evolution Pit to see what they could use against the Dominion here as Abathur started to speak.
"Organism Stukov fascinating. Implications disturbing."
"How so?"
"Modifications of Stukov second only to modifications of Primal Queen of Blades. However, Stukov product of specific design. Interweaving of Terran and Zerg matter, subtle. Spun on micro scale not possible for Swarm." Kerrigan trailed the thought before she spoke.
"Something out there is better at this than you, and you don't like it."
"Entity responsible for Stukov exceeds organism Abathur. Untenable to oppose. Recommend immediate indoctrination into foreign entity's Swarm."
"Never." But it was a good point, someone else had made Stukov the way he is now, someone who had successful combined Zerg and Terran DNA to create an terror of the former Vice-Admiral as the power coming from Stukov could only be second best to Kerrigan herself in combat, that spoke volumes of what they would be expecting from this hidden lab...
"This lift is the only entrance into the laboratories. It is also second most heavy defended location in Dominion space."
"So they got a lot of Marines." Kerrigan mused as she called for her latest sources of infestation. "We'll use those numbers against them. Bring in my Infestors. We're going to implant virophages at these garrisons." A Zerg Pod dropped in and unleashed four of the large-slug creatures into the fray as Kerrigan continued. "Once they've infested the Terran inside. I'll use them to secure the landing bay. We'll clear it before the Dominion can even react." They headed out with catching a squad in a Fungal Growth and killing them before she commanded. "Get to that Garrison, quickly!" One of the Infestors got to the point and implanted a spore cluster before it grew and grew into the Virophage spreading creep and infesting the garrisons there.
"The Infestor can move on. The virophage will infest the surrounding buildings." And in using those, get them the infested numbers they would need to overwhelm the forces there. The Infestors also used their Parasitic Domination, modified to fire a single growth to overwhelm and control the heavy ordinance of the Dominion in a Banshee and a few Diamondbacks in taking more garrisons before the Dominion took notice of the growing infection.
"The Zerg are infesting the facility! Release the gas!" Vents opened across the platform with a flow of orangish gas and killed off the current infested within seconds as Izsha spoke.
"My queen, the gas is destroying the infested Terrans."
"We can always infest more. They're only killing themselves, in the end."
"Chemical warfare. Efficient delivery mechanism. Gas unstable." Abathur voiced to the gas flow. "Once Dominion's reserves run out, will require time to synthesize more." Zerg Pods dropped on the cleared area as Kerrigan spoke with stepping forward when the site was cleared and she dropped behind the mineral line.
"And that's when we resume our attack. Until then, we'll hold and defend the virophages." That was the matter of the Dominion taking out the virophages to lessen the infested and get their garrisons back as the commander commed.
"Kill the infested. It's the only mercy we can afford them."
"Kill them before they destroy the virophage!" They only sent a single strike to take care of a virophage, but Kerrigan struck with a small force, destroying them and they pushed a bit up the ramp to clear the way to more virophage sites before the gas started to dispel to Izsha's voice.
"The Dominion's gas supply has run out. They will need time to recharge." The infested swarmed out as Kerrigan commanded.
"Attack alongside the Infested! Kill everyone stand in our way!" In numbers, the infested had it on lock as Kerrigan's force helped in long range matters, stealing a bit more of the Dominion heavy weapons and infecting more garrisons with some of the accompanying Infestors before they cleared out another base site and started to set up a base there while also infested one of the science facilities to get some biomass out of it with a creep tumor before the platform started to vent again as Izsha spoke.
"The Dominion has begun venting gas. The infested will die."
"Expect an attack! Guard our virophages!"
"Let's make it like it never happened!" Another strike force was readied, so Kerrigan quickly strode to stop them, destroying them before they could fulfill their mission while the main force held the second base secure before the orange gas started to dispel and the infested came back out to kill.
"The Terrans have run out of gas." Kerrigan nodded as the infested held the way while more garrisons fell under the corruption of the infestation and... she blinked in confused to the wrecks of Terran Predators that guarded a garrison site, only one of them were the standard Dominion red, the other four were yellow, green, blue, and black before she pushed that out of her head as they reached the space of a bridge to the hve cluster before the gas started to vent again.
"Gas is once again venting onto the platform."
"Alright, let's clear it out, boys!" The bridge extended out as the commander demanded.
"Get that bridge extended and wipe out that hive! I want those Zerg out off my platform!" The Terran attacks were nothing to really worry about, not even when Spine and Spore Crawlers protected the Virophages before the Dominion lost their advantage again to Izsha's simple tone.
"The Dominion stopped venting gas. It will take them some time to synthesize more."
"Keep going, the entrance is within our grasp." Stukov was right, but Kerrigan wanted to get a bit more biomass fro mthe Dominion, so she left the infest to keep trying to attack the main base while her Zerg assault the rest of the platform and collecting more infested to the fight, making sure that the creep was spreading far enough to the infested really moving before the platform vented again.
"Gas is venting onto the platform. Prepare to defend our virophages." Several Roaches and Hydralisks kept those safe and the main body move to destroy the task force and daily Terran attacks before it was clear that the only portion left to the Dominion was the entrance now as even Stukov commented to the wide-spread infection.
"There. All three facilities are infested, the biomass within is yours." Kerrigan nodded as now, it was the main entrance left as the gas emptied out and the infested struck again, now form more places and surging from the entrance as the commander spoke.
"Don't let the Zerg get inside! Kill them all!" But the base fell under claws, spines, and blasts as the entrance was busted open and Izsha spoke.
"My queen, the Swarm is ready to enter the laboratory at your command."
"Good, it's time to find out what's waiting inside." But first, she had to organize the forces for the raid into the labs below, space enough to get aerial troops in, if need be...
"I have been contacted by another broodmother, Ryloth has been keeping her large brood out of conflict. She is impressed with you and wishes to bring her brood back into the Swarm." Kerrigan reached out to Ryloth to give her what she wished the Broodmother to do.
"Broodmother Ryloth, hear me. Take your brood to Jontur II. This is where the Dominion manufacture their newest ships. Destroy that world for the Swarm."
"It shall be done, my queen." KErrigan turned her attention to her own powers as they have grown once mroe to give her even more power and even the abilities of reducing her initial skill, infesting enemies with broodlings, or increasing her attack speed for a short time, something she decided was worth it for now as she turned her attention to Stukov as he watched the outer platform moved with infested.
"Skygeirr Station. The Dominion's secret weapon lab. This is the heart of Mengsk's hybrid breeding program."
"Tell me about the hybrid."
"Zerg and Protoss DNA combined - something that should not be possible."
"And these creatures will follow Mengsk's order?"
"He believes they will. I am not so sure." Kerrigan nodded as Alice came over too, having heard the same before she spoke.
"My queen, my memories are... jagged, but I know something is not right."
"What is it?"
"It is about your former... aide, Samir Duran." Kerrigan nodded as Alice continued. "I have served toward the end of the Brood Wars, but Duran is... he was something else, but I never could figure it out as your command of him was utter trust, to never question who or what he was in the end."
"I see..." Kerrigan turned back to the platform as she thought as well, her memories of the Brood Wars were slim, but it was curious to think about it now, why did she refuse to put Duran in the limelight and even was confused where he disappeared to, but those ideas slipped when the Protoss, UED, and Dominion forces attacked her.
Now, she was wondering who or what was Duran as he played the UED to locations with exact thoughts of how to go about it, he moved with supporting her with minor intent to turn against her, and some other things that didn't feel right for the moment as she turned her attention to Dehaka who questioned the location.
"This place of metal and stone. Why?"
"You're not impressed? The Primal Zerg couldn't build something like this."
"I do not need a wall, I will evolve armor. I do not need a weapon, I will evolve claws."
"The toolmakers might create something stronger than your armor and claws."
"Their tools stay the same. I collect, I change." Well, that was a invested insight form the Primal Zerg as she turned to his brother Skorch as he spoke.
"These Terrans possess great tools of war, why do they wield these things like they do?"
"It is because it is a part of their war, machines, weapons, buildings, they are a force of both defensive strength and mechanical might."
"Machines and tools often need repair and forging, but claws and hides need life and strength to develop stronger and better, Dahaka doesn't see that value yet, he is true thought, we are Zerg, we need not the tools of Terrans to win."
"I am glad that one of you actually understands the matters of the Terrans as well." She turned back and peered out to the platform again as she spoke. "This place is very far out of the way, but it's guarded as if it were Korhal itself."
"The Terrans must greatly prize that which lies within." Zagara answered in stepping to Kerrigan's side as she spoke to the thought of the Hybrids.
"But technology at this scale... This is beyond Mengsk's engineers."
"Perhaps they have help from something greater than themselves?"
"If there are any answers, they are inside." She headed down to the Pit to get Abathur's thoughts and they were interesting to hear as the gene-weaver spoke about the Infestors.
"Infestor strain, capable infestation agent, only viable as source of infestation, no attack. Can improve Infested Spawn to enforce numbers with pair at once, drains Infestor faster. Can mutate ability to infect Terran structures with virophage spawn to spawn instant and upcoming troops to serve Swarm for short duration. Can have infestor death release Infested Terrans to fight in dying breath for a time. Final viable mutation, utilize bio-plasma from fungal growth spores to stun and immobilize aerial and ground threats, good for large force to overwhelm stronger foe." So it came down to doubling the spawn of the infested Terrans that the Infestors didn't seem to have during this mission, but could, infecting an enemy structure to get controlled units for a brief time, and a bio-plasma ability to stun both ground and air units, useful for cutting down on the firepower of some of those guns as Kerrigan chose to improve the infestors with the 'Infested Embryo' over 'Viro-Infection', 'Infested Remains', and 'Bile Shot' as she returned to head down into the labs and discover what Mengsk has been breed down there...