Chapter 13
After her defeat on Char, Kerrigan took her Swarm on the move,traveling from planet to planet as the UED pursued her. The UED were determined and focused their full efforts toward chasing down Kerrigan. She would barely be able to stay in a particular system for a few days before the UED forces attacked. Since she didn't have enough forces to defeat the main UED fleet in a direct confrontation, she would be forced to withdraw. Kerrigan fought a series of confrontations as the UED chased her down over and over again, and other the course of these battles her Swarm was whittled down constantly. Kerrigan's Swarm, a shadow of what it once was, was now occupying a small uninhabited fringe world, trying to get a bit of time to rest and rebuild.
For the past week, things had been silent and Kerrigan hoped that she had managed to finally shake the UED pursuit. However, it seems that the UED had merely been biding their time. A large fleet appeared over the planet. Accompanying the UED fleet was a massive fleet of zerg. Kerrigan had picked this location because the Psi Disruptor's wasn't being directed toward this area, but it seems that this had allowed the UED to narrow down the search area.
In addition, the UED was able to make use of their slave broods since their control over the zerg would not be interfered with by the Psi Disruptor. The UED had decided that having more forces was more important than reducing the effectiveness of Kerrigan's army, as the UED wanted to make sure they had enough forces in orbit to stop Kerrigan from escaping. The planet was locked down with a tight blockade, with the overmind's zerg blanketing most of the skies along with the UED ships.
The trap was shut, and now it was time to deal the final blow. Kerrigan and nearly all of her forces were on this planet and as long as the UED was able to prevent an escape, they could finally kill the last leader of the zerg outside of their control.
The UED landed on the surface of the planet with their ground forces, along with their slave broods. Most of the fleet remained in orbit to prevent any escape from the planet. The army sent by the UED was massive, as they had truly put in the totality of their effort into this attack. The main advantage of the zerg was numbers, but now Kerrigan's zerg were the ones outnumbered.
The massive army began sweeping across the surface of the planet. Siege tanks drove alongside ultralisks. Along with those heavy fighters were the supporting infantry, goliaths, and hydralisks. Upon reaching the outlying hive clusters, the siege tanks took up their positions and began shelling the hives.
Kerrigan's forces retaliated, sending a massive swarm of zerg to dislodge the tanks. Dark swarm obscured the battlefield while ultralisks and zerglings ran under the cover of the fog. While this would usually be devastatingly effective, as terran forces could not fight effectively in melee, the assault was blunted when the UED made use of their own ultralisks which clashed against Kerrigan's ultralisks. The ultralisk charge was stalled, unable to threaten the tanks. Any zerglings that managed to slip past were quickly incinerated by the firebats that were defending the siege tanks.
With the ground attack proving to be of limited effectiveness, Kerrigan sent in her air forces. Swarms of mutalisks and guardians moved to confront the UED's army. With the UED's fleet in space, Kerrigan was able to achieve air superiority in the limited area of the battlefield.
Despite not having any air forces, the UED's anti air capabilities were substantial. The goliaths carried powerful ground to air missiles which were used to devastate the attacking zerg. The marines were useful as well, shooting down the mutalisks that dived in close to attack. Meanwhile, the overmind's hydralisks added their power to the fight as well. Kerrigan's zerg, lacking any real capital ships, were suppressed by the ground anti air defenders and took heavy losses while failing to dislodge the tanks.
The tanks continued to fire upon the outlying hive clusters, and soon the zerg structures collapsed, devastated by the attack. As Kerrigan's zerg retreated, the UED moved in to mop up the remaining resistance. Now, they were ready to assail Kerrigan's primary hive cluster on the planet. This is where the remainder of Kerrigan's armies gathered.
As the UED began approaching the central hive, a large army of zerg moved to intercept them. The tanks quickly entered siege mode and the rest of the army entered a defensive formation, ready to repel the assault.
Kerrigan was leading the army of zerg personally, desperate to hold back the UED assault. She unleashed a powerful psionic storm which tore apart a group of siege tanks, and the rest of her army moved into the weakened area. Ultralisks clashed against each other and the marines had to deal with swarm of zerglings rushing at them.
Kerrigan focused her attention on the overmind's ultralisks, using her wings to stab deep into the ultralisk's body and ripping out its guts. The ultralisks were occupied with each other, so Kerrigan was able to attack with near impunity, occasionally sidestepping an attack from an enemy ultralisk. After killing several ultralisks, enough of her own ultralisks were freed up to allow them to launch an assault on the UED's lines.
Several defilers launched their plague toward the UED's army, sending sections of it into panic. Then, Kerrigan led the ultralisks in a charge toward the main body of the UED's force. The ultralisks braved the fire of the marines and goliaths as bullets peppered the tough carapace of the ultralisks.
The ultralisks crashed into the lines of marines, crushing those in the front. Zerglings and hydralisks moved in from behind, attacking as well, engaging in a fierce fight with the UED's army. Kerrigan began rampaging through the battlefield, slicing apart scores of marines with her myriad blades or crushing goliaths in her grip. She unleashed her psionic power to rip apart large groups of enemies, shattering pockets of resistance.
Then, reinforcements for the UED arrived. Several battlecruisers were detached from the blockade in order to lend their aid to the battle. As long as Kerrigan was engaged in battle, then the UED didn't have to worry about her escaping the planet, so they could afford the loosen the blockade.
The battlecruisers added their considerable firepower to the battle, helping to suppress the attacking zerg forces. When a battlecruiser shot its yamato gun toward Kerrigan, she was forced to quickly duck beneath a ultralisk. The ultralisk was killed by the shot, but Kerrigan escaped the effects of the impact. Around the battlefield, the other ultralisks were being felled by yamato blasts as well.
Killing the attacking ultralisks relieved a great deal of pressure, and the UED army fought with renewed vigor against Kerrigan and her zerg. The combined fire from the marines and goliaths tore through the hydralisks and zerglings, while the siege tanks were devastating in their own right. In addition, the overmind's zerg also began moving in to provide support.
Kerrigan tore apart her enemies at a rapid rate, but even she was only able to affect a small portion of the battlefield. More of her zerg were being killed, and the terrans were able to focus their attacks on her. Kerrigan was moving from one goliath to another, ripping through the fragile legs, sending the mechs crashing to the ground. She danced through the hail of bullets as she moved, but there was simply too many shots to dodge as the air was practically filled with metal.
Earlier in the battle, she had deflected incoming attacks away from herself psionically, but the constant attacks had worn her down. The effort to protect herself had exhausted her energy, and she was no longer able to maintain her psionic shield. Her carapace was able to take a great deal of punishment, but it was now filled with cracks and holes. By now, Kerrigan was forced to fight in melee, using her claws and wings to end her enemies. This also meant she couldn't hide behind any of her zerg, especially since her most of her ultralisks were dead. The tank shots were able to crack through her carapace and riddle her body with shrapnel. Though she was able to endure the pain and regenerate from her injuries, the attacks came without pause. She could feel her injuries taking longer to regenerate as her body's energy was exhausted. Still, she continued to fight, taking down scores of enemies while enduring the attacks.
The UED had held the initial assault and as they regrouped, they began pushing back Kerrigan's zerg. With the overmind's zerg supplementing their numbers, the flanks of the UED army were able to advance forward and begin putting pressure on Kerrigan's forces. Kerrigan, seeing that her forces were being enveloped, and considering the state of her own injuries, decided to retreat, recognizing that the situation was no longer favorable.
Kerrigan's zerg turned around and began to withdraw, fighting against the overmind's zerg that were sent to stop their retreat. As her zerg retreated, they were first met with zerglings, whose speed allowed them to intercept Kerrigan's forces first. The zerglings weren't too much of a threat, Kerrigan's zerglings and hydralisks were easily able to clear them out. However, they were able to delay for enough time to allow the rest of the UED's zerg to arrive.
The lumbering ultralisks of the UED were a formidable obstacle blocking their path, and the only choice for Kerrigan was to have her own ultralisks engage them, sacrificing them as a distraction to allow the rest of her forces to pass. Kerrigan and the remainder of her army passed by the ultralisks, and now only had to break through the assembled hydralisks. Kerrigan's hydralisks began to exchange fire with the overmind's hydralisks, and her zerglings charged in to claw their way through.
Kerrigan also entered the fray, slicing apart any hydralisks she could get her claws on. She cut through the ranks of the hydralisks with ferocity, allowing her zerg to begin flooding through the gap. Still, this tactic left her surrounded by the enemy hydralisks, allowing them to shoot at her from all directions. Although she tried to dodge, the hydralisks were numerous and the spines filled every inch of the air. The sharp hydralisk spines impaled Kerrigan's body from all directions, cutting through her weakened carapace and burying themselves in her flesh. She didn't have to endure this for long though as her forces were able to sweep in and relieve the pressure on her, but by the end she resembled a hedgehog with all of the spines sticking out of her, her regeneration working overtime to push the spines out of her body.
After breaking through the lines of hydralisks, the way ahead was clear. Kerrigan and the battered remnants of her army retreated, allowing Kerrigan to return to her hive to recuperate and recover her strength.
Meanwhile, the UED army regrouped and reorganized after their successful defense. They received some more reinforcements and then they began moving forward once more. Kerrigan had left burrowed zerg to spring ambushes, so the UED had to proceed carefully, making sure to scout out an area before moving through.
Finally, the UED reached the central hive cluster on the planet. Kerrigan and the remainder of her forces were here, and they would have to make their final stand. As the UED began assaulting the sunken colonies around the hive cluster, Kerrigan's zerg flooded out for a final assault.
By now, Kerrigan had lost her ultralisks, so she was forced to lead the breakthrough herself while the rest of her forces followed. The tanks and marines began battering at her, but she unleashed several psionic storms, forcing the UED army to scatter. The disruption to their lines was enough to allow her to make it to the UED lines as her zerg rushed in behind her. However, their path was blocked by ultralisks, the ones controlled by the UED.
Kerrigan began fighting several ultralisks as the rest of her forces became engaged in combat. She dodged the massive blades of the ultralisks as she began picking away at them. However, dealing with multiple ultralisks was difficult without any support, as she no longer had any ultralisks left. Furthermore, zerglings were swarming around, proving to be a nuisance as they leapt onto Kerrigan and gnawed at her legs and arms. Even though they did minimal damage and were dispatched easily, they were somewhat distracting. As Kerrigan finally finished off one ultralisk, burying her wings deep within it, another ultralisk took the opportunity to slash her across the back, ripping open a gash in her body. Though Kerrigan quickly turned around to attack her assailant, blasting it apart with a massive burst of psionic energy, a zergling took this opportunity to slash Kerrigan across the face, leaving a deep gash running down the middle. Kerrigan growled in anger and crushed the zergling in her grip but then another ultralisk caught her with its blade, slashing open her side.
Suddenly, a sniper round smashed through her shoulder and Kerrigan realized that there was a cloaked ghost riding one of the ultralisks. She jumped up onto the ultralisk to kill the attacking ghost. The ghost managed to get one more shot off, smashing a hole into Kerrigan's gut, but the Queen of Blades retaliated by ripping the ghost's body in half. Then, she killed the ultralisk beneath her.
Kerrigan stepped off the ultralisk's corpse and faced the UED soldiers in front of her. The marines were weak but annoying as their bullets were numerous, wearing her down through many small injuries. A firebat blasted his flamethrower, enveloping Kerrigan in burning hot flames. The plasma fuel flowed through the cracks in Kerrigan's beaten carapace and stuck to the inside of her wounds as it burned into her body.
Kerrigan screamed in pain as the fire burned her insides. She slashed the firebat in half, its fuel tank exploding and covering the area with more fire. The marines and goliaths continued to shoot at her, their bullets breaking more cracks into her carapace which allowed the flame to enter and begin searing her exposed flesh, the cauterization of the wound hindering its regeneration. Kerrigan stepped out of the flame and dashed into the group of marines, tearing through them as she vented her rage while the burning flames still smouldered in her wounds.
She killed the group of marines, but several more groups had arrived. In addition, battlecruisers now hovered overhead, bombarding Kerrigan with their laser blasts. She retreated from the area as the battlecruisers began tearing into her body. The remainder of the mutalisks swooped in to distract the battlecruisers and Kerrigan returned to her hive to heal her wounds.
After Kerrigan's retreat, the battle didn't last very long. The few zerg she had left were killed by the UED and the sunken colonies within the hive cluster were destroyed. The UED army surrounded the hive completely, moving in slowly and methodically as they tightened the encirclement. Science vessels scanned the ground around the hive constantly, preventing any escape from below the surface. The UED fleet had converged on this spot, clearing any remaining zerg fliers out of the airspace.
Kerrigan stood within her hive as the UED siege tanks began bombarding it. The walls of the hive shook with each impact, and the structure itself groaned in pain. She was the only one left, all of her zerg had been sent out in the attack. The hive continued to shake as explosions rocked its surface. Finally, it could take no more. With a dying wail, the massive fleshy structure collapsed inward onto itself.
Kerrigan crawled out of the blackened, twisted corpse of the hive. Recognizing that this was the end, she decided to take down as many of her attackers as possible. Psionic storms ripped apart entire groups of marines, but streams of bullets continue to fly toward her from every direction. The siege tank shells impacted her psionic shield, each impact draining more of her energy.
The attack was relentless. Even as Kerrigan killed the advancing soldiers, more came and continued the attack. Her mind was entirely focused, her desperation reinforcing her will and fueling her power. Still, this wasn't enough. With the impact of the next volley of the siege tanks shells, Kerrigan felt her psionic shield give way as she lacked the energy to maintain it. The shrapnel from the hit peppered itself against her body. Too exhausted to defend herself or even attack psionically, Kerrigan ran forward to finish the fight in melee.
Then, the battlecruisers approached, the fronts of the ships glowing as they charged up their yamato guns. Kerrigan felt a blast strike her, knocking her into the ground and breaking apart her carapace. The next shot burned into her body, tearing apart her flesh. Kerrigan screamed as more and more shots struck her. The salvo of yamato blasts pummeled the Queen of Blades, driving her into the rapidly forming crater.
Finally, the smoke cleared, revealing the blacked corpse of the once mighty zerg queen, now charred to a crisp by the mighty firepower of the United Earth Directorate. Humanity had triumphed and this great victory would bring the Directorate closer to the completion of its mission.