Thank you all for your reviews. I've decided not to do a poll, one story branch is preferable to the other in my mind and I'm running with that one. I've also tried to tie up Dave's arc here, but if you would like to see a bit more in depth what happened and why I would be glad to oblige.
Turtwig, thanks, I thought it would make sense to have them adapt to their occupation, rather than just making soldiers when the Swarm isn't around to guide their evolution.
Penstriker, thanks, hearing stuff like that makes me feel good about my work :)
Izwan, what i'm trying to do with the jump between missions is, there are some missions this squad will be taking part in, those are the ones i'm going to be focused on, and then there are the ones where they are recuperating or something else is going on. as good as those missions are, I will not be focusing on them as much. if that's not what your meaning please explain about the gradual build up. as for the combination between the two Haven missions, yes there were some crossovers. so far as Hanson's Infestation, I was going off of the cinematic Infested with that, although she might have exposed herself to the virus in that one, I figured she already was and so ran with it that way. if she was not infested, and she exposed herself, I can just slap an AU on it like I do with the Mech soldiers. i'm trying to do stuff with the Zerg virus, but I am in no way majoring in biology just yet, i'm still in high school :)
Yoshtar, that was one of my all time favorite lines throughout wings of liberty, alongside "easy tychus, this ain't science fiction". thanks for your support besides that.
as always, Read and Review
Dave is finally waking up. He was under for much longer than the doctors expected, to the point where they had worried it was permanent, but he's awake now. Not only that, but he's asking to see me. The last time I saw him, he was bleeding and still ranting incoherently about I was going to kill him, but hopefully my acting contrary to what he had expected has put a few points in my favor with him. Nevertheless, it is hard going to talk with him. I'm currently sitting in the waiting room, reading an article on a tablet. I deactivate it when I hear my name being called, he's awake again. I was waiting here because he's been drifting in and out of consciousness. I get up from my chair and walk back to the room he's in.
When I enter it, he looks up and says "I'm sorry." I am a little surprised that he would be that honest with me about it, but still very grateful. I sit down again in one of the chairs provided, and wait as he explains "you've proven yourself, I still feel justified in my concerns, but I'm sorry I didn't at least give you a chance." I nod slowly, and say "I understand, I provided you with a lot of unknowns, and given what happened to all of us in the brood war," he shakes his head there "it goes back farther than that. You heard the reports about Mar Sara, right?" I nod, and say "The first documented infestation was found there." He responds "My father led that garrison. I found him afterwards, when the raiders had burned it out. He was still alive. He… told me he was in control of himself, just like you did. I took him home; afterwards, to see if whatever happened to him would get better. As soon as my back was turned… " he starts weeping softly. So that was it, he had been presented with a similar situation before, and it had burned him. He says "do you see? Can you understand why I wasn't able to trust?" I simply nod, and say, "I understand, and I forgive you." He lets out a long, deep breath, and says "thank you." Then he falls back to sleep, the monitors giving a steady beat to show that he is still alive.
I return to my Barracks a little bit wiser than when I had left, and a lot more somber. Dave had never really opened up about his past, but I can see, with twenty/twenty hindsight, how badly he was against anything to do with the Zerg. I feel sorry for him, but I don't think that knowing why he hated much before would have done much to earn his trust. With something like that, when you are so burned by something, only a lot of evidence to the contrary can allow you to warm up to it again.
After talking to him, I decide to go down to Hanson's lab, I haven't talked to her much since she was changed by the virus, excluding the training area earlier today, which doesn't exactly count, and besides that I just want something else to think about for a moment. She's working on something when I enter, it appears to be something to do with the dominion. When she notices my entry, she waves me over. It's the Dominion's report on the Haven situation. I'm a little curious as to how they'll spin this one as well. I blanch when I read what they have to say about Haven, "world infested, do not approach" I ask "did something happen?" she shakes her head, "they've classified all the Infested as part of the swarm, contradicting themselves, and forcing UNN to release a statement of apology. Right now, everyone inside the Dominion believes this world to be part of the Zerg Swarm." I'm unhappy at that, but then say "well, it is the Dominion, what can you expect?" she agrees, "we weren't planning on staying with them anyway, but this just makes it official." Then I ask "have the other governments issued a statement?" she shakes her head in the negative. "The Umojans have kept quiet about it, but through back channels have agreed to support us if we need it, and the Kel-Morians don't care." That sounds like the classic response from each of the three, and it's not something I didn't expect if I think about it.
That finished, I ask her "how are you feeling? I know that for the first couple of days it was very hard." She answers "it's really not that different, and all the changes have been beneficial. Couple that with the crew having already been acclimatized to Infested aboard their ship thanks to you, and it really isn't that big of a change." I respond "so no lingering worries?" she shakes her head in the negative "I found the treatment, and helped make it myself, I know what it does, and I'm confident that I'm in control. However, Kerrigan will know about you now, even if she hasn't seen your face specifically, she will know we have a way of curing infestation, and will likely be coming after us with greater force than we have seen yet. We're a threat to her now." "That we are, what are you working on now?" I inquire, as most of her time has been devoted to finding out why my mind remained intact, "I'm going to keep studying Infestation, see if there is a way to reverse it. The current treatment isn't as strong as I would like it to be, and if we can get it to work on those who are already infested, or if we can reverse the other symptoms, it would go a long way." "Alright, if you need my help, don't hesitate to ask, I have a stake in finding a cure as well, you know." I then leave her to her work.
I walk slowly back to my Barracks, relishing being alone with my thoughts, something that I have not been for a while. I think about the future, what life will be like when this war ends, as all wars must. I will go back to civilian life, regardless of my condition. I hope that a lot of others will do the same. Of course, the time I have will be longer than the time some others may. I'm Zerg, which means that through constant mutation and replication of cells I can live a much longer life than unaltered Terrans. We honestly have no records of a Zerg ever dying of natural causes. That scares me a little, not because I want to die, but because I can't fathom living for that long. My Terran brain may make the survival of my body academic, however. I take a mental step back and decide it's not something I necessarily want to think about, and so turn my thoughts to other subjects.
Back in my Barracks, I log onto my profile, and set up for a game with Zeke and Blake. I continue this for a while, grabbing dinner when it is time, until lights out. When the night cycle begins, I climb into my bed, and attempt to fall asleep. For some reason, it will not come easily, and so I spend a good forty-five minutes lying awake. I can feel something, I don't know what, but there is some… thing here, and it's boring into my skull, not physically, but mentally. It's… I don't even know how to describe it, a pressure from outside, constant and demanding. The pressure is strangely familiar, however, All curves and shadows. It's Dark and Cold, alien, but again, familiar. that's the impression I get from the pressure against my mind. When it senses my awareness of it, it fades to nothing.
Zeratul, Prelate of the Dark Templar, had grown careless in his probing of the Changed One's mind. He had a message to deliver to Raynor, one of utmost importance, but when he detected not only one Zerg, but many aboard the ship, he was startled and worried for his friend. When he examined their minds, however, something was wrong. They were Zerg, but they were not. It was as though the Infestation which had overtaken them was nothing more than a covering, below which their minds were unchanged. He had gotten a report from Selendis about the situation over the planet the Terrans had named Haven, but he had not believed it. Now, not only was there conformation for the report, but conformation for what Raynor had said as well. When he had sensed Kerrigan's consciousness four years ago, it had still been shrouded in the Zerg's Hive Mind. These, though, were not. He would need to investigate further, but not tonight. For tonight he simply waited, watching for his opportunity to alert Raynor to the Doom which chased them all.
I wake up, and immediately search my mind for the pressure that had been there the night before. It was gone, but I would report this to the Psychologists, it would be wrong not to, after all. If the Zerg were trying to enter my consciousness, I need to alert them to the possibility. But, I don't think it was the Zerg. What I have heard of them does not match the icy darkness of the mind I had contact with last night. The first course of action would be to talk to the other Infested, and see if they felt the same thing. If it was an isolated phenomenon, that could mean one thing, while if everyone felt the dark chill, then it may mean another altogether. I get out of bed, noting the time, still a good half hour before Day began, and get ready for the day. I begin to feel this concern in the back of my mind, like a tingle at the back of my neck. It's the same consciousness, but a lot less heavy-handed this time. I would definitely be reporting this. After I clean myself off, and get dressed in new clothes, the Day cycle has begun, and I immediately head to the Bridge. This is going to Raynor himself.
I walk out onto the Bridge; somewhere I have been maybe four times before. Matt is here, but Raynor is absent. I decide to talk to him instead, as chasing down Raynor is not preferable. And telling Matt is basically the same thing. "Julia, what's wrong?" he says, seeing me, "it may be nothing," I begin, "but last night, I felt… something, in my mind. I don't know what it is, but It is still there. I'm not sure if it's the Zerg trying to break into my consciousness or what, but I feel that I need to tell you, just in case." He says "do you even have a connection to the Swarm?" I shake my head "not that I know of, but it's better to be safe than sorry, when something like this is going on." He nods, "what would you like me to do about it?" I respond "ask the rest of the Infested what they felt, if it is the same thing, then we have a problem, if it's not, I could just have had some weird nightmare." He agrees, and says "thank you for bringing this to my attention."
That accomplished, I head back to my Barracks, where my squad is preparing hurriedly for the mission. We are heading down to the barren world of Xil, taking this route because the Odin is still being transported to Korhal. We don't know what's down there, but it wiped out the Möbius Foundation base down there, and they have an energy drill. As such, all Marine teams are being deployed that aren't coming down off of last mission's stims. We're not going to be using stims for this mission, because after it we're going to Korhal, which is something that every single marine team without fail has volunteered for.
"so, they're sending us down here, and we're supposed to wait while a drill literally bores into an ancient alien burial ground, and we're doing it in a base, where every single person has mysteriously vanished without a trace. We're screwed" Zeke sums up the situation perfectly. "It's not that bad" Blake tries to make us feel a little better, "it's not like we're assaulting char or anything. This world has no known habitations, whoever came here, did so recently." I shake my head at that "thanks for jinxing us, Blake, now we're going to wind up doing just that." Andrew cuts in "cut the chatter soldiers, we're about to hit Atmo, I want Mission Protocols engaged." "sir" came the response. We hit atmo, along with two heavy set Siege Tanks of our own, and begin the mission.