Author's Note: This is exactly the reason why I tend not to make promises of when chapters can go up (too many cases of Murphy's Law happens in my life). In the last chapter, I had said that I would speed up my updates for this fic unless something goes completely wrong. Well, almost right after I posted up chapter 57, that "something" happened. I'll spare you guys the details, but I'm not entirely sure if the problem is really fixed yet. It appears so, but it's too soon to tell.

But regardless, if it has been fixed, then I'll be able to resume my normal updating speed that I promised.

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Please read and review and I'll see you next time.

Chapter 58

Aiur

From deep within the jungle foliage of Aiur, the hybrid watched as Protoss Scouts continued to patrol the skies, escorting the vast numbers of robotic Observers. The amount of escorts protecting the Observers had decreased greatly since the combined terran-Protoss offensive towards the husk of the Overmind had been a success. The last major Zerg bastion on the Protoss homeworld had been too badly weakened to continue to defend the corpse of its master, and upon witnessing the Zerg forces had scattered from the battlefield, both the Firstborns and the terrans had concluded that all that remained was the clean up the isolated pockets of resistance.

To an extent, they were not entirely unjustified in this belief. Despite the fact that he had sensed a great deal of arrogance within Jim Raynor's fighting force, the hybrid also saw that there were indeed a few intellect terrans that had logically analyzed the battlefield and its aftermath.

The loss of all of the Aiur hive clusters meant that the remaining Zerg forces on the planet were on the run without any means to replenish their numbers. The Protoss forces had issued specific orders for Zerg drones to be among the highest priority targets so that they could not mutate into hatcheries and thus spawn the necessary larvae in order to reinforce the Zerg remnants. Reaching out with his mind, the hybrid could no longer sense the presence of any more drones on Aiur, meaning that from this point forth the Zerg numbers could only decrease.

The next major targets were to be the most massive of the Zerg breeds. After the brief catastrophe that had temporary sent the terran and Protoss forces into disarray by the combined efforts of the Zerg Krackens and Leviathans, special priority had been given to eradicating them as quickly as possible. Given the massive size of both creatures, neither was particularly effective at hiding from the Protoss fleets. All over Aiur as the hybrid had blinked from one place to another, Observer reports were coming to the Protoss command that the Zerg Krakens were being exterminated.

With few of the heavy breeds left, the hybrid saw logic in the Protoss beginning to lower their guard in their continued hunt against the remaining Zerg forces. The Zerg had always relied on their massive numbers to tip the battle in their favor, regardless of the variety of breeds the swarm had at its disposal. As both the terrans and Protoss had concluded years ago, if the overwhelming numbers factor could be overcome, victory against the Zerg could be much more rapidly achieved, and this was exactly the case that was now developing on Aiur.

Nevertheless, this would eventually prove to be their downfall. Neither the terrans nor the Protoss are aware of this, but by now a strong Zerg presence was no longer necessary. Although on a one to one basis, the average size Zerg creature was on par in fighting ability and strength with the average Protoss warrior, it was a completely different story when compared to the terrans.

From what he had witnessed during the terran force assaulting the Zerg towards the Overmind, the hybrid quickly saw that compared to the Protoss, the terrans were much more cowardly. While they share the Firstborns value in cherishing life, it appeared that the terrans understood very little in the concept of self sacrifice in order to archive the greater good. In fact, when it came to the fighting characteristics of the terrans, it seemed that they preferred to fight in a battlefield where they would completely dominate the enemy in both quantity and quality numbers and material.

This may explain why he had sensed loathing and resentment when it came to fighting the Zerg, as achieving overwhelming numbers against the swarm was virtually impossible under any circumstances. Unlike the Protoss, the terran species seemed highly unwilling to trade lives in the hopes that in the long run they might reap the benefits of such a sacrifice.

If so, this would prove to be their undoing, and the hybrid believed once his master's plan was free to progress forward once again, the terrans would and should be the first to be eradicated by the Zerg swarm, as they were certainly proving themselves the weaker of the species. The Protoss-terran hybrids known as gestalts that he had briefly seen on Aiur, led by the Dominion terran force, was an indication that there were those in the terran race that were indeed that were willing to venture into the unknown, but even in such cases there was proof that many terrans had absolutely no comprehension of the path they were taking.

Even so, the hybrid knew there were those in the terrans that must never be underestimated. Even his master had acknowledged the potential threat that James Raynor may pose. What he had achieved on Char was something most terrans would have considered completely impossible, a clear indication that while the terran showed signs of arrogance, he was nevertheless a very capable opponent who is able to snatch away a victory against overwhelming odds.

For the time being, there was the matter of assembling the Zerg survivors, and the hybrid had already come across numbers of Roaches and Hydralisks, all of which came under his control, where he had sent them to gather at a designated location on Aiur. It was a relatively remote area, and far away from the patrolling Protoss warriors. The heavier strains such as Ultralisks, Brutalisks, and Omegalisks proved much more difficult, as their large size made them stand out much more easily on the battlefield and they were frequently subjected to Protoss Carrier and Void Ray attacks, and most of them were killed before the hybrid had a chance to reach them.

Regardless, if all went according to plan, he did not have to keep up the survivor gathering for an extended period of time. Soon, the former Queen of Blades would be returning to Aiur. When she does, the hybrid would snuff out the last hope of salvation for both the terrans and Protoss, and bring the victory his master had been waiting for.

Dominion Command Center, Bel'Shir

General Madison entered the makeshift conference room in the lower levels of the Command Center. This was technically the infirmary wing, but as there hadn't been any casualties from firefights with the enemy, activity here was mostly minimal. The reports he had been receiving in the field from Dominion messengers had indicated that with the exception of helping the psionically exhausted ghost agents make it to relative safety behind the Dominion troops, all of the female Dominion medics had very little to do.

While this was indeed a good sign, the fact remained that the risks of the Dominion presence being discovered on the Protoss jungle moon of Bel'Shir was steadily growing. Despite the fact that the ghost operatives were making full recoveries from psionic exhaustion, reports clearly indicated with each recovery process was taking longer than the previous one.

This wasn't completely surprising to him. Dominion ghost agents were never meant to be used in such a manner. Even in cases where they were assigned missions that required them to use much more of their psionic energy than normal, very few of them had ever reached a point where they would be so thoroughly exhausted and wouldn't even have the strength to remain conscious. Even in the cases where it did happen, they were evacuated by Dominion forces relatively quickly and sent elsewhere to make a full recovery, where it would then be a few weeks before they would be assigned for another mission to ensure they regain their full strength.

On the other hand, using them as mere tools to open the Protoss seals on the altars was completely different, especially when the operatives had to be called upon again and again to facilitate in the terrazine harvesting operation. Fortunately, the sound amplifiers positioned at the water springs were still doing their job, and the Dominion engineering teams were reporting full functionality on the devices. This had allowed the Dominion SCVs to continue the terrazine collecting without coming under attack from the Tal'darim Protoss.

As such, for the time being there was no immediate need for him to return to the battlefield to direct his troops for battle, though Madison remained on alert in the event of such a possibility. For now, he could focus on another matter at hand after he had conceded to one of the Dominion doctors with regards to digging up information about the Dominion's projects, specifically if it involved this terrazine substance.

"General Madison," one of the Dominion doctors greeted from the meeting table. "I hope you were able to find some information about what we're dealing with here. Right now the whole medical team is just blindly stabbing about in the dark trying to figure this terrazine gas out."

"Dr. Collins," Madison greeted the female doctor back, as he sat down on one of the chairs. "You have been the one to personally monitor our marine patient who got exposed to the terrazine. Any news on that?"

"Yes, although it's not something you want to hear," Collins said quietly. "The terrazine apparently cannot last very long without proper preparation and special containers. It has a half-life of less than 24 hours unless contained under the right circumstances."

"I don't think that's going to be a problem," the general said. "None of the containers have been opened, so the terrazine gas should be safe the way it is."

"Be that as it may, I'm more concerned about our patient and what the substance is doing to him."

"How is he so far?"

"Well the substance isn't killing him, but that's the only good news," the female doctor said. "After the sedatives had worn off, he tried to escape the infirmary room by stealing a scalpel and putting it against one guy's throat, threatening to kill him unless the doctors disengaged the security locks. Luckily for us one of the ghost operatives was nearby, and got the drop on him before anyone was hurt."

"So where is he now?"

"Asleep," Collins answered. "I gave him a massive overdose of sedatives so that he won't go completely psycho the moment he wakes up, but this is only a temporary solution. Continued usage of sedatives also has its consequences, but the rest of the doctors and I agree that unless something can be found that can counter the terrazine, there's not much of a choice."

"That's why we hope you have some good news for us, general," another doctor spoke up. "If you found anything about this substance, it could help us out here."

Madison adjusted a little in his seat. "I do have some news about it, but I'm not quite sure if it's considered good or not."

Everyone else at the conference table leaned forward slightly, immediately paying attention to what the general was going to say next.

"Apparently, this is not the first time the Dominion has encountered this terrazine before," Madison explained. "It had been used before in military applications via Project ShadowBlade."

Collins shook her head, disgusted. "I'm not the slightest bit surprised by this. So what happened?"

"It's very similar to what's happening here," the general answered. "The people who got exposed to the terrazine went psycho, although it would appear that some people involved in the project claimed that's not entirely the case, even though this was mostly disavowed."

"Well with Mengsk, his words always seem to overrule others as the truth," the doctor grumbled. "Did the project give any details on what the terrazine does, other than make people go crazy?"

"There's only theories, but I was able to find out some information on what the Dominion had hoped the terrazine would do. In addition, I found out some information about the potential threat the terrazine may pose to us, regardless of its potential."

"What do you mean, general?" one of the doctors asked.

"Apparently we terrans aren't the only ones who have mined this terrazine in the past," Madison replied. "Whatever this substance really does, it's sought after by both the Zerg and the Protoss. Clearly this gas is valuable to them as well."

Seeing the unease on the doctors' faces, the general continued. "From what I managed to dig up, it would seem the story with the terrazine gas began back in 2501, less than a year after the Dominion had been formed. Back then, General Warfield was still on active service in the military."

"I thought that was the year he retired," Collins mused.

"He did," the general answered. "It was related to Project ShadowBlade and the terrazine substance as well."

Madison paused for a moment before continuing, "In 2501, an unmanned Dominion space probe had detected some sort of strange gas leak from a fringe planet known as D-4358. Dominion personnel had been sent there to investigate, where they nicknamed the planet Demon's Fair due to its harsh environment and extreme temperature shifts from scorching hot to freezing cold. The probe had detected Protoss ruins on the surface, along with an ancient shrine and a mining facility."

"Let me guess, the emperor sent the military there because he thought if it was valuable to the Protoss then it might be a power source for the Dominion as well?" a doctor asked.

"Exactly," the general replied. "Dominion teams had discovered the Protoss writings on the shrine walls. They appear to be identical to some of the writings we have seen on the altars here on Bel'Shir."

Collins frowned. "So you're saying the Protoss on Demon's Fair belong to the same Protoss branch we're dealing with here, the Tal'darim."

Madison nodded. "From the writing, it was from there that the Dominion learned that this gas was called the Breath of Creation by the Protoss, which the Dominion translated into terrazine. Some of the Dominion troops got exposed to the terrazine, and it made them go psycho. Yet Mengsk was more interested in the military applications of the gas, and after being persuaded by others, he ordered Project ShadowBlade to be formed. General Warfield was chosen to be the head of the project."

"The whole thing must have collapsed onto itself after the people there saw they couldn't control the terrazine," the female doctor concluded.

"That is correct, and the people there suffered the same addiction problem to the terrazine. It drove them mad with hallucinations, mania, and violent outbursts. One team member called Cole Bennett killed most of the team members, and so the project was put on hold indefinitely. Warfield himself retired from the Dominion, and was sworn to secrecy never to tell anyone about it. The project records were destroyed, and with so few members from the project still alive, it was easy to conjure up the story that none of it ever happened. Everyone thought that was the end of the matter altogether."

"But something caused it to come back?" Collins asked.

"It had been thought that Cole Bennett had died, but apparently this was not the case," Madison explained. "With the knowledge of Project ShadowBlade behind him, he had sought to revive the project. In 2503, the planet Altara had been used as a trap for Dominion ghosts. Apparently Bennett's forces had lured some of them there, where they were captured and he turned them against the Dominion. The ghosts were then converted into Spectres, and to serve him."

"How was he stopped?"

"That's a tricky one, doctor. Even our best ghost operative, Nova Terra, AKA Agent X41822N, was sent there and she had no success. Fortunately, she was able to avoid capture. The emperor assigned her to the task of defeating those Spectres after they had attacked his palace."

"They actually dared to go that far?" another doctor exclaimed. "No enemy of the Dominion has ever had the nerve to try something like that before!"

"That must have been why they thought it would work. Agent X41822N and her ghost team were sent there to stop them, but her team was killed, along with all of the emperor's elite bodyguards. Fortunately for us, she was able to accomplish the mission by herself and save the emperor. The details get sketchy from there, but it was confirmed that Cole Bennett was indeed killed, and Agent X41822N proved successful in her mission, just as she always does."

"That might prove to be a problem now," one of the doctors said quietly. "You said it yourself that Jim Raynor turned her against us, against the Dominion."

"That may give us some more insight as to why Mengsk wants the terrazine harvested from here so badly," the general replied. "According to the records from Cole Bennett before Project ShadowBlade was terminated, he had tried to explain that the terrazine substance could be controlled, and how the experiments with it could be a success."

"What exactly was the terrazine tested on?" Collins asked.

"This is the part that confused me, doctor," Madison said, rubbing his chin. "According to the information I was able to dig up, Project ShadowBlade primarily tested itself on Dominion ghost operatives, with the intent that it would make them stronger."

"Did they succeed?"

"To a small degree, yes. But on the practical side, this turned out to be a catastrophe. Ghosts are valuable assets of the Dominion because of their psionic abilities, and since terrazine gas affects the brain, it also affects the alpha waves the brain emanates that give the ghosts their psionic powers to begin with, and enhanced them, in some cases significantly."

"I don't see why this is considered a failure then, general."

"Because enhanced psionic powers take a backseat when compared to loyalty to the Dominion, doctor. Ghost operatives having relationships is virtually unheard of due to the memory wipes they undergo, usually after each mission they take. Combined with the neural inhibitors, it keeps our agents loyal to the Dominion. You may not like the system due to its ethics, but the fact remains that it works. Unfortunately, it seems that terrazine finally found a way around all this."

"What do you mean?" Collins asked.

"I'm not too sure on the exact details, but the memory wipe process essentially kills off or suppresses the cells in your brain that contain any previous memory of what you have," Madison explained. "That's why once an operative undergoes it, he can't remember anything. The problem when experimenting with terrazine, however, is that the substance seems to have the ability to cause brain cells to regenerate."

"So you're saying this could reverse the effects of the memory wipe?"

"In theory, yes. That is why I've sent the messengers coming to the Command Center to pass the word: the ghosts we still have here must never come into contact with terrazine canisters. Cole Bennett had used the terrazine to turn Dominion ghosts into spectres, but I didn't find any details as to how he did this. That doesn't necessarily mean that the moment our ghosts get exposed to the terrazine they'll turn on us, but we simply can't afford to take that chance. Our numbers on Bel'Shir are depleted enough as it is if the Protoss discover us, the last thing we need is to lose ghosts over the terrazine."

Dr. Collins nodded, taking it all in. The vast majority of Dominion marines were taking from the penal system prisons, which meant that most of them had undergone the neural resocialization process so they would stay loyal to the Dominion. The process itself also affected the brain, and thus could be very similar to the memory wipe process Dominion ghost operatives go through.

If so, then the marine still in the infirmary may prove to be a bigger danger than she once thought. Virtually all of the marines that had undergone the resocialization process had not done so willingly, and the few she had come into contact with admitted that they had little memories of their previous life.

If the terrazine could regenerate brain cells, then it could affect Dominion marines just as it could affect ghosts. Granted right now there's only one person who has been exposed to the substance, but that didn't mean he wouldn't expose others to it if given the chance.

"General, if you'll excuse me, I have to make a brief check-up on our patient," the doctor said calmly, pushing herself upwards from the chair.

Madison nodded. "We'll all still be waiting here, Dr. Collins. Just try to get back as soon as possible. You said you wanted to hear the whole story of everything I dug up about the terrazine, I would also like to give my opinions about it."

Collins gave a slight nod, before turning around and leaving the room without another word, leaving Madison and the rest of the Dominion doctors and medical personnel behind. Before she closed the door, she took one last look at them. It seemed that some of the doctors shared the same concern she did.

Tarsonis

A Dominion officer saluted Jim as he stepped out onto the battlefield in his CMC Powered Combat Suit. "Commander Raynor, our base setup is nearly complete. We're making the final preparations before we will be able to intercept the Dominion troops here on Tarsonis and disrupt their salvaging operation."

Jim saluted back. "Carry on, soldier. I want to make this stop on the former Confederate homeworld quick. We may have bigger matters to attend to than just the Dominion."

Around him, the commander could see marines, Marauders, Firebats, and Reapers exiting their dropships, as SCVs moved into position to begin constructing bunkers to defend their base perimeter. They varied in design. After obtaining the Zerg research to improve the bunkers, Stetmann had discovered a way to build both the Shrike Turret types and the Fortified types. The former was based on the Zerg Spore Crawler, adding an automated gun turret that added firepower for defense, while the latter was inspired by the Ultralisk carapace, allowing the bunkers to withstand greater punishment before failing, as was all too often the case in the face of concentrated Zerg attacks.

Goliath walkers and Siege Tanks were also being deployed, though some of them were to be used in the attacking force to deal with the Dominion's defenses. Jim had decided to leave all of the S.E.T.H. warbots and Cyber Devourers on Aiur instead, as he did not underestimate the abilities of the Dominion's engineers. He had little doubt that if they encountered one here and captured it, the Dominion military would immediately begin mass producing them.

Regardless, Warfield's troops seemed to be deploying in a relatively efficient manner, and Jim smiled at such a sight. Clearly the recent battles they had undergone from the Char invasion, to clearing Agria, liberating New Folsom, and finally fighting alongside the Protoss on Aiur had given them plenty of experience. By now, most of them were battle hardened veterans, no longer among the manpower pool taken from the prisons prior to the Zerg invasion.

His smile turned into a frown, however, as he turned his eyes. Away from the Dominion troops, Nova sat on a nearby boulder cleaning her C-20 Canister Rifle.

Jim suddenly recalled what the blond ghost had told him shortly after they had entered Tarsonis's atmosphere regarding the hallucination dream or something where Tosh had appeared to her. Clearly ever since she had gotten her memories back, the ghosts of the past had come back to haunt her, and Nova was still suffering from a great deal of guilt for all of her actions, the ones regarding killing Tosh and destroying his Spectres project only the most recent one. Raynor himself was still unsure about whether the Spectres would have eventually been a threat to him or not had he sided with Tosh back then, but from what he pieced together after reliving Nova's memories, clearly there was more to Tosh than what met the eye.

Nova saw Jim approaching and scooted over slightly, making a bit more room for the commander.

He sat down next to her. "We all have our demons to face, Nova. You knew this even before you regained your memories."

"Is that the reason you're coming with the attack group instead of giving orders from the base?" Nova asked.

Jim nodded glumly. "Before the Zerg invasion, I usually avoided the topic of Tarsonis with the Raiders. Every time that topic was brought up, it only served as a reminder for my biggest failure, the one that cost humanity the most: I couldn't persuade Sarah from refraining from going to New Gettysburg by herself, and I didn't get there fast enough to save her from the Zerg."

"Doesn't mean you didn't make up for it," the blond countered. "Are you suggesting your actions on Char accomplished nothing?"

"All I know is that Sarah went through four and a half years of hell because I didn't step in when I had the chance," Jim said quietly. "If I had maybe none of this would have happened."

"You're not the only one, Jim. This is where the nightmares began for me, and they didn't stop after I became a Dominion ghost as I thought it would."

"You couldn't have known that back then, that's all. You said it yourself that the Dominion Ghost Program was to train the recruits into cold and efficient killing machines for the sole purpose of serving the Dominion government, nothing more. Given that, even if you had accepted the friendships of the others at the academy it would have made no difference as the memory wipes upon graduation would have suppressed all that."

"Until Tosh and I crossed paths again over the Spectres and the terrazine conflict," Nova said sadly. "All he was trying to do was free ghost agents from Mengsk's oppression and I killed him for it, along with all his Spectres that he worked so hard to free. I devoted my whole life to a tyrant without even the slightest regret. I can still see it in the eyes of Warfield's men every time they look at me. Despite the fact that they're part of the Raiders too, they still see me as a Dominion traitor."

Jim snorted. "They're going to be viewed the same way soon. Once we encounter the Dominion troops here we'll be hearing plenty of accusations from them of how they broke their oath to the Dominion military. Tosh did the same thing some years back."

"It doesn't change the fact I killed him simply because I didn't understand what he was really doing."

The commander thought about it for a moment. "The way I see it, Tosh's way of freedom and liberty isn't really too far from my own methods."

"How can you say that?" Nova asked. "I doubt you'd really do anything to get the job done."

"Maybe not," Jim agreed. "But you have to look at it from Tosh's point of view. Before he and I met on Redstone III, he was just a renegade Dominion ghost, and even that knowledge required a little digging to find out. To the rest of the public, he was just a typical space pirate. Under those conditions, it would be extremely difficult for him to find allies to challenge Mengsk. Don't forget, while the terrans and Protoss are not in a state of war, the fact remains that the Raiders are the only confirmed allies to them. The Dominion is certainly their enemy, so there was no way Tosh could have turned to the Protoss and asked for their help or anything like that. Therefore, to him, it would have made no difference whether the Protoss had the ability to recovery the memories of ghost agents or not because Tosh would have been unable to convince them to help him in his cause. That being the case, it would explain why he had to turn to the terrazine option again despite what had happened in the past because there were simply no other options left."

Nova nodded slowly, understanding. "That doesn't explain why he pushed ahead with those plans of his after he joined up with you."

Raynor rubbed his chin. "Well, obviously Tosh and I had different morals and ethics. At that point he didn't know if I would really trust him or not. That was why he didn't mention to me about the jorium crystals during the mining operation on Redstone III, Dr. Hanson had to tell me that herself. When you sent me that transmission about Project ShadowBlade and the usage of jorium and terrazine to enhance ghost abilities, I became very suspicious of Tosh. It became really hard to know just who's side he was really on."

The ghost looked down in guilt. "I should have known better, Jim."

"It's not your fault, Nova. Tosh's actions for the jorium and terrazine mining on Redstone III and Bel'Shir were barely any different from when I struck a deal with Valerian for the Char invasion. As I tried explaining to Matt numerous times over, no matter how much we all want it, the fact remains this isn't an ideal world. There are times where we have to improvise with what we have at our disposal, and work with people we aren't sure we can fully trust. He can argue all he wants about how it'll backfire on the Raiders in the end, but it's not like he has come up with any better solutions."

"You really think it was a good idea sending him to Dead Man's Rock and telling him to work with Kerrigan without your supervision? He may have been part of your Raiders since the beginning, but it doesn't take a psychic to know that he's still very suspicious about Sarah."

"I'm only one man. Matt knows I can't keep this up forever, so sooner or later she will have to work with the Raiders without me looking over everything," Jim answered. "Once we're done here, we'll go back to Aiur. By then hopefully the Protoss will have killed off all the remaining Zerg, and we can finally learn more about the Xel'Naga prophecy."

Nova leapt off the boulder, picking up her rifle. "Then let's get to it quickly. I'm really hoping we can uncover something useful like the last time you were here. Mengsk had already silenced the rioting, so hopefully we can start it up again."

Dominion Base, Dead Man's Rock

"The base defenses are up and running, sir," A Dominion officer reported to General Ridgeway as the two of them inspected the Dominion forward base established on Dead Man's Rock. Beside them, marines rushed from their fortified positions towards their destinations. Some of them were heading towards the troop transport vehicles, others were coordinating with the Dominion engineers and digging trenches.

In the skies above, Ravens flew overhead and deployed their auto-turrets around the base perimeter, while being escorted by Wraiths and Banshees. Other dropships continued to land, carrying with them ammunition supplies for the Marauders, Reapers, Siege Tanks, Thors, and Goliaths.

"There has been no sign that the people on the planet know we're here?" Ridgeway asked.

"Not that we can tell," the officer replied. "Although I don't see what difference it would make even if they did. This entire planet is a haven for pirates, mercenaries, and smugglers. Illegal activity is rampant everywhere, and nothing else is permanent. Whatever armed forces the people have are all inferior to Dominion weaponry anyway, and they have to be smart enough to know that. There might be a select few that might pose a slight threat to us, but nothing more."

"That is true," the general said. "Even so, I had my reasons for bringing the three Apocalypse-Class nuclear warheads down from the BattleCruisers and to the forward base here. They may be more vulnerable on the surface, but they can also be transported faster from one place to another instead of being launched from the BattleCruisers."

"It's a wise decision, sir. I agree with the emperor's assessment that the mercs here are nothing but cowards. All we have to do is scare them to that point, and they'll submit to the Dominion right away."

"That's a bridge we'll be crossing another day, soldier. Right now we're just here to deal with Mira Han and retrieve Orlan." Ridgeway turned his head to one of the technician officers. "Has there been any luck locating Han's forces yet?"

"No sir," came the reply. "We have been able to detect minor concentrations of them scattered here and there, but the core of her mercenary battle group isn't showing up on our scanners. There's billions of rusted metal hulks of ships and other vehicles on Dead Man's Rock, some of them might be interfering with the scanners, so my guess is Han must have hidden her forces within those derelicts. If they refuse to show themselves, we'll have no choice but to head to the individual towns to search."

Ridgeway shook his head, disgusted. Mercenaries never seem to make it easy initially. "Any probable guesses as to where she might be hiding them?"

"The only major settlements on this planet are Paradise and Deadman's Port, sir. Unless she hid them out in the wastelands, those two places seem to be the only possibility that could conceal such a massive fighting force."

"Then that'll be the place we'll be sending most of our troops," Ridgeway stated, before turning to the Dominion officer once more. "Send a few scouting patrols to the smaller towns and ask the inhabitants about Han's whereabouts. The rest of the strike force will head to the major cities. If Mira Han is there, we'll be sure to find her."