Author's note: So school's been treating me nicer than I expected and I got this one up sooner than I thought! Enjoy!
I completely overlooked Kaldir when writing the other stories and the earlier chapters of this one. Unfortunately by this point in the story I don't have a choice but to retcon the events there otherwise there is no way that the outcome I wanted could happen. Thanks again to Simon22 who pointed that out (to answer your question beforehand, Niadra wasn't created the same way in this universe).
Hyperion, Mar Sara orbit
Jim faced the viewscreen as they waited for Zagara to respond to their hail, apprehensive and slightly impatient. He knew that by almost all rules of the universe they shouldn't be able to communicate period, but he had other things on his mind that he would much rather be paying attention to.
After a lengthly silence, the broodmother's image appeared. "What is it, James Raynor? I presume you are ready to hand back our queen?" He didn't fail to notice that she had called him by name rather than by race. It seemed the Zerg's opinion of him seemed to have changed favorably during their time as allies.
"Not quite, Zagara." There was one thing he could appreciate about dealing with the Zerg: you could be blunt as a brick wall and they wouldn't care. Given their nature they probably preferred it that way too. "We'll hand over Sarah once she's recovered, but that time isn't now. I assure you that no harm will come to her."
"Then why have you contacted us? By now I am certain that you can be assured of protecting our queen. I made that clear already."
"The Protoss have summoned her to a trial."
"A doubtless ploy to attempt to disorganize the Swarm and murder our queen! Protoss are no more trustworthy than your kind deem us to be!"
"Hold on, Zagara. I'm not so sure about that. Besides, they won't succeed in breaking the Swarm's unity as long as you're still around. I wanted to have your assurances that you won't seek retribution if they do."
"That is unacceptable! We may survive without our queen, but the Swarm thrives off perpetual motion, James Raynor! These weeks of langour have not been kind on our numbers!"
"I don't think Sarah said you couldn't seek new essence and such, only that you not harm either the Protoss or Terrans."
"Then you expect me to stand aside while our queen is executed? This is not the way of the Zerg! We are bound to serve our leader's will!"
Jim paused slightly before answering. "Sarah won't have anything different to say. As she currently can't, I'm informing you that that is her will."
Zagara retreated into sullen silence for several seconds before Stukov stepped in.
"Raynor is correct. We would be acting in the better interests of all should we pursue what we discussed earlier."
While Horner looked puzzled, Raynor nodded in agreement. He'd already been informed of the Zerg's plan. "If nothing else changes the Protoss's minds, this will, Zagara. If you play your cards right, maybe you won't have to sacrifice anything."
Zagara made a low growling sound that Raynor realized was a sound of brooding. "Perhaps...though I still do not like the idea of potentially abandoning our queen, even if it is by her will."
"Hopefully it won't have to come to that. I'm only asking for your assurances in case nobody else gets a chance, Zagara."
Zagara nodded to him before the image faded to static.
"Sir, am I missing something?" Horner asked.
"It's the reason we're here, Matt. Sarah was thinking way past Amon before we'd even stopped him. She has to stay with the Swarm unless they can be disbanded."
"But the only way to do that is...removing the hive mind."
"Exactly. And since the Zerg have already been hard at work doing their part these last few weeks, I reckon it's about time we do ours. But first..." Jim walked out, heading for the medbay. Whether Sarah wanted to see him or not, this couldn't wait any longer.
Medbay, Hyperion (music - Mega Man X: Variable X)
Sarah was slowly dragged back to conciousness as the Hyperion dropped out of warp space.
There was no one around, so she decided to get up.
She stood, or tried to. She had figured as she was still half Zerg that her muscles hadn't atrophied much, and was proven dead wrong as she fell to the floor. She waited a few seconds, gently moving her legs before trying again. Her muscles protesting after two weeks of disuse, but she managed to stay on her feet.
She heard the doors to the medbay open and clumsily climbed back into bed, pretending to be asleep. No point in making the Raiders even more suspicious of her by seeing her attempting to roam around unsupervised.
She relaxed slightly upon sensing it was Jim, but continued to feign sleep, her back facing him.
Jim sat down in the same chair he had the previous night but said nothing. Sarah knew his mind was on what happened then and felt her eyes burn with guilty tears as she remembered the painful exchange.
She didn't realize she was crying until Jim reached his hand and took her arm. Sarah dropped all pretense of sleep and turned to look at him.
"Jim," she whispered. He cupped her face and looked into her eyes.
"I'm sorry about last night," he began. "I didn't understand why when I said that."
The words gave Sarah some comfort, and she slid closer to him.
He gently wiped the tears from her face and continued. "I didn't understand then. I do now. Hell, you were probably right." Sarah gave him a confused look as she probed his emotions. "I forgive you for saying those things, and I understand why you did." Jim's voice turned bitter. "But the fact that undoing what I'd done was ultimately the best way for us both...it was hard to swallow and still is. Someone out there's probably toying with us..."
Sarah nodded to show she understood why he was starting to believe in a scapegoat for their troubles. She had thought Amon was that being until the xel'naga had been defeated. "I'm sorry about what I said to you last night. I could've been less blunt about it even if you thought I was right..."
She suddenly felt the familiar vibrations of atmospheric entry.
"Where are we?" She asked, frightened.
"Mar Sara. Don't worry darlin, we ain't going to Aiur just yet."
"Jim, you don't have to help me with this."
"But it's not just a Zerg matter. This could mean permanent peace in the sector if you succeed, Sarah. And," he added with a smile, "you and me together for good."
She suddenly leapt up and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Jim..."
"My...pleasure..." he grunted. Sarah quickly pulled back as she realized her body was still covered in spines.
"Did I hurt you?" she asked worriedly.
"Not much," he deadpanned before changing the subject. "Good thing I won't have to worry about them for much more."
"What?! What do you mean?!" Sarah asked, eager to know the answer but afraid that it might not be what she wanted to hear.
"When you were on an IV, we used some of Dr. Hanson's cure for infestation on you - " Jim was cut off as Sarah passionately kissed him. He suddenly noticed that the carapace-covered parts of her body seemed...raised.
"Oh, Jim...ow, hey, what are you doing?" she winced as Jim gently pried at her carapace.
"It's okay, I'm just looking."
She made a noise of discomfort but didn't protest further. After a few seconds Jim relented. It was like trying to pry a fingernail off, and probably just as painful for her. But it proved what Ariel had said to him.
Mar Sara (music - StarCraft II Heart of the Swarm: Love Theme (1st credits theme))
The Hyperion set down next to a patch of mineral nodes and SCVs immediately began scurrying back and forth, ferrying the resources to the battlecruiser.
"So, Kerrigan, do you mind explaining your plan to the rest of us?" Horner asked as Jim and Sarah walked onto the bridge.
"I found xel'naga relics on Zerus. Abathur wanted them because they contained useful sequences, but there was also some information on how Amon bound the Zerg to the Overmind. When I returned, I scoured the planet for more clues and managed to piece it together. Amon has almost immesurable power over creation, but not infinite. He created the Overmind through a process I still don't fully understand, but to bind the Zerg to it, he had to drug them first."
"So the link with the hive mind can be broken via chemical dosing?" asked Horner skeptically.
"Matt, it's not new knowledge. The Dominion under Arcturus did that a few years back. According to the documents Stetmann managed to wrangle from Junior, some Dominion eggheads managed to sever Zerglings from the hive mind and use them to seek out potential ghosts since Zerg are highly sensitive to psionic presences."
Sarah nodded. "What's going on now is a lot more complicated than that though. Even if they are freed from the hive mind the Zerg's ability to think independently was suppressed by Amon to ensure their utter compliance with the hive mind's will. Basically, the only difference is they take orders from anyone after they are disconnected unless they regain the ability to think and feel independently. I got some clues as to how Amon's genetic tampering can be reversed on Zerus."
"So what are we doing here then?"
"Simple sequence manipulation can restore a Zerg brain to full independence, and the essence of primals among the Swarm gives me and Abathur a template to start from. But I haven't found any means other than chemical treatment to permanently remove the hive mind link. That requires resources."
"A lot of resources." Matt said, understanding at last.
Sarah nodded. Without the Protoss or Dominion hounding us, it should be fairly simple to just gather enough. The problem is, we're talking about trillions of Zerg, not to mention hive clusters and infested, so I don't even know if there's enough in the whole sector..."
"Infested?" Jim asked, intrigued.
"Yes, subjecting them to this treatment can break their link with the hive mind permanently and restore them."
Jim's eyes widened. This might be the breakthrough Ariel was missing, though there was no telling the sanity of the victims once they were freed...
"I thought you claimed you stopped infesting Terrans once you returned to the Swarm," Matt stated accusingly.
"I did." She decided not to mention Skygierr Station, even though she'd only infested one garrison to secure a landing zone and never used the infested in combat. "But there's still a large number left over from when I was my old self. I'm prioritizing treating them first; once that's done we can hand them over to Dr. Hanson for the physical de-infestation. It's the least I can do..." she finished guiltily.
"Hold on, what about their sanity? Many of them will probably have the same issue as you Sarah, and I don't think many have your strength."
She hesitated. "It's possible to purge memories from their brain through careful tampering, but..."
"I'm sure they would want that," Jim quickly assured her. "You'd be doing them a service by helping them forget."
"But I don't know whether I should give them a choice or not. It doesn't feel...right to force them, but they don't deserve to relive their time as a passenger in their body for the rest of their lives, especially because they didn't chose that fate." Her voice shook as she finished and Jim realized she was on the verge of crying and lightly hugged her, wary of her spines. "And what if...what if the Terrans can't forgive them? Then I would just be sending them to their deaths..."
The crew respectfully gave the two some space while Jim comforted her. "I'll talk to Junior about how to approach this from their side. They'll be fine once you do your part to restore them. It's common knowledge that infested aren't in control of themselves."
"But there's also me as a counterpoint, Jim, and a compelling one at that. I killed enough people already; I don't want to send every infested I just freed to their deaths..."
Jim put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her green eyes. "There isn't a simple way out of anything as a leader, Sarah. We both know that. What matters is that you tried your best to give them their life back." He quickly kissed her before turning back to Matt, who was standing a respectful distance away.
"How much longer until we get the resources we need?"
"Well, sir, there's only one compound that we need in these minerals, and it's found in extremely small quantities. As in several parts per thousand small. We're going to have to deplete this entire node to get the quantity we want, and that's going to take hours even with 3 SCVs per field and the aid of MULEs."
Jim sighed in frustration. He was well aware that each moment they spent on this endeavor risked provoking the Protoss enough for them to send their fleets to find them, but they had to make sure that Sarah's plan worked before the trial could commence. Contrary to the reaction he gave Zeratul, Jim was well aware that it would be short and would most certainly end in conviction.
"How are you feeling?" he asked Sarah to take his mind off of the trial. "Don't you still need to be wired to an IV?"
"I'm fine, Jim. Dr. Hanson took me off the IV with the cure while I was sleeping. She said now it's just a matter of letting it work..." Sarah read his mind and suddenly all the worries of moments before disappeared. She giggled and blushed slightly as she read what he would do once she got the carapace off. "Once a pig, always a pig," she remarked with a smirk.
"You wouldn't have me any other way," Jim whispered just before their lips met.
Antioch, Aiur (music - your choice)
"Unacceptable!" thundered Nahaan as Zertaul finished his report. "You should have simply ended the wretched creature's life, Zeratul!"
"Peace, Nahaan!" ordered Artanis. "Though we all possess hatred towards Kerrigan we are obligated to hear her case, no matter how in agreement we may be over its resolution."
"When our minds are aligned on this matter, we should not label it a trial for pretense. The Terrans are not foolish," cautioned Zekrath in a rare moment of speech.
"Such a change should not be necessary. Our sentiment should not solely guide our judgement, Zekrath. Zerg are cunning and devious, but in control many are not."
"You believe the wretched Queen of Blades' story then, Tabrenus?" Nahaan roared in outrage. "Remember the Brood War! We trusted her and she betrayed us! And let us not forget what has happened to the Kaldir settlement!"
"Whose members, may I remind you, Nahaan, were banished to that forsaken moon for political dissidence!" Urun snapped with equal fervor. "Had we been informed of a Zerg force there earlier, could you say our reaction would have been to sortie the mighty fleets in defense of outcasts who would suffer execution under less strenuous circumstances?"
When the colony had gone dark long enough to attract suspicion, they had sent a small task force and found the colony was in ruins and the Daelaam Ark drifting in space nearby, covered in creep and battle damage but without a single Zerg. The logs indicated that the Protoss had almost driven Kerrigan's forces out of the system when a flash freeze hit, freezing their ground armies in place and allowing the greatly outnumbered Zerg to rebuild and slaughter them. The executor had then recalled their starships to aid in defense of the colony, only to lose them all as the storm froze their systems and caused them to crash. Following the failed defense of the colony they had tried to pull out but the Zerg Leviathan had intercepted it before it could warp and disabled it, allowing the Swarm to flood in and overwhelm the defenders. Despite her refusal to spare lives, the teams had also retrieved a recorded conversation between the executor and Sarah in which the latter made it clear she had no desire to fight.
"Silence!" Artanis's patience was running as short as tempers were high today. "While it is true that our response to Kaldir would have been minimal - "
"A chance to capture the Queen of Blades, and you suggest such a response, Artanis? Let us not forget her position when she attacked! Have you gone mad?"
"Do not forget your own, Nahaan! Kerrigan had no choice but to eliminate them all once battle commenced, and had she not done so, we would not be here debating her fate!"
The Ara leader seethed in sullen silence but did not retort. Artanis continued. "...While the Daelaam as a whole have not suffered greatly from the loss of Kaldir, it was a missed opportunity to capture her before the Swarm regrouped even if her capture would mean nothing in the long term. It cannot be ignored, however, that Kerrigan sought to avoid conflict. Executor Arma took the fight to her."
"As he had every right to. We can not be too cautious with the Zerg," Tabrenus interjected.
"Indeed, Tabrenus. The Zerg's ability to adapt and the very environment were things Arma fatally overlooked in his haste to capture the Queen. However, there are far more important things to consider than the Kerrigan's role in the fall of Kaldir."
Mohandar nodded. "The events of Kaldir notwithstanding, Sarah Kerrigan - "
Mohandar stopped with mild annoyance as Nahaan made to speak again. Artanis shot the Praetor an unmistakable look of warning and Nahaan backed down.
"...Sarah Kerrigan has remained submissive to our wishes since James Raynor returned her to humanity. Frequently at her expense."
There were small noises of disdain, but no one argued. Kerrigan had taken their interests into account first during their alliance, insisting the Protoss support the Swarm from a distance rather than fight side-by-side. And all of them had watched with disbelief through Observers as Mohandar's forces had been ambushed and decimated by hybrids then saved by Zerg under Kerrigan herself. Mohandar had been rescued from several hybrid at her hands and nearly at the cost of her life.
Then there was the matter of Nahaan. Though the Praetor did not speak, Mohandar didn't need telepathy to sense that the Ara leader suspected Kerrigan was influencing him. Because of the former's ties to Razsagal, he had largely avoided Sarah until the Swarm had rescued him. She had approached the Prelate while the Swarm was delivering him back to Aiur, and though he had coldly shunned her at first, as he learned more about the former Queen through their conversations he had come to appreciate that there was more to Kerrigan than he percieved. It did not nullify his hatred of what she'd done in the slightest, but it gave him pause for thought about holding her accountable. "Regardless of our opinions towards her, had it not been for her I would be standing before you in a Dragoon, if at all," he finished.
Zeratul broke the tense silence that followed. "The numbers of the Zerg Swarm were largely responsible for our victory over the Dark One. By Tassadar's vision, that is incontrovertible. The threat we faced was broader than we could stretch our ranks even with the Terrans' assistance. And those numbers were secured only because we allied ourselves with Kerrigan."
"Has no one considered that Tassadar is a Protoss like the rest of us? He is susceptible to the Overmind's influence as much as we are!"
Artanis paused to reign in his irritation before speaking. "Tassadar's words to Zeratul have been proven correct by the events of recent; it is within reason to deem them genuinely spoken of his own accord."
"Then the only matter to be decided is whether this is genuine repentance on her behalf or not." Urun finished. "That should not be decided here if we are to maintain any semblance of a trial of the Queen."
Artanis nodded and adjourned the meeting. He doubted Zeratul's insights, the divulgence of which had been the purpose of the meeting, would change the opinion of the Hierarchy, but when there was Raynor and his pivotal position to consider, everything, no matter how seemingly insignificant, had to be scrutinized for a fair trial.
Artanis knew that Jim would at best cut off his relations with the Protoss over Sarah's execution, but with the new Mengsk's stand towards them still unclear, Jim's departure could have undesirable repercussions. The Protoss did not need a two-front fight against the Terrans and Zerg, especially so soon after their battles against Amon.
Hyperion medbay, Deep Space (music - Mega Man: The Wily Wars: Wily Tower Stage 4)
They had their share of the resources to proceed with her plan after two days of meticulous scouting and mining. But that wasn't why Sarah was excited.
Zagara was proceeding through every step of their plan precisely. But that wasn't why Sarah was excited either.
She had been greatly surprised when Zagara eagerly agreed to push ahead with her plan once Amon was gone. After all, without a purpose, how were the Zerg going to cope? The broodmother had explained that while control over the hive mind had brought her power it also brought confinement in her purpose. As a creature of the Swarm she had no purpose but to serve it, but Jim had told her, in one of their few nonpolitical conversations, that it didn't matter; a creature with a sentinent brain was free to choose its own course, regardless of race. Sarah knew the majority of Zerg would likely revert to their original purpose: grow stronger as individuals. But she had no idea what the broodmothers and other controlling Zerg would do. Evidently, many of them didn't either as they had requested to be put to death instead. Sarah was still pondering over whether to grant those requests.
But none of that mattered to her today. Today, she was getting the carapace off of her and her dreadlocks removed. It didn't matter to her that she still had the Swarm to control. The Zerg knew her by character rather than appearance, and with any luck there wouldn't be a Swarm to control soon.
Sarah looked up as Ariel walked into the room, followed by the ship's surgeon and a couple of assistants. "Hello, Dr. Hanson. What's with the syringe?"
"I'm sorry, Sarah, but after the last time you were out, we can't take any chances. We don't need anyone being fried by psionic storms."
"Was it that bad?" Sarah asked worriedly.
Ariel shook her head and Sarah could tell she wasn't hiding anything. "Still, better not take the chance if you slip into another nightmare though. Don't worry, this won't last for long."
Sarah nodded and held out her arm, grateful for the sedative. Almost instantly she fell back on the table and descended into sleep. She never noticed the surgeons attach a psionic dampener to her head or strap her to the table.
Ariel sighed as the surgeons went to work prying the carapace off of her. Unnecessary precautions in her opinion, but better safe than sorry, especially when it came to Sarah.
An hour later, Jim was allowed into the medbay. His heart throbbed when he saw the redheaded woman he thought he'd lost for good on Tarsonis sleeping on one of the beds.
"She'll wake up soon." Ariel spoke quietly to him as she and the other surgeons left.
"Did she give them any trouble?" Jim asked upon seeing straps one of the surgeons was carrying.
"No, but we didn't want to take the chance." Jim nodded in understanding and quietly walked over, sitting down in the same chair he had previously.
He gently took her hand in his. For once, they had something go right. She was still queen of the Zerg, but otherwise she looked no different from the redhead he'd taken out on her first date the night before he thought he lost her for good.
Jim's pulse was racing as he moved to sit on the bed, reaching his hand out to stroke her hair. It had been so long...
"Jim..." Sarah stirred as she felt his touch and instinctively snuggled closer to him.
He said nothing and simply savored the feel of her body against his. She shifted to move her head so it rested against his shoulder but kept the blanket over herself and Jim.
The moment was broken when Matt walked in, followed by a supply drone carrying a crate. "Sorry to interrupt, sir..."
"What is it, Matt?" Jim asked with mild irritation.
"Trust me, sir, I wouldn't interrupt unless there was something pressing. Selendis just jumped in with a fleet behind her. They have orders to bring Kerrigan to Aiur for trial by the Hierarchy."
"I thought Zeratul had told us they postponed it yesterday."
"I don't know what's going on, sir. But you should probably talk to them; they're charging shields and weapons."
"Always something..." both Jim and Sarah muttered. Jim got up and left the medbay for the bridge.
The drone deposited the crate at the foot of Sarah's bed and left. She gave a small sigh as she recognized its contents as a hostile environment suit but was grateful for the clothes. She put it on as quickly as possible and hurried towards the Hyperion's bridge.
Author's Note: That was a bit of a plot turn, huh? I realize I've been rather neutral on how Kerrigan will end up in this fic so far, and I apologize for keeping you all in the dark, but what's the fun in reading a spoiled story?
I can tell you that Jim and Sarah will have more than some time together though...