The fleshy drop pods that contained Kerrigan and her entourage of Hunter Killers, advanced Hydralisks, came crashing through the canopy of Zerus and connected with the ground hard. The drop pods from the Leviathan took all the force of the fall and broke to pieces upon hitting the ground, delivering their cargo safely. Each rose from their small craters without pause, searching for any immediate threats to their Queen while emitting their low-pitched gurgling sighs.
Standing atop the small ridge created by her own drop pod, Kerrigan sent drones down to their same spot. Best to establish a foothold right away. The Queen of Blades listened then; What would normally be the sound of a lush rain forest filled with chirping birds, sighing winds and animal calls had an entirely different tune. There was roaring in the distance, crashing trees and trembling earth in every direction, even the plant life had a distinct and deadly Zerg tone. What didn't fit was the void of space nearby.
"Where's the welcoming committee?" Glancing off to her left, towards the void, she saw clearly the Dark Templars green eyes staring at her. "I can hear them all around. They will belong to me soon enough, but I also feel something." Truly, there was a massive presence slumbering in the distance, like an inactive volcano in its size.
"What you feel is the Ancient One, Kerrigan." Zeratul offered, drawing no closer and keeping a good eye on the Hunter Killers that had formed a defensive perimeter around the Drone that had landed and immediately began morphing into a Lair. The rapidly growing structure was obscene, an abomination in his eyes, but there was nothing for it. The Zerg of Zerus would suffer for the sake of the prophecy.
"You must seek it out if you wish the true power of Zerus. The Primal Zerg here will fight you every step of the way, and you will be tested on your journey."
Planting her hands on her hips and tilting her head slightly, Kerrigans lips curled into a small smile. "I will visit the Ancient One. But first, there are a few loose ends here to take care of." Without warning, the long spine of a plant she had pulled out as Zeratul was speaking was hurled telekinetically at him. Had the Dark Templar not been fully suspicious of the Queen of Blades being treacherous, it would have pierced through his rib cage like butter. Zeratul knew better however, and though he delivered himself backwards towards his Void Seeker in a cloud of smoke, the plant spine had cut through the meat of his thigh in the process.
Injured, he could feel the venom of the plant seeping into the damaged tissue- threatening to weaken him further. Kerrigan had immediately charged after him and was searching, slicing through plant matter with her blades and claws angrily. Overlords were on their way, but too slow to reveal Zeratul and his ship to her.
"You'll not see me again, Kerrigan!" Zeratul called out to her, nimbly avoiding the swing of a blade with a quick duck and blinking himself to the safety of his ship with one final step through the shadows.
Trust me. If I see you again, there will be no talking and you will accept your fate. Unsure of where he was, Kerrigan called out psychically to him, making sure the message was delivered as his Void Seeker brushed through the trees and slipped into the sky silently. With any luck the venom from the plant would kill him, and the thought of such a small thing being the end of the old Protoss made her smile.
"HERE ME INTRUDERS! I AM BRAKK! THIS IS BRAKK'S TERRITORY! I CLAIM YOUR ESSENCE!"
"Well, there's the natives." Time officially being of the essence, Kerrigan returned to her blooming base and set to work. They would have to expand and defend until the Leviathan landed and all the Zerg aboard it became available.
The Hyperion was filled with a nervous energy. Leaving the swarm behind brought some comfort, but for how long? They were going to have to interact with other Terrans soon, there was no way to avoid it, and the idea collectively filled them with dread. Jayce wanted to leave and be safe again, but where really was safe for an injured wanted criminal?
The idea that any one of them could be taken over by the broodmother, maybe even Kerrigan still, at any time while they interacted with people was a dark cloud over the collective mood.
"Hey, nerd girl! Get up, we're going to the cantina." Twitching slightly in surprise at the boom in Tychus' voice when her door hissed open, Jayce set the nuts and bolts she had in her hand down on the table and turned in her seat to look at him with a quirked brow.
"We?"
"Yes, get moving. We're back in the Koprulu sector and Swann got the news feed hooked back up." News, now that was a troubling thought. Rising from her seat and resisting the fierce urge to itch at her cast, Jayce fell into step behind the armored behemoth of a man.
Struggling to keep up with his long strides without jostling the hell out of her arm, Jayce grit her teeth and mumbled. "Probably just gonna be the same old crap."
"We'll find out." Tychus rumbled. He wasn't convinced it wouldn't be a bunch of pro-Mengsk nonsense either, after all the slippery Emperor had plenty of time to repair his damaged public image and quell the rioting during the Raider's forced hiatus.
Inside the cantina, Horner, Raynor, Swann, Warfield and even Stetmann were congregating. They had spread out around the tables and were looking up at the news feed silently. The first thing both Jayce and Tychus noticed when entering the room was the different expressions each man wore. Disgust, confusion and disbelief were all very clear emotions on their faces. Tychus didn't bother asking, clearly the news was the source of all this discontent so he promptly sat down and looked. Jayce came to sit beside Tychus after briefly staring at Commander Raynor in shock, having not seen him yet.
"This is Donny Vermillion, back from my brief stint in the hospital. Thank you for all your well wishes, but today I have something important to tell you! Earlier today, Emperor Mengsk announced that the Zerg threat was over! Lets roll that clip!" Donny Vermillion was a news puppet for Mengsk, and it did not sit well that he was back on the show after Kate Lockwell had seemingly took over and attempted to pull the wool from the networks eyes.
"This has been broadcasting on repeat since I got it up and running." Swann muttered darkly. They had already seen the video, that only left Tychus and Jayce to catch up.
"People of Korhal, of the Koprulu sector! We have been struggling through hard times, all of us, and though there has been much speculation and fear mongering about whether I truly care about the people or not, today I bring you the best of news. You may sleep easy knowing that the Zerg threat has been ended. The Queen of Blades has been destroyed and the Zerg have fled from the Koprulu sector en masse!
General Warfield was sent to lead a daring assault on the Zerg home world of Char with the awe-inspiring might of the Dominion fleet at his command. Though the battle cost us dearly, they succeeded on that desolate ash world and freed us all from the looming threat of annihilation. I want you to look to the skies now and remember those that gave their lives to secure our future and know that I, your Emperor, truly care." Rolling by in small print on the TV, beneath the ever-smug face of Mengsk, was the words "Valerian Mengsk, disowned and wanted fugitive, where did he go?"
Tychus' mouth hung open ever so slightly, and Jayce was wide eyed and dumbfounded.
"Don't shoot the TV." Swann snapped, catching sight of Raynor half standing and ready to hurl a spine at the image of Mengsk. Thankfully, the TV was spared and he slowly lowered himself back down, attempting to calm his temper.
"I can't believe that Mengsk would sweep the entire failed invasion under the rug... Is that even possible? I thought we sent out waves, and the Bucephalus.." Stetmann was still staring up at the TV, which had been muted, in a kind of disgruntled awe.
"Wasn't long ago I thought Mengsk could do no wrong." Warfield was glaring down at his table, seething. "That rotten bastard has some serious connections, to be able to blind so many people so thoroughly."
"He's a damn snake, and he's going to get the entire human race exterminated if he honestly thinks Kerrigan ain't coming back to the Koprulu sector!" Raynor snapped, slamming his fist on the table angrily.
"I sure wish all those people who think the Zerg are gone could see my face." Tychus rumbled. He had a different kind of grudge against the Emperor, a very personal one after being locked in that suit.
"Who knows what happened to Valerian and the Bucephalus. News says he's an outlaw now, but who really knows? I find it hard to believe that he couldn't get word to anyone that the invasion had actually failed, that Kerrigan is still out there." Horner was standing, his arms crossed as he stared at the repeating message on the television thoughtfully.
Jayce kept her thoughts to herself, everyone was voicing what had already gone through her head anyway. Resting her left elbow on the table, she placed her head in her hand and closed her eyes, trying to fathom the situation- and wondering where it left her in the grand scheme of things.
"Whole damn thing stinks. Not like we can go fight Mengsk like this though. Hell, we are the threat the to the human race right now." Swann was staring at his hands and their chitinous segments hatefully.
"Oh, ah, sir?" Stetmann was fidgeting, staring at Raynor and hoping to not get snapped at.
"What Stetmann?" Turning his gaze from the television to the young scientist, Raynor calmed down marginally. Stetmann didn't deserve his ire, and Raynor was more than willing to admit to himself that this situation was ultimately his own fault anyway.
"I brought a few tools and a scanner to run some tests on you. I know it's the last thing anyone wants to hear about, but we need to be ready for Kaldir and Swann and I have a few things in the works to help out." Stetmann had started pulling scanners and scrapers and clippers out of his lab coat pockets, placing them on the table in front of Raynor who sighed heavily.
"You're right, do whatever you gotta do."
Tychus' meaty hand planted on Jayce's shoulder, mindful of his nails, and gave her a cautious squeeze in reassurance as Stetmann started running tests on Raynor.
"I've been reading up on Kaldir. It is possibly the most inhospitable ice planet in the entire Koprulu sector. I'm not really sure what Kerrigan expects us to do there, our equipment isn't even capable of handling the kind of temperature drops that happen on the planets surface." Horner remarked, thinking about the task ahead.
"I suspect we're fully capable of adapting to the cold without our suits now, though it wont be pleasant." Stetmann remarked offhandedly as he withdrew blood from Raynor.
"I just got done bein' an ice cube. Don't fancy the idea of bein' one again." Tychus muttered darkly, staring at Stetmann as he worked.
"You'll live." It was all Raynor could offer, he was still trying to digest everything that was going on and had happened before he woke back up.
"Stetmann and I have been workin' on some stuff, like he said." Swann piped up, looking over everyone evenly. "He's workin' on a small scrambler that we can use to hide infested signatures. It'll be ready before we have to dock at a refueling station. Should be able to hide it on your person, and alternatively place them around rooms of the Hyperion to conceal what is inside them. Such as the Zerg monster in the laboratory, for example."
"That'll come in handy." Raynor remarked, impressed as always by the ingenuity of his team.
"That ain't all of it, but that's the big one hot shot." Swann drummed his fingertips against the tabletop slowly as his mind returned to more technical thought.
"I think the cantina will be a good place for us to gather." Stetmann was observing Raynor's off-colored blood in its little vial. "Shlassa is an unwelcome distraction in the lab, and now we have the news feed up and working. It will be a good base of operations for our small group." Nobody voiced any argument, most were quietly seething or already deep in thought.
"There is one other thing, Commander." Stetmann had already put the vial down and was running a hand-held scanner over Raynor's pale gray arm.
"What?"
"I can't work on reversing the infestation. Every time I start to think about undoing what has been done to us, it's like my thoughts enter a scrambler. Shlassa is actively making sure we can't make any headway on it."
"Shlassa?"
"That is the broodmother's name."
"First name basis, huh?"
Stetmann shrugged, he already got flack for it every time the broodmother became the topic of conversation, he was over it. "I think we should attempt to go to Haven when we've finished our task on Kaldir." Raynor had straightened slightly, his brows drawing together as he took in a breath to object, but Stetmann quickly interjected.
"Or. We try to send a message to Doctor Hansen at least, explaining the situation. I know it is not safe to interact with anyone, but we have to try. Figure out what we aren't restricted from." Visibly calming as he lowered back onto his stool, Raynor nodded.
"We are not going there, but a message is not out of the question."
"Great. I'll write one up later and-"
"No." Raynor raised his hand, so foreign in shape now with its natural thick armor, long claws and pale color. "I'll take care of it myself."
"Yes sir."
Now all you need to do is practice, Jimmy. Tychus was looking at Jim, speaking into his mind. His voice echoed and burned, all too similar to Kerrigan's intrusions, if moderately weaker in strength.
Raynor reached up quickly and planted the palm of his hand up against his temple and grit his teeth. "The hell are you on about, and why are you talkin' in my damn head Tychus?"
"No, he's right Jim. You need to get stronger with your mind." Stetmann quickly cut in before the two big men could get aggressive. "We have been trying to strengthen ourselves to be able to break free of the broodmother, and Kerrigan. We discovered that it was possible to fight when Shlassa took over Tychus" Stetmann nodded towards the big glowering figure of Tychus and Jayce, who was still sealed in place under his hand and arm. "and tried to kill Jayce through him."
Raynor looked at the pair and thought it odd she would get anywhere near Tychus after such a thing, but he snorted softly at the thought. Tychus had always had a way with the ladies. "I ain't so sure I want to strengthen any part of me that has to do with the Zerg."
"Most of us feel the same." Warfield, who had been content to observe and keep his own council, finally looked up from his table and spoke. "In fact, only thing we can really agree on is helping Jayce get out of here in one piece. I suspect you feel the same."
In truth, Raynor did not feel this need to save Jayce as they did, and he held her gaze with his now completely alien one as he spoke- communicating just how opposite he felt about it with his look. "Whatever it takes to keep us going, General."
Swann thumped the table with his hand abruptly, dispelling some of the tension. "Here here! Now you knuckleheads might not have anything to do, but I gotta get back to work." Straightening up and stretching slightly, Swann pulled a face as his armored body let off a series of clicks, chitin tapping against chitin, and made his way out of the cantina.
Taking in a slow breath, Horner nodded. "Yeah, best get back to work. Don't have too much fun, sir." Stetmann had just happened to glance up at Horner from Raynor, who was tolerating him pulling out one of the many fast-growing spines on his person, and froze. From the back of the good captain protruded the wing blades that belonged to Kerrigan, not him, and her burning eyes met his for a fraction of a second before it was over. Horner had turned away and walked out of the room without a second thought, and Stetmann did his best to recover from the brief shock without looking conspicuous. He wasn't sure what he really saw, or what could have caused it.
"Stetmann are you gonna pull this thing out or do you need a hand?" Raynor looked confused and somewhat uncomfortable with Stetmann standing there holding and only half pulling on a spine protruding from his thigh.
"Err no. Sorry sir." Blinking rapidly, Stetmann yanked the spine out quickly with a crunchy snap and started to hastily pack away all the samples he had gathered. "All done, thanks sir."
"Yeah, sure thing." Raynor mumbled, staring up at the muted television and resuming glaring at Mengsk. The spine was already growing back.
"Guess I better get back to work too." Jayce spoke to Tychus quietly, wishing she could just disappear behind him after the look the Commander had given her earlier. It was like looking into the dark abyss of space between the stars, but the abyss was her former leaders eyes and they were cold and unfriendly.
Taking the hint, Tychus removed his hand from her shoulder and gave her some space to get up. "Mastered being a lefty yet? All I've seen you doin' is makin' a bunch of messes so far, not workin'." He teased, sensing her unease and thinking the whole situation had been overwhelming. They had been taking pains to not talk about their more eccentric abilities, and manipulation of the infested in particular, in front of her until then.
"Not quite. Hopefully arm will heal up before then though." Grasping onto his friendly banter like a life raft, Jayce and Tychus made their way from the cantina. Warfield quietly stood up, nodding to those who remained, and followed after them.
As soon as the door of the cantina hissed shut behind the three of them, Warfield called out. "Jayce, you good to walk to your room alone for a minute?"
Not in the habit of saying no to people of higher rank, Jayce automatically responded with a quick "Yes sir." and kept walking as Tychus slowed to a stop, understanding the General wanted something.
As soon as Jayce was out of sight, Warfield addressed the issue immediately. "Tychus, I can't guard Jayce anymore. After those test results from the egghead came back, it's amazing something terrible hasn't happened to her already." The usually unflappable General looked drained, leaving Tychus frowning.
"I hardly think leaving her to be watched by someone who frequently has the desire to chase down and kill her is a good idea either. C'mon General, we are the danger to her on this ship."
"Doesn't matter Tychus, she needs a damn guard and it's not like we sleep. You're gonna watch her yourself, because I ain't anymore." Warfield's voice had gone hard, done with Tychus attempting to subvert his decision. Without another word on it, he turned and left Tychus glowering by the cantina door.
When Warfield was well out of earshot, Tychus grumbled to himself. "Buncha pansies in here." Turning around he walked right back into the cantina and faced the curious look of Raynor, who had not moved from his seat. Stetmann had been just about to step through the door himself and deftly maneuvered around Tychus, heading back to his lab without a word.
"Problem, Tychus?"
"You could say that, partner." Tychus looked at him thoughtfully, making up his mind almost as fast as he had questioned himself. "The good General can't handle being around a little girl anymore, and you are gonna take up his shift. Think you can handle a double-team on the little lady, or is that too much for you?"
Raynor pulled a face at the innuendo. "Do you ever think about anything else, Tychus?"
"A good meal, on occasion. You know my motto. You got four hours before it's your turn to watch her, Jimmy." Tychus was smirking heavily as he left Jim staring at the cantina door, heading back to Jayce's room.
Horner was back on the bridge, looking through the information the Adjutant had put up on display for him. He'd have to choose a station for the Hyperion to refuel at before they arrived at Kaldir, there was no choice. One by one he withdrew stations that were too large or well used for his tastes, until all that remained were three hubs that could barely be called that.
From the remaining choices he selected the only one capable of hosting the Hyperion, and it would have been out of the question for a less skilled captain to pilot a ship the size of the Hyperion into such a small docking space; but if there was anything Matt Horner excelled at, it was piloting his ship. The Hyperion would dock at Station 837, a ramshackle space hut orbiting a dead moon, within 24 hours.
On the Bucephalus, no longer in orbit around the planet Haven but traveling back into the Koprulu sector, Prince Valerian was looking at the visual display of Dr. Narud.
"It is a shame that the Xel'Naga artifact was destroyed, Prince Valerian. It was a true work of art, older than the Protoss race even, I do not know if we are capable of replicating such a thing." The older scientists heavy accent forced the younger man to focus harder on what he was saying.
"All I request is that you devote your resources to trying, Dr. Narud. I have more agents working on other angles, it is my hope that someone will be able to come up with a solution to spare Jim Raynor and his men from their fate." Valerian had clasped his hands behind his back, sure to keep his appearance regal and most importantly, authoritative.
"Pardon my questioning, but what about the Queen of Blades? Surely, she is much more important than a few men who were unfortunately converted to her side?"
"There is no man in this galaxy who knows more about Kerrigan and her methods than Jim Raynor, and no men more experienced at fighting Zerg than those who were under his command. I do not believe we stand a chance against Kerrigan and her forces if Jim Raynor and his men remain on her side. There are other plans in motion however, Dr. Narud. I would not put all my hopes on one plan like that, not again."
"Well, that is good to know. Thank you for humoring me, Prince Valerian. I will return to work immediately, if that is all?"
"Yes, that is all." When the image of Dr. Narud dispersed, Valerian turned to look out into the stars. Where are you, Kerrigan?