Jorgentron
Meinhoff

It's been two days now since Raynor's Raiders had made camp within the now-infested settlement of Jorgentron on Meinhoff. However, it barely felt like a day for the hardened troops, who were accustomed to much longer days. It's been the same cycle for them: while the sun was still blazing in the sky, the infested citizens and soldiers of the settlement mostly kept to the ground, leaving the Raiders free to get busy torching the infested buildings. When the sun started to set and the ground started to stir, the Raiders retreated to their camps and awaited behind bunkers and barricades to hold off the horde. There'd been a small scare the previous night, when infested marines appeared within the swarm's ranks - while the CMC combat suit could shield its users from most hazards, the smallest crack in the visor, puncture in the armor, or, really, any opening whatsoever in a hazardous environment (including accidentally leaving the visor up while in said environment, a glaring mistake that many marines have somehow made) would leave the fragile Terran inside vulnerable indeed, and much more to the Zerg virus, which ride microscopic spores trying to seek out any biological host that would present itself. Even Tychus, who was never known to scare very easily, shuddered at the thought of losing himself to the Zerg.

Otherwise, it had been a mostly easy nighttime holdout. Infested marines aside, the general infested Terrans were slow and required them to get close to do any damage - which the Raiders, hiding behind their barricades and ordnance, prevented them from doing. And while the infested marines also used Gauss rifles, their marksmanship skills were degraded like the rest of their mental faculties.

"Nightfall approaching," the Adjutant announced for the third time. The sun was starting to set quickly, and along the side of the road, the dirt started to stir.

"Alright, let's get back," the leader of the strike group said. They've eliminated all of the buildings in the western area of the settlement, which left only the southern and eastern sectors. Thanks to the most recent addition to the Raiders' arsenal, the high-speed ATVX Hellions which are armed with mounted flamethrowers, it shouldn't take too long.

"Scans are picking up a unique Zerg bio-signature," the Adjutant added. "It appears to be a burrowing creature that is underground during the day and emerges only at night."

Horner's voice was then heard over the comms, addressing Raynor as he met the incoming strike group: "Sir, if you kill one of those creatures, Stettman can study it and perhaps learn something."

Raynor considered it. Whatever the target is could offer something about this infestation. Maybe even help uncover a cure? It was a long shot, but if they were to save these people... On the other hand, the creature only emerged at night, and while its unique signature would make tracking it trivial, there was the issue of the thousands of infested that would stand between them and it. They're bound to suffer heavy casualties if they were to try, which would also leave their base undermanned for defense...

"We can take care of that, Commander." Raynor turned around to face Shadowguard agent Eli Ayase. It shouldn't have surprised him considering their psionic ability... "It shouldn't be too hard for us."

"There are no Zerg detectors in the area," Umi Sonoda added. "We can slip through the infested unseen and collect the samples."

Raynor nodded. "Okay, that's your mission for tonight."

Honoka interjected: "Get back here safely, okay?"

"Promise us," Kotori followed.

"We promise," Umi answered for both of them, holding their hands and looking them in the eyes with a confident smile on her face.

'So cool!' both Shadowguards heard in their heads, and Eli's also-confident smile almost broke into a silly giggle, while Umi's own charismatic air was almost broken. The blue-haired agent loudly cleared her throat, and nodded at both of them, and to Raynor. "We'll be careful."

After that, the two vanished into thin air, as their hostile environment suits became washed in their psionic energy and activated the suit's built-in cloaking device along with its special cells which reflected light. Working in conjunction, the hostile environment suits rendered both Shadowguards near-completely invisible without specialized equipment (or specialized strains, in the Zerg's case); for those who have sharp senses and the awareness of a cloaked agent in the vicinity, they might be able to spot the faint ripples of the suits as their wearers move, though those still don't often raise suspicions in all but the most alert.

The ambling infested certainly weren't, as their attention was directed either at the enemy they could sense or at nothing in particular. Eli and Umi easily bypassed the large hordes of infested Terrans as they made their way towards their objective in the still-infested southern sector, handily marked within the tactical maps of their ghost visors.

There was the target. It was a strange and rather large creature, with a bulging abdomen, a carapace that seems to be made of hardened mold and fungi, and what seems to be acid seeping from its spine-like legs.

'That's it, right?' Eli asked her partner. 'It looks disgusting...'

'It is,' Umi confirmed. 'It looks like some evolution of the borbu matriarch...' That creature was more like a colony of several organisms than a single one. Such seems to be the same case here as well, based on the scans Horner conducted through the visors.

"Alright, try to neutralize it so we can get samples of it," Horner then said. With a nod from Eli, Umi aimed her C20A canister rifle at the creature's head. 300 meters. Easy shot. Umi breathed out, and pulled the trigger.

A barely-audible 'pop' was heard as the C20A's 25mm antipersonnel round lanced through the still night air and pierced the unsuspecting creature's head. "Kill confirmed," Umi reported, and she and Eli approached the creature quickly. A special bag was produced, and a small part of it was placed inside.

"Well, now, what do we have here..." Eli whispered. Just a little further was another of those creatures. Two samples would certainly be of much use, and Eli was quick to realize this. 'A second one. I'll take it down.'

Eli deftly maneuvered to a favorable shooting position, and raised her own rifle towards her target. The darkness was a little disturbing for her, but Umi wasn't too far off, and her visor allowed her to see as if it was broad daylight. 500 meters. Still easy.

Another 'pop', another round, another kill. Eli approached her target and brought out another bag. A sample from that creature was placed, and by the time Eli finished, Umi had caught up with her.

'Time to head back,' Umi told her. Eli stood up and reported back to Raynor.

"Two samples secured," Eli said. "Returning to base now." The two agents then made their way back to the base, still unseen by the Zerg. They saw the next wave of Zerg assembling for an attack along the way. It was still the usual mess of infested Terrans, but now there was something towering above them...

"What is that thing?!" Dr. Hanson, watching the visors' feed, asked in horror. "Was it human?"

"Seems like it..." Raynor observed. "That's one hell of a virus, then."

"Warning," the Adjutant alerted. "Southern barricade breached."

"Get some troops down there!" The mobile group quickly marched to the now-opened southern side of the base, where they faced down the fresh horde of infested Terrans, including several of the hulking monstrosities.

"Marines and Marauders, focus fire on that thing!" the strike group leader ordered. "Hellions and Firebats, cover the frontline!"

"Y'know, I think I saw this in a movie once..." Findlay remarked as he engaged the giant with his minigun. He was talking about another unexpected entrance opening up, but it could have also applied to the fight against the creatures that were easily five times his size. They could certainly absorb bullets and grenades, but it was all a matter of how much the Raiders could pump into them.

The infested were still pouring into the hole, but SCVs were already hard at work plugging it with bunkers and barriers, while the mobile group continued to push the infested back. After a while, the sun started rising, and the infested instinctively scrambled to try and seek shelter, though many of them didn't make it and ended up burning from the intense ultraviolet light of Meinhoff's star.

"Oh, hell yes," Findlay said. "This is gonna be our time alright."

"Alright, boys and girls, back to work," the group leader said afterwards. As Honoka and Kotori prepared to move out again, they were met by Eli and Umi, who decloaked in front of them.

"Welcome back!" the two medics exclaimed, wrapping the two Shadowguards in a warm hug.

"I told you we'd make it back safely, didn't we?" Umi told them. "Now, get back to your group. We'll be waiting back here."

"Roger!" As the two medics rejoined the strike group, Eli lightly pinched Umi's cheek.

"Eli!" Umi loudly complained, to which the blonde only giggled in response. "W-We still have to deliver the samples!" Eli laughed again, and the two of them headed to the command center to drop off the Zerg tissue samples.

The sun was setting when the strike group came back. By then, the Raiders didn't have much else to worry about: a fresh squadron of Hellions allowed the group to purge the two remaining sectors at once, and Jorgentron had finally been cleansed of infested.

Hyperion

Once the Raiders and colonists disengaged from the planet, the four psionics made a celebratory performance at the cantina, refreshing the hearts and minds of the hardened troops and the weary Agria colonists.

"You did it, Jim," Dr. Hanson said. "I knew you wouldn't let us down. Now I've got to get my people somewhere safe."

"Ain't gonna be so easy, darlin'," Raynor replied. "This whole sector's crawling with Zerg."

"There's got to be somewhere out there the aliens haven't touched...some undiscovered paradise waiting for us."

There might be, Raynor thought to himself. It'll probably be a long way away from Meinhoff, and the problem over there is that if the colonists caught even some whiff of the infestation here, it won't be long before another group of aliens descend upon them. And against the Zerg, they show no mercy.

High orbit above Meinhoff

Perhaps it was coincidence, or maybe fate. Whatever the case, as the Hyperion and Agria colony ships disappeared into warp space for its next mission, the Leviathan fleet emerged. The other departing colony ships and what escorts they had wouldn't be as lucky. From the leviathans, swarms of Zerg flyers immediately emerged and made contact with the Terran ships, and those that were far too close to the spacefaring monstrosities were 'harpooned' by large and powerful tendrils, which also functioned as bridges to allow the groundborne Zerg to board the ships and lay waste to the populations within.

While all that was going on, the lead Leviathan already pierced through Meinhoff's atmosphere and what remains of its planetary defenses and was making its way to the planet's surface. Once it touched down, the Zerg emerged, once again led by the Princess of Blades. There were still parts of the planet where the Terran stubbornly held off against the infested, and Nico's arrival would ensure their demise.

"This planet looks like it's already been lost even before the arrival of the Leviathans," Maki observed quietly.

Hiding within the shadow of the Leviathan (and within the shadow of the Void) was the Spiritual Power. The Nerazim ship had emerged shortly after the Leviathans, and stealthily trailed the one which was bound for the surface. Once again, the ship landed in a fairly secure location some distance from the Leviathan, and, again, the two Dark Templar departed and made their way to the location of the infested Terran.

What they saw all around them horrified Hanayo greatly as they headed towards their target: corpses and devastated remains of buildings, vehicles, and even spacecraft littered the landscape. It was clear that the Terrans tried to escape, and tried in vain to hold their ground while their awaited an extraction that was unable to come. It was also clear that the cause came from within: scattered within the devastated settlements were clearly-infested buildings, which meant that the planet had been infested before the arrival of the infested psionic and her brood. The Protoss were well aware of the new strain of the Zerg hyper evolutionary virus, and kept constant vigil over the planets within their territory, as well as the planets outside - Terran planets orbiting very close to Protoss space, in particular - to detect the beginnings of any sort of infestation so it could be purified with haste.

Meinhoff was a surprise case. The sudden exodus of Terrans from across their Fringe Worlds made it difficult to tell who might have been infested, though as the refugee population swelled it was only a matter of time before an infested outbreak erupted on Meinhoff. It was only a matter of how much of the infestation could be contained by the Terrans, and for how long, before the Golden Armada could mobilize to finish the job.

The appearance of the infested psionic disrupted Protoss plans somewhat. Her presence had become prioritized as a far greater threat to the entire Sector than the infestation; it did not mean that the infestation could be ignored, however. In this, the decision of Praetor Rin to bring a small squad of Templar to assess the new threat brought some relief. The Armada was now free to keep a stricter watch on the borders of Protoss space while awaiting their Praetor's decision.

"Leading from the front, as expected," Nozomi observed as she watched the infested psionic tear through a loaded bunker with ease, and crushing another in a psionic grip afterwards. With the defenses down, the rest of the Zerg poured into the base, while she stopped to sit down.

"So, our friend here does not yet have full mastery over her psionic potential." That was particularly good news. It meant that her psionic powers wouldn't be as formidable as the Queen of Blades herself - although she would still be dangerous as it is, as there was still uncertainty to take into account: unconscious or unexpected outbursts could occur, and could potentially be fatal to them should they engage her.

But not here. There were simply too many Zerg to even consider assassinating her, as taking too long would have billions of Zerg assaulting only the four of them. They would need the force of the Golden Armada if they were to take them on here, and the Armada was still warily patrolling Protoss space.

For now, they had to be content with keeping watch, until an opportunity presents itself...

"She and a handful of Zerg went in that structure..." Nozomi noticed.

'Prelate,' Maki communicated to Nozomi. 'According to scans prior to landing, the psionic entered an underground Terran research facility.'

'I feel like something similar has happened before...' Kerrigan's story so far had been well-chronicled by her enemies: after reawakening as the Queen of Blades, she sought to remove the limiters of her psionic potential, placed upon her by ghost conditioning protocols in her former life. To that end, she raided a Terran science vessel, the Amerigo, and acquired classified files about the old Confederacy's Ghost Program to undo her conditioning and make full use of her psionic powers.

Nozomi didn't know if their target had been exposed to the current Dominion's own brand of ghost conditioning, though her recent performance in battle revealed that she has barely scratched the surface. Perhaps she would instead try to access information that would allow her to properly use her potential...

'Maki, we will be following her,' Nozomi decided.

'Do you plan on dispatching her down there?'

'Maybe. We'll see.'

'Be careful, you two. Adun toridas.'

'Likewise.'

Once the way was clear, Nozomi and Hanayo dove into the research facility as well. Maki and Rin continued to track their movements, as well as the Zerg outside. Should a stray Overseer come by, they'll have no choice but to leave and call in the Armada, and hope for Adun to keep the two Dark Templar hidden until reinforcements arrive.

A/N: I'm certainly on a roll. I hope I keep this momentum up. Anyway, we'll be talking less about the Terrans (and the main campaign) in the next chapter. We'll jump back there afterwards. Probably.