Red chevrons, demarking UED and Tal'darim ships, began blinking and disappearing on Horner's holographic display. It appeared as though they were being attacked by their allies. After a few moments, Horner realized what was happening.

"Adjutant, change the mark color for Stukov's forces to green."

A fourth of the chevrons updated to the new color. As he watched, the green chevrons seemed to stagger uncertainly through space, but they were clearly attacking the Tal'darim and the UED.

Yep. Stukov has changed sides. But why? he thought. And something's wrong. During the End War and in the first war against the UED, Horner had known Stukov to be unconventional—but exacting. Even as a zerg, his strong will showed through in how he commanded his infested. But his troop movements now were erratic.

"Open a channel to the Aleksander, Adjutant."

Horner heard the familiar chime as the channel opened. He waited, and no one responded.

"Again, Adjutant."

No response. Horner didn't know if that meant anything. It may have been that Stukov was nursing a grudge, still angry about Horner denying him help. Or it could just have been his personality. Stukov had been civil but short when he had spoken to him; now he didn't need to speak to Horner, and so perhaps he just wasn't. Still.

"A Nova Terra is requesting to come aboard, Admiral," his Adjutant said.

"Nova? What the… Adjutant, relay this message: 'Get the hell up here.'"

Horner was surprised that Marín had let her go. Or did she? Dread settled into his stomach. Oh god, what has she done? Horner was worried that maybe she had killed Marín or done something to Stukov. That would explain his odd behaviorDid Valerian succeed? Does he now have control of Stukov's forces? Hundreds of worst-case scenarios flooded Horner's mind as the elevator doors to the bridge opened to reveal Nova. She strode onto the bridge with her characteristic purposeful ferocity that scared the shit out of Horner.

"I'm, uh, surprised to see you here, Nova. You didn't…"

"Kill the Umojan admiral? No. She and I came to… An agreement," she said, walking around the war table, eyeing the holographic display. She stopped opposite him, offering nothing more. Horner was again fearful. His imagination was running wild again.

"What… What kind of agreement?"

"She and I went on a field trip—to the Kusnetsov."

"You did what?"

"And came back with Stukov's piece of shit son."

Horner breathed a sigh of relief. So that's what happened.

"That… Explains a lot…" Horner gestured towards the new green wave of units on his tactical map. Nova chuckled.

"You almost pissed your pants right now, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah, I thought you had killed Marín—or Stukov. In retrospect, I don't know how I let Valerian talk me into signing off on that mission."

"I don't know how you did either. Going to the Kuznetsov was the right answer. And looking at your files, I don't know why Valerian didn't call me up when Stukov proposed it the first time and why the Umojans were the ones to finally step up and do it."

The thought hadn't occurred to Horner. He wasn't used to using Nova as an agent, but it should have occurred to Valerian. He wondered if it had. What had made Valerian want to kill Stukov instead? Arguably getting aboard the Aleksander would have been harder than getting aboard the Kuznetsov. Stukov's telepathy and ability to detect would have been major hurdles for her—and that was without the risk of her being infested. Horner realized now just how dumb that had been. If Nova had not been successful, they would have basically handed the Swarm someone as powerful as Kerrigan. Horner consoled himself with the fact that Stukov was not an overmind and would probably did not wish his fate on anyone else. That scenario hadn't played out and Stukov was fighting for them now.

"I'm just glad the Umojans didn't take much offense and that Stukov is on our side."

"Oh, they were offended. But the UED is attacking them too. They don't have much choice."

"Well, for Pete's sake, don't do it again."

"Whatever you say, boss."

"Boss?"

"You're the president-in-exile of the Terran Republic. I don't know what else you'd be."

"What about Valerian?"

Nova looked off into the distance, her face changing almost imperceptibly. He could have sworn he saw her shiver.

"After I talked to Marín and she laid out the mission… there's something going on with Valerian, and I don't want to be part of it. It doesn't make sense… or it does if Valerian has been lying to me this whole time. That 'new' evidence that the Umojans uncovered—the files that finally got him impeached—I never believed any of it. Valerian had been honest with me once, and I took him at his word after that. But maybe… I don't know. Maybe he told me the 'truth' then, so I would swallow his lies later." She turned back to Horner, her eyes turning cold again. "But this is not the time to talk about it, is it?"

Horner felt a kinship with her now. Both had believed in Valerian for years and didn't recognize the person they were faced with right now. He was also glad that Nova was firmly on their side. They needed all the allies they could get.

"No, we have a battle to fight. When it's over, I'll talk to him," Horner said quietly.

"What are your orders then?"

"There's not much you can do now. If you still work with a team, get them ready. Whatever the outcome here, we'll need them." Nova nodded. "And go talk to the quartermaster on deck fifteen. He'll find you a bunk somewhere."

"Thanks."

As Nova left, Horner poured over the tactical map again, watching as the Umojan line moved with the Terran Republic's and now Stukov's, corralling UED and Tal'darim forces back towards the minefield and away from Tyrador VIII and IX. The Umojans had made competent allies in a way he hadn't expected. Horner had worried that they would be inflexible, non-communicative, and at worst not up to the task, but they were better trained than he imagined. And a lot ballsier… Aren't Umojans supposed to be over-careful or something? But stereotypes were often wrong, he reminded himself. They're not that culturally different than we are, though I think the UNN wants us to think overwise.

Horner watched an infested liberator swing wide and slam into the minefield. Thankfully, Karax had updated the mines to Stukov's new allegiance. Horner watched as the mines impacted ships on the other side, leaving considerable damage. The detonations debilitated a battlecruiser and destroyed a liberator.

They scattered like pool balls…

Horner thought for a moment.

"Adjutant, get me Chief Engineer Swann."

"Admiral! What can I do ya for?"

"We got any torpedoes… that don't have warheads?"

"Well, we assemble 'em ourselves. No reason we can't fire some blanks. But what's the point?"

"I have a theory I want to test. Load the starboard array with them."

"You're the boss."

Horner moved the Hyperion into position perpendicular to the minefield, making sure there was nothing in the way of his shot. He aimed one of the empty torpedoes at a mine, hoping to broadside a troop transport ship making its way to the breach in the minefield. He traced the path with the computer's targeting array, but it gave him a wide margin for error. Horner eyeballed it. He waited. The torpedo arced its way across the tactical map. It hit the mine, and the mine started to move—fast. But the mine went wide and missed, hitting nothing. He sized up another target—a liberator—and fired again. Horner hit the mine this time. He held his breath as it made its way towards the liberator—and hit it. The liberator's marker disappeared. It had been totally destroyed.

Hot damn.

There were thousands of targets on the field but thousands of mines as well. Horner looked for the Vrede. It was still adrift. He decided to call Marín instead since she was on the front lines.

"What can I do for you, Admiral Horner?"

"Admiral Marín, have you ever played pool?"

Marín looked at him skeptically.

"Uh… no? I mean, I know what it is… Isn't it like bocce ball but with a table and sticks?"

Okay, maybe they are 'culturally different.'

"I… maybe? Nevermind. Bad analogy. I'll get to the point. One of Stukov's liberators knocked a bunch of mines into the UED fleet. I don't think it was purposeful, but an empty torpedo will do the same thing…"

"Ah, so, yes, like bocce ball."

"I… sure? They can't detect the mines and they do some serious damage."

"Sounds like an interesting weapon to add to our arsenal… Have you told Stukov?"

"No. I've tried contacting him, and he's been ignoring me."

"That's odd… I talked to him earlier…" Marín's demeanor suddenly changed. "I mean… I…"

"Relax. Nova told me all about it. You did what you thought was right. I just hope the rest of your fleet agrees."

"Well, we'll see about that. Thanks for the tip. I'll radio it to the rest of our fleet. I'll, uh, try to get in touch with Stukov. I'll let you know if he responds."

The Umojan Core Fleet began repositioning, moving perpendicular to the minefield but keeping the breach nearby. He watched as mines began streaming out of the minefield towards the UED and protoss fleets. Behind them, Stukov was dealing with the Tal'darim. The Wrath of the Ardent stayed where it was, keeping the allied human Koprulu sector forces from getting near either planet. The Terran Republic and the Umojan Protectorate had few boots on the ground now, and there was no way to get any more to the planet's surface.

Horner focused on his task at hand: back his enemies into the minefield. Seal the breach. Destroy as much of the invading fleet as possible. If they could seal the minefield again (with Stukov not infesting the mines, this would be much easier) and eliminate the forces that had already entered Tyrador airspace, they could keep them at bay. It would take a while—especially with Stukov apparently not at full power—but he could see where they could make a stand at Tyrador.

What Horner didn't notice however, was a lone UED science vessel that had piloted though the breach flanked by two allied liberators. He didn't notice that they broke formation with the rest of the UED's forces and took a circuitous route towards the Aleksander. But he did notice when a large energy burst radiated out from the vessel—more powerful than an EMP, but not powerful enough for a weapon. At the last moment, the Aleksander tried to get out of the way, but was caught up in its wake. When it hit, all his units stopped.

"Adjutant, get me a view of the Aleksander."

The Aleksander appeared in place of the tactical map. It was listing at a strange angle, and flesh seemed to be sloughing off of it. Its tendrils shook as if electrified.

What the hell?

"Admiral, we have reports coming in of Stukov's units attacking indiscriminately…" Horner's XO said.

Horner changed his view back to the tactical map. What he saw confirmed his crewman's report. Stukov's forces had started attacking whatever was near them—human, protoss, or even other zerg. And the Aleksander was adrift.

"Incoming message from Valerian Mengsk," said the Hyperion's adjutant.

"Patch it through, Adjutant."

"Matt," Valerian said, sitting in a baroque, antique chair on the bridge of the Moebius flagship, the Oppenheimer. If you could ignore the black consoles and crewman in black around him, the furniture he had placed on its bridge made it look like a Tarsonis-elite's living room. Or a throne room, Horner thought. "The Aleksander has been hit."

"I'm aware of that. His forces have gone rogue. Any idea what that was?

"Oh, I'd recognize the energy signature of a psi disrupter any day. It was a tool Moebius used often…"

Horner felt his body grow cold. Reeves wasn't as "incompetent" as Stukov had thought he was. He had brought some tech with him—most likely originally to handle the zerg—and readied it to use against Stukov if he had turned against him.

"What does that mean then?"

"Stukov has lost control. For now anyway." Valerian sighed. "We should have eliminated him when we had the chance."

"I don't think that's fair," Horner said. "Surely he can get control back."

"If we destroy the disrupter, yes. But who knows how many they have?"

Horner minimized Valerian's feed and checked the tactical map. The science vessel was emitting its psionic pulse intermittently near the Aleksander and was out of reach of other vessels because of the chaos now unfolding as Stukov's fleet lashed out at whatever was nearby. Without orders from Stukov and maddened by the disrupter, they rampaged across the field of battle. Other UED vessels began to rally around the science vessel, protecting it from destruction. The longer they waited, the harder it would be to get Stukov back in the fight.

"For now, let's focus on destroying the one. Have you got any ships to spare?"

"Sorry, no."

"Fine," Horner said, starting to get frustrated with him. He wondered if that was a lie. "I'll take care of it." He closed the channel. Immediately, the adjutant spoke again.

"Incoming message. Sender unknown."

After asking the adjutant to patch it through, he was greeted by half of the face of Izsha, permanent fixture aboard Kerrigan's old leviathan, now in Stukov's fleet. It was apparent that Izsha was unfamiliar with the device she was using. Izsha did not know where to stand—or hang—to be in the right place for the video feed. She was too close, and the feed was angled where if she had nostrils, Horner would be staring up them. Horner was repulsed by the sight. He had no idea who she was.

"Admiral Horner. It is good to finally meet you."

"Uh, likewise? Do we… Know each other?"

"I am Izsha, former assistant to the Queen of Blades, now assistant to Admiral Stukov."

Horner had read something about Izsha but had no idea what she looked like. He thought she was disgusting, but as far as zerg go, Horner thought her pretty tame—except for the long, single talons on her segmented arms.

"Do you know what happened to Stukov?"

"That is why I am contacting you. Admiral Stukov was injured by Alarak after aligning with your fleet. His injury was keeping him from controlling his units effectively, but he was healing. The psi disrupter was used on him while he was vulnerable. I fear that he may be incapacitated. Thankfully, I am out of range. But I require your assistance."

"We're already on it, Izsha. I'm moving ships in to destroy that science vessel."

"I'm afraid that will be inadequate, Admiral Horner. I do not believe Admiral Stukov will become sensate again unless he is given help. However, Abathur should be able to heal him. The science vessel must be destroyed, and my leviathan must be escorted to the Aleksander so that Abathur can board it and render aid."

Izsha looked down at him, blinking her wet, black eyes, waiting for his response. Horner had no choice but to comply.


Izsha stopped being Izsha as soon as she terminated the power to the human radio device. She was the ship, the leviathan. Once, all the Swarm had gone through her. But when the Queen of Blades returned from her ascension to settle her affairs, when asked with whom she would like to stay, Izsha had chosen Stukov, not Zagara. Now, only Stukov's swarm reported to her. As she pulled herself back into the ship, she could feel the animal of the zerg working together as one. But it was maimed now, unable to regroup with the many who had been cut off by the psi disrupter. And they all howled for their master, obeying her for now but addicted to the order and purpose supplied by Stukov.

The full zerg, the broods, she knew well. But the infested were different. They responded as the zerg would, but sometimes she could hear echoes. Some of their minds were more intact than others. They were not like Stukov, but occasionally their minds would awaken, and they would think. Except it was not really thinking. It was an echo of thinking; a thought that had been expressed in life and stored and repeated in death.

"I'm scared," they would say, or "It hurts." Sometimes they would cry out for their loved ones. And sometimes they would mistake Stukov or Izsha for someone they knew in life. Especially at times like these when control is weakened. Izsha remembered that Stukov had been horrified by this phenomenon at first, but finally got used to it, realizing that the thoughts were not real. Izsha was often still confused by it, having little experience with humans.

"It passes quickly," she remembered him saying, "It's the infestation crawling through the nervous system, activating different centers of the brain. Like a corpse moving as rigor sets in. Pay it no attention, Izsha."

Life had been different for Izsha under Stukov. Kerrigan's first incarnation had been ruthless, twisting and forcefully molding her into her current incarnation. Stukov asked less of her and rarely cared how she followed his orders as long as she did. She appreciated the relative freedom. But Kerrigan had a higher purpose and Stukov did not. They were not fighting a war for the galaxy, they were simply trying to survive. This was the first important battle that she had fought alone with him. And I will not let my Admiral down. He was weaker than Kerrigan and had a more fragile form. She would have to take a more active role.

The stars spread out around her. She sensed not only her fellow zerg but the strong presence of the protoss, both Tal'darim and Daelaam. It was they that Horner had tasked with escorting her. The Spear of Adun—larger even than her own leviathan—settled alongside her. She perched at the edge of the disrupter's influence and waited. Izsha reached out to the Aleksander. Stukov's mind was silent; she could not feel his presence. Ships fled before Stukov's untethered infested units. Izsha tried to recapture them, calling them to the leviathan. But the disrupter was too powerful, and they would not heed her. Battlecruisers, both Umojan and Terran Republic, began to group near the science vessel. Its escort was aware of their movements and began firing on them before they could form up. There was an intense firefight. But the battlecruisers had been a distraction. Behind them, protoss fighters warped in to engage the escort. They were forced to flee, and in their flight ran straight into the zerg that Izsha still controlled. In the carnage, the science vessel was destroyed.

The Spear of Adun moved forward and she followed.

Abathur, be ready.

There was no response.

Abathur, we are moving in.

She could feel his surliness. Izsha became agitated, not understanding his animus towards Stukov.

Abathur, Stukov needs you.

She felt his exasperation. Moving into position for transport. Ready momentarily.

The leviathan moved beside the Aleksander. The Spear of Adun held off the rampaging infested and the Tal'darim and UED who had undoubtedly realized what they were trying to do. A tendril snaked out from the leviathan and bored into the side of the Aleksander.

Go, Abathur.

She could feel Abathur move through the leviathan and down the tendril into the Aleksander. He was not moving as quickly as she would have liked, but she said nothing. Izsha felt him board the Aleksander. Minutes went by—eons for someone who experienced time like Izsha did, input from thousands of sources at once. But her main source was silent. She needed direction. Izsha had been bred as a tool, and she needed to feel useful.

Izsha felt Abathur's surprise and dismay. He had found Stukov. It was worse than he had thought.

What is wrong, Abathur?

Nothing. Flesh can be mended. Will take longer than expected.

What happened? Tell me.

Seizure due to psionic feedback loop. Not unexpected but rare. Proximity to disrupter a factor.

Izsha felt panic and could not identify why.

Will he be the same? His mind, will it—

Damage not permanent. Do not interrupt me again.

Izsha waited impatiently. The protoss Hierarch began trying to hail her. She fiddled with the human radio device again, switching it on. Artanis, the protoss Hierarch, appeared before her. She had only spoken directly to a protoss once before, and that was while she was killing it. Now, she was helping one of their leaders. Today was a series of firsts for Izsha.

"Yes, Hierarch. How may I assist you?"

"Izsha, is it? How much more time do you need?"

"I do not know, and I cannot ask. Please be patient. A few more minutes perhaps?"

"Very well. We will wait."

Izsha thought that went well. He seemed civil enough, she thought.

She felt a familiar presence, formless and pained. It gathered strength and cohesion. Incoherent still, it babbled, its thoughts disordered. It was Stukov's unconscious mind rejoining the psionic link to her and the infested. Around them, his army stopped in its tracks, docile, no longer attacking, hanging in space. The disrupter was gone, and they could undoubtedly hear their master. The UED and the Tal'darim were picking the infested vessels off as they sat unable to defend themselves. Izsha began calling to them, pulling them towards her to keep them from being destroyed. She felt scratching and clawing in the psionic bond, then Stukov's unconscious mind went silent. Izsha panicked again, but then she felt him, as if he was standing behind her, looking over her shoulder as she surveyed the battlefield.

Izsha? Abathur?

He was back. But she realized his mind was open. He hadn't yet regained his faculties enough to cut himself off from his swarm. Izsha felt unrestrained greed. Impulsively, she reached into his mind and dug into what she could, knowing there were only moments before he was fully conscious. Kerrigan had put her thoughts, memories, and plans in her, but Stukov was less open. She wanted his thoughts and memories. If she had them, she thought, she could make better decisions, and if they ever lost him, or he left their small swarm, at least they would have his—and Kerrigan's—minds to guide them. She copied and copied, not sorting any of the information—she could do that later.

Izsha felt his mind closing. If she kept on, he would know what she had done. She lingered for a few seconds and then quickly exited, burying what she had found in her own memory where he would never find it.

Are you well, Admiral?

Enough, yes. Abathur is coming back to you. You've done well, Izsha.

Thank you, Admiral.

He doesn't know, she thought, good.


Stukov had awoken face down on the bridge of the Aleksander. His head ached, but he felt better than he had. Abathur had been there, but without a word he had retreated, his mission finished and finding no further business with him. Abathur had healed him completely. Stukov gathered himself up off the floor. The pain he felt was from hitting his head on the way down. But he was no longer distracted.

On his console, he saw that both Horner and Marín had tried to contact him. He must have been too engrossed in what he was doing and didn't hear his adjutant. And he hadn't noticed the science vessel. Science-vessel-mounted psi disrupters would be a hurdle for him in subsequent battles. If the UED could simply drop a psi disrupter near him—or his troops—and scramble them, his effectiveness was near zero. The irony of the UED using psi disrupters to neutralize his forces was not lost on him. But the science vessel was out of play, and he was back in the fight.

Stukov reached out to his infested. His "nap" had been a costly one. Almost all his units were gone. Frustration and rage coursed through him. Reeves had gotten the better of him. He was sure that the moment Reeves found out that he was a zerg he had most likely begun researching how to disable him in combat. Or whenever he felt like leaving me to the wolves.

Pulling what few infested he had towards him, he began their muster anew. He assessed the battle around him, deciding where he would be the most useful. The battle on the ground was all but lost. The Wrath of the Ardent, Alarak's specialized and enormous mothership—clearly partially a copy of the Spear of Adun—was sitting near Tyrador IIV like Cerberus at the gates of the underworld. He surveyed the minefield and saw the Core Fleet knocking mines into the Destroyer Fleet and the Tal'darim. He chuckled to himself.

Interesting.

He took what little resources he had left—a few liberators, some mutilisks, and two brood queens—and moved towards the minefield. Stukov willed his units to attack the Tal'darim holding open the minefield breach, and joined the Umojans, reaching out with the Aleksander's tendrils to lob the mines at the enemy ships. Without prompting, the Umojan admiral sent him a map of the location of the mines. This helped considerably; he did not have to divide his attention by searching around for the psionic signature of the mines. But it was still at best a guerilla strategy, and one that would hold them off but not let them win decisively.

Looking around again, he saw that the Terran Republic and Umojan fleets had suffered heavy losses. The Spear of Adun looked no worse for wear, but there were few smaller Daelaam units that he saw around them. Still, if they could clear the airspace around the two planets, they could force the UED and Tal'darim into a war of attrition. Miraculously, the crippled Vrede was still in one piece but adrift. It did not pose much of a threat, and their enemies must have been ignoring it.

The hair on the back of Stukov's neck stood up. There was an electricity in the space around him that as a zerg he could now feel.

Warp signatures.

He watched as UED vessels warped in ahead of the minefield. They must have diverted them from Tarsonis, after there was no reprisal. It had been a brash decision and dangerous. Reeves put many lives at risk. FTL jumps were not exact to the kilometer. Even with specified coordinates, there was always some "drift." Planets were moving and so were solar systems and the arms of the galaxy. The further the jump, the more imprecise. Jumping that close to a planet was reckless. The ships could have warped directly into the minefield, into another ship, or worse—into one of the twin orbiting (and already unstable) Tyrador-system planets.

Reeves lost three battlecruisers to the minefield. One had warped directly into it, and the other two had just been too close. But he had been lucky. The small fleet that had survived was roughly the size of the Umojan fleet—and had onboard smaller ships that would be a great annoyance.

Meanwhile, the Uhuru had been able to distract the last destroyer that was holding the breach open. For what good that does us now! Stukov thought. The Uhuru was hailing him.

"Admiral, I've been advised by Artanis that Karax has a failsafe in place to detonate the minefield. But we need the UED to get closer. Know how we could make the UED mad enough to come closer to the minefield?" She raised an eyebrow at him in a lock of playful mock-inquisitiveness.

"Are you suggesting that I use their obvious hate for me to lure them into doing something foolish?"

"I was going to say, 'use you as bait,' but I like what you said better. It's more proactive. Got any ideas?"

"Oh, several. Most of them will get me killed."

"Well, use the ones that won't."

"Don't worry. I have prior experience with this type of situation…"

"Do you mean dying or being a pain in the ass?"

"Both!"

"Whatever you do, you have fifteen minutes."

"I'll… Keep that in mind."

Fifteen minutes? That's not a lot of time…

Stukov called to Izsha, summoning both of his leviathans. They were empty, but he had a plan.

Stukov moved the Aleksander closer to the minefield and slipped through it. At full sub-light speeds, he skirted along the front of the UED fleet. A squadron of liberators gave chase. He opened a channel to the Kuznetsov. As the channel opened, he didn't wait for Reeves to respond.

"I should have known that you try to terminate me from afar—and that you would find a way to do it even while I was on your side. You are a coward, a liar, and—worse—ineffective. Not only did you fail, but you didn't even have the courage to cross the minefield and do it yourself. If it's any consolation, Troy, I'm more miserable alive than dead. I guess I'll have to find ways to bolster my spirits—like crushing you!"

He closed the channel before he could respond. The Kuznetsov began moving forward to bring its canons in range. Without Stukov's son on board, Reeves was getting more cavalier with his own ship. On the other side of the minefield, he watched as some of the newly-fielded UED vessels came towards him to cut off his escape. Yes, Reeves. You hate me. Send all you've got at me, you stupid bastard. Stukov's two leviathans loomed in the distance, larger than the UED carriers but slow and ineffective without the infested or zerg onboard. But they're not without some armaments.

The leviathans drew enemy ships from both the Tal'darim and the UED towards them. The Terran Republic and Umojan fleets took advantage of this and began attacking enemy vessels as they moved. The leviathans reached out and grabbed nearby UED units with their barbed appendages, disabling them and flinging them into the minefield.

Izsha, be careful, Stukov warned. Izsha did not respond but acknowledged that she heard him. She hung back slightly, allowing the unmanned leviathan to go before her. Mines scattered off in all directions, hit by the battlecruisers, which were obliterated by the blasts. Izsha stayed behind as the second leviathan waded through the minefield, sending more minefields into the UED fleet. Stukov fled in the Aleksander under the leviathan, his pursuers breaking off when they saw the enormous zerg vessel. It was able to grab two of them and disable them.

But it dropped them when it saw its real target, the Kuznetsov. Reeves had recognized that this was some kind of trap, and he had already begun to move off. But the carrier was slow, and the leviathan had already made it up to its full sub-light speed. Drifting into range, it sank its barbs into the carrier, infesting it. The carrier continued to try to back off, but the leviathan dragged it backwards towards the minefield. Stukov hoped that the remaining psi disrupters were all aboard the Kuznetsov. This was likely, because they had probably not brought them from home and had made them here. They were costly to produce, and, he knew, Reeves would want to supervise their development and keep the devices secret.

Beside the Kuznetsov, the fleet began to panic, focusing on the leviathan. But the closer they came, the more of them became infested. On the other side of the minefield, the Spear of Adun and Izsha's leviathan busied themselves with the new fleet of battlecruisers, luring them closer and closer to the minefield. There was a vast number of them.

The infestation from both leviathans spread unchecked, holding vessels near the minefield. In the distance, Stukov saw the shadow of the Wrath of the Ardent grow larger. Undoubtedly Alarak believed he could eliminate the leviathan—and that he could take down the Spear of the Adun. Then he realized what was in its path—the Vrede. And beside it was the Uhuru, undoubtedly helping it evacuate. Stukov hesitated for a moment, unsure of himself. Should he help? Could he help? He ordered his adjutant to call the Uhuru.


On the bridge of the Uhuru, Marín opened a frequency to Stukov. His piercing, glowing eyes and disfigured face appeared in place of her tactical map. He kept his bridge dark, she noticed. He lives like a goddamn vampire.

"Admiral Marín. Do you require assistance with the Vrede?"

"There's nothing to be done, Admiral Stukov. There's no time to take another round trip with our shuttles, and the Tal'darim would most likely destroy any escape pods."

Stukov looked pensive for a moment.

"I have a plan… You're not going to like it."

"The leviathan is repositioning, and the Aleksander is moving on the Vrede, Admiral," Barre said.

With a wave of her hand, Marín changed her screen back to a view of the battlefield. She watched as the Aleksander moved closer to the Vrede; its tentacles flared out. The larger UED ship embraced the Umojan ship, its zerg appendages wrapping around it. Meanwhile, the leviathan rumbled backwards towards the Wrath of the Ardent, moving to position itself between it and the Vrede.

What is he doing? Marín thought.

Suddenly, all of the Aleksander's appendages flinched, digging into the sides of the vessel.

"He's destroying it!" Barre said.

"I am attempting a further evacuation!" Stukov snapped.

"Admiral Stukov, there's no time. We have to go."

"We have ten minutes. That is time enough for some. Keep them off me."

That was a taller order than Stukov had made it sound. The Wrath of the Ardent would be on them soon, leviathan or not.

"Get me the Spear of Adun!"

Artanis's face appeared above the war table.

"Admiral. The detonation of the minefield is about to proceed. I would advise you to—"

"I'm aware, Hierarch. But Stukov is attempting an ill-advised evacuation of the Vrede, and the Wrath of the Ardent is on its way…"

"Understood. We will engage the Tal'darim as long as possible."

"Thank you, Hierarch."

Marín watched as the Spear of Adun closed in on the Wrath of the Ardent.

"Bring us closer. Fire at will on Alarak's mothership."

Minutes went by. The Uhuru was successful in drawing the Wrath of the Ardent's fire. But the giant Tal'darim ship was now within striking distance of the Aleksander. It disengaged its attack suddenly, veering towards it.

"Break off! Get between the Wrath of the Ardent and the Aleksander," Marín shouted.

The Uhuru banked back towards the Aleksander. In the distance, Moebius ships were jumping to FTL in flashes of light. The first to abandon us, I see. The Uhuru fired on the mothership, but it did little good. The Wrath of the Ardent powered its weapons to fire on the Aleksander. Marín worried that Stukov would be stranded, like those aboard the Vrede, if he took damage.

The leviathan slung a barbed appendage at the Wrath of the Ardent, burying it into its side. The Wrath of the Ardent's shot went wide. It powered up to fire again, this time at the leviathan. Without direct weaponry and with the protoss ability to resist infestation, the leviathan couldn't hold the Tal'darim ship for long.

"Incoming message from Admiral Horner," the Uhuru's adjutant said.

"Patch it through!"

"Admiral Marín, we need to—,"

"I am fully aware that we need to leave, Horner. But I am trying to keep Stukov alive long enough to make the jump. If you are not calling to offer assistance, I'm going to have to ask you to get off this channel."

"What? Oh."

The Hyperion flew next to the Uhuru, swooping in and drawing the mothership's fire. Horner powered up the Hyperion's yamato canon and blasted the mothership. It did little but was enough to draw their attention. Finally, the Spear of Adun caught up the Wrath of the Ardent. Its canons began firing on Alarak's ship. Alarak returned fire, and the battle between the colossal ships was joined.

"What is Stukov doing?" Horner asked.

"Evac, somehow," Marín replied.

"Do I want to know how?"

"No, you most likely don't."

The Wrath of the Ardent's shields went first, but the immense power of the void-channeled energies of the Tal'darim's weaponry eventually sliced into the Spear of Adun's hull. The ships began carving into each other, becoming alight with blue and red plasma flame. The Spear of Adun began moving towards the minefield.

Artanis hailed the Uhuru.

"We are down to ninety of your seconds, Admiral. Tell your people they must leave. We will lure Alarak's ship as close to the minefield as we possibly can, but we will shortly go to FTL."

"You've done what you can. We'll meet you at the rendezvous."

"Do not tarry, Admiral."

"Don't worry about us, Hierarch. We'll manage"

The channel closed. She ordered Barre to tell all Umojan ships to jump to FTL. She opened the comm again, this time to speak to Stukov.

"Yes, I know how much time there is." Stukov said, irritation in his voice.

"Listen to me: disengage. I don't care that Reeves got to you or that you lost all your units. You don't have any face to save."

"That's not what this is about!"

"Then what is it? These are my people—not yours. And I'm telling you to save yourself. You're useless to us dead, and no one you've rescued will survive if you don't get the hell out."

Stukov sighed, and the channel abruptly closed. Marín's holographic view changed back to the battlefield. The leviathan pulled back all its appendages and disappeared into hyperspace. Beside it, the Spear of Adun lingered, but then also went to FTL. All that was left was the Uhuru and the Aleksander, still locked onto the Vrede. The Wrath of the Ardent's attention went back to the Aleksander. As Marín watched, each of the Aleksander's appendages carefully dislodged themselves. The Aleksander however, was still holding onto the Vrede.

"Thirty seconds to detonation, ma'am."

"Get us out of here, Ahlberg."

"Aye."

The Aleksander made one last desperate push with its tendrils, an attempt to throw the Vrede out of range of the minefield. It was going too slowly, Marín knew.

Distortion began to build around the Aleksander.

He's finally going to FTL, Marín thought. There was a bright flash in the distance. The minefield was starting to blow. Her view changed from that of the Aleksander to hyperspace.

She didn't know whether Stukov had made the jump in time or not.