Chapter 35: Friends and Foes

"This is Donny Vermillion from UNN, bringing you the latest updates on the shocking revelations following the leak of classified documents from the Terran Dominion's Ministry of Intelligence. Months have passed since the zerg invasion of Korhal posed an existential threat to us all, only to be fought back by our brave Dominion soldiers and the UED fleet who put aside their conflict with us when the true scope of the zerg threat became clear."

"This is what we had been led to believe, that is. But new information that has come to light claims that this was in fact a secret plot from Earth to subjugate the worlds we have spent so much effort to build. According to these unverified reports, Earth has developed advanced technology capable of controlling the zerg and has deployed such technologies here."

"If these reports are true, the UED's intervention in the battle of Korhal takes on a more sinister nature. There are some who now believe that Earth orchestrated the zerg invasion so that they could take credit for saving us. The zerg behavior during the battle was observed to be quite strange. After the UED fleet arrived, the zerg immediately began retreating and seemed to act erratically. Could it truly have been a ruse from the start? Are the UED soldiers stationed here on Korhal here to protect us, or to control us?"

"Some even begin to wonder whether the zerg invasion which destroyed Tarsonis was orchestrated by Earth as well, in order to divide us and throw the colonies into anarchy, saved only by our heroic emperor who stepped up to save us in our hour of need."

"We reached out to emperor Mengsk for comment, but it seems he is currently on a tour of the fringe to inspect firsthand the conditions of our people. Emperor Mengsk, working day and night to serve all who live under the Dominion's banner."

"We here at UNN are committed to uncovering the truth, and we are hard at work corroborating the information in the document leaks. Stay tuned for the latest news from UNN, this is Donny Vermillion."

The screen of the TV turned black. The remote was thrown against the ground, cracking from the impact.

"This is bullshit!" Stukov yelled. "We saved his worthless ass from the zerg, and this is how repays us? We should have our men arrest and execute that worthless son of a bitch!"

DuGalle's knuckles were turning white with how tightly his fingers clenched against each other. "Unfortunately, it seems that Mengsk has managed to slip through our grasp, escaping from Korhal without us noticing."

Stukov pounded his fist against the table. "Then we can occupy Korhal at least. Our garrison there can seize their capital. That is what we have them there for."

"In our current situation, we would struggle to hold Korhal against local resistance and unrest, unless we sent additional reinforcements," DuGalle said with a sigh. "Reinforcements we can ill afford, not when we will likely be fighting here on Char in the quite soon. Our enemies will seize on this moment of weakness in order to attack us."

"Then we will do nothing?" Stukov looked incredulous hearing these words. "Would we allow ourselves to be slandered like this?"

"Mengsk will pay for his treachery. Make no mistake." DuGalle rose from his seat and turned toward the window, gazing out at the volcanic landscape of Char. "The fool's days are numbered. Once we defeat the protoss and the remaining zerg, we shall deal with him."

"Do you think Mengsk will combine his army with the aliens to fight us?" Stukov asked.

DuGalle shook his head. "Mengsk would not leave himself unguarded. He is a snake, but he is a self interested and cautious one. He hopes to stay out of the fighting and take advantage of the situation afterwards."

"That just leaves us with the protoss and the zerg to deal with," Stukov said as he nodded. "And that band of terran rebels siding with them, though their military strength is paltry in comparison to ours."

"The rebels are of little direct threat," DuGalle said. "But they've proven to be an annoying thorn in our side, stirring up unrest in the colonies under our control. With the Dominion now slandering us as well, uprisings will become increasingly frequent."

Stukov frowned. "The colonies are an important supply of resources for us. Already productivity has been falling because of the unrest. It will be difficult for us to bolster our defenses here without additional material. Are there any other sources we can tap into?"

DuGalle turned away from the window. "We may have an opportunity. The attack on Moria has incensed the Kel-Morian Combine, and they are now more than willing to overlook the earlier difficulties in our relationship to provide additional support. Unfortunately, they will be unable to fill our entire resource shortfall as most of their stockpile was stolen in the attack. They do however still possess significant monetary assets and have influence over financial institutions. A representative has informed me that they are willing to provide sizable zero interest loans to us."

Stukov scoffed. "Even after all that has happened, they still cling so hard to their money. Only willing to give loans and expecting to be paid back when we are paying with our lives fighting their enemies. Still, we will be able to hire many mercenaries, as… distasteful as it may be."

"I am equally displeased, Alexei. But we have little other options at this time," DuGalle said.

"Is there anything else we have?" Stukov asked.

"I shall be traveling to Umoja," DuGalle said. "They were obstructive and unenthusiastic about their support earlier, but perhaps recent events will change their view. Surely now they see that they cannot remain safe just by standing on the sidelines. If they see reason, we will be able to bolster our strength further. I shall be leaving Char in your hands, Alexei."

"I'll make sure our defenses are well prepared. Our enemies will witness the true might of the United Earth Directorate." Stukov smiled. "Who knows, perhaps I will have already defeated them by the time you return."

"Do not underestimate them." A tinge of weariness entered DuGalle's voice. "If we fail here, Earth will not look kindly upon us."

Stukov's smile faltered, a grim look of determination replacing it. "Understood."

DuGalle nodded and put his hand on Stukov's shoulder. "Good. I know I can count on you."

"Next, we will review an update on our supply allocations," Stukov said, a tinge of weariness in his voice as he looked out at the room where the top ranking UED officers were watching him with rapt attention. A chart was displayed on the screen, showing equipment and manpower numbers.

"Our production estimates have been revised now that we have obtained more sources of material," Stukov said. "Here is our current plan for our distribution of force when the enemy comes to attack Char."

While some of the other officers seemed to be drifting into inattentiveness after reviewing the changes to their own forces, Roland looked over the plan carefully, his mind deep in thought.

He would have preferred not relying on the Zerg, but he didn't trust the others who were each given control of zerg broods, no doubt to supplement their diminishing manpower reserves.

Roland broke away from his thoughts and raised his hand to speak. "Vice Admiral, I have a few concerns. Under the current plan, certain areas of our defensive line are left understaffed. While we are using the zerg broods still under our control to fill the gaps, this poses a considerable risk to us if our control over the zerg prove to be unreliable once more."

Stukov nodded. "I understand your concerns, Captain. I've spoken with Lieutenant Duran, who helped us develop these zerg control devices, as well as our own science teams who have studied the design. They assure me that the previous incident where the cerebrate known as Daggoth was able to resist our control was a one off incident, owing to the strength and age of that specific cerebrate. The rest of the cerebrates were only capable of rebelling after physical destruction of the control devices. Such will not happen again and we have made sure to take additional precautions."

"Even so, it would be best for us to have additional insurance in case our control was compromised. We should have more human forces backing up the defenses to not be wholly reliant on the zerg to hold the line," Roland said.

Captain Krenz, sitting several seats away, scoffed. "Well if you don't want your soldiers you can always give them to me. Those extra soldiers are gonna have to come from somewhere. You sure you can handle it when the enemy starts gunning for you? Are you so eager to have your own men die just so the zerg don't have to do any fighting?"

Roland frowned. Krenz, always the critic ever since Roland had poked holes in one of his plans last year.

"That's not at all what I'm saying, Erich. The zerg can instead be used in an offensive role, as a reserve force to counterattack and disrupt the enemy advance," Roland said.

"Our objective is to defend, not to attack," the other man retorted. "We will have the zerg in the front to absorb the enemy attack while our own soldiers provide long range support in the rear. We should not be throwing our armies out on half baked attacks. Otherwise we'll end up suffering just like you did in your expedition on Aiur, overextending your armies in your obsessive push forward."

Roland resisted the urge to scowl. Krenz would be content to point out Roland's misfortunes to divert attention from his unimaginative military planning, but Roland could see that Krenz' idea would deprive them of initiative and let himself be picked away at.

"I retreated our forces in good order," he responded coldly. "We will not win simply by staying still. We must be willing to take the fight to the enemy."

"And we saw how well that worked for you," Krenz said with a hint of a sneer. "And our garrison on Tarsonis too. If they had focused on just sitting tight rather than attacking they would have been far better off. And we wouldn't have lost some of our most important assets."

Roland was annoyed at this diversion. Yes, he had failed a campaign he was responsible for due to unforeseen variables, but now it was tainting his credibility. "You would have done far worse if you were there," Roland growled. "If we–"

"Enough!" Stukov affixed both of them with a glare. "We are not going to assign blame for past events. Instead, we will focus on learning from those past battles to better refine our tactics."

Roland cursed himself for losing some of his composure. He briefly glanced at Krenz, wondering if the man was merely pitching his lazy ideas or actually trying to rile him up.

"Yes, Vice Admiral." Roland's face quickly shifted back to a neutral expression as he acknowledged Stukov's words with a nod.

"Now, is there anything you would like us to focus on?" Stukov asked.

"I did learn more from our engagement against the protoss on Aiur," Roland said. "We should be cautious of their technologies. The protoss are capable of teleportation and advanced stealth. There are also esoteric effects such as placing objects into stasis that we do not yet fully understand. They always seem to be able to pull something new out, and we likely haven't seen everything they are capable of yet. We should take care to be ready in case of unexpected events."

"It is fortunate that the protoss are few in number," Stukov said. "With their powerful capabilities, we require overwhelming force to deal with them. That is why we sought to bring the zerg under our control, to add their numbers to ours. Our recent losses are unfortunate, but at least the protoss did not escape unscathed in the battle on Aiur either."

"It was rather difficult to fight them on Aiur," Roland said. "They knew the land well and could hide in ruins and jungles while picking away at us while we had to force them to stand and fight. It will be different here on Char though. There are few places for them to hide and we have already mapped out the topography extensively."

Roland was almost looking forward to fighting the protoss again. He knew more of their tricks and strategies. He could devise a trap for them, and score a victory to redeem his prior defeats.

Another voice next to him chimed in. "It wasn't just the protoss who used such tactics," Captain Laborde said as she leaned forward. "The zerg also used hit and run tactics against us. It wasn't just straightforward rush tactics, and the zerg can move around quite quickly and with perfect coordination. We should be careful in case they exploit any of the features here on Char, especially the tunnels."

"We have sealed the tunnels in the vicinity of our main fortress," Stukov said. "But there are far too many tunnels, both natural and artificial, on Char. We should look into developing more tools to deal with tunneling zerg as well."

"That isn't all," she continued. "I had a hell of an awful time when my forces were attacked by that zerg infested psionic. Took out a whole squad of soldiers before we could do anything. By the time we managed to bring in some more firepower she'd completely vanished. Nothing much we could do about it besides trying to minimize the damage each time."

"We have known of this creature for quite some time, ever since the battle on Korhal," Stukov said. "Though we don't have any knowledge of its origins or how the zerg managed to create such a being, it does seem that they cannot create any more, which is fortunate. Information communicated by one of the cerebrates seems to indicate that they held command authority over the zerg, but it was not its original purpose."

"Should we really be placing so much stock on the words of a zerg cerebrate?" Roland spoke with incredulity.

"We have already spoken on this topic before." Stukov frowned slightly. "Regardless, the specifics of these details are not critical for us now."

"Is it not?" A new voice spoke up this time. "If they are indeed an important command strain, then that would tell us we ought to prioritize eliminating them."

Roland shook his head. "It's not that simple, Alan. The costs of making such an attempt is quite high, the Dominion found out for themselves with their failed gamble. We have to weigh the potential losses with the potential gains."

"With all due respect, sir," said Alan. "I believe that cost would have been worth it."

"You cannot make excuses for your own inaction," Krenz huffed as he leaned back in his chair, smirking as he was now piggybacking off Alan's input. "You've had numerous encounters with her, but took no action to eliminate the threat."

As the people in the meeting turned their judging gazes to him, Roland closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.

Maybe he could have prepared better to lay a trap. Or he could have pushed harder when they almost had her after invading Char. Or perhaps even finish her on Korhal.

But it was too late to change the past, and now that it's done. Tarsonis… why did it have to end up this way? If only things had been different, the defenders of Tarsonis would not have died so futilely.

They wouldn't be in the sorry state they were in now, begging for help from mercenaries of all people, waiting nervously as their mission rests on a knife's edge..

He knew he was quickly being singled out as the scapegoat. Even with Stukov still supporting him, things could go south for him quickly and Stukov would have no choice but to leave him hanging dry.

He should have removed her from the board sooner. Then our fate would still be in our hands.

It was still in his hands. He still had a chance.

He opened his eyes again. He mustn't let his thoughts paralyze him now. Now while he still had dignity to show.

"Perhaps it was an error," he admitted wearily. "With the benefit of hindsight, it may have been the right choice to throw the dice earlier. But it would have been no easy feat. Just the slightest miscalculation would leave it all for naught."

Was he too afraid, he wondered? It was his nature in not wanting to take a gamble in such an important battle, fearful at not being able to predict the outcome of it. Everything made sense in the moment, but now he was left with only regrets.

As his thoughts continued to drift, he abruptly realized that conversation was already beginning to slip past him. He turned back to listen as Jane Laborde continued to discuss potential tactics.

"It's definitely not easy to stop her from getting away," Jane said. "She's fast and it's tough to pin her down to overwhelm her defenses. And even if she's hurt, once she gets away she can recover quickly and return for more."

"Since we know this, we should be coming up with methods to deal with it," Stukov said. "This is not our first encounter, why weren't any strategies devised earlier?"

"Our earlier tactics did work," Roland said. "We won the battles. Rather than committing forces on a chase that goes nowhere, I instead struck swiftly and decisively to win the battle as soon as possible. So the enemy was not able to turn it into a battle of attrition where she could pick away at our fixed defenses gradually."

Though his face remained confident, beneath the mask his thoughts continued to whirl around.

"Keep in mind that we will be fighting a defensive battle here," Stukov said. "This likely will become a battle of attrition, and we must be prepared for it. Perhaps you can look into developing new weapons or strategies to use here after studying the records of previous encounters."

"It will be a difficult puzzle," Roland muttered. "We need enough speed to stop her from escaping, enough firepower to take her down, and also contingencies if she flees underground. It won't be easy."

"Well you all will have time to consider this," Stukov said. "Now, let's move onto the next order of business. I've spoken with our geologists to discuss the feasibility of a potential contingency plan to artificially induce volcanic eruptions on Char. They are still investigating, but the results seem promising."

"Lava is too slow to overrun a mobile army," Roland mused. "But it can stop an enemy advance with area denial or destroy an enemy which is pinned down. There's value here, but aren't volcanic eruptions notoriously difficult to predict and control?"

"This could put our own soldiers in danger," Jane said. "We would need detailed knowledge of the potential blast radius, and we wouldn't want to cut ourselves off by accident."

Stukov nodded. "I understand your concern, but our scientists are refining their models. We can be rather confident in the macro scale effects, though there is always some risk involved."

Roland sighed. "I don't like the potential uncertainties. But it is better than nothing. I hate that we have to rely on such gambles."

He hated the uncertainty. But maybe, just maybe, they needed gambles. Otherwise, they would be slowly and inexorably strangled by their fate.

"We'll need every advantage we can get," Stukov said. "The battle that awaits us will be the most difficult we have faced so far. The fate of our expedition will rest on this. Keep that in mind."