Starcraft: Queen and Country

by Wanderer D

Chapter 009

2504, Koprulu Sector, Hyperion █

The whole world came back in a sudden, jarring rush as the Hyperion jumped out of warp. The crew immediately started running diagnostics and checking in with other areas of the ship.

Raynor, however was already stalking to the holographic display in the room. "What the hell happened?" he asked, standing next to Matt. "We ain't seen the zerg in years. Why attack Mar Sara now?"

"It's not just Mar Sara," Matt said, pressing a couple of buttons. Several displays came up, showing planets being evacuated and entire cities burning. "You need to see this." They watched the several news in silence as the full devastation of the zerg attack slowly dawned on them. The loss of life was staggering.

"It is confirmed, the Queen of Blades is leading the attack..."

Raynor fell down on the chair, his hand rubbing his forehead. "So she was telling the truth."

"Who?" Matt asked, confused.

"Are you talking about that weird zerg we fought?" Tychus asked, shaking his head. "I'm telling you, Jimmy, nothing good comes from talking to things that can kill you."

Raynor rubbed his forehead, glancing at Matt. "A new Zerg of some sort. Strong as a Queen, faster than a zerling. Weird shape. Can talk and even use strategy. She said her name was Sweetie Belle, and also told me she served Kerrigan."

"Did you say Sweetie Belle?!" a young voice asked from somewhere in the shadows of the bridge.

"What the—" Tychus gasped, stepping back and bracing himself, unsure as to what to do.

"Matt?" Raynor asked warily, standing up himself and putting his hand on his gun. "What is this?"

Matt coughed into his hand. "Ah, yes. I wanted to introduce you earlier. Come over here Gallus."

The pair watched the griffon in overalls walk across the bridge up to them, his eyes set on Raynor.

"Jim, this is Gallus, he's a griffon that helped and was dropped off by Zeratul a couple of months ago. He's been learning the ropes from Swann down in engineering."

"Zeratul?" Raynor asked, eyes widening and a small smile playing on his lips at hearing the name of his old friend. "That damned Protoss. How—"

"I'll tell you all about it," Gallus interrupted, making Jim start. "I want to know more about what you just said." He leaned up, placing his claws on the table. "You met Sweetie Belle?"

Raynor blinked, and nodded. "Yeah… we should have a recording of it… somewhere."

"I think the cameras caught some of your fight when we did the flyover," Matt said, typing away at the console.

An overhead image of the area where Jim and Tychus were fighting the new zerg showed up, although very little could be seen in the way of details.

"That.. really doesn't look much like her, but the mane colors match from what I can tell…" Gallus whispered.

"Uh, listen kid," Raynor said carefully, "Do you know this Sweetie Belle zerg from somewhere?"

Gallus grimaced, which was—in all fairness—something that Raynor could not fully explain. He never thought beaks could bend that way.

"Yeah… she comes from the same world I do. We got stranded here and… she saved me and Zeratul. I saw her practically explode in blood before she lost control of her portal." His voice became softer. "I thought she was dead."

Raynor felt a pang. He placed a hand on the griffon's shoulder. "I understand kid. The same thing happened to Sarah… now she's a monster. You have to remember, the Sweetie Belle you knew, is not the one in there anymore.

"That zerg might sound like her, or even look a little bit like her… but it's not her."

Gallus' claws slid across the surface of the metal as he scrunched them up into fists. "I know her sister… she was my teacher at school. I know her best friends. I know her family."

Raynor and Tychus shared a look, while Matt shook his head.

"It's unusual for the zerg to do this… the last time it was Sarah. Does Sweetie have powers we haven't seen? Psionics?" he asked gently.

Gallus nodded. "She had her magic… that's what we called it. Zeratul said it was the same energy source, but unicorns like Sweetie can do a lot of things with it. I've seen counsellor Starlight materialize things out of thin air or transform things into different things. Like an apple into a sandwich."

Raynor felt the blood drain from his face. "Can… Sweetie do this?"

Gallus shook his head. "I don't know, I don't think so. She was still studying before we got here, but I'm sure there's plenty she knows how to do already… she just… didn't have a violent bone in her body. She probably hasn't thought of how to use her magic to kill."

Raynor grimaced. "I don't like relying on her being oblivious about it… but I guess there's nothing we can do for now… other than hope."

2504, Koprulu Sector, Leviathan █

The Leviathan felt as welcoming as always. It possessed a certain warmth that brushed the minds of all zerg and calmed them while they were inside, making them seem almost tame. It's power was uncanny, almost queen-like in its potency, and not for the first time did Sweetie wonder if it was in fact some sort of mutated Queen Zerg.

Stranger things had happened.

Sweetie hadn't had much of a challenge completely taking over Mar Sara after Raynor was gone. The rest of the terrans there simply weren't that ready—or able—to defend themselves. Vast quantities of them had actually just stood there and let the inevitable just happen. In retrospect, it kind of saddened her to have to take over like that, but the Queen's orders were absolute and zerg cared little for minute details like civilian vs armed opponent.

Her instincts though, were in conflict. On the one hoof, Terrans like Raynor and his crew were stronger types, certainly worthy zerg respect… the other, softer ones? Not so much. Yet, why did she feel so bad about it? None of the other zerg cared.

It was exactly like Kerrigan had told her: she was letting her old life interfere with what needed to be done. Her old life hadn't saved her from becoming an experiment, or a zerg. Or losing her forelegs, almost dying…

And yet.

Sweetie shook her head as she entered the Leviathan. It wasn't time to dwell on such details. She was a zerg now, not a pony. It didn't take long for Sweetie to be welcomed more directly, as a snake-like creature slithered its way out of one of the many fleshy cavities within Leviathan.

"Hello Izsha," Sweetie said politely, her scythes twitching slightly despite Leviathan's aura of calm. From the moment she had formally joined the swarm, the zerg assistant had treated her as some sort of curiosity worth of disdain more than acceptance, and certainly not worthy of the attention Kerrigan gave her, which was at odds with how… emotionally vacant she was around all other zerg.

Whatever happened to the Magic of Friendship?

"Queen Belle." Izha's voice making the title sound like she had intended to say: Queen's Pet. "The Queen of Blades and Abathur are waiting for you."

Sweetie grimaced, nodding slightly and setting off to where she knew Kerrigan would be waiting. She heard Izsha slither away and shivered as she tried to center herself and defuse the nervousness into Leviathan's calming aura.

She had done nothing wrong… other than lose a valuable Xel'Naga asset that her Queen really wanted. Like, really wanted. The planet was hers, but so again was failure. Sweetie braced herself and followed the path that would take her to Kerrigan, already dreading her future. If Abathur was there, that could only mean more mutations unless somehow Kerrigan decided that the loss was forgivable.

When she arrived to the center of the Leviathan, she bowed. "My Queen." Kerrigan exuded sex-appeal, even if Sweetie wasn't necessarily attracted to her, she could see the sensuality emanating from her; from how she moved, to her posture when relaxed. It wasn't coincidence either, or simply a state of mind (although she was clearly aware of her effect on others), no… it was by design. Kerrigan was designed not just to terrify her opponents but also to keep them engaged in different ways, always a distraction, and always deadly.

There was no way Abathur had managed that. Sweetie wondered for a minute who, or what, had created Kerrigan so thoroughly sexy.

"Sweetie," Kerrigan said, breaking the young zerg from her appreciation with a knowing smirk that faded soon after. "I had a mission for you… did you bring the Xel'Naga device, my child?"

Sweetie cringed. "I'm sorry, I did not." Behind Kerrigan, Abathur chittered, and Izsha looked down on Sweetie with almost a smug expression. Sweetie continued quickly, "I took Mar Sara quickly enough, but the Terrans were… different this time."

A brief moment of anger crossed Kerrigans face, replaced soon after by curiosity. "Different how?"

"They were organized in a different way: they knew how to fight zerg, we had lost a lot of zerglings by the time I arrived and studied their strategy. They took risks, going out with their leader to rescue other Terrans which they brought back to their base and fortified it while they waited for a ship to pick them up."

"Hm."

Seeing her chance to explain more, Sweetie took it. "When it was clear that the zerg sent before were trying the same strategy without it working, I targeted the leader myself, sending fliers to distract them, then splitting a large force of zerg to attack both points of entry at the same time… then I went in to hopefully get them to surrender the item or at least kill their leader."

"Unnecessary. Surrender irrelevant." Abathur was quick to say, disapproval evident in his voice. "Zerg destroy. Mutate."

"I know," Sweetie snapped, glaring at him and drawing a brief smile of amusement from Kerrigan. It faded just as quick, however. "But the device was what we wanted, and we didn't have enough time for all the reinforcements to arrive before their ship. Besides, if it wasn't for Raynor, I would have completely taken over the camp by myself!"

"Raynor?" Kerrigan asked, her voice sharp. "Jim was there?"

"Uh, yes…" Sweetie said softly, cowed by the deep emotions she could feel emanating from Kerrigan. "He was the one leading the Terrans to rescue others and defend the place. Him and some Terran named Tychus."

Kerrigan shook her head.

"She must be punished, my Queen," Izsha was quick to say. "Her orders were not for—"

"Silence," Kerrigan interrupted, narrowing her eyes as she glanced at Sweetie. "If Jim is part of all of this, then Matt, Swann and the rest are too. Most Queens don't plan ahead… and Sweetie lost to one of the greatest Terran heroes. It's no wonder, with her limited experience… but changing tactics…" She tilted her head, considering her newest queen underling. "How did he react?"

Sweetie shifted in place. "Um. He was surprised… he didn't expect my attack by how he reacted."

Kerrigan smirked. "Of course he didn't. When I'm not there, he expects zerg to act like mindless beasts. Your plan was simple and would have taken by surprise most other inexperienced Terran leaders. Jim is… a special case."

"So… what now?" Sweetie asked after a moment.

"Now the universe knows we're back," Kerrigan said, turning to face the thin membrane that separated space from them. "I will teach you tactics… you were lucky, but Jim is no fool. He will anticipate your return, and you cannot expect to win with such… childish approaches. Even if they are more tactically sound in your head than overwhelming strength."

Sweetie bowed. "Yes, my queen."

She felt Kerrigan's claw gently curl under her chin, making her look up into the smiling face of her queen. "I will make you into something the Terrans will fear forever."