Raynor and Sweetie finished exploring the various areas of the Hyperion and made note of any areas of significance. To Raynor’s fortune, there was even a fully stocked bar that even had his favorite drink. He grabbed a bottle on the way out. Sweetie smiled a little and rolled her eyes as she saw that.
The duo returned to the bridge to find Matt Horner overseeing the crew as they were acclimating themselves to the various stations. Seeing this, Raynor knew what to do next as he approached Matt. “So, what do ya think?” he asked.
Matt turned to face Raynor. “It looks like everything is in order, sir. What are your orders?”
Raynor chuckled and put a hand on Matt’s shoulder “I mean, what do you think of this ship?”
Matt took a moment to look around him before speaking. “Well sir, it’s quite the marvel of Terran engineering. We could do quite a bit of damage with just this ship alone.”
Raynor smiled. “Good, ‘cause you’re gonna be the captain of this crate.”
Matt was taken aback at the sudden declaration. “Me sir? A-are you sure? I mean, what about you? You’re the leader of this group.”
“Heh, take a look at me and Sweetie, Matt. Do either of us look like we have any idea how to operate a Battlecruiser?” He glanced at Sweetie. “No offense.”
Sweetie shrugged. “None taken. My people are far from inventing intergalactic travel and may never get there unless the Princesses start pushing harder for more innovation.”
Matt’s curiosity peaked at hearing that. “Just how developed is your civilization anyway?”
Sweetie hummed as she thought about how to best describe Equestria’s technology level. She knew for a fact that space travel was still not even imaginable by her people yet. The most advanced thing she can think of in Equestria right now would be the various types of firearms that were introduced to the Royal Guard ten years ago. The infrastructure of the towns and cities range from the simple housing in Ponyville and Appleloosa to the skyscrapers of Manehattan. It’s not like there has been no innovation in Equestria, with magic, there has simply been little need for inventions. She had a feeling that when she got back to Equestria, there will be a drive for exploring beyond her world.
She snapped out of her thoughts to answer his question. “Space travel is not even imaginable to my people at this point in time. The only reason I haven’t freaked out from culture shock is because I have been known to be quite adaptable. My world’s most advanced innovation at the moment is firearms.”
Matt’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wow, makes me wonder how you ended up so far from your world. By the way, that other pony you were with at New Gettysburg, do you know her?”
“Yeah, I know her. She’s my marefriend, or girlfriend in your terms, Lyra Heartstrings. She ended up displaced from my world at the same time I did. Apparently, she ended up among the Protoss.”
“And how is she taking all of this? The Protoss are even more advanced than us, so I can only imagine what she went through.”
Sweetie shrugged. “Don’t worry about her. She takes things in stride better than I do. Right now, she’s probably more excited that she finally got to see a human and is ready to rub it in my face that her theories about humans were right, even if her first meeting with one ended up with a squad getting divided into pieces literally by those magic blades of her’s.”
Matt had no idea what to make of the Protoss weapons either since the info they have on the enigmatic race was woefully lacking. Unfortunately, the events of today have left him exhausted and ready for a good rest so he was unable to carry the conversation further. He bid Sweetie good night and left the bridge for his cabin. Raynor and Sweetie soon followed suit and went to their cabins for a good night’s sleep.
Her sleep was not as peaceful as she would have preferred. Her dreams were filled with images familiar and not. She saw Zerg, distant and up close. She saw a world that she had never seen before. The world appeared like it would not be able to support life since it was burnt out with no sign of green anywhere on it. All she saw was volcanic soil and magma.
The last thing she saw before she woke up was the image of a person calling out to her for help.
A few weeks later, Raynor and Sweetie were on the bridge in silence. After a few more minutes, the silence was broken by Raynor.
“I think Sarah is alive.”
With a sigh, Sweetie responded. “As much as I would like to refute your claim, I think you may be right. I kept having a strange dream about a fiery planet, Zerg and who I think is Kerrigan.”
“Do you think she’s callin’ out to us?” Raynor asked.
“Perhaps, but something tells me that we’re not going to like what we see if we go there. If we do, we better be prepared for anything. If the Zerg took her to that planet, then we can expect more Zerg there than anywhere we have seen so far.”
Raynor shuddered at the thought of a planet full of billions, perhaps trillions, of Zerg. However, his determination to rescue Kerrigan won through. With that, they began their search for the volcanic planet they were being drawn to.
“Hmm…” Tassadar hummed. “I can sense a powerful psionic call drawing me somewhere.”
Lyra, who had just woken up from her slumber herself, looked up at her mentor and gave him a curious look. “Do you know where it’s coming from?”
Tassadar shook his head. “I am not certain, but I feel the call drawing me to a barren ash world called Char. I have felt this psionic signature before on Tarsonis. Whoever or whatever is emitting these waves is calling everyone who can sense it.”
“Should we go check it out?” Lyra asked. Tassadar nodded.
The conversation was interrupted when they received a communication from Aiur. The image displayed a furious looking Aldaris, who looked like he was not willing to listen to anything they had to say.
“Tassadar, you have deviated from your mission and attempted to engage the Zerg instead of purifying the infested worlds. The Conclave has ordered the fleet recalled to Aiur where you shall await your punishment for your failure.”
“Aldaris, has the Conclave fallen so far as to abandon the Dae’Uhl? Must we abandon the teachings of the Xel’naga and revert to how we were before the coming of the race that sired us?” Tassadar asked.
“You have your orders: return to Aiur at once.” With that, the transmission ended.
“What’s going to happen?” Lyra asked. She grew increasingly concerned for her mentor.
Tassadar mentally sighed. “I cannot return to Aiur yet. We must investigate this psionic presence. Though, I fear that if they intend to execute me for my failure, they will likely do the same to you under the pretense of an attempted attack on our homeworld.”
Lyra’s pupils shrank. She didn’t understand why the Conclave would punish her mentor for saving innocent lives and that they would execute her for something beyond her control. Capital punishment was never allowed on Equestria, so she was unable to fathom what the Conclave was thinking. “What are we going to do?” she asked.
Tassadar put a hand on Lyra’s head. “Worry not Lyra, I will not allow harm to come to you. I still uphold the oath of the Dae’Uhl to protect innocent life, even if the Conclave has forsaken it. For now, I will order the fleet to return to Aiur without us while we investigate the psionic signature.
After sending the fleet back home, he signaled the helmsman to set course for the planet Char.
Elsewhere…
The psionic call reached out over a vast portion of the Koprulu sector. A large band of Protoss also detected the energy. One of them made a decision on whether or not to investigate. Part of him believed that this was most likely a trap, but he was willing to investigate while remaining cautious at the same time.
“Prelate, are you sure you wish to investigate?” one said.
The first nodded. “We will approach the situation with caution. If something out there is powerful enough to be felt here all the way from Char, we must know if the source of that energy is a threat. We must also contain the expansion of the creatures known as the Zerg by culling their numbers on the planet. We will deal with the situation as we know more.”
The second one nodded in acknowledgement and signaled the accompanying ships to Char.
The Raider fleet appeared above the planet to find a small fleet of Dominion ships had begun arriving. Norad III was among them.
“Looks like we may be competing against Duke for this operation” Sweetie said.
Raynor, in his suit, addressed the away team. “All right, All crews, stay frosty and keep your eyes peeled for our target. Remember, not only are we up against the Zerg here, but our old pal General Duke may be creepin’ around too.”
With that, the away team began making their way to the transports. Before they started heading for the transports themselves, Raynor and Sweetie heard an audio transmission from a familiar voice that made them smile. “All right you sorry bastards! Fall back! Fall back!” The duo couldn’t help but pity Duke as he had apparently failed miserably in his mission. With that, Sweetie and Raynor boarded their transport and headed to the surface.
On the way, Sweetie noticed that Raynor was looking anxious about something so she asked about it. “It’s nothing” he said. “It’s just that I’m worried that this trip might be a huge mistake.”
“You and me both” Sweetie said. “I figured convincing you wasn’t gonna happen so I’m here to make sure you don’t get killed.”
Raynor couldn’t help but chuckle. He couldn’t deny that they were practically engaging in a suicide mission. The rest of the trip was spent in silence.
On the surface, a base camp had already been set up and ready to begin the search for Kerrigan. The search had led the expedition to a large cavern where Sweetie had sensed the psionic waves were coming from. A significant strike force was formed to invade the cavern in hopes of finding the missing Ghost. Many Zerg were encountered along the way and the number of Marines accompanying them began to dwindle as the Zerg picked off their numbers one by one.
Their searched finally bore fruit as they reached the end of the cavern to find a massive construct of flesh which, Sweetie sensed, contained their missing friend. Raynor began approaching the construct.
Unfortunately, their search proved too late as the structure opened and, to their horror, an abominable figure emerged. The form appeared as a human female in shape. Her face was a sickly green color while the rest of the body looked like the skin had melted off, revealing her muscular structure which was covered in chitinous armor. Her feet looked like they fused with high heel shoes. Her hands were reinforced with chitinous claws. Her hair had been replaced by brown and black tentacles/dreadlocks. Her eyes were glowing yellow and on her back were massive wing-like appendages that were about as long as her body.
Sweetie and Raynor could only stare in horror as their friend had been transformed into some monstrous being. “Mother of God...Kerrigan, what have they done to you?”
In a matter of seconds, Kerrigan dashed towards the group and, using her claws, slashed apart every Marine that accompanied the duo. In that moment, Raynor and Sweetie felt true fear as the monstrous form of their former friend stared at them.
“Sarah, is that really you?” Raynor asked.
Kerrigan gave an evil smirk. “To an extent, I’m far more than I once was Jim. You shouldn’t have come here.”
“But the dreams...I dreamed that you were still alive...that somehow...you were calling to me.”
“I was. While I was in the chrysalis, I instinctively reached out to you and Arcturus telepathically. Apparently, Arcturus sent Duke here to reclaim me. But that was then Jim, I’m one of the Zerg, now. And I like what I am. You can’t imagine how this feels.”
The way Kerrigan was talking sent a chill of dread down his spine. Cautiously, he said “So what? Are you gonna kill us now darlin’?”
“That is certainly within my power. Except that I‘m not allowed to harm Sweetie Drops. Apparently, the Overmind wants her captured instead for some reason. But where’s the fun in simply killing you and apprehending Sweetie. Neither of you are a threat to me, so I will allow you two to leave this cavern with your lives...before I begin hunting for you.”
“Doesn’t look like we have much choice,” Sweetie said. “But what does this Overmind want with me?”
“You will have to ask it yourself when you meet it.”
Raynor and Sweetie raced out of the cavern as fast as they could to rally with their troops when Kerrigan began speaking into their minds. “Don’t even think of escaping the planet. The swarm is already engaging the fleets in orbit: Yours and Duke’s.”
Raynor’s eyes widened in horror and quickly engaged his communicator. “Matt, the Zerg are attacking the fleet! Get the fleet away from the planet! Now!”
“But sir! What about you?” Matt asked.
“We’ll find a way to survive until you get back just jump out of here before you get boarded. Now go! That’s an order!” Raynor yelled. He deactivated his communicator. He then turned and looked at Sweetie. “Well Sweetie, looks like we’re gonna be here for a while.”
Sweetie sighed and shook her head. This was going to be the ultimate test of their wits as they survive a volcanic wasteland being pursued by a psychotic former friend. She could only pray to Celestia that things would only get better from here.