//------------------------------// // Swarm: Containment Breach // Story: Starcraft: Warriors of Purity // by Xarmar13 //------------------------------// The Bucephalus and the Hyperion arrived at Research Station EB-103. Shuttles were brought to the entrance of the station carrying Raynor, Tychus, Tosh, Valerian, Sweetie, Lyra and Kerrigan. The group was greeted by an escort of Umojan Marines in white armor that looked slightly more advanced than the usual CMC suits worn by Dominion Marines. The Umojans took Kerrigan off their hands and placed her in containment after fitting her with a standard Hostile Environment Suit. Sweetie was a bit annoyed about Kerrigan’s treatment as a test subject, but understood that they only wished to use the utmost caution in case Kerrigan tried to kill the researchers. Two weeks had passed since the rebels had arrived at the Umojan research facility. To the guests, the Umojans had been quite accommodating to the rebels. While the Umojans held a particular hatred toward Arcturus Mengsk, who had made attempts to strongarm the Protectorate into the Dominion through an economic blockade at one time, They did not judge Valerian for the crimes of his father. Tosh was especially welcomed among the Umojans since they worked together in a plot to capture Arcturus which ultimately ended in failure because of Nova. Raynor and Sweetie had a long talk about the things that she had been doing behind his back, such as her deal with Tosh, and the things that she had been keeping from him. As she believed would happen, Raynor was upset when she told him about the Overmind parasite which had been her information source for all things Zerg. She also mentioned that it was how she learned to control Zerg. Raynor believed that the Overmind was slowly infesting her mind into becoming the same monster that Kerrigan was. With that, the two engaged in a heated argument that led to their relationship becoming strained. While he wasn’t about to abandon her, he had noticeably lost some of his trust in her. Sweetie was fine with the outcome, though she would have to make it up to Raynor later. Kerrigan was not faring as well. She was still recovering from the effects of the Xel’naga artifact. Being abruptly cleansed of her infestation had taken its toll on her. While it completely drain her of her Zerg essence, the segmented dreadlocks remained. Kerrigan was in a state of heavy depression, her memories of her atrocities against the innocent side of humanity continued to haunt her. She hardly ate or drank anything for those two weeks. Raynor and Sweetie did their best to bring her some comfort whenever the scientists would allow them near her. During this time, Kerrigan began going through her memories from the years before she became the Queen of Blades to what happened after. She knew that her crimes were unforgivable but she still received a small comfort that Sweetie was there to prevent her from killing some of Jim's Protoss friends. It was small compared to the millions of innocents she either infested or killed in her crusade against humanity when she knew it hardly mattered in the face of the end times that were on the horizon. Kerrigan soon began going through her more recent memories. She recalled the de-infestation and Raynor’s rescue of her alongside Sweetie, Tychus and Lyra. She knew that Jim went through a lot of effort to try and save her. At the same time, she recalled the conversation she had with Sweetie on Tyrador, about how she was the key to keeping the Zerg away from Amon’s control. She had to wonder how she could hope to stand up against a godlike entity like Amon even with the Zerg behind her. Lyra teleported Sweetie into the containment cell to see Kerrigan. When the Pony's presence was recognized, Kerrigan asked, “How much longer are these tests going to last?” “I wish I knew. I’d rather be out there preparing to face Amon’s forces or moving against Mengsk’s regime.” Kerrigan thought for a moment before asking, “How would you be able to face such an army though? I sensed your battle with Narud in the hangar. You and Lyra together were struggling against him. I could tell that he was toying with you.” “Actually, I’m sure Lyra would have fared better than me. She has some pretty destructive power, but she didn’t want to risk blowing a hole in the ship.” Kerrigan chuckled. “You two sure picked a bad place to confront him.” The two of them shared a laugh before Kerrigan continued, “Thank you for stopping me from killing some of the Protoss leaders. I know that I wasn’t myself, but the burden of guilt is mine to bear just as well.” “And I’m not sorry for those times that I humiliated you. You and I both know that you deserved that for how you behaved.” Kerrigan agreed with Sweetie and the two shared another laugh. Kerrigan’s expression turned serious but hopeful as she asked a question that she was struggling to ask, “Would you be there to help me claim my vengeance against Arcturus, no matter what?” Sweetie smiled and nodded. “I’ll help you kill the bastard alright. However, I ask for one thing in return. I’m not telling you here; I’ll tell you later.” Kerrigan accepted delaying the discussion for the time being. Sweetie signaled Lyra to teleport her back to Valerian. Raynor walked up to Kerrigan’s containment field. He addressed the Umojans, “Make the most of this test. It’s your last one… Now give us a minute.” Valerian and the scientists left Raynor alone to talk to Kerrigan. Kerrigan used her telekinesis to assemble a spherical device. Raynor addressed Kerrigan, “We’re gettin’ out of here tonight, darlin’.” “Good. Then we can go after Mengsk,” Kerrigan said. “Forget Mengsk. Forget all of it! This is about you and me.” Kerrigan crushed the device in her telekinesis and stood. “Until Mengsk is dead, there can’t be a ‘you and me.’” “I moved heaven and earth to bring you back, Sarah!” Raynor pounded his fists into the force field. “I can’t watch you throw that away just for revenge!” The door to the chamber began closing to begin the next phase of the test. “I never gave up on you, Sarah! Don’t you give up on us!” Raynor yelled. Alone in her cell again, Kerrigan spoke to Valerian who was observing the test from a booth above the chamber, “What are you hoping to get out of these tests, Valerian? I told you I don’t remember anything about being the Queen of Blades,” she lied. “We have to find out how much of the Zerg mutagen is left in your system. I appreciate your cooperation, Kerrigan.” Sweetie noticed that the young prince was getting a little too confident in how much control he had in the situation. She figured that he would need to be taken down a peg. “Do you usually keep cooperative people in a containment cell?” Kerrigan asked. “When we know it’s safe, I’ll unlock your door myself. Now, can you reach out with your mind? Do you sense it?” A Drone was released from a holding pen next to a series of collected mineral clusters. “A Drone? Are you really asking me to take control of a Zerg mind? Do you know what could happen?” “All the test subjects are in a secure environment.” Valerian had the Drone mutate into a Hatchery before releasing more Drones into the chamber to have Kerrigan order them to gather from the mineral clusters. The next thing Valerian had Kerrigan do was mutate an Overlord before having a Drone mutate into a Spawning Pool. Kerrigan warned Valerian that the experiment was going to end badly. Valerian assured Kerrigan that the experiment was in a controlled environment. At this point, Sweetie was eagerly waiting for Kerrigan to wipe the confident look off Valerian’s face. Kerrigan began morphing Zerglings, ready to put Valerian’s ‘controlled environment’ to the test. “Stop! I didn’t ask you to create Zerglings!” Valerian shouted. Sweetie smirked. “Funny thing about Zerg, Valerian. They never do what you expect,” Kerrigan said ominously. Valerian ordered a number of Sentry Bots and a larger version called the Eradicator to sanitize the holding cells. The Zerglings broke out of the testing chamber and tore into the nearby Sentry Bots. The holding pens released more Zerglings, ready to go on a rampage. Valerian had all scientists evacuate the sublevel. Sweetie decided that she wanted to add to the mayhem. “Hey Kerrigan, mind if I borrow some Zerg? I wanna join in on this.” Kerrigan smirked and split her control of the Zerg in the area with Sweetie who morphed a Larva into a Drone and then mutated the Drone into a Baneling Nest. While the Zerglings were tearing into everything, some of the Zerglings began mutating into Banelings who started splashing the sublevel and the Sentry Bots in corrosive acid that easily melted the fragile metal that the robots were composed of. One room started releasing deadly gas into the sublevel. The gas dispensers were melted shut by Baneling acid. “Stop this at once, Kerrigan!” Valerian said before turning to Sweetie. “Get her to stop her attack!” “I would, but you are getting too big for your britches and I think it’s time you learned a valuable lesson in picking your battles. By the way, those Banelings are under my command.” “What?!” The situation in the sublevel turned critical when the Eradicator was destroyed. “Alright, alright! I’ll be careful about who I deal with from now on. Just please send them back to their pens,” Valerian shouted. “Maybe now you understand how dangerous the Zerg are,” Kerrigan said as she ordered the Zerglings back to their pens. “I’m opening your cell right now, if you’d like to join us. And perhaps next time you two can make your point without destroying half the facility?” “No promises,” Sweetie said with a mischievous smile. While she did feel bad about destroying Umojan property, she also felt like the prince needed a lesson in humility if he was going to be the leader that humanity needed.