//------------------------------// // Swarm: Rescuing Raynor // Story: Starcraft: Warriors of Purity // by Xarmar13 //------------------------------// As Kerrigan, Sweetie and Stukov were leaving the facility, Kerrigan decided to get a nagging question off her chest, “How were you not caught off guard by Narud shapeshifting into Jim or Lyra. I thought you were close to them.” Sweetie smiled, “I am. But there was one thing he didn’t count on: my world has Changelings that possess a similar ability to what Narud displayed. The agency I worked for knew about the existence of Changelings from well before they attempted to invade our capital city. We trained to deal with a potential threat from that race, including how to maintain focus when they try to imitate our loved ones to catch us off guard. Takes a lot of mental fortitude to pull that off.” “So, you worked for an agency on your world?” Stukov asked. “If your skills were even half as good as what I heard about you, some of the agencies that once existed on Earth would have gone to war with each other to obtain your skills. KGB, CIA, MI6 would have been among those who would have desired your skills. But alas, that is not the time we live anymore.” Sweetie chuckled, “Thanks for the compliment anyway.” Stukov continued, “Narud is dead and the Hybrid lab destroyed. Myself and Gerard are the final loose ends. What do you have planned for us?” “That’s up for you to decide. If it’s purpose that you two are seeking, I have a project that I will be working with Lyra in the future if the two of you want to be a part of it.” “What kind of project is it?” “It’s still in the planning stages so I can’t give any details yet.” “I see...I will talk with Gerard about this and find out what he thinks.” With the station destroyed and Mengsk cut off from support from the Moebius Foundation, the Swarm began departing from the ruined station. Since Raynor’s location was still unknown, Sweetie and Kerrigan decided to pursue the only lead they had. With any luck, the crew of the Hyperion would know where to look. Since she had nothing better to do, Lyra wandered around the bridge of the Hyperion playing with a handheld game system she found. Matt and Valerian monitored some strange energy signatures that suddenly showed up while Tychus was limited in ship access to his room and the cantina after he got into another bar fight and was deemed untrustworthy to be around any delicate instruments. Tosh lurked around the ship trying to keep informed about what goes on around the ship. Matt and Valerian received a psychic to electronic transmission that came from the unclassifiable energy signature. On the screen appeared Kerrigan and Sweetie. Matt and Valerian were stunned by their appearances. “Kerrigan! What happened to you? And Sweetie, not you too…” Kerrigan spoke first, <”There’s no time. Listen carefully. Jim is alive and I can’t find him. But you can. Hack into the Dominion network and figure out where they’re holding him.”> Matt and Valerian discussed the matter of finding Jim. Matt mentioned that only someone with Colonel Orlan’s skills could hack the Dominion network. And he was being held by Mira Han. Sweetie gave a wicked smirk, <”So, you ask her on a date yet?”> Matt growled, “Can you please drop that?” <”I will when you finally ask her out.”> Matt groaned. “Mira Han, this is Prince Valerian. Do you read me?” After spending some time finding Han’s frequency, Matt and Valerian finally had some luck in locating her. Mira’s image appeared on screen, <”Of course I do, Princess. I know you’re working with Matthew. Put him on please,”> she said with a hint of a serious tone. “You forget yourself, Mercenary.” Valerian responded. Matt walked up to the screen to address Han. <“Matthew. You never write, you never call. It’s almost like you don’t care.”> “It’s hard to forget you with Sweetie occasionally pestering me about taking you out on a date. Anyway, I’m here to ask for your help. You’ve got Colonel Orlan and we need him. He’s the only man who can hack the Dominion’s deep-encryption network.” <”Well I’d love to help. I just need the permission of James Raynor or Sweetie Drops.”> Matt had the communications officer open a channel to the Leviathan and requested Sweetie’s presence. When the communication turned three-way, Han gasped as she looked upon Sweetie’s new form. <”My my, Sweetie, with those wings you certainly fit your codename better than before,”> Han said. Sweetie smiled, <”Thanks. I heard that you needed my permission to release Colonel Orlan to the Raiders. Yes, I do give permission for Matthew to use Orlan as he sees fit.”> Matt growled, “You’re doing this on purpose.” Sweetie appeared innocent. “Fine...one date. But only after Mengsk is removed from power, since I’m sure that Kerrigan will be heading to Korhal once we save Jim.” Han smiled with glee, <”Ah, Matthew, I was worried you would never ask. In that case, I shall have Orlan delivered to you posthaste.”> While waiting for the Raiders to decrypt the Dominion network, Izsha tells Kerrigan that the remaining Broodmothers were ready to rejoin the swarm. Kerrigan ordered each of them to eliminate a Dominion stronghold before allowing them back to the Swarm. Sweetie noticed Dehaka was on edge because there was no essence around for him to collect and ended up in a fight with Zagara. Kerrigan had to break up the fight. Kerrigan was also edgy about finding Raynor that she told Valerian to hurry with the decryption in a threatening way. Sweetie decided to step in because it was obvious that Kerrigan was a poor excuse for a diplomat. Once Orlan discovered Raynor’s location, Matt relayed the info to Kerrigan. Raynor was being held on the Moros, a mobile prison ship that jumped to random locations every hour. The ship was scheduled to resupply tomorrow at a place called Atlas Station. While Tosh volunteered to infiltrate the ship, Kerrigan decided to handle the rest by herself, though Sweetie insisted on coming with her since Raynor was her friend. The next day, the Hyperion and Leviathan arrive at Atlas Station to find the Moros still fueling as scheduled. To prevent the prison ship from escaping, the Leviathan extended its tentacles into the ship’s hull to prevent the ship from making any jumps. Sweetie and Kerrigan emerged from the tip of one of the Leviathan’s tentacles and into the ship. “We’re in,” Sweetie said. Valerian offered his assistance by providing any tactical info that he could to the duo. Sweetie noticed that they had entered the ship’s cargo bay. Since there was nothing of interest, the cargo was left alone. The next room had a large number of infantry investigating a noise to find a Baneling flying in their direction. Before they could react, the explosive creature detonated and sprayed acid over a few of the guards. Kerrigan cut through a few more with her Psionic Shift. Sweetie impaled the rest of the Dominion group. During the fight, a Leviathan tentacle pierced the room and delivered more Zerg to assist. One guard ahead hit an alarm and retracted a bridge to prevent the Zerg from crossing. After Sweetie melted some Marines with a Baneling Grenade, the Zerg entered a passage next to the bridge. A number of guards were clumped together in the passage which made Sweetie’s Baneling Grenade more effective. The results showed as the guards melted into goo on the floor. The Zerg killed more Dominion guards along the passageway and received reinforcements along the way. A Thor along with infantry and a pair of Bunkers with turrets were in the way. Since Infestors were brought along, one took control of the Thor before Sweetie wiped out the infantry with a Baneling. Sweetie emptied the Bunkers by impaling the Marines within each before jumping on a Bunker, ripping out the turret and hurling it at the other Bunker. A large bulkhead door was their next obstacle. Kerrigan began using her psionic power to melt the door. Meanwhile, Zagara sent more Zerg to protect Kerrigan. Given the small space the Dominion guards came from for each of the four other doors in the room, Sweetie made effective use of her Baneling Grenades and Impaling Tentacles. Ever since Sweetie became part Zerg, she was sometimes struck with pangs of hunger and cravings for food that were unusual for Ponies. Izsha informed her that as she used her biological abilities like her Baneling Grenades, she would develop cravings for biomass which would weaken her abilities until she satisfied her cravings. At first, she was repulsed at the thought of devouring other Zerg to restore her strength, but after some encouragement from Kerrigan, Sweetie was able to devour a Zergling. What disturbed Sweetie even more than the thought, was the fact that the Zergling was delicious. While the Leviathan was returning from Zerus, Sweetie practiced her abilities while getting used to eating other Zerg to recover her strength. It took the whole month of the trip to get used to it, but she managed to make eating meat second nature. Of course, she can still survive off a normal Pony’s diet as long as she doesn’t use her biological abilities, which wasn’t an option when fighting wars in space. While the minions were going after another group of Dominion guards, Sweetie grabbed one of the Zerglings and quickly devoured it. Sweetie finished the incoming guards by impaling them just as Kerrigan finished melting the door. The next section had a large number of guards and some prisoner cell blocks ahead. Matt made a request to Sweetie and Kerrigan to retrieve a prisoner log that was nearby. Since it was close, Sweetie eliminated the guards and grabbed the log which turned out to be only half of the registry. Kerrigan moved ahead and cleared out more guards before Sweetie caught up. Taking advantage of the number of prisoners in the area, Kerrigan planted Virophages to unleash infested upon the guards ahead. Sweetie assisted with magic blasts from her horn that caused a lot of destruction. Enemy Thors in the area were mentally dominated by Infestors then turned against the other guards. At the end of the path was an elevator with a coupling in the very back. The officer in charge ordered the coupling destroyed to jettison the prison deck where Kerrigan and Sweetie suspected Raynor was located. Sweetie teleported on top of the Thor attacking the coupling before smashing into the cockpit and pulling out the pilot, and hurling him at the other guards. The distraction allowed Kerrigan an easier time dealing with the guards. <”Kerrigan, Sweetie, I did not think you two would be so foolish as to come here. And now, your actions will lead to the death of all these brave men.”> Mengsk said over the PA system. He remotely activated a self-destruct feature on the ship. <”They are all heroes, willing to sacrifice their lives in order to end your miserable existence. You and James Raynor can burn together.”> Valerian yelled something about the Moros tearing itself apart while Sweetie and Kerrigan were riding the elevator to the lower level. “I would say Mengsk has gone off the deep end, but given his past, I’d say this is par for the course,” Sweetie quipped. Since they were now in a rush, Sweetie self-adjusted her genetics to utilize the Blight Dragon's breath ability. By unleashing it on some guards, Sweetie gained reinforcements in the form of infested guards who helped push past more of the enemy defenses. Kerrigan ordered her minions to tear down another bulkhead. Sweetie hurled a few Baneling Grenades at the door to soften it up. Once through, the Zerg pushed through several groupings of guards and found the remaining portion of the prisoner log. Kerrigan and Sweetie could sense that Raynor was close. After a couple more groups of guards, another bulkhead and gaining even more reinforcements, the Zerg finally reached Raynor’s cell. Kerrigan had Zagara order the Leviathan stabilize the part of the ship they were in. Once done, Kerrigan blasted the door open. “A little reckless, don’t you think? Jim might have been where you pushed that door into,” Sweetie said. Kerrigan walked into Raynor’s cell to find that he was a little dazed from her forceful entry. Raynor was sitting at the far end of the cell when he saw Kerrigan, in his dazed state he thought the girl of his dreams had come to rescue him. That vision turned into a nightmare when he saw her in her Zerg state. “No…” “I had to get you out,” Kerrigan said. Raynor gave her a withering gaze, “What have you done?” he said in a disdainful tone. “What I had to.” Sweetie walked into the cell and caught Raynor’s gaze. “Sweetie, not you too.” “Before you get judgemental, Jim, I had intended to do this since Meinhoff. I needed the power to face Amon’s army. I couldn’t just go on relying on nearby Nukes or convenience of Zerg or even mercenaries if I wanted to face down the Hybrid. Raynor growled, “What you do in the pursuit of power is your deal but why did you have to drag Sarah into this mess again?” “It was my choice, Jim.” Kerrigan said. Raynor was only becoming more angry. It was time for a lecture. Sweetie took a deep breath. “Why don’t you stop being selfish and listen. Let’s face it, your plan to run away with a Kerrigan free of infestation was idiotic at best. Running away from this war against the Dominion was never an option and you know it. You know that Mengsk will start blowing up planets like a psychopath until he finds the planet that you and Kerrigan are on. He would drive his own Dominion into economic collapse if it meant getting to you. “What happened to the revolutionary James Raynor who swore to take down Mengsk and protect humanity from his madness? Was Warfield right? Are you the type to hide under a rock when the going gets tough? “Now, let’s assume you still want to bring down Mengsk. Let’s be realistic, our rebel organization doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in Tartarus in throwing a successful coup. You and I both know that nothing short of that is going to get Mengsk off the throne. We need the Swarm to pull off a stunt like that. And the Swarm will only obey Kerrigan if she is as she is now. “You may think that only I needed to become Zerg to lead the Swarm against Mengsk and you would be right. But what would I do with an entire Swarm when the Universe is finally safe from Amon? I don’t need the entire Swarm to fulfill my goals; just a single Brood would do. “The biggest reason that Kerrigan chose to become Zerg, however, was that she wasn’t about to let someone else take her revenge from her. You and I know both know that nothing in this Universe will keep her from her vengeance and I will make sure she gets it so she can finally turn her attention to Amon. “The only way you’re getting your happily ever after with Kerrigan is after Mengsk and Amon are eliminated once and for all. If you want your future with Kerrigan, then help us in our all or nothing operation to take out Mengsk.” Finally finished with her lecture, Sweetie left the cell with Kerrigan. Raynor was not far behind. He was quiet the whole way back to the Leviathan. The Hyperion used docking tubes to bridge the ship and the Leviathan so that Raynor could return to his ship. Raynor remained silent.