//------------------------------// // Prologue - Queen Bitch of the Universe // Story: Queen of Blades // by Salacar //------------------------------// Queen of Blades Prologue - Queen Bitch of the Universe The world of Char was positively brimming with activity, the Zerg swarming from their hives in endless waves. The order given to them through the hivemind was clear: destroy the human interlopers. The Queen of Blades could already feel them, the primitive mental signatures of their minds clearly distinguishable to her senses despite the great distance between them. They, the terran, were already in orbit, planning uselessly among themselves. If she still had a sense of humour, she would have found it all rather amusing. To think that the humans actually believed they stood a chance, attacking the very core of her power. Indeed, the world she had been cultivating for so many years, preparing for the great war she knew was still to come. This was just a minor interruption really, one she planned to resolve harshly. They had even brought along the Xel’Naga artifacts she had been searching for, so thoughtful of Jimmy really. She would have to remember to give him a kiss, before ripping out his spine for stealing them before she could get to them in the first place. She wasn’t without compassion after all, and all good efforts deserved some form of reward. He would probably enjoy it too, it was painfully obvious that he had a thing for her. After all, why else would he have prattled on and on about ‘saving her’? ‘An absurd thought, does he truly believe that I am the one in need of saving? Perhaps you should take a better look at your precious humans, Jimmy.’ A surge of information burst through her mind, it was almost overwhelming, even to her, and she was once again reminded why she had decided to breed the Brood Mothers after her destruction of the Cerebrates. Controlling the Zerg as a whole was simple enough, she had done it for nearly four years after all. But effectively giving orders to such a large population of creatures in the middle of a mass scale war? That was another thing entirely. The reports she was getting were promising, her own forces had already clashed with the Terran fleet, causing utter destruction and so much death that she could almost feel all those minds being snuffed out. Thousands died in moments, and she barely felt any emotion at all. Had there even been a time where she would have grieved? Perhaps, but those days were long past her now; only faded mirages and pointless memories remained. She would have to remember to purge those from her mind once all this was over. Another communication from her Brood Mothers told her that the humans had managed to deploy troops to the planet. She silently chided herself for falling into contemplation, if she hadn’t she would have already felt those filthy armored boots, gracing the living surface of her planet with their presence. With a simple thought she relayed her intent to the Mothers, who then relayed it to the rest of the swarm. She wanted those pesky creatures off her planet, they weren’t worthy to bask in the perfection of her creation. ‘There, those insects should be eradicated in a matter of minutes. It was foolish of them to set foot on my world... perhaps I should even go deal with them myself, to at least reward them for their courage with swift deaths.’ Minutes passed, yet still she felt the humans press on, inching their way ever so slowly towards her and the main hive. Their stubbornness would have been admirable, if it wasn’t causing her so much ire. It was impossible, there was no way they could have survived for so long, what could they possib-...         Her thoughts were cut off as she received a disturbing message from her Zerg; not only had her Leviathan and most of the Mutalisks been destroyed, but the largest Terran group had actually managed to merge with another near a crashed battlecruiser, and they were moving towards the primary hive at an alarming speed. Without hesitation she extended her senses, focusing on the group of Terrans that was turning out to become such a thorn in her side. It only took her a moment to find them, and as she did she quickly discovered the reason for their success. ‘... Jimmy Raynor.’ The mental signature was unmistakably his, she had grown familiar with it during their time together, and she would never mistake it for anything else. More surprisingly, she also felt the presence of the Xel’Naga artifact. They were literally bringing it to her doorstep, almost as if they wished for her to steal it away from them. Or did they truly believe that they could use it to defeat her? Cure her from this supposed ‘affliction’? She felt the ground tremble as cannon fire started raining down outside her Hive, the humans were already there, and it looked like they had stopped not far from her. Already she could feel them preparing their siege formation, no doubt hoping to bring down her minions with their long range firepower. There was no victory to be found in such a strategy, and she knew this. Her swarm was practically endless, and their numbers were limited. Still, she felt the need to at the very least recognize their efforts, futile as they were, and as such she prepared to go meet her visitors personally. The Queen of Blades shifted her body away from the comfortable position she had found in the heart of her primary Hive, a series of mental commands later and the organic structure surrounding her opened up out into the outside world. The red, ash-filled sky, still filled with swarms of battling mutalisks and terran fighters, greeted her as she stepped outside. Her carapaced feet touched the creep, her powerful body twitching slightly in anticipation of what was to come. She took a deep breath of the fetid air before directing her attention towards the Terran camp in the distance, it wasn’t nice to keep guests waiting after all, even uninvited ones. With a simple psionic nudge, she broadcasted her voice to the entirety of the besieging force. ‘You’ve brought me the Xel’Naga artifact - it was good of you to save me the trouble of finding it for myself.’ She looked at the gathered forces around her, masses of zerglings, spine launching hydralisks, burrowing roaches, and the massive ultralisks, all standing ready to follow her every command. With but a thought she urged her forces forwards, a great swarm of zerglings rushing towards the entrenched terrans, ultralisks following in their wake as their powerful legs quaked the ground. She could already feel the nervosity spread through the space marine ranks, truly her reputation inspired fear even in the hearts of the battle hardened Terran forces. Grim satisfaction snuck into her mind as she saw her children prepare to crush the human invaders with claws, teeth, and tusks. Just as the mass of Zerg was about to reach the humans’ position however, a great blue light suddenly exploded from their camp, washing across her children like a purging fire, leaving naught but burning ash in its wake. The wave of energy didn’t make it all the way to her hive, but every zerg in its path was utterly incinerated, and she could certainly feel the power coming from it. The humans had actually found a way to use the artifact, albeit at a much weaker level than was to be expected. She was worrying over nothing, it wasn’t like they could make full use of its potential after all, they weren’t true children of the Xel’Naga. ‘An impressive defense - but not nearly impressive enough.’ Once more her thoughts were broadcasted to the assembled soldiers, and she couldn’t keep a confident smile from her lips. ‘My forces are without number, and yours are dwindling by the minute. This can only end one way.’ Then, she released the full force of her swarm upon them, giving her children one simple order: destroy. The earth itself shook as her children ascended from their burrowed sleep, quickly gathering in eager groups. They didn't give the humans even a moment of respite before they were upon them again, and this time they were without the aid of the artifact’s power. For long minutes the swarm crashed against the terran defenses, the waves bombarded from afar by powerful siege tanks and artillery. Yet even with all that firepower many zerg still made it to the bunkers and the assembled marines, tearing through their ranks like a ravaging tide of death. Claws, teeth, spine and acid met with bullets, fire and grenades, all resulting in a large orchestra of violence and destruction. The Queen of Blades watched from afar with an appreciative gaze, it filled her with a certain sense of pride to see her own creations at work. She had truly created some of the most perfect creatures of war, she especially appreciated the work she had put into her roaches. They were the only ones of her children to share in her rapid regeneration after all. Just as her forces were about to breach the final line of defense, the familiar blue wave of energy from before bursted from the middle of their camp, once more utterly destroying the attacking Zerg as it washed over them, illuminating the primary hive with that damnable azure light. She was never one to get enraged, but that artifact was quickly becoming a true nuisance. With a low growl of annoyance she stepped forward, once more intruding on the minds of the human interlopers. ‘I’m tired of working through others. It’s time I took a personal hand in your demise.’ She set into motion, moving towards the human encampment with determination, already gathering her psionic energies, which swirled around her as wisps of blueish-red energy. All around her, her children gathered, rushing towards their Queen’s enemies, almost eager to prove themselves in her eyes. She strolled in their wake, from time to time casually deflecting the bullet of a Ghost’s sniper. It was an easy enough thing for her to read their energy signatures, she had once been one of them herself after all. Even with their psionic cloaking they could not hide from her for long. Within a minute she was closing in on their lines, already she could see them fortify the position she was approaching, moving siege tanks and massive thors in preparation for her attack. Those fools couldn’t even see how pointless it all was, all they were going to do was slow her down. Not even all that much by her estimation. A chorus of explosions made her snap her gaze towards the line of siege tanks on a nearby cliff, their artillery shells already raining down upon her. With a frown of annoyance she motioned with her hand, a barrier of blue energy appearing around her, the powerful shells exploding on its surface. All around her the ground was ripped apart by the force of the attacks, sending debris and dirt in all directions. Yet when it was all over and the dust cleared, the Queen of Blades stood entirely unharmed, not even a speck of dirt tarnishing her carapaced body. She continued her stride, closing in on her target. No matter how many times the siege tanks delivered their attacks, nothing changed. She would either erect a barrier, or simply move through the attack as if it was nothing more than a simple bee sting, any actual damage to her body regenerating in a matter of seconds. Already she could sense the fear among her enemies’ ranks, her bone wings twitching slightly in agitation and anticipation. It didn’t take long for her to reach their first line of defense, a great gathering of weaponry unloading their ammunition at her, bullets, grenades and missiles all fired directly at her. Their attacks were relentless, yet most of it went entirely unnoticed by the Queen of Blades. She was conjuring barriers and catching bullets on her carapace with ease, returning fire with bolts of red psionic energy which killed or destroyed anything they hit, never sustaining any serious injury herself. That’s when the trio of Thors entered the field, their great cannons aimed at her, and a moment later the very ground shook as they brought forth a great barrage of firepower. The Queen of Blades actually flinched as she was bombarded with the massive amount of force, her barriers failing quickly. With a great roar of anger she sent out a wave of kinetic force, knocking any nearby marines off of their feet, and with hatred in her eyes she focused on the great machines in the background. With a gesture of her hand she summoned her psionic power, catching the closest Thor in the unavoidable power of her Implosion. The great construct began to creak ominously as gravity was twisted around it, a well of entropic force pulling and twisting the machine in all directions at once, great sparks and explosions riddling its body until it was blown apart only seconds after, causing a shockwave to fell the nearest marines. The Zerg queen didn’t give them a chance to retaliate, quickly summoning another gravity well to take apart the next Thor, all the while her wings were lashing out at any marine unfortunate enough to get too close, bullets bouncing harmlessly off of her carapace and grenades exploding all around her. It was total chaos, and she felt a strange sort of excitement from it all. It wasn’t that she enjoyed doing it, she found no pleasure in ending the lives of her enemies, no more than an ordinary human would by stepping on an insect. That’s all they were, insignificant insects standing in her way, and such creatures needed to be crushed ruthlessly. The remaining Thor unleashed another barrage on her, this one actually making her take a step back in pain as it tore away at her armored body, tearing away part of her wings. Despite this they quickly grew back, yet not as fast as they should have, she noticed. Perhaps the battle really was taking up more of her energy than she had expected. The question was but a stray one, gone from her mind as she absentmindedly decapitated a nearby marine with a sliver of psionic force, sending his corpse to the ground in a torrent of blood. Before she could unleash another Implosion on the last Thor, a barrage of artillery fire rained down on her, battering her damaged form even more. She gave a small gasp of pain before directing her gaze towards the offending siege tanks, and with a burst of effort she unleashed a swarm of psionic slivers on the unsuspecting machines. The swarm of razors ravaged the assembled artillery, slicing through the metal and pilots alike with ease. The only thing that remained after a few seconds were several heaps of bloodied scrap. She couldn’t help but form a satisfied smirk at that, those pesky tanks were starting to become something of a nuisance. The Queen of Blades swiftly turned her attention back to her other foes, crushing the skulls of a duo of nearby marauders with a single thought, satisfied as she heard their bones fracture and turn to dust. She managed to form a hasty barrier as she was assaulted by the Thor once more, responding with destructive force as she summoned another Implosion in its core. As the last of the great machines fell broken to the ground, soldiers rushing to get out of its way, the Queen of Blades turned her attention back to the next line of bunkers, quickly reducing one of them to nothing but a bunch of scrap with a bolt of red energy. As she was ending the lives of another handful of marines, her own forces quickly pushing through the gap in their defenses, she noticed a great object in the sky shadowing the ground. With an annoyed frown she gazed up at the massive battleship in the sky, already preparing its cannons. <>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<> “Sir!” A crewman spoke up from one of the consoles aboard the battlecruiser Maledictis, to get the attention of the Admiral. The commander in question looked away from the blinking status screens, motioning with a hand for the soldier to continue. “Yes, Corporal MacRae?” “We’ve got the Queen of Blades’ position, all cannons are primed and ready to fire, Yamato Cannon standing by!” The corporal replied over the noise of activity on the bridge. The bearded admiral looked back at the screens before nodding absently, replying in a gruff tone. “Get ready to fire on my signal, time to show this Queen Bitch the true power of Terran weaponry.” “Understood, Admiral Joad. All stations, stand by!” <>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<> The Queen of Blades looked up at the massive battlecruiser with an unimpressed gaze, were they truly expecting to hit such a small target as herself with those huge weapons? Perhaps the Terrans were even more desperate than she had imagined. Her thoughts were almost entirely gone from the battle raging around her, simply waiting for whatever trick the crafty humans thought could bring her down. Even the screams of dying soldiers, as they were swarmed by zerglings or eviscerated by hydralisks, didn’t manage to pry her gaze away from the great battleship above. They were doing something up there, she could feel it. In the next moment every weapon aboard the great ship flared to life, energy gathering dangerously fast in its frontal capacitors. A large orb of collected power being charged rapidly. The Queen of Blade’s eyes widened quickly in recognition, were they really going to... ? No more than a few seconds passed before the huge bolt of gathered energy was launched, followed by a multitude of smaller weapons. The Queen of Blades only had time to think a single sentence before the massive attack came crashing down upon her with the full force of a vengeful battlecruiser. ‘The Yamato Cannon... that’s a pretty good trick.’ The battlefield was consumed in explosions and flames, the incredible firepower of the Maledictis tearing apart anything unlucky enough to be in its area of effect, Zerg of all kinds met swift ends, terran marines weren’t spared either, though most of them would likely have died anyway. It wasn’t like anyone cared what happened to the resocialized criminals in either case. A silence quickly set over that particular battlefield, the dust too thick to make anything out beyond it. The few Zerg that survived the attack were quickly brought down, and all that remained was that deadly, nervous silence and the sound of booming cannons in the distance. All nearby Terran eyes were on the last place any of them had seen the Queen of Blades, each of them silently praying that the battlecruiser had managed to obliterate her entirely. <>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<> “Corporal, status.” The voice of the admiral brought every crewman back to reality. They had all witnessed the bombardment, and all of them were literally holding their breath. The corporal looked back at his console, quickly bringing up the necessary sensors to try and pinpoint the Queen’s location. “I’m not seeing anything, Admiral Joad. I think we... no, wait...” Every screen on the bridge started flashing red in warning, a loud beeping could be heard throughout the entire ship as the hull began to creak ominously. Corporal MacRae looked back to the admiral with fear in his eyes. “She’s... she’s...” The corporal was speechless, yet the wizened admiral only shook his head sadly, turning to address the gathered soldiers. “Gentlemen... it’s been an honor.” <>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<> A blast of wind spread from the blurry form of the Queen of Blades, barely distinguishable through the still remaining dust. Everyone around her were frozen in terror however, as they could all hear the roar of indignation and hatred she was yelling at the sky, both her arms reaching towards the battlecruiser, as if to grab it. Her teeth were clenched and her eyes were shining a sickly yellow with pure power. She was gathering more and more psionic energy, with only one single intent. To bring down the damnable ship that had hurt her. ‘They wounded me... they wounded me!?’ As the dust cleared, all eyes were on the lone figure, standing amidst a field of utter destruction, no piece of land spared from the Maledictis’ attack. Scorched ground and broken earth had replaced the once infested terrain, and the Queen of Blades had not fared much better. Her carapace was blackened, even flayed apart in places, both of her wings were mangled and broken, and green blood seeped from multiple wounds. ‘Zeratul I can accept, but these rats!? Oh no, I will not stand for this!’ With another great roar of effort, which sent several nearby marines into a catatonic state as they were buffeted by the excess psionic energy, the Queen of Blades unleashed all of her power on the Maledictis. A virtual black hole of entropic energy bursting into existence as the greatest psionic entity in the universe brought forth the full force of her anger. She watched with glee as the massive masterpiece of engineering was torn to shreds, its hull wrinkled like paper and its very crew torn apart in the most horrific way imaginable. The Zerg Queen poured more and more power into her effort, and after only a few moments, the great Minotaur Class battlecruiser Maledictis exploded in an enormous fireball. The shockwave caused by the ship’s demise soon washed over the battlefield, stirring up even more dust and causing several space marines to look at the Queen of Blades in disbelief and fear. They had known that she was powerful, but for the first time since the start of their mission, they started to comprehend exactly what a Class Twelve psionic really was. It was to no ones surprise then, that when she turned her hateful gaze towards the assembled troops, they did the one reasonable thing a man could do in their situation: Run for the hills. The Queen of Blades gave them no quarter. They had barely turned tail before she was on them, tearing into their disbanding ranks with long claws, her wings incapable of performing such acts since they were only just regenerating, rather slowly in fact. The Queen was soon drowning in the screams of dying soldiers once more, ripping open their armor with ease or twisting their necks with a small burst of psionic energy. She felt drained, truly. But she wasn’t going to be taken down by such weak creatures, no matter the amount of weapons they brought to bear against her. A knife suddenly caught her between the shoulders, she felt agony course through her body as she spun around to come face to mask with a cloaked Ghost, clearly visible to her enhanced senses. The operative quickly brought out a small handgun, intending to put a bullet between her eyes. She wasn’t going to make it that easy for him however, as she quickly swiped a claw at his arm, severing it neatly near the elbow, causing him to grunt in pain from behind his mask. With another swift motion she thrust her other clawed hand forwards, piercing the unlucky Ghost clean through the stomach. She wasn’t done however, as no sooner had his blood started coating her arm before his very essence was forced from his body, gleefully consumed by the Queen of Blades. Who only looked on as everything that made this particular psionic who he was, was swiftly devoured by her own hungry psionic power. A moment after, she pulled back her arm, letting a shriveled husk of a man hit the ground with a thud. The Queen of Blades spent a moment appreciating the meal, feeling rejuvenated by the psionic energies she had consumed from the unlucky Ghost. Truly the Terran knew how to breed them, she would have to pick up a few more to snack on later, if time allowed. She was quickly brought out of her thoughts however, as an uncomfortably familiar blue light began increasing in strength nearby. With disbelief in her eyes she spun around to see the assembled artifact on a nearby hill, already gathering power for another wave of energy. A snarl escaped her as she set into an incredibly fast sprint, heading directly towards the newest threat. She wasn’t going to let it be powered up one more time. If she was this close to it when it was activated even she’d be in trouble, especially after taking a Yamato Cannon, the equivalent of an Apocalypse-Class Nuclear missile focused into a  ball of energy only a few meters in diameter, head on. Her run came to a sudden halt however, when the great shape of a Thor stepped in front of her, unleashing a torrent of attacks in her direction. She quickly leapt to the side, catching one of the blasts with a quickly conjured barrier while avoiding the rest, only getting slightly knocked back by the explosion. Pure anger on her face, the Queen of Blades set into another sprint, heading directly towards the Thor. When she was close she launched herself high into the air with a boost of psionic power, landing squarely on top of the cockpit mounted on top of its head. She couldn’t make out the pilot inside, but she could easily feel his fear through the reinforced glass. With a growl she conjured a ball of red psionic energy to her hand, promptly thrusting it directly at the glass, watching in satisfaction as the bolt latched on. Without another moment of hesitation, she backflipped gracefully off of the Thor, landing on the ground just in time to hear the psionic energy explode next to the pilot’s seat, sending sparks flying across the great machine before it went silent. She didn’t have time to savor her victory however, as no sooner had she turned her attention back to the artifact, before her world was consumed in blue energy. The artifact had had plenty of time to recharge during her battles, and now she was exposed to the full effect of the artifact’s blastwave. Her world was one of agony as she was carried by the explosion of Xel’Naga energy several meters, before painfully being deposited back on the ground, her entire body smoking and more damaged than she had ever been before. With a strained grunt she managed to get to her knees, looking down to find that she luckily still had all of her limbs intact, despite how flakey they seemed. Realising that retreat might be the wiser choice, the Queen of Blades swiftly brought her Zerg enhancements to their use, and burrowed deep into the ground, heading back towards the primary hive. As she emerged from the ground inside the organic structure, her world was still awash with pain. Even with her regeneration working to mend her body, the ordeal was painfully slow thanks to her lack of energy. There weren’t even any zerglings nearby for her to consume, the best she could do was to reconnect with her Brood Mothers and make sure they were still on the right course. It turned out she didn’t need to worry. According to the reports they were still winning greatly, the Terran had been pushed back on almost all fronts, and even the artifact location was quickly getting overrun. Things were going as she had expected them to after all, and with the number of powerful units she had brought down, their victory was almost assured. Even she couldn’t help but smile at the coming victory. Finally she would face her destiny, the fate she had wanted for so long was just within reach... And then, the Zerg wailed in pain. Her connection to the hivemind left her open to all of it, as thousands of Zerg died in but a second. Fearful for the first time in her new life, the Queen of Blades rushed to the Hive’s entrance, looking out on the world outside, her world. Which was quickly consumed in an enormous wave of azure light, incomparable to the ones before it. She knew instinctively that the artifact had truly been activated, and even now her precious, perfect planet was dying, torn apart by the massive energies of the ancient Xel’Naga artifact. The Queen of Blades, mightiest psionic in the known universe, queen of all Zerg and scourge of all beings, could only look on in desperation as everything she had worked so hard for was lost in the span of seconds. Even as the Hive was enveloped in blue and the organic walls were burning away, she could not keep the disbelief from her mind. Even as her form was consumed in blue flames, as agony, unimaginable agony, coursed through her body, she could not look away. And before everything went black, the Queen of Blades felt true loss for the first time. <>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<> Times were troubled in Canterlot. It was only a few days until the royal wedding between Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Captain Shining Armor, and already a threat had been made against the royal city. What should have been a time of joy and happiness quickly became replaced by one of nervosity and fear. By order of the Royal Sisters, the security of Canterlot had been increased tenfold. Even to such a degree that Shining Armor himself was tasked with keeping a protective barrier around the city at all times, wanting to leave nothing up to chance. Therefore it was to nopony’s surprise that the Princesses were often surrounded by several guards. On this particular day, Princess Celestia was being escorted by Captain Shining Armor and a small group of royal guards. It was a simple transition between throne room and dining room, yet the royal guard insisted on the escort, despite Celestia’s assurances that she was quite capable of taking care of herself. “I apologize, your Highness,” Shining Armor said as he trotted alongside the royal alicorn, keeping a respectable distance. “But we can’t take any risks in these times. While the threat is still unidentified there’s no telling what could happen.” Princess Celestia simply smiled warmly at her captain, it really was quite endearing how protective her royal guards were off her. “You don’t need to apologize to me, Captain. I am aware that you’re only doing what you believe is right, but do you really think an assassin could get to me on this two minute walk, inside my own castle?” Shining Armor simply coughed in his hoof, running his gaze through the marble hallway they were trotting. “You can never be too safe, your Highness. Even Princess Luna has the Lunar Guard guarding her room when she’s sleeping, despite their normal nocturnal nature.” The Princess stifled a giggle at that, fondly remembering the dedication the Lunar Guards had for her sister. “They always were an odd bunch. My sister certainly knows how to pick her guards, if only-...” The Princess suddenly cut her sentence off, coming to an abrupt halt which made her entire escort stumble a bit before regaining their stoic demeanor. Captain Shining Armor looked worriedly to the Princess, who had a far off look in her eyes. “Princess? Are you alright, is something the matter?” He quickly scanned his surroundings again, intent on picking up anypony or anything suspicious which might have caused the diarch to stop so suddenly. Spotting nothing, he returned his attention to the Princess, who had started mumbling something under her breath. The Captain had to strain his ears to pick up even a few words. “The Vault? What do you mean Princess, is there something wrong with the Vault of the Elements?” Before the Princess could answer her Captain, a strange sensation overcame them all, almost like a shockwave of energy originating from somewhere within the castle itself. It was so powerful that a few of the unicorn guards shook their heads in pain, Shining Armor being the only one capable of shielding his mind from the effect. He shook his head regardless, trying to pinpoint where the anomaly had appeared. A single pegasus guard came bursting out into the hall, looking around with slight panic before settling his gaze on the Captain. He gave a hasty salute. “Sir! There’s something wrong with the Vault of the Elements, I think we might have a-...” His voice was cut off as an explosion rocked the castle walls.