Starcraft: Queen and Country

by Wanderer D

Chapter 016: Getting the Message Across

2504, Koprulu Sector, Korhal IV █

The image on the screen showed Sweetie Belle, pincers open, a snarl on her face as one her scythes cut a marine in half, while the other impaled another straight through the helmet.

"What do we know of this new zerg queen?"

"Officially?"

"All of it."

"She's an experiment gone rogue. Unknown species. Unknown origins. It was established almost immediately upon capture that she was sentient, but in danger of dying. She was added  to the current zerg experiments on planet Zuras II, and modified. She had unprecedented levels of control over psionics, which seemed to be focused on her horn. She was not fully developed as far as the scientists could tell, but neither was she an infant or child. A teenager, if you will. She was rescued by the Queen of Blades and surprisingly inducted into her swarm with full cognitive capabilities."

"That is unusual. Kerrigan would not share power so easily." A pause. "Change like this… concerns me."

"Power and responsibility. She was tasked with conquering other planets, including Corsaire 2, and most recently Agria. She has battled, survived, and even defeated Raynor in Agria. It is also reported that she has as of yet unconfirmed effects on zerg. During the test labs other subjects seemed to respond to her in unusual ways."

"Unusual how?"

"Unknown, those files were destroyed when the base was taken by the Queen of Blades."

"I see. It interests me that she has been given so much freedom. It is unusual for an unproven entity to suddenly be trusted so easily."

"Well, there are theories, sir."

"Oh?"

"Indeed. As I mentioned before, Corsaire 2 was taken by this new queen, but the terrans were allowed to leave unmolested once they had surrendered and stopped fighting. Reports have come through from surviving on-the-ground troops that this young queen was unusually forgiving. Friendly even.

"We have reports from two troopers and two sisters who traveled with the young queen to meet with General Warfield. They all reported the same thing; the young queen was displeased with the loss of life. She stopped the massacre as soon as she could, personally saving one of the terran sisters from her own troops and escorting them safely to the rendezvous point."

"How peculiar."

"Although the official announcement was that General Warfield carved a way through for those he had saved to evacuate safely, his actual report explicitly stated that queen… Sweetie Belle—"

"Sweetie Belle? Is this confirmed?"

"Um, yes. Queen Sweetie Belle, upon hearing that operations to evacuate survivors would not happen lest the zerg were far enough for the ships to come in, actually ordered her zerg to retreat in order to allow for the colonists to evacuate."

"Could this… Sweetie Belle zerg be a possible ally against Kerrigan?"

"Doubtful. The Queen of Blades would not give such power to another if she doubted their loyalty."

"Sweetie Belle. I do not believe that name is appropriate for a zerg queen to be known amongst my subjects. Think of a new name for her. Inspire fear. If she is as forgiving as she seems, then make her a liar."

"Yes, your majesty."

2504, Koprulu Sector, Hyperion Bar █

"...and with a heavy heart it is that we deal with the loss of planet Agria and many more at the claws of the Queen of Blades and her pet, the Maven of Lies. Through violence and treachery these two abominations have spread the zerg across our territory, and allowed pirates such as Jim Raynor to take advantage of the weakened colonies."

He clenched his fist, staring straight at the camera. "But fear not, citizens of the Dominion, for our vengeance shall be swift. We will rain our ire on them like the fist of an angry god!" 

"Why are you watchin' that, kid?" Raynor sat down at the table where Gallus was glaring at the TV. "It ain't good for ya."

Gallus snorted. "This terran, Mengsk. He has a gift for theatrics." 

It was Raynor's turn to snort. "You can say that again." He glanced at the griffon. In the months after the attack on Agria he had taken to training with his troops, and had slowly started to build up more muscle. He was much more confident in his battle armor, more experienced with it, good at following orders, and thus more effective in fights, sometimes even taking the lead when appropriate. 

It was a bit hard to imagine that this warrior was really little more than a young adult. He had a diligence to him now, a newfound purpose… whether that purpose was something Raynor considered wise… well, he wasn't one to judge, considering his own situation.

"Here we are, busting our feathertails to save people, and what does he do? He just spits on all the sacrifices and friends we've lost for what, just for ratings. Because he's desperate for his people to like him. Between him and his bootlicking mouthpiece, Vermillion, he's got millions of people fooled."

"They're fooled because they want to be kid," Raynor said, shrugging. "Doesn't make it better, but anyone with half a brain should be able to see past the lies. Or they do, but they don't care. To them, we're nothing more than names and numbers. Names of people they should hate, and numbers… not people."

Gallus sighed. "It's not right," he mumbled. "And now he's spitting on Sweetie's name…"

"That he'll keep doin'. Fear is a powerful tool. Unfortunately, in that case, there's more than the usual xenophobia at work. Zerg really are that dangerous, whether they are the adorable kind or not."

"I know." Gallus tore his eyes away from the TV. "How are you doing? That… encounter in  Tyrador VIII…"

"I'll be fine," Raynor interrupted. He glanced down at his drink.

"Any news?"

Raynor shook his head. "Nothing. We've sent scouts over to Sweetie's sector, but she's got that area as secure as zerg can make it. Not even the Protoss have had an easier time trying to invade it to purge the planets there specifically."

"Zeratul?"

Raynor shook his head. "Not this time… it was other acquaintances. I'm not sure what's happening there, but when even the protoss are having second thoughts… anyway, I hear Selendis is in charge of that, I'm sure we'll hear from them either way."

"Do you think they'll kill Sweetie?" Gallus' voice was low, even. 

Raynor chuckled. "Kid, if there's one thing I've learnt is that zerg Queens are not that easy to kill. If she's half as strong as she seems to be, she'll be able to escape."

Gallus frowned, but nodded.

"I came to tell you that we know where we're headed next. Better get your gear ready, it ain't gonna be pretty."

Gallus and Raynor looked up at the TV, where Mengsk was shaking his fist. "We will retake our planets, our colonies and then chase these monsters until they are nothing but a barely remembered nightmare!"

Gallus shook his head. "Where I come from… Nightmares are not just something you can forget." He started walking towards the exit. "Nightmares are real, they haunt you, they come down from the darkness between stars and take the light away. If he really thinks he's got nothing to fear… he is very mistaken."

Raynor watched the griffon in silence, a chill slowly working its way down his spine. "I hope you're wrong, kid."

"This sector is under the control of the new Zerg Queen?" Selendis asked, overlooking the several planets in the system they were currently monitoring.

"That is correct," one of the disciples reported.

"Is there any indication that they aim to—" she was interrupted by a flashing light.

"Executor, we are being hailed."

She strode forth, so she could look at the screen unhindered. "Is it Terrans?"

"No…" the disciple's voice carried a deep sense of disbelief, something he should work on, she mused. "It's from the Zerg Queen."

"So she wishes to speak to us before the battle? Very well then." Selendis drew herself up, tensing in anticipation. "Put her through."

She had heard that this zerg was different from any seen before. That hadn't given her comfort: Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades was a zerg like no other, after all, and she had been a bane on the Protoss for as far as she had existed.

This creature, this zerg—for it was a zerg, there was no doubt about that—however did not seem as malevolent, or even threatening as the Queen of Blades. And this put Selandis more on edge than if it had been a horrible abomination, threatening their existence.

"Greetings! It seems you are investigating zerg space. As you must be aware by now, it is highly inadvisable to try and fly straight through here. If you wish to engage in violent actions, please leave a contact number."

"Contact number?" Selendis muttered. 

Undeterred, the zerg continued, "if you need assistance in re-mapping your trajectory, contact your local government for advice, consult the star-charts, or better yet, go back to where you came from. At this time we are not looking for ambassadorial exchanges, trading agreements, or open borders. All tourist attractions in this sector have been closed down for the time being. Thank you!"

This was followed by a short beep, and after several moments of silence, the screen simply went blank as communication was dropped.

Selendis stood there for a moment, unsure on how to react. Finally, she turned an imperious look to the disciples in charge of communications. "What just happened?"

Incredulity echoed once more around her, and it was not just the disciples that expressed it. "It seems that it was a pre-recorded message, Executor."

"A-a pre-recorded message?" Selendis repeated, still trying to process what had just transpired.

"It is set on a loop, repeating the signal at specific times. Our calculations indicate that it correlates to two units of what Terrans call hours."

"This is highly irregular. This Queen is not acting like a zerg, and that is dangerous." Selandis could already feel a headache coming. "We might need more information. Contact Jim Raynor. I believe he was last reported in the vicinity of this sector."

"Of course, Executor."

It took but a few moments for Jim Raynor to appear on her screen. "Greetings, Jim Raynor."

"Selendis," the Terran responded with a deferential nod of his head. It was hard to read terran expressions, but his voice sounded unsure. "To what do I owe the honor of this call?"

"We are monitoring zerg activity in this quadrant, and I heard of a new zerg queen rising under The Queen of Blades' banner," she explained. "We are wary of them expanding closer to our territories."

"Ah," Raynor nodded. "I had heard about your incursions. We have kept track of things as well, but although she serves Kerrigan, she has not attempted to expand her territory so far since their initial push." He sighed. "That's not to say we haven't encountered her and Kerrigan in other planets, but those are predictably closer to Korhal."

"Indeed. This new queen's actions are a deviation from zerg expansionism and all consuming hunger, and thus we have remained hesitant to initiate our purge. Recently, however, a new development has occurred."

"Oh?"

"We received a message. Transmitting it to you now." She nodded at the disciple who had stayed at attention, waiting for just that order.

She waited patiently as Raynor listened to the message, trying to read his expressions. Knowledge of terran body-language could be of potential use in the future, after all. There was some twitching of his mouth, but nothing she could identify either way.

She did however hear a snort, and Raynor did as well, turning to face someone outside of the video. "Anything to add, Gallus?"

"Nothing, sorry. It's just… funny hearing Sweetie channeling her inner Rarity."

"Jim Raynor," she spoke up, "I do not understand. Is this queen channeling a new strangeness?"

"No, no," the voice responded before Raynor could. "Rarity was Sweetie's sister. Is. Anyway, it's a good sign that she's done this."

"Send the Protoss to voicemail?" Raynor asked, stepping back so she could see the curious creature that was speaking.

"Well, yes, but in her best imitation of her sister's voice." The creature shrugged. "It means she's not transformed into an unthinking beast. As much as I will fully agree that that message is not going to stop Mengsk from sending troops to attack, at least smarter people will not just jump into an unnecessary fight."

"Unnecessary?" Selendis raised her head, glaring at the creature. "The zerg consume everything, and destroy everything. They are chaos."

"Well," it said, "that might be. But ponies are creatures of Harmony, and Sweetie Belle's sister is the Element of Generosity, one of the six Elements of Harmony. Even Discord wasn't able to defeat them. If anycreature can make sure the zerg at least don't kill everything in their path… it's Sweetie."

"Delusional." Selendis shook her head. "Does this creature speak for you, Raynor?"

"I don't know what to believe," he replied, grudgingly, by the tone of voice. "When I met Sweetie the first time, she offered to let us leave in peace in exchange for technology we couldn't leave behind. When she conquered Aria, she didn't attack any retreating ships, nor did she follow beyond what Kerrigan claimed as her territory."

"In any case," the creature Raynor had identified as 'Gallus' spoke up, "it's a moot point. You won't believe us because it's hard to believe. I know your history with the zerg, but… please give her a chance at least to present her case."

"I shall think about it," Selendis said. "But I cannot promise anything. The Purge of the Zerg cannot be stopped for sentimentality." 

"I guess that's the best I can hope for," the creature replied, nodding in thanks. Rough around the edges for both Terran and Protoss culture, but he seemed polite. "Did Sweetie ever reply to your message?"

Selendis tilted her head in confusion. "We did not send her any messages."

"Oh." Raynor cleared his throat, a technique terrans used occasionally to underscore a slight discomfort, not necessarily of a physical nature. "Well, you're supposed to speak up your message after the beep."