Starcraft: Warriors of Purity

by Xarmar13

Rebel: Saving General Duke

The Antigan Magistrate eagerly awaited the saviors of his colony from the colonial Starport. While receiving a group of wanted criminals could be seen with mixed opinions by the colonists, the majority of the population appeared to be cheering for the rebel group. The Confederates had sent their best squadron to keep the population under control, and the colony responded with outrage. There was no turning back now, even if the Sons of Korhal were driven away, the colony has been branded as sympathizers of rebels. And so, the Antigan Magistrate nervously awaited the arrival of the rebel leader.

His patience was soon rewarded with the arrival of a customized Battlecruiser docking with the colonial starport. The docking gate in front of him soon opened to reveal the rebel leader and two bodyguards in standard CMC suits.

The rebel leader greeted him in a friendly, yet politically distant manner. The two made the long walk to the Magistrate’s office to discuss terms with the colonial militia for allowing the Sons of Korhal into their colony.

---

Sweetie, Raynor and Kerrigan were looking around the Antigan colony, taking in the sights. Being on a different world with an environment that was not a barren wasteland has also allowed the stores to sell familiar wares at better or worse prices as well as products that were not sold on Mar Sara. Since they had some credits on them, the trio bought some souvenirs from the stores.

Raynor was checking out the armory to see if they had anything he might like. While he was doing that, Kerrigan approached Sweetie to have a conversation with her. “I’ve been meaning to ask, I can sense some deep-seated hatred in you. Can I ask where those feelings come from?”

“I could ask you the same thing” Sweetie replied. “There is a lot of pain and anguish in your memories as well as some heavy guilt. This isn’t the place to discuss such things though. Perhaps we can exchange stories in private somewhere.”

Kerrigan blinked. She knew that she probably left her mind open when she first met Sweetie and closed her mind when she realized the Pony had psychic abilities, since the hostile environment suit enhances psionic power generated by psychics. It was an easy mistake to make since not all who wear the suit are psychics, even though those who aren’t wouldn’t be able to use the suit to its full potential.

The strange thing is that Kerrigan can still sense Sweetie’s emotions. “How come you’re not closing your mind? A lot of enemy Ghosts can take advantage of an open mind.” Kerrigan said.

“Actually, I only awakened to these powers recently. There was no Ghost training facility on Mar Sara, though I wouldn’t go there anyway even if there were one since I’ve heard what they do to the recruits and I would rather keep my head free of implants,” Sweetie said.

Sweetie’s words triggered an unpleasant memory in Kerrigan, one that she quickly suppressed. Sweetie picked up on memory for a split second before Kerrigan reestablished her psychic block.

Kerrigan shook her head “Sorry about that” she said, knowing that Sweetie likely felt that memory. “I can teach you the necessary mind tricks ghosts should know in case you find yourself fighting against one alone.”

Sweetie smiled. “I would like that.”

The next few hours were spent shopping at the local stores. Raynor bought a crate of weapons that he planned to use to decorate his quarters and to use in the future if he intends to do so. Raynor’s and Kerrigan’s eyes went wide when they saw Sweetie lift the heavy arms crate. While Raynor could have lifted the crate if he was wearing his suit and Kerrigan could not have lifted that crate even with the physical enhancements offered by her suit. This was another thing that the captain and lieutenant would have to ask the strong Pony later.

As the trio neared the starport, their comms started beeping. Mengsk was summoning them to the Hyperion bridge for another mission. The trio made their way to the bridge, with Sweetie dropping off the crate in Raynor’s room along the way, earning the earth pony a number of wide-eyed stares from the crew and passers by.

Mengsk and the Commander awaited the trio by the holographic mission table. Sweetie’s gut feeling told her that they were about to do something they weren’t gonna like.

“According to the reports,” Mengsk began. “The Confederates are in a state of panic over the Antigans revolting against them. The Commander’s adjutant has intercepted a number of encrypted transmissions going back and forth between their outposts and their headquarters on Tarsonis. However, one transmission has piqued my interest.” The Commander ordered his adjutant to play the transmission.

<“This is General Duke calling from Alpha Squadron flagship Norad II! We’ve crash-landed and are being hit hard by the Zerg! Request immediate backup from anyone receiving this signal! Repeat, this is a priority one distress call-”>

Raynor was visibly amused that the General, who had been nothing but be an asshole to him and his friends, was finally forced to fight the creatures that his superiors have used against a number of fringe worlds.

The next words that came out of Mengsk’s mouth was met with a few surprised looks and expressions of outrage.

“Jim, Sweetie, I want you two to move in and save that base.”

“Are you serious!?” said Sweetie.

“I’m positive I didn’t hear that right,” said Raynor.

“Arcturus, have you lost your mind?” said Kerrigan.

Mengsk continued. “We cannot let our personal prejudice cloud our judgement and blind us from what we must do. Our priority is saving humanity from the Zerg and part of my plans involve bringing General Duke to our side.”

“I don’t like this at all,” said Kerrigan.

“I’m not asking you to like it, I’m asking you to do it,” Mengsk said, commandingly.

Raynor and Sweetie rolled their eyes and left the bridge to board the transport to their next destination.

---

Arriving with a small squad of marines and firebats, Raynor and Sweetie begin the short walk to the nearby Alpha Squadron base to find it under attack by a few Zerg. The group helped deal with the attackers before the base defenders started pointing their guns at Raynor and Sweetie.

“Why are you here?” one of the Marines asked.

“We’re here to save the sorry ass of your General. As for why, take it up with Arcturus,” Raynor retorted.

Since the base had been cut off from any actual leadership and their leader was in danger, the base personnel reluctantly started following Raynor’s orders.

Sweetie quickly noticed the familiar piece of tech that she saw at the Jacobs Installation, a Goliath, was patrolling around the base looking for more Zerg intruders.

The base staff informed her that they have the building schematics for an armory, which has the equipment necessary to expand the factory’s building capabilities to construct more Goliaths. The armory, according to the staff, will also provide improved versions of the weapons and armor plating equipped onto the mechanical ordinances and ships.

Looking around the base, Sweetie found that the location was on a wide plain which puts them at a disadvantage because their position allows the Zerg to attack them from any direction.

Another disadvantage, she found was that they were pressed for time. The fallen battlecruiser, Norad II, was completely surrounded and were getting hit by small attack waves of Zerg. It was only a matter of time until their defenses were breached. The crash survivors would need a few Dropships to fully extract Duke and the crew.

While the base’s defense demands were being met, Raynor started laying spider mines at the weakest points of the base defense. At the same time a rescue party was being put together to rescue the beleaguered General.

Sweetie was sure that the enemy was not stupid enough to simply allow the direct route: fly transports straight to Duke. To make sure of this, she headed into the Command Center and requested scans of the cliffs around Norad II using a Comsat Station.

The reports confirmed her suspicions as the area was surrounded by tall, bulbous Zerg structures that the Zerg database have named Spore Colonies. These structures were designed to exclusively bombard ships with dense spores. The scans also indicate Hydralisks, Mutalisks and a new type that she has not encountered yet.

The new type was about the size of a zergling but it was in the form similar to a bat. The Zerg database has classified it as a Scourge. The creature attacks by ramming itself into ships and detonating itself with some sort of high yield bio-explosive. The blasts were so strong that it only took a few of them to take down a Battlecruiser.

Observing the scanned area, Sweetie discovered a small gap in the air defenses on the plateau. She figured that a sizeable force landing there could create an opening to allow transports to get through.

Raynor walked in on Sweetie while she was putting together her plan. “You look like you got a plan.” Sweetie smirked.

“Yep, look here,” Sweetie began. She pointed to a small area on the plateau that was just outside the range of the spore colonies. “If we land a sizeable force at this point, they should be able to create an opening to bring Dropships to the crash site.”

Raynor gave a small smile. “Clever.” His smile soon turned into a grimace. “If we’re doing this we better hurry, that ship won’t last long against those Zerg.”

Raynor and Sweetie boarded one of the Dropships which were carrying a large number of Marines and Firebats as well as a few Goliaths. The dropships easily made their delivery to the point that Sweetie designated. Once the ships left, the large force engaged the Zerg forces around them. They were met with moderate resistance from Zerglings, Hydralisks and Mutalisks as well as a few Sunken Colonies. The Goliaths’ missiles made quick work of the Mutalisks and any Scourge in the area while Marines and Firebats tore into the ground forces and the Spore Colonies.

Soon, a wide path was cleared for dropships to freely access the fallen Battlecruiser’s position. Sweetie and Raynor once again boarded a Dropship and landed next to the Battlecruiser.

The duo saw another Dropship arrive at the location. Upon landing, the ship opened its main door to reveal Mengsk who approached the Battlecruiser as General Duke emerged from the wreckage and approached the three.

Duke was the first to speak. “You’re about the last folks I expected to show up. What’s your angle here Mengsk?”

Raynor was visibly outraged about Duke’s ingratitude but Sweetie put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head, indicating that this was hardly the time or the place to be cursing people out.

Sweetie was barely containing her own anger toward the agent of the tyrannical empire. Only her curiosity in Mengsk’s plan for the General was keeping her from testing the capabilities of her suit on Duke’s face.

Assuming his political facade, Mengsk began to speak. “The Confederacy is falling apart, Duke. Its colonies are in open revolt. The Zerg are rampaging unchecked. What would have happened here today if we hadn’t shown up?”

Seeing his superiors’ worst enemy face to face was not doing any favors for Duke’s patience. “Your point?” he asked, unable to hide his frustration.

“I’m offering you a choice. You can return to the Confederacy and ultimately lose the war, or join us and save humanity from the Zerg.”

“Keep this in mind,” Mengsk continued. “If the Confederacy actually cared about keeping you around, they would have sent someone other than you to keep the fringe worlds under control. Your abilities are more valuable to me than to them. I am offering you a position in my cabinet once we have cast away the old, outdated laws of the Confederacy. They would have you put in charge of backwater planets like Mar Sara. I don’t think it’s a difficult decision.”

Duke considered his options. On the one hand, it’s true that his superiors have been uneasy lately and their decisions have been questionable. He may be a Confederate General, but they don’t treat him like one. On the other hand, what does Mengsk have to offer that would even ensure his superiors’ downfall? What makes him better than them? For the rebel leader to approach him like he has, he must have some sort of secret ace up his sleeve. Mengsk’s reputation has shown that his strategies were well calculated.

Duke looked at Mengsk once again. “Ah take it you have something big planned for you to try and convince me to join forces with you.”

Mengsk frowned which quickly became a scowl. “Don’t test my patience, Edmund.”

Duke sighed. He knew deep down that there was only one choice to make in this situation. “Alright Mengsk, ya gotta deal.”

Mengsk’s scowl quickly became a victorious smirk. “You made the right choice, General Duke.”

Watching this deal take place made Raynor sick to his stomach. Now they had to play nice with one of their enemies.

This was going to be a long revolution.

Comments

[Black--Soul]

Love the chapter
Hate the future Dictator...

Very food described fight. I guess you write while looking the replay as reference point? Love how you fill the missions with lore, humor and emotions
To bad this one had more the first and last

Storys like yours make me rewatch the Saga...

[Black--Soul]

Making a Snake a ally don't change its nature... But trained troops dont come from nowere or just pop out of buildings ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Black--Soul]

I wonder how big the Terran Empire is...
Or the Protoss Empire.

[Black--Soul]

Mengsk is clever to use any assets he can gain, unfortunately he isn't that pragmatic in every aspect of his life.

[Black--Soul]

Everyone is to compliment, really sad it isn't more realistic. But it is how the story was running and the campaign sure had a lot of logical plot holes.