It was a slaughter. Half the Dominion flank collapsed in half a minute.
The rest of the Dominion didn't even try to stand and fight. Instead, they sent out a round of missiles and torpedoes at the bridge.
A few F-1 fighters charged forward and shot the torpedoes and missiles out in midair. Others even charged into the projectiles, destroying them via self-sacrifice. Yet, there were still several dozen missiles trained on the bridge, and the bridge’s armor wasn’t even enough to withstand half those missiles.
“Matt…” Raynor, still in the bridge, whispered slowly.
The missiles were about to hit their target.
“Defensive matrix now!” Horner suddenly screamed. Immediately, the crew members went into action. The green layer of safety formed around the Hyperion. All the missiles slammed into the shield and exploded.
When the shield disintegrated three seconds later from a lack of energy, the bridge was unharmed.
And then everything changed.
Out of nowhere, a missile slammed into the now vulnerable bridge.
If it was some sort of romance novel, Kerrigan would jump in this second and freeze the missile or somehow dispose of it. Afterwards, Raynor and Kerrigan would go to some distant planet and live off their lives happily ever after.
This wasn’t that kind of novel.
Before either Raynor or Horner could say or do anything, the missile exploded.
The entire bridge was torn apart. The armor and the glass that separated the bridge and space were destroyed, and pieces of wreckage and body floated out of the opening.
Unfortunately, neither Raynor nor Horner would live to see that.
The explosion instantly killed Captain Matt Horner. The man’s refusal to wear armor inside the bridge rendered him completely defenseless against the explosion and the shrapnel. When the pieces of metal did their job, the young man was no more than several pieces of bleeding corpse.
The commander of the Raiders was no better. A piece of shrapnel pierced his glass helmet and penetrated his skull. His deep history with the Queen of Blades didn't help him one bit.
Outside, the F-1 fighters have terminated the last of the hostile fighters, but the pilots died with satisfaction in their eyes. Their death was worth it. James Raynor was dead. As his killer, these pilots would receive all the honor in the world. Most likely, their families were destined for a life of comfort. Mengsk wouldn’t shy away from showing his gratitude.
The Hyperion shook violently. Having lost its bridge, it was falling out of control. Eventually, its auto-pilot system kicked in and managed to stop the ship still. A few officers further inside the ship who realized what happened shut the blast door that led the bridge to the rest of the ship, keeping whatever oxygen the Hyperion had inside the vessel.
The Hyperion would live on, but both its owner and its commander was dead.
This marked the end of Jim Raynor.
----------------------------------------
Inside her flagship, Jean glanced down on an electronic pad on her left arm before tapping something.
She did it.
She ordered the death of James Raynor, Matt Horner, and most of the Raider command structure.
Why?
Simple. Raynor was starting to do more harm than good.
From the memory she was given, Jean knew at this point, after saving the love of his life, Raynor was ready to abandon this sector and retreat to a distant planet with Kerrigan. Sure, this was good for the couple and it would make a cute love story, but what about Jean’s mission? She launched war on the Dominion for Kerrigan, and instead of forging an alliance with her and retaking the Swarm, Kerrigan just wanted to retire?
There was no way Jean could let that happen.
In the original history, Kerrigan was hell-bent on returning to the form of the Queen of Blades and was willing to ignore her guilt to rebuild the Swarm because she thought the Dominion killed Raynor, and she wanted to get revenge on Mengsk. This hatred was enough to wipe out any fear of the atrocities the Queen of Blades might bring. Unfortunately, in this scenario, the Dominion Fleet was rather uncontrollable, and they might kill both Raynor and Kerrigan, which Jean couldn’t allow.
She was forced to take matters into her own hands. She allowed the Dominion fighters to survive long enough to engage the Hyperion on purpose. This acted as a cover-up for the missile that actually delivered the kill.
Now everyone would think one of the Dominion fighters fired the shot that killed Raynor. No one would know it actually came from an F-1 Warden fighter.
With Raynor dead and her Swarm lost and scattered, Kerrigan would need an ally to get her vengeance, and what was a better ally than Jean? She has a fleet. She has an army. She was against the Dominion and she was an old friend of Raynor. It would be almost natural for Kerrigan and Jean to team up and take down their common enemy.
It was part of Jean’s plan all along. If she wanted to save Raynor, she would’ve brought half the Umojan Fleet. She brought a relatively small armada with her for a reason.
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
The rest of the Dominion Fleet warped away. As they left, Admiral Princeton’s lips were curving upwards. Losing a few battlecruisers and having most of his ships maimed was a problem, but he was sure Mengsk would be more than happy to trade those ships for Raynor and possibly even Kerrigan. Unlike General Warfield, Admiral Princeton didn't give a damn about his men. He would gladly trade them for his own rise to power.
With the enemies gone, the Umojan Fleet started cleaning up the mess. The Dominion battlecruisers the F-1 fighters maimed sent out pleas for surrender. The crew members onboard were abandoned and trapped with no way out. Resist, and they would die while wasting a few Umojan missiles. Some remained blindly loyal to the Dominion, but those with the will to live overpower the stubborn.
Jean accepted the surrender and sent three cruisers to take over the ships and deal with the prisoners. By deal, she meant taking them captive and bringing them back to Umoja. While the idea of massacring defenseless prisoners was highly tempting, taking some prisoners could convince the Dominion foes in the future to surrender rather than fight to the death. The potential material gain was worth the trouble.
Just like she expected, Kerrigan came to her.
The former Queen of Blade’s ghost suit was covered with the blood of the Dominion personnel unfortunate enough to stand in her way. From what Jean heard, Kerrigan was working on a boarding party when the missile killed Raynor. Sensing something was wrong, Kerrigan went full in and literally ripped the Dominion soldiers apart limb by limb.
“Kerrigan.” Jean waved her arm, and all the Umojans left the bridge, leaving just thirty or so Warden units. Kerrigan glanced at the Warden ghosts and marines and didn't feel the curiosity to ask about them.
She has been with Raynor since the very beginning. When Mengsk was still a rebel leader hell-bent on taking down the corrupt Terran Confederacy, she and Raynor stood together and fought side by side under Mengsk. When she was betrayed by Mengsk to the zerg, Raynor, despite knowing Mengsk has already become one of the most powerful figures in the sector, didn't hesitate to abandon the possible power and luxury and turned against Mengsk.
It was touching, especially considering how much trouble and danger Raynor went through to save Kerrigan from the zerg. Kerrigan wasn’t the crying type, and her way of dealing with the sorrow was by taking it out on the enemy.
“Commander Cassidy.” Kerrigan tried to be as calm as possible. She knew the Umojans did their job as an ally. They came to Raynor’s aid when he needed them, and they tried their best to take down the Dominion. Several elite Umojan fighters, no doubt under some strict orders, even sacrificed themselves to block some of the missiles. Obviously, they failed in their mission, but they have done all they could. Blaming them for Raynor’s death was stupid and irresponsible.
“Is Raynor…” Jean asked, faking it.
“Yes. Jim...Jim’s gone.” Kerrigan lowered her head for a second before looking up again with renewed determination. “Mengsk killed him, and I want to make him pay for it. But I don’t have the army.”
Jean sighed. “I’m sorry for what happened to commander Raynor, but my loyalty lies with the Umojan Protectorate. I have a responsibility to my people. I can’t risk putting them in danger to launch a full invasion on the Terran Dominion. I’m sorry. We just don’t have the forces.”
In reality, if Jean went all in, with the Umojans, the Wardens, the Purifiers, probably the mercenaries considering Horner’s dead, and possibly the Tal’darim, the Dominion would be in some real danger. But the Dominion was just a small problem. Amon was the real foe, and Jean needed the Swarm on her side against the dark god.
Kerrigan’s mouth hung open. The Queen of Blades has never felt so vulnerable before. When she was the Queen of Blades, power was rarely a problem. The Dominion was only able to survive because she wanted to troll Mengsk a bit. But now…
“I can work with you…”
“She doesn’t need you.”
Kerrigan turned around and saw a figure emerging from the shadows. It was a female psionic user in some sort of modified ghost armor. Usually a ghost couldn’t hide from her senses, but she was exhausted and in pain and her power was crippled.
Plus, the ghost was strong. Really strong. She also felt familiar. It took Kerrigan a few seconds before realizing she has met the ghost before. While she assaulted the capital of the Moebius Foundation, with the full might of the Swarm behind her back, she faced an odd ghost who managed to stand toe to toe with her. She eventually maimed the ghost, but the terran came in and saved her.
Kerrigan didn't know what was the backstory behind this ghost, but she did know this ghost was not weaker than she was at the moment. In other words, this Commander Cassidy didn't need to make a move on the Dominion for her allegiance.
She didn't know what to say.
Suddenly, Jean tapped her lips.
“You don’t have an army, but the Queen of Blades did.”
Kerrigan immediately understood what the girl said, but she was hesitant in responding.
“I’m not the Queen of Blades. Not anymore.”
Jean looked into her eyes.
“The Queen of Blades was strong. Influential. Powerful. When you led the Swarm, Mengsk didn't lay a finger on Raynor. After you were returned to your human state, this happened.”
“I killed billions as the Queen of Blades! Jim fought to bring me back! He even died for it!” Kerrigan sighed. “He wouldn’t want that.”
What Raynor wants is irrelevant. Jean tilted her head. “Then what? What can you do without an army? Assassinate Mengsk by yourself? You’re good, but even the Queen of Blades can’t take on the entire Korhal Defense Fleet. A round of bombardment can wipe you off the face of the sector.”
“Without the Swarm, if you want to live, your only choice will be to leave and hide. Any act of vengeance will lead to your demise.”
Kerrigan suddenly leaped forward. Her psionic blade flew into her grip and was ignited, and it was placed next to Jean’s neck. Almost the moment that happened, Viper’s sniper rifle appeared in her hand and was trained on Kerrigan’s skull, but Jean stopped her with a signal.
“You are trying to turn me back into the Queen of Blades!” Kerrigan demanded with a hissing tone. “What do you want?”
Kerrigan was anything but stupid. Sometimes she might make poor decisions due to her emotions, but she wasn’t dumb. Jean’s actions had an obvious purpose, and it didn't take long for Kerrigan to realize it.
Jean replied in a single sentence.
“The entire Swarm is a better ally than a single ghost.”
Kerrigan frowned, surprised at how blunt Jean was. Suddenly, with abnormal speed, Jean grabbed onto Kerrigan’s arm that held the psionic blade and pushed it away, moving the blade away from her neck. Kerrigan tried to exert some strength, just to keep the blade in place, and she was surprised to see she couldn’t do it. The seemingly vulnerable Umojan commander was much stronger than she looked.
But Kerrigan didn't continue to question Jean. The answer she gave was already enough. It was reasonable from the point of view of her as an Umojan commander to secure a strong ally, and Kerrigan was willing to do anything she could to avenge Raynor.
It was reasonable.
Plus, she has made up her mind. Raynor was dead, and someone needed to pay for it.
With the backing of the Umojans, she would return to the Swarm and regain control. People would die, good people, but all she could do was minimize the number of civilian casualties.
She finally nodded.
“Then we have a deal.”