With the help of General Warfield, Kerrigan left Char with most of the Swarm on the planet. She quickly met up with the rest of the broodmothers, who she already regained control over before she returned to Char.
Despite the recent defeats, Kerrigan still held quite the forces after she gathered all the broodmothers available. Over sixty leviathans rested in the middle of tens of thousands of flyers.
The Queen of Blades stood in the bridge of her new flagship. Her former leviathan flagship was reduced to ashes by the combined terran fleet and the Xel’naga Keystone. The queen groaned slightly in annoyance as she looked at the mighty zerg fleet that, for the moment, wasn’t doing anything.
If it was up to her, back on Char, she would call in her fleet on the Dominion armada and, at the same time, lead her Swarm on Char on the Dominion fortress on the planet. She would chase Mengsk’s minions off her planet, and her fleet would finish the job. The demise of this fraction of the Dominion Fleet would tell Mengsk his worst nightmare has returned.
Unfortunately, her ally had other ideas in mind. Kerrigan toyed with the idea of ditching Jean and just do everything her way, but she quickly realized she couldn’t afford to risk failing to take down Mengsk. The Dominion was mighty and the Swarm was no longer the semi-invincible faction, and if she wanted to secure the kill, she needed all the help she could get.
So she listened to Jean. She got her fleet out of Char without anyone noticing it, and now she was waiting for a meeting.
Suddenly, a mutalisk gave her a psionic signal. She took over the mutalisk’s body through the psionic network and saw a squad of twelve terran battlecruisers exiting warp space a safe distance away from the zerg staging area. Six of them were white while six of them were blue.
The Queen of Blades turned off the communication and passed down an order. Her flagship left the staging area and approached the terran fleet. Likewise, a white battlecruiser and a blue one deviated from the rest of the fleet and approached the leviathan. The terran and the zerg were sworn enemies, but this time neither side had their shields up or their weapons ready. The two battlecruisers got close to the leviathan’s bridge before extending out two tunnels, connecting to the zerg vessel’s bridge.
Jean and Valerian stepped onto the leviathan, along with two dozen guards each. Jean had twenty four Warden G-1 units, the enhanced version of Warden ghosts. Valerian had twenty four elite marines who have been protecting him since his time as a prince. They followed him against the Dominion, and now they were willing to follow him onboard the Swarm flagship. They knew very well if things went wrong, there was very little they could do, but they obeyed Valerian’s orders nonetheless.
Hundreds of zerg were around the two, but none of them made a move. The Queen of Blades had absolute dominance over her minions. If she wanted to, she could order them to commit suicide. Suppressing their urge to attack was just a piece of cake.
Suddenly, most of the zerglings moved to the side, leaving just one of the zerglings in the middle of the hall. The zergling tapped his claws on the floor, almost like a puppy, before turning around and slowly walking across the creep covered floor of the leviathan. The terran group followed.
Eventually, they found their way into Kerrigan’s bridge.
As soon as Jean saw Kerrigan, she started calculating. Judging from her looks, the Queen of Blades have taken a trip to Zerus at some point after they separated. She was back to her zerg mode, with all the spines and snake-like hair and claws. Jean could sense something familiar from the Queen of Blades. She knew it was the primal essence. Jean herself was brought back to life by the primal spawning pool on Zerus, and she was certain Kerrigan underwent a similar process.
Jean was about to say something when things suddenly took a dive toward a problematic side.
Kerrigan’s eyes rested on Valerian. Her gaze was full of fire.
“Valerian Mengsk?” The Queen of Blades knew how Valerian was, which was why she wasn’t exactly glad to find him on her ship. Or rather, she wasn’t glad in a conventional way. “Your father killed Jim. I will enjoy leaving your severed head on his doorstep.” Purple psionic energy converged between her claws.
Valerian’s guards raised their weapons and took aim at Kerrigan. The Swarm units in the room screeched sharply. G-1 Warden units remained motionless, but there was no doubt if something happened, they would be the first to act.
“If you do that, my father might want to thank you.” Seeing the rage of the Queen of Blades and sensing his life was in danger, Valerian reacted calmly. “After Commander Raynor gave his life for the cause, I have become his least favorite human being in the sector. He wants my head as much as he wanted Commander Raynor’s.”
“Don’t you dare compare yourself to Jim! You’re nothing like him!” Kerrigan turned to Jean. “I need an explanation.”
“Prince Valerian wants the same thing you do, Kerrigan. Mengsk’s life. The only thing is he also wants the throne as well. This means we can be allies.” Jean replied calmly. “He was the reason you got past the Dominion blockade with the trick I told you to do. Without him, General Warfield would’ve easily stopped you. He has proved himself trustworthy and resourceful.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Kerrigan relaxed a little. She knew how she got out of Char was fishy, but she subconsciously tossed it behind. Now that she thought about it, what Jean said made senses. She dropped the subject of Valerian’s last name and turned to the matter at hand.
“When are your forces ready to march on Korhal? I can’t wait to skin Mengsk alive.”
“Actually, there are some complications.” Valerian cut in once again. “In order to get you out, I struck a deal with General Warfield. In part of the deal, I promised him the Swarm will not be unleashed on Korhal. The civilian casualty will be too great.”
“WHAT?” Kerrigan suddenly exploded. She went through all this trouble to sit down with the son of her sworn enemy and talk, and now she was told she couldn’t even attack her enemy? Then what’s the point?
It was almost as if what happened a minute ago was renacted. Only this time, Kerrigan didn't bother with words. Her psionic power started blasting, and she lifted Valerian into the air, choking the life out of him.
Usually, the Queen of Blades would be more patient. She didn't become the head of the Swarm by being a dumbass. But things have been a little rough for her recently. First, she lost Raynor. Then, instead of going to Korhal directly, she was forced to go from brood to brood and return them into the fold. This burned away whatever restraint she had. The primal spawning pool didn't help with her logic either as it sent primal essence into her body. Finally, after days of sitting around doing basically nothing, she was so close to marching on Korhal, and now Valerian was telling her she couldn’t do it?
Valerian’s guards didn't hesitate to open fire, but they were immediately jumped on by the zerg all around. Valerian tried to explain, but he was too busy gasping for breath.
As Valerian was about to be choked to death, Jean stepped in.
24 G-1 units formed two groups. 12 of them raised their gauss rifles and started shooting down the zerg. Advanced targeting systems and expensive Warden AIs meant they very rarely missed. 12 of them drew their plasma blades and started slicing the zerg apart. When the zerg retaliated, their attacks were either dodged or deflected.
Jean took on Kerrigan. With supernatural speed, she moved in front of Kerrigan and sent out a punch. Kerrigan was obviously taken by surprise as she formed a psionic shield in front of Jean’s fist, which collapsed immediately. Still, the layer of shield bought Kerrigan some time to back off.
As she was busy with Jean, her grip on Valerian was removed, and the prince hit the ground.
All the zerg in the chamber have been slaughtered. More reinforcement came in from the entire ship, but the G-1 units skillfully used the hallways to their advantage. None of the reinforcement could get close enough to make a difference. Unlike human soldiers, these mechanical G-1 units could only lose their combat efficiency if they ran out of energy or ammunition.
“Listen to me!” The situation was good, but Jean wasn’t here to fight. “You will still have Mengsk! I promise you! We just have to do this more carefully.”
Kerrigan breathed heavily for a couple of seconds. Just when Jean wondered if she should call in the Purifier Fleet, which she had on hold, and secure her escape when the gunshots at the doors of the chamber disappeared. The zerg reinforcement backed off. A distance away, the zerg leviathans, which were growing restless since Kerrigan’s outburst, returned to their normal stance.
“Speak.”
Jean glanced at Valerian. She knew the plan, but she willingly gave this opportunity to Valerian. If the three were to be allies, there couldn’t be too much grudge against them. Jean needed Valerian to prove to Kerrigan he was really on her side and gain her trust. What was better at showing that than explaining how to take out her greatest nemesis?
Valerian stood back up. As a normal, organic human being, his will was incredible.
“According to my sources, there should be eight fleets around Korhal, including the Alpha Squadron and the Omega Squadron. That’s more than 96 ships. There will also be a number of space platforms, armed with orbital defenses and fighter platforms. All of our fleets will work together to take them down. I have 80 ships. The Umojan Fleet can send in 200 ships. Those, plus your Swarm, will be more than enough to break through.”
“After we secure the orbit, the Umojan Fleet and my fleet will surround and blockade Korhal. We will make sure no one gets in or out. My father will undoubtedly call in help from all across the Dominion. I have men inside the Dominion command structure who will send me the coordinates of these fleets and when they will jump. Kerrigan, you will lead your Swarm and intercept these fleets.” Valerian paused before continuing. “Capture as many ships as you can, but if they resist, put them down.”
“After all the reinforcements are down, you will bring the Swarm back to Korhal and take over the blockade while my forces and the Umojans land on Korhal.”
Kerrigan tilted her head as she thought about this as logically and from a tactical perspective as possible. “Korhal will be a fortress. For years, Korhal has been Mengsk’s homeworld, and he has fortified it with all the resources in the Dominion. Even if we cut off all reinforcement, I doubt you can take it.”
“If we can’t take it at first, then all we have to do is keep on attacking. Without fresh supply and manpower, the defenders will eventually be worn out. Even the most advanced cannons can’t fire if it doesn’t have any rounds. Our forces will be reinforced every day and their number will be dwindling. Plus, if we take over all the Dominion and only leave Korhal in the hands of Mengsk, it will only be a matter of time before Korhal falls.” Jean added. “When that happens, I will personally lead a team and make sure Mengsk is delivered to you.”
“I still believe we should attack Korhal with the Swarm.”
“Do it, and General Warfield and his six hundred ships will stand against us. The entire Dominion Fleet has around 1,200 ships. Dealing with six hundred is going to be tough, but we can make it if we play it carefully and use the element of surprise wisely. If we are facing 1,200 ships...our assault will be a brief one. Don’t let your emotions doom your best chance for vengeance!”
The last sentence sealed the deal.
“Fine. We move on Korhal in twenty hours. You two better be ready.” Kerrigan wasn’t asking them. She was informing them. Neither Jean nor Valerian objected. They have pissed off Kerrigan enough. They shouldn’t push their luck.