Delta walked into the bridge and, seeing the situation, fired a single shot at Stukov, forcing him to retreat from killing Amanda. The infested backed off. He would enjoy seeing his tormentor scream, but he had something much more important to do right now.
“Before you strike me down, I pray that you listen to me.“ Stukov said quickly.
Despite disposing of all the terran inside the bridge with absolute ease, Stukov was well aware of the situation, and it took much more than a group of infested terran to take this lone protoss out. His power wouldn’t really work on her either as protoss couldn’t be infested. His corrosive bolt was dangerous, but he didn’t forget he was facing someone who slaughtered dozens of elite soldiers in less than two minutes.
Stukov wasn’t afraid of death, but he had something else to do before he could do. When he was literally dissected alive and pieced back together, he swore he would kill Narud one day, and he was a man of his word.
But Stukov knew who Narud truly was, and he knew he needed help to have his vengeance. He was still conscious when he was transported, and from what he heard and saw, these protoss were not only hostile against the Moebius Foundation but also had the firepower to fuel this hostility.
Plus, what could be worse? Rather than dying pointlessly at the blades of these odd looking protoss, he might as well give it a try.
If it was a Daelaam or even a Nerazim templar, Stukov would be dead in just seconds. The proud Daelaam templar would never hear the words of a zerg. Even Artanis, who might be the most open minded protoss in the Daelaam civilization, only joined forces with the Queen of Blades after he realized he was facing an impossible enemy and he needed all the allies he could find to save his people. In a scenario like this, even Artanis would behead Stukov in one swift strike.
But Delta was different. After all, she had the same soul as Jean Turner. Prejudice meant nothing to her. She slightly lowered the particle disruptors. “Speak.” Her voice was cold and mechanical.
Stukov quickly gave Delta a short briefing about who Narud truly was and how he served a dark god called Amon. Delta already knew everything, but she patiently waited for Stukov to finish. Finally, Stukov offered to serve her in exchange for her going to war against Narud and Amon. It was the same deal he offered to the Queen of Blades in the would be future. After a brief moment of silence, Jean finally spoke.
“Assuming all you said is true and there is, indeed, a dark god who wants to destroy the sector, what value do you have to me? You have no ship. You have no army. All you have is a couple twisted terran, and they are nothing compared to the overall situation. Why should I sacrifice my own forces to help you.”
“I can give you information about Narud. From what I saw, you are not his friend. My information will help you.”
“That’s not enough.”
“I can join you against your enemy. Any enemy.”
“Once again, you are just one man.” Delta bargained. “You are nothing in a clash between countless fleets.”
“That’s where you are wrong. I am not alone.” Stukov turned to the infested terran, who were standing behind him obediently. Their eyes shined thirst for blood. “I have the ability to infest terran, living or dead, and make them my combatants. I can even infest terran weapons and make them exhibit both terran and zerg abilities. How many Dominion personnel were on that station down there? Tens of thousands. I can turn them to tens of thousands of my warriors.”
Delta glanced at the infested terran. “Your warriors are weak. A single one of my warriors can slaughter dozens of them, and I have legions under my command.” As Stukov’s expression changed, Delta suddenly nodded. “Then again, it can never hurt to have more units.” She held her hand out. “It’s the tradition of your people to shake hands to seal a deal.” She played the part of a protoss commander.
Stukov looked at Delta’s armored hand for a second before shaking it.
----------------------------------------
The battle of Skygeirr has came to an end. The terran had nowhere to hide from the Purifier detectors. Legionnaires moved in squads of tens and systematically executed the terran survivors.
When Delta and Stukov returned to the station, the last bunker has already fallen apart and the Dominion security network was completely silenced.
Jean led Stukov to a field of bodies and motioned for him to act.
Stukov nodded and held his hand out. Condensed zerg virus converged at his grip and was passed onto the bodies. The bodies were lifeless, but as soon as the virus touched the bodies, they started changing that fact. Genes were rewritten, changing the cells from terran to zerg. The zerg characteristic helped the wounds merged. Brains were reactivated, only this time they were completely different than what they were just minutes ago. This time, they were zerg.
Twenty or so figures stood up. Almost all of them were infested marines or infested marauders. Their weapons were contaminated by the virus as well. They were already deadly, but now the victims of these weapons needed to deal with a deadly virus that could literally decompose their flesh.
As soon as these infested units were up, they turned to the Purifiers in hostility. Their primitive infested brains had trouble understanding that those that weren’t zerg could be friends. A dozen legionnaires drew their blades, but Stukov stopped the bloodshed as he strengthened the control he had on the infested and forced them back. The underlings yielded and complied.
Stukov waved his hand, and the infested units started walking to all around the battle station, passing the virus to the bodies as they moved. As time passed, the number of infested grew exponentially.
Delta watched as the infested acted.
The entire time, inside the Cybros, Jean was observing the situation. She had a secret communicative channel with Delta that allowed the two to exchange thoughts.
Jean was doing her best to strength her forces. As of the moment, she has already had a near perfect war machine. The Purifiers transferred minerals and vespene gas into Purifier units. She has already dispatched a squad of Purifiers to collect the intact pieces of terran mech which she would soon use Warden SCVs to turn into Warden units. However, as of the moment there was nothing she could do about the dead bodies on the ground. She couldn’t use them or turn them into her forces.
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
Stukov’s presence changed that. He offered a way for Jean to turn the dead into a part of her power. From what she knew from memory, Stukov’s infested army, while relatively weak in quality, had overwhelming numbers. Plus, their combination of terran and zerg technology made them fatal to most enemies.
Stukov was important to her, but Jean needed to make Stukov feel like he was just a nice addition rather than a relatively crucial component. Otherwise, he might try to be an ally instead of an underling or a supplicant. He would try to bargain with her for more influence, and she couldn’t allow that. That was just inefficient for her.
“So, can you tell me who you really are?” As his men worked, Stukov turned back to Delta.
“You can call me Delta.”
“What faction do you belong to? Daelaam? Nerazim?” Stukov has heard about some information about the protoss factions during his time as a prisoner. He was placed in a top security cell, but he was a powerful psionic user as well. “I can see that you don’t have a nerve cord.” He glanced at the back of Delta’s armor covered head.
“I am the master of myself.” Delta replied concisely. She glanced around. “We should have this conversation somewhere else. Follow me. Plus, I want to show you someone.”
Delta walked toward one of the wings of the battle station. Stukov followed her closely. A trail of legionnaire guards followed the two from behind.
Finally, the two reached an opening where an arm of the Cybros was connected to the battle station. Delta glanced at Stukov and walked aboard the Cybros. She could be warped onto the ship directly, but she chose a slower way on purpose. Stukov frowned, realizing Delta was testing to see if he was willing to trust her. If she had something wicked in mind, he would be trapped with no way out.
He walked aboard the Cybros without any hesitation. He was hell bent on getting Narud, and he was willing to ignore whatever risk that might be present. After all, what could be worse than infestation?
The two walked into the bridge of the ship. Dozens of protoss figures were operating different control panels inside the command room. Stukov glanced at them and realized they didn’t show an inch of their skin. In fact, as he reached his psionic energy out toward these protoss, he realized they didn’t emit any psionic signature.
It was almost as if they were machines.
Stukov was curious, but he quickly tossed this curiosity behind. Machine or not, these protoss were his best chance to his revenge, and he wouldn’t want to lose this chance because he wanted to learn things he shouldn’t know.
Delta sat down at the seat in the center. Stukov stood in front of her. He was wondering who this protoss female wanted to show him when he keenly noticed fifteen terran battlecruisers jumping in next to the Cybros through the window.
“Wow…” Stukov was briefly taken by surprise. For a moment he thought this was a hostile enemy fleet, Moebius or Dominion, that answered to the cry for help from the now conquered battle station, but the motionless protoss beside him told him everything was under control. “What the…”
“You are not my first ally.” Delta put up an act. “I have established an alliance with someone else. A terran.”
The battlecruisers stopped a safe distance away from the Purifier fleet. A dropship came out of the hanger of one of the battlecruisers and flew toward the Cybros. A couple minutes later, a terran in a CMC armor walked into the bridge.
“If you do anything to her I’ll have your head.” Delta threatened the infested terran.
Stukov nodded.
Jean walked in. She seemed to be taken back a bit by Stukov, but Delta quickly explained the situation to her. Finally, Jean sat back down, but she kept the inner face mask of her helmet shut.
Jean and Delta were putting up this act for a reason. What she did with the Purifiers was something countless have tried but none have succeeded. A normal person would brag about it and show the world how badass it, but Jean was logical, and she was aware that the more secrets she hold and the more misconceptions she create about herself, the safer she would be. Likely, it wouldn’t matter, but why take the chances?
Plus, if Stukov thinks the relationship between Jean and Delta was pure for the sake of interest, then if he wants to backstab someone, he might contact the other person.
As everyone knew who everyone else was, the three finally started their tactical meeting.
“What is our next objective?” Jean opened up.
“Narud.” Stukov said with hatred in his eyes.
“Doctor Emil Narud is protected by the best of the Terran Dominion. We don’t have the forces to take down even a portion the Dominion Fleet. The Cybros has a large amount firepower, but it’s not enough. We need more forces.” Delta didn’t hesitate to rain on his parade.
“I have a plan.” Jean suddenly spoke up. “Admiral, what do you know about the Umojan Protectorate?”
“A terran government created by one of the prison ships from Earth that first arrived into the sector. The Umojans hold advanced technology, but their resource and manpower are limited. They are inferior to the Terran Dominion and even the former Terran Confederacy.” During his times as the commander of the United Earth Directorate invasion fleet, Admiral Stukov has heard reports about all the different factions inside the sector. The Umojan Protectorate was one of them. Ironically, the UED fleet never had the chance to fight the Umojans. The Umokans never actively fought the UED and the fleet was wiped out by the zerg before they could go around the sector and wipe the floor. Now, as a zerg, Stukov once again faced the Umojans.
“Correct. The Umojans have superior technology. According to my information, most of the Umojan units are stronger than their Dominion counterparts. Of course, that is not including the Dominion Special Forces.” She rubbed her fingers together. “If we can take over the Umojan Protectorate and use their technology to advance my forces…our overall power can be amplified”
“You are a fool, girl.” Stukov suddenly turned really angry. All this sitting here and talking while his enemy walked free burned his mind. “If the Umojans are so easily turned, they would be long dead already. Do you think the Dominion or the Kel-Morians have never thought about using them submit? All of them have tried, and all of them have failed. The Umojans are united. Their fleet is small but advanced. Their soldiers are willing to die for their cause. It will take much more than a protoss ship and a single fleet of battlecruisers to win the fight against them.”
“Only I wouldn’t be fighting the Umojans.” Jean suddenly smiled warmly. “No. Instead, I will be fighting on the behalf of the Umojans. I will be protecting them from an alien threat.”
“...and what might that be?” Stukov already knew the answer.
“I will be protecting them from a wave of zerg infestation.”
Stukov’s yellow eyes went wide open. “Are you saying…”
“I want you to attack the Umojans and infest a couple planets, and then I will step in and save the day.”
Stukov started thinking. This young terran commander wanted to play the thief and the cop. If he was still the terran commander when he first arrived into the Koprulu Sector, he would frown about the wicked idea, but things have changed. He, the loyal, honest commander who only wanted the best for mankind, was shot in the back and turned to this monster. He was a good man, and he went through enough pain to break most people. Now he was no longer as stubborn. He recognized if he wanted to get his vengeance, he needed to use tricks.
“What happens when the Umojan fleet steps in? My infested can’t challenge entire fleets.” Perhaps millions of infested could eventually overwhelm a ground army, but could infested gauss rifles really shoot down several kilometers long capital ships?
“I will deal with them.” Jean promised. “If you do this for me, then it will be good for both of us. I will gain forces, and I will use this force to help you get your revenge.”
“How are you dealing with the fleet? You don’t have the ships.”
“You leave that to me.” Jean turned to Delta. “However, you will need to attend to something else with your forces. I’ll talk to you about it later.” She was avoiding Stukov, and everyone knew it.
“I will go prepare my forces. Lend me a transport.” Stukov saw that as well, and he cleverly backed off. Jean nodded and passed down an order through her earpiece, and Stukov left the room.