The Ship of Deception
Chapter 2
Kerrigan, having just entered the battlecruiser,
noticed it wasn't the Hyperion, which the scouting units first thought it was.
Knowing the ship well, she started to realize that she'd been set up. Yet, she
wouldn't stop. She wanted to kill Raynor so badly that nothing would be able
to stand between her and her prey. Her twisted mind even acted out a scenario
where Raynor's decapitated head was next to Artanis and Zeratul's, plotted
nicely in her incubation chamber as a dazzling ornament in it.
Then, she started to tread carefully inside of
the warship, treating every door like a pressure-sensitive bomb. A few times,
she heard noises that sounded like embedded machine gun getting out of the
walls, but every time she turned to check, no guns were seen. "Perhaps I'm
getting paranoid", she thought, wondering if that's what Raynor wanted.
Because of her precautions, it took Kerrigan
almost half an hour to reach the center of the ship, at which point she
noticed a door that had the Captain's insignia etched upon it. Though it was
vaulted in neo-steel, she blew the lock away with her gun's armor-piercing
canisters and entered.
The dark queen was in a strange, dimly lit room.
Her analytical mind later wandered over the three corners of the room, hinting
its triangular architecture. There was also had a door at each wall, including
the one she came in from. The room seemed empty as she looked around it, with
her heat-sensitive eyes focused on the shadowy corners. A familiar voice
called out to her. She was puzzled, since she had not sensed anyone there.
The enigmatic voice echoed in crescendo, "Why,
if it isn't Sarah Kerrigan! How are you doin', honey?"
"Don't call me that!" she snarled, "Sarah
Kerrigan is dead, impertinent fool, and I am the Queen of blades, leader of
the Swarm!"
"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, sure took you a while."
Jim Raynor's voice said, nonchalantly.
She replied angrily, "Jim! Where are you? What
is this place? I demand that you answer me!!!"
"Calm down. Nothin' is going to happen to
youŅfor now."
"What do you mean, "for now"? Come out and speak
to me face to face, you jerk!!!!"
After she made that comment, Kerrigan looked at
the door on the far left, which opened. Then, she saw the one she wanted to
kill, Jim Raynor, who was coming out of that door and walking slowly towards
her. He looked expressionless and calm, as though he was prepared for combat.
In addition, he was wearing a thick combat armor, with a gun in his hands. He
said,
"What do you want to talk about, sweetheart?" he
teased, "And come to think of it, why would the Queen of Blades come in person
to investigate an abandoned battlecruiser?"
"Since you asked," her lips twisted a wicked
smile, "Jim, I know about this new treatment, I know that you can cure me. In
fact, I'd be ready to bet all that I have that you lured me here for that
reason. Am I right?"
"Clever as always, Kerrigan. Now, darlin', come
with me peacefully, or die." Saying those words, he took his gauss rifle and
pointed it at Kerrigan's head. "Now, are you coming or not?" he finally said.
Kerrigan deftly drew her canister rifle, but
darted onto the ground when Jim Raynor opened fire.
The Zerg Queen then did a gravity-defying
somersault into the air, barely touching the ceiling lights. In mid-air, she
quickly pointed her rifle towards Raynor's heart and fired. The canister
smoked out of the rifle and impacted an armored surface. "I did it!" she
thought. But after a few seconds, Jim Raynor started to speak in a fuzzy and
repeating robotic, inhuman voice. He said many things quickly, though only
this could be heard clearly,
"..WARNING! COOLING SYSTEM OFFLINE! SYSTEM
OVERLOAD! EXPLOSION IMMINENT!Ņ.WARNING!"
"Oh, ****," Kerrigan cursed shamelessly. This
wasn't Jim Raynor: It was a robot impersonating him, and it was about to
explode!. She ran for the door, but too late. The robot exploded, engulfing
Kerrigan and the entire room in bright flames. The force of the impact sent
Kerrigan flying through the wall of the room and on to the metallic floor of
the hallway.
It took hours before a hydralisk (sent by
Daggoth) could find her. When Kerrigan was carried back into the ship, her
cerebrate was astonished to see her so weakened. He asked her what had
happened, and she yelled vehemently in great anger, yet explaining the
situation, from the exploding door to the false Raynor. Then, she finished
with one comment:
"It took so long for your units to find me that
I thought you left me behind."
Daggoth's reply showed not indignation but he
sounded like he found it amusing that she made that comment. He said: "My
Queen, may I remind you of what happened the last time you thought I had
betrayed you?"
"No need to remind me. That was a huge mistake
on my part. But what exactly happened? You never told me."
"Why would you wish to know?"
"Because, I want to be sure you aren't on
Raynor's side."
"Sorry, my Queen, but I'd wish to keep that for
myself."
"If you wish."
Daggoth remembered the events only too well.
**Flashback**
Daggoth was desperate. The Overmind had been
destroyed and Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades and the Overmind's "protge", was
now claiming the leadership of the Swarm.
"This worthless terran does not deserve to lead
the Swarm." he said to another cerebrate.
"Daggoth, you must understand; our leader, the
Overmind, is gone," The other cerebrate said "and we are completely useless by
ourselves. Unless the Overmind would come back from the dead驅"
Daggoth interrupted him, "What if we would make
our own Overmind?"
"What are you saying?"
"You heard me. We could make our own Overmind by
fusing all of us together. We would gloriously lead the Swarm through a new
era. What do you think, Crass?"
"It may work. I am convinced. I shall gather all
of us as quickly as I can."
A few weeks later
Crass told Daggoth, "I gathered almost all of
us. There are still some of us who'd follow this weak terran."
Daggoth asked, surprised, "Why is that?"
"When I approached them, that fool Araq started
to interfere, saying that Kerrigan was the rightful leader of us all, that the
Overmind had left her to lead us, and that we would only cause great disaster.
That imbecile. He only follows her because he had to protect her while she was
in her chrysalis."
"Well, he does have a fair point"
"How can you say that, Daggoth? Weren't you the
one who got me into this in the first place?"
"Yes, butŅ"
"No buts. I will not let you back out now. And
do not expect you'll be able to go back to your weak terran leader. I'll
insure myself that you'll be known as a traitor. Farewell, weakling."
Daggoth escaped and left the Kopruru sector,
realizing that death awaited him would he even approach Kerrigan or the new
Overmind.
Time passes on, until the end of the Brood
war
Daggoth, angry and betrayed, had been hidden on
a distant, unknown planet, for years, trying to arrive to a conclusion about
Kerrigan. Was she worthy of trust or not?
"I cannot make a decision without seeing her
leadership. Even if it would be dangerous, I'll go back to her, for now, and
see for myself how well she leads the Swarm."
Feeling embarrassed about taking so long to make
such a simple decision, Daggoth went to Char, clearly ready to see what
Kerrigan could do. Upon his arrival, though, another cerebrate's voice echoed
in his mind, saying,
"I am Araq, second in command to the Queen of
the Swarm, Kerrigan. Leave immediately, or see my wrath!"
Daggoth said, "Araq? I am Daggoth, cerebrate of
the former Overmind."
"Daggoth? Impossible! You were one of the rogues
who fused into that other Overmind. The foolHis overmind got manipulated by a
terran force from Earth. Kerrigan stopped both easily, though."
"She vanquished an entire terran force AND the
new Overmind?" Daggoth asked, quickly realizing how
"In addition to the protoss."
Daggoth thought, "Astonishing. She's a better
leader than I thought."
Araq said, "What were you thinking?"
"Oh, hem, could you please announce to the Queen
that one of the first Overmind's best cerebrates has returned to her?"
"Of course. She'll be quite pleased."
**Flashback end**
Daggoth had been so lost in thought that he
didn't hear Kerrigan talking. She said:
"Daggoth? Are you listening?"
"Hmm? Oh, yes, my Queen. What were you saying?"
Kerrigan answered, clearly annoyed: "I was
asking if you had the blockade I asked for done."
"Yes, of course," Daggoth replied. "We have
placed a wall of Mutalisks and guardians everywhere around those planets, plus
some ground units as support."
"Good. Raynor won't have reinforcements. Has our
spy called yet?"
"No, my Queen. I think he'll do so soon,
though."
"I hope he hasn't been discovered...."
Chapter 2
Kerrigan, having just entered the battlecruiser,
noticed it wasn't the Hyperion, which the scouting units first thought it was.
Knowing the ship well, she started to realize that she'd been set up. Yet, she
wouldn't stop. She wanted to kill Raynor so badly that nothing would be able
to stand between her and her prey. Her twisted mind even acted out a scenario
where Raynor's decapitated head was next to Artanis and Zeratul's, plotted
nicely in her incubation chamber as a dazzling ornament in it.
Then, she started to tread carefully inside of
the warship, treating every door like a pressure-sensitive bomb. A few times,
she heard noises that sounded like embedded machine gun getting out of the
walls, but every time she turned to check, no guns were seen. "Perhaps I'm
getting paranoid", she thought, wondering if that's what Raynor wanted.
Because of her precautions, it took Kerrigan
almost half an hour to reach the center of the ship, at which point she
noticed a door that had the Captain's insignia etched upon it. Though it was
vaulted in neo-steel, she blew the lock away with her gun's armor-piercing
canisters and entered.
The dark queen was in a strange, dimly lit room.
Her analytical mind later wandered over the three corners of the room, hinting
its triangular architecture. There was also had a door at each wall, including
the one she came in from. The room seemed empty as she looked around it, with
her heat-sensitive eyes focused on the shadowy corners. A familiar voice
called out to her. She was puzzled, since she had not sensed anyone there.
The enigmatic voice echoed in crescendo, "Why,
if it isn't Sarah Kerrigan! How are you doin', honey?"
"Don't call me that!" she snarled, "Sarah
Kerrigan is dead, impertinent fool, and I am the Queen of blades, leader of
the Swarm!"
"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, sure took you a while."
Jim Raynor's voice said, nonchalantly.
She replied angrily, "Jim! Where are you? What
is this place? I demand that you answer me!!!"
"Calm down. Nothin' is going to happen to
youŅfor now."
"What do you mean, "for now"? Come out and speak
to me face to face, you jerk!!!!"
After she made that comment, Kerrigan looked at
the door on the far left, which opened. Then, she saw the one she wanted to
kill, Jim Raynor, who was coming out of that door and walking slowly towards
her. He looked expressionless and calm, as though he was prepared for combat.
In addition, he was wearing a thick combat armor, with a gun in his hands. He
said,
"What do you want to talk about, sweetheart?" he
teased, "And come to think of it, why would the Queen of Blades come in person
to investigate an abandoned battlecruiser?"
"Since you asked," her lips twisted a wicked
smile, "Jim, I know about this new treatment, I know that you can cure me. In
fact, I'd be ready to bet all that I have that you lured me here for that
reason. Am I right?"
"Clever as always, Kerrigan. Now, darlin', come
with me peacefully, or die." Saying those words, he took his gauss rifle and
pointed it at Kerrigan's head. "Now, are you coming or not?" he finally said.
Kerrigan deftly drew her canister rifle, but
darted onto the ground when Jim Raynor opened fire.
The Zerg Queen then did a gravity-defying
somersault into the air, barely touching the ceiling lights. In mid-air, she
quickly pointed her rifle towards Raynor's heart and fired. The canister
smoked out of the rifle and impacted an armored surface. "I did it!" she
thought. But after a few seconds, Jim Raynor started to speak in a fuzzy and
repeating robotic, inhuman voice. He said many things quickly, though only
this could be heard clearly,
"..WARNING! COOLING SYSTEM OFFLINE! SYSTEM
OVERLOAD! EXPLOSION IMMINENT!Ņ.WARNING!"
"Oh, ****," Kerrigan cursed shamelessly. This
wasn't Jim Raynor: It was a robot impersonating him, and it was about to
explode!. She ran for the door, but too late. The robot exploded, engulfing
Kerrigan and the entire room in bright flames. The force of the impact sent
Kerrigan flying through the wall of the room and on to the metallic floor of
the hallway.
It took hours before a hydralisk (sent by
Daggoth) could find her. When Kerrigan was carried back into the ship, her
cerebrate was astonished to see her so weakened. He asked her what had
happened, and she yelled vehemently in great anger, yet explaining the
situation, from the exploding door to the false Raynor. Then, she finished
with one comment:
"It took so long for your units to find me that
I thought you left me behind."
Daggoth's reply showed not indignation but he
sounded like he found it amusing that she made that comment. He said: "My
Queen, may I remind you of what happened the last time you thought I had
betrayed you?"
"No need to remind me. That was a huge mistake
on my part. But what exactly happened? You never told me."
"Why would you wish to know?"
"Because, I want to be sure you aren't on
Raynor's side."
"Sorry, my Queen, but I'd wish to keep that for
myself."
"If you wish."
Daggoth remembered the events only too well.
**Flashback**
Daggoth was desperate. The Overmind had been
destroyed and Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades and the Overmind's "protge", was
now claiming the leadership of the Swarm.
"This worthless terran does not deserve to lead
the Swarm." he said to another cerebrate.
"Daggoth, you must understand; our leader, the
Overmind, is gone," The other cerebrate said "and we are completely useless by
ourselves. Unless the Overmind would come back from the dead驅"
Daggoth interrupted him, "What if we would make
our own Overmind?"
"What are you saying?"
"You heard me. We could make our own Overmind by
fusing all of us together. We would gloriously lead the Swarm through a new
era. What do you think, Crass?"
"It may work. I am convinced. I shall gather all
of us as quickly as I can."
A few weeks later
Crass told Daggoth, "I gathered almost all of
us. There are still some of us who'd follow this weak terran."
Daggoth asked, surprised, "Why is that?"
"When I approached them, that fool Araq started
to interfere, saying that Kerrigan was the rightful leader of us all, that the
Overmind had left her to lead us, and that we would only cause great disaster.
That imbecile. He only follows her because he had to protect her while she was
in her chrysalis."
"Well, he does have a fair point"
"How can you say that, Daggoth? Weren't you the
one who got me into this in the first place?"
"Yes, butŅ"
"No buts. I will not let you back out now. And
do not expect you'll be able to go back to your weak terran leader. I'll
insure myself that you'll be known as a traitor. Farewell, weakling."
Daggoth escaped and left the Kopruru sector,
realizing that death awaited him would he even approach Kerrigan or the new
Overmind.
Time passes on, until the end of the Brood
war
Daggoth, angry and betrayed, had been hidden on
a distant, unknown planet, for years, trying to arrive to a conclusion about
Kerrigan. Was she worthy of trust or not?
"I cannot make a decision without seeing her
leadership. Even if it would be dangerous, I'll go back to her, for now, and
see for myself how well she leads the Swarm."
Feeling embarrassed about taking so long to make
such a simple decision, Daggoth went to Char, clearly ready to see what
Kerrigan could do. Upon his arrival, though, another cerebrate's voice echoed
in his mind, saying,
"I am Araq, second in command to the Queen of
the Swarm, Kerrigan. Leave immediately, or see my wrath!"
Daggoth said, "Araq? I am Daggoth, cerebrate of
the former Overmind."
"Daggoth? Impossible! You were one of the rogues
who fused into that other Overmind. The foolHis overmind got manipulated by a
terran force from Earth. Kerrigan stopped both easily, though."
"She vanquished an entire terran force AND the
new Overmind?" Daggoth asked, quickly realizing how
"In addition to the protoss."
Daggoth thought, "Astonishing. She's a better
leader than I thought."
Araq said, "What were you thinking?"
"Oh, hem, could you please announce to the Queen
that one of the first Overmind's best cerebrates has returned to her?"
"Of course. She'll be quite pleased."
**Flashback end**
Daggoth had been so lost in thought that he
didn't hear Kerrigan talking. She said:
"Daggoth? Are you listening?"
"Hmm? Oh, yes, my Queen. What were you saying?"
Kerrigan answered, clearly annoyed: "I was
asking if you had the blockade I asked for done."
"Yes, of course," Daggoth replied. "We have
placed a wall of Mutalisks and guardians everywhere around those planets, plus
some ground units as support."
"Good. Raynor won't have reinforcements. Has our
spy called yet?"
"No, my Queen. I think he'll do so soon,
though."
"I hope he hasn't been discovered...."