Harbinger/44

Agent of the Swarm
"Show him a replay," Daniel commanded his adjutant, and she willingly obeyed, drawing up the recording of his speech:

"...and who knows, maybe we'll be able to fight all the way to the surface of dystopian Char and uncover our mystery lady there? It could be the chance of a lifetime! So who's with--"

Raynor's eyes were opening a bit wider. "I--I said that?? I must have been possessed or something, to be thinking of that! I didn't mean to say that! It--It just came out, you know?"

At that very moment, a message appeared on the screen right next to them, with Tealdarin's signature. Written in English. "You surely did not mean to say that, eh? Because Char is a Zerg bastion planet, and it's a god-forsaken world with endless plumes of fire, and there's a clear, powerful psionic emanation coming from a spot on its surface that I can sense to be a variant of a woman."

Christopher poked Sarlena gently. "You did an awesome job with teaching the Protoss English," he said, causing her to blush.

"Let's just say the Protoss are excellent learners," she replied.

Daniel read the message, felt something in the psi, and whirled around, just in time to encounter Tealdarin as he appeared inside the Hyperion's supposedly secure System Operations center. ((((How did you--)))) began Daniel, though he stopped his question mid-track when Tealdarin anticipated and replied: ((((This is another instance of me, Phased. If this is not too troublesome for you, I shall reside aboard the Hyperion, since our starcrafts are now separated by thousands of miles.))))

Raynor had just finished reading the message, and he was wide agape. "So--there really is a situation in which someone needs to be rescued--Who is it?"

The message was written in Terran Basic on the monitor: "Only one person would be sending you a signal, expecting you to know who that person was. Can you not guess?"

Daniel and Raynor both arrived at the same conclusion, and spoke out roughly simultaneously: "Sarah Kerrigan!"

"But I thought she was lost on Tarsonis!" exclaimed Christopher.

"Okay then, if there's a call for you, then I think it's because Sarah's in trouble." Daniel pondered for a moment, while the others watched his expressions. "We first need to know how concentrated the Zerg are on Char. We don't want to sacrifice all our robots in a futile attack."

((((Indications exist that the Zerg had abandoned Char several months ago.))))

Raynor's eyes lit up. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" He got the approval of the other VIP's of Travincal, and they set off to their tasks. With Daniel's support, the mission was bound to begin.

Within a minute, the Hyperion and a host of other Terran starships cruised into the planetary atmosphere--or whatever was left of it--and opened their hangars for the many robots that entered: several hundred of the infantry Bots and dozens of mode-shifting Vikings were brought aboard the various dropships, dozens of cloaked Shrikes entered high orbit, and the Hyperion uploaded the first of several Thors under construction.

((((Ah, that was to be expected, Daniel. You'll get accustomed to it in due time. You may want to get back to Commands, we are already at Char.))))

((Already?!)) Daniel took one last, appreciating look at Tealdarin before rushing out into the corridor, headed for the Commands great hall, Travincal's logistical and strategic base of operations. It was the largest room on the Hyperion, generally reserved for storage of supplies but now cleared out and replaced with row after row of computer frames, with at least a hundred people seated behind the desks on which they were placed, ready to give out the command to their units. The room was, like much of the Hyperion, utilitarian; there were a few plants here and there, but most of the central space was well-used with the matrix of command consoles. Overhead and on the walls were even more displays, only recently installed into the plating, that displayed the results of various sensor scans.

Raynor was already there and making a speech to the general assembly, this time in a serious voice. The moment he had begun to talk, there were crowds of applause. ((Seems like Raynor's struck a chord with the men,)) Daniel realized. ((Darn popular--freak. Wish I had that much attention.)) He listened to what Raynor had to say:

"All right. All crews, stay frosty, and keep your eyes peeled for our target. Remember, not only are we up against the Zerg here, but our old pal General Duke may be creepin' around too. Let's hope this trip wasn't a big mistake..."

Daniel sat down by his monitor, looking out at the planetary surface in front of them. A total ash world, so geologically unstable that there were multiple plumes of supervolcanoes stretched across the entire surface. All clear, it seemed, except that much of the surface was a blackened purple. ((What the heck?!?)) he wondered, and then applied the biosensor scans, superimposing over the image. Immediately, the entire planet turned into a globe of dense red blips--there were... Zerg here, Zerg there, Zerg everywhere... Just not visible to a standard visible-light scan.

((They must be underground--all of them, burried under the creep... Oh shi*,)) Daniel cursed. ((((Tealdarin, exactly what is the matter with there being so many Zerg here?))))

((((It seems that the Overmind has withdrawn the Swarms to this remote planet.))))

The adjutant had found a good landing location, and created a theoretical path toward the location where faint psionic signals continued to emanate.

"Okay men! Deploy! Let's see this over with!" shouted Raynor, eager to test the robots, knowing that in this engagement, no one's life was on the line. He'd have his revenge against the Zerg, but he just wasn't all that happy with the thought that Travincal's robots would have to fight through that many Zerg...

The Hyperion landed on the barren, ashen surface, accompanied by a dozen other crafts which also touched down in the immediate vicinity. Immediately as they landed, the robotic drones affectionately dubbed "bots" poured out of the hatches, as the vikings came out of the hangars, ready to shift into airborne roles at a moment's notice, as the bristling Thors lumbered out of the Hyperion's massive hangar bay, and as Shrikes patrolled the air.

"All right Jaxtor, here's your chance," Daniel told him via intercom.

"I'm on it," he replied, and proceeded to search out an area dense in the Zerg bio-signs before keying in the code to launch an Apocalypse-class thermonuclear warhead. It shot out of a nearby battlecruiser, streaking at high speeds through the atmosphere before streaking back down, detonating a mile above the surface.

A massive, spherical cloud rose out from the ground as several rings of white gases lashed out in a circle from ground zero. There was no mushroom this time--just an immense white orb, burning the eyes of observers with a brilliance far stronger than even Char's dangerously close sun. For a moment, it flowered, before gradually dissipating.

The huge patch of Zerg reportedly hidden underneath the creep had vanished, supposedly blown into smithereens.

((Where's Michael?)) wondered Daniel suddenly. He didn't know why, only that once he did, he got this sudden disappointing feeling of foreboding... of others following his fates. It had nearly seemed normal that Michael wasn't part of the group here. ((If he actually came on deck and saw what we had been able to wrought, he'd be so proud,)) he thought, before quickly closing it off. He didn't want to have a mental breakdown the way Michael did. No--Daniel had no intention of losing his sanity, alone as he was in this command center crammed with over two dozen people.

"All right, it's time we go explore," said Raynor, raising a fist as he rallied his men. From the central halls of the battlecruisers, the robot operators saw him and cheered alongside each other.

Immediately, the hundreds of robotic craft began to proceed toward the site of the detonation.

However, they encountered no resistance, as--the Zerg in their way all seemingly decided to pick themselves up and left.

"Adjutant! What's going on!" Daniel shouted, assuming that she knew what he referred to.

"It seems like the Zerg are rushing toward a point that is releasing some sort of signal."

((Dam* right they are, stupid!)) Daniel showed his disapproval toward her superficial analysis before looking back at the monitor.

The Zerg converged with a terrifying accuracy toward the point where Kerrigan supposedly was; all kinds of beasts, both those the humans had seen before and those they had not, covered the ground and took to the skies. An immense powerhouse of an army swirled around their prize.

Daniel stared at his monitor, at the converging Zerg. ((What the heck is going on? Whatever it is, it doesn't seem right.)) "Jaxtor," he whispered, "launch another nuke. This time, target it at the point of convergence of those thousands of Zerg."

"But that's where Kerrigan is," Jaxtor protested, even as he turned around to key in the commands for a second launch.

"Just do as I say, Kerrigan is not as valuable to us as taking out those thousands of Zerg in a single shot."

The missile left its silo, streaking out from the battlecruiser at low orbit and straight at the immense concentration of Zerg. Along its trajectory, the Zerg fired an assortment of lethal projectiles, almost instantly burning the missile to scrap before it had a chance to detonate. The unconnected pieces of radioactive material scattered into the atmosphere, raining slowly toward the ashen surface.

"Missile Two destroyed prematurely," Jaxtor dutifully reported, perturbed that his charge had failed. Daniel sighed as he looked at the displays.

((((Do you sense it?)))) asked Tealdarin, even though Tealdarin was probably still in the secondary entertainment room.

((((Sense what?)))) Daniel wondered.

((((I guess not then. I was getting a message from something on the surface, distinctly dissimilar to the psionic signature of the Protoss, though its vibes indicate a size of mind almost as large as a typical battlecruiser. This was its message: "Cerebrate! The chrysalis is opening! Do not allow any Terrans near it!")))) The Protoss representative was displaying signs of confusion, and as Daniel looked up to it in all matters psychic, it was not quite that comforting.

Daniel stared at nothing in particular, thinking carefully about those mental signals. ((I had thought only the Overmind controlled its minions. Apparently not, since something else is obviously giving commands right now.))

Just then, the Zerg began to scatter, a disproportionate amount headed straight for the Terran robotic army which was still trudging forward. Daniel looked at the imminent confrontation with alarm. There were simply way too many Zerg headed toward them. "Retreat! All commanders retreat back to the hangars! All ships in orbit proceed to the surface to pick up our robots!"

Daniel then felt the Overmind gleefully send a powerful psionic broadcast, as if it were meant to be heard by others: ((((Well done, Cerebrate! What I have wrought this day shall be the undoing of my enemies! Let not a Terran survive...))))

Just then, Raynor managed to get a lock on Sarah Kerrigan with the psionic 'adjustment' of Tealdarin from afar. The image of her body appeared on his monitor, and everyone--for everyone was watching--everyone's mouths dropped in horror.

She was no longer Sarah Kerrigan anymore. Although strangely humanlike and svelte, she now sported a pair of blackened, vampire-like wings; her body's skin a sap green carapace; her hair had become bundles of nerve cords similar to that of the Templar, only far more numerous; and her hands and feet had turned into claws and talons. She had taken a deadly form, and her glaring, gothic eyes had that certain something that proved it.

Repugnant.

Raynor was the first to speak. "Mother of God... Kerrigan what have they done to you?" he intoned, to no one in particular. He looked over the figure, thinking, ((That's what she's like now?!? I thought I'd be able to rescue a beautiful woman, but what... How--could this have happened?)) Raynor was emotionally distressed, not knowing what to think, what to do. "Sarah... Is that really you?" he said to the computer's monitor.

Daniel felt a psionic force travel through the voids of space. He knew who it was from, and for the first time, he felt his mental privacy become suddenly... violated: ((((To an extent... I'm far more than I once was, Jim. You shouldn't have come here.)))) Raynor practically fell out of his chair at that, for he had not expected ex-Kerrigan to be able to--

"But the dreams... I dreamed you were still alive... that somehow... you were calling to me." To the simple observer, this would appear to be an insane person's monologue with himself, or with no one in particular.

"So what? Are you goin' to kill me now, darlin'?" Raynor continued to say to himself after a pause, knowing that his words were still somehow getting to ex-Kerrigan.

"Doesn't look like I have much choice."

"What did she say?" asked Daniel.

"She's acting as if she's all so powerful and omnipotent. I think she might be right, too. Maybe it's time we got ourselves out of here." Raynor looked at Daniel, a tinge of fear in his eyes. "What'll become of her?"

Daniel shrugged. "How should I know? Probably just the Overmind's pet." He turned around, knowing that his words were probably too strong for Raynor to accept, and yet he still heard the man whimper at his defeat, covering his eyes and wiping the stinging tears away--

Meanwhile, the Daniel in high orbit over Char looked at the minimap display in wonder. There were other Protoss arriving on the surface of the planet, and the Zerg had already begun to engage them in direct battle. On the minimap, they showed up as red blips for Zerg and violet blips for Protoss.

Yet these were different Protoss from what Daniel had been used to.

((((These are Dark Templar you see represented here,)))) Tealdarin informed Daniel as they stared at the display intently. Daniel strangely recalled what the Dark Templar were--and hastily jumped to the conclusion that his other self on Korhal had learned of this. After all, wasn't this how the Protoss could instantaneously learn of what every other Protoss knew?

((((The Dark Templar--we wonder what they're up to,)))) noted Tealdarin.

Just then, Daniel sensed a message coming from the Judicator on board--((((The traitorous rebels! We must crush them! Tealdarin, do not stay your hand!))))

The third Protoss, another Khalai, interrupted the conversation. ((((What's so big of a deal about hating the Dark Templar, Judicator? They build, just like we do, and here we have ample proof that they fight the Zerg. As Sarlena would have put it, "the foe of my foe is my friend"--))))

((((Silence! We shall have enough of this! The Conclave has determined that these Dark Templar are to be crushed at the earliest opportunity.))))

((((Whatever that time may be, it is not now, Judicator,)))) Daniel telepathically messaged. ((((Since the Dark Templar are fighting the Zerg, the longer we wait, the more Zerg die and the more of these traitors die along with them, which just makes our job easier.))))

((((Silence, Whispering One. We never wanted to come in the first place.))))

((((Yes we did,)))) challenged the Khalai representative.

((((Salutation with this Daniel Travincal was a mistake from the very start--)))) Daniel would have expected the Judicator to hiss...

((((You would want to sacrifice some of your peoples just so that you could slay the Dark Templar before the Zerg can? Why are you in such a rush?))))

((((If you hadn't learned yet, the Dark Templar's day of judgment has been long in coming. We have waited for this day long enough...))))

((((Even if you managed to kill these, I doubt that they are all who remain of the faction who broke off a millennium ago, Judicator,)))) Daniel replied with the voice of reason.

((((Then at least these shall not present us with the troublesome prospect of having to hunt them and their progeny down in the future,)))) the Protoss lashed back.