She looks back over her shoulder at them, her jaw clenching.
"It was my fault, you know. The Zerg… my side brought them to this world."
Myk-Zod's eyes widen slightly at the admission. Admittedly, he hadn't stopped to think about which 'side' Sarah was on or anything like that. There simply hadn't been time to talk about it. But it seemed she was willing to talk about it now.
"I've been on every side of this conflict. I was recruited by the Confederacy as a child and I killed for them as one of their Ghosts. Eventually, I was taken in by the Rebels… but those same Rebels are the ones who weaponized the Zerg against the Confederacy. This world was the seat of the Confederacy's power, home to two billion souls… most of them either dead or infested now. And all because once the Zerg were here, I followed orders to stop the Protoss from eradicating them. I let the Zerg Swarm get a foothold in this planet, to make sure they would break the Confederacy once and for all."
Sarah's lips curl into a wan smile that doesn't reach her eyes.
"You deserve to know that. You deserve to know what sort of woman I am. And… you both need to leave. Leave me here… to clean up my own mess."
What? Myk-Zod blinks, caught off guard by the sudden demand. While he does find himself reeling a bit from suddenly having Sarah's truncated life story thrust in his face, he's not just going to abandon her to the monsters trying to take her for themselves!
She huffs at him, responding before he can even speak.
"You don't understand. The Zerg want you two just as much as they want me now. Daggoth and the other cerebrates will be gunning for you both harder than ever once they've had a chance to regroup and make a plan. He called you 'the anomalies'. He wanted to take over my mind so that I could then dominate your minds and bring you both to him."
Ah. That was… well, that was certainly a frightening prospect. He and Mystique were much too powerful to be harmed by these Zerg creatures. They had yet to so much as suffer a single scratch from anything that the Zerg Swarm could throw at them. Physically, they were untouchable.
Mentally though… that was another thing entirely. The thought that their minds might come under attack and that their strength might be turned against each other or innocents… that did make Myk-Zod's gut twist a bit in worry.
"But he failed, didn't he?"
Myk-Zod blinks, caught a little off guard when Mystique suddenly speaks up again. This time it's not nearly as pointed a question… in fact, the Half-Kryptonian almost sounds gentle. Sarah blinks as well, clearly surprised by the way her brow furrows in response to Mystique's inquiry.
"Yes… he failed this time. I don't know what will happen next time though. It's possible he didn't bring everything he had to bear."
Mystique smirks, tilting her head to the side.
"Sounds like we just need to take the fight to him then. Together."
Sarah's mouth opens… and then closes again as she looks truly flummoxed for a moment before shaking her head.
"This isn't your fight. Either of yours. Why would you stay?"
Mystique thrusts a thumb in his direction.
"Because this big lug is too damn good of a man to be able to live with himself if he were to abandon you."
Myk-Zod freezes up at that frank appraisal… but after a moment, he's forced to admit Mystique is right. He could see multiple worlds where he did in fact leave Sarah behind and left this universe with Mystique to try their luck with the next.
While he would like to stay in one place long enough to get the resources to make some upgrades to his bracer and this universe DID seem to have a higher technological level than the previous, it also had a serious pest problem and given the worldwide destruction, he doubted he was going to find much to work with here on Tarsonis.
And yet… if he and Mystique did leave to try their luck in the next universe, abandoning Sarah to whatever fate she would have here… he would regret it. The question of whether or not he could have done something would always be there in the back of his mind, needling at him.
Hah… Mystique already knew him so well, didn't she? Myk-Zod can't help but give the shapeshifter a fond look, one she returns with a roll of her eyes and an amused quirk of her lips. When they look back at Sarah, she's fully turned back around and is looking between them both quietly. Studying them for a long moment, the red head slowly nods.
"Alright… I suppose then, if you're sticking around and willing to help… I'm not exactly in a position to say no. If nothing else, getting back to the mainland where Daggoth and the other cerebrates have entrenched themselves would have been much more difficult without your assistance."
Myk-Zod raises a brow at that and glances past Sarah to the distant horizon.
"'More difficult' seems like it might be an understatement. How would you ever get off of this island without us?"
Sarah quirks up the corner of her mouth at that, smirking.
"A girl's got to have some secrets, doesn't she?"
That makes Myk-Zod chuckle, even as Mystique snorts in amusement. In all fairness, it wasn't like Sarah knew everything about either of them either. Hell, Mystique hadn't even changed from her base form yet since they'd arrived in this world, so the other red head had no idea his companion was a shapeshifter.
Regardless… it seemed like they had a path forward now. They were going to take the fight to the Zerg… or rather, these cerebrates that apparently controlled the Zerg. Though…
"This Overmind… is it also on Tarsonis?"
Sarah pauses for a moment before shaking her head.
"No… no he's not. If he was, we'd probably be in a lot more trouble… the impression I got from what Daggoth inadvertently shared with me is that the Overmind is several magnitudes more powerful than his cerebrates."
Damn, that was too bad. Being able to cut the head off the snake directly might have been quite helpful… but they'd have to settle for dealing with these cerebrates here on Tarsonis, he supposed.
Shrugging, Myk-Zod moves forward and offers Sarah his arms. The red head flushes faintly but nevertheless 'climbs aboard', allowing him to cradle her again with a hand on the back of her head as he and Mystique both rise into the air.
They'd fled from the planet's main continent mere hours before and now they were heading right back into the heart of danger. Myk-Zod could only hope that Sarah's confidence wasn't feigned. They were going to need her to guide them through what came next, after all.
-x-X-x-
The Vote:
[X] Sarah takes them straight for Daggoth as the strongest cerebrate on planet - 63%
[ ] Sarah has them go after some of the lesser cerebrates on the periphery first - 37%
-x-X-x-
As well, PLEASE go and check out my newest Weekly Story!
Hoist the Colors (Mobuseka AU)
Summary: An AU where Leon Bartfort took one look at the situation he found himself in and said 'fuck that', skipping out on all of that nonsense to go and do his own thing. His own thing just happens to be being a Sky Pirate!
-x-X-x-
A/N: Leave a Like if you enjoyed please, would mean a lot!
Spoiler: Patreon and other Links Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:Prime witcher, Ph34r_n0_3V1L, RexNeminis and 238
Here's the new Chapter! Which also means the next SEVEN (7) chapters are up on my Patreon for early access as well as the chance to vote on the direction of the story!
Taking the fight to Daggoth!
-x-X-x-
As soon as they reach the edge of Tarsonis' singular mega-continent, they find themselves under attack again, swarmed by flying Zerg in the dozens and then the hundreds and soon the thousands. Needless to say, things don't go very well… for the Zerg.
It might have been more difficult if he'd been by himself. Having to protect Sarah while fending off the unrelenting horde of monstrous creatures would have been a challenge… keeping her completely safe from them would only have worked out because they seemed to want her alive.
Fortunately, he's not by himself. Mystique is there too, more than capable of providing them with plenty of offensive firepower while Myk-Zod focuses on the defense of their squishy human companion. The Zerg remain unable to mount a proper attack on them, left to throw themselves ineffectually against him and Mystique.
It doesn't help that Tarsonis also has a bit of a 'solar flare problem'. Its something Myk-Zod had noticed during their first retreat from the planet's main continent… the star system's sun had flared up and the effects had washed over him and Mystique like a refreshing, soothing warm bubble bath, providing them both with a boost of power that they frankly did not need.
It happening one time, Myk-Zod might have chalked up to pure luck, but on their way back it had happened again, further fueling both him and Mystique to the point that they were more powerful than ever before… certainly more powerful than they'd been back on Mystique's home world.
That was good, because frankly… he still didn't fully know what they were getting into. These cerebrates as Sarah had described them sounded like bad news… but if they could remove them all from the equation like she wanted to, perhaps the planet could still be saved.
Not that the sights beneath them as they fly further in fill Myk-Zod with much confidence of that. The entire continent had been built up and turned into a massive city of industry and civilization from what he could see… and all of it had been reduced to rubble and hollowed, burnt out husks by the Zerg.
There were buildings still standing here and there, the sturdier and bigger ones, but they didn't look like they had withstood the might of the Zerg Swarm, they simply looked picked over and cleaned out… and then left to rot.
And to Myk-Zod's senses… he didn't detect a single human amidst all of the noise generated by the Zerg. Not a single soul still lived, at least on the path Sarah has them take deeper into the continent. Part of him is relieved by that fact.
If he had heard a human's terrified heartbeat amidst the scrabbling and screeching of the Swarm, Myk-Zod isn't sure what he would have done. Rescue seemed obvious… but then both he and Mystique would be preoccupied with defending squishy humans. And that would have made doing anything else much more difficult.
With light touches on his arm from time to time, Sarah guides them forward. Its her power that they're relying on to guide them to their enemy, after all. He keeps expecting her to tell them to stop, to say that she's found a cerebrate for them to take down… but instead they keep going. Deeper and deeper. Further and further in. Until they're practically on top of where they entered this world in the first place. Close to where they rescued her from the Zerg, in fact.
Finally though, they seem to arrive. Sarah smacks his arm and points down, so Myk-Zod descends to the ground while Mystique follows. Said ground, at this point, looks completely changed from what it looked like the last time they were here. Its almost entirely unrecognizable, actually… because its covered in some form of purple living flesh.
Some of the nearby buildings that remain standing have also been overtaken by the flesh, with massive protrusions coming out of them that look like the usual brown, spiky makeup of the Zerg they've been fighting… albeit stationary instead. And yet, they still shiver and move and almost seem to be 'breathing'.
More Zerg attack them once they're standing on the flesh, and some even come from the purple material itself, rising right up out of it like they were spawned from it or something. Between him and Mystique, they're able to kill everything, keeping a wide area around Sarah as her brow furrows and she concentrates for a long moment before finally nodding.
"Down. We need to go down. Can you clear us a path?"
Glancing down at their feet, Myk-Zod simply nods.
"Just point me in the right direction."
Sarah literally points… and so Myk-Zod moves. He carves the ground open with his bare hands while Mystique continues to defend them up top, making a hole and then a tunnel. From there, he keeps going… until, just under a minute later, he breaks into a massive cavern filled with more of the purple flesh from above.
Immediately retreating, he moves to retrieve Sarah and together with Mystique, the three of them descend into the tunnel he's made, with Mystique sealing it up behind them using more eye beams.
Finally, they reach the cavern… where Myk-Zod is honestly expecting more Zerg to rise to face them. Instead, it becomes eerily quiet… no more monsters attack them, nothing spawns from the purple flesh even as he sets Sarah down on it.
"Sarah Kerrigan… despite your defiance, you do my bidding all the same by presenting yourself and the anomalies to me."
A voice reverberates through the chamber, deep and dark and menacing. Myk-Zod frowns, glancing around… but truth be told, it's hard to pinpoint the source. It shouldn't be given his senses… however, in this case there's just too much noise. His eyes, ears, and nose are telling him that everything around them is alive. Wherever the voice is, it manages to blend in with the rest.
Or rather, it does so physically… psionically on the other hand…
"We've come to destroy you, Daggoth. You and every cerebrate on this planet will die. The Zerg will lose their masters on this day."
Sarah points at a nearby flesh wall.
"There."
Myk-Zod doesn't hesitate. Neither does Mystique. Both of their eyes blaze red, striking the purple flesh and burning it away as they sweep back and forth. Until eventually… something is revealed. Something not entirely like the Zerg they've fought so far. It was another mass of writhing, undulating, pulsating flesh… but it seemed apart from the rest of the flesh. And it had no weapons, no skin, no armor of any sort that he could see.
It pulses as Daggoth speaks though, giving proof to this being his true form.
"Destroy us? Ah… ahahaha… BAHAHAHA!"
The creature, despite being exposed and seemingly helpless in that moment, chooses to laugh. Myk-Zod's eyes narrow and his jaw clenches. Its unsettling and he keeps his head on a swivel, trying to find the play, trying to preempt the ambush.
"Your ignorance has made a fool of you, Sarah Kerrigan. You think to kill me and my brothers? We cannot be killed. The Overmind will not let us die. Destroy the flesh and we will simply reconstitute. Destroy our minds and the Overmind will remember us back into existence. We are his eternal servants… unkillable. Immortal. Invincible."
Myk-Zod hoped that wasn't true, but even if it was, maybe they could kill the cerebrates fast enough to disrupt things here on Tarsonis at the very least? He's certainly willing to try and so is Sarah, the red head stepping forward with her hands clenched into fists and that same blue energy from before filling her eyes and sparking across her knuckles.
"Well then, let's test that invincibility of yours, shall we?"
"And why would I allow that?"
In an instant, before any of them can move… pressure like nothing else rains down on Myk-Zod's mind. Mystique's too, judging by how she cries out. Both of them collapse to their knees, causing Sarah to whip around in horror.
"You brought them right to me, Kerrigan. More than that, you bypassed my brethren, ignoring them and making a beeline to my location. You foolish girl… all you've done is allowed every cerebrate on this planet to unify in one purpose. Taking control of the anomalies… and taking control of YOU!"
Through his haze of pain and his losing battle to regain control of his limbs, Myk-Zod hears Sarah let out a cry and collapse as well. Shit… they were in trouble now, weren't they?
-x-X-x-
Daggoth was right. She'd fucked up. She'd fucked up bad. The plan had seemed sound at the time. It was an ancient adage as old as civilization itself. When you found yourself in a new environment and you wanted to establish yourself as someone not to be fucked with, you found the biggest fucker around… and you put him in the dirt.
Or to put it another way… she'd wanted to cut the head off of the snake. Daggoth was one of the oldest cerebrates in existence. He was pretty much the Overmind's right hand man. If the Overmind had been on Tarsonis, Kerrigan would have gone for him instead, but he wasn't. Daggoth was the biggest fish in the pond.
Only… now she can feel it as every other cerebrate pools their power behind their 'elder brother'. She can feel it as the psionic strength he'd leveled at her back on the island is instead increased a hundredfold. Enough that even Myk-Zod and Mystique cannot fight it, not this close. And that's bad… that's really bad.
It would be one thing if she herself were captured by the Zerg and infested. Not good by any stretch of the imagination, but not necessarily the end of the world. But the power she'd seen these two visitors from another universe exhibit so far… if the Zerg had that power, if they could assimilate what they called 'the anomalies' into their physiology… then it wouldn't just be the Koprulu Sector that would suffer. It would be the entire galaxy.
Now you see the depths of your folly, Sarah Kerrigan. Now you see just how you have failed.
The worst part was, now that Daggoth had found purchase in her mind again, he wouldn't shut the fuck up.
Despair… and rejoice. You will become one with the Swarm. The Overmind has great plans for you.
He was also much too happy to brag too, even letting her 'see' what was going on around her while she lay all but catatonic on the ground at the foot of his physical body.
Bringing the anomalies to us… this will be rewarded. The Overmind looks forward to assimilating their biology into the Swarm.
Myk-Zod and Mystique… their mental domination was complete. The two of them rose up from the floor of Zerg Flesh like puppets on strings, their eyes filled with the blue light of control. And as they do so, Kerrigan sees other Zerg carefully approaching.
Your own transformation will be made all the stronger for it. He has given me glimpses of what you will become. His Queen of Blades.
Nothing the Zerg Swarm currently has can hurt or harm Myk-Zod and Mystique physically. Except that's not entirely true anymore… because now they have the two mentally.
Witness our ascension. Witness what your pointless struggling has wrought.
Kerrigan watches in horror as the two impossibly powerful strangers bring their hands up and use their fingernails to carve into their palms. Droplets of blood well up in the cuts… before falling from their hands towards the Zerg Flesh below.
The first blood that either Myk-Zod or Mystique has shed as far as she knows. The first blood that the Zerg have managed to get them to shed.
Time seems to slow to an almost crawl as she 'watches' that blood fall. This is it. This is the end of everything unless she does something. Anything.
… She's always been afraid of her powers. Even if she puts on a brave face, even if she wouldn't admit it to most, it's true. The Confederacy had to rewrite the scale for her. They rebuilt the entire Psi Index around HER abilities. And yet, Kerrigan knew that she'd never truly reached her full potential. She'd been too scared to.
Now she's too scared of what might happen if she doesn't, not to. In that moment, as she watches those droplets of blood fall and knows the galaxy will end if they hit the ground… Sarah Kerrigan reaches out with everything she has and asks for salvation.
And to her surprise… something answers her. Something both far away and from deep inside, something that had perhaps always been within her… or perhaps lurking on the edge of creation. She just needed to reach out and take hold of it.
What?
Daggoth's shock brings a rictus of a grin to Kerrigan's face as the blue glow in her eyes turns a deep, royal purple. Her hands, clenched into fists, unfurl... only to curl into claws.
What is this?!
Power unending races through her. The first thing she does with it is send out a wave that vaporizes the droplets of blood before they can ever hit the ground. It kills the Zerg approaching as well… and even cauterizes Myk-Zod and Mystique's palms, though it otherwise simply buffets them both.
YOU! THIS POWER! IMPOSSIBLE!
Impossible? No… in fact, all Kerrigan had really needed… was the right push.
She swipes through the air and cuts the connection between the cerebrates and her allies next. The glow disappears from Myk-Zod and Mystique's eyes and they both stumble for a moment as they regain control of themselves.
Finally, Kerrigan rises to her feet and bares her teeth as she glares at Daggoth's physical form. She could destroy his body in an instant… but that wouldn't be enough. He said it himself… a body could be reconstituted. A mind could be 'remembered' by the Overmind.
… Except the rules have changed, haven't they?
No… you do not know what you play at. You do not understand the power you command…
A dark chuckle leaves Kerrigan's throat.
"I know one thing, Daggoth. I know that it's enough to destroy you."
With that, she reaches out. Not physically, not even psionically. Mind, body… none of it mattered. What mattered was the connection. Daggoth was connected to his Swarm, to his fellow cerebrates… and to the Overmind. In that moment, Kerrigan takes her newfound power, this strange cosmic energy she could barely comprehend… and uses it to annihilate everything along that connection.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Power cascades through her as sweat beads on her brow, pouring into Daggoth and through every cerebrate on Tarsonis. She feels them die, she listens to them scream for mercy, for salvation… she kills them all, permanently.
And then she turns her mind further afield. Why not, right? Why not go for the source of all of this? Why not go for the leader of the Swarm himself? Sarah Kerrigan smiles ferally, her teeth grinding together as she reaches out and touches the Overmind.
Only for the smile to immediately drop as the backlash leaves her nearly blinded with pain. She definitely does something to the Overmind, some form of damage… but even as she falls back, returning to her body properly as the purple light fades from her eyes and she collapses backwards, she can tell she didn't manage to end it.
Damn it all… and she'd been on such a roll too…
-x-X-x-
The Vote:
[ ] Sarah wakes up to... nobody - 5%
[X] Sarah wakes up to Myk-Zod's face - 84%
[ ] Sarah wakes up to... Jim's face?! - 11%
-x-X-x-
As well, PLEASE go and check out my newest Weekly Story!
Hoist the Colors (Mobuseka AU)
Summary: An AU where Leon Bartfort took one look at the situation he found himself in and said 'fuck that', skipping out on all of that nonsense to go and do his own thing. His own thing just happens to be being a Sky Pirate!
-x-X-x-
A/N: Leave a Like if you enjoyed please, would mean a lot!
Spoiler: Patreon and other Links Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:ArcaneReader, Prime witcher, cj_cold and 217 othersCambrianJul 8, 2026Reader mode
Waking up in safety.
-x-X-x-
Sarah is fully expecting to wake up again, to be clear. After all, with the cerebrates killed and Myk-Zod and Mystique freed from their control, she had complete faith that the two incredibly powerful individuals would be able to keep her safe even after she'd scrambled her brain seven ways to Sunday.
That said, she's not entirely expecting to wake up to Myk-Zod looming over her, the handsome man smiling down at her. Nor is she expecting to look past his head to see the sleek glowing lines of a ship's medbay ceiling above them.
"Wha…"
"Welcome back, Sarah. You were out of it for quite some time."
Blinking rapidly as she takes in the unfamiliar yet also familiar ceiling, Sarah's brow furrows in consternation. Because her training and experience were telling her that she was specifically looking at the ceiling of a Leviathan-class Battlecruiser's medbay. And that was… well, it wasn't entirely out of the question, but it was weird.
Wetting her dry lips, Sarah sits up and tries to speak only to cough, her throat just as dry if not more so. A straw is provided after a moment and she greedily sucks down the water at the other end, drinking the crisp, cool fluid like a woman who just got out of the desert.
When she's done, she looks around the medbay, brow furrowed even harder. Its just her, Myk-Zod… and Mystique, the blue-skinned red head sitting nearby with her arms crossed over her chest and those piercing yellow eyes focused solely on Sarah.
"Where are we? What happened after I passed out?"
Myk-Zod opens his mouth to respond… only to pause, tilting his head to the side. Sarah feels it before she hears it… or rather, she feels him before she hears him. Boots pounding down the hallway outside of the medbay are the last bit of warning she gets before the doors to the medbay cycle open and James fucking Raynor stands in the doorway, eyes wide and breathing heavily.
"Sarah… you're awake."
She tries not to flinch too hard at the sheer yearning in his voice. Their last conversation hadn't been a good one… he'd tried to make her see reason and she'd refused, preferring to keep the blinders on. And now… well, suffice to say, Jim had every right to say he told her so.
He doesn't though, because he's not that kind of man. Instead, he steps into the medbay carefully, like he's afraid she might bolt or something. And hell, maybe she would if she thought she could get away with it. His eyes dart to Myk-Zod for a moment before returning to her.
"… Glad you're alright, darlin'."
Frowning now, Sarah crosses her arms over her chest, trying her best not to let herself feel any certain sort of way about his words.
"Its good to see you too, Jim. But again, where are we? And how?"
Myk-Zod steps in there, clearing his throat.
"Right, well… first of all, you've been out for a week."
Sarah's eyes widen but she stays quiet, letting him continue on with his retelling of events.
"… After you dealt with Daggoth and saved me and Mystique, the Zerg became entirely feral. It was much easier to drive them away after that… killing a few hundred more taught their animalistic instincts to just avoid us altogether."
He tilts his head to the side and quirks up a corner of his mouth.
"On top of that, they seemed to be more interested in fighting and killing each other as well. It made things… easier, after a fashion."
Jim grunts, drawing Sarah's focus back to him.
"Easier for us too."
At her baffled look, he shrugs and averts his gaze.
"When Mengsk decided to leave you behind… I didn't agree with it. Took what men would follow me and got back down to Tarsonis by any means I could. Couldn't find you but wound up finding some survivors anyways. We evacuated to a local spaceport but were getting pretty pressed when all the Zerg sort of just went insane."
Jim's brow furrows at that, his lips pulling into a grimace.
"Your… friends have explained what happened. These cerebrates… hard to believe that the damn Swarm had an intelligence behind it all this time. And yet…"
Smiling crookedly, Sarah chuckles and finishes for him.
"And yet… it makes perfect sense, doesn't it?"
After a beat, Jim nods, scowling angrily. Not at them, but rather at the situation.
"Yeah. Fuck… yeah, it does. Anyways, we were still securing the spaceport and enough transports to get everyone off Tarsonis when these two arrived carrying you."
The look Jim shoots Myk-Zod at that… ah, they had definitely arrived flying through the air, hadn't they? It's obvious that there's a bit of honest wariness in the man's eyes. Frankly, it's deserved… whether Jim knows about Myk-Zod and Mystique's true power or not, two people flying in under their own power would spark so many questions.
After a beat though, he continues on.
"… We finally got off planet… and shortly after that, we ran into the Thunder Child. Leviathan-Class Battlecruiser formerly in service to the Confederacy. But the Confederacy is gone now and the crew mutinied… so it's our home for the time being, at least until we can get something better."
Sarah narrows her eyes at that last part. She knows Jim well enough to be able to hear the leading lilt in his voice… the one that means he's got a plan.
"Something better, huh? And what might that be?"
Jim smiles crookedly at her, crossing his arms over his chest as he shrugs.
"We're enroute to Dylar IV. Gonna raid the Dylarian Shipyards for what we need before anyone else can get to them."
Then, he jerks his head in Myk-Zod's direction.
"Already promised your friend here a Science Vessel if they have one, and his own lab on whatever ships we do scrounge up if they don't."
Again, Sarah knows Jim well enough to hear the question in his voice… he's wondering what she might know about Myk-Zod and what she might be able to tell him. Alas, even if they could get some alone time… Sarah isn't sure she would say a word.
She trusts Jim, don't get her wrong… but some secrets aren't hers to tell. And the secrets Myk-Zod and Mystique are carrying in particular were potentially galaxy-shattering. Frankly, she's starting to realize they never should have told her everything they did…
Instead, Sarah slowly nods her head, giving Myk-Zod a look.
"That seems like a fair deal… more than fair, really. I owe you two my life, you know."
Amusingly enough, both Jim and Myk-Zod make a face at that, neither of them happy with her words. Mystique just nods though, acknowledging the debt. But Myk-Zod…
"If you owe us your life, then we owe you ours. It cancels itself out. Without you, we'd be under the control of the Zerg right now. And we both know why that would have been very, very bad."
Sarah lets out an explosive breath, slowly nodding. Then, before she can say anything else, her stomach suddenly protests. Loudly. The gurgling of hunger fills the room prompting everyone to look at her abdomen. Sarah doesn't flush or anything like that, being too professional to let her mortification show… but she does feel a little heat rise to her face when Myk-Zod laughs and Mystique smirks.
When even Jim chuckles, Sarah scowls angrily at him, causing the man to raise his hands placatingly.
"Sorry, sorry. You feel up to getting up and moving around? We can go get you some grub… or I can have it brought to you."
It only takes her a second to consider that before she swiftly nods and moves to climb out of bed. Her body protests a bit, but Sarah forces herself to her feet all the same, only wobbling a little bit.
"Whoa there. You good?"
It doesn't stop Myk-Zod from coming to her rescue though, something Jim takes a step forward to do as well before aborting his attempt while narrowing his eyes at how fast the alien man moves. Sarah just bats Myk-Zod away though.
"I'm fine. And I'm more than ready to get out of here, so lead the way Jim. Also, tell me what else has been happening while I was out."
Jim pauses at that, looking stricken for a moment before quickly schooling his features.
"… Not sure what you mean, exactly."
Sarah rolls her eyes, even as she marches determinedly for the door.
"You already admitted the Confederacy is gone, Jim. So what the fuck is happening in the rest of the galaxy, exactly? How bad is it out there?"
She wishes she could say she was more optimistic. They'd both fought with the Sons of Korhal for so long, all because they believed the tyranny of the Terran Confederacy needed to come to an end. But they were also both fairly pragmatic people too. Sarah, at least, had always known in the back of her mind that things would get worse before they got better, even after the Confederacy fell.
Now though… well, she was forced to admit that Mengsk wasn't the man she'd thought he was after how he'd handled everything on Tarsonis. And that scared her… because Arcturus Mengsk was probably the most powerful human man left in the entirety of the Koprulu Sector at this point…
-x-X-x-
As Myk-Zod and Mystique follow Sarah and Jim out of the medbay and towards the spaceship's cafeteria, Mystique's fingers find his and interlace with them. Smiling slightly, Myk-Zod slides his fingers through hers right back, holding her hand in his own securely.
To say the past week had been a wild ride would be an understatement. Though only the first two days had truly been that overwhelming and chaotic. After they'd rendezvoused with Jim Raynor and his men at the spaceport and then made it onto the Thunder Child, things had actually quieted down a fair amount and the past few days had just been watching over Sarah and waiting for her to wake up.
Myk-Zod might not be a full-fledged doctor, but he was a scientist with all that entailed so he'd familiarized himself with the Terran technology in the Thunder Child's medbay and taken Sarah's treatment upon himself. It was the least he could do after she'd almost killed herself saving them.
In hindsight, going straight for Daggoth had been a stupid move. Just because he hadn't tried to attack Myk-Zod and Mystique's minds all the way on the island hundreds of miles away didn't mean he never would. And of course the cerebrates, being psionic creatures as they were, would be able to join forces and combine their power to try and overwhelm even someone as strong as Sarah.
Put simply… he considered it his fuck up that the Zerg Swarm had very nearly gotten access to Kryptonian DNA. Neither he nor Mystique had suffered a single bit of damage until that moment when their minds had been overwhelmed and they'd been directed to harm themselves in order to give their blood to the Swarm.
If not for Sarah seemingly tapping into some strange new well of power… this galaxy would be doomed and he would have led Mystique into a trap that completely and utterly stripped them of their free will and agency. And if things had continued along that vein, he might just have given the Zerg Swarm access to the entire multiverse through his armband.
Suffice to say, it had been the closest call of his short journey yet. Nothing on Mystique's Earth had come even close to being as dangerous to them, especially not once they'd had enough time under Earth's Yellow Sun.
But… all was well that ended well. Now they were here and the resources and level of technology that the Terrans had access to, while nothing compared to Kryptonian Technology, was literally hundreds of years beyond the tech level back on Mystique's Earth.
That meant he could probably make some modifications and even upgrades to his armband here in this universe, where he would have had to wait decades if not centuries in the last one. He just needed the right tools and resources for the job, which was why he'd ultimately accepted the offer of a 'Science Vessel' from this upcoming shipyard raid.
Though, Myk-Zod had to admit… he was a little bit leery about it all. From what he understood of the state of this galaxy, with the destruction of the old human government, lawlessness and anarchy were going to prevail for quite some time. And the people they were traveling with were intending to take advantage of that in order to ransack this shipyard they were heading to.
Piracy. Plain and simple piracy. And maybe it was necessary piracy… there were plenty of civilians from Tarsonis aboard the Thunder Child and other transports that they'd used to get off planet… refugees who just deserved somewhere safe to live, even if that was on a ship taken from this shipyard.
But still, Myk-Zod found himself questioning it all the same. He… he needed access to the right sort of tools that would let him continue his work if he wanted to begin modifying the armband. His invention was currently far too restrictive. Imagine if he and Mystique could take more than just skintight bodysuits with them to their next universe? It would make things so much easier.
… The Science Vessel was already promised to him though. So technically he and Mystique didn't need to raid these shipyards with Jim Raynor and his men. They could leave it to them and simply wait to claim their prize after all was said and done.
But then, was that any better than participating? Either way, they'd be benefiting from piracy…
-x-X-x-
The Vote:
[X] Obviously help out Raynor and his men with the Shipyards - 81%
[ ] Stay back, its not his and Mystique's fight - 19%
-x-X-x-
As well, PLEASE go and check out my newest Weekly Story!
Hoist the Colors (Mobuseka AU)
Summary: An AU where Leon Bartfort took one look at the situation he found himself in and said 'fuck that', skipping out on all of that nonsense to go and do his own thing. His own thing just happens to be being a Sky Pirate!
-x-X-x-
A/N: Leave a Like if you enjoyed please, would mean a lot!
Spoiler: Patreon and other Links Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:ArcaneReader, Ph34r_n0_3V1L, RexNeminis and 201 othersCambrianJul 15, 2026Reader mode
little bit of piracy never hurt anyone~
-x-X-x-
In the end, it would honestly be worse to try and keep his own hands clean, Myk-Zod decides. After all, if he's willing to benefit from piracy, he should be willing to partake in it. Not to mention that there's a chance he and Mystique can keep the deaths to a minimum and save some lives in the process.
And so, when Raynor's little fleet finally arrives at the Dylarian Shipyards a few days later, Myk-Zod is stood on the bridge of the Thunder Child right alongside the human man. Sarah and Mystique are there as well, along with the bridge crew. But its Raynor who does the talking, his arms crossed over his chest as they're connected to the Shipyards' controller.
"Who is this? This is Confederate Space; you're not authorized to be here."
Sighing, Raynor shakes his head.
"You're speaking to Commander Raynor of Raynor's Raiders. We're here for your ships. Look son… there ain't a Confederacy to be loyal to anymore. Nobody down there has to die so long as you stand down and let us take what we need."
There's a pause at that, perhaps while the controller is consulting with someone off camera. Finally…
"We can't do that. The Dylarian Shipyards are… are now under the control of the Terran Dominion. We aren't open for business."
Now that was an interesting change-up. Raynor's jaw immediately clenches at the mention and Sarah jolts too. But to be fair, from what Myk-Zod understands, they have plenty of reason to be angry.
After getting off Tarsonis, he and Mystique had finally had the time to extract the whole sordid tale from Sarah, with bits and pieces provided by Jim. Put simply… it was a mess and a half but the end result was undeniable. They'd been part of a rebellion, a movement of freedom fighters designed to tear down the old regime.
However, in the wake of the successful overthrowing of the previous government, their so-called ally, this 'Arcturus Mengsk', had not only betrayed them both and left Sarah to the not-so-tender mercies of the Zerg… he'd gone and formed a new government as well.
This in and of itself wasn't a bad thing… organization was usually preferable to pure anarchy, after all. However, Myk-Zod had seen the broadcasts by now. This new Terran Dominion was an Empire… and Arcturus Mengsk had gone and named himself Emperor for Life.
It was so very… predictable. Men in power almost always let it go to their heads. Myk-Zod knew that well enough from his original world. His uncle would certainly have named himself some title like Emperor or Supreme Leader if his coup had been successful. Even the likes of Zor-El and Jor-El had let their power go to their heads to the detriment of the Kryptonian people.
Still, as predictable and unsurprising as Mengsk's grab for power was, that didn't make its effects any less real. Because a petty man decided to become a tyrant, these people were going to fight Raynor and his men… and likely die trying in the attempt.
It didn't seem fair… hell, it wasn't fair. Fortunately, Myk-Zod didn't have to sit by and do nothing. He hadn't stuck his head in the sand and begged off this raid, so he might as well have an outsized impact on it. No half-measures.
"Raynor."
His voice cuts the human man off from whatever he was going to say in reply to the controller's words. Looking over, the bearded man arches a brow at him. Myk-Zod gestures towards the large window dominating end of the Thunder Child's bridge.
"Point me in the direction of where that voice is coming from."
His words are audible to the other side of the call, so they produce some sputtering from the man from the Shipyards. Meanwhile, Raynor hesitates for a moment, his brow furrowing… before his eyes widen as he realizes what Myk-Zod intends to do. Glancing over to Sarah, he nods his head towards the viewport.
Heh, of course. Myk-Zod follows Sarah over to the viewport and watches as her eyes glow briefly with blue light. Then, she points at a specific tower among the extremely expansive shipyards. Myk-Zod nods as he memorizes the location.
"You know, I could probably just disable them all from here… you don't need to go over there."
Chuckling at Sarah's words, he shakes his head.
"No. I want them to make the decision themselves to send out the order to surrender and stand down. And I think they will… with the right persuasion."
With that, he turns and heads for the bridge doors. Raynor is once again arguing with the Shipyard Controller, but he ignores their conversation… in a moment, it won't matter. Meanwhile, Mystique immediately falls into step beside him and Myk-Zod shoots her a grateful smile. He's not surprised to see she has his back just like always, but it doesn't mean he's not thankful for it.
"Wait! You'll at least need suits; there's no air out there!"
Glancing back over his shoulder at Sarah, Myk-Zod shakes his head.
"That won't be necessary."
This part, of course, not even their allies knew about yet. But not because it was being kept secret or anything like that. Rather, it just hadn't come up… until now. As Myk-Zod and Mystique leave through one of the Thunder Child's airlocks, they fly out into space… and directly towards that tower among the Dylarian Shipyards. Nobody rises to meet them in defense, possibly because they're too small and therefore go undetected.
Regardless, they make good time over to the tower, arriving outside of it. Floating there, Myk-Zod peers through the reinforced glass to see the people inside… one of whom is still arguing with Raynor over the call. It takes a second for the first person to see him and Mystique, but once they do their eyes widen and they begin to panic and shout, alerting more people to their presence.
As the man talking to Raynor looks over, Myk-Zod smiles grimly and waves… before pointedly arching a brow as he reaches out and knocks on the glass just hard enough to make it vibrate but not start to shatter.
The Shipyard Controller's jaw drops open along with the rest of the room's inhabitants, all of them looking awed, terrified, and horrified in equal measure. It doesn't necessarily make Myk-Zod feel good to produce this much terror… but if it keeps them all from losing their lives fighting a senseless, pointless battle for a tyrant who doesn't care about them… then he's happy to do it.
-x-X-x-
Suffice to say, Myk-Zod and Mystique's little shock and awe display works wonders. Indeed, once they enter the tower properly and tank a few bullets to really drive home the inevitable defeat, everyone is a lot more docile. The Dylarian Shipyards are taken by Raynor's Raiders without a single life lost on either side.
From there, it's a simple matter of taking everything they need… which is basically everything they have the room and men for. They're limited in ships by how many they can crew and they're limited in what supplies they can 'requisition' by how many ships they can take.
It means they're not completely stripping the place dry at least, a cold comfort to those that Myk-Zod had forced to surrender. However, there are actually plenty of people in the Dylarian Shipyards who are willing to sign on with Raynor and his growing fleet, in large part because nobody had to die and they see an opportunity to switch sides where they might not have seen one previously.
Within hours, everything is moving like a well oiled machine… and so Myk-Zod feels comfortable going with Mystique to see 'his' new ship. What the Terrans call a 'Science Vessel' is both more and less than Myk-Zod was expecting. It's what they refer to as an 'Explorer' class Science Vessel, capable of transporting itself across the sector and built for the purposes of a wide range of research and development.
The tools are… still not quite as good as what Myk-Zod was forced to leave behind back on Krypton, unfortunately. However, they're good enough and that's more valuable than any of his human allies can ever hope to know.
Sure, if he'd had unlimited time and resources back on Krypton, he could have done wonders that this technology would never allow him to create. He could have not just created his experimental dimensional traveling tech but perfected it. He could have turned the tech in his armband into something capable of letting him take along more than just mostly biological matter... even an entire ship, perhaps!
… Unfortunately, looking around the insides of the Science Vessel, Myk-Zod highly doubts he'll be able to build something that will let him take it all with him when he and Mystique eventually leave this universe behind. The technology is comparatively advanced by the standards of the Earth that they just left behind, but at the same time… it's comparatively primitive to what Krypton had.
This was fine though. Baby steps. He would use this tech to build what he could and go from there.
"Is this up to your standards, Myk-Zod?"
Blinking, Myk-Zod is pulled out of his thoughts by Sarah. The red head had insisted on being the one to escort him and Mystique over to their spoils, and she had been watching him as he'd looked around. There's a knowing glint in her eye now that makes him arch his brow in response.
"Are you reading my mind right now, Sarah?"
To her credit, she has the good grace to blush a little bit at that, even averting her eyes for a moment.
"… Not so much actively reading as just… listening. Ever since Daggoth down in that hole… I can hear you and Mystique better. I couldn't before, at least not very well. You were more protected than most of the galaxy. But now…"
Myk-Zod hums at that, frowning slightly. That didn't sound good. Was she implying that the Cerebrates' concentrated attack on his and Mystique's minds had stripped away this natural protection they'd originally had? Given how prevalent psionics appeared to be in this universe, that seemed like it could be very bad indeed…
"I don't think it's that, mind you. Err, I don't think your natural protections were destroyed or anything. I think… I'm just more connected to the two of you than before. Not to mention whatever I reached out to in order to kill Daggoth and the other cerebrates… well, I think it's sticking with me. I'm more powerful than I was previously and I was already pretty damn powerful."
She raises a hand and a bit of purple energy flickers across her fingers for a moment. Sarah isn't showing off though… if anything, she looks a little grim as she stares down at her own fingers. Like she's not sure whether to be afraid of this new power of hers or not. Honestly, that was a sensible view to have in his opinion.
Still, she's obviously a bit uncomfortable with the topic so Myk-Zod chuckles and shakes his head, bringing things back around.
"It sounds like you already know my feelings on the matter of this vessel, Sarah. I'm incredibly grateful for it… and it will be helpful to me too. However, it will likely only allow me to take my work so far."
Sarah slowly nods, jaw set as she looks around them at the height of her people's scientific and technological development. Being told it will 'only take his work so far' is clearly something she's having to mull over. But only for a moment. When the moment passes, she looks back to him, determination shining bright in her eyes.
"We can help in other ways too, I'm sure. There are other aliens in the Koprulu Sector aside from the Zerg… they call themselves the Protoss. Hell, they were on Tarsonis… but they were destroyed and overrun before you two arrived."
The way she grimaces at that lets Myk-Zod know not to touch the subject with a ten foot pole. Sarah continues on a moment later anyways.
"This is a good start, but if its not enough… we should look into getting you some Protoss Tech as well. Their stuff is centuries beyond us, frankly… there's just a lot more of us than them and they're usually more focused on the Zerg than us Terrans."
Myk-Zod hums, considering that for a moment. These Protoss sounded intriguing. That said…
"I'm not looking to go and steal anything from anyone if I don't have to, Sarah. This was… a one-off."
Rather, this raid was always going to happen and by participating in it, Myk-Zod had been able to save lives. And while he was now benefiting from all of it, he could at least assuage any guilt he was feeling over the way he'd been able to make the shipyards surrender peacefully.
Myk-Zod highly doubted a similar situation would crop up with these Protoss. If it did, he wouldn't necessarily be above taking advantage of it… but he also wasn't going to go out of his way to hunt some Protoss down and steal their shit.
"I understand. But you know… never say nev-!"
Before Sarah can finish her sentence, she abruptly cuts herself off and twists around, her eyes narrowing as she stares at a nearby wall of the Science Vessel's interior. Raising his brow, Myk-Zod looks as well… only, he can literally look through the ship's wall.
What he sees is a new Battlecruiser approaching the Dylarian Shipyards at speed… and from the look of things, it's not on their side.
"The Hyperion… Mengsk has sent his attack dog to try and stop us."
Well now… that certainly didn't sound good.
-x-X-x-
The Vote:
[ ] Stick with Myk-Zod's POV - 22%
[X] Switch to Kerrigan's POV - 59%
[ ] Switch to Raynor's POV - 19%
-x-X-x-
A/N: Leave a Like if you enjoyed please, would mean a lot!
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The Hyperion is here!
-x-X-x-
The Hyperion was a Behemoth-class Battlecruiser. The Thunder Child, as an ancient Leviathan-class Battlecruiser, was much smaller. In fact, there was no real contest between the two of them… and indeed, no contest between the Hyperion and anything else in the Dylarian Shipyards either.
Sarah Kerrigan isn't that worried though, even as she escorts Myk-Zod and Mystique over to the Thunder Child to find out what Jim wants to do. After all, she's confident that neither of the impossibly powerful aliens will let anything happen if there's something they can do to stop it… and of course, there's plenty they can do to stop it.
However, when they enter the bridge, Jim looks over and immediately puts a pin in that idea.
"Good, I'm glad you brought them Sarah. You two… I want you to sit this one out."
Sarah can't help but blink in surprise. Myk-Zod does one better then that though, stepping forward with a frown on his face.
"You have a massive battleship bearing down on you and you want us to 'sit it out'? Why?"
With a sigh, Jim makes his way over to them, pulling the three of them off to the side and crossing his arms over his chest.
"You've done a lot for us already. But at a certain point, a man can't just keep racking up debt. Here's the thing… you ain't planning on sticking around forever, are you?"
Sarah watches as Myk-Zod and Mystique share a glance at that. After a moment, Myk-Zod turns back and shakes his head.
"… No, we aren't. Eventually, we'll move on."
That made sense. Hell, they probably should have 'moved on' back on Tarsonis. And they would have too if they didn't feel an obligation towards Sarah. It begins to dawn on her then where Jim is going with this.
"So we can't rely on you forever. Which means we can't start overly relying on you two now. For all your power… the Raiders have to be able to stand on our own two feet. If we just keep letting you take care of everything for us, we ain't going to be ready to take care of things ourselves once you're gone."
He's right, Sarah realizes. In his own way, Jim has to consider the health of all of the men and women who have put themselves under his command. Put bluntly, Myk-Zod and Mystique represent a sort of 'I win' button that will do nothing but atrophy everyone else's fighting skills. Until one day, that button will cease to function entirely.
"… People will die. What if that ship attacks the shipyards directly?"
Jim hesitates at that before shaking his head.
"That won't happen. Mengsk needs the Dylarian Shipyards intact if he wants his Dominion to actually get off the ground. We can't take everything anyways, and I ain't got no intention of scuttling the place either. Besides, I know the man in command on that ship… I know how he thinks."
Sarah did too. General Edmund Duke. Formerly of the Confederacy, he was a member of one of Tarsonis' Old Families. However, he had ultimately joined the Sons of Korhal during the war… a move that had ultimately been pivotal in winning things for the rebellion.
Still, while Edmund Duke was the sort of man who would do 'the hard thing' in order to win, he was also the sort of man who knew what winning looked like. The Dominion needed the Dylarian Shipyards badly… and that would be the bait.
After a long moment, Myk-Zod finally grunts and crosses his arms over his own chest in response.
"… I'm no soldier. I've never been a General or Commander or anything like that. If you think this is necessary, I'm not going to insert myself into a conflict that neither side wants me to be a part of. That said… if you need our help, just say the word."
That, Sarah felt, was incredibly magnanimous of him. If she were in his shoes, she thinks she might have felt personally slighted at being sidelined like this. She might have said something like 'don't expect my help once it all blows up in your face' or something.
But Myk-Zod was leaving the door open just in case they did wind up needing him and Mystique. Sarah sees the respect in Jim's eyes as he registers this and offers a grateful nod.
"Thank you. Appreciate the offer."
Then, he looks to Sarah.
"Gonna need your help though if we're going to make the plan work, darlin'. Think you're up for some long distance shenanigans?"
Sarah arches a brow at that and quirks the side of her mouth up in an amused smirk.
"Didn't know you knew words as big as that, Commander Raynor."
Jim rolls his eyes at her teasing tone, but also looks at her intently, clearly expecting a proper answer. Sarah makes him wait a moment longer before letting her smirk grow.
"I'm up for anything you need me for, Jim. Always and forever."
That draws a small smile from the man and they move back to the bridge proper. From there, Sarah's role in all of this is explained to her… and then, they get right into it. After all, not like the Hyperion or General Duke are going to wait for them to be ready or anything like that.
What follows is… well, it's not quite as one-sided as Myk-Zod and Mystique's takeover of the shipyard had been, but it's also not really much of a fight. The Hyperion is definitely the most dangerous ship in the system by far, with a main gun in the form of the Yamato Cannon that could have easily made short work of the Thunder Child.
There's just one problem with that… Jim had the Thunder Child reposition itself on the other side of the Dylarian Shipyards the moment the Hyperion arrived in-system. Meaning that if General Duke wants to blast the Thunder Child to pieces, he'll need to blow a hole in the very shipyard he's been sent to protect.
The following conversation between Jim and Duke is exactly as incendiary and caustic as one would expect. Sarah herself is tempted to participate, pointing out how Mengsk abandoned her to die on Tarsonis, but Jim's plan requires her to stay hidden… their ace in the hole.
She likes that, really. Sure, Myk-Zod and Mystique's presence represents an even greater ace in the hole, but seeing as they're benched for this battle, Sarah is suddenly the biggest asset that Raynor's Raiders have. Her psionic potential was always off the charts, but ever since killing Daggoth, she's had access to a new well of power that even she can't fully explain.
So… yeah. Tricking General Duke into a trap is pretty much child's play with her assistance. All she has to do is reach out and connect to the General's mind, as well as the minds of his bridge crew. Killing them all would be easy, but that's not what Jim wants from her… no, he wants her to be more subtle than that.
Sarah can do subtle. She can tamp down on the General's instincts and that of his bridge crew, ramping up their intense desire to win above all else. And so General Duke sends the Hyperion plunging forward into the Dylarian Shipyards, his intention of getting through the shipyard so he can fire on the Thunder Child overwhelming for him. He foregoes any conventional tactics in favor of full speed ahead, but that just means he gets himself stuck in the maze of the very thing he's not allowed to blow up.
Luring him into the real trap, a set of cranes that latch onto the Hyperion and force it up against the dock, allows the Raiders to do the rest of the work. A contingent of marines invades the Hyperion, storming the ship before anyone onboard can really react or prepare for it.
Do people die? Yes, some people die. Sarah feels every life that winks out, even as she stands there on the bridge of the Thunder Child alongside Jim and a watching Myk-Zod and Mystique. But… it's only a handful of lives lost. Not quite the squeaky clean operation that the original takeover of the Dylarian Shipyards was, but there's a stark difference between this and that.
That had been Myk-Zod and Mystique and nobody else, really. This? This was a Terran triumph. This was a human success. And as Sarah pulls back her psionic presence the moment that a rifle is pointed directly at General Duke's face, forcing his surrender… she can't help but feel like this is all the sweeter for that.
There are cheers on the bridge of the Thunder Child as General Duke's surrender is broadcast to everyone else in the star system. They've done it… they've successfully captured a Behemoth-class Battlecruiser intact, entirely on their own merits and without a single ounce of help from the gods in their midst.
Sarah, for her part, just smiles softly from the side. Yes, she'd played a pivotal role in the battle… but most would never know that. Only Jim and a few others could even understand what she'd done to help them set General Duke up for this catastrophic defeat.
She didn't mind though. She was used to being a ghost, after all. Although… she does lean in close to Jim and whisper in his ear. When he hears her demand, he furrows his brow for a moment and looks like he wants to deny her. But in the end… he reluctantly nods and Sarah smirks like the cat who caught the canary.
-x-X-x-
Half an hour later, Sarah steps into the interrogation room to find Edmund Duke sat on the other side of the table. Stripped of his armor, the grey-haired General looks almost… small as he sits there, glaring at nothing. That is, until he lays eyes on her. As soon as he sees her, Duke goes wide-eyed, shocked by her survival no doubt.
"Surprised to see me, General? I'm sure Mengsk told you that I was… an acceptable loss as you all pulled back from Tarsonis."
Marshaling himself rather quickly, Duke clenches his jaw and narrows his eyes.
"Kerrigan. You and Raynor are making a mockery of things, don't you think? The moment the Confederacy is defeated, you both turn to piracy."
Sarah scoffs as she sits down on the other side of the table.
"Don't talk to me about defeating the Confederacy. You were a Confederate General right up until weeks before Tarsonis. I was part of the Sons of Korhal for years. I fought for Mengsk across a hundred battlefields. And he betrayed me. Left me to die to the Zerg that YOU helped unleash."
That last bit brings a grimace to the General's face, though he does his best to rally.
"You're not exactly one to pass blame, Kerrigan. You protected the Zerg from the Protoss on Mengsk's orders as well."
She had, yes. And she would carry guilt over that for quite some time. But even still…
"I did so because I thought we were building towards a better future. I assumed you joined us for the exact same reason."
That gets the General up in arms.
"Of course I did! What are you talking about, Kerrigan?! You and Raynor are the ones running around attacking shipyards! Mengsk is doing exactly what he promised! He's building something better in the ashes of the Confederacy, something that will stand the test of time!"
Sarah scoffs at that.
"You don't really believe that, Duke. He's building a monument to his ego. He's made an Empire so he can call himself Emperor. Everything the Sons of Korhal fought for, all the tyranny we stood against… he's going to be just as bad if not worse."
"You… you don't know that."
Arching a brow, Sarah gestures to herself pointedly.
"Don't I?"
The old General doesn't quite squirm, but it's still a near thing. In the end… he slumps back, glaring at Sarah in not-quite-defeat.
"What the hell do you want from me, Kerrigan? You and Raynor… you could have put a bullet through my head already, but you haven't. Why am I still alive?"
Sarah scoffs.
"Obviously we're not going to kill you, Duke. In fact, Jim is planning to let you go along with anyone else from your crew who doesn't want to join us."
Duke's eyes narrow at that, prompting Sarah to smirk.
"Of course, the Hyperion is ours now. You'll just have to live with that."
Rather than rising to the bait, the General snorts derisively.
"That's a lot of ship for you and Raynor. Not sure the two of you are up to the challenge."
She shouldn't let that get to her. She shouldn't be rising to the bait herself. And yet… Sarah can't help but bare her teeth a bit, even as she rises from her seat and leans forward over the table.
"I think you'll find we're more than up for any challenge that you or your new Emperor will try to give us, Duke. You wanted to know what I want from you? That's what I want from you. I want you to go back to Mengsk with your tail between your legs, having lost your ship, and I want you to tell him that I lived… and that I'm coming for him. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But some day soon, when he least expects it… I'll be there. And I'll finish what I started all those years ago."
General Duke's jaw is clenched by the end of her spiel. His nostrils flare as he glares up at her. But he doesn't say a word… and Sarah is done speaking as well. So she turns and leaves the room, nodding to the marines outside so they can drag him away to be dropped off in the shipyards when they're finally ready to leave the system behind.
As she departs, Sarah finds herself hesitating for a moment… before letting her feet take her where they want to go. For better or worse.
-x-X-x-
The Vote:
[ ] Sarah's feet carry her to her own quarters - 7%
[X] Sarah's feet carry her to Myk-Zod and Mystique - 70%
[ ] Sarah's feet carry her to Jim - 23%
-x-X-x-
Also! I've started a new Weekly Story, please check it out for me!
Thick as Thieves (Marvel)
Themes: Thief MC, Mentor-Student Relationships, Harem
Summary: In which a young man turns to a life of crime for what he considers to be very good reasons. It turns out he has a talent for it... enough of a talent to wind up catching some interested eyes.Click to expand...
-x-X-x-
A/N: Leave a Like if you enjoyed please, would mean a lot!
Spoiler: Patreon and other Links Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:LuckyShadowWolf, ryanh2004, Mrizzy1234 and 188 othersCambrianJul 29, 2026Reader mode