Alexander watched as the queen of blades, stood before them.
As he managed to examine her looks from the aftermath of the battle, her Zerg bodysuit have more silver lining etched in the blend of purple. She is neither..Zerg or Terran...
"I guess.. this is the time we should be leaving for our respective paths..." She smiled.
"Indeed... With your power... I am sure you will unite the swarm...after that. What's your plans next?" Alexander spoke.
"Just as you say, unite the swarm, and ensure that Acturus is dead... I know... Even if I want to live in peace, he would never let Jim and I go. Especially that false god.."
"I'm... Having doubts lately, but if Acturus have to go... So be it." Raynor now steeled himself for the path ahead.
He already chosen this path, might as well accept it.
"Raynor, Drop me in Char, You can use the communication relay to send the encrypted transmission to the Hyperion, and have them get ready for Korhal. And Kerrigan Get ready for the final fight... For what the galaxy need the most." Alexander spoke.
Kerrigan nodded as she turned towards Raynor.
Raynor stared at what is Kerrigan as she became what he feared and... Worried that he have been seeing dreams of what become next would actually be....
"Jim?"
"It's Fine Darlin... The faster we finished... The better off we will be ready.." he hugged Sarah as he baded her goodbye.
As Raynor Dropship left Zerus.
Kerrigan whispered as the harsh winds of his shuttle shielded what she said as they left the atmosphere...
"Stay safe...Jim." her eyes held a small glimmer of tears as she headed back to her leviathan and gathered the swarm.
Alexander sat beside Raynor in his cockpit.
"Ya know... I always wondered...Had I actually taken Sarah and prevented her to be the Queen of the swarm again... Will you... No... Do you actually say what you said? About taking the mantle of defending the galaxy?" Raynor spoke as he drove Alexander back to Imperium space.
"Raynor... Allowed me to be frank... Not as a Commander or as a Leader of a Imperium that demanded my input... But as a friend... Yes, I would, because if no one take the choices you and her made... I will not shame you for that ... I know...
How it felt when the galaxy forces you to make that crossroads of defending Humanity and just escaping the reality with your loved ones, both sucks...
I do envy you Raynor...
You are somewhat human...
You have a thought about taking her away and hide somewhere that is far from this place .... Far from the horors that is yet to come... That there is part of you still human under that grizzle cowboy attitude of yours...
For me?
Be it holding galaxies worth of people that believe in me?
People sending prayers to my godly stepfather, demand and expected me to be their savior?
I don't... Have the strength...
I can't run away... From my responsibility.
In doing so... Would risk everything and everyone that believed in me...
Every work and words I contributed to my people would be for naught when the darkness consumed them all.
And if I truly failed....
Death is the kindest fate waiting for me..."
"You basically have it rough huh?" Raynor asked.
"Not really...
Used to...
But... I understood my limitations.
The path I walk is a lonely one....
I know my end is... Gruesome.
But at least... You...have a choice. Besides, you and I know... What the ending after all. Trust her a bit."
"Knowing you Boss, there's a plan for all this?"
"Yeah, like that time I did believed in Acturus and his cause.. he was someone I did consider a friend... Power corrupted him fully. His son is my... Backup plan."
"What's your plan with Mengsk kid?"
"I don't put his father sins upon Valerian... He will be treated as a partner, not as a Vassal, or a Tributary, but as a equal to the table, that much I could do for him.. and I will ensure that he would not end up like his father.... We are literally going to kill his father in this convoluted regime change so that humanity have a better chance... So Raynor, don't place your anger to Valerian... When you return, coordinate with Valerian and Tychus to aid in the korhal upheaval...
I'm not the hero that people need...."
"Understood..."
The journey was in silence, both men heading towards their own destiny...
As Raynor shuttle arrived at Char, Alexander inputted the security codes that granted access to the mining bastion on the planet.
It was a Mining base that was hastily set up to mine resources as fast as possible.
Any thoughts of security is the least of their concerns as the mining was used to be a undercover of the return to Kerrigan.
By now the amount of minerals that was being mined by the Imperium is more than enough to pay off the cost of the war and the veteran pensions.
The Commander of the bastion led Alexander to his office and Raynor headed to the communication relay his men as his Dropship is prepped, fueled up for his journey.
"What is your progress commander?" Alexander asked as he looked at the office.
Quaint and simple, easy to evacuate, as he intended, As he informed the people station here, that he never intended to fully garrison the planet, just mine the necessary resources as much as possible before Kerrigan come to reclaim it. He doesn't give something for free. And the amount of minerals is enough to pay off a crusade.
The Commander nodded as he handed the dataslate.
"High Lord, we have exceeded the mining quota by 600% and we already begun preparations of evacuation. Strange reports from the miners claimed that the mineral nodes nearby the bastion is regenerating, they simply mine as fast as they could. And it prevented us from overstretching our defensive lines."
"What about the natives we kept around for research?"
"We managed to kept the Swarm from intervening the mining operations, our patrols is enough to deter the Attacks.
The Mechanicus already gotten enough data from the Zerg to push your projects forward, Arch Magos requested that you would personally come to the Chau Sara Ring of steel."
Alexander glanced at the data slate and he was surprised.
The planet is technically partially under his control as his powers somehow regenerate the resources on the planet...
"Have a fleet ready for a controlled evacuation, give the Xenos thinking that we are still strong.
Prepped this bastion to self destruct once the last of the personal, mineral cargo and any machinery that is not bolted down to be shipped out.
Leave five regiments of Men of Iron to give the illusion of our presence. The moment we leave, teleport them in containment cells to ensure we don't bring anything nasty when we head back to Mars Sara."
"Understood, May our operations be a success." The Commander saluted.
"Yes... A success..." Alexander walked towards the exit.
As he wander the hallway of the base, many of the crew and staff of the base is preparing to leave.
To them, the High Lord have a objective that is beyond their means.
To him...
It was a concession.
He knew sooner or later Kerrigan would return would take the planet with force or not regardless if he did promised he would leave. and this time he would prefer less bloodshed.
He needed a Cannon fodder to serve as a buffer against the dark god.
And the Zerg would be useful.
He knew that the swarm would be a pawn regardless who is in control, but at least he would held a stake in that control, a better controller at the helm...
He must weight the cost of the consequences of letting a variable in the story...
No matter the cost.
Sure he have Necrons and Eldar as his allies, but to him this issue is "Human problems" and he would rely less on their aid, which is fine for them. As the Eldars he brought is busy making a slice of space to call their home and Trazyn that is currently the leader of the Necrons, whome is his Archivist is just satisfied for a single solar system to get his collection.
As the shuttle increase the frequency, evacuating whatever necessary to used for mining operations elsewhere.
Below Char is somewhat different.
Masses of Zerg howled in anger as they were driven from the surface. Masses of Zerg that surrounded by numerous eggs.
A roar echoed in the darkness as they paved way to a brood mother.
"The.Terrans.still.here....." It spoke in broken terran as it's mandible clack in frustration.
They been fighting for months ever since the Terrans took their queen away.
But ever since she felt the return of their queen, the power that emitted from the new one eclipse the old...
"She's not my queen" it murmur as it growled.
If Alexander personally met this Brood mother, he would definitely know that she is Zagara... Without the tutelage of Kerrigan.
And Zagara fear and felt awe of the sheer return of their queen that is heading their way. But her priority of the old Queen of blades remain.
Defiance to the end.
But never she knew that Kerrigan already managed to get all the fringe broods under her banner and now returning to Char, reclaiming the throne..
As she rally her brood to clash with the now skeletal forces of the Imperium, unaware that Alexander just tossed Kerrigan his problems to handle. Let the Zerg Queen fixed her horde than from external forces.
He already got what he needed from Char.
Mineral Resources, Combat data and Zerg Behavioral patterns. More than enough to calm the public that they can retake Char if they needed to.
The evacuation began to take place, and leaving a token force to handle the Zerg outbreak from reaching beyond the Char system.
As he returned to his capital planet.
It was not filled with celebration of his return.
It was just another regular ship arriving from throne knows where as the people have something to do, than bother his arrival.
He glance at the now Fortress Planet.
Glistening with orbital gun platforms and Ramilles Fortress. As hundreds of thousands ships flowed in and out of the planet.
What was once a fringe planet of the Confederacy now house the capital seat of the Imperium.
With the lives of the citizens a consideration, he ensured that the Imperium can function without him and can immediately take reins as need be.
The scars of Kerrigan rampage was still there.
The image of the swarm still linger in the minds of the Imperium.
Hundreds of mechs corpses floated around the system.
Sparks of light emitted from destroyed hulls that is drifting apart as a brief signs of life.
The mechanicum is busy salvaging whatever necessary to build it anew.
Zerg clusters is being cleansed.
As planet is on the path to recovery...
Alexander knew that it was just the calm before the storm.
Another foe would come and encroaching the life of the people that he defending.
With reports he peruse and kept him up to date.
The Mobius foundation sent spies into his Imperium. And secret bases is being found by the joint corporation of the Inquisition Ordo Hereticus and Ordo Xenos.
It was perhaps blind luck of these followers of the Emperor will, that they managed to get a fully intact Amon Hybrid that is kept in stasis. And data that is obtained before their occupant decided to destroy it.
And the results were disturbing.
The Adeptus Biologis found that they held a trace amount of DNA related to him from the behemoth blood.
And he was nervous as if they could replicate his blood to mass-produced this abomination... He and his forces have to fight the psyker/hybrid of his mistake..
The only sheer luck was that it was only few hundred being produced.
And what the Inquisition found was just the diluted ones...
He stood in a military observation deck in a black site in Chau Sara.
That planet held some significance of the image of the Imperium in the eyes of the galaxy.
If Mars Sara in the eyes of the people in the galaxy was the birthplace of the rise of the Imperium....
Chau Sara in the eyes of history was the powderkeg that made Alexander revolted.
Now the planet closed off from recolonization due to the intense Zerg infestation, now a Giant Black Site for experimental weaponry.
Weaponry and research that was not meant to be deployed for field testing.
War is a weird thing indeed.
It improve and decay the progress of technology at the same time.
Alexander found that they are slowly reverting back to the old imperium.
Improving technology for the sake of war to continue for the survival of war, to be the victor of war.
With his system down and the uncertainty of receiving new technology of the foes he slained, he is using the brains and technical knowledge of his people to improve the killing.
He observe as the Arch Magos of this galaxy beamed with pride as he spoke the findings
"++Emissary, we have made progress.++" The voxcaster of the arch magos screeched with a warm tone.
"What is it?"
"++Good things, wonderful things, more weapons to aid the Imperium Plight.++" He hummed as a pair of Mech landed near the observation deck.
"That's... A Zaku?" Alexander observe.
"++Emissary, that's no ordinary Zaku my liege, it hold all the current technology accumulated in a single machine.++" The Arch Magos gestures one of the machines.
"++You see, we been using the Zaku for how long?++"
"About almost a millennia if you combined all the galaxies we conquered."
"++And how much is that cost?++"
"Too heavy to bear." Alexander closed his eyes.
He remembers the time when the Mobile suits were first deployed in Warhammer, Every death, every hope of the pilots that dream for that future...
It numbered in the billions, soldiers that believe in him and their future.. A cost he never forget.
Sure most of the mechs were basically reverse engineering and slapped them with Warhammer Metals to replace their weak compressed steel frames and it wasn't enough for the tolls were too high to pay...
"++As you informed us, we are facing galaxies that will threaten our existence, but we have the technology and the willpower to move forward, before you left, you specifically requested that the soldiers of the Imperium must have increased survivability.
With the combat data that you given us, we held a discussion and found that the Xenos that we called Protoss and the Zerg have alarmed the Conservative Factions in the Mechanicum and they are willing to assist as much as possible.
++"
"I did requested that, is this the successful project?" Alexander watched the Test pilots heading to their respective mechs.
"++Let us see the newly improved mobile suit ++" the arch magos gesture at the machine performance.
Alexander noticed the minute difference.
The new mobile suit was more agile... More faster in response time... And a Energy shield envelope the machine.
"What is it made of?" Alexander spoke to the arch magos.
"++Synthetic Muscle Fibers, Composite Hard Light armor and a new power reactor that is equal to a blue sun to equip the Conversion shield, We combined Armored Core and Battletech technology into one frame, durable and affordable, to prevent technology leaks, we the Chau Sara only able to produce the engines while the frame can be mass produced anywhere. It can be put with any engine but they can't use the gimmicks.++"
The new mech able to plug in one of the laser hard points of the base and fired incessantly.
"++Now this mech can use laser and plasma weaponry. And able to use Mission packs as well.++"
"Can this be mass-produced?"
"++Just give the word, we can manufacture at least 5000 units in one day. More, provided that you allow the expansion of the replicators.++"
He was led to another compound showing one he was familiar with.
"Isn't that a Urbie?"
"++Bt Urbie, it hold potential for so much more. Now it got conversion shield and a internal teleporting beacon by mimicking the Protoss, we no longer have to ensure a costly landing and simply drop this mech from orbit. To power it up, a Necron Inertialess Drive is installed to ensure extreme punishment, and the radius of the snield ++"
"How many did you produce?"
"++About... seven, but once these are field tested, we can make more.++"
"I know... Just the place." Alexander already painted a target for practice.
The Arch Magos led him to the depths of the facility and a screens of variety of sizes show several blueprints Titans of differing sizes.
"This..."
"++Our forge pet project, We were thinking... What is the worse thing happens to the God Engines? Without the Empyrean shenanigans?++"
"Maintenance and logistics..." Alexander frowned as it was basically the main reason why almost every battlefront he rarely uses titans and only other mech from other franchises like Battletech, Mobile suit or Armor Cores... And the Char expedition to get Kerrigan, only 2 titan legions was deployed to assist. Two out of hundreds waiting to pick on her old self.
"++Correct, if one such god engine is destroyed it's limbs, it will take weeks for minor, if not months to fix the problem of the damage location, especially a battle that is more intense than what we are accustomed to, lots of sanctified oils and appeasement of the Machine spirit...by the time it done, the situation would be... Worse for us.++" The Arch Magos held out his hand to the panels.
"++But this... Would change everything, we managed to ensured that every titans can be modularized enough that what would take months to days by simply removing the damage parts and allow field recovery, if the nano machines embedded in the machines unable to repair the damage fast enough.++"
They continue to observe until they were led to two similar mechs undergoing a duel. And a brief flash of golden light envelope the duel. And one of them was faster than before and any attack inflicted upon the glowing mech was untouched.
"Seemed like you succeeded. Project Chronos..."
"++We managed to used the power of time. And that Iron Curtain of yours... Useful.++"
"++That phenomenon is the combination of Iron Curtain and Chrono boost, the machine is practically unkillable within a certain duration, by our calculation, it made the mech almost... Humans like reflex speed. And it already proven that it can clad on everything that is covered in armor, vehicles and ship.++"
"How long?" Alexander was interested.
The reason why he never even used that technology was the fact that the Mechanicum was busy reverse engineering the tech and it took Decades, literally almost a centuries even with the technology of the Dark ages of technology and the help from the Necron Chronomancers and Tau Earth Caste to give them a head start, to even thread the path of controlling time itself.
He noticed the growing Conservative Factions of the Mechanicus that wished to go back their old way of hoarding their technology.
But he directed their anxiety by showing them somewhere in the galaxies he conquer would house more technology that even the Dark ages paled against. Innovation or death of all was at stake.
The cyberpunk universe was more than proof of his generosity and slowly guiding the Mechanicus to their old Mechanicum ways.
He gave them the whip, but he Also gave them the carrot as well. That if they innovate, they not only earn his favor, which is akin to having the Emissary of the Ominnisiah favor to not only the individual but also their Forge Worlds.
That their works would be catalogue and the inventor name is scribe to the Stc database for their Omnissiah to use was a motivating factor for them to work harder.
"++The original was wonky, Last only 30 minutes before it need to recharge , now we improve that it can last for at least...5 weeks at maximum or at least a week for short term . We fixed the problem as the said device is way to big and it posed a strategic threat, we managed to miniaturized it small enough to install it into the God Engines..++"
"Does it kill the pilot?"
"++By the Ominnisiah grace, no, the moment it is activated there is a 20 meter warning if you get that limit, you die, it's perfectly safe.++" The Arch Magos laughed .
"++We ensure that it is able to be repairable on field and shall we head to the Infantry and Vehicle section?++"
They were lead to a smaller field of several armored soldiers and vehicles stood ready for their showcasing.
"++You see, thanks to the Astra Militarum battle data and the constant feedback we managed to improved the weapons++"
A pair of soldiers nodded and aimed at the placed targets. A group of husk of Confederate and Dominion tanks that was smuggled in the black market ended up in Imperium hands..
"++One side is the current iteration of our lasguns, Solair Mk 3 LasGun imbedded with the Kyber crystal.++"
A beam of golden light shot at a tank and it exploded.
"++TAKES TOO MUCH TIME++"
The one next to the shooter aimed a brand new rifle. And a beam of light began to disintegrated in a mere flash.
"You..."
"++We reinvented the disintegrator, now more quicker and cheaper as well. Only the volume of the manufacturing is barely enough for the sharpshooters. And if we can ramp it up for two years, every half of a regiment and Astartes legions can field this.++" The cackling of the voxcast was humming.
"++Now onto the Armor testing.++"
Several automated stubbed turrets immediately rained upon the armored men.
Brief flashes of light shine briefly as the bullets didn't even reached the body much less of a spark of the bullets exploding.
"++We called this... Calypso Armor. It hold a internal Conversion shield and allowed the user to survive in the void of space, and allowed modularity to keep up with our advancements on the field. With the Chrono boost...++"
The same golden light envelope the duo and they rushed to the position and disable the turrets.
"++Unfortunately, due to the lack of learned soldiers and the manufacturing cost, we can only field at least... Seven regiments.++"
"Can it be mass produced further?"
"++There's a limit that the replicators can achieve. Even that is barely feasible.++" The Arch Magos hummed.
"++With the observation data given by the Zerg and the Protoss, we estimated that our firepower is simply... Isn't enough.++"
"++We focused on the mechs and the Soldiers, but due to your concerns we help the Tracked and wheel vehicles to keep up with the advancement of technology.++"
"++This is no ordinary leman Russ... This is equipped with a Energy shield and like the predecessors, it got a replicator to reduce the necessity to rearm and refuel. This current iteration have none of the defects of old, it is made of cast method and a teleporting beacon Incase the crew compartment is breach before expiration.++"
"So basically all Imperial Vehicles have a teleporter that evacuate the crew?"
"++The energy to use it seem to be miniscule and can be used for the redundant vehicles.++"
"You have my orders to implement it first to all our vehicles. Vehicles can be retaken but the people cannot be wasted."
"++Understood, are you here for the shells?++"
"Yes, to ensure we have the best spear to spite the foes, let's see what you got."
"++We managed to make neutron and black holes bullets small and stable enough for prolonged use. ++"
"That's a good thing."
"++However it must be handcrafted as the replicators technology is not enough to mass produced it.++"
"That's bad."
"++It would take a few more decades. As we need time to implement it. We managed to produce a few hundred shells.++"
"That's good. What's the update for Project Sun Breaker?"
"++Unfortunately... It's been delayed, it's impossible. Unless if you get a Replicator on a size of a Planet, that project is... On the mothball.++"
Alexander sighed, he knows one such replicators... And he have doubt if the denizens in a galaxy far far away would let him have it.
The star forge is next on his list, if he ever gets out from this galaxy.
"Ready the prototypes on the next expedition to Dominion Space. I know a place to attack."
"++When?++"
"Skygeir Station, let's see if we can put your efforts to good use." Alexander smiled.
He trust the mechanicum to handle such things.
But having knowledge of what's happening, especially the Mass production of monsters created by his blood, attacking the major production of this abomination is needed.
"I wonder if Kerrigan already got the message."