Chapter Text
Jim Raynor was troubled.
“Raynor's Raiders” as they were called were outlaws, according to the Dominion government. Problem with that was, the government equaled one Arcturus Mengsk, and Jim had no problem with being a thorn in HIS side. The man had lied, schemed, and worst of all, sacrificed the woman Jim had fallen in love with to the Zerg. Mengsk was directly responsible for Sarah Kerrigan becoming the Zerg's Queen of Blades.
And with Mengsk dead and his son Valerian in hiding, they were stuck with Harrison Golan. The man had seized power while he could and taken control quickly in the aftermath of Mengsk's assassination. And HE had decided that the Dominion would be hunting down said Queen of Blades. It didn't matter that she had kept her Zerg away once she had taken back her hybrid form and Mengsk was dead. He wanted her head on a platter.
Thoughts of her hurt Raynor badly. That she seemingly lost her humanity ate at him constantly and he conceived plan after plan to help her or stop her, one or the other, only to have them crash down around him.
Jim. Jim Raynor. Hear me, Jimmy, please.
He sat bolt upright in his chair, drink forgotten, as the thoughts intruded into his head. At first he was convinced it was Sara, but then reason reasserted itself and he took a deep breath. There was only one other person it could be. But why would she be talking to him after a very long silence? He concentrated. He wasn't telepathic by any means but since she'd opened the “channel,” she would hear him. Ellie? What is it? Her “voice” was faint, as though she were very far away or very weak or both.
You have to help us. You're about to get a distress call from the research colony on Dynar Four. They are holding me and some of my people and the Zerg are coming. Please, you have to help. We don't want to die. We might be mainstream these days but the scientists still treat us as experimental animals.
Hang on, Ellie. I'll get Matt to head that way. Distress call will help convince him. He didn't want to end the contact, truth to tell. What he'd heard so far was cause for alarm on several levels. Dynar Four was one of the best Zerg research stations. It stood to reason it would be attacked by them sooner or later, but this was... unexpected. However, if they got there first, they stood to profit from it and that meant more weapons and wages for his people. He stood just as Matt Horner entered the Cantina.
“Jim, we've got a problem. Dynar Four just sent out a distress call, they're expecting a Zerg invasion pretty quick.” Horner's words were tinged with concern and he was watching Raynor closely. “And you're not surprised.”
“Lieutenant Malova just contacted me,” Jim replied as they moved toward the door. “I know you're not fond of her people but they need our help.” Not fond of, was an understatement. Matt Horner hated vampires with a passion.
“What is she doing at a Zerg research station?” Horner asked as they headed for the bridge. “She's not a scientist, she's a soldier.” And she was a Dominion soldier, at that. “And I hadn't heard of any vampire troops being assigned anywhere but heavy duty fighting zones. They're harder to kill.”
“Apparently she and a few of her people were taken there as research animals,” Raynor replied tersely. “She's scared. She thinks they're going to die and before the Zerg even reach the station. I think the scientists are looking at cutting their losses and getting out.”
“I've already started us that way. We should be there within a few hours. Can she hold them off that long?” Horner had a grudging respect for the woman. She wasn't like the others of her kind he'd met; she actually saw humans as fellow beings instead of just food. “How soon are the Zerg expected? The station didn't say, just that an attack was 'imminent.'”
Raynor concentrated, trying to reach her. If she had cut the contact – but no, there was something. Ellie, how soon are the Zerg going to be there? Do you know? And can y'all hold them off long enough for us to reach you? It was going to be dicey.
I don't know. And I don't know if we can hold them off, either. My people are locked down in one of the research buildings. All I know is that these scientists are all but shitting themselves. They're scared out of their minds. Her “voice” was getting weaker. They were experimenting on us. Some of the things they did – buy me a drink when we're loose and I'll talk about it. Not before then.
He had to concentrate to bring his attention back to Matt. He'd never been good at the whole “mindspeak” thing and it was almost impossible for him to talk both ways at once. “She doesn't know how long. She says the scientists are scared and she won't tell me anything else. Except that she and her crew are locked up.”
Of course I'll buy you a drink, darlin, I'll buy you a whole keg if you want it. She was his friend. And she was scared. That didn't sit well with him. What was going on out there?
Once you're here, I can show you where they're keeping us. If the Zerg don't get here first. Or the Dominion. Or the Protoss. They'll just wipe the planet. Not sure if that wouldn't be the better way to go. Her “voice” was dry. How long?
Matt says a few hours. That could mean two or twenty. I'll try to get a better estimate. “She's scared, Matt,” he repeated. “And you know Ellie. She doesn't scare easily.” He had to help her. They'd been friends for a long time and he owed her his life more than once. And she'd had the perfect opportunity at one point to turn him and hadn't done it. “I'll condemn no one to this,” she'd spat when she realized what she was doing. “I promised myself that a long time ago and I almost broke that vow. I'm sorry, Jim.”
Being lost in memory lane wasn't helping the situation and he hauled his attention back. “How long?”
“Two jumps, say three hours. Can they hold out that long?” They got to the Bridge and Matt was already running the calculations. “Two hours, forty-seven minutes.”
Did you get that, darlin? Almost three hours.
Yes. And believe me, anything that tries to come in here before then is going to get hurt. We're not helpless, even if the researchers tried to make us that way. They weren't just studying the Zerg, Jimmy. They were working on US, too. She gave him just a glimpse of what had been done to them and he saw red.
If there's a way to get there faster, we'll find it. Just hold on. He growled and Matt raised an eyebrow.
“Something you want to tell me?” he asked quietly. He knew Raynor had a history with this vampire, but he didn't know the specifics. Just that they were the kind of friends that ALWAYS had each other's backs. It didn't matter how long it went between contacts. If one was in need, the other was there. Without fail.
“Yeah.” He wanted a drink, needed one after that image. “They're trying to use the vamps against the Zerg, all right. They're trying to create a new food source for the vamps from Zerg blood. And instead of working, it's killing them. Burns em up from the inside. But they keep trying.” He shook his head. “We're supposed to be the good guys.”