On the opposite direction of the slaughterhouse, a lone mercenary battlecruiser quietly lifted off into the air.
“Captain Barnes? What’s the situation?” Jean turned to the captain of this ship.
As for the moment Jean, Viper, Isaac, and a large group of mercenary forces were within the best battlecruiser in the mercenary fleet. A man named Barnes was the ship’s captain. Dozens of security forces marines were scattered around the bridge. Jean’s reaper guards stood beside her. The reaper captain looked around, slightly glad he was with Jean.
“All clear. I don’t see a signal Dominion vessel in sight. We are free to jump.”
Jean did a simple but effective trick. The main forces of the mercenary fleet were sent on a suicide mission toward one side of the port. They would no doubt be obliterated, but they could draw most of the Dominion ships away and open up holes in the defenses. Everything went according to the plan. Frankly speaking Jean couldn’t believe how successful it was. The Dominion didn’t leave a single battlecruiser at this side.
It was almost too good to be true.
“Prepare for jump.” The coordinates were already typed into the ship’s computer to minimize the time.
Barnes nodded. “All crew members, jump in 3, 2...”
All of a sudden, a one kilometer long battlecruiser appeared right next to the mercenary vessel. It was so close that the two ships were almost touching each other.
The warp drive was just brought online, but that was the furthest it got. Four EMP missiles came out of the battlecruiser, hit the part of the ship that contained the warp drive, and exploded.
Along with a storm of exploding circuits, the warp drive was forcibly brought offline.
“How did they know where our coordinates?” Viper demanded as she caught herself from falling. The EMPs knocked the battlecruiser off its feet and most of the crew members were on the ground.
“Soldier, report!” Captain Barnes didn’t have time to answer the ghost’s questions. He snatched a radio and linked into the security forces communication channel.
“The Dominions are boarding our ship. Shit!” The security forces captain on the other side cursed. Barnes could hear intense gunshots, along with the sounds of bodies hitting the ground and man groaning in pain. “They’re breaking through. There is no way we can hold them off! We need he...Eh!”
The radio has gone quiet. All the gunshots and screaming have stopped. The only sound left was that of boots hitting the metal floor, and those boots didn’t belong to mercenaries.
Jean turned to Viper.
“There’s probably a mole among the crew members, but we don’t have time for a mole hunt. We can’t hold this ship.”
Viper loaded her rifle. “Beg to differ. That’s only a single Dominion ship. If we can hold them off until we can repair our warp drives…”
“We don’t have the time. Dominion reinforcements can arrive at any moment. If they have a mole among us then they know our plan and must’ve developed a way to keep us here.”
“Then we will abandon ship. Get in a dropship and warp out.”
Jean pointed at the Dominion fighters. These agile vessels, while the two capital ships were fighting, have spread out across the mercenary battlecruiser. They weren’t attacking, but there was no doubt they could keep any transport from escaping.
“We can’t. Even if we can get to the hangar we can’t get past the Dominion fighters.”
“Then what do we do? Sit back and wait to be killed?”
Jean shook her head. “We are sitting duck already, but the Dominion have chosen to board this ship instead of blast it out of the sky.” She looked at Viper. “There’s only one reason for this. They want me alive. They have no need for the rest of you, but don’t worry, I have something planned for you...”
“But what about us? The Dominion have no need to take us prisoners. They’ll kill us all.” Captain Barnes couldn’t help but interrupt. Maybe Jean had a way out for her girlfriend, but there was no way she could bring all the mercenaries to safety.
The scene went dead silent.
Jean eyed Viper.
Viper’s hand, which was running across the surface of the sniper rifle, paused.
Barnes reached for his sidearm.
The security forces looked at each other. Their expressions unseen under the helmets.
Jean was the first to act. She waved her hand, and out of nowhere four grenades with their security clips gone were tossed into the middle of the crew members.
“Grenade!” The unsuspecting crew members screamed as they were ripped apart.
Viper raised her weapon and sniped four security forces marines in two seconds.
Barnes drew his weapon and pointed it at Jean, but he never had the chance to fire. Isaac pointed his pistol at the back of Barnes’ head and pulled the trigger.
It was a massacre. Confused marines fought back, but they were slaughtered. All the crew members were gone in just minutes.
Suddenly, Jean felt a pistol put next to her head.
It belonged to the reaper captain.
“The Dominion will pay me big bucks for this.”
Jean glanced at him. His helmet was off, and Jean could see a shade of blue in the bottom of him eyes. She glanced at Isaac, who just shot a deck officer in the chest, and saw the same blueness.
The captain was under mind control. He himself didn’t know it, but normal guard captains don’t just betray their commanders for a few bucks. Perhaps they might if their commander wanted them dead, but this betrayal was obviously pre-planned.
Jean immediately realized Nova came here really prepared. During the time between the battle of New Folsom and this assault, A Dominion ghost, maybe Nova, must’ve snuck into the port, got to the reaper captain, and influenced him. The captain was Jean’s personal guard, but he was also a frequent guest of a bar in Deadman’s Port, where he dumped all the credits Jean paid him. He wasn’t that hard to get to. Now that Jean thought about it, she gave the captain a lot of break time, especially when she herself was with Viper.
No one saw it coming. Not even Jean. She realized the Dominion forces jumped in extremely close to her platform, but she just thought maybe the Dominion did some recon. She didn’t expect a mole. She was emotionless, not omniscient.
The girl glanced at the rest of the reapers, and realized they were pointing their guns at her as well. Maybe they were controlled as well. Maybe they were bribed. It didn’t matter.
Jean’s mind turned, but before she could say or do anything, Viper looked at her and saw her being held at gunpoint. Immediately, a psionic wave washed over the entire bridge. Everyone, including Jean, dropped their weapon and clutched to their head in excruciating pain.
Well, almost everyone. A pissed off Viper turned her rifle and shot every single reaper guard in the head. As the last reaper fell, Viper knelt down beside Jean and helped her up. She bit her lips as she saw the pained expression on Jean’s face. In the heat of the moment, the ghost temporarily lost control of her power, and it pained her to see Jean in so much pain.
Standing up, Jean turned around and put a bullet into Isaac’s head.
There was a reason Jean decided to slaughter every single one in the bridge except herself and Viper, and she didn’t do it because she wanted to kill someone. She couldn’t allow anyone to live and potentially help the Dominion learn what she did and therefore identify her weakness. If the Dominion got someone to talk, they could learn much more than what Jean wanted to reveal.
As that was done, Jean turned to Viper. Even now, after Jean killed almost everyone, friend or not, the ghost didn’t do anything to keep herself safe against Jean. If she simply took a step back she could buy herself a few more seconds to respond if Jean tried something unethical, but Viper didn’t.
Uncharacteristically, Jean didn’t disappoint Viper’s trust.
“Remember the protoss that barged in when we were together? A few days ago?”
“The Tal’darim?” Viper suddenly remembered what happened back then. “The Tal’darim commander sent you a squad of assassins with cloaking capabilities! They must have a cloaked ship! We can get up there and escape.” She suddenly paused, realizing something. “But you’re not coming with me. Why?”
“The Dominion have set their eyes on me, and they will not rest until I am either dead or captured. Even if we can make it out of this, we can’t run from the Dominion forever. They have the resources and the manpower to easily locate and overpower us. If we want to live through this, we need to make sure they change their mind.”
The battle of New Folsom had its lasting effects. While Jean prospered, she was painted as a threat to Mengsk. The Dominion Fleet seemed weak and constantly on the defensive, but that was misleading. In reality, the Dominion was still ten times stronger than everything Jean could muster. The fall of Isaac’s mercenaries in a couple hours told the same story.
But despite all this Jean didn’t regret siding with Tosh. For one thing, regret couldn’t change anything. Plus, she had no idea her identity would be leaked. She knew there was the risk, but she was willing to take the risk in exchange for the potential allegiance of Tosh’s spectres and later an entire Dominion fleet.
“How?” Viper frowned. In her radio, she could hear the sound of weapons firing getting closer and closer. The Dominion strike team was the best of the best. Viper didn’t know they belonged to Dominion Special Forces, but she did know the mercenaries didn’t stand a chance. They needed to come to a decision quickly.
“They wouldn’t want to hunt down a dead woman. If I can get captured and fake my death…”
“It’s too risky. The Dominion aren’t fools.”
“But it is necessary. I can’t build up my forces with the Dominion on my back. I need to make them think I’m dead. After I escape, I will go by a new identity and do my best to hide my skills with the computer so I don’t drag as much attention. I will meet you as soon as I can.”
“Then don’t build up your forces.”
Jean froze.
“We can go to somewhere remote. Somewhere out of the Dominion’s reach. We can settle down, get married, and live out the rest of our lives in peace. We don’t have to live like this.”
Jean lowered her head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.”
“Why not?” Viper asked, but the next second she felt someone hitting her in the back of the neck. She collapsed with a slight groan.
Jean looked at the figure behind the collapsed ghost. It was a blood hunter.
“If she is injured I will have your head.” She threatened. Blood hunters weren’t exactly the most experienced in terms of taking people alive, especially not terran.
The blood hunters smirked but didn’t say anything.
“Carry her to your transport and get her out of here. Keep her safe or I will tell Nyon about your transgression.” Jean was quite familiar with the culture of the Tal’darim. Kind words and trust weren’t the most effective method. Only threats could keep them in line.
“I serve Nyon, not you.” The Tal’darim retaliated.
“Serving me is serving Nyon.”
The blood hunter finally nodded. She carried Viper in her arms and walked away. She was able to briefly cloak the fainted ghost with her void energy to keep her safe from the approaching Dominion forces.
Now that she was alone inside the bridge, Jean sat down in the captain’s seat and quietly took out a pistol.
Just two minutes later, the blast door was blown open. A squad of Dominion soldiers charged in. A Spec Ops ghost was leading the assault.
“All clear. Target acquired. Seizing her immediately.” The soldiers scanned the bridge and realized all the crew members except Jean were dead. As the elite marines and marauder commandos secured the area, the ghost walked up to Jean and, without a word, jammed a taser into her neck.
Jean was knocked out instantly. Military class tasers were much more effective than the one Jean used to take down Isaac.
Meanwhile, inside another part of the mercenary battlecruiser, Nova snapped the neck of the last mercenary officer. “Take her back to my ship. Keep her under maximum security.”
“Yes sir.”
Jean woke up with a sting in the back of her neck where she was hit. As soon as she could, she quietly looked around.
Jean was put in a maximum security room. Two Spec Ops ghost lurked in the shadows. Dozens of elite marines either stood guard or patrolled around. Detectors covered the entire battlecruiser so cloaked unit couldn’t sneak in and snuck Jean out.
Of course, Jean could only see the marines, but the rest could be assumed.
Knowing Jean was awake, Nova walked into the cell. Her suit were still stained by the blood of the mercenaries she massacred.
“Where is Tosh?” She demanded straightforwardly.
She got Jean, but she still wanted to take Tosh, and Jean was the best link she had.
“I don’t know.” Jean replied. Her hands were tied behind her back in a pair of shackles capable of holding a zealot in place. An ordinary girl like her had no chance of breaking through. “We separated as soon as the battle of New Folsom ended.”
Nova knelt down in front of Jean. “Maybe you’re lying and maybe you’re not, but I’m not taking any chances.” She rested her hand on Jean’s forehead. “This may cause some brain damage, especially if you are resisting, so I hope you can answer me the easy way.”
Powerful ghosts were capable of reading the minds of these weaker than them. When Kerrigan, still a ghost, first met Raynor, she read his thoughts of sleeping with her. Nova was not as strong as Kerrigan, but she wasn’t an average ghost agent either. With some effort she could get into the head of defenseless victims and read what they were thinking.
Of course, there was always a problem. Chances were the process might mess up the mind of the victims.
“You didn’t shoot my ship out with a Yamato shell. Instead you put your expensive troops at risk,” Jean glanced at the well equipped Special Forces soldiers. “to board my ship and send them against cheap mercenaries. You want to take me alive. I doubt you would risk doing anything that might compromise my value.”
Nova growled and lowered her hand. “It doesn’t matter. When we get back to Korhal, our scientists will insert an inhibitor chip in your brain. You will realize the foolishness of your ways and join us in the fight for humanity. You will become just like me, a loyal soldier of the Dominion.”
Jean was unmoved.
Nova pushed further. She wanted to break Jean’s spirit. She wasn’t lying when she talked about the inhibitor chip, but inhibitor chips weren’t invulnerable. Apart from the expensive cost, anyone with a strong will could resist the chip’s effect. Ghosts like Kerrigan and Nova received their surgeries when they were kids practically incapable of thinking for themselves.
Nova didn’t know much about Jean’s willpower, but judging the fact that she killed all her crew members without hesitation to probably tie up loose ends and the calm look she now holds, even when captured, Nova doubted the inhibitor chip could have much effect. She needed to lower Jean’s willpower as much as possible.
“You have ran out of your tricks. Tosh wouldn’t risk attacking two Dominion fleets just for you. Even if he does he wouldn’t be in time. Last I heard Raynor took some losses against Tosh. He’s probably hiding on some distant planet and licking his wounds now. Your mercenaries are gone. I don’t see the ghost you work with, but this place is a death trap. If she tries anything, she will be killed immediately. Your fate is sealed.”
Jean still remained quiet, and Nova stood up and walked out of the cell. Two elite marines closed the door behind her.
