StarCraft: Ghosts of the Past

Almost Human

Primary Zerg Hive, Char

If hadn't have been for the fact that the Xel'Naga Artifact had scoured every Zerg in the vicinity, the Terran Marines who were marching through the central hive cluster would've shot just about everything that vaguely resembled a Zerg. They had a special mission in this Hive though and a pair of commanders who were determined to make sure no harm came to their objective.

"Assuming that our target is even still alive and in one piece," thought Commander Jack Shepard. Shepard, once a captain in the Confederate marines, once Magistrate of the Mar Sara colony, one-time member of the Sons of Korhal, and tactical commander of Raynor's Raiders, turned to his friend and comrade, the former-Marshall Jim Raynor and said, "Jim, what if it didn't work? What if Kerrigan was so completely Zerg that the artifact..."

"Don't even think that! She's here, I know it!"

"Got something," said one of the marines in front. Jim and Shepard moved past him, taking note that it was Jim's old buddy Tychus Findlay, who was now pointing his rifle o at a crumpled form on the fleshy floor of the hive. A single hand, a very human looking hand, jutted up from the mist that flowed over the floor of the hive. Jim immediately knelt down by the figure and opened his faceplate.

"It's her!" he said.

Shepard opened his faceplate as well and looked down at what had once been the Queen of Blades. Her skin was pale and mottled but all trace of Zerg carapace was gone. Her nails, while somewhat long, even by most women's standards, were human. The only thing about her that still seemed Zerg was her "hair," the long bony tendrils that jutted out of the back of her skull and had helped to contribute to her frightening Zerg appearance. She lay on the floor of the hive, naked as the day she was born, one arm raised into the air as if searching for something, the other curled protectively across her chest. The mist thankfully covered anything else.

Tenderly, Jim kneeled down and propped Kerigan up.

"Sara?" he said. Kerrigan's eyes struggled to open, wildly dancing pupils searching for the source of the voice. Peering down at her much more human face, Shepard shook his head and said, "It's her. Samuel J. Houston on a bicycle, we did it. We actually did it!"

Tychus Findlay, somewhat less enthusiastic, continued to broadcast to his benefactor.

"You readin' all this?" he grunted.

"You have your orders Mr. Findlay," responded the voice of Arcturus Mengsk, "Carry them out!"

With not much choice in the matter, Findlay leveled his rifle and pointed the laser sight straight at Kerrigan's forehead. Shepard frowned and turned to Findlay.

"Lower your weapon Tychus," he growled. When Tychus didn't respond, he added, "That's an order dammit!"

"'Fraid that's an order I can't follow Commander," Tychus responded heavily.

"Tychus, what have you done?" asked Jim, a steel note edging his voice.

"I made a deal with the devil Jimmy. She dies, I go free. She doesn't die, then I do. And as much as I like you Jimmy, I like living more."

"Dammit Tychus, why?" asked Shepard.

"I ain't givin' you a speech. Now, you gettin' out of my way Jimmy?"

Raynor didn't move, even as Tychus' laser sight twitched across Kerrigan's head, even as Shepard began to raise his rifle, aiming it at Tychus. He stared into Kerrigan's eyes. They focused on him and he could see recognition there.

"We all got our choices to make," he said grimly. Slowly he unclasped his holster.

"Damn shame," said Tychus, looking just a little bit sad.

"Tychus, don't do it," implored Shepard even as Tychus' finger tightened on the trigger of his rifle. Just as the rifle went off, Shepard fired his own rifle, aiming to knock out Tychus' gun. Tychus' shot took Jim in the shoulder as he juked to the left to protect Kerrigan. With years of practice, he whipped his slugthrower out the holster, aimed and fired.

"Jim?" Kerrigan called out, the sudden movement and gunfire having startled her.

"It's okay," he replied, leaning down and picking her up, "I gotcha."

Now they were leaving the hive, sunlight streaming in upon them. The bright light hurt Sarah's eyes and she winced. Slowly her eyes adjusted to the light and she looked up into the face of James Raynor. His armor was scarred and blood-spattered but his face looked almost the same as it had the last time she, Sarah, had seen him. Perhaps a little more grey in the beard. He looked down at her, seeming to say without saying, everything's all right. She could hear a second set of powered armor boots crunching in the creep and gravel nearby and she looked past Jim's right shoulder, squinting at the marine next to him and recognized another familiar face.

"Commander? Is that you?"

Shepard turned and smiled at her and she noticed that his face was a lot more haggard now.

"Yeah, it's me Sarah. How do you feel?"

She turned her gaze from him, towards the bright Char sunset. Slowly, she reached up and felt the bony tendrils where her hair had once been.

"Almost human," she said and then grinned. "With one major headache."

Author's Notes: Jack Shepard is my version of the player character from the Terran Campaign in SC1. And, yes, it's a nod towards Mass Effect.