This story is set about ten years after Brood War. Jim Raynor and his troops have joined with the Dark Templar and the Xel'Naga creations (that have now joined together and are calling themselves Lucifus and control a large part of the Swarm).
The Koprulu sector is divided into space held by Re-Omega (as explained above) and the Terran Dominion. Some groups of rouge Templar still exist along with various Pirate groups.
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Franky kept a quiet eye on the doorway to the huge structure as he waited.
The whole thing was rotten to his mind. Here he was, trying to infiltrate a Dominion base, which may or may not recognize him from previous missions, with no weapons except his own two hands (which he had to admit could quite easily tear inch thick Octathium hardened Zerg Carapace in two) and no way of getting backup except through a hyperband transmitter that would instantly alert anyone nearby with a similar device to his presence.
Thankfully the huge transmitter atop the huge structure itself didn't seem to be finished. But that wouldn't stop people from carrying round smaller, hand held versions. Depending on the power rating...
Franky hefted the bag that was on his shoulder and cursed silently as he felt it bite into his skin. It wouldn't hurt him or anything, merely waste his time, apart from distracting him.
He watched as a group of kids entered the facility and hoped fervently that he would manage to get through without any sort of trouble. His best chance really was to be quiet and hide. But hide out in the open. Sneaking in and avoiding being seen was out of the question. Infrared vision had picked up an old style Science Vessel buried under the hills next to the facility. It would undoubtedly be able to detect anyone that tried hiding nearby.
Picking himself up he slid down the slope, heading toward the main entrance of the base. The whole thing seemed out of style for the Dominion. There were four huge lakes surrounding the base, each of them taking up a quarter of the 'moat' and with a bridge of some sort linking it to the rest of the world. The facility itself looked like a flattened dome, huge pylons extended up and over it, lights gleaming on and off along there length. Most of the facility was red with pillars, posts and hard edges being painted in black. Franky had almost been sure they'd got the wrong place until he spotted the Arm and Whip symbol of the Sons of Korhal, still the symbol of the Dominion. The only thing that had changed was who was holding the whip.
Franky had been dropped off near a village of sorts and had used his brief time there to find out about this place. Some kind of political party calling themselves the Dominion had started up. They were promising peace, firm leadership, jobs for everyone... The sort of thing a dictatorship might say, and the sort of thing that the Terran Dominion had already said.
Franky was surprised when he made it all the way into the dome without being pestered by anyone. He was even more surprised by the lack of weaponry. For an operation that ruled largely by fear, suppression and summary execution, this wasn't looking quite right. He was therefore almost relieved to spot a group of armed Ghosts hidden around the room, cloaked but still visible to him.
***
The entire inside of the dome seemed to be one huge hall, the inside walls carried on the outside curve of the walls exactly. Franky glanced around, spotting several holes in the floor, currently covered over, that led downward. He was a bit disturbed to notice that below ground was shielded from his view.
Everyone who Franky had seen approaching whilst he had lain low was currently seated in the middle of the hall, arranged on chairs that were neatly laid out in a grid pattern. Franky picked one at the end of a row near the back, hoping that no one would notice him.
When something did happen he was surprised. A Ghost, flanked by two Marines, walked over to stand in front of the group of chairs that they were sitting on. None of them were in uniform or armed but they were still obviously Terran troopers.
The Ghost looked at everyone in front of him briefly, catching people's eye, probably checking whether anyone was going to cause trouble. Franky managed to pick out a few scars across the Ghost's head, indicating that he was probably a new addition to the cause, possibly even a local.
The chatter that had been going on between various groups of people died away slowly as people focused on the man at the front. The man seemed to check once more that everyone was listening then began talking.
Franky noticed that the man's speech had an odd effect. Around him people began became very still, listening with extreme care. Worried by this, Franky tried to imitate them whilst at the same time scanning frantically around the local area for anything that might be going on. Eventually he found it, not surprisingly, in the telepathic range.
When Kyle had designed him, the idea had been an android that could imitate a Terran perfectly. This had meant that any telepathic messages being sent around the area would have to be picked up and deciphered. Messages would also have to be transmitted as well. The only thing that Re-Omega had been able to get their hands on at the time that could send and receive telepathic signals, other than a living brain, was Khaydarin Crystals. And so several dozen fragments were buried deep inside his body along with a complex system of sensors and circuitry that would receive and interpret anything telepathic in the area.
Franky found a vague signal being transmitted by the Ghosts around the room. He knew almost instantly what it was, he had seen it done before. Occasionally, in field surgery, an anaesthetic was not available. Under these circumstances Protoss, even unskilled ones such as Zealots, could project a telepathic equivalent. This tended to cushion the thoughts of the receiver, gently pushing aside any doubts or even any form of sensation.
What was going on here was next to impossible. Terran Ghosts, what few there were in Re-Omega, had tried similar tricks but never got it to work. If Mengsk started using this trick in battles...
Franky focused on what the Ghost was saying. It seemed to be party propaganda for the most part with suggestions thrown in occasionally as to the listener trusting the Dominion or something similar. Franky was impressed by what he was seeing even as the true horror of it struck him. In a few such sessions Mengsk could take control of an entire settlement. In a few weeks of travelling, a very large part of the planet would be under the Dominion whip. Bad news indeed.
Suddenly people stirred. Franky realized that they had all been told to stand up. Quickly, keeping a glazed expression on his face to match those around him, he stood up, catching the strap of his bag as he did so. The Ghost seemed to be using this to measure people's reactions and was apparently pleased by what he saw.
At the Ghost's command there was general movement in the direction of the door that they had come through. Frank fell in with the rest, wandering where they were going, when the floor suddenly sloped downward. No one noticed the dark except the one who was afraid of it.
***
David sank back into his bed with a sigh. Whatever anyone ever thought about how wonderful it would be to be connected to the Swarm, and he did know that they thought about it, it wasn't. The constant noise of Drones chewing at Minerals or Gas Sacs, the murmuring of Overlords as they relayed commands from Lucifus or Kerrigan...
David thought about Kerrigan, the woman who had been the love of Jim Raynor's life.
The woman betrayed by Mengsk and left to die at the hands of the Zerg. The woman who even now was helping to run Re-Omega whilst at the exact same time was out trying to kill them off.
David had almost laughed when he finally got the hang of what people were talking about when they said that Kerrigann was conferring with Raynor and the Matriarch about strategy whilst someone else said at the same time that Kerrigan was off causing trouble on the Shakuras Front.
When he had found out the truth, that Kerrigann working for them was a Protoss Clone of the Queen of Blades, he had finally got the hang of it. He had assumed that the double 'n' at the end of Kerrigann was simply a mispronunciation on the part of whoever was talking. He had later found out that the error was on the part of the clone herself. Such faults were built into the Protoss cloning technique as a way of distinguishing between reality and a bad copy thereof.
Apparently, as he was part of the Swarm they had simply assumed that he would know. Lucifus hadn't mentioned it and Sarahh never gave any hint.
Rolling over onto his side David tried to block out the noise of the Swarm so that he could get some sleep. He almost succeeded. But Lucifus wouldn't leave him alone, as usual.
Lucifus, get out, he thought into the Swarm.
The voice that replied was a polyglot collection of all those he had ever met. His parents, Kerrigann, Jim, Ky-al, son of his old school friends...
We cannot David.
David slammed a fist into the bed beside him in fury. All I ask for is a bit of peace and quiet. Why can't you give me that much at least?
The voice of his parent's, strong authority that expected him to listen and learn, took over. You cannot control your abilities. Until you can we must keep them under control for you. You are too valuable to let us risk you destroying yourself. Lucifus had given this speech several times already and David knew it off by heart. It was true as well. David had little or no control over his own Protoss abilities. And so, shortly after they had begun to develop, Lucifus stepped in to take over.
And not a minutes peace since.
Lucifus came in again, its voice falling into a mixture of concern and sorrow. Your worry for Franky is obvious. He is safe so far.
Back at home even thinking what he transmitted next would have got him grounded for a few years. As it was the entire Swarm rocked for a split second under the force of it. When he felt that he was calm enough to safely respond, he transmitted, quietly and deadly, Stop reading my mind Lucifus. Raynor's already talked to you about it.
The reply that came back was edged with confusion. You are of us. His edict only applied to the Terran and Protoss members of Re-Omega. There is no reason to disconnect ourselves from the Swarm to allow it privacy. Why then is there reason to allow you, a part of the Swarm, such privacy?
I am not a part of the Swarm! David tried hard and managed to be offended at the idea that Lucifus thought he was simply another Hydralisk that they could slot in with the others.
You are off us. The choice is not yours. It never was from the time that you gained your abilities. Franky is safe, this we have confirmed. Now sleep, and do not be disturbed by our presence until you awake.
David felt his mind slipping away as he felt Lucifus will power bearing down on him. Raynor had once told him of a time when he, Jim, had tried to walk out of a planning meeting, symbolically ending it before it had really begun as Lucifus had tried to talk them into a scheme that involved Ghosts being reconditioned by Lucifus, something that most Terrans were against.
He had explained how Lucifus had simply frozen, without apparent effort, the entire right hand side of his body as it reached for the controls for the door. David had always thought that he would be able to stand up that sheer force of will, now he knew differently.
Within seconds, he slept soundly.
***
Franky slept on a hair trigger. At the slightest disturbance his main processor would leap into action and work out what was going on. This meant that in this place he was almost constantly awake as patrols went past, scanner's flickered on and off, other people stirred...
He had followed everyone else down the slope into the floor, hoping fervently that he would still be able to transmit out of all this sheer insulation. The entire group had gone down into a basement a few levels down from the ground. There they had been equipped with what resembled boiler suits, black with the Arm and Whip on the right chest, and had left their old clothing in the care of someone who looked like he didn't care. Not that anyone noticed that.
The telepathic cushioning had kept up until almost everyone was asleep. Then, gradually so as not to shock anyone, it had faded away.
Franky's internal chronometer showed that it was almost local morning when the pressure returned. Slowly, so that no one would really notice it, their thoughts had been pushed aside, gently shunted out of the way so that nothing would stop the Dominion from telling them what to think.
As soon as the pressure had reached something around what it had been yesterday, the lights came on. Franky had come totally awake, falling straight out of Deep Sleep and into fast action.
A few of the people started to get up until a voice instructed them to lie still where they were. Food would be brought to them along with a wrist band. They would be expected to eat and be ready for the day’s activities in what Franky managed to translate as half an hour. The wrist band would be attached on them by the people who brought the food. These should not be removed under any circumstances. If one fell off it should be reported immediately.
When the food arrived Franky watched the Band being clamped onto his wrist. he recognized it from capture reports of Dominion warehouses. It was some kind of combined tracking device along with a couple of sensors that measured your pulse and body temperature. This model seemed slightly larger, probably meaning that it had some kind of explosive in it just in case someone tried to do anything that they shouldn't.
The food was unappetizing but logical. Concentrated vegetable and meat compressed to the consistency of soft wax. Franky guessed as he ate that one meal would be all they would be getting. This would probably keep most Terrans going all day at least. A mug of water with a cap to prevent spillage, just enough to survive on.
The lessons for the day turned out to be mainly physical and political. The Physical part were simple, hundred meter tracks separating different obstacles that had to be traversed. Franky knew that he could be round the course before most people could have finished the first event, some kind of metal wall that had to be climbed.
But something kept him from doing that. If he revealed himself too soon then he would need to call in reinforcements. If he did that then other people would go down as completing the mission instead of him. And if he completed the mission on his own then people would have to take him seriously.
Perhaps then they would explain his nightmares.
***
Lucifus dreamt.
Not in the way of humans of course. That would be suicide for the entire Swarm if Lucifus slept. But it did dream. Such dreams were beyond her understanding. They came without reason and left a strange taste in their collective mind.
They hadn't dared mention this to Raynor or even to Kerrigann or David for concern that no one would trust them. If the mind that controlled a hundred billion savage killers couldn't even control it's own mind, what would they do about it?
As they wondered about this, simultaneously handling the mining of several dozen planets and the construction of new bases, a small part of them wondered whether they should have lied to David about Franky. They didn't know what was going on, they wouldn't until Franky contacted them. So what had caused them to lie to a part of themselves?
