Note that this fan fiction is set upon to separate but closely linked alternative realities. The first ‘Now’ is set in the supposed future, while ‘Then’ is set just after the events of Starcraft, and prior to those of Brood War. Neither reality is designed to closely match Brood War story line. The dependency of one reality to the other will grow more apparent with each chapter.
NOW. 7. TELEMACHUS
Raynor, having completed his rounds of the town for the day, set his Vulture on a course for home. As usual, the most serious violation of the law had been that some guy’s dog had chewed up some other guy’s chicken. Raynor had wearily suggested that the dog owner pay the chicken owner for the loss, with which both parties had complied amicably and walked away chatting. Raynor wondered, not for the first time, why they couldn’t have sorted it out for themselves. But he had a dim understanding that people, especially ones who had led stressful lives, sometimes needed a show of power from a benevolent authority.
The matter of what he’d seen in his meetings with Magellan and Kazansky were playing on his mind. Frequently he found himself fingering the strange grip of the Protoss device, his hand falling to it with entirely too much ease. He wondered continually what it did, though it was increasingly obvious that it had something to do with radiating entropy – his bike had already failed to start three times.
However, he was more than ever sure that Kerrigan was not to know. Most of this was a husband’s natural concern for his wife’s well being… he didn’t want to worry her unduly, and he himself was already worried enough. But part of it was an idea that he should keep the ideas secret, self-contained, and as solitary as an oyster. Why he felt like this about his beautiful, beloved wife he didn’t know. But it worried him. And he was sure it would hurt her. And she had been hurt enough.
Kerrigan was often home before him, depending on whom was cooking the dinner that night, and from the lights Raynor observed that she was. However as soon as he walked through the door he observed that something was wrong. There were no enticing smell of food, and Kerrigan was not in the kitchen, but on the couch in the front room. She was naked but for a kimono, which was unusual unless she was feeling especially horny, but this did no seem to be the case, for as soon as she saw him she came up to him, and with trembling lip and sorrowful eyes placed her hands in his.
‘Darling, what’s the matter?’ he said.
Her lip trembled, and to his horror tears started to flow from her large blue eyes. ‘Oh, James, you are going to be so upset with me!’
‘Why love? What have you done?’ he said tenderly, gently wiping the tears from her face with his fingers. They flowed unchecked.
She gulped, and continued. ‘I went to see Dr Magellan today…’
‘And what? What did he say?’ said Raynor anxiously, his heart sinking as he thought of any number of possible scenarios, from terminal cancer to the Zerg DNA reasserting itself.
Unable to speak, she merely whispered.
‘I’m pregnant.’
Raynor stared at her in amazement, then embraced and kissed her. ‘But darling, that’s wonderful news! Isn’t that what we both wanted?’
Her tears of sorrow changed to tears of joy. ‘Oh, yes, yes, but I wasn’t sure about you,’
‘Darling you never should have doubted me. I’ll love the baby as much as its mother.’
‘Dr Magellan says that, despite my… genetic complications… there’s every reason why I should have a healthy pregnancy and give birth to a normal baby boy,’
Raynor might have wondered how they could tell the zygote’s gender so early on, but he was as happy as any expectant father. ‘That’s excellent. The first baby in the colony, imagine that.’
‘I’m so glad that you’re pleased,’
‘Of course I am!’ He drew back for a moment, and looked his beautiful wife up and down, her face streaked with tears of joy. ‘Before I only saw one person, but now I see two, I see two!’
THEN. 7. JUNO’S BETRAYAL
Arcturus Mengsk was sitting in his throne, idly watching a sitcom on the viewscreen and listening on his headphones while everyone thought he was intently surveying for the good of the realm, when suddenly a little message flashed up in green letters at the bottom of the screen.
Incoming message.
Arcturus cursed silently, wondering why the message hadn’t been screened by his legions of secretaries. It had been made abundantly clear to them that People did not contact Arcturus. Arcturus contacted People. An emperor must maintain a distance from his troops…
There were therefore only two possible conclusions. Either somebody had made their way through his legions of specially obstreperous secretaries – a possibility that was almost vanishingly small – or someone had his own private code.
Arcturus, not a stupid man, killed the sitcom immediately.
Before him flashed up a face, which made his eyes wide, his mouth gasp and his body sit back in his chair. His marines and Firebats looked at him curiously. He tried to conceal his shock; but with difficulty, for before him was the black mask and laser-sight goggles of a Ghost.
‘Emperor Arcturus,’ said the Ghost in that special rasp they all seemed trained to do. ‘I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure…’
‘Who are you?’ hissed Arcturus, trying desperately to keep his voice below a whisper. ‘What do you want from me? Your people are renegades to my dominion!’
‘A fact that will soon change,’ said the Ghost smoothly. ‘Because, I have an offer that you cannot refuse.’
‘I don’t believe you!’
‘Oh yeah? Believe this…’ and the Ghost said his piece.
It took a while. During the piece a picture flashed up briefly to break up the continuity of the black-masked head moving back and forth. It was a picture of a tall, slender girl with platinum blonde hair and blue eyes. She reclined, smiling, on a bed, her legs parted slightly. She was completely naked and very beautiful.
‘I accept your terms completely and unconditionally,’ said Arcturus immediately after the other man had finished.
‘That was easy,’ said the Ghost, and laughed.
‘Don’t push it, or you’ll find I start altering the bargain.’ grated Arcturus. ‘Nobody is to know we have this bargain, d’you hear? My people would play football with my head if they knew of this day’s work.’
‘Accepted. If that’s all…’
‘It is. Arcturus out.’ After the ghost had gone, Arcturus lowered the screen, removed the headphones and rose majestically to his feet. ‘Adjutant, prepare the fleets. All of them.
‘We’re going to Tarsonis.’
