Skirmish on Char (The Reckoning)

History
Six hours after the destruction of the Second Overmind, Samir Duran gave Kerrigan a report. With the Overmind and its Cerebrates destroyed, virtually all the Zerg in the Sector now fell under Kerrigan's control. The UED fleet had fled the planet, and he did not know how many ships they had left. Kerrigan's primary Hive Clusters were moved to an orbital platform over Char.

Zeratul had somehow bypassed the Zerg defenses and spirited the Matriarch away. He and his brethren had collected with a group of Protoss survivors and clustered on the surface of Char. They had imprisoned Matriach Raszagal in a Stasis Cell, and would be able to initiate dimensional recall to Shakuras in only half an hour.

Kerrigan then ordered all of her Broods to descend to the surface of Char and capture the Matriarch and Zeratul. The rest of the Protoss could die.

Believing the Protoss intended to take Raszagal back to Shakuras, Kerrigan said it was a pity that Raszagal could not be redeemed.

The Zerg had to quickly concentrate their forces and move them against the Protoss. The remnants of the United Earth Directorate stood in their way, but these were quickly defeated. Eventually the Zerg reached the small Protoss base, killing all the Protoss and destroying all the structures except for the Stasis Cell.

Zeratul wasn't there for the attack, but he quickly made an appearance. Cursing Kerrigan, he destroyed the Stasis Cell and stabbed his own Matriarch with his warp blade.

As Raszagal lay dying, she told Zeratul that he had freed her from Kerrigan's control, and that he must watch over her tribe. "Into your hands I give the future." Then she died.

Kerrigan could scarcely believe what she had just seen. Zeratul said it was better that he killed her, rather than let her live as Kerrigan's slave. Kerrigan, impressed, allowed him to leave without attacking him. Besides, she had "taken his honor" and believed he would never be able to forgive himself.

True to her word, Kerrigan allowed Zeratul and a few of his brethren to escape from Char. These battered Protoss set their course for Shakuras, hoping to find Artanis and any other survivors of Kerrigan's attacks.