United News Network Studios, Korhal
"Good evening everyone. This is Kate Lockwell for UNN." The famous reporter now Anchor Woman of UNN smiled into the camera as she sat comfortably in the studio chair. "It has been one week since the terrifying Zerg invasion of Korhal and after several days of reconstruction, we have managed to bring the UNN studios back online and continue our broadcasts to you."
"Tonight, we discuss the startling events of that took place in the streets of Korhal as the Zerg returned and left the City of Augustgrad in ruins along with severe casualties. Most noticeably among the casualties was the Emperor himself who died by the Queen of Blade's hands. However, even with the Dominion military decimated by this attack, civilian casualties were very miniscule as the evacuation of the populace proceeded efficiently. Many questions and rumors surround this terrifying yet fascinating turn of events.
"Here to answer many of these questions is our very special guest tonight; our new Emperor, Valerian Mengsk." Valerian smiled into the camera sitting comfortably in his chair across from Kate's. It was quite a while since he was interviewed by Kate during the Zerg's return to the sector. It would be an interesting interview indeed.
"On behalf of UNN, I'd like to say how grateful we are to have you here."
"The honor is mine, Kate." Valerian said with his charming smile. "I actually enjoy being on the air. Especially if it's with you."
Kate concealed her embarrassment and nearly blushed again remembering the last interview she had with him when he admitted that he had a crush on her. She regained her professional composure quickly.
"Thank you. Now, there are many questions that our viewers have been asking and rumors that have been surrounding the events of the last four years since the arrival of the Zerg and Protoss. I've narrowed as much as I could."
"I'll do my best to answer what I can answer."
"Ok, first question. It was rumored that after Raynor's Raiders came to Korhal and broadcasted the proof of your father's actions of using the Zerg to destroy Tarsonis, you took half of the Dominion fleet and attacked the Zerg home world of Char. Beyond that point, the events are unclear. Could you tell us what happened or at least some of the details that you can talk about?"
"The purpose of bringing the fleet to Char was to defeat the Queen of Blades to save the sector from the Zerg," Valerian replied carefully choosing his words. "I wished it to be done so that every man, women and child could be able to sleep peacefully at night."
"I see." Kate said. "There seems to have been some confusion surrounding the events of the Char invasion and the retreat of the Zerg. The last we heard, your father was the one who claimed the Zerg were defeated. But with the recent invasion of Korhal, these claims were proven false. Could you clarify what exactly happened?"
"What happened was the initial assault of Char was met with harder opposition than we anticipated. We nearly lost our invasion force but it was saved because of the help of James Raynor."
"So it was true that Jim Raynor was involved in the invasion."
"That is correct."
"Interesting. May I ask, why did Jim Raynor join the Dominion fleet that you lead to fight the Zerg? It's very hard to believe that a sworn enemy of the Dominion would agree to fight alongside the Dominion fleet."
"Jim Raynor was a sworn enemy of my father and the corrupt regime he stood for. The reason why I wanted his help was because of his extensive experience fighting the Zerg. With his understanding of Zerg tactics and knowing their strengths and weaknesses, he and his crew would be an invaluable asset for the operation. When the assault faltered, Raynor managed to get down to the surface and rally the survivors together. Once everyone was rallied together, he lead a strategic strike on the Zerg to weaken their defensive capabilities. When everything was put into place, Raynor lead the final assault and defeated the Queen of Blades."
"It's good that you mentioned that because there are now even more questions that involve the Queen of Blades and her return to the Dominion home world. It's obvious that the Queen was not killed at the end of the invasion of Char. So what happened?"
"In order to understand what happened, I need to tell you about how the Queen of Blades came to be." Valerian paused and drew a breath when Kate was ready to listen.
"The Queen of Blades was indeed once a human named Sarah Kerrigan. She was a very powerful psyonic. I don't know all the details but she was one of the Confederacy's top Ghosts. During her years as the Confederacy's agent, she was eventually sent to a secret facility where the confederacy had experimented on the Zerg before the first encounter in the Sara system. My father came to the facility when he lead the Sons of Korhal and freed her. From then on she was his second-in-command in his campaign against the Confederacy.
"When the Zerg first appeared on Mar Sara, my father and Kerrigan came to the planet and evacuated the civilians. It was then that James Raynor had joined my father's rebellion. He fought alongside the soldiers and alongside Kerrigan across several worlds including Antiga Prime. When they reached Tarsonis, my father set up the Psi-emitters as you may well know from the broadcast."
"So how did Kerrigan become the Queen of Blades?"
"When the Zerg started to flow onto the planet, the Protoss arrived. You may know that when humanity first encounter the Protoss, they incinerated several human worlds including Cara Sara, Mar Sara and Antiga Prime. The reason was because the worlds were infested by the Zerg and they couldn't risk them to spread any further. But because Tarsonis was vastly populated, the Protoss commanding the fleet ordered ground teams to defeat the Zerg and spare the citizens and the planet from destruction. But my father didn't want the Confederacy to escape and regroup so he ordered Kerrigan and a task group to stop the Protoss. They succeeded in pushing the Protoss off the planet but the Zerg began to overrun their position."
Valerian took a pause. "From James Raynor's account, Kerrigan called for evac but my father belayed the order and left her and the group behind."
Kate was silent for a second. No doubt the viewers were as shocked as she was. "So your father was the reason why the Queen of Blades was created?
"It was one of the unseen consequences that my father never saw. And leaving her behind was the reason Jim Raynor defected from my father's forces and started his rebellion."
"These are very shocking revelations," Kate said. "Ok, going back to recent events, we would like to know what really happened after the invasion of Char. It is obvious that the Queen of Blades was not killed."
"You are right because the invasion did not end with the execution of the Queen. I can't give specific details, but I can say that the Queen of Blades was weakened and pacified. What happed was we recovered her and brought her aboard Raynor's ship."
"What exactly was the purpose of recovering the weakened Queen of Blades? Most people would think that the greatest menace to humanity needed to be destroyed in order for humanity to survive?"
"When we defeated her, her Zerg form was removed and-"
"I'm sorry," Kate interrupted. "So you are saying that the Queen of Blade was returned to human form?"
"Yes," Valerian replied. He wasn't annoyed that Kate interrupted. She only interrupted because she wanted to get the question answered before the conversation drifted somewhere else. She wasn't an interviewer who pushed the interviewee into a corner to get the answer they wanted. Kate was a person that was curious and wanted to see all viewpoints.
"Most of her Zerg form was dissolved and her human form resurfaced. As for the method of how it was done, I'm afraid that's classified. I hope you can understand."
"Of course."
"When she was returned to her human form, she was weak and disoriented but she regained her composure after she rested. Kerrigan was a powerful psionic before she was taken by the Zerg and she retained much of her powers when she recovered. Now, the reason why we kept her alive was because we wanted to observe her to see if she could remember anything during her time as the Queen of Blades. We hoped to learn more about the Zerg through her."
"An interesting reason considering what had happened on Korhal a few days ago," Kate said.
"That was one of the unseen variables but it wasn't as simple as you may think." Valerian said immediately before Kate could change the subject. "What happened was my father arrived at Char to demand that Kerrigan be delivered to him. Raynor said no and I did so with him. He opened fire on what was left of the fleet that assaulted Char. We managed to escape and had been on the run ever since. That was until you reported the raid that resulted in what was thought to be the capture and execution of Jim Raynor. That was when Kerrigan went her way while I and the rest of Raynor's Raiders kept running from the Dominion fleet."
"So you took a stand against your father over the fate of the Queen of Blade's life?"
"It was more than that. You see, I grew up with my mother most of my life and when I met my father, we didn't have a good relationship at first. But when he took me to become his heir, I learned many things about being a strong leader. I learned to keep calm and when to make difficult decisions when they were needed. But I did see many things that were questionable or even unforgivable in my father. I didn't know that he used the psionic emitters to bring down Tarsonis and assume power. But my suspicions of my Father's actions were confirmed when the broadcast was made."
"We'll have more questions about you being the new emperor in a bit but the more pressing questions surround the recent events of the Zerg invasion of Korhal. The call for evacuation came before the Zerg vessels entered Korhal space and when the Zerg came down on the planet, they landed outside the walls of Augustgrad. What exactly happened?"
"When the Queen of Blades regained her powers and returned to the Koprulu sector with her army, she contacted me to tell me she was going to invade Korhal because of what my father had done to her in the past."
"So she contacted you before she unleashed her forces on the city? Why would she do that when she wanted to kill Arcturus?"
"She contacted me because she discovered somehow that Raynor was actually alive and held captive. We managed to locate him and he was rescued."
"So what you're saying is that she contacted you because Raynor was alive? Does this mean that Raynor had relationships with Kerrigan before she became the Queen? If she did, then does this mean she is a different person now?"
"I can't say anything about that only that Raynor and Kerrigan fought side by side as Sons of Korhal and brother and sisterhoods happen in war. That siblinghood can last a lifetime and affect people in many ways. As for if she's different, I honestly don't know anything about her beyond the fact that she showed mercy unlike the previous Queen of Blades. It is really unknown why she is not like the old Queen. Perhaps she had a stronger will than she when she was taken on Tarsonis. That may have allowed her to be in control when she returned to the Zerg to not be their puppet."
"Interesting," Kate said looking down at her question pad. "So what exactly happened prior to the invasion?"
"As I said before, she contacted me and Raynor's Raiders to rescue Jim. Afterwards, she told me of her plans to invade Korhal and kill my father. I understood that it was inevitable that my father would answer for his crimes and the reaper of his sins was in the form of the one that led the Swarm. I asked that she hold her attack and land outside the city to allow the civilians time to escape."
"So you reasoned with her to allow the civilians to escape?"
"That is correct."
"But there is still the fact that was that millions of Dominion soldiers would die defending the emperor when the Zerg invaded."
"In war, there are many unnecessary casualties. The deaths of these brave soldiers was an unfortunate inevitability of what would happen. My father would not let himself step down and die to spare the lives of the Dominion because his rule was not about the service to the people. He hid behind the walls of many of his soldiers because he was self centered and devoted only to his personal gain."
"A very interesting statement from our new leader. This will bring us into our next set of questions. With what the people of Kopurul have seen with the fall of the Confederacy and the rise and fall of Arcturus Mengsk, many people might seem skeptical about the new leader of the empire that was created by the man that had self interest in mind. Furthermore, many people could see letting the Queen of Blades come down to kill your father as an equivalent of what your father did to Tarsonis to assume power when it was finished. My question for you is what can we expect from you as the new leader and what can you do to convince the people that you will actually live by your words of change?"
This was the most important moment that Valerian was waiting for. "Right now, sitting here in this cozy studio chair, all I can do is give my statements to the people for them to know what to expect. If the actions are not met, then I was either lying or faced more opposition and complications than I anticipated."
"But how will we know if the actions you do are meeting what you have made? When your father was in power, there were heavy restrictions on news materials and people who were caught seeing any broadcasts or news streams that were not approved by the Dominion were charged with treason punishable by death."
"The first priority is free press. My father said that UNN was the only true source of information and any other broadcasts by pirate broadcasters were lies to divide the Dominion people. But the truth is that this was used to narrow the people's vision of the galaxy to hide his crimes. My first action is to remove these restrictions and to give the approval of second and third party news sources to be formed and be viewable by all dominion citizens." Valerian smiled. "I hope this doesn't upset you because you might lose a few viewers when they start looking at other sources."
"That's ok." Kate replied. "We'll do our best for our studio as we always have."
She looked down at her notes for the next question.
"Other questions revolve around the fringe worlds and the seceding colonies that declared independence after many were overrun by the Zerg offensive and after the broadcast of your father's cruel action on Tarsonis. What are you going to do about this considering that many of these worlds provide vital resources for the Dominion and its people."
"The key to this is trust. My father gave very little necessities for the colonies and even put harsh military enforcement on these worlds forcing the colonists into harsh labor. What I have planed is to instate a code of conduct and procedure for military personal on the Dominion worlds so no harsh actions will be conducted on the people. And with the freedom of the press, the people can know what is happening on the Dominion worlds.
"For the independent colonies, there will be no actions to take them back by force. Instead, we will leave the door back to the Dominion open for them. If they want to rejoin, they can. If not, they can still be on their own. But as of now, I have sent negotiators to the independent colonies to talk to them and hopefully they can agree to open relations to the Dominion. If we can begin trade with them and have them give political feedback, relations between the core worlds, the fringes and the independent colonies can begin to heal. Hopefully we can form it into something more efficient and effective than it was when my father was in power."
"Repairing relations is a good start," Kate said. "Speaking of which, what is the Dominion's situation with the Kel-Morian Combine and the Umojan Protectorate? Many hostilities have happened with the Combine while relations with the Protectorate have been shrouded in secrecy though it is rumored to have several hostilities."
"The Combine is our main concern with the bitter history that my father had with them but we are working on our relationships with them as we speak. I however cannot share sensitive information regarding that right now. I can say is that we hope to make many arrangements that can benefit the Combine and help the Dominion rebuild its worlds and to rebuild our fleets. On the other hand, I can safely say that our relationship with the Umojan Protectorate will be better with my history with them. The arrangements I made with them to shelter the Korhal refugees prior to the Zerg invasion was one of the first steps. Granted they will be wary about the new Dominion as they have helped my father with his war with the Confederacy and that's understandable. But I do believe that given time, we can connect with our greatest ally which is the Protectorate."
"It sounds like you have your work cut out for you." Kate said. "And the fleets are the people's next concern. With the Queen's of Blade's conquest, the Dominion fleet and major production and manufacturing facilities were decimated. What is the plan to make them operational again for protection against more threats?"
"We start by trading with our potential allies to gain the resources we need. My father had always used tactics to have people work in harsh and unrelenting conditions that would be the equivalent of slavery. By trading with the independent worlds and allowing the people of the Dominion colonies access to essential resources and give standards for the workers' health and the work conditions, our production can get on track with healthier worlds."
"Many people are concerned that this new approach might not be enough to rebuild our fleets in time to face the threats." Kate replied. "The particular threats are the increased pirate activity as well as the potential return of the Zerg and possibly the Protoss."
"Piracy is an issue but we have the help of James Raynor and many of his allies to combat piracy if it strikes. The connections he had with several mercenary groups could also reduce the number of attacks through negotiation. It is unknown if the Queen of Blades might return now that her known primary goal of killing my father is complete. But we will remain vigilant for any Zerg, perhaps ferial Zerg that don't serve her directly. I can tell you that the Protoss will not be a severe threat."
"That is a bold statement considering the reports of a Protoss attack on the independent colony of Haven who's people were former colonists of the Agria colony."
"I was initially skeptical about that attack but from the reports I've read and the eye witness of James Raynor, the Protoss attacked the colony because of a Zerg virus that infected several of the colonists. Raynor held off the attack just enough for their scientists to syntheses a cure to stall or eradicate the virus. What this says is that the Protoss have no interest in fighting humanity, they're only concern was to stop the Zerg. I should also say that James Raynor has allied with the Protoss in the past before and during the Brood War. Because the Zerg shouldn't become a serious issue with humanity now, I do believe that a skirmish like what happened on Haven will be less likely to happen again. Many people have also said they want to make a formal truce with the Protoss so they could share their knowledge and technology with humanity. Many of the leaders of the Umojan Protectorate have expressed this interest as well."
"Do you believe that Humanity should try this risky action with the advanced alien species?"
"Ever since birth, I have had a great desire in archeology practically in the Xeno-archeological field. Every new technology and we discover and every form of knowledge we uncover can open new paths and opportunities for humanity to explore. When the time comes and we make our changes to our image, perhaps one day we can do that. But for now, we need to focus on rebuilding from the downfall of my father."
Kate looked down at her notes one last time. The interview had proceeded smoothly and she had gotten many of the important questions answered. There was one last question to ask and it was the important one that people would want to know.
"Ok we are nearing the end of our interview so I have one last question for you." Kate said and paused for a moment. "When your father destroyed the Confederacy and founded the Dominion, he sent out a promise to the people of the sector that he would ensure humanity's survival and assumed power to keep humanity safe from itself and the other threats of the galaxy. But his words were deceptive and many say that his rule was like that of the Confederacy. What we want to know is what your motivations for ruling are. How can we be reassured that you are a truly different leader? And if it's not too personal of a question, can you tell us what it is that separates you from your father."
The question that he knew was coming. The one that was crucial if he was going to win the trust of the people of the Dominion and beyond.
"I could say that I'm not like my father by my actions so far but that would not be enough. When I first met my father before he founded the Sons of Korhal, he wasn't very impressed with how I was when I was raised by my mother alone. We didn't find many good ways to spend time with each other. I didn't have a knack for firing guns at the firing range which he did. My interests had been in the books my mother read to me and in the ruins of the past. I can also remember that my mother had many arguments with him about how he treated me when he spent time with me. It really wasn't a good start between us.
"But he did care for my mother and for me when he told us to go into hiding when the Confederacy assassinated my grandfather, Angus Mengsk. That was when my father took my grandfather's place in bringing down the Confederacy.
"Over the years, I rarely spoke to him. But I saw what he did to the Confederacy and it made me understand him more. He was headstrong and never showed his enemies weakness and never gave them any quarter. I admired that in him, in fact it was one of the very few things I admired about him. Everything else was something that my mother had been very wary about. He was a rebel against his father but he ended up becoming more like him than he realized. She saw that he was trying to make me like him, the same way my grandfather tried to make my father like him.
"Prior to the Brood War, he came to Umoja to visit my mother and I one last time before he went back to run the Empire. When he came down to the villa where I was, we were ambushed by a strike force of Confederate Resistance forces. My father and I were able to hold off the attackers until General Duke arrived to help.
"That attack was the turning point between me and my father. He saw great potential and strength in me when I fought. That was the day that he knew that I would be worthy successor to him. Before the attack, he told me that he was considering making me his hair before he took down the Confederacy. It was after that day that confirmed that he needed me for his empire.
"In the last moments that I talked to my mother when she was dying, she told me she was proud of me but she also made me promise to be my own man," Valerian paused. "I believe that is what drives me to be better leader and a better person. After the funeral, I sat down with my father and he told me his story of how he defied his own father and how he came to be the new leader of his Dominion. After he finished, I said to him that I wouldn't be like him and make the same mistakes he did. He accepted what I said, saying it would be better if I make my own mistakes.
"So the reason why I believe I can be a better leader and not make the mistakes my father made is because of my promise to my mother. But you might ask how I will be different. The answer came to me when I was with Raynor and the Raiders when we fled from my father. When I was with them, I saw the brother and sisterhood that the crew of the Hyperion held. It was a strong bond that many would expect in the Dominion Marine Corp. Everyone had a purpose and they all knew their responsibilities and they relied on each other to get the job done. Seeing this made me realize what an empire needs. A leader doesn't strain the people that live below him to make the ones living higher up to do the real work. It is a system of trust and cooperation. A good and willing leader is needed but there has to be faithful followers to support him while the leader supports those who are under his rule. My father didn't realize this and that was why he fell from his seat of power. To make this empire work, I must be there for the people while they are there for me.
"During my adventure with the Raiders I saw the harsh lifestyle of the populace of Dead Man's Rock first hand. It is one of the true consequences of selfishness and distrust in the people. I know I won't be able to save every Terran in the sector from the horrid lifestyle of Dead Man's Rock or any of the other poor colonies, but I will do my best to lessen the pain as much as I can and give hope for those who lack it. I know that I will make several mistakes as the new emperor but I know I won't be making those of my father. For every mistake I and any Dominion citizen makes, we will learn from it and proceed to improve ourselves to lead humanity to a better future. But I can't do this alone. It is my hope and request to the people of the Dominion to give me a chance to be their leader so we may all move to that better tomorrow."
Kate was silent for a moment taking in what Valerian said. After a few seconds she proceeded to ending the interview.
"Thank you so much for being here tonight and I personally wish you luck in your journey to be the people's leader." Kate leaned forward and brought her hand in front of her.
"Thank you," Valerian smiled as he reached out to shake Kate's hand. "It was a real pleasure being here tonight."
Kate smiled and looked into the camera."For UNN this is Kate Lockwell wishing every Terran a good night and good luck with this new future that our new leader has in store for us."
Author's Note: My apologies for the delay, my work hours and Sochi has consumed most of my time and I'm behind on my planned writing schedule. But I managed to piece together what I have so far. It'll be about another 2 weeks to get the next chapter ready so be prepared for another wait. But as time approaches summer, the pace will pick up and hopefully I can update once per week more often. Thank you again for following my story and I hope you enjoy it.