Hey all! I said I'd post chapter four the minute I finished typing up chapter five, which I finished literally about five minutes ago.
nemo, in response to your review, the other Protoss were only digging in their heels because they didn't really want to change how they do stuff. There was no real reason, they just like being stubborn. Also, you would have noticed that Zeratul had said "currently", so there may be issues or reprimands later. He was just trying to show that he had leverage over Artanis, should he refuse to offer his ship for fusing technologies.
Okay, I'll shut up so you can read the new chapter. Enjoy!
Claudia sighed as she walked with the other Terrans into the meeting hall on the Protoss flagship. Her eyes wandered the room, and almost immediately found both Artanis and Zeratul watching her. Unnerved, she gave an approximation of a smile and forced her eyes to keep wandering.
The vast hall was decked out in pale yellow and blue, like the rest of the Protoss décor. It gave the hall a solemn feel while simultaneously radiating a sense of refined power, old beyond countless millennia.
The meeting settled down with the usual formalities, albeit quickly, as neither Zeratul nor Jim Raynor were much for words. The ancient Dark Templar remained standing and stared over the gathering from his impressive height, gaining the centre of attention.
We have considered your option of merging our technologies. We have decided that it would be for the betterment of both our species, if the zerg is to be eradicated, He said slowly, watching as the weight of his works sunk into the Terrans, the captain especially. Her jaw actually dropped as she stared at the ancient Prelate before morphing into a triumphant grin.
The Terrans were shocked again as Praetor Artanis stood, eyes flashing around the room.
I offer my ship for the research in merging our technologies, he declared, eyes sweeping the hall for opposition, of which there was none. Jim slowly stood, catching their eyes, expressing his gratitude through both his eyes and thoughts.
"We're honoured to accept your offer, Artanis." He said formally, dropping his head in an informal bow, completely at odds with his words. The Praetor caught, out of the corner of his eye, an excited captain mouth to the marine next to her, score! It took almost his entire willpower not to express his amusement.
The congregation turned to the captain simultaneously. She stared around at them, eyes wide. Oh shit, please don't tell me they saw that, she thought desperately.
"Captain Black, you had some ideas of what we could combine?" Jim asked, cocking an eyebrow at her expression. Her face smoothed over as she stood up and let her eyes trail around the room before quickly opening her file.
"Sure. I've been thinking of a few things which hopefully can combine, because the only Protoss tech I've been working with have been dead or obsolete." She said, purposely avoiding looking at the Protoss.
"I've been thinking that maybe we could combine the science vessel functions into observers, or at least make the science vessels permanently invisible. We could look at shielding for heavy defence units, such as the tanks or goliaths, or incorporate tank fire with the rapid fire of the photon cannons." She took a breath, flipping a few scraps of paper over.
Is any of this possible? Fenix's metallic voice asked curiously.
"I'm not sure. I'd need to gain a much better understanding of your technology, so this is more of a wish-list rather than a definite of anything achievable." She replied, frowning at her file. Morrison snorted.
"You don't know if it'll be compatible. If you don't know that, what do you know, Captain?" He sneered at her. Claudia slowly put down the file.
"I know that if I check out the Protoss technology, I'll be able to give you a definitive answer, Admiral. I also know that you're the only one making waves in the peaceful waters we've managed to create." She replied calmly, watching as the Admiral's face slowly turned red.
"That's insubordination!" He yelled, completely ignoring their audience. Majority of the Protoss seemed curious, but the rest were clearly irritated. The Terrans were fighting to keep their chuckles under control.
"Insubordination, or the truth?"
"I'll demote you if you keep going!"
"The only one able to demote me would be Raynor, and seeing how the Terran Protoss alliance is balancing on a few very important points, this being one of them, he wouldn't do that. The Raiders need my expertise to pull this off." She crossed her arms challengingly and stared at him, large green eyes on fire.
"That's enough, you two. Sit down." Raynor ordered, giving an apologetic shrug to the Protoss.
"Praetor Artanis, is your ship able to cater for humans?" One of the Commanders spoke up, her white armour giving her away as a medic. Artanis paused, considering.
I will make it so, he replied, sitting down.
"How long do you estimate the necessary changes will take?" Claudia spoke up, staring at the Praetor.
I am not sure. Perhaps if you were able to provide me with what you require, the time for modification would be shortened. He stared back at her, eyes flashing softly as she nodded and quickly looked down, scribbling something down a piece of paper, fighting the light flush that spread across her cheeks.
Inwardly, Raynor groaned, glancing across at Zeratul, who was stonily watching the tech officer.
"I'll send it over as soon as I can compile a list."
It would be much appreciated.
Claudia stared out of the drop-ship's window towards the modified Protoss-Terran cruiser. It had been a gruelling month to weld everything they needed into the ship, and top it with up everything that the fifteen humans needed to survive on the modified ship.
Turning back to look over the team, she had to stifle a giggle as she saw Kara sitting on the extreme opposite side to where Marcus was, determinedly talking with one of the other medics or staring out the window.
She snickered before heading back into the cockpit and slid into the pilot's seat, hailing the cruiser.
"Protoss-Terran cruiser One, this is Terran dropship two-oh-eight, requesting docking." She leaned back in her seat to wait for a response.
"Terran dropship two-oh-eight, you are cleared for docking." A familiar psionic voice came over the radio. Claudia grinned, leaning forward, finger jamming onto a button.
"Protoss-Terran cruiser One, you really need to rename yourself. Something different to the fleets would be great, because your ship isn't exactly routine." She glanced up as someone behind her gave a soft snort. Kara shook her head at the techie in amusement before staring out the front window at the cruiser.
"Well, isn't that pretty?" She muttered, smacking on the top of Claudia's pilot chair twice before heading back to her seat.
"Terran dropship two-oh-eight, thank you for your concern, but perhaps we should be having this discussion when you've finished docking." The voice over the speakers was dryly amused. Claudia laughed, throwing her head back to stare at the grey ceiling as she wiped tears from her eyes.
"Acknowledged, Protoss-Terran cruiser One. See you in five." She chuckled, shaking her head. In all honesty, Claudia was worried about the name of the ship. It would give their enemies advance knowledge that they had merged, and also produce counteractive measures to the increase in firepower of their weapons. The ship, from the outside, still looked like a Protoss cruiser, but on the inside, it was a whole different story.
The layout had been changed, the engines and navigation systems had been changed; all merged to form a deadly efficient cruiser battleship. Only the best and most loyal were aboard the ship.
Claudia brought the dropship around, docking into the newly-fitted holding bay, which was a small indent into the otherwise smooth ship that would accommodate a Terran dropship. From there, it was only the inside airlock that stopped them from walking straight into the cruiser.
"Docked and loaded, Cruiser One. We're ready to come aboard." She grinned, locking down the dropship to the cruiser and opening the back hatch. A few seconds later, the inner airlock hissed open, and they were presented with Artanis standing with Zeratul.
Welcome aboard, young Terrans, Zeratul said simply, his low psionic voice vibrating around their heads. Claudia stepped forward, gently pushing her way through the others.
"We're honoured to have this experience, Prelate Zeratul, Praetor Artanis. We hope for this to be the beginning of a wonderful partnership between our species." She gave a small bow to the two high-ranking Protoss before falling silent.
Medics, if you would follow me to our healing centre. It was a female Protoss who spoke, her soft psionic voice giving away her gender, although she wore the same robes as every other Protoss healer. The three medics silently extracted themselves from the group, Kara leading the others confidently down the hall and around the corner.
Claudia turned to the two cooks they had brought with them.
"Could you two get some lunch happening? Just a little something, doesn't have to be extravagant." They nodded, wide-eyed, as they made their way quickly down the hall the medics had taken. Claudia turned to Marcus.
"Get your boys settled in. We might need some stuff shifted around later, so keep your radio on." She instructed, glancing at her five techies. Her mouth quirked into a frown.
"My radio's always on, you know that, Miss 'I have to have this huge object that'll take four marines in power-suits to shift at 4am'." Marcus teased. Claudia swatted at his armour.
"That 'huge object that takes four marines in power-suits to shift' was very important. Anyway, can you get my techies settled in, too? I've got a few things to discuss with Zeratul and Artanis regarding naming the ship." She stared up at the marine, who nodded.
"Cheers. See you in a few, Marcus." She turned and walked over to the Protoss, nodding her greeting.
Captain Black, you have something to discuss? Artanis tilted his head as he stared down at her petite frame.
"Yeah, the ship's current name gives away too much information. It shows that we've merged together, and are most likely to have shared technology, which gives the enemy advance knowledge that could potentially destroy us." She replied, wandering slowly down the hall towards the control deck. The two Protoss followed her, glancing at each other. The captain was right.
Your reasoning is sound. What did you wish to rename this ship? Artanis's eyes flashed softly as he regarded the human.
"Well, we should take into account both methods of naming ships. We name ours after heroes or generals, or even fallen planets. We have a ship called the Mar Sara, which was one of the first planets to be infested and destroyed." She said thoughtfully, turning back to the Protoss.
"How do you name your ships?" She asked curiously, green eyes flicking back and forth between them.
We name our ships after High Templar, or the Commander of the ship. However, I believe that your naming methods are more practical. I propose the name 'The Tassadar' for this vessel. Artanis turned to Zeratul.
It shall be done, The Prelate replied simply, before turning around and swiftly walking in the opposite direction. Claudia blinked after him before turning back to Artanis.
"Sounds good. I never actually met Tassadar, but I've heard quite a bit about him from Jim Raynor." She gave him a small smile.
"Alright, I'm going to go stake my claim on some rooms. Shall I meet you on the bridge soon?" She asked, tilting her head up at him.
I will escort you to your quarters, Artanis firmly overruled the captain, and began walking down yet another hallway. Claudia grinned at him.
"Wow, I get a private escort to my own quarters. I feel privileged." She teased, as they walked down an unfamiliar corridor. Her eyebrows furrowed at the lack of traffic, and green eyes sought out the Praetor questioningly, only to find him standing next to a door.
Your quarters, Captain Black, He answered her unspoken question, and she slammed her mental wall up, which had grown lax over the past few hours.
"These aren't my quarters, Praetor. I'm with the rest of the team." She replied, growing wary.
These quarters are larger, and you will receive more rest that if you share your quarters with the other Terrans, who will be coming and going constantly. My personal quarters are also down the hall from here. He gave her an air of being unconcerned, but she could feel the tension swirling underneath his speech. She sighed.
"Alright, Artanis. Thank you for your concern." She smiled at him before ducking into her new quarters, door hissing shut behind her. The room was huge. Her eyes widened as she saw the gigantic bed, decked out in the usual blue and pale yellow. Her eyes travelled around the room as she took in the sparse furniture and doorway, presumably leading into a washroom of some sorts.
She wandered over to the bed and jumped up on it, almost moaning as she felt how comfortable it was. Well, I think I'm really going to have to thank Artanis again. Personally. She flopped down on the bed and stared at the blue ceiling. I officially love this bed, She thought in a daze, grinning like an idiot.
Artanis is keeping a rather close eye on Claudia, isn't he? I didn't realise that I made him so obsessive. Again, praise is fantastic, constructive critisism is always nice, any and all flames will be used to cook my marshmellows. Cookies to my gorgeous reviewers. Keep 'em coming, guys, and I just might be motivated to write faster.
Chapter five will be out when I've finished writing up chapter six, my munchkins.
~le freak