Disclaimer: I do not own Starcraft or its affiliates

WARNING: Coarse language in this chapter. Proceed at your own risk.

Discovery and Complaints

August 20th, Year 10

"Rorke, are you done yet?" Xana glared at the scientist, rubbing her exposed arms as she was out of her normal bodysuit and was wearing instead a sleeveless shirt and jeans. He had wanted to take a blood test from the Ghost, who obliged without much trouble but the tests were taking longer than she expected. "I would really like to get going soon. I've got somewhere to be."

"Hold on, I just need to confirm one more thing," The green hair man responded, crouched over his work bench mixing chemicals together. It was a good few minutes before Rorke finally straightened up and nodded to the white hair woman. "All the blood tests are done."

"Good, now I've got to-"

"But I'm not done yet. I need you to run a few tests with a piece of new equipment."

"Oh, you're joking." The Ghost sighed and looked at the clock in the lab, estimating her time left for the scientist's playthings. "Fine. But one test only!"

"That'll do. Here." Rorke handed her the standard issue Ghost gloves, as well as two matching wrist attachments to the gloves. Xana tugged the gloves on easy enough, and the attachments snap into place without any trouble. "Okay, you see that dummy over there? Try striking it a few times."

"Easy enough." The General strode confidently over to the rubber human effigy and raised her hands, the fingers slightly curling into a claw-like fashion. After a few seconds of focus, Xana lunged out with her fist and made contact with the rubber cheek. She was about to pull back to let her other hand strike, but the wrist attachment suddenly glowed a bright blue and electric sparks erupted from the hand in question, shocking the dummy.

After a few moments of shock, Xana grinned and struck with her other hand, yielding the same results. Laughing in delight, she unleashed a full hands-only combo onto the dummy, green sparks erupting from her hands. Unbeknownst to her, her blue eyes erupted into a green glow, much like how her late sister Clara did. Rorke took note of this side-effect, scribbling on a piece of paper and transcribing it into his tablet for back up.

When Xana finally broke free from her delight in using the new equipment, she turned and grinned at Rorke. "That was amazing! What is this new attachment?"

"It's an electrical circuit provided to shock anybody who comes into contact with your gloves. I know that you Ghosts are skilled at all forms of fighting, but I thought that these additions would give you a bonus edge."

"It will! Why Rorke, this is spectacular! It feels as if…as if…"

"As if you're sparring with your sister again?" The green hair scientist flinched as a brief flash of pain erupted from Xana's eyes, but seeing that she had quickly recovered, he pressed on. "The odd thing is that those electric currents actual have only one charge in them per attachment. Meaning that you actually should not be able to use them more than once in combat, but you did."

"Oh? So then why could I use them more than once?"

"Because you were channeling lighting energy through your body, allowing for the charges to reset as they fill up with the magic in your body."

"Wait, what?" Taking a step back, the Ghost looked utterly baffled. "But…I'm a psionic Ghost! My powers may have originally been different, but there's no way I can use lightning!"

"Here, let me explain from the beginning." Rorke took in a deep breath before beginning his length explanation of Xana's situation. "I thought it was rather weird how you developed psionic powers by your own, without exposure to the chemicals I used to convert the Shadow Squadron. At the time of the war, I simply passed it off as a byproduct of Terranization and let it be.

Then, I reviewed reports of the Siege of Fale and found Elise's description of her fight with you. Imagine my surprise when I found out that you were using both ice and psionic powers in a fight! Even though you didn't notice the transition, it was rather apparent that something was up. The biggest worry I had was the fact that the two energy molecules would meet and explode, resulting in a dead General.

However, I remembered that your suit back in the Siege of Terrazine was heavily damaged by your sister's electrical shock. I dug back out the bodysuit, and what do you know? Under normal circumstances, overloading the cloaking mechanisms in the bodysuit would easily shock somebody to death from electrical outburst. I've fixed that problem by the way, so EMPs won't kill your Ghosts now."

"But then…how did I survive?"

"Because you absorbed the lightning energy and transformed it into psionic. And that, is the crux of my theory: you were originally born as a psionic mage. But something happened, leading to your psionic molecules to convert into complex ice molecules instead. When the Terran Empire rose and you visited, the exposure must've triggered a slow regression back into psionic molecules. That's how you're able to use psionic, ice, and lightning freely: your body was made to do so thanks to being a psionic at birth!"

"So…I can use ice…?"

"Have you tried ever since becoming a Ghost?"

"No, not really…not since the Zeb's death…" Xana furrowed her eyebrows as she experimentally tried to find the exact focus her ice magic had once used. The white hair woman exclaimed loudly as her focus eventually centered and ice formed on her hands, creating a layer of protection. "I can still use it!"

"Good, good! I wonder if you're capable of using others…?" Rorke pondered, turning to his tablet and swiping. Xana glanced at the clock and gasped, taking off the new equipment and tossing it on the table.

"Sorry Rorke, but I have to go! Gotta get changed before I go to Parliament!" The General shouted as she rushed out of the lab, trying fruitlessly to tie her hair while she ran.

"Ah right…those stupid hearings…"

O O O

The hearings mentioned in the excerpt pertain to a series of questioning that General Xana was undergoing as Parliament tried nailing her for being a Terrazine princess. The white hair woman was forced to appear in front of the lords/ladies of the house several times, swearing multiple oaths about her loyalty as a Terran. Truth be told, it was getting surprisingly much more annoying than a simply bothersome duty.

You see, Parliament wanted some revenge considering the treatment Xana had given to the new Ghosts. Knowing that she was a personal friend to Commander Anthony, they'd figured that the Commander might slightly be humbled if he was forced to cave into some demands of Parliament in return for letting Xana go. Of course, this would backfire splendidly as Anthony provided a lot of proof regarding the loyalty of Xana.

With most Generals testifying in her favor (Abe refused to come, insisting that it wasn't a challenge), the former Terrazine princess was declared to be guiltless of her country's crimes and allowed to continue service. Parliament took the loss rather gallantly to be honest, stating that as long as Xana reconsidered her treatment to the new Ghosts, then all would be well. Unfortunately, that was not the end of the incident, as some rather hot-headed Ghosts thought it well to remark about their General in an public pub…

O O O

September 1st, Year 10

"Dammit, I can't believe she got away with it!" A Ghost bitterly remarked to his colleague as he took a shot at his drink. "You would think that she would take the accusations to heart and confess, but nooo. She calls the Commander for help. The freaking Commander!"

"I agree with you mate. How unfair that is!" said the other Ghost, who took in a deep drink of his beer. "Common people like me and you stand no chance when they have the excuse of high rank and good connections!'

"Yeah!" Three other Ghosts at the bar chorused, drinking what seemed to be their fifth glass of beer. "What good is being a good soldier if you can't even get to a General rank?"

"Please sirs, can you please quiet down?" The barkeeper pleaded, gesturing to three people sitting at a booth in the pub. Two men and a woman, all giving occasional glances to the five Ghosts sitting at the bar. "My other customers would rather like some peace and quiet."

"Well, well, well! We've got a shy one here!" One of the Ghosts exclaimed, earning him the laughter of his comrades. "Why doesn't the barkeeper here tell us his opinion of the damn Ghost General?

"Sirs, I don't want to get involved with this kind of talk-"

"Coward!" The Ghost barked, raising his empty glass and throwing it. The poor man just barely managed to dodge the projectile, the glass shattering against the floor behind him. One of the other customers made to rise, only to be yanked down by their companions. "Get me another beer! Now!"

"I'm sorry, but I have to ask you to leave before I call the police on your, or worst, even call in your superiors!"

"Call them! I dare you to!" The drunk Ghosts laughed, holding up very rude hand gestures. By now, one of the other customers was standing behind the currently speaking Ghosts, his fists clenching and unclenching. "You tell them that to get our full cooperation, the bitch Xana needs to-"

A tap on the man's shoulder interrupted his rant as he glanced back. A young blond hair man smiled at him before his face warped into an expression that could only be described as "fury of the gods" as his arm drew back and then forwards, smashing a bare fist into the face of the offending Ghost. Cain snarled as the man spun off his stool and over the countertop, crashing on the floor behind the bar with a fractured cheekbone and a broken nose.

"You simply just don't insult my friends," the Terran General threatened, cracking his neck and knuckles side to side. "Where's your loyalty?"

One of the other Ghosts adjacent to the General lunged out and tackled the blond Marine, sending the two sprawling onto the pub floor. The attacker sat up and pinned Cain down to the floor using his thighs, and then started throwing punches to the General's face while he was still stunned. There was nothing Cain could do but endure the punches.

A swift kick to the Ghost's jaw by Gunnery Sergeant Salem ended the beat down. "And this is why I dislike going to public bars. Go to an officer one, and you don't see a single shard of disrespect in the place," The War Pig complained as he pulled Cain back onto his feet. "The nerve of this new generation of soldiers!"

"What, starting to feel like an old man? Is your retirement announcement coming soon?" Cain teased.

"Not in the slightest," answered Salem as he kicked the downed Ghost in the ribs, nodding once he heard the bone crack. The War Pig then heard noise of flesh hitting flesh behind him and whirled around, his hands raised to block.

The three remaining drunk Ghosts were all lying down on the floor, groaning in pain as Elise brushed her hands together in the middle of them. The black hair girl noticed her companion's stares and shrugged. "What? You took too long chatting. And I needed to blow off more steam than you guys. No one insults my sister and gets away with it."

O O O

The five offending Ghosts were promptly dishonorably discharged for insubordination when Commander Anthony heard of the incident and dished out the appropriate punishment. For once, Parliament did not step in to protest. Rather, they agreed with the decision and moved onto other issues, such as the new Battlecruisers.

With the war over and the world united, Rorke's shipyard has kicked into full-out production mode, putting together large spaceships in the orbit of Cato Terrareum. Already, one had been completed and another one was nearly finished. Space travel was also becoming a bigger market, as permanent routes were established from Cato Terrareum and its moon for both trade and tourism. A new model of Dropships was introduced into the world with the ability to travel in space, engineered by General Rorke himself as a way of transporting troops efficiently between space and the surface.

And so, Year 10 came to an end. Many people may have died in this year due to the Terrazine Heresy, but many more were saved by the Terran Empire's united world and the future it held. It was thus understandable that the attitudes towards Anthony's annual New Year's Eve feast were high among Parliament. They expected good foods, an inspiring speech, and an enlightening experience for all.

What they did not expect was for Commander Anthony to state that there was no feast this year for the government officials. "Go home to your families and celebrate with them," The Commander explained when reason was demanded. "Surround yourselves with your blood and be thankful for their presence, always helping you to make this year the best of the Terran Empire so far. Go and be happy."

Grumbling slightly, the lords and ladies of Parliament did so and were shocked by the warm reception their families presented them. As expected by the Commander, the families and the constituents of the representatives were more than overjoyed to have somebody lead their own feast back home, which could possibly be argued to be more enjoyable considering the already friendly atmosphere and the local palates each community has developed. Many members would secretly thank Anthony for this decision.

In reality, the Commander actually canceled the annual party for his own selfish reasons: his Generals. All of them hardly had any plans for the holidays. They also were still hurting inside, but Anthony wanted to cheer them up, so there was only one thing left to do.

Invite them over to his palace on New Year's Eve for a poker night.

A/N: In case people are wondering about the sudden influx of updates, the Terran Rebirth is sadly drawing to a close. Just one more "arc" and it'll be done. But don't worry! I'm still keeping the quality the same standard I've been holding all the time and the ending will be spectacular! And for you Zerg fans, you should also get excited! The Zerg Rebirth's think tank is done, meaning that in two weeks or so (definitely not more than a month), you will witness the rise of the Zerg swarms!

P.S. And whoever said I was done with Terrans after this story?