Chapter Six: Post-war Settlement
The post-war situation looked very good for the Dominion.
The humiliating defeat of the Kel'Morian Combine sent a shockwave through their holdings. With their capital in the Dominion's hands and Tavish's influence, there was no real will to resist. Morian militias were opportunists; they were used to going the way the wind was blowing. And the fact that the Dominion had crushed both them and the zerg at the same time made them afraid.
After all that, holding a significant portion of the Guild Heads hostage was the icing on the cake; the Morians were quick to capitulate. Arcturus Mengsk. of course, was arranging comparatively generous terms.
It was a gamble.
Mengsk did not want to be hated, just feared. The Morians had enough reason to hate their government. Better for them to cast the blame there, and rightly so. The defense of Moria had been, to put it lightly, pathetic.
For her part, Serena met Raynor in a hall on the way to another meeting. It had been days since they'd last seen one another as they journeyed all over Moria. Sometimes to organize supplies and troops, other times to finish off zerg remnants.
"Jim, there you are," said Serena. "I feel like we've hardly had time to talk at all with everything that is going on."
"Well, organizing the Kel'Morian militias into a real army takes time," said Raynor. Serena suspected that Mengsk intended to use them as shock troops against Kerrigan.
It was a smart move. Why destroy an enemy when you could use them against another?
"I uh," Raynor paused. "I got word from protoss space. Kerrigan has destroyed the Dark Templar capital. She overloaded some pylons and kidnapped the Nerazim matriarch.
"It was a hit and run."
"I see," said Serena. "Perhaps she intends to use her as bargaining power with Zeratul. If they are wise, they'll let her execute Raszagal."
"Are you serious?" asked Raynor.
"Completely, Kerrigan wants their help to take down the Second Overmind," said Serena. "If she wins, however, she will betray and murder her previous allies. It's her pattern.
"Raszagal is already dead. They might as well accept."
"Well, Artanis was not happy when he heard about Fenix," said Raynor. "He's vowed revenge, and I think he might just agree with you. The good news is that Aldaris is alive."
"I wasn't aware he'd died," said Serena.
"Well, it turns out that the legion of Khalai he took control of had gathered on their own," said Raynor. "They rescued him from an attempt to kill him by a Dark Templar called Ulrezaj. Then they declared him their leader.
"Aldaris didn't actually want to secede at all. So instead, he allowed Artanis and Zeratul to corner him, left an opening for Kerrigan. Then he faked his own death at Kerrigan's hands, just to prove a point."
"That's a very elaborate way to say 'I told you so,'" noted Serena.
"Well, either way, he's off Shakuras now and is trying to piece together the old Khalai Empire," said Raynor. It fragmented after Aiur fell, and Aldaris is the only member of the Conclave left.
"You seem kind of out of it. Are you alright?" asked Raynor.
Serena shook her head. "Fine, let's just get to Mengsk."
Once again, they came to a round table and sat down. This time, Nova was present, smiling at Serena as she entered. "Serena, Raynor, I'm glad to see you here."
"The Guild Heads are in Dominion Custody. And the Kel'morian Combine has fallen into chaos," said Nova, filing her nails with a smile. "We should have plenty of breathing room in that direction." Then she paused and seemed to think about something. Serena felt a sense of curiosity from her, and she wasn't sure she liked it. "Commander, can I ask you something?"
"Only if I get to ask you something in return," said Serena.
"Why did you choose to pick a fight with the Kel'morian military?" asked Nova. "You could have just had me launch the nuke and infiltrate. Instead, you deliberately put the Kel'morians in a position to lose a lot of forces.
"I thought you wanted to help them fight the zerg."
"I did," said Serena. "But the Kel'morian army was useless for fending off the zerg. Kaloth ran rampant through them, and they could not stop him. They were adequate auxiliaries for the UED but mostly acted in a support role.
"And here...
"Well, their showing was pathetic. It was series of sloppy, uncoordinated attacks following by a complete failure to adapt. They weren't even smart enough to focus on dealing with the zerg. Even as they fought for the future of their world, they were planning to sell it for imaginary profits.
"I decided to break them."
"What do you mean by 'break them?'" asked Nova.
Serena shrugged. She wondered if this was some kind of test and realized she didn't care. "Moria has just fallen, Nova.
"A small strike force of Dominion troops arrived in complete secrecy on their capital. We destroyed the zerg they had been struggling to defeat. Then we humiliated their forces effortlessly and took their leadership captive. And to top it all off, we conquered their capital at the same time.
"A few hours later, we got mass surrenders from virtually everyone.
"What do you think the average Kel'morian is feeling right now?"
"Betrayed," said Nova, thinking it over. "Humiliated.
"Angry.
"They don't want this to ever happen again."
"Exactly," said Serena. "The obsolete Guild structure that they've been stuck in has completely failed them. The Kel'Morians henceforth are going to make sure this never happens again. So they'll train their troops better and be more careful with them.
"Raynor and his officers are already helping with that.
"More importantly, they'll have the will to fight on.
"And since Arcturus is going to be handing them back in exchange for a hefty cash infusion, they won't be fighting us. No, instead, they'll hate the Guilds that screwed all this up. All while charging them incredible fees for protection. They'll hate the zerg for the atrocities they committed.
"That hatred can be a powerful tool.
"A tool by which they can prepare themselves to do battle with the zerg again. I promise you, the next time they fight Kerrigan, they'll have a better showing."
"But what about all the equipment you destroyed," noted Nova.
"Do you really think that tanks and goliaths give you power?" asked Serena, wondering if she was feigning ignorance. "They're weapons. Without a skilled hand, they are useless. With one, they are unnecessary."
At that moment, Arcturus Mengsk entered the room in a military uniform. He had a set of files under one arm. "Excellent work, all of you. Our efforts have restored the people's faith in the Dominion. You'll be pleased to know that I've arranged for the forgiveness of many debts. The Guild's have released many of their... clients from debt. It should go a long way to lightening the burdens of the people of Moria.
"Better still, Kerrigan has lost another expansion. And we've been able to fill out the ranks of the Dominion military. Kel'Morian mercenaries should be an asset in taking and holding ground.
Raynor, however, narrowed his eyes. This was the part where Raynor broke with him. "All right, Arcturus. We've done your dirty work. Now, what about your side of the deal?"
Mengsk smiled, and Serena knew he'd be upholding it. "Of course. Unlike Kerrigan, I always keep my word. Resettling the refugees is a high priority of the Dominion. I'll supply you two with funding to begin settling Mar Sara."
Raynor looked at him with the air of one who didn't believe his ears. "Good to know. What's the catch?"
Mengsk sighed. "The catch, Jim, is that the Dominion does not have much in the way of funds to spare right now. Most of the cash infusion we extorted from our defeated enemy went to paying off our own debts. The rest went into hiring our new recruits. Ordinarily, I'd take care of your problem first, but we need manpower and fast.
"I'll be able to get you started. But if you want continued support, you'll have to demonstrate the colony is profitable.
"I'll need you to provide a large shipment of minerals to demonstrate Mar Sara is worth investing in. Do this, and I can guarantee future support. If things don't work out, I'll have to pull the plug."
Raynor shot Serena a look that said he'd expected something like this. "Well, it sounds like you've got all your angles covered. Anything else?"
"Unfortunately, yes," said Mengsk. "Not all of the zerg were purged from Mar Sara by the protoss bombardment. So you'll have to take some troops with you. You have your work cut out for you, I'm afraid.
"Good luck."
And so they began yet more preparation for yet another mission. This time, as they came before the assembled men, Serena knew morale was better. It wasn't a temporary high from the recent victory either. The men she was looking at were beginning to believe they could win. The ones that didn't think they could win at least thought they could survive.
Now they just had to keep winning.
But how to approach them? With congratulations? That didn't seem like her. "I must admit, gentlemen. You're starting to irritate me.
"I was all set to turn in my badge and let the end come, but you persist in staving it off. First, you successfully destroy the zerg on Korhal on Moria. Then you put an end to hostilities between the Guilds and the Dominion before they can start. And now here we are, planning to help with a recolonization effort.
"It almost looks like we might just get through this alive. But I wouldn't get your hopes up just yet.
"The fact of the matter is that this kind of colonization effort is expensive. We're going to be trying to make a profit with skeleton crews. And worse still, there will likely be zerg prowling all over the place.
"But, you'll have to deal with that, won't you?" She halted as they looked at her. "This is a test. The Emperor wants to see if it's worth the time to recolonize fringe worlds that we lost to the zerg. If we fail here, there will be no more colonization efforts. These worlds, and so many others, will remain dead. Or worse, they will end up being used as an outpost for the Queen of the Zerg's broods.
"On the other hand, if we succeed, we will have gone a long way to addressing the refugee crisis. We will also ensure the Dominion has a steady flow of resources to rebuild its war machine with. Once that happens, we will be in a position to pose a serious threat to the zerg.
"You have done this.
"It is not me, or Raynor, or the Emperor, but you, the people of the Dominion, who have made this possible. Without your will, your efforts, the entire sector would be in anarchy. And the zerg would destroy us all unchecked. You have my utmost respect." Then she bowed just slightly. "And that is why, ladies and gentlemen, we must not fail.
"Our task must be completed. Mar Sara must be restored so that every other world can be restored. Fulfill your duties to the absolute zenith of your ability. Let nothing stand between you and your objectives. Whether we are mining rocks or killing bugs, we are terrans, and we will not be controlled.
"Do you understand?"
"Yes, ma'am!" All of them said.
Serena smiled in genuine triumph. "Good.
"Then let's get to work."
They had won a series of small victories. But small stones on a mountaintop started an avalanche. And Serena was looking forward to seeing where the stones fell.
This was going to be fun.