Chapter 29: New friends, old problems.
1 Day prior Dominion invasion
Stealth Defiant class frigate IDS Shadow Surfer
Malkira stood on the bridge of the Shadow Surfer above the world of Umoja to meet a special guest. While things were hostile between Draconia and the Terran Dominion; the relations between Draconia and Umoja were friendly at the moment. Both sides were waiting for a break in open hostilities in the Draconia-Dominion war before opening full negotiations. As such Malkira wanted to meet Valerian first to properly meet him before seeing about negotiating with him as Dominion Emperor. Her father's armadas were almost completed thanks to the time field and as far as she knew, the Dominion had no hope against the oncoming onslaught.
Once permission was obtained from the Umojan government, she beamed down alongside a couple medical clerics to meet with Valerian and his currently dying mother. Once she was admitted to the pre-arranged meeting room with Valerian, she let him have a moment as she was the first half-Dragon he had even seen.
Valerian surprised her with a rather understated reaction. With little more than a raise of an eyebrow and a small smile, Valerian bowed slightly in greeting.
"Princess Malkira. It is good to meet you in person."
"You as well Prince Valerian," Malkira said with a bow of her own. "As you may have heard, your father declared war on my people. I have come at my father's behest to open negotiations with you. Your father is, I'm sorry to say, not a man we can trust or negotiate honestly with."
Valarian's other eyebrow raised on his brow. "The question arises why you would need to negotiate with anyone. From the reports I have seen, you dealt with his forces at Tarsonis, New Folsom and Dylar quite effectively. I cannot imagine that the Dominion will be able to mount an adequate defence against your forces, and that's not taking into account the fact that half of his inner circle, and the far more effective half, have joined forces with your father."
"The reason we are negotiating with you or hoping to is one that needs to be seen to be properly believed. But the truth of the matter is we need the Dominion mostly intact. As a sign of good faith, I brought a couple medics to have a look at your mother. Cancer even at her advanced stage is very curable for our technologies and abilities."
That rocked Valerian back on his heels. Malkira could easily see the open desire in his expression but his professionalism also won out. "As much as I appreciate your offer, why would you want the Dominion intact? What possible value is it to you?"
"The short story is that there is a shadow war being fought right now. Forces powerful enough to mess with the Protoss are maneuvering in the background and we need as many intact allies to fight the shadow war when it comes to light. I have something to show you, as we know it'll be hard to believe, but we were able to convince General Duke of its validity and truth. As well as certain commanders you probably have heard of like Jason Davis and James Raynor. Men who are not prone to flights of fancy."
"Hmm. It's not them that has my interest. Both Jason and Jim, despite their talents and ability, were only ever on the edges of my father's most trusted. He used both men's talents and abilities, but never trusted them and vice versa. As for Duke, the man is after power and prestige, it was no surprise when he defected to my father and to hear that he has joined you is not overly surprising either. But the fact that you convinced the Protoss, Nova Terra and, above all, Sarah Kerrigan, is nothing short of stunning. There were a lot of dropped jaws when that little titbit reached our ears."
"Trust me, what I'm about to tell you, and I have proof on the matter. First thing," Malkira sent out her magic to silence or disrupt any possible bugs in the room. "Now that that's done. Trust me, what I'm about to say will probably not cause you to drop your jaw… but dislocate it. What if I told you that for my family we knew about the Koprulu sector and everything that happened in it, and could happen thanks to a computer game series?"
Valerian snorted. "Have you been taking your medication?"
Malkira gave a wry grin in return as she brought out a laptop that played the opening cutscene to Heart of the Swarm. "This could have happened, and… well… yea. Let me show you something else," Malkira clicked her fingers and the nearby chair turned into a cat. "We have magic, my people and I."
He blinked once, then again as the cat jumped into his lap and began purring as he automatically began petting it. "You do like to keep your hits coming, don't you?"
"I had to make a point. Furthermore, I needed some evidence for you to take my word on this. I could swear on my magic that what I showed you was the truth… if you wanted. If I lied well you can guess what would happen in that case."
Valerian's eyes narrowed. "Interesting."
"Quite, but this is the reason why we need your help. Because of the main enemy and his… boss for lack of a better term for the moment. We need every ounce of help we can get hence why I am coming to you."
"So you want to take out my father and put me on the Dominion's throne, in the hope that I will be a more amenable ruler for you to deal with."
"Well, to be frank… yes. I am also willing to share the evidence of my claims with you about the computer game topic as well as all the information it has given us."
"You seem to be offering much and getting little in return."
"Oh we're getting a lot in return. We'll be getting a stable neighbor with a decent military. One we can in time... once feelings have settled, trade with and share information among other things. Besides we'd rather not have to clean up the whole region after your' father's defeat. The fact of the matter is we need each other."
Valerian nodded slightly. "Well, I can't say I'm that surprised. I've almost been expecting you to come to me since Tarsonis."
"In an ideal world, Draconia and the Dominion would have been friends from the beginning. Sadly that is not an option. In the game here, your father abandoned Sarah Kerrigan to the Zerg and force her to endure a fate worse than death. This is not a man we can trust."
"And you pick me because I have the closest claim to the throne after his removal, and I give you links to Umoja as well."
"Yes. That was part of the reason. The main reason is you're a man of honor, a man who would seek to do the impossible to prove that anyone can be saved. One who would put his people above his own interests. That was the main reason we sought you out."
Valerian hummed in a non-committal fashion. "And against something that has the likes of your father worried, what exactly do you expect us to be able to do against it?
"Well, for one we can help upgrade your forces, to a much better standard when tensions of eased and an alliance more likely. United we stand, it doesn't matter the amount of difference made; as long as it's a difference then we count that a success. If everything is at risk, then everything should stand together."
"That would be the most logical conclusion, naturally. You mentioned you had evidence. I want to see it all."
"It is here," Malkira opened the laptop to display everything about Starcraft and the option to play the game if necessary. "This is the source of our knowledge and what is coming. What could and has happened."
Valerian looked sceptical. "This has everything? Not quite what I expected."
"I think the situation my father got into 30 years ago could have described his reaction like that. Now he's trying to cover every possible base alongside with 2-3 contingency plans for every plan. Now however, you should take a look at the evidence we have, it could make or break this galaxy."
"Very well." Without any further delay. Valerian turned the laptop to face him and began to dive into the material in front of him.
Malkira sat down and busied herself in a large treatise on powerful fire spells written in Draconic while she waited for Valerian to finish. To his credit, he worked through all the material before asking any questions, ensuring he had as complete an understanding as he could, despite the difficulty and regardless of the boundaries of credulity that he had and which had been so utterly demolished.
"That is not exactly what you would call light reading."
"No it isn't. Imagine how we felt, coming into space then finding out what we thought was fictional to be completely real. Though I can imagine for some it would cause a few existential crises."
Valerian snorted. "I'm sure. Though there is a lot of new material here, there is enough existing facts that I already know to be true that make me inclined to believe you. The prophecy for one."
"Yes, but there's some additional complications. Did you read the section on the Queen of Blades?" Malkira wondered.
"I did. What interests me most is that Jason was already moving in that direction before your arrival. It would almost seem that there is another player at work here."
"Indeed… my father has contingency plans in place because of who the player is. It's the Queen of Blades herself, from an alternate timeline or dimension or whatever you want to call it. She's the added player and one we will be putting on the open board soon."
Valerian outright laughed. "If what you've shown me is true, then you've miscalculated. Whether she's friendly or not, she does not strike me as a pawn you can move around the board. I very much doubt that her loyalty lies with anyone other that herself, Raynor and possibly Jason. And if I know anything about Jason Davis, it is this. Do not underestimate him and his 'll fight with you for the good of the sector, but don't expect to play them either."
"We would never dream of it. This is an alliance of equals we are forming, a collective for the good of existence. Our greatest enemies slumber yet, but we want to make sure that their servants are too weak or destroyed before they awaken to aid them. As for Sarah or Louise as we call her to distinguish, she lived this life and seen the end of all things. She knows just as much as we what the stakes are."
"Yet you talk of putting her own the open board soon. She'll tell you when she enters the field of battle. In any case, I think we have both made our points."
"Agreed, so will you stand with us Prince Valerian?" Malkira asked formally.
He nodded. "That I will, Princess Malkira."
"Excellent, I'll have the medics look over your mother and cure her if you want? That was always part of our plan regardless if you agreed with ours or not."
Valerian nodded in acceptance.
3 days post Dominion-Draconia war end
72 hours after Draconia had defeated the forces of Arcturus Mengsk, both Xapferey and Valerian were inside the palace at Korhol with advisors discussing the conditions of Draconia's victory. On Xapferey's side was Jason, Deedlit, Malkira and Nova. On Valerian's, sat General Warfield among some other Dominion members unnamed by Starcraft.
"All right, Emperor Xapferey. You've proceeded to essentially dismantle the Dominion within days, so what is it you wish from us?" Warfield asked first, not entirely thinking his words through.
"In truth, while we didn't want to fight General, your Emperor opened hostilities. Were we to just roll over and take it?" Xapferey asked calmly. "What we want is simple. Certain territories are to be ceded to my Empire… Namely the Fringe Worlds."
Valerian looked thoughtful, having expected something of that kind. Jason and Nova raised their eyebrows, understanding better than most the economical and tactical gain of holding those territories. Warfield looked torn between confusion and relief, before he worked out what the result of such a transfer would mean to the Dominion. "Your majesty, this will not leave us in a particularly favourable position. As much as your father and the Confederacy before him disliked the Fringe Worlds, they are responsible for much of our military resources. Even the various industries scattered throughout the rest of the Dominion rely on resources from the Fringe Worlds."
"I am aware of that, General." Valerian said firmly. "But as much as I dislike losing those worlds, I dislike the idea of the levels of poverty and corruption that those worlds would have to endure as we rebuild even less." Valerian turned back to Xapferey. "Having said that, the general does have a point. We cannot afford to give up all of the Fringe Worlds to you."
"True, but consider this, as a sign of good faith," Xapferey gave a padd for them to look over. "These systems on the flank of Dominion space. On the opposite side from us, are uninhabited and mineral rich. We have automated mining and defense platforms slightly above your level of technology already mining in these systems. Consider it a swap. We'll give you the command codes and you get several mineral rich locations in exchange for the Fringe Worlds. You'll come out ahead if you consider we have to clean up the corruption and food shortage issues."
Jason snorted. "I doubt you'll find that to be too much of a problem, knowing you."
"Thanks Jason," Xapferey smiled wryly. "So, what do you think Emperor? General?"
The two men exchanged glances, knowing there could be only one answer. They had already seen the stick and the bite of the carrot was simply too good to miss. They nodded.
"Excellent, we'll formalize the agreement and perhaps have it televised by UNN?" Xapferey wondered.
"If you think that will not cause further problems."
"It will let your people know that the war is over, and not to panic when our forces take their position in our newly acquired territory. I do see us becoming allies in time. But first we need to let things settle down."
"No arguments here. There's been a lot for people to take in."
"Indeed," Xapferey agreed. Soon after, the Dominion announced the end of the war, along with an announcement that the Fringe Worlds would be turned over to the Draconian Empire in return for mining rights in neighboring systems that Draconia had claimed. On UNN the Terran Dominion watched as Xapferey and Valerian signed the treaty and the formal surrender of the Dominion to end the war. Once the treaty was signed, Xapferey and his allies left Korhal an hour later. Once onboard the Forceria, Xapferey called Jason, Nova, Jim and Sarah to his office for a meeting.
"Jason, Jim, Sarah and Nova I want to thank you for your help and make an offer that I hope you will accept." Xapferey said as he pulled out a box.
"What kind of offer?" Jim asked. Xapferey opened the box in response to show Draconian rank badges.
"An official offer to give you all commissions and citizenship in Draconia and her territories. Jason, the rank of Lord Admiral and head of the about to be formed 11th fleet. Jim the position of Admiral, Sarah, the rank of Vice-Admiral, Nova the rank of Rear-Admiral and even a position for Matthew Horner as Commodore."
Jason fell back into his chair laughing. "Naturally. I wish that I could say I hadn't seen something like this coming."
"Really?" Xapferey asked. "Is it that far a stretch to believe that I look after my friends and offer them what I know they deserve?"
"No, of course not. But finding a way to add little extras to the reward that you know I'll hate but can't refuse? That's definitely your style."
"And what is it you hate about this my friend?" Xapferey asked.
"You know damn well how much I hate all the nobility crap and you've hoisted yet more of it on me."
"And that's why you're best suited to the position. Now I was thinking of making your berth Mar Sara, would that be a good idea? I have plans for the entirety of the Fringe Worlds and have no desire to see them fall like Arcturus did to several Zerg invasions."
Jason nodded slowly. "I have one other condition. I want Louise as a Vice-Admiral as well."
"Done, but I actually have another plan in mind for her, one she'll be brought in on… now," the door hissed open admitting the Zerg woman. "Welcome Louise, now that we're all here I want to share a plan I've been forming. Now it's a lie for the greater galaxy but the best lies are steeped in truth. Once we have the Dark Templar as a military ally I want to launch an all out assault on the Primary Hive Cluster on Char."
"That's an interesting undertaking."
"I know, now what I'm thinking is this. I have spies on your homeworld Sarah, spies that have an opening to change some of your birth records. Twins in other words, and since we're already distinguishing the two of you by name and forgive me if this seems uncreative. But your family would be one Sarah Louise and one Louise Sarah Kerrigan your twin sister. Louise once we kill the Overmind would take command of the Swarm. Your existence would be explained as identical twins, separated by the Ghost Academy. Louise would be captured and transformed by the Swarm, somehow keeping her human mind and sought out help from Draconia to deal with her issues. What do you think?"
Jason looked at Louise. "I don't like this one bit." He started.
Louise put a finger over his mouth. "You don't have to, Jason. It's my choice."
Jason shot a blazing look at her. "Haven't you been through enough already?"
"She has indeed. But unless you want to expose Sarah or Nova to what happened to her, they won't be powerful to take the Swarm. For that we need the Primal Queen of Blades… Louise would we need to go to Zerus again?" Xapferey asked.
Louise thought for a moment. "It shouldn't be necessary, but it couldn't hurt either. We cannot allow Amon to gain control of the Primal Zerg.
"Ugh… I swear if I have to listen to Dehaka one more time I'm going to stick an evisceration hex up what passes for a primal's nose. He pisses me off endlessly," Xapferey complained.
"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this guy?" Jason asked.
"Go play Heart of the Swarm, you'll see why," Xapferey grimaced.
"Lovely. Someone who irritates a dragon. This should be interesting."
"Actually I gotta ask now that I have the chance… How much did Dehaka piss you off Louise? And how did you manage to restrain yourself from killing him if you did?"
"By playing pinball with him around the leviathan. Repeatedly. Using ultralisks as the bumpers." Louise said dryly.
"I envy you," was all Xapferey could say. "So do you accept my offer Jason?" Xapferey asked formally.
Jason sighed. "I do. But my condition still stands."
"Excellent, and I agree with it. and the rest of you do as well?" Xapferey said turning to the silent others.
The others looked between each other before nodding in agreement.
"Perfect. I'll leave it to you to get your current forces together along with what additional forces we have to augment your own. See if you can clean out the Zerg from Mar Sara using our upgraded sensors while taking your positions in our new territory?" Xapferey requested.
"Consider it done." Jason nodded.
"Excellent, please excuse me my friends, I'm expecting an important communication."
"Of course." Jason led the others out as Xapferey turned to the communicator.
"En Taro Adun Matriarch Razagal," Xapferey greeted her.
"En Taro Adun, Emperor. Zeratul has much to say about you and you have attracted considerable attention to yourself."
"It's the price one has to pay for making such a big splash in galactic politics. Has Zeratul shared everything?"
"That would depend on what you define as everything."
"Certain knowledge that I possess through unusual means, knowledge that can have a profound effect on the galaxy," Xapferey said stressing the word unusual.
"Then I imagine he has shared as much as he is comfortable with. I am familiar with your stated intentions and plans, at least."
"That is good to hear, I and my allies have averted much in the form of multiple disasters. But I was hoping to reach a firm alliance with you and the Nerazim. After all, Aiur and Shakuras are at major risk."
Razagul nodded slowly. "Yes, the threat that the Zerg present is indeed immense. Aiur more so than Shakuras, I think. Perhaps our exile may have been of benefit to us after all."
"Yes it has, but there are also dangers. If a warp connection was established it would be possible for the Zerg to invade Shakuras through the gates."
"Which makes them a liability, and yet the scale of the invasion likely to fall upon Aiur is far too great for complete victory to be possible. An evacuation must take place, but the sheer scale of the population that would need to be evacuated requires their use. Even with your ships, we cannot evacuate billions of people in time any other way."
"What about the Ark Ships? The Spear of Adun and her sister ships?"
"Even they would not provide the edge we need, I fear. With your arrival in the sector, it is likely that our enemy will step up their plans."
"We do have an advantage that you Protoss may not have considered. We can put large amount of Protoss evacuees in transporter stasis, keep them dematerialized for enough time to evacuate Aiur. We may have to call for help from the Terrans as well. I do have connections that can be possibly used. But we need to consider some things as well. The Dark Templar are able to kill the Cerebrates and the Overmind like myself… I think. I do have a very trusting agent who can take the Swarm under hand so it won't go berzerk. But we need your help to pull this off."
"No doubt to occupy the Overmind and eliminate the Cerebrates. After all, we can be in more places than you. From what Zeratul has told me, I would have to agree with Commander Davis's opinion. You prefer a straight assault with overwhelming force to any other combat tactic."
"Not quite, I prefer a multi-pronged assault, if I were to make the assault without the help of your people, I would use an avatar to lead while I went after the Cerebrates and Overmind. My own powers can do very nasty things plus I'm quite certain destroy them utterly as well. I prefer a massive assault to occupy them and force them to focus all their numbers on us while a strike force moves in on critical locations or commanders. I am quite capable of other tactical choices when I need to be."
"I never said you were not capable of other options, simply that your general preference was for overwhelming force if you do chose to fight. In any case, the situation is far too finely balanced for us not to join you. Fate and Destiny would seem to circle around these events, we must be cautious, above all else."
"Very well then. Well since I can count on your support, the biggest problem I can see will be the Conclave on Aiur. How should we handle them?"
"Unfortunately, I cannot see an alternative other than coming to their aid once the Zerg invade. Showing up before will direct their ire at us instead of the true threat."
"Unfortunate but true. Which means, we need to allow the invasion to begin then interfere once the Zerg make planetfall. But at the same time we can use the opportunity to strike the Overmind and Cerebrates in transit."
"A daring but dangerous plan. They will be heavily defended and we will not be able to easily bring our energies to bear upon them. Still, it may disrupt their operations enough to cause them more problems than they can easily handle."
"We do have a small stockpile of grey rain torpedoes left, enough to give a small opening in their lines. My stealth frigates have just reported a massive wave of Zerg heading to Protoss space half an hour ago. They'll strike Aiur within a day, 3 if the Conclave reacts enough for a muster to contest the system outer border… but we know they likely won't."
Razagul snorted. "Indeed. The arrogance of the Conclave is beyond question. They have long believed in their superiority over all others and will not consider the idea that others may be capable of challenging their rule."
"Very true, which means in… I'm thinking 72 hours at the earliest we should mobilize for a counteroffensive when the Overmind begins its move to Aiur. I'm calling in reinforcements from a hidden part of my empire to secure my territory and provide extra forces, but they won't be here for another 36 hours."
"Hmmm. The Overmind will be cautious, particularly after your little stunt earlier. Ambushing him will not be easy."
"Perhaps not, but I think ramming 20,000 ships down it's metaphorical throat will make it easier. My other forces have had considerable time to build up while I handled other remaining issues in Kropulu."
"There is a terran expression which I believe is appropriate here: 'There is no kill like overkill'. I take it you hope to drown the Zerg in numbers of your own."
"That I could never hope to do, my forces have broken many rules thanks to our powers, but we don't have that kind of numbers to throw at them. We just know how to fight them, how to break them, and how to end them. I was a Zerg and Protoss player after all," Xapferey said with a grin.
"Then I think our course is clear."
"Agreed, I propose that we meet before the offensive to finalize the alliance. I could come to Shakuras if you wish? Or when our forces meet before warping to Aiur?"
"Meet at Aiur, I think. The Overmind may not yet be fully aware of the alliance between us. We can use that to our advantage."
"Agreed, meet at Aiur in 72 hours then with our respective armadas?"
"Agreed."
"Excellent, please excuse me Matriarch, but I have to have a briefing with my Lord Admirals."
Razagul inclined her head regally before closing the communication link.
Xapferey sighed before triggering his communication terminal to a select frequency with a small smirk.
"Lord Davis, please join me in my office, there's a briefing for all 12 Lord Admirals in 5 minutes."
"Yeah, I'll be there." Jason sighed before doing a double take. "Wait, 12?"
"All will be explained here," Xapferey promised. He waited then all 12 of the Lord and Lady Admirals were in the room. A touch of a button had the office put out of phase with normal space.
"Only 2 of us know of what I am about to share and it is classified at the highest levels not to be shared with anyone of a rank lower than you unless contingency order 66 is executed. But about 30 years ago, we had 2 ships completed, one with a prototype and only one of its kind folding space drive. This ship and its crew went on to form Atlantis and the retreat of last resort. Our final fallback if the worst fails. As a result I am pulling 75,000 ships to reinforce our lines and begin a major offensive against the Zerg and Amon's loyalists. Atlantis is the regional capital of the empire in Pegasus."
"Ok, when you're finished rocking my entire worldview, once again, shall we get on with this?"
"Yes Lord Davis, the 1st, 3rd, 11th-23 fleets will join together with the Protoss forces of the Dark Templar or Nerazim and strike directly at the Overmind where we have an agent ready to take control over as much of the Zerg Swarm as possible. Any questions?"
"My Lord, 30 years should not have been sufficient time… ah, same tricks then?" The Elf Lord Admiral of the 5th fleet asked.
"Yes Lord Evasan. Time dilation spells in multiple star systems. With an older galaxy, it meant that there were greater untapped mystical reserves to use for such matters unlike the Milky Way. Any others?"
Nobody spoke up, they all had their orders and knew them well.
"Very well then, return to your ships and muster your forces as required. We leave for war in 72 hours."
