AN: As always, discrepancies or errors reported to me are helpful. Thanks for reading.
Zagaras return to Char was met with many of her Brood Queens expressing concern and slight outrage at such a massive force being allowed to remain on the outskirts of their territory. She quickly silenced all of them, reaching out to even the furthest of her Swarm, to announce her will.
**Your concerns are understandable, however unwarranted. We are not under threat from these new races, they will not encroach on our worlds.** Zagara paused, narrowing her eyes at the brief protests that arose and quickly quieted as her ire at their disobedience transmitted to them. **I have offered open invitation to one of them who has offered new essence at no cost to the Swarm. Any who go against my wishes WILL be excised, if not by my claws, I will willingly allow and pardon their interference.** Zagara then listened to the conversations of her Queens, some slowly exhibiting signs of excitement and others making those close to them uneasy, intentionally allowing a foreign species to enter their territory completely against character. Zagara quickly squashed the dissent amongst her Queens, firmly expressing that she has made a decision on the matter and will not change her position. After seeing what the Taalrulthian Samateus had been capable of, the light and warmth from the light she exuded, Zagara felt almost as she had when her Queen, Sarah, had become Xel'Naga and fought alongside them until she had to leave them within normal space. Mentioning their Queen, and what Zagara could almost call her Goddess of sorts, instantly quelled any further comments regarding the newcomers to the sector. Zagara encouraged some of those on the fringes to see for themselves the forces of the Ahr'Aht, warning that a smaller yet just as powerful Protoss Ark ship likely would be seen in the area.
Izsha had informed her of a communique the Terrans had received from Hierarch Artanis, care of Phasesmith Karax, and provided her, that the second void-black coloured Ark ship would be remaining with the sector newcomers. The brief flash of a Primal Hybrid aroused Abathur's interest, the sequencer appearing before Zagara as she returned to her primary Hive cluster.
**Curious, Protoss Primal? Wish to acquire sample.** He asked in his own strange way. Zagara shook her head, angling her crest forward to shadow him before her.
**Only if he offers it. He is far too powerful even for I to attempt such. That he was able to take the power of Zerus as well, before our Queen, without anyone's knowledge, is more concerning to me. Reach out to Dehaka, I wish to converse with him.** Zagara then trundled inside, gladly turning her thoughts away from the events of the day, as Abathur went about arranging for a transport to fetch Dehaka of the Primals.
While the Zerg went about their own interests following the more recent battle at Ulnar; Valerian and Egon, with Matthew and Mira via holocomm, began to go over the recordings Egon had taken throughout their day alongside the Daelaam. Valerian pinched the bridge of his nose, surprised at just how much nuance and emotion had been underlying the actions of their allies, having seen more from them in the one day than he had ever seen from the mouthless aliens. After observing the entire encounter and filling in any gaps that the recordings from Egon did not catch, Valerian sighed.
"So let me get this straight, Xerxes is Artanis' older brother, Vorazun's Father, had tutored Karax and knew Rohana from before she went into stasis with the Spear of Adun, even before it had been named?" Valerian haltingly hashed out. Egon nodded, slight smirk and soft expression showing the Dominion Emperor he had understood everything, and still felt equally as confused. Matthew, sitting next to Egon in front of the Emperor's desk with Mira Han via secure commlink projected by holo-emitter on Valerian's desk, shook his head and let out a low chuckle.
"Almost too convenient, but it reminds me of when Jim and I would be bouncing around the sector helping different rebel groups rail against your Father. We could be in the middle of one job, wrap up, and find ourselves in the middle of another. Sometimes even helping with Feral Zerg threatening fringe world civilian outposts." Matthew sighed, remembering Jim still hit him quite hard, not having the Marshal around, even with his often dour moods, left a space Matthew still found he could not ignore. A void, if you will. While many suspected that Sarah Kerrigan, the Xel'Naga, had come back for him, until he knew for sure, Matthew took it that Jim had simply found somewhere quiet to just relax and drink himself stupid.
"Agreed. I remember seeing some of those reports, and how my Father had twisted them to make Jim look worse than Tosh. That Xerxes somehow knew Jim still concerns me. When we see him next I'll have to remember to inquire." Valerian moved to sit back in his chair, eyeing Mira. "Are you certain that Samateus is genuine?"
"Why do you still doubt her? She just saved all of us, asking nothing in return, other than a little corner of the sector so that her and her allies can continue to exist." Mira sounded a bit upset, almost as though Valerian had intentionally insulted her. "I trust her with my life, and the lives of my best mercenaries. I would trust her with Matthew, that alone should tell you enough." Matthew blushed, blinking comically as Egon snickered.
"I have to agree with Mira, that Leon gave us all this information, to help the entire sector, without asking for anything in return? Why should we distrust them, when they could just as easily have wiped us out with all those Thrashers and Amon's followers. You may not have felt it like I did, but Samateus... Ashtareen, when she was uttering that weird 'call', at first it was way too loud for me to tune into, after it was a gentle caress almost. We all saw what they could do. What just blows me away is how easily we can put together the equipment that Leon gave us the schematics for. It's all in common, there are suggestions on specific settings, power requirements, alternate materials for use that may be cheaper or easier to fabricate, and instructions on how to safely operate the more elaborate equipment like the terraforming tech." Egon paused, reigning in his enthusiasm a bit. "I don't think that Xerxes Nerthiel is a threat to us, he appears more humble than Zagara has been, and less blunt than Dehaka, but fiercely protective even of us. While he is more preoccupied with the Daelaam, I can see him wishing to see more of the Dominion and Terran lifestyles in the future, and is likely to not want anything to do with Zagara on a large scale." Egon shocked the three others of their debriefing, having said more in this room just now than they had ever before heard from him. He blushed a bit, lightly scratching the back of his neck. "Sorry, not really sure where that came from..." He sheepishly added.
"No apology needed, I'm glad you're comfortable enough with us to speak your mind." Valerian chuckled, nodding. "I agree, but we should be careful about testing and running this equipment, just in case. I assume you want to spearhead the project?" Egon's silly grin was enough of a response to get a smirk out of Matthew and further chuckling from Valerian. "Alright. It's all yours. Don't do any of the cloning or anything yet, I would like you to get the terraforming on track first, then the hydroponics. We need to take care of our people, something my father never would have done." Valerian then slid the Padd Leon had given them across the desk, Egon gingerly picking it up as though it were fragile glass.
"Thank you sir. I'll keep you updated on my progress daily?" Egon barely held his excitement, practically shuddering in place. Matthew chuckled, at least he could look forward to his own updates on that on a daily basis, though the Hyperion would likely need to reallocate space in the cargo holds to accommodate more equipment and fabrication machinery.
"Daily if you make significant progress or hit a snag, weekly is fine otherwise, then you can focus for longer periods. If you need any additional staff or equipment, put together a roster of people you'd like on this project and get it to me when you've had a chance to mull over how to approach each aspect." Valerian smiled, nodding to Egon.
"Understood. If there is nothing else?" Egon let the sentence hang, wanting to get started on his new tasks immediately.
"Not at the moment. Try and take some time for yourself before you go too overboard?" Valerian cautioned, Egon bobbing his head lightly in an exaggerated nod. The young man then stood, offered a light bow, and departed, Matthew waiting for the door to slide closed again before sitting forward and addressing Mira.
"Jill was Samateus, this whole time? Why the hell didn't you tell me about her?" He sounded upset more than angry, ignoring the slowly returning feeling in his right arm as the pain and soreness helped temper his anger. Mira briefly rolled her eyes.
"Mattieu, do you honestly tell me everything you know about your soldiers? No? Why should I tell you one of my best is an alien in disguise if she is doing more good than any of the other aliens we know. She has been the only secret that could potentially mess with things in the sector on a large scale, and it was at her request. She wanted to be with the one species she has been around and knows more about than any of the others in the sector, and I honestly feel she needed to be amongst Terrans instead of even the Protoss. They are Xenophobic, you've both said as much, the Zerg would have attempted to infest her or worse, and she helped oust some pretty nasty pockets of Amon's influence without raising alarms. Are you really going to be angry with me for keeping a secret to a friend?" Mira pouted.
"I am angry that you would keep a secret from me at all, after everything." Matthew sat back, looking away. Valerian sighed, shaking his head solemnly at the two.
"Matt, while I do agree that Mira's keeping Samateus a secret is likely hurtful in the context of your relationship, Samateus is a faction leader. She has to have people she can trust, those who would lie even to their own spouses to keep her secrets." Valerian paused, moving to place his elbows on the desk and mantling his fingers. "If Artanis had something he needed to confide in me, I wouldn't breathe a word to anyone until he gave me express permission. Samateus gave Mira permission to speak when she had stated her presence as being official. She understands Terran customs and political hierarchy more than any other outsider I've seen. She made it a point to introduce Leon to us, she made it her business to be open and available if we ever need her. Better Queen than any I've met." Valerian smirked, moving to fold his hands over each other on the desk instead. "I say we trust her, in any capacity. I understand your skepticism Matt, I do, and in this we need to be open to her. We are in her debt, many times over. If she wanted, I could potentially be ousted for some of the underhanded black-ops we have had to sweep under the rug. She knows far more than we know, and likely knows more about us than I am comfortable with. However, like Mira, I'm cautiously optimistic and trust Samateus with my life, if it came down to it."
Matthew simply nodded, not wishing to further the argument, as he had obviously no legs to stand on in this. Not even on his knees could he sway the trust Samateus had built already with Mira, and to be told indirectly by his Emperor and Commander to back down as he had very little Political standing or experience, Matthew found he could make no further comment. Mira sighed, scrubbing a hand over her face and up through her hair.
"Mattieu, I would have told you sooner had it needed to be said. While I agree with Val on the political aspect, if I had told you about Samateus, would you have kept it quiet? We both know you would have told Val sooner or later. More than likely immediately after I told you." Mira breathed, watching Matthew with concern. "I know you were jealous before, when she was talking about how long she had been living with me, did she say anything to you?" His blush at Mira's question spoke for him. "I thought so. She loves her friends and is very open about her feelings, but also understands boundaries and Human relationships better than I could have thought possible. I'll say this -I can't really say more, you'll have to ask her- she mentioned growing up on another version of Earth when we first met, that she understands old world Earth society and Humans far better than some of her own. So please, don't keep this anger because of my need for discretion."
"Mira, I don't think I can ever stay angry with you. We'll talk more later, next movie night?" Matthew sighed, slight smile curling the edges of his lips. Mira blew a kiss at him and cut the commlink, Valerian chuckling and shaking his head.
"Always leaving me with more questions that one. You've got quite the lady there Matt, while she snared you, I don't think she would ever go for anyone else." Valerian cackled at Matthew's expression and increasing blush as he simply had no response for Valerian's jab.