"In order to overthrow Shao Kahn, we must cut off his lines of support," Sindel said, standing at the head of a long table. Goro sat on one side of her, with several of his Shokan advisers. On the other side sat Kitana, with Jade and Baraka nearby. Darrius and another Seidan man sat further away, near Liu Kang, Nightwolf and Jax. "He has had time to cultivate alliances with communities all over Outworld. It is the true source of his strength. Our activities must be two-fold. We need to identify those groups whom we can potentially recruit, and then send emissaries to them. Those who we cannot recruit, we must neutralize quickly. Only when the Emperor's lines of support are cut off can we make our assault on his palace."

"Who can we count on for support?" asked an elderly Shokan male.

"As of now, we have only a few contacts we can count on," Sindel answered. "I admit, few thus far are military powers. There may be a need to train many of our prospective allies to effectively fight the Emperor's loyalists."

"We do not need farmers if we wish to challenge Shao Kahn!" the elderly Shokan shouted. He smashed one of his fists upon the table, rocking and end into the air. "We need warriors!"

"They, whoever they are, can be trained," said Darrius.

"What do you know, Seidan?" another Shokan said. "These people are not used to constant instruction. They don't have the discipline drilled into your peoples' heads from birth."

"We may not need that sort of discipline," Goro said. "It is unconfirmed, but there have been certain rumors of an ally who could help us prepare these people for war. If the Master is truly back in Outworld-"

"The Master?"

Goro grinned.

"That is an unsubstantiated rumor," Sindel interjected. "We cannot count on that kind of fortune."

"Hey, I've got a question," Jax suddenly said, raising his hand. "Who's the Master?"

"The greatest warrior Outworld has ever known!" one of the Shokan shouted. "He could destroy Shao Kahn single-handedly!"

"But would he?" Jax asked. "If this guy's such a big deal, where's he been? What's he done?"

"A great more than you know," Goro said.

"Enough," Sindel said. "There is much yet for us to discuss. You can speculate upon the presence of a man who may very well have died ages ago later."

"Is he doing anything?" asked a man with a thick accent, one not commonly heard in Outworld. "Bloody hell, he's been standing in one place for hours."

"You tell me, human," said Reptile, who had been trying to avoid having a conversation with Kano, the criminal from Earthrealm who had sworn allegiance to Shao Kahn. Kano was welcomed into the imperial palace after promising that he could build up support for the Emperor in Earthrealm.

"Why should I know?" Kano asked. "Robo-man's from the same realm as me, but that's a big realm, boy. He shows up with Shang Tsung, says a few words about how great his mates are, then just turns off. Telling you, I knew Lin Kuei before. Hell, I fought a few in the tournaments. Never knew 'em to do the C-3P0 thing. You know what is, right mate?" Kano looked to his side. "Mate? Reptile?" The Zaterran had slipped off somewhere. "Alright, Sektor, let's you and me chat."

Kano approached the idle cyborg, and tapped him in the shoulder.

"C'mon, mate, you and me got so much in common!" Kano tapped his faceplate. His left eye was a red mechanical implant, surrounded by metal. "What's your deal?"

Sektor continued to stand silently.

"Leave him be, Kano," came the raspy voice of Shang Tsung.

"Oi! I want to talk to you, too, magic man," Kano said, turning to face the sorcerer. "Been running around Earthrealm and you don't even tell little old Me. I'm hurt, I am."

"The Tekunin contacted me directly," said the sorcerer. "They are an offshoot of the Lin Kuei, and would like to expand to newer alliances."

"And what a new alliance they have found!"

Shang Tsung whirled around.

"You are, as always, late," he snarled.

"Forgive me, my friend," said the newcomer. "Business in the Neatherrealm held me up again."

Shang Tsung dropped his scowl, and extended his hand. The newcomer, the pail-skinned, heavily tattooed sorcerer Quan Chi, took it.

"Okay, you girls want to practice kissing, you do it," Kano said, trying to get their attention. "Mr. Roboto wakes up, somebody let me know. I'm going to grab some of the Dragons and find a little fun."

Kano wandered off.

"He has a certain charm to him, doesn't he?" Quan Chi laughed. He looked to the idle body of Sektor. "Mortal technology. I'm never sure what to make of it."

"The Lin Kuei are among Earthrealm's greatest warrior clans," Shang Tsung said. "The Tekunin were their attempt at becoming even greater."

"Were?"

"They succeeded, but the machine-men rebelled. This one retained much of his own personality post-conversion, and decided he did not care to be in servitude to lesser people."

"And I'm sure that you played no part in that at all, did you, Shang?"

"Why ever would you accuse me of such a thing?" Shang Tsung smirked.

"Does this mean he can be controlled, when the time comes?" Quan Chi asked, shifting his tone.

"Without a doubt. And with this one, we will have a small army of these warriors to carry out our orders." Shang Tsung paused, and clasped his hands behind his back. "But that is all in good time, is it not? Come, let's disrupt Kano's fun."