Tiberium Void

Few quick notes to SC fans and CnC fans.

1) Tiberium Twilight not only is terrible fanfiction in itself written over the course of maybe a couple hours, but it removes the possibility of even half decent fanfiction, so expect it to be selectively ignored particularly since it clearly isn't a game, a game would be fun...and playable. Seriously what kind of idiot thinks that the WoW plot for everything is even half decent for a series that openly mocked that style of writing?

However in the unit lore for Rivals is actually fairly decent so expect elements from Rivals to appear. Partially to balance the factions against the SC ones, without being lazy and just reskining SC units to CnC like a Blizzard Employee does with anything in their games.

2) I've never been a fan of Blizzard, I enjoy Starcraft and almost loved SC2 like I did Westwood, but Blizzard is full of quacks who are too lazy to put a good plot into their games, just see WoW where we recycle the same plot more than Yugioh recycles it's formula.

But again I do like and respect SC, particularly it's additional content and the ability of the team working on CP-OP to keep doing the same thing over and over again at least feeling fresh via army mechanics and personality something that's seemingly a lost art in Blizzard and EA. So certainly expect your due levels of respect and praise particularly towards Nova's plotline (first unique Blizzard story in over a decade)

However the end of SC2, particularly the whole final campaign against Amon is in contempt for being just straight lazy along with the bulk of Legacy of the void. Seriously the whole immersion and care they had built up for SC2 was broken by the end of the first arc.

Prolog

Sarah Kerrigan was gone, and her reign of terror throughout the Kaprulu sector over. Few in the Dominion ever knew anything more of the passing of the Queen of Blades than that in some unknown battle she disappeared never to be seen again. This news of liberation from the terror of the woman who had slaughtered their people and invaded their worlds, left the Terrans of the Sector with little relief. Instead their worries persisted as shadow wars were fought by remnants of the great wars, political machinations by insurgents destabilized planetary governments both good and bad, and the partial collapse of the Protoss whom were once assumed to be a single unified race saw them split into factions with the vicious Tal'darim standing as the most powerful of the factions threatening the short peace they had thus far been given.

Of course as their Emperor Valerian could not allow his own concern show to the public, least he negatively impact the Dominion. Even so the news that had been provided to him by Mathew Horner, and confirmed under the table by the Rogue Ghost Nova Terra provided the Emperor with much more to be concerned about than the day to day questions of if today's harvest, or the latest industrial efforts saw payoff or if perhaps the latest Zerg sightings were peaceful or not.

In local space the news had been mainly manageable, local terror cells, remnant forces left over from the previous wars, and other extremists who by the end of the decade would all be impotent shadows, they all fought with planetary garrisons, or skirmished with Zerg and Protoss either finding their foes a greater challenge than expected and dying for their poor judgment or limping away with a pyrrhic victory. The only unique detail of the reports of the last year was the appearance of a new post war humanitarian movement with cultish membership standards. Though investigation into the movement by Ghosts showed that they did harbor anti-Dominion sentiment and were being backed by a unconfirmed but well off supplier they had yet to make any openly militant moves. Valerian certainly was undecided on if he should stomp them out now, or leave them be both for the benefits of their humanitarian work and to leave them operating so he could discover their supplier and eventually remove that looming threat.

Next was the report of the Tal'darim's death-fleet skirmishing with a unidentified force. Likely yet another unknown branch of the Protoss, or a remnant of Kerrigan's Zerg yet to be brought under heel by the Overqueen. However the details were too scarce, the Tal'darim had gone into what for the Dominion might as well been a informational lockdown even killing the nearby Dominion observers and spies following the series of battles and using their unique technology to ensure no signals, not even light left the regions where they fought their foe.

Alone these reports meant little more than curiousities and slight abnormalities in the I.S.D. reports. Every few months in this new "era of post war peace" Valerian would read a report like these. With a practiced gesture the Emperor changed his holographic display before him, turning from the familiar images of Dominion space to a ever widening view of the galaxy.

As the view widened to outside the borders of the Dominion, outside the Kaprulu Sector things became far more concerning and far less certain. While it had never been his primary concern, Valerian's father had never been without at least one eye watching the happenings of the United Earth Directorate. Now that watch was turning up news that the Directorate had already collapsed, at least in part. A new Emblem, and a new fleet apparently was growing to dominate the Earth's Sphere of influence. Last time such a change had happened an Earth fleet had ravaged the young Dominion nearly enslaving the entire Sector, and this new power was already amassing a fleet, which with the amount of time delay for the news could mean the fleet was already on it's way, or that Earth had really given up on trying to force their will on the people of the Kaprulu Sector. However one didn't amass a fleet without intent to use it, and Kaprulu was becoming ever more fertile ground for yet another internal conflict so long as there was someone to backing whoever intended to spark the flames.

The young Emperor relaxed into the chair of his desk, the phonograph nearby now playing classical music to calm his nerves. These three unique details painted one likely picture in the Emperor's mind. The Earth government reformed following the Brood wars, violently or peacefully didn't matter, and now they were once again looking to claim the Kaprulu Sector. These mysterious humanitarians likely were setting the groundwork for Pro-UED remnants and insurgents to rise up and disrupt the garrisons of the planet's the Earthnoid forces were targeting. All while the Protoss would likely be distracted by whatever conflict that the Tal'darim engagement started, and of course the Zerg were simply beyond being out of the question to ask for assistance. Valerian couldn't trust them to help him with a delicate situation like this, and the mere idea of asking them would certainly get him crucified by his citizens.

With minimal effort the Emperor pushed himself back away from his desk revealing a uniform that could only be described as Regal Casual, as he left the reports and paperwork behind. While there were plenty of others who were content to sit back observing, Valerian had learned well from his father and life experiences. Even if he didn't take direct action he could get in touch with those who could, and better yet he could motivate them to bring threats to the peace of the Dominion to a end. A rightfully bribed mercenary or a competent patsy used now would save the Dominion countless lives, credits, and certainly from the greater dishonor of having been able to do something and choosing not to act.

It took him only a short walk to reach his destination. Flanked by heavily armored Marines whose lives seemed to consist of keeping him safe as silent bodyguards, Valerian reached his destination after following a well tred path for the Emperor, a small spartain room that housed perhaps one of the finest naval minds in all of the Kaprulu Sector.

Matthew Horner turned facing the young Emperor as Valerian passed through the doorway into his office. "Your Majesty, how many I be of service for you today?" The former member Rayner's Raiders asked with a crisp salute and a familiar politeness. As ever Horner's uniform was crisp, clean and fitted, matching well with the man's dark eyes and hair.

"I have a request to make of you Matthew, one that the Dominion needs your full skill for, though I suspect you might find it distasteful." Valerian stated simply, even as the two marines stepped into the office and flanked the door behind the Emperor, eyes scanning and ready always prepared to fight or die for their Emperor's sake.

If Matthew was taken aback by the statement he gave away no sign of it, only taking a moment of silence as he prepared his desk. The Admiral moved quickly removing the few papers and data stacks from on top, and offered his seat, which the young ruler promptly declined with a silent gesture.

"I've sworn to uphold the Dominion under your rule to the best of my ability sir, whatever you need to be done I'll see to it that the task is done for the benefit of our people." A true statement as ever could be.

There were several reasons why Matthew Horner was selected to be admiral over the Dominion fleet. His dedication to the people tempering his sense of duty, and saving him from blind loyalty to one man was chief among those many reasons Valerian had chosen him. Indeed if humanity had more men like Horner, Valerian was certain that his rule as Emperor would be absolutely unnecessary. Which made the coming request all the more awkward.

"I need you to contact your wife." Matthew Horner grimaced immediately at the word, "And I need you to unofficially bring her Marauders into the Dominion fleet." Now a tinge of hurt betrayal entered the Admiral's eyes. "I need her services both for intelligence gathering as well as to possibly wage a proxy war to secure the Dominion's territory against potential insurgency."

Matthew Horner's frown was slight but not unnoticed. "So we're hiring Mercenaries to do dirty work for us now?" The accusation stung but wasn't enough to shake Valerian, he had considered all his options for nearly a day now and he couldn't afford to delay with uncertainty any longer.

"In this case yes. The I.S.D. can't be trusted to complete this task satisfactorily, and I can't use our military openly against these people. Because in truth they might not even be a opponent we neccesarily would otherwise have to fight outside of the potential threat I'm looking to avoid. They could even be valued community members or allies under the right circumstances." The Emperor's explanation gave the admiral pause for thought.

"I take it this has to do with Kristos Charity Foundation?" The question was heavy, direct, and accurate.

"Yes, I fear that what information the I.S.D. could gather on them for me shows a possible connection to our enemies. If the Dominion is to survive we cannot afford to leave ourselves vulnerable to insurgents at this time." Valerian answered with a sigh, the foundation was a difficult nut to crack and he had to be delicate.

"I understand that but why Mira? She's unstable, unsubtle, and a high priced mercenary. she is not a nationalist who can't be turned against us, pay her enough and she'll fight us. Ever since she went rogue I'd say hiring Nova would be the better choice, she's loyal, subtle and more likely to..." Horner's points were well placed, but the Emperor had already considered them.

"Nova is indisposed right now. I'm not fully aware of the details but apparently she's fighting some warlord on the frontier, insisted that she can't come back." The Emperor explained cutting Horner off. "Also while Nova might be talented she might not have the range of influence needed to succeed."

"Right, I'll make the call."

Mira Han was having herself a terrible day. Sure her contract was complete, Yuri was dead... well she assumed the bald creep was dead, after that washtub looking tank of his disintegrated in a flash of blue light she couldn't ID a body but she still insisted on payment. And it would have been a huge payout as well, but the bastard who hired her tried to pull a lazy double cross by selling her out to another Mercenary group.

Three crashed Space Stations later the the Marauders profits from the mission were down seventy percent, and her informant was dead, plus a potential employer dead, but at least her enemies were all dead. It would have been rather embarrassing if one of them survived. Even so the loss was significant, replacing those stations would take days, and in the meantime the salvage they were mining wasn't going to keep her boys supplied with bombs. That meant she'd have to cut back on business and combat for a few days, likely cutting even deeper into her profits.

Outside the problems there, her showers hot water decided to cut towards the end leaving her with with some slightly uncomfortable bits as she walked through her chamber drying her hair. Mira dropped her towel onto the ground next to a pile of other cloths she had previously worn before making her way to check the pile of dirty clothes and her closet for what might work best.

"Alright, let see what Momma Mira is wearing tonight." The Mercenary Crime-lord sing-songed to herself walking towards her closet. The Mercenary stopped mid-stride as her communication device clicked on, showing herself entirely in the buff on a video call with her beloved and Valerian Mengsk.

Mira spread her arms open welcoming. "Matthew! I was starting to get worried that the Princess's work was leaving us without a chance to see eachother again. Life without you is just soo boring, and so mamy naughty men keep trying to come after your faithful wife while you're away. Well love you seem to have caught me at a very opportune moment, would you like me to show you anything else." Mira's tone was light and teasing as she flaunted herself, while Matthew's expression as always was hard and stern, and Valerian's face was concentrated and focused slightly away from Mira.

"Clearly you're devastated without me. Mira..."The Dominion Admiral deadpanned before getting cut off.

"I mean all~ the secrets and tension between us he creates, the Princess is clearly a naughty boy my dear are you sure you don't want to come join me?" The woman egged on.

"Certain as ever. Listen Mira this isn't a social call..."

"Oh love, work work work. You know what they say about dull boys, I'm sure we can loosen you up and maybe fix all these healthprob-..."

Valarian cut in. "Mira, I'm looking to employ you and your Marauders for a extended period under the Dominion fleet. I intend to pay you two hundred times the standard combat rate, upfront, up to a maximum of one hundred sorties." The Emperor laid out a tempting offer almost immediately, the boy should have known how to haggle better, unless this was his opening low end offer.

"No Princess, if you want Mira or her Marauders we want a much much better deal than that. We want a exclusive deal..." Mira could almost taste the turn around of her fortunes.

"Mira..." Matt began with a warning tone, and while she wanted to play with her beloved she had buisness to see to. So she ignored him.

"... the Marauders are to be the sole mercenary force of the Dominion Fleet, with a yearly contract with all commands being run through me by my Matthew. The contract will be worth two-hundred sorties upfront, plus half a sorties price per mission." The Mercenary lord finished her demands with her forceful tone to ensure they realized she wasn't going to be playing.

Valerian Mengsk pondered the womans demand while Matthew continued to act the role of the unwilling husband and the level voice of duty and reason. While the reluctant couple argued, Matthew claiming Mira was unreasonable and she dismissing his statements with teases and occasional facts or examples, Valerian considered the mission. The costs of keeping Mira nearby and in a position where she could disrupt the fleet weighed against the value of the Mercenary's forces and the potential threat she could be diffusing. Horner could likely keep Mira in line, and if her eccentricities could be kept as a weapon against the enemies of the Dominion, rather than allowed to run wild, the value of her forces could be made to be worth the price. However, she could still be a detriment to the Dominion in the coming storm, but how that might be had yet to be seen. That made all of this a gamble, one Valerian was already determined to make.

"Oh please Matthew not everything about this is about me and you, just most of..." Mira was begining before Valerian cut infront of his admiral and gave her his answer.

"There is one adjustment I will make to our agreement. I hold right to assign liaison officers to your Marauders as I see fit." As Valerian cut in between the couple's argument, his expression was one of firm commitment and resolution, something Mira could appreciate even if she saw it as a weakness in negotiations.

The Mercenary leader was given a moment of pause as she considered the total offer. She already didn't enjoy the idea of having her forces tied to the Dominion, her price tag already should have given that away, no matter how much she wanted to be closer to her Matthew. However the Emperor was willing to pay an absurd price already and if she was willing to risk this disruption to her business she'd be able to not only be closer to Matthew, but get decent pay enough to keep her operations running smoothly for long after.

"You're offers still tempting Princess but why'd the sudden interest in my business?" Mira asked switching over to full business mode, all her teasing, bravado, and intimidation gone for now.

"For now I need someone who can keep a watch over a particular foundation for me, launch unofficial raids against their operations, and if need be fire the opening shot of a full scale war against them all without being directly tied to the Dominion Armed Forces." The Emperor admitted these facts without regret nor hesitation, his face hardest and regal, and all Mira needed to mock.

Mira scoffed slightly. "Too late for that, we're joined at the hip if you know what I mean. Isn't that right Matthew?"

Valerian then smirked in reply. "That's just leverage to make sure you keep to our contract."

"Oh look here, Princess finally taking after daddy, so where's your labs full of Alien monsters?" Mira mocked with a slight scowl. She was mocking them of course but the things she found during the End War were still rather distasteful for her.

"MIRA!" However before Horner could enter into a tirade against his wife, Valarian interjected.

"It's unsavory but this is the truth of the times we live in. As Emperor of the Dominion I must put the prosperity of my people first, no matter how bitter what I do might be for me personally." The response earning a slight smirk from the Mercenary as she listened to the Emperor's slightly strained tone of voice.

"Well then... boss...what's my target?"

"Good evening viewers, this is Kate Lockwell and tonight we have a very special segment for you. Joining me tonight is none other than Sylvanna Kristos, founder and Director of the Kristos foundation. So to get everything started for our viewers at home, what is it like being the head of the richest and most widely spread charity organization in all of the Sector?"

The cameras were rolling everyone in the studio as quiet as possible for the microphones. Kate Lockwell, one of if not the current most famous reporter of the Dominion, the reporter brave enough to openly challenge Emperor Arcturus Mengsk, was now sitting face to face with the elusive founder of the Kristos foundation. On one side the dark haired champion of truthful reporting sat in her studio suit, across from her in a red leather jacket, a youthful face, and long blond hair was the early twenties looking Sylvanna Kristos head of the Kristos Charity Foundation that bore her family name.

"Well Kate you certainly opened with a negative spin. The Kristos foundation is not rich, we see a great amount income each month yes, but over ninety percent of it goes toward material needs both for the foundation's operations and into our local communities more importantly. The remaining ten percent goes into a financial reserve and towards supplying our volunteers everything they need to survive out in the field. But to answer your question it feels like a mission from on high, imagine if you will that God himself had asked you to dedicate your life to service to others and you discovered that excell at it." The blond women retorted, Kate patiently waiting with a warn smile and focused eyes.

While Kate Lockwell was famed for reaching towards and exposing the truth, Sylvanna Kristos had developed her own reputation. Miss Kristos was slowly becoming infamous for growing her ability to turn even hostile reports into sales pitches and propaganda pieces. For the studio crew this interview was more than a simple question and answer session, but they were to witness a duel between two media masters, one a master truth-seeker and the other a propagandist Mengsk would have murdered to have.

"So you view your charity work as a divine duty from God? And does your theological inclination in any way hold sway over your Foundation's politics? The Kristos Foundation has released some very Anti-Dominion advertisements on planets such as Veridia Prime, New Folsom, and Mar Sara in the last year. Would recent radical calls for 'throwing off the shackles of our past under Mengsk' by new revolutionary groups at all be tied to you're own philosophy." Kate asked with only the barest hint of accusation in her tone, instead trying to imply that she had no preconceptions.

In her seat Sylvanna Kristos smiled softly head tilted as though embarrassed. "Yes my Foundation holds a very strong and very negative view of our Emperor, and of his family name. The Mengsk family has already brought great suffering to Terrans everywhere. We believe it is time for new leadership, rulers whose reign isn't determined by the use of Aliens to trick others into following them, or selling out their fellow humans to hold onto their slipping power. Leaders whose views are tempered by faith, their convictions strong, and their eyes set towards the future rather than preserving their own family legacy. The Kristos Foundation has and has always supported these kind of leaders."

The studio watched as Sylvanna Kristos passion dominated the screen, her natural beauty, the almost glow to her as her conviction shone drew the gaze of many. Across from her Kate patiently waited, watching as her opponent drew the camera focus away from herself as she prepared for her next question.

"So who is this hypothetical leader? Because while what you're saying works as a good sounding slogan, you're not providing a who, or even suggesting a process, even vaguely, for selecting a leader like the one you idealized. And after hours of watching Kristos supported advertisements, I've never even seen such a leader named, or a proper process of selection suggested. You talk about Emperor Valerian and his relationship to his father, but so far having interviewed Arcturus Mengsk myself I see much of the man's early rebellion era propaganda in your own slogans and just as little substance." The studio was in shock, and even Sylvanna had a thoughtful frown. Kate had gone for the jugular after throwing a few easy questions to the blond woman, gone was the neutral and polite tone, and now accusation of virtual revolutionary action and authoritarian intent was out in the open.

"Well I'm sorry Kate, you've got me a little surprised there. However if you spent a little more time away from Valerian's shadow you might be interested to find that a great many worlds possess free and independent leaders. A sheriff on Mar Sara standing for peace against a storm of violence, a Mercenary leader plying into void for the sake of their brothers, a civilian humanitarian seeking to bring unity in heart. The Kristos Foundation does not claim to know the best process but there are many ways to test the worth of a leader, and Valerian has failed the majority of these. And of those he did pass most of them a schoolteacher could pass when on equal social footing to our Emperor." Sylvanna's own tone was smug and confrontational, to the studio crew watching they knew they were I'm the middle of a verbal match between two metaphorical monsters of the news media stage.

"And yet you seem to have kept the answer rather vague while not naming what those criteria you judge the Emperor on are." Kate replied calmly folding her hands on her lap.

"Do I really need to lay out the specifics only a couple years ago the people were calling for him to detheoned and it was his reliance on a Mengsk loyalist that caused the Insurgency with the Defenders of Man and right after he had promised the Dominion would be open with the people he was having Ghosts run shadow ops." Sylvanna Kristos stated with a calm dismissive tone.

"I don't think everyone expects their government to be entirely honest and open with them, otherwise I'd be out of the job. And the Defenders of Man and their Insurgency have harmed the people of the Dominion perhaps more than they ever could have pretended to help." Kate's answer was good natured and with some levity, but inside she seethed at her counterpart.

"And yet you expect a private organization and myself to provide you with more transparency than your government. I don't intend to be Empress miss Lockwell, and one of the few good things about the Dominion since Valerian Mengsk has taken the throne is that I can speak openly and honestly, and that includes my critiques of the current government. There is no need for a critique of the government to be some dramatic showboating that lands you in a prison cell, though I think we all respect your courage, what would it say if I had to repeat your stunt just to have my opinion on the Dominion heard?" Another deflection and attack, Kate Lockwell was making very little headway, but she was still holding up far better than any of her predecessors.

Kate slowly brought up a envelope from beneath her chair placing it open on the table between the two of them. "I will concede that being locked up for having an opinion on one's government is rather less than desirable. But continuing on, what is your Foundation's ties to the Sword of Chagall... I mean besides the financial?"

Sylvanna only spared a glance to the envelope before answering in a level voice. "Miss Lockwell, are you accusing me of knowingly supporting military conflict?"

"I'm asking how much of that ninety percent is funding Mercenaries or Terrorists?" Kate stated with a subtle grin.

Sylvanna Kristos shrugged. "I'll need to check the sourcing for your math, but any funding that goes to Mercenary forces comes from the ten percent left over with the Foundation. Paying ransoms and protection fees, and generally paying others either to do, or as a consequence of, the job that the Dominion was supposedly supposed to be performing for the the people of the Kaprulu Sector. "

"So you deny that any of your vaunted ninety percent is going to financing terrorism?" Kate pressed getting a lax and rather unconcerned shrug from Sylvanna.

"If it is, it's happening without my knowledge or approval, if that's really documents taken from the foundation's books, you'll see we're just shy of four percent of our funding is marked for asset protection. Or in simpler terms for mercenaries and ransom." The blond interviewee stated with a cold and calm demeanor. If Kate was at all frustrated or disturbed she didn't show it and simply pressed the interview forward going in detail about the types of charity done, if or if not the foundation was biased in whom they helped, so on and so forth.

Kate Lockwell and Sylvanna Kristos would continue expertly talking around one another for another fifteen minutes on Universal television, in the end neither side dominating the exchange. In her room light years away a Mercenary watched with amusement wondering what her profit margins were and if Kate felt she got what she payed for, elsewhere a Emperor watched with a serious demeanor scrutinizing every word and expression, further a alien Overqueen watched with unusual trepidation, and further still others watched to simply catalog the event for future use.