Author's Note: Hey guys, with work picking up, it hasn't been easy to find the time to write, but I was able to get this chapter ready regardless. I looked over the previous chapters and saw that despite introducing Felanis all the way back in chapter 20 and 21, I haven't really given much thought on him. Granted he isn't a main character in my fic, but I still feel he needs to be explained a little bit more. In addition he hadn't been mentioned since back in chapter 44, so I decided to bring him back into the picture again here.

This chapter will tie in a little bit with the end of chapter 50 when I introduced Mira Han back into the fic, and it'll foreshadow of events to come.

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy reading this chapter. Please read and review and I'll see you next time.

Chapter 54

Aiur

Felanis watched from a distance as the Tal'darim survivors on Aiur were taken into the custody of the Daelaam Protoss. Many of the High Templars had assured him that they would do everything in their power to break the addiction to Sundrop and restore their links to the Khala as quickly as possible. This signaled a change in the Protoss hierarchy of order.

In the past, when it came to matters of beliefs and traditions, it had all been ruled by the Judicator Caste, something Felanis himself had been a part of before the fall of Aiur to the Zerg swarm. The vast majority of the High Templar warriors were thus unable to take part in such ruling governs. Now, with the dissolution of the Conclave and the unification of the Khalai and Nerazim sects, the picture had changed. The High Templars were able to now take on the role of leaders and mentors for their people.

Although there was still no sign that the Tal'darim warriors would join hands with the Daelaam Protoss, Felanis was glad that they were at least willing to listen to reason and allow their Khala links to be restored. The High Templars had made it clear to him that once the link is restored, it would be their choice to listen to anything more the Khalai and Nerazim templars would have to say.

Unfortunately, as Felanis saw very quickly, the unification of the Protoss sects still had its share of problems, as not all Protoss were ready to accept the union, or even reality in some instances. The Ara Tribe leader Nahaan did not go with the High Templars to escort the Tal'darim away, but had chosen to remain behind with Felanis, and the former Tal'darim leader had his suspicions.

Like Nahaan, Felanis too had been part of the Ara Tribe before Aiur had fallen to the Zerg. As such, he had also experienced the sheer amount of power the Conclave had wielded during their 3000 years as the Protoss ruling body. The Conclave had been part of the Judicator Assembly, which was dominated by the Ara Tribe, and there were many cases where Protoss from other tribes felt that this power had in turn corrupted the Ara Tribe, making their members snide and arrogant towards others.

Even so, the massive fleets the Ara Tribe had at its disposal had easier made it the most powerful Protoss tribe during its day. Yet in the aftermath of Aiur's fall, the tribe had been reduced to only a shadow of its former self. With its power base destroyed and the Conclave dissolved, the Ara Tribe's power had been weakened to only a fragment of the former glorious days. Despite the efforts to rebuild its strength during the time spent on Shakuras, the Ara Tribe was never able to recover from the devastating blow the Zerg had inflicted upon them on Aiur.

Yet Felanis saw the addiction to power and ruling was proving every bit as corruptive to the Protoss as it is to the terrans, according to Artanis. According to the reports of the High Templars of the Akilae, Shelak, Auriga, and Furinax Tribes, the Ara Tribe had proved to be extremely difficult to control and satisfy during the 4 years of relative quiet before the Zerg invasion. This of course had not been too surprising, as the Ara Tribe had been used to possessing the vast majority of the power within the Protoss civilization. Clearly, not all of them were ready to let go of that power just yet.

Nahaan had argued to him that the current Protoss Hierarchy was simply too slow and inefficient, but Felanis knew the real message hidden behind the Ara Tribe leader's words: he was hoping to gather support to return the Protoss leadership back to the way it was during the rule of the Conclave.

However, this was something Felanis was not prepared to support. Although there was no denying the fact that the Conclave was swift and able to take action on events quickly in comparison to the Hierarchy, the fact remained that during the rule of the Conclave, there were few cases where individual Protoss had questioned their actions, let alone defied them. This had led the Conclave to develop a mentality in which they simply refused to believe they could be in error about anything, which led to Aiur's fall at the hands of the Zerg.

Thus it was the Conclave's pride that had reduced Felanis and the other Protoss survivors to be stranded on Aiur with billions of Zerg in the first place, and the former Tal'darim leader had no intention of having history repeat itself a second time. From the way Nahaan was pressing his message towards him, it would appear that the Ara Tribe has not yet learned from its past mistakes.

"The Ara Tribe had acknowledged the errors of its ways when there had been clear proof of the destruction of the Zerg Cerebrates by the Dark Templar," Nahaan explained. "It was clear from that point on that we needed to listen to the perspectives of other Protoss as well."

"Yet from what the other Protoss tribes have informed me, it would appear that in many cases, you were skeptical about their perspectives and believed only yours were the correct ones," Felanis replied.

"You must understand that even though the Ara Tribe no longer holds the seat of power it once did, the past experience and knowledge still holds weight in the discussions within the Hierarchy. The Akilae and Auriga Tribes are part of the Templar Caste, and the Furinax Tribe is part of the Khalai Caste. During the reign of the Conclave, it was why we had made the executive, legislative, judicial, and religious Protoss laws while the other tribes simply obeyed."

"And you wish for the Hierarchy to revert to this form of ruling body?"

"I simply wish for the Ara Tribe to have a greater say in the matter of events the Hierarchy discusses than Artanis would allow," Nahaan said. "When it comes to politics, the Akilae, Auriga, and Furinax Tribes are still inexperienced and this ends up hampering their decisions for the task at hand. The Ara Tribe has had ages of experience and it would be a greater benefit to the Hierarchy to draw upon that experience. In many cases of discussion, Tabrenus usually does not speak his own mind on the matter because such opinions are beyond Furinax Tribe's ability to comprehend."

"And what of the Shelak Tribe? They may not have dominated the Judicator Caste as the Ara Tribe did but they too were part of it," Felanis pointed out.

"The Shelak Tribe has too great an associate to the Xel'Naga. The Ara Tribe was its enemy during the Aeon of Strife, but Khas's actions had discovered the Khala and thus ended the conflict. If you remember, it was this reason that the Conclave had allowed the Shelak Tribe to continue to study their ancient texts in the hopes the judicators could expand their knowledge through the Khala."

"What does this have to do with their perspectives in the Hierarchy?"

"The major weakness of the Shelak Tribe is that its desire for knowledge blinds it to more pressing matters that the Daelaam Protoss face. Even after the Brood War and the desolation of our fleets, the Shelak Tribe had turned their attention to the massive Xel'Naga Temple on Shakuras. Despite the impending threat of the Zerg, the Shelak Tribe had chosen to form the Guardians of the Xel'Naga Temple of Shakuras instead, and had constantly sought out Protoss from other tribes to join in their cause for continued knowledge of the Xel'Naga. The other tribes had worked hard to restore the great fleets, but much of the Shelak Tribe had chosen not to join us in such an endeavor. Had it not been for the years of peace that we had been granted, their traditions in constantly seeking Xel'Naga knowledge would have left us in a far more vulnerable position."

"And you believe the Ara Tribe would have been able to convince them otherwise had you had greater flexibility in the Hierarchy?"

Nahaan nodded. "With multiple viewpoints, many times conflicting with one another, the Hierarchy is simply too inefficient to take action quickly. The Ara Tribe has been looked down upon due to our inability to change our views of the Dark Templar tribes during the Zerg invasion of Aiur. However, as Mohandar is now a member of the Hierarchy, I will no longer do such a thing. Nevertheless, with regards to the recent Xel'Naga prophecy, we must take action quickly, lest our race be consumed once more by the Zerg."

"That may not be entirely possible right now," Felanis pointed out. "According to Zeratul, the prophecy remains unclear. Not all of the details are known to us, and thus we must understand more about it. The Shelak Tribe would be of great assistance in that matter."

"And what of afterwards? There has been much resentment towards allowing the Queen of Blades to live amongst my Ara Tribe, yet there is none within the Hierarchy who is willing to take my view that she should be executed immediately."

"The survival of the entire Protoss race hangs in the balance, Nahaan. Unlike yourself, the Hierarchy was simply unwilling to take the risk of losing everything."

"Perhaps, but what of afterwards?" Nahaan asked. "After everything she had done to our people, why should she be allowed to live? Although many Protoss currently are in consensus that she would be sentenced once she has served her purpose, but there are a select few who seem to be thinking the unthinkable: forgiving the Queen of Blades for her atrocities against our race."

"Has she been able to influence them that much?"

"The terran James Raynor is attempting to make them see otherwise. Despite being a hero to the Protoss, the fact remains that he has very strong feelings for Kerrigan even today, and it is interfering with his rational thought. He had convinced the rest of the Hierarchy to give the wretched creature the benefit of the doubt so that she would be able to prove herself to be a worthy ally. We had already done this during the Brood War, even though I had been against the idea, and I had been proved correct at the end. She is a creature of manipulation and deception, her actions on Aiur right now are nothing more than a facade in order for us to lower our guard against her. If we do, she will strike at us again."

"Yet I had been informed that she had allowed the Protoss to look into her mind to search for any traces of deception. Zeratul had found none, so do you believe you know better?"

"After what she had done to Raszagal, the truth is there is no telling the extent of her psionic powers," the Ara Tribe leader explained. "The possibility that she had manipulated Zeratul and the other Hierarchy Protoss cannot be factored out. The Protoss have suffered enough at her hands in her insatiable lust for power. I for one will not stand by to see this happen again."

"None of us do," Felanis assured. "But I am in consensus with the other members of the Hierarchy in that none of us know what she was like before she became the Queen of Blades. You had stated yourself that there have been relatively few Protoss encounters with female terrans and as such, the truth of the matter is we do not know enough to pass judgment on them as a whole."

"Even so, the former Queen of Blades is not like them. There is still Zerg blood that course through her veins, which is a clear indication that the ancient Xel'Naga relic did not fully purge her as James Raynor had expected. Nor did he factor in the possibility that the Xel'Naga artifact's effect may only be temporary, and Kerrigan could be slowly reverting back to the Queen of Blades even as we speak."

"According to the Observer reports, there is no longer any indication that she has control over the Zerg anymore. The vicious creatures had attacked her just as it attacked the Protoss and terran forces during the assault on the Overmind's husk."

"That does not mean she has truly lost control over them," Nahaan countered. "This could all still be part of her deception plan to fool us into thinking this way. It was entirely possible that she had realized the Zerg forces nestled around the Overmind were outnumbered by the Protoss and terrans, and thus she knew that even if she took control of them, it was a battle they could not win. Had they been greater in number, she may have done very differently."

"After the Zerg invasion of our homeworld, there had remained some 5 billion Zerg on Aiur," Felanis said. "Despite the vast numbers of Protoss dead, there were still many isolated pockets of Protoss survivors across the planet. During that time, Kerrigan was firmly in control of the Zerg swarm. Yet as time passed, the Zerg had stopped targeting us, and had stopped hunting the Protoss survivors down altogether."

"That does not mean the Queen of Blades had grown weary of slaughter," Nahaan reasoned. "Perhaps she had ordered the Zerg to stop their killing rampage in order to set up a trap in the event the Protoss fleets returned to reclaim Aiur. It is something I had been attempting to allow the Hierarchy to see: that Kerrigan must never be trusted and should be executed immediately so our race will survive. Yet so far, I have achieved little success among both Khalai and Nerazim Protoss alike."

"With regards to her sentencing once she has done her part, I am in agreement," the former Tal'darim leader said. "The Protoss survivors on Aiur have suffered far more than those who had fled to the safety of Shakuras. The constant living with the threat of the Zerg proved to be extremely difficult, and it was exactly why there were relatively few cases of large survivor groups, as such a sight would undoubtedly attract the attention of the Zerg. However to have her executed immediately is something I will not agree to. The Xel'Naga prophecy must be factored in."

"Zeratul does not even know how she will save us all from impending Armageddon, assuming the prophecy is even true," Nahaan scoffed. "And Kerrigan herself has shown resentment towards the prophecy. She resents at having been chosen the role of the savior and wishes to have no part in any of this. It only further reinforces the task of all Protoss to prove the prophecy false so that we can finally bring her to justice for all of the atrocities she had committed to our people."

"And what if the prophecy is true? Would you still seek out retribution against the wishes of the other Protoss?"

"I shall never be deceived by her," Nahaan declared. "The Ara Tribe has had greater experience in dealing with the matters of right and wrong, far more than the other tribes. We know what is the right thing to do for our people."

Felanis shook his head. "You still see yourself as the great ruling body of the Protoss, Nahaan. That time has passed, and your tribe's power is no longer absolute. It is time you and the Ara Tribe accept that."

"What happened to you, Felanis? You used to be one of the great Ara Tribe Judicators."

"When the last Warp Gate had been disabled and the remaining Protoss were left stranded on Aiur, it did not take long for the groups of survivors to realize that power and authority meant very little compared to fending ourselves from the Zerg swarm."

"Aldaris had conceded the same thing after the destruction of the Overmind," Nahaan admitted. "The loss of the Conclave's leadership along with the great fleets had forced a rethinking in strategy."

"The difference is you had the fortunes to escape to Shakuras in relative safety," Felanis explained. "For the Protoss that remained on Aiur, it soon became clear to us that whatever petty differences we possessed needed to be set aside very quickly if we were to survive the Zerg rampage. Initially, gathering survivors proved to be difficult due to the presence of the Zerg. However as time passed, it had become clear to us that the death of the Overmind had clearly caused the Zerg swarm to be thrown into disarray, and they were no longer as effective at hunting us as before."

"It was only temporary," Nahaan said angrily. "Following the Brood War, the Queen of Blades gained control of the entire swarm, and the Zerg became deadlier than ever before."

"Perhaps, but it still did not change the fact that the Zerg on Aiur had suddenly stopped targeting us. Thus the formation of the Shel'na Kryhas became a much simpler task. Despite the need for leadership within the newly forged tribe, it was clear to most of the Protoss survivors that the leadership during the days of the Conclave must never be repeated. Despite Judicator experience, Protoss survivors that were from the Ara Tribe were despised, but nevertheless incorporated into the tribe. Our resources were slender, and we had to make do with what we had to survive."

"Artanis, Selendis and Zeratul had discovered you during their return trip to Aiur," the Ara Tribe leader pointed out. "And yet they chose to abandon you to your fate."

"It is something many of the Tal'darim still hold against them," Felanis agreed. "Even so, the Shel'na Kryhas had a very different hierarchy status compared to the Conclave. The roles of the Judicators were taken away, and the role of the templar became crucial to our survival. More than half of the Shel'nas Kryhas came from the Furinax Tribe and thus did not have the warrior experience of the templar brethren. It was left to the templar survivors to better train them in order to survive against the Zerg."

"It must have not been something to be taken with pride, the mighty Protoss race reduced to a mere facade of an individual few survivors, hiding themselves from the vicious creatures."

"No, but as time went on, even the former Judicators within the Shel'na Kryhas had learned to cope with their situation. They had seen quickly that the ways of the Conclave would have led the tribe to destruction had they been implemented. It is for this reason that while I support your belief that perhaps the Ara Tribe may be allowed a greater say within the Protoss Hierarchy, I will not support your idea of the Ara Tribe coming to dominate the Hierarchy just as it had the Judicator Caste."

Nahaan nodded. It wasn't the answer he had hoped for, but it was certainly a starting point. Felanis did not support his idea that Kerrigan was to be executed immediately for her crimes, but at least he was in agreement that she would be sentenced to death once she had played her role.

Now all that was left was the Xel'Naga prophecy. It was for this reason that he had offered as many of his Ara Tribe Protoss as he could in assisting the Daelaam Protoss in clearing the remaining Zerg from Aiur. Once they were gone, the way would be clear to the Overmind's husk and further clues about the prophecy. If it could be proven false, the Queen of Blades would die by his hand, and James Raynor would not stand in his way of seeking out justice on behalf of the Protoss, Khalai and Nerazim alike.

Raiders Base, Aiur

Matt Horner was not happy to see the face of his wife on the communicator console screen. He was a fighter for freedom and justice, not some mercenary who kills for profit or personal gains like Mira. Although technically the Raiders had been declared a mercenary and terrorist organization by the Dominion for years, he knew there were other people in the Koprulu Sector that knew otherwise.

Mira's mercenary force, on the other hand, was a completely different matter. Just being stationed on Dead Man's Rock was enough for the young captain to frown at. With millions of pirates and mercenaries stationed on the planet, it was a far cry from an authoritative world. To Matt, the whole planet was nothing but a breeding ground for criminals, terrorists, and murderers. He saw no place for them in the future as they have no understanding of order and are extremely resistant to authority.

There had been many instances where he had regretted coming to Dead Man's Rock in the first place a while back, where he won the poker game against the people there and thus had been forced to marry Mira. It was exactly the reason why he had made virtually no effort to contact her since, even though the marriage documents she had kept with her confirmed the legality of the marriage. Despite distancing himself from her, Matt always knew at some point their paths would cross again.

This was something he had been dreading after they departed Dead Man's Rock after retrieving the Confederate Adjutant. Despite their revolution against Mengsk in toppling the Dominion as well as having to deal with the Zerg invasion, Matt knew at some point down the road he would have to deal with his wife again, as even the Raiders' revolution could not last forever.

Nevertheless, he continued to have much contempt for Mira. Her forces had proved to be ruthless when assisting the Raiders in defeating Orlan, slaughtering more than half of his mercenaries without giving a second thought. Not that he felt those mercs deserved any better, but it only showed that Mira's army was no better than the Dominion, her soldiers composed completely of psychopathic and cold blooded serial killers.

To that end, he took pleasure in seeing Mira having to turn to a set of emotions he thought she didn't possess in her when speaking to him, asking him and his Raiders for assistance.

"Matthew, is this any way to treat your wife?" she asked sweetly. "I know we haven't been married for too long and there was always the distance problem, but I thought you knew better."

"And you should know better when it comes to our goals," he shot back, disgusted. "I'm not the type of person who kills anyone I feel like just to earn some credits."

"Your Raiders despise authority, just like myself. Why else would you have kept up the fighting against the Dominion for so long?"

"It just shows to your shortsightedness, Mira," the captain said angrily. "The Raiders don't have the goal of destroying entire authoritative governments, just the ones that suppress the freedom and liberty of others."

The pink haired woman on screen rolled her one eye, as her other red cybernetic eye could not. "Even you cannot be so foolish as to believe there's such thing as a government that is completely selfless, Matthew. You really think any authority would have that kind of devotion?"

"Maybe not," Matt agreed. "But as mercenaries, you know more about the Dominion government than the regular Dominion citizens. You know Mengsk doesn't do anything to benefit his people. All he cares about is personal power, and constantly strives to achieve more for himself. He doesn't care about others in times of need unless he too can stand to benefit from it, and even then it takes quite a bit of persuasion."

"And what do you call the Kel-Morian Combine?" Mira pressed. "They practice slavery, yet your Raiders never made any attempt against them."

"The difference is quite simple. Despite that practice, the Kel-Morians still see them as human beings, not just expendable assets. The Dominion on the other hand is a completely different matter. You really think Mengsk cares about anyone other than himself and his well being?"

"Of course not," Mira answered. "And that is why I was enthusiastic when you came to Dead Man's Rock in our goal to wreak havoc on the Dominion. You should have stayed, Matthew. We would have made a good team."

Matt snorted. "With you? I think not. You're mercenaries, not bound to any cause except in terms of wealth. You really expect me to believe you couldn't be bought by another contractor?"

"We're married, Matthew. I'd say that contract right there holds some weight."

"All right, suppose that's true. Even then, the weight only goes so far. You said it yourself last time the Raiders came to Dead Man's Rock: you would have sided with Orlan if he handed you the payment first. Was I really suppose to believe a piece of marriage paper would have made you refuse his contract?"

"Please," Mira said calmly. "I like you much better than him, and that would have been true regardless of the marriage. Why else did you think I gave you and Raynor the offer for my services in the first place?"

"Even so we still had to pay up the mineral price for that," Matt answered, frowning. "In case you forgot, a revolution against the Dominion isn't exactly cheap. That payment might not have meant much to you, but it was a hell of a lot to the Raiders and could have helped us a lot better in funding our revolution."

"Maybe so," the female mercenary said. "But at the end of the day, I'd say it was worth it. Contrary to what you may think, I am not ignorant when it comes to authoritative plight. I saw what had happened to the Dominion worlds ever since your broadcasts on Korhal."

"Which is why I see no reason to come to this party of yours, Mira. So the Dominion is angry that you helped us in the endeavor. The Raiders are the real threat to them, not you."

"Your Raiders are far from all powerful, Matthew. Even you need allies from other worlds to keep your rebellion going. Don't forget, I did more than my share of helping you, and the Dominion didn't shatter as you hoped it would in the aftermath of the Korhal broadcasts."

"She's right, Matt," a voice said. Matt turned his head to see Jim enter the command room with Sarah and Nova. "You can deny it all you want, but the fact is Mira played a role in what we accomplished on Korhal also."

"How do you figure that? Our forces did all the work," Matt shot back.

"You really think Mengsk would be dumb enough to let our ships penetrate to his planet's surface without a fight? The Dominion fleet would have decimated our ships before we could have come anywhere near," Jim replied. "The only reason why we got a base up and running near the UNN Studios was because that was where the Dominion planned to film the Odin walker."

"It's one of the reasons I like this guy," Mira said. "Don't forget Matthew, it was I who gave you the schedule about when that filming was going to take place, and it was I who gave you the location of the Odin walker at the Valhalla installation. The information your adjutant may have been valuable, but until you made it known to the public, it was useless to you."

Jim watched as Matt sighed in frustration, conceding defeat, before speaking up again, "Now Mira, what's the problem on your end?"

"There's Dominion ships holding in orbit around Dead Man's Rock. Since this is a lawless planet and the Dominion has almost never made any attempts to try and bring it under its control, I'd say the plausible answer is they're here to eliminate my mercenary force and retrieve Orlan, who I still have on ice, as you requested."

"What do you need us for? Your forces are sizable now that you added Orlan's troops to your own," Jim pointed out.

"And if I beat them off, the Dominion will just send another strike force here, Raynor. Don't forget, the Dominion has more than enough resources at its disposal to replace its losses with relative ease. On the other hand, every ship and vehicle I lose to them could take months to replace, there's no way I can beat them in a battle of attrition. The only way to get the Dominion to think twice is with your assistance. They need to be convinced that my mercs and your Raiders are still in an alliance and will help each other in times of need."

"I understand, Mira," Jim said. "I will send some of my boys to Dead Man's Rock as soon as possible."

"Don't take too long," the female mercenary said. "The Dominion ships could be ready to attack any minute now."

Jim nodded, before shutting off the communicator. Matt stared at him in shock.

"Sir, what are you doing? You're going to send fine soldiers to their deaths just to help some cutthroats?"

"One way or another we need to finish our revolution against Mengsk, Matt. You know even with Warfield's forces and our recruits from New Folsom, we're still not strong enough to defeat the Dominion. We need more allies, and an alliance with Mira would be a good place to start."

"And what price would she demand this time for our cooperation?" Matt asked, disgusted.

"One that's worth it in the end," Raynor answered. "I think I can find a perfect task for Mira's forces in helping us cripple the Dominion for good."