Author's Note: Blackhole1, you were getting too far ahead of yourself in the last review. Did you really think I was going to introduce Mal Kelerchian into the fic and then not explain how he ended up in Tarsonis City in the first place?

There will of course be some other viewpoints in this chapter. One of which I wanted to make goes all the way back to chapter 28, where I talked about Duran having retrieved Kerrigan's severed wing on Ulaan that Zeratul cut off (remember the "Whispers of Doom" cinematic).

Overall, however, this chapter is dedicated to Nova Terra and Mal Kelerchian's relationship. I think you'll enjoy reading it because you never read the books "Starcraft Ghost: Nova" and "Starcraft Ghost: Spectres".

For those of you who have, you'll see the references in this chapter quite easily.

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

Chapter 66

Unknown Location

Duran looked on as the experimental cloning process continued for the hybrids. The area was lined with cloning vats, as far as his eyes could see. All in all, thousands had already been successfully cloned, all of which could be easily awakened with a simple gesture from either him or his master.

The later cloned hybrids proved to be a greater success compared to the ones during the initial stages. Both the cloned versions of the Hybrid Reavers and Hybrid Destroyers were able to wield the powers of their original counterparts much more effectively, in some cases equally as effective. Their strength and durability remained an issue, however, as the whole accelerated cloning process had forced certain sacrifices to be made, and this was among them.

Still, he knew that this was not to be a problem at all, since their offensive capabilities would more than make up for such a deficiency. Nothing the terrans wield were capable of taking down the hybrids, as the cloned hybrid had demonstrated all too well in the Dominion lab at Castanar. The Protoss certainly could, but they were still too divided on the matter at hand, and Duran knew that this could be used to his master's advantage.

Yet the problem of obedience remained. It had been his hope that this difficulty could be overcome in the later cloned hybrids, but the results had fallen far short of expectations. During the initial trial periods, they had demonstrated loyalty to his master, but unfortunately this trait only lasted a few minutes. After that, they became rampant and rebellious once more, and were no longer responsive to the Fallen One's orders. Duran had made an attempt to correct this mistake by genetically altering the cloned hybrids to obey him instead, where his master would then be able to command them through him. However, he was again frustrated by failure, as the cloned hybrids proved as unresponsive to him as they were to the Fallen One.

His master's patience was also starting to wear thin. Although he continued to allow the cloning process to continue, the cloned hybrids would be little more than mere paperweights unless a more effective method could be used command them. Otherwise, they could simply attack everybody once unleashed onto the battlefield, and both he and Duran had no intention of allowing them to eradicate the Zerg before they had served their purpose.

Fortunately, there might be a stroke of luck that had finally wandered into his grasp. Ulrezaj had done well in retrieving what he had required on Char. The components that the Dark Archon had obtained within the infested terran Command Center, along with the tissue samples of the massive, lumbering Zerg beast that lay dormant in the depths of Kerrigan's main hive, would prove invaluable for his plans.

Ulrezaj still did not comprehend the full details of his intentions. To an extent, even his master had initially been somewhat confused with regards to where Duran was taking this. As his plans began to unfold, however, the Fallen One quickly began to understand.

Not that his master was particularly impressed with his actions so far, however. After the failure of Maar in his actions to kill Zeratul and prevent him from uncovering further clues regarding the Xel'Naga prophecy, along with James Raynor's victory on Char that de-infested Kerrigan and the understanding by the Protoss in what role she was to play, the terrans and Protoss were increasingly becoming a severe source of frustration in the face of the grand scheme.

Nevertheless, plans were already in motion to salvage the situation. Although the psionic energies within Kerrigan's severed wing could not be incorporated into the hybrids, it merely meant that a different type of thinking was required in order to use the specimen, and this was exactly the purpose for the massive experiment vat that stood before Duran now.

The concept of Kerrigan's psionic energies during her time with the Zerg was a complicated issue, as Duran had quickly discovered. Still, a way in which to harness that energy was certainly not beyond someone of his genius. During her time as the Queen of Blades, Kerrigan's psionic powers had enhanced the Zerg presence within her, and vice versa. It was clear proof that the psionic energies could certainly be incorporated into the Zerg.

On the other hand, among the concepts of the hybrids was to assimilate the strengths of the Zerg and Protoss species and unite them together. That Kerrigan's wing could not be incorporated into the mix simply meant that a different method was needed to combine Protoss and Zerg strengths. Once that barrier was overcome, the rest would be a relatively simple task.

For the time being, Duran focused his efforts on the massive concentration of Zerg biomass that rested within the vat. If his plan proves to be successful, nothing the terrans and Protoss wield would have the power to stop his master. Kerrigan herself would prove equally ineffective, and the rest of the universe would soon follow them into oblivion.

Mal's Hideout, Tarsonis City, Tarsonis

Nova groaned slightly as she swung her legs over the side the bed. Mal hadn't been wrong about her exhaustion the night before. She had been operating on little more than adrenaline due to the constant threat of the Zerg. When he had convinced her that there was little risk of them being discovered at his place and therefore the chances were slim that there would be any hostile activity for the night, that adrenaline had simply evaporated.

Indeed, so exhausted she had been the night before that she fell into a deep sleep in barely a minute after hitting the bed. Fighting that much Zerg all by herself had clearly taken a toll on her, and she could still feel the aching in some of the muscles in her body.

She was not exactly in the most optimal condition for further fighting, but Nova knew she had little choice in the matter. Even if by some miracle that none of the Zerg in the city are able to locate the hideout, there was still the problem of the Dominion forces. Although she was more used to operating by herself than with the Dominion military, she had enough experience to know that they were very experienced in detecting camouflage. She had no intention of allowing Mal to become a casualty if she could help it.

For that reason, she knew she had to get out of this place soon and reestablish contact with Jim. Warfield's troops out on the battlefield had a very capable commander, and Nova knew that Jim had far more experience dealing with the Zerg compared to her. Nevertheless, she also knew that all of them still had endurance limits. Unless the Zerg ceased their attacks, which obviously was not going to happen, they would eventually tire out.

At this point the door opened, and Mal stepped into the room. "Good morning, Nova. I hope you're feeling better," he said, smiling at her.

The blond ghost smiled back. "Well you were right about the night's rest, Mal. I guess I needed it more than I thought." The smile suddenly turned into a frown. "There wasn't any unusual activity last night, was there?"

"Just the usual rats crawling around outside, nothing more," he answered. "It's been like this for quite a while. I'm used to it. Wasn't exactly used to a concentrated Zerg attack, but there wasn't any activity from them last night. They certainly haven't found this place."

Nova nodded in understanding. "That may well be, but it doesn't have to be true now that it's daytime. You know as well as I do that the Zerg aren't just going to give up on their search."

"Don't be so uptight," Mal replied. "All the time I've been here there, it's always been relative peace and quiet."

"Yeah but you also just said you didn't expect a major Zerg concentration in the city," she pointed out. "And that would mean this isn't one of your normal situations."

"Even so I feel we still have some time," he said calmly, before gesturing to her to follow him. "You want some breakfast? You looked like crap when I checked up on you just an hour ago."

"I've...been through a lot recently," Nova admitted. To be quite honest, reflecting back on everything that's happened ever since she joined up with the Raiders, a part of her could hardly believe everything she had gone through. Fighting against the Dominion was one thing, but going up against Protoss for some alien artifact was quite another. That and the near constant fighting against the Zerg, reaching its climax at Char when Kerrigan had been de-infested. And even then it didn't achieve peace.

Fighting the Zerg on Agria was a lot easier. After dealing with so many of them on Char, she had actually felt relieved when fighting them on Dr. Hanson's world. The raid on New Folsom had brought another nasty shock to her, when she had discovered that the rumors regarding the Dominion project regarding Gestalts were actually true.

With regards to what happened on Aiur however, that was another story. She had been relieved at finally being able to fight alongside the Protoss to clear the Zerg from their homeworld, but she was also disappointed in that despite Jim's best efforts, none of them were ready to accept Sarah. In fact, the way she saw it, all Jim had managed to achieve when the three of them had stood before the Protoss council was to convince them to observe what Sarah was like now that she was no longer infested. While she didn't read any of their minds, it was not necessary for her to see that none of them had any intentions of letting their anger go after everything the Queen of Blades had done to them. To Nova, it was obvious that the Protoss still had every intention of punishing Sarah once she had played her role in the prophecy. That Nahaan tribal leader had proved to be the most vicious of them all, as he looked like as if he was going to leap across the room and skin Sarah alive.

To that end she was glad that Kerrigan was on Dead Man's Rock right now. It was certainly no paradise planet, but compared to the sheer amount of hatred from the Protoss on Aiur, it was certainly the better choice.

"Well, you and I can talk that over," Mal suggested, snapping the blond ghost out of her thoughts. "Come on, you could use a little break from all the fighting right now."

A part of Nova wanted to refuse, as she didn't want to put him in any more danger, but he had always been kind to her, and it resulted in a form of attachment to him. She thought back at when he had rescued her from Fagin on Tarsonis a few years ago, and how grateful she had been towards him. Later on during the ordeal with the Spectres, she had put her duty as a Dominion ghost operative aside in order to save his life.

Very soon, the emotional part of her won out, and she felt compelled to stay with him and talk everything over. Giving him a curt nod, she stood up and followed him out the room and into the hallway.

Mal's Hideout, Tarsonis City, Tarsonis

"It's certainly not a place a luxury, but it's a living," Mal said, as the two of them sat down at the table. In front of both of them were two plates of fried eggs and toast, along with cups of coffee.

Nova winced slightly as the heavy dark liquid poured down her throat. She wasn't used to drinking coffee like this, especially not in the case where it's just black coffee and nothing more. "You wouldn't happen to have any sugar and cream to go along with this, would you?" she asked.

Mal chuckled. "Always suspected there was sweetness in you, Nova. Guess that applies to your tastes as well."

She couldn't help but laugh at that, as he opened one of the cabinets and produced a few sugar and cream packets. "It's really good to see you again, Mal. It's been a while since the last time we crossed paths."

"I'm glad to see the Dominion memory wipes haven't left you an empty shell," he replied, and Nova cringed slightly at that. He still didn't know she no longer served the Dominion anymore.

"You seem a lot more open than the last time I saw you from a year ago," Mal continued. "Looks like you have even greater endurance than I thought. Subjected to some of the worst things the universe could offer, and you made it through. After all the hell you went through in the Gutter with the criminals and drug dealers, along with what you and I both had to go through with the Spectres, you've not only endured, but grown stronger from it. All this time I knew you would continue to show your beauty and spirit, and once again, it looks like I'm right. You retained those qualities despite you're still the most impressive ghost I've seen, and probably would ever see."

Nova mentally reminded herself that she would tell him about Kerrigan shortly. Her psionic powers were strong, but Sarah's were much stronger. "So what happened to you since the last time we met?" she asked. "We both went our separate ways after picking up Lila from Altara."

"You still remember all that?" Mal asked, confused. "I would have thought the memory wipes would have erased a lot of details like those."

"I'll tell you my story if you tell me yours," she assured him. "I'm sure you have questions of your own."

"That I do," he said, before addressing Nova's question. "I eventually had Lila sent to the Dominion fringe world of Agria. It was a farming colony, and the Dominion takes little interest there in recruiting people from that world to become part of their military."

Nova's eyes widened. That world was among the ones that the Zerg had overrun and infested during their invasion. "What happened to her? You are aware that the Zerg invasion had overrun that planet, right?"

"Of course. But I also checked up on the UNN news. Apparently James Raynor and his rebels had helped the people down there evacuate, and then later on cleared the Zerg from their world so they could all go back home. Lila was among the people who got evacuated, and I contacted the people there. It's been confirmed that she's back on Agria again, safe and sound."

Nova breathed a sigh of relief. The girl was so much like her when she was young, and she was glad to hear that she didn't end up as a casualty of war.

"As for myself, I was given the assignment to come here on Tarsonis," Mal continued.

"I don't quite see the point," Nova said, confused. "This whole planet has been decimated since the Zerg overran it. The Dominion may have claimed to have it restored to its former glory and all that, but you can clearly see that's still a long ways to go."

"I'm aware of that. The emperor wanted me to settle down in Tarsonis City and keep a close eye on the settlers coming to the planet."

The blond ghost raised an eyebrow. "What settlers?"

"Well, after the Brood War four years ago, the Zerg simply went silent," Mal explained. "Initially, people were afraid to come to Tarsonis because of what the Zerg had done to it back in the day. Don't forget, prior to the Zerg invasion, this planet had a population of well over 2 billion people. By the time the carnage was over, the place was reduced to a ghost town. However when the Brood War ended, most of the Zerg on Tarsonis simply left the planet. In the years that followed, a few terrans decided to take the risk that the Zerg would remain quiet, and thus return to Tarsonis for settlement. Emperor Mengsk may have ordered this planet in the Dominion quarantine zone and thus no settlers allowed, but that certainly didn't stop people from trying."

"So how does that relate to you being here?" Nova asked.

"Well, prior to the recent Zerg invasion, there were about 7000 terrans living on the planet. Initially they had tried to disperse, but the devastation caused by the Zerg meant that most places they tried to settle down in didn't have the most fundamental amenities to survive. This meant most of them were forced to relocate and resettle very close to Tarsonis City. As the capital of Tarsonis, the city was the ultimate beacon of prosperity during the days of the Confederacy. As such, it meant that the basic tools of survival lay in the ruins of this city, and it's common to see scavengers coming here to search for their basic needs, including children."

"And you were to keep an eye on them," she concluded.

"Exactly," Mal replied. "Don't forget, I'm a wrangler, so I have psionic powers as well, though usually only to detect telepaths at short distances. This was the position I was given after the fall of the Confederacy and the formation of the Dominion. The emperor wanted me here in the event some of the children had high psionic signatures. If so, my job is to report to the Dominion authorities right away, and they would judge if the child is a good candidate for the Ghost Program or not. Thus it took little effort when I detected such a high psychic signature just recently, though I didn't expect it to be you."

He took a bite of his toast before continuing, "Regardless, the Dominion has its hands full right now. The Zerg invasion may have been stopped, but what had happened on Korhal had caused a devastating blow to the Dominion. I was actually surprised that they managed to get the rioting to quiet down after what the broadcasts had revealed."

Mal pointed at Nova's silver hostile environment suit that she still wore. "That's actually something that got me curious for a while now," he said, gesturing to the insignia patch on her left shoulder. "That's not the insignia of the Terran Dominion, it belongs to the rebel group of James Raynor. Makes me wonder what happened to you since the last time you and I met."

Nova smiled slightly at that. "What did they tell you about what happened on Korhal, Mal?"

"Just the bits and pieces," he answered. "The Dominion was supposed to show off some powerful walker machine called the Odin, but when it arrived, it suddenly went rogue on them and began attacking Dominion troops. They were all dazed and confused, and during that time Raynor and his Raiders were able to upload transmissions to the UNN Studio's broadcasting towers."

"Anything else?"

"Well, even now the Dominion authorities are still confused how the hell Raynor pulled it off. The military there had sufficient manpower to drive the Raiders out of the city, and when they had arrived at the broadcasting towers, they could find no trace of anyone there," Mal shook his head. "It doesn't make any sense to me. Raynor may be good, but even he has limits. To leave not a trace of anyone at the broadcasting tower, yet still breach their security, would require ghost operatives. And not just any standard ones either, they'd have to know the Dominion's tactics well enough to avoid detection."

Suddenly, the circuit closed in Mal's brain, as Nova's look and what he just said clicked together. His jaw dropped to the floor. "Wait a minute! That ghost operative who infiltrated UNN Studios was you?"

Nova burst out laughing. "You should have seen the look on your face, Mal!" she said, regaining her composure and spreading her hands. "But to answer your question, guilty as charged."

Kelerchian sputtered, trying to get the right words out. "But...but...but you're a Dominion ghost! You said it yourself that you had a duty to those you pledged your life to! You had served the Dominion for their best interests! What the hell caused you to turn on them?"

"It's a long story," she replied. "Some parts of it I'm still having trouble believing it myself. I've got to tell you this though: during the time I've spent with the Raiders, well let's just say some of the craziest things I've gone through with the Dominion were nothing in comparison."

Mal nodded. "Well I've told you my side of the story. Why don't you start from the beginning, Nova. I'm interested to hear just how you went from a Dominion ghost operative to a Raider rebel."

"Of course," Nova said. "Let me tell you everything."

Waste Disposal Facility, Toxic Slums, Dead Man's Rock

Dominion marines saluted as Captain Bock walked passed them. He personally disliked this waste disposal facility, the stench here was no better than elsewhere in the Toxic Slums. Signs of wear and tear were everywhere in the building, and he could see broken pipes along the corridor walls. Some of them still dripped toxic waste, while others had been completely eaten away by corrosive acids. All the machinery in the facility were rusted and offline. Most were beyond repair, though a select few looked like there was still a very slight chance of restoration.

It mattered little to him. He was a soldier, not an engineer. The technology concepts could be left to them. In his case, it was more of a matter of point and shoot, and the nuclear weapons here only added to the destruction.

Ridgeway had intended to have the weapons ready to be moved out of the base in a matter of hours, and Bock was looking forward to wiping the cities of Dead Man's Rock off the planet. It was certainly a quick way of ridding the Dominion's problems: if this world was so hard to control, it'd be better to simply to burn it to the ground instead.

This was exactly what he hoped would happen, as one of the marines began his report to him.

"Sir, the entrance fortifications are almost complete," he said. "We've placed Goliath walkers and auto-turrets to deal with any airborne threats in case they try to seal it off. Siege tanks have been positioned where their artillery cannons could shell just about any and all approaches to the entrance itself. If anyone is foolish enough to come in on the ground and try to break into the facility, the tanks will make short work of them."

"What about our detectors?" Bock asked. "Most of the mercenaries have outdated equipment, but we may still have to factor in the possibility that they may have Wraiths at their disposal."

"The Ravens here will do their patrol duty," came the reply. "You just said it yourself that their technology is too old, so it's not like they'd have very many Wraiths, assuming they have any at all. The SCVs will build a few missile turrets here at the facility entrance, and whatever cloaked units they've got will get shredded long before they can reach the doorway."

The captain nodded, satisfied with that answer. "And the status of the nuclear weapons?"

"They're almost 700 feet below ground," another marine answered. "Even if by some miracle the mercs are able to make it past the defenses and reach the facility, their casualties would be appalling. Now, assuming they actually chose to remain stupid and tried to make the facility collapse on itself and bury the weapons in there, it's not likely going to happen. Getting past our defenses would require a tremendous amount of firepower on their end. If they're able to reach the facility entrance it's like that they would have to exhaust all their ordinance to make it happen."

"I have no intention of letting that happen," Bock said. "Especially since it is my hope that we'll still use the weapons."

The marines around him looked slightly confused. "Sir?"

"Don't be stupid, you know what I'm getting at," the captain stated smugly. "In just over 60 hours from now, the general's offer is going to expire. Personally I would never have given them that long to begin with, but that's one of the drawbacks of having such crappy technology on Dead Man's Rock: it takes a longer time to respond."

"You think the people here won't give up Mira Han's whereabouts?" one of the marines asked.

"In all honesty, I don't really care. Hopefully they will so it'd save us a lot of time. But regardless of their choice, we'll more than likely be using the weapons anyway."

"I thought the Dominion military had more honor than that," another marine protested.

"Against regular terran enemies," Bock reminded him. "The people are Dead Man's Rock are all criminals, prostitutes, drug dealers, and scumbags. Whatever morals and ethics the army has don't apply to them. They're not capable of reform, so we'd be doing everyone in the sector a favor by killing them. Besides, it's just the cities of Paradise and Deadman's Port, not the whole planet population."

The marines looked at one another as Bock continued, "People, you may want to remember that once we get the information we want, the people of this world will be at our mercy. By that point, all they could do is hope that we honor our word. If we choose not to, there's nothing they can do about it."

"Except maybe spread the word," a marine stated.

The captain rolled his eyes. "Like that could actually accomplish anything. No faction would be stupid enough to waste their military resources to protect a bunch of scoundrels and drug addicts, especially once they see they're going up against the most powerful military force in the sector."

He could see there was slight skepticism on some of their faces. "Look, that's a bridge we can cross later. For now, have the transport ships prepare. In the unlikely event that this base gets attacked, I want the nuclear weapons to be on their way to Paradise and Deadman's Port as soon as possible."

Mal's Hideout, Tarsonis City, Tarsonis

Mal was having a hard time taking it all in as Nova finished her story. "I find this hard to believe, Nova. The terrans have been fighting the Zerg for years. Now you're saying all this time they may never have been an evil force to begin with?"

"It sounds crazy, but from what I've gathered from the prophecy, that's just how it goes," the blond ghost answered. "Nothing I've been through with the Raiders since then seems to deny that."

"Well it's not like you've really gotten much to support this theory either," he pointed out.

"I'll give you that," Nova agreed. "This is why we need to get back to Aiur once we're done here on Tarsonis. The only one that may have more clues about this Xel'Naga prophecy is the Zerg master himself, the Overmind."

"But you said it died on that planet years ago!"

"The Protoss have a way to pull memories out of the creature despite that," she assured him. "Remember, their technology is better than ours, so a lot of things they can accomplish are things that we would classify as completely impossible."

The wrangler thought about this briefly, before deciding to move on. "It just seems odd to have the Protoss as an ally. Don't forget, when we first encountered the Zerg, their ships came in and just incinerated everything on every Zerg infested planet to kill them. They didn't give a damn about the terrans on the surface."

Nova shrugged. "You have to look at it from another way, Mal. Every planet the Zerg ever lands on, everyone settled there are either killed or infested. You and I have both seen the effects of the infestation and everything. Do you honestly see a way to cure something like that?" When he shook his head, she continued, "And that was exactly what the Protoss were thinking. They felt that once infested, the only way to remove the Zerg from the person is to have him killed."

Mal looked disgusted. "You know I bet they wouldn't jump to such a conclusion if some of their own ever got infested. But I've never heard of an infested Protoss before."

"That's something I don't understand either," Nova admitted. "Regardless, terran technology has improved over the last four years. Dr. Hanson was able to cure the infestation for her people, despite the Protoss wanting to kill them all on Haven."

"From what you told me, it would seem like the Zerg infestation virus has improved as well. Four years ago, anyone who ever came into contact with it got turned into mindless zombies. According to you, the infestation on Meinhoff showed some of the infested still had a little bit of free will and humanity in them."

"That's just part of their evolutionary chain. Jim let me see the notes his scientist Stetmann had wrote regarding the Zerg tissue samples in the Hyperion lab. According to them he explained just how fast the Zerg can adapt and evolve. What humans can evolve in 100,000 years, the Zerg can do in less than one hour. Not that I share his fascination about studying them, but it's always good to know something about your enemy."

"Speaking of enemies, what about Kerrigan?" Mal asked. "You said it yourself that despite whatever that alien artifact did to her on Char, there's still Zerg blood in her. And you said that you saw she still retained the accelerated healing rate all Zerg possess. So how can you be sure she's no longer the Queen of Blades?"

"Given the way she's acted since the Char invasion and her actions during her time with the Zerg, I'm not convinced she ever was the Queen of Blades to begin with. Jim isn't either, but the others are finding that hard to believe."

"I'm among them. Not to mention I find it hard to accept the matter of forgiveness."

"You're far from the only one," the blond ghost said, shifting a little in her seat. "For most, and this applies to both terrans and Protoss, they don't really care that she no longer looks like the Queen of Blades anymore. They still hold her responsible for everything that Zerg monster did in the last four years. Jim made numerous attempts to convince others that everything that had happened was due to the Zerg infestation, and that Sarah had nothing to do with it, but very few are willing to even consider that. Many of them say that his love for her was completely blinding him to reason."

"How's she taking all this?"

"Very pessimistically," Nova admitted. "She's not willing to let go of everything that's happened. She feels if she convinces herself that she was never the Queen of Blades, then she'd be shirking the responsibility of everything she did. Nor does she feel any better about the future. She continues to believe the moment she's done her part in all this, the Protoss will have her killed, assuming they're even willing to trust her."

"I can't say I'd feel any differently," Mal stated. "Once you've killed that many, I don't see just what you can do to earn forgiveness or redemption."

"Were you even listening to what I told you about the prophecy? Sarah is needed to stop Armageddon!"

"Because it doesn't make any sense," he countered. "From what you told me, the Zerg had been enslaved by some outside force some time ago, and whatever is controlling them intends to use them to destroy the universe. As such, this Overmind infested Kerrigan in an attempt to prevent that outcome. But ever since she became infested, all Kerrigan did was destroy entire planets and kill the people on them, for both terrans and Protoss alike. Since the start of the recent Zerg invasion, more than 8 billion terrans have already been killed, and all so that she could gain more power. What kind of a savior is that?"

"I don't know," Nova said, weakening slightly under his logic. "All I know is that right now the specific details of the prophecy aren't clear yet. Until we know more, this is only speculation."

"I just find the whole thing illogical," the wrangler said, spreading his hands. "Still, the Korhal broadcasts proved Mengsk had lied about Kerrigan turning against him and all that."

"Mengsk left her on Tarsonis because she felt it was wrong to use the Zerg to kill the Confederacy," she said bitterly. "More than 2 billion people died during the Zerg invasion back then simply because he wanted power. That was the message that the Raiders had wanted for a long time, and Jim's success on Korhal had weakened the emperor's position."

"Yeah but it wasn't enough to kick him off the throne," Mal explained. "The Dominion military has quelled all the rioting and all that, though it doesn't appear there's anything they can do about the tensions that still remain. I must admit I'm curious to see just what the emperor can do about that."

"That's the reason why Jim and I are here on Tarsonis, Mal. It was from here that the Dominion was formed in the first place. If there's any more evidence about Mengsk's criminal actions back then, this city would be a good place to start looking."

Mal let out his breath. "It just seems like a horrible place for you, Nova. This was where I found you, having been brutalized in the Gutter by the crime lord Fagin."

"I have all my memories back now," she told him. "Jim's Protoss allies helped undo the memory wipes and everything. I remember everything that happened, where all the tragedies began, starting with my family's assassination."

"And you're holding on to it? I thought you said you wanted all the voices in your head to stop," Mal protested. "That's why you volunteered for the Ghost Program. You wanted the memory wipe. Now you prefer to have the memories back?"

"It was traumatizing to get it back, I'll give you that," Nova agreed. "But Jim and Sarah both taught me something called endurance. I didn't understand that when I was a Dominion ghost operative, but I do now. Sarah endured four years of Zerg infestation and still retained her free will, while Jim suffered just as long of losing the woman he loved and couldn't do a damn thing about it. Both of them were traumatized far more than I had been, yet they both endured."

"If you remember everything, then you also remember the six months you spent as a servant to Fagin," Mal pointed out. "Can you honestly say you didn't endure during that time?"

"That's not the point, Mal," the ghost explained. "Compared to what Jim and Sarah went through in four years, six months is virtually nothing. Besides, you forget that after Kerrigan had been abandoned on Tarsonis, the Zerg took her and had her infested against her will. It's not like they gave her a choice to become the Queen of Blades or anything like that. Because of that, Jim was never given a choice for the suffering he went through either."

"And you think your case was different?"

"Well that's obvious. I told you I wanted the Ghost Program because it would erase those traumatic memories, remember?" Nova reminded him. "I could have chosen to endure, like Jim and Sarah had, but instead I chose the coward's way out."

"And you told me Kerrigan felt the same way when she had been abandoned," Mal countered. "You said she's suffering from the guilt because she feels countless lives could have been spared if she had just shot herself at New Gettysburg, instead of letting herself get infested."

"Fear does crazy things to people, you know that. The Dominion can say all it wants about their ghost operatives being completely fearless, but that's not the case. There's no such thing as a person without fear, and Sarah was no exception to that. Don't forget, by the time she had been taken by the Zerg she was already a trained Confederate ghost agent. I was only a scared little girl then, and if it could affect her, then obviously it could do the same to me."

"That doesn't really mean you were given a choice in it all. If you gained back all your memories, then you would also know that had the Zerg not invaded Tarsonis, the Confederacy would have forced you into the Ghost Program anyway. You could have either gone there willingly or they could have dragged you there kicking and screaming. The program director, Ilsa Killiany, made it clear that more ghost operatives were necessary. They were the best line of defense against both the Zerg and the Sons of Korhal, and the Confederacy was running very low of them. With your high psionic ability, you would have been the ideal candidate. There was no way they would have let you walk away from it had you refused."

Mal paused for a moment, before continuing, "Given that, my gut feeling is that the case would have been exactly the same with the Dominion. Remember, Kerrigan was the Confederacy's deadliest ghost. With her gone, the next person on the list would have been you. You certainly earned your reputation as the Dominion's best ghost operative, one who never fails at her missions. Under that logic, had you not joined with the Dominion Ghost Program, they probably would have forced you to anyway because you would have been the only one who could probably go up against the Queen of Blades and survive."

"Well Mengsk now has that coming back to him," Nova said. "Sarah and I are both part of the Raiders now, and like herself, I too have an obligation to make up for what I've done in the past, and Jim's people is the best place for me to do just that."

"You've only known the guy for a couple of weeks, though. True there's posters of him being the people's hero, but it's still a matter of perspective."

Nova thought about this for only a second. "Maybe so, but Jim's far more understanding and knowing that I ever thought possible. Hell, more times than not between him and me, I seriously wondered just who the psychic is. I could go probing his head for days without getting anywhere and not understand what he's gone through, whereas he was able to understand everything about me in just a few minutes."

Mal shrugged. "So the guy's gone through different events than you have during your time with the Dominion."

She chuckled slightly at that. "That's an understatement, Mal. Still, the times I fought with him, I could see his principles in wanting people to live free and everything. He clearly didn't like the constant internal conflicts and killings within the terran factions."

"And what about yourself? You said you raided New Folsom. How did you feel when you had to deal with the Dominion security forces there?"

Nova hesitated for a moment, before answering, "I guess a part of me felt bad for having to kill so many of them. Most of them may be murdering psychopaths, but they're still human beings."

Mal patted her on the shoulder. "Then that's clear proof that your time with the Raiders has given your life back, Nova."

She looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Before the death of your family, you were one of the most compassionate people I've known. I can see you have a lot of that right now."

"But I'm still a ghost operative, just one who doesn't serve the Dominion anymore."

"It's your actions that do the speaking," Mal explained. "You're a soldier. Soldiers are fighters, it's what they know. The moment you stop feeling regret for pulling the trigger, that's when you lose your humanity. There's a reason the guilt is there, you know. It tells the difference between duty-bound soldiers and cold blooded murderers. During your time with the Raiders you've raised your weapon plenty of times, and I bet some of Raynor's people have killed more than enough to last a lifetime. It's when you start to enjoy it that's when you've lost. From what you've told me, everything Raynor has done has all been in the name of freedom and justice, none of it was for his personal gain."

"It's true," Nova said. "It'd be so much easier of the Dominion military would just step aside and let us take the fight to Mengsk."

"Then there you go. Now you're a true freedom fighter, and I'm proud of you."

Nova melted slightly under Mal's warm gaze, before suddenly realizing now was the time to ask. "Then come with me, Mal. Come with me to the Raiders, leave the Dominion behind. I know you disliked Mengsk for a long time, now you have a chance to fight and topple him once and for all. We could always use another hand."

Mal smiled at her. "I knew you'd ask that, Nova. I guess I'm just a little unsure on what Raynor is really like, that's all. There's plenty of rumors about him being the people's hero and everything, but I've never seen the guy face to face before."

"He'd welcome you," she assured him. "Look, you don't have to make a decision right now. Once I contact Jim, we can meet him together. You can decide for yourself then."

Mal nodded. "The radio is in one of the back rooms, you can contact him there. Let's just hope the Zerg didn't get him."

Without another word Nova got up and headed down the hallway. As she walked on, she smiled to herself. She would persuade him to join with the Raiders, where Mal would finally be treated as a person instead of just a pawn like Mengsk had treated him. And with Kelerchian back in her life, she couldn't be any happier.