Author's Note: With a new year comes a new chapter. I looked over the past ones and saw that I spent a lot of time talking about the situation on Aiur without even the slightest mention of Shakuras, which wouldn't make much sense. It'd be better to put some scenes on Shakuras than nothing at all.
To Blackhole1, in your last review you were again getting ahead of yourself. You had asked if Mengsk was finally starting to the get the picture that his grip on the public was fading. Now be honest: do you really think Mengsk would have focused only on the military and completely ignore the situation with the public? This chapter will do a little foreshadowing of just that.
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Please read and review and I'll see you next time.
Chapter 68
Shakuras
Zekrath looked out at the indigo landscape of the Dark Templar homeworld of Shakuras as his Phoenix interceptor craft flew over its open plains. Sunrises were relatively rare on this world, a complete contrast to the golden days of Aiur, but Shakuras had other ways to compensate for it and become every bit as beautiful as Aiur before its fall to the Zerg swarm.
Like Aiur, Shakuras had its beaches and magnificent cliffs, sparkling waterfalls and indigo lagoons. The massive trees and fields of flowers, many of them giving off a rainbow color, and most of which the Shelak leader found to be every more beautiful than those of Aiur. The seas themselves were equally beautiful, constantly shifting and filled with creatures swimming beneath the surface.
So many things glowed at night, from the Dark Templar cities to the artificial lights from nature itself. It had taken Zekrath a short matter of time in the aftermath of the Brood War to understand the reason the Nerazim had settled here. Granted it was also here that the ancient Xel'Naga temple was situated, but something told him that this world would have been an ideal choice for the Dark Templar even without the presence of the Xel'Naga.
Unfortunately for him, taking in the beauty of this world was not the reason why he was here. He had other matters to tend to. With the Zerg resistance on Aiur broken, there was no longer a need for every Protoss warrior to be present there, and the same was true of the Hierarchy. Unlike Artanis, Urun, and Mohandar, he did not possess the warrior skills necessary for fighting. It was thus left to the Dark Templar brethren and the Khalai Templars to clear the remaining Zerg from Aiur. Tabrenus was already gathering all the Furinax Protoss he could find, along with any other Protoss survivors on Aiur. Every Protoss of the working class would soon be needed in the great task of rebuilding Aiur and restoring the golden Protoss civilization there.
The message of Protoss victory on Aiur had already been passed to Shakuras, and there was enthusiasm and joy across the whole world, especially for the Khalai Protoss. After four years of living as refugees on Shakuras, they could finally return to Aiur again.
Of course, not all of them reacted like this. There were those who had accepted the Dark Templar homeworld as their new home, though in many cases this only seemed to anger the Nerazim tribes further. There were simply too few Khalai Protoss that were willing to make any attempts whatsoever to comprehend the Dark Templar, and the Nerazim tribes continued to harbor the concern that another Protoss civil war could break out due to the inability of the Khalai and Dark Templar people to unite together.
Other Khalai Protoss that did not want to return to Aiur shared Urun's concerns, despite the fact that James Raynor's victory on Char has been known to them. There was no concrete evidence to show that Kerrigan was no longer the Queen of Blades anymore. If she was still the vile Zerg creature, then she would still be able to control the Zerg swarm. If that was the case, then a victory on Aiur would mean absolutely nothing.
It was for this reason that ever since news of the Zerg invasion began, the Shakuras Templar Proving Grounds had increased its activity immeasurably. This was the location where Protoss warriors of the Templar Caste did battle and sparring in order to become Zealots. The Dark Templar tribes take part in similar trials, allowing them to become fierce warriors on the battlefield. Putting aside their differences was extremely difficult, but at least they all reached a consensus in dealing with the Queen of Blades.
As he flew over the ancient capital city of Talematros, it brought him a further reminder of what Kerrigan had done to the Protoss people. The record chambers there were filled with the names of all the Protoss that had perished in fighting the Queen of Blades, and the templar towers were still full of activity of Protoss preparing themselves of the trials yet to come.
Talematros itself was constantly bathed in the twilight, typical for the Dark Templar, and the unusual architectural designs were becoming more and more familiar to the Khalai Protoss with every passing day. It amazed Zekrath in how quickly the city had been rebuilt in the aftermath of the Brood War. It was here that Kerrigan had used the Zerg to destroy the Pylon clusters that supplied power to the city, causing its power grid to overload and reduce most of the city to rubble. In the resulting confusion, she had taken the Dark Templar Matriarch Raszagal and forced Zeratul to destroy the second Overmind, thus securing her position as Zerg ruler.
Now, with all of her powers stripped, Zekrath knew that Kerrigan was very frightened amongst the Protoss, fully convinced that at any moment, one of them would lose control over their hatred for the former Queen of Blades and have her killed. The Shelak leader was not like them in that sense, however. He may have consented in that Kerrigan needed to be brought to justice for everything that she had done during her time with the Zerg, but having tended to matters regarding the Xel'Naga for so long, he showed greater curiosity in the comprehension of the prophecy and the interest the first Overmind had shown regarding Kerrigan.
It was his tribe's reputation that had made the Shelak Tribe the most acceptable Khalai Protoss to the Dark Templar people. Unlike their Khalai brethren, the Dark Templar never broke off from the Xel'Naga, and still worshipped them as their gods. Among the Nerazim, as individuals or in groups, the Dark Templar had constantly and continuously strived to seek out ancient artifacts and relics of the Xel'Naga. On Aiur, despite the fact that great efforts had been made to save the Protoss texts, history, documents, and written knowledge from the Zerg infestation, much had been lost when the Protoss homeworld was eventually overrun. Only a portion of it had been safely transported to Shakuras.
To Zekrath and the Shelak Tribe, that was a complete and utter catastrophe. The loss of so much history would take centuries, if not millennia, to recover, assuming it was even possible at all. The ancient scrolls, texts, relics, and artifacts from the Aeon of Strife may have been safe on the Protoss archive world of Zhakul, but all Protoss history was considered vital to the Firstborn. This included the history from the golden days of Aiur, not simply the Protoss civil war that resulted when the Xel'Naga had abandoned them.
Fortunately, the mass libraries on Shakuras had provided the Shelak leader with more than he could have ever imagined possible. Dark Templar researchers and scholars were numerous, and most had unearthed numerous valuable Xel'Naga artifacts. That came as no surprise to him, as such scholars were obsessed with finding more information about their creators. Some of the artifacts were completely unheard of by the Shelak Tribe, such as the successful excavations of tablet fragments, displaying the near indecipherable words inscribed by the hands of Xel'Naga poets. Others included obelisk fragments from ancient Xel'Naga stones, many of them still containing pictographs on them.
None of them were to be hoarded as treasures or mere personal possessions. Such souvenirs were only those of Aiur, to which the Nerazim remained loyal to despite their banishment. The Xel'Naga relics, on the other hand, were meant for research, and every relic uncovered held a portion of the key to the understanding that the Dark Templar people so desired. Despite the fact that they knew pieces of history that the Khalai Protoss had long since forgotten, the fact remained that they were still just fragments, and more Xel'Naga artifacts were required to complete the picture.
Of course, getting access to library's artifacts was a completely different story. The Dark Templar were pleased that Zekrath and his tribe continued to venerate the Xel'Naga instead of having broken off with them like the other Khalai tribes. However, they all voiced their disgust at which such actions had all been done just so that the Judicatory Assembly, and in particular the Conclave, could further enhance their powers through the Khala. Because of the past actions, most of the Nerazim tribes still did not show any willingness to give the Shelak Protoss access to such sacred knowledge and information.
Indeed, during the initial stages, this had gone off disastrously, and quite a few Shelak Protoss had been assassinated by the Dark Templar. They accused that the Khalai Protoss had never bothered to make any attempt to understand the Nerazim culture, society, and civilization, so the ancient Xel'Naga knowledge they now sought must be intended to suit their own purposes. Trying to convince them that their Khalai brethren had changed did not earn much progress either. While all of the Nerazim tribes were greatly saddened at the state Aiur had been reduced to, many also saw that this had driven the Khalai Protoss to desperation, and that their change in attitude was merely a mask for their true intentions. Of course, as the years went on, their attitudes had changed towards the Shelak people, though the reluctance to share ancient Xel'Naga knowledge with them still remained.
Among the areas where this was less of a problem was the massive Xel'Naga temple, which was now in sight of his Phoenix interceptor. It was from this great structure that the combined efforts of Khalai and Nerazim Protoss had driven the Zerg from Shakuras during the Brood War. While the twin crystals of Uraj and Khalis that allowed for proper channeling of the nexus energies that the Xel'Naga temple sat upon had been removed, the efforts to carve ones of similar power from the Khaydarin Crystals on Shakuras never ceased, as most Protoss were in agreement that eventually, the time may come where there will again be the need to harness the cosmic energies of the nexus. Should that time come again, everyone must be prepared for it, lest Shakuras suffer as Aiur had at the hands of the Zerg.
As his Phoenix interceptor landed and Zekrath exited from the ship, he was greeted by the acolytes of the Xel'Naga temple. It was among the things that greatly pleased the Shelak leader, and it showed the cooperative nature between his tribe and the Dark Templar people. Prior to the arrival of the Khalai refugees, the Xel'Naga temple guardians comprised completely of individual Dark Templar. In the aftermath of the Brood War, the situation had somewhat changed. Although some of the Dark Templar still chose to remain behind and look after the temple, Khalai Protoss became integrated into the fold of the guardians as well.
The Protoss of the Xel'Naga temple was the closest representation to the unity of the Khalai and Nerazim tribes. Protoss from the Auriga, Akilae, Furinax, Ara, and Shelak Tribes were all part of the guardians, though the vast majority still belonged to the Shelak tribe. Even to this day, Zekrath still found it somewhat difficult to believe that Ara Protoss would be part of all this as well, since the Conclave was almost entirely comprised of Ara members, and they had strictly banned the teachings of the Xel'Naga to all but the Shelak Protoss. For Ara Tribe members to became such guardians would be going against virtually everything they had stood for during the days of the Conclave.
On the other hand, the Akilae, Auriga, and Furinax Tribes were more easily swayed. In the case with the Akilae it was relatively simple, second only to the Shelak. Prior to becoming Hierarch, Artanis was once mighty Tassadar's student, and he continued to admire his mentor to this very day. As Tassadar saw the wisdom in combining the might of the Khalai and Nerazim to destroy the Overmind on Aiur, Artanis quickly saw the need for such unity, and some of the warriors of the Akilae soon saw that the best way to do that was to work together and cooperate with the Dark Templar at the Xel'Naga temple.
The Furinax Tribe was not as easy, having sided with the Conclave during Zerg invasion of Aiur to pass judgment on Tassadar. Nevertheless, as part of the Khalai Caste they were craftsmen, and there were those that believed that the sacred Khaydarin Crystals used by the Xel'Naga could be used as more than a mere power source for Protoss buildings, ships, and weaponry. Mohandar had confirmed this himself when he mentioned the holy Alys'aril Nexus on Ehlna, where the Nerazim used the Khaydarin Crystals as a form of memory storage, and the whole place was a massive library of knowledge taken from minds and memories of the Dark Templar.
To the Furinax Protoss, this was clear proof that they still had a long ways to go to better understand the purpose of the Khaydarin Crystals, and some were willing to learn more about it by tending to the crystals within the Xel'Naga temple on Shakuras. According to all of the guardians, the crystals in this temple "sing" to their souls, and it was a calming and comforting sense to them.
For the Auriga Tribe, many did not initially see the Xel'Naga temple as anything more than a weapon to be used against the Zerg. As part of the Templar Caste, they were charged with the Carriers and Arbiters of the Protoss Great Fleet. Unfortunately, the fall of Aiur was a painful reminder to the Auriga Protoss that their might alone was not enough to deal with the Zerg swarm. Thus despite the fact that the Great Fleet had been by now restored, many of the Auriga brethren quickly pointed out that as their strength did not succeed back then, it was likely that it wouldn't succeed now. It was for this reason that some of the Auriga Protoss had initially chosen to look after the Xel'Naga temple, hoping to find a way in which to harness its energies and incorporate them into Great Fleet.
Yet regardless of their reasons, none of them understood as the Shelak Tribe had. The Ara, Furinax, Akilae, and Auriga Tribes still made up of the three fundamental castes that Khas had created in the aftermath of the Aeon of Strife: Judicator, Khalai, and Templar. The Judicator Caste defined the laws and kept to the true path that they believed, the Khalai harnessed the science and technology, built the infrastructure, and forged objects of great beauty, and the Templar Caste protected the Protoss physical bodies.
However, deeper and beyond all this was the knowledge of the Xel'Naga, which had existed long before the Khala itself. This was something that the Shelak Tribe had kept alive, the history of understanding and protecting ancient Xel'Naga artifacts had preserved what it truly meant to be Protoss. The Conclave had somewhat understood this, but they had gotten the interpretation of the message backwards. The Khala could not teach the Protoss the ways in which the Xel'Naga functioned, it was the Xel'Naga knowledge that had the potential to teach the ways of the Khala.
It was for this reason that Zekrath knew he needed to visit the Xel'Naga temple on Shakuras once again. Every single scroll, text, document, artifact, relic, and structure that the Xel'Naga had left behind had been designed for a specific purpose. Some were in plain sight on planets already colonized by the Protoss, some were on worlds so distant that the Protoss do not even know of its existence. Some were radiating with power in its beauty and glory, others were dark and abandoned, and still more were buried by the sands of time and long since forgotten by even the eldest Protoss.
The temple on Shakuras would be no exception to all of this. Zekrath did not know how ancient the Xel'Naga shrines on Ulaan was, where Zeratul had discovered the prophecy in the first place, but none of the Dark Templar knew the exact age of Xel'Naga temple here either, since it had existed long before the Nerazim had set foot on Shakuras.
Under that logic, the Shelak leader hoped that by exploring the ancient texts and writings within the temple, they might be able to provide further clues about the prophecy. Currently, the only potential source of knowledge comes from the Zerg Overmind itself, and Zekrath knew that if an alternative source could be found, it would assist the Daelaam Protoss tremendously in their efforts to uncover the truth.
Mal's Hideout, Tarsonis City, Tarsonis
Mal hit the button on the keypad, and the door to the makeshift garage opened up. With the Stinger jeep destroyed, the only vehicle he had left now was an old model pickup truck. It certainly wasn't much, and even less so on the battlefield, especially if he and Nova run into more Zerg patrols.
Unlike the Stinger, the truck had virtually no armor plating at all. Whatever places that it did have covered the most critical areas, and even then it was very little. It was meant only as an emergency transport vehicle to operate behind the frontlines, used as a very last resort to move troops to the front in the absence of other transports. Whatever protection it offered was only meant to withstand minor small arms fire, and this would render it ineffective against Roaches and Hydralisks. The fuel tanks below were unprotected, which made the truck very vulnerable to Lurker attacks.
The top plating on the truck was also very thin, and this meant it could not absorb many hits in the face of Mutalisk attacks. While it could easily outrun the Brood Lords, an unfortunate encounter with them would almost certainly mean instant death to anyone the truck carried.
Even the frontal plating was weak and could not withstand a beating. This meant that unlike the Stinger jeep, the pickup truck could not be used to squish Zerglings under its tires for very long. And in any case it probably wouldn't even be a good idea to try that, as the Zerglings could easily pop the tires with their claws and render the truck immobile.
In short, this was among the worst possible choices to use to reach Raynor and his troops, but both he and Nova agreed that there was simply no other option. According to the coordinates transmitted by him regarding their location, Raynor was almost 20 miles away from their hideout. Reaching him on foot would take hours. Adding in the fact that there were thousands of Zerg in the ruined city, it would clearly be a suicide mission.
Not that Mal was too optimistic about reaching them on the truck either. The vehicle had no armaments of its own, so he and Nova packed up all the cases of fuel and ammunition that it could carry. Fortunately as it was designed for transporting duties, it could carry a decent load, and the two of them were able to load it up with all the cases necessary, and still leave room for Nova to ride in the back. She would have to provide the fire cover while Mal drove the truck as fast as he could to the designated location.
It wasn't a welcoming prospect. A single hit from the Zerg creatures on one of the fuel cases would be enough to turn the truck into a fireball and incinerate them both, but it wasn't like there was any other option in the matter. Even if by some miracle the Lurker attacks didn't end up blowing the fuel tanks, their subterranean spines would certainly be enough to make them leak, and thus would be necessary for the extra fuel. As for the ammunition, that was self explanatory. There was no telling how many Zerg they'd encounter along the way, so every bullet was going to be needed.
The Dominion did not provide Kelerchian much in terms of armaments and firepower, as his job was merely to seek out children with high psionic signatures and report them. All they ended up giving him was an AGR-14 Assault Rifle, which although had similar hitting power to the marine's C-14 Gauss Rifle, it was certainly weaker compared to Nova's C-20 she normally used. It was hoped that the spare ammunition would make up for that deficiency, but obviously there was no way to tell.
"Come on, Mal," Nova said, clutching the AGR-14 rifle and climbing onto the back of the truck. "Let's get out of here. We need to reach Jim right away."
He nodded, getting into the driver's seat and stepping on the gas pedal. The pickup truck pushed itself out of the garage and into the ruins of Tarsonis City.
It didn't take long before they knew they were going to have company. Despite being outdated, the truck was still equipped with a radar system, and Mal quickly picked up incoming hostile signatures closing in on them from multiple directions.
"We've got bogies incoming!" he called out.
"Just focus on the road, I'll deal with the Zerg," Nova assured him, cocking her rifle.
The wrangler pressed down harder on the gas pedal as he could hear shots being fired. Glancing briefly from the rearview mirror, he could see packs of Zerglings chasing after the truck. Nova was putting as many bullets into them as she could, but more Zerglings simply took the dead ones' places.
Suddenly, the right side mirror of the truck was shot off, as Nova turned her head to see Hydralisks moving up from the flanks. Being the greater threat due to their ranged attacks, she trained her AGR-14 Rifle on them instead.
"Hang on!" Mal shouted, as he swerved the truck around, turning onto another street.
Unfortunately, this was something the Zerg had anticipated, and as the truck completed its turn, he was horrified to see Roaches directly in front of them, blocking their path.
Nova saw this too, but knew of a means to improvise. Focusing her psionic powers, she telekinetically picked up one of the fuel cases and hurled it at the Roaches. Just as it landed right next to them, she opened up with her rifle. In an instant, the fuel case exploded in a giant orange fireball, and all of the Zerg were screaming as they were being burned alive.
By now, the Zerglings have caught up to them, and Mal was desperately trying to move the truck away. It wasn't so easy due to all the rubble in the streets, but fortunately the truck could at least handle some measure of rough terrain.
As the truck moved on, Infestors began to make their appearance felt. Nova was forced to switch her fire to them instead of the Hydralisks because of their fungal growth ability, which would have slowed the truck to a crawl. This allowed more and more Hydralisks to accumulate from behind them.
Mal desperately tried to zigzag in order to avoid their needle spines, but this was impossible. A single Hydralisk housed hundreds on them in its body, and Dominion battle reports have indicated that these creatures have proven to be relatively accurate marksmen in the heat of battle. Despite his best efforts, the truck was being pelted by more and more of them, and while none of them have hit the tires yet, he knew that their vehicle wouldn't be able to take much more of this.
For Nova riding on the back, the zigzagging certainly helped her avoid the needle spines given the lack of room for maneuverability, but it also make her task of aiming a lot more difficult. By now, Banelings have also joined in the chase, moving alongside the Zerglings, Roaches, and Hydralisks.
Fortunately, this was the opportunity she needed. Taking aim, she fired right into the bellies of the explosive Zerg creatures. Given their thin carapace around there, one of the Banelings detonated its volatile burst prematurely. The acids splashed onto the carapaces of the other Banelings, which caused them to detonate as well. This caused an even bigger splash of acid onto the nearby Zerg, and Roaches and Zerglings were stopped dead in the tracks, writhing from the pain.
Unfortunately, the Hydralisks were smarter, and quickly burrowed into the ground just as they saw the Banelings explode, thus avoiding the acid and saving themselves. As the acid dissolved, they quickly popped back out from under the earth, and continued the pursuit.
Nova picked up another fuel case, this time hurling it towards one of the structural support beams near a barely standing building. Firing upon that, it caused the beam to collapse, and the rubble fell in front of the Hydralisks, blocking their path. She could hear them angrily banging their scythes on the barrier, but were unable to get through.
But from the distance, she could also see Ultralisks approaching, and there was no way the rubble could withstand a charge from a massive Zerg creature like that.
"How much further are we?" she asked Mal.
"According to Raynor's coordinates, about 11 miles away," he answered. "As long as we don't run into any more Zerg, we should be fine."
She nodded grimly, never taking her eyes away from the barrier as the Ultralisks began pounding on it with their Kaiser Blades. "Get us there as fast as you can, Mal. That barrier isn't going to hold the Zerg up for very long, and we don't exactly have any weapons right now to deal with Ultralisks. We have to reach Jim and his troops as soon as possible."
Dominion Propaganda Ministry, Korhal
Arcturus Mengsk stepped into the main grand hallway of the Dominion Propaganda Ministry building, escorted by his most elite Dominion bodyguards. It was far from luxurious or grand compared to the Korhal Palace, but it was still a symbol of Dominion might, and that was something he intended to make sure it lived up to its purpose. In the four years after the Brood War came to an end, he only had to come in person to this place once, and that was in the Brood War's immediate aftermath. It was necessary, as the Dominion military had been decimated by the Zerg, and the fear of a Zerg invasion was in the minds of every Dominion citizen across virtually every Dominion world.
On Korhal itself it was even more so. Not only was there the fear of the Zerg, but there was also the fear of another UED invasion into Dominion territory. Even Mengsk could not hide the fact that despite the Dominion's best efforts, the UED forces had defeated them, and it took a lot of effort for the people of Korhal to look up to the Dominion once more.
That's all in the past, however. The entire planet had undergone a dramatic change in the four years of quiet since then. Post-war reconstruction efforts were increased dramatically, and Dominion tax revenues facilitated in the funding of decontamination of radiation, as well as modernizing and beautifying each and every city on Korhal. While Valerian looked more towards the arts and sciences aspect of Korhal, Mengsk devoted more energies regarding the military perspective, and vast quantities of credits were poured into its defenses. Within a matter of years, the planet became the most heavily fortified world in the whole Koprulu Sector.
For all the efforts made, Korhal had been left in relative peace ever since the Zerg went silent after the Brood War. There was only one exception to all this, occurring in 2503. That year, the capital city of Augustgrad was attacked by enhanced ghost agents known as Spectres. Led by the former Dominion ghost and now traitor Gabriel Tosh, they had struck into the city and attacked his personal palace, killing all of his elite guard and even his ghost bodyguards. Only one Dominion ghost operative survived, Agent X41822N. She alone had fended off the Sprectres' attacks, but the majority of them were able to escape. Fortunately, her success later on only proved her worth once more, and as the Dominion's deadliest operative, she never failed in her missions.
Mengsk frowned deeply as he thought that. Raynor had proven to be more persuasive than he had anticipated. The exact details were not known, but the fact remained that after fighting alongside him to defeat Tosh and his Spectres on Avernus Station, Agent X41822N had somewhat changed her ethics and morals towards the terrorist. To make matters worse, Raynor and his terrorist had somehow found a way to sever her loyalties to the Dominion. With the neural inhibitors removed, the Dominion emperor lost the ability to return her to his control, and thus Agent X41822N became Nova Terra again, this time fighting by Raynor's side.
It was a severe blow to him. Agent X41822N's skills and abilities were unparalleled, and Raynor turned her against him. Adding to that was the fact that the rebel also prevented him from killing Kerrigan on Char. Now the shadow of vengeance and retribution loomed over the horizon, and there was much work ahead of him if he was going to salvage the situation.
Mengsk still clearly remembered what Raynor had said to him prior to the Char invasion, that once this business with the Zerg comes to an end, he had a score to settle with the Dominion emperor. The rebel had no intention of stopping until he got the justice he desired, and Kerrigan would be no different. Just as everyone in the Koprulu Sector right now holds her responsible for everything she did during her time with the Zerg, Mengsk also knew that the former Confederate ghost held him responsible for abandoning her at New Gettysburg.
Whatever they were planning now, it mattered little to him. It's obvious that sooner or later Korhal was going to be subjected to attack. Despite its formidable defenses, the emperor knew that Raynor's terrorist organization was steadily growing in number. Warfield and his troops had joined hands with Raynor in the aftermath of the Char invasion, and Dominion salvage teams have been unable to locate the wreckage of the mass quantities of weapons and ammunition that had been stockpiled for the Dominion Armada at New Folsom. This time, Mengsk chose not to make any assumptions without proof. More than likely the supplies had fallen into Raynor's hands, and this would strengthen his forces dramatically.
Still, Mengsk remained confident that if Raynor also took all the New Folsom prisoners with him, it'll backfire on him. With so many murdering psychopaths now on his team, they'll eventually defy the rebel commander if he doesn't provide them with the opportunity for retribution soon, and the emperor still counted on that to destroy Raynor from the inside.
Because of that, it was time to get the situation on his own end cleaned up. If by some miracle his hope doesn't fall through and Raynor's forces aren't plagued by internal conflict problems, then there would be the matter of convincing the Dominion to stand against him. For the Dominion military, this wouldn't take much effort. The rebel commander's actions have left plenty of Dominion soldiers determined to see him in a prison cell so that he and his terrorist would stop the constant rioting problems throughout the Dominion empire, not to mention all the soldier buddies they lost in battle because of him.
The public, however, would be a lot more difficult to convince. Tensions remained high in the aftermath of the rioting with regards to the Korhal broadcasts, and it was necessary to get the people to stand behind him again. This was exactly the reason why he was here to meet up with Minister LeJuin. During the four years of peace, the Dominion Propaganda Minister had done his job in uniting the people and spreading the Dominion influence to other worlds. There were those that took minor effort to join hands with the Dominion, while others only did so grudgingly. But the fact remained that his efforts were a success, and now Mengsk had need for his talents once more.
He found him hard at work in his office, busy looking over speeches and media broadcasts. As he turned around in his chair, Mengsk ordered his guards to lower their weapons. It would look bad to appear so hostile over one of his most valuable assets.
"Emperor, it's been a while," LeJuin greeted, offering his hand.
"It has indeed, minister," Mengsk said, accepting the handshake. "I don't think I need to tell you the reason I've come here in person, that should be self explanatory."
"Of course, you want my help in getting the Dominion public to trust you again. I must admit this isn't going to be easy since we can't falsify the evidence that Raynor uploaded."
"If it was so easy to do, I'd have done it by now," the emperor scoffed. "Right now the public is outraged at both me and the Dominion military. They're accusing the military of being too incompetent of taking the fight to the Zerg like Raynor had on Char, while accusing me of having lied to the people. They're all saying that I assured them that I would protect them, and yet I chose to abandon them when the Zerg invasion began."
"Well they do have a point there," the minister pointed out. "When the invasion began, you did pull the fleet back to the Dominion Core Worlds. If you didn't plan to abandon the Fringe Worlds, what was your plan exactly?"
Mengsk waved his hand, dismissing the question. "That's beside the point, LeJuin. The point here is that the Dominion people on the Core Worlds need to be reminded that Dominion protection is necessary."
"And how do you plan on doing that? Don't forget, your son Valerian made it clear that the Dominion tactics on Char would have gotten them all killed, it was Raynor's actions that ensured the invasion was a success. So now, the people are very skeptical of the military."
"That doesn't matter," Mengsk said coolly. "Raynor is only one man, and no matter how big his terrorist group has gotten, the Dominion Armada is still larger. He can't be everywhere at once."
"Maybe not," LeJuin agreed. "But how are you going to convince the public they need the Dominion to protect them?"
"That's an easy one," the emperor answered. "The Zerg have answered that question for me many times over. When the invasion began, you can even consider it a good thing. It got all the people to stand united behind me and the Dominion, and everything went smoothly until Raynor's actions on Korhal."
"I've kept contact with the military too," the minister pointed out. "I know that after the Char invasion, Zerg activity has been relatively low. Whatever happened on Char must have stopped their invasion completely."
"That doesn't mean they're a pushover anymore, LeJuin. This could also just be the calm before the storm."
"With all due respect sir, wouldn't that contradict everything you've told the people for the last four years? Ever since the so-called Brood War ended, you and I worked together to make speeches to the Dominion people about how mighty the Dominion military is, and how weak our enemies are. You made numerous public speeches to soldiers and civilians alike about how powerful the Dominion is, and how only with your guidance can the people be protected. Even when the Zerg invasion began, you had appointed General Warfield to lead the Dominion to victory against the Zerg. On that UNN broadcast, you said it yourself that with Warfield in command, the Zerg invasion would be contained very quickly."
"I'm aware of that," Mengsk replied. "But the public knows that I'm far from flawless. Every now and then, even the best minds can underestimate their enemy, and as long as the public is convinced that the Zerg threat is still there, that'll be all I need to bring them together against me."
"I don't quite see how that's going to happen," LeJuin said, shaking his head. "Right now it's not like the Zerg are doing anything anymore across the sector, and it's not like you can predict when they're going to gather their strength and attack again."
"That's not something you need to know," the emperor said, gesturing to the computer console. "Now, get started on writing the speeches that I'll be presenting to the public soon. All it takes is for you to emphasize the sheer ferocity and savagery of the Zerg. The public will become paranoid with fear, and will turn to anyone who can offer them protection. The Kel-Morian Combine and the Umojan Protectorate are both too weak compared to the Dominion, so the public will be forced to turn to me again. When that happens, the Dominion people will reunite the way it's supposed to, and Raynor's actions on Korhal earlier will be rendered completely useless."
The propaganda minister sighed. He knew Mengsk was not telling him everything, but second guessing him could be extremely dangerous. With a nod of understanding, he turned his chair around and began formulating speech ideas.
"I suggest you hurry," Mengsk said, as he and his guards began to walk out the door. "The public's patience isn't infinite, and neither is my own. For the last four years, your work had been a remarkable success to the Dominion people. I suggest this time be no different."