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"...wh...what..."

Darkness. Stillness. Tiredness. And... an odd warmth.

These were the first things to register in Nico's mind as she regained consciousness. Her memory, much like her vision, was blurry, and painfully slow to return. In fact, she didn't feel like opening her eyes at all, so tired her entire body felt that even trying to move her eyes through half-opened eyelids sapped her strength. And what she saw didn't justify the effort: all she saw was darkness.

Her eyelids felt heavy again, and she let them close, so she could focus more on her mind, to make herself remember what had happened prior to this moment. The painful throbbing in her head made it more difficult, but she slowly managed to piece her memories together...

'Ah...'

Outside Backwater Station
6 hours earlier

Nico Yazawa was in a very messy jam, along with the rest of her group. After the liberation of Backwater Station from Dominion forces the previous day, she and her group of Mar Sara Separatists went along to assist in the raid on White Rock Base, which Nico clearly remembered as the mining outpost where her father had been sent to, and tried to escape from. The word was that miners being forcibly shipped from the station to that base to dig up some alien artifact. Nico was going to enjoy picking that base apart and killing every Dominion Marine that crossed her sights – every one of them looked the same to her, so it didn't matter if none of them killed her father. They were part of the organization that ordered his death.

She and her comrades did flawlessly, for the most part. Along with liberating the civilian miners, the attackers also 'liberated' a strange alien artifact which had been the reason for the forced labor. Raynor's Raiders quickly took charge of the artifact, having been contracted by some research facility that didn't seem to be on good terms with the Dominion. Which was fine for everyone involved: any kind of damage done to the Dominion was a good thing, and the payment for the contract was huge. There was a huge party that night which even spilled on over to the next day, until alien signatures were detected heading for the planet. It was the threat they all feared.

The Zerg.

These alien monstrosities had been dormant for years, after Kerrigan repelled a combined force of Terran and Protoss fleets. However, recent reports had indicated that the Zerg started to mobilize with terrifying speed, and were heading straight for Mar Sara.

Everyone knew it, prepared for it, but also tried to keep it out of their minds, hoping that the Zerg Swarm would bypass their location. But the Zerg were not known for ignoring any prospective worlds, especially since the minerals on Mar Sara were especially valuable. There would be no hope of defending against the Swarm even with Dominion support, so – even though it was painful for them to abandon the home which they recently started freeing – evacuation was the only option.

The Zerg rained down from the skies on living drop pods, or sacs. Remnants of the Dominion security force quickly fell, and so civilians in all settlements were hurried along into giant colony transport ships, hoping to get away before the Zerg overwhelmed the planet.

Nico Yazawa was at home, helping her mother pack their things up for the evacuation. Outside was an armored personnel carrier, standing by to collect her family and other residents, and transport them to the evac site at Backwater Station. Nico, however, would be going on foot to guard the convoy, which worried her mother greatly, but Nico assured her that she would be alright. Her rifle wasn't just a toy, after all.

However, the situation turned awry when Zerg sacs began raining down right behind them, on the outskirts of the station. As the first wave of Zerglings rushed towards the convoy, Nico and the other defenders held their ground, hoping to buy time for the APC as it approached the station. They (along with other Separatist squads) holed up in now-abandoned homes, hoping for relief from the Raiders.

Within the APC, Nico's mother was in near-panic. She witnessed her eldest and a few others break away from the convoy to combat the incoming Zerg, and the last thing she witnessed was a Zergling pouncing onto her daughter and trying to rip her apart as she held it off with her rifle. A helpful medic tried to assure her that Nico would be alright. She was, after all, one of the Separatists' best.

The pockets of Separatist resistance were eventually rescued by the Raiders, and, as the last colony ship took off from the station, they and all remaining evacuees made their daring escape on the Hyperion, Jim Raynor's Behemoth-class Battlecruiser and the command ship of Raynor's Raiders.

But not Nico's. Her squadmates had fallen. Their position was too far away, and there were too many Zerg between them and the station for them to count on any relief. The only thing they were able to do was take out as many Zerg as they could until they were eventually overwhelmed. Nico held out for a surprisingly long time, with her psionic potential being unleashed onto the Zerg – but as she was still untrained, she could only lift up her attackers and fling them with great force. Each time she did, however, a lot of her energy was spent, and when she finally felt too weak to even pull out her backup pistol, it was too late. The Zerg were fast approaching, and as everything slowly faded into black, only one thought echoed in her mind: "Mama...I'm sorry."

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She felt weak again. 'Even digging up memories felt tiring, huh...?' she thought, as her consciousness started slipping again. She tried to resist, but the throbbing in her head made it hard, and as she decided to give into it, she felt that it wasn't just her head that was throbbing...but everything around her...

...like a steady heartbeat. As if she was in something...living.

As her mind started blacking out again, she let out one last thought:

"Mama...help me..."

Hyperion Cantina
2 Hours after warp jump from Mar Sara

"Nico!" Mrs. Yazawa suddenly shouted, to the surprise of the other people trying to console her moments earlier: the leader of the Mar Sara Separatists, who was the first to recognize Nico's budding potential and made the recommendation to send her to Umoja after the liberation of Mar Sara; the three rebels who witnessed Nico's first display of psionic power; and Commander Jim Raynor himself, who was drinking with mercenary recruiter Graven Hill nearby when he wandered along to see what was up.

Mrs. Yazawa was drinking and crying here when the leader and the other three spotted her, hoping to console her and promise that her death would not be in vain. Raynor came over a while later – it wasn't the first time he saw a mother cry for her child, especially one who died fighting against the Zerg, and he felt that he should also take some responsibility as he was unable to send a force to relieve her group, even though it was an impossibility at that point, considering that there was the threat of the advancing Zerg spine crawlers moving ever closer towards the bridges leading into the station. As the distraught mother continued drinking, feeling numb and deaf to the consolations of the people around her, she heard a very familiar voice whisper to her. It should have been impossible...yet she knew her daughter's psionic potential. She knew that she had that kind of ability – in fact, her numbing depression earlier was caused by hearing Nico's supposedly last words to her.

Yet...that whisper... "Nico...I heard her..." she stammered out. "My daughter..she's still alive...!"

The others were surprised...except for Jim. He looked sad...and dark.

"If she is," Jim said, "then I'm afraid I have bad news for you."

On the cantina's stage, Honoka Kousaka and Kotori Minami were singing again. With the liberation of their home planet interrupted by the Zerg Swarm's invasion, which was just one part of a multi-pronged all-out attack on the Dominion itself, morale dropped for several of the citizens and resistance fighters who are now part of the Hyperion. To keep spirits up, the two sang songs of hope, including a song Kotori recently penned, titled "Free Bird", while they also wondered what their group's new steps would be.

Retaking Mar Sara was still an impossibility at this point, and all on board knew it. They needed to gather strength if they wanted to do so, and for that, they'll need all the allies they can get. The plan was for them to pick up contracts as a temporary mercenary force, with monetary rewards going towards upgrading their arsenal and the ship itself. As for the evacuees who wouldn't stay (and couldn't, as the Hyperion was overloaded with people now and wouldn't be able to sustain them all for long), they would be heading over to the Umojan Protectorate, where they'll resettle indefinitely. Most would only be staying until Mar Sara was retaken, however.

As the two were singing they noticed the earlier outburst by Mrs. Yazawa, as well as the conversation that took place afterwards. And they, too, heard the psionic broadcast of Nico Yazawa, who they heard to be a young girl only a year older than them and had tremendous psionic potential, as well as a pretty good singing voice. The two of them were actually psionics as well, with ratings of 5. However, since they managed to avoid being "recruited" for the Dominion's Ghost program, and because they didn't feel like they would be good as frontline fighters, they opted to become medics instead when they joined the Raiders.

They were looking forward to meeting Nico, as her psionic potential was well-known in their circles at this point. They also knew of her first (and only) song, and they wanted to ask her if she would be interested in collaborating with them. However, as Jim quietly retold the story of another girl with a similar degree of psionic ability, the two weren't so sure if they would ever meet her, much less under friendly circumstances.

Huddled in a corner of the cantina, Shadowguard agents Eli Ayase and Umi Sonoda were present and nearby as well. They, too, heard the psionic broadcast, as well as the conversation afterwards. They knew Nico as well; in fact, their objective after assisting in the liberation of Mar Sara was to make contact with the gifted psionic, to escort her and her family to Umoja so that Nico could be inducted into the Shadowguard Academy. A psionic with her level of potential rarely appeared, and she would have become the greatest agent the Academy ever produced.

But they knew about Sarah Kerrigan. They knew what happened to her when the Dominion – then-rebel group 'Sons of Korhal' – left her at the mercy of the Zerg Swarm on Tarsonis, years ago. When she re-emerged, she became one of the most powerful beings in the system: the Queen of Blades, and currently the infamous leader of the Zerg Swarm. They had little doubt about what Kerrigan would do.

And they feared what would happen if Nico was unleashed into the universe.

Their thoughts were shaken back when the singing continued. They'd only noticed the voices right now, thinking earlier that they were just coming from the jukebox or TV mounted on the ceiling, and so distracted they were at what had become of their supposedly easy mission. When they looked around, they noticed the stage, with two cute girls singing on it.

"Those two have very good voices, don't you think?" Eli said to Umi. The song made both of them feel relaxed, but much more so for Umi than her partner.

"They do," Umi said, fully taken in by the two on-stage.

"Makes me wonder if we could sing on-stage as well..." Umi nodded absently to this as she continued to stare at them, as if hypnotized. Eli noticed this, and a hint of a smirk appeared on her face. "And don't you think they look very cute as well?" she whispered.

"They...are..." Umi whispered. It took a few seconds for her own words to register into her mind, and once they did, her entire face started burning up in embarrassment. "W-Wait, Eli, w-what did you mean by that?!"

Eli couldn't help but laugh at her suddenly flustered partner. "Oh, you know what I mean, my dear Umi," she teased. "You were so enthralled by those two that I thought they had put you under mind control!"

"T-They wouldn't do such a thing...!"

"And why would you think so, hm?" Umi's face became even redder as she tried to think of a response. Eli laughed a little harder, this time with some tears in her eyes, and patted Umi's shoulder. "I know they couldn't do it even if they tried, don't worry. Still..." she wiped her eyes and breathed deeply to control herself, "you seemed so unlike yourself earlier on. Did you, by any chance, fall in love?"

"L-L-Love?" Umi stuttered. "I-I—H-How would you know that?! A-And how could I fall in love with a girl...l-let alone t-two—"

Eli covered her mouth with a hand this time as she tried to control her laughter. "Even without psionic abilities, you're so easy to read." The two looked back to the stage as Honoka and Kotori bowed to the clapping audience, then made their way to...

...their table.

Umi was petrified. 'Eli they're heading to our table,' she told her partner psionically in rapid panic. 'Oh my god whatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoI—' Her mind repeated the question as Eli looked at her in amusement.

"Hello!" Honoka and Kotori greeted Eli and Umi.

"Eeeeek!" Umi squealed, looking utterly shocked, and with her mind going almost completely blank.

Eli giggled at Umi, and stood to bow to the other two. "Hello," she greeted. "Forgive my partner here; she just feels...surprised."

"Does she need a check-up?" Kotori asked, looking worried as she leaned towards Umi and inspected her amber eyes. Honoka, meanwhile, removed a glove and put her bare hand on the bluenette's forehead. Both actions only served to make Umi even more flustered.

"Oh my, her temperature feels high!" Honoka declared. "A fever?"

"She also displays extreme mydriasis," Kotori observed as she continued to peer into Umi's eyes, now with pupils that threatened to grow out of her irises. "Has she been diagnosed with shock before?"

"I-I-I'm perfectly fine!" Umi suddenly shouted, laughing nervously and shooting up from her chair. However, she lost her balance as she did and almost fell back had it not been for Honoka and Kotori, who caught her by the shoulders and arms.

"Jeez, weakness as well," Honoka said. "You shouldn't be exerting so much effort with this kind of condition, you know!"

"You're lucky, though," Kotori assured. "We're both trained medics, and we're on Sick Bay duty!"

'Eli!' Umi complained. 'Help me here!'

'Now, now, Umi,' Eli responded mentally, though she gave Umi a very visible smirk as well. 'You seem to have had a sudden medical condition, which isn't something I'm knowledgeable of.'

'Eli...!'

'It would be bad form if we got back with you feeling like that, you know? I'll see you later, once they're finished 'examining' you.'

With how red and hot Umi's face suddenly became, it would not have been surprising if steam came out of her face. 'E-Eliiiii...!'

"Oh, right!" Honoka said, as she and Kotori helped Umi up. "We were supposed to ask your names earlier..." Honoka giggled sheepishly.

"Oh?" Eli said. "Well, on behalf of both of us, I'll do the honors. I'm Eli, and my very, ahem, 'sick' partner here is Umi."

"You two are Shadowguards from the Umojan Protectorate, right?" Kotori asked.

"We recognized the suits," Honoka added, "and we wanted to meet you two because you look so cool!"

Eli confirmed it with a nod. They didn't have to keep it a secret from their allies, anyway – or, at least, there wasn't a directive saying they should. "It's nothing special, really. We were sent to Mar Sara to assist with the rebellion against the Dominion, but, well..." She shrugged, and the two medics nodded.

"So what happens now?" Kotori asked.

"Well, we'll have to await further orders. Until then, I guess we're attached to the Raiders."

"Cool!" Honoka exclaimed. "That means we can hang out, right?"

"I'm sure my ocean-haired friend here would love that." Umi shot a glare at Eli, who chuckled in response. "When we're not assigned to anything, we'd love to. We liked your singing earlier, by the way. Didn't we, Umi?" Despite her embarrassment, Umi nodded. The two blushed slightly.

"We wrote the songs ourselves," Honoka said proudly. "We even released a mini-album!"

Eli chuckled. "Well, we can continue this conversation later. Umi still needs a medical examination, right?"

"Right!"

"We'll take good care of her, Eli, so don't worry!" Kotori assured.

"I'm sure you will," Eli said, as the two started carrying Umi away. The latter pleaded to Eli with her face and her mind, but Eli could only keep giggling. Umi couldn't even resist because she did feel weak – though it wasn't due to any medical condition, as the two medics would discover later.

"I might never become a bride," Umi said later in the quarter she shared with Eli. She was lying face-down on her bunk, and her face was buried in a pillow, but Eli still understood.

"Relax, Umi!" Eli assured between fits of laughter. "All they did was give you a physical!" As far as physicals were concerned, it wasn't even all that 'physical': just a full body scan (without her even having to take off her suit) along with a few questions about her actions prior to arriving at the Hyperion, and there weren't really any complications with Umi, to the relief of the two medics who attended her. She was in peak physical condition, which was a general requirement for joining the Shadowguard anyway.

As Eli's laughter subsided, she sat on Umi's bunk and leaned towards her ear. "Besides, you'll become their bride, right?"

Umi's face threatened to burn through the pillow. "Eli!"

Low orbit above Mar Sara

Suspended just along the edge of the planet's upper atmosphere was a fleet of giant creatures. They were leviathans, a breed of Zerg flyer which essentially functioned as the Zerg capital ships, with deep space and warp travel capabilities that rival even the most advanced starship. Within each leviathan is the capability to spawn and house millions of Zerg – which can be slammed onto whatever surface the Zerg decide to infest by the thousands using their trademark sacs – as well as elaborate evolution and mutation chambers which constantly strive to adapt the Swarm against whatever foes and habitats they face.

Within one such mutation chamber lies a chrysalis, richly nourished, incubated, and protected by the leviathan. It had to be.

The Queen of Blades looked at the pulsating pupa. She also heard the telepathic broadcast that came from within, but she was certain that no help would come. The Protoss still build their precious armada several systems away, Raynor and his band of mercenaries and refugees are still licking their wounds, and the Dominion is too busy with her Swarm to even take notice. None will interrupt this little experiment.

When she took note of a powerful psionic presence on Mar Sara, Kerrigan felt glad that she chose the planet as her first target. Aside from having one very important objective – which, unfortunately, had been snatched away before she could take action – the Dominion fringe world's exotic minerals would help fuel the Swarm as they continued to take planet by planet, as she relentlessly marched onward for her ultimate goal of conquest.

With the addition of this little specimen, however, her dream of letting all life in the system burn felt more than certain. All shall perish before the Swarm...and for that, she would do so through the hands of another like her.

Abandoned to the Swarm, with no hope of salvation. Transformed into a...monster.

Mengsk had given her this curse. He would pay dearly, in blood. Kerrigan smiled wickedly at the chrysalis. The young girl within would make those who resigned her to this fate pay as well.

''The Princess of Blades'?' Kerrigan wondered in a rare moment of idle amusement. 'She would like that.'

Author's Note: Alright, looks like we'll be rolling with this until I run out of steam. Threesomes? In my fanfic? It's more likely than you think!

Note the absence of our Protoss idols though? We're still in the first Starcraft 2, so they won't be making a lot of appearances early on in this series – at least, I hope I make it far enough for their appearances to actually become significant.