AN: You are so right, honestly from the late game stuff I've seen that you can get in AC6, holy shit I'm rethinking what I said. I think I'm also starting to get a grasp of the world I'm trying to build within the starcraft universe here. I know it might not be 1:1 accurate of how the groups or organizations behave in the game, but I have a good feeling about how I'm handling the different factions so far. A huge help has been the intergalactic politics I see from Gundam, so I've been recalling how the writers handled that type of stuff.
That said, enjoy this next chapter and please leave your feedback, I love love your reactions!
March 22nd, 2504
Unknown asteroid belt outside Dominion space
Within a subsection closed off to high-key personell within the facility, bio readings on row of cryo pods stirred. A metal door hissed open, and the mysterious business woman known as 'AllMind' stepped through. She was currently reading reports on her holopad, taking into account the expenses she had committed for her preparations: Credits spent hiring mercenary forces, provisions, guns and ammo, fuel costs, vehicles and secured deals with arms manufacturers.
War was just another business to her afterall, in order to accomplish her goals of unification and fortunately for the people of the Korpulu, war was merely routine. The only difference here now was that she would have to find a different way to bring everyone under her heel. She sipped some coffee as the pods began to open, their air pressure acclimated and now steaming open with their occupants beginning to stir.
She watched as a handful of men and women of varying ages clambered out wearing nothing but undergarments, more than half of them coughing up phlegm from having been stored away for so long. "Well well, rise and shine boys and ladies. We have a lot to catch you up on since you've been gone." AllMind sipped her steaming cup of coffee, savoring the local import bought from a Dominion supplier. She had to hand it to humanity, she couldn't belive the luxury of food, drink and sex she'd been missing out on.
A man with shaggy blonde hair and sandy green eyes was the first to get his composure, leaning up against his pod. His tag read V. IV RUSTY. "Crap... that's the last time I let you convince me to go on a business cruise with you." He chuckled lightly. "What's the job this time?"
Another man, slightly younger and with a faded haircut growled in annoyance. He had a flowing black dragon tattoo that winded from his chest to up and around his neck, stopping at his left cheek. Faint surgery scars marked the reconstruction that returned his face to full health. G5-IGUAZU. "Argh, damn it! I hate cryo! Can barely feel my own fingers!" He stomped around a couple of the waking mercs, towards AllMind, "What is it this time anyway?"
AllMind crossed her arms, she would have to ensure he kept that anger in check. "Agent G5 Iguazu, V IV Rusty, Pegasus, and Ronin. You've been inactive for quite some time. The situation... has changed." She paused, letting them get their bearings and turning their full attention on her before she continued. "We are no longer within Rubicon space, nor are we within reach of the Planetery Closure Administration."
Ronin muttered something in Japanese, ruffling the spiky black hair that reached just past her chin. "So where the hell are we? Earth sector?" She stood only a head taller than Rusty and Iguazu, something that always annoyed her male compatriots in the past.
Allmind shook her head. "Incorrect. We are in an entirely new region, known by everyone here as 'the Koprulu Sector.' It's rich with billions of mineral deposits, a main staple resource here among the various populations. Before I continue your briefing, let's get you all showered, suited up and fed. Follow me." She turned and made her way back to the door, the rest in tow.
Iguazu groaned, earning himself a punch in the arm from Ronin. Rusty hummed in thought, nodding. Pegasus huffed, blowing some hair out of her face.
"Finally, been wanting to stretch my legs. There's a gym on this station, I hope?" Pegasus asked with a slight accent. A well endowed woman of Swedish descent, her pale blonde hair and eyebrows were a certainly unique feature that had her stand out in a crowd, among other things.
AllMind couldn't help but smirk: Moebius might be the meat to her bones thanks to their numbers and research capability, but there was still yet a lot of work to be done.
-o-
Station Mess
1 hour later
In a large, white room that was filled with some tables and benches, as well as vending machines and a fully fitted kitchen, sat the 4 AC pilots. At the front of their table stood Allmind, with a holo projection that floated idly by, as her top pilots chowed at their food with some banter in between. They now wore pilot suits that she had purchased from Umojan Inventory, purple-colored, body-fitted suits that hugged every edge and curve on the body to ensure temperature control and comfort. Small white and grey protective pads rested around the shoulders and legs for safety against impact damage. Small cheek and chin guards cupped their faces, also with built in comm links. On their left arm, the logo for her company was printed in a simple black color. She had to give it to the Umojans, they had some very clean designs.
She stared in thought as she watched Iguazu steal something from Ronin's plate, who in kind punched him in the arm and stole it back. Pegasus was teasing Rusty about his hair, who subconciously touched it, causing her to laugh. Back on Rubicon before the final cleansing, AllMind was able to kidnap and save these pilots for her personal use before fate could have claimed them.
She herself had merged with Iguazu in an attempt to gain a powerful AC pilot to help spread her power and influence. However, her plans were thwarted when that lone wolf pilot that she called 'augmented human c4 621-Raven' had swooped in and literally crushed her final forces. Thankfully, her backup plan had succeeded: She transferred both her own and Iguazu's conciousness to backup flash cloned bodies before final shutdown had occurred.
Since then, life had a whole new perspective for the once all-knowing overmind she used to be. She had tactile sense, she needed sleep, needed to eat and drink, and of course she had felt occasional urges as any woman in her twenties would. Thankfully, AllMind still retained her knowledge and was able to establish herself as a businesswoman, one who dealt in arms dealing and mercenary contract work. While she would employ companies to work for her, she also had her own personal forces such as these four elite pilots in front of her. Each one had a specialty that she valued, and together they would be an incredible force to be respected.
She cleared her throat to calm the clamor, and slowly the pilots fell to attention. "Now that you've all had time to clean up and get what you need, listen up. As I said, we are not in home territory anymore. This is not Rubicon 3, this is Koprulu." As Allmind spoke, the holo screen next to her began to show beings of a 3 different races: one human, one humanoid, and the third being.. some other creature entirely. "There are more than just humans we will be dealing with now. We have limited data on these two in particular, but what we know about the human population is that it seems to be split up into multiple factions."
Allmind tapped a button, showing portraits of an aged bearded man on the screen, the theme shifting to darker red and pale gold. "The main driving force seems to be a large empire known as 'the Dominion.' They're led in strength by one Arcturus Mengsk, an Emperor." This drew some raised brows from the four. "Questions so far?"
Ronin raised her hand first. "These people from Rubicon?"
Their boss shook her head. "No, based from the data I've been able to gather on them, they seem to have once been a nomadic race of humans that were cast out here. Something caused them to end up stranded in Koprulu and they've been strugglnig to exist ever since. The Dominion seems to be the most stable, having established an array of worlds under their banner and soldifying their resources."
The display changed again, showing various photos of different figures. "There's of course others, too. Umojan Protectorate, Moebius, Tryador, Kel Morian Combine and various pirate factions littered throughout. We are currently in partnership with Moebius, more details on that at the end, and we're in business talks with Umoja for tech and resource trading."
Rusty crossed his arms, not sure about something. "So who's at war with who here? Can't be all sunshine and rainbows, boss."
A small smile, Rusty always saw the bigger picture. "Well, currently Moebius seems to be in a cold war with the Dominion. There's been several recorded skirmishes in recent history, though no side is willing to commit to all out war just yet. It would be bad for business, despite the potential boost to the local war economy. There's also been a band of pirates known as "Raynor's Raiders" that have a large bounty in effect thanks to the Dominion. They've been known to strike key points around the sector, driving that Emperor's sanity up the wall. Could be a good score for us, or another opportunity. Who knows?" She tilted her head slightly, flitting some hair behind her head.
Iguazu made a tch sound, tossing down his fork. "Who cares for politics? I just want to know who to kill, and how much I'm getting paid here. So who are we going after first?"
Nodding, Allmind presented them the recordings of the training footage her drone captured. "That's where your assignment begins. One of my birdies recently caught wind of this." She pressed a button, and the footage began playing. All four pilots watched with rapt attention as they witnessed a jaw dropping display.
An Armored Core that looked eerily familiar was skating across a road past a grassy field, pulling off flight maneuvers and basic evasive action. Training footage. "Ma'am, why are we watching training footage?" Pegasus asked, confused.
"You'll see." Came her reply as she nodded, watching with them. The AC practiced whirling around in place, changing from target to target, before Allmind paused the footage again. The footage enhanced on a section of the video, until it zoomed in on the chest piece. Visible on the screen for all to see were the three numbers:
621.
Iguazu and Rusty sideglanced each other before looking back at the footage. While G5 was clenching his fist and trying to remain calm, Rusty let out a sigh. Buddy...
Ronin spoke first. "So Raven is alive? Out here in Koprulu? How did he survive?"
Iguazu gritted his teeth. "You gotta be joking..."
Allmind looked pensive for a moment. "We simply don't have enough data to know. All we do know is 621 is here, they serve the Dominion for whatever reason, and they're getting ready to deploy. Raven isn't going to be your priority for now, however so don't even try. They're dug far too deep within, so we need to focus on upgrading ourselves and spreading our influence here before undertaking such a mission."
She handed out pads to the middle of the table, and everyone took one for themselves. "You'll all be sent on a sortie mission to assist our new allies within 2 week's time. You'll receive bonus pay if you manage to come back with minimal damage to your AC's. This pad will brief you on the details, but also be sure to read up on the other two races. This mission will essentially be a bang and clear op, but leave buildings intact.
"After which we'll have established a new forward base for our friends. Expect our foes to shoot back, but nothing too powerful that should do lasting damage. Any other questions before I dismiss you all?" She looked between all of them, gauging their reactions. Questioning, angry, remorseful, curious.
Pegasus looked up from her pad first. "Where are our Cores anyway? Can we begin training in them whenever?"
Allmind nodded, "Yes, they're all in hangar 2, I had them prepared as per all of your specifications. If you need anything changed out, speak with the head requisition chief. Speak to the dock master if you want to fly out, and please try to conserve ammo or switch to training rounds, we're still awaiting shipment from another supplier. Don't be dumb, work off each others' strengths, and bring back my hardware in one piece.. looking at you Iguazu. Now, you're all dismissed. Your dorms are going to be down the hall in the north wing, the gym will be on the other end, mess here whenever you're hungry. otherwise you're free to roam about the station as you please. You have officer level clearance so the other crew here will acknowledge that. My office is just an elevator ride above should you need to talk. Good hunting." With that, Allmind walked away and left the pilots to their thoughts.
Iguazu stood up, his anger obvious. "Are you fucking kidding me?!" He growled, staring at a nothing in particular. "After all I suffered, that asshole has to come back and mock me?"
Ronin frowned, picking at some carrots. "You've always had it out for Raven, but something feels different about this one."
That got Rusty's attention. "What do you mean?"
The japanese woman shook her head. "I don't know... it's just a feeling, but... something tells me fate might have some different cards at play."
Pegasus laughed a little. "Your old gods telling you that?"
Her skepticism was met with a shrug. "Maybe kami-sama is playing a cruel joke on us. You know, all the bad we've done come back to haunt us or something and it's being flaunted in our face." A silent moment passed between them, until the intercom chimed with an automated voice sounding off about something.
Iguazu rolled his eyes, grabbing his stuff as he turned to leave. "Sounds like a bunch of bullshit. Let's hit the gym, "he said as he cracked his neck, "I'm itching to get some steam off."
-o-
April 12th, 2504
Korhal capital, Research and Development Facility
In the hangar, the Armored Core labeled '621' powered down and opened its chest cavity, Raven climbed out and slid down the mounting cable. Dewitt was chuckling to himself, having done another test flight today with great results. He watched the young girl go from awkwardly figuring out how to sit in that seat, to now treating her machine like it was a part of her. It had been a couple weeks since project Orphanage began, and she was starting to show her luster with every training run she went on.
"Hah, you're a fast learner girl! How's she feel since we fitted your weapons on?" He nodded to a mechanic who brought him coffee.
Raven rolled her shoulders as she approached, no longer bothered by how she looked in that skin tight pilot suit. "It's gotten better, that's for sure. I think something's tugging on my shoulder mount though, I feel it everytime I wanna arm my missiles. Can you take a look at it?" She jerked a thumb over her shoulder.
The old man nodded, "Aye, no problem. Probably just a bearing that needs some greasin' up. You're hitting your marks a lot more now, I think that rifle is a good fit for ya." He was tapping some check boxes in his pad.
Raven rubbed her arm for a moment, "Thanks.. hey, chief? You really think I'm making a difference?" She gestured her arms out to the side to emphasize. "I mean, with all this? I was nobody before I came here. Now I feel like.. I got some really important eyes watching me, like they're waiting to see something." She bit her lip, waiting.
Dewitt nodded slowly, understanding. "Ah, you're wondering if all this is worth it. Well, I'll tell you what I told my son. Ain't no one that's worthless in this life, it's what you make of yourself that counts, and the memory you leave behind for everyone." He placed a hand on Raven's shoulder, giving it a small shake. "You're doing something that none of us would dare, girl. And you're a real natural already. Hell, the Emperor himself even came to see you. I think that'd be a good sign." He gave an encouraging smile, almost hidden in his grey beard.
She smiled back, feeling a weight lifted. "Thanks, it means a lot. You better believe I'll give it my all. How many girls get to say they did something like this? Haha."
As if on queue, the elevator at the back lowered down, and all eyes turned to see who the newcomer was. It was Emperor Mengsk, this time wearing just a red uniform with his brooch over his chest. Major Fleming was right there with him, along with two marines clad in their red armor. A faint pang of pain flickered through Raven at seeing those CMC suits again. This is all your fault, Raven.
At once, everyone stood at attention while Dewitt hollered, "Emperor in the hangar!" The whole room fell silent as every man and woman turned to face their ruler with respect and admiration.
Mengsk approached with his entourage, walking past and nodding to those who said their personal greeting.
"My Emperor, thank you for visiting!"
"I'm going to tell my wife you visited, your excellency!"
"I will work harder knowing you stopped here to see us, your grace!"
Arcturus chuckled, despite himself, as he stopped right in front of Raven and Dewitt. He looked down at her, a smile on his bearded face. "Seems you've been doing just fine since I last you saw you, my dear. How has our little project been going?" He looked up at the machine, then back to her expectantly.
Raven swallowed, still at attention even in her fortified flight suit. She ignored the realization that her assets were in view in front of her leader. "G-doing great, Emperor! I've been flying the Armored Core 621, with no problem! I've even started weapons training, no issues so far! I hope I've done you proud, your grace!" Not knowing what else to do, she snapped off a salute.
Mengsk laughed, a deep and rich sound that carried across the hangar into the outside. "Very good, everyone you may resume your duties! I want to talk with our pilot here. My dear, walk with me." He nodded to Fleming, who stayed behind to check in with Dewitt. The two marines followed quietly, their rifles at rest as the Emperor and the young pilot walked toward the outside. "I hear you've been having nightmares, is this true?"
Surprised by the question, Raven tried to keep her composure, but Arcturus had spoken to so many people in his life that he had an eye for tells. Hers was that she always swallowed when she was nervous. The Marines waited a respectful distance away. "I.. yeah. Just my past, your grace. Nothing major." She looked sheepishly up at him as they stepped just out into the windy runway.
Mengsk watched her with those blue-grey eyes, nodding. "I see. There's nothing wrong with admitting to it, your psych evals have told me as much." They stopped outside, watching some vikings soar on patrol in the distance. "Soldiers pledge themselves under my banner, to protect their friends and family. They do so because it's the right thing to do." He clasped his hands behind his back as he spoke, Raven looking up at him as he stared off in the distance.
"What matters is that they either come home knowing they made a difference, or they die in glory knowing they gave their all for their Dominion. I know you still feel guilt about your friends that died from those monsterous zerg my dear, but know this: They'll be remembered, because you still fight on for their memory." He looked at her now, a firm stare that held her gaze. Raven was fighting back tears, her eyes reddened and wet despite how blue her irises were right now. "You are doing important work here, and I am relying on you to carry out this dream. That one day, we are gonna end this war, and humanity can finally rest its head in safe peace."
Nodding slowly, the pilot chuckled from her nerves. "Thank you your grace.. that means more to me than anything. I chose to do this... because I wanted to make you proud. To show that I could come back from the bottom and fly high. I'll never forget the faces of my friends, but... I know that they'd want me to keep going. That's why I will." She said more sternly, "I have to. For myself, for you, for my friends."
Mengsk patted her back, pleased at her reply. "That's what I want to hear! Ah, what do they call you now? I don't believe it'd be appropriate to call you dear in front of everyone all the time. Some might get the wrong idea." He said with a chuckle.
"Lieutenant Raven your grace. Haha, don't worry, I won't say anything." She felt lighter, the talk alleviating her previous anxiety. "I'm glad to be here."
"As am I, young Raven." Mengsk stroked his beard, before reaching into his pocket. He placed it into her gloved palm. "Here, take this. Credits and a special pin to put on your uniform. It'll allow you to come to my palace anytime you are off any duties. I want you to have some fun in my city, Raven. You're not from the city, so I think it's time you got to have a good taste of what life in here is like."
Grasping the gifts, she held them to her chest. "Thank you, Emperor..."
Arcturus laughed, "But of course. In a few days however, I want you to come to my Royal dinner in uniform. It's in celebration of a victory we had recently on a front against the Kel Morians, many big faces and wigs will be there to try and butter me up. My closest staff will be there as well so you'll be able to meet them, as I'd like you on my team. Don't worry, we'll just say you're uh, one of the test drivers."
Nodding happily, Raven was about to respond before Fleming marched rapidly into their moment. "Emperor... you're going to want to see this."
Mengsk turned around, confusion and a serious look taking over his features. He patted Raven's shoulder. "Your office, join us Raven."
-o-
April 10th, 0500 hours Standard Galactic Time
Pirate Occupied planet Dustria
A line of trucks and cars, escorted by bandits in stolen power armor had been making its way towards their central settlement. It was a long overtaken Umojan command base, which sat in the middle of a canyon. It was lined with a neosteel wall, with emplaced guns of different loadouts: missile pods, javelin launchers, and heavy lanzer turrets.
The marauders also had more than just marines, as repainted and rigged up goliaths marched in tow, additional tools and weapons having been welded on. A couple rare thor walkers also thudded behind, large blades grafted on their arm cannons.
The wind was blowing steadily, dust and tumbleweeds rolling along the wastelands.
One pirate looked over at his compatriot as the convoy made it's way towards their base. "Hey."
The other looked over. "Hey."
"You ever wonder why we're here?"
The other marine stared facelessly, offering no reaction. "Must be some kind of cosmic plan, funny isn't it? Is there really an old god up there? Watching us? Or are we just here by some sick mistake? I don't know man, but it keeps me up at night."
Neither noticed how the wind began to change direction, blowing dust and other debris around.
The first marine stared silently, then shook his head. "What? No, I mean in this junk heap of a planet, what was all that stuff about g-"
His words were cut off as a pair of massive neosteel legs crushed him effortlessly, causing a huge explosion of dirt and dust. Within the cloud of debris, one could barely make out what looked like a massive goliath... with arms? Massive appendages, no, weapons adjusted themselves as they began to power on with little indicator lights.
"Son of a bitch!" The bandit took aim, firing off into the cloud, and the rest of the bandit convoy followed suite, throwing in their lot of impaler rounds and missiles. "Light it up!"
After several seconds of suppressing fire, everyone's weapons clacked empty. They all took the moment to reload, glaring daggers at the hulking figure that stayed motionless the entire time. Before they could open up again, they heard a man's voice on speaker. "You about finished? Good. It's my turn now."
What sounded like a massive gun being armed with a clack sounded throughout the canyon, when a giant gun barrel poked out and blasted the first thor mech to smoldering pieces and shattered glass. The pilot never had a chance to speak, barely registering that he had been shredded by massive high explosive rounds. A single red shell flung out of the cloud, thudding into the desert.
The mech flared its thrusters which spouted blue flames, and immediately hell broke loose. "What the fuck is that thing?" One marine called out, unloading his rifle into its side, amounting to nothing other than scratching its blue paint job. A blast of HE pellets was more than enough to tear him and several of his friends into scraps of burning flesh and wrecked neosteel.
A goliath mech fired off its retro rockets, several small seekers that missed when the thing suddenly boosted the opposite direction near instantly, throwing off any and all targeting. "Get back to the base!" Someone screamed amidst the chaos, when a row of explosions went off at the front of the convoy, cutting off their escape.
Another mech came down, reloading a rocket launcher in its left hand, and taking aim with a rifle in its right. It stood at the front of the convoy, menacingly watching with a mono eye that emitted a red glow. "Pathetic." A man who sounded like he cared for much larger prey than a rag tag band of pirates.
Hellfire and spent ammo flew in every direction, the air rippling with the heat coming from the flaming wrecks of bandit vehicles. Men and women screamed orders and screamed in fear, several firing over their shoulders as they made a dead sprint for the main gates of the fortress.
"They're everywhere!" A hellion panicked, trying to transform before he burst into flame and twisted metal, the mono eyed mech having sniped him. It contined to unload round after round into the panicking ground forces, tearing apart CMC suits and goliaths like cans of cat food.
The remaining Thor activated his barrage cannons, an array of four massive barrels that extended out, as he tracked the blue one with a sweaty brow. "Then shoot everywhere!" The thor's anti air armaments fired off, sending flak rounds into the sky at the blue mech. However, the thing was far too fast for him to hit, and only seemed to act as a minor inconvenience. A blurred figure that was hurdling from above caught his attention. "What the?! Incoming!"
A mech that was grey and yellow came down, but what wasn't confusing was the massive cannon on its shoulder. It was the fact that it had four legs like an insect. It crashed atop the main gate, and several Marauder forces had backpedaled to a stop. In its left arm, it held a massive claw like vise which whirred with tons of hungry hydraulic strength. With several cranking noises, the massive cannon on its back leaned forward, its tetra-legs digging into the umojan wall as if bracing.
Gunfire halted as they watched in horror, the laser cannon had powered up with bright blue energy at its tip, whining loudly as it built up its charge. Before anyone could regain their senses, a blue lance of weaponized plasma lanced out from the barrel, puncturing the thor straight through its center. The poor bastard never stood a chance, several small exlosions of ignited ammo going off before finally it exploded in a shower of flames and steel fragments.
As if awakening from a deep sleep, the fortified turrets spun around, targeting the spider mech, red alarms blaring along the perimeter. Before they could fire however, a fourth mech landed on one of the turrets, bisecting it with a blade. It quickly boosted from turret to turret, cutting through them clean like a hot knife through butter. "Mou Owari da." A woman's voice spoke, as the mech flicked its blade and flung flaming debris towards the front gates. It jumped off the wall, disappeared into thin air with the use of active camo, and began to dice the remaining siege tanks into ribbons.
It was a slaughter, with all four of these machines tearing the poor Marauders to shreds. Before long, the massacre was over. The four mechs regrouped in front of the gates, each one checking over its ammo and watching as a few battlecruisers came into view. "This is Rusty, mission accomplished."
"Ronin, all good here. Barely got to kill anything though."
"Pegasus, that was quite fun. Shame there weren't more big ones to fry."
"Iguazu. Just pay me already and let's get home."
Within the next twenty minutes, Moebius had arrived with three Terran battlecruisers to claim the base as the joint mission had promised. Within the next ten, battallions of black and orange marines approached in full gear, mech forces in tow as they ran in to secure the Umojan base. As agreed, the pilots had caused minimal structural damage, and Moebius made short work clearing the interior, executing any and all Marauders they could find.
From her desk as she rubbed the purring head of a white cat in her lap, Allmind smiled in satisfaction. "Good work everyone, I'll send your payment and evac now. Standby for pickup, debrief upon return." She tapped a few buttons after seeing their acknowledgement lights wink green, sending each of her agents the full credits and signalling the go ahead for the extraction teams.
A comm opened on her second holo screen, Narud's face once again smiling politely. "Ah, Miss Allmind. Thank you for assisting in securing the Umojan base, its leftover technology will prove very helpful." He tapped something off screen, before looking at her once again. "As promised, I shall provide you several designs of our tech, including our newest design, the Diamondback. As well I'll be sending you additional resources for your own facility. Looking forward to more work with you in the future. Good day."
Her holo mail updated, showing shipping manifests that would be on their way to arrive within the next few days. Allmind took a sip of her coffee, making plans to reach out to a certain few leads, including one prestiged Emperor.
-o-
April 12th, Research and Development
Major Fleming's Office
The video screen in Fleming's office had showed the entire spectacle to both Raven and Mengsk. All three had different reactions: The Major's brow creased, a concentrated glare for not anticipating such a development. Arcturus had his hand brushing through his beard, wracking his mind for options and ideas. Raven had her mouth agape, still in shock at what she'd seen.
The young pilot looked to her Major. "Are you saying there's..."
Fleming pushed her glasses up, "Other Armored Cores out there? As of this video footage that our drone had caught before that fourth one gave off some kind of EMP wave, yes I'm afraid so." Raven's shoulders slumped.
Mengsk looked up at Fleming, his jaw grinding slightly. "We need to contain this. Who could have leaked project orphanage? Some conspirator for the Kel Morians I'm sure, those cowards." He wagged a finger at no one as he spoke. "We now have four other of these unique machines to worry about."
Raven shook her head. "I don't understand, I thought we'd never seen this technology before... does that mean someone else found them?" She began to have racing thoughts about fighting those other Cores alone.
"It could be someone who has been manufacturing them in secret, though I've checked with our companies and none of them have such records." Fleming sighed. "Whatever the case may be, things just got a little more complicated. Emperor, we absolutely must keep our composure at the victory dinner. If we lose face, the media will never let us live it down even with censorship."
Mengsk nodded, reaching into his pocket and popped a hard candy in his mouth. Sweet buttered caramel, just like his mother used to bring him. He offered one to Raven, who took it with a thanks. "Every high head and dignitary from our leading corporations will be there as they'll want to gloat about our victory thanks to all the toys they sold us. Even officials of the Kel Morian embassy, and you know how I feel about Charles. Arrogant prick that he is. I need to ensure I keep Umoja and Tyrador on my side before the end of the year, when we plan to unveil the Odin."
His secretary shook her head. "You know they're loyal, and I've emplaced several contingincies to ensure it. They have no reason to betray the Dominion. Umoja relies on business with other factions to keep their economy flowing, but Tyrador needs our trade deal in order to fund its high quality of life that it loves to flaunt."
A humorless chuckle came from her Emperor. "Yes, I do very much love to see Madame Astrea in her... superfluous sense of fashion. I swear that lady lives and breathes luxury, that's coming from me who enjoys my fine aged whines and old family cigars." He partially pulled out a cigar from his inner pocket before placing it back. "Major, how do I handle this?"
She replied quickly, "As you always do. Smile and shake hands with every head that wants to kiss up to you and earn your favor. Let me handle things behind the scenes, I'll make nice and see what I can find. Raven, you'll be there with me on assignment. Not offically, but dress in your blues and be ready to enjoy some expensive food in case I need you."
Raven nodded, "Understood. I'll be ready. I'm just... trying to accept that there's more like me out there.. and they're probably not my friends." She let out a sigh. Here she thought she was something special.
Mengsk placed a hand on her shoulder, "It's going to work out, dear. Follow our orders and we'll have this under control within the next few months. Glory will await. For now, just enjoy meeting people and the finest food Dominion chefs have to offer!" He looked over at the Major, winking. She rolled her eyes and tapped away at her pad.
As if remembering something, Fleming spoke up. "Besides tomorrow's morning meeting with your command staff, there's one more thing Emperor. You have a contact awaiting a call with you tonight. Goes by the name.. Allmind."
Raven tilted her head, curious, while Mengsk made his way to leave. "Alright, leave her a message that I shall take her in my office at the palace. Let us be off, Major." He pointed to the pilot as he left. "Raven my dear, take the rest of the night off. I'll see you at the victory dinner!" With that, the two left and the door hissed shut behind them.
Raven sighed, alone in the office. She continued to stare at the holo screen, seeing stills of the different mechs. She began to type down notes of her own, downloading the footage into her data link and heading towards her dorm. "Who the hell are these guys..."