The Koprulu Sector

by TheKopruluSectorUnion

Chapter 7: Sisters

Apple Bloom followed “Jet Stream” into what seemed to be the cockpit area of the ship where they took a seat. Rainbow Dash followed carrying both the data core and the shelter logs.

The ship wasn’t anything impressive on either the inside or outside. From the outside it looked like a giant box with wings and a cock pit attached to it. Its wings stuck out the top sides, ending with vertical flaps on each end. The ship had six thrusters, two on the top rear portion of the box like ship, and two smaller ones on the left and right side. If the ship ever had a paint job, it was long gone by now. Scratches could also be seen on the sides as well. The name on the side read 'Tom' though it was difficult to read with all the scratches. Apple Bloom was surprised a ship like this could function in the atmosphere.

The interior was mostly a cargo chamber no bigger than a typical garage meant for holding two cars. Parts of the ships engine could actually be seen along the walls. There were a number of computers and small boxes of personal belongings on the sides hidden behind a chain link fence, probably to protect them from moving cargo. The rest of the ship was a small bathroom with sink and mirror, shower, and toilet, the whole thing probably no more than a six by eight foot area.

Besides the bathroom, the ship had its cock pit with four chairs and a small bed chamber with two less than comfortable looking bunks. The room had enough space to sleep in, but not much else. Lacking a kitchen, the ship had a crate of military rations in the cargo chamber to serve as the crew’s means of provisions.

The ship wasn’t particularly clean either, especially around the cockpit. Lacking anything that looked like a dining room, Apple Bloom assumed its two mare crew ate in the cock pit, and a few stains could be seen here and there. There wasn’t much in the way of decorations except for a few pictures of the sisters together, though Apple Bloom doubted their authenticity.

“So, what makes you think I’m a resoc?” asked Jet Stream.

“For starters, I’ve known you most of my life. You, Sweetie and I formed the cutie mark crusaders when we were kids.” replied Apple Bloom.

“The cutie mark what?” asked Jet Stream.

Apple Bloom began to explain, “Well when we were kids, we were having trouble earning our marks, so we made a club too-”

“Woah slow down there Apple Bloom. I never had any trouble getting my mark,” she said glancing at one of the pictures. Jet Stream was in a space suit at the moment, so everything below the neck was covered. But one of the pictures did reveal she had a cutie mark of a pilot helmet. “I’ve had my mark for years, I didn’t need a club to help me out with that.”

If she really did have a mark below her suit, then the pictures might have been real after all. “But I know I grew up with you. The three of us were on Mar Sara our whole lives.”

“I believe you grew up with a mare named Scootaloo who looks like me, but that wasn’t me. I’m not and never was Scootaloo,” replied Jet Stream.

“Are you telling me there was more than one Scootaloo?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Jet Stream is a…” said Rainbow Dash was having trouble getting the last word out.

“I’m a clone,” finished Jet Stream “Some of the less wealthy families sell their kids DNA to the Dominion for clone production. They grow us in birth pods, train us in some skills, and then send us off to different parts of the Dominion when we’re old enough.”

Apple Bloom was in disbelief. “That’s… no. Scootaloos mom would never do that!”

“Did her family ever struggle?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Well… they weren’t the wealthiest. But…” Apple Bloom was about to say she didn’t believe it, but if it weren’t true, then how could this version of Scootaloo be in front of her right now?

“For all you know, your Scootaloo is a clone as well,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Now that I know isn’t true. Scootaloo's mom keeps baby pictures of her all over the place. She thought it was important for Scootaloo to see them for some reason. I guess this would explain why, she wanted her to know she's the real-” Apple Bloom cut off the sentence when she noticed Rainbow Dash giving her a glare that said, choose your next words carefully. “She’s the… how do you put it?”

“Original template?” answered Jet Stream.

“Right. Though I wonder why she never told me,” questioned Apple Bloom.

“She probably never knew herself," said Jet Stream. “Clones are sent to different colonies so we don’t interfere with each others lives. But when we’re done with this debriefing, do you think I could meet her?”

“I’m not sure if that’s a good idea,” said Rainbow Dash. “Don’t take it the wrong way kiddo, but if she doesn’t know the truth, she probably wouldn’t be too happy to see you.” Rainbow Dash had heard a number of stories of people murdering their doubles as a way to take back their individuality.

“She’s been through a lot lately. She and I both recently lost a good friend. I don’t think right now would be the right time for it. Why do you want to meet her anyway?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Well we’re both the same blood. I guess I’d like to think she might be like another sister to me. We are family after all,” replied Jet Stream

“Hey, I’m your sister!” said Rainbow Dash playfully ruffling Jet Streams hair.

“Well I know that sis, nothing will ever change that. But… well real ponies all have parents. I really want to meet mine.”

Real Ponies. Rainbow Dash hated her sister thinking of herself as anything less than a real person. She wanted to object further, but Jet Stream gave Rainbow Dash her little sister puppy eyes. Maybe this wouldn’t be for the best, but it might be a while before they find themselves on this world again. She looked over to Apple Bloom for her opinion. “What do you think about this?”

Apple Bloom didn’t want to put Scootaloo through any more trauma at the moment. At the same time, she was taking Sweetie Belle's death a lot better than she had originally given her credit for, but Scootaloo's mom wanted to keep it a secret for a reason. Who was Apple Bloom to disobey a mothers wishes? If she gained Mrs. Iron Feathers blessing, then perhaps they could work something out.

“Well first off, I can’t risk things getting violent. Rainbow Dash will have to stay on the ship.” Rainbow Dash sighed, but nodded in agreement. “Second, this is a family matter between Scootaloo and her mother. So if you want to meet Scootaloo, you’d have to talk to her first.”

“I can agree to that,” said Jet Stream.

“And if she says no, promise me you won’t go behind her back and meet Scootaloo anyway. Deal?” asked Apple Bloom.

“She is my mother as well in a way. So if that’s what she wants, I’ll respect her wishes,” agreed Jet Stream.

“Well before we get any of this underway, you still need to give that testimony,” said Rainbow Dash. She looked over at her sister and commanded, “Take us to the DSP.”

Rainbow Dash and Jet Stream both put their breath mask on as Jet Stream started the ships engines. “Aye aye sis,” She replied.

Apple Bloom quickly strapped herself in. She still wasn’t one-hundred percent confident in the stability of the ship. As the ship took off, it began to shake intensely. “Uhh… you sure this thing is safe to fly?” insisted Apple Bloom.

“It’s been a while since her last tune up, money has been tight,” said Jet Stream. “But time is non-refundable, so we’ll just have to take off and hope Tom doesn’t explode on us.” Apple Bloom was now visibly shaking even more than the ship. “Don’t worry, Tom always gets like this in atmosphere. We’ll be fine, you need to relax. You act like you’ve never been in space before.”

“I HAVEN’T!” Yelled Apple Bloom.

“Oh… well we should be fine as long as the life support doesn’t crap out on us again.”

“What?!” shouted Apple Bloom.

“Don’t worry, the DSP isn’t far,” assured Jet Stream.

“Though out of curiosity, how long can you hold your breath?” asked Rainbow Dash. Apple Bloom's eyes widened as a look of terror ran across her face. Rainbow Dash and Jet Stream just laughed at their terrified passenger. It wasn’t long before the ship made its way into orbit. The wings around their ship retracted giving Tom the appearance of a floating box.

“Doesn’t the military normally provide transports?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Reaper operations are usually kept off the radar. Can’t have people knowing the Dominion let a zerg hive fester under one of their colonies for so long. They figured we’d draw less attention on a civilian transport.” said Rainbow Dash

“Plus they pay well,” added Jet Stream. “The state Tom is in right now, we need all the bits we can get.”

“Well I am an engineer. If you can get the parts, I can see about fixing Tom up a bit.” offered Apple Bloom.

“That’s very generous of you Apple Bloom,” said Jet Stream. “Rainbow Dash, you should feel bad about punching such a nice mare the way you did earlier. Apologize for trying to kill Apple Bloom.”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “I guess I did over react a bit. I’m sorry for trying to kill you.”

“Both times?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Wait, what do you mean both times?” asked Jet Stream.

Rainbow Dash looked away covering her face. “I’m going to hear about this one for a while,” she said to herself.

“When her men betrayed her, one them got the upper hand and almost killed her. I stopped him from killing your sister, and she repaid me by threatening to execute me. Said she needed to get rid of witnesses,” explained Apple Bloom.

Jet Stream jaw dropped. “Sis… she saved your life and you tried to kill her for it? Why would you do that?”

“I… wasn’t planning on returning the data core,” explained Rainbow Dash. “I was going to claim it was lost in the explosion… that I caused... to remove witnesses.”

Jet Stream was in disbelief at what she was hearing. “You did that? You mean you killed all those people just for a data core?”

“She didn’t kill any civilians,” interrupted Apple Bloom. “Her men did all of that. They would have killed me too if she hadn’t stopped them,” Apple Bloom had no love of Rainbow Dash, but she still wanted Jet Stream to know the whole story.

Jet Stream didn’t know what to think of the situation. Apple Bloom had been, for the most part, a polite guest. She agreed to give testimony, help fix their ship, at least try to introduce Jet Stream to Scootaloo. Maybe the testimony was out of a sense of self preservation, but she didn’t have to do anything beyond that. Jet Stream could tell Apple Bloom was a genuinely good person, and was repulsed with her sisters treatment of her. “Sis, what were you going to do with that data core that was worth killing Apple Bloom over?”

Rainbow Dash didn’t make eye contact. “We need the money. You said so yourself, Tom’s falling apart. When I was offered a hefty payday to retrieve the data core, I got the men together to form a plan. We figured if we reported it destroyed and took out the witnesses, we could sell it off and use the money to fix Tom.”

“What if I had picked them up, they might have killed me too! Why didn’t you think about any of that?!” yelled Jet Stream.

Apple Bloom couldn’t believe what she was seeing. If she ever talked in that tone to her big sister, she’d be doing extra chores around the orchard for a month.

“They’d need you to fly the ship, so I knew you wouldn’t be in any danger if things went south,” replied Rainbow Dash. “That and I know you’re a good pilot. You could find a better safer job on your own if you weren’t following me around all the time.”

“Did you ever stop to consider maybe I’d rather have my sister than money?!” yelled Jet Stream.

“Family will do crazy things to help one another out,” interrupted Apple Bloom. She thought back to Sweetie Belle's sacrifice and Scootaloo's near sacrifice. They weren’t blood, but they were just as much family to Apple Bloom as Jet Stream was to Rainbow Dash. While Apple Bloom didn’t agree with Rainbow Dash's choice, she could certainly see where Rainbow Dash was coming from. “What she did may have been reckless, and down right evil. But I can tell she was thinking about you the whole time.”

Jet Stream calmed down. It was easier to accept hearing it from an outside perspective. While she was still shocked her sister would do something so horrible, she was still the only family she had. They needed to stay together on this. If the person who Rainbow Dash almost killed is willing to see things from her point of view, there is no reason Jet Stream couldn't.

Rainbow Dash was thankful for Apple Bloom's unexpected support. Apple Bloom was the last person she would have expected to help her out after the way she had treated her.

“If you want to make it up to me, you have to do something to make it up to her,” demanded Jet Stream. Rainbow Dash wasn’t pleased about her predicament, but she knew her little sister would never let her hear the end of it other wise. “And you’re handing over that data core. I’m not walking away from this knowing all those people died for nothing.” That last demand was one to many. The thing was worth a fortune. With her original cut, she could have fixed up Tom. With her entire team dead, they could buy a new ship.

“Let’s think about that for a moment,” suggested Rainbow Dash. "This data core could solve a lot of problems for us."

“Actually turning in that data core was the entire reason I returned to that place a second time.”

“A second time?” asked Jet Stream.

Apple Bloom explained her predicament to the sisters. Sweetie Belle's death, Scootaloo's injuries, and the dilemma Apple Bloom was facing. Jet Stream was almost in tears hearing about poor Sweetie Belle's death, and Scootaloo's injuries. “We have to return the data core. She did all of this for her friends, the same way you did it for me. But she needs it more right now sis.”

Rainbow Dash sighed and looked away for a moment. She then turned to face Apple Bloom. “You’ve been through hell and back to help your friends. I can respect that level of loyalty,” she said as she handed over the data core. “Also if you’re still interested in those logs, we could hold on to them for you. The Dominion doesn’t need to know about those, and we’ll hand them over to you after the testimony.”

“I’d appreciate that Rainbow Dash, but I was really just trying to help out my friends. You can keep them. It’s not a data core, but I’m sure the disks in that case are worth a lot to someone. Use that to fix up your ship,” replied Apple Bloom.

Jet Stream and Rainbow Dash were in awe at her generosity. “I can see why Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo didn’t want to let you fall into that chasm,” said Jet Stream. “Friends like you are worth holding on to.”

The DSP was now in clear view. The space platform was ancient and had been around before the ponies had ever discovered the planet. Like many other Terran ruins, the Imperials had built over the old infrastructure, bringing the systems back online and making the platform once again operational.

After they arrived at the DSP, they were immediately met by guards who took Apple Bloom to an interrogation room. Apple Bloom was less than thrilled with Dominion hospitality, but cooperated and gave the testimony on Rainbow Dash's behalf as agreed. After a couple of hours of questioning, she was released.

Apple Bloom found Jet Stream waiting for her outside. “So how did it go?” asked Jet Stream.

“Uneventful. I told them what happened, they took some notes. They told me I could leave once the investigation was completed, however long that takes. I honestly have no idea how long they plan to keep me here. Exploding terran ruins tend to be a big deal.” replied Apple Bloom. “They let me contact my family to tell them what happened. Good thing too. Apple Jack just about had a heart attack when she heard the ruins explode. Any idea how long this investigation will take?”

“I wouldn’t worry about that. Rainbow Dash explained how these things work. They don’t really care about the truth as much as they do about finding someone to blame.” Apple Bloom had been made all too familiar with that policy the last few days. “Thanks to you, I’m sure my sis should be off the hook. You’ll probably be released in a couple days, three at the most.”

“So… while you’re sister is being investigated, what are we supposed to do?” asked Apple Bloom.

“I got a lot of movies on the ship in one of the cargo crates,” suggested Jet Stream.

“Wow… you and Scootaloo would definitely get along.”

---

The ship ride was unpleasant to say the least. Scootaloo almost wished she could have stayed sedated the entire time. They didn’t bother feeding them, nor giving them water, and were only allowed one bathroom break the entire time, and even that required they stay under watch. Scootaloo also noticed she was the only female prisoner. That only added to the anxiety. When her bathroom break finally came up, she didn’t think she’d be able to go with an armed guard watching her. However after being shot in the side from before, the sight of a weapon pointed at her made pissing herself very easy.

There were no clocks on the ship, though if she had to guess, they’d been traveling for at least a day now. She looked out the window to finally see her surroundings change; they were in atmosphere. It was a white sky, and the air was thick with snow. It was mostly a mountainous region, with ice as far as the eye could see, which wasn't very far due to the inclement weather.

The ship finally landed. The chains keeping her legs stuck to the bench released, and the guards herded the prisoners off the ship onto the landing pad. The air was freezing, and all the prisoners were shaking uncontrollably as they were organized into a long straight line. Any thoughts of escape by flight were quickly crushed at the sight of all the guards surrounding the platform. Even if by some miracle they didn’t shoot her down in mid air, where would she go? She was pretty certain she wouldn’t last an hour in this temperature before freezing to death.

A marine finally stepped forth in front of them to explain their situation.

“Listen up scumbags! You are here because you are the worst people the Dominion had to offer. You are traitors, cannibals, rapist, pirates, muggers and above all, murderers. If there is a God, he saw you unfit for a second chance and instead sent you to this frozen hell to die! You are not here for redemption, this is a delayed death sentence. This is the ice house, where reapers are trained. Most of you, perhaps all of you will die during your training. Those who survive will earn the title Reaper. After which you will be sent on continuous missions until you die. The point is your life is forfeit! You are all waking dead.”

Scootaloo didn’t belong with this scum. Sure she’d made mistakes in the last few days she had come to regret, but was it worth this? Then again, she would rather be a corpse than a resoc. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise?

One of the prisoners fell from the line still shaking. The cold was starting to get to everyone. The marine who was talking reached for his pistol, and then shot the downed pony through the head. “This corps has no use for failures!” he continued. The grizzly scene was a wake up call for all the prisoners. The Dominion didn’t care what happened to any of them. At the moment, they were all expendable.

To Scootaloos relief, the shackles around her and all the other prisoners hooves unlocked. The muzzles and collars on their necks remained. Two pegasi dared an escape. They didn’t make it more than ten feet off the ground before they fell writhing in pain.

“The shock collars you are wearing will remain activate at all times. If anyone is found attempting to escape, you will be subjected to a slow and agonizing death.” The two would be escapees continued to have violent convulsions. Steam began to rise from their bodies, and one of the pegasus eye balls even burst. After what seemed like a good full minute, the two prisoners stopped moving.

At this point, Scootaloo was thinking the same thing that was probably going through every prisoners head right now. Do what you’re told, when you’re told if you want to make it out of here alive.

The marine continued to shout rules and violations that would lead to their immediate termination. For the most part it was all common sense prison logic about not trying to run away. She was beginning to think that maybe they were just extending their duration in the cold. Finally the marine finished his speech, which odds are no one was able to pay attention to due to the freezing winds blowing against them.

The guards began herding the prisoners inside, and the prisoners happily complied. Their muzzles were removed, and for the first time in who knows how many days they were given a meal. The food was some kind of tasteless grey porridge. The prisoners were given mere minutes to finish their meager meals, and then escorted to prison cells. Their training would begin the next day.

If there was one small blessing Scootaloo could claim this day, it was that she had her own cell. Apparently the reaper corps didn’t attract many females.

---

Sweetie Belle awoke to find herself in a white bedroom sized room she’d never been in before. It seemed well enough for your average pony, having a bed, a counter, a closest, and a door leading to a bathroom. The question going through her mind right now was how did she get here?

Sweetie Belle tried to open the front door to see where she was, seeing as how the room had no windows to speak of. The door was locked, and that caused a bit of concern. Had she been taken prisoner? She tried to remember the last thing that happened to her. She started remembering a cave of some sort.

An agonizing jolt of pain started running through Sweetie Belles head. She collapsed to the floor, paralyzed by the torment racing through her skull. Finally the pain subsided.

“What was that?!” she asked herself. “This isn’t right. I have to find… who was I looking for again?” Sweetie Belle tried to remember the last people she was with. She started to recall two other mares her age, but she was again interrupted by the same jolt of pain.

After the pain had subsided, she got to her hooves and headed for the bathroom, maybe she was just sick. Sweetie Belle ran to the toilet to vomit, but nothing came of it. Then she heard the front door open. Sweetie Belle cautiously entered the main room again to find herself face to face with a purple unicorn. She looked somehow familiar. Sweetie Belle tried to recall where she had seen her before. It was recent... on a mountain... just outside a cave. She quickly collapsed in pain once again.

As she fell towards the floor, the unicorn caught her with a levitation spell. “Calm down, you’ll be alright,” the unicorn assured her.

Again the pain subsided. Sweetie Belle looked up at the purple unicorn and asked, “Who are you. Where am I?”

“You’re at the ghost training academy in Augustgrad, the capital city of Korhal. You are here to learn how to control your power, don’t you remember?” she replied.

“Uhh… no I can’t say I remember much of anything right now. Again, who are you, and how did I get here? Did you bring me here?” asked Sweetie belle.

“I’m Twilight Sparkle. I was a ghost operative in your colony back at Mar Sara. I was your librarian remember?” she replied.

Sweetie Belle thought back to Mar Sara. She did recall this particular unicorn working at the library. “So… you’re some kind of secret agent?”

“Yes. The librarian thing was just a cover. It’s best not to let others know who we are. And to answer your other question, I’m the one who brought you here” answered Twilight.

“What? Why? What about my family, won’t they wonder where I am?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“They’re the ones who had me bring you here silly, remember? You were having painful migraines and the doctors didn’t know what it was. But I told your parents it was because you had a high potential for magic that recently became unlocked. The migraines are a result of a lack of training,” explained Twilight.

Sweetie Belle did remember something… traumatic happening recently. Again she thought back to the two other mares, something about a deep chasm. Again she collapsed in pain. Twilight caught her and brought her to her bed.

“Once we get your training underway, the migraines will lessen.” Twilight assured.

“And… then I can go home?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“I’m afraid not. This program is top secret, as well as the things you’ll learn. You agreed to this when you volunteered remember?” replied Twilight.

Sweetie Belle did faintly remember such a conversation. “That’s right… you’re going to train me to control my magic, and in exchange, I have to become a ghost and work for the Dominion from now on don’t I?”

Twilight nodded her head in acknowledgement.

“I can’t believe it… I’ll never get to see them ever again will I?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“Hey it’s not that bad. Your parents are much happier knowing you were getting help for your condition," responded Twilight. "They objected at first, but in the end they saw things my way. And trust me, there is nothing like knowing your work is keeping other people safe. Just remember that every time you start to doubt your purpose here alright?”

“Yeah,” said Sweetie Belle. “Do you mind if I get some time alone? I need to… process this all.”

“I understand. We all needed time to adjust when we first started.” Twilight gave the young mare a hug of reassurance. “It’ll get easier I promise. There is a mess hall outside to your left if you get hungry. Help yourself to whatever you need alright? Get a good night sleep as well, your training will start tomorrow.”

“Is there anything you can do to help with the migraines?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“Nothing in the way of medicine. But I can give you advice. Try not to think too much on the past, for some reason that tends to cause the pain more than anything else," suggested Twilight.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” said Sweetie Belle. The purple unicorn left the room, leaving Sweetie Belle to her solace. “Good bye mom… good bye dad… good bye Rarity… good by crusaders-” again the pain returned as she squirmed in her bed. When it subsided, she started to wonder who these crusaders were she was thinking of, but then remembered what Twilight had warned her about. It was probably best no to aggravate the problem until she learned to better control it. She decided to get something to eat instead; it would be a long day tomorrow.

Author's Note:

KopruluSectorUnion Note: This chapter has been edited thanks again to refferee for the corrections

Comments

[Unholyheaven]

2546746

According to the Dark Templar saga, the teachings of the void came after the Khala, and the Khala didn't come until after the aeon of strife.

They were all naturally connected before the khala to a degree. The Xel'Naga at first only guided their evolution from the shadows, but after they revealed themselves and were worshiped as gods, problems started to occur. Mainly they grew very close to the Shelak tribe, which earned the Shelak tribe the ire of the other tribes who became jealous of their favoritism and grew to resent them. The Xel'naga noticed this, and rather than put the other tribes at ease, they were fascinated by this illogical emotional reaction, and decided to just wait and see what happens. As the tribes drifted, that's what caused the first psychic link to start to crumble.

The Xel'Naga realized the damage they had done, and decided to leave Aiur while they still could. This infuriated the protoss, who proceeded to attack the Xel'Naga, killing them by the hundreds and destroying much of their fleet. This first particularly horrible act of violence completely severed the link. The protoss, who were used to being connected to one another, were now alone and terrified as they filled with anger and uncertainty. That caused the aeon of strife which came before either the void or the khala.

Eventually scholars of the Shelak tribe would discover the Krydian crystals (probably spelling that wrong). These xel'naga artifacts were living crystals left behind by the xel'naga which are used to make the pylons in starcraft. (In the terran campaign, Stetman studyed a tiny fragment of a crystal from a destroyed pylon in the hyperion. It eventually grows into a full sized crystal that provides protoss tech for Rynors raiders.) These crystals provided two things, one was a warp network/power field that would be key to the raise of the Aiur Empire. Two, by merging consciousness with the crystals, protoss could once again form a new psychic link, this was the link that would be known as the Khala.

But some protoss found they actually enjoyed their individuality, and the frothing madness it brought. Believe it or not, the first dark Templar (at the time just called rogues) were actually very violent compared to the way they are by the time you get to the events of starcraft 1. And even during starcraft one, the books show that there still factions of dark Templar completely devoted their personal war on Aiur, which was mostly assassinating high Templar and preservers.

In order to hide from the Empire, the rogues had to cut off their tendrils to avoid detection while they were still living on Aiur. The long "hair" that Khala protoss have isn't a sign of devotion. Those are the psychic nerve appendages that link them to the Khala. That's why dark Templar don't have any "hair", they cut it off to avoid the empires detection. Unfortunately for them, the conclave already had a very extensive list of names, and the Templar known as Adun was able to easily find the rogues. But at this point the rogues had learned to adjust to their individuality, and (for the most part) were no longer the violent killers they were during the age of strife. Like humans though, they still had the occasional violent nut job, as opposed to protoss in the khala, which for the most part showed almost no signs of violence towards other khala worshipers.

Adun somehow was the first protoss to know how to use the energies of the void. Seeing that the rogue learned to control their individuality, he taught the rogue Raszagal how to use the voids powers to hide from the conclave. She would later become the Dark Templar Matriarch. The Dark Templar eventually get exiled to Shakkuras, and the rest is history.

I don't know exactly how Adun learned to use the void. You might be right that he learned to use the void from the xel'naga, but I can't find anything to confirm or deny that. Despite all the books that have been released in the last few years since blizz updated the starcraft franchise, there is still little info on Adun. He is only described as a legend of protoss lore, and I think Blizzard intentionally keeps a mystery, just like Hasbro and Rainbow Dashes sexuality.

As for psionic immortality, I admit there is absolutely no lore to go with or against it. You are right that they had immortality long before the Khala was discovered. It is shown that the Khalas light does grant some unique abilities. Besides the psychic link, psionic powers, memory transfer on death, and the protoss warp network, it has been shown to make khala protoss completely immune to zerg infestation. Dark Templar still seem to be vulnerable, which is why Raszagal was infested, and the dark Templar used to create the first hybrids. Since no outside races have ever been brought into the Khala, there is really nothing to go on in terms of how it would effect psychic humans, or unicorn ponies. Main reason I decided to go with that was to maka the Khalai unicorns more protoss like, and also one of the reason why so many unicorns left Celestia's rule in favor of the Khala.

Well I'm going to get breakfast now, and then get started on the next chapter.