Starcraft: Queen and Country

by Wanderer D

Chapter 029: Once in a Lifetime

2505, Koprulu Sector, Planet Agria █

Nova huddled behind one of the houses nearest to the edge of the city. She wasn't miserable, or terribly uncomfortable, or even worried. It was an ingrained habit; even if her camouflage was on, the act of not making herself a target (however unintentionally) was simply a net-positive for her.

At the moment, most of the attention was focused on her ship and her enemies were focused on searching around the area where they had taken it, ready to spring a trap for her if she tried to get it in order to escape.

But that was far from Nova's mind. She already had a plan for that, and it was secondary to her main objective anyway: Killing Queen Sweetie Belle. Leaving Agria without achieving that was not an option.

The problem was how to get close enough to her to do so. Hiding and listening to the humans here, she now knew that Sweetie Belle had been recuperating with the Protoss off-world, in a base they had constructed together on one of the moons. 

Ignoring how mind-boggling that was on its own (Protoss, human and zerg working together like that), it presented the very real possibility that Sweetie might leave Agria in order to protect herself, however unlikely.

And she really felt it was unlikely. Sweetie Belle was definitely a conundrum, innocent, yet vicious; kind yet capable of acts that anyone in their right might would call 'cruel' and, from the videos she had watched, calling her a 'murderous little bug' wasn't too far from the truth. Yet she talked peace, and even seemed able to achieve it, where so many had failed.

Why?

Mengsk had called her a Maven of Lies, but could lies alone account for all of this?

No. She was sure there were lies. There were always lies. But there was more at play here, and the more she saw this, the more urgent her mission became. Not just because of the threat, but for her own mental health.

In order to be the best at what she did, she always—always—had her memory wiped. 'Short' memory wipes left most of her memories intact, but removed recent incidents and memories that could affect her performance.

She had never been stuck in a situation where she was reconsidering her actions. It was unthinkable. Unacceptable… she frowned. Abnormal. This was not normal. Something else was happening here. She slowed her breath and closed her eyes, concentrating on building and rebuilding her mental defenses.

Nova wasn't sure if she could feel anything affecting her, like some sort of passive power, but if Sweetie Belle possessed such a thing, it was powerful enough to affect even a Protoss as strong-willed as Selendis.

She needed to act. She needed a plan. But… what?

Nova pushed herself off the wall and, crouching, started moving around the area, pausing to let people, and even zerg, walk by without spotting her. 'What can I use to lure her out?' she thought, then her eyes widened.

Raynor's griffon was strolling down the street in the company of two Protoss that had been with Sweetie Belle on the stage. She had called them 'friends'. She wasn't sure about them, but there was something she had plenty of information on was that the Zerg Queen had a soft spot for the 'griffon'.

The hint of a plan started to form in her head as she kept her eye on the trio and followed them carefully, and at a distance. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but she hoped they'd split soon… if her plan was going to work.

Gallus wondered at how much life had changed for him within a year.

Assassination attempts, politics, guard duty, war… these were not things thad troubled Gallus' thoughts back in Equestria. As a teen griffon, he had concentrated on studying and getting to know his friends and prospective more-than-friends better. Certainly Silverstream and Smolder had shown interest in him, and well, they were not hard on the eyes either, and he wondered how much of Sweetie's forwardness was really due to her zergification, and how much was already there and he hadn't noticed.

Those three were surprisingly similar to Yona and the gang. It was odd, in retrospect, that they hadn't been closer… that they hadn't tried.

And while the crusaders had been just a tad young to join them at the beginning of his start at School of Friendship (although they were technically already graduates), the age gap was just a year or two. The trio of mares was versed in death-defying shenanigans much earlier than most other students, and they had been very open and welcoming of new cultures.

He kind of regretted not inviting them to join them more often. 

"I must admit I am surprised by how comfortable Queen Sweetie Belle is to have two females keep you company, Gallus," Nerath said, the Nezerim's tone of voice betraying a hint of humor into it.

Gallus, whose mind was on other matters, didn't really think about it. "Well, herds are pretty normal in Equestria, so having multiple willing partners of other species and genders is not such an odd conc…" he trailed off, frowning as his words caught up with his mind. "Wait, what are we talking about?"

"Whether we're part of your herd with Queen Sweetie Belle or not."

"Nerath!" 

"I'm not in a relationship with Sweetie!" Gallus exclaimed eyes wide as he stepped away from both Protoss. "I'm not in a relationship with either of you! Why are we talking about making a herd?!"

Lasarra was rubbing her temples, while Nerath simply tilted her head. "I am confused, friend Gallus. I was merely asking if she would be upset, but I did not imply any of us were in a relationship. Unless this is something you have been considering?"

"I—" Gallus opened and closed his beak several times, trying to say something while his eyes very obviously studied both, which in turn made Lasarra's uncomfortable blush more evident. "Okay, I get it, haha, you're joking."

Nerath nodded. "Of course I joke," she said, patting his shoulder comfortingly. Gallus allowed himself to relax for a second. "The question is," Nerath continued, "whether it is that I'm joking now, or I was joking then."

"You are making Gallus uncomfortable with your jests," Lasarra said stiffly. 

"Just him?" Nerath chuckled. "Fear not, Gallus, for Lasarra has no such intentions… if only because the Khala wouldn't permit it."

"You are not bound by the Khala," Lasarra countered, and Gallus could have sworn she sounded flustered.

"No," Nerath said simply. "I am not."

She continued walking leaving the other two behind to stare at her. When Gallus realized he was following her movements a bit too closely, he shook his head. "We… should keep going," he said to Lasarra, who also pulled herself together.

"Yes." She glanced down and caught him staring up at her. They both looked away. "She'd managed to rattle us."

"Yeah." Gallus sighed, and looked back in the direction of the town hall, where he had left Sweetie. "Yeah."

"Our meeting was foretold, little Queen."

Sweetie studied Tosh. The Specter had a dangerous air around him. He came across friendly, affable even, but there was a glint to his eye that spoke of an iron will that would stop at nothing to achieve his objective.

She could respect that. Plus, he reminded her of Zecora. He didn't speak in rhymes, but his focus on esoteric knickknacks and traditions gave him this witch-like aura that made her think fondly of Zecora's effective use of different magics and potions.

"That appears to be the case," Sweetie said, smiling at the dark skinned, muscular man on the screen. "I think Gallus already explained the situation here to you, do you think you can help?"

Tosh hummed, looking away as he considered her words. She knew it was a bit of an act. He would've said no immediately if he had any issues working with them. He was intrigued, but he was cautious. Even more reason to respect the terran.

"Your location was not the only one hit, little Queen," Tosh said after a moment. He looked back straight at her. "Raynor has been captured. Kerrigan is on the loose, and now you have a Ghost problem… it seems our dear Mengsk has overextended his hand and we now have several strings to pull."

"The Queen is—" Sweetie blanched. "Is she okay?!"

Tosh shrugged. "Not much is known by my people thus far, but she is being helped by Raynor's crew. It is a matter of time before she comes to you."

"Then I must be ready." Sweetie straightened. "What can you tell me about this ghost?"

"That you're lucky to be alive," Tosh said. "I believe Nova might be the ghost stalking you."

"I've heard that name before, but I'm not familiar with her."

Tosh laughed. "You're still alive; so chances are you wouldn't be." He sobered up quickly. "It is but a guess," he clarified, "however with her skill and power there would be only one other location where she would have been assigned during Mengsk's latest attempt."

"Kerrigan."

Tosh nodded, smiling as Sweetie came to that conclusion. "Correct. However, you have been a growing thorn on his side. Reporting of your kind actions and your willingness to aim for peace is a thorn to his side, undermining the narrative of his xenophobia."

"The Queen did always say I was too soft."

Tosh snorted. "I think we all know that is not true." He leaned forward, eagerly smiling. "I have seen you fight. You are zerg through and through. A new kind, sure… but soft?" He chuckled again. "That, I do not think so."

"Why, thank you!" Sweetie said, grinning, her pincers clicking at the compliment. "It's nice to meet someone that appreciates my different managerial style."

Tosh chuckled. "I can just see you are not one to cross. There is something dangerous there, little Queen, in your eyes. A hunger. What haven't you told your non zerg allies so far? I must know who I work with, if our interests are to align."

Sweetie's pincers froze in place, but her gossamer wings trembled, betraying her emotions. She stared intently at Tosh. "I want… I hunger for change. I want change. I crave it. I want things here to bend to MY will and change so I can finally go home!" she hissed. "I want revenge for what was done to me, to save my Queen, to save my friends, my family here and then be reunited with all we left behind. I want everything. I want to have my cake and eat it. And if the only way to do it is to kill any that stand in the way of my dream…" She glowered at the Specter. "Then I'll build it on a hill of bodies."

Tosh studied her for a moment with an unreadable expression. Then he grinned. "I think we can work together. For I too, have a dream that I hunger for, little Queen."

Sweetie stood straighter, eyes narrowed as she studied the terran. "And what is that?"

"A once in a lifetime opportunity to also get what I want." His smile faded and he locked eyes with her, his intent and seriousness very clear. "And I will need your power."

Sweetie tilted her head. "I hope you're not expecting me to do something crazy in exchange for your help."

The terran specter laughed. "Oh no, little Queen, not at all. I believe this will work in both of our interests."

Sweetie allowed a predatory smile to cross her face. "Then I'm all ears."