Starcraft: Queen and Country

by Wanderer D

Chapter 031: Dilemma

2505, Koprulu Sector, Planet Agria █

"So, how long have you thought of us as attractive?" Nerath asked as they approached the building where he had been given a room.

"Nerath…" Lasarra groaned, no longer even bothering to deny things. "Clearly this is a new thing for Gallus as well as us, do you need to make things more difficult?"

"True," Nerath said, nodding. 

Just as both Gallus and Lasarra were about to relax…

"How will you handle the orifice difference?"

"Okay!" Gallus squawked, quickly pressing the panel to open the door to his room. "This is my place. I think I should go in and do things. I'll see you later, alright?"

"We'll be waiting… with Sweetie Belle," Nerath said, and this time Lasarra did punch her in the arm, looking as scandalized as a Protoss possibly could.

"Sure. Bye!" Gallus sighed and leaned against the wall of his quarters the moment the door closed behind him. He was sure that, if Protoss giggled, he would have sworn the two outside would be doing that just outside his door. He snorted. He could almost feel their amusement even as they walked away. 

Teases. Both of them.

It didn't help that his understanding of beauty really did extend to Terrans and Protoss as well. He wasn't sure how that would work and he wasn't about to ask Nerath. Maybe Lasarra, IF—and only if—Nerath wasn't about. At least the other Protoss would understand it was of… clinical interest. 

For the most part. 

Yeah. Mostly.

Definitely mostly for that. The thought of Nerath's confident sway, the way the phase-smith moved like a huntress… "Nope!" He thought of Lasarra, how the proper and curious Protoss brimmed with eagerness to learn and had an appealing intellectual— "Ugh." He shook his head to get the pair out of his mind, and his thoughts went to Sweetie. "Okay, no. That won't help."

He tried to think of home. The devastated ruins of Griffonstone. The Evefree Forest. Ponyville. His friends… and then, unbidden, Smolder and Silverstream were grinning at him in his mind. A memory of the three of them cuddled together. He thought about how nice it would be to have them here, so they could meet…

He stood there, staring at the wall across the room for a moment. "Cold shower. Now."

He put down his rifle against the wall and grimaced. "What's going on?" he muttered to himself, glancing back at the closed door. Both Protoss were gone, he could feel it, but his thoughts had been with them much more than he would have otherwise guessed.

There was much in his mind about all of this, and it was worrying. He was no stranger to pheromones, to hormones and animal, intellectual, or sentimental attraction. Sure, he wasn't quite an adult about the whole thing most of the time, but he was also not usually a bundle of nerves almost ready to pounce on the first invitation.

Even when hanging out Smolder and Silverstream, thoughts didn't usually go in that direction until the end of the day when they would just be together. They were there, for sure, but not overwhelming… not constant.

Something was up, and he had the distinct feeling that it was Sweetie's fault, whether she knew it or not. The worst thing was that, if he was right, and she found out her pheromones or something were affecting him and others, chances were she'd take advantage of it.

His mind went back to the cave, with Sweetie slowly stalking around him, ready to pounce.

"Right. Shower."

He shrugged off his armor and turned on the shower, letting the water flow for a few seconds before walking in under the cold spray. He stayed put, shuddering a little as the cold water eventually made it past his feathers and fur and let it run down before soaping himself up and rinsing humming to himself.

"Winter wrap up, winter wrap up…"

There was an enemy on the loose but… still. He took his time. It was nice to relax and let his stress go, if only for a little bit. Besides, he hadn't slept in almost two days, it was no wonder his mind was all over the place.

Eventually the cold shower did its job and he shut it down before shaking off the excess water. Sure, towels were useful, and yes, he'd use one, but this made the process faster. He dried his head with the towel, then most of his fur before throwing it over his shoulders. He'd need to preen his feathers soon too, he noticed, since being encased in armor wasn't doing them much good.

Just as he walked past his armor, he paused, frowning, then turned to look at the pieces. "Wait, wasn't my rifle right here?"

He didn't know what hit him. A second after his brain processed that his rifle was gone, a heavy weight was over him, making him stumble and collapse. He tried to get up, but whoever was on top kept him down, he turned and twisted on the floor until his back was to it, raising his claws to attack, but his assailant sat on top of him, pressing his own gun under his beak, making him stop long enough to stare and process who he was seeing.

"N-nova?"

The terran woman snorted, rifle held steady. "Gallus. It's been a while."

He felt anger boil through him, but the gun—and Nova's power—kept him in place despite his best efforts. "So it was you that tried to shoot Sweetie!"

"Things may have been different if Raynor had taken my offer instead of siding with Tosh," she replied, shrugging but keeping the rifle steadily pointed at his face.

"You really think that?" he asked, giving her a deadpan look.

She smirked, leaning down a little to stare him in the eye, getting real close to his beak. "Probably not. But it's not personal." She blinked, then frowned and got up, looking down at him with a grimace. "And I don't know where you thought this was going, but I guarantee you that it's not going to end the way you seem to think it is."

Gallus felt himself blush and broke eye contact. "Do you mind if I jump into the cold shower again?"

"Psychic pheromones?" Sweetie asked.

Lasarra shifted in place. "Of sorts, Queen Sweetie Belle. It seems your actual pheromones are very active for some reason right now, and… it has started to 'leak' through your psychic connection to those you find… um, attractive."

Sweetie Belle blinked and looked around. Selendis wouldn't meet her eyes, and Tosh had a grin on his face that somehow managed to convey that, while he was thoroughly enjoying the revelation of what she was doing to others, he was still holding back his laughter.

"So Gallus…" Sweetie started.

"And Nerath…" Lasarra's telepathic tone gave the impression that. if she used sounds to communicate instead, she'd be clearing her throat at that exact moment. "...and myself."

Sweetie considered this as she looked intently at both female Protoss. "I do have good taste."

Nerath chuckled, the shorter Protoss all but projecting a shit-eating grin. "I agree, and Gallus already talked to us about your 'herd' custom. I'm all for it."

"Nerath!" Lasarra cried, her telepathy making everyone wince. It had been a bit too loud. "Behave yourself, we are in front of the Executor and Queen Sweetie Belle. This is not the time!"

"Hmm." Selendis muttered. "You have always had a strong empathy and interest in the Zerg, Lasarra. I suppose, as odd as it is, it is… predictable as an outcome."

Sweetie imagined that the embarrassed scientist would have bitten her lip had she had any. Lasarra was strong minded and mostly unafraid to speak her mind, still, the scientist did have a lot of respect and deference for the Executor, and so managed to control herself and not offend her superior, although given the Khala's connection, it was very likely that Selendis knew exactly what her underling thought of her comment.

Selendis shook her head, then turned to face Sweetie. "As amusing as it is, we are treading new grounds here that I am not sure we should until you have better control over those powers, Queen Sweetie Belle." 

Sweetie blinked. "What do you mean? It seems to be only affecting my herd."

Ariel stepped forth. "My understanding of Nerath's original technique is that it is design to complete the nervous system that, in the case of the Khalani, connects them to the Khala. Your horn might be different, but the technology applied to you is experimental, so there might be some additional unintended effects."

Sweetie sighed. "I'll try. It's going to be hard, now that Gallus is here."

"Nevertheless it is something worth putting effort into controlling," Selendis advised. "Now that your horn is complete and you have access to your old powers as well as your zerg abilities, change is once more unavoidable. But you can head recklessly into this new… evolution, heedless of the consequences, or you can use our help in guiding it into its fully-formed potential."

Sweetie hummed as she thought about it.

"...and I must suggest—in the strongest words possible—that you take us up on the second option," Selendis added.

Sweetie sighed. "We'll figure that out in due time."

"I am somehow not comforted by this," Selendis muttered. Which, Sweetie had to admit, was an interesting thing to hear in her mind. Did it really count as muttering?

She was about to make another comment, this one with the intention of getting a reaction out of Ariel, who was clearly also influenced by her pheromones, when a sudden chill ran down her spine. "Gallus…" she said, eyes widening.

Nerath and Lasarra looked at each other, and Ariel put her hand on Sweetie's shoulder. Their link was a lot stronger than they had guessed… but if they all felt it…

"He's in danger."