The Koprulu Sector

by TheKopruluSectorUnion

Chapter 8: Ice House

Apple Bloom and Jet Stream spent much of the last two days watching movies and talking. Some were pony movies, but like her Scootaloo counterpart, Jet Stream seemed to prefer terran scifi. Fortunately the payment for the transport job came in, so they decided to get something to eat from one of the restaurants on the DSP.

While primarily a military outpost, it seemed to have all the comforts of a small town. Stores, residential areas, and recreation areas as well. It even had a green house for grain production, though other food types were flown in from the colony. Judging from all the apples being eaten, Apple Bloom could tell the DSP was Sweet Apple Acres' best customer. Overall, the DSP was an impressive self sustained station.

While they were eating, Jet Stream was going on about her favorite Sci-fi films. “Now some people like to think that the earth born terrans had it right, and that the Koprulu terran films were just cheap knock offs. While I admit that some of the ideas do start to overlap, Koprulu films were definitely an improvement over their originals. You can’t tell me Spider Mines IV, Death from Blow wasn’t the best robot attack movie ever made right?”

“Actually my friend Scootaloo tells me that the spider mine series was just an inferior rip off of Screamers,” replied Apple Bloom.

Jet Stream looked at Apple Bloom as if she had just confessed to a murder. “Are you sure Scootaloo and I are both from the same genetic template?”

Apple Bloom chuckled at the comment. The last couple of days spent with Jet Stream weren’t too bad. Aside from movies, they would talk about the adventures they’d each had. Apple Bloom told Jet Stream about all the crazy ideas the Cutie Mark Crusaders had, mostly compliments of Scootaloo. Jet Stream told Apple Bloom about her life as a transport pilot, and about some of the close calls they had with some of Rainbow Dash's less than reputable contacts.

Apple Bloom was going to miss Jet Stream when she was gone. Had she grown up on Mar Sara, Apple Bloom could have imagined her as the forth crusader. Though there was still some concern about how Scootaloo would react to Apple Blooms new friend. Perhaps after the initial shock, they could come to be good friends as well? They were alike in many ways besides just appearance. They both shared a deep sense of loyalty to their friends. From their conversations, Jet Stream seemed like a risk taker as well, though she preferred solid planning rather than charging in head first. And she could imagine Jet Stream fainting at the sight of Scootaloo's Sci-fi collection, though they might have a few disagreements on whether Earth Sci-fi or Koprulu Sci-fi was better.

If I ever had a clone, wonder what she would be like? Apple Bloom thought to herself. Another thought invaded her mind. “Wait… what if I’ve been cloned?” asked Apple Bloom.

Jet Stream chuckled. “What brought that up?”

“Well… we weren’t always a well to do family. Yet somehow we were able to afford that huge orchard. You said struggling families sell their children’s genetic material to the Dominion right? Or what if I am a clone?! I never actually knew my parents. They supposedly died shortly after I was born… but AJ and Big Mac don’t have any pictures of mom holding me.” Apple Bloom was getting loud as she continued her rant. The other ponies in the restaurant were starting to give them odd looks.

Jet Stream was now laughing hysterically at her friend’s paranoia. “How is this funny?! My whole life could be a lie!” shouted Apple Bloom.

Jet Stream calmed her laughter to respond. “Let’s entertain the idea for a moment that you are a clone. Does it change the fact that you grew up on Mar Sara?”

“Well no,” replied Apple Bloom.

“Does it change the fact that your brother and sister loved you and raised you to become the mare you are today? Do you think they would still love you?” asked Jet Stream

“I guess they still would,” answered Apple Bloom.

“Does it change that fact that that Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle knew you their whole lives? More importantly, if you found out Scootaloo or Sweetie Belle were clones, would it change the way you thought about them?” asked jet Stream.

“Of course it wouldn’t.” Apple Bloom took a deep breath as she thought about what Jet Stream told her. “I see what you’re saying.” Apple Bloom lay quite for a moment as she prepared to ask Jet Stream a more personal question.

“So… how do you like Mar Sara so far?” Apple Bloom finally asked.

“It’s a nice enough place. Nicer than most worlds I’ve visited. Besides the other day, I’ve only been to the surface twice, and only for a few hours. But the people below were friendly, and for the most part the Mar Sara DSP is a quiet outpost. I’ve been up here five times and I’ve never once heard of so much as a pirate raid around here,” replied Jet Stream. “Why do you ask?”

“Well. Your sister did say she would like to see you in a safer line of work,” started Apple Bloom.

“Is this going where I think its going?” asked Jet Stream.

“The DSP is our biggest buyer. But we lose a lot of money having to hire outside help to transport our goods. You could stay with us. You’d have a place to live, a cut of the profits, and a safe job. We could even see about fixing up your ship,” offered Apple Bloom.

Jet Stream sighed. It was a kind offer, and she didn’t want to sound rude turning it down, but Jet Stream wasn’t about to leave her sister. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but my sister-”

“Works a very dangerous job and she doesn’t like seeing you in harms way,” interrupted Apple Bloom.

“I know she works a dangerous job. I also know there is a good chance she won’t live long enough to finish out her sentence. That’s why I want to spend as much time with her as possible before she…” Jet Stream couldn’t finish that last sentence, she didn't even want to think about it. The idea of not having her sister around was too much to bear.

“I’m sorry… I know it can’t be easy having to wonder every day if your sister is going to come home or not. You don’t have to answer, but I heard Rainbow Dash mention that this operation would take years off her time. What did she mean by that?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Reapers are criminals. Everyone of them is guilty of at least murder, and usually an assortment of other crimes," started Jet Stream.

“So are most resocs, what’s the difference?” asked Apple Bloom.

“A resoc doesn’t remember his crimes. They also ‘fix’ their violent behavior. Reapers are people immune to the neural resocialization. They have to serve out their prison sentence in the military. When they complete missions, they get years off their time. Rainbow Dash is only serving one life sentence, so there is a possibility she might make it out of the corps. But even with that, reapers rarely ever live out their life sentence,” explained Jet Stream.

“So Rainbow Dash was a murderer," asked Apple Bloom.

“Yeah…” replied Jet Stream hesitantly.

Apple Bloom started the next question. “Who did she-”

“I don’t want to talk about it” said Jet Stream.

“Alright, I won’t pry. But I don’t see her surrounded by guards at all times. Why doesn’t she just walk away when they send her out on a mission?” asked Apple Bloom.

“The armor she wears has a kill switch. She is only allowed to take it off back at the ice house, where reapers are trained. If she takes it off anywhere else, or if she tries to desert, the suit will kill her," explained Jet Stream.

“I see. It sounds like you really want to see your sister make it out of this alive then don’t you?” said Apple Bloom.

“Of course I do!” replied Jet Stream.

“Well think about this. Because she was worried about you, she took a risk today that almost got her killed on your behalf. She said so herself, she’d be fine with getting killed because she knows you’d look for a safer line of work. Sorry if I’m being blunt, but it sounds like you being there for her is only hurting her chances of survival,” argued Apple Bloom.

Jet Stream looked back at Apple Bloom in anger. “What would you know about any of this? You don’t have to spend every day wondering if it’s going to be the last day you and your sister spend together! You haven’t seen how horrible life is outside the colony.”

“I’m not saying I have. But I am saying that if you care about your sister as much as she cares about you, you’d think about her survival. Right now, she sees herself as a liability to your safety. You can plead with her all you want, but she’ll still keep taking risk with no regard for her own life. If you were out of harms way, now everyday becomes a reason to live. It becomes one more day closer to getting to be with you, instead of one more day worrying if she’s putting you at risk. It’s just something you should take into consideration,” responded Apple Bloom.

Jet Stream was still angry, but she couldn’t dispute her logic. Rainbow Dash almost died on that last mission because she was worried about her. Yes Jet Stream wanted to spend every moment she could with Rainbow Dash, but maybe she was just being selfish? Maybe this was the best course of action? “My ship doesn’t have FTL, so we have to hitch a ride back with a prison ship. It travels from colony to colony each month picking up new recruits to bring to the ice house. It won’t arrive for another two days or so. Just give me until then to think about it.”

“Think about what?” asked a voice from behind. Jet Stream turned around to see Rainbow Dash. “I was looking all over for you two.”

“So how did it go?” asked Jet Stream.

Rainbow Dash smiled before she replied. “I’m completely off the hook. Not only that, but I might even be looking at a promotion when I get back. Captain Rainbow Dash, I like the sound of that.”

“How exactly does a convict become an officer?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Because I’m awesome!” said Rainbow Dash..

Jet Stream smiled and shook her head at the sight of his sister’s arrogance. “Reaper teams always have one member assigned as an officer. But it really only means anything during an op. Outside an op, she is no different than an enlisted convict serving time.”

“Yeah, but being an officer makes me at least twenty percent cooler than the rest of the reapers,” added Rainbow Dash. “But my deafening awesomeness aside, what was it you said you needed to think about?”

“Umm…” Jet Stream didn’t want to bring it up because she knew her sister would insist on her staying. She wanted it to be her decision and no one else’s.

“Whether or not the Terminator could beat Robocop in a fight,” said Apple Bloom in an attempt to change the subject.

“Uhh... I'm not really into that stuff,” said Rainbow Dash. “Anyway the investigation is over so you’re free to go Apple Bloom. We’ll give you a ride back to the colony after we fuel up now that Jet Stream’s been paid.”

“She said you guys won’t be able leaving for another couple of days. How about you stay at my place for the night? I'll be sure to let them know you were the one who saved my life," offered Apple Bloom. "I'll leave out that other part.”

“I’ll think we’ll take you up on that offer,” said Jet Stream.

---

“EVERYBODY UP!” shouted a loud voice.

Scootaloo opened her eyes and got out of bed as quickly as she could. The execution from the previous day was still fresh in her mind, and she knew it would be in her best interest to do what was expected of her.

The cell doors opened and armed guards again herded the prisoners to the mess hall. Just as before, they were fed the same tasteless gruel from earlier. Still hungry from the night before, all the prisoners began devouring their meals as quickly as possible. Fortunately their portions much more generous this day. They would probably need the extra energy to start their training.

Scootaloo heard the sound of fighting as she looked over at the corner of her eye to see one inmate beating another, something about not handing over his meal. The guards did nothing to stop the violence. They simply watched as he was beaten to a bloody pulp, then the attacker proceeded to eat the other prisoner’s food.

Scootaloo was only about half way finished with hers when another inmate demanded she hand over her food. It was the same inmate who sat next to her on the ship. His orange suit still said the same words; CANNIBAL MURDERER NINE COUNTS. Scootaloo decided she didn’t want to end up like that other prisoner and complied. She had eaten enough to not starve for the day, but was by no means satisfied.

The first thing that was done after breakfast was shaving off all the prisoners manes. Scootaloo almost wanted to cry at the sight of her beloved mane now removed. Sure it wasn’t on par with Sweetie Belles well done mane, but she loved it none the less. She somewhat regretted not doing more with it while she still had the chance.

After the mane cuts, they were herded into another chamber. It was here they would spend the next hour doing a number of exercises. It was exhausting for Scootaloo in particular, having not had a full meal. But she pressed on. She remembered that any sign of weakness could end in a bullet through the brain.

Next, they were taken to a track and were ordered to run until told to stop. One inmate finally tired and stopped to catch his breath. He was shot shortly afterwards. Nobody tired the rest of the run.

When the run was over, they were given a few minutes break time. Scootaloo quickly separated herself from the other inmates. She remembered what happened in that mess hall, and it was clear the guards didn’t care too much what one inmate did to another. Being the only female made it that much worse, especially knowing many of these inmates were probably guilty of rape.

As before, another fight broke out. Inmates and guards alike watched as the two went at it for some stupid reason or another. Scootaloo could see one of the fighters was her acquaintance from the mess hall earlier. After a few bucks were made, he sent the other inmate falling to the ground and began to stomp his head repeatedly. In his rage, the victor actually took a bite out of his opponent's neck.

That seemed to be the line as his shock collar went off. It didn’t kill him though; it seems the reaper corps valued his love of violence. He would be more useful alive than dead for now. That made Scootaloo worry about what kind of jobs she would be expected to perform even if she did survive the training.

After their break was over, the inmates were taken to another chamber. Here, they were given leg supports and precision gloves. The gloves were used to simulate hands, which they would need in the future to wield any weapon. The mechanical leg supports would allow them to walk on two legs more effectively, freeing up their hands.

They were taken back to the chamber with the track and ordered to run it again, but this time on two legs while carrying a plastic rifle. It was an awkward experienced for everyone. Scootaloo could barely keep her balance and fell over more than once, like many of the other inmates. After about ten minutes, the guards shot another inmate who had fallen over to ‘motivate’ the others to better maintain their balance. Scootaloo was not only struggling to maintain balance, but struggling to keep pace as well. Despite receiving a few less than friendly shoves, she managed to run the track until the guards told them they could stop. Another two inmates were killed before the run ended.

The inmates were granted another break. As before, Scootaloo separated herself from the others. This time no fights broke out. Everyone was too tired, or unwilling to try to fight in the awkward leg supports. One stallion however did begin approaching Scootaloo on all fours. Scootaloo became nervous and tried moving away, but he kept approaching. She was about to try to make a run for it, but he charged her and tackled her to the ground. Now mounted, Scootaloo braced herself for the coming violation as the inmate began to remove her pants. Before any penetration could take place however, another burst of gunfire went off. Scootaloo felt blood seep on her as the stallion fell to his side.

“You will walk on two legs until you are instructed otherwise!” yelled one of the guards. She couldn’t believe it. She was almost taken advantage of, and the only thing that saved her was the fact that her attacker didn’t follow protocol. Scootaloo was terrified and traumatized, but she didn’t do anything brash like scream or cry, fearing that it would only attract the attention of the trigger happy guards. She just sat on her own in the corner, trying to get her beating heart to calm its self. After their break was over, the guards rounded them up and sent them to another room.

The prisoners were rounded up and brought back to the mess hall for a lunch. Scootaloo ate as fast as she could without choking. Just as before, the same inmate came and took what was left of her meal. She managed eat a bit more than she had last time, but she still felt hungry.

Once the meal was over, they were taken to another room for more training. The room had a padded floor, and a number of punching bags. An instructor stepped forth in front of them. While he wore the precision gloves, he stood on two legs as naturally as any pony stood on four. It wasn’t an uncommon sight. Many service men would spend hours, or even days wearing their power armor. Since the suits required the wearer to stand on two legs, some ponies would grow accustomed to bi-pedal walking and continued to walk in that manner even outside of their suits.

The instructor proceeded to demonstrate how to execute proper kicks, punches and basic throws using their bi-pedal stance. He was a dark brown stallion, with a purple mane and eyes, and of a very powerful looking physique. He ordered them to at first stand in rows where they practiced punching and kicking into the air, and then began practicing throws on one another. Ironically the dojo was the one place where unnecessary fights were broken up, at least for the time being. Scootaloo heard one of the guards mention that the instructor doesn’t like them shooting up the floor during executions, and more importantly he didn't like wasting time.

After practicing their kicks and punches in the air, they were instructed to work on the punching bags. The bags were much harder than Scootaloo thought they would be. While the gloves took the majority of the shock, it still caused great pain to the hooves underneath. Scootaloo started to soften her punches to reduce the pain when she noticed a guard pointing a rifle at her. Had this been in any other room, she’d be dead by now. Scootaloo knew if he really wanted her dead, he’d just drag her out side and shoot her, so again she hardened the impact of her punches and kicks, despite the pain. She was certain at least one of her hooves was bleeding underneath.

Eventually they were told they could stop, and were permitted a bathroom break. After her near male on mare encounter earlier in the day, she was more than happy to have an armed guard watching her. She was allowed to temporarily remove her gloves and clean out her bleeding hoof. She saw herself in a mirror for the first time all day with her trimmed mane. Scootaloo almost looked like a boy. She decided not to keep the armed guard waiting and proceeded back to the dojo for the remainder of the break.

Their break ended, and the inmates were broken into pairs and ordered to spar with one another. Not surprisingly, things got violent. By the end, at least two prisoners lay unconscious and bloody on the floor. Scootaloo’s theory from earlier was correct. The guards did indeed drag them out back before shooting to avoid damaging the floor. After which the two inmates who had knocked out their partners were paired off against each other.

Scootaloo found herself paired up against the instructor. It seemed too convenient to be an accident. Like having her own cell, and being escorted to the bathroom, it was probably because she was a female. That didn’t mean the instructor went easy on her however. By the time the sparring session was finished, she had been bruised and battered all over. He could have killed her if he wanted too, as could probably many of the other prisoners. Again she counted her blessings.

The inmates were given a dinner next, and the meal process repeated. This time the other inmate didn’t even bother finishing his food first. Thus Scootaloo was only able to eat about a third of her meal, leaving her even hungrier than before.

As the day reached its end, they were taken for one last training exercise. The inmates would be forced to run an obstacle course. They weren’t told the exact details of what they would have to do, but were told that any use of magic or wings would result in immediate execution. They were also told that the course had a “soft timer” which would also end in termination, but not necessarily by execution.

Scootaloo was up first with nine other runners. One of the guards shouted, “Begin!” and the inmates took off. First there was a wall with a rope on it that the inmates would have to climb. Scootaloo was already experienced with this during her rock climbing escapades in the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Since they had climbed rough terrain before, going up a nice clean wall was no problem at all giving her an early lead.

She ran down a ramp to the next part of the course. Next they had to crawl their way under a blanket of barbwire. Once again, Scootaloo’s experience with the Crusaders kicked in. She had a drain cleaning experience where she would have to crawl into some rather filthy pipes to clean them out. It was probably for the best she didn’t get her cutie mark in such a disgusting field, but all that time spent low crawling on her belly was paying off as her lead over the other inmates grew. Aside from one Pegasus inmate whose wing was caught on the barbwire, everyone else made it through.

After climbing a ladder, the inmates had to make their way over a pit. It was a roughly fifteen foot drop down onto concrete. In order to cross, there were horizontal ropes leading across the pit to another platform. The inmates would have to wrap their hands and legs around the rope, and drag themselves to the other side without falling. Scootaloo had little experience in this field, but already had an established lead over the other inmates. She made her way across to the other platform as quickly as possible. One more inmate lost is grip and fell down the pit. He injured his leg, but went back up a ladder to try again.

As Scootaloo was almost done crossing the pit, the guards began cheering. She swelled with pride at the possibility that they were cheering for her. As she reached the other platform, she heard someone screaming bloody murder as the guards continued to cheer. Apparently they weren’t cheering for her after all. She put the screams out of her mind and focused on the next challenge.

This was another horizontal rope with a downward incline. She saw some handle bars lying on the ground, with a wheel like device on the center. Zip lining. Now this she knows how to do, once again thanks to her time in the CMC. She propped the device in place, and held on for her life as she slid down the rope to the end. Not everyone made it through as one of the inmates lost his grip and fell. He would have to climb a ladder try again. As Scootaloo finished, for the second time she heard the sound of more screaming coming from behind, and more cheering coming from above.

Next up was a large crate with the word PUSH on the side. It didn’t take a genius to know what that meant. She put her “hands” on the side of the box and began to push as hard as she could. Unfortunately she wasn’t as strong as the other inmates, and feeling a bit weak from hunger. Some of the other inmates caught up and pushed past her. As she almost finished, another sound of screams, and a third round of cheers went off.

Exhausted, and now terrorized that the soft timer was the cause of the screams, she pushed on to the next segment. It was a long pool. Most of the surface was covered in a layer of thick glass except the entrance and exit, so once you dove in, you'd get no fresh air until you reached the other end. She could see one of the inmates had reached the other side already and was beginning the final portion of the course.

Scootaloo took a deep breath and swam through as fast as she could. She had done numerous activities in the water with the CMC, canoeing, water skiing, pearl diving, and of course, competitive swimming. With all her time in the water, she felt right at home. Scootaloo quickly swam past most of the other inmates taking third place. As she was just about to exit the water, she foolishly took a precious second to look back, and saw the sight of a zergling in the water ripping apart another inmate. This must have been the soft timer they were warned about.

Scootaloo finally broke surface on the other side and took in a breath of fresh air. It was just a clear long sprint to the exit now. Two of the inmates were already finished. Scootaloo took off as fast as she could, but was still very tired from hunger. The other inmates got out of the water and ran to catch up with her, but one of them was dragged back into the water by a zergling shortly after he broke the surface. Now there were three.

Scootaloo ran with everything she had, but she was too tired and hungry to outrun the other two inmates. What’s worse, she could hear the sound of a screaming zergling running up behind them. One of the inmates was running much faster than she was and passed her with little effort. Scootaloo's heart was racing as she heard the zergling getting closer. The other remaining inmate was only running slightly faster than Scootaloo and had now caught up; in a few seconds, he would pass her. Scootaloo swore she could hear the zerlings breathing now. Seeing no other choice, she put a leg out and tripped her fellow inmate before he could pass her, then continued running. Behind her she could hear the sound of screaming, and flesh being torn from bone. Above her, she heard the sound of guards cheering at the sight of another downed inmate. In front of her, she saw a gate and continued to sprint as fast as she could. As she entered the gate, the doors closed behind her making sure no zergling could follow.

Scootaloo fell to the floor in exhaustion. The other inmates didn’t seem to care she had killed someone. They were also exhausted and probably just happy to be alive.

As groups finished the course, they were taken to another room to have their leg supports and precision gloves removed. Scootaloo was happy to have the gloves off, but found she was unable to walk on one of her hooves. It was in to much pain from earlier in the dojo.

They were taken to the showers next. Again, Scootaloo got her own corner and was under watch by an armed guard. Perhaps that experience from before was only a one time occurrence? Maybe they were interested in keeping the other inmates off her and out of her? Or maybe the guard was just enjoying the sight? It's unlikely the ice house had very many females, so even with her shaved mane, she was probably the prettiest mare they'd seen in a while. A small price to pay if it kept the other inmates away. After she had finished her shower, the guard took her to the cell block.

Scootaloo lay on her cot, exhausted and hungry. The rest of the inmates were now back in the cell block as well, and everyone was resting up for the next day of torture. She thought back to the events of the day. It’s only day one, and quite a few of the inmates had already died. She'd heard guards mention that the first week was the considered the culling, so odds are more would die tomorrow. Then it hit her. She had killed someone. Well technically it was the zergling, but it was her fault for tripping him.

Was she murderer now like the others? No. It was survival. It was him or me! I’m not even supposed to be here, he was just another murderer like the rest of them were! At least that’s how she tried to justify it, but the sound of his screams kept echoing through her head. Am I a murderer? She thought to herself.

She heard a knock on her cell bars, it was one of the guards. He had a bowl with him, and he placed it on the floor in front of her. She didn’t ask any questions, she just ran to the bowl so she could begin devouring it. Then an inmate in another cell shouted, “What the hell? Why does she get more food?!” The guard turned his rifle and executed the belligerent inmate. No one else dared to say a word.

Scootaloo looked around the cell block. The rest of the inmates were looking at her angrily. She realized that if she ate that food tonight, she might have a very short day tomorrow. Scootaloo reluctantly pushed the bowl back outside the cell. She didn’t say a word. She hadn’t said a single word the entire time since she’d arrived. It seemed talking out of line was a good way to get shot around here. The guard simply took back the food and said, “Suit yourself,” then walked away.

The other inmates returned to their business. With any luck they wouldn’t hold it against her. Scootaloo crawled back into her bed again and tried to fall asleep. She missed her home, she missed her mothers meals, she missed her friends. She turned her head to the walls so no one could see her, and then began to silently cry.

Comments

[The Grey Pegasus]

Do yu just write extremely fast or do you have some of this already typed up?!

Also, the scene switch- the one scene switch. [ hr] is your friend. Remove that space and yout get

---

This. Makes it a bit easier to understand.

[Unholyheaven]

It's all done on an day to day basis. Absolutely nothing is written ahead of time.

I sit down and ask, "ok, what happens today?" After a few minute I decide on this that and other, then just write whatever comes to mind. Just until school starts on the 17th for me. After that, you can expect things to slow down.

What exactly is

---

?

Edit: OH! I makes the big straight line. Ok thanks.

[Rotorix]

2546746 Wait.... 'Toss are immortal? I thought they had just extremely long life spans of many thousands of years, and the Xel'naga had a even longer one. Protoss have to die eventually right? Or is it that they somehow slow down their aging? And I always knew that Toss didn't have hair.. So those are their nerve appendages.
2547248 Wow you just doubled by Toss lore, but isn't it so that the void also protects Dts from being infested but not from being corrupted by the zerg?

[Unholyheaven]

2554008

If that were true, there probably wouldn't be any hybreds. You have to remember that void powers can work both ways. Protoss can use the void to kill otherwise immortal cerebrates. But just as Kerrigan (a void user) used it to manipulate Raszagal, Duran/Narud was able to use the void to infest the protoss and create the hybrid. he did it using Dark Templar. I admit there is nothing that said if this was because the void did or didn't protect him, but seeing as how protoss can use the void to counter zerg reincarnations, I'm assuming it was a similar process. As I said, if there was no way to infest a protoss, there would be no hybreds in the first place.

[Rotorix]

2554123 Jeez, you get this lore from the books right? Well thanks anyway.

[KRissCHu573]

Wow, I read this chapter while I was at the gym, it was
th01.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/f/2012/053/1/4/franky___super_by_x100_styles-d4qmdle.jpg
MOTIVATING! Seriously, for a moment an instructor was looking at me weirdly and I started doing stuff faster.
2554137 Guess, who's here...
fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/079/8/7/smile_insane_twilight_sparkle_by_grumbeerkopp-d4shxo0.png

*clears throat* *takes a deep breath*

2547248 You make some really good points there. Yes I know of those DarkTemps who even after evacuating to Shakuras are still hellbent on anihilating the Khalai. A good example from the books would be those 12 dark temps who merged into a dark archon after the zerg invasion on Aiur, and that archon placed all the remaining zerg on Aiur under his control and started attacking the Khalai. Okay I was bumfuck wrong about the "hair" part. Still you didn't have to type all of that stuff. I know arround 70% of the protoss history by heart. Though I will agree with you. Blizzard have been acting rather like a bitch about giving us more info on Adun. All I know about him is that he was one of the first protoss to learn the way of the Void(weird how he managed to get promoted to Executor), he oppoused the conclave's orders and saved as much of the dark temps as he could, he was a mentor figure to our one and only Tassadar, and a greater badass than even Varok Saurfang(Warcraft) in general. But nothing more. Also about their life spans, some of the members of the council which ruled the conclave were about 70k years old, idk if all protoss are, but the three preservers from the WoL mission "A sinister turn" are legitimately immortal. The only way for them to die, is if someone drained their energy(like Ma'ar(the hybrid who did it)), but still they are uber dudes. Ma'ar had drained a lot of energy from them, yet when they were freed, they barely felt the differance. Other examples of immortal protoss: You know how archons hold so much power, plus the battle for control of all of the minds which originally created the archon, that even bodies entirely made of energy can not hold them for long? (an archon made from "average" templar's life time is averagely 10 minutes) But if the Templars who merge are pwoerful, can concentrate on a single long lasting task(which becomes the archon's goal in life), and are a lot, those three factors can sustain an archon for longer. Technically the first two are the most important. If the Templars are UBER OP, and concentrate on a long lasting task(and if they have some numbers) an archon will be practically immortal. Oh yeah, one other guy who is legit immortal - Tassadar.
2554123
Now, there is something I must disagree with you here. Raszagal was under Kerrigan's control. Nowhere is said that she was infested. All protoss (Khalai and Nerazim) are immune to zerg infestation, but they can still carry zerg organisms in their bodies(HotS), and someone as strong with psionic power as Kerrigan can corrupt their minds. As I explained in a lore battle, the Void deals with a more mystical pool of psionic energy. Thus giving DTs the ability to cloak, create illusions, and attack the very being(aka soul) of someone. Which is why Void users(such as Kerrigan) can corrupt minds. I don't know if you have read this in the books, or somewhere else, but I think you got the concept of zerg infestation and protoss/zerg hybridisation wrong. The infestation works like this: The zerg virus embeds itself in the gene stream of a living creature, and eventually ovewhelms it. They do not merge with it, they use the original genetic code of the creature as a base template, which is later "improoved" by zerg standarts making something that has 80% zerg DNA and 20% or less of its old self. Protoss are immune to that. Now, the hybridisation is not infestation of protoss. In it, protoss and zerg DNA are merged together synthetically in a balanced 50% to 50% genetic ratio, not naturaly like how the infestation works. If you plan on adding hybrid in the fic you should take this into consideration. All protoss can be converged into hybrids, they first used Dark Temps, because hybrids are made with Xel'Naga science, and Xel'Naga science was not adapted to the Khala, but it was well aware of the Void. Now, it isn't certain that Duran and Narud are one and the same guy. There is also the theory that they are two different dudes, and that there are more Xel'Naga made shapeshifters like them. But all in all, your statement that if protoss were not infestable there would be no hybrids is just as(if not even more) wrong as mine that the Khalai had hair, and grew it in devotion to the Khala.

You are a really nice guy to have a conversation with, you know that? I'd be glad if we could "chat" like this more often.
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PEACE!
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[cyberlord4444]

“Whether or not the Terminator could beat Robocop in a fight,”

Enope.