Starcraft: Queen and Country

by Wanderer D

Chapter 031: Dilemma

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."

Comments

[Black--Soul]

This update saved my day. Rather a sweet end to a busy day.

I wonder what unexpected twists and turn we will have next? Or what stays the same.

Kerrigan is particularly of interest.
What is Raynor doing?
Sweetie Belle sure has a huge impact on the Protoss.

[Misdirection]

Excellent chapter!

[Black--Soul]

I doubt Nova is stupid enough to hurt Gallus not to mention kill him. Tosh might be the key to get Nova blindsided if she try to use Gallus as a hostage to demand her freedom to flee the planet.
Obviously demanding Sweetie Belle life for Gallus would not work because the Zerg on the world would become ferral.
What is Nova planning?
But Tosh knows her personality and professional.
If Nova is unaware of Tosh than this might end in a non lethal take down.
Maybe Tosh can force Nova into contact with Terrazin to destroy her mind wiping conditioning and releasing her suppressed memories!

[Black--Soul]

"How will you handle the orifice difference?"

No kissing or foreplay in Protoss culture

Also I hope Gallus has no barbs, dick spikes are no fun for females.
Might explain why Nova wasn't flattered about Gallus body reaction?

Will Gallus create a Protoss equivalent of the Kamasutra?

Hm... Would Sweetie Belle give life birth or lay eggs?
Zerg is very dominant in her body after all!

Protoss X Griffon = Feather covered Protoss?

[random reader]

"How will you handle the orifice difference?"

Quite easily, I would guess. Maybe you should take a look at the human internet once in a while.

[Xarmar13]

I'm pretty sure Protoss lack any kind of orifices. They may even lack internal organs except for a brain, especially given how their bodies are shaped. They subsist off light and their reproduction method likely involves fusing parts of their souls in a lesser version of creating an archon, except the parents still remain.

Any kind of relationship with a Protoss would obviously be sexless.

[random reader]

11750064
Considering that the male and female Protoss have distinct body shapes from each other, I seriously doubt that they reproduce asexually.

[Xarmar13]

11750112
I'm not saying they don't, it's just that they seem to do so in an unconventional manner that involves no biology. If their methods were sexual then that would mean that they had essence and since the Zerg can't claim their essence or even infest them then that would mean that they either have no essence or their essence is not the traditional type. In either case, they would be biologically incompatible with any other species in the universe.

Besides, Blizz ended up dancing around the topic when it was brought to them so it's obvious that the method of reproduction is not like that of Terrans which would be the same for that of the Equestrian races. This kind of brings up the question of whether or not Protoss have sexual organs.

[random reader]

11750125
Honestly, Blizzard never wanted the audience to think about Protoss that way anyway, so it's really up to the interpretation of the beholder.

[Wanderer D]

11750064 I don't think they do, hence the teasing/joke

[Black--Soul]

Obviously Protoss reproduction is based on cuddling and snuggeling one another over a period of time
We get a female Protoss if the male is a bad snuggel buddy and a male if he can snuggeling his cuddly partner into submission.

Alternative would be the idea of Asari from Mass Effect game universe.
They don't take genetic material from the 'father species', but one uses the father species genetics as a randomization pattern for the reproduction process of their own genetic code.

Or... It's actually the bees and the flowers

Zeratul has a visible nipple in a video, there for it is obvious that they rub their nipples together for a static charge. The one getting shocked harder become the pregnant party.
Obviously it's like with Seahorses where the male carries the children into the life

Who ever drops the soap in the shower obviously become the female to carry the next generation

Hm... Xel'Naga have a lot of tentacles and Protoss have them as hair substitutes... Maybe... There is a connection?

This chapter is rather deep in its implications

[dragonus85]

Heh, poor horny birb gallus.

[random reader]

11750398
If you go back to some of the canon Protoss cinematics made by Blizzard, we see that Protoss, even when wearing almost nothing, always cover their groin area with something. Odd thing to do if there's no orifice there...

[Black--Soul]

11750514
Very good point!

[FanOfMostEverything]

Ah, the perils of trying stealth against a hive mind. Also the perils of puberty, with or without psychic and biochemical teasing. Definitely looking forward to further installments.

[Reese]

"The Evefree Forest."
"The Everfree Forest."?

Thanks for writing!

[Black--Soul]

Nova the waifu stealer... in canon she stole Kerrigan waifu... wait can a male be a waifu?
Now she wants to steal Gallus? At least she has good taste
Sweetie Belle must rescue the virginity of Gallus, his V-Card belong to the Swarm! 👍

But in all seriousness, what is her plan now?
She can't demand Sweetie Belle life for Gallus since that would probably end in everyone's death including Gallus.
So is she demanding free passage? No perfect mission accomplished statistics are worth death.
Especially for the most deadly assassin in Mengsk regime.
A fleet of sacrificial goose is one thing, top quality assassins are a very rare ressource!

See you all next update, happy x-mas and new year I we don't see one another this year

[Black--Soul]

camo.fimfiction.net/XiyicHRjYOiL19iQfqscHq2vTKfeJjUgLx8rg-s0ROw?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com%2Ff%2F940fced9-db60-4299-8d69-56825b1e47ff%2Fd9m8trw-0c82ec23-885d-4039-8d15-d2441f100e54.png%2Fv1%2Ffill%2Fw_1024%2Ch_768%2Cq_80%2Cstrp%2F__happy_hearth_s_warming_eve___by_the_butcher_x_d9m8trw-fullview.jpg%3Ftoken%3DeyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9NzY4IiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvOTQwZmNlZDktZGI2MC00Mjk5LThkNjktNTY4MjViMWU0N2ZmXC9kOW04dHJ3LTBjODJlYzIzLTg4NWQtNDAzOS04ZDE1LWQyNDQxZjEwMGU1NC5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTAyNCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.zZkOSR3RrinYkuD5pC4XQY9ZYzZt9MaIjyH3BI_nJgw

Since I might not have the time sending this in time.

[Black--Soul]

Hey Wanderer D I have four words for you that Sweety Belle would place into good graces with literally every nation that has reasonable acceptance for terraforming!

Zerg Terraformimg

Why you might ask?
Zerg have claimed countless world, if Abathur make it that Zerg cannot longer mutated humans, these world could be returned.
For a price... also coexistence ♡

Have a great day/twilight/night!

[Black--Soul]

Next time in Starcraft: Queen and Country

camo.fimfiction.net/m9KgEAyYSLg6Hc9bFNbGQAFhkc-1KqPsbcytEwM5Lkg?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.imgflip.com%2F7czmu1.jpg

[Black--Soul]

Damn... Nova tried to steal Sweetie Belle sugar bird.
Baaad decision!
camo.fimfiction.net/iMnTmz1_oInQkjqD4FKtp_8PxK1Qdx48hvG-zl3gQeY?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.kym-cdn.com%2Fphotos%2Fimages%2Fnewsfeed%2F001%2F318%2F553%2F497.jpg

[Black--Soul]

11838621
This story has a rough start indeed. Enjoy the rest if the story. It gets better fast. The comment section is quite entertaining as well.
The humor and wholesome moments are all the better♡
cdn-img.fimfiction.net/user/xado-1520633893-204985-192

[44burn]

11869222
If you know Abathur after post starcraft 2 then you know he would have found such traits unnecessary and useless.

Spoilers
For those who don't know after starcraft 2 the Zerg become peaceful. They terraform lifeless planets into something that can sustain life (think terraforming Mars or Venus into planets like Earth). Abathur hated this because he believed that the Zerg could only evolve through conflict. So he secretly made his own Zerg to attack Terran and Protoss settlements in an attempt to respark a war. He almost succeeded. He was discovered and because he is too important to the Zerg to be allowed to die, he was beaten to near death as punishment and dragged away by the current Queen of Queens (whatever the replacement for the Queen of Blades was)

[Black--Soul]

11869263
True and correct to canon, but you forget that this would be canon Abathur without MLP and Sweety Belle as Zerg influence.
This is the logic behind fan fiction adding new elements and context to canon.
To stay with canon close enough to recognize the source material, but see the subtle changes over time.
There is another story here on Starcraft it start before the campaign of Starcraft 1 and runs through the entire game saga including add ons etc.
It stays very close to canon, yet the difference in adding the mlp through two characters that Discord throws into the mix changes stuff up over time.
Adding up until the end is very different due to individuals dying in canon, surviving in the fan adaptation and leaving the forces of resistance against Amon a lot stronger off.
They still lose Ajur, have unnamed massive personal casualties etc. but in the end the result of what comes after makes a huge difference.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/428981/starcraft-warriors-of-purity

Still a good analysis of canon Abathur 👍

[Blackdust]

11869309
Not a comic. A book. Don't think it's in print anymore, and for the life of me I can't recall the title anymore...

[44burn]

11869296
What I took away from that interaction was that pony cuteness is not them just being cute, it is some form of magical or psionic dissonance. Give him enough time and Abathur will weaponize this magic and the so-called cuteness and incorporated into his Zerg, making them more efficient killing machines.

Abathur would find pony society abhorrent as it goes against his (and the Zerg in general) belief of "the strong will survive, the weak will die"

Do people forget that Abathur is a remnant of the Overmind and thus has a mentality closer to Amon? (Why did Amon alter the Zerg? It is the same motivation for Abathur: the creation of the prefect organism; the Zerg)

[Black--Soul]

11869395
True enough, though you overlook the factual use of a perception filter. For example:

Trick your enemy to think your harmless enough or make them hesitant, this will give a lethal level of surprise element. Or long term it can be used to study the enemy or subtle replace individuals and take control from within.
11869320
To bad, can't be helped than.

[44burn]

11869439
A game where nearly everyone you meet is dead or having a psychotic breakdown (not rational military people) is a strange example. But let's run with it. The question is would Abathur, and by extension, the Zerg use this? Once you know it's a threat, the cute factor is no longer relevant. It would only work once, if it worked at all. I honestly think Abathur would view this as a waste of resources.

Wrong series but I think the mentality fits for Abathur: "why read words when you can kill the stuff the words tell you stuff about?" Basically, too much effort for too little results. In other words, pragmatic. Abathur is super pragmatic.

[Blackdust]

11869598
And so, for now, we wait. Maybe Nova will decide to surrender, but not become a Zerran... Maybe she'll try doing a hostage trap and try to kill Sweetie again that way... Maybe she finds a different way off the planet and reports back that Sweetie is a target begetting a nuke. Or ten. Can't survive if everything is irradiated to hell and back, eh?

[Black--Soul]

11869667
Pretty sure if nukes are that easy to use, than the Terran forces would have inflicted higher difficulty, while being attacked in orbit.
They are most likely not a real option, when a enemy fleet is engaging the nuke launching ship.

[Blackdust]

11870048
Perhaps not. But what's keeping them from sending the nukes out on a Wraith squadron? Or warping in on a Battlecruiser and raining them down like that? I mean, this is Mengsk we're talking about, remember? He ABSOLUTELY would do something like that.

[Black--Soul]

11870136
True enough, but unfortunately we don't know how non psychopaths in his regime think and act.
Though I must grant that if I had nukes and two armies roll over my fleet, I would rather lauch everything and hope something hit.
But the result would most likely be:

[Black--Soul]

This story deserves a glowing upvote:
camo.fimfiction.net/cOqRWNaTfMRGm4tNwcbpAAghJIP8xlgEmRHNlTpoLko?url=https%3A%2F%2Fderpicdn.net%2Fimg%2Fview%2F2017%2F4%2F20%2F1416940__safe_artist-colon-welcometoplok_fluttershy_-colon-%3C_animated_blushing_cute_eyes%2Bclosed_female_floppy%2Bears_frown_gif_hnnng_looking%2Bdown_looki.gif

[Blackdust]

11870139
Can't argue that, lol.

[Lunar-Flare]

11869489
Please dont reply to a comment I made years ago just to say “indeed” as part of a mass reply. It doesn’t add anything, its just necro.

[Black--Soul]

11870384
The idea is to remember people of the story. Mainly because the Author recently updated a lot abd Starcraft has a good chance to be one to update soon.

[Lunar-Flare]

11870516
I understand your intention, but just please do not include me. I grow tired of getting notifications from stories I read years ago each time you want to remind people.

[Black--Soul]

11870909
Fine

[44burn]

11869439
I counter your argument with the question why don't all Zerg have voice boxes? They could easily lure enemy forces into traps or separate them for easy killings. Something like:

My answer is that Abathur thinks it is a useless and inefficient use of zerg resources. The same as cute.

[44burn]

11870516
This story has been getting routine updates. I don't think that is necessary.

[Reese]

11869598
Wanderer D does indeed have a variety of good stories, aye. :)

[Chrome Masquerade]

Oddly, that description reminds me of

https://m.