on_her_korhal | Korhal, Koprulu Sector, Thursday Afternoon

The square was large: so giant it could go on for full football fields in either direction. Perched near its center stood a giant statue, newly chiseled, with the features of an aristocratic, proud man-- Arcturus Mengsk-- set out with sharp, laser-burned detail.

Behind it, the spires of a dazzlingly new city reached for miles into the sky, gleaming with light. Ships shot through the air, weaving their way between them. The blue light of this planet's sun cast interesting lines on the windows.

And the square? The square was covered-- in flowers, in chairs, in people. A small platform sat in front of them, and behind it, a dais for some yet-unknown purpose.

It was a funeral, then; but for a funeral, there was a strange vibe of excitement passing through the crowds.

River	Death was silent, too silent. With the voice of Kerrigan gone, River too had kept quiet, as if the grief Kerrigan's death had caused would find no way out of her mind. She had watched the planet below approach them, and when the ship had landed she just turned her head and watched the others in silence.
Lee	Lee had learned long ago that being stoic and keeping yourself calm on the outside prevented any of those annoying and cloying 'how are you doing with all this?' questions that he hated. So, he followed River off the ship silently, eyes downcast and hands shoved into his pockets.
Roy	Roy followed behind them, perhaps to keep an eye on both students. His cap was pulled low, making it hard to see his eyes. Even now, he couldn't quite help scanning around, satisfying the wariness that had come along with the invitation. It was a rather impressive view, but the reasons as to why he was there and the lack of a certain company dulled it.
River	"Lost the guide," River whispered. "Can't find my way here." It was a strange, unknown place and she wished she could at least have seen it with Kerrigan. Too late now.
Lee	"It'll be okay," Lee said, throat tight and voice low. "Always is." His father had taught him that. Or had it been his mother? He couldn't remember. Things from home tended to be fuzzy the longer he stayed in Fandom.
Roy	"You've got two guides with you," Roy murmured and he reached to touch River's shoulder lightly. "Let's find seats?" he suggested, motioning towards the platform.
River	She glanced at Lee. "Never is." But perhaps it was a matter of definition. And she was about to tell Roy that she needed another guide, one that she couldn't have, but she held back and kept quiet, instead moving slowly towards the platform.
Lee	"I know," Lee said, moving with her. "I just feel that I have to say it. Family thing."
Roy	Roy could have argued, but he doubted either would want to hear on the laws of equivalent exchange. His attention drifted for a moment, scanning the crowd around and finally coming to rest on the statue. His shoulders tensed and he barely kept from making a disgusted noise. He looked sharply away and picked one of the rows to move down - one not too near to the front, but not at the back like they were hiding.
River	"Your family is strange," she told Lee, but there was no criticism in her voice, just understanding. It wasn't like her own was much better. River's gaze followed Roy's, and as she saw the statue she let out a sob and sank down on the ground. This wasn't about Kerrigan at all.
Lee	"My family's strange," Lee said quietly, kneeling down beside her. "Strange and far away. Just like yours. I'm sorry, River."
Roy	Roy turned and moved closer to them again, though he stayed a little bit away somehow having the feeling that Lee would be much more of a half with this than Roy could ever be. He had no family and out of the few people who understood him this was the second he saw to the grave. He just knew that Kerrigan would have wanted him to keep an eye on them so he was there, even if he didn't have the first clue as how to console a teenager.
Lee	"You miss her," Lee said, reaching a hand out towards River's shoulder but stopping. "She misses you, too. I'm sure of it."
River	River raised her head and looked up at Lee. "She's dead. No emotions to sense anymore." Slowly she pushed herself to her feet.
Lee	"I know," Lee said and nodded. "It'll be all right. Let's find a seat. We'll get through this, I promise."
Roy	"Come on," Roy said quietly, grateful that Lee was better at this and he motioned down the row of chairs.
Lee	Lee nodded and followed Roy, glancing over his shoulder to make sure River stayed close behind him.
River	River did. She followed them, making certain not to let them out of her sight.
Mengsk	A coffin was brought out, left to rest on a small plateau in the center of the square. On top it laid a flag-- a new flag, not just newly sown, but newly designed. No one came to speak of the dead. No one came to leave flowers. Instead, a metallic voice ran over the gathered masses: "We now announce the arrival of Arcturus Mengsk I, Emperor of the Terran Dominion." It was the first time Mengsk would hear his name with that particular title attached, but he knew it wouldn't be the last, and with that confidence in mind, the grey-haired man appeared, above the plateau, his face on every screen, his voice booming through every transmitter. "Fellow Terrans, we bury here today not just a hero of war, but the martyr of a new age. Sarah Kerrigan devoted her life and her death to this day that has finally come. Fellow Terrans, I come to you in the wake of this war-- her sacrifice-- to issue a call to reason. "Let no human deny the perils of our time. While we battle one another, divided be the petty strife of our common history, the tide of greater conflict is turning against us, threatening to destroy all that we have accomplished. "It is time for us as nations and as individuals to set aside our long-standing feuds and unite. The tides of an unwinnable war are upon us, and we must seek refuge on higher ground - lest we be swept away by the flood. The Confederacy is no more; whatever semblance of unity and protection it once provided is a phantom... a memory. With our enemies left unchecked, who will you turn to for protection? Sarah Kerrigan fought for you this day. We shall pick up that fight. "The devastation wrought by the alien invaders is self-evident. We have seen our homes and villages destroyed by the calculated blows of the Protoss. We have seen first hand our friends and loved ones consumed by the nightmarish Zerg. Unprecedented and unimaginable though they may be, these are the signs of our time. The time has come, my fellow Terrans, to rally to a new banner." And that flag-- that same flag that laid across Kerrigan's coffin was raised behind him, colours bright like a shining beacon in the darkness. "In unity lies strength; already many of the dissident factions have joined us. Out of the many we shall forge an indivisible whole capitulating only to a single throne. And from that throne I shall watch over you. From this day forward let no human make war upon any other human, let no Terran agency conspire against this new beginning. And let no man consort with alien powers... and to all the enemies of humanity seek not to bar our way, for it has been proven-- by this Lieutenant, by this people-- that we shall win through, no matter the cost." He bowed out gracefully. The masses went wild.
Roy	Roy sat quietly, his face emotionless. It was one he'd practised for years, honed and perfected to fool his superiors. It served him well now, keeping the anger and nausea hidden underneath it. It was a show, nothing but a show and Kerrigan would have been disgusted if she has seen it. If she knew how Mengsk was using her funeral and her death as nothing but a means to further his career. He couldn't help remembering a funeral years ago where another undeserving leader put up a show for the fallen. The memories tangled up and the grief that had been there before the emperor had started his speech got slowly replaced by anger and a desire to avenge as Mengsk's words confirmed his suspicions. Only, this wasn't his world. This wasn't his war. None of it was readable in his expression, but he didn't clap or move when the crowd started cheering. He didn't say anything, seemed hardly aware of the students beside him.
River	After seeing the statue, this didn't come as a surprise. River sat staring in front of her, pretending she was somewhere else. Quietly she hummed a melody under her breath; one that she would have sung over Kerrigan's grave should this funeral had been like it should.
Lee	Lee just folded his hands in his lap and looked at his feet. Easier to not think this way.

Mike	Coffin-bearers came to lift the wooden casket high, ceremoniously carrying it through the gathering. There were flowers on the air. Atmospheric-- and everyone present seemed to be contributing. Except for the slightly balding blond man who, inauspiciously, sat down next to them. "Welcome to Korhal, new capital of the Terran empire," he said, dryly.
Roy	Roy glanced sideways and found himself strangely enough not surprised at seeing Michael. "They did put up quite a welcoming show," he replied, his voice low but there an edge to it.
Mike	Mike smiled. It was so wry Kerrigan herself would've been proud of it. He folded his hands across his lap. "Mengsk always was a miracle worker in the theatre."
Roy	"He's outdone himself," Roy said softly, eye wandering to the statue for a moment. "Is Raynor here?" he asked, he doubted it as no one had gotten up to hit Mengsk in the mouth.
Mike	"Jim's waging his own war right now." Mike quietly palmed the cassette out of the pocket hidden under his sweater. "As will I. I'm just here for the one thing."
Roy	Roy raised an eyebrow, his curiosity peaked now. "What's that?"
Mike	"I'm not sticking around here," Mike replied, by ways of an answer. "The lying makes me nauseous. I'm a newsman; my part is to end it, not propagate it." Without further words, he slipped the tape towards Roy.
Roy	Roy automatically accepted the tape, questions burning on his mind but he knew better than to ask out loud what it was. "What do you want me to do with this?" he asked quietly as he pocketed the tape.
Mike	"Listen," he said, folding his hands back the way they were. Mike lowered his voice, his eyes caught with a new kind of steely determination. "None of this is what it seems to be. And damn me if I'm going to let him determine what really happened."
Roy	The tape felt heavy in his pocket, even if it was a ridiculous notion. Roy nodded, now glancing back to where Kerrigan's coffin had been. "I guessed as much," he admitted. And he reminded himself yet again that it wasn't his fight. "If you ever need back up..."
Mike	"I know where you live," Mike finished, smoothly. "Looks like we've been cut down to cloaks and daggers." He smirked faintly-- a little crass. "At least I've still got my coat."
Roy	"I've been there," Roy said wryly. "I can't say I envy you."
Mike	"Planets are burning, the Protoss are breathing down our necks..." He tilted his head backwards, his eyes brushing past the statue. "It's a war zone out there, one way or the other. And I'm a free man, now." Mike breathed a sigh. "Funny how that pans out."
Roy	"Somehow that never quite works out the way we'd like to," Roy agreed, his hands fisting briefly. "I was hoping she would have joined you."
Mike	"She felt she had to take the New Gettysburg mission." He'd tried. He'd tried to be there on time, but-- "I'm sorry about Sarah." They'd been useless words with Raynor. Somehow, Mike doubted they'd gotten any better.
Roy	He quickly glanced at Michael and shook his head. "She had her own will. She didn't listen to either of us."
Mike	"I can't blame her for wanting to save a few souls." Blame-- the blame fell on someone else's shoulders. Squarely. "He's right about one thing; lives were saved that day. But it's not a job he's got any plans on keeping up."
Roy	Somehow he doubted they had Mengsk to thank for those that had been saved, but it was somewhat of comfort to know that she doing what she did best; protecting. "Alchemists in my world believe in a law called equivalent exchange. For some it's a philosophy, a way of living. Those who work hard, get rewarded. Those like Mengsk... He'll get what is coming. I'm sure you guys will see to it."
Mike	"We're doing what we can." Mike slid his hands into his pockets, shifting slightly. It was his way of checking the area for any of Mengsk's new proteges; you couldn't be too sure, these days. "I don't belong on a battlefield."
Roy	"You'll need more than soldiers for what you're doing," Roy assured him.
Mike	"When you've got a hammer..."
Roy	Roy smirked, but it wasn't pleasant at all. "Hit it hard."
Mike	"Heh." Mike shot the statue one last look, determination, frustration and anger battling for control of his expression. "Something like that." He pulled up out of his chair, hands still in his pocket. "I should get out of here before his imperial highness spots me."
Roy	Roy glanced up and nodded at Mike. "Thanks," he said quietly, knowing that Michael had probably taken a risk coming here. Roy just wished they had been somewhere more private, somewhere where the questions that were burning now could have been asked. He had the feeling that the tape might answer some however. "Watch your back," he murmured.
Mike	"I'll be safer the further I get away from that face," Mike replied, quietly, before vanishing off into the crowd.
Roy	Roy watched him disappear before his attention returned to the statue. He wondered if anyone would notice if he transmuted it.

River	As the coffin passed by them, River rose, almost trance-like, and started to spin around, arms outstretched and tears flowing.
Lee	Lee didn't move save for his eyes, watching River to make sure she wasn't going to do anything drastic or hurt herself.
River	She hadn't been able to cry before when she had kept still. It made sense now. Tears flowed with her steps, both for Kerrigan's death and for what they had turned her funeral into.
Lee	Lee sat up a little straighter, careful to keep his eyes on River and everyone else. He wasn't going to move but he didn't want to lose sight of her either.
River	Eventually she slowed down a little and stretched out her hands towards Lee, tears still running down her face.
Lee	Lee took the outstretched hands and stood up, gripping them loosely.
River	Quite slowly River tried spinning him around with her. "Don't want to be alone," she whispered.
Lee	"You're not alone," Lee said, spinning with her, careful not to trip over his feet. "I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."
River	She gave a small nodd, still moving slowly. "Show me a good memory?" she asked, mening of Kerrigan.
Lee	He half smiled and shut his eyes, shuffling through his memories and finally pulling out one that he liked of a time during her office hours that he'd told her about his brother and his family and she'd listened and made him feel better about himself without lying to him.
River	He got a small nod in reply. "We went around the moon once. Watched space and felt alone together, only not as there were the two of us."
Lee	"It'll be okay," Lee promised, nodding. "It will. I know it will."