29 Chimera Court, Wednesday Afternoon

[on_her_korhal]

After her class was over, Kerrigan hurried home. She had put out a call for River to show her face this week, and her lieutenant's Overlord should have arrived at the corner of town a short while ago. Not that telepathic communication didn't generally suit their purposes fine, but sometimes it was just n-- useful to do these things face-to-face.

Maybe it was just a human affectation she had never quite managed to scrub away completely.

There were things to discuss, though; things about xel'naga artifacts, and terran troop movements, and Arcturus's amusingly fast new build-up for his shattered little empire. Most of them were convinced now that the zerg had run off and left them alone, and that impression suited Kerrigan just fine...

[[ for River, though the roomie can butt in before River gets here if she wants ]]

Comments

[on-her-korhal.livejournal.com]

Hybrids. Zerg-protoss hybrids. They will let us clean up the galaxy, and then the Voice will order them to wipe us out, she said. There was a finality to her mental voice.

The galaxy would burn. She had known that for a long time. But to see her own death played out before her...

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

But who creates them?

But visions were tricky things.

[on-her-korhal.livejournal.com]

I don't know, she said, I don't know. It feels inevitable. But the protoss who was here... he said there was always hope...

It had stuck with her, despite it all.

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

River was silent for a while. If there is no hope, there is no actual hope. If there is hope there is the possibility of actual hope.

She tilted her head.

[on-her-korhal.livejournal.com]

Kerrigan turned her head away, and stared at the window. We have to prepare, she said, We might have to invade Koprulu in earnest again. If there are any xel'naga artifacts that can help us understad this, I want them found, and we can't do that at the rate we've been going.

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

A risk though. But worth it if it succeeds.

Kerrigan's emotions made her uneasy.

[on-her-korhal.livejournal.com]

Maybe. But we'll have to take our time. We've still got years...

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

Time passes.

Then suddenly she smiled.

"Will you tell me about the newcomers?" This time she didn't ask for their usefulness.

[on-her-korhal.livejournal.com]

"There's not much to tell," Kerrigan said, making the shift fluidly. "It's a new batch, in a new semester, lost in all the old ways. No old friends."

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

"And no new ones." It wasn't really a question.

[on-her-korhal.livejournal.com]

"No," she said, simply. That's not why I'm here.