Gate: Thus the Dominion Fought there

Disclaimer: I do not own Starcraft, Gate: Thus the JSDF Fought There, or the characters associated with them. Starcraft is the property of Blizzard while Gate is the property Takumi Yanai

"Talking"

Thoughts

Gate 27

"I wish to assure all the citizens of the Empire that we are at peace" Pina announced. "Any and all conflicts with the Dominion have all but ceased as no more blood will be shed". At making that statement a round of applause and cheers were heard. "As a sign of peace between our people, the Dominion has gifted us this".

Nodding her head, several soldiers pulled back a drape to reveal the ancient fire dragons head. At seeing such a sight many spectators talked amongst themselves. For many it was the first time they've ever seen one. The very symbol of calamity was nothing more then a head.

Watching her people's reactions. Pina was truly thankful to Emperor Valerian's generosity and tactfulness.

With what Zorzal has been doing, both nobles and commoners alike were growing concerned about another war breaking out.

Obviously, they weren't in any condition to be enduring more losses. But with news spreading of Zorzal's defeat and the crippling destruction of Mare, Marias, and Rekkin, fear was an obvious response.

These three fortresses served not only as the bulk but also the symbol of the Empire's strength.

With it's humiliating defeat to the Protoss, who knew what the future had in store for the them.

It was already bad enough that Zorzal was looking to start another war with the Dominion. But they ended up earning the ire of the Protoss which proved to be a foe that was beyond hope in beating. Yet that was only the tip of the iceberg. Pina had only managed to buy time from the vassal kingdoms. However, if more losses were to happen it wouldn't take much for some ambitious king, noble, or warlord to start waging war on the continent in an attempt to claim territory and riches. With the bulk of the Empire's armies too preoccupied in satiating her brother's ego, it left their country in a precarious situation.

Without any real solutions she could think of or helpful advice from her father or ministers, she had to turn to an unlikely source.

So, using the communication device left by the people of iron, she managed to talk to Valerian concerning her worries.

Though he could have easily brushed her off claiming it to not be his problem, he decided to give her a helping hand. However, it wasn't entirely out of some sense of charity. Valerian was concerned that if war were to break out involving the entire continent the problem would eventually spread to Alnus. With Alnus technically considered as Dominion territory, it was unacceptable.

Hence law and order must be kept. To maintain the status quo, Valerian had decided to gift Pina's Empire with the ancient fire dragon's head. For the natives, it was the kind of trophy no kingdom would willingly part with as such a thing symbolized their strength and glory. But this way, it not only reaffirmed Pina's rule of the Empire but also showed the rest of the continent that the Dominion supported her.

With a gesture like that, who would dare question her?

Thus, it left the trouble of Zorzal.

So long as what he does remains isolated not involving the vassal kingdoms then the fragile balance will be kept.

As Pina continued to host this small celebration, she really prayed with all her might no more troubles will come to Sadera.

~ Falmart ~

Vorazun was traveling with her group of zealots, dark templar and high templar aiding in the investigation. She could have easily left this up to the others. But as the Terrans phrased it, 'she wanted to go out and stretch her legs'.

Yet with how long this has been taking, this also applied to another Terran saying of 'a wild goose chase'.

It was incredibly bothersome how Karax could not just stay in one place so he could be rescued. However, she couldn't really fault him either since he didn't know they were looking for him.

But the looking part was tolerable as they were a long-lived patient race as time wasn't an issue for them unlike other complex organisms which lived at most a few decades.

However, the troublesome part were the natives as recon groups have reported of them being attacked. They understood why they were being attacked as they were ordered too by some dumb human male. But as ordered by Artanis, they should avoid conflict unless it really couldn't be helped.

With warp technology being unreliable as the Spear of Adun was pre-occupied elsewhere, sometimes conflict was unavoidable.

As was the case that was soon to unfold.

Traveling along the road where a Karax sighting was made, Vorazun saw a group of humans exiting a nearby forest.

Now to any observer, it was as they saw it. A caravan of merchants. With several men walking along the sides, four wagons were traveling back to back. For some of the men, it was easy to see they were carrying weapons like swords and arrows. But to the outside observer they could easily be explained away as guards to protect the caravan from bandits and robbers.

Normally to any psi capable individuals, it was considered impolite to read the minds of others without their permission. Concerning Protoss when it came to interacting with humans, they had to wait for their mouths to open to know they were trying to talk to them as they learned to discern them from private thoughts.

However, these weren't the Terrans they knew. After the recent reports, it was best to treat all the natives as potential hostiles.

It proved to be a very wise decision on their part as the entire caravan of merchants were actually Empire soldiers in disguise. Reading a couple of layers of their mind, the entire plan was to get close enough to ambush them from all sides. If assistance was needed, there was at least two hundred more in reserve in the forest waiting for the signal.

Vorazun could only sigh to herself at how bothersome this all was. She would not hesitate to cut down anyone who was hostile towards her. But it was kind of tasteless to do so against such primitive people. However, if they were as civilized as they thought themselves to be, she will give them their chance at mercy and let them walk away with their lives. But if they chose to raise there blades then so shall she.

As the 'merchant' group got closer, the lead man greeted them trying to present an air of friendliness.

However, the dark templar matriarch cared very little for such pretenses as she jumped directly to the point. "Move along. Conflict is something you should avoid".

The lead man could only muster out a stiff smile as he was trying to remain calm. "What do you mean stranger? We were just passing through as a mere caravan of merchants. There is no need for such hostile words".

"Then allow me to reiterate if you're having difficulties understanding my words. Walk away with your lives while you still have a chance. We will not show mercy if you choose to continue along this path" said Vorazun as her group took defensive stance if they did not comply.

The lead man was giving off cold sweat as he wasn't sure if they were busted or not. Either they were being very wary or they knew this was a trap. But regardless, they just needed to get a little closer to ensure a proper ambush as they should at least kill a few of them in the surprise attack.

But in tense situations like these, it did not take much for one's nerves to crack under pressure and end up jumping the gun. Hearing the conversation outside and unable to clearly see what was happening, the soldiers hiding in the wagons were growing anxious as their sweaty hands tightly gripped their swords. With no sign of movement, the situation grew more tense. But the breaking point came when the lead man was beginning to panic which caused the soldiers inside to grow more antsy.

Unable to bare the situation any longer, one soldier reacted. Drawing his blade in war cry as he jumped out the wagon. Needless to say, the rest followed suite like a chain reaction of volatile emotions.

With at least thirty soldiers charging right at them, this was hardly a situation worth worrying about.

They were hardly a threat as they were slow, weak, and feeble. Unlike the Terrans who relied on their knowledge, technology, and cunning, these fools were running right towards their deaths.

But as Vorazun had clearly noted, if they raised their blades so shall she.

Igniting their weapons, the Protoss engaged them fighting them as they would with any enemy. Mercilessly with extreme efficiency.

There was already a clear technological difference. Against psi and warp blades, a direct offensive was more than enough as their enemy's attacks would not be able to penetrate their plasma shields.

That one swing was all that was needed to decide between the fragile line of life and death. Even though the Empire soldiers clearly had their swords and shields in front of them, it didn't matter. As Terrans would phrase it, 'it was like a hot knife through butter'. There primitive metal did not even slow down the momentum of their swing as they severed and melted right through it at the same time. With the completion of their strikes equally meant the pointless loss of life as Empire soldiers laid dead all around.

As archers from behind tried to panickly take aim, they would not get their chance to shoot as high templar were quick to intervene.

For those feeling merciful only used their telekinesis to break their bows or push them a distance away stunning them.

But for the later, some archers found their throats crushed while others felt the fatal extent of their psi lightening as they dropped dead where they stood.

Barely a minute into the battle, about half of the ambush forces were decimated. The other half were fearful of their lives as they dropped their weapons and ran away.

But as agreed upon between Artanis and Pina, those who surrender or run away will be spared.

However, this confrontation was not over yet. Observing from the forest was Herm as he came personally to collect information and hoping to gain results. But things have been beyond his expectations. He at least expected to kill two of them or at the very least caused some injuries. Yet his perfectly planned ambush had failed. However, there was still one more surprise hidden in the wagon.

Hidden in one of the crates was a changeling. A creature of the Haryo tribe who was able to freely manipulate their forms. In this case they took the form of an unthreatening demi-human child. When the time was right, he would give the signal with a whistle it can only hear as it would attack.

To his calculation the Protoss investigated the wagon to discover the innocent demi-human child who was being held 'captive'. Once it was in a favorable spot, it should be able to cause some serious damage. But then without warning a Protoss drew their blade decapitating the changeling as it then reverted back to its true form.

"How is this possible?" Herm questioned completely flabbergasted. Did the Protoss see through his strategy or were they completely cold hearted? Since the start, he just couldn't comprehend how his plan had ended so poorly. They were just dumb demi-humans who had some good magic. With his pride clouding his judgement, he didn't want to walk away without any results at all. Signaling his army, they started the real attack. He didn't care if they were monsters, demons, or even an apostle. Quantity will eventually beat quality as they had to get tired eventually. Once that happened all they had to do was make one little mistake and it would be his victory.

Seeing the wave of Empire soldiers rushing at them, Vorazun could only internally sigh.

Regardless of their numerical advantage, it was hardly comparable to Zerg. Those oversized bugs would come running in the thousands with unending numbers. They felt neither fear or fatigue so long as their deaths meant the Swarms victory or survival. With a solid command structure, it's what made the Zerg a fearsome enemy and one of the super powers of the Koprulu sector.

Looking at this charging human army, they were just being loud, clumsy, and dumb. Nodding her head to the high templars, they took care of the rest.

Concentrating their powerful psionic abilities into their khaydrian amulets, what came next was simply an obvious conclusion. Even if the enemy had a numerical advantage such things were irrelevant if they were to run right through a psionic storm. As the clouds darkened sizzling up with power, lightening then rained down from the skies.

Raw bolts of energy tore through the Empire soldiers viciously. If something wasn't torn off from the blast then your body would spontaneously explode as the energy they were struck with had nowhere to go.

As panic and fear suddenly gripped this opposing army, all they could do was charge forward. For those who by some miraculous stroke of luck managed to make it through would share the same fate as those before them.

Zealots and dark templar slayed all those who came close.

After casually beheading her enemy as his corpse fell to the ground, "I grow weary of this" Vorazun announced to this clearly decimated army. "We have already made an agreement with your empress Pina Co Lada. If you choose to flee, we will not pursue. But stay, then where you stand will be your eternal resting place. Choose wisely" as she raised her warp scythe with a hint of irritation to her tone. "I will not repeat myself again".

Herm could barely catch his breath. "How could this be?!" This plan was something he had personally crafted with fine precision. He had leaked information about this forest being a Karax sighting as he had an idea how long it would take for the Protoss to appear. Assembling his soldiers, he scraped together the most elite group possible. What he had were some of the best veterans as a few had up to ten years of experience.

Setting aside his own distaste, he incorporated the Haryo into his plans so long as they followed his orders to the letter.

With how perfect his plan was, this Protoss reconnaissance group should have easily been killed or captured.

But the reality was far from his predictions.

The Protoss had completely dismantled his ambush as they were just simply too strong. Did he need more numbers? Were strong monsters necessary to fight these demi-humans? Herm could only grit his teeth at how humiliating this was. Another gash on his pride as a strategist. First the people of iron and now these Protoss. How long will they keep making a fool of him?

Bitterly needing to stomach this, he will pay them back for this by several folds. Sending out the signal, the remains of the army retreated.

Watching them runaway Vorazun shook her head at how disappointing this was.

"This is Rohana" as the former preserver was checking in over the psi booster. "Were you able to procure any clues concerning Karax?"

"None" Vorazun answered not seeing any point in reporting the battle they partook in. "Send us to the next lead. There is nothing for us here".

Triangulating the sensor arrays, the away team was warped away.

~ Falmart ~

With the old band back together again, a few Dominion vehicles were signed out.

Gathering the necessary supplies, they were soon off towards Rondel.

But seeing as Lelei had not figured out what she wanted her presentation to be about, it was then decided they would be taking the scenic route. Not only did it buy the mage prodigy time to think, it also gave third recon lots of opportunities to visit places they wanted to see.

Visiting certain towns and villages that had established good relations with the Dominion.

Partaking in the native culture as they stayed a night in certain demi-human villages.

Needless to say, this was a very relaxing and fun road trip.

Out in the middle of the plains as they decided to settle in for the day, the group did there assigned tasks as tents were set up, food was prepared, and tomorrows plans were being finalized.

As night fell, the gang talked and ate around the camp fire as they shared stories and laughs with each other.

"Hey, make sure to keep bells near the entrance to your tents" Rory mischievously smiled. "Who knows what might accidentally wander in" as she looked to Yao.

"I swear it wasn't like that!" the dark elf blushed embarrassingly as Tuka fidgeted at the memory while everyone else laughed.

As good times were shared all round, "so have you thought about what you wanted to talk about?" Milo asked Lelei.

Having a few days to think about it, she narrowed down the topics by quite a bit. Although she was a combat mage and wanted to reveal her discoveries, it was already a given fact that was a ripple effect she wanted to avoid. Any mage worth their salt were pursuers of knowledge regardless of what it was. With the knowledge she attained from the Dominion, it could change everything they knew about the universe as it would open up several avenues of research. But knowledge had the equal capacity of good and evil as it depended on how it was used. For the people of Falmart were not very enlightened as whole as they would more then likely use knowledge to wage war and destruction on others rather than the betterment for all.

Of what she understood of the other civilizations out there among the stars, they all had their dark periods. Even the Dominion was not excluded from this truth with how many lives were pointlessly lost for absurd reasons.

But by comparison, the denizens of Falmart or rather their entire world in general were not ready for a lot of things.

Uncertain of how to proceed, "what do you think I should talk about?" Lelei asked as she revealed her thoughts and feelings on the matter.

As everyone else was deep in thought not sure how to respond, "it can't be helped" answered Jake. Being a well-studied man of culture and history, he was best in helping with this dilemma. "Regardless of intentions you can only hope for the best. It's really the only thing any of us can do. Humanity by itself has faced several cataclysmic events. Most of which were caused by our own hands both intentionally or by accident. In times like these you have to trust the wisdom of the species for the sake of survival would know where their limits are. Especially during dark times where the interests of everyone should align. Of course, for your people this is just hypothetical as your civilization is still very young. But regardless of what world you're on, the story will always be the same. It'll always be the same question with the same answer. But whether you reveal your knowledge or creation to the world, that is something you must decide on your own and if you're ready to accept in how it shapes the world whether good or bad".

Absorbing his statement, Lelei was surprised at how thought provoking his words were. Thus, in the end, the question was if her heart was strong enough to bare the burden of where her discoveries might lead. Thinking silently to herself for a few minutes, she gave a small smile as she had faith in the collective will of her world. Conflict will always be unavoidable. But ultimately they would seek out a better tomorrow. "Yes, I understand". Looking to everyone around the fire, she discussed the many topics she had an interest in discussing as the group shared their input on what she should make her dissertation about.

As the night continued on, Rath had picked up his sword as he stood it straight up in front of him.

"Rath?" Shino questioned the enigmatic specter as he was giving off an eerie silence about him.

But of everyone, Rory through her centuries of experience felt the hairs on the back of her neck rising as something besides them were in the area.

Flicking his thumb unsheathing his katana, "whatever you do, do not interfere in what happens next" said Rath. Before anyone could ask him why he suddenly stood up and spun around swinging his blade. Unseen to everyone's eyes he hit something. For the next couple of moments, an intense fight seemed to have been happening as Rath seemed to have been fighting for his life with an invisible enemy.

Now the first instinct everyone had was to grab a weapon and prepare themselves for whatever was happening. But recalling Rath's words, they tried to remain calm as they stood by the fire. More then that, they had the weird feeling that whatever this thing was it didn't come alone as they were surrounded.

Swinging left and right, Rath blocked an attack which sent him grinding back as he fell to his knees. From the darkness of night, it was unmistakable as he now saw a green streak of light glow in the shadows. It had now become that kind of fight as Rath sent his katana back into his box. Picking the appropriate weapon, an odd silver cylinder materialized into his hand. Concentrating his psionic power, a sabre of green light emerged as Rath stood up getting into guard stance.

"He had a warp blade?!" Shino exclaimed as her eye twinkled. "Damn, I wonder if he'll let me borrow it".

Before long aside from the non-Terrans, they knew who Rath was fighting as they had no reason to worry about the other presences among them.

Continuing their match, Rath and the other traded blows as their blades sent out crackling sounds every time they collided. Going for a psi push, Rath had managed to unbalance his opponent as he went in for the deciding strike. But at the last moment, a puff of smoke burst in front of him before it appeared right behind him. Before he could react, the streak of green light was held at the very edge of his neck.

"It seems you have not let your skills dull. But you still have much to learn" as the blade disappeared from Rath's neck.

Disengaging his blade, "yes master. I still have much training ahead of me".

Shedding their shadowy cloaks, third recon found themselves surrounded by six dark templar. But seeing as they have not attacked and Rath had come to peace with one of them, there was no further reason to think they were hostile. But it didn't stop them from being curious about who they were and why they attacked Rath like that.

Sensing their questions, Rath gave a slight apologetic bow. "I'm sorry for the suddenness of this. These are the prided shadow guards of the Nerazim. And this is," as he waved to the Protoss he was fighting a moment ago who was dressed in ornated dark armor and robes. "My master, Izin".

"Why did he suddenly attack you like that?" Mari asked.

"I apologize for startling you" said Izin. "I just wished to see that my student was keeping his skills sharp".

"I think a simple hello would have been better . . . ." as the rest of the group mentally agreed.

"What brings you out here master?" Rath then asked. Recalling what the Protoss were doing on this planet, "was there a Karax sighting in the area?"

"No, a few shadow guards opted to do our own investigation rather then follow rumors. However, it is proving more difficult then we originally imagined".

"Would you like to join us for a bit?" Rath then asked. "Taking time to rest once is a while is good for the body and spirit".

"Hmm . . . ." as Izin discussed it telepathically among his peers. "Very well. We will accept your kind gesture".

Making room around the fire, third recon had differing experiences.

For Jake and Dahl, it was nothing new as they have been around Protoss before. When they weren't acting high and mighty, they were pretty nice folks to be around.

Shino tried to quietly keep her thoughts to herself as she had been in a fire fight with Protoss in a few battles and hoped they wouldn't hold it against her.

As for Milo and Mari, it was a first they have met them in person. But for the former, he trusted his former bosses' words that so long as you show them honor and respect, they will do the same for you.

Lelei saw this as a grand opportunity to ask them questions about their science and technology. But reluctantly refrained as she was advised as not to be so nosey with them.

But for Tuka and Yao, they felt oddly comfortable around them. But knowing what they did about them it was perhaps related to their affinity with nature.

This then left Rory as she was ecstatic at the opportunity to meet the Protoss. Especially the chance to test her skills against a warrior that was even greater than Rath from what she just saw. But more then that she might learn something interesting about the enigmatic specter seeing as he rarely talked about himself. Looking to Izin, "so how was training Rath?" However, this simple innocuous question yielded quite an informative answer.

"Rath?" Izin then asked as he looked to his student as he then understood what she meant.

From that small remark, it was clear to third recon how mysterious their colleague was as he didn't even give them his real name.

". . . . Ahh, I see. My apologies".

"It is fine master. It doesn't matter if they did or don't know".

"Seriously?" as Milo's eyebrow perched. "You didn't even bother to give us your real name".

"Do you not trust us?" Mari then asked seeming a little saddened.

Jake, Dahl, and Shino didn't really care as a person's past was their business so long as it didn't have any affect on the present.

Tuka was interested. But refrained out of respect.

Yao and Rory on the other hand were just dying to know the answer.

Sensing their thoughts, "I have my reasons. So, leave it be" as Rath had ended that line of questioning then and there.

For the next hour or so, the two groups talked passing around stories and words of wisdom. Rory even got her chance to spar with a Nerazim to see how she matched up. As the land became cold and dark the two parties parted ways giving each other their best wishes on their journey. Third recon settled in for the night while the shadow guards continued along their way.

Tomorrow was going to be a brand-new day.

To be continued . . . .

Author's notes: Hope this chapter was OK. Once again crazy month and just trying to get through it. Now onto some commentary.

The meanings are different between the JSDF and the Dominion in how they presented the dragons head to the Empire. One was obviously for intimidation/warning while the other was a show of support. Needless to say, the political landscape on the continent was pretty strenuous in canon due to Zorzal's actions. For the other nobles and kingdom, most if not all were more or less on the fence on who to side with. If anything their interests were purely pragmatic as right or wrong were irrelevant so long as they were on the winning/profitable side. But with the grand showing of operation sunrise by the Dominion, all third parties in this matter who are smart enough to prioritize good judgement over profits and gains knows not to challenge them.

Why specifically the dragons head, a bit of a spoiler it will become the biggest sh*t hit the fan moment for Sadera for what comes looking for it.

Based on circumstance it wouldn't have played out any other way. As the Protoss could not be recalled nor cared to be victims the results were a crushing loss for the Empire's pro-war side. But now that I think about it, I have never seen a Protoss use telekinesis besides high templar levitating off the ground. But they should be capable of it.

Obviously, ambushes were not going to work on them as they could read your mind. Only reason races like Terrans, Zerg, and other Protoss are able to do it is because they have their ways to mask their minds from detection. Something like this can be noted in the early history of the Protoss as they would use their telepathy to detect each other and thus learned to mask their thoughts to remain hidden.

Like canon, it was just one long road trip. Also call back to their trip to Shwartz forest as Yao still has not lived that down.

Yes, that was a green lightsaber. Star Wars ftw. Probably should have made it purple with 'bad mother fu*ker' written on the hilt somewhere.

As many have guessed, Rath's origin will be shown in the beginning of the Zerg arc.

If there are any questions or concerns feel free to ask as I'll try to answer them.

So thank you for reading as I further extend my gratitude if you can review as well.