One Gorgon. Fourteen Minatours.

These fifteen ships carried tens of thousands of Dominion soldiers. They could take down an entire system. If they were to take on Kerrigan, without the support of her swarm, they might win, but the entirety of this fleet was slaughtered without firing a single shot.

When Jean twisted the codes, she messed with the weapon and communication system, but that was mainly a distraction. A decoy to draw the attention of Dominion computer engineers. In reality, she took control of the life support system.

As soon as she could, she turned off all the systems. The radiation and the cold were bad, but it was the lack of oxygen that killed everyone.

Tens of thousands of soldiers. Men and women. Good and evil. Hero and coward. Officer and soldier.

Dead. Killed by a single tap from a girl named Jean Turner.

As of the moment, the New Folsom Fleet was parked by an asteroid belt a distance away from Deadman’s Port. It was safe from curious eyes.

The transport entered the largest battlecruiser, the Gorgon called the Valiant. It used to be Admiral Bradley’s flagship. Now it belonged to Jean.

The life support system was back online. Oxygen was restored. The temperature was restored. Automated droids started cleansing the radiation.

The first thing Jean and Viper saw when they entered the hanger was a field of bodies. Dozens of dead marines were scattered around the large platform. There wasn’t any bug around and the bodies haven’t started to stink yet, but only maniacs could talk in front of a crowd of dead when there was an alternate choice.

Jean didn’t care, but Viper might.

The girl frowned and tapped something on her personal computer, and all across the fleet automated droids that survived the lack of oxygen and the cold started carrying the bodies away. They would be tossed into the vacuum of space, never to be seen again.

It wasn’t exactly a proper burial for the dead, but neither Jean nor Viper cared about that.

“Wow.” Viper glanced around in awe as the two walked toward the bridge. She has carried out several missions on battlecruisers before, but neither the Confederacy nor Orlan had anything as large as the Gorgon class battlecruisers.

“Might I introduce to you the Valiant. It’s my ship now.” Jean said sweetly as if she just received a brand new ring. The only thing was this ring was stained with the blood of people enough to fill dozens of football fields.

“Do you need me to lend you some crew members?” Viper smiled as well. She only felt happy for her girlfriend, but she did realize Jean couldn’t fly an entire fleet just by herself.

“No thanks. I have something in store, you know, in case something like this happens.”

The two entered the bridge. The sealed door was opened, and the bodies were already gone. Jean sat down in the seat Admiral Bradley was in. Viper wrapped her suit covered arm around Jean’s neck.

Jean took out a hard drive from her pocket and stuck it into the computer of the ship.

The computer screen immediately started blinking. Both girls waited patiently. The blinking continued for a few minutes before suddenly dying down. A large “W” showed up.

“Warden Command Unit C012 online. Accessing ship data now. Data accessed.”

“Welcome, Creator. What is your command.”

“Access Warden battlecruiser AI template. Copy the template fourteen times and install them into the other battlecruisers of the fleet.”

“Affirmative. Operating now.”

“As you are working, report on current status. Can this fleet participate in a battle?”

“The fleet requires additional modifications to possess battle capabilities. All weapon systems need to be switched from manual to automated. All ground forces within the ship are disabled and need to be modified for Warden use. Warden AI templates need to be copied in great numbers.”

“How long will it take?”

“Identify worker count.”

“50.” 50 Warden SCVs. Warden SCVs were equipped to change other pieces of terran mech into Warden versions. Jean spent a lot of time to make that happen.

“Approximation: 14 days.”

“Fine. Do it now.” Jean turned back to Viper, whose mouth was wide open. “C012, this is Viper. She is my most trusted friend. Viper, this is Warden Command Unit C012. It is the captain of this entire fleet.”

“This...this is an AI.” Viper noticed, a bit late. “You build an AI powerful enough to control an entire ship? Even the smartest of the Dominion can’t do that.” It was true. The most advanced AI in the Dominion were the adjutants, and they weren’t fit to command entire fleets. What Jean had, an AI that controlled all aspects of a several km long vessel, was almost impossible.

Jean nodded. She could almost see stars coming out of the ghost’s eyes. The ghost got closer, and Jean smiled and turned to C012.

“Leave only minimum surveillance in this room.” She didn’t like being watched.

“Affirmative.”

C012 answered, but neither Jean nor Viper were listening.

Across the sector, as Jean was enjoying a rather sexual exchange with a sister in arms, Six Ascendant Nyon was fighting for his power and his survival.

“Six Ascendant Nyon! I challenge you in the name of Amon. Only the strongest can do the god’s bidding, and you, Nyon, are weak!”

Nyon growled as Seventh Ascendant Shalek dropped these words to his face.

Rak’Shir. The sacred duel in which low level Tal’darim warriors could rise in the Chain of Ascension. As the Sixth Ascendant, he was above Shalek, but if he was unfortunate enough it would change very soon.

The other Tal’darim looked at Nyon mockingly. As someone who lost two pieces of artifact fragments, Nyon wasn’t the most welcomed Tal’darim on Slayn. The common foot soldiers had to hide their smirks, but ascendants like Nuroka and Alarak didn’t share the same struggle.

Nyon ignored the others and calculated the power of the two sides.

Nyon had twice the ships Shalek did, but Rak’Shir wasn’t a duel in which both sides could pile on all the forces under their command. Otherwise a single, low level duel could lead to the death of tens of thousands of Tal’darim and the destruction of dozens of ships. Tal'darim didn’t have the training blades the Daelaam did, and when they fight, even if they were in a duel, in would be a fight to the death.

Even the most zealous Tal’darim ascendant couldn’t afford that.

In a Rak’Shir, the two ascendants could only gain support from their supplicant forces. It was reasonable, as supplicant forces were entirely loyal to the ascendants they belonged to. They were technically property of the ascendants and therefore a sign of their power.

During the battle of Bel’Shir, Nyon lost hundreds of supplicants, but he had more resources than Shalek. As of the moment, he holds a supplicant army of a thousand strong, including zealots, slayers, havocs, supplicants, blood hunters, and a couple vanguards.

Nyon didn’t know how much Shalek had, but he didn’t show any sign of being worried.

“You will regret this.” He turned around and left.

As the Sixth Ascendant left, his competitor turned to First Ascendant Nuroka and smiled. The First Ascendant frowned, but before he could say anything, Shalek left as well.

The Seventh Ascendant returned to his fortress. An army of seven hundred supplicants stood guarded around the building.

If ascendants like Alarak could see Shalek’s supplicant army, they would think the ascendant has gone mad. His warriors were in fewer numbers and were weaker than that of Nyon. He was weaker than Nyon in term of personal power as well. If he fought, he would certainly lose.

Then why did he challenge Nyon?

Shalek walked by another hallway and finally entered his chamber, but he wasn’t alone.

A blood hunter lurked in the shadows.

“I have heard of what you did.” The covert warrior said in a deep dark voice.

“Indeed. I will be engaging Nyon in Rak’Shir in a few days.” The Seventh Ascendant replied. “Now, give me what you promised.”

The blood hunter smirked and took out a can of purple gas. Void energy flowed through the container.

“Ahhh.” Shalek took it over and was satisfied as he felt the dark power flowing through his body. A normal can of terrazine couldn’t do anything, but this wasn’t a normal can.

It was a highly concentrated can of terrazine.

“Tell the First Ascendant I will do my part. With the power from this terrazine, I will be victorious. The day of the Rak’Shir is the day Nyon dies.”

The blood hunter wasn’t as optimistic. “Nyon’s supplicants outnumber yours. He himself is a master of the blades.”

Shalek frowned. “You doubt my strength?”

“Yes, and not just me. Remember, I am here under the order of Nuroka.”

Shalek groaned, but he had no choice but to comply. “What do you suggest?”

The blood hunter turned to the side, and from the shadows over thirty blood hunters emerged.

“You…” Shalek wanted to draw his blade. It was not just disrespectful. It was an insult. Thirty blood hunters just entered his private chamber without him even knowing it. But the ascendant hid his anger. He knew he was just a tool to Nuroka. He didn’t have the right to be angry.

“These warriors will pose as your warriors and pledge to fight for you in the duel. They are the best, even among Nuroka’s warriors. They can easily help you terminate Nyon.”

“Fine.” Shalek finally nodded. As much as he despised Nuroka underestimating him, he would never say no to a greater chance of victory.

The blood hunter nodded. “I will report back to Nuroka. Good luck on the Rak’Shir. It will be a pity to go through all the trouble and waste all these resources just so you can be cut to pieces.”

Shalek didn’t say anything at first. Only when the blood hunters were gone did he lash down on his seat. He wasn’t among the top ascendants, but at least he was the eighth most powerful figure in the Tal’darim. He has killed thousands. He wasn’t used to being insulted.

The entire time Shalek didn’t doubt the blood hunter’s identity. The highly concentrated terrazine they brought was something only Nuroka had. He has never sold it before, and even if someone got a hand on it they wouldn’t spend it on bribing some ascendant.

Nuroka had the incentive to want Nyon dead as well. Shalek had intel that Nyon traded his planet for two fleets, and the planet was invaded and sacked by terran thieves just moments later. No one suspected a connection between Nyon and the terran, and everyone just thought it was pure luck.

Still, Nuroka needed someone to blame. The ascendant in command of the planet’s defenses was killed, along with every single Tal’darim warrior. Nuroka didn’t even have someone to punish.

It was reasonable to suggest he turned to blame Nyon for his shame and losses.

Meanwhile, a few minutes later, the blood hunter, the one that Shalek thought belonged to Nuroka, appeared in front of Nyon.

“My master, Shalek has fallen into the trap. He doesn’t suspect a thing.”

On his throne, Nyon smirked.

Yes. The entire time, it was Nyon that sent Shalek against himself.

Nyon needed a crushing victory, but attacking other factions was either risky or insufficient. Thus, he turned to a better choice.

A few days later, Seventh Ascendant Shalek would challenge him in Rak’Shir. All the Tal’darim on Slayn would gather around and watch the duel.

Under the eyes of millions, Nyon would defeat Shalek in a crushing victory and slay him as slowly and painfully as possible. He would rebuild his authority on the blood of the Seventh Ascendant.

More importantly, it would seem like an even fight. Nyon had more supplicants but less blood hunters. Shalek, after using the concentrated terrazine, would seem as powerful as, or even more powerful, than Nyon.

But when the thirty blood hunters pledge their allegiance for Nyon and start plowing through the unsuspecting Shalek supplicants, the tide would change. As for Shalek himself, did he really think the terrazine Nyon gave him was the exact same thing as the one he received from Nuroka?

Not a chance.

That was Jean’s plan all along. The trade with Nuroka was, on one hand, a way to get rid of Bel’Shir and get Nyon two more fleets. But more importantly, it was a mean for Nyon to get a can of concentrated terrazine.

At the end of the day, Nyon would stand victorious. His authority would be rebuilt. His warriors would once more follow him to death. He could once again be a powerful ally of Jean.

Perhaps the only loser would be Shalek, but no one cared about him.