07-11-2018, 10:09 AM
Brianne smiled as the master of the heartless introduced himself. Part of her was interested in the sheer power of the creature in front of her. Even his casual movements seemed planned, carefully determined, and she could smell the power of the void radiating off him like a suffocating blanket, more and yet less restrained than that of the Dark templar her racial memories had taught her of. For while the dark templar restrained the energies of the pestilent void with the chains of a prisoner, and the whip of a trainer, this one’s energies were restrained with a gentle caress and a few sweet nothings. The darkness was not merely his ally, it hung upon his every word like a loyal dog, thinking of nothing but how to please its master.
The portion of her brain that was subsumed with the animalistic instincts of the zerg told her she should invest every single portion of their forces to consuming this creature, to assimilate it into the fold of its being. Luckily, Brianne still retained some self-preservation - enough to keep her mind on her mission, at least - and she was intelligent enough to know that a hidden canister rifle and a few telekinetic tricks were not remotely enough to handle this monolith of darkness. Besides…
The only being that could decide just when this new species could be consumed was the Queen of Blades, and Brianne would not, could not, subvert her will.
The microsecond it took all of these thoughts to process in Brianne’s modified brain did not show on her face in the slightest, as she moved smoothly into this introductory phase.
“The Zerg swarm has been interested in your…” Brianne slowed her speech, pretending to search for an appropriate word as though the idea had only just occurred to her. “business for quite some time now. We’ve been watching from the shadows for some time, after all, and after some careful evaluation, we found your capabilities…” Brianne pretended to search for a word once more, this time gaining a scowl from the master of Darkness. “...acceptable.”
“As I stated, ambassador, I am willing to listen to what you have to offer, but I did not arrange this meeting to listen to you prattle on. If all the Zerg Swarm is capable of is wasting my time, then hold your peace and leave, before I find a different use for you and your bodyguards.”
The Seeker of Darkness’s words held a certain edge to them, calm and yet threatening, and the sound informed Brianne that she’d best hurry up with her pitch.
“The Queen of Blades is interested in an eventual parley with you. She believes we may have similar goals.” Brianne added, continuing without apology. “She is currently preoccupied proving the extent of the swarm’s might in a mighty contest known as Dante’s Abyss, a tournament where primes-”
“I’m familiar.” The Heartless interrupted, the wrath gleaming in his eyes cooled but not extinguished. “Continue with your offer, ambassador.”
Brianne nodded slightly to the request. “But afterwards, she plans to be more interested in the Omniverse’s… internal affairs. The Zerg Swarm has already proven powerful in the lower tiers, but as the Primes of the Omniverse have already proven, a single prime simply cannot stand alone against many, and even the swarm is not capable of single-handedly opposing the rest of the omniverse at this time. But with an ally…”
Jaixe raised an eyebrow at the statement, staring hard into Brianne’s eyes. “Are you attempting to suggest open war on the omniverse together?” He asked with a tone of incredulity.
“For now, we simply propose an alliance of convenience and a pact of non-aggression. We will avoid consuming those of your brood to feed our hive cluster, and you will avoid attempting to harness the psionic energy within our Warriors. Should a threat appear that might be relevant to both of our interests, we will… look into supporting one another in the process of eliminating that threat. At the very least…”
Brianne smirked. “I think we can both agree that there are a few terrans with particularly vocal opinions about our respective existences that could do with a few more moments of silence.”
Jaixe’s head tilted towards her, and the slight softening of his face was the closest to a smile the infested terran had seen out of the creature since she’d met him.
The portion of her brain that was subsumed with the animalistic instincts of the zerg told her she should invest every single portion of their forces to consuming this creature, to assimilate it into the fold of its being. Luckily, Brianne still retained some self-preservation - enough to keep her mind on her mission, at least - and she was intelligent enough to know that a hidden canister rifle and a few telekinetic tricks were not remotely enough to handle this monolith of darkness. Besides…
The only being that could decide just when this new species could be consumed was the Queen of Blades, and Brianne would not, could not, subvert her will.
The microsecond it took all of these thoughts to process in Brianne’s modified brain did not show on her face in the slightest, as she moved smoothly into this introductory phase.
“The Zerg swarm has been interested in your…” Brianne slowed her speech, pretending to search for an appropriate word as though the idea had only just occurred to her. “business for quite some time now. We’ve been watching from the shadows for some time, after all, and after some careful evaluation, we found your capabilities…” Brianne pretended to search for a word once more, this time gaining a scowl from the master of Darkness. “...acceptable.”
“As I stated, ambassador, I am willing to listen to what you have to offer, but I did not arrange this meeting to listen to you prattle on. If all the Zerg Swarm is capable of is wasting my time, then hold your peace and leave, before I find a different use for you and your bodyguards.”
The Seeker of Darkness’s words held a certain edge to them, calm and yet threatening, and the sound informed Brianne that she’d best hurry up with her pitch.
“The Queen of Blades is interested in an eventual parley with you. She believes we may have similar goals.” Brianne added, continuing without apology. “She is currently preoccupied proving the extent of the swarm’s might in a mighty contest known as Dante’s Abyss, a tournament where primes-”
“I’m familiar.” The Heartless interrupted, the wrath gleaming in his eyes cooled but not extinguished. “Continue with your offer, ambassador.”
Brianne nodded slightly to the request. “But afterwards, she plans to be more interested in the Omniverse’s… internal affairs. The Zerg Swarm has already proven powerful in the lower tiers, but as the Primes of the Omniverse have already proven, a single prime simply cannot stand alone against many, and even the swarm is not capable of single-handedly opposing the rest of the omniverse at this time. But with an ally…”
Jaixe raised an eyebrow at the statement, staring hard into Brianne’s eyes. “Are you attempting to suggest open war on the omniverse together?” He asked with a tone of incredulity.
“For now, we simply propose an alliance of convenience and a pact of non-aggression. We will avoid consuming those of your brood to feed our hive cluster, and you will avoid attempting to harness the psionic energy within our Warriors. Should a threat appear that might be relevant to both of our interests, we will… look into supporting one another in the process of eliminating that threat. At the very least…”
Brianne smirked. “I think we can both agree that there are a few terrans with particularly vocal opinions about our respective existences that could do with a few more moments of silence.”
Jaixe’s head tilted towards her, and the slight softening of his face was the closest to a smile the infested terran had seen out of the creature since she’d met him.