01-08-2017, 03:35 AM
Kerrigan had to resist the urge to bend something quite different from her knee - Illidan's skull came to mind - for the smallest fraction of a second, at least. Stormrage had made it quite clear what he thought of the dissent occurring within his ranks, and though Kerrigan had already expected this reaction - indeed, in some ways she was simply trying to speed up the process she'd already seen in action - it still rankled her to be spoken to so.
Still, Kerrigan had both expected it and wished for it - Speed was key, here. She had no wish to engage in politics longer than necessary, at least not among these other primes, while Darkshire stood growing and changing. Her more animalistic nature did not have control over her intellect, and her intellect knew that for now, serving this night elf warlord was necessary. Of course, if and when this army evaporated, she may just expect to be spoken to as an equal, rather than as a servant.
So instead of a show of anger or defiance, the Queen of Blades instead did quite literally as Illidan asked, Bending her knee, bowing her head, her wings spreading towards the floor as she did so. Of course, her erstwhile ally - Skeletor, he said his name was - instead showed his more foolish side as he took it a step past subservient and towards utter buffoonery - at this point, even as she heard the other primes leave, she didn't bother hiding her disdain.
Part of her doubted the being, and yet, given his comments, he actually did know how to play the game, even if his skill hardly matched her own. He was a useful ally - and from the looks of things, he was one third of the primes in this standing force now.
Sarah looked up at the Fierce, blazing face of the night elf, and part of her desperately wished to see past that blindfold. Misshapen, firey eyes or not, it was harder to read his moods as he was. The man was volatile, and while Sarah didn't doubt his conviction, she did doubt his faith in his new "allies". Still, she could see the difficulty of this situation was slowly increasing, and she would have to choose her words carefully - offering assistance, without looking like she was trying to usurp Illidan's authority.
Thus, it took the infested terran a moment to gather her thoughts.
"Lord Illidan. I shall march on your word, at a moment's notice, and follow the orders you give. Your experience in combat is obvious." Kerrigan stated, and in this case she did mean it - the night elf had clear experience both in personal combat and command. "However... in my own world, I was known as a strategist." she stated simply, and if she'd not needed to take this so seriously, it might have brought a smile to her face.
Strategist was certainly a new way to state "galactic conquerer".
"If your aim is truly to break the walls themselves, and the plan is straightforward assault, I shall make every preparation and use every resource I have at my disposal to make it so. However..." Kerrigan paused, giving herself a brief fraction of a second to plan her next words. Hopefully, Skeletor didn't feel the need to hinder her in this regard - at the moment, what she needed to do is convince Illidan to actually make use of her mental faculties, as well. The politics of the moment were little factor.
"My own experience and intellect is also utterly at your disposal, and there are other ways to bring down a city such as Darkshire. If we were to take our forces and begin a less... traditional approach, we may be able to rob them of their advantages before the battle begins." Kerrigan states. "I can think of ways to weaken the defenders before the battle truly begins, body and soul, if you make use of me. I've defeated entire empires with a handful of forces before. Allow me to do so again under your command."
Kerrigan finished her statement with a smirk. At some point through this discussion, Kerrigan could finally feel it - the familiar pressure. The need to plan around her opponents. The feeling that her brain was once again the only thing standing between her and certain death. It had been so omni-present, and yet, Kerrigan realized that she missed this. A true challenge, one that could test her mettle, and her courage. At some point, she realized that even if Illidan reneged on his offer, if this assault fell apart, Kerrigan might have waged this war regardless. As she had before, when she'd let the protoss and terrans continue to exist instead of crushing them like the insects they'd became to her, she realized that she'd been looking to test her mettle once again. Certainly, this was the strangest situation that she'd ever found herself planning around, and yet... she couldn't be more excited to see what lay ahead. even her psionic energy started to thrum with the steady hum of excitement, her body taking on a barely-visible glow of sickly yellow energy.
With Stormrage or without, Kerrigan now knew that she'd make the Defenders of Darkshire fear the wrath of the queen of blades, in all of it's unholy wrath and scornful fury
Still, Kerrigan had both expected it and wished for it - Speed was key, here. She had no wish to engage in politics longer than necessary, at least not among these other primes, while Darkshire stood growing and changing. Her more animalistic nature did not have control over her intellect, and her intellect knew that for now, serving this night elf warlord was necessary. Of course, if and when this army evaporated, she may just expect to be spoken to as an equal, rather than as a servant.
So instead of a show of anger or defiance, the Queen of Blades instead did quite literally as Illidan asked, Bending her knee, bowing her head, her wings spreading towards the floor as she did so. Of course, her erstwhile ally - Skeletor, he said his name was - instead showed his more foolish side as he took it a step past subservient and towards utter buffoonery - at this point, even as she heard the other primes leave, she didn't bother hiding her disdain.
Part of her doubted the being, and yet, given his comments, he actually did know how to play the game, even if his skill hardly matched her own. He was a useful ally - and from the looks of things, he was one third of the primes in this standing force now.
Sarah looked up at the Fierce, blazing face of the night elf, and part of her desperately wished to see past that blindfold. Misshapen, firey eyes or not, it was harder to read his moods as he was. The man was volatile, and while Sarah didn't doubt his conviction, she did doubt his faith in his new "allies". Still, she could see the difficulty of this situation was slowly increasing, and she would have to choose her words carefully - offering assistance, without looking like she was trying to usurp Illidan's authority.
Thus, it took the infested terran a moment to gather her thoughts.
"Lord Illidan. I shall march on your word, at a moment's notice, and follow the orders you give. Your experience in combat is obvious." Kerrigan stated, and in this case she did mean it - the night elf had clear experience both in personal combat and command. "However... in my own world, I was known as a strategist." she stated simply, and if she'd not needed to take this so seriously, it might have brought a smile to her face.
Strategist was certainly a new way to state "galactic conquerer".
"If your aim is truly to break the walls themselves, and the plan is straightforward assault, I shall make every preparation and use every resource I have at my disposal to make it so. However..." Kerrigan paused, giving herself a brief fraction of a second to plan her next words. Hopefully, Skeletor didn't feel the need to hinder her in this regard - at the moment, what she needed to do is convince Illidan to actually make use of her mental faculties, as well. The politics of the moment were little factor.
"My own experience and intellect is also utterly at your disposal, and there are other ways to bring down a city such as Darkshire. If we were to take our forces and begin a less... traditional approach, we may be able to rob them of their advantages before the battle begins." Kerrigan states. "I can think of ways to weaken the defenders before the battle truly begins, body and soul, if you make use of me. I've defeated entire empires with a handful of forces before. Allow me to do so again under your command."
Kerrigan finished her statement with a smirk. At some point through this discussion, Kerrigan could finally feel it - the familiar pressure. The need to plan around her opponents. The feeling that her brain was once again the only thing standing between her and certain death. It had been so omni-present, and yet, Kerrigan realized that she missed this. A true challenge, one that could test her mettle, and her courage. At some point, she realized that even if Illidan reneged on his offer, if this assault fell apart, Kerrigan might have waged this war regardless. As she had before, when she'd let the protoss and terrans continue to exist instead of crushing them like the insects they'd became to her, she realized that she'd been looking to test her mettle once again. Certainly, this was the strangest situation that she'd ever found herself planning around, and yet... she couldn't be more excited to see what lay ahead. even her psionic energy started to thrum with the steady hum of excitement, her body taking on a barely-visible glow of sickly yellow energy.
With Stormrage or without, Kerrigan now knew that she'd make the Defenders of Darkshire fear the wrath of the queen of blades, in all of it's unholy wrath and scornful fury