When they reach Malorn by comm, he complains about an annoying signal that was blocking all channels earlier. Of course, he did not deign to listen to it. They manage to bandage themselves up a bit while waiting for him. Surprisingly, he shows up with a case of drinks himself. “I knew I could not trust you to supply sufficient alcohol for an important celebration,” he offers as explanation.
“What did you bring?!” Lilly asks, grinning happily.
“Those sniveling refugee worms brewed this.”
Imogen’s eyebrows shoot up. “Moonshine from Stryko? That could be dangerous.” Lilly is already pulling down glasses, excited to try some homebrew.
“Who’s she?” Malorn demands, eying the new terran.
Kate seems affronted that someone does not recognize her. “Kate Lockwell, former UNN reporter,” she introduces herself. Slipping into reporter mode, she pulls out her microphone and floating camera. “How do you know these two brave heroes?”
“What is this about?” Malorn demands.
“It’s an interview,” Lilly tells him, in case the practice is foreign to him. “Do you know what that is?”
“I’m aware of the concept of assessing one’s abilities, yes,” he says hotly. “It’s not often done through conversation.”
“She’s recording you,” Lilly clarifies. “Kate, tell him what you do.” Lilly is more interested in trying the new alcohol than she is in explaining journalism.
“I’m documenting the important work these two are doing against the Dominion so that when the day comes that Mengsk is finally overthrown, we can release this, and people will know the true history of what happened,” Kate says, having clearly settled into what is next for her. “Have you been part of this organization to overthrow Mengsk? Do we have the support of the protoss fleet?” Kate presses.
Imogen cannot contain her laughter at that notion. “Do you even know who Mengsk is?” she asks Malorn.
“Revolting. An emperor. Your archaic terran structures are meaningless to the tal’darim. Not that I—”
“You heard it, folks,” Kate says, looking straight at her camera. “Mengsk is meaningless. We have not just terran rebels, but also the might of the protoss on our side, too.” Imogen scoops up Sheila and takes the zerg radio into her room to hide it away before Kate gets any ideas about this being a three-pronged, trans-sector alliance.
“Enough work,” Lilly declares. She has glasses of moonshine poured for everyone and hands them out as Imogen comes back into the central hub. They all sample it while Malorn entertains his audience with his version of the events with Neiman on Stryko II.
Later, Kate will go back and edit all her new footage, crafting it into the perfect story. But for now, she records a final line. “This is Kate Lockwell from the Reformed UNN with a special report on Lost & Found.”
Fin