Sic Semper Tyranus
Prologue-Revision
By: Duneczan
KOPRULU SECTOR, NEAR THE CHAU SARA COLONY
The black of space erupted in light as a silver-green hyperspace wormhole appeared. The first vessel to appear was more than one and a half kilometers in length. The gray-green warship, a Crusader class Destroyer, had an odd looking, slightly recessed bridge section, and long blocky sections covering the dorsal area of the hull. The rest of the hull had a ribbed look to it. There were no lights coming from crew quarters, and the only light came from the eight running lights and the soft yellow glow of the engines. A second ship, another Crusader Destroyer, came out of the wormhole mere seconds later. Two more ships, Arrowhead class Assault Cruisers, emerged, both of them two kilometers in length. Both of them all black, and similarly without lighting, save for the engine glow and the running lights. Finally, two more vessels appeared, both smaller than the other ships in the group. The largest of these two was the Corsair, an advanced carrier, one hundred meters shy of a kilometer, with a dark gray hull and a massive bridge section. The smallest was identical to the first two warships, only half their size. It was the Nova Fire, a Ranger class Destroyer and this fleets flagship. These vessels were not native to the universe they have entered. They were originally from a universe far away, from the worlds of the Draconis Alliance. They have traveled through time and space, and across the multiverse, the conglomeration of universes also called parallel dimensions, to this soon-to-be worn torn sector.
The bridge of the Nova Fire was divided into two sections. The upper tier contained command, tactical, and operations controls. The lower tier housed the navigation, pilot, and other miscellaneous stations. Most of the crew in these sections were pale, this having been their very first extradimensional jump. Others, veterans of wars far greater than what is to come, were hardly affected.
Standing up from his slightly raised command chair, the ships commander stood up. He appeared to be a young Human male between thirty and thirty-five years of age. He stood between six and six and a half feet tall. His dark brown hair and hazel eyes augmented a slightly child-like face. This was Major Aren Hale, an accomplished warrior and commander with years of experience beneath his belt. He was older than he appeared. His eyes met with those of his second in command. The other was a stern looking man of similar age and height, yet he had blonde hair and ice-blue eyes that could cause lesser men to crumble if enraged. This was Major Michael Powell- warrior, scholar, mystic- also a veteran of many wars, and also older than he appeared.
"So, do you think we were detected?", Aren asked his second in command.
"It depends on whether or not our quarry knows we were coming. That is rather doubtful."
"I hope so." He looked out the main view port at the sea of stars laid out before his fleet. He then looked at the crew. He saw that the jump had some negative affects on the bridge crew, but he knew that it would pass soon. He had felt the same way after this first dimension jump. Now it was almost second nature. His haze then went back to the starfield. "We're definitely in the Milky Way. Star positioning is a little off, but it looks like somewhere in the Gamma Quadrant. Ensign Thon, are there any beacons near?" The officer at the operations station looked down at his board. Ensign Thon was a member of the Krekh'Chor, one of the Draconis Alliances founding member races. The Krekh'Chor were an impressive race. They rarely grew below a height of two meters, and their bear/wolf hybrid exterior made them an imposing people.
"Yes major, the computer automatically sent out messages upon arrival", he responded. "A Tuatha beacon was the first to respond, a moment later a Chedrezak beacons did the same. We are in Milky Way Galaxy 73-401. This is the exact location the time jumper appeared in."
"And with a ship that can move through time, we don't know if it was five years ago or five minutes from now. Time travel gives me a headache." Aren rubbed his forehead as if trying to fend off a coming migraine. "Lieutenant Aaronson, order the fleet to send out scouting parties. I want a suitable location to set up base found. Have the Corsair coordinate with the scouts and relay the information back to the ops section here on the Nova Fire. Ensign Thon, when you receive that information, I want you to put it into proper order, ranging from Gaia class planets to worlds so abysmal the Shaderach wouldn't want to touch it. Michael-" The XO stood up and headed for the bridge turbolift.
"I'm going down to the hangar to join the scouting parties."
"-you'll go down to the hangar and join the scouting parties. The rest of you....look busy or something." The human officer named David Aaronson nodded his head in response. Ensign Thon, in a highly un-Krekh'Chor action, leaned back and relaxed until the reports came in. The young woman at the helm, Lieutenant Bekka Chase, looked back at Aren.
"And what am I supposed to do? Sit here and look pretty?"
"Well...that's what you usually do, don't you?" Aren shook his head as the brown haired woman's cheeks went red.. "Help Thon. He may need the help of women's intuition." At the back of the bridge, Ensign Thon growled. Not an angry growl, but annoyed growl. The Krekh'Chor were like that.
"And what will you be doing, oh fearless one?" Bekka asked. It was standard operation procedure aboard the Nova Fire for Bekka to question Aren. They had known each other for a long time and were close friends.
"I was thinking of going down to the galley, getting myself a nice cup of coffee and a doughnut, and then heading back to my quarters to work on my memoirs."
"Ah, so you'll be going to engineering to make sure our little dimension jump didn't permanently damage our engines?" Michael said from the back of the bridge as he waited for he turbolift."
"Uh...exactly. Now, like I said, everybody get to work. Sergei, your in command." He said to the Nova Fire's captain, Sergei Andrenov. Another human, Sergei came from the Alliance world of Sancrist, settled long ago by descendants of Earths Russians and Germans. He had stayed quiet throughout the entire conversation, as he usually does. He was a soft spoken man who only spoke when the need arose. Aren walked over to the turbolift near the front of the bridge, the one that leads directly to the galley three decks down. As they all exited the bridge, Sergei sat back in his smaller command chair, sighed heavily, and wondered why he accepted this assignment.
Fighters began launching from the bays of the two largest capital ships. Moving by wingpairs, the one hundred and forty-four fighters chose different navigation routes and jumped out of the current system.
Hours later, things were beginning to pick up. The scouts had detected many systems in the immediate region. One of those systems was nearby, and was inhabited by humans. The world was known as Chau Sara and, from the comm traffic that was picked up and looked over, was believed to be one of many such worlds belonging to a government called the Terran Confederacy. The comm traffic also gave information on the name of the sector, called Koprulu by the Confederacy, and pirate activity, most of which came in the form of a group calling themselves the Sons of Korhal.
As the reports came in, Ensign Thon and Lieutenant Chase had come up with a system of ranking for the planets discovered. They placed each planet into one of five categories: wouldn't send my mother-in-law to it, crappy, good, splendiferous, and heaven-on-earth. Most planets fell into the crappy and good categories. Some crew members heard the muffled chuckles of Lieutenant Chase, and even a few from Ensign Thon, and thought exactly what do they find funny about being stuck in a universe far away from our own, with no hope for support?. Captain Andrenov, also hearing the laughter, thought of something else. I think they found the majors stash of pixie sticks.
Down in engineering, Major Hale looked over the general operations going on. The engines were still in proper working condition, however the dimensional shift drive was not. Major Hale looked over the blackened and charred box that was once the dimensional shift drive. The chief engineer, somewhat less qualified to work such devices than the Major, helped him look over it.
"There weren't any signs of stress or malfunctions during the test, or before and after it was used," the engineer said, somewhat nervously.
"I saw that when I got here remember? I entered engineering just as the sparks began to fly. There's no sign of tampering either....hmm....where'd we get this thing again?"
"The Tuatha gave it to us a week before we left. On the same day the other five were delivered in fact. We put them all through a battery of tests and made our modifications-"
"Modifications?"
"To better ensure that they were compatible to our reactors."
"You didn't, by any chance, take into consideration the fact that both the Nova Fire and the Corsair use Chakran made power sources did you?"
"Oops." Aren shook his head in exasperation. His engineer was a good man, but not qualified to work with Guardian level technology, such as these dimension shifters. It was going to be a long mission, and without proper resources, this drive, and probably the one on the Corsair as well, could not be repaired. Before he could begin his tirade against the engineer, the red alert klaxon began to wail. He looked at the engineer and gave him a withering look. "You'd better be ready for a long session of yelling by the time I get back." He said this and then ran back up to the bridge.
He ran through the dim lighted passageways. They were fairly small and cramped passageways, just over two meters tall and wide, reminiscent of the old submersibles of the 21st Century back home on Earth. After what seemed like an eternity, he arrived at the main turbolift. Once inside, he activated the command override that would take him directly to the bridge without any stops. He was surprised when it made a stop on the tenth deck. The doors opened and Michael stepped in. He was the only person, other than Captain Andrenov, who could override the command override. "Any idea of what's happening Michael?"
"Not a clue." The two entered the bridge together as the turbolift stopped. It was swarming with activity as this was also the hour of shift changes.
"Report." Aren said as he walked towards his chair.
"A wing pair from Rapier Squadron detected a large fleet of vessels appearing out of a warp rift near the world called Chau Sara," Captain Andrenov said. "At first they thought the ships belonged to the humans, but they were immediately proven wrong. The fleet began firing upon the worlds largest settlements. They also picked up this message." He toggled a switch and the bridge comm erupted in static. The static soon resolved into a cohesive voice that was distinctly human.
"This is the Chau Sara Colonial Magistrate. We are being attacked by unknown alien forces. If any Confederate vessels are within range of our colony, please respond. I repeat, this is the-" The transmission ended in more static.
"Sorry sir, but the pilots reported that the source of the transmission was destroyed before they could get more information."
"Where is this Chau Sara?", Michael asked.
"Only a system away sir." Aren nodded.
"Good. Bekka, set course for Chau Sara. Have the Arrowhead and the Allegiance form up with us. I want weapons and shields on stand-by."
"Aren-"
"Michael, the two of us are Sovereign Protectors. It is our job to protect the weak and innocent from those that would destroy them."
"I know that my friend, but we do not know who is the weak and the innocent in this situation. For all we know, the colonists on Chau Sara are the culprits of a crime against the people attacking them."
"I'm well aware of that Michael. I did not say we would go in firing, but we are going in prepared. We need to put a stop to this before something very bad happens."
"In that case, you had better tell the two cruisers to ready their remaining fighters and gunships."
"Good idea. David. relay the new orders. Bekka get us out of here, best speed." The eight warp engines on the Nova Fire flared for an instant, propelling the destroyer at faster-than-light speeds. The two large Arrowhead Cruisers quickly followed suit, their three ion engines flaring in a similar fashion.
PROTOSS COMMAND SHIP GANTRITHOR, ORBITING CONFEDERATE COLONY CHAU SARA
The final barrage of anti-matter warheads struck the Terran colony. Countless humans had been sacrificed in order to stem the spread of the Zerg spores. Despite the victory, Tassadar, Executor of the Protoss fleet, was not happy. He could tell that his crew shared his unhappiness. Not even the pale blue lighting, reflected off the gold and silver plated bulkheads, could hide their looks. There was one whose face did not have such a look: the Protoss elder standing next to him. Aldaris was a tall figure, even for a Protoss. His face showed few signs of age, but the emblems on his head and clothing showed him to be of high stature in Protoss society.
"You have done well, Tassadar," Aldaris said, his voice 'correctly' synthesized by the psionic vocoder used by most Protoss. These devices, which size varies depending on the class of the Protoss wearing them, took the psi waves of the Protoss and molded them into an audible sound that resembled the wearers mental voice. The only Protoss unable to use these vocoders were the archons. They had to depend on sending out telepathic signals because their immense amount of psi overloaded the vocoders. "I was beginning to fear that your faith in the Conclave was beginning to waver."
"Indeed Aldaris?", Tassadar asked in his deep, resonant voice. "My faith in the Conclave has not changed since you came on board. I merely wonder at its orders. Annihilating the Terrans in order to wipe out the Zerg infestation is without honor. There are other ways in which it could have been done."
"The Terrans would have been wiped out even if we had not done so ourselves. The Zerg do not take prisoners, nor do they care about laws and morals and ethics. They are mindless creatures bent on destroying all life. Do not think of the razing of this world as a crime, think of it as a benevolent execution." Tassadar turned and faced the Judicator. Anger flared in his blue eyes.
"What?!"
"Executor, we do not know what the Zerg would have done to the survivors, but we do know that it would have been painful. Doing what we did ensures a quick and painless death to the Terrans, something the Zerg would not have been so kind to do." The Judicator stepped away from the fleet commander. "I am returning to my arbiter to meditate Tassadar. Complete our task here and continue on to the next colony, so that we may check for more of the infestation." Aldaris exited the bridge, leaving Tassadar to his thoughts. He motioned to his second in command, a high ranking zealot like his long-time friend Fenix.
"Continue." With that, he too stepped from the bridge. He walked to his meditation room, directly aft of the Gantrithor's bridge. He sat down in a Protoss style cross-legged posture and began to focus both his thoughts and his energies. If Aldaris has his way, he thought, I shall have to wipe out the entire Terran civilization. I did not rise through the ranks to become a murderer. I cannot let this continue...
Then do not, a voice said, interrupting his thoughts. A presence joined him in his mind, a powerful one. There are more things in this universe than your leaders orders. Life is the ultimate order, and it must be preserved at all costs.
Who are you?
I am many things. For now, I am a friend. My fleet arrived in this universe ten hours ago, searching for something that was lost. While we did not find what we were looking for, we did find you. Unfortunately, we were too late to stop you. The voice of the zealot he left in command brought him back to the real world.
"Executor, three ships have just been detected transitioning from hyperspace. Their weapons are powered and their shields are raised."
"Have they made any aggressive movements?"
"Not as yet Executor. They remain at a distance of 500 kilometers."
"I will be there shortly" Only three ships against fifty?
There are more ways to fight a war than with ships. I have no intention of attacking your fleet, as I can sense that none of you, except maybe one, likes what it is you are doing. Go to your bridge, and open a comm transmission, I would like to meet you in person. I would like to see the face of one who regrets. And invite the one that has ordered this task as well. You know of whom I speak. The presence faded. Slightly shaken, Tassadar stood and strode onto the bridge.
"I would like to speak with these newcomers," Tassadar said to the Zealot commander.
"Of course Executor. Although, you should know that they match no known ship type of the Humans or any other race we have encountered this far."
"That is what I thought. Open the channel." After a moments hesitation, the channel was open. "Greetings, I am Tassadar, Executor of the Protoss Expeditionary Force. To whom do I have the honor of speaking?" The face of a human appeared on the holographic monitor. Tassadar stepped forward to get a closer look. He was definitely human, he had the same features of those that inhabited the world beneath his ships. Yet there was something distinctly different about him.
"I am Major Aren Hale of the Draconis Alliance armed forces. Two of my fighters, which were in this system earlier, detected a distress signal coming from this world. As our bi-laws dictate that our duty is to protect those in danger, I felt it was my obligation to come here and investigate. And I know it was not you who sent the message, as none of your ships are damaged, and the message itself was sent by humans."
"Indeed it was. Perhaps you would like to join me on my vessel, so that we may discuss this face-to-face." The human nodded. His eyes betrayed a little bit of amusement, but otherwise his face remained stoic. "Very well. Join me at your earliest convenience." The hologram faded and Tassadar turned to a senior Khalai technician. Unlike most Protoss that served aboard the fleet ships, the Khalai prefer to wear dark blue, loose-fitting robes, adorned with the colors of their tribe. They will don the power suits of the zealots, power suits created by the Khalai's own Furinax Tribe, when the time for science is ended and the time for battle has come. "Aldaris has yet to leave the ship, that much I know. Ask him that I would speak with him in my meditation room."
"By your command, Executor." The technician bowed and quickly left the bridge, her robes swishing as she went.
Later, in Tassadars meditation room, Aldaris fumed at the Executor.
"Do you realize what you are doing by inviting this human here? You are jeopardizing your career and this mission!"
"There is more to this than you realize Aldaris. Something is...odd about these humans, especially their commander." Tassadars blue eyes followed the Judicator as he paced. A pace reminiscent of a predator. Is he hunting me? Or those humans?
"Indeed there is," a new voice chimed in. Both Protoss turned to face the speaker, only to find two men standing there. Both were similarly dressed in black combat fatigues. They wore no sidearm, nor did they have insignia of any kind. One had dark brown hair and hazel eyes. The other was taller, with blond hair and ice-blue. The brown haired man bowed. "Greetings Executor, I am Major Aren Hale. This is my second, Major Michael Powell." Major Powell bowed.
"Greetings to you major. How did you get aboard? I do not remember being told that your shuttle had docked."
"We did not use a shuttle."
"What did you use?"
"We just thought of ourselves standing in the same room as you, and so here we are. It is merely a form of teleportation."
"You can move from one place to another at will, without the help of any technology?"
"Yes. But it does not matter how we got here, just that we are here-"
"And disregarding all rules of social etiquette in the process!" Aldaris growled loudly, his vocoder almost breaking at the vehemence."
"This from someone who just obliterated and entire planet of people? Who are you?"
"This is Judicator Aldaris, advisor to this expedition," Tassadar answered.
"A politician?" Major Powell asked.
"I serve as the liaison between the Executor and our Conclave," Aldaris answered.
"Which is bureaucratese for 'I am a politician'." Major Hale gave his second a look.
"Michael, there is no need to be rude. At least not yet." He turned to Aldaris. "You must forgive him Judicator. Michael has no love for politics or politicians. He believes they take all the fun out of life." This seemed to anger the Judicator more than he already was. Although he had no facials marks other than his orange eyes, a skilled person could tell he was seething.
"Why are you here, human?", he asked.
"Straight and to the point, excellent. I am here because of a distress call that originated from the planet you are now orbiting. One of our fighter wings noticed you blasting it back into the Stone Age, so we thought we would try and put a stop to it. Since we failed to do so, I want to know why you bombarded the planet."
"Our reasons are our own, human. We need not explain them to you."
"Judicator, you are overstepping your bounds," Tassadar said. "This is a military matter, and is out of your control. Major Hale, there is a force coming to this sector...no, the force is already here. This force, which calls itself Zerg, is unlike anything we have seen before. They send out spores to alien worlds, seeking out life that they can consume, assimilate and eradicate. It spreads its infestation at an alarming rate, and it is now poised to destroy the human colonies in this sector. The world below us was covered with a thick ooze-like substance that these Zerg feed off of, and it has saturated much of the planet. What humans were left were either dying or infested. Our only recourse, no matter how sorrowful, was to raze the planet." Aldaris came forward and began to speak.
"We have recently learned that the Zerg infestation has spread to other worlds in the Terran realm. Our Conclave has ordered immediate actions. We are now going to these worlds to destroy the Zerg." Tassadar spun on Aldaris, his glowing eyes wide with surprise and fury. He had not heard of these orders.
"What?! What of humanity?"
"The threat of the Zerg must end before it spreads to a point where it can no longer be contained. That is a point that the Zerg are rapidly approaching. If stopping the Zerg means that the human race must be sacrificed, then so be it." Major Hale stared at Aldaris, his fury barely contained. Tassadar thought he saw the mans eyes crackled with energy.
"What you are suggesting is wholesale slaughter! This is akin to dropping a fusion bomb into the heart of a city to kill a single person!" Despite his apparent anger, Major Hale kept his voice calm and under control.
"It does not matter what you think, Human. The Protoss do not answer to inferior beings.", Aldaris answered. Tassadar could see the major loosing control. He also saw that Major Hale's second looked worried.
"You fool. You foolish, pathetic, little creature. You consider your race superior and noble, Aldaris? What you are considering is genocide. How noble is that? What if your plans do not work Judicator? What if these Zerg discover your people? How superior will you be when your race is nearly extinct because of them?"
"Do not begin to threaten us, Human. These Zerg are no match for our people. You have no right to question the will of a race that has existed longer than-"
"SILENCE JUDICATOR!" Commanded a deep voice, reminiscent of the Protoss themselves. Yet it was not a Protoss who spoke, it was Major Hale. Only now his eyes glowed a deep crimson and a faint aura of blue light seemed to surround him. With a motion of Arens hand, Aldaris flew into the bulkhead. "For a thousand years I have served the light, and never once has someone angered me as greatly as you. Your confidence in your technology will be your undoing, this is a fact that cannot be changed. You will learn humility, Judicator, at the hands of your equal and opposite." The glow in Aldaris' eyes faded as he slipped into unconsciousness. The same seemed to happen to Major Hale, as he slipped back into a chair. Tassadar had a blank look on his already featureless face.
"Who...What, are you?" Tassadar asked.
"I told you before that I am many things," Aren answered weakly. The human looked very pale. "This has drained me more than I had expected. This Judicator of yours is quite infuriating. Do you plan on going through with this plan of the Conclaves?"
"I must, because I am a Templar. And a Templars duty is to his people."
"Your duty, Executor, is to preserve life, not take it away. The Zerg are a great threat, that much I can see. Yet even the greatest of threats can be handled without resorting to genocide. The Terrans are not the enemies of the Protoss, Executor, you know that. Who know, perhaps the salvation of the Protoss race can be found with the Terrans now."
"How can I go against the will of the Conclave?"
"You can because you know they are wrong. These orders cannot be justified. Do what you know is right." Tassadar nodded.
"I will think on what you have said." He looked over at the prone form of Aldaris. "When he awakes, he will contact the Conclave and tell them what happened here."
"No he won't," Michael said. "When we leave, none but you will remember ever seeing us. You will, because that is how we wish it. Executor, as Aren informed you during your meditation, we came here searching for someone. We do not know how long this mission will take, so we would like your help finding a world for us to stay on until it is over."
"I believe I can help you. I know a commander who believes as I do, and he will be able to aid you in your search for a world. Tell me where to have him meet you."
"It's not very far, just a system away. Our ships will be cloaked and invisible to your sensors, so tell this commander not to be surprised if we just appear out of nowhere."
Michael bowed and helped his friend and commander up. His little show had drained Aren of almost all his energy. The two of them disappeared as mysteriously as they had appeared.
As the three Draconis Alliance vessels jumped into hyperspace, a wave of energy passed over the Protoss fleet. It erased their memories of the past half hour, and even removed Aldaris from Tassadar's quarters. All but one was affected, and as Tassadar looked out the view ports to the planet below, he did as he promised. He thought about what the two men had said. Even as the fleet left Chau Sara's orbit and headed towards the world of Mar Sara, Tassadar was still deep in thought.
AUIR, PROTOSS HOMEWORLD, FOUR MONTHS LATER
The Gantrithor moved through the planets atmosphere on its final mission. As the Zerg swarmed around it, trying to put an end to its suicidal drive, Tassadar sat on the bridge and looked out at the massive shape of the Overmind growing before him.
Tassadar began to gather the psionic energies of the Templar and the entropic energies of his brethren, the Dark Templar. The energies began swirling about him, focusing their power on one source. As he did this, he felt a presence, a presence he had felt before.
So you are with me even now.
Yes.
Do you wish to stop me?
No.
Then there is not much else to say.
No, only this. Go with the light, my friend. The presence gave a mental bow, and faded from Tassadar's mind. The Protoss Executor looked upon the Overmind and closed his eyes, sending out a single thought to the malevolent creature.
You have brought death to many dozens of worlds. You have slaughtered countless millions in your reckless attempt at perfection. You are as you say your are, purity in form. You are pure evil. With one thrust I send you back to the place from whence you came. From hells heart, I stabbeth thee.
At this, Tassadar stood and released his power is a massive shockwave of light and energy. The psionic energies passed through the hull of the carrier, shattering it and absorbing it, becoming more powerful in the process. Together, Tassadar and his beloved ship formed a powerful weapon. A weapon that struck the Overmind and exploded. The energy vaporized the lesser Zerg surrounding the Overmind. In a twister of energy and light, the last remnants of Tassadar, the Gantrithor, and the Overmind swirled into oblivion.
And all was quiet.
In orbit, a lone ship sat cloaked, overlooking the battle. The crew of the Nova Fire watched the final, climactic battle. Some wept, some stood stone faced. Other just looked on and nodded slowly. On the bridge Aren Hale sat and watched a magnified view of the Overminds death.
"It is done then."
"No Michael, its far from over."
"Another premonition?"
"No, just the predicting inevitable. I sensed something Michael. I sensed what we came here for. It was here, following the fight as closely as we were, only it was rooting for the Zerg. No, it's very, very far from over."