1 The Aftermath
2 By: John P. Rod II
1
As Artanis glanced upon the charred wasteland that was once his homeland, Zeratul stood beside him, taking in the full effect of their situation. They were standing on the top of the ancient Xel'Naga temple, with no living being in sight, only desert. Moments before it had been an oasis, a huge, ever-growing jungle. But when the masses of Guardians, Mutalisks, Hydralisks, and all other zerg strains peeked over the horizon, that all changed. The only things that the Zerg cherish are death, destruction, and allegiance and eternal loyalty to the Overmind. Artanis and Zeratul had been waiting for their arrival. They joined the Uraj and Khydarin crystal into the energy orb of the temple, and used it as a massive nuclear weapon of mass destruction that destroyed every living thing on Auir, except for themselves.
As the flames consumed Zerg and Protoss alike, Artanis and Zeratul were fighting for their lives as well. As the explosion was going off, both Artanis and Zeratul had to keep the crystals in their positions or else the explosion would cease and their quest to rid the universe of the Zerg would be in vain. When the explosion ceased, Artanis could finally open his eyes and view his surroundings, since the blinding light was gone. As Artanis viewed the landscape, he shuddered. For miles, the only thing that Artanis could see, were corpses. Charred corpses. Thousands of them. They littered the ground for as far as the eye could see. This one image would be burned into Artanis's memory for the rest of his life. This image would haunt his dreams for centuries.
"We have done it. We have saved Auir from the Zerg," exclaimed Zeratul as he made his way down the stairs to the bottom of the temple. "We're going to need an escort to Shakuras, where the Matriarch is currently located."
"I still have my Scout stationed at the bottom of the temple." Said Artanis, following Zeratul down the steps. "I hope it is still operational after that huge blast. Then we would never get off this planet, accept if there were any native Protossians on Shakuras. Then I could establish a psychic link."
"I don't care if I ever see Shakuras again. I just want to get off this god forsaken planet!" said Zeratul as they strolled up to Artanis's prized Scout.
"Looks pretty good to me. Lets just get this baby started."
Artanis lifted the windshield hatch so that they could climb in. Artanis stepped into the pilot seat as Zeratul positioned himself in the gunner's station. Artanis pressed the ignition switch, heard the engines choke, and then flipped the auxiliary power switch to kick the jet boosters into gear. To Artanis's relief, blue flame spurted from the end of the Scout and then the engine spurred up. Artanis closed the windshield hatch, put on the hover boosters, and fastened his safety belt as Zeratul loaded the main guns.
As Artanis's Scout broke the atmosphere on a course to Shakuras, he wondered if there was any native of Auir left in the universe beside him. Artanis shuddered at the thought. As if out of nowhere, a lone mutalisk flashed directly in front of Artanis on his left side.
"Mutalisk at 10 o' clock. Zeratul, get ready for some fancy maneuvering!" Shouted Artanis, his adrenaline rushing at the thought of a dogfight.
Artanis jerked the control stick left, maneuvering the nimble Scout behind the mutalisk. "Let's get ready to rumbleeeeeee!"
Zeratul was surprised at the battle fury that the young praetor was undergoing. "I got a lock on. And fire!" Zeratul shouted as his thumb pressed down on the trigger. "In the name of justice, you must perish!"
All of a sudden, the mutalisk jerked to the left, avoiding the oncoming missile. As the missile readjusted itself and headed back toward its target, the mutalisk circled behind the Scout, out of Artanis's view. When Artanis circled the Scout around, he gasped. The mutalisk had regrouped with about three scourges.
"What the heck are those?" said Zeratul, obviously not familiar with Zerg air strains, since being an infantry in all.
"Kamikaze freaks! Kick the auxiliary boosters into gear! We're getting the hell out of here!" Shouted Artanis as a Scourge exploded only a few yards from the Scout. "Jesus! That was close. Are you okay back there!?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's just get out of here in one piece!" shouted Zeratul over the roar of the engines.
"Hey! What's that ahead! Looks like… more scourges! Hard left now!"
"We're not gonna make it! Arghhhhh…!" Zeratul's sentence was cut off as the explosion of the oncoming scourge rocked the Scout violently.
"Zeratul! Say something! Are you okay? Talk to me damnit!" screamed Artanis as he turned around in his seat to look at his co-pilot.
He was unconscious. Artanis reviewed the damage assessment. The right engine had been blown out, the gas and oxygen tanks had been ruptured, and the auxiliary boosters were fried. "Computer, activate heat shield," Artanis calmly said as he prepared to enter the nearest planet's atmosphere.
"This is going to hurt."
2 By: John P. Rod II
1
As Artanis glanced upon the charred wasteland that was once his homeland, Zeratul stood beside him, taking in the full effect of their situation. They were standing on the top of the ancient Xel'Naga temple, with no living being in sight, only desert. Moments before it had been an oasis, a huge, ever-growing jungle. But when the masses of Guardians, Mutalisks, Hydralisks, and all other zerg strains peeked over the horizon, that all changed. The only things that the Zerg cherish are death, destruction, and allegiance and eternal loyalty to the Overmind. Artanis and Zeratul had been waiting for their arrival. They joined the Uraj and Khydarin crystal into the energy orb of the temple, and used it as a massive nuclear weapon of mass destruction that destroyed every living thing on Auir, except for themselves.
As the flames consumed Zerg and Protoss alike, Artanis and Zeratul were fighting for their lives as well. As the explosion was going off, both Artanis and Zeratul had to keep the crystals in their positions or else the explosion would cease and their quest to rid the universe of the Zerg would be in vain. When the explosion ceased, Artanis could finally open his eyes and view his surroundings, since the blinding light was gone. As Artanis viewed the landscape, he shuddered. For miles, the only thing that Artanis could see, were corpses. Charred corpses. Thousands of them. They littered the ground for as far as the eye could see. This one image would be burned into Artanis's memory for the rest of his life. This image would haunt his dreams for centuries.
"We have done it. We have saved Auir from the Zerg," exclaimed Zeratul as he made his way down the stairs to the bottom of the temple. "We're going to need an escort to Shakuras, where the Matriarch is currently located."
"I still have my Scout stationed at the bottom of the temple." Said Artanis, following Zeratul down the steps. "I hope it is still operational after that huge blast. Then we would never get off this planet, accept if there were any native Protossians on Shakuras. Then I could establish a psychic link."
"I don't care if I ever see Shakuras again. I just want to get off this god forsaken planet!" said Zeratul as they strolled up to Artanis's prized Scout.
"Looks pretty good to me. Lets just get this baby started."
Artanis lifted the windshield hatch so that they could climb in. Artanis stepped into the pilot seat as Zeratul positioned himself in the gunner's station. Artanis pressed the ignition switch, heard the engines choke, and then flipped the auxiliary power switch to kick the jet boosters into gear. To Artanis's relief, blue flame spurted from the end of the Scout and then the engine spurred up. Artanis closed the windshield hatch, put on the hover boosters, and fastened his safety belt as Zeratul loaded the main guns.
As Artanis's Scout broke the atmosphere on a course to Shakuras, he wondered if there was any native of Auir left in the universe beside him. Artanis shuddered at the thought. As if out of nowhere, a lone mutalisk flashed directly in front of Artanis on his left side.
"Mutalisk at 10 o' clock. Zeratul, get ready for some fancy maneuvering!" Shouted Artanis, his adrenaline rushing at the thought of a dogfight.
Artanis jerked the control stick left, maneuvering the nimble Scout behind the mutalisk. "Let's get ready to rumbleeeeeee!"
Zeratul was surprised at the battle fury that the young praetor was undergoing. "I got a lock on. And fire!" Zeratul shouted as his thumb pressed down on the trigger. "In the name of justice, you must perish!"
All of a sudden, the mutalisk jerked to the left, avoiding the oncoming missile. As the missile readjusted itself and headed back toward its target, the mutalisk circled behind the Scout, out of Artanis's view. When Artanis circled the Scout around, he gasped. The mutalisk had regrouped with about three scourges.
"What the heck are those?" said Zeratul, obviously not familiar with Zerg air strains, since being an infantry in all.
"Kamikaze freaks! Kick the auxiliary boosters into gear! We're getting the hell out of here!" Shouted Artanis as a Scourge exploded only a few yards from the Scout. "Jesus! That was close. Are you okay back there!?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's just get out of here in one piece!" shouted Zeratul over the roar of the engines.
"Hey! What's that ahead! Looks like… more scourges! Hard left now!"
"We're not gonna make it! Arghhhhh…!" Zeratul's sentence was cut off as the explosion of the oncoming scourge rocked the Scout violently.
"Zeratul! Say something! Are you okay? Talk to me damnit!" screamed Artanis as he turned around in his seat to look at his co-pilot.
He was unconscious. Artanis reviewed the damage assessment. The right engine had been blown out, the gas and oxygen tanks had been ruptured, and the auxiliary boosters were fried. "Computer, activate heat shield," Artanis calmly said as he prepared to enter the nearest planet's atmosphere.
"This is going to hurt."