Chapter III: The student's revelation

The student looked at Zeratul with a look, that Terrans would associate with concern and confusion, and spoke: What do you mean training teacher? Zeratul turned and started to walk along the line of statues until he came to the very last statue at the end of the line. The young protoss followed and then stood next to Zeratul and waited for his teacher's words. They came in a " voice" that expressed more determination and strength than the young protoss had seen from him the whole time: You know full well that this sector is not safe for anyone, protoss or terran, with the zerg and their genocidal insane leader Kerrigan leading them. Rathnuk again noticed the venom and contempt that Zeratul put behind the name " Kerrigan" and decided to find out why. He asked: Teacher, why is this Kerrigan person a cause of so much anger and contempt from you? There was a long moment of dreadful mental silence and then it was as if a blocked dam of emotions just burst forth from Zeratul as he recounted everything: Kerrigan she was a human female a telepath who was apparently a prodigy when she was training. She fell after Arcturus betrayed her so that he could get his ultimate power and become the leader of the Dominion. At least that is what Arcturus thought instead she was captured by the zerg and infested. She became the Queen of Blades the second in command under the Overmind. After the Overmind's death she rose to power and became the queen of the zerg. From there she plotted perfectly how she could manipulate us to achieve her goals of domination. She corrupted my leader Rashcagal and used her to get us to expunge the renegade zerg so she would have ultimate control of the Swarm. At the end she forced me to kill my matriarch in order to free her from Kerrigan's control. At this point Zeratul said no more and shuttered his thoughts. Rathnuk decided it was best not to continue prodding as he could practically see the hurt and the, the insult rolling off of Zeratul in waves, and said: I understand, teacher, now let us move on at this point and try to train. Zeratul turned lambent eyes on the protoss and said in a low voice: Yes lets, anyway continuing; you also know that before, we have been able to fight against the zerg with our full might. There was a short pause then: No longer, Aiur is fallen and our people are on the brink of extinction; only by the combination of the traditional Aiur power and the power of the Void can we hope to survive but as you know also the taint of the Conclave is quite deep. It will take much more than a crisis to change hearts. I can go on and on but I believe you have received my point on the matter. Lets begin. There was a silence and then as Zeratul was about to begin instruction a loud mental voice rang through the halls that was not Zeratul's or his student's: Prelate Zeratul horrendous news has just come in that requires you attention. Zeratul turned to the source of the voice and saw, to his astonishment, the heirarch Artanis. He was running with great speed, his thick gold and purple body armor not even slowing him down in his motion. Zeratul recalled absently for a fraction of a second that Artanis had adopted his armor with both Aiur protoss and Dark templar colors to show that he believed in the unity of the two peoples. Zeratul returned to reality in a fraction of a second and called back: "Hail heirarch! What news do you bring that is so urgent"?

Artanis closed the gap quickly and spoke saying: I will be brief, our observers have found the remnants of an expeditionary fleet that we had sent to Aiur three months ago to retrieve any survivors; however it seems the Dominion and the Zerg have found it as well. That fleet was able to contact us a day ago and report that they have very precious cargo on board... the remnants of a protoss preserver. If we can get those remnants then we could learn more of what has actually happened in the depths of Aiur where the main zerg/protoss battles did not take place. I need you to lead a large force of our fighters to rescue the fleet. Also, even though it pains me to say so after our partnership with James, if it becomes apparent that there is no way to avoid a fight with either the zerg or the terrans I give you permission permission to engage. Zeratul looked at Artanis as though he had just asked Zeratul to cut out one of his eyes and then eat it. Artanis saw the concern and said with calm and reassurance, laced with pity: I know since Tassadar, may the Khala comfort him always, chose to defy the unlamented Conclave and abandon the destruction of the terran worlds, we have tried our best to stay clear of the terran worlds or the terrans in general. But this is of such grave importance that I am allowing for us to possibly go into battle against the people we have sworn to not harm. Artanis looked away for a moment in deep contemplation and then said, turning to face Zeratul again: Perhaps the stalwart James Raynor can somehow be contacted and brought in to assist in your mission. Zeratul gave the equivalent of a 'ha' in terran speech and said: We all know that James has a distinct hatred for the Dominion and what it stands for, but I do not think that it is enough of a reason for him to risk involving himself in our affairs again". Artanis was silent giving Zeratul's response some thought.

After a few moments Artanis said: "I see your point, but I would have you try at least to contact him. Please, we need all the support we can muster". Zeratul could feel the desperation in Artanis's "voice" and said: I will try, heirarch. Zeratul felt a feeling of gratitude wash over him from Artanis before Artanis then turned and ran out of the room. Zeratul watched him go for a few moments before turning to his student who was expressing both fear and excitement at the same time. He said: I would have rather we train you in peace however it seems fate is against the protoss people again, nevertheless we will train in some fashion. Prepare your armor we depart in a hour. With that, Zeratul disappeared leaving the student there alone.

The student stood there awe-struck for a few moments before he returned to reality and started for the door. He got there once they were opened again. He then proceeded into the city toward his living quarters. Once there he walked into his fairly spartan room in which only a small bed, a desk and a vid crystal for receiving messages from friends or family were any signs that any being lived there. The room itself was small with the ceiling just large high enough to accommodate his height. It was the typical room size for warriors, nothing to large or to opulent. At this moment Rathnuk envied the Khalai whose apartments were much larger and had many more things to go with them. It was one of the many discrepancies in protoss society. No single society is perfect, Rathnuk wryly thought. There will always be some discrepancy somewhere. The student though was not concerned about the appearance of his room, rather he was concerned with what was hidden in it. He turned and walked to one of the walls, he pushed a hidden button and the wall silently slid back. Behind this wall was a large rack upon which hung a large golden chest plate and below it on two other holders were two golden bracers. Old habits die hard and this I cannot allow to be found and disposed of as it is an physical echo from the past , thought the protoss as he grabbed the chest armor and silently slipped it on himself. It fit perfectly on him as it always did a soft "click" giving an audible to tell him that the armor was now connected to him. He then grabbed one bracer put it on a wrist with the same clicking sound to show it was now attached then the other doing the same thing. As Rathnuk slowly moved his limbs to get adjusted to the armor again a memory appeared in his mind: Standing next to twenty other fully armored warriors of the Aiur Zealot Elite Guard Rathnuk took in what he saw. The City of Antioch ablaze with the zerg hordes attacking everyone and everything in sight; the valiant Antioch Guard with Fenix at the head struggling to hold of the unending tide... Rathnuk slowly returned to reality and focused on what needed to be done. He slowly pushed the small red button again and the wall closed. He then cleared his mind and walked out of the door. Before he left Rathnuk thought: My teacher, soon you will understand the real reason I wanted to learn from you.

An hour later, Zeratul was at the local stargate waiting for his student. He was impatient for he wanted to start the mission as soon as possible. His student arrived only a few moments later and Zeratul expressed a small hint of surprise, quickly concealed at the student's armor and weapons. Right now Zeratul had no time to ask. He simply told the protoss to get into the docked carrier. The student obeyed and entered the carrier through an anti-gravity field that was deployed automatically when a protoss came near it. A safety developed when the carriers were first introduced as the main crux of the protoss fleet, to ensure no non-protoss could easily board the ship. Zeratul before moving took the time to look at the carrier and although he could not get a " birds eye view", as Raynor used to call it, of the ship he knew its relative size and both envied and cringed at the absolute skill and precision that was required to pilot and then land the ships without damage. The stargate interior was fitted for the largest of the protoss ships but still the carrier was large enough that only three could actually fit inside at a time. And only if they perfectly landed withing inches of each other. Zeratul marveled at it but realized he had no time to dawdle starry-eyed he had to move so he then entered after Rathnuk trailing behind him then moving in front of him to get to the anti-grav field. Both were lifted up into the ship where they stopped on the first of four " floors"; the engineering room where all of the maintenance and primary engines were stored and operated. Zeratul took a moment to look at the many engineers before giving the command to go up even further. Both Zeratul and Rathnuk then were taken up into the heart of the ship past two more floors. This was where the bridge was located and it was massive. Elongated walls where several hundred lit screens were integrated into it that had a protoss at everyone whose thoughts were solely on the mission at hand. There were golden swirls and lines on the floor that all seemed to follow a path to the center of the room where there was a large chair that was slightly elevated from the ground. It was golden with many whorls and swirling figures etched into it. Zeratul felt somewhat humbled at the sight but pushed it away as he remembered what he had to do. He made his way to the chair, sat down and placed a hand on the crystal allowing it time to read Zeratul's "signature". At this point Zeratul was grateful, when the carrier had let out a surprisingly soft bellow from the engine room, that his people had integrated as they did militarily for if it had been before the Great War Zeratul not only would not have been able to start the ship but he would not be able to even enter it. Zeratul silently thanked Tassadar and then focused his thoughts on the mission at hand. He placed his hand on the crystal and said: You all know the mission and what is at stake here let's make it a very quick one that will require little blood. With that Zeratul took his hand off of the crystal and watched as the carrier slowly ascended into the air. Zeratul had one last thought: This carrier is packed with the necessary crew for piloting the ship and the necessary weapons I only hope we don't have to use them.

Zeratul then pressed a part of the crystal and the carrier accelerated. The carrier swiftly rose into the twilight atmosphere. The student looked out of one of the large windows on the side and saw that all over the surface where protoss cities were, and saw at least eight carriers were taking off and beginning to draw closer to Zeratul's carrier. Once Zeratul had reached the top of the atmosphere there were at least fifty carriers with a large fifty phoenix escort. The fleet was ready to begin its mission. Zeratul looked and saw all of the carriers as they drew near and was amazed at how... alive, the only word Zeratul could think of, Shakurus had just become all for a small expeditionary fleet. It was ready to fight and possibly die for this small expeditionary force. This will be a test everyone's wills and abilities indeed. I only hope that we won't have to fight, but as is often the case with fate, we will likely be thrown into a fight of our lives. I only hope that we wont have to sacrifice so much this time. With that Zeratul ordered , through the crystal, for all of the fleet to jump and they did, leaving simply a ripple in space to mark where they had been only moments ago.