"What is this?"

"Those are pylon energy signatures, coming from the forest moon of Bafcel VII"

"Is there any record of a Protoss settlement here?"

"It wasn't even on the Dark Templar's star charts."

"This must be Duran's work."

"I agree."

"Our arbiters are moving into the moon's atmosphere, and are prepared for a dimensional recall."

***

A creature, large and ponderous, floated through the void, dragging behind it a trail of clawed tentacles. Venting a stream of pressurized gas, the Zerg Overlord propelled itself forward; it had a task of great importance, and it was no alone. Close behind, another overlord rose lazily upwards from a charred, ashen planet. And behind it, thousands of others, each mind united by a common purpose The swarm drifted farther and farther away from the planet, spiraling around each other for hours in a slow, cosmic dance. As the planet fell into the distance, the overlords spread apart, miles and miles apart, until their combined mass created a gigantic living ring in space. Then, simultaneously, they knew that the time was right. Their minds, fused together and, focused its immense will on a single point of interplanetary space.

And at that point, space bent to accommodate them. It's dimensions began to twist and contort, forming a tiny warp tunnel in the fabric of space time. The tear slowly expanded by centimeters, meters, and then kilometers, until it met the vast ring of overlords that created it.

Then the true bulk of the swarm rose from the planet's surface. Mutalisks, flying worms came first, followed by Guardians and Devourers, acid-spewing behemoths. Following them, were many more overlords, each carrying a battalion of zerg underlings in their armored carapaces. The the brood converged on the warp tunnel and were swallowed, tumbling, falling through the nether-world between the dimensions.

And on a remote, distant planet, many light-years away, my eyes snapped open.

Panic. I needed to escape. This place, this planet, was no longer safe. I knew it, though I didn't know how. No time to think. My eyes darted about the metal bunker. Adrenaline pumping, I lunged forward towards the elevator, but slipped on something hard, warm, and wet, and my face hit the floor hard.

The fall knocked some sense into me. Must keep my head straight. If I lost control, I would become like the dead hybrid. I lay motionless for a short moment, letting my panic slip away. As I calmed myself, my most recent, and bloodiest, memories fell into place. Things had gone so terribly wrong. The hybrid, which Duran and I came here to see, had been under Zerg control. In the battle, Duran had been killed, and my mind was nearly captured by the will of the swarm. Then, in my rage, I had destroyed the hybrid with a strange psionic attack. And now I was alone. No friends or allies, on a barren and lifeless planet, with Zerg forces massing in orbit.

Something flickered in my peripheral vision. My head whipped around, and sparks of PSI began to dance across my scythes. But it was only Duran's body, or what was left of it, materialized on the floor. His personal cloak had finally failed, revealing his mauled, bloody corpse The hybrid's spines had torn gaping holes in his chest and shoulders, exposing raw flesh and bone to the stale air.

But to my surprise, the body did not trigger an attack of bloodlust. Perhaps it was because I knew the man. Perhaps the hormones already pumping trough my body had nullified it, or perhaps my mind had somehow matured while I slept. Whatever the reason, I felt nothing but sorrow for the only person in the universe who seemed to share my interests.

But now there was no time to mourn. Each minute, I knew, brought the Zerg closer to me. I was beginning to sense individual commands, relayed from overlords to underlings. I quickly scanned the bloody, charred structure for anything useful. The only thing immediately noticeable was a gauss rifle, a Terran projectile weapon, lying near a severed human hand. The gun felt awkward in my scythed palm, but was certainly better than nothing. Though my psionically charged scythes were effective and potent weapons, they would be useless against Zerg flyers, which were sure to be abundant. Then, I slithered over to Duran's body. A few seconds of searching revealed what I desired: the small, black communication device.

I was ready to leave, when suddenly the lights of the compound began to flash red. "Warning! Warning!" blared a loud, automated voice, "Structural integrity of Chriopod-1225 is failing. Protoss subject is coming out of Cryo-hybernation. Commence the draining process."

One of the Stasis cells began to empty itself, revealing a slim Protoss female. I stood and stared for a moment. She would only slow me down. But then, how would I operate the gateway. I didn't like the notion of relying on my telepathic instinct for something like that. Even if I could open a warp gate, I might inadvertently send myself to a Protoss base. And if I ever wanted to interact with the Protoss in the future, an ally would be invaluable. So, slithering over to the stacis cell, I gave the Protoss a short mental prod.

The Protoss snapped into consciousness with the telepathic equivalent of a scream. Her eyes, soaked with fear, darted about her prison. At my sight, she gave another mental yelp, leaping backwards into the opposite wall. I backed away, trying to show that I meant her no harm. "Protoss," I said into her mind.

No response. Instead, She moved back to the center of the cell, and sat with her legs crossed. Closing her eyes, she began a soft mental chant. She was meditating. I had no time for this. I dug a little deeper into her mind, planting another message, "I mean you no harm."

"I very much doubt that, abomination."

Oh, look, she speaks. It was progress. "Protosss there is a Zerg brood massing in orbit. We can escape, but I need your help."

"I would rather die by the hand of the Zerg than ally myself with one such as you."

"I am not your enemy, the Zerg is. I need protection, help from your brethren, if I can get it." I brought my scythes down on the stasis cell, shattering the glass. The Protoss leapt backwards, her eyes glowing an angry orange. "Come, we have no time to waste."

She ignored me. "Very well," I said, turning towards the elevator. What more I could do? I could feel her trying to block my thoughts. "If you want to die here...."

"You're leaving?"

I stopped. I looked over my shoulder. "A Zerg brood is massing in orbit."

"Why should I believe you"

"Why should I lie?" I said. I had no clear idea where this conversation was going. There was something different about her thoughts, however.

"What do you need me for?"

"There's a Gateway near here. I went through it once before, but I'm not sure how to operate it."

For a moment, I thought I felt her mental barrier weaken. For a moment. There was no reply, and so, I again began towards the elevator. Suddenly, the Protoss called from behind me. "Does it seem a little... quiet, to you?"

I paused. I could no longer hear the wind or the rain outside. On the floor, I noticed three small, but vivid patches of sunlight which shone through the holes in the roof. A chill ran down my spine. Then a harsh, bone-chilling screech split the air around us. My nerve cords shuddered. Images of a flying, winged worm like creature flashed through my mind. A Mutalisk! "Come! We need to go. Now!" I shouted.

Suddenly, a green mass crashed through the roof, scattering the room with tiny spores of acidic razors. The Protoss leapt up from her meditation with uncanny speed and dove gracelessly behind a desk. Having no cover of my own, I put my face down, and let my hardened carapace do the rest. Tiny pinpricks of pain washed over me body. Fortunately, the microscopic razors had failed to pierce my armor, leaving only small, dark grooves in my hide.

My Protoss companion, abandoning all pretexts of mistrust, dashed past me and grabbed Duran's canister rifle. With strength unnatural for one in her condition in her condition, she leapt upwards, through the hole, onto the structure's metal roof. Probably not the best idea, but it was faster than the elevator. From the roof, she fired a shot at the mutalisk, and, judging from the earsplitting screech, was a fairly good marksman. I coiled myself like a spring and, gripping the gauss rifle in one hand and Duran's communicator in the other, threw myself after the Protoss. To my own surprise, I managed to clear the roof... And caught a glave worm square in the chest.

The impact of the mutalisk's attack sent me flying backwards, and my companion had to dive sideways to avoid the tumbling mass of flesh, blades, and acid. My chest and face now had thousands of thin cuts, which dripped with bright red blood. As the green cloud settled on the dusty ground, I painfully flipped upright. Almost instantly, by body my body flooded itself with endorphins, hiding any and all pain. Already the blood on my wounds had solidified into thousands of tough scabs, and had begun to heal.

The mutalisk reeled about in midair, and swooped downwards for another pass. Just before it could launch another glave worm at us, The Protoss fired another clip into its segmented carapace. The shell was deadly accurate, blasting off a good portion of the mutalisk's left wing. As the xenomorph careened overhead, I took aim with my gauss rifle. The last salvo of bullets proved to be too much for the beast's beaten body. Its bloody, oozing carcass crashed headlong into the dust, thrashed about, and then went still.

"Where's this gateway?" the Protoss said.

"That way." I pointed towards the distant, golden structure, "you can make it work, can't you?"

Her gaze turned to the gateway and the two pylon crystals. "It's been a very long time, but I believe I can," She said, leaping from the bunker's roof, and dashing towards the distant gateway.

I followed. I could sense the Zerg machinations in the back of my thoughts; I could feel Kerrigan's glee as her minions converged on us. It was only a matter of time.

Suddenly, and for no apparent reason, I felt an urge to ask my companion a simple question. "What is your name?"

"Arazori is my name," she said without looking back, and after a brief pause, "What is yours?"

That question stumped me. I did not answer, and she did not push me. I had more important things to worry about. My body, unfortunately, was not built for speed. My slither was sluggish, compared to Arazori's sprint. My twisted, shrunken, muscle-less legs, which I could only assume were genetic defects, would throw me off balance, drag on the ground, or even fall under my slithering body. I found that I could move with more speed if I used my scythes in a sort of clumsy gallop. I had covered about three-quarters of the distance when Arazori reached the gateway.

Then, a gigantic shadow fell over us and two Zerg overlords dropped through clouds overhead, rippling the air with a long, resonating, low pitched rumble. "Hurry," I urged Arazori, "Get in there and raise the gateway's shields!"

"What about you?" she called back.

"I need to defend the gateway. You need to open the warp gate." I said, turning towards he overlords, which were descending just behind me.

"This may take a little time," Arazori said from inside the Protoss structure.

But right now, my concern was elsewhere. The overlords touched ground about sixty yards away from me. Their tentacles extended downwards, and latched onto the earth, pulling its buoyant body as close as possible to the dusty soil. Then, from their cavernous shell, poured a small force of tiny doglike creatures with scythed claws. Zerglings. And one enormous, earthshaking beast, swinging two, tusk-like blades. An ultralisk. This small battalion of Zerg forces thundered towards me. My scythes crackled with psionic energy.

It was strange. I felt no fear, no uncertainty, no doubt, as I watched the aliens approach. With cool, steady accuracy, I aimed my gauss rifle, and let loose its bullets. One zergling fell before I expended my rifle's depleted ammo and tossed it away. "Hush... Patience, my children..." I heard a voice echo in the back of my mind. Almost instantly, the Zerg warriors slowed to a cautious crawl, and began to fan out in a wide semicircle about me. Crouching on my scythes, I assumed a defensive position. "Arazori," I said telepathically, "How close are you to opening a warp portal?"

"I have one open now. Its destination is the planet from which you came. Is that a problem?" The Protoss answered from inside the gateway.

"No its fine. Listen, I'm going to take care of the Zerg here. Then, you can lower the gateway's shields and let me pass through the warp portal. While I travel, the Gateway will have to defend you from Zerg attacks before you open a warp gate for yourself."

"How do you know that I won't just leave you here?"

I very good question, to which I didn't like the answer.

Before Arazori could reply, I detected a sharp Zerg command. Two Zergling broke formation, and charged at me. Instinct completely took over. My body snapped to the side, like a whip, and lunged towards the zergling on my left. It was so easy, to rip apart its armor, cleaving its head in two. I swept around just in time to catch the other zergling in mid leap. With one claw, I parried two slashes, and then brought the other up through the creature's gullet. Nothing moved, save for the twitching of my slaughtered foes.

At the urging of their overlord, the remaining nine zerglings converged upon me. And I was ready for them. This was my element, I now understood, as I dissected the Zergling attack. A primal instinct directed my body in its swift and savage ballet, effortlessly channeling its immense energy into precise, powerful strokes, reaping devastation wherever they fell. I was as light as the air, faster than the wind, and stronger than the gale. I was taken by the most serene feeling when the skirmish was over, when the last zergling had been slaughtered. Their claws had not once grazed my armor. My lungs filled with air, and then emptied slowly. My mind felt like it was sweating power. Slowly, calmly, inadvertently, I began to focus that power into a solid shell around my body. My eyes burned with an intense fire. Then, simultaneously, the ultralisk and I charged.

I ducked and dove sideways, evading a wide blow from the ultralisk's tusk. The next thing I knew, the beast was standing directly over me, and I was unable to dodge the, heavy, tree-trunk hoof that came down on my body. Suddenly, everything went numb. All sensations and thoughts, which before, came clear and sharp, were plunged into a vat of fluffy molasses. My mind throbbed with the effort of sustaining the psionic shield. The foot came down on me again, and my mind recoiled with a nasty shock. Luckily, I found the wherewithal to roll sideways before the foot could stomp a third time. My mind in a deep fog, I scrambled madly away from the Ultralisk, barely skirting another swipe from the ultralisk's tusks. Once a safe distance, I allowed my shield to fade away, relieving my mind of the burden.

Why wasn't the Ultralisk attacking? The answer came to me easily. Every minute this battle dragged on brought Zerg reinforcements closer to us. The ultralisk had nothing to lose by waiting, and I couldn't leave until it was dead. Well, actually, I could... No, I needed to end this as quickly as possible, and getting near that thing was suicide.

I needed a strategy, another way to attack this.

My scythes were not my only weapons. I remembered how I had killed the other hybrid. Closing my eyes, I extended my mind into the PSI, feeling its energy coil and writhe about me. Slowly, I began to summon that power, and focus it. I could feel the immense charge building behind my eyes. Then, when it felt like I could hold in no more, I shifted my focus to the Ultralisk's wide, gaping mouth.

The air crackled as the raw PSI surged through it, ending with a sharp explosion on the Zerg titan's face. It did not have the raw power of my Psionic storm, but was far more focused and far less tiring. Another. The Psionic attack blasted a way a good portion of the ultralisk's head and shell, leaving the creature half dead and quite blind. Now it charged, but my mind was already charging up another assault. This time, the PSI flowed more freely, blowing off a sizable hunk of leg and showering the ground with sharded carapace.

The ultralisk, limped on for a few more paces, before another PSI assault brought it crashing to the ground, unable to pick itself up again. Power welled in my mind, spilling over, gushing forth like water from a geyser. My rage was beyond control. It lanced from crevices in space, tearing through the air in a massive psionic storm that ripped the Ultralisk apart in a matter of seconds. I couldn't separate myself from the stream of PSI. It wasn't until the last reserves of my mind were spent that the storm finally died. Numb and exhausted, I fell onto my scythes.

There I stayed for I short time, gathering my strength. Then, I searched for Arazori's conscious, and, to my surprise, I found her still waiting in the gateway. There was no time to lose. "Arazori, drop the shields. I've dealt with these zerg."

"The shields are down. Hurry," Came her reply.

As fast as my sore body would take me, I slithered up the ramp into the gateway. After passing through the dark, metal corridor, I met Arazori in the structure's main chamber. "It is good to see you. Once we arrive at our destination, you must tell me more about yourself," she said.

I paused momentarily, "There really isn't much to tell." With that, I approached the warp crystal and hurled myself into its depths.

I had made it. I was free. I was safe.

For a second time I sailed through the blue netherworld. Then, with a thin, static zap, I was spit out of the warp portal onto the floor of an identical gateway. Except, it was not identical. I wasn't alone. Something moved at the edge of my vision. Someone gabbed my throat. I felt a searing blade of energy grazed my neck. And then a dark voice boomed in my mind. "Meet death, Abomination!"

***

"You let the hybrid escape! Your negligence appalls me, cerebrate."

"'Let' is not the word I'd use."

"Remind me again. Why do I keep you alive?"

"Because you cannot control the Zerg broods on your own, my queen. Believe me, It was not my intention to see this creature slip from my grasp."

"So now what? Are you going to tell me that the hybrid single handedly defeated your entire brood?"

"The creature defeated twelve zerglings, an Ultralisk, and a mutalisk. And I need not explain to you the logistical issues of scouting an entire planet. We're lucky we encountered them at all. Sometimes I envy the Protoss and Terran, who can locate a boi-signature by pressing a button."

"Stop complaining."

"I'm sorry, my queen."

"Well, what of the Protoss? Did it escape too?"

"Yes, unfortunately. Though my forces razed the gateway, we found no trace of the Protoss female. She must have fled through a warp portal as well."

"So now what?"

"We keep our forces mobile, and wait for the next Hybrid to hatch. In the mean time, we must make do with this little goodie that I found."

"Ah, Cerebrate, you were holding out on me. So this mission wasn't a complete waste of time."

"Where would we be without secondary objectives? I expect, in the long run, this will be more useful to us than a single, lonely hybrid."

"It's no excuse for failure, but perhaps you're right. If there's nothing more to report, I'd like to begin immediately with our guest."