X.
Golden grounds so absorbing
When the heat of the sun boils the skin
We have to stand the test of nature
To return to where we've been
Hold on my saviour
Keep my heart in holy dimensions
Drag me on your back
For one more day
- THE GATHERING "Golden Grounds"
Jim had only vague memories of them exiting Tyrador, so absorbed he was in his thoughts. At first, he regretted not attaching a psionic beacon to John – so that he could've kept track of his life further – but then shrugged that thought away. What he had done was probably enough because... he had his own life. Besides, now he knew where to look...
He did not keep count of the days that elapsed since that memorable rendezvous – they passed by in a warm, pleasant haze. Now, they were standing on the soil of another damaged world – one where a nameless battle between the Protoss and Zerg forces had happened during the first loop of the Great War. Perhaps this planet did not require a complete makeover like some others they had encountered... but something compelled them to pay closer attention.
When they arrived they found more than a few traces of war. Quite a lot of areas were glassed, evidently by the Protoss attempting purification against the Zerg hive clusters. They were passing by hecatombs of dead Zerg bodies – mostly decomposed down to the bones and chitin plating, but still poisoning the air and soil around them, as well as offending the sight in no small measure. At first Jim was inclined to torch them – a natural human reaction to encountering a source of biological taint – but Sarah pointed out that there was a much better way of dealing with these unfortunate graveyards. They wasted no time in speeding up the decomposition and went on.
Ruins of destroyed or abandoned Protoss bases, while not nearly as putrid, were dangerous nonetheless, as there was still unexploded ordnance around, and even the Khaydarin crystals could have been harmful should they fall into the wrong hands. After briefly scanning one such encampment Raynor turned to Kerrigan and made an exaggerated expression of worry.
"Well, looks like we're going to change our jobs and become full-time sappers and disassembly workers this time around. Or should we just call Artanis and tell him to send a team over to salvage this site?"
"Somehow I don't think he's going to waste his time to do this. Last I checked, he and his folks are still busy with the reconstruction of Aiur, and it's gonna take 'em a while", Kerrigan replied.
"Thought so. Well then, let's check this place for anything still active, shall we?"
The ruins of a particularly large Protoss base were spread across a large clearing in the forest of strange quivering trees, abutting a steep mountain slope on one side. The remnants of the outer perimeter were mostly covered in grass and undergrowth, but inside it the vegetation was somehow stunted. Remnants of broken Protoss structures, mostly smashed and charred beyond recognition, were littering the ground. Raynor was scowling as he was surveying the destruction – ever since he first set foot on Aiur years ago, he held within him a deep fascination with the technology and architecture of the Protoss race. That he was now technically a being superior even to the Protoss did little to change that sentiment, so seeing the wondrous structures being so mercilessly razed was hurting him. It was one thing to see the Protoss enemy through the crosshairs and targeting displays on the Hyperion – and he had partaken in quite a few battles against this species – and quite another to walk among the ruins. He knew full well that this outpost has been dead for years and yet largely irrelevant to the current situation of this race – which was far from grave – but for a second Jim felt like an archaeologist exploring the ruins of a hopelessly destroyed civilization that no amount of fascination would ever bring back.
Immersed in his thoughts, he left the scanning to Kerrigan. And when she spoke she could not hide his surprise.
"Imagine this, Jimmy, but there's a live Pylon on that side side. And a few cannons that might still be working".
Indeed, the small corner of the base closest to the mountain looked like it had suffered markedly less damage. What looked like a toppled Pylon half-concealed in the rubble was actually a still working Khaydarin crystal, and around it...
When Raynor crossed an invisible line several Photon Cannons sprang to life around the Pylon, revealing their particle emitters ready to fire. The turret bases were well concealed among the rubble and brush – whether by accident or by design, none of the newcomers could tell. The defensive automatons were still forming a dented but pretty obvious semi-circle around what looked like a half-collapsed entrance to an underground passage.
"Looks like they still have some kind of control post down there. And I feel... that there is someone still inside! I felt their mind brush against mine briefly", Kerrigan exclaimed.
"Say what? How could anyone survive in these ruins for years?"
"I have no idea. None that can be proven without getting inside first, anyway. But this looks like a problem. The field is trying to keep us out, and I'd rather not break in until we've exhausted every other option".
"Then we'll have to do some infiltration work. Just like the old days!"
"You're sounding a little too excited, Jimmy. That worries me a tiny bit".
"You know, I may be getting old or something, but I don't wanna rain destruction and mayhem upon that lair. I just wish we had some lockdown shells to knock out these turrets- What?"
Kerrigan folded her arms and arched one eyebrow, looking at Raynor with a hint of mischievous amusement.
"Of course. How could I forget".
Attacking photon cannons with a pistol sounded like a convoluted method of suicide, but Jim was sure of his marksmanship skills. Less so of his psionic abilities – he was always afraid to somehow mess up horribly and get the result opposite of what he was intending. Now, he was biding his time covered behind a thick tree trunk just out of the cannons' range. He was waiting for Kerrigan to spring a promised "diversion".
She refused to tell him just what she had in mind. "When you see it, you won't be mistaken", she said with a smirk. God, sometimes he felt so thick around her, despite years of the harshest combat experience imaginable and even the new divine blood running in his veins. Whichever was more important, none gave him the ability to understand her fully.
Then, he almost had problems believing what he was seeing. Sarah appeared from behind the bushes, armed with her old C-10 rifle, and walked straight at the turrets. When she came into the range, the Protoss cannons reacted and... He uttered a curse as a photon blast hit her head on – despite his knowledge of her new abilities, he knew that these cannons were no walk in the park. He almost felt the searing pain that she should've experienced but... Something felt off to him as he saw her level her gun and return fire, so he lingered for a moment more.
And then... Another Sarah appeared from the same direction, ran up to the turret and shot at it. And another. And yet another.
He almost laughed out loud. "How could I not know my woman! Illusions are the oldest trick in the book. Diversion indeed".
With that, he sprang to his feet and dashed into the firefight between a squad of illusions and a cluster of confused automatons. Weaving a protective cloak of shadow around himself, he ensured that the turrets considered the fake Ghosts a higher priority target. Once he was in the range, he aimed quickly and fired at the turret, focusing his will around the bullet. Time and space thickened around him, and the projectile left the pistol's barrel shining like a tiny star. The flow of moments slowed again for Raynor as he watched it smashing into the protective shield around the cannon... and exploding in a cloud of energy sparks. The cannon arced and froze in its reloading phase... and did not fire again.
He cast a quick glance to the scene of the battle. Just then, one of the illusions took a fatal blast and disintegrated in a poof of silvery smoke. The others were holding, if only barely, so Jim had very little time to deal with the rest of the towers. He hefted his pistol again and returned into the fray.
When the battle was over, Raynor looked around frantically. All the cannons were deactivated, as though hit with a powerful EMP Pulse each. Jim could not help slightly commending himself for what looked like a clean work: per his calculations, the effective Lockdown was going to last around half an hour – more than enough to get inside, if not to investigate the whole situation. Two surviving illusions of Kerrigan, having apparently exhausted their chain of commands, stood idly a few meters from Raynor. Both looked just like the real deal, and Jim smirked at the ridiculous idea. He sent a mental call to Sarah, urging her to join him, and got a silent affirmation.
Then, suddenly, something unexpected happened again. Both illusions came up to Jim, and each planted a kiss on his cheek simultaneously. But while the touch of the one on the right hand side was like a cool mist, the other felt as the real flesh. Before Jim could process this, the widely grinning Kerrigan waved her hand, and her doppelganger vanished in a cloud of bluish sparks. Jim laughed at his own stupidity.
"Did you really believe I'd be leaving my knight alone to fight a bunch of turrets, only sending these ridiculous shades to back you up?.. Didn't think so", she laughed.
"But... That was a dangerous gambit", he managed to say. "What if they'd started to target you down?"
"Danger has been my middle name for as long as I can remember myself. Yours, too. Besides, I have these plasma shield panties on", she shrugged. Then looked Jim in the eye and winked playfully.
"I gotta try that Mirror Image thing again in a... More private situation".