Hi all, I'm excited to announce that the last few chapters of Halls of the Tassadar will be coming thick and fast. This chapter was so easy to write, it pretty much wrote itself. It's been only two weeks since I updated last, so hopefully the accelerated postings will continue. I'm challenging myself to write a chapter at least every two weeks until I finish the story (which will be so sad!).
Many thanks to Some101 and Ellistriel for their reviews on chapter 20, and thank you guys for your faith in me. :)
Please see Chapter One for the disclaimer, and enjoy!
The ghost had appeared out of nowhere. One moment, Raynor's office was empty of all except the notorious leader himself, and the next, the air had shimmered in front of the desk, making Raynor dive for his pistol. The ghost had fully appeared, and the mask had turned in his direction, amusement clear even from behind the mask.
Raynor had the decency to look somewhat embarrassed, and tucked the pistol out of sight.
"Doesn't hurt to be careful." He muttered, flopping back into his chair. The ghost gave a raspy chuckle, and pulled off his helmet.
"We have enough sufficiently trained ghosts to begin phase two of the attack." He reported, voice slightly raspy. Raynor nodded thoughtfully.
"Good. Send them out, and find the trails that lead up the mountains. Keep a sharp eye out for the Spore and Sunken Colonies. If possible, eliminate them. Use our little surprise, if necessary." He ordered. The ghost's mouth lifted at the corners in a gross parody of a smile.
"They won't know what hit them." The ghost promised, putting his helmet back on. He saluted, and shimmered into nothing.
After a few minutes to make sure that the ghost had actually left, Raynor leaned forward, groaned and rubbed his forehead. Sometimes, he thought, those ghosts are just trouble waiting to happen.
Marcus and Kara watched from the barracks as the group of ten ghosts stood in the main clearing in front of the Command Centre. The few SCV's that were still roaming around, repairing buildings and safe passageways gave them a wide berth, and the soldiers that weren't training watched them uneasily.
"What's going on?" A voice came from behind the pair. Both Kara and Marcus turned, setting eyes on the Captain.
"Ghosts are about to initiate phase two." Marcus replied, moving so that Claudia could see out of the window. Her lips compressed into a tight line, but stepped forward to see anyway.
At that moment, a ghost looked up towards them, and held their gaze. Claudia shivered and moved backwards, out of sight, and Kara glared at the ghost, flipping him the bird. The gesture was lost as the roar of the transport ships stole the ghost's attention.
The transport ship hovered over the ghosts, and pulled up several of them before swerving off east, towards the mountains and into the morning sun. The next transport ship did the same, and the next two, and the next after that took the last couple. The metal hulls of the ships gleamed dully in the morning light as they sped away. Kara frowned.
"I thought those type of transports could take five each." She commented, eyeing the five ships as they sank to only a few meters above the scrubland that was well below the plateau. Claudia looked around the marine in confusion.
"They do." As soon as she saw the five ships, she nodded in confirmation.
"Oh. They're using plan 23." Kara whipped her head around and stared at the techie.
"And what is plan 23?" She asked, voice calm. Claudia sighed, rubbing her forehead.
"Only four people know about plan 23, and that's the way it has to stay." The Captain paused, eyeing the two of them speculatively.
"At least until it succeeds... or fails." She folded her arms and looked out the window towards the rapidly disappearing transport ships.
"And when will that be?" Marcus asked, glancing between the two women.
"We'll know when they send us a message." The Captain replied, a final tone in her voice. Kara glanced at Marcus, and the marine could have sworn that a devious light had been gleaming in her eyes.
"Not even for tea?" The medic asked slyly, pulling a small drawstring bag out of one of her many pockets. Claudia stared at the tea, and felt her will crumbling. It had been too long since she had tasted the stuff, and by the gods it was delicious. She sighed, and took a quick glance along the hallway.
"You'll need to know soon anyway. Follow me." She grumbled, taking off. The marine and medic glanced at each other and hurried after her.
They headed down what looked like a little-used corridor, as several ammo boxes were stacked up along the walls. The Captain ducked into a doorway, and started fiddling with a device in the middle of the room.
Marcus and Kara stepped into the room, and looked around, confusion and disbelief marring their features. The room looked like a miniature junkyard, with scrap metal parts lying piled up on the floor and a couple of utilitarian benches that sat in the far corners of the room. Marcus started as he recognised marine armour that looked like it had been hit by something corrosive. Claudia glanced at them.
"Shut the door." She ordered, still fiddling with the device. Kara was surprised to find an old-style door, one of those that swung open and shut. Gingerly, she shut the door, and turned around.
"Doll, what's going on?" She asked, beginning to feel agitated. Claudia glanced up at her.
"Do either of you have anything electronic on you?" She asked, nodding in satisfaction when they shook their heads.
Stepping back, she flipped a switch on the device. A strange pulse hit them, almost tangible in the air.
"What the hell was that!" Marcus exclaimed, quickly checking that nothing had been damaged.
"That was an EM pulse. It would knock out any electronic listening device, and pretty much anything else electronic." She paused and turned to look at Marcus.
"Including your armour." His eyes widened at that, and was suddenly glad that they were on the same side.
"That explains the door." He muttered, looking around the room once more.
Kara eyed the room, a questioning expression crossing her face.
"What's going on? Why have you brought us here?" She asked suspiciously. The Captain looked at both of them, and started laughing.
"I'm not going to pull out a gun and shoot you, so relax. Pull up a bench." She gestured towards one of the benches half hidden under a pile of scrap metal. Marcus gave it a dubious glance before pulling it out from the scrap metal. He brushed the small bits of metal off the surface, and Kara sat down gingerly.
Claudia sprawled herself on the floor, drawing her knees up to her chest. Looking up at her friends, she grinned impishly.
"What do you guys know about the Confederacy ghost program?"
Zeratul stood with his back to the room at large within the Nexus, flashing eyes staring out the window towards the edge of the plateau.
The Terrans would have sent out their scouts by now, Fenix shifted his shell, clearly uneasy with the psionic tension pulsing in the air. The Judicator's eyes flashed, and he paced out the length of the room.
If they kept their bond, he rumbled, his irritation at having to involve the Terrans in their plans clear to all in the room.
They will keep their bond, Fenix declared, shifting again. Artanis glanced at him, grateful for the support.
Are the Arbiters ready? Zeratul asked, eyes catching on a group of zealots practicing for battle.
They are ready. The Dark Templar and the observers await only your command, Artanis replied, moving to stand next to the Prelate. Zeratul nodded, eyes still on the zealots near the edge of the plateau. Artanis stared out of the window, curious as to what had held the Prelate's attention. His eyes caught on the zealots and his face pinched into a Protoss smile.
They hunger for vengeance, he explained, watching as the foot soldiers as their psionic blades arced gracefully in the air, the blue light casting a glow over them as strong as the morning sun.
They will gain it, Zeratul replied, before tearing his gaze away to focus on the others in the room.
Send our scouts, and may Adun be with them, he ordered, relishing the tense excitement the others radiated.
One Dark Templar strode from the room, his psionic energy causing the edges of his cloak to ripple.
Within minutes, two shuttles flew from the plateau, the arbiters and observers flying with them.
Now we can only wait for confirmation, Zeratul observed, watching the ships dive close to the scrub well below the plateau.
Several hours later, two ghosts watched as a Protoss shuttle expelled two Dark Templar. Concentrating, one of the ghosts felt for the presence of the Protoss, and after connecting briefly with a mind much stronger than his own, he gave up their position. The ghosts waited patiently, wordlessly, as the Dark Templar made their way up the slope to them.
Another half an hour had passed before they came into the tiny clearing the ghosts had been waiting in. Glancing up, one of the ghosts could only just make out the shape of the observer and arbiter hovering above them.
"Let's go." The ghost said, and turned from his position to begin the slow trek up the side of the mountain. The others followed, the observer floating above them directly. One of the Protoss pulled a small screen out of his robes, and handed it to one of the ghosts.
The Observer will inform us of any Zerg in our vicinity, he explained, as the ghost examined the screen, noting the four light blue dots in the centre of the dark blue screen.
"Good. I've heard that the observers can detect a greater distance than the Spore and Sunken Colonies?" He rasped, filters on his mask disguising his voice.
Correct, the Dark Templar replied succinctly.
We will have an advantage of only ten meters, the other Dark Templar warned, reaching for the screen.
I will watch out for potential dangers, he continued, gently taking the device from the ghost.
"Let's head out." The ghost whispered, a smile beginning to form behind his mask.
It was nearly evening when the screen in the Dark Templars hand began to glow red, indicating the Zerg. Creeping into a small hollow, the four warriors settled down to watch the Spore Colony as it twitched in the breeze, and a foul stench emitted from the hulking structure.
The two ghosts used the optics lens on their helmets to zoom in on the protective building, then on the ground around it.
"Do you see any hidden ground units?" One ghost asked, still trying to see through the foliage around the organic structure that stood as close to the top of the mountain as was possible.
The observer has not picked up any additional Zerg, building or not, the Dark Templar replied, checking the screen once more. The second ghost smirked.
"Time for plan 23." He said gleefully. The other ghost nodded, and brought out what looked like an ancient transmitter, complete with metre-long antenna. The Dark Templar looked at each other, psi energy slightly agitated.
What is plan 23? one of the Protoss demanded, clawed hands coming slightly forward. The ghosts smirked at each other.
"Just sit back and watch the show." The first ghost replied, pushing a button on the transmitter.
"Let's kill some Zerg."
Daffodils for a belated Daffodil day (If you don't know what Daffodil day is, it's a day that is devoted to cancer awareness and research so that we can strive to find a way of curing one of the most debilitating diseases in the world), and remember that reviews are like crack, and this poor authoress is an addict.
~le freak