Starcraft: Reigns of War

Disclaimer: I do not own Starcraft, Warcraft, or any characters associated with them as they are the property of Blizzard entertainment.

"talking"

Thoughts


Project Dawn


~ Lordaeron ~

"Huh, well that was certainly unexpected" said Arthas.

"Indeed" said Kelthuzard. "I did not believe the Protoss would've been able to prevail. But then there was the unexpected appearance of the machine people and their army".

"I have never seen such dreadful fire" Arthas continued recalling the blaze. Though he was ordered to attack, he decided to hold back to see how things unfolded. Good thing that he did. In a flash of light, everything on the battlefield was destroyed leaving only charred remains behind as the fire was so great that even the trees from a mile away were burned.

For those who managed to escape the battlefield and weren't within the magical barrier of the Protoss, they didn't fare so well themselves. Though they were not burned, they suffered perhaps a far worse fate. In his many years, the fallen prince has never seen such an illness. Day after day they started getting weaker till their skin and hair started falling out till ultimately they died. It was a truly horrific sight for those who were faint of heart.

Frankly the only way Arthas could describe it was some sort of poisonous fire.

"But at least it has given us a significant amount of time" said Kelthuzard. "The Burning Legion has suffered a major blow as they will not be able to return for some time. This will provide a great opportunity to rid ourselves of Kil'jaeden's watchdogs as we shall be one step closer to reviving the Lich King".

"Excellent" Arthas sneered.


~ Lordaeron ~

Fleeing the battlefield with only a few of his men, Garithos was disgraced of such a humiliating loss. Once the tides of war changed he had no choice but to run. Once he was miles away, he dared not look back even after hearing the thundering boom and the flash of light.

Racing all the way back to his castle, many questions were asked about what had transpired and where most of the army was. However the dark knight dared not share this knowledge as well as forbade his men from doing the same.

As of right now, Garithos needed to make plans in the defense of his kingdom. His 'allies' had suffered a crippling loss so it was unlikely he could count on their aid. For the time being the homunculus in the capital will listen to him till ordered otherwise by their creator as he still had some forces to defend his territory.

But otherwise he needed to figure out how he was going to hold the Protoss and machine people at bay when they decided to attack in revenge.

As an old Terran saying went, 'if you want to make god laugh, tell him your plans'. "We're under attack!" a voice ranged throughout the halls. Barging into Garithos room, "sire! We are under attack!" said a knight.

"What?!" Garithos said rather alarmed. Running up to the top, he was accompanied by his men as they saw what was outside.

"Flying metal ships?!"

"Are we under attack?!"

"Soldiers to your battle stations!"

For a small squad of vikings and wraiths were flying over the area. But contrary to their appearance, their mission was not to attack. Just from their presence alone, it was enough to scare the people down below into action to focus their attention on them. As a distraction, it allowed for a medicvac to fly in as it dropped off a single specter onto the ground.

Getting news from the recon team, one of their own was taken and they were here to take him back. However they needed to find him first.

So while everyone was frantically running about trying to figure what was going on, it was the perfect cover for a lone specter to look around.

"I'm sensing Eli's presence" said the specter. "I'm making my way to him now". Entering the structure, the shadow blade assassin made his way in. "Definitely looks to be a dungeon of some sort. How deep does this thing run?" Going down, the specter saw many types of torture related rooms. But finally at the bottom floor, he found where all the prisoners were kept. Inside was only one guard with incredibly pale skin. "It must be a homunculus. Well no tears lost if I take out this thing" as he cloaked before knocking on the door.

Attracted by the sound, the demon knight checked on the door peaking through the port hole to see no one outside. Going outside, that was a fatal mistake as a force grabbed his head and twisted it around breaking the creature's neck.

Noticing that the guard was dead, all the prisoners went to their bars to see what happened as all they could see was a corpse on the ground. But moments later, the inmates were stunned as shocks of red lightning shimmered as small hexagons lit up as then a man materialized before fully appearing to them.

Everyone in the room was shocked at the sudden appearance of the . . . . 'thing'. But nonetheless, they were more worried of what 'it' was exactly and what it was doing here.

But instantly realizing who it was and seeing the insignia on his shoulder, "you sir are a sight for sore eyes!" Eli called out with a gleeful smile. "Come on, get me out of here".

"It'll be to dangerous to escape right now with everything going on outside".

"Outside? What did you guys do while I was here? Start another war or something?"

"We're going for a direct extraction". The specter then went to his radio, "setting up location beacon" as he threw a device onto the ceiling. "Pin point our location and set breaching charges to this dept".

"Roger that".

Flying to the prison complex, the medivac hovered over it as two marines were deployed onto the roof. Setting up explosive charges, the targeting sensor synced with that of the beacon down below calculating the precise explosive yield factoring in location, distance between floors, and structural integrity. Running the numbers, the charge was set as the demolition device busted a massive hole straight down to the dungeons. Jumping in, the medivacs magnetic tethers lowered the marines down. Once low enough, they were released as their powered armors would be able to handle the landing.

Hitting the ground with a thud, the prisoners were once more surprised at the two new appearances of two blue large metal knights

Spotting Eli, the marine easily ripped the door right off the cell. "We're leaving now. I believe we've overstayed our welcome".

"Hold on" Eli then said. "We're taking everyone here too" looking to the many men, women, and children still stunned at the events.

"That was not part of the mission parameters" then said the specter. "We were to take you and only you".

"I understand all that" said Eli. "But we just can't leave these people here and don't ask why as there would be too much to explain right now. However if anyone asks I'll take full responsibility. So please help me get everyone out of here!"

Listening to all that, the specter had to think it over. In accordance to commander Raynor, they were not to engage anyone as they were simply here to take back one of their own. But in relation to Eli's request, it was not exactly feasible. The medivac could not evacuate everyone here in one trip as they would need another vessel to get everyone out to safety. Then came the complication of getting all these people aboard. Since they had no identification bands or powered armors to lock on to, the drop ships couldn't simply pull them up. Thus the medivac would need to land to get them all on.

But looking to all of them, the deciding factor for the specter was touching all the minds of everyone here. These people were hostages being used to leverage the other military commanders. Though in truth it didn't concern him or the Raiders as this was an internal affair, he was not without a heart. So going to his radio, "Hyperion, do you read me?"

"Yes" answered Matt from the bridge. "Is there some sort of complication?"

"This rescue mission just got bigger. I'm requesting a vacant medivac be sent to our location".

Matt immediately didn't like what he heard as he knew the team was currently going off mission. Though he was confident in their technological superiority, it was generally wise never to leave things to chance nor waste time. So choosing to reprimand them later, "medivac is on the way. Estimated time of arrival at maximum thrust, eight minutes".

"More then enough time" said the specter. Looking to Eli, he gave a nod in approval as he would also be actively translating for him.

"Everyone!" Eli called out. "We're getting out of here. We can trust them. So please in an organize fashion and in a single filed line proceed up. They will keep us safe". Just like that, the marines ripped every cell open as the prisoners were still stunned trying to wrap their heads around what was going on.

"Could you explain what's going on?" asked Jaina as she warily watched the giant metal man easily breaking open their cells.

Thinking quickly for the best explanation, the specter read Eli's mind to create a story they could understand and believe. "We are what your kind calls the machine people and we are allies of the Protoss. We were sent here on special request to take you all to safety".

Seeing as he was the person in charge, "what assurances do we have in knowing what you say is true?" Jaina then asked looking into the weird red circular eyes of the machine man. Granted their current stay was nothing to be desired. However who knew if going with them would be any better.

But as a counter as they didn't have the time to argue, "you can stay here is you want" the specter simply replied. "But our mission is to take you all to safety". With that, he started to climb the stairs as they weighed their options and decided to follow. "Medivac" he communicated, "set touch down point in an open area. We'll be there shortly".

"Roger that".

"We got some problems out here" called the wraith pilot. "We will not be able to hold them off for long as the natives has just sortied air units of their own. Unless we're allowed to shot back, we're going to be in a bit of trouble. Also they've appeared to be aware of what we're up too as they're sending soldier's to your position".

"Take out any pathways to block them off. We'll be out as soon as we can" the specter called back.

"Confirmed" as vikings and wraiths locked onto their targets. Scanning the vicinity, they wanted the casualties to be absolutely zero as they had no business involving civilians. Firing missiles at towers and roads, the precision strikes crippled the area as wood and stone piled up blocking off the roads. But as warned, soldiers on giants birds were deployed into the air to deal with them. Though in small numbers they were no real threat as they were far more maneuverable by comparison. Plus against their armored hulls, their primitive weapons were unlikely to damage them. However they did have to worry if one of them managed to get a lucky shot at their engines or fuel lines or even how magic would effect them. Hence if they were not allowed to shoot back, they had to hope the rescue team would hurry up.

Meanwhile, the rescue team was making good progress. Moving up the stairs cloaked, the specter dealt with the remaining guards. Since they were homunculus, there was no need to hold back as they were killed mercilessly by the shadow blade assassin with his combat knife.

However there were still plenty more to deal with as they noticed the prisoners escape. But marines were quick to defend them.

As the homunculus guards charged at them with their swords, the were severely outmatched by the Terran powered armors. Snapping their blades with their robotic hands like twigs, they followed up with a punch instantly killing the creatures as they were indented into the walls. "Well no point in nice and quiet" as the marines armed their rifles and started pushing up. Opening fire, thundering claps echoed through the halls scaring the people behind them. Regardless they continued to move forward.

"What frightening power" Jaina said under her breath stunned at the display of these machine people. One of them had electrified red before disappearing altogether. For the one's 'protecting' them, they wielded weapons that gave off loud and bright flashes that seemed to work like rifles. "Are these creations of dwarfs?" Jaina then wondered. It was the only thing that made sense yet seemed absolutely unlikely. If the dwarfs had such amazing weapons, holding off the undead and the Burning Legion would've been easy. As they are part of the Alliance, such weapons would've been made available to them as well. However these machine people seemed more 'complicated' in design. It was unlikely the dwarfs, gnomes, or goblins would've been capable of coming up with something so sophisticated in such a short time. So this still left the questions of who they were and where they came from.

But whatever the case was, these machine people were not to be trifled with.

Arriving to the surface, the two metal men guided them to an open square as two giant metal ships were present as doors began opening up on them.

"Get inside" the marine said. "These will take us to safety".

"Are these giant hunks of metal supposed to fly?" Jaina asked skeptically as she wasn't sure how this thing was supposed to get into the air like a zeppelin or a copter.

"Save the questions for later" the specter then answered disengaging his cloak reappearing as he startled a few of them. "Take a seat and we'll be out of here shortly". Sitting all of them to their seats, safety bars engaged securing them to insure a smooth ride. With all passengers loaded, the medivac lifted off closing the bay doors as it started gaining altitude.

"The package is secured" said the drop ship pilot. "We're pulling out now" as all Terran vessels now pulled out of the area.


~ Lordaeron (Shield of Auir) ~

With the Hyperion sitting up in high orbit, it was linked to the Protoss mothership.

Using the Raider's flagship as a giant antenna array, the Protoss had managed to boost their signal all the way to Shakuras as they were able to get in touch with there people. With the connection established, the Protoss were free to mass recall when they were ready. But a few things needed to be sorted before they left. However they needed to get back soon as the Khalani and the Nerazim were barely holding things together as they were at each others throats. Thus Artanis had his priorities.

But with the connection established, groups of Protoss were now able to leave the planet. The injured were the first ones off world. Though a mothership was sufficiently equipped for long voyages facilitating everything and anything they would ever need, their people on Shakuras would be better suited to help them.

Along those who left was Zeratul. Last they heard, the moment he arrived he jumped into his void seeker and was off to further investigate the prophecy.

As more Protoss left, some were still in the transition getting ready to leave.

Gathering her research, Lasarra looked over the last of her things to make sure everything was there.

"You sure seem to be in a hurry to leave" said her fellow scientist. "I do not understand why you wish to go. There are still many things here to study on Azeroth. There are plans to set up a co-research station here with the Terrans".

"Ugh, I can't believe you'd even consider working with such primitive minds".

"True the Terrans are very . . . . Young. However they do provide at times interesting perspectives to ways we'd never think of such as the development of nano-machines to fight the Zerg virus. Although it might prove to be troublesome I can work with them".

"As can I" Lasarra answered. "However I had gathered all the relevant data to move forward with my research. Thus I have no further interest in looking into anything else at this time. But perhaps eventually I might return here if something new peaks my interest".

"So where are you heading off too?"

"Going to go back to Shakuras and run my programs there. But afterward" as Lasarra gave this some thought, "I might go to Kaldur".

"Kaldur? Why? It's a frozen wasteland. What's worth studying there?"

"What better place to do dangerous experiments with nothing to harm from light years around? Besides a terraforming project was being planned there and I feel it's worth a look".

"Then I wish you the best of luck" to which Lasarra nodded as soon she and her belongings warped away.

Meanwhile in the meeting room, Raynor was in heavy discussion with Artanis. As noted, they had agreed upon setting up a research site here. There was much to be learned on Azeroth to further push the boundaries of their understanding of science and technology.

However there was another matter that the two great leaders were in disagreement about.

"I am most grateful for your assistance James Raynor" said Artanis. "However I cannot allow you to do such a thing as this".

"I understand that" Jim replied. "I wouldn't suggest it either under any other circumstance. However . . . . This isn't exactly any other circumstance". As warned by Zeratul, the end of the universe was coming. The threat was quite real in the form of the fallen Xel'naga and his hybrids. Through encounters and visions of the future, in an all out battle they were going to lose. Not just lose the war, but become completely annihilated as their people and civilization will be destroyed.

As Jim learned of what he could from the Ihan crystal and his own encounters, he started making plans to fight back any way he could. But if he failed and were to die in battle he wanted there to be some safe haven somewhere out there in the universe. One spark of life out there in the distant void. He needed to find an unregistered unexplored planet that the Terran, Zerg, or Protoss haven't discovered yet in which the Hybrids would not be easily able to find.

Granted he learned from Artanis that this was a planet that the Xel'naga had studied, there was a chance that Amon completely abandoned it. Of course Jim didn't plan to put all his eggs in one basket as he wanted to have multiple planets out there to colonize. But most importantly to have an Earth like environment for the best chances for their people.

Of course that wasn't the problem. When it comes to uninhabited planets for space faring races, the general rule was first come first serve.

However if there was an already established civilization, it was generally hands off.

Zerg obviously didn't care as all life were to be assimilated if they had any useful essence to take.

The more barbaric Terrans would simply wipe out the current inhabitants in order to colonize.

But for the Protoss, any underdeveloped worlds were instantly in their protection. If any race were to move in on them, they would be met with first a warning then a plasma bombardment if they refused to leave.

Artanis understood clearly with what was at stake. Equally as so, what he and his people owe James Raynor for his service to the Protoss. But regardless of the desperation, it didn't make it right to take over this world.

Deciding to clarify himself, Jim wanted to make sure there was no confusion as he wanted to make his goals as clear as possible. "You got nothing to worry about as I have no intentions of taking what ain't mine to have. But this is under the strictest idea of a worse case scenario as I want this planet amongst others to serve as a beacon of hope in the event we fail. Here" as the rogue leader pulled up a holo-map of the planet, "some proposed deserted spots where we can set up a colony or even a synthetic landmass on the ocean waters. Protocols can easily be put into place as not to interfere with the natives or their own natural development. I understand there are a lot of complications involved with my proposal. But we're currently about to enter our darkest hour and things are going to get worse before they get any better".

Artanis could only sigh. He really didn't like the idea as these kinds of events generally ended very poorly. Even with the Protoss interactions with the indigenous, it was having a profound effect regardless of their attempts to keep them at a minimal. However he knew the leader of the Raiders was an honorable man who was true to his word. As such, he would give him this chance and make an exception this one time considering the variables in play. "Very well James Raynor. But be warned, if you or your people are to cross the line then we will deal with you personally".

"No argument there in keeping me honest".

Like that, the plans were underway. Two stations were to be built with one on the ground and the other in high orbit. Reluctantly, the Protoss would help using their warp technology to instantly transport materials or personnel for construction of this project.

Furthermore going through profiles, Jim had lined up some scientists, engineers, or just people looking for work as being stationed this far away would've been practically the safest place from the war going on right now.

Going over the time table, once a warp gate had been established the Shield of Auir would return to Shakuras as Artanis had other matters to deal with.

The base on the ground would serve as the primary outpost. From the outside, it would be properly camouflaged to look like any other town. But underneath, it would house many Terran facilities from labs to armories. In addition, some places were reserved for Protoss use in relation to their needs.

As for the space station, it would serve as the primary rally point where the warp gate was to be housed. In addition a hanger bay was to be installed in the off chance that star fighters were needed. In the situation that the demons were to return, a tactical laser cannon was also in the works in the event they needed to make strategic strike.

If everything went to plan with Jim overseeing the construction, he would need to only be around for a month till he could comfortably leave things in the hands of everyone else.

But to what he reckoned, what could go wrong in a month or even after he left?

To be continued . . . .


Author's notes: Hope chapter was good. Now to some commentary.

Garithos and some of his men had fled the battlefield getting a significant distance as not to get caught up within the nukes radiation. However some of the soldiers who tried to flee were not so lucky. But the radiation was soon negated as noted in the last chapter.

Lasarra, I am sorry. But you die after Kaldur to which I am simply following canon. Zeratul had to be on his way to follow the plot of setting up the events for Zerus.

Additionally, when you complete the New Folsom mission you see the Raiders with a fleet of battlecruisers. Frankly that took not only a lot of money but also resources. So I figured the outline planets of the Dominion that Jim saved from the Zerg allied themselves with him. That's where he get his resources and personnel from short of his funding from the Moebius Foundation.

Meanwhile Artanis and his group needs to get back to Shakuras to set up the events of Legacy of the Void. However there will be Protoss still on Azeroth who will be studying there still. But the primary focus of this arc will be on the Terrans and how there presence will affect the world.

But seeing as there will be only a handful of Protoss present, does anyone want to create a few of them with some character backgrounds?

Anyways thanks for reading and I further extend my gratitude for reviewing as well.