Zeratul soared through the stars as he thought of his mission. "As It was foretold, Amon, the Dark God, lives again. If any hope remains for our galaxy, it lies in the hands of the Xel'naga. Only one piece of the prophecy remains unfulfilled, that on the world where Amon was reborn, the last light will be revealed. There is one being who knew that location, a creature known as Samir Duran, or to the Terrans... as Narud. In this system hides a long forgotten Moebius facility. I must hope his secrets still rest within its walls." Before he could even start his search, he intercepted a message from fellow Protoss as the first, one of the Khalai and a member of his own Nerazim.
"Zeratul, It is a great honor." The Khalai spoke, donning armor that must be an Adept's, a recent addition to the Daelaam forces. "I am Praetor Talis, and to my right is Dark Templar Val'Lorna, and we humbly request your aid." Zeratul listened as Talis spoke. "An unknown force has been abducting templar from our colony worlds." Val'Lorna was next as she explained as well.
"Our forces managed to track them to a Terran facility, but we are under attack by the Swarm." That was news as Zeratul spoke.
"The Swarm? I'm on my way, Talis and Val'Lorna. May Adun hide you until I arrive." He peered out to the stars as the Void Seeker obtained the coordinates to the facility. Capturing Protoss from the colony worlds was both strange and foolish, but one course lays that direction, and he feared that Talis had helped him find the facility where Samir Duran was conducting Hybrid creation...
The facility was not as abandoned as expected as Talis explained the presence of a large-scale Terran force in the walls. "Our brethren are being held prisoner across the complex. We must free them before the Swarm overwhelms the facility." But, it also seemed that Kerrigan had found them as well as she spoke in connection.
"Zeratul. I thought I sensed your presence... Let's not mince words. Why are you here?"
"This place hold information I seek, and my captured brethren. I intend to free them both from the Terrans' grip."
"This facility is a breeding group for Amon's hybrid army. My Swarm will erase it from existence." She seemed to smirk as she continued. "But I know that won't stop you. So let me make this clear... Stay out of our way, Zeratul and we'll stay out of yours." Val'Lorna joined in as she pondered the tone and voice of the Queen of Blades as Zeratul arrived in the Void Seeker.
"Hmm. For the claims from Tenoari and the expedition group on Kaldir, that Kerrigan has changed." Talis set a counterpoint as Kerrigan was not only deploying the newer breeds of Zerg, she was also employing some older ones with newer and lethal abilities to their names.
"I fear these new Zerg breeds Kerrigan has will force us to not aid our brothers."
"Do not fear. We will not abandon this fight, Talis and Val'Lorna. If we are swift and clever. We can avoid the Swarm."
"Very well. I have made our nexus point ready for your arrival." Val'Lorna departed from the Nexus as she spoke as well, armed with a different weapon than the standard Warp Blades, more like an ancient weapon, generated and controlled to her will as what the Terrans once must have called a kunai.
"And I will lead our warriors to liberate our brethren."
"The captive Templar are held just ahead. Ready your blades, warriors." Zeratul took it all in as the Gateways opened and started to warp in Zealots and Stalkers while Probes started to build up the base.
"Kerrigan will send her Swarm to destroy the station's reactor. We must free our brothers before that happens." The Zerg were based on swarming the foes and for each one lost, ten or a hundred more will take its place, so destroying the reactor would kill all the forces, but Kerrigan was not that reckless to just throw it up in, she timed her attacks to weaken and strike as a Zealot inquired.
"Dark Prelate, we will need to cross the Swarm attack route to reach the captives..."
"Move forward only when it is clear. Avoid the Zerg forces at all costs." As much as doing battle was welcome, their mission was the captives and information, attacking the Zerg or getting in their way would welcome troubles and problems along the way so they had to time their attacks as well as Kerrigan roused her forces into action.
"Minions, push forward! Slay these hybrid thralls to the last." The assault happened and went just as well, but Mobius also took note of the Protoss outside as a wing of Viking came in to attack.
"Eliminate the Protoss base. Glory to our master!" Suffice to say that it would have been a problem, if the small force led by Val'Lorna didn't catch them off-guard, was a small statement as the Protoss built up before making their assault, keeping out of the Zerg's path and territory as they pushed in as the Terran attacked either way.
"Slay the Protoss. Their flesh will serve the master."
"These Terrans' minds have been consumed... They are slaves to the hybrid!" The Terrans that clashed with them faced Val'Lorna's unique weapon as she voiced with ripping it out of a Marauder's skull.
"Not for long." They pressed on to the first of the containment cells to free a force of Zealots as one thanked them for their aid.
"Thank you. We believed the end was at hand."
"What do you know of this facility, zealot?" Talis inquired as a number of them were wounded, but unbent.
"The Terrans... tortured us. Experimented upon our flesh. Most did not survive."
"I have seen foul work of this nature before, but Narud is dead." Zeratul voiced as he inquired as to who it was that brought the Protoss here to suffer such dark ways. "Whose hand bought you here?"
"Alas, I know not." So these ones were unaware of who had brought them this far before they asked for the chance to fight once more. "Praetor, we wish to join you-to avenge our brothers in arms."
"Then ready yourself, templar." They pressed on, but Talis was not happy to discover that Mobius had Pylons and were now using those to deploy forces, via warping.
"The Terrans are warping in... impossible!"
"They are experimenting with pylon technology! We should eliminate these Terrans and reclaim the pylon for ourselves."
"These Terrans will learn our wrath!" Those forces didn't survive for very long before the larger force beset them and destroyed the containment unit holding the Pylon in Mobius' grip, its freedom allow them to warp in additional Protoss to aid in the resuce.
"Reclaiming the pylon now. It is hard to believe such primitive beasts could manipulate our technology." Zeratul didn't like the matter at all, but he knew that, through the Hybrid, the Terrans were made to serve and aid in the creation of something that was a abomination to both races as they pushed in, avoiding the surging Zerg, and librating a bridge that lead into the Protoss base, but warping in troops was a much faster way of getting the forces in via Pylons as they made for the second cell and freeing the Protoss there and opening a new base location for a Nexus as Kerrigan mused.
"Your time is running short, Zeratul."
"Kerrigan, you know as well as I that Amon lives. Slaying his hybrid is a meaningless act. We must awaken the Xel'naga..." But there was not an answer from Kerrigan, implying that she cut the connection as Val'Lorna spoke.
"No response. Better to reason with a stone than the Zerg. The final cell awaits us, Zeratul. We should delay no longer."
"Agreed, but be careful, Val." Talis cautioned and Zeratul could see a bond between the two before focusing on the task on hand as Kerrigan continued her assault and attacks on the Terrans as she closed the gap and made bases with each destroyed location as they freed a second Pylon and returned the power to the Protoss rightfully as they made for the final cell.
It was touch-and-go, but they made it as the defenses were harsh and they Hybrid were released to stop them from saving the last, but the forces under the command of Talis, Val'Lorna, and Zeratul breached through and destroyed the final cell as a freed High Templar had answers for them all.
"We thank you, brothers and sisters." He pressed his fingers tougether as he spoke of how they ended up at the facility. "The Tal'darim have been abducting templar. Bringing them to Terran stations... turning us into hybrid."
"The Tal'darim?" Talis blinked as she spoke otherwise, certain that the cultists couldn't have done such a thing. "Those heretics have never ventured so close to our worlds."
"This can only be the work of Amon." Zeratul voiced with a certainty as he turned back to the Templar for more. "Templar, where were they holding you?"
"A Xel'naga temple, unlike any I have seen. It was called Erris, but its location was kept a secret from us." Zeratul had his reference as he approached a Terran console as those often had data by many to give to those who opened them.
"Moebius and the Tal'darim both served under Narud's command. He would have been known the location of this temple." He typed away with one hand on guard before a projection was brought forth and Zeratul exclaimed to the location, its name also there for all to see. "The Atrias system! This is where Amon was reborn deep within the sigma quadrant, and under Tal'darim guard." Talis and Val'Lorna came over as Talis started them off with paying Zeratul back for his aid.
"You have aided me in my quest, Zeratul. I am honor bound to help you in yours. We shall help you claim this temple."
"Together." Val'Lorna added and Zeratul nodded as they rallied the forces and left the facility behind, it remaining intact before a great eruption surged out to its destruction, Kerrigan having done her task, but Zeratul had something else to content with, finding out what lays hidden in the Tal'darim grasp, his answers waiting for them...