Aiur had changed badly as Protoss either fell to the influence or to the approaching Zerg Swarm that suddenly emerged as Karax kept close to the dark templar protecting him, but it was not enough as the Centurion protecting, after killing another Zergling and spotted two more creeping on them, readied for fight before getting ambushed by a third and getting mauled a bit as a Hydralisk stalked forward and reared back to attack the Phase smith before a psi blade lanced through and it fell in death to Artanis and a few of the Zealots, their nerve cords severed as the Zerg tried to kill them, but they were swift, powerful, and able before Artanis stood back up and faced Karax as he spoke. "Phase-smith Karax, I have been looking for you."
"Artanis, praise the gods!"
"Your nerve cords... they must be removed." Karax raised a hand before turning his head in explaining.
"It was done by the dark templar." The cords were indeed removed as Karax looked back in speaking. "I am free of the Khala's corruption! Are there others?" Artanis deactivated the psi blade as he breathed a bit of regret, but admitted that they did what they could.
"We have saved all that we could... Come, we must escape this world before time runs out."
"Escape? How?" The answer was in the distance as Artanis pointed to it in explaining.
"The Spear of Adun still rests beneath the ruins of Kor-shakal. Its generators are ancient, but a phase-smith of your ability will know how to bring them online."
"The Spear of Adun." Karax rested a hand to his chest as he spoke in grateful tones. "I... I am honored to have the opportunity. This is fortune we cannot ignore."
"Indeed. Come, we must go at once!" With that, they headed out to make base near the Spear, it will take time to get the mighty vessel to fly once more, to ensure that they departed the world freely and without Amon catching on too soon...
Artanis spoke from the Nexus set up as his eyes took in the craft that was a piece of the arkship as he voiced. "The Spear of Adun lies dormant beneath the Heart of the Conclave. I had hoped to raise it to secure our victory against the Zerg. But now it is our last hope for survival." But they were not alone as, from across the way, Amon approached in the form of Selendis, accompanied by some corrupted Zealots, those that they couldn't save in time for the corruption to find firm roots in.
"Artanis... Why do you flee from your salvation?"
"Selendis... She has fallen under Amon's control. Zeratul, where are you?" The Dark Prelate spoke as he explained with Val'Lorna alongside him.
"Val'lorna and I are arriving with Dark templar survivors, some of which should be at your location by now." Tenorai spoke as well as he voiced with success in freeing some of the crippled brothers from Amon's power.
"Hierarch. I managed to save some of our brethren within the Dragoons." So, while the Gateways were synced with the Stalkers, they had the firepower of the Dragoons beside them, that was good fortune as they hit hard from a farthest distance and were stronger than the Stalkers in a way.
"Understood. Karax, we have to bring the Spear of Adun online quickly!" A power cell came alive, but Karax had bad news on that front.
"The first power cell is activating... but the remaining four have been disabled by creep."
"I see... We have no choice but to clear them. What of our defenses?" Karax had the answer as well to that, form the state of the inactive Photon Cannons and returning Shield Batteries.
"Unfortunately, they are without power... However, the Spear of Adun's support systems can aid us." Artanis blinked at hearing that as Karax spoke. "They will allow us to deploy Pylons anywhere on the battlefield. We should deploy one here as soon as possible." Ready-made Pylons, deployed easily to any site and serving an easy method of getting Pylons in place to power structures and defenses for the battle to come. Indeed, the first order of business being the structures at the entrances of the base. "These photon cannons can defend our nexus point, Hierarch. They require only a pylon to function. You can warp in a pylon using the Spear of Adun. Activate it through the command terminal I have managed to connect to the Nexus point, it will be further adjusted to connect to any commander's gauntlet or helm psi link." Artanis looked in bringing it up and found that the Spear could deploy a Pylon now as he selected the area and the Pylon warped in with a cost to their mineral gathering as Karax voiced the uses of the two structures there. "Our cannons will now fire upon enemies within range. If they become damaged, the shield battery will restore their shielding.
It was good, but they did not come to experiment, they came to clear out the Zerg infestation, keeping the Spear from going anywhere. "These defenses will indeed be vital to our evacuation, but our first priority must be to clear the power cells of creep." Karax nodded to Artanis' thought as Tenorai spoke.
"I will go with our forces and destroy the areas of creep." The closest being past the reactivated defenses to the north-east as Zealots and Stalkers rallied to him, but getting there, they had additional back up as Artanis wanted the Dragoons at the back line for now.
"Artanis, a few Centurions have come to assist you in the evacuation. Use them well." And use them he would as, somehow, the Centurions leapt into the fray, phasing through their Protoss brothers and stunning the Zerg for brief moments in closing the gaps, allowing the troops to move in and clear it out as Karax spoke about their Gateways.
"We can now transform our gateways into warp gates. This allows us to warp in warriors to any area with pylon power." This was good fortune to deliver troops to the front in a need or in reinforce, but they didn't linger as the Zerg made their strike. "Zergling bioforms on approach to our nexus. We must rally our defenses!" From the same way, but between Photon Cannons and Dragoons, the way was kept safe as Karax mused.
"I am detecting unpowered warp gates nearby. Constructing a pylon next to them would restore their power, giving us an advantage. The Spear of Adun's Deploy Pylon ability would be ideal for this. Of course, our probes can always warp in pylons as well." Indeed, but doing that put their Probes at risk as they pushed ot the south, setting up a defense there before uncovering one of the warp gates in the area, good to have in bringing more of the freed Daelaam to the fray as they freed the second power cell from its Zerg bindings. "The second power cell is active. The Spear's sensor array is reacting..." Amon voiced over everything in blind or rather selfish desires.
"Do not deny your destiny, Artanis. Your people have finally found true unity."
"The only true unity I see, is our hatred for you..." Val'Lorna growled as she and Zeratul continued their search and liberation of their brethren, but hat the Spear was picking up was a common practice for the Protoss as Karax exclaimed.
"Sensors online. Wait- what is this? Warp prisms approaching our nexus point?" Artanis was familiar with the tactic and commanded that the corrupted vessels be destroyed.
"Stalkers, eliminate those warp prisms!" They were quick in doing so as, left unchecked, warped-in corrupt Protoss would have given them trouble as they pushed down the northern end, some troops left to the south to defend it as Karax voiced, they just pleased to have set up the defenses before the attack.
"Another pack of Zerglings is approaching our nexus from the south." They cut down on it before the second force moved in with the first cleared out some Zerg and reactivated a second Warp Gate. Zeratul did mused on something, that could better their chances.
"Wait, if we can get close enough to some of our brethren, we may be able to free them." Artanis nodded, Amon may be in control of the Khala right now, but it was brief, an ambush, if they could sever the nerve cords now, they may be able to save those on the battlefield before Amon fully ingrains his will on them.
"Struggle no more... Be released from your pain!" Artanis thought otherwise, life was pain, any that claims to carry such a promise was a forger of lies and deceit as the force down south saved some more Protoss, the Dragoon unable to be saved before they had to rupture the protective armor, the Zealot there thanking them.
"Thank you... We will aid you any way we can." They continued on their path, activating the third and final Warp Gate in the area before pushing in to the third power cell, the northern forces getting forces in, but holding the ground from Amon's attempts in that direction.
"All life is broken... flawed. It must be reforged." Life was not meant to be perfect, there should be errors, dangers, troubles, what this Fallen One was promising was a paradise at the cost of your mind and body to its greed and wrath as they cleared it out, it activating as Amon lectured. "Every hand turns against you. Even the ground beneath your feet carries the seeds of my victory." Nydus Worms erupted from around the Protoss base as Artanis commanded.
"Nydus Worms! Warriors, strike them down! We are not defeated yet!" The forces had to backtrack, but that would leave their backs exposed to the enemy, but the Nydus Worms barely had a chance to unload their Zerg attack before suddenly dying to the strikes of Psi blade and fury as Val'Lorna and Zeratul had returned, at their backs the blades of Dark Templar and the scattered Stalkers they had collected blinking into the base as Zeratul spoke.
"Artanis, we have arrived, and will aid you by any way we can."
"Thank you, old friend." Artanis then had the Dark Templar hold fast at the base, in case of additional Nydus Worms and any corrupted Protoss that managed to slip past, freeing them and easily freeing the Dragoons enslaved now as the fourth cell was freed and activated to Karax confirming it.
"We're almost finished, Hierarch. The Spear of Adun is nearly online! Only one cell remains."
"Enough. The end to the cycle of infinite madness has come. Cease your struggle against the salvation I bring." A mix of Nydus Worms and Warp Prisms arrived to deliver the forces, but they were thwarted once again by the Nerazim as the two forces merged to get to the last power cell as Amon voiced. "All shall be one. All conflict shall end." But they managed it as the power cell came alive, fueling all of its power to the Spear of Adun and the forces quickly pulling back to the surge of Amon's corrupted as the bridges crumbled to the Spear coming alive and the ground shifting out of the way as Karax spoke.
"Power transfer completed! The Spear of Adun is ready to depart."
"Warp all Firstborn free from Amon aboard, Phase-smith. We must flee this world if we are to survive."
"As you command!" Those freed, those that were freed, and those that have been freed for the longest time now were warped aboard a mighty ship as the base defenses held out to the onslaught before the Spear hummed with power and rocketed in a warp jump off the world once called home and leaving the Protoss a bit more broken, but now wiser to what had been transpiring against them...
Among the stars now sailed a titan of a ship, scaling greater than the Motherships as Karax spoke in guiding the quad of Artanis, Tenorai, Val'Lorna, and Zeratul through the great paths and facilities of the Arkship now at their call. "The Spear of Adun, a marvel of Khalai engineering and last of the three great Arkships... each created to ensure the continuation of our culture in a dark time."
It even carried with it legions of Zealots and Templar to fight for it, though first they had to bore the loss of the Khala, severing them from Amon's grasp for good. "Within its chambers rest contingents of Zealots... templar who bravely sacrificed entering suspension so that they may serve as this vessel's army. Though it pains me greatly. I have begun to severing their nerve cords."
In the lower reaches was where the great weapons and tools of the Protoss could be forged and made as a fallen Nerazim was melded into her new Stalker body. "The ship's lower decks contain a starforge capable of constructing weapons of war." But Tenorai and Val'Lorna were most in awe of the great arena that resided in the center of the ship itself, even Artanis was of like mind as it would help guide them on a better path, strengthening them for the battles ahead, once they took to the force in earnest. "Near the center of the Spear lays the training arena, where several of our most highest warriors and others go to train and to learn from each other for the war to come."
They ascended soon after to the helm, where the stars shined and glowed before them. "There is much to learn about this vessel. Its technology is ancient, yet highly advanced. We are aboard a relic from a glorious time when our culture shined as a constellation." The center emerged a console before expanding out in a map of the whole of the galaxy that is the Koprulu Sector. "The celestial array has be updated, Hierarch. From here, you may select our next point of travel." Artanis looked upon it before he turned his gaze to the four before him now.
"With this vessel, we will avenge what has transpired, Karax. And we will free the Templar!" They nodded as Zeratul lingered with the Hierarch while Karax headed off to contend with a few things and with Tenorai and Val'Lorna heading to the arena to better their own skill set before he selected the Nerazim homeworld as he spoke. "Aiur lost once more... My grand vision of reclamation left in ruins. I have failed my people. This must not stand." With Aiur fallen to Amon, it was only a matter of time before those corrupted and Zerg alike would surged to slaughter the Nerazim remaining there. "The Nerazim of Shakuras ritually sever their connection to the Khala. Because of this, they are now the last free Protoss. I must reach them before Amon's armies." And so, the Spear of Adun had its first course, to liberate and save the Nerazim from his headstrong folly...