Hey, people..my POS computer does not like me writing, so expect delays--I have to ignore 99% of the stuff in spellcheck. Remember, all you Blizzard bigwigs, I don't claim to own rights to the game; any resemblance to other fanfics, alive or flamed, is purely coincidental. Now, on with chapter two!!!

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Chapter Two: Braxis

Zasamankt raced back to the village, just in time to see the Town Nexus crackle with energy and collapse, burning with a blue flame. She had been out meditating in the Dune Sea when she heard the thunder of collapsing buildings and saw the smoke and flames rising from the settlement. However, she was too late, for the towns lay ravaged. She did, however, note that the bodies of the Protoss and Terrans were all immaculate. Their corpses had no marks on them, no signs of a violent death, except that their faces were twisted into visages of agony. Upon further inspection, she noticed that the bodies were drained of blood; their corpses had no internal organs. Filled with grief at this defilement of a warrior's corpse, she walked through the wreckage of the buildings until she came to her own dwelling. Digging through the rubble, she opened up a trapdoor and activated her personal hangar. A corsair, patterned with her personal symbol, rose out of the muck and gore. She took a disabled probe, stuffed it into the copilot's seat, and took off for the nearby planet of Braxis...

When she arrived, Zasamankt unloaded the probe and fixed it. The probe made a small whirring sound as it scurried off to find a suitable place for a Nexus among the shelves of packed snow and ice that made up the planet of Braxis. In a while, the Nexus hummed to life, and Zasamankt entered and established contact with the colony on Aiur. The focal crystals on the sides of the building shone in a planar pattern to create a screen in the middle of the roomy Nexus. On the screen was a Protoss face worn by overwork, but still youthful in its makeup.

"Greetings," said Artanis. "We detect that you are not in the presence of a Protoss elder for a colony. We also detect that your broadcast comes not from Shakuras, but from Braxis. Can you explain this to me?"

" Shakuras colony has been destroyed," Zasamankt said with more than a hint of sorrow in her voice. "A new Xel'Naga race has come and overrun the base. These horrors defiled the bodies of some of our greatest warriors to empower some foul creation of theirs...the only survivors were myself and the handful of troops Commander Raynor and Zeratul had taken out to destroy a Zerg colony discovered the day before..." Zasamankt trailed off, consumed with grief and rage.

"Then, you are hoping for aid, so that you may rebuild Shakuras?"

"Yes, I am," she replied to his scornful tone. "I hope to restore my homeworld to its former glory, in the memory of all of the brave warriors who died on that fateful day. This desolate planet seems to be the perfect outpost from which to mount a frontal assault on the Zerg."

Artanis's features softened. "It is good to see the spirit of the warrior in all citizens of the Protoss conglamerate. I will send help to you, limited by how much I can succesfully warp at a time. In the meantime, however, there are several bands of rogue Terrans scattered in your general vicinity. If we could enlist the aid of these scattered bands, they would prove to be a powerful ally." Artanis's picture dimmed, and several Khalai zealots, greener than grass, burst out of the point where Artanis's portrait was.

"En taro adun, Executor. We are at your disposal."

"Scout out the surrounding area. If you see any terrans, do not attack, but note their placement and return to tell me. If you see any Zerg, attempt to subdue rather than kill them and bring them back to me. We cannot be ignorant of our surroundings.

The Zealots saluted, then walked out of the Nexus. Zasamankt followed them to give further instructions when she suddenly felt cold steel against the tip of her spinal cord, and froze.

"Stick yer hands in the air," growled a rough Terran voice. "My home planet was destroyed by the Protoss, and I got nothin' against killin' one..."

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