"And so, we say goodbye to truly the most proud and loyal templar who ever lived." Fenix's voice ran over the small gathering. Among the group were Zeratul who sat farther in the shadows with a few templar behind him. Judicator Aldaris and ceremonial looking members of the Conclave stood near too, staring at the burning blue flame.
"His loyalty was never to the conclave. No, his loyalty stood for the safety of Auir where he would risk his own life and reputation to save it, making ally's no Protoss would ever dream, but in this bringing us a victory we could never dream. En taro adun Tassadar."
The surrounding figures all muttered 'En taro adun' in answer and slowly moved away, as the burning blue flame grew smaller and smaller. As many of the Protoss walked away, all that was left when the flame extinguished was Zeratul, Fenix and Raynor.
"He was a great Templar." Fenix said.
"He was a great Protoss,Ó said Raynor. "When I left Arcturus and got caught on Mar Sara, the last person I expected to jump to my rescue was a Protoss."
There was silence for a few moments after their statements. Zeratul walked away first and he immediately disappeared.
"What will happen to him?" asked Raynor when he was sure Zeratul was gone.
"He will be forgiven by the counsel for his help, but surely he will leave again into hiding. The dark templar will never he welcome on Auir. Shameful, yes."
"What about all the protoss? Are you gonna stay on this world or is it too wrecked by the zerg?"
Fenix shook his head. "The very planet has suffered a mortal wound. The fibers of its life force are leaking from the hole the Overmind has punctured into it, but we protoss would never abandon Auir, and we will see it built up to its former glory again."
Raynor and Fenix stood for long moments together before Raynor spoke again. "What about you?" Raynor asked.
"I will stay here of course. There are still zerg on Auir, so I will lead an attack until they are all banished from Auir."
Raynor nodded. Another moment passed until this time Fenix spoke.
"I sense now that you wish to return home."
Raynor nodded solemnly. "I have a home there, and people to protect. The zerg have a large infestation there, and there is a good chance there is still more cerebrates out there. Not to mention Ker-" Jim caught off.
"The Queen of Blades." Fenix finished. Raynor nodded. "Do you believe she is still alive?"
"Definitely. She's still Kerrigan. Resourceful, cunning."
"Do you plan to kill her?"
Raynor thought for a moment. "She's still in that thing, and I'll get her out. It's gonna be rough though. I'll bet Mengsk is dying to get a hold of me and find out where I've been."
Fenix started to walk away. "I can get you and your men to some outlying Terran systems, but I won't be able to come with you. I must stay here. Will your fleet be ready by tomorrow morning?"
Jim nodded.
"Then we can send you through early. It's better if we have some discretion. The conclave will not be comfortable with you leaving and knowing the location of Auir. Although I'm sure they would let you go, we will get you on your way immediately to make sure there is no trouble."
Jim nodded again.
"En taro Adun, Raynor."
"En taro Adun, Fenix."
With that, the human and Dragoon split up, walking in opposite directions. Jim strolled through the beautiful landscape; some of the last places on Auir he imagined weren't mangled by the Overmind. Jim had to get started early. In truth he was not ready to leave, but he had the same fear as Fenix. The conclave was not an easy group to deal with. They weren't reasonable, and wouldn't believe Jim's please that he had no idea where Auir was.
This was the truth though. All Jim could remember from his trek to Auir was his ship being covered in light, then like being pulled through darkness, and it felt as though his ship may break in half. He suddenly remembered seeing the beautiful blue planet only seconds later. The warp had been so fast, and knew that he'd give his life to save the Protoss, cause if they had all died, he'd have no way of getting home.
Raynor walked for a few more minutes before he reached the edge of the edge of the cemetery. His vulture was parked haphazardly at the corner of the forest. Raynor wasted no time hoping on his old trusty bike and taking off toward his base. He opened the comlink to his command center.
"Raynor."
"Magistrate."
"I need the camp up and ready to go as fast as possible. Leave anything behind we don't need. Get us in transport position. I want all production costs at building more transports."
"Already done Raynor."
"And I want a light defense force to cover the transports."
The Magistrate looked confused. "You think the protoss would attack us?"
"No, but I'm sure they don't want us to leave so fast. I don't want to be stuck here forever, but leaving sooner rather than later might be the best idea right now."
The Magistrate looked concerned. "Raynor, I feel compelled to remind you we have enough resource for a very light escort, but if your talking about a protoss attack, I'm getting the feeling it will be from the conclave rather than Fenix."
"You got it."
"Might I also remind you that when we get back to our system Arcturus won't be awaiting with a welcoming party?"
"I realize that too, but right now we need to get home. Bring as many resources as you can, ok? We'll set up camp when we get in. IÕm guessing if Fenix thinks there are any real threats, he'll send back up too."
The Magistrate shook his head. "I really hope this doesn't put us on a wanted by the protoss list. It seems we have more enemies everyday."
"Listen, we have our priorities. Right now we need to get home, and we can't think about what we're gonna do when we get there. For all we know Arcturus might have been wiped out by the zerg."
The Magistrate laughed. "They left. Right now Arcturus is probably taking on a mob of brain dead zerg thinking he's winning a decisive victory."
"Like I said, lets get home before we worry about this."
The Magistrate nodded. "Alright. I'll get everything prepared."
Raynor nodded. "Over and out."
The comlink broke. Raynor looked up as he could see his Battle cruiser floating over their camp. 'Tomorrow.' thought Raynor. 'Just let this go without a hitch. We have had enough trouble as it is."
Raynor continued at top speed on his vulture till he was well within his camp. The orange sun set upon the horizon and the camp was covered in darkness. Operators on goliaths dismounted and left their equipment behind as they clambered aboard transports. The last remaining wraiths were repaired to full operation and the transports filled quickly, some people boarding the few battered battle cruisers, preparing for their dreaded departure to their home worlds.
"His loyalty was never to the conclave. No, his loyalty stood for the safety of Auir where he would risk his own life and reputation to save it, making ally's no Protoss would ever dream, but in this bringing us a victory we could never dream. En taro adun Tassadar."
The surrounding figures all muttered 'En taro adun' in answer and slowly moved away, as the burning blue flame grew smaller and smaller. As many of the Protoss walked away, all that was left when the flame extinguished was Zeratul, Fenix and Raynor.
"He was a great Templar." Fenix said.
"He was a great Protoss,Ó said Raynor. "When I left Arcturus and got caught on Mar Sara, the last person I expected to jump to my rescue was a Protoss."
There was silence for a few moments after their statements. Zeratul walked away first and he immediately disappeared.
"What will happen to him?" asked Raynor when he was sure Zeratul was gone.
"He will be forgiven by the counsel for his help, but surely he will leave again into hiding. The dark templar will never he welcome on Auir. Shameful, yes."
"What about all the protoss? Are you gonna stay on this world or is it too wrecked by the zerg?"
Fenix shook his head. "The very planet has suffered a mortal wound. The fibers of its life force are leaking from the hole the Overmind has punctured into it, but we protoss would never abandon Auir, and we will see it built up to its former glory again."
Raynor and Fenix stood for long moments together before Raynor spoke again. "What about you?" Raynor asked.
"I will stay here of course. There are still zerg on Auir, so I will lead an attack until they are all banished from Auir."
Raynor nodded. Another moment passed until this time Fenix spoke.
"I sense now that you wish to return home."
Raynor nodded solemnly. "I have a home there, and people to protect. The zerg have a large infestation there, and there is a good chance there is still more cerebrates out there. Not to mention Ker-" Jim caught off.
"The Queen of Blades." Fenix finished. Raynor nodded. "Do you believe she is still alive?"
"Definitely. She's still Kerrigan. Resourceful, cunning."
"Do you plan to kill her?"
Raynor thought for a moment. "She's still in that thing, and I'll get her out. It's gonna be rough though. I'll bet Mengsk is dying to get a hold of me and find out where I've been."
Fenix started to walk away. "I can get you and your men to some outlying Terran systems, but I won't be able to come with you. I must stay here. Will your fleet be ready by tomorrow morning?"
Jim nodded.
"Then we can send you through early. It's better if we have some discretion. The conclave will not be comfortable with you leaving and knowing the location of Auir. Although I'm sure they would let you go, we will get you on your way immediately to make sure there is no trouble."
Jim nodded again.
"En taro Adun, Raynor."
"En taro Adun, Fenix."
With that, the human and Dragoon split up, walking in opposite directions. Jim strolled through the beautiful landscape; some of the last places on Auir he imagined weren't mangled by the Overmind. Jim had to get started early. In truth he was not ready to leave, but he had the same fear as Fenix. The conclave was not an easy group to deal with. They weren't reasonable, and wouldn't believe Jim's please that he had no idea where Auir was.
This was the truth though. All Jim could remember from his trek to Auir was his ship being covered in light, then like being pulled through darkness, and it felt as though his ship may break in half. He suddenly remembered seeing the beautiful blue planet only seconds later. The warp had been so fast, and knew that he'd give his life to save the Protoss, cause if they had all died, he'd have no way of getting home.
Raynor walked for a few more minutes before he reached the edge of the edge of the cemetery. His vulture was parked haphazardly at the corner of the forest. Raynor wasted no time hoping on his old trusty bike and taking off toward his base. He opened the comlink to his command center.
"Raynor."
"Magistrate."
"I need the camp up and ready to go as fast as possible. Leave anything behind we don't need. Get us in transport position. I want all production costs at building more transports."
"Already done Raynor."
"And I want a light defense force to cover the transports."
The Magistrate looked confused. "You think the protoss would attack us?"
"No, but I'm sure they don't want us to leave so fast. I don't want to be stuck here forever, but leaving sooner rather than later might be the best idea right now."
The Magistrate looked concerned. "Raynor, I feel compelled to remind you we have enough resource for a very light escort, but if your talking about a protoss attack, I'm getting the feeling it will be from the conclave rather than Fenix."
"You got it."
"Might I also remind you that when we get back to our system Arcturus won't be awaiting with a welcoming party?"
"I realize that too, but right now we need to get home. Bring as many resources as you can, ok? We'll set up camp when we get in. IÕm guessing if Fenix thinks there are any real threats, he'll send back up too."
The Magistrate shook his head. "I really hope this doesn't put us on a wanted by the protoss list. It seems we have more enemies everyday."
"Listen, we have our priorities. Right now we need to get home, and we can't think about what we're gonna do when we get there. For all we know Arcturus might have been wiped out by the zerg."
The Magistrate laughed. "They left. Right now Arcturus is probably taking on a mob of brain dead zerg thinking he's winning a decisive victory."
"Like I said, lets get home before we worry about this."
The Magistrate nodded. "Alright. I'll get everything prepared."
Raynor nodded. "Over and out."
The comlink broke. Raynor looked up as he could see his Battle cruiser floating over their camp. 'Tomorrow.' thought Raynor. 'Just let this go without a hitch. We have had enough trouble as it is."
Raynor continued at top speed on his vulture till he was well within his camp. The orange sun set upon the horizon and the camp was covered in darkness. Operators on goliaths dismounted and left their equipment behind as they clambered aboard transports. The last remaining wraiths were repaired to full operation and the transports filled quickly, some people boarding the few battered battle cruisers, preparing for their dreaded departure to their home worlds.