Chapter 10: An Hallucinating Alliance
Raynor and his extraction crew headed for the forest, hoping to find Kerrigan. Upon entering it, Kalis proposed, "How about we split up? We'll find Kerrigan much more quickly."
Raynor asked, "But what if the zerg attack?"
Kalis answered, "We just have to stay at visual range from each other. That way, we'll regroup quickly if there's trouble. Besides, it will be easier to spot a zerg attack if our people are scattered."
Raynor answered, somehow a bit suspicious, "Alright. We'll do that, then." Jim called, "All of you, split up, but stay in constant radio contact. I want to know everything that's happening." He took his radio and said, "Kealer. Set up an outpost here and be ready for a zerg attack. Kerrigan's probably got some of her goons around."
"Yes sir." Kealer answered.
The crew nodded in unison and proceeded into the forest. There, a linear formation was formed, each member combing every inch of the jungle. Suddenly, Kalis and a Dark Templar felt a psychic anomaly. They could not feel Kerrigan's, the Zerg Queen's, disturbing and violent aura anymore. Instead, they felt the psyche of a distinct terran-like mind. The dark Templar didn't care. Intrigued, Kalis decided to search for it: Perhaps this terran might have seen Kerrigan. However, when he arrived at that aura's location, he saw something rather unexpected.
There was no one to be seen. He was in a small clearing surrounded by trees and plants. Kalis focused upon the aura again only to detect another presence behind him. Alarmed, he deftly elbowed his assailant behind, sending it crashing onto the ground. A few seconds later, the translucent body of the zerg queen Kerrigan started to materialize in front of Kalis.
He couldn't have been happier: his nemesis was finally lying in front of him, struck down by his own hand. But as happy as he was, Kalis was startled by the fact that the unknown aura to his realization was actually the untainted terran Sarah Kerrigan's. He had seen her in battle once and felt her untainted aura, which was now in every way similar. Realizing that, he asked,
"Reveal your presence of mind, Queen of Blades. Why do I still sense the old Sarah Kerrigan in you?"
She answered, smiling, "That's because I AM the Sarah Kerrigan I've been before. Tons of things happened to me recently."
"What kind of things?"
"Well, it'd be long to explain, but let's just say that I survived the overmind's mental conditioning."
"Please explain to me."
Kalis listened, intrigued, as Kerrigan told him everything, from the voice in her head to her escape. When she finished, Kalis asked,
"By Adun! Are you serious? Your mental conditioning is truly broken?"
"Well, yes and no. I'm back to normal for my conscious thoughts, but my reflexes and instincts are still zerg. In fact, as soon as I see Jim Raynor, my instincts become uncontrollable, making me too dangerous to bring back to your base while conscious. I think that I should be unconscious during the trip, just in case. I also have a permanent link to my cerebrates due to my zerg cellular structured neuron receptors." She pointed at a precise point located in the middle of her right side. "Even though it is removable, I lack the courage to cut it. And as long as I have it, my cerebrates will be able to track me down in mere seconds."
"So, you want me to cut it?" Kalis asked, looking suspiciously at Kerrigan.
"Regretfully, yes. Unless I am mistaken, you have your psi blades. Correct?"
After saying that, Kerrigan froze, seeming terrified by something. Kalis asked, worried,
"What is it? Are you all right?"
"I am, but you and the rest of Raynor's raiders are in trouble."
"Why is that?"
"Zerg are arriving. I can feel them."
"Can't you control them?"
"No... They seem to come from a renegade brood. One thing's for sure, though: You're in trouble. There are around one thousand of them. Over there!" She said, pointing west, to the top of a nearby hill, where a huge zerg ultralisk force was gathering.
"WHAT THE????" Kalis radioed Raynor psionically and told him, "ZERG ULTRALISKS INCOMING FROM THE WEST!!!"
Raynor answered, panicking, "F%%& SHIT!!!! EXTRACTION CREW! BACK TO BASE, NOW!!!!!!!"
Kalis started running back towards his base, Kerrigan following him. Kalis asked, continuing to run,
"Why are you running away? Aren't they your kind?"
"You idiot! It's a renegade brood! They'll kill me at sight! I recognize this brood. They disappeared around the same time Duran did. My guess is that he's behind this assault. Where are my broods when I need them...Anyway, I need to go to your base. It's the only place in which I'd be safe. But how can I enter?"
While she said this, Kalis felt something strange. It was like his body wasn't his anymore, like he was only a spectator of his own actions. He saw himself running towards Kerrigan and with one quick motion, hitting her neck with a substantial force, enough for her to fall unconscious. Then, the strange feeling disappeared and Kalis was now standing in front of an unconscious Kerrigan. "What can I do?" He thought, a bit confused,
"If she is truly Sarah, then by Adun, curse my vengeance and let bygones be bygones. I shall return her to base, and pray she'll recover." He then took her on his shoulders and sprinted towards the base.
Around fifteen minutes later, Kalis, who was still carrying Kerrigan, arrived at the base. It was not at all recognizable. SCVs were putting the finishing touches to the barracks and missile turrets swiftly with their fusion-cutters, as siege tanks were placed between them as artillery. Goliaths were behind as backup and vultures were finishing to place spider mines around the base. In the air, wraiths and valkyries were on the front line, patrolling around the base, ready for any assault, while science vessels were close behind, ready to use defensive matrixes.
Kalis looked around and saw Raynor in his vulture, supervising all the work while placing spider mines around the base. Kalis gently dropped Kerrigan to the floor and ran towards Raynor, who said,
"Kalis! I was starting to get worried. How come you took so long?"
"I have recovered an old friend of yours. She's right over there," Kalis said, pointing towards the unconscious winged creature. "I had to knock her out."
"Ok. Good job, Kalis. Thanks a lot. Hey you!" he said, pointing towards a huge, bulking marine. "Lock her up in the supply depot, and have a few guys guard her." he continued, pointing towards Kerrigan's unconscious body.
"Sir, yes sir!" The marine said, as he headed out to carry the order, a disgusted look upon his face.
Raynor turned back to Kalis. "By the way, our scanners have scanned the incoming units. They are a massive ground force, with a mixture of zerglings, hydralisks and ultralisks. Yet I saw them all as ultralisks the same as you. What do you think happened, Lieutenant?"
Kalis thought for a while, and answered: "I have once heard of a protoss tribe who found a way to do hallucinations on themselves to disguise themselves as anything they wanted. Yet they are currently imprisoned for having murdered numerous other Protoss. You see, they do not take critics about their style well, especially from some of their own who had left the tribe shortly before."
Raynor quickly headed towards the command center right after Kalis finished talking. Kalis followed him quickly and entered the command center. He asked the marine posted besides the door, "Where did Commander Raynor go?"
The surprised marine answered, "To the comm. room, I think."
"Thank you," Kalis answered. He headed towards a door with "communication room" written on it and entered.
Raynor was speaking with Artanis, seemingly about a very serious matter. Raynor said,
"Hey, I heard you imprisoned a protoss tribe that could produce hallucinations on themselves. Do you know who I mean?"
"Yes. We know whom you speak of. You're talking about the Salaha tribe. But know that they're not here: They escaped from our prison and could be anywhere in the universe, for now."
Raynor said, "Well, we think those guys might be here. You see, there's a zerg assault force heading towards my base and when we look at it, we see only ultralisks, while the scanners detect a mixture of zerg units. By the way, how can we differentiate if we're hitting the hallucination or the real thing inside?"
"Simple, the hallucinations cause no heat..."
Raynor interrupted Artanis, "...meaning if we could use infra-red sensors, we'll see them fine. Great! Thanks for the help, Artanis."
"You're welcome, Raynor. By the way, if you capture any of them, please bring them back into our custody."
"You got it. Bye!" Raynor turned off the comlink and turned his radio on, saying to all his men:
"Ok boys! Listen up. A zerg assault is heading towards us. The thing is that most of them are disguised as ultralisks. But don't let that fool you, as most of them are zerglings or hydralisks, though there are a few ultralisks. Therefore, I'm issuing infrared goggles to everyone. Have them on at all times! And could someone ask Lieutenant Kealer to report to my quarters ASAP?"
Raynor switched off his radio and turned around. He saw Kalis and jumped in surprise, then said, "Kalis! Didn't see you there. So, what's up?"
"I propose we keep an eye out for those fugitives, just in case. They could even be in this base right now in their illusionary form. Be careful!"
"Noted, lieutenant. Dismissed. I must head towards my quarters. I don't wanna keep Kealer waiting." With that, Raynor departed.
"With them involved, this is not going to be easy," Kalis thought. He was the one who had arrested the Salaha, and he knew their power. As he looked at every other unit, he thought that some didn't look normal, but dismissed that thought. "I'm becoming paranoid with this group. I have to get ready for the battle." He then headed towards the cargo to get his equipment, knowing perfectly well that this battle was going to be tough.
Raynor and his extraction crew headed for the forest, hoping to find Kerrigan. Upon entering it, Kalis proposed, "How about we split up? We'll find Kerrigan much more quickly."
Raynor asked, "But what if the zerg attack?"
Kalis answered, "We just have to stay at visual range from each other. That way, we'll regroup quickly if there's trouble. Besides, it will be easier to spot a zerg attack if our people are scattered."
Raynor answered, somehow a bit suspicious, "Alright. We'll do that, then." Jim called, "All of you, split up, but stay in constant radio contact. I want to know everything that's happening." He took his radio and said, "Kealer. Set up an outpost here and be ready for a zerg attack. Kerrigan's probably got some of her goons around."
"Yes sir." Kealer answered.
The crew nodded in unison and proceeded into the forest. There, a linear formation was formed, each member combing every inch of the jungle. Suddenly, Kalis and a Dark Templar felt a psychic anomaly. They could not feel Kerrigan's, the Zerg Queen's, disturbing and violent aura anymore. Instead, they felt the psyche of a distinct terran-like mind. The dark Templar didn't care. Intrigued, Kalis decided to search for it: Perhaps this terran might have seen Kerrigan. However, when he arrived at that aura's location, he saw something rather unexpected.
There was no one to be seen. He was in a small clearing surrounded by trees and plants. Kalis focused upon the aura again only to detect another presence behind him. Alarmed, he deftly elbowed his assailant behind, sending it crashing onto the ground. A few seconds later, the translucent body of the zerg queen Kerrigan started to materialize in front of Kalis.
He couldn't have been happier: his nemesis was finally lying in front of him, struck down by his own hand. But as happy as he was, Kalis was startled by the fact that the unknown aura to his realization was actually the untainted terran Sarah Kerrigan's. He had seen her in battle once and felt her untainted aura, which was now in every way similar. Realizing that, he asked,
"Reveal your presence of mind, Queen of Blades. Why do I still sense the old Sarah Kerrigan in you?"
She answered, smiling, "That's because I AM the Sarah Kerrigan I've been before. Tons of things happened to me recently."
"What kind of things?"
"Well, it'd be long to explain, but let's just say that I survived the overmind's mental conditioning."
"Please explain to me."
Kalis listened, intrigued, as Kerrigan told him everything, from the voice in her head to her escape. When she finished, Kalis asked,
"By Adun! Are you serious? Your mental conditioning is truly broken?"
"Well, yes and no. I'm back to normal for my conscious thoughts, but my reflexes and instincts are still zerg. In fact, as soon as I see Jim Raynor, my instincts become uncontrollable, making me too dangerous to bring back to your base while conscious. I think that I should be unconscious during the trip, just in case. I also have a permanent link to my cerebrates due to my zerg cellular structured neuron receptors." She pointed at a precise point located in the middle of her right side. "Even though it is removable, I lack the courage to cut it. And as long as I have it, my cerebrates will be able to track me down in mere seconds."
"So, you want me to cut it?" Kalis asked, looking suspiciously at Kerrigan.
"Regretfully, yes. Unless I am mistaken, you have your psi blades. Correct?"
After saying that, Kerrigan froze, seeming terrified by something. Kalis asked, worried,
"What is it? Are you all right?"
"I am, but you and the rest of Raynor's raiders are in trouble."
"Why is that?"
"Zerg are arriving. I can feel them."
"Can't you control them?"
"No... They seem to come from a renegade brood. One thing's for sure, though: You're in trouble. There are around one thousand of them. Over there!" She said, pointing west, to the top of a nearby hill, where a huge zerg ultralisk force was gathering.
"WHAT THE????" Kalis radioed Raynor psionically and told him, "ZERG ULTRALISKS INCOMING FROM THE WEST!!!"
Raynor answered, panicking, "F%%& SHIT!!!! EXTRACTION CREW! BACK TO BASE, NOW!!!!!!!"
Kalis started running back towards his base, Kerrigan following him. Kalis asked, continuing to run,
"Why are you running away? Aren't they your kind?"
"You idiot! It's a renegade brood! They'll kill me at sight! I recognize this brood. They disappeared around the same time Duran did. My guess is that he's behind this assault. Where are my broods when I need them...Anyway, I need to go to your base. It's the only place in which I'd be safe. But how can I enter?"
While she said this, Kalis felt something strange. It was like his body wasn't his anymore, like he was only a spectator of his own actions. He saw himself running towards Kerrigan and with one quick motion, hitting her neck with a substantial force, enough for her to fall unconscious. Then, the strange feeling disappeared and Kalis was now standing in front of an unconscious Kerrigan. "What can I do?" He thought, a bit confused,
"If she is truly Sarah, then by Adun, curse my vengeance and let bygones be bygones. I shall return her to base, and pray she'll recover." He then took her on his shoulders and sprinted towards the base.
Around fifteen minutes later, Kalis, who was still carrying Kerrigan, arrived at the base. It was not at all recognizable. SCVs were putting the finishing touches to the barracks and missile turrets swiftly with their fusion-cutters, as siege tanks were placed between them as artillery. Goliaths were behind as backup and vultures were finishing to place spider mines around the base. In the air, wraiths and valkyries were on the front line, patrolling around the base, ready for any assault, while science vessels were close behind, ready to use defensive matrixes.
Kalis looked around and saw Raynor in his vulture, supervising all the work while placing spider mines around the base. Kalis gently dropped Kerrigan to the floor and ran towards Raynor, who said,
"Kalis! I was starting to get worried. How come you took so long?"
"I have recovered an old friend of yours. She's right over there," Kalis said, pointing towards the unconscious winged creature. "I had to knock her out."
"Ok. Good job, Kalis. Thanks a lot. Hey you!" he said, pointing towards a huge, bulking marine. "Lock her up in the supply depot, and have a few guys guard her." he continued, pointing towards Kerrigan's unconscious body.
"Sir, yes sir!" The marine said, as he headed out to carry the order, a disgusted look upon his face.
Raynor turned back to Kalis. "By the way, our scanners have scanned the incoming units. They are a massive ground force, with a mixture of zerglings, hydralisks and ultralisks. Yet I saw them all as ultralisks the same as you. What do you think happened, Lieutenant?"
Kalis thought for a while, and answered: "I have once heard of a protoss tribe who found a way to do hallucinations on themselves to disguise themselves as anything they wanted. Yet they are currently imprisoned for having murdered numerous other Protoss. You see, they do not take critics about their style well, especially from some of their own who had left the tribe shortly before."
Raynor quickly headed towards the command center right after Kalis finished talking. Kalis followed him quickly and entered the command center. He asked the marine posted besides the door, "Where did Commander Raynor go?"
The surprised marine answered, "To the comm. room, I think."
"Thank you," Kalis answered. He headed towards a door with "communication room" written on it and entered.
Raynor was speaking with Artanis, seemingly about a very serious matter. Raynor said,
"Hey, I heard you imprisoned a protoss tribe that could produce hallucinations on themselves. Do you know who I mean?"
"Yes. We know whom you speak of. You're talking about the Salaha tribe. But know that they're not here: They escaped from our prison and could be anywhere in the universe, for now."
Raynor said, "Well, we think those guys might be here. You see, there's a zerg assault force heading towards my base and when we look at it, we see only ultralisks, while the scanners detect a mixture of zerg units. By the way, how can we differentiate if we're hitting the hallucination or the real thing inside?"
"Simple, the hallucinations cause no heat..."
Raynor interrupted Artanis, "...meaning if we could use infra-red sensors, we'll see them fine. Great! Thanks for the help, Artanis."
"You're welcome, Raynor. By the way, if you capture any of them, please bring them back into our custody."
"You got it. Bye!" Raynor turned off the comlink and turned his radio on, saying to all his men:
"Ok boys! Listen up. A zerg assault is heading towards us. The thing is that most of them are disguised as ultralisks. But don't let that fool you, as most of them are zerglings or hydralisks, though there are a few ultralisks. Therefore, I'm issuing infrared goggles to everyone. Have them on at all times! And could someone ask Lieutenant Kealer to report to my quarters ASAP?"
Raynor switched off his radio and turned around. He saw Kalis and jumped in surprise, then said, "Kalis! Didn't see you there. So, what's up?"
"I propose we keep an eye out for those fugitives, just in case. They could even be in this base right now in their illusionary form. Be careful!"
"Noted, lieutenant. Dismissed. I must head towards my quarters. I don't wanna keep Kealer waiting." With that, Raynor departed.
"With them involved, this is not going to be easy," Kalis thought. He was the one who had arrested the Salaha, and he knew their power. As he looked at every other unit, he thought that some didn't look normal, but dismissed that thought. "I'm becoming paranoid with this group. I have to get ready for the battle." He then headed towards the cargo to get his equipment, knowing perfectly well that this battle was going to be tough.