CHAPTER 6: TRUE COLORS

"Do you think that she won't cause any havoc on the neighboring settlements and production centers? Or will he try and escape with his newfound prize?" Zeratul asked out loud, but only Fenix or Naggirek would be able to answer him.

"I do not know, but the crash site must be around here . . . Ah, here we are!" Naggirek answered him, jumping into the gravity well for a forth time, and it set him down on the ground below.

After sensing that Zeratul and Fenix had followed him, he ordered the Shuttle back to the base. Looking toward the origin of the smoke, his eyes brightened with surprise. Most of the Hyperion was lying on the side of a hill, but the long middle part that jutted out the front of the ship had broken, and was stuck in the small flat valley. Some men scurried out of the ship, and after a sharp look around, one of the lead Marines gave out a yell of relief, waving in his direction. The whole group scurried out to them, some helping the wounded.

"Oi, you there! I thought you died, didn't ya? That must be Fenix, lookin' good mate," the lead Marine spat, eyeing each of them as he addressed them. "Wasn't there a Dark Templar? I thought I saw the air move . . . Oi, there he is!" he gave a start of surprise as Zeratul revealed himself wearily.

"Yes, I am here, though I am still unsure how you knew I was here . . . Anyway, we must move on, we must find Raynor. We believe he to be in danger, and –" Zeratul ceased speaking as a different Battlecruiser stumbled into view.

It looked tiresome, as though it had fought a losing battle to get to its current location. It had no less than passed over them before it came falling out of the sky with a thunderous chorus of Marines shouting, engines whining, and finally the sound of metal on Aiur's dirt. After the Battlecruiser had powered down, seven men and that many Medics appeared from a door in the side of the ship, six Marines and the Captain of the ship, Arcturus Mengsk. He looked unsure, though fascinated of the situation.

"What're the chances . . . two Battlecruiser crashes in a day?" asked the awed Marine who had seen Zeratul.

"We did not crash, we landed," Mengsk said bluntly, as the Marine snorted and rolled his eyes. "Well, we did have some trouble navigating over hostile territory, and if it hadn't been for those damned automatic Phase Cannons, we may have gotten here in much better shape. What is the situation?" he asked with a mixture of interest and confusion, gesturing towards the crashed Hyperion.

Zeratul, the Phase Cannons would have only fired at his ship if there had been hostile units on it, like the Zerg. He must be hiding something. Naggirek had whispered this only to Zeratul, and was now giving Mengsk a thoroughly mistrustful look. He sighed, and knew that Naggirek wasn't going to ask Mengsk, and he must.

"Those Phase Cannons are programmed in a unique way. They are uploaded with all of our current alliance and war information, and will use that information to know when and when not to fire. To put it simply, they would only had fired at your vessel had you been carrying hostiles. Is that-"

"Why, yes, we were, some Zerglings and Hydralisks to be brought back to base to be studied and dissected. But, apparently-" he turned to glare at his ship, as his anger began to show in his tone, "they escaped and began wreaking havoc on my ship. We were keeping them off the bridge when we crashed, and I daresay they all must have died, we counted about twenty on the ship, and I think we were heading back with twenty-four," he said solemnly, turning back to face them. "Where is Jim? We heard his distress calls and decided to see what trouble he had gotten himself in this time," he questioned the Marine, though it was thought that the question had been rhetorical.

"He's inside, sir, he will be coming out with –"

The Marine never finished his sentence, for that very moment, the figure of a man shot out of the Battlecruiser, running towards the group, his gun pointed ahead of him. He trotted up to them, followed by four men, all battle-worn, blood plastered to their uniforms, and panting heavily and swearing loudly.

"What . . . What happened to those Ultralisks? Are they dead?" Jim asked uncertainly, as though fearful of the answer.

"I think they got too close to one of the A.G.N.E.S. machines, which crushed'em as it fell over. They weren't exactly small enough to fit through the gap, sir," said the first Marine to gain his breath.

"How'd you know, you ran so fast we had to catch up to you to give you your gun!" mocked another Marine, which caused a breakout of arguments and accusations between the Marines, as the Mengsk's Medics looked them all over.

"Mortality report, sir! Fifteen injured, seven dead, and two have gone missing, but I'm sure they're only hiding. Ought to come out after awhile. What should be done 'bout the ship, sir?"

Everyone turned to see that a single woman had also made her way of the vessel, and a few of the Marines began snickering, as they looked her up and down. Raynor gave them a harsh look, before answering her.

"We ought to get her back online, Terry. Be sure to wake the engineers and workers, tell them to start making repairs on the ship."

"Excellent work, Raynor, you have successfully damaged your vessel beyond flying capabilities. Thank Adun, then, that it isn't damaged beyond your repair," Fenix said, poking fun at Raynor.

"Now, see here! I did a good job didn't I? Er, I mean, Terry did a good job landing the ship, but I gave the order to land near your bases, didn't I?" Raynor shot back, as Terry rolled her eyes and went back into the ship, to initiate repairs.

Naggirek, I don't sense any Zerg presence in this man, Zeratul whispered, under the cover of Raynor and Fenix playfully arguing. He mustn't be the Overmind's target, so there must be another. Perhaps the spy had sensed his master's demise and came running to help?

These discussions must end, Zeratul. I sense we are being monitored. The real Overmind will reveal himself in due time, for he is already waiting near here to claim his prize.

What do you mean? He is here, is he not? Or has he already gotten Kerrigan?

No, he is leading her here, he wants to gloat to Raynor about how he got her on his side in the end. Apparently Raynor had passionately, but secretly, loved Kerrigan as her human form. I shall reveal him when he least expects it.

And how do you know all this? Zeratul asked his friend, but he realized he wouldn't be receiving a reply.

"Take those men to our Onboard Hospital Wing, ladies. Be sure to keep them healthy and . . . happy," Mengsk smiled as he spoke the last word, and some Marines couldn't suppress their smiles.

"I believe Raynor has a similar set of rooms in his ship, Arcturus. I am sure that they will be cared for there," Naggirek interrupted harshly, and Arcturus's face hardened.

"You heard him, and you better not cross Tassadar, High Templar's got some wicked powers, like causing electric storms by pure will. I said, get going!" Raynor bellowed, and the Marines leapt up, storming off towards the crashed Hyperion, muttering how life in the military wasn't the same as in the old classical movies they had seen. "And if you haven't noticed, this isn't the 20th century neither!" Jim yelled at them, disgusted with their actions.

"I was mainly wishing to offer a helping hand to a former ally. Speaking of which, would you like to-"

"No," Jim said instantly.

Everyone could tell that this had been the wrong answer, as Mengsk seemed to lose his cheerfulness, and was scowling. His Medics had returned to his side, and were actually looking sulky, and Zeratul knew that Raynor was wondering whether or not they would have been perfectly fine looking after and caring for his men. Fenix, who had been walking around them all this time, requesting he must get back to work, stopped halfway between behind and to the left side of Naggirek, who was returning Arcturus's scowl the only way a Protoss could; by darkening his eyes, and sinking his cheeks in.

"Why are you sulking, Mengsk? Afraid you have lost some one who would have made a perfect candidate for infestation, as those four Marines did?" Naggirek said in cold fury, as energy emanated from his body.

Mengsk looked taken aback for a moment, and before Raynor could say anything past an intake of breath, he said sternly, "What exactly do you mean by that, sir? You look like Tassadar, but you are more straightforward and blunt, no longer the kind and wise soul before your fight with the Overmind. You must've changed."

"If you believe I will fall to such an act, you are as gravely mistaken as your last wife; she died because you had planned it to be so, and you had already found a worthy candidate to be called your bride. It happened, the night you ordered Sarah Kerrigan to eliminate the expeditionary force of my people on Tarsonis. You knew that after she had proven herself to you, you would take her away to become your bride."

"Wait . . . Kerrigan was taken by the Zerg that night, remember? She then . . . then-" Raynor tried to say it, but it appeared to have grave effects on his speaking abilities.

"Yes, a clever plan. You see, Raynor, when Mengsk had ordered her to protect the Zerg, he actually had ordered her into their arms. But then, when they began to attack, why did he order everyone out of the system? Do you think, then, it is possible that he wished her to be infested? And Mengsk, the day I killed your wife from inside the Gantrithor, her memories had entwined into mine. I recall her asking Kerrigan to 'awaken, my child,' but you led her on to believe that she had something she had always wanted, and something only you could have given her: a child. Little did she know, she was to raise her replacement. As she cared for her, she grew more pleased with each passing task that she succeeded in, and her compliments reached you at unfortunate times; which caused you to hurry your plans to infest many of those around you, and Raynor may have completed your collection. So, you devised that she would manifest herself on Aiur, in place of one of our most glorious landmarks, to see to her beloved child's good fortune. You knew that having her there would be most likely to die by our people's hands."

"Congratulations, Tassadar, you have indeed learned much after your death. But, if you haven't noticed, none of your story's content makes sense, so leave your conspiracy theories to yourself," Mengsk said, looking deeply offended. "And I for one will not stand here listening to this babble. Raynor, it appears your ship should be up and running in no time; I advise you to keep your distance from radicals," Arcturus gestured to Fenix, Naggirek, and Zeratul, and turned on his heel and began trekking back toward his ship.

Unfortunately, Zeratul, along with Fenix and Raynor, thought otherwise. So many connections were being formed in each of their heads, and it was Raynor who spoke first:

"Radicals like yourself, Mengsk? If you have forgotten, you were once the leader of the radical group the Sons of Korhal, remember?" Raynor said softly.

"Is this why the Sons of Korhal have the same battle-color and markings as the brood governed by the Cerebrate Daggoth, which is in charge of protecting the Overmind from danger?" he shot at Mengsk, his phase cannon rotating more rapidly, as it did as it was prepared to fire.

Mengsk stopped, three-fourths the way to his ship, and slowly turned, a psychotic smile on his face. His Medics had stayed put, looking at the four of them with trembling fury. Zeratul was afraid of his reply, knowing that Naggerik's speeches had been all but false.

"That is quite correct, Fenix, Praetor of the Templar. But, I find it is time for me to take my leave: my wife, as you Terrans might call her, and I have to return to Char, so she can start . . . Well, I think you know what I mean. Here she comes now-" he said, as a snarling Kerrigan ran over the hill at breakneck speed, stopping when she had come before Mengsk- "And Raynor, I hope you know that she has always loved you, but you never had the GUTS to do anything about your feelings. But not to worry, you will all enter the swarm before long," he said, cackling madly, voice changing to the drone of the Overmind. To his Medics, he said, "Kill them all. I must leave with my 'bride,'" he spat, jumping onto his ship, Kerrigan loyally by his side, as they sped out of the atmosphere.

The Medics turned, transforming before their eyes; Fenix and Naggirek shot and killed one each before they could move. They now had become Hydralisks, still in Medic uniforms, and charged at their prey as they stood, prepared for an assault.

Suddenly, Zeratul felt a powerful force leap past the tightly formed group they had created, speeding directly towards the charging "Medics." Zeratul was so shocked at this creature's speed he didn't notice his sword had returned to hang loosely by his side; he watched as this new ally sliced a Hydralisk keenly in half, leapt over its body, stabbing another two before landing on the ground, killing them instantly. The remaining two Hydralisks stood back to back, watching for movement. Zeratul felt this creature smile as he brought up his hand, and Zeratul knew he said some words that he knew where from a dead and powerful language; the Hydralisks imploded in on themselves, spewing their blood around on the pale-green grass around them.

"Holy –"

"There is no need for swearing, young Raynor. It is now time to act against an old arch-enemy, who has foolishly revealed himself," said the creature, knowing full well that Jim had just watched the air slaughter five Hydralisks in about six seconds.

Zeratul couldn't help but sending a broad smile to the creature, and said out loud for everyone to hear him, "Hello Akubar. You always did have your way with making entrances."