The Hearts of Space
By Cobra Commander
Author's Note: All characters are herein fictional and are not meant to depict any real known persons.
Chapter One: Temperance
It was a delicate shack; cozy, even. But it wasn't the dampness nor the darkness of the surroundings that pestered the men so, it was the chatter of something new that had been brought among the ranks. And why it was so exciting vamped another question as to the mental state of the beings imprisoned there. Imprisoned, stationed shall sound better.
The air was always cool; never did it warm unless the breath of the men was heavier than normal, or if they were huddled together like they kept their precious pets. The friction of the wind against the side of the three-chambered detachment sometimes generated heat. Though it was only outside, and the wind did create friction with the ground.
The temperature always bounced around. It was odd, for never had the temperature of Braxis moderated from its general condition. However, the past few weeks had been odd meteorologically, as well as astronomically. If it was not the level of coldness that moved, the stars certainly seemed to dance to take a spotlight. Countless numbers of astronomers, cosmic ray specialists, and studiers of the heavens had gathered at this shack. The variance was not anticipated, but that did not mean this was unheard of.
In a small study, several scientists found that the astrological patterns did not seem to make sense in about every five or six years. For some reason, the stars were not in the correct place. There were, of course, no abnormal alignments that had occurred, but the fact that the stars that were destined to appear in the sky at night did not absolutely baffled those who inhabited Braxis.
A conclusion was made that in every five or six human years, (or Earth years) Braxis deviated from its normal circulation path. The deviation from this revolution sparked the next series of abnormal revolutions, so on, and so forth.
Though the theory was not completely solid: the stars that should have appeared at night with the divergence incorporated still did not produce accurate results. In fact, stars that had not yet been discovered, at least with the current astronomical maps of the surrounding planets and systems, were shining at night. That is granted for when there is no stormy cloud cover. That, however, was rare. Braxis kept a constant amount of clouds, be it storm or calm.
Though the main course of study at the facility was not to gaze upon celestial beings, it was of very high interest. Nine of the thirty-seven men held a degree in some sort of astronomical aspect. The rest, biochemists, physicists, and so on, studied something they found more interesting than a ball of energy.
The Braxis Scientific Outpost #68 was supposed to be used to study the psychic abilities of certain beings. Now, the men had a subject that was very intriguing.
Phaira-kur was the name of the head course of study. He was a Protoss, more importantly, a mentally unstable one. He was locked in a cell and withheld in the third chamber of the outpost. There, in the ice-cold dampness of the night, twenty-one of the men huddled.
For most of them, it was time to study his actions, brain activity, physical activity and such. Others just observed, most likely abandoning their current task. Two, however, guarded the beast.
The cell was most grand. With four layers of laser and plasma walls, there was no escaping the booth. Within the small area, Phaira-kur had a surrounding that resembled Aiur. Yes, it was small, but that didn't seem to matter to a weakling Protoss. Not only weak in physical capabilities, but weak in mind.
While the men worked however, none could stop their mouths from fluttering about the new creature that had arrived at the outpost.
Though Commander Blake would neither confirm nor deny the presence of a new being, he did smile whenever someone asked. He had been at base the entire time the creature was being received. It was the small task force that had successfully apprehended it. It was when they returned did the number of humans retain to thirty-seven. However, none of them had been seen since they had come back.
It was well known that they had something. Perhaps it was not a monster, but it was something. Blake would not send the group out in the harshness of a Braxis winter to chase a blip of Garrett's radar. Obviously, they had witnessed something that could excite them beyond wild dreams.
Life had been desolate across the plains of Braxis. Supply ships on the border came and went. Certain Sons of Korhal officials stopped by to inspect the supply depots as well as the army detachments. New life at the scientific facilities was rare. Even if the team had recovered something as simple as a frog, the scientists would most likely stand on their heads.
While the night crept by, the number of men observing Phaira-kur diminished. Some went to their bunks, others went to leisure activities. Each of them did not forget what was happening tonight. Tonight the entire station would meet to gaze upon what the team had brought back. Soon, only the guards and three scientists remained. Though they had, for the most part, stopped their experiments, they still pondered what was lingering in the mind of their victim.
Phaira-kur was the only insane Protoss on Braxis. At least that was known of. He was also one of the only Protoss on Braxis. The only real distinguished and mapped base which the Protoss held was sixty miles to the north of Outpost #68, which was near the magnetic pole. Even still, it was estimated that less than one hundred aliens infected the land there.
When the lights shut off in that section of the third compound and the security systems went to work, the lights brightened as did the noise in the first.
There was Blake, hands on his hips and a grin across his face, staring at the men as they entered and sat down. Chairs had been arranged for them, they even had their names listed. Even Greck, the cook, got his own seat with name included. However, he was not pleased with whatever they had found. It was causing him to leave the kitchen.
As the idle conversations continued, another man stepped forth. He was the leader of the small crew that had been on the weeks worth operation. Though he seemed quieter and less intimidating than Blake, he held a certain trait that made him so mysterious. It was his eyes that pulsed through your skin when the angle was correct.
Renaud was almost six feet tall, however, he was rather thin. His gear did give him some sort of enhancement, but it did not fill the shoes of Blake. And when he stepped forward, the crowd started to die down.
Blake finally reduced his grin to a smile and held his hands in the air, signaling a hush, and hush did ensue. He grinned again before releasing his arms of the pressure. He looked at Renaud, whose expression was still blank. Blank, perhaps even a tad impatient. Blake then turned back to the men with a solemn expression. Odd to the men.
He counted using his finger. Sure, all the seats had been taken, but perhaps they had forgotten someone. He then switched to the crew which was standing beside Renaud. He counted them, himself, and therefore came upon thirty-seven.
"And that's that," he first spoke. "As you all know, I have not been releasing much information about the discovery that was made by our second-in-command Renaud here. He and his men investigated the strange appearance that both Garrett and I had observed on the radar screen. Although it is not likely or customary to investigate reports of anything that is not posing a threat to the base or its inhabitants, we had a certain feeling about this one.
"Over a week ago, maybe two to be more precise, Garrett notified me of a strange appearance on the radar screen. I looked at it myself, consulted both he and Renaud, and then decided that it should be pursued. We monitored it for less than a week. I think it was about four days-"
"Five," input Renaud, his arms folded and the same light scowl on his complexion. Blake looked at him, smirked, and continued with his presentation.
"Yes, five indeed." A small chuckle rippled over the crowd as Renaud scoffed. Blake went on. "I then assigned Renaud to the task of locating and potentially retrieving the body of mass out in the plains. He assembled his crew and took off the next morning. Though he has given me some detail, I cannot in full describe the events of his expedition." He turned to the Lieutenant. "Renaud, if you will?"
Renaud cracked a brief smile and rubbed his stubble chin. He moved to Blake's position, and the Commander sat down to watch the presentation. Renaud quickly glanced at the faces in the room. While the scientists were about to explode in anticipation, the guards looked as bored as hell.
"Good evening. Today we returned with something that might help us explain a little about what might be happening with Phaira-kur's jump in mental activity. We have recognized beforehand that his activity level had increased slightly upon the arrival of the being on the radar screen. Though we first came to the idea that this was most definitely causing the enhanced movement within his brain, I have learned that the activity had sustained, and now has reached its normal level.
"What we found was sixteen miles to the west of our current location. We unfortunately had to pass through a small mountain range, which forced us to abandon our simple vehicles. As we inched nearer, the readouts of a presence other than our own started to increase. Not only that, but a strange swerving of the temperature started to occur.
"The average temperature this time of season in Braxis is usually about ninety below zero Celsius. This extreme coldness then rose to seventy below. Snider checked the record books, and no temperature during this allotted time period had ever increased to this level.
"Not only was that temperature never achieved, the rate at which it inclined was stupendous. Within three hours it had climbed the thermometers. I'm not a meteorologist, but I knew for one that this was odd. At first, Snider and I concluded that it was the general zone that was in this temperature, that whatever had entered this area caused a great lift in the atmosphere.
"However, this theory proved false. Once we were in eight hundred feet of the being, the temperature started to decrease. Our main guess is that the effects of whatever had entered the zone had worn off."
Renaud took a pause to see if the men were soaking this in. They were indeed. He didn't look at the scientists, but at the guards rather. Their attention had been hooked, so he knew his words were taking effect.
"We didn't know what we were going to find. And when we came within a hundred feet, the figure started to take shape. We came closer, and eventually formed a circle around it." He paused again. Renaud looked at Van Camp and motioned with his chin towards the great block and the drape that shielded it.
Van Camp moved to the drape and clutched it with both his hands. Renaud turned back towards the audience and released a cool smile.
"We found this."
The cue was set, and Van Camp tugged the great curtain to reveal another Protoss. A small uproar of murmuring soared across the room as men squirmed and even stood to look at the prize.
"His name is Durhkhan. When we found him, he was almost dead. Snider and Van Camp stripped him of his arm bands and propped him up. I, myself, wanted to bring him to the medical center, but Blake demanded we bring him here.
"He started to recover on our journey back. Along the way, I asked him several questions about the current shift in the atmosphere. He did not answer any of them. Although I want nothing to do with him or the experiments you plan to run on him, I would like you to ask Durhkhan what happened in the atmosphere that day."
Renaud then nodded a tad and turned his attention to Blake, who was beaming with excitement. He, Blake, then stood and bumped Renaud aside. Renaud scowled again and left the room.
Blake explained how the testing procedures would go. Both Durhkhan and Phaira-kur would be placed in the same cell for the time being to see if there would be any mental stirring. Durhkhan would then be interrogated. After a few months of tests and experiments, Durhkhan would be set free.
Though it seemed so odd to be so ecstatic about a simple wounded Protoss warrior, it opened new doors in the current projects that had produced nothing. It was expected of this facility to get mind readouts on the functionality of Protoss minds, both stable and unstable.
The entire lab had been unsuccessful in mapping anything new about the brains of the Protoss, even with Phaira-kur. His actions and simple thoughts were so unpredictable. There were no patterns, no repeating feelings, nothing. At least with a standard mind they could find patterns in actions and thoughts. With Phaira-kur, it was laughable.
Durhkhan was in a small glass containment cube with mental restrictors on his head. Normally, a Protoss like Durhkhan would be able to shatter the glass with a simple click in his brain. The restrictors prevented him from doing that. He stared out at the scientists who gazed at him for awhile. Not long after, the men realized that he was, in fact, just a regular Protoss. While they were excited about the new tests, they were also sane. They were tired, and all but a few retired to their bunks.
Van Camp and Newell propped Durhkhan on a small wheeled device and escorted him to his new residence. Blake then talked with two of the head scientists at the base, Dr. Ames and Dr. Wald. Greck, however, returned to the kitchen.
When Durhkhan reached his new home and was placed there, Van Camp started to talk to him.
"You know, I'm awfully sorry about all this. Most of us don't give a damn about the experiments here," he said. Durhkhan was now securely in the cell with Phaira-kur, and Van Camp pointed to a control panel. Snider moved towards it and then disengaged the mental restrictors.
He removed them, stared at the strange contraption, and set it down.
It is your nature. You are but humans. Van Camp frowned and then exited. Snider looked at Newell, and both left to play pool.
Throughout the night, neither of the Protoss communicated with the other, nor did they attempt to do so. Durhkhan sat on a small rock-type piece of furniture and did not move. He did not watch as Phaira-kur stumbled about aimlessly before resting in one place to sleep.
The plasma and laser walls seemed to close on Durhkhan, who could only train his thoughts to destroying the barrier and releasing himself from the hell hole he had fallen in to. As of now, he couldn't remember much of anything. How he had gotten so close to the magnetic pole, how the humans had taken capture of him. It was no matter now. How it happened could not help him escape. It was his own reasoning that would free him. And maybe even his feeble companion could assist to weather the storm.