Chapter 30: Dragons, Destruction, Tactics and the Conclave
From the Bridge of the Forceria, Xapferey watched as his forces gathered for the massive strike against the Overmind. It was a massive armada as far as the sensor could see, and even his powers couldn't see the end of the ships. On schedule, 36 of the brand new Pegasus built Phoenix class Dreadnoughts warped in. Weighing in at 10.5 kilometers each, boasting a firepower of five times that of a Sovereign class and a carrier complement that rivaled the Forceria. However the Phoenix class carried 16 Nova class with four Defiants in her launch-bays.
Upon their arrival, many were gawking at the massive vessels.
"You just keep the hits coming don't you?" Jason asked Xapferey.
"A wise tactician doesn't reveal all his assets to his allies, for if they don't know, how can his enemies? I would offer you one but I know better than to get between a man and his ship."
"Wise move. As good as fire-power is, I've always preferred a more subtle and surgical approach. Those monsters of yours are many things, but subtle is not something you can accuse them of."
"No, if you want subtle, then you'd want a Defiant or possibly an Intrepid. How much teasing has Nova given you about your rank Lord Davis?" The Dragon said with a smirk as he towered above Jason in his true form.
"Don't you start. I've had enough of that from her and Sarah and Jim and Matt and practically everyone else. In any case, the Liberator is a pretty good match for either a Defiant or an Intrepid if you recall."
"Oh? Do tell?"
"You're not going to give me any respite until I do, are you?"
"Nope."
Jason sighed. "You know how much I cared for the whole title crap, particularly given my history. Well, Nova, who knows exactly how much I love that stuff and has had to live with it just as much, wasted no time in calling me by my full title at every opportunity. She also taught everyone else to do the exact same thing. I ended up essentially pranking the entire ship's company to get my point across that I didn't want them using that title unless absolutely necessary."
"Oh? What did you do to them?"
"I got Jess to give them a wake up call, every hour, on the hour, for three days." Jason grinned, "I also locked Nova out of my quarters for the same time."
"I bet she loved that, how about Jim or Sarah did they… over-use the title as well?"
"Of course. Converting their alcohol and coffee to appropriately coloured laxative got them to settle down, eventually. After I threatened to dose Jim with something that would make him unable to…. Perform, shall we say?"
"Well I can see you definitely were from a Confederate Old Family. I take it Nova has settled down as well? Or does she still use the title too? Actually… tell me as well, does Nova hate titles?"
"She actually doesn't care for it much. She uses it where she needs it, but she doesn't like using it unless necessary. She did back off, eventually."
"Because if you marry her… under Draconian law… let's just say turnabout is fair play."
"Do you mean what I think you mean?" Jason asked.
"Yes," Xapferey smirked. "She'd be known as Lady Davis, she'd still hold the same rank but on ceremony would be addressed as Lady."
Jason grinned. "Now that would be rather ironic, wouldn't it? There's a lot of potential there."
"I can imagine… you wouldn't believe how many lizard cracks I had to put up with from Deedlit. When she learned what I meant, I told her I may be a lizard but at least I didn't have sonar dishes glued to the side of my head. She stopped very quickly."
Jason grinned. "And she didn't make you pay for that?"
"Trust me Jason, when you're 4 times someone's size it's a deterrent to pranks. Plus I can feel her emotions and she can feel mine though I have better control as far as suppressing or masking them. So I have a good idea what she's up to."
"Size isn't that much of an issue, just means you have to get creative. But sensing emotions would make things difficult."
"Speaking of which, I'm surprised Sarah didn't have you thinking you were a little girl named Lucy for a month for the laxative trick."
"After I explained exactly what I would do to her and Jim if she did, she decided that it was better to concede defeat."
"That's fair I suppose. Out of curiosity what would you do to them if she had?"
"Did I mention that Louise and I are very good friends? She's also quite a prankster at heart herself and she has a lot of ideas after you gave her that little bracelet."
"Oh?"
"Let's just say that Sarah doesn't like the idea of sharing without a lot of discussion and being there herself."
"Ah, I see what you mean… makes me envious of my somewhat darker alternate self at times… That lucky Red Dragon."
Jason smiled with a fair degree of mirth. "She worked out just how serious I was after that."
"I can imagine, well that's enough fun for now I suppose… True, especially after the upgrades to the Liberator. I'm concerned though, since last week Forceria itself seemed different. The planet's aura changed a fair bit."
Jason frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I am unsure, the planet seems more at peace in some ways… it's hard to describe. If you had taken my gift of magic before, and I still respect your wishes on the matter… but I could have shown you what I meant."
"More at peace would be a good thing, wouldn't it?"
"It would, but such a change could only happen by something powerful. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, my court Archmage hasn't reported anything out of the ordinary aside from the change. It's something we can put more resources into later. Right now we have something big to deal with… which reminds me I need to keep Tassadar from doing something stupid." With that the Dragon strode off to find said Protoss, his massive legs allowing him to cover ground quickly. Soon enough the Dragon caught up with the Protoss High Templar before he warped back to his ship. "Tassadar I need a word with you before you go."
"Of course, Emperor. What is it you need of me?"
"Are you sure you can do this? Nobody will blame you if you want to stay back, or at least focus on the Zerg. I remember something from canon that while understandable, was very annoying to deal with."
"You think I cannot handle the possibility of facing my people, my warriors, in combat?" Tassadar didn't seem to take Xapferey's words well.
"Please understand, I'm not doubting your abilities as a warrior. I was merely expressing concern as a friend, facing them yes… I have no doubt you could do that with skill and grace. It's facing yourself afterwards, with their blood on your hands that I am concerned about. For such a communal race like that of the Khala connected Protoss, slaying your brethren would take a terrible toll on your soul and I fear the guilt would crush you."
Tassadar considered that idea. "It will be difficult, there is no question of that. But Artanis and I may yet be able to sway them with words, rather than bloodshed. If, however, it comes to battle, I cannot ask anyone else to step into my place. They are my responsibility. If I have failed them, then it is I who must pay the price."
"Just please don't give yourself up to their judgement… At least right away. In canon while Aiur was falling around the Protoss, you gave yourself up forcing Artanis to focus his efforts on saving you rather than the Zerg. We have enough problems without opening another front."
Tassadar blinked at that. "What happened that I would choose to do that?"
"You had led a direct assault on the Heart of the Conclave, because of their arrogance and short-sightedness they failed to kill a Cerebrate because they didn't know how to use void energies like the Dark Templar or some of my forces. In their embarrassment, they blamed you for their failure and branded you a traitor."
"Short-sighted indeed, particularly given our current situation."
"Hence my warning, if need be I'll brutally show Aldaris why my forces are not to be taken lightly. Our first order of operation should be to weaken the Conclave then focus on activating the Spear of Adun and her sister ships."
"A reasonable objective and one that may prove to be very worthwhile over time."
"Ok then, so I think that should be all for now. I hope you will heed my words, we cannot afford to be distracted right now with... well meaning but dangerous side ventures."
"Of course, Emperor." Tassadar bowed slightly.
Once Tassadar had warped to his ship Xapferey made his way to the bridge. With a small sigh he nodded to himself as he braced himself for the massive task at hand. Once there, he opened a com-signal to the entire armada.
"To all forces, the time has come. Make the jump to Aiur, with hope our sheer numbers will give the Conclave enough reason to listen. Good luck and good hunting everyone."
With that the massive 25,000 strong armada warped out of the Forceria system and surrounding space towards Aiur. Turning to Louise, Xapferey leaned down to speak quietly.
"Are you ready for this?" He asked.
"Can you ever be ready for something like this?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Probably not. Could have been worse… You could have been flung into my reality where you are seen as fictional… I doubt even the Primal Queen of Blades could deal with rabid fans."
"Probably not in a manner that would be approved of, anyway."
"Nope… Though I still would have tried to help you to the best of my abilities even as a human. Well, I take it you're still enjoying your gift?" Xapferey asked referring to the transmutation bracelet which allowed Louise to retake her original form.
Louise fiddled slightly with it. "Of course. It's refreshing to be able to have the ability to walk around without people being terrified of you."
"I know precisely what you mean. Outside of Draconia, many were nervous around me in this form." Xapferey looked down at Louise as his legs were bigger than her body. "Here we go… showtime."
It had been a quick journey, the experimental warp dampening and projecting technology of the Phoenix and Forceria class vessels allowed the fleet to travel at the same speed as the IDS Forceria. Which meant that 25,000 Draconian vessels made the rendezvous with 6,000 Nerazim ships inside the system. Opening a channel, Xapferey called Raszagal.
"It's good to see you Matriarch, what say we try to rescue your troubled brethren and bring ruin to the Zerg?"
"I think that would be an excellent idea. We have never forgotten our roots and no more desire to see our world and people burn than anyone else."
"Good, then all wings, what forces have any left begin Grey Rain. First and 12th fleet follow the Forceria. All others push with your fighters and frigates till you can make a breakthrough. Reserves are to watch in case the Zerg try to pocket us. Ladies and Gentlemen engage at will."
The entire Draconian force opened up with a massive barrage of photon, quantum and transphasic torpedoes. The few ships that had Grey Rain torpedoes left used them to make a hole towards the Overmind. In the opening moments, the Draconian forces took a terrible toll before the Zerg even struck back.
But strike back they surely did. If there was one thing that the Zerg could always be counted on to do, it was fight back. Waves of scourge and mutalisks darkened the sky as they swept towards the attacking fleets, asking for and giving no quarter.
The Draconians were set in a position to provide overlapping point defences. Their powerful micro-phasers ripped both scourge and mutalisk apart. Fighters fired specialized Shardshot missiles into the swarm. The missiles acted like powerful shotguns, spraying meter thick ball bearings into the swarm. Each ball bearing then detonated afterwards, until the forward Zerg assault force was removed.
"It helps to know all the capabilities of your opponent and spend years preparing to fight them," Xapferey murmured quietly. "12th fleet, you have an opening to the surface. Lord Davis, begin heading towards the Heart of the Conclave, we need to secure the Spear of Adun."
"Now we're talking. All ships on me, let's drive them away from the target, assault plan delta-six."
Alongside the Liberator were two of the new Phoenix class ships and with their forward weapons array, they pushed in and bunkered down to hold the 'door' made in the Zerg lines. Their three following sister ships pushed past and into the atmosphere alongside Jason's forces, while bringing a respectable Draconian armada alongside. The Liberator now had a massive window to exploit a landing, a window that Jason didn't hesitate to exploit. From the hulking Behemoth-class battlecruisers, to the sleek carriers of the Protoss, shuttles of various kinds poured out of hangar bays, escorted by various fighters, en route to the surface.
On the Forceria, Xapferey pondered for a moment before contacting Tassadar again. "Tassadar would it be too early to call Fenix and try to link forces?"
Tassadar pondered the idea. "If I know Fenix, he will contact us when he is ready."
"Then perhaps I should scare the nerve cords off a certain Judicator in the meantime?" Xapferey suggested.
"Perhaps that would provide some small amusement. It might even result in some good."
The Dragon grinned menacingly before stretching out his will, with foreknowledge and power, he was able to find where Aldaris was. His grin was truly terrifying as the Protoss shields wouldn't stop his teleporting to said Judicator. Retaking human form and twisting his will about, he materialized inside the building right in front of the Protoss in full battle gear.
Aldaris rose from his command chair with a snarl, though Xapferey didn't miss the widening of his eyes in shock.
"Judicator," Xapferey said simply.
"Emperor. I half expected you to try something, but I doubted even you would be so foolish as to waste your tricks like this." Aldaris snarled
"Oh trust me, I have more tricks than this, Judicator. I came in the hope that reason can prevail… Aiur is in dire straits whether you want to admit it or not. I was hoping we could discuss aiding in the evacuation of your civilian population for the moment. Give your forces more freedom and flexibility."
"And why would we trust you with anything at all, let alone our lives! You have twisted the minds of our brethren against us, allied with those who have betrayed us and invaded our homeworld."
"Because, the humans have a saying that I think is relevant especially for how you see me currently... The enemy of my enemy is my friend. I want to help the Protoss, and at least for the moment let rest any quarrels we may currently have."
"But we have no proof that you are not our enemy. Begone from here, human!"
"And that's your biggest mistake… I am NOT human," in his place stood the mighty Dragon, thankfully able to have enough room to change forms.
Aldaris staggered back from the sheer presence of the angry Dragon that now occupied his control centre. The fear he had managed to conceal before was on full display now, but it did not serve to improve his wits.
"It is as I feared! The Zerg have created a new creature to attempt to control us! Kill it while we have the chance!"
The Dragon rolled his eyes as some of Protoss warriors coming at him were suddenly frozen in time. Five others turned into various barnyard animals. The rest were turned into chairs.
"Can the Zerg do that?" He rumbled.
"Who knows the limits of the Zerg's depravities!" Aldaris snarled, summoning a Psi Storm.
Xapferey's response was a pulse of anti-magic, dispelling the Psi Storm with minimal effort. Aldaris roared with fury, slapping a panel. "This is not over, Zerg!" He yelled as he warped out.
"DRAGON!" Xapferey roared in response sending the word as a psionic bellow staggering the Judicator as he reformed. Returning to the Forceria, Xapferey sighed in happiness. "I've been wanting to do something like that to him for decades."
On the surface, Malkira joined Jason and Nova as their forces finished securing the landing site. However something was setting off her senses and not in a good way. She suddenly spun and a stream of magic erupted from her hands, blowing back the sneaking form.
"Hello Duran," Malkira sneered.
"Ah, the little princess that dreams of playing with bigger dolls. How kind of you to bring me my true prize." Duran smiled. "I enjoyed playing with your mother on New Folsom. I wonder if you will provide as much sport."
"Oh she will Duran, but first some things need to be dealt with," a sibilant female voice spoke behind Duran. A figure Malkira knew well and made her step back in fear.
"Not good," Malkira muttered to Jason and Nova.
"Kardis." Jason said quietly. "I should have guessed you'd poke your nose up sooner or later. Your lackies aren't cutting it anymore, are they? You have to do your own dirty work nowadays."
"I am the Goddess of Destruction boy, do you think I would resist such delights such as this? Duran you fool," Kardis snapped as she turned to him. "You weren't playing with her mother, she was playing with you. Only part of that Elf was there."
Jason realised that while Kardis was distracted, it was their best opportunity to plan their defence. "Malkira, Nova, any ideas for dealing with this?"
"Father will come if she tries anything. We need to deal with Duran first and foremost, my mother will kill me… but I know spells that can harm him here and in the void."
"My goddess, all I was doing was adding to her torment." Duran pleaded.
"And if she had wished, she could have smote you then and there and not even the void could have saved you. She's been a goddess for DECADES," Kardis roared.
"Xapferey may come, but that much power, well, it might not be fast enough. We need to give her something else to think about." Nova added.
"How would you fight a goddess? I don't think that that's an avatar… I'm pretty sure that's Kardis HERSELF. I'm the only one who can pierce her divine defences and I'm barely strong enough to take Duran, never mind HER!"
"But she doesn't have your blessing like I do, my goddess. Even with her power, she could not contain me. I do not think she intended to spare me." Duran argued.
"Nova didn't say fight, did she?" Jason's mind was running down a path and his face was set in a form that both women recognised. "When your enemy picks the battlefield, you can be sure they have a surprise waiting. SO let's change it up. Fight to our advantages, not theirs."
"Well if you've got a plan, I'm all ears," Malkira returned.
"Her power is greater than you know. She spared you because she wanted to, don't disappoint me again, you can ask my former High Priest what happens if you do," Kardis warned. "Very well, let's test to see how good the Dragon is against magic of our level, do as you will Duran but be careful of her parents."
"Ladies, hang on." Jason instructed mentally, before smiling at the pair across from them. "So sorry to interrupt, but I'm afraid we have other ideas. As the two woman latched on to him, Jason fired his Magclaw up at the low-flying Liberator, whipping all three away from the immediate danger area. "Malkira, I'm going to assume you can fly?"
"What are these wings are for? To look nice?" She growled mentally as she waited for his plan.
"Well, they do that too. We divide and conquer. They can't target all three of us at once. Nova, stay with the Liberator, try to focus some shots and power against them, Malkira and I will hit from the flanks. Hit and run tactics are our friends here, don't wait to land a big hit, I don't plan on any of us being buried today."
In response a truly titanic burst of magic slammed into Kardis, turning the ground around her into a steaming crater.
"Take Duran, Kardis is MINE," Xapferey rumbled as a truly massive Gold Dragon strode towards the Goddess of Destruction.
"I think Father has her in hand. That's him in person Jason, not an avatar," Malkira said.
"You'd better hope so. Still, works for me." Leaping off into a spiralling corkscrew, Jason lined up on Duran and opened fire. "Well, Duran, you wanted me. Here I am." He swung around, unloading accurate rounds of Penetrator fire into Duran's body, but Duran was amazingly still standing after the rounds.
"You didn't think that would actually work, did you Commander? I'm disappointed."
After Duran finished an anvil appeared over his head and smashed into him.
"Eh ain't I a stinker?" Malkira quipped in a Brooklyn accent.
Before Duran could respond, a blast of lightning streaked down from the Liberator, striking the anvil, melting and searing it into Duran's flesh. "Now that's positively shocking." Nova added.
Malkira then added a massive beam of green energy "IOREAT," she roared. The blast smashed into Duran, shredding armour but not seriously harming him. Duran shook his head, clearing the effects of the multiple blasts from his shaken mind. Jason, however, had no intention of waiting, lining up another burst of rounds.
"Nope, I knew you'd be too much of a dick to fall so easily. Compensates for what you're lacking, I suspect. But then, you didn't actually expect me to fight you alone, did you?"
Duran snarled and leapt into the sky. "You will die, here and NOW!" He screamed, taking off after Jason.
Jason grinned, "You want to fly? Let's fly."
Malkira snarled before summoning her magic and shaping it into a deadly firestorm. It slammed into Duran with the force of a freight train before burning into him. Nova landed a pair of deadly accurate shots in Duran's head, while Jason continued to rain down withering, but distracting fire on the livid Xel'Naga, continuing to put him through a tight circuit of moves designed to prevent him from getting a clear shot off. On this count, Jason was only partly successful as Duran threw out powerful energy bolts with disturbing regularity. Thankfully, his own accuracy was not enough under the onslaught to connect with any of the three pests hounding him.
Thanks to the distractions, Malkira was able to get off one of her most powerful spells. Her form shimmered for a moment before a titanic Dragon made of fire appeared and smashed Duran with a claw, sending him to the ground and ploughing a furrow 90 feet long. Malkira reappeared a moment later while panting from the exertion.
A moment later, it had become clear that everyone had forgotten something when engaging in the battle, particularly Duran. Nova had been firing shots and blasts with terrible power and accuracy. But that was far less important than where she was firing from.
The Liberator finally entered the battle.
With Nova providing the targeting lock, the Liberator's terrifying weapons opened up on the grounded foe. Few could survive the sheer scale of the firepower that ship could deal out.
Duran was one, but that didn't mean it didn't cost him. To add to his pain, Malkira sent down a powerful bolt of lightning with enough charge to fry the Liberator's systems. Nova added her own smaller, but still powerful blast, bringing Duran to death's door.
He gasped, trying to understand how three primitives had got the better of him. All three landed around him bringing weapons to bear. None of them wasted any words on the battered body in front of them, simply blasting him until Malkira threw out a final spell.
"Si leor wux de tobor, wux nishka nurti confn spical. Loreat jaka!" The spell was one reserved for Draconia's deadliest enemies. It erased them utterly from existence, shredding body and soul to the point where there would be nothing to enter a purgatory, void, or afterlife. For a mortal caster, this spell would have caused them to collapse into a coma for weeks. For Malkira, she collapsed, barely conscious, bleeding from her eyes, ears and mouth. Jason caught her before she hit the ground before glaring at the smoking crater.
"And that's why you wait to taunt someone until after they're dead." Turning around, the three battle-weary warriors boarded the Liberator, getting Malkira straight to sick-bay as the ship clawed for distance from the battle.
"What about Xapferey?" Nova asked.
"I'm pretty sure he'd prefer to have his daughter out of danger than us meddling in his fight. That's one battle I'm not sure we could even affect."
In the meantime, Xapferey was back in human form glaring at Kardis.
"Mind explaining how you managed to come here?"
"Do you really think I would tell you so that you could stop me?"
"You are the Goddess of Destruction. You were injured and slumbering under Marmo. Indulge me."
"Well you've given me such delights of destruction to enjoy, I suppose I can do that much. When your massive explosion went off, it awoke me. The detonation and sheer destruction above my head was like… how do the mortals put it? An alarm clock. Since then I've been stretching out my mind into the stars. Duran has been so helpful, he's been offering me sacrifices bit by bit until I return to full strength."
"Well if your full strength was easily beaten by Marfa then this shouldn't be too much trouble. Besides you are a projection, it'll be all to easy."
"Watch your tone boy… You may have taken Marfa's portfolio but you are still a child to the likes of me."
"Marfa sadly succumbed to her wounds true. But for destruction, there must be creation… and for my other domains, you have to admit creation fits in well."
"It does at that."
"Well then, if you're anything like Wagnard, then this won't take long or make me break a sweat."
The goddess roared in fury before slashing at him with her halberd. Xapferey parried it aside as he rushed her, his blade lashing out literally 30 times a second with his inhuman reaction speed.
The Dark Goddess was busy parrying and blocking madly, her long reach meant she had great defensive ability, but her capability to strike back was limited with the Dragon God so close to her. Kardis shrieked as she launched a terrifying amount of black lightning that Xapferey shielded against. Xapferey countered with a beam of red energy that hit Kardis' helmet, making the arcane glyphs on it glow as they dispersed the spell.
Spinning, Xapferey grabbed a unpowered photon cannon, wrenched it free from the ground and spun before flinging it into Kardis. Knocked back by the large defence emplacement, Kardis was then slammed further back all the way through a mountain before ending in a massive explosion that could be seen in orbit.
Kardis came back swinging in a fury, her counter staggered the Dragon God as he was sent flying to land on one knee in a Protoss base 20 miles away.
By sheer coincidence, it was the base that Aldaris had retreated to and he now had a first hand view of what might just prove to be the most powerful and destructive fight of all time. It was an honour that, at that precise instant, he would have cheerfully gone without.
Xapferey stood easily and in front of the most die-hard loyal to the Conclave Protoss warriors, he knocked the Dark Goddess aside with such power, she slammed through a Stargate, shields and all, through two Photon Cannons and the wall of the base before ploughing another 100 foot long furrow through the ground. The buildings collapsed into shards a moment later.
Aldaris was torn between being beside himself with rage and shaking to his core in fear.
Eventually the later proved too alluring and he encountered the reason why some humans prefered to wear brown trousers.
Kradis returned in a massive leap that Xapferey sidestepped and watched as the Protoss Gateway acted like a golf ball.
Xapferey then did something that staggered all Protoss watching as he conjured a black hole and grabbed Kardis by the front of her armor. He slammed her head past the event horizon and turned his sword into a dagger before stabbing at her armored torso.
"You like that? Try to take the lifeforce of my wife huh?" Xapferey roared as he kept stabbing her. Kardis though managed to wiggle free as he stuffed her into the black hole before she tumbled out a moment later. Kardis was pissed as her halberd turned into a sword and shield.
"YOU DARE? I AM KARDIS THE ALL-POWERFUL, KARDIS THE DESTROYER."
"Kardis the weak," Xapferey turned her assault aside, smashing her shield against the ground and slamming a boot into it, shredding the metal. "Kardis the fool," Xapferey slammed a small knife into her neck. For a mortal, the blow would have been lethal, Kardis however just pulled it free and snapped it, her neck unblemished by a wound. "I would offer you the chance to end it now Kardis, fall on my sword. It would be much faster than if you continue down this path," Xapferey braced himself as he really kicked the hornet's nest now.
By now, Aldaris was the only Protoss remaining within several kilometres, everyone else having chosen to flee. It was not courage that kept him, however, but the sheer draw of power he felt from both combatants and the fear that still paralyzed him to the spot.
Kardis didn't disappoint in the slightest. Her blade whirled everywhere, and it was only Xapferey's tight defensive movements that kept him from getting hammered by her blows, but it was part of his plan. Kardis was in a berserker rage, her attacks while powerful, were sloppy. There was several obvious openings that he could exploit, all he had to do was wait. A couple strikes later showed the opening he wanted as Kardis raised her blade in an overhead chop, Xapferey stabbed upwards, catching a weak point in her armor. His blade slashed through chain, skin, ribs, lungs and part of her heart.
But it wasn't enough to stop her. She pulled back, unharmed a moment later though staggered by the blow. Her retaliation blew through the whole side of the base, consuming it all in its path.
When the smoke cleared, Xapferey was standing there, his defenses glowing from deflecting the energy.
"Why do you stubbornly refuse to expire?" She snarled.
"The mortals have a saying… you snooze you lose. Fitting for a dormant goddess, your followers failed to stop me. What chance do you have?"
"SILENCE," she roared as she lunged forwards, her blade seeking his blood. He parried her strike aside and flung her hard enough to enter orbit. Around him, Aiur suffered from his harsh strike, the backlash cratering the ground beneath the Dragon god. At the same time, the resounding shockwave blasted outwards, the walls around the base becoming pitted and warped under the tremendous forces invoked by the godly feat of sheer strength. The nearby Protoss buildings weathered the assault well enough, though their shields were nearly depleted as aa result.
He flashed up into the sky and halted her upwards progress with his weapon in the form of a mace smashing into her back. As she flew back down to the ground, the shockwave dispersed clouds and pushed both Zerg and Protoss ships aside, though the Protoss were better equipped to counter the sudden thrust. Xapferey's mace sent Kardis flying through the mountains, causing a massive avalanche to bury her. He watched for a moment, ensuring that Kardis did not return for yet another round.
"Judicator," Xapferey said as he turned to Aldaris, finally satisfied.
Aldaris was still shaking too hard, his world still too upside down to reply. Rolling his eyes in amusement, Xapferey strode up to Aldaris and snapped his fingers near Aldaris' eyes to break him out of the shock.
"Judicator Aldaris."
Finally Aldaris managed to shake himself free of his internal conflict. "Emperor."
"I think I've proven what happens if one is my enemy don't you agree?" Xapferey asked. "Are you ready to talk now or are you going to accuse my Avatar of being a Zerg again?"
"Whatever you are, you are unnatural. There is no denying that. No one should be able to do what you have done."
"There is a word for beings like I… but that would take more convincing than we have time for… but it's a simple three letter word Judicator, starts with g and ends with a d."
"Regardless, it is not reasonable to expect me to be able to give you an answer so soon after this…" Aldaris waved his hand around the ruins of his base.
"Right sorry about that," Xapferey waved his hand and clicked his fingers. The buildings that were destroyed rebuilt or replaced themselves within moments. "That better?"
Aldaris glared. "That was not what I was referring to. You have overturned everything we thought was real. At least give us the courtesy to try and understand our place in this new world."
"I can do that, but you have to admit we don't have the time… Aiur is lost. We need to evacuate everyone and that means activating the Spear of Adun and her sister ships."
"Time or not, I must inform the Conclave. Do what you will, even if I desired to, I cannot stop you."
"Inform the Conclave then, just be ready to go soon, even with my help we cannot do much but slow the Zerg right now. I have one more thing to take care of first."
With that, Xapferey rose towards the stars. Heading for the platform the Overmind was on, he summoned Louise to him with a thought a moment later.
"It's time Louise," Xapferey said as he led the disguised Zerg woman to the Overmind. The Zerg in his path he simply shunted aside until he was in front of the Overmind and the Cerebrate Daggoth. Opening his mind to communicate, he touched their minds, letting them feel his godly self, all his power far greater than anything they had seen. "Overmind, Cerebrate Daggoth," Xapferey greeted.
"Emperor. Rather different compared to the last time you spoke to me." The Overmind replied.
"Yes, this is my true self. Not the avatar that spoke to you before. Things have moved in interesting ways as you can see," Xapferey said while standing beside Louise.
"Not to mention, you are actually present, rather than projecting yourself across space."
"I needed to be, I'm certain you sensed my little exchange with Kardis."
"That 'exchange' was sensed by every single psionic on the planet and a lot of others besides."
"Then you can see that plans have changed… namely the future of the Swarm."
"Indeed. You intend for your friend to take over?"
"She did before, and will do so again, doesn't she look or feel familiar to you?"
The Overmind focussed its full attention on Louise. "Indeed. Her signature is both very familiar and utterly alien to me. She is a paradox that I cannot understand."
"That's because she's Sarah Louise Kerrigan. The Queen of Blades."
"How is that possible? Sarah Kerrigan is still here and completely human."
"Time travel, this is a Sarah Kerrigan… about 5 years from now."
The Overmind appeared to be dumbfounded. "Such a thing is not possible."
"And yet they are clearly possible, surely Abathur could recognize his own work plus the work of other powerful Zerg transformations… Louise, you'll have to get help from Jim and Sarah… I have to take care of something."
With that Xapferey lunged across space to collide with an enraged Kardis. The shockwave was enough to knock back the Zerg and buffet the Draconian ships. But it also gave Jim and Sarah a full look at what happened when opposing gods collided in battle. Using the opening created by the shockwave, Draconian troops beamed in and began using various Instant Fortress charmed gems to create powerful fortified locations to hold the Zerg from.
Sarah and Jim managed to shake off their shock at the sudden and unexpected battle in front of them, leading their forces down to set up inside the fortress charms. Troops, vehicles and starships swiftly began to set up in support of Louise.
Xapferey once more sent Kardis falling to Aiur's surface from orbit, thankfully no allied ships were near the blast this time. Xapferey smirked while rolling his eyes, the enraged avatar was far too easy to beat right now as she left wide holes for him to exploit. This time, Kardis was blasted into a massive 30-foot crater from his retaliation.
"Jeez, you really don't know when to quit," Xapferey muttered. Yet Kardis didn't rise from the crater, oddly Xapferey could sense her among the Zerg, commanding them against the Protoss. 'Shit… Deedlit, go to the Conclave. I'll try to keep her occupied,' Xapferey sent to his wife.
Deedlit nodded as she flitted across space to where the Conclave was meeting.
"Judicators," she said in greeting.
Every Protoss eye narrowed on her. "I see Aldaris was not exaggerating in his statements after all. What is it you want?" The leader asked.
"I'm certain you've sensed the battle between my husband and our enemy… Well she is moving the Zerg against you in a massive push all across Aiur. We need to evacuate everyone now. My husband will distract Kardis as much as he can, but we need to activate the Spear of Adun and her sister ships immediately, and the warp gate."
"What you are asking for is impossible. We cannot abandon Aiur! Where are we supposed to go?"
"You could go to Shakuras or we could bring refugees to Forceria. You are not abandoning Aiur, this is a tactical fall back until we are in a better tactical position."
"Shakuras? You would ask us to go to the Dark Templar?!"
"They are your brethren, they are Protoss despite your differences. We do have room on Forceria if Shakuras is unpalatable to you. Our technology while different is on the same level as your own, if not a bit ahead in some cases."
"You think we cannot hold Aiur, even with your help?"
"Regrettably not, as much as it pains me to admit it as we've been preparing for this war against the Zerg for years. We don't have the numbers or tactical position to hold Aiur at the moment."
"Then it appears we have little choice." The leader rose. "Contact all personnel. Prepare for a full evacuation. All forces are to defend the civilian population as they proceed towards the evacuation points."
"I'll have my Generals coordinate with your Executors, we should prepare the Ark Ships immediately,"
