Before we start!
Ahem...
First of all, let me tell you that I do appreciate every favorite and every comment. It is not my main motivation for writing, it is nevertheless highly appreciated. I usually answer every comment (even sometimes when I shouldn't...) but I do not belong to the kind of people who post the answers to questions at the beginning or the ending of a chapter so everyone can see and read them. I guess I could do that but I just don't see any purpose in that. Unless you people want me to do that, then I will.
That being said...I do feel like I have to address the last comment from the now-renamed user DeleteUser12345123412. So, after his comment (I'm just assuming that he's a guy, not that I really care) my answer was basically "Bite me" and then I blocked him. Mostly because that comment didn't safe any purpose at all. You might consider it a form of criticism, and therefore one might accuse me of not being open to criticism, yet I do not consider this comment to be any of that. It's just a rant. One that makes no sense at all. Especially the fact that he accuses me of this story not be in line with the official canon. Which is the ultimate irony since this here is a fanfiction-site.
I know it shouldn't bother me, but I just wanted to use the opportunity to point out that this comment (or "wall of text") serves no purpose other than to lecture others on "how to do it right". The author of the comment said in the last passage: "I am very interested to understand the logic of similar authors."
No, he didn't. He just wanted to to show his own ignorance towards the works of others and hide behind nice and fancy words.
Also: Perhaps I'm the lousiest Christian of all times, but I can't see any resembles of the bible and Jesus Christ in the plot of Starcraft. Seriously...
Whew...getting this off my chest felt nice. Now for some context regarding the story:
Like I mentioned in another chapter, I do like the Starcraft-story. There are just a few things that tick me off. Things that were left open, storylines that weren't finished. Or things that seem to end in nowhere. Like, for example, the crystal Stetmann experiments on inside the Hyperion's lab? What happened to that thing? I guess it was of no importance to Blizzard. But since this is a FANFICTION I might as well have some fun with that thing, regardless if it "makes sense" or not.
And to answer one question some people have asked: Yes, there is a reason why Jim's old dropship is suddenly on the Hyperion. And yes, even in my story Sarah took it with her when she escaped the Dominion during "Heart of the Swarm". You will just have to wait and see how it got there.
Phew...now I wrote a wall of text. Enough of that.
My thanks go to everyone else who reads this and might end up enjoying it, no matter if you choose to comment on it or not.
And thanks to Bjlu0900 for being my ever-present beta-reader.
Chapter 13
Lost in Translation
''...over here! This is it!" The heavy metal door was pushed open from the outside and when Paula managed to squeeze her head through, she looked around and an exhausted grin appeared on her face. "Jackpot!"
"Paula, do you need help with th-" Sirella asked behind her.
"Nggggghhhhhhnnnooooo!" Paula groaned as she used all of her strength in order to push the door open. Her head was red like a tomato, proof that she was giving it all. When the door was finally open, she slipped through and looked around.
"Yeah, this is the place!" she sighed and used her remaining strength to push the door open so that Sirella could slip through.
"Gaaaaaahhhnnn..." the barely conscious Dan Bowski groaned when the tall Protoss carried him inside. His body was covered in sweat and his skin was so pale that he looked like a corpse. You could actually watch how he was deteriorating, something that was both fascinating and horrible at the same time.
"It...it hurts..." the Marshal groaned.
"What now? Paula? I don't want to sound rude or anything..." Sirella whined. "...but if the Marshal's going to explode from the inside, I want to put him down first!" However, Paula wasn't paying attention to her friend's whining. Instead she looked around and frowned when she spotted what they had come here for.
"Bingo." she whispered and walked towards the other side of the room where some strange structures were growing out of the wall.
"Paula!" When she heard her friend, the young woman looked over her shoulder an realized that there were more important things to worry about right now.
Like the dying man who was currently being eaten from the inside by his own entrails for example. But even then, she used the moment to throw a quick glance at her surroundings. Everything was where it was supposed to be, which was good. What wasn't good was-
"Ghnnnnnn!" Paula's thoughts were interrupted by Dan's pained grunts.
"Paula, please!" Sirella squealed and when Paula looked over at her friend, she noticed the desperate look on the Protoss' face. She was both frightened and disgusted, probably worried that Dan would simply explode inside her arms like a pinata made out of flesh and bones.
Which wasn't that far from what was about to happen...
"There, put him on that table!" Paula declared and pointed her finger at an old medical table that was still standing around. Sirella put the groaning Marshal on said table and looked at her friend for guidance.
"What now?"
"Keep him down! Make sure he doesn't hurt himself." Paula ordered.
"Hurt himself? How about hurting me?"
"Protoss can't be infested." Paula simply explained before turning her attention back at the strange structure in the corner of the lab.
"No, but they can get their heads bitten off!" Sirella shot back. "What are you doing back there? Help me! Help him!"
"That's exactly what I'm trying to do. Let me see..." the young woman muttered. She placed her hand on the strange structure. Whatever it was, it clearly wasn't part of the Hyperion. Or at least it hadn't been there when the ship had been commissioned. It wasn't the only unnatural structure present in this room. Right next to it was what looked like the remains of a giant carcass. Something that-
"AAAAAH!" Sirella suddenly screamed when she spotted the bones and dried flesh coming out of the wall. "PAULA, IT'S HERE! IT FOUND US!" However, Paula remained unfazed.
"That ain't Stukov, Sirella." she told her friend. "Don't worry, this thing is dead. I think..." The last part of the statement inspired so much confidence. While Sirella was torn between freaking out even more and trying to take care of Marshal Bowski, Paula walked over to the strange structure until she could place a hand on it. She reached out, ready to touch the cold surface of the ancient crystal until...
"AAAGH!" Dan screamed in pain and tried to get back up. It seemed as if he didn't even know what he was trying to do, he was just trying to find a way to get rid of the pain. In his desperation, he grabbed his shirt and tried to pull it off. That only led to Sirella be able to take a good look at the man's stomach. And what she saw-
"BY THE ANCIENTS!" the Protoss screamed and backed away. With no one holding him down anymore, Dan used his newfound freedom to thrash around. He grabbed his own stomach and rolled around, which resulted in him falling off the table and land on the cold, hard floor. As he was experiencing what could probably be considered the most agonizing pain of all time, at the very least it would make for an interesting experience. Not many could claim to know what it feels like when your own intestines start to devour each other.
And even less could claim that they survived infestation.
Then again, right now there was no clear indication wherever or not Dan Bowski would survive the next five minutes.
"Damn it, can't I get even two minutes of peace and quiet so I can figure this out?" Paula growled and hurried over to Dan. She knelt down right next to him and placed her hand on his forehead. His body was hot, and not in the good kind of way.
"Marshal? Marshal, can you hear me? Dan, listen to my voice!" she tried to reach out to him, yet all Dan could do was to groan in agony.
"Wha...what's...what's happening...to me?!" he gasped and rolled on the side cramps started to torment him.
"You've been infested." Paula told him. There was no way to beat around the bush. "Which means that, as we speak, every cell of your body is being infected by a virus that will turn you inside out. Literally." When Dan heard that, he looked her straight into the eyes. You could see the fear all over his face.
"What...what's...agh!" he tried to ask before another cramp caused him agonizing pain.
"Let me get straight to the point: I might have overestimated my own abilities a bit." Paula deadpanned. "But fear not! I know just the guy who can fix this. Only that it's no guy but a gal and she doesn't really like it if people call her that. The only one who ever calls her gal is my dad and he's-"
"Paula!" Sirella shouted, reminding her friend that no one cared for those details right now.
"Right, right!" the young woman hissed. Instead of caring for Dan, Paula jumped back to her feet and hurried over to the strange, crystalline structure. She placed her hands on the structure and looked for something.
"What are you doing? The Marshal is over here! And he's dying!" Sirella protested.
"He's infested." Paula corrected her. "That's not the same as dying. Unless he retracted the original strain of the virus, in that case you might want to stand back a little. You know, just in case he's gonna explode." That inspired so much confidence. "Now, where is it..."
"Paula?! He needs you now and not in five-" Sirella screamed. That's when Paula turned around.
"I know. I KNOW! I'm trying to get some help, so get off my back, will'ya? Unless you happen to know a better way to get us out of this mess!" she told her friend.
"I don't even know what you're trying to do! You don't share your plans with anyone!"
"I'm trying to call home, that's what I'm doing."
"How are you going to do that?"
"I would show you if you would just shut up for two minutes and let me hear my own thoughts!" Paula screamed.
"I... I'm...I'm going...to die..." Dan groaned.
"You are not gonna die!" Paula shouted at him. "Infestation doesn't kill! It only enslaves!"
"Sounds...even worse...than dying." the Marshal gasped and looked up at Sirella. "I don't...want to end up...like that thing...that...Stukov-thing..."
"I understand." Sirella whispered. "I can't summon a psi-blade, but I can see if I can find a shovel."
"Sirella, do me a favor..." Dan gasped.
"As long as it doesn't involve human orifices, then yes. Human orifices are disgusting." the Protoss mumbled.
"Tell my people..." the Marshal told her. "...tell my people..."
"Yes?"
"Tell...them...Paula Kerrigan is to blame for everything!"
"I will! I will let everyone know who's to blame for all of this." Sirella agreed. "Everyone will know the truth."
"I hate you two so much right now." Paula growled when she heard that.
"We hate you too!" the two replied.
"Ugh, next time I'm traveling alone..." the young woman growled before focusing her attention on the weird crystalline structure right in front of her. "Now...how about we have a little talk, you and I." Her words weren't directed at either Dan or Sirella. Instead, she placed her hand on the crystal and closed her eyes. Right now, her powers were virtually non-existent. Worst timing ever? Perhaps. However, what was happening right now was actually not that uncommon. On the contrary, Paula had a long track record when it came to, uhm, performance issues. And even she wouldn't deny that her timing was horrible. Yet no matter how whimsical her powers might be, her knowledge still remained. And thanks to her Uncle Karax, she knew exactly what she was doing right now.
Well...almost.
"Paula, what are you doing?" Sirella demanded to know.
"What I was telling you before: I'm trying to call home!" Paula shot back. Right now she had to concentrate on the task at hand. Literally. Her powers were barely there anymore. They would return. Eventually. But until then she was just as boring and ordinary as any other person on...on...
"Hey, Marshal! What's the name of this world again?" Paula asked when she looked over her shoulder.
"Go...kill...yourself..." was the only answer she received.
"Guess I have to be less subtle then." Paula mumbled and stared at the crystal in front of her again. "Okay, here we go. Let's see if I can remember all the stuff Uncle Karax taught me." Even though her powers were almost gone right now, some of them remained with her. She was never fully without them. As long as even one tiny spark remained, it would be enough to connect to the crystal. And when Paula felt the inert energies lying dormant inside this ancient relic, she took a deep breath, braced herself and decided to dive right into it, heading towards what felt like an ancient and alien consciousness. And when they touched...
As he glanced over at the small crystal resting inside its tank, he couldn't help but smile. This was it. This was it! Finally! Oh, how long had he waited to get his hands on something like this? Sure, it hadn't been easy to convince Swann to build a tank for this thing. And it hadn't been easy to convince Commander Horner to allow for this to happen. Then again, they had also allowed him to put a goddamn Zerg-sample in the vet-tank right next to the first one. He still was amazed by his verbal skills. How masterfully he had told them that this research would benefit them all!
Not for one second did he believe what Swann had told him:
That they had just allowed him to do this because he had annoyed the living hell out of them.
Na, that had been a joke by his good friend Rory Swann. Because everyone knew that he, Egon Stetmann, was by no means annoying.
Oh no!
As he stared at his two test-subjects, he felt a sense of pride. The left tank contained what could be considered something straight from a horror movie. It wasn't big and a part of Stetmann hoped that it would stay like this. Unfortunately, he was pretty certain that this thing would become much larger. When he had put the sample into the vat-tank, it had tripled its size within less than four hours. Only after all the nutrients had been devoured it had stopped growing. But that didn't mean that it was starving. Oh no, it was still alive and kicking. It only waited for more food to devour. So far it hadn't been picky about what Stetmann had thrown into that tank. Zerg-physiology was truly fascinating. He wouldn't be surprised if this thing could extract nutrients from a stone.
Under normal circumstances this specimen would be enough to keep him busy for months, maybe even years. However, that pulsing sack of green goo was only one part of his current research project. The other one was inside the vat-tank right next to it.
As menacing and nightmare-inducing the Zerg-sample was, the same couldn't be said about those crystal resting inside the other tank. Stetmann smiled as he walked towards the unknown crystal. However, when he came too close to the one with the Zerg-sample inside, the strange object started to react. Violently.
"Eeeeep!" The scientist screamed like a little girl when the biological sample smashed against the reinforced glass of the tank and jumped to the side. Had this thing sensed him approaching? How? It had no eyes and Stetmann hadn't found any traces of sensory organs. Or did it possess some sorts of psionic abilities? Was that even possible? Zerg were able to use psionics. Not a Hydralisk, of course not. But they were able to sense them, to listen to their master's command. That being said...
...could it be that a single cell of a Zerg could have psionic abilities?
"Huh, I guess I have to look into the possibility of such a thing." Stetmann mused. He grabbed his datapad and pressed the record button.
"Zerg sample recovered by Raynor's Raiders." he spoke out loud. "Date: October 6th, 2504. Sample appeared dead when brought in, including tissue necrosis. However, tests now reveal frantic cellular activity." He grimaced when he remembered what had happened mere moments ago. "And it's moving." A sigh escaped his lips when he thought about what he had learned so far just by staring at that thing. "This defies everything I understand about biology. I'm tracking massive generational changes in each cell. In the last hour, this thing has evolved more than humans did in 100,000 years." Which either meant that this thing was pretty fast or humans were pretty slow. Probably both. And then Stetmann said the one thing only mad scientists in cheap movies say: "If I can harness this, it could lead to huge military innovations for the Raiders." Right, because that has never ever backfired in the history of humankind.
It was probably a good thing that Matt and Rory were too busy with other things. If they knew what their "chief scientist" was doing, they would probably throw those samples out of the next airlock. And Stetmann with it.
He stopped the recording and thought about all the things he could do. As long as they would let him, that is. Still, as fascinating (and gross) this thing was, it wasn't the crown jewel of his lab. Oh no! The real treasure was right next to it. Stetmann turned around and when he looked at the other tank, he could see the golden crystals inside it emitting a faint light.
Yes, researching Zerg was spectacular. However, their biology, which also served as the base of their technology, was just that: Biological. No matter how evolved a Zerg-cell was, it was still a cell. And therefore, it was comparable to the cells inside Stetmann's body. An infested would probably argue against that point of view, but to the scrawny scientist the Protoss were much more, well, alien than the Zerg. The Zerg were claws and teeth, wrapped inside carapace and muscle. The Protoss were mysteries shrouded in even more mysteries.
And that crystal? To Stetmann it was the ultimate mystery.
He pressed a button on his datapad and started a new recording.
"Protoss crystal sample recovered by Raynor's Raiders, July the tenth, 2504." Stetmann started. "I placed the crystal in a saline solution for storage. Its density has increased by 553% in the last twelve hours. Where does it get energy or raw materials for that?" he wondered. It was truly a baffling thing to happen. The Zerg-sample had gone into hibernation once it had consumed everything there was to consume. But this thing? It just continued to grow on its own! "I have a terrible suspicion that it's...connecting to the show somehow." Terrible and magnificent. "If Swann suspects, he'll drop it out of the airlock, and that would be a tragedy." Yep. Especially since he would throw Stetmann out of that airlock as well. "This sample could lead to huge breakthroughs for the Raiders." And then he looked at that beautiful crystal. A part of Stemann felt inclined to touch it. The way it pulsed was almost...hypnotic.
"I just have to be careful, and if there's any sign that it will harm the Hyperion, I'll destroy the crystal myself." That's what he told himself. However, a not-so-small part of him knew that he was just lying at himself. This thing...was magical!
Yeah, that wasn't exactly a very scientific description. But it was true. The crystal was the exact opposite of the Zerg-sample. Just staring at this thing was enough to put Stetmann's mind at ease. Where the Zerg-sample was vile and savage, this crystal was calm and peaceful. He could stare at this beautiful thing all day long. And that was exactly what was happening.
Stetmann didn't even realize how his gaze became unfocused while looking at the crystal. It was just so...so...
"...beautiful." he whispered. It was as if this thing wasn't even a mere object but a living organism. And that wasn't everything. As the self-proclaimed scientist stared at the crystal, it almost felt as if it was looking back at him. It wasn't something he could describe, and it certainly wasn't something he would talk about. They would just tell him that he had lost it. Again.
A weird and empty grin appeared on his face. The only thing missing was drool dripping from his chin. After a while a beeping noise caught his attention and he turned away. The sound was coming from the console nearby. Oh, it had finished the scans! Outstanding! Suddenly Stetmann felt giddy excitement and hurried over to the console, his datapad still in his hand. He downloaded his logs into the console and created a few new folders where all those delicious data would go. Oh, he could hardly wait for-
Stetmann's thoughts were cut short when suddenly the door to the lab opened and a man with broad shoulders stepped inside, walking as if he owned this place...
...which was actually pretty damn accurate.
"Commander!" Egon Stetmann beamed. "The alien artifact is all secure in the lab, Sir!" From the corner of his eyes he could see the third magical object inside his lab. Truth to be told: He still had no idea what to make of it. But who could claim to have ever been close to a Xel'Naga-artifact? "You know, seeing it got me thinking about my special projects-"
"Whoa, slow down, Setmann." Commander Raynor interrupted him and stopped right in front of the scrawny scientist. The Commander's broad shoulders made him look as if he was triple the size of Stetmann. And the scientist noticed how tired the Commander looked. Like...really tired. "What do you mean "projects"? You doing some kinda research down here?" his boss wanted to know.
Signs of embarrassment hushed over Stetmann's face and fiddled with the datapad in his hands.
"Yeah, well, not yet, Sir." he admitted. "I still need some additional specimens to get things going. Once I get those, we can make some big improvements to our weapon systems and tactics!" He could see the skepticism on the Commander's face. Had Horner already talked with him about Stetmann's screw-ups? Oh gosh, he sure hoped not! Much to his relief Commander Raynor just shrugged his shoulders and said: "Well, I'm all for that. What do you need?"
Yes.
Yes!
OH, HELL YEAH!
The scrawny scientist did his best to hide his excitement. With the Commander in his back, he could do whatever he wanted to do! Minus blowing the ship up. But that wasn't part of the plan anyway. Egon didn't have to think for long to tell the Commander what he needed. He pressed a few buttons on his datapad and suddenly a list appeared right in front of his eyes. A long list. A very long list. Perhaps too long. So instead of just telling his boss what he needed...
"All kind of things! I've entered the details into our database. If you run into something on a mission that we need, you'll be notified automatically."
"Just try not to blow up the ship, okay Stetmann?" Raynor asked. His voice sounded both annoyed and exhausted, but Egon was too excited to care about that. He felt the urge to say: "No promises!" but managed to bit on his tongue just in time.
"I will...do my best, Sir!" the scientist replied.
"I'm sure you do." Jim growled before looking at the two tanks right next to them. "Wait, is that a Zerg inside that tank?"
"Uhm...didn't Captain Horner tell you?"
"Tell you what? That we got Zerg on bord?" Raynor asked back. "No, he forgot that part. What the hell, Stetmann!" Panic started to creep through Egon's mind. Oh no, he had just managed to get the Commander's approval, and now he was about to lose it again!
"It's...uhm...it's not Zerg! Not really! It's...it's actually human, haha!" the scrawny scientist lied, trying to ease the Commander's mind.
"That thing is human?!" Jim gasped. "Hey, I might not be a wizkid when it comes to science and stuff, but I've never seen a picture of something like that growing inside a human being." he said.
"Well..." Stetmann whined when he realized that he should think more carefully about what kind of bullshit he wanted to say in order to make people feel less, well, terrified. "...that's because I modified my own genes with that of a Zerg and-"
"You did WHAT?!"
Okay, Egon really had to work on how to create a good excuse. Especially since excuses were meant to not make things worse!
"I, uhm...I meant that I added a tiny bit of Zerg-genes to the mix. Nothing bad. Not infested! Oh no! Just a little bit." the scientist mumbled.
"Define little." Raynor demanded to know.
"Fifty perc-"
"FIFTY PERCENT?!" his boss screamed.
"I mean thirty! Ten! Five! Three! Less than 0.5!" Stetmann corrected himself over and over again. "Yes, 0.5 percent! Not fifty! Haha, I just mixed up the numbers, that's all."
"Stetmann..." the Commander growled. "This ain't another deck 8-incident, is it?"
"What? No! Of course not! This thing isn't connected to the waste removal system that's-"
"That's not what I mean, man!" the Commander cut him short. "I don't want to lose another deck of the Hyperion because you had a brilliant idea. And when it comes to feces and Zerg; I would rather run naked through deck 8 than be in a room with a Zerg."
"I got this under control, Commander. Really, I swear. There won't be another deck 8-incident." Stetmann swore.
"You bet there won't! Otherwise we will run out of decks real soon! And just so you know-" However, before he could finish that sentence, the door to the lab was opened and the newest honorary member of the Raiders' stepped inside.
"Oh, so it is actually a real lab." Ariel Hanson mused. "And here I thought that Mister Horner was trying to make fun of me." Only then she spotted both Raynor and Stetmann and blinked in surprise. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I interrupt you? If you want then I can just wait outside and-"
"No! It's fine." Jim cut her short and sighed.
"Wh-who is that, Commander?" Egon asked. The woman was an unusual sight. Not because she was a woman, there were plenty of women among the Raiders. No, what seemed unusual was the fact that this woman didn't look like either a soldier or a technician. Instead she looked like a scientist.
A fellow scientist? Here? On the Hyperion?
"Agh, guess introductions are in order." the Commander growled and pointed with his hand at Egon. "Doctor Hanson, this is Egon Stetmann. Since the Raiders are mostly made out of guys and gals who pretend to be soldiers, it's only fair that we have a guy who acts as if he's a scientist."
"H-hey!" Stetmann protested. "That's not fair, I'm a fairly-"
"And that's..." Raynor simply continued. "...is Doctor Ariel Hanson." The way he was pronouncing Hanson's title sounded as if he wanted to stress the fact that she was an actual doctor. Of something. "She'll be staying with us for a while. And since she knows about science and stuff-"
"Especially stuff." Hanson snickered.
"...I expect you to be a perfect host. Got that?"
"Oh, I'm sure that she will be a good host, Commander." Egon beamed, which earned him a sour look from his boss.
"I was talking to you, man!" the Commander barked, but then he just groaned and rubbed his eyes. "You know what? I ain't got no nerve to deal with this right now. I need a drink. A stiff one." He then turned around and faced Doctor Hanson. "Tell you what, Doc. You and Stetmann over here, you can have all the fun. Should you need anything, then just give the word. When in doubt, go and ask Matt. He will get you everything you need. As for you..." That's when Raynor looked at Stetmann once more. "...no mutated monsters, no "improvements" to the ship's systems, no "new software for the navigational systems that I forgot to mention", and, and I'm so dead serious about this: absolutely NO messing with the water purification system! Understood?" When Egon heard that, he raised his hand.
"Actually, I thought about what happened and think I know where it went wrong. If you would allow me to do it again then-
"STETMANN!" Raynor screamed, and perhaps he just didn't punch him right here and now because Ariel Hanson was present. "If you even think of touching any system, then I will make you clean deck 8! With a toothbrush. Your toothbrush. Did I make myself clear?!"
"Yes, Sir." the scrawny scientist mumbled. An amused Ariel Hanson couldn't help but look at them in surprise.
"That sounds like an, uhm, interesting story. Care to share?"
"No!" both men said at the exact same time. They looked at each other in surprise, but that moment only lasted a short moment.
"Ugh, whatever." Raynor groaned. "I need a drink. Knock yourself out, Doc. This is the best we have to offer. It's not much but maybe you can squeeze a bit more out of it."
"I'll do my best." Ariel chirped. Raynor then simply walked out of the lab and left those two alone. And when he was gone...
"So, this is your lab?" Ariel asked and looked around. "It's...nice."
"Yes, it is." Egon replied. He could feel how his chest started to burst with pride simply because someone acknowledged this place as his lab. "It's not much but it gets the job done. So to speak."
"Ha, my old lab is probably crawling with Zerg right now, so this place is paradise when compared to it." she told him.
"Well, you don't have to be afraid of Zerg crawling all over this place. I only got one and...errr...I mean...nevermind." Egon stuttered. Ariel smiled and turned her head around until she looked at the vat-tank with the Zerg-specimen inside.
"Yes, I already noticed. You grew this, right? Where did you get the sample from?" Ariel wanted to know. There was no amusement or anger in her voice. If the Commander, the Captain or Swann would ask him that question, it usually sounded like: "WHERE DID YOU GET THAT FROM?!" It was nice to be not yelled at. Really.
"I... uhm...I scrapped the sample off the boot of one marine." Egon admitted.
"Oh..." Ariel mumbled. "That soldier probably didn't even realize what he had on his foot, hmm?"
"I don't know." Stetmann replied. "His leg was the only part that came back from the battlefield."
"Ah. Shouldn't have asked." the Doctor whispered before her look wandered over to the other vat-tank. Stetmann could see the confusion on her face, and it filled his chest with giddy joy. She didn't know what it was! Oh, explaining things to fellow scientists were so much fun!
"What is that?" Ariel asked and pointed her finger at the other vat-tank.
"That? That is a Protoss' crystal." Egon declared with nothing but pride in his voice. "Pretty neat, right?"
"So, this is Protoss?" Ariel whispered and leaned forward until her face was only centimeters away from the thick glass of the tank. "It looks..."
"Beautiful?" Stetmann offered.
"Cold." his fellow scientist replied, which caused Stetmann to wince on the inside. Oh no! She didn't like it?
"Well, it certainly isn't as warm as a Zerg..." Egon joked. "...but I think it's the single most fascinating thing I have ever seen."
"It doesn't try to bite my face off, so it got that going for it." Arial mumbled. That's when suddenly a frown appeared on her face. "What's that?"
"What's what?" Egon wanted to know and leaned forward until both their faces were so close to the glass of the tank that their noses were almost touching it.
"I swear I just saw a spark..." Ariel muttered.
"That can't be. The sensors show only some low-level energy that-" But Egon didn't get much further. Instead...
Stetmann forced himself not to stare at the crystal. The glowing orb of energy floating inside the tank was mesmerizing. Sure, when Swann had heard about this development, he had urged the Commander to flush the crystal out of the airlock. And Egon right with it. Thank God the Commander was too busy right now to deal with that. Especially since they managed to retrieve another part of that strange Xel'Naga-artifact. Under normal circumstances Stetmann would have assumed that the boss would have told him to work his ass off, figuring out how that strange device works. Under normal circumstances.
Then again: When had the circumstances ever been normal?
However, right now the Commander seemed to be preoccupied with other things. Rumor said it that they almost had had an encounter with the infamous Queen of Blades, and that her mere presence had caused the Commander to lock himself inside his cabin and drink himself into a stupor. Stetmann usually didn't care about gossip but it was pretty obvious that the Queen of Blades was a sore topic for his boss.
Then again, it allowed Stetmann to focus on his other projects.
Speaking of projects...
"The crystal is growing." Egon explained while his voice was recorded. "And it appears to have something-some sort of...antimatter?" Gravitational anomaly? Non-standard phenomenon? - hovering over it." He really had to come up with a better name. "I'm now convinced that the crystal is drawing power from the ship, but in ways so subtle as to be undetectable." Oh, Swann would roast his butt should he ever find out.
"It is non-organic but has a molecular structure as diverse and complex as any organism's." Egon continued and threw a quick glance over to the other tank, where the Zerg-sample was happily absorbing nutrients. At least Stetmann was thinking that it was happy. Who knew? Maybe he should ask the Queen of Blades should they ever meet her.
"It's developed an intricate matrix that makes it though and surprisingly flexible. An alloy based on this crystal would have impressive damage mitigation. The structure of this matrix also suggests some sort of energy-storage system. There might be something to this." And then he took a deep breath. "The Protoss are so far beyond us. We must seem amoeboid to them." Was that even a word? Well, it was now. And once he was...
...done. Seriously, that's what he had thought. There was no way in hell they should have survived that. Landing on a planet infested with Protoss extremists was one thing. Landing on a planet infested with Protoss extremists while there was a supernova in progress was a whole different thing. Landing on a planet infested with Protoss extremists while there was a supernova in progress, with the expressed goal of stealing a sacred artifact of untold power?
Let's never do that again.
Sure, Egon had sat that one out, doing his usual science-stuff inside his lab while the Commander had fought down below on the planet's surface. But Stetmann had really crossed his fingers that everything would turn out okay, which is basically the same as sharing a foxhole on the front lines. Right?
Right...
He looked over his shoulder and spotted the slender frame of Ariel Hanson. His colleague hadn't said anything in quite some time, ever since contact to her people on Haven had been lost. It was brutally obvious to anyone that she was worried. To everyone except Stetmann, who was too busy staring at his two "research partners". Speaking of which...
"The protoss crystal continues to grow." he spoke while his datapad was recording his latest findings. "I no longer think it is drawing power from the ship. It's getting pure energy from that sphere above it, which presents a new worry. What's it doing it all that power?" A pretty darn good question actually. "Is it going to release it explosively? I have to keep Swann away from the sampler; he will definitely shoot it out of the airlock. With me strapped to it."
A-yup.
"I tried scraping smaller samples, but all my tools broke." Even Swann's state-of-the-art, irreplaceable, one-of-the-kind blowtorch that no one was allowed to touch. "Luckily, I found some cast-off chips floating in the tank. Wonder how they came off? In any case, the chips revealed more of the matrix. It's keeping the energy there in a vortex. How does it move the energy so fast? It may be the fabled protoss warp technology. For all its complexity, the matrix is as solid as the strongest structure. Hm, I wonder if I could apply these dynamics to our own structures? Gotta make a note..." Egon leaned to the side and scribbled his thoughts down on a piece of paper.
"I'm learning so much from this crystal..." he said mostly to himself. "...but I can't help feeling as if it's learning from me, if that makes sense."
No, it doesn't. He sighed and yawned.
"Late. Tired. Sleep now." He stopped the recording and yawned once more.
"Good night, Ariel. I' leaving the kill-switch for the Zerg-sample on, so you just have to press it should it break free again." Spoken like a true professional. And when he turned around...
...Stetmann couldn't hide his uneasiness anymore, at least when he was all by himself. He knew that he was lousy at keeping a straight face when there was something wrong. That's why everyone invited him to play Poker. Still, as he stared at the sample, he knew that he had to keep his worries to himself, especially now that everyone was so on edge.
The fact that they had just found out that the Mobius Foundation was run by none other than Valerian Mengsk, the son of the man the Raiders had sworn to get rid of. Egon even remembered how someone had mentioned "...not to tell Stetmann about this, or otherwise the whole ship knows within 5 minutes." It had been the moment when Egon had walked into the meeting for senior officers only because he had tried to hide inside the restroom so Swann wouldn't find him after the engineer had found out about what had happened to his blowtorch.
Whatever.
Stetmann sighed and focused on the sample right in front of him.
"I've been staring at that anomalous sphere above the crystal." he said as his datapad recorded his voice. "It's obviously an energy emitter, but it has such strong containment that the crystal can slowly draw power from it via some method I don't understand. That gives me an idea of using our own containment technology. I could modify our SCV manufacturing process to double capacity with no increased risk." he said, only to hastily add an "I think."
That's when suddenly the terminal right next to the tank started to beep. Egon frowned and walked over to it. When he looked at the display, his eyes widened in surprise and joy.
"Breakthrough!" he yelled when he realized that those were the results of the last scan he had started a few hours ago. Suddenly his anxiety started to fade away when he read those numbers. "The energy in this crystal is not kept in a vortex pattern! It was warping the energy around so fast that I couldn't detect it. In an odd coincidence, the warping slowed just enough for my sensors to pick it up." And all he had to do was to modify the sensors of the Hyperion without anyone telling about it. Eh, they hadn't found out till now, so everything was good.
"Not sure how or why." he sighed. "Every time I reach my wits' end with this sample, something happens by...chance...and I get a breakthrough." Egon looked at the tank and felt how a cold shiver ran down his spine.
"Is it helping me?" It was a crazy thought but could this crystal contain some sort of, well, consciousness? Egon sighed. "Clearly I've been working too many hours. I'm going to lose some more credits on Lost Vikings." And when he turned away...
...he knew he was in deep shit. Stetmann looked over his shoulder, making sure that there was no one inside the lab. Now that Ariel was no longer on board, his lab felt so big and empty. Even the half-disassembled adjutant didn't help fight the feeling that he was all alone. Still, right now Egan was glad that no one was here.
"Okay, I may be exceeding the boundaries of good science, but I am now sure this crystal has some sort of...if not sentience, at least...direction." Oh, he so couldn't tell the Commander about that. Then again, the Commander was busy staring at his own Protoss crystal, the small green one standing on the other side of the lab. It seemed as everyone needed their own private crystal to stare at.
"I put a broken nano-fabricator in the tank last night, and today it's fixed." Egon didn't mention that he also put a dead cockroach into the tank with the Zerg-sample last night too. Let's just say that the cockroach didn't get...fixed. It had probably been a bad idea in the first place and it would haunt him in his dreams for the rest of his life.
"And it can accomplish things it shouldn't." Egon continued. "If I can reverse engineer this fabricator, I could do amazing things with automated repair, or even near-instant manufacturing of advanced AI weaponry. Possibilities are limitless." Seriously, so many researchers were focusing on Zerg. Zerg here, Zerg there. Why was no one trying to understand how Protoss' tech was working?
"On the less upbeat end of things, the level of energy stored in the crystal's matrix has not increased at all, despite the fact that the crystal continues to grow. So it must be emitting that energy somehow, some...where."
The question was: Where did it go?
Once Egon would find out, he...
...had never felt so excited and frightened at the same time. Everyone was busy. The Raiders were preparing for war. In a few hours they would join up with parts of the Dominion's fleet. And then their next jump would take them to Char, the place where no sane person would go if they had a choice.
However, the Commander had made that choice for them. And now it was their job to follow his orders.
Stetmann didn't try to think about any of that. The last few months had been...both the best and worst time of his life. So much death and destruction, yet also so much fun and discoveries. And Swann had told him that he "almost liked" him now. Almost! But even then Stetmann felt tired when he looked at the crystal inside the tank. Hard to believe that it had grown this big. He still remembered that tiny shard he had put inside the tank. In a way, this thing was like a baby to him. A good, well-behaving baby. The other baby right next to it was not as nice. Ever since it had grown teeth, the Zerg-sample had tried to bite his head off three times when he had opened the tank in order to take a sample.
"Start recording." a tired Stetmann said and his datapad did as it was told.
"All of the containment and reinforced structural integrity theorems I've developed from studying this crystal are starting to...well...crystallize." What a horrible pun. "I think we might be able to contain energies that once required huge machines. Or even manufacture structures capable of hot landings from orbital origins with acceptable stresses." But then Egon sighed and sat down right in front of the tank.
"I'm a sham." he whispered, not caring that his voice was still being recorded. "I haven't truly learned anything from this crystal." Now he knew why so many people were rather working on Zerg than Protoss. The Zerg-biology was far less confusing than this crystal. It hurt to admit but...
...the Protoss were just too advanced for him to comprehend.
"I've just observed the smallest details from it and somehow wrangled a few tidbits when the crystal...helped me." Another sigh escaped his lips. "I don't understand how the Protoss can possess technology of this magnitude and not rule the known universe. Perhaps they simply don't want to?" It sounded strange from a human perspective, but from what Raynor had told him, many Protoss weren't into dominating other lifeforms. Purge them with fire, yes. Rule them? Not so much. It seemed as if the Zerg and humans had more in common than you'd think.
"This will be my last entry on this sample." Stetmann mumbled and suddenly his expression turned serious. "I figured out where it is putting all that excess energy. It's feeding the Hyperion. Subtly helping to power the ship, balancing out some of the more ragged systems." So basically, all of them. "It's giving of itself, and has been since it got here. Swann is excited that the ship is running so well, but he has no idea why. And I'm not going to tell him." Not until the upcoming battle would be over, anyway. Stetmann wanted to say something else, but when he opened his mouth, all he did was...
...nothing.
He stopped the recording and grabbed the bottle of booze he had sneaked out of the bar the other day. Egon opened it and closed his eyes.
"Well, should we survive the upcoming battle then maybe I can find me a Protoss one day and ask him about what you truly are, my friend. Here's too us!" And as he downed the booze, he...
...stepped back and gasped in surprise.
"What was that?" Stetmann gasped. Next to him, Doctor Hanson stumbled back as well. "Did you see that?" the scrawny scientist muttered. For a second, he thought he had seen...something. Himself. And that crystal.
"I... I don't...I don't know..." Ariel stuttered. She looked visibly shocked as if she had just seen something truly horrible. All they could do was to stare at the crystal until...
"Doctor Hanson. This is the bridge. Bridge to Doctor Hanson." the voice of Matt Horner spoke to them through the internal comms. "Doctor Hanson, please report to the bridge."
"I... I better go." a disturbed Ariel said and stumbled out of the room. For a moment Egon thought about following her. He still could see those images inside his mind. He could see himself, the crystal and... and...
A sudden pulse of light caught his attention. It came from the crystal and as he stared at it, the soothing light caused him to think about... think about...about...
"What was I doing right now again?" Egon mumbled before he shook his head and turned away. For some odd reason he felt as if someone was trying to tell him that he wasn't ready to know the truth right now. That he still had a long way to go before. And not just him but humanity in general...
That's when...
"Stetmann. Bridge. Now!" Horner barked over the loudspeakers. Three words, and a lot less friendly than what Horner had said to Ariel Hanson.
Well, better not let the Captain wait. Especially after that unfortunate shower-incident. When Stetmann stepped out of the lab, he didn't notice how a small sphere made out of energy appeared inside the tank, right above the crystal. And that sphere of energy...
...was exactly what Paula had been looking for.
"WHAT IS THAT?!" Sirella squealed when suddenly a spark of light appeared right in the middle of the ruined lab. Paula turned away from the huge crystal and sighed in relief.
"Phew, thank the Swarm!" she mumbled and walked right up towards the ball of energy and smiled. "Hey, thanks for coming out. I need your help. I have to-" the young woman started to talk to the ball of light until it suddenly interrupted her and started to chirp something.
"Yes, I know. I'm sorry, I didn't want to-" Paula started, only to interrupted once more as the sphere started to, well, rant.
"Yeah, you're right. I wasn't paying attention and-"
"Doo-weeeee-driiiiiiii!"
"Of course. But these two didn't know so-"
"Squiiiii-buuuuu-wriiiiii!"
"Yes, I should have asked you for permission first. I was just-"
"Uuuu-briiii-siiiii!"
"Oh, now you just sound like my Mum." Paula muttered. "Listen, I'm sorry. I should have asked you before coming down here, I know. It's just-"
"Di-dooooo-ziiiiiii!"
"I know. I know, I will make sure to fix this. But I need-"
"Driiiiiiiii!"
"Yes."
"Du-briiiiii!"
"I understand."
Sirella watched in disbelief how her friend argued with that weird sphere of light. However, what was even weirder was the fact that Paula was actually accepting whatever that sphere was telling her. And the fact that she looked like a five-year-old right now that was getting chastised by her parents right now.
"Driiii-Du-Squiiiii-Droooooo..."
"Yes, you are absolutely right. And I'm really sorry. It's just that-"
"AGH!" Dan groaned in pain and that's when everyone turned their attention at him, including the sphere of light that was flying over to him and stopped right above the Marshal.
"What...what is this?" he groaned. He probably thought that this was the light you see when you die. Which wasn't that far away from the truth anyway.
"Driii-du-wriiiiii?" the sphere made out of light chirped and Paula bit on her lips.
"Yes. He needs help and-"
"Duuu-di-druuuuu?" Whatever that thing was saying, it caused Paula to look down and clench her hands into fists.
"Yes..." she whispered. "...it's my fault." Much to Sirella's surprise, she could see how a golden tear streamed down her friend's face.
"Druuu-wiii-draaaaa."
"I know, I know!" Paula whined. "I want to make up for it! But I need help! Please, I know you can contact my folks. I just need to get word out that-" But that's when she cut short again.
"Trrrrrrriiiiiiii!" the sphere of light chirped and bounced up and down right above Dan, who was unable to do anything but stare at that light.
"Yes, you're right." Paula muttered before looking the Marshal into the eyes. "Marshal, I want to tell you that I'm really sorry that your innards are about to explode and-"
"TRRRRRIIIIIIIII!" the light screeched and Paula winched when she heard the shrill sound.
"Okay, okay! I'm sorry, Marshal. I didn't want to hurt anyone, I shouldn't have brought you into this situation. I thought I could do this on my own, but I'm clearly not ready yet." She then looked at the sphere of light. "Satisfied?"
"Brrriiiiiii!" the sphere of light replied. It almost sounded...happy?
"Thanks." Paula mumbled. "So, does this mean you can tell my parents that-"
"Druuu-wiiiii-breeeeee." the glowing ball interrupted her and Paula's eyes widened when she heard that.
"What? No! You don't have to do that! I just need-" Paula shouted but by then it was already too late. Suddenly the ball of light exploded in a shower of sparks and everyone had to close their eyes since it was just so bright. And then...
"... aaaaaaaaAAAAAAH!" a male voice screamed. A very familiar male voice. And then there was the sound of something soft landing on something that was soft as well.
"GHAAAAAHAHAHA!" Dan screamed in pain. "JUST KILL ME AND BE DONE WITH IT, DAMMIT!" Both Paula and Sirella had to blink several times until their eyesight was working again. And when they saw what had happened...
"Is that...?!" Sirella gasped when she noticed that there was a person lying on Dan. And not just any person. It was a man.
"Uhhhh...I swear, Sarah, the next time you say that I'm gonna like this, then you can sleep on the couch." the man groaned and rolled off Dan, who gasped in pain and agony. And when the man looked up and spotted Paula, the young woman's face lost all its color.
"Paula?!" the man asked.
"Dad?!" Paula whined as she looked at Jim Raynor in disbelief.