One chapter per month doesn't seem that much, but you know what? I have started this story pretty much one year ago. It is amazing how time flies.
Anyway: I recently got a message from someone who was not very happy with the overall direction of this story. Though he put his thoughts down in a very charming way. Basically he told me that this story is less focused than "Putting the Pieces back together", and while he enjoys the idea of seeing the world 1000 years later (and Sarah's and Jim's offspring), it is too much like a sitcom to him.
I guess I can understand what he's meaning. The setting could have been perfect for something cryptic, like adding a version of Sarah Kerrigan that is cryptic and godlike. Instead I went for a "slice-of-life"-vibe that's pretty straight forward. Why? The answer is both simple and might be boring to some.
Because I can.
Here's a spoiler that might ruin your day: Amon won't be part of this story. There won't be a big bad evil entity trying to destroy the universe. And yes, I have decided to make this version of Sarah and her family very human. You might argue that "after 1000 years everyone becomes detached from the world and like a mystic being", but who says that they can't be bickering about who's gonna take the garbage out? So I add to my reasons for doing it this way:
Because it is more fun for me to write it that way.
That's my motivation. Also, just like with "Putting the Pieces back together": I like optimistic stories. They can contain drama, and I do know that tragic stories generally are more memorable, but I like my happy endings. If you feel otherwise, feel free to sit down and write your own story. I want to point out that I don't mean it in an arrogant way. If you have an idea, put it on paper and post it. People will notice. Trust me. I know what I'm talking about. What you get when you read my stories? Goofy situations and lots of talking.
Chapter 18
Can you keep this a secret?
''I remember how this thing caused Horner quite some headache back in the day.'' Joseph Brent mused. "Caused quite the anger among some of his old pals. Like that smelly dwarf. Boy, was he raging when he heard that his old boss wanted to scrap this piece of junk." That's when a chuckle escaped his throat. "Tsk, it doesn't even look any worse from back then. Amazing. Buried under all this rubble for centuries sure as hell hasn't made it any uglier."
"That's because it was ugly from the start." Sarah growled as they walked down the dark and empty corridor. Sarah was upfront, next to her was Izsha. Behind them was Allagan, who wanted to be as far away from the huge Protoss behind him, yet at the same time stay close to him to be safe. Next to Tesson, who was dragging something wet and fleshy behind him, was Joseph.
"You know, there are a few places I'd like to visit before-" Joseph started.
"This isn't a trip down memory lane!" Sarah cut him short. There was a short moment of silence and then-
"I was told that relics from the time before the formation of the Empire fetch quite the price on the black market." Tesson suggested. Allagan, who was walking right in front of him, stopped and looked up in shock.
"You cannot do this! This is a priceless archaeological discovery! Selling it for money is just wrong!" the Professor whined.
"I agree." Izsha suddenly spoke up.
"You do?" Sarah, Joseph and Tesson all asked at the same time.
"You sound surprised. Of course I agree. Selling this object for money is a disgrace. We should blow it up so no one will ever find evidence of this thing ever again. It might disagree with certain statements that I made in the past." Izsha explained. It actually caused Sarah to smirk, even though this situation was calling for being serious.
"Professor!" Allagan protested. "This is unacceptable! As a fellow historian, you have to see the value of this vessel! This could change our understanding of the past! Isn't that the true purpose of studying history?" That's when Izsha suddenly stopped and looked Allagan straight into the eyes.
"No."
Her no-nonsense answer caused Joseph to giggle yet it was Sarah who ultimately had the last word.
"No one's gonna blow up this piece of junk." she declared, earning a relieved sigh from Allagan.
"Thank you. I-" the Professor started.
"Until we're done here." Sarah continued. "After that, you can do whatever you want."
"Wha-what?" Jerome Allagan whimpered. "Please, you cannot do this! This is-" That's when a disgusting gurgling sound interrupted him. They all stopped, yet only Allagan showed true signs of terror.
"Pleaaaaasse..." the gurgling cries of a tormented creature echoed through the halls of the abandoned battlecruiser. "...killl meeeeee..." Suddenly all eyes rested on the twitching piece of flesh that Tesson was dragging behind him. Even though the huge Protoss' facial features were pretty limited you could actually see that he was not happy about this whole situation. The creature that was dragged over the floor was Marshal Bowski. Or what was left of him. The fact that Tesson didn't even want to put the poor man over his shoulder spoke volumes. His huge foot was still covered with all sorts of slime and mucus, and he had had only stopped whining after Sarah had reminded him that Protoss "can't be infested, so zip it!"
That didn't mean that they couldn't feel disgusted.
"Please...just...just end it..." the creature formerly known as Dan Bowski gargled. Sarah sighed and turned around.
"Okay, that's enough. His moaning is starting to annoy me." she explained. Tesson let go of the Marshal's leg (which didn't really look like a leg anymore anyway) immediately as if he was dropping a hot potato.
"Wha-what?" Allagan stuttered. The fact that these four newcomers didn't seem to be scared by this was, well, scary.
"Shall I speed up the process of infestation?" Izsha asked as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
"Uhh, that sounds like fun! Can I watch?" Joseph wanted to know while looking at Sarah's closest friend and his "special lady".
"No." was Izsha's answer. "I'm afraid that this will only give you strange ideas you want to try out in the bedr-"
"We are not going to speed up his infestation, you two!" Sarah interrupted them. "Also: Thank you very much, now I got images in my head that I could have gone without." And then Tesson offered his help, which was just as unhelpful.
"Want me to end him?" the huge Protoss asked and raised his left arm. Suddenly a golden lance of energy engulfed his hand. Allagan stumbled backward when he saw a psi-blade for the first time. He smashed with his back against a bulkhead and gasped in shock. "I can make it quick. And clean." That's when another wet gurgle escaped from Bowski's throat. It was truly a sickening sound, which resulted in Tesson adding a "Probably." to his statement.
"You...you cannot...you cannot do this!" Allagan whispered. Thankfully Sarah had a similar opinion.
"No one is gonna kill no one!" the redhead declared. "Also: No one's gonna sped up anyone's infestation. And most importantly: No one's gonna give Joseph any weird ideas!"
"Spoilsport..." was Joseph's answer to that, which caused Sarah to sigh.
"I got four babies growing inside me and what did I do? Bring three big babies along." That's when Sarah suddenly looked down at her own belly and said "No, you didn't do anything wrong, little ones. Just do me a favor: Whatever you see here, whatever your older sister, your father, or these three jokers over here do..." she cooed. "...don't follow their example." And then she looked at Izsha.
"Keep the gang alive, I'm going to take care of this guy." she said. Izsha bowed her head.
"I will try. Though I cannot promise that Joseph will do something stupid and accidentally kill himself. Again." Sarah's friend replied.
"He's your husband." was Sarah's only answer to that. And so she walked over to the pitiful piece of twitching flesh that once had been Marshal Dan Bowski and grabbed his leg. Or "leg-like thing".
"Makes me wonder why you made me drag him along in the first place if you're gonna fix him now." Tesson mused.
"I wanted to ask Paula if she was aware of what this man was going through. Somehow I have my doubts that she is aware of what she has done to him. Also: From the looks of it his infestation is not that serious." Sarah explained and was rewarded with another agonizing squeal from the Marshal.
"Looks pretty serious if you ask me..." Tesson mused.
"Shows how much you know about infestation." Sarah shot back. "Anyway, I'll take care of this. Don't try to cause too much trouble while I'm gone. I'm not in the mood of world-fixing right now." And with that she turned away and dragged the twitching piece of flesh down the corridor. When she found a nearby hatch, she opened it and vanished inside the small maintenance-room.
"Kill meeeeee..." the pained gurgling of Dan Bowski echoed through the corridor, a sound that caused Allagan to shiver. It just sounded so...wrong!
"Oh, hush!" was Sarah's only reply. "Quit being such a baby. I got infested too, you know. Twice even. Do you hear me whining about it? Men, pffff." When they were finally out of sight, Allagan looked at Izsha, the only person that he had any kind of personal relationship to, even though it was just a fleeting one.
"Just who are you people?" he whispered. Izsha offered him a cold glance. She was taller than him, and her face looked more like that of a statue than that of a human being. Her cold and yellow eyes seemed to stare right through him, piercing his very soul and...
...wait, yellow eyes?
"It might take some time to explain it all to you." Izsha declared. "But since her Majesty decided to bring you along...it all started one thousand and thirty-seven years ago when Sarah Louise Kerrigan was born on TarKossia and-" That's when suddenly a bright golden light shone out of the maintenance-room, only to vanish as fast as it had appeared. Sarah stepped out of the room moments later and looked over at them.
"Okay, I'm finished. Let's move on." the redhead simply declared and walked past the strange group, which caused Allagan to gasp in surprise.
"Wh-what? The Marshal, where's the Marshal?!" he stuttered.
"The Marshal won't join us." Sarah explained. "I must say: He does have a nice flat." And with that she simply decided to move on. Everyone seemed to be okay with that. Everyone, except Allagan.
"Wha...wha...what did you do?!" he gasped.
"Dealt with the problem." was the only answer he received. Suddenly it dawned on him.
"No! NO!" the professor shouted and ran towards the door where Sarah had vanished with Bowski a couple of moments ago. He was not a brave man, and he knew that there was nothing he could do. What was he trying to achieve anyway? If these people would decide to do something, what power did he have to stop them? The answer to that was obvious, yet even then Allagan felt inclined to do something. It wasn't really because he was suffering from a sudden case of courage. The Professor couldn't even really describe it. But the Marshal had saved one of his students, and therefore he felt...he felt...
...he felt responsible.
"MARSHAL! ARE YOU..." he screamed as he reached the door and looked inside. And what he saw...
...was nothing.
"What?" the Professor whispered. What he saw didn't make any sense. The small maintenance-room was completely empty. There were no doors or hatches, and there was no room for anyone to hide. It was as if the Marshal had vanished into thin air.
"Where...where is he?" Allagan stuttered. Behind him, Sarah sighed and rubbed her eyes.
"I knew that it was a stupid idea to bring him along..." the redhead muttered.
"It was your idea in the first place." Izsha reminded her friend.
"I know. Which makes it even worse. Ironic, isn't it?" Sarah sighed.
"That's not the word I would use." Izsha declared. Yet all she received in return was a withering glare. Allagan, who still had no idea what had happened, was about to panic.
"Where...where is he? What have you done to the Marshal? I demand-"
"The Marshal is fine!" Sarah interrupted him. "In fact, I'm pretty sure that he's doing a lot better than you right now. He's where he belongs, back in his home. Safe and sound. And de-infested. Well, mostly." she added. "He should probably stay away from any red meat from now. You know, just to be certain." Allagan actually didn't know. But that didn't stop the others to just to do what they were usually doing. Which didn't make any sense to the Professor at all. Just who were those people, and why were they acting like a family? The worst kind of family.
"Alright, enough fun and games." Sarah sighed. "Let's split up. Joseph, Jim's down on deck nine. He and Sirella are currently locked inside one of the ammunition bunkers. Can you get them out of there?" That caused Joseph to stare at her to disbelief.
"Wait, you actually called me out here to do something? Seriously?" the pale man groaned. "I thought, you know, that Izsha and I could catch up on current events!" That caused Izsha to look at him and squint her eyes.
"Current events?" she asked, which caused Joseph to pull his shoulders up.
"Yeah, current events. Like, you know, how our daughters are doing. They're doing fine, by the way. Would like to see their mother from time to time." Joseph explained with an almost apologizing tone in his voice. Tesson, who was standing between those two, pulled his thick brows up and made a few steps backwards as if he wanted to make sure not to get in the way of those two.
"The children are doing fine? You are raising them well?" It was Sarah who answered that question for Joseph.
"They are all well-behaving darlings, much unlike my own spawn..." That's when she placed her hand on her belly. "...present company excluded. Oh, and Joseph is a role-model of a father."
"Then I do not understand why my presence is required." Izsha merely declared, which actually caused Joseph to visibly deflate.
"I guess it would be just nice if you, me and the kids would be, you know, doing something. Together." Joseph mumbled.
"Together?" Izsha asked and tilted her head to the side. "Are you referring to sexual intercourse?"
…
…
…
"I should have come alone..." Sarah mumbled to herself and turned away. Joseph didn't laugh. Nor showed he his usual goofy demeanor.
"I said "you, me and the kids"." he told Izsha. "Don't make it any weirder than it is! I was referring to, I don't know, family stuff!"
"And what would be the point of that?" she asked back. It seemed that for a moment Joseph was about to say something. You could see the frustration all over his face, yet then he just sighed and shook his head.
"Forget it. It's not important." he mumbled and looked at Sarah. "Deck nine you said? Ammunition bunker? I'm on it-" That's when one redhead interrupted the other.
"That won't be necessary. On second thought-" Sarah said and offered Joseph a sympathetic smile. "Joseph, how about you look after the Professor. How about you head to the bar. Maybe you can find some old bottles of booze there."
"I-" Joseph started. For a second he seemed angry, but then he simply nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's a good idea. Yo, egghead, follow me. Let's get drunk." Without another word he grabbed Allagan by the shoulder and dragged him along. The Professor was too confused to put up any fight, yet when he looked over his shoulder, he noticed how Sarah was giving orders to the other two people until they vanished from his sight.
Just what had he stumbled into?
Sarah waited for the two to vanish from their sight before she returned to the matters at hand. She could sense Joseph's frustrations. She knew what was going inside his mind. Yet this was something those two had to work out themselves. Still, now that Allagan was gone there was no need to keep this charade going anymore.
"Izsha, can you get Jim and Sirella?" she asked her oldest friend.
"Of course." Izsha replied. "But may I ask for a favor?" That actually caused Sarah to snicker.
"When was the last time you asked me for a favor? Let me guess: It's about..." She then pointed with her finger at Izsha. "...this."
"Yes." That answer caused Sarah to shrug her shoulders.
"Knock yourself out. Just make sure that things don't escalate any further." Sarah mumbled. That's when Izsha hunched forward. Skin changed, muscles rippled, bones were reshaped. And then Izsha started to grow...
"Eh, I will never get used to this..." Tesson mumbled and tried the best to look away. As Izsha's body started to shift and change into a different, more familiar form, Sarah looked at him and smiled.
"Hey, remember how she did that back in the day?" the redhead wanted to know.
"When her skin would rip and all the muscles lay bare? Yes, I do remember. Especially that one day when I helped Jim to clean up that mess. Why did I have to do that, huh?" Tesson growled.
"I told you many times why. You are the tallest. You were the only one who could scrape the skin off the ceiling!" Sarah replied.
"Some godlike entity you are..." was Tesson's answer before he turned away when the sickening sound of breaking bones echoed through the empty corridors of the abandoned battlecruiser.
"And what about you? For someone who enjoys a good brawl, you sure a squeamish when Izsha does her thing." Sarah shot back.
"There's a difference between beating someone up for money or watching how Izsha is turning herself inside out and-" Tesson started until he was interrupted by an almost joyous cry from Sarah's oldest friend when her dark carapace hardened and her tail slithered through the corridor.
"Yesssss! So much better!" Izsha moaned and stretched her limbs and the long tail that had replaced her legs. "Legs are so bothersome." the former member of the Swarm declared and looked down at Sarah. She smiled at the redhead, showing a row of razor-sharp teeth. "Shall I go and find Paula?"
"No, just take care of Jim and Sirella. That will be enough." Sarah explained and then turned her attention towards Tesson. "Stukov's still out there. He's currently rampaging through the lower decks. He's mad. And in pain." That's when Tesson asked the only sensible question.
"What's a stukov?" Sarah sighed when she heard that question.
"Nevermind. Just keep him occupied. Have fun." That's when Tesson's eyes widened in surprise when he realized what that meant.
"You mean...I can beat him up?" he asked with barely hidden joy in his voice.
"Yes, you can beat him up. I doubt that you can put him in any more pain anyway. Just don't kill them and-"
"Yes!" Tesson interrupted her and threw his hands high up into the air. "I get to beat someone up! Make way, Izsha, I am so going to enjoy it! It is brawling time!" And with that the huge Protoss simply stomped away, leaving Sarah and Izsha behind. And when they were both certain that he was out of reach...
"You have decided to play her game, haven't you?" Izsha asked even though she knew the answer already.
"Yeah..." Sarah mumbled. She could end this madness in an instant. Her powers were eager and ready to do whatever she asked them to do. And a part of her actually just wanted to grab her daughter, tell her what this was all about and then go back home.
"You are worried." Izsha concluded. And again, this wasn't even a question.
"Perhaps."
"Paula has been different. Changed. Ever since she returned from her journey. Ever since she saw the past." Sarah's friend explained. "Ever since she saw who you, who we were."
"It was the right thing to do." Sarah defended her decision. "She had to see those things, learn the truth." But even then, she could sense the discomfort inside Izsha's mind. Sarah was the only one she would allow to feel that. Her oldest friend would not even share those doubts with Joseph.
"But you are worried." Izsha continued to analyze Sarah's mind. And much to Sarah's dismay, Izsha's analysis was as flawless as always. If she were only this good when it came to analyzing her own flaws...
"Of course I am worried. Any good mother should be worried." Sarah bit on her lips when those worse provoked a reaction from the growing life inside of her. And so she did what she usually did in moments like these: she placed her hand on her belly and thought of something warm and pleasant. Usually, it was enough to calm them down. And it proved to be successful once more. Even though the life growing inside of her was not yet able to form a coherent thought, they all knew instinctively that something was wrong. What Sarah felt were emotions, most of the gleeful joy and a sense of happiness. But every time she was worried, they noticed. And when they noticed that, they usually became worried as well. So, for better or worse, Sarah had decided to hold back.
"Perhaps you shouldn't have come, Sarah." Izsha said as she looked at her friend's hand touching her belly. Sarah didn't miss the fact that Izsha was using her first name. Even after all those years it was still a rare thing for her to do. She reserved this for moments when both of them were alone. "The little ones are worried too, are they not?"
"They got that from their father." Sarah replied. "Also: Don't worry about my babies. What about yours?" This was probably the least subtle way to change the topic, yet it was a good thing that Izsha wasn't that subtle when it came to changing topics. Either that or she simply didn't care about that.
"What about them?" Sarah's friend asked.
"It's been some time since you saw them."
"I suppose so." Izsha replied and tilted her head to the side. "Why? Is Joseph not treating them well? Is he failing as a father?"
"No. He's actually great at being a dad." Sarah admitted.
"Then are they giving you a hard time? Are they the reason that Paula has decided to venture out here? If so then I shall order Sarah to bring her sisters out here and apologize immediately so-" Izsha said, referring to not Sarah Kerrigan, but her own firstborn, who she had named, you guessed right, Sarah. After everyone had told her that "Her Majesty" and "the Queen of Blades" weren't proper names. Needless to say, Izsha had wanted to name all her other offsprings "Sarah" too, and so no one would get confused, she would have slapped a number on it.
"Your kids are great." Sarah interrupted her. "In fact, I wish that Paula would be more like Sarah from time to time."
"It is the right of Paula to act however she wants to as an heir to your powers and your greatness." Izsha explained.
"That sounds as if I should let her get away with everything she's doing." Sarah growled. "I do not." Izsha was about to reply something when Sarah suddenly looked to the side. It was as if she had just heard something.
"Paula?" Izsha asked.
"She's moving. I'll deal with her. Do me a favor and get Jim. Tell him to meet me and Paula. It's time that we have a talk. You can send Sirella up to Joseph. And it would be nice if you could keep Stukov off our back. You know, just in case Tesson isn't able to beat him up properly." When Izsha didn't move, Sarah sighed and looked her friend straight into the eyes.
"What?"
"You could all end this in an instant." her friend mused. "Undo the damage. Make Paula explain her reasons for coming here and doing what she has done."
"I don't want to force her to tell me. I want her to tell me. By her own free will." Sarah explained. When Izsha heard that, she shrugged her shoulders and decided to slither away.
"Free will. Such an overrated concept." Sarah's friend mumbled before vanishing from her sight. She remained where she stood for a moment, allowing the silence to be her only companion. And then...
"I should have come here alone after all..." she growled before she walked into the other direction, knowing that it would lead her to her daughter. And, hopefully, some answers.
"Well, whadda'ya know!" Joseph Brent mumbled when he walked into what once had been a mess hall. With alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol. As he stood in the door, he looked around and a goofy grin appeared on his face. "It's just the way I remember it."
"Remember what? What are you talking about?" the man right behind him wanted to know, which caused him to sigh. Darn it, he couldn't even enjoy this moment. Not with Allagan breathing down his neck. Instead of answering the Professor's question, Joseph entered the room and took a deep breath and-
"Ack! Gha! Earchhhhh!" he started to cough and gag when some dust entered his throat. What followed were minutes filled with coughing and ungodly sounds until Joseph had finally calmed down a bit.
"Are you done?" Allagan wondered.
"Yeah, I think so." Joseph replied before taking a few deep breaths to make sure that the dust was gone from his throat. "Just the way I remember, only with more dust." As he walked between those empty chairs and tables, Allagan stayed close to him.
"Does that mean that you have seen blueprints of such a vessel before?" the Professor asked.
"Heh, it means that I've been here before, in this very place." Joseph mumbled, yet his voice was too faint for the Professor to hear what the pale redhead had just said, who seemed to look for something. Until he found it.
"Where are you going?" Allagan wanted to know but Joseph wasn't even listening. Instead, he was heading to one specific table. As far as the Professor could tell that table was no different from all the others in this place, yet when Joseph reached it, he placed his hand on the chair standing right in front of it, brushing over the cold metal in a surprisingly gentle way, with a faint smile on his face.
"Big snake lady." Joseph whispered as he remembered the moment when he had met Izsha for the very first time all those ages ago. "Still pretty hot if you think about it."
"What is hot?" Jerome Allagan asked. Joseph looked over his shoulder and smiled.
"Red said that you might as well hear the truth, eh'? That no one would believe you anyway." And then Joseph's smile turned downright evil as he said down and put his hands on the cold metal of the table. Right now, he looked like some sort of villain from a godawful cheap holo-vid. "This is an opportunity I cannot ignore! So, my dear friend, sit down! It is time for me to tell you the true story, one that is so unbelievable that you wish that you never heard it in the first place!" All Allagan did was to frown. Was this guy for real?
"Why do I have the feeling that you are going to tell me nothing but bullshit?" the Professor wanted to know. Instead of being angry or hurt, all that happened was that Joseph's grin became even wider.
"Challenge accepted." Joseph chuckled. "Now, let me tell you..." he started with a mad glint in his eye.
"...of how I saved the Emperor's life during Christmas!"
And you know what? That wasn't even made up...
"Come on, hurry up Sarah. What's taking you so long?" Jim mumbled. He was walking up and down, restless and angry, both at himself and Paula. Just what was she thinking? Sirella, who was sitting on the other side of the ammunition bunker, looked up and sighed. It was pretty obvious that Jim's mumbling and him walking up and down was starting to annoy her.
"Do you honestly think that walking around and talking to yourself will solve this mess?" she wanted to know. Jim stopped and looked at her with a baffled expression on his face. Had she just criticized him? Well, it was certainly to be expected and he couldn't blame her for that. But hearing criticism from Sirella was something he had never heard before. Jim was no stranger to criticism. Pretty much every time Izsha opened her mouth to talk to him he would receive nothing but criticism. The same could be said about Joseph. And Tesson.
And Karax.
And Niadra, if she had a lucid moment.
And pretty much everyone else.
Especially Sarah.
So far, the only two notable exceptions had been Paula and Sirella.
Or so Jim had thought...
As he looked over his shoulder and studied Sirella, he noticed how exhausted she was. The otherwise tall Protoss had hunched herself into the corner on the other side of the room, knees pulled all the way up to her chin. Her eyes were only half open. Was she tired? Or exhausted? Probably both.
"Sirella, for whatever it's worth: I'm sorry."
"For what?" she asked and looked up, a truly surprised look on her face.
"For not noticing what Paula was up to. For allowing her to drag you out here and make you suffer..." he stretched out his arms and included the entire place. "...this!"
"I just want to go home." Sirella replied. "Can we go home now? Once Paula's mother is here, can she just send me back home to Korhal? Aiur would be fine too." Jim could feel how his guts tightened when he heard the hopelessness in Sirella's voice. He looked at the blast door once more, than back at her before he sighed and walked over to the young Protoss. Jim knew that Sarah was close, he could feel her. The fact that she hadn't joined them most likely meant that she still had something to do. Who knew, maybe she was talking with Paula right now. Which was maddening in itself because Jim felt obliged to be there as well if Sarah would finally get a hold of that little rascal.
Since he was now forced to simply wait and someone to come and save him, Jim decided to give it a rest. So he walked over to Sirella, leaned with his back against his wall, slid down, pulled his knees up as well and stared at the blast door on the other side of the room. For a while he didn't dare to say a word. Until...
"Not how I imagined the day would play out when I woke up today." he mumbled. Jim received no answer, however. At least not immediately. Yet, after a while...
"Neither did I." Sirella whispered.
And then there was another moment of silence.
"I'm about to finish another work, you know." Jim then explained. When Sirella didn't say anything at all, he was about to continue
"The statue you talked about?" Sirella asked.
"Yeah. Took me a while to get the detailsright. She always complained about certain parts of her anatomy, that I didn't get it right at all." Jim sighed.
"And you finally got it right?"
"Naaa, I tried to tell her that the small imperfections are what makes art special." Jim started to chuckle. "And then she would just say what she would usually say: Being satisfied with imperfections is the true enemy of perfection." Or some metaphorical bullsh...stuff." he corrected himself just in time.
"Classic Izsha I'd say." Sirella noted.
"Yeah, classic indeed." Jim sighed. "Anyway, I wanted to work on something new soon. Thought about doing a painting." When Sirella heard that, she looked at him. "I had the idea some time ago, back when Paula ventured to Aiur. It's been a while since I've done a portrait, but when she returned and was talking about Artanis all the time, she got me thinking..." A faint smile appeared on his face. "A couple of years ago I visited an exhibit on Earth about ancient Koprulean history. It was a bit too Zerg-centric if you ask me. They got most of it right. Except for the faces."
"The faces?" Sirella asked.
"Yeah, the faces." he sighed. "They were perfect, don't get me wrong. Especially the holograms. But that perfection, it irked me. You know what I'm trying to say?"
"No?" the young Protoss muttered, yet Jim could hear a hint of curiosity in her voice.
"They looked perfect. Too perfect. So perfect that I had a hard time to bring them in line with how I remembered them." he explained. "You get what I'm trying to say?"
"I'm...not sure." Sirella admitted. "We talked about it during classes. Individual style, isn't it?" When Jim heard that, he started to laugh.
"Oh hell, hahahaha! No, that's not it. No..." He took a deep breath and tried to gather his thought. And then a smile appeared on his face. "Sirella, close your eyes."
"Why?"
"Please, just do it." he asked her and Sirella did as she was told, even though a sigh escaped her mind. The moment she closed her eyes (which had been the only real light-source inside the ammunition bunker, darkness surrounded them. "Describe your great-grandfather to me."
"What?"
"Just do it. It's not like we have anything else to do right now."
"Fine..." Sirella sighed. "Grandpa Artanis is a legend. Whenever I'm on Aiur, people approach me and tell me how much of an inspiration he is. He is strong, courageous, honest, incorruptible. There's this picture of him in the hall of the sacred heroes, right next to the great Tassadar. He's so tall and imposing, like a warrior of ancient tale and-"
"No." Jim suddenly interrupted her and Sirella opened her eyes in surprise.
"What? You just told me to describe him yourself!" she protested.
"You just repeated what others tell you. What you saw on a wall. I ask you: Describe Artanis to me. The Artanis you know." For a moment Sirella seemed to be confused but then she closed her eyes again and started to think.
"I see...an old warrior. That's all I really see. Someone old. Ancient even. Hunched forward, using a cane to walk. And grumpy. Always grumpy because his bones hurt so much." Some people say that the perfect hero is a cowboy who rides into the sunset after the job is done. Or who gives his (or her) life for the greater good. Because if the mentioned hero (or heroine) would stick around, people would only realize that he or she wasn't a larger-than-life figure, but just like them.
Well, Artanis had missed that moment in a spectacular fashion.
"Doesn't sound like a great hero if you ask me." Jim hummed.
"I've never met that guy, that great hero everyone seems to worship." Sirella replied. "To me he was just...Grandpa." And then she snickered.
"What's so funny?" Jim wanted to know.
"Ach, he just hates it when I call him Grandpa. He would never admit it, but he wishes that I would talk less than a human and more like a proper Protoss."
"Still sounds not like your typical old and kind grandfather if you ask me." Jim mused.
"Oh, but he is!" Sirella replied. "He is always there for you when you need him. If I have questions or a problem, then he will sit down with me on his favorite bench, beneath his favorite tree, and listen to me. And then he would tell me "to do what feels right"."
"And how does he look when he's like that?" Jim wanted to know, guiding Sirella towards the answer she wanted to give but was unable to.
"Still old." she mused before she looked down and slung her arms around her legs. "But also...less grumpy. Calm. Wise." Suddenly Jim could hear how her voice started to tremble. A single blue tear streamed down her cheek and she wiped it off her face.
"Dammit, now I want to go even more." she whispered and Jim placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Remember that image, Sirella. Whenever we paint a picture, we don't just want to copy what we see. When I saw those exhibits back on Earth, I remembered so many faces of the past. Matt Horner, Valerian Mengsk. But those were only holograms, statues that lacked any soul. I want to paint something that shows people something different. Matt's sense of duty, and his idealism. Junior's struggle of finding his own way and not becoming like his old man."
"Junior?" Sirella asked.
"Heh, that's how I called Valerian. You know, Valerian Mengsk."
"The founder of the Empire? That Valerian?" Sirella mumbled. "Gosh, I forgot who I was talking to. You are just as old as my grandfather..."
"Well, not quite as old. He still got a couple of hundred years more on the belt than I do." Jim replied. This meant that even now Jim wasn't the oldest fart around, which was kinda nice to know. Then again, Tesson was older than him too, and so was Karax. Meaning that the title "officially oldest fart of the galaxy" was something that he would probably never receive. As for Artanis? Protoss had a much longer lifespan than humans, even in this day and age. The legendary Raszagal had been over one thousand years when her life had been extinguished. And she hadn't even died of old age. But even among Protoss she had been known for her exceptional longevity. While Protoss that grew older than 1000 years were rare, Artanis' feat of being over 1500 years old was unheard of. Some wondered if it was because he had walked both the path of the Khala and that of the Nerazim, or because he had been touched by the Void itself. Artanis himself didn't know the reason, nor did he care.
Besides, just because he was old didn't mean that he had to enjoy it. As far as Jim knew the old warrior was closer to death than to life these days.
"Not the end fitting of a warrior, huh Fenix?" Jim whispered when he remembered the mighty Protoss who had met his end in combat.
"Who?" Sirella asked, yet Jim just shook his head.
"It's nothing. I was just...ah, nevermind." It was kinda sad that Sirella didn't seem to know who Fenix was. Then again: Did it actually matter? Probably not.
"Who else?" Sirella suddenly asked. It was a question that caught Jim off-guard.
"Who-whatnow?"
"Who else do you want to paint?" she asked and Jim leaned his head against the cold wall behind him, thinking about all the people that deserved the rare honor to be immortalized by the great and mysterious Rennard.
Everyone needs a hobby, right? And a long time ago, after the last battle had been fought, after the last enemy had been vanquished, after riding into the sunset with his girl by his side (though technically she had been the one to drag him along), Jim had spent a long time to find something that he was good at. You know, except for shooting Zerg and despotic madmen. And Protoss fanatics. And, occasionally, drug-addicted next-gen-ghosts. Oh, and let's not forget the crazy potato-shaped space-god. Though Sarah did most of the work when it came to getting rid of Amon. And certain despotic madmen.
Still, Jim had shot his fair share of Zerg. Enough for several lifetimes. So many, in fact, that even now he didn't feel the urge to go hunting again. As he thought about this, he looked at his own palm and frowned. When he had picked up the Marshal's gun, he hadn't really thought about it. It had been a reflex. His life, that of his daughter and Sirella's had been in danger.
"Guess some things never change, huh?" he whispered t himself.
"If you don't want to tell, then I can understand." Sirella mumbled and only then Jim was ripped from his thoughts. He looked at her and an embarrassed smile appeared on his face.
"Sorry, got carried away. What were you saying?"
"You said you wanted to paint some people. The first Emperor and some other guy."
"Matt. His name was Matt." Jim explained with a dry tone in his voice.
"Right. Anyone else?" Sirella wanted to know. It seemed that they had finally reached the phase of meaningless small-talk. It would help to make the time move faster.
"I..." Jim started. But then he fell silent when he realized that Sirella's question had caught him off-guard. Who else could he paint?
Oh, there were plenty of people he remembered. Fellow Raiders. Swann for example. Or Doctor Ariel Hanson. And not only them. There was a certain Magistrate that no one really remembered, someone Jim owed so much. Though it was kind of hard to remember how he looked for some odd reason...
"Tassadar." Jim suddenly said.
"Tassadar?" Sirella wondered. "The Tassadar? The one my grandpa always talks about?"
"Yep. That's the one." Jim confirmed. "Never met a nobler soul." When he realized what he had just said, he chuckled. "Sorry, that sounded disrespectful towards Artanis." Yet Sirella simply shrugged her shoulders.
"It's okay. Grandpa said something like that too. Always spoke of him like he was some kind of superhero. I never really understood why though. I mean, I don't want to sound disrespectful. He's the one that killed the Overmind." And then a worried look appeared on Sirella's face. "Wait, that really happened, yes? That's not something that people made up, right?" Her question caused Jim to laugh out loud.
"Ha! Yes, it's just like you said. Don't worry, that part wasn't fake news. He plowed his ship straight in the big ugly bastard and blew him up. One of the best days of my life."
"What I don't understand..." Sirella mused. "...is that Tassadar is revered almost like some sort of, well, demi-god while my grandpa is just, well..."
"Himself?" Jim offered.
"Yes."
"I think no one wants to diminish what Artanis has done. Except for himself maybe. It's just..." Jim groaned. "...hell, I don't know if this makes any sense. Tassadar was the kind of person that could make the difference. A born leader. Wise and gentle most of the time, yet strong and unwavering when he had to. I know for a matter of fact that many, including your grandfather, wondered how things would have turned out of Tassadar had survived his suicide-run."
"Well, it turned out okay in the end, didn't it?" Sirella mused.
"Yeah..." Jim sighed. "...but at the cost of so many lives." And then they were silent for a while. Until...
"A painting of the great Tassadar, by the mysterious Rennard." Sirella mused. "I'm sure people would go crazy." That comment caused Jim to grin.
"I sure hope so." In the years after the Great War Jim had discovered that he possessed more talents than being a good leader and spouting inspirational nonsense. To think that there had been an artist hiding inside of him all that time...
Matt and the other Raiders would probably have laughed their asses off seeing Jim painting, drawing, sculpting. But he had become pretty darn good. Brilliant even. And every now and then, when he was truly happy with a piece of art, it would somehow show up inside an old vault or in some crate inside a museum. Then people would all go crazy because a new Rennard had been discovered.
Rennard...
A name Jim had once used to hide his true identity. To him, it had been a joke to use this name. Now many people wondered who Rennard was. No one knew, yet most people believed that this artist had died a long time ago and every now and then some old works of him (or her) would appear. Jim didn't mind that no one knew that he was the one who created these pieces of art.
"I guess I should call the series "the heroes of the Great War." What do you say?"
That's when suddenly a new voice startled them.
"You should-"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Sirella screamed in terror when she looked up and saw two yellow orbs staring at her. Only they weren't orbs. They were eyes. Next to the scared Protoss Jim only sighed.
"Hey, Izsha."
"...paint the Queen of Blades first." Izsha simply continued. She was hanging from the ceiling, where she had squeezed herself through a ventilation shaft. "She was the most important hero after all."
…
…
…
…
"What..." Sirella squealed while trying to crawl away from the gigantic snake-lady hanging from the ceiling. "...is that thing!" Both Jim and Izsha frowned and looked at the panicking Protoss.
"That's Izsha." Jim just said. "You know, good old reliable Izsha. The bane of my existence."
"Flattery will not get you far, James." Izsha simply replied while she was still upside down.
"I-Izsha?" Sirella gasped in shock and disbelief. "But...you...I...what?" That's when Izsha sighed. She looked the young Protoss straight into the eyes. Jim had to admit that this could look pretty unnerving to someone who didn't know that Izsha looked like this and...
"Oh..." That's when Jim suddenly realized what was wrong. "...I think she has never seen your true self."
"How perceptive of you, James." Izsha griped. "Did you figure that out all by yourself?" Instead of playing her game, Jim simply stood up and knocked the dust from his clothes.
"I wanted to draw a map, but then I realized I had no crayons. Guess your hubby ate all of 'em." he shot back.
"It wouldn't be the first time."
"That I want to draw a map? Or that Joseph ate my crayons?" Jim wanted to know.
"Both." was Izsha's dry reply before she looked at the still scared Sirella. "Sirella, it is me. Izsha. We met before. Though not in this form. There is no reason to be afraid, I wish you no harm."
"I-Izsha?" Sirella gasped. It seemed that only now it dawned to her that this creature hanging from the ceiling was in fact not Stukov who had finally come to devour her.
"Yes, Sirella. Fear not, I have not planned to infest you. Her Majesty asked me to get you both out of here. If you would be so kind as to join me outside then we can leave this worthless piece of junk behind. I am sure that her Majesty has already found Paula and solved any problem that has arisen." And with that Izsha started to move backward. She was almost gone when Jim jumped up and looked at her.
"Hey, wait!" he shouted. "We are stuck here! Paula locked us in in this ammo bunker! Could you open the door from the outside?" Instead of answering Jim's request all Izsha did was to stare at him as if he had just told her the most stupid thing of all time. She opened her mouth and wanted to reply to something, but then she just sighed and shook her head. Yet Jim realized that he had just said something that undermined the already low opinion she had of him.
"What? What now? Come on, spit it out!" he growled. Another sigh escaped Izsha's lip and she rubbed her temples.
"James, do your eyes work properly?" she asked.
"Pretty much. Why?"
"Do you see that I entered this place through a ventilation shaft?"
"Yeah?"
"Tell me..." Izsha cooed and tilted her head to the side. "...what good would a ventilation shaft do that's connected to an ammunition bunker?" When Jim heard that, he was about to reply something when it suddenly dawned on him. If the ammunition inside this place would explode, then a ventilation shaft would only lead the explosion somewhere else.
"Oh..." he mumbled.
"This is a storage room. For food." Izsha sighed. "You locked yourself inside a refrigerator. Congratulations."
"Uhm..."
"Which means that you could have easily found a way out of this place. On your own. If you knew your own ship, that is." Now she was just being mean.
"Izsha?" Jim mumbled.
"Yes?"
"Can you do me a favor?"
"No."
"Please..." Jim groaned. "...can you keep this little detail to yourself?" That's when an evil smile appeared on Izsha's face.
"And miss the opportunity to mock you in front of her Majesty? I think you know the answer." And with that, she slithered backward until her body vanished inside the ventilation shaft. "And stop wasting any more time!" Jim and Sirella could hear her voice. All Paula's father could do was to drop his shoulder in defeat.
"This day's getting just better and better..."