Chapter 5 – New Developments
June 7th 2502, 8 AM
Strike Fleet 3
High orbit above Shakuras
In their prime, each of the Protoss fleets had numbered at least five hundred medium to large ships and a hundred thousand Protoss, in a total of thirty fleets. However, their numbers had been severely reduced by several devastating losses. The short Protoss civil war, the Battle of Aiur and the confrontation at the Omega platform had taken a heavy toll. Now, the Protoss were down to a Grand Fleet under the Executor's direct command, of the size of one of the old fleets, and a handful of several, smaller Strike Fleets, each numbering up to three thousand Protoss, half of them new recruits. In terms of ships, each had a one capital ship, a hundred fighters, five medium to large ships and twenty five support craft. The enthusiastic recruits, eager to do battle with the Zerg and reclaim their homeworld, had increased their training tenfold, and drove themselves to extremes to perfect their fighting techniques, which sometimes caused Artanis to intervene to keep them from hurting themselves.
Now, one of the Strike Fleets was stationed in orbit around Shakuras, awaiting the order to lay waste to the Zerg. While Raynor was busy with repairs to the Hyperion's systems, Artanis led Raziel to a massive hangar where a transport ship awaited. Raziel noticed the golden domed structure, slightly different from the hangar in which the Hyperion had landed. To the sides, he saw several odd arrays, with long appendages ending in mirror-like panels, arranged in a semicircle. From what he had learned during his stay, he suspected that they were involved in the warping of Protoss ships directly to their stargates.
Raziel sensed a presence and stepped forward. A young female Protoss clad in battle armor marked with the symbol of the Templar caste appeared at the ship's entryway and looked at him.
"Remarkable perception. I did not expect you to sense me so easily."
"Who are you?" he asked, surprised to see a female Protoss for the first time.
"I am Selendis, Executor and assistant to the Hierarch. You must be Raziel. I have heard much about you."
"Is the Fleet ready for action?" Artanis asked.
"Yes, Hierarch." she replied rather stiffly. "They merely await our arrival."
"Then let us make haste." Artanis said.
Selendis nodded, but paused for a moment to look at Raziel one more time.
"I look forward to seeing you fight." she said, giving him an appraising look. To him, she seemed like a warrior, confident in her own abilities, if perhaps a little overeager.
"Good luck, Executor." Artanis said. "I will be monitoring the operation from the war room."
Selendis led Raziel into the ship and took the pilot's seat. As the wraith observed the female Protoss with curiosity, she fired up the ship's engines and piloted it flawlessly into orbit. Raziel saw a few of the latest model of Protoss carriers, with sleeker lines and a more functional design. The wraith had heard Artanis going over the schematics with a few Khalai artificers, complaining about the old carriers' expensive construction and excessive decoration. The current situation called for ships that could easily be produced in large quantities.
"That..." Selendis said, pointing at one of the carriers "Is the Hand of Tassadar."
Despite the four months surrounded by Protoss technology, Raziel was still impressed. A single of those ships would have been enough to crush most armies in the history of Nosgoth, yet despite the new, more functional look, they were still beautiful to behold. Raziel had also secretly developed a taste for flying, having even gone on a few training runs with a squadron of recruits. The Protoss corsair ships in particular had left a lasting impression.
"It is beautiful..." he said after a moment. "Is that your ship?"
"Yes." she said with clear pride. "A gift from the Hierarch when I became the new Executor."
For the first time since his arrival, Raziel wondered how his existence could be if he was unable to return to Nosgoth. Fighting the Zerg by the Protoss' side was a worthy pursuit, and he was eager to see Selendis in action. He had begun to wonder if the Protoss were hermaphrodites, since during his stay he had not seen a single female until this point.
"I am not yet completely familiar with your tactics." Raziel admitted. "Will this be a ground assault?"
"We shall see. We will try to destroy what we can from orbit, but if we run into a Cerebrate, we will have to land."
June 7th 2502, 12 AM
Magus Asteroid Belt
Crono Star System
The inconspicuous dropship moved slowly towards a predetermined meeting point. Frustrated by the long wait, Kain stared out into space. His new brown uniform felt too tight in some places and he resisted the urge to scratch himself. The General's insignia looked rather bland to his taste, with too much golden, and he thought the design of the Dominion's imperial eagle on the shoulders was dull and unimaginative.
"Clearly that man has no sense of ridicule." he thought as he scratched his chin with one of his claws. They had even given him brown leather gloves tailored to fit his cloven hands. While he found the entire uniform ridiculous, he had decided to play along for the time being. It had taken him months to build up Mengsk's trust, and now he was finally being rewarded with the means to locate Raziel.
Formed by the emperor's decree, the covert unit was officially meant for research and development of new weapons technology. Unofficially, they also had the objectives of locating Raziel and acquiring Protoss technology whenever the opportunity presented itself. Named the Vempari Segment by Kain himself, the unit also wore his personal insignia.
After a few more minutes, the ship reached a particularly large asteroid. A concealed metal door opened on its surface and the pilot steered the ship inside. In a few moments, the ship landed and the large door closed behind it. Stepping out of the ship, Kain found himself in a hangar. Its surfaces were covered with dull gray metal and thousands of white lamps were built into the ceiling. A few hundred wraiths were parked to his right, and a contingent of soldiers appeared to be waiting for him, all wearing the same brown uniforms.
"Attention!" a man in his late forties said. He had black hair, trimmed in a crewcut, gray eyes and a goatee, and was wearing a colonel's insignia. The platoon turned to Kain and the man approached him and saluted.
"General, welcome to S-01, the Segment's staging base. I'm Colonel Kaplan, head of the special operations division."
"At ease, Colonel." Kain replied. "What is our current situation?"
"Sir, we have just received the scheduled supply shipments from Umoja. All ships are accounted for, and the last of our personnel arrived two hours ago. Let me show you around the base."
"Very well Colonel. Lead on."
"Dismissed!" the Colonel said to the platoon. The men slowly scattered, though a few stared at their new general, somewhat surprised by his appearance. "This way sir."
June 7th 2502, 12:05 AM
Executor's Command Ship Hand of Tassadar
Low orbit over the second moon of Shakuras
The large command room was filled with various devices, which Raziel found prudent not to touch. As Selendis steered the ship at the head of the Strike Fleet, a transmission was received and a small holographic projector produced the image of an armored Protoss.
"Executor, we have finished preliminary scans of the surface." the Protoss said.
"What do you have to report?" Selendis asked.
"The Zerg forces are in smaller number than expected. Also, we have been unable to detect a Cerebrate so far."
"Most peculiar..." she said, resting her chin on her hand.
"What is it?" Raziel asked.
"The Zerg are mindless creatures. Though they may have a primitive pack instinct, they could not have ventured so deep into our territory without a Cerebrate to coordinate them."
"What are your orders, Executor?" the Protoss asked.
"Commence orbital bombardment on my mark."
At the Executor's command, the Strike Fleet rained death upon the small hive cluster, blasting its structures into a bloody pulp with phase cannons as the drones scattered. Most of the Zerg in the area were annihilated in a few moments, but Selendis was not satisfied.
"There might still be some Zerg hiding underground. Deploy the observers and sweep the area."
"We are going to avoid a ground engagement then?" Raziel asked.
"These creatures have the ability to burrow underground. I do not want to risk sending our people into an ambush."
"Now that you mention it, this seemed too easy, considering what I have heard about the Zerg." Raziel pointed out. "They must have a larger base somewhere."
The Zerg air presence up to that point had been nonexistent and the brood occupying the area seemed completely uninterested in leaving its current position.
"You are learning. We will make a Templar out of you yet." Selendis remarked with a hint of amused interest.
After half an hour sweeping the entire moon, part of the Strike Fleet encountered a large gathering of flying units.
"Executor! A pack of kukulzas has just entered sensor range!" one of the pilots reported.
Out of nowhere, a small ship appeared and managed to overtake the Strike Fleet, surprising the pilots and Selendis.
"What is that thing?" one of the pilots asked.
"It looks like a modified Corsair..." Selendis thought out loud.
"Is this one of those experimental weapons I have heard about?" Raziel asked.
"Where did that thing come from?" Selendis asked her crew.
"Unknown. It seems to have a cloaking device." one of the crew members replied.
Without warning, the ship darted into space and vanished as if it had never been there, leaving the Protoss to continue their engagement. The Strike Fleet converged on that location and obliterated the kukulzas with a combined barrage. Soon they arrived at another hive cluster, larger than the first. Strangely enough, there was a fair amount of defensive structures, but no creatures in sight. Not even a single drone or overlord was within sensor range.
"Something is amiss..." Selendis said. "Prepare for bombardment, but stay alert for incoming enemies."
"Executor!" one of the crew members suddenly said. "We have detected an underground network of caves. There is a concealed entrance in a nearby cliff, and we are reading life forms inside."
"More of them could be hiding there." Raziel said. "Let me handle this."
"What?" Selendis incredulously asked. "At least let us clear a landing site and send some of our troops to assist you."
"There is no need." he calmly replied. "There are a few peculiar details about my person that you are not aware of. Raze the hive cluster. I will be fine by myself."
Selendis was confused. She had heard about the strange newcomer's fighting prowess, but most of the details concerning where he had come from and what exactly he was had been kept under wraps by Artanis himself.
Selendis looked considerably dumbfounded, but, remembering her station, she quickly composed herself, not wanting to show indecision in front of a stranger.
"I know there are things I am not allowed to know yet, but I must check with the Hierarch. I would not let anyone take unnecessary risks, and you are a guest. We would be poor hosts if anything happened to you."
For his part, Raziel somewhat enjoyed her confused reaction, but did not outwardly display it.
"I understand your prudence, though you have no reason to worry about me." he stated firmly. "I will get ready while you consult him."
Selendis quickly opened a channel to the war room and a holographic image of Artanis appeared.
"Executor, how goes the offensive?" he asked with a hint of excitement.
"Something is amiss. We have just located a second hive cluster but have yet to encounter any ground forces."
"Odd... Even if this is a new tactic and there is some sort of trickery afoot, it is not like Kerrigan to do something like this, especially considering that she knows what the Xel'Naga temple is capable of. I will keep the Grand Fleet on alert and dispatch additional guards to the Temple, in case this is a diversion to strike at Shakuras while our backs are turned."
"There is another matter, Hierarch. Our guest wishes to venture into a nearby cavern complex to hunt the Zerg. We still have to destroy this hive cluster, but he insists on going down there by himself."
"Ah Raziel... Already worrying Selendis..." Artanis said with a laugh, which only heightened her confusion. "Do not worry about him, Executor. He is more than capable of handling the Zerg while you oversee the bombardment. Report as soon as there are new developments."
There was clearly something he was not telling her, but she had faith in the Hierarch, and did not insist. She knew time was of the essence.
"Very well, Hierarch. En Taro Tassadar."
June 7th 2502, 12:16 AM
Grand Fleet Hangar
Shakuras
Raynor paced around the hangar as the Protoss technicians finished working on the Hyperion. Rowena stood next to him, along with a man with short black hair, clad in a rather elaborate uniform that seemed out of place with the rest of the crew. He was also clean shaved and looked unlike many other of the humans scrambling about, as well as somewhat young, but with an intensity in his gaze that further set him apart.
"A pity about Braxis." Rowena said. "But it had to be done."
"There is little trace of the bombardment already." the man said. "Everything has frozen over once again. Still, some of the fauna was unique. It's gone forever."
Raynor stood silently and watched on a handful of Dark Templar walked by.
"Still no news of Zeratul..." one of them said.
"It is almost as if he does not wish to be found." Another added.
"Artanis may be wise beyond his years and have none of the prejudice some of his companions from Aiur have shown, but it is not the same."
"I know what you mean. The Matriarch wished Zeratul to take her place."
"Hey boys." Raynor said after a while. The Dark Templar turned to him.
"Adun Toridas, Jim Raynor. How goes your quest against the Dominion's grasp?"
"To be honest, it's been slow and frustrating. We don't have enough manpower, we're running out of credits, half our gear needs to be replaced and we keep running into spineless wimps who don't have the balls to do what needs to be done."
"We would gladly assist you." One of the Dark Templar said. "I understand that you are in need of infiltrators."
"Artanis is nice enough to let you tag along, but are you sure you don't have more important things to do than hang out with me?"
"We would not be the first Protoss to join you. Or the last. Despite our own troubles, your cause is just. It would be an honor to aid you."
"Well, that seems to be cheering him up." the other man commented to Rowena.
"Commander... Matt... I'm worried about him." she replied in a low tone.
"I thought I told you to drop the formalities. We're all fugitives." he replied before lowering his voice to a whisper. "But so am I. He hardly sleeps, he's been getting irritable, and I suspect he's been drinking too much."
"First this Raziel guy and now Dark Templar wanting to join... Maybe we can make some progress with their help." she said.
"Well, we did manage to recruit some sleeper agents..." Matt mused. "Our war is far from over, but with some luck maybe we can actually see some progress soon."
"Yeah, but some visible results would be nice." Rowena pointed out. "We need to figure out a way to expose Mengsk for what he is, or at least hurt him where it matters."
June 7th 2502, 12:20 AM
Vempari Segment Base S-01
Magus Asteroid Belt, Crono Star System
"Quite an impressive structure you have here, Colonel." Kain admitted. "No one would think of looking for a base in such a remote area."
"If you'll come this way, General, I will show you the research lab." Kaplan said.
With a nod, Kain followed him into another area. The two soon arrived at a large blast door.
"The professor is a bit... eccentric. His record is rather colored, so I thought it would be a good idea to take some precautions." Kaplan explained. He then approached a panel on the door frame, removed his right glove and placed his hand on it.
"Colonel Kaplan, special operations." he said to a miniature microphone.
"Access granted." an electronic voice replied.
The door slowly opened, revealing a wide corridor, lined with a few doors. At the end of the corridor, past another door, Kain saw an ample laboratory. Two large tables were in the center of the room, their surface covered by all sorts of devices, some of obvious alien origin. He also noticed a few cylinders that seemed to contain some sort of organic material floating in a green liquid. The wall to his left was lined with large containment units, ready to receive specimens, while on his right he saw several devices, from computers and an electronic microscope to a gene sequencer. A few devices seemed to contain cell cultures. The back wall was lined with a workbench containing a multitude of tools, cases filled with lab material and large bottles of various chemicals and a large computer with a big screen set on a desk. Sitting in front of the computer, typing frantically while mixing chemicals was a man in his fifties with graying hair, wearing a lab coat.
"General" Kaplan said. "This is Professor Exaccus."
The man suddenly interrupted his work, got up and turned to face them. His hairline was quickly receding above his forehead, his hands were stained by prolonged contact with chemicals and slightly discolored. There was something about him that instantly made Kain dislike him. Perhaps it was the beady gray eyes and the greasy smile, or maybe simply his portly figure and prominent belly that made him appear lazy and overfed.
"Ah, general! It's a pleasure to meet you!" he said with an even greasier voice and rather obsequious tone that made Kain cringe.
"So you are the one in charge of the research department?" Kain asked.
"Yes sir. Right now I'm working on a few assault vehicle projects."
"Assault vehicles? Very well. Show me what you have."
Kaplan raised an eyebrow. He had seen some of the designs, and had found a few rather ludicrous. They were either oversized, too expensive, or had a rather sadistic choice of weaponry. As Exaccus went over the various projects, Kain watched intently. He knew a good idea when he saw one, and made a mental note to check his available funds and materials. Mengsk had mentioned something about a couple of million credits.
About ten minutes later, an aide rushed in.
"General! We have a picked up a distress call from Dalgor III! Zerg attack!"
"Dalgor III?" Kain asked, not being familiar with the name.
"It's a small mining colony in a nearby system." Kaplan explained. "It's relatively recent and out of the way though. I'm surprised the Zerg found it."
"Are there any forces nearby that can handle this?" Kain asked, not really that interested.
"No General." Kaplan said, shaking his head. "We're the closest. The planet only has a small garrison."
Kain smirked. He hated the thought of doing petty clean up work, but Mengsk might bother him if he ignored the distress call. Besides, the vampire was incredibly bored, having spent months shuttling from place to place and putting up with Mengsk's endless speeches to the troops. Dealing with the Zerg would be a welcome distraction.
"Handpick me some troops and have some ships ready Colonel." Kain finally said. "I shall deal with this personally."
