Chapter 13 – Fragmented Memories

August 24, 2502, 12:00

Vempari Segment Main Base

As Kain pored over the latest reports, he tried to make sense of things. Over time, he had become somewhat more adept at understanding the intricacies of his new situation, but even he, arrogant though he could be at times, had to admit that his knowledge was still incomplete. Fitting together the scattered pieces of information trickling his way, he was able to discern a pattern – the Protoss were on the warpath and they had a new ally.

In retrospective, it made sense that Raziel would find his way to them. They too, Kain knew, were often driven to the point of obsession, with a sense of mission and even, after the fall of Aiur, a revanchist mindset that would definitely have resonated with the wraith. For a brief moment, the lord of Nosgoth shuddered, imagining the notion of an entire species similar to Raziel.

His thoughts were interrupted as he sensed another presence in his office. Though he had expected Mengsk to spy on him, he would have assumed such spying to be carried out by electronic devices, which the vampire understood enough to know were far more convenient than resorting to actual operatives, which could much more easily be compromised or disposed of. One way or another, he was beginning to tire of such games.

"Show yourself!" he demanded.

To his surprise, what emerged from the shadows was not one of Mengsk's Ghost operatives or even a Dark Templar, but a tall figure clad in simple dark brown robes, giving it an appearance very similar to that of a monk. He could tell that the intruder was powerfully built, but everything else was concealed by the robes, including the face, which was covered by a hood shrouded in an unnatural darkness.

"Greetings, Guardian of Balance." the figure said in a deep voice and a completely flat tone.

"Is that meant to be an insult?" Kain asked with a scowl, reminded of the fact that the ruination of the Pillars had been completed by his own hand.

"Take it as you will." the figure said with a shrug. "I am not here to cast aspersions, though I will say that you can be quite the fool at times."

"What do you want then?" Kain asked, rather annoyed at the theatrics. "Are you one of Moebius' cronies, here to lead me on a wild goose chase? How did you even get here?"

To Kain's surprise, the intruder laughed.

"Far from it. I share your interest in the restoration of the Pillars and in the toppling of the masterminds who orchestrated this state of affairs. However, I must give you a warning. Whether you choose to heed it or not is up to you."

"Speak."

"Your pawn is far more important – and dangerous – than you realize. While I believe this detour will ultimately be for the benefit of both of you, the longer he lingers here, the more difficult it will be for you or anyone else to steer him."

"Meaning?" Kain asked, definitely getting annoyed.

"Nosgoth was meant to be both another conquest for the forces that orchestrated the downfall of the Circle of Nine… and a prison."

"A prison? For what?"

"Not what. Who. An exceptionally powerful soul you are already acquainted with. The longer he lingers here, the more he will interact with sources of power connected to the mind… and the more he will remember."

"What are you talking about?"

"The Wheel of Fate has turned many times for that one. Far more than you can imagine. All in an effort to keep him oblivious and contained. But they made a fatal mistake when they attempted to use him as a pawn in their schemes instead."

And with that, the figure disappeared, as if it had never been there.

Kain let out a grunt of annoyance, having had his fill of oracles and shadowy figures centuries prior. Whatever machinations Mengsk and the overly obsequious head of research were setting in motion would have to wait.

August 25, 2502, 0:00

Strike Fleet 3

High orbit over Marahna III

As part of the preparations for the assault on Char and the long-awaited reclamation of Aiur, the Strike Fleets were being deployed in a coordinated effort to sweep the star systems between Shakuras and the other two worlds, with the aim of purging the Zerg presence and effectively blinding the enemy.

Having joined the effort, Raziel was also entrusted with a secondary mission – to investigate the strange constructs that had begun to appear in Zerg outposts, seemingly taking the place of the Cerebrates. Everything felt off about them, from the combination of organic matter and machinery to the way they kept repeating the same transmission, almost mechanically.

"If possible, we would appreciate it if you could acquire some of those devices intact." Selendis had told him before he left. "We have assembled a containment field generator that should allow you to block whatever psionic signals the devices may be generating or transmitting. We suspect that they self-destructed via some sort of remote command, so hopefully the containment field should block that as well."

The mission itself was uneventful. Just another typical bug hunt in the middle of jagged stone cliffs. Though the scope of events in the Koprulu Sector could still feel overwhelming at times given the number of worlds and people involved, he was slowly becoming more accustomed to it. However, he was also growing increasingly concerned. The Zerg were a plague that dwarfed the vampire infestation on Nosgoth and had the ability to travel between worlds. He could not help wondering if they might eventually find their way to his point of origin.

After making short work of the Zerg minions defending a concealed hive cluster and locating the local device hidden in a cavern, he paused to signal the Dark Templar accompanying him. They fanned around, securing the perimeter and one of them handed him the containment field generator, which looked like some sort of golden metal frame in the shape of a cube through which the familiar azure energy swirled. Having been briefed on its use, Raziel threw it at the device from a safe distance and the cubic structure unfolded, covering a much larger area the size of a large storage crate and trapping the device inside, seemingly before it had time to react to their presence.

"The Executor will be pleased with our success." the Dark Templar said.

"Let us not get ahead of ourselves." Raziel cautioned, used to his fair share of unwanted surprises.

The Dark Templar nodded and, followed by his companions, proceeded to tag the containment device for recall to the command ship waiting in orbit.

As he turned to leave, Raziel was interrupted by a sudden and inexplicable rock slide, which exposed something new along the cliff wall. Before him stood the broken remains of an ancient marble statue, clearly worn by time and missing most of its arms.

The statue looked extremely old, several centuries, at least, but that was not what bothered Raziel the most. What did bother him was the features of the statue – clearly human. The statue seemed simply far too old for that, given that humans had only arrived at the Korpulu sector relatively recently and had been mainly concerned with survival. They would not have bothered with stonework of this kind, and if they had, then it still could not be this old. There was also something about it that felt bizarrely familiar, despite the fact that it was clearly different from anything he had seen on Nosgoth.

Intrigued, he stepped closer to examine the statue. As he looked upon what was left of its eroded face, he was struck by a bout of dizziness. As he was about to lose his footing, he felt the steady hand of one of the Dark Templar on his back.

"Are you all right?" he asked, the contrast between the deep voice echoing psionically and the tone of concern rather baffling to the wraith.

"I have not been asked that question in a very long time..." Raziel realized, before pointing at the statue. "What do you make of this, though?"

"Intriguing..."

"I know this falls outside our mission parameters, and we are on a schedule, but is there some way we can find an expert to help examine this further?"

"I will see what I can do."

August 25, 2502, 12:00

Citadel of the Executor

Shakuras

Strangely exhausted after the relatively straightforward engagement, Raziel paused for a moment to examine himself. He could not sense or find any signs of damage to his physical form now that he had gorged himself on Zerg souls to replenish his strength, yet he felt a creeping fatigue that made his limbs feel sluggish and his head heavy, almost as if he were inhabiting a living body. He dragged himself to the shuttle awaiting him and, as soon as his bony posterior touched the seat, his head slumped down.

Once again, indistinct blurs danced against his field of vision, but this time he heard voices with surprising clarity.

"What have you done?!" a male voice, brimming with a fiery rage, demanded in an accusing tone. "What have you done, Raziel?!"

It was then that things became even stranger, as Raziel heard his own voice reply, resolute if somewhat annoyed.

"I have given them the means to defend their right to exist."

"Sacrilege!" the first voice hissed in outrage.

"You were always overly fond of using that word." Raziel heard his own voice reply with unmasked disdain. "Just because something goes against your personal whims, that does not make it sacrilege… or treason, as you will probably claim next."

"You…!" the first voice growled.

"You always did think too highly of yourself." Raziel heard his own voice say. "You may be able to influence some of the others, but I am not afraid of you. There is no valor in what you do. Only arrogance and violence."

"You dare…?!"

"Enough!" a third voice, also male, interrupted, deep and commanding. "This sort of bickering is beneath us all. We are meant to be more than this!"

"Stay out of this..." the irate voice growled.

"I will not." the commanding voice countered. "Seeing brethren bicker like this is appalling. We have enough concerns on our minds as it is."

"You are always too quick to jump to this fool's defense." the raging voice hissed.

"And you are always too fond of instigating conflicts." Raziel heard his own voice counter. "There is no valor in this, and I will not remain silent just to appease your ego. If you cannot stomach differences of opinion and your first course of action is antagonizing others, then perhaps you should rethink your continued position in the Council. I am not your servant, and neither are the others."

"You..." the raging voice hissed.

"I tire of this." Raziel heard his own voice say. "I have work to do."

Though he was able to glean something concrete for a change, Raziel felt just as lost, wondering what exactly he had just heard. Silently cursing the Wheel of Fate, the Elder God, the Guardians and Kain, he tried to clear his mind. Though in the past he had been rather dismissive of humans and their frailty, at that moment he could not help envying their ability to sleep or indulge in the consumption of alcohol.

A few days and a few more similar operations later, thankfully uneventful, Raziel found himself meeting with Zolmus again, this time at the Library.

"A most peculiar find, that much is certain." Zolmus said. "The statue is indeed very old, seemingly carved by hand with primitive tools. The face was too badly worn to be completely certain, but the general anatomy did in fact seem human."

"I did not take you for an erudite in these matters." Raziel remarked.

"The Dark Templar have spent centuries wandering the stars." Zolmus reminded him. "Locating, cataloging, studying and safeguarding Xel'Naga relics is not merely a scholarly pursuit for our people. It is a sacred duty. Even now, despite the fact that we have a homeworld of our own, this has not changed."

"So what would you recommend?"

"I believe we need outside help to investigate this matter further. I cannot fathom where we would find a Terran scholar willing to assist us, however, and given the current state of affairs it is doubtful the Executor will be willing to divert resources to such a task simply out of idle curiosity."

"In that case, perhaps I should take the initiative." Raziel pondered. "I wonder if Raynor is still in this area. Perhaps he knows someone who can assist us."