Chapter Four: Higher Ground

First I should talk about Judicator Aldaris. Aldaris was held in high regard by everyone I talked to. He was considered the pinnacle of the Judicator caste. Untouched by the corruption and sloth which had fallen over others. He'd commanded several successful campaigns against the zerg before Chau Sara.

The Conclave is not perfect by any means. In fact, there seemed to be a general opinion that they had fallen far from their original purpose. They were supposed to be the guiding light of the protoss.

Despite this, I rather like the Conclave. Their first reaction to a horde of alien xenomorphs invading their territory was to kill them. They didn't murder people just for speaking their mind, they had to do something first. And at the very least they were thinking about the good of Aiur in their own way, rather than the good of their wallets.

I know that sounds like giving them a prize for basic decency, but I grew up in the Confederacy of Man. Basic decency was hard to find in those parts.

Liberty's report, volume IV.

Judicator Aldaris walked amongst the slain. These bodies had been so badly ravaged that they could not be transformed into dragoons. His eyes were distant and Artanis sensed from him great sadness. Yet there was also a bitter resolve there.

'We have won a great victory.' said Aldaris 'But it was at great cost. I fear it would not have been as high had we taken a defensive stance.'

'Tassadar told us that the death of the cerebrates would be the death of the swarm.' said Artanis 'When Fenix returns I am confident we will hear of the swarm falling into disarray.'

'I pray you are right, young Templar.' said Aldaris 'But I fear that Tassadar is already lost to us. Those who immerse themselves in darkness never return untainted.'

At that moment Calabas came back. She was dressed in a marine suit and held a gauss rifle in her hands. She pulled back her visor. 'Well, I've got news from Emperor Arcturus. He can't send much in the way of help. The zerg have begun another offensive. It's all the Dominion can do to keep it back. He's sending some men to fill out the ranks of the marines, but no heavy equipment.'

'Then we are all besieged.' mused Artanis.

And then Fenix came to them. He was grim but determined. 'Executor, I bring news most dire. The cerebrate that we thought we had killed has arisen again. The creature's battered form was reincarnated, despite the considerable damage we inflicted upon it. Even now, the cerebrate drives its Brood in preparation for their next offensive.'

Aldaris remained silent for a long moment. 'It is as I feared. It was folly to believe Tassadar could be trusted. The Conclave will not soon forget his wanton betrayal.'

'Betrayal? Aldaris is that not going too far?' asked Artanis 'Tassadar may have been in error.'

'If he was it cost us far more than I'd like.' muttered Serena.

'Nevertheless, we must stand resolute.' said Aldaris 'For attacking defenseless cerebrate is not the way of true Protoss warriors! We shall overcome the entire Swarm with the might and the fury that is our heritage!

'Executor, we shall lead our main strike force to the province of Scion which has fallen to the Zerg. It's time the Zerg felt the wrath of the Sons of Aiur! Praetor Fenix will remain here with a small detachment and guard Antioch from any further assaults.'

'That's a great start.' said Calabas 'But shouldn't we take a defensive position? What do we gain by seizing Scion?'

'North of Scion is a city called Khor-Shakal. Which was once our capital.' said Aldaris.

'Why did you move it in the first place?' asked Serena. 'The Heart of the Conclave was easily defendable and was built during the Aeon of Strife.' said Aldaris 'However the terrain made it difficult for our brethren to travel to and from it. Thus we moved to Khor-Shakal in the plains north of Scion. It was far more easily reached.

'With the coming of the Overmind and the assault by Kaloth, the capital was returned to the Heart of the Conclave.'

'So you're looking for an ideological victory?' guessed Serena.

'To an extent.' admitted Aldaris 'Retaking Kor-Shakal would prove the valor of the Templar has not waned. However, there is another thing we seek. For within Khor-Shakal there is a sealed hanger. Within it lies a great ship called the Spear of Adun. It houses some of the greatest warriors of the Protoss. They were put into stasis so that when our need is greatest they may come to our aid.

'If we can free them it will surely turn the tide in our favor.'

'Like King Arthur.' said Serena 'Well I wish you the best of luck. With your permission, Judicator, I think my forces should stick around Antioch. If the zerg launch another assault Fenix will need all the help he can get.'

'That is wise.' said Aldaris 'Your presence here is a boon to the khalai and a credit to your race.'

Though a compliment Serena stiffened. Artanis felt a surge of resentment from her, but it passed. '…Thank you.'

'Adun be with you, Executor.' said Fenix 'Bring swift death to the enemies of Aiur.'

Serena Calabas was surrounded by giants. The fortress of Antioch had been designed for people who averaged nine feet tall. So wherever she walked in it she found herself feeling like a dwarf. It irritated her.

At the moment she was reading through reports from the other parts of Aiur. Most of her limited forces had been put into static defense, holding the line in the strong points of Aiur. They took the pressure off the protoss forces and allowed them to cover more ground.

And she could sense something. A change that had come over the protoss as a whole regarding her and her men. It was hard to pin down.

At that moment a protoss who was far shorter than most approached. 'Greetings to you, Commander Calabas. I am Karax of the Khalai Worker Caste. I've been sent by the Conclave to ask a boon of you.'

'What is it?' asked Serena, looking up.

'The Conclave has observed your race. You are significantly less advanced than the protoss. And yet your weapons and equipment are extremely practical.' said Karax 'I wish to speak with some of your engineers and learn how they operate.'

'Absolutely out of the question.' said Serena.

This seemed to surprise Karax. 'I do not understand.'

'Terrans do not share their secrets freely Karax.' said Serena 'They give us an advantage over everyone else and we aren't quick to give that advantage away.'

'But our races are allies, are we not?' asked Karax.

'We terrans have a saying:' said Serena 'A wise man in peace prepared for war. You protoss planned to exterminate every terran world that had any zerg on it. If Tassadar hadn't disobeyed orders billions would be dead because of you. I'm not going to give away the secrets of our military might for free.

'On the other hand, we could make a trade.'

'A trade?' asked Karax.

'Yes.' said Serena 'If you could provide us with some of your schematics I could certainly return the favor.'

'…I do not have the authority to make such a decision.' said Karax 'I will commune with the Conclave.'

'Go ahead.' said Serena. 'Now if you'll excuse me I have to meet with a subordinate.'

Tychus Findlay walked in and Karax walked out. He was smoking a half burned out cigarette and walking with a limp. Courtesy of an earlier engagement. 'Tychus Findlay, what do you make of the protoss equipment?'

'Well these protoss boys aren't nearly as smart as they let on.' said Tychus. 'Every single one of them damn dragoons is different. Custom made. Assembled by hand. I had some of them freaky ghost badasses sneak into the worker caste take a look and take a few pictures. Turns out that the protoss don't even have assembly lines.

'They operate on the artisan system.'

'Do they?' asked Serena 'And you sent ghosts to take pictures?'

'Why not?' said Tychus 'You ain't using them to fight, figured they might as well pull their weight.'

'Tychus we have a tenuous relationship with the protoss.' said Serena 'I don't want them catching terrans looking at their weapons and equipment. How did you even convince the ghosts to go? I didn't give you any authority over them.'

'I'm a real smooth talker.' said Tychus with a smirk. 'Actually the protoss just let them in. I don't think these boys understand deception very well. Must be because they're always reading each other's minds.'

'Well you aren't going to be doing any smooth talking of that kind without my input from now on.' said Serena.

'Right.' said Tychus.

Serena Calabas stood up. 'I'm going to go take a walk.'

Praetor Fenix observed as the bodies of the slain were loaded into tanks of green liquid. Within them, they were preserved to fight again. As he walked he sensed Calabas approaching and looked up.

She was clad only in her officers uniform now. 'Praetor Fenix may I ask what all this is?'

'These are those warriors who were killed in battle.' said Fenix 'Their bodies are still intact, however. They are being brought back to our sacred shrines. There they will be placed into dragoons and their spirits called back to fight once more.'

'Do you do this with their consent?' asked Serena.

'Consent?' asked Fenix 'It is a great honor to become a dragoon.'

'I'll take that as a no.' said Serena 'So you can bring back the dead.'

'Yes.' said Fenix 'If the body remains intact it is possible to call back the spirit from the khalai.'

'But how do you know it's really the spirit?' asked Serena.

'Hmm.' asked Fenix.

'What if you're just assembling a copy of the dead person and recreating them inside the dragoon?' asked Serena.

'It matters not.' said Fenix 'Whether it is them or not, they have chosen to serve Aiur and are heroes worthy of respect.'

'But it does matter.' said Serena 'What if… uh… what if someone is in love with a templar who becomes a dragoon? Do they continue the relationship?'

'We do not have such things, Serena Calabas.' said Fenix 'We templar serve Aiur and our race as a whole. Our emotions and desires are all secondary. To be driven by love is to succumb to selfishness. The Conclave teaches that all that we are must be put toward Aiur.'

'But you do have love.' said Serena 'I've seen it again and again wherever I walk here. There is more than one kind of love you know.'

Fenix wasn't sure he was comfortable with this conversation. 'No there aren't.'

'Yes there are.' said Serena 'Terran philosophers have given much thought to the subject.'

Fenix looked at her. He wondered why terrans wasted their times with such things? Despite himself, he found that he was curious. 'Then what are they?'

'There is Storge, the love of familiarity.' said Serena 'It is the bond between parent and child. Between brother and sister. It's the most common of all the loves. It comes to people naturally.'

'Not among the protoss.' said Fenix.

'Yes, I know that. But what is among the protoss is philia.' said Serena 'The bond between friends. Such as you and Artanis, or myself and my Emperor. It is created from common experiences and shared desires.

'It is a bond that is celebrated highly. Some of the best stories are based around it. Don't you protoss have any songs or tales that celebrate the achievements of friends?'

'We have many.' admitted Fenix 'What are the others?'

'Then there is eros.' said Serena, averting her eyes 'I think that is what the Conclave has a problem. It is the love of desiring someone greatly. It is a love of obsession which can lead to darkness. But it can also lead to light.

'And then there is Agape, unconditional love. It is the greatest of all the four loves. It exists regardless of changing circumstances. Both saint and sinner are the subject of it. The wisest and most benevolent hero is as loved by it as the most depraved and broken villain.

'It is something to aspire to, but it is also unattainable. No one can gain it. Except for god I suppose. And he always had it.'

'This god you speak of.' said Fenix 'I have sensed many of your kind turning their minds to him in moments of crisis. Who is he? What is his name?'

'Well, I've never been a very faithful practitioner of his faith. Still, if you asked him he'd say "I am that I am."' said Serena with a smile.

'That does not answer my question.' said Fenix.

'Of course, it doesn't. That is the point.' said Serena 'He is greater than the universe. Nothing can defeat him. Those who thwart his plans only do so because he has allowed them free will. And their attempts to defeat his plans only serve to bring about greater glories still.'

'Such a power, how can you know it exists?' asked Fenix.

'We don't. Terrans haven't exactly had the most pleasant of histories.' said Serena 'Things have been utterly miserable. We spend our down time thinking about realities beyond the one we exist. Why do we live? Why do we die? Who created us? What happens after we die? Why does evil triumph?'

'We protoss know the answers to those questions.' said Fenix 'We were created first of the races by the Xel'naga. But we were consumed by our raw emotions and made war on one another. Eventually, we even assailed the Xel'naga themselves and they left us. When we die our spirits pass on to the khala. Evil triumphs because some deviate from the way of the khala.'

'How do you know that?' asked Serena.

'History has been passed down.' said Fenix 'And one may consult the khala, the combination of our all memories to confirm it.'

'And what about these fallen ones?' asked Serena.

'They are those who abandoned the khala and severed their nerve cords. They fled into deep space.' said Fenix.

'So they don't have a place in the khala?' asked Serena.

'No.' admitted Fenix.

'Can a dark templar rejoin the khala?' asked Serena.

'No.' said Fenix 'They sever their nerve cords as part of a ritual. They are forever cut off.' What was she driving at?

'Then you can't really hear their side of the story can you?' asked Serena 'The memories you got from the khala cover only those who were part of the khala. And everyone who exists in the khala is affected by everything else.

'Everyone in the khala believes the same thing. And there aren't any new ideas entering it.'

'You do not know the horrors of the Aeon of Strife.' said Fenix. 'Entire cities were laid to waste, men, women and children butchered without remorse. Disconnected from each other we did nothing but destroy. The khala ended all that. It allowed us to unite as one.'

'I think that is why we terrans have caught up with you.' said Serena. 'See the thing about chaos is that it causes people to compete against eachother. Because of this everyone is trying to get the best advantage they can. So the best ideas win out while ones that don't stand up are discarded or destroyed. The best weapons are put into use. The best means of producing weapons are adopted.'

'That is the way of the zerg.' said Fenix.

'It's the way of life, Fenix. The zerg are the antithesis to their own ideals.' said Serena 'They are constantly working to evolve into greater forms of power. Yet what if they won? What if the zerg truly did assimilate all life?

'They would have no more need to evolve.

'The very nature of their own mission defeats itself. Without individuality progress is meaningless.'

'Then you agree with the Conclave?' surmised Fenix.

'Not for a second.' said Serena.

'I don't understand.' admitted Fenix.

'Fenix suppose that the Conclave devised a means by which the khalai could be united.' said Serena 'By which all beings could be brought together into the service of a greater whole. That all the world could be united in a single goal without differences.

'Would you support it?'

'Of course.' said Fenix.

'Congratulations you've just created a second Overmind.' said Serena 'Because the price of getting rid of differences is that everything is now the same. Merged into a single entity of great power, but no meaning. By sacrificing the one for the sake of the many you have destroyed the many and left only the one in their place.

'The zerg and the protoss both represent aspects of the same whole. When brought to their logical extremes are completely unworkable. In achieving what they seek, they would destroy the purpose of that achievement.'

Fenix looked for a hole in her theory. However, he had never given much thought to such things. This was a matter for the Judicator. 'I have seen the terrans through the eyes of my brethren. You war and brutalize one another without end. Do you claim that that is ideal?'

'No of course not.' said Serena 'The perfect world is not one where everyone is forced to do right. Nor is it one where everyone does whatever he or she wants without regard to everyone else. A perfect world is a place where everyone has the choice to do good or evil and everyone chooses good. Of their own free will obviously. You can't force it.

'In such a world those who have power regard it as merely part of their day job. They don't love it or look for more. They just do their best to make everything better for everyone.'

'And yet all civilizations have laws.' said Fenix 'Laws that must be enforced by officials. Criminals must be punished, lest others do so.'

'Of course.' said Serena 'Just because that would be an ideal world doesn't mean it's a workable model to set up a society.'

'Then what is the escape?' asked Fenix 'How does one solve such a riddle?'

'I don't know. I'm not a messiah Fenix, I'm just a girl who has read some books on philosophy.' said Serena 'Terrans have been thinking about this kind of thing for thousands of years. And we don't have nearly as good a track record as the protoss. Maybe if your race starts thinking on the subject you'll find a way.'

'…I will think on what you have said.' said Fenix 'And I am certain that those who have watched through my eyes will as well.'

Serena stiffened. 'What?'

'We protoss share a psionic connection.' said Fenix 'All khalai who retain their nerve cords may see through the eyes of other khalai. As a Praetor many look through my thoughts at all times. At the moment I can sense many tens of thousands observing through me.'

Serena froze and Fenix realized that she had thought they were speaking in private. The idea that she had just started a revolution in her allies nation came to her mind and she panicked. 'Oh shit! Okay, forget everything I said! I don't know what I'm talking about, good night!'

And she ran off.

Fenix didn't see what the fuss was. The protoss were not so easily divided.

Authors Note:

Okay, I've gone slightly AU here. See in the original Starcraft Khor-Shakal is the Heart of the Conclave. It is damaged by Tassadar's assault on it and wiped out by the zerg. However, this is really, really stupid. See, Khor-Shakal is where the Spear of Adun is located. If the Conclave had access to the Spear of Adun from the very beginning it raises questions. Like didn't they use it to kill the Overmind and free Aiur?

There is literally no good reason for the Conclave not to use the Spear of Adun. And since Aldaris is shown to be a competent general this is a massive plot hole. And even if Aldaris is stupid enough not to use the Spear of Adun, Tassadar and Fenix are not. The way the Spear of Adun storyline is set up requires every single person on Aiur to be a moron.

My solution to this is that Khor-Shakal is a protoss city you overran during the zerg missions. It USED to be the capital. This easily explains why the Conclave didn't unleash the Spear of Adun. The Overmind drove them out before they got a chance to.

Also, philosophy time!

I kind of feel that this chapter is thematically important. To examine zerg and protoss ideals.