Chapter Fifteen: Gethsemane
Zeratul awoke. His head was spinning, and his body ached. Sitting up, he at once took note of his surroundings. He was within what appeared to be a natural cavern. There was flowing water nearby, and his brethren were around him.
So he had not been killed.
Yet he noted that there were fewer of the Dark Templar than there had been before. Varsus emerged from the shadows and kneeled by him. "Prelate Zeratul."
"Varsus." Zeratul nodded to him. "What occurred after I was rendered unconscious."
"You lagged behind and were nearly caught in the blast." said Varsus. "I hardly pulled you from the river."
"My thanks, Varsus." said Zeratul. "What of the others."
"Most of us made it out." said Varsus. "Some of those not with us are out scouting. However, a few were caught in the blast."
"I see." said Zeratul. "Our plans have all gone astray. We must rendezvous with Tassadar at once and plan a new strategy."
"Unfortunately that will be far more difficult than you imagine." said Varsus. "After the destruction of the Heart of the Conclave Tassadar surrendered. He did so without a fight. Those of his followers who were not captured have fled into the wilderness.
"We have heard no word from them. However, the worker caste has not been reporting their location to the Conclave. It seems that the common people of Aiur are enthralled with Fenix and Artanis." He paused. "Still, given Fenix's hatred for us it seems likely we will no longer be welcome among his forces.
With the greatest respect, Prelate, it was a mistake to come here at all."
"Perhaps it was." admitted Zeratul. "But let us not pass judgment on our choices until all is decided. We must locate Tassadar and rescue him. If we may save him then hope may remain."
"He has been taken to the Conclave's prison of Gethsemane." said Varsus. "There he will no doubt be sentenced to die. The Conclave has no tolerance for those who defy them."
"I remember Gethsemane." said Zeratul. "I was once held prisoner there, long ago. If the defenses are as they once were, it would be futile for us to attempt to free Tassadar by ourselves.
"Yet perhaps we do not need to. We are not the only ones' who will seek Tassadar's release. Continue seeking Fenix and Artanis. With their aid we may free him."
"Tassadar will be dead long before we reach him." said Varsus. "The Conclave may have killed him already."
"If so," said Zeratul, "then we must at the least confirm it. Tassadar remains our greatest hope. We cannot abandon him without doing all we can to save him."
"As you wish." said Varsus.
"Varsus," said a Dark Templar, "our sensors are picking up a terran vessel entering the atmosphere of Aiur. It is the Hyperion."
"Is it within transmission range?" asked Zeratul.
"Not yet." said the Templar. "However they are descending as we speak."
"We will try to raise them once they enter the cloud cover." said Zeratul. "For now, prepare to move out at the first opportunity."
The bridge of the Hyperion had a hectic feel to it as Raynor sat in the Captain's chair. The planet of Aiur appeared before them in all its wartorn glory. He clasped his hands together as they descended.
He had a bad feeling about this.
Matt looked up. "Sir, are you sure about coming out all this way to Aiur? I mean, I realize we've beaten back the zerg on Antiga Prime, but…"
"I know Matt." said Raynor. "I know that I should probably keep my head down and let the gods fight it out. But I've got… I've got this feeling. I feel like the most important part of the war is going to take place here.
"And I feel like I've got to be there."
"Sir, the last time we acted on a feeling we ended up going to Char." said Matt.
Raynor felt a slight smile come to his face. "Yeah. And we met Zeratul and teamed up with Tassadar. It was a hell of a time, but without us there Tassadar and Zeratul might have killed each other.
"This is important Matt. More important than anything we've ever done. Tassadar needs our help. And we're not gonna let him down."
So time passed. Scans were made as they moved in orbit. The zerg continued their march far below. Finally, Matt came to him again. "Sir, we're scanning the surface of the world for the Gantrithor. However, we're not picking anything up. There is a lot of chatter though.
"It sounds like Tassadar attempted a coup and was defeated. He's been captured. Zeratul is dead."
Shit.
Even so, something told Raynor that things weren't hopeless yet. Maybe he could still help Tassadar. "Keep scanning." he said. "We might be able to find Artanis, at least. Maybe we can get him out of here."
Things were getting worse very quickly.
Gethsemane was oddly scenic for a prison. It was practical and didn't have the same gardens and grandeur of the Conclave. But as Serena walked among it, there was a certain beautiful discipline to the place. Truth be told she wasn't she why she had volunteered for this. She wasn't sure why the Conclave had let her have the task. It didn't make a lot of sense. But things had gradually clicked into place.
Maybe it was because Tassadar had made an impression on her. He had an aura like that of Mengsk, except different. You could tell he thought he knew everything. What you couldn't tell was whether he actually did.
No matter the reason, somehow Serena felt she had to confront him before all this ended. And it was ending soon. The prison walls were golden and white. The guards at the door were dressed in ornate colors that designated them the best of the best. Serena approached them and was met by crossed psi spears.
"No one is to speak with the heretic." said the guard.
"Relax will you, Aldaris asked me to tell him his sentence." said Serena, producing a crystal. "Here's authorization."
The guard took it and sensed its contents. He didn't seem to believe her. Serena didn't blame him. She hardly believed it herself. "It is traditional that a Judicator attends to that office."
"Yeah, well none of the Judicator want the job." said Serena. "There is apparently a rumor that anyone who stands in the same room as him falls to darkness. And anyway, I've got a score to settle with him. Let me in."
The guard looked at her. "…As you wish."
They drew back their spears, and the door opened. Serena entered into the cell. The door shut behind her.
Tassadar sat crosslegged behind the energy fields. He was floating a few feet above the ground, and his eyes were closed. As Serena approached it, she wondered if he had even tried to escape. Probably not.
He had given himself up. Was he trying to make himself a martyr?
"Well, you're looking remarkably composed for someone on death row." said Serena.
Tassadar opened his eyes. He said nothing. Fortunately, Serena could fill the silence herself. "Out of curiosity what was your plan? Cause a civil war among the protoss and then just sort of hope the Overmind choked on his laughter?"
"Why are you here, Serena Calabas?" asked Tassadar. He already knew the answer, didn't he?
What was Serena thinking? Tassadar wasn't omnipotent. He wasn't even omnipresent.
"Zeratul is dead." said Serena. "So are his Dark Templar. They went up with the Heart of the Conclave. Antioch is taken and most of your loyalists have surrendered. The Conclave intends to announce a mass pardon. We're going to need the manpower.
"Only the ringleaders are going to be executed."
Tassadar said nothing. Yet he seemed to be listening.
"Only the ringleaders." repeated Serena. "I have friends who are on your side, Tassadar. I liked Fenix. Now he's probably going to die because he followed you. Just like all your other friends.
"You've lost. Your supporters are beaten. The Dark Templar are dead. A hundred years from now you'll be one more ambitious general. One who tried to seize control of his government with a crisis as a pretext."
Tassadar said nothing.
"Say something!" roared Serena. Why was she so angry about this?
Why was this so personal?
"Fenix made his own choices. As do we all." said Tassadar. Then he closed his eyes and began to meditate again.
"With help from you." noted Serena. "Anyway, I figured I'd let you know about your sentence. Your own father doesn't want to spend any more time in your presence than he has to."
"I have only one father." said Tassadar.
"Is there a difference between Aldaris and the state at this point?" asked Serena. "He may be loyal to the Conclave, but we all know who is really calling the shots, don't we?"
"I do not speak of those." said Tassadar.
"Right, and I suppose you're the son of god." scoffed Serena.
Tassadar shrugged. "You say that I am."
Serena said nothing. She could hardly believe it. Here was an alien proclaiming himself the son of god. Was Tassadar really claiming to be the protoss version of Jesus? Like some kind of planet nuking Aslan?
"Go to hell." said Serena after a moment. "You know what is going to happen in the next few hours, Tassadar? You're going to be sentenced to the death of existence. You'll be put in a stasis cell that is connected directly to the khala. Little by little all the psionic energy in your body will be drained away. Finally, your mind will no longer support itself.
"You will die a slow, lingering, excruciatingly painful death. No one will feel your final thoughts. Your mind will not pass into the khala. Your name will be stricken from every record. It will be forbidden to speak of you.
"Your legacy will be that of nameless traitor. A monster children are told will get them if they misbehave. Someone who corrupted good, heroic men. And turned them against the Conclave in Aiur's darkest hour."
"Such is the way of the Conclave." said Tassadar. "What they do not understand they demonize."
"Oh but I do understand you, Tassadar." said Serena. "I've understood you from the moment you made that speech to Artanis when he came to arrest you. See, I've heard speeches like that before.
"You're like Mengsk."
Tassadar's eyes opened and narrowed. She'd gotten to him at last.
"Both you and Mengsk are ambitious. You want to be known as the great savior of your time. You want people to respect you and hail your name all throughout history. You want to be the founder of a new Empire." She walked a bit away and turned around. "It's all in the presentation. In knowing your audience. Mengsk was able to inspire devotion unlike anything else.
"He did it presenting himself a benevolent boss who would help you out of a fix if you helped him. It was a dream come true for us terrans. When you've had a choice of devils for centuries being able to pick an ordinary man is a miracle."
"But that wouldn't fly with the protoss. No, your standards are higher.
"The average protoss is a good person who expects those around him to be good. So to get the kind of movement you needed, you had to present yourself as a messiah.
You gave Zeratul his chance for vengeance on the Conclave, in the name of reuniting the protoss. You offered to give the khalai the magic bullet they needed to win against the zerg.
"There was only one problem.
"Messiah's don't make mistakes. And you have made mistakes. Kerrigan had you on the ropes before Artanis and Aldaris showed up. And I outright beat you. Your plan to assassinate the Conclave failed."
"I took on flesh to save this world and many others." said Tassadar. "In so doing I took on the failings of a mortal. For without them the act would be meaningless."
He was sticking to his guns, wasn't he? And yet something about the way he said it made her angry. He wasn't mad. He was sane and in control of himself And everything about him told her he was telling the truth.
Which wasn't possible. "Yeah, sure. You're saving lots of people by starting a civil war. Don't think I didn't notice that your first reaction to the Conclave rejecting you was to murder them."
"Some paragon.
"A messiah would have found a way to convert the Conclave to their side. Without murdering their way through the guards."
"Did not my father order wars and destruction in the name of a greater good?" asked Tassadar. "Were not the Canaanites driven from the land?"
So what if Raynor had shown him a copy of the bible. Serena wondered if he was this deluded? Or had he cynically integrated existing stories into his own mythos. "The Israelites made that nonsense up. To justify genocide.
"Anyway, no matter what you say, no matter what you do, you aren't a messiah.
"And today I am going to prove it." If you'r actually are the Alien Coming of Christ there is no way in heaven or hell that the Conclave can execute you."
Tassadar blinked. "…You have read the bible haven't you?"
Oh right, Jesus rose from the dead after three days. So killing Tassadar actually wouldn't disprove it. "…Shut up. We're going to incinerate the corpse after we destroy your soul. Just in case. Also, no one will remember you when this is over. You can't be a messiah if no one even knows you existed."
The door opened and the guards entered. Their features were grim as they came forward. "It is time. The execution is to begin."
"So be it." said Tassadar.
The cell was opened and Tassadar led away. As he was, Serena felt a surge of helpless anger. She wasn't going to let him get the last word here. "Just remember, Tassadar, Fenix is going to die because of you."
Tassadar said nothing.
Serena should have expected as much.
Author's Note:
I get the feeling somebody is going to flame me for this chapter. I was very reluctant to post it, but I've been building up to this for a long time. It would kind of negate the point to make Tassadar an ordinary protoss after all that.