Chapter Seventeen: The Impossible Task
The zerg aren't doing anything.
They are just holding on to ground which they've already taken. Like they are waiting for something. My contacts in the fringe worlds say something similar.
Maybe they've give up.
Or maybe they don't think they need to fight anymore. Either way, it gives me the creeps.
-Liberty's reports, volume IV.
Aldaris had been oddly silent. The Judicator had been sitting in his command chair, hands clasped together. His face was turned down, and his eyes burned dull. Serena sat some ways away, wondering what they were waiting for.
And then an ensign approached. Was ensign a protoss rank? Probably not. "Judicator we have seen Tassadar's Fleet under the Gantrithor. They are heading toward Gethsemane at attack speed."
Aldaris looked up, but he exuded no frustration or panic. "Just as the Conclave foresaw. Prepare the defenses and alert the forces we have prepared."
"There is something else." said the ensign. "The Terran Battlecruiser Hyperion is with them along with small fleet."
Aldaris looked to her. "…I see. Calabas, can you account for this movement of Dominion troops?"
Raynor was siding with Tassadar now? Was he insane? "What the hell is Raynor thinking? Get me a communication system now!"
The bridge of the Hyperion had men going this way and that, collecting data and giving reports. Raynor sat in his chair, trying to look confident. He must have been succeeding because people were working hard. He'd learned a lot about command since his days as a Marshall.
Then Matt approached. "Sir, we're receiving a transmission from the Conclave. It's Serena, sir."
Raynor sighed. He'd known this was coming. "Damn it. All right, patch her through."
The screen flared to life, and Serena appeared. The background was that of a protoss vessel. "Raynor, what the hell are you doing?"
Raynor tried to look confident. "I think we both know the answer to that."
"Listen to me, Raynor." said Serena. "The khalai are the allies of the Dominion. What you are doing could start an international incident. Pull your fleet away now! That is a direct order!"
"Like hell!" said Raynor. "I'm not going to let the best chance we've got for winning die! So the Conclave can pat itself on the back for being pure!"
"Raynor, if you do this, you will be rogue." said Serena. "There will be warrants for your arrest. Wanted posters with your name on it! You will be throwing away everything we worked for!
"Is that what you want?"
Raynor remained silent. Was he going to turn on Arcturus and Serena for Tassadar? It was insane, but something told him it was the only way. It was like there was a warning in his heart. "…We've all got out choices to make."
"Don't give me one-liners, Raynor. This has nothing to do with Tassadar!" snapped Serena. "You almost abandoned the Dominion over your mass murderer of a girlfriend for the same reason! This is exactly the same thing! This is about you feeling like a hero! You don't care about anything except the fact that he's your friend!
"Well get over it! This is real life! Not some soap opera! Tassadar isn't right just because you like him!
"You can't just-"
Raynor shut off the com. Was she right? Maybe she was. Sometimes Raynor didn't even know what he was doing. He looked to the crew, who were wary. "All right, if anyone feels like staging a mutiny now's the time."
Silence for a moment.
"Sir, we're with you through thick and thin." said Matt. "Just give us the orders."
"Great." said Raynor. "Let's go."
At that moment the screen flared to life, and Raynor saw Fenix on the screen. "Captain Raynor, we are detecting massive numbers of zerg biosignatures approaching us from the north. They appear to be heading directly toward us."
"From the looks of things the Overmind agrees with the Conclave." said Raynor. "All right Fenix, I'm going to take my ground forces down there and make sure they stay away from the prison.
"It's probably for the best if the Dominion doesn't directly attack the Conclave anyway."
"You are brave, terran." said Fenix. "Go with Adun."
Raynor stood up. "I've got to get my armor on. Matt, take the Hyperion and support the protoss."
"Yes sir." said Matt.
Raynor walked for the door. Then he stopped and glanced back. "Oh and Matt."
"Yes sir?" asked Matt.
"Next time we have infested dropships heading for our hanger, blow them up." said Raynor. "In fact, why don't we make that standard procedure. Last thing I need is Mengsk sending ghosts after me for ruining his flagship."
Matt blinked. "Why didn't we think of that before?"
"Because we're idiots." said Raynor.
Then he walked out. Time to get his boots back on the ground.
Aldaris sensed the observer reports. Things were progressing much as he had expected. Everything was going according to the Conclave's designs.
Soon the end would come.
"The enemy fleet is disembarking ground forces near the outer defenses." said Ankar. "However it appears that the terrans have established a base behind Fenix, as a rear guard.
"They must be trying to account for a zerg assault."
"Dispatch the attack groups at once." said Aldaris. "Calbas, was your negotiation successful?"
Serena came forward. "Raynor is an idiot. But at least he's only playing rear guard against the zerg. Maybe I got through to him.
"I'd appreciate it if you tried to avoid destroying them."
Aldaris noted her. He sensed from her great confliction. Raynor and Fenix were both considered friends by her. And yet she had stayed the course and aided the Conclave as her Emperor had directed.
She was truly an admirable individual. Even among the protoss, she would be exemplary.
"Judicator the zerg are moving." said Ankar. "They are moving in from the north."
The zerg? Once again the creatures tested their patience. "Establish a secondary front and repel them at once."
"I cannot, Judicator." said Ankar.
"Explain." said Aldaris.
"Because they are focusing their full power on Praetor Fenix and the Hyperion." said Ankar.
"…What?" said Aldaris. He looked at the screens. Sure enough, the zerg were charging the enemy. Not a single zergling was breaking off to attack the others. "This is good fortune. Order the attack at once."
"Wait a minute, are there any other reports of zerg attacks on the borders?" asked Serena.
"No, Commander." said Ankar.
Aldaris felt confliction. Fear. And revelation from Serena. He looked to her as she began to pace. "What troubles you?"
Serena looked up. "I think the Overmind is on our side right now, Aldaris."
That was another borderline heretical word. Acceptable only because of what she was. And yet Aldaris knew he should consult her. "Explain."
"The Overmind doesn't see dark and light as ideologies." said Serena. "It just views them as sources of power. Darkness can hurt it and its cerebrates directly."
"What is your purpose in saying this?" asked Aldaris.
"Right now the Overmind hasn't really been trying very hard to wipe us out." said Serena, shaking her head. "It's just keeping us occupied. It doesn't want to wipe us out until it has control of us. It views the stalemate as beneficial while it figures out how to assimilate the protoss.
"I think the Overmind regards Tassadar as the greatest threat to its power."
Aldaris controlled his reaction. Yet he felt a chill go down his spine. The Overmind was mistaken. Surely it must have been. Yes, it was a being of darkness. It could not understand the light.
He looked to the screen where the attacks were underway. His forces were doing battle with Fenix's forces. The assault was stalemated. And Fenix was fighting valiantly with all the misguided bravery in the world.
Tassadar had much to answer for.
"Whatever it believes it does not matter. Draw back at once." said Aldaris.
Ankar nodded and began giving commands. Serena looked to Aldaris in surprise. "You're pulling back?"
"We are facing Praetor Fenix." said Aldaris. "Although he has fallen, he is a formidable enemy. A ground confrontation with him would be costly.
"Reform now. Begin the withdrawal."
The organized retreat was going well. Little by little Fenix's forces advanced. Before long the Judicator had withdrawn across the ravine in their shuttles. Aldaris nodded, satisfied.
"I'd love to know your plan here, Aldaris." said Serena. "Because it looks like you are yielding ground to Fenix for nothing." She paused. "You're drawing him out, aren't you?"
"Yes." said Aldaris. She was perceptive.
The carriers and the Hyperion began their advance in two large groups. So far so good. Now the only question was if the plan would work. No. It would work. There was no question. He could not question the Conclave.
"Judicator, Fenix has now dispatched the full might of his fleet toward Gethsemane." said Ankar. "They are approaching as we speak."
"Are the arbiters prepared?" asked Aldaris.
"Yes Judicator." said Ankar. "Everything is ready."
"What is the plan here?" asked Serena.
"If I engaged Fenix in a direct battle the only victor would be the swarm." said Aldaris. "Fenix always leads from the front and from what you have told me, Raynor is much the same.
"Did you think it coincidence that we allowed Tassadar's location to be so obvious? If we believed that killing him would end the rebellion we should have cut his throat with a psi-blade.
"Yet that would only make him a martyr.
"Thus the Conclave dictated that he be given a lengthy execution and that word of the location be spread. Thus his followers would all be drawn out.
"Fenix and Artanis believe they are crushing faltering resistance. But they are not. The Conclave is allowing them to reach the stasis cell. As Tassadar is destroyed, so too shall all who follow him. And the future of the khalai assured."
"Great plan." said Serena. "Only one question."
"Ask, and I shall answer?" asked Aldaris.
"How exactly are you going to take out a fleet nearly twice your size?" asked Serena.
A just question.
"You have not yet seen the full power of the protoss." said Aldaris, feeling satisfied as the enemy fleet approached. "And neither Artanis and Fenix have little experience in ship to ship warfare. For while our weaponry is destructive beyond measure, we have our own store of guile. An experienced general may triumph over a larger fleet if he understands it better.
"Bring up the carriers. Today we will deal the death blow to these heretics."
Fenix was ill at ease standing on the bridge of a Carrier. He longed to be landed in the midst of the battle. Though he wished more to be facing the zerg.
He had killed another protoss today.
He'd driven his psi-blade into the young zealot's heart. He'd had no choice. He'd felt him die. His thoughts turning throughout his life. His comrades who he had trained with. His admiration for Tassadar. His sense of betrayal when he had joined the Dark Ones.
And then it was all done. It had departed to the khala. And Fenix had felt hatred. His ancestors rejecting him.
The khala itself worked against Fenix. He had chosen Tassadar over everything he had ever known. It had not even been a difficult decision. Yet why? What was it about his friend that drove him to this devotion?
He saw the cell of execution at the center of Gethsemane. There before him were carriers. Nearly a dozen of them waiting above the cell, waiting to fight, kill and die. Fenix outnumbered them. He would be victorious.
"Executor, we have found Tassadar's Stasis Cell." he said, looking to Artanis. "We will attempt to free him now."
He sensed concern from Artanis. Then dawning horror. "What the… Fenix wait, those are Arbiters! Pull the fleet back! Scatter at-"
And then there was a flaring of psionic energy. Fenix felt the minds of half the fleet freeze in place. Now he knew what had happened.
Arbiters.
"…Artanis, half our fleet has been frozen." said Fenix. "Our instruments are not responding. We're cut off from them. Do we withdraw?"
"If we do we consign our comrades, and Tassadar, to death." said Artanis.
"The Conclave's fleet is coming." said a soldier.
"Arbiters. Tassadar would never have made a mistake like this." said Artanis.
He wouldn't have. Artanis and Fenix had always specialized in ground combat. They had always been on foot. It was Selendis and Tassadar who had been the masters of air.
Tassadar understood air combat. Artanis and Fenix did not.
"Then let us die fighting." said Fenix.
Half the enemy fleet had been frozen in place. Where once they had outnumbered the Conclave, now Aldaris' ships had turned the tables. It would be easy to destroy them now.
"It is done." said Ankar. "The enemy numbers have been cut in half. However, they are not fleeing."
"What did you do?" asked Serena.
"We used one of the powers of our arbiters." said Aldaris. "They possess the ability to freeze ships in time and space. While it is impossible to attack them in such a state, the enemy fleet is now divided. We can finish them at our leisure.
"Open transmission…"
Ankar obeyed. Fenix and Artanis appeared on the screen. Aldaris' eyes flared to life. "I expected you to attempt to retrieve your hero. You will learn that the will of the Conclave is absolute. Make peace with Adun."
Then a green blade went to his throat.
Aldaris froze and glanced back to see a Dark Templar standing beside him. Others had appeared on the bridge, quickly incapacitating the men. "Stay thy hand, Judicator. The stewards of Tassadar shall not fall while the Dark Templar live. Call off your guards and stand aside, and you may yet live to see another moonrise."
Aldaris didn't have time for this. Light poured forth from him, and Zeratul leaped backward. Aldaris sent a wave of psionic energy at Zeratul. The Dark Templar faded away into shadows. "I will not be addressed so by one so devoid of the Khala's light. You and your vile brethren shall die with these traitors."
The Dark Templar came at him from all sides, but he dodged and weaved around them before sending out a wave of light. The Dark Templar were thrown back and hit the walls. Then Zeratul emerged from the shadows behind Aldaris.
Their psi blades met, and light and dark tore at each other. They were face to face. "Are you truly so blinded by your vaunted religion, that you can't see the fall ahead of you? Your Conclave believes that they are winning this war, but all they've succeeded in doing is helping the Overmind to win."
Aldaris shoved Zeratul back and clashed blades with him. The two dueled back and forth. Finally, they halted. "What could you possibly know about our designs, blasphemer?"
Zeratul faded into the shadows and all around Aldaris he felt the darkness creeping it. It was all around him. Not matter where he sent the light, there was too much darkness to burn away.
"You speak of knowledge, Judicator? You speak of experience?" asked Zeratul. "I have journeyed through the darkness between the most distant stars. I have beheld the births of negative-suns and borne witness to the entropy of entire realities... Unto my experience, Aldaris, all that you've built here on Aiur is but a fleeting dream. A dream from which your precious Conclave shall awaken, finding themselves drowned in a greater nightmare."
Aldaris raised a hand. There was a flare of light as he drew on the khala. The walls were washed away. "We shall see…"
The door opened, and a zealot rushed in. "Aldaris. The Conclave is under threat."
"What?" said Aldaris.
"The Dark Templar have held them hostage." said the zealot.
Aldaris looked to Zeratul. "Coward."
"Fine words from one who would annihilate the very homeworld he has sworn to defend." said Zeratul. "Hear me, Judicator. You have given Aiur up for lost. Your designs are now focused wholly on the annihilation of your enemies. You have disregarded those you believe are beneath you.
"Thus I propose this;
"You will release Tassadar at once. He and all who will follow him will then take our forces and go to face the Overmind. If we are victorious then perhaps our deeds will prove to you our true nature.
"If we are defeated, then I and all my brethren will be destroyed. You and your vaunted Conclave shall be free to defend Aiur in whatever way seems best to you."
There was nothing Aldaris he could do. The Conclave must survive. And if Zeratul and Tassadar were killed against the zerg, their failure would prove his point. "…So be it. Go and die at the hands of the zerg. I tire of hunting you."
Zeratul and his Dark Templar disappeared as if they had never been.
Serena put away her pistol. "…Well, that happened."
Author's Note:
Here we are with chapter seventeen.
The fight between Zeratul and Aldaris is one I had planned for a long time. What I didn't have planned was exactly how it ended. Aldaris being in a carrier about to finish off Fenix and Artanis, however, was something I came up with on the fly.
In all honesty, I'm just glad to be getting back to the action. The whole Tassadar-as-messiah thing is awkward to write. I was really afraid of offending somebody.