Chapter Twenty-two: The Eye of the Storm
I've gotten into the habit of writing these.
I was trying to think of what to say when I realized that chances are nobody will ever read this. The Overmind is something far beyond us. It has numbers, a defensive advantage, and godlike powers. I just watched that think backhand away an orbital bombardment.
Commander Calabas is in earnest though. She's heading on a direct course for the Overmind. And if all we manage to do is widdle down their defenses a bit, she'll be satisfied.
What am I supposed to say?
The only thing I can. It has been my highest honor to serve alongside the fine men of the Dominion Marine core. It hasn't exactly been fun. But I wouldn't sacrifice the journey for anything.
It's just a shame that it all ends on such a downer.
-Liberty's reports, volume IV.
The bridge of the Hyperion was silent.
The battlecruiser and its accompanying fleet flew over the landscape toward the Overmind. There was not a single lifeform to be seen for miles. The ground has decayed and been sapped of green. Now it was dusty, rocky hills like on Mar Sara. The wind kicked up dust clouds.
There were no zerg either. It was worse than there being millions. At least then you were busy fighting them off.
But Raynor had found something to read. And now he wished he hadn't. He stared dully at the sheet of paper in his hands.
"Jim, what's wrong?" asked Matt, approaching. Raynor raised the form. "What is that?"
"It's a report I got from Arcturus." said Raynor. "Just after the Psi Disruptor got stolen. You remember my son?"
"John?" asked Matt.
"Yeah. I figured, well, I hoped maybe that the Confederates just said he died in a shuttle accident so I wouldn't look for him." said Jim. "Maybe I'd be able to find him in the ghost program. Get through to him. I asked Mengsk to check the records.
"It was the Confederates. That fucking bastard Duran."
He passed the sheet to Matt, who read through it. "…Subject was tested with infestation. While the early stages of the infestation ultimately failed, subject rejected the process. His mind proved incompatible with that of the hive mind.
"Subjects body has been disposed of. As usual, Mr. Calabas, I wrote a cover story. A shuttle accident that conveniently destroyed the body.
"They infested him."
"My son was infested." said Raynor. "Duran put those things cells inside him and let it tear him apart from the inside out. And in the end, it didn't even matter.
"They did the same thing to Kerrigan. Only she didn't reject the process. They got what they wanted.
"And then they scrapped the project. They realized Kerrigan was rejecting the mind control drugs they used on her. They were planning on disposing of her too when Mengsk pulled her out. That was why they built the Psi Disruptor and Emitters. The ghosts they infested were loyal to the Overmind instead of them."
"Jim, I… I'm so sorry." said Matt.
"It doesn't matter, does it?" asked Raynor. "What am I supposed to do now? I already sprayed Arturro's brains all over his precious Ion Cannon. The Old Families are fucking dust.
Duran and the Overmind are the only ones' left.
"And Mengsk never told me."
"He might not have known." said Matt.
Raynor scoffed. "Like hell. He had the information all this time. And yet it only mysteriously shows up after Duran defected over to Umojan. He didn't want me to cause problems for his new order by blowing that son of a bitch's head off.
He slammed the side of his chair. "Damn it! I knew we couldn't trust that snake, but he just had to appease his messiah complex!"
Silence fell over them. Matt looked at Raynor. "…What are we going to do about this?"
Raynor realized that this was a golden opportunity. He'd been dropping hints that he didn't want to go back to the Dominion for a while now. Time to go a little further. "Nothing for now. We've got bigger fish to fry than that sociopath. But I'm not going back to the Dominion Matt. We can't."
"Are you sure?" asked Matt.
"Think about it." said Raynor. "If Mengsk was willing to hide this, what else could he hide? I like the guy, but he views people like pieces on a chessboard. Who's going to make sure the Dominion doesn't end up just like the Confederacy? Schezar? Duran?
"There has to be someone to stick up for the little guy. Someone to keep hold the powers that be accountable."
"This could be a big mistake, sir." said Matt.
"Well then we're in good company." said Raynor with a sigh. "What's the status on the zerg?"
"Quiet, sir." said Matt. "They've been pulling back en masse. I've detected some hive clusters leaving the surface of the planet for parts unknown. The rest appear to be mustered to make a stand against us near the Overmind.
"There are a lot of them."
"How many?" asked Raynor.
Matt remained silent. "More than we can handle. Way more.
"And there are more on the way. The second we launch an attack on the Overmind they'll all come to protect it. It'll be just like Tarsonis, sir.
"I don't think we're getting out of this one."
"Well, it might make a good story, at least." said Raynor.
He looked out at the night sky. The stars were very bright, illuminating the barren plains of Aiur. Raynor wondered if there would be any stars left at the end of this war. Probably. But there might not be anyone who cared to look at them.
Then, suddenly, he found himself walking among the protoss. While still within the Hyperion. He wasn't the only one. The bridge crew found themselves connected.
They saw Tassadar.
It was an enthusiastic gathering. Khalai and Nerazim alike cheered and called as their heroes met each other. Warriors told tales of their victories. You would never have guessed that they had emerged from one hopeless battle, only to face another.
As they met Fenix embraced Artanis. Then he broke the hug.
"Artanis, our plan worked perfectly." said Fenix. "The Zerg defenses are broken, and the way to the Overmind is laid bare! The time for our stand has come."
"Indeed." said Tassadar. But there was no enthusiasm there. He seemed distant.
"Tassadar, is something wrong?" asked Artanis.
"The Conclave is dying." said Tassadar, looking skyward. "Even now they do battle with the will of the Overmind. The khala and all our ancestors aid them."
Fenix looked upwards. And there he perceived the Conclave far above. There in their flagship light met dark in a cataclysmic battle. No claws or blades were used in this conflict. The zerg dared not approach. The protoss and terrans had fled.
Only the Conclave and the Overmind remained — their wills and minds doing battle in mortal combat. And slowly, but surely, the Overmind was winning. They were near the end now.
"Let us strike now, Tassadar!" said Fenix. "Perhaps we can defeat the Overmind before they are overwhelmed."
"No. We are tired as are our warriors." said Tassadar. "And our allies will not arrive until the suns rising. We must wait until then."
"Allies?" asked Zeratul. "Of whom do you speak? Commander Raynor?"
"He is among them." said Tassadar. "For now we will rest." He paused. "I will walk the fields of Aiur alone."
"The way is dangerous." said Fenix. "Allow me to come with you."
"As will I." said Artanis.
"And I will walk in your footsteps as well." said Zeratul.
"So be it." said Tassadar.
He led them to a high place from which they could see the length and breadth of Aiur. The protoss across the universe saw through their eyes. Here Tassadar halted and kneeled, taking a handful of dirt in one palm. He let it sift through his fingers, then turned to then.
"Do you see this world? The earth, the plants, the trees? What is this?" asked Tassadar.
"It is Aiur." said Zeratul.
"No." said Tassadar. "Aiur is our heart. The center of the protoss soul. The crude gray matter of our flesh and blood, even of the khaydarin crystals, is not who we are.
"Aiur is in us. When all that we are in this world has passed away, it will still be there."
"The khala." said Fenix.
"No. The khala connects all our race." said Tassadar. "Yet even it is not Aiur. For were it severed we would still be. What I speak of cannot be assimilated into the one, nor divided into the many. All are apart of it. The protoss. The terrans. Even the zerg."
"Impossible." said Artanis. "The zerg are an abomination."
Tassadar looked to him. "Did you not say that same of the Nerazim not long ago? Nothing in all this world is born evil. Some stray from the right path. Others are twisted from it.
"Even the Overmind is not wholly lost. Far from it."
"I don't understand it." said Artanis.
"What happens tomorrow will echo throughout all of eternity." said Tassadar. "I shall confront the Overmind. And one of us shall destroy the other. The other will not remain.
"If victory is gained and all we hope for made manifest, I must still depart. And you must all follow me in time."
"How can we follow you?" asked Fenix. "We do not even know what path to take?"
"I am the path." said Tassadar. "Those who walk in my ways, though they know it not, shall meet at the gates beyond this universe. Beyond the void. In a place of true existence. And those who come before my domain as thieves and murderers shall be shut out. They will cloak themselves in garments of benevolence, but they will be known.
"That is my covenant with all who serve the right."
At that moment a great flare shot across the sky. A gasp sounded throughout their minds. Fenix felt suddenly as if he had lost someone. A friend he had never known. But had always been there. He looked to the ground.
"…The Conclave has fallen. The khala has failed." said Tassadar.
"Adun be with them." said Zeratul.
"He is. As am I." said Tassadar. "It is the nature of all to fall away from the light. Yet those who seek me shall be found in time. Though they do not know my face."
The sun began to rise in the distance. The first rays of light were creeping out over the crags in the distance. And there they beheld the Overmind. Or at least it's mortal shell. It was like a hatchery, yet nothing was born of it. It towered above them, taller than any building built by mortal hands. An unholy weaving of pulsing flesh.
The darkness radiated from it. And all the zerg flyers were circling it. The beat of their wings was like thunder. The cries of zerglings and hydralisks could be heard distantly. All the legions of the swarm were mustered.
"My friends, this is our final hour. Not all of us may survive the coming conflict." said Tassadar. "Yet, death may be a blessing should we fail here. We seek now to destroy a foe that has ravaged its way across the universe consuming all in its path.
"And now it has reached the end of its long journey. The Overmind has come to destroy all that we hold dear and assimilate us into itself. And I say to thee; this shall not come to pass! Aiur shall not fall! Executor, I stand ready!"
"As do I." said Zeratul.
At that moment Raynor was there. And yet it was not him. It was an image in their minds so that though he was far away, they could sense him. See him. The former Marshall of Mar Sara, former Captain of the Sons of Korhal, sat in his commander's chair. His hands were clasped, and his eyes were filled with despair.
His men looked to him. And he stood. "Well, I guess all I have left is to see this through. The Zerg have taken everything from me: my home, my family, my friends. I know that nothing I do can bring those things back, but I'll be damned if I just sit on my hands and wait for the end. I want a piece of 'em, all right. I'm in."
The image passed. And yet the connection did not. It seemed now as if terran and protoss were filled by one will, for their minds were open to one another.
At that moment a zealot came to them. "Tassadar, Judicator Aldaris has come. He brings with him a vast force of khalai warriors."
"Is it possible that they seek vengeance even now at the end?" asked Zeratul.
"Peace, Zeratul." said Tassadar. "He has not come to fight."
And he walked down to where Aldaris stood. The Judicator was clad in simple white robes and had donned his armor. Tassadar came before him, and there was silence. "Aldaris, you have come."
"Artanis. Tassadar." said Aldaris. "This comes too late to you. But the Conclave has witnessed your defeat of the cerebrates. They know now that they cannot deny the necessity or the valiancy of your actions. We sought to punish you, while it was we who were in error. You represent what is greatest in us all, and all our hopes go with you. En taro Adun, brave Sons of Aiur!
"Wow." said Raynor. "Does that mean they're going to send some back-up for us?"
"I have given orders that all standing forces that are to converge here and aid us." said Aldaris, ignoring the bait. "Only a small force remains to defend the citizens. Even so, I doubt we will be able to pierce their defenses. We may at least deny them our service, in the end."
"Artanis, the Medea and a Fleet of Terran Battlecruisers is descending." said a zealot.
And with those words, a great fleet of terran battlecruisers came out of the clouds. Now they could feel the spirits of the terrans rising. What before had been grim resolve soon turned to hope.
"Serena?" asked Raynor.
"Raynor, you didn't really think I'd let you take all the glory, did you?" asked Serena.
"Well, I was hoping there for a minute." said Raynor, smirking.
"I've ordered all remaining terran forces to come and support you." said Serena.
"…There may be hope yet, then." said Zeratul.
"Still, we're not going to kill any gods by talking them to death." noted Serena.
"Then let our actions speak for us! For Adun! For Aiur!"
Tassadar drew a psi-blade, and his voice reached out across the universe. And even those who could not hear his words were moved and looked up — wondering at what drew their gaze to a distant star.
Across the universe, zerg, protoss and terran rushed to battle. All convinced their cause was just. All filled with the hope of final victory. Whatever the outcome they would see it through to the end. Storm clouds gathered above. Lightning shattered the sky. Water poured down from the heavens as the light faded away. The wind howled, turning over hills.
Such a storm had not been seen upon Aiur since the departure of the Nerazim. But it was as nothing before the storm which had raged throughout the sector since the battle of Chau Sara. Not a storm of matter, but minds. For the wills of the three races had been in endless conflict. Confederate, Son of Korhal, Kel'morian, Khalai, Nerazim, Cerebrate, Infested, Overmind, freedom, tyranny, propaganda. These words and many others had stirred an endless conflict for ages. The one and the many in perpetual strife. One that came into plain view with the fall of Chau Sara.
Unending had been the chain of events which led to this inevitable conflict. And even as it began that storm still raged. And it would rage long after.
And yet all of those ideals and factions were meaningless now.
At the hour of reckoning. When the fate of all who lived lay in the balance, with the final cataclysmic battle at hand, the combatants held a rare peace of mind.
For they were in the eye of the storm.
Author's Note:
Also known as the chapter where I try to explain away several lines of dialogue which don't add up. Raynor mentions he lost his family to the zerg in this mission. But later lore establishes Raynor's family all died out long before he even saw a zerg.
Meanwhile, Tassadar specifically states that Aiur will not fall, which is just inconsistent with my interpretation of him as Protoss Jesus. So I had to account for that.
Enjoy.