Chapter 3: An Infiltrator Among Us
"Yeah! Go back to your mama ship!" a marine shouted while he and nineteen other marines fired their rifles at three retreating void rays.
The twin moons bathed the battlefield in red light as four goliaths shot at both air and ground protoss, tanking the damage while the crew of SCV mechs repaired the walkers from behind. Ground shaking announced that the biggest terran mech was on its way to the battlefield.
"Thor is here!" the giant mech's pilot said while showing off the cannons of the walker's arms. He had shoulder-length, light-brown hair, a red bandana, a mustache that connected to his mutton chops beard, and a pair of shades that hid his eyes. "Finally! Some action! I was getting covered in spider webs!" The way he spoke made his colleagues think that he might be of German descent.
Dark templar struck out of the shadows, killing four marines. Their luck ended there, because three raven vessels flew in and dropped auto-turrets, gunning down the cloaked protoss and severely damaging the stalkers that had blinked in near the terran army.
Makatai stood at the edge of the forest and watched as two corsairs crashed after taking too many blasts from the thor. "How are we going to stop them? Nothing will remain of our settlement if they go inside the forest and find it."
"You should have consulted with the dark archons before sending our forces to strike the terrans," the Lady in Black said.
The young prelate frowned. "That is true. I have failed once more."
"You still have a few more tries left," she said.
His eyes glared at her. "How many more of our people must die before you believe me when I say that I am not meant to lead?"
A void ray used the crystal of its tip to fire a blue beam, which fried a marine, killing him in mere seconds. In retaliation, a pair of viking ships flew in front of the protoss aircraft and shot at it repeatedly until it was torn apart and crashed, leaving debris on the snow after exploding in blue flames.
"No one lives forever," a man's grainy voice said from one of the vikings.
"I advise you to tell our forces to retreat into the forest for now," the Lady in Black said to Makatai. "We have no chance as the situation stands."
Makatai lowered his head and then used his psi link to be heard by all members of his army. "Everyone must retreat into the forest immediately! We are outnumbered!"
The protoss stopped fighting and turned around, fleeing from the battlefield again. All that remained of the fleet was one void ray, two corsairs, and two oracles. Sixteen severely damaged stalkers lumbered their way back to the settlement while the marines shouted insults and fired gun shots at them. A dozen probes warped in multiple photon cannons and pylons to keep the terrans away from the forest's edge. Ten corsairs defended the cannons. The terrans retreated for repairs and healing.
Makatai knew that the blockade would not hold for long, but it had to do until the protoss army would receive more members from the reserves, as well as assemble new ships. "I do not know what to do. These savages are a force to be reckoned with. I fear there will be many more deaths on our side if we do not find a way to avoid their tricks."
One of the dark archons next to him said, "We must make use of the signifiers. Their psionic storms can deal with masses of enemies."
The other dark archon did not seem pleased. "We fear that the forest could suffer if the lightning strikes its trees. Our settlement might perish in flames once the burning branches fall over it."
Makatai pondered for a moment. "We could put out the flames later. There is plenty of snow. We could melt it and acquire enough water out of it."
The first dark archon said, "It is extremely risky. We believe that using the annihilators, stalkers, and the fleet would suffice for now."
"Very well, Nandu-Xnora. I shall not put the signifiers on the battlefield yet. However, they must prepare for the possibility of being needed. We have only six of them, or perhaps seven, if Khar agrees to be one as well."
Nandu-Xnora was relieved to hear that from the young prelate. They considered that the signifiers were their last line of defense in case the settlement would be found. Several psionic storms could take out numerous enemy units, especially those worn out by a prior battle.
"I must call Khar and discuss matters with her," Makatai said, activating his psi link.
Gorgas, with his body fully repaired after the battle, was on his way to the Temple of Young. He saw Garf, who seemed to be heading for the same destination. The stalker scowled at the ghost, shoving him aside as soon as he caught up with him. He pointed a claw at the terran's face. "I shall go court Khar tonight. Do not interfere, creature!"
Garf was taken aback by the stalker's aggressive behavior. He was just a measly human, why did the giant metal spider protoss think he was competing for Khar's affection?
Gorgas tiptoed toward the temple's door and then knocked. Khar opened it and saw the stalker, who said, "Good evening, beautiful star!"
"Good evening, Gorgas," she said. "What brings you here?"
Garf stared at the scene while wondering if he should go visit Khar or not.
"I sense that something is troubling you," the Lady in Black said, standing behind him.
The ghost turned around to face the protoss female. He had to look up to see her face, since she was three heads taller than Garf. "Uh-huh," he said.
"Is this about Khar?"
Garf's eyes started to wander as he tried to think of what to say.
He didn't even have to say anything, because the Lady in Black showed him that she had already probed his brain. "You have developed an interest in her."
He nodded while poking the snow with his right boot's tip.
"You have even considered that she could be a great mate for you," the Lady in Black said.
Garf's face went from pale pink to red almost in an instant. "I … uh … N-nah, I ..."
"Come on, Garf. Even in its broken state, your brain still can't hide your thoughts from me."
"Huu ..." the ghost said, shaking due to the stress.
"Now, if you really want to have a chance with her, the first step is to admit that you are attracted to her."
He looked around and then said, "Okay. I am." His face returned to its normal color.
The Lady in Black squinted her eyes to show that she was pleased with his answer. "Being honest with yourself is a good start. Next, you must tell her."
Garf dropped to the ground and tried to cover himself up with snow.
She raised one of her fleshy eyebrows. "What are you scared of?"
The ghost's hand came out of the snow and then pointed at the stalker, who was at the door of the temple.
"Gorgas? He is too aggressive when it comes to courtship. That is why he has so much trouble finding someone to have his children."
Garf removed the snow off himself. "Chidren?" He looked at the stalker. All he saw was metal. "How? Wih what ...?"
"Our warriors can choose to place their reproductive cells in a storage, so that their genes may be passed on no matter what happens to the ones who have stored. Almost all stalkers have gone through that procedure before leaving their organic bodies."
The terran felt discouraged. Khar was a protoss. It would be stupid of him to ask her to be his partner. They were of different species, and he was almost sure that no children could be produced out of such an unusual relationship. Gorgas would have higher chances of marrying Khar. No. Not just higher chances. Gorgas would have all the chances.
Meanwhile, Khar was starting to lose her patience after trying to make herself clear to Gorgas about her decision. "Listen, Gorgas. I do not feel the same. Besides, I am busy taking care of these children. A few hours ago, four of them became orphans. Seek somebody else for a mate."
The stalker held her hand with his claws. "But, Khar, I have searched everywhere in this settlement. I think that there is none more fit than you to be the mother of my offspring. I am rich. I can give you anything you desire!"
"My decision remains," she said, withdrawing her hand from his grip. "Now please, go seek someone else. I must rest soon, because tomorrow I shall begin my training early in the morning."
"I could help you train," Gorgas said. "You might change your decision once you would get to know me better."
"Go away, you creepy crawler!" the children said, standing behind Khar.
"This discussion is over, Gorgas. Good night." Having said that, Khar used her psionic powers to slam the door before the stalker could enter the temple.
Scowling, Gorgas said, "Perhaps you will be in a better mood tomorrow morning. Good night, beautiful!" Then he walked away.
Garf watched as his rival left the area. He was somewhat glad that Khar had rejected the stalker's advances, but at the same time he continued to have doubts about visiting her and admitting his feelings. There were plenty of other protoss around more suited for the position of partner for Khar, while he was just a damaged human.
"Don't give up now!" the Lady in Black said to Garf. "There's your chance!"
The ghost looked at her and then at the snow, pouting. "But … I n't sam speshes as her."
"The Nerazim are not as strict as the Khalai are when it comes to these things. They encourage their members to seek their own path to happiness. If Khar loves you back, that is all that should matter. Keep in mind that, in this tribe, initiating courtship means you intend to get married with the one you court."
"How d' I c-court 'er?"
"Well," the Lady in Black said, "definitely not with a bouquet of roses. You don't have access to roses here, and the protoss do not want to waste plant life for such occasions."
"Uh ..."
"No, chocolates are not a good idea either."
"How 'bout ..."
"A handmade ornament? Yes, that might be a good gift."
Garf jumped a few times in place. "Yay!"
"You could gather a few rocks and … What? You're thinking of using minerals for the necklace."
The ghost nodded.
The Lady in Black seemed concerned. "You do know that the probes get very hostile whenever something gets into the mineral line, right?"
"Ohoho!" Garf said while punching his chest with his right fist.
"Well, if you really want to go through with this, I advise you to attempt collecting the minerals in the morning, when most of the probes return to the nexus for maintenance."
"Gotcha!" Garf said, grinning at her.
The Lady in Black's antennae rose, looking as if they were bunny ears. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must go check on something." She glowed bright green, and then disappeared.
Three ravens, with their triangular eyes glowing red in the darkness of the night, flew above the forest, scanning for signs of protoss. They were at full energy, which meant they could rain down auto-turrets and make a massacre below them.
Makatai had been alerted to the presence of the ravens by a female oracle pilot who had been scouting near the settlement. "We must destroy those robots before they get here," the prelate said.
"Doing so may prove difficult," the pilot said. "I foresee an attack that could cripple many of our forces."
"Our dark archons could take control of the artificial intelligence units of those ravens."
One of the dark archons approached him. "Makatai, remember what your father said."
"I know, Khartal-Solash. However, we face foes that could obliterate almost any of our warriors. They are heading toward our settlement. Not even the trees' dense branches will hide it from their detection."
Nandu-Xnora joined the discussion. "There must be another way."
"We could send in some signifiers," Makatai said. "They could unleash psionic storms upon the ravens."
"But the forest might burn," Khartal-Solash told him.
The prelate looked at the trees around him. "It is a risk we must take." He opened the psi link. "Attention! Three signifiers are needed to keep three enemy ravens away from the settlement."
The dark archons frowned and slouched after hearing the young prelate's words.
The Lady in Black walked through the forest. It was very dark, but her eyesight was not impaired in the darkness. After exploring for a few minutes, she came across Frank, the cyclone pilot. His red goggles covered his eyes while he was trying to get to his vehicle. He saw her eyes shine ten meters away from him.
"D-don't come any closer!" Frank said, holding his palms in front of himself, as if to stop the alien with them.
She disregarded his order and continued to advance.
"If you don't back off, I'll … I'll ..." he looked behind him and then focused on her again. "I'll call for backup!" Swiftly turning around, he ran away.
"Well, he won't be causing any trouble tonight," the Lady in Black said while tilting her head to the right. She straightened her posture and looked at the sky, raising her antennae. "Hmm …" Her body glowed green again, and then she blinked away.
The three ravens were getting very close to the protoss settlement. Three cloaked signifiers were prepared to strike the enemy with their psionic storms. They wore attires similar to Khar's, but two of the signifiers were male and had green eyes while the third was female and had blue eyes. All three of them had short, clamped nerve chords that dangled, barely reaching their shoulders.
The female signifier raised her right hand, and the other two did the same. They could hear the hissing of the ravens' jets get louder and louder.
One of the ravens sensed the protoss below. "Target acquired."
All three ravens clumped together and hovered there, deciding the best position from which to drop their auto-turrets. Once they figured out their plan of attack, they were flown in, opening their undersides' hatches at the same time.
The signifiers were about to unleash their psionic storms, but a green light that looked like the head of some kind of long-snouted, horned creature extended to the sky, opened up its jaws, and ate one of the ravens before retreating into the ground, among the trees.
"What was that thing?" the female signifier asked. "I have never felt such power before."
The remaining two ravens were so shocked by what they had just witnessed that they forgot to deploy their auto-turrets. They were considering fleeing – and even sent their pilots requests for retreat – but then they were obliterated by a green beam of light that came out of the denseness of the forest. The beam thinned out until it disappeared.
One of the male signifiers activated his psi link. "Prelate? You are not going to believe what just happened here."
Morning came, and Khar went to the mountain furthest from the forest. There she could train in using her psionic storm. She meditated for half an hour before releasing the lightning. Not all of her psionic energy had been put into it, as it had to be kept weak so she could learn to control it with her mind. It took her ten minutes to make the storm cease, and it drained most of her energy. Yet she was determined to continue meditating and training. The encounter with the terrans had taught her that no place was safe anymore, and that she had to prepare to be a good defender, otherwise she would destroy more than she would save.
Most of the settlement's probes stopped mining in order to go to the nexus. Five of them remained to mine, waiting for the other eleven to return and take over so that the five could get repaired as well.
Garf was hiding behind the nexus. Having finished eating a root he had found in the forest by digging at least sixty holes, he walked into the mineral line to search for small shards of crystals.
The five probes stopped mining and turned to look at him. Garf tried to signal to them that he was no threat by crouching and showing them his empty hands. The probes, half as tall as he was, slowly approached him while making high-pitched, distorted growling sounds. The robots reminded him of chihuahuas – tiny dogs with big attitudes.
"I jut wan' crstal," he said while pointing at the mineral wall to his right.
All five probes activated their particle beams and locked on to him. Seeing that he was adamant about trying to tear pieces of minerals out of their patch, they charged at him, zapping his body every time they got close enough.
The Lady in Black arrived to see what was going on. "Are you okay there?"
"Hahaaaa!" Garf said while carrying two hands full of tiny blue crystals. His suit was covered in soot, and the skin underneath his suit was sore, but it didn't matter to him. He got what he came there for.
The probes continued to zap his legs and push him away while making angry noises, and didn't calm down until he left the mineral line. His suit removed the soot off itself.
"Now all you have to do is drill holes in the crystal shards and then tie them with wire," the Lady in Black said.
Garf nodded, smiling while staring at the gemstones that rested on his palms. But his smile faded when an unhappy thought crossed his mind.
She noticed the change. "What is wrong?"
The ghost looked at the female protoss and said, "How d' I … Auh, I ca' …"
The Lady in Black patted him on the left shoulder. "I know that it seems difficult to communicate your feelings to her, but even if you cannot speak properly, and even if your mind is unreadable to the other protoss, there are other ways to tell her how you feel. No, writing in anything but Khalani would not work. However, you could use body language."
"Um ..."
"Just start with a bow, give her the gift, and then just act natural."
Garf just stared at her, still looking worried.
"I will come with you," she said, getting her a smile from the ghost.
In the afternoon, Khar welcomed Garf and Lady into the Temple of Young.
Garf bowed, walked up to her, and then gave her the necklace of blue crystals he made.
"For me? Thank you!" Khar said, the look on her face telling him that she was happy. She put it around her neck. "It is beautiful!"
The ghost grinned ear to ear. "Um … I …" He didn't quite know what to do past that point. Maybe she could recognize a symbol that humans have used to represent love. Holding his hands at his chest, he formed a heart with their fingers. "I lvf ya." His face turned red.
Khar seemed confused. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that, please?" She was definitely confused. "Are you sick? Your face changed its color."
"I'm … in liaev … with yau," Garf said, sweat forming on his forehead. He looked at the Lady in Black, who just stood there, leaning against a chair's armrest. Telepathically, he was suggesting that he needed some help, but she seemed to be laughing internally at his pathetic attempt to make his feelings known to Khar.
"I wish I could understand what you are trying to say," Khar told him. "Your mind is so warped … What did this to you?" She petted him on the head. "You poor soul."
There had to be some way that he could show her what he meant to say. But what gesture could he make that both humans and protoss could understand? The redness had slightly faded from his face, but it returned as soon as he thought about kissing her. He looked at her face with his wide eyes' brown irises.
Khar seemed amazed by his human eyes, in which she could see her own reflection. She may not have been able to read his mind, but she could sense that he was struggling inside. "What is the cause of your sadness?"
It was the fact that she had no lips that he could kiss. Then he thought that, even if she did have them, kissing her might be a bit too aggressive for a confession. What else could he do that might help her understand what feelings he had for her? He looked at her tall, slender figure, and then realized something. The arms!
"If there is anything you would like to share, I am here for yo–" Before she could finish what she had to say, she found herself hugged by the terran, whose head only reached below her neck. "You ..." She felt what he felt, and hugged him back. It all made sense to her at that moment. "You are courting me."
Garf's face returned to being pale pink once he finally got what he wanted to say off his chest.
"A terran proposing to me is … completely unexpected," Khar said. "H-how am I going to explain this to my parents?"
The ghost looked at her with his wide eyes.
"You don't need their approval in this tribe," Lady said, sitting in the chair while playing with her left antenna. "Feel free to marry anyone you like."
Khar looked at her. "I know, but … my parents are very dear to me. It would be polite to ask for their approval if … if Garf is truly asking me to be his partner." She was back to gazing into his eyes.
He nodded at Khar and smiled.
"You are serious," Khar said. "Then I must introduce you to my parents." She could sense the fear the terran was experiencing. "Do not worry. I shall protect you."
Garf wanted to calm down, but reading her mind did not help. He saw images of her parents, and they did not look very happy to meet him. Her father held an orb of green light in his right hand, and he seemed to be aiming it at Garf.
"Do you want me to accompany you there too, Garf?" the Lady in Black asked.
Garf nodded. Khar said, "I am sorry, Lady, but our tradition says that only the couple may meet with their parents to discuss marriage matters. It would be great if Garf's parents could be present."
The ghost frowned after hearing that last part. "Dead."
Khar released him from the hug and patted him on the head. "That is a pity. I wanted to meet them someday. But everything will be fine. Together, we can get through this."
That put the smile back on Garf's face. "Yeah!"
The terrans came out of their base and started trouble once again at the edge of the forest. In response, Makatai gathered his dark templar brethren and the annihilators, then brought them to the battlefield.
Twenty marines shot at anything that moved and was not one of them while a raven hovered above to point out the cloaked protoss. In spite of the detection, six marines still died at the hands of the dark templar due to not dodging the warp blades fast enough.
"Annihilators! Destroy that raven!" Makatai said, standing in the shade of the forest.
Five annihilators clumped up and prepared to follow a group of ten dark templar into battle. The bulky, silver bodies of the annihilators had strong phase shields, offering them the ability to tank most shots aimed at them. Each annihilator had four spider legs and a pair of blue double cannons with black tips. Next to a rear protrusion that curved forward above the annihilator, the blue cabin of the robotic exoskeleton helped keep the severely wounded pilot alive in a sterile solution. All annihilator pilots were Nerazim who had suffered injuries so dangerous that they would be unable to survive by themselves had they not been given a second chance.
The raven detected the dark templar, allowing the marines to target them. At that moment, the annihilators' cannons shot at the raven, destroying it in less than three seconds.
"We need a scan!" one of the marines said.
A scan was performed over the area, allowing the marines to kill off most of the dark templar present. Makatai managed to stab a marine in the back before retreating in the shadows of the forest, away from scanned areas.
Five more annihilators joined the fight while a probe built a pylon and three shield batteries to recharge the shields of the protoss nearby. Three void rays came from the forest and aimed at the remaining marines, killing them all.
"Let me at them!" the thor pilot said, making his mech run toward the annihilators. He made the thor shoot at them while the void rays concentrated their beams on it. "Hey, SCVs! Fix me up, will ya?"
Four SCVs came out of the large ship and started repairing the thor, helping it tank the damage.
"Corsairs! Put three disruption webs over the giant terran machine!" Makatai said.
The three corsairs flew in and covered the thor and the area around it in a white field of psionic static, making it impossible for the terran to take any action against the protoss that were shooting at him.
Four vikings chased the corsairs away and then picked a fight with the void rays, allowing the thor a chance to retreat. Yet the thor's pilot didn't take that chance. "Come fight me, cowards!"
"Return to base, imbecile!" a deep, distorted voice said, not over the station, but inside his mind.
"Return? But things are just getting interesting! There's more of them now!"
Instead of ten annihilators, there were fifteen, all with maxed out shields thanks to the shield batteries' support.
"The thor you are piloting is too expensive to lose! Return it before we use up most of our resources on repairing it!" the voice told him.
"Sue me, dickhead!" the pilot said, advancing toward the annihilators.
The disruption webs faded out, and there were no corsairs nearby. The thor was free to blast the protoss again.
"There are no trees in the area," Makatai said. "It is the perfect place where we could use the psionic storms. Signifiers! Unleash your lightning upon the terran machine!"
Two male signifiers with green eyes were delivered to the battlefield by shuttle. They were cloaked, so the terrans did not know of their presence. The signifiers raised their hands and emitted green orbs from them, then beamed green lights toward the sky, where they formed psionic storms above the thor.
"Hear the thunder! It knows that I am a god!" the thor pilot said, still hell-bent on blasting the annihilators. He managed to kill four, but the rest were still holding up and dealing considerable damage to the giant mech.
The SCV pilots started to scream when they saw the lightning strike all over the place. After three seconds, they were zapped and turned into crisps, leaving the thor without a repair crew.
Inside the thor, a red light started to flash while an alarm sounded off. The display said that the mech suffered severe damage and that system failure was imminent. The pilot did not care.
Five vikings flew in front of the thor and pushed it back to their base before the giant walker could crumble under the enemy's cannon blasts.
"Get me back into the fight!" the thor pilot said.
"We'll all enter Valhalla, brother, but not today," the viking with the grainy voice told him.
"Absolutely not!" a male signifier with green eyes said, scowling at Garf and Khar. The wrinkles on his forehead told of his old age.
"But, Father, he proved himself worthy of being one of us when he defended the younglings!" Khar said.
The father approached Garf and looked down at him. The terran's head could barely reach the signifier's chest. "This … creature is far beneath our intellect, our morals, and even our physical and spiritual strength. It has to take lives daily to survive, for Adun's sake! As for his courage … Even the kakarus of Shakuras are capable of displaying courage sometimes, but that does not mean you should marry one!"
Khar pulled Garf away from her father. "The kakarus have yet to demonstrate self-sacrifice for the life of another. Do we not honor such deeds?"
The father grumbled while glaring daggers at the ghost.
"Khor'kai, I believe we should give the terran a chance," the female signifier with blue eyes said to Khar's father.
"Aru, please tell me you are not being serious," Khor'kai said.
"Remember how my parents were against me becoming your wife because you were a Nerazim and I was a Khalai?"
"This is different! We are both protoss! Khar is protoss, and this ..." Khor'kai said as he pointed at Garf. "This is a terran! You do not mix species like this!"
Khar wrapped her arms around Garf. "We asked for your blessing, but even if you shall not grant it to us, Garf and I will still marry after the war ends. Our tribe encourages us to take the paths we want in life, so this is mine!"
Her father stopped scowling, half closing his eyes. "Khar, I just … I just want you to be happy. I really do. But marrying a terran … a terran that has served as a ghost at that … You will be heartbroken when he dies before you even reach your first century of life. Look at him, he is probably around twenty years old and he already looks like the life has been sapped out of him."
"Wha'?!" Garf said. He wasn't going to let himself get told he's an old man, so he started to flex his muscles at Khor'kai. "Oho!"
"That does not impress me," Khor'kai said. "Or any protoss for that matter."
"It still makes him funny," Aru said, giggling at the terran showoff. "He does not seem like a bad person."
Khar's father sighed. "Fine. I will give him a chance to prove himself worthy of our daughter. Khar, Barf, come with me."
"His name is Garf, Father!" Khar said.
"I do not care what his name is. If he is serious, then he should learn a few things about how our clan does things around here."
Garf gave Khor'kai a nasty look, but followed him along with Khar.
They went to a small lake that was hidden under a few of the colossal conifers at the heart of their settlement.
Khor'kai began to explain why he had brought the young couple there. "Our clan comes from Lorcadia, a planet completely covered by water. Unlike the other Nerazim clans around here, we have females who do not bear their young inside their abdomens. They lay eggs. Eggs that can only be fertilized and hatched under water."
"Ooh!" Garf said.
"Here on Cylas, the females lay eggs in that frozen lake that lies before you. The males must also submerge in there to contribute. Do you understand what this means?"
"Uh ..."
"This means that you, who are not protoss, will have to do the same, in spite of not being adapted to the cold. Once exposed to the icy water, your pathetic excuse for a reproductive organ might freeze and fall off."
Garf let out a squeaked gasp after hearing that.
"Do not worry, Garf, we will find a way," Khar said.
"The worst part is that it might all be in vain," Khor'kai said. "We are of completely different species. What makes you think you can establish a family with one of us?"
Garf took a step back. "I … I ..."
"Father, even if Garf and I might not be able to have children of our own, we would still have the younglings at the temple to take care of. The war has left many of them without parents."
"I shall discuss this matter with your mother," Khor'kai said. "Please give us time until tomorrow, so that we can tell you our decision. Also, do not wander too far from the settlement. Your mother and I were sent on a mission in the distant part of the forest last night, and we saw a mysterious creature of light that devoured a terran aircraft and shot down two others."
"We will be careful, Father," Khar said. "You and mom take care of yourselves too. Adun toridas." She and Garf left while the old couple waved at them.
Khor'kai turned to look at his wife. "Aru … I would have never predicted that our daughter could become such a deviant. She is in love with a terran, of all creatures! This is as absurd as a xel'naga developing feelings for a lesser being – and that never happens!"
"Dear, it is her life," his wife said. "I do not know about you, but all that matters to me is her happiness."
Khor'kai joined his bigger than average hands behind his back. "Tell me: what happens when her spouse dies and she has to live the next eight hundred or more years alone?"
"You know," Khar said as she and Garf were heading for the Temple of Young, "in that lake there are three eggs from which my siblings will hatch in a few days."
"Rly?"
"Yes. We could go visit them when it happens. You should see how amazing it is when the eggs crack and emit a lot of psionic energy, and then the little ones float to the surface. I think it is a wonderful event."
Garf grinned. "Ooh!"
Out of the blue, a protoss voice echoed throughout the settlement. "Nuclear launch detected!"
Garf panicked. He knew that some place nearby was about to become a crater.
"The terrans have ..." Khar said, looking around. She saw the blinking red dot on a patch of sunlit snow close to one of the six photon cannons near the back of the Temple of Young.
The nuke flew above the forest and spotted the target between the branches of the trees, homing in on it. The missile landed and exploded with such power that it made Garf and Khar lose balance and fall to the ground as the earth shook beneath them.
The trees nearby started to wave due to a strong gust of wind. After a few seconds, a smoke bomb had been thrown, making it impossible to tell what was going on behind the temple.
Fifteen centurions arrived at the scene after the smoke was blown away by another gust of wind. They saw the nuke crater where the cannons used to be, and then looked at Garf. "Suspect found. Capture the ghost!" a centurion said to his brethren.
"No, it was not him!" Khar said, getting back on her feet. "You are making a mistake!"
Two centurions blocked her way by crossing their blue warp blades in front of her. "Save it for the trial!"
Other two centurions picked Garf up from the snow and proceeded to drag him away in spite of the terran's struggling and protesting.
Raven ended up being dragged to the trial too by one of the dark archons. "Why must this vessel suffer for the UED scum's wrongdoings again?" he asked.
"We should have known that you terrans cannot be trusted," Makatai said, closing his eyes. He stood on a platform made of rocks next to the settlement. It was painful for him to announce a public execution – the first one their tribe would witness on Cylas – but the law was clear: traitors would be punished with death.
Khar tried to fight her way out of the mass of ten centurions, but they were too strong. "Garf was with me the entire time! He did not launch the nuclear attack! He did not even have his weapon equipped!"
"You are the only one defending the accused," Makatai said. "According to your father's statements, you are in love with the accused. Your claims cannot be taken into consideration."
"She isn't the only one defending the terran," the Lady in Black said as she appeared on the platform. "I have had several revelations in which the Forbidden Temple was raided. Garf was not involved in any of those possible raids."
"That is not enough proof. Your mind is warped even worse than the terran's. No wonder you take his side. The photon cannons have been destroyed, the Forbidden Temple has been raided, and the only ghost found near the place of the incidents was him."
The Lady in Black scowled. "Makatai, if he raided the temple at that exact moment, then where is a container's worth of the Breath of Creation?"
"I do not know. It was probably hidden somewhere so that he may take it away later. Moreover, why should we trust what you say? You have been teaching my people that we have been worshiping the wrong gods, and you have scared us into not using the gift from the xel'naga, even in these dire times. Just what are you trying to accomplish here?"
"How can I describe it? Salvation should do."
The prelate clenched his fists. "Salvation? You will doom us all!"
She shook her head. "Actually, by holding this pointless trial and not watching over your warriors, who are still out there, trying to keep the enemies at bay, you will doom us all. Oh, yeah, you were also in charge of the production from the moment you became prelate. How many observers do we have right now?" The answer was zero.
Before Makatai could say a word, Raven interrupted him. "Auto-turret production started unexpectedly. Please get out of this vessel's sight until all of the turrets are gone."
Makatai just stared at the raven. "What?"
"Run!" the Lady in Black said.
Raven ejected four turrets that started to shoot at anything they could lock on to. Garf hid behind the platform, avoiding the bullets.
Once the turrets crumbled, everyone gathered around Raven again. There were bullet holes in all of the tree trunks nearby.
"This vessel apologizes for that disaster and advises you to remove all of its energy to avoid another such incident. It appears that the pilot still has some control over this vessel."
"Nandu-Xnora, sap Raven's energy," Makatai ordered. "If it results in his destruction … then so be it. That is likely what awaits him and the ghost anyway."
Raven's body started to look slightly flattened due to its lowered fins. "This vessel is begging you to spare it. It has not done anything out of malice. This vessel has only rested under the roof of the gazebo and has not moved one bit."
Makatai scowled at the aircraft. "You were present when I was telling our warriors about the Forbidden Temple. You have given the information away to those terrans."
"This vessel has not done so willingly."
"Of course you have not done it willingly," Makatai said. "After all, you are a robot. Robots have no will. At least that thought will make it easier on my conscience when you shall be executed."
"Please, Prelate! Have mercy!" That was the first time Raven showed emotion in his voice, along with the ability to speak louder.
The Lady in Black raised her antennae and stared blankly for a few seconds. After her antennae returned to their lax state, she looked at Garf and Raven with concern, then glared at Makatai. "Looks like it's time for me to make an important call." She blinked away.
Makatai ignored her disappearing act and continued with the trial. "We cannot afford to keep possible infiltrators among us. The damage has been done, and someone has to pay for it."
The Lady in Black sat in lotus position atop a rock and tried to focus while keeping her eyes closed. "Too low altitude. This won't do." She levitated to the top of the Temple of Young and sat there. "Still too low." Maybe the top of a tree would do. Once she got there, she said, "Nah." Her last hope was the tallest peak of a mountain, so she teleported to it and continued what she was trying to do.
"Let him go!" Khar said, still being kept back by the centurions. "He is innocent! There is another ghost running loose, ready to strike again, and you are executing an innocent person just because he is a ghost who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time!"
"I am sorry, Khar," Makatai said. "He was the only ghost seen at the scene of the transgression. We must eliminate him, along with the robot."
Garf and Raven became catatonic, the former sitting while resting his back against the latter. The people they had thought of as their new family were about to turn their weapons against them at the prelate's command, and there seemed to be no escape in sight.
Makatai looked at the two terrans. It was such a shame that they could not continue to live as part of the tribe. All of his hopes that not all terrans were backstabbing savages were gone. "Garf, Raven, it is with great sorrow that I must sentence you two to death by annihilator cannon fire. If it is any comfort to you, know that your deaths shall be as swift as possible."
The centurions dragged Khar away while the other protoss remained to witness the execution. Twenty annihilators surrounded the ghost and raven.
"Annihilators!" Makatai said, raising his right hand. "Aim your weapons ..."
The cannons were raised, activated, and ready to fire. All Makatai had to do was give the order.
"... and … fi–"
A loud sound of an explosion came from the sky, stopping the prelate from initiating the execution. While his cape fluttered in the wind, he squinted his eyes to look at what had emitted that noise. "What is happening?" As the crowns of the conifer trees shook above, he saw a spaceship that was twice longer and wider than a carrier, and only slightly taller than the famous capital ship. It had a strange shape, making it look more fit for maritime travel than flight. Its bottom half was blue while its top one was white. On its sides, S.S. Frigate was written with silver paint.
The Lady in Black watched the spaceship approach the ground while the powerful wind blew her antennae to the side. "Not exactly what I was expecting, but you guys will do."
To be continued.