York woke up gasping for air, above him he could see a clear blue sky, "You are awake" the female voice inside his head filled him with dread. "Do not be afraid" he turned and saw a female Protoss standing by his side, "We have managed to heal all the physical wounds on your back and chest" she said as she showed him a holographic chart showing where his wounds had been.
"Physical wounds?" York managed with a hoarse voice.
"Yes, the psychic lashes left by the queen of blades where much deeper than we had anticipated" this time there was no diagram to go with the explanation, "You managed to fight off her infection, but it has not been completely removed"
"Can you…can you get rid of it?"
"Only you can do that" the Protoss woman replied.
"What about D?" York asked, "The AI unit that was with me? Did he…?"
"I am alright Agent York" Delta said in his calm voice as he appeared by his helmet on the nightstand, "It is you that suffered all of the injuries"
"But she attacked you" York frowned, "I remember…"
"She attacked the part of me that is psychically bound to you, that is all, if she had succeeded, our link would have merely been broken; my programming was never in any actual danger"
"So when I called out to you…?"
"I was unable to communicate to you in the usual way, if I had tried to project my image the speed unit would have not had enough energy for your jump, I still managed to make the necessary calculations and adjust the speed unit so you would be within reach of Kilowog's power ring"
"So you saved my life" York smiled then turned to a more serious tone, "Thank you Delta"
"I only calculated the speed needed for the…"
"No D, Thank you for bringing me back, I almost lost my self"
"You are welcome" Delta replied, before vanishing as Samus and Caboose entered the room.
"Good to see you're ok" Samus said as she sat next to the bed.
"You too" he looked at them, "Both of you"
"It was nothing, I just sat in the ship" Caboose said, "and I put my seat belt on" he added in a whisper.
"Good to hear" York couldn't help but feel cheerful, "Where are Kilowog and Taesius?"
"Taesius is in a war meeting with his people, the army we encountered was larger than what they had been expecting" Samus explained, "Kilowog is readying the ship, the Protoss helped us with further repairs, as well as fuel and supplies" she took his helmet from the nightstand and played with it by spinning it like a ball.
"So you found the place you were looking for?" York forced himself to sit up, his body was completely healed but there were still aches where his wounds had been. He could only imagine the scaring would be even worse.
"No" He could perceive the sadness in her reply, "But I will keep looking, Kilowog and Caboose have agreed to help me" She added, trying to sound more cheerful, "Kilowog is looking for a fellow green lantern, but has no Idea where to start looking, and Caboose well… he's just along for the ride"
"I love rides" Caboose said, "Especially the ones that go Swoosh! Swoosh! Piu! Piu!"
"Yeah" York couldn't help but smile at the child like nature of the blue soldier, "I like those too".
"Does that mean you and Delta will be joining us?" Samus asked, placing his helmet before him.
"What do you say Delta?" York asked, though he could feel the AI's response inside his head even before he worded it.
The AI appeared in front of him and replied in his ever so calm tone "My calculations show no feasible way back to the Mother of Invention at the time" he turned to face Samus, "However accompanying Samus may provide further data for this objective"
"I believe that's the little guy's way of saying, Hell Yeah!" York laughed.
York made his way to the ship; it was docked in the hanger closest to the medical center, which meant he still had to walk for half the size of the mother ship to reach it. The mother ship was a place of wonder, the blue energy on the roof made it seem like a clear blue sky; and the size made it feel like it was a space station, and not an actual ship. The interior was practically a city with not only military bunkers but also civilian and even merchant buildings. Delta was his guide through the labyrinth of Protoss pylons and archives. While he had been unconscious Delta had taken the liberty of helping Samus research for the planet of two suns; and of course giving D free access to a computer meant the AI now had a full database of the Mother ship and every ounce of data it contained.
He stopped when he saw the ship, it was a huge ship, almost as big as the Mother of Invention, but docked among the Protoss's ships it seemed almost small. He had learned that Protoss had an average height of three meters, so everything was built to their scale. He was a man among giants.
"Good to see you're back on your feet" Kilowog said as he landed next to him, "How're you doing?"
"Better" York placed his pack over a bunch of boxes, "are these the supplies?"
"Some" Kilowog replied, "The rest are already inside" Kilowog grabbed the pile of supplies with his green energy and created a platform for him and York to go up to the ship, "Samus tells me you'll be joining us"
"Yeah, It's not like I have anywhere to go, and you guys really helped me, I wouldn't be here now if it weren't for…"
"No pitty talk" Kilowog interrupted him, "We're all here and we're all alive, let's make the best of it" he pushed the supplies into the cargo hold then flew them over to the bridge where Caboose was coloring with crayons.
"Aren't you afraid you'll run out of energy?" York asked pointing at his green lantern ring.
"Not any more, I found my battery under one of the bunks, turns out Caboose was using it as a night light" Kilowog sat on a chair and placed his feet up on a dashboard, "I had to trade him a glowing Protoss crystal so he would give it up"
"Yeah, that broke" Caboose said from where he was drawing, "I think the leprechaun did it" he whispered, but Delta paid no mind to the accusation.
"So, how long until we set sail?" York sat down.
"We're good to go, we just need a destination" Kilowog replied, "Last I heard the Protoss were setting up some sort of stargate for their fleet to travel large distances, "Taesius said we could use it to…"
An alarm cut him off just before the whole ship shook, "We're under attack!" York shouted as he looked out at the hanger, where everyone ran to their positions as pilots climbed onto their ships.
"What's happening?" Samus came running from somewhere in the back.
"The Mother ship is under attack" York replied.
"Is it the Zerg?" She said as she tried to look out the window.
"I don't know" York replied, "Can those things even get to outer space?"
"Yes they can" they heard Taesius's psychic voice, which meant he was nearby, "can we count with your help?"
"Of course" York replied as he looked down at the hanger, Taesius was getting into the Protoss's equivalent of a fighter jet, "No need to ask, just tell us what to do"
Samus ran to the pilot's chair while Kilowog readied the weapons systems, and Caboose fastened his seatbelt. Once the ship was out in space the group finally saw how dire the situation really was, Protoss fighter ships flew firing at the hundreds of flying Zergs surrounding the mother ship.
"Samus, Find a target!" York yelled, "Kilowog bring it down!"
"With pleasure" Samus said as she flew after a mutalisk. The first shot missed, but the second blew the creature into tiny pieces.
"Good, another!" York ordered.
Their fire finally caught the Zerg's attention, as the creatures begun to swarm around the ship. A few small ones crashed on to the starboard side of the ship, exploding on contact. "There are too many of them" York said, "This ship needs a whole crew to defend it, we can't control all the turrets manually"
"Perhaps I can be of assistance" Delta said as he appeared.
"Can you calculate a whole crew into existence?" York asked as he fired at another kamikaze Zerg.
"No" Delta replied
"Then I don't think there's much you can do little guy"
"The U.N.S.C. has used AIs for combat and navigation purposes on its ships on several occasions" Delta added, "If I am allowed access to the ship's main system, I may be able to…"
"Whoa whoa, hold it right there D. You're not a full AI, remember?"
"Yes" Delta's reply was short and simple, though York could tell that the little guy had been hurt by his comment.
"Do you think you'd be able to do it?" he asked, feeling guilty for hurting the little guy's feelings.
"I do" Delta replied.
"Ok, but if you sense anything wrong; if you feel like it's too much for you to handle, I wan't you to pull out"
"Yes sir" Delta replied as his figure vanished.
York shot at a Mutualisk but they had become harder to hit now that Samus was evading their attack instead of flying after them. "How are you doing on the defense system D?" York asked but after a minute there was no reply, "D? Answer me, are you alright?" He began to fear the worse.
All of a sudden, all of the turrets begun to fire at different enemies all around them, "Defense systems online" Delta's voice was loud over the intercom.
"You had me worried for a sec there" York said as the AI's face appeared on screen.
"I do not see why, I told you I could do it" D's voice almost always sounded the same, though this time York was sure he could hear a little pride in it.
"Yes you did" he laughed, "yes you did"
Delta's aid had turned the battle's tide, not only was the A.I's turret fire faster than humanly possible, it was also accurate in every shot. It wasn't long before the Zerg realized they were losing the confrontation and soon the Zerg army was in full retreat.
"After them!" York shouted, the ship turned to follow the enemy, with the whole Protoss fleet close behind, following in his advance. It wasn't until the last of the Zerg units had been destroyed that he heard her voice "You have proven yourself a worthy rival" the voice sent shivers down his spine.
"Kerrigan!" York said angrily.
"Where?" Samus looked for the Zerg leader but could not find her.
"Perhaps even a worthy mate" Kerrigan added.
"Where are you?" York panicked, "How can you…?"
"We are linked" it was then he realized the she was communicating telepathically, "I told you, you are mine now"
"Never!" he shouted. Everyone was staring at him; he could tell by their looks that they understood what was happening to him.
"Oh, but you are" she laughed, "Even now, without realizing it, you are doing my bidding"
"You might want to double check" York said in a cocky fashion, "I just destroyed your army"
"No" her voice was eerily cheerful, "You just left the Mother ship completely defenseless"
York felt his gut clench, "Fall back!" he shouted, "Return to the mothership!"
By the time they reached the ship it was too late, in its place only ruins remained, "NO!" York slammed his fist on to the dashboard making a small dent on the solid metal top, "No" he repeated, this time only a whisper, "I…I failed them, I…"
"There was nothing we could do" Samus placed her hand on his shoulder, "She tricked us, she…"
"No, she used me" he said angrily, "she's inside my head! Everything I do! Everything I say! She's manipulating me! Using me!"
"No, she's playing tricks with your mind; she wants you to think she's in control"
"She is in control!" he shouted angrily as he pushed her away, and the he saw their eyes, "Their scared of me" he though, "Of course their fucking scared, I'm fucking possessed". Slowly he turned for the door, "Don't trust me anymore" he said as he walked away, "I'm not human anymore".
Hope you liked it, and please remember to review if you did...or if you didn't.