"Professor?" Tarn blinked as he was addressed by a frazzled and blearly eyed college student. "I was told that you wanted to see me after my classes?"

"Oh, yes, right. About your thesis." The red headed man stood from his desk, taking from it a stack of papers that he presented to the student. "I was not aware you were going to present it on the topic of Terrazine. May I ask why the sudden interest in the topic?"

"Um...I just really want to learn a lot about them!" The student explained, making wide hand gestures. "It's kinda cool that the Terrazines were an interstellar empire before our grand Terran Empire was with Meriah!"

"I see. Well, if you want any help, just ask me." Tarn nodded in a dismissive gesture and the student gratefully left the man's office. "Well, it's good to see that our history will carry on..." The Professor of Terrazine mused as he returned back to his grading.

Barely an hour passed before Tarn received another visitor to his office. A rather official looking man in a military uniform knocked on the open door, prompting the red head man to turn his head sharply. "Yes?"

"You are...Professor Tarn? Expert in the Terrazine Kingdom?"

"That would be me. Is there something you need?"

"Rather, we, the Terran Empire, have found something that you might want to take a look at. Something that looks a lot like...Terrazine artifacts."

"What?" Tarn stood up from his chair, completely taken back. "You...you found artifacts?! Where?!"

"Meriah."

O O O

They weren't lying. One government-sponsored space flight later, and Tarn was earnestly working on excavating the newly discovered Terrazine ruins on Meriah. He was both shocked and pleased; his culture wasn't doomed! By hopefully unearthing information from these ruins, Tarn wished to possibly seek out more worlds in which the old Terrazine's Empire may have settled upon. Perhaps then...

But, as always, fate seemed to turn around and laugh at Tarn as it sent yet another cruel misfortune upon the former knight. This misfortune took form as an old colleague, one hell bent on revenge. Walking with one normal and one robotic leg, this final twist would be the end of Tarn's life...

O O O

"Mmf! Mmmmmffff!" Tarn struggled, but was unable to break the ropes that bound his wrists together. Nor was he able to cry out from the gag in his mouth, and his head was stuffed in some kind of black sack that obscured all vision. All the man knew was that he was stuffed in some kind of vehicle, his body feeling the vibrations that were normally associated with motorized transportation.

Who in the world was kidnapping him? There was not a single person Tarn could think of who would want a man of his caliber. He had no connections, no relations, no family...there was nearly nothing that any hostage taker would want from Tarn. So what was going on?

The vehicle came to an abrupt stop and Tarn jolted forward, choking as the sudden action churned up his insides. He wasn't even able to take his medicine before being snatched from his bed...if the professor didn't get some soon, there could be lasting damage. But that was the least of his concerns.

The whirring of machinery was heard as what felt like a power glove picked up Tarn and then pitched him forward, off the vehicle and onto dirt. The knight's bound hands immediately shot upwards and managed to tear away both the sack and gag from his face, swiftly getting back up. "Who the hell are you?!" He shouted, trying frantically to chew off the ropes on his hands.

An ominous click was heard and Tarn froze as he saw the blaster pistol being leveled at him. He knew there was no way to overpower somebody in CMC Power Armor, skilled or not, especially with his medical condition. Slowly, Tarn lowered his hands. "Huh," The kidnapper grunted, his visor sliding up. "Not so tough when you don't have a weapon now, is it?"

"Tyler! You're alive?!" Tarn exclaimed, his eyes widening. "I thought...I thought you had been killed!"

"Righteous duty protects me from harm. Now, get going!" To emphasize the order, the outlaw fired at the red head's feet, causing him to scramble back. With a bitter curse, Tarn saw no choice but to turn around and be prodded forward by enemy. Only now did he realize where they were.

The two were right now standing outside the entrance to the main tomb discovered on Meriah, a black obsidian archway embedded in the red cliff face. A motorbike with a sidecar was idling nearby, probably what Tyler used to bring Tarn here. From what the professor knew, the nearest sign of civilization was a ways off: he was stuck.

Pistol prodding into his uniform, Tarn was forced into the pitch black tomb. There was a brief hum before Tyler's suit lights activated, twin beams of illumination waving around in the darkness. It seemed though that Tyler knew what his goal was, and Tarn was forced into the main hall of the tomb.

The great chamber of Meriah mimicked the exact appearance of the one back home in Terrazine, with a main sarcophagus on one end, a weapon armory on the other, and lines upon lines of coffins dotting the walls and levels. When in here with his excavation team, Tarn was sure to seal the sensitive data consoles with plastic casings that would make it impossible for one of the team to accidentally press a button and unleash Armageddon. But it didn't seem to stop Tyler from smashing them open and slamming Tarn against the consoles. "Well? Activate them!"

Tarn stared blankly at Tyler before realizing the demand. "Activate the robots?!" The knight spat, furiously shaking his head. "I'd rather go to hell than sentence more people to die!"

"Would you now?" The outlaw sneered, pressing the gun barrel against Tarn's throat. "Think about it; me and you, we aren't so different!"

"I actually have morals in comparison."

"But look: you hate the Terran Empire. I hate the Terran Empire. Have you ever heard of the phrase the enemy of my enemy is my friend?"

This surprising comment threw Tarn for a loop as he stared at the console. His mind began racing as it considering the situation, the dangers, the outcomes. What was the right choice?

Everything about him screamed to deny Tyler's wish. But then what would happen? Tarn would be killed and left in the tomb for the next excavation team to find. Then Tyler...

He would seek out another person who knew how to activate these robots of death. Tarn's mind flashed to Xana, with a bitter remark that her death wouldn't be entirely unwelcome at Tyler's hands. But at the same time, she was too well protected. There was nobody else who knew!

Tyler caught Tarn's sudden flare of resistance n his eyes, but instead of just executing his prisoner, the one legged man grin wickedly. "Oh, but I do know that you've taught some people about Terrazine...professor. I'm willing to bet that one of them, after some 'motivation' will spill the beans easier."

At this, Tarn's shoulder sagged. His life or that of a student? Or that of a million? "Undo these bonds, and I'll activate them."

Tyler nodded and took out a combat knife, slicing through the rope with a slick gesture. His hands free, Tarn rotated them around before sighing and beginning his work. His gloved fingers pulled levers and pushed buttons that only he could understand, years of knowledge finally bearing fruit; a fruit of death.

His finger briefly paused as it hovered over the final button. One push, and there was next to nothing that could stop the awakening army. This planet would perish, and the Terran Empire would suffer. Was this what he really wanted?

Was this what Clara would've wanted?

Immediately, Tarn's head snapped upwards as his eyes widened. Of course. Of course. The robots had been activated back in his home kingdom. But the Terran Empire defeated them. How?

They killed Clara.

"Tyler, I need you to do something to finish activation."

"I don't like the sound of this. What?" The man spat, raising his bolt pistol at his hostage.

"I need you to let this latch on you." With careful and precise movements, Tarn opened up a small storage box in the console and lifted out a metallic looking beetle. Green glowing eyes began to dimly to activate the moment it was taken out, and the scarab began to scuttle. "If you do so, this army will be linked to you completely. They will be unquestioningly loyal, so you will not have to bother with possible subordination."

"That...is actually good. Hand it over!" Tyler eagerly snatched the scarab and dropped it down his open visor. The metal creature blinked and scurried around before biting down and embedding itself in its new host's skin. The outlaw growled in pain as it happened, but shook his head and gestured. "Now, activate them!"

"Yes, of course." Tarn turned around and pressed the activation button. At the same time, Tyler's pistol went off and the round blew out the professor's back, leaving him limp on the console as he began coughing blood.

"I'll be generous. You can have a slow death instead of a quick execution now!" That was the last thing Tarn heard as he flopped lifelessly to the floor, cursing Tyler's name with a classic Terrazine curse.

"Go to hell."

O O O

So Tarn laid there, blood trickling out his mouth as well as gushing out of his back. A pile of the red sticky fluid began to pile around him, his hair already becoming soaked from his own life fluids. His vision was fading and darkening, but yet, his mind was sharp.

He could hear through what seemed to be a watery barrier laughter. Laughter of the insane. And he could hear creaking of rusted hinges, the hum of gauss weapons, the chattering numbers. They never stopped as he bled there, waiting for death to take him.

And yet, no matter whenever the warm embrace of eternal slumber came, Tarn fought it off with a pained cough. Why? It was all over. His life was over the moment Clara dismissed him. He wasn't a royal knight anymore. He wasn't anybody special. Just a professor in Terrazine history. Just a librarian. Just a caretaker.

But that was what his family were. Caretakers of the royal bloodline. Tarn, all of the sudden, could see his father there, smiling, leaning down and offering down his sword. "Now Tarn, we protect Terrazine no matter what. Wherever we are, whoever we become, remember: our oath first. Please, recite what you've been taught and take up this weapon."

"I swear," Tarn coughed, red spots dancing in his vision as his hand reached out to take the illusion sword, "upon this blade, to forever uphold the rights of the Terrazine Royal Family."

His hand grasped nothing and Tarn laughed at his own hallucinations of death, his arm now lifelessly dropping to the floor. "But-ack- that's not right. I don't swear upon this blade.

"I swear, upon my soul, to forever uphold the rights of Queen Clara of the Terrazine Dynasty. I swear, to you, dear Zeb, that even if death take me now and forever, to fight by her side till the end of the universe. I swear, to you, my love wherever you are, that my duty shall not end with death."

And then his heart stopped.

O O O

He was dead. He knew that. He felt his heart weaken and fade, unable to function without enough blood.

But why? Why was he feeling cold air upon his skin? Why was he feeling the aches and pains of a worn body? And yet, he did not draw breath?

A familiar, but more robotic feminine voice echoed in Tarn's sound receptors as his newly made glowing green visual sensors flickered upwards. "I accept your oath. May I, Queen Clara of the Terran Dynasty, forever hold you to your promise and welcome you to my Royal Court. From now on, you shall be under my protection and be judged only fairly by your peers and none other. Welcome to the life after death, my brave death knight."

A/N: Right. That was long. A lot longer than I thought. But I'm quite satisfied with that!

Now, for some big announcements as I expect all of you are ready to maul me for the Protoss Rebirth.

While writing the first chapter for the Protoss Rebirth, I noticed something oh so very crucial: chapter quality was not coming up to snuff. And upon reviewing all of the Zerg Rebirth, I noticed that my chapters have been gradually losing quality due to the awkward timescale I forced upon myself of one chapter a week. It worked for the Terran Rebirth because that was the best faction I worked with, but for now, I'll be updating every two weeks to ensure chapter quality as well as reasonable time scale. Don't worry about chapters taking months to write: I still do have more stories to tell!

The Protoss Rebirth should come out in a couple weeks on that, barring any unforeseen writer's block. The trailer will be released next week. I hope you look forward to both!