Chapter 6
The fleet was over the ice world of Kaldir. Steven tried sending down a transmission to the protoss on Kaldir.
Steven: This is hierarch Steven, contacting Kaldir Protoss. Respond if you are there.
There was no response.
Horner was on screen on another monitor.
Horner: You think the Zerg got here before us?
Steven: I hope not. I'll take Artanis, Zeratul, and some zealots down there.
Horner: We've got high tech battle armor suits with C-14 gauss rifles. We'll get a squad down there with our new Space Construction Vehicles.
A warp prism drop ship flew out of the Mothership, and a dropship flew out of the Hyperion. Both descended on the planet's surface, dropping into an ice valley below. Steven, Artanis, and Zeratul were joined by a squad of soldiers called marines locked in heavy battle armor and armed with large machine guns.
Marine: Alright boys. Let's scope this place out.
A robotic voice sounded in their headsets.
Robotic voice: Be advised. Kaldir freezes in a series of extreme temperature drops. Will advise on next flash freeze.
Steven: Who's that?
Horner: That's our robotic adjutant.
Adjutant: Next flash freeze in 5...4...3...2...1.
The entire group was encased in solid ice. Towering quadrupods walked over, firing lances of thermal energy, melting through the ice, freeing the group.
Zeratul: Ah. At least the mighty Colossi have survived what ever wiped them out.
As they were walking, they found the remains of a protoss encampment.
Artanis: I will transfer control of this base to you.
Steven: Alright.
A massive temple in the base was the main command center, known as a Nexus. There was a emplaced portal called a Gateway, an upward facing portal called a Robotics Facility, and a hovering portal called a Stargate.
Steven: Let's get some probes harvesting those resources.
The Nexus began warping in robot workers called probes. They started harvesting the mineral deposits around the area. One warped in an Assimilator over a geyser spewing a green gas known as vespene. Two more probes helped that one harvest gas from the Assimilator.
Horner: Our SCVs will set up another base nearby.
The SCVs started constructing a base near the Protoss encampment. The built a central building called a Command Center. There was a quadrupedal building called the Barracks, a Factory, a Starport, and Refineries to extract the Vespene gas. The SCVs harvested the minerals, finishing set up of both encampments.
Horner: Our base is up and running.
Artanis: As is ours.
A transmission opened up on Steven's Heads-Up-Display. It was a protoss warrior covered in shadow.
Protoss: You dare try to subvert the land that we call sacred?!
Steven: Who is this?
Protoss: We are the Tal'Darim. We fight to keep this land pure.
Steven: Wait a minute. Did you wipe out the Kaldir Protoss?
Tal'Darim Executor: They tainted this land with their presence.
Steven: This a frozen wasteland, it was tainted looooong before we got here.
Tal'Darim Executor: We purified them, and now...we will purify you.
The transmission cut off.
Steven: We're done here. Shield of Aiur, Hyperion. Get us out of here.
No response. Just garbled static.
Steven: Hello?
Horner: Ste...Proto...comms...ja..
Horner was lost.
Artanis: These Tal'Darim protoss must be jamming our communications.
Marine: I guess we're stranded here.
Zeratul: What should we do?
Steven: How far to Protoss jammers go?
Artanis: Well. They would have to be placed in close proximity. At least somewhere on this canyon.
Steven: If we can get a big enough army, we can smash through the Tal'Darim, and destroy the jamming source.
Zeratul: That may work, but a protoss force equal to the strength of ours was easily wiped out.
Marine: No sweat. We got your back.
Steven: Let's set up defenses. The Tal'Darim will come for us.
A probe opened up warp rifts, creating two emplacements that spawned photon cannons. The Terrans started planting bunkers that the Marines garrisoned for defense.
1 hour later...
Onboard the Hyperion, Greg was starting to worry that his son hadn't returned or responded to transmissions.
Greg: It's been over an hour. Why aren't they back yet?
Executor Selendis of the Carrier fleet contacted the Hyperion.
Selendis: Something on the ground is jamming our communications and interfering with our ability to Mass Recall our forces.
Adjutant: Alert. Large scale combat detected northwest of the landing zone.
Greg: I've gotta get down there.
Connie: I'm coming too.
Horner: Hang on, you two. They've jammed our communications and signals. Even if we could estimate a proper drop pod deployment angle, you still run the risk of getting shot out of the air by orbital defenses in that area.
Greg: I'll take the risk. It's my son down there, and he's in trouble.
Connie: And he's my friend.
Horner: I must be out of my mind.
A minute later, a machine was dropping out of the sky, and onto the battle between Tal'Darim perimeter cannons, and the Terran/Protoss army. Immortals took the brunt of the attack, while Colossi burned through the wall with thermal lances. Greg suddenly came through the sky with Connie, and when they landed, they were revealed to be in a massive siege walker known as the Odin. It was armed with two T800 cannons for arms, hellfire missile launchers on the chest, and four heavy artillery barrage cannons on its back. He opened the cockpit to reveal himself and Connie.
Greg: We're getting off this hill! Come with me!
Steven: Dad?!
The Odin stomped up to the massive wall, blasting it to pieces with it's arm cannons. The army stormed the base, destroying it, and making it to the massive signal jamming tower.
Artanis: We have no weapons that can destroy something of that size.
Connie: Yeah. But we do.
Greg pressed a button, and the Odin locked itself into position, firing off its shoulder cannons, bombarding the jamming tower.
Horner: St-t-teven...a-a-a-a-are you th-th-th-there?
Steven: Keep going! It's working!
The jamming tower exploded into a fantastic blast.
Steven: Selendis? Horner? Do you read?
Horner: Finally. What the hell happened down there?
Steven: The Kaldir Protoss are all gone. They were wiped out by this fanatical group of Protoss known as the Tal'Darim.
Tal'Darim Executor: You're persistence and resourcefulness are admirable, but the next time we meet, they shall not be underestimated. Farewell, Steven Universe. The galaxy will soon hear your name and scream in fear.
Greg: Woah. These guys are crazy.
Some time later...
Onboard the Shield of Aiur, Steven and Artanis were overlooking Kaldir.
Steven: At least this expedition wasn't a total loss.
Artanis: Indeed. We now have schematics to the mighty Colossi.
Greg: Yeah, but now along with flesh eating swarm monsters, and super charged murder Gems, I think fanatical advanced aliens is going to complicate things a little bit.
Steven: Yeah. But we have to keep going. What's next?
A protoss from Monlyth spoke up.
Protoss: Steven. The artifact that we found off world may hold the answer to the Gem's infestation. We can construct a device that will channel the artifact's power and reverse the infestation on the Gems and kill the surrounding Zerg.
Steven: Really?! Then let's do that.
Protoss: But that artifact was only one of others, that combine to form a single artifact.
Steven: So we'd need to traverse the universe to find all of them.
Horner: It's your choice.
Steven: Set the sensors to scan for the same energy readings as the artifact. Let's find those pieces and get to work.