alright, Xil and the aftermath are this chapter. I hope you enjoy it. after that, we're going live on the UNN studio on Korhal :)
Turtwig :) I do plan on WOL being mostly the same, although I'll be veering a little bit away from canon on the Protoss minicampaign, which I will be including, although it will only take maybe 500 words a chapter. that said, they will be assaulting char, so that was some fun foreshadowing/reference to the mission.
FtDLulz, you're welcome, and here's another.
Izwan, ya, pretty much on your first paragraph. Hanson's mental state is probably more fragile than she lets on, but she is dealing with it pretty well. Zeratul meeting the freed infested is definitely foreshadowing on my part. I do plan to extend this all the way through LOTV, at which point it will probably be vastly AU from what Bliz has planned. ya the drill mission isn't exactly the best writing material, but I did the best I could, and hope you enjoy. in reference to your last comment, however, she is meeting the protoss for the first time, the whole thing with the Zerg will likely be flushed out on Tyrador.
Read and Review.
This world is dead. Dead almost does not even describe it. A more accurate term would be sterile, I have been to worlds like this before, but it's the evidence that there was once life that makes this death so unnerving. My team moves from the drop-point, the team consisting of Alpha, Epsilon Theta, and Golf squadron, and totaling in at six medics and twenty-four highly trained marine. When we reach past the initial circle where we were deposited, however, we come upon a force of Tal'Darim Protoss. They had been lying in wait for us, a voice enters my mind, as it does the rest of our forces and possibly Raynor himself, "More Terran thieves? Allied with abominations! The mysteries of this place are forbidden! You will pay for your transgression with your lives!" the Marines open fire, and I do with my heavy pistol as well. The Zealots activate their Cybernetic implants, and move forward at remarkable speeds, slamming into the Marines, who then have to dodge and dance around their Psi blades. One marine breaks through his opponent's plasma shield, and fires a barrage of bullets into his gut, but not before the Zealot removes his arm. I rush forward, as he is closest to me, while the rest of the medics continue to assist with other injuries. The wound wasn't cauterised, so I am theoretically able to reattach it. Realigning blood vessels and then sealing them up is no easy task, even with all the advanced medical equipment we have available to us now. Fortunately, we are able to reconnect nerve cells; otherwise the reattachment might be in vain. I give the poor marine a shot of pain killers as I work, both to ease the pain of having a limb torn off, and to get him to stop struggling against me as much.
Finally, the arm reattached by sutures which will need to be replaced by more permanent repairs later, a sealant along the major veins and arteries to keep them flowing only into one another, and a synthetic blood-analogue to replace the missing internal fluids, I let my patient go. The Protoss warriors have all been teleported away to repair their injuries, and the Stalker-class mechs have been reduced to smoking piles of circuits. We continue onwards, the injured at the back to prevent them from getting more so. We reach a turning point in the path we are following, and hear Raynor on the communicator "Hold up there! Those Protoss cannons will tear us a new one if we try to advance. Swann? You promised me siege tanks! Where are they?" "Settle down, hotshot. They're comin'. These babies'll knock these cannons down from a nice, safe distance." After that, he goes off into ramblings about their technical specifications, and I watch the mechanical monsters move forward, stop, and then engage the function known as "siege mode." The tank treads expand outward, and clamps move into the ground to provide additional stability, and the already formidable cannon expands its firing chamber and swaps ammunition. These deadly machines of war are a welcome sight, at least, when they're on our side. They open fire on the pylon supporting the delicate looking cannon emplacements. When the crystal shatters, the cannons deactivate, and the marines rush in to assist in destroying the Protoss siege weapons.
The last one deactivated, we move forward, the Marine force in-between the two cannons. When we get to the top of the hill, we notice a Protoss stalker waiting on the low ground. The order to move into siege mode comes, and the Tank move off to the edge of the cliff. The cannons fire, something that can be felt, not just heard, the spider-mechs fall in heaps. We wait for a while to make sure there are no more surprises waiting for us, then remove the Cannons from siege mode, and move into the ruins of the Möbius foundation expedition base.
The Hyperion's adjutant accesses the structures, and transfers the control to Raynor. Some of the SCVs from the Hyperion come down as well, while the Laser Drill powers up. Immediately afterwards, some of the SCVs move to construct defenses alongside the natural choke points. Three marine teams of five were already down here, the other two arrive by drop pod afterwards. This is a full-blown Tal'Darim attack, and we are going to need all the help we can get. The Drill's constant noise is filtered out by the suit, the helmet of which we all have closed. Mission protocols are relaxed slightly, simply because the little noise that comes from conversation will not add much to the thunderous racket of the 174 gigawatt solid-state laser boring through the hardened material of the temple.
The Mobius base has an extensive sensor network, so attacks are rather publicized. In addition to this, the Laser Drill itself is a formidable weapon. The Marines' job is simply to mop up any survivors of the Drill's relentless assaults, and the Siege tanks' long range pounding. When the drill pierces the first layer of the Temple, it looks extremely dramatic. The outer door, which is white hot, suddenly caving inwards and melting. When another door was revealed behind that, though, the elation felt at finally making progress was curbed. After that, an Air wave was sent after us, old Protoss craft called scouts, as well as newer craft which are able to transform into mobile Pylon fields. Combine that with their new Transportation systems, and you have a force to be reckoned with. Luckily, the Laser drill was able to mitigate whatever effectiveness that plan might have held. I get the feeling that I would not stand a second against that intensity, and even if I did, I would be so horribly mangled from the experience that I would never be able to fight again, Zerg regenerative abilities or not.
Temples were discovered along the route, and Wraiths are recruited to sight for the massive drill. I hear the mission reports, about the artifacts being recovered. Then the alert comes through "the laser drill is now cutting through the door's thermal barrier" thermal barrier? That's quite the technology, and it's going to drag out our stay in this place even further, which is wonderful. Shortly after that, another wave of air transports come at the Möbius Base this one is even more numerous, with the Transports being torn apart by either our Anti Air defenses, or melted to slag by the Laser Drill.
The attacks continue, the Protoss are relentless, probably because of the emergency teleportation devices their living warriors have, which automatically activates if they're injured badly. Some of those troops, I know, will be able to retake the field after medical care; others will be placed inside Immortals, second generation dragoons which are used to soak up heavy-weapons fire. The next wave comes, and the Laser drill doesn't turn around. Those archons just soak up the fire from the Cannons, and keep coming. We prep ourselves for the attack, and open fire as soon as they get into range. I aim my heavy pistol at the Archon, and fire again and again, but even the powerful gun is unable to make a significant dent. Then, a flare of light comes from outside, behind our wall, a flare that gets brighter and brighter until it peaks, and the Archon is eradicated in a blast of the same light. Then, our Spectre uncloaks, salutes, and reengages his cloaking mechanism. I'm glad that he's here, honestly I almost never see him on our missions.
After that attack, most of them go smoothly until it is announced that we are cutting through the final layer of the temple. Like the barrier before it, the second layer simply melts backwards. The Tal'Darim executor, who has a reputation for being obnoxiously loud in his mental communications, rages at us Psionically. First we are attacked by additional air transports, then, he sends forth his Colossi, massive mechanical terrors which function almost like our Siege Tanks, in that they cause major carnage over a large area, and have a very long range. The downside to this is they are so large that they can be hit by weapons specified to attacking enemy aircraft. They stand up under the Drill's fire even better than the Archons did, or so it seems, but in the end they too re doomed to failure.
"Breach of the Doorway Core is imminent. Structure access imminent" finally, I think, it's almost over. The attacks are coming every second, as soon as a new troop is warped onworld, it is immediately sent to attack us, immortals, archons and Colossi travel towards the base only to be knocked down by our Laser Drill. The bunker we're in has fallen to disrepair, and it may actually burn down, in spite of the efforts of our SCVs.
Finally, the last barrier falls, and the order to abandon bunkers is given. We push forward through a seemingly endless line of Tal'Darim warriors, moving staggered up to the Temple proper. The Base structures have been abandoned for an all-out push, although the Laser Drill is still carving down the largest units. multiple wounds have to be treated, most self-cauterized by the Psi-blades and lasers the enemy prefers using. We haven't lost anyone, yet. We reach the Access point to the Protoss base, and invert our passage, walking backwards as the Tal'Darim seek to overwhelm us. I'm out of most of my supplies by this point, triaging my Synthetic Oxygen and other medical equipment as it becomes available. When I run empty, again, and have to wait for more to synthesize, I fire my gun. By now I've learned how to use it almost instinctively, my hands automatically moving to reload when the Sixth shot is fired. A Zealot suddenly breaks through the line to attack the medics behind it. Close combat, adrenaline surges through my system, he's coming right at me. I react, moving my infested wings dexterously at the threat to my life. The unfortunate zealot is impaled, before he flashes in a teal burst. I had never used my new appendages like that, although it seems to be what they are used for. After that, I move with the rest of my squad back inside the temple.
The Protoss break off the assault once we are inside, fading back eerily. Blake says "I wonder if they know something we don't" the silence is his answer. The rest of the teams have not shown up yet, I don't know what's going on there. We walk through the ruined chambers, stepping carefully to avoid the molten piles of metal. There seem to be whispers at the edge of my mind, voices just outside of hearing. From the uneasiness of my Squad, they know something's up as well. Finally, we reach the central chamber of the Temple. In it, is an artifact that looks like the ones in the lab. Instantly I start to feel weak, my body's energy being drained into it. It's slightly weaker than the feeling in the lab, because there are two pieces there, but it's still enough. I hang back, repulsed by it. The Marines pick it up, and move it. The sight looks eerily like pallbearers at a funeral carrying a coffin.
Outside, the Artifact is picked up by a Dropship, which we then load onto. Most of the buildings from the base which have the ability join us, as it is more convenient to have them with us, then it is to be missing them. When we get back onboard, I walk up to Raynor, who is observing the Artifact's retrieval. I then ask "what happened to the other teams?"
he answers "they got out alright, once you broke though the pressure got kicked up on them, so I ordered them to withdraw. Looks like you did well enough, and we got off with minimal casualties. I'd say that's a victory." I nod, understanding.
Then I say "be careful with that artifact, it seems wrong, and has been subtly draining my energy since I got near it."
He nods, and then says "well, so long as it only targets Zerg, I don't mind. No offense, of course."
I answer "none taken, just be careful."
Zeratul watched the Infested talk to Raynor, shrouded in darkness inside the Armory. She was the one who had instigated this change. He had observed the Infested from within the ship, always out of sight. They acted as though nothing was different. It was unnatural. He had come to the conclusion that they were genuine, somehow. This was something that needed to be brought to Shakuras. What was happening here is almost identical to the situation on haven, which has been baffling the Hierarchy's top minds. The Observers posted on the planet saw a portion of the infested returning to their normal activities alongside uninfected humans. Family structures were remaining intact despite the change which might only affect one member of a family. Infested children are acting normally, they seeming the least bothered by the change out of everyone. Most within the hierarchy believed that it was a ploy by the Zerg, although they could not come up with a reason for the extensive ruse. Even the portion which had not begun behaving normally were doing so out of what appeared to be self-loathing. They were horrified by what had happened to them, and were not hiding it. That would not be present in a Ruse whatsoever. Shakuras was at a standstill while this planet was debated over and over. With this new evidence of Infested aboard the Hyperion itself, and the records which he had gleaned from Hanson's computer, he may be able to convince the Protoss that they were genuine. Of course, he could also be banished as a Heretic, and even said to be Indoctrinated by the Zerg, as was Raszagal four years ago. He follows Raynor through the hallways until he is alone. Then, he reveals himself.
Hyperion Access Hall F - 04:14 Shipboard Time
Jim Raynor walks to the doors of Access Hall F. drinking deeply from his Flask, the hallway's Doors open. Raynor continues on into the access hall, the doors closing behind him. Just as he takes another swallow, the lights flicker. He stops in puzzlement then turns to look back and as he puts his flask away the sounds of machinery slow to a halt; the lights at both ends go out, continuing on to meet in the middle until the two Raynor stands under are the only ones on. He turns back forward as a Protoss's mental communication is heard. Zeratul greets his old friend, "James Raynor..." Zeratul removes the veil from before his friend's eyes, appearing out of the darkness from the direction Raynor was heading, moving slowly. he speaks ominously "...I bring tidings of doom."
Raynor, recognizing the voice, greets "Zeratul..." Zeratul clutches his previously wounded arm, phantom pain flaring up in the muscle, then continues.
"I have pierced the veil of the future and beheld only..." he, weary from the mental exertion required to maintain a cloak for the entire day, falls to his knees., "oblivion." Raynor immediately kneels, concerned. Zeratul continues his message, desperate to impart what he has learned. "Yet one spark of hope remains. You will hold her life in your hands..." Zeratul's voice rises in anger, then evens off. " ...And though justice demands that she die for her crimes, without her aid, we all are doomed."
Raynor then says in a shocked tone, "Wait a second, you're talking about Kerrigan?" Upset at the unknowns being offered by his old friend, Raynor says "It's been four years! Y'show up outta nowhere –" Zeratul interrupts him, grabbing the underside of his right wrist, pulling Raynor to him and quickly placing an object into his hand.
Zeratul then mentally speaks with great insistence "Time is short! You must understand!" Raynor is surprised at his friend's sudden insistence, glancing first down, then up at Zeratul, and back down. Zeratul takes his hands away, revealing a strange device, but definitely of Protoss design. Zeratul speaks inside his mind "The answers you seek lie within." The device opens, warping in a green crystal, which appears to be khadarin in origin." Study it well, the future of both our civilizations hangs in the balance." Raynor looks back up from the crystal and stands; Zeratul finishes speaking, and moves back into the shadows. The lights turn back on and the sounds of machinery start up again.
He then says "...Nice to see you too."