Chapter 2: Into the Unknown
Location: UNKNOWN
XX:XX - Shipboard Time UNKNOWN
Data download: ERROR
System recalibrating...
"What manner of beasts are these?" wondered Zeratul as he separated the head of one of the creatures that thought it smart to strike at one such as a Dark Templar. He had traveled far across many star systems and had borne witness to a myriad of different species along the way, yet he could not recall ever seeing life take the form of what had bared down on them just then.
Looking over the battlefield, it became quickly apparent to Zeratul that they had simply exchanged one battle for another. He was relieved to see his Nerazim brethren - the other Dark Templar - holding the line against the creatures, alongside the few remaining Zealots. Zeratul still felt odd about working with the Khalai, or High Templar. Their ways of looking at the world were too polar opposite, though the one known as Tethis had left his mark on the war-hardened veteran.
Hundreds of creatures came upon them in the mountainside. They looked almost human, though he couldn't help but notice the great deal of decay that the beings had gone through. Some of them were missing their jaws and other appendages entirely.
The air around them was thick and wafted the aroma of death along with it. The ground beneath them looked to be void of all nutrients and nothing grew through it, save the occasional mushroom. It looked all too similar to what the Zerg referred to as creep, though it appeared to act differently enough to not worry the Protoss.
"These beings resemble Terrans... But they appear to be... Rotting," Zeratul reported to the Hierarch from the area just outside of the crashed ship. "Though from the look of it, how can we be certain that we are even in the Koprulu Sector?"
"Truthfully, we do not know where we are yet. But these creatures; the way they do battle is similar to the Zerg," Artanis noted, communicating telepathically from aboard the Spear of Adun. He was busy overseeing its repairs, trusting Zeratul to guard the ship while they went on. "I have been looking into the chemical makeup of the thick creep-like substance all around you."
"What have you learned?" Zeratul's thick black ponytail waved behind him as the wind began to pick up but it didn't hinder his movements in the least bit. The thick lock of hair smacked off of the back of his gray armor as jumped towards another enemy.
"Nothing of note yet. I will make you aware no sooner than I understand it myself," the Hierarch explained.
He swung his right arm, and the psionic blade that sprouted forth from it, in a Z-shaped motion, cutting down three of the enemies that mindlessly lurched at the Prelate with the same effort an adult would expend in striking a child.
The three creatures wailed and as the energy blade tore through their flesh, it seared them into pieces as the blade quickly retracted. Unlike the power suits that the Zealots wore, the Narezim wore nearly no armor whatsoever and only possessed one psi blade, though the more skilled of the Dark Templar could invoke their wrath with less than that.
Zeratul's armor, however, looked nothing like that of his own warriors. The green glow that his shoulder pads gave off helped to identify their leader during the heat of battle.
"They may fight similarly, but their bodies are far weaker by comparison," Zeratul informed his Hierarch. Another of the creatures made a lunge for Zeratul and, as he was engaging another of them, didn't see it coming for his rear flank.
Tethis arrived not a moment too soon. His psi blades remained sheathed within the wrists of his power suit. He was far too close to Zeratul and, in attempting to cover him, did not want to risk harming him as he did so.
He landed a solid punch in the creatures head and it momentarily distracted it. In that quick second, though, Tethis had wrapped his arms around the things neck and snapped it.
That was not all that happened in that brief moment, however. Three more of the rotting creatures lunged at him then. He turned quickly and jumped over the first. With quickness, Zeratul extracted his warp blades mid jump, landed on the second creature, and immediately rolled into the third. He turned to meet the only one that stood near him now, slashing one his blades through the things chest.
They died pretty easily, the Zealot thought to himself. He had no idea that the creatures were already dead. None of them did.
Even though they had dropped into space, orbiting some unknown world - though they had initially been dazed from the unexpected space-jump and subsequent crash - the rest of the Protoss mirrored him in regards to how easily they could combat their attackers. Their warp blades and psi blades could cut through the creatures rotting flesh as easily as the the Terran lactate-based product known as 'butter.'
Despite this, numerous creatures attacked the Spear of Adun but their attacks proved ineffectual against their plasma shielding. The claws that these creatures possessed lacked the Xel'naga helix that had allowed the Zerg to deal massive damage to their shields. These rotting corpses would have to go at it for days to disable them in their current state.
A lot of the arkship's primary functions had been damaged in the crash, but a few of the systems secondary functions were still active. The psionic shield had sustained considerable damage in the fall, but it had enough power to operate at fifty percent for some time.
The metal swords and other more primitive weapons that some of the more Terran-looking creatures wielded were crafted of an inferior alloy, though Zeratul couldn't help to appreciate the scene. The weapons harkened back to a time that had long since passed for the Protoss. A few of their own relics even survive to this day but even then, he believed that even they would shatter after repeated attacks at the shields of Artanis' ship.
"Hierarch, although it would seem that we have the upper hand at the moment, I worry that the opposing force is too numerous for us to fully ward off in our present state."
Zeratul had learned a long time ago to never underestimate a situation. Some of the creatures seemed sentient, the more human looking ones at least. Looking around, it was rather obvious - to him anyway - that they had crashed near an outpost of these people, though it took a stretch of the imagination to call them that. He knew that it was either that, or there was something that Zeratul had overlooked.
Maybe these people didn't always look this way. Maybe there was something here making them this way. Perhaps a disease or something similar, changing them like...
The Zerg.
That was it. The revelation occurred to Zeratul he could not believe he didn't realize it any sooner than he did. The creep, or whatever it was that looked like it, that sank into the landscape had to be connected to the creatures somehow.
And an even worse thought stirred through the Prelates mind then.
What if they had been infected with the same thing that changed these creatures?
Of course, under normal protocol the Protoss had a policy set in place prohibiting interaction with a species whose technological progress was vastly inferior. Those rules had been set in place for many ethical reasons but also because situations of outright aggression were known to have occurred in instances just like what had unfolded then.
Of course, it was detestable to kill these 'defenseless' creatures but, considering the situation, they had no choice but to fight back.
"If these creatures somehow manage to break through our shields and make it aboard the arkship, there is no leaving this world, Zeratul," warned Artanis.
Zeratul wondered how they would even find home once they got off the planet anyway. With no star map to guide them, unless it could be repaired, the odds were stacked against them but he pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind.
He had a base to protect.
Location: SPEAR OF ADUN
XX:XX - Shipboard Time UNKNOWN
Data download: ERROR
System recalibrating...
"Zerashk Guilida!" yelled Artanis as he punched the consoles before him in frustration. The Khalani phrase meant 'oblivion awaits.'
"The crash took out all of the primary systems, just as I had anticipated, but the secondary systems - which include the star guidance system - were damaged long before the crash."
"It's almost like that unstable warp field we encountered overloaded all of our navigation controls," he continued.
Indeed it had. Not even the engines that would normally keep the arkship afloat were functioning correctly when they first entered the atmosphere of this new world.
He then focused his attention elsewhere, on several smaller screens that had popped into thin air just then.
"All of our mechanical units are either inoperable or unable to respond," Artanis said telepathically to everyone aboard the ship. "I have already uncovered a few Probes that I have set out to repair our home. If you find any mechanical units that appear salvageable, please bring them to the robotics facility. We will need them desperately, if we are to survive on this world. En Taro Adun, my brothers."
"Hierarch!" called one of the technicians on board, the zealot that had had his leg injured on that last world, which was equally mysterious in its own right.
"Sensors indicate a strange buildup of unknown energy in some of the foreign structures just north of here as well as a large number of natives heading to our location."
"Most of our systems will remain offline for some time while we try to repair the damages," reported another technician. "We've barely managed to keep our shields up thus far. Damage reports have finally come in and it doesn't look good either."
"Our air force will need the most repairs in addition to needing to have their on-board computers rebooted. As far as our Immortals and Stalkers are concerned, they will need only the simplest of repairs. In order to get our Colossi up and running, however, we will need to reestablish a link to our main server if we ever desire to get them fully functional again," he explained.
Artanis was silent for a moment. He then looked back to his own computer screen and began to type something into the system. It took him a few moments but eventually whatever it was he had typed up was ready.
"I have written a new subroutine into the Spear of Adun's computers. I am re-modulating the power field-matrix of the arkship's shields to reroute energy to the Spears anti-matter cannons. That should help us to defend the ship so Zeratul can scout the area, for a while at least.
"Meanwhile my brothers, get to work on establishing a connection with the Colossi. Our Stalkers and Immortals will be functioning soon! We must move quickly or we will never get off of this rock," the Heirarch informed them.
"Anht zagatir nas," he finished. The native tongue was interpreted as 'may the gods watch over you.'
Zeratul led the Dark Templar and the few Zealots that had remained among their ranks. They had managed to fend off the horde of decomposing things that had assaulted them so far.
The fact that they were superior to these beings in both strength and speed having long since become apparent when, out of nowhere, the ground beneath them began to shake violently. Zeratul had experienced many seismic shifts on many worlds, but he knew this was no earthquake. Something very large was undoubtedly heading right towards them.
When they were finally able to make out what exactly it was that was coming for them, nothing could prepare them for what they would see. Mutilated human bodies and the limbs from several unknown creatures combined into a single, twisted hideous form. Though, unfortunately for the Protoss, there wasn't just one single creature but rather an entire cadre of them.
A viscous trail of blood was left behind after each laborious step, and the pungent aroma of death wafted through the air as they approached. The stench that came off of the things was only the beginning. They looked to be incredibly powerful - despite being sewn together - and if their size was any indication it seemed to Zeratul that one could fit ten fully-grown Terrans inside of the thing and still have room.
The creatures looked like mounds of corpses that had been cobbled together to form something more sinister than whatever it had been pieced together from. Each of the decaying constructs - and there was more than a dozen of them - were surrounded by some sort of greenish brown haze, and thousands of small insects buzzed around them, feasting.
Their innards spilled from a jagged gap in their stomach that looked more like another mouth it could use to gobble up its enemies. Three disproportionate, arm-like limbs were sewn onto their bloated bodies: two holding bloody cleavers, and the other - which was sewn to the creatures backs - held a thick chain with a hook on the end. Their tongues were thick and round, Zeratul could see by then, and it didn't make them look all that intelligent either, as it dangled between their crooked, yellow teeth.
"What manner of abomination is this?" Zeratul asked no one but himself, as at least a dozen of the giant monstrosities made their way over the horizon. The Prelate of the Dark Templar couldn't imagine why anyone would ever create such a thing. It pained him to think of disgracing the dead in such a way.
As sluggish as the creatures were, they most certainly made up for it in physical strength and, as one of them charged straight for Zeratul, the creature swatted at anything in it's way, sending two Dark Templar flying as if they were mere play things.
As it got within a few yards of him, the thing cried out as it raised it's balled fists to the heavens. It's voice gargled as the scream echoed about the landscape.
The deciduous trees in the area had browned, not like they would on most worlds in autumn, but as if the entire forest had been nearing the end of its lifetime all at once. The thick foliage hindered Zeratul's footsteps in the slightest, but he had most certainly fought through worse conditions during his training on Shakuras.
Ages ago, the Narezim had been exiled from Aiur and eventually settled on the barren desert planet. Despite its lack of any real vegetation, Shakuras had a savage eco-system that more than provided enough sustenance for the exiles.
The planet had two moons - one of which orbited so near to the main-world that it was actually on the fringe of Shakuras' atmosphere. The species that had evolved on the moon were the polar opposite of the ones on the world below. The moons may have prevented the suns rays from reaching the planets surface but, as a result, the nearest moon was a savage jungle where even the plants had teeth. Where Shakuras was dry and dark and cool, it's moon was humid and full of exotic plantlife that had literally overtaken the place.
Zeratul had spent a great deal of time on both the moon and the world he had called home. Shakuras was littered with many skeletons of the living things that had died as a result of the two contrasting worlds sharing the same atmosphere. Often enough, the wildlife of one world would somehow spill over into the other and calamity would ensue.
But in all of Zeratul's long life, he had never witnessed anything so vulgar - not even the Zerg - as the massive hunks of sewn-together flesh that barreled down on him and his fellow Narezim that day.
One of the creatures had made it past his other warriors, it's arms raised as it prepared for a crushing blow. Looking up at his attacker, Zeratul's face remained as stoic as ever. Moments before the monster's swing struck its intended target, however, the Prelate blinked out of existence.
Seconds later, he reappeared atop the creatures back as its balled fists slammed into the ground where Zeratul had just been standing.
As he held on to one of the loose pieces of skin around the things shoulder, the Prelate pulled his right arm back briefly. As the energy within his forearm unit hummed to life, he proceeded to shove his warp blade into the back of the abominations head. Zeratul couldn't be certain that the thing even had a brain but the heat from the weapon liquefied the partially rotted flesh on contact, instantly melting whatever was inside.
Zeratul rode its lifeless husk to the ground, and the thud it produced was so loud and shook the ground so noticeably, that the other Narezim had to admire the sight briefly. From atop the creatures carcass, he surveyed the battlefield. They had begun to imitate their Prelate's maneuver as they realized that they could never compete with the creatures strength. They were learning how to deal with this new threat as they fought them.
He had taught them well.
Elsewhere, another of the gargantuan creatures came barreling towards another Narezim though he was accompanied by the two remaining Zealots among them. Using their cybernetic implants, Tethis and the other warrior launched off of the ground. The anti-matter engines that had been surgically grafted to their backs kept them aloft as they darted around the monstrous thing. Irritated, it swatted at them like bugs unable to comprehend that they were merely distracting it.
The Narezim blinked out of existence, and teleported to the area directly in front of the creatures face but by the time he reappeared, he had already prepared a foot to be smashed into the abominations face. As his hit connected, the Zealots stopped flying around aimlessly and crashed into both of the monsters shoulders. Between the three of them, they easily managed to topple the thing. No sooner than it hit the ground, the Zealots killed their thrusters and began slicing it to pieces for good measure.
It wasn't until after that scuffle had ended that Zeratul realized his Narezim brother hadn't used his warp blade because the forearm portion of his power suit had been badly damaged. Nevertheless, the Prelate was satisfied with the results but he had to trust in his warriors abilities. He had his own challenges to worry about.
In another part of the battlefield, these abominations cumbersome nature was quickly becoming more obvious to the Protoss. They had begun to take advantage of that fact, much like any warrior worth his weight would do.
The group who had taken down the second abomination went their separate ways. Tethis, specifically, made his way towards one of his Templar comrades that didn't appear to be fairing as well as them.
He had seen the creature coming to attack a pair of Narezim. Tethis dashed towards them - his cybernetic implants pushing him faster than usual - but by the time he had arrived one of the Protoss were pinned up against the mountainside. The other blinked around its rotting opponent, which bore a large axe in the hand that wasn't holding his ally aloft.
The rotting giant turned to face Tethis, noting that he didn't move with the same speed as the Dark Templar did. The creature lifted the Narezim he had been holding by the throat and flung him towards Tethis. The threw him with such force that he would likely die from impact but thankfully Tethis had a trick up his sleeve.
He reached into the inner-most thoughts within his mind and from there called forth a shield of psionic energy. Tethis wasn't even sure if he could do what he had hoped to but he had to at least try. He instructed the shield to bend as the Templar impacted it and it did it exactly that, softening his blow.
The dazed Templar slowly returned to his feet and, as Tethis snapped back to reality, the other Narezim that had been blinking about went in for the kill. His warp blade seared the foul smelling things axe-wielding arm clean off, but it didn't even seem to cause it any pain.
It only served to slow the creature down. Before he could even recover, however, the Narezim that Tethis saved had already received his revenge as he slipped his warp blade into its skull, finally quelling the beast.
Despite these minor victories, however, Zeratul quickly realized that they would soon be quickly overrun as hordes of the smaller rotting corpses flooded in from the north, though some among them seemed different from the others somehow. In addition, it took a considerable bit more effort to deal with the enormous abominations in relation to the smaller creatures
To make matters worse, the structures built up around the enemy fortifications in the north had begun to attack the anti-matter shields on the Spear of Adun with some form on unknown energy. As the energy wisped it's way through the air, it seemed to be guided towards the arkship, and Zeratul noted that it almost looked like some form of spirit.
Whatever fueled this power, Zeratul was certain it was coming from somewhere in the outpost to the north but him and his Templar couldn't afford to pull away from the battle for too long without a serious risk of compromising their shields.
The attack proved more effective than any of the Protoss could have believed possible and the sheer damage this strange new energy did their shields couldn't be avoided for much longer. He quickly realized that this new threat would have to be dealt with sooner, rather than later. He knew the Spear couldn't take take much more under the constant pressure.
"Their numbers are too great," Zeratul said telepathically to his warriors, as well as his other followers that worked on repairing the arkship. The horde of the damned had finally come upon them and the Protoss' attention was quickly being drawn in too many directions at once.
Some of the smaller creatures had made their way to the shields and had begun mindlessly clubbing at the only thing preventing these creatures from outright damaging the actual hull of the ship. Some used weapons, others used their bare fists, and others still mindlessly clawed at the energy field, hoping to find a way to break through. Zeratul then noticed that three of the giant abominations, as well, had broken through their ranks and the mysterious spirit energy that was being fired on them began to concentrate on one specific area. Zeratul could feel this battle coming to a close and not in his favor.
Almost as if in answer, the shields began to weaken at the particular points that had taken the most damage. Within seconds, the entire shield shattered like a pane of window glass.
"Pull together, brothers. I'm nearly finished," Artanis replied, hoping to inspire confidence in his people.
A loud, mechanical whirring noise echoed throughout the mountains as the arkship's automated defense systems were rerouted just in the nick of time. They immediately began firing their anti-matter rounds and, between them and the Dark Templar, they were able to deal with the smaller minions even more swiftly than before.
Some of the cannons focused on the large abominations, and Zeratul ran for the thing as the cannons began firing on one in particular. It didn't even see Zeratul as he ran right under the creature and his warp blade tore through it's groin. The creature gargled out a scream as its green intestines fell from it's insides. Two random shots from the cannons finished the thing: the first hitting its kneecap, the second smashing into its face as it fell. It ceased to move.
"Nerazim," he heard Artanis calling out to them. "We have finished repairs of our Immortals and the Stalkers are nearly finished as well. I'm sending them to you now."
As another horde of creatures came upon them, Zeratul and his warriors readied themselves. The Spear's defense cannons unloaded on the decaying mob as the Dark Templar blinked around the battlefield, easily dealing with the lesser minions.
The Protoss had finally begun to gain the upper hand as the first wave of Immortals rolled out of the docking back of the Spear of Adun. The four-legged machines motors hissed with every leg movement. The cannon sitting atop its legs scanned the battlefield, seeming to focus on the larger abominations. When put up against an enemy that they were familiar with, the Immortals could withstand the fire of a Terran siege tank or the blades of an ultralisk, ground targets being the units specialty.
Each Immortal was outfitted with a large cannon turret that was able to pivot a full three-hundred-and-sixty degrees. Each turret had two twin phase disrupters that were positioned to look like two outstretched arms. They worked extremely well when faced with tough enemies. The machines were constructed with some golden-looking metal alloy that shimmered as they moved.
They offered the Narezim some much needed support at the time, though mostly because the warriors had exhausted most of their energy between the separate fights across two worlds. The Immortals unleashed their phase disrupters upon the massive creatures and they quickly folded under the fire pressure. The initial attack easily punched holes in dozens of the creatures, no matter their size. The Immortals weaponry was more specialized to deal with ground soldiers than the Spear's automated defense systems, as the ships programming assumed it would be used in combat while the arkship was in orbit.
"Let us allow our cannons to sing once more, brothers," cried out one of the Protoss piloting an Immortal. His phase disrupters easily tore through the wall of decaying biomass, as they charged at the opening in the Spear of Adun that the Immortals had been emerging from.
On that order, Tethis - being the only Zealot to have made it through the whole ordeal relatively unscathed - and his fellow Dark Templar that had fought at his side reassembled around the metallic constructs providing them with as much protection as their muscles would allow them.
"When does their attack slow?" Tethis asked psionically, to no one in particular, though he had apparently warranted an answer from Zeratul himself.
"These creatures are very similar to the Zerg, indeed," was all he had said. It seemed to Tethis, and apparently to Zeratul as well, that these decaying monstrosities numbers were just as unending as their more familiar foe.
Location: UNKNOWN
XX:XX - Shipboard Time UNKNOWN
X4:00 Hours After Impact
Data download: ERROR
System recalibrating...
If anyone had doubted it before, Artanis felt that the battlefield had most certainly swayed to favor his people. He was worried that it would take him too long to rewrite the Spear's system protocols but he finished his work not a moment too soon.
Though the creatures assault hasn't slowed in the least bit, the Templar were learning the best way to counter their strange opponents. Now that the Immortals, as well as the arkship's automated defenses, were back online, Zeratul could leave the vessel for a bit and trust that it would be properly guarded.
The Immortals brought swift ends to the decaying creatures that assaulted the fallen arkship. There was only one real threat in the area that hadn't been dealt with yet: the strange buildings to the north that obliterated the ships shields. They had ceased their attack for now, likely recharging - or something akin to that - to prepare another attack and Zeratul knew they had to hurry and take them out before that could happen.
Most of the already-dying trees that dotted the landscape let off a thick smoke that hung in the air. The smoke wafted about as a faint breeze blew by, carrying over the battlefield.
Almost immediately, every warrior under Zeratul's command used their innate psionic power to bend the light around them, making them invisible to the naked eye. The decrepit creatures that still attempted to attack the arkship were dealt with by the Spear of Adun's automated defense system as well as the Immortals that now patrolled the crash sites proximity.
The forty or so Dark Templar that remained made their way towards the buildings. With the help of their stealth they closed the distance with no opposition, leaving the Spear of Adun well guarded. Within minutes, they could make out the buildings in the distance.
To Zeratul's surprise they looked similar to ancient Protoss structures to an extent. The majority of the buildings had a pyrimid shape to them though they had no actual tip to it. Instead, the cealing opened up and a large green crystal floated where the tip of the pyrimid-like building would normally be. Additionally, the crystal appeared to be surrounded by four bone-like mandibles that attached the the sides of the building that looked like claws.
Those were the ones. Zeratul was certain of it. He could feel the mysterious energy coming off of them. They're were a dozen of them, easily, and other buildings among them. As they got closer to the cluster of buildings that looked more like ruins, they spread out. If one could figure out how to dismantle them, then they could communicate it telepathically to the others and quickly come to aid whenever necessary.
They fought through the hordes of decaying Terran-like creatures, noting that every once in a while one would seem a bit different from the others, almost as if they were more aware of their surroundings. Having no time to ask questions, the Templar cut their way through them as quickly as they could.
As Zeratul ran inside the first building, he was surprised at its simplicity. He had expected something far more advanced than the puddle of green, primordial ooze that he found. There were no controls to speak of. There was nothing more to the building than a circular room with a path of stone at its center, where it was surrounded by the green goo. Whatever it was, it made the air thicker.
When he saw no logical way to cut off the power inside of the building, he called out to his Templar. After he hadn't heard anything good from them either, he hoped to try and destroy the buildings entirely.
"This is Zeratul, requesting the assistance of a few Immortals," he reached out, looking for help, though he knew that he wouldn't get much. Most of the Immortals were likely busy protecting the arkship by then.
"En Taro Tassadar," someone called back. "Three units incoming."
After a few moments the first building had been taken down with the help of the Immortal's phase disrupters. Zeratul learned that when the green crystal above some of the buildings was destroyed, they stopped spewing out that blue energy, though he almost learned the hard way. He narrowly avoided being hit by one of the blue wisps as it seemed to change its focus back and forth between him and the Immortal. Though it no longer mattered, within the hour they had overtaken the creatures outpost or whatever it was.
Ultimately, the decaying horde of creatures were no longer much of the threat with at least some of the computer systems back online. After a while longer, anything that remained of the enemy forces retreated. With the structures destroyed, the land itself began to breathe for the first time in probably years as the creep-like substance that covered the ground seemed to dissolve away over time. Even the trees themselves looked as if it had regained a little bit of color.
The fighting had finally ended.
Zeratul ordered everyone to return to the Spear of Adun. They had to establish a legitimate foothold if they would ever hope to survive on this savage world long enough to get off of it.
He needed to speak with Artanis. He could have done it psionically from a distance, sure, but he'd rather have done it face to face. There was much they needed to discuss.
Not too far away, hidden behind the burning foliage that littered the landscape, a mysterious figure had watched the entire battle from the shadows. She wore a tattered, crimson cloak that covered all but her face. Her skin had a soft blue hue to it and her eyes gave off an ominous orange glow. Her eyebrows were unnaturally long, sticking out a few inches farther than her face should've allowed, but that didn't mean they were unkempt in the least.
Her figure was slender enough that she could dance between the trees to remain unseen. She had an uncanny talent for melding with the shadows, which she displayed as she ran around the smoldering forest. She had to learn something of these newcomers.
She had seen the burning ball of light in the sky that had crashed not too far north of where she had built her empire, though she couldn't have expected to find what she did that day. She had initially thought it to be a meteor or something similar but, as that days events had played out, it quickly became apparent to her that whatever was going on here was well beyond her scope of understanding.
The creatures looked much like the Draenei at first glace, though their technology appeared to be even more advanced than their own. They also displayed a fervor during battle that had matched the Scourge forces toe for toe. She had never before seen anyone learn to deal with them as quickly as the mysterious travelers had, and she couldn't help but ask herself how they had done so.
It unnerved her to witness a race of people so far advanced from anything she had witnessed in her long and strange life, fighting so gracefully right outside her doorstep - even if it was the Scourge that they had attacked, and not her own Forsaken.
The graceful and mysterious woman danced through the trees a bit more, and eventually found one that seemed to be to her liking. She climbed up it and out onto its limb, knocking an arrow into her bow, as she scanned the horizon.
She was once the Ranger-General of Silvermoon, the awe-inspiring homeland of the High Elves. Though the times had changed, so too had Sylvanas Whisperwind.
Nearly a decade ago, she had been captured by the death knight known as Arthas Menethil. His damned soul, under the control of the malevolent Lich King, raised her corpse from the grave in order to endlessly torment her. He desecrated her spirit, corrupted her body and her soul, and brought her back from death as a whirlwind of her own torment and hatred. Thus, she became the first of the High Elven banshees.
The Lich King had made her what she was, but after an unusual circumstance, she had managed regain her free-will and rebel against Arthas and his endless army of undead Scourge. Over time, other Scourge had been freed from the Lich King's control and eventually found their way to Sylvanas' cause; freedom from the Lich King himself.
Her armies were built of many of the same types of decaying undead and flesh-rending spirits, though they had fought tooth-and-nail to retain their free-will, under her guidance. In a world constantly at war, she had found these ravaged souls a home.
She was the Banshee Queen. The Dark Lady. The Queen of the Forsaken. Her many titles mattered little. They would follow her without question.
And no one set foot in her realm, without her say so. These travelers were strong, no doubt, but she had seen them in their most desperate of hours, and she knew all too well that they were far from unstoppable.
She set her sights on the large golden ship that had crashed into the mountainside. It looked like nothing she had ever seen before, not even among the fantastic wonders that the Naaru had brought with them from wherever it was that they came from.
She did not know their intentions. All she knew was that they didn't belong here and, after the battle that took place, Sylvanas realized that these outsiders would have a hard time differentiating between the Scourge and the Forsaken.
The only thing preventing these travelers from attacking her people was a mountain, that separated the Western Plaguelands from an area that had once been called Northern Lordaeron.
Sylvanas usually avoided that area. It was overrun with the Scourge and, while that normally wouldn't be enough for the Dark Lady to shy away, there was something else there far more terrifying than any terror the Lich King had to offer.
He was no more, or so they said, but the Scourge had regained a foothold in the north somehow. And if Arthas wasn't commanding the undead forces of the Scourge, then someone else was. That thought didn't sit too well with Sylvanas and, as she faded into the shadows, she couldn't help but wonder what exactly was going on in her kingdom.
Location: SPEAR OF ADUN
XX:XX - Shipboard Time UNKNOWN
X5:14 Hours After Impact
Data download: ERROR
System recalibrating...
"Do we know where we are yet?" questioned Tethis.
"Indeed, well, not precisely but we have narrowed it down," one of the Spear's technicians answered him.
Tethis knew this warrior well enough. He had fought alongside him in the battle against the Zerg earlier that day - if it even was the same day. Whenever it was, it mattered little. The Zealot had taken the full force of a Zergling attack when he came to Tethis' aid and that said all he needed to know about his character.
Since before they had come to this world, the injured Zealot had been warped aboard the Spear of Adun. The life of a Protoss was sacred, as they didn't reproduce very often given their long lifespans. As such, the race as a whole tried to save every last person they could. Even if their legs no longer worked, the Hierarch would find a cause for them to fight for. Whether they were put in Immortals, or in Stalkers, it didn't matter so much as ensuring that they could continue living or, more often than not, fighting up until their last breath.
It was the Protoss way.
"According to our space telemetry, we have somehow found ourselves within an uncharted sector of the galaxy. Looking further, we are thousands of light years away from a possible recall or long-range communication of any kind, for that matter."
"Not that it would matter," another less optimistic Protoss spat out. He, too, was technician, though Tethis had never seen this one before. He had an angry visage about him that he would likely never forget.
"The communications array on the Spear," he continued. "As well as all of the Motherships and Carrier-class ships that we had been carrying were almost completely destroyed between the warp jump and the subsequent crash. Due to the heavy damage the arkship has sustained, none of our lesser airships are in good enough condition to fly, let alone break orbit and breach into warp space!"
"Then what of salvaging what we can?" the one Tethis had known asked the only technician who hadn't offered his input yet. "Do you suppose we could at least salvage one working ship out of the wreckage?"
"We may be able to take parts from our larger vessels to repair the Spear, at the very least," he suggested.
"Impossible," said the mean technician. Tethis could tell by his severed nerve cords that he had once been a Dark Templar, but some unknown injury had likely changed his calling in life to that of the Spear's technicians.
"All essential components were damaged beyond the point of repair. It would be a wasted effort to try," reported the one Tethis had fought alongside.
"Then is there anything we can do?" the Zealot asked his injured friend. He could see the bandages still soaking up blood but the Protoss simply didn't have the manpower at that moment to let even a single life go to waste. "Could we manage to repair some of the Spear's less intricate systems using the parts that are salvageable?"
"We could certainly try," his friend said quickly, opting to not allow the pessimistic Protoss to get a word in first.
"Go on, Solstyce," the Zealot said, though it warranted him an odd look from his bitter coworker.
"Some of the arkship's secondary functions, such as its cloaking technology, could most likely be made operational given time. As for the Spear of Adun's primary functions, it's a bit more complicated than that. The Spear is not a vessel of our design and we still don't understand everything about this technology."
"It's of Xel'naga origin, correct?" Tethis had heard that before but he wasn't sure from whom, or if the information was even valid.
"Indubitably," the quieter technician added. "Though there is some hope. We've managed to get our long-range scanners running again. This world is extremely dense in its resources. We just may be able to find something out there that we could use."
"We must bring all of this information to the Hierarch," Solstyce explained, as they left the data display room.
Within minutes, the group had gathered. Artanis, his Hierarch, was there alongside the infamous Dark Templar Zeratul. There were several other Protoss in attendance that Tethis had never seen before but it was apparent to him that Artanis had gathered everyone here to instill hope within his people that day.
A holographic screen appeared in the center of the table that they had been gathered around. Not everyone in the room was able to interpret that data and, so, the majority of those that were present awaited Artanis' explanation.
"These are the reports that some of our Observers have brought back. We managed to repair three of them using parts from the damaged ones while you dealt with those strange buildings," Artanis said, as he looked to several of the Dark Templar in attendance.
"Though there is still too much data to sift through, it is apparent that this planet does have the resources required to repair the Spear of Adun. They are not an exact match but we should be able to manage. However," he continued. "It's not all good news, I'm afraid. Preliminary reports show that some of the materials are on the landmass that we currently reside on, while others appear to be on a separate landmass altogether, quite far from where we are now."
Staring at the data as it scrolled down the holographic image, Artanis could only grimace. The Observers were supposed to look for resources as its primary objective, but they had also been programmed to investigate the planets indigenous life-forms along the way. Even though they all couldn't comprehend the data in front of them, everyone present could translate the look on the Hierarch's face.
"This world is far too underdeveloped for it's inhabitants to fully comprehend what we are and our presence alone may be enough to destabilize the balance between these indigenous cultures.
"We should depart as soon as we are able to," Artanis finished.
A plan of action had been decided upon. The Protoss would splinter into two groups. The first, led by the Hierarch himself, would remain where they were. Coincidentally, a strange mineral, that - according to their reports - could not have been native to this environment, had been located not too far to the north-east from their present location.
The other team, led by the Prelate Zeratul, would traverse the ocean to the other continent that their reports had shown traces of a substance not all that different from the Vespene gas that they had been familiar with.
While splitting the group would certainly help them gather the resources they needed in the shortest possible time, they would be cutting their numbers dangerously thin. Even though the arkship held thousands of Protoss in suspended animation aboard its containment unit, many of them had died in the crash and Artanis wouldn't even know if he had over a hundred fully capable warriors left aboard the Spear, but he saw little choice in the matter.
The reports didn't say much about the culture of the civilizations on this world. It wasn't their primary objective, after all, and it said even less about what power or tricks they possessed. The mysterious spirit energy that they had encountered earlier came to mind, though it pained Artanis to put his brethren in unnecessary danger.
Judging from their preliminary reports, there were life-forms on the planet that were a nearly identical genetic duplicates to that of the humans within the Koprulu Sector, though they were usually called Terrans. There was no way, given what they had seen thus far on this world, that they were anywhere near the technological level of the Terrans that they had come to know. Artanis guessed that they wouldn't be much of an issue but it was never a good idea to underestimate a situation. He would do his best to avoid them altogether.
As charismatic of a leader as Artanis was, he needed the advice of a much older and wiser individual and, after everyone else had left the room, he sought Zeratul's guidance.
"What do you make of this matter, old friend?"
The Dark Templar narrowed his eyes as he looked over the data that had been gathered. He tapped his finger on the table as he thought the plan over.
"I don't see many other options. I believe you chose the only option left open to us," Zeratul answered, honestly.
"And given the prowess of my Narezim, who better to lead them into this unknown land while remaining unseen?"
"My thoughts precisely," the Hierarch said, though he was hoping for more from the war-hardened veteran.
"I could not agree more, that it is within our best interests to limit our contact with the natives of this world. We do not want to attract more unnecessary attention than we have already."
"Duly noted," answered Artanis. "I have one more favor to ask of you, brother. The Zealot, Tethis. Take him with you. I feel there is much he can learn from you on this trek."
Zeratul shot Artanis a confused look.
"There is an unnaturally strong psionic energy with that one. Did you not see how he was able to manipulate his energy shield to catch his comrade? It's all the warriors have been talking about since the battle's conclusion."
"I had heard, though it isn't that odd to be honest," the Prelate responded, still trying to figure out where Artanis was heading with the conversation.
"Your right. It isn't that odd for someone of our caliber. But for a Zealot who had only begun his training at the end of the Brood War? I feel there is much he can learn from you on this trek."
"As you wish, Hierarch," he bowed. He wasn't sure if he could put as much faith in the Zealot as Artanis had, but he would obey him none-the-less. For as wise as Zeratul was, his willingness to learn - even from someone much younger than himself - was what had kept him alive thus far. Perhaps Tethis and himself had something they could learn from one another.
"May the gods watch over you on your journey, Zeratul."
With the conclusion of their meeting heralded by the saying 'En taro Tassadar,' the Protoss who were to cross the ocean set out to prepare all they would need before embarking on their mission.
Unbeknownst the them, however, the world had already learned of their coming and, despite the best efforts of all those who had been aboard the Spear of Adun that day, the few who had learned of their existence had become curious.