Chapter 3: Foundation
Location: UNKNOWN, the Star Forge aboard the Spear of Adun
XX:XX - Shipboard Time UNKNOWN
X6:16 - Hours After Inpact
Data download: ERROR
System recalibrating...
His friend had worked quickly to establish a mental link to coordinate their efforts. He had wanted to be prepared for whatever would arise-and before anyone could leave, there was work that needed to be done. Zeratul was certain.
The Stalkers had been made fully functional some time ago and after their assembly there were about a dozen Dark Templar that stood in attendance. The war machines were ready to embrace the shadow-essence of the willing Nerazim.
Artanis, as well, was in attendance though he wasn't one of the warriors who would be bound with one of the machines. Two of the men who would, though, were of his own clan, the Zer'atai.
Back on Shakuras the Zer'atai had been known for wearing the skeletal remains of their vanquished foes. There was a time when the entire clan had dressed that way but that had long since passed. Zeratul remembered those days fondly. They were simpler back then. He knew where he was then, at least.
He possessed a rare talent among his people: the ability to astrally project himself across the cosmos. He had learned to psionically communicate with someone light years away, and they could see him, though he was not actually there. Though all Protoss possessed some form of telepathic communication, Zeratul's ability far surpassed any of his peoples. It terrified him that he could currently find no soul he had had ever encountered within the distance that his power extended to.
The Stalkers that received the souls of the Dark Templar that day would at least provide him and his clan some much needed air support. In addition, they were fully capable of 'blinking' just like the Nerazim that piloted them, among other abilities, but they had been permanently grafted onto the machines themselves. And even though they had volunteered, it was hard for Zeratul to watch the scene before him.
Several robotic drones flew about him. These particular models were more round than most, though they served the same function as the Protoss' other variations of the Probe model. They had been equipped with miniature energy projectors which shot out small particle beams. The beams were used to collect samples of various minerals but also had the potential to damage targets that it deemed a threat. Using the same particle beam, it was also able to construct buildings from scratch, given time, and more than one Probe could aid in its construction, which greatly sped up the buildings completion.
The Probes just floated there for a moment like some insect inspecting the various Protoss that were present. The Prelate helped one of the Zer'atai approach one of the silvery metallic machines known as Stalkers.
They were likely crafted of the same alloy as Zeratul's armor and looked like some sort of four legged spider, though the mechanical hull that it carried on its top looked as if it had a cloaked face.
It was attached to the wall behind him and several wires and tendrils seemed to be attached to the dozens of Stalkers that were littered around the room.
Zeratul closed his eyes as the Probe approached his former student. His screams pained him to listen but he knew he would be born anew.
Location: UNKNOWN, the Bridge aboard the Spear of Adun
XX:XX - Shipboard Time UNKNOWN
26:00 - Hours After Impact
Data download: ERROR
System recalibrating...
Wanting to be prepared for whatever situation that would arise, other Probes set about dismantling all of the unnecessary parts among the myriad of wreckage in the Spear of Adun's starport. Some of the larger motherships that had been destroyed could at least have some components that could be reused or repurposed for whatever they needed to establish themselves in the region. Other buildings, such as the stargate, were pointless to keep around with their limited power supply.
Some of the starships were, unbelievably, still salvageable and Artanis decided that he would not dismantle the few that could be fixed. While some of the smaller ships were already being repaired, every vessel they could fix would prove extremely useful in their quest to return home. They simply didn't have the resources to build more and without a fully functional shipyard and only a limited number of Probes for repairs, it would take some time to get them operational again.
By then, they had fully repaired ten of the drones from the salvaged parts and the Hierarch had planned to give Zeratul four of them to aid him on his mission. If he could manage to get a warp gate built after he arrived on the other continent, it would prove to be invaluable in its ability to instantly transport units over vast distances. The power supply that remained on board the Spear could only activate the warp gate for brief moments but if his brother Zeratul could could get another one operational, it would definitely make their resource gathering mission run that much smoother.
They would have to improvise a bit if they ever wanted to get the other warp gate operational though. They required materials that were not native to this world and it worried Artanis that they wouldn't be able to find anything capable of handling the energy output on the planet.
Pushing these worries to the side of his mind, he had greater things to think about then. They had to find a way to protect the mining operations once they got them up and running again and the Spear's shields wouldn't be able to support both the arkship and the mining facilities.
To attempt to rectify the problem, Artanis needed to make a few more modifications to the computers coding. He did so with little issue but it meant that the warp gates would be unable to send anything through larger than a Stalker, once the other warp gate had been established. In addition, Artanis limited the shields energy output so that the two systems wouldn't interfere with one another.
Using bits of salvageable crystal circuitry that they were able to gather, the Probes set out to physically reroute the wiring throughout the Spear of Adun. Artanis, himself, had written the new macro program to compensate for the irregularities.
Location: UNKNOWN, the Recovery Bay of the Spear of Adun
XX:XX - Shipboard Time UNKNOWN
26:00 - Hours After Impact
Data download: ERROR
System recalibrating...
After a day - at least what seemed to be a day on that particular world - the Protoss had managed to get the warp gate aboard the Spear of Adun stabilized. Everything else, on that end at least, was up to Zeratul and the group he would be taking to the other continent. Even well after they established a connection they would only be able to send one unit through at a time without overloading the system just as his Hierarch had calculated.
It was all that the rerouted power could handle. As for powering the shields by the mines, a large conduit was built to be directly connected to the Spear of Adun's power core.
As far as recruits had went, Tethis was of the lowest rank of the Zealot Order. He was young by Protoss standards, only a few hundred years old. Though he felt he still had much to learn as his path had continued to throw him interesting twists and turns. In the more recent battles he had participated in, he felt a strange surge of power unlike anything he had ever felt before. He had no idea where it had come from.
That thought baffled him as he stared upon the multitude of containment tubes that held the wounded Protoss warriors somewhere in the recovery bay of the Spear. Hundreds of golden metallic tendrils seemed to grasp at the glass containers that held the recovering warriors aloft. The containers were filled with a translucent, green liquid and, though the being inside had no mouth, its body moved as if it were breathing.
Tethis counted fifty-or-so of the containment vessels that were lined up in rows of five. Each row stretched to cover the majority of the rooms floor, and Tethis approached one of the vessels in the row nearest to the entrance-way.
The room, itself, was built of some dark gray metal that Tethis had never seen before. He figured it to be of Xel'naga origin, though he couldn't be sure. The rooms dull color stood in great contrast to the sparkling gold of the containment vessels and the bright liquid held within them. The Zealot knew that the bright green liquid would eventually repair the damage their bodies had sustained on the unknown world that was home to the ruthless Zerg, as well as the artifact they sought.
The Khalai, or High Templar as they were called by outsiders, had fallen early in the battle and had been recalled back to the ship just prior to their doom. Every Protoss warrior had a machine that had been grafted into them and the technicians aboard any of the species' larger ships could recall them at any time to save their lives, even if barely, and most of the people in the stasis pods had been been called there before they had even come to this new world.
Tethis couldn't help but wonder what they would think when they woke up in this new world. Some would fully recover but others would be placed in more Immortals, or Stalkers - or something else entirely even - once they had finished the repairs on some of their Protoss machinery.
Tethis put his hand on the glass of the container that held one he believed to be a High Templar. Laying there, completely still in the chamber, he thought the that the warrior looked at peace. It was an awkward sight given the condition his clothing had been in.
He wore a light-weight armor that covered his most of his shoulders and chest but the rest was badly damaged below that. He had - what seemed to have once been - some form of cloth that covered his lower regions but it looked to have been mostly burned away by some corrosive liquid - Zerg saliva, most likely.
All else aside, he looked to be healing rather well among the bright green glow of the containment tubes. As he looked around the dark room, the mysterious liquid barely gave the area much lighting at all. He scanned over the rest of the containment tubes as the though occurred to him that most wouldn't be as lucky as the one he had stood at.
Location: UNKNOWN, outside of the Spear of Adun
XX:XX - Shipboard Time UNKNOWN
28:32 - Hours After Impact
Data download: ERROR
System recalibrating...
Artanis had hoped that the Colossi would be back online by now, but the technicians were still having issues getting the machines connected to the mainframe's matrix. The first thing he had ordered the Probes to build was a large, pyramid-shaped building known as a Nexus. They only had enough salvageable resources to construct one but getting it finished would provide them with invaluable support in their desperate hour.
The Nexus was used by the Protoss as a psychic anchor, allowing them to access the psionic matrix. High Templar used this matrix to tap into knowledge of the ancients known by no other members of their species.
The Nexus lacked the point of a traditional pyramid and, instead, had a small blue crystal that floated at its apex. The beautiful khaydarin crystals were its primary power source and the building was decorated with them.
When it had been completed, Artanis programmed each of the ten robotic drones to construct a foundation for the crash-survivors to build upon. First, they built several pylons in the ships vicinity to help draw power from the matrix of the Nexus.
Each pylon held a large khaydarin crystal that seemed to hover there, surrounded by a golden metallic casing that spun around it. While the Nexus would provide the link to the psionic matrix, the pylons were required to provide psionic energy to the colony.
As far as the recovery of the crew of the Spear of Adun was concerned, a few of the Zealots and the Khalai would manage to make full recoveries. There were a few, however, as well as some Dark Templar, that were either unexpected to survive or required to be permanently bonded to Protoss machinery to live out the remainder of their lives.
In addition, the arkship's technicians reported that they would have a few of their Scout-class vessels online within a days time. Artanis hoped to be able to take a few on his own mission. He had a fondness for piloting that class of ship.
As for the reconstruction and repair of the arkship's equipment and systems, a proper robotics facility had been built outside of the crash wreckage. Despite there being one aboard the Spear of Adun, the arkship was in no shape to scrap some of the larger motherships that had been destroyed upon impact though it could handle some of the smaller repairs that could be brought back to working order.
The three motherships that were usually aboard the Spear, had been slowly dismantled and taken to the robotics facility to be repurposed into other machinery. The cores that powered the motherships were absolutely vital in the outposts construction.
Artanis knew that he didn't have many resources to waste. Their khaydarin crystals were very limited, for one, and they had no way to get more. They had no Vespene gas to speak of as well and they had been lucky they were able to salvage as much as they could from scrapping the motherships and other lesser-machinery.
Location: UNKNOWN, outside of the Spear of Adun
XX:XX - Shipboard Time UNKNOWN
48:00 - Hours After Impact
Data download: ERROR
System recalibrating...
It had been decided that Zeratul would lead his Dark Templar, along with a few others, on an expedition across the ocean to get to the resources they needed and within two days time the Protoss' outpost had been fully established within the region.
The robotics bay, by then, had repaired one of the Warp Prisms and two Scout-class vessels, though the Scouts wouldn't be joining him for his mission. They were ordered to watch over the Spear of Adun itself.
The Warp Prism, which was tiny in comparison to the Spear, shot out a beam that digitized everything it touched as it passed over a platoon of Protoss warriors. Roughly thirty Dark Templar and a dozen Zealots that had recovered over the past few days were pulled into the ship. Immediately following them, four Stalkers were digitized and brought aboard another Warp Prism alongside four of the ten Probes.
Zeratul adjusted his armor. He tightened the leather straps that held his intricate armor to his upper body. The steel-like armor was lined in violet trim and sharp and rigid at every angle. Green orbs of some kind of psionic energy decorated his pauldrons, gauntlets, and leg-plates.
Zeratul placed a mask about his face that matched the violet hue of the trim on his shoulders. Two large segments covered the majority of his face from the brow up. Another segment covered his cheeks and part of it hung from his chin looking like an exaggerated goatee of Terran physiology.
There was a pitch black cavity that only the glow of his eyes could be seen behind. The mask concealed his identity completely. Subtlety was the way of the Narezim.
Zeratul thought of Artanis then and he had hoped that they would be able to use some of the mined resources that they had found to power at least a few of their systems. He felt his friend calling out to him as he began to break away into digital fragments.
"Be careful, Zeratul," he heard Artanis calling out to his mind, as his body broke apart around him. "According to the reports brought back by our Observers, there has been a lot of political and ecological turmoil on this world, lately. Several factions wage war with one another and countless other species, as well, all vie for doinanance in this world at war.
"Some of them are identical to Terrans in physiology. It would seem the beings we encountered two days ago were the decaying remnants of those people."
Zeratul narrowed his eyes.
"This may prove to be more troubling than we had anticipated," the Prelate of the Dark Templar noted.
"Indeed. We do not want to get involved in this worlds conflicts. Seek out any minerals or other usable resources as quickly as possible. We have no further business here," Artanis reiterated.
Though they were on other ends of their newly established base, at that moment, Zeratul nodded in reply none-the-less. Despite not actually seeing the gesture, his psionic energy was understood by Artanis who had headed the repairs of the Spear of Adun.
"Let us hope we can avoid getting pulled into this conflict," the Prelate said, as he was digitized alongside the last of his troops and downloaded into the Warp Prisms memory banks. Two Observers flew at the ships side, keeping an eye out for potential threats.
Location: UNKNOWN
XX:XX - Shipboard Time UNKNOWN
48:15 - Hours After Impact
Data download: ERROR
System recalibrating...
Artanis watched the ships fly off into the distance from the view-port in the Spear of Adun's control room.
"En Taro Tassadar," he said to his friend, though he knew he couldn't actually hear him then.
Now that their plan had been set in motion, there was no turning back. Artanis looked At his computer screen. Even though his friend had just left, there was still much that to be done on his end.
"What is our status?" he asked, as he did a systems check of the Spear of Adun.
"All systems are stable, with no irregularities in the power fluctuations," a technician answered.
"The psionic power matrix is holding steady, Hierarch. The Nexus is unable to connect to Aiur, though we can attempt to establish a connection using a satellite world to rebound the transmission," explained another.
"Repairs of the arkship's hull are thirty percent complete but it will take some time to get all of the secondary systems back online. Until then, most of the Spear's primary systems will be unusable," the first technician went on.
"I see." Artanis grimaced as he left the arkships bridge. "I shall be gone for a little while Solstyce. I want you to watch after our foothold, continue with the repairs, and oversee the construction of additional buildings. We will be here longer than we anticipate, and it's time we start planning accordingly.
"I need you to focus on the mining operations here. I will be heading to northeast. There is a rather large city there according to our Observers."
"Hierarch, you can't be serious!" Solstyce, the first technician, snapped back.
"It cannot be helped," he answered simply. "If we do encounter the natives of these lands, I would prefer to avoid conflict as much as possible. If they can be reasoned with, then it would be best that I go. The people of this world may be primitive, but that doesn't mean they are without their strengths.
"It is also why I have asked Zeratul to cross the ocean. Despite his warrior code of conduct, he is a very diplomatic individual and, should a problem arise, he can just as easily vanish."
"Should you at least not take more of our forces with you?" Solstyce worried.
"No, our brethren shall stay here with the ships to aid in their repairs. Once we have gathered the necessary resources, the Forge will be finished and we can synthesize the parts that we will need." The Hierarch paused for a moment.
"In addition, it would be in all of our best interests to keep our numbers small as to not startle or arouse the attention of the natives."
Artanis then walked over to a monitor in one of the Spear of Adun's hallways. He typed in some sequence and it beeped a few times in response.
"If trouble occurs, we should have enough power to summon assistance through the warp gate," the Hierarch said matter-of-factly.
"Understood, Hierarch. En taro Tassadar," Solstyce answered his leader. He would do exactly as he wished.
The simple technician didn't feel qualified enough to be in charge of an outpost as vital as the one he had been asked to watch over that day. He watched as Artanis was downloaded into another Warp Prism just outside of the Spear of Adun. Two Scout-class ships hovered beside the Warp Prism, as a third approached its rear.
In addition to the three Scouts, he took only a few Templar with him, both Khalai and Narezim, though that was hopefully all they would need. The High Templar hadn't fully healed, but they would be well enough for the mission assuming it went as smoothly as planned.
Location: UNKNOWN
At about that same time, and not far from where Zeratul's intended destination had been, a rather muscular figure stood near the base of the world's largest mountain, halfway across the world. Sacred ruins were littered about, composed of ancient monumental stone slabs that had been aligned in a perfect circle.
He appeared human enough, though his skin had a violet hue to it. His head was crowned with two large antlers that curved back over his long, forest green hair that had been kept up in a ponytail. His ears were long and pointy, as was his long unkempt beard, that failed to conceal his look of worry.
He had a belt that looked to be made of stone, with the symbol of a crescent moon adorned on it. He had massive bear claws that served as shoulder armor and another pair that covered his hands as if they were fist-weapons.
"Broll Bearmantle..." the wind spoke as it blew past.
He looked up curiously as the wind seemed to cause the trees surrounding the ruins to creak under its strain. One of the trees fell under the might of the massive gale. Two of the tree's branches reached out, if it could be called that, catching the mighty oak before it actually hit the ground.
The tree pulled itself free from the ground and came to life. It stretched its limbs and shook itself rigorously, freeing hundreds of amber-colored leaves that fell around the man called Broll.
The bark in the middle of the the trees trunk stretched and skewered until it resembled a face. It creaked as it moved towards Broll and it lowered its face to meet that of his own.
"Onu..." Broll said.
"Why have you disturbed my ancestral slumber?" the oak named Onu asked as it let out a yawn.
"I sense something happening in the south. I have had visions of demons coming, though they are unlike anything we have ever seen before."
"That time has passed. Why do you concern yourself with such things?" the tree asked.
"If you recall, Onu, I lost my daughter Anessa in that war! That is why I concern myself with such things," Broll cried, unable to contain his emotions.
"Calm yourself, young one." Broll was not young, by any means, but he couldn't bare to ignore the wisdom of one such as an Ancient. "I shall look into this matter personally."
Onu's eyes glowed white before his wooden eyelids closed and he began to chant in some ancient tongue that Broll had only ever heard spoken by the Ancients themselves. Seconds later, it opened its eyes and the white white light that emanated from them faded.
"Yes, I can feel it as well. There is a buildup of some strange power. It harms the trees and I can hear their cries," Onu expressed.
"I don't fully understand this but I wish to find out what is going on here. I will warn Tyrande and Velen, then head south to investigate."
"Broll..." the wise tree leaned closer to the the man in bear-armor. "Be careful when meddling in the affairs of the south. I hear in Uldum, they dabble in things even the Titans couldn't fully comprehend."
Broll nodded and with that, the ancient tree known as Onu turned and walked back to where he was rooted into the ground moments earlier.