Dark Templar Shrine
Talematros, Shakuras

Any Dark Templar Shrine is considered sacred ground for the Nerazim – the one at Talematros, in particular, is special due to it being the first shrine established when the Dark Templar began making Shakuras their home. At the time of Nico's reawakening, Dark Prelate Nozomi was in a meditative state in one of its many chambers with her apprentice, Hanayo. The power of Nico's psionic outburst was such that its echoes even reached the center of Protoss space, at the far reaches of the Koprulu sector.

Hanayo was shaken from her meditation by the echo and the lingering violence she felt from it, and she let out a sharp cry of pain. Nozomi did not seem affected by it, however...

"Did you feel it, too?" she asked her pupil. It was a moot point; the Protoss were a psionic species (and arguably the most powerful in general compared to the other living races), so it was impossible for any Protoss to not feel it. They felt Kerrigan's during the Great War, and while this pulse of psionic energy did not seem as powerful, just the fact that it happened at all was more than enough of a cause for concern.

Hanayo nodded in alarm. The phenomenon brought back grave memories of the first Great War and the Brood Wars, back when she was still a student of the Dark Templar ways: she remembered when the Khalai – rather, what was left of them – arrived at Shakuras, battered and weary; she remembered the rebellion that Aldaris led when it was discovered that the late Matriarch was under Kerrigan's control; she remembered when Zeratul was forced to slay her to release her from the Queen of Blades' psychic grasp. It was not the best of days, especially since she and Rin were forced to stay apart for a long time due to tensions between the two Protoss kindreds.

Now it seems like history would be repeating itself. And this time, she might have to play a part in it. She knew that she would have to go to war one day, and she prepared for it, and yet she always kept alive the hope that war would become unnecessary, that – farfetched a wish as it was – all in the sector would be able to live in peace. This most recent event – a herald of a great threat – was quickly killing that hope. She would have to draw her blade. She would have to kill. And she might even die in the process. She never wanted to think about it, but in this dark moment, she couldn't help it, and it made her feel weak and powerless. She looked to her mentor for strength, advice, something to tell her that everything would be okay.

Nozomi was in a trance again. Hanayo was familiar with these: a vision was appearing in the Prelate's mind, and the intensity in her eyes was suggesting that she was trying to comprehend it. Hanayo, as usual, was unsure of what her mentor sees, even when it's shared to her, but the slightest flicker of hope was in her mind. Might it be that this bad omen...might not be as bad?

Nozomi came out of her trance a little later, and looked at her apprentice. She knew Hanayo had been watching, and could tell what she was thinking. "It's still unclear," Nozomi said. "A little clearer than the last time, but still a blur." Hanayo's worry was visible on her face, but she saw Nozomi's eyes soften. "I still don't know what it holds, but do not lose hope." Nozomi also shared her apprentice's wish, though she prepared for war much more diligently, even as she secretly prayed for peace. It was necessary for this, and it was why she brought the timid Dark Templar under her wing. Hanayo needed to learn this necessity, and to trust her strength when she needs it the most. 'It was fortunate that she met Rin and Maki,' she thought. Those two would aid her in that path, would be there to catch her if she trips along the way, and would give her strength even when fear starts to consume her.

For this new threat, she – all Protoss – would need all that strength if they are to overcome.

Twilight Council

Within the Twilight Council, the council – all Khalai, in fact – felt it as well, as a particularly violent ripple through the Khala. It was enough to disorient them all for a brief moment, but once they recovered, they knew its significance. A new danger has emerged. Another threat to the galaxy.

As if Kerrigan's renewed sense of conquest wasn't enough, now they had to contend with another psionic infested Terran. Whoever it was has to be stopped before its power matures. The sector doesn't need another Kerrigan. Thus, the council has decided to send an expedition to investigate, and if possible, eradicate the threat by any means necessary.

Maki and Rin were in the former's usual room, with the High Templar playing her music and the Praetor listening peacefully to it before the ripples of the psionic wave arrived. Sometime later, the council convened at the uppermost level of the building. The meeting was brief, and the decision, made swiftly. Executor Selendis, the second-in-command of the Hierarch of the Daelaam, went to the room as soon as the Council adjourned, surprising the two.

"Good day, Praetor, High Templar," Selendis greeted. "I'm sure you two were aware of the Council's meeting earlier on?"

"We were, Executor," Maki replied. "It concluded rather quickly, however."

Selendis nodded. "With good reason. I will not ask if you felt what I – what all of us – felt moments before. I know you do. A consensus was reached in little time, however, for the investigation of this new threat by the Golden Armada." She then looked at Rin. "Praetor, you will lead this investigation. Find out what you can, and, if possible, cut this threat at the root."

"By your command, Executor," Rin obeyed.

"Make haste with your preparations. You shall leave at dawn."

"With your permission, may I bring some comrades along?"

"Of course. That is part of your preparations, after all. An expeditionary fleet shall be allocated from the Golden Armada, and some of our best Templar shall be going—" Rin shook her head at that, surprising Selendis. "What do you have in mind, Praetor?"

"I've made up my mind about who I will bring along, don't worry." She then turned her head towards Maki, who was initially taken aback.

"You can't be serious, Rin," Maki responded.

"I trust you and Kayo-chin best, and you know that." If she had a mouth, Rin would have been smiling brightly. As is, the intense golden glint flaring from her eyes told the other two the same thing.

"This will certainly be interesting, then," Selendis observed. "Merely a High Templar and a Dark Templar. You certainly put much faith in her and the Nerazim, but I trust your judgments. Regardless, you will have access to reinforcements at your discretion. Our main concern is this new threat. The Daelaam shall put their trust with you and your comrades on this."

"We will do our best nya!" Rin assured her excitedly, surprising the Executor with the strange verbal tic – she never heard it until today, though the High Templar beside her didn't seem fazed by it. Still, the Praetor's excitement was indeed infectious, and Selendis could not help but chuckle for a brief moment.

"Good. En Taro Adun, Templar. We are counting on you."

Sometime later, the trio – accompanied, surprisingly, by the Dark Prelate herself, who reasoned that her apprentice would still need her guidance – boarded Nozomi's personal starship, the Spiritual Power, at her insistence: the ship was just the right size for the four of them to operate without having to bring extra crew members (in fact, Nozomi can operate it herself while the other three prepare themselves for their mission), and bringing a carrier for what was essentially a reconnaissance mission was impractical. The ship took off after final preparations and commenced warp travel towards the source of the psionic pulse, which was discovered to have originated from the grounds of one of the old Xel'naga shrines on Monlyth.

Hyperion
High orbit above Redstone III

At around the same time, the Hyperion was stabilizing above Redstone III, a volcanic planet featuring a cataclysmic fracture on a large part of its northern hemisphere. The planet seemed like it had been cracked open, and the parts that have come loose still float slightly above where they split off. Down on its surface, it does not look any more stable, with a highly uneven landscape making terrestrial navigation nearly impossible, and with frequent quakes triggering sudden surges of lava which flood the planet's pockets of low ground and further impeding ground movement.

Due to these strange geological conditions, though, the planet produced some of the most valuable mineral fields across the sector, and many Terran mining guilds have fought to secure mining rights on the planet before the Kel-Morian Combine, a large coalition between the two top corporate guilds in the sector formed in response to the threat presented by the former Terran Confederacy on their operations, took control of the planet. When the Zerg Swarm descended on the planet only recently, the KMC was forced to abandon it, and since then, it once again became a free mining zone, albeit with the added risk from Zerg hive clusters scattered around the valuable deposits.

If not for their current contract, the Raiders would have been more than glad to stay away - Jim Raynor doesn't have the best of relationships with volcanic planets, and it wasn't helping that the Zerg were settled down on it. As it is, they planned to finish the contract as quickly as possible.

Hyperion Cantina

Once again, Honoka, Kotori, Umi, and Eli stayed behind on standby while a small crew went down to secure a mining base. This time, however, they were at the cantina, entertaining the assembled crowd with a song they had recently made together. Even without the speakers throughout the entire ship broadcasting their melody, it touched the hearts and minds of everyone aboard, soothing the atmosphere and easing the tensions of those set to follow the forward crew.

Six hours earlier

"That's it, ladies. As usual, you'll wait up here until you're needed - with luck, that shouldn't be necessary."

Raynor dismissed the four after the short briefing. They shouldn't be needed, as the Zerg should be deterred from getting to them by the planet's periodic lava surges; even then, they don't expect anything more than small raiding parties, and a mobile force of Marines and Firebats should be more than enough to keep the Zerg away from their mining operations. Still, it was necessary that they were at least prepared to move out at a moment's notice, just in case the unexpected happens.

And with all that's happened thus far, the unexpected is certainly becoming a much more common occurrence than the Raiders would've liked.

The four girls found their way back to the cantina, having light drinks on the counter while enjoying the music playing from the jukebox. As Eli raised her hand to call for another round for them, the next song came up. The bubbly intro was unmistakable, and the voice that started singing a few seconds later even more so. All of them looked up at the jukebox at the same time, and then to each other.

"Nico-chan..." Honoka started. No further words seemed to be necessary, however, as the other three nodded right after. As Nico Yazawa's hit single filled the cantina, everyone else suddenly fell silent. The laughter and banter died quickly, replaced with somber looks and bowed heads. All of them knew at this point. All of them wanted payback for Nico, for the Swarm's abduction of her, for turning her into whatever monstrosity she had become.

And yet there was one thing the four psionics on-board knew that no one else did. Within the flood of dark rage was...something else. A faint cry for help, it seemed. Nico was still in there, and if they can, they will save her. If they can, they will help her overcome her curse. But until they cross paths, they could only hope that whatever humanity still remains within Nico would continue to remain.

"Say..." Eli said, to break the silence between them. "How about we write a song for her? Something to honor her...and to keep us hoping." Despite the atmosphere, small smiles appeared on the faces of the other three.

"Yeah...that's a great idea, Eli-chan," Honoka concurred. "I know Nico-chan is still there somewhere. We felt it, right?" The other three nodded.

"It was...faint," Umi added, "but somehow, Nico...still seemed to be reaching out to us."

"She's still there," Kotori agreed. "That means we can still save her, right?"

"If her consciousness still remains by the time we actually encounter her," Eli added. "We have to hope that Nico will keep trying to resist succumbing to her infestation."

"I know she will," Honoka confidently declared. "Her mom is still here, and I'm sure she's still calling for her. She'll keep fighting."

As the other three discussed further, Umi discreetly brought out a notepad-

"Ooh, Umi-chan, that looks cute!"

Honoka's sudden exclamation impulsively made Umi shove the notepad under the table. "W-What are you talking about?"

Eli laughed. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about it, you know?"

"B-But..." Despite her protests, Umi relented, and revealed her notepad once again. The cover had a cute floral design with a bunny at the center, and the pen that was attached to it shared the same floral pattern, and had a cap with bunny ears.

"It's really cute, Umi-chan!" Kotori squealed, and the two of them leaned in for a closer look.

"Y-You two! I won't be able to write like this!" Of course, despite her protests, she was able to write a short song within a few hours. Eli and Kotori were able to add music to it with the latter's guitar, and the song was ready to be performed by the time the advance party left for Redstone III's surface.

Unknown Location

And quite the performance it was, Nozomi told herself. She was surprised when she picked it up as the Spiritual Power skirted the Void, which was how Dark Templar ships achieved faster-than-light travel - experienced Nerazim used their knowledge of the Void, and their mastery over its energies, to ride its invisible currents, in a manner not unlike warp space travel.

Perhaps it was the Void's doing, but as she sped her ship towards their objective, Nozomi felt faint psionic echoes, similar (though comparatively weaker) to the psionic signature of the new Zerg threat - only, instead of rage and danger, she felt...joy? And hope? It was strange, but it warmed her heart that there were such thoughts like that. It gave her hope for the peace that she and her apprentice wished for greatly, and, more importantly for her, somehow made the succeeding vision a little clearer than before. It was still very much a blur to her, but now she could clearly identify colors. Nine colors, and nine blurry silhouettes. Four colors in particular caught her eye: red, yellow, green, and purple. She looked at the three Templar preparing for their mission at the back...and then at her own reflection. 'This mission...could it be more than just a coincidence?'

High orbit above Monlyth

They emerged from the Void moments later, with the Protoss shrine world just in sight...and a Zerg Leviathan hovering just at the edge of the moon's atmosphere.

"Just as feared," Nozomi said. The other three were also observing the Zerg monstrosity as it lazily drifted. They didn't know how long it has been there, but they had to assume the worst: that the entire moon had been completely infested. Nozomi knew that a splinter group of Tal'darim had stayed behind when Monlyth was largely abandoned by the Empire. Heretics they may have been, it was undeniable that the Tal'darim were fierce fanatics, and any threat against the shrines on the surface would be met by unrelenting resistance. On the other hand, their numbers were still limited, compared to the Zerg invaders who could replace every underling they lost with dozens more. Nozomi briefly wondered what reason the Zerg had for invading such a place. For whatever artifacts the shrines kept, perhaps? And for what purpose would they use those? Nozomi figured that it may be connected to the birth of the new infested psionic, but what for...

Those questions would have to wait, she figured. She and her fellow Templar had their mission for now. The Spiritual Power cloaked itself and set a course for the surface of Monlyth, just outside the grounds of an important Xel'naga shrine.

A/N: Alright, we're getting somewhere here. Also, as I've said before, our Protoss idols-to-be will gradually become scarce as the first arc progresses. Hopefully. Funny thing is, I've already mapped out the second and third arcs, but I'm having trouble working on the first. I don't know. Maybe things'll become clearer eventually. Like our spiritual Prelate's visions.