Dominion Research Lab
Meinhoff
The air reeked of death, and bloodstains marred the walls. Littered on the steps leading down into the facility were carcasses of fallen infested Terrans. Occasionally, there was a Dominion marine who didn't succumb to the infestation before falling, often with scratches and dents on their power armor and blood on the attached neosteel bayonets under their Gauss rifles. The rifles themselves were mostly spent, with much of their ammunition within the infested corpses, and the spent shell casings scattered all over.
Hanayo was nauseous as she slowly trod the stairs, being careful to avoid stepping on one of the corpses.
As they approached the foot of the steps, the corpses started piling up, and it became increasingly difficult for the younger Nerazim to find a spot without a dead body. Once they reached the bottom, they saw what seemed to be a security checkpoint, with a large, half-open metal door indicating that the entrance had not been sealed in time. Right in front of it were two barricades, and the destroyed remains of some defensive turret. Leaning on the barricades were more marines, some of whom had equally-dead infested lying on top of them.
Hanayo wasn't sure if she could take it any longer. She started to lose her balance, only to be caught by her mentor.
"It isn't pleasant, no?" Nozomi whispered. Hanayo held her head and struggled to get back up on her feet.
"We still have to do this, I know," Hanayo replied. "Right now, no one else can." After composing herself, the two of them entered the devastated lab. This time, there were also noncombatants among the dead: scientists, wearing white coats that have been stained with blood and torn in several places; and a few civilians who sought to take shelter within the supposedly-fortified lab. The two Nerazim walked through the darkened main hallway, eventually reaching an intersection.
"This way," Nozomi quietly gestured to the path to the left. Psionic energy was emanating from there, which would only mean that their quarry was that way. The two of them followed the trail, passing by several raided rooms. 'If she was looking for information...'
The lab's main supercomputer. She would need to access that to be able to find information about the Ghost Program. Where could it be hidden, then...
"Stop," Nozomi told Hanayo. The two of them quickly backed flat onto the wall and froze as a pair of Zerglings appeared from around the corner of the hallway and sprinted past them. It took all of their self-control to not draw their blades when the Zerglings seemed to run towards them, and only started moving when the two creatures had disappeared from sight. Afterwards, they heard a crash, and a scream.
"We're getting close," Nozomi said, already sprinting towards the source of the noise. Hanayo followed closely behind.
"...like I said," the two heard as they approached the only occupied room in this part of the lab. "Do as I say and I may consider letting you live." The reply was panicked and broken words, but it seemed like the captive Terran was complying: "And do it quickly. I don't have time to waste."
Nozomi slowed down, and eventually came to a halt beside the door before taking a peek inside, while Hanayo watched the hallways just in case. Most of the room was a chaotic mess, but the massive Terran supercomputer still functioned at its center. In front of it was their quarry, and her terrified Terran prisoner. The Terran was struggling to operate the computer through his fear, and no thoughts of escape or resistance could enter him. Not with one of the infested psionic's talon-like wings poised behind his neck.
"H-Here are the f-files present here for the G-Ghost Program..."
"Good. All I need now is someone to interpret this for me..."
"Erm...i-if I may..." the Terran spoke up. "If you would want more complete information on the Ghost Program..." He hesitated for a brief few seconds as he thought about what he was going to say. However, he deemed his immediate survival to be the ultimate priority. "...Tyrador VIII has a s-science vessel in orbit. Science vessels would have complete access to the Ghost Program within their systems since they're used to coordinate with the agents."
"Hm, I see."
Nozomi immediately relayed this information to Maki, who checked the star map. 'Hm...Tyrador VIII is a few systems away from here. It is one of the main hubs of research for the Terrans. Should we get there ahead of the Zerg?'
It was a risk, Nozomi was certain, to let her get so close to her goal. Right now, on the other hand, she and her apprentice had the perfect opportunity to strike. This infested was practically offering herself up-
"Don't think that your tricks hide you completely, Protoss."
Nozomi froze. She shouldn't have been spotted, otherwise she couldn't have gotten so close...unless...
"I'm not looking to pick a fight with your kind. Yet." The infested turned around and seemed to lock eyes with Nozomi through the Dark Templar's cloaking. Pink eyes burned intensely, and Nozomi could feel the suddenly-strong pressure coming from her. "I'll allow you a choice here. You are free to escape with your life now, and you will stay out of my way from here on out. You can also choose to escape now and confront me again above Tyrador VIII, but know that you will not be afforded any mercy there.
"And, as tantalizing of a choice fighting me here and now is, thousands of Zerg are ready to pour into this lab and slaughter you and whoever else you brought along down here the moment I allow it. Choose wisely, Protoss. This is the first and last time the Princess of Blades will give you the luxury."
Nozomi did not hesitate. "Hanayo, let's get out." She suspected that the Zerg were likely to be waiting for them on the surface regardless of this...Princess of Blades' words. She and Hanayo had to move quickly.
Nico smirked with satisfaction as she felt the psionic signatures of the Dark Templar slowly fade away. She still had packs of underlings and an Overseer waiting in ambush at the lab entrance, of course. She wasn't that generous.
"Ummm...a-am I free to go as well...?" the Terran meekly inquired.
"You served your purpose," Nico allowed. "Now get out of my sight."
The second his permission was granted, the Terran scientist made a break for a hidden hangar a floor below, and he was thankful that the Princess of Blades seemed to keep her end of the bargain, as the entire path was clear of Zerg. That place housed several all-terrain vehicles, and were directly connected to a tunnel network which would bring him miles away from the settlement, and close to a Starport. Hopefully that Starport would still be intact, and would still have a functioning starship for him to escape with. It was a slim hope, but it was the best chance he had.
He would not be escaping the facility - as a Terran, at least. On Nico's command, an infestor - a colony-like creature which was one of the latest Zerg strains to be introduced - burrowed underneath the only remaining ATV in the hidden hangar, and simply waited. When the scientist started to open the vehicle cabin, a harpoon-like tentacle pierced his temple, and the infestor's neural parasite went to work, completely pacifying the scientist and allowing the infestor to unburrow and devour the scientist whole.
When the two Dark Templar reached the surface, the Zerg had sprung their trap. Aided by the Overseer's powerful sensory organs, which were able to see through any sort of cloaking, the Zerg began a mad dash towards the intruders. Nozomi immediately started running, but her apprentice was paralyzed by fear.
"Run, Hanayo!" Nozomi called out. "Run!"
Still, it was as if Hanayo's senses had completely shut down. All she could do was stand helplessly as the Zerg charged towards her. Nozomi was forced to go back and grab Hanayo by the arm.
"Focus, Hanayo." Nozomi sternly told her. That, along with her mentor's steady grip, brought Hanayo's mind back to the reality of the situation, and she nodded shakily in response. Together, the two disappeared in a puff of smoke, reappearing moments later behind the rabble and making a run for their ship. Nozomi hoped that the ship was still there.
It was, and Maki immediately allowed the two inside. This revealed the Spiritual Power to the pursuing Zerg, and a small swarm of airborne Zerg started forming to intercept their departure. The Zerg's ground forces were deterred by the High Templar's potent psionic storm.
Quickly getting behind the pilot's seat, Nozomi had the ship rapidly take off and prepare for faster-than-light travel towards their next destination: the Tyrador system. As the Spiritual Power ascended, the Zerg flyers - composed primarily of the squid-like Corruptors, the dedicated anti-ship strain of the airborne Swarm - started attacking. Fortunately, the ship's plasma shield held, albeit barely, until the ship had charged sufficiently to make the jump into the Void, and after a tense few moments, the ship was once again within the relative safety of the Void's currents and speeding towards one of two co-orbiting planets on the outermost part of the Tyardor system.
Only then did everyone allow themselves to relax, and, in Hanayo's case, cry in relief. It had been her first real close encounter with death itself, and it once again highlighted the young Nerazim's peculiarity among her people as she broke down. Rin and Maki held her close, the latter softly humming a tune to help calm her nerves. Hanayo fell asleep in their arms a while later, relieving her companions.
And allowing her mentor to refocus her mind on their quarry. Nozomi had always viewed the Princess of Blades as a threat, though the recent encounter proved just how dangerous the infested psionic really is. It had been a rare moment of underestimation on Nozomi's part (though she told herself that the Princess of Blades allowed such thinking to happen, something which made her shudder once she realized how close she and her apprentice could have been to certain death), and she promised herself that it would be the last time.
Once again, however, her vision manifested itself. Nine silhouettes, and nine colors...and she was now certain that one of those colors is pink...
...the same bright pink which burned intensely in the Princess of Blades' eyes...
Nozomi was shaken out of her trance in yet another rare moment for her, this time of confusion. Her vision started raising even more questions now.
'What would Zeratul do in this situation?' She knew what he would say, though: find the truth. However, now wasn't the time for that, for she and her companions still had a mission to accomplish.
Nico emerged from the underground facility just in time to see the Protoss ship depart, and she smiled wryly. She knew that there were more than two of them, and knew that the small force she allowed to attack them wouldn't be enough to cut off their escape. If they were smart, they'd stay out of her way and instead prepare for the eventual day she and the rest of the Swarm clash with and eradicate the remainder of the Protoss race.
Of course, she knew otherwise, and she reveled in the thought of actually confronting them. Still, she needed to exercise caution. Even with the new information she has, she still needed to figure out how to make use of it, and it would not be enough to unlock her peak strength. She was also certain that she wouldn't be given the time to make use of the additional data that she'd pilfer. But she had a plan to account for that.
And, coincidentally, Tyrador VIII was a prime target on Kerrigan's list. She was sure the Queen won't mind; she should even feel honored to be assisting the great Nico-Nii-
'Where the heck did that come from?' Nico blinked hard and shook her head. That was...strange, to say the least. However, she pushed her questions to the back of her mind. The rest of Meinhoff still beckoned, and her Swarm was still hungry.
A/N: Yeah, I took my sweet time with this again. I've been making myself busy with other things as of late, so I hope you guys understand. And we'll be leaping back to the main campaign next chapter, as promised.
Also, changing rating at this point, to be on the safe side. This chapter warrants it (actually, I should have done so on the last chapter or two).