Episode 46- When I woke up…
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'mhm' The whole scenery was bathed in the soft morning light, with a sound of creaking wood as accompaniment. The small occupant inside slowly opened her eyes, the white pupils in the shape of four leafed flowers shined gently, accompanied by the soft green on the outer eye rings. Two points of long, sharp ears peeked from the sides of her hed.
The figure sat up. "When I woke up, I was raiding in the flower carriage." Seeing the assorted people caused her face to brighten considerably. "I just had a dream" the little figure put her hand to chin "I had dreamt it was my birthday".
Scenery changed to a simple background, with the little figure waking up on a grass field, and started to mingle with an assortment of two small foxes, and a trio of birds. "In the dream, the knights of flowers and his retainers found me." One hand extended towards her, and was met with a small hand and a beaming smile . 'Oh Archon, we have finally found you! The people can't wait to meet you!'
"The sabzerus festival began," A throng of people formed a circle, dancing and laughing. Directly by the figure was the hand offerer, wearing a hat conical in shape and green in colour. "And everyone smiled, as they gathered around me." Some candies fell on her little outstretched hand. "Finally, I got back to the carriage, and waved goodbye." Followed by the cheers of all the people around.
"When I woke up, I was riding in a flower carriage." The little figure raised her head up, face instantly brightening. "I just had a dream", she made a gesture with her hands for emphasis. "I dreamt it was my birthday".
The little figure raised up from the grassy earth, surrounded by the small foxes and birds. LIght streamed softly, creating a pleasant ambience. "In this dream, the knight of flowers and his retainers had found me." A blonde traveler, with the little white fairy floating by his side, extended his hand towards her. A little distance away, five retainers also runned towards her, or just hung back with a smile. With a crown of flowers on her head, the little figure showed a radiant smile. 'O Archon, we finally found you', surrounded in a circle, seven hands were extended towards her. 'The people can't wait to meet you."
"Sabzerus festival began, and everyone smiled as they gathered around me." The smiles were on everyone's faces, as the little figure enjoyed the presence of her Knight of Flowers. "Finally, I got back to the Flower Carriage, and waved goodbye." Her smile was brighter than ever, showering everyone with its radiance.
Suddenly, everything went black. The little figure slowly raised up, and spoke with a weavering, weak and vulnerable voice. "w-when i woke up… i was riding in a flower carriage…" The little figure put her hands together close to her chest, face marred with discomfort and… sadness… "I-i just had a dream, I dreamt it was my birthday."
Contrary to the other gentle fade ins of the 'dream', this time violent ripples assaulted the mindscape. Sky, was blood red. The ground, white, and devoid of any life. In the corner of one's vision, some unreadable letters appeared, giving a terrifying aura. "In the dream," The voice very weakly said, almost whispering, "The night of flowers, and his retainers found me…" A few shadowy figures clad in robes descended upon her, faces obscured from view. One quickly grabbed her hand, and started dragging her along, the rest following after. 'Oh Archon, we finally found you!' The little figure looked with a confused and scared face, her eyes wide. A soft clink of chains could be heard in the background. 'The people can't wait to meet you!'
Another violent change of scenery. "The sabzerus festival began, and everyone smiled as they gathered around me…" The faces filled with pain, sadness and the heads turned away told a different story. The greys that filled everything and everyone made this look so much worse.
A hand with a bracelet, weakly trying to reach forward, only to fall down. "Finally, I got back to the flower carriage." The little figure was left alone on a sunken altar, and arbor pillars going upwards. The soft light, but not from the sun, added to the gloomy ambience. "And waved goodbye."
'hhhhh' "W-when I woke up- I was riding in a flower carriage." The little figure opened her eyes, their inner glow dimmed. With a weak, pained voice, she continued "It was… my birthday." The little figure dressed in whites and greens levitated in her prison, the green ethereal roots rose up to create a bubble that kept her locked up. It was an alcove, suspended inside a giant tree, held up by four walkways. With a weak voice, and eyes closing in unimaginable sadness, the little figure continued "Happy birthday… Nahida."
Well…
The next time she woke up, she was sitting in (just) a flower. And she couldn't see anything, because being immediately engulfed in a hug has caused the whole world to go dark, but so comforting at the same time… And the warmth…
"Litenaut Duran, since you showed such a concern for this device's inherent danger, I charge you with finding the distributor and securing it. We will commence with the destruction once we clear this area."
Jaruga looked up from the screen, and made eye contact with Mina. The dropship transporting the man in question was already landing, but before the three of them could join the action, there was one last thing to do. As instructed, Jaruga contacted the Vice Admiral.
"My friend, you saw our earlier conversation, and now this. This man, Duran, is swaying Admiral, without him being aware. Of one thing I am perfectly sure, the psi distributors can't be destroyed! I don't know why, but for some reason THAT man is trying to dissuade us from pursuing not a weapon, but an Anti-weapon! The future of our expedition rests on your shoulders, Jaruga. When you return, I will be sure to grant you increased privileges, and access to our equipment replicators. Good luck, special agent."
The face of Stukov faded away. Thinking about getting close to Duran made her shudder, with a mix of unfounded disgust, and shiver with unknown dread. She wasn't bothered by the disruptors this much, her home had their own after all. But the company of the man that caused her instinct to go haywire and scream of danger certainly wasn't pleasant.
Silently, she brushed past her pilot and walked towards the railing, observing the soon to be battlefield. The sandy ground of Tarsonis was marred by natural cliffs, and some big, dilapidated structures that probably were their points of interest. And of course, four clusters of zerg were already waking up, and preparing to strike the terran forces. At last one thing was absolutely sure. Turning towards Mina, she said "With this much zerg, we can be sure that those small flying pests will follow. I am afraid you will have to stay at the back, to avoid being attacked by suicidal bombers. Me and Miko will have to go alone this time."
The fox perked up at the news, while Mina just nodded her head. After the last close call, she wasn't willing to test out the durability of her boat.
After some reminiscing about the Tassadar between the Zeratul and Artanis, the next course of action was very simple. It was on Char, rather close to the new Overmind still in its infant stages.
Kerrigan took control over a portion of zerg to create distraction. Protoss just quickly swooped in, secured the Khalis, and hightailed it out of there. Sure, it wasn't glorious, but their small force would suffer too many losses attacking the zerg. Especially on their homeplanet, filled with lava and sulphur.
And what about our two special heroes? Dobromir went his way, claiming the need to check on his base. And Wit? Because the action was almost over before it started, the little shroom-person just stayed with the Uraj, and basked in its energies. It was very similar to the Khalaits, as in pure and clear. The difference? The Protoss with their nerve cords in one piece radiated their power to their surroundings, sometimes even as intense as the sun. In comparison, the crystal was more like a moon, reflecting the sun's rays, but more gently. Despite that, Wit still could feel more power contained within, even stronger than Archon's.
"Ah, ! I already saw that most, if not all zerglings are now walking on four appendages, instead of the weird hopping they did before. I want to know what you achieved… tell me everything!" Their noses were almost touching, and the steam released from Dobromir's nose clearly showed his excitement about PROGRESS.
Infection clearly loosened more than a few screws in both of their heads, because the wasn't bothered by the close proximity. Looking directly into Dobromir's eyes, without any hint of being uncomfortable, he replied. "Commander, all the zerglings were changed, per your instructions, remaining in their original sizes. I also removed unneeded mass from the other infected, but their minds…"
"Yesss…?" Now their noses were touching, and both could have access to the infinite mirrors that were their eyes looking directly into each other. still was completely at ease with this situation.
"Despite how effortless it seemed, Abathur's mind manipulations were extremely complex. I can't recreate it at all. I can however begin the slow process of moving the cogs of their cognition."
"Go on…!" Now, their foreheads were touching, and their hands were on each other's shoulders. Both didn't seem to be uncomfortable by the proximity in the slightest.
"The other infected will eventually reach a certain level of self awareness, and the rest of the road would be their own. I can't guarantee a normal Terran intelligence in most cases, but the true geniuses will certainly rise above our expectations and beyond.
"What about the wallsss…?" Now they were hugging very closely, each head on the other's shoulder, mouths close to ears. Dobromir was whispering now, and both were still completely fine with the whole situation.
"I am one step away from completion. Only some last finishing touches." The two of them separated. The important information was delivered, and Dobromir let his rampaging emotions calm down.
"That's good. Great, even. Some shadow was cast over Kerrigan's mind, and I can't discern its source. Before going out again into the great world, I have to make sure that my little base in the infinite cosmos is developing in the right direction. But first, I must gather some info…"
Leaving his Infected friend behind, Dobromir made his way to the Command Center's control room. And he talked to himself, and all the zerg he passed on his way. "Does interrogation have any point? Do I need to know more about this awesome ship that badly… Nah, more trouble than is worth. I'll just contact home later…" His word flow faded away, Dobromir stopped in place, and looked at 'her'. The zergling, marked by the both first intelligent infested terrans, looked back at him, as usual. Some idea formed in his mind, and started running away soon after. Shaking his head, he focused his mind, so much so that the mist escaping from the corners of his eyes started shooting off with great intensity.
"AHA! I got it!" Said a man struggling with his own ideas. "You!" He jabbed a finger in the direction of the female zergling leader, but not in anger. "Your name, officially, from now on, will be 'Warta'." Some spark appeared in the zerglings' eyes, she stood up from her lying position, and she, no wait, Warta for the first time, looked into his eyes without any kind of boredom, laziness or indifference.
This warmth… Now that was something exceedingly rare. Despite having some friends and acquaintances all this… time ago, the status of Archon left her bereft of any familiar touches. Only one person in the past ignored, or wasn't aware of all this distance created from the beginning. Only one little girl, with ears as long and sharp as hers, red outfit adorned with whites, backpack filled with bombs and Dodoco attached and swinging close by, granted her this luxury.
The luxury of a hug, a hug freely given and easily enjoyed. A hug free from awkwardness or obligation. An embrace given someone who just needed it, plain and simple. Nahida let herself enjoy this warmth for a little longer.
Her memories were murky… if one wanted to look at it in a positive light. Only a few faces and barely remembered names appeared in her spotty memory. Most of what she once knew was probably long gone. What happened? Why was she reborn? What caused her to end in this state? Those answers would lie unanswered for a long time, if not forever.
"Let's get going then…"
A three fingered hand, with sizable claws was laid across certain shroomy chest, halting the small figure in the process.
Wit looked at Artanis, and the protoss stared back, his gaze full of determination. "I won't let you sully yourself with our traitorous brethren's blood. I know that you are a great and honorable warrior, but Aladris's rebellion will not include you, be it ally or foe. Stay with the Phase Smith Karax for the meantime, our grim duty should not last too long…"
And here the masked shroom was, floating face to face with standing Karax. The protoss didn't look very enthusiastic, maybe because a lot of work vying for his attention. "I must calibrate Khalis and Uraj, work on the new upgrades for our brave warriors and a joint effort on both Khalit's and Nerazim's to… Anyway, please don't go too far, I'll send one of the assistants to accompany you."
And the busy protoss with a semi-beard hurried off, taking a turn and vanishing between the buildings. Ziemowit just took a time to look around. A mass of cybernetic cores, forges, mass of pylons, and some other buildings. All of this was gleaming in golds & blued, with the occasional green & black mixed in.
Protoss buildings were warped from matrices, which were fully automated. But where are those matrices located? On the mostly infected with zerg Aiur? Somewhere else? And how was Raynor and Fenix? Are they still holding up? Well, judging by the state of the fresh Overmind, they should have much breathing room.
Finally, one certain protoss hurried in the floating fungus's direction, probe following closely behind her. And Wit was certain it was her, what with the smaller stature, smooth face, more slender build and the half skirt she was wearing. The rest of the clothing was pretty standard protoss ware.
The first sign of complications was the probe making a hologram of unknown to him symbols, and the female protoss gesturing towards it.
"Hey, you! You are finally awake!"
The captive woke up with a start, going forward only to immediately fall back, her headache flaring up like an active volcano. Before her head could meet the floor once again, a big meaty arm stopped her, and then slowly raised back again.
Somewhat propped up, the pilot looked with bleary eyes and a swimming image at her captor. Some slur that was supposed to be an insult slipped past her lips.
"Aren't you just the brightest ray of sunshine! He even clapped his hands in glee. Some 'skree!' 'skree!' was heard from behind him, almost sounding like a laugh.
An unfocused glare and another insult was hurled in his general direction, because now her vision was swaying from left to right.
"I'll make this very simple, and overly long experience. We will infect you, and try to preserve your mind in the process, isn't that fun?!"
She knew what it would entail, everyone was briefed, somewhere, some time ago, at last that was what her foggy memory was saying. Doesn't matter, she would be loyal to the United Earth Directorate! She would help her home, any way possible, even as a monstrosity! She would be slipping a knife in this disgustings males back, first time she got the chance
"Now, based on your delirious giggles, you are happy to accept. Come om, grab this loon and we can go."
Her support took her whole torso in one meaty arm, and hefted her over the shoulder. But the captive won't falter! For the URP! For the Glory of Mankind! 'Bleugh!'
Being shaken all and about certainly didn't improve her stomach's comfort, but on the other hand… The creep that covered the floor practically devoured her acidic offerings in a matter of seconds.
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Author's delirious mutterings:
Do I need to say anything? Ah yes, I like giving river names to the females, it just fits.