//------------------------------// // Stand: Escape from Aiur // Story: Starcraft: Warriors of Purity // by Xarmar13 //------------------------------// Sweetie awoke with a groan and winced from a headache that had quickly made itself known to her. She slowly rose from her bed before being wrapped by a pair of aquamarine-colored arms. “Bonnie! Don’t scare me like that,” Lyra said. Sweetie groaned again before asking, “What happened?” “While we were attacking the Overmind, something came out of nowhere and hit you in the head and knocked you out. I’m not sure what happened after that since I apparently collapsed from exhaustion shortly after,” Lyra said. “I had you both brought to the Hyperion to rest,” came the voice of Raynor from the doorway. “Lyra woke up only a few minutes before you did. I had the doc take a look at you both, Lyra was just exhausted and Sweetie got a mild concussion.” Sweetie was confused by the last part that Raynor said. She could have sworn that she had a brain parasite now, unless she dreamed it all up. ~”I can assure you that your mind did not fabricate me, my new form is designed to be undetectable by Terran and Protoss technology.”~ Sweetie jumped in surprise. Was she hearing voices, or was the Overmind actually talking to her? Lyra and Raynor give her confused looks. ~”I advise you not to physically react to my words nor to vocally communicate with me. Your thoughts will be able to reach me.”~ “Great, so I really do have a roommate in my head. Can you do anything useful other than fill my head with facts?” ~”I can help you to sense those who cannot be seen by the naked eye.”~ “Alright, I can work with that. Let’s establish some ground rules. Don’t say anything unless it’s actually important or if I need to communicate with you. It’s creepy enough to have you in my head so I need some time to get used to it. I’ll think of the rest later.” “So, anything happen while we were out?” Sweetie asked Raynor. Raynor shrugged. “Tassadar, Zeratul and the others have been fightin’ the renegade Zerg for the past day, though things aren’t lookin’ good for us right now. Too many of those critters runnin’ around to effectively deal with. They might not be organized anymore, but their numbers make up for that.” “Just how many Zerg are out there?” Sweetie asked the Overmind. ~”More than can be handled by the Protoss as weakened as they are. It would be in your best interest to escape the planet before you are overwhelmed.”~ “You two should get some more rest,” Raynor said. “Our Protoss friends are havin’ a meeting in a few hours.” Lyra and Sweetie nodded before Raynor left the room, leaving the duo to get a few more hours of sleep. Elsewhere… “So...Gerard...I suspect you have a good reason for pulling me away from my...duties…” “Your vodka can wait, my good Alexei. Come, stand here. You need to see this.” “I know all about the Zerg, Gerard. We’ve all seen the tapes a hundred…” Alexei said before he is interrupted by Gerard, who yanked a cigar from Alexei’s mouth and tossed it on the floor. “You’ve seen nothing! Dissecting a dead Zerg in a lab is one thing, unleashing them on man is another. You must go into this with both eyes open. Once started, there’s no going back. Are you prepared to go all the way with this, Alexei?” Gerard asked, while stomping out the cigar. Alexei observed the hopeless battle between the Terran colony and the Zerg for a few seconds before taking out another cigar and responding, “Yes, I am prepared to go all the way, my good admiral.” He lit his cigar. “Good, good, I knew I could count on you,” Gerard said. An announcement came over the loudspeaker, “Admiral, the colonist’s base will be overrun in a matter of minutes. Shall we intervene?” “Take us into orbit, Mr. Malmsteen. We’ve seen enough.” Lyra, Sweetie, Raynor, Artanis, Aldaris, Tassadar, Zeratul and Fenix gathered to begin their meeting. Fenix was the one to begin. “En taro Adun, everyone. It seems that we are in a most dire situation. Since the Zerg arrived on Aiur, we have lost over seventy percent of our total population. We cannot continue at this rate.” “Without the Conclave to lead us or the protection of our great fleets, we must fend for ourselves,” said Aldaris. “Aldaris is correct. As we have both seen, the Zerg will not halt their rampage until every last one of us is dead. I suggest that we retreat to our last functional warp gate and travel to where the Zerg cannot follow us,” said Zeratul. Aldaris was about to protest, but Sweetie caught on to that quickly and sent Aldaris a glare that made him back down. “I know of a place where we can find solace,” Zeratul continued. “It is Shakuras, the secret homeworld of my people, the Dark Templar.” “Your people? We would be seen as tyrants to them! Why would they shelter us?” Aldaris asked. “Not all beings are as unforgiving as your lamented Conclave, Aldaris,” Zeratul countered. “Alright, Zeratul, Lyra and I shall find passage to the warp gate and secure it,” Sweetie said. “The rest of you will gather and lead the survivors through the warp gate to Shakuras.” “Headin’ anywhere’s gotta be better than stayin’ here with the Zerg,” Raynor commented. With that, Raynor and the Khalai Protoss left to gather the survivors, while Zeratul, Sweetie and Lyra engaged their stealth abilities and proceeded to enter a long canyon with a moderate force of Zealots and Dragoons. Sweetie and the Dragoons shot down any Zerg Overlords that came looking for them, allowing the stealth trio to attack an area that contained a Creep Colony and three Nydus Canals that served to transport Zerg through them. Along the way, they come across a number of burning or critically damaged Protoss buildings. Some of them fell apart and collapsed. The next infested area the group came across had a Sunken Colony and several more Nydus Canals. Sweetie, Lyra and Zeratul quickly disposed of the Colony and tore through the Canals. A pair of Zealots charged past the group while inviting them to join the battle happening up ahead. A large number of Zealots engaged a large number of Zerglings and Hydralisks. Sweetie and Lyra assisted the Zealots by unleashing a Psionic Storm on the Zerg. With the pressure on them reduced, the Zealots and Zeratul attack the canals and Creep Colony in the area. Further ahead, the group assists a pair of Zealots attacking a Nydus Canal. Moving north, they also take care of a series of Spore Colonies and Sunken Colonies, dealing with any lurking Overlords as they come. Sweetie noticed an unusually placed Ultralisk Cavern that was guarded by a pair of Ultralisks. Quickly dealing with a nearby Spore Colony, the stealth trio cut down the pair of behemoths and then proceeded to level the cavern, which Sweetie still considered weird to be placed away from a base. Before Sweetie could ask, the Overmind responded. ~”Don’t ask.”~ The group encountered a group of Zealots attacking an Ultralisk and holding their own. They moved in to assist and added a few more to their group. Another Ultralisk was ahead along with a Spore Colony and another weirdly placed Ultralisk Cavern, all of which were overwhelmed by the Protoss warriors. The warriors soon found the last of the warriors in the province: Zealots, Dragoons, an Archon and a pair of High Templars, one of whom told them about the location of the warp gate and the sizeable Zerg force blocking the way to it. The small army fought their way through more Zerg. A series of Colonies were guarded by a decent number of Zerglings and Hydralisks but were quickly dealt with. There was little left to challenge the Protoss on the way to the warp gate. Upon reaching the structure, Zeratul sent a message Raynor and the Khalai survivors about the warp gate’s location. A number of Zerg popped up from the ground to attack the Protoss around the warp gate. Fenix and Raynor arrive with a moderate force to assist with the evacuation while everyone else heads into the warp gate. Sweetie and Lyra couldn’t help but wonder what Shakuras would be like as they entered the warp gate.