The Void Seeker ferried Lyra and Zeratul across the stars in their long journey to find the Daelaam. The journey to Shakuras took over a month so the two had to stop somewhere to find enough food and water for Lyra on the journey since the Void Seeker was not equipped with stasis chambers.
Little of importance was said between the two since Zeratul had to focus on maneuvering his ship around celestial bodies and avoid detection from the Tal’darim that were hunting them.
Once they arrived on Shakuras, Zeratul and Lyra were brought before Vorazun for questioning. “It is time you explained yourselves. Zeratul, you have been away from the Daelaam for six years, occasionally receiving assistance from expeditionary forces. What have you been up to?” She then looked at Lyra. “I have received reports that your friend, Sweetie Drops, has allied herself with the Queen of Blades. Can you explain her actions?”
Zeratul answered for both of them, “The answers to your questions are one in the same. We have been preparing for the coming war against Amon, the Fallen Xel’naga. He lives and shall bring his war upon us very soon. Sweetie sought power from the Zerg because she has known of his coming since the fall of the Overmind. I’m afraid that our time to prepare has run out. The war for the survival of our Universe is at hand.”
Vorazun thought for a moment. “If what you say is true, our Hierarch, Tassadar, needs to be warned. Praetor Artanis and Praetor Fenix have convinced him to stage an invasion to reclaim Aiur from the feral Zerg. I will inform the rest of our people to prepare for whatever Amon has planned. Be swift, if Amon attacks while the invasion is in progress, we would face certain disaster.
Lyra and Zeratul left the presence of Vorazun and returned to the Void Seeker in hopes of catching up with the Khalai in time.
The sight of Aiur from space was as beautiful as it always had been. The jungle planet that the Protoss had called home for millennia displayed its lush, green color for all to see. If one looked hard enough from orbit, one could see the dark colors of infestation that slowly spread throughout the planet.
Holding orbit over the Protoss homeworld was a glorious armada of gold and blue-colored ships. Standing on numerous platforms hovering over the planet was a vast army of Protoss ready to begin their invasion of Aiur by their Hierarch’s command.
Standing among the army of brave Zealots, stood three great heroes that led their armies during the Great War and the Brood War.
Praetor Fenix stood as vigilant as ever from his Dragoon, eager for the action to begin. He knew that what was about to begin would be one of the greatest undertakings that he had ever had the honor of taking part.
Standing next to Fenix was Praetor Artanis, who had been chosen by Tassadar to be his right hand and the one who would personally lead the Golden Armada to victory.
Standing behind the two leaders stood Tassadar, who was given the position of Hierarch of the Daelaam because he was the most trusted between the Khalai and the Nerazim tribes. His ability to wield the powers of the Khala in tandem with the power of the void wielded by the Nerazim represented the union between the two tribes.
Once the invasion was ready to begin, Tassadar began addressing the troops. “Templar, at long last, we stand at the threshold of destiny. For today we will restore the glory of our legacy. Today we will retake what we have lost, and reclaim our homeworld!”
The armies shouted, “For Aiur!”
“And may the Khala’s light guide us,” Artanis muttered.
Selendis approached the trio, informing them that the invasion fleet was ready to begin under Tassadar’s command.
Zeratul and Lyra appeared before the four in a cloud of shadowy smoke. “You must halt this invasion at once!” Zeratul said.
Everyone was surprised to see the two of them show up after the years that they had been away. “What do you want, Zeratul,” Artanis asked.
“The End War has come. Amon, the Dark One, has returned. This invasion is a distraction from the true battle ahead. Amon’s fury will engulf the entire galaxy.”
“It’s true! We even saw his allies, the Tal’darim, the Hybrid and even a Terran organization that calls itself the Moebius Corps are ready to begin their war on everything in the galaxy. Chances are, any Zerg that is not under Kerrigan’s control is now under Amon’s control by this point,” Lyra added.
“Tassadar, I have found a way to stand against the coming darkness. You must believe me,” Zeratul continued.
Tassadar closed his eyes and shook his head sadly. “We have been through much together, Zeratul, but far too many have sacrificed in the hopes that this moment would come to pass. I understand that our war with the Dark One is upon us. But if we do not go through with this invasion, it would damage the morale of our proud people. We shall aid you in the coming conflict once Aiur is ours once again.”
Tassadar ordered Selendis to begin the invasion. Countless Protoss began warping to the planet’s surface.
Since she wasn’t going to convince the Hierarch otherwise, Lyra decided to assist in the invasion.
A Purifier beam eradicated a small feral hive cluster before a series of Warp Prisms moved in and created a power field to allow a series of Photon Cannons to be warped in. An army of Zealots, Stalkers and Immortals instantly warped in as well. Lyra warped in on their position.
Their first objective was to free the warp conduits from infestation.
The army pushed against a small holding of Zerg with an Ultralisk among them. Lyra personally tore the large beast apart piece by piece.
Four Colossi joined the invasion group and pushed against more feral Zerg.
The overwhelming show of force tore into many groups of Zerg. Lyra’s Storm Charge was especially effective at reducing their numbers.
Selendis discovered a hive cluster near their position that she wished destroyed. Since there were no detector Zerg in the area, Lyra personally handled the matter while convincing the force to move ahead. After slashing apart the undefended hive cluster, Lyra saw a Brood Lord being chased by a few Phoenixes and crashing into a nearby Protoss structure. A few Zealots warped in to aid in the invasion.
By the time Lyra caught up with the invaders, they had already made their way to one of the warp conduits and were burning away the infestation. Once the conduit was freed, Selendis warped in another army of Zealots and Stalkers.
Lyra saw a Mothership that appeared to be on a crash course for somewhere nearby. If they could, they would try to rescue them.
After crossing an energy bridge that was somehow still active, they encountered another bunch of Zerg with Banelings among them. Lyra teleported between the two groups and unleashed a Psionic Shockwave that knocked back the unstable critters, stunning them. The Stalkers and Colossi capitalized on the opportunity and quickly took out the Banelings.
Lyra personally handled destroying another hive cluster while the invaders continued toward another conduit. Once eliminated, more Zealots and Stalkers joined the fray. Another Brood Lord crashed into a nearby structure.
Lyra saw the crew of the crashed Mothership fighting off a few Zerglings before the invasion force caught up to them and provided assistance. Their numbers were counted among the growing army.
The next hive cluster was attacked by the entire force this time. Lyra saw a strain of Zerg that she had not seen in years: the flying Queens. The hive cluster was still no match against so many Protoss whose numbers were bolstered again.
The army reached the second of three warp conduits and easily shattered the defenses and burned the infestation, adding even more Protoss into the army.
The next part came as a surprise to everyone but Zeratul and Lyra. The feral Broods started acting coordinated. Lyra could only assume that Amon and his forces were beginning to assert control over the feral Zerg.
The army took the time to take out the last of the feral hive clusters and receive the last of the reinforcements they would get before freeing the last warp conduit.
The merciless attack by the Daelaam as they pushed their way to the last conduit was met with an unexpected surprise as a trio of Hybrid Reavers appeared and engaged the army. While their attack ended in utter failure, the message was clear that Amon’s Hybrid were controlling the feral Swarm.
Once the last conduit was secured, Tassadar, Artanis and Fenix agreed to have a discussion with Zeratul and Lyra about the recent turn of events.