506Starcraft: Reigns of War
Disclaimer: I do not own Starcraft, Warcraft, or any characters associated with them as they are the property of Blizzard entertainment.
"talking"
Thoughts
Let It Begin
"What manner of beasts are these?" wondered Zeratul as he separated the head from the body of one such creature that thought it smart to come at him. The Dark Templar had traveled across the stars and had bared the sight of many species along his journey. Yet, he could not recall ever seeing life quite take the form of the things before him now.
Watching the battlefield, he was gladdened to see his Protoss brethren holding the line against the creatures. "These things greatly resemble Terrans...but they appear to be...rotting. And the way they do battle is much like the Zerg..." He then cut down three members of the enemy that thought they could sneak up on him with the same effort an adult would expend in striking a child. "However, they are far weaker in comparison."
Even though they were dropped into a foreign world, initially dazed from the sudden space jump, the rest of the Protoss mirrored him in regards to how easily they made the aggressors fall before their hooves, psi and warp blades cutting through them as easily as the Terran lactate based product dubbed "butter."
Though their enemy's numbers were great, there attacks proved ineffectual against their personal plasma shielding for their claws lacked the aggressive power possessed by the Zerg and the metal blades they used were of an inferior alloy that was easily broken from repeated impacts
"Although our forces are superior, I worry if the opposing force is too numerous for us to ward off in our present state." Zeratul knew from his long experience in combat to never underestimate the situation. Looking around, it was quite obvious that they had warped in right into the middle of an encampment established by these creatures.
Of course, the Protoss for the longest time had a policy about interacting with a race whose technological progress was inferior, as things like outright aggression did tend to happen. Of course, it was detestable to kill these 'defenseless' creatures. But considering their situation, they had no choice but to fight back. "If these creatures somehow manage to damage or destroy our ships, then there is no leaving this planet." He looked back towards the currently downed Starships. "We are going to need reinforcements".
~ Shield of Auir~
"Blast!" yelled Artanis as he went through the consoles before him. "The unstable warp field damaged the primary systems!"
Indeed they had. Not even the engines that would normally keep the Mothership afloat were functioning correctly, leaving it stranded upon the ground.
He then looked towards other screens that had popped up. "All our mechanical units are down or not responding!"
"Hierarch!" called one of the technicians on board. "Sensors indicate energy build up in foreign structures as well as a massive influx of natives incoming from the north".
"This vessel's systems are still down!" reported another technician. "We barely managed to keep our shields up. Also, reports are coming in that our air forces will need some time to reboot. However, for some of our ground forces, we will need to re-establish a link to our main server to get them functioning again in battle."
Artanis looked back to this screen as he began punching in some data. "I'm creating a new subroutine. All I'll need to do is re-modulate the power of this ship's core to create a power matrix field to supply energy to our photon cannons. That should stall for time until our air units are up again. Meanwhile: get to work with reestablishing a connection with our Colossi. Our brethren in the Stalkers and Immortals will be functioning soon. Now quickly everyone! We must hurry lest death befall us!"
~ Enemy Camp ~
The Zealots and Dark Templars still easily fended off the odd force assailing them, the fact that they were easily stronger and faster than these mutated looking Terrans having long since been apparent. But then, the battlefield began to quake, something large, undoubtedly, coming right at them.
"What manner of an abomination is that?" questioned Zeratul aloud as a small herd of massive, rotting, sewn-together looking Terrans entered the fray.
These creatures were considerably stronger, as seen by how they charged through the battlefield, swatting any Templar in the way and sending them flying for quite some distance.
One of them spotted Zeratul and made a beeline for him as it swung its massive arms left and right knocking, two Zealots and another Dark Templar aside. Approaching his intended target, the enormous creature raised it arms for a crushing blow.
Looking up at the oncoming mass of flesh, Zeratul's face remained as stoic as ever. Moments before the monster's swing struck ground, the Dark Templar Prelate blinked out of the way only to reappear right on its back and proceed to stab it in the head with his warp blade, once. The heat from the weapon liquefied its desecrated flesh on contact and melted its addled brain not a few milliseconds afterwards.
After the now non-reanimated carcass crashed towards the ground with a noticeable thud, Zeratul continued his contemplation of the battlefield. Looking around, he noticed the Protoss warriors were quickly adapting to this new fiend just as he was or just as adequately.
As one more of these giants came charging, three Zealots, utilizing their bionic upgrades, launched off the ground and landed as one on the monster's head, chest, and stomach respectively. This toppled the thing, and the three began slicing it to pieces afterwards for good measure.
In other parts of the battlefield, the inherent cumbersome nature of these creatures quickly became more obvious to the Protoss, who took advantage of this like any warriors worth their sodium-fluoride. Dashing in, a Dark Templar and a Zealot joined forces against an oncoming creature. At the last possible moment for them, they stepped to the side, each making sure to take one of the beast's legs with a swipe. The thing, without any support, slammed head first into the ground and skidded along it before coming to dead stop and made all the deader by a casual decapitation by one of the Protoss it had tried to rush.
However, the ratio between Zeratul's forces and the enemy's was still too great and it took considerably more effort to deal with the giant mutated Terrans in relation to their smaller counterparts, however small that overall effort was on the Protoss's part and their plasma shielding.
Too make matters worse, some of the structures around the Psionic race began firing some sort of strange energy that none amongst them could easily identify and that was the one tool the enemy had that was truly the most effective.
"Their numbers are too great!" yelled out Zeratul. "Pull together and cover your backs to each other!"
On that order, the Protoss reassembled around the metallic bodies of their non functioning robotic units. Just as the rotting Terrans began to descend on their position and his warriors readied themselves to do battle again, said automatons reactivated.
"Let our cannons sing!" cried out an Immortal firing his plasma cannons easily tearing through the decaying biomass approaching them.
"Cold is the void," stated a stalker as a group of them blinked into action, taking strategic positions and firing down on the enemy, slicing through their ranks with the same ease afforded their larger robotic counterparts.
As proven time and again with the Zerg however, the rotting forces were still too vast and managed to back Zeratul and the Protoss into a corner.
Soon, the enemy air units joined in on the assault.
~ Shield of Auir ~
"Re-route complete!" announced Artanis. "Photon cannons are now online!"
"Hierarch! Colossi system protocols are now linked to the central mainframe of the Shield of Auir! Deploying units and engaging the enemy now!" said one technician.
"Void rays and Phoenixes are online! Primary Carriers systems are still down. However, secondary weapon systems are still functioning. Our capital ships are still able to send out their interceptors!" said another.
"Good!" Artanis called out psionically to the newly made relevant air forces and defensive cannons. "Focus your fire on claiming the air! Once we have established our dominance there, all things should fall into their proper place!"
~ Enemy Camp ~
If it were ever in doubt before, the battlefield had now certainly swinged a complete hundred and eighty degree in the Protoss's advantage. The Colossi made killing fields, their thermal lances leaving behind crops of charred remains and dust. The units reallocated to defending these mechanized giants were negligible, as one would expect when offset by such disproportionate numbers they were laying waste to.
In the air above, the enemy's biological units were no match for the Protoss's advanced technological war machines, their plasma doing much the same to them as their allies on the ground.
Seeing most of the enemy army preoccupied by his race's mechanical might, Zeratul and his group of Dark Templars and Zealots sought to deal with the stationary buildings that shot out the exotic support fire. Although these structures were guarded by more of those mutated rotting Terrans and spiders of unusual size, the Protoss's rush, some would say mirroring the Zerg for sheer brutality and swiftness, sliced them to pieces. Reaching the structures themselves, they easily managed to tear them down, paving the way for the robotic advance force to do the same for the remaining infrastructure of the enemy camp site.
After a few more minutes, anything that remained of the enemy retreated. With the structures destroyed, the previously rotting land they stood on slowly began to transform back into land that looked more...'alive', for lack of a better term.
A most startling comparison between this and the 'creep' did not go unnoticed or unthought-of by them.
Once more photon cannons were established along with a more tightened defensive perimeter and a set patrol, the Protoss reconvened inside the Mothership's meeting room.
There was much to be discussed.
~ Shield of Auir ~
"Do we know where we are?" questioned one of the Zealots.
"Yes," nodded a High Templar. "According to space telemetry, we have somehow found ourselves within an uncharted part of our galaxy. Looking further, we are thousands of light years away from a possible recall or communications...not that it would matter otherwise."
Another High Templar picked up where his brethren left off. "The communications array on the Shield of Aiur as well as our other Starships was all but destroyed during the warp jump. Due to the damage of most of the primary systems, none of our ships can generate enough power to break orbit back into space much less breach into warp space."
"Then what of salvaging what we can into repairing a single one of our ships?" suggested another zealot. "We can take parts from our capital vessels in order to repair this one."
"Not possible," said the second High Templar to speak. "All essential components were damaged beyond the point of usability or repair. It would be wasted effort to try."
"Then is there anything we can do?" asked Artanis. "Can we not even manage to repair portions of this ship using parts scavenged from others?"
"In truth: we can," nodded the High Templar. "Some secondary functions such as the cloak can be made operational once more. As for the primary systems, there is still the hope that this ship may fly again if we are able to collect the necessary resources."
The gathered Protoss conversed amongst themselves about this.
A holographic screen then appeared in the center of the table they were gathered about, displaying data. "These are the reports some of our observers have brought back. Though there is still too much data to sift through, this planet does have the resources or similar materials needed to repair the Shield of Auir. However-" the High Templar, paused, "-preliminary reports show some of what we need to be here on this landmass, and the others, to be on landmasses quite some distance from here."
Gazing at what Terrans would call the 'glorified grocery list' in front of him, Artanis could only grimace as best as his face could. Even more so when he glanced at what had been gathered on the sapient life on the planet. "This world is far too underdeveloped for its inhabitants to understand what we are and our presence here might have destabilized the balance of the indigenous cultures. So we should depart as soon as we are able."
The decided plan was to break the Protoss into two groups. The first would remain on the landmass they were presently on and the second would traverse the ocean to another. Both would commence mining operation and gather the required resources in the shortest possible time.
However, they would be cutting their numbers rather thin.
Seeing as they had only an inkling as to the culture of the civilizations on this planet, and an even more obscure insight into what power or tricks they possessed (the unknown energy coming from the defensive structures they had just encountered coming to mind), he did not want to put his brethren in unnecessary danger. Obviously, judging from the preliminary reports, they were nowhere near the technological level of the Terrans they had came to know and should be of no real consequence. But, it was never a good idea to underestimate others.
In such matters, he needed advisement from a much older and wiser individual. "What do you think of this matter, Zeratul?"
The Dark Templar Prelate narrowed his eyes as he looked to the gathered data. "It would indeed be best that we break in twine to gather what we need, quickly." He looked back to Artanis. "I shall go and lead a party to the distant lands to gather the resources there while you remain."
Focusing his eyes on what he found to be some of the more interesting data, "I also believe it to be best to limit our contact with the natives of this world. We do not want to attract anymore unnecessary attention to ourselves than we have already garnered."
"Agreed," nodded Artanis. "May the gods watch over your journey Zeratul, and see fit that no danger befalls you and that, if it does, that you and your forces return safely."
With the conclusion of their meeting, heralded by the saying of, "En Taro Tassadar", the Protoss who were to leave underwent the preparations needed to be done before mobilizing and embarking upon their journey.
Unbeknownst to them at the time, despite their wants and best efforts, the world would soon come to know of them and they would bring about a revolution that would forever change the fate of this world's civilizations and its inhabitants.
To be continued...
Author's notes: True to what one reviewer has stated, I will try to balance the story as well as I can. I mean, let's face it people. The Protoss are a race of powerful psychics that are FAR more technologically advanced to anything on the comparatively backwater planet of Azeroth.
However, as hinted at in this chapter, the Warcraft forces outnumber them by a considerable factor and some of the Protoss's technology was damaged during the warp jump. So, I hope that balances things out more or less.
As for the next chapter, I'm still trying to narrow down at what point in the Warcraft story they ended up. It's definitely going to be after Arthas has become death knight as he is commanding the legions of the undead, though. So, if anyone has any suggestions about at what point in the timeline this should all take place in, I'm all ears.
Anyways, thank you for taking the time to read fic and I would further extend my gratitude if you could review it as well.