Children Of War I

[horuskitty]

Title: Children Of War [1/?]
Genre: Sci-fi/Adventure/Angst
Rating/Warnings: PG-13/R - For gruesome descriptions, violence, strong language, crude humor, alcohol and drug usage, and suggestive themes.
Disclaimer: I own none of the StarCraft characters except for the ones unfamiliar to the videogames and/or books/novels. The rest belong to Blizzard.
Chapter Warnings: N/A.

LONG CHAPTER. LOTSA TALKING.



Pylon One: A Long Talk

Well, they knew it would be a long conversation, and it had been going on for about two hours already. Zeratul - who was still recovering in a pensive manner - had subtly told Andromeda of a Hybrid that he had found on a dark moon somewhere near the planet Char, which was being created by an infested Terran, and one of Kerrigan’s enforcers, named Samir Duran. Andromeda had heard of this man before, but she had never met him in person, so she knew very little about him. The topic was difficult, and the Dark Templar drifted in and out of a faint silence and paranoia. There were a few times when the young Terran had told him that he could take a break or change the topic, but he insisted that she be told of this information, as he was thoroughly concerned about her safety and did not want to keep her from the recent events. That was another thing as well; everything that was considered ‘recent’ was more of a two or three months or years old type of recent. Zeratul had openly confessed that he was thoroughly ashamed of himself for abandoning the female Terran for four years and then returning to her in such a poor state and during a grim time.

Acting selfless, like she always did, she reassured him that she had been doing just fine while he was gone, not that she enjoyed it or anything. While she was known as a pending Terran Templar among Zeratul and his people, she had been formed into a Ghost operative for Jimmy and his team of Raynor’s Raiders. She also recalled one quite startling event when the Emperor of the Terran Dominion, Arcturus Mengsk, had somewhat...politely requested her service among his other Ghosts to fight against both the Zerg and the Protoss. She also smugly recalled at how she had abrasively denied his request and threw in a few insults and curses as well at how he had brandished her ‘Protoss bretheren’ as a threat to the Terrans. Zeratul found this amusing, and even got a small chuckle out at her words, to which brightened her heart to hear him as his spirits lifted ever so slightly.

Jim also got a kick out of this, since she was now fourteen years old and would be fifteen in only four weeks, he was amazed at how a kid her age could hold so much spunk and pride for a race that she didn’t even belong to, and yet here she was calling them her bretheren. No, he corrected himself. She may have been human, a Terran, and may not have found her proper place in the Terran world, but she seemed much happier when among the Protoss. Of course, there were those who saw her as an enemy, but the majority of them and mostly the Dark Templar had seen her as one of their own, Jim even recalled a couple calling her ‘Sister’, including Artanis, Fenix, and Tassadar.

Her position as the one and only official Ghost operative for Raynor’s Raiders has raised their chances of survival, not that they couldn’t last without her, it was just that she had opened up many doors of opportunities for them. Yeah, Jim snorted in his mind, like having Mengsk offer to abduct her ass. During the time she had been training with her Protoss brothers and sisters, the Terran girl had grown so used to their kind and so comfortable with them that her spirit almost merged with one of their own, and who else’s that was remained a mystery. She grew so attached that she talked like them and would speak words from their language occasionally, she moved as if she were a Hybrid of a Dark Templar and a Terran Ghost, and she hadn’t even gone through the Dark Templar’s Shadow Walk just yet. She had already developed the one thing that was rare to Terrans, she was able to faintly read people’s minds and speak with them telepathcially, and that in itself officially made her a Ghost.

She also had this odd thing - that confused and baffled most of the Marines - where she would remain calm and solemn while arguing with someone as persistent and boisterous as Arcturus Mengsk.

Patience, is what Zeratul had called it once. Andromeda was not a lover, not a peace driven person, and in her own words, not a pussy. But she had greatly taken in the whole ‘patience’ bit that the Templar had told her about, and it worked wonders in tight events. While evading certain UED officers and occasionally Mengsk’s goons (which was mainly the hard-headed General of the Confederate Security Forces of Alpha Squadron, Edmund Duke), Andromeda had smacked Vulture pilots on the back of their heads and kicked roughly on the rear of the Marine’s suits in order to make them cooperate and calm down, not to rush things or they would get caught in a shit-hole. Andromeda was quite happy and basking in self victory when she had caught word of the General’s being stranded on Bekhar Ro once more after trying to escape when an archaeologist group had gone to the world to examine the once mysterious artifact that nearly caused the wipeout of the dull planet.

The female Terran had a thick hatred for Mengsk and anyone working for him for a reason, and that wasn’t just because he was ego-inflated, arrogant, and mad with the quest for power. That wasn’t the half of it. The real reason that she loathed him was because he had betrayed and abandoned the once kindly Ghost Sarah Kerrigan upon the corrupted surface of Tarsonis while the Zerg continued to overrun it. The Zerg captured her and transported her to Char, where she was placed inside a Chrysalis and eventually formed into the Overmind’s ‘daughter’, and eventually the self-proclaimed Queen of Blades.

Andromeda knew that the two had once harbored mutual feelings towards each other, and was more than heartbroken to see the look on Jimmy’s face when he’d realized that Sarah was left on Tarsonis and overrun by the Zerg. Somehow Andromeda got a sickly amusement out of this, and was eventually optimistic about the whole event. One day Kerrigan would rip Mengsk limb from limb and, as Andromeda’s added sadistic side, would feed on his innards. The youth may have been young but that did not stop her from thinking of the worst possible outcome for those that she harbored hatred for. He’ll die eventually. She had thought. Whether he’s killed by you, a Protoss, Jimmy, or Sarah, he will die one way or another. She thought, a dark grin coming across her lips at the idea.

Something inside her, however, kept Andromeda from fully hating Kerrigan for all that she’d done. She was nothing more than the creation of a poor action, and had used that to her advantage. Mengsk had made her what she was. It was his fault. Even though she never met or knew Kerrigan before she was infested, she couldn’t blame the woman for running and rampaging arond and eating away at everything in her wake. She wanted revenge, Andromeda knew that much enough without having to think. But the young girl naively hoped there was a way to get her back, even though she knew it was impossible, she prayed to whatever God there was that there might be away to save the woman.

But, as she thought regretfully, the only way to do that would be to kill her. That very idea made the young Terran’s stomach churn.

As she looked up at Jim, who was conversing silently with Zeratul to what her ears would offer, she felt a pang of guilt rise inside of her. Nothing was her fault, but she couldn’t help wishing that there was something she could do for him. Hell, she’d been stuck with him for four years and two months. She thought that she would’ve said something by now. But even so it would not decrease his drinking or self-hatred. They were in deep shit in these times; Mengsk had taken steps to keep Jimmy and his followers constantly hunted and harried and deny them any chance to gain a respite and build their strength. While Mengsk had refused to have Jim assassinated in fear of turning him into a martyr, he had forced Jim to take up mercenary work to make the cut.

Andromeda amusingly thought that the Emperor was angered at her denial to join his forces. She knew he was angry, and had replied to her surprisingly calm outburst saying that she would ‘regret denying his invitation greatly’, though she paid no mind. She got the smug idea that if he kept pestering the idea of not having her as his ‘special little operative’ then he would be grind down a good bit. She never really knew why he was interested her in the first place, but again, like most things, she pushed it aside and paid no mind.

She continued staring pensively at the weary man as he kept in his conversation with the Dark Templar. Jim had begun losing faith over the years; his increased drinking, blaming himself for Sarah’s infestation, his hatred for Mengsk had become a festering wound. He was definitely weary, alright. From time to time she felt like he had taken Tassadar’s place as her ‘Big brother’, though he got more of the idea like he was taking care of his own daughter or babysitting the one of another. There were times when he would be sitting by himself in the mess hall or alone in his quarters, staring at the surface of whatever his eyes were pointing at almost as if he was hypnotized. Andromeda would spot him a few times, and walk in to break the silence to very faintly lift his spirits; taking her hand and roughly running her fingers through his grey-brown hair and ruffle it to rouse him.

There were multiple outcomes for this: he would sometimes chuckle quietly at her. He would get the idea that she was wanting to play with him with her impulsive gesture and would result in the two of them chasing each other throughout the mess hall and leading to play-wrestling. He would continue staring off into space. He would tell her to leave him be for a while, though he appreciated her effort.

Andromeda hated it when the last two results would take place.

She was glad that he wasn’t beaten down to the ground completely. Just seeing him smile or grin the smallest bit was enough to let her know that he wasn’t giving up on anything just yet. The only thing that bothered her was the ‘yet’ at the end.

Her eyes averted towards Zeratul, who had gone into his ‘meditative’ phase, where his eyes were closed and he had his head tilted down a bit, as if he was concentrating. She hadn’t paid attention to the conversation, but she already knew that he was either trying to come up with an understandable explanation to something or he had silently asked Jim to ‘not speak of this for a while and let him rest’.

Thankfully, even as she’d been away from any Protoss for so long, no one had taken Zeratul’s place as her self-proclaimed father. She dearly missed Tassadar and Fenix, more than anyone else in the entire Protoss race could have glorified Tassadar as a hero to their people or know of Fenix for his bravery and loyal friendship towards Jim. Fenix had taught her most about the Protoss’ machinery and equipment and how to use it, eventually showing her how they worked. From Dragoons to Carriers to Corsairs and Phoenixes, she knew about it all. The towering Colossus that was completely robotic would astound even her at the sight of one striding across the battlefield. The once great Dragoons had been formed into Immortals after the sacred shrine that was dedicated to the creation of the spider-like beings was infested by Zerg and lost along with the Protoss homeworld itself.

Andromeda had taken a great liking to the Zealot’s armor ever since she was a child. Their slender gold armor that was encrusted with blue gems all around it had sparkled in her eyes and provoked her curiosity. When she was eight, there was a kindly Zealot named Xeris that had allowed her to run her small fingers and palm over one of the larger gems on his shoulder-plate. She managed to contain much of her excitement for such a thing, but could never get over that one time when he’d let her get so close as to stare. Perhaps they weren’t all jerks, she had once thought.

Though, out of all the other officers, her two favorite creations had to be the Motherships and Phoenixes.

The Phoenixes were swift and deadly spacecrafts that were rapidly replacing the older Scouts and Corsairs in the role of fighter for the Protoss. Phoenix patrols were a common sight on the outer rims of Protoss territory, where they swept deep space for alien threats. To Andromeda’s younger eyes, they were shaped like blue-majestic butterflies and looked like giant glowing manta rays from the sides and underneath. Their wings were blue with a lighter shade tracing technical lines through them, giving a perfect view of what she had once called the ‘Gold and Blue Digital Butterflies’ at about age ten or eleven.

And lastly, were the Motherships. Massive vessels that were created centuries ago during the age of Protoss expansion. They were intended to act as primary command ships to lead vast armadas of Protoss explorers into the darkness of deep space and bring them safely home again. Those days are long gone now, and the surviving Motherships later became holy shrines to the Protoss, representing an honored way of life and a part of the proud history of the Protoss race. As Andromeda had described them, they looked like floating gardens with oceans of different shades of blue and of gold, like most of the Protoss’ equipment and uniforms. They were beautiful to her eyes, and she would unconsciously smile widely whenever she saw one hovering above her and across the battlefield. She knew of one female Protoss that piloted one of the ships, whose name was Tiara. This female had been kind to her as well, and had offered to let the young Terran ride with her inside one of the massive Motherships.

Though, sadly, Andromeda never got the chance, for Tiara was called away to battle.

The youth yawned. She was getting tired of being left to her thoughts. She hated thinking too much.

“--has been alright. No one knows that she’s stayed with your kind just yet, and I intend to keep it that way for as long as possible.” Her ears finally began functioning again, and she caught ear of Jimmy’s few words.

Zeratul nodded now, his eyes still closed. “Good. I would like for it to remain that way as well.” He replied.

“Huh?” Andromeda uttered out, which was drowned with another yawn.

The Dark Templar’s green eyes finally opened and tiredly focused upon her. “You will remain for James for a while longer, Clarissa.” He said.

She was puzzled, forgetting that she hadn’t paid attention to their conversation in the slightest.

Jim cocked a brow. “Were you listening at all?”

She placed a hand on her neck and rubbed there nervously. “Uhh...not really.”

“There’s a lotta ruckus going on outside about you, and you’re gonna be staying with me until the fire dies down.” Jim replied.

“WHAT?!” She exclaimed.

Ah, that certainly got her attention.

“No one, not even Zeratul or myself know why Mengsk is so interested in you. Word is that there’s even other Protoss and Zerg that are looking for you as well, and lemme tell ya, they don’t mean well.” Jimmy explained, holding his hands out in a gesture that meant ‘calm down’.

“What the hell--” She stood from her spot, slightly outraged. “--why are they suddenly wanting me so badly? Why wasn’t I informed of this sooner? Why aren’t you taking me back to Shakuras?!” She asked quickly, turning to the Templar.

“Clarissa!” Jim snapped, putting his hands on her shoulders and holding her in place.

“This isn’t fair! I thought Zeratul was gonna take me back and I could be with Artanis and Selendis for a while!” She spoke worriedly.

Zeratul closed his eyes again and refused to look. She could sense it in him, in his spirit, in his thoughts, everything, that he was definitely coming down like a rock falling through the sky. His spirit had definitely been weakened with time, and she hated it for that.

“Listen to me...” Jim was saying now. He paused for a moment, almost as if he was looking for the right explanation. Not a word came out of his mouth while he turned and looked at Zeratul in a concerned manner, the two harboring the same thoughts.

What do we do?

I do not know.

What exactly was going on?

“What is it?” She asked.

“Zeratul and I think that...” Jimmy tried to speak once more, but found that he simply could not get the right words out.

“That what? What’s wrong with me? Am I infested?!” She squealed, and not in an excited manner.

“No! You’re not infested!” The Terran snapped, almost annoyed at her jumping to conclusions.

“James,” Zeratul spoke. “I will tell her.”

The girl’s eyebrows furrowed. “Tell me? Tell me what?”

There he went again into his thoughtful phase. His eyes closed and he looked down a bit, a soft humming coming from him as if he was mulling over words and sentences. Jim gestured for her to sit, and she did so, but with a pout. If she wouldn’t get to go back to Shakuras and see Artanis or his most loyal Executor Selendis then she would most definitely have a fit much like she had done when she had to say goodbye to Zeratul once before.

Artanis may have sneered at the humans before, thinking of them as weak and pitiful, but he had changed when under Zeratul’s tutelage, remembering not to underestimate the ‘weak’ Terrans. He had already been proven wrong when looking upon Andromeda, not even having to think of how bold she had become over the years she’d been with the Protoss. He had once called her the first ‘Great Terran Daughter of the Dark Templar’ due to how much she had taken a liking to them. The name confused her when she was a child, but she seemed to get the idea behind the nickname, though didn’t quite know why he added the ‘Great’ in there.

And as for Selendis, the Terran had only met her once. The female Protoss was one of the most beautiful kind she’d seen; wrapped in slender, glittering armor similar to the Zealots’ and of the High Templars. There wasn’t much conversation between them, since they had their hands full at the time, but they exchanged words such as ‘You would make a fine Templar one day, young Terran’ and ‘You’re really pretty...’.

Needless to say, even though she hadn’t conversed enough with most of the Protoss to get to know them, she had always felt close and imagined them as family, many among sisters, brothers, and uncles. Andromeda had a nickname for everyone.

Even now, as she awaited Zeratul’s answer, she was desperate to be with her self-proclaimed alien bretheren. “Zeratul?” She questioned quietly, making sure not to disturb him abrasively.

“I do not know all of the details for it, nor do I even know how to explain it...” He spoke slowly and carefully. “but there is more to you than meets the eye, young Terran.” He said.

Damn him. Damn it all. She was hoping that he would give her a straight answer, but she had once again forgot that he loved speaking in riddles, preferring that others come up with the answers to the questions he puts forward rather than answering them himself.

“What does that mean?” She questioned, her eyebrows furrowing. “I’m not connected with the Xel’Naga am I? I don’t have a Zerg parasite in me, do I?” Again, she poured out the questions, literally desperate to get a clean answer and not a puzzling inquiry.

It remained silent for a moment, and Zeratul had closed his eyes again, but didn’t keep them shut for too long this time. “That is what I am unsure of.” The Protoss took his three-fingered hand and placed it softly and thoughtfully on the cloth on his face right where his chin should be.

She tilted her head, her mind drawing an official blank line. “...What does that mean?”

“All he’s saying is that there’s something about you that they’re interested in. We just don’t know what it is yet.” Jim interjected.

Andromeda sent him an appreciative look. That was much clearer and easier to understand for her. The only thing that kept her puzzled was that Zeratul still seemed to be off in his own world, pondering the very core of the topic. Something about this told her that there was more to what he was saying, something more than just ‘something that’s interesting enough to draw the attention from all the Zerg, Protoss, and Terran’.

This also sent her stomach into knots. She had been told more than once that if she tried hard enough, she would make a perfect High Templar or Dark Templar. What exactly did that mean? She had no way to derive the forces of the Khala into her own body, she couldn’t really handle a Psi-blade too well, and she most certainly couldn’t fit into the proper gear for such a rank.

She could use a regular Terran-forged blade perfectly, and with that, she would move swiftly and cunningly like that of the Dark Templar themselves. But using a Psi-blade was difficult; she could handle one, but she could not move and strike as well as the regular Protoss did. This always made her envious of them. She longed to use one of those blades in the battlefield.

This entire topic had been mentioned to her more than once, and it was always centered around her. She bit her lip for support; if there were others who knew so much about it, then why hadn’t she damn well been told any sooner?

“So what do we do then?” She asked suddenly.

“You’re stuck with me, kid.” Jim said. “Until we find a safer place for you to stay.”

“If Tarsonis and Aiur weren’t in ruins then you could just plop me onto one of those planets.” The girl replied nonchalantly, obviously still annoyed. “I still don’t understand why Shakuras isn’t safe enough for me.”

“Shakuras is a safe world for you to settle in,” Zeratul was saying now, managing to catch a small hint of hope in her eyes. “but the Zerg take planets and ensnare them without a moment’s notice. If Shakuras were to be taken over by the Zerg, which I pray that it will not, then you would follow the rest that would be infested.”

Andromeda stomped a foot. “I would rather die by my bretheren than to be stuck out here in space and not offer any help!” She argued childishly.

Again, if the Protoss had a mouth, he would be sending her a warm smile. Hearing her call the Protoss her bretheren always seemed to warm his heart. Despite how immature she was acting at the moment, it was nice to hear her speak so positively about the alien race.

“I am well aware that you would prefer to die by them than to sit by idly and do nothing.” He continued calmly. “But I reassure you, you will see them again soon, Clarissa.”

Andromeda folded her arms now, stepping past Jim. “On the battlefield or in a stasis cell?” She questioned sorrowfully.

She stepped up and approached the Dark Templar, taking a seat beside him and staring into his glowing green eyes for a moment before averting her gaze downward, her mind rushing with thoughts. Zeratul could read most of these; being a Protoss meant that you could read minds easily, and if you were a Ghost then you were known as a Teep/Teek, you could also have telepathic abilities and able to lash out with psychic energy if provoked.

He leaned forward to position himself better inside the cushiony seat of the booth, taking his scaly hand and placing it on her shoulder to reassure her. His touch caught her attention, and she looked up at him, her blue eyes searching his glowing ones as if she still needed answers.

Zeratul sighed, which sounded almost like a gush of wind. “I would much rather have you meet them on the battlefield rather than while being held captive.” He said, his tone softer this time. A small smile came across the youth’s delicate features. “We will protect you for as long as we can. Until we can protect you no longer, you will have your chance at vengeance.”

She smiled more widely this time, thoroughly pleased with his words. And the best part of it was that she could tell that he was speaking the truth, his mind harbored no betraying thoughts, and his eyes offered the same ensuring expression.

Jim sighed. “If Mengsk wasn’t occupying Augustgrad on Korhal, then I could take Clarissa there.” He then shrugged softly. “Then again, like Zeratul said; you can’t touch the surface of any planet until we find out what the flick is wrong with you.” His tone was more sarcastic then insulting. Andromeda giggled at his choice of words.

“So what then?” She inquired once again. “What if being stuck up in space doesn’t help me or help you all find out what’s so ‘special’ about me?” She said, gesturing about wildly while failing to describe space with her arms.

The older Terran and Templar exchanged looks. They hadn’t thought about that one just yet. Zeratul suddenly found this humorous and let out a faint chuckle to her question; it seems that the young Terran was catching on quickly. Despite how her temper would cloud her judgement sometimes, she wasn’t all that stupid.

“What’s so funny?” She turned to Zeratul and pursed her lips, thinking that he found her question unorthodox.

“There is more to you than meets the eye.” He said, managing to raise a brow in her direction.

Her brows furrowed and her eyes squinted. She was confused. Damn him for always speaking in riddles.

“She is correct, however.” The Templar continued.

“Yeah,” Jim put his fingers on his chin in a thoughtful manner, his index finger scratching against his small beard. “even if she is right, we gotta take precautions.” Zeratul nodded at this and surprisingly, Andromeda followed suit.

“We will have to use our time away from any planets while we can, and if that does not prove useful, then I dreadfully suppose that we should resort to finding a bettere settlement to examine her closer.” Zeratul said, going into his now occasional ‘meditative’ gesture.

Jim folded his arms and raised his brows at the girl. “Guess you better prepare yourself, kid.”

Her brows raised as well, curious as to what that meant.

“We don’t have any Protoss equipment but we’ve got plenty of medics.” Ah, there’s her answer.

Zeratul’s eyes opened again. “I do not have many medical supplies but I believe that I have a few tools in my ship that might prove useful.” He replied.

“What the flick are you two talking about?” Her head was darting in both directions of the males, frantically wanting to know what they were talking about, now. Jim’s brows furrowed at her for cursing, but he knew that trying to scold her for it would only end with bad results.

“You will undergo experiments and examinations,” Zeratul answered, sensing her uneasiness. “to see if there are any flaws or alterations inside your body and if possible, your soul as well.”

Andromeda’s brows raised again along while her eyes widened. Experiments? The girl hadn’t once gone through any experiments. She had had x-rays to check for broken bones after she had recovered from being caught in battle once or twice, but that was it. Just hearing the word ‘experiments’ and ‘examinations’ made her spine jitter; she didn’t even want to think about how they would examine her soul.

The two men seemed to notice her uncomfortable state, and Andromeda hadn’t even noticed that Zeratul’s hand had kept its position on her shoulder the entire time. Sighing, Jimmy dropped his arms and walked forward, kneeling in front of her and taking one of her hands in his two bigger, calloused ones and began rubbing her knuckles in an attempt at affection.

“Listen,” He began, once again. “examinations and experiments won’t hurt. They might take a few blood samples and a tiny speck of your skin but that’ll be all. It’ll feel like a small scratch but that’s it.” He felt like he was trying to reassure a child who was going to the dentist or a doctor for the first time. “As for the whole...‘soul’ part...I don’t exactly know how that’s done but I doubt it’ll hurt.”

For a moment, she looked as if she was pondering the decision whether she wanted to do this or not. She knew she didn’t have a choice, but they made it sound so easy and safe. She’d dealt with people who lied before, much like her parents had done when she was younger. They had said that there were no such things as aliens or monsters and that they did not hide under her bed or inside her closet. They said that the creatures weren’t real...but they were wrong.

She shook her head. She couldn’t believe she was thinking that these two were the same. They helped her, didn’t cloud her judgement or her thoughts with lies to keep her from danger, they weren’t overprotective. They were everything that her parents weren’t. She trusted them with her life. And if she trusted them with her life, that meant letting them check her out for any odd powers that might be stuck inside her vulnerable body.

“Alright,” She sighed. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

----

A/N: DAMN THAT WAS LONG AND HARD TO DO. ok, well, this is the last update for now until i get back from my sister's house >D i'll work on my LOTR fic then as well :3 GOD it's so hard to keep up with all the planets of StarCraft XD;; they're either overrun by the Zerg or just....idle. XDD

see you guys on Tuesday!