Starcraft: The Fate of the Artifact

Chapter 7: Mutual understanding

Every creature that stood within the walls of the tree-turned-library was at such a loss for words that the silence hung in the air like fog. The Terrans, who had appeared only moments ago, asked for an artifact that was never theirs to take. And to everyone’s amazement, Luna complied with their wishes. The Protoss artifact lay before the Terrans, no longer surrounded by Luna’s shield. The Equestrians were too shocked to react, but James raised his eyebrow in suspicion of the Princess’ actions.

“Hell that was easy,” Tychus chuckled, but Raynor held his guard.

“Yeah, a bit too easy,” Jim said in a low voice. “What aren’t you telling us? What sort of game are you playing here?”

Luna maintained her stoic tone and poker face when she replied. “The Tal’Darim have chosen Scootaloo to protect their artifact until they arrive themselves to retrieve it. They made it very clear to her that it was not to fall into the hooves of any creature other than them. Unfortunately, Scootaloo is comatose at the moment, so as of now I am in charge of its protection.”

Luna’s gaze hardened and her voice became stern.

“Nyon of the Tal’Darim has given you many titles; thief, fiend, bloodthirsty killer, and defiler among others,” she continued. “This creature has spread his beliefs among my citizens, and I will trust the word of my subjects when they say you are a band of marauding criminals. However, based on your actions now, you do not seem to be prone to violence after all.” Her stare lessened once more, and the atmosphere of the library relaxed.

“The cloud of suspicion Nyon shrouded you with is not as absolute as initially thought. If you wish to remain civil, I would ask that you cooperate in lifting the veil of doubt from my eyes. You could start by explaining your relationship with the protoss.”

Jim took a deep breath and furrowed his brow. “That’s a long story, but I’ll give you the short version. Let’s just say that first contact between us and the protoss wasn’t exactly the most ideal introduction. They literally showed up out of nowhere and destroyed one of our colonized planets.” Luna soundlessly wondered how large their population must be to require several planets to house them all.

Rarity blurted out in disgust. “Those BRUTES! Why would they do something like that? How COULD they do something like that? Destroying an entire planet? It’s unthinkable!” Rainbow Dash felt the golden pedestal she placed the protoss on shake with this revelation. They destroyed a whole planet?! They must’ve had their reasons right? Scootaloo pledged her loyalty to the Tal’Darim, and Rainbow put her loyalty with Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash felt her self-assuredness fading; she was always on the side of justice, surely she still was?

Jim shook his head. “Turns out they weren’t trying to kill us, they were trying to save us. We didn’t realize it at the time, but the protoss had discovered that this particular planet; Chau Sara, had been infested by the Zerg under our noses.” Jim winced as though the very sound of the word physically hurt him.

“Listen to what I say next very, very carefully,” he commanded, pointing a metal finger at the ponies.  “No matter how unsavory your image of us may be, you never want to meet the Zerg swarm face-to-face. They have only one desire; to kill anything and everything in the universe, and assimilate anything useful to them. They killed BILLIONS of Terrans, and they almost drove the Protoss to the brink of extinction.” Most of the ponies in the room felt their blood run cold from that last remark. Billions of Terrans were killed? There weren’t even a billion ponies on the planet! Luna’s poker face shattered and her bottom jaw hung loose like a swing. Pushing another species that close to annihilation was unthinkable; how could they justify that?

“The protoss tried to protect the rest of our race from the Zerg by burning the whole damn planet to the ground, killing the Zerg along with thousands of Terrans. Of course, we retaliated by attacking them, and ever since it’s been a three-way war with us, Protoss and Zerg.”

Applejack tilted her hat and gave Jim a confused stare. “Now hold on there. You were just talkin’ about how evil these Zerg are and how much you and the Protoss hate ‘em. So why in tarnation are you killing each other when y’all could be going up against the bigger threat?”

Jim took an immediate liking to this pony. She was reasonable, straightforward, and honest. “I did. Several times, actually. When the Zerg discovered the protoss home world of Aiur, they tried to wipe ‘em out of existence. I helped them out, and even though they lost Aiur, they managed to move what was left of their population to another planet. And when the Zerg came back again earlier this year, I helped them out again. Turns out they’re real big on loyalty.”

Twilight spoke up to Jim next. “So, it would seem that your personal relationship with the protoss is much more stable than the one between your species’ government and the protoss. Why is this? Surely, the kindness you showed the protoss would be the first step in creating peace between your people? Shouldn’t your governments’ officials be discussing peace?” She wondered why these aliens were so hesitant to simply make peace, especially if Raynor had saved them from total destruction.

“Things would be progressing much faster than that, but the Terran Dominion has more pressing matters to deal with,” Jim said with a slight grin. Luna arched an eyebrow, keeping her composure but still wary of what could be more important than the Protoss.

“And what would that be, James Raynor?”

“Me.” The equines jumped in surprise and were left flabbergasted by the Terran’s statement. Rainbow felt her confidence come surging back; this was her chance to prove that the Terrans could not be trusted. She flew in front of Luna and pointed an accusing hoof at the humans.

“SEE?! I KNEW they were up to no good! What kind of monster goes around rebelling against the system? A despicable one; THAT’S who! The king becomes king by knowing what is best for his ponies, not cheating! Have some respect for authority y-MMMmmph!!” Rainbow Dash felt her lips sealed together with a powerful spell. She looked up and saw Luna’s scowl of disappointment. The way she loomed over her made Rainbow’s blood run cold. Luna lifted the silent pegasus with her magic and placed her back behind her without moving a muscle.

“James; please calm yourself.” Luna’s quiet voice echoed through the commander’s ears. He came back to reality and blinked several times in dazed confusion. He looked down and saw that he was pointing the barrel of his rifle where the blue pony was standing, with his finger on the trigger. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves and lowered his weapon again.

Luna resumed speaking in her collected, regal voice. “Forgive her, please. My sister and I have ruled fairly for over a thousand years. To many, we are the only princesses they have ever known. We try our best to judge fairly and maintain the peace; and as you could see by Miss Rainbow’s outburst, we have gained the unyielding respect of our citizens. Again, please forgive her brash behavior.” Luna lowered her head briefly into a graceful bow.

Raynor dismissed the gesture with a wave of his hand. “I understand where she was coming from. There was once a time when I followed someone blindly, but that was a long time ago.” His expression soured and a barely noticeable frown formed on his lips.

Twilight noticed this and stepped up. “What happened, Mister Raynor?” she asked with hesitation. She wasn’t sure if she even wanted to know the cause of his sorrow, but this information would no doubt be useful.

“A while ago, one of the three Terran governments –and the one I grew up in— was the Confederacy. They tried to bring all the Terran colonies together under one name. When some of the colonies refused, the Confederates used force.  They were corrupt and greedy in just about every way you could imagine; stealing money, property, killing those who opposed their reign, you get the picture. But that changed on Korhal, a planet that the Confederacy nuked to Hell. A man there by the name of Arcturus Mengsk got sick of the Confederacy and tried to start up a rebellion. By that time just about everyone was sick of the Confederacy, me included.

“When the same thing on Chau Sara was about to happen to Mar Sara, Arcturus pulled me n’ my boys outta there, and he and I picked up a ton of followers; including ghost assassin Sarah Kerrigan. With her psionic powers, my battle skills and Mengsk’s leadership the three of us went to great lengths to bring the Confederacy down. And when the time came to strike the Confederate home planet of Tarsonis, Mengsk crossed the line.” Jim clenched his metal hand into a fist and snarled in fury, startling the other ponies. “He used a psi emitter; a device that attracts the Zerg; to call the swarm down on the planet.” At this point, the equines, Luna included, felt their hearts pounding in their chests. They all went cold with anticipation and could only guess what Jim meant when he said that.

“The protoss arrived to help destroy the Zerg; but rather than wipe the entire planet clean, they decided to bring down their forces and save as many Terran lives as they could. Mengsk ordered us to attack the protoss so the Zerg could destroy the rest of the Confederates. When the protoss pulled back, Mengsk ordered us to retreat and leave the survivors to die in the invasion. Kerrigan called him out on it, and he left her to die. I left to get her back, but it was too late.” Stettman and Tychus both looked depressed to see their leader speak of these terrible events.

“Mengsk went back and spread the story of how he bravely fought against the Zerg but was forced to retreat. I wasn’t able to tell the public the truth about his crimes. He used the media; propaganda, to make me the most wanted criminal in the sector, while he crowned himself the glorious emperor of the new Dominion. That was four years ago, but now I’m tired of waiting for justice to work itself out. As he told the Mar Sara Magistrate, my old pal, all those years ago, it’s time to take a stand.”

Fluttershy’s eyes rolled back into her head and she fell to the ground in a heap. Stettman and Twilight went to make sure she was okay. Rarity fought back an overwhelming wave of nausea, holding her hoof over her mouth and teetering on her legs.

Luna cleared her throat, though it took several attempts. The horror that Jim suggested was disturbingly similar to the crimes she committed as Nightmare Moon. “So that is your reason for rebelling against your leader?” Her voice brought the equestrians back to reality, though they still quaked in fear. She turned her head back to Rainbow Dash. The pegasus was pale, the shock from the story seemingly drained her mane and coat of their vibrant colors. She shivered involuntarily, even though Pinkie Pie was holding her close and draping her legs around her, sharing their warmth. Luna released the spell holding her jaw shut. Rainbow coughed a few times and practiced opening her mouth again.

“Well, Rainbow Dash, are you thinking a little differently of my little rebellion? Or do I need to bring up more of Mengsk’s atrocities?” Jim asked with a hint of spite. “Now I’m not angry at you; you didn’t understand the politics of the Terran sector. And how could you?” He shrugged. “But no one should be ignorant enough to be blindly loyal to the person who claims to be above you.”

Applejack rose up and stood tall in front of Rainbow Dash, tilting up her hat to look at the tall alien. “Now don’t think that just because y’all are bigger than her means ya get ta tell us what’s right n’ wrong! The princesses are the best rulers we’ve ever had! And no word outta your mouth is gonna change that,” she boldly proclaimed. Jim nodded and turned back to Luna. She tapped a diamond horseshoe on the floor, the crystalline ding bringing everyone’s attention back to the real discussion.

“As noble as your quest for justice may be, I fail to see how that justifies raiding protoss camps and stealing the artifacts.”

“I was getting to that. See, after Mengsk created his Dominion I’ve been doing this revolution on the run, and managing an army on the lam ain’t cheap.” His thoughts briefly drifted to Swann, the chief engineer. You brought back money this time right? he had asked, knowing how short on funds they were recently.

“Fortunately, Tychus here found us a good source of income. A Terran research group called the Moebius Foundation. They want to learn as much about the protoss and their past as possible. But as I said earlier, relations are strained, and good research material is hard to come by. They’re willing to pay through the nose for those artifacts, and I’m happy to get them.”

Rainbow became angry again at the Terran’s words and her body flushed with color as she got back on her own hooves.

“You mean you went and stole those artifacts and killed who knows how many protoss for WAR FUNDS!?” She shrieked from across the room, the blue fur on her face burning a fiery red. This time Luna did not intervene with her magic. Pinkie and Twilight helped her calm down, and Fluttershy finally came to. She stumbled on her shaking legs, but soon steadied herself; everyone focused their attention on Luna as she prepared her judgment.

“As well-meaning as your cause may be; I cannot condone the wanton murder of the protoss. I’m afraid the artifact must be returned to the Tal’Darim.” Closing her eyes, Luna reactivated her magic shield and prepared to teleport the artifact to safety, but Jim interrupted her concentration.

“Hold on now; you didn’t let me finish.” Luna opened one eye and arched her brow as if to say, “Really?” She kept her magic surrounding the artifact but allowed Raynor to continue.

“Those Tal’Darim aren’t like other protoss. When I first encountered them I thought I could settle things without conflict. After all, I helped save their entire race from extinction; you think they’d be willing to part with a few small relics in return.” Rainbow slacked her shoulders and sighed quietly. Her opinion of the glorious Tal’Darim was steadily getting tarnished by the Terran’s good word. That deal did seem reasonable, even if ties between their cultures were tenuous.

“But they just up and attacked us without warning. They weren’t acting like protoss who just wanted Terrans to leave them be, oh no; they were out for blood. We thought something might have been messing with their heads, later we found out what. There was a very rare gas that we needed on this jungle planet Bel’shir, and those Tal’Darim had it.  After we made off with some, we analyzed it, and it turns out that being exposed to this stuff for too long makes people aggressive and violent. Well, these Tal’Darim were practically bathing in the stuff; using it like a drug to become closer to their ‘Gods’. It clouds their minds from reason and now they only care about upholding their primitive religions.”

Luna bit her lower lip as she processed this new information. With hesitation, she released her magical grip; though her shield remained. “I have one more question left, James Raynor. You claimed that a group of scientists want to study this artifact; do you know why?” Jim thought about the question before turning over to Tychus, who shrugged.

“I don’t know what those eggheads want the damn thing for, all I know’s that they pay good money for it,” He replied gruffly. Luna tapped her hoof on her chin.

“Do you know who is in charge of this organization?”

“Yup. Goes by the name of Doctor Emil Narud. Nice guy, though his accent’s pretty thick.”

“Is there a way I could speak with this Dr. Narud?” Jim’s eyes widened briefly, this could be the hook-line-sinker to get the ponies on his side.

“You could use my communicator, but you’d have to board my ship first. You all are more than welcome to, if you want to see the greatest marvels of Terran ingenuity,” He finished with a playful grin.

Stettman walked over and whispered to him while the ponies discussed their next move. “Sir, the adjutant said that the tall pony is a class 12 psionic! Are you sure you want to let it on the Hyperion?”

Tychus chipped in to the conversation as well. “Ah hate to agree with the kid, but he’s got a point. You sure you want that freak o’ nature walkin’ around inside the ship? Ya only got one of ‘em.” Jim rolled his eyes.

“You two worry too much. Have you listened to her just now? She doesn’t want any trouble, so I’ll let her talk to Dr. Narud. And that will be the end of it. Got it?” The other two had no objections.

At this time, Twilight was asking Luna the same questions. “Princess, are you sure you want to go through with this? We still don’t know much about them, it could be a trap.”

“Ah agree princess. No disrespect to yer judgment, but this seems a mite too dangerous.” Applejack nodded toward Twilight.

“I think it’s a GREAT idea! I’ve never seen the inside of a ship before, this could be fun!” Pinkie bounced excitedly.

“I…I…I don’t….Scoots said they were evil but…they seem so….friendly.” Rainbow flattened her ears against her head and looked solemnly at Twilight for guidance. Twilight didn't make eye contact, and Dash stared silently at her friend’s purple fur.

“I must agree with Applejack, this is far too dangerous, even if we all accompany you,” Rarity added with a flip of her mane.

“Um, well, they look scary, but. Mister Raynor didn’t seem like the type to do something like that. It seems safe enough….Can I stay here though?” Fluttershy squeaked.

“If we decide to talk to this Dr. Narud, we should contact princess Celestia. This intergalactic conflict now concerns us, and she needs to be aware of the state of affairs,” Twilight noted.

Luna bit her lip nervously. “It will not be simple to contact her. She is currently in a war council with the Imperial Three. Their business is kept secret from the general public, as it concerns plans and strategies for avoiding and dealing with international conflict. She gave me this knowledge before I left, but she did not tell me what they would be discussing.” She turned to Twilight, whose eyes had widened as she realized why Celestia told her that she could not respond to any of her letters.

“This must be serious; the Imperial Three only meet when the only remaining option is open war! What could be so important that she wouldn’t tell even you about it?”

“James said we needed to enter his ship to communicate with this Dr. Narud.” Luna pointed a hoof at Twilight. “You saw their ship with your own eyes. It was not that large was it? I would not dare interrupt Celestia’s meeting to inform her of my entrance into such a small vessel. We can inform her of the events tonight, after the Imperial Three have adjourned.” The harmony bearers collectively nodded in agreement.

Luna stood tall and faced Jim once more. “Very well, James Raynor; we shall board your vessel and communicate with your Doctor Narud. Afterwards I shall make my decision. In the meantime the artifact shall remain here. Is that acceptable?”

Jim pondered for the briefest moment before nodding as well. “You got it princess. Just take us outside and I’ll call down the ship. Boys, get ready to leave this rock.”

“’Bout time; this damn cutesy girly pony stuff is wearing my patience thin,” Tychus chuckled. “Ah just gotta punch something, let off some steam, ya know?”

“Or strangle somepony,” A quiet voice whispered. The room went dead quiet as everyone turned to Rainbow Dash; the fur on her face was marred slightly by tears, but her eyes burned with fury.

Jim looked curiously at Tychus, who wasn’t budging. “What’s she talking about, Tychus? You didn’t do anything stupid did you?” He glared harshly at his old friend, though any effect it had was minimal. Stettman however, was quaking in his boots and sweating bullets.

“Ah swear, Jimmy, Ah don’t know what that flying freak’s talkin’ about.”

“THEN WHAT HAPPENED TO TWILIGHT?!” Rainbow Dash shrieked, pointing her hoof at the librarian’s neck. Twilight froze in fear as everyone stared at her. Applejack trotted over to her friend and gently placed a hoof on her fur. She pulled back immediately when Twilight cringed in pain. Rarity gasped.

“Twilight! What in Equestria happened to your neck? It’s more swollen than Big Mac’s belly after dinner! Who did this to ya?” Applejack demanded. All of Twilight’s other friends barraged her with questions concerning her health. Luna stood over them all, looking at the Terrans with an arched brow, though she also wondered how she had not sensed this. The weight of all of her friends asking if she was okay became unbearable and she cleared her throat with a painful cough.

“When Rainbow left Town Square to find the rest of you, Luna instructed me to lead Tychus and Stettman to the library. After she teleported mister Raynor somewhere, I tried to introduce myself but Tychus grabbed me and….” She motioned to her throat with her hoof. Jim snarled and faced Tychus with contempt.

“I should have known you would do something like this. Damn it, Tychus!” The blue armored Terran tried to hide his fear with a calm reply. The Equestrians looked like they were about to kill him, and Luna was glaring daggers at the Terrans.

“Now, Jimmy, Ah was just concerned with your whereabouts is all. After that pony just went an’ teleported Ah thought she might have killed ya or something. So Ah did a little…..interrogation.”

“So you tried to strangle her? Damn it Tychus, I ought to-TYCHUS!” He was interrupted as a stream of midnight blue magic whizzed past and struck Tychus directly in his head. His eyes rolled back and his upper body went limp, leaving his metal legs to support him. Jim whipped his rifle out and aimed straight for Luna’s unfazed face. Every pony and human held their breath at the scene.

“All right now that draws the line. I thought we could do this peacefully but now that you went and killed my friend I have no choice but to use force,” He said without a hint of hesitation.

Luna once again amazed her subject with her bravery when she stared the Terran down and said, “Killed? I have not killed anypony.”

“Yes you did! Just now, you used your damn psionic energy and-”

“ZZZZZZZZZZ”

Jim slowly turned around and found to his disbelief that Tychus was not dead, but sleeping. His snores practically shook the library with each breath. But as Stettman checked, he was definitely alive. Jim gave the night Alicorn a look that said, “Seriously?”

“You…..Put him to sleep?” Luna ignored the stunned ponies at her sides and responded boldly.

“The pony he attacked is the personal student of my elder sister Celestia; Alicorn of the sun. Any attempt on her life is subject to punishment under Equestrian law. However, since this Terran is not even from this planet, he cannot be blamed for not understanding our laws. Still, he attacked Twilight Sparkle, and for this crime he must be punished. But let us save one crisis for later, shall we?

“I will contact Dr. Narud and the negotiation for the artifact will occur. Tychus explained the reason behind his actions; he was worried about his friend. I’m sure any of my little ponies here would do the same if one of their friends just disappeared without warning.” She looked sympathetically at Rainbow. “It would not be just if I blamed you for an incident you had no control over, James.”

Jim was still rattled, but he regained his composure. “Fine then. I’ll deal with Tychus later. Teleport us outside and I’ll call down the Hyperion.” Luna smiled and raised her horn high, surrounding every creature with her magic. After a brief second, the light emanating from her horn intensified, and they found themselves back in town square. Jim made sure that Tychus wouldn’t fall over, and activated his transmitter.

“Matt, bring down the Hyperion.”

“Sure thing, sir; ETA one minute.”

Jim turned off the communicator and turned around to see Luna approaching him. The dark Alicorn ruffled her wings and met Jim’s eyes with a rather unprofessional look of barely contained laughter.

“I figured that we should discuss Tychus’....." Luna's body convulsed with suppressed giggles. "-punishment while we wait.”

Jim thought to ask if she needed to see a doctor, but decided against it. “Don’t you worry princess. I’ll have the big guy dealt with personally.”

“Actually I have a better idea; one that will hopefully prevent this sort of incident from occurring in the future.” Luna leaned closer to him and Jim knelt down to hear Luna’s whispers.

“…..”

“…..”

“…..” Luna backed away, giggling like a foal.

“Pretty devious Luna, I like it. Old Tychus’ll be tamer than a neutered puppy after this. Go right ahead.” He snickered at the thought of this practical joke. He would never have expected these peaceful ponies to be capable of such relentless pranks. Luna cast the spell on the sleeping Terran and the two walked back to the group. Twilight spoke up to get Raynor’s attention.

“Now that I think about it, isn’t it a bit odd to give such a grandiose name like Hyperion to such a small ship?” she asked, referring to the drop ship the Terran’s arrived in.

Jim arched an eyebrow. “That wasn’t the Hyperion.”

Twilight was about to protest, but she lost her voice as the square suddenly became shrouded in darkness. The ponies, Luna included, turned their heads to the sky and practically felt their jaws hit the cobblestone road.

“Spike, take a letter.”