Spear of Adun

The convoy of Vulture sped along the sandy ground of the giant underground cavern, which was covered with crystal clusters. Plasma thrusters spewed out dazzling bright blue flames, shaped like bullets being fired from a gun.

The bottom of the cave is covered with a layer of fine white sand, as shiny as gold and as soft as flour, like an undulating white ocean. The surface of the white sand sea is not flat; it is dotted with puddles filled with pure groundwater, which reflect the light emitted by the crystal clusters.

Thousands of magnificent stone pillars support the cave's dome, their perfect and ornate cuts not naturally formed, resembling spears piercing the dome. Engraved on them are vine-like or spiral patterns, and some concise phrases written in the Protoss's elegant script express the Protoss's poetic and beautiful understanding of the universe, all born in the Protoss Empire's most prosperous and wealthy, culturally vibrant and confident golden age.

The stone pillars themselves emitted a soft green light, which intertwined with the brilliance of the crystals to create a dreamlike canopy enveloping the cave. The underground of Aiur was cold and dark, but the crystals embedded in the stone walls provided light and heat, like the sun, moon, and stars.

The cavern was so vast that even at its fastest speed, Augustus's Vulture could only come a little closer to the towering, golden-blue behemoth. It stood tens of miles high, with a city-sized launch pad at its center. The launch pad was made of golden metal and a dazzling matrix of crystals, radiating a shimmering light at all times.

That really was just a mountain on the horizon; even after walking for so long, it was nothing more than a distant phantom.

"I've never seen anything so beautiful. They—they're like spears of light, gold, and crystal." Raynor, driving his Vulture close behind Augustus's car, sincerely admired the magnificent warship standing in the distance.

"You are a poet, Jimmy," Augustus.

"That's what happens when you deal with the Protoss a lot," Raynor chuckled. "Even cowboys can recite poetry."

"Guess how big that Protoss Ark is? How long is it? How wide is it at its widest point?" Augustus through Kerrigan's well-proportioned and powerful shoulders in the cockpit at the distant, majestic, golden-blue behemoth. It resembled a celestial city reaching to the heavens or a towering pagoda piercing the clouds, its size being a hundred or a thousand times larger than the Protoss's round tower-like structures.

If the Protoss hadn't told Augustus and Raynor that beneath the Heart of the Conclave Kor-shakal lay the Ark-class behemoths forged during the Protoss Empire's Golden Age, they would have initially mistaken it for an unparalleled underground city.

"It's probably tens of miles or longer, it's hard to say." The sound of wind whistling occasionally came through Raynor's communication channel, "I used to think that the Sky Tower of Tarsonis was the most amazing thing in the world, but compared to the Protoss, it's just a small mound dug out by groundhogs at the foot of a mountain."

"The Protoss Ark, Tassadar said, was built to preserve the Protoss's flame during the darkest ages of the Protoss Empire, not for war and destruction. So, someone in the Protoss Empire foresaw today's catastrophe during their Golden Age, and that's why they forged them centuries ago," Raynor quipped.

"Oh, Augustus, look at what our ancestors did! They claimed all the resources of the main planet and then sent their descendants to barren, marginal planets to expand their territories. They only cared about themselves; they left nothing behind."

"You'll have to talk to the nobles and tycoons of the Confederacy; they don't care about things hundreds of years from now," Augustus said with a laugh.

"If the Protoss have such warships, why don't they use them now?" Raynor continued, "Swann told me that a Protoss engineer named Karax once boasted to him that a single Protoss Ark could launch and win a war against a civilization of equal strength."

"Now I'm starting to doubt that he might not be exaggerating. Such a huge warship, even if it crashed into Tarsonis, would be enough to destroy the entire Tarsonis capital city, not to mention those Protoss laser weapons that can burn our thatched huts to ashes from orbit."

"That might be true, but the Protoss had never encountered an enemy of the Zerg level before," Augustus said over the communication channel.

"Tassadar said that the Conclave originally had no plan to activate the three arks beneath Aiur."

"Because they still believed they could never be defeated, and that the Protoss were far from being destroyed," Augustus. "When we arrived in Aiur, even though the Conclave had lost a great deal of territory, they still stubbornly believed they could not be defeated."

"What happened next is what we saw—we won. You know, if we had nuclear weapons when Korhal was attacked, I would have ordered them all launched long ago, instead of burying them in the ground and waiting for them to sprout."

Buried beneath Aiur are three identical Ark-ships, each located in a different city. The sheer amount of manpower and resources required by the Protoss Empire to excavate the caves capable of preserving these super-warships was unimaginable. Each warship is exquisitely crafted, a masterpiece of the Khalai engineering community.

The Ark-ship preserves all of the Protoss's achievements and knowledge. In the event of a cataclysmic event to the Protoss Empire, it can ascend into space and leave Aiur, preserving the last embers of civilization.

As far as Augustus knew, the Spear of Adun beneath Kor-shakal, as well as its sister ships, the Pride of Otaris and the Nassin's Memory, beneath the other two cities, were well preserved.

After Augustus and Tassadar returned to Aiur, no civil war broke out with the Conclave. The addition of the Colossus and the Mothership also strengthened the Conclave's resolve, so they did not forcibly activate the Ark. It was precisely because of these changes that the other two Arks, which should have crashed, were saved.

"And now, they've decided to use these weapons in the civil war?" Raynor said. "If that's the case, then it's incredibly ironic."

"Not yet," Augustus. "But we don't know where the Conclave's bottom line is. Since Duran has infiltrated their ranks, it's very likely that he's the one secretly orchestrating all of this."

"I don't understand why you value that Protoss named Duran so much, but there must be a reason," Raynor ordered in the command channel.

"Keep it up, guys, we're going to be running for a while longer, this place is unbelievably huge."

"Where is Tychus? Why isn't he here?" Augustus suddenly asked after a few seconds.

"I thought he was already here," Raynor said. "Didn't you order him to come from Antioch? Even by transport ship, that would take quite a while."

"Alright, we need to hurry and leave before we can even check if he's arrived." Augustus he had completely forgotten to call Tychus over, and soon gathered his men and set off.

"This time, Tychus is going to miss the real big event," Raynor said. "See that? There are Protoss drones and small fighters exchanging fire around that Protoss Ark. It looks like Zeratul and Artanis's men have alerted the guards here."

"Originally, I was thinking of secretly launching the Ark into space."

The convoy continued its journey, passing collapsed stone pillars and charred Protoss mechs. The sections of these collapsed pillars were all fresh, testament to the brief but brutal battle that had taken place over several hours, as evidenced by the scattered wreckage of Protoss intelligent mechanical guards and Dragoon on the white sand.

As Augustus drew ever closer to the nearest Protoss Ark, the ship's magnificent silhouette became increasingly striking. It truly resembled an impossibly tall, golden-blue spire or the tip of a spear, its apex dozens of miles above the ground, making both human vehicles and the Reaver advancing on the ground appear minuscule.

As the Vulture approached the launch pad at the bottom of the Ark, even the edges of that pad resembled the high walls of a city.

Augustus was met by a High Templar of Artanis and his Zealot, who had completely seized control of the Ark's launch pads.

"Greetings, Sons of Aiur Artanis and Fenix?" After Kerrigan parked the Vulture in a dense cluster of crystals, Augustus alighted and approached the High Templar who was waiting for him.

Behind Augustus, more than two hundred Vulture came to a stop in unison, and a large number of War Pigs members and Ghost operative in special operations armor stood in silent formation, awaiting orders.

"The Executors have arrived on the surface and are launching an attack on the Heart of the Conclave, where the Conclave is located." The High Templar's telepathic message reached Augustus's mind, and under the influence of the Protoss's powerful Psionics energy, the latter even saw phantoms of Artanis and the Templar Knights fighting a bloody battle.

"Zeratul's Dark Templar have vanished into the darkness, swearing to bring back the promise of truce made by the Conclave's arbitrators. The roars of the Templar Knights embracing their battle glory echo through the Khala, while the Conclave's guard marches sadly toward defeat."

"Listen to me, brother," Raynor said to the High Templar, "Perhaps we can strait this ark out to confront the Conclave."

"This was also High Executor Tassadar's plan. He originally intended to activate the Spear of Adun to ensure an absolute victory over the Swarm. Now, whether to prevent the Spear of Adun from falling into the hands of the Council or to reclaim our sacred homeland, Tassadar is determined to activate it," the High Templar said.

"The Spear of Adun, she is the first ark named after the Protoss hero Adun. During the golden age of the Protoss Empire, Adun participated in the ceremony of the Spear of Adun's ignition and launch as an executor." He introduced the magnificent ship before them to Augustus.

"Warriors of the Golden Age slumber within the Spear of Adun; they surely still remember the heroic deeds of Adun."

"Activating the Spear of Adun requires a massive amount of energy, and we must gain control of the five energy matrix cells on the Heart of the Conclave," he said. "We currently have control of three, and Grand Consul Fenix and the Executive are en route to the location of the remaining two cells."

"In other words, this matter doesn't actually require human help; you can handle it yourselves." Raynor had been looking forward to a thrilling battle with Artanis, but now he was somewhat disappointed.

"Of course, my friend, if we cannot continue fighting without humans, then the Protoss Empire should perish," the High Templar said amicably. "But we still need your help."

"Tell me about it," Augustus nodded.

"Marshal Augustus Mengsk," the High Templar said immediately.

"In order to attack the Heart of the Conclave, the executive officer has drawn away the vast majority of our forces, which means we no longer have enough warriors to penetrate the interior of the Spear of Adun."

"Is there anyone else in the Spear of Adun who could threaten you?" Augustus asked.

The High Templar replied, "The Spear of Adun is an ark that has slumbered for countless centuries; its core and the Templar Knights within it are in a state of dormancy."

"After defeating the Council guards protecting the Spear of Adun, High Priest Zeratul discovered signs of Dark Templar power remaining around the Ark. The Executor suspects that followers of the Dark Templar Oregau may have secretly infiltrated the Spear of Adun, attempting to steal the knowledge and advanced ancient technology sealed within."

"How many of them are there?" Augustus afraid to fight the Dark Templar, but he needed to be sure his men were capable of taking on a group of Shadow Masters.

"To perfectly evade the guards, their numbers must be limited," the High Templar said.

"You actually allowed a group of outsiders onto the Protoss Empire's Ark?" Augustus laughed.

"In our eyes, you are also Protoss." The High Templar flickered with cobalt blue flames, curved slightly, as if he were smiling.

"Alright, another question, friend, how do we get in?" Augustus, clad in gold and red Power Armor, stepped onto the magnificent metal floor that looked like it was paved with gold and stone.

"I hope you won't mind that my boots are too dirty," Raynor shrugged. "So, we might also have a chance to fly the Ark into the sky."

"Follow me." The High Templar led Augustus to a massive obelisk and inserted his two thumbs into the hole within it. Accompanied by rising white aura and a clear, resonant sound like a dragon's roar echoing through the crystal, a Warp Gate resembling an iris appeared.

"The Protoss never use doors," Raynor said.

"There is no danger," Kerrigan had been on high alert, told Augustus.

The High Templar led the way inside, and Augustus followed without hesitation.

In the short time it took for Augustus became clear before him. A moment later, they were standing on every deck of the Spear of Adun, those golden metal decks still shining as new even after many centuries.

After his eyes adjusted to the light within the Spear of Adun, Augustus realized that he was simply standing on a wide corridor that spanned the entire relay zone. The corridor stretched and twisted upwards and downwards like vines entwined around pillars. Above him was the bridge of the Spear of Adun on the surface, and below were the Stasis Chamber and the Star Forge, with countless pillars shaped like golden javelins.

Thanks to the Archbishop's reminder, I completely forgot that the three Arks were hidden in different cities on Aiur to prevent them from being completely destroyed—they are buried beneath three different cities, spanning the entire planet Aiur. There's only the Spear of Adun beneath Kor-shakal; I've lost my mind—let me correct that.

Also, let me clarify a rumor: the claims about the Nessian's Memory" and "Pride of Otaris paperback or engineering ships are just some random fantasies made up by someone. As for the other two Arks, only their names have been mentioned without any detailed descriptions. This claim is widespread, but I couldn't find any source for it after searching for a long time.

That should come from the area of expertise of the highest Preservers on each Ark. For example, Rohana, the highest Preservers of the Spear of Adun, is skilled in military affairs (...), while Sathir is a master of physics and engineering.

Don't be misled by things like Baidu Baike (Baidu Encyclopedia); anyone can edit that.

I was so excited the other day that I couldn't sleep and was completely out of sorts.