Old Woman

"That's cool," Raynor exclaimed.

"You Protoss call it the Ark—I heard a priest in church tell the story of Noah's Ark carrying humanity's last spark to escape the Great Flood when I was a child. Perhaps there are some commonalities between human and Protoss cultures."

"The Arks were born in the ancient times when the Protoss were still in the hunter-gatherer era. They were originally built by tribes that feared the sea. The giant ships were like fortresses floating on the sea, unmoved by the storms and giant waves that ravaged Aiur." Although the High Templar ' faces showed little emotion, the Protoss ' intense emotions were enough to affect the humans.

"And the Spear of Adun, a doomsday ark, was built to shelter the Protoss from storms that could engulf Aiur and even the entire world, so that the Protoss would no longer have to fear the darkness."

"Follow me, Marshal Augustus Mengsk," the High Templar said to Augustus. "We must first awaken the ancient Khalai phase engineers slumbering in the Spear of Adun stasis chambers and command them to activate this ark."

"The Ark, the Spear of Adun, the Pride of Otaris, and the Nassin's Memory —they are all precious legacies."

"Although they are all starship engineers from a thousand years ago, they still possess quite advanced technology and are knowledgeable about science and technology from ancient times to the present. They are the supreme treasures of the Protoss Empire," he said.

"Once the Spear of Adun is reactivated, the Dark Templar hiding inside will have nowhere to hide."

"Hmm, advanced ancient technology," Raynor shrugged. "Alright."

The High Templar walked through the Spear of Spear of Adun corridor, adorned with ornate patterns and symbols, toward a control panel projecting a blue glow. All fell silent; the only sound in the wide corridor was the clatter of their boots.

Even though a thousand years have passed since it was buried underground in the Heart of the Conclave the Kor-shakal Council, the Spear of Spear of Adun's broad and bright bridge remains spotless, without a speck of dust. This is thanks to its diligent mechanical minions that have worked tirelessly for centuries. These intelligent, sunfish-like machines, like buzzing Drone, have always worked tirelessly and faithfully, day after day, maintaining the Ark and enabling it to launch at any time.

"Did you sense the Dark Templar of Orega?" Augustus walked along the undulating corridors of the Spear of Adun, even he was astonished by the exquisite wall carvings, the matrix carved from pure crystal, the cage-like compartments that extended into the walls, and the energy circuits inside the ark.

Whether or not the Spear of Adun was an unparalleled super ark, every part of its 74km-long hull was a testament to the Protoss Empire's starship engineering and aesthetics—absolutely precise and absolutely beautiful.

"If the Dark Templar are still in the Spear of Adun and not far from us, their vile thoughts and cold void energy will surely not escape the Templar Knights ' detection," the High Templar added after a while, perhaps realizing that he had spoken too confidently.

"Considering that Dark Templar are masters of stealth," he was unwilling to admit that the Templar Knights were not good at dealing with Dark Templar attacks, yet he was also ashamed of his lack of honesty.

"Then let them come. We have the best human warriors." Augustus chuckled softly. His good-natured, teasing laughter made the High Templar blush even more, causing an unnatural flush to appear on the other's deep blue skin.

"He's talking about us." Raynor chuckled.

As he spoke, the High Templar approached the control panel, ran his hand across the surface covered with gems, crystals, and a bright metallic casing, and a blue light screen shone through, revealing numerous horizontally arranged Protoss Khala characters and geometric shapes.

"Khassar de templari! (Justice arises from order), I am High Templar Radnaknis." The High Templar commanded the control panel, "Activate the warp net and transport us to the stationary chamber."

"Anht zagatir nas. (May the gods protect you, Templar Knights.")

A burst of fused matrix light enveloped several Templar Knights and the more than three hundred Revolutionary Army Battlefield Porcupine Special Forces led by Augustus. The white light vibrated like dust in the wind, like white flour dancing on a sieve or water droplets splashing on waves.

Augustus was already quite familiar with this; he only waited a few seconds before standing in the stasis chamber that the High Templar Radnaknis had described.

Upon opening his eyes, Augustus had to redefine the concept of a stasis chamber. A single chamber, in terms of height and area, was large enough to accommodate twenty Hyperion for takeoff and landing.

The four sides were surrounded by high, circular walls, densely packed with gold and blue single-person stasis pods like bees. Each stasis pod was as tall as a person, and inside slept a Protoss Templar Knights with his eyes closed. Augustus a hard time distinguishing how different these Protoss looked. He usually only distinguished Protoss by differences in body shape, facial features, and clothing, but even he was always wrong sometimes.

The dome of this stasis chamber is a full two thousand feet (six hundred meters) above the ground, equivalent to the height of the Mengsk Family Sky Tower. Its dome is paved with pure, transparent crystal, offering a wide view. Above it lies the central ridge zone parallel to the core matrix, surrounded by the high walls of the star launch port, a truly magnificent sight.

This is one of the reasons why Tassadar decided to activate the Spear of Adun; the slumbering Zealot Legion of the Golden Age is secondary. Most importantly, it preserves many ancient technologies that the Protoss have lost in the flames of war, and these technologies represent Tassadar's hope for restoring the Protoss' glory.

"This is where the Templar Knights Zealot slumber," the High Templar said respectfully after inspecting the area. "The Khalai engineers are not here."

"Why not awaken them?" Augustus asked. "If these Templar Knights are indeed warriors from the Protoss Empire's golden age, then perhaps they can help us."

"No, if they hear that we are at odds with the Conclave," the High Templar said sadly. "Anger and rebuttal are the best possible outcome—the Conclave Conclave never makes mistakes, and its orders are never to be challenged."

"There is no doubt that the Arbitrators have consistently guided the Protoss Empire onto the right path," he said. "We cannot awaken them now."

"Once we take down the Conclave, the Templar Knights order will become the new council." Raynor gave him a knowing look; he had always regarded the Conclave as the Terran Confederacy's Confederate Congress within the Protoss Empire.

"This is not the outcome the Executive wanted," the High Templar sighed.

"But it is the best outcome for us," Augustus.

High Templar Radnaknis said nothing more, turning and walking towards an exit of the stasis chamber, which was much darker in comparison.

Augustus waved and followed with his warriors, noticing that the interior decorations of the stasis chamber and even the maintenance equipment were much simpler than those of the Templar Knights outside. All of this emphasized the distinction between status and class, reminding the Khalai of what was insurmountable.

Even so, these stasis chambers are exquisite works of art, creations of the Protoss Empire at its most prosperous era.

"What? Who did this? How dare they!" A psychic scream from the High Templar Radnaknis nearly made Augustus faint; the rage it contained was deafening.

"Damn it, to put it bluntly, this place must have been vandalized by the Orega. It's like stepping into a barn infested with rats." Raynor regretfully picked up a broken control crystal from the ground and turned to look at the dozens of empty stasis chambers embedded in the low walls.

"The Dark Templar of Orega didn't kill them." Augustus smell the distinctive stench of Protoss blood. "They must have kidnapped the Protoss Phase Technicians here—what are they planning to do?"

"Stealing documents and our supreme heritage, a bunch of thieves and burglars, the Dark Templar are nothing but..." The High Templar thought of Zeratul and fell silent.

Although still furious, Ladenaknis calmed down. "This is just one of the stasis chambers."

"I'm not trying to be pessimistic, but if the people of the Fist of Ulrezaj are ruthless enough, they could kill all the phase engineers before leaving. That way, unless we seek support from other phase engineers from the outside, we won't be able to start the ark." Kerrigan hadn't said much, crossed her arms.

"I think the Spear of Adun won't be as simple as driving Vulture, where all you need is a normal brain."

"Orega, he has done all sorts of bad things," Augustus commented.

The High Templar was clearly taken aback by Kerrigan's words, but he still searched through the stasis chambers one after another, only to find them all empty, as all the stasis chambers had already been destroyed.

What enraged Ladenaknis the most was that the last two stasis chambers contained only the corpses of dead ancient phase engineers. These phase engineers, in a state of stasis and powerless to fight back, were killed by the enemy's cruel methods, leaving rivers of blood.

"That's the way the Tal'darim are—but that's also something Orega would do. As long as he can achieve his goal, he won't care about morality or despicable acts." Augustus stood in a pool of deep purple blood.

"I suspect that the Dark Templar of Orega have already left with these nearly a thousand Ancient Phase Technicians. In any case, it must be for his darker plans."

In the much smaller chambers compared to the Templar Knights ' stasis chambers, each Protoss lay silently, slanted into the wall. Thick, dark purple blood stained their heavy, luxurious robes and skin; some Protoss had even been roughly dragged out and discarded on the road.

"I can't believe the Protoss would do something like this." Raynor had met many Protoss, led by Tassadar and Fenix, and had a good relationship with them, almost mistakenly believing that all Protoss were so kind and upright.

"Heinous crimes!" Ladenaknis trembled with extreme rage, his skin displaying dense, multicolored markings like an enraged octopus. "Why did they do this? Why—they were engineers, astronomers, and musicians; even if they were alive, they wouldn't have caused any harm to Orega."

"In this universe full of strife and conflict, ruthlessness is the way to survive." Augustus ordered the medics accompanying him to examine the Protoss's injuries. Every report was that the Dark Templar were merciless, each strike fatal, drawing blood instantly.

"Open your eyes and look at this era, and you will find that the prosperous and harmonious history of the Protoss Empire is long gone."

"Let's search some more. Perhaps the Orega people missed some compartments; after all, they know nothing about the internal structure of the Spear of Adun. If that doesn't work, then contact your phase technicians in Antioch Province and other regions. I remember Swann has good relations with those Protoss."

Augustus's words jolted Ladenaknis awake, and he immediately went to the control room to repeatedly sift through the database.

"There is still hope. Some Fleets engineers and navigators are still sleeping in the control room under the War Council. They witnessed the High Preservers Rohana, enter the Spear of Adun into hibernation." The High Templar couldn't wait for Augustus anything and hurriedly activated the warp matrix to go to the War Council he mentioned to confirm.

Augustus reappeared on a meticulously cut staircase. A beam of clear golden light shone down from the staircase, and the surrounding crystals shimmered with a bright luster. The golden crystals enveloped the entire staircase like the sun, their light as pure as the unblemished morning light.

The steps were long, leading to a heavy but imposing gate. The spiral patterns that moved like dragons were perfect and captivating, and the statues of Templar Knights were lifelike, exuding an aura of authority without anger, as if gazing coldly through the ages. The entire staircase was filled with the warm light refracted from Solarite, and the refreshing warmth and comfort could calm even the most restless soul.

"It's nearby, but I'm still not sure—" Ladenaknis said somewhat hesitantly as he climbed the steps, "Rohana, the eldest of the three Supreme Preservers, lies here. She was a leader active even in the Golden Age, whose wisdom and prestige rivaled Adun's."

"The Supreme Preservers preserve all the history and knowledge of the Protoss since the Age of Aeon of Strife, as well as the memories of all the departed Protoss. They are the builders of history, the living great library."

"I don't want to disturb her—but, it's said that Lady Rohana is a master of the art of war, and her advice to the Executors has often been pivotal, turning the tide of battle. She must have a very good relationship with Adun."

"Alright, alright, hurry up, just don't disturb the old lady." Raynor reminded the High Templar not to waste time. His first impression was that this Protoss Preservers must have lived for a very, very long time, an old hag even more ancient than the Confederacy noblewoman Andrea Tagore.

"Okay." Ladenaknis quickened his pace, and as he opened the door, a dazzling light immediately emanated from it like starlight, dispelling all the darkness.

A Protoss woman, carrying a circular Psionics amplifier on her back and dressed in magnificent attire and a night-black robe, stood with her back to them. "This is the darkest age. When the Protoss awaken, there are no welcoming flowers, only endless war and the sorrow of a reversed river of time. Let me see you, the Protoss leader of this era."

When the Protoss Preservers turned around, she was clearly taken aback as she looked at her Augustus and the Revolutionary Army soldiers standing in formation.

"Monkey! Monkey!"

"Get out of the way, you old woman." Raynor felt deeply insulted.

"We have urgent business to attend to. If you think I'm some lowly monkey, then don't blame me for turning my backside to you, understand?"