"Sir, Colonel Orland's men sent a message saying that we should pay the 'Ruins Exploration Tax'. I asked him how much we should pay, and he told us to 'pay as we see'. In addition, there are those mercenaries... uh, he
who is it?"
Renault and his party took Tassadar back to the Port of the Dead dockyard in a shuttle and boarded the battleship, and then met Jimmy who came to make a report.
Halfway through the report, he looked up and saw Tassadar wearing a large military cloak, and he was speechless.
After all, this kind of cloak can only cover his abnormal body shape and gorgeous armor, and is useless for close observation. As a well-informed scout, Jimmy was also shocked by the appearance of the protoss.
"[I am Tassadar, a protoss.]" Tassadar replied in his usual tone.
"Uh..." Jimmy seemed even more confused.
"Friendly forces, psykers, temporary residence." Raynor added a few words to make it easier for Jimmy to understand.
"Oh, oh," Jimmy seemed to understand: "So what kind of room should be arranged?"
"[We don't need to sleep or eat, we only need photosynthesis or holding crystals to survive.]" Tassadar waved his hand and refused.
Also, he has no mouth at all.
"It's spacious and solemn, with gold and blue as the main colors, and preferably decorated with large crystals." Renault recalled the architectural style of the Protoss.
"Okay, please come with me. The cabins of Captain Jax and his entourage are also ready," Jimmy looked at the other people traveling with him before leaving.
"[...]" Tassadar paused for a rare moment, then turned to Renault: "[It seems that it makes sense for your compatriots to choose you as their leader.]"
No, this is a matter of emotional intelligence, not leadership qualities.
"I must reiterate," Renault led everyone to the living deck: "I am not a 'leader' in any conventional sense, and my compatriots are not currently unifying the entire human civilization."
"[Faced with the threat of the zerg, they will inevitably unify, and a unified civilization certainly needs a leader.]" Tassadar didn't care too much.
He seemed to be hinting at something, but Renault decided to pretend not to understand. He could just leave the unification of the sector to Arcturus, Prince Korhal.
"[When you are ready, I will take you to Aiur,]" Tassadar walked side by side with Renault: "[There are thousands of my kindred and an entire golden fleet.]"
"If it is confirmed that the insect swarm has spread, I will ask for help." Renault nodded slightly.
The implication of this sentence is that if there were no bugs, Tassadar and his people would not come out to cause further chaos in the already chaotic sector. I don’t know if he can understand it.
————
"Commander Renault, I heard that you dug up ruins and unearthed an ancient alien?"
When Raynor and Tassadar arrived on the living deck, Ariel greeted them. She was dressed as a ship's doctor. She seemed to have just treated a crew member and was holding a medical kit in her hand.
"Oh, he is-"
"Zi Bing——"
Before she could finish her words, Tassadar threw off the cloak that was covering his figure and took two steps forward to block Renault and others behind him. A pair of dazzling light blades instantly appeared on the wrists of his arms.
"[This is the mimicry of the ancient plant Thorian!]" He took a fighting stance towards Ariel: "[Unfortunately? Your crew is dead? I can only destroy it.]"
"This..." Renault glanced at Tuosh, who looked at Ariel with a confused expression and shook his head repeatedly.
Does this mean? She is no different from when she first came on board?
"I'm so scared!" Mirahan, who was behind him, took the opportunity to hug Matt and almost pushed him against the wall.
Jax didn't know why? But Tychus crossed his arms and looked like he was waiting for a good show.
"Chief Renault? Your alien friend doesn't seem to be very clear-headed?" Ariel seemed frightened by Tassadar's actions. She took two steps back and looked at Renault.
"['Ancient Plant Thorian' is a low-intensity dangerous species,]" I wonder if he is very confident in his own force or to justify his actions? Tassadar began to popularize science: "[They don't have a fixed form? They often have no fixed form?
It will simulate the form of other plants near the place where it grows, and may maintain a certain posture for thousands of years when it is not stimulated.】"
It doesn't sound dangerous at all...it's basically a salted fish of the plant world.
"[The so-called 'stimulation' includes but is not limited to biochemical experiments, psychic interference, and long-term exposure to heavy element radiation?]" Tassadar continued: "[In this case, 'Thorian' will reactivate and
'Parasite' on other intelligent species? The intelligent organism parasitized by it is equivalent to death, and the parasite itself cannot escape again. In order to avoid being discovered by the relatives and friends of the parasite, they generally choose to leave the original living environment of the intelligent organism.
live alone.】"
Good guy, all the information matches up perfectly. If Tassadar hadn't been dug out just now, Renault would have suspected that he had actually secretly investigated Ariel.
"That doesn't sound dangerous?" Raynor glanced at the person involved, and Ariel shrugged, as if he didn't care much about what Tassadar said.
"[So it is 'low intensity',]" Tassadar kept staring at Ariel warily: "[Since they cannot change back to their original state, they will try to awaken more of their kind after living for a period of time, which means that there will be
More intelligent creatures are parasitized. Although they are rare in the archives of the think tank, there are still records of some civilizations being destroyed by Thorian. Therefore, in addition to the zerg, our hunters will kill one hundred and three thousand of them on sight.
One of the dangerous species.】"
Is this must-kill list too much?
"I think you can relax. This Ms. Hansen is probably not the 'Solian' you mentioned," Renault tried to smooth things over: "My crew members currently have no signs of being parasitized."
"[Yes or no, you will know once you try it.]" Tassadar waved his hand suddenly, and his eyes glowed with blue light.
At the same moment, countless dazzling blue electric lights suddenly appeared around Ariel, surrounding her.
"Hey, wait, Ariel, she——"
"[That's just 'psionic suppression', it won't cause any harm,]" Tassadar raised his hand to stop Renault, who was about to step forward: "[It will only make Solian reveal his true self-]"
Whoosh——
Before Tassadar could finish speaking, two thick vines flew towards him. With a quick spin, they tied Tassadar's feet and pulled him to the ground. Then, the two vines pulled him down like whips.
The unlucky protoss was tossed back and forth between the floor and the wall, and even dents were created in the metal floor and walls that were hit.
Splash——
As the sound of the current dissipated, the electric light surrounding Ariel disappeared, and she turned into the same green person again, wearing an exquisite off-the-shoulder evening dress composed of leaves, vines and twigs, with her long skirt tied up
There are branches, leaves and flowers, and the face is painted with light green eye shadow and lipstick.
"Oh my," she waved her hand to retract the two vines: "What a weak star spirit."
————
A moment later, the medical room.
"I just wanted to say, 'Ariel is very strong.'" Renault said with a shrug, looking at Tassadar who was lying on the medical bed with the light in his eyes changing.
"'High-level Templars' use psychic energy as their main means of combat, and yet they are on the front line. Do you think you are a 'High-level Arbitrator'?" Ariel, still wearing a green evening gown, walked over.
, placed a high-energy crystal on his bedside: "Just use it, there is no place for you to find the 'Kara Crystal' now. Thanks to you, I won't be able to change back for a while."
"[How did you——]" Tassadar looked at Ariel.
"So, 'Thanks to you', when you forced me to 'reveal my true form', I also obtained information about the protoss at the same time." Ariel nodded her head: "You clean up the bugs and plants
It's all a trick - burning the planet into glass, and then the 'other self' who sees this information goes crazy."
"Burning glass?" Renault frowned.
Perhaps some powerful space weapon can achieve this effect, but this behavior seems to be no different from what the Federation did on Korhal. If the Protoss fleet does this, it may be cut in half by Emil - she should not be able to do it
Such a thing, right?
"[No, we won't do that from the beginning,]" Tassadar probably misunderstood the meaning of Renault's expression: "[Even if a planet is completely occupied by the insect swarm, as long as there is even one intelligent creature on the surface, we
Neither will use the 'Purification Beam'.]"
Tsk, the purification beam really conforms to the naming rules of the protoss for their own class.
"[Ms. Ariel,]" Tassadar looked at the ship's doctor who was dressed in green: "[Is the process of you becoming like this related to the zerg?]"
"It seems there is, but it seems there is not." Ariel tilted her head and thought: "Although those children are violent because the federation tried to fuse them with insects, I have not come into contact with those experimental products."
"On Tarsonis where the zerg broke out, these 'Thorian Experiments' seem to have been fighting against the zerg." Raynor added.
"[I see,]" Tassadar seemed to have solved some of his doubts: "[Ms. Ariel, please come with me to the Aiur Outpost. You may be the key to eliminating the threat of the insect swarm in your world.]"
From what I heard, the Protoss race particularly likes to put high hats on others. Renault, who had been praised by Tassadar as the leader of humanity before, quietly pouted.
————
At the same time, Captain Jax was in the lounge reading the information provided by Renault.
Because he has his own battleship, he doesn't need to have his own room on the Bucephalos. However, because of the unexpected incident just now, Renault and Ariel left early, and they couldn't talk to Tychus and Tosh.
As for Matt, who is still normal, he is being pestered by Mira.
"The protoss, the zerg hunter, the ancient plant Thorian, and the parasite that has its own self are really interesting," Jax said to himself: "You think so? The little girl from Senator Terra's family?"
"Although I really want to remain invisible and embarrass you, if you really have any special anti-invisibility means, then I will be the one embarrassed." There was a fluctuation in the air, and Nova, wearing a ghost battle suit, appeared in the lounge.
A corner.
"Let Jim Raynor recruit mercenaries to become secret agents. Councilor Terra's plan is not bad," Jax raised his head slightly and glanced at her: "And through the information about the treasure, I came to the Port of the Dead and naturally contacted him.
, it can be said to be the finishing touch, but unfortunately, you yourself don’t know what the treasure is, and as a result, you brought out an alien when the situation was already very chaotic. The ‘chess players’ behind you must be so uncomfortable that they almost vomited blood.
.”
"What 'chess player'?" Nova blinked: "My father and grandfather simply want to restore peace to the star region."
"Just treat it like that," Jax picked up the coffee on the table: "You came all the way here just to laugh at an old man who failed in his treasure hunt and got on a pirate ship, right?"
"Oh, the treasure hunt did not fail, but you really boarded the 'pirate ship', General Horace Warfield." Nova chuckled and suddenly changed her honorific.
"I seem to have heard of this man," Jax said without changing his expression, "He should have died in the battle with the Jupiter Empire."
"Really? Then I will tell you what I want, and you can listen to what you want," Nova opened her auxiliary tool: "According to official information, General Horace Warfield, who belongs to the Warfield family, has been stationed in Emma for several years.
The Warfield Fortress between the Star Territory and the Jupiter Star Territory. After the 'rebellion' broke out, the fortress fell under a fierce attack by the Jupiter and Minmatar coalition forces. General Warfield and all members of his command were attacked by the enemy.
A tactical nuclear bomb attack was carried out by the other side, and all personnel were killed.”
"He's a warrior." Jax continued drinking coffee.
"Now everyone knows that this is a nuclear bomb dropped by the Federation itself, aiming to delay the rebels' attack by irradiating the wasteland and causing heavy damage. In fact, they have successfully done it," Nova continued: "However, as
The Warfield Fortress, which has been operated for several generations, cannot be defended by a nuclear bomb. Therefore, General Warfield and a few of his subordinates escaped, changed their names, changed their flags, and moved around as a mercenary group.
Running around, he planned to wait for an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to the Federation. But one day, he heard from internal channels about the Federation's news about ancient ruins containing artifacts, and searched all the way to the Port of the Dead, where he met Jim Raynor, who had also been abandoned by the Federation.
Although no artifact was found after the cooperation between the two parties, a huge fleet is enough to support his revenge. All he needs to do is make these aliens believe that the Tyranid Federation is the culprit that caused the emergence of the zerg."
"It's a good story, I almost believed it." Jax drank all his coffee.
"Oh, I just want to remind General Warfield that his plan has been seen. He must either change his plan or cooperate with the police chief honestly. He must not like being stared at by a ghost."
Jax put down his cup and remained silent.
"Let me say one last thing," Nova's figure gradually disappeared into the air: "The explorer Jax you named yourself hates coffee the most."
