This oneshot prompts a degree of explanation so here it is;

Dark Templar: Firstborn is an awesome book and the rest of the trilogy looks set to follow suit. Already I can see where StarCraft II is headed, both in terms of plot and the characters within it, Valerian Mengsk being an example. For once, Blizzard throws in a son of a canon character and actually pulls it off decently (well, there's John Raynor to consider, but considering that he's probably dead, I doubt that will amount to anything).

Yet it was Zamara who really caught my attention, the protoss mystic who implants her essence in Jake Ramsey's mind. I personally find her an interesting, extremely well developed character-for most of Firstborn, she can easily be described as a sociopathic, condescending bitch. Yet towards the end, you can definetly see her developing genuine friendship with Jake. Certainly makes a better pairing than JakexR.M. Mary Sue Dahl. Ugh.

Anyway, this is based on the idea of an alternate ending to 'Firstborn', if Valerians' fleet had actually caught Jake and Dahl above Dead Man's Rock, and how Zamara would deal with it (admittedly with some tweaked abilities)...

Intricacies

This is pathetic.

Even with Ramsey's ocular nerves fried I can still tell what's going on, the crude instruments of these humans working like a group of bengalaas' squabbling over a recent kill. Telepathy is all I need to sense the emotions of these so-called scientists, ranging from sadistic pleasure in Adun knows who to giddy euphoria from Mengsk's boy. There's grief emanating from somewhere, but it's hard to pinpoint. Still, what does it matter? The intricacies of the human psyche are beyond me.

Still, there are some things that I don't know, this primitive mind and even more primitive brain limiting my perception. Does Ramsey know what these scientists are doing to him? Is he aware that they intend to extract his memories, including the ones that I have given him? How would he treat the fact that such a process will at best leave him more brainless than he is now and at worst leave him dead. Hmm, maybe it's the other way round?

There's no way of telling but I can't help but wonder. Do humans stare death in the face or run away screaming? Hard to tell really. In the short time I've been locked in Ramsey's mind I've certainly seen a fair amount of human death, a significant portion dished out by their own kind. Surely they must have some kind of resilience to it, if it was such a given in their short lives.

But if that was the case, why was Ramsey so grieved when it happened? Surely realised that it was necessary to undo that Marine's resocialisation, his rampage giving us the time to escape from the Grey Tiger. Could Jake not-…

By Adun, I've elevated myself to a first name basis. Shit.

No, wait, it's not that bad. I'm being distracted. I still have time to escape from…alright, Jake's mind, to seek out another host among the hairless apes around here. Not Mengsk of course, he would be even worse than Jake. Dahl's a possibility I suppose…Yes, that should do. All I have to do is lock onto her mind and…wait a minute…

Grief? That is where the grief is coming from?

How could this be the case? Dahl never showed any special attachment to Jake. What basis would she have to feel grief? Shouldn't relief be her primary emotion, given that she was able to avoid getting her head opened up, keeping what amounts to be her brain exposed to the lab jockeys? What kind of explanation is there for this?

…I don't know.

Funny that. I've learnt of the cycle that is destined to come again, of the inevitable return of the Xel'Naga. I possess secrets that can shape the course of the galaxy, secrets so valuable that Mengsk was willing to send out an entire fleet after us after escaping Dead Man's Rock. I possess the memories of every protoss who has ever lived. Yet despite all this, I cannot gain comprehension of these primitive beings.

Grief when there should be joy…

Seeking knowledge for the sake of it…

Sadism that goes beyond anything I have ever seen…

Friendship strong enough to keep me in this primitive mind, to actually make me feel attached to my host, despite all that is at stake…

To a protoss, every aspect of these beings is irrational. But then again, perhaps that is the answer, that irrationality adds up to the sum total of human existence…

…I envy them.