The Odd Couple

[Jim Raynor]

A noise from somewhere, blunted and foggy, disturbed Swann. In the dark he shuffled and squirmed uncomfortably, thoughts fleeting and wispy. His confusion reached fever pitch as the muddled sounds took shape and finally started making sense.
 
<Rory Swann! Can you hear me?>
 
That telepathic 'voice' in his head, something heard and yet completely without sound, became an anchor. Swann grabbed it, using the thoughts that scrambled to identify the owner of that voice to hoist himself out of the bewildering mire.
 
It was ... Karax! Karax was talking to him!
 
<Please, Rory Swann. You have to wake up. I do not have the necessary attributes to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. >
 
Now that was a concept that warranted rebuking.
 
Swann jerked up, eyes ablaze. "Don't you go gettin' fresh with me! We-"
 
<Rory Swann! You are OK!>
 
Another bout of befuddlement hit. "What are ya talkin' about, Karax?"
 
<Oh,> Karax said, the protoss phase-smith knelt by his side. Even crouching, he almost stood taller than Rory did at his full height. <Perhaps you have memory loss.>
 
Swann frowned and looked around. Dunes of sand spread out in every direction all around him, all the way to the horizon. A motorcycle tire stuck out of sands nearby, still attached to the axle, while the rest of the vehicle protruded out from a hundred metres away.  Sweat drenched his face even though the sun, reduced to a semicircle couched in soothing oranges and pinks in the distance, no longer assaulted him as it had earlier. He touched his forehead lightly and hissed at the sting. He was burnt and badly.
 
Everything came back to him. "How did we survive that?"
 
<You were buried rather quickly,> Karax said, rising out of his kneel. <I was fortunate enough to only get stuck up to my waist. I freed himself and dug you out. I've been waiting for you to regain consciousness ever since.>
 
Swann snorted. "For whatever that's worth now. The bike's wrecked. We got no way of travellin' onwards or travellin' back 'cept walkin', and the desert nights are as bitterly cold as the damn desert days are burning hot."
 
<We cannot give up hope,> Karax said, staring out into the warm peach sunset. <The threat has still not been removed.>
 
Getting up, Swann brushed off the piles of sand that managed to collect in the tiniest creases of his clothing. He wedged a pinky finger into his ear and screwed it around until the sand grains dislodged. "Don't worry, I ain't one to pack it in when the chips are down." Swann scanned the horizon, and the metal object that caught his eye before the explosion of sand was still there. "Let's head towards whatever that thing is. Might be an old building, or a vehicle I might be able to get started again. It's our best bet."
 
Karax joined him. <Yes. It would be best to find shelter for the night.>
 
Without another word, the two travelling companions crested the dune and walked down the other side. The cool dusk winds caressed Swann's burned cheeks, providing some relief, but he knew soon enough it would turn to ice in a matter of hours. Without the sun to consistently bake the sands, heat vanished from the landscape incredibly quickly.
 
As Swann traversed down, it occurred to him that it wasn't a dune, but a massive hemispherical indentation in the sands. Then it hit him all at once.
 
"The explosion!" Swann said to Karax, startling the tall alien. "What was that explosion?"
 
<I do not know,> Karax replied as they returned to their march. <There is no residue or smoke remaining, so I do not believe it was an explosive. The lack of any evidence leads me to think it was not any sort of detonation.>
 
"So, what? The sand just jumped up at us for no reason?"
 
<No. But I am uncertain as to its cause.>
 
"Well keep your eyes peeled. I don't want another wall of sand tryin' to bury me again."
 
Swann shivered as night settled in. The sun's waning light edged the horizon in a pale, neon blue against the deep navy, soon to be black sky. The first brazen stars twinkled serenely, their gentler kin soft and meek above them. As much as the desert was a deadly plain, there were moments of beauty that even Swann could appreciate. A scorpion scuttled over his foot as he took in the cosmic transition, and he kicked it away. Of course, there was more out here that would kill him than would provide a pretty vista.
 
Rory considered staying quiet, but with the endless acres of sand around them, he was growing bored. "Can ya feel that psychic pulse or whatever anymore?"
 
<Yes,> Karax said, his head tilted away from their destination. <I sense it in that direction. However, it seems to be moving now.>
 
"Moving?" Swann said, furrowing his brow. "I take it it wasn't doin' that before?"
 
<You are correct in that assumption, Rory Swann,> Karax said. <It seems to be slowing now, but it was definitely stationary before the explosion.>
 
"Do ya think the beacon was stolen or somethin'?"
 
<It is hard to say.> Karax crinkled his brow, his wistful eyes still locked onto that invisible point in the distance. <Still, we cannot follow any further today.>
 
"Don't worry Karax. We'll get there."
 
The mysterious object that caught Swann's attention was coming into full view as they rounded another dune. A huge industrial building loomed over them, chimney stacks punching into the sky high above. Worn by winds and sand, jagged shards of glass clung to the sides of the windowsills, and doors hung on rusted hinges.
 
<Is this some sort of terran facility?> Karax asked. <What was its purpose?>
 
Swann walked around the dilapidated structure, then stopped and gestured to his protoss companion. "I think I got a better question than that."
 
Karax joined Swann and his incandescent eyes rose. <Yes, I believe you do.>
 
Half of the building was gone. The broken walls were serrated, the roof had collapsed onto the floor and the floor gave way abruptly to the sands. A huge rent in the dunes right next to the separated structure ran from the tall dune nearby and off into the distance in the other direction.
 
"What the hell?" Swann said. "Where's the other half? What the hell happened here?"
 
<Perhaps this facility met a similar fate to us,> Karax theorised as he stepped inside the roofless ruin. <Judging by the furrow in the dunes, another of these explosions may have detonated here and eradicated the missing portion here.>
 
"Could be. But that just raises more questions. And I'm gettin' tired of gettin' no answers."
 
Karax murmured. <Rory Swann, I detect faint hints of psionic remnants here.>
 
Swann shrugged his thick shoulders. "Wanna break it down for the dumb terran?"
 
<Either the psionic beacon was located here earlier, or ... there is another protoss in these sands.>
 
"Protoss you say?" Swann said, stepping into the destroyed building. "Which is more likely?"
 
<I do not know, hence why I posited both scenarios. If the beacon was particularly strong, it could leave a trail behind like this. Otherwise, the only other explanation is that another protoss was in this building.>
 
Rory shivered. The night had properly set in. Stars twinkled above, and goosebumps rose on his flesh. "Let's think about it in the mornin'. Let's get some rest and get back to it first thing tomorrow."