Mohandar was nodding. "You will best serve on Shakuras, Zeratul. We need your wisdom in the Hierarchy—you are respected by all."

Zeratul shook his head. "I will not be returning to Shakuras, either. Soon, I give you my word—but not yet. There are some things, too long pushed aside, that I must investigate in order to help strengthen Zamara's statements. I can add verification of some of her assumptions, I believe. And the more we know, the better armed we are."

Mohandar was disappointed but nodded. "You know what I do not.. .yet. If this is what you must do, then go. Adun toridas."

Zamara agreed with Zeratul's statement, but Jake was sad to see Zeratul go. The dark templar hesitated, then spoke for Jake's mind only.

"I owe you a debt, human," he said quietly. "Who knows how long I would have sat alone, staring at the waterfall and pink skies, wrapped in my misery as in a blanket. That is not who I am, and you helped remind me of that. Your kind is a young race yet, but already, a handful of individuals have proven to me and to others that you are a force to be reckoned with—and one that has inherent wisdom and potential. I was proud to call James Raynor a friend. I would be proud to call you that also."

His legs all but useless, his head pounding, Jake gazed up at the prelate. "I., .would be proud as well," he said.

"Zeratul," said Zamara, "in case the transference is not successful, let me share with you one last thing. I think it may be of great importance. Jake—I am sorry, this will hurt."

"Go for it," Jake said, bracing himself.

The image filled his mind and Zeratul's. It was a distant, dusty world, like a hundred other worlds but for the strange rock formations that seemed too lovely to be coincidental. But nature did that; it was why humans could see rabbits in clouds and the faces ofholy figures in frost patterns. Jake, the scientist, knew that. He knew it as he beheld the landscape, his gaze traveling across the swirls and whorls and formations, one of which dominated the landscape and looked to his scholarly eyes like a beast out of legend—a white, winged horse—

"Hey!" he exclaimed in his mind to Zamara and Zeratul. "I know this place—this is Pegasus! I led a dig there...."

He watched as the guided vision bore his gaze away from the natural Pegasus statue and gasped slightly. There, gleaming and bright and green and vibrant, and God help him, alive, was a xel'naga temple.

It had most definitely not been there when Jake was leading the expedition. It had to have recently been unearthed—by an earthquake, perhaps, or storms, or perhaps it just simply decided it was tired of lying undiscovered and unappreciated and shoved its way through the earth under its own energies. With all that Jake had learned in the last several weeks, nothing would surprise him.

He pressed a hand to his temple, breathing through his nose to try to will away the pain of sharing the vision. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rosemary watching him worriedly. He wished she didn't have to see this.

"I am sorry you were not able to investigate the site, Jacob, but at least you can tell us exactly where to find it. That this has come to light so recently seems to be of great importance," Zamara said.

Jake easily shared the information with Zeratul, absurdly pleased as, for the first time, he had something real and concrete from his own field of expertise to contribute. Zeratul bowed deeply to him.

"Perhaps we will meet again, when the crisis is over, and we have protected our worlds and those we love. But for now, I must act." The glowing eyes crinkled slightly. "It is, after all, what my friend Tassadar would have wished me to do."

He turned to the others. "Mohandar, Selendis.. .1 believe that a battle which will need us both—need us all—is shortly to begin. I will return to Shakuras as soon as I may."

"We will await your return, Prelate," Selendis said, and Mohandar nodded.

"Krythkal...Zamara and Jake both are precious. Take the utmost care in what you must do."

"I shall bring to bear all my centuries of skill. And," he said, chiding gently, "perhaps soon you will return here so that we may have your memories as well. Adun toridas, Zeratul."

"En taro Tassadar, " said Zeratul, and then he was gone without a backward glance, moving forward purposefully. Jake was glad of it. This was the Zeratul that Zamara had known, whose integrity and strength of purpose had convinced Tassadar that he was worthy of trust.

Whatever happens to me, Zamara said for Jake alone, my people know as much as I can tell them.

The ice pick in his head returned and Jake felt the blood drain from his face. Someone was there, holding his arm firmly, not letting him fall. He glanced up, assuming it was Krythkal or another protoss, and then down. Rosemary gazed back up at him.

"Whatever it is you're going to do to him, Krythkal," Rosemary said steadily, "you better do it soon."

Krythkal nodded, troubled. "Agreed. I shall assemble my best students to help me, and we will begin at once."

Jake looked at the little group that surrounded him as he followed Krythkal. By anyone's estimate, it was an odd assembly. Two ancient dark templar and a younger one, one executor—female at that, which Jake knew was rare—a rather enthusiastic youngster that he understood was a Furinax, a craftsman, and two humans, one of whom had a preserver in his head.

He chuckled softly. "Bet you never thought you'd see this," he said, directing the comment to everyone.

"Truer words were never thought," Mohandar said. "The ways of fate are strange indeed."

He felt Vartanil's gaze boring into him and turned to regard the young protoss who had slowed his long-legged pace to Jake's. "Jacob, it pleases me so greatly to be here with you and Rosemary. To lend my support, however weak it might be, to your cause."

"Vartanil was a strong voice in the Hierarchy," Selendis said, looking over her shoulder as she strode ahead of them. "I do not think Rosemary alone could have persuaded them. At least not in time. You were of more aid than you suspect, Vartanil."

Vartanil ducked his head. If protoss could blush, Jake thought the Furinax would be scarlet by now.

"Thank you," Jake said quietly. Vartanil turned radiant eyes upon him.

"It didn't help that the only human female they'd met was Sarah Kerrigan," Rosemary said. "Nothing like a mountain of prejudice to climb over."

"Your sincerity and concern for Jacob was a great factor in our decision as well," Selendis said. "We did not expect to see such ferocious dedication in one of your species."

Rosemary didn't look at him, but her cheeks were more traitorous than Vartanil's. "Yeah," she said, "whatever. So, how does this thing you're going to do to separate Jake and Zamara work?"

Krythkal turned expectantly to Jake. "Oh, right," Jake said. He slipped his hand into his pocket, feeling again the tingling sensation as his fingers closed around the crystal, and handed it to Krythkal. The protoss started as the crystal settled in his long-fingered palm. Jake felt his surprise and pleasure wash over them all.

"It is...astonishingly pure," Krythkal said, in slight awe. Recovering, he added, "The alysaar have, over the centuries, developed a technique for the joining of thoughts that enables us to transfer them to certain khaydarin crystals that have been specifically attuned for the task. It is a recording device. It stores the memories as images and information that can then be accessed later by anyone who has been trained in the proper technique, which is very simple."

"Like a hologram," Rosemary said, nodding. "Gotcha. But Zamara's kind of.. .a super memory holder, right?"

Krythkal was clearly worried. "Yes," he said. "We have never attempted anything this ambitious. Also, we are used to probing protoss minds, not terran minds. I will do the best I can, but I fear I cannot promise anything."