This'll probably be a series of scenarios based on the Evolution Missions from Heart of the...
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Starcraft: Swarm Evolution Expansion
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Prologue Rules
This'll probably be a series of scenarios based on the Evolution Missions from Heart of the Swarm. You should probably read down here to know how this'll work.
--------
Far in deep space, there is a...thing. It was known to be a nightmare that came in endless droves that would overwhelm even fleets of thousands and militarized worlds. Because they were constantly changing...adapting.
They were known as the Zerg. Created by an ancient race known as the Xel'naga, they were race considered a perfect being. Without tools, they would be able to thrive in any environment and defeat whatever foe they came across, even when it became the Xel'naga themselves.
However, very few had free will. Most were under an overriding directive to consume and destroy. All part of an ancient plot plunge the universe into flame. Those who escape became Primal. The rest became the Swarm. And now, the Swarm has been given a chance to be from this enslavement. The ultimate threat to everything known has now become a new symbol. For those not bound to it and understand their new purpose, a symbol of hope to save it all. For others, it's a symbol of vengeance, especially for it's new leader...The Queen of Blades.
Formerly known as Kerrigan, she was a psychic assassin who worked for an oppressive human Empire known as the Confederacy. Responsible for the murders of many rebels against this collective evil, she defected and became one herself. She hoped by siding with their leader, Arcturus Mengsk, they would finally have the power they need to bring a new era to the Terrans.
Until she was horribly betrayed, first having the world of billions that was the Confederates' homeworld abandoned to the Zerg. She was forced to go against the Protoss, the arch enemies to the Swarm with the belief she would be extracted thereafter. And then, she was abandoned. Captured. Transformed into an infamous murderer with no real will of her own, influenced by a malevolent entity that sought to recreate the world.
Thanks the efforts of many like the one she loved, James Raynor, she had regained her freedom from the overriding directive. Instead of influence, she was driven by vengeance and doing what had to be done. Regathering the Swarm and eliminating everyone who stood in the way, Kerrigan brought down the man who betrayed her, who turned into another nightmare of the Terrans. With the human monster destroyed and her vengeance fulfilled, there was one thing left to do…
Defeat this ancient enemy. And by doing so...Evolve.
--------
Leviathan...
The Queen of Blades sat on her throne. Various zerg organisms lurked around her chamber while a Zergling creature sat next her.
They've been waiting for days, maybe weeks, since the last battle against Mengsk's world of Korhal. At least with him out of the way and the Terrans he trusted safe, there is far greater hope than what their average citizen could believe in. But the new enemy was also greater. Confronting an unknown enemy that could destroy worlds and minions that imitated the Swarm's capabilities, there isn't much time before their plan continues to be put in motion. Because where they were was unknown, that was even more trouble.
Kerrigan's thought process was interrupted when she received something telepathically. It was Izsha, first a psionic terran medic, now her immense Leviathan creature's organic database bound to the core.
"My Queen, we have some new reports for you."
"Go ahead."
"It requires you to head the nervous system personally. Our broodmothers and officers want to brief you."
"Very well, I'll go ahead."
--------
Leviathan Nervous System…
As Kerrigan walked to central system, equivalent to a warship's command bridge, the Leviathan opened up to the emptiness of space. She noticed there were...distortions of some kind. Holes that warped to unknown locations for whatever entered it. She saw her officers were eager to see her.
"My Queen," Zagara, a Swarm Queen-like Broodmother who became her highly loyal disciple, greeted her leader. "The leading Swarm units have discovered this field of space-time distortions."
"I see them. Fields of mass fluctuations. The big question is where do they lead."
"They appear to be gates to new worlds, my Queen," Izsha answered. "Our scouts reported to have arrived in new universes that connect to this one. And many other civilizations yet to discover."
"Earth had many fascinations about this," Stukov, a human from Earth's united Directorate, pointed out. "It looks like some of their fantastical science is proven correct."
"Explain."
"Various science fiction authors now forgotten wondered what was the meaning and nature behind wormholes like these. Are they gates to new worlds? Different time periods? Or just another part of the known universe? While some of this is true for certain kinds, these lead to somewhere...different. Not exactly the universe we know of, but similar. Ones that have different laws and rules that our world would or would not have if compared to it."
"So they're like parallel universes."
"You...could say something like that. Another would say they're different dimensions. I remember Earth sending various ships some such portals, but gave up when some of them never returned from the other side. Perhaps if you want to look, now's the time."
"Our priority here is Amon, Stukov. I don't want to make any more enemies if I don't need to."
"Who knows? There's also a chance Amon could be found right here."
"Opportunity...to collect...ESSENCE." Dehaka, the new leader for the Primal Zerg packs spat out.
"I will be the judge of that, Dehaka. We don't want to jeopardize the entire Swarm just for something less important than our mission."
"I'm afraid there's no need as it is already too late," Stukov assured. "Your spider friend has already gained interest in the various creatures there. Human and non-human."
"Abathur…"
"He already has preparations for you," Izsha informed. "He wants you to see him soon."
"I will." Kerrigan's energy started to rise. "But if it involves screwing up for his curiosity, I'll going to make him pay big time."
--------
Evolution Pit…
Kerrigan walked along the chambers the evolution pit. She passed through many of the different creations, created for adaptation to the various situations the Swarm came across. At the center was a hole that was really a den entrance to the runner of the pit. When Kerrigan came up to the hole, a mutant green spider-like creature came out.
"Important news."
"Explain yourself, Abathur!" Kerrigan was radiating her eyes.
Abathur felt a crushing pressure and his body stretched for a moment. His body lied still for a moment before it recovered.
"Scouts discovered new essence. New capabilities from parallel worlds."
"What kind of capabilities that would be worth exposing our very presence?"
"Extremely unique. Not found in any other world."
"I know that. I mean are they any that would be useful against our new enemy?"
"Very. Surpassing Swarm strength if left alone. Must acquire, must master, must overcome originator."
"Well then. We're already going against a dangerous foe. Preparing for future threats shouldn't hurt. How will it work?"
"Evolution process usual. Variety of strains available for section of Swarm operation."
"So we set some tests and decide which ones to add into the Swarm."
"Accurate. This time, number of unknown viewers will decide. More popular one will be integrated into Swarm."
"Unknown viewers?" the Queen shook her head. "Very well then. Prepare the experiments. Just try not to make too much trouble."
"Trouble interferes with Swarm, but inevitable. Will avoid much as possible. Preparing tests now."
-------
So like it says here, I'll be making a chapter for new strains on certain parts of the Zerg, both for units and how they are played. They will take in other fictional universes where the strains are found and give everyone an example of how they work. Then, you send reviews and responses to determine your favorite.
Until then and once the chapter comes, sit back and left the fun begin.
--------
Far in deep space, there is a...thing. It was known to be a nightmare that came in endless droves that would overwhelm even fleets of thousands and militarized worlds. Because they were constantly changing...adapting.
They were known as the Zerg. Created by an ancient race known as the Xel'naga, they were race considered a perfect being. Without tools, they would be able to thrive in any environment and defeat whatever foe they came across, even when it became the Xel'naga themselves.
However, very few had free will. Most were under an overriding directive to consume and destroy. All part of an ancient plot plunge the universe into flame. Those who escape became Primal. The rest became the Swarm. And now, the Swarm has been given a chance to be from this enslavement. The ultimate threat to everything known has now become a new symbol. For those not bound to it and understand their new purpose, a symbol of hope to save it all. For others, it's a symbol of vengeance, especially for it's new leader...The Queen of Blades.
Formerly known as Kerrigan, she was a psychic assassin who worked for an oppressive human Empire known as the Confederacy. Responsible for the murders of many rebels against this collective evil, she defected and became one herself. She hoped by siding with their leader, Arcturus Mengsk, they would finally have the power they need to bring a new era to the Terrans.
Until she was horribly betrayed, first having the world of billions that was the Confederates' homeworld abandoned to the Zerg. She was forced to go against the Protoss, the arch enemies to the Swarm with the belief she would be extracted thereafter. And then, she was abandoned. Captured. Transformed into an infamous murderer with no real will of her own, influenced by a malevolent entity that sought to recreate the world.
Thanks the efforts of many like the one she loved, James Raynor, she had regained her freedom from the overriding directive. Instead of influence, she was driven by vengeance and doing what had to be done. Regathering the Swarm and eliminating everyone who stood in the way, Kerrigan brought down the man who betrayed her, who turned into another nightmare of the Terrans. With the human monster destroyed and her vengeance fulfilled, there was one thing left to do…
Defeat this ancient enemy. And by doing so...Evolve.
--------
Leviathan...
The Queen of Blades sat on her throne. Various zerg organisms lurked around her chamber while a Zergling creature sat next her.
They've been waiting for days, maybe weeks, since the last battle against Mengsk's world of Korhal. At least with him out of the way and the Terrans he trusted safe, there is far greater hope than what their average citizen could believe in. But the new enemy was also greater. Confronting an unknown enemy that could destroy worlds and minions that imitated the Swarm's capabilities, there isn't much time before their plan continues to be put in motion. Because where they were was unknown, that was even more trouble.
Kerrigan's thought process was interrupted when she received something telepathically. It was Izsha, first a psionic terran medic, now her immense Leviathan creature's organic database bound to the core.
"My Queen, we have some new reports for you."
"Go ahead."
"It requires you to head the nervous system personally. Our broodmothers and officers want to brief you."
"Very well, I'll go ahead."
--------
Leviathan Nervous System…
As Kerrigan walked to central system, equivalent to a warship's command bridge, the Leviathan opened up to the emptiness of space. She noticed there were...distortions of some kind. Holes that warped to unknown locations for whatever entered it. She saw her officers were eager to see her.
"My Queen," Zagara, a Swarm Queen-like Broodmother who became her highly loyal disciple, greeted her leader. "The leading Swarm units have discovered this field of space-time distortions."
"I see them. Fields of mass fluctuations. The big question is where do they lead."
"They appear to be gates to new worlds, my Queen," Izsha answered. "Our scouts reported to have arrived in new universes that connect to this one. And many other civilizations yet to discover."
"Earth had many fascinations about this," Stukov, a human from Earth's united Directorate, pointed out. "It looks like some of their fantastical science is proven correct."
"Explain."
"Various science fiction authors now forgotten wondered what was the meaning and nature behind wormholes like these. Are they gates to new worlds? Different time periods? Or just another part of the known universe? While some of this is true for certain kinds, these lead to somewhere...different. Not exactly the universe we know of, but similar. Ones that have different laws and rules that our world would or would not have if compared to it."
"So they're like parallel universes."
"You...could say something like that. Another would say they're different dimensions. I remember Earth sending various ships some such portals, but gave up when some of them never returned from the other side. Perhaps if you want to look, now's the time."
"Our priority here is Amon, Stukov. I don't want to make any more enemies if I don't need to."
"Who knows? There's also a chance Amon could be found right here."
"Opportunity...to collect...ESSENCE." Dehaka, the new leader for the Primal Zerg packs spat out.
"I will be the judge of that, Dehaka. We don't want to jeopardize the entire Swarm just for something less important than our mission."
"I'm afraid there's no need as it is already too late," Stukov assured. "Your spider friend has already gained interest in the various creatures there. Human and non-human."
"Abathur…"
"He already has preparations for you," Izsha informed. "He wants you to see him soon."
"I will." Kerrigan's energy started to rise. "But if it involves screwing up for his curiosity, I'll going to make him pay big time."
--------
Evolution Pit…
Kerrigan walked along the chambers the evolution pit. She passed through many of the different creations, created for adaptation to the various situations the Swarm came across. At the center was a hole that was really a den entrance to the runner of the pit. When Kerrigan came up to the hole, a mutant green spider-like creature came out.
"Important news."
"Explain yourself, Abathur!" Kerrigan was radiating her eyes.
Abathur felt a crushing pressure and his body stretched for a moment. His body lied still for a moment before it recovered.
"Scouts discovered new essence. New capabilities from parallel worlds."
"What kind of capabilities that would be worth exposing our very presence?"
"Extremely unique. Not found in any other world."
"I know that. I mean are they any that would be useful against our new enemy?"
"Very. Surpassing Swarm strength if left alone. Must acquire, must master, must overcome originator."
"Well then. We're already going against a dangerous foe. Preparing for future threats shouldn't hurt. How will it work?"
"Evolution process usual. Variety of strains available for section of Swarm operation."
"So we set some tests and decide which ones to add into the Swarm."
"Accurate. This time, number of unknown viewers will decide. More popular one will be integrated into Swarm."
"Unknown viewers?" the Queen shook her head. "Very well then. Prepare the experiments. Just try not to make too much trouble."
"Trouble interferes with Swarm, but inevitable. Will avoid much as possible. Preparing tests now."
-------
So like it says here, I'll be making a chapter for new strains on certain parts of the Zerg, both for units and how they are played. They will take in other fictional universes where the strains are found and give everyone an example of how they work. Then, you send reviews and responses to determine your favorite.
Until then and once the chapter comes, sit back and left the fun begin.
Last edited:
Queen A- Warden
Right now, I'll have the first of the two Swarm queen strains up. I don't own Alien(s).
WARNING: Language
Strain #1: Warden strain
Kerrigan watched many Zerg travel to and from the wormhole in front of her. She had a large number of Zerg travel this way to ensure its stability and security. Izsha called all units involved still present. All was proof that if the Queen herself traveled there, it would be safe for her to enter.
Her Leviathan proceeded, once in a long time since the Zerg relied on wormholes to travel to other worlds. But adaptation was necessary; they needed whatever transportation available to continue their goal. It was a while for the Leviathan to make it through the wormhole. When the immense creature stop, the head opened up to show an unknown planet.
"LV-546," Abathur briefed. "Human colony. Home to experimented species."
Kerrigan magnified on the planet. She could see several artificial platforms and spaceships hovering above before she got an eye on the surface. There, she found what looked like a human colony in ruins, a typical sight.
Also a typical sight was various creatures roaming around. They looked humanoid with reptilian characteristics. They also looked skeletal except for the head and had pointed tails.
"Creature similar to Zerg. Created by human corporation. Weyland-Yutani. Identified as Alien. Xenomorph."
Kerrigan found what looked like a large nest of species. There was an entire field of eggs, some of which were already open, and a number of humans trapped onto a wall. The products of these eggs were hand-like beings that searched for the bodies.
"Eggs hatch facial hugging units. Grips host tightly. Expels embryo, dies."
One human was shaking uncontrollably and screaming out in pain. Suddenly, a creature bursted out of his stomach and left the host.
"Time passes. Embryo bursts out of chest. Thrives on acids. Quickly morphs into warrior-class specimen."
The swarm of Aliens stopped. As if they were alerted to something. They quickly converged into one pathway to the nest. But in a moment, many at the front were instantly annihilated by a large explosion. The Aliens not at the front held back for moment for the flames to cease. Rightly after they charged again, a fast armored vehicle came and busted through those still at the gate. A turrent stationed on the top opened fire on those coming from the side as it slowed down. The back opened up as the vehicle stopped and lots of gunfire sprayed upon the Aliens.
"They look like some sort of Marine Corps," Kerrigan interpreted. "They have no idea what's coming for them."
"Marine Corps ill-prepared compared to Terran Marine. Still threat to Alien specimen. Nest will be overrun soon. Must acquire quickly."
"Go then. Load the Sacs with Swarm Queens. Send a few to an alternate entrance while they're dealing with the Marines."
--------
Alien nest…
Two more APCs arrived as they fired upon the near endless swarms of Xenomorphs converging on their location. As soon as they stopped, the Colonial Marines opened up by the sight of a hostile. With a secure position, even with all the incoming monsters, they readied defenses to increase their fighting capability. Their biggest weapon, like usual, would be the sentry guns.
By the time, a few guns were deployed, an officer in one of the APCs received a call.
"This the USS Lord Jim to Lieutenant Fitzpatrick. I repeat, Lord Jim to Fitzpatrick!"
The officer responded, "This is Fitzpatrick, come in."
"Lieutenant, we have a change in the situation. The operation time is given has been speed up ahead of schedule."
"What the hell do you mean!? We already have maximum damn spare time to rid of these monsters before extraction!"
"There is a change in the situation. Various unknown organisms have appeared on our sensors and they're landing close to your location. We don't have a good read, but the worst case scenario, they're a new type of Xenomorph or Wey-Yu PMCs heading towards the same location. You have thirty minutes. That is all."
The communication line stopped and Fitzpatrick stressfully slammed the table.
"Damn Wey-Yu," he contact all units. "Alright, men! We have a change in plan! Duration of the mission has been shortened. All units push now! Have some carry the guns and station them on the APCs! Do not break formation! I repeat, do not break formation!"
--------
Alternate entrance…
About 3 Zerg Sacs, their equivalent to Drop Pods, landed near another entrance to the Alien nest. About eleven Swarm Queens emerged from the remains.
"Colonial Marines aware of our presence." Abathur reported. "Continuing to move to nest center."
"Swarm Queens," Kerrigan ordered. "Enter the nest and kill whatever creatures you can find. Make it fast."
The Swarm Queens entered through the infested installation that became the Aliens' home. A few scouting guards discovered their uninvited guests and paused for a moment. They observed the strangely familiar beings as the drew closer to one another. The Aliens screeched out to them with their mouth-integrated tongues while the Zerg creatures didn't move. They didn't stop and it wasn't long before the two were very close to one another.
....And then, the Queens unleashed their claws and impaled right through the heads of the Alien beings. The victims spit acid-filled blooded that left slight burns on the Zerg. A few witnessing its dead kin retaliated with their spiked tails, but they were meet by the same claws. As the Aliens became devoured, a number of eggs either hatched or were destroyed by the Swarm Queens. The Facehuggers launched at the faces of two Swarm Queens. One immediately sliced through the parasitic beings, but the other wasn't so lucky. Unfortunately for the successful Facehugger, it couldn't reach a mouth and it was ripped off easily by its intended victim.
A shocked human cocooned by the side slowed his breathing as the Swarm Queen approached him. At first, he felt warm with this sudden new creature being able to fight against the hideous Xenomorphs. But the Swarm Queen then impaled right through him, ripping out his chest while carrying the unborn Chestburster. As the Swarm Queen dealt with the Alien and their eggs, they gathered up for these essence.
Unfortunately, Abathur still wasn't satisfied. "Sequences still incomplete. Core specimen must be acquired."
"The Aliens must have their own Queen making these things. Find her and it should be enough for augmentation."
The Zerg scattered around in search for anything that looked like an Alien Queen. What they didn't realize was that the Queen was already above them. Furious, the Alien Queen broke out of its fertilization state landed into the center of the nest.
The Swarm Queens were immediately alerted to the Alien Queen's landing and turned with their raised claws. As the Alien Queen launched at a Swarm Queen, its victim was viciously torn up by the her claws and tail. Some other Aliens came in to reinforce their mother while doing battle with the Zerg. It was useless though, as the Swarm queens already had enough essence to adapt to their abilities. With the Alien warriors slaughtered, their enraged Queen went after another one of her attackers. Only this time, she was outnumbered and several of the Zerg Queen repeatedly impaled the Alien with their claws. After a while, the strands of the dead Queen were extracted and its Zerg killers were wrapping for their new strains.
"Alien Queen essence devoured. Augmentation commencing."
"Alright then. Once they're prepared, send the rest of new Swarm Queens to the human ships. We can not let them get out about this."
---
Colonial Marine convoy…
The Colonial Marine convoy continued to advance while the rate of incoming Aliens slacked. That would be good news if that were all there was. But now, something was off.
The officer in charge was well aware. He could see the caverns of the Xenomorphs' nest be completely empty from a distance. The sentry guns stationed on the APCs also had clear readings. Something was definitely off, but the base still looked clear.
"Lord Jim, this is Fitzpatrick. Looks like those Xeno bitches have already been clear. No signatures are remaining, sir."
But the response was different.
"Lord Jim to Fitzpatrick! Abort operation! I repeat, abort operation! Unidentified hostiles inbound!"
"The hell are you saying!? It's was already over to begin with!"
"More unknown signatures have suddenly appeared! Same as those that came to the ground. The fleet is under attack! I repeat, new contacts are attacking the fleet! Get the hell out of there immediately!"
"Commander!" It was no use for him. "Shit!" he said to himself before opening to his forces.
"Alright, men! We're pulling out! The fleet's in danger and require our assistance! Stay close and move out!"
While hearing some swearing from the change in the situation, one soldier just called out.
"Sir! New contacts! They're coming directly at us!"
Viewing all the cameras in front of the pack, Fitzpatrick wanted to swear once he found the new alien creatures approaching. The sentry guns rapidly fired against them, but they released some sort of regeneration ability that made the wounds close all by itself. This made the Marine team panic as they fired their explosive pulse rifles including grenades to do any kind of damage.
"Fall back, SOBs! Converge onto the convoys and either ride on or runs your asses off! Time we got the hell out of here! Fall back!"
As the Marines ran with all of their energy while the APCs attempted to drive off, their visitors spit some kind of slime in the air. The slime dispersed onto the men and APCs, the former covering themselves in preparation. But when they tried to get the slime off...they couldn't. Even if some were able to, it was really difficult and the Marines' feet were slugged on the ground.
Even the APCs were affected as the tires were barely able to move.
"Come on, dammit! Drive! Drive, God dammit!"
With everyone reduced to a snail's pace, Fitzpatrick swore to himself many times as he ordered everyone to keep trying to run and shoot, including the heavy weapons stationed on the vehicles. But the new alien creatures already approached their targets as the helplessly firing Marines, who resorted to the flame weapons and using grenades up close, were sliced by their claws or self-blown to gore.
---
Abathur and Kerrigan observed the hopeless Marines fires upon the closing Swarm Queen variants.
"Warden Strain. Spits gooey saliva. Ensnares enemy units. Rendered nearly immobile."
"Interesting," Kerrigan thought. "Just like the old Queens."
Seeing through the Warden-based Swarm Queens' eyes, she could see their new onslaught against the ill-prepared opposition. As usual, the Wardens picked off the Marines while their explosive bullets and primitive flame did nothing. Only the grenades left major wounds at best and it took a while before a couple were already down. Most of the foot soldiers were already wiped out by that time.
The three APCs, despite taking out a few more themselves when their turrets entered the fray, were also not enough for the remaining Wardens as they converged. They first eliminated the removable parts of the vehicles, impaling the onboard marines and trashing the sentry guns emplaced. While the larger turrets focused down another Warden, the remaining ones continuously bashed the heavy guns, using it to rip the tops of the vehicles. The crew, observing the tearing hulls, fired their nearby pistols at their new enemies in a futile efforts. One of the APCs was completely torn apart with their crew. The other two blew up as their desperate survivors detonated explosives, sending the Swarm Queens flying. The new Warden strains got up with only one more having a fatal wound.
With the new test complete, Kerrigan ordered them to start preparing for extraction, sending some Overlords on their way. But they still needed to take care of the nearby fleet, ensuring they don't spread the word.
As the Sacs impacted the Colonial ships moments ago, Abathur noted.
"Additional abilities for Warden strain."
---
USS Lord Jim...
"Contain the breaches! Contain the breaches!"
The commander of the ship ordered as some of the crew were escaping from the Swarm Queens. The bulkheads sealed the area while several of fleeing crew made it in in time. He observed some of the crew getting some wounds, most of them inflicted by strange spike they pulled out. One of them was a woman with a high enlisted rank, who came up to the officer.
"Sorry about the mess, Captain. These things are much different than the ones we know."
"Any wounds?"
"Most of us just got some strange spikes that hit us. But nothing more, sir."
"Head to over the medical bay and we'll have the medics check you out."
"Sir-"
"Now-"
The commander stopped when they found a wounded crew member curl up. Then, she exploded. And not one, but two creatures unknown to him came out. Several other crew members felt the same way and quickly had the same twin creatures emerge and slice through the crew. One of which was the one in front of the commander he pulled out his gun.
"The hell--"
---
Leviathan...
"Warden Strain shoots parasite injection. Used to spy on enemies. When activated, rips host apart. Produces two broodlings."
"I see," Kerrigan monitored the humans falling victim to the Queens' new abilities while overrunning their outmatched opposition. "Destroy the ships immediately!"
Moments after the order was given, there were many explosions coming from the back. One by one, each of the warships exploded massively. There were no more non-Zerg lifeforms left.
"Alien assimilation successful. Marine fleet exterminated."
"Excellent," Kerrigan was pleased. "Head back to our world and then a new one for the next experiment."
---
Coming Strain #2: Matriarch Strain
WARNING: Language
Swarm Queen Evolution
Strain #1: Warden strain
Kerrigan watched many Zerg travel to and from the wormhole in front of her. She had a large number of Zerg travel this way to ensure its stability and security. Izsha called all units involved still present. All was proof that if the Queen herself traveled there, it would be safe for her to enter.
Her Leviathan proceeded, once in a long time since the Zerg relied on wormholes to travel to other worlds. But adaptation was necessary; they needed whatever transportation available to continue their goal. It was a while for the Leviathan to make it through the wormhole. When the immense creature stop, the head opened up to show an unknown planet.
"LV-546," Abathur briefed. "Human colony. Home to experimented species."
Kerrigan magnified on the planet. She could see several artificial platforms and spaceships hovering above before she got an eye on the surface. There, she found what looked like a human colony in ruins, a typical sight.
Also a typical sight was various creatures roaming around. They looked humanoid with reptilian characteristics. They also looked skeletal except for the head and had pointed tails.
"Creature similar to Zerg. Created by human corporation. Weyland-Yutani. Identified as Alien. Xenomorph."
Kerrigan found what looked like a large nest of species. There was an entire field of eggs, some of which were already open, and a number of humans trapped onto a wall. The products of these eggs were hand-like beings that searched for the bodies.
"Eggs hatch facial hugging units. Grips host tightly. Expels embryo, dies."
One human was shaking uncontrollably and screaming out in pain. Suddenly, a creature bursted out of his stomach and left the host.
"Time passes. Embryo bursts out of chest. Thrives on acids. Quickly morphs into warrior-class specimen."
The swarm of Aliens stopped. As if they were alerted to something. They quickly converged into one pathway to the nest. But in a moment, many at the front were instantly annihilated by a large explosion. The Aliens not at the front held back for moment for the flames to cease. Rightly after they charged again, a fast armored vehicle came and busted through those still at the gate. A turrent stationed on the top opened fire on those coming from the side as it slowed down. The back opened up as the vehicle stopped and lots of gunfire sprayed upon the Aliens.
"They look like some sort of Marine Corps," Kerrigan interpreted. "They have no idea what's coming for them."
"Marine Corps ill-prepared compared to Terran Marine. Still threat to Alien specimen. Nest will be overrun soon. Must acquire quickly."
"Go then. Load the Sacs with Swarm Queens. Send a few to an alternate entrance while they're dealing with the Marines."
--------
Alien nest…
Two more APCs arrived as they fired upon the near endless swarms of Xenomorphs converging on their location. As soon as they stopped, the Colonial Marines opened up by the sight of a hostile. With a secure position, even with all the incoming monsters, they readied defenses to increase their fighting capability. Their biggest weapon, like usual, would be the sentry guns.
By the time, a few guns were deployed, an officer in one of the APCs received a call.
"This the USS Lord Jim to Lieutenant Fitzpatrick. I repeat, Lord Jim to Fitzpatrick!"
The officer responded, "This is Fitzpatrick, come in."
"Lieutenant, we have a change in the situation. The operation time is given has been speed up ahead of schedule."
"What the hell do you mean!? We already have maximum damn spare time to rid of these monsters before extraction!"
"There is a change in the situation. Various unknown organisms have appeared on our sensors and they're landing close to your location. We don't have a good read, but the worst case scenario, they're a new type of Xenomorph or Wey-Yu PMCs heading towards the same location. You have thirty minutes. That is all."
The communication line stopped and Fitzpatrick stressfully slammed the table.
"Damn Wey-Yu," he contact all units. "Alright, men! We have a change in plan! Duration of the mission has been shortened. All units push now! Have some carry the guns and station them on the APCs! Do not break formation! I repeat, do not break formation!"
--------
Alternate entrance…
About 3 Zerg Sacs, their equivalent to Drop Pods, landed near another entrance to the Alien nest. About eleven Swarm Queens emerged from the remains.
"Colonial Marines aware of our presence." Abathur reported. "Continuing to move to nest center."
"Swarm Queens," Kerrigan ordered. "Enter the nest and kill whatever creatures you can find. Make it fast."
The Swarm Queens entered through the infested installation that became the Aliens' home. A few scouting guards discovered their uninvited guests and paused for a moment. They observed the strangely familiar beings as the drew closer to one another. The Aliens screeched out to them with their mouth-integrated tongues while the Zerg creatures didn't move. They didn't stop and it wasn't long before the two were very close to one another.
....And then, the Queens unleashed their claws and impaled right through the heads of the Alien beings. The victims spit acid-filled blooded that left slight burns on the Zerg. A few witnessing its dead kin retaliated with their spiked tails, but they were meet by the same claws. As the Aliens became devoured, a number of eggs either hatched or were destroyed by the Swarm Queens. The Facehuggers launched at the faces of two Swarm Queens. One immediately sliced through the parasitic beings, but the other wasn't so lucky. Unfortunately for the successful Facehugger, it couldn't reach a mouth and it was ripped off easily by its intended victim.
A shocked human cocooned by the side slowed his breathing as the Swarm Queen approached him. At first, he felt warm with this sudden new creature being able to fight against the hideous Xenomorphs. But the Swarm Queen then impaled right through him, ripping out his chest while carrying the unborn Chestburster. As the Swarm Queen dealt with the Alien and their eggs, they gathered up for these essence.
Unfortunately, Abathur still wasn't satisfied. "Sequences still incomplete. Core specimen must be acquired."
"The Aliens must have their own Queen making these things. Find her and it should be enough for augmentation."
The Zerg scattered around in search for anything that looked like an Alien Queen. What they didn't realize was that the Queen was already above them. Furious, the Alien Queen broke out of its fertilization state landed into the center of the nest.
The Swarm Queens were immediately alerted to the Alien Queen's landing and turned with their raised claws. As the Alien Queen launched at a Swarm Queen, its victim was viciously torn up by the her claws and tail. Some other Aliens came in to reinforce their mother while doing battle with the Zerg. It was useless though, as the Swarm queens already had enough essence to adapt to their abilities. With the Alien warriors slaughtered, their enraged Queen went after another one of her attackers. Only this time, she was outnumbered and several of the Zerg Queen repeatedly impaled the Alien with their claws. After a while, the strands of the dead Queen were extracted and its Zerg killers were wrapping for their new strains.
"Alien Queen essence devoured. Augmentation commencing."
"Alright then. Once they're prepared, send the rest of new Swarm Queens to the human ships. We can not let them get out about this."
---
Colonial Marine convoy…
The Colonial Marine convoy continued to advance while the rate of incoming Aliens slacked. That would be good news if that were all there was. But now, something was off.
The officer in charge was well aware. He could see the caverns of the Xenomorphs' nest be completely empty from a distance. The sentry guns stationed on the APCs also had clear readings. Something was definitely off, but the base still looked clear.
"Lord Jim, this is Fitzpatrick. Looks like those Xeno bitches have already been clear. No signatures are remaining, sir."
But the response was different.
"Lord Jim to Fitzpatrick! Abort operation! I repeat, abort operation! Unidentified hostiles inbound!"
"The hell are you saying!? It's was already over to begin with!"
"More unknown signatures have suddenly appeared! Same as those that came to the ground. The fleet is under attack! I repeat, new contacts are attacking the fleet! Get the hell out of there immediately!"
"Commander!" It was no use for him. "Shit!" he said to himself before opening to his forces.
"Alright, men! We're pulling out! The fleet's in danger and require our assistance! Stay close and move out!"
While hearing some swearing from the change in the situation, one soldier just called out.
"Sir! New contacts! They're coming directly at us!"
Viewing all the cameras in front of the pack, Fitzpatrick wanted to swear once he found the new alien creatures approaching. The sentry guns rapidly fired against them, but they released some sort of regeneration ability that made the wounds close all by itself. This made the Marine team panic as they fired their explosive pulse rifles including grenades to do any kind of damage.
"Fall back, SOBs! Converge onto the convoys and either ride on or runs your asses off! Time we got the hell out of here! Fall back!"
As the Marines ran with all of their energy while the APCs attempted to drive off, their visitors spit some kind of slime in the air. The slime dispersed onto the men and APCs, the former covering themselves in preparation. But when they tried to get the slime off...they couldn't. Even if some were able to, it was really difficult and the Marines' feet were slugged on the ground.
Even the APCs were affected as the tires were barely able to move.
"Come on, dammit! Drive! Drive, God dammit!"
With everyone reduced to a snail's pace, Fitzpatrick swore to himself many times as he ordered everyone to keep trying to run and shoot, including the heavy weapons stationed on the vehicles. But the new alien creatures already approached their targets as the helplessly firing Marines, who resorted to the flame weapons and using grenades up close, were sliced by their claws or self-blown to gore.
---
Abathur and Kerrigan observed the hopeless Marines fires upon the closing Swarm Queen variants.
"Warden Strain. Spits gooey saliva. Ensnares enemy units. Rendered nearly immobile."
"Interesting," Kerrigan thought. "Just like the old Queens."
Seeing through the Warden-based Swarm Queens' eyes, she could see their new onslaught against the ill-prepared opposition. As usual, the Wardens picked off the Marines while their explosive bullets and primitive flame did nothing. Only the grenades left major wounds at best and it took a while before a couple were already down. Most of the foot soldiers were already wiped out by that time.
The three APCs, despite taking out a few more themselves when their turrets entered the fray, were also not enough for the remaining Wardens as they converged. They first eliminated the removable parts of the vehicles, impaling the onboard marines and trashing the sentry guns emplaced. While the larger turrets focused down another Warden, the remaining ones continuously bashed the heavy guns, using it to rip the tops of the vehicles. The crew, observing the tearing hulls, fired their nearby pistols at their new enemies in a futile efforts. One of the APCs was completely torn apart with their crew. The other two blew up as their desperate survivors detonated explosives, sending the Swarm Queens flying. The new Warden strains got up with only one more having a fatal wound.
With the new test complete, Kerrigan ordered them to start preparing for extraction, sending some Overlords on their way. But they still needed to take care of the nearby fleet, ensuring they don't spread the word.
As the Sacs impacted the Colonial ships moments ago, Abathur noted.
"Additional abilities for Warden strain."
---
USS Lord Jim...
"Contain the breaches! Contain the breaches!"
The commander of the ship ordered as some of the crew were escaping from the Swarm Queens. The bulkheads sealed the area while several of fleeing crew made it in in time. He observed some of the crew getting some wounds, most of them inflicted by strange spike they pulled out. One of them was a woman with a high enlisted rank, who came up to the officer.
"Sorry about the mess, Captain. These things are much different than the ones we know."
"Any wounds?"
"Most of us just got some strange spikes that hit us. But nothing more, sir."
"Head to over the medical bay and we'll have the medics check you out."
"Sir-"
"Now-"
The commander stopped when they found a wounded crew member curl up. Then, she exploded. And not one, but two creatures unknown to him came out. Several other crew members felt the same way and quickly had the same twin creatures emerge and slice through the crew. One of which was the one in front of the commander he pulled out his gun.
"The hell--"
---
Leviathan...
"Warden Strain shoots parasite injection. Used to spy on enemies. When activated, rips host apart. Produces two broodlings."
"I see," Kerrigan monitored the humans falling victim to the Queens' new abilities while overrunning their outmatched opposition. "Destroy the ships immediately!"
Moments after the order was given, there were many explosions coming from the back. One by one, each of the warships exploded massively. There were no more non-Zerg lifeforms left.
"Alien assimilation successful. Marine fleet exterminated."
"Excellent," Kerrigan was pleased. "Head back to our world and then a new one for the next experiment."
---
Coming Strain #2: Matriarch Strain
Last edited:
Queen B- Matriarch
The next one will involve someone's OCs, Jo and Haruka, which I've been permitted to use. Credit for that and the original series does not go to me.
May also edit this.
-----
Leviathan nerve center...
The next wormhole wasn't far off as the Leviathan entered through. After a while, they found themselves by a green-blue planet less than a light year away. Despite being still far off, two of the commanders were familiar with it. Kerrigan had some knowledge since the time she fought in the Brood War and what she learned long before. Stukov easily recognized the place, even when it was much cleaner than he remembered. That's because he was there before.
"You already know what that is," Stukov implied to her.
"Yes, this is Earth."
"Much different than before. There are no records of the UED around here."
"Abathur, explain why we're even near here."
"Strange creatures present. Detected only by psionic Zerg, Overlords."
"Give us a projection."
Psionically Kerrigan and Stukov magnified onto the planet. Their vision reached a city and then to an empty building. But to their surprise, their view shifted to some kind of animated world. It looked like a snow globe with Christmas lights and TV boxes. Roaming around were one-winged dolls as if they were cut out from a magazine. Some people were inside like lineless drawing as they're stretched and torn inside.
"One thing's for certain." Stukov commented as he stifled as little. "They clearly are odd. As if they were straight from an art piece or an old East European cartoon."
"Witches. Forms not normal, not uniform. Come in various shapes and sizes. Spawn smaller creatures to produce offspring."
Abathur introduced as larger creature resembling a TV box with avian wings observed its captors. The screen switched showing many of the same cutout dolls as they climbed out of the screen.
"Examples: Elly. Kirstan. Covetous nature. Contains prisoners in levitating statis."
The view then zoomed out and out of the alternate world before moving into some kind of hospital. The scene changed into some kind of hilly dungeon full of candies and medical equipment. This shifted into a mountain of dessert with dog-like truffles and finally a cafe area with extremely tall tables. On one, a tiny doll underwent a near impossible transformation into a clown-faced caterpillar that circled the area.
"Charlotte. Small inanimate being transforms disproportionately into Nydus Worm equivalent, likes cheese."
Kerrigan cut him off. "Any useful ones?"
"One practical Witch discovered. Located."
"It's nighttime in its area." Stukov noticed. "I'd say it's a good time to get it while they're still asleep."
"Send Swarm Queens immediately. Use Overlords and let few humans know our presence."
---
As the portal opened, four Swarm Queens entered a strange dimension of French and Neoclassical architecture, as if they were is one large palace. A tall one, too, with steep staircases that lead to extremely high floors. There were some smaller creatures in the distance, but none appeared to be their leader.
"Witch hidden in labyrinth. Must seek."
"Find it then."
The Swarm Queens proceeded up the staircases where they fought with the smaller creatures. The first that came up were slightly humanoid being that looked like colleagues, composed of butterflies for legs and cotton balls for their body and head. They had mustaches for mouths as they spoke gratuitously chanted foreign language.
"Das sind mir unbekannte Blumen."
"Ja. Sie sind mir auch unbekannt."
"Warten, das sind nicht …"
They were cut off as the Swarm Queens lashed at them with their claws. By then, their mustaches changed into open mouths as they released out black scissors on vines.
"Schneide sie ab! Schneide sie ab! Schneide sie ab!"
The scissors were connected to black vines that looked like barbed wire. They moved as if they were in a slow frame rate video game as they attempt to cut any piece of the Swarm Queens bodies. Though the jammed into the Queens bodies, they could do little damage to the important organs or even go far into their hard carapaces. The Zerg reacted by destroying the colleague creatures' cotton ball heads with their claws, which then clashed with their scissors.
"Now...this is pretty weird..." Kerrigan observed as the two sides fought each other.
The Queens easily prevailed over the minions easily and proceeded upwards to the top floors. They encountered a few flying insectoid species along the way, having multiple eyes and their own mustaches. They signaled the other creatures with its bells, and then attempted to headbutt the intruders. Unfortunately for them, the Queens already spit out spikes that dealt with them easily. The others just gave a push to the Queens or were swatted away the claws. Very little reinforcements came, too, making it easy for them to reach the top floors and proceed through a set of corridors.
Perhaps if there were more, Kerrigan thought, these things could've stood a threat.
But that was also worrisome. There were so few for such a large labyrinth. It meant either the labyrinths were always undermanned or it was cleared out by another intruder. If it was the latter, then finding the being responsible for this labyrinth would have to be quick.
After proceeding through the corridors, they encountered a circular hall with a pile of roses in the center. Again, this place was nearly empty when it shouldn't be. But this was also like the main entrance to the center, where the Witch awaited. The Swarm Queens cut through the straggler minions and proceeded into the multiple tiny doors.
"You were right about one thing, Stukov," Kerrigan commented. "No way something like this could be found in our world."
"Indeed. I prefer wrapping this up before anything more weird shows up."
That became fate once the Swarm Queens entered through the remaining doors. In the center, they found what looked like the mother of this labyrinth, what Abathur called the Witch.
The creature looked insectoid with a green bush and roses for its head and eyes. The rest of the body looked like roots for a plant. This was where many of the monsters the Swarms Queens encountered were being birthed, coming in swarms that could overwhelm an enemy like the Zerg. There were large wings on its back, despite looking too heavy to fly.
The Witch unleashed multiple tendrils with scissor ends. They all converged onto something else that was foreign to the unknown world. It looked like a girl, having an orange uniform with submachine guns and glowing spheres. She quickly evaded many of the tendrils and scissor ends as she opened fire on the Witch and its minions.
"Gertrud," Abathur introduced. "Rose Witch. Spawns two different minions rapidly. Unleashes bisectors connected to barbed vines."
"What's fighting it?"
"Puella Magi. Warrior of supernatural power, comparable to psionics. Always female human, child age."
Such warriors reminded Kerrigan of her training as a Ghost. That was how they were usually trained, taken from young age and had their abilities extended to the max. However, they would only come into service after around adult age. This girl was fighting while still in her teens.
The Puella Magi, in Kerrigan's mind, learned this the hard way as she was entangled suddenly by vines. She without anything to counter, she was slammed into the wall and then on the ground. She couldn't get up easily as the Witch approached, though she put up a straight face. Kerrigan saw it was fake, yet admired her anyway for not wanting to back down. To reward her, she ordered her Swarm Queens.
"This is our chance. Kill it while its guards are down!"
The mentioned bisectors and vines came out from it, resembling silhouetted black scissors and barbed wire just like the her minions. The vines and scissors then converged onto the girl, with the spheres only able to block a few of them.
It suddenly stopped, sensing the Swarm Queens from behind as they landed into the field. Being slow to turn around, the Zerg had the first strike on the Witch and jammed their claws on its 2D-ish body. The Witch headbutted against a Swarm Queen, knocking it backwards onto another set of roses. It then used the same attack to sweep two more away and released its vine scissors at the last one. It successfully cut the claws of the Swarm Queen and moved forward to cut up the body, opening its bush-like head to reveal a butterfly inside and let out a roar.
Kerrigan could easily understand the Witch was pissed off. And as it was busy ripping apart one Swarm Queen while the others transfused. Some smaller forms of the flying creatures around the labyrinth attempted to form vines and tie up the Queens. They easily broke free or slipped out of the holds and proceeded to attack the Witch again. The Witch noticed, but got distracted when its rose eyes were blasted at. The attacks came from the nearby Puella Magi, still holding her sub machine guns, and her accompanying spheres that firing lasers. The Queens took this opportunity to repeatedly stab the Witch.
The Witch lost strength after countless attacks and the final strike by the Queens made it collapse, with the rose eyes falling apart. The remains turned into dark black smoke and the remaining nearby creatures disappeared along with it. The surreal spherical world and garden stretched and faded back into an abandoned building, the same one where the Queens were dropped off. They and the Puella Magi could now see the few overlords surrounding them. Then, they were attracted by a metal thud.
"Witch destroyed. Barrier vanishing. Minions disintegrating. Reproduction tool manifesting."
The Queens turned to the small object in between them and the orange Puella Magi. They surrounded and one carried it with its claws. Kerrigan could feel something about it...psionically, but the information was too complex for her to understand.
"Analyze it."
The nearby Puella Magi remained cautious, holding her sub-machineguns up while she recovering her strength to get up. She was ignored, by Kerrigan's psionic orders, as Abathur analyzed.
"Grief Seed. Witch egg. Revives after given enough energy. Pattern of Seed determined by Witch."
"Subsequent discovery. Created from human females, child form. Possibly former Puella Magi. Gathers negative emotions as unique energy, only produced when consumed by certain creature."
"So they're fighting the same kind of monsters they'll later turn into? Whoever sure made this is quite...inhumane." Kerrigan shook her head. "Nevertheless, make something out if it."
"Witch not suitable for assimilation in any state, but can be imitated, additionally contacted with psionic support."
The Swarm Queens wrapped themselves to prepare for sequences.
"Developing imitation sequences now."
---
Somewhere not so distant…
Elsewhere, a number of schoolgirls came around two blocks from the abandoned building. One was a blonde girl with swirly pigtails, who held a crystallized egg in her hand. Accompanying her were an excited blue-haired girl and pink pigtailed one. The second of which held a white furry creature in her hands.
The blonde girl observed her egg, glowing extremely random that she could not understand.
"Having some trouble with your Witch hunt, Mami?"
A voice called out to the girls. The other two girls panicked a little, but the one named Mami remained calm and directed herself to where the voice came from. On a bench was a young grey-haired girl smiling at them. By her was her body leaning on the bench's arms, dressed like maid and wielding a type of spear. Sayaka and Madoka let out a short scream once they discovered her.
"Looks like your friends are once again scared," the maid's head giggled. "Sorry if it takes a while getting use to it."
"Perhaps you should do that less often, Jo," Mami coldly advised. "You should do such a thing after you greet them, not before."
Jo's head merely giggled. But her body reattached it to its normal position. Mami's accomplices then calmed down.
"Alright, little dundalan girl," blue-haired girl got annoyed. "What are you doing around here?"
"Relax, Sayaka. I just noticed a Witch nearby." She became a little more curious. "Only this time, there was something much more weird going on. It's not like it's from a Puella Magi or even a single Witch."
Sayaka glared her, but that was dispelled by her mentor.
"She's right, there definitely is something weird going on here." Mami noticed her Soul Gem acting odd again. However, she still looked up to their visitor unpleasingly "But you know this is my territory, don't you?"
"Relax, you know don't take that quite seriously, don't you?"
Mami sighed as she was right; that rule hardly applied to her.
"Even more, I sense Haruka is around here," Jo whiplashed to some worry. "I just hope she's is fine."
"Then perhaps around the corner, we should find-" Sayaka froze after going around the intersection.
The others went around and froze the same way.
"What the?" Mami noticed some immense insectoid globs, hovering over the abandoned building. They assumed there was a Witch was only because the Soul Gems was glowing even more erratically.
"W-what are those giant things?" Sayaka hesitated upon seeing the massive insectoids, shocked that no else was around to see it.
Mami shook her head. "I don't know," She summoned a gun from her skirt. "But we better get over there."
---
The eggs burst open to release the three Swarm Queens in their new forms. The nearby Puella Magi named Haruka, already after getting up and went closer to examine them, was flung back a few meters. The new strain of the Queens revealed having a more insectoid appearance like the Witch and had multiple eggs on the rear. There were also visible veins of energy and spikes along the torso.
"Matriarch Strain. New abilities derived from Witch."
The surroundings stretched again. This time, it was transforming into shiny art world. The dimension featured a red sky with tripods of large yellow swirls. The ground itself formed into one massive painting with silhouetted plants in the back ground. A large monument was in the center and populating the area were ghost-like sheets of paper with scribbled drawings on them. The beings became aware of the intruders and advanced upon them.
"Looks like another Witch is here," Kerrigan estimated. "Show me what these things can do."
As the hordes of minions approached, the orange-haired Puella Magi reloaded her guns, but was distracted by the Queens. They were facing the incoming army, but behind them, they pooping out a large number of eggs. At first, the sight disgusted Haruka and tried to look away. But what kept her watching was seeing how they were already being prepared to hatch.
"Spawns multiple eggs simultaneously." Abathur debriefed the ability to Kerrigan. "Births broodlings."
About twenty broodlings quickly hatched and chased after the minions. They rapidly shreaded apart the paper dolls with their quick claws. They all let out loud screams as they many died by the minute. All of which weren't able to lay hand on the zerg creatures.
However, these broodlings didn't last too long as they died after getting a small chunk of their minions. There were still plenty more minions than what they killed, including vast amounts of more humanoid beings. The nearest ghost figures approached the splattered remains of the broodlings, which were absorbed into their bodies. The paper dolls then transformed into similar creatures with the remains were clearly shown as drawing works.
"Witch minions, stealing taking corpses from Broodlings. Unacceptable. Must destroy. Spawn more broodlings, send Queens. Destroy."
The nearby Witch at the center suddenly charged some kind of energy, which then sprayed onto the new Swarm Queens. None were killed, but all of them were pushed back, and were extremely when the attacked stopped. The Queens then pooped out broodlings rapidly, hatching an army more than half that of the minions sent at them.
"Quite an army they're able to build up," Stukov observed.
"It still requires a lot energy," Kerrigan implied to Abathur the question in how this was possible.
"Matriarch recycles stress chemicals from injury," Abathur informed. "Quickly generates psionic energy in battle."
Kerrigan could feel the sudden increase of psionic power from the angered Swarm Queens. They simply used the recharged strength and a few more second to lay out more broodlings to join in. The replenishing rate sparked near equivalent to her own.
But that was also problematic. Broodlings successfully wiped out much of the attacking minions, but a large force remained undefended. The remaining minions outside of the carnage converged onto the clustered Swarm Queens as their broodlings died out try to save them. The remains were once again harvested by the ghost drawings and transformed into larger human beings before proceeding towards the zerg Queens. While two of them were able to wipe out the attackers easily, the third taking the brunt of the force was surrounded by them.
The nearby Puella Magi was busy fighting the humanoid minions. As bullets sprayed and beams fired from her spheres, they were no problem for her. But she saw they were a problem with one of the Queens, struggling to destroy them as they continued to get close and attempt to attack it. Rushing towards the Queen, Haruka rushed towards the troubled zerg to get in appropriate range. She aimed at the minions...
And then, they were all sliced apart...and she was knocked back again. Many tendrils exploded from the Swarm Queen's body and hit target in a wide interval. None of the minions that stood close to the creature remained as the tendrils pulled back into Queens' body.
"Additional ability from Gertrud. Launches vines at high velocity. Attacks multiple targets at close range."
With most of the minions torn apart, the barrier started shrinking. The Witch at the center retreated as the labyrinth stretched back into the normal world again."
"Attack repelled. Witch retreated."
Kerrigan switched to the Puella Magi, was knocked out. It must've been from the tendril attack as she noticed how the girl was. Even then, as long as she was the only witness, she could see it as merely a dream.
But before the experiment could conclude, Stukov noticed psionic signatures inbound. And they were human like the Puella Magi.
"We have new forces inbound!"
The Swarms Queens already sensed their presence as they entered one of the entrance. Only one was normal and holding a strange white creature in her arms. One of them, Kerrigan clearly identified as a Puella Magi with her maid outfit, noticed the Puella Magi.
"Haruka!"
The maid called to her. She and the others turned to their new guests, which merely screeched at them.
"Permission to recover Grief Seed for further examination." Abathur inserted a request.
"Granted." Kerrigan still focused on the nearby Puella Magi, who were both confused and very likely unhappy about this. She could see as most of the girls brought out weapons. "But not until we take care of these girls first."
"Weak point discovered. Crystallized gem creates supernatural power, life to body."
"I see them," Kerrigan noticed the crystal each of Puella Magi possesed. The last few details got her attention more. "Life to body? So these girls have controlled husks?"
"Accurate. Body without Gem will die. Must destroy to defeat."
"No, just immobilize them. They're the only ones here. And that'll give them a warning about us."
"Hostiles' abilities still unknown, risky to continue engaging." Abathur warned. "Energy near depletion. Can not generate enough in time. Secondary protocol initiated. Additional Matriarchs dropping."
As said, an Overlord crashed overhead that made the Puella Magi jump backward. The normal girl turned away and cringed. With the girls in disarray, the overlord dropped two additional Swarm Queens. Kerrigan could feel their psionic energy being immensely high. They then saw fully charged Swarm Queen drawing close to the nearly depleted ones.
"Psionic Transfer." Abathur described. "Emits energy, replenishes friendly psionic target."
Kerrigan observed energy being emitted by the new Queens to the now exhausted ones. As soon as the Puella Magi repositioned themselves, the Matriarchs were ready to fight again.
One of the experienced Matriarchs already dropped more eggs, sending the broodlings after the girls. One of the Puella Magi, blue swordswoman quickly dashed to intercept them. Even while getting cut up by their claws, she block many of their attacks with amazing speed and countered with her own. She didn't show much fatigue and Kerrigan noticed how quickly her wounds were recovering. She sent one of the new Queens to intercept, but it was distracted by two blasts, coming from a white maid and a blonde gunner.
The maid girl danced around the pack of Matriarchs while they lashed out at her in futile effort. Whenever the claws got a got strike at her, she'd immediately detached it and then reattach it with the given velocity. She threw small needles with her left hand and threw spheres of energy with the other. Though they didn't do much injury, the Matriarchs were agitated enough to get their attention.
It was an easy distraction as the gunner fired multiple rounds around the new Swarm Queens with what looked like antiquital golden flintlocks. At first, it didn't look like the shots would damage them, but there was another surprise waiting from them. After a few moments, they were caught in an ensnared trap by some strange wires coming from the bullet holes. As the captured zerg struggled, additional yellow ribbons appeared hold them down even more. Backing away, one of her flintlocks then transformed into an impossibly enormous gun, supported by a stand for any recoil.
"Tiro Finale!"
The gun loudly fired at the Swarm Queens. A large explosion covered them with smoke. Reading their minds, Kerrigan could feel them limping, but it still wasn't enough to kill them. A Matriarch that didn't get hit and could still turn its body did a quick transfusion to heal their wounds.
Clever attack and strategy, Kerrigan thought. But still, the Zerg can overcome even that.
The gunner girl also noticed when the debris cleared. The attack hit its target and she could see wounds, but it was still not strong enough to leave a big hole. Shocked by this, she towards the maid girl, who detached her arms and legs, which altogether charged for a multi-directional attack.
"Jo, watch out!"
Too late, the Matriarchs already released their vines that destroyed the entangling ribbons. Subsequently more frightening, they deflected all of Jo's attacks and hit all of her body parts with great accuracy. It also included her shocked head, seeing all the pieces of her body struck to the walls. The vines then retracted back into the Swarm Queens.
The gunner Puella Magi attempted to bring out another flintlock, but the Swarm Queens already reacted. Before she could aim, she was hit multiple times by spikes that sent her spinning. The swordsman charged angrily at the Queens and clashed with one's claws. The nearby Queen assisted and overpowered her with its larger claws. Once knocked down, the Puella Magi was stabbed in the arms and legs to keep her from moving. At least for a while.
With all the Puella Magi down, Abathur called the battle to conclusion.
"Puella Magi paralyzed, unable to continue battle. Gertrud seed secured."
"Store up the Matriarchs," Kerrigan ordered. "We're leaving immediately."
"Gathering Swarm Queen variant. Evacuating from Earth. Returning to the Evolution Pit."
The Overlords descended into the hole within the rooftop. Each of the Matriarchs were picked up and loaded while their enemies remained immobilized. Once they were all inside, the overlords ascended and left.
---
"Man, what was that…" Sayaka remained stunned, despite her resilience, as it all happened so fast.
"I don't know," Jo struggled to get all of her pieces together. "But my entire body is going to be extremely sore in the morning." Her body disassembled again onto the floor.
"They seem to be gone now,"
"Yes," Mami saw another glow in her Gem. "But someone else is here.
They all focused in one direction, at a corridor opposite to the wall, where they still sensed someone. A long, dark haired girl with a buckler emerged from the shadows and approached them. The downed magical girls glared and hastened their recovery up to their feet, only to collapse again, as if they were preparing for another hostile encounter.
"Homura-chan," Madoka identified.
"You're too late," Sayaka remained aggressive. "Or perhaps you saw it, didn't you? You know what that was!?"
"That's not of importance," the girl responded. "But clearly, you're in bad shape thanks to it."
"Yes, Homura," Haruka spoke after regaining consciousness. "And some...thing took the Seed."
"Thing?" Homura questioned.
"Only I saw all of it. Some creatures attacked the Witch, then took it with them after...evolving."
"Evolving?"
"Into something similar. It's like it copied its abilities biologically at an unimaginable rate."
"That...doesn't sound good," Mami looked above the skies to find the flying creatures gone. The others were also surprised to hear this.
"Indeed, it's problematic," a small white creature walked along and hinted. "If there are such creatures out there, we need to prepare for it."
"But whatever it was, I don't think it was too much of a threat to us," Haruka recapped. "I think they were more concerned about the Seed than anything else."
"If that's the case, then they still are no good. Each Grief Seed is very important to us."
"Then we should prepare for it," Sakaya said in an act of resolve. "And make sure they do not take any more from us again!" The resolve cut back as she limped back down.
"The question I want to know is," the white creature wondered. "What exactly was that?"
"That, we may never know." Homura turned and walked away. "Even if you know, it's likely we'll never see it again,"
---
Reviewing strains:
Warden: Imitates past Queen abilities. Spits saliva, dramatically slows enemies. Shoots spikes that inject parasite, bursts body to release two broodlings upon activation.
Matriarch: Quickly replenishes psionic energy in battle. Transfers energy to other psionic units. Lays up to seven eggs simultaneously, hatches broodlings. Shoots vines at all nearby targets.
Sequences ready for integration. Await decision.
May also edit this.
-----
Leviathan nerve center...
The next wormhole wasn't far off as the Leviathan entered through. After a while, they found themselves by a green-blue planet less than a light year away. Despite being still far off, two of the commanders were familiar with it. Kerrigan had some knowledge since the time she fought in the Brood War and what she learned long before. Stukov easily recognized the place, even when it was much cleaner than he remembered. That's because he was there before.
"You already know what that is," Stukov implied to her.
"Yes, this is Earth."
"Much different than before. There are no records of the UED around here."
"Abathur, explain why we're even near here."
"Strange creatures present. Detected only by psionic Zerg, Overlords."
"Give us a projection."
Psionically Kerrigan and Stukov magnified onto the planet. Their vision reached a city and then to an empty building. But to their surprise, their view shifted to some kind of animated world. It looked like a snow globe with Christmas lights and TV boxes. Roaming around were one-winged dolls as if they were cut out from a magazine. Some people were inside like lineless drawing as they're stretched and torn inside.
"One thing's for certain." Stukov commented as he stifled as little. "They clearly are odd. As if they were straight from an art piece or an old East European cartoon."
"Witches. Forms not normal, not uniform. Come in various shapes and sizes. Spawn smaller creatures to produce offspring."
Abathur introduced as larger creature resembling a TV box with avian wings observed its captors. The screen switched showing many of the same cutout dolls as they climbed out of the screen.
"Examples: Elly. Kirstan. Covetous nature. Contains prisoners in levitating statis."
The view then zoomed out and out of the alternate world before moving into some kind of hospital. The scene changed into some kind of hilly dungeon full of candies and medical equipment. This shifted into a mountain of dessert with dog-like truffles and finally a cafe area with extremely tall tables. On one, a tiny doll underwent a near impossible transformation into a clown-faced caterpillar that circled the area.
"Charlotte. Small inanimate being transforms disproportionately into Nydus Worm equivalent, likes cheese."
Kerrigan cut him off. "Any useful ones?"
"One practical Witch discovered. Located."
"It's nighttime in its area." Stukov noticed. "I'd say it's a good time to get it while they're still asleep."
"Send Swarm Queens immediately. Use Overlords and let few humans know our presence."
---
As the portal opened, four Swarm Queens entered a strange dimension of French and Neoclassical architecture, as if they were is one large palace. A tall one, too, with steep staircases that lead to extremely high floors. There were some smaller creatures in the distance, but none appeared to be their leader.
"Witch hidden in labyrinth. Must seek."
"Find it then."
The Swarm Queens proceeded up the staircases where they fought with the smaller creatures. The first that came up were slightly humanoid being that looked like colleagues, composed of butterflies for legs and cotton balls for their body and head. They had mustaches for mouths as they spoke gratuitously chanted foreign language.
"Das sind mir unbekannte Blumen."
"Ja. Sie sind mir auch unbekannt."
"Warten, das sind nicht …"
They were cut off as the Swarm Queens lashed at them with their claws. By then, their mustaches changed into open mouths as they released out black scissors on vines.
"Schneide sie ab! Schneide sie ab! Schneide sie ab!"
The scissors were connected to black vines that looked like barbed wire. They moved as if they were in a slow frame rate video game as they attempt to cut any piece of the Swarm Queens bodies. Though the jammed into the Queens bodies, they could do little damage to the important organs or even go far into their hard carapaces. The Zerg reacted by destroying the colleague creatures' cotton ball heads with their claws, which then clashed with their scissors.
"Now...this is pretty weird..." Kerrigan observed as the two sides fought each other.
The Queens easily prevailed over the minions easily and proceeded upwards to the top floors. They encountered a few flying insectoid species along the way, having multiple eyes and their own mustaches. They signaled the other creatures with its bells, and then attempted to headbutt the intruders. Unfortunately for them, the Queens already spit out spikes that dealt with them easily. The others just gave a push to the Queens or were swatted away the claws. Very little reinforcements came, too, making it easy for them to reach the top floors and proceed through a set of corridors.
Perhaps if there were more, Kerrigan thought, these things could've stood a threat.
But that was also worrisome. There were so few for such a large labyrinth. It meant either the labyrinths were always undermanned or it was cleared out by another intruder. If it was the latter, then finding the being responsible for this labyrinth would have to be quick.
After proceeding through the corridors, they encountered a circular hall with a pile of roses in the center. Again, this place was nearly empty when it shouldn't be. But this was also like the main entrance to the center, where the Witch awaited. The Swarm Queens cut through the straggler minions and proceeded into the multiple tiny doors.
"You were right about one thing, Stukov," Kerrigan commented. "No way something like this could be found in our world."
"Indeed. I prefer wrapping this up before anything more weird shows up."
That became fate once the Swarm Queens entered through the remaining doors. In the center, they found what looked like the mother of this labyrinth, what Abathur called the Witch.
The creature looked insectoid with a green bush and roses for its head and eyes. The rest of the body looked like roots for a plant. This was where many of the monsters the Swarms Queens encountered were being birthed, coming in swarms that could overwhelm an enemy like the Zerg. There were large wings on its back, despite looking too heavy to fly.
The Witch unleashed multiple tendrils with scissor ends. They all converged onto something else that was foreign to the unknown world. It looked like a girl, having an orange uniform with submachine guns and glowing spheres. She quickly evaded many of the tendrils and scissor ends as she opened fire on the Witch and its minions.
"Gertrud," Abathur introduced. "Rose Witch. Spawns two different minions rapidly. Unleashes bisectors connected to barbed vines."
"What's fighting it?"
"Puella Magi. Warrior of supernatural power, comparable to psionics. Always female human, child age."
Such warriors reminded Kerrigan of her training as a Ghost. That was how they were usually trained, taken from young age and had their abilities extended to the max. However, they would only come into service after around adult age. This girl was fighting while still in her teens.
The Puella Magi, in Kerrigan's mind, learned this the hard way as she was entangled suddenly by vines. She without anything to counter, she was slammed into the wall and then on the ground. She couldn't get up easily as the Witch approached, though she put up a straight face. Kerrigan saw it was fake, yet admired her anyway for not wanting to back down. To reward her, she ordered her Swarm Queens.
"This is our chance. Kill it while its guards are down!"
The mentioned bisectors and vines came out from it, resembling silhouetted black scissors and barbed wire just like the her minions. The vines and scissors then converged onto the girl, with the spheres only able to block a few of them.
It suddenly stopped, sensing the Swarm Queens from behind as they landed into the field. Being slow to turn around, the Zerg had the first strike on the Witch and jammed their claws on its 2D-ish body. The Witch headbutted against a Swarm Queen, knocking it backwards onto another set of roses. It then used the same attack to sweep two more away and released its vine scissors at the last one. It successfully cut the claws of the Swarm Queen and moved forward to cut up the body, opening its bush-like head to reveal a butterfly inside and let out a roar.
Kerrigan could easily understand the Witch was pissed off. And as it was busy ripping apart one Swarm Queen while the others transfused. Some smaller forms of the flying creatures around the labyrinth attempted to form vines and tie up the Queens. They easily broke free or slipped out of the holds and proceeded to attack the Witch again. The Witch noticed, but got distracted when its rose eyes were blasted at. The attacks came from the nearby Puella Magi, still holding her sub machine guns, and her accompanying spheres that firing lasers. The Queens took this opportunity to repeatedly stab the Witch.
The Witch lost strength after countless attacks and the final strike by the Queens made it collapse, with the rose eyes falling apart. The remains turned into dark black smoke and the remaining nearby creatures disappeared along with it. The surreal spherical world and garden stretched and faded back into an abandoned building, the same one where the Queens were dropped off. They and the Puella Magi could now see the few overlords surrounding them. Then, they were attracted by a metal thud.
"Witch destroyed. Barrier vanishing. Minions disintegrating. Reproduction tool manifesting."
The Queens turned to the small object in between them and the orange Puella Magi. They surrounded and one carried it with its claws. Kerrigan could feel something about it...psionically, but the information was too complex for her to understand.
"Analyze it."
The nearby Puella Magi remained cautious, holding her sub-machineguns up while she recovering her strength to get up. She was ignored, by Kerrigan's psionic orders, as Abathur analyzed.
"Grief Seed. Witch egg. Revives after given enough energy. Pattern of Seed determined by Witch."
"Subsequent discovery. Created from human females, child form. Possibly former Puella Magi. Gathers negative emotions as unique energy, only produced when consumed by certain creature."
"So they're fighting the same kind of monsters they'll later turn into? Whoever sure made this is quite...inhumane." Kerrigan shook her head. "Nevertheless, make something out if it."
"Witch not suitable for assimilation in any state, but can be imitated, additionally contacted with psionic support."
The Swarm Queens wrapped themselves to prepare for sequences.
"Developing imitation sequences now."
---
Somewhere not so distant…
Elsewhere, a number of schoolgirls came around two blocks from the abandoned building. One was a blonde girl with swirly pigtails, who held a crystallized egg in her hand. Accompanying her were an excited blue-haired girl and pink pigtailed one. The second of which held a white furry creature in her hands.
The blonde girl observed her egg, glowing extremely random that she could not understand.
"Having some trouble with your Witch hunt, Mami?"
A voice called out to the girls. The other two girls panicked a little, but the one named Mami remained calm and directed herself to where the voice came from. On a bench was a young grey-haired girl smiling at them. By her was her body leaning on the bench's arms, dressed like maid and wielding a type of spear. Sayaka and Madoka let out a short scream once they discovered her.
"Looks like your friends are once again scared," the maid's head giggled. "Sorry if it takes a while getting use to it."
"Perhaps you should do that less often, Jo," Mami coldly advised. "You should do such a thing after you greet them, not before."
Jo's head merely giggled. But her body reattached it to its normal position. Mami's accomplices then calmed down.
"Alright, little dundalan girl," blue-haired girl got annoyed. "What are you doing around here?"
"Relax, Sayaka. I just noticed a Witch nearby." She became a little more curious. "Only this time, there was something much more weird going on. It's not like it's from a Puella Magi or even a single Witch."
Sayaka glared her, but that was dispelled by her mentor.
"She's right, there definitely is something weird going on here." Mami noticed her Soul Gem acting odd again. However, she still looked up to their visitor unpleasingly "But you know this is my territory, don't you?"
"Relax, you know don't take that quite seriously, don't you?"
Mami sighed as she was right; that rule hardly applied to her.
"Even more, I sense Haruka is around here," Jo whiplashed to some worry. "I just hope she's is fine."
"Then perhaps around the corner, we should find-" Sayaka froze after going around the intersection.
The others went around and froze the same way.
"What the?" Mami noticed some immense insectoid globs, hovering over the abandoned building. They assumed there was a Witch was only because the Soul Gems was glowing even more erratically.
"W-what are those giant things?" Sayaka hesitated upon seeing the massive insectoids, shocked that no else was around to see it.
Mami shook her head. "I don't know," She summoned a gun from her skirt. "But we better get over there."
---
The eggs burst open to release the three Swarm Queens in their new forms. The nearby Puella Magi named Haruka, already after getting up and went closer to examine them, was flung back a few meters. The new strain of the Queens revealed having a more insectoid appearance like the Witch and had multiple eggs on the rear. There were also visible veins of energy and spikes along the torso.
"Matriarch Strain. New abilities derived from Witch."
The surroundings stretched again. This time, it was transforming into shiny art world. The dimension featured a red sky with tripods of large yellow swirls. The ground itself formed into one massive painting with silhouetted plants in the back ground. A large monument was in the center and populating the area were ghost-like sheets of paper with scribbled drawings on them. The beings became aware of the intruders and advanced upon them.
"Looks like another Witch is here," Kerrigan estimated. "Show me what these things can do."
As the hordes of minions approached, the orange-haired Puella Magi reloaded her guns, but was distracted by the Queens. They were facing the incoming army, but behind them, they pooping out a large number of eggs. At first, the sight disgusted Haruka and tried to look away. But what kept her watching was seeing how they were already being prepared to hatch.
"Spawns multiple eggs simultaneously." Abathur debriefed the ability to Kerrigan. "Births broodlings."
About twenty broodlings quickly hatched and chased after the minions. They rapidly shreaded apart the paper dolls with their quick claws. They all let out loud screams as they many died by the minute. All of which weren't able to lay hand on the zerg creatures.
However, these broodlings didn't last too long as they died after getting a small chunk of their minions. There were still plenty more minions than what they killed, including vast amounts of more humanoid beings. The nearest ghost figures approached the splattered remains of the broodlings, which were absorbed into their bodies. The paper dolls then transformed into similar creatures with the remains were clearly shown as drawing works.
"Witch minions, stealing taking corpses from Broodlings. Unacceptable. Must destroy. Spawn more broodlings, send Queens. Destroy."
The nearby Witch at the center suddenly charged some kind of energy, which then sprayed onto the new Swarm Queens. None were killed, but all of them were pushed back, and were extremely when the attacked stopped. The Queens then pooped out broodlings rapidly, hatching an army more than half that of the minions sent at them.
"Quite an army they're able to build up," Stukov observed.
"It still requires a lot energy," Kerrigan implied to Abathur the question in how this was possible.
"Matriarch recycles stress chemicals from injury," Abathur informed. "Quickly generates psionic energy in battle."
Kerrigan could feel the sudden increase of psionic power from the angered Swarm Queens. They simply used the recharged strength and a few more second to lay out more broodlings to join in. The replenishing rate sparked near equivalent to her own.
But that was also problematic. Broodlings successfully wiped out much of the attacking minions, but a large force remained undefended. The remaining minions outside of the carnage converged onto the clustered Swarm Queens as their broodlings died out try to save them. The remains were once again harvested by the ghost drawings and transformed into larger human beings before proceeding towards the zerg Queens. While two of them were able to wipe out the attackers easily, the third taking the brunt of the force was surrounded by them.
The nearby Puella Magi was busy fighting the humanoid minions. As bullets sprayed and beams fired from her spheres, they were no problem for her. But she saw they were a problem with one of the Queens, struggling to destroy them as they continued to get close and attempt to attack it. Rushing towards the Queen, Haruka rushed towards the troubled zerg to get in appropriate range. She aimed at the minions...
And then, they were all sliced apart...and she was knocked back again. Many tendrils exploded from the Swarm Queen's body and hit target in a wide interval. None of the minions that stood close to the creature remained as the tendrils pulled back into Queens' body.
"Additional ability from Gertrud. Launches vines at high velocity. Attacks multiple targets at close range."
With most of the minions torn apart, the barrier started shrinking. The Witch at the center retreated as the labyrinth stretched back into the normal world again."
"Attack repelled. Witch retreated."
Kerrigan switched to the Puella Magi, was knocked out. It must've been from the tendril attack as she noticed how the girl was. Even then, as long as she was the only witness, she could see it as merely a dream.
But before the experiment could conclude, Stukov noticed psionic signatures inbound. And they were human like the Puella Magi.
"We have new forces inbound!"
The Swarms Queens already sensed their presence as they entered one of the entrance. Only one was normal and holding a strange white creature in her arms. One of them, Kerrigan clearly identified as a Puella Magi with her maid outfit, noticed the Puella Magi.
"Haruka!"
The maid called to her. She and the others turned to their new guests, which merely screeched at them.
"Permission to recover Grief Seed for further examination." Abathur inserted a request.
"Granted." Kerrigan still focused on the nearby Puella Magi, who were both confused and very likely unhappy about this. She could see as most of the girls brought out weapons. "But not until we take care of these girls first."
"Weak point discovered. Crystallized gem creates supernatural power, life to body."
"I see them," Kerrigan noticed the crystal each of Puella Magi possesed. The last few details got her attention more. "Life to body? So these girls have controlled husks?"
"Accurate. Body without Gem will die. Must destroy to defeat."
"No, just immobilize them. They're the only ones here. And that'll give them a warning about us."
"Hostiles' abilities still unknown, risky to continue engaging." Abathur warned. "Energy near depletion. Can not generate enough in time. Secondary protocol initiated. Additional Matriarchs dropping."
As said, an Overlord crashed overhead that made the Puella Magi jump backward. The normal girl turned away and cringed. With the girls in disarray, the overlord dropped two additional Swarm Queens. Kerrigan could feel their psionic energy being immensely high. They then saw fully charged Swarm Queen drawing close to the nearly depleted ones.
"Psionic Transfer." Abathur described. "Emits energy, replenishes friendly psionic target."
Kerrigan observed energy being emitted by the new Queens to the now exhausted ones. As soon as the Puella Magi repositioned themselves, the Matriarchs were ready to fight again.
One of the experienced Matriarchs already dropped more eggs, sending the broodlings after the girls. One of the Puella Magi, blue swordswoman quickly dashed to intercept them. Even while getting cut up by their claws, she block many of their attacks with amazing speed and countered with her own. She didn't show much fatigue and Kerrigan noticed how quickly her wounds were recovering. She sent one of the new Queens to intercept, but it was distracted by two blasts, coming from a white maid and a blonde gunner.
The maid girl danced around the pack of Matriarchs while they lashed out at her in futile effort. Whenever the claws got a got strike at her, she'd immediately detached it and then reattach it with the given velocity. She threw small needles with her left hand and threw spheres of energy with the other. Though they didn't do much injury, the Matriarchs were agitated enough to get their attention.
It was an easy distraction as the gunner fired multiple rounds around the new Swarm Queens with what looked like antiquital golden flintlocks. At first, it didn't look like the shots would damage them, but there was another surprise waiting from them. After a few moments, they were caught in an ensnared trap by some strange wires coming from the bullet holes. As the captured zerg struggled, additional yellow ribbons appeared hold them down even more. Backing away, one of her flintlocks then transformed into an impossibly enormous gun, supported by a stand for any recoil.
"Tiro Finale!"
The gun loudly fired at the Swarm Queens. A large explosion covered them with smoke. Reading their minds, Kerrigan could feel them limping, but it still wasn't enough to kill them. A Matriarch that didn't get hit and could still turn its body did a quick transfusion to heal their wounds.
Clever attack and strategy, Kerrigan thought. But still, the Zerg can overcome even that.
The gunner girl also noticed when the debris cleared. The attack hit its target and she could see wounds, but it was still not strong enough to leave a big hole. Shocked by this, she towards the maid girl, who detached her arms and legs, which altogether charged for a multi-directional attack.
"Jo, watch out!"
Too late, the Matriarchs already released their vines that destroyed the entangling ribbons. Subsequently more frightening, they deflected all of Jo's attacks and hit all of her body parts with great accuracy. It also included her shocked head, seeing all the pieces of her body struck to the walls. The vines then retracted back into the Swarm Queens.
The gunner Puella Magi attempted to bring out another flintlock, but the Swarm Queens already reacted. Before she could aim, she was hit multiple times by spikes that sent her spinning. The swordsman charged angrily at the Queens and clashed with one's claws. The nearby Queen assisted and overpowered her with its larger claws. Once knocked down, the Puella Magi was stabbed in the arms and legs to keep her from moving. At least for a while.
With all the Puella Magi down, Abathur called the battle to conclusion.
"Puella Magi paralyzed, unable to continue battle. Gertrud seed secured."
"Store up the Matriarchs," Kerrigan ordered. "We're leaving immediately."
"Gathering Swarm Queen variant. Evacuating from Earth. Returning to the Evolution Pit."
The Overlords descended into the hole within the rooftop. Each of the Matriarchs were picked up and loaded while their enemies remained immobilized. Once they were all inside, the overlords ascended and left.
---
"Man, what was that…" Sayaka remained stunned, despite her resilience, as it all happened so fast.
"I don't know," Jo struggled to get all of her pieces together. "But my entire body is going to be extremely sore in the morning." Her body disassembled again onto the floor.
"They seem to be gone now,"
"Yes," Mami saw another glow in her Gem. "But someone else is here.
They all focused in one direction, at a corridor opposite to the wall, where they still sensed someone. A long, dark haired girl with a buckler emerged from the shadows and approached them. The downed magical girls glared and hastened their recovery up to their feet, only to collapse again, as if they were preparing for another hostile encounter.
"Homura-chan," Madoka identified.
"You're too late," Sayaka remained aggressive. "Or perhaps you saw it, didn't you? You know what that was!?"
"That's not of importance," the girl responded. "But clearly, you're in bad shape thanks to it."
"Yes, Homura," Haruka spoke after regaining consciousness. "And some...thing took the Seed."
"Thing?" Homura questioned.
"Only I saw all of it. Some creatures attacked the Witch, then took it with them after...evolving."
"Evolving?"
"Into something similar. It's like it copied its abilities biologically at an unimaginable rate."
"That...doesn't sound good," Mami looked above the skies to find the flying creatures gone. The others were also surprised to hear this.
"Indeed, it's problematic," a small white creature walked along and hinted. "If there are such creatures out there, we need to prepare for it."
"But whatever it was, I don't think it was too much of a threat to us," Haruka recapped. "I think they were more concerned about the Seed than anything else."
"If that's the case, then they still are no good. Each Grief Seed is very important to us."
"Then we should prepare for it," Sakaya said in an act of resolve. "And make sure they do not take any more from us again!" The resolve cut back as she limped back down.
"The question I want to know is," the white creature wondered. "What exactly was that?"
"That, we may never know." Homura turned and walked away. "Even if you know, it's likely we'll never see it again,"
---
Reviewing strains:
Warden: Imitates past Queen abilities. Spits saliva, dramatically slows enemies. Shoots spikes that inject parasite, bursts body to release two broodlings upon activation.
Matriarch: Quickly replenishes psionic energy in battle. Transfers energy to other psionic units. Lays up to seven eggs simultaneously, hatches broodlings. Shoots vines at all nearby targets.
Sequences ready for integration. Await decision.
Intermission 1
A long time since the first of these evolution missions and now that the votes are up, this intermission will show which one was more chosen.
You can still choose which of the two Swarm Queen strains you prefer, for those who are new or haven't voted, this is just for the popular one during the few weeks after they were introduced.
In the meantime, the above poll has been reopened for those who didn't vote.
---
Leviathan nerve center…
"So, the first of Abathur's experiments turned out well," Stukov summarized the first test.
"And now, we have the Warden strain," Kerrigan analyzed. "It should work well against our enemies' larger ground units and stronger biological soldiers."
"Very much like the old Queens during the Brood War. The spy parasites inside enemies is one thing, but curable by our medics. Their Ensnare ability was even more trouble."
"That and their broodling ability were the best major functions of the old Queen. There's also their ability to infest badly damaged Commander Centers, now replaced by our virophages."
"Yes, and even those lost their suicide ability, replaced by the banelings."
"Our Swarm is about numbers. The former infested terrans were few in number and did excessive damage. Banelings are numerous and just a few are enough to finish the job."
"The Infested Terrans could still use some improvement. Perhaps Abathur should look into new strains from the other worlds."
"I'll leave that to him."
Izsha then slithered out from the ceiling.
"What is it?"
"My Queen, the captured Witch specimen has hatched."
"Finally. It must've taken a while. Is the Witch itself secured?"
"It is, my Queen. Zagara and her brood have eliminated her minions and successfully restrained her."
"Good. I'll take a look at her myself."
---
Throne room...
Kerrigan entered the central chamber of the Leviathan.
Inside, Zagara was busy commanding her brood and several tendrils. Once the witch came back, she had to send minions in order to drag it outside of its labyrinth. The tendrils were used to entangle the Witch, but since it kept trying to cut them off, they had to bring in very thick ones. Aside from that, it also tried attacking Zagara and brood while spawning its own minions. She had to remain very distant- to the other side of the room where Kerrigan stood- as her brood dealt with the minions.
"My Queen, she's been restrain, but the whole process was problematic," Zagara addressed. "And the fact she looks flat is very...disturbing."
"I know Zagara, and that may not mean much, but she could still be useful."
"Apparently, she's unable to speak to us. Only psionic connections can reach out to her."
"I'll take care of it."
Kerrigan approached the Witch, which stopped and looked down at her. Her eyes radiated to contact the Witch psionically.
"Now, who are you?"
"Why should I tell you?"
A voice came out to her...psionically. Similar to telepathy. It sounded like a woman's voice, or in between that and a little girl's. Kerrigan then switched to this connection.
"Don't try to hide it from me. I already see it in your mind. Your name is Gertrud, isn't it?"
The Witch fell silent.
"I actually learned your name since we found you, Abathur introduced me to you."
"H-How...How could you-"
"Know of all this? Whatever species you're from, it's not the only kind with such abilities. Now I know everything about you."
"Well then, what do plan to do me now? Kill me?"
"I'll find some use for you. Witches may not be very practical as weapons, but admittedly, they're very unique. I bet there's something you and your minions could do for us."
"I will have nothing to with you!"
Her defiance was agitating. It reminded Kerrigan of when she found Zagara, refusing to acknowledge her as the Queen of Blades. All it took was some force, and some convincing on Zagara's own part, to integrate her into the Swarm.
"Still don't trust me?"
"Are you saying I should?"
"I'm saying that likely came from something that happened to you. Often a betrayal. Whoever or whatever you used to be, you're not the only one who suffered this."
Kerrigan radiated her eyes more with energy. The Witch shriveled as it let out roars outside the psionic connection.
"Stop! STOP!"
The memories Kerrigan transferred into Gertrud were those of her betrayal. First of her joining Arcturus Mengsk, the leader of the rebellion Sons of Korhal, who rebelled against the Confederacy that used her like a tool. To further the proof how much she trusted him, she shared many of the battles and major meetings during the rebellion. That included the climactic battle on Tarsonis, specifically New Gettysburg, when the Protoss came. That was the more important part, showing how much she trusted Mengsk. At least, until he abandoned her with her knowledge and left her to the Zerg he sent to ravage Tarsonis. And that was the genesis of her as the transformed Queen of Blades.
Once all those memories were shared, Kerrigan's eyes paled. The Witch rested from what she thought was torture. Kerrigan waited a moment for her to recover.
"Hope that was some convincing. Now you'll see what my view of distrust is."
"That still doesn't change anything. You and your minions killed me before, didn't you? How can you be sure you won't do it again?"
"I'll make amends whenever I can. That's something I'm working on, but not until later. We need prepare for an even greater enemy and gather new forces to combat it." Kerrigan started to walk away. "Also, Abathur will want you some time. I won't say it's going to be complete torture, but it's going to be very...unpleasant."
Gertrud remained on it toes as the Queen turned around. "And by the way, if I can, maybe I'll find some roses for you. As an additional consolation prize." She made the Witch rise, both cautious and excited, as she turned to her distant disciple.
"Zagara, make sure she's kept that way. I may find her some use in the Swarm."
"My Queen, will she not be a threat us?"
"Leave her for now. She should fine here. For moment, we're going to see Abathur."
"Yes, my Queen."
---
Evolution Pit...
Abathur emerged in front of his Queen and her disciple.
"Anything new, Abathur?"
"Depends on subject. Busy with Witch, additional strains."
"First, the Witch."
"More analysis difficult. Specimen composed of entirely different structure."
"Like what kind of structure?"
"Entity Gertrud not made of DNA, based on energy, comparable to Protoss. However, not Protoss, mindset and form similar to Zerg. Conclusion: Witch made of emotional essence, negative stress, negative energy."
It made a lot of sense. It was difficult to contact the creature to begin with, let alone having a flat 2D form unlike most creatures. But then, there were also the Witch's minions.
"What about her assisting creatures? Do you have use of them?"
"Minions just as difficult, sometimes harder. Purpose of creatures various. Ground units made to landscape. Aerial units made to restrain and watch over for intruders."
Those same roles also varied in usefulness. A creature made to merely landscape didn't have that much use. It could be useful for spreading creep, but do that much in battle. Perhaps so something with the Creep Tumors? Still won't be good enough. The other unit, however, could be useful. Since the Swarm collapsed, they also lost their Overseers made to spawn units. Despite not needing them, the fear fighting invisible units without something to deal with them was going to be very problematic against future threats. If possible, the Witch's minions could help gain that ability. Their ability to restrain target is a bonus feature.
"Well then, use your information and see what you can do with it. Just don't kill Gertrud."
"Witch constantly reviving creature, death irrelevant."
"She's still irreplaceable and new to the Swarm. I'd like to have her join if I can. But to do so, you must not try anything too painful or anything that'll give us a bad name to her. I'll inform Izsha and have her keep watch as you do." She also said as a side note, "And make sure Dehaka doesn't try taking her essence."
"Unclear, but will comply. Will treat specimen Gertrud, minions lightly. Security also relevant for unknown entity."
With that done, Kerrigan move to the second and last reports, "What else do you have?"
"Exploration continuing. New strains discovered. Necessary Zerg creatures released into parallel worlds to acquire."
"His work is very troubling," Zagara complained to Kerrigan. "He could endanger our presence. Let us kill him before he goes too far!"
"That won't do, Zagara." Kerrigan ordered her to stand down and turned her radiated eyes to Abathur. "Explain why you let some Zerg loose into the other worlds."
"Strains heavily defended. Requires...infiltration. News of Zerg still contained. Subjects in position, await your command."
"Which units did you send?"
"Very. Starting with Hydralisk, Aberration."
Letting Zerg be captured was peeve for Kerrigan, but, "I thought we already did the Hydralisk."
"Previous Hydralisk evolution only gives ability to transform, morphs into completely different unit. Does not affect Hydralisk itself. New strains affect Hydralisk itself. Two new strains available."
"Make it quick. The sooner we get it over with, the better."
"Understood. Starting Hydralisk experiments soon."
---
Abathur: Hydralisk strain ready for augmentation...again. New strains heavily fortified, require infiltration. Many hydralisks sent, surrendered willfully to native civilizations, ready to acquire essence. Await your command.
You can still choose which of the two Swarm Queen strains you prefer, for those who are new or haven't voted, this is just for the popular one during the few weeks after they were introduced.
In the meantime, the above poll has been reopened for those who didn't vote.
---
Leviathan nerve center…
"So, the first of Abathur's experiments turned out well," Stukov summarized the first test.
"And now, we have the Warden strain," Kerrigan analyzed. "It should work well against our enemies' larger ground units and stronger biological soldiers."
"Very much like the old Queens during the Brood War. The spy parasites inside enemies is one thing, but curable by our medics. Their Ensnare ability was even more trouble."
"That and their broodling ability were the best major functions of the old Queen. There's also their ability to infest badly damaged Commander Centers, now replaced by our virophages."
"Yes, and even those lost their suicide ability, replaced by the banelings."
"Our Swarm is about numbers. The former infested terrans were few in number and did excessive damage. Banelings are numerous and just a few are enough to finish the job."
"The Infested Terrans could still use some improvement. Perhaps Abathur should look into new strains from the other worlds."
"I'll leave that to him."
Izsha then slithered out from the ceiling.
"What is it?"
"My Queen, the captured Witch specimen has hatched."
"Finally. It must've taken a while. Is the Witch itself secured?"
"It is, my Queen. Zagara and her brood have eliminated her minions and successfully restrained her."
"Good. I'll take a look at her myself."
---
Throne room...
Kerrigan entered the central chamber of the Leviathan.
Inside, Zagara was busy commanding her brood and several tendrils. Once the witch came back, she had to send minions in order to drag it outside of its labyrinth. The tendrils were used to entangle the Witch, but since it kept trying to cut them off, they had to bring in very thick ones. Aside from that, it also tried attacking Zagara and brood while spawning its own minions. She had to remain very distant- to the other side of the room where Kerrigan stood- as her brood dealt with the minions.
"My Queen, she's been restrain, but the whole process was problematic," Zagara addressed. "And the fact she looks flat is very...disturbing."
"I know Zagara, and that may not mean much, but she could still be useful."
"Apparently, she's unable to speak to us. Only psionic connections can reach out to her."
"I'll take care of it."
Kerrigan approached the Witch, which stopped and looked down at her. Her eyes radiated to contact the Witch psionically.
"Now, who are you?"
"Why should I tell you?"
A voice came out to her...psionically. Similar to telepathy. It sounded like a woman's voice, or in between that and a little girl's. Kerrigan then switched to this connection.
"Don't try to hide it from me. I already see it in your mind. Your name is Gertrud, isn't it?"
The Witch fell silent.
"I actually learned your name since we found you, Abathur introduced me to you."
"H-How...How could you-"
"Know of all this? Whatever species you're from, it's not the only kind with such abilities. Now I know everything about you."
"Well then, what do plan to do me now? Kill me?"
"I'll find some use for you. Witches may not be very practical as weapons, but admittedly, they're very unique. I bet there's something you and your minions could do for us."
"I will have nothing to with you!"
Her defiance was agitating. It reminded Kerrigan of when she found Zagara, refusing to acknowledge her as the Queen of Blades. All it took was some force, and some convincing on Zagara's own part, to integrate her into the Swarm.
"Still don't trust me?"
"Are you saying I should?"
"I'm saying that likely came from something that happened to you. Often a betrayal. Whoever or whatever you used to be, you're not the only one who suffered this."
Kerrigan radiated her eyes more with energy. The Witch shriveled as it let out roars outside the psionic connection.
"Stop! STOP!"
The memories Kerrigan transferred into Gertrud were those of her betrayal. First of her joining Arcturus Mengsk, the leader of the rebellion Sons of Korhal, who rebelled against the Confederacy that used her like a tool. To further the proof how much she trusted him, she shared many of the battles and major meetings during the rebellion. That included the climactic battle on Tarsonis, specifically New Gettysburg, when the Protoss came. That was the more important part, showing how much she trusted Mengsk. At least, until he abandoned her with her knowledge and left her to the Zerg he sent to ravage Tarsonis. And that was the genesis of her as the transformed Queen of Blades.
Once all those memories were shared, Kerrigan's eyes paled. The Witch rested from what she thought was torture. Kerrigan waited a moment for her to recover.
"Hope that was some convincing. Now you'll see what my view of distrust is."
"That still doesn't change anything. You and your minions killed me before, didn't you? How can you be sure you won't do it again?"
"I'll make amends whenever I can. That's something I'm working on, but not until later. We need prepare for an even greater enemy and gather new forces to combat it." Kerrigan started to walk away. "Also, Abathur will want you some time. I won't say it's going to be complete torture, but it's going to be very...unpleasant."
Gertrud remained on it toes as the Queen turned around. "And by the way, if I can, maybe I'll find some roses for you. As an additional consolation prize." She made the Witch rise, both cautious and excited, as she turned to her distant disciple.
"Zagara, make sure she's kept that way. I may find her some use in the Swarm."
"My Queen, will she not be a threat us?"
"Leave her for now. She should fine here. For moment, we're going to see Abathur."
"Yes, my Queen."
---
Evolution Pit...
Abathur emerged in front of his Queen and her disciple.
"Anything new, Abathur?"
"Depends on subject. Busy with Witch, additional strains."
"First, the Witch."
"More analysis difficult. Specimen composed of entirely different structure."
"Like what kind of structure?"
"Entity Gertrud not made of DNA, based on energy, comparable to Protoss. However, not Protoss, mindset and form similar to Zerg. Conclusion: Witch made of emotional essence, negative stress, negative energy."
It made a lot of sense. It was difficult to contact the creature to begin with, let alone having a flat 2D form unlike most creatures. But then, there were also the Witch's minions.
"What about her assisting creatures? Do you have use of them?"
"Minions just as difficult, sometimes harder. Purpose of creatures various. Ground units made to landscape. Aerial units made to restrain and watch over for intruders."
Those same roles also varied in usefulness. A creature made to merely landscape didn't have that much use. It could be useful for spreading creep, but do that much in battle. Perhaps so something with the Creep Tumors? Still won't be good enough. The other unit, however, could be useful. Since the Swarm collapsed, they also lost their Overseers made to spawn units. Despite not needing them, the fear fighting invisible units without something to deal with them was going to be very problematic against future threats. If possible, the Witch's minions could help gain that ability. Their ability to restrain target is a bonus feature.
"Well then, use your information and see what you can do with it. Just don't kill Gertrud."
"Witch constantly reviving creature, death irrelevant."
"She's still irreplaceable and new to the Swarm. I'd like to have her join if I can. But to do so, you must not try anything too painful or anything that'll give us a bad name to her. I'll inform Izsha and have her keep watch as you do." She also said as a side note, "And make sure Dehaka doesn't try taking her essence."
"Unclear, but will comply. Will treat specimen Gertrud, minions lightly. Security also relevant for unknown entity."
With that done, Kerrigan move to the second and last reports, "What else do you have?"
"Exploration continuing. New strains discovered. Necessary Zerg creatures released into parallel worlds to acquire."
"His work is very troubling," Zagara complained to Kerrigan. "He could endanger our presence. Let us kill him before he goes too far!"
"That won't do, Zagara." Kerrigan ordered her to stand down and turned her radiated eyes to Abathur. "Explain why you let some Zerg loose into the other worlds."
"Strains heavily defended. Requires...infiltration. News of Zerg still contained. Subjects in position, await your command."
"Which units did you send?"
"Very. Starting with Hydralisk, Aberration."
Letting Zerg be captured was peeve for Kerrigan, but, "I thought we already did the Hydralisk."
"Previous Hydralisk evolution only gives ability to transform, morphs into completely different unit. Does not affect Hydralisk itself. New strains affect Hydralisk itself. Two new strains available."
"Make it quick. The sooner we get it over with, the better."
"Understood. Starting Hydralisk experiments soon."
---
Abathur: Hydralisk strain ready for augmentation...again. New strains heavily fortified, require infiltration. Many hydralisks sent, surrendered willfully to native civilizations, ready to acquire essence. Await your command.
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Hydralisk A- Hunter Killer
Finally, the next evolution mission. I don't own Starcraft or Blood+.
Abathur: Hydralisk strain ready for augmentation...again. Potential sequences heavily fortified, requires infiltration. Many hydralisks sent, surrendered willfully to native civilizations, ready to acquire essence. Await your command.
-----
Strain #1: Hunter Killer
The Leviathan warped through another wormhole. Since their location was said to be heavily fortified, Kerrigan instructed the Zerg not to get too close to the test site. That test site's location also made her uneasy once they got there.
"Another Earth?"
This Earth was much like that from the previous test.
However, Abathur briefed, "New species of interest discovered."
Kerrigan and Abathur projected to the "fortified location". Passing through the clouds, their view discovered an island distant from the mainland. They could easily see many guards, fences, and even a few vehicles and anti-aircraft weaponry guarding what looked like a bunker entrance.
"Lazzaro. Maximum security bunker, top secret research facility."
They continued to zoom in underneath the bunker, supposedly made of concrete and steel now obsolete in their old world. They stopped again at a large octahedral arena. The place looked very secure as there were only two opposite doors into the chamber and many windows to observe it.
"I see our hydralisks," Kerrigan found eleven in the test chamber. "It looks like they're gonna conduct an experiment."
"Experiment initiated soon," Abathur warned. "Species of interest will be released soon."
-----
Test chamber, lead observation deck...
There were several white-coated scientists and military communications officers on rows of seats, observing all the conditions within the test chamber. Surrounding them were multiple guards to secure the area, armed with rifles and prepared to escort the personnel if things got out of hand. There were a few others watching the station directly from the window. Most of them were military officers, but there was a notable and odd one of the group.
He was well dressed like the other staff, but wore a white outfit and spectacles. He pulled on the wrapper ends of some round hard candy before plopping it in his mouth.
"So, I assume the new organisms are cooperating properly." He spoke with a French accent.
"Van Argiano," one of the officers addressed his name. "I remind you that this was a test scheduled spontaneously. We're working with alien creatures we have no knowledge about and you think they won't do as they please?"
"With all due respect, Colonel, I don't know these 'snakes' either. But I am interested. See how they do against the 'mice' we've worked on before."
"If things get fishy, we'll have the Corpse Corps dispatched to rid of these...'snakes' before they cause any unexpected trouble."
"Whatever you say, Colonel. When you are ready, release the 'mice' to begin the experiment."
-----
Kerrigan overheard the conversation between Van and the military officers. The only interest Kerrigan was seeing how secure they had this facility. It reminded her of Valerian back on Umoja. She taught him a lesson about the Zerg there, she'll do the same to these soldiers here.
But first, they should acquire the essence. And that essence Kerrigan assumed to be the "mice" Van was talking about. It had to be the same thing Abathur wanted as he focused more on the opening doors.
Three humanoid beasts wandered into the chamber. They had a form similar to a bat without any fur or developed wings and had circular jaws. Abathur introduced the creatures to Kerrigan.
"Chiropteran. Massive rodent-based lifeform. Converted from human. Consumes blood as primary food source."
Kerrigan observed the somewhat stupid creatures sniffing toward the Hydralisks. They focused on the Zerg and roared at them. Kerrigan found this meaning they'll attack soon.
"Let's see how strong they are compared to our Hydralisks."
The Chiropterans charged at the Hydralisks, which retaliated easily with their spikes. They were only hit the shoulders, so the Chiropterans were able to shrug them off easily and close in. One Chiropteran grabbed the arms of one Hydralisk and gnawed on its captive. The victim Hydralisk easily fought it off with it scythe-like arms, cutting off both of the Chiropteran's and knocking it back. Another Chiropteran was shredded by more Hydralisks spikes; it fell before it could get close enough. The third one grabbed another Hydralisk and sliced across its chest. Though the Hydralisk swinged to the left, it retaliated by also swinging its left arm and cutting the creature's head off. The beheaded Chiropteran fell to the ground dead.
The other two Chiropterans were not dead. They have been severely wounded in their opening gambit, but their previous injuries healed quickly. All their wounds healed and the one that just lost its arms grew new ones immediately. Abathur gave a very late warning about the creatures.
"Chiropteran has rapid regeneration, abnormal strength, resilience."
That didn't matter, however. Despite having similar performance, Kerrigan easily differed the two creatures. While Hydralisks aren't too smart either, they still smarter than their challengers to a degree and can adapt. Seeing how one of the Chiropterans immediately died once beheaded, both Kerrigan and the Hydralisks knew how to deal with them.
The angered Chiropterans charged at the Zerg, which formed a semicircle. The two creatures went right into the center and the Zerg closed around them. They retaliated by slicing through several nearby Hydralisks, but they did little damage. The Zerg that were not hit stabbed the Chiropterans in the back and those that were ripped them apart. After a few seconds, the two Chiropterans were nothing but shredded limbs.
At the same time, the Hydralisks feasted on the dead Chiropterans and Abathur analyzed.
"Interesting new discovery. New genetic base detected, D-base. Key to Chiropteran abilities: shapeshifting, strength, speed, regeneration."
"Then make something out of it."
"D-base supply not enough. Must acquire more samples."
That request was inevitable as Kerrigan could overhear the Van and the staff members discussing the sudden results.
"The snakes have devoured the mice. As usual."
"Something that can surpass Chiropterans. As wild creatures, they can be an even bigger threat than we could imagine. We should dispose of them immediately."
"Then we shall grant you your request, Colonel. Release the Corpse Corps and we'll see how they do."
A second door opened to release three humanoid beings into the arena. They looked identical to one another dressed completely in body armor and helmets. They also wielded short swords drawn out from their sheaths.
"Corpse Corps," Abathur analyzed. "Artificial Chiropteran. Programmed to eliminate other Chiropterans."
"Then eliminate them and collect enough D-base samples to integrate into the Swarm."
But the new Corpse Corps proved to be a tougher challenge. Immediately, they vanished into streaks of light and triangulated the Zerg. All but the center Hydralisk got out of the way as they were sliced by the charging Corpse Corps. The center Hydralisk was ripped apart by their short swords. They moved to block attacks from the now surrounding Hydralisks. As another surprise, some of their gloves came off and grew spikes from their hands. Two Hydralisks were hit in the eyes and one was cut through the stomach afterward.
Knowing these were like other Chiropterans, the Hydralisks responded to this. They first fired spikes at the Corpse Corps. Kerrigan noticed now they were similar to robots or dolls as they took the hits. One of the Corpse Corps soldiers' heads exploded after a few direct hits and its body collapsed. The other two dashed back and encircled the Zerg; one was faster than the other, which took some hits on its legs. Once they closed in, the Hydralisks readied their arms. Though one or two had their arms cut off by the Corpse Corps' swords, the other were able to catch the wounded one easily; its eventual captor tore up the body beyond recovery. The last of the Corpse Corps attacked a Hydralisk directly and cut it apart. It proceeded to attack two nearby Hydralisks, successfully hitting their torsos. This became its last attack as the Hydralisks focused spike and arms on the Corpse Corps, effectively destroying it.
The Hydralisks proceeded to eat much of the Corpse Corps remains. Wanting to escape the test arena before encountering more, Kerrigan gave the order.
"I think that's enough essence. Start spinning."
The surviving Hydralisks wrapped themselves for augmentation.
-----
"What's going on?"
"I don't know, Colonel." Van was still stunned to see many of the Hydralisks surviving after an attack from the Copse Corps. He returned to Earth, still oblivious of at's going on. "This is the first time I've seen the 'snakes' cocoon like this."
"Well, the 'snakes' clearly proven to be much more dangerous than we could've hoped! Whatever is going on, you better explain everything in why testing these specimens that we know little about was a good idea-"
"Sir!" A scientist interrupted, "The cocoons opened already! It looks like they're just-"
They were interrupted when spikes pierced through the windows and ripped through the structure. Several even went from underneath the deck, tearing through equipment and other things. Some went through a couple gas pipe and caused one or two explosion on the back of the room. Van was one the few lucky enough to avoid the needles and get down. But when the shootings stopped, he saw the officers near him weren't, all pierced through the chest or head. The only other survivors were a few soldiers and scientists.
"The test subjects, they seem to have acquired new forms!"
Van crawled up to the surviving scientist at the front of the observation deck. He peaked above the wreckage and found the "snakes" with their form, being greener and having spikes around their shoulders. They were currently tearing through latches the distant door on his right.
"Contact all nearby forces and any military personnel nearby! We need to deal with the 'snakes' immediately!"
"But Mr. Argaino, the officers are dead!"
"I'm the one taking over under Goldsmith! I want this facility controlled now!"
-----
Once the Hydralisks were finished with the door, Abathur described the new strain.
"Hunter Killer. Enhanced strength. Shoots needles rapidly, hits targets in area."
The new Hydralisks moved through the exit, proceeding through a tunnel where many soldiers stood on guard. Alarms were going off long before, so they were ready to open fire on the Hydralisks. It was all to no avail; the bullets did little damage to their carapace. In return, the new Hunter Killers simultaneously spit out a single spray of spikes at their targets. All the men were sent flying and wiped out.
The Hydralisks proceeded through the corridor and up a few inclined planes towards the surface. While proceeding through each level, a number of guards came and opened fire on the Zerg. Because these numbers were small, they were easily disposed of by a spray of spikes from one or two Hunter Killers. Many unarmed personnel were fleeing from the new Hydralisks while the guards defending were getting slaughtered. Some were even hit by the stray fire, but Kerrigan never bothered attacking them.
However, as the Hunter Killers cleared three levels, about one more floor from the bunker entrance, Kerrigan heard more from Van.
"Deploy more of the Corpse Corps! Stop those 'snakes' before...before Amshel and the Defense Secretary hear about this!"
The Corpse Corps were dangerous opponents from the lab, even with the new strains. Kerrigan knew this, but that wasn't the important part. She could sense amplified activity coming from a nearby room, something that could reach a very far range.
"There's a communications center nearby. Destroy it and that'll keep them from bringing in reinforcements!"
The Hydralisks remained on the current floor and broke to the right. Four more guards with rifles defended the door to the center. Two others came from the corridor, carrying a shoulder mounted missile launcher. While the four guards were easily wasted, the missile crew took the time to set up and fire a missile. They were rained on by spikes as the missile hit the frontal Hydralisk. There was a lot of smoke, so nearby personnel couldn't see the damage; the top shield-like section of the Hydralisk's head was fractured. Four more Corpse Corps then came from the smoke and sliced through the injured Zerg.
The remaining Hunter Killers retaliated with a spray, but while they were grazed, the Corpse Corps quickly avoided them. They attacked the other Hunter Killers almost individually. Two converged onto the same target and sliced its arms off, but were distracted spikes from the non-targets. One Corpse Corps went straight onto the center of the Hunter Killer's head, but was meet with a shower of spikes that utterly destroyed it. The last one sliced off an arm, then locked with another; it released a glove to fire its own spikes, but its enemy was easily overpowered and destroyed. The remaining two Corpse Corps continued on their target, dashing multiple times to avoid the spikes that wrecked the entire facility and even far down to the lower levels.They converged back onto the same injured Hunter Killer, but it was defended by its fellow Zerg that cut both of them in half.
The Hunter Killers fired a few more shots into the communications center. Afterwards, anyone who saw through the shattered windows would easily find the place wrecked and full of holes. From the darkness and light from the holes, only wrecked equipment, destroyed office spaces, and corpses were visible. Kerrigan and Abathur could also sense the dramatic drop in information traffic.
"Comm array destroyed. Facility unable to contact external forces."
"Another force incoming!" Kerrigan could sense another set of guards and Corpse Corps heading towards the Hunter Killers. "You better have integrated the Chiropteran's full potential."
"Hunter Killer assimilates regeneration ability. Quickly heals when out of combat for short time period."
In a few seconds, the security forces arrived to see the Hunter Killers recovering instantly. It was more of a few seconds, but they witnessed those that lost arms growing entire new ones That was just before the Corpse Corps made their dashing strike, only to be easily eliminated while the engaging guards radioed over.
"Sir, the damage the 'snakes' took have fully healed! They just regrew arms like it was nothing!"
"What? How could they…the 'mice'!"
Not only was it already too late, but Van was interrupted by several shakes coming from the Hunter Killers' attacks. Apparently, some of the stray spikes went through the bunkers' floors and hit some prison blocks or power generators below them. After dealing with the guards and Corpse Corps, the Hydralisks returned to the ramps.
Kerrigan observed a large number Chiropterans emerging and their attackers trying to contain the situation. Many of Chiropterans noticed the nearby Hydralisks and charged at the them. They were met by an outstanding of spikes that tore through many of them. The surviving Chiropterans ripped a few arms before succumbing to the spikes and blades from the Hunter Killers, the victims of which quickly healed from their amputated status. Though this was an easy win, Kerrigan urged the Hydralisks to keep moving up to avoid an overwhelming force.
"Facility entrance located here," Abathur designated the target location, located one more floor above, where the Hunter Killers were about to reach. "Preparing Overlords for evacuation."
"Go, and destroy the outside defenders! Secure the area for our Overlords!"
The Hydralisks were already meters away from their exits, lightly guarded by eight soldiers. Unknown how futile it was, they opened fire on the escaping Zerg.
-----
Outside of the facility was also chaotic. They only heard that the situation inside the bunker was critical and needed containment. The soldiers were forced to work double time in preparing their parked vehicles and other defenses.
But they didn't have enough time, the troops near the door heard the gunfire inside the room and witnessed the bunker doors bursting open. The soldiers evaded the flying broken doors and got into cover. They fired through the entrance as the Hunter Killers emerged out of it.
The Zerg were unphased by the gunfire and ignored them, breaking to the left where the more open and unsecured area was. They noticed a few SAM launchers and guard towers, connected by walls of barbed wire. They focused on the anti-aircraft weapons as they exploded after a few shots. The guard towers were not important, but the ordinary and sniper rifle fire annoyed the Hydralisks, directing some of their spikes at the stems of the towers. The towers were then destabilized and collapsed onto the ground. Two other Hydralisks were obliterated by surprise from two Abrams tanks and two mounted Humvees. The Hydralisks flanked to the side to avoid the gunfire from the Humvees and sprayed more spike on all of the vehicles. The Humvees were clearly mass-produced combat vehicles, but they were still outclassed to the Terran vehicles the Zerg were up against. The same was said about the tanks, even though they took a lot more damage than the Humvees did. But all of them went in smoke and the Hunter Killers focused on their designated targets.
As the Zerg finished the SAMs, the other side was getting overwhelmed by emerging Chiropterans. Despite having the Corpse Corp to assist, there were too many to handle alone and many of the guards were wiped out. The Hunter Killers went around, flanking a tank and easily destroying it, and finished off their work by destroying two more anti-aircraft batteries.
By that time, the Overlords arrived from the sky to pick up the new Hydralisks.
"Facility broken. Zerg and Chiropterans escaped. Extracting Hunter Killers."
With the remaining defenders busy with the Chiropterans, Kerrigan withdrew from the site.
"Good. While doing so, get your next experiment ready."
-----
Coming Strain #2: Cyberlisk strain
Hydralisk Evolution Mission
Abathur: Hydralisk strain ready for augmentation...again. Potential sequences heavily fortified, requires infiltration. Many hydralisks sent, surrendered willfully to native civilizations, ready to acquire essence. Await your command.
-----
Strain #1: Hunter Killer
The Leviathan warped through another wormhole. Since their location was said to be heavily fortified, Kerrigan instructed the Zerg not to get too close to the test site. That test site's location also made her uneasy once they got there.
"Another Earth?"
This Earth was much like that from the previous test.
However, Abathur briefed, "New species of interest discovered."
Kerrigan and Abathur projected to the "fortified location". Passing through the clouds, their view discovered an island distant from the mainland. They could easily see many guards, fences, and even a few vehicles and anti-aircraft weaponry guarding what looked like a bunker entrance.
"Lazzaro. Maximum security bunker, top secret research facility."
They continued to zoom in underneath the bunker, supposedly made of concrete and steel now obsolete in their old world. They stopped again at a large octahedral arena. The place looked very secure as there were only two opposite doors into the chamber and many windows to observe it.
"I see our hydralisks," Kerrigan found eleven in the test chamber. "It looks like they're gonna conduct an experiment."
"Experiment initiated soon," Abathur warned. "Species of interest will be released soon."
-----
Test chamber, lead observation deck...
There were several white-coated scientists and military communications officers on rows of seats, observing all the conditions within the test chamber. Surrounding them were multiple guards to secure the area, armed with rifles and prepared to escort the personnel if things got out of hand. There were a few others watching the station directly from the window. Most of them were military officers, but there was a notable and odd one of the group.
He was well dressed like the other staff, but wore a white outfit and spectacles. He pulled on the wrapper ends of some round hard candy before plopping it in his mouth.
"So, I assume the new organisms are cooperating properly." He spoke with a French accent.
"Van Argiano," one of the officers addressed his name. "I remind you that this was a test scheduled spontaneously. We're working with alien creatures we have no knowledge about and you think they won't do as they please?"
"With all due respect, Colonel, I don't know these 'snakes' either. But I am interested. See how they do against the 'mice' we've worked on before."
"If things get fishy, we'll have the Corpse Corps dispatched to rid of these...'snakes' before they cause any unexpected trouble."
"Whatever you say, Colonel. When you are ready, release the 'mice' to begin the experiment."
-----
Kerrigan overheard the conversation between Van and the military officers. The only interest Kerrigan was seeing how secure they had this facility. It reminded her of Valerian back on Umoja. She taught him a lesson about the Zerg there, she'll do the same to these soldiers here.
But first, they should acquire the essence. And that essence Kerrigan assumed to be the "mice" Van was talking about. It had to be the same thing Abathur wanted as he focused more on the opening doors.
Three humanoid beasts wandered into the chamber. They had a form similar to a bat without any fur or developed wings and had circular jaws. Abathur introduced the creatures to Kerrigan.
"Chiropteran. Massive rodent-based lifeform. Converted from human. Consumes blood as primary food source."
Kerrigan observed the somewhat stupid creatures sniffing toward the Hydralisks. They focused on the Zerg and roared at them. Kerrigan found this meaning they'll attack soon.
"Let's see how strong they are compared to our Hydralisks."
The Chiropterans charged at the Hydralisks, which retaliated easily with their spikes. They were only hit the shoulders, so the Chiropterans were able to shrug them off easily and close in. One Chiropteran grabbed the arms of one Hydralisk and gnawed on its captive. The victim Hydralisk easily fought it off with it scythe-like arms, cutting off both of the Chiropteran's and knocking it back. Another Chiropteran was shredded by more Hydralisks spikes; it fell before it could get close enough. The third one grabbed another Hydralisk and sliced across its chest. Though the Hydralisk swinged to the left, it retaliated by also swinging its left arm and cutting the creature's head off. The beheaded Chiropteran fell to the ground dead.
The other two Chiropterans were not dead. They have been severely wounded in their opening gambit, but their previous injuries healed quickly. All their wounds healed and the one that just lost its arms grew new ones immediately. Abathur gave a very late warning about the creatures.
"Chiropteran has rapid regeneration, abnormal strength, resilience."
That didn't matter, however. Despite having similar performance, Kerrigan easily differed the two creatures. While Hydralisks aren't too smart either, they still smarter than their challengers to a degree and can adapt. Seeing how one of the Chiropterans immediately died once beheaded, both Kerrigan and the Hydralisks knew how to deal with them.
The angered Chiropterans charged at the Zerg, which formed a semicircle. The two creatures went right into the center and the Zerg closed around them. They retaliated by slicing through several nearby Hydralisks, but they did little damage. The Zerg that were not hit stabbed the Chiropterans in the back and those that were ripped them apart. After a few seconds, the two Chiropterans were nothing but shredded limbs.
At the same time, the Hydralisks feasted on the dead Chiropterans and Abathur analyzed.
"Interesting new discovery. New genetic base detected, D-base. Key to Chiropteran abilities: shapeshifting, strength, speed, regeneration."
"Then make something out of it."
"D-base supply not enough. Must acquire more samples."
That request was inevitable as Kerrigan could overhear the Van and the staff members discussing the sudden results.
"The snakes have devoured the mice. As usual."
"Something that can surpass Chiropterans. As wild creatures, they can be an even bigger threat than we could imagine. We should dispose of them immediately."
"Then we shall grant you your request, Colonel. Release the Corpse Corps and we'll see how they do."
A second door opened to release three humanoid beings into the arena. They looked identical to one another dressed completely in body armor and helmets. They also wielded short swords drawn out from their sheaths.
"Corpse Corps," Abathur analyzed. "Artificial Chiropteran. Programmed to eliminate other Chiropterans."
"Then eliminate them and collect enough D-base samples to integrate into the Swarm."
But the new Corpse Corps proved to be a tougher challenge. Immediately, they vanished into streaks of light and triangulated the Zerg. All but the center Hydralisk got out of the way as they were sliced by the charging Corpse Corps. The center Hydralisk was ripped apart by their short swords. They moved to block attacks from the now surrounding Hydralisks. As another surprise, some of their gloves came off and grew spikes from their hands. Two Hydralisks were hit in the eyes and one was cut through the stomach afterward.
Knowing these were like other Chiropterans, the Hydralisks responded to this. They first fired spikes at the Corpse Corps. Kerrigan noticed now they were similar to robots or dolls as they took the hits. One of the Corpse Corps soldiers' heads exploded after a few direct hits and its body collapsed. The other two dashed back and encircled the Zerg; one was faster than the other, which took some hits on its legs. Once they closed in, the Hydralisks readied their arms. Though one or two had their arms cut off by the Corpse Corps' swords, the other were able to catch the wounded one easily; its eventual captor tore up the body beyond recovery. The last of the Corpse Corps attacked a Hydralisk directly and cut it apart. It proceeded to attack two nearby Hydralisks, successfully hitting their torsos. This became its last attack as the Hydralisks focused spike and arms on the Corpse Corps, effectively destroying it.
The Hydralisks proceeded to eat much of the Corpse Corps remains. Wanting to escape the test arena before encountering more, Kerrigan gave the order.
"I think that's enough essence. Start spinning."
The surviving Hydralisks wrapped themselves for augmentation.
-----
"What's going on?"
"I don't know, Colonel." Van was still stunned to see many of the Hydralisks surviving after an attack from the Copse Corps. He returned to Earth, still oblivious of at's going on. "This is the first time I've seen the 'snakes' cocoon like this."
"Well, the 'snakes' clearly proven to be much more dangerous than we could've hoped! Whatever is going on, you better explain everything in why testing these specimens that we know little about was a good idea-"
"Sir!" A scientist interrupted, "The cocoons opened already! It looks like they're just-"
They were interrupted when spikes pierced through the windows and ripped through the structure. Several even went from underneath the deck, tearing through equipment and other things. Some went through a couple gas pipe and caused one or two explosion on the back of the room. Van was one the few lucky enough to avoid the needles and get down. But when the shootings stopped, he saw the officers near him weren't, all pierced through the chest or head. The only other survivors were a few soldiers and scientists.
"The test subjects, they seem to have acquired new forms!"
Van crawled up to the surviving scientist at the front of the observation deck. He peaked above the wreckage and found the "snakes" with their form, being greener and having spikes around their shoulders. They were currently tearing through latches the distant door on his right.
"Contact all nearby forces and any military personnel nearby! We need to deal with the 'snakes' immediately!"
"But Mr. Argaino, the officers are dead!"
"I'm the one taking over under Goldsmith! I want this facility controlled now!"
-----
Once the Hydralisks were finished with the door, Abathur described the new strain.
"Hunter Killer. Enhanced strength. Shoots needles rapidly, hits targets in area."
The new Hydralisks moved through the exit, proceeding through a tunnel where many soldiers stood on guard. Alarms were going off long before, so they were ready to open fire on the Hydralisks. It was all to no avail; the bullets did little damage to their carapace. In return, the new Hunter Killers simultaneously spit out a single spray of spikes at their targets. All the men were sent flying and wiped out.
The Hydralisks proceeded through the corridor and up a few inclined planes towards the surface. While proceeding through each level, a number of guards came and opened fire on the Zerg. Because these numbers were small, they were easily disposed of by a spray of spikes from one or two Hunter Killers. Many unarmed personnel were fleeing from the new Hydralisks while the guards defending were getting slaughtered. Some were even hit by the stray fire, but Kerrigan never bothered attacking them.
However, as the Hunter Killers cleared three levels, about one more floor from the bunker entrance, Kerrigan heard more from Van.
"Deploy more of the Corpse Corps! Stop those 'snakes' before...before Amshel and the Defense Secretary hear about this!"
The Corpse Corps were dangerous opponents from the lab, even with the new strains. Kerrigan knew this, but that wasn't the important part. She could sense amplified activity coming from a nearby room, something that could reach a very far range.
"There's a communications center nearby. Destroy it and that'll keep them from bringing in reinforcements!"
The Hydralisks remained on the current floor and broke to the right. Four more guards with rifles defended the door to the center. Two others came from the corridor, carrying a shoulder mounted missile launcher. While the four guards were easily wasted, the missile crew took the time to set up and fire a missile. They were rained on by spikes as the missile hit the frontal Hydralisk. There was a lot of smoke, so nearby personnel couldn't see the damage; the top shield-like section of the Hydralisk's head was fractured. Four more Corpse Corps then came from the smoke and sliced through the injured Zerg.
The remaining Hunter Killers retaliated with a spray, but while they were grazed, the Corpse Corps quickly avoided them. They attacked the other Hunter Killers almost individually. Two converged onto the same target and sliced its arms off, but were distracted spikes from the non-targets. One Corpse Corps went straight onto the center of the Hunter Killer's head, but was meet with a shower of spikes that utterly destroyed it. The last one sliced off an arm, then locked with another; it released a glove to fire its own spikes, but its enemy was easily overpowered and destroyed. The remaining two Corpse Corps continued on their target, dashing multiple times to avoid the spikes that wrecked the entire facility and even far down to the lower levels.They converged back onto the same injured Hunter Killer, but it was defended by its fellow Zerg that cut both of them in half.
The Hunter Killers fired a few more shots into the communications center. Afterwards, anyone who saw through the shattered windows would easily find the place wrecked and full of holes. From the darkness and light from the holes, only wrecked equipment, destroyed office spaces, and corpses were visible. Kerrigan and Abathur could also sense the dramatic drop in information traffic.
"Comm array destroyed. Facility unable to contact external forces."
"Another force incoming!" Kerrigan could sense another set of guards and Corpse Corps heading towards the Hunter Killers. "You better have integrated the Chiropteran's full potential."
"Hunter Killer assimilates regeneration ability. Quickly heals when out of combat for short time period."
In a few seconds, the security forces arrived to see the Hunter Killers recovering instantly. It was more of a few seconds, but they witnessed those that lost arms growing entire new ones That was just before the Corpse Corps made their dashing strike, only to be easily eliminated while the engaging guards radioed over.
"Sir, the damage the 'snakes' took have fully healed! They just regrew arms like it was nothing!"
"What? How could they…the 'mice'!"
Not only was it already too late, but Van was interrupted by several shakes coming from the Hunter Killers' attacks. Apparently, some of the stray spikes went through the bunkers' floors and hit some prison blocks or power generators below them. After dealing with the guards and Corpse Corps, the Hydralisks returned to the ramps.
Kerrigan observed a large number Chiropterans emerging and their attackers trying to contain the situation. Many of Chiropterans noticed the nearby Hydralisks and charged at the them. They were met by an outstanding of spikes that tore through many of them. The surviving Chiropterans ripped a few arms before succumbing to the spikes and blades from the Hunter Killers, the victims of which quickly healed from their amputated status. Though this was an easy win, Kerrigan urged the Hydralisks to keep moving up to avoid an overwhelming force.
"Facility entrance located here," Abathur designated the target location, located one more floor above, where the Hunter Killers were about to reach. "Preparing Overlords for evacuation."
"Go, and destroy the outside defenders! Secure the area for our Overlords!"
The Hydralisks were already meters away from their exits, lightly guarded by eight soldiers. Unknown how futile it was, they opened fire on the escaping Zerg.
-----
Outside of the facility was also chaotic. They only heard that the situation inside the bunker was critical and needed containment. The soldiers were forced to work double time in preparing their parked vehicles and other defenses.
But they didn't have enough time, the troops near the door heard the gunfire inside the room and witnessed the bunker doors bursting open. The soldiers evaded the flying broken doors and got into cover. They fired through the entrance as the Hunter Killers emerged out of it.
The Zerg were unphased by the gunfire and ignored them, breaking to the left where the more open and unsecured area was. They noticed a few SAM launchers and guard towers, connected by walls of barbed wire. They focused on the anti-aircraft weapons as they exploded after a few shots. The guard towers were not important, but the ordinary and sniper rifle fire annoyed the Hydralisks, directing some of their spikes at the stems of the towers. The towers were then destabilized and collapsed onto the ground. Two other Hydralisks were obliterated by surprise from two Abrams tanks and two mounted Humvees. The Hydralisks flanked to the side to avoid the gunfire from the Humvees and sprayed more spike on all of the vehicles. The Humvees were clearly mass-produced combat vehicles, but they were still outclassed to the Terran vehicles the Zerg were up against. The same was said about the tanks, even though they took a lot more damage than the Humvees did. But all of them went in smoke and the Hunter Killers focused on their designated targets.
As the Zerg finished the SAMs, the other side was getting overwhelmed by emerging Chiropterans. Despite having the Corpse Corp to assist, there were too many to handle alone and many of the guards were wiped out. The Hunter Killers went around, flanking a tank and easily destroying it, and finished off their work by destroying two more anti-aircraft batteries.
By that time, the Overlords arrived from the sky to pick up the new Hydralisks.
"Facility broken. Zerg and Chiropterans escaped. Extracting Hunter Killers."
With the remaining defenders busy with the Chiropterans, Kerrigan withdrew from the site.
"Good. While doing so, get your next experiment ready."
-----
Coming Strain #2: Cyberlisk strain
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Hydralisk B- Cyberlisk
Now the next strain. I'll have another post for the poll on this one.
I don't own Starcraft or Vandread.
The Leviathan entered through another wormhole. Abathur warned Kerrigan to maintain even greater distance from this planet since it had far more developed capabilities. It was still a human world, a core human world actually, but it wasn't Earth. Instead, this was something that was quite...interesting.
"Planet Mejere. Home to space empire, composed of all-female terrans."
The two zoomed in on the extremely resource-rich planet, full of modern and crystal structures. It looked well-defended as several fleets of sleek and shiny ships remained in orbit. There were also few blocky ships, something the Terrans would develop just like how the Protoss may have made the shiny ones.
Kerrigan zoomed in on the planet, breaching the clouds and went into an underground research facility. It was circular in shape, but there was a blocky extension, about a few miles from the lab center. Once she breached the hull, she could see much of the personnel. A large number were females- armed with laser-based weaponry, but not well-equipped and even having stripped-up clothing. They vastly outnumbered the men, who were equipped with what looked like conventional projectile weapons and either armor or standard military uniforms. They were also in the nearby humanoid robots that inhabited the area as one pilot got out of its extremely small body. At least that was for the gunmetal colored ones, as the other were piloted by other females.
After seeing what they'll be dealing with Kerrigan searched the facility for the Zerg. She focused down to the lower levels, assuming they would have the holding cells. Indeed, there were on the third level below, with about seven Hydralisks inside.
"There are the hydralisks. But where's the essence?"
"Storage facility nearby. Contains potential essence."
Their vision changed to a set of automated drones at a nearby chamber. They were ripped to shreds, but Kerrigan could easily picture what they looked like. They were resembled sea creatures and were composed of cubes small cubes, potentially used to make other weapons if they are needed. A disgusting note was there being a few human arms inside the things.
"Harvester. Automated synthetic weapon, made by collaboration of smaller organisms. Collects organs. Resistant to light-based weaponry."
All that seemed enough for a useful strain to Kerrigan.
"Fine then, break the door open. Collect the biomaterial and then tear the lab apart!"
Monitoring the lab were a set of male supervisors and female personnel under their command. The most recognized one was a bald and mustached man who was the head Supervisor in charge.
All personnel, including the women identified their Supervisor as the Prime Minister for the all-male world of Tarak. At least he was the Prime Minister. Even after the miraculous savings of a hero from their world, who he identified to be the same Third-Class citizen he caught on the Ikazuchi, it still wasn't enough to keep him from demotion. And now, he's sent off as an exchange to supervise the new research facilities made by the combined forces of his world and the feminine world he hated.
There was more than enough of a reason for him to still hate them and that was simply culture. While he was from Tarak, he and his people had to make extreme use of every ounce of resources. While there was little time for entertainment, they had become efficient that put them on par against the women of Mejere. That already clashed with how Mejere did things, having so many resources yet wasting it all on personal, useless projects. Inefficient, wasteful and disgusting, the three best words a normal Tarak would say to maintain their hatred against the women.
And God and Grandpa know, he thought. How soft could our boys ever be if integration keeps up.
Nonetheless, the people were getting together, supported by other nearby star nations who rebelled against their Earth and Harvester enemies. Orders were also orders. They came from the two Grandparents, their accompanied councilors, and their world's people themselves.
To break this chain of humiliating thoughts, he looked to the women and Second-class citizens monitoring the security systems and test results.
"Any new information on these damn Harvesters? And what about those reptile things we've come across?"
One of the Second-class Taraks responded, "No new info on the Harvesters, Head Supervisor. But we've been focusing a lot of our attention on the snake-like creatures."
"I want to have detail to confirm that these things would not just go trashing around the streets of our world or the women if we released them. Even our Third-Class lackey hero and his pals from the Nirvana were very uneasy about encountering them. You better make their request to these specimen transferred count!"
"Yes, Head Supervisor. Based on our intel-"
He was interrupted when alarms were going off. There were signalling a security breach within the facility.
A woman security officer reported, "Head Supervisor! The snake-like specimens have just tore through their containment cell!"
"What!?"
The Hydralisks were already done ripping through the door to their cell. It might have looked shiny and even a projected shield to defend it, but its strength was nothing compared to the Hydralisks. They busted through the main doors and sent them far across the other wall. A few women guards who evaded the doors fired on the Zerg, using some kind of laser weapons from their rifles and even their rings. But due to their lack of armor, they were shredded apart easily by the Hydralisks' spikes. The Zerg exited their cell and by that time, Abathur marked a new objective.
"Additional hydralisk pens nearby. Must free."
Kerrigan could sense them, too, down the hallways. "Do it then, we won't have much time."
By that time, alarms were already going off. Numerous guards, totaling up to three squads or 21 troops, converged through on the three-way intersection. While two of the "squads" were the same ill-equipped women, the other were better-prepared men firing flashes of bullets at the specimens.
While the men were better protected, the women's weapons were a bigger problem. While the men's bullets got stuck on the Hydralisks skulls real easily, the women's lasers were a different story. Because they were lasers, they melted through skin and bones of the Hydralisks. Though they didn't know of it, enough shots were good enough to bring down two Hydralisks. A well-placed shot even killed another Hydralisk through the head.
But at that time, most of the security forces were already eliminated. Seeing the women as bigger threats for having weapons with possibility of killing them in one shot, they focused on fighting them first. When only a few of the female troops remained, they had more freedom to take on the men. It took a little longer, but the spikes were able to pierce through the male guards and bring them down after a few hits.
The remaining hydralisks went through the central hallway, noticing a few doors on the sides. With help from the other side, the Hydralisks tore through the containment doors and freed their fellow Zerg. When five more Hydralisks joining the group, they could sense another door. Additionally, the center and middle hallways were part of a closed loop, so they continued down the center hallway and took a left. They could see it was a triangle when they made a sharp turn. Two male guards were caught by surprise and attacked in the back. Two others witnessed them earlier and fired back, but with little effect. When all the guards were down, four Hydralisks already broke through the door and joined the party.
While the Zerg continued to their next destination, Kerrigan overhead chatter coming from the apparent general staff.
"Head Supervisor! All the specimens in Room 3-B have broke free! All the guards have been killed and they're about to reach the storage facility!"
"Do not panic, damn ladies! Release the gas and deploy the Vanguards! Do not let any of those things escape!"
Kerrigan repeated to Abathur, observing the gas being showered into the underground room. "They're trying to gas our forces."
"Storage facility close. Once collected, will adapt to incapacitation chemicals."
The Hydralisks were already out of the triangular pathway and down the right hallway. The gas did exactly reach the hydralisks, but they've already covered the top quarter of the room, so there really wasn't much time.
The party of Hydralisks took a right turn, which looked like the storage facility. That's because it was well guarded: two of the same one-eyed robots observed from before, dubbed the Vanguards- one with an ax and another a halberd- a number of male and female guards, and a small couple of hovering drones.
The Hydralisks focused on the foot soldiers first, as the robots didn't have anything close to ranged weaponry and in case they adapted to using laser weapons more. It was bothersome since the robots were in the way, but that also meant they were in the way of their allies. The Hydralisks used this time, to shoot spikes at the legs of the women, who immediately fell down after the impact of few successful shots. That still didn't mean their enemy couldn't retaliate; some women were still able fire behind their allies and a few fired their rings before going down. About three Hydralisks were taken out and a fourth was about to fall.
While much of foot soldiers were down, the robots were already in close proximity. The halberd-wielding Vanguard was destroyed following the crossfire between the guards and the Hydralisks. The ax-wielding one approached more successfully and mashed on a Hydralisk's skull. The sentry bots tried electrocuting two Hydralisks, but they were already used to the voltage and it merely annoyed them. Before the bots could use a higher voltage, they were smashed easily by their intended targets. The last Vanguard continued to smash it way through the Hydralisks, killing two more as a result, but it was overwhelmed. The last of it were thrown limbs and the eventual explosion of the torso.
With the mechanical forces eliminated, the Hydralisks cleared up the rest of the stragglers, namely the male foot soldiers still standing. When the overhead gas came close to clouding a normal person's view, they worked quickly to get the wide door open. Using the gaps to rip open the door, they and the gas flooded into the room where the objective specimens were.
"Storage facility reached. Assimilating Harvesters into Hydralisks."
"Make this creation quick, Abathur. There are enemy forces incoming!"
Kerrigan could sense them as the gas chambers stopped. A large number of guards, including more Vanguards and sentry bots, were readying behind the opposite door of the storage facility.
But that wasn't on her mind a moment later.
"I'm sensing something…also Zerg," And it was close. Still down a long hallway, but close. It was the size of a Zerg Ultralisk; it was an Ultralisk as she discovered, but there were large containers surrounding it.
"Zerg Ultralisk, stored in area with large quantities of bio-matter. Enough to transform Ultralisk into Omegalisk."
"An Omegalisk!?" Kerrigan demanded Abathur to explain why he'd have material to create such a beast, seeing how immense and destructive it could be in the face of one's own forces.
But as she saw, the place was extremely guarded as Abathur gave the same reasoning.
"Mejere is core world of all-female terrans. Massive fleet in orbit, heavy security on ground. Diversionary tactics must suffice. Create Omegalisk, divert all attention by hostile forces, secure route for new Hydralisk strain."
"Fine then. But after we take care of these forces."
In the meantime, the Hydralisks already absorbed whatever useful they could find and emerge from the cocoons. This time, they had dark magenta colors and a more...robotic look to them.
"Assimilation successful, creation of Cyberlisk strain."
By that time, the nearby guards were already taking position. A number of foot soldiers were crouching behind metal boxes and crates. A few more, namely the female guards hid behind the hallway corners and peeked their guns at the door. A few others just stood by the Vanguards that stood in front of the troops. All forces readied their weapons as the door in front of them started to bust open.
Once the crack of the door tore up a huge hole, the guards immediately opened fire through the hole. The three Vanguards advanced to the door some soldiers hiding behind the legs. Using their weapons- a crowbar, a sickle and a hatchet- to rip the hole up even more, the mecha gave the troops more room to fire through.
But unknown to them was that the Hydralisks, now named the Cyberlisks, were nowhere at the hole. They were actually by the corners of the door, watching the trials of bullets and lasers hitting only the consumed Harvester wreckages and shelves in the storage area. After about a five-second pause, the Cyberlisks launched their own attacks as Abathur briefed.
"Cyberlisk, attacks able to fly around corners, seek nearby targets. Targets three different enemies per spray."
About four Cyberlisks launched their spikes. But unlike those that immediately went to supersonic speeds, these ones were slow at first. Once they reached the hole in the door, they made a sharp turn as some sort of sensor detected the Tarak guards hiding behind the Vanguards. Searching vital hit points, the twelve spikes went their usual speed, quickly striking their targets like bullets.
With all the support foot soldiers down, the three Vanguards jerked to see the dead men in confusion. The other foot soldiers behind them also froze and took cover when they saw their comrades knocked down all at once. The Vanguards snapped out of it and tore through the hole more until it was big enough for one of them to fit in. But before they could move in, a number of spikes came through the doorway with each Cyberlisk targeting all three Vanguards. The storm of spikes shredded through the mecha as they exploded, scaring the other guards back into cover.
The Cyberlisks then converged into one group and advanced out of the hole. Sounds of their approach, namely touching the wreckage of the Vanguards, signaled the other troops of their emergence. They broke out of cover and fired at the Cyberlisks, unaware that their new enemies were now resistant to the women's lasers. The weapons that were troubling to the Zerg were now being absorbed or reflected like LEDs.
But that was less on their mind as were the Cyberlisks' counterattacks. While some soldiers in the alley were hit, they noticed many spikes passing them. The spikes repeated what they did on the first set of troops, bending the corner and hitting the hiding soldiers. Some of the women that restored to only stick their out were hit anyway by the angling spikes.
"How the hell are they doing that!?" One of the female guards noticed and shouted before getting hit by a spike as well.
With about all the troops hiding behind the corners wiped out, the troops in the alleyway stuck out all way. The males of merely charged into the pack of Cyberlisks while concentrating on a certain few. While they managed to riddle one of the Cyberlisks, they easily fell to the spikes aimed at them.
"The creatures have exited the storage area! Release the gas in the area!"
Kerrigan heard telepathically from the Head Supervisor as the Cyberlisks advanced through the alley. She noticed sentry bots coming from two more intersections with a number of male guards. She could also sense the bots having some sort of electric equipment, possibly for stunning the creatures.
But between the them and the gas now descending into the room, Abathur was unphased by their initiated protocols.
"Cyberlisk structure reflects machinery. Has switches between biological and mechanical attributes. Immune to anti-biological attacks, namely chemical and electric weapons." Abathur calmly explained the counters before adding, "Additionally, can hasten regeneration with healing or repair equipment."
Kerrigan was less interested in the bonus feature, but was instead observe the primary function in action. When the intersecting forces attacked the Cyberlisks on the sides, they initially caught by surprise. The sentry bots advanced to the Zerg, remaining close to the walls in case they turned to fire back. The Cyberlisks were easily distracted by the Taraks' gunfire as the bots came up with electric attacks, specifically made to stun the creatures.
However, they were met with the sudden occurrence of the Cyberlisks absorbing their attacks, conducting the electricity within their bodies.
One of the bots took note, speaking similar to a Protoss Sentry bot, "Escaped specimen unhindered. Stun attacks useless against target. Switching to kill mode, increasing voltage."
They never got the the chance as the Cyberlisks tore through the small machines. Some of the scraps landed some of the badly damaged Zerg.
Currently subtle to their opposition, the Cyberlisks' skins absorbed the contacting scraps. The wounds were starting close while their opposing soldiers were unaware. Whatever damage they took, the Zerg healed thanks to the landing remains of the destroyed robots.
This wasn't the only time they were healing; one of the Tarak guards barbarically charged with a bayoneted rifle. He was able to stab the Cyberlisk a few times despite its semi-metallic state, but it continued to move fine. He was stabbed by the Cyberlisk's arms and was screaming out as it ripped him into pieces. A large section of his torso remained stuck on its arms and at the horror of his comrades, it absorbed the pieces, closing all the inflicted wounds.
While the remaining guards futilely fought to the death, Abathur summarized the horrific ability adapted by the Harvesters.
"Cyberlisk assimilates metals and living tissues to regenerate. Works only in melee combat."
The pack of Cyberlisks then broke left as Kerrigan located the dinosaur-like stag beetle known as the Ultralisk. Even with the gas covering the area, it wasn't hard for the Cyberlisks to see it wasn't opaque enough. As the Cyberlisks proceeded to tear apart the door, Kerrigan could hear more chatter from the control room.
"The creatures are breaking into the nearby cell! Shouldn't the gas have affected them yet!?"
"It looks like they just adapted to our chemicals as well, Head Supervisor! It looks like they...assimilated traits from the Harvesters! We're merely gassing our own forces!"
"Deploy all available Vanguards then! Exterminate those creatures now! Or both of your Grandparents will take your heads!"
The Cyberlisks finished ripping through the door to the Ultralisk's prison cell. Kerrigan also noticed four large containers nearby, up slanted ramps that went down to the Ultralisk.
"Once opened, huge containers will spill biomatter to Ultralisk," Abathur stated. "Ultralisk will then consume, transform."
Obviously, the place wasn't left undefended as Kerrigan sensed about eight of Tarak's primary machines coming from massive vents above.
"Vanguards inbound! Take them out and then focus on opening the containers!"
"What are these ugly things?" a female called out as the Vanguards came down, four of them with shiny painted colors instead of the standard gunmetal ones. Though they haven't seen the exact carnage, they confirmed their enemy and quickly struck the Cyberlisks.
The first entering Cyberlisks were mauled to death by the first two descending Vanguards while the other Zerg retaliated with their spikes. Three Vanguards that landed remotely from the Cyberlisks were caught by the homing spikes; one limped while the others crashed down onto the floor. The other Vanguards landed safely and followed leading ones against the Zerg.
The Vanguard group attempted to charge into a melee with four of the Cyberlisks as the others supported with spikes. Two Vanguards were immediately destroyed, right after one successfully cut through a Cyberlisk's arm. Another Vanguard closed in to attack the wounded Cyberlisk, but despite the evasion, it was knocked off balance by the spikes. The injured Zerg used its other arm to cut into its next challenger. As the mechanical arm of the Vanguard was ripped away, the Cyberlisk contacted with its wounded arm. While the nearby Vanguard was destroyed, it ripped armed began integrating into the wounded Cyberlisk, completely regenerating it like new.
"You see that!?" a woman's voice cried out in shock. "That thing just look the Vanguard's arm and made it its own!"
"They're using our own machines to repair themselves? Just like the Harvesters!?" a male pilot spoke. He was cut off when a number of spikes tore through his Vanguard.
The remaining mechanical defenders were eliminated easily by the rain of spikes from the new Hydralisk strain's three-target attacks. The Cyberlisks then proceeded to the center of the room, releasing the Ultralisk from its chains and aiming for the locks on the crates to release the biomatter. A few more guards entered the room to engage the Ultralisk and Cyberlisks, but they were easily struck down.
The biomatter, mostly made of meat or now dead creatures plummeted down where the ultralisk started consuming them. After a while, the Ultralisk began wrapping itself into a cocoon, biomatter still being consumed from developing orifices. The Cyberlisks eliminated two more Vanguards and a few remaining guards before backing away from the ever growing cocoon.
"The Omegalisk will awaken any moment now! Clear the area and get overlords down there now!" Kerrigan warned as the cocoon grew well beyond its proportion.
The Cyberlisks exited the room to a safe place away from what looked like a massive tunnel the Omegalisk might go through. And the Head Supervisor and the crew watched through as screen as the creature inside began burst out.
Planet Mejere, City streets…
While the aesthetic streets were bustling with people, notably women who inhabited the planet, the male visitors were out trying to do their own business.
One of the male visitors was not like the others as he was not from Tarak. As a matter of fact, he was more of a merchant, arguing with one of the female traders. He was trying to sell something unique to his inventory, specifically intimate wear from another world. A orangutan was beside like him like a pet, but didn't act like one as it kept biting on the trader's leg. He spent much of the time trying to endure the pain while also trying to uphold the stress with his intended buyer.
"Come on! It's good quality! The women sure can both beautiful quality at times like this!"
"Sorry, Rabat. The women here don't take this kind of crap. Nor do they take guys like you, regardless whether or not you're from Tarak. I'm sure your little Butan orangutan friend agrees the same."
"Even after the Harvesters, Mejere still has it's-"
Rabat's grumbling was interrupted when rumbling occurred. It wasn't a natural rumbling either; the ground felt a very strong shock at even intervals and it got stronger every time. Not many people came close to losing balance just yet, but it attracted everyone, even those in ground vehicles.
Rabat and Butan jerked around to find where the shaking was coming from. After a few steps and few more miniature quakes, he assumed it was coming from some kind of facility about a block away from behind. It looked governmental or military since there was a heavy security door at the front, covering most of it. His suspicions were mostly confirmed were the gate itself was shaking and bustling open.
As soon as the gate was well open, both Tarak and Mejere soldiers were bursting out of it. Some of the men who came out did one last turn around to fire some shots before hightailing again. The women, on the other hand, were completely terrified. Rabat could see one of them crying out.
"They didn't reward me enough for this!"
"Screw the reward! I never signed up for this at all!"
She and a Tarak male were fleeing with the others as if it were for their lives. And it was dangerously close as Rabat and his pet could feel the shakes getting stronger. He made a slow turn around and…
The ground erupted, about a block away from where they were looking. It was as if the whole street and the nearby building exploded violently without any warning, causing many vehicles not even near the place to panic and crash. And it was more than rocks and smoke bursting out; the hole was got sides of the nearby city blocks, launching huge chunks of the shiny and crystalline buildings into the air. Multiple chunks even hit a few vehicles overhead and nearby buildings that caused even more damage. The people that were at the eruption quickly vanished while those nearby were either crushed by the destruction or fled. Those who fled were the same soldiers that continued to fultily shoot before running again.
And what they were firing at came up as massive feet came up from the hole. A large left foot rose from the fissure and landed on the ground with the force of an earthquake. Rabat, his orangutan and the nearby civilians were forced to the ground. The only thing he could see after retaining balance was something coming from the air.
"OOOHHH SSHHHI--"
Inevitable as there was no safe distance from it, the traders were crushed by the Omegalisk's massive front right foot. As it finished crawling out of its hole, more debris were pushed to the sides at bullet speed, smashing through the walls of the nearby buildings. It brought out its immense blades and charged, knocking down its feet even more skyscrapers while crushing the much smaller buildings underneath .
The side buildings were easily cut as the many levels above slowly leaned. One pair smashed into each other before they fell to the sides. One of those like the rest of the other buildings begun hitting the others like dominoes. The Omegalisk was hit by one of the falling buildings only to shrug it off easily.
The people panicked even more as they were running from the beast, described to be a large eight or nine whole city blocks. Sounds of sirens and chatter skyrocketed exponentially a the nearby Vanguards and security forces tried fighting the nigh-unstoppable ground Zerg with no avail. Even with some bombardment from the air and space, nothing worked; the immense Zerg continued smashing through everything on the all-female world.
As the Omegalisk rampaged on the planet, Kerrigan order the Cyberlisks to sneak away. She zoomed out and observed the planet's defenders converging onto the Omegalisk's location.
"Diversion effective. All defending forces concentrating on Omegalisk. Cyberlisk now clear for extraction."
"Time to bring them to the evolution pit."
Reviewing strains:
* Hunter Killer strain: Studying D-base of Chiropterans. Used for quick regeneration, speed, strength, and disguise. Chiropterans and Corpse Corps counterpart also capable of firing needles. Most traits fitting for Hydralisks, suitable for Hunter Killer strain.
Hunter Killer attacks now have area of effect. Needles replenish quickly, allow higher rate of fire. Body regenerates quickly when outside of battle, ensures great survivability.
* Cyberlisk strain: Automated synthetic weapons collected from Tarak-Mejere laboratories. Harvester, composed of part-robotic, part-organic cubes. Originally designed for combat, organ collection. Can use former to reconfigure Hydralisk and spikes, create semi-robotic organisms, counter anti-biological weaponry. Can adapt latter for assimilating useful substances and tissue.
Cyberlisk spikes now semi-automated and homing, can now hit up to three enemies per spray, regardless of distance from one another. Body immune to anti-biological and anti-mechanical weaponry, can be repaired as mechanical unit. Uses melee attacks for quick regeneration, any hostile will do. Reconfigured body also changed into armored unit, refractory against laser-based weapons. Cost acceptable for now.
Sequences ready for integration. Await decision.
I don't own Starcraft or Vandread.
The Leviathan entered through another wormhole. Abathur warned Kerrigan to maintain even greater distance from this planet since it had far more developed capabilities. It was still a human world, a core human world actually, but it wasn't Earth. Instead, this was something that was quite...interesting.
"Planet Mejere. Home to space empire, composed of all-female terrans."
The two zoomed in on the extremely resource-rich planet, full of modern and crystal structures. It looked well-defended as several fleets of sleek and shiny ships remained in orbit. There were also few blocky ships, something the Terrans would develop just like how the Protoss may have made the shiny ones.
Kerrigan zoomed in on the planet, breaching the clouds and went into an underground research facility. It was circular in shape, but there was a blocky extension, about a few miles from the lab center. Once she breached the hull, she could see much of the personnel. A large number were females- armed with laser-based weaponry, but not well-equipped and even having stripped-up clothing. They vastly outnumbered the men, who were equipped with what looked like conventional projectile weapons and either armor or standard military uniforms. They were also in the nearby humanoid robots that inhabited the area as one pilot got out of its extremely small body. At least that was for the gunmetal colored ones, as the other were piloted by other females.
After seeing what they'll be dealing with Kerrigan searched the facility for the Zerg. She focused down to the lower levels, assuming they would have the holding cells. Indeed, there were on the third level below, with about seven Hydralisks inside.
"There are the hydralisks. But where's the essence?"
"Storage facility nearby. Contains potential essence."
Their vision changed to a set of automated drones at a nearby chamber. They were ripped to shreds, but Kerrigan could easily picture what they looked like. They were resembled sea creatures and were composed of cubes small cubes, potentially used to make other weapons if they are needed. A disgusting note was there being a few human arms inside the things.
"Harvester. Automated synthetic weapon, made by collaboration of smaller organisms. Collects organs. Resistant to light-based weaponry."
All that seemed enough for a useful strain to Kerrigan.
"Fine then, break the door open. Collect the biomaterial and then tear the lab apart!"
Monitoring the lab were a set of male supervisors and female personnel under their command. The most recognized one was a bald and mustached man who was the head Supervisor in charge.
All personnel, including the women identified their Supervisor as the Prime Minister for the all-male world of Tarak. At least he was the Prime Minister. Even after the miraculous savings of a hero from their world, who he identified to be the same Third-Class citizen he caught on the Ikazuchi, it still wasn't enough to keep him from demotion. And now, he's sent off as an exchange to supervise the new research facilities made by the combined forces of his world and the feminine world he hated.
There was more than enough of a reason for him to still hate them and that was simply culture. While he was from Tarak, he and his people had to make extreme use of every ounce of resources. While there was little time for entertainment, they had become efficient that put them on par against the women of Mejere. That already clashed with how Mejere did things, having so many resources yet wasting it all on personal, useless projects. Inefficient, wasteful and disgusting, the three best words a normal Tarak would say to maintain their hatred against the women.
And God and Grandpa know, he thought. How soft could our boys ever be if integration keeps up.
Nonetheless, the people were getting together, supported by other nearby star nations who rebelled against their Earth and Harvester enemies. Orders were also orders. They came from the two Grandparents, their accompanied councilors, and their world's people themselves.
To break this chain of humiliating thoughts, he looked to the women and Second-class citizens monitoring the security systems and test results.
"Any new information on these damn Harvesters? And what about those reptile things we've come across?"
One of the Second-class Taraks responded, "No new info on the Harvesters, Head Supervisor. But we've been focusing a lot of our attention on the snake-like creatures."
"I want to have detail to confirm that these things would not just go trashing around the streets of our world or the women if we released them. Even our Third-Class lackey hero and his pals from the Nirvana were very uneasy about encountering them. You better make their request to these specimen transferred count!"
"Yes, Head Supervisor. Based on our intel-"
He was interrupted when alarms were going off. There were signalling a security breach within the facility.
A woman security officer reported, "Head Supervisor! The snake-like specimens have just tore through their containment cell!"
"What!?"
The Hydralisks were already done ripping through the door to their cell. It might have looked shiny and even a projected shield to defend it, but its strength was nothing compared to the Hydralisks. They busted through the main doors and sent them far across the other wall. A few women guards who evaded the doors fired on the Zerg, using some kind of laser weapons from their rifles and even their rings. But due to their lack of armor, they were shredded apart easily by the Hydralisks' spikes. The Zerg exited their cell and by that time, Abathur marked a new objective.
"Additional hydralisk pens nearby. Must free."
Kerrigan could sense them, too, down the hallways. "Do it then, we won't have much time."
By that time, alarms were already going off. Numerous guards, totaling up to three squads or 21 troops, converged through on the three-way intersection. While two of the "squads" were the same ill-equipped women, the other were better-prepared men firing flashes of bullets at the specimens.
While the men were better protected, the women's weapons were a bigger problem. While the men's bullets got stuck on the Hydralisks skulls real easily, the women's lasers were a different story. Because they were lasers, they melted through skin and bones of the Hydralisks. Though they didn't know of it, enough shots were good enough to bring down two Hydralisks. A well-placed shot even killed another Hydralisk through the head.
But at that time, most of the security forces were already eliminated. Seeing the women as bigger threats for having weapons with possibility of killing them in one shot, they focused on fighting them first. When only a few of the female troops remained, they had more freedom to take on the men. It took a little longer, but the spikes were able to pierce through the male guards and bring them down after a few hits.
The remaining hydralisks went through the central hallway, noticing a few doors on the sides. With help from the other side, the Hydralisks tore through the containment doors and freed their fellow Zerg. When five more Hydralisks joining the group, they could sense another door. Additionally, the center and middle hallways were part of a closed loop, so they continued down the center hallway and took a left. They could see it was a triangle when they made a sharp turn. Two male guards were caught by surprise and attacked in the back. Two others witnessed them earlier and fired back, but with little effect. When all the guards were down, four Hydralisks already broke through the door and joined the party.
While the Zerg continued to their next destination, Kerrigan overhead chatter coming from the apparent general staff.
"Head Supervisor! All the specimens in Room 3-B have broke free! All the guards have been killed and they're about to reach the storage facility!"
"Do not panic, damn ladies! Release the gas and deploy the Vanguards! Do not let any of those things escape!"
Kerrigan repeated to Abathur, observing the gas being showered into the underground room. "They're trying to gas our forces."
"Storage facility close. Once collected, will adapt to incapacitation chemicals."
The Hydralisks were already out of the triangular pathway and down the right hallway. The gas did exactly reach the hydralisks, but they've already covered the top quarter of the room, so there really wasn't much time.
The party of Hydralisks took a right turn, which looked like the storage facility. That's because it was well guarded: two of the same one-eyed robots observed from before, dubbed the Vanguards- one with an ax and another a halberd- a number of male and female guards, and a small couple of hovering drones.
The Hydralisks focused on the foot soldiers first, as the robots didn't have anything close to ranged weaponry and in case they adapted to using laser weapons more. It was bothersome since the robots were in the way, but that also meant they were in the way of their allies. The Hydralisks used this time, to shoot spikes at the legs of the women, who immediately fell down after the impact of few successful shots. That still didn't mean their enemy couldn't retaliate; some women were still able fire behind their allies and a few fired their rings before going down. About three Hydralisks were taken out and a fourth was about to fall.
While much of foot soldiers were down, the robots were already in close proximity. The halberd-wielding Vanguard was destroyed following the crossfire between the guards and the Hydralisks. The ax-wielding one approached more successfully and mashed on a Hydralisk's skull. The sentry bots tried electrocuting two Hydralisks, but they were already used to the voltage and it merely annoyed them. Before the bots could use a higher voltage, they were smashed easily by their intended targets. The last Vanguard continued to smash it way through the Hydralisks, killing two more as a result, but it was overwhelmed. The last of it were thrown limbs and the eventual explosion of the torso.
With the mechanical forces eliminated, the Hydralisks cleared up the rest of the stragglers, namely the male foot soldiers still standing. When the overhead gas came close to clouding a normal person's view, they worked quickly to get the wide door open. Using the gaps to rip open the door, they and the gas flooded into the room where the objective specimens were.
"Storage facility reached. Assimilating Harvesters into Hydralisks."
"Make this creation quick, Abathur. There are enemy forces incoming!"
Kerrigan could sense them as the gas chambers stopped. A large number of guards, including more Vanguards and sentry bots, were readying behind the opposite door of the storage facility.
But that wasn't on her mind a moment later.
"I'm sensing something…also Zerg," And it was close. Still down a long hallway, but close. It was the size of a Zerg Ultralisk; it was an Ultralisk as she discovered, but there were large containers surrounding it.
"Zerg Ultralisk, stored in area with large quantities of bio-matter. Enough to transform Ultralisk into Omegalisk."
"An Omegalisk!?" Kerrigan demanded Abathur to explain why he'd have material to create such a beast, seeing how immense and destructive it could be in the face of one's own forces.
But as she saw, the place was extremely guarded as Abathur gave the same reasoning.
"Mejere is core world of all-female terrans. Massive fleet in orbit, heavy security on ground. Diversionary tactics must suffice. Create Omegalisk, divert all attention by hostile forces, secure route for new Hydralisk strain."
"Fine then. But after we take care of these forces."
In the meantime, the Hydralisks already absorbed whatever useful they could find and emerge from the cocoons. This time, they had dark magenta colors and a more...robotic look to them.
"Assimilation successful, creation of Cyberlisk strain."
By that time, the nearby guards were already taking position. A number of foot soldiers were crouching behind metal boxes and crates. A few more, namely the female guards hid behind the hallway corners and peeked their guns at the door. A few others just stood by the Vanguards that stood in front of the troops. All forces readied their weapons as the door in front of them started to bust open.
Once the crack of the door tore up a huge hole, the guards immediately opened fire through the hole. The three Vanguards advanced to the door some soldiers hiding behind the legs. Using their weapons- a crowbar, a sickle and a hatchet- to rip the hole up even more, the mecha gave the troops more room to fire through.
But unknown to them was that the Hydralisks, now named the Cyberlisks, were nowhere at the hole. They were actually by the corners of the door, watching the trials of bullets and lasers hitting only the consumed Harvester wreckages and shelves in the storage area. After about a five-second pause, the Cyberlisks launched their own attacks as Abathur briefed.
"Cyberlisk, attacks able to fly around corners, seek nearby targets. Targets three different enemies per spray."
About four Cyberlisks launched their spikes. But unlike those that immediately went to supersonic speeds, these ones were slow at first. Once they reached the hole in the door, they made a sharp turn as some sort of sensor detected the Tarak guards hiding behind the Vanguards. Searching vital hit points, the twelve spikes went their usual speed, quickly striking their targets like bullets.
With all the support foot soldiers down, the three Vanguards jerked to see the dead men in confusion. The other foot soldiers behind them also froze and took cover when they saw their comrades knocked down all at once. The Vanguards snapped out of it and tore through the hole more until it was big enough for one of them to fit in. But before they could move in, a number of spikes came through the doorway with each Cyberlisk targeting all three Vanguards. The storm of spikes shredded through the mecha as they exploded, scaring the other guards back into cover.
The Cyberlisks then converged into one group and advanced out of the hole. Sounds of their approach, namely touching the wreckage of the Vanguards, signaled the other troops of their emergence. They broke out of cover and fired at the Cyberlisks, unaware that their new enemies were now resistant to the women's lasers. The weapons that were troubling to the Zerg were now being absorbed or reflected like LEDs.
But that was less on their mind as were the Cyberlisks' counterattacks. While some soldiers in the alley were hit, they noticed many spikes passing them. The spikes repeated what they did on the first set of troops, bending the corner and hitting the hiding soldiers. Some of the women that restored to only stick their out were hit anyway by the angling spikes.
"How the hell are they doing that!?" One of the female guards noticed and shouted before getting hit by a spike as well.
With about all the troops hiding behind the corners wiped out, the troops in the alleyway stuck out all way. The males of merely charged into the pack of Cyberlisks while concentrating on a certain few. While they managed to riddle one of the Cyberlisks, they easily fell to the spikes aimed at them.
"The creatures have exited the storage area! Release the gas in the area!"
Kerrigan heard telepathically from the Head Supervisor as the Cyberlisks advanced through the alley. She noticed sentry bots coming from two more intersections with a number of male guards. She could also sense the bots having some sort of electric equipment, possibly for stunning the creatures.
But between the them and the gas now descending into the room, Abathur was unphased by their initiated protocols.
"Cyberlisk structure reflects machinery. Has switches between biological and mechanical attributes. Immune to anti-biological attacks, namely chemical and electric weapons." Abathur calmly explained the counters before adding, "Additionally, can hasten regeneration with healing or repair equipment."
Kerrigan was less interested in the bonus feature, but was instead observe the primary function in action. When the intersecting forces attacked the Cyberlisks on the sides, they initially caught by surprise. The sentry bots advanced to the Zerg, remaining close to the walls in case they turned to fire back. The Cyberlisks were easily distracted by the Taraks' gunfire as the bots came up with electric attacks, specifically made to stun the creatures.
However, they were met with the sudden occurrence of the Cyberlisks absorbing their attacks, conducting the electricity within their bodies.
One of the bots took note, speaking similar to a Protoss Sentry bot, "Escaped specimen unhindered. Stun attacks useless against target. Switching to kill mode, increasing voltage."
They never got the the chance as the Cyberlisks tore through the small machines. Some of the scraps landed some of the badly damaged Zerg.
Currently subtle to their opposition, the Cyberlisks' skins absorbed the contacting scraps. The wounds were starting close while their opposing soldiers were unaware. Whatever damage they took, the Zerg healed thanks to the landing remains of the destroyed robots.
This wasn't the only time they were healing; one of the Tarak guards barbarically charged with a bayoneted rifle. He was able to stab the Cyberlisk a few times despite its semi-metallic state, but it continued to move fine. He was stabbed by the Cyberlisk's arms and was screaming out as it ripped him into pieces. A large section of his torso remained stuck on its arms and at the horror of his comrades, it absorbed the pieces, closing all the inflicted wounds.
While the remaining guards futilely fought to the death, Abathur summarized the horrific ability adapted by the Harvesters.
"Cyberlisk assimilates metals and living tissues to regenerate. Works only in melee combat."
The pack of Cyberlisks then broke left as Kerrigan located the dinosaur-like stag beetle known as the Ultralisk. Even with the gas covering the area, it wasn't hard for the Cyberlisks to see it wasn't opaque enough. As the Cyberlisks proceeded to tear apart the door, Kerrigan could hear more chatter from the control room.
"The creatures are breaking into the nearby cell! Shouldn't the gas have affected them yet!?"
"It looks like they just adapted to our chemicals as well, Head Supervisor! It looks like they...assimilated traits from the Harvesters! We're merely gassing our own forces!"
"Deploy all available Vanguards then! Exterminate those creatures now! Or both of your Grandparents will take your heads!"
The Cyberlisks finished ripping through the door to the Ultralisk's prison cell. Kerrigan also noticed four large containers nearby, up slanted ramps that went down to the Ultralisk.
"Once opened, huge containers will spill biomatter to Ultralisk," Abathur stated. "Ultralisk will then consume, transform."
Obviously, the place wasn't left undefended as Kerrigan sensed about eight of Tarak's primary machines coming from massive vents above.
"Vanguards inbound! Take them out and then focus on opening the containers!"
"What are these ugly things?" a female called out as the Vanguards came down, four of them with shiny painted colors instead of the standard gunmetal ones. Though they haven't seen the exact carnage, they confirmed their enemy and quickly struck the Cyberlisks.
The first entering Cyberlisks were mauled to death by the first two descending Vanguards while the other Zerg retaliated with their spikes. Three Vanguards that landed remotely from the Cyberlisks were caught by the homing spikes; one limped while the others crashed down onto the floor. The other Vanguards landed safely and followed leading ones against the Zerg.
The Vanguard group attempted to charge into a melee with four of the Cyberlisks as the others supported with spikes. Two Vanguards were immediately destroyed, right after one successfully cut through a Cyberlisk's arm. Another Vanguard closed in to attack the wounded Cyberlisk, but despite the evasion, it was knocked off balance by the spikes. The injured Zerg used its other arm to cut into its next challenger. As the mechanical arm of the Vanguard was ripped away, the Cyberlisk contacted with its wounded arm. While the nearby Vanguard was destroyed, it ripped armed began integrating into the wounded Cyberlisk, completely regenerating it like new.
"You see that!?" a woman's voice cried out in shock. "That thing just look the Vanguard's arm and made it its own!"
"They're using our own machines to repair themselves? Just like the Harvesters!?" a male pilot spoke. He was cut off when a number of spikes tore through his Vanguard.
The remaining mechanical defenders were eliminated easily by the rain of spikes from the new Hydralisk strain's three-target attacks. The Cyberlisks then proceeded to the center of the room, releasing the Ultralisk from its chains and aiming for the locks on the crates to release the biomatter. A few more guards entered the room to engage the Ultralisk and Cyberlisks, but they were easily struck down.
The biomatter, mostly made of meat or now dead creatures plummeted down where the ultralisk started consuming them. After a while, the Ultralisk began wrapping itself into a cocoon, biomatter still being consumed from developing orifices. The Cyberlisks eliminated two more Vanguards and a few remaining guards before backing away from the ever growing cocoon.
"The Omegalisk will awaken any moment now! Clear the area and get overlords down there now!" Kerrigan warned as the cocoon grew well beyond its proportion.
The Cyberlisks exited the room to a safe place away from what looked like a massive tunnel the Omegalisk might go through. And the Head Supervisor and the crew watched through as screen as the creature inside began burst out.
Planet Mejere, City streets…
While the aesthetic streets were bustling with people, notably women who inhabited the planet, the male visitors were out trying to do their own business.
One of the male visitors was not like the others as he was not from Tarak. As a matter of fact, he was more of a merchant, arguing with one of the female traders. He was trying to sell something unique to his inventory, specifically intimate wear from another world. A orangutan was beside like him like a pet, but didn't act like one as it kept biting on the trader's leg. He spent much of the time trying to endure the pain while also trying to uphold the stress with his intended buyer.
"Come on! It's good quality! The women sure can both beautiful quality at times like this!"
"Sorry, Rabat. The women here don't take this kind of crap. Nor do they take guys like you, regardless whether or not you're from Tarak. I'm sure your little Butan orangutan friend agrees the same."
"Even after the Harvesters, Mejere still has it's-"
Rabat's grumbling was interrupted when rumbling occurred. It wasn't a natural rumbling either; the ground felt a very strong shock at even intervals and it got stronger every time. Not many people came close to losing balance just yet, but it attracted everyone, even those in ground vehicles.
Rabat and Butan jerked around to find where the shaking was coming from. After a few steps and few more miniature quakes, he assumed it was coming from some kind of facility about a block away from behind. It looked governmental or military since there was a heavy security door at the front, covering most of it. His suspicions were mostly confirmed were the gate itself was shaking and bustling open.
As soon as the gate was well open, both Tarak and Mejere soldiers were bursting out of it. Some of the men who came out did one last turn around to fire some shots before hightailing again. The women, on the other hand, were completely terrified. Rabat could see one of them crying out.
"They didn't reward me enough for this!"
"Screw the reward! I never signed up for this at all!"
She and a Tarak male were fleeing with the others as if it were for their lives. And it was dangerously close as Rabat and his pet could feel the shakes getting stronger. He made a slow turn around and…
The ground erupted, about a block away from where they were looking. It was as if the whole street and the nearby building exploded violently without any warning, causing many vehicles not even near the place to panic and crash. And it was more than rocks and smoke bursting out; the hole was got sides of the nearby city blocks, launching huge chunks of the shiny and crystalline buildings into the air. Multiple chunks even hit a few vehicles overhead and nearby buildings that caused even more damage. The people that were at the eruption quickly vanished while those nearby were either crushed by the destruction or fled. Those who fled were the same soldiers that continued to fultily shoot before running again.
And what they were firing at came up as massive feet came up from the hole. A large left foot rose from the fissure and landed on the ground with the force of an earthquake. Rabat, his orangutan and the nearby civilians were forced to the ground. The only thing he could see after retaining balance was something coming from the air.
"OOOHHH SSHHHI--"
Inevitable as there was no safe distance from it, the traders were crushed by the Omegalisk's massive front right foot. As it finished crawling out of its hole, more debris were pushed to the sides at bullet speed, smashing through the walls of the nearby buildings. It brought out its immense blades and charged, knocking down its feet even more skyscrapers while crushing the much smaller buildings underneath .
The side buildings were easily cut as the many levels above slowly leaned. One pair smashed into each other before they fell to the sides. One of those like the rest of the other buildings begun hitting the others like dominoes. The Omegalisk was hit by one of the falling buildings only to shrug it off easily.
The people panicked even more as they were running from the beast, described to be a large eight or nine whole city blocks. Sounds of sirens and chatter skyrocketed exponentially a the nearby Vanguards and security forces tried fighting the nigh-unstoppable ground Zerg with no avail. Even with some bombardment from the air and space, nothing worked; the immense Zerg continued smashing through everything on the all-female world.
As the Omegalisk rampaged on the planet, Kerrigan order the Cyberlisks to sneak away. She zoomed out and observed the planet's defenders converging onto the Omegalisk's location.
"Diversion effective. All defending forces concentrating on Omegalisk. Cyberlisk now clear for extraction."
"Time to bring them to the evolution pit."
Reviewing strains:
* Hunter Killer strain: Studying D-base of Chiropterans. Used for quick regeneration, speed, strength, and disguise. Chiropterans and Corpse Corps counterpart also capable of firing needles. Most traits fitting for Hydralisks, suitable for Hunter Killer strain.
Hunter Killer attacks now have area of effect. Needles replenish quickly, allow higher rate of fire. Body regenerates quickly when outside of battle, ensures great survivability.
* Cyberlisk strain: Automated synthetic weapons collected from Tarak-Mejere laboratories. Harvester, composed of part-robotic, part-organic cubes. Originally designed for combat, organ collection. Can use former to reconfigure Hydralisk and spikes, create semi-robotic organisms, counter anti-biological weaponry. Can adapt latter for assimilating useful substances and tissue.
Cyberlisk spikes now semi-automated and homing, can now hit up to three enemies per spray, regardless of distance from one another. Body immune to anti-biological and anti-mechanical weaponry, can be repaired as mechanical unit. Uses melee attacks for quick regeneration, any hostile will do. Reconfigured body also changed into armored unit, refractory against laser-based weapons. Cost acceptable for now.
Sequences ready for integration. Await decision.
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Aberration A- Bruiser
Abathur: Aberration strain ready for augmentation. Aberrations infiltrated into native worlds, covertly operating for evolution missions. Complete covert operations, develop and test new experimental subjects.
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I do not own Gears of War or Starcraft.
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Strain #1: Bruiser strain
The Leviathan arrived at a new world, still retaining a safe distance away. This one was similar to Earth with inhabitants like the Terrans, but it had a couple moons.
"Planet Sera," Abathur introduced. The world magnified down to the surface, and eventually underground. The main field had very rocky terrain with lakes like a volcanic planet, only that the lakes were a glowing, neon yellow liquid. "Resource world for Imulsion, parasitic organic substance."
Suddenly, a number of creatures came out of one lake. Several of them were like crawling monkeys despite the surprising speed they moved. Others were more human, but a lot more ugly as they were porous and chubby. But both types were glowing just like the Imulsion.
They were engaged by similar human-like creatures, except these ones were not glowing and instead wore blood red armor. They were assisted by a few bigger humanoid beings, two with large cannon weapons and another helmeted one with a chaingun operated with by a crankshaft.
Identified as Locust, they easily blasted through the opposing glowing forces. As the glowing Locust creatures got shot, they exploded in significant blasts and left nearly no remains.
Abathur used this short battle as a demonstration.
"Imulsion radioactive, affects living creatures, identified as Lambent, volatile." He also noted, "Locust creatures patrol caverns: Drones, Boomers, Grinders. Other Locust creatures present."
Their view shifted to the edge of one cavern. A number of large rocks that blocked a tunnel were smashed apart, some of the chunks rolled off the not-too-high leading causeway and into the Imulsion lakes below. Emerging from the tunnel came about six Aberrations, some of the few sent by Abathur to conduct this experiment.
"Aberrations infiltrated remaining caverns, most flooded. Limited resources, limited accessible areas."
"We'll start with these Aberrations then," Kerrigan started. "Expose them to the Imulsion and see what you make from it."
"Aberrations must be fully subjected into Imulsion. Bring into pools, consume. Adaptation to substance will be properly integrated into new strain."
The Aberrations then proceeded down the causeway, which led to the bottom of the cavern.
Upon reaching the floor, the Zerg encountered the same Locust patrol previously observed; they were still fighting against the Lambent coming out of the lakes. While they halted the next wave, one of the Drones sensed the presence of the Aberrations. Facing the new arrivals, already closing on them, he called out.
"INTRUDER!"
As the drone fired his rifle at the Aberrations, his brethren that finished off the wave of the Lambent turned and opened fire with whatever ammo they had. The Boomers called out as they fired their Boomshot cannons. The Grinder did the same while turning his Mulcher machine gun to spray the Aberrations with flak.
Because the fire was so dispersed, it did little to halt the advance of the towering creatures. The rounds from the Boomshots knocked a couple Aberrations some and the Mulcher slowed another as it was rapidly pelted. The rest of the bullets either missed or were shrugged off by the Aberrations thick hides. One of them remained unscathed as it proceeded to maul their first Drone witness with its fists, splattering it and sending its torso further down the rocky path.
The Locust concentrated on said Aberration, putting all of their lead and shells into the beast. A few Drones charged into the beast and while there pummeled to the ground as well, they were able to get a few grenades stuck on its body. A combination of the grenades and firepower from the Locust was enough to blow up the Aberration.
However, the other five Aberrations were able to advance. As they moved faster than the now retreating Locust, they were able to wallop the Boomers and Grinder easily, running down a couple more Drones along the way. The last drone continued firing at the closest Aberration as it was smashed into bits that fell into the lake of Imulsion on their left.
With the Locust patrol finished, the Aberrations proceeded into the same Imulsion lake. The lake was deep enough to cover up to their main bodies that their deepest point.
"Adapting Aberrations to Imulsion," Abathur went to work.
The Zerg subsequently wrapped themselves up while they glowed. The adaptations were difficult in Abathur's admission as the mutations of the Lambent-like Zerg risked going out of control. Two of the cocoons actually bursted during augmentations as a signal for failure from those specimens. Fortunately for the Zerg's unique adaptive abilities, Abathur managed to find the genes to not only protect the remaining Aberrations from the Imulsion, but thrive off of it. Pleased with his work, Abathur presented his new creations that hatched from their cocoons.
"New strain has emerged. Bruiser strain."
The new Aberrations emerged from the lakes, making landfall on a nearby three-way intersection between two pathways.
"Bruiser, aggressive. Power increases upon damage."
That was demonstrated by the next Locust patrol they came across. Leading the unit was two monster with several tentacles that operated like motorcycles. The motorcycle-like creatures, dubbed Reavers, landed on the path that stuck out where their unit was coming from. Following them were several more Drones that fired their Hammerburst rifles at the Aberrations. The Reavers followed suit with one shooting a shell from its mouth and the other, which its side facing, turning around to have its gunner shoot a stream of bullets.
But the result was not what they expected. As the new Bruisers were hit and glowed, power manifested by their legs and arms. Their eyes were burning a glowing yellow-green to express their anger as they suddenly started moving faster. Abather explained the process.
"Inflicted damage increases adrenaline, converted into movement and attack power. More damage, more attack power, more speed."
With this, the three Bruisers that glowed charged right towards the Reavers with abnormal speed. The first, which took most of the fire and was the fastest of the group, went straight for one of the Reavers. With one fast punch to the face, the creature and its riders exploded into bits. The second Reaver tried using one of its tentacles to strike the second Aberration. Not only did it catch the tentacle, but it swung the Reaver to the ground, sending its riders flying. The Aberration then proceeded to rapidly punch the Reaver until almost nothing remained of it. Seeing the immediate devastation, the Drones called out.
"FALL BACK!"
The third Aberration pursued them with its fast speed, smashing apart all of the Drones one by one down the path. When the last drone was wiped out, the Aberration stopped and all of the glowing Zerg returned to normal.
"Adrenaline effect wears off overtime," Abathur gave a note to this effect. "Must receive damage to increase, prolong."
The Aberrations regrouped on the stuck out path and continued.
On the approaching corner, the Zerg sensed nearby humans stationed on the cliff. They wore ragged clothing and had ill equipment around their camp. The weapons they carried appeared to be salvaged from other soldiers and Locust.
"Terran parties detected, Stranded."
This group was then ambushed as the rocks bork apart by their main tent. One got crushed by a large chunk of debris while the others were alert in grabbing their Lancer rifles. They fired into the holes, but three more Aberrations came to their surprise instead. Taking out two each, two of the incoming Zerg smashed the four survivors of the camp, where their Bruiser counterparts joined up with them.
"Additional Aberrations have entered into caverns, bring to pools for adaptation."
Following the Bruisers, the three normal Aberrations went around the corner, closer to the Imulsion. As they submerged within the pools for exposure and consumption, the greener ones came by another Locust patrol.
Several Drones carried chains that held down two other beings. They were like Drones, but redder and muscular, defined as female Locust known as Berserkers. Sensing the blind she-beasts would go out of control soon, the Drones released the chains and let them loose.
The Berserkers used their sense of smell to find the Aberrations, which already drove them crazy. They charged right after the Zerg as a way of ramming into them. They struck first, or rather two Bruisers let them strike first as they glowed again. After several repeated blows and attempts to rip them apart, the Bruisers punched the Berserkers with their enhanced fists. Understandably, the Locust females are even more angry as they wrestled with the Bruisers, but already overpowered and beaten to death by their challenged opponents. Not even their thick skins could withstand the force given to them.
The Bruisers' superpowered effect continued as the Drones that released the Berserkers opened fire on them. The two that were attacked used their super speed to quickly advance on the patrol. While the Drones pelted them with gunfire, some were preparing to throw frag grenades that their enemies. One was able to stick onto the most wounded of the Bruisers as the others concentrated their fire on it.
But the result wasn't exactly what they expected as- although they were aware how volatile Lambent forces were- the Bruiser exploded very violently. While the other Bruiser was pushed the side by the explosion, the Drones nearby were annihilated. If that didn't get much of them, then several smaller, glowing and burning sacs did. The sacs did subsequent explosions as powerful as the grenades that scattered all over the place.
"More damage also increases explosive potential. Releases multiple explosions upon death."
After recovering, the final Bruiser smashed through the final three Drones. The effect wore off again as it waited for the other Aberrations. Regrouping with it were two more Bruisers as the other died from the integration process. After which, they continued down the path as they felt strong shaking coming towards them.
Approaching a wide field of rock, the Bruisers came across three small beasts known as Bloodmounts on the other side. The creatures growled at their arrivals, ignoring the quakes, while their riders fired their Gorgons and Boltoks against them. As expected, these Aberrations got irritated by the attacks and when the Bloodmounts tried to charge against them, they got flung into the air with their riders as bits.
That didn't matter much as new large creatures smashed through the wall along the path, revealing more of the Imulsion lakes. The one bursting from the left was called the Brumak, an ape-like monster with chainguns on its wrists and some kind of heavy weapons platform on its back. The other on the right resembled a tarantula, dubbed the Corsper.
The most wounded of the Bruisers charged to attack the Corpser, which raised its arms shaped like a hand in preparation to attack. Thanks to the recent damage taken from the Bloodmounts, the Bruiser charged quickly and struck first. Pounding its soft belly, the creature was quickly downed with its fingers crashing behind it. The Bruiser smashed its head twice next, the second one knocking out the Corpser onto its back. Thinking it was finished, the Aberration deviant rested while still having its effect.
It got attacked by the left arm guns from the Brumak, continuing its effect. However, it also distracted it long enough for the Corpser to get back up. Before the Bruiser could charge, it found the Corpser back upright before slamming its fingers onto it. The Bruiser retaliated with its explosion upon death, blowing off all the Corpser's fingers and head as it laid dead on the ground.
The already angered Brumak was busy firing its guns and rockets upon the other Zerg as another Corpser came to its side. Its target was another Bruiser that was already angered more by the weapon fire. Seeing the Bruiser come up close, the Brumak swung its large arms to pound it to the side. Another Bruiser came to its side, but was challenged by the other Corpser, hammering it onto the ground. The second Aberration creature retaliated by countering another attack from the Corpser before walking to the Brumak. The Brumak fired its back rocket launchers to destroy the Bruiser, but not only was it a direct hit at close range, but the Zerg exploded like the last one. The large resulting explosion and cluster of subsequent ones blasted off the Brumak's arm weapons and blinded both Locust creatures. The first attack Bruiser recovered during the moment and angrily smashed the head and torso of the ape creature. Once the Brumak fell down, the Bruiser countered another attack from the second Corpser's fingers. One of the last Locust creatures fingers were broken and it writhed as the Bruiser finished it off by charging and giving beatdown of several empowered punches.
With all Locust creatures defeated, the remaining two Bruisers regrouped. As the one returning from battle returned to normal, they both proceeded down the path onto another end of the cavern.
At another corner was yet another camp. While several were the ragged Stranded previously encountered, some were well-equipped complete with body armor and gear. They were escorting the Stranded forces to a wheeled armored personnel carrier until they heard something break apart. The wall nearby then broke apart, throwing debris onto the camp. While the Stranded ducked and covered, the unaffected soldiers started shooting in the opening where four more Aberrations sent by Abathur came out.
"More Aberrations have arrived."
Like the other Aberrations that came, these ones tore right through the camp. While the soldiers were busy with them, the Stranded took the time to reach for their own weapons. The Zerg easily dealt with the soldiers, even when the APC's gun started firing at them. One Aberration smashed the APC's gun as its driver desperately started to get away, only to have the machine pummeled into scrap seconds later. By that time, the other Aberrations already wiped out the Stranded and were joined by the Bruisers.
As the normal Aberrations moved into the pools for augmentation, the Bruisers waiting for them to finish, Kerrigan took note of the soldiers' corpses.
"Some of these aren't Stranded forces. They look more like a scouting party or rescue team for a militarized force."
"Incoming militarized terran force, COG."
-----
At a larger and more natural entrance, a small human army belonging to the old Coalition of Ordered Governments entered the cavern. Around were about forty helmeted men with Lancers, Gnasher Shotguns and Longshot Sniper rifles. Some were arguing with one of their soldiers bringing Hammer of Dawn laser pointer, making the complaint that it can't be used in caverns. Accompanying them were six Armadillo "Dillis" APCs and six Centaur tanks with full crew. As they were all positioned on a wide area of solid ground, their officer contacted from a hastily set up stationary communications suite.
"Command, this is E Company. We have entered the caverns are now preparing for Locust extermination."
"Roger that, E Company," a response came onto the radio. "Report when all Locust forces are eliminated. Once the mission is complete, return for extraction."
"Understood, E Company out."
But when the radio ended, the CO noticed the vast emptiness within the cavern. Aside coming across no Locust so far, the place was bare of hidable terrain, clearly showing no snipers around. One enlisted, yet high-ranking COG soldier came up to the officer.
"Permission to speak, sir?"
"What is it?"
"This is strange, sir. Shouldn't there be Locust guarding this entrance?"
"I don't know, Master Sergeant. Something must've wiped them out. Be on your guard and watch for hostiles."
-----
Watching the arriving COG troops, Abathur warned.
"COG forces, E Company guard exit. Must eliminate to conclude test."
"Go," Kerrigan ordered. "Use the lakes to get up close and charge into the enemy."
The veteran Bruisers still on land traversed across the lakes with the newly created ones, all of which survived with Abathur mastering harnessing the Imulsion's power.
It wasn't long until the COG forces detected the six Zerg emerging from the lakes and went to reasonable fighting positions. While encountering Lambent before, they froze upon the new arrivals they were not expecting.
"What the hell? Are these new Locust beings?"
"That's no Locust, open fire!"
Al the COG forces including the APCs started firing upon the advancing Zerg. Snipers tried to aim for the obvious heads, but they didn't burst to their shock. Adding more to their obliviousness that such attacks made them stronger. Some COG soldiers even note of how fast their unexpected enemies were charging at them now.
"I think we're just pissing them off, sir!"
"They're already pissed off! Just keep shooting!"
The nearest Bruiser and fastest was already close to left breach of rocks used for cover. An eventual shot from a tank shell didn't help much. That specific Bruiser then had enough strength to kick apart a natural barricade and the two COG soldiers taking cover along with it. About all of E Company's left flank focused on the breaching Bruiser assisted with tank fire.
But after a couple hits from the Centaurs, the Bruiser predictably exploded greatly. The first main explosion blew up about twenty soldiers, including their troop transports and two of the tanks. And if that wasn't enough shock from the officers and centralized soldiers, the following cluster of small biological bombs covered the rest of the area, killing ten more soldiers and destroying two more APCs and another Centaur. Kerrigan even mentally facepalmed herself to watch the COG forces cripple their own flank as a following Bruiser made landfall to clean up the remains.
The right side wasn't much better either. While they got quicker tank support, the time to take down a Bruiser was already too late. The closest one exploded by the outermost perimeter, but the small bombs flew past and crushed the positions along with their cover. The same blasts took out another APC and tank while leaving very few personnel left to defend the outmost perimeter. Two others breached it with one smashing another Centaur into the air.
With the last Bruiser arriving into the staging area, E Company was already filling communication lines with chatter as they shouted for a full retreat. Unfortunately, the Zerg already wiped out most of their forces and crushed the communications suite while destroying all of their APCs. The Bruisers finished off the rest the company by trampling the remaining foot soldiers including the officers and concluding with the trashing of the last tank.
After all of E Company was destroyed, the Bruisers waited as their new empowering effect wore off again.
"COG forces eliminated, caverns clear." Abathur declared as the new Aberrations exited the caverns for extraction.
"Bruiser experiment ended, next experiment ready to commence."
-----
Coming Strain #2: Centaur strain
-----
I do not own Gears of War or Starcraft.
-----
Strain #1: Bruiser strain
The Leviathan arrived at a new world, still retaining a safe distance away. This one was similar to Earth with inhabitants like the Terrans, but it had a couple moons.
"Planet Sera," Abathur introduced. The world magnified down to the surface, and eventually underground. The main field had very rocky terrain with lakes like a volcanic planet, only that the lakes were a glowing, neon yellow liquid. "Resource world for Imulsion, parasitic organic substance."
Suddenly, a number of creatures came out of one lake. Several of them were like crawling monkeys despite the surprising speed they moved. Others were more human, but a lot more ugly as they were porous and chubby. But both types were glowing just like the Imulsion.
They were engaged by similar human-like creatures, except these ones were not glowing and instead wore blood red armor. They were assisted by a few bigger humanoid beings, two with large cannon weapons and another helmeted one with a chaingun operated with by a crankshaft.
Identified as Locust, they easily blasted through the opposing glowing forces. As the glowing Locust creatures got shot, they exploded in significant blasts and left nearly no remains.
Abathur used this short battle as a demonstration.
"Imulsion radioactive, affects living creatures, identified as Lambent, volatile." He also noted, "Locust creatures patrol caverns: Drones, Boomers, Grinders. Other Locust creatures present."
Their view shifted to the edge of one cavern. A number of large rocks that blocked a tunnel were smashed apart, some of the chunks rolled off the not-too-high leading causeway and into the Imulsion lakes below. Emerging from the tunnel came about six Aberrations, some of the few sent by Abathur to conduct this experiment.
"Aberrations infiltrated remaining caverns, most flooded. Limited resources, limited accessible areas."
"We'll start with these Aberrations then," Kerrigan started. "Expose them to the Imulsion and see what you make from it."
"Aberrations must be fully subjected into Imulsion. Bring into pools, consume. Adaptation to substance will be properly integrated into new strain."
The Aberrations then proceeded down the causeway, which led to the bottom of the cavern.
Upon reaching the floor, the Zerg encountered the same Locust patrol previously observed; they were still fighting against the Lambent coming out of the lakes. While they halted the next wave, one of the Drones sensed the presence of the Aberrations. Facing the new arrivals, already closing on them, he called out.
"INTRUDER!"
As the drone fired his rifle at the Aberrations, his brethren that finished off the wave of the Lambent turned and opened fire with whatever ammo they had. The Boomers called out as they fired their Boomshot cannons. The Grinder did the same while turning his Mulcher machine gun to spray the Aberrations with flak.
Because the fire was so dispersed, it did little to halt the advance of the towering creatures. The rounds from the Boomshots knocked a couple Aberrations some and the Mulcher slowed another as it was rapidly pelted. The rest of the bullets either missed or were shrugged off by the Aberrations thick hides. One of them remained unscathed as it proceeded to maul their first Drone witness with its fists, splattering it and sending its torso further down the rocky path.
The Locust concentrated on said Aberration, putting all of their lead and shells into the beast. A few Drones charged into the beast and while there pummeled to the ground as well, they were able to get a few grenades stuck on its body. A combination of the grenades and firepower from the Locust was enough to blow up the Aberration.
However, the other five Aberrations were able to advance. As they moved faster than the now retreating Locust, they were able to wallop the Boomers and Grinder easily, running down a couple more Drones along the way. The last drone continued firing at the closest Aberration as it was smashed into bits that fell into the lake of Imulsion on their left.
With the Locust patrol finished, the Aberrations proceeded into the same Imulsion lake. The lake was deep enough to cover up to their main bodies that their deepest point.
"Adapting Aberrations to Imulsion," Abathur went to work.
The Zerg subsequently wrapped themselves up while they glowed. The adaptations were difficult in Abathur's admission as the mutations of the Lambent-like Zerg risked going out of control. Two of the cocoons actually bursted during augmentations as a signal for failure from those specimens. Fortunately for the Zerg's unique adaptive abilities, Abathur managed to find the genes to not only protect the remaining Aberrations from the Imulsion, but thrive off of it. Pleased with his work, Abathur presented his new creations that hatched from their cocoons.
"New strain has emerged. Bruiser strain."
The new Aberrations emerged from the lakes, making landfall on a nearby three-way intersection between two pathways.
"Bruiser, aggressive. Power increases upon damage."
That was demonstrated by the next Locust patrol they came across. Leading the unit was two monster with several tentacles that operated like motorcycles. The motorcycle-like creatures, dubbed Reavers, landed on the path that stuck out where their unit was coming from. Following them were several more Drones that fired their Hammerburst rifles at the Aberrations. The Reavers followed suit with one shooting a shell from its mouth and the other, which its side facing, turning around to have its gunner shoot a stream of bullets.
But the result was not what they expected. As the new Bruisers were hit and glowed, power manifested by their legs and arms. Their eyes were burning a glowing yellow-green to express their anger as they suddenly started moving faster. Abather explained the process.
"Inflicted damage increases adrenaline, converted into movement and attack power. More damage, more attack power, more speed."
With this, the three Bruisers that glowed charged right towards the Reavers with abnormal speed. The first, which took most of the fire and was the fastest of the group, went straight for one of the Reavers. With one fast punch to the face, the creature and its riders exploded into bits. The second Reaver tried using one of its tentacles to strike the second Aberration. Not only did it catch the tentacle, but it swung the Reaver to the ground, sending its riders flying. The Aberration then proceeded to rapidly punch the Reaver until almost nothing remained of it. Seeing the immediate devastation, the Drones called out.
"FALL BACK!"
The third Aberration pursued them with its fast speed, smashing apart all of the Drones one by one down the path. When the last drone was wiped out, the Aberration stopped and all of the glowing Zerg returned to normal.
"Adrenaline effect wears off overtime," Abathur gave a note to this effect. "Must receive damage to increase, prolong."
The Aberrations regrouped on the stuck out path and continued.
On the approaching corner, the Zerg sensed nearby humans stationed on the cliff. They wore ragged clothing and had ill equipment around their camp. The weapons they carried appeared to be salvaged from other soldiers and Locust.
"Terran parties detected, Stranded."
This group was then ambushed as the rocks bork apart by their main tent. One got crushed by a large chunk of debris while the others were alert in grabbing their Lancer rifles. They fired into the holes, but three more Aberrations came to their surprise instead. Taking out two each, two of the incoming Zerg smashed the four survivors of the camp, where their Bruiser counterparts joined up with them.
"Additional Aberrations have entered into caverns, bring to pools for adaptation."
Following the Bruisers, the three normal Aberrations went around the corner, closer to the Imulsion. As they submerged within the pools for exposure and consumption, the greener ones came by another Locust patrol.
Several Drones carried chains that held down two other beings. They were like Drones, but redder and muscular, defined as female Locust known as Berserkers. Sensing the blind she-beasts would go out of control soon, the Drones released the chains and let them loose.
The Berserkers used their sense of smell to find the Aberrations, which already drove them crazy. They charged right after the Zerg as a way of ramming into them. They struck first, or rather two Bruisers let them strike first as they glowed again. After several repeated blows and attempts to rip them apart, the Bruisers punched the Berserkers with their enhanced fists. Understandably, the Locust females are even more angry as they wrestled with the Bruisers, but already overpowered and beaten to death by their challenged opponents. Not even their thick skins could withstand the force given to them.
The Bruisers' superpowered effect continued as the Drones that released the Berserkers opened fire on them. The two that were attacked used their super speed to quickly advance on the patrol. While the Drones pelted them with gunfire, some were preparing to throw frag grenades that their enemies. One was able to stick onto the most wounded of the Bruisers as the others concentrated their fire on it.
But the result wasn't exactly what they expected as- although they were aware how volatile Lambent forces were- the Bruiser exploded very violently. While the other Bruiser was pushed the side by the explosion, the Drones nearby were annihilated. If that didn't get much of them, then several smaller, glowing and burning sacs did. The sacs did subsequent explosions as powerful as the grenades that scattered all over the place.
"More damage also increases explosive potential. Releases multiple explosions upon death."
After recovering, the final Bruiser smashed through the final three Drones. The effect wore off again as it waited for the other Aberrations. Regrouping with it were two more Bruisers as the other died from the integration process. After which, they continued down the path as they felt strong shaking coming towards them.
Approaching a wide field of rock, the Bruisers came across three small beasts known as Bloodmounts on the other side. The creatures growled at their arrivals, ignoring the quakes, while their riders fired their Gorgons and Boltoks against them. As expected, these Aberrations got irritated by the attacks and when the Bloodmounts tried to charge against them, they got flung into the air with their riders as bits.
That didn't matter much as new large creatures smashed through the wall along the path, revealing more of the Imulsion lakes. The one bursting from the left was called the Brumak, an ape-like monster with chainguns on its wrists and some kind of heavy weapons platform on its back. The other on the right resembled a tarantula, dubbed the Corsper.
The most wounded of the Bruisers charged to attack the Corpser, which raised its arms shaped like a hand in preparation to attack. Thanks to the recent damage taken from the Bloodmounts, the Bruiser charged quickly and struck first. Pounding its soft belly, the creature was quickly downed with its fingers crashing behind it. The Bruiser smashed its head twice next, the second one knocking out the Corpser onto its back. Thinking it was finished, the Aberration deviant rested while still having its effect.
It got attacked by the left arm guns from the Brumak, continuing its effect. However, it also distracted it long enough for the Corpser to get back up. Before the Bruiser could charge, it found the Corpser back upright before slamming its fingers onto it. The Bruiser retaliated with its explosion upon death, blowing off all the Corpser's fingers and head as it laid dead on the ground.
The already angered Brumak was busy firing its guns and rockets upon the other Zerg as another Corpser came to its side. Its target was another Bruiser that was already angered more by the weapon fire. Seeing the Bruiser come up close, the Brumak swung its large arms to pound it to the side. Another Bruiser came to its side, but was challenged by the other Corpser, hammering it onto the ground. The second Aberration creature retaliated by countering another attack from the Corpser before walking to the Brumak. The Brumak fired its back rocket launchers to destroy the Bruiser, but not only was it a direct hit at close range, but the Zerg exploded like the last one. The large resulting explosion and cluster of subsequent ones blasted off the Brumak's arm weapons and blinded both Locust creatures. The first attack Bruiser recovered during the moment and angrily smashed the head and torso of the ape creature. Once the Brumak fell down, the Bruiser countered another attack from the second Corpser's fingers. One of the last Locust creatures fingers were broken and it writhed as the Bruiser finished it off by charging and giving beatdown of several empowered punches.
With all Locust creatures defeated, the remaining two Bruisers regrouped. As the one returning from battle returned to normal, they both proceeded down the path onto another end of the cavern.
At another corner was yet another camp. While several were the ragged Stranded previously encountered, some were well-equipped complete with body armor and gear. They were escorting the Stranded forces to a wheeled armored personnel carrier until they heard something break apart. The wall nearby then broke apart, throwing debris onto the camp. While the Stranded ducked and covered, the unaffected soldiers started shooting in the opening where four more Aberrations sent by Abathur came out.
"More Aberrations have arrived."
Like the other Aberrations that came, these ones tore right through the camp. While the soldiers were busy with them, the Stranded took the time to reach for their own weapons. The Zerg easily dealt with the soldiers, even when the APC's gun started firing at them. One Aberration smashed the APC's gun as its driver desperately started to get away, only to have the machine pummeled into scrap seconds later. By that time, the other Aberrations already wiped out the Stranded and were joined by the Bruisers.
As the normal Aberrations moved into the pools for augmentation, the Bruisers waiting for them to finish, Kerrigan took note of the soldiers' corpses.
"Some of these aren't Stranded forces. They look more like a scouting party or rescue team for a militarized force."
"Incoming militarized terran force, COG."
-----
At a larger and more natural entrance, a small human army belonging to the old Coalition of Ordered Governments entered the cavern. Around were about forty helmeted men with Lancers, Gnasher Shotguns and Longshot Sniper rifles. Some were arguing with one of their soldiers bringing Hammer of Dawn laser pointer, making the complaint that it can't be used in caverns. Accompanying them were six Armadillo "Dillis" APCs and six Centaur tanks with full crew. As they were all positioned on a wide area of solid ground, their officer contacted from a hastily set up stationary communications suite.
"Command, this is E Company. We have entered the caverns are now preparing for Locust extermination."
"Roger that, E Company," a response came onto the radio. "Report when all Locust forces are eliminated. Once the mission is complete, return for extraction."
"Understood, E Company out."
But when the radio ended, the CO noticed the vast emptiness within the cavern. Aside coming across no Locust so far, the place was bare of hidable terrain, clearly showing no snipers around. One enlisted, yet high-ranking COG soldier came up to the officer.
"Permission to speak, sir?"
"What is it?"
"This is strange, sir. Shouldn't there be Locust guarding this entrance?"
"I don't know, Master Sergeant. Something must've wiped them out. Be on your guard and watch for hostiles."
-----
Watching the arriving COG troops, Abathur warned.
"COG forces, E Company guard exit. Must eliminate to conclude test."
"Go," Kerrigan ordered. "Use the lakes to get up close and charge into the enemy."
The veteran Bruisers still on land traversed across the lakes with the newly created ones, all of which survived with Abathur mastering harnessing the Imulsion's power.
It wasn't long until the COG forces detected the six Zerg emerging from the lakes and went to reasonable fighting positions. While encountering Lambent before, they froze upon the new arrivals they were not expecting.
"What the hell? Are these new Locust beings?"
"That's no Locust, open fire!"
Al the COG forces including the APCs started firing upon the advancing Zerg. Snipers tried to aim for the obvious heads, but they didn't burst to their shock. Adding more to their obliviousness that such attacks made them stronger. Some COG soldiers even note of how fast their unexpected enemies were charging at them now.
"I think we're just pissing them off, sir!"
"They're already pissed off! Just keep shooting!"
The nearest Bruiser and fastest was already close to left breach of rocks used for cover. An eventual shot from a tank shell didn't help much. That specific Bruiser then had enough strength to kick apart a natural barricade and the two COG soldiers taking cover along with it. About all of E Company's left flank focused on the breaching Bruiser assisted with tank fire.
But after a couple hits from the Centaurs, the Bruiser predictably exploded greatly. The first main explosion blew up about twenty soldiers, including their troop transports and two of the tanks. And if that wasn't enough shock from the officers and centralized soldiers, the following cluster of small biological bombs covered the rest of the area, killing ten more soldiers and destroying two more APCs and another Centaur. Kerrigan even mentally facepalmed herself to watch the COG forces cripple their own flank as a following Bruiser made landfall to clean up the remains.
The right side wasn't much better either. While they got quicker tank support, the time to take down a Bruiser was already too late. The closest one exploded by the outermost perimeter, but the small bombs flew past and crushed the positions along with their cover. The same blasts took out another APC and tank while leaving very few personnel left to defend the outmost perimeter. Two others breached it with one smashing another Centaur into the air.
With the last Bruiser arriving into the staging area, E Company was already filling communication lines with chatter as they shouted for a full retreat. Unfortunately, the Zerg already wiped out most of their forces and crushed the communications suite while destroying all of their APCs. The Bruisers finished off the rest the company by trampling the remaining foot soldiers including the officers and concluding with the trashing of the last tank.
After all of E Company was destroyed, the Bruisers waited as their new empowering effect wore off again.
"COG forces eliminated, caverns clear." Abathur declared as the new Aberrations exited the caverns for extraction.
"Bruiser experiment ended, next experiment ready to commence."
-----
Coming Strain #2: Centaur strain
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Aberration B- Centaur
Now for the second Aberration strain. After that will come the intermission that'll be based on the most popular strains for both the Aberration and Hydralisk.
I do not own Starcraft or Destiny.
-----
Strain #2: Centaur Strain
The Leviathan approached another parallel Earth to some annoyance of the Queen of Blades. But the main battleground wasn't directly at Earth.
"Moon, Earth's Moon."
Abathur gave a briefing as the view zoomed on the deserted ground of the immense natural satellite. The main battlefield was specifically based at a set of abandoned man-made installations constructed within the white hills.
The first point of interest was a field of Hydralisks that were recently wiped out. Infesting the ground were hordes of white, skeletal humanoids creatures with long claws. Some of them were feasting on the remains of the dead Zerg as if they were still moving. However, accompanying them were a more significant sight. Several human beings with ragged clothing hovered into the air as they move swiftly into the air.
"Powerful airborne units on surface. Countermeasures...difficult. Must develop new anti-air capabilities."
Aside the flying humans, which Kerrigan could sense having some kind of psionic abilities, there were many other signatures around that indicated themselves as flying units. There were also a number of fallen Overlords that fell just on their way to the surface. Agreeably, having so much air power in the area was very problematic for the Zerg.
As the view shifted to the next location of interest, Abathur pointed out.
"Aberration, ideal base for anti-air abilities. Few evaded detection, reached surface. Entity with key essence near."
A convex of hill by a small cave were a few Overlords still alive though badly damaged. With no enemies around, they dropped off eight Aberrations. They walked into formation as they awaited orders.
"Hive forces guarding primary essence. Air forces nearby. Avoid airborne enemies until sequences are acquired."
The Aberrations proceeded north through the white valley as they walked cautiously. While the place was crawling with the Hive, the path looked apparently clear of them. Still, the large amount of Hive in the area, lack of fighting data against them, and heavy air presence meant the Zerg couldn't freely charge in yet. Kerrigan kept that in the minds of the Aberrations as they marched forward.
As the Zerg were coming to a three-way intersection, Hive forces arrived there. Three of them were the same flying creatures from before, having high concentrations of psionic energy or something similar. They travelled in almost a flash as a small band of skeletal Thralls joined up with them from the opposite valley.
"Wizard, Hive-class air unit. Agile, nimble, uses psionic attacks."
Kerrigan was more focused on keeping the Aberrations at bay.
"Let the Wizards pass first. It's too soon to confront the Hive now."
Knowing the Aberrations were aggressive creatures, it took effort to keep them under control to ensure they didn't make any brash movements. Despite being able to take on the more numerous Thralls, they still had no anti-air capabilities yet. Therefore, if they engaged the Hive now, the Wizards will be their demise no matter how the battle goes.
It wasn't long before the Hive patrol started to move again. The Hive moved north, the direction were the essence was designated. While they still had to remain cautious, the area was still clear for the Aberrations to move up some more. The entire patrol already moved upward once the Zerg approached their mount of the intersection.
Their next path was simply to head north where the patrol headed. The northern path lead up to a metal bridge that connected to a cliff and lead straight to an installation built into it. So the path was simple, just the patrol made it a little complicated. Making the patrol a bigger threat were the entrances of three more Wizards nearby.
"More Wizards inbound."
Abathur warned as the newcomers flew from random directions to group with the patrol, though none flew overhead above the Zerg. Kerrigan kept the ill-tempered Aberrations from attack. WIth the patrol standing still and only turning in random directions, it was a long and irritating wait.
Fortunately, the patrol didn't wait for too long, nor was it this big. The Hive troops dispersed from the main entrance with the Thralls breaking into three groups. One went inside the entrance while the other two split to opposite paths around the cliff with Wizards following them. Any Wizards that didn't accompany the group suddenly disappeared, or underwent quick teleportation through Kerrigan's eyes, seeing such power from a few Protoss troops. Though she couldn't track where they went, she was certain they were no longer in the area. At least, they could move on without risking any danger.
"Now, while they're away. Cross the bridge and enter the main chamber."
With all threats from the Hive scattered and cleared from their path, the Aberrations crossed the bridge. As they approached the installation entrance, the only creatures alerted to their presence were the Thralls inside. Sensing them, they turned around and went back up to violently greet the incoming Zerg.
Sprouting out from a small corridor, a group of six Thralls moved in against the Aberrations with their claws open. As expected of the Queen of Blades, the Aberrations quickly overpowered the Thralls, taking them down with just a few hits. But she was still a little worried with this inevitable encounter. While the place was hardly ideal for air units, meaning it was unlikely Wizards, there was no guarantee that neither they nor other dangerous types of Hive creatures would come in. As she had the Aberrations step it up, they proceeded down subterranean tunnel that slightly curved to the right.
At one stopping point, they encountered a larger group of Thralls that were ascending in a rare formation. Behind them were Acolytes that wore helmets and wielded strange energy weapons in their hands. While the Thralls charged in like before, the Acolytes stayed behind to provide cover fire. Though a classic and effective tactic, it still wasn't enough thanks to the Aberrations' toughness. Each Aberration took out two or three Thralls that came their way, having only scratches by their legs and torso. They also shrugged off the light small arms fire coming from the Acolytes. As the ranged Hive warriors attempted stepped back hoping to run into cover, Kerrigan noticed the dark energy blasts that became their weapons' projectiles. Something felt familiar about them, but there wasn't much to look into if full. At least that was the case for this battle as the Aberrations towered over the Acolytes' cover and either stepped on or flung away the Hive soldiers. With the Hive patrols wiped out, the Aberrations moved on.
The path down the artificial tunnel wasn't deep as it was, nor was it very long. Even before the Aberrations made it to the bottom, Kerrigan could sense the nearby key essence and its surrounding area. It was in a large circular room with equipment made for research or experimentation. The essence also felt stationary shaking a few times. When the Aberrations had visual, they could see the massive hulking Hive creature that currently in big chains.
"Unique Hive-type specimen, Ogre. Uses psionic energy against long range targets."
Though its eyes were small- if it had any- the Ogre sensed the unique presence of the Aberrations. It struggled in anger, nearly breaking free of its unattended chains. Abathur gave the simple instructions.
"Defeat Ogre before integrating essence into Swarm."
The Ogre then broke free of its prison. Roaring at the intruding Zerg, it charged at them. Being just as tall as the Ogre, the Aberrations didn't bother to get out of the way. However, two of them collided with the Ogre, it turned out to be a lot tougher than expected. They were holding their ground, but they were sliding back with immense force. After locking arms for a while the Ogre used its strength to raise the two Aberrations and toss them into a wall.
It then started to charge up something on its head that, once Kerrigan more time to analyze, was akin to the Void. During the charge, four other Aberrations joined into the fight, one of them luckily punching the Ogre in the head before it firing. An immense blast then shot into the air, making a huge line of destruction on the ceiling, even blasting clean holes to the outside. When the Ogre was finished with its blast, the angered beast swatted away the four Aberrations to the side. One of them was pounded right onto the ground and the Ogre used its fists to smash its head. It then charged its Void attack again, this time against the three other Aberrations that have yet to recover. Fortunately, the first two Aberrations recovered enough to attack the Ogre before could come close to finishing its charge. With one blow to the back and another to the head, the Ogre fell forward on to the ground. The other three Aberrations joined as they pummeled the downed creature repeatedly.
The very furious Ogre once again stood up and brushed away the three Aberrations. But before it could turn around and make a swing against the two behind it, a large rock fell from the ceiling thanks to the recent Void attack. The rock then landed straight onto Ogre head, putting it down again and recognizing the area as the weak spot, the Aberrations pummeled this head until they were sure that the creature was no longer moving.
The remaining seven Aberrations including the two that didn't take part regrouped and proceeded to feast on the dead Ogre before cocooning themselves.
"Augmenting Aberrations."
As she waited, Kerrigan noticed the nearby Hive forces being alerted to their presence. They were just about moving into several entrances, including a nearby ramp, the closest route back to the outside from where the Aberrations were. Not only were the Wizards coming back with more Hive, but Kerrigan was sure that their energies were like that of the Void. She was sure as she started sensing the Void recently, ever since Amon arose and more hybrid showed up. But she cast the thought as aside as it wasn't possible despite the Ogre and Hive having such strong Void signatures.
The Aberrations then bursted out of their cocoons their new purple forms. The heads had some resemblance to the Ogre with radiating eyes that also generated Void-like signatures. The strangest part, however, was that the sacs on their bodies had something growing inside them, like small scourges or parasites that could fly into the air. Abathur presented his new creation.
"New Aberration, Centaur, heavy anti-air weapon."
All of the new Aberrations were ready for fighting just when the Hive came into the scene. Their first enemies were a number of Thralls and Acolytes coming the same path the Zerg took. They were led by another large being that came into room, a Knight, a Hive elite that wielded a large weapon in its hands.
Like normal procedure, the Thralls charged in while the Troopers took cover behind debris that recently collapsed. As before, the Thralls merely scratched the new Aberrations as they were given severe blows and sent flying into the air. The ranged Hive troops were sent to a panic as they fire more shots against the Aberrations.
Joining them were several Wizards: three descended from the holes made by the Ogre, two teleported into the vicinity. Offering fire support, they cast blasts of dark energy onto the Zerg. While the Aberrations were being damaged as expected, though the little damage was unexpected, some of the Thralls were starting to get back up and the Zerg needed to put them down again. The large numbers and firepower soon destroyed another Centaur, forcing the others to unleash their new powers.
"Centaur strain, fires optical psionic beams. Optimally accurate against airborne, psionic targets."
Just like that, the Centaurs fired beams against their Hive enemies. The continuous beams were small, reasonably since they were coming from the Centaurs eyes, and had a mixture of Void and psionic attributes to them. They first went after the Acolytes and Knight, the latter of which resorted to cover behind the debris. Thanks to the strong Void essence from the Ogre, the beams cut through the tops of the fallen rocks to hit the enemy soldiers. But the Acolytes were very hard to kill. The Knight set up an energy shield to block the fire and the Acolytes were being "attacked" and given support fire by Wizards. But the hardest problem was the Centaurs unable to aim well on the ground forces. Only a few Acolytes were taken down and these were on a high ground and with focused fire.
The Centaurs split into two groups that went after the Knights and Wizards respectively. The first three aimed for the Wizards that moved nimbly through the air. Their beams were very accurate against the Wizards that they could hardly shake them off. Even when one attempted to find cover and another stopped to charge up more dark blasts similar to the Void, the Centaurs fired at them like sitting ducks. It might've helped that Wizards were comparably psionic, so while they were well-defended against Void-based attacks, their psionic ability was being used against them. Though it took as long as dealing with the few Acolytes, the Centaurs were able to shoot down the couple Wizards before moving onto the next pair.
The other trio was finishing up the ground forces, starting with the Acolytes. Moving faster than the Hive foot soldiers could, they merely smashed the Acolytes on the ground or kicked them into the air just like the Thralls. The Knight continued to fire its Boomer onto the Aberration variants, effectively taking one of them down on its right before focusing on their two on its left. But with the Acolytes eliminated, the other two focused their attention on their leader. The Knight knew what was coming for him and cast another shield to protect itself from whatever beams the Centaurs fired. Instead, they moved around to its side for melee combat. The Knight readied its Boomer as a club in response and a remaining Wizard came by to assist with a charging blast. The Centaurs continued with their head on attack, one blocking the Knight's Boomer, the other smashing its head with two punches and both resisting the blast from the Wizard.
Two more Wizards went down by the first group of Centaurs, which then converged on the last Wizard. The somewhat healed Knight was beaten to death by just one Aberration variant while the other three focused all of their fire on the last Wizard. Though there were still Hive forces around, the Zerg's current victory was accomplished with only one casualty.
"Wizards eliminated. Hive forces close to decimation."
But Kerrigan sensed something else inbound, coming from the outside by the other ramp, and they were not mere Hive reinforcements.
"I sense new enemies incoming! Dropships!"
On the surface by the second opening, three large ships were approaching the installation. While they were cloaked, Kerrigan and Abathur could still sense their signatures. They had a bulky design with twin engines on the sides. The belly of the ships had a container for troops and the front had rocket pods armed and ready.
"Cabal, large humanoid soldiers, has qualities of Rhinocerotidae family." Abathur gather whatever info he had as the ships lowered down to the secondary entrance. The ships offloaded their troops, which were large, bulky and heavily armored. They then lifted off to hover around the area. "Dropship Harvesters, little detailed information available, contain heavy arsenal, very destructive. Must clear for secure extraction. Second Centaur ability situationally effective."
Of course, the other ability wouldn't used on the Cabal just yet. Some more Hive came down from the ramp leading to the outside, entering long before the Cabal got there. Composed of several Acolytes, two Knights with cleaver-like weapons and four more Wizards moved to attack the Zerg.
Seeing the Wizards still as a major threat, the Centaurs began growing the creatures inside their sacs. The small creatures bursted out, flying with nimble wings and forcefully expelling gas for thrust as a swarm of them aimed for the Wizards. Though the airborne Hive quickly evaded bugs, they were meet with rapid explosions. All the little bug creatures all converged onto a wide radius in the air and bombarded it with self-destruction.
"Anti-air barrage available. Sacs release many sub-creatures that explode in area."
While it may take a long while before the ability could be used again, if ever, the effects have shown their worth. The shields the Wizards seemingly had were reduced to nothing and the Wizards themselves were crippled. Only one was able to keep flying, only to be meet with two Centaurs' eye beams.
The other three Centaurs charged after the Acolytes and Knights despite the former trying to run away and the latter taking them one with their cleavers. The Centaurs were only able to get a few Acolytes while most of their attention were on the Knights. The four Centaurs converged onto them as the Hive elites tried to fight back, but were overpowered by the Zerg creatures. With all Hive threats eliminated, all the remained were the Cabal and their ships on the surface.
As the Zerg leaders could see, it would not be a simple task. The last of the Hive forces were meet by the Cabal on the surface, all of them getting taken out by basic Legionaries and shield-holding Phalanx. Their Centurion commanders seemed unnerved by how leaderless Hive were coming out, ordering a few Phalanx to observe down the entrance while the other remained guard on it. The dropships also help their position, which meant that the new Aberration strain's abilities were key to this fight.
"Eliminate Cabal forces, then airspace will be secured for extraction."
With those orders, the Aberrations went up the ramp, exposing themselves to the Cabal Phalanx.
While the Cabal didn't have good eyesight, they knew something was coming up and fired from above their shields. The Centaurs returned fire, using the elevation of the ramp as good way to use their eye beams effectively. The Phalanx shields still held well and those that got hit anyway didn't take much damage. The attacks coming from the ramp entrance alerted the other Cabal, but only a few came over to assist the Phalanx. Even then, the Aberrations shrugged off the current heavy slug fire as they reach the mouth of the ramp entrance.
The first two Centaurs mauled through the Phalanx and Legionaries at the center before moving against those on the sides. The other three Centaurs came up to go after the larger Cabal force. Assisted by the dropships, the entire entrance was being bombarded by rocket fire as the Cabal focused their fire onto the Centaurs. The first two were taken down easily despite wiping out all the troops by the mouth.
The last three Centaurs ignored the small arms fire as their sacs were refilled with embryos of the small creatures. Once the Harvester ships stopped firing rockets, the Aberrations released their barrage of insects that went straight after the two on their left. One was caught by most of the barrage and both of its engines were destroyed, causing it to fall. The other was badly damaged with a barely functioning engine despite the other still working fine.
The only Cabal forces still there were a few Legionaries and a Centurion, their last two Phalanx getting smashed and thrown off the installation. They focused their fire on the center Centaur as it came to maul them as well. While the Cabal succeeded in taking it down, one of the last two came to finish them off. The last victim being the Centurion with its chest and neck spewing out an oily substance from the final blow.
The other Centaur was taking down the damaged Harvester, which crashed onto the valley after its right engine was shot. The last Harvester, which couldn't get a good target against the Zerg as it mixed with friendlies, was busy trying to avoid the beams aimed at it. When it took substantial damage, it launched another barrage of its rockets against the two Aberration variants, covering the area in smoke that made it hard for the pilot to see. A barrage from the Centaurs returned the favor. While the area of the bombardment was randomly chosen, a few were lucky enough to hit the cockpit seat of the dropship. The Cabal vehicle then came crashing down, exploding loudly into the air after a few seconds.
Both remaining Centaurs recovered from the blast and waited for the smoke to clear. With that, the battle was finished and the area around was secure.
"Cabal dropships eliminated. Centaur strain results exceed expectations. Anti-air forces clear for Overlord extraction."
"Must prepare Aberration sequences, returning to evolution pit."
-----
Reviewing strains:
Bruiser strain- Product of infusing Imulsion, parasitic radioactive substance. Exposed organisms become violent, very volatile, very unstable. Conversion into power weapon, now perfected. Bruiser increases in power upon receiving damage. Increase in attack power, attack speed. Resulted strain also explodes upon death, large explosion followed by sack clusters, radius and power also depends on damage taken. Make great use as siege unit, bring to front lines.
Centaur strain- Aberration, ideal base for heavy anti-air weaponry. Effective means involve Hive Ogre specimen. Aberration can now fire psionic beams, ideal for psionic and aerial enemies. Aberration sacks also produce living organic missiles. Once activated, target area confirmed, aerial barrage will havoc with groups of enemy air forces. New armaments most effective against air targets, named Centaur.
Interesting note: after reviewing Centaur, comparable Zerg prototype found with identical name. Puzzling, must ask producer about discarding such specimen.
Sequences ready for integration. Await decision.
I do not own Starcraft or Destiny.
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Strain #2: Centaur Strain
The Leviathan approached another parallel Earth to some annoyance of the Queen of Blades. But the main battleground wasn't directly at Earth.
"Moon, Earth's Moon."
Abathur gave a briefing as the view zoomed on the deserted ground of the immense natural satellite. The main battlefield was specifically based at a set of abandoned man-made installations constructed within the white hills.
The first point of interest was a field of Hydralisks that were recently wiped out. Infesting the ground were hordes of white, skeletal humanoids creatures with long claws. Some of them were feasting on the remains of the dead Zerg as if they were still moving. However, accompanying them were a more significant sight. Several human beings with ragged clothing hovered into the air as they move swiftly into the air.
"Powerful airborne units on surface. Countermeasures...difficult. Must develop new anti-air capabilities."
Aside the flying humans, which Kerrigan could sense having some kind of psionic abilities, there were many other signatures around that indicated themselves as flying units. There were also a number of fallen Overlords that fell just on their way to the surface. Agreeably, having so much air power in the area was very problematic for the Zerg.
As the view shifted to the next location of interest, Abathur pointed out.
"Aberration, ideal base for anti-air abilities. Few evaded detection, reached surface. Entity with key essence near."
A convex of hill by a small cave were a few Overlords still alive though badly damaged. With no enemies around, they dropped off eight Aberrations. They walked into formation as they awaited orders.
"Hive forces guarding primary essence. Air forces nearby. Avoid airborne enemies until sequences are acquired."
The Aberrations proceeded north through the white valley as they walked cautiously. While the place was crawling with the Hive, the path looked apparently clear of them. Still, the large amount of Hive in the area, lack of fighting data against them, and heavy air presence meant the Zerg couldn't freely charge in yet. Kerrigan kept that in the minds of the Aberrations as they marched forward.
As the Zerg were coming to a three-way intersection, Hive forces arrived there. Three of them were the same flying creatures from before, having high concentrations of psionic energy or something similar. They travelled in almost a flash as a small band of skeletal Thralls joined up with them from the opposite valley.
"Wizard, Hive-class air unit. Agile, nimble, uses psionic attacks."
Kerrigan was more focused on keeping the Aberrations at bay.
"Let the Wizards pass first. It's too soon to confront the Hive now."
Knowing the Aberrations were aggressive creatures, it took effort to keep them under control to ensure they didn't make any brash movements. Despite being able to take on the more numerous Thralls, they still had no anti-air capabilities yet. Therefore, if they engaged the Hive now, the Wizards will be their demise no matter how the battle goes.
It wasn't long before the Hive patrol started to move again. The Hive moved north, the direction were the essence was designated. While they still had to remain cautious, the area was still clear for the Aberrations to move up some more. The entire patrol already moved upward once the Zerg approached their mount of the intersection.
Their next path was simply to head north where the patrol headed. The northern path lead up to a metal bridge that connected to a cliff and lead straight to an installation built into it. So the path was simple, just the patrol made it a little complicated. Making the patrol a bigger threat were the entrances of three more Wizards nearby.
"More Wizards inbound."
Abathur warned as the newcomers flew from random directions to group with the patrol, though none flew overhead above the Zerg. Kerrigan kept the ill-tempered Aberrations from attack. WIth the patrol standing still and only turning in random directions, it was a long and irritating wait.
Fortunately, the patrol didn't wait for too long, nor was it this big. The Hive troops dispersed from the main entrance with the Thralls breaking into three groups. One went inside the entrance while the other two split to opposite paths around the cliff with Wizards following them. Any Wizards that didn't accompany the group suddenly disappeared, or underwent quick teleportation through Kerrigan's eyes, seeing such power from a few Protoss troops. Though she couldn't track where they went, she was certain they were no longer in the area. At least, they could move on without risking any danger.
"Now, while they're away. Cross the bridge and enter the main chamber."
With all threats from the Hive scattered and cleared from their path, the Aberrations crossed the bridge. As they approached the installation entrance, the only creatures alerted to their presence were the Thralls inside. Sensing them, they turned around and went back up to violently greet the incoming Zerg.
Sprouting out from a small corridor, a group of six Thralls moved in against the Aberrations with their claws open. As expected of the Queen of Blades, the Aberrations quickly overpowered the Thralls, taking them down with just a few hits. But she was still a little worried with this inevitable encounter. While the place was hardly ideal for air units, meaning it was unlikely Wizards, there was no guarantee that neither they nor other dangerous types of Hive creatures would come in. As she had the Aberrations step it up, they proceeded down subterranean tunnel that slightly curved to the right.
At one stopping point, they encountered a larger group of Thralls that were ascending in a rare formation. Behind them were Acolytes that wore helmets and wielded strange energy weapons in their hands. While the Thralls charged in like before, the Acolytes stayed behind to provide cover fire. Though a classic and effective tactic, it still wasn't enough thanks to the Aberrations' toughness. Each Aberration took out two or three Thralls that came their way, having only scratches by their legs and torso. They also shrugged off the light small arms fire coming from the Acolytes. As the ranged Hive warriors attempted stepped back hoping to run into cover, Kerrigan noticed the dark energy blasts that became their weapons' projectiles. Something felt familiar about them, but there wasn't much to look into if full. At least that was the case for this battle as the Aberrations towered over the Acolytes' cover and either stepped on or flung away the Hive soldiers. With the Hive patrols wiped out, the Aberrations moved on.
The path down the artificial tunnel wasn't deep as it was, nor was it very long. Even before the Aberrations made it to the bottom, Kerrigan could sense the nearby key essence and its surrounding area. It was in a large circular room with equipment made for research or experimentation. The essence also felt stationary shaking a few times. When the Aberrations had visual, they could see the massive hulking Hive creature that currently in big chains.
"Unique Hive-type specimen, Ogre. Uses psionic energy against long range targets."
Though its eyes were small- if it had any- the Ogre sensed the unique presence of the Aberrations. It struggled in anger, nearly breaking free of its unattended chains. Abathur gave the simple instructions.
"Defeat Ogre before integrating essence into Swarm."
The Ogre then broke free of its prison. Roaring at the intruding Zerg, it charged at them. Being just as tall as the Ogre, the Aberrations didn't bother to get out of the way. However, two of them collided with the Ogre, it turned out to be a lot tougher than expected. They were holding their ground, but they were sliding back with immense force. After locking arms for a while the Ogre used its strength to raise the two Aberrations and toss them into a wall.
It then started to charge up something on its head that, once Kerrigan more time to analyze, was akin to the Void. During the charge, four other Aberrations joined into the fight, one of them luckily punching the Ogre in the head before it firing. An immense blast then shot into the air, making a huge line of destruction on the ceiling, even blasting clean holes to the outside. When the Ogre was finished with its blast, the angered beast swatted away the four Aberrations to the side. One of them was pounded right onto the ground and the Ogre used its fists to smash its head. It then charged its Void attack again, this time against the three other Aberrations that have yet to recover. Fortunately, the first two Aberrations recovered enough to attack the Ogre before could come close to finishing its charge. With one blow to the back and another to the head, the Ogre fell forward on to the ground. The other three Aberrations joined as they pummeled the downed creature repeatedly.
The very furious Ogre once again stood up and brushed away the three Aberrations. But before it could turn around and make a swing against the two behind it, a large rock fell from the ceiling thanks to the recent Void attack. The rock then landed straight onto Ogre head, putting it down again and recognizing the area as the weak spot, the Aberrations pummeled this head until they were sure that the creature was no longer moving.
The remaining seven Aberrations including the two that didn't take part regrouped and proceeded to feast on the dead Ogre before cocooning themselves.
"Augmenting Aberrations."
As she waited, Kerrigan noticed the nearby Hive forces being alerted to their presence. They were just about moving into several entrances, including a nearby ramp, the closest route back to the outside from where the Aberrations were. Not only were the Wizards coming back with more Hive, but Kerrigan was sure that their energies were like that of the Void. She was sure as she started sensing the Void recently, ever since Amon arose and more hybrid showed up. But she cast the thought as aside as it wasn't possible despite the Ogre and Hive having such strong Void signatures.
The Aberrations then bursted out of their cocoons their new purple forms. The heads had some resemblance to the Ogre with radiating eyes that also generated Void-like signatures. The strangest part, however, was that the sacs on their bodies had something growing inside them, like small scourges or parasites that could fly into the air. Abathur presented his new creation.
"New Aberration, Centaur, heavy anti-air weapon."
All of the new Aberrations were ready for fighting just when the Hive came into the scene. Their first enemies were a number of Thralls and Acolytes coming the same path the Zerg took. They were led by another large being that came into room, a Knight, a Hive elite that wielded a large weapon in its hands.
Like normal procedure, the Thralls charged in while the Troopers took cover behind debris that recently collapsed. As before, the Thralls merely scratched the new Aberrations as they were given severe blows and sent flying into the air. The ranged Hive troops were sent to a panic as they fire more shots against the Aberrations.
Joining them were several Wizards: three descended from the holes made by the Ogre, two teleported into the vicinity. Offering fire support, they cast blasts of dark energy onto the Zerg. While the Aberrations were being damaged as expected, though the little damage was unexpected, some of the Thralls were starting to get back up and the Zerg needed to put them down again. The large numbers and firepower soon destroyed another Centaur, forcing the others to unleash their new powers.
"Centaur strain, fires optical psionic beams. Optimally accurate against airborne, psionic targets."
Just like that, the Centaurs fired beams against their Hive enemies. The continuous beams were small, reasonably since they were coming from the Centaurs eyes, and had a mixture of Void and psionic attributes to them. They first went after the Acolytes and Knight, the latter of which resorted to cover behind the debris. Thanks to the strong Void essence from the Ogre, the beams cut through the tops of the fallen rocks to hit the enemy soldiers. But the Acolytes were very hard to kill. The Knight set up an energy shield to block the fire and the Acolytes were being "attacked" and given support fire by Wizards. But the hardest problem was the Centaurs unable to aim well on the ground forces. Only a few Acolytes were taken down and these were on a high ground and with focused fire.
The Centaurs split into two groups that went after the Knights and Wizards respectively. The first three aimed for the Wizards that moved nimbly through the air. Their beams were very accurate against the Wizards that they could hardly shake them off. Even when one attempted to find cover and another stopped to charge up more dark blasts similar to the Void, the Centaurs fired at them like sitting ducks. It might've helped that Wizards were comparably psionic, so while they were well-defended against Void-based attacks, their psionic ability was being used against them. Though it took as long as dealing with the few Acolytes, the Centaurs were able to shoot down the couple Wizards before moving onto the next pair.
The other trio was finishing up the ground forces, starting with the Acolytes. Moving faster than the Hive foot soldiers could, they merely smashed the Acolytes on the ground or kicked them into the air just like the Thralls. The Knight continued to fire its Boomer onto the Aberration variants, effectively taking one of them down on its right before focusing on their two on its left. But with the Acolytes eliminated, the other two focused their attention on their leader. The Knight knew what was coming for him and cast another shield to protect itself from whatever beams the Centaurs fired. Instead, they moved around to its side for melee combat. The Knight readied its Boomer as a club in response and a remaining Wizard came by to assist with a charging blast. The Centaurs continued with their head on attack, one blocking the Knight's Boomer, the other smashing its head with two punches and both resisting the blast from the Wizard.
Two more Wizards went down by the first group of Centaurs, which then converged on the last Wizard. The somewhat healed Knight was beaten to death by just one Aberration variant while the other three focused all of their fire on the last Wizard. Though there were still Hive forces around, the Zerg's current victory was accomplished with only one casualty.
"Wizards eliminated. Hive forces close to decimation."
But Kerrigan sensed something else inbound, coming from the outside by the other ramp, and they were not mere Hive reinforcements.
"I sense new enemies incoming! Dropships!"
On the surface by the second opening, three large ships were approaching the installation. While they were cloaked, Kerrigan and Abathur could still sense their signatures. They had a bulky design with twin engines on the sides. The belly of the ships had a container for troops and the front had rocket pods armed and ready.
"Cabal, large humanoid soldiers, has qualities of Rhinocerotidae family." Abathur gather whatever info he had as the ships lowered down to the secondary entrance. The ships offloaded their troops, which were large, bulky and heavily armored. They then lifted off to hover around the area. "Dropship Harvesters, little detailed information available, contain heavy arsenal, very destructive. Must clear for secure extraction. Second Centaur ability situationally effective."
Of course, the other ability wouldn't used on the Cabal just yet. Some more Hive came down from the ramp leading to the outside, entering long before the Cabal got there. Composed of several Acolytes, two Knights with cleaver-like weapons and four more Wizards moved to attack the Zerg.
Seeing the Wizards still as a major threat, the Centaurs began growing the creatures inside their sacs. The small creatures bursted out, flying with nimble wings and forcefully expelling gas for thrust as a swarm of them aimed for the Wizards. Though the airborne Hive quickly evaded bugs, they were meet with rapid explosions. All the little bug creatures all converged onto a wide radius in the air and bombarded it with self-destruction.
"Anti-air barrage available. Sacs release many sub-creatures that explode in area."
While it may take a long while before the ability could be used again, if ever, the effects have shown their worth. The shields the Wizards seemingly had were reduced to nothing and the Wizards themselves were crippled. Only one was able to keep flying, only to be meet with two Centaurs' eye beams.
The other three Centaurs charged after the Acolytes and Knights despite the former trying to run away and the latter taking them one with their cleavers. The Centaurs were only able to get a few Acolytes while most of their attention were on the Knights. The four Centaurs converged onto them as the Hive elites tried to fight back, but were overpowered by the Zerg creatures. With all Hive threats eliminated, all the remained were the Cabal and their ships on the surface.
As the Zerg leaders could see, it would not be a simple task. The last of the Hive forces were meet by the Cabal on the surface, all of them getting taken out by basic Legionaries and shield-holding Phalanx. Their Centurion commanders seemed unnerved by how leaderless Hive were coming out, ordering a few Phalanx to observe down the entrance while the other remained guard on it. The dropships also help their position, which meant that the new Aberration strain's abilities were key to this fight.
"Eliminate Cabal forces, then airspace will be secured for extraction."
With those orders, the Aberrations went up the ramp, exposing themselves to the Cabal Phalanx.
While the Cabal didn't have good eyesight, they knew something was coming up and fired from above their shields. The Centaurs returned fire, using the elevation of the ramp as good way to use their eye beams effectively. The Phalanx shields still held well and those that got hit anyway didn't take much damage. The attacks coming from the ramp entrance alerted the other Cabal, but only a few came over to assist the Phalanx. Even then, the Aberrations shrugged off the current heavy slug fire as they reach the mouth of the ramp entrance.
The first two Centaurs mauled through the Phalanx and Legionaries at the center before moving against those on the sides. The other three Centaurs came up to go after the larger Cabal force. Assisted by the dropships, the entire entrance was being bombarded by rocket fire as the Cabal focused their fire onto the Centaurs. The first two were taken down easily despite wiping out all the troops by the mouth.
The last three Centaurs ignored the small arms fire as their sacs were refilled with embryos of the small creatures. Once the Harvester ships stopped firing rockets, the Aberrations released their barrage of insects that went straight after the two on their left. One was caught by most of the barrage and both of its engines were destroyed, causing it to fall. The other was badly damaged with a barely functioning engine despite the other still working fine.
The only Cabal forces still there were a few Legionaries and a Centurion, their last two Phalanx getting smashed and thrown off the installation. They focused their fire on the center Centaur as it came to maul them as well. While the Cabal succeeded in taking it down, one of the last two came to finish them off. The last victim being the Centurion with its chest and neck spewing out an oily substance from the final blow.
The other Centaur was taking down the damaged Harvester, which crashed onto the valley after its right engine was shot. The last Harvester, which couldn't get a good target against the Zerg as it mixed with friendlies, was busy trying to avoid the beams aimed at it. When it took substantial damage, it launched another barrage of its rockets against the two Aberration variants, covering the area in smoke that made it hard for the pilot to see. A barrage from the Centaurs returned the favor. While the area of the bombardment was randomly chosen, a few were lucky enough to hit the cockpit seat of the dropship. The Cabal vehicle then came crashing down, exploding loudly into the air after a few seconds.
Both remaining Centaurs recovered from the blast and waited for the smoke to clear. With that, the battle was finished and the area around was secure.
"Cabal dropships eliminated. Centaur strain results exceed expectations. Anti-air forces clear for Overlord extraction."
"Must prepare Aberration sequences, returning to evolution pit."
-----
Reviewing strains:
Bruiser strain- Product of infusing Imulsion, parasitic radioactive substance. Exposed organisms become violent, very volatile, very unstable. Conversion into power weapon, now perfected. Bruiser increases in power upon receiving damage. Increase in attack power, attack speed. Resulted strain also explodes upon death, large explosion followed by sack clusters, radius and power also depends on damage taken. Make great use as siege unit, bring to front lines.
Centaur strain- Aberration, ideal base for heavy anti-air weaponry. Effective means involve Hive Ogre specimen. Aberration can now fire psionic beams, ideal for psionic and aerial enemies. Aberration sacks also produce living organic missiles. Once activated, target area confirmed, aerial barrage will havoc with groups of enemy air forces. New armaments most effective against air targets, named Centaur.
Interesting note: after reviewing Centaur, comparable Zerg prototype found with identical name. Puzzling, must ask producer about discarding such specimen.
Sequences ready for integration. Await decision.
Intermission 2
Now for the next Intermission and what strains were the most chosen. All I can say is that was a VERY CLOSE pool, but one made it in the end.
And along the way, we'll have three new upcoming units for you to choose from.
-----
Leviathan Nerve Center...
"And so the choices have been made," Kerrigan started a conversation.
"I'm curious about our new Hydralisks," Zagara replied. "They look more mechanical than they are organic. More shiny like the Protoss instead of actual Zerg."
"Machines...also...have...ESSENCE?" Dehaka wondered.
"They're not exactly machines," Kerrigan explained. "From what Abathur explains, they're more like a combination of synthetically made organisms integrated with machinery. They produce from factories, but are grown rapidly like crops."
"Then this is what you use for the term "cyborgs", isn't it?" Zagara inferred.
"Close enough."
"I can only imagine what else these Cyberlisks can assimilate now that they can absorb inorganic matter as well."
"But that's not main purpose for collecting the Harvesters. Their reproduction methods allow our Hydralisks to generate 'smart' spikes, allowing them to strike people even when around the corner."
"I assume their mechanical appearance will help as well?"
"Yes, now that they have mechanical traits, we no longer have to worry too much about radiation poisoning or the sort. We can also count on using repair equipment to fix our Hydralisks if need be. That is, if we can find some."
"The primal...Zerg...do not...need repairs," Dehaka complained "The primal...zerg...are not...interested...in...repairs…"
"Not for you, but the Swarm can still benefit."
"The primal...Zerg...are...interested...in...second...strain...They...go...BOOM…"
"The Bruisers?" Kerrigan guessed. "Indeed, it'll help break through enemy defenses easily."
But Dehaka had another reason.
"Bruisers...do...immense...damage….kill...many...allow...the Primal...Zerg...to take...essence."
"I don't know about that. But with their anger converted into a weapon, the enemy will not know they won't like rampaging Aberrations until it's too late."
"Hm…" Zagara trailed before asking. "Speaking of rampaging, what about that Omegalisk let run havoc on the Terran world?"
"You mean Mejere? I let it loose for a while, had it go after government buildings and military centers."
"Interesting, thinking like the Old Queen of Blades, aren't you?"
"Not exactly. I'm loosening more about killing Terrans now, but that doesn't mean I'll let loose the Swarm on those who don't deserve it."
"Explain."
"I've been reading through the minds of the Mejere down below, strangely all female. The only ones who are male are from another world called Tarak. They've been at war for each other for propaganda and cultural reasons. That is until the Harvester attacked."
"Then why not unleash the Swarm upon both of them?"
"Tarak had an artificial society, a strict caste system that often abused its lower class. However, they were very focused on honesty and struggling together as one force. I found them a little...respectable in that regard. The Mejere on the other hand backstabbed one another, ruined one another, including their own planets as they wasted resources. It was all for the sake of beauty and being on top. And while Tarak was militaristic and antagonized women, those women were never so different. I figured devastating them will further shove the lessons they needed to learn."
"Ruthless and institutive. How fitting."
But something was not fitting as Kerrigan noticed. Usually, all of her officers would be within the nerve center when a meeting was gather. But one of them wasn't there.
"Say, where's Stukov?"
"He said he left to do an errand," Zagara filled her in.
"An errand?"
"He left the Leviathan with some of the Zerg. He wanted to me to lend some of my brood to him to carry out some operations."
"Did he give me a warning about this? Any reason why I shouldn't know?"
"He said he left a message for you when he was gone. He said he had interest in helping Abathur's experiments."
"Like what? Can you repeat anything he said."
"I can repeat it for you, My Queen," Ishza from the wall told her master.
Within the nerve center, Stukov's message was played.
"I know you're unsure of my absence, but in case you notice, this message will be for you. The previous attacks on the outside worlds and the current experiments have influenced me. I've been looking through places, seeking out what other bastards are out there, even if it's an entire civilizations. Figured since we're here, we'd launched what the Japanese call a "kamikaze", a divine wind for the people suffering under said bastards.
I found one such world, including a few others of interest, and asked Abathur and Zagara to lend some of their forces for the operations. I suggest going to the former as he's been informed more about the situation. Other than that, I can assure you that this should somewhat be beneficial and the old way of fun."
When the playback ended, Izsha inserted, "Abathur has already began making preparations. He'll like to brief you in the new operations."
"I see," Kerrigan complied, still worried over the current situation. "I'll be heading over right now."
-----
Evolution Pit….
Kerrigan walked in as Abathur was currently working.
The spider-like Zerg was alert to Kerrigan's presence as he diverted attention from his work. Kerrigan could understand the worry as she noticed what he was working on. Next to him was a sack of goo containing a naked terran female. There many other sacks around him as well.
"I thought we agreed not to experiment on human subjects anymore," Kerrigan radiated her eyes, despite knowing there was something else going on.
"Examining," Abathur explained. "Terran females have unique essence, unique power."
"Did Stukov bring you these?"
"Terran specimens already deceased, retain genetic coding. Provided to me by Stukov to assess for interest. Not for experimentation, just analysis."
"What are they?"
"Identification: Norma. Only female gender, rejects psionics, rejects supernatural abilities. Analysis very frustrating."
"And those?" Kerrigan pointed to special kinds of sacks that were further back, but huge that carried winged beasts also deceased.
"Identification: Dragon. Winged creature. Females have special psionics. Males contain special material, evolve into powerful variants."
"What kind of material?
"Material Dracium, extremely high psionic potential that surpasses jorium and terrazine. Only found in native world."
"Why would Stukov bring you these?"
"Provide new strains for Zerg units, deal with...bastards."
"And where would these 'bastards' be?"
"Location: Planet Mana. Home of Mana users, equivalent to completely psionic terran race, hunts and persecutes non-psionics. But security low, most military weapons decommissioned, inhabitants claimed pacifist, vulnerable to Zerg invasion."
"And have you found any new strains?"
"Roach morph available, Mana majorly useful testing ground for new strains, surface contains high concentrations of Dracium. Stukov preparing for invasion, experimentation, seizure."
"Did he suggest any other worlds or experiments like this?"
"Organism Stokov requests improvement to Infested Terrans. Norma sequences useful, but solely ineffective. Requires specimens from other worlds suggested by Organism Stukov."
"What kind of worlds?"
"Description: heavy 'Germanic' influence, contains soldiers equivalent to Puella Magi, incomprehensible levels. Will also be used for Roach morph testing."
Kerrigan thought over the two experiments. With one mission involving invading another world and another that risked attacking children once again, neither one was very popular with her.
"Any other experiments you'll use?"
"Additional test for strains: Full Mutalisk evolution, Scourge strains."
"Scourges?" Kerrigan was surprised as it's been awhile since they used Scourges, except when they were needed back on Char.
"Report from Broodmothers in own universe," Abathur explained "Scourge sequences reconstituted. Key specimens, once useless, now available to integrate within Scourges."
"And I assume the Mutalisks will work just like the Hydralisks we did recently?"
"Accurate, new Mutalisk strains will affect original Mutalisks' abilities, no morph."
"I see then," Kerrgian had enough to hear. "Prepare the experiments, but I'll have more more supervision in these courses and will have certain conditions. I want only the Mana users to be harmed if what we hear is true. Try not to harm the children as much. And….make sure you do them quick."
"Conditions acceptable. Will set up Roach morph, Mutalisk, Scourge and Infested Terran augmentations under Queen's supervision. Await your initiation."
-----
So you have the Roach morph or the other three strains available. However, I'm not sure which one should start with. The Mutalisk one will be going in later as I need to think more about that. But the other three I should be prepared for.
If you wish, you can suggest which of three strains (Roach, Infested Terran, or Scourge) should come next.
And along the way, we'll have three new upcoming units for you to choose from.
-----
Leviathan Nerve Center...
"And so the choices have been made," Kerrigan started a conversation.
"I'm curious about our new Hydralisks," Zagara replied. "They look more mechanical than they are organic. More shiny like the Protoss instead of actual Zerg."
"Machines...also...have...ESSENCE?" Dehaka wondered.
"They're not exactly machines," Kerrigan explained. "From what Abathur explains, they're more like a combination of synthetically made organisms integrated with machinery. They produce from factories, but are grown rapidly like crops."
"Then this is what you use for the term "cyborgs", isn't it?" Zagara inferred.
"Close enough."
"I can only imagine what else these Cyberlisks can assimilate now that they can absorb inorganic matter as well."
"But that's not main purpose for collecting the Harvesters. Their reproduction methods allow our Hydralisks to generate 'smart' spikes, allowing them to strike people even when around the corner."
"I assume their mechanical appearance will help as well?"
"Yes, now that they have mechanical traits, we no longer have to worry too much about radiation poisoning or the sort. We can also count on using repair equipment to fix our Hydralisks if need be. That is, if we can find some."
"The primal...Zerg...do not...need repairs," Dehaka complained "The primal...zerg...are not...interested...in...repairs…"
"Not for you, but the Swarm can still benefit."
"The primal...Zerg...are...interested...in...second...strain...They...go...BOOM…"
"The Bruisers?" Kerrigan guessed. "Indeed, it'll help break through enemy defenses easily."
But Dehaka had another reason.
"Bruisers...do...immense...damage….kill...many...allow...the Primal...Zerg...to take...essence."
"I don't know about that. But with their anger converted into a weapon, the enemy will not know they won't like rampaging Aberrations until it's too late."
"Hm…" Zagara trailed before asking. "Speaking of rampaging, what about that Omegalisk let run havoc on the Terran world?"
"You mean Mejere? I let it loose for a while, had it go after government buildings and military centers."
"Interesting, thinking like the Old Queen of Blades, aren't you?"
"Not exactly. I'm loosening more about killing Terrans now, but that doesn't mean I'll let loose the Swarm on those who don't deserve it."
"Explain."
"I've been reading through the minds of the Mejere down below, strangely all female. The only ones who are male are from another world called Tarak. They've been at war for each other for propaganda and cultural reasons. That is until the Harvester attacked."
"Then why not unleash the Swarm upon both of them?"
"Tarak had an artificial society, a strict caste system that often abused its lower class. However, they were very focused on honesty and struggling together as one force. I found them a little...respectable in that regard. The Mejere on the other hand backstabbed one another, ruined one another, including their own planets as they wasted resources. It was all for the sake of beauty and being on top. And while Tarak was militaristic and antagonized women, those women were never so different. I figured devastating them will further shove the lessons they needed to learn."
"Ruthless and institutive. How fitting."
But something was not fitting as Kerrigan noticed. Usually, all of her officers would be within the nerve center when a meeting was gather. But one of them wasn't there.
"Say, where's Stukov?"
"He said he left to do an errand," Zagara filled her in.
"An errand?"
"He left the Leviathan with some of the Zerg. He wanted to me to lend some of my brood to him to carry out some operations."
"Did he give me a warning about this? Any reason why I shouldn't know?"
"He said he left a message for you when he was gone. He said he had interest in helping Abathur's experiments."
"Like what? Can you repeat anything he said."
"I can repeat it for you, My Queen," Ishza from the wall told her master.
Within the nerve center, Stukov's message was played.
"I know you're unsure of my absence, but in case you notice, this message will be for you. The previous attacks on the outside worlds and the current experiments have influenced me. I've been looking through places, seeking out what other bastards are out there, even if it's an entire civilizations. Figured since we're here, we'd launched what the Japanese call a "kamikaze", a divine wind for the people suffering under said bastards.
I found one such world, including a few others of interest, and asked Abathur and Zagara to lend some of their forces for the operations. I suggest going to the former as he's been informed more about the situation. Other than that, I can assure you that this should somewhat be beneficial and the old way of fun."
When the playback ended, Izsha inserted, "Abathur has already began making preparations. He'll like to brief you in the new operations."
"I see," Kerrigan complied, still worried over the current situation. "I'll be heading over right now."
-----
Evolution Pit….
Kerrigan walked in as Abathur was currently working.
The spider-like Zerg was alert to Kerrigan's presence as he diverted attention from his work. Kerrigan could understand the worry as she noticed what he was working on. Next to him was a sack of goo containing a naked terran female. There many other sacks around him as well.
"I thought we agreed not to experiment on human subjects anymore," Kerrigan radiated her eyes, despite knowing there was something else going on.
"Examining," Abathur explained. "Terran females have unique essence, unique power."
"Did Stukov bring you these?"
"Terran specimens already deceased, retain genetic coding. Provided to me by Stukov to assess for interest. Not for experimentation, just analysis."
"What are they?"
"Identification: Norma. Only female gender, rejects psionics, rejects supernatural abilities. Analysis very frustrating."
"And those?" Kerrigan pointed to special kinds of sacks that were further back, but huge that carried winged beasts also deceased.
"Identification: Dragon. Winged creature. Females have special psionics. Males contain special material, evolve into powerful variants."
"What kind of material?
"Material Dracium, extremely high psionic potential that surpasses jorium and terrazine. Only found in native world."
"Why would Stukov bring you these?"
"Provide new strains for Zerg units, deal with...bastards."
"And where would these 'bastards' be?"
"Location: Planet Mana. Home of Mana users, equivalent to completely psionic terran race, hunts and persecutes non-psionics. But security low, most military weapons decommissioned, inhabitants claimed pacifist, vulnerable to Zerg invasion."
"And have you found any new strains?"
"Roach morph available, Mana majorly useful testing ground for new strains, surface contains high concentrations of Dracium. Stukov preparing for invasion, experimentation, seizure."
"Did he suggest any other worlds or experiments like this?"
"Organism Stokov requests improvement to Infested Terrans. Norma sequences useful, but solely ineffective. Requires specimens from other worlds suggested by Organism Stukov."
"What kind of worlds?"
"Description: heavy 'Germanic' influence, contains soldiers equivalent to Puella Magi, incomprehensible levels. Will also be used for Roach morph testing."
Kerrigan thought over the two experiments. With one mission involving invading another world and another that risked attacking children once again, neither one was very popular with her.
"Any other experiments you'll use?"
"Additional test for strains: Full Mutalisk evolution, Scourge strains."
"Scourges?" Kerrigan was surprised as it's been awhile since they used Scourges, except when they were needed back on Char.
"Report from Broodmothers in own universe," Abathur explained "Scourge sequences reconstituted. Key specimens, once useless, now available to integrate within Scourges."
"And I assume the Mutalisks will work just like the Hydralisks we did recently?"
"Accurate, new Mutalisk strains will affect original Mutalisks' abilities, no morph."
"I see then," Kerrgian had enough to hear. "Prepare the experiments, but I'll have more more supervision in these courses and will have certain conditions. I want only the Mana users to be harmed if what we hear is true. Try not to harm the children as much. And….make sure you do them quick."
"Conditions acceptable. Will set up Roach morph, Mutalisk, Scourge and Infested Terran augmentations under Queen's supervision. Await your initiation."
-----
So you have the Roach morph or the other three strains available. However, I'm not sure which one should start with. The Mutalisk one will be going in later as I need to think more about that. But the other three I should be prepared for.
If you wish, you can suggest which of three strains (Roach, Infested Terran, or Scourge) should come next.
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Scourge A- Volley
Well, since the Scourge strain is the one people are interested in the most, it's time we get to that one.
No credit to me for StarCraft or Nanoha.
Abathur: Scourge strain ready for augmentation. Scourge sequences reconstituted, require modernization. Experiments already in progress.
-----
Kerrigan's Leviathan arrived at a test site for the new Scourges. This one took place not on a planet, but what looked like an established colony or base built within an asteroid field.
"Aegis System. R&D Ground, property of Time-Space Administration Bureau."
The Swarms leaders zoomed in on the test location. On three outer edges were established metal platforms within the asteroids, separated evenly on the outer edges of the field. Zerg air units including the old Scourges were already surrounding the stations.
"Zerg forces scouting area, minor engagements."
At one location, the Zerg were cut down very easily. A burst of several beams glowing with purple energy cut through the Mutalisks' bodies and wings. The dead former Mantis Screamers either crashed onto the asteroids nearby or drifted dead into the field. Overlords were pummeled by larger pillars of blue and green light as their insides and blood splattered everywhere.
The only ones seen to be repelling the attacks were a trio of men wielding high-tech staffs with respective colors. They were surrounded with energy of their given colors, which seemed to act as a defense against vacuum as a replacement for the Terran marine suits. Behind them on a platform, a line of three turrets were established, having a base similar to Terran Missile turrets, but having colored spheres of energy to act as guns like the Protoss cannons. They were busy engaging some left over Mutalisks and the nearby Scourges.
It was clear the Zerg did little or no damage to the outpost. Any shots from the Mutalisks seemed to have missed their targets by quite a distance. The Overlords were shot down before they could get close enough to the platforms and even Sacs didn't look like an option. The Scourges were the closest thanks to their small size and mobility, but they focused their attention only on the staff wielders. The men fired through several Scourges that exploded in clusters. The remaining Scourges that were smart enough to scatter converged onto the green officer, who activated some sort of explosive feature that surrounded body to destroy them all at once.
"Zerg forces easily repelled by defenders. Reactive defenses, weaponry, systems optimal for space combat."
Kerrigan saw the obvious, agitated that Abathur chose this kind of location to start his experiments. She missed the moment where the green mage had to recharge, his allied assisting with their own energy before his suit started to glow again.
"Weakness discovered. Defenses require charging time. Zerg options available."
Another wave of Scourges were approaching the asteroid field. These ones were different as they had glowing green sacs like those of the Banelings. They also had wings sticking out as if they were used for small Scourges. If they worked like what Kerrigan theorized, that should be enough to get the defenses.
"Scourges spun with mitoscarab essence. Volley strain ready for combat."
"Eliminate the security posts," Kerrigan ordered, designating three large asteroids along with the central cluster occupied by Mages and TSAB ships. "Clear out the defenders along with the facility."
-----
Within the center of the asteroid system was a small naval base built within the large rock in the area, enough mass to keep it from spinning everywhere. A few ships were docked, though they were getting ready for launch due to recent events.
Outside in one warship station a short-haired admiral, one Chrono Haralown serving as captain of the ship. Things were clearly not going well for him since he got the message about unknown creatures attacking their forces within their space. While it was fortunate that they were easy to cut down, the fact these monstrous ones came out of nowhere and were clearly unable to talk unnerved him.
"Security Point Kira has confirmed all hostile forces dead," An officer confirmed. "Point Athrun is mopping up stragglers."
"Acknowledged," Chrono confirmed. "Make sure they recover as many corpses as they can. We need to find more info about this new enemy ASAP."
"Yes, Admiral."
Chrono then looked up to main commander build next to dock within the asteroid field. Inside was his wife Amy and their children, who were there both on assignment and for a family visit. He found it quite bad luck in terms of time, but Chrono had a job to do.
I'll keep you defended from these things.
But then another transmission came.
"This is Security Post Lacus! The aliens are attacking again!"
"What's your status?"
"The aliens, they're different from before, but we've...What!? How could there be so many-"
Some explosions made the line dead.
-----
A flock of Scourges recently destroyed one of the outposts with its new abilities. The mages and stationed emplacements retaliated like usual upon approaching the outpost, firing beams of multicolored light against the invaders. The Scourges took more evasive maneuvers this time, which got them far closer than last time, but they were still cut down.
What surprised them was that through the resulting smoke, they got ambushed by the lesser Scourges that were far significantly smaller. That didn't make them less of threat, however, as they proceeded to bury the guarding mages with exploding acid. None of them, even with their shields, were able to survive it and remaining Scourges proceeded to bombard the outpost. A few full intact Scourges remains as the asteroid on the outpost was shattered along with the facility.
"Volley strain," Abathur introduced. "Splits Scourge into three smaller units, occurs upon death or detonation."
Another group of Volley Scourges came in as the Swarm flew right, alongside the outer rims of the asteroid field. It wasn't long before they arrived at the nearby outpost, of where the mage retaliated quickly.
More beams scattered as the new Scourges charged in. They grew somewhat smart as they distributed themselves evenly to avoid getting destroyed in clumps as well as being huge resulting targets. The Scourges up in front got shot first, creating a cloud of acid that obstructed the Mages' naked view. They had their Devices charging with energy as they aimed, waiting for the incoming force to pop out of the smoke.
The Scourges came out from unexpected places through the smoke. And thanks to the Volley strain, they looked like they grew in number. The TSAB mages responded quickly with more beams and bolts of mana against the growing number of attackers. They didn't hesitate to continue firing even after getting a few chain reactions of explosions. Though the major were of the smaller variety, the number of Scourges proceed to barrel down the defenders and swarms of cluster missiles.
"What the hell? There's no end to them-"
Before a mage could complete his sentence, the mage was bombarded and vaporized by the smaller Scourges. The other Mages had the similar fate, even though they delayed by triggering their Barrier Jacket to blow much of them away. The continuous numbers of the Scourges and their lesser kind simply overwhelmed them. They didn't even bother going the defenses defending the rim, even when another large flock of Scourges was incoming. The remaining ones nearby simply went through the holes that went to the main centers of the outpost. Moments later as new Volleys were approaching the outpost was already exploding.
The new set of Scourges continued, taking a curved way outside the system to attack the remaining outpost. This one still had stronger defenses including a nearby cruiser. Like the other they were quick to return fire.
The Scourges went in a long, thick line as they cruised one at a time towards the final outpost. They were met by huge pillars and beams that tore through the line of Zerg while only few lucky enough to escape the blast. Many of the destroyed Scourges were luck enough to have one or two of their lesser spawn escape the blast. The Scourge then dispersed, which were met by a spamming of beams that were difficult to dodge. The majority of the Scourges that survived were the lesser kind and they were only able to get through with just few hit on the opposing forces. The Mages activated their Barrier Jackets and the ship was shielded to take the brunt of the damage.
However, another large swarm of Scourges came in, all dispersed and in huge numbers. Some stationed turret in the outpost joined the responding counter attack as the fleet of scourges increased in number as the large Scourges ejected their offspring upon detonation.
"They just keep coming!"
The Scourges barrell down on the TSAB forces with sheer numbers alone. Even the large beam fire from the nearby cruiser could hardly decrease the number thank to the Zerg's new formation, new splitting ability, small size and evasive agility. A large number already barrelled through the Mages and tens of them bombarded the residing outpost. The sustained much of the heavy self-bombardment from the Scourges thanks to its shields and defenses, but even they got overrun. After enough damage to its hull, the craft exploded into a multiple huge chunks drifting into a multiple directions. Even after the heavy attack, there were still a number of Scourges, core and lesser, still around.
"Outposts destroyed. Main headquarters vulnerable. Eliminate." Abathur instructed as an even larger swarm of reinforcements came in. "More Scourges arriving now."
The Scourges then permeated through the asteroid field, all heading towards the main facility within the system. It wasn't too long before they reached the center where three TSAB ships launched to join with the patrolling four and mages scrambled out in space by the Admiral's orders.
"Evacuate the facility! Defend the commander center!"
With those orders, the defenders fired upon the Scourges with whatever weaponry they had. It was quite difficult due to the surround asteroids, which the Zerg used for cover. Some of them resorted to firing through the narrow gaps where Scourges came in to get chain reactions. Others decided to blow up the asteroids in order to shrink the gaps and get many of the Scourges with the debris. The Scourges merely adapt despite the casualties, using the floating rocks for protection and avoiding using the narrow gaps whenever possible. It wasn't long before they encircled the facility and converged in all at once.
As they closed in on the facility, the Mages, cruisers and nearby turrets fired upon as many Scourges as they can, particularly whatever clumps they can get. But a startling instance came when a circular or perhaps spherical field of ice emerged. With perfect timing, a large freezing spell came what looked like the main command ship of the defending fleet. The Scourges who were in the field barely had time to react as they got encased in ice. All of the surrounding Scourges appeared frozen as the TSAB Mages lowered their guard, aiming for the Scourges that didn't get caught in the spell.
But while intrigued, Abathur showed little care for the sudden countermeasure.
It happened when the nearby Mages finished scanning to confirm the Scourges inactive and got closer to them hopefully for retrieval. Without warning, the main, big Scourges exploded in front of the approaching Mages, blinding them with their clouds of explosive acid and triggering their Barrier Jackets in the process. They were finished off by a swarm of the smaller Scourges that erupted from the remains of the larger ones. Now three times in number, including the Scourges that got thawed from the resulting explosions, the Zerg continued their charge.
The defenders were easily buried by the overwhelming power of the Zerg. Even with the triggered Jackets, there were far too many lesser Scourges gunning after them and they took too long to recharge. The main cruisers took the worst of the brunt, especially main commanding ship that received the worst of the barrage. The few remaining Scourges that remain did the most damage as they spilt immediately upon impacting the draining shields of the ships and using its spawn to do serious damage to its hull, especially near the bridges. The defending cannons were also easily overwhelmed as the Scourges smashed through the platforms. A large group additionally infiltrated the main docking bays as the whole bustled with explosions.
With the last ship destroyed, the TSAB forces were completely eliminated while there still a few Scourges left. Some Overlords and Leviathans approached the small asteroid field, heading towards the ruins of the destroyed testing grounds.
"TSAB base destroyed. Recovering valuable corpses for study." Abathur reported. "Volley strain test complete. Next experiment commencing."
-----
Upcoming Strain #2: Tomahawk Strain
No credit to me for StarCraft or Nanoha.
Abathur: Scourge strain ready for augmentation. Scourge sequences reconstituted, require modernization. Experiments already in progress.
-----
Kerrigan's Leviathan arrived at a test site for the new Scourges. This one took place not on a planet, but what looked like an established colony or base built within an asteroid field.
"Aegis System. R&D Ground, property of Time-Space Administration Bureau."
The Swarms leaders zoomed in on the test location. On three outer edges were established metal platforms within the asteroids, separated evenly on the outer edges of the field. Zerg air units including the old Scourges were already surrounding the stations.
"Zerg forces scouting area, minor engagements."
At one location, the Zerg were cut down very easily. A burst of several beams glowing with purple energy cut through the Mutalisks' bodies and wings. The dead former Mantis Screamers either crashed onto the asteroids nearby or drifted dead into the field. Overlords were pummeled by larger pillars of blue and green light as their insides and blood splattered everywhere.
The only ones seen to be repelling the attacks were a trio of men wielding high-tech staffs with respective colors. They were surrounded with energy of their given colors, which seemed to act as a defense against vacuum as a replacement for the Terran marine suits. Behind them on a platform, a line of three turrets were established, having a base similar to Terran Missile turrets, but having colored spheres of energy to act as guns like the Protoss cannons. They were busy engaging some left over Mutalisks and the nearby Scourges.
It was clear the Zerg did little or no damage to the outpost. Any shots from the Mutalisks seemed to have missed their targets by quite a distance. The Overlords were shot down before they could get close enough to the platforms and even Sacs didn't look like an option. The Scourges were the closest thanks to their small size and mobility, but they focused their attention only on the staff wielders. The men fired through several Scourges that exploded in clusters. The remaining Scourges that were smart enough to scatter converged onto the green officer, who activated some sort of explosive feature that surrounded body to destroy them all at once.
"Zerg forces easily repelled by defenders. Reactive defenses, weaponry, systems optimal for space combat."
Kerrigan saw the obvious, agitated that Abathur chose this kind of location to start his experiments. She missed the moment where the green mage had to recharge, his allied assisting with their own energy before his suit started to glow again.
"Weakness discovered. Defenses require charging time. Zerg options available."
Another wave of Scourges were approaching the asteroid field. These ones were different as they had glowing green sacs like those of the Banelings. They also had wings sticking out as if they were used for small Scourges. If they worked like what Kerrigan theorized, that should be enough to get the defenses.
"Scourges spun with mitoscarab essence. Volley strain ready for combat."
"Eliminate the security posts," Kerrigan ordered, designating three large asteroids along with the central cluster occupied by Mages and TSAB ships. "Clear out the defenders along with the facility."
-----
Within the center of the asteroid system was a small naval base built within the large rock in the area, enough mass to keep it from spinning everywhere. A few ships were docked, though they were getting ready for launch due to recent events.
Outside in one warship station a short-haired admiral, one Chrono Haralown serving as captain of the ship. Things were clearly not going well for him since he got the message about unknown creatures attacking their forces within their space. While it was fortunate that they were easy to cut down, the fact these monstrous ones came out of nowhere and were clearly unable to talk unnerved him.
"Security Point Kira has confirmed all hostile forces dead," An officer confirmed. "Point Athrun is mopping up stragglers."
"Acknowledged," Chrono confirmed. "Make sure they recover as many corpses as they can. We need to find more info about this new enemy ASAP."
"Yes, Admiral."
Chrono then looked up to main commander build next to dock within the asteroid field. Inside was his wife Amy and their children, who were there both on assignment and for a family visit. He found it quite bad luck in terms of time, but Chrono had a job to do.
I'll keep you defended from these things.
But then another transmission came.
"This is Security Post Lacus! The aliens are attacking again!"
"What's your status?"
"The aliens, they're different from before, but we've...What!? How could there be so many-"
Some explosions made the line dead.
-----
A flock of Scourges recently destroyed one of the outposts with its new abilities. The mages and stationed emplacements retaliated like usual upon approaching the outpost, firing beams of multicolored light against the invaders. The Scourges took more evasive maneuvers this time, which got them far closer than last time, but they were still cut down.
What surprised them was that through the resulting smoke, they got ambushed by the lesser Scourges that were far significantly smaller. That didn't make them less of threat, however, as they proceeded to bury the guarding mages with exploding acid. None of them, even with their shields, were able to survive it and remaining Scourges proceeded to bombard the outpost. A few full intact Scourges remains as the asteroid on the outpost was shattered along with the facility.
"Volley strain," Abathur introduced. "Splits Scourge into three smaller units, occurs upon death or detonation."
Another group of Volley Scourges came in as the Swarm flew right, alongside the outer rims of the asteroid field. It wasn't long before they arrived at the nearby outpost, of where the mage retaliated quickly.
More beams scattered as the new Scourges charged in. They grew somewhat smart as they distributed themselves evenly to avoid getting destroyed in clumps as well as being huge resulting targets. The Scourges up in front got shot first, creating a cloud of acid that obstructed the Mages' naked view. They had their Devices charging with energy as they aimed, waiting for the incoming force to pop out of the smoke.
The Scourges came out from unexpected places through the smoke. And thanks to the Volley strain, they looked like they grew in number. The TSAB mages responded quickly with more beams and bolts of mana against the growing number of attackers. They didn't hesitate to continue firing even after getting a few chain reactions of explosions. Though the major were of the smaller variety, the number of Scourges proceed to barrel down the defenders and swarms of cluster missiles.
"What the hell? There's no end to them-"
Before a mage could complete his sentence, the mage was bombarded and vaporized by the smaller Scourges. The other Mages had the similar fate, even though they delayed by triggering their Barrier Jacket to blow much of them away. The continuous numbers of the Scourges and their lesser kind simply overwhelmed them. They didn't even bother going the defenses defending the rim, even when another large flock of Scourges was incoming. The remaining ones nearby simply went through the holes that went to the main centers of the outpost. Moments later as new Volleys were approaching the outpost was already exploding.
The new set of Scourges continued, taking a curved way outside the system to attack the remaining outpost. This one still had stronger defenses including a nearby cruiser. Like the other they were quick to return fire.
The Scourges went in a long, thick line as they cruised one at a time towards the final outpost. They were met by huge pillars and beams that tore through the line of Zerg while only few lucky enough to escape the blast. Many of the destroyed Scourges were luck enough to have one or two of their lesser spawn escape the blast. The Scourge then dispersed, which were met by a spamming of beams that were difficult to dodge. The majority of the Scourges that survived were the lesser kind and they were only able to get through with just few hit on the opposing forces. The Mages activated their Barrier Jackets and the ship was shielded to take the brunt of the damage.
However, another large swarm of Scourges came in, all dispersed and in huge numbers. Some stationed turret in the outpost joined the responding counter attack as the fleet of scourges increased in number as the large Scourges ejected their offspring upon detonation.
"They just keep coming!"
The Scourges barrell down on the TSAB forces with sheer numbers alone. Even the large beam fire from the nearby cruiser could hardly decrease the number thank to the Zerg's new formation, new splitting ability, small size and evasive agility. A large number already barrelled through the Mages and tens of them bombarded the residing outpost. The sustained much of the heavy self-bombardment from the Scourges thanks to its shields and defenses, but even they got overrun. After enough damage to its hull, the craft exploded into a multiple huge chunks drifting into a multiple directions. Even after the heavy attack, there were still a number of Scourges, core and lesser, still around.
"Outposts destroyed. Main headquarters vulnerable. Eliminate." Abathur instructed as an even larger swarm of reinforcements came in. "More Scourges arriving now."
The Scourges then permeated through the asteroid field, all heading towards the main facility within the system. It wasn't too long before they reached the center where three TSAB ships launched to join with the patrolling four and mages scrambled out in space by the Admiral's orders.
"Evacuate the facility! Defend the commander center!"
With those orders, the defenders fired upon the Scourges with whatever weaponry they had. It was quite difficult due to the surround asteroids, which the Zerg used for cover. Some of them resorted to firing through the narrow gaps where Scourges came in to get chain reactions. Others decided to blow up the asteroids in order to shrink the gaps and get many of the Scourges with the debris. The Scourges merely adapt despite the casualties, using the floating rocks for protection and avoiding using the narrow gaps whenever possible. It wasn't long before they encircled the facility and converged in all at once.
As they closed in on the facility, the Mages, cruisers and nearby turrets fired upon as many Scourges as they can, particularly whatever clumps they can get. But a startling instance came when a circular or perhaps spherical field of ice emerged. With perfect timing, a large freezing spell came what looked like the main command ship of the defending fleet. The Scourges who were in the field barely had time to react as they got encased in ice. All of the surrounding Scourges appeared frozen as the TSAB Mages lowered their guard, aiming for the Scourges that didn't get caught in the spell.
But while intrigued, Abathur showed little care for the sudden countermeasure.
It happened when the nearby Mages finished scanning to confirm the Scourges inactive and got closer to them hopefully for retrieval. Without warning, the main, big Scourges exploded in front of the approaching Mages, blinding them with their clouds of explosive acid and triggering their Barrier Jackets in the process. They were finished off by a swarm of the smaller Scourges that erupted from the remains of the larger ones. Now three times in number, including the Scourges that got thawed from the resulting explosions, the Zerg continued their charge.
The defenders were easily buried by the overwhelming power of the Zerg. Even with the triggered Jackets, there were far too many lesser Scourges gunning after them and they took too long to recharge. The main cruisers took the worst of the brunt, especially main commanding ship that received the worst of the barrage. The few remaining Scourges that remain did the most damage as they spilt immediately upon impacting the draining shields of the ships and using its spawn to do serious damage to its hull, especially near the bridges. The defending cannons were also easily overwhelmed as the Scourges smashed through the platforms. A large group additionally infiltrated the main docking bays as the whole bustled with explosions.
With the last ship destroyed, the TSAB forces were completely eliminated while there still a few Scourges left. Some Overlords and Leviathans approached the small asteroid field, heading towards the ruins of the destroyed testing grounds.
"TSAB base destroyed. Recovering valuable corpses for study." Abathur reported. "Volley strain test complete. Next experiment commencing."
-----
Upcoming Strain #2: Tomahawk Strain
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