THE INFINITE BROOD (Starcraft/Supreme Commander Crossover Quest!)

THE SWARM SHEET
The Brood of Blades
Cerebrate Prime: Samantha Clarke
LEVEL: 5
XP: 205/210
TRAITS
Strategic Genius: Once per structured encounter, Sam can create a piece of the environment that is in her favor as a sticky spark. Roll a d3 for its value.
Empathetic: upon meeting an NPC, learn their motivation!
Legendary Commander: Gain 4 Command sparks at the beginning of each mission/combat. Command sparks may be spent to give NPCs orders, which they may either obey or refuse to obey (doing nothing instead.) Command sparks may not be regained via skills or powers.
Hunted: Something wants her - but for what? +1 Danger to all scenes​
SKILLS
CLOSE COMBAT (2): Brawling, Edged Weapons
PERSONAL (2): Awareness, Resilience
SOCIAL (4): Charm, Empathy, Leadership, Taunt​
MASTERY
ACU Pilot (2): Nanofabrication [Mass], ObSat Operations [Range]
The Hilt (4): Biomorphic Spawning (People), Regeneration (Durability), Physical Perfection (Speed), Telepathic Dominion (Range)​

POWERS
The Living Swarm
Vent: 4-0
Effect: Gain 1 Living Swarm spark, +1 per vent reduction.​
The Living Swarm: While this swarm exists, move in three dimensions and through anything smaller than a keyhole, reforming at will. You may expend these sparks to cause 3 Hit Sparks in a Area 2 radius.​
Area Upgrade: +1 to Area Characteristic​

Biomorphic Reinforcement
Vent: 4-0
Effect: Create 1 Biomorphic Reinforcement spark, +1 per vent reduction, which can be given out to anyone within Range 2, or to yourself
Biomorphic Reinforcement: +1 to Damage or Mass characteristic for the purpose of raw physical strength/feats.

Back to Back
Vent: 4-0
Effect: Choose 1 ally (+1 per vent reduction), within Range 1. Each can take one action using one of your skills, any of them that you wish. Once they have done so, you may make a free attack with your melee weapon, getting +1 to your skill per ally that acted.​

Adaptation
Vent: 4-0
Effect: Create a number of sparks equal to the enemy's difficulty, narratively based on turning their abilities against them. Works on enemies of Diff 2>, +2 per vent reduction.​

Just as Planned…
Vent: 6-0
Effect: Vent 6 heat and create 1 Planning Spark for her or an ally, +1 Spark per vent reduction.​
Planning: The person holding this Spark can expend this to get +1 to a skill check as a free action. Using this Stack counts as you are helping for the purpose of relationships.​

GEAR
Zeratul's Psi-Blades
Adds: +0 (Edged Weapons) | Characteristics: Damage [Speed] (4)[1]​
Shadowstep (3): Can expend as a free action to move without crossing intervening space.
Guarded Space (3): Can expend to use Damage as a secondary characteristic for Durability, reducing incoming Damage characteristics.​

GALACTIC WAR
Victory Points: 5
RESOURCES
TERRAN DOMINION [Background] (1)​
The men and material of the Dominion - limited, but they're mustering as we speak.
ALLIANCE EXPEDITIONARY FORCES [Mastery] (1)​
While you have access to several ACUs of every faction, they lack economic and technological support to be fully effective.
ZERG HIVE [Mastery] (1)​
The scant few Zerg you control that are free of Amon's influence. Mostly Zerglings.
AEON FLEET [Background] (1)​
While half a dozen CZARs seem impressive, they're not actually well made for ship to ship combat.
ALLIED COHESION [Motivation] (1)​
The alliance is fragile and weak.

FRONTS
Trade Sector-34-51 [Pirate Activity]
Pirates Raiding 6 (Supply Lines in Disarray 1)
COMMAND: Jim Raynor | ARMY: Raynor's Raiders
RESULTS: Pending

Braxis [Zerg Invasion]
Borealis Siege 6 (Zerg Rampage1)
COMMAND: General Samantha Clarke | ARMY: Brood Clarke
RESULTS: Pending

Typhan II [Active Xel'Naga ACU]
Typhan II Occupied 6 (Xel'Naga ACU Spotted 1)
COMMAND: Lt. Colonel Mathew Horner | ARMY: UEF Armored Command Unit
RESULTS: Pending

Deep Space Sector 981 [Hive Fleet Identified]
Zerg Hive Fleet Spotted 6 (Kerrigan? 1)
COMMAND: Citizen-Commander Dostya | ARMY: CN Armored Command Unit
RESULTS: Pending
ENEMY ASSETS (Currently Known)
THE GOLDEN ARMADA
ACTIVITY: Unknown | Threat Level: 6​
 
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[X] PERSONAL (3): +Athletics
[X] SOCIAL (3): +Charm
[X] Circle of Peace - enforce a no shooting/fighting zone for some time
 
[X] SOCIAL (3): +Charm
[X] UEF GENERAL (3): +Political Connections
[X] Circle of Peace - enforce a no shooting/fighting zone for some time
 
[X] SOCIAL (3): +Charm
[X] UEF GENERAL (3): +Political Connections
[X] Circle of Peace - enforce a no shooting/fighting zone for some time
 
Spart117MC said:
They didn't carry out their jobs as the client preferred however and that's the big sticking point to me. If there are traumatized ghost kids living in or around the academy Han's mercs aren't the type to listen to Clarke's orders to hold fire or attempt non-lethal takedowns but drop heavy munitions on them and laugh off her displeasure by saying they did what they were paid to do.
Eh. My interpretation is different, but it's a bit late now, anyway.

DragonCobolt said:
and the strange sense of unease felt as if it had almost completely died down
Something which is of course surely unrelated to how you happened to just be thinking about your completely innocuous colonial girlfriend. :D

You started towards the cafeteria.
you did want to send the data you could get off the bodies in there.
the somewhat thinner wooden surface of this gymnasium
but the cafeteria remained quiet and empty
I'm very confused. The first of those quoted lines seems to indicate she was heading towards the cafeterias, which appears to have been what the vote was for, but the latter middle, and my own understanding of where the bodies were, seems to point to a gym? But then in the fourth she's in a cafeteria again.

So... where is she, and if it's the cafeteria, why are the bodies there instead of the gymnasium they appear to have been in in 0.2 and 0.3?

Well, for now I'll assume a solution exists and push through it, I suppose.

The ghostlike holograms in the cafeteria twitched
something that could have picked up every single moment in the gym and replayed

Avangelion said:
Also incredibly curious on how the 'toxic yuri' tag'll shake out, maybe there's some way-
Anycase, exciting XD
Well, we don't actually know why Kerrigan was after the child, do we? And I think it's quite plausible it was actually, from her perspective, a rescue mission -- she went through this sort of thing too, after all, and is no friend of the Confederacy or the Dominion. Of course, presumably, if so, the plan was to rescue them into the Swarm, which they might not have actually considered much of a rescue... but from Kerrigan's perspective, well, the Confederacy did ghost training to her, and then she found new comrades in the Sons of Korhal and was betrayed by them (with those not actively betraying her unable or unwilling to help her), and then the zerg... didn't kill her. They gave her power. The Overmind made her its heir. Now, she doesn't have to fear Terrans torturing, using, failing, and betraying her. Sure, a lot of them are still openly trying to kill her -- but she has new companions now. Loyal ones. Why not extend her aid to frightened, abandoned, would-be-dead-if-not-for-the-zerg child, especially when that child appears to themself have some significant psychic power, resourcefulness, and initiative?

And now, well, she doesn't need to send her zerg after the kid; her girlfriend/"girlfriend"'s already handling the retrieval, and the child should be safe enough on E1 for now. How things proceed from there, well, that'd depend on just what her plans for the UEF are, and how those plans might change and develop, and probably also whatever Duran is up to.

Spart117MC said:
then we may be able to find a means of turning Sarah fully human by the end of the act
...Why would we want to, though?

DragonCobolt said:
looks like T v T is gonna be T4T now!
...And I spent long enough working out that "T" here was "Terran" that my brain came up with "Transmasc Matt Horner and transfem Mira Han?" in the meantime. :D

Hmm. Well, what have we used? Not close combat, guns, or personal, particularly... nor support ACUs... we don't (knowingly) have much in the way of local political connections, nor have we done much in the way of bluffing or taunting, leaving...

[ ] SOCIAL (3): +Charm
[ ] UEF GENERAL (3): +High Tech Weaponry
[ ] ACU PILOT (3): +Teleportation Piloting [Range]
[ ] ACU PILOT (3): +Laser Management [Damage]
[ ] ACU PILOT (3): +Survival Instincts [Durability

I think Charm is definitely something we've been practicing, so that leaves one more out of the remaining four, when deciding this way. And I'm not sure just what counts as what, but there's one thing we've definitely been practicing. So:

[X] SOCIAL (3): +Charm
[X] ACU PILOT (3): +Survival Instincts [Durability

Powers...
There'd... presumably be a lot of refluffing for some of those. :D
But, hm, hm.
...Ehh...
I don't feel like I have a firm grasp of the criteria to decide based on, particularly given I'm looking at the pre-refluffing versions and I'm not even sure whether these are personal powers or ACU abilities or what, but I suppose I'll vote for:
[] Spectral Form - become a ghost! You are intangible and can possess objects
Highly versatile, and we've just gotten a demonstration of some similar abilities.

Avangelion said:
If the power works on everything, I'm extremely curious how it'd look in-universe lmao- with the way things have been going, I'm betting it's basically social-fu or whatever wherever it can apply- maybe even with the "mindless" zero bioweapons XD
...
Aaaand changing my vote. :D

[X] Circle of Peace - enforce a no shooting/fighting zone for some time

After all, Sam doesn't need to be nearly as afraid of the zerg if she can start developing control over them herself, right?


edit:
@Spart117MC :
Oh, and yeah, the way things went, it probably was better to not bring the mercenaries in with us on the first trip. I still think it could have not gone as badly as you were concerned about, but you do now seem to me to have been on the more correct side there.
 
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Sad, so many people not wanting to hear Mengsk go "I will rule this sector or see it baaaa-hned to ashes!" before he eats some clover.

Our wool business will have to wait for another day to get started.
 
Well, we don't actually know why Kerrigan was after the child, do we?

There's a short story where the Queen of Blades captured and imprisoned a bunch of people and experimented on them.

One prisoner in particular, a psionic woman who kept struggling to break free, reminded Kerrigan of her past and of her own time suffering in the Ghost program. That made her take a moment to think.

Then she turned the woman into a zombie like infested terran.

The Queen of Blades does not give a shit about human decency or mercy. She wants loyal subordinates, tools, assets and is willing to stick a knife into the ribs of anyone in order to secure her goals. The ending of Brood War is her straight up becoming the big bad of the setting by turning on everyone on the eve of their collective victory against the UED and killing off two major characters.

...Why would we want to, though?

Because without getting deinfested at least once Sarah isn't fully in control of her own mind and the objectively evil Queen of Blades persona is. This isn't like a cute, "oh she's half zerg" thing, it's very much a case of "Jesus Christ she's not in control of her faculties and remains a victim of mental programming, only this time of the Overmind rather than the Confederacy's Ghost program."

The right thing to do here is to take actions that would grant Sarah agency after which point she can be the one to decide whether to stay human or go back to being biologically Zerg.
 
@Spart117MC:
Those are good points regarding the canon Queen of Blades, as I understand the matter, but I'm not sure how much they apply to this one. Granted, I'm not very familiar with material outside of the games or even some of the later game material, but did she ever do anything like the current infiltration? And one way or another, she's currently looking more human than she was even after the Xel'naga artifact was used on her in canon. Maybe that's just a very complete disguise using the mutability of zerg biology, but there's a lot we don't know here about how things are different from Starcraft canon.
 
@Spart117MC:
Those are good points regarding the canon Queen of Blades, as I understand the matter, but I'm not sure how much they apply to this one. Granted, I'm not very familiar with material outside of the games or even some of the later game material, but did she ever do anything like the current infiltration? And one way or another, she's currently looking more human than she was even after the Xel'naga artifact was used on her in canon. Maybe that's just a very complete disguise using the mutability of zerg biology, but there's a lot we don't know here about how things are different from Starcraft canon.
AFAIK (only played the games), I don't think so? Tho- it mightve just been cuz she didn't want/need to- Duran was detected to have zerg biology kinda IIRC, but had that waved off- I can't remember if the other colonials they rescued, including Kerrigan, was waved off similarly- in which case she's clearly figured some way to just hide her form, cuz IIRC the denting she leaves sometimes and whatnot suggests she kept her strength- or at least augmented it a bit psionically.

After all, Sam doesn't need to be nearly as afraid of the zerg if she can start developing control over them herself, right?
She'll probs need more powers that actually hijack them or other lmao, tho Iunno how quickly/if we'll actually get that as a choice. Would be fun if she started developing her own psionics- might help shake up the field between her and the QoB/Sarah(even if she doesn't know she's in it lmao).

We'll just have to see how the refluffing happens- like, the few times I can see the options for how things happen narrowing down to either having psi-tech or having semi-supernatural charm/effect would be if the Zerg are an element involved and have no reason to stand down (if you can speak to their leaders in human languages), and if she's on foot specifically, and the psi-tech isn't miniaturised for on-foot/pulling it out of nowhere- or at least it's too slow to fabricate it with personal equipment.

She wants loyal subordinates, tools, assets and is willing to stick a knife into the ribs of anyone in order to secure her goals.
Which is why my big hope for how things turn out is that enough happens that by later she won't be so inclined to do whatever horrific ghost-training/traume-related experiments to lil Bea XD

Even just "I want to toy with Sammy, so I'll let her keep that bit of hope for Bea" or something would be a start, if it starts off worse than that lmao,

If a de-infesting is needed to help with her amorality, then, well- Sam's trying to get the Xel'Naga artifacts anyways IIRC, so it'll be an option that'll pop up sooner or later- just gotta make sure Sam gets enough suspicions/a heads up that it's a thing she can do, which might mean finding out about and keeping quiet about Raynor- well, assuming he survived, which I do unless that's a thing that's changed.



Also- ohhhh, that's what the UEF GENERAL is for- for the high tech weapons- somehow I missed it entirely jsndngg
Yeah it'd be nice, could help with more research options for field equipment,
 
I can't remember if the other colonials they rescued, including Kerrigan, was waved off similarly- in which case she's clearly figured some way to just hide her form, cuz IIRC the denting she leaves sometimes and whatnot suggests she kept her strength- or at least augmented it a bit psionically.

She is definitely hiding her Zerg side, but she could've easily had the person scanning her register her as clean, with the raw power the Queen is packing, anti-Aeon defenses won't be enough, just like how it wasn't with Princess Burke. And between the two, I'd wager on the Queen right now.
 
I suspect the UEF has no psychic countermeasures at all. Remember, Hanson mentioned that Duran's ghost abilities were straight out of science fiction. Tacky science fiction at that. Psychic powers couldn't be considered debunked if they were present among the Aeon, not with the UEF having waged a millennia long war against them.
 
I suspect the UEF has no psychic countermeasures at all. Remember, Hanson mentioned that Duran's ghost abilities were straight out of science fiction. Tacky science fiction at that. Psychic powers couldn't be considered debunked if they were present among the Aeon, not with the UEF having waged a millennia long war against them.
Huh,
If there're any psionics with the Aeon they're keeping them hella secret- the only one that I'd be kinda certain probably stayed psionic is Princess Burke, and they'd probably want to keep her away from all the fighting anyways- or at least I think, maybe
 
Could be the UEF just don't know Aeon abilities that well, just seeing them on the battlefield.

Or it could just be they're altered here.

I mean, canonically their pilots levitate down into pools of liquid to enter their ACUs, from the Aeon intro, so we'll see in time I suppose.
 
Could be the UEF just don't know Aeon abilities that well, just seeing them on the battlefield.

Or it could just be they're altered here.

I mean, canonically their pilots levitate down into pools of liquid to enter their ACUs, from the Aeon intro, so we'll see in time I suppose.
That sounds fair too, we'll just have to figure when we get to it. Their psionics could be out on Xel'naga artifact missions too, which might be away from prying eyes, or secured beforehand



EDIT:
a thought-
I just realized- all 3 factions still have basically similar niches/roles for their units right? If there's something psionic-wacky going on beyond their weaponizing much more exotic stuff then I don't think it'll be obvious as actual psionics since it'll be in their tech or detected as something weird on the quantum sensors or whatever, and they- at least IIRC- really do their best so nothing can be easily reverse-engineered and whatnot. The actual direct battle-wide applications of psionics like psi-storms and other flashy stuff probs isn't going to come up if ACUs and massed units are the battlefield, and they probably haven't had need or at least can't easily do the kind of psi-tech/psi-manifestations that the Protoss use- or don't have as many psionics to really be picky about it. They're still studying Xel'Naga stuff, aren't they?
 
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to draw the curtain back slightly on all this fun speculation, one of my goals for this quest is to take the four distinct characterizations of Sarah Kerrigan that all almost but do not quite make sense if you play SC1, Brood War and 2 one after the other and then cohere them into a single characterization that does make sense!

Also, lesbians

Adhoc vote count started by DragonCobolt on Nov 13, 2023 at 11:08 AM, finished with 34 posts and 19 votes.


I'm surprised that less people didn't vote for ACU pilot; the increase bumps up the range in your orbsat and the mass for your nanolathe!
 


(I meant to quote Spart117mc, Alac and alas)

Iirc didn't QoB "seduce/mindcontrol/infiltrate" her way to that Dark Templar Matriarch later into Brood War? It's been so long that I barely remember it other then Zeratul and Artanis being rightfully pissed.

Point being that infiltration is definitely a part of Kerrigan's (and QoB's) playbook.

Edit: quoted the wrong post. :V
 
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INTERLUDE
Your fingers drummed on the table as you waited for the reports. The new extensions to E1, following design schemata sent by Earth, were top tier and extremely specialized. You wondered what your loitering mercenary battlecruiser was thinking about this - but so far, every report from Matt had somehow come around to asking for someone else to handle Mira Han but himself, in the most polite and respectful terms you'd ever seen. Poor Matt. You shouldn't have enjoyed his discomfort as much as you did - but there was something deeply amusing in the way Mira played with him. Maybe-

The door to the bridge opened and Dr. Hanson entered, looking abstracted. "General," she said, seeing you. "Ah, good! The sensor sweeps have started - and we've detected two sources of the quantum energies that you require."

You nodded. "Show me."

The two worlds seemed to be near diametric opposites. One of them was a jungle covered, blue shrouded, white clouded temperate world with but a few patches of ocean and savannah and some deserts in the southern continents. It was a world any faction in the Infinite War would have been overjoyed to claim. You then noticed the statistics running along the side and blinked. "Seven billion zerg?" you asked, turning to face her. "And five million Tal'darim?"

"Protoss, actually," Dr. Hanson said. "According to the intelligence reports, Tal'darim is a faction - these are unaffiliated Protoss, possibly a splinter faction. Or vice versa. The number of Protoss is steadily decreasing and there appears to be an active quantum gate on the planet. I believe they're in the process of evacuating - though the number of Protoss going down can...also due to being casualties taken from the feral Zerg on the planet. Our flyby probe spotted the source of the upspin quantum energies, though." She brought up a picture in picture on the screen, showing an orbital view of a vast, glittering blue crystal field. To your surprise, it wasn't surrounded by Zerg, but instead by a vast and powerful looking Protoss base and you...immediately saw the difference.

Where the Tal'darim had been almost Cybran - black and red and gleaming - the Protoss reminded you of an even more gaudy version of the Aeon: Gold and elegance, sweeping around structures that hovered in a-grav fields and nestled onto the ground. Spiderish robots clattered about the edges, and a ring upon ring of photon cannons around the exterior. Feral zerg came in at a steady clip, and were blasted by blue white orbs of energy.

"There," Dr. Hanson said, pointing at the crystal outcropping. "That's where the upspin quantum energies are located. We're not sure what the planet's name is, though..."

"And the downspin?" you asked.

"There's two sources, actually," Dr. Hanson said. "One closer and weaker, one farther and stronger and...well, let me show you the first. It's on a world called Braxis."

SHe brought up another image. This world was one of those borderline 'temperate' ones - a thin band of equatorial region looked nice and warm, while the poles swept down in vast walls of ice. You were sure any colonial authority would be infuriated by the fact that the equator, due to a bad chance of planetary tectonics, had no land masses - most of the world's actual land was icy and centered up on the north-eastern quadrant. Given a choice between sinking and freezing, the colonists that had picked this world had picked there...and they were clearly Terran Dominion. A series of defensive fortifications, with heavy bunkers, deployed siege weaponry, and a single battlecruiser hovered over the whole colony. Dr. Hanson circled a building near the center.

"The downspin quantum energies are located right there," she said, nodding grimly. "If I were to guess, there's another crystal lattice holding it naturally. Which does lead to the question...are the Dominion researching it like they were researching Ghosts? Or...was it something they found?"

You grunted and rubbed your hand along your jaw.

"And the second?"

The third world that came up was only better than Redstone by the thinnest of margins - black and red smears covered the volcanically active surface, and orbital platforms hung around it - but each one looked like it had been heavily infested, even from an orbital view. The population count showed 5-10 billion Zerg, with the exact numbers being highly occluded by the atmosphere. The world's name popped up in the interface: CHAR.

"Apt name," you murmured, while the picture in picture showed the downspin source. Your brow drew in. "What the fuck is that, Doctor?"

"I...believe it's a..." Dr. Hanson paused, regarding the view.

It looked like...multiple orbs of grayish matter. Like brain-material, sheathed in glistening skin, threaded with thick veins. But where one discrete brain would be one thing, this mass of orbs all seemed to be interlocking - merging together one into the other like cancerous growths were spreading among them. Just looking at it gave you a headache.

"...I have no idea," Dr. Hanson said, quietly. "The Zerg are controlled by some kind of gestalt intelligence carried on their Overlord bioforms, the floating ones." She brought up an image of it. "but there has to be something more than them - the Overlords are more like...transmission repeaters than they're source points for any intelligence. So...I mean, if I was going to guess based on the downspin quantum source, if...if that's from a psychic mind, then these...might...be the source of the controlling intelligence for Zerg that aren't feral? Maybe...we're looking at the Queen of Blades the news keeps talking about?"

"Ugly bitch, isn't she," you said, frowning at the glistening orbs. "So, we land on Char and extract a brain sample?"

"I believe that would be ill advised," Dr. Hanson said. "We're still not entirely sure how the Zerg operate. I have theories, but, well, I'd hate to have them be disproved by you being placed in a situation you can't...ahem. Deal with."

You frowned, considering the glistening minds. The urge to squash them was shockingly strong in your belly.

---
Which mission do you wanna take?
[ ] Head to the Galileo (Begin Operation: Media Squad - installation mission!)
[ ] Head to Mar Sara (Begin Operation: Alliance Day)
[ ] Head to Haven (Begin Operation: Safe Haven)
[ ] Head to Braxis (Smash and Grab the Uraj)
[ ] Head to [Unknown] (Jungles of Aiur)
[ ] Head to Char (To Slay the Queen) [Warning: Final mission]
 
So the cerebrates are still around, so QoB hasn't started pruning the competition yet. Personally I feel like we could kill two mutas with one missile turret by getting our message out with the Galileo, since Raynor will most likely see it. That said, I think there's no better time to make friends with the Protoss then right now on Aiur.

[x] Head to [Unknown] (Jungles of Aiur)

I am absolutely not biased and am definitely not voting for this to potentially save our best boy Fenix.

Edit: I misremembered, Fenix doesn't bite it on Aiur but he should be a dragoon by this point.
 
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[x] Head to the Galileo (Begin Operation: Media Squad - installation mission!)
Let's get some good press while we can, news about us will break eventually.

Also, oof, expect a cold shoulder tonight Clarke. Gonna need some backrubs and flowers for that one.
 
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