Chapter 2: The New Beginning
The battle over Char was already underway, and when James arrived near the edge of the Char's star system, he was able to see the devastation of the battle. Hundreds of Terran battlecruisers were fighting against the unending Swarm that was the Zerg. It appeared that the massive space platform was still intact with all the Zerg flyers still on it. Either Raynor's Raiders have not yet attacked this platform, or they have attacked the Nydus caverns.
In any case, Kerrigan's control and influence were powerful here. James had to focus all his mental powers just to maintain control over his Brood. However, he was a man/Zerg of some ambition. He has long sought some human DNA so that he could eventually create himself a humanoid body like Kerrigan's, and there was so much DNA all over the area. Hiding from the Dominion fleet, James' Brood positioned itself behind the shadow of a planetoid, awaiting the right moment to strike.
His patience paid well. A few Mutalisks who sneaked past the Terrans showed James their progress against Kerrigan. They have finally gathered behind defensive lines under Jim Raynor's command and General Warfield has returned to the fleet. With so many ground based bio-weapons firing at the battlecruisers, the Terran fleet could only send small sorties against the Swarm's air unit nest. James, on the other hand, did not have such a problem.
When James' Brood appeared behind the space platform, the Terrans thought they were Zerg reinforcements and were surprised when the new player gently landed on the platforms and began to attack all the other Zerg on it. Overwhelming the defenders, James' Brood captured many Hatcheries, Lairs and Hives as well as the Spires and Greater Spires. Surprised and with Kerrigan preoccupied with the direct attack made against her, the Zerg on the platform reacted badly, and it was not long before James has slain all the Queens, Overlords and Overseers that belonged to Kerrigan.
Then James rained down his own Queens and swarmed the platform with Overseers and Overlords, temporarily overwhelming Kerrigan's control over the Zerg there. Then his Drones descended upon the Hive Clusters, and, aided by Zerglings and other ground units, destroyed and consumed all the others on that platform. The thick Creep that has been growing on that platform for years was eaten and devoured by James' creatures, transferring all the resources and nutrients that once belonged to this Brood into James' hands.
The Terrans and Kerrigan were locked in a deadly combat against each other, with most of the battlecruisers descending down to the planet to fight the Zerg while the remaining fleet stood a wary vigil against James. However, James was not interested in attacking them. After all, there were a lot of destroyed battlecruisers all around them. Overlords and Overseers began to drop Drones, Infestors and Queens on these broken pieces of Terran ships, quickly overwhelming the survivors.
The remaining Terran fleet attempted to stop the infestation of their comrades, but they were blocked by a swarm of Scourges and Corruptors. Hundreds of Dominion Marines and even some of Raynor's Raiders were captured, killed and consumed by the Zerg, although the Spectres were only stunned and captured. Soon, James controlled eight damaged but functioning battlecruisers and everything inside them, and he also captured enough broken bits of the Terran fleet to consume.
When the battle was near its end, James and all his Zerg units suddenly began to feel an overwhelming compulsion to charge toward the Xel'Naga artifact in Terran hands. James knew that to be near it was death, but the biological compulsion was far too much for his consciousness to defy.
James screamed as he felt his consciousness almost pulled apart by the biological and physiological urge to go toward the Xel'Naga artifact. He knew what would happen to him and his brood if they were within the artifact's area of detonation. He was not about to let his new found power be ripped apart by the Terrans.
He quickly disconnected his links to the majority of the flyers and troop-carrying Overlords. He did leave a certain number of Overseers and Overlords situated further from the planet, since he needed them to boost his control. After that, he began to pull all the remaining Zerg to the outermost edges of the space platform.
Then he focused his control on those still not affected by the pull of the artifact. He tore his consciousness from the Terrorlisk and moved to a Queen. Queens maintained a strong psionic field, and amplified by the half-dozen Protoss Pylons James deposited, he called his brood to him. Along with the Queen which now housed his consciousness, he took a few Drones and boarded an Overlord.
The rest of his brood quickly entered the Overlords, and two of the Overlords took a Pylon each. Then the pull came. James focused all his control on the first few units and commanded with all of his strength. Three Overseers were in the front, and they combined their psionic powers, opening a wormhole. This was done without a problem. Then James moved into the gaping maw of the wormhole along with several flyers and as many Overlords as possible.
However, he was a bit too late. In his attempt to escape, he chose to take several units with him just in case his Overlords would get attacked. He could just have transferred his consciousness back to Aiur, but Aiur was too far away. His consciousness would literally have to fly across the thin connection to his creatures. He instinctively knew that although the brood on Aiur was his, it would take years to regain consciousness and control if the main body of his consciousness was destroyed.
James wasn't sure how he knew, but he knew. He was certain that distance did matter and his brood on Aiur was probably on an automated mode like the rest of the abandoned Zerg colonies there. His need to feel in control was stronger than ever. He held on until the very last moment until a pulse of the artifact's energy washed over him.
XOXOXOXOXO
'Where am I?'
I woke up.
I?
'Who am I?'
I had no idea who or what I was.
Then information flooded into me. The knowledge and memories of James Malcolm Raynor crashed into me like a kid on a bicycle while the collective and genetic knowledge and memories of James' Brood rained down on my consciousness.
'Am I James Malcolm Raynor? No… not quite.'
I was not James nor was I simply Zerg. Then I remembered what just happened. The presence of a human consciousness inside the Zerg when the Xel'Naga pulse hit the fleeing Zerg caused complications that nobody expected.
I was created.
Just as the survivors entered the wormhole, the pulse hit the wormhole. It contorted and twisted. James died there. His consciousness was burned away by the Xel'Naga pulse, but his memories remained. Then, amid that chaos, Iwas created. The last remaining humanity of James Malcolm Raynor merged with the tiny bits of the Xel'Naga pulse energy and then liberally sprinkled with the genetic memories of the Zerg.
I was new.
I thought for a moment as the creatures around me began to wake. Only one Overseer remained. I also saw a crippled Corruptor, three Mutalisks, and around me were seven Overlords filled with Zerg units plus the Overlord that I was in. I was the Queen… no… I was inside the Queen who was inside the Overlord.
I did not identify myself as the Queen. I did not identify myself as wholly Zerg either. No… I was… a human, just as James had been, but I… was new. I was the perfect hybrid… at least in terms of consciousness. I was not overwhelmed by the Zerg nor was I utterly human. Unlike James, I did not really need to transfer my consciousness to a particular unit. I maintained a perfect link with the Zerg creatures around me unlike James did.
My consciousness was also filled, to a part, with the power of the Xel'Naga. It appeared that the Xel'Naga artifact was very much like the weapon of Dakara from Stargate SG-1. It was originally used by the Xel'Naga in their experiments to create new species. They eventually moved to the idea of using preexisting creatures, such as the primitive ancestors of the Protoss or the first form of Zerg. However, with this power, I could conceivably toy with the Zerg DNA at a level that James could only have dreamed of.
Now, I was in charge. James was gone, though I thought I would keep the name, even if for personal use only. The first priority now was to find out where I am and then find the nearest habitable planet to root down and rest. I used the Overseer's and Overlords' powerful sensory organs to feel the galaxy. They could easily triangulate our position from the stars. All I knew at this point was that we were far enough from a solar system that no star was much brighter than the others.
It took a few hours but I found the nearest solar system. Although the Zerg can survive in the vacuum of space, it was not healthy. My Zergs also needed more heat or they would freeze. We needed the coordinates for a new wormhole, and the Overseer concluded the pinpointing of our location. I was not pleased.
'Shit… we are on the other side of the galaxy? And we are at the ass end of nowhere! Fine! Let's just get to the nearest solar system to thaw out our toes.'
The wormhole was a little more turbulent than I remembered. Actually, it was a hell of a ride. It was almost strange. The psionic field projected by the Overseer and Overlords that maintained our wormhole and allowed us to travel through it alive was constantly attacked by something. I could not see the attackers but the wormhole was very turbulent. However, the journey eventually ended. We popped out of the wormhole and found ourselves barely ten million kilometers from the sun.
Usually, the Overlord or the Overseer can send the Zerg to a location with a high level of accuracy, but I thought the turbulence in the subspace must have disrupted our exit. I guided the group away from the sun. Well, at least we were warmed up. We Zergs were very adaptive and highly efficient in absorbing and using energy and nutrients. Capable of converting almost any form of energy into a usable one, we could absorb heat from the sun to boost ourselves. This partial photosynthesis was not as efficient as other forms of energy absorption, but it was good enough for the moment.
It would have been good to land on a volcanic world or even a hot desert world. The reasons Char was the location of the Primary Hive Cluster were its rich mineral deposits and the heat from lava. I thought it would have been good for us to do the same. However, we were unlucky in that. The first three planets were no bigger than Earth's moon, and totally uninhabitable even for the Zerg. The fourth planet was a lush green world, though the water to land ratio was only around 1. It was still quite a warm place and filled with life. Also, I saw no signs of civilization, so no danger there.
I decided to establish my colony in the mountains. The primary resource consumed by the Zerg was minerals, and mountains usually do have some ore that can be mined. I did not choose a location too deep into the mountains since trees and animals were good to eat as well. Particularly, animals with high body mass allowed quick consumption and digestion of the right nutrients. I also made sure that the mountain range was within a decent distance from the sea. Crabs, lobsters and shellfish were always good for the Zerg in forming good carapaces and bones.
The atmospheric entry had to be gentle. I no longer had the landings sacs used by the normal Zerg Swarm. We had to gently fly down to the mountains in the large peninsula in the southern part of the main continent. The mountains were arranged like a spine. It was very much like the Italian peninsula except that it was about twice as wide, about 20% shorter, straight, and the same average altitude as Eastern Anatolia, with all the mountains broken up into smaller ones.
The forest was lush in the north of the diagonally positioned peninsula. Its north east connected to the large taller mountains in the main continental landmass. The south west was stretched into the sea down just past southern tropic. The planet was very Earth-like, and the axis tilt was only a little more angled, so the peninsula's north was quite warm thanks to its proximity to the equator and the south wasn't too bad either. Unfortunately, there were no active volcanoes, which was a pity.
We glided through the clouds and entered the planet's lower atmosphere. We drank plenty of moisture from the clouds to rejuvenate our metabolism. New mucus began to pool in the various glands of the Zerg creatures. The photosynthesis and new moisture activated the Overlords' Creep generating glands, though some of the creatures had them atrophied from the travel. The Overseer surveyed the sites while the Mutalisks and the single Corruptor moved around and sent back the visions. Eventually, I found the location I thought would be the best. The location was within a decent distance from the nearest forest while not actually being in it, and it wasn't high enough up the mountain to be cold.
As the Overlords descended alone without the support of the Mutalisks or the Corruptor, something attacked them. Local creatures. They looked suspiciously similar to the Wyverns in Warcraft 3, but only in their wings. Actually, they were insectoid creatures with large wings and no legs. They were like giant wasps but with three butts and stings. These were fired at the Overlords. The carapace easily blocked most of the stings, but three of the Overlords were greatly weakened, and their carapaces had been cracked. The swarm of local, obviously carnivorous bees swarmed over the bleeding Overlords and began to chew through the soft tissues beneath the carapace.
I quickly recalled the Mutalisks and the Corruptor. The insects were very instinct driven. They fled the scene the instant my air support arrived. However, the damage was done. Three Overlords could not recover. Their own weight collapsed upon them and they imploded. The sheer pressure crushed the creatures inside and they imploded along with their carrier. Fortunately, the Overlords died right above my choice location. I quickly landed my remaining forces to the ground.
Altogether, I was left with one Queen, one Ultralisk, one Infester, three Hydralisks, four Roaches, one Baneling, five Zerglings and five Drones. The first thing I did was to have the Queen plant a couple of Creep Tumors on the small patch of Creep pooling beneath the surviving Overlords. Using her remaining psionic energy, the Queen sprayed the still-bleeding Corruptor with healing mucus. The psionic energy was enough to shock the glands into overdrive and produce the mucus. With the Corruptor healed, I turned my focus on building a new Hive Cluster.
It was like playing one of these tutorial games, but without any safety features against dying. I had to build a Hatchery before anything else could be done. The problem was that this was no computer game and resources were not so communally shared. Overall, I had around 800 minerals or the equivalent of such, but no Drone had 300 minerals in itself. The absence of a Hive Cluster actually made quick resource-sharing almost impossible. It was a 'Chicken or Egg' situation.
Normally the Drones would only have needed to eat the Creep, with the minerals already present in that Creep as nutrients. With a Hatchery, the resources would be fed directly to Drones mutating into other structures. Unfortunately, the Creep I had was barely enough for us to even stand upon. The Overlords were greatly weakened and their Creep-producing organs did not have enough nutrients. The Creep Tumors would take root and absorb nutrients like plants did but it would not be enough to build a Hatchery. I thought for a moment about how to break the impasse. Then I remembered that there was a very good source of nutrients nearby.
The three dead Overlords and the contents of their bellies were piled into a giant heap of blood and flesh just at the edge of the clearing. If I was more human, then I would have smiled. As an Overmind, I was pleased and I sent the Drones there. I chose one and it dug into the mound of dead flesh. As the main Drone ate its former comrades, I had the other creatures dig a wide and deep hole. Then, I planted Creep Tumors around the hole. I intended to turn the hole into the Zerg version of a Digestion Pool. Without a Hatchery, the Digestion Pool of the Tyranids was a good idea. Besides, unlike the Tyranids, Zerg could consume anything including metal.
It took almost three hours as the Drone gorged itself with the dead flesh of Zerg and the Creep covered the edges of the Digestion Pool. Once I sensed that the Drone was filled with enough nutrients for a Hatchery, I let it build in the middle of the clearing. Then I had the other Drones put the remaining dead Zerg into the hole. As the Drones were laboring, I ordered the rest of the ground units to clear the area. They cut down the trees, each as tall as a house and as thick as a Protoss Pylon. The Ultralisks were massive and most effective in lumber-gathering. Their mighty Kaiser Blades made clean cuts and the Hydralisks and Roaches rolled the timber to the hole. Then the Zerglings would hack away at the timber and shred it into a dozen or so smaller blocks.
The Baneling, the only member of my group that had no real combat use by itself because of its single-use capacity, self-sacrificed. It flung itself into the hole and cut itself. It plowed its tiny claws into its own acid sacs just enough to not blow itself up but enough to ooze its acid. As long as it didn't damage a tiny sac of different chemical deep inside its body, the Baneling would not explode. The tiny sac of chemical contained a special organic chemical that explosively turned into gas, which sprayed the primary acid around the body. The powerful green acid seeped out, the mucus-coated hide of the Baneling protecting the creature. The green acid began to melt the dead Zerg and pieces of wood dumped into the hole.
After a few more timbers were added, and the Baneling almost dried up its acid, the Roaches gathered around and spewed their own acid into the pool. That acid was almost the same, but was a bit more effective against the Baneling's hide. The Queen fished the creature out as the Roach acid began to overpower it. As the acid melted the timber and flesh into basic elements, the Creep, protected by its own mucus, began to digest the acid and the melted nutrients. The Creep Tumors have also spread their roots into the Zerg Digestion Pool and began to thicken their pathetically thin Creep carpet.
As the Ultralisk continued to chop down timbers around the early cocoon of Hatchery, the Hydralisks and Zerglings hacked them away, and Drones carried them into the Digestion Pool, I examined myself. I was not like James or Kerrigan, nor was I like the original Overmind. I was a mix of both, and more than either. Unlike Kerrigan, a Cerebrate or the Overmind, I could not be destroyed by killing the body I was in. I was not like James either. I did not need to move my consciousness to directly control the Zerg. I was the Zerg. I was an individual and yet the collective at the same time. I was... impossible... yet here. From my limited understanding, a Dark Templar could kill the body where my main consciousness was but I would still live. I would be scattered and would take some time to reassemble my own consciousness, but my mind would not be purged like James' was.
I was the new thing in town.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
720.M41 - Approximately 25 years before the Battle of Macragge.
Segmentum Pacificus - Vorsk Sector - Cabulis System - Crux - Imperium of Man: Civilized World.
Sudden appearances of random Warp Storms in the sectors within Pacificus worried the Segmentum Command. They did not relish the idea of losing contact with Crux and the nearby Imperial Worlds. Unwilling to take any chances, the Segmentum Command boosted the number of patrols and increased the presence of Imperial Guards around key worlds.
One of the Endurance Class Light Cruisers, having recently returned from patrol duty around the edge of the Star Charts and the edge of the Imperium, was refitted and restocked with supplies and troops. It now had new orders. It was to patrol the path to Ultima Macharia, the final frontier world of the Imperium that was established by the great Lord Commander Solar Macharius at the end of the Macharian Crusade.
The whole region has been under enormous pressure from various external threats as well as internal strife. The Chaos attacks around the Sabbat Worlds have brought uneasy attention from the high levels of Imperial government. Yet, the Segmentum Command did not act so rashly based on mere raids, despite the many lost ships that were sent to investigate. The rumors of a large fleet and armies to retake the Sabbat Worlds were still only rumors.
The Endurance class ship did not participate in patrolling the edges of the Sabbat Worlds for a while, not since its near disastrous encounter with an Ork fleet followed by Chaos attack. For another decade, the ship and its crew were given leave and sent to patrol the edge of the galaxy. This, however, would be the last flight of this forgotten ship.
XOXOXOXOXO
600.M41 - Approximately 145 years before the Battle of Macragge
Segmentum Pacificus - Unknown Solar System.
Beyond Segmentum Star Charts, North of Ultima Macharia, West of Sabatine.
With the silent thunders in the vast emptiness of the space, a tiny Warp storm emerged, and as if regurgitating a bad-tasting food, it spat out a crippled ship. This was the Endurance class Light Cruiser that departed Cabulis System 120 years in the future. It was heavily damaged and its life support was almost gone. The once-proud hull was torn apart and bits and pieces were corrupted by the influence of the Warp.
The remaining, and still sane, crew got aboard the still uncorrupted escape pods and jettisoned out toward the habitable planet. Then the ship exploded. The explosion swallowed many escape pods, but a good few hundred, each containing scores of men and women, rained down on the northern parts of the planet's main continent.
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MrUltramarine
MrUltramarine WH40K fans should probably understand this...maybe.
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