Chapter Five: Rise of Valleran and the Swarm.
Whispy stood at the bar, chugging down classic beers. Sitting next to him was AppleJack, drinking glass after glass. After chugging his next mug, Whispy slammed the mug down.
"Always good 't have a drink after a victory!" Whispy exclaimed, ordering yet another mug and placing some credits on the table.
"A drink?" AJ specified, watching him chug the entire mug and slam it down once more, beer dripping down his shaved beard. Whispy just chuckled.
"Yeah! Nothin' like some cold brew!" Whispy exclaimed. He slowly stood up, wobbling a bit. AppleJack looked at the twelve empty mugs in front of him. She sighed.
"Lemme help ya" She finished her beer, then got up and took his arm around her shoulder. "Come on big gah. ." She said, straining to move. As she left, she say Rainbow sitting near NightShade, she just sat there and stared endlessly at him. "That girl jus' don't know what she's doin'." AJ said as she shook her head. Whispy let out a wheezing laugh.
"Even a Zerglin' could tell she laiks 'em!" Whispy slurred out. AJ shushed him.
"Shh, Ah'm sure she'll tell 'em her feelin's in tahm." AppleJack looked over to the googly-eyed Rainbow. "Bein' blianded by love ain't good in the battlefield. ." She said to herself, not even Whispy hearing her.
They both stumbled in the hallway. Pinkie Pie was walking down the hall happily and saw them.
"Awwww! So cute AppleJack!" Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing next to her and nudging her. "Hehehe! AppleJack and Whispy sitting in a shuttle!-" AppleJack cut her off.
"Kwuiat!" AJ said, shooing Pinkie away. "Whispy jus' needs ta rest, he's had to much ta drink!" AppleJack snapped.
"Awww, come on AppleJack! You could at least play along!" Pinkie giggled, starting to fiddle with her hair.
"Pinkie, have ya seen Twahlaght?" AJ asked, starting to work up a sweat from assisting the drunk Marine. She shifted to the other leg.
"Last I saw she was with Rarity and FlutterShy in the docking bay!" Pinkie answered happily, her eyes sparkling in the bright lights of the neo-steel hull.
"Can ya help me here sugarcube?" AppleJack asked, pointing to the opposite side of Whispy.
"Sure!!" Pinkie exclaimed, jumping under the Marine's arm and helping him down the hall.As they finally made their way to his room, he swiped the card and the electric doors swung opened. Whispy stumbled in without their help and crashed into the couch. Aj and Pinkie watched for a minute, then turned and closed the door.
As they turned, they caught Twilight and Rarity walking side by side. Their eyes were watery and their cheeks swollen and red. "What happened sugarcube?!" AppleJack puled them both into a long hug. "An' wheres Fluttershah?" At the mention on her name,, they both teared.
"She. . She stormed off. ." Twilight replied, looking at her friends for comfort. AppleJack obliged her plight and hugged her longer.
"It's okay sugarcube. . It wasn't your fault. ." AppleJack stated, stroking Twilight's hair. She looked up guiltily.
"It was my fault AppleJack!" She whined teary-eyed. "I made Krasus show us what happened!"
"What're you goin' on about?" AppleJack asked, still trying to comfort her friend. Twilight looked to the ground, her purple eyes sparkling.
"We .. Saw what Krasus went through to be a Ghost. ." Twilight stared at the ground, AJ hadn't said anything. "All the tests, and his life as a young Ghost. . He fainted. . FlutterShy got mad and stormed off with him. ." Twilight sniffled, AJ looked puzzled.
"So. . Yer sayin' you saw Krasus's life an' Fluttershah left, mad at you with him in her arms?" AJ still sounded confused, she shook her head. "Ah jus' don't see it sugarcube. ." Aj finished. Twilight looked up and sniffled again.
"It. . IT happened!" Twilight exclaimed, tears rolling down her cheek. AppleJack moved to put an arm around her.
"Hey, hey sugarcube. . It's alraight." She patted Twilight's shoulder. "Ah'm shure she'll come apologaize. " AppleJack looked to Rarity. She hadn't teared up as much, but her face was still wet. She also looked at AppleJack for consolation.
"I think she went to the clinic dear. ." Rarity said, looking into AJ's eyes. AppleJack nodded, leaving Twilight in the care of Rarity, they continued to the bar. As she walked, faster, thinking about what she had just heard, trying to make sense of it. As she walked down the hall, she noticed pinkie had disappeared. She drew nearer to the clinic, her heart seemed to pound in her throat. She swallowed loudly, her heart still thudding against her chest. The light ahead flickered, she felt what she hadn't in a while. . Fear. She started looking back, then she noticed a buzzing sound coming from a flickering light. Tzzz. . tzzz "Well, if this ain't jus suspensful. ." AppleJack said, her voice echoed down the empty hall.
There it was, the clinic, she started running. . Then suddenly tripped. Looking back, she gasped in surprise.
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`NightShade started to turn. Noticing the staring Rainbow haired girl, he rose an eye brow. She quickly snapped out of it.
"I call for a drinking contest! Me vs NightShade!" Rainbow exclaimed, moving to a stool that seemed to sit backwards. Rolling his eyes, NightShade stood, heading towards the bar. The hatchway door opened. Twilight and Rarity entered and sat at their usual table, watching Rainbow and wondering where everyone else was.
Two glasses were placed in front of Rainbow and NightShade. Some crew members gathered around. Both downed the glass in under ten seconds flat. Ordering another, both took shots, then, they just took the whole bottle, chugging it as fast as they could.
Slamming the bottle down, NightShade finished first, quickly ordering another. Rainbow panicked, spilling the liquor all over her shirt.
"Ugh! You. . You win. ." Rainbow said reluctantly. He head bobbed back and forth and her speech was slurred. Twilight and Rarity got up and walked over.
"Rainbow! Are you okay?!" Back where they lived, they were never allowed to drink and didn't hear about people being drunk, on the ship however, it was all to common. Slurring out random words, Rainbow downed another bottle. Rarity and Twilight hung over her concerned.
"Dashie, what's wrong?" Twilight asked, taking the drink from her. Dash turned to her, staring at her like she was an alien.
"The hell are you. ." Her head drooped down, she pulled it back up, her rainbow hair curved around her face. Twilight was to puzzled to respond.
"She's drunk . ." NightShade spat out roughly. Twilight and Rarity looked to him.
"Drunk?" Twilight and Rarity spoke simultaneously. They both giggled and looked to each other. NightShade turned to them.
"Yeah. . I'm sure you've heard of it before. ." NightShade said, a bit lighter than usual. Rainbow drew her head back with the glass, she fell back, spilling the rest of the contents of the bottle all over her cloths and face. She laughed.
"E hehe! This is fun!" She wiggled her feet, trying to get back up. Rarity and Twilight drew nearer, pulling Rainbow up.
"I think you two have had enough. . Especially you, dear." Rarity said, looking to Rainbow as she spoke. Rainbow got quiet, NightShade turned to her.
"Well. .I'm not acting like that. . I've had just enough!" NightShade's eyes were lighter than usual, Whispy stumbled back in. "Unlike ol' Whispy." NightShade let out a hearty laugh. They all looked to eachother shocked. NightShade never laughed. NEVER! Twilight looked at the glass in front of him.
"That stuff must change personality. ." Twilight whispered. Rarity nodded lightly, staring at the stumbling Marine who had just flipped over a chair. Crash!
"Where'd that come from!" Whispy hicced, starting to get up but falling right back down. Pinkie had hopped behind him.
"He needs help!" She giggled. "I watched him use the wall to guide him aaaalll the way here!" She giggled again at the picture of the stumbling Marine bumping and crashing against the wall. Whispy grabbed the edge of the table to help him up, Pinkie grabbed his arm and helped him. "Come on, get up silly!" Pinkie giggled, she helped him to a chair.
"Give me a beer-" Whispy started, but was cut off by NightShade.
"I think you've had enough!" NightShade said, the slightest smile crossing his face. Whispy waved his hand.
"No, no, no. . Never enough!" Whispy exclaimed with a loud chuckle. Actually getting his beer, he chugged it down before anyone could take it, falling back in his chair. The whole group laughed, even NightShade, who was chuckling lightly.
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Inside the dark, dank organic structure sat Valleran, leader of the Kuolemantuomio Brood. Many small Zerglings ran around, chittering as they moved back and forth, patrolling the area. After they moved, they burrowed deep into a tunnel. The abundant and ever-increasing amount of Larvae skittered around, their purple centipede-like carapace's radiating off of the pulsing orange walls of their Hive. They began their metamorphosis, Cocooning themselves in greenish eggs to become whatever it was that Valleran told them to be. The Larvae are the very basic unit of the Zerg, these crawling bug-like creatures used whatever strings of DNA was collected from various worlds and morph into them. Dragon-like creatures flew in the skies, legions of these Mutalisks flew over the desert plain of Ivain X, a huge planet that had Nine moons.
His purple eyes set deep in his skull, an orange-ish tint sank into the eyes themselves. He sat in a slimy organic seat, cushy, yet hard. Standing on each side were Hunter Killers, Valleran's elite, personal vanguard. Greenish acid oozed out of their ever-opened mouths, their hinged jaws moved up and down slowly as they hissed. Valleran was slowly petting them.
"Ahh, my dear pets. How delicate a plan do we have for these Terrain traitors." Valleran said, pulling up his clawed fingers and rubbing his chin. Valleran could feel the Zerg. Every Zerg for miles was under his command. He was the Kuolemantuomio Brood, known for their ruthless assaults. At least they were. The new, evolved Zerg were better. Spines grew out of their thick Carapaces, they quickly slithered and clawed their way though a grey-ish substance know as Creep. Creep is what allows the Zerg to build and mature, the thick, nourishing biomass seemed to be a living carpet and quickly covered anything in it's path. Without the creep, Larvae would die.
Zerglings crept along the sides, their Adrenaline glands pumping them with overwhelming speed. Their deadly speed made the legion of Zerglings terrifying. Valleran sent over half his brood to take over the Teronovian region. Only a few Terrain actually inhabited the sector. The Teronovian region was known for it's fertile land and vast mineral deposits. Some planets had Vespyeme Geysers on them. Gas was required to feed their vast Brood, making the region Valleran's Brood flew to even more desirable. The plan was to take each uninhabited planet first, then, spread to each other planet. The unsuspecting Terrain would be swept away like cockroaches under a fridge. Valleran looked through the eyes of one of his Overseers, battle commander to the Zerg swarm.
"Take the ridged one first, it has the biggest source of Vespyeme. " Valleran commanded, still petting one of his Hunter Killers. The Overseer responded with a gruff roar. The swarm of Zerg all let out a bloodthirsy roar. Entering sub-warp, the whole swarm of Overlords, Overseers, Mutalisks, Guardians, Brood Lords, Devourers, Scourge, and Corrupters flew into the vacuum of the warp field, quickly traveling through space. Valleran watched through anxious eyes as the bluish-purple vortex swirled around them. Exiting into the endless black space, the planet Xero loomed in the distance, two moons floating in it's orbit. The Zerg swarm split into three groups to colonize each of the one. Small Terrain outposts were confirmed. Small towns of 'Rock farmers', Their most fortmitable weapons were small Plasma torches and some vehicles. A few of the vehicles had large arms to mine, along with the arms, others had Plasma torches to burn rocks.
The Zerg burrowed into the ground, waiting for the perfect chance to strike. They watched and waited, huge wheels ran across the holes where some Zerg had burrowed. The colonists had camped near a large deposit or minerals and Vespyeme. Along with the Swarm came a few Devouring one's. Elite Zerglings that were smarter, faster, and way more ferocious. The Overseers flew through the clouds, spying with their advanced eyesight. The Terrain had nothing. This would be way easier than Valleran had thought. The small outpost was blocking their food. . Not for long. Large Drones made many Hatcheries, huge Zerg outposts that produced Larvae. In turn, many Drones were made to mine Minerals in the underground tunnels. The minerals were put into Spawning Pools, Hydralisk Dens, and even Ultralisk Mounds. These Zerg didn't want much air support, they held back on forming a Spire. The Zerg were getting ready. . And these helpless colonists didn't stand a chance. .
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It was evening, the bright-orange star slowly peaked on the horizon. Jayle, a well-known town technician, was waist-deep in repairing someones mobile crawler. Climbing up the land rover, she dripped oil on it's rock smasher. Jayle's main "Duty" was to make sure the few Space construction vehicles (SCVs) stayed repaired and in tact. The few SCVs they had were used to mine Minerals and Vespyeme gas, also to build Refinery's over Vespyeme Geysers so the gas could be captured and used for fuel in their vehicles.
"Almost. ." Her hoarse voice rang out, barely heard under the loud burning of the SCV's plasma torch. The mayor stood pacing, his rover being repaired. . Or sabotaged. Mayor Nikolai was very paranoid, even those he knew since childhood. In a freak accident, Nik's wife died in a violent explosion caused by a bomb that was meant for him. Or so Nikolai thought. After the explosion, research over the scraps found, some inexperienced twit added some flammable substance along with the vespyeme. The engine ignited a spark and the whole rover went up in flames.
"Hurry up Le!" Nik exclaimed, itching to get back to his reinforced home. After everything, Nik convinced Jayle to border up his home, reinforcing every square inch of his domicile. The only time the town saw him in person were either in the general market, or having something repaired. Their small planet was practically unnoticed by their Terrain 'Family'. Being that the planet was doved "Uninhabitable" the first people sent were the poor families, promised wealth by the Solar Empire. The small planet thrived on low technology, their most up-to-date weapons were their land rovers with their Rock crusher or flame thrower attachments.
Jayle arose from the rover, oil sploched on her rosey cheeks. "There ya go mayor, all fixed! Start her up!" Jayle exclaimed.
"Why don't you do it?!" The mayor questioned. Jayle knew better than to get angry, she was use to his paranoia. She rolled her eyes, taking the keys and shoving them in the ignition. Turning the key, the engine turned over, puffing out plumes of vespyeme. The contained vespyeme acted as fuel for many rock-farming vehicles. The dry, arid land of this particular planet made farming hard. Each family, or better know as, tribe, owned one thing that the others needed. The Joudaan Tribe had the most fertile land, producing food for each tribe in exchange for resources. Some families married into each other to get access in both territories, working to make extra minerals or gas. Jayle's tribe, the Vinnaa Tribe owned the gas exchange, controlling all Vespyeme geysers in the area. Vespyeme gas spewed out of these Geysers, the silvery-green composure is how it was recognized. Refinery's helped to contain the gas in barrels. The captured gas was then distributed as needed.
After the mayor saw his dirt-crawler start up with no problem, he picked her out of it and drove off, throwing dust in the confused colonists' face. "Rude. ." Is all she could bite off at the time. Not dwelling on it, she set off for her own house. . Until she heard a strange chitter. She turned quickly, in front of her stood a large dog- No this. . Creature had a gleaming yellow carapace. It's thick hide gleamed as it stared straight into her soul, eyes showing nothing but hunger and frenzy. Green ooze slowly dripped down it's pointed face, it's head turned sideways as it clicked and chittered. "That's a good dog. ." She slowly started backing up, her back hit the SCV. The creature quickly dug a hole and scurried away.