//------------------------------// // Swarm: The Bone Trench // Story: Starcraft: Warriors of Purity // by Xarmar13 //------------------------------// Kerrigan and Sweetie returned to the Leviathan with Zagara who had been forced into submission after being overpowered and outwitted by the duo. Kerrigan had a use for the ambitious Broodmother, but she never told Sweetie what that was. “Tell me, Zagara, how would you drive the Terrans from this world?” Kerrigan asked. “I would obliterate their fortress on the Dauntless Plateau. But the only way to reach it is through the Bone Trench. Ever since the Terrans, with the help of Sweetie and her Templar friend, destroyed our infested platform to control the skies and collapsed the Nydus network, our only option is over land.” “I regret nothing,” Sweetie quipped. “Neither losses concern me. Warfield has no idea what he’s up against,” Kerrigan said. Sweetie glanced at her rifle, “No he does not…” Zagara asked about the Xel’naga artifact and whether the Terrans still possess it. Kerrigan suspected that they might still have it but it wasn’t on Char. “Last I saw it, Narud made off with it after Lyra and I confronted him about his identity. Chances are very likely that the artifact is in Mengsk’s possession right now.” “If I know Arcturus, he’s probably got it set up in his office as some sort of last line of defense to keep me from him in case everything else failed him. He never was one to bet everything on others to protect him,” Kerrigan said. Kerrigan had a talk with Izsha and Zagara separately, Since Zagara didn’t understand why she was defeated by her and Sweetie, she ended up being directed to Abathur for improvements. When asked about the changes, Abathur claimed that he improved her muscle density and expanded her brain matter to make her a more cunning strategist. He was, however, concerned that Kerrigan wanted him to make the Broodmothers more independent which would pose a potential threat to her. Kerrigan wanted independent Broodmothers just in case something happened to her. “Perhaps these Broodmothers would make for a good enough substitute to prevent the end times in case something happened to me.” Sweetie thought about it for a moment before an unrelated thought crossed her mind. “When I imagine Broodmothers leading Broods, I can’t help but think about the Changelings from my home planet.” Kerrigan looked at Sweetie strangely, “How do you know about Changelings?” Sweetie returned Kerrigan’s look in kind, “How do you? The Changelings that I know are similar to myself in shape except with a smooth, black carapace and their hooves have holes in them. And they have sharp teeth like a Zerg.” “Huh, different from mine which were produced from Overseers and they had a skinny upper body with long, thin arms, a small head and a shapeless blob of a lower body as well as a brief lifespan. I take it that your variety can shapeshift?” “Eeyup. The Changelings of my world can live for at least as long as a Pony. And they operate under a similar structure as the Zerg: one Queen ruling a hive.” “Fascinating. Equus Changeling essence, possible value to Swarm. Investigation necessary,” Abathur said. “I highly recommend leaving matters of Equus to me, Abathur.” Sweetie said with a threatening tone. She turned back to Kerrigan, “So why haven’t I seen more of these Changelings of yours?” “Their essence is tied to the Overseer essence which is currently lost somewhere. After I was restored to humanity, the accumulated essences of the Swarm were scattered across the Koprulu Sector.” Nothing important was said afterward and Kerrigan and Sweetie left the evolution pit. Once Kerrigan was ready to move against Warfield, the Swarm gathered at the entrance to the corpse landfill known as the Bone Trench. According to Zagara, the Bone Trench was patrolled by massive, even by Battlecruiser standards, Gorgon Battlecruisers. The ships were fortified so that conventional Zerg attacks couldn’t damage them. Kerrigan noticed a dormant nest that was designed to create Scourge. She could use the flying terrors to tear down a Gorgon Battlecruiser. Once the Dominion took notice of the Zerg, Warfield deployed one of his Gorgons into the trench. Warfield also sent a transmission to Sweetie’s communicator. <“Sweetie Drops, what are you doing? Why are you siding with Kerrigan against us?”> “It’s simple, I need Kerrigan alive and she wants to kill your Emperor. I don’t plan to stop her because I hate him too. So, I side with her to make sure she doesn’t get herself killed. As for the ‘against you’ part, you’re free to flee the planet if you wish. Leave Char to the Zerg and we can prevent any unnecessary bloodshed.” <”You know I can’t do that. Never thought we’d end up on opposing sides of the battlefield, but I have sworn to serve Emperor Mengsk, no matter what crimes he may have committed or how atrocious they were.”> Sweetie sighed, “I’m sorry it’s come to this then. I hope there will be no hard feelings.” Sweetie ended the transmission and focused on the battle. The hive cluster set up quickly and began mutating forces to use against the Dominion. During this time, the Gorgon crept closer and closer to the hive cluster. Since Creep Tumors were needed to awaken the Scourge Nests and they were already next to one, Kerrigan waited until the Gorgon was very close to the hive cluster before awakening the Nest. While they waited for the first Gorgon to come, Swarm Queens provided support for the attack group. Sweetie used her Psionic Lash and Mindblast abilities to destroy Dominion attack groups while Kerrigan helped with her Kinetic Blast and Crushing Grip. Once the first Gorgon was close enough, a Creep Tumor was planted next to a Scourge nest and the nest creature awakened. Numerous Scourge burst from the flesh of the creature and flew into the Gorgon and exploded. The explosions tore the Battlecruiser apart and caused it to crash into the ground. With its progeny released, the Scourge Nest slumped over and stopped moving. Once the Gorgon was destroyed, Warfield called another Gorgon into the area. What struck Sweetie as weird was that while the Gorgon Battlecruisers were too large to fly through the area side by side, he could have let them fly in one behind the other. Another strange matter was that the Dominion were completely ignoring the Scourge Nests. If they eliminated the nests, she and Kerrigan would have been in big trouble from the Battlecruisers. In the end, she and Kerrigan were taking advantage of Warfield’s tactical blunders. Sweetie took a group of Roaches and Banelings and scoured the area near the hive cluster for Dominion to limit their attack venue. Kerrigan moved ahead to secure areas to spread the Creep. Swarm Queens sped the spread by planting Creep Tumors next to each other. Once Sweetie finished securing the area around the hive cluster, it was about time to awaken another Scourge Nest and tear down another Gorgon. Gorgon number three was on its way. The push into the trench was made even easier because Warfield made weak attempts to find and destroy the Creep Tumors. He hardly deployed any Ravens or Science Vessels into the Bone Trench. During the attack, the Zerg had their numbers reinforced when a number of live Zerg emerged from the piles of corpses. Swarm Queens emerged from one pile and helped by planting Creep Tumors. Kerrigan took the time to augment her power by collecting the essence from Defiler bones. Kerrigan gathered a large group of Zerglings, Hydralisks and Roaches to prepare for an attack on the main base in the Trench. Sweetie took some of the Zerglings and built up a large number of Banelings. During this time, three more Gorgons had fallen to Scourge Nests. Once ready, Kerrigan pushed into the main base first followed by the swarm of Banelings. With the main force covering the suicide bombers, the defenders melted into green puddles and the rest of the base fell soon after. With the last of the Dominion defenses gone, Kerrigan awakened the last two Scourge Nests and annihilated the last two Gorgon Battlecruisers. With the Gorgons totaled. Warfield knew that he had lost control of the Bone Trench and ordered a full retreat back to the Dauntless Plateau. Sweetie gave a sad smile because she knew that she was going to have to deal with Warfield, whom she had respect toward, and she had the perfect weapon to wipe out his fortress.