//------------------------------// // Swarm: An Old Friend // Story: Starcraft: Warriors of Purity // by Xarmar13 //------------------------------// Sweetie and Kerrigan returned to the Leviathan to rest after their mission. During this time, Izsha informed Kerrigan that another Broodmother, Ryloth decided to return to the Swarm. Kerrigan ordered the Broodmother to attack a Dominion world called Jontur II that manufactured the newest ships. Dehaka was not impressed with the construction of the station, believing that the only weapons and armor he needed would be his natural armor and his claws. Sweetie countered that there was more than one way to evolve; that the Terrans evolve through their technology. Stukov had a talk with Sweetie, “When did you figure out that Narud and Duran were the same person?” “The moment I met Narud. Apparently, he has this malevolent aura that he either can’t change or didn’t think anyone could sense. Either way, it was a dead giveaway. Not to mention the weak attempt at the name change by saying his name backwards.” Stukov laughed for a moment. “I have to agree on that sentiment. For an ancient being who has changed his name many times over the millennia, this has the be his weakest attempt yet.” His expression became serious again. “Can you sense him within the station; this malevolent aura of his?” “Yeah, I don’t know if he plans to run when we get to him or stand his ground in belief that his power alone is enough to handle us.” “I hope Narud tries to fight. I want to see him suffer in pain and humiliation. I want him to pay for what he did to me and Gerard. My old friend must have been devastated when I was killed. I do not resent Kerrigan for killing Gerard. If he felt as I believe he did in his final moments, what she did could be seen as a mercy killing.” Kerrigan approached Sweetie and Stukov. “You don’t resent me for finishing off the last of your fleet? You know that Duran was acting as my advisor at the time, right?” Stukov chuckled, “He deceives everyone he considers useful or a threat or both.” This time Sweetie chuckled, “Sounds like the Changelings from my world.” Sweetie had a brief thought of Narud and Chrysalis in a deception contest. “It’s time to move out. We need to see what Narud has planned for us down in that lab,” Kerrigan said. Sweetie and Kerrigan returned to the secured surface of the station with Stukov right behind them. Sweetie, Kerrigan and Stukov boarded the elevator with a number of Drones and Zerglings. The ride into the lower levels of the lab took a few minutes. In this time, each ran a number of scenarios in their heads about what might happen. When the elevator ride ended, the Zerglings jumped a small group of Marines before a Drone moved in to morph into a Hatchery near some conveniently located minerals. “Kerrigan, this lab houses the culmination of Narud’s research: the Hybrid. They are the ultimate weapon of the final war,” Stukov warned. The sound of unlocking and moving machinery caught the hearing of the trio. This was followed by gunfire and an explosion. Kerrigan realized that the Hybrid were emerging from their stasis chambers. Kerrigan and Sweetie began feeling the Hybrid attacking them psionically. Thinking fast, Sweetie created a barrier around herself and Kerrigan with her magic. Both immediately felt relief when the effect stopped. “I can’t maintain this forever,” Sweetie said. “But I think I know of a way for my minions to handle the burden.” She stimulated her Hatchery and made it create a pair of Swarm Queens. Once spawned, the Swarm Queens began using the same barrier spell that Sweetie was using. “I don’t recall our Swarm Queens being capable of this,” Kerrigan said. “Yours can’t, mine can. I spun Unicorn essence into the Swarm Queen genome so they developed a mana wellspring and the capability of casting spells. I call this the Mage Strain. “As long as we keep them near us, the Hybrid can’t remotely attack us.” “Good. This will give us plenty of time to build up a sizeable force to deal with the Dominion and the Hybrid on this level.” “If I had known that magic existed, I would have invested more time in fantasy novels,” Stukov quipped. Since the Hybrid was unable to affect them, Kerrigan and Sweetie led an attack on the Dominion base near the Hybrid’s location. Sweetie unleashed her multiplying Zerglings to draw attention away from the Roaches bringing up the rear. Kerrigan supported Sweetie’s attack with Aberrations and Mutalisks. Petrified Dominion made for fragile targets for the Aberrations. The nearby Hybrid got impatient and frustrated that it was being ignored. It attempted to attack Sweetie and Kerrigan from behind but it decided to attack too late as the Zerg had already finished off the Dominion base, leaving the Hybrid to fend for itself. While the petrifying bile from Sweetie’s Roaches wasn’t as effective against the Hybrid as other targets, it still made its movements sluggish. It tried to use a Psionic Shockwave to knock back the multiplying Zerglings but the numbers proved overwhelming for the abomination. A psionic EM Shot from Sweetie quickly disabled its shields and left its flesh to be torn apart before the creature succumbed to its wounds and faded in a psionic blaze. Narud had just noticed the intruders in the lab and made himself heard through telepathy, “You are not welcome here, Kerrigan and Sweetie Drops.” “Not going to run away like last time?” Sweetie replied. “I could have destroyed you and Lyra Heartstrings back then. I will correct that mistake.” Izsha warned everyone that Narud was awakening more Hybrid in the lab. Sweetie didn’t want the Swarm Queens to exhaust themselves to maintain the barriers for herself and Kerrigan so she spawned more Swarm Queens to ease the burden on the others. Another Hybrid emerged from its cell southwest of the hive cluster and tried in vain to attack Kerrigan and Sweetie psionically. The Hybrid was ignored for the time being while the Queens secured the northwest portion of the lab. A small outpost of Dominion guarded another cluster of resources. The outpost was easily wiped out and the resources claimed for the Swarm. Kerrigan noticed a small group of Dominion that looked like they were guarding something. Sweetie teleported behind the guards to take a look and saw another Hybrid cell. She telepathically relayed the information to Kerrigan who sent her Aberrations to take out the guards before their forces moved in and attacked the prison. When the cell was smashed, the Hybrid was rudely awakened but the Swarm had an advantage over the abomination as it tried to fully awaken before being able to fight at full strength. Unfortunately for it, the Swarm had already dealt too much damage to it before it could fully awaken. It barely put up a fight before it suffered the same fate as the first. Stukov decided to jump in on the action by creating his own force and go after the already awakened Hybrid. The Dominion defense near the Hybrid were ready to fight to the death so Stukov granted them their wish by attacking with his minions and adding some Infested Marines for good measure. Stukov’s forces went after the Hybrid and began attacking its shield. The Hybrid retaliated with its immense psionic power while Stukov weakened it by launching corrosive bolts to damage it. When the Hybrid was destroyed, the Swarm secured a large portion of the lab. On the way back to the hive cluster, Sweetie and Kerrigan took a detour to free a captive Brutalisk to add to their fighting power. With that, everyone returned to the hive cluster to momentarily recuperate. Their rest ended when another Hybrid woke up. Since a Dominion base guarded it, Sweetie, Kerrigan and Stukov combined their forces and unleashed a powerful force of Zerg against the base, decimating the Dominion and killing the Hybrid in the process. Another Brutalisk prison was nearby so the trio decided to make another powerful friend. Narud resorted to taunting as his frustrations noticeably increased. This only served to amuse Sweetie and Kerrigan. The Swarm found a nearby Hybrid cell shortly before it started to awaken. Sweetie’s EM Shot nearly eliminated the challenge from the creature. Sweetie noticed a nearby Dominion base had a Ghost Academy. Since the TNOD on her rifle detected a Nuke inside, a wicked smirk appeared on Sweetie’s face. “What are you up to?” Kerrigan asked. “Mischief,” Sweetie replied simply. Sweetie took out her rifle and pointed it at the Dominion base. “What is she doing?” Stukov asked. “Hijacking a Nuke,” Kerrigan responded. Stukov looked toward the nearby Ghost Academy and noticed a Nuke was launched from it. Moments later, the same missile landed in the middle of the base, severely damaging it. The Swarm finished off the rest of the base. Izsha revealed that the last two Hybrid were right next to each other. The remaining Dominion base was also near the Hybrid pair. The Swarm dealt with the remaining two Hybrid before tearing down the Dominion base. Sweetie also dropped a Nuke on that base. What no one was expecting was for the nuke to blast open a hidden door. Since there were no more enemies left on the level, the trio decided to check it out. What they saw was hardly a surprise for them. There were humans in saline tanks that were being used for experimentation. Several of the subjects were infested while some of those had chunks of flesh torn from them to be used for studies. However, one of the subjects who was at the end of the room caught Kerrigan’s and Stukov’s attention. Inside was a man who wore clothes that were similar to Stukov’s. While it was unusual for a person to be wearing clothes in a saline tank, the infested growth on his right arm would prevent any attempt at removing the clothes without ruining them. Stukov lost touch with the world around him as he stared at the tank and put a hand on it. He spent five minutes staring before finally whispering a word: a name. “Gerard…”