//------------------------------// // Chapter Seventeen: No Armour Thick Enough // Story: Strokes of Fate // by Silbern //------------------------------// Link Dusk watched with mild amusement as he stood amongst rolling hills; long grass that blew with morning breeze. He was standing on land that technically belonged to him. Zerg Empire soil beneath his hooves and a dark forest stretching before him. It was a feeling like nothing he could compare to before. The only thing that was missing was Fiddlesticks by his side. Pain Killer stood beside Dusk with a face conveying his worry. It had been two days since Fiddlesticks was taken away to Goddess knows where yet Dusk has shown little to no proper emotion. Pain had expected fury, sadness, guilt but all Dusk let out was a blank face of determination. Did Dusk really not care or is this just his extreme Poker face? “Stop worrying, Doctor,” Dusk suddenly spoke without moving his gaze from the forest edge. “Who says I was worrying?” Pain spoke with surprise as he gazed up to his travelling companion. Dusk just raised a hoof to tap the side of his head a couple of times for Pain to catch on. “Oh, right, almost forgot. I will have to get used to that freaky mental ability of yours,” “How is our guest?” Dusk asked even though he could feel the Zerg strain flowing in the Ex-Guards body. She has been unconscious since her inflicted wound but otherwise has been healing quite rapidly especially due to Pain Killer's help. “You already know,” Pain Killer replied before chuckling. “See? You're catching on quickly,” Dusk let loose a small grin before levitating the sleeping mare back onto his back while Pain Killer threw whatever dirt he could find onto the remains of the fire from last night's camp. “I hope you are ready, Doctor. Today is the start of something that none of your kind will ever see from the beginning,” “You don't mean. . .?” Pain asked as his mouth slightly hung low. “Today we start my new Hive,” Dusk grinned as his eyes focused on the lone Drone who hummed in excitement. Drone. Metamorphosis. Hatchery. Your will be done, Hive Mind. Pain Killer watched with utter fascination as he drew a large folder of papers and a pen to record any of his thoughts. The Drone lowered it's mass onto the grassy hill and then remained still. Five minutes went by without a single motion from the creature which caused Pain to snort. “Keep watching, Doctor,” Dusk commanded with a contagious smile. Pain Killer let out a sigh that suddenly got caught in his throat as he witnessed something grow from beneath the Drone's limited Carapace. The texture was obviously much like soft flesh but it had something similar to a heart beat. With each bump the small producing tubes would expand for a moment. “This is incredible, Dusk,” Pain started to mutter as he beheld the fastest metamorphosis ever done by anything on this planet till now. “Wait until you see Ultralisks,” Dusk mentioned before chuckling until he felt a stirring by his side. The young Mare started to stir as her eyes flickered for a few moments. “Miss, please take it easy,” Pain instructed her as he tried to block the Sun from blinding her. “Where am I?” she asked through a groan before looking above to see Dusk Breaker looking down on her. She only gave out a shriek before going limp once more. “Bloody hell,” Pain Killer muttered as he placed the blanket under her head once more. “She will be quite fearsome in your Swarm, Dusk,” “Yes,” Dusk said edging on groaning. “I will use her to scare away the bunnies. . .,” “You're doing fantastic, Fiddlesticks!” Alexandra cheered a few paces away from the unamused Pony. The slim Human female held a smile on her face as she tapped the tablet she was holding a few times to get some flashing lights and a few beeps in return. Fiddlesticks, adorned with medical monitoring devices, just gave the Human a roll of her eyes. “All ya got me doin' is walking in circles, Alex!” Fiddlsticks pointed out as she shifted her gaze to the large room that was adorned with weights, a small runner's track and a bunch of mirrors. Alex's smile faltered slightly as she gazed around the room as well. “I'm sorry, Fiddlesticks, but we have to do some diagnostics. I swear we will get to something much more exciting soon!” Fiddlesticks simply sat on her haunches with a huff of annoyance. “You mean more lab rat experiments,” the Pony mentioned as she let a small sigh out. Alexandra was quiet as she studied the obviously distraught Fiddlesticks. “I'm sorry, Fiddlesticks,” “If you were sorry, then you'd let me go back to the Pony I love,” Fiddlesticks muttered as she got back to her hooves. “Lets just get these stupid tests over with so I can talk to Dusk,” Alexandra was quiet as she felt the slight pain in her chest as she gazed to her test subject. When she was offered the most promising position to study Zerg up close, she leaped at it. When the science vessel finally caught the trail of the dying Dreadnought Brood, it was an amazing discovery of finding a sentient race of many creatures. Governments, Society, Technology and Art was all evident as Alexandra watched Ponies from orbit. A God watching ants. Alexandra slowly placed a hand on the back of Fiddlesticks head in an attempt of comfort. The blue mane was soft but was starting to show knots which Alexandra noticed. Making a mental note of it Alex stood once more and tapped a few more times on her tablet. “We are ready to enact the first tests, Doctor,” “Understood. Clear the training area, Miss Yarko,” Dr. Otterman's voice came over the loud speakers with an obvious eagerness in his tone. A door slid open as two Marines came out with rifles raised to the obvious threat in the room, Fiddlesticks. One of the Marines that had an interesting face shield tattoo of a shark's maw waved a hand towards Alexandra. “Come on, Doc. Going to get yourself killed because of that thing,” “Don't be so closed minded, Jager. Fiddlesticks is a person just like you,” Alexander scoffed at the Marine as she came to pass him only to be stopped by a large metallic glove. “This Person has enough power to crush you like a bug and that's not even including the Zerg who killed Tarkin last night,” Jager responded as he lifted his face shield to show a pale face looking at her sternly. “Those things killed billions of us,” Alexandra wanted to refuse him but couldn't fight facts. She paused for a moment instead to look back at a glaring Fiddlesticks. A cold tingle went up her spine as she suddenly felt like she was playing with fire. Alex knew for a fact that Fiddlesticks would kill to get back to Dusk Breaker back on the planet. She didn't want to believe it but maybe it wasn't worth trying to connect with the Pony on such a Humane level. Fiddlesticks heard every word that the Humans exchange with each other with distaste. All they saw in her was something simply to study; a lab rat. Fiddlesticks needed to escape or failing that, send out some sort of plea for help. “Send in Zergling specimen alpha,” Behind those large mirrors stood some of the most brilliant minds that money could persuade. Dr. Otterman and Alexandra Yarko stood side by side as they examined the Zergaling with the purple streak across it's back carapace look at Fiddlesticks for only a moment before coming up to her side with a few easy leaps. “It seems the sort of Friend or Foe tagging the Zerg have must been completely neural. When we separate the beasts from another Commander, aka Miss Fiddlesticks, they revert to some sort of beastly state. What does her brain activity read?” Otterman spoke out as he noticed the Pony and Zergling behaviour. “It had an incredibly spike in processing as soon as we released the Zergling specimen, Doctor,” “Good,” Otterman spoke before pressing and holding a button on the desktop before him. “Miss Fiddlesticks, please ask the Zergling to do a simple lap of the room,” Fiddlesticks rolled her eyes but the Zergling did what was ordered before coming to stop once more at Fiddlesticks side. “Another spike in brain activity, sir!” “Very good,” Otterman smiled before turning to a distraught Alexandra. “Your concern over the test subject is disturbing me, Miss Yarko,” Otterman noted before turning his gaze back to the Zerg specimens. “It's nothing, Sir,” Alexandra remarked with a weak tone. “You know she will not leave this vessel, don't you?” Otterman spoke slightly softer then normally. Alex remained quiet for a moment as she gazed down at her tablet. It didn't take a social genius to tell that she was distraught with the idea of terminating the 'Subjects'. What if it was her out in there instead of Fiddlesticks? “Miss Fiddlesticks is a Zerg, Miss Yarko. Do not give her sympathy or pity for she will use it to escape,” Otterman spoke like a teacher to a student. “You know Dusk Breakers psychology profile, Miss Yarko. He would hunt all of Humanity for Fiddlesticks. The Zerg race is a deadly virus that must be stomped out like the cockroaches they are. We will be doing the Universe a blessing by terminating the few beasts we have when we learned all we can,” “Like how Mengsk exterminated everyone on Tarsonis?” Alexandra said with utter hatred. Otterman twitched upon the mentioning of Tarsonis. It was a sour note and taboo even after it was made public knowledge that Arcturus Mengsk used the Psi-Emitters on the planet to draw the Zerg in effectively destroying much of the old Confederacy. “There is a difference, Miss Yarko,” “Death is death,” Alexandra spoke sternly before lowering her eyes back onto her tablet. “No matter who presses the button,” “Oi! Are ya gonna make him run laps all day or ya gunna let me do something fun?” Fiddlesticks voice broke the tension in the command room as all eyes were directed back on the Zergling playing dead. “Do not let your sympathy ruin this moment for you, Miss Yarko,” Dr. Otterman spoke before redirecting his attention to giving another menial task to Fiddlesticks. Alexandra bored holes of anger towards the lead scientist before lowering her gaze down once more to the tablet before her. She slid her fingers a couple of times to bring up a picture of Dusk Breaker moments before he killed the monstrosity that the uncontrolled Zerg-Pony DNA caused. So much raw power yet he cares for others. He has shown love and compassion for others. Not even the Queen of Blades showed such a gentle side to the race she used to belong too. “Is he truly a monster?” Alexandra muttered under her breath as she rose her gaze to look at Fiddlesticks once more. The simple, often boring, tests lasted for almost four hours until it was announced that they'd break for lunch. Alexandra was the only one left in the command room as she tapped her lips for a moment as the Marines entered the room where only Fiddlesticks was left. “Move through the designated door,” A Marine ordered as he pointed to the only open door in the room. “Or what?” Fiddlesticks protested as she sat on her haunches in defiance. “We have authorization to use lethal force,” the same Marine voiced. “I want to speak to Dusk before I move from here,” Fiddlesticks spoke once more as she crossed her forelegs over her chest. “Get in the damn cell!” A different Marine shouted moments before Fiddlesticks eyes narrowed on him. Fiddlesticks entered a mode Alexandra suddenly gasped at. Fiddlesticks eyes turned into a colour that reminded Alex of molten magma as two slit's were the only emptiness that gazed back. Alexandra made a leap to the speaker controls. “Stop, Fiddlesticks! Don't harm them!” Fiddlesticks ignored the voice. No one on this damn prison cared about her except for a testing. She concentrated on the rifles aimed at her as they suddenly caved in causing any mechanism in them to fail instantly. One Marine instantly went for his holstered pistol but found a force remove him from the floor. Fiddlesticks used the Marine much like a battering ram as she flung the soldier straight into the Mirrors causing them to crack. “They will never let you talk to Dusk if you continue, Fiddlesticks!” Alexandra warned as she started to use the command desk as cover. “To Tartarus with what you damn Humans want!” Fiddlesticks rage induced Psionic capabilities fluxed as a shock wave caught the remaining Marines like a hay maker to the face. She then concentrated on one Marine's leg and twirled him around a few times before tossing him directly at the mirrors to shatter them. Alexandra screamed in panic as she covered her head from any shards of glass. A few moments passed as she uncovered her head and gazed up to see Fiddlesticks gazing down on her. Alexandra had only a moment before Fiddlesticks leaped over her and towards the door. “No, wait!” Doing quite the opposite, Fiddlesticks Psionicly crushed the door open as she leaped into the next hallway. A few Scientist halted suddenly but Fiddlesticks paid them little heed as she simply picked another door to crush open before an alarm klaxon emitted a deafening noise. “Specimen Priotity Alpha is loose in Alpha Block! All security teams report!” Alexandra stumbled out of the first door to gaze at two people that seemed as if they just gazed down death and lived. Ignoring them, Alex looked for any clue of where Fiddlesticks went but as soon as she seen the damage she had a feeling it was going to be easy to follow her. Charging through several doors she finally caught the pony standing stock still at one thing she didn't expect. “I'm not even on the damn planet. . .,” Fiddlesticks broke down as she fell back on her haunches. “Dusk, please,” she breathed through sobs as she placed a hoof on the glass. “I'm sorry, Fiddlesticks,” Alexandra spoke once more as she wrapped her arms around Fiddlesticks which caused the Pony to jump slightly at the contact. “I never wanted to take you away from him,” Alex breathed quietly as she just stroked Fiddlesticks mane in her best attempts at being comforting. “It's ok, Alexandra,” Fiddlesticks choked out with a forced smile. “I forgive you,” Alexandra let out a small sigh as she heard multiple doors opening, all of them pouring Marines forth with rifles raised. “Please don't fight them, Fiddlesticks,” Alex quietly begged as Fiddlesticks turned to face her. Fiddlesticks gave a soft smile as she attempted to rub the tears from her cheeks. “It's alright, Alexandra, Ah said what Ah needed,” Fiddlesticks said with a lighter tone as she stood on all four hooves. Alexandra sat frozen at what she just heard. “You don't mean. . .?” Alexandra muttered as she witnessed the Pony's lips curl into a grin. “Want to have lunch together, Alexandra?” Fiddlesticks then asked the mute, awe struck scientist. Alexandra sat at her personal desk as she pondered over what happened in the day. The whole Marine detachment followed Fiddlesticks and Alex back to her cell which they had Lunch together. It was the strangest thing she had ever participated in. Fiddlesticks relived funny moments where Dusk first showed up at her music shop in a place called Ponyville. Not once did she say anything about her sudden out lash or the discovery she was orbiting her planet. Alex removed her small rectangular glasses to rub her agitated eyes. The day has been incredibly draining on Alex and Otterman didn't make it any easy on her. His tirade lasted almost twenty full minutes on the entire staff. Fortunately all the marines survived Fiddlesticks encounter but they definitely got the wind knocked from them. The only real casualties are two scared scientists but they will pull around. The immense weight on Alexandra’s shoulders was the simple message that Fiddlesticks made with her mashed potatoes. Stay Close. “What have I gotten myself into?” Alexandra cursed as she tried to pull the covers over her head. Dusk was amused as he witnessed the Doctor do the forty seventh lap around the growing mound of flesh that has doubled in diameter since an hour ago. The Alicorn has grown increasingly better at blocking out the Doctor's constant visual observation as he stopped constantly to make notes and hypothesis. Dusk had simply resorted to resting on his stomach with his legs tucked in. A sudden gasp alerted him to his other guest however. “Your highness?” she muttered a few times as she tried to regain a standing position only to fall over. “Where am I?” she manage to ask as she rose a hoof to block the sun's rays. “Relax,” Dusk practically ordered which the Mare took to heart as she suddenly curled in her legs just like Dusk. “You were close to death before I found a doctor for you. I apologize for inflicting such wounds onto your body, Miss Avro Aero” Dusk voice spoke of apology but his facial expression showed nothing but powerful orbs for eyes. Avro winced at the reminding of the bad memory. She gasped as she gazed down only to find a completely cured body, not one scar. Avro only let her mouth hang open as she gazed back up to Dusk who held her gaze. “Where am I? How do you know my name?” “You are in the Zerg Empire, Avro. I know almost everything about you due to your bad attempts of keeping out mental invaders,” Dusk answered truthfully before levitating a bag over to her side. “There is some food in there. Eat up to regain your strength,” “Wait!” Avro cursed with the most amount of threatening demeanour she could muster although beside Dusk, it simply made her look adorably flushed. “I need to report back to my district headquarters! You Ponyknapped me!” “I'm sorry, Avro, but you cannot return to Trottingham or Equestria yet,” Dusk replied without raising his tone. “What do you mean?” Avro was on the verge of tears as she gazed up to Dusk awaiting some sort of blow to the head. You are Zerg now. “Ah!” Avro shouted as she stretched her wings to cover her eyes in shock. Wings won't stop me, Avro. I infected you with Zerg DNA to heal your wounds before you properly bled out. You are now part Zerg now so I brought you with both the Doctor and myself. Avro Aero simply shuddered for a moment before slowly huddling her wings to her side. Dusk was staring at her not like a Pony trying to intimidate her into submission but a teacher scolding a foal. That's better. I will give you an option, Avro Aero. You can either choose to continue living knowing that you will belong rightfully under the Zerg name or I can execute you now. Avro let out a startled gasp as the voice filled her head. I have already contacted Celestia and informed her of your sudden change of occupation and Nationality. I can even get a message sent to your mother in Ponyville upon request. “You'd kill me for simply not joining you?” Avro asked with slight shock still easily detected in her tone. I cannot allow Zerg DNA to travel amongst this world without my knowledge. I understand if you don't want this to be on your back but know that being part of the Zerg empire has many benefits. “What kind of benefits?” Avro asked as she started to relax a little bit finding a shiny red apple in the bag. Look at your chest. Not many can heal you even with magic. I can also give you protection and a roof over your head. I will give you security. “What about him?” Avro asked as she gazed towards the lone stallion who was currently hopping in place with a large smile adorned on his face. That is Doctor Pain Killer. He was the one to help with your wound initially. “Oh,” Avro simply muttered before lowering her head that was filled with deep thought. “Think about it, Avro Aero,” Dusk's real voice caught her attention as she rose it to take in the Zerg Alicorn with his hair like silk wisps in the wind. “I offer you room and company till you decide your place,” “Thank you,” Aero could only mutter before a foalish squeal emitted from the excited Doctor. “I think I will need company more then you will,” Dusk chuckled as he gazed to the studying Doctor. It also made him grin when he caught Avro slightly smiling herself. Klaxon alarms echoed down the hallways as Alexandra scrambled to her feet. Her lab coat, normally white, stained with dark splotches of former co-workers blood. A shriek of pain came from behind her but Alex didn't dare turn to see the source. Her feet just continued to guide her farther down the corridor to where the escape pods were. Turning one corner she noticed another like her trying to escape until two long talons stroke from a darkened doorway. Alexandra tried to scream. She pleaded in her head to scream as both talons easily begun their bloody work at disembowelment. She did the only thing she could think of as she turned and begun to run only to come face to face with a horror. Its long snake like body curled but Alex's eyes were caught on the large creatures maw that extended when it decided to growl directly above her. Alex stared as she felt death imminent until the creature mouthed words she didn't expect. “Stay Close,” Alexandra woke up with a startle as she clenched a hand over her left, ample breast as if it would ease her rapidly beating heart. Sweat easily covered most of her body as she tried to concentrate on anything in her small room. The images within her mind were so vivid that it was frightening. She ran a hand through her dark blonde hair as her breathing finally came under control. “I need to know,” Alexandra said as her eyes darted to the monitor lying on the desk near the end of her bed. Quickly, she threw back the covers and got to her bare feet as she fired up the computer. After a few moments of entering certain passwords and identification, she worked her way into orbital coverage footage. Her fingers quickly worked along the keyboard as she entered the date and time that Fiddlesticks made it to the window. The footage tracked a dark landscape as the sun had settled on that part of the planet. With a few taps, Alex zoomed and enhanced the image until she witnessed a large bubble of what looked like the beginning of a typical Zerg Hatchery and a few figures. Alex tapped a couple more keys to zoom in once more on the largest figure. Alex fell back from her seat as her back hit the ground hard. She then begun to scrap and push until her back hit the far wall. Slowly she raised her gaze back to the screen. Two molten orbs of hatred and vengeance gazed right at her; at her very soul. There was no mistake in those eyes. The Zerg are coming for Fiddlesticks. Alexandra quickly donned an over coat before calling for Dr. Otterman through the ship wide communication system.