Fang for fang, claw for claw

I don't own Starcraft but I wish I did. I do not own Z, Antz, or anything really other than my clothes... Actually no I don't own my clothes I lost them in a bet but I digress.

P.S. Due to our inability to comprehend Zergspeak, I have translated their horrible excuse for a language for your reading pleasure. Enjoy.

"Awaken my child, fruit of my creation you are one among many but nevertheless you are special, you all are. I am the Overmind and through my grace, I give you life. Go forth and defend the Swarm, go forth and destroy all who oppose us."

…I was born of the Overmind…

…and into the Overmind I shall go when I die…

…I am a protector of the swarm…

…I am a killer…

…I live only to serve and die…

…I am a Zergling, first to fight, first to die "Hoo haa"…

The young zergling felt nauseated as all these thoughts ran through its head. It tore at the egg's inner walls as pictures of abominable creatures ran through its mind. "This is the enemy" He heard a voice at the back of its head as another image formed. "Kill, rip, tear, destroy" Those were the only things the zergling thought about, if it can be called thinking. It was more like instinct that drove it to rip at the egg in which he resided. The same motion he would use so often in its life to come. Finally, it broke free, bursting the egg as larvae came by to gorge on the remains of the egg and its innards. These larvae would soon be like him or perhaps they would even get to evolve into hydralisks. The zergling shook its body getting the slime off its body. It looked at its hard carapace as it changed color to mimic the reddish terrain of the planet where it was born, the pigmentation cells working quickly to protect it from major predators. The Zergling now focused on the voice at the back of its head. It listened to it and followed its command. The Zergling ran to meet up with the rest of the newborn; it was their time to feed.

Night was coming fast to the desert world of Menaroch and with it came perils for the Zerg brood. The Zerg had coexisted with the inhabitants of this planet for over 20 years since they had colonized it. They had reached a perfect balance, integrating the life forms into their DNA, modifying it as they seemed fit, but life had become hard and as of late. The Zerg had been at the top of the food chain so far but now a new life form had come to this world. They came with fire, and metal, and machines.

Dusk provided the best setting for hunting and thus the zerglings went, searching for small prey but that roamed their home world. The creep provided enough fluids and nourishment for the young larvae to survive but protein was necessary to make the evolutionary processes possible. Thus went the zerglings, looking for sand lizards, or snakes, or perhaps even a nice, fat gerbil. The hydralisks did not bother to join the minions in their petty games. They were too busy sharpening their scythes in their den. The Overlords on the other hand, kept a close look on the zerglings. They did not want them to wander too far. Not because they weren't indispensable but because of the things they could attract.

Five zerglings ran away from the rest, going after a scorpion. The leader, an older looking zergling who was missing an eye growled at the rest and they broke into a fan pattern. Then they took off towards a sand dune. As soon as the first one stepped on the sand, the earth rumbled and the ground broke beneath them. A giant worm came up and swallowed it whole and the rest felt a sharp sting at the back of their heads as the overlord ordered them to retreat. Answering their Overlord's command, the zerglings retreated at once and headed in the direction of the Hive. The worm went under as fast as it had come up. Everything went very quiet all of a sudden and the zergling stopped, then it came. The worm came up and dove again in a wave. It surfed through the sand as if in water. The zerglings ran faster now, driven by the Overlord's call aided by their own their own instincts. Their genetically modified muscles worked at their hardest to bring them home. The worm snatched another zergling and a second one jumped on it in a futile act of courage to save its comrade. It scratched and bit to no avail. It clung to the worm, never giving up, and the worm went under with it. The remaining zerglings now ran as fast as they could. Their muscles ached after having run a whole desert. Only adrenaline, or something like it, drove them now. One of them couldn't do it any more, too tired to react to any commands. It stopped dead and burrowed an instinct it knew even as a larvae, the only form of defense when there was no other way out.

The remaining zergling kept running, looking back at its comrade thinking, "fool". The burrowed zergling jumped out at a strange angle as the worm came out beneath it and devoured it as they both came down. Then the worm went under again, but at a slower pace. Something told the last zergling it had survived, it had been spared. The zergling found its way through sand, then pebble, and then creep until it reached the Hive. It ran past the Lurkers who had taken defensive positions by burrowing. It ran past the drones harvesting minerals until it made it to the hatchery where it had been born. The zergling was horrified instinct told it that it was safe here and so it stopped listening to its own heartbeat. He looked around and saw the massive amount of eggs bursting "Thinking 'What's going on?" A fellow zergling growled, "You stirred a heck of a storm there." It stretched its ivory scythes as its skin turn reddish brown. A group of Hydralisks came up to the hatchery their leader clicked and snapped with a heavy accent "Get ready ladies, where going on a hunt."

The Group of zerglings went first in a fan configuration. This was standard procedure as their sole purpose was to protect the heavier armed hydralisks. Even so, they were spread thin. If an enemy attacked them, they would be an easy prey. But then again that was the point wasn't it. They were merely bait for the worm. The young zergling thought about all of this as it ran. Then the presence of the overlords overpowered its own thoughts. He was happy to die for the swarm. It was his task his raison-de-etre. The hydralisks came a little farther behind providing heavy cover for the zerglings. In the distance, something stirred. The sand shifted and in the heat of the desert, the shimmering form of the worm materialized. "Yeehaw!" snarled the hydralisks as they snaked their way towards the worm. Now that it had decided to face the swarm head on, there was no reason to entice it with zerglings and the overlords were all the happier. Soldiers cost resources and the brutish zerglings were more trouble than they were worth so it was better to let them fight another day. They descended and ordered the zerglings to retreat. Meanwhile the hydralisks made contact with the worm. Their spikes bounced off its hard hide as if they were made out of paper. "Fine you wanna do it that way," the head hydralisk barked. With one single motion, the dozen hydralisks jumped on the worm and started hacking away with their newly sharpened scythes. The newly evolved ivory blades cut through the worm's tough skin like a hot knife through butter. When the mastodon finally died, they proceeded to carve huge chunks of its meat to take back to the hive. As they did this a million little drones came out to carry the pieces of meat one by one. "Well boys looks like we're eating worm tonight." The hydralisks grinned with their terrifying smiles. The overlords were nearby making sure everything was in order. All seemed well but they couldn't help but feeling they were being watched.

Meanwhile on a hill nearby a slick human figure materialized. It crouched as it said, "Good God sarge, they're like freaking ants". The Ghost spoke, a little too loud, over the com link. "Did you see how they killed that thing?" He asked enthusiastically to his human partner who now appeared beside him. "Quiet down noob" the other ghost said crouching as well. "We are here to investigate not interact. And with your chitchat we might be interacting more than I like." The senior human turned a dial at the side of his visor as he focused on the trail of drones carrying the food back to the hive. "You see that, that's why we're here. We follow that and we got ourselves an unsuspecting hive cluster we can nuke." "Sir, permission to speak freely, sir." The Ghost asked. "What?" The sergeant answered slightly annoyed. "How do we know they are not expecting us already?" The sergeant looked towards the line of drones and followed it until it disappeared. His sight lingered on the horizon. He waited a while lost in his own thoughts and finally answered, "I'm afraid that's something you never quite know with the Zerg, even when you think you have them figured out, they turn around and bite your ass."

Back in the Hive all living forms were feeding, it was not often that the swarm got such high amounts of protein. The drones worked chewed the hard meat so that the larvae could eat. The zerglings enjoyed playing around with their food as they all chattered. They were content, if that is the right word perhaps satisfied fits the description better. A zergling laid down next to another and barked, "You're one lucky guy you know. I've been alive for three days and I am already missing one leg." The elder said shaking its amputated limb. "I mean escaping like that, unscathed, that's pretty uncommon for us zerglings." The youngster said, "Relax I still got two days to catch up to you." The elder zergling barked in amusement. A zergling's normal lifespan is a week at its maximum. In battle, it is 5 seconds. Those who can make through a day become veterans but many die before then. "I have a question," the young zergling snarled. "How come we always have to be the cannon fodder, huh, why do we always have to go first?" The rest of the zerglings looked puzzled some looked over their shoulders to see if anyone was listening in on them. "Because we're zerglings! First to fight, first to die!" the three-day-old zergling screamed. The rest answered "Hoo ha!" "Look Z, don't bother yourself with thoughts. It's not good for you, just listen to the overlords; they know what's best for the swarm."