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Yami no Sasayaki ~Ascension of the Void~
Chapter 1: Leaving the Safe Zone
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Summary: Initial infestation failed. Withdrawing diversion tactics. Garmeth found Omega Prime too powerful. But despite the major loss of his broods he found an abused yet promising Terran. Are you the one calling for me? SasuNaru
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Garmeth is the overmind's favorite cerebrate. A result of his grandest of all experiment, Garmeth became the ultimate cerebrate before the overmind's eyes. Independent and cunning, the cerebrate evolved to reveal a new path for all cerebrates.
No longer the helpless larva on the ground, Garmeth epitomizes the completion of the cycle. For he is both pure in form and essence, he became the new "prized son" of the overmind and was set amongst the greatest of all cerebrate. For that, he became the envy of all cerebrates. Even Kerrigan, the self-proclaimed "Queen of Blades", threatened by the hatchling's developments.
Only a few years old, yet Garmeth surpassed all of the high ranking official within the swarm. His independent genetic gene pool and intimate connection with his colony made the cerebrate detached from the rest of the swarm.
His independence was made possible with his new glands that allowed him to connect directly to his broods and rewrite their genetic codes to his liking. This eliminated their need for bases. For just as each hive structure fed the necessary genetic data to each larva, Garmeth himself possessed a large gland to accommodate such information. This only made him an efficient member of the swarm. His abilities allowed his broods to be extremely mobile and allowed them to save as much resources as possible.
Despite for his power however, Garmeth is a peace loving cerebrate. Being the first cerebrate to gain independence from the overmind, he believed that killing his foes is unnecessary, and strongly disagreed with his family's methods. Even when faced with dark templars, he dared not raise a limb. Instead, he took to the skies and allow his forces to deliver the proud warriors out of his colony, paralyzed yet unharmed.
His actions were frowned upon by the cerebrate council. Even the wise and reserved Daggoth expressed his disagreement. Once, Kerrigan attempted to infiltrate his isolated colony and challenged him to a duel only to be turned down. But despite for their negativity, the overmind himself put a stop to their attempts, expressing his confidence that his latest creation perfectly followed his designs. And that's all that mattered.
Yet despite for the overmind's confidence, something within Garmeth desperately wished to be free of this madness.
The said cerebrate sat comfortably atop a plateau in one of the isolated parts of Char. Even though Char itself is fully infested and colonized, Garmeth's broods became highly discriminated against by the other colonies. Hence, their wise leader decided to isolate his forces and live peacefully, only to rise out of their homes when called for by the overmind.
"Garmeth? What's the matter? You have been irritable for the past few weeks. It had nothing to do with our latest infestation mission, does it?" Queen Nazgril perched herself on her master's gigantic shoulders. She is the mother queen of the colony. And even though the overlords usually were the closest to their cerebrates, her motherly and inquisitive nature allowed her to forge a bond with her master stronger than anyone else.
Garmeth grunted and detached himself from the mineral fields. Taking to the skies, he signaled for his queen to follow him. As the duo soared through the skies, they arrived in a remote place in Char. And immediately, the queen felt something strange with the place.
"Do you feel that my, queen? That distortion in the fabric of the universe itself?"
Nazgril looked at her master with confusion. She enjoyed spending time with her master. His perception went beyond that of the average cerebrates, even Daggoth. And she may have a hard time understanding his words, but she relished in the fact that they are higher than the average Zerg.
"Yes, I felt it. But I don't understand." She said, as she finally realized what her master was talking about.
"That is the signal of the hybrids, Nazgril. Ever since their awakening, they have been calling, sending what little they could in order to alert us of their presence."
"Hybrids?"
Garmeth nodded, his black eyes shining with wisdom. "Indeed. The hybrids were grand experiments. The overmind knew of their making long before our conception. He feared their strength and for that, he started his own experiments to prepare for their awakening, which resulted in our birth within the swarm. I myself don't know much about them. But I have been curious, feeling that somehow..." The cerebrate looked up and gazed at the numerous stars above them. "These hybrids wanted to communicate with me. Why? I don't know."
"Is that the reason why you were upset?"
Garmeth shook his head.
"Perhaps." The queen shook her head as she felt sadness emanating from her master. "Or it might have something to do with our last mission. I just... I just want to forget about it okay? All those innocent children we killed in Centuria... I, I can't... I can't forget about their faces."
Nazgril widened her eyes in surprise. It is a known fact that Garmeth, among the cerebrates, is the most soft-hearted one. While there are many things that her master is capable of, she found that he has many weaknesses as well. In fact, she sensed that her master is just a bit too "terran".
"I'm sorry, Garmeth. But I thought you would want to talk about it. Talking always help."
The queen sensed a warm sensation surround her master.
"Thanks Nazgril." Her master let out a shaky breath.
"I'm calm now. It's just that... I can't stomach what we just did. To separate those kids from their families just because the overmind wanted to divert the terran's attention, made me question my integrity. They are still young, barely at their larval stage to be separated from their parents like that. They are still too young to witness our zerglings tearing apart their parents before their very eyes. Sometimes, I question this very existence of us. Are we really doing the right thing?"
Nazgril caressed the cerebrate's carapace. This is one of the rarest moments when her master become so emotional.
"Master, what we did was already done. But now that you mentioned it, we did separate those children from their parents. We were directed to and as such, we did what we could. We did it to divert the terran's attention and allow the bulk of Zasz's forces to retreat unharmed. We did it for survival. And we did a good job."
The queen cowered as she felt a spike of anger from the cerebrate.
"To survive? We survive, indeed. But to do so in such despicable ways is not right!"
"Master, please come down." Garmeth sighed and turned to look at his colony.
"Perhaps you are right. We did it for survival. And nature had some stupid ways of resolving her fragile balance." The cerebrate said dryly, his tone filled with bitterness. Nazgril can only sigh. She doesn't know what to do in situations like these. It is rare that this happen.
Both allowed silence to comfort them as they continued to gaze at their colony, contently watching the zerglings running around. Both basked in the scene, watching happily as the hydralisks ate and the drones groomed the eggs and the larvae. But their silence was soon interrupted when the overmind's voice reached out to them.
"Awaken my children! For as we lay dormant in this blasted planet, our enemies have grown stronger. Do what you were created for and serve your overmind. Daggoth, Zasz, Kerrigan! And my child, Garmeth, meet me in my chambers. We have much to discuss."
"Well, I guess we'll have to meet with father. He seemed angry this time. Watch over the colony Nazgril. Inform Darsil that he may have to ready our hunter groups. When the overmind calls a meeting, it always result in carnage, not that I like it to begin with." He said in anger. Both of them separated. Garmeth made his way to the center of Char, while Nazgril went off to the center of their colony.
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When Garmeth landed in front of the overmind, all the cerebrates are already there.
"You are late, Garmeth. I always hated punctuality. You might be father's favorite. But do not test your limits." Kerrigan said as her wings rose from her back.
"Do not patronize me like a child, Kerrigan. You know very well that my colony is on the other end of this planet. Even as a cerebrate, I can't fly that fast."
"Heh! As if you're bloated form-"
"Kerrigan! Enough! We are in the presence of the Overmind." Daggoth interrupted, as he feared for Kerrigan's safety. She might still be a favorite, but her arrogance is enough to cut the Overmind's thinning patience, more specially at times like these.
"Now that we are gathered, I want to inform you that the arrogant Terrans have discovered a batch of hybrid seeds. Even now, they have devised ways in uncovering the secrets that we are after. In their never ending quest for power, they have built a powerful weapon and set their eyes on our scout colonies and destroyed what they could. Apparently, they have allied themselves with a faction of Protoss templars and found a means to block our signals. My children! I want those Terrans to suffer and pay for what they did. Show them the wrath of the swarm."
"As you wish, overmind. We will pursue them and slaughter them in your name." Zasz said as he prepared himself to depart.
"Daggoth, you may accompany him. I want you to reveal their world by chasing after their retreating forces. Once you do so, clear the planet's ground for my entrance."
"You're planning in embedding yourself in an unknown world, Father?" It was Kerrigan who asked this time. She was particularly curious as to why the Overmind would rush into his decisions, which he have never done so before.
"Indeed, Kerrigan. It is time to proceed with my experiments. And I'll be needing a huge amount of specimens."
Kerrigan bowed. "If you so wish, I will help clear the ground for your arrival and insure that no Terran will interfere."
"No. You will infiltrate one of their satellites, Prima Centuria which housed an artifact that might be of use to us. Download its database and gather whatever you can. Do not fail me."
When the rest of the chamber cleared, all that remained is Garmeth, who curiously gazed upon the Overmind. He was curious as to what plans the Overmind have.
"And what would I do, father?"
"Garmeth, my child. You have a special task. Our scouts detected a highly sophisticated space station to which the Terrans call "Omega Prime". I have sensed hybrids. The signal imitates the ones that attacked our hive clusters in Char. If that is so, it is possible that these Terrans are acquainted with the full grown hybrids. Or they could be under attack. Even so, I want you to infest that station and commence a full harvesting operation. Minerals, prisoners, information. I want them all!"
Garmeth nodded, finding relief deep within himself. If the Overmind wants prisoners, then they wouldn't have to kill.
"Of course, father. I shall depart at once."
"Do what you must, my son. I want that space station. Only you could conquer that mighty structure."
With that, Garmeth took to the skies and met up with his Overlords.
"Darsil, are we ready?"
"Ready, my lord. The entire colony is prepared."
"That is good."
In with that, they all gathered on Char's atmosphere, waiting for their Overmind to activate the Warp Vortex.
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In an unknown location...
"Calm down, Uchiha-san. Your friend, Uzumaki-kun is simply having his routine check up. His wounds aren't that deep. He'll be back in no time. At any rate, we want you to take a small scouting team to the north and monitor our generators. It appeared that we have been having a lot of power failures lately."
Suspicious black eyes narrowed at the grins and smirks around him. Something's obviously not right. But having no solid proof to cling to, he simply nodded his head and left the area and proceeded to do his tasks.