Author's Note: I do not own Starcraft or any of the units portrayed within it. Starcraft is the property of Blizzard Entertainment, I only own my original creations. This is a work of fan fiction, existing entirely outside any canon material. This tale was inspired by reading "The Zerg Swarm" tale by East Bridge.

Chapter 25 – Remorse and Rescue

"My name is Dain, and I am here to rescue you," the young man had said as he stepped forth to the cages. Having Lily break the chains and locks might have been faster, but these people had been through enough already. Picking the keys from the dead guard's belt, Dain moved to unlock the cages one by one, allowing captive women to step out, although they seemed wary of him. Of course, even if he did say he was there to save them he might have had some ulterior motives. Trust was hard to come by.

"My mother was captured while my sister and I survived from the assault on our home. I have been trying to find her since then," he tried to explain, looking around in the crowd for the familiar face, but not finding her. Turning his attention to the cage, he felt a chill around his heart, like an iron grasp that was clenching the life out of him. His mother lay on the floor of the cage, alongside a few others.

He had to clear his head and learn about the situation here still, although part of him wanted to rush at his mother's side and make sure she was alright. It was a natural reaction, and the instincts told him to. At the same time his gaze noticed she and the other women in the cage were breathing at least, though slowly, seeming to simply be asleep. He hoped it was only that, but he had a feeling he wasn't getting off so easily.

"What happened here?" He asked this seriously, looking at the women in different states of undress, most wearing rags or mud-stained clothes from their journey here. Many of them were older women, but a few were clearly closer to his own age, and he might have felt embarrassed looking upon them like this before. Things had changed too much for him to worry about that anymore though.

"The man they called Shaper kept trying to perfect something." One of the younger women spoke up, and Dain recognized the fierce will behind the woman's blue eyes, and even dirty her blonde hair was beautiful. Talent, possibly a mystic, he told himself quietly while listening. "He managed to make the men kneel before him and serve him, twisted them to be stronger, more durable. It broke something in them however, the ones with talent began to lose it, and those without began to soon burn out and lose what they had gained. He tried to do the same with women but either the women he tried it on died, or resisted and fell unconscious."

This little bit of news made Dain silently curse his luck. So after all his work his mother had already been exposed to something that sinister. He wanted to scream and tear this place apart, but such violence would solve nothing. He had felt the unnatural presence the people had in the fortress, and they had been slavers before they had been changed to whatever they were, so he had no tears to shed to them, but at the same time he felt horrified someone would try and manipulate, and change innocent people in this way.

"My mother must have resisted then. I wonder how long they have been asleep here. Though that doesn't explain the fact there were a few women on the barricades and watching the grounds." He looked at the women again seriously, the talented one in particular. She seemed to exemplify the advantages of the talent, a heightened intelligence, awareness, and the courage to face him.

"Some of the slavers were successful experiments, but he couldn't repeat them with us. Many of the free living men resisted as well, but they broke eventually. He added them to their ranks. The few slaver women apparently broke, perhaps their willingness helped them avoid death." It was guess-work, but she had witnessed things where as he had only witness accounts from these people. Dain was inclined to listen to this woman's words to some extent at least.

"Very well. Its a bit of a mess outside, so please wait a little while underground still. You are free to look around for food, water, and some additional clothing if you wish, but don't leave the dungeons yet." Dain turned to walk over to his mother, and steeled himself. This was all his fault, he told himself grimly.

"Patriarch, the swarm won because of its numbers and team-work today, but these people were not a simple threat. Even if you had known before, you would have needed the time to build up your forces before launching an attack." His first Overlord's mental voice spoke up and reminded him about facts. They didn't help that much. Logic could do its best but it was still relatively weak before emotions, and right now he felt regret for not saving her from this fate. He hoped quietly that somehow he could restore her in time, she was still alive after all.

Although many of the women had left to look for something to wear, eat or drink, a few had stayed behind. As Dain gently pet his mother's forehead and brushed some hair aside, he felt a hand gently rest on his shoulder. Looking back at the hand, and along the arm to the face of the woman that had approached him he was not surprised to see the same talented woman as before.

"I am Meiri. I tried to keep others here safe. Your mother did as well, before we came here. The slavers didn't harm us too much, seeming concerned about getting less for us if they did. The one time that one of them tried something funny, your mother broke the man's arm and I broke his mind. I don't think they wanted to risk trying it again, content if we just stayed in the cage until we could be sold."

For all the headaches he had been forced to deal with, Dain was grateful that the particular trauma he feared would befall her had not, even if he worried now that in exchange something far more insidious had been done. Violation of her mind seemed a crime that a certain bastard would have to pay a bloody price for, if Dain caught up with him anytime soon. Still, a little bit of good news helped at a moment like this.

"Thank you, Meiri. Can you and the other girls help carry the unconscious women to the surface soon?" He wondered briefly about what he would have to do. Dain had expected to free his mother and then head off, but given the state the women were in he didn't know if they'd be able to make it away from here to whatever town they originated from. There was also the possibility they were from the little villages, in which case there wasn't really anywhere for them to return to right now. Letting them head to Ravenrock posed its own set of problems too, and he wasn't sure where the other great towns lay.

"I don't suppose you have anywhere safe to head off to now either." Dain frowned, rubbing his forehead as he stood up straight, and turned to face Meiri. The woman before him was a bit taller than him, he noted now standing so close to her, but he kept his gaze to her blue eyes as he waited her answer.

"No. I don't plan on going to Ravenrock, and with the rest of the merchant group dead, and just these captives from the villages around, I don't think we would make it anywhere else. Where are you from however?" Her tone was part hopeful and part worried. It was understandable, though he had said he was here for his mother he might be with Ravenrock, for all she knew.

"I'm from a now lost village, a small attempt to build a town where food was if not plentiful at least enough to keep the hunger away. Not that it matters with those kinds of slavers and bandits roaming about, and though the beasts in the area were mainly least and lesser ones, its become a dead village now. I planned to take my mother back to my new family after this." He looked at the woman seriously.

He wasn't eager to take in more humans. The Zerg might well scare them, and he had little in the way of habitable buildings for them to take up, though he didn't believe living in this place was going to work either. They'd need fields to grow their own food unless they took up eating creep, and they'd need shelter that would let them keep warm. Damn it, things were not going to be easy at all.

Overlord, if I construct the Warrens, do they offer a fair bit of space to live in? Dain asked a question that would determine his course of action, feeling like he was being pushed to it but unable to really leave these people to their own fates. If it was possible to help them, he would do so. He didn't want to give up his humanity and ignore those who weren't part of his family, not when they were innocent to the mess they had all been caught up in.

"The Warrens can house a great number of Zerg or other life-forms, they provide shelter even from the most intensive orbital bombardment if necessary, and expand the creep carpet to a wider area as well. They provide a chance to spawn creatures within the shelter of the warrens, and permits quick travel within the territories linked into the warrens."

It was a little lengthy response, but it seemed that it would be possible. The cost the warrens had was somewhat limiting, but he had to step up his pace anyhow, and make his way to create a true Hive, not a mere hatchery and its surrounding structures. Nonetheless, for now it meant he would have the option of bringing these people along.

"I am sorry for asking this," the woman began before he could speak up, seeming to have taken his momentary silence as thinking about it. "But these people have very little to call their own, and not really a place they could go to right now. People know what Ravenrock is like, and many would rather risk it in a village than go to Ravenrock. I don't know what your new family is like, but would they consider taking us in as well?"

He could feel a hint of desperation in her voice. He had to admit, a group of women travelling on their own would be target for some malevolence by any men they'd run into most likely, and the beasts would tear people apart, men or women. They were trapped in their current situation, and though Dain didn't have to like it, he felt he had to take these people in so they would even have a chance to survive.

"Its possible. However, you will have to decide for yourself soon. Gather the former prisoners, and take the unconscious with you, then meet me at the doors to the surface. I'll wait you there." He had a feeling a few of them would faint on seeing the members of the swarm the first time. A few of them might want to risk it alone in the wilds rather than trust in a strange man and the beasts he commanded. Still, he'd offer them a choice at least, which was a lot better than what their captors had given them before.

OxOxO Three days later OxOxO

Returning to the Hive Cluster had taken some time. The Overlord kept watch in the air, and the roaches were strong enough to easily carry the unconscious people tied to their backs. He had brought most of his forces with him, leaving a token guard behind to watch over the new hatchery when he set forth. In those three days, he had been thinking of what lay ahead of him. He was sure the women traveling with him had the same worries, although they knew less of what they were getting themselves into.

He would not be able to make peace with the protoss if they kept attacking him, and he wasn't sure if there was any chance of convincing them to a cease fire for negotiations. That would leave the only option of destroying their military strength and forcing them to back off. If they refused to even do that, he would have to destroy them. There was no way he could live easily with an enemy assaulting his gates constantly. Peace, or destruction, he'd have to see how that would turn out.

Ravenrock was a different sort of foe. He would have to remove the leadership but the whole city should not burn because a few individuals within it committed what he saw as crimes. He might even be able to talk to them, but given the impressions he had gotten from Gem as well as the captives, he had a feeling that removing the Ravenrock's leadership would be doing a favor to a lot of people.

Those two should have been enough foes, but now he had to deal with some robed stranger who irritatingly enough seemed able to reach out and attempt to manipulate him. He had learned quickly that calling upon the hivemind would out-shriek any psychic attempts at his mind, and force their influence out of him, but that still didn't make him particularly comfortable with the thought there was someone out there with that kind of a power and the fact they knew who he was.

"Is that-" One of the women spoke up gesturing at a tall earthen wall covered by a network of dark purple veins that strengthened it, and Dain smirked faintly at the time. The primary hive's surroundings had taken up resembling a fortress alright, the walls thickened, raised higher, and strengthened to the point of being able to hold against a siege if necessary. The Queen had kept busy with preparations, even after he had requested her to hold back on spending the bio-energy. He did have to create the Swarm Warren after all. That didn't mean all the bio-energy had to be held back though, Dain had built up a fair share on his way back, and the Queen had enough from the hatchery and extractor to create some forces to defend the primary hive.

"It is, at least for now. This is the home of the Swarm, and where my sister will see to your well being." He smiled and gently guided them towards the gates. The two large spine-crawlers frightened them obviously, but even more so the rows of beasts waiting within, having formed a corridor. At its end stood Gem and Vera, both looking curiously at the newcomers.

"Welcome, I had the Queen prepare some 'tents' for you, at least for now." Vera's voice was friendly and gentle, though Dain was rather sure her eyes had already cast with worry towards their mother bound to one of the roaches. Brave, he noted to himself, or perhaps she had cried and raged while they were still on the way and he sent the news to the Queen. He preferred to not ask, better if she had at least that much privacy.

Gazing over at the earlier empty grounds he saw that several purple-black fleshy tents domed the area, circular in their build and a bit elevated from the creep. They were rather simple, but they would provide shelter, warmth, and with the creep just outside, food as well. Of course, out here there was the chance to actually get some meat and fresh water from the storage, and the swarm quickly answered his thoughts by telling him their storage area was actually almost overflowing with frozen meat and fruit by now.

"Vera, Gem, thank you for all your hard work." Dain bowed to them in a serious fashion, smiling a little but then looking towards the hatchery. So many thoughts on his mind, he wondered what to expect from the days to come. He needed to get a bit of an overview on things again. The big picture of where he was going. Closing his eyes for a second as he walked to the hatchery, he called up the information he needed from the hivemind.

Swarm Evolutionary Stage: Beta

Patriarch Bio-Energy: 150 /500

Patriarch Bio-Genesis: 50 /cycle

-Primary Hive-

Swarm Bio-Energy: 200 /2.500

Swarm Bio-Genesis: 100 /cycle

-Hatcheries: 75 /cycle

-Extractors: 25 /cycle

-Secondary Hive-

Swarm Bio-Energy: 50 /2.500

Swarm Bio: Genesis: 100/cycle

-Hatcheries: 75/cycle

-Extractors: 25/cycle

Pretty much what he had expected. The queen had spent a hundred bio-energy to reinforce the guards at the primary hive while he was on his way, and the secondary hive had spent most of the first day of their journey growing, and it had taken two days for the extractor to have enough bio-energy to it. He learned quickly he had no ability to move bio-energy between hive-sites, unless they had a connection between one another. He'd need to spread the creep-blanket further then, or perhaps extend the warrens with a tunnel between these hive-sites. Still, now the secondary hive had some production going on at it, and his primary hive was ready to start producing the Swarm Warren.

Even with his bio-energy and the primary hive's bio-energy being almost completely expended with that he would at least have things set in motion. Touching the hatchery's wall, he heard the steps of his queen approaching, and Lily walking up to him swiftly as well. Turning to gaze at them he felt safer than he had even with all the zerglings, roaches and hydralisks around him. Something about the two of them calmed him. The queen's psychic presence, and Lily's devotion, although the latter had already proven a bit troubling when she had tried to sit on his lap when they stopped along the way to let the women rest.

"Thank you for all the preparations you have done. I am pleasantly surprised with all of this. We begin the creation of the Swarm Warren today, and with that in progress, we'll focus on gathering our strength. Even without a proper hive we should be at least able to crush the next attack against us, and with that done we can move onto the offensive perhaps. It will take a while to build up the necessary bio-energy to create a hive, but in the meanwhile I do not plan to keep on waiting. Forces will need to be brought forth, and prepared for war. The protoss seem to be looking for a fight, we'll need to show them we aren't going to be backed into a corner to be purged from this world."

Dain's eyes had a momentary glow of gold as he spoke, his mind working on relaying the commands. A drone stopped at a designated location and began to shift into a large chrysalis, the creep feeding it immense amounts of bio-energy that was draining out of Dain and the Hatchery's storage, and he could feel massive roots already starting to press into the darkness of the earth. The hatchery and the extractor both had their roots into the soil shift, making room for the new structure to spread through the primary hive site's underground. It would take several hours, perhaps a day or two, for that project to reach its conclusion. In the meanwhile, the folks could rest and recover in those tents, and enjoy the comforts of food and water.

"Patriarch, the Swarm will follow you into battle if you order it to, but you only just finished one fight. It could be wise to spend some time with your family before moving forth." The Queen's words struck home, and Dain couldn't help but nod. He should spend time with Vera, Gem, and his mother too if she could be brought back to awakened state. Yet at the same time he feared the delay would cost them more. He had a lot of regrets already from decisions that hadn't worked, the risks he had taken that could have caused him to lose everything, a great number of things that in hindsight might all attribute to the fact he had been too late for someone, and he might be so again.

Trying to keep himself sane thinking of all that would be fighting an uphill battle. He needed time away from it, to focus on just being Dain, Vera's sister and Gem's friend. Sighing heavily, he looked at the Queen gratefully, patting her cheek. "Thank you, Sarah."

As he walked away, the Queen carefully touched her cheek, where his hand had been a moment ago, thinking. She had given the advise she was sure the Patriarch knew already but couldn't tell himself for whatever reason. She had merely voiced the thoughts within him, brought it to him so it would be easier for him to take that path. Then all of a sudden he had named her. Just like that. Lily looked amused but also a bit jealous for a short moment, but the queen merely chuckled at this and then tryingly spoke her name. "Sarah."

As Dain walked away, his mind called up where that name had occurred to him from. It was the first part of the two part name that he forever associated with the Zerg. Sarah Kerrigan. Hopefully his Queen would not turn that way. After all, the original one murdered its Overmind.

OOOO OOOO OOOO OOOO OOOO

Its been a long pause, but I am writing and have no intent to abandon this tale. I have a few chapters worth of text on my mind but I am trying to wipe out things I don't think would work well together, and clarify a few things where I can.

Beyogi, he only struck down slavers & bandits that had already had their mind 'taken' by this new foe, he destroyed all those who took up a weapon and opposed his advance. It was not a city but a fortress, and he had no wish for a foe to sneak around him and threaten the lives of the captives he had come to save. Though at the same time, it was darker than Dain should be. Perhaps a further reminder he shouldn't spend too much time away from his first family. To keep in touch with his human side.

mobius2077 I will try and write more on other perspectives when its possible, but sometimes I feel I would be giving out too much, or something might not work out as I had planned. I will attempt to do so on occasions at least. I have a lot of learning to do about writing personalities after all.