Chapter 26: Three-Way Invasion

Once the rampage of ultralisks filed out of the hole in the ground, Gollog used his smiting power to strike down the monsters with his holy smite attack as they came out. The gilanian perimeter had receded by five hundred meters as a result to the zerg's counter-offensive. No matter how much the ultralisks tried to amass an attack to the gilanian soldiers' established perimeter, Gollog would laser them before they got the chance. The soldiers were rallied into a tighter defensive perimeter, setting up their turrets to shoot at the incoming ultralisks, whilst setting up their elongated oval devices, only this time with several more than previously deployed, pointing toward the origin point of the zerg.

The ultralisks eventually stopped filing out of the cave, whereas creep and other zerg organisms were beginning to flow out instead. Smaller targets proved to be much more tedious for Gollog to target, and the zerg amassed their numbers to attack the newly established perimeter defense. The zerglings slammed into a flat, upright, invisible surface that seemed to shimmer static every time they made contact with it. The zergling's claws grazed and stabbed into this wall, but their attacks had little effect. Could this be the magic wall tech that Kay had heard about?

The magic walls prevented the zerglings to assail the soldiers on the other side, but they continued in their effort to fight off the perimeter containment. At least the turrets stopped firing once the walls had been erected. Soon, a drone had emerged from the hole in the ground and formed a cocoon around itself. It eventually morphed into a hatchery, and queens emerged from the hole in the ground to tend to it. Flying zerg organisms had recently hatched, and had the capacity to fly over the magic walls, but they were quickly hunted down by aerial-denying combat flyers once they hatched. But once the spore crawlers emerged from the hole in the ground, they started rooting themselves into reestablished creep and forced the combat fliers from attacking the airborne zerg organisms.

But after that, very little had changed between the empire soldiers' newly established defensive perimeter and the zerg's strategies. The zerglings tried to whittle down the magic wall to no avail, whilst the anti-air turrets were set up to take down or discourage overlords, mutalisks and corruptors. But in that moment, Kay decided to hold off on using his vipers and brood lords, deciding that using them in the immediate battle might rob the strategic surprise in future engagements later on.

The underground tunneling efforts, on the other hand, went on unchanged. The roaches would dig forward to test the soil and stone composition, making sure that the earth above them would not collapse on top of them. If there was enough hard earth that could be hollowed out, then the ultralisks would assist in the digging efforts, using their massive Kaiser blades to hollow out the compact soil and rock. New chambers would contain a new hatchery, plus a spore crawler or two, to help create more zerg organisms to assist the expansion efforts. When the resource tumors had finally reached far enough that their resource veins had stopped extending and growing under the creep, larger chambers were created to not only contain newly morphed hatcheries, but also a nydus network, resource tumors, spore crawlers, and a dedicated carbonation extractor.

The zerg tunnel network reached far down into the crust of Kiln, reaching 40-50 kilometers below the surface. A slight problem was discovered, however. Water. The zerg were reaching a depth in Kiln's earth to where water was becoming more and more abundant, signifying that the zerg had reached into the aquifer that supplied freshwater to the spring of Red Mountain. The creep was able to absorb much of the moisture and redistribute the water to other areas, yet there was already flooding occurring in the lowest tunnels and chambers that the zerg made. Moisture was not the problem for the zerg, since their hatcheries could be made to thrive underwater, and the creep and zerg organisms can adapt easily. The problem with the water was that it could be easily infested with the zerg hyper-evolutionary virus.

But the solution to that problem could be easily remedied. With nothing but a simple command, Kay simply willed for the zerg organisms to NOT produce the HEV into the underground water supply. Psionicly receptive bacteria and parasites were a major advantage to the zerg, but Kay was only targeting Gollog and those loyal to his empire. Indirectly attacking gilanians that were not aligned to Gollog would easily get caught in the crossfire, and infesting them would turn them into easily disposable casualties. Kay had no desire to infest everyone on Kiln, which would undoubtedly give some comfort to Kragnon, if only slightly.

There was also a certain changelisk that needed to be checked up on.

In the center of Gargantua, the citadel city that bridges the lands between desert and stone pillars, lays the baroness' palace. After being given a tour of the place, Johnny found out that the palace grounds happened to be a 750 meter diameter property, enclosed in a tough, circular inner wall. The property contained 30 bathrooms, 25 guest bedrooms, 2 master bedrooms, 2 dining halls, one of which was private and the other exclusively used for parties, a massive larder, several kitchens, a boiler that supplied energy and clean water for the entire palace, a barracks for when the palace needed to be defended, and finally, a pristine pool that can have its temperature altered to be warm or cool.

Baroness Tak walked forward and passed her hand through the cool water in the pool she owned, once the tour through the palace ended up outside and at the collection of crystal clear water. "See this pool? My private pool contains five thousand gallons of water. Much of the water is taken from the sewage treatment plants of Gollog's most favorite city, Empire Capital. Ever heard of distillation?" Tak said, turning to Johnny. "It's when you boil water and collect the steam and evaporation. That moisture would normally be bottled and distributed to the lower and middle classes in every home of that city, and all other cities and settlements that kowtow to Gollog. But long ago, they have discovered manifestation altar technology, and they use that technology to make more water than they could ever drink. Fresh, pure, vitalizing, virgin water that was never before tainted within their bowels. Long ago, gilanians used water for trade, since it is already a rare resource on this desert world. But now, water is becoming more abundant as time passes, and becoming easier to access in this modern age."

Johnny, now dressed in a regal attire with the colors greens, purples, and browns, stepped forward and trailed a hand in this pool, mimicking Tak's past action. "I had no idea water was such a precious resource."

"It is a resource that enables other resources to become available." Tak said, nodding. "Everyone knows that life flourishes when there is an abundance of water to drink. This fact holds true for gilanians as well, and a population of flourishing gilanians produces a commodity that no leader, politician, and king could not do without."

Johnny took a moment to think of what that commodity might be. "... A workforce?"

Tak smiled. "Something similar to that, yes. A workforce could produce items that could help a population flourish more, or make items that are needed for trade to help other populations flourish. But those gilanians can also be useful as warriors, soldiers, and officers in a command structure. Be it a workforce or a fighting regiment, both are idle hands that could be directed to assist the development of a culture, and progress the evolution of society. That is the commodity, Johnny. Idle hands. To become better than what we are now, we must put our idle hands to work, and build wondrous tools and weapons. Gollog recognized that commodity, and has already capitalized on it years ago. Since then, his empire grew, and is now threatening the other settlements to join his side, or risk destruction."

Johnny got up and turned to Tak. "... Does this mean he's threatened you with destruction before?"

Tak giggled. "Oh no no no! I pay him great respect every time he visits Gargantua! But the people here are very strained and weary of Gollog's politics. In Gollog's empire, you either work yourself to the bone in an industry where mechanical hands would replace your job if you performed poorly, or be terminated if your work quota is insufficient. Gollog is even ensuing a breeding program that forces the gilanian people into a cast system, where the workers work faster, the soldiers fight harder, and the intelligent think smarter."

Johnny sighed. "So not only is Gollog enslaving the people to do his bidding, but he's also playing the matchmaker to line his profits further."

Tak sighed and nodded. "Yes. What is an immortal to a population of mortals? Nothing more but a figurehead of power. But a population of mortals to an immortal? Livestock. Expendable, but self-replenishing livestock."

Johnny paused for a little bit before turning to face Tak. "Which means you need my ability to build manifestation altars in order to gain a certain resource you need, rather than risk joining with Gollog as an alternative."

Tak smiled and patted Johnny on the shoulder. "Quick thinker, you. Recently, my suppliers that have been shipping me clean drinking water has ended up missing, or has told me that they have found 'other buyers'. Altar water is a rare resource, and I do believe everyone would love to taste or bathe in it, if given the chance to. But with that water comes the risk of inviting danger. After all, Gollog is not very keen on sharing his technology to those who are not aligned with him."

Johnny looked down, appearing thoughtful for a few seconds. When an idea came to his head, thanks to the connection he has to the zerg psionic hivemind, he smiled. "I think we can pull the wool over Gollog's eyes. Here's my idea: If we built manifestation altars underground, and have them activate when a false water pump above them is operated, we can create the illusion that even he would have difficulty seeing. There's nothing we can do with the vouchers that your city's population is using, but maybe we can provide a 'charity lottery' that chooses a few people at a time to give them special vouchers that can be traded for water?"

Tak placed a hand to her chin. "Hmm... An interesting idea, but judging from your suggestion, I doubt that you could build enough of these false pumps and manifestations altars very quickly. To supply water to an entire population for a city this size, you need several thousands of gallons of drinkable water provided daily."

"It's exceedingly simple." Johnny explained. "Once I have enough parts to build just one altar, I can use that altar to make parts to build more altars. There's a reason why they're called 'manifestation altars' after all. It's essentially a self-replicating technology."

Tak blinked a few times and huffed, sounding impressed. "I can see why Gollog wouldn't want anyone outside of the gilanian empire to get their hands on this technology. But anyway, I suppose now is time we get you situated. What do you need to create a manifestation altar?"

Johnny listed off the things he would need to Baroness Tak. "A big workplace, several transistors, atom generators, atom manipulators, atom recyclers, a stable power source, an influx battery, computer equipment, data compiler, a short range EMP emitter, and a hyper-fluid memory bag."

Tak seemed to have paled with the list of things that Johnny listed to her. "Nearly half of those items are certainly exotic! Especially the hyper-fluid memory bag! My goodness!"

Johnny sighed. "We can focus on the hard-to-get stuff first. If necessary, we can procure raw resources to build some of the more advanced stuff, but the influx battery, data compiler, short range EMP emitter, and hyper-fluid memory bag are essential to creating a working altar."

Tak sighed and nodded. "I'll see what I can come up with. I'll have one of the guest rooms converted into your personal workshop, and move some equipment you might need into there. As for the more exotic items... I think I'll check the black market. It's been a while last time I went. Might even profit from a visit."

Johnny nodded and smiled. "Fantastic. So... which guest room do you have in mind for me to work in?"

"A few rooms down from mine, same as your other guest room. That way, I'll be able to sleep no matter how much noise you make." Tak said, winking at Johnny.

"I would be ever appreciative of your assistance, my ladyship." Johnny said, bowing before Baroness Tak.

Tak smiled and rubbed Johnny's shoulder. "Oh I am going to enjoy the new toys you're going to give me~."

The rest of Johnny's day ended up in an expected manner. One of the guest rooms that Johnny needed was converted into a workshop, and he gained the computer equipment, data compiler, and influx battery that he requested. The other uncommon items he would need would come later, since they were more difficult to acquire, or were more harder to produce. After acquiring the guest-room-turned-workshop as Johnny requested, Tak went with her body guards to visit the black market. Wherever the black market is located, Johnny didn't know how to find it. Not that he needed to know where it was, for the moment.

But elsewhere, 80 kilometers southwest from the main hive cluster, a hive cluster without overlords, or flying zerg strains, were slowly spreading stealthily within Whisper Stones. Spore crawlers were moving and morphing just behind the edge of the spreading creep, whilst the spine crawlers either moved up or were morphed behind the spore crawlers. Zerglings were carefully placed behind the moving line of spine and spore crawlers, since their only purpose was to chase down fast-moving enemies that would scout the advancing zerg, and prevent them from warning their allies. The zerglings were fast on the ground, but they were only fast on the provided terrain. Creep could increase their speed, but the speed of sand-boarding gilanians would be hard to track in this dangerous environment.

The ruined research facility was abandoned long ago, the scientists, Faddoh, Hektar and Braif, already having absconded from the building. The zerg were cautious in approaching the structure, since the nydus worm that was made next to it was a dead giveaway in revealing the presence of zerg. Since Faddoh had somehow survived the attack at the research facility, it would only stand to reason that he would warn Emperor Gollog, or Commander Kralluf, about the incident.

But alas, before the zerg could expand their territory further, a gilanian in a set of golden, intricate, ornate armor with red accents and a cape, stepped out from behind a pillar and stood in the presence of the zerg. Kay recognized this individual as General Pallax. The zerglings started growling, expecting an attack.

The general of the four armies strode forward slowly with no visible weapons on his person. He continued approaching the slowly advancing lines of the zerg till he was but a step away from treading on creep. The zerglings growled and snarled as Pallax came very close to them. Even the spine crawlers whipped around in a frenzied state, threatening to deal horrendous damage if an altercation was made towards them.

The albino general, Pallax, slowly shifted his vision over the zerg organisms and frowned. He then reached up to touch the right side of his head. "Command, this is General Pallax, I am confirming that there is zerg presence at forward research site B-22."

[General Pallax, I highly advise that you should not scout the zerg territory on your own. It is too dangerous. Return to command, and we will send word to Commander Kralluf of this information. May you need an escort?]

"Nonsense, Deelob." Pallax said, leaning down to inspect one of the zerglings that haven't attacked yet. "I'm getting the impression that these creatures only attack if you give them a reason to. Can you remind me of one of the highlighted sections regarding 'possible zerg organism control methods'? Read the fourth highlight out loud for me."

[Uh... As you wish, sir.] Pallax was patient as he waited, watching a zergling in particular that was closest to him. [Right. I have it here, sir. Looks like it's an addendum to Faddoh's research. It states here that these creatures are very receptive to theta waves produced from external neural oscillations. Apparently, Faddoh has theorized that these animals communicate through telepathy. If you don't mind my opinion, sir, I find that to be ridiculous.]

"A day ago, I would have believed you, Deelob." Pallax said, carefully reaching a hand out to gently pet the zergling's head. It continued to growl, but it did not attack still. "But from what I am witnessing... I think it's more of a means to leash these organisms from doing something stupid, instead of just direct communication between one another."

[What makes you say that, sir?]

"I just petted a blade hound. If it didn't have self control, then I'd theorize that it would have attacked me just now."

[... Sir, I HIGHLY recommend you exfiltrate from the area immediately!]

"Fine, fine. I'll take your recommendation. I need to do something first. Stand by." Pallax stood up, took slow paces backwards, and then talked directly to the zerg organisms in front of him. "I don't know if you can hear, or understand me, but I want you to know that I will defend these lands to my dying breath from any threat. By my command, as the general of the four armies, I will fend off any invading forces that dares cross this line."

Pallax then created a line in the sand with his feet. The zerglings growled lowly. It appeared as though they didn't like what the general was declaring.

Once Pallax made a wide line across the sand, he then pointed at the horde of zerg. "Stay behind this line, and we won't have any problems. If you do cross it, or continue to expand in this location... then I will have to bombard this entire area with particle missiles and destroy the mess your making. If you halt your expansion efforts here and now, I will consider that as agreement to my demands. I shall speak with your commanding... er... your master in charge tomorrow. That is, if he is available in that time frame. That is all."

Pallax then turned around and walked away.

Kay didn't like the fact that Pallax would use what he called 'particle missile' weapons against his zerg forces. He didn't know what that kind of weapon was, but Kay felt as though it could be similar to a thermonuclear nuke in terms of power, for all he knew. But even then... Kay shall entertain Pallax's request and stop the creep expansion at Whisper Stones. But for the purposes of friendly negotiation, certain boundaries had to be drawn. And the limit to that boundary was set as a line in the sand. But still, underground expansions could easily circumvent such restrictions.

Since it is obvious that the gilanian empire knows that the zerg are here, Kay decided to allow the flying zerg strains, and other larger zerg organisms, to run, fly, and play, in the Whisper Stones hive cluster.

Hektar and Braif were traveling in the warm afternoon, the temperature being at an all time high as they were carrying ruined equipment with them. Some of it still worked, but they still carried the broken tech on either a backpack, or placed on a sleigh that they dragged behind themselves. They had discussed earlier that they would sell the equipment to a buyer and make a profit, then use the vouchers to purchase the vehicles they needed to go back to their respective homes.

But they also counted themselves lucky. Kay saw it fitting to spare the two of them since they were quick to denounce their loyalty to Gollog and his empire. They itched the back of their heads every now and then, but they continued on, blissfully unaware and still glad that they were spared from being killed.

But their luck didn't hold out for long when they were suddenly assailed by sand-boarders. Six of them came out of hiding behind stone pillars and quickly surrounded them, hooting, waving their capture nooses around, and circling around Hektar and Braif at dangerous speeds. They wore ragged leather armor that had several makeshift spikes adorning their shoulder pauldrons, chest armors, and helmets. Kay did not know who these gilanians were, but Hektar and Braif seemed to know, since they placed their backs together.

"We got sum smurt ones, Jemmy!" "Rope em'!"

Both Hektar and Braif were assailed by the capture nooses of the new gilanian party. It wasn't too long that they had their hands and legs tied so firmly together that it prevented them their escape. They were also blinded by bags that were pulled over their heads, and they had the bags tied tightly around their necks. Once they were contained, the sand-boarders carried them off somewhere that Hektar or Braif had never seen before. After half an hour's travel, the sand-boarder's prisoners were transported to a cave that had a leather awning above the entrance. The cool air within the cave did little to ease Hektar and Braif.

The inside of the cave contained several boxes of resources, either food or tech that was looted or stolen from somewhere. There were several other gilanians that were watching over the merchandise and taking inventory of their haul. After traveling through a winding tunnel, Hektar and Braif were set down and propped up to rest in a sitting position. The gilanians that captured them decided to talk.

"Boss Ponpon. We nabbed some gits we saws traveling in the pillar forest. Reckon we take em to the drain machine?" One of them asked.

A booming, bass voice sounded as though he was sneering. "Hmm... Looks like a very healthy catch."

"We gon drain them, boss?"

"Perhaps. I need to find out some things first." Hektar and Braif felt a presence draw close to them, and the bass voice drawled more nearer to them. "You two seem to have nicer clothes than most folk in this neighborhood. Where did you come from?"

"Uh..." Hektar spoke. "We came from a research facility southeast from here. It was overrun with dangerous animals, so my research partner and I decided to cut our losses and get back to civilization. We've been walking since last night."

The bass voice snorted. "Research facility? Doing what? Looking at shryik serpent peckers?"

Hektar shook his head. "No, not something as dangerous as that. Something else. Something even more dangerous. However... It was a secret project, and I'm afraid I can't reveal what I, or my partner, had discovered there."

"If you don't tell me what it is, then I will have to punish you." The bass voice warned.

Hektar snorted. "So you're also a slave-master now? Funny. I always thought I would never meet one in my life."

"That remains to be seen." A slap happened across Hektar's face, making him groan. "I'll give you one last warning. Tell me what you have been researching, and I will ensure your safety."

Hektar was hesitant to ask. "If you'll give us your word, will you help us get back to civilization?"

"Cross my heart. You already heard my name just now, correct?" The bass voice asked rhetorically.

Hektar nodded. "Yeah. Ponpon, the 'Gentle Giant'. Third-most notorious slave-master in the southern hemisphere."

"I would normally agree with you, but that is a very biased list in my opinion. I believe it would declare me as the second-most now. Gnarlac, the Blood Drinker, had already been apprehended by Gollog's empire soldiers. He was executed two weeks ago. As for the 'current bandit lord' at number one on the list, the no-named gilanian known by his nickname as 'Zero Wind' is still at the top."

"Let me guess." Hektar said. "You would willingly announce that Gollog is number one on that list, judging from how you veiled your statement when you verbally pronounced the words 'current bandit lord' and 'Zero Wind', if I were to guess what you really implied with those quotations?"

"Give this man a prize. Judging from the way you veiled your analysis, you must be one of those empire folk. It would explain the nicer clothing on your backs, and your careful vernacular for avoiding any disrespect to your bastard bandit lord."

Hektar sighed. "So you already knew who we used to worked for?"

"Yes. I may be living the high life of obscenity and survival out here, but I am not stupid either. How about we make a deal?"

"A deal?" Hektar asked incredulously.

"Give me everything you own, the classified data and your belongings. If you do, then I will be sure to deliver you to civilization, unharmed."

"And my partner traveling with me?"

"She will go with you too. She looks like a fine specimen, but you and her have been secretly polluted by Gollog's bastard hands. Micro-machines, you see. If we killed you and drained your fluids, the micro-machines would form beacons in our veins and attract the law enforcement of your empire to this location, and our position here would be compromised. The micro-machines we would have imbibed from your fluids would embed into our intestines and veins, also becoming a beacon to every vigilante and law officer for miles and miles. In fact, having you here is a risk to our temporary camp anyway! We have no choice but to assist you out of this location."

Hektar paused. "Oh! Well uh... That's a relief and a surprise."

"But we will have to perform a neural disruption procedure first."

"Uh... Is that really necessary?!" Hektar said, almost quaking.

"If you had taken off the bags on your head before getting here, then I'm afraid so. I can't have people knowing where one of my bandit camps is located after all!"

"Boss Ponpon, they didn't get a good look at our bandit hideout." A bandit added to the conversation.

"Oh? Well then, I suppose you two are clean then." Ponpon replied. "But that doesn't mean you have survived just yet."

An so, the fate of the two biologists were now in the hands of Gentle Giant Ponpon and his bandits. The bandit boss may believe that he is in the clear, but Kay didn't need Hektar or Braif to actually 'see' their surroundings to know where the two absconding scientists are. Kay made a mental note of the location that Hektar and Braif were taken to. After all, all enemies to Gollog were but another ally that could join the zerg. In a platonic way, that is. Not in an infested way.

The names for the other bandit leaders did sound cool to Kay, however.

A/N: I'd like to imagine the shenanigans that would happen if the zerg had assimilated the DNA of turritopsis dohrnii. :3