Chapter 60: Bonus 2: Expedition Team Windless

Events that happened within the past timeline had also occurred within the current timeline, barring several changes that the zerg had control over, or had no control at all.

The battle at Red Mountain lasted shortly between the Golden Star Empire forces and the zerg swarm, on the account that the air became so distorted that it suffocated any gilanian entering through it, or tried to escape from it. Even their fliers and vehicles died due to a lack of atmosphere that the energy plant somehow produced around itself. The energy plant that had sprouted out of the ground was also responsible for taking a few desert platforms out of the fight, using an electrical attack that fried much of their crew. Even Gollog's smite attack had no effect on it, and it retaliated by sending an arc of lightning up the bombarding beam, somehow disabling the devastating attack.

After the battle, a changelisk was given the name Johnny, and was tasked with aiding and protecting Kragnon as they left for Citadel Gargantua. Baroness Tak was quite intrigued with Johnny's technological ability to help create manifestation altars, much like in the timeline before. But this time around, she took an infatuation with the lovechief that came with him. The incident involving the Spiker Titan Mercenaries capturing Baroness Tak and Johnny was completely diverted, but Johnny did end up acquiring all the tech he needed to construct a virgin manifestation altar, thanks to the additional help that Kragnon provided. Ponpon, on the other hand, still had his eyes blinded and surgically improved with implants, but by a completely unrelated incident. Apparently, an assassin was responsible for taking Ponpon's eyes from his own skull. Nobody knew how it happened.

Following Kragnon being delivered to safety, and the short battle at Red Mountain that lasted for a couple brief hours, the zerg took the opportunity to respawn their numbers within the air distortion. Once several hatcheries and other bio-structures had been morphed within the airless environment that the energy plant provided for them, the zerg swarmed north to overtake Empire Capitol once again in the new timeline. Alas, their onslaught onto the city was lengthened considerably, since the Kiln Keepers were summoned earlier to defend the gilanian's home and ambush the zerg. Several days of aggressive combat between the Kiln Keepers and the zerg swarm had passed, which significantly bloodied and littered the sands with oily machine parts, and disgusting zerg gore that smelled of overcooked flesh. Apparently, the Kiln Keepers decided to use the adaptations and machines they have once developed in the previous timeline earlier in the conflict. It made the Kiln Keeper's attempt to eradicate the swarm much easier, but the zerg still adapted, mutated, and evolved in the war that transcended time. The Kiln Keepers also began to tolerate the help that the Golden Star Empire soldiers provided them, no matter how marginal their assistance was. But even so, the zerg had also became stronger, and it was due to their latest adaptations that they continued to violently fight their enemies across time. The battle lasted days before Empire Capitol was finally captured and re-infested by the zerg.

But there were other differences that occurred in the battles of this new timeline. Commander Ralkan, the leader of the Torus Chain Division of the Golden Star Empire, was not within his safe house at the bottom levels of Empire Capitol. Commander Kralluf, the leader of the Crescent Arms Division, didn't partake in a suicidal mission to hunt down an ultralisk that had damaged the walls around Empire Capitol. And Genneral Pallax's golden octahedron shaped floating war machine, the Pinnacle Superior, was not present during the war at Empire Capitol. Even Pallax was absent when the zerg developed their hive cluster at Whisper Stones after a zergling specimen was transported to the forward research facility. Instead, the zerg's hive cluster was eradicated by an early bombardment of charged particle missiles, which crippled the zerg's expansion efforts within that location.

The flying brood queens were able to send several parasites onto several retreating empire gilanians, resulting in an unmatched capacity to scout the enemy from within their very ranks, all the while being able to learn of the structural integrity of their buildings and understanding their strategies before any battle ensued. It would be much later till the zerg learned that the Kiln Keepers and the Golden Star Empire would agree to work together to create 'the ultimate weapon' against the zerg. The zerg would have tried to learn more of this weapon by entering through Empire City, located at the Day Circle, and infest the top personnel there, but they were held back by an unusually large invisible surface, produced by powerful magic wall technology that was enhanced by the Kiln Keeper's Intelligent Automaton machine and Cage of Law variants.

Somehow, the Kiln Keepers made this large magical wall withstand against even the most impressive attack that the zerg could deliver. Even a swarm of rolling banelings didn't crack it open, and it still remained unbroken in its purpose to prevent zerg from infesting Empire City and attacking the dream-light manifestation of Emperor Gollog. But even with the defensive measure in place, a few gilanians ended up becoming infected with prions and viroids derived from zerg acid, and eventually became infested by the Hyper-Evolutionary Virus. It took a week, but Empire City was also taken over when a nydus worm had breached the under-structure, which transported zerg organisms into the city. Empire City fell a day later, with the Kiln Keeper factory erupting out of the ground and disappearing into the sky. The brood queens were unable to parasite it in time as the massive spherical machine escaped, as though it cared not for the hive cluster in the underground village under Red Mountain.

But the zerg didn't face the silver towers that created the chrome slime which enveloped everything when Gollog activated the 'reclamation protocol', like how it had happened in the old alternate timeline. Preventing Kragnon's capture had led to such events, but such actions seemed to have prevented the entire planet from having all of its molecules and atoms pulled apart by the flowing metallic apocalypse.

A great swath of time had passed between and after these events, resulting in an ever-growing disparity between the non-aligned gilanians and the Golden Star Empire citizens, which continued to increase in disparagement when the Kiln Keepers joined forces with Gollog's empire. But despite such a union, their combined efforts couldn't contain or cull the swarm, no matter the efforts that they painstakingly undertaken. It was until the decision to create a system of super satellites seemed like the only option to survive against the zerg swarm. years later, the entirety of the empire's soldiers and citizenry had taken residence within this super structure when it was completed, while many others would be created much later. The two sides of the conflict were locked into a stalemate, with no obvious victors being seen from the end of this war.

But that stalemate was still fated to change, as prophesied by Corvurn's time traveling descendant.

Years later

Within the walls of Baroness Tak's palace, its halls were eerily silent. The only sounds that once broke this silence used to be the patter of feet, sometimes produced by Baroness Tak, but was often produced by her servants, visitors, and the rare guest. But in that moment, the silence was broken by hurried walking. An aged gilanian was carrying a folder filled with papers and information, holding it close to his person as though it was important. He would be cursing under his breath more prolifically if he were anywhere else than in Tak's palace, but he knew better to either shout out profanities when in the presence of nobility, or to mutter obscenities when attentive ear-holes could mistranslate him as a double-agent talking to an unknown party through a hidden radio. Ever since Tak had learned that some of her bodyguards once worked for her cousin, she had fired them all, save for the one that supposedly had no connection to 'Gentle Giant' Ponpon, which was now renamed as 'Blind Giant' Ponpon years later.

He could still remember their names too. Rubij. Drotan. Parvaln. They all worked for Baroness Tak, but they were also secretly Ponpon's double-agents. When no evidence was provided for the only innocent bodyguard, Baroness Tak had no option but to give her last top employee two choices. One was choosing to willingly leave her service, or choosing to prove his worth and continue working as her servant and bodyguard. He knew that he would have to pick up the work quota of the other bodyguards if he chose to stay, but he knew that people would turn him away should he decide to try to find employment elsewhere. He knew that the jobs in this citadel are slim pickings. Out of all the skills he had, there was only one that was deemed impressive by Baroness Tak, and it was his uncanny ability to know when rain will start falling within a month's time.

Golpta, the soft-spoken bodyguard, was always the bodyguard chosen last for the easiest tasks. Babysitting, watching over a guest, accompanying someone in the marketplace, relaying messages from one person to the next, and even being able to proofread a hundred page document in minutes and being able to find every spelling error and grammatical mistake. He took in deep breaths as he suddenly stopped in front of the meeting room that Baroness Tak had ordered her servants to set up, which took place in her private dining room. After knocking on a set of double doors, he paused for several seconds for the signal to enter the room. "Enter!" A commanding, feminine voice shouted from a distance past the set of double doors.

The last bodyguard in Tak's services opened the doors and entered into a wide room with a large, oval table, situated in Tak's private dining chamber. It was seated with several people, with many of the individuals he didn't recognize, save for a select few that he did know. He recognized Baroness Tak sitting at the broad side of the table on the other side, and she was sided by an albino gilanian he knew was called Kragnon, wearing a formal business attire that had a red theme, similar to Tak's dress. Next to Kragnon was Johnny, wearing some kind of garish suit that was green, beige, purple, and looked like a uniform of a sort. It was an odd color choice, but his icy glare usually stops people from questioning his fashion sense. And then there was the tall Gargantua guardsman that stood next to Tak, but opposite from Kragnon and Johnny. Golpta didn't know his name, but he heard that he was the chief of the guardsmen in Gargantua. And then there were other people that wore white laboratory coats, farmers that came into the palace with their overalls and with their sunhats folded and placed into their pockets, and finally a few people that wore rubber overalls and either had heavy duty gloves, or cybernetic hands implanted as replacements because of a limb-crippling injury in their past. The guardsman chief smirked and gestured at Golpta. "Finally! Looks like the data came on time."

Even as Golpta entered into the room and closed the double doors behind himself, Tak sighed in annoyance. "I wish I could say the same for some OTHER people that were supposed to be here. They are LATE." She hissed as Golpta placed down the folder of papers filled with information onto the desk.

Johnny sighed. "If I were to be honest, I think hiring those guys for this mission is a bad idea. Can we continue our meeting without them?"

Kragnon shook his head and huffed. "Don't be so sure, Johnny. I consider them to be an integral part to the mission at hand. And since they are integral with the mission we hired them for, we will patiently wait for them to arrive, no matter how long."

Tak grumbled as she slouched in her chair. "I will give them five minutes. If they are not here before then, I'm starting the mission briefing without them."

"HELLO?!"

Tak sighed and closed her eyes, frustration and impatience seeming to ooze out of her face. "... Is it them?"

Golpta bowed to Tak. "I will go see if it is them, mam." He said, tiredness in his voice. He didn't like to do the work of four bodyguards, but it was either this or being destitute and on the streets. Before Golpta had a chance to open the double doors that he was reaching for, they swung open with abrupt speed, knocking Golpta in the face which made him fall onto the ground.

The foot that had rudely opened the doors that injured Golpta belonged to a gilanian that looked tall, yet thin. He was adorned with sand colored fabrics that was painted to be used as camouflage in a desert environment, but had the front part of his clothing open that revealed some kind of emblem that had two hands pointing at a ferocious looking skull. After peering into the room for several seconds, he turned around and yelled down the hall. "Hey Kabos! I think I found the meeting room!"

Another gilanian in desert fabric gear came up to the other gilanian that was dressed like him. He shook his head and sighed at the similarly dressed gilanian that barged into Tak's private dining hall that was turned into a meeting room. He was shorter than his tall friend, but he also sounded older. "You idiot. It was two lefts, a right, and then a left. Not three lefts and a right."

The other gilanian rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry boss."

Tak shook her head, but then she shifted her tone to speak in a more relaxed manner. "So... I take it that YOU are this infamous 'zerg prodder' I heard about?"

The second gilanian in the desert camo cloth looked toward Baroness Tak and bowed. "My apologies, mam. Due to some misinformation that my... Associate had shared with me, we became lost in your palace. I also apologize if my associate managed to wound your servant."

Golpta sighed as he stood up and palmed at his face, which had some of his scales scraped off to reveal a layer of early slough. Kabos' associate slowly turned to his boss, his face showing surprise and hurt. "Associate?! I thought we were partners!" The rude associate had whined.

Kabos looked at his associate with a disapproving glare, then bowed again to Tak. "Forgive my associate. Footoo can be a little brazen at times."

Tak sighed and hand-waved at the two newcomers. "Please seat yourselves so we can get this meeting underway. We have wasted too much time already, and I want this meeting to reach a conclusion."

"Mm. Then let's start." Kabos said, going to the oval table and finding an available seat to sit in. Footoo shortly joined with Kabos, and took a seat next to him.

After Kabos and Footoo were sitting comfortably, Tak sighed and pleaded her fingers together while leaning forward. "Then we will let this meeting commence. Kragnon, may you do the honor of briefing everyone?"

Kragnon nodded at Tak, and then stood up and walked to Tak's side. "Activate the 3D image. Show a map that displays an overhead view of Gargantua Citadel, the energy anomaly, and everything in between." Before the assembled team, a flat circle of yellowish-orange appeared in front of them. There were several pillars of grey that was at the lower-left portion of the map, but there were two icons that was over this circle that pointed to specific locations. One was pointed at the citadel known as Gargantua, and the other pointed at the energy anomaly on the other side of this image. Kragnon pointed at the icons in the holographic map. "As we can see here, this entire area is engulfed by a warzone between the Kiln Keeper machines and the zerg organisms. Due to complications of resource allocation, the Golden Star Empire had completely pulled out of the surrounding areas years ago, and are letting the Kiln Keepers continue with their war effort against the zerg organism. However, due to the ever growing nature of the anomaly, known as the energy plant by the empire, or the 'anti-azure zerg flower' by other parties, its anomalous effects that it produces continues to expand to this day."

One of the gilanians with laboratory coats leaned forward. "I heard about this strange phenomenon. People say that the zerg flower creates a vacuum around itself through some kind of photosynthetic property we don't understand."

Kragnon shook his head. "I don't believe it's that simple. Even the zerg are chased away by its anomalous properties by some extent, and we still don't understand what its full capabilities are. The empire already understood their mistake to try and attack it with whatever weapon they used against it, since it can counterattack with a powerful electrical surge that not only kills personnel and crew piloting their machines, but also advanced automated systems and Kiln Keeper hard drives. In fact, allow me to show all of you the danger zones around the anti-azure zerg flower. Show the danger zones on the 3D map display, please."

By kragnon's polite request, several circular bands of color surrounded the energy plant, ranging in colors of blue, green, yellow, orange, and red that was in the center-most of the danger zones. Footoo stared at the map for several seconds before he raised his hand. "Excuse me, not to sound too much of an unintelligent buffoon, but... What the fuck am I looking at?"

Tak sighed, waving a gesture to Johnny to inform Footoo of what the colored zones represented. Johnny stood up and pointed at the various different colored circular bands that circled the energy plant. "This blue you see represents a safe area that much of the anomalous properties, produced by the energy plant, are unable to reach, or have not effected yet. It is referred as the blue zone. As you can see, Citadel Gargantua is nearly in the middle of the green zone, which has already experienced infrequent... let's call them 'unexplained weather shifts.' Storms are unpredictable and quite frequent in green zones, which has became a public concern for the citizens of Citadel Gargantua. For several weeks now, people had to duck inside their homes when lightning started striking the ground around them. There are already many people that were killed when they stood on something metallic as a lightning storm was being generated. Past the green zone is the yellow zone, which is where the biggest anomaly is generated by the energy plant. There is some kind of distortion that affects the atmosphere in this area, making the air itself so thin that wind ceases to blow. It is a place where breathing is an impossibility. Lightning storms are less abundant in the airless vacuum, but I believe that they can still manifest in the area if the conditions are right. Past the yellow zone is where the majority of the zerg organisms make their nests. It is also known as the orange zone."

Kabos sighed and leaned forward. "Majority, huh? What's the concentration there?"

"Several million zerg individuals, consisting of both land and air strains." Johnny answered. "Their numbers are constantly being dwindled by the Kiln Keepers, and most of their battles often happen at the northern war zones. Even when there have been reports of other zerg nests appearing all over the world of Kiln, it is here that the zerg are in their highest concentration."

Kabos sighed. "Damn, that's a lot of zerg. I'm surprised that Gargantua hasn't been overrun yet!"

"Don't hold your breath." Johnny said, directing everyone's attention to the red circle. "The red zone, for some unknown reason that baffles even scientists, is the zone that the energy plant, the anti-azure zerg flower, is located. Its petals are aglow with an unknowable energy pattern that is impossible to analyze from a distance. The energy is so pure that it is said to melt and evaporate any kind of material that makes physical contact with it. The zerg organisms seem to die fairly quickly when coming into contact with the solid energy petals, so they have opted to move away from the petals' reach to prevent further deaths. As such, with the zerg retreating themselves from the reach of the energy plant's petals, their lost territory and the energy plant itself consists of the entire red zone."

Footoo shook his head. "Well that's nice and all, but I thought we were called here for some kind of high paying mission thingy? Like say, a war claw, dread maw, or razor fiend decided to pay you guys a visit, and you want us to, like, guide it away or something?"

Tak smiled at Footoo. "Allow the presentation to continue, please. Your party is considered important to the mission you have been hired for, but any further disruptions will only lengthen our meeting here. If you feel as though you are inept at the task present, you are free to leave." Footoo was rewarded with a smack to the back of his head, delivered by a disapproving Kabos. Tak pointed at the holographic map at the middle of the table, barely hiding a subtle smirk on her lips. "Everything between the green and red zones has been expanding outward for several years. It was only a year ago that the Golden Star Empire had graciously reported that Gargantua was barely skirting the green zone. But now? We're right in the middle of it. Within a year's time, I predict that the green zone would move past us, resulting in our citadel to become part of the yellow zone. My people will asphyxiate and the citadel population will rapidly decrease. It would mean that I would have to evacuate the entire citadel, and the anti-lightning shields I installed would be absolutely ineffective in protecting my people against the vacuum. Once the yellow zone expands to my city borders, the population is going to suffer from a lack of oxygen and die."

A gilanian with a laboratory coat shook his head and leaned forward. "If it's an evacuation you want, I don't see how we can help assist you in that endeavor. Many of us are just biologists, former desert platform pilots, hydroponic technicians, and mechanics."

Tak shook her head. "It's not evacuation I want. It's understanding the effects that the zerg flower has on the danger zones, or finding a way to make the zones recede. I want to know why the zones keep expanding every year, and I want to know if they can be halted or receded. Despite the constant war between the Kiln Keepers and the zerg organisms, there has been a few profiteering bandits that discovered a way to survive in the yellow zone, making a profit on the junk they had salvaged from the disabled Kiln Keepers. For years, this bandit group had became very wealthy in many exploits, and it is only now that I believe that a small specialized group can slip in, gather as much information as possible, and slip right back out without the Kiln Keepers and the Golden Star Empire ever noticing." She smiled, shifted comfortably in her seat, and then gestured to everyone sitting at the oval table. "And that's where all of you come in!"

A hydroponic technician, which wore farmer overalls and had the folded sunhat tucked into her pocket, stood up with an expression of surprise and disbelief. "Uh... If I am followin' you correctly, Baroness Tak, then would that mean WE would be that specialized group?"

"Exactly." Tak said with a soft hum.

Everyone at the table began to murmur between each other. Footoo leaned toward Kabos, a concerned look polluting his normally aloof disposition. "I don't like this, Prod Boss. I say we ditch out of here and take our losses."

"Shh!" Kabos hissed at Footoo.

Tak raised her hand to silence everyone at the oval table before she spoke again. "I would not have assembled this team had the equipment you are to use were not of the best quality possible. As of right now, the window of opportunity to enter zerg territory was presented to us. With some help, I was able to acquire some items and accrue some rations for the trip to come. It took some time, but we received information, from a reliable source, that there is going to be another attack in the northern area of the orange zone. It will be an attack that is MASSIVE in scale. We will use that opportunity to take advantage of the diverted zerg and infiltrate-"

Footoo stood up and shook his head. "Miss Tak, I think you need to be more blunt with us. You want us to do WHAT exactly?"

Tak stared at Footoo for several seconds. "... To infiltrate into the red zone and find out what is causing the lightning storms and vacuum anomaly. Hopefully, the zerg organisms will be too distracted for you to-"

Footoo shook his head more and began walking away from the table. "Listen here, miss. When people call for us specifically, it's usually because a war claw, a razor fiend, or a dread maw shows up and starts harassing a village or something. We don't exactly get paid to go STRAIGHT INTO A FUCKING ZERG NEST and prod the zerg there, thank you!"

Tak sighed. "Could you stay until I tell you what your pay will be before I let you go on your way? I promise you that your reimbursement funds alone will keep everyone here sitting comfortably for a long time."

Footoo stopped himself from turning away and walking to the door. "... Reimbursement funds?"

Tak nodded. "Yes! It must have been troublesome for everyone assembled here to find their way into the center of my city, so I thought it only fair to pay you for your troubles. Five hundred gallons worth of vouchers will be granted to each gilanian that has participated in this meeting. Meaning that the two of you will have enough vouchers to live like wealthy men. That is if you decided to stay." She paused for dramatic effect when she noticed the notable arch of a raised eyebrow on Footoo's face. "And since I had no idea that the infamous 'Prod Boss' brought an associate with him, it would mean that I would have to put you on the payroll as well. That would mean two thousand gallons worth of water vouchers for each of you, if you decide to partake in the mission. But that is nothing compared to the true reward for when you safely return from this mission and discovered the cause of the danger zone expansion. A bonus of ten thousand gallons worth of water vouchers will be given to each gilanian here, should you go through with this mission and retrieve any valuable information I find usable. It's nothing more but a small fortune I'm willing to part with, but it is a price that I am willing to sacrifice for the protection and sanctity of my citadel."

Kabos gestured to Footoo. "Sit down."

Footoo sighed. "Don't have to tell ME twice." He said, going back to his chair and sitting down in it.

Tak smiled and nodded. "Thank you for your cooperation." She then turned to Kragnon. "Dear, could you tell them what they will be doing?"

Kragnon nodded. "Bring up the vehicle specs above the map." A 3D image of a desert platform hovered over the map, which had a rather unusual design to itself. For one, it was a multi-layered machine that had three decks, two more than the usual single deck that the desert platforms usually have. It also had no artillery cannons, and very little automated turrets or manual turrets to protect an otherwise bigger target. Kragnon gestured at the vehicle. "This will be the vehicle that will take you to the center of the red zone. It's an older model of a desert platform that has been retrofitted several times in the past, but we happened to reach a very cheap bargain during an auction. Rest assured, it has taken us a few years to get it back to functioning well above its normal parameters. On the outside, it may seem like an ordinary desert platform that any of the Golden Star Empire soldiers would feel confident driving into battle with. However, you will notice that it has no artillery cannons, and has far fewer turret emplacements than any other normal desert platform. In its lower deck resides a hydroponic bay that contains seven thousand plants, which is fitted with an air circulation system that provides oxygenated atmosphere within the entire vehicle."

Kabos tilted his head. "... Seven thousand plants?"

"They are potted dwarf kalumas trees and seperated patches of hydroponicly adapted vaph grass. A trick that the bandits surviving in the yellow zone discovered." Kragnon answered. "They manufactured their makeshift desert platform so that its inner crew compartment had an abundant supply of oxygenated air, and they kept the air from vacating into the vacuum by modifying every seem and panel till it became a tightly sealed environment, preventing any air within from escaping into the airless environment outside. They then just use a crane with a claw attachment to pick up all the scrap they want! The concept was actually taken from an earlier event in history where Emperor Gollog sent several empire gilanians to the moon, using pressurized space suits and a solid fuel rocket. None of them returned after their mission was over with, and it was presumed that they all committed suicide by jumping into the black veil at the edge of the moon. But anyway, as I was saying...

Kragnon then pointed at the other components in the vehicle. "The engine that powers the desert platform contains a reactionless drive within its core, which uses an artificial power crystal lattice. It could also derive power by using light collection panels on the top of the vehicle for low-powered transportation. The engine is located in the middle deck, which is also where the science labs, resource storage, and ration storage is located. The upper deck is where important computer and communication systems will be installed in, with the helm control, crew quarters, mess hall and operator's quarters would be located near the front. Sadly, due to the space needed to install every system into this desert platform, the platform hatch underneath had to be dismantled and redesigned as an emergency hatch in case dire conditions occur, like say an unrecoverable power failure happens, an engine malfunction stops any further progress, or damage has been done to the engine's core or atmosphericly contained hull. But in extreme emergencies that elicits the need for retreat into the vacuumed yellow zone and the safer zones beyond, you have twenty pre-tested specialized vacuum suits that can hold up to five hours of breathable oxygen, and there are two dune boats that comfortably sits five people each that you can use to quickly transport yourselves away from danger. There is no need to worry about fueling the dune boats, because they too use reactionless drives. If the need for extravehicular activity is needed, then the desert platform can be lowered onto even ground, which lets one of the four air hatches to become accessable. After the desert platform is settled into the ground, you could then opt to go out on a walk in a vacuum suit, or use a dune boat to reach far distances more quickly than on foot. The vacuum suits are fitted with four rail-hooks and a short-range radio system, but they would become next to useless if the suit itself is punctured."

A rubber overall-ed gilanian raised his hand. "Excuse me, but why need so many reactionless drives to power so many vehicles? I understand using it for the desert platform, but why also install them in the dune boats?"

"It's simple, Lanfong." Kragnon answered. "The atmosphere within the yellow zone is completely absent. No oxygen, no nitrogen, no argon, and nothing else. To use a combustion engine, oxygen is required to create the reaction needed to power many of your gas powered vehicles. With reactionless drives, you don't have to worry about an output of exhaust being produced from the vehicle your driving. Using a combustible engine inside of the pressure-sealed desert platform would pollute the air within the sealed environment too quickly, and we would sabotage our own mission from the very beginning. It's an expensive upgrade, but it is one that I think puts us ahead of the empire."

"Ah." Lanfong said, nodding to the logic of the answer he received.

Johnny stepped forward and picked up the folder that contained papers and information, looking through them. He took his turn to talk after skimming through the information contained in the folder. "And now, we shall discuss the team that will be fielding this operation. The engineers will consist of Lanfong and Kreez. They will be tasked with familiarizing themselves with the desert platform's mechanical operations and repairing any damage that its systems sustains. The botanists that will take care of the plants in the lower deck will be Kran and Tord's responsibility. Two scientists will be joining this team, and they will be mainly focused on researching the zerg organisms from a distance. I advise that they must use observational data only. They are not to collect live specimen samples, or have direct interaction with the zerg organisms. To make their backstory short, they were former scientists that worked with the Golden Star Empire's Cubic Research Division, but have otherwise been honorably disbanded from their ranks after an incident destroyed their laboratory. One is called Hektar, and the other is Braif, and they are currently within this desert platform getting the laboratory within primed for use on the field. I am telling you this, because I know that some of you have deep hatred towards the empire. However, I ask of you to help assist them in their works, regardless of their previous history. Two desert platform operators will take command at operating the desert platform. They will be taking shifts, unless an emergency occurs. The engineers can assist with surveillance operations, but the pilot and co-pilot will be driving the desert platform straight into the heart of the anomaly. The operators' names are Jotan and Tanjo, also currently at the desert platform."

Footoo interjected. "So let me guess. You hired us two so that we can do... What? Go with the the desert platform team and provide our zerg prodding skills? I mean... This is quite a suicidal job, even if it pays too well. I'm not even sure if the vouchers is worth a high chance of death though."

Johnny sighed. "Despite my reservations, you were the first to be selected to provide information about the zerg with the team you will be joining with. You are very likely to encounter the zerg organisms in this mission, and Baroness Tak did not want tawdry experts. You are professionals, and we need professionals to instruct the other team members about how to deal with the zerg and find the best method possible to avoid any conflict with them."

Kabos shook his head and narrowed his eyes at Johnny. "'Deal with?' With all due respect, the zerg are not just some savage animal that you just shake a stick at and hope it goes away. They are smart, territorial, become more aggressive the more you try to fight them off, and are so deceptive that they seem to have eyes and ears in places you wouldn't expect." Kabos placed emphasis on his last sentence before pausing and staring intently at Johnny. After that pause, Kabos continued. "I have shared my knowledge with several villages that have suffered from the presence of the zerg, and every one of them benefited from my visit, and many other zerg prodders that also visited. And yet, there are still many villages out there that either have been vacated, or decimated when they took great offense, especially after the zerg have decided to move into their neighborhood, prompting the village to try and to fight them off. There are a rare few villages that are not so lucky, and had do adapt to living life without their precious farm plots that are now covered in slime, and livestock that had been hunted to extinction when the farmhands were not looking. Yet, those very few villages somehow flourished, despite my offer to help teach them how to drive the zerg away with the proper zerg prodding methods."

Johnny tilted his head. "... How did they survive?"

"They found a way. Whatever it is, they haven't told me about it." Kabos said, sighing.

Johnny stared at Kabos for a couple seconds before huffing. "...I'm rather impressed, Kabos. I had always thought that you were some kind of street urchin that grew his wings from the gutter, what with the way you carried yourself as you stood. But... I can see that you are quite perceptive."

Kabos tapped his nose. "I have a talent for finding subtle details in complex people, giving me the ability to tell that some people are more than what they appear to be." He said, keeping his gaze on Johnny. "Like a smell so subtle you couldn't even detect it."

Kragnon looked back and forth between Kabos and Johnny several times before he directed the meeting's attention to himself. "Let's get back to the topic at hand, please! Bring up the route and the war forecast." By Kragnon's request, several white triangles began to appear and lead the way outside of the blue zone, circled around, and then trailed up and through the zones till it ended in the center of the red zone. Several mock explosion clouds silently came into existence at the northern parts of the different colored zones. kragnon pointed out at what the new details meant. "The white arrows that you see is your route. It is considered the safest possible path that will reduce the risk of being in direct confrontation of the zerg organisms, the Golden Star Empire soldiers, the Kiln Keepers, and any bandit factions. Being in the green zone would risk the desert platform being damaged by the lightning, so you must skirt around on its edge as you head southeast. Only when the anti-azure zerg flower is directly north of your position must you begin traveling towards it. Any questions?"

The mechanic named Lanfong raised his hand. "Why take such a long route to get to the center of zerg territory? Wouldn't it save more time to just drive at it in a straight line?"

Kragnon shook his head. "Because the empire does not approve of having their technology being used by non-aligned factions. If they noticed that one of their own machines is not manned by their soldiers, even if they are not there to maintain a territory with the Kiln keepers, they won't hesitate to either arrest the crew and apprehend the desert platform, or destroy the desert platform and kill the crew inside instead."

"This route takes us pretty close to the stone pillars." A botanist said, her concern weighing heavy in her voice. "Should we be worried about bandits attacking and raiding the desert platform?"

"If you are being chased by a bandit faction, travel straight through the green zone and head into the yellow zone." Kragnon answered. "You are then to skirt through the yellow zone until you are directly south of the zerg flower. Take caution, however. The bandits might relay information to the Golden Star Empire out of spite, and tell them that one of their desert platforms is being piloted by non-aligned gilanians. This is a very unlikely scenario to happen, but I am hoping that the bandits will create a wide birth between themselves and the green zone. Besides, nobody wants to stay outside when there is a storm brewing over their heads! That, and I think they would prefer not to risk provoking the zerg organisms too."

"And that's what I want to ask about." Langong's chubby mechanic friend said in a soft and gentle voice, leaning forward. "When we get into the orange zone, what are we to expect?" She asked.

Johnny gestured to Kabos. "Perhaps our professional zerg prodder can answer that question for you?"

Kabos noticed that all eyes were on him again. Kabos rolled his eyes before he leaned forward. "I'm afraid I don't have much to tell you. From what I heard about this 'orange zone' from rumors alone, it's a heavily infested zerg territory filled with nests and other kinds of flesh growths that are shoulder-to-shoulder from one another. Trying to drive a desert platform through that kind of mess would need one hell of a pilot, but it would also be tedious going slowly though that mess. Kind of hard to imagine that the zerg organisms don't need to breathe any sort of air to survive, since the orange zone is also inside of the yellow zone. I have walked through a few zerg infested territories with several close encounters, but I have never done something this insane before. There might even be some new types of zerg I have never prodded before, so... there's that to worry about."

Johnny smiled at Kabos. "No need to worry. I have the upmost confidence that you will complete this mission given to you." His expression then changed to stern seriousness. "But bear in mind that if all of you agree to participate, this mission will begin immediately. I don't know for how long that we can keep the desert platform from being a secret to the public any longer, and I'm starting to think that the newscasters are only now trying to worm their sleazy reporters into our private matters. So! ... Is everyone in?"

Footoo turned to Kabos. "Bro, do you think this is a good idea? We've NEVER gone into zerg territory that's miles wide before."

Kabos nodded. "It's big, yeah. Bigger than anything we normally do. But the payout is so much more bigger than I had thought."

Footoo sighed and nodded with Kabos. "Fuck, I forgot about that. That's uh... Twelve thousand five hundred gallons worth of vouchers for each of us, yeah? Man, we can probably buy out an establishment and live some good lives!"

"I'd rather not retire from being a prodder, though." Kabos added.

Footoo scoffed. "It's a very risky job though, and it's a job I would HAPPILY retire from! You remember Klenner? Got a fucking spine lodged into his fucking head after antagonizing that fucking spine serpent. Pardack? Got turned into green goo after being the first person ever to try prodding a burster. Prex? Had to have her arm amputated when she tried to pet a blade hound, but got bit for her efforts. Duxin? Tried to see if a caretaker could be prodded, but ended up being captured by one. Even if he returned a week later... It was obvious that he was not himself. And I mean WAY not himself. We tried to get some scientist types to find out what happened to him, but they arrived too late when he killed himself before they got a chance to study him. And I don't have to be the one to remind you of what happened to Paffuwd."

Kabos sighed and turned away. "Yeah... Poor Paffuwd."

Johnny tilted his head as he began watching Kabos intently. "So does this mean you will not be joining us?"

Kabos sighed, but then crossed his arms and spoke sternly. "We'll join the team. But, if you don't mind my observation, judging from the number of people you mentioned, there seems to be some extras here that has joined the meeting."

Johnny nodded. "Indeed." Johnny gestured to the surrounding gilanians. "Tak has took it upon herself to hire some additional technicians and scientists to help assist you, in case there happens to be a problem that you can't handle on your own, or if there are too many people that decided against going on the mission. The desert platform was designed to have a crew compliment of ten people only, but the desert platform also has an encrypted shadow frequency emitter and receiver. It can maintain a communication link between yourselves and us in Citadel Gargantua, and it will mean that there will be a few of you that stays behind when the desert platform embarks. We can't risk using radio, since it WILL be detected and analyzed by the empire's surveillance officers. There is a chance that they might still discover the frequency you are transmitting, but we hope that using an encrypted signal might buy you some time before they become aware of our research mission."

Kragnon sighed. "To put it simply, we must not attract the empire's attention during this mission. They have no idea that we are using a desert platform to analyze the anti-azure zerg flower at the middle of the red zone, and I would like to keep it that way. It is a grand undertaking. I will understand if you decline going on this mission. There are plenty of risks in this mission, many pertaining to the zerg, the empire, and their metal allies, that will cause a political backlash, and-slash-or destructively terrifying devastation to this fine city if we don't act quick enough. To put it bluntly: Only use the shadow frequency communication system as a last resort. Now then... Do any of you have any other questions you want to share during the meeting?" After a pause of ten seconds, Kragnon nodded. "Good. If you feel as though you are up to the task and want to embark on this mission, follow Guardsman Chief Kirkan to the vehicle garage bay. If not, then you can stay here and let Baroness Tak reimburse you your voucher value of five hundred gallons right now. I can assure you that when you return, you will have that reimbursement fund and paycheck. If the mission bears fruit, then you will also gain the bonus that Baroness Tak aforementioned." Kragnon said, standing up and bowing to the gilanians that have decided to follow after the guardsman of Citadel Gargantua. "May the time we spend be filled with meaning. Goodbye for now, and good luck."

Kirkan, having being quiet for the whole meeting, gestured to the gilanians that decided stand up from their chairs and follow after the tall guardsman. "Looks like all of you decided to nut up. Even those two 'zerg prodder' guys. Hah! You lot are a step closer for me to actually start liking you!" He then gestured to the doors. "Okay then, let's get to the Baroness Station. I'll call in some buddies to escort everyone to the vehicle garage near Far South Station. Also, watch your pockets. There has been a string of pickpocket reports in that area this month." Kirkan said with a jovial and relaxed smile as he walked to the double doors he gestured to.

After the entire company left with the tall guardsman and finally closed the door behind themselves, Tak turned to the last bodyguard still in her employ. "Golpta. Could you wait outside, please?"

Golpta bowed. "Yes mam." After bowing, he went to the double doors and opened them, and then closing them behind himself as he left Tak's private dining chamber.

Tak turned to Johnny, using a hushed tone. "Johnny, does Kabos know something about you?"

Johnny paused before grunting his answer. "He certainly did speak to me in some veiled way that could suggest that. He even used a couple double entendres too. Clever bastard."

Tak blinked her eyes. "... That doesn't answer my question."

Kragnon knocked on the table to get Tak and Johnny's attention. "Excuse me, but we can't remain here and continue this discussion. We need to inform the mechanics at the southern vehicle garage to prepare for the team's arrival, while you have that appointment with the doctor." He finished, pointing at Tak.

Tak turned to Kragnon and blinked again. "... Um... Oh, very well." Tak said, sighing and rolling her eyes. But she pointed a finger at Johnny. "But afterwards, I want you to explain to me whatever that was between you two. Understand?"

Johnny was hesitant to answer, but he slowly nodded as he was stared down by the baroness. "I understand, my ladyship."

Tak gave Johnny a contemptible glare before sauntering away. After she went through the double doors and met with Golpta again, Golpta closed the doors which had made Johnny and Kragnon the only people left within Tak's private dining chamber. Kragnon slowly turned his head to Johnny with concern in his gaze. Johnny sighed as he stared right back at Kragnon. "Johnny, I think this Kabos guy knows that you're a doppelganger. ... Or... Er... Changelisk, I mean." Kragnon said in a hushed tone.

Johnny sighed and looked at the ground. "The swarm triarchy does not like this new development. They are contemplating on whether they should assassinate the nuisance or allow him to live."

Kragnon rushed toward Johnny to cover his mouth and looked at the door. "You idiot! Not while the baroness is so close!" He whispered harshly.

Johnny shook his head. "Not to worry. Golpta is looking after Tak, and they are already walking down the hall. You would know this too if you simply allow us to implant a parasite into your brain, like we did to the Baroness' bodyguard."

Kragnon hissed and rolled his eyes as he shook his head. "I swear, if I earned a pint of water every time you suggest that... Listen here, Johnny. I am the only one that knows about your 'family', and I want to make sure it stays like that. And please, stop asking to implant a zerg parasite in my brain already. My answer is no, and it will forever be no."

Johnny shook his head. "That will not last long if Kabos survives the mission and tells everyone about my... 'origin' afterwards. The broodmother is very displeased by this."

Kragnon sighed and turned away. "... You have placed me in a difficult position here, Johnny."

"I didn't. The prod boss called Kabos did." Johnny corrected.

Kragnon paused for a long time before he turned back to Johnny with a defeated expression. The decision that he made at that moment was a haunting one. "Do what you have to do, but make it look like an accident. Make it convincing."

Johnny bowed to Kragnon. "The master and the advisor will be working on a plan. The broodmother is pleased with your decision, and the swarm is grateful for your understanding."

Kragnon started walking away from Johnny. "I may understand the need to eliminate loose ends, but I might not particularly have to agree to the methods in ridding them. Don't tell me how you did it after the deed is done." After that, Kragnon went to the double doors, leaving Johnny alone in the private dining room.

Johnny sighed and shook his head. He looked back at the map on the oval table, studying the images carefully. "Had you truly known what is at stake, friend to the swarm. Had you truly known..."

The assembled team looked up at the impressive vehicle that they would soon board. For one, it looked somewhat similar to a desert platform that belonged to the gilanian empire, if it was looked at from far away. But up close, its bulky design was quite evident. Footoo decided to emit an impressed whistle from his lips when he saw it for himself. "I have to admit, that's a big toy."

Kabos sighed as he walked into the garage with him. "You're not driving it. We're backseat passengers in this mission."

Footoo slouched. "Aw!"

A gilanian in a farmer's overalls shook her head as she passed by Footoo. "At least you have more exciting jobs than us. We just water plants and make sure they recycle our air properly."

Footoo turned to the gilanian and examined her slowly. She appeared to have a slim figure. "... Well well, if it isn't... Eh... Kran, right?"

The botanist looked at the zerg prodder with an unamused expression. "It's Tord, actually."

Footoo backed a step away from Tord. "whoa... What's with the attitude?"

"I'm a lesbian, for one. And secondly, if you ever have the bright idea to flirt with me, I'll insert an ounce of raw fireroot into your mouth while you sleep." She said in stern seriousness.

Footoo took another step back and nodded. "Fucking hell, I got the picture, lady! I'll maintain a safe distance of five feet from you at all times during the entire mission, if that makes you happy!"

Tord glared at Footoo for several seconds before huffing and continuing her way to the vacuum-treated desert platform. "You better."

Tord walked away while Footoo just stared at her in an awestruck manner for several seconds. Footoo was brought out of his befuddlement when a chuckling Kabos roughly patted his back and continued on ahead. "Suck it up, Footoo. It's gonna be a long trip."

Footoo slouched as the other botanist, the two engineers, and his own partner boarded the enormous vehicle. "Easier said than done. I hope that Kran is more pleasant to have a conversation with. Kreez looked a little too fat and muscled, so she's out. I wonder what the scientist named Braif looks like?" After shaking his head to remove his mental distractions from his mind, he then boarded the desert platform shortly after.

After forty five minutes of preparation, the desert platform that the assembled team boarded into hummed to life as its engines were turned on. The science expedition team was ready to begin their mission.

A segment of wall that was near the southern gate of Citadel Gargantua slowly slid into the ground, which revealed the bulky form of the custom desert platform that was redesigned to be an atmospherically sealed, yet enormous transport vehicle. When the wall finally receded into the ground fully, the desert platform roared to life and rolled forward. It veered westward so that it could leave the supposed green zone and refrain from getting struck by the lightning storms that randomly formed around and within the various anomalies. It was a clear day, but the storms had a deceptive habit of forming within a span of seconds and were completely unpredictable. Once the desert platform was in the blue zone, it began traveling south and circling around the green zone, only to enter it again when the energy plant was directly north of themselves, followed by the remaining inner danger zones. To the left of the machine, the sky was as dark as night, but the light of the hexagonal sun still made everything bright. It was one of the many phenomenons that the energy plant produced, earning the 'anti-azure' part of its other nickname.

[Ladies and gentlemen assigned to the science expedition desert platform, this is your desert platform operator, Jotan, speaking.] The operator announced to their crew through the desert platform's intercom system. [I will be assuming the role of commander in this armored vehicle, so I expect the crew within this platform to follow my orders to better ensure everyone's safety, unless mission parameters dictates otherwise. To put it as simple as I can to you folks, it simply means that I will relay relevant information to the crew within this desert platform through the intercom system. Oh, and before I forget, stop calling me and Tanjo 'desert platform pilots'. It's either desert platform operator, or navigator. 'Pilot' is a name used for aviators that fly airborne vehicles. And with that, enjoy the ride as we transport our asses straight into hell. Jotan out.]

Kabos looked up at the ceiling as he held a bag of water in one hand while holding a decorated metal rod in the other. He shook his head as he took a sip from his bota bag. "Cheery fella, ain't he?"

Footoo was indifferent as he watched the stone pillars slowly went by in the distance in the right-most seat he could find. "I think I'd be pissed too if I only had one arm to drive a platform. Did you notice his stumped arm? How'd you think he lost it?"

Kabos shook his head. "I dunno, but I think most of the systems in this vehicle are modified to be voice activated. Sounds perfect if you can't be in two places at the same time. Or... you know... lack a hand for certain controls or something like that."

"I guess desert platform drivers are a lot more underpaid than I thought. Might explain why one of the drivers didn't opt to get surgery for a cybernetic arm implant." Another gilanian that was earshot of Kabos and Footoo's conversation said. Footoo and Kabos turned to the eavesdropper and found a gilanian in a white labcoat. He sat down with the two zerg prodders and offered a handshake to them. "I don't think we have formerly met. My name is Hektar, one of the scientists in this expedition."

Kabos stared at the scientist before nodding at him and shaking his hand. "Former empire scientist, right? Well, I'm glad to meet someone that's not part of that corrupt system anymore. You probably heard of me and my organization?"

Hektar nodded. "Yes indeed. You are quite the enigma to the Golden Star Empire's science commander when he first learned about your pacifist method of driving the zerg away. He couldn't believe it at first until he reviewed video footage of your technique, but it was incredibly hard to replicate when he tried to test your methods. For some reason that even science cannot discern or fathom, the zerg organisms have a deep hatred for anyone that is aligned to the Golden Star Empire. But at least I have the opportunity to meet you in person."

Kabos smiled at the scientist. "Well eh... You're welcome then. I have a question of my own, but it might be a sensitive topic relating to your past employment with the empire. You don't have to answer it if you don't want to."

Hektar paused. "... Well, since we might die during this expedition, it shouldn't be too much of a problem for me to confide in a stranger. One that I will have to work with in the days to come, if I might add. Very well."

Footoo sighed as he got up and left. "Uh yeah no have fun with that. I'm going to another window where no regaling tales of that shit government is being spun. I will not plague my ears with any more of their drivel." He said as he was leaving.

Kabos and Hektar blinked as Footoo absconded from them. As Hektar looked back at Kabos, Kabos merely shrugged. "We kind of lived in a bad part of town in Empire City. It had gotten even shittier when the zerg invaded and infested it."

Hektar stared at Kabos with a slacked jaw. "Empire City?! Goodness!"

Kabos shook his head. "Yeah, good had nothing to do with it when you're living in the slums. But it is where I developed my zerg prodding technique early on, and where I shared the technique with the first ever zerg prodders. That was almost a lifetime ago. ... Now uh... About my question. How did you ended up getting kicked out of the empire's science division?"

Hektar sighed as he leaned back. "Hmm... Such a long time ago... I remembered that Commander Kralluf transported a zerg organism to one of Commander Faddoh's forward facilities that I and my partner was stationed in, which was during the first few days of the war between the empire and the zerg organisms. Faddoh, the machine commander of the Cubic Research Division, wanted a live specimine so he could compare data that cross-references an information packet that was sent by an anonymous informant. Sadly, that blade hound creature somehow got loose, informed his buddies of where he used to be contained, and they completely decimated the facility. It was by a stroke of luck that me and my partner survived, but I had a change of heart after the incident. I decided to cut my losses and left the empire afterwards. They don't particularly like deserters, but they were too focused on fighting the zerg to care about me or my partner anyway. Later on, I got captured by a bandit lord, traded the equipment for me and my partner's safety, and asked for transport to Citadel Gargantua. For several years, I and my partner had been living comfortable lives until word got out that we used to be scientists for the Cubic Research Division. Instead of being ousted as outcasts, Baroness Tak saw our potential and hired us instead. Ever since then, we have been working for her. And here we are." Hektar finished with a gestural wave at the inside of the desert platform.

Kabos nodded. "I see. Sounds like you had a chance to stare at the face of death before you escaped with your lives."

Hektar sighed and shuddered. "It's not pretty, I tell you what."

Before the conversation between Kabos and Hektar continued, another gilanian in a laboratory coat walked up to Hektar. "Hektar, I have been searching around for you. I need to go through some notes before we... Oh. Is uh... Is he that 'prod boss' guy I heard about?"

Kabos nodded and stuck his hand out for another handshake. "Name's Kabos, leader of the zerg prodders."

"Uh... I'm afraid I must decline the handshake." She said, taking a step back. "I'm sorry, but the zerg are known to be incredibly contagious creatures, and I don't want to turn into one of their pawns. But the gesture is appreciated. My name is Braif."

Kabos lowered his proffered hand, but then smiled and waved at Braif. "No offense taken. My line of work requires me to keep the zerg away from civilization, and that means getting really close to them. Because of the several kinds of diseases they carry, it's only natural for people to want to keep their distance from us."

Braif nodded and smiled. "It's a rather odd line of work. I heard that the empire even tried to send people to learn your methods."

Kabos leaned back and sighed. "Yeah, well, zerg prodding isn't as glamorous as you might expect it to be. I certainly have it down to a science, so to speak. Takes a few weeks of training to know what kind of technique to use with specific breeds of zerg. Knowing which ones can be prodded safely without risking a chunk of flesh getting bitten off of your face is the difference between getting paid very well, or having to be euthanized after you start developing spines and carapace all over your body."

"Hmm... So there ARE cases of zerg prodders transforming into pawns?" Braif asked, impressed.

"Yeah..." Kabos nodded, turning to view the window. "Most of those guys are just rowdy upstarts that don't understand how dangerous the zerg are, while a few of them tried to experiment with different methods on how to push the zerg away, or draw them off. But there are a lot of them that ended up dying in the end."

Braif nodded. "The profession of a zerg prodder must be a dangerous vocation. I don't envy you, but... It's still an impressive line of work."

Kabos smiled and chuckled. "It's not glamorous, yeah, but it's a business that helps a lot of... People..." Said Kabos', his expression becoming hardened.

Hektar sighed as he got up from his seat. "Hah, welp... I guess I'll do my part while I'm here. Braif, you said that you needed help with something?"

Braif nodded at Hektar. "Yes. We need to analyze the properties of the slime in the orange zone, and I was hoping that the publicly released data involving the zerg organisms in the information network matches with our findings."

Hektar nodded. "I see. I'll follow you to the lab."

Kabos suddenly stood up and pointed at the window. "Uhhh... Something something uh... What do you call it? Land pirates? Anyway, what are those people coming toward us called?"

Hektar and Braif looked at Kabos with confused expressions. But when they looked out the window and at the groups of dune boats coming toward them, their expressions changed completely to surprise and fear. Braif took the opportunity to run and yell in alarm. "BANDITS! BANDITS TO THE RIGHT OF US! ALL HANDS, PREPARE FOR A RAID! WE'RE GOING TO HAVE COMPANY!"

Seconds later, Jotan was already spreading the news to the entire crew of the desert platform. [This is your operator speaking. We have bandits several meters away that are trying to intercept our course from behind and to the right of us. If anyone knows how to fight, operate a turret and fire some warning shots. I will begin our turn and penetrate into the green zone now. Let's pray for some stormy weather to stall them. Jotan out.] The desert platform that was tasked to expedite to the energy plant took a sudden turn and accelerated at a faster pace, just as a loud klaxon alerted everyone that there was trouble. The dune boats still followed after the desert platform and its expediting crew, and they were still gaining on them. It wasn't long before before the expedition took control of the turrets and aimed them at the incoming dune boats.

[Attention crew of Baroness Tak's custom desert platform!] A growling voice said to the expedition team, through the intercom system. Somehow, they hacked into the desert platform's on-board communication system. [We order you to come to a complete stop. If you comply, then we promise to only kill half of the crew. If you deny our orders, then we'll pry your machine out from every one of your dead, stiff fingers. What is your reply?]

[This is operator Jotan. I demand to know how you have received this information.]

[Your demands are none of my concern. Now park your platform and turn off its engine, and we will begin boarding shortly. This is your last warning! ... Wait. Why are you driving towards the danger zone?]

[We have a death wish to fulfill. If you continue your intercept route, you will soon experience oxygen deprivation. We have been informed that the yellow zone has expanded by hundreds of meters in our direction already. By the time we entered the vacuum, you will have lost your chance to capture us.] Jotan said.

[Oh really?! Well I'm calling your bluff! Spiker Titans! FORWARD!]

The dune boats continued their pursuit for the absconding desert platform, their higher speed being capable of removing inches of distance between themselves and their prey. This chase continued for several minutes, and the dune boats were getting ready to launch what looked like platform-boarding harpoons. [Expedition crew, this is your operator speaking. The bandit group is about to use their harpoons to attach zip-lines to our hull and board our vehicle. Begin counter-boarding measures. Either destroy their harpoon launchers or disable their dune boats. If they start sending sand-boarders, make sure they don't get close to our desert platform's wheel towers and start attaching explosives.]

The turrets on the custom desert platform began firing on the raiders, their shots mainly focused on striking their enemy's wheels and harpoon turrets. Twenty of the bandit dune boats were disabled, but there were thirty more that kept their pursuit. A few sand-boarders did try to swing close to the custom desert platform's wheel towers, but many of them didn't survive their mission, whatever their mission was. A couple sand-boarder bandits did manage to dodge the desert platform's turret defenses that tried to fire them down, and they threw small devices at the wheel towers when they were within throwing range. These devices attached when they collided with the wheel towers, and then exploded into molten slag seconds later. [This is Lanfong. Damage has been sustained on our forward-right and back-left wheel towers. They're trying to tilt us! Don't let that happen, or it'll take us longer to get to the red zone! Or not at all.]

There was a sigh escaping the intercom before Jotan alerted the crew. [If we sustain more damage to our wheel towers, we'll have to enter walker mode. We'll be completely surrounded by the dune boats, and our atmospheric containment will be breached if they land a lucky shot to our pressurized windows. We'll be overwhelmed before we get the chance to enter the yellow zone and into the vacuum anomaly. Any suggestions?]

[Uh... Do we have any white flags around? You know... Just in case.] Footoo offered.

[Actually, we don't need to do that. Cease fire immediately and reduce speed!] Kabos shouted.

[What?! Why?!] Jotan exclaimed.

[Look at the ground below the bandits.] Kabos said.

Subterranean spines shot out of the ground in rows flowing to the sand boarders, while piercing tentacles focused on the vehicles, damaging them until they were disabled or destroyed in one or two shots. It was the only telltale sign that signaled the burrowed presence of the zerg swarm's lurkers and impalers. A subteranean maw erupted up from the sand and managed to smother a few sand-boarders and a dune boat before circular rows of teeth closed around them and pulled them underground.

[Oh shit, ambushers! And it looks like we also have heavy ambushers and ravenous under beasts too! Yeah, I recommend we slow down and cease fire right now. The sound of our turrets are going to attract their attention, and the heavy ambushers will kill our desert platform if we look like a hostile enemy to them!] Footoo exclaimed.

[... Fine. You're our only expedition members that know how the zerg organisms behave, so I have no choice but to trust you. Slowing down to quarter speed. Everybody, cease fire!] Jotan commanded.

The desert platform that the expedition team was defending came to a slow roll as its turret defenses ceased their harmful barking at the bandits. Many of the bandits didn't notice the spines going through their dune boats and sand-boards since they were too focused on chasing down the desert platform. Sadly, they noticed too late the subterranean spines, piercing tentacles, and underground jaws that ruined their vehicles. Eight dune boats survived as they held back and watched the forty two dune boats, being destroyed by their unseen attackers. A hissing growl barked within the expeditioning desert platform's intercom system again. [Fuck you, Jotan! We will remember your name, and we will remember this!]

[Eat a shryik serpent turd, jackass.] Jotan answered back as his desert platform slowly rolled forward, even with minimal damage taken from the bandits that tried to board it. The remaining eight bandit dune boats turned around and retreated back to safer sands. [All hands in the expedition team, be advised. We have sustained damage to our desert platform. We need to schedule a stop to assess the damage and repair our equipment before we enter the yellow zone. I don't want to risk our sealed atmosphere to leak into the vacuum once we enter it. Jotan out.]

For several minutes did the desert platform continue on its path through the green zone. The remaining Spiker Titan bandits had retreated from their pursuit, for they had no desire to lose any more of their men when there are lurkers and impalers nearby that can hinder their goal. With such a goal abandoned, the Spiker Titans retreated back to where they came from and left the desert platform alone.

The desert platform that transported the expedition team had eventually stopped when it was a kilometer away from the yellow zone. Once it was parked, the desert platform lowered itself down to the base of its wheel towers, coming to rest when its air-tight door hatches made contact with the sand. Once the desert platform became still, the engineers had went outside to asses its damage. It would be tedious work for them, but the idea of zerg organisms potentially being nearby motivated them to work faster.

During the pause in their transportation, it gave Kabos a chance to explore the helm of the desert platform. Everything in the helm seemed orderly, if somewhat secluded. Several monitors was showing the images of several locations both inside and outside of the desert platform, and some screens seemed to be focused on the personnel that were assigned to the expedition. He noticed a single-armed gilanian that took great attention at watching all of the screens present. Kabos' footsteps was loud enough to distract the only other person in the helm. A gilanian that wore a fancy coat with several tears, with his entire right arm sleeve being sewn shut and folded to the shoulder, turned to face the intruder that invited himself into his work space. "... May I help you?" He sounded very different than Jotan, who was often heard through the intercom system.

Kabos shook his head. "Not really. I don't know how to fix or maintain a desert platform, so I decided to explore around some more. And judging by your voice, you're not the pilot commander guy on the intercom system. The arm kind of threw me off too." Kabos said, pointing at the co-operator's uniform.

The co-operator chuckled, unveiling his intact and healthy right arm and showing it to Kabos. "Me and Jotan might look similar to one another, due to the yellow scale coloration matching perfectly, but I'm the only one of the two operators with the intact arm. If you didn't know about it before, It's always been a longstanding tradition for any two desert platform operators to dress and disguise themselves to look like each other. As of now, Jotan is currently asleep. In any case, my name is Tanjo. Pleased to meet you." He said, offering his hand for a handshake.

Kabos tilted his head. "He's asleep? Shouldn't he be awake?" He asked, accepting the handshake.

"Nah. He's just taking a power nap. That, and it's already my shift to take over for him. Once my shift is done, however, I'll be sure to wake him up so I can take that power nap too." Tanjo answered, hiding his healthy arm back into his coat. "So uh... Those zerg helped us out, huh? Kind of unexpected, since them zerg organisms can be downright nasty if they feel like it."

Kabos nodded as he leaned on a nearby wall, looking as though he was deep in thought. "Mm. This is actually odd behavior, coming from them..."

There was a brief pause between Tanjo and Kabos. "... Uh... Okay then. I'll just go back to my work now." Tanjo turned around and went to a monitor that showed two engineers assessing the damage of one of the wheel towers. "Lanfong, Kreez, what's the condition of the wheel towers?"

Lanfong shook his head. Kabos could see that he was already wearing one of the vacuum suits, while kreez was wearing one that seemed too tight around her arms, legs, and midsection, which limited her movement. [It ain't good from my end. The front-right wheel tower only has minimal damage, but I see that the back-left wheel tower is suffering from structural instability. Even if the tower can still even out the platform when we go up or down a dune, the screw motor within the platform's tower axel slips out of place every so often if we go too low of an incline on a dune. It'll slip out if we go down a high dune, and it'll lock back into place if we slam down on it, but that might damage the wheel tower further.]

To lose a wheel tower would mean the entire desert platform loses some mobility, and overall visibility over the desert. It was not an ideal scenario for the expedition team traveling through zerg territory. In order to the get the scientific data and analysis of a flower made of energy, they need to pull through by wheighing their options. "Can we continue on like we are now?" Tanjo asked.

[Uh... I will say that if the wheel takes another explosion like the one it received prior, we'll be losing it. I wouldn't trust this vehicle going down a hill made of hard soil or solid rock, since that might jam the tower and force us to limply roll on three towers, or go into walker mode.]

Tanjo sighed. "Speed is going to be important to us when we begin entering the red zone. Can we halve the tower and use the lower section to travel ahead normally?"

[It could work, but the towers don't have enough room to wiggle around when we reach those high dunes. That, and I don't want any shryik serpents or zerg organisms breaching into our air-sealed compartments.]

Kabos shook his head. "That shouldn't be a problem. So long as we don't act aggressive toward them, then we won't be giving them a reason to attack us." He said, interjecting into the conversation.

[Uh? Prod guy, is that you?] Lanfong asked.

"Yeah, it's me." Kabos answered. "Listen. Can't you rotate the entire back-left wheel tower a hundred an eighty degrees, balance the undamaged segment in the sand, remove the wheel from the damaged tower segment and attach it to the other intact tower segment? Or uh... something like that?"

[Eh... Not a bad idea. Requires one hell of a balancing act, flat ground, and a crane to preposition the wheel quickly. Not really sure how it can be done on sand, and without a crane unless you want to rig some dune boats to pull some chains.] Lanfong answered.

[Actually, Lanfong, we can still replace the wheel on the sand itself.] A soft, gentle voice interjected. [All we need is to find a place with flat sand and set down some metal sheets or wooden planks for support. If the sheets or planks are flat enough, we can balance the damaged wheel tower on it and continue with the repairs. The method that Kabos proposed is a little dangerous, but I think it's safer if we began detaching the wheel, removing the bottom of the damaged portion of the rear-left tower, and reattach the wheel onto the upper intact tower segment. We'd be able to remove a damaged segment of the tower and be able to move around normally, provided that we remember to unlock the wheel's drive-roll and connect the wheel's engine systems to the tower's drive connectors so that it won't drag our desert platform when we begin moving again. In either case, we still need to drive in low-terrain mode, and avoid any tall sand dunes. We can break down some of the crates in our storage to provide a flat surface.]

[Eh, Kabos' idea is risky, but your method will not save us a lot of time either. In both cases, though, I hope the vacuum doesn't expand over us while we work. It shouldn't be a problem since we're already wearing vacuum suits, but I'd hate to lose my ability to hear if trouble starts coming.] Lanfong said.

"I'll allow you to use the second option. And don't worry. I'll keep my eyes on the screens and inform you of any zerg organism that comes close during our repair." Tanjo said, sighing. He then turned to Kabos and pointed at him with his 'good' arm. "If this repair job somehow kills somebody, or further damages my desert platform, you will be held responsible."

Kabos was silent for a few seconds before nodding. "After we get paid, I'll be sure to answer for my actions. Even though you didn't choose MY idea."

Tanjo stared at Kabos for a few seconds before turning back to the screens to oversee the repairs. "Still though, your idea was unorthodox. A desert platform's wheel towers are not supposed to be rotated into the air. The weight of the wheel alone would break the tower's axle."

Kabos paused, but then nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

The repair work continued as expected. A wheel had detached itself from the back-left wheel tower and settled itself nicely onto a pallet of flat wooden boards and sheet metal. The desert platform then moved forward, detached its tower segment that was heavily damaged, and then backed up back to the wheel. The desert platform lowered its halved tower gently onto the wheel, which fitted perfectly into itself. After the engineers locked the wheel into place and connected it to the tower's systems, the desert platform was ready to roll forward. The expedition team's desert platform still had four wheel towers to drive with, even if they no longer could drive over high sand dunes or have a height advantage over the ground. They were made more vulnerable to any potential enemy on the ground, and they dreaded the thought of a zergling jumping up to slash and breach their air-containing hull. But still, they carried on with their mission, despite their hangups. The amount of vouchers they were being paid with was staggering, and they hoped that their return would bear some kind of fruit. The hull of the desert platform held against the vacuum, much to its crew's brief relief.

Several hours had passed as the expedition team's desert platform traveled through the yellow zone. Above themselves, the sky was black, save for the slow rotating sun that was brighter than usual, as seen within the vacuum. A glint of light was casted from the super satellites from above, which was a worrisome sight to everyone under the scrutiny of such structures. But they continued on without further implications. That is until the desert platform finally stopped as its current operator began addressing everyone within the massive vehicle. [This is operator Jotan speaking. I have just been informed that there is a complication. If everyone is not doing something important, I want this expedition team to have a meeting in the helm. I repeat, everyone is to have a meeting in the helm. That is all. Jotan out.]

Hektar and Braif looked up when the announcement was made, even when they were checking their equipment for the umpteenth time. They looked at each other before sighing. Braif decided to speak first. "This can't be good. It's been hours since we've been on this trek, and not once have I seen another zerg monster since that attempted bandit raid."

Hektar shook his head as he strapped down a microscope so that it wouldn't slide around. "Well, those ambushers were under the ground the whole time. I don't think that counts."

Braif sneered as she tucked away a DNA analyzer. "It counts if you considered the ravenous under beasts."

Hektar smiled and rolled his eyes. "Want me to stand next to you again? I noticed that you have been trying to avoid Footoo."

"Please." Braif said, exasperation in her voice. "I swear, if he flirts with me one more time, or stands behind me so that he could stare at my ass again, I'm going to see if one of the botanists has any fireroot I can poison his drink with."

Hektar shook his head and laughed. "Yeah, he needs to calm down a bit. It's like there's no women living in his village or something."

Braif shook her head as she completed packing away the DNA analyzer. "They don't live in a village. I managed to talk to Kabos a little more and found out that he and Footoo still lives in the ruins of Empire City." She said, already heading off to the desert platform's helm.

Hektar joined with her, his eyes wide in surprise. "Empire City?! You mean THE city in the center of the sea?! The one where people say that it's a pearl of an island in an otherwise shallow ocean?! The same one that's taken over by the zerg?!"

Braif nodded. "The same. It took a few years, but they found a way to get off of the island and started stealing resources and food from the other empire settlements."

"How?" Hektar questioned.

"Apparently, someone in that city had forgotten to log off their MEM device and disable it before the zerg infestation began. Kabos and his 'zerg prodders' used that MEM device to expand their operations, eventually becoming a freelance group that specialized in deterring and warding off the zerg organisms using pacifist methods. Every gilanian surviving in Empire City, or Ocean's Pearl as they call it now, is an accomplished zerg prodder." Braif explained.

Hektar shook his head in disbelief. "So, what, do the zerg prodders live with the zerg organisms?"

"I think they do. They are a pretty odd bunch of people, but they survived against insurmountable odds nonetheless. I would like to go and research the zerg there someday, but... I'd probably have to become a zerg prodder first." Braif said, having ascended a staircase and entering through a set of doors to wind up in the desert platform's helm. There were already other people their, consisting of the two zerg prodders, Kabos and Footoo, the two engineers, Lanfong and Kreez, and the two botinists, Kran and Tord.

Footoo looked around as the other expedition team members gathered in the helm. He then gestured to everyone. "Well... We're here. Is the meeting gonna start, or what?"

"Oh, it just about started." The eight gilanians turned to see two more joining the helm that were dressed like one another. Kabos saw Tanjo and his duplicate, but he couldn't tell which was which when he saw them both together. They both had matching yellow scale patches, missing arms, and wore torn heavy coats that looked so alike. One of them stepped forward, pulling off his coat and showing the crew around himself that he was the one with the missing arm. He placed his coat down onto a chair at one of the closeby terminals before he began speaking. "I gathered all of you here this afternoon to tell you of... an unfortunate development."

A heavy-set gilanian in rubber overalls pouted and sighed. "Oh no. I hate unfortunate developments." Kreez said, furrowing her eyebrows.

Tord stepped forward, placing a hand onto her hip. "So what is the topic of this meeting, exactly?" Jotan went up to one of the monitors and pressed a button on the keyboard it was connected to. All of the other monitors then displayed an image that showed several spine crawlers and spore crawlers, forming what might have been a thick forest of flesh. Kran tilted her head and patted at Tord's shoulder. Tord looked at Kran as she gesticulated several gestures, only to nod and turn back to Jotan. "Kran wants to know what we are looking at."

Jotan sighed as he pressed another button that zoomed the images in. "When we began entering into the yellow zone, I used a high-definition telescopic camera system whenever we gradually went over a large dune. These are but some of the images that I have captured. At the border of the projected orange zone, these 'creatures' I have detected are what I believe are the zerg's sentries."

Footoo leaned in closer to the images on one of the screens. "Hmm... Barnacles and whippers. Nasty things, those are. Think you can pilot our desert platform between them?"

Jotan sighed. "I can try to DRIVE between them, but I already judged the distance between these whippers and barnacles. They leave very little space, and if I did attempt to thread the needle, one of the wheels is bound to run over one of them, and I predict that that will be enough to provoke the zerg organisms into attacking us."

Footoo nodded. "Yeah, whippers and barnacles are nasty things. The whippers have these impaling tentacles with sharp tips that go right through an unguarded torso in a single lunging stab. The barnacles don't really do much to any ground-bound folk, but they still have a nasty habit of attacking anything above themselves that is not a zerg organism. I even heard a nasty rumor that the barnacles senses vibrations in the ground by such a degree that it can detect shryik serpents under the sand. The whippers then attack them until they burrow away, or get killed right then and there."

Nearly everyone had stilled their breath. All except for the desert platform drivers and the zerg prodders. Kabos looked at the images carefully. "When did you take this image last?"

"Recently." Jotan replied bluntly.

"That's not what the time stamp says." Kabos added, pointing to the corner of an image where a set of numbers that was displayed. It contained a small line of numbers that had told the crew that the image was taken a few hours ago.

Jotan paused for several seconds before making his reply. "And?"

"Well, we discussed at the meeting that there was a major war happening north of the zerg flower. The zerg are drawn to conflict and war, and I bet that the zerg are going to concentrate much of their attention on whatever battle attracts them." Kabos said. He then went to one of the skylight windows to look at the light. "And judging from the position of the sun, we must be close to being south of our target destination. Can you use your telescope thing to look directly at the barnacles and whippers from where we are now?"

Jotan paused for a long time before he nodded and sighed. "Alright." He went to one of the terminals and typed on a keyboard with one hand. After summoning up another image, this time with less spine and spore crawlers, Jotan got up from his seat and pointed at the new image. "There. You happy?"

Kabos nodded and smirked. "Very much. Seems to me these barnacles and whippers have some space between them."

Jotan shook his head. "Some space, yes, but not enough to let me pass."

Kabos waggled a finger at Jotan. "Actually, we can move the sentries out of the way."

There was a long, pregnant pause in the conversation. Everyone held their breath. Could such a thing be possible? Jotan shook his head and scoffed. "Eh... Wait, you can do that? Without getting yourself killed by those things?"

Kabos nodded without hesitation. "Yeah! It shouldn't take us too long if we planned this out right. I'm thinking we could take two teams of two people out there and-"

"Wait wait wait!" Tord interrupted. "Are you saying that you want two volunteers, who had completely no experience in prodding zerg organisms, to join you on a dangerous trip outside the safety of the platform into the vacuum, just to move those zerg sentries far enough away to make a path into the orange zone?"

Kabos stared at Tord for a few seconds before nodding. "That is what I am suggesting, yeah."

Tord huffed and shook her head. "Well count me the fuck out." She said as she left, while Kran looked somewhat distraught before she followed after Tord.

Footoo looked at Kran and Tord as they walked away. He sighed and shook his head. "Well that's two we won't be picking."

Braif raised an eyebrow before she began speaking to Kabos. "Why do you need two volunteers? Can't you just do your zerg prod magic on those sentries by yourselves?"

Kabos shook his head and explained. "We could, but It'll save us time if we had some extra hands to help us. Uprooting and prodding away a zerg sentry is a two-man job, but having two groups of two can speed things up quite easily. With that said, I still need two volunteers."

Lanfong sighed and stepped forward. "I guess me and Kreez can volunteer."

Kreez whimpered as she held her hands up to her face. "No~!"

Kabos shook his head. "Actually, I don't want two engineers working with us."

Lanfong crossed his arms. "And why the hell not?" He asked, sounding cross.

Kabos explained. "Because if something happens to the both of you during this task, and a mechanical problem occurs with the desert platform afterwards or whatever, then this desert platform wouldn't have its engineers to fix it when that happens. I can take one of you, but not both of you."

Lanfong nodded and grunted. "Alright, I can see the logic in that. In that case, I can still join you."

Kreez exhaled a sigh of relief. "Phew..."

Braif rolled her eyes at Kreez. "Then I guess I'll join too."

Hektar, having been silent for a long while, interjected. "Braif, do you really want to go out there in the vacuum? You won't be able to hear anything, except for your own breathing or through the vacuum-suits short-range radio."

braif went to Hektar and patted him on the shoulder. "Think of it this way. If I can prove that I can be a capable zerg prodder, then there is a chance they can invite me to their establishment in Empire City. Once there, I can continue my research on the zerg organisms."

Hektar sighed and shook his head. "That's a very lofty goal there. You might even get killed."

Braif smiled. "It's better than the risk of having your bone marrow removed from your body." She then turned to Kabos as confidence seemed to exude from her stance. "Just tell me what to do."

Kabos looked between Hektar and Braif before nodding. "Alright. I can take you with me." Kabos turned to Footoo. "Footoo, the engineer is going to tag with you."

Footoo slouched. "What? Why can't the hot scientist lady come with me?"

Kabos rolled his eyes. "For starters, she hates you. Secondly, you know more than I do that you cannot be distracted when you're prodding zerg. And finally, you have weak arms, so you need to be partnered with someone who has strong arms. Understand?"

Footoo paused, but then slouched and growled at Kabos. "Oh... Fuckin' alright, man. I'll meet you guys near the vacuum-suits. You can be in charge of training them on how to prod whippers, barnacles, and all that shit." He said, grumbling as he walked out of the desert platform's helm room.

The remaining gilanians in the helm watched Footoo slunk away. Lanfong shook his head and hissed. "Whippersnapper has his peens all crossed and teased. That boy's gonna get himself in trouble acting like that."

Kabos rolled his eyes, then turned toward the volunteering engineer. "I'm hope if you can look out for him, just as he instructs you on how to prod the zerg blocking our way. Are you sure you want to volunteer, old-timer?"

Lanfong gave Kabos a mechanical thumbs-up. "I might be old, but I can still learn a few more tricks before I become a dried husk of a corpse."

Kabos nodded and smiled at Lanfong, then gestured to him and Braif to follow. "Alright then. From here on out, you're gonna be taught some quick and simple tricks on how to prod some zerg. The technique I developed will save your life, just as it saved the lives of many apprentices that went under my wing. It can also save countless others if you so decide to use this technique to assist in the protection of many villages, every one of them still vulnerable to zerg infestation. One trick that I learned that's going to help you two is what I like to call, 'the five second rule.'"

Both Braif and Lanfong gave brief glances to one another before they followed after the zerg prodder, learning from his oral teachings as quickly as they could. Jotan, on the other hand, groaned in dissatisfaction.

After what seemed like half an hour had passed, the desert platform rolled forward and came to a stop near the southern line of spine crawlers and spore crawlers. The massive vehicle then lowered itself to the sandy ground, with one of its hatches opening after the desert platform made landfall on the sand. Four vacuum-suited gilanians walked out of one of the hatches, each one carrying a long metal rod as they stood a distance away from the line of ominous spine and spore crawlers. One of the suited gilanians shuddered from the danger that was present. [I can't believe I am going to do this! You made it sound so easy when you explained it.] Braif said through the radio with unease.

A different suited gilanian shrugged. [Learning skills might be easy, but putting them to practice is a whole different experience. Here's a pop quiz for you. What do you do when you are about to enter zerg territory?] Kabos asked.

[Uh... Take five seconds breathing in, take five seconds breathing out, and then take steps forward five seconds each.] She answered.

[Very good.] Kabos answered, taking steps forward in a slow manner. [Rushing into zerg territory like an impatient ass will provoke them, making them think that you are a threat. It's best to keep calm, take careful breaths, and step lightly. You never know if you're stepping on something when you're in zerg territory, so I made up the five second rule as the basis for keeping yourself alive. Most of the time, that is. But also remember, we only have five hours of air to breathe. Make each breath and step count, and we should be done in about one and a half hours. Maybe two if something comes up.]

[Does that mean it is pointless for me to tell you guys to hurry up? Wonderful.] Jotan said, sarcasm deep in his voice.

[You think you have it bad?] Footoo whined. [What we are doing right now is dangerous! One false move and *sharp mouth fart* that's it!]

[Well I ain't getting any younger.] Lanfong complained. [Let's just get this done and get back to the desert platform.]

[Then here's another quiz question to help pass the time.] Kabos said, already taking slow steps toward the line of crawlers before them. [Once we get to the sentries, what do we do?]

[I can answer that.] Lanfong said, matching Kabos' speed. [We stick these ass-scratchers into the mud they're in and wiggle them around, right?]

[Wrong, actually.] Kabos said, shaking his head. [You gently insert your prodding stick in a 45 degree angle, just below the base of the sentry, and between its legs. Then, you rotate the prodding stick around in widening circles. Both clockwise and counter-clockwise rotations works just fine on both whippers and barnacles, but I like to use clockwise rotations on the whippers, and counter-clockwise rotations on the barnacles. When they uproot themselves, retrieve your prodding sticks carefully and lightly prod them out of the way. Sometimes, the barnacle sentries and whipper sentries will move away on their own, but that doesn't always happen.]

[Ah.] Said Lanfong. [So we stick the ass-scratchers into the mud they're on, wiggle the ass-scratchers around, and THEN poke them away. Got it.]

Kabos sighed in frustration. [That's not... Urgh, fine! You can explain it like that, but try and do it slowly. Slow and steady is the key to our success here.]

[Can't run with my war injury, so that's good news for me.] Lanfong drolled.

Several minutes had passed, eventually becoming what felt like less than thirty minutes to the gilanians that looked so vulnerable in the vacuum environment. The slow speed that the four vacuum-suited gilanians traveled at took much of their time, but the spine and spore crawlers still remained as obstacles to the desert platform, and it couldn't pass by with the crawlers in their way. A way through had to be made before entry into the orange zone could be achieved, and the key to making that path seemed to be the zerg prodders and their two volunteers. Kabos tried to pass the time with his trivia and quizzes, but it dodn't shorten the time it took to approach the line of zerg crawlers.

Eventually, the gilanians in the vacuum-suits came incredibly close to the spine crawlers and spore crawlers. The spore crawlers seemed to shiver in their presence every time they took a step, but the spine crawlers tentacles languidly turned toward them when they neared into their lethal striking range. The spine crawlers waved around in a swaying motion, their impaling tips glinting as the sun shined off of them. Everyone's breath was slow, but also shallow. Kabos spoke to everyone in a relaxed and calm voice. [Okay. We're pretty close now. Jotan, how many of the sentries should we move out of the way for you?]

[You're asking me this now?!] Jotan shouted in surprise.

[Yeah. It's better to do this now rather than waste time bickering about semantics back on the desert platform.] Kabos said.

A stressed sigh was heard from the radio signal. [Fine. Uh... Judging from how close you are to the whippers and barnacles, I'd hazard a guess that moving ten, maybe twelve of them, would be enough to give me room to pass through. Although, I think it might be safer if you moved twenty out of the way.]

[Then fifteen will be our target number.] Kabos said. [Okay Footoo, you're with me. Braif and Lanfong? You watch us display our technique on uprooting this whipper. If you see any other zerg organism approaching us, don't hesitate to keep it to yourself. As of now, we're unwanted trespassers in their territory. You know what to do if a swarm of blade hounds show up?]

[Uh... Yes! We wave our prodding sticks toward them, and gently poke them away if they get close.] Braif answered.

[Very good.] Kabos said as he and Footoo slowly inserted their prodding sticks below the base and between the legs of the spine crawler. They used their prodding sticks to crowbar and lever the spine crawler out of the ground, persuading the large zerg organism to try and uproot itself. For two gilanians that were a little more than a meter and a half tall to try and uproot and poke away a spine crawler, which was eleven meters wide and ten meters tall when rooted, displayed an impressive bravery that was rare to see. When the rooted zerg organism finally uprooted itself, now at the impressive height of fifteen meters, it began to crawl away from the prodding zerg prodders. [... Ah... That took a lot less time than I thought it would take.]

[You said it like that wasn't normal.] Lanfong said. [Was something different supposed to happen?]

[Well I can tell you that uprooting a whipper or a barnacle would take, like, about three minutes each maybe.] Footoo explained, slowly walking to another zerg crawler organism, this time a spore crawler. [The battle happening north of here must be attracting it to greener pastures. Or uh... well... slime-covered war-torn pastures, that is. Lanfong, come help me with this one.]

[Alright, I'm coming over.] Lanfong said, slowly walking toward Footoo to assist him in uprooting the next zerg crawler organism.

Braif followed after Kabos as they slowly walked to a spore crawler. When Braif got close, she used the prodding stick that was given to her and gently inserted it underneath the spore crawler. It quivered as she did so. [Easy easy easy.] Kabos warned. [Easy easy. We don't want to piss it off.]

Braif sighed, rotating her prodding stick in a slow manner. [I thought that barnacle sentries only attacked enemies above itself?]

[Here's a tip about the zerg that should be common knowledge to everyone. If you piss off one zerg organism, then you piss off all of them.] Kabos warned. He pointed at a nearby spine crawler before he continued again. [Whippers have a good reach to them too, so keep that in mind.]

Braif looked at the next spine crawler that was besides the spore crawler. It seemed to wiggle its impaling tentacle more when she inspected it, and it made her feel her own spine shiver with uneasiness. The monstrous defenders of so many hive clusters had a reputation of embedding themselves in any ground that the creep grew on, but she had heard some rumors that these creatures could also root themselves into sands not covered by the moving sludge. But still, she summoned her courage and followed Kabos' example. One by one, the spine and spore crawlers were slowly being uprooted by the zerg prodders' techniques while their volunteers assisted them. Minutes had passed, and the zerg prodders, plus volunteers, were making slow progress uprooting the spine and spore crawlers from their path.

That changed when a sharp yell broke the radio silence. [AAH!]

[Report. What's happened?] Jotan asked in an authoritative manner.

[Whipper nearly took my dang arm off!] Lanfong complained.

[Did it puncture your vacuum-suit?!] Footoo yelled as he came to Lanfong and inspected his person.

[No, but my ass-scratcher is cut in half. I guess I was too rough with this one.] Lanfong said, sighing.

A sigh was heard before Jotan made his decision. [I think it's about time we wrap this up. How many of those sentries moved out of my way?]

[Uh... I lost count.] Footoo admitted.

[I counted seven, plus the one that you and Kabos ass-scratched.] Lanfong said.

[Me and Braif have uprooted nine. That should be enough for Jotan to get his desert platform through. Let's head back. Slowly.] Kabos suggested.

[I'd rather prefer you make it back quickly.] Jotan said, sighing. [I don't like the thought of staying here in this vacuum, but heading straight into zerg territory is also something I find rather distressing.]

[Just imagine swimming in twelve thousand gallons of water, operator Jotan.] Footoo said. [Cool, refreshing water that can quench your thirst, even during the hottest of days. You can even purchase a dispenser that makes solid water for you, called an 'ice machine' or whatever it's named. You can then shave flakes of that ice off and add your favorite fruit flavors to it. Perfect way to treat yourself on a hot sunny day.]

[Grah, stop talking about water already. Tanjo, you survey this outdoor activity. I need to use the waste processing facility.] Jotan said, agitated.

[Got it.] Said Tanjo. [Okay then uh... Everything seems fine, so far. Other than the whippers and barnacles, I don't see any zerg organisms in the immediate area.]

[Well I don't like it.] Kabos announced. [Things have been going too smoothly here. We should have seen some drifters, oculars or blade hounds by now.]

[Maybe the war happening at the north is a lot more severe than we thought?] Braif suggested. [I mean... we couldn't possibly know how far away it is, since we're in a vacuum, right?]

[Missy is right.] Lanfong added. [The roar of a razor fiend is said to be so loud that you become deaf just by standing next to one. We shouldn't consider ourselves lucky.]

[Hmm.] Kabos said, but didn't add anything else to the radio communication.

Several more minutes passed, but the four gilanians that parted the spine and spore crawlers safely retreated back into the desert platform. Once everyone was back on the massive vehicle, the desert platform began to roll forward at a slow pace. The spine crawlers writhed and arched themselves back when Tanjo drove close to the broken line of crawlers, but they refrained from attacking the intruders intruding into zerg controlled lands. The creep that the desert platform drove over was slick, shiny, and appeared as though something moved under it. But the desert platform continued forward, rolling northward to the glowing flower in the atmosphere-less sky. For miles did the creep extend beyond the horizon, and it looked much like a gently roiling ocean of slime mold that crept up dunes, flowed around odd rocks jutting out of the sand, or sprouted odd bony structures that looked like thin insect legs pointing toward the sky. (otherwise known as creep claws.) A senseof impunity had befallen the entire crew of the desert platform, as though everyone felt they were being watched by unseen eyes. This was because they were now in deep zerg territory, where even the creep tumors themselves watched the desert platform roll along as it headed towards the energy plant. A sense of calm panic mixed with depressed hopelessness plagued everyone's mind, but they swallowed their fears and doubt as best as they could and soldiered on. They had survived this far.

Further along their journey, the expedition crew rolled into dangerous territory. Populated by sparse sightings of patrolling zerg organisms that consisted of the infrequent zergling or the rare overseer. It went without saying that the journey through this territory was nerve racking to the whole expedition crew. Everyone within the desert platform knew that they would have no chance of survival if a war claw or razor fiend decided to chase after them. But even with the apparent dangers that were abundant within this hostile enironment, there was also a sense of curiosity that had befallen onto the members in the expedition.

Tanjo, accompanied by Jotan, his co-operator, squinted as he saw something unusual in one of the monitor's images. "Hmm. Jotan, what do you make of this?"

Jotan sighed and walked to the monitor that Tanjo was looking at. What was supposed to be a cursory glimpse turned into a lengthy stare of beguiled curiosity. "...What?"

"Exactly what I thought." Tanjo said, shaking his head as he shared his finding with his co-operator.

Jotan's pause lasted for about fourteen seconds. He shook his head and sighed when he finally sorted his thoughts. "Damn. I'm thinking we should stop right now and call the prodders here. Maybe they can make sense of this... new obstacle in our path?"

"We could just drive around it." Tanjo suggested, pointing at the monitor's image.

Jotan sighed. "I meant bring the scientists and the zerg prodders up here. I want to know what this is, and they might have answers." He walked away from Tanjo and centered himself within the helm. "Jotan command. Desert platform speed, full stop. Intercom system, on. This is your commander, desert platform operator Jotan, speaking. Could the zerg prodders Kabos and Footoo, and the scientists Hektar and Braif, come to the desert platform's helm please? I and Tanjo discovered something unusual and I want you to help us identify what it is. Jotan out. Intercom system, off."

A couple minutes had passed when Jotan requested for the people he called to come to the desert platform's helm. It was a wait that felt like an eon to Jotan. His evident impatience was well deserved, however. He was deep within zerg territory, driving in a vacuum environment using an air-sealed desert platform already damaged by bandits, and they were supposed to go to the center of the red zone, which was where the energy plant was located. It was a wait that Jotan could tolerate, but he couldn't stop himself from tapping his feet when anxiety clawed at his mind. It didn't help to be calm when everyone else was also on edge. The orange zone was filled with all sorts of monsters, after all.

The summoned gilanians eventually walked into the desert platform's helm room, and they were likely wondering why they were summoned. Footoo decided to speak first. "So uh... Did we find something?"

Jotan gestured at the terminal that had the image that Tanjo showed to him. "There are some strange growths in the ground, and I have no idea what they are. I was hoping that you could share some insight with me and tell me what they might be, and how potentially dangerous they are to our expedition."

"I guess I can give a gander." Said Footoo, coming up to the monitor that Tanjo was sitting next to. Footoo stared at the image for several seconds as he analyzed the image, but his facial features changed to puzzlement over time. "Hmm... I recognize some these growths, but I don't know what those others are. Looks like they are heavily surrounded by barnacles and whippers though. I see several nests, some under beasts, burst lobbers and burst launchers too. There's even plenty of those drifters and some oculars here. Hmm... I think this might be... a nesting ground?"

Kabos gently moved Footoo out of the way to look at the image with closer scrutiny, making Footoo scoff in annoyance. He could see that there were several bio-structures within the image that he was inspecting. It contained several creatures and bio-structures that he recognized, but several of the bio-structures still looked unfamiliar. In truth, what the desert platform's expedition team had discovered was a hive cluster forward base. It contained a nydus network that seemed to eat several zerg organisms, several hatcheries with a single hive, drones that fed it resources generated from the resource tumors and two carbonation extractors, queens that that pairs of two would protect their own hatchery or hive, and a plethora of spine crawlers and spore crawlers that surrounded the hive cluster. However, there were other bio-structures that were present within the hive cluster. There was the spawning pool, a roach warren, a hydralisk den, an impaler den, a lurker den, a greater spire, an ultralisk cavern, a nydus network, a defiler mound, a scourge nest, a brood queen's nest, spore cannons, infestation pit, bile launchers, baneling nest, and even an evolution chamber. Kabos' eyes widened as he took in this information, even though he did not know the purposes of all of these structures he had never seen before. "... This isn't an ordinary nesting ground. I also think it's a resupply base."

Braif and Hektar looked at each other with worried glances, while Jotan hardened his gaze at Kabos. "A resupply base? What do you mean 'it's a resupply base?' What does this place resupply the zerg organisms with, exactly?" Jotan asked.

"Numbers." Kabos replied, taking a few steps back and sighing. "These zerg monsters are not only territorial, but they are also very military minded. I came pretty close to their nests a few times, and saw how their blade hounds and other zerg organisms are born. A single wriggler can take seconds to form a cocoon around itself to transform into a floater. The floater could then form another cocoon around itself again to turn into a nest, which can produce more wrigglers. The nest also seems to have the ability to produce caretakers from itself, which persuades the nest bio-structure to produce more wrigglers. But I also saw a plethora of other wrigglers being transformed into their pupal stages, and then into the other castes of zerg organisms. Blade hounds, pukers, spine serpents, spawners, pest carriers, and all other sorts of nasty monsters seconds later. I even saw those razor fiends and dread maws being born in what felt like brief minutes."

There was a long pause between everyone that gathered in the helm of the desert platform. This silence was agonizing to Jotan, and he couldn't allow this self-inflicted torture to continue. Tanjo decided to break the silence and turned toward Braif and Hektar. "You two have been quiet the entire time here. Have any opinions you want to share, or information that we need to hear?"

Hektar sighed. "I'm afraid we don't know much about these... other bio-structures. They seem to assist the zerg organisms in ways we don't understand, but it was suggested that they provide them with some kind of resource or comoddity, perhaps some kind of hormone that further unlocks their lethality. These subdivision of bio-structure nests certainly are quite an interesting find. However, I don't know how to inforrm you on their nature at this time."

Braif shook her head as she looked away from the image. "Yeah, even after I prodded those whippers and barnacles with Kabos' help, I doubt I have the nerve to part an infestation of that magnetude. I'm not sure if these other bio-structures can uproot themselves like the zerg's sentries could."

"I don't think these ones can." Kabos said, shaking his head and sighing. "Several people tried to do that and they ended up being chased away or taken down by a whipper or some other nasty zerg beast." Kabos turned to Jotan and Tanjo. "I recommend we go around these infestations. The whippers and sub-nest bio-structures are too abuntant, and I know for a fact that the bigger a zerg nest is, the meaner the zerg organisms get."

Jotan sighed in exasperation. "Hurh... That is going to take too much time. Even with a wide birth, I keep finding more nests the closer we get to the zerg flower."

Kabos walked up to Jotan and stared at his eyes. "Then we can have Tanjo thread the needle like he did with the whippers and barnacles before we entered the orange zone. Are you trying to fish for a reason to go back to the safety of Citadel Gargantua's walls? Or do you naturally complain like this all the time?"

Jotan gave a stern and unflinching glare back at Kabos. "If I felt as though we were truly in danger, then I would have turned us around already."

"Then stop pissing where you're standing and get this platform moving." Kabos said firmly to Jotan. "It's a bad idea to be stationary when there is zerg about."

Jotan looked at Kabos with an icy leer for several seconds before he turned around. "Jotan command. Desert platform speed, one third speed. Maintain distance of one hundred meters away from objects that are classified as 'zerg'. Go into full stop when we arrive one hundred meters away from the red zone."

Footoo looked at Kabos and Jotan, sighed, then stretched his arms into the air. "Okay uh... I think it's close to feeding time for me. I'll just uh... you know... scram away." Footoo said, as he began to walk out of the desert platform's helm.

Both Braif and Hektar looked at Jotan and Kabos as well, but they opted to say nothing as they quietly left the helm after Footoo had smoothly exfiltrated. Kabos stared at Kabos' back for half a minute before he backed away and took his turn to exit out of the operators' presence.

Tanjo sighed and shook his head. "This is going to be a long expedition."

Jotan turned to his co-operator. "If it's one thing I hate, it's giving mutineers a reason to mutiny on my desert platform."

"YOUR? No no no. OUR, desert platform." Tanjo corrected. "If I didn't know better, I think that you have been somewhat bellicose during our entire trip. Is there something you want to share with me that you don't want anyone else in this platform to know about?"

Jotan growled for a few seconds, but then sighed. "There are so many old memories too painful to bring up right now. I want this mission to be over with so I can head back home, and be able to bathe in a warm bath for once."

Tanjo paused for several seconds as his expression became thoughtful, which then became an understanding nod. "I'll let you decide when to open that can of worms on our expedition crew." He said, turning back to his monitor and switching to different surveillance cameras. "But I wouldv'e paid for some female company instead. Not some cheap ho's, though. I'm thinking... Exotic. Exported from Tall Trees, for example. Yeah... A quality harem."

Jotan chuckled. "The place that was once named Empire Forest Town? Why not up the ante and get a harem, and a warm bath? Enjoy it with some quality meats, like barbecued krell, cured shallow crab, mongwedger jerky, or candied shryik serpent steaks."

Tanjo laughed with Jotan. "Hahaha, yeah! Hell, why not hire a music band and some scented candles?"

"Ooh, good choice, good choice. And to top it off, have a paid subscription to view the latest arena fights, and every recorded fight ever made to view at your own enjoyment." Jotan added.

Tanjo sighed and laid back in his chair, staring at the monitor that cycled through different camera views. "Aw man, I always did enjoy watching the Sextuple Swordsman versusing against the Rot Eater. I especially liked the fourteenth Sextuple Swordsman versus Rot Eater battle, when they introduced the 'environmental graphic settings' for the first time. Maaaaan that battle was epic AND legendary."

"Meh. I would have sent a personal request for a private match between the Pink Punky Cuddle Fuzzler and the Metallic Lewd-Man." Jotan said.

Tanjo paused, but then he slowly turned around and gave a wide-eyed stare at his co-operator. "... What? The joke character that the Fur Fetish patrons created? The very same character that had zero wins from its creation, and always loses in a timeout? Fighting against another joke character that has only ever won fourteen versus battles since his creation, made by the original proprieter of the dream-light arena? Why put them together?"

Jotan looked back at Tanjo, a sly smirk on his face. "I learned some time ago that the Cuddle Fuzzler has hidden special status effects. One of them is called 'flustered', which occurs when her opponant poses next to her, does a dodge or stunt maneuver in front of her, or taunts at her. What many people don't know about the Cuddle Fuzzler is that her other hidden status effect is 'aroused', which builds up from several stackings of her 'flustered' status effect. Her 'aroused' effect only happened in fifty seven matches, which gained a lot of hoots from the Fur Fetish patrons, and a lot of later popularity. It was after her fifty seventh match of acquiring her 'aroused' status effect that the arena organizers decided to pull her from the public roster. A lot of people were saddened by that, so they decided to create the subscription service that enables you to watch all recordings of previous public matches, plus any matches that you, or somebody else, made a personal request for. This also happens to include custom characters. And you know more than I do that Lewd-Man's moveset contains a lot of poses and taunts, as well as a plethora of dodging maneuvers and parkour stunts."

Tanjo paused for several seconds. He shook his head and smiled. "... Shit man. I didn't know you could rig the game like that. Where did you learn about Cuddle Fuzzler's hidden abilities?"

Jotan nodded, sighed, then set his eyes straight forward. "Call it a hobby. Lets get this expedition over with. The quicker we complete this suicide mission, the sooner I can watch some video game porn."

Despite the camaraderie between the two operators, silence began to flood the helm again. The only sounds that could be heard was the gentle hum of the engine and its rectionless drive, the distant shlorping sounds that barely resonated through the desert platform's wheel towers as they drove over the creep, and the silent breathing that usually accompanied intense and diligent concentration. But alas, they were unaware of the series of events that would unfold before them, or what would be unveiled as a result of their expedition.

A second-coming was close at hand.

A/N: Oof, wow, it's late. I'll proof-read this tommorow. Have another bonus chapter, my good lads. 'w'/