Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Starcraft in anyway.
Through the Eye's of Purity's Essence
Chapter 2: Of Flesh and Scrap Metal
The Servant and its Zerg brethren continued their advance upon the Terran armies. The Overlords relayed more orders from Araq to the Zerg warriors. The Servant as usual processed the commands as simple messages:
Their center is retreating. It is a trick. They intend to lure us into a trap. We must make them believe we are fooled. Continue advance. Await orders.
The Servant obeyed, as did the others. Purposely falling into a trap would certainly mean death for those caught, but that did not matter. The Servant and its brethren knew only obedience… and the taste of blood. After all, obedience would bring victory to the Overmind and the Swarm, and blood would further their fury and rage. But a Zerg minion's life was a luxury that could sacrificed – for a purpose, or for no purpose – it did not matter.
The warriors were very close to the Terran front. A great gap lay within the Terrans' lines, but it was bait, which the Zerg warriors already knew. They had received no further orders from the Cerebrate, and continued to close the gap between them and their enemies. And at last, Zerg and Terran clashed.
Masses of Zerglings flung themselves at the Firebats. Many of the Zerglings were torn to pieces by the firepower of the Goliaths. The ones that reached the line of Firebats were almost immediately incinerated. The surviving Zerglings, however, proceeded to tear into the Firebats, clawing at their faces and biting at their suits. As, Vultures swooped in, the Servant and its brothers received an order to deal with them. The Servant advanced forth upon the wave of Vultures and unleashed a volley of spines, specifically target the rides themselves. Two Terrans were impaled in the chests and dropped from their vehicles. As the Servant continued to fire, the others Hydralisks followed suite. Soon, dozens of Vultures, with their drivers gone or slumped over the controls, were spinning out of control and crashing into to others. It was a delightful to see such chaos amongst their enemies.
Then two large bullets struck the Servant, piercing it's left shoulder armor. More than a hundred Goliaths had positioned themselves at the Terran Front and were blazing away at the Hydralisks' positions. Several Hydralisks fell dead riddled with heavy shells. The Servant again was struck, this time in the chest. Despite the great pain and hissed with raged, but continue to fire at the Vultures. Another command from Araq resonated in the Servant's mind: Target Goliaths. The others shall provide you with cover.
The Servant and the other Hydralisks ceased firing upon the Vultures, and realigned their shoulder place to target the Goliaths. The Goliaths were hit repeatedly by waves of needle spines, but most of the spines bounced of the Goliaths' specially reinforced hall. The war machines returned fire, showering the Hydralisks with an onslaught of bullets. Bleeding Hydralisks collapsed upon the grounds, their blood soaking the sands. Still, the Hydralisks continued their assault. Their spines managed to penetrate a few of the Goliaths' hulls now. Then a massive cloud of tiny insects surrounded the Servant and the others. The Goliaths' bullets were unable to pierce much of the thick cloud. The Defilers had encompassed them all within the could. Deadly spores were launched at the Goliaths as well. The spores corroded the reinforced hulls. Now these Terrans could easily be dealt with.
Shrieking cries of battle, the Servant and its brothers renewed a relentless volley of spines. The hulls of the Goliaths, now damaged severely by Defilers spores, proved no match for the Zerg. The spines easily penetrated the Goliaths' damaged cockpits killing or wounding the inhabitants within and sending the controls in showers of sparks. The Servant knew exactly where the weak points were, for Araq had once again sent a message relaying such information. Many of the Goliaths in the front lines were now motionless and fuming black clouds of smoke, for their inhabitants lying dead or wounded from the wrath of Servant and its brothers. The Servant itself had not been hurt since the Defilers had taken action. Now its wounds were regenerating. Through the cloud, it saw the Goliaths starting to retreat. At least four hundred Zerglings charged the great gap of the Terran formations, and began to systematically eradicate the Firebats and Vultures.
Suddenly, the ground exploded amongst the Hydralisks. Several were flung into the air, and others were ripped apart. Almost a hundred Zerglings in the Terran center were blown to smoldering pieces. The survivors would have continued their attack, had Araq not ordered the Zerglings to retreat from the Terran center. The Overlords relayed another command from Araq:
Siege Tanks have locked onto your positions. They are at the very rear of the Terran lines. Move into the gap in the center of the Terran lines.
The Servant and its brothers obeyed, though it was not without pain and death. The Defiler's cloud was little use against the shockwave cannons of the Terran Siege Tanks. The tanks also were well out of range of the Servant. Many fellow Hydralisks were blown away they advanced into the center. The Overlords relayed more commands to the Swarm. The Zerglings concentrated their attack upon the Terran's left and right flanks, while the Defilers joined the Hydralisks at the center. Meanwhile in sky, Guardians were drawing fire away from the Servant and its brothers by spitting torrents of acid globs upon the Goliaths. The Mutalisks lashed out at the speedy Wraiths, while the Scourge gave their lives to destroy multiple Wraiths as well. The Zerglings fought viciously against the Firebats, Marines, and Goliaths guarding the Terran flanks, but even with seemingly countless numbers, ruined bodies of Zergling kept piled up on top each other. The Zerg flyers too were taking a heavy toll as the Wraiths ripped through the Mutalisks and Guardians hurling Gemini missiles and sending the airborne beasts to the ground. The Goliaths protecting the Terran army's rear used their Hellfire rockets to take down Scourge before the suicidal warriors could reach their targets.
The Goliaths and Siege Tanks continued to ravage the Zerg force at the center. The Servant watched its brothers fall under the volleys of bullets or heavy shells, for now they were taking fire from three sides. The Defilers were creating protective clouds amongst the Hydralisks, but the dark clouds could not stop all the firepower of the Goliaths. Other Defliers attempted to release their corrosive spores, but were shot apart by the Goliaths' automatic weaponry as soon as the Defliers had slithered to the front lines. Furthermore, 120mm explosive shells from the Siege Tanks constantly pierced the protective clouds and brought death to many of the Zerg warriors. Still, despite their mounting casualties, the Servant and the others continued to fight with spines and claws warring down many of the surrounding Goliaths until the machines collapsed or were rendered inoperable. Araq had not ordered them to withdraw, and so they would continue the fight - no matter how many Zerg would die.
Once, the Servant managed to use it claws to grabble a nearby Goliath. Using all the strength within its augmented muscles, the Servant raised the machine above its head and hurled it into the crowd of Terrans. The Goliaths crashed down amongst the Terran formation knocking seven other Goliaths off their legs. This was followed by a massive explosion which sent marines, Firebats, and pieces of metal flying. The Servant was momentarily pleased with its handiwork, and then it cast that thought aside and proceeded to fight alongside the rest of its brothers once more.
Then a single tank shell burst less than 10 meters away from
the Servant. The Hydralisks less
than 5 meters away were blown to blood and guts. The Servant raised it claws to shield it's head from
the wave of fire and dust. The
Servant was knocked off it's tail, and went sliding across the bloody
sands. Snarling with fury, the
Servant attempted to get back up, but found it unusually hard. It quickly discovered the problem
– the Servant's entire left arm, from the shoulder plates and
below, was gone. It had either had
torn off from the blast, or simply incinerated. The Servant shrieked with pain and rage, but with difficulty
it managed to right itself.
As the Servant prepared to charge back into battle, it smelled blood –
it's own. Flickering out
it's tongue, the Servant caught a few drops of blood, and with that the
Servant's power and rage were renewed once more. Its left arm was nothing important now,
as long as the Servant could keep killing for the Overmind and the Swarm. Slithering back to the front of the
Zerg lines, it released a storm of spines from it's right shoulder plate
at a damaged Goliath's cockpit and forced the spines into the armored
windshield. Blood splattered
against the windshield as the Terran operator was impaled, and the Goliath
ceased firing. Smoke and flames
bellowed out of the cockpit, for the Servant's spines had damaged
numerous controls and electrical systems. The bipedal war machine issued more flames and sparks, and finally
toppled over on it's side. The
flaming wreck, however, was ignored by the other Goliaths, which continued to
blast away at the Zerg warriors. This time, the Servant was hit over a dozen times in its chest plate,
and three more bullets struck it's left eye which issued a fountain of Zerg
blood. Now, the Servant was blind
on its left side. Screaming anger,
the Servant returned fire although its angle of vision had been reduced by
half. But, the Servant was still a
servant of the Overmind, and it would have kept fighting if both eyes had been
destroyed.
The Siege Tanks continued to pummel Zerg at the center with impunity pinning the Swarms down. The marines, Firebats and Goliaths held back the Zerglings at their flanks. Meanwhile in the sky, the airborne Zerg were continuing to dogfight the Wraiths, but now the Wraiths were beginning to outmaneuver and outnumber the Mutalisks, Scourge, and Guardians. As Goliaths and Hydralisks fired and fell at the center, it seemed for a moment as if the Terrans might win, and the Swarm would fail in this battle.
Then the Servant received a new order:
Baelrog Queens are approaching. Protect them at all cost and victory will be assured!
At least five hundred Zerg Queens swarmed down amongst the opposing armies. Mutalisks and Scourge surrounded them instantly, protecting them from the Wraiths. As the Queens maneuvered behind the Terran formations they came just above the line of Siege Tanks. Then one of them spat a glob of spores at a tank. The glob stuck to the tank's hull began to melt its way through. A scream of terror was heard from inside the tank, and seconds the flame and sparks were issued from the vehicle. Out from the hull breach came a pair of Broodlings, which scurried to attack the Terran army. Immediately, the other Queens launched their spores at the tanks, bring death to the humans inside, and giving life to the tiny hatchlings within the globs. Tank after tank went up in smoke, sparks, and flame, and Broodlings. A few of the Terran operators were able to escape, but most succumbed to the hungry globs and their hatchlings. As the line of tanks began to crumble, some of the Siege Tanks activated their mobile modes, and began to retreat. However, out of the protection of the Goliaths and Wraiths, most of the stray tanks were easily hunted down by Mutalisks.
Many Goliaths at the rear abandoned their positions in a desperate attempt to save what tanks were left, but in doing so they left the Terran infantry to teeth and claws of the ravenous Zerglings. The Goliaths fired their rockets at the Queens killing a few, but the Guardians, responding to the orders of the Araq, showered the Goliaths with acid driving them away from the Queens. Meanwhile, at the center, with the threat of artillery gone, the Servant and its brothers were no longer pinned down. The masses of Hydralisks clawed and bit their way through the Goliaths, tearing the legs and missile launchers off. The Defliers now having successfully reached the very front of Zerg lines, showered the enemy with corrosive spores. The Servant then sent a volley of spikes at point blank range, hammering three plagued Goliaths. Two exploded as the Servant hit the primary power generators within their cockpits. The other machine tripped and collasped as the Servant impaled the electrical wiring within its legs. Using its remaining claw, the Servant tore the face off another Goliath's cockpit. The operator struggled to get out, but the Servant plunged its jaws into the smoldering machine and dragged the hapless human out by the leg. Snapping its mighty jaws, the Servant tore the corpse in half, and made sure that the Terran's blood was spilled upon the is tongue. As it feasted upon the Terran's warm blood, the Servant saw its brothers advance forward annihilating all in their path. Meanwhile, the Terrans were holding their left flank, but the right flank was crumbling to the countless waves of Zerglings. And now, Araq had ordered another three thousand Zerglings and Hydralisks from the Hive Clusters to join the attack. Streaking across the desert lands, fresh Zerg reinforcements swarmed towards the battlefield.
The maneuverable Queens, having dealt with the tanks, proceeded to the skies, where Mutalisks and Scourge were battling Wraiths. The Overlords relayed new messages from Araq to the flyers. The Scourge pulled out, and the Mutalisks began forcing the Wraiths together. Although more than half of the remaining Mutalisks died in this task, soon nearly all the Wraiths had been herded together. The Queens sprayed the Terran flyers with thick slime that covered the metal wings, and even jammed the engines. The Wraiths were going nowhere fast now. Then the Overlords sent out another message. Every remaining Scourge raced toward the slime-covered Wraiths. The suicidal warriors plowed themselves into the helpless Wraiths ripping them to pieces. Thus the little Scourges gave their lives to fulfill the Overmind's will.. The sky was momentarily covered with a series of intense explosions. As the smoke cleared from the sky, a shower of flaming metal pieces descended upon the creatures below. While the Zerg warriors and Terran machines were not harmed by this fiery rain, the Terran marines and Firebats were forced to take cover. The ones that didn't were crushed under the larger pieces of debris or impaled by the smaller, shaper fragments. The Mutalisks scattered to hunt down the surviving Wraiths. For the most part, the Terran air force had be decimated. The ground forces too would soon fall to the Zerg. The tide had now turned in favor of the Swarm.
The remains of the Terran army began a massive retreat towards a new position to regroup. Just as the Servant and its brethren were about to pursue, the Overlords relayed another order:
Do not pursue. Hold position.
The Servant obeyed and did not advance. Unfortunately, there were no wounded Terrans to be found, only dead and decaying ones. However, the Servant knew it would get its fill soon.
An enormous convoy of Overlords arrived from orbit. Upon reaching the surface, their ventral sacks opened and released the behemoth Ultralisks. The mighty creatures massed together – ten thousand Ultralisks in all! With a tremendous roar, the thundering Ultralisks stormed forward. The Servant watched as the stampede of Ultralisks swiftly moved around the Hydralisk and its brothers and proceeded toward the regrouping Terrans. The Overlords relayed to the other Zerg what was happening on the Terran front. Terrans were screaming and panicking as the Ultralisks came further. A disordered line of Goliaths open fired on the Ultralisks, but the bullets merely bounced off the impenetrable armor of the Ultralisks. The behemoth warriors were now twenty meters from the Terran front. The Goliaths continued their pathetic attack. A couple of the Ultralisks fell dead, but the rest continued. Five meters now. And then with a terrible cry, the lead Ultralisk raised its head and brought its scythe-like tusks upon the Terrans. Four Goliaths were sent flying. Two more were crushed beneath the Ultralisk's massive feet. The other Ultralisks tore into Terran formation killing as they went. Machines and infantry were knocked into the air, crushed, or simply torn to pieces. Like a tornado, the stampede of Ultralisks ripped through the remnants of the Terran army with no stopping. At last, the Terrans realized they had been defeated and began a retreat towards the city. But the humans and their war machines could not outrun the raging Ultralisks. In the end, less than a hundred Terrans made it back the city's defense perimeter. The Terran army had been defeated. The Swarm was victorious.
Though, it was victorious at a heavy cost. Over thirty percent of the Zerg minions was gone. It did not matter though, for all warriors and minions of the Swarm could be sacrificed and replaced. All Zerg fought and died for the Overmind and the Swarm.
The Servant and its brothers hissed with approval. They then received another order:
All minions regroup. Reinforcements on their way. Prepare to assault the city.
As the Servant and its brothers slithered to meet the Ultralisks, the Servant could feel the wounds in its chest plate regenerating. However, its left arm and left eye would never grow back. Not even Zerg regeneration could bring . But the Servant did not care. It still had weapons to fight the Overmind's enemies. The Servant obeyed the will of the Overmind. The Overmind had willed for total victory on this planet, and the Servant had brought a victory. But the Overmind's will had not been fulfilled – yet. The Servant and its brethren knew that the Terran city must be conquered. Only then would total victory be achieved and the Overmind's will satisfied. The Servant prepared itself for one last battle.
TBC…
A/N: Yay! I finally got this chapter done. I'm going to start working on the third and final chapter soon.
2nd A/N: I'm done revising this chapter for grammar. I'm going to start working or the third and final chapter soon.