Chapter 4

I almost run inside the hatchery. I mean, come on, how often do you get to witness the birthing of an alien? I come into the main chamber just in time to see the cocoons around the birth areas release their contents. Besides all the goo and flesh of the cocoon, which rapidly disappear into the floor and ceilings, there are what appear to be giant centipedes. They crawl out of their birth areas, and climb across the floor, milling around. They had eyes located on the curve of their head, facing up and out, with large interlocking scales wrapped completely around it. I would say they are about 3 feet long, and have black carapaces, with orange eyes. In other words, they were very creepy. Are these truly Zerg larva?

Sensing my question, the voice comes up,"These are your larva, Overmind. The hatchery makes 10 every 12 hours, with no limit on the amount it can contain at any one time, except of course, the energy required to birth, them, but that is minute. When the birthing chamber starts to get too full, which is about 50, the larva are stopped from producing more. The larva brain only knows how to eat and excrete waste. All waste is pulled into the creep for more energy, with the new energy in turn feeding the larva. They contain what humans call viruses. All the viruses are dormant, and each one contains the ability to morph the larva into something else. For instance, you can activate one virus that turns the larva into a zergling, your only weapon at the moment."

"What in every hell's name is a zergling?" I ask. If it was a weapon... well I'm pretty naked here. I need something I can fight with. It might even be some type of armor. A zergling legging piece, to help cover my nudity would be appreciated.

"Zerglings, which are very fast, are a basic soldier of the Zerg. Not as much a weapon or armor as much as a swarm of insects."

"Great, so I have beetles to fight for me... really? The Zerg are so powerful because of an army of beetles?! Fast and numerous. They better be," I reply to the voice.

"You misunderstand, they swarm the enemy yes, and, yes, they are fast. However they are the size, give or take, of your Earth's wolf," answers the voice, in the same tone as always.

"Oh. Okay then, that could be helpful," realization dawning in my voice.

"Indeed. One larva turns into one zergling, should you wish it. It will take some time however. Sand isn't very good at being converted. You'll have to wait a full day for one to spawn," comes my intelligence.

"That is quite a while to wait for something that seems so basic to the Zerg," I state.

"The Zerg where never meant to consume just sand, Zerg's prefer high density crystals and organ matter because they are easily converted. Eat, consume, devour," orders the voice.

"I'm not just going to kill and eat things willy nilly. I might be human, but I have my morals still," I reply, concerned on why I, since this was myself I was talking to, would take such a dark turn.

"It is easier, and a quick path to power. It is what we are," replies the voice.

"I was once told that taking the easy path, more often then not, was the incorrect one, and I will stand by that to the day I die!" I exclaim. My father's last words to me before he died. I will not give that up!

"You are the Overmind," is all that is said in response.

"Your damn right. Now, how do I start getting some zerglings?" I ask.

"Merely state as such, or use your connection to the larva. and imagine, in detail, what you want them to do," answers other self.

Well I can't imagine what I haven't seen. "Then start the production of 10 zerglings, all of my current larva," I order.

"As you wish," comes the reply.

The dune the hatchery was on started shaking, and the hatchery started to sink. "What the hell is going on," I shout.

My reply was quick, "The creep is consuming the sand beneath the hatchery for use in the zerglings, as you ordered."

"Stop! use the sand around the dune first! Ask before trying to use the sand upon which I, and the hatchery, stand."

"Yes Overmind," the voice complied.

With that, I move toward the tunnel and walk out. There was the swish of the door, and then… nothing new looking. "Huh, this is weird." I know the hatchery moved while I was in it. I walk out and look around, but the creep dune still seems like it was the same size. Turning around, I notice the hatchery is actually in a small depression now. With that discovered. I laugh. "Alright, so it wasn't that bad." I turn towards the sun, and watch it travel in the sky. What have I done here? I'm apparently no longer human, and am creating an army that will eventually encounter other creatures and kill them. What is the point of this all? I have no real purpose yet, except to expand my swarm. It just isn't enough. I have no idea where I am, with no idea how to get back home. Am I even on Earth? There was one sun and one moon, but that could be anywhere in an infinite universe. I can guarantee I'm no where in the U.S., as I at least I would have seen a few planes, and checking for familiar constellations is useless, since I simply only know a few, and it could be the wrong season, on the wrong side of the planet. You know what? Let's just go out an explore. Find something, anything. Find people, no matter who they are, and interact. I just need to have some purpose besides the monotony this little adventure is becoming. Something far less intelligent than I could simply build hatcheries and spread creep…I continue my thoughts along this path. After watching the sunrise from my dune, I just continued to stand there until, "There is ten minutes remaining until the first zerglings are born."

"Alright, I'm coming in," I reply. Maybe this will make things a little purposeful for me. "Cheer up Duke, who knows; maybe you'll like conquering planets!" I tell myself.

Into the hatchery I go, with a little more briskness than when I walked out. I wait around a little longer before seeing the first cocoon pops, and out comes two things from nightmare. I jump back, ready to run away at the slightest provocation, but then my mind jumps back into control. "Relax, these are my troops, they won't hurt me," I think, hoping against hope. Not very comforted, I move up to get a better look at them. They were completely identical, and very scary. The zergling's height was up to my waist. It had 4 legs, with knees like I would expect, except the back two legs appeared much stronger then the front. Both pairs of legs were filled of muscle and bone, with no fat. The body was reptilian, with scales interlocking just like the larva, but not as large at the scale pattern of the larva. Those larva scales were quite larger, and made of bone. Now the zergling's scales where more like the size of a chain link on chain mail. There was a tail as well, probably used for balance and not actual fighting. The tail had armor as well, but the armor plates got smaller as the tail did. The head came off a long neck, and it was something to behold. The zergling's head was one bone plate with a ridge down the middle. The ridge ended into an in-drawn snout, a bit below the eyes. The eyes looked forwards, and were pure red, with no pupils I could see. The mouth was full of serrated teeth, and had two layers, one shorter one behind the first. Its jaw had two pieces of bone stuck out that curved upwards into a cutting edge. As if this wasn't enough, there were two thin arms that were folded against its breast. Each ended abruptly into two claws made of bone. These claws were 2 feet long, and had a serrated edge. The arms had an elbow, giving them much greater mobility in combat.

"Um, hi?" I ask, quite uncertain if I was going to die or not.

"The nearest zergling walked up to me. It tilted its head, and rubbed against my fear frozen form. This took me out of shock. I raise my hand, look at the beast that was, for lack of a better term, nuzzling me, and put my hand on it's head. The zergling then started to purr. At this, the other zerglings moved up to get attention to. "You guys aren't so bad. To me at least!" I sat, laughing at the attention. I touch all of them, at one point in time. After awhile, I shoo them away, and reluctantly, they back off. Then, as if moving a one, they move into the main chamber's entrance, and run out.

"Damn, but zerglings can move!" I shout, running after them. By the time I get outside, the zerglings are standing on the crest of the dune, looking for all the world like they were surveying their domain.

After watching them awhile, the zerglings never moved, staying ever watchful. Eventually, I turn back and go into the hatchery, and look at the larva that were produced while I waited for the zerglings. I now had 30 of them, with more on the way!

"This is just the beginning, what else can I make from these larva right now?" I ask.

"You can make drones, which will morph into buildings or gather mass and DNA from areas your creep hasn't spread to, as well as overlords, which are command and control Zerg used to help you delegate your orders. Overlords are also better tacticians then most other Zerg, so they can command a fight better then, say, zerglings could on their own," replies other me.

"Wow, okay cool. In this case, I need 10 drones, 15 zerglings and 5 Overlords. How long will this take?" I ask, hoping it won't take too long.

"It will take 12 hours for the drones to get done, and a full week for the overlords," comes the voice.

"Okay, do it. This will take a while, might as well tuck in here and settle a bit then," I state, and then, "Hey, no noticeable movement this time, good job me!"

"I am but a part of you, your will is my own. What you want is my wants," come the voice in my head.

"Still an improvement, other me." I say. "Speaking of which, what ill I call you? You need a name and it isn't going to be other my," I say, while smiling.

"I need no name, nor wanted for such, until you put the want in the open." says the voice, "I know of no appropriate name."

"Well, since you so soundly broke E=MC^2 for me, I'll name you Einstein, after the man who came up with the original formula," I give.

"Whatever you want, is sufficient," comes the newly dubbed Einstein.

"Not quite was I had in mind when I expected a response, but that will do. Let me know when right before the drones are done, I'm going to sit here and wait," I command.

"As you wish," Einstein acquiesces.

A/N:Do you like this chapter better then what it was before, oh returning readers? Anyone new to the story might not know what it was like, but I would still like to know what you think as well.