I wake up once again to the sight of the opening in the ceiling shining light down into the room. Sitting up, I yawned and stretched, then took a quick look around via the mental map. As expected, no monsters are in sight range.
I scratch an itch on my chest idly as I go about what's looking to be my new daily routine, relieving myself downstream in the river, and grabbing up a piece of Creep for breakfast. I idly note this is the first time I've eaten since eating that bit of Creep yesterday, yet I hadn't felt hungry till now. Creep must've kept me full for an entire day. Now that's impressive.
Turning my eyes back to the Hatchery, I considered some of the plans I made yesterday in my boredom. Most of them weren't feasible, but more importantly is what I should do for now with only 310 Bio Energy to work with, and no guarantee that I'll be seeing more anytime soon. A Drone would be good, as well as an Overlord to get some eyes in the sky as well as some more support for more units. That leaves me 160 to play with. Without access to the Drone command list, I can only speculate on whether this will be enough to bring any buildings into play.
Considering I have the whole day ahead of me and I only need ten minutes to get both out, I figure I'll go ahead with one of each, and command two larvae to morph into a Drone and an Overlord. Two larvae immediately pop out of the side of the Hatchery. I have to walk around the side to see them, but with my mental map I can still watch as they crawl out a small distance away from the hatchery. They then turned on their sides, curled into little round donuts, bit their tails, and ballooned into two identical Zerg egg sacs so fast I would've missed it if I'd blinked.
Rounding the corner, I made my way up to the eggs for a look with my own eyes. If not for the information I'm reading directly off the wall of light that's overlaying them both, I wouldn't be able to tell at all that there are two different Zerg growing in these. Two strands of light snap into place from the eggs to my ball of light. I can feel the start of new emotions and awareness filter over the connection as the two grow. It's very similar to when the Hatchery was first growing, but on a much faster scale. I couldn't help but feel a sense of awe and anticipation as I watched my two new Zerg grow quickly.
In what felt like no time at all, both eggs soon splattered open, and I watched in fascination as both Zerg seemed to shake themselves loose of their eggs and unfold themselves. The Overlord inflates to three times the size of its egg as it floats into the sky. It looks a lot like someone crossed over a jellyfish with a hot air balloon and gave it lobster claws. The tendrils beneath it trail almost uselessly in the air, swaying back and forth. I'm surprised to find it actually does have a head with eyes, situated low on its body between the lobster claws. It looks exactly like the Overlord Portrait in Starcraft. The only difference is the eyes have a golden yellow glow the same color as my sphere of light thing, rather than red.
Turning my attention to my Drone, I eye it as it seems to wait patiently in place for me. I can feel its excitement over the link though. The Overlord's is a little more tempered, but both are happy at the attention I'm giving them and are waiting for my orders as near as I can tell, with anticipation. The Drone looks about what I expected from the game. The Drone looks like the front half of a scorpion with the tail of a snake and the sails of a fish. It even seems to be gently swaying in the air like a fish. I wonder if that means… dropping down to all fours, I peer under the Drone. I can see its belly resting on the ground, but that's all. Ordering the Drone to move around me, I watch as it slithers across the ground like a snake, but there's something off about it. Considering the size of the Drone, it looks like it's barely putting any weight on the ground at all, if not just enough to move. I'd heard theories before about how the Drones move, whether their sails are actually webbed feet we never see move, or perhaps they had hundreds of legs underneath their body they moved on. There were also theories that the Drones wriggled on their bellies like a snake, or used the same thing the Overlord does to float a few inches off the ground. Judging from what I'm seeing, it looks like the truth is a combination of those last two.
Standing back up, I flick my eyes over to the Drone's command list and examined it. It seems all of the buildings are available from Brood War, though the majority of them are grayed out. The ones available to me currently would be the Hatchery, Creep Colony, Spawning Pool, Evolution chamber, and the Extractor. I don't see how I'd ever make use of an Extractor with no Vespene geysers around though.
All in all, that's about what I expected. What I didn't expect are two extra buildings not available in the game. Evidently I have access to being able to create Behemoths and Cerebrates, though the requirements to build either are extreme compared to the rest of the Zerg. I guess it makes sense, considering how important those two units are. I'm surprised they're under the Drone command list, though now that I think about it, the size of the Cerebrate is equal to a building so I suppose it makes sense. Both require a completely upgraded and fully functioning Hive Cluster before I can make them though. Well, that's just something I'll have to aim towards in the future.
I turn my attention back to the buildings available and check their requirements. Hatcheries require 300 Bio Energy… Spawning Pool costs 200… Creep Colonies only cost 75… Extractors cost 50, though I don't see myself making one of those anytime soon… Woah, Evolution Chambers only cost 75 Bio Energy? Perfect! That leaves me with enough to build one, plus have another Drone available!
Turning back to the Hatchery, I note that the two Larvae I'd used have already been replaced with two new larvae. That was fast. I'm glad that aspect of the Zerg hadn't changed from the game, not that I'd expected it to. I order one to morph into a Drone, then turn back to my new Drone. Now, where to place an Evolution chamber? I'd tossed around a few ideas of how to set up a Hive Cluster last night. I'd studied a little bit of medieval warfare in my spare time back on Earth. I'm rather partial to Star Forts. Unfortunately, with the way the Creep spreads, a star shape for the Hive isn't really feasible. I guess I'll just have to go with a ring design and double up the rings or something. If I do that, I'll just have to place all the important buildings within the first ring. That decided, I chose a spot to the south of my current Hatchery and ordered the Drone to morph into an Evolution Chamber there.
The Drone took off like a shot, far faster than I expected, though not so fast as to beggar belief. As soon as it reached the spot indicated, it ballooned out so fast into a Cocoon, I know for sure I'd have missed it if I had blinked. I waited the forty minutes required for it to finish growing. It's a far cry faster than the Hatchery was, though I notice Drone created Hatcheries only take 2 hours rather than the 12 my first one did. I guess that's the price paid for creating a Hatchery out of nothing but PSI energy.
My new Drone finished while I waited. With half an hour left, I took a seat against the side of the Hatchery. My new Drone trundled up to my side without my ordering it to do so, much to my surprise. It brushed up against me and took up a position next to me. I reached up a hand to one of its sails. It gave a clicking sound that almost sounded like a coo, as it stretched to give me better access. I chuckled and spent the time idly petting the Drone as it basked in my attention to it.
A mental spike of alarm from the Overlord drew my attention, startled that I'd almost entirely forgotten about it. I shouldn't really be surprised though. It's making far less mental noise than the Drone is. Almost like it was keeping silent vigil, like a sentry. Its focus is zeroed in on something to the north. I follow its gaze to see a Creeper silently making its way towards the Hatchery from the North, the far side of the Hatchery from where I currently am. Narrowing my eyes, I get up and order my Drone to follow me into the Hatchery. As soon as I step inside, the doors contract closed with a squishing sound. The Creeper goes up the Hatchery. It starts hissing as soon as it gets within range and light flashes from within itself, just as it expands and blows up. A few seconds later, the Hatchery opened up its doors once more.
Sighing, I make a note to myself that if I do get some more Bio-Energy tonight, the first thing I need to do is get in a Spawning Pool and some Zerglings. Fast as they are, I'm pretty sure a Zergling could shred a Creeper before it could even think to explode. Until I get some defenses though, I decide to wait inside the Hatchery, keeping an eye on the developing Evolution Chamber.
Time passes, and with only a minute left to go until the Evolution Chamber is finished, I step back outside with my Drone and watch, counting down the seconds. As soon as it hits zero, the Zerg Coccoon splatters open as the Evolution Chamber rips it open, expanding to a size far larger than the cocoon was. It's not as large as the Hatchery, but it's plenty big enough for the smaller cocoon it was in. Seeing it with my own eyes, I thought for a moment that I'd get splattered by amniotic fluid and bits of cocoon, but the bits of it seemed to evaporate into the air.
All in all, the Evolution chamber isn't exactly what I expected. Certainly I expected something like this, but I didn't expect for it to look so… gross. The Evolution Chamber, for lack of a better term, looks like a multicolored turd, with a large armored growth growing out of the middle like a large conning tower, with black tubers and growths growing out of the top in the center. The middle growth juts out from rest of the building like a tall wedge. At the front of the wedge is an opening, which I assume is the entrance, and from that opening and all along the edges of the wedge are pipe like tendrils that lead directly into the Creep. They form a ramp of sorts up into the entrance.
Despite its appearance, I can't help but feel a certain warmth towards the Evo Chamber. I'd wonder at it, but I just chalk it up to being the Overmind. It certainly helps that, like the Hatchery, and the other Zerg, it's sending me a steady outflow of love, of which if more and more Zerg keep adding to, I could seriously get addicted. Unfortunately, it seems to be sinking on itself in disappointment as I examine its appearance. I realize with a start that this mental connection means all my Zerg can hear my thoughts. I spare a thought towards being offended at a lack of privacy, only to find I don't mind all that much. More importantly, I quickly send the Evolution Chamber bursts of love and assure it that even with its appearance, I'll still love it as much as any other Zerg. I idly wonder in the back of my mind if I'm not taking to this Overmind thing a little too well, but I push it to the back of my mind to think about later.
Having assured the Evolution Chamber, and making a note to be more careful about my thoughts of my Zerg in the future, I make my way towards the new building. The first thing that hits me is the smell, or lack thereof. I hadn't really thought about it, but the Zerg don't really have a scent to me. Sparing a though on that, I shrug and decide to just count my blessings and be glad the Zerg don't smell bad, like I'd been mentally prepping myself to brace for.
Walking up the tendrils and into the entrance, I followed a tunnel like hallway similar to the shorter ones in the hatchery. It only goes on for about two meters before it opens up into a room similar to the Hatchery, but smaller. There's a pool in the floor of this room too, but unlike the Hatchery, every instinct in me is telling me not to touch whatever's in it. Curious about this, I pluck a hair from my head and drop it in the pool. The hair promptly disappears as if the pool were quick contact acid. I'm now extremely glad I have those instincts for dealing with Zerg.
There are two doorways to the left and right of the pool. Stepping around the pool to the one on the left, I look inside. The room is like a long rounded hall filled with egg sacs, with tendrils stringing them up to the ceiling, floor, and walls that glow slightly from within. I'm not sure what to make of it.
Turning back, I walk around the pool and look into the other room. This one is a bit unsettling. What looks like a giant lumpy deformed brain is sitting in the middle of the room, with grayish tendrils draped all over the room and connecting to the brain thing. Like the eggs, the tendrils seem to glow, though thanks to the green glow from the pool in the central room, I can't tell what color these are glowing at all.
Shaking my head, I look from one room to the other, and then check the command list for the Evolution Chamber. Other than the three standard upgrades for the armor, melee, and ranged weapons for the ground based units of the Swarm, there's nothing. No commands that could help me discern what any of this is or how to use it to upgrade the Swarm. Worse still, all my instincts are telling me to simply not touch anything in here, or I might screw something up. Frowning in annoyance and frustration, I turn back and step outside of the Evolution Chamber.
Disappointed, I step back outside and sigh. It'd be just my luck that the only one capable of using an Evolution Chamber to evolve the swarm would be a Cerebrate. Actually now that I think about it, that sounds highly likely. Looks like I'll have to wait a while before I can evolve the Zerg it seems.
Turning my mind to other matters, I figure I should find something to do for the rest of the day. With not enough Bio Energy left to do much else, I'm basically stuck waiting till midnight to see if I get some more Bio Energy. Until then, I need to find something constructive to do. I'm not used to having so much time on my hands. I'm usually pretty good at keeping busy back on Earth, whether it be reading, writing, catching up on Facebook, watching movies or playing computer games, I can't really stand doing nothing. Boredom is an enemy for those who can't fill their time with things to do, and unfortunately I have very little I can spend time doing right now.
Looking up, I decided to have a go at having the Overlord scout around and see if anything is nearby. Giving the order, my Overlord starts trundling along to the edge of the clearing. I can't help but balk at its speed. I know Marine's in power armor can outrun the things, but this is ridiculous! I could probably keep up with a light jog! A speed upgrade for Overlords is definitely in order once I can upgrade a Hatchery to a Lair.
That idea being a bust, I spend some time playing fetch with the Drone with a large stick. That was fun for a while. I ended up playing with the Drone till late afternoon, and tried my hand at making fire with two sticks. I know enough to know I need two sticks from the same branch. I used my sharp rock to shave the bark off the stick I'm holding and split the other stick in half and put the bark shavings at the end. Holding the stick firmly, I rubbed it back and forth firm and fast inside the groove of the split stick. I got a little smoke, but I couldn't get the thing to catch.
With sunset on the horizon, I went back inside the Hatchery and laid down for the night. All through the day, my Overlord made ever larger circles around the clearing to see if there's anything interesting. Other than a few cave openings spotted and a particularly large chasm in the ground a ways away to the west, the only thing around to see really are trees, trees, and more trees. Laying down in my 'bed', my Drone settled next to me and curled up slightly, pressing its slight weight against me. I gave it a hug then after a while of laying awake, I finally fell asleep.
-END CHAPTER-
Overmind Matthew
PSI Energy – 50/50
Status – Normal
Abilities
- Spawn Hatchery – 50psi – 12 hour build
- Regeneration – Passive – Heals anything not instantly fatal; time needed depends on extent of injury
- Anaerobic – Passive – No longer requires breathable atmosphere to survive
- Temperature Resistance – Passive – Currently able to survive temperatures between -450 and 118 F
- PSI Regeneration – Passive – Regenerate energy at .5 points per second.
Zerg Swarm
Bio-Energy – 35
Support – 1/16
Entities
1x Hatchery
1x Evolution Chamber
1x Overlord
1x Drone
AN – The Zerg do actually have a smell, but the Overmind can't smell them because he's still human for all in intents and purposes. The most a Zerg would ever smell to a human would be musty, like dust in an attic. That because just like bugs, humans don't have the capacity to translate bug/Zerg pheromones into something their brain can understand, so to a human, Zerg, as well as bugs, just don't smell.