Part I: The Conquest of Nature

The walls, floor and ceiling were made of biomass; damp, living and healthy. The rounded, smooth architecture liked to shift and stretch itself in certain areas. Given this, it maintained its shape with diligence.

She walked on this living floor on two feet. All of her breathing, vocal and eating orifices were concentrated to an extended section atop her body, as were her sensory organs. She was humanoid with a pair of arms and opposable thumbs. Both her eyes oriented forward, with emphasis on depth perception, but they were a glowing blue, with oval-shaped pupils. She stopped in front of a door. It would not yet open.

"Your public awaits you, little one." The voice was smoothly accented, and carried a hint of sarcasm. She turned, it came from a somewhat more humanoid man leaning against the wall. He was a Terran, with features of infestation mostly concentrated on his left arm, and a glowing aura that concealed his eyes and the damaged parts of his face.

"Mom holds a summit every two hundred days." She replied, turning to look forward again. "All of the senior Broodmothers are in the main hall."

"And why do you think Zagara wants you in there?"

"I was summoned, Alexei."

"Yes, but why?"

"Why do I think?"

"Yes." Alexei had a small, amused smile.

She took a breath, now looking downward and letting her composure slip. "Probably... to test me. Mom likes to do that."

He itched his neck with his infested arm. "You could always try to kill her if it gets too much. We Zerg are big on natural selection."

She laughed briefly at this, now smiling and looking his way again. "That's what I like about you, Alexei. Always thinking." She stopped herself, looking ahead again, sobered. "But... I like it when I pass her tests. I like it when mom is satisfied, and tells me what a good girl I am."

"Mm," he took his claws off his neck, finished itching it. "I suppose you're a bit young for matricide, even by Zerg standards."

"She's fair to me... Tough, but fair. I..." She shook her head." I don't know what part of me it's coming from, but I don't want to fight her like I want to fight other things. I'd fight other Broodmothers like her, have fought them. But not her. To me she's my mother, and I'll only ever have one."

"It's definitely a Terran trait," he said. "They're big on family ties, and you've got quite a bit of Terran in you."

"Terran..." She looked at her own hand, with five clawed fingers including an opposable thumb. "Did my mother use Terran essence, knowing it to be inferior to the alternatives? Is it some kind of test in itself?"

"Maybe." Alexei shrugged. "It's been awhile since I've seen young people trying to work through their issues. Yet another Terran trait for certain."

"I saw Abathur the other day. He analyzed me ruthlessly, as he does everything. Used the phrase: 'Engineered obsolescence' to describe me."

"That thing is a glorified research computer. You shouldn't take him too seriously."

She looked at him, making eye contact with the glowing aura concealing his eyes. "Why are you being so supportive, Alexei? Is there something you want from me?" She was frowning.

He didn't shift, or change his facial direction. "No."

"Then what's your angle here? Are you trying to read me?"

He stood straight from leaning on the wall. "Saraslha, not every interaction is about dominance."

"What are you babbling about?" She was still turned to face him, a hand passive-mindedly set on her hip.

He walked the opposite direction from the door, waving her off without looking back. "Your public awaits you, little one."

"Hmph," she turned back to the door. It opened promptly, revealing a giant head with a round mouth and no eyes to speak of. It extended out from the wall on its flexible neck and swallowed her whole.

She was not alarmed in the slightest by this as the giant worm's esophagus moved her at an extremely fast speed through its length. The material all around her contracted behind her trajectory and loosened ahead of it, propelling her ahead. It was warm and lubricated, and did not hurt.

Another large worm head was hanging from the ceiling of a massive hall, above a platform in the center. It regurgitated Saraslha onto the platform, and she landed on her feet. There was an overhead, but otherwise the open skies of the planet Char were visible above in the open-aired hall.

A being was on the platform with Saraslha. It stood on a formation of pointed feet in a spider-like arrangement, with a centaur-esque upper body that had a pair of arms, and a head whose large cranium was shaped in an imposing diadem of horns and carapace. Its name was Zagara, and she spoke telepathically: "Senior Queens of the Swarm: I present to you my creation. My daughter, Saraslha."

Sarashla turned, and saw the assembly hall packed with similar-looking beings. She heard their psionic voices. Voices that expressed surprise, curiosity. Some broadcast confusion.

Zagara continued: "As of this day, Saraslha will be as one of you: A queen of the Swarm, and a contender for Overqueen. She will compete with all of you as you compete with one another."

One of the Swarm Queens' voice spoke up above the others: "Will the Overqueen show favoritism to this one? Does she consider it her heir?"

"I do not have an heir." Zagara said. "My successor will earn that privilege, by proving what they're capable of."

"And yet you are promoting this one, this... weakling." Saraslha twitched when she heard this.

"I owe no explanations." Zagara said. "It is my will. And mine is the will of the Swarm. Saraslha will contend for my leadership alongside the rest of you. This is not a ratification, it is a declaration."

The psionic voices of the other Swarm Queens quieted; backed down. They did not dare challenge Zagara.

This was it, Saraslha thought. Her mother was putting her through another test. Indeed, it was the start of her greatest test yet. She turned back and looked up at her mother's head; her eyes. She knew how to speak with or without her mouth, and decided to observe the trend of the moment. "What is it you would have me do, mother?"

Zagara looked down at her. "In the coming days, you will be sent to the distant planet of Sephulli. You will tame the renegade Zerg there, who will become the foundation of your Brood. This is your coming of age, Saraslha." She now looked over past Saraslha, at the gathered Swarm Queens. "She will be one of us only after she passes this ordeal; proves her ability; her capacity to survive and thrive in a hostile environment. This should be satisfactory to all."

When her answer was compliant silence, she continued: "The fifth Summit of Char is now concluded. You will all return to your Hive Clusters."

Flying overhead were massive organisms that choked out the black and red skies. Each extended down a Nydus Worm, identical to the one which transported Saraslha to the hall, each of which picked up one of the beings in attendance. They did not slow in their overhead pass as three or four were picked up at a time.

Zagara faced down at Saraslha once more. "Come, daughter. There is much to discuss."

They walked together along the narrow bridge from the platform, through a beak-like biological door, and into a corridor. "So..." Saraslha trailed as they walked together alone. She on two feet, Zagara on a formation of them. She suddenly had a huge smile. "I get to go to a new planet?"

"Indeed you do."

"I'm not terribly great at controlling Zerg. Once I get past twenty at a time, it gets hard."

"The Char Broodmothers you've had war games with say you're a clever tactician. That your brain is too large for your own good. You turn down their demands to settle the match with a duel, and force them into submission with minions."

"Yeah, a clever tactician. With my grand army of twenty or so combat Zerg." She said this sarcastically.

"Everybody has a limit, Saraslha. Create Overlords to facilitate your psionic control, and your capacity will multiply-"

She abruptly walked in front of her mother, stopping them both. "You threw me in front of a huge crowd today, without any warning. And that crowd was every senior Swarm Queen from outside Char."

"What of it?"

She inhaled in annoyance, clenching her teeth. "What- What was your intention? What were you planning to happen?"

Zagara was calm as ever, patiently accepting their stop. "You are my child, Saraslha. And in my prodding and stirring you, I hope that something becomes of you. Perhaps you'll even lead the Swarm one day; I would consider that a success."

She calmed at this explanation, exhaling. "That's... really what you want for me, is it?"

"What I want is of little consequence." She walked ahead, placing a hand on Saraslha's back to bring her along. "You will become what you will become. And whether it works or not, I look forward to seeing the outcome."

Saraslha smiled lightly at this, a smile not visible to her mother behind her. She took it as meaning she should live her life as she saw fit, and not worry so much about what her mother expected.

Zagara was the next to speak, after they turned at an intersection in the corridors. "The renegade Zerg on Sephulli were found by a survey party from the Terran Dominion. Their leaders spoke to me about it, asking if I had a claim on the world. I was truthful, and disavowed knowledge of the Zerg there, informing them as much that they had to be leaderless renegades."

"The Terran Dominion..." The name of a human-centered interstellar empire which bordered Zerg space, and with whom they had a non-aggression agreement. "The Broodmothers on Char- the ones I know. If I make one upset with me, she will call me Terran. They view it as an insult."

"You were born a Zerg, daughter. But much of you was created using Terran essence."

"Why?" She asked forcefully, looking upward, and not looking back at her mother. "Why... don't we destroy them? The Terrans. We are stronger than them, are we not?"

"What would we gain from a war with the Dominion?"

"Resources, essence, territory- the spoils of war."

Zagara's eyes became broad, joyous. "You... lack vision, child." There was joy in her voice as she lightheartedly brought her hook-claw hand over her shoulder, shaking it a bit as they walked. "Vision is something you must learn, if you are to ever lead the Swarm."

Saraslha brushed it off as she turned around to face her, walking backwards. "Pray tell, mother. What do you see that I don't?"

"Blindly making war to everything different; killing, absorbing, assimilating. This universe of certainty and narrow-minded ambition. Such was the way of Amon, and of Amon's puppet ruler, the Overmind."

"Alexei told me all about Amon. He used to be our God."

"But no longer. My predecessor, the Queen of Blades, ascended to godhood and cast Amon down. We now follow the destiny she has set for us. She is our God now."

They emerged to a broad terrace-like area. The top of the railing wall was lined with teeth, and it overlooked the sheer cliffs, bodies of magma and black stone which defined Char's landscape from the vantage point of the mesa atop which the mammoth structure was formed. They oversaw this view, next to one another.

"And what does She have to say about our need to evolve; our need to fight and grow?"

"Simply destroying your opposition is not enough. If you cannot take what made them strong; appropriate their value, and use it for your own benefit, then there was no purpose in fighting them. It would be a waste of energy."

"Survival is a purpose," she argued. "And you have to kill to survive."

"You also need to grow to survive. And growth; true growth, is never natural and never comfortable. And it is not meant to be such; it is meant to challenge our comforts and challenge our nature."

"So you think making peace with another race is a bold new idea; a necessary violation of the Swarm's comfort zone which we must overcome."

"Precisely."

"That's stupid. Let us at least rule them, and ensure they're of no threat. Then we can see about stealing their strength."

The Overqueen slowly shook her head at this. "One of the Terrans' strengths, daughter, is the capacity and willingness to form cordial relationships with other races. The Dominion is allied with the Daelaam Protoss. If we invade them, these Protoss will come to their aid. It is risky, and foolish to war with two enemies at once."

Saraslha sighed in concession to this point. "You... were there, weren't you? Alexei told me the story."

"That one enjoys telling you stories, does he?

She grinned at this, getting into the zone. "He told it like this: The End War, in which everything was laid on the line. I killed Narud -the bastard-, and then saw the forces of Terran, Zerg and Protoss come together, and give that son of a bitch Amon his comeuppance."

"That... definitely sounds like Stukov."

"You fought in that battle, didn't you, mother?" Her look was beaming gently up to Zagara's eyes. They were admiring toward her. "You were one of those Heroes, who helped save all life, including the Zerg."

"We... fought beside the Queen of Blades against Amon. The Terrans did the same as us. And the Protoss did the same as us. We all had something in common that day."

"And that's why you don't want to fight them again." This was it, she thought. She would nail down why her mother was so disinclined toward invading the Terrans. And also, perhaps why she was created with similarities to them.

She set her hook claw hands on the railing. "Tell me, Saraslha. What is it that makes the Zerg strong?"

"Efficiency. All reproductive duties are delegated to specialized organisms. These specialized organisms are also able to ingest elements from the planet itself into vast amounts of energy and convertible substance. We reproduce quickly, and replace our losses quickly. Our fighting breeds are equally specialized and efficient, as are our thinking minds."

"What I was getting to..." She mused. "Some of our greatest strains were borne of accidental mutation made by Zerg in a no-survival situation, that they might survive. Life is capable of incredible feats when the alternatives are taken away."

"What does this have to do with the Terrans?"

"The Terrans, I've learned, are as a race like a single Zerg in a no-survival situation. They are not as powerful as we Zerg, nor wise as the Protoss. This has led them to develop unique mutations."

"The humans are builders and tool makers, mother. Reliant on their technology. How would they mutate like we do?"

"Every member of their species is in possession of a higher-functioning brain. Our kind would regard this as a wasteful expenditure of energy; surely it is only a race's leaders and planners who would require such disproportionately large brain mass. Giving it to their lower-level beings would only sow disorder and make unification difficult."

"It's probably the only part of my Terran essence I find useful. That, and my thumbs."

"Every Terran individual is an independent cell, and every one of these cells has a chance of developing new traits. This, for them is done in the realm of knowledge and technology."

"I'm sure a handful of the Humans are exceptional." Saraslha said begrudgingly. "Like Stukov, or the one who became the Queen of Blades. But their potential came out only after they became Zerg. And it doesn't give the original form any kind of power which we lack."

Zagara turned away from the view of the landscape, peering down at Saraslha. "You must study history, daughter. The Terrans have come up with countless ingenious solutions to their trials which Zerg minds would never have considered. They have created weapons which gave the entire Swarm pause, and threw our Leader and her lieutenant minds into panic before a countermeasure was found." She looked ahead again. "This clever mind, and need to overcome internal limitations are traits I deliberately gave to you. I am curious whether they will come to light during your mission on Sephulli.

"Yes..." She had to think about that. Her latest trial. The approval she'd get from her mother if she succeeded. "I won't be seeing you for a while."

"It is a distant planet, out of range of my psionic connection. You will not hear from me until your return."

"What are the details?"

"You will go with a single transport, as well as a small escort. What a Dominion scouting party would view as a Zerg scouting party. Kill or take control of all renegade broods. Once you have conquered the planet, you will use its resources to cultivate a Leviathan. Decompose any broods you cannot bring with you, and return to Char triumphant."

Saraslha processed this, nodding. "Why shouldn't I leave broods behind, to occupy the planet?"

"The Dominion desires the planet, and they found it first. I offered to clean up the renegade broods as a sign of good faith. It is easier for us than for them."

"So we're letting the Terrans have the planet." She gripped her hand around one of the teeth of the railing, extremely hard. "Isn't that just sweet." her voice was angry and spiteful. The tooth cracked internally from the force of her grip.

"They view us as accountable for all Zerg- even leaderless renegade Zerg."

"We're not. If we clean up the mess then we should get the planet."

"We will be showing them something it is important they be shown: That we are permeable to reason. That we can negotiate, and have a mutually beneficial relationship. An interspecies symbiosis."

"And what do we gain from this 'symbiosis?'"

"I would think- hope, perhaps, that it gives our future Overqueen valuable experience, as well as her first flagship, when she uses the planet's resources to create a Leviathan."

"Hmph," she nodded upward, at the view of Char's landscape. "I think it's giving 'our future Overqueen' a grudge against the Terrans."

Zagara's psionic voice could be heard laughing at this. "I could not ask for a more amusing child. I want you to rule the Zerg one day, Saraslha. This means I want you to earn it."

"...I'll do it." She calmed. "I'll do as you will. And I'll return to Char with a Leviathan. I won't leave any Zerg alive on Sephulli."

"I am pleased to hear this."

She took a deep breath, steeling herself. "Before I leave, there's... something I'd like to ask you."

"Yes..? What is it?"

Saraslha had a hand gripping the elbow of her other arm, she was staring downward, away. "It's... kind of emotional. You might dismiss it as a quirk, from the Terran essence used to make me."

"I will take it seriously, daughter. Ask your question."

"Am I... just an experiment to you? Something you're just trying out, because you think it might be interesting?"

"Saraslha, I will concede that I deliberately created you to be different from me. I do not experience emotions in the same manner as you."

Saraslha hugged her. Her head only went up to Zagara's chest, and she buried it into the hard carapace armoring it. "I need to know, mother. Do you... care about me?"

Zagara was still and speechless for a long moment. Watching the smaller being embrace her body. "Why is it... you need to know this."

"Because I care about you, mother. And it's like that thing you described with the Terran Dominion; a symbiosis. I need to know if you feel the same way."

"Daughter, I..." She rested her claw hook hands on her shoulders. "I cannot reciprocate the emotions you express toward me now. We are too different. I could pretend to... I would like to pretend to, and free you from this distraction. But it would be a lie."

"I... I see." Saraslha was talking psionically as well now. She let go of Zagara, and stood there, tightening her features and sucking her gut. "I'll get through it, don't you worry about me." She donned a fake smile. "This has been a nice conversation, mother. I'm going to depart for Sephulli tonight."

"You will succeed in your trial, Saraslha. And return home stronger, and wiser."

"Yeah..." As she turned and walked away, she only managed an absent backward hand wave to her mother.

Saraslha exited the broad terrace into another corridor. It was deserted. She walked faster, trying to contain herself as she got further away from what happened. Tried to run away from it.

I'm stronger than this, she told herself. I have to overcome this. I'll overcome anything. I am Zerg. I will adapt, so that nothing can hurt me.

Her brisk walk began to slow. It slowed until it became a shuffle. The desire to be indifferent toward her mother; the resolve to be such, it all melted away with the presence... of her other self. That other part of herself. "I... can't." She said with her human-like vocal cords. She rested her forehead against the biological wall near her, digging her claws into its soft mass. "Why can't I..?" There were breaks in her voice.

Zagara had watched her leave, processing her daughter's behavior. "Perhaps... it will be a part she outgrows."

"You are one cold mother, Zagara." The voice was detached and calm.

She turned, and saw Alexei Stukov, revealing himself slightly from around the bend. He was leaning back against the inner wall, only partially concealed. "I have a task for you, Stukov."

"Oh..?" he cocked an ear, not moving from his spot.

"If I give it to you, are you actually going to do it?"

He chuckled. "It depends. If it isn't a challenge, I'm going to look for a challenge instead."

Stukov was the only part of the Swarm that displayed any insubordination toward the Overqueen and got away with it. He was a being of immense power, and the Zerg were responsive to power. Though it annoyed her, Zagara put up with it, thinking of him as an asset on a loose leash, rather than a defective chess piece. "I want you to follow Saraslha to Sephulli. Watch over her without revealing yourself, and intervene if her life is in danger."

He smiled at this, on only one side of his mouth and still not moving from his spot. "If she fails, she fails. Why do you want to contaminate your experiment with intervention?"

"If you will not do it, then I will find someone else."

"I'll do it. I'll have to bring my army though."

"You should not bring your soldiers. It would be too conspicuous. Saraslha will notice your presence."

He laughed briefly as he came out of his spot to face Zagara directly. "Do you want the little one's safety insured or not?"

"...I do."

"Then it's settled." He walked past Zagara. "I'll set off tonight, a few hours after the little one. And I'm taking my army."

Zagara's psionic voice could be heard groaning in concession. "Do what you must."

"I suppose you're coming with me on the trip, aren't you, Mister Hydralisk?"

The Hydralisk moved across land on a long, snake-like main body. It rose straight in its front half, with a pair of hook claw arms and a gaunt, ornate head section. It had followed Saraslha to the staging area on a lower section of the plateau.

The creature's brain was tiny, and designed to be receptive to psionic commands from a strict selection of other organisms. She had no trouble taking control of it.

"Well, Mister Hydralisk, ya joined me at the boring part." She was talking to the biological killing machine as though it understood language. "I'm waiting for an Overlord to fly by, so as I can take it. It's who'll ship us to Sephulli." She continued talking to herself. "Mom said a light escort, so a handful of Mutalisks wouldn't go amiss."

There was a sizable Zerg structure nearby. She and the hydralisk stood on the creep it maintained over the top surface of the ground. An egg lay next to the structure, among a pool of slithering larvae. It immediately hatched, exploding to free a pair of fully grown, but small creatures; twins. They scampered off on four legs. She sent a mental signal to them, and they stopped, turned, and came over to her.

"You two came out the same egg, and about half a second ago." They stopped next to her, awaiting the next command from their controller. "That makes you newborn twins. I guess... every Zergling has a twin, doesn't it?"

The two zerglings were indifferent. They idled next to her, barely up to her waist in height. One looked off and sniffed the air.

"And I guess that Hatchery is technically your mother." She was looking at the structure where the larvae and egg were pooled. "Ah!' She stopped herself. "Why am I talking to you idiots?" She was looking at the Zerglings now. "You'd probably rather be clawing the shit out of something right now."

A noise was made off to the side. She turned to it. "Nobody asked for your opinion, Mister Hydralisk," she snapped. The Hydralisk met her eyes, but then looked off, oblivious to her talking.

Saraslha picked up a bag from the ground. It was fashioned from the stomach of a large creature, and carried a selection of tools and personal effects which she collected, mostly from the ruins of a massive Terran fortress elsewhere on Char, abandoned years ago. Natural curiosity was a trait facilitated by her expansive brain mass, and one of these curiosities was human science and technology.

The remains of a great number of Terran bases and ships could be found on Char; the aftermath of many invasions and battles. She enjoyed searching these sites for interesting tools, weapons, and knowlege. Most valuable to her was a Command Center, or crashed Battlecruiser with an intact database.

"Gotcha!" She spotted an overlord flying overhead, and locked onto it mentally. Like the Hydralisk and Zerglings, it was a part of Zagara's brood, and she allowed her to take control of them.

Once contacted the first time, it became easier to draw the large flying creature to her, to direct it. "Come on down here, you big bastard."

The Overlord had no wings to speak of. Underneath its broad, stocky body hung an array of long, thin appendages.

It hovered right over Saraslha, and she ordered it to load them. She, the hydralisk, and the two zerglings were picked up by its appendages, and in simple curling motions, they were stuffed into a mouth-like opening.

Inside the Overlord, the sac in which they were deposited was broad and spacious, designed for transport volume. The sac was connected to the creature's lungs, which refreshed the air inside continually and kept it breathable.

Saraslha sat down on crossed legs. The hydralisk and zerglings settled themselves as well, having an instinctive understanding that they were being transported. She waxed her connection to the Overlord's mind. Once her link was strong enough, she could see through its eyes and sense all it could sense for herself. It was in motion, flying a broad circle around the Primary Hive Cluster. The mammoth structure was surrounded by giant tusks which came out of the ground and spired over the main biomass of the colossal Hive. She spotted, through the overlord's eyes, the terrace area on an upper level, where her recent conversation with Zagara took place. She was no longer there.

Saraslha took a breath, and directed the Overlord away from the main Hive Cluster. She saw a flock of Mutalisks, and steered toward them. The flying Mutalisks were faster than the overlord, but she was able to cut them off. Once she was close enough, she sent a psionic signal to all of them at once. It was even easier with an Overlord in her web of connections, whose brain was designed to optimize one's control over other Zerg broods. The Mutalisks altered their flight path and took formation around the Overlord transporting her.

With this single transport and light escort, she steered toward the stars, upward. Zerg were resilient, flexible, and recovered injuries quickly. They withstood the upper atmosphere of the planet. Mutalisks did not need their wings to fly, only to maneuver, add to their speed and remain airborne in high gravity. It was not long before they were in orbit, moving through the vacuum of space as they rose in their orbit over Char. They increased their speed and were propelled away from the planet by the centrifugal force of their fast orbit.

The Overlord could survive in a vacuum, and provide life support to its occupants for up to 40 hours. The Mutalisks were also able to store what they needed from air, and go long periods without breathing.

At first, it was as if there were no gravity inside the Overlord's sac, but as their orbit increased in speed and they moved away from the planet, she was pressed into the ceiling as a form of reverse gravity.

They broke free of Char's gravity without incident. Once this was done, Saraslha had the Overlord generate a small tunnel into warp space. The Mutalisks were not capable of the same, and had to share the Overlord's warp tunnel.

The precise location of star systems were stored as pure data, in the simple-functioning brains of Zerg capable of warp travel. Saraslha needed only access her Overlord's data files via their mental connection, and browse for the star system containing the planet Sephulli. Once she found it, and set it as their destination, the Overlord and Mutalisks entered the warp tunnel.

"I'll do as you will, mother." Saraslha said to herself as she entered warp space. Faster than light, they were propelled toward the Sephulli System.

"Yours… is the will of the Swarm."