http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/12354135/

Heh. Forgot the link to the last episode.

My bad.

"We have finally been able to gain a decent stronghold in the area. Now, we can begin to destroy these creatures on the ground, securing the soil for future generations of Protoss warriors!"

>>12434825
>Big floating cellphone

A cell phone would be able to send. Currently, the circuitry indicates that we may not even be capable of that. Upon closer inspection, we find that we can hear...resonances...from the other dormant fleshlings on the ship. If this holds true for all of them...

We reach out to the crews of the ships over Char. We hear resonances. We reach out to the surviving fleshlings on Xenta. Resonance.

If we can figure out what woke this fleshling, we may be able to awaken the others. We had less than a hundred left at last count, and probably less now, but it would be a start!

Wow... We really screwed the universe up if the Protoss are united enough to fight the Zerg off of Auir after killing the Overmind. They had to abandon it in canon.

>>12434901
(To be fair, Mengsk isn't better off. XD )

>>12434871
(The already abandoned it. They're coming back.)

>>12434880
We cast about our own mind, as well as the fleshling's.

As far as we can tell, it "woke up" when it heard the voice. It's almost as if it were subconsciously aware of our need for a voice...any voice...to stabilize us.

>>12434901
... Really? What the hell happened the past 15 threads? How could we have not gained any advantage at all and only boned the Zerg even more?!?!

>>12434935
Hoo-boy. We've had some zingers. Prematurely putting the Confederacy on alert, removing the Sons of Korhol's destabilizing influence from the Terrans, inadvertently convincing the Protoss in charge of their Warp network that the Battle of Aiur was lost, causing every able-bodied Protoss to be instantly recalled out to regroup...

And now, the Overmind is dead.

>>12434935

Well... the whole thing about messing with Mengsk's plan to overthrow the Dominion really screwed up this timeline's events in comparison to the canon. The Dominion was supposed to have lost one of their strongest planets to the Zerg, and there was probably a TON of Terran infighting once Mengsk set his hostile takeover into motion. This resulted in preventing KINGSTOOOOOOOOON's death via nuclear bombardment and/or zergy claws.

Also, Daggoth was killed prior to the invasion of Aiur by the Dark Templar. That's one thing that might've just been alternate timeline hijinks writing and not any real fault of our own (to my knowledge). In the canon timeline, Daggoth survived well into the Brood War.

>>12434948
Its voice is...unrefined. Its words come out slurred and guttural.

The other two fleshlings aboard the ship remain dormant.

Maybe it wasn't the voice?

>>12434975
>>12434983
... I have no words for how boned you all are. Unless the Protoss and Terrans go to war or the UED fleet is actually a threat on its own now, there's no way I can see you guys recovering to Brood War level and winning. Since you guys messed with Mengsk, does that mean Kerrigan isn't zergified and is off in the the universe with Raynor?

>>12434983
He WAS tearing Aiur's defenses a new asshole when he was supposed to be hassling Tassadar on Tarsonis.

And of course, Zerg on Aiur was audacious enough to bring the Dark Templar back when they were supposed to be stalking Zasz back to Char...

What about our Cerebrates that we launched in escape pods before the end? We need to reach out and restore contact.

>>12435023
We infested Raynor and Kerrigan. If Raynor hadn't died when the Disruptor hit, they could be Zergsexing.

>>12435036
Restore contact HOW?

We can't even wake up another fleshling, yet.

>>12435038
Wow... So unless the UED are strong enough to topple the Confederacy, or Cerebrate Anon decides infighting eventually occurs and someone new takes the place that Mengsk/Raynor would of, it looks like this Kingston fellow of yours is pretty untouchable. Just from the fact that in the time it'll take you to rebuild your brood, who knows how much more the Confederacy will build up and find new and interesting ways to kill zerg.

>>12435069
Might be.

Of course, the Confederacy doesn't know where any Zerg are at all, right now.

>>12435075
>Maybe we've been charging into things face-first, and that's why we keep getting our eyes gouged out

You...may be onto something. :D

>>12435023

Pfft. Such a defeatist attitude!

Think of it as this way: Cerebrate Anon could've just given us a carbon copy of the Starcraft storyline but with anon driving the main story for the Zerg, or just presented it with minor modifications (or even worse, a complete roflstomp of non-zerg forces).

Instead, we are given a storyline with its ups and downs. Some other quests that follow other certain shows'/games' storylines have had some points where the main Player-character force has taken losses, or even made things worse for their faction in the long run. Right now, we're in a very bad way.

But we now have a golden opportunity to re-invent the Zerg! We must EVOLVE! EVOLVE!! EEEEVOOOOOOLLLLVE!

>>12435069
Keep in mind that the UED in the canon storyline underestimated the sector, and sent a small fleet with older technology (so it could be compatible with the sector/blizzard didn't want to introduce too many new units for the terrans). It's true that the UED did amass a big fleet during Broodwars, but it was mostly confederate remnants.
Now, seeing 2 united strong powers, the Terran Confederacy and the Protoss, on the sector, I would expect the UED to send a big fleet with their newest technology to pacify the sector.
So yeah, we're doomed... Can we surrender and restart the campaign?.

Now seriously, considering that father did consider us, along Kerrigan, a success (even after our failures) we should scan our memories to see if there was a hidden message from father in case of his demise.

>>12435113
Very true. Without the other Cerebrates to bitch at us or the Overmind ready to slap us down, we can make even more radical changes. Less Zerg and more Bydo.

>>12435157
He did tell us to ally up with Kerrigan, didn't he? He said together we would succeed or something along those lines just before his death? That was in his last message to us when he told us we had failed him in saving him. Mayhaps we should listen to daddy's last wishes.

>>12435107
There are no recording devices. We improvise by dragging the dormant fleshlings to the comm panel. Nothing happens as the Protoss continue talking. This Fenix person appears to be commenting on what "worthy adversaries" we are.

We press one of the fleshlings' ears to the speaker. Nothing.

We fiddle with this resonance. It's like the wind blowing over the lip of a bottle in a garbage heap. We can tell the bottle is there, but the noise does not tell us where it is.

>>12435157
Oooo, ideas for the UED! I've been meaning to work on those. Thanks.

>Surrender and restart

Could do. Of course, if we restart, I'll have to change things up. Kingston Quest?

>>12435079
And we'd damn well better keep it that way.

Our next goal: create infiltrators, have them set the Confederacy and the Protoss against each other to buy us time to regroup.

Also, when we attempt to become the new Overmind, we do it smarter than the first: distributed network across the entire part of the swarm we control, instead of a giant stationary target. As the new Overmind, we would be a gestalt consciousness created by the minds of our Swarm, all members both individual and not individual at once.

Think like how the Geth work in ME (especially Legion), or Petey from Schlock Mercenary.

>>12435201
(You guys could always wait if you like. I'm willing to move things forward without you, as always...)

>>12435172

Time for SCIENCE!

Replay the part of the message about "Feneschal".

If that fails, just keep playing the message in the introductory post at various lengths until a response is elicited from the dormant fleshling.

>>12435170
Reach out to Kerrigan, to Raynor, to Mengsk, and to any other Terran or Protoss minds in the Swarm strong enough to have survived infestation intact. We're going to need them alive and with us if we want to rebuild.

(Also, on a meta level, we really don't want Kerrigan to backstab us like she did to the surviving cerebrates in canon.)

>>12435246
No idea on what it could be that's letting us get control though... Can we feel a resonance at locations where we had zerg forces in general or only at certain locations? If it's only certain locations, there must be some common denominator that's stronger here compared to elsewhere...

>>12435246

I think your nametag might've fallen off, Cerebrate Anon.

>>12435172
Shift our own consciousness into the background to some extent, allow more of the fleshling's mind to bleed back into the link. We then provide instructions that the body's own knowledge of how it works can act upon.

>>12435263
(Reminder: There's no way to replay the message. We have no recording devices. Or transmitting devices. We barely have lights and a comm channel that appears to be stuck on)

>>12435268
(Reminder: We only feel resonance in the fleshlings)

>>12435275
(Ah. Thanks. That's happened once or twice. No idea why)

With the fleshling we already have, we can see the surrounding fleshlings, so we should try to focus ourselves on one of them. The message probably did nothing by itself, and it was our need to know what was happening what made us control the fleshling (the message just being a coincidence).
If that doesn't work, well I would guess we need to spawn more overlords, since our control would be a maximum of 1 without them. So try to focus on a hive.

>>12435316
Hmmm... What's the difference between the fleshlings and the rest of the zerg then? IIRC, the fleshlings were born from humans? Was anything else done to them?

>>12435316

Maybe the protoss voice just served as an alarm clock for that one fleshling.

Using the fleshling we currently have, examine the one we dragged to the... uhh.. communificating device.

>>12435351
If they were born from humans, that implies their wetware has more processing power than most of the other critters in the swarm. In other words, they have something closer to minds of their own, especially now that the Overmind and its voice are gone.

>>12435351
They're half-human abominations that produce Creep on their own. Last time we were cut off from the Overmind, they were the only Zerg that didn't rampage. They just went dormant. It appears that this is true again.

>>12435361
It is dormant, seeming for all the world to be in a deep sleep...or perhaps the word is coma? We may have bruised its head against the console.


(So, if you guys give up on this, just tell me. I've got stuff in the pipe, but I thought I'd give you the chance to solve things on your own)

>>12435382
Then it's likely a total control problem, so we need more overlords.

Woo, starting over yet again.
Fuck giving up.
Like one anon said, ride this into hell.
Do the Protoss think they have won?
They don't have access to the warp network? Or do they?

>>12435399
No. To our knowledge, the Psi Emitters are all stored in secure locations on Xenta. Labbrate was very meticulous in that.

We try to focus our psionic energy based on visual confirmation by the waking fleshling. After a few seconds' effort, the slumbering fleshling twitches heavily, then goes limp again.

>>12435396
For the record, do we actually have a physical body? And if so, where is it?

I'm still going through the archives, so I apologize if this turns out to be a stupid question.

>>12435427
Son of a bitch, We need to jump start the bastards. Try it again.

>>12435439
Our physical form resides on our Primary Hive Cluster on the planet Xenta. Above it orbits the moon Besilus, where we were first made manifest by the Overmind.

(Yay! I love when new people join! Welcome! I promise there's less horrifying zerg rape after Episode 3!)

Since we failed so badly last time, why don't we opt for a change in plans?
Y'know, be more sociable
Ally with somebody
ANYBODY

>>12435427
Try to start up the brain of the fleshling. Allow it at least enough of a mind that it can supplement our psychic energy with its own. Then use the combined strength of both minds to reach out to the second fleshling. Lather, rinse, repeat until our consciousness is running on top of the minds of our fleshlings, with each of their mental voices adding to the psychic chorus that now forms our mind and soul.

>>12435427

Time for our most brilliant invention yet to shine yet again!

Psi-high-five the slumbering fleshling! Only not the reasonable high-five, but more like a high-five that overly enthusiastic friends/overly annoying strangers do too hard and it hurts your hand afterwards.

>>12435462
>I promise there's less horrifying zerg rape after Episode 3!

In retrospect, this is probably not the best way to welcome new people...

>>12435496
(...)

(...)

(...Damnit, I wanted this to be dramatic, but that's such an awesome idea...)

>>12435427
Try feeling a hive; if we can, focus on it and spawn a larva, then focus on the larva and morph it into an overlord. If we need to, release the fleshling from our control.

The Zerg halves of the fleshlings are ultimately derived from our own genetics, right?

If so, then we ARE them. Use our psychic abilities to search for anything that feels like a severed portion of our self, then connect to that.

>>12435498

It was a different time back then. A simpler time, when terrans were backwater pirates/colonists, and zerglings ran free and built sandcastles or did horribly unmentionable things to stray terrans.

>>12435498

Dickalings and cockalisks aren't very passing on the eyes for people to ally with.

I suggest when we can start to make new forms, make protoss and humanlike forms for diplomatic engagments.

>>12435496
You beautiful bastard, you have done it.

>>12435496

As the wise mentor Scruffy would say.

SECOND.

>>12435524
(*sigh* Yes. Yes he has)

We have a stroke of pure, unbridled genius, and lash out with a forceful psionic high-five at the sleeping fleshling. It leaps awake, thrashing wildly. It is feral for a split second, awash in adrenaline, but calms. As it does, we feel our consciousness slide overtop its mind.

And then there were two.

>>12435514

Well, I could phrase it differently if you want to use a more dramatic awakening.

Reach out to the fleshling with our psionic presence. Very much how the Overmind once reached out to Us, not so long ago, dredging our form from the dirt, and imbuing it with sentience. And purpose.

>>12435559
No reason to only grab one more, time to wake all the bitches up.

>>12435559

Excellent!

If we haven't already, assert control over the rudely-awakened fleshling. Try to see if we can more gently reach out with our mind and awaken the other fleshlings on board the carrier. But in a more dramatic fashion.

>>12435616
>>12435606
>>12435593
We replicate the waking process with the remaining fleshling, refining it. A few moments later, we have three healthy fleshlings, awake and alert. Unfortunately, they are awake and alert on a ship that is little more than a communications receiver, at the moment. We could attempt repairs...

>>12435616

Also, once we have control of the fleshlings on the carrier, try to see if we can reach out and feel any other fleshlings. Or perhaps even the handful of infested protoss that we might have had.

Maybe we could try to fiddle around a bit with the carrier to see if we can fashion it into some sorta psionic broadcasting device. Or at the very least, see if they can scrounge up some parts from the carrier that *might* have something to do with psi-amplification or transmission.

>>12435691
Set two fleshlings on that, use the third as our focus while we continue awakening any other fleshlings on the ship.

And for good measure, let's start waking up fleshlings elsewhere. Use our Psionic Brofist to get them going, then use them as transmitters to send our will into the other breeds that are no doubt rampaging everywhere.

Also, reestablish contact with Kerrigan post-haste.

>>12435691
Are there any more fleshlings on the ship?
Can we do some sort of 'focus our energy' and wake them up remotely?

>>12435719
>>12435744
>>12435755
There was only a 3-fleshling boarding party aboard. We set two of them to repairing the navigation systems as best we can. We wish Labbrate were here. What shall the third fleshling do?

We feel resonances outside, above Aiur, above Char, and nearby on Xenta. Focus our revival efforts on which location?

(Also, remember that you've got a "stuff already happening" card to play whenever you like. Until then, I assume it's groping around blindly)

>>12435847
My vote is for Xenta. Make sure that we are safe.

>>12435847

For the 3rd fleshling... have it listen in to the Protoss conversation, if it is still going on. We need to know if they've made any significant headway on ousting the Zerg from Aiur, and if they've made any plans on conquering Zergworld. At this point, any news is good news, since we've been in an Overmind-death-induced coma.

I'm for focusing our revival efforts on Xenta. We need to see if we can get our base of operations started up if at all possible. It might be the only major zerg stronghold that hasn't been ravaged yet.

>>12435847
Over Aiur. Those are probably the ones in the most immediate danger, now that the Protoss have reclaimed their homeworld.

Also, we need to confirm whether or not the Warp Network is down.

After we get them active, start activating the ones outside. Then we focus the fleshlings near us into a giant psychic antenna that we can use on the rest of our spawn above Char and on Xenta.

Alternatively, we try to send a chain of Psionic Brofists through all of our fleshlings, sort of like an interstellar psychic hivemind version of Domino Rally.

>>12435874
>>12435890
>>12435916
We turn our gaze to Xenta...which reminds us...

A thin film of flesh has grown over our Eye, long unused in the service of the Overmind, and its bleeds as its tears. The blood stings, but we See. We can look around us, at the spasmodic ridge-scratcher, at the confusedly-circling drones, and at the thrashing battle units. Overlords float across the sky, bumping into one another, falling to the ground, flying upside-down...It is chaos.

We reach out to the nearest fleshling, and we nudge it awake brusquely. It is inside one of our automated factories, still producing cloaking harnesses without supervision.

>>12435970
>its bleeds as its tears

Damnit, I don't care if it's Miller Time, that's unacceptable.

It bleeds as it tears. Shit.

>>12435970

Those crazy fleshlings.

Marvel briefly at its work ethic, as it continued to produce harnesses even without Cerebrate-induced compliance. Then have it very carefully search the factory for any spare, functioning psi-emitters.

>>12436013
We try to renew control of an overlord, but it merely flops onto the ground like a rag doll. We can't be sure if that's because we tried something, or if it just...did that.

We continue reviving fleshlings across Xenta. We now have perhaps 20, scattered around the planet.

>>12436017
(It wasn't working. It was just in the factory. The equipment kept working. Actually, we should probably shut it down if we're not going to work it. A jam could set production back by days)

>>12435970
FROM CHAOS, ORDER

WE SHALL EXTEND OUR MIND ACROSS ALL OUR WAYWARD BROTHERS AND SISTERS

WE SHALL COMBINE THE SONGS OF OUR MINDS INTO A MIGHTY CHORUS

WE SHALL BECOME THE SONG OF OUR PEOPLE

AND OUR PEOPLE SHALL BECOME ITS SINGERS

OUT OF MANY, ONE

>>12436048

>Shut down production

Make it so!

> Overlord failure

Curious. Perhaps our control over pure zerg units aren't quite so effective without the Overmind's reinforcing presence around?

Perhaps we should experiment a bit. Try to regain control of our ridge-scratcher.

>>12436060
MY FATHER IS DEAD

HE IS NO LONGER HERE

BUT ON MY CARAPACE

AND IN MY BROOD

HE LIVES ON

AS I EVOLVE A SWARM TO CONQUER THE HEAVENS

EVEN IF IT LEADS TO MY GRAVE

IF I STILL STAND THEN IT MEANS MY VICTORY

JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?

Send Lords to our brates

>>12436060

Speaking of which, I sure hope that we wrote down how to do that one Independent Cerebrate Evolution thing from waaaay back.

I think it might come in handy, soon.

>>12436057
As we set the fleshlings toward what Psi Emitters we know about, two things happen in rapid succession.

The first is planned. We begin awakening fleshlings above Char. It appears that the ships are unharmed, though one battlecruiser is under attack by a spore colony. We have it ascend out of range.

The second is astounding, and completely unplanned. The minds of hundreds of units across Xenta and Besilus flood into our consciousness suddenly. We take a moment to revel in the familiar psionic noise before we try to piece together what just happened.

After a few seconds, Labbrate and Accountantbrate's voices stream into our thoughts, exultant in their success at placing the Psi Emitters around our primary forces here, wired to activate at the command of Labbrate. Labbrate apologizes for taking a full 4 days, but reminds us that it had to grow a feeling tentacle and blindly discover the activation controls. It vows to be more on-the-ball in the future.

The Psi Emitters functioned for only a moment before shutting off, but they regained us control of almost the whole planet and moon!

>>12436166
(I believe we can safely say "Hope rides alone," right now)

Tell our brates to plan a "Where would it be safe to move" report along with the situation er, report

(I'm growing fond of using the word brates)

>>12436183

Express extreme relief that Labbrate and Accountantbrate are still alive and functioning. Ask them if they know anything about what has happened to the Swarm since the 2nd Battle for Aiur.

Also, have the battlecruisers above Char start scanning Char. We need to see what has happened and what is happening right now.

>>12436240
SEND HIM A NEW RIDGE SCRATCHER!

>>12436183

Also, initiate psionic high-fives with both of them. With proper warning first and also taking into consideration that both of them may still be injured from the flight to Xenta.

Consult with the assistant brates as to the strategic situation?

Was Tsinoseng nuked as planned?

Has Warbrate recovered?

What's the sitrep on the Colonylords we spread out towards Earth?

What are the other Cerebrates and Kerrigan up to?


The days when the Protoss, the Terrans outwit and outsmart us are over, gentlemen. We can't EVER be so handily outplayed by Kingston, Feneschal, and Tassadar.

Additionally, scour our mind for trace of the Overmind; in its dying breath it may have gifted with valuable information.

Well let's see if we can come up with some plans since we now kinda have control over our brood again. I'm thinking make contact with Kerrigan, withdraw from Char, use my super siege tank idea, and start production of a new undetectable infestation virus we can fire at Tarsonis. Also I suppose I can retire the Zergquisitor tag at this point. Why did I have to miss the last two weeks!

>>12436183
Assuming they don't know anything more detailed than "the Overmind is dead", inform them both of what happened on Aiur at the end. Assuming that didn't automatically happen.

Also, I think we might want to get started on the whole "transformation into a being of pure thought" thing. To help that one out, task Labbrate with engineering a gene sequence that would create biological Psi Emitters within ourself and the rest of our brood and a second one that immunizes our soul-link against the Psi Disruptor or other similar interference.

And wake up our spawn at Aiur. We want to make sure they get home safely with any prizes they could salvage.

We still must grow big clumsy legs at some point. Throwing that out there.

>>12436322
Aiur is a waste of time. Once we find out about the status of the warp network either use emitters to draw the swarm there to kill everything or leave it alone.

>>12436335

We'll set it as one of our "steps" on our x-step plans to become a horrible horrible reality-ending eldritch psionic entity.

Do we know that Shakuras exists?

I also propose that we devote some effort to infesting Tassadar. At one stroke, we could avenge our father, shatter Protoss morale, and gain invaluable information about the unification of High Templar and Dark Templar psychic abilities.

>>12436379
attach smaller ones to all terran tech me make henceforth? Small enough to only cover say a 5 km radius or so.

Alright, couple of things

>Gestalt Consciousness talk

(Yeah, I'm gonna have to say no. In fluff, that's not possible because you have to have concentrated loads of pure brain matter to keep things running with a central will. In the Quest, I just don't have any idea how we'd work things. Everybody else would be absolutely screwed forever)

>Bio-Psi Emitters

(That's us. We're a biological Psi Emitter. See above)

Just thought I'd clear that up.

>>12436379
Still going through the archives, so I probably just didn't get to that yet.

And if that's the case, then let's think outside the box a bit: how about a technological Psi Emitter assembled by biological means within the body of a Zerg?

>>12436397
Tassadar might not have blended the two, and even then Tassadar would only abandon the Khala after centuries of torture, and by then any information would be out of date.

Anyway, we have control of most of Xenta and Besilus. We have all of our cerebrates back, and Warbrate is even awake again. Artisanlord is waving its front crablegs in some kind of dance, which we're politely ignoring. We have control of our ships over Char. We know the locations of several Psi Emitters, and can move them and activate them as we please.

Wat do?

Are there any large pockets of nearby zerg from the other broods we could claim with psi emitters? They're all killing each-other anyways.

I am altering my super siege tank plan slightly. In addition to the increased armour, zerg crew with emergency exit, missile turret sensors, cloak, and goliath missiles it will now also have tiny psi-emitters that will fire for short periods if ever severed from our will. Also they shall be called "First Born Smashers"

>>12436429

That's essentially creating psi-emitters using the same parts, but using fleshy bits and hands to assemble it instead of complex machinery. A good idea, but it might be a bit *too* complex for Us to assemble without tons of fine-toothed evolutionary measures taken (like evolving generations upon generations of tiny creatures to assemble certain parts of the emitters, and having an overlord to manage them). We already have factories that do pretty much the same thing, but without the psionic power diverted to micromanaging the assembling.

It might be worth trying to investigate a new form of psionic communication that is less prone to getting disrupted by outside sources of interference, though.

>>12436458
We need to do several things:
-First, do NOTHING to reveal to the protoss (or terrans, for that matter) that the zerg are not effectively eliminated as a coherent Swarm.
-Secondly, find Kerrigan and offer her friendship/some of those resources at our disposal in accordance with the final command of our father.
-Thirdly, figure out what the fuck is going on.


So... stealth scouts, I guess. If we've got any sort of terran tech, comsat scanners would probably be better than sending in cloaked overlords in terms of locating things while remaining concealed.

>>12436417

How much ABOUT Tsinoseng did Labbrate learn when brainmelded to it?

Could the crystal lattice be emulated?

How likely is it that other psychically charged crystals exist in the galaxy?

If Aiur has other sister planets, or moons, then they should be composed of the same base materials as Aiur itself (cosmology!)... This is a long term project, obviously, given that the Protoss have the biggest army camped on Aiur right.

Additionally, the gloves have to come off. Ask Labbrate to begin designing lethal plagues against both the Protoss and humanity. We should know enough about both species' physiology to design something very nasty.

At this point, we need to begin to directly assault both forces' supply structures.

Additionally, we need to start spreading deep space scouts looking for something that may turn the tide; Xel'Nagan relics, other psychically resonant crystals, the UED fleet that's probably on our doorstep as we speak.

3 Questions, is the zerg world still in orbit around Auir?
How greatly could we degrade it's orbit?
How much damage would that do to the Auir/protoss on Auir?

>>12436417
Would it be theoretically possible to Archonize our body?

I mean, we just had a pretty good example of the downside of running the swarm from a huge immobile bulls-eye.

Alternatively, we combine Kerrigan and Raynor's DNA to grow ourselves a new, more mobile body, then shift our primary consciousness into that and use our current body to conceal the truth about where we're sitting. I'm suggesting that combo because it should give us good psychic abilities and because if we don't want to just clone Kerrigan there aren't really any other options for Donor #2.

>>12436497
(Waiting for you to call for replacing the main cannon with a Yamato Cannon, for good measure. :P)

>>12436492
To our knowledge, all of the children of our Brothers are over or on Aiur.

>>12436491
Scans indicate that the our Brother Cerebrates are mostly alive, though it appears that they have begun to hemorrhage externally without the Voice of the Overmind to keep them focused. They likely have only a day or so before fatalities begin. Kerrigan is nowhere to be found.

>>12436458

Get the battlecruisers to scanning Char. Any sort of information that they can scrounge up would be useful. Keep an eye out for any live Cerebrates and Kerrigan, or anything else that looks out of place. Like that one spore colony that was taking potshots at our BC until we regained control of it.

>ohsharts prelude

I hope that is not the case, captcha.

>>12436517
I CAN"T BELIEVE I FORGOT THE PROTOSS SHIELDING!

>>12436458

Begin deploying our Psi Emitters to capture feral Zerg, but ONLY the Zerg outside of current Protoss detection. If they can see the wild Zerg suddenly pack up and leave in one direction; we fucked it up. If it's even only LIKELY that the Protoss MIGHT look in that direction, we leave the feral Zerg alone.

We need to protect the fact that Zerg command structure exists.

Additionally, begin a new batch of Colonylords; they're likely feral and eating each other at this point, and we desperately require a massive army right about now.

>>12436555

HOW COULD YOU?!?!?!!?!??!111!?!one1

But anyways, sense you had a Zerg Vehicle. How about one of the Protoss land Carriers, the Scarab, or whatever converted into a bio vehicle that shoots parasites into cities?

>>12436545

I'm assuming we're not suffering from psionic-ebola since we're not screaming in pain while bleeding from all available orifices. But still, check on ourselves to make sure that we're still okay, despite not having the Overmind around.

Report the Old-guard Cerebrates' status to Labbrate. Inquire if there's anything that could be done to save them.

>>12436531
Fuck the protoss, Fuck Auir

Ram Auir with the zerg world

Since a lot of our tech seems to like to push the cyberzerg angle, have we though about installing psi emitters INSIDE our overlords? Or did we already discuss that or is that a bad idea? Or is that redundant?

>>12436437
>>12436491
I think we're going to want to abandon Char. Preferably in such a manner that the Confederacy and Protoss don't realize they missed an entire Brood of Zerg when they torch it.

I suggest creating a new Cerebrate/Overlord, naming it Doomedbrate, and giving it the explicit task of fighting the inevitable assault on Char until our enemies kill it. Strip it of any knowledge that could reveal this to its killers before we abandon it to its fate.

>>12436545
A Yamato cannon would force the tank to increase in size far too much to still be called a tank, but replacing the main cannon with the ATS laser cannons from a battlecrusier might work. So, goliath missles, missile turret sensors, cloaking, laser cannons, toss shields, and spawns hydraklisks when killed.

>>12436588

This. If nothing else can be done, ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL over them.

They had their chance to help us as equals, but they squandered that choice.

>>12436614
Be fair to them - some cerebrates listened to our advice during the battle for Aiur. It's only certain, jerkish ones, that continually talked out against us.

>>12436607
>>12436604

As is, pretty much all of our enemies are allied. I think we need to go find some nice secluded planet (not auir or char) to infest and mine the hell out of. Grabbing as much brood as we can then high-tailing it somewhere safe seems like a good idea.

>>12436530
>Could Tsinoseng be emulated?

No. Khaydarin crystals are unique. The Overmind held the knowledge of how to create them, pried from the dying minds of the Xel'Naga, but that knowledge may have died with It. Certainly, we are not aware of it. Even if we were, the process can take centuries.

>How likely is it that other psychically charged crystals exist in the galaxy?
It is absolutely certain. Whether any have grown to the size of Tsinoseng is...much less certain. Tsionoseng appears to have been an anomaly, probably caused by the long tending of the Xel'Naga, followed by the constant stimulation by the Protoss.

>Ask Labbrate to begin designing lethal plagues against both the Protoss and humanity. We should know enough about both species' physiology to design something very nasty.

Labbrate gives us the psionic equivalent of a nod. It begins working.

>>12436531
>is the zerg world still in orbit around Auir?

Last we checked. Citybrate launched from there just before we lost contact. It ought to remain in orbit for a few weeks before its orbit degrades and it collides with Aiur. It is likely that the Protoss will have dealt with it by then.

>How greatly could we degrade it's orbit?
With our current resources? Very little. Moving Zerg World is a herculean affair.

>How much damage would that do to the Auir/protoss on Auir?
We assume a 99.999% eradication of Protoss forces on Aiur, followed by a terminal degradation of Aiur's ecosphere.

>>12436532
>Would it be theoretically possible to Archonize our body?

The more thoughts we must process and order each second, the harder it must be to move us. The Overmind directed most of Its galactic exodus from its original seat on Xerus. It moved only twice.

>>12436637
How difficult would it be to make the swarm fully or mostly nomadic for the time being?
Making it so we can just pick up a leave if we are found.

Meta-wise, the surviving Cerebrates on Char are probably going to start attempting to fuse into a new Overmind very shortly. The results will no doubt be amusing.

>their falieure

I think you've about hit the nail on the head, Dyslexic Captchabrate.

>>12436626

There are some of the Old Cerebrates that could become Brobrates to us... or at the least be very useful.

Read the starcraft wiki about the Named canon Cerebrates! I know at least one who might be a dependable agent if he could be persuaded to turn to us.

>retreating from known space

That is an alternative we have to consider. Our enemies are strong right now. A break from the fighting to buff up our numbers and induct new species into the Swarm (along with some subterfuge amongst the Terrans) might not be a bad idea.

>>12436666
Have you no pride synapse. We are ZERG we will not run. And I thought I wouldn't get to use this name again.

>>12436697
Though I support the idea of a tactical withdrawal, as it is advancing to future victory.

>>12436607

I vote we do this as we pack up and leave the Koprulu sector.

We should give Doomedbrate an extremely similar psychic signature to our own, and give the illusion that we moved to Char in order to reconsolidate.

Since the Protoss basically think we're strategically retarded, it shouldn't be too hard to half-ass a "secretive" retreat of the Zerg on Aiur to Char.

Worst case scenario? Protoss glass Aiur, and we're free to build in the darkness for our counterattack.

Best case? Doomedbrate actually manages to hold his own and keep the Protoss occupied, again, as we build in the dark and think of darkly inventive ways to eat Feneschal's mind.

Now would be an excellent time to figure out what the hell the Confederacy is up to.

>>12436588
Labbrate reminds us of what happened when we brought a Psi Emitter close to Araq (who is likely dead).

>>12436604
A sudden retreat will most certainly alert the Protoss to our control.

>>12436610
(I was...I was kidding!)

>>12436666
It would be possible, though highly impractical if we intend to grow a force to challenge either of the major powers that face us.

>>12436697
Also possible. Relocating once would be much less detrimental than trying to remain mobile constantly.

>>12436723
1. Brotip: There are no feral Zerg on Char to regain control of. Just Cerebrates.

2. Sure. We have control over several fleshlings, contained in the ventral sacs of feral overlords. (Didn't see what you guys expected to gain from this...)

3. The fleshlings work as fast as they can. The systems are fried, and it has only been a few minutes.

>>12436652
Start making plans to do anything possible to interfere with Protoss attempts to keep ZERGWORLD from colliding with Aiur, as well as the evacuation of the planet.

Call this Operation "Majora".

>>12436758
Since there are no feral zerg on Char, try to say hi to the nicer cerabrates there, then pull out as it's a know target.

>>12436728

Try to reach out to the existing Old-guard Cerebrates. I know that Gorn is dead, but the protoss there may have killed more, or they might have died on their own. Can we get a count on which Cerebrates are still alive (albeit dying)?

Appraise them of Our current situation (read: doin' OK on Xenta). Gauge their reactions to our being relatively fine and them essentially being bleeding dying masses of brain tissue. Tell them that we may have a possible means of keeping them alive to carry on the Overmind's legacy.

See which ones are receptive.

>>12436758
Can we do some sort of psionic broadcast, without any Protoss detecting it? If so, use it to send a message to Kerrigan. I doubt she'll respond, though.
And can those fleshlings in the overlords do anything to help us gain control of them?

>>12436777
Cerebrate Roll Call!

>Daggoth: Confirmed Dead (Aiur)
>Zasz: Confirmed Dead (Aiur)
>Araq: Assumed Dead (Aiur)
>Kagg: Confirmed Dead (Char)
>Gorn: Confirmed Alive (Char)
>Nargil: Confirmed Alive (Char)
>Assorted unnamed, lesser Cerebrates: Mostly Alive, dying much faster than their Senior Brothers (Char)

>>12436796

The fairly big light show brought on by Feneschal might lead them to believe that. But I think Zeratul might know that we were not on Char, and that we're still floating about somewhere.

Then again, they might assume that we're just slowly dying like the rest of the Cerebrates. If we're gonna rescue some of them, we will have to do it stealthily.

>>12436836
Gorm and Nargil.
Lets talk to them.

At this point, any information they may have is good.

Regardless as to what it is.

>>12436836
Can we psionicaly subjugate the lesser cerebrates? And name one of them Dave.
>flopie and
and captcha wants to call one Flopie

>>12436810
They cannot, though if there are any derelict Protoss vessels, they could swim through the thick nebula of debris and try to take control of them.

>>12436796
>Operation: Cerebrate Lift

Calling for a vote.

>>12436849

Yes. Talk to them. Ask what they know, and let them know that we can do something about their bleedin' and dyin' thing.

>>12436859
+1 for.

>>12436652

Make our uberpsychic Kerrigan/Raynor hybrid, shift the bulk of our consciousness into it from our current body, use our current body like it's the Wizard of Oz and we're the Zerg behind the curtain.

If you need an appearance for our new body, go with an Infested version of Alma as the template.

>>12436859
May as well.

I'm still hoping for some advancing to the rear and getting a safe-planet action, but that's a whole nother issue.

>>12436853
We could, if we brought a Psi Emitter to gain control of them.

>>12436849
Currently, they are silent to us, likely screaming impotently inside their minds at the loss of the Overmind. We could induct them into our Swarm with Psi Emitters, though they may take offense. If we landed a ship, a fleshling might be able to facilitate contact...but we can't be sure.

>>12436859
As long as they understand that we're their boss now. We have an eye so they should listen to us... and Kerrigan too since that's what daddy wanted. Could we eat Kerrigan?

>>12436859

If Nargil and Gorn are down with it, sure. I'm voting for rescuing them.

>>12436859
Do it. Both things, Operation: Cerebrate Lift and taking over the derelict Protoss spacecraft.

>>12436859
>swim through debris
This, because SWIMMING IN SPACE
>Operation Cerebrate Lift
+1

>>12436915
I second the swimming

>>12436897
At this point, I don't care if they are happy with it or not.

For the swarm.
The overmind is dead. We KNOW that we can command other cerabrates. We cannot risk not doing so.

I honestly don't care about their feelings at this point.
Alle von uns sind in diesem zusammen, zumindest so wie ich es sehe.
Es gibt kein Weg daran vorbei, dass.

>>12436897
>>12436724
>>12436719
>>12436697

Look, we should rescue our brocerebrates, and gtfo out of Dodge.

We might as well try to subjugate Earth while we're at it, :D

>>12436921
Vergessen Sie nicht, dass nur ein Wesen mit einem Auge kann die schwammen führen, und wir haben ein Auge.

>>12436897

>Cerebrate communication (or lack thereof)

Well. We're already gonna be landing stuff on there to ship them out from Char, if Operation: Cerebrate Lift gets approval.

See if we can get any sort of exploration craft or escape pod or something from the Battlecruisers to land near Nargil/Gorn. Try to establish contact with a fleshling.

>>12436932
Well, the Overming had a thing for the protoss. And we have a thing for terrans... so I guess WE MUST BE MADE MANAFEST ON EARTH!

>>12436938
Floating? Auf welche Weise soll das heißen?

>>12436962
Zur Hölle, nein.
Sie wollen wissen, warum der Overmind zerstört wurde?
Aus genau diesem Grund. Er manifestiert sich auf der Homepage Welt.

Und jetzt? Er ist gestorben. Und verursacht hat die Zerg zu gehen fast ausgestorben.

also nein. Wir werden nie, nie auf der Erde manifestieren.

>>12436966
That google translate is apparently off. But the main point was still about eyes leading the swarm right? I should just stick to pushing my FIRST BORN SMASHERS!

>>12436921
>Germany German Germtalk

Eh?

>Everybody else

Wow. Consensus. That's rare.

We order the fleshlings over Aiur to claw their ways free of the overlords they inhabit. They have a moment of contemplation to orient themselves before some of them are beset by wild mutalisks. We lose two fleshlings, but the rest are able to swim away. They have located a crippled carrier and a disabled arbiter. Attempt to take one, or keep swimming to our damaged ship?

An overlord is loaded with a drone and an Emitter. It begins the trip to Char. Our ships above Char stay in a holding pattern as Gorn, Nargil, and two lesser Cerebrates are brought into our fold.

Gorn is elated to hear our thoughts. It doesn't seem to care who is in charge, so long as we intend to use it to slaughter its enemies. We get the feeling it didn't listen to our warnings on Aiur because it was too occupied with the glory of battle.

Nargil, on the other hand, is outraged. Its role in the Swarm was very normative, evaluating species for the Overmind for utility, and obeying its orders for infestation or annihilation to the letter. It believes we have besmirched the name of the Swarm...but it is still grateful for the rescue.

The lesser Cerebrates seem too injured for opinions at the moment. They are grateful to be alive.

Tell them to manifest on Xenta?

>>12436985
...
I just thought of something.

We should design new space crafts.

Eyeball type crafts.

>>12436983
So... in space then? MANAFEST ATOP A BLACK HOLE! There's a winning idea. Orbital platforms might work, but then again it might also not.

>>12436962

We've conquered one homeworld, why not go for broke? Hell, even if we lose this quest, that would be pretty awesome.

Also, OP, we should begin spiking our genome with Protoss DNA if possible. Blah blah, only the Overmind can perfectly fuse the Protoss and Zerg, but there's no reason why our fusion has to be perfect: just slightly better than our standard Zerg.

Also, while we evacuate the Koprulu sector, we should continually scour each world for resources and interesting genetics. There's no reason why we can't plant a backup clone of ourselves on every world, now that the Overmind is dead.

>>12436991
Yes.

And tell Nargil that its new purpose is to manufacture new species based on old genetics.

We cannot let others find out whom we are.

>>12436991
Take arbiter, use arbiter cloak to get the cerebrates off-world safely.

For the swarm!

>>12437022
(Eh, wrong planet. This is a pretty common mistake, for some reason)

>>12436991
Take the Arbiter, psi-slap Nargil like the little bitch he is.
Then inform him that he may very well be getting back to his old job soonish.

>>12436994
EYES LEAD THE SWARM! MAKE IT SO.
>>12436991
Well tell Nargil about fleshlings, and tell him to figure the little bastards out. He should have more experience than us with this kind of nonsense.

>>12437038
hell yes.
Piloted by zerglings, and capable of carrying a number of scourge...
(tie bombers with living bombs and zergspam)

Or if not zerglings... then drones.

>>12437056
Keep it simple and start with a wraith chassis

>>12436991

I'm in favor of them manifesting on Xenta.

>>12437056
>>12437041
>>12437038
>>12437037

No thoughts on the proposed expansion towards Earth?

Welcome Gorn and the others to the fold, tell Nargil we're all in it together now that Daddy's dead.

Tell him we'd even use him in the same role, and eventually, he will be part of the new Overmind (probably not, but hey, could sweeten the pot).

>>12437067
Im going to start designing this...
Ill be back.
(also, im going to start designing other things (merely the aesthetics, not the internals.))

>>12437069
>>12436991

Manifest on Xenta.

>>12437069
I'd prefer them manifesting on one of the numerous strip mining worlds we should have been reclaiming.

>>12437038
>>12437041
we tell Gorn to manifest on Xenta until we can gain enough troops to send it into battle. It does so with fervor.

We tell Nargil about the Overmind's plan, but it doesn't want to listen. We plead for a few minutes before taking a new approach. We mention the fleshlings, our half-human hybrids from altering Zerg strains to have genitalia. We get almost half-way through explaining the breeding patterns we tried before it begins manifesting on Xenta. This may be an interesting ride.

The lesser Cerebrates do as they are told. They may regain their personalities over time, but for now, they are still in shock.

The fleshlings over Aiur swim toward the arbiter. Its hull is mostly intact, but a large breach allows them entry. They begin working their way through its winding corridors.

After a few minutes, it becomes obvious that they have walked farther than should be possible. The ship's internal geography does not match the apparent size of the exterior of the ship.

>>12437037

>Take the Arbiter, psi-slap Nargil like the little bitch he is.

Instead, let's try gently reminding Nargil that all Cerebrates are essentially different aspects of the Overmind's will made manifest. With the Overmind gone, the best thing that can be done to preserve the Overmind's legacy is for all of his children to stand united and carry on. Especially so, considering how many of our other brothers died in the recent conflicts.

>>12437070
We will expand to Earth and be made manifest upon it, if we feel like it when we get there. But, along the way we infest Stukov. Infesting Stukov has been my one requirement for going to Earth, as DeGalue and the rest of the UED are nothing to worry about. Also we should kill Duran on sight, also I just realized he's with Kerrigan right now.

>>12437116
I think you mean TARDIS!

>>12437087

Cool, Arbiter's warp space time for make more living room.

This sounds handy for our Overlords...make every effort to drive that baby back to Xenta so Labbrate can reverse-engineer it.

>>12437087
'Do you see knowledge of time travel?'

>>12437127
If we get that arbiter back I am adding the TARDIS size feature to my tanks

>>12437087

>The ship's internal geography does not match the apparent size of the exterior of the ship.

Aww man. I hate this timey-wimey alternate dimension stuff. And it's damaged now, possibly, so there's no telling what we might find on it.

So, let's continue exploring it! Keep the fleshlings on high alert. It might have some internal defenses inside to prevent tinkering or scavenging.

>blivers 1736;

Time travelling shenanigens for the Zerg? Zergleks? Nah, that's too crazy.

Do we have any idea at all where Kerrigan is? Because IIRC Papa Overmind told us to look after our little sister just before he died.

>>12437143
Zergleks also known as Gausslisks

>>12437147
Well he said to work together with her, but I say she's with Duran and that is not good for us.

>>12437147

Apparently, no one knows. In the canon timeline, she's chilling with Duran for the moment. Likely to be happening here as well.

It's even more imperative we find her; infesting Duran and locating the Xel-Naga would be a huge intelligence coup.

We should send scoutlords to likely Kerrigan hide-outs.

>>12437143
>I hate this time-space distortion crap!

That's...that's the explanation for everything arbiters do.

Cloaking field? They warp space so much you can't even see people around them.
Stay visible inside cloaking fields? They warp space so much you can't even cloak them.
Recall? They warp space so much, people move and shit.
Stasis? They warp time so much, your people can't move!

The TARDIS aspect is just what I consider a natural extension of that.

>Time-traveling Zerg.
You know, I've been thinking of doing a side mission one week for a break from the narrative. This may be it. >:D

The fleshlings continue their search. They scratch the pain at intersections, in case the hallways loop back on themselves. They do, from time to time.

Let's see, new names for the lesser cerebrates. Dave. Flopie. Salem Saberhagen. Number 4, Paula, Wormface, and Toaster. The 7 lesser cerebrates

>>12437190
>>12437082

Well, prior to the Overmind's death, we sent out a shitload of overlords, loaded with a few drones each. The idea was to mass colonize and strip mines world. They went feral, but the idea is cool.

We should do it again.

>>12437168
Remember, Kerrigan has her own agenda now that the overmind is gone. She may not be so receptive of us unless we approach from a position of strength. We should rebuild more first.

Also, what's the danger of the confederacy coming and surveying their overrun colonies?

>>12437197
Scratch the PAINT.

Shit.

>>12437198
You names for the lesser cerebrates are wisely chosen.

>>12437216
Well, it's just one boarder world. Probably got lost in confederate paper work, but with KINGSTON at the helm he might start checking in with all outlying colonies.

>>12437226
Captch has to be give credit for Flopie. And the awakened cat thread fro the Salem plug. And BSG for Toaster, I'm thinking an all cybernetic brood for that one.

>>12437237
Actually, Xenta was officially uninhabited. It was just a pirate haven.

Still, it's possible Kingston might think to check on it.

>>12437197
>>12437150

>Time Travelling
>Zergleks

IN-FEST-IN-ATE!

But okay, wandering around with our Fleshlings isn't doing much. Maybe we can reach in and probe it a bit with our mind.

And if we find a brown spikey-haired guy wearing a brown/blue pinstripe suit poking around in there, RUN. Or hide.

>>12437260
Yeah, but wasn't there a colony nearby? Didn't we take that colony to get most of our terran tech?

>>12437260
Right the dropship when from the pirate outpost on our starting moon to the planet. Why did I never realize they were the same group. I feel silly now.

Damn scanner is being a douche.

Anyway, Ive got my desiegns so far. Internals filled with creep, and wired up so that the pilot inside is entirely connected with the craft. Everything is connected by creep, and if it is removed, then the whole thing is a useless shell with spare parts. The iris on the external surface is forward facing, and actually a giant metal plate, with the pilots position being entirely randomized inside. Its as if the entire thing is an organism in and of it self, though with no sense of coherence without a pilot.. Between each of four symmetrical blades situated every 90 degrees starting at 0 is a door, which allows for a payload to escape. This payload can be anything from Drones, to zerglings, to Scourge, to flesh-lings.

The only indication that it is a zerg construct is that the back 7% is covered in creep, and houses engine modules.

Ill post a pick at some point...

>>12437263
Sensors are online, and attitude thrusters are working. We can move the ship a few meters at a time. It is no longer spinning.

The arbiter team has found what appears to be a laboratory. Various odd devices line the room, unkempt either from the battle or from sheer disorganization. There is another door to another hallway at the opposite edge of the room. Continue exploring? Check out the free stuff? Take a smoke break?

>>12437267
We don't run from him. We talk about how we like running and humans. Especially how clever humans are, and that we're trying to get along with them, but they don't seem to like us very much. And that it's not our fault they don't like us. Yes blame the overmind and get the doctor to depose Kingston.

>>12437295
Split up. COntinue exploring and check out the stuff.
Memorize it, if there are more than one of a specific item, then crack it and memorize the internals too.

>>12437216
>position of strength
That would just make her side with Duran, which is BAD.
>>12437295
Keep exploring. Anything we touch here might set off some sort of psionic dohicky and that might attract the 'Toss.

>>12437295

Examine lab equipment, try not to touch anything that looks like it might explode.

>time traveling zerg

Go back in time and shoot the RIGHT shuttle.

Goddamn.

>>12437332
or prevent our own interference with certain planets.

>>12437332
Go back in time and kill kingston while he's still on the Magellan

>>12437358
Also, we ought to make sure we do NOT reconvene with the Overmind.

>>12437332

And find out why the some Zerg Broods were named after Norse figures when there was no indication that the Overmind knew anything about Earth mythology.

>>12437332
I was thinking more of a Cerebrate finding itself in Victorian London or something silly like that.

Then we infest Jack the Ripper and all your shit goes sideways.

(So far, you're all over the place on the arbiter's lab. Come on)

>time travel dickery
GUYS
NO TIME TRAVEL
SERIOUSLY
NO

>>12437372
Explore. Do not touch the things. They may explode.

>>12437295

As some other anons have said, have one fleshling check out the free stuff. Relay some of what we're seeing to Labbrate, see if he approves.

For Fleshling #2, have him see what's behind the door.

>>12437371
(Teeeeechnically, those are the Terran code names and the Zerg should never have used them...but Blizzard's people obviously thought that would be confusing and a whole lot more work than it was worth, so it's just assumed that any time you see one of those names used by a non-Terran, it's Blizzard translating for you to keep things simple. Or something)

>>12437372
I say visually examine the items in the lab. Confer with labrate over what we see to determine what's what.

Alright, im off to bed.
(Hopefully we can extend our control without overlords... they are too obvious.

>>12437372
It'd be like that one christmas episode of doctor who (atleat I think it was christmas) with the cybermen in victorian london. Oh how that would be silly. But I'd say Moscow in November of 1917 would be sillier. Infested Lenin anyone?

>>12437419
To not be helpful I'll vote to have the fleshlings take a nap, and make some creep

>>12437403
Even better: Infested Romanovs. Rasputin is the Russian Magic Kingston. Hilarity ensues.

We set one fleshling aside. It hesitantly observes the mess, unsure of where to start. After a few minutes, Labbrate directs it to begin at one edge of the room and work its way to the other.

The others begin walking the hallways again, trying to make sense of the ship's internal structure. After a few minutes, Citybrate volunteers a suggestion that leads us to the Engine Room.

Warbrate and Gorn have begun communicating.

Nargil requests a fleshling for dissection.

>>12437439
In the immortal words of Gregory Rasputin "If you have sex with me you'll be closer to God." I kid you not he did this to all the court ladies, and was apparently quite successful.

>>12437457
The man had a substantial cult of women convinced that fucking him was literally a religious experience.

That's the sort of thing I'd have engraved on my fucking tombstone.

>>12437454
>arbiter
Have one fleshling explore the engine room, and another look for the bridge.
Give Nargil his fleshling.

>>12437454
We have some lying around Xenta. Give him 4, 2 of each gender. And give him the breeding results... so much beheading.
>ancients jphaffla
Captch have you been watching Stargate?

Well, the thread appears to be in autosage. That's sad. We haven't gotten much done.

Keep going for a bit, or just pack it in for the night?

>>12437454
Give him one

>hapman much
yes i do captcha

>>12437487

I'm still up.

Give Nargil the fleshling! Maybe he'll be able to pick out some interesting human DNA to evolve stuff with.

its not auto sagin for me >.>

>>12437487
So much has been going on as of late we were over due for a thread that has nothing happen in it. Also, so people might have thought it was over because of last week. But onward Zergian soldiers.

>>12437487
At least tell us the state of the engine room.

I like the idea one of our other thoughts suggested earlier about leaving known space for a while. For the last several threads we've been screwed because we haven't had time nor resources on our side. I think a tactical retreat from everything while we strip mine and generally om-nom everything in site will give us some much needed R&R and Batman-esque prep-time.

Of course, we should wrap up everything we have going on here beforehand. To that end, let's keep on the arbiter, consolidating our forces, and filling out the gaps in our intelligence.

>>12437487
I just opened a beer, so we're going on

>>12437481
>>12437484
>>12437479
Nargil feels excited and happy to be doing its work, but it reacts as if this is merely another scientific experiment. It is pleased by the thorough nature of our previous research. Apparently, breeding trials have never been attempted in the Swarm.

The fleshling in the lab has determined the nature of several objects, but most of them are odd writing utensils, mathematical instruments, or very complex, clockwork paperweights. One was a booby trap that left it electrocuted on the floor for several minutes. It is currently shaking that off.

One fleshling begins to explore the Engine Room. It finds that the engine has been shut down automatically. Restarting it will take at least five hours.

The last fleshling continues to search for the Bridge.

The fleshlings aboard the carrier have sensors working at full capacity, and have finally adjusted for the debris field (partially). They have a clear enough picture of Aiur to confirm that Tsinoseng is no more. It appears that a psionic storm has covered the entire Southern continent.

(It's posts like these that make me wish I had the talent to drawfag a fleshling)

Fuck ya we're going on! Forward for the most glorious race!

>1925 aubocto???
u mean autobot?

Does Nargil know all of the experiments we ran on fleshlings? If not we should give him access to those memories. He should like to know the results of the large breeding attempts.

>>12437550
HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHA TAKE THAT SOUTHERN CONTINENT OF AUIR! MAY THAT STORM LAST FOR ETERNITY!

>>12437550
dead man switch seems to have worked... have we started to harvest minerals and vesp. from the surrounding planets in what ever system Xenta?

>waythot that
captcha thinks its a good idea as well

>>12437550

Awesome news!

Have the fleshling run diagnostics on the engine system if possible; we don't want to blow the ship up as the engines come to life. As soon as possible, have the ship jump to Xenta via random systems, and make sure all comm equipment is disable before moving.

Good news on Tsinoseng, without warp mobility, the Protoss are going to have to physically transport their war materials like everyone else. Should dramatically slow all colony-building on their part.

What was on the Southern continent in terms of resources and Protoss? Did we royally fuck them up as a parting gift?

>>12437550
What's the state of the zerg world?

>>12437550
Arbiter: Initiate the beginning of starting the engine restart. Continue doing the other things.
Aiur: what was on the southern continent? I seriously cannot be assed looking through the archive.

>>12437579
I think the Xenta system is stripped. As are all near by uninhabited systems.

Oh, hey. I need another beer.

Also, the Aspie Quiz makes me feel all self-conscious for talking to myself. I mean, I'm not going to stop or anything, but now I feel all awkward about it.

>>12437593
hmm dont remember seeing anything about that... all i remember was we went to some random system to build Zerg World

Is there a way to patch Nargil through to Labbrate? I feel like the two being able to work together could be really helpful. Two heads are better than one and all that. Also on the subject of Fleshlings and all that, would it be fair to say that they're sort of like non-psionic Kerrigans? I think they've got far more potential than we've been giving them, and hopefully Nargil will be able to come up with something to do with them.

Also, we should probably put Gorn to work. He's got the whole berserker warrior thing going on for him so let's play him to his strengths and get him working on making a fighting force designed for punching holes in the enemy's face.

>>12437587
Southern continet was the loading dock. Massive stock piles that got warped away when Auir was abandoned. Unless I'm misremembering, which I have done in the past... still can't belive I forgot that we nuked the disruptor.

>>12437589

Zerg World is still in orbit over Aiur; it will eventually crash into Aiur in a few months, but the Protoss will obviously find and act on a solution before that happens. We don't have the resouces to accelerate the crashing process either; it's just hanging there as a reminder that we're coming for them.

>>12437604
>Nargil and Labbrate
Nah, they work different angles.
>Gorn
He'll just want to put spikes and shooty things on everything. We need a tactical 'Brate for him to be bros with.

>>12437579
Xenta's system is mostly mined dry. Accountantbrate and Colonylord are collaborating to expand operations offworld.

>>12437589
It remains a giant rock orbiting Aiur. We are reassured that such celestial truths are unchanged.

>>12437592
>>12437587
>What was the Southern Continent?

(Well, canonically, who the fuck knows? In the Quest, though, I decided it was the center of the Protoss Warp Network, centered around Tsinoseng. It was essentially a hemisphere-sized warehouse of all the Protoss buildings you could ever need. Feneschal took all of those with her when she left the first time, but Tsinoseng stayed. We've destroyed it. They cannot reinstate their Network, though they still have an assload of prefab buildings.

>>12437604
Nargil could be really upset about us foisting labrate on him. We should offer labrate as an assistant for this research. If he wants to use labrate he can, and if not he shouldn't be too upset that we offered the assistance of our specialist, even though labrate pales in comparison to one created by the overmind. Make sure we stroke his ego heavily enough so he uses labrate.

>>12437633
so... no more warping for protoss?? if so i think we came out of this one way ahead...

>>12437626
>We need a tactical 'Brate for Gorn to be bros with.

In case you missed it:
>>12437454
>Warbrate and Gorn have begun communicating.

>>12437656
Granted warbrate might start to merge with Gorn... I remember what happened to that poor queen. Which reminds me, tell Nargil about that too. Maybe he can figure out how we may our brates.

>>12437645
For buildings, and most troop movements.

They've been making heavy use of the Arbiter's Recall ability, though, and all space-faring civilizations can enter Warp Travel in a Star Trek Warp/Star Wars Hyperspace kind of way. It's just much, much slower.

>>12437678
Since the protoss will have to start building things on site, let's see if we can't start the Protoss Union of Construction Templar or PUCT and try to cause bureaucratic holdup die to unionization and labor relations.

>>12437678
still a huge hit to them. and now we don't even have to 'break off' from the overmind... we just take his place now

>>12437704
I, God-Emperor of Zergykind, approve of this message.

>>12437712
But we're not going to be made manifest on Auir. That place is a non-union work site.
>norremoo cattle,
and the cows, seriously it's like the midwest there

>>12437704
Actually, yes, do this, but with infested Terrans.
Who knows how to build shit better than Terrans?
Might take a while though.

>>12437674
>That poor queen

Elizabeth the First, you mean. At least she died satisfied.

Anyway, we inform Nargil of all of this.

Nargil has a psionic reaction similar to the picture, here.

>>12437678
Alright, let's get back on track.
Have the Arbiter Team get to the bridge.
Fleshling in the Engine Room runs diagnostics to make sure nothing will blow up when we power the reactor on.

Oh yeah, just to be clear, all the cerebrates we've reconnected with have stopped hemorrhaging, right?

Can we get the lesser Cerebrates working on building a new Zergy economy? That'd be good.
Any more news coming up from Aiur?

>>12437749
Huh. Unless it's just my computer, that looks broken. Let me try another.

>>12437741
So the Terran Union of Construction and Manufacturing Personnel or TUCaMP. It would work better. TARSONIS WILL BE FROZEN DUE TO STRIKES. GLORY TO THE WORKING CLASS!

>>12437771
Yes. They have stopped their terminal descent into madness and death. They have begun healing their wounds, even.

>>12437770
The last fleshling continues searching for the Bridge. It walks past several crew quarters full of dead Protoss, and a few cafeterias. How big is this ship?

The fleshling in the Engine Room confirms that no vital systems appear critical before it begins the excessively long process of starting the engine.

The fleshling in the lab has discovered a ball about the size of a human eyeball that functions as a psionic flashlight, shining wherever the user happens to be looking.

>>12437821
Does the flashlight cut through cloaking fields? Ask Labbrate of this possible use, and if the technology can be replicated.

>>12437841
Likely not.

Labbrate considers this for a moment, but isn't sure what applications a really nifty flashlight might have.

>>12437860
I'll tell you what a nifty flashlight can do, SHINE THE LIGHT OF TRUTH, AND REVEAL THAT THE BOURGEOIS HAVE BEEN EXPLOITING THE PROLETARIAT FOR GENERATIONS. AND THAT THIS ZERG THREAT IS MANUFACTURED BY BOURGEOIS TO REPRESS THE MASSES. GLORY TO THE WORKING CLASS! DOWN WITH THE TYRANNICAL RULE OF KINGSTON!

>>12437860
Alright, let's get to the Bridge.
Do the computers in the Engine Room show the internal scanners to be online? Can they show if any Protoss are still on the ship?

>>12437893
"Ah saw Zuuuurg ehn Cawnfed'rate holdin' pens mahself, and that was over uh year ago. It's cleah the Cawnfed'rates have knawn of these creatures for some tahm. For awl we know they could be breedin' the things!"

>>12437946
Yes. To the bridge and see if there are any protoss alive on board. If they're all dead and we can get the engines working we take the arbiter back to Xenta by an indirect route.

>>12437946
>>12437976
No internal scanners.

The last fleshling has found the bridge. It appears to be locked down. Another hull breach has drained the atmosphere. That's probably what happened to the last of the crew. Luckily, the fleshlings do not need an atmosphere. It begins prying the door open.

>>12437972
DO NOT BELIEVE THESE LIES FROM A TERRORIST SYMPATHIZER! IF THEY HAD THEIR WAY YOU'D SIMPLY SWITCH ONE YOKE FOR ANOTHER! THE ONLY WAY TO BE FREE OF THIS REPRESSION IS TO CREATE A PARADISE FOR THE WORKERS!

>>12437999
>fleshlings do not need an atmosphere
Why do I keep forgetting these things! And why didn't I realize this with the swimming from an overlord to an arbiter while in hard vacuum!

>>12437999
While it does that, what about our ships still in orbit over Char? We should recall them to Xenta by a circuitous route.
But before they do so, check to see if the Protoss dropships are still on Char. If not, then Kerrigan has likely taken one and left.

>>12438037
To be fair, the shit over Aiur is still thick enough that you or I might be able to get through it, holding our breaths.

Six hundred years of bloody skies, remember?

So what does the bridge look like? Hurry fleshling! You're a disgrace to hard working zerg everywhere if you can't pry a locked-down door open in a reasonable amount of time.

Or should we hold off on finding out what's on the bridge until next week, as the thread seems to be rather empty. If your here chime in.

>>12438105
I'm still here.

>>12438073
(Sorry. Was finishing the Aspie Quiz. Apparently, I'm half and half? This chart makes no goddamn sense)

The bridge is dark, with only the dark blue emergency lights active. Several consoles flash with backup power. A thin layer of ice crystals coats much of the area. There is a body stuck halfway through a breach near the main viewscreen. If this was the last refuge of the crew, they have long since died.

One panel in particular flashes orange, an unusual color inside a Protoss ship.

>>12438138
Have the fleshling look at all the consoles and see if labrate can figure out what's going on with the ships systems, especially that orange one.

>>12438152
Labbrate believes the orange console is the control for a localized temporal distortion field. It has no idea where the field might be centered, or why it has its own control panel. It informs us that most of the other panels are just indicating that they have no power, or that the systems they are reporting on have no power. Very little actual information is available.

>cloana characters
I didn't clone any of that, Captcha. I'm not a plagiarist.

>>12438138
Have the fleshling examine the orange panel.

>>12438186
(Oh, sorry. That was the inspection. Should've been clearer. Labbrate's not going to get much more out of it)

>>12438178
That local distortion could be keeping a number of protoss alive. Can we determine the exact location of this distortion and if warping the ship would effect said field?

>>12438178
Later, we should have Labbrate not only replicate the temporal dilation system, but also see if it can be used to hyper-accelerate time within a bubble to speed up our resource collection and manufacturing.

>>12438211
Labbrate is pretty sure the time distortion is offline, actually. Pressing the center button ought to bring it online, if we so choose. It has no idea where the distortion would manifest. It might not even be inside the ship.

>>12438217
That's a good portion of why we wanted the ship to begin with.

>>12438178
Well, let's do some other stuff while the engines come online.

What about our ships above Char? Let's bring some of them back to Xenta.
1 to continue scanning and see if there are any recoverable Protoss ships or equipment left on Char.

Sadly I am falling asleep at my key board, so regrettably I am going to have to go to sleep now. Why must I be so tired when zerg quest is still going on.

>>12438245
Let's keep it offline for now. We don't want to be playing around with, not when the entire Protoss Navy is right outside.

Which reminds me, can our Carrier get a read on how many Protoss ships survived the battle?

>>12438254
Cuz you're weak. Drink something caffeinated if your will is insufficient.

>>12438254
BECAUSE YOU ARE WEAK!

And because any time I have Thursdays off, I let it go on FOREVA. G'night, Anon.

>>12438251
We leave a carrier behind, as the other ships jump away. The carrier continues to scan the surface as its Creep retreats slightly from the former homes of the Cerebrates.

(Protip: That orange button is either very good or very bad)

>>12438264
Countless ships survived. Significantly fewer crews survived. It's still too dense to determine exactly which ships are active and which are throwing false readings or flying on autopilot, etc.

A stasis field! our arbiter has a working stasis field!

Those don't come standard you know.

>>12438397
Could be.

You'd have to push the button. Or not.

>>12438408
Not pushing the button until we get this thing somewhere safe. and have figured out how it's recall function works so we can duplicate it. Then if the arbiter is lost we still have what we wanted.

>>12438298
>Very Good or Very Bad
I want to turn it on, but no good could come from it. I mean, there's no way to know that the stasis field is targeted at all of the remaining Protoss-crewed ships, and we can't let it be known that we're stealing this ship.
So I think we should leave it alone for now.

Have ColonyLord prepare Overlords to go out towards our nascent Earth-ward colonies with a Psi Emitter and bring them back under our control.

>>12438313
Well it's about time I started participating in this instead of just watching, but...

Based on radio chatter, and just looking at general activity, would it be possible to sneak aboard one of the ships in orbit that wasn't so fortunate to have it's crew survive, and, oh I don't know, toggle the engines for a second to force it into a decaying orbit, or even into another ship.

For all the Protoss know, it could a simple engine error, or maybe it was adrift in the murky blood/flesh pool. Either way, causes some nice collateral damage if we pull it off.

>>12438438
It's possible. We don't have many forces to spare, though. We have three on either ship, making six total.

>>12438435
>>12438429
Playing it safe, eh?

Can try the stasis field out if the escape starts to go wrong.

>>12438470
>Playing it safe, eh?
Wait, are you implying that we SHOULD turn the stasis field on?

>>12438496
>Are you implying implicit implications!?

Mmmmmmmaybe it'll alert the Protoss to your location and bring a fireteam of Scouts to burn you out of the sky, mmmmmmaybe it won't. Mmmmmmmaybe it'll change the way time flows in the engine room, allowing you to launch four hours, fifty-eight minutes sooner, mmmmmmmmaybe it won't.

Bit of a gamble.

>>12438496
I think it's a trap, we should leave it be until we are 100% we're not being monitored in any way. Our best course of action right now, is to get both ships, get their engines working and slowly edge our way out of there. Quick burn, 2 seconds, and slowly float out of the cloud and into the depths.

Could the button have something to do with the recall function?

Maybe the arbiter was preparing to bring in reinforcements?

>>12438438
I like the plan, but it's kind of risky. There's still feral Zerg out there.

>>12438520
can we find any logs? anything that might tell us what they were planning with this?

>>12438520
How can he possibly resist the maddening urge to possibly ruin everything at the mere push of a single button? The beautiful, shiny button? The jolly, candy-like button? Will he hold out, folks? Can he hold out? >>12438520

>>12438520
>Implying implications and gambling with our survival
You are a magnificient bastard.
And because of that, I'm going to say we check the logs to see what the time distortion system was last used for before activating it.

>>12438553
After a bit of rewiring to get the consoles to run normally on their secondary power sources instead of spending all their energy flashing impotently at the dead crew, we find that the Protoss are very hard to understand in tech manuals.

Apparently, the button will activate the "standard combat reinstitution protocols for time-distortion-enabled vessels."

We would ask what that meant if we thought anyone would know.

Hey Guys. I think we should press the button. The worst that could happen is that we need to BUILD MORE PYLONS.

>>12438597
I want to push the button now.
Everything says it's a trap, but I want to push that glowing, shiny, candy-like button..
And Combat Reinstitution sounds like Emergency Combat Time-Distortion.

>>12438598
No the worst that could happen is OUR HIVE CLUSTER IS UNDER ATTACK

>>12438597
Don't press that fucking button. It's basically a "War done, Warp Home" button. That's a bad idea, UNLESS, we activate it, and it warps home, and ta-da, we now know where the Protoss staging area is, and we can listen in until they find the ship with 'Dormant/Feral Zerg" on it.

>>12438578
>>12438520
http://www.video.monkeymag.co.uk/video/iLyROoafYvxH.html

I wasn't even thinking of the Ren and Stimpy reference. Fantastic!

Well, it sounds like it'll just power up it's temporal hoo-ha systems. Doesn't suggest that it'll fire any of them. That said, I worry that the Protoss down on Aiur might notice a temporal energy-spike on the flux-space monitor or whatever the hell technobabble you want. I don't see an immediate use for this, so I'm totally content to just let sleeping dogs lie until we're in a less delicate situation.

Oh, how long can trusty Cerebrate Anon hold out? How can it possibly resist the diabolical urge to push the button that could erase its very existence? Will its tortured mind give in to its uncontrollable desires?

Can it resist the temptation to push the button that, even now, beckons it ever closer? Will it succumb to the maddening urge to eradicate history? At the MERE... PUSH... of a SINGLE... BUTTON! The beeyootiful SHINY button! The jolly CANDY-LIKE button! Will it hold out, folks? CAN it hold out?

>>12438683
No, no he can't.
+1 Vote of PUSHING THE BUTTON!

Oh Captcha, thanks for reminding me, that this might on the "Off chancer" be good for us.

Standard Combat Reinstitution Protocols for Time-Warp-Enabled Vessels = Standard Combat Reactivation Protocols

I think we should push the button. It should instantly get the reactor online and able to warp.
Unless you guys want to try capturing another Protoss carrier first.

Okay, that's 3 votes for pushing and 1 vote against.

And in case this results in all of our deaths, allow me to say that it was an honor, gentlemen.

Ahh, easily one of my favorite episodes. That said, the thread is on auto-sage and it's quite late. It's probably best to give ourselves time to ruminate over whether or not to push any candy-like buttons (which is a description I should use more often). Archive time?

>nngers, unstrets
CAPTCHA! THAT IS PROBABLY INAPPROPRIATE!

>>12438712
No! I am not waiting another week just for this! This is hardly enough to show for one session's efforts!

We are uncertain. We are torn. We look nervously at the button. We force the fleshling to pace nervously. Suddenly, our nerve takes hold. We force the fleshling to raise its arm and swing it downward, pressing the button with one finger before leaping away.

In the Engine Room, a deafening roar surrounds the other fleshling. Light shines across the entire room. A moment later, the engine is online, the light fades, and the fleshling is on the ground, resting from its hours of instantaneous labor.

The lights come on across the ship. Consoles power up. The automatic safety protocols cover the hull breaches with small force fields, pending repair crews.

>>12438743
Best Button ever. We should push more buttons! When that fleshling is well rested enough, high five him. In fact, get the other fleshling to brofist him too when he sees him for a job well done.

Hallelujah! We got through a week without being slaughtered, causing the death of a major part of our own species, or raping anything!

In fact, we consolidated the power structure of a whole species!

Way to go!

Next week: More stuff! Probably more Zerg Quest! Possibly but unlikely a bonus Time-Zerg Quest! Who knows? I don't!

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/12434786/

>>12438743
How many fleshlings are needed to operate the ship just for warp jumps?
If it's only 1, then we can use the other 2 to go to that other Carrier we saw earlier and get it up and running. Then the two of them can warp back to Xenta using a random route. Maybe the damaged carrier as well, if its warp drive is back online.

NO, BERNIE, NO! NOT AGAIN! Oh, wait, we're ok. Damn my proximity to our subconscious. I guess we were due for a little bit of good luck anyway. Well! All's well that ends well in that case. I guess our next step will be to turn the arbiter over to Labbrate for delicious reverse engineering purposes. In fact, I'm sure there's a way to use this to make an even more terrifying infestation spore. One that lies dormant in temporal stasis until given the go-ahead by our great Zergy mind? Suddenly! Mass infestation across entire cities! Entire populations suddenly erupting in glorious tentacled mutation with no warning!

I actually meant that to be pretty straightforward, but you guys got all paranoid, and I couldn't help myself.

Then the Space Madness set in.

Don't forget to upvote, btw. It makes me feel all edified. The first episode's beaten entire quests.

Not to sound like a pervtastic rapefic lover, but we might want to reintroduce the Bernie strain to replenish lost Flashling numbers if they've took a big hit, we may also need to replenish terran numbers(AND plate-scratchers.)