Ch 6

Ok, think Matthew, think! My Drones are stuck. I can't use them to gather resources. In Starcraft, if you get stuck on an island, you just use an Overlord as transport. Unfortunately my Overlord's can't transport anything without the Ventral Sacs upgrade. Fortunately that can be researched at a Lair which I have. Unfortunately that requires Bio-Energy, which I can't get without that upgrade! It's a catch-22.

Ok, Drones are out, as are the rest of my Zerg since they can't swim. That leaves me and my Overlords. I was never a very good swimmer, and unless I can get some drift wood, I'm not going to be able to bring back any resources that don't float. That just leaves my Overlords. They were able to use those tendrils of theirs to great effect against the Creepers earlier… would they be able to grasp anything though?

With a spark of hope, I ordered an Overlord to find something loose to pick up, and if necessary, to just rip up a whole tree if it can. Desperate times call for desperate measures. With all the loose boulders and anything else not strapped down having been grabbed by the Drones, at least to the west, that leaves the trees. It took two of them to do it, but the Overlords were able to rip a tree out of the ground, roots and all. Some mobs tried to harass them, but my other Overlords were able to smack them away.

It was even slower going than they usually move, but the Overlord was eventually able to bring the tree over and drop it within the Center of the Hatcheries and Lair. Immediately my Drones tore it down into more manageable pieces and deposited it into the nearest Hatchery for 20 Bio-Energy. It's a far cry from what I was raking in with 50 Drones, but it's a start.

Soon enough, I had a system set up with 6 groups of three Overlords, two of which would pull up trees while the others defended them, with two Overlords left over to help out where necessary. The two Overlords would then carry the tree between them and drop it off for the Drones to cut up and distribute. I quickly sank the resources into more Hydralisks in order to shore up my defenses for tonight. No sense in trying to increase my economy until I'm certain I can survive the night.

Soon enough, the afternoon turned to evening, and evening gave way to nightfall. The lake had filled up 2/3's of the way, and more steadily flowed in. As soon as the first mob showed up, I had my Overlords space themselves out evenly over the water, the idea being that any Endermen showing up would invariably be stuck on land or be killed quickly if they tried to go below them. All the rest would get mowed down by the Hydralisks, and the Sunken Colonies would do what they could, though their effectiveness had been nearly halved being unable to protect themselves by having the tendrils remain underground. I'm not even sure they would be any use underwater. I'm starting to see now why Kerrigan changed them to Spine Crawlers with their tendrils above ground and armored at all times. I originally thought the move to be stupid, but I certainly wish I had Spine Crawlers rather than Sunken Colonies right now.

Once more, a mass of Creepers moved forward out of the treeline and across the water. Unlike before, they now met with 36 Hydralisks, triple the amount I had before. I'd have gone for more, but Hydralisks are expensive when you only have 20 Overlords bringing in trees at a rate of one every other minute. Plus, I'd hit the support cap with that many Hydralisks. I'd need to make more Overlords. Either way, with the Creepers slowed down considerably, as soon as the Creepers entered range, they were picked off quickly. So ineffective was the charge that I almost considered keeping up the resource gathering, until I remembered the Endermen. I still don't want to know what they could do to an Overlord if they were low enough to warp up to.

After watching Creepers get mowed down for a while, soon enough a mix of all the mobs started coming, trying to get across the water at my Hive. They all met with the same fate. They never stopped coming though, and once again I settled down for the night, warning my Overlords to let me know if anything changed.

I hardly felt like I'd been asleep for a minute before I was woken up once more. Evidently the water had filled in and the mobs had stopped charging, instead milling about like they usually do in game. I'm not fooled for an instant though. I know as soon as I show a weakness, they'll be all over it. I noticed that the water had risen to the point of lapping at the base of the outer edges of the Creep Colonies. I figured the Creep would prevent erosion, but all the same, I had the Overlords partially form the Creep Wall back up, forming a lip to prevent water from spilling into my Hive. This also had the side effect of forming a literal seawall that would prevent mobs from climbing up onto my island if they somehow snuck below the water or something. Hey, being over prepared has saved my life so far. I'm not going to stop now.

With that inane thought berating my inner skeptic, I drifted off back to sleep. When next I woke, the sun was shining with hardly a cloud in sight. I still like it when it's overcast, but I think clear sunny skies are starting to grow on me. Yawning, I did my usual morning rituals, doing my best to ignore the Zerg staring at me as I did my business off the side of the Hive. I'd do it within the relative safety of the dried riverbed, but that would just end up on the Creep, which would absorb it, and I eat that stuff!

Shuddering, and shoving away the disgusting mental image, I tried not to imagine my Zerg snickering at me and sent my Overlords off to gather more resources. Knowing now that 36 Hydralisks would be enough, I decided to concentrate on bolstering my fleet of Overlords for the moment and upgrade the rest of my Hatcheries to Lairs.

Of a more immediate concern though is getting my current Lair to upgrade my Overlords. Which should I pick, greater sight range, speed, or the ability to carry passengers? Sight range isn't that pressing of a need, and speed would increase the rate of my resource gathering, but if I give them Ventral Sacs, then instead of passengers, my Overlords could store cargo, allowing them to carry more resources back and forth, plus that would free up the tendrils, unburdening them would allow them to move at their regular speed, plus an Overlord can carry two full sized tanks within itself. It should be able to stuff two full sized trees within itself then, though I can't even begin to imagine how it can do that. Maybe it stretches?

Ah well, I guess I'll find out! As soon as I had 600 Bio-Energy, I ordered up the upgrade. It'll take 2 hours and 40 minutes to complete. A rather odd number if you ask me though. Why not just two hours or three? Shrugging off the oddity for the moment, I sat back to wait, ordering up new Overlords as soon as I got the resources for them.

Two hours, forty minutes later, and my Overlords are now grabbing trees and shoving them into an opening beneath themselves. I tried really hard not to imagine the equivalent of a person doing that, especially since I was right, the Overlords actually expanded to accommodate the size. At least my income has now nearly tripled what it was even without the five extra Overlords I ordered in the meantime. It's still not equal to having 50 drones strip mining the ground, but it's better than nothing.

With the Ventral Sacs upgrade completed, and getting to see the very odd sight of an Overlord eating Creep, not having been aware before that they even have mouths, I waited until I had 450 Bio-Energy before ordering up the Pneumatized Carapace. A few minutes later, my new Lairs hatched, and I moved back to my original Lair, happy to note that the depression left from my sleeping was still there.

With four Lairs available now, I decided it couldn't hurt to just finish the upgrades, and ordered the Antennae upgrade for my Overlords too. Twice the sight range could never hurt. I was pleasantly surprised once it finished though. Not only did my Overlord's sight range double, but now they can also detect where underground tunnels and caves are close to the surface. They're not really seeing them persay, but detecting them with that psionic detection thing they do, which had also changed to show different colors flowing through different things, though I can't make heads or tails of what any of the colors mean, only that my Zerg are a golden white color.

With more Overlords on the way, and my economy starting to finally pick back up after that rather bad crash, I turned my attention to the rest of my Zerg. I can't decide if I want to increase my Hydralisk's range by giving them grooved spines, or make a Spire so I can get Mutalisks. Thoughts of the Enderdragon made me wince and order a Drone into a Spire. Thankfully with my Drones stationed inside my Lairs, only 9 Lings left, and my 36 Hydralisks perched on the walls, I've got plenty of room.

I wiped off the sweat from the afternoon sun beating down on me as I sat on top of my Lair, staring over the water. Even with my mental map and being able to see through the eyes of my Overlords, a change of scenery can still be pretty nice. I'd been up there a while before thoughts of sunburn came to me, but checking my arms revealed I hadn't reddened at all. I was confused by this for a moment before I realized that sunburns probably count as damage, and having regeneration as a Zerg probably heals that before it can even take hold. I grinned at that realization. I may not be tough enough to shrug off an arrow to the knee, but at least I'd heal from it!

With two hours to wait until the Spire finished growing, I quickly made the 450 Bio-Energy needed to upgrade the Hydralisks with Grooved Spines and then some. With nothing else to do, I started the Hydralisk Den on the upgrade, which would finish in an hour and 20 minutes. I considered starting up the other upgrades as well, then decided I'd be better off saving up for Mutalisks, considering they cost 200 Bio-Energy each.

With an hour's time to play with, I decided to take a moment and simply relax and not focus on anything. The stress of having to deal with nightly, and even sometimes sooner, attacks is starting to get to me I think. Walking around, I idly stopped by the Spawning Pool. It's about what I'd expect. Green, bubbly, and sitting in a small pit ringed by flesh. Curious, climbed up the side of the fleshy wall, to stand on the edge of the pool and dipped the tip of my finger in. It feels oily and it oozes, but that's about it. I wonder what it'd be like to swim in it?

A minute later had me doing the backstroke with my clothes piled up against the side. I stopped at the edge, able to touch the bottom the closer to the edge it got with only my head above the ooze. Considering I'm 6'6", That's surprising. I think I've finally lost it though. Here I am swimming in a pool of green ooze. I'd imagine most people would see something like this, and think, 'Eugh, who knows what that is? Looks gross, better avoid it.' Me? Well, I'm the one currently skinny dipping in it.

I dunno though, maybe it's more than that. I did have a pretty good instinct about the bio-energy pool in the Hatchery, which I had finally touched and learned it wouldn't harm me at all, and yet I knew I absolutely shouldn't touch the pool in the Evolution Chamber. Maybe being the Overmind comes with its own set of instincts in regards to the Zerg? Eh, sounds like as good a theory as any.

To be honest, the liquid in the Spawning Pool feels kinda nice. Sure, it's a bit oily, but at the same time, I hardly have to expend any effort to float on it. I winced at the sun shining in my eyes as it moved from behind a cloud. I wish I could have an Overlord floating over me for shade, but I can't afford the luxury right now. I need to have all of them gathering resources.

I was disturbed from my lazing by an almost imperceptible shudder, like a small earthquake. It was extremely short lived, and so soft that I almost thought I'd imagined it. Slightly startled, I sat up and made my way to the edge of the Spawning Pool, while casting my eyes over my mental map. The Overlords hadn't noticed anything at all, and my Spire is still growing, so it hadn't been from it hatching. I'd never thought about it, but I suppose Minecraft would have earthquakes occasionally. Being from Florida, I'd never experienced one myself. Here's hoping I won't experience a really bad one anytime soon.

Finally, my Spire finished and it hatched, towering just slightly over my Lairs, like a giant water tower. Having not spent anything while waiting for it to finish, I had a little over 600 Bio-Energy. Certainly nowhere near as much as I'd have gotten in an hour before, but it'll have to do. With time stretching into Evening, I ordered up three Mutalisks, hoping I'd have enough for a fourth before night fell. Soon enough, I heard them give a cry as they hatched from their cocoons, the sound echoed across the water, and they floated up into the sky to maintain a hovering vigil over the lairs.

Curious, I got out of the Spawning Pool, only to realize I didn't exactly have a towel to dry off with, and the liquid from the Spawning Pool has left me feeling a bit oily. Frowning, I quickly took a dip in the water of my new lake to wash off. I'd just have to air dry for now. In the meantime, I called down one of my new Mutalisks to come as close to the ground as it could in front of me. One of them immediately did a controlled drop from the sky, to stop at a hover mere inches from both myself and the ground. I was simultaneously startled at the sudden Mutalisk in my face, and the control it would need to have pulled off what it just did.

As for the Mutalisk itself, it's certainly not going to be winning any beauty pageants anytime soon. It looks like an oversized and armored grub with bat wings, and don't even get me started on the gaping toothed mouth sitting at its lower end. It has faint traces of greenish gas coming out of it and it stinks. I quickly averted my face from it. Really, the only redeeming feature appearance wise would have to be its eyes and wings. Like my Zerglings, they glow a bright and fierce yellow, with the pupils slit like a reptile's. That combined with the wings give the Mutalisks an almost dragon like presence to them.

Finished with my inspection, I deliberately gave the Mutalisk a pat since it seemed to droop when I thought it ugly. It perked right up at that. Satisfied, I ordered the Mutalisk to go back up and hold position. With a shot, it was off with hardly a breeze of displaced air. How did it do that, I wondered. Is its wings just for show, or do they have nothing to do with how it keeps itself in the air? Perhaps Mutalisks have a flight bladder that keeps them afloat and the wings are used mainly for propulsion? It's a good enough theory for now without going to the lengths of dissection, which is something I would never do to my Zerg ever.

As I'd hoped, by sunset, I'd gained enough Bio-Energy for not one, but three more Mutalisks, bringing my total up to six. I had them position themselves equally spaced around my Hive Cluster for the moment, and called an end to the resource gathering for the day, moving my Overlords into position over the water and waited.

I started to get worried as the moon slowly began to rise in the sky, and not a single mob had appeared. What is going on? Have the mobs just given up fighting me? Are they trying to lull me into a false sense of security? This is completely different from the past few days and it's starting to unnerve me. I'd wonder if it was a trap to lure me into continuing with resource gathering, only for mobs to spring out and hurt my Overlords, but with their extended sight range and ability to see through most solid objects, I can see through my Overlords quite clearly that there are just no mobs around at all.

After an hour of this, and getting tired all the time, I warned my Overlords to wake me the instant something changes, and then drifted off to sleep, confused and a little agitated.

- END CHAPTER –

Overmind Matthew

PSI Energy – 50/50

Status – Normal

Abilities

- Spawn Hatchery – 50psi – 12 hour build

- Regeneration – Passive – Heals anything not instantly fatal; time needed depends on extent of injury

- Anaerobic – Passive – No longer requires breathable atmosphere to survive

- Temperature Resistance – Passive – Currently able to survive temperatures between -450 and 118 F

- PSI Regeneration – Passive – Regenerate energy at .5 points per second.

Zerg Swarm

Bio-Energy – 35

Support – 126.5/139

Entities

4x Lairs

1x Evolution Chamber

1x Spawning Pool

15x Sunken Colonies

15x Spore Colonies

25x Overlords

38x Drones

9x Zerglings

36x Hydralisks

6x Mutalisks

Swarm Abilities

- Burrow (Drone, Zergling, Hydralisk, Defiler)

- Ventral Sacs (Overlord Transport)

- Pneumatized Carapace (Overlord Speed Doubled)

- Antennae (Overlord Sight Doubled)

- Grooved Spines (Hydralisk Extended Range)