Starcraft Evolution- Hydralisk A: Hunter Killer

Finally, the next evolution mission. I don’t own Starcraft or Blood+.

Hydralisk Evolution Mission​



Abathur: Hydralisk strain ready for augmentation...again. Potential sequences heavily fortified, requires infiltration. Many hydralisks sent, surrendered willfully to native civilizations, ready to acquire essence. Await your command.


-----

Strain #1: Hunter Killer

The Leviathan warped through another wormhole. Since their location was said to be heavily fortified, Kerrigan instructed the Zerg not to get too close to the test site. That test site’s location also made her uneasy once they got there.

“Another Earth?”

This Earth was much like that from the previous test.

However, Abathur briefed, “New species of interest discovered.”

Kerrigan and Abathur projected to the “fortified location”. Passing through the clouds, their view discovered an island distant from the mainland. They could easily see many guards, fences, and even a few vehicles and anti-aircraft weaponry guarding what looked like a bunker entrance.

“Lazzaro. Maximum security bunker, top secret research facility.”

They continued to zoom in underneath the bunker, supposedly made of concrete and steel now obsolete in their old world. They stopped again at a large octahedral arena. The place looked very secure as there were only two opposite doors into the chamber and many windows to observe it.

“I see our Hydralisks,” Kerrigan found eleven in the test chamber. “It looks like they’re gonna conduct an experiment.”

“Experiment initiated soon,” Abathur warned. “Species of interest will be released soon.”

-----

Test chamber, lead observation deck...

There were several white-coated scientists and military communications officers on rows of seats, observing all the conditions within the test chamber. Surrounding them were multiple guards to secure the area, armed with rifles and prepared to escort the personnel if things got out of hand. There were a few others watching the station directly from the window. Most of them were military officers, but there was a notable and odd one of the group.

He was well dressed like the other staff, but wore a white outfit and spectacles. He pulled on the wrapper ends of some round hard candy before plopping it in his mouth.

“So, I assume the new organisms are cooperating properly.” He spoke with a French accent.

“Van Argiano,” one of the officers addressed his name. “I remind you that this was a test scheduled spontaneously. We’re working with alien creatures we have no knowledge about and you think they won’t do as they please?”

“With all due respect, Colonel, I don’t know these ‘snakes’ either. But I am interested. See how they do against the ‘mice’ we’ve worked on before.”

“If things get fishy, we’ll have the Corpse Corps dispatched to rid of these...‘snakes’ before they cause any unexpected trouble.”

“Whatever you say, Colonel. When you are ready, release the ‘mice’ to begin the experiment.”

-----

Kerrigan overheard the conversation between Van and the military officers. The only interest Kerrigan was seeing how secure they had this facility. It reminded her of Valerian back on Umoja. She taught him a lesson about the Zerg there, she’ll do the same to these soldiers here.

But first, they should acquire the essence. And that essence Kerrigan assumed to be the “mice” Van was talking about. It had to be the same thing Abathur wanted as he focused more on the opening doors.

Three humanoid beasts wandered into the chamber. They had a form similar to a bat without any fur or developed wings and had circular jaws. Abathur introduced the creatures to Kerrigan.

“Chiropteran. Massive rodent-based lifeform. Converted from human. Consumes blood as primary food source.”

Kerrigan observed the somewhat stupid creatures sniffing toward the Hydralisks. They focused on the Zerg and roared at them. Kerrigan found this meaning they’ll attack soon.

“Let’s see how strong they are compared to our Hydralisks.”

The Chiropterans charged at the Hydralisks, which retaliated easily with their spikes. They were only hit the shoulders, so the Chiropterans were able to shrug them off easily and close in. One Chiropteran grabbed the arms of one Hydralisk and gnawed on its captive. The victim Hydralisk easily fought it off with it scythe-like arms, cutting off both of the Chiropteran’s and knocking it back. Another Chiropteran was shredded by more Hydralisks spikes; it fell before it could get close enough. The third one grabbed another Hydralisk and sliced across its chest. Though the Hydralisk swinged to the left, it retaliated by also swinging its left arm and cutting the creature’s head off. The beheaded Chiropteran fell to the ground dead.

The other two Chiropterans were not dead. They have been severely wounded in their opening gambit, but their previous injuries healed quickly. All their wounds healed and the one that just lost its arms grew new ones immediately. Abathur gave a very late warning about the creatures.

“Chiropteran has rapid regeneration, abnormal strength, resilience.”

That didn’t matter, however. Despite having similar performance, Kerrigan easily differed the two creatures. While Hydralisks aren’t too smart either, they still smarter than their challengers to a degree and can adapt. Seeing how one of the Chiropterans immediately died once beheaded, both Kerrigan and the Hydralisks knew how to deal with them.

The angered Chiropterans charged at the Zerg, which formed a semicircle. The two creatures went right into the center and the Zerg closed around them. They retaliated by slicing through several nearby Hydralisks, but they did little damage. The Zerg that were not hit stabbed the Chiropterans in the back and those that were ripped them apart. After a few seconds, the two Chiropterans were nothing but shredded limbs.

At the same time, the Hydralisks feasted on the dead Chiropterans and Abathur analyzed.

“Interesting new discovery. New genetic base detected, D-base. Key to Chiropteran abilities: shapeshifting, strength, speed, regeneration.”

“Then make something out of it.”

“D-base supply not enough. Must acquire more samples.”

That request was inevitable as Kerrigan could overhear the Van and the staff members discussing the sudden results.

“The snakes have devoured the mice. As usual.”

“Something that can surpass Chiropterans. As wild creatures, they can be an even bigger threat than we could imagine. We should dispose of them immediately.”

“Then we shall grant you your request, Colonel. Release the Corpse Corps and we’ll see how they do.”

A second door opened to release three humanoid beings into the arena. They looked identical to one another dressed completely in body armor and helmets. They also wielded short swords drawn out from their sheaths.

“Corpse Corps,” Abathur analyzed. “Artificial Chiropteran. Programmed to eliminate other Chiropterans.”

“Then eliminate them and collect enough D-base samples to integrate into the Swarm.”

But the new Corpse Corps proved to be a tougher challenge. Immediately, they vanished into streaks of light and triangulated the Zerg. All but the center Hydralisk got out of the way as they were sliced by the charging Corpse Corps. The center Hydralisk was ripped apart by their short swords. They moved to block attacks from the now surrounding Hydralisks. As another surprise, some of their gloves came off and grew spikes from their hands. Two Hydralisks were hit in the eyes and one was cut through the stomach afterward.

Knowing these were like other Chiropterans, the Hydralisks responded to this. They first fired spikes at the Corpse Corps. Kerrigan noticed now they were similar to robots or dolls as they took the hits. One of the Corpse Corps soldiers’ heads exploded after a few direct hits and its body collapsed. The other two dashed back and encircled the Zerg; one was faster than the other, which took some hits on its legs. Once they closed in, the Hydralisks readied their arms. Though one or two had their arms cut off by the Corpse Corps’ swords, the other were able to catch the wounded one easily; its eventual captor tore up the body beyond recovery. The last of the Corpse Corps attacked a Hydralisk directly and cut it apart. It proceeded to attack two nearby Hydralisks, successfully hitting their torsos. This became its last attack as the Hydralisks focused spike and arms on the Corpse Corps, effectively destroying it.

The Hydralisks proceeded to eat much of the Corpse Corps remains. Wanting to escape the test arena before encountering more, Kerrigan gave the order.

“I think that’s enough essence. Start spinning.”

The surviving Hydralisks wrapped themselves for augmentation.

-----

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, Colonel.” Van was still stunned to see many of the Hydralisks surviving after an attack from the Copse Corps. He returned to Earth, still oblivious of at’s going on. “This is the first time I’ve seen the ‘snakes’ cocoon like this.”

“Well, the ‘snakes’ clearly proven to be much more dangerous than we could’ve hoped! Whatever is going on, you better explain everything in why testing these specimens that we know little about was a good idea-”

“Sir!” A scientist interrupted, “The cocoons opened already! It looks like they’re just-”

They were interrupted when spikes pierced through the windows and ripped through the structure. Several even went from underneath the deck, tearing through equipment and other things. Some went through a couple gas pipe and caused one or two explosion on the back of the room. Van was one the few lucky enough to avoid the needles and get down. But when the shootings stopped, he saw the officers near him weren’t, all pierced through the chest or head. The only other survivors were a few soldiers and scientists.

“The test subjects, they seem to have acquired new forms!”

Van crawled up to the surviving scientist at the front of the observation deck. He peaked above the wreckage and found the “snakes” with their form, being greener and having spikes around their shoulders. They were currently tearing through latches the distant door on his right.

“Contact all nearby forces and any military personnel nearby! We need to deal with the ‘snakes’ immediately!”

“But Mr. Argaino, the officers are dead!”

“I’m the one taking over under Goldsmith! I want this facility controlled now!”

-----

Once the Hydralisks were finished with the door, Abathur described the new strain.

“Hunter Killer. Enhanced strength. Shoots needles rapidly, hits targets in area.”

The new Hydralisks moved through the exit, proceeding through a tunnel where many soldiers stood on guard. Alarms were going off long before, so they were ready to open fire on the Hydralisks. It was all to no avail; the bullets did little damage to their carapace. In return, the new Hunter Killers simultaneously spit out a single spray of spikes at their targets. All the men were sent flying and wiped out.

The Hydralisks proceeded through the corridor and up a few inclined planes towards the surface. While proceeding through each level, a number of guards came and opened fire on the Zerg. Because these numbers were small, they were easily disposed of by a spray of spikes from one or two Hunter Killers. Many unarmed personnel were fleeing from the new Hydralisks while the guards defending were getting slaughtered. Some were even hit by the stray fire, but Kerrigan never bothered attacking them.

However, as the Hunter Killers cleared three levels, about one more floor from the bunker entrance, Kerrigan heard more from Van.

“Deploy more of the Corpse Corps! Stop those ‘snakes’ before...before Amshel and the Defense Secretary hear about this!”

The Corpse Corps were dangerous opponents from the lab, even with the new strains. Kerrigan knew this, but that wasn’t the important part. She could sense amplified activity coming from a nearby room, something that could reach a very far range.

“There’s a communications center nearby. Destroy it and that’ll keep them from bringing in reinforcements!”

The Hydralisks remained on the current floor and broke to the right. Four more guards with rifles defended the door to the center. Two others came from the corridor, carrying a shoulder mounted missile launcher. While the four guards were easily wasted, the missile crew took the time to set up and fire a missile. They were rained on by spikes as the missile hit the frontal Hydralisk. There was a lot of smoke, so nearby personnel couldn’t see the damage; the top shield-like section of the Hydralisk’s head was fractured. Four more Corpse Corps then came from the smoke and sliced through the injured Zerg.

The remaining Hunter Killers retaliated with a spray, but while they were grazed, the Corpse Corps quickly avoided them. They attacked the other Hunter Killers almost individually. Two converged onto the same target and sliced its arms off, but were distracted spikes from the non-targets. One Corpse Corps went straight onto the center of the Hunter Killer’s head, but was meet with a shower of spikes that utterly destroyed it. The last one sliced off an arm, then locked with another; it released a glove to fire its own spikes, but its enemy was easily overpowered and destroyed. The remaining two Corpse Corps continued on their target, dashing multiple times to avoid the spikes that wrecked the entire facility and even far down to the lower levels.They converged back onto the same injured Hunter Killer, but it was defended by its fellow Zerg that cut both of them in half.

The Hunter Killers fired a few more shots into the communications center. Afterwards, anyone who saw through the shattered windows would easily find the place wrecked and full of holes. From the darkness and light from the holes, only wrecked equipment, destroyed office spaces, and corpses were visible. Kerrigan and Abathur could also sense the dramatic drop in information traffic.

“Comm array destroyed. Facility unable to contact external forces.”

“Another force incoming!” Kerrigan could sense another set of guards and Corpse Corps heading towards the Hunter Killers. “You better have integrated the Chiropteran’s full potential.”

“Hunter Killer assimilates regeneration ability. Quickly heals when out of combat for short time period.”

In a few seconds, the security forces arrived to see the Hunter Killers recovering instantly. It was more of a few seconds, but they witnessed those that lost arms growing entire new ones That was just before the Corpse Corps made their dashing strike, only to be easily eliminated while the engaging guards radioed over.

“Sir, the damage the ‘snakes’ took have fully healed! They just regrew arms like it was nothing!”

“What? How could they…the ‘mice’!”

Not only was it already too late, but Van was interrupted by several shakes coming from the Hunter Killers’ attacks. Apparently, some of the stray spikes went through the bunkers’ floors and hit some prison blocks or power generators below them. After dealing with the guards and Corpse Corps, the Hydralisks returned to the ramps.

Kerrigan observed a large number Chiropterans emerging and their attackers trying to contain the situation. Many of Chiropterans noticed the nearby Hydralisks and charged at the them. They were met by an outstanding of spikes that tore through many of them. The surviving Chiropterans ripped a few arms before succumbing to the spikes and blades from the Hunter Killers, the victims of which quickly healed from their amputated status. Though this was an easy win, Kerrigan urged the Hydralisks to keep moving up to avoid an overwhelming force.

“Facility entrance located here,” Abathur designated the target location, located one more floor above, where the Hunter Killers were about to reach. “Preparing Overlords for evacuation.”

“Go, and destroy the outside defenders! Secure the area for our Overlords!”

The Hydralisks were already meters away from their exits, lightly guarded by eight soldiers. Unknown how futile it was, they opened fire on the escaping Zerg.

-----

Outside of the facility was also chaotic. They only heard that the situation inside the bunker was critical and needed containment. The soldiers were forced to work double time in preparing their parked vehicles and other defenses.

But they didn’t have enough time, the troops near the door heard the gunfire inside the room and witnessed the bunker doors bursting open. The soldiers evaded the flying broken doors and got into cover. They fired through the entrance as the Hunter Killers emerged out of it.

The Zerg were unphased by the gunfire and ignored them, breaking to the left where the more open and unsecured area was. They noticed a few SAM launchers and guard towers, connected by walls of barbed wire. They focused on the anti-aircraft weapons as they exploded after a few shots. The guard towers were not important, but the ordinary and sniper rifle fire annoyed the Hydralisks, directing some of their spikes at the stems of the towers. The towers were then destabilized and collapsed onto the ground. Two other Hydralisks were obliterated by surprise from two Abrams tanks and two mounted Humvees. The Hydralisks flanked to the side to avoid the gunfire from the Humvees and sprayed more spike on all of the vehicles. The Humvees were clearly mass-produced combat vehicles, but they were still outclassed to the Terran vehicles the Zerg were up against. The same was said about the tanks, even though they took a lot more damage than the Humvees did. But all of them went in smoke and the Hunter Killers focused on their designated targets.

As the Zerg finished the SAMs, the other side was getting overwhelmed by emerging Chiropterans. Despite having the Corpse Corp to assist, there were too many to handle alone and many of the guards were wiped out. The Hunter Killers went around, flanking a tank and easily destroying it, and finished off their work by destroying two more anti-aircraft batteries.

By that time, the Overlords arrived from the sky to pick up the new Hydralisks.

“Facility broken. Zerg and Chiropterans escaped. Extracting Hunter Killers.”

With the remaining defenders busy with the Chiropterans, Kerrigan withdrew from the site.

“Good. While doing so, get your next experiment ready.”