Author Notes:
If you get confused about the hive structure and operations:
Think of it as bees and how they operate, with worker bees, cleaners, warriors, etc. Every insect has a role.
However, they are different species, like grasshoppers, worms, cicadas, etc. The queen mates with the insects and lays eggs of the species mated with.
Let me know if you need auxiliary chapters to describe all of this as well as the biology of the male and female Zerg in the story plus more things.
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The explosives clicked green across every visor. Mantis checked them once more. Kinsley checked twice. The chamber should have lit up the hive.
It did nothing.
The floor shifted under their feet. A low rumble rolled through the walls. Resin dust fell in a thin veil. A steady thumb overtook the corridor they had vacated to. The ground shuddered and shook in a steady rhythm. Buzzes filled the air instead, causing some to take an involuntary step back before steadying themselves. That didn't sound like a centralised explosion.
Mantis braced himself as the whole chamber shuddered.
"Aaah!"
Shouted a voice from the middle of the crowd as it was dragged deeper into the hole by a larva.
Everyone nearby jum[ed to avoid it. Those able to perched on the slanted chamber walls and aimed at the ground using their guns.
The first wave ruptured out in explosions. Newly hatched larvae crawled over the chamber walls. Their bodies were soft but fast. Their eyes shone with feral focus. They hissed and bolted toward the team.
"Great," complained Kinsley, "Just what we need, wireworm types."
Mantis made the first kill. His gauntlet smashed a skull. Kinsley shot three clean rounds into the next cluster. A blade of condensed light hummed from the hand of one of the soldiers as he slashed through larvae that clung to his legs.
They kept coming. Each movement looked smoother than the wave before. Each strike landed with better aim.
Mantis narrowed his eyes.
He snapped an order for retreat. Only those with high rank stayed close. The rest fell back in a rapid line. Their boots hammered through the tunnel while the chamber shook from the weight of newborn bodies.
He opened the channel to Kaerin. His cold voice stayed steady even as he ripped an insect off Kinsley's shoulder.
"New hatchlings. Armyworms. Hundreds. Moving fast."
Kinsley then added with a bit of sarcasm already sick and tired of the week. "At least we know why the bombs did not trigger."
"Fuck!" muttered Verrik from a distance.
Armyworm clan insects were a pesky bunch, notorious for consuming anything and everything with power sources and metal after all. They were also generally non-confrontational unless provoked, and zergs matching into their hatching place definitely counted as such.
"Plan C." Kaerin replied at once. His voice held that razor edge that meant he was already in motion. "Hold your line. I am inbound. ETA thirty minutes."
Another backup known only to the inner circle. Should the explosives fail, Kaerin would have to bring the extra ammunition to the eggchamber. The problem with this was the need to clear every insect to prevent tampering, especially the cleaning drones and larvae which would take time and energy.
Additionally, the ammunition had a safeguard of having a forcefield around it and radioactive metal to deter the insects. The main problems were two; with that was the elimination of the manual detonation button and the short timeframe to trigger the explosion to only ten minutes. Additionally, it was centralised, yes, but the power was more, creating uncertainty in the blast radius in a Hive. Thus, making it an extremely risky business.
"We are gonna die here," shouted Kinsley.
"We won't. FOCUS!" said Mantis back as he rolled over to dodge the tail end of the worm.
The team continued to fight in retreat. Their shots lit the tunnel. Their blades cut through anything that lunged from the walls. Even the inexperienced soldiers managed to hold formation, though their arms shook from the force of each hit.
The recruits broke into the open at last and sprinted toward the ships. Kaerin and Verrik passed them in their duo vessel. The ship cut through the battlefield and dropped low toward the hive entrance. Once the halls grew narrow enough, they abandoned ship and switched to direct combat.
Inside the tunnels, Mantis and Kinsley carved down the last cluster of hatchlings. Resin steamed on Mantis's gauntlets. Kinsley reloaded with quick, sharp movements. The tunnel floor was slick with bodies.
Kaerin and Verrik joined them in the next chamber. Kaerin did not waste a second. His blade flashed and dropped three insects before they even hissed. He then proceeded to cover the rear and swept the stragglers away with well-placed rounds.
Verrik, on the other hand, rushed and handed Kinsley the equipment who then started to set up the explosives. Verrik continued to cover him as they did so.
A blast of sound ripped through the hive. It felt like someone reached into their skulls and twisted. Every soldier staggered. Even Kaerin flinched. Verrik and Mantis grabbed the wall for balance. While Kinsley all but covered his ears in agony.
The insects froze. Their antennae raised high.
Kinsley caught the look Mantis gave him. A silent warning.
Queen nearby.
She did not show herself, but her presence soaked the hive like pressure at the bottom of the ocean.
Insect Queens were the hardest and most dangerous enemies to deal with. They were huge, yes, but had rather soft bodies, easy to cut or destroy. Regardless of physical build, their real danger was their mental power. Even a low-level queen could permanently ruin a zerg's mental scape and drive them to insanity.
Additionally, they had physical powers which no other zerg male or female possessed. They could move objects with their minds or even send attacks, which was unheard of. High-class male zergs could do at least the altered mental scape, but the physical power?
The egg chamber now looked worse than before. The resin sagged in strange angles. Larvae pulsed in half-formed cells. Some had cracked. Some crawled. All waited to attack. They were running out of time
"Kinsley, tell me something good!" Said Verrik anxiously.
"Its done," said Kinsley as the last explosive was put in place.
Kaerin sent the retreat order to every nearby unit then pressed the button. "Out. Now."
The timer began at ten minutes.
They left the chamber and ran. The tunnels shook under the strain of the hive trying to break itself apart. Resin cracked and fell in shards.
Nine minutes.
They picked up speed. The path curved toward the ships. Then something moved in the next chamber.
Kinsley dodged a second too late.
A warrior insect lunged out of the dark. Hard shell. Heavy build. A rank that only guarded the queen.
Its claw punched into his stomach.
Kinsley's breath choked off. He staggered back and pressed a hand to the wound as blood spread across his suit.
The warrior clicked its jaws. It began the first syllable of a call.
Kaerin killed it before it finished. His blade drove into its skull. The sound cut off, but the damage was done.
Reinforcements screamed from the deeper tunnels.
Mantis grabbed Kinsley before he collapsed. He slung one of Kinsley's arms over his shoulder and held him steady. Kinsley pushed pressure against the wound and kept himself moving with teeth clenched hard enough to crack.
In the process of that, a warrior insect got a lucky hit and sliced Mantis's scales-covered arm. He winced; the gnash was not pretty. He didn't stop moving, only dodged the attempted attacks.
Kaerin shot the insect with his gun straight in its head, and it collapsed.
The warriors came in a wave. Kaerin and Verrik blocked the front. Mantis guarded Kinsley's other side. The four of them fought while they moved.
Five minutes.
Mantis and Kinsley's ship came into view. They climbed inside. Mantis dropped into the pilot chair and lifted the ship with sharp, practised motions. Then, he triggered the autopilot sequence. Afterwards, he fired on the warriors as they flooded the tunnel behind them.
Kaerin and Verrik's ship rose farther ahead. They reached it and boarded.
The warrior swarm doubled.
Three minutes.
Kinsley sat on the floor of the ship with blood-covered hands and a first aid kit. He pressed bandages to his wound and cursed through clenched teeth. His face had gone pale.
Mantis and Kinsley's ship got surrounded. A thruster had gotten torn off in the process. The insects climbed the hull. Their claws scraped against the biotech plating. The ship buckled under the weight as more bodies piled over it.
Two minutes.
The remaining engines struggled. The tunnel filled with screeching bodies. The ship lurched and slammed into the resin wall.
One minute.
Kaerin's voice cut through the communication channel. "Need help?"
Mantis kept his hands on the controls. His voice stayed hard. "No, engines' busted. Kinsley and I need to evac."
"I'll get you an opening then,"
The surrounding insects were then viciously attacked from the opposite direction with automated missiles and switched focus.
The bottom hatch of Mantis' ship opened. A hidden latch snapped free. Autopilot engaged. Self-destruct armed.
Kaerin's ship swept in low. Verrik held the side hatch open. Mantis dragged Kinsley out. They leapt from the sinking vessel. Kaerin grabbed Mantis. Verrik hauled Kinsley inside.
They slammed the hatch shut.
Zero.
The egg chamber detonated behind them. A second blast followed as Mantis's ship ignited. Flames rose through the hive. Biotech plating melted in bright streamers of light.
Kaerin forced the engines to full power. The ship surged forward while the hive collapsed behind them. The heat followed them through the tunnels like a living thing.