StarCraft: Tyranid Empire

A Becca Luo proverb more or less reveals this terrible disaster. When you think something is bad enough, be careful, it will only get worse next time.

When Old Bren returned home, the howling wind outside had turned into roaring thunder, the sloping rain was like thick walls, and the weather had become damp and cold. The sky darkened completely, and miles-long blue-purple lightning struck the earth at every turn.

Bekaa Row is a terrible place, with thunderstorms, hail, torrential rain, and tornadoes for most of the year, and very little good weather the rest of the year. This type of climate is common on many planets with atmospheres, but is particularly severe on Bekaa Ro.

Extreme weather would destroy the colonists' crops and mines, and rebuilding them would require a hundredfold effort. After all, not all planets have a warm climate and sunny weather like Tarsonis.

At this time, staying in a modular steel building with an insulating coating is the wisest choice.

"The children are all back." Mrs. Brun was wearing an old and faded but cleanly washed work shirt, holding a dry towel in her hand.

Beka Luo's free port has its own weaving workshop and tailor. They have long stopped doing business with other colonies of the Federation or interstellar merchants, so daily necessities and various tools have to be made and forged by themselves.

For equipment that was dismantled from spaceships in the early colonial era, if one part broke, or even just broke a tube, there was no need to repair it.

This colony, which has been passed down from generation to generation, is just a place where a group of people with the same miserable fate but longing for a free life gather together for warmth. Many people of this generation have close relatives and support each other.

The furnishings of Bren's house are also very simple. Even the tables, chairs and blankets look like they have been used for many years. The people of Freeport have not yet developed a class and wealth gap, which means that they are mostly equally poor and live a hard life.

There are no television stations on this planet. Although power stations and signal towers are still functioning normally, not every household has televisions and radios. Even so, people here have not given up hope of living a better life and want their children to receive education as much as possible.

"After the general meeting of Freeport citizens, you will follow Nicholas to the seismic detectors and weather stations outside the town. I am really worried that something will happen." The lady's hands and skin were all tender from the heavy work. Rough, but the youthful vitality of youth can still be seen on the face.

In fact, old Bren and her wife are not old at all. They got married when they were sixteen or seventeen years old. They are not yet thirty years old now, but they look much older.

"What the imperial soldier said is true. Are there really any alien monsters coming to Beka Luo?" she asked.

Old Bren took off his raincoat wrapped in a layer of waterproof canvas and hung it on a hanger nearby to dry. The expression on his face was as gray as the sky: "My dear, I only hope that I am dazzled. But Brutus almost peed his pants. Brutus was a good farmer, and at that time he wanted to bury himself in the mud."

As he spoke, Mr. Bren lowered his voice: "I'm afraid it's true."

"This is too scary." Mrs. Brun looked at the heavy rain outside the window, as if she was afraid of a terrible monster jumping out of it.

"Before, the weather station and farm in Forty Hills lost contact with the town, and this time it lasted longer than before. Coupled with the sudden arrival of the Tyranids, everyone was very uneasy. So, we drove the combine harvest We flew to the Forty Hills and saw only a few gliding eagles and rock wall lizards. Everything was business as usual - although the weather is usually bad." Brun said:

"Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe the Empire people were just sensationalizing. But it didn't take long for us to discover something was wrong." He said:

"The weather station in Forty Hills is covered with some kind of fungus, like purple mold spots, and the weather hot air balloon is full of veins and arteries like human tissue. Dr. McCarthy and several of his colleagues who stayed there employees and students”

"Ah, what happened to them - he is a good man, and the doctor has been trying his best to improve the bad climate of Becca Rowe." Mrs. Brun felt a sense of sadness.

In Bekaa Luo, many people lose their lives every year due to extreme weather, and it is difficult to cultivate talents with important skills such as scientists and mechanics once they die unfortunately. The technology and civilization of this small place will only continue to degrade unless they find their own path to development.

"They all turned into monsters, monsters with fangs and sharp teeth, and their skin became as slimy as fish." Bren said with lingering fear:

"Everyone was panicked at that time, and Nicholas even ran away. Only Kirsten and I picked up the shotguns." It was hard to tell how much bragging there was in Mr. Brun's words. He coughed. He said, placing the old-fashioned Torrent shotgun behind him on the table with a corner missing: "I killed one, and Kirsten killed the other."

"Then we drove back - it was a nightmare. How could humans become like that? What turned them into that? If the data disk the Empire gave Nikolai was recorded If it’s true, then it was the Zerg that killed McCarthy and the others.”

"And Terran Empire scientists call that an infection."

"Blessed Virgin Mary, Forty Hills is only a dozen miles away from here. Those monsters can kill people in the weather station and do the same to people in Freeport." Mrs. Brun was stunned for more than ten seconds. Only then did he recover from the shock.

"But where can we escape to? Leaving Freeport, our fate will not be better than staying here."

"We can only ask for help from the Imperial Army, hoping that they will lend a helping hand. If it is the Federation, even if they provide support to Freeport, they will take the opportunity to control the entire town, put forward additional conditions for military protection, and force us to pay military expenses. .--Although they can do it even if they don't find this excuse." Bren sat down on the chair:

"There is no time to organize another citizens' meeting. Several old people in the town have unanimously decided to seek military help from the empire, no matter what price we have to pay." He whispered, as if he was afraid of disturbing the two people in the bedroom. children:

"It's not just the weather station, but a dozen family farms far away from Freeport are also suffering. The situation is getting worse, and even domestic dogs and livestock have turned into some kind of monsters."

This generation of Beqa Luo people is different from the previous generation, and they will never cling to past experiences.

"I hope that the storm that was a complete disaster for us in the past can also stop those enemies." He took a cup of tea from his wife and moistened his throat. The man who had never left Becca Rowe realized that he was the only support for his wife and children at this time.

It was tea soaked in salad greens. Wheat and oats occupied the only land in the mountainous and barren rugged terrain of Beka Ro. As for coffee and tea, the locals have stopped growing them for a long time. Even if all the land is planted with food, it will be difficult to feed everyone.

"There are several missile towers in the Freeport left by the previous people, which may come in handy. We have pulse guns to deal with large beasts, but we have long run out of ammunition."

"I don't know whether I should believe those Imperial people. Most people in the town hold the same view as me. This is the rule set by our fathers. The people of Beka Luo rely on their own hands to support themselves. They will never Go back to the Terran Federation." He continued:

"The officer has been emphasizing the difference between the Empire and the Federation. He said that the Tyranid Empire was established by a group of people who overthrew the Federation, and that the Emperor of the Tyranid Empire did better than the Federation Council and the Creation Family - we We all hope that smart traders should not exaggerate when they are selling themselves."

"My father only told me before he died. He stared at me and asked me to remember: Never trust the Federation. I will never forget his expression at that time. I only hope that the Terran Empire and the Terran Federation will be the best." It really makes a difference.”

"An army to protect the people? That ceased to exist about two centuries ago." Mrs. Brun was a smart woman, and it was with this wisdom that she raised her children with limited food.

"But if there is a group of people fighting against the enemies of humanity, they are probably nothing like the Confederate soldiers our fathers saw."

"Yeah" Bren nodded, coughed uncontrollably, and suddenly felt uncomfortable all over.

When Brun suddenly saw green spots appearing on the back of his hand, his face was almost as blue as his skin.

He had seen skin like this not long ago - on the bodies of his compatriots who had turned into monsters for unknown reasons.

When was it?

Infect?

In what form, how is it spread, and can people be cured if they are infected?

Bren thought of some kind of purple-black gelatinous blanket spreading under their feet. Although they were careful not to get close to the infected buildings and twisted humanoid monsters, they still made those disgusting sticky, snot-like things substance adhered to the boots.

A mixture of shock, anger and regret made Brun's heart tighten. He immediately stood up and distanced himself from his wife. He was more worried about his family than himself at the moment.

There has been an outbreak of infectious disease in Freeport, but it was spread through grains that were left in the fields on rainy days and became moldy because they were not harvested in time, that is, food.

According to the information and warnings given by the empire, although during their so-called total war period, that is, after 2491, zerg viruses and infections were not the zerg's main means of attack. Their method of spreading the virus is not clever, and infected people will not infect healthy people, causing cross-infection again.

Until recently, a brainworm named Carlos appeared on the scene of mankind. It further perfected the infection method of zerg and has cultivated new zerg variants carrying a large number of microscopic parasites and mycoviruses.

Today, giant spore-ejecting swarms can even spray trillions of infected spores across the entire universe. ——This alone is extremely terrifying. Once extremely tiny spores enter the planet's atmosphere, they can be scattered across the entire planet, attaching to air currents and rivers in search of their hosts.

The way zerg spread infection is also difficult to prevent. Among the known methods, apart from spores scattered in the air, many people are not even sure how they were infected.

Carlos's swarm may be the most terrifying zerg that humans have ever encountered, and its purpose is to destroy this powerful enemy of humanity. Once the disease spreads throughout the Kopulu Sector, it will be a terrible catastrophe.

The Terran Empire officially named Kalos, and its group was a plague group, named Griffin by Emperor Augustus (Griffin, griffon in Greek mythology).

"What's wrong? What happened?" Mrs. Brun had never seen such an expression on her husband's face.

"I was infected by the zerg. On the way, I contracted the terrible disease that the soldier said. I don't know how long I can live, or I may die soon." Bren was silent for a few seconds, maybe it was more. It took a long time, but he had already made up his mind when he showed his wife the protruding veins and scars with hyphae on her wrists.

He silently put on the raincoat he had worn when he came back and took his gun:

"You may also have been infected while talking to me -" The larger man with dark brown messy hair paused:

"My dear, you have to lock yourself in this room now. No matter what, do not open the door to the children, no matter how they cry or plead. When the doctors and scientists from the Terran Empire arrive, they will tell you what to do."

"I have to leave here to warn others." He opened the door and jumped into the wind and rain that could knock people to the ground again:

"When all this is done, I will go to the automatic refinery. Only flames can prevent the further spread of the contagion."

"farewell."

Mrs. Brun was a strong woman, but when the door closed again, she was already in tears.

Outside, a heavy rain hit, and Bren realized that his physical condition was rapidly deteriorating. It's more likely that he was infected hours ago and is just now experiencing an attack.

Luckily he didn't see many people.

The weather was getting worse, and the wind seemed capable of knocking Brun down completely. Storms swirled in the dusk sky, and the only light in the sky no longer existed, leaving only the bright lights in the Freeport.

The sound of the wind was as shocking as the howling of ghosts and wolves, but in Brunel it was like the roar of a monster.

Bren was still conscious, and he just hoped it wasn't a flashback. He must find those people who are also likely to be infected and convince them to leave with him.

Then, he will notify everyone through the radio to unite and hold on until reinforcements from the Tyranid Empire arrive.