StarCraft: Tyranid Empire

Imperial border post, Krakulv.

Kolykov is a lunar world located on the border of the Tyranid Empire. Its surface is covered with featureless sandy lunar soil, craters and huge rugged rocks. It has been dry and desolate for millions of years.

It has been six months since Air Force Lieutenant Brachyan Treicher was ordered to the Kolykov base. During this period, apart from flying a starfighter to perform military missions, he spent the rest of his time outside the base. Watch the sunset on the sand dunes.

In this lunar world, the wind blowing from all directions always seems to be very light, and the sand and dust raised by the wind always take a long time to fall, like swirling mist. The sky in Kolykov is purple, and the floating mist is also rendered purple.

Sometimes, Blake could sit on the dune and watch for a whole day, watching the blue-purple planet rise and set every day.

Most of the borders are bitterly cold places, especially Kolykov. Not everyone can adapt to the monotonous life of Korekov Outpost. It is one of the most remote military stations in the Tyranid Empire. The nearest imperial territory is an emerging settlement with a population of less than 60,000 people.

Korekov itself has no value, it is merely a marker of the ever-expanding territorial boundaries of the Tyranid Empire. As the unknown sector is further explored, this outpost will be transformed from a forward base into a logistics supply station.

After Emperor Augustus Mengsk came to the throne, he worked hard to reunify the fragmented worlds into a complete empire. After that, the Tyranids once again started the colonial expansion movement that had been interrupted. The territory of the empire had already exceeded In the past, the Terran Federation and the Koprulu Sector had become a narrow regional concept in the past.

Carrying out missions in a remote corner of the civilized world like Kolykov is not an attractive thing. The isolation and sameness of life are more of a torture.

If you want to accumulate military merits and be promoted as soon as possible, then it is best to actively apply to deal with the remnants of the federal organization, anti-imperial terrorists and channel pirates, but even these scumbags are not very common now, most of them once caused trouble at one time All terrorist organizations on one side have disappeared.

Places like Kolykov are suitable for the adventurous and the unlucky ones assigned to the pioneering program. Their duties are to perform star mapping missions, mark potentially habitable planets and protect established new settlements. .

Some people don't like this kind of work, while others enjoy it.

Lieutenant Bray was allowed to take a day off today, so he decided to just lie on the sand dunes of Kolykov and empty his mind. Of course, it would be easy if the commander of the Korykov base would allow Breqi to take the Banshee bomber for a spin.

At this time, others usually spend their vacation time reading delayed electronic newspapers, reading the news, drinking beer in the base bar, or looking through the mail sent by their families - no matter what time it is. , the army will always deliver letters to the soldiers as soon as possible. Usually it's a wrapped birthday present or Christmas present.

Life in Kolykov is so simple and monotonous. There is not even a single thing that can be called a living creature twenty light years away. If you really can’t stay, you can apply for a job that’s more exciting—usually, more dangerous.

All in all, Breqi could just lie down on the sand dunes and take a nap in the breeze. Korykov's afternoon was very comfortable, and the most important thing was that no one would disturb him.

Kolykov is a military base, but there are hardly any enemies nearby. In the more than half a year since it was built, not even a single alien leech that sucks human blood has appeared here.

The enemies in the entire universe that can really threaten the humans of the Tyranids are the terrifying alien monsters, protoss and bugs. Since the world that humans have explored is just a drop in the ocean compared to the vast galaxy, so far they have not discovered the fourth planet. A higher intelligent race.

The only thing that is certain is that humans are just one of the many races that the Protoss Empire has observed.

The Tyranid Empire had long signed a peace treaty with the Duram Protoss. As for the extremist Tal'darin Protoss among the protoss, the Empire has never signed any treaty with them, and the two sides have actually been at war with them. Blake will never be merciful if they encounter them.

But the Tal'darim's sphere of influence does not overlap with that of the Empire, at least not here.

The zerg are mainly distributed near the Char galaxy, which is really far away from Kolykov. Moreover, the insect swarm is not a thing at all now. Only the Griffin insect swarm of the brainworm Carlos is still lingering on the border of the empire, and its ghost is still lingering.

It was now three o'clock in the afternoon, and Brechi could have stayed for another two hours, until Kolykov's night slowly came.

The exception was when the emergency walkie-talkie beeped.

This kind of thing must happen several times a year. There are several newly opened colonies in this area, and new immigrants arrive every three days, but everything is not always so smooth.

The last time the engine of a colony ship exploded halfway, Blake drove a star jumper (Puddle-jumper) from the Korykov base into the scene of the incident, almost carrying the doctors on his back to rescue people. .

On the fringe worlds far away from Korhal, the settlers could only rely on themselves and the Imperial troops stationed nearby. The Imperial Army belongs to the Emperor, but if trouble arises, any Imperial citizen can call upon them - for good reason.

In this regard, you can never expect the same thing as the federal troops of the past, they will just tell you to get lost.

"I'm Lieutenant Blake Churchill." Blake didn't ask questions, complain or curse at his boss, Lieutenant Colonel Paul, and immediately walked towards the base. It only takes two or three minutes to walk from here to the base, and it's even faster to run.

"Soldier, I need you to return to the base immediately." The lieutenant colonel's words were still as concise and concise:

"We're in trouble."

The lieutenant colonel didn't even have time to say what the trouble was, which meant that the trouble was too big for him to solve.

Blake knew that this was a bigger problem than he had ever seen before. Perhaps it was a privateer fleet of Caimorian pirates or something else that was outraged by both humans and gods.

But Blake wouldn't ask too much. The superiors would never explain clearly to him what happened. It was enough to just follow the order and carry out the task.

Sweeping across the still calm purple sky, Lieutenant Brezhi walked toward the Kolykov military base uneasily.

Strictly speaking, the Kolykov base is a geometric area surrounded by new alloy steel plate walls. It houses barracks, engineering stations, armories, command centers and other bases built with standardized prefabricated components. Few important facilities.

There are several guards in red power armor standing at the entrance of the base. There is nothing that feels safer than this in the Tyranid Empire. Engraved on the wall behind them are two clear lines of words: Serve the Emperor's cause, and serve the glory of the Imperial Marines!

"Is there anyone left outside?" Blake noticed an acquaintance of his at the door of the base.

Second Lieutenant Croshen was wearing CMC-400 powered armor, with the matte helmet visor tightly closed. This is a commander's powered armor, which means there are more communication lines in the armor, and you can follow the life support data, location, ammunition level and other information of each marine in your team through the HUD display on the mask. .

"You're the last one, sir," Lieutenant Croshen said to Blake.

"Not bad," Blake said.

Second Lieutenant Croshen had just graduated from Stillling Memorial Military Academy, and he still spoke with the habits of a military academy student. He looked at his rank and used honorifics in everything he did.

They are highly educated, young, and have potential. As long as they don't do stupid things, their promotion speed will not be slow.

The top students at Stillling Military Academy are really rare. In the past, the officers of the Imperial Army were all promoted from actual combat. During the war with the Zerg, if a marine force was lost in battle, the one who survived was quickly promoted.

If a person is unqualified as an officer, then he and his team will not survive for long, and officers who can survive the first total war and rise step by step will not be mediocre. Of course, they must be lucky enough. .

This is the first year that military academy graduates are pouring into the army, but many people in the imperial army think this is a complete disaster.

As the first class of graduates that the emperor values ​​​​especially, it is natural that these graduates are highly qualified. They must at least have expertise in star chart compilation, alien biology, natural science, mathematics, logistics, strategy and tactics, communications, and military affairs. In order to get high marks in a series of subjects such as law, they also had to memorize the revolutionary program of Augustus and be able to clearly explain its meaning and significance.

The most critical part is that the final examiners include both the emperor himself and mind readers. If a cadet can't even figure out what it means to join the military, it's best to wait until he figures it out before graduating.

This group of people must also have the courage and determination to fight against the Protoss or Zerg - there are many Protoss and Zerg imprisoned in the Tyranid Empire's military academy, and that is also one of the graduation exam questions.

But once they are assigned to the army, they will still be equated with recruits who can only talk on paper. It is recognized that the only job they are qualified for is peeling eggs and peeling potatoes. Don't expect veterans to entrust their lives to a newcomer.

If the tough guys of the Marine Corps want to recognize him, this young man from Augustgrad is still far from it.

"Do you know what happened?" Blake didn't expect to get any information from Lieutenant Croshen.

As he spoke, a medical transport ship was preparing to land at the Kolykov base, and soon, another one also arrived.

"A Dark Templar knocked on Lieutenant Colonel Paul's door, claiming to be Dark Priest Azma." Croshen's voice came from behind the mask. It was a deep voice: "He brought insects. There is news of the swarm's resurgence, and the Kolykov base is on their inevitable path."

"I know because I was there."

"." Bray looked at the sky again like a launchpad, as if some terrifying monster was really going to fall from the sky: "Zerg? Not from Char? Damn it!"

"And they are two different swarms of insects chasing each other." The second lieutenant said, "I only know this much."

"Mom!" Blake was shocked.

Blake was an experienced pilot who had participated in two major wars with aliens known as the "First Contact War" and the "First Total War" that must not be ignored in Imperial school history textbooks. .

Maybe Total War First was a silly naming, as someone knew Total War Second was coming, but regardless, it was called Total War First from the start.

The truth is this. Unless humans make peace with the Zerg, there will definitely be a third and fourth time until one of them is completely destroyed. But it was impossible to reason with the Overlord. It must have full confidence in the fact that the swarm would definitely win.

"I only know one person, the Dark Master of the Protoss." He said, "If this is the case, I bet the next order is to evacuate here."

If what that protoss said was true, then the Korykov base would definitely not be able to withstand a swarm of insects. Maybe they could hold out for a while, until their ammunition ran out, and then they were eaten alive by the rabid bugs, as they always did.

"My orders are to guard the door." Croshen simply replied.

"Goodbye, sir."

Blake responded, hoping to see this young man again. Croshen is a great young man who strictly fulfills the oath he swore when he joined the Imperial Marines.

Lieutenant Croshen is only 23 years old, but he has already won the respect of people much older than him. Although this respect originally came from his deeds of beating the shit out of three navy guys in a card game.

At this time, the Korekov base was in a state of excitement, and there were soldiers on all roads. The order to retreat came immediately, and Blake's task was to sail the ship and transport as many people as possible out.

Of course, it was impossible for Lieutenant Colonel Paul to completely trust the warning of a protoss, but the detection system was infallible. If the insect swarm is about to appear in this galaxy, then it is foreseeable that the entire hyperspace channel will become chaotic, and then the sky will start to rain insects.

The people at the Kolykov base were all well-trained military personnel, and they rushed to the airport immediately to prepare for the evacuation. It's still the same, the Marine brothers stay at the end.

The first batch of people to evacuate were the people from the engineering regiment, who originally planned to go to the Blinouel III immigration site. Blake was responsible for driving the ship to send them out. A star jump ship was enough to transport these people, and at the same time, some more could be crammed in.

There are enough transport ships in the base, so there is no need to worry about anyone being left behind. The performance of the star jump ship is very reliable. It is a twin-engine transport ship capable of vertical take-off and landing.

"The equipment is normal. The accelerator seat has been activated and is ready to enter the jump orbit." Blake drove the star jump ship into the sky quickly, but at this time he caught a glimpse of the satellite footage returned on the information panel.

"Saint Anna, Virgin Mary, O God, my Emperor!"

That's a giant wormhole emerging.

A monster larger than the moon is jumping out of it, and its wide jaws alone are enough to swallow the entire Korekov. It has dark green hard scales covered with lines like tree rings. The terrifying scars on its sun-shielding abdomen are as crisscrossed as canyons and ravines. The bright yellow giant eyes should come from a prehistoric dragon.

Countless of these grotesque monsters surround it, and they all have one or more pairs of giant wings, like evil dragons coming out of their nests.