The Zerg Broodmother

"What's that?" Augustus Kerrigan and the others' advice and walked straight to the dissection table, asking the researcher who had just put away his sidearm.

"Augustus, it is my honor to meet you. This is a kind of alien parasite." The researcher gave Augustus a perfect military salute. The identification badge on his chest showed that he was a top student from the Korhal IV Krossi region. Like most of the researchers in this base, he also had the experience of the Korhal Revolutionary Army as a volunteer before the Battle of Korhal.

"The Zerg can inject their eggs directly into the human body, and these eggs will hatch in a few days or even less. After that, the Zerg inside the eggs will burst out and kill their host."

The alien researcher had short, curly blond hair and a pale, youthful face, and looked frail. But the people of the Krossi territory were known for their bravery; they were truly willing to fight wild beasts.

"However, with adequate preparation, these hatched Zerg do not pose much danger. They are like swift six-legged beetles, with long, sharp bony spikes at the ends of their appendages, as sharp as a cleaver against an unarmed person. These little insects are still deadly enough to kill." The blond researcher calmly explained to Augustus.

"You mean, the Zerg can inject their eggs into people's bodies?" Raynor, standing next to Augustus, felt a chill run down his spine.

"Yes, they are laying eggs." The alien researcher's tone was completely flat. "They insert their ovipositors into the human body and lay eggs and cocoons that will develop into aliens. Just like the parasitic wasps of Umojan. They lay eggs inside the victim, using the host as food, and when they mature and hatch, it is the host's end."

"Disgusting." Sarah Kerrigan unconsciously tugged at a lock of red hair hanging by her forehead.

"When I first saw these monsters, I was so disgusted I couldn't eat," the researcher said nonchalantly. "You get used to it. Now, some of us can even eat while looking at them."

"This isn't right," Kerrigan said.

"Would it be useful to remove the eggs? Could it save those who were injected with the eggs?" Augustus asked.

"We've tried it, but without exception, it accelerates the hatching process. Once the eggs inside the Infested Terran detect our actions, they immediately accelerate hatching and hatch prematurely," the researchers said.

"It's both highly effective and deadly, and most importantly, it will be an extremely cruel torture for the Infested Terran who know all this."

"I understand." Augustus nodded. "Thank you for your contributions to the Revolutionary Army and to all mankind. Your names and achievements will never be forgotten."

"Keep doing what you're doing. Every bit of work you do contributes to our efforts to overthrow the Confederacy tyranny and liberate Korhal."

"This is the responsibility and mission of every Korhal man, Marshal." The other party immediately showed an excited expression.

As the researcher prepared to continue his work, Augustus glanced at Francos, the Revolutionary Army alien biologist who was approaching.

"What happened to Egon? He looks quite frightened." He then asked with concern.

"Egon insisted on coming along to 'see' the alien creature, but he ended up getting terrified." Dr. Francos was wearing protective goggles that reflected an orange light under the lamp, and had simple white bandages on his forehead and right cheek.

"How is the child doing?" Augustus asked casually. "I thought you would complain to me about why I gave you a child who is not even ten years old."

"I have no complaints, Marshal, I am very satisfied." Francos dared not say he was dissatisfied.

As an alien biologist who once served the Confederacy's Zerg research project, Francos is now being desperately tried by the Confederacy to keep his secrets quiet forever, having been completely tied to the Revolutionary Army's chariot.

Either this revolution will eventually sweep across the Terran Confederacy and even the entire Koprulu Sector, and Francos's status will rise accordingly, or Augustus Mengsk will ultimately fail to escape the encirclement and suppression of the Confederacy army, and when he is executed, he can only try to make himself a dignified death.

"Egon is actually a very bright kid, not only in biology, but also in engineering; he could be called a true genius," Dr. Francos said. "The only problem right now is that he's just too young. And, this kid talks way too much."

"You mean he's a chatterbox?" Raynor, who had been listening the whole time, concluded at this point. "I understand how annoying that feeling is."

"No, that's not what I meant," the doctor explained. "This child is kinder than anyone I've ever met; he does everything for others, not himself."

"I really like this child, and I think that's part of his character. If God used the same mold when creating all mankind, then when he sculpted Egon Stetmann, he undoubtedly used a heart of gold."

"It doesn't seem to have anything to do with him being a chatterbox. In the end, he just talks too much. He always gets lost in his own world while he's talking," Raynor said, shrugging.

"Egon's heart is much purer than that of many others; he's just easily nervous. True geniuses are always different. I always tell him that." Augustus smiled.

"Alright, Dr. Francos, please explain your research progress to me in detail," he asked Francos.

"How much do we know about the species of Zerg that infected these people, and are there any effective countermeasures?"

"Based on the research data from Victor V and the Cha-Salahfram base, the infection should have originated from the Zerg creep covering the entire Cha-Salah and a Zerg organism called the Queen Zerg, which is a relatively advanced Zerg life form." Dr. Francos approached Augustus and took out his personal portable data template.

"This creature is similar to a queen ant or queen bee. In the vast colony of the Zerg lineage, these creatures are mainly responsible for spreading diseases and releasing parasites to Infestor the hosts of the swarm. Those Infested Terran will become staggering, walking corpses while still alive—like zombies," he said.

"The Brood Queen also lays eggs. Of course, there is currently no direct evidence that Zergling and Hydra are produced by the Broodmother Heterozoan. All Zerg populations should originate from the metamorphosis of the larvae after they spin Zerg."

Several images of the Zerg Broodmother scurried across Dr. Francos's data template. It was a hideous monster, a hybrid of spider, starfish, and arthropod. It had enormous mouthparts and sharp teeth, and its bloated abdomen looked like it was filled with billions of deadly parasites.

"People also call the Broodmother, but they are neither beautiful nor noble. These monsters can fly, and their speed is no less than our Avenger fighters. My suggestion is," the doctor adjusted his goggles, "That we must use missiles and anti-aircraft guns to deal with these monsters, while offensive fighters are more than enough to take them out easily."

"Oh, I thought you had some quick fix or a brilliant idea that only a biologist could come up with," Raynor exclaimed.

"Were any valuable discoveries made?"

"The latest discovery is Zergling Zerg are allergic to lemon juice; they hate it." Francos shrugged.

"Why don't you mention that the mutated bloodsucking Infested Terran is afraid of garlic?" Raynor quipped.