Zerg

"Rule number one for running an empire, son: When the Zerg are a topic of conversation, the niceties go out the airlock."

- Arcturus Mengsk

The Zerg are a terrifying and ruthless amalgamation of biologically advanced, arthropodal aliens. Dedicated to the pursuit of genetic perfection, the Zerg relentlessly hunt down and assimilate advanced species across the galaxy, incorporating useful genetic code into their own, and exterminate any species that might corrupt the purity of the Zerg genome.

History


The original Zerg species was discovered on the ash world Zerus, in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, by the Xel'Naga, a mysterious and ancient race of extragalactic geneticists, after they had abandoned their first experiment, the Protoss, on Aiur. The Zerg organism was a small, larval organism, but it contained the purity of essence sought by the Xel'Naga.

Through Xel'Naga proto-genetic manipulations, the Zerg survived the torrential firestorms of their world and thrived. The Zerg developed the ability to burrow into the spinal fluids of less vulnerable creatures on Zerus, parasitically merging with them. These new bodies would then be used to manipulate their surroundings. The Zerg began to assimilate the genetic strains and processes of these host creatures. However, the Zerg had an undeviating drive to consume only the most advanced species they encountered. Lesser species were eradicated. The Xel'Naga were surprised to find how quickly the Zerg could steer the evolution of their host creatures. They developed armor piercing spines, razor-sharp limbs, and ultra dense carapaces.

Fearful of the chaotic in-fighting that had enveloped the Protoss, the Xel'Naga created the Overmind, an enormous brain-like entity, to bring order to the Zerg. At first it was only a semi-sentient entity created from the instincts and collective sentience of the Zerg, but it quickly evolved.

The Overmind did not directly relay orders to its minions. As new species were added to the Swarm, it began to relay orders through Cerebrates, giant versions of the Zerg larvae. Direct orders were relayed through Queens and Overlords.

Expansion
The Overmind began to think of its future. In order to continue finding new species, it must leave Zerus. Extending its senses into space, it became aware of enormous space-faring organisms. It lured them to Zerus with its psychic abilities, then assimilated them into the Swarm. Soon all the Zerg had the ability to survive in space. The Xel'Naga considered this a triumph. The Zerg had not only survived their weaknesses, they had retained the purity of their terrible overriding essence.

The Overmind extended itself further into space, becoming aware of the Xel'Naga Worldships in orbit above Zerus. The Xel'Naga realized their psionic link with the Overmind had been severed - the Overmind effectively hid itself from their view.

The Overmind sent its minions into space, attacking the unsuspecting Xel'Naga. Despite the ancient race's best efforts, it was overwhelmed as the Zerg crashed into the hulls of its ships. Within a few hours the Zerg laid waste to the Xel'Naga fleet. The greater whole of the Xel'Naga was consumed by the raging, genetic whirlwind of the Zerg, and the Overmind gained their knowledge and insights. Processing thousands of sentient beings into itself caused the Overmind to grow much more powerful. It learned the secrets of the sacred Khaydarin Crystals, and began to incorporate the energies of these Crystals into its own. Through the knowledge gained from the Xel'Naga, the Overmind was able to increase the level of sentience in many of the higher Zerg strains, while still keeping them fully under its control.

The Overmind dissected the memories of the Xel'Naga experiments with the Protoss. The Zerg then devoted their energies to seeking out the powerful Protoss in the hope of absorbing them into the Swarm, uniting purity of form and of essence, to create a totally "perfect" being.

The Determinant
The Zerg did not know the exact location of Aiur, homeworld of the Protoss, but they were able to travel towards it, adding new species (such as the Mutalisk) to the Swarm along the way. However, the Zerg Overmind despaired; how could it defeat the Protoss with their powerful psionic abilities, when its own were so limited?

In the shadow of the Protoss lay the Koprulu Sector, a patch of space inhabited by the Terrans. This species had been discovered by Zerg deep space probes. Normally the Zerg would not be interested in this species, believing them to be weak, but they exhibited a powerful psionic potential. Their probes discovered humans living on over a dozen worlds.

Invasion of the Koprulu Sector
The Zerg slowly made their way towards the Terran worlds. The journey lasted for sixty years, but eventually the massive, extended Zerg Swarm reached the outskirts of the Koprulu Sector. A number of Fringe Worlds were immediately infested.

The Zerg continued to penetrate into the Sector. The Terran Confederacy colony Chau Sara was subtly invaded first with Hive Spores, before the bulk of the Zerg force arrived to complete the infestation process. The Terrans were defeated. A Protoss fleet led by Executor Tassadar arrived shortly thereafter and sterilized the planet, effectively ending the infestation. The Overmind ordered its minions not to resist so that it could observe the Protoss in action.

The Confederacy attempted to keep the Zerg presence a secret from its own citizens.


 * Main article: StarCraft Episode I

The Zerg were lured to Mar Sara with psi emitters. The Confederates made little attempt to oppose them, even arresting militias which dared to attack them. Meanwhile, the Zerg invaded several other worlds, which were then purified by the Protoss.

The Sons of Korhal stole the emitter technology and used it as a weapon against the Confederacy. They lured the Zerg to Tarsonis, its capital.

A New Agent
The Sons of Korhal's leader, Arcturus Mengsk, unwittingly played a role in the Overmind's designs. The Zerg devastated the Confederacy's power on Tarsonis, trapping the survivors on the planet. The Protoss Expeditionary Force under Tassadar arrived, intending to destroy the Zerg infestation. Mengsk ordered his subordinate, a Ghost named Sarah Kerrigan, to lead his forces against the Protoss. He feared the Confederates would escape, so he wanted the Zerg to remain in place to keep them there. Kerrigan reluctantly followed his orders. She defeated the Protoss, but was overwhelmed with a wave of Zerg. Mengsk made no effort to save her, as she had become a liability.


 * Main article: StarCraft Episode II

The Zerg captured Kerrigan, and rather than killing her, they placed her within a chrysalis to infest her. With their prize in hand, the Zerg partially withdrew from the Terran sector back to Char where Kerrigan was reborn into the Zerg Swarm as the powerful Queen of Blades. Unfortunately for the Zerg, her psionic emanations drew the attention of several enemies; General Edmund Duke of the Terran Dominion, Raynor's Raiders , the remnants of Tassadar's Expeditionary Force, and the Dark Templar.

Breakthrough on Char
Kerrigan broke her psionic conditioning using Dominion Ghost Program files, and with her new powers she detected the presence of Tassadar and his Protoss warriors. She defeated his forces, but his ally, Zeratul, Prelate of the Dark Templar, took advantage of her distraction to kill Zasz, Cerebrate of the Garm Brood. This action harmed the Overmind, preventing it from speaking. The leaderless Garm were eradicated by the Zerg.

The Protoss had struck a keenly felt victory, but it was also their undoing. A brief psychic link had formed between Zeratul and the Overmind at the moment of Zasz's death. The Overmind had been able to read Zeratul's mind, and from him learned the secret location of the Protoss homeworld of Aiur. Exultant, the Zerg began their preparations for the invasion of Aiur and the fulfillment of their long quest for perfection. Meanwhile, Kerrigan's forces inflicted a revenge assault against the Protoss, killing many. Tassadar and some troops were stranded on Char's space platform while Zeratul and his Dark Templar were trapped in an abandoned Terran installation.

The Invasion of Aiur
Leaving Kerrigan behind on Char, the Zerg Swarm traveled through to Aiur. The Overmind was able to physically establish itself on the planet.


 * Main article: StarCraft Episode III

The Protoss and Zerg fought in places such as Antioch and Scion. Both sides enjoyed victories... and losses.

Believing it was winning the war, the Conclave dispatched a force of warriors to Char to arrest Tassadar. Tassadar convinced the force to help him rescue the Dark Templar, the only force capable of truly defeating the Zerg. The Protoss were able to rescue Zeratul.

Tassadar took the Dark Templar with him to Aiur, immediately triggering a civil war. The Conclave felt the Dark Templar were a greater threat than even the Zerg. Tassadar emerged victorious over the Conclave.

Freed from Conclave interference, Zeratul took part in an assault on two Zerg hive clusters, slaying two Cerebrates. His forces hoped this action would distract the Overmind long enough to directly assault it. Then the Protoss, with assistance from the Terran Jim Raynor, moved past the thinned Zerg defenses to the Overmind itself. The Zerg were defeated, and Tassadar, drawing upon the Dark Templar powers he had been taught, sacrificed himself to destroy the Overmind. The Swarm was thrown into disarray and the Zerg rampaged across Aiur wrecking senseless death and destruction.

Moments of Transition

 * Main article: The Brood War

In response to the death of the Overmind on Aiur, a number of Cerebrates led by Daggoth began merging together to form a new Overmind on Char. In the interim this left the Swarm divided between the new Overmind and Infested Kerrigan. Kerrigan secretly traveled to the Dark Templar homeworld of Shakuras, subtly gaining control over the mind of its Matriarch, Raszagal.

The Brood War

 * Main article: StarCraft Episode IV

The Zerg rampaged over Aiur, forcing the Protoss to flee. They traveled through a Warp Gate to Shakuras. The Zerg which followed them through were controlled by Daggoth or the second Overmind. The Protoss shut down the Gate, stranding Jim Raynor, Fenix and other Protoss on Aiur.

Two Cerebrates made it to Shakuras, and set themselves around its Xel'Naga Temple. The Dark Templar destroyed them, and were surprised by the appearance of Infested Kerrigan. She proposed an alliance; she would help them recover the two crystals which could activate the Temple, if they would assist her in destroying the new Overmind growing on Char. Most of the Protoss were more interested in saving Shakuras from the Renegade Zerg, but Matriarch Raszagal was willing to listen.

Kerrigan assisted the Protoss in collecting the crystals,


 * Main article: StarCraft Episode V

The United Earth Directorate pacification fleet arrived in the Koprulu Sector with orders to take control of the Overmind.

To this end they took control of the Psi Disrupter, a former Confederate anti-Zerg weapon capable of disrupting Zerg communications, despite the machinations of Kerrigan's spy, Samir Duran. The Disrupter weakened Kerrigan's control over her own Zerg forces and made it possible for the UED to successfully assault Char, where they captured the Overmind. The majority of the Zerg then fell under the control of the UED.

Kerrigan Ascendent

 * Main article: StarCraft Episode VI

The United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Force was in a weak strategic position, having to hold Braxis (the world which housed the Psi Disrupter), Korhal (former capital of the Terran Dominion, which it captured) and Char (home of the enslaved Overmind).

Kerrigan struck an alliance with Fenix, Jim Raynor ... and Arcturus Mengsk. In return for her assistance in defeating the UED, they would help her destroy the Psi Disrupter. The allies helped Kerrigan to destroy the Disrupter, and she in turn assisted in a successful assault on the UED forces on Korhal.

Kerrigan and Duran quickly betrayed their former allies however, attacking both as they rested from the previous battle. Fenix himself was slain in combat, along with Dominion General Edmund Duke.

Kerrigan had one more target; the second Overmind. She and Duran planned an invasion of Shakuras in order to acquire Matriarch Raszagal. Kerrigan brough Raszagal to Char and used her as a bargaining chip; she would allow Raszagal to return to Zeratul if his Dark Templar worked alongside her own warriors and slew the second Overmind for her. Raszagal convinced Zeratul to cooperate. Together the forces permanently slew the remaining Cerebrates. and the second Overmind, with Zeratul personally delivering the fatal blow. When he demanded the return of Raszagal, the Matriarch refused. Zeratul abducted her, surprising Kerrigan.

Kerrigan's forces hunted down Raszagal. Zeratul was forced to slay her in order to free her from Kerrigan's control. Meanwhile Kerrigan's attacks on the Protoss scattered them, at least temporarily.

With these objective completed and few, if any, opposing Cerebrates remaining, Kerrigan became the leader of the Swarm in the sector as the Queen of Blades.

The Dominion, Protoss, and UED struck back with unexpected alacrity before the Zerg could consolidate. In an epic battle over Char the Zerg forced their assailants into ignominious retreat, saving Kerrigan and the Zerg Swarm from retribution. Kerrigan destroyed the retreating UED forces.

Post-Brood War
After the Brood War the Zerg remained on Char and refrained from engaging in overt hostile actions against the Terrans and Protoss for four years. No expeditions sent to Swarm-controlled worlds have come back alive.

The Zerg began investigating terrazine gas, revealed in StarCraft: Ghost, four years after the Brood War.

According to Kerrigan, the Zerg are becoming "much, much more, for the final metamorphosis has only just begun."

Zerg of Aiur
At least some Zerg remained on Aiur. These Zerg were initally undirected to the point of killing one another, enabling the remaining Protoss stranded on Aiur to coalesce into two groups, the Shel'na Kryhas and the Tal'darim. Some time after the Warp Gate was disabled, the Zerg of Aiur became more intelligent but were still not as vicious or focused as when the Overmind controlled them. They wandered Aiur like "discarded tools" and did not spawn new minions.

Characteristics
A great deal of information has been ascertained as to the nature of Zerg phisiology and psychology, mainly through the Terran Confederacy's Project Bellwood. All Zerg breeds are efficent killers and/or possess abilities that will aid the Swarm in the destruction of its enemies.

Physiology
The Zerg as a whole are extremely tough, tenacious, and deadly. Their natural armor and weaponry is comparable to modern technology in terms of toughness and armor-piercing capabilities. They are extremely resistant to chemical agents, though their universally biological nature still renders them vulnerable to concentrated radiation. All Zerg strains are capable of operating in a variety of enviroments, including the vacuum of space.

Zerg require food and rest like other organic beings. However, they do not require extended hours of sleep and have no set periods of inactivity.

Perhaps the greatest advantage of Zerg physiology is their universal healing and regenerative ability. A Zerg colony will remain viable unless every creature and structure is completely destroyed, as even a Zerg on the brink of death will, given enough time, return to full health.

The Zerg's reliance on Creep (a thick, fluidy substance) is a drawback, given that all their organic structures must be built on it.

Psychology
It has been difficult for observers to determine the full extent of the Zerg intelligence, but it is clear that they are a very cunning species, and they are capable of higher reasoning. Although they do not utilize technology, they demonstrate a clear understanding of it, and have been known to open airlocks and doorways in colonies that they have raided. As a group they also react intelligently to attacks and are adept at tactical combat. On an individual basis, though, the Zerg seem to be hardly more than savage animals with little or no concern for self-preservation.

The amount of Control exerted over a Zerg force also impacts on their intelligence.

Zerg Heroes

 * Daggoth (Cerebrate, dead)
 * Infested Duran (exact species unknown)
 * Kaloth (Cerebrate)
 * Infested Kerrigan (the Queen of Blades and leader of the Zerg Swarm)
 * The Overmind (dead)
 * Infested Stukov (de-infested)
 * Zasz (Cerebrate, dead)

Zerg Broods
Main article: Zerg Broods