[@o0V0o]

[b]The Coming Storm
Olix System
Victorian Colony 1 FTL Jump from Home System[/b]

One moment, space near the jump entry point into the Olix star system was completely quiet. And then... suddenly [i]four hundred[/i] Zerg carriers zoomed one by one into the system from jump space. Their drives created a scattering of photons as typical of vessels reentering normal space. 

Sitting inside the throne room of carrier 002, Overmind 224 moaned from the transition from jump space into normal space. He sat on his neural-interface throne, quivering while his body writhed in painful spasms as was typical of every transition.

Within seconds, however, the feelings faded, and he returned his focus back on his duties as commander of all 400 zerg carriers.

Immediately, he was barraged by hundreds of voices. "My lord!" yelled the voices of his carriers. "There are unknown enemy signals right on top of us!"

"What?" Immediately, Overmind 224 tied his visual cortex into a neural link with his drone carriers. Their eyes became his. 

And then he saw them.

Hundreds, no thousands of enemy warships and combatants were right where he was! They surrounded his 400 drone carriers! They...

"All fighters from all carriers -- launch!" yelled Overmind 224. "Attack the nearest combatant to each of our carriers immediately!" 

"Yes, my lord!" yelled all 400 of his drone carriers in unison. Immediately, zerg drone fighters began streaming out of each respective drone carrier. Their targets were the nearest enemy units that were closest to each drone carrier. Armed with thermonuclear bombs and conventional laser cannons, the fighters would pose a deadly threat to anything they fought against.

For a moment, Overmind 224 felt like he had walked in a trap, but that feeling dissipated when he realized he couldn't devote such thoughts into what-had-already-happened. Instead, he had to plan his future actions immediately, for only they could impact what-will-happen.

Suddenly, his thoughts fell on his homeworld [i]Xaro's Awakening[/i], when he would be honored by Overmind 001 for bringing an overwhelming victory to the Zerg race and forcing its enemies to heel... but then that thought dissipated when he realized he may die right here along with his brethren. 

[i]Oh, Xaro, won't you guide me in this troubled mission? Won't you allow me to succeed so we can bring these humans to their knees... and force them into slave animals, ripe for harvesting and converting into biomass... for the swarm?[/i]