The tale of Ancient Drone (28)

[Saytkl77]

So we had the usual fun 4 hour Ice colony round, thought I would tell my tale, as dead chat seemed quite excited about the round's events.

I joined the round late, with us hiding around underground, not much happened for a very long time, a few skirmishes here and there, a few sisters running off and dieing. The queen didn't let it get to her and seemed quite relaxed. We got a lot of captures the vast majority of which froze to death without bursting, The most noteworthy thing I did was save an ancient runner while being chased into the Garage by marines, I knew I couldn't drag her direct to the coverless ladder and carry the runner down without being crit, so instead I dragged the runner east past the ladder, then up into the builidng and back west to the ladder, the marine chasing me hesitated to enter the tight choke point, afraid I would tackle them, giving me an extra 2 seconds necessary to save the ancient runner. As I climbed down the ladder a flamer approaching from the west missed me and the runner, before they could reload we were gone.

Time passed, as our numbers dwindled and the hours passed by, the marines had a second wind and decided to push us with their full forces underground in the caves by Reception, I setup some eggs and hugged and grabbed marines near chokepoints, but eventually their numbers began to overwhelm us. Perhaps pivotal in the fight was that the metal turtle not only managed to make it underground, but actually squeezed its way right into the middle of the hive, our hive was perhaps the only part of the entire cave system the tank could actually get into. Vicious fighting took place and the queen died as marines swarmed the hive and rescued the 3 marines I had captured and nested. However they took many losses themselves and the push began to falter.

Me and another drone were thinking about who should be queen, but I decided to stay as a drone, I was ancient, I knew my limits, carefully honed in countless battles, I knew the reach of my claws, the thickness of my skin, there was a strength in weakness, it hones discipline into the mind, the knowledge you have no chance in a situation reinforces the patience necessary for success. To become a young queen would toss aside everything I had learnt, so I waited and let the other drone become queen.

More fighting took place, the elder crusher died, but the push was broken, countless marines lost their lives as they attempted to flee and were cut down. The new queen had enough of waiting and we pushed to the surface, taking the LZ1. With around 10 sisters we set out to put an end to the intruders of our planet, however a grim cloud hovered over the hive, our arch nemesis, the metal turtle that was agile enough to make it deep into our hive in the cave, somehow has managed to not only escape underground, but board the bird and make it back to the metal hive. Despite its thick metal body and slow pace of movement it succeeded in escape where many marines failed, I pondered how long the turtle had grown in strength and wisdom, surely it must be Ancient like me to travel so gracefully deep into the cave, then out again and back into the sky.

We crashed into Cryo, a risky location with wide opening firing lines, our Queen ran out west, and fighting took place at requisitions. Tragedy struck as we met the turtle there at Briefing, the queen died, and the hive scattered. Again I met up with the last drone, and thought about going Queen, I felt that despite the losses I could turn it around as Queen, we had cut down so many of them on their planet, there surely couldn't be many more. But there was something in the air, an electric sense running through my body, that whispered promises of victory as a drone, I could feel the memories and experiences of thousands of long-forgotten drones coursing through my brain and I could not explain it. I left it to the other drone to become Queen.

The new queen told us to take the ladder up east of the crashed bird at cyro, and we start building a hive at SD. There we prayed that the turtle did not have another secret that would it let it transverse a ladder one ninth the size of its body, but given its history, I was cautious, the turtle was ancient and it also paid not to underestimate the old. I built a hive, setup some nests, sticky resin and eggs. A lone MP with a shotgun was rushing the SD, for a young drone this would lead to cries of fear and help, but I was ancient, this tallhost did not move with even the basic combat experience of the ones on the planet, I slipped between his blasts of metal spit and planted a hugger firmly into his face and dragged him to be nested. His movements had been easy to predict, all I had to do was rush him, then just as I reach the point blank radius of his spitter, abruptly change direction and watch as he fires on impulse into the blank air, tackling him before he has a moment to recover.

A strange host appeared north of the SD, clad in white and thick plates of chitin. The tallhosts had sent their greatest forces to wipe out the remaining 7 sisters on the metal bird. But I refused that future. I would protect my young queen, I was one of the eldest remaining and the duty fell to me. I leapt at the host and it began to flee west down the corridor, a cowardly defender watched, and then half-heartdily followed, occasionally stopping to turn around. I weaved into and out of rooms dodging shots from the hosts spitter, and waited for the cowardly defender to come, but it hesitated letting the host gain more and more ground, eventually I left the defender, rushing the host I tackled it and nested it into the ground, and started to slash through its many layers of armour. The defender arrived and started slashing, hoping to share in some of the glory, then the queen let out a cry, that many more white tallhosts were approaching her.

I went back to the SD and took up an ambush spot in a maintenance tunnel, there were many white tallhosts, so I waited patiently, I focused my frenzy pheromone and pounced at the exact moment the tallhost furthermost forward passed by the tunnel, tackling it, and nesting it, I got in some slashes but its allies came to help. Then another tragedy struck, a few accurate shots and blocking from the cowardly defender and I was crit, it did not even attempt to rescue me, but left me crit in the middle of 4 white tallhosts to die.

I could feel the acid leaking out of open wounds on every corner of my body, I ordered my body to move but it would not. I pondered my actions, and wondered if my sacrifice would save the queen, we had only a few sisters left and these tallhosts were strong. Perhaps this was the fitting end for an ancient sister, dieing to protect the queen from her greatest foes, entrusting the future to the next generation.

But I was the ancient drone, I was the terror that stalked across the ceiling, underneath the floorboards, my claws were weak, but they were deadly, quitting was a childish impulse. I was not done. Between the body of a sister, acid pools and blood sprays, the tall hosts took a moment to reload, perhaps they thought I was dead. I drew my last plasma into my legs and they responded, I sprang to my feet leaping between the tallhosts, they had discipline, they had learnt not to fire into each other from years of experience, unlike many of the weaker tallhosts, I turned their strength into weakness, leaping between hosts, they hesitated to fire for fear of hitting their ally, in that moment of indecision I rebounded into the maintenance tunnel turned two corners and I was gone.

I met up with the queen and the other sisters who had escaped the SD and regrew my missing limbs. The tallhosts had taken up residence in the SD, we decided to finish them. I followed the Queen into the SD and she let loose a psychic scream, in the corner a lone "Alpha" tallhost was knocked down, easy pickings for a drone, after nesting him and slashing him down by myself, I saw the cowardly defender and been crit, I knew it was my duty to teach her how to act in combat, I dashed in and threw her through the SD door, as bullets that would have ended her life crashed into the location she had been moments ago. I pushed into the east SD room, nesting another tallhost and leaving him for the Crusher to deal with, while heading north and finishing off the other white tallhosts. The SD was ours.

In a meeting room far away, a deep frown spread across the company's executive's face. If news got out that the elite deathsquad had died to just a handful of hostiles, it would cause substantial damage to their reputation, and more importantly the profits and fees they could charge for their services. The executive phoned up a contact in the UPP forces of questionable morals, $32,000,000,000 was transferred. The UPP soldiers were told their ship was making a brief detour.

Greenhosts began to flood up into upper engineering west of the SD. With so many of them, I hid behind the walls, patiently even in dire circumstances. Then opportunity struck, the very last greenhost lagged behind his group, I did not give him a moment to reconsider, leaping from the shadows, I weaved between his spitter shots, tackled him down and nested him. His comrades did not reply to his screams for help. I rushed forward to the maintenance tunnel, waited until a tallhost approached then leapt, my claws smashed against his skull, then I tore open his chest. I saw the young crusher retreating to the west chased by a greenhost. I ran to protect my young sister, tackling down the tallhost and nesting it, for once the greenhost's morale checks succeeded and they chased forcing me to abandon her, as I ran out of range, my luck ran out, the greenhost forces though many in number and variable in skill did contain some members of note. Ren Davydov, famed for his markmanship, drew a breath as I reached the final turn in the corridor, took aim and fired a perfectly aimed shot from out of my immediate sight radius putting me into crit before then finally finishing the job.

As I died massive forces and flames suddenly ripped the entire entire metal hive apart. I pondered if this was the Queen Mother's doing, angry at these hosts, truly she must be great to tear apart such a metal hive with only her psychic powers from so far away, before finally I rested and felt my thoughts float away into the memories of the hivemind, perhaps some day they would be of use to another drone.

End of round:
https://imgur.com/a/Y6FZMTI

[Sulaboy]

This should probably be in the hive.

[Blade2000Br]

Thats gendiscussion, its fair game.

[Loco52]

4 hour post for a 4 hour round

[Vispain]

nice aar

[solidfury7]

4 hour post for a 4 hour round

Underrated post.

[Loco52]

Underrated post.

They be biasing me fam