Legacy of the Confederation III - Characters - Kargeth

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BIO:  As part of its plan to assimilate worthy races within the galaxy into the Zerg Swarm, the Overmind dispatched several of its cerebrates to the far ends of the galaxy to search for new species. Among the cerebrates was Slohr, who later would descend upon the earth and represent the Zerg's first encounter with Terrans. As earth was more than 60,000 light years from the Overmind, the psychic link between Slohr and his master could not stretch that distance. And Slohr, secretly harboring a desire for power, did not see fit to inform the Overmind after his brood conquered the earth (a conquest which required only six days).

Kaloth, ruler of the Hydra Brood, was also among those cerebrates dispatched to explore the cosmos. Unlike Slohr, he remained loyal to the Overmind even after the psychic link was severed. Kaloth found several planets which with species ripe for assimilation but returned to the Overmind too late. Tassadar of the Protoss had destroyed the Overmind in a sacrificial act upon Aiur and the swarm's new leader, Kerrigan, had slain all other cerebrates in the swarm and promoted queens to replace them. Kaloth, seeking to survive Kerrigan's genocidal rage, took shelter upon Braxis. He slew all queens within the Hydra brood (fearing they may defect to Kerrigan) and sought means to replace them. His first attempt was to infest Terran leaders and use them as his field commanders. This plan was shattered when Jim Raynor and Artanis arrived to free the Terran leaders and burn the planet from orbit.

With no more Terrans readily available, Kaloth turned inward to the Hydra Brood. As part of the swarm, Zerg are akin to ants on earth. Every Zerg (like ants) is an extension of the being which leads them. Whether this be a queen, cerebrate, or the Overmind, the Zerg warriors have no individuality, no identity, and no consciousness or self-awareness. Kaloth attempted to change this. He bestowed upon several members of the Hydra brood sentience. He attempted to use humans first because of concern that intelligent warriors would fall under Kerrigan's sway. These concerns were founded, and Kaloth's 'command breed' members including Kargeth, fled the Hydra brood after contact with Kerrigan's psychic link. Kerrigan touched the command breeds' newly sentient minds and showed them that she, not Kaloth, was the chosen child of the Overmind and that it was the Overmind's will for her to take control of the swarm. The command breed members, hundreds in all, joined various broods throughout the swarm. Kargeth joined the brood lorded over by the queen, Helares.

Helares felt that Kargeth, Gothmog (an ultralisk), and other command breeds could be used effectively in Kerrigan's conflict against the rogue queen, Achlys. Kerrigan's disregard for the ultimate survival of the swarm as perceived by the queen Achlys spurred her into action. She defied Kerrigan's rule and with about half of the swarm following her, rebelled. Achlys ousted Kerrigan from Char and declared her swarm as the 'true swarm' to carry on the Overmind's legacy. Helares was present when the Overmind selected Kerrigan as its favored child and remained loyal to Kerrigan, departing Char with Kerrigan's warriors.

Helares utilized her command breed members in place of subordinate queens to carry down her orders and at this they were very effective. Unfortunately, neither Kerrigan nor any queen in the swarm on either side was able to bestow sentience upon other warriors. This ability belonged exclusively to the Overmind and the cerebrates it once created. With the death of the cerebrates at Kerrigan's hand, the ability to grant sentience to individual Zerg warriors died as well.

Of all the command breeds which joined Helares' brood, Kargeth's personality was the strongest and he could be considered as Helares' second in command. Able to think for himself creatively, learn from experience, and utilize strategy in addition to the Zerg's tactic of overwhelming numbers, Kargeth lead Helares' warriors to victory time and time again upon the ruins of the Protoss homeworld of Aiur. With Kerrigan exiled from Char, she settled her swarm, billions of Zerg, upon Aiur to complete the Overmind's assimilation of that world and claim it as her own. The queen Achlys retained control all other Zerg with about half residing on Char and the others scattered throughout nearby star systems up to 4,000 light years away. While Kerrigan continued to wage war against the Protoss and Terrans, Achlys sought to turn away from the fires of that conflict in favor of moving the swarm to a different part of the galaxy in which they could exist peacefully.

Kargeth did not share Kerrigan's vision but trusted Helares who herself heard first hand the Overmind's declaration that Kerrigan would be the one to carry the swarm to the next level of ascension. To this end, Kargeth remained fiercely loyal to Helares who in turn remained loyal to Kerrigan, even in spite of Kerrigan's desire to expand her own power even at the expense of the swarm's.

Kargeth had the ability to project spine needles at his enemies but preferred to engage in melee combat when able. In both combat modes, Kargeth is more powerful and far more dangerous than other hydralisks. This could be attributed to the experience he gained in prior battles against both Protoss and Achlys' Zerg warriors in terms of striking the enemy's weak points.