Corruptor

The corruptor was a squid-like flying strain of the Zerg Swarm, a giant brain-like creature with snapping beaks and dangling tentacles, designed solely for use against aerial targets. Deeply feared by both terrans and protoss, corruptors were deployed against capital ships and were usually found only near the most advanced hive clusters. Once the Swarm gained superiority in the air, the corruptor could morph into the brood lord to bring its weight to bear on the ground war.

Physiology#

A genetic marvel, the corruptor is a giant brain-like creature with snapping beaks and dangling tentacles, and the core genus of the strain is unknown. The original genus was absorbed both by the Swarm and by the primal Zerg. Corruptors of the Leviathan Brood adapted themselves to survive in high-gravity environments, while primal corruptors evolved thicker claws and a denser carapace.

Bulbous protrusions on the top and sides of the corruptor make up its raw brain mass, which also serves as a disposable protective measure. When something strikes the tissue with enough force, it becomes a foamy substance that absorbs and redirects the kinetic energy of the impact, after which the damaged brain tissue is discarded and regenerated.

Parasite spores#

The corruptor carries thick ink sacs that produce and store parasite spores, an ink-like substance that disrupts matter at a molecular level. Any vehicle or person doused with the compound becomes very vulnerable, as the atomic chains holding it together turn brittle. The corruptor can cover its targets in this acid, causing them to take additional damage from subsequent attacks, and the acid can cut through even the most durable of materials. Because the strain was designed solely for use against aerial targets, this weapon was turned chiefly against capital ships, which made the corruptor an object of dread for the Swarm's enemies.

Flight#

The corruptor's tentacles consist of elongated muscle fibers laden with cancerous growths. As those growths increase in size, consuming the surrounding tissue, they generate a powerful electromagnetic field that warps gravity around the creature and grants it flight. If the corruptor fails to regulate the growths, they are capable of consuming its tentacles entirely. The spores stored in the ink sacs are circulated through the tentacles from time to time, which appears to inhibit and even regress the development of these ever-present cancerous growths. Dominion scientists assume the corruptor does this to adjust its flight to new atmospheres and to keep the cancerous cells from devouring its tentacles.

Flight is also aided by a statocyst, a pear-shaped gland containing a solid, mineralized mass that floats in a low-density liquid. Its walls are coated in an impermeable substance of variable viscosity and lined with small filaments. When the mineral core shifts due to movement or a change in orientation, the liquid and filaments provide instant feedback, allowing the corruptor to keep its balance and navigate both in atmosphere and in deep space.

Morphing into the brood lord#

Corruptors possess the ability to morph into brood lords. Once the Swarm gains air or space superiority, its corruptor fleet can morph en masse to help turn the tide of the ground war, the glowing sacs of the brood lord growing out of the same cancerous tissue that had powered the corruptor's flight.

History#

The corruptor's genetic template was lost during the Second Great War when the Swarm fragmented, and the brood lord was nearly lost along with it. When the brood lord's template was recovered, it had to be re-based on the mutalisk. Despite the apparent loss of the corruptor's essence from the Swarm, Kerrigan used corruptors in her attack on a Moebius Corps facility, and many corruptors survived among the feral Zerg. During the End War, Amon enslaved a number of corruptors to bolster his Zerg forces. Years later, corruptors were found on the planet Jarban Minor, and the Defenders of Man used Nova Terra to plant psi-emitters on Antiga Prime, luring a number of feral corruptors there.