Psychic beings often possess a slight ability to foresee the future or sense danger.
As Kalesa returned to the settlement with her companion, she felt this sensation continuously. She attributed it to the presence of 'bugs' nearby. But when she entered the cloaking field, the feeling didn't fade.
She scanned her surroundings; nothing seemed amiss.
Until a Zergling also passed through the cloaking field, charging forward. Kalesa reacted swiftly, turning and firing a shot.
But more Zerglings poured in.
Kalesa mistakenly thought these 'bugs' had discovered them. Firing while retreating, she said, "We can't stay on this planet any longer. Purl, you and the others guard the gate. I'll inform the other kin. We're leaving here."
"Be quick." The other Aeldari Guardian agreed.
Kalesa chose to trust her comrades. Two Aeldari working together could handle these Zerglings without much trouble.
Similarly, in the Protoss' case, two well-coordinated Templar could hold a choke point for a long time, unless overwhelmed by Zerglings.
But the premise was two.
After gunning down over a dozen Zerglings, the other Guardian suddenly noticed he seemed to be fighting alone. Glancing at his companion during a lull, he saw him standing there dazed.
"Purl, come help!"
But the next moment, his companion visibly 'melted' into a pool of black ooze.
This stunned the Guardian, allowing a Zergling to pounce on him. Its claws left a terrifying gouge on his chest armor, nearly breaching his chest.
Fortunately, though young, this Guardian had undergone combat training. He swiftly drew his sidearm blade, slicing the Zergling.
Knowing he couldn't continue fighting, he sounded the alarm and retreated.
The piercing alarm instantly echoed through the settlement. Kalesa, evacuating civilians, looked towards the cloaking field entrance, her unease growing.
"Hurry, to the Webway gate!!!"
On the Zerg Swarm side, an Overlord reached outside the cloaking field, dropping an Infestor from its chamber.
More Zerg Swarm units flooded into the cloaking field, followed by the Infestor. Its massive form stood out among the Swarm.
Entering the cloaking field, the Infestor leisurely surveyed the battlefield. The tail spike on its back twitched eagerly. Now it just needed other Swarm units to relay the target's location.
The foremost Zerglings had charged into the settlement. The path's end was the Webway gate. But here, the Zerg Swarm units met significant resistance.
"Sorry, Kalesa. I couldn't hold them."
"Where's Purl?"
"Purl was those bugs in disguise! Those cunning bugs!"
Hearing this, Kalesa realized she had brought the enemy in. Her guilt deepened.
Simultaneously, she raised her Aeldari rifle, headshotting the first Zergling entering the settlement. Her aim was so precise it almost didn't require sighting, like an instinct.
One of the Aeldari traits: their senses are extremely acute, perceiving pleasures ordinary beings cannot. That's also why they originally indulged in hedonism.
"Enough talk. Can't let these bugs near the gate."
"Understood!"
The crossfire net formed by a few Aeldari warriors was far more terrifying than a dozen Marines'. Their accuracy was horrifying; even militia could achieve nine headshots out of ten.
But their numbers were too few. When Hydralisks entered the battlefield, they had to shoot Zerglings while dodging Hydralisk attacks. Clearly, their speed wasn't fast enough for multitasking.
Soon, an Aeldari warrior was pinned to a wall by Hydralisk spines. Their armor couldn't withstand the spines.
As Kalesa moved to rescue her companion, a dark tail spike flew from afar, piercing his chest.
The armor shattered under the tail spike's grip. Tiny needles on the spike injected into the Aeldari's body, instantly seizing his nervous system.
"..."
Kalesa was stunned. She'd never seen such combat methods.
But from her companion's mouth came a cold voice.
"Cease resistance. The Overmind will grant you glorious evolution."
That was Cerebrate Zasz's voice.
Hearing it, Kalesa's anger surged. She charged, her blade severing the Infestor's tail spike.
†Such unnecessary rhetoric. Aeldari don't surrender.†
The Overmind commented.
Confirming her companion's death, Kalesa reluctantly took his Spirit Stone.
"I won't let the enemy desecrate your soul."
Kalesa left without hesitation. The lifeless corpse was unimportant; the Aeldari soul was what mattered.
"Hold them off! I'll be back!"
Kalesa leaped several times, reaching the settlement's storage. She pushed aside piled clutter, revealing a tall object behind it—a kneeling construct covered in dust, evidently inactive for a long time.
"Sorry to awaken you this way. But we need your strength to protect others."
Clutching her companion's Spirit Stone, Kalesa placed it into a slot on the construct.
Instantly, the long-dormant construct lit up.
"Cold... Dark..."
A stiff voice came from the construct, vaguely recognizable as the deceased companion's.
It seemed confused, unaware of the situation.
"Yes, I know. Having your soul pulled back feels terrible. But we need your power."
"Battle!"
Upon hearing 'battle,' the construct seemed to remember something, its tone firming.
This scene gave some Protoss fans PTSD. What an Aeldari version of Dragoons!
This is also why Aeldari resemble Protoss. Originally, StarCraft was Blizzard's attempt to negotiate Warhammer licensing, which failed, leading to a new work inspired by Warhammer.
Warhammer came first, then StarCraft. That's important to clarify.
The construct slowly rose, its tall frame breaking through the settlement's roof. It smashed through the building's wall, emerging onto the main street.
This thing is called a Wraithlord or Wraithguard, about four to five meters tall, mostly made of Wraithbone. It wielded a massive Wraithcannon, facing the oncoming Zerglings.
"Annihilation!!!"
A single Wraithlord's firepower far surpassed that of an Aeldari squad.
The Wraithcannon fired, blasting a large swath of Zerglings off the main street. The already narrow passage became harder to breach with this heavy firepower.
†Wraithlord? Damn, this tiny settlement has one of these? At least it's armed with a Wraithcannon, not a D-scythe. Otherwise, opening a Warp rift here would be troublesome.†
The Aeldari's low population had an advantage.
Generally, no faction sent large forces to engage small Aeldari groups. For example, the Zerg Swarm's current force to capture these Aeldari was only a few thousand Zerglings and a few hundred Hydralisks and Roaches—barely a fraction of the Swarm's strength.
But such a small force scale made it somewhat difficult to subdue these few dozen Aeldari.
†Zasz, I'll say it again. I want them alive. Even if near death, ensure they're alive.†
"As you command, Overmind."
Zasz understood the Overmind's meaning.
Living targets didn't necessarily need all limbs. Severing limbs to prevent resistance was a viable option.
However, Slaanesh would say severing limbs is an outdated playstyle. The Aeldari had such practices before Slaanesh's birth. Slaanesh craves more innovative playstyles.