The strength of Hive Fleet Tiamat was actually quite formidable. Unfortunately, they lacked shields.
As long as you don't have shields, it is almost impossible to maintain low casualties against the Zerg Swarm. Furthermore, it's nearly impossible for the Tyranids to suppress the Zerg through sheer numbers on this planet, because there is still a Webway Gate here. Wherever there is a Webway Gate, the Swarm follows.
This once again proved the vital importance of Webway technology—the Emperor would weep with envy.
Seeing that they could gain no advantage, this Tiamat patrol fleet decisively chose to retreat. As they left, they didn't forget to drag away the drifting carcasses of their Escorts, leaving nothing for the Zerg.
† Tsk, leave the rations for me! †
Despite his words, the Overmind did not pursue them. He had no choice; all his Leviathans were currently with the Queen of Blades. Without bio-ships of the Leviathan's scale, it was impossible to intercept a retreating Tiamat fleet.
Back with the Queen of Blades, she was well aware that her resupply planet had been attacked, yet she didn't show the slightest panic. She had already fought her way into the core of a Cruiser-class bio-ship. As expected, there was a Norn Queen here, but the Queen of Blades had struck so fast this time that the Norn Queen hadn't had a chance to stop her.
† So, you are the Queen of this fleet. †
The Norn Queen did not panic, staring coldly at the Queen of Blades. Just as Sarah was about to step forward, the wall of the chamber burst open. A Norn Emissary lunged out, tackling the Queen of Blades. Together, they crashed through the opposite wall, shattering over a dozen chambers in succession.
By the time the Queen of Blades used her psionic power to stop the momentum, she had been pinned by the Norn Emissary in a room filled with Cerebrates. The Cerebrates collectively unleashed their psionic power, blasting toward the Queen of Blades.
† This is looking a bit problematic. †
If it were a pure psionic blast, the Queen of Blades wouldn't have feared it. But this was different—the Cerebrates weren't just trying to blast her. They were using psionics to warp the physical laws of the universe, gradually forming a stasis-field-like effect around her. The Queen of Blades' movements became visibly sluggish.
† It seems my daughter's "newbie protection period" is over. †
In the original Starcraft lore, the first time Sarah gained power, the Overmind died, and she had to team up with the Terrans and Protoss just to barely control the Swarm. The second time she gained power, after destroying Mengsk, she was seen getting thrashed by Hybrids, even having her bone wings broken.
† Deploying over a hundred Cerebrates plus a Norn Emissary... not bad. This treatment would be too much for anyone else. But if they think this can kill my daughter, they've seriously underestimated her. †
The Queen of Blades had simply fought too many battles before reaching the Norn Queen's chamber, consuming a great deal of physical and psionic energy. Did they think 100 Cerebrates and a Norn Emissary could finish her? They'd need to swap those 100 Cerebrates for Cerebrate Tyrants to have a real chance.
Now...
The Queen of Blades once again demonstrated why she was the avatar of the Overmind. A surge of psionic power erupted from her slowed body. The space that had nearly frozen returned to its normal flow—in fact, it moved even faster around her.
She vanished instantly. By the time the Cerebrates saw her again, she was already above one of them. Her bone wings plunged into its brain matter, crushing it instantly. With a violent flick of her wings, she sprayed the brain matter away while firing several psionic-tipped spines, impaling multiple Cerebrates.
Psionic defenses at the level of a regular Cerebrate couldn't even block the residual energy on her wing spines. The Queen of Blades began a dance-like slaughter within the chamber. Just as she once was a phantom assassin, the entire chamber became her arena. Time had no meaning; space made no difference. She was immersed in the ecstasy of the kill.
By the time the last Cerebrate died, she was covered in brain matter and ichor.
† Beautiful. You are truly the angel of the Zerg Swarm. †
The Overmind deeply admired this Queen of Blades.
† This is what a Queen should look like. †
Half an hour later, the Queen of Blades returned to the Norn Queen's chamber, dragging the Norn Emissary's head behind her. The Norn Queen remained calm; she had already transmitted the Queen of Blades' new combat data to the other Norn Queens.
Yes, Hive Fleet Tiamat did not have just one Norn Queen, but multiple individuals. Furthermore, stopping the Tyranids from sharing experience was nearly impossible. The Tyranid Hive Mind was harder to comprehend than conventional Warp knowledge; it was virtually impossible for the Zerg to block their intelligence sharing.
But it didn't matter. Given the combat power the Queen of Blades had shown, unless 100 Cerebrate Tyrants actually showed up, the Tyranids had no chance. And if she couldn't win, she would run—she wasn't stupid. If things got dire, he'd just have the Swarm's "stretcher team" (the escort units) pull her back.
The Norn Queen was soon slaughtered by the Queen of Blades. However, this time the Hive Fleet did not scatter. They continued to fight. In fact, the intensity of the battle didn't drop at all; it seemed to be escalating.
† Hmm? They didn't flee. Wait... are there other Queens? †
The Overmind immediately guessed that Hive Fleet Tiamat had more Queens. If that were the case, enemy reinforcements would arrive soon.
Just as the Overmind suspected, the majority of the Hive Fleet within the Tiamat System was converging on the Queen of Blades' location. Roughly two days later, the Overmind saw a vast, endless fleet.
† Holy crap! So many... †
Appearing within the Overmind's sight was a massive armada of hundreds of bio-ships. The sheer number made even the Overmind's scalp tingle.
† This won't be an easy fight. †
There were too many. Although the Zerg Leviathans were strong, they couldn't face this many Tyranid bio-ships. Moreover, there were more than ten Tyranid ships even larger than a Leviathan. If a true fight broke out, the Leviathans would be utterly crushed.
† Retreat, retreat, retreat! Don't force the engagement! †
The Overmind immediately ordered the Leviathans to withdraw. Otherwise, the ten Leviathans he had worked so hard to accumulate would all be lost here. The Leviathans disengaged and warped away from the battlefield. They regrouped at the edge of the system on the Zerg-controlled planet. While the Leviathans took time to recover from their wounds, the Overmind contemplated his strategy.
† My daughter, the enemy numbers are vast. Do you have any thoughts? †
"Indeed. Their fleet size far exceeds our own."
After all, this was the bulk of Hive Fleet Tiamat's military strength, including "Ancient Ships" even larger than Battleships. A head-on collision was clearly not the way.
"Overmind, I propose we let those "monkeys" deal with them while we wait for an opportunity."
†A massive free-for-all? Hmm... actually, I have an even better choice.†