The carbonized debris from the starship wreckage crunches beneath the soles of his boots, and suddenly Karrn’s tactical visor locks onto a faint glimmer in a crevice in the bulkhead. As a veteran reconnaissance scout with the Federation Marine Corps, he has been scouring the derelict starship “Skyblade”—now ravaged by the Zerg—for a full three hours. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a dagger forged from scrap titanium alloy by the ship’s emergency 3D printer; the hollowed-out triangular pattern on the grip fits perfectly in his calloused palm, while the serrated edge and perforations were deliberately designed by the outpost team to accommodate a plasma-energy module⚡. Hidden inside the hilt is a tiny data chip; after scanning it, he learns that this is the last relic left behind by the surviving crew member: Zerg spores can parasitize metallic structures, and this very dagger was intended to slice through infected bulkheads and halt the spores’ spread. No sooner has he slipped the chip back into the hilt than a piercing insect-like chirp echoes from deep within the corridor🐛. Karrn tightens his grip on the dagger, and the tactical reticle on his visor instantly zeroes in on the shadowy end of the passage—while the blade itself begins to tremble ever so slightly, as if responding to the Zerg’s taunt.