[If you are already familiar with the zerg setting, or don't feel like going through a chapter of worldbuilding, feel free to skip this section :D]

The race of the zerg was an odd one.

The zerg were known to be the strongest race in the galaxy. Thankfully, they seemed to have no interest in conquering other planets; they mostly kept to themselves, although they seemed to be unusually fond of humans, who happened to share quite a few similarities to them.

The alliance between the zerg and the humans was a strong one, although the zerg kept their distance, never mixing too closely with humans. 

The zerg seemed to possess a natural aversion to interacting with beings outside of their race, so the fact that they had allied with humans was quite the surprise for the galaxy. Humans supplied the zerg with technology, while the zerg deployed soldiers to help defend them from alien beasts.

You see, although the zerg were divided into two genders — male and female — all of them looked rather similar to the human males of the Earth Confederation, with a few differences.

It had caused quite a bit of confusion when the zerg and the humans made first contact — the fact that the zerg soldiers who looked exactly like human men were actually female zerg that could very much lay eggs fried the humans’ brains quite a bit.

They recovered quickly, though. Human scientists actually became quite enthusiastic with their questions for the zerg, who were quite bemused by the attention but answered graciously all the same.

The explanation was as follows:

The zerg had evolved from insects, millions and millions of years ago. As a result, they shared some traits with common insects, though most of these traits were only present in females.

Females laid eggs to give birth; possessed unique patterns at the back of their necks called ‘insect markings’; and possessed beautiful insect wings that had unique individual colors, patterns, and shapes.

Males, on the other hand, lacked all of these traits — instead of wings and markings, males possessed special pheromones that could Soothe a female’s Lunar Madness.

Females were stronger than males. This strength came with a cost, however. Females needed a male’s pheromones to survive. The very society of the zerg had been built upon that fact. Although females possessed unparalleled strength, able to kill alien beasts and fight human mechs with their bare hands, they suffered from a condition called Lunar Madness; a condition that made all military females akin to a ticking time bomb. 

Lunar Madness was a condition that all female zerg possessed. Everytime a female went into battle, they assumed their combat state. Assuming their combat state would put a certain amount of mental strain on the female, and that strain could accumulate over time until it resulted in an outbreak of Lunar Madness. 

Females suffering from an onset of Lunar Madness lost all their rationality; they became nothing more than mindless beasts, driven mad by the pain wracking their minds. If the Madness went on untreated, no matter how strong the female’s willpower, there would come a time when the female would eventually die. 

Only a male’s pheromones could soothe a female’s Madness. This was a fact that had been established among the zerg for a long, long time. The zerg had created inhibitors that could soothe the Madness, but they were only a temporary relief; inhibitors had no effect on higher level onsets of Lunar Madness.

Thus, the broken society of the zerg rose from these conditions. The males were treated like treasures due to their rarity and due to their life-saving pheromones. Females, who were the strength of the empire, had to bow and scrape in order to survive and get the males’ pheromones, or die to the Lunar Madness.

Humans: Your society seems a bit twisted, bah.

Zerg: （*゜ー゜*）