There are Fleets, but Only a Little Bit

"The Giant- class cargo ship you asked me to modify is finished. Now you can call it Giant-class Frigate No. 1. Hmm, I guess that's what you'll call it, right?"

In the narrow bridge, engineer Rory Swann, dressed in orange-grey overalls and carrying a toolbox in one hand, pointed to the cables and a control console on the bridge and said to Augustus, "This ship is 400 inches (about 128 meters) long and 67 feet (about 20 meters) wide. It's a medium-sized cargo ship. The cargo holds from the lower deck to the main beam can be partitioned into many new rooms. If you really want to cram some people in, it can hold about a thousand."

The lighting fixtures on the bridge ceiling resembled an extremely bright white sphere, illuminating the control consoles connected to the winding pipelines on the bridge. Some of the opened bulkhead covers were filled with colorful cables tangled together like snakes, and the poorly ventilated air smelled of lubricating oil and sweat.

The bridge of this ship was not as wide as that of a battlecruiser, with only a few helm seats facing the forward portholes. When Augustus and Sarah Kerrigan, along with a dozen or so guardsmen, entered the bridge, the space felt cramped. The portholes on the bridge, intended to provide the captain with a better view of the battlefield, could not accommodate many people.

The Hyperion in the Umojan orbital dock will not be fully repaired until at least next month. Until then, this frigate, converted from a starship, will be Augustus's largest warship, and he will have to accept the humiliating fact that it will serve as the flagship of the Korhal Revolutionary Army Fleets.

As Augustus surveyed the layout of the bridge, Sarah Kerrigan, dressed in a dark gray Revolutionary Army uniform and wearing a gold wolf armband, began her routine inspection of the bridge's facilities. She carried a C-10 rifle, and her long, fiery red hair, pulled back from her hat and tied with a white ribbon, danced like flames as she moved.

"Swann, any new designs? I know you're a genius."

"Thanks, but you don't need to praise me nine out of ten times." Swann's face was covered in oil. "I made a small improvement. My team and I added an extra Colossus Engine and a new central reactor to the ship. The warp drive, maintained by a team of professional warp technicians, will allow you to speed through hyperspace tunnels to your heart's content."

"It sounds like I don't need to worry about the power system anymore," Augustus. "What about the weapon systems? I've already seen you add extra ship armor and laser pulse cannons to this ship."

"Yes, there are a pair of ship-mounted laser pulse cannons below the bridge, and a deployable missile pod on each side. In addition, this modified spacecraft carries a large number of small plasma torpedoes. Of course, due to the defects of the modification, we have to manually push the torpedoes out of the pressurized compartment, and if necessary, manually ignite them with a hammer."

Swann told Augustus, "I've added thicker armor plates and a lightweight energy matrix shield to the existing armor."

"Ship shield technology? This is Epoch-making Progress." Augustus's eyes lit up.

"It's not actually that difficult to do this; the key is to be willing to spend money," Swann said. "Speaking of which, boss, shouldn't we approve a little more funding for the Korhal Weapons Research Institute? Developing new weapons costs money."

"The funding will be available," Augustus's voice rose. "We can discuss this later."

The entire Korhal of Khar is now constantly spending money on ground fortresses, high-altitude orbital defense platforms, anti-aircraft missile arrays, government funding, and the maintenance of the Fleets and army. The former are major money-devourers, and there are millions of mouths that need to be fed by the new government.

The new government's finances were already running a deficit thanks to tax revenue alone. If it weren't for the wealthy and generous Umojan government providing huge war loans at low interest rates, Angus would have hanged himself.

The Umojan were very clear-headed. If the Korhal IV uprising failed, the next war in the Koprulu Sector would inevitably be between the Terran Confederacy and the Umojan. Therefore, they spared no effort in supporting them.

Augustus's meager earnings from the army weren't even enough to install a bathroom on the Hyperion, and at times like these, he couldn't help but miss his Arcturus, who was still buried in mining on the edge of the Koprulu Sector.

Since they are brothers by blood, they should support each other. Moreover, Augustus initially provided some start-up capital, which can be considered as an investment in Arcturus ' mining operations.

"Then I'm relieved." Swann was still unaware of the seriousness of the problem.

"Also, do you have any leads on the design of the new main gun for the Behemoth-class Battlecruiser?" Augustus.

"Using the nuclear reactor of a battlecruiser as a power source to concentrate controlled nuclear explosions into a beam of energy using a strong magnetic field... I must say, that's a crazy idea," Swann said. "Sometimes I wonder if your intelligence department has made a mistake, or maybe the Terran Confederacy Ship Research Institute just created a folder on the mainframe to scam funding."

"To confine and control a nuclear explosion, we need technological breakthroughs in multiple fields of materials science and engineering. To explain in detail, you might not understand, because I don't understand it myself," he said.

"In short, it's easier said than done."

"Then we'll wait until the Confederacy's experiments are successful before we get the design blueprints over." Augustus hadn't had high hopes for this newly established weapons research institute. Although it was staffed with talent he had poached from various technology companies in Korhal, the most outstanding talent in the entire Koprulu Sector had always been in Tarsonis and Umojan.

Augustus really expect them to develop the classic Yamato Cannon for battlecruisers before the Terran Confederacy, but what if they did?

"What about the research collaboration with Umojan?" Augustus.

"We're still in talks; they're very interested." Swann's thick eyebrows and beard relaxed. "But I'm worried those cunning Umojan will ditch us and go it alone."

"But then again, we don't have any battlecruisers, so I don't know what you're worried about." The hot-tempered Meinhoff posed a soul-searching question.

"How many frigates of this type do we still have?" Augustus dealt a heavy blow.

"Three ships, and seventeen more are undergoing modifications in shipyards throughout Korhal. We also have over fifty reconnaissance boats converted from civilian transport ships, ranging in size from 65 to 165 feet (10 to 50 meters). These reconnaissance boats are equipped with small laser cannons, but the damage is pitiful; the laser beams hitting the armor of battlecruisers are like tickling them," Swann gestured.

"Biubiubiu--Hmm... like this."

"This is truly a massive Fleets," Augustus sighed.

At that moment, Jim Raynor's signature laughter echoed from the narrow passage leading to the bridge. As the Fleets commander under Augustus, this open-minded and optimistic young man had long been eager to make a name for himself.

"Good morning, my dear friends." Raynor poked out a bald head.

Taking a hot shower on a warship is not easy. While sonic baths can remove dead skin and grime, they are not very effective when it comes to greasy hair. Therefore, Raynor often shaved his head during this period.

Raynor was followed by the tall and burly Tychus, who was having a hard time walking in the narrow passage.

"Hi, baby," Swann greeted, "Good morning."

"Oh--there's another big one here."