Obtaining the Divine Artifact: Star-Shattering Little Revolver
The carrier-based transport planes of the Norad II leaped out of the dock like a swarm of bees, and together with the landing convoys of the Hyperion and the Steel Justice, they flew toward Tarsonis under the escort of fighter squadrons.
The situation in the Fleets battle was now clear: the hastily assembled Terran Confederacy Fleets was routed, with five of its nine battlecruisers destroyed and two severely damaged. The last two Behemoth-class Battlecruiser, dragging their battered hulls, sailed into the shadow between the orbital defense platform and the planet.
Just as Tychus's transport ship, the Little Devil, began to accelerate, amidst the spatial distortions and vortexes created by the absorption of light in the hyperspace passage, two Behemoth-class Battlecruiser with iron-gray armored hulls warped to within three hundred feet of a heavily damaged Confederacy Leviathan- class battlecruiser and opened fire.
The Leviathan -class battlecruiser's outdated armor was no match for the intense firepower. After a dazzling flash, it exploded with a deafening roar. The hull of the ship was propelled toward Tarsonis by the shockwave from the explosion and then captured by the planet's gravity, crashing to the ground.
Even so, Tarsonis ' three orbital defense platforms remained an insurmountable barrier between the Revolutionary Army Fleets and Tarsonis. Their anti-aircraft fire network covered most of the ring star's orbit, and their powerful Drakken II Pulse Orbital Cannon were even capable of shooting down battlecruisers, enough to blockade an entire Fleets.
Augustus no intention of seizing these orbital platforms. Even when the Confederacy Fleets returned to the Tarsonis system, the Revolutionary Army Fleets could not possibly occupy all the platforms, and there was no practical point in doing so at present.
Augustus's true objective was to attack Tarsonis's homeland; even if he couldn't capture any of the Old Families, he wanted to throw them into disarray. Even so, Augustus successfully launched several nuclear missiles at the orbital platform to destroy its main air defense network, buying time for more landing forces to reach the planet's surface.
Tychus's fleet was among the first to enter the atmosphere. From the perspective of the transport ship's pilot, they could see a dense barrage of pulse cannons, anti-aircraft guns, and missiles piercing the sky, with the Revolutionary Army transport ships being shot down every moment.
Tychus, however, was already used to it; this was the fate of airborne troops—most casualties occurred before landing.
At this moment, Tychus could hear that the breathing on the communication channel had become noticeably heavier, and many people had turned off the HUD displays inside their armors. Even the elite Sterling Wolf Hunters were afraid, and many of them had never been to space before, with numerous incidents of seasickness causing them to vomit all over their Power Armor.
"Listen carefully, I know my men are all top-notch heroes." Tychus composed himself; he often uttered strange remarks, but when serious, he was quite reliable. "Things will be much easier from here on out."
"Gentlemen, war is calling us. Perhaps old Mengsk says we are fighting for freedom, justice, democracy, or some other unseen and intangible thing, but in the end, we are killing people," Tychus chuckled.
Tychus's words didn't elicit much of a response. If this were back in the days of the Heaven's Devils, even without Augustus anything, Harnack and Josephine would already be bragging and cheering on the communication channel. Sometimes Tychus did miss the old days—of course, only occasionally.
"But this is what we do best: murder and robbery. Men should do what men should do." As several Sterling Wolf Hunters looked at Tychus, he was trying to take a new cigar from the supply unit of his Power Armor.
"If you want revenge, you'll have to show the same ruthlessness your ancestors had when they hunted wolves. If the Terran Confederacy Fleets had really dropped so many nuclear bombs on Korhal IV, then the forests of the Wolf Hunter territory would be completely wiped out."
Tychus could see several Sterling Wolf Hunters gripping their Gauss Rifle, gritting their teeth, but remaining silent.
"How boring." Seeing that no one else reacted, Tychus couldn't help but miss the old days. To be honest, recruiting a bunch of thugs would have been much more interesting than leading these silent soldiers; at least those guys were generally more talkative.
That being said, if it were truly a battle where they fought side by side, entrusting their backs to their comrades, these resolute Revolutionary Army would be the most trustworthy.
"Sir, the mission briefing indicates our destination is Tarsonis, the main city, but the central area is a densely populated commercial district." A lieutenant finally picked up where Tychus left off.
"Yes, we're going to have street fighting with the Tarsonis's defenses there," Tychus said. "Unless those Tarsonis people have gone mad, after a few hours they'll either be hiding in their homes or have run far away. If they accidentally injure civilians, they'll just have to accept their bad luck."
"Areas with few civilians are fortresses and military strongholds."
With the transport ship they were on constantly at risk of being shot down and losing its inhabitants, it was impossible for the soldiers to remain calm.
"This is nothing to the Heaven's Devils. If you want to know about my glorious days fighting alongside Augustus Mengsk, then old Tychus has a lot to say." Tychus looked around, chatting and laughing, "Back in the days of Turaxis II, the situation was ten times more dangerous than this."
This caught the attention of the Revolutionary Army soldiers, who saw the Heaven's Devils as a living legend.
While Tychus was bragging, the Little Devil had already arrived over Tarsonis City, a city still shrouded in darkness. Dense anti-aircraft fire blocked out the sky, and anti-aircraft cannons fired hundreds of rounds per second as if they were free.
The Little Devil and three other transport ships weaved through the towering buildings that resembled a steel forest, dodging anti-aircraft fire while searching for an opportunity to land.
Despite no prior indication that the Korhal Revolutionary Army was planning to send landing troops, the central city of Tarsonis City had already constructed a defense in less than two hours. Fortifications, roadblocks, artillery positions, Arclite Siege Tank groups, marines, and Tarsonis army troops formed a tight defensive line in the central city.
The Old Families, the Confederate Congress, and the people of the wealthy district are all placed under "comprehensive," "strict," and "attentive" protection.
Tychus's landing force eventually landed inside a research station located outside the city center. His troops quickly dealt with the scattered resistance forces inside the research station and planted a flag of the Korhal Revolutionary Army.
Before leaving, he set off a fire that quickly went out.
Near the research station was a cargo unloading platform at a trading starport. As usual, Tychus took a lot of good stuff while transcribing experimental data from the research station. In a container bound for the edge star system New Sydney Tychus found a lot of old antiques, including a very old record player and an antique-style revolver.
"Tsk--an old-fashioned revolver. Mengsk would like these little gadgets. I heard his collection room is full of antiques and cold weapons from a hundred years ago, and he especially likes to issue guns to officers he values." On the way to a Terran Confederacy command center, Tychus fiddled with the exquisitely crafted revolver engraved with patterns in his hand.
This is a Colt Military Single-Action Revolver, an antique from hundreds of years ago, and its ammunition is extremely rare. This model of revolver is also quite powerful, capable of easily cracking the skull of a bison.
But then Tychus thought again, he realized that he had never given a gift to anyone other than a woman in his life.
This feels... a bit strange.
Yes, the pistol that killed Tychus was obtained by him and Raynor when they robbed the Confederacy train, and the bullet marked "Justice" was originally intended for Arcturus.