Excavating Divine Artifacts
The Chimera Pirates ' research base is about 450 miles from the entrance to the Ridgecrest Plains. The main buildings of the base are underground, and the only thing on the surface is a mining station that looks like it has been abandoned for a long time. The station bears the KM logo of the Kel-Morian Combine.
The mining base appeared to have been idle for many years. Its bright yellow rectangular steel frame was covered with a thick layer of rust-colored dust, and a third of the walls were buried in red sand. Through the broken glass, one could see that the interior was filled with sand and gravel and the miners' waste. A broken cable from the crane boom hung in the air, swaying in the strong westerly wind in the Purgatory Corridor.
It was the night of Ma Sara. Unlike the sweltering heat of the day, the temperature plummeted below zero, and the heatwave instantly transformed into a biting, icy wind.
In the darkness, the 1st Company of the 1st Battalion of the Sterling Wolf Hunters, commanded by the Revolutionary Army Tychus Finley, was marching west along the Purgatory Corridor, a mile from the abandoned mine. One hundred and twenty Revolutionary Army soldiers in dark red Power Armor formed a skirmish line, with two rumbling Arclite Siege Tank in the middle and four Wraith circling dozens of miles above.
Half a mile behind Tychus's forces were Raynor ' Raynor's Raiders, numbering less than a platoon.
The Raynor's Raiders are a special tactical and rapid-strike force, equipped with the best weapons and fastest vehicles in the entire Revolutionary Army, capable of ending battles before any friendly forces arrive.
Meanwhile, each Raynor Raynor's Raiders is equipped with a heavy machine gun, two Firebat, two grenade launcher Power Armor, one infantryman using a single-person rocket launcher, and one medic carrying a multi-purpose medical kit.
Raynor's mission was to provide fire support for the vanguard and serve as a communication relay point between the vanguard and the main force. The Raynor's Raiders ' insignia and colors were designated by the Revolutionary Army Marshal's Command: sky blue and the Wings of Liberty.
This unit was the first to recruit from Mar- Sara because Raynor himself had a strong affinity for the Mar- Sara people because of his girlfriend Liddy Elizabeth.
"Order the Tychus Division to advance at full speed immediately." Augustus, leading two other Revolutionary Army as the rearguard, wore a full set of Power Armor command armor and was surrounded by many fully armed Revolutionary Army soldiers.
"Raynor's forces will cover the right flank of Tychus's forces. They will open fire only after the troops in front have fired. Faraday's forces will continue advancing along the left ridge to block the Chimera Pirates' retreat route to the west."
Because this was the area with the strongest electromagnetic interference, all means of communication using electromagnetic waves were ineffective, Augustus could only command his men by shouting. Each platoon resumed its communications duties, responsible for relaying the commander's orders to the entire company and even subsequent units.
At this moment, the sky was dim, and a very thin, dark red light appeared on the horizon of Mar- Sara. Two enormous, round moons, four times the size of Earth's moon, hung in the sky. Even though the moonlight had obscured most of the stars, the stars still shone brightly above Augustus's head.
Beside Augustus stood Ghost operative Sarah Kerrigan, wielding a canister sniper rifle, and four Revolutionary Army sergeants clad in CMC-300 Power Armor. Kerrigan's powerful Psionics, aided by Umojan's advanced equipment, could cover a radius of one mile, and no telepathic fluctuations could escape her perception.
The first shot rang out at 0:56 local time, followed immediately by a blaze of light bright enough to illuminate the sky in front of Augustus, with gunfire erupting in unison like thunder.
The Arclite Siege Tank behind Augustus opened fire. The Power Armor blocked out most of the noise, but the roar of the cannons still pounded in his ears. Several fleeting flashes of light landed a few miles in front of Augustus, creating a dazzling burst of fire.
With all available communication equipment malfunctioning, Augustus no way of knowing what was happening ahead, but he knew that what he should do now was to advance quickly.
Chimera's research base is not an impregnable fortress, and the pirates inside are no match for Tychus's forces. Even if Tychus's attack is thwarted, Raynor's Raynor's Raiders can immediately provide suppressive fire.
"Full speed ahead! Charge!" Augustus's order was relayed to the company and platoon by the communications officer, and all the Revolutionary Army soldiers wearing red Power Armor began to run.
These soldiers were still wearing the insignia of the Ma Sarahiro Autonomous State Civil Defense Force (militia) and the Echo Town Police Department, so the Chimera pirates would only regard the enemy attacking the research base as an open attack by the Terran Federation rather than other forces.
Augustus had already briefed the Hilo State Magistrate's Office on the operation and received official approval, so it was merely an official military operation—although the militia's firepower was comparable to that of the Tarsonis Army.
As Augustus's forces advanced at full speed, the fighting on the surface ahead quickly disappeared, Tychus led his men into the underground structure of the Chimera Pirates research base in less than a minute.
At 1:16, which is 20 minutes after Tychus's forces clashed with the Chimera Pirates, Raynor's Raynor's Raiders entered the underground section of the research base building.
Augustus no way of knowing the true situation inside, but when he arrived at the abandoned mining base, Tychus had already brought a Chimera Pirates leader to him.
The main building of the mining base had been destroyed by the Arclite Siege Tank. Beneath the shattered walls was a circular entrance only twenty feet in diameter, from which Revolutionary Army soldiers carried up the bloodied corpses of Chimera Pirates one after another.
These Chimera Pirates don't even have a complete Power Armor; at most, they have energy plates sewn onto their clothes.
Before more than ten corpses remained, the Chimera Pirates, wearing purple turbans and boat-shaped hats, marched out of the research base in neat rows. These pirates' fighting spirit was far inferior to that of the Kel-Morian army, which had fought against Augustus, and they crumbled at the first encounter.
"These pirates have a big reputation, but in a real fight, they're no match for the Kel-Morian people. They're utterly pathetic."
"Just like I said, a nap will be enough to deal with these scoundrels." Tychus grabbed the Chimera Pirates leader by the collar and brought him in front of Augustus, forcing him to look Chimera Pirates Augustus the eye by pulling his forehead down.
The Chimera Pirates wore a dark purple long-sleeved trench coat over a white shirt, with a dining scarf tied around his neck. He had a Chimera tattoo on his right cheek, depicting a mythical monster with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a snake. He had long golden hair and a high nose, and when he shouted angrily, he had a distinct Umojan accent.
"What are you studying here?" Augustus waved his hand dismissively. "Don't be so rude, Tychus. Be kinder to our pirate friends."
"Captain Zamb's Fleets will be arriving in Mar- Sara soon, and you'll soon realize the enormity of your troubles!" After spitting at Tychus, the pirate stood up and threatened Augustus, "The ghost of the Chimera will find you."
"But you can't even send out a distress signal. Even if they figure out what happened here months later, they won't come to Mar- Sara for just a few of you." Augustus didn't lower the Power Armor visor. Although Kerrigan could read other people's memories, the pirate leader who managed this research base still had some value to him.
"You and I both know perfectly well that this kind of low-level threat is meaningless. If you know anything, please tell me."
"Otherwise, I'll hang you up, you bastard, and leave you to bake in the Mar- Sara sun, then whip you mercilessly and rub salt into your wounds." Tychus leaned closer, glaring menacingly at the pirate who dared to spit at him.
"You think you'll get away with this? The sun will bake you dry in just one day."
"We're studying the strange phenomena here." The pirate leader finally gave in, knowing he was finished. "I don't know whether to call you sir or officer, we're just doing scientific research here."
"The Terran Confederacy and the Kel-Morian Combine have been fighting each other all along, while we are still contributing to the progress of all mankind."
"Did you find anything?" Augustus asked with a smile.
"Yes, in fact, we already have a clue about the cause of the frequency anomaly." The Chimera Pirates leader showed no awareness that he had already been captured.
"I will tell you everything I know, but you must promise to let me go."
"That depends on how much truth you're telling." Augustus pointed to Kerrigan beside him. "She's a Psionics; I have ways of finding out if you're lying to me."
"If you don't cooperate," Augustus replied, "I will hand you over to the Umojan Republic."
"Don't worry, Umojan is not sentenced to death."
"It must feel good to be home." The pirate captain looked at the Confederacy Civil Defense insignia on Augustus's armor. "I thought you were going to shoot me or send me to Confederacy prison—I never knew the Confederacy would send Chimera Pirates back to Umojan."
"Now you've heard," Augustus.
Four-fifths of the Chimera Pirates ' research base was underground, with deep-dug laboratories and living spaces located sixty feet below the surface.
The architectural style of the research base is similar to that of Umojan, with smooth blue and white alloy panels. Each room is connected by a passageway that can accommodate two people walking side by side. Here, both living and entertainment facilities are readily available, making it seem more like a research base built by the official Umojan scientific expedition team. Most of the residents are also researchers.
Augustus led the way through the corridor leading to the main laboratory of the research base, followed by Typhus, the leader of the Chimera Pirates, and Sarah Kerrigan. Dr. Francos, who was in charge of alien research for the Revolutionary Army, followed them wearing a CMC-200 Power Armor, with a squad of the Revolutionary Army sergeants lined up in two rows.
"We've discovered the ruins of a mysterious alien civilization here—because with our pitiful brains, it's impossible for us to comprehend what a civilization of intelligent races that conquered the Milky Way Galaxy a hundred billion years ago would be like, so in the end, we still can't figure out where those fragments came from." Chimera Pirates captain Typhus recognized his predicament.
"Ruins." Augustus said as he walked out of the passage and arrived at a large laboratory of the Chimera Pirates.
A prismatic crystal, several feet long, hung from the laboratory ceiling. It emitted a bright, pale green light and was clearly not a common Ardien Crystal.
"I've seen this kind of crystal before. There are small amounts of green crystals in the geological layers of the Purgatory Corridor. I suspect that this kind of crystal can resonate with Psionics." Francos pointed to the crystal. "It can regenerate and also absorb energy."
"This is indeed a strange crystal, containing some kind of peculiar energy, but for now it can only be used as an ornament. A stone slab covered with patterns and symbols was also found with this crystal." Typhus said, handing Augustus a fluorescent green crystal that had been made into a pendant.
Augustus stroked the pendant in his hand, feeling the icy chill emanating from the void, and thought to himself, "This must be a Xel'Naga Crystal. What can we do with it?"
"We can't utilize the energy in this crystal for the time being," Typhus said, shaking his head. "But the cooling effect is quite good."
"Alright. How's the deciphering going?" Augustus then examined the interior of the laboratory, finding nothing unusual.
"The answer is obvious, there's been no progress." Kerrigan crossed her arms and finished the sentence for the stammering Chimera Pirates.
Augustus approached the glass container holding a stone slab, observing the spiral patterns and perfectly regular hexagons on it. The Protoss and Xel'Naga languages were very similar, but in Augustus's memory, the Protoss, apart from purifying Mar- Sara with their planet-destroying cannons, seemed to have no connection with this planet.
"Put it away; perhaps this is a prophecy left for future generations." Augustus couldn't understand it either, but he believed that someone would eventually decipher what was written on it.
"Is this all you found?" Augustus asked him as two Revolutionary Army soldiers carefully removed the stone slab from the glass container.
"That's all," Typhus said. "The race that left this stone tablet didn't establish a city in Mar- Sara; it seems they just placed it here casually."
"The anomaly in the Purgatory Corridor's frequency band isn't caused by this stone slab; I believe it's a creation of another ancient race. And the signal source is right beneath our feet," he said, pointing to the ground beneath his feet.
"Keep digging down until you reach the source emitting the strong electrical pulse."
"We can start digging now," Augustus said to Kerrigan beside him.
"Notify the Revolutionary Army's engineering corps and construction teams that I need them to establish a mining outpost at this location within a week."
grateful