Open Warfare

Two standard Earth times later, around 6 p. m. on February 19, Augustus, who had been standing on the Command Island in the command center for more than ten hours, heard the rumbling of cannons, like thunder.

In February, darkness falls especially quickly. Leaden clouds pile up over Fort Martin, and occasionally, bright orange flashes appear on the black dome—those are spacecraft and fighter jets falling from high orbit.

The sound of artillery fire could only have come from the Alpha Squadron, because the Revolutionary Army did not possess organized railguns, howitzers, or other artillery units; they could only rely on Power Armor and Gauss Rifle.

"How is the Fleets, Faraday?" Augustus he looked at the battle map on the projection screen.

"According to information relayed from the Second Fleet flagship, the Hyperion shot down the Yekaterina Alpha Squadron, while the Norad II and the other seven battlecruisers severely damaged the Napoleon and Jackson V, forcing its flagship Norad III to evade by using a tactical jump." The speaker was not Faraday, but Sarah Kerrigan was always by Augustus.

Upon hearing Kerrigan's words, Augustus remembered that Faraday had been assigned by him to oversee the defense of Martin Fortress's perimeter. Although the fortress was impregnable and heavily fortified, with its numerous anti-aircraft missile towers' automatic locking systems tightly sealing off the airspace above Martin Fortress, Augustus still had to defend against the airborne troops of Alpha Squadron.

"Well done," Augustus. "How much did we lose?"

"The mid-deck of the Norad II was breached, and some men were killed. The other battlecruisers only need armor repair and repainting," Kerrigan said. "Our ships are still pursuing Duke's new flagship, the Norad III, and it's only a matter of time before we shoot it down."

"Tell my captains to expand our gains before the other battlecruisers of Alpha Squadron return to reinforce," Augustus ordered. "Once the battle is over, immediately tow those Alpha Squadron ships back to port by tugboats. Don't waste even a single screw. We're penniless now, only fit to be scavengers and garbage collectors in space. Every abandoned warship is more valuable to us than ever before."

"And—tell my soldiers that Marshal Augustus Mengsk is proud of them."

Kerrigan nodded and noted everything down. By this time, Kerrigan had changed into new equipment from Umojan. Her dark, biodegradable bodysuit was inlaid with bronze-colored malleable alloy armor, providing full protection for her chest, abdomen, forearms, and shins. This attire made her signature fiery red hair even more eye-catching.

As they were talking, Tychus Finley's image suddenly reappeared on the Holographic Projection screen in front of Augustus. The image came from the camera on his CMC Power Armor helmet, and the lens was shaking, clearly showing Tychus running.

"Tychus Finley calling command center. This I, Mengsk. I have at least two brigades of Alpha Squadron following me. We've been running for a day and a night, and the troop carriers and assault vehicles are out of fuel—this is the desert, there's nowhere to refuel, so we had to leave them all behind." Tychus Finley's image seems inseparable from ice-cold beer and cigars; the inside of his Power Armor is always shrouded in smoke, and the armor's internal air circulation system is like a lung damaged by smoke.

"Fortunately, their car was out of gas, so they could only keep going."

"From north to south, from the capital region to Lorenzana the Sandworm Desert to the Barren Canyon, there isn't a single high-energy gas refinery. I already figured that out. Didn't you listen when we held the operational meeting?" A month before planning the battlefield campaign, Augustus led Corporal Faraday and Kerrigan to conduct an on-site survey of the terrain, and finally formulated the operational plan after careful consideration.

"Is that so?" Tychus didn't recall much of it, since he had been catching up on sleep during the meeting.

"Just pretend it's true." He didn't seem to care. "Okay, I'm leading the Alpha Squadron into an ambush."

"Heh, are you ready to use your falcon? Once I catch Edmond Duke, I'm going to clip his wings and stuff him into a chicken coop."

"That's exactly what I want to do," Augustus.

"Our feud with Alpha Squadron isn't going to end so easily," Tychus chuckled. "I heard you're planning to give Duke a cabinet position—regardless of why a republic has a cabinet. If you ask me, no matter how much you bribe a Viper, it'll bite you sooner or later. The best way is to cut off its head and salt it."

"I know you understand this better than I do. What you want isn't Duke himself, but his Alpha Squadron."

"Promising high-ranking positions and generous salaries," Augustus, "Is a way to win over many people."

"And Duke does have his merits; although he's bad enough, he's ruthless enough."

"Or do you also want a cabinet position, Tychus?"

"Come on, Mara Sara isn't even independent yet and you're already thinking about this." Tychus chuckled. "If you ask me, after we take down the Terran Confederacy, I'll open a small bar in Tarsonis, raise some 'daughters,' and the rest will be absurd. Yes, that's how I like it."

Augustus already knew Tychus was a scoundrel, so he wasn't surprised at all by what Tychus said.

"Hi, this is Jim. My men are approaching the Barren Canyon. There's an abandoned mining outpost at my 055° angle; I think that's the designated rendezvous point." At that moment, Jim Raynor's image appeared, its border quickly taking up half of the Holographic Projection screen, squeezing Tychus's position like a bubble.

"Our concealment measures were very effective, and we did not encounter Scout or units from the Alpha Squadron. The space stations and satellites in orbit have been paralyzed by electromagnetic interference, making it impossible for them to detect us," Raynor said.

"Damn it, I never imagined that the artifact we dug out of the Purgatory Corridor could be used like this," he said.

"Huh? This thing is far more effective than any electromagnetic interference device; it will paralyze any human communication equipment."

"The downside is that it's a double-edged sword; our ships will also be affected," Augustus.

Augustus ordered Rory Swann to build a special artifact ship specifically for the Xel'Naga Artifact Fragment, capable of amplifying the disruptive magnetic field generated by the fragments to interfere with enemy communications. Of course, the downside is that Revolutionary Army within its range will also be affected.

For the time being, the Revolutionary Army has not yet been able to discover more uses for the Xel'Naga Artifact Fragment.

"I am Londerstein, and my troops have arrived at the Barren Canyon X-53565 outpost." At this moment, the portrait of another Revolutionary Army appeared.

"I am Mira." Mira Han's image occupied a quarter of the main screen. "Fight for the Revolutionary Army!"

"You don't need to call that every time, Mira," Augustus chuckled.

"The political commissar and the captain next to me both say so," Mira laughed heartily. No one knew what Mira found funny, but she just laughed so hard she couldn't catch her breath.

"Alright, repeat your task." Augustus swiped his finger across the screen, which displayed a plan of the Barren Canyon. The entrance was wide, but it narrowed as you went deeper, resembling the cross-section of a beer bottle.

"I will lead Duke into the canyon and, together with Harnack's Firebat, block the Alpha Squadron as it ventures deeper into the canyon at the bottleneck," Tychus said.

"And we'll enter the canyon after that and attack Duke from behind," Raynor and the others said in unison.

"A pincer attack," Tychus said. "You know that's my favorite way to play."

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