Little Skirt

SCT 2491.1.17.

Umojan Republic, Garban System.

With a fleeting white flash, a Fleets consisting of a dozen battlecruisers and over a hundred destroyers, frigates, transport ships, and supply ships leaped into the airspace of the Umojan Protectorate.

A blue-white Umojan Traveller beacon hovers silently in the dark depths of the Garban System, its endless starlight reflecting the image of a distant nebula behind it.

Augustus, who was standing at the observation window on the bridge of the Hyperion, could clearly see the conical beacon bathed in starlight through the bow probe camera. He was wearing a dark gray military overcoat and a long-brimmed captain's hat, and stood straight with his hands behind his back, as if a javelin was standing between his overcoat and the shirt underneath.

"Detected the Umojan Protectorate Fleets, coordinates Z2, zone 4, difference 3 units," a Revolutionary Army technician standing in front of the control console reported loudly.

After a flash of snowflake-like gibberish on the main screen of the bridge, a Fleets only one-tenth the size of the Revolutionary Army Fleets appeared. These Umojan warships were completely different from the rough, patchwork warships of the Kel-Morian Combine and the large warships with heavy armor and giant cannons of the Terran Confederacy.

They have streamlined hulls that incorporate aerodynamics and longer keels. The silvery-white platinum-iridium alloy coating makes the bridges of these Umojan warships and the inner curved wings of their starfighters refract a silvery luster under the starlight.

The Umojan warships possess a more advanced rear-propulsion system and anti-gravity technology compared to the Terran Confederacy. Each Umojan warship has fewer technical staff and engineers because it is equipped with a more advanced artificial intelligence-assisted weapon system, intelligent identification, and automated production and reloading plant.

The gap between the Terran Confederacy and the Kel-Morian Combine and the Umojan Republic in the field of artificial intelligence is far greater than the economic gap between them. Even though these two regimes acquired several Umojan spaceships through illicit means, their researchers were unable to use these spaceships to achieve breakthroughs in the field of artificial intelligence based on existing foundations.

Compared to the Confederacy and the Kel-Morian Combine, the United States' military industry encompasses the most advanced technology currently available to all of Koprulu Umojan warships and aircraft possess the most technologically advanced multi-symmetrical wings and high-energy particle weapons. Some little-known models can even use anti-gravity weapons to instantly destroy their enemies.

The Umojan warships and their accompanying fighters looked as if they came straight out of a science fiction movie depicting interstellar warfare. The beautiful sky-blue base coating, the shiny paintwork of the badges with silver-white platinum-iridium alloy plating, and the glowing emblem of the Umojan Republic were far more eye-catching than their cannon muzzles.

With their cool designs and appealing appearance, models and handicrafts based on the warships of the Umojan Protectorate have always been best-selling products in the toy market throughout the Koprulu Sector.

"Order the Fleets to reveal its identity," Augustus.

"This is my first time in Umojan. The head of Ghost Program is worried that the Umojan might acquire and imitate the Confederacy's technology for training Ghost operative," Kerrigan said, looking at the Umojan warships flashing blue and silver light on the screen.

"This is Umojan's Fleets? It looks quite impressive."

"That's right," Augustus. "The Umojan have been working tirelessly to develop new warships to prepare for potential future wars, and they have always been aware of the Protoss and Zerg presence. The United States' sense of crisis is indeed commendable."

"But," Kerrigan, looking at the Holographic Projection screen in front of her, "How they were forced by the Terran Confederacy Navy to only dare to patrol their own borders. The Umojan Fleets didn't even appear in military news reports during the Guild Wars."

At this time, besides dozens of technicians and navigators on the bridge, the only person standing next to Augustus was the red-haired beauty Sarah Kerrigan. Harnack, whom Augustus disliked for being too noisy, was sent to the Fleets kitchen to bake bread by the Revolutionary Army Marshal. Raynor was busy nursing his child, while Londerstein, Warfield, and Duke all had their own ships.

Everyone has their own life, work, and troubles, but Kerrigan is busy every day with Augustus in mind, taking care of him to complete his daily work and training until he closes his eyes and falls asleep.

At the same time, Kerrigan also a valuable assistant to Augustus in his work. Her outstanding visionary thinking is able to keep up with Augustus's grand strategic vision, and she understands that the Revolutionary Army's future enemies are not just the Confederacy.

Kerrigan's command abilities as a squad leader and army commander were fully demonstrated when she assisted Augustus, and Augustus had been trying to cultivate Kerrigan into a commander.

"Are you trying to say that these warships are all show and no substance?" Augustus chuckled softly; he knew far more about Umojan technology than Kerrigan did.

"In a way, yes. The Umojan don't know how to fight, or rather, they don't understand like the Confederacy what weapons and military systems to use to win a war. The humans of Koprulu need steel behemoths that can carry more weapons and more cannons, and these steel warships must have enough high-quality steel plates to withstand enemy fire, not just a thin layer of metal plating."

"Warships also need to be able to be produced quickly and deployed rapidly to various battlefields, and the components used to produce them come from the vast territory of the Confederacy and all the casting planets," he said.

"Apart from Fleets commanders and ship captains, the Confederacy Navy does not need sailors with initiative. The Resocialized Soldier produced in the resocialized factories can learn everything needed to serve on a warship in just a few seconds. They mesh together like gears in a precision machine, never making mistakes, never fearing, and can be used like weapons when necessary."

"In comparison, although Umojan's warships possess some advanced technology, their numbers are far too few. Their number of affiliated colonies is far less than that of the Confederacy, making it impossible for them to build and maintain a Fleets that can rival the Confederacy Navy. Moreover, merely defending the United States' not-so-wide borders makes their Fleets unsustainable," Augustus.

"Even in a direct confrontation between warships of the same class, the Umojan warships do not have an advantage. The Umojan Fleets's strength lies in its higher speed and the fact that its plasma shields can withstand more damage."

"As long as the Umojan Fleets does not join the war, their military strength will remain shrouded in mystery, enough to make the Tarsonis Confederate Congress hesitant to act," Kerrigan said.

"I know that Umojan does not like expansion. For more than a hundred years, they have rarely had territorial disputes with the Confederacy and the Kel-Morian Combine, and have been content to develop within their own sphere of influence."

"The engineers of Umojan have been working tirelessly to upgrade their technology, trying to build faster and better warships, but the results have not been ideal." At this moment, the Umojan Fleets on the screen drew closer, and the bright blue and white paint on its warships and the multiple triangular stacks of paint on the bow became even more eye-catching. Augustus stood quietly, waiting for the response from the commander of the Umojan Fleets.

"They could never understand why their warships, which were far more advanced than the Confederacy Fleets, suffered repeated losses in actual combat. In reality, those warships lacked powerful firepower, and the technology they carried was often impractical, at best only making the lives of the soldiers on board more comfortable."

"Humanistic considerations and the emphasis on the quality of life and even the emotions of soldiers are a superior manifestation of the United States' democratic system, but the fighting effectiveness of the United States' Umojan Protectorate soldiers is not as high as their elected parliament expected," Augustus.

"The technology carried by the Umojan warships far exceeds your imagination. They almost never use live ammunition, relying more on plasma and beam weapons. The Umojan warships are extremely expensive, not only because they have money to burn, but also because they strive for perfection in everything they do. The construction time for a single battlecruiser is two to three times that of Confederacy Behemoth-class Battlecruiser."

"To be honest, the Umojan's performance is quite superior, and it's not just a giant commercial cruise ship with guns mounted on it, as the UNN media claims," he said.

"The Confederacy Navy has consistently emphasized that the Umojan Protectorate is a huge threat, with an operational radius that can span the entire Confederacy territory. Even though they have never actually fought against the Umojan Protectorate forces, the Confederacy Army has always insisted that the Umojan Protectorate Army possesses formidable firepower." Kerrigan shook her head.

"It's all for military spending."

"I am Fleets Admiral Ion Stamford, Commander of the Aurora Sector, and Marshal Augustus Mengsk. Welcome to the Umojan Republic. The Umojan Protectorate Fleets salutes all the Rebel warriors." This was during Augustus's conversation with Kerrigan.

A general of the Umojan Protectorate, dressed in the dark blue naval uniform of Umojan, appeared on the main screen. It must be said that the general's well-tailored uniform was bright and beautiful, with gold tassels on his shoulders, clearly indicating that he had made many ceremonial preparations for his meeting with Augustus.

The Umojan always behaved quite meticulously. So far, apart from battles, Augustus has been unable to find any faults in the speech, behavior, or etiquette of the Umojan he has encountered.

"General Stamford, thank you for escorting our Fleets." Augustus flashed his signature smile. Whether commoner, nobleman, soldier, or general, Augustus treated everyone the same; he respected everyone and put that respect into practice in his words and deeds.

Everyone could sense that Augustus valued them highly, and soon, these people would go to great lengths to gain Augustus or to prove that his approval of them was correct.

It seems rather comical that the Umojan Fleets is escorting Fleets far larger than itself, but ultimately it's just a routine military mission. The Umojan Republic and the Korhal Dominion have formed an alliance, and the Korhal people, who have had to rely on Umojan for survival since the destruction of Korhal, have practically become part of the Federation. Currently, their relationship is ambiguous, like that of a couple deeply in love.

This relationship, akin to one of indistinguishable entities, allowed the Umojan Republic to permit a massive Revolutionary Army Fleets to jump to its core world, accessing Umojan ports and shipyards for repairs and resupply. The Kel-Morian Combine, on the other hand, was far more wary of the Revolutionary Army Fleets.

Then, guided by the flagship of the Umojan Fleets, the Revolutionary Army Fleets leaped into the hyperspace tunnel.

On January 22, after more than a dozen short jumps and several days of travel, this massive combined Fleets finally crossed half the territory of the United States and arrived at the main planet of Umojan, where it docked in a giant mobile fortress in its synchronous orbit that was comparable to the moon.

Augustus could not hide his joy at the prospect of seeing his family again after more than a year.

While sailing with the Revolutionary Army Fleets, Augustus unable to send letters to his family due to various restrictions. However, he still retained the habit he had when he first joined the army, writing a letter to his mother and sister every week.

The electronic documents of these letters were stored on Augustus's laptop, accumulating over time. In the letters, Augustus would occasionally complain to his mother that this period was usually the most distressing time for him.

Dorothy is now eighteen, Augustus still telling her a galactic legend, a legend that always begins long, long ago, in a distant galaxy.

At this moment, the Hyperion had already entered the port inside the Umojan mobile fortress, Augustus led his men through docking port 1 into the magnificent mobile fortress.

The ground of Umojan's mobile fortress was as vast as land, and the light sources overhead were extremely distant, appearing as blurry dots of light.

"Damn it, finally we've arrived at a place with some human presence. Fleets life is truly torturous. No wonder Edmond Duke is tormented like this—a life of utter darkness, constantly fussing over little brats. I've had enough, ladies of Umojan, old Tychus is ready to make a big splash!" Tychus burst into laughter as soon as he stepped out of the docking port hatch.

"Life always has its disappointments, Tychus. Perhaps this is the kind of life you're meant to live, training methodically and expending your excess energy on poker." Augustus looked around, then suddenly looked disappointed at not seeing his family.

Augustus was not the invincible figure the Revolutionary Army imagined, a great man seemingly cast in steel. As a man of flesh and blood, Augustus could be wounded, and he could feel sadness and pain.

"Once we recapture Korhal, I'll take you horseback hunting outside the forests of Sterling." He forced a smile, his disappointment stemming from not seeing his mother and sister.

"I'd rather mow down birds with a machine gun or, well, bombard them with cannons than shoot them with rifles and shotguns," Tychus grinned.

"I can't stand your aristocratic lifestyle; after all, I'm a big bad guy."

"Haha, I'm a big bad guy too!" Harnack shouted gleefully. "Today I'm going to do bad things like a bad guy!"

"Ignore them. I'll definitely go hunting with you after I retire," Raynor told Augustus.

"Me too," Kerrigan said.

"Hehe!"

As they were talking, a young girl in a light blue dress popped out from Augustus's blind spot. She had delicate features and long, straight, dark gray hair, and ran towards Augustus in a pair of beautiful shoes. Valerian, wearing the same dress, followed closely behind his aunt. He was now ten years old, and his shoulders were much broader. He was no longer as thin as before, and had become agile and nimble from diligently practicing swordsmanship.

Valerian himself has a feminine appearance; he has beautiful features, fair skin, and most importantly, beautiful wavy blonde hair.

"Damn it." Augustus's face darkened.

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