Alien Threat

Tyrador VIII (8), Revolutionary Army operations base under construction.

This planet shares a common orbit with its sister star, IX(9), in the Taradorn System, a renowned tourist destination. The two deep blue stars are drawn together by each other's gravity, creating a unique binary orbit that brings magnificent tidal landscapes and a distinctive yet vibrant natural ecosystem to both planets.

Tyrador VIII was also one of the early colonized planets, and it is known throughout the system for its orderly streets, tidy campuses, and strong academic atmosphere. Like Tyrador IX, Taradorn has extreme climate differences across its various dimensions, with the common scenario of frigid tundra on one side and tropical rainforest on the other at the boundary of latitude and longitude.

The urban styles of different regions vary greatly. Modern cities on the plains, red industrial cities in the Gobi Desert, science cities with extremely high green coverage, and military steel fortresses in the snow and ice can all be found on Tyrador VIII.

The Korhal Revolutionary Army's operational base, currently under construction, is located near the equator of Tyrador VIII. Temperatures here consistently remain above 30 degrees Celsius year-round, and are even higher at perihelion. The air is stifling and extremely humid, requiring all building materials to undergo rust-proofing treatment.

Rory Swann's Revolutionary Army 1st Engineer Regiment was fully responsible for the construction of this operational base, and his deputy Viktor Kaczynski of Kel-Morian, personally oversaw the construction. In addition to a Revolutionary Army Engineer Corps of one or two battalions and a logistics support department, a full-strength Revolutionary Army Marine Corps battalion was also stationed here.

Augustus's temporary marshal's command center is located here. With this operational base as the center, the Revolutionary Army Fleets can quickly project troops onto the surface of the planets. And given the current defensive posture of the Confederacy forces stationed in the Taradorn System, the Revolutionary Army only needs a strong and powerful blitzkrieg to destroy and occupy these planets within two to three days.

The massive Revolutionary Army Fleets remains anchored at the edge of interstellar space, maintaining relative stationary orbit on the shadowy side of a giant gaseous planet a hundred times the size of Earth to evade radar and probes. With a single order from Augustus, taking the loosely defended Taradorn System would be a piece of cake.

However, the problem is that even if the Revolutionary Army manages to take over the Taradorn System, they won't be able to hold it. This system is located in the core region of the Terran Confederacy, and the Terran Fleets can quickly arrive to quell the rebellion.

Therefore, Augustus adopted essentially the same strategy as the Mar- Sara uprising: the Revolutionary Army would gradually infiltrate and use political propaganda against the tyranny of the Confederacy to gain control of the Taradorn System, but would not launch an uprising for the time being. The hatred of the majority of the population of the Taradorn System, the lower classes, towards the Terran Confederacy and the upper classes would become fertile ground for revolution.

When Augustus's army clashed with the main Fleets of the Terran Confederacy on the other side of the Koprulu Sector, the Taradorn System would immediately change its allegiance, becoming a thorn in the side of the Confederacy Augustus, throwing the Confederacy's army into chaos.

Augustus currently standing in the command center of the operations base, watching reports from the Revolutionary Army guerrillas in the Sara System, mostly images of the Zerg Zerg the system.

On Cha- Sara, millions of Zerg flying creatures blot out the sky and orbit the planet, appearing as a black halo to the viewer of another telescope in the system, the Ma- Sara Orbiting Telescope.

The Zerg Creep Augustus had once seen at the Victor V Confederacy Alien Research Station had now covered the northern hemisphere of the Cha- Sara System. The deep purple, viscous Creep, with its vine-like and tentacle-like protrusions, penetrated deep into the ground, as if draining the planet of its life-sustaining nutrients. The once lush planet was now barren, its verdant green turned into a gloomy and sickly dark brown, all life on it having been devoured by the Swarm.

This is the survival rule of the Zerg race: if other organisms cannot provide them with the genetic material for evolution, then they can only support the entire Swarm and make it stronger.

At this very moment, in front of Augustus was an LED 2D screen displaying images transmitted from the capital city of Zecha Sara. There, an underground organization of the Korhal Revolutionary Army was responsible for organizing propaganda.

To this day, the Terran Confederacy continues to do everything in its power to block news from the Sara System. Any reports about this catastrophe have been cut off, with only fragmented images transmitted back by the Revolutionary Army left behind by Augustus.

The screen displayed footage recorded by a farm surveillance camera using an infrared detector: swarms of canine-like alien creatures were advancing into the silent farm in the pitch-black night. These swift and ferocious creatures leaped across the gradually withering land of Cha Sara like a tidal wave, their orange and red glowing eyes in the darkness reminding Augustus of the Korhal wolves at midnight.

At first glance, it looks no different from a pack of wolves in winter, except that these Zerg are far more numerous, so numerous that the camera feeds a dense array of red heat sources, resembling a constantly flowing red river.

The vast sea of Zerg quickly engulfed the entire farm.

In the final scene, huge, pulsating chunks of organic flesh, tumors, and throbbing tendons gradually cover the farmhouses, while grotesque creatures mutated from local animals, humans, dogs, and other livestock wander like zombie ghosts.

"What the hell are these things? The things we found on the Victor V were just a few 'babies' of the Zerg." Jim Raynor stared grimly at the hideous alien creatures on the screen.

"I'm afraid so," Augustus. "They come from outside the Koprulu Sector, and these Zerg that invaded Cha Sara are likely only a small part of their vast population."

"This footage is from over a month ago, and Cha Sara's situation can only be worse now. We also have reason to believe that Ma Sara has been affected, or even fallen victim to it."

"The Zerg, or rather, they are a vast swarm of countless individuals—hence we call them the Swarm." Dr. Francos, an Xenomorph research expert under Augustus, stood behind a group of generals, colonels, and leaders of special tactical strike forces.

"According to our research, the social structure of the Swarm is more like that of a bee colony. They have an exceptionally large population, and each individual has its own identity and status within the group. The lowest-ranking individuals follow a strict hierarchy and division of labor, obeying the higher-ranking Zerg. Ultimately, these higher-ranking individuals will converge into a single, massive collective consciousness." The doctor's research has limitations due to the times, but it is largely consistent with the actual situation.

"Layered control, tight unity. That's the Zerg, that's the Swarm. The Swarm's collective consciousness uses brainwaves, or rather, telepathic abilities similar to those of Ghost operative, to remotely control their race, making them an organic extension of the Swarm's will," he said.

"The Zerg swarm is mainly composed of 'workers' and 'fighters.' The former are almost non-aggressive and are responsible for gathering and building organic structures, while the latter's every organ and limb seems to exist for the purpose of killing enemies as much as possible."

"You really think so?" Sarah Kerrigan, who was accompanying Augustus, frowned. She recalled the Zerg she had seen on Victor V: "The Zerg workers have sharp mandibles and a pair of sharp, massive claws that can bite off a person's head in one bite. They can even spray poisonous spikes, like slingshot bolts."

"Uh," Dr. Francos was momentarily embarrassed. "I mean, Zerg workers have a hard time biting through CMC Power Armor."

"To be more precise, it only needs a few more bites to pry open a Marine's armor." Kerrigan knew exactly what Dr. Francos was thinking, "Difficult is relative."

"The good news is that the C-14 Electromagnetic Rifle can penetrate the Zerg's tough chitinous carapace," Dr. Francos changed the subject.

"The bad news is that other, more primitive firearms are almost impossible to kill these creatures." Kerrigan didn't mince words; she was always so blunt—unless Kerrigan felt there was a need for tact.

"The civilian automatic rifles sold on the market can Zergling Zerg, but it's hard to say when facing Hydralisk... At least the people of Sara have the ability to put up a fight," the doctor explained.

"Our understanding of this Swarm — the Jormungand Brood— is still very limited. It seems that the Jormungand Brood is likely the Swarm responsible for reconnaissance and ground combat, and its ground forces are mainly composed of Hydralisk and Zergling, and are quite large in scale," he continued, pointing to the screen.

"You call these hundreds of millions of insects a reconnaissance force?" Harnack Hank, who was standing to the side, finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"You mean we might not even be able to stop a single Zerg scout unit? I swear on my life, that can't be true."

"Sooner or later, the Zerg will become the greatest enemy of all mankind. If the Terran Confederacy does not wake up and understand this, then it will be the ordinary people who suffer," Augustus.

"The Confederacy Fleets did nothing?" The speaker was Vice Admiral Horace Warfield, who had just arrived from his flagship Steel Justice. His expression was far more unpleasant than anyone else's.

"According to previous intelligence, after the Battle of Mar- Sara, in order to prevent the rebellion from reigniting, the new planetary governor's government implemented a strict, year-long military control policy, including curfews and blackouts. At least one naval squadron is stationed in the Sara System, and they've just been watching?"

"Now it seems that's the case," Augustus sighed, his face full of worry.

During Augustus's stay in Umojan, the Zerg had not yet invaded the Sara System; he only received the news after arriving at Tyrador IX. The events at the Umojan Cerberus Polar Research Station accelerated the Swarm invasion, making Augustus uneasy.

It is highly likely that the Zerg vanguard had already reached several sectors near the Koprulu Sector, but they showed little interest in the humans they encountered, focusing instead on plundering the genes and organic matter of life in other sectors. However, the appearance of Kerrigan accelerated their invasion of the Koprulu Sector, bringing forward the first large-scale Zerg invasion from 2499 to 2491.

Kerrigan was completely unaware of this, and Augustus had no intention of telling her. Whether or not these things had happened, the Zerg would arrive sooner or later.

"It seems we're all far more nervous than the Confederacy right now," Raynor sighed. "Elizabeth and her family are very worried that Ma Sara will suffer the same fate as Cha Sara, and there are quite a few Ma Sara or even Cha Sara people in our army."

"This is unbelievable! Just because Ma Sara rebelled against their Confederacy, they're deciding to leave her to die? Even so, the people of Cha Sara are innocent; they didn't participate in the uprising and know nothing about it."

"Tell them not to worry," Augustus said firmly. "I can assure them that if the Confederacy forces ignore the Sara System, then we will be the ones to save its people."

"I knew you'd say that, Augustus. We can't ignore those who are suffering, especially those who once supported us," Raynor said. "You're the only one in all of Koprulu who would do that."

"Ha—everything is judged by comparison." Tychus Finley, who was observing the Zerg, had no sense of justice or compassion whatsoever; such things had always been alien to him. When Tychus looked at a matter, he was often able to get closer to the level of gains and losses.

"Watch this. The Terran Confederacy treats Confederacy life like dirt, letting its citizens, who are being slaughtered, fend for themselves. Meanwhile, the Korhal Revolutionary Army descends from the heavens like angels of justice, saving the Mar- Sara people who have completely lost hope in the Confederacy." Tychus chuckled in his deep voice.

"Guess what will happen next? Those Mar- Sara people being chased and bitten by the Zerg will be eternally grateful to us. The Revolutionary Army will become the saviors of the people, while the Terran Confederacy's army will be seen as cowardly bystanders and accomplices of the Zerg butchers. Sometimes, there's no harm in comparison."

"Damn it, we didn't go to rescue those people so they could be grateful," Raynor snapped at Tychus. "Without us, I don't know who those poor people would have to rely on."

"But can we really rescue the people in the Sara System before the Zerg completely destroy it?" Kerrigan asked worriedly.

"In my opinion, bugs are bugs. One shot and they're dead," Tychus Finley said nonchalantly. "Even if God stood before us, I'd test whether he could withstand a bullet. If not, then let those bugs eat nuclear bombs!"

"A big one!" Harnack added loudly, his distinctive high-pitched voice sounding just like a villain.

"How many of us are still in Mar- Sara?" Augustus asked Kerrigan.

"A total of over a hundred guerrilla units and four Marine brigades, approximately twenty thousand men," Kerrigan replied.

"In addition, the Revolutionary Army Navy is working on deploying the Wayfarer Mobile Base, which was handed over to us by the Umojan Protectorate, to the Sara System. Currently, this mobile base is carrying approximately 20,000 Umojan Protectorate soldiers."

"This is far from enough," Augustus. "We also lack ships to evacuate the people."

"Order the Fleets to prepare for jump; we must go help the people of the Sara System."

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