Homeland Lost
About three weeks later.
Within the territory of the Umojan Republic, Icarus IV.
As an agricultural world on a planet in the United States Alliance, Carlos's capital spaceport had never seen so many people flood in in a single day. This overwhelmed the spaceport, forcing it to limit the tonnage and number of ships that could enter.
Augustus, dressed in a well-fitting dark gray officer's uniform, stood on one side of the terminal's exit, which had a silver frame and a blue crystal glass dome, watching the refugees from the Sara System pour out of the exit.
Beyond the exit lies the pure blue sky and fresh air of Icarus IV, with the white alloy buildings of Umojan standing tall amidst verdant lawns and forests. Following the undulating terrain, flocks of brown birds fly into the distance.
It was all so beautiful, like a world from a painting.
Carlos is one of the most beautiful planets in the United States' member worlds. It belongs to the Umojan Colony, and its fertile soil has created vast fields of fertile land and enchanting golden autumns.
If it weren't for the Carlos ' overuse of pesticides in recent years in pursuit of crop yields, causing irreparable environmental damage, this planet would be much more beautiful than it is today.
Upon learning of the plight of the Sara System and the massive invasion by the Zerg, the Umojan Elected Council, upholding its humanitarian principles, agreed to use the Icarus IV as a temporary transit point for refugees from the Sara System.
Meanwhile, Umojan also requested Augustus share his experience in fighting the Zerg, while the various member worlds and dominions of the United States were also strengthening their defenses. A strong sense of crisis has always motivated the Umojan to improve their military.
Now, those in high positions of power in the world of Umojan have realized that the threat of the Zerg invasion will replace the oppression of the Terran Confederacy for a long time to come.
The existence of the Protoss and Zerg will no longer be a secret unknown to the public. The new generation born and educated in this era will naturally accept the understanding that humanity must compete with the other two races in the universe for resources and living space. And if they are not careful, the fate of the humans of Koprulu may very well be extinction.
Even if humanity never gives up its internal struggles, the fight for the survival of the race will be something that all humans, including those in the Koprulu and even in the broader sense of the Terran, must face.
Kerrigan, Raynor, Faraday, and others, accompanied by an elite guard, were following Augustus, while Warfield, Tychus, and Harnack each had their own missions. Upon reaching a friendly or neutral planet, the Revolutionary Army would replenish their personnel and supplies, and repair their warships.
At this moment, the exit of the port passage was filled with Umojan alien research experts and infectious disease control experts dressed in white biohazard suits and orange goggles, as well as a large number of doctors. In order to enter the refugee camp prepared by the local government for the Sara System, these people must also prove that they do not carry the Zerg virus.
Although the doctors in the Revolutionary Army had already tested them, and the existing Zerg virus was not highly contagious and had a short incubation period, and was only spread by certain Zerg species carrying deadly viruses, Umojan still insisted on retesting to ensure that the risk was kept to a very low level.
Those who are able to stand here for a second test are lucky, because those who were previously detected by the Revolutionary Army doctors have either been turned into monsters and thrown into space, or are now lying dying in the cabin of a medical ship.
"The medical standards of the Umojan Republic are as high as their achievements in high-tech fields. Is it possible that even they have no way to solve the Zerg virus?"
Augustus turned his gaze away from the crowd pouring out of the exits and looked at Sarah Kerrigan.
"There's no such thing as hopeless." Kerrigan returned Augustus's sorrowful gaze. "The amino acid arrangement of the Zerg virus is unlike anything humans have ever seen before, and it's constantly mutating."
"The military doctors kept telling those who were infected that we had a solution."
"Before people discover that it is completely incurable, at least they can keep the patients hopeful," Augustus. "To prevent them from suffering so much."
"The people of the Sara System have suffered enough," Raynor sighed.
Is there any progress in our alien creature lab?
"Dr. Francos believes that the Protoss's genetic material may contain a way to combat the Zerg virus," Kerrigan replied.
"The Doctor has already tested the Zerg virus's effects on the Tal'darim with his assistants and students." Kerrigan knew what Augustus was thinking.
"By the way, I remember there was a Tal'darim in our alien lab—I heard that besides ingesting a considerable amount of Terrazine every day, he just lay around 'eating and waiting to die,' and he didn't hesitate to participate in all sorts of Francos ' experiments in order to obtain Terrazine."
"Francos's efficiency is as good as ever," Augustus asked with concern. "And the result?"
"The implanted virus cannot infect the Protoss, but this could be because the Zerg virus that can infect the Protoss is completely different from the one that Infested Terran," Kerrigan said.
"A drop in the ocean." Augustus had little hope for this.
"Tell Dr. Francos that the fate of billions of people depends entirely on the results of his experiments."
"This is a heavy burden. You're putting Francos on the moral execution rack," Raynor shrugged.
"You're always like this, Augustus. You know the nature of each of us perfectly and know how to ignite our fighting spirit," he said.
"Duke is a scoundrel, he's selfish and obsessed with honor, so you just cater to his vanity. Tychus only cares about money, so you'll give him money."
"This is a testament to your wisdom."
"Jimmy, on a deeper level, this is nothing more than an exchange of interests." Augustus's eyes were calm and cold.
"But you're different to us. I can't see what I have that you could use," Raynor said.
"That's different, Jimmy." Augustus was silent for a moment. He did not follow the refugees out of the Carlos Airport, but instead returned to the airport's control hall through a narrow passage.
Among them, a considerable number of refugees from the Sara System are waiting to leave the spaceport.
In the center of the control room was a huge Holographic Projection screen, on which the UNN logo indicated that this was a broadcast from UNN Universe News Network's Tarsonis headquarters.
What Augustus noticed was that, more than three months after the appearance of Zerg in the Sara System, the UNN finally began reporting news about extraterrestrials. The people in the hall stared angrily at the big screen, cursing the Confederacy's evasion and inaction.
In the Sara System, the Revolutionary Army is rescuing refugees at great personal cost, while the Terran Confederacy not only doesn't help but also plots against them. It's fair to say that the Revolutionary Army Revolutionary Army is desperately trying to pull the refugees out of the abyss, while the Confederacy is thinking of kicking both the Revolutionary Army and the refugees back into the grave, and then closing the coffin lid on them.
"I can already imagine the sensation this news will cause in Tarsonis and the other Confederacy worlds," Augustus, looking at the main screen.
"It's obvious that the news of the discovery of an extraterrestrial intelligent race has caused a huge uproar throughout the Terran Confederacy," Kerrigan said. "Initially, the UNN and other mainstream media simply told the Confederacy that the Protoss and Zerg races existed in this universe."
"Didn't they say the Zerg are terrifying monsters that eat people, and that the Protoss can decompose humans by firing beams of light?" Augustus said coldly.
"It's the same old story. They avoid the important points, break the facts down into multiple pieces, and then recombine them according to their own desires. By simply changing the word order and adding some rhetoric, they can express something that is completely contrary to the facts," Kerrigan said sarcastically.
"In fact, at the beginning, humans were thinking about how to share human culture with aliens. Toy companies even released commemorative editions of Zerg and Protoss toys, which were a great success."
"But the Confederacy hadn't yet provided specific images of the Protoss and Zerg at that time." Augustus smiled silently.
As Augustus spoke, the Holographic Projection projection screen continued to play footage of the UNN news anchor.
"This is where the Protoss destroyed Sara. Everything on the planet was reduced to ashes. The number of survivors is still being tallied. The military has withdrawn from the Sara System."
"Now they're finally starting to take this seriously," Augustus. "But it seems they're completely blaming the destruction of the Sara's Sisters on the Protoss, while ignoring the Zerg that actually devoured those two planets."
"Initially, the Confederacy tried to block news from the Sara System, and Omega Squadron did it almost flawlessly. Although we knew what was happening there, with the Confederacy controlling the media, our voices were simply ignored," Kerrigan said.
"But in fact, not long after we withdrew from the Sara System, the Zerg invaded five Edge World —Char, Antiga, and Little Atticus— each attacked by a different Zerg hive. This was clearly beyond the expectations of the Terran Confederacy, and they had no choice but to make the Sara System's situation public."
"Char." Augustus suddenly looked at Kerrigan, his gaze sharp, which almost startled the latter.
"What's wrong?" Kerrigan tried to read Augustus's thoughts, but after thinking about it, she gave up.
"I remember Char, it's a red planet full of lava lakes." Raynor seemed to recall something, "I heard about Char quite a few times when I was in the Federal Marine Corps. I heard that your Arcturus had been there too."
"During the Guild Wars, Char was the main battlefield between the Confederacy and the Kel-Morian Combine because it contained valuable heavy metals and minerals. Later, both sides deployed battlecruisers and nuclear weapons. As far as I know, the environment there is now much worse; it's almost uninhabitable, and there are basically only some miners and stationed troops left."
"To put it bluntly, the Confederacy won't even bother with that godforsaken place," he said.
"As for Antiga Prime and those few planets like Little Atticus, the Terran Confederacy might say a few nice words."
"This is terrible," Augustus. "If possible, we shouldn't have given up Char so easily. Unfortunately, we have far too few men."
He sighed heavily and said nothing more.
No sooner had Augustus finished speaking than the host on the Holographic Projection screen in the hall suddenly spoke indignantly:
"Military personnel discovered a large number of Sons of Korhal members before the Protoss destroyed Sara, who were still sabotaging military facilities and massacring refugees during the alien invasion."
"Without a doubt, the evil Protoss are Augustus Mengsk's henchmen. He betrayed humanity's interests and colluded with aliens to oppose the legitimate government!"
"Nonsense!" This immediately drew angry shouts from the enraged Sara people.
"Bullshit!" Even Raynor cursed, the young man with black hair glaring angrily, and he had already pulled out the revolver that Augustus had given him, aiming it at the Holographic Projection screen.
"How many good brothers of ours died trying to save people! If you had focused on evacuating the refugees instead of trying to suppress the news, things wouldn't have turned out this way!"
Raynor was, after all, still a hot-blooded young man. Although he was calm and collected, he could still lose his temper when he was enraged.
"Put it down! Jimmy!" Augustus roared.
"Even if you fire a shot, it won't make a difference; that's Holographic Projection screen, not an LED 2D screen," he added.
"You can't break it no matter how hard you try."
Upon hearing Augustus speak, Raynor immediately came to his senses, slowly lowered the revolver in his hand, his face turning from pale to red, unable to speak.
Raynor quickly realized the terrible consequences of firing a gun in a crowd, and his face turned bright red with shame.
"You idiot!" Augustus cursed.
"Next time, you have to shoot a real person's face, not some image."
The people around him were still cursing the inaction and incompetence of the Terran Confederacy, to the point that Augustus couldn't hear what was being said on the news at all.
Augustus could see was the Revolutionary Army's crimson banner with a whip-like ring and the roaring image of a Zergling.
"The Confederacy can't distinguish between the Revolutionary Army and the Sons of Korhal, or they simply don't want to," Kerrigan said. "In the Confederacy's eyes, both the Revolutionary Army and the Sons of Korhal are terrorists and disruptors of order."
Suddenly, the voices in the hall quieted down because a well-known member of the Terran Confederacy Parliament appeared on the news program.
"Citizens of the Terran Confederacy, I must tell you that the Protoss are not the only aliens hostile to humanity; there is also the Zerg controlled by Augustus Mengsk using a drug. Both races are mortal enemies of humanity."
"There is only one way out for humanity: all mankind must unite under the banner of the Terran Confederacy and repel the invading enemy."
"We must defend Antiga, Little Atticus, Halsen, and all the other Edge World. The Terran Confederacy Navy will always stand at the forefront of protecting humanity," he said passionately.
"Meanwhile, the traitor Augustus Mengsk and his rebel army have instigated a riot in the rear, attacking soldiers who are fighting against the alien threat! These thugs only care about their own interests and are blind to the critical survival of the Terran Confederacy!"
"You're so cute, Senator Piert," Raynor said sharply. "You don't need to belittle your actions like that."
"Let's go, we can't stay in Carlos for too long." Augustus patted Raynor on the broad shoulder.
"Where should we go now?" Kerrigan asked.
"The closest place to us is Antiga," Augustus. "Wherever the people need us, we will be there."
"Just watch, the Zerg will not stop their offensive. More planets will be invaded in the future. The situation in Koprulu will exceed the Terran Confederacy's imagination. And what the Terran Confederacy fears most is that things will be completely out of their control."