Nova Squadron

Ah~~~

After slapping himself, Tychus regained control of his body. He roared and let out a strange cry before attacking, his eyes wide with rage, and pounced on Haller like a bull with bloodshot eyes.

He had never been so angry before.

When the massive Tychus rampaged through the Revolutionary Army's rugby games in this manner, no one could stop him. Tychus was in his prime, incredibly strong, a true humanoid monster.

But then Tychus ' left foot tripped over his right, causing him to fall forward and land face down.

"I told you, I hate Psionics the most," Tychus grumbled. "They're either crazy... uh... insane."

"Hahaha. A beautiful paratrooper landing, Finley, but your ass is sticking up too high, so I'm giving you a zero." Few had ever seen the brooding, arrogant Duke laugh heartily, but he was laughing more heartily now than when he was told he was about to be awarded the rank of general.

"Serves you right, Tychus." Raynor clicked his tongue. "It's time you learned your lesson. Remember to keep your head up."

No one objected to Tychus learning a lesson to keep him in line. In the Revolutionary Army, apart from Augustus, no one else could control Tychus, not even the de facto second-in-command, Raynor.

"See that? Augustus, this is my ability. Controlling a person's central nervous system and lobes is just the simplest application. I can also distort other people's thoughts and their self-perception," Haller said boastfully. "Soon, I will become your right-hand man. You will definitely need my abilities."

"So you can control me too?" Augustus retorted.

"No, you have a strong will. Twisting your will only works on weak-willed cowards." Haller wiped the cold sweat that had just broken out.

"Is that so? You've decided to follow me, for power or for ideals?" Augustus noncommittal; he couldn't immediately believe what Haller said. Augustus also had to admit that if Haller were his opponent, he would be restless and unable to eat or sleep.

Jack Haller is a rare talent; human Psionics of PSI level 8 or above are extremely rare.

Haller had expected to answer the question immediately, but he hesitated, which was unusual for him.

"To take revenge on the Confederacy, so that no child with Psionics will suffer the same fate as me," he replied.

"I can't believe someone like this has infiltrated the Nova Squadron." At that moment, Duke muttered to himself, "Just how corrupt has the Confederacy Navy become?"

"I used to think the entire Confederacy Navy was full of cowards, sissies, and useless cowards who could only sing while chewing oatmeal," Raynor heard Duke say.

"You brainless country bumpkin, what do you know about the Navy?" Duke cursed.

Duke still remembers how, on the Turaxis II, a group of raw Marines led a group of men to beat up the Alpha Squadron's Fleets soldiers in a bar. He later learned that the person leading those Marines was Augustus.

"Do you know this person?" Raynor didn't want to dwell on the question.

"I don't know him." Duke said bluntly, "There are only two possibilities for why I don't know him: either he's the kind of minor nobleman's son who can only linger on the fringes of the high nobility's social circles and form cliques, or he's a rare Confederacy military academy cadet who was promoted from a commoner."

"But the person who can command a naval squadron can't be one of those incompetent nobles who rose through the ranks of the military by virtue of their family's power and prestige. He's a Psionics. As far as I know, the only Psionics in the military are Psionics agents; there's no other possibility."

"I will take you in and give you all the honors and status a talented person deserves, but you must prove your loyalty to me." Augustus didn't linger on this question for long; he now had an opportunity right in front of him that was almost enough to prove whether Haller was making things up.

Augustus knew very little about Jack Haller; his identity remained a mystery within the intelligence networks of the Revolutionary Army, the Ogrub, the Sons of Korhal, and the Umojan Republic.

Like other officers who rose through the ranks in the Confederacy Army, Jack Haller was an aristocrat, but his seniority was only average. Nevertheless, he rose through the ranks to become a colonel, just like other outstanding and promising aristocratic officers in the Terran Confederacy Navy, and was able to lead the Rising Nova Squadron —a unit built for covert operations and special operations.

Since Angus Mengsk instigated the rebellion in Korhal IV and Augustus Mengsk rose to power in the Mar- Sara, the Nova Squadron was rapidly expanded into a large naval squadron to counter the threat posed by Augustus's Korhal Revolutionary Army in the Sara System.

Previously, the Nova Squadron's main shipyard was located in the Antiga Prime system, and one of their primary missions was to suppress the increasingly turbulent local situation caused by Augustus Mengsk's rising fame. Jack Haller, who led the Nova Squadron, was a rather unremarkable figure; he didn't even achieve anything during the Guild Wars that would be worthy of being highlighted on the UNN and Confederate Banner websites and forums.

However, when Haller proved himself to be a Psionics, Augustus believed much of what he said, because the Confederacy would never allow Psionics to control an entire naval squadron, but he still did not let his guard down against Jack Haller.

"The Char system has a total of seventeen Nova Squadron and Omega Squadron warships, plus several Deep Blue Squadron research vessels," Haller stated his plan without hesitation. "Thirteen warships are currently with me, while the rest are stationed at the edge of the system to establish outposts and mining bases."

"As commander, I will announce to the other captains that my flagship is completely destroyed before it can be towed into the giant dry dock for repairs, therefore all crew members must be evacuated," he said. "The more than four thousand crew members will be dispersed to various warships."

"Then our people can take advantage of the situation," Raynor added.

"Good idea, then we'll seize control of those warships."

"This is no easy task. A battlecruiser has at least one or two thousand men. Our numbers are simply not enough," Duke said, pointing to several Alpha Squadron soldiers beside him.

"If it were a lifeboat full of Protoss, that would be a different story." Augustus realized that this was his only option at the moment, and he had to act quickly. The severely damaged battlecruiser beneath his feet would soon be reduced to a coffin drifting in space due to insufficient power from its life support system.

The other Nova Squadron ships would never have guessed that their commander had betrayed them, and that the enemy's allies were Protoss.

Augustus glanced at a Templar Knights standing beside him, who immediately looked back at him calmly. This was Ladenanix, the Tassadar had ordered to take Augustus to the Star Shuttle teleportation platform.

"The Executor has ordered us to cooperate with your operation." Ladenanix had been listening to the conversations between the humans and relaying this information directly to Tassadar through Khala.

"This human is the most powerful human Psionics I've ever seen, and he wasn't lying."

Augustus breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't find a reason for Tassadar to continue helping him seize the Nova Squadron's warships. Perhaps the other side also felt that the Confederacy should be punished or rendered incapable of pursuit.

"Most of the soldiers on this warship are my followers; they'll operate the lifeboats for you," Haller said. "All the port entry orders and standard operating procedures were set by me, and that won't be an obstacle. All you have to do is storm the captain's cabin, seize control of the warship, cripple the entire vessel, and then deal with the rest."

"How confident are you?" Augustus asked.

"Of the remaining twelve battlecruisers, I have already taken control of four of them," Haller said. "At the same time, sending ships disguised as lifeboats to the remaining warships should allow us to seize control of at least three more."

"Prepare the lifeboats." Augustus looked at the flickering main screen beside him, which displayed the structural diagram of the battlecruiser. Most of the area had turned red, indicating danger, and the values of the life support and atmospheric stabilization devices had dropped to the critical point.

"Execute the new operational plan. Prepare to board. Edmond, Jim, each of you take a unit. The Protoss will coordinate with your actions," he said.

"Haller and Ladenanix are with me."

Augustus had an excellent memory; he remembered Ladenanix ' name after Tassadar had only called it once, "Did you all understand your mission? Men, if you understand, then let's go."

Duke and Raynor immediately led their men away, and under Ladenanix's orders, a group of Protoss Templar Knights from each side followed the humans.

"Get up, Tychus," Augustus, walking up to Tychus. "How much longer are you going to sleep? Isn't this embarrassing enough?"

Haller immediately blinked innocently, indicating that he was no longer controlling Tychus.

"Damn you, you damned bastard! Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you know some witchcraft!" Tychus suddenly got up and charged at Haller with tremendous force, but then he fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"This is not my fault, Marshal," Haller said, shrugging.

This time, Tychus quickly got to his feet, admitting defeat, but he still wasn't letting Haller off the hook. "This isn't over. Don't let me find any dirt on you."

"Bring it on, Finley," Haller said, raising his hands in a nonchalant tone. "The only thing I've learned in all these years at the Ghost Academy is how to kill my target cleanly and efficiently."

"That's good. I need someone to contradict you. Duke is no match for you in a fight." Augustus said, leading his Protoss allies toward the ship's internal ladder leading to the launch bay.

The internal structures of the Terran Confederacy battlecruisers were all largely the same; one could find their way by following the directional arrows. At this point, the warship was shaking more and more violently, teetering on the brink of collapse.

As the ladder descended to the launch bay entrance on the lower deck, approximately one hundred Protoss Templar Knights were following Augustus, with more and more people joining their ranks from various corridors.

"How many people can these lifeboats hold?" Augustus asked Haller as he ran.

"There are enough lifeboats left to hold all of us," Haller replied.

"Does that include the remaining crew members?" Augustus, looking at Haller.

"There aren't enough lifeboats left for them," Haller said matter-of-factly. "Those people don't need saving; they're either Resocialized Soldier or career soldiers, not..."

"Approximately how many are left?" Augustus interrupted Haller.

"There will probably be less than two thousand people." Haller's eyes flickered.

"Calling the Hyperion, immediately dispatch lifeboats to the Nova Squadron's flagship, the Nova Terra, with a capacity of at least three thousand people," Augustus called out to his Fleets on the communications channel.

"You really are different from those people." Haller's voice changed. "If only someone had reached out to me back then."

"But now I've extended my hand to you," Augustus. "In that case, take it."

"Aren't you afraid of me?" Haller's eyes changed. "People say Ghost operative can kill a person in seconds. We can kill a person in a thousand different ways. That's our purpose. The Confederacy has always used assassination and persecution to maintain its rule."

"I'm willing to give you a chance, just like I've given a chance to everyone who's willing to turn over a new leaf." Augustus how dangerous a PSI level 8 or higher Psionics was. If it weren't for the other hidden Revolutionary Army Ghost operative and Ladenanix ' Templar Knights around him, he really wouldn't have dared to get so close to Haller.

"The propaganda surrounding the Sons of Korhal is all true," Haller said.

"Which part?" Augustus seen some of the promotional materials his brother had sent him, and he was particularly impressed by the shameful and exaggerated parts, after all, even the Terrans Emperor of the Light could say such things.

"All of them," Haller said seriously.

"You can't trust this guy, he's weird all over," Tychus said, following behind Augustus. After today, Tychus's dislike for Psionics only intensified.

"It's not up to you to decide who I should trust, Tychus," Augustus.

They had arrived at the launch port, where many lifeboats were docked. These lifeboats were painted bright purple and featured the symbol of a new star explosion and the red and blue flag of the Confederacy.

Augustus led the way into a lifeboat, piloted by a captain from the Marshal Guard. Ladenanix followed with over fifty Templar Knights, who had maintained a prolonged silence throughout the battle and the march.

As the guide lights illuminated, the lifeboat roared out of the launch bay, its engines revving, and the black expanse of space seemed almost within reach.

In the distance, two deep purple battlecruisers from the Nova Squadron were approaching their flagship. The blue and white lights on their sides and the exhaust flames of the escorting Wraith were already clearly visible. They were completely unaware of the approaching danger.

"This is Jack Haller, Loyalty. Open the hatch immediately," Haller said using the lifeboat's communications as he approached a Nova Squadron battlecruiser.

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