Vardona Prime

For a long time, Vardona has been a planet among the many colonies of the Terran Confederacy, renowned for its advanced technology, pristine cities, and lush greenery.

Vardona is a planet pioneered in the early colonial era, located in the core region of the Terran Confederacy territory. This also means that Vardona is constantly under the influence of Tarsonis, the primary planet. The Vardona nobles who led the colonists in establishing their home in the early days also maintained close ties with the Old Families of Tarsonis.

Located in the core world, Vardona was not affected by the Guild Wars and remained a peaceful world of song and dance for a long time.

This planet boasts a mild climate and a beautiful natural landscape. Vardona is known throughout the Terran Confederacy for its majestic and imposing cities, stunning natural scenery, and enchanting coastline.

As a long-established and historically significant colony, Vardona is also a cradle of culture, and its diverse natural history museums enjoy a high reputation within the Confederacy.

Because of its close ties with the main planet Tarsonis, Vardona is frequently visited by Tarsonis nobles. In Vardona's tourist cities adjacent to the enchanting ocean, the natural deep-water harbors are adorned with flowers and expensive private yachts, and an atmosphere of wealth and indulgence permeates both the magnificent modern cities and the classical streets along the coast.

Compared to the beautiful resort town of Tyrador IX, Vardona is the top choice for the children of nobles from various colonies of the Terran Confederacy for sightseeing, thanks to its high-stakes casinos where one can gamble away fortunes, its luxury brand shopping streets renowned throughout the region, its opera house for cultivating one's taste, its church choir, and its outstanding beauties.

Undoubtedly, Vardona was a money pit for nobles with immeasurable wealth and merchants willing to pay exorbitant bills. The rich indulged in extravagance and debauchery, and its wealth and luxury were almost on par with those of Tarsonis.

Critics who write travel guides for the many territories of the Terran Confederacy describe Vardona as a prosperous and romantic world, while worlds like Ma Sara and Antiga are depicted as the abodes of uncivilized savages.

The last time Augustus heard of this world was when he was drinking with the nobles of the Tarsonis Old Families at Andrea Tagore's birthday banquet. He overheard the nobles talking nearby mentioning several prestigious core worlds, such as Vardona and Victoria, where nobles had won the approval of the Tarsonis nobles for their knowledge and adherence to etiquette.

Many nobles in other core worlds have not abandoned the resilience of their ancestors during the colonial era, but their former glory and traditions are now only things that can be preserved in records and memories.

Nobles of the main planetary world, such as Vardona, also have intricate connections with the Tarsonis Old Families. They are either directly or indirectly related by marriage or blood, or they have had long-standing interactions with a certain Old Families.

"Compared to Tarsonis, the government administration in Vardona is relatively efficient and honest. Vardona's nobles can still be described in a somewhat acceptable light by my father, Angus. He believed that behind the noble and magnificent exterior of the Tarsonis nobles lay the coldness and greed of Viper, while the Vardona nobles at least still possessed a fallen chivalrous spirit."

Augustus Mengsk's flagship, the Hyperion, was approaching the outer orbit of Vardona's primary planet. Through the porthole of the bridge, a deep blue planet was calmly rotating, shaped like a pure droplet of water.

Holding a briefing from the Operations Department, Augustus recounted his old impressions of Vardona with one hand behind his back. In the past, Vardona had been overshadowed by the dazzling brilliance of the Confederacy's jewel Korhal IV, and now she remained obscure.

Compared to the pragmatic Mengsk Family, the Vardona noble families were frequent guests in aristocratic social circles, a pursuit they clearly enjoyed. In contrast to the low-key Mengsk Family, the Vardona nobles preferred to wear badges that signified their noble and family status when attending various social events.

"Vardona's industry and manufacturing sector are also quite developed, playing a vital role in the Terran Confederacy as a production base for large ships and a prototype weapons laboratory. However, Vardona is not a planet that reveres military traditions; its security and the protection of its star system are left to the Confederate Marine Corps and the Confederacy Navy Fleets."

In the orbit of Vardona lies a jewel-like moon and several giant space stations, one of which is so close to the Hyperion that it appears to be as large as the moon itself.

Looking towards the giant space station, which consists of Arched Frame and countless docking platforms, a colossal Swarm Behemoth comes into view. Its bright purple carapace and long, stabilizing fins make it resemble an unparalleled giant space fish.

As expected, the space station, which originally housed at least 20,000 people, had long been infected by the Jormungand Brood, and the entire gleaming alloy exterior of the space station was covered with a layer of dark gray chitinous honeycomb exoskeleton.

A large transport ship lay silently moored near the space station, its bow and engine thrusters pointing in the direction it was clearly preparing to escape. Alien spikes and tentacles extended along its protruding keel and ribs, pulsating with the rhythm of its breath, resembling a living creature.

The space station was surrounded by the wreckage of many ships and even piles of cargo containers. Clearly, the defenders of Vardona had paid a heavy price to protect the station, but that was not enough to stop the Zerg attack.

The Hyperion's side laser cannons were firing at a Behemoth behemoth, the orange-red barrage sweeping across the starry sky above the bridge windows. A missile weighing several tons was being ejected, its painted skull and crossbones emblem clearly visible.

"That space station and that ship have been infected. There is no possibility of finding any survivors." Augustus gazed at the stationary Confederacy space station and ship outside the porthole and said this fact with sorrow.

"Send a special operations team into the space station and this transport ship to carry out a demolition mission, equipping them with the best gear and Psi Disrupter," Augustus immediately ordered. "We can't let them become breeding grounds for infection and mutation; they must be blown up."

Originally intended as a research and shipping transit station, this space station, over a mile in diameter, housed fewer than three thousand permanent residents, mostly researchers and merchant ship crew members who stopped there for a rest. The station was best known for its famous Vardona Barbecue Hall and its space-based botanical garden, but these have now been transformed into a bloody slaughterhouse for the Zerg.

The space station is simply too large; the firepower of a battlecruiser is simply insufficient to destroy it.

"This is a mission with a very low chance of survival. We need the most elite squad to ensure we can escape unscathed from a space station teeming with Zerg," said Jim Raynor, dressed in a Navy admiral's uniform.

"I think we should turn to the Protoss, after all, they didn't hold back when they destroyed those infected ships in Antiga Prime's orbit," Kerrigan said to Augustus.

Kerrigan, always dressed in a tailor-made military uniform, was a striking figure beside the Revolutionary Army Marshal, but her emerging military talent should not be overlooked.

"Tassadar and Zeratul's Fleets will not appear directly in the Vardona system. Their appearance will inevitably cause panic in Vardona and provoke an overreaction from the Confederacy," Augustus.

"We can't rely on the Protoss for everything," he continued. "They just intercepted a Behemoth Fleets heading to Vardona; it was a tough battle."

"This matter can be completely handed over to the resocialized individuals of Alpha Squadron and Nova Squadron; they are the best cannon fodder." Tychus Finley, dressed in a dark gray stand-up collar military uniform, appeared tall and imposing standing next to Augustus.

"How can you expect to rely on such a bunch of mindless zombies?" Raynor said. "I'm working on assembling an elite force, drawing the bravest warriors from various units of the Raynor's Raiders."

Just then, Hyperion due to the hyperspace distortion phenomenon, and more Revolutionary Army warships leaped into the Vardona system. There were as many as twenty of these warships, each of them a dazzling gold and red, magnificent in appearance.

The Revolutionary Army Fleets, which had sped up, immediately joined the attack on the Jormungand Behemoth, intending to force these incomparably gigantic monsters to leave the Vardona system.

"This isn't right," Raynor said. "Vardona belongs to the Core World. When she was attacked, the Confederacy Fleets should have arrived here quickly. But it seems there's no Fleets stationed here."

"Unless another, more important core world is attacked." Augustus pointed to a planet called Brontes on the battle map, "Intelligence indicates that the Garm Brood is launching a major invasion of this important colony world. At least one Confederacy naval squadron defending Brontes has been severely damaged, and several Confederacy Fleets are struggling there."

"Only one Behemoth has appeared in the Vardona system, which seems to be within acceptable limits. The Confederacy forces guarding the planet should not have been defeated by the Zerg yet."

"Have the Zerg landed in Vardona?" Augustus stared at the ship's sensor on the main screen of the bridge. Even when facing the firepower of an entire Revolutionary Army Fleets, the Jormungand Behemoth unmoved, as if the ship's gunfire had no effect on it at all.

"They have already landed on Vardona, but in limited numbers," Raynor said. "According to reports from reconnaissance teams, the local planetary defense forces are fighting off the invading Zerg, and the Vardona nobles are leading these forces."

"After all, this is their hometown," Augustus said with emotion.

"We are preparing to deploy an airborne division to assist the local forces in defeating the invading Zerg. Vardona is not a world that produces many warriors; this planet has enjoyed peace for too long, and the suffering they have endured cannot compare to that of the Korhal," he said.

"It's time to tell the People's Revolutionary Army of the Core World that they are the ones who can truly protect them."

At this moment, a demolition squad, arranged by Raynor, had already set off for the Confederacy Space Station. Orders from the Marshal were being transmitted to the transport ship of the Revolutionary Army 1st Airborne Division, an army mainly composed of Taradorn, Haj, Antiga, and Korhal IV mountain people. They lived in a high-altitude, mountainous region where paragliding and skydiving were popular sports.

Several Revolutionary Army transport ships, fully loaded with soldiers, are sailing towards Vardona under the escort of fighter jets. The sheer number of these transport ships moving together is enough to create a formidable spectacle.

"A communication has been received from the Vardona Confederacy Command Center." At that moment, an unknown number popped up.

"Bring him in," Augustus nodded.

"It's a waste of time to exchange a few more words with you Confederacy rebels." He was a Confederacy naval vice admiral, who was wearing a general's uniform and an ornately decorated hat.

"I've heard that at least five times," Raynor said, gagging. "Don't they know that talking to bedbugs is disgusting?"

"What brilliant idea do you have?" Augustus, his face expressionless.

"Tarsonis's Fleets will arrive soon. I advise you to leave as soon as possible; it will be better for all of us," the Confederacy lieutenant general said casually. "It will save everyone trouble."

"You've come all this way just to ask for money, haven't you? A bunch of thugs, I can't even imagine what would happen if you stormed into Vardona."

"One hundred and eight thousand light-years away," Raynor quipped sharply.

"Shut up, General. This makes me think that the professionalism of Confederacy generals is nothing special." Feeling bored, Augustus cut off the communication with the Confederacy lieutenant general. If the other party hadn't been so stubborn, Augustus thought there was no point in continuing the conversation.

"Don't bother with the pleasantries with these Confederacy bastards. We've finally arrived at a good place, Augustus, ha ha ha! Take Vardona, and the fame and fortune are yours, the women are mine."

"Stop your gangster ways, Tychus. We are not robbers or thieves." Augustus had already rebuked Tychus for this more than once.

"Or a 40/60 split?" Tychus, using a feigned retreat as a tactic to advance.

"You'd better shut up," Kerrigan said coldly. Augustus's former Heaven's Devils, enjoyed a high reputation within the Revolutionary Army, but Kerrigan no mercy. Especially since Tychus was generally disliked, and only those who shared his scoundrels could earn his praise.

"That's right, don't act like a pirate or a bandit." Jim Raynor also criticized Tychus, saying, "Our cause is far more noble than that, stop saying such degrading things."

"I'm just being blunt," Tychus defended himself without a care. Tychus Finley didn't have any lofty goals; sometimes he dreamed of being a hero, but more often he was just a selfish, ordinary man.

Tychus was surrounded by revolutionaries and idealists; he was the only villain.

"Alright, let me go down and meet those bugs and Vardona." Tychus's expression was almost sinister. "The Vardona might be willing to pay some protection money for our lives; I've heard they're quite wealthy."

"I'll have Jimmy with you," Augustus said coldly. "You monster can't just do whatever you want."