Insect Plague

In May, on the UNN Holographic Projection television local channel on Vardona, rumors of Vardona's fall to rebels spread like wildfire across the numerous member colonies of the Terran Confederacy. Panic quickly spread to Tarsonis, especially among the middle and upper classes, who lived in constant fear.

Since the outbreak of war in Korhal IV, the Terran Confederacy has never allowed the rebels to set foot in the Core World. People speculate that the Terran Confederacy forces are not as dominant as they claim in the war against the rebels, and even the most ordinary citizens know that the government forces have just suffered a defeat in Vardona.

There's nothing surprising about this. It's common knowledge that the most powerful and fearsome Alpha Squadron in the Confederacy Navy, the Alpha Squadron, was severely damaged by the rebels led by Augustus Mengsk in the Battle of Mar- Sara, and the Duke Family's invincible General Edmond Duke has long been a laughing stock.

To this day, the Alpha Squadron is still in the process of rebuilding.

The prestige of the Confederacy forces, which had been built up after the Guild Wars, has declined significantly, thanks in part to the actions of the Augustus rebels, as well as the Zerg and Protoss.

Even the Confederate Congress had to admit that the Zerg and Protoss invasions had caused them to lose control of so many peripheral planets that the Confederacy's territory had shrunk by about a third. Of course, the arrival of the alien races was not without the interference of rebel forces.

The rebels used the UNN broadcast tower in Vardona to spread various ugly secrets about the Confederacy government, using classified documents and photos to tell the unimaginable atrocities committed in the Confederacy alien experiments.

Besides secretly conducting Zerg experiments on certain marginal planets already wiped out by cholera and plague, Confederacy scientists are also experimenting with sinister and twisted hybrid genetic modifications, such as implanting new organs or limbs into humans. If that were all, it would be one thing, but the test subjects for these modifications even include innocent and ignorant children.

These shocking reports all seem to be irrefutable, and some of the things are so heinous that it's hard to believe they're true.

Despite the Confederacy's vehement denials, influential Confederacy lords and owners of large corporations adopted a unified narrative, labeling it a meticulously planned, ridiculous, and absurd act of betrayal, declaring that anyone capable of such heinous acts would be utterly inhuman.

All leaked audio and video materials were sealed that same day, but the recordings continued to circulate widely throughout the Confederacy's world. In these worlds, rumors spread like wildfire and were completely out of control.

More and more people learned about the Revolutionary Army and their achievements through this event. The Revolutionary Army was no longer a small separatist force on the fringes of the world; they had grown to the point where they could shake the Confederacy. Many people looked forward to the arrival of the Revolutionary Army, hoping that they could bring about some changes.

People began to believe that the Zerg attacked the Sara System because Confederacy scientists were using captured Zerg for experiments. The Terran Confederacy had known of the Zerg's existence long before Zerg full-scale invasion, but they reacted with shock and bewilderment upon their first encounter with the Zerg.

This wasn't the first time the Revolutionary Army had used the Terran Confederacy's media, which spanned the Koprulu Sector, to spread propaganda about the latter's ugliness and hypocrisy. More and more people began to believe that anything different from what the Confederacy said must be the truth.

The Vardona incident caused a huge uproar in the Terran Confederacy, but it was hard to say whether the Confederacy was lucky or unlucky. The news of the Zerg's devastating destruction of the Confederacy's colonies and the resulting hundreds of millions of casualties gradually overshadowed the struggle between the rebels and the government forces.

At this moment, Augustus was facing the fleeting starlight and an ugly planet covered with deep purple scars outside the bridge window of the Hyperion.

"Gystt, it and the people on it—they're all finished. Millions of people."

Augustus's face was as solemn as a statue. He gazed sadly at the lonely, spinning deep purple planet outside the porthole, while a 3D Holographic Projection map of the Gystt continent was playing on the main screen of a control console next to him.

On the main screen, Gystt is a barren, rocky planet. From the island-strewn coastline on one side of the main continent to the completely frozen glaciers on the other, the vast continental shelf, with its undulating plains and mountains, is covered with a thick, grayish-purple, sticky Creep. Apart from this, there is not a single living creature or plant to be seen. The whole world is gray, except for the sky, which remains azure.

A holographic screen nearby was projecting scenes from Gystt's past. The main continent was near the equator, and vast forests with deep purple leaves were rooted in rugged mountains and clouds. These beautiful forests were as colorful as flowers, as radiant as the sunset.

In the other direction lie boundless grasslands, numerous blue lakes, and vast swamps teeming with rare birds and animals; everything exudes the pristine beauty of nature and the splendor of life, with breathtaking scenery at every turn.

This is a secluded paradise, a place untouched by the world.

In a postcard poster taken and uploaded by a local resident, bright sunlight bathes a winding river flowing through the mountains, and a campsite of hikers with white tents can be seen among sparse, flower-covered bushes.

The other photos are night scenes taken at the same location. A grayish-white full moon adorns the azure night sky, casting a dreamy, watery moonlight. A few shooting stars streak across the sky. Travelers with backpacks on their backs make peace signs with their hands behind their backs to the camera. This moment has been frozen in time forever.

The people in the picture have no chance of surviving. The Swarm has destroyed this place forever, devouring all life on the planet. Under the erosion of the creeping Creep, flowers, trees, and shrubs also perish.

After the forests disappeared, unprecedented gales eroded the once picturesque world. Creep vegetation, like algae, covered the ocean, killing all marine life. Only oily, floating debris remained on the vast, rippling ocean.

"Gystt fell too quickly. When it was invaded, most people were still focused on the war in Antiga. By the time the Confederacy Navy finally arrived, they had been completely overwhelmed by the Zerg that had taken over the system, and had to admit that there were no survivors left to rescue."

Hyperion Jim Raynor, Augustus's most trusted right-hand man, removed his hat and paid his respects to the fallen of Gystt: "The Confederacy Navy was right, the Zerg leave no survivors."

"Nothing was left behind," Augustus. "Nothing at all."

"You don't need to blame yourself. It's not your fault. The Confederacy abandoned them, and the Zerg killed this planet," Raynor said.

Compared to the Gystt planet, the Sara System, Antiga Prime, and the dozen or so colony planets saved by the Revolutionary Army are undoubtedly extremely fortunate. However, the majority of the planets are those that have been abandoned by the Terran Confederacy and are not within the Revolutionary Army's reach.

Faced with the all-consuming Swarm, all resistance was but a mere ripple. Even with the Swarm Overmind focused on dealing with the Protoss Empire of Aiur, the "details" on the Swarm's tentacles almost effortlessly destroyed numerous Confederacy colonies.

Gystt was not an isolated case; more than thirty colonies were permanently removed from the Confederacy's star map, while the remaining ones were merely putting up a desperate stand. For those colonies with shallow foundations and sparse populations, a few thousand Zerg with sharp teeth and claws would be enough to completely destroy the planet.

"We must purify this planet; it has been utterly destroyed by the Zerg. Even for the Protoss, it has become an uninhabitable wasteland." A moment later, the face of Tassadar, the Protoss Expeditionary Force Commander, with his long, narrow chin, appeared on the Hyperion's main screen, followed by the Dark Prelate of the Dark Templar.

"If humanity wants to recolonize this planet, it will have to spend many times more time restoring its collapsed natural environment. No matter how well it is restored, Gystt can never be restored to its former state," Zeratul also told Augustus.

Hearing what Tassadar and Zeratul said, Augustus remained silent. To be fair, Augustus unwilling to give up any planet. If the Zerg's encroachment on a planet still had a chance to be eliminated, then the Protoss's purification had completely sealed its fate. On land scorched by flames, even plants could hardly take root.

In this corner of the Milky Way Galaxy, the proportion of habitable planets is extremely low, making each colony incredibly precious. However, if Gystt is not destroyed, the Zerg can continue to spread from this planet, much like a virus within the human body.

Augustus had another option: to join the Protoss in spending a huge amount of money to wipe out the massive Swarm on the planet's surface, and then govern it, just as they had done on Antiga Prime. But at that time, Antiga Prime had not yet been completely overrun by the Zerg, and a large number of civilians remained on the planet's surface.

"It must be destroyed." Augustus sighed. "I know."

"Tassadar, Zeratul, you don't need to feel guilty. I just feel sorry," he said.

"Hopefully, one day we will be able to rebuild it."

"We have no other choice," Tassadar comforted Augustus. "You have tried so hard to save your people, but we all know we can't save everyone."

"Thank you, Tassadar, you are a good teacher and friend," Augustus. "I often feel a fatherly warmth from you."

"Let's go, Jimmy, Sarah." Augustus said, turning around. "There's no need to watch any longer."

As Augustus turned around, Tassadar's Protoss Fleets had already begun moving in synchronized orbit with Gystt. The Protoss Fleets was always highly efficient; to the Protoss, it was nothing more than setting Gystt on fire.

The flames will cleanse everything.

"This is the fifth planet we've seen destroyed by the Zerg along the way. The previous planets may not have been as habitable as Gystt was in the past, but they were still inhabited by quite a few people," Augustus said.

"Without exception, beautiful villages and bustling cities have been reduced to ruins. This catastrophe is far worse than we imagined. We will forever remember these wounds and never forget them."

Augustus walked past the command chair by the bridge window and nodded to Matt Horner Matt Horner, the newly appointed navigator who was looking at him. Then they walked through the long ship's corridors to the ship's bar, where many soldiers and officers were seated.

Inside the tavern, the LED television was broadcasting the UNN morning news, and a frontline reporter wearing black sunglasses was vividly describing the Confederacy Navy's victory on the Brontes Prime. After assembling three Confederacy squadrons, the Confederacy Navy finally repelled a Zerg Fleets composed of three Leviathan Swarm.

This was an "unprecedented" and "extremely inspiring" victory. As Augustus walked into the bar amidst the soldiers' cheers, a Confederate Marine Corps, being interviewed, was tapping on a Hydralisk skull. "Thinking about killing bugs in Brontë? The Confederacy needs you, the Marines need you."

Next came an advertisement from a sponsor, in which a businessman wearing a gold ring confidently promised that their company's insecticide could effectively control Zerg, and then sprayed several Roach to death.

Augustus sat down at a round table and ordered a plate of fried chicken and beer. For a while, Augustus rice from Agria, but during the boring days on the ship, he could only keep company with the boring fried chicken, fried fish, or other fast food rations.

"Look, maybe we can go to Tarsonis and buy a few cans of insecticide?" Raynor's words drew a brief burst of laughter in the bar.

"Tychus isn't here? That's strange." He asked. "Where's Hank? If those two rascals show up or disappear together, it's never a good sign."

"Colonel Hank is at the chief engineer's place repairing the Vulture? Uh, Finley is on another ship," someone replied to Raynor.

"Vulture? Those things aren't very reliable," Augustus.

At that moment, the television in the bar switched to the next advertisement, in which a mysterious male soldier warned Confederacy citizens to be wary of strange children with "superpowers" in their homes, saying that once their children could enter Ghost Academy, they would surely have a bright future.

"I wonder how many people have been fooled," Kerrigan muttered under her breath. "Parents who send their children to the Ghost Academy will never see them again."

"We absolutely cannot let John enter the Ghost Academy." Augustus thought of Reno's youngest son, whom he, as his godfather, valued as much as his nephew Valerian: "The Ghost Academy in Tarsannis must be shut down."

"Unless the Confederacy guys step over my dead body—wait, I think I heard Mike's voice." Raynor had just been engrossed in the fried chicken on his plate.

"I heard that Liberty was banished to a local station last month by a UNN shareholder he angered. It must have been our old friend Constantine Terra who got him back."

Augustus looked in the direction of the sound, his expression becoming even more serious.

"We just received news that the Edge World Halsen, is under attack by Swarm," Liberty said gravely.

"At this point, I can't help but ask, where is our invincible, swift-as-the-wind Confederacy Navy right now?"

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