Halsen

Halsen is a garden within the territory of the Terran Confederacy.

This planet belongs to the Edge World; it is a young colony, not among the original thirteen worlds that formed the Terran Confederacy. Halsen is not a beautiful planet with idyllic scenery, and its climate is hardly suitable for human habitation.

But like many newly discovered planets, Halsen is full of opportunities for development; the land is rich in gold and spices, and the rivers flow with milk and honey.

The arable land of Halsen is so fertile that people can grow endless fields of golden wheat swaying in the sunlight and vineyards covering the hillsides without the need for fertilizer. The food produced here can easily meet the needs of the planet's inhabitants and provide wheat, soybeans, corn, and meat to the three nearby colony worlds.

Halsen is world-renowned for its wines, with famous wineries from around the globe being the oldest buildings in this young colony and a source of pride for the locals. The planet also produces brandy and ale, making it a mecca for alcohol lovers in the Terran Confederacy.

Despite being classified as Edge World, Halsen is geographically close to Tarsonis, even closer than the main planet Vardona, meaning that routes to the main planet are always open. This has brought Halsen development opportunities that are unimaginable to backward Edge World like Mar- Sara, and its rapid development has greatly accelerated the modernization process of this colony.

When Augustus's combined Fleets jumped to the planet Halsen, the planet was already widely known as a developed emerging world.

In Halsen, modern steel and glass buildings coexist harmoniously with fertile farmland. As harvest season approaches, rows of bright green combine harvesters, guided by drones, push across the golden wheat fields until the grain piles up like mountains.

Half of the intergalactic enterprises and technology companies in the entire Terran Confederacy have branches in Halsen, and many of these companies rank among the top in terms of market capitalization.

For those in the Terran Confederacy who cannot survive due to oppression and unfair treatment, Halsen is an ideal place. In Halsen, job opportunities abound with a little effort. What's more, those who immigrate to Halsen will receive commensurate rewards for their hard work.

The university in Halsen is renowned for its rigorous academic standards and world-famous research achievements, which means that children in Halsen have access to a high-quality education.

For such newly colonized planets, hope is never lacking.

But that was before the Swarm arrived.

"Transmit my orders: after the next round of orbital bombardment, begin the airdrop. Alpha Squadron will be the first unit to airdrop into Halsen and engage the Zerg, followed by the Bedrock Legion from the Deadman's Port, and then the two divisions from Londerstein. Raynor's Raynor's Raiders are to be incorporated into the third assault echelon. The Guard Division will be kept in reserve."

Augustus strode quickly through the long corridors of the USS Norad II, the clatter of his combat boots echoing through the air. Only Kerrigan and Faraday accompanied Augustus; Jim Raynor had to command his own brigade.

"Our allies are the Protoss ground forces, including several Zealot Legions and a large number of Dragoon, Dark Templar will also provide assistance to any human allies they encounter," he said.

"This is merely a small-scale invasion by the Zerg, their numbers negligible compared to those we encountered in Mar- Sara, Antiga, and Char. We will triumph once again—as always."

"We are righteous, and that's why we always prevail when facing evil enemies."

"I am the commander of this battle, I am Augustus, and I am with you all," Augustus said into the commander's channel as he walked.

After passing by another group of hurried technicians and soldiers, Augustus arrived at the Norad II's dock launch bay, where Wraith and APOD transport ships were heading towards the outer space.

As the Hyperion underwent further upgrades to its weapon systems, Augustus once again designated the former Alpha Squadron flagship Norad II, as his own flagship. The Hyperion's predecessor was merely an ordinary Confederacy Behemoth-class Battlecruiser, while the Norad II was built entirely to flagship standards.

The Norad II has a larger and more complete crew compartment, engine room, dock, and medical bay, and its weapons and armor are also more advanced. Although after more than three years of continuous upgrades and modifications, the Hyperion's performance has surpassed that of the Norad II, but the latter remains the preferred choice for the Fleets flagship.

Through the porthole on the dock side, Augustus could see two Revolutionary Army battlecruisers parallel to the Norad II, hundreds of miles apart—a distance that was by no means close.

Where Augustus couldn't see, Tassadar's Protoss Fleets was anchored in a synchronous orbit on the other side of Halsen.

"Confederacy Confederacy forces stationed in Halsen were engulfed by the Swarm in a wheat field an hour ago, and the highest-ranking commander there has completely lost contact with his command center," Kerrigan reported to Augustus, opening a data terminal she was carrying.

"Are they crazy? At this time of year, they still dare to fight the Zerg in an area without any fortifications." Augustus sighed. It must be said, at least the courage of these Confederacy soldiers is worthy of respect.

"It's obvious they've fallen into a trap set by the Cerebrate —the bait is a small, besieged city where the most important pharmaceutical factory in the area is located," Kerrigan said, tossing her long, fiery red hair.

"Many members of the Tarsonis Old Families are investors in this pharmaceutical company."

"I thought they were there to rescue civilians," Augustus shook his head.

"I shouldn't have any expectations of the Confederacy Army."

"Furthermore, Tassadar's Fleets has destroyed ninety percent of the main hive and the Zerg entrenched within it, as planned... The rest is much simpler," Kerrigan continued her report.

"What about the losses in the main towns of Halsen?" Augustus. "I just read a report about that a few hours ago, but that was a few hours ago."

"The situation is much worse now. Nearly a third of the city of Halsen has fallen, Zerg are slaughtering unarmed civilians. They kill anyone they see, regardless of age or gender," Kerrigan continued.

"The Zerg seem to have figured out that humans depend on the land beneath their feet for survival."

"It's extremely urgent!" Augustus exclaimed, hoping that Duke's Alpha Squadron had already landed in Halsen.

At that moment, a squad of the Revolutionary Army soldiers clad in heavy armor walked past Augustus. Their armor was an upgraded version of the Firebat CMC250, featuring a reinforced frame from Umojan and refined alloy steel armor. The new hydraulic system, gravity compensator, and dual reactor generator set design allowed the servo system to more easily power this Power Armor, which was even heavier than the standard CMC.

These Power Armor are truly behemoths, Giant among individual Power Armor. Their helmets have abandoned the matte visor design, replacing it with a prototype helmet with a cross-shaped observation port. The mechanical hands used to grip the rifle have been completely replaced with AGG-17 grenade launchers. This grenade launcher is not the latest design of the Revolutionary Army industry, but merely a larger and thicker upgraded version of the Confederacy's old AGG-12 grenade launcher.

The No. 12 grenade was already capable of destroying dozens of Zerg gathered together in one go, and its upgraded version undoubtedly possessed even more astonishing power.

Hiram Fick, the designer of the Firebat Power Armor, was the one who ultimately completed the armor. He also received a lot of valuable advice from masters such as Rory Swann and Viktor Kaczynski to ensure that the armor could get closer to the vision of Augustus Mengsk.

It is said that when selecting a suitable grenade launcher for this heavy vehicle, the chief engineer, Swann, did not have many options. At one point, he even had to test the AGP-2 grenade launcher from the Vulture. Although the grenade launcher also possessed considerable power, Swann still believed it was just as unreliable as the Vulture itself.

During the prototype weapon design phase, many more novel designs were proposed, such as equipping the new armor with a railgun. However, this proposal was ultimately shelved due to technical and financial issues. It is likely that only the wealthy Umojan people could mass-produce such armor.

In conclusion, Swann and Fick's team could certainly try some more enticing combinations, but for now, the Revolutionary Army needs a standard weapon that can be mass-produced and deployed to its troops, not an expensive mascot.

Its high-strength steel armor and formidable firepower undoubtedly made it the top choice for dealing with Zerg Ultralisks and Protoss Dragon Knights on the front lines. The armor was considered a revolutionary advancement as soon as it was introduced, as the ability to destroy more enemies meant that more soldiers and civilians could be saved.

Augustus named this armor the 5-4 Marauder Power Armor to commemorate the fact that it was officially finalized and put into production on May 4th—but some records indicate that the Marshal clearly got the date wrong.

From then on, soldiers wearing 5-4 Power Armor were also known as Marauder.

The Marauder Power Armor is highly sought after by the Revolutionary Army. Compared to its popularity, the prototype War Wolf Armor, which is only issued to a small number of main forces, is nothing more than a thing of the past.

When the Revolutionary Army's high-ranking officers announced the advent of the Marauder Armor at the Army Equipment Headquarters, they nearly fought tooth and nail over this Power Armor. They each had their own reasons. Army General Londerstein believed that such a weapon of war should belong to his troops, while Navy Duke belittled the armor while securing more orders.

As for Harnack Hank of the Firebat, he spent most of his time yelling "This thing is fucking cool!" while the Navy and Army were arguing.

Hundreds of Marauder Power Armor have now been deployed to army and airborne divisions to compensate for their lack of heavy support firepower on the battlefield. On the battlefield, ordinary soldiers can rely on the Marauder ' firepower and heavy armor to hold their ground against the frontal assaults of the Ultralisk.

"I have praised Fick and Swann's contributions more than once." Augustus watched the Marauder walk past him, the sound of their massive Anti-fall Boots hitting the alloy floor ringing in his ears.

The Marauder carried nearly a hundred Punisher Grenade, which made up the majority of their load. Once their ammunition ran out, they would switch to using the Gauss Rifle on their backs.

Since Augustus last met Swann at the armory, the improvements to the new armor have been surprisingly rapid, almost entirely completed while the Hyperion was still on its hyperspace journey.

"You were absolutely ecstatic," Kerrigan said to Augustus with a smile. "I haven't seen you so happy since the Zerg invasion. You spent a full half hour praising the engineering contingent and discussing the value of the Marauder armor."

"They are all heroes," Augustus. "And I am merely lucky enough that these heroes are willing to listen to my advice."

"This isn't because you got lucky. You found each and every one of them yourself, light-years away," Kerrigan said. "That's a quote that'll be etched in the Marshal's annals. When you become famous throughout the world, all of Terrans will be talking about it."

"What quote?" Augustus surprise.

"That's not true," Faraday quickly denied.

Augustus didn't dwell on the matter for long; in his view, it was completely irrelevant.

Before long, another group of soldiers, distinct from the others, ran from the other side toward the transport ship docked in the shipyard. Nowadays, Exoskeleton Armor and lightweight combat uniforms are rarely seen in the main force of the Revolutionary Army.

The soldiers, dressed in light combat uniforms and breastplates, each carried a huge turbojet backpack on their backs. The jets used refined high-energy gas as fuel and, once activated, could propel them hundreds of feet into the air with a simple leap. An experienced wearer could even use the jetpack to fly through the air, gliding over buildings and people.

This design also comes from Hiram Fick, who designed a Power Armor that could assist paratroopers in landing several years ago, and the Terran Confederacy has an even more complete design.

Fick modified the armor, abandoning the heavy armor and using a powerful turbo backpack for power. Even after the modifications, this combat suit and jetpack were still the equipment that caused the most non-combat casualties among its wearers.

A soldier determined to wear this combat uniform and join the airborne forces must undergo extremely rigorous training to master it; only the most experienced Revolutionary Army Reaper can perfectly descend from the sky above the enemy. The mortality rate of a training platoon before graduation is as high as 10% to 20%, making it a true Game for the brave.

Marshal Augustus, without any originality, named the only company equipped with this combat uniform "Reaper." The Reaper Company's size was always maintained between four and five hundred men, and they only recruited battle-hardened veterans and the most fearless extreme challengers among the new recruits.

The Revolutionary Army's Reaper carry Type D explosives, P-25 electromagnetic pistols, and Electromagnetic Rifle. They primarily carry out assault and reconnaissance missions and are also known as the Reaper of Augustus.

When Augustus's Reaper were deployed to the battlefield, it meant that the area was where the fighting was most intense.