The Ruria

Luria IV is a mining settlement of the Kel-Morian Combine, and one of the few mining worlds still under the Kel-Morian Combine's control after the end of the Guild Wars.

The only reason Luria has survived to this day is its remote location within the Koprulu Sector. The Terran Confederacy is busy acquiring the rich and highly prosperous mining worlds of the Kel-Morian Combine, showing little interest in planets that are too far from the Tarsonis homeworld.

To this day, the CEO appointed by the Combine Board of Directors still rules Luria IV, and hundreds of mining guilds and intergalactic business guilds of all sizes Overmind every aspect of Luria's production, sales, profit distribution, and even the planet's social life.

From housing, education, healthcare, employment, insurance, and funds, everything is controlled by the Kel-Morian Guild. This oppressive monopoly capitalism dominates the planets of the Kel-Morian Combine. The lives of many Kel-Morian are almost predetermined from birth, their beliefs and lives deeply influenced by the bonds and traditions of their extended families.

The Kel-Morian people are united yet xenophobic, a trait vividly embodied in the Luria.

"Be careful. All the Tyrannians know that dealing with the Kemorian is like doing business with jackals." General Jackson Hole stood at Exit 3 of Pier B at the Luria Sodoan Central Airport, where people were coming and going. Special forces soldiers from the Revolutionary Army's New Star Squadron and Augsburg agents walked past him and silently blended into the crowd.

"And once they know we're here, the jackals will turn into docile sheep." Augustus observed the diverse people in the airport without changing his expression, his cold gray eyes reflecting the myriad aspects of Luria's life.

Among these dark-skinned people, both men and women, were dressed in sturdy and durable work clothes, mostly durable and abrasion-resistant coarse cotton fabric, multi-pocketed vests and jackets, as well as jeans and thick work boots. People wore hats, headscarves, and windproof cloaks with different insignia according to their birthplace, guild, and family traditions, and the brass buttons on the sewn pockets gleamed.

The heavy work clothes can withstand the harsh environment of most mining worlds, or protect miners from cuts caused by sharp crystal ores when working underground. A set of work clothes can last a long time, and this durable clothing is considered a symbol of resilience in the world of Kel-Morian.

Luria is a continuously expanding Kel-Morian Combine settlement, constantly accepting immigrants from its homeworld Moria and other Kel-Morian Combine mining worlds.

After the Terran Confederacy swallowed up many of the Kel-Morian Combine's colonies, hundreds of millions of Kel-Morian, unwilling to be ruled or expelled by the Terrans, sadly left their ancestral homes to explore new colonies or come to places like Luria, because even planets capable of supporting only the bare minimum for life were pitifully few on this spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy.

By this year, the threat of an alien invasion had made the situation even more turbulent after the Guild Wars, and Moria no longer had the military power to dominate the Koprulu Sector as it once did to protect remote worlds like Luria IV.

"According to the agreement, the Revolutionary Army will not deploy armed forces exceeding battalion level to the surface of Luria." Standing next to Augustus was Colonel Pulaier, the former governor of Ma Sara, who had only recently risen to prominence in the Revolutionary Army. His two brigades, composed of soldiers from the Sara System, were ordered to fight alongside the Marshal's Guard Division.

"This shows that just a few battalions of soldiers are enough to give the Luria Kel-Morian Combine government a headache," he continued. "Give me just two divisions, and I can take this place."

"Come on, dear Governor, we're still in the honeymoon phase with Moria. How can we just take over a planet like Kel-Morian without even saying hello?" Tychus Finley was dressed in a black motorcycle jacket and jeans, with his M backpack filled with casual plaid shirts, sunglasses, and sunscreen.

"You see a place and you think about taking it down immediately; you see a street and you think about setting up machine guns. The girls here are suffering. It's the civilians who suffer in war. If you had half of Old Tychus's compassion for the people, not so many people would say you're so incorruptible that you're heartless."

The Revolutionary Army will remain in Luria for about a week to replenish the Fleets's high-energy gas fuel and ammunition depleted in the numerous wars with the Zerg, and await the arrival of a reinforcement Fleets from Antiga Prime and the Umojan Republic.

This means that the senior officers of the Revolutionary Army will have a lot of work to do, but Tychus is clearly on vacation.

"It is my duty to conquer cities and territories for the Marshal." Pulaier Player had medium-length straight black hair and sharp eyes.

"No, no, no, a person's only responsibility is to make himself more comfortable." Tychus took out a cigar from his backpack and prepared to light it, but Matt Horner Matt Horner, the navigator of the Hyperion accompanying the marshal, reminded him at the right moment that smoking was prohibited here.

"That bad boy from Taradorn, not seeing the No Smoking sign means that old Tychus is in charge here." Tychus completely ignored Matt Horner's words; in his view, this overly upright young man was always bound by rules and regulations.

Tychus didn't like Matt Horner very much, and he knew the other man probably felt the same way about him—a potential criminal, the only blemish on the glorious image of the Revolutionary Army soldier.

But in reality, the young man greatly admired Tychus's tough-guy style; this seemingly unreliable man never failed to deliver when it mattered.

"Never mind him, Matt Horner. Tychus is only thinking about how he can run rampant in Luria's red-light district right now." Raynor patted the young man on the shoulder.

"Goodbye, guys, see you on departure day." Tychus said, getting up, picking up his backpack, and walking out of the airport to join the departure dock. For Tychus, a place like Luria meant vacation and the chance to squander the money he had earned fighting the Swarm and the Confederacy.

In the past, Harnack Hank, the leader of the Firebat Red Devils, would often linger with Tychus amidst fireworks and greenery. However, as the number of people in the Revolutionary Army grew, Tychus gradually realized that even Harnack couldn't be as idle as he was, who never cared about anything.

At the same time, Augustus more tolerant of Tychus's dissolute lifestyle than others, which was probably a reward for Tychus's heroic performance on the battlefield.

"This is worrying." Matt Horner's face did indeed show concern.

"The CEO of the Luria Kel-Morian Combine invites you to a shareholders' meeting regarding the transfer of shares in the Peter Gang Guild." Kerrigan pushed aside the chattering generals around the marshal and read the invitation letter to Augustus, word by word.

"You also invested in Moria's guild enterprises? I've never heard of the Kel-Morian people selling their company shares to the Terrans." Raynor looked over with envy as he watched Tychus leave.

"I don't have time for that," Augustus replied to Raynor before turning to Kerrigan, who was waiting for a reply. "Reject this invitation. You know exactly what I'm thinking."

"But I need you to say it yourself, otherwise they'll say I'm giving orders on behalf of the Marshal," Kerrigan joked.

"Nobody would say that," Faraday said seriously.

"The guild was acquired by my Arcturus's company because it possesses advanced exploration equipment and geological exploration experts, which can help Arcturus expand his mining empire," Augustus.

"Although I am a ' Mengsk,' this meeting has nothing to do with me. The CEO of Luria's Kel-Morian Combine just wanted to make sure I was in his sights."

"Such a small place, with over 30 million people and a few spaceports, if we were space pirates, we would have looted it all long ago." Raynor shrugged.

"He's worrying unnecessarily."

"Let him be," Augustus said nonchalantly. "I can understand his fear; after all, rumors say we've already reached Vardona and are aiming for Tarsonis."

"Most of it is true." Raynor yawned. "This isn't something the Confederacy can just cover up, after all, so many people saw us in the Core World."

"Good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast."

Raynor's gaze fell through the glass window of the dock onto the monotonous, dusty world outside the airport. "This place is like most planets in the Koprulu Sector —rich in minerals, dull and monotonous."

As they were talking, another group of officers dressed in the gray uniforms of the Revolutionary Army disembarked from the transport ships docked at the pier. Behind them followed Revolutionary Army soldiers in Power Armor. Their bright purple alloy armor and Gauss Rifle made the security personnel of the Aviation Guild in the airport pale in comparison.

The white sun insignia on the soldiers' uniforms signified that they belonged to the Nova Squadron. In the new insignia, the Revolutionary Army's red whip-ring symbol occupied the central part of the Nova emblem.

"When my quartermaster is procuring supplies, you and your troops will be responsible for their safety," Augustus told Colonel Haller, commander of the Nova Squadron.

"I know all about the Kel-Morian tricks, Marshal. You won't find anyone more capable of this job than me," Colonel Haller replied, then put on his hat and walked away.

"Lieutenant Colonel Viswood from the logistics department wants to confirm with you whether we really need to purchase so many transport ships," Kerrigan continued reporting to Augustus. "He added that this is not a challenge to your orders."

"We certainly need these transport ships," Augustus. "They are crucial for transporting both supplies and refugees."

One-third of Augustus's Revolutionary Army Fleets consisted of transport ships and cargo ships, all prepared for transporting refugees. This fleet was capable of transporting 400,000 to 500,000 people at a time, and the number would have been even higher if it weren't for the need to prevent the spread of the Zerg virus within the Fleets.

Even so, Augustus continued to expand the number of transport ships in his Fleets.

"Do you think we'll need these ships when we're helping the Protoss?" Kerrigan said, one hand on her slender waist. "To be honest, I don't think such a powerful Empire would need our help."

"Don't joke around, how could the Protoss have refugees?" Raynor laughed heartily. "I can't believe the Zerg would drive the Protoss to that point."

"Perhaps I'm the only one who thinks that way right now, but it's always good to have multiple preparations," Augustus said, his gaze sweeping over the officers and soldiers around him.

"The Battle of Aiur will be the most brutal battle we have ever seen, the main battlefield of the Protoss - Zerg war, and no estimate is too high," he said. "I have informed the entire Fleets of the purpose and significance of our mission: to help the Protoss, especially Protoss like Tassadar, who can provide us with assistance far beyond diplomatic significance."

"What surprised me was that no one backed down when they learned of the dangers they were about to face."

"You're much more popular in the Revolutionary Army than the World Tour band." Raynor seemed pleased, as he had just received a letter from his family that day, along with a photo of his son John, informing him that Umojan was doing well.

"I'm glad to hear you say that," Augustus smiled.

"Another email came from Luria's CEO, who questioned us in harsh terms about our illegal mining activities fifteen miles west of Sodoan Airport," Kerrigan asked at this point.

"This isn't illegal mining," Augustus's expression turned serious. "We're simply excavating alien ruins in Luria."

"This is merely an archaeological project, involving the preservation of human history and classical art," Augustus instructed. "Just give him a perfunctory response."

"Anyway, there's nothing he can do about it."

"Tell him that if he's smart, he shouldn't send people around gathering information. We just helped them drive away the Chimera Pirates who were causing trouble in the area. People should repay kindness," Raynor added. "If they still fall into that category."

"Very good. They never dreamed that the alien ruins that once devoured dozens of miners were related to the Protoss," Kerrigan replied to the Marshal.

"That ruin is only a few centuries old compared to the ancient geological layers of Luria," she continued. "Compared to the ruins the Kel-Morian people have found on other planets in the past, this ruin is undoubtedly aggressive. Anyone else who entered this ruin was subjected to a terrible attack from energy weapons, which reportedly shattered a dozen people into molecular form in an instant."

"All of Kel-Morian's weapons were ineffective against it, so in the end they had no choice but to abandon the plan and establish a restricted area."

"That's Protoss ruin; they should warn unauthorized intruders," Raynor said. "Zeratul said it might contain ancient Protoss Empire war machines."

"Do you expect the Kel-Morian people to understand the Protoss's Khalani?" Kerrigan retorted.

"A weapon of war banned because it was too terrible." Augustus nodded. "Tassadar was originally unwilling to reinstate it. It took me a long time to convince him that once the Protoss lost the war on Aiur, everything would be over. If the war concerned the life and death of his beloved people, then no one cared whether the weapon conformed to the Dae'uhl Doctrine or whether activating it violated the Conclave's ban."

"What exactly is it that requires the Protoss to seal it away?" Raynor asked.

Augustus replied, "It is like a moving tower, from which flames will descend to destroy everything, and cities will burn in the intense heat."

This was also the purpose of Augustus's visit.

"The Colossus," he said.