UED
"To ensure that humanity, not the Zerg or the Protoss, continues to Overmind the galaxy."
When Augustus returned to the governor's office in the settlement of Haj, his desk was already piled high with documents from the Revolutionary Army and the intelligence agencies of the Umojan Republic.
"Our intelligence comes from three weeks or even longer ago, when the United Earth United Earth Directorate (UED) Fleets had already occupied the entire Braxis."
The convection heater in the governor's office was blowing warm air. With the soft hum of the fan, Augustus leaned back in his chair, his fingers folded on his chest, looking at the documents on the table that had been flipped through many times before.
"Given the great distance between Braxis and Haj, delays in communication were unavoidable," he said.
"Jimmy, if you were the commander of these Earthlings, your mission would be to defeat the Terran Confederacy as quickly as possible and with the least losses, and seize control of its subordinate colonies. Tell me, how would you command this campaign?"
Augustus sat up straight, picked up an electromagnetic pistol from his desk, and began to disassemble and reassemble the pistol's electromagnetic accelerator and battery components, loading the magazine with heavy bullets.
"We're the rebels, Augustus. This is practically asking me how to change a baby's diaper." Revolutionary Army Jim Raynor stood across the desk, clad in dark gray Power Armor, seemingly ready to step onto the battlefield at any moment.
Raynor's Power Armor features the white Wings of Liberty and the Heaven's Devils's emblem, while the right shoulder armor has a serpentine pattern of rattlesnake skulls and interlocking spines, making this rebel officer look even more intimidating.
"If I had the same Fleets and equipment as the Earthlings, why waste time on the Edge World? I could just storm Tarsonis, wipe out the Confederate Congress and those nobles, and everything would be solved," Raynor replied.
"Then our job is simple: the Revolutionary Army transforms into the legitimate government of the Terran Confederacy, and the rest is to reclaim the colonies lost contact during the First Total War and completely quell the backlash from Confederacy old party and its lackeys."
"I think if the United Earth Directorate shares the same goal as us, then the process will be much the same."
"Jimmy, we don't know how many warships or spaceships full of Earth soldiers the UED Expeditionary Fleet has, so of course we have no way of knowing the true strength and strategy of this Earth Fleets," Augustus said to Raynor.
"If the UED Expeditionary Fleet truly possesses the destructive power you believe they have, then they could indeed smash right into Tarsonis."
"But it seems that Earthlings haven't done that."
Augustus through stacks of documents and found one that was highlighted, handing it to Raynor: "Take a look. The first thing they did after capturing Braxis was to hack into the database of the Terran Confederacy command center and steal weapon blueprints."
"Then, in less than 48 standard hours, they took over the Dylarian Orbital Shipyard on Dela IV. There are Umojan agents at the Dylarian Shipyards, and their last message back to Umojan Main Planet indicated that the shipyard has at least 35 Behemoth-class Battlecruiser under construction and an unknown number of new warship prototypes." He asked, staring into Raynor ' eyes.
"I once announced to the General Staff that the next target of the UED Expeditionary Fleet would definitely be the Dylarian Shipyards, and now they all regard me as a war god."
"They're right, I think so too." Raynor shrugged. "God knows how you did it."
"Do you remember this place? The military leader of the UED Expeditionary Fleet must have been well aware of the importance of speed in warfare." Augustus smiled.
"Four years ago we visited the Confederacy's Dylarian Shipyards and almost completely blew it up before we left." Raynor pulled up a chair and sat down, reaching for a cup of coffee that Augustus just brewed.
"Once bitten, twice shy. Later, the Confederate Congress allocated funds to rebuild the Dylarian Shipyards and increased the guard force tenfold. I really don't know how the Earthlings managed to take over this place, which was even more heavily guarded than New Folsom Prison?"
"All I know is that the Confederacy Navy will never be able to wash away the shame of the Dylarian Shipyards. First, it was turned upside down by a bunch of rural rebels, and now even Earthlings are flocking to visit it." Augustus greatly surprised by the incompetence of the Confederacy Navy.
"Fleet Admiral Gaethje Duke has lost face, and the Confederacy Navy's dominance is now seen as a joke."
A rational analysis suggests that since the Confederacy Navy has already had a warship stolen once, they are unlikely to be stolen a second time in such a short period of time.
"It seems the Confederacy has lost far more warships this time than they claimed," Raynor chuckled, glancing over a few laughable figures and the word "oil tanker."
"Since the Zerg invasion began, the Confederacy has been continuously increasing its investment in expanding the Fleets, using almost all of the output from the settlers and the reparations from the Kel-Morian Combine for this purpose," he said.
"Now things are better. These new warships, capable of handling Zerg and Protoss, have all fallen into the hands of the Earthlings. At least, it's not all bad news for us."
The rapid increase in the production capacity of the Terran Confederacy battlecruisers mainly went through three periods. The first was during the Kailian Guild Wars in 2485-2489, during which many of the Behemoth-class Battlecruiser produced on a large scale fell into the hands of the Revolutionary Army.
Battlecruisers produced between 2490 and 2492 to suppress rebels and maintain rule suffered heavy losses in the First Total War, and now, battlecruisers produced to counter the Protoss and Zerg threats have been intercepted by the UED Expeditionary Fleet.
"The Terran Confederacy is currently embroiled in a new round of war, with most of the Confederacy Fleets deployed to deal with UED Expeditionary Fleet on peripheral planets such as Braxis." Augustus opened a wooden Holographic Projection projector on the governor's desk, projecting a complete star map of the Koprulu Sector.
"Before the Confederacy and Earthlings have completely destroyed their brains, we can continue to push forward with the process of liberating the Edge World —after all, the Confederacy doesn't care about these impoverished 'mud planets' anyway. It doesn't matter, I care a lot."
"Are we just going to completely ignore the war between the UED Expeditionary Fleet and the Confederacy?" Raynor Augustus, putting the documents back on his desk.
"We should stand with the Terrans and fight those Earthlings, shouldn't we?" he said.
"Our ancestors struggled for one or two hundred years to build everything we have today. The United Earth Directorate has not helped us in any way, so why should they come to take back our colonies now?"
"Even if we help the Confederacy eliminate the UED Expeditionary Fleet, the Confederate Congress and the Old Families will still try every means to take my head." Augustus shook his head, as if someone had actually slashed his long neck.
"I find it disgusting to fawn over the Confederacy, and there is absolutely no need for it. The soldiers of the Revolutionary Army rose up in response to my call to overthrow the Confederacy, and I will not and absolutely cannot be lenient with the Confederacy," he said.
"My stance must be very clear: this man named Augustus Mengsk will not stop until the Terran Confederacy is defeated. He will accept surrender, but he will never accept a political compromise that divides the Confederacy."
"Cooperating with the Confederacy also disgusts me." Raynor shrugged. "But I worry that if the Earthlings defeat the Confederacy and gain a foothold, and with the continuous arrival of follow-up Fleets from Earth, we will never be able to reclaim the territory lost by the Confederacy."
"I mean, maybe we should trip up the Earthlings a bit, make it harder for them to resolve the Confederacy, and ideally, make them both suffer heavy losses."
"You're right, Jimmy." Augustus quick to agree, "But before that, I need to contact the commander of the UED Expeditionary Fleet to see if they need the 'help' of the Korhal Revolutionary Army."
"At least, we all have a common enemy."
"Ha, you're a despicable fellow," Raynor said. "What if they don't even consider these few kittens of the Revolutionary Army worth their attention?"
"If the Earthlings truly need our support, it means they lack the confidence to defeat the Terran Confederacy on their own. In that case, we can still cooperate," Augustus. "But don't expect the Revolutionary Army to help Earth eliminate the Confederacy and then assist us in establishing a government. Earthlings don't need a puppet government to rule the Koprulu Sector."
"In other words, since this expeditionary force doesn't yet possess the power to decisively resolve everything, we can still defeat them."
In the original timeline, when the United Earth Directorate's Fleets entered the Koprulu Sector, it was right after Tarsonis, the capital planet of the Terran Confederacy, had been reduced to ashes by the Zerg attack. At that time, a large number of Confederacy Fleets were between the Swarm and Tarsonis, and were swallowed up by the vast Zerg sea without making a ripple.
At this time, the UED Expeditionary Fleet faced the devastated Terrans and the Terran Empire, which Arcturus Mengsk had just built on the ruins of the Confederacy. The newly formed Empire was composed of former rebel armies and Confederacy Fleets that had defected to the Federation. After Edmond Duke's humiliating defeat at the Dylarian Shipyards, the Terran Empire was almost powerless to fight back.
However, the UED Expeditionary Fleet is currently facing a powerful Terran Confederacy. Although the Zerg and Protoss have destroyed many Confederacy Fleets, the Confederacy, which has preserved its strength by relying on Tarsonis and many core worlds, is still incomparable to the Terran Empire, which is in dire need of rebuilding.
The UED Expeditionary Fleet will not have an easy time defeating the Terran Confederacy.
"What if Earthlings look down on us?" Raynor retorted.
"Underestimating us will cost them an unimaginable price." Augustus stood up, hands behind his back. "In any case, I hope that after this war ends, the Confederacy and the UED Expeditionary Fleet will disappear forever."
"I don't know how many people should have died," Raynor sighed. "The endless war Zerg is threatening the lives of all humanity, and yet we're still killing each other?"
"Unless everyone follows one leader and one order, this chaos will never end," he said.
"I had planned to go back to Umojan to see my wife and children, but now that's not going to happen."
"I have a feeling, Jimmy, you'll be able to take a long vacation after all this is over." Augustus the Holographic Projection projector upside down and showed Raynor the battle map on it.
"Now, I need you to take a Fleets to Char and join the Protoss in dealing with that newly born Overmind," he instructed Raynor.
"I am entrusting you with the Norad II, Ragnarok, Jotun, and the newly built Victory and Son of Antiga from the Antiga Starport shipyard. You will also be in command of Ward and Yaco's forces. The Fleets is largely composed of seasoned veterans, most of whom experienced the war in Aiur."
"Once you arrive in Char, the first thing you should do is seize Char's high-altitude orbital platform and establish a base, preparing for a long-term operation in Char," Augustus.
"I have a feeling that the Cerebrate Daggoth will do everything in its power to protect the newborn Overmind. This will be an extremely difficult battle."
"I know, the capable should do more." Raynor accepted the appointment with confidence, feeling that it wouldn't be any more unbearable than the brutal battles he had experienced in the past.
"I need someone from you."
"Tychus? Sure." Augustus nodded.
"Oh, not that guy, it's Pulaier Sara System Assault Division." Raynor shook his head.
"No, I have a mission to assign him." Augustus, "I'll give you Tychus; he's worth a Ultralisk on his own."
"No Tychus, he can't even clean a deck properly," Raynor emphasized, highlighting how much Tychus was disliked.
"What grievance do you have against Tychus?" Augustus asked, frowning.
"I knew you had bad intentions." Raynor patted his behind and prepared to leave.
"Oh, good afternoon, Kerrigan. Augustus is here." Raynor was about to leave when he bumped into Kerrigan walking into the governor's office.
"General, I just received a letter from Lady Elizabeth from Umojan." Kerrigan took out a stack of letters from her briefcase, including one addressed to Raynor.
"This is the best news I've heard today." Raynor took the letter and eagerly opened it to read. When he saw the photos of his parents, wife, and son, a slight smile appeared on his lips.
"This is for you. It's from Lady Katherine and Dorothy. And, well, your Arcturus also wrote to ask why his brother hasn't written to him at all during this time." Kerrigan placed another stack of letters on her desk.
"I'm sorry, Arcturus, I've completely forgotten about you." Augustus seemed to think for a moment, then opened the letters from his mother and sister, setting Arcturus's letter aside for now.
"Is there any further information regarding the Earth Council?"
"There are some. We have learned that the UED Expeditionary Fleet that landed on the Edge World of Braxis is loyal to the United Earth Directorate —a military analyst and historian in Umojan who points out that this is likely a vast bureaucracy that effectively controls Earth and its sister colony worlds," Kerrigan replied.
"After all, before the four colony Mothership from Earth arrived in the Koprulu Sector, Earthlings had already established colonies in the Solar System where Earth is located. The scholars of the Umojan who advocate the power of the United Earth Directorate believe that this is an opportunity to obtain advanced technology from Earth, humanity's ancient home, and that Earth is humanity's hope."
"The more they boast about the United Earth Directorate, the more funding they get from the Umojan Council," Augustus commented.