Incorporating Omega Squadron

On the 12th, a Terran Confederacy naval Fleets, mainly composed of seven Behemoth-class Battlecruiser, appeared in the H-34 star system, 5.9 light-years away from the Krusas system.

This Fleets had just survived a fierce battle, and its supply ships, tugboats, and escort ships were almost all gone. In the ripples of the warp field, huge bullet holes and burn marks covered the surfaces of the few remaining starships of various sizes, as shocking as hideous scars.

After a long, long-distance, trans-temporal journey, the battered Fleets was clearly exhausted. They didn't even dare to linger there for long and instead deployed resource-gathering ships to refuel and briefly repair the damaged vessels from the dense atmosphere of the fourth giant planet in the system, which was rich in high-energy gas.

The Fleets had barely emerged from its warp state when it was encircled by two Revolutionary Army Fleets. The Confederacy commander immediately surrendered, and Revolutionary Army Admiral Horace Warfield issued a ceasefire order.

On that very day, Revolutionary Army Marshal Augustus Mengsk met with the commander of the Confederacy Fleets, Rear Admiral Gregory Reikson, commander of the Confederacy Navy's Omega Squadron, at the Governor's Mansion of the Crusader III.

In the governor's office facing the city center park, Augustus listened attentively to Gregory's firsthand account of the Battle of Tarsonis a few days earlier. He was deeply moved by Gregory's determination to break through the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet's encirclement at all costs just to surrender to the Revolutionary Army, praising him as a "Spartan" Terrans hero.

"The Earthlings' weapons are more advanced than ours, and their tactical concepts are far superior to those of the conservative Confederate High Command." Major General Gregory once again emphasized that the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Tarsonis was not due to a lack of combat skills, believing that the Confederacy Supreme Command was both deaf and blind, completely unaware of the enemy's tactics.

Standing before Augustus was a lean Confederacy naval general, his thin, ruddy face bearing the marks of his travels on the treacherous planets of the Koprulu Sector, like ravines and canyons.

Gregory had a thick walrus mustache over his broad lips, and a thick, bushy eyebrow spanned his deep-set eyes. He possessed an imposing aura that commanded respect without anger, awe-inspiring only amplified by his simple, iron-black buzz cut.

Like many of the Confederacy commanders Augustus seen, Gregory's eyes were firm and resolute. He was a standard Confederacy noble officer, unlike those incompetent scions of Old Families who mingled in the naval departments.

Despite having just survived a fierce battle that nearly cost him his life, Gregory was still dressed in his neat Confederacy Navy admiral uniform.

It was a beautiful uniform with a base color of dark blue, a standard open-collar, belted jacket adorned with gold medals and epaulettes, and matching trousers that were pressed perfectly straight with almost no wrinkles. The cap was a wide-brimmed military cap with the Confederacy Navy insignia embroidered on it, topped with a silver eagle emblem surrounded by a floral wreath.

These are professional Confederacy soldiers who have received systematic education and training, have served in the Confederacy army for many years, and are ready at any time to defend the unity of the Confederacy.

If Augustus not consistently enforced strict discipline and regulations within the Revolutionary Army, his men would have been more akin to a loose peasant uprising army and a slovenly pirate organization.

"The Earthlings have taught us a lesson," Augustus commented briefly on Gregory's words.

Augustus knew that this was not actually the fault of the Confederate High Command, because they simply could not contact the Confederacy Navy Fleets in high orbit. Even communication between the individual ships was difficult, making them like isolated islands of steel in the midst of war, inevitably leading to chaos in command.

Centuries ago, human armies communicated by calling out to carrier pigeons, but the generals and commanders of the various Confederacy, silenced by UED electric pulse weapons in the vacuum, could no longer rely on shouting to tell their friendly ships where to assemble and where to break through next.

"They really caught us off guard." While talking to Augustus, Gregory couldn't help but glance at Sarah Kerrigan standing behind him, because he had heard that the Revolutionary Army Marshal had many dangerous women around him, and that no assassins sent by the Confederacy Security Service had been able to get close to him, let alone assassinate him.

Kerrigan is certainly quite dangerous, and many other words simply don't apply to her.

"At that time, over 90 battlecruisers from Omega Squadron, Delta Squadron, Epsilon Squadron, Sigma Squadron, Theta Squadron, and Deep Blue Squadron were anchored above the three orbital defense platforms of Tarsonis, a massive array of warships lined up in a row," Gregory told Augustus.

"A total of 220 divisions have been deployed on orbital defense platforms, space-based weapon stations, and satellites alone, with fortifications thick enough to withstand frontal bombardment from battlecruiser guns."

"We had already received information that the UED Fleets had appeared in a nearby star system, so the Confederate High Command ordered all Fleets to be on high alert, to demonstrate the power of Tarsonis to the ignorant Earthlings," he said.

"But it turned out to be a complete disaster, of course, but that's just hindsight." Augustus had some knowledge of the Battle of Tarsonis, but he was not as knowledgeable as the Confederacy commanders who had actually experienced the war.

"Yes," Gregory sighed. "All the computer-controlled weapons on the orbital defense platform betrayed us at the same time. The weapon systems opened fire on our soldiers indiscriminately, and in an instant, blood flowed like a river."

"Then an even greater disaster struck: the cargo ships, suddenly taken over by the intelligent program, began ramming into our warships, and then the space station changed its orbit and collided with the defense platform."

"When faced with the attack from the rear, most captains performed admirably, remaining at their posts and reluctantly issuing attack orders to the out-of-control ships. But then, communications between the Fleets fell into chaos, and a large number of UED warships jumped in and quickly launched an attack on us," he said.

"Not only that, but even the warships' weapon systems malfunctioned in the strong electromagnetic interference field created by the enemy. No matter how much our mechanics and technical experts kicked and punched them, it was to no avail. By the time they were back in operation, our defenses had been riddled with holes."

"Right now, I'm starting to doubt whether that initial order was actually issued by the Supreme Command. It was that order that placed us right between the orbital defense platform and the enemy Fleets, and the weapon that had taken four years and countless resources to build was now pointed at us without any scruples."

"This is exactly what Gerard DuGalle wanted." Augustus the name of a United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet commander, now considered the Terrans' most formidable adversary. However, few knew that Alexei Stukov, behind Gerard DuGalle, was also a very dangerous figure, and the latter had always maintained a low profile.

"Your loss was not unjust."

The Terran Confederacy is no longer the powerful regime that was overextended immediately after the Guild Wars. The Zerg and Protoss invasions caused the Confederacy to lose too many colonies and Fleets, and the losses inflicted by the Revolutionary Army were also significant. At its peak, the Terran Confederacy might not have lost to this expeditionary force from Earth; it's just that the timing of the invasion was exceptionally perfect.

Augustus then asked Gregory, "Can you determine how many battlecruisers the UED has?"

"There are at least 50 ships, and it's clear they were originally built by us. The Earthlings have made subtle modifications to these ships, at least to protect them from disruptive electromagnetic interference," Gregory replied.

"Does their Fleets carry Hybrid?" As Augustus spoke, Kerrigan, standing beside him, promptly handed him a photocopy of a picture.

"I'm sure you're familiar with this."

Gregory, the "Hybrid," narrowed his brown pupils and slumped down in a chair opposite Augustus.

Hybrid —this is an incredibly sinister word. A genetically twisted monster, an evil hybrid creature; just mentioning its name is enough to inspire fear.

"We haven't found these monsters on Earth's warships, but they have indeed appeared on orbital defense platforms," he said.

"Later we learned from the Marines who also evacuated from Tarsonis that those inhuman monsters were not only incredibly strong and indestructible, but they could also control human minds. It sounds like a fantasy story? But it's true."

"It was those railgun crews, driven mad by the Hybrid's influence, who were firing the giant cannons at us. Those poor souls must have gone completely insane, because they would also fire at UED ships."

"Well, in other words, the UED can't actually completely control this Hybrid." Augustus put forward a hypothesis.

"More precisely, I even doubt that they understand the true nature of this monster at all. Rather than Earthlings driving this monster to fight for them, they are merely the Hybrid's slaves on a leash."

"That's right. The Hybrid not only attack our people, but also Earth's army. This insane attack is indiscriminate, even from our perspective." Gregory blinked his eyes, which were dry from the dry autumn wind of Krusas.

"The Hybrid can undoubtedly inflict unimaginable damage on our unprotected army, but the same goes for Earthlings."

"A double-edged sword." Augustus smiled. "Could this be Alexei Stukov's idea? This thing will hurt you more than it hurts us."

An important piece of information is that the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet has no control over Hybrid. In other words, DuGalle will not use this weapon indiscriminately in conventional warfare until he masters a method to control Hybrid.

In this world, besides Narud, who developed Hybrid, perhaps only Augustus knows that no one other than Amon can truly control Hybrid.

The cunning Narud will surely secure the support and funding of the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet by promising to develop a more powerful and easier-to-control Hybrid, and with his intelligence, he will certainly be able to do so flawlessly.

UED, or rather, other people and forces bidding for the Hybrid in the future, will never know that Narud will only make them think they can control the Hybrid.

Perhaps one day, Augustus believed that Narud would try to sell him the Hybrid, claiming it would be invincible against the Protoss and Zerg, ensuring the safety of the Terran Empire.

Augustus's Arcturus might have thought it was a good idea, believing he could manipulate Narud as he had manipulated others. But unfortunately, Augustus knew the truth.

"Right now, large numbers of Hybrid are still wreaking havoc on the city of Tarsonis and slaughtering civilians, while the UED forces seem to be still busy cleaning up these uncontrolled monsters, and they're much harder to deal with than the Confederacy forces," Kerrigan behind him added.

"However, Gerard completely took credit for eliminating the Hybrid, claiming that the Confederacy released these monsters. This seems entirely plausible, since the Hybrid killed anyone they saw, and were ruthless towards Earthlings as well."

"I bet this was Dr. Narud's idea, since DuGalle is probably not such a shameless person," Augustus commented.

"They can't control the Hybrid, that's just how it is. Forcibly releasing this monster into Tarsonis is like releasing aphids into your neighbor's garden."

In recent days, Tarsonis has gradually been able to contact the outside world, and Augustus's command has also re-established contact with Tarsonis's revolutionary party.

Intelligence indicates that a significant number of Hybrid were successfully recovered after the battle on the surface of Tarsonis gradually subsided, but many are still wreaking havoc in densely populated areas and military camps.

"Fortunately, there are only a few hundred Hybrid on Tarsonis, but even so, the destruction these monsters cause is still terrifying," Kerrigan said.

"Dear Mr. DuGalle, I'm afraid it will take some time to clean up this mess," Augustus said, picking up a glass of local Krusas wine from the table and handing it to Gregory, whose eyes were bloodshot.

This wine, produced on the left bank of the New Babylon River, has a rich and mellow flavor, leaving a lingering fragrance on the palate, with a delightful aroma derived from local nuts. Even Arcturus Mengsk, a notoriously discerning wine connoisseur, is quite fond of it. Most importantly, this wine contains a type of negative ion that can help relieve tension in the drinker.

"Thank you for your generosity. The men of the Omega Squadron are only able to receive your protection thanks to the Marshal," Gregory said, taking the wine glass from Augustus.

Gregory was not the only Confederacy military force to defect to the Revolutionary Army during this period, but it was the largest. At the same time, Confederacy Fleets that had been defeated by the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet were also entering Revolutionary Army territory seeking refuge.

This part of the Confederacy army was demoralized by the UED, fearing that the Earthlings would capture them in Confederacy territory, or that they were already planning to defect to Augustus.

With the complete destruction of the Confederate Congress, the current Confederacy has essentially fallen apart.

The exiled Old Families and some Confederacy officials have announced the formation of a provisional government to continue leading the remaining Confederacy military forces against the Earth invaders, but they dare not even reveal the location of the provisional government.

"I have always held generals like you in high esteem for your dedication, hard work, and exceptional command abilities. After all, you were already the commander of the Confederacy Navy when I was still a sergeant." Augustus's respect was genuine.

"I will treat Omega Squadron the same as Alpha Squadron and Nova Squadron, provided you and your soldiers pledge allegiance to me and to the revolution."

Gregory's Omega Squadron was a pleasant surprise for Augustus. Alpha and Omega were the first and last in the Confederacy Navy's order of battle, respectively, and both were renowned Confederacy military forces, absolutely formidable troops.

As a renowned Confederacy naval squadron, Omega possesses its own exclusive planetary base and a unique and complete Resocialized Soldier factory. It is the soldiers produced by these factories that have earned Omega Squadron the infamous reputation of the Undead Skeletons.