Negotiations on Redstone

In August, the Koprulu Sector was shrouded in the shadow of war.

The situation changed so quickly that before people in many parts of the Terran Confederacy had even received news that Tarsonis was under siege, the Terrans throne world, hailed as a beacon of civilization, had already fallen.

General Duke of the Confederate High Command once stated that Tarsonis Prime was heavily fortified and impregnable, and that even if humans spent 10 years, they would not be able to conquer it. However, Gerard DuGalle crossed the Koprulu Sector and took the Confederacy capital in less than a month, with most of that time spent on the jump.

Even if Tarsonis falls in a very short time, the war that breaks out on its surface and even in geosynchronous orbit could be one of the largest human civil wars in Koprulu to date. Conservative estimates suggest that the number of Tarsonis civilians killed alone could exceed 6 million.

Gerard DuGalle was indeed the most powerful general in the United Earth Directorate, and his efficient and rapid surprise attack tactics were the key to his brilliant victory. Although DuGalle was a leader with the typical ruthless military style and rarely appeared in public, he had already become famous after the fall of Tarsonis.

Many Terrans living in the Confederacy may never have seen the Earthlings' army, but they could probably catch a glimpse of Gerard DuGalle, the Hand of Man, through news reports and rapidly spreading rumors. His gaunt face and stern expression became a symbol of Earth.

When people think of Earthlings and their united government, whether they are crystal miners working underground, ranchers running private farms, or idle thugs in bars, they all think of DuGalle's tough and ruthless image.

On colonized planets less influenced by Tarsonis culture, the inhabitants have begun to anticipate how Earth will rule their long-lost colonies. The distant Earth will likely send governors to manage the colonies, presumably nobles of high birth.

"The Terrans will never yield! As long as I live, Earth will never achieve their dominance in the Koprulu Sector! We will fight at the Earthlings' landing sites, in the countryside, and in the city streets."

As Augustus traveled in a hyperspace Galaxy Jumper to the pre-arranged peace negotiation coordinates with the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet, Arcturus Mengsk was still enjoying Augustus's speech, delivered that morning, on his personal terminal adorned with a wolf's head emblem.

The screen was showing footage of Augustus giving a speech in the Krusas Senate. He stood among the elected senators in suits, all looking at him from all sides. He was dressed only in a dark blue military uniform, with a sword and pistol at his waist, exuding an air of grandeur and extraordinary demeanor.

Arcturus watched it over and over again, probably because nothing could please him more than watching his brilliant younger brother steal the spotlight.

"We will fight, on Braxis, on the Dylar IV, on Tarsonis. On the wreckage of warships and armor, on the ruins of Bunker and trenches, on our blood and bodies, until final victory."

"The Earth wants to enslave us, but we will never yield!"

Augustus could almost hear the shouts reaching the heavens; the Krusas, supporting the war, were chanting his name, which gave him and those around him a deep, exhilarating tremor.

"This is the will of the people. The Terrans need a leader who is popular with the people. With our army and people united, we can defeat all enemies." This was the fourth time Arcturus had said this.

Arcturus could almost predict that his 20-minute impassioned speech would cause a sensation on hundreds of planets. In any case, using nationalism to unite people of different planets and traditions was by far the most effective means.

It's truly a twist of fate that the former terrorist and traitor to the Confederacy has transformed into a national hero of the Terrans, and no one cares anymore whether Augustus was an ambitious schemer who stirred up trouble.

"Well done, Augustus. Let those who dare not resist hear your voice, hear your determination. The Terran Confederacy is finished. We are the last hope of the Terrans." Arcturus was sitting next to Augustus, dressed in the uniform of the General Staff, looking quite imposing.

At 33 years old, Arcturus was in his prime. In less than half a month after joining the General Staff of the Revolutionary Army, he earned the respect of the officers in the General Staff with his conscientious, responsible, and cautious work attitude and his talent in strategy and tactics.

Anyone who thinks that Arcturus Mengsk got to his current position because of his brother's fame is sorely mistaken.

"I don't want to spoil your fun, Arcturus. Nine years ago, the Confederacy called on its people to make selfless contributions in the Guild Wars in the name of the nation. Now, after the First Total War that swept through dozens of colonies, the will to resist in many colonies is not as strong as we imagine." Augustus was dressed exactly the same as when he spoke to the senators of Krusas.

"The Confederacy is still barely clinging to life; they haven't been truly wiped out yet."

"So what? I won't give them any chance to rise again." Arcturus's face was as hard as steel. His gray eyes, which were extremely similar to Augustus's, were fixed on the back of the driver's seat in front of him. His gaze was so sharp that it seemed capable of killing the person in the seat.

"No matter where the remnants of the Confederate Congress and the Old Families hide, my Sons of Korhal will find them and leave none alive." He displayed the ruthless and decisive aura of a tyrant.

The Sons of Korhal have now transformed from a top-tier terrorist organization into part of the Revolutionary Army, but they possess an independent command structure and are equipped differently from the regular Revolutionary Army.

The Sons of Korhal, founded by Arcturus Mengsk, disregarded bloodlines and recruited anyone who shared the same hatred for the Confederacy as the Korhal. Compared to the Revolutionary Army fighters, their faith was more steadfast and unwavering, firmly believing that someone must pay the price for the destruction of Korhal.

After transforming from an organization specializing in sabotage, propaganda, and espionage behind enemy lines into a military organization, the Sons of Korhal turned to recruiting those in the Revolutionary Army who had a fanatical faith in Augustus.

These people worshipped Augustus immensely, praising everything he said and did, almost worshipping him as a god. Their fanaticism even robbed them of their ability to distinguish right from wrong, to the point that their other comrades in the Revolutionary Army could not understand them.

There has always been some skepticism within the Revolutionary Army's Supreme Command about the Sons of Korhal, with concerns that he might become Arcturus's private army. The Sons of Korhal is absolutely loyal to Augustus and Mengsk behind him, but not to the Revolution.

Arcturus clearly distrusted Augustus's generals, or rather, he never trusted anyone.

The size of the Sons of Korhal's Legion has always remained between 50,000 and 55,000. The number of people who want to join this legion is so astonishing that the legion has to strictly select qualified recruits.

It is undeniable that the Sons of Korhal were absolutely loyal to Augustus; they were more like his personal guard.

Augustus worried that Arcturus might actually be planning to create a Führer-Staff, and he later discovered that his fears were gradually becoming a reality.

"Leave no one alive? You want to execute their families, which could include the elderly, women, and children." Augustus could not agree with this.

"Just install Psi Emitter on the planets where they're hiding," Arcturus said dramatically. "That way, no matter how many Fleets they have left, it won't matter. After that, we can just use Psi Disrupter to drive out the Zerg."

"So we'll have insects do the dirty work for us?" Augustus wasn't surprised by Arcturus's words. It was simply a plan he could come up with.

"But even if I agree to you doing that, it will be exposed sooner or later, just like the Confederacy's use of Cha Sara and Ma Sara for Zerg experiments." He shook his head and said:

"The truth will eventually come out. If you want to be a ruler who is subject to the supervision of the people, then you should keep such little secrets to a minimum."

"There are plenty of scapegoats." Arcturus shook his head. "Well, you always think there's a better way to solve things, but not for yourself, but for someone else."

"But if you want to completely defeat your enemy, then don't give them any chance to fight back." He suddenly remembered something.

"Speaking of little secrets, I've secretly destroyed the photos of you wearing skirts when you were little. Anyone who knows about this must be humanely destroyed."

"There's nothing shameful about it." Augustus initially startled, his eyes widening, but then he argued, "Who hasn't worn a skirt as a child? Perhaps it can even be considered a beautiful story."

"So you don't care." Arcturus laughed.

"Damn Arcturus! You can't do this!" Augustus exclaimed in shock and rage. No matter how many years had passed, his brother was still his brother, just as inevitable as birth, aging, sickness, and death.

"Have we arrived, Bob?" Arcturus turned to ask the shuttle pilot in the front seat. He was Arcturus's handpicked top pilot, a true-blue member of the old Korhal nobility.

"We have entered the preset coordinates and are calculating the difference," the shuttle operator replied immediately.

A fiery red planet appeared on the Holographic Projection screen in front of Augustus, a strange and spectacular sight he would never forget even 20 years later.

If Char and New Folsom were already hell on earth, filled with volcanoes and lava, then this planet, marked Redstone III, was even worse.

Redstone III's surface is covered with ash-like, interspersed brown-black land and a supermagma ocean visible even from geosynchronous orbit. That ocean covers almost one-third of the planet's surface, equivalent to 20 Korhal- radiated deserts.

This planet is still experiencing extremely active geological activity today. Billions of years ago, many of its continents were thrown into the air in large chunks, and now they have become several giant satellites bound by gravitational fields. The tidal effects brought about by these satellites have further intensified the frequent large-scale geological movements on the planet's surface.

The low-lying areas of Redstone III are flooded by rising lava every few minutes, and its surface is even more treacherous than many areas of Char.

However, even on such a planet, there are human colonists who migrated there in search of abundant and valuable crystal deposits.

In the Koprulu Sector, humans are such a tenacious race. They may be easily defeated by emerging diseases and seem fragile, but they can be found in the harshest corners of the universe.

"Redstone III, Kel-Morian Combine territory. They're caught between us and the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet, so it's considered a neutral zone. --KMC can only remain neutral because they dare not speak up." Kerrigan was sitting in the back seat of Augustus.

"This planet has over a hundred thousand more Kel-Morian immigrants, mostly miners with their families. When the Zerg arrived, the Kel-Morian Combine ignored the people here, leaving them to fend for themselves."

"Redstone," Augustus murmured the name.

During the Guild Wars, this place was the focal point of contention between the Terran Confederacy and the Kel-Morian Combine. Long before the Terrans intervened, the Kel-Morian family-run mining guilds on Redstone were constantly fighting amongst themselves for the resources here, and large-scale battles between guilds were commonplace.

Redstone is a truly coveted land, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it's paved with gold. The Kel-Morian people are known as the mineral locusts of the universe; their planetary excavators and guild-joint mining machines plunder enough resources every minute to fill Antiga Port. A planet that can thrive for many years amidst the Kel-Morian Mining Guild's relentless mining operations, leaving nothing but barren ground, is truly remarkable.

It is not that resources in extremely harsh environments are necessarily abundant. Only when the value of a resource far outweighs the risks of extraction can it become a human colony.

It was unexpected that the Kel-Morian people were able to retain this land after their defeat in the war, but at that time, the Kel-Morian Combine, which had almost lost all its mining planets to the Terran Confederacy, was truly destitute.

The board members and their executives of the Combine Board of Directors would say, "What else can you take away? Take my life too!"

The Terran Confederacy wouldn't mind taking the lives of the Kel-Morian people, but then they wouldn't make any money.

This location was chosen through mutual consultation because neither a large-scale Revolutionary Army nor United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet was stationed there.

Even so, attending this meeting meant that Augustus and the UED personnel had to take many risks, because no one could be sure whether it was a trap.

The United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet sent its second-in-command, Lieutenant General Alexei Stukov. Augustus should have sent a general of equal rank, such as Jim Raynor.

But Augustus was determined to meet Lieutenant General Alexei Stukov in person.

Thank you for voting.

Also, the bonus chapter might take some time to pass the review process (--)

The group got banned. I'll see if I can get it unbanned, otherwise I'll just create a new one.

I'm emotionally exhausted.

Destroy it.