Char Expeditionary Force

August 25, 2493.

Char, Char Orbital Platform One.

This dilapidated rail platform, built in the early Colonial Era of Char, consists of several small platforms that remain relatively stationary. Each small platform is a fully functional multi-functional residential station, with prefabricated frames and metal-framed buildings of varying heights arranged in an orderly fashion, much like a thicket of shrubs of different heights among trees.

Between the dark orange and gray steel buildings, blending the minimalist style of the early Colonial Era, are cable-stayed bridges spanning multiple platforms, circular train tracks, and maglev vehicle acceleration tracks. Dense fusion reactor towers, cooling towers, the central information processing tower of the starport, and signal towers form a daunting, dark steel forest.

Any visitor to the Char Orbital Platform One who plunges into this impenetrable, cold, metallic steel forest will get lost in the crisscrossing roads, dark and deep alleys, and the hot air and steam blowing from countless turbine ventilation ducts.

Here, the ground is three-dimensional rather than flat; a huge steel building is always connected to another by alloy steel bridges, cables as thick as snakes bundled together, and crisscrossing elevator-driven staircases; an unparalleled building frame always envelops another.

The massive buildings in the residential area were like giant walls covered with thousands upon thousands of identical indigo-colored windows, like dark mirrors reflecting the orange glow of the Char fire and the shimmering light of the power lines on the towers.

No building on the Char Orbital Platform One could be associated with the words "exquisite" or "magnificent." The steel-built skyscrapers were designed only for the workers at Char and looked more like simple walls made of limestone and reinforced concrete.

The Confederacy construction company that built the platform constructed a reliable rail platform in full accordance with the contract requirements. The well-planned industrial and building areas have complete ventilation, sewage treatment, and even recreational facilities, but inevitably, the design for comfort has been streamlined to the extreme.

Each building can accommodate hundreds of families and thousands of people, and includes shops, bars, self-service laundry and dryers, private clinics, and everything else you could need—it's practically a small city.

For an orbital platform where space resources are extremely precious, every inch of land must be used properly, as always.

"Time to ride the ponies, lads!" Jim Raynor called out from the Starport launch platform of the Char Orbital Platform One, beckoning his 4th Battalion, 16th Motorized Infantry Brigade Revolutionary Army soldiers to board the rumbling rows of APOD-33 troop transport ships.

Soldiers clad in blue Power Armor and adorned with silver winged badges marched in formation up the ramps of the transport ship. Each soldier's shoulder armor was painted with a coiled gray rattlesnake skull. Nearby, T-280 SCV were pushing racks carrying Vulture into the lower cargo hold of the transport ship.

These soldiers all belonged to the "Raynor Raynor's Raiders," a unit entirely named after Jim Raynor. This undoubtedly proved that Marshal Augustus Mengsk of the Revolutionary Army valued him highly, and was also a demonstration of Raynor's own reputation and ability.

Perhaps only Raynor could earn such appreciation and attention from Augustus, and he himself silenced those who envied him with his brilliant achievements.

Raynor was an exceptionally skilled battlefield commander. He was not the kind of general who relied on meticulous and comprehensive military deployments to achieve victory, but he was undoubtedly a military strategic genius. His unparalleled strategic vision always allowed him to inadvertently seize upon the weaknesses and fatal vulnerabilities on the front lines.

The great Augustus often said to his generals, "There are a thousand roads to defeat, but only one to victory. If there is a key to the gates of triumph, it is Jim Raynor. I have seen many Confederacy generals, renowned in their own right, but none can compare to Raynor."

"This isn't a racing Game, kid. I've been to many planets, but only Char has caused us the greatest losses." An officer wearing a gray-blue flat-top military cap and a chief of staff uniform walked up to Raynor.

Before setting out, Augustus personally appointed Major General Charles Matt Horner, a former subordinate of Arcturus, as Chief of Staff of the Expeditionary Force to help Raynor command such a large army.

It's important to understand that Char Expeditionary Force numbered 120,000, even without considering logistical personnel. Even if Augustus complete confidence in Raynor's abilities and character, he still had to send trustworthy people to assist him.

Before joining the Revolutionary Army, Charles served in the 33rd Ground Assault Division of the Confederacy and was promoted to captain for his meritorious service. After joining the Revolutionary Army, he was quickly promoted to field officer.

After Charles led a force consisting of the Revolutionary Army 22nd Armored Division, the 3rd Revolutionary Army Engineer Regiment, two railgun brigades, and a bomb disposal company to capture the planet Pridewater, he was immediately promoted to Major General by Augustus, who personally awarded him the Imperial Shield Medal, the White Oak Medal, and the Silver Tower Medal of Korhal.

Charles Matt Horner was the kind of general who rose through the ranks from the front lines. He had never even attended a military academy; he was among the first officers to travel to the Umojan Military Academy for two semesters of systematic military training while the Revolutionary Army was resting on its flagship.

"Char is a living hell, but we will never fear it." Raynor, also clad in dark gray Power Armor, said, "War is a red hell, and we dance on the devil's dagger."

"I didn't expect you to be a poet." Major General Charles and Raynor actually had a pretty good relationship, and the generals in the Revolutionary Army liked to be friends with such upright and reliable people. Raynor got along very well with many Revolutionary Army, except for Edmond Duke.

This is usually what Tychus Finley says to Raynor. When they're hanging out on the battlefield or in bars, Tychus often praises Raynor when things get lively, and Raynor replies that he's never seen a better guy than Tychus.

"That's what Augustus said," Raynor said, then shouted to the Revolutionary Army soldiers on the launch platform, "Move faster! The bugs won't wait for us to be fully dressed before attacking. They're not some noble gentlemen with Tarsonis accents. If you don't get your armor ready, the bugs will be ripping you in the backside."

"Ha ha--"

"Hurry up! Why are you still moving as slowly as old ladies after five years of fighting? I don't remember ever training soldiers like this!" Charles shouted, and the sound of steel boots clattering on the platform immediately became rhythmic and rapid.

"Did the Marshal really say that?" he asked Raynor in a low voice after he finished speaking.

"I heard it from Tychus." Raynor didn't consider who Tychus himself had heard it from.

Some of the transport ships at the launch port had already retracted their thrusters and begun to take off. Spaceships were constantly disappearing rapidly into the dark depths of space. They all belonged to the motorized forces, which were directly under Raynor's command.

The 16th and 3rd Motorized Infantry Brigade were both directly subordinate to the Revolutionary Army's Char Expeditionary Force Command. Generally speaking, directly subordinate units are often elite or garrison units.

And indeed, our Char Expeditionary Force Commander "Mr. Ray" absolutely adored these frenzied Vulture. He bluntly stated that the Vulture were like cowboys' horses, as important as cowboy hats and spiked boots.

The Revolutionary Army's chief engineer, Rory Swann, often held a completely different view, regretfully referring to the Vulture as scavengers sitting on barrels of explosives.

The Char Expeditionary Force was one of the few legions to establish a large-scale motorized force, because on Char's volcanic ash plains, the Vulture, capable of high-speed maneuverability, were invaluable, just as important as armored units that could advance rapidly.

If a Vulture rider has enough experience and superb skills, he can even maneuver his vehicle with such agility that he leaps like a gerbil across the undulating Gobi Desert hills.

Even with transport ships constantly taking off, large numbers of the Revolutionary Army soldiers remained gathered on the launch port platform. Even with the cover of the Protoss Fleets, transporting tens of thousands of soldiers to the surface of Char was no easy task.

Currently, the Revolutionary Army's Char Expeditionary Force and Tassadar's Fleets have established a foothold in Char's high-altitude orbit, having made great sacrifices to recapture this orbital platform that had been completely infected by the Zerg.

"Any further news from Antiga? What about the Marshal's command post?" Raynor looked at the dense array of orbital platform structures in the distance. Just seeing them immediately reminded him of the sacrifices made to capture the platform.

Looking around, the steel buildings that have not yet been reused still bear obvious black burn marks, and a sense of desolation and barrenness hangs over the rusty, exposed steel frames. Each of the giant buildings is as tall as a mountain, and the side facing Raynor is a smooth, straight cross-section of a cliff, with hundreds of empty windows silently telling the tragic past and the brutal war that once took place here.

Since the Guild Wars made Char's surface environment increasingly treacherous, almost all of its population moved to this orbital platform. After the Zerg invasion of Char, none of the hundreds of thousands of people on this orbital platform survived.

No one knows what the people on the Char Orbital Platform One went through, but their despair and misery must have been unparalleled in the world.

When Raynor and his men first arrived here, the orbital platform had become a monstrosity, a mixture of ugly organic tissue, a hard exoskeleton, writhing dark veins, and enormous organs exposed to the vacuum, all blended with steel—a monster teeming with evil life.

The sewers beneath the Char Orbital Platform One were piled high with insect eggs, as the area was warm and humid for the Zerg.

The reactor compartments and ventilation ducts were filled with eggs encased in a milky white gelatinous shell and vesicles, resembling swarms of wriggling white worms or fly eggs. Inside were infected humans, and the bridges and steel structures connecting the various small track platforms had transformed into enormous, curled tentacles.

With the assistance of the Protoss Templar Knights, Raynor's forces burned the initial orbital platform to the ground. Afterwards, he personally led Raynor 'Raynor's Raiders, Raynor's Rattlesnakes (heavy tank units), War Pigs (a small elite force with upgraded Power Armor), the Prometheus Company (another Firebat unit different from the Red Devils Firebat), and the Hellhound Company (a unit specifically designed to deal with the Zerg) to completely clear the entire orbital platform after two days of fighting.

Now, most of the Char Platform has become a ghost town, and it is said that twisted monsters still exist there.

Subsequently, Tassadar's Protoss Expeditionary Force Technicians laid out a matrix network and erected a shield field on the orbital platform, allowing Raynor to further control the area.

"Although Antiga is lacking in everything right now, it's mainly because of the massive influx of people. Antiga Prime's economy is only about one-tenth of what it used to be for Korhal IV, but its population is four times that," Charles replied.

"But Antiga is developing rapidly. Vast high-energy gas wells have been discovered near Ansadar Medis Mountains. In addition, the Umojans are sending large quantities of relief supplies there. I believe Antiga will soon become the center of the Revolutionary Army's world."

"As for the Marshal's headquarters—Marshal Augustus has ordered you to closely monitor Char's movements. If any Earthlings appear here, you must report to him immediately using the fastest encrypted communication channel. Any delay will result in court-martial."

"Earthlings? How could Char possibly have Earthlings? It's as ridiculous as Tychus dancing ballet in a graduation gown," Raynor continued.

"But since he said it, I will definitely do as he says. Military orders are absolute."

"Notify the troops that the landing operation plan remains unchanged and will commence at 10:10 AM Standard Time. This time, we must establish a mining area in the Bone Trench and build enough gas plants," Raynor then ordered over the command channel.

"We don't have much time to waste. Marshal Augustus Mengsk has high hopes for us, and I don't want that to become a thing of the past."

The nearest Revolutionary Army planet Eros, is hundreds of light-years away from Char, and the problems caused by the excessively long supply lines have become glaringly obvious. Although no pirates have dared to attack the Revolutionary Army's supply convoys yet, once one of these desperate men takes the plunge, trouble is inevitable.

Char Expeditionary Force had many vehicles and ships, but fuel was extremely scarce. Even the Vulture could be run on alcohol, but their sheer number made up for it.

The Char system contains very few resource-rich planets. Even the Protoss must extract crystalline minerals and high-energy gas from Char's surface to Gateway for warping more troops and warships from their home planet, Shakuras.

However, after several landing campaigns, they only managed to open up a few landing zones on the planet's surface that were of little strategic significance, and the progress was far from satisfactory for Raynor and Tassadar.

It turns out that they all thought the Swarm had been severely damaged after the Overmind's death, but that was not actually the case.

The Char Swarm remains powerful.

Just after the Overmind led its two largest Zerg hives, the Tiamat Brood and Jormungand Brood, to Aiur, another previously overlooked Cerebrate Sars, had been cultivating its terrifying Garm Brood in Char.

In the original timeline, the Cerebrate Sars was the first Cerebrate to be killed by the Dark Prelate Zeratul. But in this timeline, having already been killed once by Augustus, Sath experienced the pain of death for the first time. So, after sensing that Zeratul had infiltrated Char, it chose to retreat and let its brothers steal the spotlight.

This saved Sath's life.

The Cerebrate Sars, with its cautious nature and ruthless methods, instills deep fear in its enemies, and it may also be the most intelligent of the Cerebrate. Sath's personality flaws are the main reason for its repeated failures, but what makes Cerebrate highly intelligent Zerg individuals and the masterminds that command the Swarm is precisely their ability to learn and think.

It will grow.

Meanwhile, out of caution, Sath frantically expanded his Swarm in the time following Char Overmind's death.

It was Sath who maintained the situation before Daggoth' return and suppressed and drove out the restless Prince Tosh of the Blades.

In addition, because Augustus's Revolutionary Army and Tassadar guarded the Xel'Naga Gateway to Shakuras, the Cerebrate and their hordes that should have been heading to Shakuras returned to Char.

After Char, the Cerebrate of the Daggoth Tiamat Brood, and Jormungand Brood, the Cerebrate Yack of the Jormungand swarm, returned to Char Swarm once again united, repelling numerous attacks by the Tassadar and Raynor alliances, and loyally guarding their newborn Overmind.

Thanks for the 15,000-point reward from the guy who didn't say everything was fine.

Thanks for all the recommendation votes and monthly tickets, brothers!

I'd like to recommend this book, a new work by the author of "The Commander's Infinite Working Journey," a certain unscientific spy thriller. The fantasy genre is really dying out, second only to suspense.