Reclaiming Char
During those nightmarish days on the surface of Char, Jim Raynor ' Revolutionary Army killed tens of thousands Roach Zerg —far more than they had ever stomped on in their entire lives.
In the final moments, they fought alongside the Protoss's Templar Knights Administrator, Fenix, and even stood back-to-back and shoulder-to-shoulder with the UED landing forces left on Char's surface to resist the endless Zerg swarming toward the wormhole.
The Protoss and Humans, trapped in the swarm of Zerg, were only saved when the Daelaam Psi Disrupter once again activated and Tassadar's Fleets arrived to provide support.
Then, to the surprise of both humans and Protoss, after the Overmind left, the Zerg completely abandoned Char.
The wormhole opened by the Overmind collapsed in less than two Char cycles, but it still allowed tens or even hundreds of billions of Zerg to pass through. In an instant, the distribution of Zerg in Char decreased greatly, and countless Zerg nests were abandoned.
Protoss Executive Tassadar immediately ordered the Fleets to occupy the empty orbit of Char and decisively launched a full-scale orbital bombardment of the Swarm. This triggered an unprecedented supervolcanic eruption and significantly reduced the Zerg population on the planet.
After that, Raynor was able to successfully declare the recapture of Char in the name of the Revolutionary Army of Humanity.
However, they did indeed pay a high price for it.
For example, in the Revolutionary Army led by Raynor, some Marine Corps divisions' field hospitals treated more than 5,000 wounded soldiers. Battalions and brigades were destroyed by the Zerg in an organized manner. One elite heavy infantry battalion, mainly composed of Firebat and heavy Marauder, was reduced to just over 30 men led by Corporal "Blazer" Miles Lewis.
As for the Protoss, although humans cannot count Protoss casualties based on corpses, they can feel their grief in a way that is both abstract and three-dimensional.
So many Protoss Khala at the same time as Char that the Protoss Preservers in the Fleets, who were dedicated to recording the memories of the dead, went mad from the need to empathize with the agony of each of their kind before their demise.
The United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet appears to be the biggest loser in this war, having lost a massive Fleets and suffering over a million dead and missing.
After the Fleets was almost completely wiped out, less than 100,000 people remained on Char's surface. Under pressure from Tassadar, the UED's demoralized remnants had no choice but to surrender to the enraged Protoss and hand over their few remaining Hybrid.
Ultimately, the Protoss handed their captives over to Raynor, arguing that they had not brought any food for humans to eat—humans clearly cannot survive on sunlight alone.
"Char is ours. This planet was synonymous with death and nightmares during the Total War. Every Terrans heard its name trembled with fear." Major General Charles, Chief of Staff of the Expeditionary Force, walked across Char's ash- and toxic-smoke-covered surface in his crimson Power Armor, accompanied by Expeditionary Force Commander Raynor and several staff officers, adjutants, and guards.
"But what will be the price, Jim?"
"At the cost of countless warriors' lives," Raynor sighed.
In his report to Augustus's headquarters, Raynor attributed the tragedies of countless families to his own rashness and impetuosity, believing that he had made an absolutely unforgivable mistake and requesting that the Marshal's headquarters relieve him of his post.
Nevertheless, Marshal Augustus Mengsk, in a letter to the Char Expeditionary Force Command, earnestly requested that Raynor continue to serve as the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force.
Raynor knew full well that the dead could not be brought back to life, but only someone like Duke could be indifferent to seeing so many vibrant lives perish before his eyes.
Some generals are heartbroken by the deaths of their soldiers, while others see them merely as a means to achieve victory and as numbers. Jim Raynor and Mira Han fall into the former category. Raynor treated his soldiers as brothers, while Mira Han possessed the protective stinginess typical of a mob boss.
Edmond Duke and Gregory Rexon of the Omega Squadron were clearly the latter, and it's hard to say which one was better suited to lead an army.
Raynor had secretly resolved to remember everyone's name, but the Revolutionary Army was not a militia organization on the Edge World.
"Yes, so many good brothers have sacrificed their lives." Charles sighed as well, "Before we went to war, I asked the soldiers to write letters home—just like a long time ago, real letters, not Email, with words that seemed to leap off the page, full of genuine feelings, and you could feel the warmth in them."
"I made a mistake—and I've regretted it ever since."
Charles was in great distress, as was his expression. "I heard that those letters are now stuck in the port of Altera because of the war and cannot be delivered in time."
"By the Holy Mother, the death notice arrived even faster than these letters!"
Raynor and Charles continued in silence along the ashes-covered mountain path, stepping onto a steel cable bridge built between two mountain ranges, with flowing lava beneath the still-swaying bridge deck.
Located on the Dreadnought Heights, a fault-lined mountain range formed by geological collisions and compression, the surface is mainly composed of solidified lava, massive black granite, and layers of compressed ash forming volcanic rock.
A long river of lava flows through the entire Arctic, passing through a deep trench between two parallel mountain ranges. As it travels along the low, gentle banks, geological movements such as earthquakes create numerous lakes.
The fortresses built by the Revolutionary Army's Char Expeditionary Force were situated on the precipitous ridge of the Dreadnought Heights, overlooking the surging lava rivers and the rolling crimson lakes below.
The Dreadnought Fortress is a symbol of humanity's victory over the Zerg and the recapture of Char.
The entire fortress seemed to be built on fire; it was extremely hot, and the pungent sulfur compounds in the air were toxic. Therefore, Revolutionary Army soldiers exposed to the scorching sun and deadly gases had to wear protective suits and carry oxygen tubes and breathing masks.
At times, rocks from the mountains fall into the lava river below with a sickening cracking sound, while in the distance, the deafening roar of a volcanic eruption sounds like thunder from the horizon.
On the other side of the bridge is the Dreadnought Heights Fortress, which is under construction. The entire steel fortress is built on a platform carved deep into the rock face. It will house military camps, plasma cannons, and anti-aircraft missile towers. The complete ecological environment cabins will be able to grow greenery that Char doesn't have, providing a more comfortable environment and greenery.
The project has only just begun, so most of the area on Dreadnought Heights remains barren, dark rock.
Because both manpower and time were extremely limited, even building materials could only be obtained by smelting alloys from the crystal mineral clusters in Char and fuel extracted from the high-energy gas extraction plant at the foot of the mountain.
Among the construction workers were some Protoss and their gold-blue machinery. Their anti-gravity technology and advanced construction techniques greatly accelerated the construction of the Dreadnought Fortress.
The harsh natural environment and extremely unstable geological structure made the construction project extremely difficult. As a result, the kind-hearted Tassadar sent a group of Khalai phase engineers to help the Revolutionary Army gain a foothold in Char, but they were not going to build a new city for humanity.
Tassadar, a high-ranking executive officer of the Daelaam, believed that excessive interference in the development of humanity itself was not a good thing, and that the core of the Dae'uhl Doctrine was laissez-faire.
Tassadar promised to help Augustus rebuild Korhal, but humans are not vassals of the Protoss; they have their own civilization, and Augustus and Tassadar are aware of this.
The Revolutionary Army will use this fortress to firmly control Char, providing a stable military base for the soldiers stationed on the planet.
Although Augustus did not intend to continue targeted colonization in Char, he would still establish a sufficient number of mines there. In the future, Char's population would mainly consist of soldiers and miners.
Even though the Swarm had left, Augustus believed it was necessary to guard against any possibility of their return. If the Overmind were to return once more, its chosen landing point would undoubtedly still be Char.
Crossing the swaying bridge leads to the entrance to Dreadnought Heights Fortress, where a heavy gate stands atop a 20-foot-high steel wall, marked by a sign that reads:
--In the name of humanity, in the name of the Revolutionary Army, in the name of Marshal Augustus Mengsk, we have reclaimed Char from the Overmind, proving that the Zerg are not invincible!
"General Raynor, General Charles, we are still holding our ground!" The two Sentinel guarding the gate saluted and said as soon as they saw Raynor and Charles.
"You've worked hard, keep up the good work." Raynor returned the salute; a general's dignity could not be compromised.
Augustus made it clear to Raynor that he was his trusted general, his sworn brother, and that he was prepared to entrust Raynor with even more troops.
This put a lot of pressure on Raynor, and it turned him into a disciplined and dignified general rather than a dashing Mar-a- Sara cowboy.
Raynor knew he hadn't experienced enough hardship and setbacks. Since joining the Federal Marine Corps, he had had a smooth life, and later he met the love of his life in Mar-a -Sara.
Raynor's youthful passion and ambition made him one of the best young generals, and the establishment of his family taught him the meaning of protection and responsibility.
Some believe that Jim Raynor' rise to generalship was merely a stroke of luck, as he happened to become a comrade-in-arms of Marshal Augustus. Although Raynor didn't care about these opinions, he wanted to prove that Augustus's judgment was as accurate as ever.
Stepping through the gate reveals the interior of the fortress under construction. Roads and the maglev train tracks have already been completed. Construction steel, moving engineering vehicles, roaring heavy cranes, and heavy pile drivers used to drive extremely thick steel piles into the cliff face are all visible on the ground, creating a bustling atmosphere.
But Raynor and Charles weren't there to inspect the construction site; they were there for the six Valkyrie docked at the fortress airfield.
"Six Valkyrie, completely undamaged; they reportedly only suffered minor scratches." Charles couldn't help but exclaim as he stood beneath the magnificent bow of a Valkyrie and in the shadow of its magnificent wings.
"The Protoss Fleets has captured a group of UED Fleets remnants attempting to escape Char in high orbit, including six well-preserved Valkyrie. Executive Tassadar is now preparing to hand those ships over to us."
"Valkyrie, a missile frigate brought by the UED. And I must say, she is another masterpiece in the history of human warship development." Raynor nodded in agreement.
The Valkyrie was just one of the spoils the Revolutionary Army obtained from the embers of the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet Fleets, and its value is undeniable.
The current Revolutionary Army Fleets lacks such heavily armored frigates with thick steel plating to compensate for the lack of firepower and flank protection.
The frigate's weapon system is primarily designed for air-to-air combat. Its High Altitude Long Run (HALO) swarm rockets can fire eight rockets in a single salvo from each launch bay, making its firepower devastating and highly effective against swarms of Mutalisk.
"Through reverse engineering, we will soon be able to analyze the Valkyrie's design principles and develop a new generation of frigates," Raynor said.
"Furthermore, cluster rocket technology can also be used to develop new weapons for mechs and artillery, which depends on our engineering corps and scientists," he said.
"In addition, we have also obtained components of the electromagnetic pulse signal jamming technology used by the UED. As long as we crack this technology, Augustus's conquest of Tarsonis will not be a problem."
In addition to allowing Raynor to continue serving as commander of the Char Expeditionary Force, Augustus also emphasized that the main force of the Revolutionary Army was at war with the Earth forces led by UED Lieutenant General Alexei Stukov, which undoubtedly gave Raynor and the others a boost.
"We've already started a war with the UED forces in the Koprulu Sector, and the fighting has spread across multiple core worlds. Augustus has issued a general mobilization order in all the Confederacy worlds we can still contact—" Charles added.
"He announced that in the new Terrans nation to be built, dominated by the Terran people, any former Confederacy world that provided full support to the Revolutionary Army in the war against the UED invaders would be given priority in reconstruction. These worlds would also receive tax breaks and priority in the implementation of economic revitalization policies, and would be protected by the Revolutionary Army Fleets in the event of an alien invasion."
"That was the new policy Augustus planning to implement, and even those planets that appear close on the star map are actually located in completely different places. Who knows if they can arrive to help before the war ends?" Raynor said.
"All Augustus is a clear statement from those people. In this chaotic place of the Koprulu Sector, there are just as many people who secretly oppose us as those who support us," he said.
"Our marshal needs to know who are friends and who are enemies, who needs to be spoken to gently, and who needs to be dealt with harshly."
"The main Fleets of the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet has been destroyed in Char, and even their highest-ranking commander is missing. What remains are only remnants, and the defeat of the Earthlings is only a matter of time," Charles said.
"It won't be long before we can drive the Earthlings out of the Koprulu Sector."
"Don't be too optimistic, Charles. Alexei Stukov might be even more difficult to deal with than his superior," Raynor warned his old friend, urging him not to let his guard down.
"If DuGalle is a lion, then Alexei Stukov is a fox. When they work together, they are as fierce as a lion and as cunning as a fox. Losing either one of them would greatly diminish their effectiveness."
Fortunately, Augustus more cunning.