The Conspiracy of Narud, the Traitorous Second Child

Brontes Garden is undoubtedly the political and economic center of Brontes Prime, densely populated and industrially developed. In less than twenty years, the city transformed from a small colony settlement into a megacity, and has continued to develop and expand ever since.

Raw materials from the entire planet, as well as more than ten other mining planets and newly established colonies, converge here for metallurgical forging and machinery manufacturing. Products are exported to beyond the world of the Terran Confederacy, making it the most important industrial base besides Tarsonis.

Beneath the gleaming, bluish-gray skyscrapers of steel and glass lie vast expanses of gray metallic buildings touching the ground, illuminated by bright lights. Millions of flying cars, hovercraft, and spaceships come and go, while large transport ships carrying cargo and raw materials rise and fall.

This city is like an isolated island of steel blue and steel gray on the vast green plains of Brontes.

If one is to conquer the Koprulu Sector, Brontes Prime is of paramount importance.

In the damp morning mist of downtown Brontes Garden, the surging crowds stretched as far as the eye could see, like towering buildings reaching into the clouds. Everywhere was filled with the clamor of voices, and the jubilant crowds waved homemade red Revolutionary Army flags and spray-painted with the gold star symbol of revolution.

Just over ten minutes earlier, Revolutionary Army Marshal Augustus Mengsk had delivered a speech in the Senate chamber of Brontes Garden. Facing the seats filled with the Revolutionary Army soldiers and dozens of Holographic Projection cameras, he declared to the world:

The Brontes Prime has been liberated by him, and from now on the Terrans will no longer be enslaved by the evil Earth, and will rightfully preserve their own culture and language.

The speech was immediately projected onto giant holographic screens and billboards in the city centers of major cities on Brontes Prime, and spread rapidly throughout the world controlled by the Revolutionary Army.

As early as when Augustus and the Earthlings signed the peace treaty, astute analysts pointed out that this false peace would not last long. The Korhal Revolutionary Army, the Old Terran Confederacy, and the UED invaders could not maintain a stable balance, and one of them was destined to emerge as the ultimate winner.

However, none of them expected that this treaty would only be in effect for less than two standard weeks.

Today, the people of Brontes regard Augustus's Revolutionary Army as the Liberator of freedom. Before the Revolutionary Army's exhilarating and complete victory in Brontes, the people of Brontes had hoped for the return of the Terran Confederacy, but now they have long since abandoned the Confederacy.

As a hero revered and praised by the people of Brontes, Augustus had already left the Senate and set off for a UED science station built on the outskirts of the city, leaving the official spokesperson of the Revolutionary Army to deal with the surging people.

This was mainly because Arcturus and others believed that showing their faces on a newly returned planet would give the UED or Confederacy assassins an opportunity. Although Augustus believed that he had nothing to worry about assassination under the protection of Kerrigan and the Dark Templar, he did not think that now was the time to celebrate victory with the people.

Under tight security, Augustus traveled to an abandoned UED science station aboard a Bravo Wraith Squadron fighter jet equipped with a stealth module.

This is a pyramid-shaped building with a convex, curved facade, originally belonging to the Terran Confederacy Research Institute in Brontes. It has a sturdy frame, walls, and an egg-shaped elliptical dome, with its outer shell of silver and ivory aluminum and composite steel gleaming in the morning light.

The science station is a highly classified research facility of the Terran Confederacy, equipped with sophisticated equipment including high-energy particle accelerators and quantum colliders. According to statistics from the Revolutionary Army, each Terran Confederacy science station houses a large number of scientists forced to work for the Confederacy.

The science station is also a vast building with complete living facilities; its internal corridors alone stretch for more than 6 miles.

Within the science station, countless scientists live in seclusion, working tirelessly day and night to develop more powerful weapons and defense systems, thereby bridging the insurmountable technological gap with alien races like the Protoss and eliminating internal rebellions and the terrifying threat of the Zerg.

Each time the Revolutionary Army captured a Confederacy research facility, they would release the scientists inside, allowing them to return to their long-lost homes and reunite with their families who believed they had perished. However, these research facilities were never wasted; many of the scientists rescued by the Revolutionary Army continued their original research there, but their treatment was vastly different from before.

The UED science station is heavily guarded, with armed Revolutionary Army soldiers protecting it. If it weren't for the need to prevent UED intrusion into the security network, there would also be a large number of AI-controlled spider-like self-destructing robots and mechanical dogs here.

"Artanis, the executive officer of the Daelaam, has also been waiting for you for a long time." A Revolutionary Army scientist named Adam was waiting for Augustus at the entrance of the science station, followed by a group of young researchers who were either excited or reserved. It was a rare sight to see either the Protoss or the Revolutionary Army marshal.

"Thank you for your hard work, Doctor." Augustus some impression of this scientist. He was originally an aerodynamicist on the planet Pridewater, dedicated to developing aircraft that could safely navigate the storms that gathered over the two vast oceans of their home planet.

When the Revolutionary Army arrived on this planet, Adam chose to leave his homeland and work for Augustus. Now, he is engaged in research related to the development of a new type of interstellar main combat aircraft for the Revolutionary Army.

Under Dr. Adam's guidance, Augustus able to enter the interior of this magnificent alloy steel and glass building.

The interior of the science station is entirely a practical steel structure, without any magnificent or elegant design. Even the carpet on the floor is a plain bluish-gray with only numbers and labels on it.

Inside, one corridor connects to another, winding around a vast number of rooms, so orderly that it seems to be pieced together from shipping containers.

The numerous elevators, ventilation ducts, and stark white lights were the things Augustus had seen most often. Only the white dove-shaped emblem of the Revolutionary Army's research institute, symbolizing freedom and spreading its wings, could dispel the inexplicable unease in his heart.

Finally, Augustus met the long-awaited Protoss Executive Artanis in a laboratory at the center of the science station, along with two enormous cryogenic tubes containing Hybrid monsters and several Psi Emitter that had been shut down.

Although the meticulously planned Alexei Stukov had no idea that Char's Zerg had already followed the Overmind away, leaving these powerful Psionics devices unattended could easily lead to unforeseen consequences.

"Marshal Augustus Mengsk, this may be the first time we have truly captured a living Hybrid." Protoss executive Artanis wore ancient white-gold armor, and his special robes, made of soft woven fabric, emitted a light between blue, gold, and green.

Despite having appeared many times, very few Hybrid have been captured alive; without exception, they all turn to ash upon death, just as Dark Templar return to the embrace of the Void after their demise.

The same was true of the Hybrid that appeared on Char; before the Protoss could capture them, these monsters vanished into the cool twilight.

These two Hybrid are unfinished experimental subjects at this UED science station, clearly a special species different from known individuals. One of them has hundreds of tentacles with sharp spikes at the ends on its back, while the other has three pairs of huge claws resembling crab pincers.

Inside the transparent, cryogenic glass tube, a malevolent and hideous monster floated, its segmented appendages drooping like insects. Anyone who witnessed such a bizarre sight would feel their hair stand on end and shudder with fear, including Augustus, of course.

On either side of the giant cryogenic tube stood several Protoss Templars wielding Solarite Axe Templar Knights. They were warriors from the Protoss Empire's Golden Age, brought by Artanis specifically to deal with the Hybrid, and they also used advanced ancient weapons.

"This is a true beast; just looking at it makes my heart race." Arcturus made no attempt to hide his disgust for the Hybrid, though that was mostly an act for the Protoss.

Arcturus didn't consider the Hybrid to be particularly abhorrent monsters; if they could truly be controlled, they would undoubtedly be powerful weapons against the Protoss and Zerg.

He believed that the greatest enemies of the Mengsk Dynasty and even humanity were always the Protoss and the Zerg, and Arcturus deeply agreed with the principle that those who are not of our kind are bound to have different intentions.

According to reports Char Jim Raynor, the Hybrid was far more effective against the Zerg than the Psi Disrupter.

At the same time, Arcturus also believed that Augustus could fight the Protoss without using Hybrid, but he couldn't do without them.

"I really don't know what kind of evil person created this monster. Compared to the Hybrid, the Zerg are just docile little animals." Kerrigan stood behind Augustus with her hands behind her back, looking like an ordinary security guard for an important official.

"Only you would consider the Zerg to be harmless creatures." Augustus looked at Artanis: "Thank you for your support, esteemed Executor Artanis."

"This is what the Protoss should do." Artanis's voice appeared directly in Augustus's mind.

The Protoss are a poetic race that communicates through thought. They never speak; the voices in the human mind originate from the neural conflicts in their brains caused by Psionics and the imagination based on them.

"Marshal, this scientific station preserves many technologies brought by the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet, including nanomedical technology and cluster rocket technology," Dr. Adam told Augustus. "It also preserves the UED Fleets's navigation logs."

Typically, important scientific research facilities of the Terran Confederacy, such as scientific ships and scientific stations, store a large amount of research data. After the UED seized the scientific station, they also replaced its database with their own.

"Does it contain information on how to manufacture the Hybrid?" Arcturus asked casually.

"It must be destroyed immediately; such evil must not be allowed to remain in the world," Artanis said immediately.

"Of course it should be destroyed, it's too evil," Arcturus said, indicating that he only wanted to ask on behalf of Augustus.

"No, this seems to be a top secret known to very few people. However, this science station contains some footage of the UED discovering the Braxis Hybrid laboratory," Dr. Adam said. "Combined with the interrogation and mind-reading of some UED scientists at the science station, it can be known that..."

"After conquering the border planet Braxis of the Terran Confederacy, the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet discovered a laboratory conducting genetic hybridization research in its frigid polar desert. Expeditionary Force Marshal General DuGalle considered it too dangerous and wanted to burn it down, while Lieutenant General Alexei Stukov, serving as the technology officer, believed that such creatures could greatly help them fight against the Protoss and Zerg."

"Following this, Lieutenant General Alexei Stukov hired Dr. Narud, a native of Braxis with extensive knowledge of Protoss and Zerg physiology, to continue the experiment."

"So who owns this Hybrid laboratory?" Augustus thought to himself, "Narud, you're quite the schemer."

"He was a former Confederacy scientist who shot himself before the lab was taken over by UED forces," Dr. Adam said.

"They dare to use something of dubious origin that seems so eerie," Augustus frowned.

When the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet first arrived in the Koprulu Sector, they must have found that the situation there was far less optimistic than the United Earth Directorate had described before their departure. It was understandable that DuGalle and Alexei Stukov placed their hopes on this highly effective non-Earth-native weapon.

However, Augustus clearly remembered that the Hybrid was created by Duran (that is, Narud). Combined with the mysterious person discovered earlier in Luria IV, it seemed that Narud was deliberately creating an overt villain while pretending to be an observer.

Unfortunately, there was only one person in this universe who viewed Narud's every move as a clownish act: Augustus. Because in Augustus's eyes, Narud had already been exposed when he used the aliases Duran and Narud.

"Initially, they were using experimental subjects from the Braxis Hybrid Labs, which is why they behaved extremely violently and uncontrollably during the Battle of Tarsonis," Dr. Adam continued.

"But later, Dr. Narud improved the genetic defects of the Hybrid, making them more controllable," he said. "To help Dr. Narud complete his research, UED provided him with substantial funding, biotechnology, and advanced laboratories."

"That's why Char's Hybrid are more controllable." Arcturus nodded.

"This Dr. Narud is a talent; he was able to complete the improvements in such a short time. Considering that he was likely forced to join the UED by Earthlings, it's not entirely unforgivable."

"This is strange. In the eyes of our Khalai scientists, this kind of extremely advanced biotechnology is difficult even for the Protoss to understand. How could humans possess it?" Artanis expressed his doubts and offered an explanation:

I have no prejudice against human intelligence.

"Hmm, I've met this Dr. Narud. He deserves such high praise from the Protoss." Augustus if he had the chance, he would seize Narud and try to extract some knowledge about the Xel'Naga from him.

This guy, the only remaining Xel'Naga avatar in the real world, is perhaps more valuable than he appears.

Knowledge is priceless.

My sleep schedule is completely messed up; let's see if we can get it back on track.