Conquer Tarsonis
The battle continued until dawn the next day, with no sign of it ending.
Tarsonis City inevitably became a battlefield. This birthplace of the Terrans's history and culture, the political and economic center of the Confederacy, and a fashionable and elegant capital suffered severe damage. The prosperous commercial districts were burned beyond recognition by the war, and some urban areas were even completely reduced to ruins.
Despite the exceptionally fierce resistance of the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet in Tarsonis City, it could not change the fact that other cities fell rapidly.
In other parts of the planet, millions of Terran defenders surrendered to the Revolutionary Army, so many that in the latter half of the war Revolutionary Army soldiers had to scramble to gather the large numbers of prisoners. Because the occupied territories lacked sufficient prisons to hold the captives, Augustus's command ordered the distribution of tools and modular housing materials to the surrendered enemy soldiers so they could build their own prisons.
When Augustus in New Gettysburg, the central city of Tarsonis, by transport ship, three-quarters of the area was already under the control of the 11th to 13th Sons of Korhal Airborne Divisions under the command of Arcturus, but the remaining former Confederacy territory was still in the midst of fierce fighting.
A series of electromagnetically accelerated shells fired by the Sons of Korhal artillery roared over New Gettysburg, creating bright flashes of explosions on the enemy Atlas Wing's positions.
The Alpha Squadron's bomber formation had just withdrawn from the battle at Holyktown Air Base, and the distinctive, terrifying roar of the Grizzly Bomber engines invigorated the Revolutionary Army soldiers who had been fighting continuously for a day and a night.
"Who is the commander on the other side?" Augustus asked as soon as he entered Arcturus's command post in New Gettysburg.
"The captain who stood next to Alexei Stukov during the last Redstone negotiations is now in command of the UED Atlas Wing." Arcturus, who was bending over to look at the holographic battle map, immediately looked up at Augustus when he heard his voice.
"Even after being besieged for so long, with our orbital firepower and air force practically leveling downtown Tarsonis City, they are still fighting."
"I vaguely remember that guy." Tychus was also in Arcturus's command post, smoking and slacking off.
No wonder Tychus had some impression of that UED officer; the man remained unfazed as he watched a naked man posing for himself. Tychus knew this man was no ordinary person.
"Doesn't he know that we've taken over Alexei Stukov's command post? Apart from New Gettysburg, Tarsonis has effectively fallen." Kerrigan followed Augustus closely.
Due to the sudden disappearance of the supreme commander, and because most of the UED garrison in Tarsonis consisted of forcibly conscripted local soldiers, they were completely routed when facing the Revolutionary Army.
That was an army forged in the blood and fire of a brutal war against the Protoss and the Zerg; how could a group of soldiers who hadn't even completed basic training possibly withstand it?
As soon as the Revolutionary Army's landing force began to advance, or even just a few paratroopers appeared, these soldiers, who had no will to fight and were terrified by the deafening bombing, surrendered one after another.
They might not have the courage to fight the Revolutionary Army head-on, but they certainly had the guts to shoot their UED officers in the back.
"These Earthlings would rather die with honor than become our prisoners. How stubborn." Arcturus placed the stylus in his hand on the table.
Arcturus's grey eyes were bloodshot; he, like the officers in the Sons of Korhal's command, had not slept all night.
Although he had been retired for many years, Arcturus was still as adept at commanding troops as he had been. During the Guild Wars, Arcturus rose through the ranks rapidly based solely on his merits and abilities, not his family background. He was a bold yet meticulous general, extremely calm. In his youth, he enjoyed taking risky tactical maneuvers, but now he was even more composed.
"Fortunately, the setbacks in the local offensive were not enough to affect the overall situation. How could the soldiers Alexei Stukov recruited from Tarsonis be willing to die for the invaders?" Arcturus readily admitted his defeat at New Gettysburg, and Augustus would never blame him for it.
The Sons of Korhal are a newly formed unit, primarily composed of veterans training new recruits, and have not participated in any major battles. This unit emphasizes loyalty above all else, with soldiers willing to die for their cause, in order to compensate for their lack of combat experience.
"Bring Alexei Stukov in," Augustus said to the Marshal Guard's guards behind him as he walked to Arcturus ' side.
"Oh, General Alexei Stukov, what a rare guest," Tychus said.
Shortly afterward, Alexei Stukov, whose hands were bound by metal shackles, was brought in.
"I can walk by myself." Alexei Stukov's face was ashen, his face bruised and swollen, indicating that he had not gotten any advantage from Jack Haller.
When the Revolutionary Army's Ghost operative subdued Alexei Stukov, they used brutal force, showing no mercy whatsoever. This was partly due to personal grudges, as Earth's methods of persecuting Psionics far surpassed those of the Confederacy.
Haller's Ghost operative took out Alexei Stukov's men in less than two seconds; their speed far exceeded the limits of human capability.
When a dozen or so Revolutionary Army Ghost operative appeared before him, Alexei Stukov's first instinct was to end his life, but how could he possibly be a match for those Psionics?
"Lieutenant General, you must already know that you are doomed to defeat." Augustus to Alexei Stukov, "It's alright if you're eager to die, but the UED soldiers who follow you cannot die in vain."
"In the past fifty-odd hours, so many young and vibrant lives have been lost, right before your and my eyes," he said. "These people have families, people waiting for them to come home."
"Order your men to surrender, so they can all live!"
"Will you allow them to go home?" Alexei Stukov's eye was so swollen and red that he couldn't open it, and he didn't know which Ghost operative had done it.
"Of course not." Augustus wouldn't deceive Alexei Stukov: "But I promise that the surrendered soldiers will be treated fairly."
Augustus would never allow any United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet soldier to return to Earth and bring back useful information.
"You also said they have families." Alexei Stukov merely gave a subtle look. "But you won't let them go home. Even if they surrender, UED soldiers will live under constant surveillance for the rest of their lives."
"That's why they don't surrender."
"You're just a prisoner, a loser. Alexei Stukov, you have no right to bargain with us." Arcturus's expression seemed to be a sneer, utterly villainous. "Regardless, you have no choice. Ghost operative can use telepathy to control your expressions and speak in your voice."
"Do it this way." Augustus had little patience left. He had already ordered a halt to the attack on the central city of Tarsonis and instead deployed a large number of Warhound and Goliath, preparing to use artillery to defeat the still stubbornly resisting Atlas Wing.
Lock him up!
"The Protoss have joined the battle; they are dealing with the UED Hybrid of Tarsonis," Kerrigan Augustus at that moment.
Alexei Stukov did indeed create a number of Hybrid in his laboratory in Tarsonis, most of which were controlled by UED scientists. These Hybrid inflicted far greater casualties on the Revolutionary Army that landed in Tarsonis than on the UED soldiers.
Only a small number of Hybrid obeyed Dr. Narud, and according to him, he did not have an effective means of controlling these monsters, while the UED used anesthetics and neural modifications to drive the Hybrid.
Nevertheless, Dr. Narud dispatched his Hybrid to fight the UED without any communication with Augustus, causing some unrest on the battlefield in Tarsonis City. In the end, the Revolutionary Army officers had no choice but to order that any Hybrid encountered be eliminated immediately, regardless of friend or foe.
When questioned by Augustus, Dr. Narud innocently claimed that he had meant well but had done something wrong.
"Hybrid" Augustus paused for a moment, then said, "We must eliminate all Hybrid, destroy the laboratories that created them, and eradicate these evil monsters."
Augustus's move was not only intended to further clarify his attitude and stance towards the Hybrid to the Protoss, but also to distance the Revolutionary Army from the Hybrid.
In any case, Augustus could not possibly regard the Hybrid as a controllable weapon, because he knew that no one but Narud and Amon could truly control them.
"Furthermore, order Warfield's forces to continue advancing towards Hohent and the Tarsonis airport. The next target for the Omega Squadron is the Terran Confederacy's large UED launch port outside New Alsace City in the southern hemisphere of Tarsonis." After pacing around Arcturus's command post a few times, Augustus continued issuing orders:
"The Nova Squadron, Alpha Squadron, Delta Squadron, and Londerstein Army Group are to send more troops to take over towns near the cities they have captured. The Pulaier Assault Corps will continue south, pressing on from Dodor to Polombo, and capturing Gistin Starport."
Currently, the Revolutionary Army has gained a significant advantage on the Tarsonis battlefield. In many remote cities of Tarsonis, where the fighting is far from the people, the Revolutionary Army has dismantled the garrisons with minimal effort.
The Revolutionary Army's main tasks now lie in calming the frightened Tarsonis and rebuilding the railway to transport supplies to Tarsonis City, where the fighting is most intense. The Revolutionary Army fleet has blockaded the entire Tarsonis system, and any UED ships attempting to escape will be shot down immediately.
This was also to guard against a possible Confederacy Fleets, but the enemy Augustus anticipated did not appear.
The supreme command of the Terran Confederacy was destroyed by the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet, and the commanders of their remaining Fleets did not seem to have any intention of entering the fray while the Revolutionary Army and the UED forces were engaged in battle.
The Confederacy Army's intelligence is still far behind; they may still not have figured out what happened in Char.
"Have Matt Horner Matt Horner clean up the UNN broadcasting building and repair the broadcasting tower. I'm going to give my victory speech in two hours," Augustus.
"I have waited too long for this moment."
"From this day forward, the Terran Empire is declared the sole legitimate human government in the Koprulu Sector. This government, reborn from the remains of the Terran Confederacy and the Old Families, will unite all humanity and dedicate itself to the safety and well-being of its people." Arcturus smiled.
"This is the day the Terrans regain their freedom, a day that will be remembered by billions of Terrans as the birth of Terran Dominion," he said.
"You have conquered the throne world Tarsonis and hundreds of other worlds. For your people to stand at the pinnacle of the Sea of Stars, you must become the Emperor of the Terrans."
"Emperor, this is no longer ancient times," Augustus.
At this very moment, the Sons of Korhal, under Arcturus's command, once again launched an attack on the UED garrison in the center of Tarsonis City.
First came a textbook artillery barrage, followed by the coordinated advance of mechs and tanks, and then the infantry responsible for cleaning up.
The Atlas Wing was one of the most tenacious and courageous human armies the Revolutionary Army had ever seen, and both sides were prepared for a final, bloody battle.
"There are no priests or sesame oils here, no palaces or crowns. But that's alright, there's no time to call Angus over, you'll have to crown yourself," Arcturus Augustus.
"Augustus, you will watch them from your throne, and those petty men will know who is truly unquestionable," he said. "Establish authority and order, set forth rules and laws, and let the people of Koprulu and their descendants follow them from this day forward."
"Your achievements can never be erased, but for someone about to usher in a new era, this is far from enough."
"If you still have doubts, I dare say the Terrans will choose their own emperor."
"Emperor, head of state, macho man—anything that sounds impressive can be called that," Tychus said.
"You always have your reasons, Tychus," Augustus said to Arcturus.
"Arcturus, you're right, of course I will do that. I will establish the Terran Empire, not in Tarsonis, but in Korhal."
Augustus had already been persuaded by Arcturus; it wasn't something he couldn't accept—he was by no means a noble revolutionary. In the Koprulu Sector, overthrowing the Confederacy and then returning freedom to the people to walk away was also not feasible; it would only lead to disaster.
Arcturus is right about one thing: a government stronger than the Terran Confederacy is needed to end internal strife and counter external threats.
"Sarah, tell Matt Horner to make sure my voice is heard throughout the Terran Confederacy." Augustus shook his head and said to Arcturus and those around him, "Arcturus, the UED has been defeated, but the remnants of the Terran Confederacy have not been completely wiped out."
"Those nobles are our next enemy we must deal with, but they are not to be feared at all. Do these people with blue blood still have the courage and boldness of their ancestors?" Arcturus said.
"I know what you mean—we must nip it in the bud."
I haven't been feeling very energetic lately...