He Is Still Stealing

Typhon XI

Typhon was considered a remote planet, barren and sparsely populated with minerals, making it an undesirable choice for colonization. Only prospectors and adventurers occasionally visited it, and it was largely ignored.

The exact time when the Tal'darim occupied Typhon is unknown. By the time the Terran Empire's probes arrived, Typhon's barren plateaus and massive cliffs were already dotted with Protoss shrines and temples built of colossal stones. These fanatical Taldarim regarded Typhon as a sacred place and would not tolerate any desecration.

On the eve of Holy Spirit Day, Emperor Augustus Mengsk of the Terran Empire ordered an offensive against the Tal'darim of Typhon.

Under the Emperor's command, four Imperial Fleets, including the Sons of Korhal, Antiga Squadron, Nova Squadron, and Crimson Squadron, totaling approximately seventy battlecruisers and various other ships of all Fleets, including destroyers, frigates, supply ships, and armored transport ships, approached the Typhon system.

(Note: The destroyer, appearing in the short story "Acid Burning," is a large warship equipped with powerful firepower but lacking in armor. It has high attack power but low defense.)

After initial skirmishes and exchanges of fire between scout groups from both sides, the battle quickly escalated into a large-scale Fleets war and a brutal struggle for control of the satellite. The Taldarim and the Empire each committed their main Fleets, and the flashes of gunfire could be seen from high orbit around Typhon to the near-Earth atmosphere, with countless warships destroyed.

Before the war broke out, the Taldarim of Typhon realized that they were at a significant disadvantage, with fewer than one-tenth the number of Imperial Fleets and far fewer warriors than humans. The Tal'darim ships possessed superior firepower and plasma shields, far more advanced than the Imperials, but this was still insufficient to bridge the vast gap in strength.

After all, these Taldarim were just a lone army detached from the mainstream world of their race, and their executor Naeon, was just a fanatical madman. They were not powerful to begin with and could hardly get support from their homeworld, Slayn.

At the seventh standard of the war, under the command of Imperial Admiral Horace Warfield, the superior Fleets crushed and annihilated the Typhon Taldarim Fleets, destroying twelve Carrier and countless small and medium-sized ships.

The valiant Imperial Navy also suffered heavy losses, with several Imperial battlecruisers, including the Noris, Hera, and Antigone, destroyed, and approximately 20,000 naval personnel losing their lives in the battle.

The Imperial warriors aboard the Charles displayed exceptional bravery during the Tal'darim boarding raid. At the height of the battle, the Pan-Terran Party and key officers led a counterattack, ultimately regaining control of the warship.

Many naval officers and soldiers were promoted during the war and awarded the Silver Tower Oak Leaf Double Swords Medal and the title of Hero of the Empire, awaiting their return to Korhal- Augustgrad to receive their medals.

This Behemoth-class Battlecruiser, built at Antiga Starport, entered service at the beginning of the Empire's founding and quickly distinguished itself in battle within a few months. It was named in honor of a loyal steward who died for the Mengsk Family.

At the tenth standard time, the Imperial Fleets, which occupied the high orbit of Typhon, used Apocalypse-class Nuclear Missile to destroy several Taldarim cities on the surface. Dr. Narud and the Imperial Xel'Naga engineers added small warp engines to the nuclear missiles, detonating them directly in the center of the Protoss cities, thus making them uninterruptible to the Tal'darim.

--The Empire discovered approximately 1,300 Apocalypse-class Nuclear Missile and approximately 10,000 tactical nuclear bombs of varying classes in Tarsonis ' Confederacy physics laboratory, nuclear arsenal, and nuclear missile silos, enough to bomb Tarsonis repeatedly a dozen times over.

It is said that Prince Arcturus personally led the army to seize the nuclear bombs, and the look in his eyes was a thousand times more intense than that of a woman.

Nuclear weapons remain humanity's most formidable force in interstellar space; the nuclear madness began in the Confederacy era.

After gaining absolute air superiority, General Warfield ordered a landing at Typhon to attack and bomb the last Protoss city. It was a shrine city located in the Redstone Gulch (Red Stone Gulch, 2011 ladder map), and also the location of the Xel'Naga Shards.

The Imperial Marine Corps' 5th, 8th, and 10th Armies, totaling approximately 280,000 men, were ordered to carry out this mission with a large number of Armored Vehicle, tanks, railguns, and laser cannons, under the command of General Zander. Half of the corps were former Confederacy soldiers who, after joining the Imperial Army, became much braver than before, and a considerable number of them were Resocialized Soldier.

Although Emperor Augustus had ordered the closure of all Confederacy Resocialized Soldier manufacturing plants except Noris and Nafu II, approximately seven million Confederacy soldiers had still undergone this conversion.

Even during the social unrest and high crime rates at the end of the Guild Wars, the number of prisoners alone was not enough. The answer was that the Confederacy resocialized refugees and even legally conscripted recruits.

Some modifications were minor, merely instilling knowledge of combat, while others completely altered their self-perception. The damage to the human brain from resocialization is irreversible, Augustus could only allow these warriors to continue serving the Empire.

Thus, the Typhon Taldarim, defeated in less than a day, had to admit their crushing defeat. Although they knew that defeat would inevitably bring them the cold wrath of the Executors and death, some of the Tal'darim fled Typhon in fear aboard high-speed ships.

This was naturally a great humiliation, but at least they realized one thing: the humans of the Terran Empire were definitely not to be trifled with.

Even as he knew victory was assured, Augustus understood that Typhon's triumph had only weakened the Taldarim expeditionary force and was not enough to seal the deal.

The Tal'darim, entrenched in their stronghold in the Sigma Quadrant, remain a formidable force. Based on available intelligence and the balance of power, even if the Imperial Navy wins, it will likely be a Pyrrhic victory. Moreover, the Sigma Quadrant is a complex environment, and recklessly entering it would certainly result in losses.

Augustus had to reassess the war. He ordered the generals and chiefs of staff at headquarters to discuss the plan to attack the Sigma Quadrant repeatedly, while he personally interrogated prisoners in the command cabin of his flagship, the Hyperion.

The person being interrogated was a Taldarim Fleets commander, who, according to this Ascended named Har, was Ascendant in the Chain of Ascension, a Chosen One of the Dark God, and held a revered position.

Even after being taken prisoner, Har remained arrogant, but he soon realized that no matter how high his status was among the Taldarim, he was worthless in front of the cold-faced Emperor of the Terran Empire.

"You said that in the Sigma Quadrant, your Executor Naeon still controls a Taldarim Mother Mothership."

Emperor Augustus, clad in naval uniform, stood before the Ascendant bound to an alloy chair, who wore only a blood-stained grey robe and was so weak that even his mental speech was feeble. "How did this Mothership come to be?"

Standing nearby were fully armed Royal Guard soldiers, their brown and gold Power Armor armor designed to withstand psychological impacts and specifically crafted for Psionics assassins.

Beyond the distant observation window lay Typhon, bathed in the blue sunlight, its orbiting sun yet to erupt. The Imperial Fleets had constructed numerous supply depots in the smaller star belts at the edge of the system to address the logistical challenges of its Great Fleet.

"Ah, if you know, then release me now, and then obediently beg for mercy at Naeon Neon's feet, you stinking bug--Awoo--" Ascended Har had only shouted a few words when his body began to convulse due to the blue arcs of electricity surging around him. He was so weak that he was completely unable to resist.

Sarah Kerrigan, standing behind Augustus, withdrew her hand, which still bore arcs of electricity from its fingertips, and tossed her fiery red hair, saying, "In my opinion, it's you who's truly a worm. Answer His Majesty's question properly, little Protoss."

"You Taldarim wouldn't understand the principle of 'sitting upright and getting beaten.'" At the same time, even a free-spirited man like Tychus felt a deeper fear of Queen Kerrigan; she was probably one of the few women in the world he kept his distance from.

When did you learn this trick?

"What, you learned this from the Protoss?" Kerrigan rubbed her fingers together, and sparks actually flew. "Back in Aiur, I had a few exchanges with the High Templar Masters at the Velari Templar School. I was the only human they had ever taught."

She then produced a brilliant statement. "I was so happy about this for a long time, and when I got back, I often practiced how to casually unleash my electric High Templar."

"This is probably because humans other than you don't have that much Psionics. What exactly are you?" Tychus hesitated, then stopped himself from speaking.

Tychus couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Kerrigan easily shoving Augustus to death with her electricity when the couple had a fight—but he knew Kerrigan wouldn't actually hit Augustus.

"A human? A human! How could you possess such power? This is impossible!" The Ascended Har's face darkened even more.

"The truth is always intriguing." Tychus said, then got a sharp electric shock, his buttocks steaming.

"How did that Mother of the Nation Mothership come about?" Augustus coughed lightly and continued to ask.

"Of course it came from warp." The Ascended Har dared not mutter anything more.

"I mean the source, where and how you forged your Mothership," Augustus raised his voice, reminding the other that he had no more patience.

"Forging? No, the Taldarim won't waste time on engineering and production; supplying weapons and ships is the job of the weak." Har seemed to despise the word "forging" that Augustus used.

Every Tal'darim is a warrior, and their strength in battle proves Taldarim worth. Taldarim despise invention and creation; there are almost no scientists or engineers in the race, or rather, even scientists and engineers must be skilled in combat.

Although the Taldarim always looked down on the creations of their distant relatives, they would treasure the Mothership and Colossus they unearthed. In any case, the Taldarim had no moral compass and had no psychological burden whatsoever.

"I understand what you mean. This Mothership certainly came from the Templar Knights," he said. "They just buried these warships in the abandoned colony; it's such a waste."

"So this is what you're doing." Augustus got what he wanted. "Stealing Aiur Protoss ships and technology, and torturing captured Khalai engineers daily in the Forge to extract their technological secrets."

"This is not theft," the Ascended emphasized angrily. "The Templar Knights full of moralistic rhetoric but are nothing but hypocrites. Only the Taldarim know how to fight!"

"What a disgrace," Tychus said.

"I know," Augustus.

"Those Aiur Protoss are really stubborn; they really went to great lengths," the Ascended said with no small amount of pride. "I always do this kind of thing quickly and well."

"They are like tough, thick-skinned livestock, able to endure the most severe torture, but as soon as you threaten them with the nerve bundles of the Aiur Protoss, they will immediately submit."

In fact, according to information obtained by Augustus, the Taldarim's Nexus was stolen, and not only that, even the place where the Khalai were tortured was stolen.

The Protoss Empire was completely unaware of this matter. The disappearance of exploration ships and patrols was common, but the Taldarim never left any trace. Furthermore, the Protoss Empire rarely had contact with the Tal'darim, let alone engaged in war with them, making it even less likely they would know what they were doing.

In Monlyth, Shil, Typhon, and other places, the Terran Empire rescued many Aiur Protoss who had been captured by the Tal'darim. Given the friendly relations between the Terran Empire and the Daelaam, Augustus naturally handed these Protoss over to them immediately, along with the Taldarim prisoners.

This incident naturally caused a great sensation in the Daelaam. Amidst shock and anger, they finally understood what had happened. The Protoss could not tolerate their people being subjected to such torture, and the more they learned the truth, the more horrified they became.

Who knows how long the Taldarim have been doing this? They always steal with such self-righteousness, and then they break the legs of their victims, saying they feel so wronged for using these junk.

"How many Aiur Protoss are still in the Sigma Quadrant that you have kidnapped?" Augustus.

"How come I remember," the Ascended One said, "Damaged ships and weapons always need to be repaired; that's the slaves' job."

"Did you also kidnap Dark Templar?" Augustus asked.

The Ascended hesitated for a moment, unsure how Augustus knew about this. "It was mostly these Dark Templar who invaded our territory—their efforts to study the Xel'Naga's legacy naturally enraged Lord Naeon."

Because their territories are all built around the Xel'Naga ruins, wandering Dark Templar scholars are always drawn there. And each time, they are confident that they can evade the Taldarim's Observer.

"I don't understand what he has to be angry about; Amon himself doesn't seem to care." He pointed to his head.

"Something's not right with him."

"Of course, we've always been envious of the Dark Templar's time-space technology; it's their specialty," Har continued. "They've come at the perfect time."

"Alright," Augustus said, turning to Kerrigan and Tychus.

"Now Tassadar has a reason to send troops."