Korhal Rift

Korhal IV was under attack, and the nature of this war defied convention. The enemy had not crossed the outer reaches of the Terran Empire through a long warp journey to reach Korhal; they came directly from "within the planet."

In Augustgrad, Korhal's largest city, towering Void shards erupted from amid the magnificent urban skyline. These prism-shaped stone pillars, formed of countless Void fragments, cleaved the city's wedge-shaped sky, their seething crimson Void energy reducing the grand plazas, statues, and monuments to dull insignificance.

Supernatural forces triggered drastic geological and meteorological upheavals. Howling storms and crashing thunder dominated all of Augustgrad, while violent Void energy blanketed the red sky. Hail mixed with black dust rained down from above. The nightmarish scene truly looked as though the end of the world had come.

Panicked people stumbled from their homes, clogging the streets until they were impassable. Spaceships and vehicles filled both ground and sky, while all manner of terrifying rumors spread through the crowds, gradually crushing their spirits.

Air-raid sirens blared throughout the city as Imperial Marine Corps units clad in red Power Armor rolled into the urban districts in armored vehicles, war machines, and transports. Thousands of tanks thundered down Augustgrad's broad north-south avenues, and fully armed Imperial soldiers and towering walking mechs with clattering servos could be seen everywhere.

"Your Majesty, this is Faraday of the Korhal Defense Force, reporting on the military situation."

Before this sudden crisis, Kerrigan had been preparing for an upcoming mobilization speech in the throne room of Augustgrad Palace. Compared with court affairs, this was clearly something she handled with far greater ease.

When the crisis struck, Kerrigan sensed it before anyone else. Her exceptionally keen perception of Psionics had given her advance warning. Thus, while the people of Augustgrad were still in a