Chapter 266: The Destruction of Mar Sara

As the shuttle broke free of Mar Sara's planetary gravity well, the process felt long and perilous in Augustus's eyes. Swarms of purple Mutalisks chased after their easy prey, the "great maws" beneath them spewing swarms of Scourge symbionts.

These ugly little creatures, once they landed on a Terran ship, used their sharp teeth to bite through the outer hull and bury themselves within, waiting for the brilliant explosion that would follow a fraction of a second later. Given enough time, Scourge could even gnaw through the heavy armor of a Behemoth-class battlecruiser.

When the shuttle finally escaped the pull of gravity and leapt outward, the pilot had to steer carefully to avoid the various kinds of ship debris hurtling through synchronous orbit at extreme speeds. Some of the wreckage was massive, clearly originating from one of the Confederacy's battlecruisers—or from a garbage scow.

The battle in space had already entered its final stage, for the Protoss fleet had intervened several hours earlier in the revolutionaries' engagement against the Jormungand Brood in high orbit.

The Protoss fleet had struck the Jormungand Brood with a heavy blow and driven their flying organisms from the battlefield, and the vast Protoss expeditionary force had not left the system since.

In the shuttle's external cameras, the deep-blue Hyperion and the Norad sister ships—those three enormous steel giants—were moored out in deep space, like blue whales in the abyss.

The shuttle carrying Augustus entered the hangar through a docking bay door that had opened along Hyperion's flank, then settled under the guidance of ground crew dressed in orange.

The artificial atmosphere inside Hyperion carried the smell of engine oil and sweat, but compared with Mar Sara's corpse-strewn, foul surface, it was still far easier to tolerate.

At this moment, the hangar deck was crowded with Mar Sara refugees who had just disembarked onto the transport ships and shuttles. Their faces, smeared with ash and dirt, were filled with the relief of having survived. And because Hyperion was no stranger to refugee-rescue missions, these people were being orderly assigned to the various compartments that had already been cleared.

In circumstances like these, no one cared whether the living conditions were too cramped.

Victor Kachinsky, deputy to the revolutionaries' chief engineer Rory Swann, was currently in charge of command and coordination in Hyperion's dock, and he immediately gave Augustus a brief report, outlining the damage to Hyperion's hull.

Augustus remained on the hangar platform for a few minutes, instructing the dock's sergeant major, who was responsible for settling the refugees, to get everyone arranged as soon as possible and to distribute water and rations to each person. As for the children, they might even have a chance to receive a piece of candy or a bar of military chocolate.

Next, Augustus took Sarah Kerrigan, Tychus, Faraday, and a few others into an internal lift, heading straight for Hyperion's bridge. The one currently commanding the ship was Jim Raynor's executive officer, a native of Korhal IV who had graduated from the Tarsonis Naval Academy.

Once back aboard Hyperion, Augustus immediately took over command of the battlecruiser.

Over the bridge command channel, he ordered the captains of the fleet's various ships, including the overall fleet commander Horace Warfield, to report their combat status, and responses came back on every channel at once.

According to the reports from each battlecruiser and its attached formations, all transports carrying refugees had already returned to port. As for those that had not, the people aboard them could only appear on the missing list.

"I'm really glad you made it back, Augustus. If something had happened to you, with this many people, their morale would have completely collapsed." On the main bridge screen in front of Augustus was Warfield's dark-skinned face. By now he had grown a mustache, and the imposing General Officer's image came to him naturally.

"The bugs still can't kill me, General Officer."

Looking at Warfield on the main screen, Augustus asked, "What are our losses?"

"We lost two transports, a Mammoth-class and a Colossus-class, and quite a few shuttles and APOD craft. At least two hundred A-17 Wraith fighters and even more Avengers went down in the fighting in low orbit and in space. Not a single ace pilot in them made it back," Warfield said.

"If it hadn't been for those troublemakers in Omega Squadron, we wouldn't have had to lose so many people," he added.

"The Martin and Gothic have taken heavy damage, but with the engineers' repairs they'll still be able to keep up with the fleet and complete the jump."

"Omega Squadron must pay the price, but right now we have to get out of the Sara system as fast as we can. Order the fleet to prepare to jump in fifteen minutes. The new coordinates are the Fomorian system, 3,271," Augustus ordered over the fleetwide command channel.

"Roger that. Thunder's Heir is entering the preset jump corridor."

"This is Duke. Alpha Squadron is executing that order."

"This is Napoleon II, Captain Ryk Kydd reporting in."

A series of replies immediately came over the fleet's command channel, and each battlecruiser began recovering its space fighters and tactical strike craft into the docks.

"Ernos calling Hyperion bridge, this is Lundstein. Marshal, the Protoss fleet is opening fire on Mar Sara!" Lundstein's face suddenly appeared on the screen.

"Put the image up on the main screen," Augustus said.

The scene on the main screen was eerily familiar: the Protoss fleet's capital ships were bombarding the orange Mar Sara in a wild barrage. White-hot beams churned Mar Sara's atmosphere, and multicolored radiation instantly spread across the planet's surface like a film of oil floating on water.

Mar Sara, the planet that had once nurtured more than four million people, was now meeting the same fate as her sister world, Chau Sara. Her surface was now covered with scalding lava lakes and boiling steam, and her oceans had been completely boiled away.

"The Protoss have destroyed Mar Sara. All surface life has been wiped out. This planet no longer has any colonization value," Kerrigan said.

"When it comes to roasting bugs, the Protoss are way ahead of the rest of us," said Tychus, who was standing just behind Augustus.

"This really is the most effective approach," Augustus said. "If the Zerg in the Sara system aren't cleared out, they'll soon use this system as a starting point to launch a full-scale invasion of the Koprulu sector."

"The Koprulu sector is just a small stone in the Zerg's path. Sooner or later, they'll devour the entire universe."

"That's right. They have to do this, or the Sara system will turn into a breeding ground that nourishes the Zerg." At that moment, Raynor walked onto the bridge from outside. Behind him were Matt Horner and several Raiders; almost all of them were wounded, and after fighting for an entire day and night, only their youth and strong bodies were keeping them on their feet.

Augustus let out a quiet sigh.

"How are Elizabeth and her family?" he asked Raynor.

"They're very sad, just like all the people of Mar Sara. They're lost and helpless, unable to understand why people of sincere faith would suffer such misfortune," Raynor let out a similar sigh.

"Everyone is cursing the Confederacy and feeling a deep grief over the destruction of their home. Although I don't really want to say this, the people of today's Mar Sara and Chau Sara are just like the people of Korhal IV in the past—full of sorrow and anger, longing for revenge."

"Hatred is a double-edged sword," Augustus said.

"Among the people of the Sara system, more and more are supporting separatism. I've heard many of them shouting that they want to join the revolutionaries and take revenge on the Confederacy, the Zerg, and the Protoss," Raynor said.

"If they want to enlist, then I'll take all who come," Augustus said, looking at Raynor.

"The people of Mar Sara are descended from the early frontier miners and soldiers, while the ancestors of Chau Sara were prison wardens and guards. The harsh living environment has tempered the people of the Sara system, making them even more capable in war than the people of Korhal."

"How are you planning to arrange the other refugees from the Sara system?" Raynor asked Augustus.

"Are you going to send them to Agria, or somewhere else?"

"Agria is no longer safe." Augustus fixed his gaze on Raynor. "Sending them into the core worlds is the safest option. Otherwise, if the Zerg invade the worlds where the refugees are being settled again, we'll just have to move these people one more time."

"But the noble lords of Tarsonis aren't about to sit back and watch a bunch of country bumpkins and peasants from the fringe sector move in. No one is going to be willing to shoulder the burden of resettling so many people," Tychus chuckled.

"We're all too familiar with the Confederacy's way of doing things. They'll just shrug off responsibility. The Confederate government will definitely promise to solve the refugee problem, but the appropriations bill might not pass until after all the refugees are dead."

"No matter what, we need to relocate the refugees to the core worlds as much as possible," Kerrigan said, "or to places outside Terran Confederacy territory."

"The Kel-Morian Combine isn't safe either. The only place is the Umojan Protectorate," Augustus said. "Umoja is far from the battlefield, so it should be much safer."

"Because the Umojans are not particularly enthusiastic about colonization, there are quite a few planets within the Umojan Protectorate that have not yet been colonized."

"That's all we can do, then." Raynor nodded.

"To be honest, I'm starting to worry about my hometown of Shiloh and the people in that town. I still have a lot of classmates there, following in their fathers' footsteps, doing the same work their families have done for generations," he said.

"I really can't imagine what kind of human tragedy it would be if the Zerg invaded Shiloh—there are still hundreds of millions of people living there."

"So many people—how are we supposed to save them all?" Tychus said. "If the bugs hit several planets at once, the people on those worlds won't be as lucky as the ones today."

"We're not exactly firefighters."

"Wherever we're needed, that's where we'll show up. Tychus, I don't believe the Confederacy will just sit and wait to die. If the Zerg invade the core worlds, they'll definitely be driven into a corner and forced to fight like mad."

Just as Augustus was speaking, the image on the main screen suddenly changed. A resplendent bridge and a tall Protoss in purple-and-white robes appeared on the screen. He was tall and powerfully built, and the golden pauldrons on his broad shoulders rose up above his head like a pair of gleaming metal wings.

Over the Protoss's soft silk robes was smooth golden armor which, like all Protoss creations, possessed a natural, seamless beauty. The gems and crystal ornaments fastening his robe were etched with beautiful patterns, and the hem of the armored over-robe was inlaid with blue and purple crystals.

His body was wreathed in a shining blue halo—the plasma-like sparks released by psionic power.

The technicians aboard Hyperion were momentarily baffled; it seemed the Protoss had used some kind of technology to mimic human radio signals in order to communicate.

"I am High Templar Tassadar, executor of this fleet." The voice of the Protoss in gleaming armor was deep and gentle, yet also like the roar of surf and thunder.

The Protoss did not speak with their mouths; their "voices" were direct projections of the thoughts in their minds, the most direct expression of their emotions. To humans, this was simply unbelievable, but the Protoss were born this way.

"We are Templar of the Protoss Empire, ordered to exterminate the Zerg that have invaded the Terran worlds. I deeply regret that we came too late and could not save your people who were infested by the Zerg."

"I am the commander of this Terran fleet, Marshal Augustus Mengsk of the Korhal Revolutionary Army," Augustus said, his expression unchanged.

"I salute you, Executor Tassadar of the Protoss. My comrades and I have all witnessed your righteous deeds in saving the Terrans," he said.

"You truly understand. I can see that." Tassadar's sky-blue eyes were completely unlike those of humans; they were like flames burning. The flames in his eyes flickered with the shifts in his emotions, and together with the minute changes of his facial muscles, they formed what was, in a sense, his expression.

"You are not like the other Terrans we have met. They hate us and fear us. I can understand why they are like that, because that is how Terrans are," he said.

"You understand that we are doing this to save the Terrans, not simply to rampage and slaughter. Compared to dying, being infested by the Zerg is the most terrifying fate," Tassadar said in praise of Augustus.

"You are an exceptional leader—wise and compassionate. Even among the Templar, you would be a hero worthy of respect."

"Thank you for everything you have done for the Terrans," Augustus said. "I hope that our experience of fighting side by side in the Sara system can become a bridge that maintains the friendship between the Terrans and the Protoss Empire."

"In our future battles against the Zerg, if the Korhal Revolutionary Army and the forces of the Protoss Empire meet on the battlefield, I believe we should not be each other's enemies. We ought to help each other and eliminate the Zerg threat together."

"After all, the Zerg are our common enemy."

"I believe that is how it ought to be. There is no need for Protoss and Terrans to be enemies," Tassadar's voice remained as deep as the sea.

Although Augustus did not hear any laughter, he believed that if Tassadar had been a Terran, he would be laughing heartily at his words.

For the Protoss Empire was far stronger than the Terrans. They neither regarded the Terrans as a threat, nor had any need to seek their help.

"We have never expected gratitude, because this is what the firstborn of God have done for countless eons: protecting the weaker races and maintaining order and balance." Tassadar had no intention of mocking the Terrans; he was broad-minded and tolerant, selfless and upright.

Most Protoss were very arrogant and looked down on the Terrans, but Tassadar was an exception.

"Augustus Mengsk, I hope the day we meet on the battlefield will never come," Tassadar said.

"The remnants of the Jormungand Brood are fleeing. We must go and utterly destroy them. Now, we must leave."

"May Adun grant our enemies eternal peace."

---

I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar

---