When the flagship of the Korhal Revolutionary Fleet—Titan-class Frigate No. 1—emerged from the hyperspace lane, everyone on board experienced a wave of dizziness.
In the holographic star map projected before the bridge, a dim yellowish planet appeared, seemingly insignificant. Small green triangles marked the location of Augustus's 'mighty' fleet.
Victor V was a near-Earth planet, most of its surface consumed by desert. Sandstorms swept across the barren world for dozens of kilometers at a time, wreaking havoc on this remote and little-known frontier.
Despite its inhospitable nature and violent climate, the planet did host a Terran Federation colony. Roughly a few hundred thousand Terrans lived on Victor V, their survival sustained by oasis farms built around groundwater extraction and artificial irrigation systems.
These settlers were descendants of a Federation colonization ship that crash-landed here around fifty years ago due to a malfunction in its propulsion systems. After initial despair, the colonists discovered a valuable groundwater network. Through sheer resilience and determination, one city after another rose between the dunes.
On the star map, about 120 light-years from Victor V, lay a system marked by triangulation. There, a red dot indicated the Terran Federation's Dylarian Shipyards. But until more warships joined the fleet—including the battlecruiser Hyperion—Augustus had no confidence in taking the shipyard.
He knew he had only one chance. If he failed, Korhal would never rise again.
But Augustus couldn't just sit in the Revolutionary Army Headquarters on Korhal and wait. That's why this fleet had launched its campaign. In his eyes, this mission was more of a training exercise—and Victor V would serve as a forward base for the eventual assault on the Dylarian Shipyards.
At that moment, Sarah Kerrigan walked in, not wearing her ghost combat suit but a military uniform. She stood beside Augustus and said, "That's where Ghost 24718 and I were dispatched. We were transferred here from the Ghost Academy on Tarsonis less than three months ago. Before that, we knew nothing about this place."
"Why does this base need so many ghost agents stationed here? So many psionics… but it's far too distant from any battlefield," Augustus said as he stared at the slowly rotating yellow sphere.
"Is the Federation trying to build a new Ghost Academy here?"
"I don't know why," Kerrigan replied. "The psi inhibitors don't allow us to question orders. We just follow them."
Still, the base's location was undeniably strange. The planet was far from any major system where the Kel-Morian Combine and the Terran Federation were actively fighting. It was also well beyond any trade route—meaning no fleets passed by, except perhaps for the occasional adventurer.
At first glance, establishing a military base on Victor V seemed utterly pointless. Yet oddly enough, the planet was positioned between several Federation fleet garrisons. Rather than an outpost or fortress, Augustus suspected something far more clandestine—some top-secret Federation experiment that couldn't see the light of day.
That aside, Augustus believed he might gain access to ghost agent training techniques here. He didn't necessarily want the ruthless operatives under his command—but he definitely wanted the scientific data from the Federation's research into psionics.
That was why he had decided to take Victor V.
"We'll soon uncover Victor V's little secrets," Augustus said to Raynor. "Jim, stop playing cards. Take us into low orbit."
"We need to preserve as much of the base's infrastructure as possible. That means this will be a ground assault."
"Where are my troops?" Augustus called out through the fleet's communications channel from the bridge. "Korhal warriors, lock and load!"
"Kerrigan, you'll go with the Anti-Psionic Forces—Styrling Strikers," Augustus ordered. "I need you to handle the ghost operatives."
"What about me?" Tychus asked, stuffing the winnings from his card game into his pocket as he looked over at Augustus. "What's my job?"
"You'll lead the ground assault," Augustus said. "Tychus, you're commanding the landing forces."
"If something needs blowing up, you can always count on old Tychus." With a chuckle, Tychus turned and left the bridge to suit up in his CMC-300 powered armor.
As everyone aboard the battleship went about their assigned tasks, busy and efficient, the frigate descended through Victor V's incredibly thin atmosphere, heading straight toward a massive, swirling super-tornado.
The holographic display in front of Augustus showed the storm in all its staggering detail—nearly 100 kilometers tall and 20 kilometers wide. At its heart, nestled within the eye of this colossal cyclone, sat a Terran Federation military stronghold. Not even the planet's own inhabitants knew it existed.
Had it not been for Kerrigan providing the exact coordinates, Augustus would never have known that this harsh and violent world concealed a hidden Federation base, buried in a storm vicious enough to tear a man apart.
"Hey boss," said Swann, his bearded face appearing on-screen from the lower deck armory of the frigate. "I got those Arclite tanks in the Hyperion's hangar fixed up. You can deploy the 'big tubs' now—each one has a top-tier tank driver inside."
"Took me a couple days to outfit 'em with gravity boosters to handle the storms."
"You actually managed that? Aside from storm stabilization, what else can those new toys do?" Augustus asked.
"Plenty." Swann couldn't see Augustus—only hear him—so he stared off awkwardly, his signature beard front and center on the screen.
"The idea came from the gravity generators used in battlecruisers and orbital defense platforms. With a few minor tweaks, I adapted the tech for the Arclites. At the push of a button, a tank can increase its own gravity by five to six times its normal value. That way, it won't get tossed around like a leaf in these crazy storms."
"Technically, we could apply the same tech to powered armor too. Right now, it's mostly used so marines don't float off the deck in zero-gravity or vacuum conditions." He continued, more animated now.
"But down the line—if we combine Umoja's anti-gravity technology with plasma thrusters—we might just make your dream of 'flying tanks' a reality."
"Swann, you really are a treasure," Augustus said with a rare grin.
"Oh—uh, thanks? I didn't really get that, but sounds good!" Swann replied, clearly flustered as he glanced at the monitor.
Augustus smiled silently, then opened his command channel.
"Repeating the combat plan: the tank division will spearhead the assault, pushing through the storm to destroy as much of the enemy's anti-air defenses as possible. Only after that will the dropships descend through the eye to deploy our ground forces."
"For Korhal!"
A chorus of voices echoed back through the comms—not in unison, but powerful and resolute all the same.
...
Augustus stood on the empty bridge of the Titan-class frigate. Below the viewport stretched the grayish-golden terrain of Victor V, dominated entirely by a massive, ceaseless ochre-gray tornado that filled the entire horizon.
The leader of the Korhal Revolutionary Army surveyed the battlefield through a series of non-overlapping holographic projection screens. He maintained brief yet constant communication through the command channel with tank units on the ground and the soon-to-land forces.
For this operation, the role of a commander in overseeing the overall situation and maintaining morale far outweighed Augustus donning power armor and leading the charge himself.
"This is Gunnery Sergeant Niccolòmei, commander of the 1st Battalion, Styrling Armored Division. My tank is currently in the storm—four miles from the Federation military base. The gravity accelerators are significantly slowing our advance."
Seventeen Arclight tanks were advancing through the storm, delivered to the surface by dropships. Four were from the Hyperion's armory, nine had been seized from the Terran Federation garrison once stationed on Korhal IV, and the rest were part of a military aid package donated by the Umojans.
The storm's rapid movement severely weakened radio transmissions, causing intermittent signal loss from the tank units.
However, this storm—spanning over a dozen kilometers—made it extremely difficult to detect the base at its center from outside. It also rendered the base's connection to satellites and exterior monitoring equipment unstable. Augustus believed this natural barrier not only acted as a protective shield but also blinded the defending garrison within.
"This is Raynor. I'm at the frigate's hangar deck. The Little Devil transport is packed tight with a full platoon of revolutionaries—it's so cramped even two larger transports couldn't hold them all," Raynor said over one channel.
"We'll have bigger ships in a few days," Augustus replied.
"Where's Tychus?"
"Oh... Tychus is on the transport. That bastard finally put on his power armor. If the rest of the Heaven's Devils were here, a single squad could flatten this entire base," Raynor answered.
"And I'd be leading them again," Augustus said.
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