The Return: Chapter VII
Of Louis XIV, Nicholas II, and Arcturus I
Admiral Dresner had no idea how try his words would be. It took two days for the news to reach Korhal that the fleet was crippled, and another two for a revolution to begin. If Mengsk had acted correctly, this sort of battle would have forced negotiations, or made the people hungry for revenge on the opposing side. However, Mengsk had been unable to control the news in any degree to his favor, and now found himself surrounded by a hostile population.
The fact the Mengsk was unable to convince the people that the events of the battle were Dresner’s fault put him in even more hot water. Finally, Mengsk ordered the marines that guarded his palace to “dispense the crowds.” The people had naturally refused to leave, and it was Mengsk very order that started the revolution.
He looked down now, into the throngs of people surrounding his fortress, demanding to see him. Then he saw the first shots fired into his subjects. They came as loud pops and bangs, slowly at first, but gradually getting faster and closer together. Horrific cries rose from the people, women shrieked, men howled, and they started to fall in rows before Arcturus’s eyes. The crowd was running now, taking refuge in the nearest building, but still taking fire.
Down bellow, even the cold hearted emperor would have shed a tear, as the marines emptied there bullets into anyone who happened to be in there way. The moans of their victims were ignored at best, their bodies shoved and kicked out of the way. A few members of Mengsk’s court had been caught trying to get to the door, and now lay at the buildings steps, among the first to die.
One would expect that after the people were away, the guards would stop, but they did not. They continued the carnage down the streets of Augustgrad, setting fire to buildings, where they suspected that “rebel gunners” were taking cover. Of course no such gunman existed, and the soldiers were merely burning down the homes of the city.
The idea had somehow come to the men that the second highest skyscraper in the city was a rebel munitions dump, and they wasted no time in destroying its base. The charges had not been planted correctly, so that the behemoth structure came tumbling down to earth, hitting Augustgrad’s military airport. Most of the wraiths that had been there were destroyed, and the base’s fuel dump caught fire giving off a huge explosion.
Mensgk simply watched, and after a few more minutes ordered the guards back to the doors. This order was simply disregarded by the men. They continued their purge of the city, not caring who they killed so long as they killed someone. News of the ongoing massacre quickly reached most other cities within Korhal, and thus began Arcturus’s end.
New Petrograd was the first of the cities to go, followed closely by Ivangrad, and Helograd. In most cases the military troops aided the rioters, and within three hours of the Massacre of Augustgrad’s beginning, a sizable force was prepared to move in on Mengsk. This event had been long coming, as Mengsk’s oppressive nature had spread a nation wide dislike, which bottled for months, yearned for release.
The rebel army, or as future generations would call them, the Patriot Forces, were in no way a rag-tag force. Seasoned Korhalian commanders that Arcturus would never have suspected of treason were leading some of the Dominion’s most famous regiments against him. About a third of the Alpha Squadron was stationed on Korhal at the time of the revolt, and all but one corps followed the lead of General George Gerhill to move on Augustgrad. The other corps joined the loyalist army, commanded by Mengsk himself.
It was a cool day as days go on Korhal, and a lukewarm breeze was blowing from the east. An observer might have noted the flaming ruins of Augustgrad about nine miles north if he looked carefully enough. It is however, more likely that he would see the small mining town of New Moscow just a mile away. It was a sleepy village, founded by survivors of the first nuclear holocaust on Korhal almost thirteen years earlier. The town had once been a bustling city center in the days before the holocaust, but had been largely abandoned. The only trace of the old city was a melted figure in the town square, said to be the remains of a statue to the city’s founder.
Now the town had only two roads, which intersected at the Town Squareb. It was in that town that Mengsk set up his command post. His forces would be outnumbered in the coming battle, and he had made them busy building trenches and getting a few SCVs to build a bunker or two, which he was sure would not be completed by the time the rebels arrived. Artillery pieces were moved into the town while the fortifications were under construction, and a few tanks moved in the fill the gaps. A personal transport was ready to evacuate the Emperor to his palace should the battle not go his way.
“Report, what is our current situation?” Mengsk asked a nearby com-officer.
“Sir, the enemy forces will outnumber us three to one. We have reinforcements coming under General Hakov, but they won’t be here for two hours,” came the man’s reply.
“Enemy forces approaching!” cried a lookout. Dust was being kicked up in the horizon by what Arcturus assumed to be enemy armor.
“Damn fools,” Arcturus muttered to himself, “How can I fight without air support. I should shoot those idiot guards.”
There was a loud rumble as the artillery began to fire. It happened in a pattern, like a pulse. One tow three four, one two three four. Then would come the distant boom as the shells landed, killing anyone unfortunate enough to be there.
The tanks were moving closer now, and sweat poured down the men’s faces. It was dead silent throughout the defensive network, save the constant shots of the cannons. Marines were coming into view. They were all marching forward, jeering at the outnumbered loyalists.
Arcturus’ soldiers braced for what they knew would come next. With a mighty yell, the rebel soldiers charged forward, and blood would stain the ground red.
***
SS Hyperion, in neutral space outside Dominion boundaries
Jim Raynor lay on his bed, a six pack of beer on his nightstand. He could see the newly refitted Aleksander out his porthole, though he was tired, and somewhat drunk. He was depressed, very depressed.
She was dead, his love and worst enemy. Sarah Kerrigan, or what was left of her had been shot six days before. She had not died instantly, despite two shots to the head and three to the chest by the firing squad. She had died slowly, (originally conceived by the Overmind as a way to maybe repair the damaged body) and due to the shots to the head had forgotten everything that had happened after the attack on Antiga.
“What’s going on, where’s Arcturus?” she had moaned, and then asked Jim, who lay kneeling by her, why her skin looked so gray. It had broke Jim’s heart, she had died without so much as a clue how or why she had been shot. She had asked for a med-team, which Jim could not give here, and died slowly and painful for crimes she did not even know she committed. Jim had held her cold and hard hand till her last breath, then wept.
It had seemed strange afterwards, crying over the death of your enemy, but the enemy had died instantly, the friend paid for her crimes. He had gone to his cabin immediately afterward, and had not gone out since. He stayed in there drinking, and little else. Every now and then an officer would come by with a report, but he would send them away. This day would be different though.
“Sir!” came the loud knock on Jim’s door, “Sir a rebellion has started on Korhal!”
“What! When? How fast can we get there?” Jim retorted.
“It started this morning sir! We can make Korhal in 4 hours sir!”
“Well then do it! I’ll be up on the bridge in a minute.” Jim smiled. It was time for Acturus to pay for the anguish he had caused.
