The Bizarre Adventure of the Warhammer Guard

Norard 2, in the command center.

Elpis had been monitoring the chaotic war through holographic projection, but he hadn't intervened. Generally, wars involving macroscopic cosmic scales cannot be decided by one or two extraordinary individuals.

A giant nuclear weapon attack icon appeared on the projection. Elpis turned his gaze; he was naturally capable of rescuing the trapped Ghost Agent.

But he still chose to believe in the prophecy brought by the Dark Priest, and in the game character named "Zeratul" from his ancient memories.

"My lord, the Sons of Korhal have informed us to evacuate the Tarsannis system and head to Korhal." The navigator's voice interrupted Elpis's thoughts. "They say the Protoss are about to initiate a purification process; Tarsannis is doomed."

"Okay, let's go."

-

Arcturus Mengsk stared at the Tassanis, which was shrinking smaller and smaller, through the porthole of the Hyperion.

This beautiful planet, representing the capital of the Terran Federation, is now being consumed by war.

Human cannonballs slammed into the planet's surface, Zerg creep greedily absorbed the planet's nutrients, while the Protoss fleet's main cannons were charging, preparing to carry out a purification operation to destroy the planet.

Mengsk never looked back at the silent channel that had lost its signal. He walked slowly to his desk.

The table lamp cast an orange glow, the only light source in the room, illuminating half of his face while the other half remained hidden in darkness, outlining an incredibly hard, cold-blooded, and ruthless profile.

His fingertips pressed lightly on the desk, his gaze falling on a photo frame on the corner of the desk, a faded but carefully preserved photograph.

In the photo, the young parents have warm smiles, and in the middle is a similarly spirited young man.

Back then, the sky in Khar was azure, the air was always filled with the fragrance of flowers, and the Mengsk family mansion was always filled with happy laughter... until that night when it was stained red with flames and blood.

Mengsk's gaze softened for a moment, then froze instantly.

He bent down and precisely tapped the keypad hidden under the desk with his fingertips. A hidden compartment popped open, from which he took out a paper file and a data disk.

One last time, he opened the paper file and looked at its contents. For a moment, his breathing became rapid.

It was a top-secret mission deliberately concealed deep within the archives.

Several years ago, the Federation implemented a program called "Ghost." They captured children with psychic abilities throughout the Federation and sent them to a secret facility called "Ghost Academy."

Among them was a girl with exceptional talent who accepted a top-secret mission.

This mission is not aimed at alien creatures or terrorists, but rather at secretly assassinating other planetary legislators who do not cooperate with the Federation.

Her target was Arcturus's parents, the Mengsk family patriarchs who were vehemently advocating for independence from the Federation and greater autonomy in Khar.

Ghost used her C-10 rifle to shatter the reinforced glass windows of the mansion. Two armor-piercing rounds silently took out the elderly Mengsks in their study, and then a fire destroyed the Mengsk family mansion.

Meanwhile, young Mengsk, who was still a nobleman at the time, escaped the disaster because he was on another planet doing business.

Years later, Mengsk paid a heavy price to infiltrate the Ghost Project archives through an informant and obtain the heavily altered but still essential record file.

And the name of the mysterious ghost agent in the document: "Sarah Kerrigan".

Meanwhile, Mengsk also learned the secret of these plans: in order to keep these people with psychic powers loyal, all ghosts would be brainwashed after completing their missions, erasing their memories of the missions.

Then, he looked at the happy family in the photo and took out a lighter from his pocket.

The flames mercilessly devoured the file, burying it along with the crushed data disk in the brazier.

Only wisps of black smoke and remaining ashes tell a secret unknown to anyone.

But Mengsk never forgot that on the night he learned of his parents' deaths, the grief in his eyes transformed into anger, a hatred for the entire federal system.

And that ghost ultimately became the most crucial pawn in his overthrow of the Federation.

He kept this desire for revenge deep in his heart and pushed Korhal's independence movement to its climax, but the Federation did not stop there.

After Korhal was reduced to ashes by the Federation's apocalyptic nuclear bomb, this destroyed planet was reborn, and the Son of Korhal was born.

When Mengsk learns that Federation Ghost agent Sarah Kerrigan has been unexpectedly trapped during a mission, he meticulously plans a rescue.

He saved her, gave her his trust, revealed the truth to her, and took her under his wing.

He had been waiting for the perfect moment, waiting for the enemy who killed his family to finish using her last bit of value and then walk towards an inevitable end that he himself would draw.

And that opportunity has arrived.

Just seven days ago, on the eve of deploying the psionic transmitters, he finally placed that long-forgotten file in front of Kerrigan.

"Look at this, Captain." Mengsk's voice was unusually calm, as if describing a combat mission. "At some point during your service to the Federation, you completed a mission targeting political prisoners in Korhal. I didn't want you to know, but they are my father and mother."

Seeing the blurry figure and the burning mansion in the evidence photos, Kerrigan remained silent.

Brainwashing programs can erase memories, but when the evidence is presented to her so nakedly, her subconscious guilt and her personality make it impossible for her to completely dismiss it as a forgery.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that back then..." Kerrigan looked up, her eyes filled with remorse.

“I know about the Federation’s Ghost Project, and I know you knew nothing back then,” Mengsk said, putting away the file. “I told you, you have the right to know the truth.”

He made no threats or coercion; he was simply stating an objective fact.

Mengsk snapped out of his reverie, the last embers in the brazier died down, and he gently stroked the faces of his parents in the photograph.

The gesture resembled a final farewell ceremony.

He straightened his back, all the emotional fluctuations on his face vanished without a trace, leaving only coldness and ruthlessness.

Then, he turned around and walked with firm steps toward the hatch.

"Sarah Kerrigan," Mengsk whispered, "I'm sorry. You have the right to know the truth, and I..." He paused, "...also have the right to make you taste despair."

The hatch closed behind him. The Hyperion and the Sons of Korhal's fleet silently departed from the chaos of Tarsonis.

All that remains is a burning planet and a ghost of despair.