From Titan Corporation to the Empire of Man

Soon after, in the small meeting room of the Governor’s Mansion;

"what?!"

Johnson Hallhold's exclamation echoed in the conference room.

As Campbell's governor, Johnson's surprise was beyond words. The Campbell executives around him also widened their eyes and whispered in disbelief.

"The expeditionary fleet was defeated so quickly?!"

"The flagship of the human empire is actually ten kilometers long."

"We couldn't even withstand a single salvo of artillery fire from the other side. Oh, my God."

The reason why the Campbell executives were so shocked was that they heard from Lyon, Maggie and others about what happened to the expedition fleet in New Hope.

The tragic losses in the New Hope battle clearly exceeded their expectations.

Lyon describes the flagship of the Primarch Sanguinius, the Red Tear, a Sojourner-class dreadnought.

The flagship was ten kilometers long and looked like a blade-like "mobile fortress". With the overwhelming firepower of the Human Empire Fleet, it tore through the Federation's front line with just a few rounds of bombardment, defeated the originally neat expeditionary fleet, and quickly launched a capture operation without any delay.

What was particularly unbelievable to Johnson and Campbell's top brass was that Colonel Honard Thompson's decision almost directly led to the tragic situation of the mobile infantry.

Due to several misjudgments by Thompson, 40,000 mobile infantrymen were suppressed by the clone troops in the early stages of the battle. Even the lieutenants suffered serious losses in the first round of attacks, resulting in chaos in the command chain and almost complete defeat of the army.

Faced with the enemy's precise attacks, the mobile infantry did not even have the chance to organize an effective counterattack, not to mention the sacrifice of a large number of lieutenants, which brought the morale of the main force to an extremely low level.

As the casualty figures continued to rise, the situation became increasingly desperate.

Realizing that blindly following orders would put more of their men in dire straits, Leon and Maggie decided to go against the command system and lead the combat platoon and like-minded colleagues to break out, opening up a way of survival for the remaining mobile infantry.

Through a variety of decisive actions, they were able to get more than 30,000 mobile infantry out of danger and escape to Campbell.

After listening to the descriptions of Lyon, Maggie and others, and judging from the gossip obtained by Johnson and Campbell through various channels, they believed that the choice of Lyon and others, although it violated the federal order, was the only way to save the remaining troops.

Furthermore, especially after learning that Colonel Honnard’s serious decision-making errors had resulted in the unnecessary sacrifice of thousands of mobile infantrymen, many of Johnson and Campbell’s senior officials flew into a rage and began to curse.

In order to maintain its huge fleet and its numerous mobile infantry units that are like a "sea of ​​insects", isn't it that the Federation relies on the heavy taxes on the solar system and the colonies?

Among them, Campbell's contribution cannot be underestimated.

However, not only did the federal high-ranking officials ignore the actual threat posed by the human empire, they even handed over the important responsibility of the ground commander to a mediocre person like Honard Thompson who only rose to power due to his family background, and let him command more than 40,000 mobile infantry.

In the end, thousands of soldiers died in vain because of his decisions.

This decision by the federal high-ranking officials was only to allow this "dandy boy" to accumulate merits.

Those who lead the federal forces are all such idiots? !

The Federation doesn't care about the survival and safety of the colonies at all!

What made Johnson even more indignant was that the heavy taxes that Campbell had paid over the years were wasted in such a way. If these resources were used to form Campbell's own regular army, it would be enough to protect itself from the threat of the Zerg, and even deal with external conflicts calmly.

Thinking of this, Johnson and Campbell's officials became even more angry, and their eyes gradually revealed dissatisfaction and resentment.

They began to realize that simply relying on the federation might not be a long-term solution, and that building their own armaments and consolidating autonomy might be the key to dealing with future turmoil.

As the heated accusations and dissatisfied discussions subsided, the atmosphere in the conference room gradually quieted down.

Campbell's Governor Johnson glanced at the senior officials present, and finally stopped his gaze on Lyon who was sitting across the "U"-shaped table. He slowly smiled and said:

"Sergeant Kennedy, to be honest, we have been unable to contact Earth Headquarters since you ended your warp travel and arrived within Campbell's gravitational range.

Perhaps a recent stellar storm disrupted communications.

But please rest assured, as long as you are willing to help us Campbell resist the threat of the Arach Zerg and the possible invasion of the Human Empire, we will provide you with two months of living supplies free of charge, so that the remnants of the expedition can rest and recover in peace. "

Hearing this, Leon's face naturally showed gratitude, and he responded sincerely:

“Thank you, Governor Holhold, for your generous assistance and your trust.”

He secretly rejoiced in his heart. Although he had already guessed that Campbell's top brass were dissatisfied with the Federation, he did not expect that the stationing agreement could be successfully reached with just a brief report.

It seems that we can settle here smoothly without using force to deter or engaging in more bargaining.

In fact, Lyon knew very well that this "communication interruption" was just the work of the intelligent AI behind the scenes, cutting off all channels of communication with the earth.

The purpose was to allow the remnants of the expeditionary fleet to buy time, allowing Lyon to gain an advantage before the formal negotiations.

At present, the stationing agreement has been successfully implemented, which is exactly what smart AI hopes to achieve.

After reaching an agreement, they will have to face the "storm" from the federal high-level officials.

At this moment, Johnson changed the subject and said with a worried look on his face:

"Sergeant Kennedy, you and the non-commissioned officers jointly dismissed Colonel Honard Thompson and took the remaining troops to Campbell without authorization. Once the federation knows about this, they will definitely take the opportunity to attack.

Do you have a plan to deal with this?"

"Ah"

Without waiting for Leon to speak, Ace chuckled and said with disdain:

"The Federation is making trouble? What qualifications do they have to make trouble? Besides, judging by the stupid moves made by that interstellar marshal, he might even be worse than Honard Thompson!

The current Arach Zerg is clearly a common threat to both humans and the rebels. Logically, the Federation should prioritize dealing with this enemy, rather than sparing no effort to purge dissidents and frame compatriots in order to consolidate power. "

As soon as Ace finished speaking, Johnny Rico continued:

“When the threat of the Arach Zerg begins to invade the near-Earth colonies, or even threaten the Earth itself, the top brass of the Federation will only use this as an excuse to divert internal conflicts and use the conflict between the two races to direct the spearhead outward, thereby covering up their own dereliction of duty.

By then, the Federation will not only be intact, but can also make their rule more stable by shifting the blame to their political opponents. "

"Yes, they can even use the excuse of endangering all of humanity as an excuse to eliminate all political opponents."

Tiz Frost added at the right moment, his tone full of sarcasm.

Hearing these remarks exposing corruption within the federation, Campbell, an official standing by, could no longer contain his anger and immediately slammed the table and said:

"Yes, they didn't suffer much loss, it was us, the distant colonies, who suffered the most losses!

Those federal high-ranking officials have repeatedly squandered our tax revenue and manpower, leaving us to fend for ourselves! Our lives are nothing but insignificant numbers in their eyes!"

The atmosphere in the field was ignited by these passionate words, and Campbell's top executives expressed their dissatisfaction with the Federation.

Lyon observed everyone and things gradually became clear in his mind.

Dissatisfaction in the Campbell Colony has intensified, and the constraints and oppression of the federal government have completely chilled the hearts of the top leaders here.

It seemed that he was only one step away from pulling Campbell into his side. Swish!

Suddenly, the automatic door of the conference room opened.

"Governor!"

And before the door could be fully opened, Johnson's secretary rushed in hurriedly.

Johnson saw this and realized that the usually steady secretary would lose his composure like this. He immediately realized the urgency of the situation and said in a gentle tone:

"Calm down and speak slowly. What happened? Why are you so nervous?"

The secretary adjusted his breathing, but still reported in a slightly hurried tone:

"Governor, we have just restored communications with Earth!

However, the other side insisted that the remnants of the expeditionary fleet return to Earth immediately! Not only that, we also discovered during monitoring that a Zerg fleet is advancing in the direction of Campbell and is expected to enter our orbital defense range in six hours! "

The secretary said as he quickly walked to the end of the "U" shaped desk and turned on the screen.

Immediately, the detailed dynamics and trajectory of the Zerg fleet were displayed on the screen, with dense red dots symbolizing the number of Zerg ships.

All Campbell executives focused their eyes on the screen, and their expressions suddenly became solemn.

An uneasy atmosphere quickly spread in the conference room, making everyone feel breathless.

The situation they were most worried about, the insect fleet, finally appeared on the screen.

According to rumors, wherever this insect fleet goes, it destroys everything and leaves no grass behind. The scale of the Zerg before them is even larger, completely beyond the defense capacity of Campbell Star.

"What is coming has finally come." Johnson couldn't help but sigh, his face becoming more serious.

The governor understood that Campbell was currently unable to resist such a large-scale Zerg invasion.

But at this moment, the federal top brass forcefully demanded that the remnants of the expedition fleet return to Earth, which was tantamount to pushing the entire colony into the fire pit.

Evacuation seems to be the only way to survive, but time and conditions are extremely limited.

Even if the emergency evacuation procedures were immediately initiated and all of Campbell's civilian and commercial ships were deployed, at most only about 200,000 civilians and colonists could be evacuated, which was far from enough to cover the total population of the entire colony.

And in this situation, organizing the evacuation would be like a drop in the bucket, and it would undoubtedly force them to watch more people being devoured by the insects.

The senior executives on both sides of the conference table had tense expressions and kept whispering to each other about possible countermeasures.

Rico, Ace, Tiz and others were equally shocked.

The size of the fleet displayed on the screen was even larger than the insect fleet that attacked New Hope.

Not to mention that there was no federal dispatch order, even if they were willing to stay here and help Campbell resist the tide of insects, it would be of no avail.

Seeing that everyone fell silent, the secretary shook his head helplessly and continued to call up the video communication from Earth on the screen.

Then, everyone saw a male general in his sixties wearing a gray-green uniform on the screen.

!!!

In the conference room, the originally solemn silence was broken by a figure appearing on the screen.

The moment they saw the other party appear on the screen, all Campbell officials, including Johnson, were stunned.

Ace, Rui Ge, Tiz and others stood up and saluted each other:

"Marshal Dean!"

Leon and Maggie also stood at attention and saluted, their expressions restrained and they said nothing.

As for the elderly general on the screen, he is the current commander-in-chief of the federal army, Interstellar Marshal Dean.

"At ease, soldiers."

Dean nodded slightly and raised his hand to signal everyone to stand still. There was a hint of irresistible majesty in his calm tone.

Then, Dean frowned and looked at Leon, and said in a loud voice:

"Sergeant Leon Kennedy, in view of your decision that saved the expeditionary fleet from the crisis of total destruction, the Federation hereby grants you the rank of major and allows you to command the remaining troops.

The ranks of other accompanying personnel will also be adjusted accordingly, and the official documents will be sent to you later."

This sudden promotion in military rank shocked everyone present.

Perhaps because Dean admired the actions of Lyon and others, he went against the opposition and ignored the power of Honard Thompson's family and awarded the title on the spot.

But the more likely possibility is that Dean made this decision just to appease Leon and others.

Perhaps when Lyon leads the remnants of the expedition fleet back to Earth, he will be directly hunted down by the elite agents of the Political Department, and then imprisoned and detained, and will disappear completely from the public eye.

Almost everyone can see the hidden meaning in this, especially the "old hand" Lyon.

What's more, Campbell is now facing the approaching Zerg fleet and is at a critical juncture of life and death.

As the remnants of the expeditionary fleet were the only regular army on this planet, Lyon would certainly not take advantage of the situation at this moment and let down the supplies prepared by Governor Johnson and his team. Instead, he strengthened his determination to assist in the defense.

Then, Leon stood at attention and saluted again, then put his hands down and answered directly:

“Thank you for your approval, Marshal, but please allow me to refuse this order.

We cannot watch two million of our fellow humans being slaughtered by the Zerg, so the remaining troops will hold on here until the enemy is completely repelled!"

"That's right!"

As soon as Leon made a mistake in his words, Ace mustered up the courage to echo him.

Seeing that Leon refused to carry out the order, Dean's face became more and more ugly, but he still suppressed his anger and explained:

“The Federation is not abandoning Campbell, but asking you to withdraw and reunite with the 12th Fleet.

The situation after Campbell will be fully taken over by the 12th Fleet, but if you continue to stay here, you will only be isolated and helpless. The 12th Fleet will take at least two Earth days to arrive!"

"I'm not alone." Lyon still chose to refuse and said:

"We can choose to seek help from the Human Empire of New Hope."