EPTTERRAN CIVIL WAR ON PLANET S REACHES BLOODY CONCLUSION
Fleet Commander Ryung crushes final desperate push of Admiral Byun
Near-total planetary depletion and complete annihilation for the vanquished
Today marks the end of the protracted Terran civil war that has produced unprecedented levels of bloodshed and totally exhausted the natural resources of the remote Planet S. The armies of both Fleet Commander Kim “Ryung” Dong Won and Admiral “Byun” Hyun-Woo had been forced to flee to the outlying world by their defeats to the Zerg swarm led by the “Losira” Cerebrate and the Protoss forces led by Executor Parting, respectively. Upon realizing each other’s presence on the frosted planet, both forces immediately began preparing for conflict.
Planet S’s icy geography features many twisted valleys, with the primary centers of crystalline deposits and vespene geysers arrayed along the edges of the planet’s only continent. The only two suitable areas for a Terran fleet to touch-down and begin planetary operations are on platforms to the northeast and southwest corners of the Planet S. Despite this extended distance between the two Terran forces, with Fleet Commander Ryung situated in the southwest and Admiral Byun in the northeast, both decided to commit to relatively early aggression by investing in the Banshee-class assault hovercraft, enhanced by the revolutionary light-diffusing “cloak” technology. Neither was able, however, to deal crippling damage to their opponent, as Fleet Commander Ryung was able to utilize the advanced Raven drone’s mobile detection technology while Admiral Byun relied on orbital satellite imaging scans to fend off the Banshees.
Both forces then settled in for an extended conflict, as Admiral Byun’s mixed infantry and tank force found it extremely difficult to break through Ryung’s mechanized defensives, enhanced by the missile defense capabilities of the Ryung’s Raven drones. On the one occasion Byun’s artillery were able to push far enough to being shelling the far western mining outpost of Fleet Commander Ryung, timely reinforcements managed to repel the tanks while frantic repair efforts from on-site space construction vehicles saved the local command center. At the same time, Ryung’s own artillery successfully defended a counterattack to the southern mineral fields.
In response, Admiral Byun began developing his air fleet’s infrastructure and technological capability, investing in Raven drones himself, and began mining operations at the central mineral deposits. Due to a unique geological process, the mineral veins located in the center of the valley emerge at a naturally higher state of enrichment, providing a substantial economic advantage to whichever force claims them. However, in what many experts from Liquid Corp., the military analysis collective, point to as the turning point in the conflict, Byun’s forces withdrew too far from this central outpost in the face of Ryung’s advancing artillery, probably in hopes of retaking the area later with his developing air forces. Ryung chose this moment to push out with his forces to the center of the continent and destroy Admiral Byun’s mining operations, and later set up his own command center in the area. At this point in the conflict, the mineral deposits and vespene geysers on the interior of both forces’ territory had become dangerously depleted.
As a direct result, Commander Ryung’s operations were able to sustain a distinctly higher level of production, and he was able to produce enough Viking-class anti-air fighters along with a handful of heavy mechanized “Thor” assault walkers to deter Admiral Byun’s Battlecruisers from immediately retaking the central mineral deposits. While Byun’s air force and remaining infantry fruitlessly maneuvered around the edges of Ryung’s territory, space construction vehicles were redirected to construct a substantial network of anti-air turrets which made an aerial assault from Admiral Byun into the central valley untenable. As a result, Byun’s final, desperate push occurred near the southeastern entrance to that area.
This climatic engagement of The Battle for Planet S showcased two extremely technologically advanced Terran air fleets. Admiral Byun chose to hold back his infantry forces while advancing with high numbers of sturdy Battlecruisers, Viking anti-air fighters, and Raven drones, rendering Fleet Commander Ryung’s anti-ground artillery impotent. While both fleets deployed the Raven drone’s seeking missile, Byun was able to use his Battlecruiser’s long-distance “Yamato” laser cannon to great effect, forcing Fleet Commander Ryung to retreat with his remaining Viking fighters, though Ryung was able to keep the greater number of them intact for long-distance harassment. Granted local air superiority, Admiral Byun was able to destroy many of the remaining artillery and move in with his infantry force to finally force Ryung’s central command center to evacuate. However, Fleet Commander Ryung’s bank of stored minerals and vespene gas allowed him to immediately send tank reinforcements to deny Byun’s hopes of establishing his own mining operations in the central valley. Meanwhile, Ryung’s Viking fighters pushed back and destroyed the damaged Battlecruisers of Byun. With both infantry and air fleets completely annihilated, Admiral Byun was forced to surrender.
Anonymous reports from senior officials close to Fleet Commander Ryung indicate that their next move will be to the abandoned suborbital research platform “Daybreak”. However, military analyst Nicholas Plott of the Tastetosis media group commented that this effort may be in vain, as the victorious Terrans will very likely be opposed on the platform by a Zerg force commanded by the Losira Cerebrate.
While the two Terran forces were locked in combat on Planet S, Protoss commander Parting decisively repulsed the Zerg from the planet Shakuras during combat in valleys of Cloud Kingdom, and the Zerg swarm has been sighted in transit to the Daybreak platform. “The two main factors at work against Ryung’s chances are that the Losira Cerebrate has vital intelligence and confidence gained from its past victory over Ryung’s forces, and that Fleet Commander Ryung himself is likely in a state of severe exhaustion from this unusually long conflict,” said Plott.
Meanwhile, Admiral Byun must withdraw his forces away from Code S space in the center of the galaxy to face combat in the middle galactic rim known as Code A, where he faces the danger of banishment to the void of Code B space should he suffer another defeat. In addition, it is expected that whichever of the two fleets triumphs on the Daybreak platform will be able to push deeper into Code S space, as Executor Parting has already indicated he will do, while the vanquished will be forced into the Code A region alongside Admiral Byun.
