Early the next morning, at the courthouse of the Hinterland State colony, in the judge's office.
Augustus Mengsk, wearing a brown marshal's uniform and a wide-brimmed cowboy hat, strode confidently up the steps to the judge's office. Right behind him was the ghost operative Sarah Kerrigan. Her black bodysuit clung tightly to her figure, accentuating her impressive curves.
"Mr. Ida, I heard you were looking for me," Augustus said as he pushed open the office door. Inside, he saw Echo Town's local judge, Ida Romanov, staring straight at him.
"Yes. I've been unable to reach you, so I had no choice but to order the officers outside to take shifts around the clock—even pulling twenty-five-hour duty days—just to find you," said Judge Ida with a teasing tone, carefully studying Augustus's weathered, rugged face beneath his full beard and deeply tanned skin.
"If you ask the officers where Marshal Caesar is and what he's doing, I'm sure they'll tell you: 'The marshal's a busy man.'"
"Busy as hell, that's for sure. Things haven't been peaceful lately—rebels everywhere. My men have already exchanged fire with them several times." Augustus didn't bother to take a seat, clearly unwilling to stay long.
"What do you need from me?" he asked Judge Ida.
Just as Augustus had said, he truly was overwhelmingly busy dealing with the rebels. Except that was because he was their leader—issuing commands and orchestrating the revolutionary forces across Mar Sara, disrupting the Terran Confederacy's army and military infrastructure.
"What do I need from you?" Judge Ida let out a weary laugh. "I just hope you won't harm my family. We used to be friends. You've even met my youngest daughter, Eva—you held her in your arms, and she called you 'uncle.'"
"I never imagined you were one of the revolutionaries." In the end, the judge—well-respected and admired throughout Echo Town—sighed heavily.
Augustus said nothing. He simply looked at Judge Ida with a calm expression, as if the words hadn't surprised him in the slightest.
"What makes you think I'm a revolutionary?" he asked after about two seconds. He neither confirmed nor denied Ida's accusation, but his tone left no doubt—he had tacitly acknowledged it.
At this point, Augustus saw no reason to offer any explanation. Even based solely on the fact that, since taking the role of marshal, he had never used heavy-handed tactics to arrest revolutionaries or suppress the revolutionary tide in Echo Town, the local government officials—and Judge Ida—had ample reason to question his true identity or allegiance.
"Rumors of the revolutionaries had already begun circulating through the streets of Echo Town before you ever became marshal," Ida continued. "But after you took office, those rumors didn't die down—they only grew more rampant. A large number of outsiders suddenly flooded into Echo Town, all within a short period of time. And I couldn't find any records of them passing through the Mar Sara starport. In other words, they entered illegally. I'm also certain their documents are forged, because only people without legal status would resort to that."
He looked Augustus in the eye and added, "Almost every new officer you've recruited isn't a local from Mar Sara—just like you. You came to Mar Sara, and the rebels followed. Caesar, I've always thought you were a capable man. Ruthless and cold when dealing with criminals—but when it comes to rebels, you've been utterly soft."
"I don't have any direct evidence proving your ties to the revolutionaries," Judge Ida said calmly, "but ever since you placed me under house arrest under the guise of 'protection,' my suspicions about you have only deepened."
"I made a terrible mistake."
"I put a starving wolf in charge of guarding the sheep."
"We're still friends," Augustus said after quietly listening to the town judge's words. "As you've seen for yourself, you've witnessed the changes in Echo Town. After the Four-Year War, many people from fringe worlds couldn't even find enough food to survive. Crime skyrocketed. Even the kindest souls were driven to become thieves. And yet here—it's peaceful and stable."
"I'm neither a starving wolf nor a sheepdog," Augustus continued. "I'm just an ordinary man—one who dares to speak for the people at the bottom, who dares to resist tyranny and power."
"I've brought new ideas and transformation to the people of Mar Sara. I defend the inalienable rights they were born with. I tear off the shackles that the Confederacy forced onto them."
"This is my mission," he said. "To tell the oppressed and exploited that if a government no longer fulfills the promises and duties it owes its people, then the people have the right to overthrow it."
"A government elected by the people should not rule over them—it should be ruled by them. In this world, there is no cause more just than the people demanding what is rightfully theirs."
"I know," Ida Romanov replied.
As a federal judge, Ida should have condemned Augustus's treasonous words on the spot. But perhaps because he knew his own life—and that of his family—hung in the balance, he didn't show a shred of hatred for the revolutionaries.
"I've read the Pan-Terran Revolutionary Party's pamphlets. Those words stuck with me. They were said by Augustus Mengsk—your leader, the one who personally formed your revolutionary army."
What Ida didn't know was that the scarred, weathered face before him wasn't real—it was a nanomask clinging tightly to the real man's skin. He still believed the one standing before him was merely an officer under Augustus's command.
"Then, I'd like to hear what you think about those words."
Augustus looked at Judge Ida and nodded, signaling that he was listening attentively.
"If I didn't already know that a descendant of the Mengsk family from Korhal had once led a massive fleet to invade Tarsonis," Judge Ida said hesitantly, "then I might have assumed he was just a pure dreamer and idealist."
"Many of his ideas—including the platform of the Revolutionary Party—I actually agree with. As for the revolutionary army… if they truly fight for the people, as they claim, then I admit my prejudice against them was misplaced."
"But even if they succeed in toppling the Confederacy, the new rulers will inevitably become the new elite. Their followers will become the new Old Families. As for the leader of the Korhal Uprising, Angus Mengsk—what stance or motive he truly had when he launched the revolution… we'll never really know. Honestly, I don't have much hope for any new regime."
"I don't like the Confederacy government on Tarsonis either. I work for them only because of Echo Town… and my family."
"No matter how you see it," Augustus replied without addressing Ida's skepticism directly, "the future will always be better than the present. We aim to build a new republic—one where capable people can form a government."
"Rest assured—I will never harm you or your family."
With that, Augustus finally addressed the matter Judge Ida cared about most.
"Even if I believe you," Ida said, utterly helpless, "once the official government forces retake Echo Town, all of us—including me—will be sent to prison. Even if I only signed off in place of Hinterland's magistrate… in the end, I was the one who brought you into the marshal's department."
"The government forces will come sooner or later. Do you really think you can stay on Mar Sara for long?"
"Then we'll have to take you with us," Augustus replied with regret. "Don't worry—there's room on the ship. I'll request a transfer for you to the propaganda division. Your family will be properly resettled as well."
"I suppose I don't have much of a choice," Judge Ida said with a shrug.
As they stepped out of the office of the Court, the four Revolutionary Army soldiers stationed at the door snapped to attention and saluted Augustus and his ghostly bodyguard, Sarah Kerrigan. The Revolutionary Army's salute wasn't any different from that of the Confederate forces—just like how their armor's color scheme still resembled that of the Confederacy.
While Augustus returned the salute, a Vixen assault vehicle roared into the black-brick courtyard outside the Court hall.
Driving the vehicle was Sergeant Faraday, Augustus's personal guard captain. This Revolutionary Army sergeant had always handled Augustus's transport and security matters—large and small—with the utmost dedication, serving as his most loyal subordinate. And even though the other sergeants who enlisted alongside him had been promoted after the Battle of Tarsonis, he still remained a sergeant.
Of course, every officer around Augustus believed that it was only a matter of time before Faraday received his promotion.
"Marshal, Command just received a report from Tychus Findlay. His Styrling Wolfhound Battalion continued advancing south after defeating Second Lieutenant Grey's planetary defense force. Last night at 22:00, they stormed the forward outpost the PDF had established in Harland Town."
As soon as the Vixen assault vehicle came to a halt, Sergeant Faraday stepped out and reported directly to Augustus.
"Second Lieutenant Grey is currently detained in a prisoner transport hoverbike, which should be arriving in Echo Town shortly." He then asked Augustus: "Do you wish to interrogate him personally?"
"No need." Augustus had no interest in wasting time on a piece of scum like that. He much preferred conversing with people of noble character—like Judge Ida. "Throw him into the mines. If he's still alive by the time we leave Mar Sara, then give the bastard a bullet."
"Where's Tychus?"
"He's at Joeyray's Bar," Faraday replied. "The troop rally point is nearby."
"To Joeyray's Bar, then." As Augustus gave the order, he climbed into the Vixen assault vehicle. Kerrigan followed after a sweeping glance across the area, her jade-green eyes faintly glowing with a layer of soft golden light.
"Yes, sir."
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