Augustus returned to First Squad to find Raynor and the others gathered in the Engineers' tent. They were resting, huddled around a charcoal stove salvaged from the ruins, using a well-preserved frying pan to heat up rations and sweet pies.
The atmosphere inside the tent was lively and boisterous. Harnack's loud, cocky laughter could be heard from far outside.
Only once Augustus stepped in did he learn the reason for the cheer: the recruits' pay for the previous month had just arrived.
Just as Warfield had promised, every soldier in First Squad had received an extra 8,000 credits—a reward for turning in the Ardeon crystals after defeating the Kel-Morian shock cavalry. In other words, everyone had suddenly become rich by barracks standards.
Raynor, Omer, Zander, and Harnack—boys from backwater towns—were all overjoyed. But they each had different plans for the money.
Raynor and Omer sent their shares back home to help their families.
Zander, who came from the slums and had no relatives, decided to save his.
As for Harnack—he was planning to blow it all on a feast and a wild night out with the boys.
But that wasn't the only surprise waiting.
Lieutenant Reagan, Augustus's platoon leader, happened to be there too.
He told Augustus the news: he had been promoted to Corporal. A solid triangle had now been added beneath the three inverted V-stripes on his shoulder.
Starting today, Augustus was officially the squad leader of First Squad, Third Platoon, Company A, Fifth Battalion. Everyone was in high spirits—even the usually silent and distant Ward, and the newly arrived sniper Ryk Kydd, cracked smiles.
"Hey, boss. What did Warfield want with you earlier?" Raynor asked after a while.
"Oh, we went to the division command together," Augustus said as he sat down on a folding chair.
"What for?" Raynor wondered aloud. "Wait—are you getting transferred to HQ as a staff officer?"
At that suggestion, the light of joy on everyone's faces instantly dimmed.
"Come on, that's impossible," Augustus said, shaking his head with a laugh.
"I'm not that capable. What kind of staff officer could I be?"
"You guys didn't know?" Lieutenant Reagan, sitting on the floor, looked puzzled.
"Augustus is the younger brother of our division commander."
"You mean… the commander's last name is also Mengsk?" Harnack's mouth dropped open wide enough to fit several eggs.
"Hank, you idiot. You don't even know who our division commander is, or what he's called?" Raynor burst into laughter—though it wasn't clear whether he was more amused by Harnack's ignorance or his own ability to finally mock someone else for once. (Not that he himself knew the commander's name).
"That's amazing!" Omer said, feeling he should say something—but once the words were out, he realized how awkward they sounded. After all, Augustus being amazing had very little to do with this revelation.
"Yeah! Squad leader, you're amazing!" Amy Brandon said with a cheerful smile.
"So that means we've got someone powerful backing us now?" Josephine seemed particularly concerned about the matter.
"You actually kept something this important from us…" Zander looked a bit dejected.
Everyone in the squad, including Lieutenant Reagan, was full of curiosity. And Augustus didn't hold anything back—he answered every question openly. Although he didn't speak much about the status or power of the Mengsk family on Korhal IV, everyone had already come to the same conclusion: Augustus's family had to be extremely wealthy.
But it wasn't long before their interest in his family's background faded, and the conversation shifted to other topics. Augustus was more than happy about that—he really didn't want to talk too much about it anyway.
After a while, the topic drifted to bars… and which stationed barmaid had the most 'explosive' figure.
Just as Lieutenant Reagan was about to leave, Augustus finally decided to bring up what Arcturus had told him about the upcoming all-out offensive on Polk's Pride. After all, by tomorrow at the latest, every stationed soldier there would know about it.
"Arcturus told me—we're about to go to war with the Kel-Morian forces on the other side of Polk's Pride," Augustus said as he looked at Reagan and the others. "You saw it for yourselves today—the Paddick River is insanely wide. That means we'll be wading through with nothing, but iron plates strapped to our bodies, throwing ourselves into the Kel-Morian firing line with nothing but flesh and blood."
Just as Augustus described, if the Confederates wanted to launch a full-scale offensive on Polk's Pride, they'd first have to cross a fast-flowing and wide river. Once they reached the opposite bank, they'd have to brave gunfire and artillery to destroy reinforced city walls and concrete bunkers clad in iron plating and Plasteel armor—only then could they fight the Kel-Morian Rippers hiding within in close combat.
With the enemy's anti-air defenses on the far bank, most Confederate dropships would be shot down before they even landed. The bomber squadrons, too, would face major limitations.
Which left the Confederates with only two options: build pontoon bridges under direct fire from Kel-Morian autocannons and machine guns—or launch a forced crossing using a massive number of ferries and assault boats.
But it was flood season now. At this time of year, the Paddick River was at its highest level and fastest flow—under such conditions, the Kel-Morians might as well be guarding a natural moat.
It was clear: the Confederates were going to suffer heavy casualties in the coming battle.
The tent fell silent. Once the reality sank in, everyone reacted in their own way. They all knew war meant death—the only question was, whose.
Or if they themselves were destined not to live long enough to see discharge, when and where would they die—and how?
Raynor couldn't bring himself to smile anymore. He hung his head low, probably thinking about his family. Harnack and the others just stared blankly at Augustus, as if they still hadn't processed what was happening.
Ward, who harbored a deep hatred for the Kel-Morians, kept a stiff face. Out of respect for his comrades' feelings, he didn't show the twisted joy he was clearly feeling. And Omer had already pulled out a sheet of paper, quietly writing his third farewell letter to his family.
"It's gonna come in handy, anyway," he murmured.
"I can't say I'm surprised," Reagan said. "High command moved in the entire Onuru Sigma Legion, plus the local ground forces—we've got nearly a hundred thousand troops stationed at Polk's Pride. You really think they brought us all here just to twiddle our thumbs and collect a paycheck? The generals aren't that generous."
"Kel-Moria's been entrenched on that front for years. They've only got twenty to thirty thousand troops. What's there to be afraid of?" he added sarcastically. "No matter how fierce their cannons and machine guns are, a Marine's life still costs less than one of their bullets."
"But you guys don't need to be too worried. The fleet will definitely join the fight. From what I know, Alpha Squadron, Delta Squadron, and over a dozen air wings from Tarsonis have already arrived at Turaxis II. Once they're in, the pressure on the ground troops will drop significantly," Reagan reassured them.
"Ha! Harnack doesn't even know the meaning of fear!" Harnack suddenly leapt up like a cricket that had been poked.
"Yeah, we're not afraid—what we fear is being broke!" Raynor grinned, looking at Harnack.
"Is the war starting tomorrow?" Omer asked, tucking the finished letter into his pocket.
"Not that soon," Augustus said.
"From issuing the battle orders to assigning divisions under each general's command, to getting all the troops and logistics in place—that takes time," Reagan added, pulling open the tent flap and waving to the others.
"I'll keep this to myself. Don't want anyone saying I leaked military intel. The chow in the Marine Security Bureau's brig isn't exactly five-star," he joked.
"Anyway, I'm heading back to work. And you lot—don't just sit around. Once you're done eating, get back out there on patrol!"
...
Just as Reagan had said, one week after the preliminary attack order for the Battle of Polk's Pride was issued from the command post, the Fourth Brigade of the 33rd Ground Assault Division—where Augustus was stationed—finally set out in early July.
Augustus was only a corporal, and thus not qualified to know many of the details about this operation. Even Platoon Leader Reagan had only been briefed on the portion of the June 23, 2488, attack directive that pertained specifically to his unit.
That portion stated:
On July 1st, at 01:00, the 2nd and 4th Brigades of Arcturus Mengsk's 33rd Ground Assault Division would depart from the lower district of Polk's Pride. They would cross the Paddick River via the ferry at Yesha Town, located 20 miles downstream, and then circle around to the Veleno District in the eastern suburbs of Polk's Pride—currently under Kel-Morian control. The assault would begin at 01:00 on July 2nd.
Alpha Squadron's 7th and 8th Avenger Wings, along with the 1st Bomber Wing, would provide fire support for the attacking forces.
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