December 29, 2489 — Janine's Bar.
This little bar in Echo Town had never quite matched the raucous nature of its surroundings. But with security in the Hinterland region steadily improving and a wave of workers from newly opened mining zones flooding into the area, the place had unexpectedly become packed with patrons.
Janine, Augustus Mengsk's new friend, was struggling to keep up. In the past, she and her son could manage everything in the bar on their own, but now she had no choice but to hire additional waitstaff. Still, the bar's style hadn't changed—it remained devoid of scantily clad seductresses or blaring heavy metal music. The only sounds were the crisp clinks of glasses colliding in cheers.
The new sheriff's policies and the rising tide of revolutionary thought had brought visible changes to the Hinterland region—quite literally visible on the walls of Janine's Bar. Slogans like "Down with the Confederacy, Overthrow the Old Families," "Return Power to the People," "Justice for Korhal IV," and "Oppressed Terrans of the Confederacy, Unite!" were openly displayed on the walls and by the entrance. Everyone seated inside, without exception, seemed to be talking about "revolution," "freedom," and "the Terran Republic"—though few truly grasped what any of those words actually meant.
In the past, the bar's walls had been decorated with credit bills from across the Terran Confederacy, and the alcoves displayed Ms. Janine's collection of memorabilia. Now, they were plastered with revolutionary posters and pamphlets. Soldiers who had fallen in the Defense of Korhal had naturally been cast as martyrs for freedom.
Former Heaven's Devils operative Kurt Josephine had become an honored warrior spirit, hooded in black on the propaganda posters. Meanwhile, the spiritual leader of the Korhal Revolutionaries, Augustus Mengsk, was depicted planting a flag bearing the Korhal Dominion's triple-star emblem alongside the Mengsk family's golden wolf crest into the rubble of Tarsonis. Behind him loomed the shattered remains of the Confederate Capitol. The artwork, awash in red, green, and yellow, symbolized revolution, freedom, and the Terran people.
A bright red flag stood angled outside the door of Janine's Bar, bearing the revolutionary declaration: "The People Are the Foundation of All Authority."
It was a rest day morning—the coolest time of the day—and many off-duty workers and farmers had gathered with time to spare. They chatted freely, discussing the revolutionary ideals found in the pamphlets, the six core principles of the Pan-Terran Party, and bits of political gossip picked up from here and there.
Augustus Mengsk sat in one corner of Janine's Bar, wearing a denim jacket with shiny buttons and high leather boots. Across from him sat Ghost operative Sarah Kerrigan, unusually dressed in casual attire and revealing her face in public.
Only a few meters away sat General Jim Raynor of the Revolutionary Army, also serving as sheriff of Mar Sara. He was drinking with his current flame, Liddy Elizabeth. Elizabeth wore a simple white dress and had her hair tied back in a sharp ponytail. Her face lit up in laughter as she listened to one of Raynor's deadpan jokes.
Truth be told, Raynor hadn't exactly wanted to spend this time not alone with his girlfriend. But there weren't any real vacation spots in the Hinterland region. Even its only city, by the standards of Tarsonis or even the former Korhal, was little more than a dusty backwater western town—where even the coffee shops were in disrepair.
"How nice," Augustus said, cradling a glass of deep crimson southern wine as he looked toward the laughing Jim Raynor.
Raynor, of course, had no idea that Augustus had already picked out a name for his future son. His friend's happiness was his own.
Come to think of it, Augustus had actually enjoyed quite a bit of good fortune recently—quite the change for someone usually plagued by bad luck. In just four months, revolutionary ideas had spread far and wide across the states of Hinterland, New Columbia, and Lorenza, and even into the northern Capital District. More and more people were beginning to ponder the same question:
Were the shackles placed upon them truly unbreakable?
"Jealous, are you?" said Sarah Kerrigan from across the table, smiling at him.
"Jealous?" Augustus scoffed with mock indignation. "Poor Jimmy's bending over backward to please that woman and completely ignoring his brother-in-arms."
He cast a glance toward Kerrigan—and suddenly froze.
She was stunning today.
"Not in the slightest," he added firmly.
Kerrigan wore a light green spaghetti-strap dress, low-cut and flowing. From Augustus's angle, he could see her pronounced collarbone and bare shoulders. Years spent avoiding sunlight had left her skin unnaturally pale—smooth as condensed milk.
Her bright red hair fell freely over her shoulders, swaying gently like willow branches in the breeze. It was the first time Augustus had ever seen her wearing makeup. The soft blush and subtle lipstick didn't feel overdone—instead, they lent her the maturity of a grown woman without sacrificing the grace of a sixteen-year-old girl.
With sunlight pouring in through the bar's skylight, her red hair looked like it was on fire. Her lips glowed crimson, her cheeks flushed, and her beauty utterly outshone every other woman in Janine's Bar.
"Forgive me, my lady," Augustus said with a disarming smile, warm and charismatic as ever. "I failed to notice that you are more beautiful than ever. And my attention should've been on two things alone tonight—you and the wine. For in this world, only those two must never be taken for granted."
"Hmm~" Kerrigan gave him a sidelong glance with her pale green eyes, long lashes fluttering. "You sound like one of those smooth-talking noble sons trying to weasel his way into a lady's good graces."
"No. You're nothing like them." Augustus said without hesitation.
"Of course not. We're like red and black," he added. "I mean every word. No empty flattery."
"You can read minds. You're a perceptive woman—you should know whether I'm lying or not. I'm right here beside you, Kerrigan."
"I'm not going to get all flustered over a few sweet words," she muttered, lifting her glass and taking a long drink.
Augustus just chuckled and let it go. He wasn't bothered.
He knew Kerrigan liked him—
Of course, every woman liked him. That didn't surprise him in the slightest.
After all, he was Augustus Mengsk.
To Kerrigan, Augustus was her savior. Ever since she left the Ghost Academy, they had spent almost every day together. Often, he would talk her out of her dark moods when her past haunted her. More than anything, he played the role of a father—filling in the place of the one she had lost long ago.
Every word and gesture from Augustus exuded charisma. His subordinates adored him, and even someone as wild and unruly as Tychus Findlay submitted to him willingly.
"Yeah, I know you don't see a sixteen-year-old girl as a woman," Kerrigan said, teasing. "You're into mature women with authority—women strong enough to dominate you. Just like how you like ass and—"
In the original timeline, the Queen of Blades had already passed thirty by the time she conquered the Koprulu Sector. But now, she was still just a girl. And she rather enjoyed watching the ever-composed Augustus squirm.
"That's not it," Augustus replied, irritated but careful not to show it.
Of all the secrets Augustus kept, the only one he hid from Kerrigan was the fact that he was a transmigrant. Everything else—his beliefs, his plans—he had never felt the need to conceal. He truly was preparing to overthrow the Confederacy.
Whether it was the fact that without destroying the Confederacy, his family would remain in constant danger, or the ever-deepening hatred fueled by the deaths of Korhal's soldiers—Augustus knew he would not rest until the Confederacy was completely dismantled.
Still, there were areas where he refused to lie. And Kerrigan had a knack for striking right at those vulnerable spots.
"If you asked Tychus, he'd probably say that Mr. Mengsk cares more about what's on the inside," she quipped.
Just then, Augustus glanced around at the nearby tables—where several plainclothes officers like Corporal Faraday were seated, pretending to be regular patrons. Augustus hoped Faraday hadn't overheard any of their conversation. Otherwise, this would be one more painfully colorful entry in his personal history of embarrassment.
"This is no time to talk about asses, comrade. We're in the middle of a revolution."
Augustus's gaze turned distant—as though he were already seeing the future of the revolution.
"We must stay focused. There's still so much to do. The people of Mar Sara and the other colonies are waiting to be liberated. Korhal IV still needs us to rebuild it."
"Just watch the news," he added, pointing toward the holographic projector at the center of Janine's Bar.
He really had intended to switch the topic—and did so with seamless ease.
"Alright," Kerrigan said with a smile.
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