"Moria's mercenaries?" Bernard Hanson and Augustus were seated on opposite sofas across a glass coffee table, while several Agria warriors and Augustus's followers stood behind each of them.
The Agria warriors behind Bernard were all reliable, able-bodied men of the colony town, or spirited young fellows—either farmers from large rural settlements or interns from the Agria Research Institute. When these people stood around the gentle and urbane Bernard, they looked like students or parents standing beside a teacher.
By contrast, the ones at Augustus's side—Tychus, Raynor, and Kerrigan—were undoubtedly battle-hardened veterans. They wore blue-green and khaki military uniforms similar in style to those of the Kel-Morian Guild Guards or the Confederate Marines. Their attire was neat, their trouser legs straight, exuding the air of seasoned soldiers.
When they stood upright beside Augustus, they truly looked like soldiers before their general. Of course, Tychus and Harnack inevitably lowered Augustus's image somewhat, making him look more like a mafia boss than an ordinary merchant.
"You've come from Moria, so you should know that Moria is far too distant from Agria." Bernard gazed into Augustus's rare pair of cold gray eyes. "If we need a permanent mercenary force stationed here, it would be best to seek help from the nearest Confederate colony."
"Ordinarily, the Terran Confederacy government on Tarsonis should have dispatched a Marine detachment to protect a frontier colony. But clearly, they've already forgotten Agria."
"No—they are not from Moria," Augustus said, shaking his head.
He paused, and at that moment, the red-haired Ghost operative Kerrigan leaned forward, her soft, rosy lips brushing near Augustus's right ear as she whispered something.
After Kerrigan finished speaking, Augustus turned back toward Bernard.
"They are from Korhal."
"Korhal…" Even though Agria was a remote frontier colony lacking information, Bernard was by no means ignorant of the Korhal IV Rebellion that had taken place more than a year earlier.
In fact, the Confederate government on Tarsonis had been more than willing to publicize the fate of Korhal IV—the so-called "freedom and independence" it had pursued had ended in nuclear annihilation, reduced to a dead, radioactive wasteland.
Without question, the Great Rebellion led by Angus Mengsk had shaken much of Confederate space and left an indelible impact. Many colonies once discontent with Confederate rule were thoroughly intimidated by Korhal's tragic end; only the bravest, most defiant worlds still openly opposed the tyranny of the Confederate Parliament on Tarsonis.
The colonies nearer to the Core Worlds had become as docile as sheep, their stationed Marines maintaining the Confederacy's rule there with cold precision. The people of those worlds, heavily influenced by Confederate mainstream media, were terrified of being associated with any rebels; even hearing the word "Korhal" filled them with fear.
Fortunately, Agria was not yet within the broadcast range of UNN. The locals cared little for "real-time news" from two or three months ago, and most importantly, the leader of the Agria colony, Bernard Hanson, was in fact a Korhal sympathizer.
Bernard Hanson's decision to abandon the comfortable life and long-accumulated prestige he had enjoyed on Tarsonis to come to Agria was, in itself, a different kind of defiance against the Confederacy's government. He had never thought of, nor dared to, lead the people of Agria in rebellion against the Terran Confederacy's rule—yet deep down, he still admired the Korhalans who had dared to do so.
This was precisely the key piece of information that Kerrigan had obtained through her telepathy and relayed to Augustus earlier. As the leader of Agria's settlers, Bernard in fact harbored favorable feelings toward the people of Korhal.
Before setting out, Augustus had carefully considered and studied Bernard Hanson's character, speculating on what his attitude might be. Now, he was relieved that Bernard was not a supporter of the Confederacy—the situation had not developed in the worst possible direction.
"Are there still survivors from Korhal?" Bernard asked, watching Augustus. He realized that the man before him could not possibly be just the owner of some Kel-Morian trade caravan.
"UNN's report mentioned that terrible disaster—what a joke. Nuclear bombs destroyed Korhal IV, yet the UNN people claimed that only a few hundred were injured in that 'accident.' They even devoted more coverage to mourning the extinction of Korhal's native species than to reporting its casualties and losses."
"There are survivors—and quite a few of them." Augustus was unsurprised by the Confederacy's propaganda tactics. The Parliament and the Old Families who controlled the media had ample means and time to distort any report related to the truth. Confederate journalists would typically dismantle authentic materials into scattered fragments, cut and rearrange them, and then fabricate new parts to assemble the story they desired.
By regulation, all news within the Terran Confederacy was forbidden from violating the Constitution—yet this did not conflict, in their view, with the citizens' right to freedom of speech.
"That's truly good to hear. No matter what mistakes the rebels made or what heinous crimes they committed, at least the people of Korhal were spared from acts of genocide." Bernard exhaled in relief.
Most inhabitants of other colonies knew little about what had actually happened on Korhal; those without independent judgment were easily swayed by the media's reports—within the Confederacy, the reputation of Augustus's Revolutionary Army was extremely poor, almost equated with man-eating demons and social scum.
Bernard's understanding of the Korhal uprising was, to some extent, distorted as well, for the UNN had cleverly avoided mentioning Tarsonis's relentless exploitation and limitless extraction of resources from Korhal IV and other affluent colonies. Instead, it emphasized portraying the Mengsk family of Korhal IV as a degenerate corporate dynasty that had monopolized control over the planet.
The UNN repeatedly asserted that Angus Mengsk had sought only to establish a personal Mengsk family monarchy on Korhal, and that the rebellion was nothing more than an ambitious schemer's conspiracy and the rise of a warlord.
"Before Doomsday, the people of Korhal fled from Korhal IV. They endured countless hardships, drifting endlessly through space in search of a new home," Augustus said. "Later, some of the armed Korhalans who sought to protect themselves formed the Korhal Mercenary Corps—wandering through the stars while making a living as hired soldiers."
"If they're willing to stay, Agria will help them build a home of their own," Bernard said.
"I am willing to help them."
"You're not afraid the Korhalans might start another rebellion on Agria?" Augustus tested Bernard's stance.
"Why would they?" Bernard shook his head. "There is no Terran Confederacy here—nor any injustice or oppression."
"I knew it," Augustus said with a faint smile. "Where there is oppression, there will be resistance."
"Dr. Hanson, you're a good man."
Neither Augustus nor Bernard noticed that Ariel Hanson beside them seemed rather interested in Augustus—but Kerrigan, possessing powerful telepathic abilities, instantly sensed it.
Kerrigan could feel the vague, dreamy infatuation directed toward Augustus—the girl's jade-green eyes were fixed entirely upon him.
Although Augustus had done nothing resembling a heroic act of rescue, his appearance and bearing alone were enough to make an impression.
"Heh—how many people are we talking about?" Dr. Hanson was indeed an upright and kind man, but at this moment he had not yet realized the gravity of the situation.
"Even if there are one or two thousand of them, it doesn't matter. What Agria has in abundance is land—and we have professional construction crews," he said confidently.
"Quite a few," Augustus replied. "The wandering Korhalans all travel with their families, taking their colony motherships as their homes."
He then recited a string of numbers.
"The precise number is about 2,126,722 individuals."
"You must be joking." Bernard Hanson drew in a deep breath, unable to believe it.
If that were true, then this would be an extraordinarily large wandering mercenary fleet—most of its people would have to remain in cryogenic pods, for otherwise no fleet's vessels could possibly support such a population.
In that instant, Bernard believed he had grasped the truth: this so-called mercenary group was in fact a band of fugitives who had narrowly escaped disaster. Augustus must have described them as mercenaries merely out of concern that Bernard might refuse to accept them—fearing they would be seen as a burden.
In reality, Agria, still in its pioneering and developmental phase, was in dire need of immigrants—and such a massive influx of settlers was precisely what Bernard desired most.
The only problem was that, if these Korhalans were to settle on Agria, their population would far exceed that of the planet's original inhabitants.
The Agria people standing behind Bernard were all stunned; none of them had anticipated that so many would be arriving. Ariel, who had been listening quietly beside her father, also stepped closer. Everyone present knew that this was an event capable of changing Agria's destiny forever.
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