Ghosts of the Past
Ghost 24718 lost an arm and a right eye during the mission to assassinate Angus Mengsk. Granite fragments from the explosion pierced both of his lungs, meaning he will have to rely on an oxygen pack and a ventilator for the rest of his life.
Augustus has learned from Kerrigan that he is one of the three Ghost operative tasked with the assassination, while the other agent, 24506, remains lurking somewhere in Sterling City. His target is Augustus himself, but he has apparently not taken action for some reason.
No one knows where 24506 is right now. Perhaps he is still preparing to take Augustus's life, or perhaps he has already returned to Victor V Base or the Ghost Academy in Tarsonis.
"He almost didn't make it; he was in a coma for a week," a private surgeon employed by the Mengsk Family Augustus in a sanatorium used to house the seriously wounded at the headquarters of the Korhal Revolutionary Army.
When Augustus entered the room, Ghost 24718 had already awakened. His pale, bloodless face beneath his helmet made him look like a vampire lying in a coffin. The Ghost operative was wearing a respirator, and his heavy breathing sounded like an exhaust fan.
The room was equipped with four Psionics shields, and as Augustus observed, the data displayed on the control panel of an instrument used to monitor his Psionics index remained within a safe range, with a Umojan Shadow Guard on standby constantly watching him.
"Augustus, son of Angus. You should have killed me." Ghost 24718 shook his head as he looked at Sarah Kerrigan behind Augustus.
Following behind Augustus Mengsk, Sarah Kerrigan the air of a capable adjutant, and her beauty cannot be ignored by the soldiers and civilian staff of the Revolutionary Army headquarters. Kerrigan has beautiful pale green eyes and long eyelashes, and her lips are full and sensual.
Sarah Kerrigan changed into a Korhal Revolutionary Army officer's uniform, consisting of a thick woolen stand-up collar coat with a row of brass buttons and a long, thick, split skirt.
Kerrigan also wore a brimless boat-shaped cap, her long, fiery red hair was pulled back, and the cap badge was a whip ring with a gold five-pointed star in the center. The epaulettes on her shoulders, featuring the Mengsk gold wolf and an inverted V-shaped symbol pointing downwards, indicated that she was a lieutenant in the Royal Guard.
After being captured by the rebels, this powerful Psionics was grateful for Augustus's rescue and resolved to join the revolution to atone for her past sins. It was almost a matter of course that the Confederacy molded her into an assassin, while Augustus promised to grant her freedom and no longer force her to kill.
The Shadow Guard of Umojan were still serving the elected council of Umojan, and although Augustus entrusted them with important tasks, he still wanted to cultivate his own Psionics.
The re-employment of the Confederacy assassin who killed his father caused concern among some, including Faraday, commander of Augustus's Royal Guard, senior Revolutionary Army officers who learned of the matter, and former members of Augustus's inner circle, the Heaven's Devils. But since Augustus himself and his father did not see anything wrong with it, others stopped questioning it.
"But what else do you expect from me? Even if you remove my Psionics suppressor, my personality, which was shaped in my childhood, is still dangerous to you. I used to love all life, but now I'm just a butcher who enjoys killing." His voice was somewhat sorrowful, but not enough to bring him to tears.
"I used to be a kid who would carefully raise chicks that fell from their nests to the ground and then release them, but now all I like is to pin a Viktor squirrel's tail to the ground and then skin it alive."
"When I was in this ward, I often heard people talking in my ear, or saw phantoms of my childhood. Countless people I killed were whispering in my ear, but I wasn't actually that scary. I felt they were just singing."
Ghost operative 24718 is quite dangerous. He is always melancholic and likes to talk to himself, to the point that his doctor can't figure out if he is talking to another version of himself. He is addicted to killing, but inwardly he despises it.
"This is one of the early signs of dissociative identity disorder. He believes that his nature is good, and that his body contains his past pure and kind soul, yet he has a hysterical love for killing and cruelty," the doctor said in an absolutely calm tone.
"I learned from talking to myself in front of the mirror in 24718 that his mentor had forced him to kill his most beloved pet as a test of his control over his Psionics abilities. There were many similar training sessions, such as choosing an unloaded bullet from dozens of handguns and shooting himself in the temple."
"I was considered an uncontrollable being, which is why I was one of the first agents to have a Psionics suppressor implanted. I'm a devil, and I love torture. Even so, aren't you afraid?"
Augustus and the doctor exchanged a glance, both agreeing that this was a rather troublesome character.
"Even so, I still want to hire you as my ghostly advisor," Augustus. "I want to establish a special organization based on Psionics, an organization whose function goes far beyond assassination."
"You're very sincere." Ghost 24718 looked at Augustus for a long time before saying, "To be honest, I'm willing to fight against the Terran Confederacy for you. Ghost Academy ruined my life as a normal person, and I'm determined to take revenge."
"But I can no longer integrate into a normal life." Ghost 24718 had a pair of melancholy blue eyes in deep-set sockets, and his lips were tightly pressed together, as colorless as his face. "I will kill for you, if you need me to."
"We don't need to kill anymore, Marshal Augustus Mengsk assured me," Kerrigan told 24718.
"I can't believe you trust him so much. You should know that people are often two-faced, and despicable acts and lies are most likely to bewitch people." Ghost 24718 shook his head. "Fine, but I like killing. It's my hobby. Maybe it will make me feel guilty and regretful, but repentance is a matter for later."
"If you want me to serve you, you'd better give me a similar job, whether it's eliminating political rivals or getting rid of Kel-Morian's CEO, it doesn't matter," he said.
"I will stop at nothing, disregarding all morality and ethics, to achieve your goals. If one day you need me to bear these sins, then put me on the gallows or the guillotine, and I will take all the secrets to hell."
"..." Augustus him a deep look before saying, "I will find you the best psychologist, fit you with new prosthetics and eyes, and then you can report to your new department."
"Thank you," the ghost said, then lowered its head and whispered some indistinct prayer.
"He was confessing to the Holy Spirit. 24718's parents were devout Doomsday believers who believed that all difficulties came from God's punishment of the deeply sinful and were convinced that the end of mankind would surely come."
The doctor explained to Augustus.