Revolutionary Army Mira
The Korhal Revolutionary Army Recruitment Center in the Deadman's Port stands on an open space with a solid concrete floor. Revolutionary Army soldiers in dark gray uniforms with red armbands use iron fences to keep out the swarming workers. Most of the workers are laborers who operate exoskeletons to move goods in the steel plate casting factory, cargo unloaders in the port, and assembly line workers in the hover assembly production workshop.
Everyone who came here possessed a strong physique; both men and women had muscles as thick and gnarled as tree roots. Mira Han had no doubt that their passion for the revolution was as high as their passion for bread.
Mira jostled and jumped through the crowded throng, trying to make out the tall Revolutionary Army. The stench of their bodies and breath made her dizzy. As she was pushed forward by the crowd, an absurd idea gradually formed in Mira's mind.
No one had ever caused such a sensation in the Deadman's Port. What was it about the people of the Deadman's Port that made them so reverent towards Augustus? Was it simply because he brought something different?
In Mira Han's eyes, Augustus Mengsk, the legendary great leader, ascended the highest step in front of the Recruitment Center, a flag fluttering in the wind on a flagpole behind him, and in front of him stood a high wall of the Revolutionary Army soldiers in Power Armor blocking the recruits outside.
When someone in the throng noticed the red flag with its golden wolf's head, whip-like arms, and five-pointed star, no one associated these with anything noble. Only the soldiers at the flagpole understood the meaning of those symbols: Mengsk, the Revolutionary Army, and the Republic.
After tens of millions of Korhal fled their homes, the Korhal Dominion became a distant dream. Angus Mengsk's ideal of the Terran Republic gradually became the spiritual anchor for all Korhal and those Terrans who were inspired by their ideals.
The Korhal people no longer seek independence because they have lost their homeland. Now, what awaits Confederacy Confederacy is the retribution of forty million homeless people.
Today's Augustus Mengsk almost perfectly fits the image of a Revolutionary Army leader in the Deadman's Port. He is handsome, with features so sculpted they resemble a Greek stone sculpture. His cold, gray eyes gaze unwaveringly at everyone who meets his gaze, and the deliberately styled half-inch mustache on his chin and upper lip undoubtedly adds to his mature masculine charm.
When Augustus commanding his loyal soldiers in the army, he would often simply wear a dark gray military overcoat and trousers without medals or ribbons over his silk shirt. The Revolutionary Army leader wore deerskin boots and carried an electromagnetic pistol at his waist.
"He's quite good-looking for a man," Mira whispered, "But not Mira type."
"Look! That's Augustus, he spoke to me at the glass factory!" a man in a blue suit shouted.
"You know what? We discussed for a long time how to increase production, and he agreed with my ideas!" he said, looking at the astonished Mira Han, his understanding expression revealing his desire for affirmation from Mira.
For a few days, Augustus wear a Confederacy captain's hat he had received from Warfield and, along with his two loyal friends, Raynor and Tychus, would travel to visit the steel plate cutting workshop, chatting amiably with the workers melting and casting steel by the furnace.
As a result Augustus's long military coat would always get stained with indelible oil and dust, making him look more like an outstanding leader who rose from the common people than a warlord eager to distance himself from the people and maintain his rule with the army and warships.
Augustus always imposing and authoritative when he walked among factories and people, yet he was kind and approachable when he spoke. Everyone who spoke with Augustus could feel that he was listening attentively and thinking carefully about every word he said, whether he was facing workers, city community managers, or middle managers from companies in the Deadman's Port who had come to see him.
It is no exaggeration to say that everyone felt extremely important in the eyes of the great Revolutionary Army leader, and every opinion received feedback based on thought and philosophy.
It seems that this is how a person who is supposed to lead the Terrans in their rebellion against the tyranny of the Tarsonis Confederacy should act. He is certainly a great man, and he should stand with the people he is about to save, so everyone follows that towering figure.
"Augustus, he needs me by his side!" the man in the blue suit said excitedly to Mira. "Do you think so too?"
"Uh—maybe. Perhaps." Most people might ignore it or nod perfunctorily, but Mira stroked her chin, a playful smile playing on her lips, and said, "Oh, if you insist on asking."
"I would say yes."
"It seems you like him a lot," Mira asked him. "Why?"
"Why?" The man in the blue suit revealed a proud expression. "Augustus raises his arm, we will follow him to the ends of the earth, because that's how it should be. Neither the Confederacy, the Kel-Morian, nor the Umojan are a match for the Revolutionary Army; we are invincible!"
During his four-day stay in the Deadman's Port, Augustus gained many admirers. His ideas and those of the party he represented spread throughout the city and gradually took root in the streets and communities. People discussed everything that was happening on Korhal IV and held Augustus and his ideas in high esteem.
In the isolated Deadman's Port, people whose spirits were as barren as a desert yearned for progressive ideas, not because their thoughts were so lofty or because they could understand broad concepts of liberation and nation, but simply because revolution sounded fashionable and popular.
It is unknown how many people joined the Revolutionary Army because they truly understood Augustus's words, "Break your chains and shackles and restore your freedom," "Raise your sword for fairness and justice," and "The Revolutionary Army is the people's army." But they all understood a more common and easy-to-understand statement: I can feed you and give your children a chance to leave this ruin.
"Keep this belief." Mira acted nothing like a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl; when she got serious, she was always convincing. "Even when you fight to the death, don't have any regrets."
When the first person began to shout Augustus's name, people quickly followed suit, and the atmosphere was fervent; the Deadman's Port as enthusiastic as a mountain and as turbulent as a tsunami in their revolution.
However, just when everyone thought Augustus was about to deliver a passionate speech or urge the workers to join the army, Augustus simply gestured for everyone to be quiet.
Anyone making a simple comparison will see that Augustus was imitating his father. Or perhaps it was the politician gene in Augustus's blood that came into play; he learned to create a goal that could stir up other people's emotions and unite them, but never made any promises.
"We need to recruit another two thousand marines and fifteen hundred sailors. My ranks need reliable warriors. Whether you choose to join the Revolutionary Army or stay, it is entirely up to your own free will." Augustus himself may not have enjoyed being the center of attention, but in general, he was able to handle such a scene with ease.
As the Revolutionary Army soldiers guarding the outermost perimeter made way, the long line of recruits surged toward the registration point. After registering, they would go into a tent next to the registration point to be examined by a doctor. Because the Revolutionary Army used equipment they had taken from the Confederacy Victor V Zerg Experiment Base, the results of tests on their physical health and even hidden diseases were available in less than a minute.
Some applicants were quickly rejected due to "abuse of psychotropic drugs," "mental problems," "drug addiction," or even excessive alcohol consumption, while others missed out on joining the Revolutionary Army due to illness or other diseases that prevented them from surviving their service period.
Mira Han only walked around the tent once before the doctor gave her a form to go to the next tent. Mira passed without a doubt; she wasn't some pampered Miss World, and at only fifteen years old, she had already worked in the factory in Deadman's Port for over four years.
In the neighborhood of Deadman's Port Mira lived, she was always the most capable fighter and resourceful child, and many kids called her Big Sister.
Upon entering the last tent, Mira was surprised to find a red-haired Revolutionary Army lieutenant sitting behind a desk, with Augustus Mengsk standing behind her.
"Mira Han, look me in the eyes," the Revolutionary Army lieutenant said, taking the list from Mira's hand.
But Mira Han ignored her and focused her attention on Augustus, looking him up and down.
"Look at me!" the lieutenant slammed his hand on the table.
"Okay." Mira then looked into the lieutenant's pale green eyes. They stared at each other for a full two seconds, until Mira playfully rolled her eyes.
"Answer my question." The lieutenant made some simple notes on Mira's form—it looked like he was just filling in a few letters.
"Our enemy will be the most elite force in the Terran Confederacy. How are you mentally prepared for that?"
"Ha--That's great!"
Why did you join the Revolutionary Army?
"To carry out revolution, in the literal sense."
What are your job preferences after retirement?
"Marry."
"You've passed. Report to the Fourth Recruit Training Camp. Your rank is Acting Sergeant Major. All recruits below this rank should salute you when they see you." It was Augustus, standing behind the lieutenant, who spoke, "You will manage twenty recruits under your command and prove your ability through your performance."
"Did I hear that right?" Mira looked at the lieutenant with the long, fiery red ponytail.
"The doctor said your hearing is perfectly fine," the lieutenant said. "Don't doubt that; you're strong enough to tame any wild horse."
"What I mean is, I've never managed so many people before," Mira said. "Of all the weapons I've ever used, I've only ever used small things like spiked clubs. In the skills section, I wrote that my hair is the pinkest in all of Deadman's Port."
"Your hair is indeed the pinkest," Augustus affirmed.
"Okay." Mira nodded.
"I have a good eye for people," Augustus. "You have that talent, Mira. Usually, only veterans are qualified for this position, but most of us here are new recruits."
"Oh, oh, you have such a sweet tongue." Mira was very outgoing.
"..." Augustus shrugged. "It's not as sweet as you think."
"Next." Kerrigan wrote a positive comment on Mira's form.
As Mira swore her oath along with the other new recruits from the Deadman's Port, hundreds of shuttles were parked beside them. Once the recruits finished their oaths, these ships would send them out of orbit.
The new recruits didn't even have uniforms; they were still wearing the clothes they wore before joining the Revolutionary Army, and some were still wearing ill-fitting coats and shoes with holes in them.
"After being clearly informed of the meaning and consequences of this oath without any coercion, promises, or temptations," many recruits' eyes welled up with tears, but Mira remained unmoved.
Mira knew that whether they died in battle or survived to the end, most of those who left this planet today would never set foot on this land again in their lifetime. For the Deadman's Rock, a world so terrible, almost no one felt homesick.
The old folks always say that even a fly in the Deadman's Port wants to escape this planet.
But like all the other new recruits, Mira was indeed inspired by the changes brought about by the Revolutionary Army. She saw a glimmer of hope in this stagnant Deadman's Port and resolved not to let go of this opportunity that could change her destiny.
Mira neither idolized Augustus nor considered revolution to be particularly noble; she possessed her own mature and unique insights into right and wrong. She had no sympathy for the poor and exploited workers, nor did she wish to shed blood for them.
"Whether you're a Christian, a Muslim, an atheist, a polytheist, or a Earth Return Cult," they said, "We now share the same faith, the same identity."
During the oath-taking ceremony, Mira naturally drifted off: if the Revolutionary Army hadn't arrived in Deadman's Port that year, she might have ended up as a mercenary or a pirate. The people of Deadman's Port only had a few options for the future, and if you wanted to get ahead, you had to be much more ruthless and cold-blooded than the others.
She didn't choose to join the Confederacy Army simply because the Revolutionary Army seemed to have far fewer rules and more freedom than the regular army. Even the oaths they took were much shorter than those of the Confederacy Army.
After all, that's just the kind of person Mira is; she seems to have never been born to follow the rules, and currently no one can bind her with rigid rules and regulations.
"I swear to fight for the Korhal Revolutionary Army, to defend the laws and honor of the new republic, and to protect the citizens of the republic who have been or will be liberated."