"Inviting the Wolf into the House"

"I'm just a law-abiding Confederacy citizen."

The Umojan nano mask on Augustus's face simulates a majestic male face with a neat beard. His eyes are firm but sometimes melancholy, and his voice is deep, giving a vivid interpretation of a Hemingway-style tough guy who has endured many hardships but still survived the storm.

The identity represented by this face was forty-two years old. He had served in Federal Marine Corps when he was young, and then served as Magistrate and sergeant in three Confederacy colonies and an interstellar orbital residential station, but was forced to leave after less than five years of service. He once had two wives and two daughters, but they eventually died of illness, traffic accidents, and Guild Wars.

"Tarsonis is far from as beautiful as you think. Even Tarsonis Police Force, which should enforce the law impartially, is full of corruption and power-for-money transactions, and secret bribes are everywhere. Tarsonis is excessive Prosperity, it is a towering tree that towers over the sky, with flowers blooming on the branches, but the roots that support it all are rotten." Augustus tightened the lapels of his cloak, and the scars under his eyes trembled due to his subtle facial expressions, like a twisting snake.

"Terran Confederacy's government is much more corrupt than it was thirty years ago. The uprising of Antiga and Korhal people illustrates many problems."

"Then I thought that although Edge World is far inferior to Tarsonis in terms of crime rate and economy, at least there is some justice here. Someone told me that only Ma·Sara has some good people, and they will definitely give me a suitable job."

Augustus's hoarse voice and sad facial expression infected Judge Eda. He searched through the personal ID card attached to the application form and retrieved some information from Confederacy's data network with the judge's authority. Augustus's experience in borrowing this identity cannot be called legendary. In addition to solving several major cases, it can be said that he has fulfilled his duties.

But he was very "unlucky". Every few years he worked in a police station, there would always be major incidents in which important government officials were assassinated and important documents were copied and transcribed.

No one knows that the owner of this identity is Umojan Shadow Guard from the beginning, a heroic agent who controls people's hearts with the help of the powerful Psionics.

"Oh - you should be lucky that there are no Confederacy agents or parliamentary secret police here, otherwise they will define you as a terrorist and rebel because of your words." Then, Judge Eda motioned for Augustus to sit down.

"Please sit down, Mr. Caesar. Your surname must come from the ancient earth. I have read many books about ancient characters." Judge Eda was very satisfied with Augustus's resume and conversation, and no longer turned away people from the door at the beginning.

Most of the fugitives who are hiding in Yuma·Sara can only buy false identities from friends or merchants at the gray port, but as long as they are compared with the database, they will easily find something wrong.

"If I am correct, Caesar is a noble surname, and Emperor Caesar comes from that family."

"Yes, my father always wanted me to become the emperor before he died. This was a regret in his life." Augustus smiled softly, humorously.

"Well - let me think about it." Judge Eda's words made Augustus frown, but he only thought about it for less than a second and said, "You graduated from the Tarsonis police academy and have met the minimum requirements to become a police officer."

"Being a citizen of Confederacy, there are no problems with the health report, no overdue loans, good personal credit, and no record of drug abuse." Judge Eda listed the basic requirements for becoming a police officer one by one. Of course, even if these conditions cannot be met, a criminal can become a police officer, as long as he has a friend who works in the court and can afford the money for amnesty.

"In view of your excellent resume, I can apply for an exception to directly allow you to skip the status of police officer and sergeant and become Magistrate." Then Judge Eda said to Augustus.

"At the same time, you also need to understand. Your direct superior is actually the judicial officer of Shiloh, and I am just a judge of the Echo Town court. I recruited Magistrate in the name of a judicial officer. We actually have no direct relationship." His tone was gentler.

"We will still need to help each other in the future. The judge and Magistrate are actually equivalent to the mutually beneficial and symbiotic relationship between Ma·Sara thorns and thorn moths. I can help you with the lawsuit. All you have to do is arrest the person. After the court has tried his crime, send the prisoner to Aiur·Indio Prison."

Magistrate is equivalent to the top law enforcement officer of one or several nearby towns. He is the direct reporter of the police chief. His main responsibility is to maintain the stability of the jurisdiction. In some cases, he can also replace the judge to formulate laws based on the Confederacy constitution and the descendants of the current immigration laws that are combined with the actual local conditions.

In some remote areas of Ma·Sara, when there is only one local police chief, his authority is equivalent to that of a Magistrate. In contrast, the Outer Colonies police chief who is further away from the core world is equivalent to the local Magistrate. They actually have the same position.

The judicial officer is equivalent to the chief executive of a region, who is the promulgator and executor of the law. Magistrates like Augustus are their law enforcers. In places like Ma Sara, Magistrate often assume more responsibilities, and many police sergeants who drive Vulture to enforce the law alone are really like cowboys roaming the west.

These humanized systems are the legacy of the pioneering and enterprising Colonial Era in the early days of Terran Confederacy. During the seventy years since it was known as Colonial Era, the far-sighted and enterprising senior executives of Confederate Congress gave Outer Colonies a lot of freedom and established Human Regime, the largest and most powerful of Koprulu Sector.

However, with the formation of the Old Families monopoly capitalist system and the gradual corruption of Confederate Congress, many policies that were beneficial to the development of the colonies were abolished, power was once again taken back by the central government, and the colonial people became the objects of exploitation and slavery.

People all over Terran Confederacy are looking forward to the good times more than a hundred years ago, and that has already become a beautiful storybook praised by epic operas in the Tarsonis Opera House.

"There are no other problems. You must have a fixed address, whether it is through a mortgage agreement or a temporary lease, as long as you can commute to get off work on time. You can go through the entry procedures and sign the contract." Judge Eda said.

"The probation period is one month. No matter you are a Agria barbarian or a Hermes businessman, if you can't fulfill your Magistrate duties, then I will kick your ass and tell you to get out, do you understand?"

"There will never be that time." Augustus's confident and firm expression made Judge Eda turn his anger into a smile.

"Very good." Judge Eda said, "In the fastest case, you can go to the Echo Town Police Department to collect your uniform, police badge and Magistrate badge in one standard Earth cycle."

"You can recruit two more sergeants and police officers within the salary allocated by the town government, because there are really not enough manpower."

"Is this a problem that just appeared recently or has it been there for a long time?" Augustus asked Eda, the judge said.

"Shortage of manpower has always been a problem. Not many people want to receive a meager salary to chase gangsters and murderers in the desert. Almost everyone here has a gun, and even children who don't seem to be much of a threat are not easy to mess with."

"Honestly, when no one has applied for the position of Sheriff or even Sheriff for more than a month, I simply can't refuse you." Judge Ada seemed to be relieved. "It seems that you have just arrived in Echo Town. Speaking of which, I am worried that you will not be able to deal with these rough Mar Sara people."

"I'm being reasonable." Augustus took out a revolver from his pocket. "If they want to challenge Confederacy Magistrate's authority, then they'd better pray that they can be faster than my Vulture and bullets when they escape."

"I also want to know, what should I do if I hire too many police officers, more than the town government can supply?" Augustus asked.

"If you can pay them salaries instead of the government, or let these people voluntarily reduce their salaries to follow you, then that is okay." Judge Eda said and pondered for a moment.

"Are you worried that you are not strong enough to deal with those gangs? Then you can try to apply for the establishment of a colonial militia."

"I know." Augustus smiled on his bearded face. This is why Augustus wants to be Magistrate. If nothing else, he will be able to gain considerable authority. This is conducive to Augustus's further control of Hilo, where Revolutionary Army's revolutionary ideas are spread, with workers, farmers and the new aristocracy emerging from the new industry as the main propaganda targets.

Magistrate is not Augustus's ultimate goal. If everything goes well and he stays in Ma·Sara for a longer period of time, he can control more areas.

Although Augustus accepted the call to become a Ma·Sara Magistrate, he did not plan to stay on this planet for long.

Now Revolutionary Army Fleets is a lone army wandering around. Once Confederacy Fleets is discovered, they will come from all over Koprulu Sector to encircle and suppress them, to pursue and intercept them. This has decided that although Revolutionary Army does need a base, they must move to other planets every once in a while.

Every time Revolutionary Army goes to a place, he will leave a part of the Pan-Terran Revolutionary Party backbone and Revolutionary Army fighters to build a secret base and leave with the recruits recruited on the planet. The remaining Revolutionary Army will form a planetary guerrilla force, spread revolutionary ideas on the planet, and absorb new party members and Revolutionary Army fighters.

In the remaining three months of Augustus 2489's plan, he planned to rest and recuperate for a period of time in Ma Sara and accumulate some wealth by mining crystal mines. By 2490, Augustus's next step would be to go to Kel-Morian Combine to replenish ships.

There are about four thousand Revolutionary Army soldiers disguised as miners on the surface of Ma Sara's planet. The food they need for life comes from the Echo Town market. And Revolutionary Army in space Among the Fleets, excluding the six that Warfield has taken to Umojan, there are eight warships with about 40,000 Revolutionary Army soldiers.

The battlecruiser does not have a self-sufficient ecological cycle system, food synthesis factory or hydroponic plant farm, which means that every two to three months Augustus's logistics officer must go to various cities in Ma Sara to buy food. But in Confederacy When Fleets continues to search for the Revolutionary Army Fleets in the territory of Confederacy, such a huge amount of food purchases will inevitably arouse suspicion.

Currently, Augustus's logistics officer uses a disguised identity as a businessman to purchase food and other supplies from the capital of Ma·Sara and two other large supermarkets, but this is not a long-term solution after all.

Then, Judge Eda tapped his fingers lightly on the table, and his voice became lower. "Although it is strange, Echo Town's public security has improved a lot after Thomas Magistrate died in the line of duty."

"Chief McAllen also reported that several hateful gangs withdrew from Echo Town and moved their headquarters to other towns. This is a rare thing. After all, those villains and ruffians will only put away their hands that they shouldn't extend after being beaten up." He looked at Augustus and said.

"While the crime rate has dropped significantly, reports of missing persons have also increased dramatically - which is alarming even though many cities have significant migrant populations."

"I hope that the first thing you will do after taking office is to investigate this strange thing."

"It does sound very difficult." Augustus is well aware of the reasons for the decline in crime rates and missing persons, because that is what he did. "I will deal with this matter as soon as possible."

"Very good." Judge Eda stood up happily. "Then I'm just waiting for your good news."

"These years have not been peaceful. Four Year War, the rebels, and the Edge World witchcraft cult. Although no one here believes that the lost dogs that escaped from Tarsonis may come to Ma·Sara, you must pay attention to those people who are walking around with unknown origins." The Eda judge did not know that Augustus was the owner of the mine. The person who registered the identity of the mine owner locally was one of his Umojan consultants.

"There is a newly built mine not far from Echo Town. The miners there are all from Agria-well, I think you should pay attention to them."

"I will pay attention." Augustus said, "I have always hated the Korhal rebels. Those scum will definitely pay the price for their betrayal."

"To be honest, I still sympathize with the ordinary people of Korhal. The fault is not with them, but with the few rebels who coerced them into rebellion." Judge Eda nodded. "I admire you very much. I originally wanted to invite you to Jennin Bar for a drink. It is the best bar here, small but quiet, and suitable for talking about work. But it is still working time, so we can only make an appointment next time."

"We will have many opportunities in the future. I hope we can become good friends." Augustus shook hands with Judge Eda, said goodbye, and then walked towards Raynor and others at the door.

"Is it done?" Raynor has been impatient for a long time.

"Everything goes well." Augustus put his arm around Raynor's shoulders. "Jimmy, let's go to the bar and have a drink, just like in the past, I'll pay the bill."

"Where are you going?" Raynor smiled, "Good brother, just point here, and I will follow you to the end of the world."

"The judge Eda said the local Jennin Bar is good. Let's go there."

When more than twenty Revolutionary Army soldiers, including Augustus, Raynor, and Corporal Faraday, arrived at Jennin Bar, the positions were quickly exhausted.

Jennin Bar is a sake bar with a cleaner layout, without so many dazzling lights and loud music. The boss is a middle-aged man wearing glasses. From his words and conversation, it can be seen that he should have received an aristocratic education in the core world and understands many of the etiquette among Tarsonis aristocrats.

--But there is no Number Eight Whiskey here.

Augustus sat at the same table with listless Raynor and Corporal Faraday, drinking Porter wine that Augustus liked. Although Raynor had no interest in it, he was always willing to drink alcoholic beverages.

Originally, Raynor was just drinking the wine in the glass, until a tall girl named Ma·Sara walked into his sight.

The other party may be only slightly smaller than Raynor. She has a slim figure, wears light-colored trousers and a windproof robe, and has light brown skin tanned by the scorching sun of Ma·Sara.

She is very beautiful, and her natural beauty has neither the heavy makeup of colonial women nor the unnatural traces left by laser surgery on aristocratic women in the core world.

This girl is very beautiful, and she quickly attracted Raynor's attention.

"I must have seen her somewhere." Raynor looked at the girl standing at the door and whispered to Augustus next to him, "This is my ideal type. How should I say it in Tychus's words?"

"In this poor place like Ma·Sara, roses grow in the pits."

"Hey, little girl standing at the door, my friend wants to know your name!" Augustus held Raynor's arm and laughed.

"Liddy·Elizabeth." The girl looked at them and showed a natural and unpretentious smile, "Cowboys, welcome to my town."

Liddy·Elizabeth has long, loose golden hair. She grins with neat white teeth when she smiles, and her blue eyes are bluer than the sky.

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Elizabeth is the wife of Raynor and the mother of John (Johnny) Raynor. They met seven years earlier.