Governor Haj

The sunsets in Grandi are just as punctual as the sunrises.

In the past, Governor Ent McMaster of Haj would always stand on the top floor of the Geladi City Governor's Building at this time, admiring the silvery-white high-altitude maglev train tracks that encircled the Geladi City and the shuttles traveling between the interstellar port and space in the brilliant but brief afterglow of the Sunset.

In the fading afterglow, the rooftops of the city were bathed in a golden glow. As countless hazy, colorful lights illuminated the city, the governor would think of Tarsonis, the bustling metropolis, rather than this desolate, backward planet as barren as stone.

Planets and cities should be groveling at the feet of the Old Families, McMaster. But now, the esteemed Governor Haj, the supreme ruler of this colony and the administrator of the galaxy, is trembling at the feet of the rebel leader Augustus Mengsk.

Perhaps because he had heard that Augustus Mengsk was a cannibal, or perhaps because he had heard rumors of the Revolutionary Army executing Confederacy officials, he didn't even dare to look up at the man in the dark gray military overcoat in front of him.

"Hello, Mr. Ent McMaster. I met your cousin in Tarsonis a few years ago. He's a very easy person to get along with." Augustus sat down in the governor's magnificent chair, which was inlaid with a huge sapphire. In the strong wind stirred by the hem of his dark gray cloak, Augustus lifted one foot and put it on top of the other.

I hope you feel the same way.

At this moment, Governor Ent McMaster was kneeling at Augustus's feet in a position almost prostrating himself. Fortunately, the entire floor of the governor's office was covered with soft wool carpets, otherwise the governor would probably be shivering from the cold wind blowing in through the doorway.

Augustus never made McMaster kneel, nor would he ask anyone to kneel before him. Rather than saying that Governor Haj knelt before Augustus, it would be more accurate to say that he was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground.

When Augustus walked in from outside, his cold gray eyes only glanced at McMaster, yet the man was so frightened that he fell to the ground. This made Augustus wonder what false claims the Confederacy and the UNN had made against him. Besides eating children, he wondered what other tricks the Confederacy had come up with recently.

"There's no need for such formalities, Governor." Tychus and Faraday stood behind Augustus. The former was a burly man with a ferocious scar on his face and a fierce look in his eyes, while the latter, although he looked much more respectable, was holding a Gauss Rifle.

Tychus stared mockingly at Governor Haj's trembling body. "I originally thought that those who could become governors were at least capable people, but look at them now, what a bunch of scoundrels! Even an idiot can control a colony. The Confederacy is completely finished."

"How many Confederacy governors have we seen over the years? Apart from that tough guy Pulaier, none of the others seem to have had a good ending?"

Upon hearing Tychus's words, Governor McMaster's flabby face trembled.

The McMaster Family is one of the Old Families of the planet Tarsonis. They are a prominent family that mainly engages in politics and firmly holds considerable influence in the Confederate Congress. The Speaker of the Congress is either from the Tagore Family or a McMaster.

Over two centuries of development, the family's power has extended from Tarsonis to many of the Confederacy's colonies, and even the ancient families in these colonies are mostly their vassals.

Thanks to advancements in technologies such as artificial insemination, the McMaster Family has produced numerous offspring, whose influence can be seen in all sectors and aspects of the Terran Confederacy.

To become the governor of a colony, McMaster could not have been a weak and incompetent man—he must have had his "shining points." For example, he was good at making money and had excellent connections.

In the early, pioneering era of the Terran Confederacy's colonization, family background and bloodline were not synonymous with nobility. If someone could become the governor of an entire colony, then they were undoubtedly a respectable leader. A leader in the interstellar Colonial Era should be an upright, diligent, highly responsible, and charismatic individual.

However, nowadays, the appointment of a governor is often linked to a complex network of relationships and interests. Parliament and Old Families do everything they can to gain power and wealth, or both, through these positions.

"Stand up, Ent McMaster, don't let your glorious family be disgraced." Augustus said, "Stand up, or outsiders will think I'm a slave owner or an abusive man."

Governor McMaster stumbled as he struggled to his feet, and it took him a while to stand up. In the past, the governor would have reprimanded his servants, but now they were all "free," and no one would bow down to him anymore.

As the governor sat down in a chair opposite him at Augustus's signal, two Revolutionary Army soldiers in military uniforms approached him with the clatter of their boots and stood on either side of him, as if he, the governor of high rank, were a prisoner awaiting trial.

"Greetings, valiant Marshal Augustus Mengsk, savior of the people! Your brilliance and prowess are widely renowned among the nobles of Tarsonis." McMaster hadn't flattered anyone in a very long time, but he hadn't forgotten how to ingratiate himself with the stronger.

Just over ten hours earlier, McMaster had said something quite different; he had referred to Augustus Mengsk as a wild dog and a vampire.

"Is that so? It's rare to find members of the Old Families who are so consistent in their words and deeds. It's better for my enemies to worship me than to hate me." Augustus gave Governor McMaster a friendly smile. "It's a pleasure to see you here."

"Me too... I'm happy too." McMaster's expression had nothing to do with happiness.

Before Augustus say anything more, Faraday suddenly whispered to Augustus, "Marshal, just now, General Saul Rick, the Confederacy military commander of Haj, committed suicide by shooting himself."

"I understand," Augustus sighed, but showed no regret.

"Governor"

"No! No! I'll tell you everything! I don't want to die, I don't want to be forced to commit suicide. I know how you deal with people like me." McMaster suddenly shuddered and shouted, almost begging Augustus to spare his life.

"You're quite self-aware," Tychus laughed heartily.

"How could we possibly do that?" Augustus taken aback at first, then laughed, "That's you."

"Don't worry, I won't hang you," he said. "I'd rather send you to work in a mine, or work as a valve inspector at a gas refinery—in short, give you a chance to start anew."

"You only need to admit that the Governor's Office and the Geladi City colluded to embezzle taxes and use voodoo sects to traffic people. As for the more disgusting parts, I don't even want to talk about them." Augustus, "Just tell the truth, there's no need to embellish."

"Governor, whether you can survive the rest of your shameful years depends on how many people you can drag down with you, and then you need to explain in detail the heinous things the McMaster Family has done over the years, and how you bankrupted the farmers of Paralta through legislation and then dumped your own food company's products on a massive scale."

When McMaster stammered and looked up, he found that several cameras were already pointed at him.

Augustus quickly lost interest in Governor McMaster; he stood up and walked toward the large glass window of the governor's office.

The greatest value of this Governor-General Haj was that he could provide the Revolutionary Army with evidence to expose the dark side of the Confederacy, or to make the Old Families lose face.

However, Augustus need a puppet.

At an altitude of several hundred feet above the ground, the wind was particularly strong, causing even the sturdy PVC glass to vibrate. There was no moon in the sky, but because it was cloudless, the stars seemed to shine brightly. Two small motorboats with propellers flashing bright blue light drove past the window, carrying Revolutionary Army soldiers on patrol missions over the city.

Scattered throughout the city are still some cunning and dangerous Fenris Overlord and Mutalisk, hiding on the rooftops or inside the towering skyscrapers of Geladi City. These Zerg seem to have learned how to nest in the steel jungle of humankind, forged from reinforced concrete. Once the Cerebrate get too far away from them, the Zerg will revert to their instincts to some extent.

"Marshal, the government of the Haj Grandi Administrative District has been reorganized under your instructions," Faraday said, walking up to Augustus.

"The army's offensive on the remaining two cities is also unstoppable; the entire Haj is ours."

"How are the locals reacting?" As Governor McMaster confessed his and the Haj Haj Confederacy's shameful crimes to the camera, Augustus remained looking out the window, without turning around.

"Many people welcomed us, but even more expressed skepticism. The Haj's reaction was rather lukewarm compared to the people of the Sara System and Antiga," Faraday replied.

The people of Haj were not particularly enthusiastic about the arrival of the Revolutionary Army; in fact, they were quite bewildered.

In the political slogans of the Terran Confederacy's planetary councilors and the UNN propaganda based on them, the Korhal Revolutionary Army has always been portrayed as a heinous rebel group. However, the Confederacy will not clarify which areas the rebels have affected; they will only emphasize the rebels' viciousness while claiming that the rebellion is still under control.

Haj was a remote and backward colony with limited access to information. Most importantly, no revolutionaries had been active there before, which meant that the locals were still not very familiar with the Revolutionary Army.

Although the revolutionary Revolutionary Army's propaganda in Haj was inspiring—for example, the new government replacing the corrupt governor's office, the new constitution, the new administrative structure, and the simple and clear tax system gained the support of the lower and middle classes—and the Revolutionary Army's swift and decisive purge of local criminal elements also earned them widespread praise, a considerable number of people were still influenced by Confederacy political propaganda and viewed the army as outlaws and terrorists, adopting a wait-and-see attitude.

"In just a short time, the Haj people will realize that the changes we have brought have profoundly affected their lives, and they will never want to return to the oppressed Confederacy era," Augustus.

"The cause of justice never stops!" Faraday shouted.

"I think you're right." Tychus had been scrutinizing the lavishly decorated governor's mansion, and he hadn't really been listening to what Augustus and Faraday were saying.

At that moment, a cloud of black smoke and a chilling aura suddenly rose around Augustus.

Augustus Mengsk, the Dark Templar Zeratul, has reappeared.

"Elder, what have you discovered in those ruins in Haj during this time?" Augustus had become accustomed to Zeratul's sudden appearances and inexplicable disappearances. But no matter what, Zeratul always appeared in time when he needed Zeratul.

"I discovered a Xel'Naga Temple in the polar regions of Haj. Although it is not exactly the same as the one in Shakuras, the homeland of the Dark Templar, I am still certain that it comes from the great creator Xel'Naga. It is a relic from the distant past and countless ages ago, a magnificent relic that shines like a jewel," Zeratul told Augustus.

"Unfortunately, the destruction the Haj inflicted on the Xel'Naga Temple was almost devastating. They looted all the Kydarin Crystal clusters surrounding the temple and emptied the statues and exquisite obelisks inside. It was a true catastrophe."

"I expected this." Augustus wasn't particularly surprised. The impoverished Haj wouldn't build a protective museum around the Xel'Naga Temple. After more than a hundred years of excavation by countless immigrants and archaeologists, it's now very difficult to find anything of value inside the Haj Xel'Naga Temple.

The Umojan are the main buyers of these extraterrestrial artifacts, and they have always been enthusiastic about pursuing advanced extraterrestrial technology.

"However, I also discovered a perfectly intact Xel'Naga Gateway not far from that Xel'Naga Temple," Zeratul continued. "That ancient and magical Xel'Naga Gateway is hidden beneath the permafrost of the Haj, which is why humans haven't discovered it."

"Xel'Naga Gateway?" Augustus's eyes lit up; this gave him an opportunity to connect Haj with other colonies.

The most well-known Xel'Naga Gateway are probably the two in Aiur and Shakuras. These Gateway, created by the Xel'Naga, are scattered throughout the universe. They are essentially wormholes; one can enter through one Gateway and immediately emerge from the other, which undoubtedly greatly shortens the distance between vast, distant human colonies.

Unfortunately, only the Protoss currently know how to open and use the Xel'Naga Gateway. While humans can pass through normally, they don't know how to open it. Moreover, once one of these Xel'Naga Gateway is destroyed, it cannot be repaired.

"Is that Xel'Naga Gateway working properly, Elder?" Augustus immediately asked Zeratul.

"Yes," Zeratul said. "Moreover, it still functions as it did when the Xel'Naga created it. In other words, Haj's Xel'Naga Gateway is connected to the rest of the universe, though we don't know whether it leads to a idyllic paradise or the orbit of the hottest blue star."

"Tell my soldiers I need a brave volunteer. Whoever he is," Augustus turned to Faraday.

"No, there's no need to do that." Zeratul's telepathic message carried a hint of amusement. "The Dark Templar know how to use it, and I can use this Gateway to connect to the other Gateway I know of."

"For example, Shakuras, the homeland of us Dark Templar."

Augustus was exasperated by Zeratul's habit of not finishing his sentence at once.

"So, you can now summon reinforcements from Shakuras?"

This chapter was posted in Volume 1; that explains why I couldn't find it.