Brothers' Conversation

"Suitors?" Augustus remembered some Korhal young nobles with bruised and swollen faces. "They can all go to hell."

As Augustus spoke, a scene came to mind. At Dorothy's sixteenth birthday party, half of Sterling's social elite had attended the grand celebration, their sons and daughters all dressed to the nines.

There had been enough nobles with bouquets hoping to see Dorothy to form a line from the Mengsk Sky Tower to the entrance of the Palatine Council Hall. From young heirs who had just come of age to Korhal's youngest senator, Augustus and his father had kept every one of them out of Dorothy's sight.

Young or old, men or women, they had all wanted to dance with Miss Dorothy, the star of the birthday party. In the end, though, it was Augustus who danced with her.

"Dorothy's still young. She doesn't understand how ugly and twisted those fat, bloated noble scum are inside." Arcturus picked up a cup of tea from the table and took a sip. "Those inbred freaks make me sick. They only understand politics, power, and trading favors. They mean to bind their families to the Mengsk Family with a political marriage."

"As long as we're alive, Dorothy will never become a sacrifice to politics and power."

"She'll be happy, always."

"You should go back home and see Dorothy. She's not the little girl you remember anymore." Augustus smiled. "Dorothy has a mind of her own, just like Mom. She loves to read—economics, politics, classical culture, even the Epic of Galactic Heroes. She's far more talented than either of us at managing a company and making business decisions."

"Dorothy should be the one to inherit the Mengsk Family. We're just thinking about escaping Father's control, exploring the unknown beyond the stars, or making a name for ourselves in the military." Arcturus pointed at himself, then at Augustus. "But I'm worried Dorothy will be under too much pressure. She's still just a girl."

"If that happens, I think I'll go back and help her." Augustus spoke his mind. Compared to the battlefield, he'd rather stay safe on Korhal.

Arcturus was clearly taken aback. This wasn't the Augustus he remembered. During the nearly ten years since Arcturus had enlisted, Augustus had written to him at an intense pace of three letters a month, so many that his inbox was impossible to keep up with.

In those letters, without fail, Augustus had expressed his longing for his brother's freewheeling military life, complaining about their father's tyranny and the boredom and frustration of being confined beneath the small patch of blue sky over Korhal.

The young Augustus had dreamed of becoming a marshal who could lead the Interstellar Marine Corps on adventures, establish colonies, and fight strange alien creatures.

Augustus had sworn more than ten times that if he ever managed to escape their father's control and leave Korhal, he'd never go back. Arcturus had explained countless times that life in the Marine Corps was actually painfully dull, but Augustus had never changed his mind.

"Whatever happens, I'll always support you," Arcturus said with a nod.

Even so, Arcturus was glad to see Augustus had changed. No matter how much he believed in his younger brother's abilities, he couldn't guarantee Augustus would come through a battlefield unscathed. Selfishly, Arcturus would rather his younger siblings stay somewhere completely safe than risk having their young wings clipped in pursuit of their dreams.

"But I'm still worried." Arcturus's furrowed brows revealed his concern. "You know what that bastard Angus is up to. He dreams of overthrowing the Terran Confederacy, and he's putting that plan into action.

"With secret funding from the Umojan Council, the rebel forces under Angus's control have destroyed so many outpost factories on the Outer Colonies, and incited so many protests and demonstrations, that the Confederate Congress on Tarsonis is terrified."

"What is he trying to do? At this rate, it's only a matter of time before Korhal IV and the government on Tarsonis plunge into Total War. The Confederate Congress will never stand by and let Korhal slip out of its control. If they accept that one planet can break away from the one and only government and declare independence, other planets will follow suit."

"Then the government will send in the Marines. Korhal might hold out for a while with Umojan help, but the Confederate Congress still has a vast fleet. It can destroy the planet's entire defensive force from high orbit," Arcturus said.

"Angus never thinks about what will happen to his family if he fails. He's playing with fire. How many innocent people have lost their lives to his 'justice' while his rebel organization carries out terrorist attacks on military facilities and businesses owned by the Old Families of Tarsonis? Do those workers and ordinary soldiers really deserve to die?"

"I don't care about Angus or his revolution. Whatever happens, he'll have brought it on himself. But what about Dorothy and Mom? We can't lose them."

"I'll do my best to persuade Father," Augustus said, though he didn't sound very confident in his own words.

"You can't persuade an old wolf that stubborn," Arcturus snorted.

Augustus sighed softly. They both fell silent, apparently all too familiar with Old Mengsk's stubbornness.

After a while, Arcturus moved on. "Augustus, I may retire before the war ends. Perhaps early next year, perhaps even this year. Before then, I want you to become an officer."

"Why?" Augustus looked at Arcturus. Arcturus had already risen to colonel during the Guild Wars, and it was all but certain he'd become a general when the war ended. He had more medals and honors than most people earned in a lifetime. Once the war was won, glory, fame, power, and wealth would come pouring in.

"I'm tired of this life," Arcturus admitted. "The novelty and excitement the Marine Corps once brought me have long since worn off. Now I want to return to my original dream and become a space adventurer and prospector."

"I already have some startup capital. Not from Angus, of course. I've made plans to buy mineral-layer magnetic resonance scanners, drilling rigs, SCVs, and a spaceship. I'm also going to hire some people, though I'll have to take out a loan for that. Then I figure I'll spend anywhere from a few years to over a decade searching for a crystal deposit rich enough to make me a fortune."

Augustus stared at him in shock. He remembered that, in the future, his brother would lead a rebellion, abolish the Terran Confederacy, and establish the Terran Empire. In the game, the founder of the Terran Empire, Arcturus Mengsk, was a formidable space warlord, a seasoned and ruthless politician and schemer.

And now, the future emperor was telling his younger brother that he wasn't interested in any of that. He just wanted to put on a hard hat and go mining.

"If you don't have enough money, go ask Mom," Augustus said, quickly accepting the reality of the situation.

"No. I want to prove that we can do just fine without relying on the family," Arcturus said.

Augustus fell silent.

Out of rebelliousness toward their father, Arcturus despised revolution and politics at this point in his life. He only wanted to go adventuring, prospect for new mineral deposits in the unknown reaches of space, and become a wealthy mine owner. He wanted to make his own fortune through hard work, not by inheriting his father's or family's business.

"When I'm not around, be careful of people with ulterior motives." After a moment's silence, Arcturus spoke to Augustus earnestly. "Other than members of the Mengsk Family, other than ourselves, there's no one we can trust."

"You're a wolf of the Mengsk Family. You have to be ruthless."

Augustus nodded gravely.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Get your people ready, but don't tell anyone else about this." Arcturus added one final thing. "After tomorrow, Operation Plan No. 6 of the Turaxis Army and Marine Corps High Command will no longer be a secret. We're about to launch a full-scale attack on the Kel-Morians on the other side of Pride of Boke and force them to fight us here."

Thanks to Yamato vs. Leviathan, Agent Rongrong, Kankan Zai, and Da Zhou Chess Piece Car for the tips. Thanks to Liu Xi Tang, Yamato vs. Leviathan, Agent Rongrong, Da Zhou Chess Piece Car, and Glory to the Firstborn for the monthly votes. Thank you for your support!

Honestly, the numbers on the first day weren't very good. It's a little discouraging.