When Augustus returned to 1st Squad, Raynor and the others were sitting in an Engineer Corps tent, taking a break. They were heating their field rations and sweet pies over a charcoal stove salvaged from the ruins, using a wok that had survived in surprisingly good condition.
The tent was full of excitement. Harnack's distinctive, swaggering laughter could be heard from far away.
It wasn't until Augustus went inside that he found out the recruits had received last month's pay.
Just as Warfield had promised, everyone in 1st Squad had received an extra eight thousand credits as compensation for turning over the Ardien Crystal after their last victory over the Kel-Morian Assault Cavalry. That meant they were all rich by camp standards.
The poor country boys—Raynor, Omo, Zander, Harnack, and the others—were overjoyed. But they each had different plans for the money. Raynor and Omo had sent theirs to their parents to ease the financial burden on their families.
Zander had grown up in the slums and had no family, so he decided to save his money. Harnack planned to spend all of his treating the boys to a feast or taking them out drinking.
And that wasn't the only surprise. Augustus's platoon leader, Second Lieutenant Reagan, happened to be in the tent too.
Reagan told Augustus that he had been promoted to corporal. A regular triangle had been added beneath the three upside-down V-shaped stripes on his shoulder.
From that day on, Augustus officially became the squad leader of 1st Squad, 3rd Platoon, 1st Company, 5th Battalion. Everyone was in high spirits, even Ward, usually a loner who rarely spoke, and Rick Kidd, the new sniper, wearing happy smiles.
"Boss, what did Warfield want you for?" After chatting for a while, Raynor finally remembered to ask.
"Oh, I went with him to the division headquarters." Augustus found a folding chair and sat down.
"What for?" Raynor wondered. "Are they about to transfer you to division headquarters as a staff officer?"
At Raynor's words, the joy seemed to drain from everyone's faces.
"How could that be? I'm not nearly good enough to be a staff officer." Augustus shook his head, amused.
"You guys didn't know?" Reagan asked, puzzled, from where he sat on the ground. "Augustus is our division commander's younger brother."
"You mean the division commander's also a Mengsk?" Harnack's mouth gaped wide enough to fit several eggs.
"Hank, you idiot. You don't even know who our division commander is, or what his name is?" Raynor laughed, though it was hard to tell what he found so amusing. He didn't know their commander's name either, but that didn't stop him from making fun of Harnack.
"That's amazing!" Omo felt he ought to say something, but once the words were out, he felt like he was only taking up space. It didn't really have anything to do with how amazing Augustus was.
"Yeah! Our squad leader's amazing!" Amy Brandon said with a smile.
"So that means we've got connections?" Josephine seemed to care about that.
"You kept something this important from us?" Zander said, crestfallen.
Everyone in the squad, including their platoon leader, Second Lieutenant Reagan, was curious about it, and Augustus answered every question. He didn't mention the Mengsk Family's standing and influence on Korhal IV, but everyone had already agreed that Augustus's family had to be very rich.
Before long, though, the squad lost interest in Augustus's family and its standing on Korhal IV and moved on to other topics. Augustus was glad to let them. He really didn't want to say much about it.
After a while, the conversation drifted to bars and which barmaid had the best figure.
Just as Lieutenant Reagan was about to leave, Augustus decided to talk with him and his men about the planned assault on Pride of Boke that Arcturus had mentioned. In any case, all the troops stationed on Pride of Boke would know by tomorrow at the latest.
"Arcturus told me we're about to go to war with the Kel-Morians on the other side of Pride of Boke." Augustus looked at Reagan and his men. "You saw the Paddick River today. It's damn wide. We'll have to swim across in all that metal, then use our own flesh and blood to plug the Kel-Morians' gun barrels."
Just as Augustus had said, if the Confederacy wanted to launch a full-scale assault on Pride of Boke, its troops would first have to cross a wide, fast-flowing river. Once they reached the far bank, they would have to brave a hail of fire to smash through the defensive walls and the concrete bunkers sheathed in iron and Plasteel plates. Only then could they face the Kel-Morian Ripper units entrenched inside.
With the air defenses on the far bank keeping the skies locked down, most of the Confederacy's airborne division transports would be shot down before they could land, while its bomber squadrons would be severely hampered.
That left the Confederacy with only two options: build pontoon bridges under fire from Kel-Morian autocannons and machine guns, or make a crossing in large numbers of landing craft and assault boats. But it was flood season, and the Paddick River was at its highest and fastest-flowing. Under those conditions, the Kel-Morians on the north bank held a natural fortress.
The Confederacy would suffer enormous casualties in the coming battle. There was no doubt about it.
The men in the tent fell silent. Once the news sank in, they each reacted in their own way. Everyone knew that people died in war. The only question was who would die.
Or, if they were fated not to live long enough to retire, when and where they would die—and how.
Raynor's smile was gone. He lowered his head, probably thinking of his family. Harnack and the others simply stared at Augustus, as if they still didn't understand what was happening.
Ward, who hated the Kel-Morians with all his heart, kept his expression tense. Out of consideration for his comrades' feelings, he hid his strange delight. Omo had already taken out a sheet of paper and begun writing his third farewell letter to his family in silence.
"I'll need it eventually anyway," he murmured.
"I'm not all that surprised," Reagan said. "They've brought in a whole Onuru Sigma Legion, and with the local army, there are nearly a hundred thousand troops stationed on Pride of Boke. They didn't bring us here to collect pay for doing nothing or to go sightseeing. The generals aren't that kind."
"The Kel-Morians have been entrenched in this area for ages, and there are only twenty or thirty thousand of them. What's there to be afraid of?" he said sarcastically. "Their artillery and machine guns might hit hard, but a Marine's life is worth less than their bullets."
"But you don't need to be too afraid. The Fleets will definitely take part. As far as I know, Alpha Squadron, Delta Squadron, and more than a dozen air force wings from Tarsonis have already arrived at Turaxis. That'll take a lot of pressure off the ground forces." Reagan looked around at the men.
"Ridiculous! Harnack doesn't know the meaning of fear!" Harnack sprang up like a grasshopper that had just been provoked.
"Right, we're never afraid. We're only afraid of running out of money." Raynor was no longer looking mournful. He lifted his head, grinned at Harnack, and watched him bounce around.
"Are we going to war tomorrow?" Omo tucked his finished letter into his pocket and asked.
"Not that soon," Augustus said.
"It'll take time for the orders to go out to all the units, for the divisions to be assigned to their generals, and for the troops and logistics to be ready for the offensive." Reagan pulled aside the tent flap and waved to Augustus and the others.
"I'll keep this to myself. I don't want anyone accusing me of leaking classified information. The food at the Marine Corps Central Security Bureau's jail isn't very good," he said.
"I'm heading back to work. Ah, none of you should be sitting around either. Finish eating, then get back out there and stand watch."
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