Augustus stepped out of the armored vehicle, hugged his family one by one, and swore to them that he would return alive. Then he waved goodbye until the Mengsk family's motorcade gradually faded away.
After the motorcade turned into a string of black spots in the distance, Augustus dragged his suitcase with a genetic identification lock toward the bronze gate of the recruitment center.
"Sir, I guess you must have come to join the glorious Union Marine Corps." One of the Union Marines looked at Augustus with a formulaic smile on his face.
"We fight for the Union!" another soldier then said.
"Yes, I have passed all the tests and qualifications. Today is the day for recruit reporting... Where can I meet the recruiting officer?"
Augustus frowned, the bronze door of the recruitment center was open, and the front hall was decorated as magnificently as an opera house, but there was no one there.
Years of war have dragged the Tyranid Federation into a quagmire. The economy is sluggish, citizens' living standards have dropped rapidly, and the military participation rate has dropped to the lowest point, especially among Kehal, who has always longed for independence and extremely hates the federal government.
It is generally believed that only the hopeless dregs of society, homeless bums, and criminals join the Union Marine Corps.
"From now on we are comrades-in-arms." The Marine said, "Enter the door and turn left to the fourth room. The commander is waiting for you.
Augustus nodded and was about to leave when the two Marines looked at a young man walking behind him in a hurry and said: "Sir, I guess you must have come to join the glorious Federal Marine Corps."
of."
"We fight for the Union!"
This made Augustus feel a little strange. Not only did the two people say exactly the same words, but their tone was exactly the same as before. This weird feeling always lingered, as if they were NPCs in the game and would only follow the instructions.
Pre-set programs speak.
Augustus hoped that this was just his imagination.
Following the soldiers' words, Augustus walked through the gate and antechamber into a long corridor, and met his recruiter at the recruitment office numbered 004.
The recruiter wearing a dark blue uniform and a gold medal of bravery on his chest is a young officer. The military rank on his chest shows that he is a corporal. This corporal has a pair of cold blue eyes and clean golden hair.
She has short hair and a scar at the corner of her eye that is hard to notice.
The federal officer had been staring at Augustus since he entered the room. After taking his portfolio with the federal emblem on the cover, the corporal flipped through it and put it away: "The famous Senator Ange
The second son of S. Mengsk and a top student at Stillling College, in Korhal, you are equivalent to getting a pass to enter government departments, major inter-galactic companies and super enterprises."
"To be honest, this is the first time I have seen a noble like you join the army. Korhal is not like Tarsonis. There are very few nobles who follow the ancient tradition and let their family members join the army."
"What makes you willing to give up your bright future and choose to become an ordinary Marine?" He looked at Augustus and asked.
"To protect all mankind." Augustus shrugged and said.
"...Mr. Augustus Mengsk, I promise you will never regret joining the Federation Marine Corps. For a long time, we have been traveling through the vast sea of stars, exploring unknown and mysterious places one after another.
World. We fight alien beasts, Camorians and Umoyans, and protect the people of the marginal colonies and their valuable private property." The officer nodded, recognizing Augustus's answer.
"This is a romantic and glorious career."
"Unfortunately, when it comes to killing people, it is neither honorable nor romantic." Augustus paused and said.
The officer smiled and did not argue, but then his expression gradually became serious. He cleared his throat and said: "Listen, kid, the Federation Marine Corps adheres to three principles: strength, pride and discipline. We are here to protect the entire Terran world.
Fighting for human interests, usually, the Marines would follow the colonial fleet, but after the shameless Kemorians tore up the trade agreement, we had to switch to fighting their 'army' organized by miners and farmers.
"
"We will win this just war."
Augustus showed an awkward but decent smile. He knew how this war happened. Although it was the Camorians who started the war, the Tyranids did not necessarily have to take up arms to resist.
of victims.
In fact, the fuse of the war originated from the domineering behavior of the Tyranid Federation. The Federation Council had authorized the Marines to seize the crystal mineral deposits discovered by the Kaimorian exploration team and private mines far away from their home world. A large number of Kaimorian
The owners of the Ruian mine and the members of the exploration team will be sent to the courts of the federal planet, tried under federal laws, and then sent to prison on trumped-up charges.
Next, those mineral veins were placed under the names of the ancient founding families and new nobles in the Federal Parliament.
"Okay, let's go to the apron on the top floor. The transport ship that transports you is the latest APOD-33 transport ship. This transport ship is equipped with a curvature engine and can reach the planet where the recruit training camp is located in just a few days."
The corporal looked at his watch: "Depart on time at two o'clock in the afternoon. Your spaceship is the No. 089 ship of this model. The ground crew and mechanics call her the Dove of Peace. Look for it, no one will give you directions.
"
...
When Augustus walked into the terminal, there were only dozens of different recruits who had not yet changed into military uniforms and were dressed in various clothes. The only thing they had in common was that they were sitting on hundreds of seats.
Have a young and energetic face.
As Augustus walked, he quietly observed the clothes and demeanor of these people. After all, these people were likely to become his comrades-in-arms in the future.
Most people are bent over an all-in-one personal terminal similar to a mobile phone, spending the boring time waiting for the spacecraft to take off on virtual games, electronic novels and virtual singers.
Augustus even recognized a classmate from middle school among them, but he did not say hello to him.
For others, Augustus could tell at a glance that they came from the bottom of society, were losers in life, or were children of the former. The clothes of these people were made of the cleanest industrial fiber products, and there was not even a single electronic product on their bodies.
, most of them have dejected faces and dull eyes.
"Soldiers, gather immediately and enter the boarding platform from aisle 4." Just as Augustus was about to find a place to sit down, a rough man's voice suddenly sounded in the hall.
"Follow the instructions on the platform to find your own spaceship, and don't run around! Otherwise, the guards will blow the heads of you hairless donkeys!"
"Didn't you say two o'clock?" There was a commotion in the hall. Some people rolled up their sleeves and checked their mechanical watches repeatedly in disbelief. The uncomfortable sound of shoes scraping against each other suddenly sounded on the tiled floor of the terminal.
Barking sound.
Augustus walked quickly through the passage to the parking platform. As soon as he walked out of the passage, the roar of the spacecraft engine, the strong wind and the smell of engine oil baked by the sun immediately hit him head-on.
While running towards his ship, Augustus caught a glimpse of many old antique ships that were about to be scrapped and a few scarred galaxy hoppers.
The original memory told Augustus that the Tyranid Federation was still using old model transport ships from decades ago to transport soldiers. As long as these spacecraft did not crash during flight or lose some key parts, they would never be able to transport soldiers.
Retired.
And his father Angus has mentioned countless times the corruption of the Tarsonian Federation Council. The assets held by the founding families that control the entire federation through the council are enough to fill Korhal's Andori.
The Great Asian Trench is still greedily exploiting the people.
Fortunately, Augustus didn't have to worry about his spaceship disintegrating on the spot after entering the sub-jump channel. As his recruiter said, the spaceship transporting the recruits was brand new and shiny, at least it looked better than scrap metal.