In just a few minutes, Augustus closed another deal—80,000 sets of Ripper power armor that had seen the 4-year Guild Wars, enough to arm the two remaining corps of his Revolutionary Army.
The CEO of the Kelanis Shipping Guild stated plainly that their factories could deliver 20,000 sets of newly produced Ripper power armor and 100,000 Kel-Morian 8 mm caliber railguns within 2 weeks, but as for tanks and aircraft, those would need several weeks or even months before they could be delivered to the Revolutionary Army. Augustus could not remain in Moria that long.
So Augustus planned to make large purchases of the power armor that the Kel-Morian Combine had phased out after the Guild Wars—even though countless guild guards who had once been Rippers valued their hard-earned power armor dearly, in the end these were the property of the Combine and the guild corporations.
And if Augustus bought these secondhand power armors, not only was the supply plentiful, but the price far cheaper. Most important of all, Augustus urgently needed to equip his over 100,000 Revolutionary Army soldiers. Whether the armor was reliable or not, it was still far better than sending his men into battle in cotton uniforms, waving rifles and entrenching shovels.
"Additionally, I need at least 2,000 Kel-Morian Goliath combat walkers and 5,000 heavy tanks to arm my armored divisions."
After that, Augustus continued: "Likewise, we can prioritize purchasing old Goliath walkers and tanks from the Four-Year War—we will handle the refits ourselves."
"As long as the contracts are signed, these power armors, railguns, and Goliath walkers can be shipped out to the Revolutionary Army fleet today." As he spoke, an attendant handed the CEO of the Kelanis Shipping Guild a thick stack of arms-sale contracts.
Augustus only glanced over it before passing it back to Corporal Faraday behind him, who in turn handed it to the staff accompanying them, letting professionals examine the legality of the clauses and the potential traps hidden within.
For a deal of arms this massive, no matter how compliant the contracts were, both sides could tear them up at any moment—not to mention that the Kel-Morian side might not even be able to contact the Revolutionary Army fleet drifting through the Koprulu sector.
"I will first pay part of the deposit." Augustus said to the CEO opposite him. "Of course, it will go through the Umojan National Bank. Neither the Confederacy's banks nor the Combine's are safe."
"There's also a good chance I'll purchase another batch of new weapons during this time, such as deflection field generators—my engineers are very interested in these Kel-Morian technologies. Finally, I expect Moria's foundries to start operating tonight, recruiting enough workers as soon as possible to set the machines running."
"No problem. The Board will provide you and your Generals with the finest hotels and the tightest security during this period." The CEO of the Kelanis Shipping Guild smiled. "You could even stay in Moria for a few more months. Even if the Confederacy Navy's fleets came knocking, they wouldn't dare enter Combine territory."
"We cannot stay that long." Augustus, of course, did not believe the Kel-Morian Combine truly dared confront the Confederacy Navy. "Once we receive the first delivery of weapons, we will leave. After that, I'll assign commissioners to take delivery of the following shipments."
"That is a real pity," said the CEO. "I still feel we've failed to fulfill our duty as hosts. I had even set aside a few hours in my schedule to accompany you hunting out on the Moria grasslands—I've heard the Mengsk family have always been fond of wolf hunting."
"That was decades ago. Now the Styrling wolves only survive among the few hundred in the Umojan Protectorate's zoos."
After that, before the dishes were fully served, Augustus and the CEO conversed for a long time, from astronomy and geography to economics and politics—they spoke of everything.
Augustus hardly touched the food on the table, only chewing a piece of broccoli, ignoring the snow-marbled Umojan beef, the French-style escargot, and the thin-sliced Umojan beetle meat, spending the rest of the time drinking without pause.
Both sides were very satisfied with the meeting: the Kel-Morian side got their money, while Augustus obtained the equipment he wanted.
"…If there's a chance, I still hope to return to Korhal for a look." When Augustus spoke of how, at 16, he had tamed a caged Styrling wolf, the CEO opposite glanced at his expensive chronometer. "My apologies, I must rush back to the city of Hermes to attend a meeting."
"If you wish to tour our foundries or experience the local customs in the capital city of Jacob, I will arrange for dedicated personnel and vehicles to escort you." He pointed to a male attendant behind him dressed in a black suit and wearing a blue tie.
"He is my Executive Director. All your affairs here in Moria will be under his charge." With that, the CEO—who looked like a man endlessly busy, never with his feet touching the ground—hurried away, and the rest of the guild board members gradually left as well, leaving Augustus and his subordinates.
"You may state freely your travel plans here in Moria, and we will arrange escorts. Or, if you have other intentions, you may tell me as well." After the CEO's departure, his Executive Director immediately stepped up before Augustus.
"No need for your concern. My soldiers will protect me." Augustus stood up and walked toward the pool outside the restaurant, while the Executive Director continued to follow him closely. Raynor, well-fed, and Warfield, who had drunk only a little, also stepped out of the restaurant to muster their guards.
As his gaze swept across the glittering pool, Augustus calmly watched Tychus, with his hulking build, and the equally muscular Harnack chasing after those Kel-Morian women with exposed curves in the pool, playing with unrestrained delight.
"Are they always this ridiculous?" Kerrigan frowned as she looked at Tychus.
"Mm, not always." After a moment of thought, Augustus suddenly clapped his hands and shouted loudly.
"Gentlemen, the game of hide-and-seek with the girls in the pool is over. You'd best climb out before I lose my temper, or I'll put you in confinement and make you recite an entire volume of the Angus Quotations before you're let out."
Augustus's words immediately had an effect. Harnack scrambled ashore at once, scampering off to change clothes, while Tychus lingered half a minute longer, coming out still clutching a bundle of women's swimsuits.
"Harnack is a good-hearted bad boy, while Tychus is a fusion of sins." At that moment, Warfield, standing behind Augustus, offered his timely judgment. He had begun to grow a beard, though it never extended beyond a few inches.
"So where are we headed next?" Raynor had no interest in such matters. Still young, brimming with vigor, he was never at rest, as though he had boundless energy to burn.
"I plan to visit Moria's most renowned university, Sakai University. It is among the foremost institutes of science and engineering in the world." Augustus said: "Let's go there and see—we need top talent, and young people are the most open to new things and revolutionary ideas."
"Do you remember Jordan Kachinksy, whom we recruited while excavating that alien relic on Mar Sara? I heard from him that quite a few of his nephews are studying at that university and will graduate this year."
Through his conversations with Jordan, Augustus learned that he had two nephews named Milo and Victor.
Milo, Jordan's nephew, would become the genius starship engineer of Raynor's Raiders' Hyperion, while his other nephew, Victor, would go on to be the famed inventor of the Widow Mine.
...
Sakai University was without question the top research university, a gathering place of elites and masters. For over two centuries, the super-elites it had supplied to the entire Kel-Morian Combine shone like stars; the Combine's most famous scientific giants, world-renowned artistic masters, and most influential political figures had all come from this hall of knowledge in the capital city of Jacob.
Sakai University stood at the very pinnacle of this city's skyline, alongside the headquarters of the Kelanis Shipping Guild, the Morian Mining Coalition, the Independent Government residence, the Guild Hall, and the headquarters tower of LarsCorp Technologies, ranking as one of the most majestic and artistically striking buildings in Jacob.
From Augustus's vantage point within the university, Sakai was undoubtedly a grand Neo-Gothic complex of white limestone, bronze steel, and stained-glass curtain walls. Between spired towers stretched garden courtyards, green lawns wrapped around beds of pink and violet flowers and deciduous trees imported from distant worlds, a sea of blossoms under deep shade.
On barren Moria, water resources mostly relied on desalination technology and groundwater buried deep underground; ordinary people had to pay an extra heavy price for daily water usage. Yet within Sakai's central park and its campus-wide nurseries there were never-ceasing fountains and sprinklers clearing away dust and grit.
This university, nearly as old as the Moria colony itself, had been renovated twice, but its main artistic style remained that of two centuries earlier. At that time, the aesthetic of the Moria people was almost identical to that of the Terra era, so finely carved lines, solemn Gothic gates, and vaults were a common sight.
Outside Sakai's low walls, crawling with green vines, was a completely different scene: a university town of several hundred thousand people, full of upscale residential communities, leisure facilities, and research centers. Beyond that sprawled clusters of high-rise buildings, with roads and skies crowded by tens of thousands of flying cars.
The very center of Jacob was similar to the central city of Tarsonis, its outskirts ringed by massive industrial complexes; furnaces, smoke-belching chimneys, and operating machine factories formed this industrial world of forges and bronze pipes.
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