On Christmas Eve, Augustus wasn’t spending ti with his family. Instead, he hastily convened key mbers and officers of the Revolutionary Army. Each Confederate city, Free Trade City, Industrial City, and orbital Starport Ring had dispatched two to three representatives. The eting was held in the warehouse of a holographic screen factory owned by the ngsk Group.
Though this massive organization already numbered over a hundred thousand mbers scattered across cities all over Korhal IV, they still relied on clandestine underground networks to evade police and intelligence agents. It was less a military force and more a collective of underground revolutionaries, bound by passion, belief, and an unrelenting thirst for freedom.
The Korhal Revolutionary Army was a relatively loose-knit movent. Each city’s cell was overseen by a Revolutionary Committee, and each committee mber was responsible for coordinating several urban districts, factories, or rural communities.
At the very top of the Revolutionary Army was a figure known as the ’Supre Marshal’, ’First Leader’, or ’Pioneer’. But no one knew his true na—he was little more than a symbolic enigma.
Angus ngsk was the founder of this movent, but he was not the Marshal. That title was originally ant for his eldest son, Arcturus ngsk—but the latter was currently preoccupied with mining operations.
On the afternoon of December 23rd, Augustus stood inside the dimly lit factory warehouse—its windows coated in a special black finish to block any view from outside—addressing nearly 130 Revolutionary Army mbers. So had organized the demonstrations in Styrling; others worked in recruitnt and propaganda. The rest were the so-called initiators of ’terrorist attacks’. Most of their operational funding ca from the ngsk family.
Under the blue factory lighting, Augustus stood before them in a long-sleeved black square-collared coat.
The gathered revolutionaries were dressed in all manner of clothing—industrial uniforms, business suits, casual wear, even high school uniforms and bar server outfits. They whispered among themselves, curious about Augustus’s identity. His codena was ’Lieutenant’—which didn’t sound like much. But within the Revolutionary Army, ranks weren’t assigned by role—they were honorifics, reserved exclusively for key figures.
Many suspected he was the ’First Leader’, or even the ’Marshal’ himself—after all, only soone with that level of authority could summon so many senior revolutionaries here.
So recognized him as the second son of Angus ngsk, the leader of the Korhal Independence Movent, and were astonished to see him in person. Before Augustus joined the military, the ngsk children had always remained low-profile. Few outside ever managed to get a glimpse of their photos.
But after Augustus gained fa as a war hero and commander of Heaven’s Devils, his reputation had grown rapidly across Korhal IV.
This ran counter to the expectations of the Federal governnt and UNN, both of whom had believed that such fa would, if anything, diminish Angus’s revolutionary credibility.
Most Korhalans held nothing but contempt for the so-called war heroes endorsed by the Terran Confederacy. But Augustus ngsk was the exception. And that was solely because of his surna—and those iconic cold grey eyes and silver hair.
Statues of the first-generation ngsk still stood across many parts of Korhal IV, adorned with fresh flowers on his birthday each year. The ’Wolf of Styrling’ was revered as a symbol of the Korhalan spirit—unyielding and defiant in the face of tyranny. The people believed the ngsk bloodline had inherited the wolf’s traits. Every generation of ngsk, they said, was born to lead the pack.
"I am Augustus ngsk," he declared, "Supre Leader of the Korhal Revolutionary Army."
"I’ve gathered you here for one reason—to learn what’s going on."
Augustus looked into the eyes of all those staring back at him. "But before that... I have an announcent to make."
It was their first ti eting him in person—but in that mont, no one uttered a word. The gravity of Augustus’s expression and the power in his voice commanded silence. They all stared at his youthful, yet commanding face, hanging on to every word he was about to say.
"Those impassioned speeches—those cries for revolution and freedom, for liberty and independence—my father, Angus ngsk, has already delivered more than enough of them," he said.
"I only have one thing to say."
"The war has already begun!"
"In the past, you wore many identities—sons, fathers, husbands. But now, I will call you one thing only: soldiers of the revolution. My soldiers!"
"For Korhal!"
Almost in unison, all the revolutionaries raised their fists in salute, honoring Augustus.
"For the New Order!" Augustus raised his right fist high.
"Korhal above all!"
The response ca in perfect harmony, loud and thunderous.
"Korhal above all!"
Everyone present understood that this was not just another eting—it was a full mobilization for war. The Korhal Revolutionary Army was about to beco a real army.
The relatively cramped hardware supply warehouse was packed with passionate young n, full of zeal. Their ages ranged from sixteen to forty, and they ca from all walks of life. There were both the downtrodden and the accomplished—sewer cleaners and factory managers, failed art students and alleged lunatics. They were a reflection of society in all its chaotic and colorful forms.
Augustus gestured for silence, then began questioning the attendees.
"Corporal Newson, how many n can be mobilized in the southern Confederate city of New Trent?" Augustus asked.
"Two thousand," ca the reply.
"If I give you three months, can you raise that number to twenty thousand?"
"I will rally every willing soul I can find. And if I fail... then let my blood be spilled on Korhal’s soil."
Augustus went on to ask each representative about their local revolutionary strength and the public’s revolutionary sentint. Then he spoke: "Ti is running out, comrades. Soldiers."
"We must gather like-minded allies as quickly as possible and form a standing army—no less than ten fully organized infantry divisions, which will combine into two field armies. Rember: this must be a professional military, not a hastily assembled peasant revolt. The army will fall under the direct command of the Revolutionary Military Headquarters and follow centralized orders."
"The Korhal Revolutionary Army must be bound by strict discipline. Sergeants will maintain order; officers will carry out the directives of the high command. We will need a recruitnt office, a logistics departnt, a human resources division, a dical corps, and an oversight bureau."
"We will also build a fleet from scratch—train proper naval personnel. If we lack battleships or battlecruisers, we’ll retrofit rchant vessels into assault ships, cargo ships into gunboats, and giant transport ships into frigates."
"The new governnt will allocate funding to construct a synchronous orbital platform and convert two satellites into fortresses. That ans we’ll also need a rapid response force capable of operating in space."
...
December 24th — just one day before Christmas — Augustus was still working inside the temporary headquarters of the Korhal Revolutionary Army, set up on the sixty-second floor of the ngsk Sky Tower.
A once-loose revolutionary group was beginning to take shape as a real army, driven by the succession of orders issued by Augustus. The Revolutionary Army was establishing departnts, creating a soldier database, consolidating manpower, and organizing troops into platoons, companies, battalions, regints, and divisions — all according to their places of birth.
At the mont, Augustus was drafting a docunt requesting funding from his father to establish the ngsk Military Academy. This had been his main task over the past few days — asking for people, for money, for everything.
Augustus now wielded significant authority. In essence, he was building a new Korhal Revolutionary Army from the ground up, and the wealth and resources of House ngsk were steadily tilting in favor of the movent. Angus understood well enough the importance of having a powerful military force in one’s hands — he simply lacked the personnel and n of action capable of executing that vision.
After all, Angus was rely a politician. He had always hoped to secure the people’s rights through political ans. But he wasn’t ruthless enough. He lacked the necessary resolve.
According to Augustus’s estimates, the southern Confederate cities and the northern urban centers could each raise three fully reorganized divisions of 25,000 soldiers. Industrial cities, mining towns, and agricultural and pastoral settlents could assemble even more troops, while the port cities along both coasts of Korhal would be responsible for supplying the future navy with sailors and support crew.
These early forces were made up of true revolutionaries — and they would beco the most elite and loyal troops under Augustus’s command.
Augustus had an overwhelming amount of work ahead of him. He had co to realize that his father had severely underestimated both the strength of the Federal military and the ruthless nature of the Tarsonis Federal Assembly. They were up against far more than the decaying Federation garrison on Korhal IV — a force weakened by corruption, lack of training, and prolonged absence from the front lines.
The Federal Fleet might not even bother landing troops to recapture the planet. It was entirely possible they would simply raze it from orbit. Korhal, as the first world to rebel, would be reduced to ash — that was the fate the Confederacy reserved for traitors.
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