Compared to Harnack's strange reaction to the 'intruders', the reactions of the others were more normal. Most people were so scared that they sat down on the ground or stood straight, like frozen hairtail, while others instinctively lay on the ground to find cover.
Although he was really shocked, Augustus still sat there with an unchanged expression. Augustus immediately recognized the guild emblem on these black-armored soldiers - Tovey Industries, a dark green ring with a hexagram symbol engraved in the center.
This is the Kel-Morian Ripper Force, composed of the strongest and bravest warriors in the combine. Its position on the battlefield is equivalent to the most ordinary marines in the federal marines, and it is the most solid cornerstone of each combine army.
It is simply a fantasy that they can appear in the boot camp at this time. As far as Augustus knows, the 'Turaxis Main Base' where he is located is one of the most solid military fortresses in the Terran Federation, with the largest known underground airport on the planet.
In addition to the recruits and the engineering corps, there are also two main battalions, and a Goliath armed robot company stationed inside the fortress. Tens of thousands of engineers, mechanics and other logistics personnel maintain the operation of this huge fortress.
If the Kel-Morian Combine wanted to capture the fortress, he would have to mobilize at least a division-level main force and a large number of artillery regiments, armored brigades and air force units to assist in the attack, and such a large-scale mobilization of forces could not be silent.
Even if Kel-Morian's commander used mysterious means to allow his troops to evade orbital detectors, thermal imaging sensors, ground vibration sensors, scouts and outpost battles, when the real battle started, they would be fighting against the main federal forces outside the fortress, not the recruit training camp in the center.
The most obvious loophole was the way they appeared. It was absolutely impossible to smash the Presteel wall with a single electromagnetic gun. Not to mention, the opposite side of the wall was actually the second-class dormitory next to them, and when Augustus looked out from the crack in the wall, he only saw a bright red desert.
"This is a holographic projection, guys." Almost at the same time when the Kel-Morian Ripper appeared, Augustus calmly said to the panicked recruits.
Highly realistic holographic projections are expensive luxury goods for the civilian class, but they are just a common part of the Mengsk family's daily life.
Augustus' intuition told him that when something is so absurd that it is completely contrary to reality, he has to construct the truth himself through known clues.
"Sit down, let's continue playing cards."
These two sentences immediately calmed the recruits in the class. At this time, most people have not been able to react, but at this moment they have an illusion that Augustus will definitely not be wrong.
As soon as his voice fell, the barrel of the standard Combine electromagnetic rifle in the hands of the Kel-Morian soldier suddenly burst into ice-blue flames.
Augustus seemed to be able to feel the bullet piercing his chest, but this was obviously not true.
The new recruit Tom Omer sat on the ground in fear. Harnack turned his head to look at him, as if he was trying to see if he had wet his pants.
After that, the Kel-Morian soldiers did not continue to shoot, but suddenly turned into black data points and condensed into a uniformed sergeant. The sergeant's face may have been deliberately synthesized by artificial intelligence. It was ordinary and had no characteristics.
"I am the mechanical sergeant Tavis. From today on, I will help you train. Remember, the enemy will appear in front of you at any time and any place. Even in the rear base, you must always be vigilant." The holographic projection portrait said.
"Don't let me catch you, you piece of shit!" Harnack looked at him and made a contemptuous gesture without disguising it. Then he himself felt unsatisfied and gave a middle finger - a 'cultural heritage' passed down from the Earth era to the present.
"New soldier Hank Harnack, your name has been recorded by the Central Security Bureau. This is the first warning. You should show due respect to your superiors." The expressionless face of the holographic projection spoke in a monotone voice.
"Be careful, Raynor, they must have installed this advanced projector in every corner." As Harnack cursed in a low voice, Augustus looked at Jim sitting next to him: "This must have cost the taxpayers a lot of money."
"I'm sure my farm also contributed to this money." Jim laughed.
Afterwards, the first squad of the second platoon of D Company was still playing cards.
After Harnack lost all his shirts, trousers, belts, crash car models, and various styles of underwear, and was ready to gamble his next month's salary to continue playing cards, Augustus timely asked all the new recruits in the class to go to bed.
It was already two o'clock in the morning, and except for Harnack, who was wide awake, the new recruits went to bed obediently.
Augustus didn't care about Harnack, forcing him to sleep and rest as usual. Because he was the last one to arrive at the dormitory, Augustus had no bed to choose from, and the only one left for him was the lower bunk closest to the door.
"I want to remind you, Harnack, the wake-up call will sound at 6 o'clock sharp." Before lying down and closing his eyes to sleep, Augustus said to Hank, who was still sitting on the stool with his back to him, looking thoughtful.
Augustus' unusual composure and calm temperament today undoubtedly left a deep impression on Hank. On the marginal agricultural planet Shiloh, Hank was used to seeing migrant workers, homeless rogues, and hooligans, but he had never met anyone like him.
So, although the red-haired boy still felt resistant to Augustus' orders, he would listen to them, at least considering whether he should follow Augustus' advice.
Thinking that staying awake would not benefit him at all, Harnack returned to his bed with a curse.
...
"Shit."
The wake-up call sounded on time, and the mechanical sergeants, Tavis, who were synthesized by holographic images, "kicked open" every dormitory door at the designated time. At this moment, the recruits of the first squad of the second platoon of D Company began to regret last night's revelry.
The first subject for recruits of the Terran Federation was ideological education. Augustus and his class had to arrive at the millstone-shaped central square of the main base of Turaxis by 6:30.
About 7,000 recruits formed a tight square in the central square. Major Mybika, the commander of the recruit training camp, gave a speech to all the recruits, instilling the values of Terran Federation soldiers and the central idea of maintaining the Federation's rule in this star zone.
Major Mybika finally emphasized the discipline and regulations of the Federation Marine Corps and required everyone to recite them by heart.
Augustus also learned that the elimination rate of recruits at the main base of Turaxis had been maintained below 5%, but no one knew where the eliminated recruits eventually went.
Major Mybika's one-hour pre-training speech was extremely long. Except for Augustus, almost no one was interested in the major's speech. The recruits of the first squad of the second platoon, including Jim Raynor, were all drowsy.
During this period, Augustus firmly memorized every military rule and discipline and seriously thought about which of them must be followed and which could be ignored.
And which ones had loopholes to exploit.
After the lecture, Augustus' D Company regrouped and went to a cross-country training ground in the base under the leadership of a sergeant platoon leader for standard physical training. The training items included basic queue posture, an eight-minute two-kilometer run, multiple sets of pull-ups, and other bent-body stretches.
Afterwards, Augustus was told that more systematic firearms and CMC power armor training would not begin until the third week.
In the afternoon, virtual sergeant Tavis announced that the recruit training, originally scheduled for twelve weeks, would be shortened to nine weeks, and the recruits would be able to handle firearms as early as the next week.
This meant that the war on Turaxis II had further escalated, and the front line urgently needed reinforcements.
Augustus was more worried that the shortened training time would lead to a decline in the soldiers' combat capability, but since the combat headquarters was not concerned, he had no choice.
In the training camp, only the platoon and company commanders were formal officers, and the squad leaders were all recruits. Maybe the combat department wanted to train some reserve officers in advance, but it was more likely that there were not enough qualified officers.