A/N
Short, I know, but just a ficlet to keep me going while Loomings drags on. Admittedly Steegman is somewhat OOC compared to his 2478 self in I, Mengsk. Still, I'm counting on time to make excuses for me. :)
The Written Word
Date: July 27th, 2505
From: Bhar-el penal colony
To: Korhal IV, Augustgrad
Dear Arcturus,
I received word of my scheduled execution this morning. Truth be told, I can't say I'm surprised. Admittedly I have a faint hope that whatever criminal courts the Dominion possesses will rule such an order as unconstitutional, but to assume that you rule with the people's mandate would be wishful thinking. Yes, word trickles in to even the furthest reaches of the Koprulu Sector, and twenty-seven years of imprisonment does not necessarily rob an individual of his mind. Not as great as yours perhaps, but enough to validate the projected path you took long ago.
It's a shame I never got to see your actions after Graduation Day, or to be precise, the day you ruined my life. I never had the chance to serve the Confederacy in the same manner as you, nor did fate provide the opportunity to change my course of action (or lack of it). Korhal's destruction may have sparked something in you, namely a petty desire for revenge, but having not seen the planet for thirteen years, I'm afraid I lost the connection. And while the official story has you as the saviour of mankind, standing firm against a tide of alien invaders, neither the Great War nor Brood War touched this place. Things remained quiet.
We had many a disagreement back at the academy, disagreements that from what I understand, you see fit to take to a new and final level. Oddly enough, I find myself accepting my fate without question. No more rants, no more threats of expulsion. The one thing we share in common I think is our understanding of power, and how you control it. Or at least you did until a few weeks ago, given the Knights of Freedom's rogue broadcast during your inauguration ceremony. Now you know what it's like to be pissed off by your underlings.
I can't sympathize with you Arcturus. Common law holds that punishment may be delivered on those who inflict atrocities on others. But as these atrocities are of your own making, have come back to bite you at the most inopportune moments, no precedent for sympathy exists. I do not expect you to take these words to heart, but even you can't ignore what is in front of you. As much as I hate to admit it, you're too smart for that.
Send your men Arcturus. They won't find themselves a fight, only an old man who will probably die before his jail sentence is complete one way or another. I've been here long enough to understand that I earnt what I got. I also understand that what you did was for your own selfish purposes, rather than any commitment to law and order. My mind's more full with regret than it is with hope, for both myself, the Dominion and humanity as a whole.
Sincerely,
Your former Styrling Academy Principal,
Isaac Steegman