thefictionvixens Page 59
Page 59
Leo raised his head, his face stern, and stopped looking at Lynch.
"No, sir."
"Ha, Leo, I didn't mean to scare you. Relax, we'll be leaving soon, we—"
Lynch was about to crack a few jokes to ease the tense atmosphere when a small black box at his waist began to vibrate. To facilitate communication, the technical sergeants had specially made a communication device for Lynch, which looked only the size of a human palm, but internally connected the communication channels of every soldier in the battle group.
Communication devices are generally outward-facing, so the presence of receiving external calls usually indicates one particular situation.
Someone else used the same access privileges to try and contact Lynch.
Ryan, Leo, and Casio all pressed their ears together, wanting to know what had happened.
“Lord Lynch,” Chief Think Tank Bell spoke over the channel. “You might need to come to the conference room. Our Star Speakers have discovered something, and Chapter Commander Forros is also there…”
"I'll be right there."
Lin Qi replied seriously.
Chapter 78 Prelude to War (3500)
The chief think tank member looked at the holographic display screen in front of him, feeling completely calm.
At this very moment, the old warrior, who had spent hundreds of years in the Claw of the Stars, was lost in his own thoughts, even though he knew that a fierce battle was raging in the void hundreds of millions of kilometers away.
This was his own habit, a way to pass the time when he had nothing to do—he knew perfectly well his role as the chief think tank member after reporting the situation; all he had to do next was wait. Wait for the real decision-makers to appear and then formulate a response to this unexpected situation.
Standing beside him was Malakin Forros. The Son of Angels, Chapter Master of the Weeping Chapter, a powerful warrior and a handsome man. The Chief Think Tank had heard of him long ago; even before Huron imprisoned him, he had heard of the man's mad and violent exploits on the battlefield, and knew of the title he had earned amidst the reverence of his comrades and the fear of his enemies.
Lord of Destruction.
A title that is completely at odds with the gloomy beauty the other person usually exudes.
How should this ancient Terra word be pronounced again...? Contrast?
Yes, that's the contrast.
Bell thought to himself, and at the same time felt a sense of pleasure and ease at making further progress in his study of the ancient Terran language.
Captain Alvin Talosia, then captain of the Wrathful Gauntlet, sat in her seat, looking somewhat uneasy. She adjusted her posture several times, repeatedly picking up the glass of water in front of her, only to put it down again just as she was about to bring it to her lips.
"You're nervous."
"Sitting right next to it," Bell said.
"Is it because you're going to meet Lord Lin Qi later?"
The female captain blinked, a hint of surprise flashing in her amber eyes. But she quickly remembered the identity of the Death Angel beside her and immediately felt a sense of relief.
"Lord Bell, you are indeed adept at observing people's hearts."
“I am Astartes, but I am also a psionicist. In constantly examining myself, I have naturally learned to examine others as well... But why are you nervous? I have said that Lord Lynch is essentially a very easy-going person.”
"Ah... Lord Bell, you should know why."
A bitter smile appeared on Alvin's face, and seeing that familiar smile, Bell immediately thought of the reason why the captain was so nervous - just like the previous Star Claw, many mortal armies, IG, and the Navy in this star system were once considered to be Huron's followers.
Now that Huron has been branded a traitor and Starclaw has a new leader, even knowing that this new leader is easygoing and kind to those who have been deceived, these people still live in fear, dreading the possibility of being punished at any moment.
Alvin Talohia, the captain, was clearly one of these people.
Bell sighed inwardly; he had no good solution to this problem. Only after Lynch actually met these people would there be any possibility of a resolution.
No, it's not a possibility of a solution, it's a certainty that it can be solved.
Bell thought so.
Three minutes later, the conference room door opened with the sound of footsteps. Ryan, Leo, and a fleeting glimpse of a member of the Imperial Guard entered first. Next came the short figure who had been the focus of everyone's attention.
"A salute to Lord Lynch!"
"loyalty!"
Lin Qi paused, looking at the group of people giving him the Eagle Salute, and was momentarily stunned.
When was this performance rehearsed? It looks so well-rehearsed.
"Lord Lynch, please have a seat."
"........good."
Seeing the chair Ryan pulled out, Lynch sat down. Only then did he notice that there were several mortals present at the meeting, and Ryan immediately leaned down to introduce them to him in a low voice.
“That’s Captain Alvin Talosia of the Wrathful Gauntlet, that’s our chief Astrologer Harvey Krollos, and that’s Colonel Sami Silvia of our Mortal Auxiliary Army.”
Lynch nodded, indicating that he understood.
Ryan straightened up and returned to his seat, and the meeting officially began. Lynch didn't engage in much small talk, and went straight to briefly inquiring about the current situation.
"what happened?"
“Our star-speakers received an emergency broadcast signal from a ship.” Bell made a gesture, maintaining his expressionless demeanor. “And according to our search, it’s a lunar-class cruiser, and it’s already appeared on the eastern side of the system, less than a light-year away from us.”
“This message contains identification codes, which we’ve cracked,” Owen said, tapping a few times on the small display on his wrist to connect it to a nearby servo skull. “This is the mark of Angorostron. I confirmed it with Father Tal. If we’re not mistaken, they should have come from the attacked mining station.”
"Then why did he come all the way to Badab?" asked Forros. "The Tal system is right next to us. Wouldn't it be better to go there and ask Angrostron for help?"
The crowd fell silent. Clearly, the question posed by the weeping man had sparked their thoughts, and for a moment, they all felt uncertain about the ship's condition.
"Has the emergency broadcast signal been analyzed?"
The silence didn't last long. After about three seconds, Lin Qi spoke up and asked the people present.
"The Star Speakers have completed their analysis, sir. Would you like to hear it?"
Harvey Cloross, the chief star communicator, stood up. He was of medium build, with a bald head and a face that looked bitter and resentful, his snow-white eyebrows furrowed with deep wrinkles. Given this combination, it was hard to believe he was only forty years old.
"Then let everyone hear it. Can we broadcast using the servo skull, Mr. Harvey?"
Lin Qi took a deep breath and looked at the elderly man with a friendly and sincere attitude.
Harvey nodded. Although he maintained the same expression throughout, it was obvious that he was less tense than when he was sitting upright in the chair, and his movements were much lighter.
Harvey took out a tube, inserted it into a port at the back of his head, and then inserted the other end into the servo skull.
Under the gaze of everyone present, he began to utter strange syllables, and the temperature in the conference room slowly dropped. Thirteen seconds later, accompanied by a flash of blue light, the loudspeaker of the servo skull first emitted a piercing noise, followed by a cold and monotonous electronic mechanical tone.
"This is... Kazkaz... α12... Mining Station... We have encountered... Kazkaz... Geller's Field is damaged... Orcs... Demons... Requesting backup! Requesting backup! Requesting backup!"
The temperature gradually returned to normal, but everyone present looked unnatural.
Especially Lynch.
He roughly knew what had happened: it was a ship that had come from the mining station inside the mouth of Tar, and its purpose was probably to go to Angorostrum for help.
However, before they could make a short warp jump, their ship was attacked by orcs, and the process of resisting the invasion damaged the Geller Field device on the ship, which led to them being attacked by demons as soon as they entered the warp.
That's not good.
Lin Qi let out a long breath. The people on that ship were able to break through the warp against demons and orcs. Although they didn't reach their destination, encountering them was a blessing from the God Emperor.
"grown ups."
Lin Qi looked in the direction of the sound and found that Leo had stood up at some point.
"The first company is ready." Leo said solemnly. "We can launch an attack on the enemy at any time."
"The Wrathful Gauntlet is also ready." Alvin Talosia also stood up. "The firepower of the Overlord-class battlecruiser is enough to completely destroy that ship in the void."
Lin Qi carefully examined the young female captain, looking at her face filled with determination and resolve, and took a deep breath.
"No... Mr. Harvey, in your judgment, when was this emergency broadcast made?"
"It shouldn't take more than half a day, my lord. Based on my judgment, this should have been sent out just as the ship left subspace."
"So that means there are still living people on that ship?"
"That's possible, my lord."
"...Have the Honor Guard prepare to board the ship together with the first to third companies...Commander Forros, I hope you can also lead your elite troops to participate in our upcoming battle. After all, based on my judgment, there is likely something bad on that ship."
"I will obey your command, my lord."
Forros bowed his head to Lynch, indicating that he accepted the order. This relieved the latter. If it were just a simple orc, he wouldn't have been so cautious, immediately bringing all his elite forces. But according to the transmitted signal…
There were likely more than just orcs and humans on that ship.
If he could, Lin Qi really wanted to do as the female captain suggested and use the powerful firepower of the warship to tear the ship apart and completely obliterate it into the void.
However, according to the intelligence provided by Tal, this Luna-class cruiser is very likely the First Arrow, the escort flagship of that mining station.
The flagship should be dispatched immediately to request assistance. Something must have happened at that mining site. If we don't investigate, it could significantly impact our subsequent support operations.
“I have no intention of keeping the purpose of the operation from my subordinates, and I believe many of you have probably guessed it as well. For the mining site that we were originally going to support, the fact that the main flagship was sent out to seek help must mean that something unexpected happened.”
"So this time we've chosen to board the ship, and after boarding, each team's primary task is simple: find the survivors, protect them, and we'll use them to find out what really happened at that mining station. As for what happens after that..."
Lin Qi looked at the crowd that had all stood up in front of him, and the expression on his face slowly turned cold and ruthless.
He drew his military knife from his waist and, in front of everyone, placed the blade on the table in front of him.
The blade reflected the light, casting its glow into the depths of everyone's eyes.
"In the name of the Emperor, slaughter all the aliens and blasphemous beings on board."
Chapter 79 Board Jump! Board Jump! (3500)
"hold onto!"
Echoing in the cabin was the sage's desperate cry. It was hard to imagine that such an emotional voice could come from her throat, which had been modified beyond recognition. But for Karasto Julian, he could no longer care about such things at this moment.
He couldn't privately tell his crewmates, "Hey! Listen to that oily-voiced girl, she can actually talk like that with her oily voice." Nor could he go to the bar on the lower deck where the crew secretly gathered, mix cheap, unknown-ingredient drinks, and boast about his knowledge.
At that moment, he felt his hands and feet were ice-cold, and his mind was completely blank. His comrade's body lay at his feet, his head, half-blasted open by a bullet, was oozing blood and brain matter, soaking his trouser leg.
It was certainly a good thing that the slave laborer on the First Arrow had successfully transformed into a soldier. However, this transformation did not occur when the ship was about to be destroyed by the enemy.
"Waaaghhhh!!!"
The alien's enormous roar exploded like thunder in the ears of mortals. But it also successfully snapped Karasto out of his thoughts. His eyes widened as he watched the green monster, whom the sages called the "Orc," approach. In fear and despair, he pulled the trigger.
Stab it!
Arcs of electricity crackled, accompanied by a deafening tearing sound. The alien's flesh appeared so fragile before the blue-white lightning. Almost instantly, its green body turned to charcoal and crashed heavily to the ground.