thefictionvixens Chapter 33 Cruise
Chapter 33 Cruise
The Black Pearl sailed through the subspace for three weeks before arriving at the Cassius border region.
This patrol was initiated by Liu En, and the higher-ups at Wandering Port were delighted. The Dark Eldar suffered a setback at Gamma-9 last time; a frigate was sunk, and the entire landing force was wiped out. The Imperial Navy had deployed capital ships to monitor several known network exits, but no one could guarantee that no one had slipped through the net. Expanding the patrol area would at least allow for the early detection of some signs.
The Black Pearl leaped out of the subspace. Outside the porthole lay an unfamiliar starry sky, with the distant star Calcius burning brightly. Sera confirmed the coordinates via the communication channel, and Marcus ordered all crew to reach level two alert.
There's a mining ship route on the outskirts of the border region. The Wandering Port Merchant Guild sent an escort request, saying that several transport ships were returning from deep space mining sites, carrying high-purity refined gold and rare alloy elements, which were quite valuable. These transport ships belonged to another forging world—Liu En hadn't heard of that name before; it was probably a small forging world on the edge of the Calesis Sector.
The rendezvous point with the transport fleet was in the orbit of a gas giant. The three transport ships, their gray hulls pockmarked and cratered, were clearly old vessels navigating dangerous routes for years. The captain, a woman in her fifties, had scars on her face from warp travel and spoke crisply and decisively. She welcomed the Black Pearl, but her eyes held the scrutiny characteristic of an old sailor—a Gothic-class cruiser escorting three cargo ships seemed like overkill.
The Black Pearl was placed in the escort formation, with three transport ships in the center and the Black Pearl patrolling the perimeter. Marcus established an arc-shaped patrol route covering the sector in front of the transport fleet. Liu En did not interfere, leaving tactical command to Marcus.
At lunchtime, the cafeteria was packed with people.
The Black Pearl has several mess halls, but only one is currently open due to low passenger numbers. This one has over two hundred seats. Veterans, support staff, and technicians sit together, their plates containing synthetic starch blocks, Grox's steaks, and a spoonful of vegetable puree. Unlimited portions—a first for Imperial ships.
Liu En sat in the corner, his plate barely touched. He held his coffee cup, listening to the conversations around him.
Sitting opposite him was Carlos—a veteran from Valhalla with a prosthetic left arm—who was stabbing at his steak with a fork. His voice wasn't loud, but everyone around could hear him: "Another escort mission. We're supposed to be cruisers, but we're just bodyguards for merchant ships every day."
"What else?" Coleman chimed in from the side. The old artilleryman had retired, and after his right leg was replaced with a Voss-type mechanical body, he no longer limped. "Go fight Gamor? Go ahead."
“I’m not talking about attacking Gamor,” Carlos put down his fork. “I’m saying we’re just going to sit here and get beaten up. The Dark Eldar come, we defend ourselves. They run away, we keep going in circles. When will this ever end?”
"That's a matter for those above, why are you worrying about it?"
"Up there?" Carlos scoffed. "All those people up there know is defense. The empire is so vast, isn't there anyone who can launch a single offensive?"
Lars—the veteran from Cardia, whose left arm was replaced by a Voss-type military arm personally fitted by Liu En—was slowly slicing a steak and said without looking up, "Anyway, we're part of the Black Pearl garrison. We'll guard wherever the captain tells us to. Why bother with all that?"
A young logistics staff member chimed in, "I heard the navy has deployed fleets at several network exits; aren't they waiting too?"
"Wait for what? Wait for the Dark Eldar to come out before we fight? That's just being passively attacked!" Carlos became more and more angry as he spoke. "We took down one of their escort ships last time, that was luck. What about next time? And the time after that? We can't be a shield forever."
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
"How would I know what to do?" Carlos leaned back in his chair. "I just felt something was wrong. The Empire has so many soldiers and so many ships, how come they're being played like fools by a few aliens?"
After he finished speaking, there was a moment of silence around him.
Commander Kara walked over from another table carrying a tray. She was wearing the dark gray combat uniform of the Black Pearl Garrison, her prosthetic left arm exposed, and the commander's insignia—three diagonal bars—was on her epaulets. She sat down next to Carlos, didn't speak, just glanced at him, then cut the steak on her tray into small pieces, forked a piece, put it in her mouth, and chewed slowly.
"Commander Kara..." Carlos opened his mouth.
"Eat your food." Kara said without looking up. "Soldiers of the Black Pearl garrison, stop complaining while you eat. If you have any complaints, write them down in a report and give it to Vice Admiral Marcus; he'll forward them all. What good will your shouting do?"
Carlos didn't say anything more, picked up his fork and continued eating.
Kara swallowed the meat in her mouth, picked up her water glass and took a sip before speaking slowly, "The Empire doesn't not want to fight, it just can't. Have you even seen the Network Channel? No. How can we fight if we don't even know where the enemy is? Our garrison's mission is to keep an eye on this sector and report any unusual activity. The higher-ups have their own arrangements; it's not our place to make decisions for them."
Several veterans nodded.
Liu En sat in the corner, coffee cup to his lips. He didn't speak, but when Kara looked over, he nodded slightly.
Kara didn't say anything more, finished her food, and left.
After finishing the last sip of his coffee, Liu En stood up, placed the empty cup on the recycling counter, and walked out of the cafeteria.
The Black Pearl Garrison was officially formed a few months ago. It has a strength of 500 men, comprising three understaffed infantry companies. The commander, Kara, a former lieutenant in the Guards of the Church, was the de facto leader of this group of veterans when recruited from Lucis. The first company commander, Coleman, is a veteran artilleryman; his right leg, now equipped with a Voss-type prosthetic arm, is agile and still possesses excellent artillery skills. The second company commander, Carlos, is a Valhalla veteran with a prosthetic left arm, skilled in close-quarters fire and assault combat. The third company commander, Lars, is a remnant of the Cadia remnants; although Liu En dismantled his old gun engraved with "Cadia Never Falls," his new left arm is more reliable. The three companies take turns on duty: one responsible for shipboard security, one for boarding combat training, and one on rest. While everyone still calls each other "veterans," the organization is established, the company and platoon structure is set up, and a sense of belonging develops.
The escort mission in the afternoon was unusually calm.
The sensors displayed only the transport ship's identification signal and background noise from a few distant planets. The sensor officer stared at the screen, reporting data every few minutes. Marcus stood before the holographic projection table, his brow slightly furrowed.
The airspace in the border region is already desolate, but even the most common spaceborne object signals are rare, which is somewhat unusual.
The alarm sounded fifteen minutes later.
The sensor officer's voice rose: "Multiple weak signals, azimuth 270, distance 60,000 kilometers, are rapidly approaching. Signal characteristics match—Dark Eldar."
Marcus's fingers were already dancing across the tactics panel. "Six in number, small-sized—assault boats, no escorts. Where is the network exit?"
The sensor officer quickly scanned: "No large ship signals detected, but abnormal spatial fluctuations. Temporary network exit, located less than 20,000 kilometers from the transport fleet."
Liu En pressed the ship-wide broadcast button: "All units, Level One Alert. Garrison regiment, all companies, take your positions, anti-boarding formation."
Kara's voice came through the communication channel crisply and clearly: "Defense Regiment received. First link: Deck B, Second link: Deck C, Third link: Outer perimeter of the bridge."
The Black Pearl turned, ignited its main thrusters, and accelerated. Six Dark Eldar assault craft, in a loose formation, charged toward the transport fleet. They were faster than the Black Pearl, but less heavily armed—assault craft were designed for boarding, not for naval combat.
Marcus did not use the light lance. Against such high-speed, small targets, the light lance had a long charging time, slow turning speed, and extremely low hit rate. He used a point defense system instead. The laser turrets and multi-barrel rapid-fire cannons on both sides of the Black Pearl's hull fired simultaneously, weaving a dense barrage of bullets.
Dark red tracer rounds and blue-white laser beams crisscrossed in the void. Two assault boats were hit, their engine nozzles exploding, and their hulls tumbling off course. Four more boats scattered, attempting to flank the Black Pearl.
"Two ships approaching on starboard. Two ships approaching on port."
"Split into gun groups. Portal laser turrets fire freely, starboard rapid-fire guns provide continuous suppression," Marcus ordered.
The laser turret precisely locked onto an assault boat. Three consecutive shots hit, the assault boat's shadow field flickered a few times, and it was then penetrated, its hull breaking in half. Another boat was covered by a barrage of rapid-fire shells, its armor torn apart, and it lost power.
The remaining two assault boats began to turn, their shadow fields flashing wildly, attempting to break contact. Their speed advantage was obvious, and the distance quickly increased.
"We can't catch up," Marcus said.
"Let them go," Liu En said.
Kara's voice came through the communications channel: "All companies of the garrison report no signs of boarding. Lift Level 1 alert."
The Black Pearl slowed down and returned to the outer perimeter of the transport fleet. All three transport ships were undamaged. The female captain leading the fleet sent a communication, her tone much more polite than before: "Black Pearl, thank you for your support. Where did those aliens come from?"
"It might be a temporary exit from the network," Liu En said. "Continue on the original route, and the Black Pearl will escort you to a safe airspace."
Communication was cut off. Marcus walked over and lowered his voice: "Did you note down the exit location?"
"The sensor officer has entered the coordinates," Liu En said. "After returning to Hong Kong, we will report to the Sage Helios."
Marcus nodded.
The Black Pearl patrolled the outer perimeter of the transport fleet for three days without encountering any further attacks. The two escaped assault boats did not return, and no other signals were detected by the sensors. On the fourth day, the transport fleet reached safe airspace at the edge of the border region and handed over to another Imperial Navy patrol. The female captain sent another thank-you message, her tone tinged with relief.
The Black Pearl turned and headed back to the wandering port.
The ship trembled, and a purple chaos churned outside the portholes. The return voyage would take approximately five weeks.
In the mess hall, Carlos sat in his usual spot. Today, there was an extra piece of roasted beef ant on his plate—the cook said it was a treat for everyone. He glanced at the meat, smiled, and didn't mention the beating he'd been passively beaten up again. Lars sat opposite him, steadily holding his soup bowl with his new left arm. Coleman was next to him, chatting with several soldiers from the first company.
Team Leader Kara sat in a corner, a data board spread out in front of her, reviewing next month's training plan. She glanced up at the cafeteria to make sure everything was normal, then looked down again.
After finishing his coffee, Liu En put down the cup and walked out of the cafeteria.
In the corridor, two soldiers from the 2nd Company of the garrison regiment were returning from the training room, wearing their combat uniforms with the company insignia clearly visible on their shoulder straps. Upon seeing Liu En, they stood at attention and stepped aside to let him pass. Liu En nodded.
Outside the porthole, a purple chaos churned. Liu En walked back to the bridge and sat down next to Marcus. The mechanical prosthetic limb upgrade project was still ongoing intermittently, and would continue in the future. Liu En had his own plans and intentions.