Chapter 209: Waiting for the Rabbit
Gerald, the commander of Apollo's punitive operation, sat bored on the bridge, filled with resentment.
As a member of the company's management and a direct descendant of Apollo's founder, Gerald had initially disagreed with Omar's request to summon the punitive fleet.
However, when rumors of the entire division's crushing defeat reached Star Alliance, the high command had no other choice. This concerned the company's honor; troops had to be dispatched, and they had to win decisively.
Mr. Sang had executed all employees who abandoned their posts and fled, but that was far from enough!
The leader of the indigenous uprising had to be captured alive and then, in front of all New Hope's news media, his head had to be blown off on the spot!
Oh, right, it would be best if Anya could also be present to witness it. It was her subordinates who were spreading rumors that Apollo was severely weakened and its overall strength was far from what it used to be. This self-righteous woman's face needed to be publicly slapped!
Speaking of which, he had to thank those ignorant natives. Because of their rebellion, Apollo's high command had, for once, reached a consensus on an issue. Only one thing made Gerald feel strange: Mr. Sang agreed to dispatch the fleet, but for some unknown reason, he invited the Galan people, known for their greed, to accompany them, promising them half the profits if the colony was successfully reclaimed.
It was ridiculous!
Did they even need their help?
No matter how formidable the rebellious natives were, at most, they had captured thirty-odd space fighters from Omar's subordinates, and they probably still hadn't figured out how to operate them.
To suppress such an opponent, their side had assembled a total of 11 warships.
Among them, Galan insisted on sending all 8 warships of their Third Fleet, claiming it was to film some victory documentary for Prime Minister Nadi to support his re-election campaign, which was absurd!
Galan was still Galan; they couldn't stand a day without winning.
Being allied with such a despicable entity, even if they won a complete victory in the end, it was by no means something to boast about.
Forget it...
Gerald felt a surge of irritation and couldn't be bothered to think about these messy affairs anymore.
Let them be.
"Mr. Gerald!"
The radar operator turned around, interrupting Gerald's jumbled thoughts.
"What is it? Just say it directly! How many times have I told you, can you just report the situation directly? What's the point of calling my name besides wasting one second? I also have to reply with 'Received, please speak,' right?!"
"S-Sorry!"
"Speak! What are you apologizing for?!"
Gerald really wanted to shoot this idiot in front of him.
These technical officers all had impressive resumes, having studied at military academies in New Hope or the Human Exploration Federation, but they had no practical combat experience. Many of them got in through connections.
Fortunately, this time the opponent was negligible; otherwise, he would never have obeyed Mr. Sang's arrangements and taken such a group of useless people out to sea.
"Okay, an unknown target was just discovered on thermal imaging!"
"—Can't you report all the parameters at once?!"
Gerald covered his face in agony, almost despairing.
"Yes! Distance 120,000 kilometers, a total of five heat sources, the largest of which is nearly 1 kilometer long, but the engine is not running. From the residual heat, it should have just shut down not long ago."
A kilometer-class ship?
Gerald carefully observed the radar image for a while.
"That's the Wealth Key! Bring the ship closer. The other fleet's captain is named Hugh, a disgusting dog-headed man, and also one of Anya's scouts."
"Captain, an unknown object is approaching."
"Understood."
Inside the Wealth Key, Hugh picked up the communicator and hailed the escort fleet.
"The punitive fleet should be here, but my detection capabilities are limited. We need your final confirmation."
Moto replied, "A total of 11 heat sources were detected; that should be it!"
Waiting for the punitive fleet was a move Lu Yuan had planned from the very beginning.
Currently, the system where the convoy was located was a convergence point for multiple wormhole routes. The convoy's presence here made it impossible to determine which route they had taken before, thus avoiding suspicion.
Through this stakeout, the players could ascertain the punitive fleet's true size and actual cruising speed, obtaining crucial first-hand intelligence.
"This is Gerald of Apollo," a moment later, the opponent's hail completely confirmed the previous speculation.
"Wealth Key, please explain your presence here."
"Trading, free passage," Hugh replied with a slightly impatient tone.
"Why are you stopped near the jump point? What's your purpose?"
"Do you think I want to? The reactor malfunctioned and we broke down; it was just repaired."
"Watch your tone!"
At this moment, another high-pitched, sharp voice came over the communication channel, ending with Galan's characteristic trilled suffix, highly recognizable.
"This is Vice Admiral Sige, overall commander of the great Galan Navy's Third Fleet, Captain Hugh, what cargo is on your ship?"
"Heavy water, rare earths, and liquid methane," Hugh replied.
These were all common high-profit goods, consistent with his convoy's designation.
"Not bad, all good stuff. I am now formally informing you that your ship has been emergency requisitioned by us for wartime. Please disembark immediately and cooperate."
"Then come and try it," Hugh remained completely unmoved.
"I know you have an absolute advantage in warship numbers, but, Vice Admiral Sige, I now also know which one of them is your flagship; once the fight starts, I will only target you, until I am sunk, or you are sunk first by me."
"Hey~ don't be so agitated, I was just joking, have some sense of humor, okay?"
As soon as he heard that his life might be in danger, this Galan officer immediately changed his tone, with such speed, determination, and casualness that it left everyone dumbfounded.
The Galan people had no sense of shame, especially the so-called high-ranking citizens.
All players deeply felt this.
Hugh suppressed a growl, wishing he could tear those Galan people in front of him to shreds.
It was hard to imagine that such a thuggish remark had come from a Navy Vice Admiral.
But this was Galan; Galan would never disappoint when it came to breaking new lows.
Gerald had no intention of helping his ally save face. He remained silent for a long time, finally deciding to ignore Hugh's convoy.
He knew that the Wealth Key's presence here was definitely not due to a "breakdown."
In his opinion, this was merely Anya confirming Apollo's operational plans.
If the other party intended to ambush them, they would certainly not shut down their engines and foolishly stop in the navigation channel.
Using an easily exposed lie, coupled with a plausible motive, to conceal the true intention was also a trick Lu Yuan had used repeatedly with success.
Watching the punitive fleet gradually move away, Hugh finally breathed a sigh of relief, removing his hand from the emergency warp button.
"Alright, the escort ends here, Cangyuan folks. The route ahead is under New Hope's monitoring and protection, so it's considered safe. 'Mhm! Take care!'"
Moto commanded four warships to escort the wealth key into the jump point.
Afterward, they did not immediately follow the punitive fleet but waited a while longer until a familiar-looking shuttle emerged from the wormhole.
"Look who it is? Isn't it our strategist? Have you had enough of sightseeing in the city?"
"Haha! Don't make fun of me."
The "tianwen" had brought Xian Yu over separately so he could serve as a commander in this young fleet, which was Xian Yu's initial dream when playing "Star Sea," and now it had finally come true.
Three hours later, the Cangyuan fleet began to secretly tail the punitive fleet at its cruising speed, while Lu Yuan received their preliminary contact report through the player community.
A total of 11 warships, including 6 Star Alliance standard destroyers and 5 Star Alliance standard frigates, were expected to arrive in 14 to 18 days.
The commanders were Gerald of Apollo and Vice Admiral Sige of Galan, both commanding from the largest warships in their respective factions.
Based on the intelligence Hugh provided before leaving, he had some understanding of Gerald, knowing him to be short-tempered and impulsive.
He did not know Vice Admiral Sige.
However, it was clear that, like most high-ranking Galan citizens, he was extremely optimistic and confident due to never having experienced any hardship or even rejection since childhood, but he also understood to fear genuinely threatening power and was not purely foolish.
Lu Yuan recorded all of this in his memo.
The missions for Li Star, Emerald Star, and the escort fleet were all complete. Now, only New Hope, the final chess piece, remained.
Five days later, the wealth key arrived at New Hope.
Hugh did not dock and clear customs but instead took a shuttle into the space station, heading directly for the "Inferno" nightclub in the lower district.
A series of important intelligence reports had to be delivered to Anya face-to-face.