Chapter 12: Chapter 12, Commodore Captain
The mere thought of having to deal with Gu Hang was a bit annoying to Yelisia.
As a bona fide Colonel of the Imperial Navy and captain of a Strike Cruiser, she was an undeniable big shot in the Tianma Star Sector.
Between the identity of a Navy Colonel and a Planetary Governor, which one carried more weight?
In the entire Tianma Star Sector, there were only seven cruisers permanently stationed by the Imperial Navy; by comparison, there are nine planets in the Tianma Star Sector, almost an equal number.
The two roles were not part of the same system. The status of a Planetary Governor was special, but it generally belonged to the empire’s administrative system; a starship captain, on the other hand, was part of the military system of the Imperial Navy.
Theoretically, the head of a star sector had no direct authority over the Imperial Navy.
Of course, reality was not so.
The Tianma Fleet was established by the Tianma Star Sector, its officers and soldiers mostly recruited and selected from the various planets of the star sector; the starships were also financed by the star sector’s government; logistical support was provided by the star sector as well. In terms of their mission, the Tianma Fleet was responsible for the defense of the Tianma Star Sector, cooperating with the Star Sector Government, which indeed didn’t allow for much independence.
All in all, it wasn’t easy to compare the status of the seven cruiser captains of the Tianma Star Sector with that of the nine Planetary Governors—it was about even, one could say.
But when it came down to Gu Hang and Yelisia personally, it was a different matter.
Of the nine planetary worlds in the Tianma Star Sector, the other eight, though varied in level, were at least rulers of their domains. Only the Rage Owl Star was a longstanding thorny issue.
According to past practice, Gu Hang taking on the role of governor was almost like being handed a suspended death sentence for two years—how could that compare to Yelisia?
Yelisia also came from a prominent family; the Fufana Family she belonged to was an ally of the Gu Clan and a supporter of the current star sector leader.
And she herself was a rising star in the military, the most dazzling newcomer among the Tianma Star Sector’s navy, the only woman among the seven captains and the youngest of them all.
To have reached her position, her family background was certainly important, but one couldn’t overlook her own abilities either.
Gu Hang and Yelisia were worlds apart.
However, the female Colonel had her own troubles.
Since she had become captain of the Quintet, almost two years had gone by, and yet the voices of doubt continued unabated. Age, experience, gender… these all became targets for criticism.
As for ability? Merely talking about one’s ability was too idealistic and would not appease hunger; it needed to be translated into achievements that were beyond question.
She was indeed gearing up to fight a splendid battle. Punch the Green-skinned Warlord, kick the Chaos Traitor, exterminate the Void Insect Species…
Anything would do, just a spirited, exhilarating victory that would see her triumphantly return and shut up anyone who dared to criticize her henceforth.
But instead of finding a battle, she ended up on Rage Owl Star, providing support for the young governor, a political ally of the family.
A two-year stint.
She was very irritated, yet she had no way to resist and could only set off for her assignment in a huff.
Already quite annoyed, that guy kept causing her trouble too.
She now was also unclear about how the Gu Clan really viewed Gu Hang, whether they took him seriously or not.
If they valued him, why dispatch him to such a place? It wouldn’t be too bad to entrust him with the big task of developing the problematic Rage Owl Star, but the Gu Family hadn’t even invested much in the way of resources, had they?
But to say they didn’t value him, why then would the Star Sector Government assign one of the Tianma Fleet’s only seven cruisers, the very one she captained, the Quintet, to stay on standby for two years?
She couldn’t figure it out.
And she didn’t need to think too hard about it either.
She considered herself a soldier, so she would just stick to her orders strictly.
The orders she received were to ensure that the Rage Owl Star remained loyal to the empire, to assist the Planetary Governor, and to provide military support.
In this regard, she had never thought about making things difficult for Gu Hang. As long as the governor made a request, she would fulfill the duty of the Imperial Navy.
She thought that her tasks would involve simply providing deterrence from orbit and executing strikes when necessary. There was no pressure—just carrying out her duties methodically would be enough.
But Gu Hang didn’t need her help with the bombardment, instead he had taken away a group of servants and soldiers.
She hadn’t expected this.
At first, she didn’t want to comply, but after Gu Hang nagged and cajoled her, she was finally swayed into letting him take the manpower.
Once she came to her senses, she still felt regretful.
I can help you fight, but you can’t just take away my people!
This was not within the scope of her duties.
Moreover, this was the Imperial Navy Troops she was dealing with. True, there seemed to be a hundred thousand people on board the ship, which might seem like a lot, but a giant starship, eleven kilometers long, required that many hands to operate.
If Gu Hang took away too many people, it would directly affect the starship’s combat capabilities.
What’s more, the Navy’s strength was all aboard the starships. Detached from the starships, a hundred thousand people thrown onto the planetary surface would not even make a splash on the scale of a star.
Compared to the Imperial Guard with its corps of millions, specializing in ground combat, they were not even in the same league in terms of numbers.
Gu Hang had taken more than three thousand people, which did not yet affect the starship’s operation, but such an action could not be allowed to happen again.
This time, she received another communication request from Gu Hang. Colonel Yelisia was determined, unless there was some combat mission, she had no intention of satisfying any requests.
Adjusting her mood, she sat up straight and instructed the technician to patch through Gu Hang’s communication signal.
Gu Hang’s head then appeared on the screen in the center of the command platform.
“Colonel Yelisia, hello, it’s been half a month, and you’ve become even more beautiful!”
The female colonel retorted with a stern face, “Your Excellency the Governor, please don’t sweet-talk me. Just get to the point.”
“Don’t be so serious. I actually have some good news to share with you.”
“What news?”
“Our troops wiped out a rebel force on Rage Owl Star today, nearly two hundred enemies of the Empire were eliminated.”
Bandits and wasteland robbers were turned into ‘rebels’ and ‘enemies of the Empire’ in Gu Hang’s narrative.
Strictly speaking, there was nothing incorrect with what he said.
Yelisia wasn’t fully aware of the specific situation on Rage Owl Star, but even so, she knew that there was some embellishment in Gu Hang’s words.
But what mattered most was…
“Two hundred enemies?” She displayed disdain.
You’re proud of such a minor victory, to boast about it in front of me?
“I know you don’t care about these two hundred people, Colonel, but what if in the future, this number could be two thousand, twenty thousand, or even two hundred thousand?”
“Or what if it’s about annihilating a Green-skinned Warlord? Eradicating a Heretic Cult that does not worship the Divine Emperor? Or even eliminating an indigenous Evil God?”
Yelisia’s expression turned serious.
Hearing Gu Hang speak this way, she subconsciously started to ponder—if what he said was true, and they had indeed eliminated tens of thousands of Imperial Traitors, wiped out a Green-skinned Warlord, or killed an Evil God, what would the merit of such achievements be?
Wasn’t she after merits?
Hadn’t the thing that dissatisfied her the most about coming to Rage Owl Star been that squatting here for two years was simply a waste of time?
But she wasn’t so easily misled.
“You talk as if Rage Owl Star is about to be turned upside down. Are there such enemies there?” she expressed her skepticism.
“There could be.” Gu Hang’s smile carried an inexplicable flavor.