Infinite Metaverse

Chapter 28: New Mission, New Toys

The return trip on the Stormbird was as bumpy as ever.

Taral turned to Fu Qinghai beside him and asked, "So, what was the deal with that woman?"

Fu Qinghai replied, "She killed a Night Lord, using the same method she tried on you. I think that's why the Night Lords went on a killing spree in the city."

"Hmm." Taral nodded and turned away, saying nothing more.

For a mortal woman to kill a soldier from an Astartes Legion, even through a surprise assassination, was already quite brave and impressive. You couldn't ask for more from her. That was Taral's view.

***

The changes brought to the 'Shortsword' by this brief landing operation were visible to the naked eye.

Fu Qinghai wasn't involved in the damage control and repairs, but the smile on Captain Conrad Adenauer's face made it clear that the frigate's condition had improved after this resupply.

For Fu Qinghai, the most immediate change was the food on his plate. No longer was he faced with Space Marine rations—a kind of amino porridge mixed with ceramite pellets. Instead, he was presented with an entire roasted Grox leg.

Fu Qinghai picked up the leg, which was almost the size of a power axe, and wondered where to start. Finding a spot to bite into, he tore off a chunk of meat. Juices burst in his mouth, and the sensation of his teeth cutting through the muscle fibers provided a satisfying texture. The ship's chef had done an excellent job of preserving the meat's moisture through proper smoking.

After chewing and swallowing the large piece of meat, Fu Qinghai took a moment to savor the flavor. It reminded him of the crocodile curry he had eaten during a trip to Vietnam in his past life—a mix of chicken and fish, with almost no large chunks of fat but plenty of moisture.

Reptile meat did have a distinct taste.

Grox were large, dinosaur-like livestock and were widely raised on Imperial Agri-Worlds. They were prized for their high meat yield and delicious flavor, though their notoriously aggressive temperament required farmers to often remove part of their brains to control their violent behavior.

The Space Marines were all digging in heartily. Soon, Taral wiped his mouth, stood up, and sat down next to Fu Qinghai. "So, Qingshan, how was your first mission?"

Fu Qinghai shook his head. "Not great. It wasn't as satisfying as beating Arbuslan in the training cage."

Arbuslan, who had been busy eating, looked up. "Say that again about beating who?"

Taral laughed and patted Fu Qinghai on the shoulder. "A recently pacified native planet isn't exactly a high-stakes mission. But don't worry, we've entered the combat zone. We'll be facing real enemies soon."

Before he could finish, Ogotai's booming voice came over the intercom.

"Space Marines, assemble in the briefing room!"

The Space Marines at the table quickly got up.

***

Briefing Room

A chaotic asteroid field appeared in the holographic projection at the center of the table.

Ogotai didn't waste time. Once everyone had arrived, he zoomed in on the projection, revealing two ships docked together in a strange configuration.

Captain Conrad Adenauer spoke first. "We received a distress signal from one of these ships and have locked onto their location."

"Pirates?" Taral frowned as he looked at the hologram.

"Most likely," Adenauer nodded. "But we also picked up some additional information in the distress signal."

He tapped the table, and a fragmented audio recording began to play.

"Sss…. Please help, this is the Imperial Merchant Ship... Val... Zi... Long. We were attacked by pirates. I am the captain."

"The other party has... sizz... psykers..., by the throne... What do I see, a melee psyker wielding a dagger? They're slaughtering my crew...."

The audio cut off there.

A melee psyker wielding daggers? The people in the briefing room exchanged puzzled looks.

"Ahem…" Ogotai, seated in his wheelchair, cleared his throat. "First, we can confirm that the pirate ship has unregistered, illegal psykers. As for how they choose to fight, that's not our concern."

The Imperium had seen all kinds of psykers, some of them extremely dangerous. But overall, psykers weren't known for their physical prowess. From a strategic standpoint, most psykers wouldn't engage in close combat.

Especially veterans like Ogotai and Taral, who had participated in suppressing psyker uprisings, knew that if a Space Marine got within three meters of a psyker, the psyker was as good as dead.

At this point, Taral glanced at Ogotai, who understood his meaning and waved his hand.

"Our primary mission is still to escort Magos Kurnos to Mars. While these two ships are in our path, dealing with space pirates isn't our responsibility."

"But the auspex shows that another ship jumped into the area an hour ago and is heading this way. It's likely a warship, so…"

Ogotai suddenly turned to Fu Qinghai and said in a serious tone, "Qingshan! I'm assigning you to use a boarding torpedo to infiltrate the merchant ship, gather intel, and set up a teleport homer. If necessary, we can teleport Terminators onto the ship."

Fu Qinghai, suddenly called upon, snapped to attention and acknowledged the order.

Teleportation—that was the correct way to deploy Terminators. Having them run on the surface of Moradigan wasn't the standard use for these heavy, slow suits of armor. Teleporting them directly into the thick of battle was the norm.

Teleportation wasn't without risks, though. It required scouts, auxiliary troops, or other Astartes to set up a teleport homer in advance. If the beacon wasn't accurate, there was a high chance of someone getting stuck in a wall.

Ogotai continued, "The rest of us will remain on the frigate and prepare to engage the incoming warship."

Taral frowned. "Can't we just avoid…"

Adenauer shook his head. "No, they've already detected us and sent a signal requesting identification."

The black-bearded captain added with a grim expression, "It's a Lunar-class cruiser."

That last sentence was the key.

The Lunar-class cruiser was a standard mainstay of the Imperial Navy. At five kilometers long and crewed by over 90,000 personnel, it was armed with an array of macro-cannons, lance batteries, and torpedo launchers. It far outclassed light cruisers, let alone an ancient Gladius-class frigate like the 'Shortsword'.

Most importantly, cruisers were designed for speed. If the Lunar-class cruiser decided to pursue them, the 'Shortsword' wouldn't stand a chance.

Taral nodded, understanding. Ogotai was sending the rookie, Fu Qinghai, to deal with the pirates while keeping the main force of Space Marines to handle the Lunar-class cruiser. This meant the real issue wasn't the pirate ship but the cruiser drawn by the distress signal.

Ogotai said, "Everyone, to your stations. Qingshan, take your new toy and report to the torpedo bay."

Everyone stood and acknowledged the order.

*****

Hey there guys,

The Rankings are about to reset and I'm shamelessly here to beg for your help—yes, I'm on my knees, typing this with my nose.

If you're enjoying this wild ride, toss a power stone my way, drop a comment, or leave a review (bonus points if it's nice, but I'll take the roast too).

So, Let's shoot this book up the ranks.

Also you're missing out on a lot of advanced chapters (More than 20). Head to my Patreon page to catch up on what's going on.

Patreon.com/Wild_Bunch