Chapter 13
Intervention
Along the sound of the sudden mobilization of the whole Titan force, the loud cry of their turbine engines came like thunder from the distant plains.
The marching men who stomped the ground with a rhythmic motion all resounded along the booming of the drums and the blowing of the horn. Monsters tamed by the players roared angrily as they pulled and pushed artilleries of warfare. The mammoth tanks began to fire volleys of lights and those equipped with projectile cannons all took the roles of line’s vanguard.
Thousands of Cyclones began to darken the sky and their numbers alone were enough to over power even the Golgoda’s supreme defensive abilities.
Thousands of reinforcements are coming down from the west horizon.
[All Sylph sky infantry units! All Sylph sky infantry units! Retreat to your mother ships immediately! All Sylph sky infantry units, retreat to your respective mother ships immediately!]
The orders that Captain Nash heard in his helmet was echoing with urgency and hard tone. It came from the Command HQ inside the fortress, in the tower started from the ground, 250m high.
He saw a large ship’s shadow in the west as the moon who was fully blue and bright was there, parting the clouds and showing off its brilliance. The shadow was big, he knew instinctively, and with the bright moon, Luna, with its distinctive dark hole on the north pole, lighting up the background of the big ship, the terror he felt crawled all the way from his legs to his spine.
The large ship had a rectangular shape, longer than the Missouri, bigger than the Nicholas. It had the eyeing characteristics of the Three Sisters and even from 20km or so away, Nash felt the gravity of that hovering fear.
He kicked the air and his body straightened but his arms are free as he went towards the Missouri.
“Bridge! Come in! Bridge, this is Captain Nash!”
[We read you captain!]
“What is the situation?! Why is the whole TGG force suddenly mobilized?!”
[It seems that Commander Elsass had decided to settle this in a quick manner. He had just broadcasted a message not long ago in all of the open channels.]
“What?! So that speech earlier…”
[Yes captain! This is an all out attack!]
When Nash reached the main deck of the Missouri, he immediately went towards the entrance hatch, pulled a lever, and a small opening 3sq. m wide opened up where he dived. Later on, he made his way to the ship’s command bridge and sat down on the captain’s seat. As soon as he sat down, holo-panels began to take life.
“Report.”
[TGG units coming in from the west sir. Speed at steady 40kn. Distance, 58km! Type-1 heat signature detected! It’s the battleship Camarilla!]
‘Camarilla?!’
‘The TGG’s flagship?!’
‘They’re really coming…’
‘What should we do now…’
The voices and murmurs of the crew were heard in a frightened whispering. The ramblings did not help to lift the tension rising on Nash’s chest and he could only look at the reports and images displayed on his console with a grim face.
“How many units are coming?”
[About 20,000 Cyclone units sir! Five fleets of Air Infantry Units. S-Seven escort warships! Referencing from database indicates that it was the Hugo, Jackal, Jones, Safari, Hyperion, Piranha, and Asakura! All of them are Nebuchadnezzar-class Battlecruisers!]
My gad…that many…
“How long until we charged up the Longhorn?”
On his question, the assistant commander leaned to obstruct his vision from the all view mirror and had a face as he argued, “Charging that cannon?! We can’t even use all of our thruster engines, how can you ask to charge the cannon?”
“We have no choice but to use it!” Nash shouted back and he met the vice captain with a stare. “Did you forget what we are fighting for? Remember who you are and what we are here for! If we let the fortress fall, we fail the quest, and not only the quest, we also gave the TGG the power to rule over Terroa! Do you not understand what’s at stake here? Even if I have to pay the price of sacrificing this ship, I will defend Mooran!”
The crew along with the vice captain fell silent and a moment where the panting commanding officer looked at the face of the man who stood by as the contradiction and adviser.
A vice captain’s essential job is to be the opposition on the decision of the captain. That way, if the captain had had a decision made by impulse, the vice captain can remind him what and where his place really are. In a way, aside from repeating the orders from the captain to the crew, the vice captain’s job is as important as the captain’s itself.
But going at this rule, what he saw from his captain wasn’t a decision made by impulse. It was a decision by someone who’s ready to give his all to the cause.
For an NPC like him (though he wasn’t aware of it) a man like Nash is a person worthy of being followed.
“How. Long. Is. The. Charging. Going. To. Be?”
Nash repeated the question and the vice captain who had a momentary frozen state began to firm his bearing and stand tall on the captain’s left side.
“Engineering. How long is the Longhorn going to take before we can use it?”
[I-I’m not sure sir. The reactor core is still hot. The power output isn’t even enough to power all thruster engines. The battery is ready but we can’t risk wasting the only battery we have. Transferring the power from the battery to the Longhorn’s LDT core will destroy the ship, or if we’re lucky, destroy half of the ship, or if…]
“What’s the problem there?” Asked Nash hastily.
[It’s the LDT system sir! The main core’s misaligned and it’s going to take time before the core cools down so we can align it. And truthfully sir, the shaking and the tilting is not helping.]
“Then we will have to make use of it.”
The moment Nash stood up from his seat, the vice captain pulled his arm and warned him. “No! You are not going there yourself!”
“I have to do this!” Nash argued back. “We have…”
“This ship needs a captain! And you can’t abandon your job as the captain of the ship!”
The remark hit Nash in the head and he fell silent, staring at the eyes of the NPC only users know they are.
Nash looked around him and saw both user and NPC crews looking at them and realized that job wise, it is a misconception of the captain doing a job that a vice…
“No.” He said firmly. “I am not letting you go there!”
“I am a Summa Cum Laude of both The Academy of Applied Sciences and the Supreme Masteral Institute, Major in Lightstone Disbursement Technology. If you are going to stop me, then at least have the same degree of diploma as I have.”
With a firm glare, a stern voice, and a resolute tone on his belief, Nash was dumbstruck as to how an NPC could deliver such realistic presence.
Friendship. Camaraderie. Honor. Valor. Decisive…
Intimidating.
How can a computer program composed of numbers and algorithms such as him imposed such presence on a real human?
As his mind asked this, the vice captain nodded at him and Nash could only stare at his back.
“You.” the man pointed at the Deputy. “Take over of my post. Make sure that the captain does his job well.”
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The Deputy saluted. “Yes sir.”
“Lohan…”
“Captain. Remember your job well.”
At the back side of the bridge is the elevator with the access to all five levels of the Missouri. And while he could only follow the back of the vice commander he’s been with for two in game years, Nash saw a simple nod and a smile as a farewell remark on the elevator’s closing doors.
And at that moment, the Signal Officer’s voice rang on the entire bridge.
[Captain! Incoming transmission from the unknown ship. It’s a direct laser link sir!]
“Display.”
[Captain of that Knight Ship. This is the Captain of the Miranda speaking. I have something I would like to tell and ask you to do…]
***
[Attention all crew. Attention all crew. This is your captain speaking. We are changing status and now entering combat mode. All hands to your battle stations. I say again. We are changing status and will enter combat mode. All hands to your battle stations…]
The people around him started to run, leaving all of their unnecessary things and activities to where they are placed.
Blue mechanic uniforms spread all over the factory, white uniformed Winged Elements that numbered at about 20 units began to take their Flight Suit that was in an inclined hatch on the wall near his location. As Siva was dressed in his player uniform, white upper and black lower garment made up of high grade dragon and B-ranked materials, the blinking red light on the catwalk somehow lit his clothes to a purple color.
It was distinguishable and with the commotion all around him took their turn, the monster inside the metal containers below who got surprised began to create their own horrifying high pitched screeching sound.
The roar of an S-ranked monster was as loud as the engine and it filled the entire cargo deck with the now terrified and petrified crew.
[Attention The Destroyer. Please report to the ship’s Briefing Room at once. Attention The Destroyer, please report to the Briefing Room at once.]
The voice of the Communications Operator echoed on the hallways and though he had already turned off his browser window, another window popped up with a warning sound through the ship-wide communications channel. A familiar attractive face came with it and a somehow endearing smile greeted him.
[Destroyer…]
“You don’t say…” Replied Siva as he made his way towards the center of the ship.
[Yes.] Rafaela replied, not removing her enticing red lips curved into a snicker. [War…oh, there’s someone in the cafeteria, will you get him for me?]
The transmission link was cut as the ship slightly tilted, along with a strong shaking of the Miranda’s ironwood walls. The video feed showed static, and Siva could only call out to her.
“W-Wait, who…” But the link was gone.
Before he could even argue on the sudden change of direction, the line was cut and he stopped on his feet. There was a T-junction that goes left—right—straight in front of him and the crossroad wasn’t giving him any good direction points at all.
He tried to reconnect with the ship’s communication link again but failed, tried again, but failed. There was no response, not even to the public comms channel.
As the red blinking lights in the hall continued to alternate along with the alarm sound of red alert, Siva was looking around reading himself for any signs of the cafeteria.
He regretted that he was accommodated like a king on Rafaela’s private quarters and now he’s lost.
But then, two men in uniform came running from a corner and he saw the indication above in green fonts, Cafeteria, at the corner. He turned there and met a tall militaristic man in armor and that made him assume the message that Rafaela said.
“Are you a member of the crew?” He asked.
The man shook his head, “No. I’m a guest here.”
“Then are you perhaps Rafaela’s…”
His question was stopped as a strong shaking of the ship occurred along with the tilting of the floor and a loud explosive sound that came from outside. The two had the same impression that they just escaped death but the other guy was the first person to react.
“I have to go.”
“Wait!” Called Siva. “I have orders from Rafaela. I have to take you to the Briefing Room.”
“Briefing room? It’s this way!” And they ran.
Through the ship’s frantic crew that’s been running from here and there, and through some empty passages, they eventually reached the briefing room at which Rafaela was zipping the back of her clothes.
“Damn, I came late.” He heard the man murmur.
Rafaela spoke without looking, “We’re still far from the main battlefield but we’re already close to the enemy’s frontlines.”
“Frontline?! Why? Why are we going there?”
Rafaela turned around and faced him, “I haven’t told you, I’m sorry. This man is a member of the Sylphs and this ship is under The Union’s backing. It may be registered as an Exploration Vessel, but in Terroa, you cannot own a ship fitted with lots of artillery without being backed up by a prominent flag of authority.”
“You?! Sylphiadora Guild?”
“Yes. Sorry I haven’t the time to introduce myself. I am called Reynolds.”
Even though he was still confused, Siva took the hand and shook it. “Si…call me The Destroyer.”
“Well, nice to meet you…er…Destroyer.”
Siva shook his head facing Rafaela. “Anyways, why is this ship’s connection to this so called The Union being used to join the defense?”
“Because the Sylphiadora Guild is innocent of the crime the TGG had accused it of committing and that our sponsor had ordered me to join their side.”
“I-Innocent?”
“Yes.” Reynolds spoke. “We are a Guild established to promote friendship and camaraderie to all users. But TGG accused us of a crime that none of our members committed. And according to our own investigations, it was made by another group who attacked them and stole that MOD! And…And now…this is the result.”
The man actually said those words with a troubled expression. And as soon as Siva heard these words, he gritted his teeth as he felt angry for being tangled into something that he can’t avoid again. He actually felt the world banging his shoulders. So he fell silent.
Reports coming from the bridge’s console operators rang in the ship-wide speakers on the ceiling. The room with soft material floor and walls looked like a room in a Star Trek movie where lots of people can be fitted in close to each other. But even in all of this, the shaking of the entire ship still bade an irritating feeling on Siva who was now thinking solely on his precious loot on their freight cages.
There were three doors in the room and they came from the back right side, overlooking the entirety of the small blue chairs filled room, in front of the stage.
Siva observed their reactions and expressions and felt that the irritation he felt earlier had been amplified.
But his silence and these thoughts only lasted for just two moments when the automatic door at the stage opened up. That’s when Captain Newgate’s stern face came to greet them with his gaze automatically landing on him.