Chapter 170 Chimera Pirates

On September 20, 2489, Augustus's motorcade was speeding about 40 miles into the Corridor of Purgatory.

The Purgatory Corridor is a wide canyon with rock walls over a thousand feet high. The air inside is dry and the ground is as solid as solid stone. Gravel mixed with yellow bone fragments and metal fragments and tree-shaped thorns more than ten feet high are the only scenes that make up this monotonous world. Even the wind is hot, as if it can sweep away all the moisture in the human body.

The vast area of ​​Ridge Plains-Purgatory Corridor-Grey Spotted Wasteland has not received rainfall for many standard revolution years, and only the most tenacious native species are still hiding underground to survive.

Even the most adaptable Ma Sara immigrants would not establish a home in this extremely desolate area. It would take a lot of unnecessary effort to take root in this land of death and feed their families, and as long as a sudden A sandstorm or a bandit attack can wipe out the immigrants' savings.

The Vulture cars of Augustus and Renault drove at the front, followed by a large group of Vulture cars. In the eyes of Augustus, the scenery he saw during the forty miles had hardly changed at all. He saw nothing but sand, thorns, and exposed sedimentary rock formations on the floor.

Along the way, they passed three or four Revolutionary Army outposts. Each outpost was made of space engineering vehicles welded with boron steel plates. They were several miles apart from each other. They had enough food and ammunition stored in them for a month. supply.

Since all radio communication equipment will fail or be inaccurate once entering the Purgatory Corridor, all outposts, forward bases and camps have laid conductive cables for communication.

After driving sixty miles, Augustus's motorcade stopped at a marked steep rock wall in the Corridor of Purgatory.

Compared with other sections of the Purgatory Corridor, the rock wall here is no different. The angle between the rock wall and the ground is close to vertical, and there is a lack of leverage points and gripping points for climbing. About a hundred feet above the ground grow the agave-like marsala barnacles. The fruits of this rare medicinal herb contain a small amount of water and are the main food source for Koprulu's gliding eagles.

But when Augustus approached the rock wall, the rock wall suddenly disappeared as he approached. A steel gate made of fine steel suddenly appeared between Augustus and the rock wall. Amidst the roar of rotation, a frontline base of the Revolutionary Army dug into the rock wall appeared in front of Augustus, Renault and others.

Fick, the former magic power armor technician of Paradise, was waiting for Augustus with two Revolutionary Army soldiers carrying Gauss rifles on their shoulders and wearing brown jeans: "Sir, this base has three reserves for a full Revolutionary Army camp. Months of supplies. We have controlled the canyon entrance from the Purgatory Corridor to the Ridge Plains, and these supplies have been transported by transport planes and trucks."

"Well done, Fick, have you ever met pirates or people from other organizations?" Renault bent down and patted Fick on the shoulder. By contrast with the many tall Revolutionary Army soldiers around him, Fick's dwarf-like figure was immediately exposed.

"The ghost agent responsible for providing us with cover captured two members of the Chimera pirates. Through mind reading, we easily obtained the location of the Chimera pirates' scientific research base, and they have obviously noticed our intrusion." Because of his legs Two lengths shorter than the others, Fick needed to take a few more steps to reach Augustus.

Fick is now the person in charge of this forward base. Although he is not a cave-digging expert like the Camorians, he is equally good at building bases and bunkers in various dangerous terrains. And because Fick was a member of the Demons of Heaven and deeply trusted by Augustus, he also gained the position of leader.

Just as Fike finished speaking, a female ghost agent wearing a light blue tight-fitting combat uniform appeared in front of Augustus. This ghost agent was one of the seven ghosts captured by Augustus from the federal research station on Victor V. Unsurprisingly, these ghosts turned to the Korhal Revolutionary Army after removing their psychic suppressors.

The ghost agent's right forearm has been replaced by a prosthetic limb, and his left eye has been replaced with a Umoyan mechanical prosthetic eye that glows red. As she spoke, the mechanical prosthetic eye was still rotating, radiating a breathtaking light.

"God, I love that thing." Mira Han, the leader of the Revolutionary Army Guards standing behind Renault, pointed at the ghost agent's mechanical eye and said very impolitely.

At present, Augustus's army is divided into three main systems, the elite squad, the marshal's guard, and the regular revolutionary army. The regular army is divided into the backbone of Korkha soldiers and the brigades of recruits from the Port of the Dead. It is worth mentioning that the fighting will of the troops from Port of the Dead is not inferior to that of veterans who have experienced several wars.

"No, you don't like this." Augustus said sternly to Mira, who was three years younger than him: "If you are still so crazy, then I will let you stay in the army to practice shooting next time."

"Please forgive this child's youth and ignorance. She actually does not mean any harm." Augustus said to the ghost agent apologetically.

The ghost agents who survived the Battle of Victor V were more or less physically mutilated, and the best one also had a broken index finger.

"She is a fast-talking person." The voice hidden under the mask of the ghost agent was unexpectedly very melodious and rhythmic, as if an oriole was singing: "But I can see that she has a hidden agenda. A kind heart underneath the shell used to protect yourself.”

"Well, you're right." Mira replied proudly.

"Tell me about those Chimera pirates, Natasha." After removing the psychic suppressors of these ghost agents, Augustus has been calling them by their names before they became ghost agents instead of numbers. This means that the ghost agents of the Revolutionary Army have their own personalities, and they choose to fight for the Revolutionary Army solely because of their hatred of the Terran Federation and their personal worship of Augustus himself.

"The Chimera pirates have stored a lot of sophisticated weapons, ship parts and equipment components in their scientific research bases. They operate large or small black trading markets on dozens of colonial planets in the Tyranid Federation. Through Take a large commission for transaction guarantee and obtain ship parts through many channels." Ghost agent Natasha replied.

"To put it simply, the Chimera pirates are a group of profit-seeking technology traffickers. They not only use the advanced technology products and precision parts obtained through robbery, purchase and theft, but also sell them to others to make huge profits. These pirates not only rob They are plundering private enterprises, and are also attacking or trying to seize sophisticated high-tech weapons from the scientific research stations of the Terran Federation, the Kaimorian Federation, and the United States of Umoyan, while also stealing military intelligence that can be sold at high prices," she said. .

"There are rumors that the Chimera pirates come from the United States of Umoyan. They were once a scientific research fleet of the Umoyan Protectorate Army. They eventually betrayed the Umoyan Protectorate Army for some reasons. Although the Umoyan Protectorate Army Jun denies it, but the founder of the Chimera is indeed a Umoyan."

"One of the leaders of the Chimeran Pirates is a psyker, and the Chimeran Pirates generally believe that their current leader is a former Federation Ghost agent."

"It sounds like the Chimeras are an uncontrollable chaotic element in the Koprulu Sector. As long as the opponent has high-tech parts, there is nothing they dare not do. They are the most ferocious thugs and technology maniacs in the Koprulu Sector." Taikai Si has also heard some rumors about Chimera pirates, and they can be found in many of the black markets of the Tyranid Federation. These pirates are probably second only to the Kaimorian pirates in terms of notoriety in the Koprulu sector.

After listening, Augustus nodded and concluded: "Like Captain Jackson's people, the pirates are only interested in profit, but the preferences of the Chimera pirates are different."

"Maybe we should have a good negotiation with these pirates." Corporal Faraday said: "Chimera pirates also accept mercenary business, just like many pirates. Sometimes they are pirates who kill people on sight, and sometimes they are based on the spirit of contract. mercenaries."

"Just like what we did with the Jackson Avenger, turn enemies into friends and use money to make them work for us."

"How to negotiate?" Tychus chuckled: "My suggestion is to kill them first, and then negotiate with the dead."

"Honestly, those Chimera pirates will never calm down and negotiate with us unless they are all beaten up." Augustus spoke at this time: "If they are willing to provide some technology to the revolutionary army, then Everything is easy to talk about. We can buy it with money, and the revolutionary army never takes anything by force."

"The attack on the Chimera pirate scientific research base will be launched in the early morning of tomorrow, that is, fifteen standard Earth times later. This is just the first step for us to fully control the Purgatory Corridor." Augustus took a few steps forward , Fike and others standing in front of him immediately made way for him.

"The key is to solve the mystery of the Corridors of Purgatory."

The interior space of the Revolutionary Army Base built inside the rock wall is supported by solid cylindrical alloy columns, and the tapered dome is suspended with LED lighting that emits pure white light. Augustus walked straight to the airlock door marked with the phrase "Laboratory". As the airlock door burst open, he found an old acquaintance in the laboratory that could only accommodate a few tables and a few glass containers: Victor No. 5 Federal Research Station Dr. Francos.

Dr. Francos is one of the only scientists under Augustus. Although he specializes in Zerg dissection and has never participated in the research of rare crystals, Augustus, who has no one available, can temporarily We can only catch him.

"Doctor, how's the research going?" Augustus, dressed in denim, walked towards Dr. Francos.

At the same time, the ghost agent Sarah Kerrigan, who had been secretly protecting him, revealed her figure in an invisible state. As her hips swayed under the black tight-fitting pseudo-light combat uniform, she spun a handful in her hand and flashed in the light. The cold butterfly knife, the rose-colored butterfly knife, was turned over by the beautiful and dexterous fingers, spinning out gorgeous knife flowers.

Immediately afterwards, Kerrigan did not speak, but sat on a test bench with one hand on the table. Her red lips were pursed tightly, and her light green eyes looked at Augustus instead of the panicked doctor.

Former Federation ghost agent Sarah Kerrigan, who was inseparable from Augustus and was said to never leave his side for any second, only appeared under certain circumstances. Kerrigan's appearance at this time can only mean one thing: she believes that Dr. Francos may be a threat to Augustus' safety, so this is a warning.

However, Kerrigan was just bored and wanted to show off. Maybe Kerrigan just wanted to make her presence felt.

"Some progress has been made." But Dr. Francos, who was weighing a rare crystal mine excavated from the corridors of Purgatory, had his hands shaking. The appearance of the red-haired female ghost naturally startled him.

"Most scientists in the Federation believe that the abnormal band in the Purgatory Corridor is caused by the abundant crystal mineral deposits in the geological layer. But in fact, there is no scientific basis for this speculation. At least the crystal mineral metal samples we obtained are different from ordinary Adien Crystal doesn’t make any difference.”

After taking a few deep breaths, Dr. Francos got rid of the psychological pressure caused by Sarah Kerrigan's appearance.

"Marshal." Dr. Francos connected his personal terminal to the only holographic projection screen in the laboratory through a data cable.

When Augustus looked over, he saw that Francois was showing a flat map of the corridors of Purgatory.

"The high-intensity electrical pulses disrupted by the band are spread throughout the Purgatory Corridor. The signal source is buried underground. The strongest signal source is even buried hundreds of miles underground." Francos talked eloquently, and the more he talked, the more confident he became. In fact, the study of crystal mines is not difficult. As long as experimental observations are made through analytical equipment, discoveries can be made through sorting and comparison.

"This is in line with the common speculation that the source of the interference is a rare crystal mineral vein, but the true cause is still unknown."

"So you still don't know why?" Kerrigan glanced at Dr. Francos.

A few drops of sweat flowed from Francos' bald head: "I think the source of interference is likely to come from an old federal equipment with a strong interference source, or from some mysterious alien ruins."

"I have consulted some documents. Several Kemorian explorers have discovered mysterious pyramids and temples of giant creatures on planets outside the Koprulu sector. Through the analysis of those mysterious building materials, we can know these Buildings may have existed from the Big Bang to the birth of the planet, and the history is at least more than 14 billion years."

"The clusters of crystal mines associated with those outside the temples also have a strong impact on electronic devices that use radio waves for communication."

"You are just guessing." Augustus pretended to show impatience: "What makes you have such an association?"

"I have a fragment here that is made of the same material as the outer wall of the mysterious temple." Dr. Francos took out a triangular dark green fragment from the pocket of his white coat - this is an isosceles triangle that perfectly follows the golden ratio, with two The bottom angle is 72°, the top angle is 36°, and the ratio between the bottom and the length of one waist is the golden ratio. There are some cracks on the triangle, and the corners are regular as if they were cut by a machine tool.

Putting aside the possibility of infinite coincidence in the universe, this obviously comes from an alien civilization.

"This should be a fragment of a certain container. I observed that this fragment is slowly absorbing energy to replenish the damaged parts over a period of more than ten years or more."

The doctor said confidently: "I swear, this place must be related to the mysterious alien ruins. Maybe there is a temple of a mysterious race under our feet that is far older than human beings."

Got home.

Thanks for the tips and votes. I can see everyone’s names, but I really don’t have the energy to type them out one by one.