Chapter 271 The Rise of the Primarch: Neutral Zone
M25.227 Solvasas/Neutral System. Del Nimo City
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There are not many people in the bar now. Most of the regular patrons will come here after nightfall. Most of them are miners and surrounding factory workers. They will come here to have a drink after a busy day. The drinks here It's not the best, and the food isn't very tasty, but it's the only entertainment they have.
So it's very quiet here now. The workers have finished their work for the day. The green sun of Solvassas is still hanging high above their heads. There are only a few silent guests in the secluded tavern, most of them passing by. Travelers, merchants or mercenaries, intelligence dealers are waiting, and there are also some dangerous elements you won't know.
They rest here briefly and then embark on a journey, just like many people who come to this planet caught between the wars between the Federation and the Dominion. Most of them come here to exchange information.
These "travelers" were whispering in the corner of this secluded bar where no one was waiting. Those suspicious people were sitting at a table with each other, whispering some dangerous and expensive news. I dare say, The Federation and the Dominion, or those independent alien forces would be more than happy to pay for this.
But this guest is not here to exchange information, or at least he is not here to work for the Federation or any political force. He is not a mercenary, a businessman, or a killer hired by a politician. .
He was sitting at the wall-side table next to the door, waiting for an acquaintance. To him, he might be a friend, a brother, or even a close friend, at least that's what he felt. Of course, to that guy , I may only be able to get him to say "old fool" or "old bastard" in exchange for it, it all depends on his mood.
But he still believed that his friend would come, he would always come, no matter how he cursed or criticized him, he would always come.
And this is indeed the case. The door of the tavern opened. A guy wearing sunglasses and a low-key jacket who looked like a wandering mercenary walked into the tavern. The sound of the door opening attracted the attention of the mysterious guests in the room. The bartender also looked at him from behind the bar, but no one said a word.
Soon everything calmed down, or rather, no one noticed him. The man sitting near the door looked at his friend, and the latter also noticed him.
Sure enough, he walked over and sat sideways on the bench opposite him. He sat in the shadow behind the beveled window and looked at himself with his completely opaque single-sided sunglasses.
"You old fool, can't you just meet me on Harvest Star? Do you have to come here?" He complained and looked around, his wary eyes passing over the strangers who were here like him, and among them Several people also glanced at him.
The new guest frowned. He moved a little closer to the window, and then directly pulled down the blinds on the window. He complained and looked at the long-haired man sitting opposite, "You know what the league did to my head?" How much is the reward?"
"I heard that the bounty price has increased. Is this recognition of you? Federal Navy Marshal, General Vito Constantine." He said with a smile, sitting opposite Federal Marshal Vito Constantine. Ding rolled his eyes, put his hands on the table, and placed a pistol with the safety on on the table.
He glanced at the malicious guys around him, and those guys turned around knowingly after seeing the pistol. After making sure that everyone turned their eyes away, Vito looked at the guy opposite again.
"I'd rather they treat me as an idiot. Now there are people who want my head every day. I have to worry about a grenade being thrown out the window or a laser gun shooting at me while I'm eating. But you are still so free."
Vito put his hands on the table and leaned forward close to the table, so that he could speak softly, "You old bastard, why did you ask me to meet here? Don't you know how chaotic the neutral galaxy is? Go out. The chance of getting shot is greater than falling down."
"And the food was very unpalatable. After I received the news, I rushed here in a hurry. I didn't eat breakfast or lunch, and I didn't make it in time for dinner. I was so hungry that I ate a pizza outside the star port, but I promise, then The shit tastes like Styrofoam and tastes like industrial waste.”
The long-haired man looked at Vito opposite, he smiled and waved to the robot waiter on the side, "I won't meet you outside your headquarters because your federal FNA (Federal Naval Intelligence Agency) is everywhere They are all informants and eyes and ears. The entire Federation and even most of the galaxy have ears and ears, so I have to guard against them."
Vito is sitting in the shadow of the corner. He is like a mysterious assassin and a mercenary who is not easy to mess with. This trick has been used by Vito many times in the past. It can be said that it has been tried and true. This can effectively make 100% Ninety-seven people who want to cause trouble think twice before doing so, and as for the remaining three percent, they can only achieve physical enlightenment.
"Beer for you two." The robot came over. The silver-blue metal shell was very bare and smooth. It looked very different from the high-end bionic robots. The latter was almost the same as a human being and could only be indicated by the position of its temples. light for identification.
But this is normal. How can a shabby tavern in such a neutral area afford such expensive androids? Vito looked at the robot bartender. It looked more like it was pieced together from rough parts, but its intelligent core could still ensure that it could perform most daily actions, at least the bartender could do it.
The robot put down the beer and left. Vito looked at the robot that returned to his bar and began to wipe the wine glasses on the shelf in a programmed manner.
Vito's eyes swept across the hall. Almost all the staff in this tavern were robots, and he didn't even see its human boss. But it's no wonder, no one would be as dangerous as mercenaries and spies in this dark, remote place during the day. At night it was a place where drunken miners worked.
"There are robots like these everywhere now, from Earth to the Outer Rim." Vito complained and picked up the beer. He took a sip and almost spit it out because of the terrible taste. He coughed and put the beer down. Returned to the table.
"What's your old bastard's name now? George? Or Mayor?" Vito wiped the alcohol residue from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. The long-haired man sitting opposite him smiled. He was not because of the unpleasant drink. And gagging, and it looked like he could even drink it.
"Kenobi, this is my new name, Kenobi Fett." As he said that, he put the beer back on the table. He smiled and looked at Vito in the shadow opposite. There was only one person in the dark corner. His sunglasses reflected a strange halo of light, but otherwise his entire face was completely submerged in darkness.
"On your part, you haven't changed your name since 1939. Vito Constantine. How interesting. How long have you had this name? Seven hundred years?" Kenobi said with a smile. Of course, this was not his real name. To be honest, no one knows what his real name is. Vito never knew it, and all the people who knew it have died long ago, and there is probably not even ashes left.
Vito in the shadow stretched out a hand. He took the beer on the table and pulled it back into the shadow. He tried to take a small sip. In fact, it was not unacceptable if he swallowed it slowly, although the taste was still weird. weird.
"I'm not you, I don't have to change my name every few decades." Vito said in the shadows, while Kenobi also picked up the wine glass and took a sip. He smiled and held the thin neck of the beer bottle with his fingers. Long Neck, "How's your war going?"
"Didn't you hear?" The lenses of Vito's sunglasses were shining on the opposite side. The floating car sliding past the window cast a purple-red halo into the alley, and the light shone on Vito's face through the gaps in the blinds. on the lens.
Kenobi took another sip of wine. He used one finger to lift the hair on his face and tuck it behind his ears. His Asia Minor skin color was still so dark. Speaking of which, this guy could obviously change his skin color, but he couldn't. He had never done that, and Vito didn't know why. Maybe it was to leave the only trace of his past self?
"I'd rather hear you tell me. You know, there are a lot of rumors in this world now, but I believe what you say." Kenobi said as he held the beer bottle and raised one finger slightly, pointing to the other side of the table. Vito, the cyber-like light outside the window also shines on his face.
Vito snorted softly, and raised one of his legs from the shadows to rest on the table. The two pairs of high boots collided with each other, and the silver armor attached to them jingled as they collided with each other. Kenobi looked at the boots.
"You're still wearing it? You've been wearing it since 1880. Don't you plan on changing to a new pair?" "I'm nostalgic, okay?"
Vito said coldly, and the arm in the shadow stretched out a finger and pointed at Kenobi, "I don't need you to teach me what to do, old slick man, you have watched human beings develop for tens of thousands of years, Now you suddenly come here to care about the war situation? "
"Being on the sidelines doesn't mean you don't care. Vito, I also advise you not to interfere too much in human affairs. You will get into trouble and find that no matter what you do, it is meaningless. In the end, you will only be hurt."
Kenobi said, looking directly at the sunglasses, and Vito cut, his hand falling back into the darkness, "Then what? Sitting on the sidelines and watching a show? Watching our compatriots kill each other?" Then write a few sentences with emotion and then write a book?”
Kenobi sighed, shook his head slightly and took a sip of beer, "The differences between us still exist, but I don't want to convince you today. Maybe you will understand one day, and understand that as immortals, we should not interfere in the transition. The history of mankind, but that is not here, now, and now, tell me the results of your "efforts."
Vito snorted disdainfully, leaning against the shadow, with only the outline of its edges visible, "Since the Outer Rim Rebellion, the Free Trade Alliance and the Yurayan Federation have now formed an alliance, and they are trying to persuade independence Militia groups worked with them to deal with the federal army."
"What's the result?" Kenobi asked as he drank. Vito also took a sip of wine. The glass bottle at the end of the beer glass flickered in the neon light.
"They were beaten violently by us. Although we also suffered heavy losses after the Iron Rain battle with the Eldar, we are still regular troops after all. It is enough to beat a group of opportunistic businessmen and a group of angry farmers with shotguns."
Kenobi chuckled softly, and his hand that was shaking the wine glass gently tapped the hardened plastic table, and his voice sounded rhythmic, "I heard that the aliens in the outer ring have rebelled. Some species Joined the rebels and brought their own weapons."
"There have always been aliens participating in the outer ring rebels, but they are just the unlucky ones abandoned by some Eldar after they shrunk back to their hometown. I led my team to give them a good beating just a while ago during the Battle of Colomir. They Half of the main fleet was destroyed and is now being chased away by the federal navy and marines. "
Vito said happily. He sipped the local beer. Gradually, now that he could accept it, Vito shrugged slightly and moved his legs on the table slightly, "Those businessmen and the rebels The army has been driven out of the middle and outer ring areas, and their previous attack on Feilengcui also ended in failure. Now I and the staff are considering launching a tough attack on the outer ring to kill them completely and the rebellion will be over. "
Kenobi drank his beer and shook his head slightly. His eyes looked at Vito in the shadow opposite, "No, old friend, the people who have decided to revolt will not give up because of this. They will win at any cost. No matter how wrong that might be."
Vito lowered his legs, leaned forward and his face appeared at the edge of the shadow. His eyes wearing sunglasses looked at Kenobi in front of him, "What do you want to say?"
Kenobi put down his beer and put his hands on the table. "They found a weapon, something dangerous. Those kids didn't even know what it was."
"The Free Trade Alliance fleet, while being chased by your navy, inadvertently passed by an abandoned Eldar colony planet. In the Eldar base that was bombed during the Human-Eldar War, they A stone tablet was discovered, a mysterious but extremely dangerous stone tablet, which the Eldar called Vasa Ti Demir."
"The Gate of Hell?" Vito interrupted, and Kenobi smiled with satisfaction and nodded to Vito, "It seems that you have learned the Eldar language well, old friend." "After all, I have been fighting with them for almost ten years. , not counting the previous border war, let’s continue.”
Vito took a sip of his beer and listened quietly to Kenobi's words. The latter didn't keep him waiting too long. He lifted up the dark brown hair in front of his forehead and continued to talk.
"People from the Free Trade Alliance checked the data records of the Eldar. They thought it was a weapon, a powerful weapon that could change the situation of the war. However, because your fleet was chasing closely, there was no time to figure out the thing on the spot. What is it? I hurriedly put it on the boat and took it away."
"Their fleet has been being chased and beaten by your people, but something strange happened. During the chase, the cruiser carrying the stone tablet suddenly left the team without permission, completely ignoring the fleet's orders and making an emergency jump. It even destroyed a frigate."
"Mutiny?" Vito asked, giving it a possibility based on his professional experience, but Kenobi shook his head and denied it.
"The cruiser is almost completely mechanized. Most of the members on it are robots. The ship system is also driven by artificial intelligence. There are only a few living sailors on it, so there is no possibility of mutiny."
As Kenobi spoke, Vito's hand holding the beer bottle he was about to drink stopped. He hesitated for a moment and then put down the glass, "Go on."
"The cruiser made several space jumps, and then came to the vicinity of the Northen Star. Then it crashed on the ice sheet for unknown reasons. Since then, there has been no news. Not only that, the entire Northen Star has also completely lost contact. No news at all."
Vito put the wine glass on the table. He held his chin with one hand and thought thoughtfully. Then he took off his sunglasses and looked at Kenobi with his own eyes. He put the sunglasses on the table and looked at Kenobi with his eyes. Glittering in the gloom.
"So you noticed something in this strange incident, right? Something dangerous." Vito asked, Kenobi nodded silently, his eyes looked out from the gaps in the blinds, those The tall buildings completely hid the alley in shadow, with only the unnatural artificial light coming from the upper floors illuminating the alley.
"I sensed something dangerous from that stone tablet. After the Eldar colony was destroyed by the war, I thought that the stone tablet was also destroyed by orbital bombing, but that thing did not turn out as I expected. Gone forever, but dug up.”
Kenobi's face flashed with an unknown halo, and a purple-red halo shone on his face. "The group of divided businessmen didn't even know what they had discovered in order to survive. And now, the stone tablet has left the soul." The clan has built a safe place for it, we must find it and destroy it."
"We?" Vito asked in surprise. Kenobi turned his head slightly to look at Vito opposite, with a smile on his lips, "Yes, we, just like we have done many times in the past, You said you want to help human civilization, then human civilization needs your help now, and mine."
Vito looked at the man opposite and was silent for a moment. Then he sighed helplessly, grabbed his sunglasses and put them back on his eyes. The pulse ray pistol was also picked up and inserted into the holster on his waist.
Kenobi stood up with satisfaction and threw an information coin data strip on the table. "Nocent is hundreds of light years away from us. We have to get there as soon as possible. Do you have any suitable transportation?"
"Yes, take my boat." Vito said and turned around and left the booth. He straddled the gun and walked to the door of the bar and pressed the button next to the door. With a ticking sound, the door opened, and countless artificial lights shone on it. His face.
Kenobi also walked out of the booth and stood behind Vito, "The small one or the big one?" "The big one, my fleet flagship, the Executor."
Vito walked out of the bar and Kenobi followed him into the dark streets under the tall buildings. The cyber lights shone on them, making them seem to be walking in a dream. Vito walked along the bullet-riddled wall on the street and took out a small communicator from his arms.
"Helen, let the Executor set the course and prepare to go to Noson." Vito released the communication symbol, but suddenly pressed it again and continued, "Take the Oak and Iron Cross cruisers and get the commandos ready."