Chapter 537 The Rise of the Lion King: The Turbulent Star Region

"Unless I was drunk, it was definitely a heavy cargo ship."

After the cabin door opened with a bang, the person behind the door said. He buttoned the button and walked in with a cup of steaming coffee. Although compared with the three fully armed Astartes behind him, he looked He almost looked like someone who had walked into the wrong set, but fortunately, there was someone wearing a loose robe who could accompany him on the show.

"And I've never been drunk. I drank Russ down before, during their weird three-round challenge in Fenris." Vito said and walked in. He asked Eisen who had already arrived here. Captain Stan looked at each other and nodded. He seemed to think that there would be some battle needs here, so he came wearing a fully equipped Terminator armor.

The Imperial Fist looked at his brothers, and then after Loken patted him on the shoulder, they looked at the huge ship ahead. It was definitely an imperial inter-sector transport ship, the only ship of this kind. That's why the body needs to be made so big to accommodate the jump engine, life support system, and huge transportation needs.

But this boat can hardly be called complete. It is full of scratches all over, like a toy bitten by wild dogs that was picked up by its owner, and its owner is right in front.

Vito came to the terminal and glanced at Helen who was standing on the flat interface. She was standing there as small as a palm, but her body was far less small than it looked.

The huge mechanical devices all around obeyed her orders, like arms and fingers, responding quickly and keenly to the direction of Helen's fingers, or even a simple moment of thought.

The dilapidated transport ship has been almost dismantled. Only a small part of the several-kilometer-long hull is left. One part is floating in the universe, and the other part is dismantled here. An energy pipeline extends from the removed gap, like a claw piercing into the prey.

"Guilliman's stupid son was ransacking our armory and you didn't pay attention, but he recovered a broken ship? Or rather, where did this damn thing come from? It looks quite fresh."

It's quite fresh. The explosion traces on the battleship are still scorched black, and black smoke is rising from the broken gap. Some are in better condition, and there are burning red soldering irons on it. A huge mechanical arm floats over it, floating above it. A piece of such armor was thrown to the ground.

"Where did it come from?" "In space." "I know it was in space, but where else could it have come from? I mean, where did this damn thing come from, whose ship it was." "Captain Cook, but he Already dead." "Okay, the question is, how did he die?" "Pirate attack."

Vito glanced at the wreckage of pirate ships floating outside the dock in the distance. The broken skulls on their hulls were floating outside the door. He put his hands on his waist, "Okay, it's really classic. The third question is, why is there no one?" Tell me, there was a naval battle just outside?"

"I don't think it's necessary. Three pirate ships can't pose any threat, and you were sleeping at the time." "Don't be so sure, maybe you weren't asleep yet, so you solved it on your own? But why did you destroy this?" Bring things back? Even though ours is empty, it’s not suitable for putting on a scrap ship.”

"The Nebula-class transport ship has been too damaged to be repaired. Isn't its reactor overheated?" Bell raised his head and asked from behind, while Helen pointed at the interface in front of her expressionlessly, with a look in her eyes. Continuously scrolling the data loading bar.

"I have cooled it down, and I am not going to repair it. All its crew members are dead, and the automatic program it is equipped with cannot allow me to directly control the entire ship."

"Then why did you bring it back? Surprise me in the morning? Then you should prepare breakfast for me. I haven't eaten a bite yet." Vito said cynically while drinking coffee, facing this huge beast in front of him. Big ships are of little interest.

But that was settled, at least he was still watching. Sicarius had already started discussing with Seksos to loot the cabin later, so Vito had better not spend too much time on it. .

But he knew Helen. She didn't understand the meaning of jokes or fun, so she wouldn't pull in a space hulk that might explode at any time, dismantle it and reassemble it here just for "fun."

"I'm scanning its system. Although its program is very old, not the good old kind, the voyage records and communication records are still normal and can provide some useful information."

"Then have you scanned it?" "Yes." "Then tell me, what treasures are hidden in this big ship." Vito almost finished the coffee in his hand, and he looked at the broken port of the transport ship. The second half, whatever it once contained, was now empty.

The only thing that might be valuable about this ship is what's in its head, and based on Vito's experience, generally speaking, this kind of useless ship floating in space will always bring some surprises, you know. , such as small animals below decks, or unpleasant spores.

But now Vito hasn't seen anything coming out of it, so he guesses that he doesn't need to put down his coffee and change to a gun, and Eisenstein and the others don't need to prepare for a fight with anything.

Helen quickly operated the interface in front of him, then pushed it away. She raised her shining blue eyes and looked at the damaged bridge of the ship, "This ship is empty. It started No cargo was transported."

"That's not a good thing for the pirates, and it's not a good thing for us either. Sicarius likes to raid." Vito took a sip of coffee and scanned the signs of damage on the ship. "But even so, the pirates still treated it A lot of effort was put into it, and the fight was pretty miserable.”

"They came early. They should have waited until the ship returned before attacking it. I guess it was an intelligence problem." "It's a mistake worthy of vigilance, but what about the Imperial Navy? The pirates just come out for a walk in broad daylight, and don't they care?"

"The Imperial Navy does not have a fleet stationed in this sector, at least not on a large scale. According to the data records of the navigation terminal, all the naval fleets in Damocles Bay were previously recalled to support other war zones. The remaining A small number of ships would not be able to suppress the empire's border areas, and rampant pirates would flourish."

"It sounds like an ordinary Imperial sector, with pirates, heretics, and let me guess, there is also an alien." "It's not bad. This place is bordering the Tau Empire, so there is no shortage of aliens." "Dear, don't call me Every time I hear their little shabby house called "Empire," I want to laugh."

Vito was drinking coffee with a smile on his face. The Tau Empire, this is simply a natural joke, "So, our blue-skinned friends, did you take this opportunity to cause trouble? At the same time as Abaddon launched Another expansion, what do they call this? An expedition to the ether?"

"The sky is expanding, but it is not. Judging from the records, the Tau have not launched any military operations in the eastern part of the Gulf of Damocles, but they did take advantage of the emptiness of the empire's management to increase some trade with the frontiers, but they are still expected to within the range.”

"That sounds boring." "Then if I say that the Tau are going to start a war soon, would you be interested?" After Helen said that, Vito did put down the coffee cup, and he smiled mockingly, The Astartes behind him also laughed together.

"Go on, our alien enemy, what are you going to do?" "Judging from the navigation records and communication records, it seems that the Tau have a dispute with Tyrell Munda (the empire's capital in the Damocles Gulf sector). Someone They attacked Tau merchants and caravans. The Tau thought they were humans and launched some retaliatory actions to attack the pirates, but they were attacked by the Empire's Rogue Trader fleet."

"The only difference between many rogue traders and pirates is the flag they hang out."

"But the captain of this ship and the trading group to which he belonged obviously did not think so. They protested this behavior to the sector government, and the sector government did listen. The empire arrested some Tau merchants and negotiated with the Tau According to the communication records, the captain believed that war was about to break out and planned to set sail from here as soon as he got the cargo. According to the records, this route is quite safe. "

"Then it looks like he's unlucky, really unlucky."

"Indeed, sir." "You said someone attacked the Tau fleet?"

"Yes, sir, the Damocles Gulf government and the Tau accused each other of being responsible for this. The two sides had serious frictions on some trading planets where they both had colonies. According to the communication records, the Rogue Trader Association informed the captain that they believed that some The planet may be instigated by the Tau to riot, and then join the Tau Empire after independence, thus serving as the Tau's forward position and the fuse of the war."

Vito laughed when he heard this, and he shook his head helplessly, "After the last expansion of the sky, the Tau tribe really shined with some sunshine, and they feel that they can do it again."

"The Empire has very few troops in the area. I think it may be worth paying more attention to. Although the Tau have poor performance in past records, after all, it is a nationwide effort to attack a sector that the Empire has neglected to defend. Tyrell Munda has already asked Ultramar Command issued a request for assistance, which was taken as a signal of war, leading to further chaos."

Vito touched his chin and thought thoughtfully, "Humph, the timing is really just right, it can't be natural. Someone is instigating the situation in Damocles Bay. I guess it's what is mentioned in this letter. People, and it seems that they have connections with high-ranking officials in Terra, which shows that the local government is not reliable. "

"What's your plan?" Bell stepped forward and asked. Vito glanced at him, touched his chin and started thinking, "Check the situation, it's the same as usual, but it's a pity that those pirates seem to be dead, otherwise they should It will save us some trouble.”

"I'm sorry, sir, they chose to resist." Helen's reason was quite weak. With the ability of Sky Blade, she could catch them all even if they desperately resisted.

Vito looked at Helen, frowning slightly as if he saw something. Helen raised her eyes to meet him, but fortunately Vito didn't say anything in the end. He turned around and looked at the damaged merchant ship.

"Where is its destination? I have a hunch that there will be something interesting there." "Tyrel Munda." "The sector capital? Great."

Vito turned to look at the few Space Marines behind him and put the coffee on the console on the side. "Let's go to the capital and give them some care from the empire."

"Care?" Sicarius crossed his arms with a smile, and Vito also smiled, "It depends on their performance. The quality depends on what kind of care they receive, greetings from Terra, or from the Tribunal. greeting."

"Besides, Helen, if this boat doesn't work, try to find us another boat that can fly and won't explode. I don't want to drive the Sky Blade to the capital. For the time being, we have to keep a low profile."

"As you command, sir."

After Vito finished speaking, he walked towards the Space Marines and gave them instructions and arrangements. Behind him, Helen turned around and looked at the fragments of the warship floating outside. A red light flashed briefly on her body.