"No need to thank me — this is their due," Zhao Chen said.
Uncle Zheng Xiong shook his head and said in earnest, "Earlier, when you held up five fingers, I thought it was just fivefold remuneration. I never dreamed you'd not only win tenfold remuneration, but even secure imperial-military martyr honors for those brothers of mine! I… on behalf of those brothers, I thank you, little brother!"
Imperial-military martyr honors were, in truth, not so lavish a treatment.
For an ordinary martyr, it only guaranteed the direct kin a set ration of artificial nutrient meals for the next 20 years, and the right to use one unit of ordinary housing for 20 years.
But for common folk, this was already a very fine treatment.
And bear in mind — not every imperial-military soldier who fell could obtain martyr honors.
Rumor had it that, of the imperial-military soldiers who died each year, under one in 10 had a martyr application approved; the rest were all refused for reasons of every kind, or simply handed a one-time pension, and that was all.
That Zhao Chen could secure these martyr allotments, then, was truly beyond anything Uncle Zheng Xiong had imagined.
Bear in mind, in this campaign, Zhao Chen's and Shen Bing's fleets had taken no casualties at all.
Which was to say, this term was one Zhao Chen had put forward expressly for the fallen soldiers of Uncle Zheng Xiong's fleet.
"Little brother — if you ever run into trouble down the road, come to me. Uncle here may have no great powers, but he can lay down his life!" Uncle Zheng Xiong said in earnest.
Zhao Chen made a few courteous replies.
After that, Brigadier Song didn't appear again — likely because he'd achieved his aim, and there was no need to show himself further.
And not long after, three electronic agreements were laid before Zhao Chen, Shen Bing, and Uncle Zheng Xiong.
The contents were nothing more than acknowledging that this escort task had been undertaken of their own will, and that they knew all its particulars.
At the same time, the monetary compensation had all arrived in their accounts.
First, the remuneration portion: an escort task originally of 200,000 in remuneration was now raised straight to 2 million star coins.
There was besides the bounty for destroying 31 Mechanical Race ships; once the bounty was claimed, that ship wreckage was by default forfeited, for the imperial military to dispose of.
The kill-bounty came to 1.8 million star coins in all, and at threefold that was 5.4 million star coins.
Zhao Chen and the others divided the task remuneration; owing to the leather-clad woman's betrayal, her share was naturally gone.
Of the 2 million star coins, Zhao Chen took the lion's share, 60%.
Uncle Zheng Xiong took 35%, Shen Bing 5%.
In truth, on splitting the remuneration Zhao Chen had yielded a step; else, by his fleet's showing in the campaign alone, even 90% would have been no issue.
Both Shen Bing and Uncle Zheng Xiong pressed Zhao Chen to take more, but Zhao Chen refused.
For he still had the kill-bounty.
Apart from the three T2 Mechanical Race warships destroyed by Uncle Zheng Xiong, all the remaining Mechanical Race warships had been destroyed by Zhao Chen's fleet, and Zhao Chen took away 5.3 million star coins of the kill-bounty outright.
So that, all told, Zhao Chen alone came away with 6.5 million star coins.
Uncle Zheng Xiong came away with 800,000 star coins.
And Shen Bing came away with 100,000 star coins.
"Then let's split it this way." Zhao Chen looked round at them all; Shen Bing and Uncle Zheng Xiong naturally had no objection — they'd come off greatly to the good!
Zhao Chen transferred this bounty into his own account.
The bounty was a considerable sum indeed; the bug-race tasks Zhao Chen had taken earlier at the Arctic Fox Starport had never come to so much.
Of course, this was the fruit of Zhao Chen's holding out for tenfold remuneration and threefold kill-bounty; else it would have been 1 million star coins at most, and split three ways, likely only a few hundred thousand star coins each.
Uncle Zheng Xiong scratched his head, abashed. "This still leaves you the loser… by rights you should take more."
"It's fine — we've all braved life and death together, after all. Let's leave it at this." Zhao Chen clapped Uncle Zheng Xiong on the shoulder.
Zhao Chen talked over with Uncle Zheng Xiong their respective plans for what came next.
Since the escort fleet's task had been a blind, there was no more need for Zhao Chen and the others to convoy the transport fleet home; their task ended here.
Uncle Zheng Xiong said he'd repair his damaged ships here, take receipt of the compensation ships, and then get the pensions into the hands of the fallen crews' families.
He'd likely need to stay at the Quicksand City Interstellar Fortress a good half-month more.
Shen Bing said she and her crew too would wait for the T2 Hyena's repair, near enough three to five days.
As for Zhao Chen's ships — damaged though they were, Zhao Chen had them repaired only to the point of ensuring warp travel could run normally, and had the imperial military's repair personnel hand the repair materials straight to him, to take back and repair himself.
"You're in such a hurry to leave?" Shen Bing looked at Zhao Chen.
Zhao Chen nodded. "I have some other matters to see to; I must hurry back and make what haste I can."
Back at the Owl Dragon Fleet's temporary base, the T2 Iron-Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships were still building new ships — above all that T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser; he had to hurry back and make haste!
A journey of over a month had been set back near a full week by this upheaval.
"Then, little brother, we part here. If ever you've need of anything, don't hesitate to reach me," Uncle Zheng Xiong said warmly.
"Mm."
……
The Chu River Star Region · the main star system · a cloud-mansion several kilometers above the surface of a certain planet.
Chu Xuan was at this moment lying, bored past all bearing, on a lounge chair, watching one imperial-network entertainment channel program after another.
But none of them held any interest.
Watching these — how could it match the free, sweeping exhilaration of commanding a fleet across the star regions.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
Footsteps came just then; Chu Xuan at once shut her eyes and turned onto her side.
In walked a white-bearded old man.
"Xuan'er," the old man called, eyes crinkling with a smile.
Chu Xuan made no sound.
"Xuan'er, I've brought your favorite dessert!" The old man took out a box of pastries and held it before the tip of Chu Xuan's nose.
Chu Xuan let out a muffled snort and turned her head away, going on with her feigned sleep.
The old man set the pastry box down beside her, then sat down and opened a holographic video, and said, deliberately loud, "Aiya, I hear a T2 carrier actually has star-shield tech!"
"Hmph, who're you fooling. How could a T2 ship have star-shield tech — and you a five-star marshal, no less," Chu Xuan said with a pout, eyes still closed.
The corners of the old man's mouth turned up, a sly cast to his look. "I hear this carrier's called something like a T2 Queen Bee-class Heavy Carrier Starship. How is it I've never once heard of a carrier by that name…"
Before the old man could finish, Chu Xuan sprang up outright, staring at the video window before him.
And there, sure enough, she saw that familiar T2 carrier.
And at the fore of that T2 carrier there truly was a half-transparent energy shield — a "star-shield"!
"This T2 carrier really does have star-shield tech!" Chu Xuan gaped — this simply overturned everything she'd taken for common sense.