"A detailed star chart of the Reef Star Region? That's no hard matter — I can find you one right here." The hot-dressed woman soon turned up the detailed chart Zhao Chen had asked for. Called a detailed chart, it wasn't really all that professional; but one could roughly make out where each system sat, and some information about what lay within them.
"Annie, have a look. Where's your homeland?" Zhao Chen showed Annie this chart of the Reef Star Region.
Annie rose on tiptoe to study it. Seeing this, Zhao Chen adjusted the holographic chart downward a little, so Annie could see it more easily.
"It's here! It's here! Annie's home is right here!" Annie suddenly pointed in excitement at a spot on the chart.
Zhao Chen noted the location down.
"You mean to go to the third planet of the FY System? Then I'd advise you to take care — I hear there's a war on over there," the hot-dressed woman put in.
"A war?" Zhao Chen showed a look of surprise. Beside him, Annie grew instantly anxious, her whole face clouded with worry.
The woman said nothing just then; seeing this, Zhao Chen took out a small pouch of crystal stone and tossed it to her.
At once the woman said, with an ingratiating smile, "I only heard it too — about three months ago, a mineral vein was found on the third planet of the FY System, holding a great store of special ore resources. It may not compare with the ore resources out in the wider worlds, but here in our Reef Star Region, a thing like that counts as a mountain of gold. And the Fire Salamander clan, who've always regarded the FY System as their own turf, three months ago threatened the natives of that planet to leave it, every one — the planet was the Fire Salamanders' private property, they said. But how could a demand like that ever be met? I hear the main race on that planet is the dwarves, and they protested fiercely. After that the Fire Salamander clan began mustering their fleet and threw a blockade around the planet — about a week ago, I think. I hear the dwarves' few interstellar warships have all been destroyed, and now the dwarves can only put up some resistance on the planet's surface. But against the Fire Salamander clan, their defeat is only a matter of time."
Hearing that her homeland was under attack, its fleet all destroyed, her people caught in the flames of war, Annie's face filled with alarm; without meaning to, she clutched at the hem of Zhao Chen's clothes. When it had begun she didn't know, but she'd already come to trust and lean on this man beside her without thinking.
"Can you provide me with detailed information on the Fire Salamander clan? The more detailed the better!" Zhao Chen took out another pouch of crystal stone.
The woman's eyes lit up at the money, and she set to work at once. In no time she'd prepared the intelligence Zhao Chen needed.
"Thank you for the information." Having thanked the woman, Zhao Chen took Annie back to the gangway.
The gangway carried them back up to the ship, while the cargo lift beside it began ferrying up, load after load, the goods Zhao Chen had ordered.
T3 Blizzard — Bridge
"What's happened?" Charlotte asked, seeing Annie clutching Zhao Chen's hem, her eyes red-rimmed.
Before Zhao Chen could speak, Annie, unable to hold it in any longer, pleaded now through her tears, "Commander… Commander, sir… I beg you… save… save Annie's people, please… Annie will work ever so hard from now on… Annie can — can go without those meals… Annie can just eat nutrient rations… If only — if only the Commander will save Annie's people… Annie will even go without food, that's fine too…"
At this moment, panicked half out of her wits, Annie had begun to babble.
Zhao Chen stroked Annie's head. "Silly girl — if you don't eat, how will you do any work for me? Listen to me: no more crying now. So long as you stop crying, I'll find a way to save your people."
Hearing this, Annie stopped her sobbing at once — but a trickle of snot ran from her little nose, and she didn't dare make any move to wipe it, cutting the most pitiful figure.
"Look at you, a little snot-nose now. Go wash your face properly; I'll talk it over with Charlotte, how to go about saving your people." Zhao Chen pinched Annie's cheek.
"Mm…" Annie nodded, then headed off toward a washroom to one side of the bridge, glancing back every few steps.
Charlotte looked at Zhao Chen. Zhao Chen raised a hand and opened the material the hot-dressed woman had given him.
"This is a local interstellar power of the Reef Star Region, with the Fire Salamander clan as its main body. Annie's FY System has long been under the Fire Salamanders' control. Before this, the dwarves on that planet where they live paid over a portion of their earnings at set intervals, in exchange for the Fire Salamanders' protection. But three months ago a mineral vein was found on the planet of Annie's people, and the Fire Salamander clan decided to seize it outright for themselves. They recently launched an assault on the planet — they've already wiped out the interstellar fleet of Annie's people, and only the dwarf forces on the planet's surface are still putting up some resistance." Zhao Chen briefed Charlotte on the situation, then pointed at the Fire Salamander intel before them. "And this is the intelligence on the Fire Salamander clan."
Charlotte listened, then began to study the Fire Salamander intel closely.
The Fire Salamander clan controlled several systems in the Reef Star Region, the FY System among them. They claimed publicly to have a corps fleet, over 3,000 warships. In reality, eight in 10 of those were T1-grade. What could truly be counted as the Fire Salamanders' combat strength was only some 500 warships. And of those 500-odd, there were five T3 warships, the rest all T2-grade. It was precisely on the strength of those five T3-grade warships that the Fire Salamander clan had the power to control these systems — and to be a minor overlord of the Reef Star Region.
"Do you think we can manage it?" Zhao Chen looked at Charlotte.
Charlotte raised a hand and opened a virtual projection of those several systems, then marked out the system where Annie's people were.
"By the information we have now, the Fire Salamander clan has mustered 300 warships in all for this siege of Annie's people's planet. Of those 300, only 60 T2-grade warships and one T3-grade warship pose any threat. Vast as the number is, on the whole our T3 Blizzard can handle them perfectly well." Charlotte spoke with confidence. "But there's one problem in it: the Fire Salamander clan will likely send more ships afterward. If they moved over fully half of the fleet they command, then our fighting a tangled battle with the enemy would be no great trouble. The trouble is, if we have to protect Annie's planet at the same time, that becomes very thorny."
If the Fire Salamander fleet were to simply skirt around the T3 Blizzard and strike Annie's planet, that was indeed a great risk.
"Try contacting Lilith," Zhao Chen said, his expression grave. These dwarves were the "treasure" he'd set his heart on; he'd allow no mishap whatsoever.
And it seemed the System thought the same — for it had already issued a system mission.
Mission: Defeat the Fire Salamander fleet invading Annie's homeland.
Difficulty: C-rank
Reward: 5 task points and 2,000 points.
Penalty: Deduction of 2,000 points.