The Dwarf Race's First Shelter Base, on the Planet
Under the clearing efforts of Zhao Chen's Black Knight mecha squad and the interstellar drones, every Fire Salamander warrior and Fire Salamander warship in the surrounding area had been wiped clean away.
Just then, the cloud layer overhead suddenly parted. Everyone lifted their heads to look at the sky. They saw a vast, exploding fireball, gone in an instant.
"That's… the T3 Arkham-class Medium Interstellar Battleship!" Chief Bajin set a monocular spyglass to his right eye and gazed out into space. This spyglass could show the view of space within a certain range, and he saw a warship exploding and burning. By part of the hull's shape, he recognized it at once: that was the T3 Arkham! The chief culprit that had led the Fire Salamander fleet in annihilating their dwarf fleet. And now this warship, like the dwarf ships destroyed before it, had, after its explosion, become so much wreckage adrift in space.
"This…" Chief Bajin gulped, and looked with something like disbelief at Zhao Chen beside him, a faint smile on his face.
Having watched the T3 Arkham's final visage, he looked again over that starry battlefield — everywhere, the wreckage of Fire Salamander warships. And that gray T3 warship, like a god of slaughter, was hunting down the Fire Salamander ships that remained. With the fall of the flagship, better than half of the remaining Fire Salamander warships had begun to flee in rout. With their own flagship destroyed and fallen, their T2 warships savaged and slaughtered, and their T1 warships hardly worth mentioning at all — how was this battle to be fought at all? Even the Fire Salamander warships in the planet's sky began, one after another, to flee the planet.
"It seems this battle is already over. What comes next is to make haste and clear the Fire Salamander remnants from this planet." Zhao Chen looked at Chief Bajin beside him. Chief Bajin nodded blankly.
At the same time, Zhao Chen received Charlotte's plan for what came next: she saw no need to pursue the remaining Fire Salamander fleet. The chief reason was still to conserve the T3 Blizzard's munitions and supplies — for in this wretched place, most of its weapons couldn't be resupplied, and every round fired was one less to be had. Zhao Chen agreed with Charlotte's thinking.
About three hours later, this battle at last came to a close. Save for the ship wreckage drifting in the planet's low orbit and that hovering T3 Blizzard, there was no other Fire Salamander warship to be seen. The interstellar drones began returning to the mother ship to resupply, then went on attacking the Fire Salamander ground forces on the planet.
"We are the forces of the dwarf race. Warriors of the Fire Salamander clan, hear this: your fleet has been driven off, and your flagship, the T3 Arkham, has been destroyed. If you don't believe it, raise your heads and look at the sky. Come out of your cover now, lay down the weapons in your hands, and give up resistance — this is the only choice you have!" Some of the interstellar drones kept broadcasting through the air.
This was done in the dwarf race's name — for Zhao Chen didn't wish to draw too much attention. And it had no small effect: no few of the Fire Salamander ground troops chose to surrender, throwing down their weapons one and all and letting themselves be marched, meek and orderly, to an open area and held there.
"Report — the Second Shelter Base is back under our control."
"Report — the Fire Salamander troops at the Third Shelter Base have surrendered; we're beginning to take the Third Shelter Base over."
"The Fire Salamander troops at the Fourth and Fifth Shelter Bases are still stubbornly resisting; we'll mount a surprise assault and wipe out these two Fire Salamander forces."
Video-comm after video-comm appeared before Chief Bajin, reporting the present situation. In retaking the dwarf race's territory, the firepower came chiefly from Zhao Chen's aid; but for manpower, the dwarf warriors still had to step up — for Zhao Chen, after all, had not many people.
And at this moment, the five T2 Moose-class Heavy Interstellar Transport Ships began entering the planet's atmosphere, hovering in midair. Unmanned cargo shuttles began going back and forth between the transports and the ground, unloading "cargo" crate by crate.
"What's this?" Chief Bajin looked at the enormous crate before him.
Zhao Chen stepped up and opened it, revealing the nutrient rations piled inside. At the sight of a whole crate of them, the dwarf warriors present all stared. On the planet they lived on — with its want of sunlight and its soil poor in nourishment — crops were very hard to grow; and even the pitiful little natural produce they did raise, or the livestock they bred by artificial means, was all traded away to passing cargo fleets or to the Fire Salamander clan in exchange for nutrient rations. For the natural food enough to feed one person might well be traded for rations enough to fill the bellies of hundreds, even thousands.
"I imagine that, after all this fighting, you'll be somewhat short of living supplies, so I've brought some nutrient rations along. Distribute them among yourselves," Zhao Chen said mildly.
Chief Bajin said, moved to grateful tears, "Commander, I truly don't know how to thank you. You… you not only brought back my daughter, but… but prepared so many nutrient rations for us besides. I, Bajin… I, Bajin, swear: if the day comes that you have need of me, this life of Bajin's is yours!"
"There's no need to stand on such ceremony. Eat first — everyone, get some proper rest. Don't just stand there gaping; come, eat your fill." Zhao Chen called out to the dwarf warriors himself.
The dwarf warriors at once came forward and carried out every last ration from the crates. Besides the rations, there were other living supplies too, and some simple medicines. These were all things the dwarf race sorely lacked just now. Without such supplies, then even having survived this battle, tens of thousands of dwarves would have died, for one reason or another, in its aftermath.
Soon campfires were lit. Heated nutrient rations were delivered into the dwarves' hands, portion by portion, and a great quantity was sent into the shelter bases as well, to the many more dwarves within.
"Commander, sir." Chief Bajin came before Zhao Chen bearing a ration in his own hands.
Zhao Chen waved his hands again and again. "I'm not hungry just now — you all eat."
Seeing that Zhao Chen wouldn't eat, Chief Bajin carried the ration over to his daughter. "Annie, eat up, quick. Didn't you always love these best? You used to say the rations were never enough… one ration split among the six of you, brothers and sisters, and every time you'd be too hungry to sleep."
Annie, though, looked at the ration before her with a peculiar expression.
"Um… Annie… isn't hungry either…"
"Annie, how can you not be hungry? Aboard the ship you were eating five meals a day!" Zhao Chen teased from the side.
"That's right, hurry and eat." Chief Bajin pressed the ration box into his daughter's hands.
Annie looked at the ration in her hands, then at her father's expectant expression. She could only take a single bite — and that plastic-like taste very nearly made her retch. If she threw it up, her father would surely lecture her a good long while. Annie could only fight down the urge, and, shooting the Commander resentful looks all the while, eat away at the ration she could barely get down.