Only once the Fire Salamander fleet had entered the no-combat zone did they let out a breath.
"Have the fleet rest and refit; then we… return to headquarters first." The chieftain's tone was rather low, his face grim indeed. Who could have thought that a starship battle — one that had seemed as ordinary as ordinary could be — would cost him close to 700 warships — the equivalent of two full fleet establishments — including a T3 Specter-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer besides!
"Yes." The adjutant went off to see to what the chieftain had ordered.
The chieftain leaned back in his captain's chair and raised a hand, calling up several images — all of the gray warships that had appeared in the battle just past. A warship that seemed to be a T3 interstellar battlecruiser, a T2 frigate, a T2 carrier, a T2 missile ship… He fed these images into his ship system's ship-class database, but search after search turned up nothing — no information on these ships at all. In truth he'd known this already; his subordinates had reported it at the battle's very start. Yet now, unwilling to accept it, he ran the search again and again.
At last, unable to bear it, he threw a punch at the virtual image of that T3 warship. His fist passed through the image; the image merely flickered a little and did not change. That T3 warship was still there, its bow cannon seeming to mock him — making him recall, over and over, the scene of his Fire Salamander Seventh Fleet's flagship destroyed before his very eyes.
The chieftain reined in his feelings and lay back again in the captain's chair, an arm thrown over his eyes. How long passed he didn't know, but he felt someone beside him. He took the arm from his eyes and looked at his adjutant. "Speak. Our losses this time."
The adjutant was rather nervous, and answered with great care. "Not counting the 200 warships and the one T3 Arkham-class Medium Interstellar Battleship the Third Fleet lost in that first battle earlier — in this battle, our losses reach 600 warships. Our First Fleet's ship loss rate is 5%. The Fourth Fleet's flagship was destroyed; its ship loss rate reaches 26%. The Seventh Fleet's flagship was destroyed; its ship loss rate reaches 77%. The Eighth Fleet's flagship was destroyed; its ship loss rate reaches 73%. Among the losses: one T3 Specter-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer, 180 T2 warships, and the rest all T1 warships. In this battle, the enemy's chief target was our T2 warships. Combat personnel killed: over 23,000. Beyond that, of the ships we withdrew safely, a third have taken no small damage to their hull armor."
Hearing this string of figures, the fury blazed in the Fire Salamander chieftain's breast. These were the very foundation of his Fire Salamander clan's survival in this Reef Star Region. This amounted to severing one of his arms! And one could well imagine: should this news spread, there'd surely be enemies of his who'd seize the chance for revenge.
"Return to headquarters." The Fire Salamander chieftain, forcing down the fury, closed his eyes.
The adjutant beside him couldn't, in the end, keep from asking, "Chieftain… then this business of the FY System… we just let it go?"
"Let it go? What kind of joke is that? Until I've made a drinking-snack of those accursed warships and that man, until I've had this revenge, I'll not rest!" The chieftain sprang up and pinned the adjutant against the wall — frightening the Fire Salamander warriors around into silence, one and all, none daring make a sound for fear of courting disaster.
"But… but as things stand with us now…" The adjutant looked at the chieftain warily.
"I grant that the ships of that fellow of unknown origin are very strong. But don't forget — this is the Reef Star Region!" The chieftain let the adjutant go and said, his face dark, "Once we're back at headquarters, get me Young Master Sun. Tell him: those terms he laid out before, I accept them all."
"But… that fellow from the Starlight Empire, the terms he named before were so harsh…" The adjutant was startled. The chieftain's several negotiations with that Young Master Sun from the Starlight Empire had all ended without result. Who'd have thought that this time the chieftain would reach out to Young Master Sun of his own accord?
"Our Fire Salamander clan's fighting strength has been weakened now — things aren't what they were. We need a mountain to lean on. That Young Master Sun has stashed no few trump cards in our Reef Star Region these past years; leaning on him, we can at least guarantee we won't lose the territory we hold now. And we can borrow his strength besides, to wipe out that pack of unknowns!" A flash of viciousness crossed the chieftain's eyes.
Soon these Fire Salamander warships began crossing the FY System's star gate, returning to their headquarters.
Outside the no-combat zone of the FY System's star gate, the ship Zhao Chen was aboard soon learned that the Fire Salamander ships had left.
"Well done." Zhao Chen looked at Charlotte with approval.
Aili now reported the results of this battle as well — beyond the figures on enemy destroyed, their own losses too.
"The T2 Lion King-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ship's interstellar missiles are entirely spent; the T2 Queen Bee-class Heavy Carrier's interstellar drones have a loss rate of 50%. Of the 10 T2 Black Rhino-class Interstellar Heavy Assault Frigates, one has taken serious hull damage — compartments sealed off, three crewwomen injured, but none in danger of their lives. Another four have overall hull-armor damage exceeding 50%, the worst of them with hull-armor strength already at the critical point. The remaining five T2 Black Rhinos are in somewhat better shape. The T3 Blizzard's interstellar missiles are entirely spent; ship munitions at 16%, ship energy at 17%, 17 interstellar drones remaining, overall hull-armor strength at 73%. One crew member gravely wounded, 13 lightly wounded, no deaths. The gravely wounded crew member, treated in the T3 Blizzard's infirmary, is out of mortal danger; but full recovery will require dedicated medical facilities, so she's now been placed in a hibernation pod to recover, and will be in no danger within the month."
Listening to Aili's report—
It had to be said, this truly was a splendid victory. By displaying the advantages of their ships, swiftly annihilating the enemy fleets' flagships and a great many of their T2 warships, they'd stripped the enemy fleet of effective fighting power, intimidated it, and in the end made it choose to withdraw. Charlotte had grasped, utterly and completely, the weaknesses of these small tribes' fleets.
"Have the badly damaged warships return to the third planet first. The rest, form up into a formation — we're going to call on our future 'neighbors.'" Zhao Chen raised a hand and opened the FY System's star chart, marking out the planets with large populations upon it.
It was time to tell them.
Who ruled this system now!