Soon the two sets of information arrived before Zhao Chen.
Zhao Chen looked at the two info panels; on them were not only ship names and models, but even model imagery — for these were all ships fairly common on the open market.
The interstellar pirate fleet had 35 ships in all, of which five were T2 ships:
one T2 Grey-Shark-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser;
two T2 Ishtar-class Heavy Interstellar Destroyers;
two T2 Ishkur-class Medium Interstellar Frigates.
The 30 T1 ships were:
15 T1 Vulture-class Medium Interstellar Frigates;
10 T1 Scythe-class Medium Interstellar Destroyers;
five T1 Blue-Sparrow-class Medium Interstellar Cruisers.
Turning to the rebel nobles' side, there were a paltry 16 ships — proof enough of the Owl Dragon Star System's shabby poverty.
Of these 16 ships, two were T2:
a T2 Grey Wolf-class Light Interstellar Cruiser and a T2 Hyena-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer.
The remaining 14 T1 ships were, one and all, T1 Vulture-class Medium Interstellar Frigates.
Looking at these ships, Zhao Chen couldn't help but laugh.
A heap of vessels each older in service years than he was in age.
Even that comparatively newer T2 Hyena-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer was a secondhand ship the Cui family patriarch had bought with decades of the family's savings.
As for the ships the interstellar pirates used, they were basically the pirates' stock-in-trade — never mind the performance, they were all cheap and easy to repair.
And the most numerous among them were, of course, the T1 Vulture-class Medium Interstellar Frigates. This was a T1 ship the Starlight Empire had developed two centuries ago; its combat power wasn't high, but it was cheap to build and low in technical barrier.
What was more, the Starlight Empire had openly released the technology for this ship, so its market price ran lower still — making it the favorite of petty nobles, interstellar pirates, and interstellar adventurers alike.
"Going by the enemy-ship data in this intelligence alone, winning this battle will be simplicity itself. The question now is only where we fight, and how," Charlotte said.
Zhao Chen rubbed at his chin with a finger and thought a moment.
He looked at the Owl Dragon Star System's star-map and muttered, "We can't fight at the battlefield they've set for us. We'll win wherever we fight, true. But we should keep our own losses as small as we can — and fighting right beside my Zhao family's home planet, what if the innocent get caught in the crossfire?"
Then something struck Zhao Chen. He narrowed his eyes and pointed at a position on the star-map. "Who says we have to go find them? We'll let them come find us!"
Charlotte and Zhao Wan'er looked at the spot Zhao Chen was pointing to, and near enough the same instant, understood what he meant to do.
——————
The interstellar pirate fleet · the flagship.
This was a T2 Grey-Shark-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser; from the shell-scars and patched-over marks on its hull, one could well see the ship's "history."
A big man with a full beard lay half-sprawled in the captain's chair, both feet propped up on the console before him.
"Damn it all — I've sat cooling my heels here two whole months. If that lot hadn't had the sense to send some women over, I'd never have been willing to sit around waiting like this!" The one grumbling was the captain of this interstellar pirate fleet. They called themselves the Three-Clawed Serpent Interstellar Pirates.
On their hulls was a ship-crest of a three-clawed serpent.
Just then another man, a skinny one, came out of a side room, hitching up his trousers; from the room behind him could be heard a woman's pleading and weeping cries.
"These women are all skin and bone, done in after a few tumbles. No fun at all; the noble young ladies are far better sport. If you ask me, we should just raid this system's nobles and be done with it!" the skinny man said, unsatisfied.
The bearded captain shot the skinny man a glance. This was his adjutant.
"Weak as this junk system's fleet is, don't forget who it was that hired us; if we really move against this system, we'll have more than we can swallow on our hands. We collect this commission nice and honest, and stir up no trouble," the bearded captain said.
The skinny adjutant dug at his nose. "We can leave off raiding these planets — but on the commission, now, we can put the squeeze on a little; a few dozen of us brothers' ships can't have sat idle here two months for nothing, after all."
The bearded captain gave a wicked grin and held up three fingers. "I've thought of that. When they give us the go to move, we demand the commission raised 30%!"
The skinny adjutant stuck up a thumb. "Just what I'd expect of our boss — he knows how to work the numbers!"
Speak of the devil.
Just then a comm request came in.
"Looks like there's work at last." The bearded captain, grinning, opened up the video comm.
On the far side appeared a middle-aged man he knew.
It was the patriarch of this Owl Dragon Star System's Bao family.
"Patriarch Bao — if you hadn't come to me, I'd have been about to come to you. These brothers of mine have waited here better than two months; every one of them's got the itch," the bearded captain said, in a tone of displeasure.
Patriarch Bao said gravely, "Haven't we sent you a batch of women and food every month, though? All right — to business. The target has appeared, but he's just sent word that he's changed his itinerary at the last minute and won't be returning to his home planet. He'll be at a planet on the system's fringe called Dragon-Tail Planet, showing his face there in his capacity as lord, staying a day, then leaving to head back to the Northstar Starship Military Academy. So our operation plan is amended. You set out at once, and go to the vicinity of Dragon-Tail Planet to remove the target! The other side has only the one ship — I imagine going in should be more than enough for you."
The bearded captain picked at his foot. "Amending the operation plan is no problem; we're all in the one system, after all, and getting over there is a matter of a few hours. But we've been dragging our heels better than two months now. Patriarch Bao, you should bear in mind how much business these two months have cost my brothers. You'll have to reckon that time cost with us — else I'll be hard put to give my brothers below any account of it, won't I?"
Patriarch Bao caught the squeeze in the other's meaning, and cursed the pack of interstellar hooligans inwardly.
Little did he know that in an ordinary year or more this lot might not land a job like this at all — two months' business lost, indeed; nothing but hot air.
Still, the pressing thing for now was to be rid of that good-for-nothing baron.
"Name your price," Patriarch Bao said coldly.
The bearded captain held up three fingers. "Commission raised 30%, no haggling."
Patriarch Bao's mouth twitched, but in the end he forced down his anger. "Fine! We'll wire it to you the moment the job's done!"
"There we go — I do like a man of decision. Send over a set of coordinates, and my brothers will go finish off this lordship of yours." The bearded captain set his feet down, putting on a businesslike air.
"I'll send the coordinates over right away. Remember — the instant the operation's done, send us word first thing," Patriarch Bao cautioned.
"No problem — we're professionals at what we do!" the bearded captain said with confidence.
After that, the bearded captain received the coordinate lock.
He at once had his interstellar pirate fleet set out, fixed on the coordinates, and entered warp-travel mode.
On account of the T1 ships, and out of concern for keeping the fleet's speed uniform, the T2 ships deliberately throttled their speed down.
The whole voyage took roughly six hours.
When the bearded captain woke from his hibernation pod, he at once ordered battle readiness and a search for the target.
There was, in truth, no need at all to search — for the moment they switched on the ship radar—
—they detected, right beside that Dragon-Tail Planet, a single lone ship hanging there, for all the world like prey waiting on its hunter.
"Captain — 20 minutes' voyage from us! That's our target, that baron's Blizzard Zero!" the skinny adjutant said, all eagerness.
The bearded captain gave a savage grin. "Let the games begin, my lord baron."
And at that same moment, that lord baron aboard the Blizzard Zero had, at last, seen his own quarry arrive.