With the firepower support of Zhao Chen's mecha corps, order upon the planet was very soon restored to the revolutionary army's control.
The White Tiger tribespeople who'd originally hidden away in the underground defensive works and shelters came walking out, one after another.
At the outset their souls were still somewhat unsettled with fright — never had they imagined they'd still have the chance to live and see the sky again.
And what they'd imagined even less was that their White Tiger tribe's most resounding banner, General Charlotte, should of all things have come in person to their rescue.
That fleet of 400 interstellar warships, which had wholly annihilated the Warhammer legion fleet's 3,000 interstellar warships — this, in one stroke, swept the shadow clean from the hearts of the White Tiger tribe.
Meanwhile, small transport ship after small transport ship, laden with food, set down at the various temporary gathering-sites and distributed the food among them.
This food was, for the overwhelming part, nutrient rations, the remaining small handful being natural foodstuffs.
Though the quantity wasn't great, in the eyes of the White Tiger folk it was, quite simply, a bestowal of grace!
At the temporary gathering-sites across the planet, the White Tiger folk began to cry aloud Charlotte's name.
Upon the bridge of the T4 Vermilion Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser, Charlotte watched the scenes upon the various video feeds — those crowds crying out her name — and her cheeks grew somewhat hot.
She looked at Zhao Chen beside her, and said hurriedly, "These were all generously bestowed by the Lord Commander… and this fleet is yours; they… they think it was I who commanded it… I'll go at once and have someone explain it to them clearly…"
Zhao Chen waved a hand, and said with a laugh, "That's not important. Is your giving any different from my giving? And as for the matter of commanding the fleet in battle — the directing of that fight was yours from the start. Does this need dividing up so precisely?"
Charlotte was somewhat at a loss how to answer, but her cheeks flushed faintly, and within her the reverence and esteem she held for the Lord Commander grew stronger still.
Yet what Zhao Chen turned over in his mind ran, in truth, to a deeper level.
He meant to prop up the White-Tiger-led Warhammer Revolutionary Army; and were there to be born within the Warhammer Revolutionary Army a figure of a leader — and were that person, moreover, one whom Zhao Chen trusted and could at the same time keep in hand — then would that not let him control the Warhammer Revolutionary Army all the better?
And, as it happened, wasn't there, right before him, a most fitting candidate for it?
In the eyes of the revolutionary army, General Charlotte had been, from the first, a spiritual leader.
And now, with the battle-fruit of leading 400 interstellar warships to exterminate 3,000, and with such bonus strokes as the generous relief of grain and natural foodstuffs, Charlotte's prestige had climbed all the higher, to a very peak.
There was a trace of excitement in Zhao Chen's gaze.
He meant to "forge a god" — to create, within the Warhammer Revolutionary Army, a "goddess" for them to believe in.
"That matter you spoke of earlier — of selling the revolutionary army interstellar warships. Though for the revolutionary army it's all benefit and no harm, our Owl Dragon Legion's starship production capacity is by now near enough to its limit, and this puts great pressure on the production tasks in every quarter. Chief Engineer Annie, over on her side…" Charlotte was somewhat worried.
Zhao Chen said, "We must trust Annie — she is, after all, the finest chief engineer of our Owl Dragon Legion. As for capacity, well — have Annie give it another squeeze; a little more can still be squeezed out."
The Owl Dragon Star System.
"You lot over here, put a bit of hustle into it… This group here — push your production efficiency up another notch… This shift-handover procedure can be tightened up further; as fast as you possibly can!… We have ample skilled workers at present, so let's simply change from the old three shifts a day to four shifts a day, and have everyone run at full throttle through their own work-hours! What's the matter with the raw-material resources here — why aren't they in place yet? If they're still not here within half an hour, production lines No. 7 and No. 13 are going to grind to a halt."
Annie, just now, was in what could only be called a flustered scramble — construction projects of every sort, planning blueprints, production schedules; the holographic windows before Annie's eyes alone numbered several dozen.
And, besides, the comm interfaces Annie was keeping live had several open at once.
"Whew, whew, whew…" Having, with no small effort, finished handing down the work in her charge, and won herself a scrap of resting-time, Annie drew a deep breath, took up the thermos-cup beside her, and had a sip.
"Ah-choo…"
Annie let out a sneeze; she rubbed at her nose and, all aggrieved, muttered, "When will these bitter days ever see an end."
Thinking of the near-"007"[1] work regime she was on now, Annie wanted to point a finger right at that man's nose and shout out loud: This old lady's not waiting on you anymore — do whatever you please!
But…
Annie pressed a button on her handheld terminal, and the holographic projection of a T2 Bronze Eden, pink from stem to stern, appeared before her.
Beside the holographic projection there was, besides, the relevant refit plan.
And one could see that upon the pink hull of the T2 Bronze Eden there was, moreover, an enormous "crest" — and this starship crest was, of all things, Annie's own big head, mouth split in a little grin, merry as could be.
And to the side of it were a few words:
"The Great Annie."
"For the Annie!" Annie clenched her little fist, took up the thermos-cup and chugged herself a fierce mouthful, and thereupon, for all the world like a stout warrior marching off to campaign, returned once more to her post.
…
10 hours had passed since the battle's end.
Zhao Chen held a second meeting with Chieftain Ted, who'd returned to the planet to see to the arrangements for his own tribespeople.
This time it was in the form of a video call.
"Chieftain Ted — as for that proposal of mine from before, what do you make of it?" Zhao Chen inquired.
Chieftain Ted hesitated a moment.
"Won't this be an imposition upon His Excellency the Commander?"
Zhao Chen said, "Charlotte is my finest subordinate; to look after her tribespeople is a responsibility that falls to me as a matter of course. And this is only a brief refuge — within my territory I'll arrange a hidden planet for you, and provide food and living supplies of every kind. Once you've finished resting and regrouping, I'll arrange for you to come back and carry on your revolutionary cause. As for your tribespeople: those who wish to leave, I won't hold back either; and those willing to stay, I likewise won't treat unfairly — to give a few tens of millions of people a place to rest and settle, that much I'm capable of. At the very least it beats their remaining here. Before you possess the ability to protect yourselves, here you face danger at any moment — and my interstellar fleet cannot protect you every hour of every day."
Chieftain Ted drew a deep breath.
He looked at Zhao Chen, and laid a hand over his own chest.
"Then I place it in His Excellency the Commander's hands."
He chose to trust this man before him.
This was the White Tiger tribe's one and only way out.
"Very well. On my side I've already freed up three T3 interstellar transport ships — more than enough, and to spare, to carry the tribespeople and revolutionary-army soldiers upon this planet of yours. I'll give you at most 40 hours of boarding-time, and then I'll take you away. During this interval, my interstellar fleet will be departing for a while," Zhao Chen instructed.
"Departing? Might I ask where His Excellency the Commander means to go?" Chieftain Ted asked, curious.
"I hear there's a Warhammer interstellar legion not far from here — one that gave my family's little tiger cub some 'looking-after' a while back. Now that I've come all this way, mustn't I return the courtesy properly?" Zhao Chen said with a cold smile.