Charlotte sat in the captain's chair, waiting for the jump-gate of the T4 Lucent-class Interstellar Jump Ship, ship No. 06, to unfold.
For this military operation, besides the three T4 Vermilion Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruisers, the Lord Commander had specially arranged for her four T4 Lucent-class Interstellar Jump Ships.
In this way, even though a single ship needed a week's core-program reset after using its gate, it was more than enough for Charlotte to meet any situation.
At need, she could even return to the Lion King Star System.
And this time, she'd brought a full 30,000 Owl Dragon-series interstellar warships.
Though the overwhelming majority were T2-grade, there were among them no small number of T2 Lion King-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ships!
These, of course, were no free gift from Zhao Chen.
Rather, after Chief Ted had emptied out his family coffers, and with Zhao Chen selling at half-price-half-gift, this legion fleet had been forged for Charlotte.
As for the name Dragon-Tiger Legion, that was a change Charlotte herself had proposed.
Besides this, there was one more thing those few revolutionary-army commanders didn't know.
In a concealed position, a certain distance off across this stretch of star-space, a dim star gate stood erect!
A T3 Radiant-Moon-class star gate!
Half a year ago, when Zhao Chen led his people back to the Lion King Star System, he'd arranged for several interstellar industrial ships to find a suitable spot and build this gate.
This gate was exceedingly well-hidden; its use needs no great explaining.
It let Charlotte's Dragon-Tiger Legion fleet come and go between the two places, and, at need, take on some logistical resupply of strategic materials besides.
If, in the future, Charlotte could gain a firm foothold within the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth, this place could also become a 'base of operations.'
To return to the point — the most important matter now was still the revolutionary army's present crisis.
…
Lion King Star System
Zhao Chen looked at the Radiant-Moon-class star gate of the Lion King Star System before him; it was as though he could see the Charlotte on the far side.
"You're still worried about General Charlotte." Secretary Lilith beside him looked at the Commander.
"To say I'm not worried would be a lie. Two years and more. And this is the farthest this great white cat's ever been from me — there's a certain anxiousness to it, like a father watching his daughter set off on a long journey," Zhao Chen said helplessly.
Lilith covered her mouth and laughed softly.
She blinked her eyes, and looked at Zhao Chen: "Then, Lord Commander — if it were I who went to carry out a task like this, would you worry about me?"
"Of course," Zhao Chen said without the least hesitation.
Lilith said nothing more; only the little tail behind her circled round and round in happiness.
Just at this moment, Lilith received a message.
She glanced at it, then looked toward Zhao Chen: "Lord Commander, Medusa requests to see you."
"Then patch her through." Zhao Chen supposed it was a video comm.
"No — she's already outside, aboard a shuttle-craft; she wishes to see you in person," Lilith explained.
Medusa suddenly wanting to see him in person?
This took Zhao Chen somewhat by surprise.
"Well, since she's come, then let her in," Zhao Chen said.
A short while later, Medusa arrived on the bridge.
The instant she saw Zhao Chen in the captain's chair, she suddenly pitched her body forward and knelt on the ground.
"Lord Commander."
Zhao Chen was startled by this sudden move: "What are you doing? Get up, quick."
"I have a discourteous request, and hope the Lord Commander will grant it!" Medusa's serpent-eyes looked toward Zhao Chen, a trace of resolve in them.
"Stand up and speak," Zhao Chen said.
Medusa rose slowly, and said: "I wish to request to join the Owl Dragon Legion."
Eh?
Zhao Chen was taken aback; he'd never imagined Medusa's request would be this.
"You want to join the Owl Dragon Legion? How've you come by this notion so suddenly? You must know that, as things stand, you're the ruler of the Reef Star Region," Zhao Chen said.
"I'm willing to give up my present standing; for the ruler of the Reef Star Region, you may choose another. I can also step down from the office of chief of the Snake-folk. I only hope you'll let me join the Owl Dragon Legion! Even if it means starting from a lowly interstellar soldier!" Medusa looked at Zhao Chen, unyielding.
"Tell me your reasons first." Zhao Chen could see there was surely some story behind Medusa.
Medusa drew a deep breath, and said: "I want revenge."
"Revenge? On whom?"
"The Holy Radiance Empire!"
Zhao Chen looked at Medusa in astonishment.
Chief of the Snake-folk though she was, set against the Holy Radiance Empire she was, quite simply, too small to be worth a glance.
To put it plainly — for the Holy Radiance Empire to crush the Snake-folk to death would be as simple as crushing a bug.
Medusa began to tell her story.
It turned out the Snake-folk had not, in earlier days, been in the Reef Star Region, but in a small star system on the borders of the Holy Radiance Empire — not very rich, but at least self-sufficient.
There the Snake-folk had built themselves a Snake-folk palace.
In the beginning, they'd even kept fairly good diplomatic relations with the Holy Radiance Empire.
But one day, all at once — merely because the star system where the Snake-folk kingdom lay had turned up news of the discovery of a special raw material — the Holy Radiance Empire, of all things, seized on some pretext at random and launched an attack upon the Snake-folk kingdom.
In the space of a bare three days, every interstellar warship within the Snake-folk kingdom was destroyed.
There was, besides, one planet that — because of the Snake-folk's stubborn resistance upon it — suffered in the end an orbital bombardment by the Holy Radiance Empire's fleet.
"They bombarded it for a full day! The near 3 billion Snake-folk commoners on the planet all died horribly. That planet won't be fit to live on for thousands of years to come." Medusa clenched her fists, and those little snakes upon her head gave off a furious hissing.
One could see she was, just now, holding down her rage with all her might.
Medusa's very pupils had gone bloodshot, turned an eerie red.
"My parents were of the Snake-folk royal house — by the reckoning you use here, my father would be a prince. He, in the end, led a small fleet, and, taking a batch of Snake-folk commoners, fled out. At the last they drifted to the Reef Star Region, and here took root and grew, growing into the Snake-folk of today. My parents passed away a dozen or more years ago. To the day my father died, he was still cursing the Holy Radiance Empire. My mother, every day, would gaze off in the direction of the Snake-folk kingdom. I'll never, my whole life, forget the sight of my people, my kingdom, being slaughtered!" Medusa said in fury.
"And what has that to do with your joining the Owl Dragon Legion?" Zhao Chen wondered.
Medusa looked toward Zhao Chen: "I've heard that you mean to involve yourself in the matter of those ownerless star systems. And I'd wager the Holy Radiance Empire will surely not let slip this chance. I know that on my own strength alone, I could never in this life take revenge on the Holy Radiance Empire. And so I want to join the Owl Dragon Legion. If, one day in the future, you're to do battle with the Holy Radiance Empire, I hope you'll place me on the very front line of the battlefield!"
Medusa looked at Zhao Chen imploringly.
In this moment, what stood before Zhao Chen seemed no longer a Snake-folk queen, but a little Snake-folk girl who, in her childhood, had watched her homeland invaded and laid waste.
Medusa's gaze now was fierce and savage, brimming with killing intent.
But Zhao Chen seemed to see, in the eyes of that Snake-folk girl of long ago, bewilderment, terror, and fear.