The T4 Fallen-Angel-class Super-Heavy Carrier Starship, Ship No.1.
"To this point, Fallen-Angel No.1 has been fully put in order, and the combat personnel concerned are fully manned. She can join the Owl Dragon Third Legion's order of battle at any time." Su Lan stood behind Commander-in-Chief Zhao Chen, reporting on the carrier starship's particulars in detail.
For this outing Zhao Chen had brought Lilith and Charlotte, and Chitong besides, to make a tour of the Fallen-Angel-class Super-Heavy Carrier Starship's interior in person.
And Su Lan, being this carrier starship's captain now, was naturally to attend upon them throughout.
The party stood upon a hovering elevator, looking at an interior space of the most advanced kind, at an inner hull with the feel of something out of a tale of the far future.
"So big!" Charlotte looked toward a transparent hangar off to one side, where one could see, plainly, the T4 Fallen-Angel interstellar fighters ranked and berthed inside it, tier upon tier of them.
Indeed one might say there was no seeing the end of them at a glance!
"Hangars of this kind, within the whole of the Fallen-Angel, come to several dozen, and they are spread across every position of the hull, so that interstellar fighters can be sortied at any moment. By our last round of simulated training, the launching of every interstellar fighter can be completed inside three minutes. And the launching of every interstellar drone swarm can be completed inside five." So Su Lan set it out.
And as Su Lan was saying these things, the gaze she let fall now and again upon the Commander-in-Chief was full of worship.
The deeper one's understanding went of this carrier starship, the more worship one came to feel for the Commander-in-Chief.
At the last, the party came to the starship canteen.
Whether it was a habit of Zhao Chen's or not, when the great bulk of matters came to be discussed, the setting chosen for the talk was the starship canteen.
This carrier starship's canteen was of the first grade in its fitting-out as well; the crew could take dining service of the very finest sort here.
Su Lan had booked a private room well in advance, and once the party had taken their seats—
Zhao Chen looked to Charlotte. "You're preparing to go back to Warhammer tomorrow, aren't you."
Charlotte nodded.
"These few days we've held several discussions over the Warhammer business. And in the end, once Lilith had brought all the various figures together, my side has, in the main, settled on the plan."
Zhao Chen went on, "As things stand with your revolutionary army's forces, the Dragon-Tiger Legion holds to a configuration of 30,000 interstellar warships. And the revolutionary-army fleets in the various quarters, all added together, come to 60,000 interstellar warships besides — but on the score of ship quality and fighting power, that part of it is a mixed and disorderly business. If those plans of yours are to be carried through, then your military strength must be widened further. The plan my side puts forward is this. Next I'll arrange for a portion of the Northern Goose Group's capacity to furnish you with a batch of interstellar warships up to the standard of the Imperial Princess Fleet-Group. Your Dragon-Tiger Legion adds two more legion fleets, and the number rises to 90,000 interstellar warships. These 60,000 T2-series interstellar warships to follow, I'll have the Northern Goose Group get into your hands before June so far as it can be managed."
At present the Northern Goose Group held 20,000 T2 Iron-Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships; supposing every one of them were set to producing T2 Snow Mastiff-class Heavy Interstellar Battleships, they could turn out 20,000 in a single month!
Only that at present the Northern Goose Group had taken on too many military procurement orders, and so could guarantee no more than delivering these before June.
"Beyond that, I'll arrange 1,000 T3-grade interstellar warships of the various models for you as well."
Zhao Chen's gaze grew fixed, and he looked at Charlotte. "Among them there'll be some T3 Judicator-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ships, 30 in number. But the personnel who handle these missile ships will be arranged directly by our Owl Dragon Legion, and will take their orders directly from you."
Charlotte understood what lay in the Commander-in-Chief's words: which was to say that this force of interstellar missile ships was not to be moved by anyone in the revolutionary army.
"Understood," Charlotte said.
That the Commander-in-Chief could see T3 Judicator-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ships arranged to support the war in the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth — Charlotte was well satisfied with that already.
As for the strategic weight of interstellar missile ships upon an interstellar battlefield, being a commander of the Owl Dragon Legion, Charlotte could hardly have been better acquainted with it.
"Of course, should those revolutionary forces of yours have need of interstellar warships, my side will do what it can to meet their orders too. Not for nothing, of course. It falls under the head of military aid on loan. And when it truly comes to the action, if you have need of it, my side can, going by the circumstances as they stand, detach one Owl Dragon Legion over to support your operations," Zhao Chen added.
As to those warships to be sold to the revolutionary army, Zhao Chen had long since thought that out.
Had a great many T2 Tibetan Mastiff-class Medium Interstellar Destroyers not been taken from Qin Ming before? They would do very nicely to be sold once more to those revolutionary forces of Warhammer's.
Warships of no recent make, granted — but a warship of Owl Dragon manufacture still stood well above those crudely knocked-together warships of the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth.
Look at this last half-year: the Dragon-Tiger Legion, thriving in Warhammer, had made a splendid go of it on the strength of fine Owl Dragon-line interstellar warships.
Part of the reason for it lay in the infighting of Warhammer's three factions, true enough.
But more of it rested on the powerful performance of Owl Dragon-line warships.
"One point more. If, when it comes to it, some kingdom or some alliance is to be founded— then the hand upon it must be mine. The person may be you, or it may be your younger sister, or your father. Any of these will do. But if it is anyone else…" Zhao Chen's expression darkened, and he said, "then I'll draw back every last piece of the support given to the revolutionary army to this day. Charlotte ought to understand my meaning."
Charlotte nodded; she understood well enough what lay in the Commander-in-Chief's words.
Zhao Chen was willing to support them, willing to help Warhammer — but the condition that came before all others was that this power founded in Warhammer must lie within Zhao Chen's grasp.
Zhao Chen had no mind to see fruit he'd built up with such labor carried off by somebody else.
So: Charlotte, or Charlotte's younger sister, or else Charlotte's father.
Any of these to serve as the puppet Zhao Chen worked from behind, Zhao Chen could accept.
Anyone else — let them not so much as dream of it.
As for why Zhao Chen had not named Charlotte outright, there was in fact a private thought of his own tucked away in it.
If Charlotte truly took the place of leader over on the Warhammer side, that would mean she might be unable to come back to the Owl Dragon Legion for a long while.
And where this big white cat of his own was concerned, Zhao Chen hoped still that she might stay at his side; and so he allowed that Charlotte's younger sister, or Charlotte's father, might take the position, and Charlotte be free to draw herself out of it and return.
Besides which, they too understood very clearly the strength of Zhao Chen, and of the Owl Dragon Legion behind him.
Unless something had gone badly wrong with their heads, they would never go against Zhao Chen's meaning.
"Commander-in-Chief, will you truly not think it over — taking the place of leader over on the Warhammer side? You are of the human race, it's true, but if you were to be our leader over there, we would hold you up in it without fail!" Charlotte's great swimming eyes were on Zhao Chen.
She hoped still, and hoped very much, that Zhao Chen might come to her homeland.
She knew the Commander-in-Chief's nature well: if he became Warhammer's emperor, then there would be hope of Warhammer's becoming a second 'Owl Dragon System'.
Zhao Chen put out a hand and stroked Charlotte's head. "Things as they are now suit me well enough. If it weren't for guarding the life we have as it is — Starlight, Warhammer, Holy Radiance, the whole lot of them — I simply couldn't be troubled to give any of it a thought!"
Charlotte let out a long sigh.