Chu Xuan was brought up short. This was the first time she had seen Zhao Chen speak with so settled a firmness in him.
Before this, Zhao Chen's manner had always been mild and easy. With the women soldiers on his own bridge he carried himself as one friend among others — the women of the crews would even make jokes with the Commander-in-Chief in their idle hours, and tell him coarse ones.
And every time, it was the Commander-in-Chief himself who fled the field in disorder.
Chu Xuan bit lightly at her red lip.
She chose, all the same, to tell Lilith and the others of the matter.
Lilith and the rest, on learning of it, were greatly taken aback; but on learning that it was a decision Commander-in-Chief Zhao Chen had made—
their attitude was of one accord, every one of them.
In the shortest span they drew up the contingency plans that answered to it. And the first of these was to see the Commander-in-Chief's safety secured.
Half a day later.
Lilith and Chu Xuan met.
She saw the worry on Chu Xuan's face.
"Chu Xuan — you'll be worrying over this travel arrangement of the Commander-in-Chief's, come on him out of nowhere." Lilith came up to stand before her.
Chu Xuan nodded, and said, heavy with care, "This arrangement of the Commander-in-Chief's… it truly is too sudden. He is the Owl Dragon Legion's Commander-in-Chief. And at a time like this, to be off to the Stellar Alliance… conduct of that sort truly carries great risk."
Lilith patted Chu Xuan's shoulder and said with a smile, "That is simply the way our Commander-in-Chief's character runs. Some of the time he's like a great boy — nothing he's willing to do himself, one glance at a thing and he hands the whole of it over to us. With never a worry that we might sell him off. But at other times he's exceedingly set in his ways. As with certain of the decisions he makes. You'll have had a taste of it yourself, in truth. Do you remember, back when the two of you had only just met, when the two academies' fleet met with the hive-race plague? He went his own way against every voice and, on the strength of one interstellar warship of his own, drove clean into the bug-swarm and brought the two academies' teachers and cadets out of it. Mind you, that fleet of the two academies, trapped as it was, had been given up for lost by every soul alive. And he — he of all people — would not give up!"
Listening to Lilith set this out, Chu Xuan found that Zhao Chen was indeed just such a man.
"But there is one thing we have believed from first to last. And that is that we believe in this man — believe in the man we follow! So even when he makes decisions that seem to us to pass all understanding, what we can do is support him and follow him without a shadow of wavering. And draw up for him the safest and the surest plan there is. That is what our work amounts to." So Lilith gave out what she had learned of it.
Chu Xuan gave a rueful laugh and shrugged. "Then being his secretary-officer is no easy business, by the look of it."
Hearing Chu Xuan say so, Lilith could not help nodding, and nodding hard.
After that, Lilith and Chu Xuan drew up a plan for this journey of Commander-in-Chief Zhao Chen's.
And the first item was the number of interstellar warships to set out for the Stellar Alliance.
The number could not be too great — but the Commander-in-Chief's safety had to be assured.
And in the end!
This lavish array of a fleet of Zhao Chen's came into being.
Zhao Chen sat in the captain's chair looking over the list, and turned to Lilith and Chu Xuan beside him in astonishment. "I'm going to the Stellar Alliance, that's all. If I truly run into any danger, I need only get word to you. Is there any call for so grand a turnout as this?"
"There is!" said Chu Xuan and Lilith, with one voice between them.
Lilith pointed at the place on the document where it was to be signed. "Since the Commander-in-Chief is settled on making this journey, then we must see the Commander-in-Chief's safety assured. So please, Commander-in-Chief, sign here. And then we can have the Commander-in-Chief's travel plan settled."
Behind Lilith's back, Chu Xuan put up a thumb. She fairly grasped now what this secretary-officer Lilith was capable of.
They could not stop the Commander-in-Chief's will — but in certain quarters they could tell.
As with this fleet to guard the Commander-in-Chief, for instance.
Zhao Chen looked helplessly at that document with its 72 interstellar warships.
This was the fleet to attend him on the journey.
The flagship was the T4 Blue-Eyes White Dragon-class Heavy Interstellar Armored Battleship, Ship No.1 — which was to say Xue Xiaoxiao's own flagship.
And as it happened Xue Xiaoxiao was going as well.
There was besides a second flagship, the T4 Fallen-Angel-class Super-Heavy Carrier Starship, Ship No.1.
The T4 Fallen-Angel-class Super-Heavy Carrier Starship stood on the Owl Dragon Third Legion's establishment, true — but to have her drawn into Zhao Chen's 'guard' wanted no more than a word from Zhao Chen.
With the Commander-in-Chief's life and safety set before every other consideration, Commander Shen Bing of the Owl Dragon Third Legion would raise no question of any kind; indeed, once Lilith had given her advance notice of it, she agreed to it with both hands.
Beyond these—
30 T4 Paladin-class Heavy Interstellar Missile-Escorts;
10 T4 Skeleton-King-class Heavy Interstellar Armored Destroyers;
two T4 Gorgon-class Heavy Interstellar Heavy-Artillery Ships;
two T4 Tyrant-class Heavy Interstellar Missile-Battlecruisers;
six T4 Vermilion Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruisers;
10 T3 Judicator-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ships;
four T4 Lucent-class Interstellar Jump Ships;
three T4 Selene-class Heavy Interstellar Supply Ships;
three T3 Silver-Rat-class Light Interstellar Stealth Scout Ships.
72 interstellar warships — and of those, T4-grade combat-type interstellar warships came to a full 52!
With a fleet configured as these 'bare' 72 interstellar warships were, even set against an imperial military fleet of 3,000 ships—
it would not come off the worse in the least! Indeed it might beat the other party into doubting the worth of living!
Zhao Chen looked the configuration over once more, and then looked at Lilith and Chu Xuan.
He fairly understood that if he didn't grant this demand of theirs, the two of them would very likely not agree to his going out at all.
And in the end, Zhao Chen signed his name.
With which this journey of Zhao Chen's was, one might say, settled.
The date was moved forward as well, to the end of March.
…………
End of March, Galactic Star Calendar 3034.
"Development of the five resource star regions is going very smoothly."
"The Chu family's legion and the Imperial Princess Fleet-Group hold the advantage on several of the local fronts at the line."
"Shen Bing's Owl Dragon Third Legion formally crossed into the Grey Moon Star Region three days ago. The Grey Moon Star Region has gone over wholly to combat-ready status; it's said the Zhou family has already sent to Qin Xiaotian over on the Imperial Capital Star for aid, but Qin Xiaotian has made no move whatever yet."
"On the Warhammer side, Charlotte has begun putting the finishing touches to her plan; the time is settled, roughly, for June."
Zhao Chen looked over the matters in hand.
He turned to Lilith in the video window. "Lilith, for the stretch of time I'm away, the affairs of the house are wholly in your charge to deal with. On the military side, hand it over boldly to Chitong and the others — that will serve. And be certain, besides, of the starship production program on Annie's side, and of that warship class I handed her above all. I hope that by the time I'm back I'll see at least one lead ship of her! With that warship class in hand, then even if Qin Xiaotian truly means to play the turtle and pull his head in, we'll have some confidence of smashing that shell of his to pieces."
Lilith nodded, and there was something unwilling to part in her eyes as she looked at the Commander-in-Chief. "Let the Commander-in-Chief rest easy; the affairs of the house I'll see well ordered. And I ask the Commander-in-Chief to have a care for his safety out there — and to remember, whatever the matter may be, that nothing weighs against the Commander-in-Chief's own importance to our Owl Dragon Legion. We will all of us be waiting for you to come back."
With that, Lilith laid a hand at her breast and gave a military salute.
For this setting-out to the Stellar Alliance, Lilith would not be going along; Chu Xuan was to attend at Zhao Chen's side instead.
For Lilith's abilities ran wider, and the house had need of her to have charge of it.
"Mm. I'll go early and be back early," Zhao Chen said with a nod.
Lilith looked at Chu Xuan, her gaze severe, and said nothing.
But over on Chu Xuan's side, in fact, a message had come in.
The substance of the message was very simple. However many interstellar warships are lost, it does not matter. However many Owl Dragon crew give their lives, it does not matter.
But the Commander-in-Chief — not one hair of him is to fall!