20 minutes later, Blizzard Zero and the T2 Queen Bee-class Heavy Carrier Starship reached the pre-set coordinate point one after the other.
Zhao Chen came awake first thing, left his hibernation pod, and sat in the captain's chair; just as he was about to give an order, a voice sounded at his side.
"All personnel on the bridge, return to your posts within one minute and check the ship's readings. All personnel aboard, return to your posts within three minutes and stand ready. Ship to enter tier-2 combat readiness at once; interstellar drones to stand ready for deployment."
Zhao Chen looked over — and there was Secretary Lilith, of all things, already giving out orders.
Noticing Zhao Chen's gaze, Lilith said, a touch ill at ease, "I… I… did I do something wrong?"
"No — you did it very well. I hadn't expected you to recover so quickly; that's a fine constitution you've got," Zhao Chen said with approval.
A secretary's duty was to assist the captain in giving orders, and when necessary, to give certain orders — those not reserved to the captain's authority — ahead of the captain.
Just like the ones a moment ago.
Lilith answered, "I served aboard the succubus kingdom's ships once before, and even took part in the war to resist the invaders… though in the end we lost."
"The war of the succubus kingdom… as I recall, that was better than 50 years ago, wasn't it? You were already in service back then? Then how old… are you now?" Zhao Chen began guessing at his secretary's age.
Lilith said, "Yes. This year I'm 75."
Zhao Chen was taken aback. 75?
Looking at Lilith's appearance, to call her 20 would hardly be a stretch.
Lilith guessed at Captain Zhao Chen's doubt, and explained, "We succubi, dying a natural death, can live to three hundred years; and with the help of some technology, as you humans use, perhaps to 400."
Four hundred years?
Zhao Chen gulped. By that reckoning, Lilith was indeed, in human terms, no more than a girl of 20.
Humans could now reach a maximum lifespan of 150 years — though that, of course, only the ranks of the powerful and privileged could enjoy.
An ordinary person's lifespan was still 70 or 80.
"Captain, Blizzard Zero has completed its warp travel without incident; awaiting your next instruction." Charlotte's comm window popped open.
"How far is our present position from asteroid P331?" Zhao Chen asked.
Lilith answered quickly, "At the T2 Queen Bee's speed, we estimate reaching asteroid P331 in half an hour at the fastest. For Blizzard Zero, 10 minutes."
Because warp travel could only bring one to a rough position; in a non-combat setting, one could arrive closer to the destination.
But when bound for a combat zone, an interstellar fleet would generally slow down in advance, ending warp travel while still some way off the combat area, then use the conventional engines to enter it.
"Blizzard Zero, form up with the T2 Queen Bee first, and make for asteroid P331. As for the battle plan, we'll speak of it once we arrive," Zhao Chen said.
"Yes," Charlotte and Lilith answered together.
Then the two ships sailed off in one direction, holding the same speed.
After roughly 10 minutes' travel, they came upon a group of very slow-moving interstellar transport ships.
"What ships are those?" Zhao Chen looked in puzzlement at these interstellar transports, whose speed he judged to be a mere 10 star-knots — plainly not their proper cruising speed.
"By these transport ships' registry numbers, they ought to belong to the interstellar-transport fleet under the Arctic Fox star system lord's own fleet. The class is the T2 Seahorse-class Medium Interstellar Transport; their appearing here should be to carry out the evacuation of the people on asteroid P331," Lilith answered quickly.
Zhao Chen looked at Lilith with some surprise.
Lilith explained in a small voice, "It was in the study material I read."
"Contact their ships; ask why they're going so slow." Zhao Chen frowned.
The comm was soon connected.
"What fleet are you?" the other side's fleet commander asked first.
"We're the Black Dragon Fleet, come to support the covering-evacuation operation for asteroid P331. You're the interstellar transports charged with evacuating P331, aren't you — so why is your speed so slow!" Lilith demanded.
The other side's fleet commander was taken aback a moment. "Our ships are damaged, so we're rather slow. Since you're the ones going to support, then you go on ahead."
With that, the commander cut the comm on his end and said with a light laugh to the adjutant beside him, "There's actually someone fool enough to take this mission — must be a dolt with his brains addled. We're not idiots. If we rush over now and the interstellar hive-race attack while we're loading people off the planet, what then? We'll just take it nice and slow; once the imperial navy can't hold and tells us we needn't come after all, we'll turn straight around and pull out."
"This ship of mine warns your fleet: carry out your operation, and sail at full speed for asteroid P331." Lilith's voice sounded again.
The fleet commander frowned. "Where'd this one crawl out of, so full of other people's business."
Because his end hadn't opened the comm, what he said couldn't be heard aboard the T2 Queen Bee.
The adjutant beside him, drawing on a cigarette, said placidly, "Pay them no mind; we'll go our own way. They're not the imperial navy — what can they do to us?"
"Report — that unidentified-class ship has trained all its secondary guns on the ships of our fleet!" a bridge crewman suddenly reported.
The fleet commander gave a cold snort. "What, they'd dare open fire on us? We're a fleet subordinate to the Arctic Fox star system lord."
Suddenly, beyond the bridge's floor-to-ceiling window before this commander, streak after streak of "shooting stars" flashed past — the nearest of them not even 100 meters from his bridge!
That ship had, of all things, truly dared to fire!
"This ship gives its final warning: slack off on your mission again, and the consequences are on your own heads." That woman's voice sounded once more.
The fleet commander gulped. "A madwoman! This has to be a madwoman! Bent on her own death, and set on dragging us along with her!"
"Then what do we do? At this rate, she really will fire! And we have no escort fleet; with the pitiful gun-turrets on interstellar transports, we have no room to fight back at all! Ow… my hand…" The adjutant was terrified now too, so much so that he hadn't noticed his cigarette burning down to his fingers, and yelped at the pain.
The fleet commander's face was dark. "This time I'll count myself unlucky — but I'm marking this grudge down! All ships, full speed ahead, make for asteroid P331."
Aboard the T2 Queen Bee's bridge, Zhao Chen watched the once-dawdling interstellar transport fleet break into full speed, and let a satisfied smile show.
Whatever notions these fellows had turning in their heads, how could he not know them?
Ordinarily, none of it was any concern of his; they could do as they pleased.
But as ill luck would have it, this time it was his, Zhao Chen's, system mission — so they could forget about dragging their heels here on purpose!