Warhammer: In the Name of the Emperor

Every ship, no matter which camp it belongs to, has three positions on the ship that are absolutely essential, namely captain, helmsman and maintenance worker.

The captain is responsible for letting everyone know where to drive the boat without sinking, the helmsman is responsible for ensuring that it can drive smoothly without sinking, and the maintenance worker is responsible for ensuring that it does not sink halfway when the helmsman takes everyone there.

I can’t say who is the most important among them, but for Vito, the most interesting thing is the helmsman, especially the helmsman of a big ship, such as the Infinite Frontier.

Vito stood at the helm and looked at the rudder with great interest. The big rudder was rotating under the swing of its operator. Ironically, whether it was the beginning of human civilization entering the sea of ​​​​stars, or it had reached its peak. In the golden age, and now in this fucking dark galaxy, human ships of all sizes have been designed with rudders.

Whether it is the cutting-edge technology product of the golden age or the "retro style battleship" of the current empire, they all have rudders. The only difference is that they look different, but Vito prefers this "retro" style, which gives him a sense of style. A feeling of going back to the past.

The helmsman, who looked quite old and looked old, was holding the rudder. He looked at the energy field display in front of him to determine the route. The old helmsman was named Howard Kent. The old Kent, who was wearing a navy blue uniform, had dark skin and followed suit. As I age, my forehead is already covered with wrinkles.

But don't underestimate old Kent. Vito dares to say that Kent is definitely one of the best helmsmen in the entire galaxy, and he even thinks he can get rid of one of them.

Every time Vito made an extremely crazy plan, such as leading the whole ship into the green-skinned garbage fleet, it was accomplished by relying on Kent's superb skills. Cole gave the order, and Kent was responsible for everyone finishing the matter. Live as much as possible before or after.

"Have you ever sailed a ship? Inquisitor." Kent asked, while Vito shrugged and leaned against the skull-carved wall behind him. A huge black skull was carved on the wall, with the Imperial Sky Eagle branded on its forehead. symbols of.

"It opened a long time ago. A long time ago." Vito said and closed his eyes. He could almost smell the sea water, the warm sea breeze blew on his face, seagulls chirped in his ears, and the waves slapped against the hull of the boat. Pat pat pat, the sail above the head was also being pulled by the sea breeze and whistling.

The sailors' songs, the smell of rum and the ever-present smell of sweat, ha, it seems so close now that I think about it, as if that was what happened just now.

Vito can't remember many things, and many things have become vague memories, so much so that he himself doesn't believe that they are what he has experienced, but there are still many memories that he cannot forget.

For example, crossing the ocean for the first time, crossing the brutal storm, and landing on the land of the new world on the other side of the sea, ah, everything was still so clear. He still remembered the rainforest of Barbados, the Amazon River and the towering mountains. Andes.

"What about you, Kent, what ships have you sailed before?" Vito asked with a smile and opened his eyes, and Kent smiled with a wrinkled face, "Many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, gunboats, armed cargo ships, and transport ships have you sailed before. Destroyer, cruiser and now this chick.”

Kent caressed the rudder of his boat as he spoke. He let out a long sigh and seemed to be recalling many past events. Vito crossed his arms and looked at the helmsman with a smile, "I remember that you come from a sailing family, right?"

"Yes, Son of the Void, at least that's what people on the ground call me." Kent said with a smile, turning the rudder in his hand slightly to keep the battleship's trajectory on the path marked by the Astropath.

"I was born on a battleship, and I have lived on a battleship. I have been on a battleship all my life." Kent said, adjusting the position of the display screen with one finger to make it look more comfortable.

"You are very familiar with battleships, every aspect." Vito said. Kent nodded and grasped the rudder again with both hands. His fingers opened and closed slightly and then grasped the rudder again. "Battleships are a part of my life. Judgment Officer, it is my home and the place where I was born and raised.”

"I like the sea of ​​​​stars. I feel most at ease only when I am sailing." "Of course, you are very awkward every time you dock, as if that damn place can eat you." Vito smiled jokingly, and Kent also laughed. laughed.

While the two were talking, the display screen turned red, and the jump beacon suddenly appeared in front of their eyes. Vito's face was illuminated by the red light. The entire bridge environment, which had been relaxed and comfortable just now, suddenly became irritable. Everyone They all started working immediately, and the tapping sound of mechanical keyboards accompanied by the cold echo of the servitors filled the bridge.

"We have arrived at the jump point of the Cadia galaxy and are calculating the gravitational number of the Mandeville point." The commander, who was wearing a mechanical eye patch and whose entire face had been modified by the Mechanicus, said, and his mechanical fingers began to move on the keyboard. As soon as he tapped it, a bunch of data appeared on the screen.

The surrounding crew members also began to get busy. They were making calculations and preparations in an orderly manner, and the sacred creations of the God of All Machines worked closely with them like a part of them.

Vito looked at Chief Bird, a man who looked almost the same as a priest. His mechanical fingers were tapping the mechanical keyboard at high speed, and the data flow quickly completed calculations and operations.

"The data preset has been completed. Captain, you can return to the physical universe." Captain Bird said, and Cole appeared on the high platform above Vito's head. He held the handrail and looked at the helmsman below.

"Helmsman, take us back to the physical universe." "Yes, Captain."

Kent said as he turned the rudder. He pulled down a lever next to him, and then the lever on the other side. The silent soulless servitors around him began to whisper one by one. These flesh and blood accessories, half of their bodies were embedded and integrated into the mechanical equipment, and they kept muttering some sentences at high speed.

Of course, the speed was too fast, so fast that Vito didn't understand, but I don't think anyone could understand it, except for those psychopaths in the Mechanicus. After all, they would talk like this from time to time, especially when the priests communicated with each other, they didn't speak human language.

"Open the armor plate, we need to restore our vision." Cole ordered, and soon the bridge member sitting in the operating position in front of Vito pressed the switch, and the warning red light flashed next to the curved floor-to-ceiling window in front of him, and the armor layer covering the glass began to open rapidly.

Vito leaned against the wall and looked at the upcoming... Shit!

Kent immediately turned right and veered sharply. He pressed the engine's side thrust button suddenly, and the vector nozzle installed at the rear of the battleship sprayed at full power to the right, allowing the giant ship to turn horizontally in the void to avoid the wreckage in front of him.

Vito almost fell to the ground. When he finally stood firm, he raised his head. Like Cole, he stared at the tragic scene outside with wide eyes. It was a battlefield, a grave, the silent grave of the void giant ships.

Kent's right full rudder saved the whole ship once. Although many people probably fell heavily, if they had just hit the oncoming ship wreckage, it would be estimated that everyone would be in a worse situation.

The Infinite Frontier passed by the broken wreckage of a giant ship. To be precise, she was driving on a galactic battlefield. The battle here was over, leaving behind a large area of ​​wreckage and broken bodies of warships.

Vito walked to the handrail, frowning as he looked at the warships, destroyers, cruisers, battlecruisers, and armed barges that were passing by outside the bridge window. The wreckage of warships of all sizes and fighter planes filled the area.

Not all of them belonged to the Empire. Among the wreckage with the Skyhawk logo, there were also some warships with the blasphemous hexagram imprinted on them. They were Chaos warships, or more precisely, wreckage.

There had been a fierce naval battle here. It was obvious that both sides had suffered heavy losses here, but who won in the end? No one knew, at least for now.

Cole turned on the holographic screen in front of him, and a scan result appeared in front of him, "These ships are from the Cadia Sector Fleet, and the number of casualties is above the Emperor."

Vito raised his head and glanced at Cole, then lowered his head to look at the wreckage. The deck of the warship was blasted through and exploded, the armor plate was torn and collapsed, and the buildings on the hull were also shattered and collapsed to varying degrees.

Some warships even exploded and were blown off in the middle, with countless debris scattered between the head and tail, like a giant with its body torn apart.

There were so many debris that these floating broken warships kept sliding around, like a circle of asteroid belts.

"Vito!"

Vito was about to say something when he was interrupted by Lilith.

Lilith suddenly jumped up from the captain's throne and left her comfortable nest with cushions and pillows. She rushed to the armrest next to Cole and looked down with the thing in her hand.

Vito looked into her eyes and immediately understood something. He cursed and looked at Cole, "Cole! Take cover immediately! Enemies are approaching!"

Cole was stunned by Vito's shout, but the captain immediately began to give orders. He slammed the handrail and roared loudly, "Helmsman, sink! Let's go deep into the shipwreck area, let the reverse thrust engine warm up and stand by, and shut down all weapon systems and shields on the entire ship! Quick!"

"Stand still, Judge." Kent said as he turned the rudder, and the entire giant ship began to sail downward, and the warship quickly dived into the depths of the shipwreck area.

The wreckage of warships rushed in front of him, but Kent could flexibly avoid the broken things. Vito grabbed a handrail and looked at the wreckage that kept sliding past his eyes. The fire from the appropriate nozzles kept illuminating the silent warships around him.

Kent pulled one of the countless levers violently, and the engine in the building at the bottom of the battleship immediately spewed out flames. The powerful propulsion of the plasma jet made the battleship suddenly stop, almost completely stopping in the wreckage of the sunken ship.

"Chief Controller! Turn off all power! Turn off the engine! Quick!" Cole continued to shout, and the chief controller on the left hand side of the helmsman immediately began to press the buttons continuously, and the red display lights lit up one by one, and almost instantly the bridge was shrouded in darkness.

All the lights went out, and all the screens were silent, but soon the starlight outside the window rushed to make the bridge dimly lit up.

"Everyone, let go!" Cole shouted, and immediately, all the operators in the bridge lifted their hands from the keyboard or operator.

Cole raised his head and looked at the upper part of the bridge glass, Vito and Kent, and everyone looked at the top of the battleship.

The galaxy background began to turn blood red, and soon the enchanting red light engulfed the entire galaxy. The light came from warships, warships spewing scarlet flames.

Vito looked at the fleets passing over the wreckage of the sunken ships. Everyone opened their eyes wide and held their breath tightly. They all looked at the blasphemous fleet passing by, the fleet of the Emperor's great enemy.

This is an unprecedented chaos fleet, a destruction fleet of unprecedented scale. Each battleship pulls out a long scarlet beam at the end. Each battleship is decorated with blasphemy. The once magnificent Gothic architecture has become Became a symbol of Khorne's destruction.

A giant ship is surrounded by hundreds of large and small ships, just like a pack of wolves surrounding their leader, the entire hunting group is sailing through the starry sky, passing through the starry sky stained red with blood.

Cole looked up at the fleet above his head, at the dark death battleships. Fortunately, they did not notice his ship, and the Infinite Frontier entered a state of silence before it appeared in the detection range.

Their long red tail flames stretched to a long distance, leaving an eye-catching trace in the Milky Way, and the light belt was sailing and extending in one direction.

Cole didn't need a star map to understand where they were going. They had only one place to go.

"Cardia." Vito said silently.