svetikya Chapter 87 Port of Arrival
Chapter 87 Port of Arrival
Chapter 87 Port of Arrival
The main engine of the Xinbang has stalled.
As the plasma tail flame, stretching for thousands of meters, gradually dissipated, the pristine white starship glided into the tranquil void by inertia.
At this point, twenty-five hours had passed since the New Bond set off into deep space.
After passing through the "giant mouth," they finally emerged.
Andy stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window on the bridge.
Ahead in the distance was a gigantic, ugly, and precarious city cluster floating in the void.
Port of call.
This place is very famous in the Warhammer universe, even more so than many hive worlds.
Because it is not only the end of the "Giant Mouth" waterway, but also the only gateway to the Colonus expansion.
Any traveling merchants who want to make a fortune in the expansion zone, smugglers who want to transport alien artifacts back to the Empire, or fugitives who don't want their watches checked by the Inquisition, must pass through here.
All ships entering or leaving the expansion area must stop here, either to resupply or to sell stolen goods.
"How magnificent!"
Sisyphus, standing behind Andy, let out a heartfelt sigh.
This was his first time leaving his hometown and his first time seeing this legendary place.
Andy silently started the STC scan.
In his view, this so-called "void city" was an engineering marvel.
The landing port is not a complete space station.
It consists of dozens of massive asteroids and the wreckage of hundreds of giant starships from an unknown era.
There are also imperial stone sculptures, even larger than starships, forcibly pieced together into aggregates.
What connects all this jumbled mess isn't some sophisticated force field beam, nor is it a rigid connection bridge.
It was an iron chain.
Countless thick, outrageously large chains of refined gold and iron.
These chains stretched taut in the void, binding the asteroids and wrecked ships together to prevent them from falling apart under the influence of gravity.
In the orthodox architecture of mechanical schools, such a structure is considered blasphemous, a synonym for instability and danger.
Even a novice would feel like cursing when they see this design.
But in the port of call, that's the reality.
There is no unified gravity plan or unified atmospheric circulation system here.
Each asteroid and each piece of debris has its own independent gravity generator and life support system. In some places, the gravity is so strong that it can crush a person, and in other places, you have to wear a spacesuit to walk.
Huge pipes and cables, like intestines, are exposed, connecting various areas.
Countless illegally constructed shacks, towers, and even small palaces clung to the surfaces of the asteroids and stone sculptures like barnacles, making the entire port look like a giant interstellar tumor made of garbage and scrap metal.
Neon lights, searchlights, and navigation lights illuminated this empty space as if it were daytime.
Countless spaceships swarmed around it like flies, taking off, landing, docking, and unloading cargo, displaying a savage energy.
"Six, contact the control tower."
Andy withdrew his gaze and gave the order.
"Request a berth."
Andy was well aware of the rules of the port of call.
Nominally, this place is under the jurisdiction of the Empire, but there is no imperial administrative body here; in reality, it is a lawless zone.
The area is ruled by seven gang leaders known as the "Grand Dukes".
They divided up territory, established rules, and jointly charged exorbitant protection and mooring fees to passing ships.
As for who you are, where you come from, and what's on your ship, they don't care at all.
As long as you pay, you're the boss.
"Connecting to public channel—" Xiao Liu's voice rang out, "Done."
The next second, an image popped up on the main screen of the bridge.
A bald man with a muscular face and an eye patch was seen in the background, which looked like a messy dispatch room. You could hear shouting and fighting coming from behind him.
"This is the landing port traffic control center. I'm Old Harry."
The bald man had a thick cigar in his mouth and didn't even look directly at the camera.
"New? I've never seen this model before?"
"Where would you like to park? The outer gravel area? Or the private parking spaces for the grand dukes?"
"Stop wasting my breath and give me a price."
Andy didn't speak; he turned to look at Sisyphus.
It's better to leave dealing with gangsters to professional drug dealers.
Sisyphus understood immediately, straightened his collar, and walked to the communications station.
"Manager Harry, we are a free merchant ship from the Misty Star Region. We have some local specialties on board and would like to stop by your esteemed location for a rest and to do some small business."
Sisyphus's face broke into that signature, hypocritical, yet enthusiastic business smile.
"We need a large berth in the mid-level area, preferably with an independent loading and unloading platform."
"As for the price—"
Sisyphus entered a string of numbers on the control panel.
"This is our sincerity."
An electronic draft for two hundred Imperial Gold Coins.
In this era of abundant but devalued credits, real gold coins remain the hard currency.
Bald Harry glanced at the number, and his previously impatient expression instantly changed.
He spat out the cigar from his mouth, his one eye narrowing into a slit.
"Wow, the boss is really generous."
"A mid-level berth, right? No problem!"
"There just happened to be a spot that became available. It was originally for that guy—never mind that poor soul, it's yours now."
"The coordinates for berth B-74 have been sent to you."
"As long as you don't bomb the port or kill my pilots, you can do whatever you want."
The communication was disconnected.
The screen displayed port entry instructions.
"See?" Sisyphus shrugged. "This is our port of call."
The spaceship began to move slowly.
Under Xiao Liu's precise control, the New Bang avoided the erratic shuttles and floating space debris, and approached the berth located near the shoulder of a giant Imperial stone sculpture.
The closer you get, the stronger the visual impact.
Andy could clearly see that the once solemn and dignified face of the several-kilometer-high imperial stone sculpture had now been covered by various illegal buildings.
Someone opened a bar in the emperor's nostril, and someone built a casino in the emperor's eye socket.
The thick iron chains were covered with clothes drying in the sun and dried meat from some unknown creature.
Such blasphemy against the sacred would be enough to trigger a hundred orbital bombardments in any imperial civilization.
But here, this is life.
Even the priests of the state church opened a branch here, called the "Breath of the Emperor" Cathedral, which specializes in providing last prayers for explorers who are about to enter the expansion area to their deaths, and charges a hefty fee.
"Kang Dang Yi"
A loud bang.
The side of the Xinbang rammed into the berth's buffer pad, and a huge mechanical arm extended and locked the hull.
The airtight passage has been successfully connected.
"Docked."
Xiao Liu reports to the instructor.
"External environment scan — oxygen content is low, gravity is 0.8G, and radiation index is slightly above the standard. It is recommended that people going out wear a breathing mask."
Everyone on the bridge breathed a sigh of relief.
The port has the largest black market in the entire expansion area, where contraband is not considered contraband but a hot commodity.
Alien technology is called "Cryogenic Trading" here, and there are specialized traveling merchants who make a living from it.
Not to mention illegal drugs, as long as you can get people high, no one cares what you put in the drug.
Human trafficking is legal here; as long as you have money, you can buy labor from any race, even the Eldar.
Andy felt as if this place was made for him.
He has high-purity antibiotics and ridiculously powerful individual weapons, which are extremely profitable in the port.
More importantly, he needs supplies.
Although the new ship has been repaired, many parts are still barely usable.
He needs more advanced materials, rare alien technology for analysis, and, if possible, he should also consider recruiting more crew members.
The few hundred men he brought, though loyal and reasonably skilled, were, after all, army soldiers and didn't know how to sail.
To truly transform the New Bond into a warship capable of conquering the Halo Sector, it needs professional gunners, especially those scoundrels and outlaws who make a living in the void, and the Port of Descent has no shortage of such people.
"Sisyphus, Roger."
Andy turned around and looked at his two capable assistants.
"Let's rest for two hours, then sort out our shipping manifests; we're about to disembark."
"Go tell those bumpkins here what real good stuff is."
"By the way—"
Andy's electronic eye flashed.
"Go and find out if there are any unwanted alien technologies or condensation facilities around here."
"I'll accept anything, regardless of race, as long as I don't understand it."
"And star maps of deep space are even more important."
The STC database needs new samples to unlock more tech trees.
And the port of call is a ready-made super channel.
"Understood, boss!"
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