svetikya Chapter 27 The Atmosphere of Everyday Life
Chapter 27 The Atmosphere of Everyday Life
The fourth week of warp space travel became uneventful. Vibrations and turbulence became the norm. Several times a day, the ship would suddenly shudder, or the Void Shield readings would jump a few times, and then everything would return to normal. The crew had gotten used to it; those who were supposed to be on watch would be on watch, those who were supposed to rest would be resting, and those who were supposed to eat would be eating.
In the warp, the ship was almost completely isolated from the outside world. Although the Black Pearl had the Astrologer Hera Voss on duty in the communications bay, her abilities could only maintain the most basic reception. Occasionally, she could catch fragments of Astrologian signals—remnants of signals from other Imperial ships or ground stations—most of which were blurry and undecipherable. The people on the Black Pearl could only rely on the itinerary plan prepared before departure to deduce the movements of other ships.
The cafeteria was busier than usual at noon today.
Lars sat opposite Liu En, carrying a plate of whelk stew with potatoes. His new robotic arm moved with remarkable steadiness as he held the plate. In front of Liu En was a bowl of Grox's soup and two pieces of synthetic starch cake.
"Captain, this soup is quite good today." Lars picked up a piece of meat with his fork. "Dr. Liz said that the cilantro from the new vegetable compartment was just ripe, so she chopped up a big bunch and threw it in."
Liu En took a sip of the soup. It was indeed delicious. The meat was stewed until tender, the broth was rich, and the cilantro had a refreshing flavor. He broke the starch cake into pieces and soaked them in the soup, waiting until they were fully saturated before eating them.
At the next table, Coleman was bragging to some veterans. He had barely left when Lieutenant Kara came over with a tray. She was wearing the lightweight inner lining of her power armor, no helmet, and her prosthetic left arm was exposed. She sat down opposite Liu En, forked a piece of steak, and took a bite.
"Captain, I've reviewed Cintira's file." She said, chewing her food. "The capital of the Calesis Sector, the Hive World, has over 20 billion inhabitants. Almost every important institution of the Imperium has a branch there—the state religion has the Church of the Beacon, the Mechanics have a liaison station for the Forging World Rat, and the Inquisition also has a headquarters there. The headquarters of the Calesis Fleet is also in that area, and it's said that there are also Space Marine chapter watchpoints nearby. Merchant ships, cargo ships, naval patrol ships, and private ships from all sorts of merchants are all crammed there."
Liu En picked up his coffee cup. "The Iron Wall and the Truth Seeker should have arrived by now, based on their pre-departure schedules."
"Pretty much. Those two ships departed earlier than us, and their warp route is shorter. They're probably already waiting at the Sintira Spaceport by now." Lieutenant Kara put down her fork. "Eisenhorn of the Ironwall, a fourth-tier technical priest, a veteran. Vera Nazari of the Truth Seeker, a second-tier technical craftswoman. I heard her father is a deacon of the Temple, which is why she can command a ship at the second tier."
"Vitellius said that neither of them is difficult to get along with."
"Whether they're difficult to get along with or not, we'll find out when we get there." Lieutenant Kara picked up another piece of meat with her fork. "But the Black Pearl is what it is. A captain with a third-level trainee priest, and five hundred fully armed retired veterans, we're no weaker than those two ships. As long as Eisenhorn isn't blind, he won't put on airs."
Liu En didn't reply. Lieutenant Kara finished her last bite, pushed the plate away, and leaned back in her chair. "Captain, did Marcus explain the situation at the roaming port to you in detail?"
"Escort patrols, guard duty, and occasional equipment repairs. Three months."
"Wandering Harbor is the gateway to the Colonus Expansion Zone, the outermost Imperial outpost in the Calesis Sector. That place is a melting pot of all sorts: traveling merchants, spies, alien agents, smugglers. Easy missions can turn into deadly ones."
"That's why we've equipped you with the best gear."
Lieutenant Kara paused for a moment, then smiled. "That's true. With this equipment, if a fight breaks out, it's hard to say who will be killed." She stood up and patted Liu En on the shoulder—a gesture considered insubordination in the Imperial Navy, but no one cared at this table. "Captain, I'm going to the training grounds. Please enjoy your drink."
Liu En nodded.
At night, only the duty personnel remained on the bridge. Liu En didn't return to his private workshop; instead, he sat in the commander's seat, a holographic projection displaying the navigation map in front of him. On the outer edge of the purple chaotic sea, the location of the Sintira system was marked as a flashing dot.
Marcus walked over from the tactical officer's position, carrying two cups of coffee. He handed one to Liu En.
"Captain, after we arrive in Sintira, we will rendezvous with the Ironwall and the Truth Seeker, and then we will head to the Wandering Port together."
"What's the situation in Roaming Harbor? What are your thoughts?"
Marcus pulled up a document and projected it onto the holographic platform. "Wanderport is a place of great importance to the Lucis Forging World."
Just as he was about to explain in detail, a hoarse voice suddenly came through the communicator, carrying the hollow feeling unique to the Star Speakers, as if it came from a very distant place.
"Captain... Hera. We just received a fragment of astral language, likely originating from the Sintira sector. The signal is extremely weak; we can only decipher a few words—'reunion,' 'delay,' and 'stellar disturbance.' The rest is just static."
Liu En replied through the communicator, "Understood. Continue monitoring."
"Understood." The communication channel fell silent, leaving only those three words echoing faintly in the bridge.
Marcus waited until the communication light went out before continuing. "Most of the core members of the Mechanicus Temple in Wandering Harbor are Lucius's own people stationed there." He tapped a few times on the projector. "As you know, the Mechanicus is riddled with factions and doctrinal differences. Some worlds believe in the idea that 'knowledge is sacred and inviolable.' Lucius is different. Lucius is known for its enlightened approach—they love trade, they love researching new technologies, and they don't like being charlatans. As long as they can obtain valuable blueprints, materials, and technical samples, they don't mind using flexible methods."
Liu En picked up his coffee cup and took a sip. He understood what Marcus was saying—the conduct of the sages Vitellius and Aurelius was the best proof of that.
"Lucis's massive investment in Wandering Harbor is obviously profitable." Marcus's finger slid across the projection screen, bringing up a map of the mineral distribution in the Colonus Expansion Zone. "The Colonus Expansion Zone isn't under Imperial law, but it is under their control in terms of resources. High-purity refined gold, rare alloy elements, and various specialty minerals—the amount of ore transported back to Lucis from there each year is considerable. Wandering Harbor is the choke point of this transport route. The Temple's garrisoned ships not only have to escort and patrol, but also ensure that this route isn't cut off. Without Wandering Harbor, Lucis's ore supply chain would be disrupted."
"There's also alien technology research," Liu En said. This wasn't a question, it was a statement.
Marcus chuckled. "On the surface, it's 'technology recovery and evaluation,' but behind the scenes... who knows?" He lowered his voice slightly. "I've heard from some old colleagues that Lucius has more than one 'special research facility' behind the Wandering Port, specifically for handling alien artifacts found within the expansion zone. These things are a hot potato within the Empire, but much milder in the Wandering Port. The Inquisition isn't unaware of this, but as long as Lucius submits enough technological achievements each year and doesn't cause major trouble, they turn a blind eye."
Liu En leaned back in his chair, saying nothing. He thought of the replica of the Machine Soul pistol in his workshop, and the encrypted data he had brought back from the Marcus outpost in the database.
"So, our trip to Wandering Harbor is ostensibly for three months of temporary assignments, but secretly we're also guarding the gates for Lucis, watching the shipping routes, and incidentally keeping an eye on those shady laboratories?"
"Pretty much. Sage Aurelius may not say it, but he knows it perfectly well." Marcus picked up his coffee and took a sip. "The Ironwall and the Truth Seeker are both Lucis's subordinate ships. To put it bluntly, this mission is a joint operation between Lucis's own people who are building the world. The Ironwall is a veteran and will be in charge; the Truth Seeker has a strong background, so it doesn't matter if it doesn't put in much effort; the Black Pearl is a newcomer, so this is a good opportunity for it to become known in the Wandering Port circle."
Liu En nodded. "Once we arrive at the Wandering Port, we'll have to adapt to the situation."
Footsteps and hushed voices came from outside the bridge. As the patrol team of veterans changing shifts passed the bridge entrance, they all turned their heads and nodded slightly to Liu En. He nodded in response.
Outside the porthole, the purple hues of the warp continued to churn. The Black Pearl glided silently through the chaotic sea, carrying over five hundred crew members and a captain who had only recently risen from the bottom of the hive. The fate of everyone was tied to this five-kilometer-long steel behemoth.
Liu En finished the last sip of his coffee and placed the empty cup on the cup holder on the armrest. He closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into a higher dimension, and glanced at the newly added entries in the database.