Chapter 371 The Fork in the Road of Destiny
In the deep space somewhere, a huge and lonely asteroid is wandering silently in the universe just like it has been for hundreds of millions of years, with mottled traces on its surface It tells about its struggle against time and the "bits and pieces" of this wandering that lasted for hundreds of millions of years.
But in the next moment, this huge asteroid with a long axis of more than 200 kilometers seemed to have hit something invisible in this dark and silent space.
It is an invisible mysterious object, which seems to be similar in size to this huge asteroid, and has been quietly hidden in this space for millions of years.
At the moment of impact, there was no roar, no sparks, just the collision of the most primitive forces deep in the universe.
During the impact, the huge body of the asteroid was easily torn apart by this mysterious object and turned into countless fragments. These fragments flew freely in the gravity-free environment, creating a splendid and tragic picture.
However, this rare sight did not cause any fluctuations in the mysterious object hidden in this space. When the fragments of the asteroid drifted further and further away, this space returned to silence.
In an area similar to a hall inside this mysterious object, a large number of instruments surrounding the hall are flashing lights on and off according to a certain rhythm.
After an unknown amount of time, a cylinder made of an unknown material in the center of the hall suddenly lit up, and at the same time, a strange language also sounded in the middle of the hall.
If Amber and Saleh were here, they would immediately realize that this is the language of the Jerram people, the Forerunner civilization.
"772 Universe Observatory, observation record update"
"The current historical trend of the universe is consistent with the third predicted path. It is currently at branch point No. 954882. There are two branch routes under this branch point."
“If it enters the second branch, the coincidence between the historical direction of the 772 universe and the third predicted path will exceed 99.1%, and the early warning mechanism will be triggered.”
“Based on the above background, the observatory will end Highly dormant mode, reactivate key systems and prepare to send recall signals."
The cold and pale voice record log broadcast ended, but there was no response in the empty hall, but under this silence, the inside of the observation station Each facility starts to activate under a certain signal stimulus.
Secret doors in various passages were opened, and a large number of autonomous machines poured out and went to the locations of various subsystems. While the subsystems were activated, maintenance was performed for an unknown period of time.
At the same time, in a giant shipyard in Atlas, Saleh, who was wearing a mask to cover his face, was communicating with several shipbuilding engineers.
After this period of adaptation, Saleh has learned the common language of mankind, and after covering his face and soft-footed tentacles, he assists various people in Atlas as a 'mysterious omnipotent advisor' The department started working.
While she was instructing several engineers to optimize the manufacturing process and processes of the battleship, her whole body suddenly trembled as if she had received an electric shock.
Several engineers around him were stunned for a moment, and then asked whether Saleh was feeling unwell.
"Sorry, I'll go back and rest for a while. We'll discuss the remaining issues next time."
"It's okay, Ms. Saleh, please go back first. You can follow us to monitor the progress these days." We don't have much rest, and we old men can still bear it, but you still need to rest."
An engineer said with concern as he turned off the terminal in his hand.
Although Saleh disagreed with the second half of his sentence, in terms of physical and mental strength, the Homo sapiens in front of her could not compare with her at all, but she still nodded in thanks at this moment. And quickly turned around and left.
After returning to his own exclusive cabin, Saleh put back the mask on his head, and the soft foot-like tentacles that had been curled up behind his head also unfolded again.
She sat on a futon that Amber bought for her from the Thousand Stars Empire and was said to be good for psychic meditation. She closed her eyes and quietly checked her situation.
Soon, she opened her eyes again, but there was a hint of worry in her eyes.
"The battle on Para IV turned out to be a key node, even the observation station was activated"
Salih looked up in a certain direction, although there was just a plain area there. The bulkhead was unremarkable, but her eyes seemed to penetrate everything and span a long distance, staring at the planet Pyla 4 where the fierce battle was taking place. "Amber, should I hope you win a great victory, or should I hope you die in battle?"
——
"The Boxer and the Fertile Soil were destroyed! The attitude of the ship was out of control. It has been captured by the gravity of the Para IV and is falling into the atmosphere!"
"What are the escorting cruiser formations doing? Obviously There is only one aircraft, why did the opponent break through!"
"The opponent's speed is too fast to intercept!"
"Attention, air defense weapon team! The target is approaching from the port side!"
As the tactical information coordinator nervously spoke the last message, the alarm sounded simultaneously on the bridge of the USS Midway orbital assault ship.
Then, a red shadow flashed past the 'panoramic porthole' simulated on the bridge screen.
At this moment, the captain of the Midway felt as if time had slowed down. The huge figure of the single-man HCP outside and the strange-looking main surveillance camera flashed with a red light. The weapon is full of oppression like a red devil.
"Helmsman! Emergency evasion!"
When the illusion of slowing down time ended, the captain who reacted immediately shouted, but unfortunately it was still a step too late.
The moment he finished speaking, a huge tungsten alloy heavy-duty anti-ship penetrating rod tore open the fragile side armor of the Midway from the side, and then directly penetrated the bridge hidden inside the hull.
Following this, another charged particle beam swept across the plasma propulsion array at the rear of the ship. The charged particle beam collided with the plasma ejected from the propulsion array, causing it to become disordered, and finally broke through the constraints of the propulsion array. upper limit.
As several huge plasma fireballs lit up and expanded at the stern of the ship, the Midway also triggered a series of explosions from the rear to the front, ultimately following in the footsteps of the Boxer and Fertile Soil, unable to Falling back towards the atmosphere.
Amber took a moment to glance at the current ammunition reserve of 'ATLAS'. 70% of the remaining ammunition was enough for him to complete this battle.
“Lilith, next target!”
"The guidance route has been given, Master!" Lilith's voice rang in her ears, very focused and serious, without the usual loose feeling at all.
"Please pay attention to the HCP intercepted on the path. In addition, the enemy cruiser is lowering to the extreme orbital altitude. At the same time, the hull axis is also adjusting towards our position. It is judged that the scattering mode of the main gun may be used!"
“Understood, just mark the general direction of the attack, and I will evade it.”
——
“General, the loss of the second orbital attack ship detachment is close to 30 %, do we want to provide support? ”
On the bridge of the flagship of the Federation's Thirteenth Main Fleet, looking at the orbital attack ship detachment with increasing losses, the fleet operations staff asked the fleet commander Guterres with a solemn expression.
But the latter did not answer the question immediately. Instead, he stared at the light spots raging in the orbital attack ship on the main screen of the bridge, and held the armrest of the captain's seat with his whole hand.
Guterres never imagined that he would be forced to make a choice by an HCP.
He originally thought that the three cruisers, one heavy and two light, responsible for the escort would easily kill this 'fly'. Who would have thought that not long after the battle, the two light cruisers were already defeated, and the heavy cruiser was even more forced to do so. Switched to anti-aircraft mode, opened fire, and dispatched all HCPs on board.
Even so, three of the 10 ships in the entire orbital attack ship detachment were sunk by the speed of light. The HCP that came forward to intercept did not have any unit that could keep up with the opponent's speed.
Even if it is lucky enough to intercept it on the advance route, it will only be smashed into pieces by the opponent's violent firepower
"What on earth is this thing? Are there really humans driving it?"
The situation he encountered was something Guterres had never experienced since he joined the federal navy.
He even thought that he had fallen into some bizarre nightmare, but he knew that now was not the time to be indecisive, and he had to make a decision as soon as possible.
"Give up support. Thirteenth Fleet, advance at combat speed! Attack the Atlas fleet with all your strength!" Guterres clenched his right fist and hammered the armrest hard,
"As long as we kill their fleet, this battle will be 'general'!"
(End of this chapter)