Chapter 38: Ch 38 Supreme Commander
He appeared to be standing on the command deck of the Oblivion. His posture was upright, composed, and dignified.
He was the first to speak.
"Good day to you, Mr. William," Grand Admiral John Watcher began, his voice calm and composed. "Allow me to thank you—on behalf of the Human Federation—for your timely intervention and the rescue of the Red Horizon fleet. You didn’t have to act... but you did. And for that, the Federation is deeply grateful."
After finishing his words, John gave a slight bow—not deep, but just enough to convey respect. Though a man of his rank didn’t need to bow to anyone, he still chose to.
Because he wanted to make something clear: this is how the Federation treated those who had done it a true service. And what William had done was no small matter.
If the Red Horizon fleet—Admiral Kevin’s research fleet—had been destroyed, the Federation would have likely lost control of the Nova Star System, a critical region rich with Tier-6 resources and containing multiple Tier-6 planets.
Even worse, the Null Vril Disruptor, a Tier-6 electromagnetic suppression device designed to block all forms of signal transmission between insectoid hive minds, would have been lost. That alone could have invited disaster.
Now, the danger wasn’t because the device couldn’t be recreated or because it was the only one in existence—far from it. The real threat was that if this device were captured by the insectoid race, they would inevitably analyze it and develop a countermeasure.
That alone would nullify one of the Federation’s greatest strategic advantages, potentially turning future battles into disasters.
It wasn’t like the Federation was unaware of such risks—they had accounted for this possibility. But the probability of it happening was always considered low.
That’s because fleets carrying such high-value equipment were usually heavily armed, well-defended, and capable of either pushing through enemy lines or retreating safely even under dire circumstances.