chapter 135
POV: Princess Verrona
The broadcast ended, and my uncle finally stilled. He really didn't like this public speaking thing too much; that’s why even during the tournaments, he only spoke when the winner was crowned, otherwise letting his right-hand man, a more distant cousin of mine, handle the day to day.
“Baron, we have sent out the confirmation alert. We should be starting to get the requested figures back soon.”
My uncle just nodded to that. He was studying the 3D holographic representations of the ships inside the space portal. These were fearsome opponents, but they had one weakness: their ships were designed to fight other ships of their kind, not the kind of ships we flew.
A lot of its energy was focused on its electrified armour, which is a perfect counter to a similar fighter swarm it itself uses. Unfortunately, it has a lot of point defence, making missiles nearly useless against it.
“This is truly a tough nut,” my uncle murmured as he continued to study every detail, even looking through some of the real simulations.
“Uncle, I wanted to ask, why did you show such promising simulations? I can understand why you didn’t show the real ones, but don't you think some of them might take this fight a bit too easily?”
“It’s because in this fleet there are two kinds of adventurers: those who are barely keeping their composure, and those who know what's ahead of us. This simulation was for the first kind, so they could cling to their false hope.”
He always spoke in that natural commanding tone I only ever heard from people that had a noble title given to them. It is weird because that title shouldn't give you anything, but it does, every title does.
“Niece, have you thought about my offer?” my uncle asked out of nowhere.
“I thought I had years to make up my mind?”
“This battle will damage the barge quite a bit. We will be heading back for repairs afterwards and cutting our circuit short. We will only stay in this system to split the spoils and to have a victory party. Afterwards, it’s straight to home.”
Many swallowed a bit nervously at that, and I could understand why. For them, going home meant an audience with a Duke. Even if that meeting is a friendly one, the presence that uncle of mine has, was something that even cowed my father.
My uncle went back to looking at the ship designs, giving me some time to think. The offer was simple enough: I can ask the Duke to swear to his service. He would then have the power to break my betrothal, and I could finally escape my father.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
The real question was, would that improve my situation? At least I wouldn’t be an outcast anymore and would fall under the dominion’s rules once again. That meant less killing, but also fewer people to kill as most actually followed laws.
“Yes, uncle, I think I will.”
For the first time in a month, I saw him smile. “That’s good, that brother of mine has let power go to his head too much.”
“Baron, the numbers are coming in. It’s not the best.”
That instantly wiped that brief smile off his face. He grew more serious as he looked at a number himself.
“Some of these ships can barely sustain 10 minutes of defensive fire. That’s just pathetic, even for frigates of that size.”
“Didn’t they have months to prepare?” I asked, genuinely confused.
“It’s not all of them. See, some seem to be well over their limits in how much they should be able to bring. Once again, there are two different kinds of space adventurers. Some aren’t bringing as much as they can, so they can cycle out, so they can escape this battle as fast as possible.”
“Cowards,” I said out loud.
“Yes and no. Some… perhaps, some are more focused on their own survival.”
“For example, look here, this frigate should only be able to bring about 500 tonnes of point defence ammunition, but they’re reporting nearly 2000. Their ship will be slower because of it, but I’m guessing every free space is filled up.”
“The real problematic ships are those with the laser weapon and who are cowards. They are the most unreliable, even if their ships are the most desired for this prolonged fight,” one of the sub-commanders chimed in.
“Uncle, what about supply ships? Navies used them quite often. The smaller ships should be able to cycle multiple times throughout the battle?”
“Almost all are adventure ships; military ships are designed for that kind of fast loading. By that time, we would have either won or lost, so there is no point. It's also a fact that escaping this fight will most likely end with the destruction of that ship.”
Right, that was in the briefing before the meeting with all the captains. These fighters kind of act like predators. Whenever something is running away from them, it’s hard for them to ignore that.
“Baron, look, this is a curious one. Currently reporting 300 tons of point defense ammunition, but they have an estimate of 400 tonnes for when the fighting starts?”
“Oh, that’s interesting. They must have fabrication facilities on board. And so much ammunition for such a small vessel. These ones are preparing to the best of their abilities. Commendable. I hope they survive.”
My uncle seemed impressed, so I looked over as well. As soon as I saw the name, I cursed myself for looking. The ship name was Forward Horizon. Of all the places it had to show up here. Now I was duty-bound to finish my father's assignment. Even the captain's name was the correct one.
Damn you, Remi Graves. Why did you have to show up here? I was so close to escaping. My oaths would require me to capture him after the battle and use my ship to go back to my father. Damn it, this will ruin everything.
I looked towards my second in command, who seemed to have known that the ship was here, keeping it a secret from me. At least they followed my orders correctly. There’s still a chance that he will perish in the upcoming fight, but even then, it would mean that I would need to leave.
There needs to be something that I can do to avoid that. What I do can’t be obvious. So, no sending my ship away without me. Yet this fight could be my way out; a black threat means that it needs to be prioritised. Yes, that should work.
“Uncle, I would like to volunteer my ship to be one of the forward scouts.”
All of their heads turned to me, not understanding what I was saying.
“We are predicting 100% destruction of all forward scouts. Their duty is incredibly important, but it means the destruction of the ships. Are you sure?”
My uncle had stayed silent the entire time, judging me and my actions.
“Very well, niece. We’ll put out another call for volunteers. Get it done,” my uncle finished saying and looked towards his right-hand man. He moved off immediately to find people to crew my ship.
With my ship destroyed, I would be forced to stay on the barge, and then I would have to go in front of the Duke as he greets everyone who comes back. Those duties I couldn’t escape, no matter how much I wanted to.
There is still one problem: I would need to get this damned Remi Graves to also travel with us, or at least disappear after the fight, as I really didn’t want to stay behind in this backwater just because of him.
You are becoming a problem, Remi Graves, and I do not like problems.