This time, Yu Lian was far less polite. His face stiff, he said flatly, "Shut up! Everyone, sit down!"
The warriors who had been clamoring to fight under the influence of the Skywhale's psychic power promptly calmed down. The famously fierce Colonel Mina Walter was especially well-behaved.
"I can confirm that there are people aboard that square ship, but they're almost certainly enemies, not friends. Once they've achieved their goal, we'll be the first ones they kill," Yu Lian said.
Captain Nemo reported gravely, "Yes. That's why we need to watch for the right moment. I've already prepared mines. If anything goes wrong, we can make a safe retreat under cover of the minefield and the old-timers from the Tiyangkai swarm."
The first officer, who still didn't have a name, added, "The beacon we left in the previous system has also reported that there are dozens of ships nearby. We can expect all kinds of black-market crews from Pirate City to arrive soon. They'll provide us with natural cover, too."
Annie said, "In the worst-case scenario, we can send out the dragons and fighters to cover our retreat, but then we'd have to..."
Yu Lian immediately understood, but he had to admit that if they really ran into trouble, he had the best chance of success if he stayed behind himself. He also had ways to escape.
...Worst came to worst, he could always hide in the Void.
But was someone as low-ranking as you, Romanova, really allowed to casually suggest that the commander himself stay behind to cover the retreat?
"If things become impossible, let the commander and me ride out on dragons to cover the retreat. We can keep them occupied for a while," Feifei said.
All right, coming from his wife, that was a perfectly reasonable suggestion.