Commodore Captain

The mere thought of having to deal with Gu Hang made Yelicia feel a bit annoyed.

As a bona fide Commodore of the Imperial Navy and the captain of a strike cruiser, she was an indisputable big shot in the Pegasus Sector.

Between a Commodore and a Planetary Governor, who held more weight?

Across the entire Pegasus Sector, the permanent Imperial Navy presence consisted of only seven cruisers; by comparison, the Pegasus Sector had nine planets, making the numbers roughly equivalent.

The two were not even in the same system. A Planetary Governor held a special status, but generally belonged to the Imperial administrative hierarchy; a starship captain, however, belonged to the Imperial Navy's military branch.

Theoretically, the sector head did not have the authority to directly command the Imperial Navy.

Of course, in reality, that was not the case.

The Pegasus Fleet was established by the Pegasus Sector; most of its officers and soldiers were recruited and selected from the various planets of the sector; the starships were purchased with the sector's treasury; and logistical supplies were provided by the sector as well. In terms of missions, the Pegasus Fleet was responsible for the defense of the Pegasus Sector and had to coordinate with the sector government, so its independence was not truly that strong.

In short, the status of the seven cruiser captains and the nine Planetary Governors of the Pegasus Sector was difficult to compare, and they were likely on par with one another.

But when it came down to Gu Hang and Yelicia specifically, it was a different story.

Of the nine planetary worlds in the Pegasus Sector, the other eight, while varying in quality, were at least regional powers. Only this Nuxiao Planet was a persistent, thorny problem.

According to past conventions, Gu Hang taking on this governorship was not much different from being sentenced to a two-year suspended death sentence. How could he compare to Yelicia?

Yelicia also hailed from a prominent family; her Fofana Family was an ally of the Gu Family, and both were supporters of the current sector head.

As for herself, she was a rising star in the military, the most dazzling newcomer in the Pegasus Sector Navy, the only woman among the seven captains, and the youngest of them all.

To reach this position, family background was certainly important, but her own capabilities could not be ignored.

Gu Hang and Yelicia were worlds apart.

However, the female Commodore had her own troubles.

It had been nearly two years since she was promoted to captain of the Quintet, and the voices of doubt still rose and fell. Her age, her seniority, her gender... all had become targets for attack.

As for her ability? Talking about ability without proof was too idealistic and couldn't put food on the table, unless it was converted into achievements that left no room for doubt.

She was truly bursting with energy, wanting to fight a brilliant campaign. Punching Greenskin warlords, kicking Chaos traitors, exterminating Void Tyranids...

Anything would do; she just wanted to fight a hearty, satisfying battle, return with glory, and see who the hell would dare to point fingers at her in the future.

As it turned out, she didn't get to fight much, but instead ended up on Nuxiao Planet, acting as a bodyguard for the young man sent to be the governor by her family's political allies.

She had been stuck here for two years.

She was very unhappy, but had no way to resist, so she could only report for duty in a fit of rage.

She was already annoyed, and that guy kept finding trouble for her.

She couldn't figure out now whether the Gu Family actually valued Gu Hang or not.

If they valued him, why send him to such a place? Taking on a major responsibility and developing the difficult Nuxiao Planet wasn't impossible, but she hadn't seen the Gu Family invest many resources into it.

But if they didn't value him, why would the sector government send one of the only seven cruisers in the Pegasus Fleet—the Quintet, which she commanded—to squat here for two years?

She couldn't figure it out.

And there was no need to overthink it.

She considered herself a soldier, so she would keep it simple and just execute orders.

The order she received was to ensure that Nuxiao Planet remained loyal to the Empire, to assist the Planetary Governor, and to provide military support.

On this matter, she had never thought about creating difficulties for Gu Hang. As long as the Governor made a request, she would fulfill her duties as an officer of the Imperial Navy.

In her mind, what she had to do was nothing more than provide orbital deterrence against the surface, carry out strikes when necessary; there was no pressure, just doing things by the book.

But Gu Hang didn't ask her to help bomb anything; instead, he took away a batch of servants and soldiers.

This was something she hadn't expected.

She didn't want to give them up at first, but after being pestered by that guy Gu Hang, she still let him swindle her people away.

When she came to her senses, she still felt regretful.

I can help you fight, but you can't poach my people!

This was not within the scope of her duties.

Moreover, this was an Imperial Navy unit; it was true that there were 100,000 people on the ship, and while it seemed like a lot, an 11-kilometer-long giant ship required that many people just to operate.

If Gu Hang took away too many people, it would directly affect the combat effectiveness of the starship.

What's more, the combat power of the Navy lay entirely in the starship. Once separated from the starship, 100,000 people, if thrown onto the surface, wouldn't even make a splash on a planetary scale.

Compared to the Imperial Guard, which specialized in ground combat and had a structure of millions of soldiers per legion, they were not on the same order of magnitude in terms of numbers.

Gu Hang had taken over 3,000 people, which wasn't enough to affect the operation of the starship, but this was a one-time thing, not to be repeated.

This time, having received another communication request from Gu Hang, Yelicia made up her mind that unless it was a combat mission, she wouldn't satisfy any of his requests.

Adjusting her mood, she sat up straight and had the technician patch in Gu Hang's communication signal.

Gu Hang's head appeared on the screen in the center of the command deck.

"Commodore Yelicia, hello. It's been half a month, and you've become even more beautiful!"

The female Commodore kept a straight face: "Your Excellency the Governor, please do not be glib. Just tell me what you need."

"Don't be so serious; I have some good news to tell you."

"What news?"

"Our troops wiped out a rebel force on Nuxiao Planet today. Nearly two hundred enemies of the Imperium were eliminated."

A group of scavengers and wasteland bandits had become "rebels" and "enemies of the Imperium" in Gu Hang's description.

Strictly speaking, there was nothing wrong with what he said.

Yelicia didn't know the specific situation on Nuxiao Planet, but even so, she knew there was some exaggeration in Gu Hang's words.

But the most critical thing was...

"Two hundred enemies?" She wore a look of disdain.

You have the nerve to bring such a meager result before me to brag?

"I know you don't care about these two hundred people, Brigadier General, but what if this number could be two thousand, twenty thousand, or two hundred thousand in the future?"

"Or perhaps, annihilating a Greenskins warlord? Eradicating a heretical cult that does not worship the God-Emperor? Or even destroying an indigenous dark god?"

Yelicia's expression turned serious.

Hearing Gu Hang put it this way, she instinctively began to consider: if it were truly as he said—wiping out hundreds of thousands of imperial traitors, annihilating a Greenskins warlord, and taking down a dark god—what would that merit be worth?

Isn't merit exactly what she is seeking?

Wasn't the thing she was most dissatisfied with upon coming to Nuxiao Planet the fact that sitting around for two years was a complete waste of time?

But she wasn't so easily fooled.

"Why do you make it sound like Nuxiao Planet is about to be turned upside down? Does Nuxiao Planet even have those kinds of enemies?" She expressed her skepticism.

"It can." Gu Hang's smile carried an inexplicable flavor.