Rena remained silent for a brief moment.
Complex emotions flashed in those eyes housed in the body of Ripper.
This was something she had only recently begun to understand.
The name is "admiration".
"You always think of things I wouldn't even consider. Lynn is amazing."
She said it with a hint of praise in her voice that she herself didn't even realize.
What could be more gratifying than someone you like praising you?
Lynn excitedly reached out and rubbed the Ripper's head.
The little guy comfortably squinted his compound eyes, and a few pink bubbles appeared above his head.
"Because I'm Lynn!" he said with a smile.
Rena laughed along with her.
The laughter was soft, but it sounded especially warm against her usually aloof demeanor.
Lynn stroked the Ripper and looked out the window.
The direction of Saint Garus Castle was brightly lit.
He gave a wicked grin.
"Now, let's see how Luna responds."
Meanwhile, at Saint Garus Castle, in the underground temple of the Adeptus Mechanicus branch.
Luna stood in a secret room, in front of her a holographic projection of a fleet diagram.
Five cruisers, twenty frigates, and countless transport and support ships—that's all the resources she can currently utilize.
Not enough, far from enough.
She needs more.
Faster speed, stronger firepower, and a more perfect plan.
But just as Lynn had predicted, Leo did indeed hold her back quite a bit.
The paladins and retainers who have sided with Leo are causing all sorts of trouble within the family.
The request to deploy troops was rejected, and the reporting of departure from the ship was delayed; everything was going much slower than expected.
What troubled her even more was the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Those Tech-priest are all currently glued to STC's research labs and can't be mobilized at all.
She had to talk herself hoarse to finally get these resources out of them.
Want more? No way.
She has to rely on herself.
Fortunately, she also has a clever mind.
Luna stared at the hologram, her mind racing.
Lynn's relationship with the Tyranids was something she had already learned through His guidance.
The pink Ripper on Lynn's body, the governor's wife named Isolde, and those so-called " Dragon of Frost's Kin " on the ice plains.
How this relationship came about is the secret He most wants to know.
But she didn't make an issue of it at the meeting.
Why?
Because she wasn't stupid; the other party must know about her messy past.
Her secret relationship with the Lord of Change, and her deep ties with the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Everyone has a few secrets, right?
Just like she and Callum back then.
Both sides knew the other had a problem, yet they still worked together well for several years, didn't they?
Some things don't need to be discussed in public.
Most interestingly, Lynn did not choose to launch a cataclysmic insect swarm attack on Brevis.
Instead, like her, they started doing "cosplay".
He played the roles of governor and chosen one, becoming the hero who saved Brevis.
This sparked Luna's strong interest in Lynn.
What exactly is he trying to do?
Whatever he's planning, one thing is certain: he's a complete "old coin."
Luna, through the power of the Lord of Change, had seen some of Lynn's past experiences.
They knew that Lynn's methods were not as ethical as they appeared.
Therefore, she must be wary of any underhanded tricks the other party might play.
Luna pulled up another hologram, which contained fleet data that she had just had her Servitor scan.
She had long anticipated that Lynn would use Genestealer to infiltrate her ships.
Those ubiquitous Genestealer can even be controlled by the Skitarii, let alone ordinary sailors?
Therefore, she ordered that the Servitor with the lowest probability of infection be placed in the affected area.
Those pure flesh and blood machines whose brains have been castrated, whose bodies are highly mechanized, and whose genetic pollution has no way of affecting them.
The most critical cruisers were inspected one by one using Auspex.
As expected, quite a few Genestealer were discovered to have infiltrated the area.
Luna sneered.
He's too naive. How could such petty tricks possibly work on a champion like her, Lord of Change?
With a single command, those Genestealer were all wiped out, and the biggest threat was eliminated.
Three days later.
Spaceport, the Rule of Discipline.
This is Luna's most elite Tyrant-class Cruiser, and one of her main battleships that she plans to use as her flagship.
The Tyrant-class Cruiser is equipped with a superheated plasma Macro-cannon array, boasting the longest range in its class.
Its tactical role is that of a long-range sniper, capable of striking enemies from places they cannot reach thanks to its extremely long range.
For the enemy fleet, they are an invisible reaper.
After three days of investigation and cleanup, all suspicious Genestealer were eliminated.
The ship is in good condition and ready to depart at any time.
Luna stood on the bridge, gazing at the vast starry sky outside the porthole.
"Prepare for test flight," she ordered.
The engine of the Rule of Discipline begins to warm up.
Blue light surged from the thruster nozzles, and the entire warship began to move.
With a deafening roar, it detached from the spaceport and headed toward the Circum -Brevis orbit.
The gray-blue planet behind us gradually shrank, like a beautiful eye.
The Rule of Discipline easily circled Brevis three times.
It operates at high speed, maintains a stable posture, and all systems function normally.
A satisfied smile appeared on Luna's face.
"That's enough," she said to the captain. "Return to the spaceport and prepare for official departure."
The Rule of Discipline reversed direction and headed towards the spaceport.
That's when the problem arose.
The ship's speed suddenly began to decrease.
It wasn't the sudden stop like an engine crashing; it was a gradual slowdown, as if something was holding it back.
The engine sound began to become unstable, fluctuating in pitch, like the intermittent breathing of an asthmatic.
"What's going on?!" Luna rushed to the control panel.
The technicians frantically typed on their keyboards, and the data from the Auspex jumped wildly.
"Engine output power has decreased by 15%, 15%..."
It stopped when it reached 30%.
"Energy supply is unstable, suspected to be due to unknown interference!"
"All systems are fluctuating! We... we've lost control!"
The Rule of Discipline moved slower and slower, like a wounded beast struggling to move forward slowly through the starry sky.
Luna's face turned ashen.
She knew what this meant.
If this were during combat, the speed reduction caused by such engine instability would be enough to turn the entire warship into a sitting duck.
Enemy torpedoes can easily catch up with it, and artillery fire can accurately hit it.
It will turn into a pile of space debris in minutes.
"Return to base." She forced out the two words through gritted teeth, "Full speed back to base."
With its last remaining power, the Rule of Discipline struggled to make its way to the spaceport.
However, after driving for more than ten minutes, the engine output power returned to normal levels.
It's as if the problem didn't exist.
Half an hour later, it returned to the port smoothly.
But when Luna stepped off the bridge, her face was as black as the bottom of a pot.
"Check," she said to the technicians who came forward.
"Find out exactly where the problem lies."
The priests in charge of the inspection looked at each other, not daring to speak.
They had checked it three times before takeoff.
The Genestealer individuals have been eliminated, and all systems are functioning normally.
In theory, this ship should be perfect.
But an accident really did happen just now, and the leader was on the ship and experienced it firsthand.
So where exactly is the problem?