Chapter 505: Perseverance III
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The damage inflicted by the asteroids was compounded as the ships accelerated. While the warships continued to fire their cannons at the larger rocks that assaulted them, the other starships gave up on evasive measures and focused on advancing as fast as they could.
At the forefront of the fleet were Ye Chong and Shang, feeling the pressure mounting on them.
The asteroids were now coming faster at them. Ye Chong had to concentrate harder, dealing with the dangerous and life-threatening rocks. If any of the asteroids hit the ship directly, the chances of his own survival were near non-existent.
Shang had replaced his energy cell five times. He was now at the tip of the front most starship in the fleet.
All they could do now was buy more time with the ships.
Directly exposed to the asteroids, the starships began to fall one by one, losing control or exploding into flames. The fleet did not slow down because of these casualties. The asteroids in the area were disturbed by the rapid advancement of the ships.
The starship leading the fleet was exposed to most danger. It would have exploded a long time ago if not for Ye Chong and Shang holding the line. The hull was damaged beyond repair, but the starship continued stubbornly, leading the fleet.
Back in their ships, the mech pilots sat or lay down on the floor, looking up at the holographic screen that was showing Sir Jay and the one-armed mech fighting their battle.
No one made a single sound throughout.
The captains who were still alive shouted at their crew, ordering for them to push their way forward.
Abruptly, another ball of flames went up in front. Another ship had exploded! The ships following from behind did not decelerate as they plunged right into and through the explosion.
Time seemed to slow down. Every second stretched on for longer than it should be.
Ye Chong felt his hands growing heavier, but he could not afford to slow down. He could hardly think at all, much less keep up with their situation. He was now holding the line as best as he could. Sweat seeped through his combat uniform. He was panting heavily. His eyes were set on the holographic screen in front of him as he reacted according to the asteroids that came towards him. He could no longer anticipate and react as before. He was now operating entirely on instinct.
Shang was shooting less frequently now, but Ye Chong knew that it was not due to Shang himself. The Farqua sniper rifle was overheating.
However, to the eyes of the mech pilots who were resting in their ships, Sir Jay's mech was still moving ever so swiftly, attacking with great precision. The one-armed mech was still shooting the asteroids in a dazzling and crazy show of blue laser beams.
They were still not capable enough to tell that Ye Chong and Shang were now in a dire situation. If Ye Chong and Shang were in control at the beginning of their fight, they had now lost that control, dragged into the rhythm set by the asteroids that came crashing down on them.
After who knew how long, Ye Chong felt his mind slowing down even more. As his senses began to dull, someone yelled in the comms, "Look! Over there!"
Ye Chong felt reinvigorated. He knew that they were almost there!
Right in front of them was a clearing, about 25 kilometers across and 150 kilometers long. The warp jump point's marker was there.
There were no asteroids in this stretch of space. The flying rocks mysteriously avoided entering the place.
The fleet pushed their way into the clearing without resistance.
"It's here! It's here!" The former space pirate felt overwhelmed by emotions. The captain had stayed in Haskel's control room, since he was the only one who had ever been to this jump point. He faced a tremendous amount of pressure throughout the journey. Many in the fleet treated him with animosity, believing that he was the cause of their predicament. Some suspected that the jump point was a lie, as they had never heard of a warp jump point in the Calamitous Asteroid Belt before.
Besides, the dangers they endured recently that led to the sacrifices of many of their comrades were directly due to this captain's idea. If he did not suggest this warp jump point earlier, would Sir Jay have thought of a better plan, perhaps one that did not require so many sacrifices?
As all these thoughts overwhelmed him, the former space pirate finally burst into tears.
The fleet was finally safe as they entered the clearing. In that moment, after more than three hours of intense combat, Ye Chong felt drained. He could barely lift a finger.
The fleet members were overjoyed. The joy of having survived put them all into a celebratory mood. True, they had not done their warp jump, but it felt like a success already! This interesting stretch of empty space had also convinced them of the reliability of this warp jump point.
When Ye Chong returned to Haskel, he was greeted like a king! The surviving starships aligned themselves in formation, like an army awaiting the king's inspection. Every fleet member saluted their leader. As Ye Chong entered through Haskel's hatch, everyone on board came to welcome Sir Jay, the man who had once again led them to victory. They stood in two lines, crowding the narrow passageway.
Ye Chong had no choice but to step out of Han Jia.
In reality, he looked like a mess. Sweat had covered every inch of his uniform, like he had just come out of a shower. His face was glistening with moisture. Drops of sweat dripped off the ends of his hair.
"Salute!"
Everyone stood at attention, saluting him with formality.
"Welcome back, Sir!" Xi Qing and Shu bowed in unison, in an attitude that was close to worship.
"Welcome back, Sir!" The 900 odd crew members greeted thunderously.
Ye Chong did not know quite how to react. He had never experienced anything like it. He was more used to the silent way the Sang Tribe worked under his lead, no bells and whistles. What he needed was rest. Even a single step forward felt like hard work right now.
He quickly gathered himself, waved at them and said unceremoniously, "Back to your stations."
The one-armed mech had mysteriously vanished, but no one dared to pursue the matter. What else could they do? Ask Sir Jay himself about it?
In the wake of the joy of surviving, they began to grieve for the people they lost.
Ye Chong and his fleet recuperated for eight hours in the clearing. Who knew what was awaiting them on the other end of their warp jump! If they encountered a threat in their exhausted state, they would be incapable of even the barest self-defence.
Ye Chong did not spend all eight hours resting. In fact, he was pretty much restored after five hours. In these eight hours, the fleet reorganized itself, and the tally for casualties was done.
The figures were shocking.
Of the 150 starships placed on the outer edges of the fleet, only three survived. Six of the starships positioned deeper inside the fleet were lost. Of the 2,500 mech pilots they had, 600 lost their lives while another 400 were injured. Now, Ye Chong had only 1,500 mech pilots with battle-ready capacity. Most of the mech pilots died while retreating to their starships. The entire fleet suffered a total of 8,641 deaths.
However, now was not the time to contemplate on this matter. They faced a bigger problem, which was the actual warp jump itself.
Ye Chong made plans for all kinds of scenarios they might encounter after the jump, especially in deciding on a rendezvous point in case some ships got lost from the fleet. Ye Chong had been mostly lucky in the past, but warp jumps were prone to accidents in general, and the stakes were high this time. There was no room for carelessness.
After the preparations were made, it was time to leave. It was at this moment that Arwa's fleet reached the edges of the Calamitous Asteroid Belt.
"Sir, we are a go," Xi Qing reported nervously. Besides him, Shu's expression betrayed nothing, but his tightly clenched fists showed how anxious he was as well.
Ye Chong nodded, "Let's go." Unlike Xi Qing and Shu, Ye Chong had been through more dangerous situations than this. All the preparatory work was done. The mech pilots were rested and ready for combat.
If the former space pirate was right, they would reach Planet Spectre on the other side of the jump. Their preparations would be warranted.
Spectre was a strange place. Rumors were abound about the planet. It was shrouded in mystery ever since Gray Valley came into existence. Starships that went close to the planet simply vanished into thin air.
At first, many confident explorers went to investigate, but none of them came back. The planet became notorious. In the end, the Research Consortium had to set up an outpost in the vicinity to stop people from getting too close. Gradually, Spectre came to be a place that no one dared to approach. Not even the space pirates felt adventurous. It became an unspoken rule to space travelers of all trades.