On January 15, 4024 AD, the space station complex on the edge of Saturn's rings was attacked again by the Biochemical Fleet. In the face of the swarming biochemical combat ships, I felt a lot of pressure, because on the cosmic background, there were many fewer Raider-level units in the black-pressed group of light spots. I am well aware that the reduction in the number of enemy battleships is not due to a weakening of forces, but to the changed tactics of the Poles.

"Sir, all the reformed fighters have been incorporated into the battle sequence, and judging from the preliminary run-in, they are superior to ordinary soldiers in terms of combat ability, perception ability, and command and leadership. The morale of the soldiers was high, and they thought that with such a good commander, they would be invincible. ”

Facing Zach who smiled back, I didn't give him a good look. This kind of flattery is a lie when you hear it, and no one will be happy when they hear it. I don't know what kind of illness Zach has been doing recently, and he began to learn from Maxim, play politics and learn thick black. It's a pity that his Taoism is really shallow, even if he is flattered, it makes people feel unhappy, this kind of rotten sycophant technique, there is really no one.

"They are capable, but they are seriously lacking in combat experience, so I hope they don't explain everything in one battle. As for the high morale, let's not talk about it, in the current situation, it would be good to be able to keep the troops from falling apart. Morale is high, what kind of high law?! ”

Glaring at Zack in annoyance, realizing that I had been tempered lately, I immediately hid my expression and left my office under the watchful eye of the other party.

My office is located on the bridge of the Wanwang, which was originally the captain's office, but is now shared by me and Gru. Usually Gru doesn't use it for fun, so it's okay to say it's my private office.

Stepping out of the office door, you can immediately feel the busy atmosphere on the bridge and smell the stench of adrenaline combined with electronics. Past experience tells me that the battle is about to begin.

Wei Reli and Maxim were arguing about something in front of the electronic sand table, Gru was directing the operation of the Wanwang in front of the integrated console, and the professional soldiers in the positions of communication, intelligence, navigation, piloting, and gunnery were scattered everywhere, and the non-commissioned officers of the staff officers, chief accountants, engineers and other specialties were constantly issuing orders, and the bridge as a whole showed the characteristics of rhythm and order in the chaos.

I looked at everything in front of me and felt like I didn't belong here, I knew what was going on in my heart, and I knew the situation of the war, so I glanced at the scene and decided to go where I should be. I went to the side of the Marines, where I belonged, and even as a colonel, I couldn't change my true position in the army.

"Sir, aren't you going to stay here and command the whole situation? With fleet-level intelligence, it is easy to see the overall situation. ”

Verelli turned his head and temporarily abandoned his argument with Maxim. He always had the attitude that I should be at command rather than leading by example.

"No, with you and Maxim here, everything will be fine. I was able to play a bigger role in the Marine Corps. ”

I don't know how many times I rejected Wei Leili's kindness, but I also got used to my approach, which was just a routine reminder.

"Colonel, if you can, I advise you to go to the Marine Corps at the most critical moment to deliver a powerful blow. If you leave the army now, it will not only put tremendous pressure on your subordinates, but if you suffer some minor injuries, it will also affect the morale of the troops as a whole. ”

Maxim is one of the people who Zach wants to learn, but can't. Although he has good ability, he doesn't have the wisdom of Wei Leili, he doesn't have the focus of Gru, and he lacks the experience of being a front-line commander compared to me, but he has the ability that no one in my staff group has. He understands politics and understands the hearts of those in high positions, and he can ensure to the greatest extent that a rough person like himself will not be stabbed in the back and he can't figure out why.

He not only told me that going down to the front line would put pressure on the troops, but also pointed out that a commander of my level should attack at the most critical moment, which is an act of flattery that fully satisfies my self-esteem, but what he does is very hidden and not easy to be offended.

"Thank you for your kindness! But I still have to go to the front line. I had a hunch that this fight wouldn't go well from the start. If I have any case, you don't have to worry about anything, it's just that there is one less veteran, and the detachment will not be affected too much. ”

Rejecting Maxim's offer and laughing at myself at the same time is a habit I have only recently developed, always feeling that I have relied on luck rather than ability to get to where I am now, so only self-deprecation from time to time can calm my mind.

When leaving the bridge, the sirens can be heard throughout the ship, which is a prelude to the preparation of the ship's manned compartment for the injection of accelerator fluid.

I told myself that I should hurry, otherwise the commander of the detachment would be crushed to death in the aisle by overload force because he left his post without authorization, which was the most terrible way to die, and it was estimated that after death, it would become the talk of the soldiers after dinner, and it would be passed down to future generations as the laughing stock of the whole army.

When I found the scooter and galloped on the wide main road of the Wanwang, my heart was also beating. For a long time, I thought that I was not a belligerent person and hated going to war, but it was my sense of responsibility to the country and society as a citizen that got me to where I am today. But now the excitement broke my usual self-positioning. Maybe I'm more belligerent than I thought, and it's more likely that I'm a murderer at all, but my cowardly personality hides my nature.

Thinking about almost philosophical questions, I approached the gnaku where the shuttle was.

As the scooter rushed into Gnaku, which had been filled to his knees with accelerator fluid, the intelligence non-commissioned officer's report was heard on the radio.

The biochemical fleet is still within range of the fleet, and a new round of battles has officially begun.

......

......

"If it's a joke, I swear, I'll kill you!"

The female communications officer flinched a little in the face of my vicious questioning, but she did not forget her duty and repeated the orders from the headquarters.

"Order your detachment to immediately break away from the Saturn system and go to Ganymede to suppress the populace's riots, and the gap left by your detachment will be filled by other troops."

Once again, I wanted to smash what was in front of me with both of them to vent the frustration in my chest.

What's going on?

The battle of the Saturn system was far more arduous than the first stage, because the Branders adjusted the order of sorties in the battle sequence with amazing speed, as predicted, and arranged the sorties of the raiders to the latter part of the time period as possible, so that the rapid artillery formation tactics that the headquarters had prepared for them were useless. It was not until the last moment that the assault boats were released, which shortened the attack window of the rapid artillery array to the greatest extent, and in addition to the early fleet battle period, the combat ships equipped with a large number of rapid guns were actually at a disadvantage. In order to ensure balance on the battlefield, protect the 20 million people behind you as much as possible. Both Bogu and we used all our might, and the casualties of the short one-day battle were more than the previous cumulative casualties combined.

The killer weapon of the Poles was the Fighting Submen, who always dragged the battle to the stage where the victory was decided by a broadside battle. Therefore, my Marine Corps is under great pressure, and because I lead the most elite Marine units in the theater, our detachment often plays the role of firefighters. Constantly running around the battlefield.

In such a dangerous situation, the headquarters actually wanted to transfer us from the front line of the battle to solve the problem of popular riots, and I even had the urge to scold my mother for this behavior of the headquarters.

Quietly looking at the communications non-commissioned officer on the other end of the screen, I was on a battleship of our army with corpses and the smell of blood everywhere. Just an hour earlier, the battleship had been attacked by three assault boats, and a total of 32 submariners had managed to board the ship, with the result that almost all of the generals had been slaughtered under the bridge, including the engine room. A battalion of more than 300 men of the Marine Corps led by me stormed the ship and engaged in a fierce battle with the Asians. Despite the support of me and another reformed warrior, the Marines suffered heavy losses, leaving more than 60 corpses and more than 100 wounded, and most of the 30 sub-humans were removed.

In fact, this result is not bad, at least compared to the result that there are less than 100 people left in the 1,000 people on the battleship, and almost all the sub-people who attacked them survive, the combat strength of the Marine Corps can be described as a report. However, my vision is not limited to one place and one corner, and I naturally know that the combat power of the sub-people is so amazing, and it has a huge impact on the entire fleet and even the battlefield of the three planetary systems. Originally, morale was the first priority on the battlefield, then logistics and supply, and finally it was the turn of equipment and numbers. However, I think that this view of military science does not apply to our battlefield. All armies, including the Marine Corps, are likely to be lost in this war, even if the logistical supplies are strong and the reinforcements are sent from the rear, the destruction of the veteran group with rich experience that should have been carried through the campaign basically represents the defeat of the battle and the ensuing disintegration of the provisional government and the large number of civilian casualties.

Coincidentally, at this time, a fire broke out in the backyard, and there was a riot on Europa. Let us divide the fleet into such a force with great combat experience to participate in the counterinsurgency, will the entire rear be unable to gather an army that can defeat the rabble?

"Okay, my emotions were a little out of control just now, it's none of your business. So what do they think? ”

Listening to my words, the non-commissioned officer of the communications officer clearly showed a relaxed expression for the rest of his life. Was it really that terrible what I was doing?

"The lieutenant colonel objected to the immediate execution of the order. He suggested procrastination. ”

"What about Maxim?"

"Let me explain it myself. I suggest that we return to the ship immediately, both politically and practically, and that such a moment of disobedience will never lead to good results. And I think that the staff officers of the headquarters are not stupid, since they judged that we need reinforcements from this force, which shows the dire situation on Ganymede. ”

I would love to agree with Verelli's opinion, but deep down there was a voice in my heart that warned me not to ignore Maxim's point of view.

I looked down and thought about it for a short time, and when I looked up again, I had already made up my mind.

"Inform the theater command that our detachment has received an order to transfer to Europa and ask them to send a detachment to take over our defense zone."

After receiving the order, the communications officer turned off the communications. I stared at the monitors that re-showed the battlefield of the outside world, and watched the black satin cloth of cosmic space, with fire lines crisscrossing and crisscrossing, and from time to time artificial supernova explosions or blood-red cosmic junk were produced.

Then I turned my attention to Titan, where Teresa and her friends from the children of Mars were there.

......

......

At 11 p.m. on the evening of 17 January, just half an hour before the detachment left the Saturn system, I took advantage of the commanding authority.

As the icon of the communication connection flashed and flashed, Teresa, dressed in sleep, showing the girl's home side, appeared in front of me. Notice what she is wearing and the bedroom in the background. I realized that I had come out of nowhere to contact her.

But the battle situation is like this, and if you don't contact you now, you may never be able to contact you again. I had no choice.

"Since you are contacting me now, it must be that the battle situation is unfavorable. Have we tried so hard and have to start all over again? Well, you can tell me the bad news now, whether it's going back into hibernation or getting smuggled out of the cargo hold like cargo. What the hell am I going to do? ”

Hear Teresa's slightly playful way of complaining, and the trusting look on her face. My heart ached slightly. Although I knew it wasn't my fault, I always felt like I had failed to live up to her expectations. She is a more in-depth contact,The more lovely the beautiful girl,I really hope she is not born in this era,In the era of peace,Talk about a love with people vigorously,Regardless of success or failure,Enjoying life after maturity is the way she should go。

“......”

"What? Has the situation reached the point of no return?! Or, maybe you take off your uniform and hide with me, as long as we Martian children have one or the other, and you will never let your leader be harmed. ”

If her performance just now is admirable, then this passage definitely belongs to the touching category. I know this is a girl who can't lie. In fact, Teresa can't even pretend to be, she is an extremely hearty and lovely girl. I was so moved by her words that I almost cried. The fear, hesitation, and fatigue of the battlefield paid off in this moment. I reaffirmed in my heart that such a desperate fight was to protect people like Teresa.

I don't regret participating in this war because my efforts have paid off in the best.

"That's right, Teresa, and allow me to call you that. Maybe never again......."

"Please don't say that, you look weird, you don't look like you at all."

Theresa had a frightened look on her face, and her big eyes were filled with tears. The wise girl must have had a premonition, and how I wanted to tell her that all was well, that peace was coming, and that everyone would be saved, but time did not allow, and I had to tell her the truth.

"That's right, the detachment must leave the Saturn system, and the theater fleet doesn't have enough interstellar infantry to compete with the Branders. I don't know what about the other two planetary systems, but they can't be held here anyway. ”

Teresa on the other side of the screen stared at me for a long time, as if she understood something, and her face suddenly turned pale.

"You're leaving, you're not going to take us with you, are you? We've been abandoned... Is it? ”

Her face was bloodless, her expression could only be described as red and sad, and her eyes had never been so bright. Under her dazzling gaze, I almost reached out to cover the aggressive gaze.

"No, no, it's not that the fleet is going to abandon you, it's that the time is ripe to get out of the hands of the Provisional Government. Listen to me, my dear, that the Provisional Government and the fleet have no future, they have so many shadows of the past that they are stumbling. If in peacetime, with the joint efforts of Clark and Kramer, they may be able to save the day, but now in the face of an unprecedentedly powerful enemy, they have to show the same as the previous coalition government, they will not succeed, and everything under the jurisdiction of the provisional government will be destroyed with the defeat of the war. So take advantage of our departure and actively prepare for the declaration of self-reliance. As soon as there is a hint of the failure of the theater fleet, Titan is immediately declared undefended. This is the best thing to do for the children of Mars at this stage, and I believe that the people of Brande will not be difficult for a group of miners. ”

"Won't you come along? As the leader of the Children of Mars, return to your rightful place at a critical moment, and no one will blame you for it. ”

"No, I've received too many drags, and there are too many concerns in the detachment to leave right now. But the wounded in my detachment will be transferred to you. Rest assured that they are all good guys and good girls, and their injuries can become important fresh blood for the children of Mars. ”

“......”

The awkward silence that suddenly came, like a heavy damp cloth, made people feel extremely uncomfortable.

Two: "Which ......!!" ”

Two: "You say it first!" ”

The two of them spoke at the same time, but they could not continue the conversation.

After waiting for a while, I noticed that the detachment was about to make a jump, and time was running out.

"I'm not a hero, not from the beginning, you and I have known each other for a long time, you know that...... I think that if I can, I will still come back, and as long as I can move, I will definitely return to the Children of Mars and fulfill my promise to this organization and to you. ”

“...... Good.... All right! I'm waiting for your news. ”

Squeezing a smile at Teresa, who was still pale, I cut off the communication from this side.

"Colonel, the detachment has completed the pre-jump self-inspection procedures and is ready to set off."

"Let's go!"

When the order was given, everything displayed on the wide-area monitor turned into bands of light in front of my eyes, and with violent vibrations, my Titan shrank sharply in front of my eyes, until it became a dark spot and could no longer be seen.