Chapter 6: Encounters

"Sir! We've spotted a small Imperial fleet, and they're coming to Charl! Horner said solemnly, this will definitely not be good news.

"Imperial fleet?" Renault was surprised, his face was on the main console, Frank was also stunned, seeing this scene happen, he was even more determined in his heart, and they also arrived in advance, as if there was a big hand in the dark, calibrating history, not allowing it to deviate. He cast his gaze on the universe beyond the bridge, and in the light of the stars, he saw a small floating object in the distance, and he quickly recognized it as a large battleship, which proved that the ship and the rangers in the distance were not very far away.

"Can you identify this Imperial fleet? Matt! Renault said next to the console, but there was no actual picture on the console.

"Yes, sir." Horner's ten fingers danced rapidly on the spotlight keyboard again, and the results were revealed after three seconds. Horner put on a look of resignation, paused for a second, and said, "It's 'Nord III.', sir." ”

"Nord III.? Edmund. Duke's flagship, it's awesome! Renault turned his head sideways and looked into the distance of outer space, the point was already clear, at least he could be seen with the naked eye that he was a battleship, although the distance was still far away, but the size of the battle cruiser was too large, Renault retracted his gaze and asked, "Are there any other Imperial ships?" ”

"There are two transport ships, a science ship, plus a supply ship." Horner was quick to answer. As long as you look around, you can see the dots around the "NORD III".

"Are there any other capital ships?" Frank stepped forward and asked.

Horner immediately wanted to answer, but swallowed the words again, he operated on the main console again, double-checked the instructions entered earlier, and was incredulous about the result, he immediately replied: "It's only Nord III!" Sir! ”

"Hah! Take it easy, Matt! There was only one capital ship and four support ships for Duke. Renault looked at Horner, whose expression was unpredictable. There was a pat on his shoulder, and it was clear that he was a little panicked.

"I'm sorry! Sir! I'm just a little nervous! Horner said apologetically.

Renault shook his head, signaling that it was okay, he touched his chin and began to ponder, and after a moment, he looked up and asked, "What do you think about Duke's arrival?" Buddy! Naturally, he asked, Frank.

Frank was silent for a moment, looking in the direction of the Duke fleet in outer space, and said, "Exactly. The Nord III is not alone, and it has four support ships next to it, including a science ship, which can be said to be a small fleet, and with just one science ship, the combat effectiveness of this small fleet can be quite impressive. However, this is only from the perspective of space warfare, and in my opinion, the only important ships are the capital ships and the warplanes attached to them. If Duke came here to fight, then he would definitely be followed by a half-dozen fleets, most likely the Alpha fleet. ”

Frank retracted his gaze. He continued: "From the current situation, this is not an all-out strategy against us or Char. On the other hand, Duke certainly didn't expect us to be here, even if the Hyperion had spies planted by Mengsk. And only you, me and Horner know that we are coming to Char. He looked at Horner and said, "As for Matt, I wouldn't believe that he was the one who had installed it in Mengsk." Matt was immediately moved when he heard this, and Frank continued, "If Duke didn't come to deal with us. So what are you here for? And with a small fleet, at least for now. The "Nord III" is one of the few super battlecruisers in the whole star area, which can be loaded with more than 20,000 marines and ten flying squadrons. So Duke wasn't defenseless. In addition, those two transport ships fully show that he brought a large ground force. In this day and age, no one will send ground forces unless they do not want to completely destroy an area. What else is there on the surface of the Kochar that can be destroyed? ”

Speaking of which, Frank didn't say anything, and it would be unbelievable to say that Duke was here for Kelly Gen as well.

"There's just one way to know." Renault looked at Horner. The latter nodded knowingly and stepped aside, giving up his seat to Renault. Renault sat in the plush command chair and commanded Horner, "Matt." Clockwork information for 'NORD III.' in the public frequency band. Say whatever you want, just don't be polite to them. ”

Horner stared at Renault like a madman, he was afraid to avoid Duke and his fleet, he looked at Frank, who smiled and nodded, and in desperation, Horner had no choice but to do so. It didn't take long for the main screen on the console showing Char's profile to disappear, replaced by a familiar face with a square chin, thick eyebrows, pointed head, and silver hair.

"James. Renault! "Edmund? Duke didn't wait for the signal to stabilize and began to scold, "What a daring hillbilly, you got out on your own, you stinky shit!" Don't run away like a man, I'll kill you right now! ”

"You old guy, you can't get into the six rings of marksmanship, can you still hit accurately?" Renault said lightly: "If you want to take us, your current firepower is not enough." Renault's words directly debunked the other party, "The 'Nord III' may be able to offset the 'Hyperion', but we have two other main battle cruisers, and you only have one and four other ships, except for that big iron ball that can do something unexpected, the other three have almost zero combat effectiveness in space warfare." Renault said as he admired the bruises on Duke's face in the picture, and Renault said that the old man knew these words to him.

"Sure enough, it met as soon as we met, and," Frank muttered to himself. "Sir! What are you talking about? Horner on the side looked at him suspiciously, and he was also dumbfounded by the war of words between Renault and Duke. Uh, nothing! Frank snorted and said, "It's not over yet, just keep watching." Horner nodded blankly.

Then, Renault and Duke stared at each other for nearly a minute, without saying a word. Zuihou or Duke broke the silence first, and he said mockingly, "What? Homeless hillbilly, what are you doing here? Are you planning to take over the mountains here and be bandits? ”

"I want to ask you too." Renault immediately leaned back in the command chair, took out a cigar and lit it, took a puff lightly, and said slowly: "What are you doing all the way to this place where birds don't?" Mengsk finally thinks you're out of use? So"

Both wanted to get some information out of each other's mouths, and both wanted to know what the other was doing here, and Duke also saw Frank on the side, but he didn't talk to him at all, because he knew that talking to a ghost agent would not help his health and well-being, although he hated him very much, because of course the person who was dozens of years younger than himself made him suffer the biggest loss in his life.

"I'm here on a special mission." Edmund. Duke pretended to say, "The Emperor himself has given me this glorious task. ”

Frank, who had not spoken, suddenly heard in Renault's head: "If I guessed correctly, Duke is here because of Kelligan, and Mengsk is the person she trusts the most, and she may have sent him a distress signal, and he may have had that dream, so it is not difficult to explain that Duke came to Char with so many ground troops, he came to destroy her." ”

Renault, who had been trying to stay quiet, finally couldn't hold it anymore, he looked at Frank, who didn't speak, just nodded at him, this scene happened to be discovered by Duke, he was naturally very unhappy, obviously, they were communicating something, but he didn't know anything, and he wanted to know urgently. "Damn devil soldiers!" Duke cursed in his heart.

Frank's claim is highly credible, and it is very likely that Mengsk had that dream as well. Although Kellygan's death was due to his betrayal, she and Mengsk did trust her for a time, and she was once the former terrorist's most trusted second-in-command. Perhaps she had contacted him as well, and then he sent Duke to eliminate her for his own benefit.

Renault tried hard to hide the shock in his heart, and said nonchalantly: "Really? That should be a very important task. He blew on a puff of smoke, then sneered, "Mengsk wants you to help him retrieve the bottle he threw out?" Or are you licking the soles of his shoes? Old guys! ”

He saw old Edmund's eyes narrowed into a slit, and it was obvious that he was angry by his words. Duke is so easily irritated.

Despite this, Duke is not so vulnerable, and despite his bad character, he is not stupid. "Don't you want to know what I'm here for?" He suddenly smiled and said, "No, I bet you must want to know." Actually, I'm betting that you're here with me for a purpose. What do you think? ”

"Oh. What would that be? Renault lowered his gaze and stared at the half-burning cigar in his hand.

"Don't pretend to me, kid!" Duke immediately swept away his previous angry look and said slowly, "I know what's going on here. More than you know, actually" Seeing Renault's face change slightly, Duke looked mentally victorious, looking extremely happy, not a man in a desperate situation.

"Nope! You don't know anything. Renault replied.

"Oh? Is it? Do you really think I don't know anything? This time, old Edmund smiled, and he smiled proudly and said, "Have you slept soundly lately, little friend?" ”

Hearing this, Renault finally stopped calming, and after so long of irony between the two sides, the mystery finally began to surface.

"Tut-tut! Oh, my God! Unfortunately, it was said! Duke hahadaxiao, looking as if he had just won a major interstellar battle, proudly took out a cigar and took a few puffs of it with great enjoyment. (To be continued......)