On May 20, 918, the Ninth Task Force of the New Roman Imperial Army, by skillfully diverting the main force of the Commonwealth Wehrmach's tracking fleet, successfully destroyed all the opponent's supply ships in the airspace near the interstellar planet "Yi", forcing the opponent into a logistical crisis.

Brigadier General Nicholas Wolfensohn, commander of the Bundeswehr, has not lost his fighting spirit. The repeated successes of the enemy, as well as the destruction of the supply fleet, did not lead it into the abyss of defeat. His tracking fleet still has more than 20 battleships and more than 30 cruisers, compared to the opponent, the Imperial Army's Major Jiang Ziyue's Ninth Task Force still has 21 cruisers left, and still has an absolute advantage in strength and firepower. Therefore, until its own supplies are exhausted, the Federation Tracking Fleet is fully prepared to meet any challenge from the Imperial Army.

Desperate to defeat a weak opponent who had repeatedly humiliated him, and out of the unsustainable pressure of supply shortages, Nicholas Wolfensohn sent a large number of unmanned reconnaissance ships and notification ships to search for traces of the Imperial fleet. At about 2 o'clock on May 23, an unmanned notification ship changed its speed to exceed the speed of light, appeared in front of the Federation tracking fleet, and quickly used a laser beam to transmit an exciting piece of information to the flagship battleship "Nimitz": 2,000 astronomical units away, the large supply ship "Mount Olympus" of the Imperial Army was discovered!

Without detailed intelligence analysis, the vengeful Brigadier Admiral Nicholas Wolfensohn immediately commanded the fleet to leave the Yi space, enter the speed of light, and pounce on the "Olympus" 2,000 astronomical units away.

"Enemy ships spotted!" The early warning sergeant screamed loudly.

On the bridge of the "Mount Olympus", on the stereoscopic image showing the battle situation, green and blue ship-shaped icons appeared one after another at the far end.

"Calm." Captain Ernst Chinissky, who was in the captain's seat, suppressed his emotions and gave the order in a calm tone, "Raise the battle alarm." Prepare to meet the enemy. ”

At this time, the members of the "Olympus" did not even have time to put on space combat suits, so they buckled up the slings of their self-propelled poles and rushed to their battle positions.

Less than a third of the crew of the "Olympus" remained, and all but the crew of the Captain Ernst Quinski considered the most reliable were transferred to other supply ships. Now there were only thirteen people in total operating a huge supply ship that was fifteen kilometers long. But none of the crew knew the purpose of the arrangement of the superiors, and the only people who knew the fate of the "Olympus" were the captain Captain Guinissky and the fire control non-commissioned officer Sergeant Zhong Mingyi.

Commodore Nicholas Wolfensohn continued his usual style, leading the ships of the tracking fleet to speed faster than light at a distance of 300,000 kilometers from the USS Olympus, so that they were already within their effective combat distance when they were spotted.

"Gunther, send a telegram to the captain of the opposing side to surrender immediately." Nicholas Wolfensohn eagerly gave instructions to the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant Colonel Gunther Oswald.

Capturing the huge supply ship in front of them is simply a relief for them who have no supply to follow.

The telegram was sent and soon received a response, with the captain requesting negotiations with the Bundeswehr commander.

"What else qualifies me to negotiate?" Wolfensohn muttered impatiently, but still instructed to connect to the other party's communication signal.

Stereoscopic images of Captain Ernst Kinissky, dressed only in civilian space clothes, were immediately projected into the space of the Nimitz's tactical command center.

He saluted a standard military salute of the New Roman Empire, and then said solemnly: "Captain Ernst Chinissky, captain of the supply ship 'Olympus', under the Senate and the Roman people, hereby make representations to the enemy commander of the warring enemy: the supply ship can be handed over to you, but I ask you to allow us to return to New Rome in a lifeboat." ”

"Don't you think it's ridiculous, Captain?" Lieutenant Colonel Gunther Oswald asked contemptuously. The other party was just a small captain and captain, and he didn't have to respond to the commander who was a brigadier general. Even if he responds to the other party in the place of the lieutenant colonel, he is already completely condescending, allowing the other party to take advantage.

Guinski completely ignored the other party's contempt and said calmly: "I still have three thousand four hundred tons of fresh vegetables and one thousand eight hundred tons of fruit on my ship. All of them are natural varieties from the planet 'Africa', with a fresh colour, a sweet taste, and a rich source of vitamins and nutrients. ”

Captain Ernst Kinissky, who was advertising agricultural products, paused deliberately. As an army logistics officer, he knew very well that the Union Army, which had lost its supply fleet, must now be in the agony of strict food rationing.

In this interstellar era, the air and water in the spacecraft can be recycled quite sufficiently, but food cannot be done. Although it has been technically possible, it is possible to extract and transform manure into completely hygienic and easy-to-eat food. However, this technology is not yet mature, the material cycle is not sufficient, and the promotion is strongly blocked by the human psychological defense line. Therefore, the problem of food reserves is still one of the major factors limiting human long-distance interstellar flight.

The Bundeswehr tracking fleet is currently facing a serious food shortage.

One can imagine how Wolfensohn and Oswald's oral secretion systems were put to the test after hearing Guinski reveal his ship's reserves of vegetables and fruits, even though they both looked contemptuous of their enemies.

"We still have almost 10,000 tons of flour and cereals, more than 6,000 tons of meat products, 15,000 cubic meters of natural mineral water," Guinski continued. There are also more than 7,000 liters of functional drinks. Of course, there are tens of thousands of units of metallic hydrogen reserves, 3,000 sets of kinetic weapons and ammunition reserves, and 400 sets of standard spare parts for spacecraft. Commander, you should also know that although the Empire and the Federation are not at odds, weapons, ammunition, and tool parts are from the same standard and are common to each other. ”

"Since there are so many good things on your ship, then you don't need to ask us terms, we will definitely capture you." Oswald told the other in a resolute and smug tone.

"No, Lieutenant Colonel, it is precisely because there are so many good things that we are qualified to put forward conditions." "If you don't agree, we'd rather detonate this ship and burn it." We are still chasing a martyr if we die, and our families can also enjoy a pension of 500,000 gold marks, which is much better than running back to be suspected and interrogated. Then he changed his tone and sighed aloud, "Of course, our death is of no importance to you, and it is a pity that this ship is a good thing." ”

Ernst Quinski's words finally worked, and Brigadier General Nicholas Wolfensohn, who had been standing tall all the time, nodded to Lieutenant Colonel Oswald. Gunther Oswald said, "We agree to your terms, but you will not leave until we have taken full control of your ship. ”

"I'm afraid my people can't accept this request." Guinski said with suspicion, "You're going to have to convince us that you won't break your word." ”

Gunther Oswald turned his gaze to Wolfensohn, and after receiving an authorized signal, he said to Guinski's image: "Captain, you can let your crew leave now, but you must stay until we take control of the ship, and we will let you go." The Bundeswehr never plays a white stripe. ”

Guinski thought for a moment and replied, "Well, I accept." ”

"Wait, Captain." Oswald added, "Don't cut off the communications, keep it at that, we have to make sure you're under our surveillance." ”

"Don't worry, I'm not the kind of person who is greedy for life and afraid of death."

The "rhetoric" of the other party made Wolfensohn and Oswal feel very ridiculous. Isn't Guinsky's use of the ship's supplies to blackmail the federal army into letting them live, isn't it a typical manifestation of "greed for life and fear of death"? Just as a drunk person always claims that he is not drunk, a person who is afraid of death always stubbornly shouts that he is not afraid of death.

Soon, a lifeboat more than fifty meters long, capable of flying faster than light, with a red crystal logo on its hull, broke away from the "Olympus" and flew into the depths of space. At the same time, a Federal Aerospace Plane full of Marines docked with the USS Olympus, and the swarm of Marines quickly captured the Imperial supply ship.

Thanks to the cooperation of Captain Ernst Kinski and Sergeant Chung Ming-yi, who remained on board, the Bundeswehr operation to take control of the Olympus went quite smoothly. The Marines checked all the supplies and confirmed that the data provided by the captain was accurate, and made preliminary confirmation that no traps had been laid.

Wolfensohn was very pleased and ordered the "Mount Olympus" to unfold its hull and form a temporary supply depot, and the Federation tracking fleet docked in batches, received supplies, and repaired and maintained the battleship.

The elongated drop-shaped huge supply ship "Mount Olympus" floated in space at the fourth cosmic speed, quickly unfolding her hull, extending the skeleton of steel beams and airtight pipes for the various Federation warships to dock and dock.

The hungry Federation warships were like a flock of hungry little suckling pigs, and they couldn't wait to get on the supply ship that had been spread out like a cang's ear. All of a sudden, the "Olympus" docked nine battleships and fifteen cruisers, which was already close to the maximum number of docks of supply ships.

Looking at the stereoscopic imaging displayed by the surveillance equipment, Ernst Guinski was excited and nervous, it seemed that things were going very well, and he would soon be able to destroy half of the opponent's ships. But because not only was the video communication with the opposing flagship, but there was also a Federal Marine on the bridge, he tried his best to suppress his emotions and make himself look rather lost.

"Commander, the ship is already yours, and I remind you not to forget the previous promise." Guinski sent a request to Commodore Wolfensohn aboard the Nimitz, which was still on guard at a distance of 300,000 kilometers.

"We'll keep our promises." Lieutenant Colonel Oswald, who was the acting prefect and interlocutory, assured that "we must get confirmation from the boarding commander that it is safe before we can decide to release you." ”

At this time, the leader of the Federation Marine Corps, who had boarded the "Mount Olympus", cut into the communication and said in a tone full of embarrassment and anger: "I think our dear Imperial captain would better come to the armament warehouse and ask him to explain why all the metallic hydrogen storage balls are equipped with a set of laser detonators?" ”

"What? Laser detonators! In front of another communication terminal, Oswald shouted in dismay.

10,000 units of metallic hydrogen reserves are equipped with laser detonators, which means that a total of more than 150,000 tons of metallic hydrogen could be detonated at any time, and a sharp nuclear fusion can occur. It is entirely possible that the "Olympus" will turn into a miniature sun in an instant, engulfing everything around it in light and heat.

"Don't be nervous." Captain Ernst Kinski feigned composure, "This is just a necessary device required by the Imperial Weapons Transport Regulations. We are all military men and know the importance of weapons, and these laser detonators are nothing more than so that the reserves of metallic hydrogen will not be easily exploited by the enemy. ”

"Then you can dismantle them first and then think about your own life." Gunther Oswald said angrily, "Order all ships docked with the supply ships to leave immediately!" ”

He felt like he had fallen for the enemy. Only a fool would put a laser detonator on a metallic hydrogen stockpile, because that would be tantamount to turning a metallic hydrogen reserve into a powerful thermonuclear bomb.

Both the Empire and the Commonwealth follow the same standards and processes for the manufacture of metallic hydrogen. In space, metallic hydrogen, which is mass-produced by ultra-high-pressure equipment, is injected directly into an alloy ball with a diameter of three meters and cast in a single form. Although the volume in each alloy ball is quite small, it contains more than 15 tons of metallic hydrogen, which is a unit of metallic hydrogen reserves. The alloy ball itself has three to nine airtight tubes that are used to export metallic hydrogen. When metallic hydrogen is used in machines, metallic balls are directly attached to the metallic balls and metallic hydrogen is exported from these conduits. The entire alloy ball is fixed in a frame made of composite material with a hexahedral structure for easy shipment.

Under normal conditions, the metallic hydrogen in these alloy balls is quite stable. However, if an ultra-short pulse of high-energy laser beam is used to irradiate the metallic hydrogen in the ball through the catheter, it can trigger nuclear fusion of some hydrogen atoms. The huge energy generated by nuclear fusion, combined with the ultra-high pressure conditions inside the alloy ball, can force hydrogen atoms that have not been irradiated by laser to produce nuclear fusion in millions of seconds, thus making the alloy ball a terrible "hydrogen bomb".

The fusion reaction produced by as many as 15 tons of metallic hydrogen in just one millionth of a second released more energy than the largest thermonuclear test conducted by mankind in the mid-20th century, which is equivalent to 100 famous "Tsar Bomba" of the Soviet era. A total of 10,000 units of metallic hydrogen reserves have been loaded with laser detonators, which means that the "Olympus" has a million "Tsar Bomba" that can be detonated at any time!

One can imagine how the Union soldiers, especially the marines and commanders who had already boarded the ship, Brigadier General Wolfensohn and Lieutenant Colonel Oswald, would have felt when they learned that they had received a shipload of super bombs.

"Don't be nervous, guys, you're in control." Captain Ernst Quinsky reassured the other in a loud voice, "All laser detonators will not be activated easily. ”

"Captain, I'm extremely disappointed and furious at your damn surrender!" Even Nicholas Wolfensohn, who did not want to deign to speak to the other side, shouted a scold, and then turned to Oswald and shouted, "Let all the ships leave at once, as soon as possible!" ”

The alarm was radioed to the battleships that had docked with the "Olympus". But they couldn't get out of it right away, because Sergeant Zhong Mingyi quietly locked all the docking hatches. The docked federal warship must operate the manipulator to manually activate the explosive bolt of the docking hatch and blow open the docking compartment in order to quickly break away.

The Federation Marines guarding the bridge of the USS Olympus had already raised their large particle guns, and at the command of the commander, they could immediately smash the cunning Imperial soldiers to pieces.

Zhong Mingyi turned his head and said to the captain: "Sir, the enemy is about to flee, and we have no choice!" Give the order. ”

His tone was full of perseverance and awe-inspiring in the face of death, which made Chinissky, as the captain of the ship, also enthusiastic. The attempt has been exposed, and now it is simply impossible to retreat alive.

He commanded in a loud voice: "Sergeant Zhong Mingyi, activate all detonators!" ”

"Yes, sir! There are so many people who give us backs, Lao Tzu's life is really valuable! Zhong Mingyi shouted and opened the safety box.

"Don't forget, there are still 500,000 gold marks, and you and I don't have so much in our lifetime." Captain Ernst Kinski, who was sitting in the captain's seat, smiled.

Some of the Union Marines guarding the bridge rushed to the console of the two, and some hurriedly reported to their superiors.

The Federation warship, which was desperately trying to get rid of its locked docking bay, was already in a state of panic and tension.

"All personnel immediately withdraw from the supply ship!" The Marine Corps commander's screams of horror could be heard in the public communication channel, as the laser detonators on all the metallic hydrogen reserve units in the armament warehouse had lit up with red diodes indicating activation.

"Sir, when you get to Valhalla, you're going to invite me to drink." Zhong Mingyi said with a laugh.

"No problem......" Captain Ernst Quinski could not say any more, the high-energy particle beam had penetrated his chest.

"I'm afraid it's too late!" 300,000 kilometers away, Gunther Oswald exclaimed anxiously and angrily.

Some Federation warships have already activated the explosive bolts with manipulators and are beginning to break away from the death-filled "Olympus".

"We've been fooled again!" Wolfensohn gritted his teeth.

"Evacuate ......," the Marine Corps commander screamed in the public communications channel.

As his voice cut off, the massive Olympus was engulfed by a blinding ball of light emitted from its interior.

The stereoscopic images of all Federation warships were filled with blinding white light, causing Federation officers and soldiers who did not close their space combat suits to instinctively raise their hands to block their eyes.

The 10,000 units of metallic hydrogen reserves underwent a fusion reaction in a very short time, and the energy released not only shredded the alloy ball that imprisoned itself, but also instantly sublimated and decomposed the "Olympus" with a mass of nearly one million tons from the inside out. The sublimated gaseous metal and the matter that had been decomposed into a particle state were scattered and ejected under the impetus of the high heat, and together with the visible light and radiation, they formed a terrifying huge ball of light, engulfing the Federation warships around the supply ship, shattering and melting them.

Like a miniature supernova explosion, Mount Olympus turned into countless rays of light that shook the universe nearby.

Like a small sun that suddenly appeared, the ball of light instantly expanded. A large number of high-energy particles, instantaneous gamma rays, instantaneous neutrons, thermal X-rays, infrared, ultraviolet, visible light, radio frequency and high-frequency electromagnetic waves, mixed with helium particles formed by fusion, gaseous metal jets, and other substances that are broken down into particle clusters are thrown into the vast universe at the speed of light or sub-light. At the same time, it inflicted a strong impact on the Federation warships that were hundreds of thousands of kilometers away from the center of the explosion.

In the face of a torrential rain of radiation, high-speed particle clusters, electromagnetic waves, and metal jets, these lucky battleships were dealt a heavy blow. The powerful electromagnetic shield bore the brunt of the attack, and while it succeeded in binding many particles and electromagnetic waves and directing them to the space behind the battleship, it was still unable to prevent the massive invasion of more particle clusters, electromagnetic waves, rays, and metal jets.

The battleship's ceramic alloy armor was heavily bombarded, bursting with brilliant light. The extremely high-velocity gaseous metal jet is even more powerful, forcefully passing through the electromagnetic shield, impacting the hulls of each ship, emitting dazzling flashes of light on the ceramic alloy armor and causing violent vibrations. Some of the poorly protected cruisers were immediately penetrated and seriously damaged.

Even a battleship with super protection performance has an excellent electromagnetic radiation protection design, in the face of such a strong nuclear explosion, the ship's electronic system and even the germination device of the electromagnetic shield have been hit by electromagnetic radiation, and there is temporary failure and component damage.

In the tactical center of the battleship Nimitz, the flagship of the Federation tracking fleet, all stereoscopic imaging disappeared, and even the lighting system was in a state of flickering failure.

Despite the loss of stereoscopic imaging, the image that had just come from before the surveillance system failed had already stunned the chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Gunther Oswald. Brigadier General Nicholas Wolfensohn, the commander, who was still wearing a cell-activated electromagnetic headgear to care for wounds, was also sitting in the command seat, dumbfounded and completely at a loss.

All the officers and men on the surviving ships of the fleet, like their commanders, were shocked by the power of the space thermonuclear explosion with the equivalent of 5 billion tons of TNT, after witnessing and even directly feeling it.

Fortunately, a nuclear explosion in space is far less lethal than an atmospheric nuclear explosion. Although the "Olympus" and the warships around it together have millions of tons of material turned into "bullets" of nuclear explosions, and the electromagnetic radiation and instantaneous emission lines produced are also 100 percent emissional, after all, the other Bundeswehr warships are far away and have not suffered too much fatal damage.

With the full dedication of damage control personnel and robots, the surviving warships are gradually returning to function. The re-operational communications system soon transmitted a report of the damage to the Nimitz.

Nine battleships and fifteen cruisers, together with more than 2,000 officers and men on them, completely disappeared, and two more cruisers were severely damaged by the jets of material ejected by nuclear explosions, losing their ability to sail faster than light and fight. In a matter of seconds, the Federation tracking fleet lost nearly half of its warships.

Faced with the heavy battle damage figures, the fleet commander, Brigadier General Nicholas Wolfensohn, was silent and his expression was blank. This time the loss was not so much due to the enemy's tricks as to his own carelessness. If we act cautiously, restrain our subordinates, and after completing a thorough and serious search of the captured enemy ships, and then carefully use a small number of warships to dock with them and take turns to replenish them, instead of crowding all the supply ships around, no matter how insidious the enemy is, so many warships will not be blown up at one time.

Instinctively driven into a trap by hunger is an eternal law of nature for hundreds of millions of years. Even human beings who have achieved faster-than-light interstellar travel and possess so-called "advanced intelligence" cannot escape this trap.

Lieutenant Commander Gunther Oswald may have understood this, and said to his superiors in despair: "Sir, I suggest that we withdraw to the mainland before the fleet runs out of supplies." ”

Nicholas Wolfensohn remained silent, looking at his chief of staff with a blank stare. The tracking fleet, which originally had more than 120 warships of various types, was plotted by weak enemies one after another, and now only one-sixth is left. How can he, the commander of the fleet, afford such huge losses?

About 1,000 astronomical units away, an unmanned reconnaissance ship changed its speed of light and fired a communication laser at a cruiser in front of it, transmitting a battle report that the "Olympus" had died with nearly half of its opponents.

"Are you sure that both Captain Guinski and Sergeant Chung Mingyi died?" Jiang Ziyue, who was staring at the damage data of the enemy ship on the stereoscopic imaging, asked eagerly.

"The reconnaissance ship did not see the second lifeboat leave the Olympus, and I am afraid that under this explosion, it will be ......," Sergeant Abighiji Cumanfur, a communications sergeant, said heavily.

Jiang Ziyue fell silent. Victory always comes at a price, Jiang Ziyue, who is a soldier, knows it very well. But this kind of price has to be borne by his comrades-in-arms and subordinates, and he can't help but feel guilty and sad in his heart.

Omar Azai was killed in the "Hijacking of the Void Temple" on the planet "Taiji", and more than 100 brothers were killed in a series of previous battles, and now Captain Ernst Chinissky and his sergeant Chung Yiming have been destroyed along with the supply ship and nearly half of the enemy.

It's not wrong to say that they died for the Senate and the Roman people, but we can't forget that they are also my Jiang Ziyue's subordinates, and they died next to me Jiang Ziyue!

Jiang Ziyue felt a strong sense of self-blame in his heart, and he didn't feel that his shoulders were much heavier, because he was not only burdened with the sacred mission entrusted by the country and the people, but also the souls of his brothers and comrades.

After a long time, he let out a long sigh and said: "Cancel the next counteroffensive plan and order the reconnaissance ship to monitor the enemy's movements with all its might." ”

"But, sir, didn't you plan to attack now?" Joseph Dietrich asked, puzzled.

"Please carry out the order." Jiang Ziyue sat on the captain's seat and said softly.