Warhammer: In the Name of the Emperor

There are no lights in the side corridor of the Infinite Frontier, and all the indicators and lights are silently turned off, but this does not mean that it is pitch black. In fact, it is very bright here, even brighter than many places on the ship. Bright.

The light from the sun shines through the sealed glass in the corridor. As the Infinite Frontier gets closer to the core of the solar system, it has shone at the core of the universe since its birth, providing life for millions of humans and Terra. The sun, which provides warmth and light, appears brighter and brighter.

The surface of the sun is leaping with huge streams of solar fire, and along with the beating slender flames, black solar flares continue to surge and explode on the surface of the star. They splash the light that illuminates the entire galaxy into the deep space, splashing Go into the corridors of Infinite Frontier and shine on that fiery red hair.

Anna was walking in the corridor, holding a data tablet in her hand and looking at it. As her fingers kept clicking and sliding on it, her steps in high military boots did not stop for a moment. She strode forward. As she stood, the orderly officer beside her could only keep up with her quickly, answering questions out of breath as she walked.

"The Marines and the crew had a fight?" Anna asked, looking at the gendarmerie registration information in her hand. The orderly officer held several identical data pads in his hand, so many that he could hardly hold them in his arms. Able to walk while trying to adjust the position of his arms to prevent these tablets from falling to the ground.

"Yes, first mate, I don't know exactly what the fight was about, but the military police said it was a fight in the mess hall. I guess it was because of some bad joke?"

"Joke. Well, it seems they are really free." Anna said as she slid the data pad in her hand. She slid down the detailed registration information in her hand, and her eyes quickly passed over the rows of data.

"Where's Colonel York? Does he have any objections? After all, he belongs to him." Anna asked. The orderly officer next to her grabbed the data tablet that almost fell to the ground. He put the tablet back in his wrist, and then quickened his pace to catch up. Come up.

The orderly officer cleared his throat and looked at the signature at the end of the registration information in Anna's hand. Colonel York's beautiful signature was clearly written on it.

It has to be said that although he is a strong man who licks blood from his knife on a daily basis, fights fiercely at close range, and can kill a green boy with one punch with his arm, York's handwriting is quite beautiful, with clear lines and elegant ends, but it is The font flicks as steadily as a bullet. .

"The colonel signed it, and he agreed to leave it to us, and I mean, to you, Anna."

"Call me first mate. Only the captain can call me Anna, even Vito."

"Of course, as ordered, first mate."

As the orderly officer watched, Anna pulled out a signing pen from the corner of the tablet. She gently placed the electronic touch pen tip on the screen, and then quickly signed her name with the movement of her fingers, Anna. Yevgeny Markarian has the same last name as Cole.

Anna's fingers moved the tip of the pen as she wrote, and she did not stop for the follow-up orders in her mouth, "Send the Marines to clean all the armored vehicles and maintain the armory. Throw all the Navy crew members to the artillery deck and ask them to clean every armored vehicle." I polished all the cannons and removed the rust."

"Since they are so free, let's find something for them to do. When they are done, they won't have time to sulk." Anna said and handed the data plate in her hand to the orderly officer on the side, who took it. The man behind the data tablet nodded repeatedly, "Smart arrangement, first mate. I believe that by the time they are done, they will forget why they were there to be busy."

Anna smiled and talked about the fiery red hair floating around her ears. She tucked it behind her ears. The short hair made her look quite capable and heroic, and her temperament was the same as those bomb chicks. , ah, I mean battle sisters, don't call them that in front of those silver-haired chicks, unless you like eating explosive bombs, the physical kind.

"Is there anything else?" Anna turned to look at the orderly officer and asked, who shook his head gently, "Then go down to work, keep an eye on those boys, and don't let them fight again."

"First mate, as ordered! For the sake of the Empire and the Navy." The orderly stopped and saluted Anna at attention. After receiving Anna's return salute, he turned and left. Anna looked at the back of the orderly who was leaving and turned around to continue walking towards the end of the corridor.

But she stopped just after taking a few steps, because a voice spoke from the shadow of the support pillars in the corridor, "It's really interesting. It's always you who deal with these troubles, doesn't Cole care about it?"

The voice said, and there was a cracking sound like a shortbread being chewed into pieces. Anna stopped and smiled, turning her head to look at the dark shadow in the corridor, "Cole has never liked to deal with this kind of thing." Trivia, or personal matters, you know."

"That's true. He can't even handle his own personal affairs, let alone deal with other people's." The owner of the voice stood up from the shadows. He stood up from the support column in the corridor, and followed As he stood up, the sun's rays in the corridor gradually illuminated his figure.

Anna looked at the guy. At first, only the general outline of his chest and arms were illuminated by the hazy light, but soon as he stepped out of the shadows, his entire body also emerged from the shadows.

"Aren't you full yet? What time is it? What else are you going to eat?" Anna put her hands on her hips and looked at Vito jokingly. The latter took a bite of the burrito in his hand, and he put the burrito in his hand. A large piece of the burrito was bitten off and handed to Anna on the side.

"Sosalia burrito, Mario made it. It tastes pretty good. It reminds me of Mexican burritos. It's just not spicy enough, but it's not bad. Want a bite?"

Vito stretched out the cake that was full of bite marks from his teeth to Anna, who pushed the thing away slightly with disgust, "Who wants to eat something full of your saliva, and I've eaten it."

"What's wrong? You're still losing weight. Are you afraid that Cole will dislike you?" Vito smiled and took another bite of the burrito. It was obvious that he was not full yet. He chewed the delicious combination of vegetable leaves and minced meat and walked over. In front of the window on one side, his eyes looked at the huge sun on the side of the battleship.

As Infinite Frontier approaches the core of the solar system, the area of ​​the sun has become larger and larger. Now the giant has almost swallowed up the entire field of vision outside the window. At a glance, Vito can see The surface of the sun surging with fire.

"Are you serious? Every time I change my perfume or put on makeup, Cole has to be stunned for a long time before he reacts, and I have to remind him." Anna said and leaned next to Vito, holding her arms with her arms. , bent one leg upward and stepped on the bulletproof glass behind him.

Vito looked at the sun, his eyes reflecting the huge line of fire pulling up from the planet's surface, "Were you okay with him? I mean, when I left to crush Abaddon's small fleet."

"What progress can be made? It's not like you don't know Korna's character. He has been like this since he was a child. He has not changed at all in his late twenties." Anna shrugged helplessly and sighed, while Vito smiled and bit the roll. As he chewed the cake, he muttered something vaguely.

"Isn't he trying to maintain a disciplined relationship between superiors and subordinates? You know Cole's character. He is so rigorous and serious that it makes people hurt. I even doubt whether his ancestors are German."

Vito ate the burrito thoughtfully, as if he was just looking for a topic while eating, "If I remember correctly, you and he grew up together, right? Anna Markarian?" It's a good name, but I still prefer your previous name, Anna Rommel Erwin."

Anna looked at Vito and raised her eyebrows jokingly, with a rather speechless smile on her face, "You did a background check on me? It was so detailed."

"Haha, I am also a professional judge after all. I know the friends I work with, so not only you, I also know everyone else's life experience." Vito said softly while looking at the sun, his eyes moving towards Skimmed sideways, the exploding black spots on the sun's surface scrape its fiery stellar storm.

"Then tell me, what did you find out?" Anna crossed her arms and adjusted her body against the glass, while Vito smiled silently and gently shook the burrito in his hand. .

"Anna Rommel Erwin is the daughter of Admiral Erwin of the Imperial Navy. Your father is one of the most talented captains in the history of the Imperial Navy. He has great military exploits. I have heard about it a long time ago. he."

Vito's eyes flashed with the light of fire, and the rising and declining fire storm briefly illuminated his face. Vito took another bite of the burrito, chewing it slowly, "But it's a pity. He died young, not in the vast sea of ​​stars, but in an absurd political conflict."

"There was a political conspiracy on the Macarius planet. Someone wanted to use a vacuum bomb to blow up the Governor and the Sector Grand Marshal. However, the Governor happened to be far away from his seat during the meeting that day. By chance, the explosion and assassination failed. The bombing killed several important figures in the Ministry of Military Affairs, but the governor was not killed."

"And later after "investigation", it was discovered that many of the officers who planned the "7.20" assassination were your father's old subordinates and students, so the Governor suspected that your father was also involved in the assassination. He had great military exploits. Admiral Erwin actually participated in the assassination? With your father's reputation, this is enough to scare the entire planet's leadership. "

Anna didn't speak, she just listened. She folded her arms and nodded, signaling for Vito to continue speaking. The latter also continued speaking after swallowing the food.

"Your father was implicated and suspected to be related to the July 20 assassination. He was later given two choices. He could retain his reputation and glory after committing suicide and his family would not be implicated, or he would be arrested and executed as a traitor, and his family would also After being arrested, he was thrown into the world of punishment.”

"Your father chose the former. In order to protect you, he was forced to commit suicide. After that, the sector government fabricated a ship drill accident for him, and unfortunately he died in the explosion. Huh, in order to cover up your father's death, they also Get on a boat to make the lie more believable."

Vito said disdainfully, and he bit off another corner of the burrito, "The death of Admiral Erwin caused a shock within the Imperial Navy. Of course, no one believed the outrageous reason, especially Cole's father, Mansch. Admiral Tanin Markarian, he and your father are old comrades in arms. They worked together for many years when they graduated from the military academy. They made meritorious deeds together and became admirals together, so he doesn’t believe that outrageous reason at all.”

"Admiral Markarian later found out the truth and gathered a group of naval officers under his command. When the governor was out patrolling another planet, he commanded a fleet to ambush and arrest the governor. Afterwards, Admiral Markarian handed over the truth about Admiral Erwin's death to the Inquisition who came to investigate after hearing the news, and convinced the Inquisitor to believe them. Afterwards, the governor was executed for heresy, and Admiral Markarian was promoted to the new governor of the planet." Vito was eating a burrito, and the burrito that was not much left in his hand was shaking with his fingers. Anna looked at He smiled and shrugged, "You checked it very clearly. I thought that matter would be completely covered up. After all, it was a scandal of the navy. No one would want the people of the empire to know that such a scandal happened in the hometown of the navy's holy land, the Sun Lord Macharius."

"Please, I am an inquisitor, and the Supreme Grand Master of the Inquisition. I can check whatever I want." Vito's words were full of pride. He smiled and ate the last piece of burrito. He clapped his hands and turned to look at Anna beside him, looking at Anna who looked extremely beautiful in the sunlight.

The dancing firelight of the sun shone through her red hair, and the crimson long hair cast a red halo on her face. From Vito's perspective, she looked like she had walked out of a painting.

Vito put his hands on his waist, and pointed at Anna in front of him before putting one hand on his waist, "And you, dear Anna, were adopted by your uncle, Admiral Markarian, who is Cole's father. He fulfilled his last duty to your father. As his adopted daughter, your last name was changed to Markarian." Anna turned her head and looked at Vito. She was silent for a moment and then shrugged with a smile, "Have you found out anything else, investigator?" "Of course, you grew up with Cole. Because your fathers were colleagues, you knew Cole very early, especially when you were adopted by Governor Markarian, you literally grew up with Cole. You went to school, lived, and played together, and I heard that you were the most capable at that time. It's noisy."

"Childhood sweethearts, I remember this word can just describe your relationship." Vito smiled and waved his hands in front of him. Anna looked at him and laughed. She leaned against the glass and raised her eyebrows and looked at Vito, "Why are you like Mario, talking and gesturing when excited."

"You know, the name Vito was taken when I was in Italy? Believe me, everyone in the ancient Terra was like this, talking and gesturing, that is, audio plus video, especially atmospheric, Mamma Mia!"

Vito said, pinching his fingers in front of him, waving them while talking and gesturing, Anna looked at Vito and couldn't help laughing, Vito looked at Anna who was laughing and smiled.

"You grew up with Cole. Even when Cole followed the family tradition and entered the Imperial Naval Academy to study and become a captain, you chose to join the army with him. I want to know, are you just like when you were a child, always liking to make trouble and can't stand the red tape of the nobles, or did you join because of him?" Vito said, standing in the corridor with his arms folded. The sun shone on his side, and the shining light lit up from his arms and hair on the side of his face. Anna looked at him in silence for a moment and then stood up. She tiptoed and turned to look at the sun outside the window. The bright firelight shone on her face, brightening her fiery red hair. She looked at the sun, her emerald green eyes sparkling in the sun's rays. Anna closed her eyes after a moment to feel the warmth of the light, then slowly exhaled, "Both."

"Cole has never been good at politics since he was a child, or in other words, power struggles. When we were kids, every time I or we got into trouble together, I told him to shut up and lie to get away with it, but Cole would always take the initiative to admit the facts. No matter how scary and serious the punishment he faced, he didn't care at all and refused to argue or lie."

"He has always been too honest. He doesn't like and doesn't want to participate in the red tape and hypocritical political life of the aristocracy. You know, as the son of the new governor, there are many people who flatter him, such as the daughters of various aristocratic families."

"Aha." Vito's DNA moved when he heard this. He showed a bright smile on his side. Anna looked at him and smiled and rolled her eyes speechlessly, "Don't think about it. Cole is not you. He doesn't care about those "sexy" Women are not interested. "

"Fuck, is Cole interested in men?" Vito's smile froze and gradually turned into a weird and awkward smile. "Ah, no wonder he is not interested in you. I remember when you walked in the dress you wore for the party, I swear with my rich experience that any man would have some reaction, but Cole didn't react at all. "

"Fuck, Cole would rather stay with me, but he won't."

"Fuck your uncle Vito, Cole is not interested in you. Who told you that not being interested in women means being interested in men? Did your brain get electrocuted by Omega during the last mechanical arm inspection? "

Vito smiled and scratched his nose. Of course he was joking. Vito knew what Cole was interested in. He had been a partner with Cole for so many years. "Well, I know that Cole is only interested in sailing and ships, and war itself. Every time I say to carry out a "bold" plan, Cole always curses, but I can see that he is still very excited. "

"So, Cole is not very happy in Markarian, right? Every time I ask him about Markarian, he is not very willing to talk to me."

"If you have been living in political traps, assassinations and kidnappings since you were seven years old, you will not like those memories." Anna stood in front of the window, one of her hands gently placed on the glass, The surface flames of the sun rolling outside cast a bright light onto that beautiful face.

Anna's other hand subconsciously touched the gun on her waist. The precision laser gun had been with her for many years. Anna's fingers touched the butt of the gun, which was attached with a reinforced carapace. Tuo, that thing is so hard that you can use it as a hammer by grabbing the barrel of the gun with your backhand.

The emerald green eyes were shining under the rays of the sun. Anna looked at the pistol on her waist. The gun body was shining with gray-black light under the direct rays of the sun.

"Marshal Markarian has become the new governor, but that is also a curse. Those in high positions will always be everyone's target, and all conspirators with bad intentions and hidden evil intentions will aim their guns at you. , Marshal Markarian also experienced the explosive assassination of the former governor. "

"As his only son, Cole was assassinated for the first time when he was seven years old. It was his mother, Mrs. Margarita, who took us to play in the park. She was a beautiful and kind-hearted woman. "Everyone who knows him respects her, but not those assassins."

Anna said and held the gun on her waist. It was almost an instinctive action. Vito lowered his eyes and watched Anna's fingers tightly holding the trigger of the gun, and then slowly released it after a while. , her expression was very unpleasant, and she took a deep breath before speaking again.

"A group of assassins drove into the entrance of the park in a car and shot us with laser guns as we walked on the path. Our bodyguards were killed by a sudden attack on the spot. Mrs. Margarita used her body as a shield to protect us. , she fell in a pool of blood, her death was quite miserable, she shouldn’t have ended up like that.”

"Cole and I witnessed death when he was only seven years old. His mother died in front of him. I remember Cole cried very sadly that day and didn't talk to me for a while. After that, Markarian The Marshal found out who did it and carried out a political purge of Markarian Planet, killing many people, including some of our friends from childhood. "

"Later I found out that they only became friends with us in order to spy on intelligence and understand the patterns of our actions. It was a typical political trap."

Anna let out a long sigh. She raised her eyes and looked at the sun outside the window. "Since then, Cole has become very withdrawn. He doesn't like to interact with people. You can also see it on the ship for so many years. Apart from his work, Outside of that, I hardly have much interaction with my subordinates on the ship.”

"Cole hates politics, I know, but this is not a good habit." Vito said, leaning on the wall on one side. He also looked at the sun outside the window. The flickering sunlight shone on him, covering the entire wall. Lit up.

"He just hates that kind of life. Cole hates being the son of the Governor. He wants to leave Markarian, so he has determined to become a naval captain very early. His understanding of the military comes from his father. There, he believes that in the military, where pragmatism is paramount and fighting for all mankind, there will be no intrigues like the political world. "

Vito shrugged lightly and shook his head slightly, "But he was wrong. The Astra Militarum, especially the Navy, is an aristocratic service. There are many political struggles and intrigues among the aristocrats."

"But it's not his fault. After all, he is the governor's son, and judging from the files, he has always done very well in the military school. The teacher also likes him, so he will naturally support him and help him solve a lot of troubles. He also There is no need to worry about interpersonal relationships. To be honest, as far as his interpersonal relationships are concerned, it is fortunate that he is the son of the governor, otherwise God knows how he will be dealt with. "

Anna laughed helplessly after hearing this. She rubbed the back of her head and smiled bitterly, "When he was in the military academy, he was quite withdrawn. He focused on learning military skills and strategies and tactics. His grades were good, but it was natural. It attracted a lot of envy and jealousy, you know, the kind of arrogance and arrogance that aristocratic kids have.”

"And you, First Officer Anna, are Cole's good helper in interpersonal relationships and politics. I have read your file a long time ago. You have a very good reputation among your classmates, and there are even many who admire you. "The male students are envious of Cole, and your relationship with him is well known."

Anna smiled silently, but she didn't speak, so Vito decided to continue talking. He stretched against the wall and his voice was long and sharp, "You know more about politics than he does. Anna, I think it's because of your father's death and to protect him, right? Cole doesn't like politics and doesn't want to touch it, but you know how important the exchange of reputation and interests is in imperial politics. The entire empire is built on on this.”

"You learned political skills, for him and for yourself. I'm sure it won't be easy and quite unpleasant. After all, Cole didn't even want to talk to me, so I guess it was quite a learning process. uncomfortable."

Anna turned her back to Vito and didn't say a word, but Vito knew why she probably didn't say anything. Although she was the adopted daughter of Marshal Markarian, she was still the daughter of the governor after all. Their identity and status would inevitably determine Because the things you face and need to experience are things that no one wants to experience, you have to deal with a lot of people you hate, and you even do a lot of things that bore you. This is aristocracy.

"So when Cole joined the Navy, you also joined. I guess it was the request of Governor Markarian, right? He only has this son. Once Cole leaves Markarian to serve elsewhere, the Governor will There is no way to protect him. With Cole’s personality, he probably won’t get along well with the new leader and colleagues.”

"So he needs you, Anna, to handle politics and interpersonal relationships. Cole is an excellent commander and captain. There is no doubt about it, but political operations are needed in the navy. With you, Cole's military I think you owe a lot to the success of his career and the position he was able to reach when I met him, Anna.”

"Well, it's just him who is good. I just silently help him with some things, some trivial matters, just chores." Anna said softly, while Vito looked at him in silence for a moment.

In his mind, he recalled some things he had investigated, some unpleasant things, things that Cole definitely didn't know. Anna would not tell him, so she would remain silent.

The awkward silence lasted for a moment, and then he suddenly raised his head and smiled, "By the way, do you need my help with your affairs with Cole?"

"Help me? What do you mean?" Anna turned to look at Vito in surprise and asked, who smiled, shrugged and waved his fingers confidently.

"Look, that workaholic has never been interested in you. It's definitely not because he is an emotional idiot. He definitely knows what you mean to him. But Cole's personality leads him to believe that you and him are in a superior-subordinate relationship. In order to fulfill his obligations, It is a duty of a good captain to not be affected by personal feelings, so I reacted coldly to you. "

"What do you mean?" Anna tilted her head slightly and looked at the smiling Vito in front of her.

"I can enlighten him. Who said that the relationship between superiors and subordinates cannot be reconciled? I had a lot of experience in this area back then, and I can definitely give him some life experience. Moreover, after hearing the life experience of the Supreme Marshal, he couldn't think about it carefully and study it. one time?"

Anna burst out laughing as she listened. She imagined Vito whispering to Cole, shoulder to shoulder, imparting "secret experiences", especially Cole's weird look after hearing this. , but with a funny expression that he was actually thinking about, Anna couldn't help laughing as she thought about it.

Her laughter echoed in the corridor, and soon even Vito laughed together. They laughed together, and the topic they had just suppressed seemed to be swept into the sun star and burned away by its flames.

Just as the two were laughing, the communicator on Vito's wrist suddenly rang. Vito raised the communicator and pressed its flashing icon. With the press of his finger, Cole's bust image suddenly appeared. It appeared on it.

"Vito, and Anna? Aren't you supposed to handle the duties?" Cole said, turning to look at the red-haired girl aside. She walked up and put her elbow on Vito's shoulder, watching with him. Looking at the holographic image suspended on the communicator.

"We've finished this long ago. I'm chatting with Vito, your embarrassing story." "My... embarrassing story?"

Cole asked in confusion, and Vito looked at him and smiled, "There are quite interesting things, and there are also not-so-interesting things, but I don't think you came to me just to chat, right?"

"Yes, we are in trouble." "Trouble? As expected, how big is it?" "Look out the window, look forward."

Vito and Anna looked at each other, and then walked to the side porthole in the corridor. Vito walked to the window and pressed against the glass, lying on it in a very funny posture and looking at the front of the ship.

"Fuck!" Vito exclaimed, and Anna also walked up. She pushed down Vito's head and made him squat in front of her. The red-haired female first mate put her hands on Vito's head and leaned against it. He opened the window, "What's wrong? What did you see? The Chaos Fleet is going to attack us?"

"Judging from the results, you may be right." Vito's face was pressed against the glass, and his whole face was lying on the surface like a pancake. He muttered with a crooked mouth, while Anna lay on the surface. She put her head close to the window and looked to the side and ahead.

Her expression was startled, and then she raised her eyebrows slightly and looked at the red fleet in front of her. The fleet of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Logically speaking, she should be in a good mood after finally meeting a friendly force, but this does not apply to now, especially when the entire A heavily armed fleet with all the guns pointed at you.

"Is there a bug in the minds of those guys from the Mechanicus? Do you mean to kill us?" Anna asked in surprise, "Can they not see our logo? Have the identification codes been sent?"

"I sent it, but it was obviously useless. I couldn't handle those guys who only had 0s and 1s in their heads, so Vito came to the bridge immediately. After they were driving me crazy with their own programs and calculation conclusions, I decided to launch torpedoes. You'd better get up here quickly."

Cole said and the image disappeared. Vito smiled and stood up from the window while holding on to the glass surface. He patted his clothes and tidied them up. "Wow, let Cole jump to the next level to deal with the machinery." The problem of teaching those guys seems to be a bit difficult for him.”

"Then what are you going to do? I guess because the solar system was attacked just now, the heads of those oil guys are still going crazy. I don't know how to deal with these guys at this time." Anna stood helplessly with one hand on her hip. He said, looking at the smiling Vito, he also smiled happily.

"You already have a plan, right?"

"Yes, go and call Call to the bridge. You can find him in the laboratory. He and Omega will probably stay there all day." Vito said and walked to the end of the corridor, Anna jokingly behind him Smiling, looking at Vito's retreating back.

"What do you call this? Let the oil guys argue with each other using binary numbers from a distance?"

"No, this is called using magic to defeat magic." Vito waved his hand and disappeared at the end of the corridor. Anna also smiled and shook her head. She turned her head and looked at the suspended Mechanicus fleet outside, looking at the fleet floating in the universe behind it. The huge red planet in the background then turned and walked towards the other end of the corridor.