When the distress signal from House Hayek crossed the void and reached the Spear of Destiny at a distance of 5,000 VU away (1 VU = 10,000 km), Solomon, who had been lying dead to the world in the captain's quarters, shot upright like a flying fish and sprinted from the upper deck all the way to the bridge.
"Vox-listener, keep receiving all follow-up transmissions."
"Full augur sweep, scan the area around that transport."
"Activate the gun-control arrays. Close in on the signal source by an indirect approach."
One order after another came from Solomon with crisp precision. Under his efficient direction, this ship, whose crew complement had not even reached sixty percent, began preparing to respond to the distress call with astonishing speed.
Gaia, drawn in by the commotion, looked at Solomon in surprise as he moved with total familiarity.
She had realized that this man was always bouncing wildly between two extremes: either incredibly reliable or utterly unreliable.
Looking around at the bridge crew who were all rushing around in tight circles, Gaia, who had only come here to wander, could not help feeling curious about what kind of event had made everyone so serious.
She observed from the side for a while. Once Solomon's pace of giving orders slowed a little, she walked up behind him and asked in confusion:
"What happened?"
Hearing her, Solomon spun around at once, clapped his hands excitedly, and said:
"There's a transport ship nearby under attack by pirates. It's sending out a distress call."
"According to void law, if we rescue them successfully, we get at least twenty percent of their cargo."
"Twenty percent of a transport ship's goods would be worth more than what a small captain like me could earn running trade routes between systems for ten years."
"So I'm planning to go take a look. If we can handle it, we'll help them and take the reward while we're at it."
"And if we can't handle it, then we can just hang around at a safe distance and see whether we can salvage anything from the wreckage afterward."
The moment he mentioned reward and salvage, light practically lit up in Solomon's eyes.
To him, among all the miracles and dangers filling the void, the greatest miracle of all was obviously Throne Gelt.
Looking at Solomon, who looked almost ready to drool, Gaia's mouth twitched. But then her eyes shifted, and a thought that made her strangely excited appeared in her mind:
"If Solomon decides to get involved, doesn't that mean I'm about to experience one of the most iconic things in Warhammer... a boarding action?"
In the Warhammer universe, melee was sacred, and void warfare was no exception.
Every tactic eventually turned into boarding.
Every fleet battle eventually turned into ramming.
A void battle without a boarding action was like eating dumplings without dipping sauce. It had no soul.
The more Gaia thought about it, the more excited she became. Even the flow of blood in her body sped up, and the drum-like beating of her hearts could faintly be heard in her chest.
And so, Solomon and Gaia waited together on the bridge, both full of anticipation...
...
The swift form of the Spear of Destiny cut through the borders of the void, following the cry for help toward the slaughterhouse now trapped in bitter battle.
The vox-master of House Hayek sent out call after call over the broad-frequency communicator in despair, hoping that an Imperial Navy vessel or some other ship would come to save them.
"Damn pirates, are you insane?"
Listening to the screams and sounds of slaughter rising from the lower decks through countless vox-devices, his face turned dark.
According to the unspoken rules of the void, Navigator Houses were the guarantee of Warp travel.
Unless they were dealing with certain aliens that could ignore the normal laws of Warp travel, or Chaos traitors directly protected by the Warp, ordinary pirates did not provoke these guides of the empyrean.
But this time, the pirates had not only ignored their claim of being a Navigator House, they had not even gone through the usual process of threats and extortion. They had attacked and started killing immediately.
His pale hand clenched so hard that the joints bulged. A profound sense of helplessness flooded his mind.
Their escort ships had been separated from them by a bizarre Warp whirlpool, and now the family guards aboard this transport were not only inferior in quality, but fewer than one-tenth the number of the attackers.
This was not a battle at all.
It was a slaughter.
His worried eyes drifted toward the main gate to the bridge, where the captain of the guard and his men were holding the line.
It was only a matter of time before the enemy broke through. But if they were not going to survive, then at the very least Lord Mitchell had to get away.
Thinking that, he turned toward the central dais on the bridge, where a slender young man sat in elegant purple robes, a jeweled circlet upon his head, surrounded by many attendants.
His translucent skin was pale as snow, with faint violet veins pulsing beneath it. His hands, resting across his knees, curved in strange claw-like shapes. Those features made him look both inhuman and strangely beautiful.
The striking youth's eyes were closed, because the sight he wished to see could not be viewed through ordinary mortal eyes.
Dull roaring and violent tremors echoed up from below, instantly throwing the attendants around him into panicked confusion.
But he merely wore a calm, faintly displeased smile.
Because he had seen it.
His path was not yet cut off.
"I have seen it..."
"When a dazzling star crosses into a blood-soaked battlefield, all the filthy refuse that dares entangle itself with it will be wiped away by its brilliance."
"The blood feud stirred up by these vermin will end in blood. But that blood shall belong only to them."
"God-Emperor above, these wretches, more vile and base than the sludge in a gutter, will die in their own greed and ignorance."
"And when that time comes, perhaps in their hopeless cries they may glimpse, within the heavens, the families they have lost and the parents who died before them, and so gain a little peace for their pitiful souls."
Beautiful, benevolent words poured from his mouth one after another, nourishing the heart like rain in a flood, sunlight in a desert, or a breeze amid a snowstorm.
...
At a distance of 900 VU from the signal source, the enemy ships' situation was finally picked up by the augurs.
"Two small raider ships. No macro-cannon class weapons, and they aren't even the same model. Looks like two separate pirate bands."
"Seems this reward is ours whether we want it or not."
Solomon grinned so widely his eyes almost turned into Throne Gelt symbols.
"Comms officer, can we establish contact with the transport?"
"Give me a moment... alright! We're linking to their channel now."
Solomon strode over immediately, stood beside the communicator, snatched up the receiver, and spoke in his signature slow and deliberate tone:
"This is the Spear of Destiny. We've arrived in your vicinity. I am Captain Mordecai. Briefly describe your situation and the enemy deployment so we can plan our attack."
An excited voice came through the speaker:
"God-Emperor above! We are deeply grateful for your aid. I am the vox-master of House Hayek."
"Our main personnel are currently holding the bridge. The lower decks have already fallen. The cargo hold section and the upper deck are in chaotic fighting, but our numbers are too few, and the situation is extremely unfavorable."
"I'm sending you the beacon for an open safe zone. Please help us as quickly as possible. House Hayek will never forget your kindness!"
Solomon turned to Gaia and smiled.
"If the enemy really is two pirate groups, then let's make them split apart among themselves first, and cut down their numbers before the real fight even starts."
After saying that, he struck a pose he clearly considered stylish and waved dramatically toward the prow.
"And now, it is time for Captain Harlock's performance."
(End of Chapter)
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