Chapter 12, Commodore Captain
Just thinking about dealing with Gu Hang made Alicia feel a bit annoyed.
As a bona fide Imperial Navy Commodore and the captain of a strike cruiser, she was an undoubtedly significant figure in the Pegasus Sector.
Who holds more weight, a Navy Commodore or a planetary Governor?
Within the Pegasus Sector, there were only seven cruisers of the Imperial Navy permanently stationed; in comparison, there were nine planets in the Pegasus Sector, roughly matching in number.
The two roles were not part of the same system.
A planetary Governor had a unique status but generally belonged to the Imperial administrative system; a starship captain was part of the Imperial Navy’s military system.
In theory, the sector head did not have direct command over the Imperial Navy.
Of course, reality was different.
The Pegasus Fleet was established by the Pegasus Sector, with most officers and soldiers recruited from the sector’s various planets.
The starships were also purchased with sector funds, and logistical support was provided by the sector.
The fleet’s mission was to handle the defense of the Pegasus Sector, requiring cooperation with the sector government, so its independence wasn’t that strong.
In summary, the status of the seven cruiser captains and the nine planetary Governors in the Pegasus Sector was hard to compare, roughly equivalent.
But when it came to Gu Hang and Alicia, it was different.
The other eight planetary worlds in the Pegasus Sector, though varied in their levels of development, were at least somewhat established territories.
Only Fury Owl Planet was a persistent problem.
Traditionally, being appointed Governor of Fury Owl Planet was akin to a two-year death sentence, hardly comparable to Alicia’s position.
Alicia also came from a noble family.
The Fofana family she belonged to was an ally of the Gu family, jointly supporting the current sector head.
And she herself was a rising star in the military, the most dazzling new talent in the Pegasus Sector Navy, the only female among the seven captains, and the youngest.
Reaching this position certainly owed much to her family background, but her own abilities were not to be overlooked.
Gu Hang and Alicia were worlds apart.
However, the female Commodore had her own troubles.
She had been the captain of the Quintet for nearly two years, yet doubts about her continued to surface. Her age, experience, and gender became targets for attack.
As for ability?
Simply talking about ability was too idealistic and couldn’t be taken at face value, unless it manifested in undeniable achievements.
She was really fired up, wanting to achieve a brilliant victory.
Punching out greenskin warlords, kicking Chaos traitors, annihilating the Void Zerg…
Anything would do, as long as it was a satisfying, victorious battle, returning with honors so that no one would dare point fingers at her again.
But instead of getting a chance for battle, she ended up on Fury Owl Planet, escorting a young man from her family’s political allies, who was sent to be the Governor.
A two-year stint.
She was very unhappy but had no way to resist, so she angrily took her post.
Already annoyed, that guy kept bothering her.
She couldn’t figure out if the Gu family valued Gu Hang or not.
If they valued him, why send him to such a place?
Taking on a major task like developing the problematic Fury Owl Planet wasn’t out of the question, but it didn’t seem like the Gu family was investing many resources.
But if they didn’t value him, why did the sector government assign one of the seven cruisers of the Pegasus Fleet, her own Quintet, to stay here for two years?
It was perplexing.
No point overthinking it.
She considered herself a soldier, so she should stay focused and follow orders.
Her orders were to ensure Fury Owl Planet remained loyal to the Empire, assist the planetary Governor, and provide military support.
In this matter, she never intended to make things difficult for Gu Hang.
As long as the Governor made a request, she would fulfill the duties of the Imperial Navy.
She thought her job would be to provide orbital deterrence and, if necessary, conduct strikes—nothing stressful, just routine work.
But Gu Hang didn’t ask for orbital bombardment; instead, he requested a batch of slaves and soldiers.
This she hadn’t expected.
Initially, she didn’t want to comply, but Gu Hang’s persistent persuasion eventually led her to give in.
In hindsight, she regretted it.
I can help you fight, but you can’t just take my people!
That wasn’t within her scope of duties.
Moreover, although her ship was an Imperial Navy vessel with a crew of a hundred thousand, which seemed like a lot, operating an eleven-kilometer-long giant ship required that many people.
If Gu Hang took too many people away, it would directly affect the starship’s combat capability.
Moreover, the Navy’s strength was entirely based on the starship.
Away from the starship, a hundred thousand people dropped onto the planet’s surface wouldn’t even make a splash on a planetary scale.
Compared to the Imperial Guard, who specialized in ground warfare and could easily field corps with structures of over a million soldiers, the Navy’s numbers were not on the same level.
Gu Hang taking away over three thousand people didn’t affect the starship’s operations, but this kind of thing couldn’t be repeated.
Receiving another communication request from Gu Hang, Alicia was determined not to fulfill any requests unless it involved combat missions.
Adjusting her mood, she sat up straight and instructed the technician to connect Gu Hang’s communication signal.
Gu Hang’s face appeared on the central screen of the command console.
“Commodore Alicia, hello, it’s been half a month. You’ve become even more beautiful!”
Commodore Alicia kept a stern face: “Governor, please don’t be slick. Just get to the point.”
“Don’t be so serious. I have some good news for you.”
“What news?”
“Our troops have annihilated a rebel force on Fury Owl Planet today. Nearly two hundred enemies of the Empire have been eliminated.”
A band of looters and wasteland bandits, in Gu Hang’s description, became ‘rebels’ and ‘enemies of the Empire.’
Strictly speaking, what he said wasn’t wrong.
Alicia didn’t fully understand the situation on Fury Owl Planet, but even so, she knew that Gu Hang’s description was exaggerated.
But the key point was…
“Two hundred enemies?” She showed disdain.
You have the nerve to brag about such a small victory?
“I know you, Madame Commodore, don’t care about these two hundred people, but what if in the future this number could be two thousand, twenty thousand, two hundred thousand?”
“Or what if it’s eliminating a greenskin warlord? Eradicating a heretical cult that doesn’t worship the God-Emperor? Or even destroying a native false god?”
Alicia’s expression became serious.
Hearing Gu Hang speak this way, she subconsciously began to consider what such achievements would mean if true. If they eradicated tens of thousands of Imperial traitors, wiped out a greenskin warlord, or killed a false god, how significant would those accomplishments be?
Wasn’t she seeking achievements?
Wasn’t her greatest dissatisfaction with being on Fury Owl Planet the wasted two years?
But she wasn’t so easily swayed.
“You talk as if Fury Owl Planet is about to turn upside down? Are there such enemies on Fury Owl Planet?” she expressed her skepticism.