From Titan Corporation to the Empire of Man

Chapter 649 Destroyed Ship
Eighteen hours later
The rest period is over.

The near-Earth orbit of Ma Sara has been transformed into a sea of ​​steel.

A combined fleet of over two hundred warships assembled here, its sheer size forcing even the nearby planetary shields to temporarily adjust their frequencies to accommodate this steel torrent.

The Black Sanctuary's fleet presented a solemn array, with over ninety black-and-white painted warships arranged neatly like chess pieces on a chessboard. At the core, the Traveller-class dreadnoughts resembled giant, moving blades, each turret flashing a ready-to-fight red light.

The 3rd Company of the Flame Lizards maintained its classic wedge formation.

The flagship, the Unyielding Flame, spewed out a ghostly blue tail flame from its plasma thrusters, forming a wedge formation with four other battlecruisers. Twelve escort ships cruised around it, their close-in weapon systems undergoing final calibration tests, the barrels emitting a synchronized mechanical hum as they rotated.

The warships of the Lamenters possess a unique "tragic" aesthetic characteristic of this company. Their flagship, the Wings of Lamentation, has been refurbished and looks brand new, while five specially modified medical ships are positioned at the rear of the formation.

The warships of the Man-Eating Shark Company are the most unrestrained and wild. The flagship of the Third Assault Platoon, the Abyss Hunter, has a huge shark skull decoration hanging on its bow.

The cruiser's armor plating appeared to be covered with "rough" welding marks, each one a testament to hastily made repairs on the battlefield.

In this steel jungle, the Hyperion appears "small and exquisite," this warship, which is "only" about a kilometer long, skillfully navigates among the giant ships.

However, the most eye-catching was another colossal vessel at the very front of the fleet, the flagship belonging to the Inquisition of Heretics, Athena—

"Nerva".

This twelve-kilometer-long Imperial-class battleship completely overturned traditional design, resembling a flying Greek temple.

Doric-style columns surround the bridge, each adorned with intricate reliefs.

The bow is not a traditional "ram," but a golden statue of Athena, hundreds of meters tall, with the tip of her spear constantly emitting arcs of energy.

The Nerva's engine array roared silently in the vacuum, and its unique warp drive created a blue energy vortex around the hull.

As the main engine power increased to a critical point, the space in front of the warship began to twist and tear, and a jump channel with a diameter of more than 100 kilometers gradually took shape.

"The entire fleet shall proceed with the jump sequence as planned."

Athena's voice was transmitted to every warship via a quantum communication network.

Meanwhile, her hard light projection was simultaneously displayed on the central control panel of each bridge, her golden armor gleaming under the light of warp energy.

The Black Templar fleet took the lead, with the Traveller-class ships slowly driving the entire company into the warp portal.

As the massive hull of the dreadnought passed through the spatial rift, it stirred up countless "electric arcs," which flickered in the void like stars.

Next came a mixed fleet of Flame Lizards and Lamenters.

The plasma thrusters of the Indomitable Flame spewed out dazzling plumes of flame as the battlecruiser group passed through the passage with perfect spacing.

The swarm of man-eating shark warships charged into the passage as wildly as their name suggested.

Finally, there's the Nerva itself.

Before the temple-like behemoth entered the warp portal, the Athena statue on its bow suddenly shone with a dazzling golden light, and a faint wave swept across the entire fleet, casting a temporary psionic protective field over each warship.

As the giant ship completely submerged into the tunnel, the jump gate began to slowly close.

The Hyperion, however, chose a different approach.

Its warp drive burst out blue-white "bubbles" at the last moment, instantly enveloping the entire warship, which then disappeared into the real universe as if erased by an eraser.

Only a few residual energy traces prove that it once existed here.

As the last warship's exhaust plume disappeared into the warp tunnel, Mar-Sala's near-Earth orbit returned to calm.

The sixteen space stations began readjusting their shield parameters, and the planetary defense system returned to its normal alert status.

Only those faintly glowing folds of space prove that a combined fleet powerful enough to change the course of the war once assembled here and then quickly departed.

Within the mezzanine passageway opened by the Nerva, ethereal blue energy ripples flowed around the fleet like liquid crystal.

These translucent spatial folds constantly twist and change, sometimes unfolding into geometric fractal patterns, and sometimes contracting into spiral vortices.

More than two hundred warships sailed in this non-Euclidean space, their armored hulls reflecting varying shades of blue and purple, resembling a group of metallic behemoths traversing the deep sea.

The bridge of the Nerva perfectly replicates the interior structure of an ancient Greek temple.

Twelve Corinthian-style decorative columns support a dome adorned with starry patterns, each column inlaid with gemstones from Terella that change color with energy fluctuations.

The center console is designed in the shape of an altar, with a holographic projection of the nearby star map floating on its surface.

A faint scent of olive wood mingled in the air, blending with the distinctive aroma of the warship.

Athena stood in front of the control panel, the hem of her golden armor swaying gently with the fluctuations of the warp energy.

She tapped her fingertips lightly on the table, bringing up the array diagram of the entire fleet.

Beside the center console, Sigismund's hard-light imaging stood like a black statue to her right, while the power armor's servo systems maintained power operation, making almost no sound.

On the left, Malakin Forros was elegantly reviewing the data panel, his wing decorations casting dappled light in the blue glow.

Tiberius's Shark Tooth helmet faced the tactical hologram, and the white mist emitted from the breathing grille condensed into tiny ice crystals in the environment of the enemy's bridge.

Gao Zan stood opposite the center console, encrypted data streaming through his tactical goggles.

In addition, Ranger Commander Jim Raynor and Investigations Department representative Leon S. Kennedy were also standing next to the control panel via holographic projection.

"Based on the analysis of the latest data from the fourth fragment obtained from Typhon Star"

Lyon's report broke the silence on the bridge: "Based on Tychus Finley's negotiations with the Moebius Foundation and the information provided by the intelligence department, the final artifact fragment is our first destination on this voyage."

As Leon spoke, he focused his gaze on the holographic star map and zoomed in on the target location, revealing that their first destination was the wreckage of a giant ship.

The projection magnifies the image to reveal more details.

It was the wreckage of a super warship at least twenty kilometers long. Its structure was clearly not human technology, but more similar to that of the Protoss, and it was very likely a giant wrecked ship of the Xel'Naga.

There is a huge rip in the middle of the ship's hull, which, judging from the cross-section, was directly pierced by some kind of energy weapon.

Several key areas were marked in red, the most prominent of which was the main vault in the center of the wrecked ship.

"Tal'darim" Lyon's projection pointed to the red dots around the wreckage. "Our intelligence indicates that there are many Tal'darim warriors at the destination, guarding this area."

The image switches to a tactical analysis diagram of the Taldarim, whose iconic energy armor stands out starkly in the darkness.

Seeing this, Athena's spear of victory suddenly gleamed, its tip touching the image of Taldarim. "The foolish courage of fanatics," her voice carried the chill of Mount Olympus, "is nothing to worry about."

With a light swipe of the spear, the image switched to the artifact's energy readings. "That's the key."

Jim Reynolds' projection suddenly interrupted: "The problem is the wrecked ship itself."

The commander pulled up more scan data. "According to the structural diagrams that Tychus obtained, this thing looks like a can full of explosives."

The images show that the ship's interior is filled with unstable plasma pipes, and radiation readings in some areas have exceeded the limit. Most importantly, Taldarin also set up numerous tearing force fields inside the wrecked ship.

At this moment, Sigismund finally spoke, saying:
"The Black Sanctuary is responsible for clearing the passage and blocking the enemy's retreat route."

The company commander leaned forward slightly. "We need precise entry coordinates."

“Calculation complete.” Gao Zan suddenly joined the conversation, his tactical goggles sharing a set of data to the main screen. “I suggest infiltrating from the seventh breached area.”

The image shows a winding green path that cleverly avoids most of the danger zones; "It's only 400 meters from the main vault."

"Heh heh." Tiberius's shark-tooth helmet emitted a low, hoarse, and terrifying laugh:

"We, the man-eating sharks, must break through head-on."

As he spoke, the company commander, whose height was close to that of the Primarch, made a tearing motion in the air with his chainsaw claws, "Let those alien hybrids see the methods of us man-eating sharks."

Malakin Foros shook his head slightly: "I'm more worried about the condition of the artifact itself."

He pulled up the energy waveform of the fourth fragment, "These readings show that the energy activity of the last fragment is the sum of the first four."

Athena's gaze swept over each commander, and the Spear of Victory suddenly burst forth with dazzling golden light, projecting a huge dragon emblem onto the bridge deck, interrupting everyone's free speech, and she said in a deep voice:

"Proceed according to the established plan. For the sake of the Empire, we must end the battle as soon as possible."

"Yes, ma'am."

The brief meeting ended.
Outside the bridge, the blue light in the jump portal seemed to become unstable.

The engine sound of the Nerva gradually rose, like a hymn in a temple reaching its peak. All the warships' weapon systems simultaneously completed preheating, and the energy from the cannons drew countless scarlet trails in the dark blue space.

Shortly after.

That legendary abandoned giant ship, like a dead space whale, slowly rolled in the dark void.

The ship's twenty-kilometer-long metal frame was covered with the marks of time, and its outer armor was covered with countless impact craters and scorch marks left by energy weapons. Only a few newly built facilities of the Taldarim emitted a faint glow, like luminous fungi parasitizing this corpse.

The most striking feature is the giant ring structure surrounding the hull—

Several rings, each over five kilometers in diameter, are still slowly rotating, their surfaces covered with runes from an unknown civilization.

Whenever it rotates to a certain angle, it stirs up strange energy ripples in the vacuum.

In addition, there are several cabins on the wrecked ship that are shrouded in a dark green barrier and look like small pyramids. In each cabin, you can vaguely see humanoid figures, like criminals who have been specially imprisoned by the Taldarim.

Just then, the void thousands of kilometers away from the wrecked ship was suddenly torn apart.

A warp vortex with a diameter of over 100 kilometers resembled the open eyes of a god. Amidst the turbulent blue energy currents, the Black Sanctuary's Traveler-class dreadnought was the first to break through.

The massive hull of the dreadnought crushed several pieces of floating wreckage, its black and white paintwork appearing particularly solemn under the starlight.

Next came the Indomitable Flame of the Flame Lizard Trio, whose plasma thrusters drew elegant arcs in the vacuum.

The warships of the weeping warriors and the man-eating sharks scattered like arrows, instantly completing the "layout" of their tactical formation.

Inside the bridge of the Nerva;

"Vitality scan complete." The bridge technician's voice came through the communication channel. "There are a large number of Taldarim biological characteristics inside the wrecked ship, as well as some unknown biological signal that is similar to Taldarim but also different."

Nearly a hundred yellow dots suddenly appeared on the hologram, mainly concentrated in those pyramid-shaped cabins.

Suddenly, a relatively "insignificant" blue light flashed by, and the Hyperion completed its warp jump and appeared on the flank of the fleet.

The modified warship deftly dodged a spinning piece of metal debris, and Jim Raynor's face appeared on the tactical communication screen, accompanied by a self-deprecating remark:
"Gentlemen, this little wrecked ship is reporting for duty."

The Tadarin aboard the wrecked ship also reacted immediately.

Dozens of scarlet motherships rose from the cracks in their hulls, their spiked bows gleaming with dangerous energy fluctuations.

More warships burst forth from behind the ring structure, like a swarm of startled wasps, and the weapon arrays of all the Taldarim warships simultaneously charged, streaking across the vacuum with a dense array of shimmering light.

"Target locked."

Sigismund's voice, however, sounded like steel clashing on the communication channel.

At his command, the belly armor plates of the Traveller-class dreadnought slowly opened, and twelve giant metal prisms were ejected.

These kilometer-long hexagonal pillars automatically arranged themselves into a perfect array in space, their surfaces displaying ancient pioneer runes.

At that moment, the Taldarim mothership had just completed its first salvo, and the crimson plasma beams were about to touch the shields of the human fleet when the matrix of metal prisms burst out with a blinding white light.

Ri~咻————! ! !
This energy torrent, with a diameter of over 100 kilometers, swept across the area, causing the Taldarim warships in its path to dissipate like a thin mist under the sunlight.

The seven motherships were vaporized in an instant, leaving no wreckage. The remaining warships were even more vulnerable, and the exploding flames formed a crimson web of death in the vacuum.

With this single blow, the Taldarin lost more than half of its space power.

The few remaining motherships retreated hastily, attempting to hide behind the ring structure of the wrecked ship.

But they soon discovered that the combined fleet of the human empire had completed a comprehensive blockade—

The Man-eating Shark cruisers blocked the retreat route to the asteroid belt, the Black Templar strike groups sealed off the surrounding space, and the Flame Lizard and Lamenter warships severed their connection with the wrecked ships.

At that moment, Athena's image appeared on the main screens of each ship. She brandished her spear of victory, pointed it at the central area of ​​the wrecked ship, and raised her voice:

"Attention all ground troops! First objective: capture the artifact storage room. Second objective: locate the unidentified individuals within the green barrier!"

At this point, the tip of the Spear of Victory burst forth with dazzling golden light, "For the Emperor! For the Empire!"

With this order, tens of thousands of airdrop pods roared out of the Combined Fleet, raining down on the surface of the wrecked ship like a storm of metal.

Their thrusters traced countless azure trails in the void, intertwining with the Taldarim's hastily fired interceptor fire to create a deadly dance of death.
(End of this chapter)