Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 524 06.0523: "Congratulations on becoming a father"

In the void, the attacking Tau Empire ships evacuated the war zone through the subspace emergency channel, leaving only two warships with destroyed engines stranded on the battlefield.

The Retribution-class battleship, the veteran of the Gothic Fleet, 'Cardinal Bolas', led the supporting warships to destroy it without hesitation, and the Imperial light cruiser squadron that came to respond via the physical route also rushed to the scene and completely protected this airspace.

It is not a relaxing thing to have a powerful warhead just a short distance away.

As soon as he saw the enemy retreat, Horatio immediately ordered the evacuation of all personnel on the bridge.

Even though the empire's enemies are watching this massive fleet not far away, watching their every move, the Epic will not miss this crucial breathing time.

The battle inside the pilgrimage ship 'Pure White Mayflower' continued. The Tau boarding force stranded inside used 'Vanguard' combat uniforms to fight against the naval officers and soldiers of the Gothic Fleet who came to support from various warships. Even after several hours, there was no winner.

The navy officers and men even sent in several batches of troops, but the battle remained at a stalemate, which shows how powerful these aliens are with the help of high-tech combat suits.

The Epic was not in a much better situation. Fierce gunfire was still heard in the lower cabin. The boarding troops of just over 400 were more difficult to deal with than expected.

But there are still more than 6,500 sailors on the Epic who are in good condition and fully armed. It is only a matter of time before they destroy the invaders and win the victory.

"The Epic attack ship greets you, Vice Admiral."

"Your first operation was a splendid one, Commander Cochrane, and the Admiralty has seen your accomplishment."

"Lieutenant Colonel?" He thought for a moment after hearing the title.

'It seems that the military merit bar is almost up.'

"Well, you have been maintaining radio silence behind enemy lines. We fully understand that this is due to security considerations. In order to avoid increasing the risk of your exposure, no secret report was sent to inform you of this matter.

You have been promoted to Lieutenant Commander and will be assigned to an Imperial Navy ship. An escort ship is a good choice."

"Thank you for the commendation, Your Excellency Vice Admiral, but I have only been on the Epic for a short time, and, as you can see, the assault ship's behind-enemy-line raid missions will be more conducive to my development in the navy than escort missions." Horatio was still connected to the neural plug and was trying to soothe the Epic's machine soul, which was in pain after being hit.

Upon hearing that the captain had been transferred, the Machine Soul Girl of the Epic flickered in displeasure.

As the first captain, and one who had just taken office, he was somewhat reluctant to be transferred so soon, to be honest.

Moreover, the vast majority of the Imperial Navy's escort ships are responsible for performing boring and tedious merchant ship escort or star zone patrol missions.

This is as secure as being a government employee on a fixed salary.

Moreover, as the only blood heir of Admiral Speyer, and with the relationship with the Hood family, he would most likely be transferred to a less dangerous remote "suburb", where he would work for a few years at the relatively safe grassroots level, and then the Navy would transfer him back and promote him to colonel.

Many lieutenant colonels who have connections at home do this, trading time for safety and a secure promotion.

But that was someone else, and Horatio, who came into this world with what Thei called a "special mission", couldn't wait.

Now it was only about ten years away from the Thirteenth Black Crusade, and he could not afford to waste a few years of precious time in the process of being promoted from lieutenant colonel to colonel.

"Maybe you have other ideas, but let's talk about it after we return."

When Horatio didn't give an immediate answer, Old Hood knew that the young man was somewhat reluctant.

Samuel Hood, who was equally aggressive and adventurous, heard another meaning behind his words, so he gave him a way out and decided to listen to the young man's choice afterwards.

“Besides, you look like you’re in trouble, young man.

Even on the bridge of the Retribution-class battleship, we can see a... uh, missile stuck in the middle of your bridge."

"Yes, sir, this is an unexploded bomb, and the Chief Tech Priest on the Epic is trying to defuse it."

"Be safe, young man. You have just become a member of the Hood family's approved marriage. By the way, you have been with Farida for so long, how is it going? Have you achieved anything?"

Just before Horatio could figure out how to answer, Sister Arabella walked up to Horatio.

"Captain, there is something you should know. Is it convenient for you now?"

The nun with beautiful black hair spoke to him a little tiredly. She had been very busy recently. First, there were injured people who needed her care, and then there was Farida who was unwell and needed her treatment. She had not had a good rest since she came on the Epic.

"Thank you for your hard work, Sister Arabella. Can you tell me now about Farida?"

"That's right." "Is she sick?" Lieutenant General Samuel Hood frowned. "This little girl always does things without considering her own safety. Please try to dissuade her, Lieutenant Colonel."

"I think Miss Hood is not sick. The current test shows that her previous abnormal symptoms may be a pregnancy reaction."

"Pregnancy?!"

This key word immediately attracted the attention of the fleet commander and Horatio.

"Yes, Captain. To put it simply, I believe Miss Hood is pregnant, about 10 weeks, maybe longer."

"10 weeks?! It's almost three months already?"

It turned out that the slight bulge in her belly was not due to weight gain. Also, as someone who had to patrol tens of thousands of steps on the Epic every day, how could she gain weight?

Horatio's blue eyes moved, and his mind hurriedly recalled the historical records of certain beneficial activities.

10 weeks ago...10 weeks ago...

Hiss, it seemed like that was the last day before setting sail from Abyss Port.

After returning from dinner that evening at the residence of Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Samuel Hood, they engaged in an intense physical celebration to mark the symbolic progress in their relationship and to wish them a happy departure.

He was a little tipsy that night, and with Farida's half-pushing, he enjoyed special treatment. Farida was particularly attentive and charming, and he also tried "projects" he had never tried before. In short, the experience was surprisingly good.

[Could it be that I didn't take any protective measures that night... It was so full that it overflowed. With such a large amount, I will definitely get pregnant.]
Thinking of the scene that night, his cheeks flushed slightly as he tried to remain calm, and he coughed twice in embarrassment.

Now that I think about it, this dishonest girl seemed to have planned it all along, especially after getting approval from the elders in her family on their relationship, she might have wanted to make it a fait accompli without even telling him.

No wonder she was always nowhere to be seen during the previous warp voyage, staying near the ship's cathedral filled with fragrance and the protection of the Emperor's might.

It turns out that this is to prevent the embryo from being affected by the subspace.

However, now in the 41st millennium, there is technology to support the important figures on the battleship to give birth to offspring.

- The ship's Ecclesiarchs or Battle Sisters can provide a limited number of void incubators - this can minimize the chance of the Void Sons mutating, and may even allow them to obtain the Emperor's blessing from the power of the Warp.

But as mentioned before, their number is extremely limited, and ordinary crew members hardly get such treatment. Each conservation requires a certain number of nun orders or state religion clergy to chant and bless 24 hours a day, guiding the Emperor's might to always cover the pregnant woman's abdomen and protect it from evil energy.

But the process is very arduous and it is also a difficult asceticism for the clergy.

Lieutenant General Samuel Hood heard this, nodded in approval, and gave his blessing with satisfaction:

"It seems that you are as reliable in fulfilling your family obligations as you are in fulfilling your duties for the Imperial Navy. Congratulations again on your promotion to Lieutenant Commander, sir.

You just need to manage your own warship, and I will take care of the rest."

After the two saluted each other, they cut off the communication.

"Congratulations, Captain." Sister Arabella smiled kindly, "You are going to be a father."

"Thank you for your hard work, Sister. How is the situation near the medical bay?"
-
After the bomb disposal site was blocked, the corridor was empty except for the Alphas, the pioneers of the Skitarii, who were guarding outside. Everyone was evacuated.

The red prosthetic eye of the Lati-EB2A1 scanned the cut-open guidance head, searching for the fuse inside.

"What an interesting creation." Her eyes were no longer the stereotyped charm of the past, but now they were full of energy and brilliance.

Perhaps, her usual charm is all a disguise. As a servant of Om Messiah, this is the real her (? Doubtful).

She planned to use this heavy Seeker missile as a research subject, but before that, she had to cut the fuse and completely neutralize this heavy missile that was powerful enough to send the entire ship to see the God-Emperor.

Through the circuit inspection performed by the Servo Skull, she was sure that the missile was not a dud, but simply did not receive enough impact force to activate its fuse - the middle of its guidance head hit the hole previously made by the railgun. There was no adamantium repair there, only an emergency repair of the airtight protective film, and the adjacent cabin was sealed.

In other words, its fuse simply hit a thin film that was better than nothing, and then continued to penetrate deeper, eventually rubbing against the living cabin that had a hole in it made by the railgun, until its kinetic energy was exhausted. The relatively large living cabin then acted as a 'bubble' of air armor, further protecting the fuse from being activated.

This was good news, proving that the missile was working properly, but it was also bad news, because a small collision could cause her and everyone on the Epic's bridge to be burned to charcoal.

Faced with such a huge threat, Latti was not nervous at all. Instead, she became more excited. Her dismantling techniques became more radical, as if the destruction of this body was not an unacceptable price to pay in order to obtain new research samples.

(End of this chapter)