Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 653 06.652: "Captains of Two Ships"

As Samuel Hood finished speaking, an official from the Ministry of the Interior from Holy Terra appeared.

The gold edges of his gorgeous white robe sparkled in the sunlight, and he wore a high crown on his head, the gems inlaid on the crown emitted a cold luster.

He walked forward, and his shrill voice suddenly sounded: "Ahem!"

The official first coughed pretentiously to emphasize his presence.

Then, four followers quickly stepped forward. With coordinated movements, they worked together to pull open a golden scroll. The patterns on the scroll were delicate and intricate, and it swayed gently in the breeze.

Horatio needed no reminder and immediately knelt on one knee again. His movements were quick and decisive, and his knee made a dull sound when it touched the ground.

Then, the official lowered his head slightly, glanced at the contents of the scroll, then raised his head, raised his chin, looked down at the people below the stage with the tip of his nose, and read in a long, bureaucratic tone: "Your Excellency's outstanding military achievements, fearlessness of solitary courage, and bravery in desperate situations are a role model for all naval officers and soldiers..."

Horatio knew in his heart what the Terran bureaucrat was talking about, and how they knew these things.

The final desperate action of the First Attack Squadron was recorded by the cameras on each warship. Except for the E-47 attack ship that exploded, there are a total of five precious original video materials.

These materials were carefully extracted as the attack ships returned to port one after another.

When the Navy Department saw such a shocking video, it immediately made an expedited copy and dispatched an express ship to deliver it to the higher authorities.

The original video was copied and edited into countless learning materials, promotional materials, internal reference materials, and reporting materials.

Although the human empire is slow to respond, it always spares no effort when it can inspire new hope.

The lifeless Human Empire needs new heroes to constantly appear in the public eye. The bureaucrats in the Ministry of the Interior Office believe that only in this way can the laborers who are in the black factories in the Lower Nest, working 20 hours a day, all year round, barely surviving on nutritional paste and corpse starch, proudly straighten their chests as if they were injected with chicken blood and output more war potential for the survival of the empire.

Horatio never answered these questions directly, for fear of being praised too highly and ultimately brought to pieces.

Being watched by everyone in the human empire is not a good thing, especially when this kind of attention is gradually being watched by the evil god.

Although he felt that he might have been stared at by some unknown evil eyes.

"The Holy Terra Internal Affairs Branch in Macragge, under the watchful eye of the Great Lord of Mankind, grants you the title of 'Lord' in the name of Wise Master of Internal Affairs. I hope this gentleman..."

[No wonder he called me that in the starport. It turns out that Macragge already knew about his title.]
Horatio was originally a nobleman, and his family had enjoyed a noble reputation since the time of Admiral Speyer, their ancestor and hero.

However, since his disappearance, Speyer has never been declared dead.

Without martyrdom, the title of nobility would not be passed down.

This led to an embarrassing situation - the entire family had no inheritance of title, and eventually gradually declined in the human empire.

He only has a noble title, but no inheritance or ennoblement.

As a branch family, the Cochrane family is a nominal noble family with only a coat of arms but no fiefdom.

And this embarrassing situation was finally broken today.

'Lord' is an honorary title that cannot be inherited.

It does not belong to any system of aristocracy, and its status cannot be simply described as high or low.

Because it is a reward given to those who have made significant and outstanding contributions to the human empire, simple comparison of high and low seems too cliché.

Therefore, it cannot be inherited and cannot be compared.

Its nature is similar to the 'Medal of the British Empire' in the previous life, and it is the highest honor for an individual.

It also does not conflict with other titles.

Regardless of whether the holder is a baron or a duke, he can obtain the title of "Lord" after making significant contributions.

Just like the 'Lord Captain' of the Imperial Navy, whether it is a colonel, a brigadier general, or even an admiral, they can all put the honorary title of 'Lord Captain' first.

"Thank you for the grace of the Emperor, and praise the glory of the Ministry of the Interior!" After the senior official read out the lengthy content of the enthronement, Horatio held his hands high and spoke clearly in High Gothic.

Then, an Anglican Archbishop came forward slowly, holding a staff in his hand. The Archbishop looked solemn and dignified, muttering something and blessing Horatio. Then, representatives of the local nuns also came forward, with pious faces, and gently sprinkled holy water on him.

At this time, the church choir in the square began to chant sacred and loud hymns. The melodious singing accompanied by the released white doves soaring in the sky, flapping their wings and flying into the distance.

Of course, he couldn't take the scroll of canonization that was so huge that it could wrap Horatio up completely.

His honor guard (note: this is a classic concept, not limited to a formal status of Ultramarines) stepped onto the stage with their heads held high and accepted the honor on behalf of the captain.

One of their duties is to protect the sanctity of the captain's honor.

Each classed ship has a collection hall to store these treasures.

All the empire's books of enthronement are heirlooms that can be passed down for thousands of years and are an incomparably noble honor.

No ordinary ink can carry these glories intact, so they are all written by psychics from the Ministry of the Interior using psychic gold refined by their spirits.

Finally, after finishing his own work in the Ministry of the Interior, Horatio received what he was most looking forward to, the letter of commission from the Imperial Fleet.

It was a five-meter-long letter of commission, and due to its special material, the edges of the letter shone slightly. But surprisingly, he thought it would be Admiral Samuel Hood who would convey his commission, just like his lieutenant colonel commission.

Until another tall and straight man, who was not completely unfamiliar, walked onto the stage with capable steps.

"Hail, Admiral Jarvis!" Horatio immediately straightened his chest and head, and saluted the admiral of the fleet of the Hazy Star Region headquarters with his arms raised powerfully and his movements standard.

He had never even seen the admiral in person. His knowledge of him was limited to his photograph and Archie and Louise's interviewer, as well as the fact that it was Louise who brought back the commissioning letter of lieutenant commander he had sent to her.

Logically speaking, an admiral of this level should be in the office of the Hazy Star Domain Naval Headquarters all day long, busy with the extremely large number of written reports from the fleets in various star regions of the Hazy Star Domain - after all, the Eye of Terror is in the Hazy Star Domain, which results in the main building of the Hazy Star Domain Naval Headquarters and the number of clerical officers inside far exceeding that of the surrounding star regions, second only to the Sun Star Domain.

"Are you Horatio Cochrane?"

"Yes! Admiral," Horatio responded loudly, his voice booming.

"First time meeting. Yes, if I remember correctly, it was the first time we met face to face."

The admiral closed his eyes and thought for a while, then slowly opened them and said, his eyes were deep and sharp: "I have seen your photos so many times that I thought we had met before."

"You are not mistaken Admiral. This is the first time we meet. It is thanks to your trust that I was made the captain of the experimental attack ship squadron that I was able to achieve such an honor."

"No no no..."

Admiral John Jervis shook his head and said, "This is an honor you have earned yourself. I should say that it was you who prevented my decision-making on the attack ship in the Hazy Star Region Navy Headquarters from being slapped in the face by opponents.

Let the conservatives see clearly that there is potential for reform in the Imperial Navy.

No, to be precise, it is the possibility of innovation for the entire Imperial Fleet and even the Imperial Military System."

The admiral's eccentric statement surprised Horatio. He frowned slightly, with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

He rarely saw general officers who would discuss this topic in public.

However, it can also be heard from the subtext that the turmoil in the navy's decision-making level is probably far beyond expectations.

Just from what he knew, taking the Bacca fleet as an example, the radicals and conservatives finally broke up over whether to build aircraft carriers and how to use them because of the development and use of aircraft carriers.

This eventually led to a group of new aircraft carriers, along with their captains and crews, being thrown into the arms of chaos in a civil war.

In the human empire, political struggles could really turn into war at any time.

The winner takes it all, and only the victorious party has the final say.

Previously, Admiral Jervis had been hated by all sailors and attacked by political opponents for a long time because of the introduction of the most stringent naval discipline law in history.

Almost all his opponents were looking for loopholes in his work and failed decisions.

These failures will ultimately be pushed onto him, making him responsible for them.

This is a burden that many people cannot bear.

It seems that Admiral John Jervis, who is in the limelight, has used his good news to overwhelm the conservatives and seize the current voice in the Naval Headquarters in the Hazy Star Region.

The reformists in the Imperial Navy are overwhelmed by the entangled and flourishing conservatives, trying to find a new way out in the face of an increasingly suffocating crisis.

This was in line with Horatio's wishes. As a time traveler, he believed that the Empire's armed forces did need to change. The benefits of blindly following Guilliman's Codex were transforming from advantages to absolute disadvantages that restricted their hands and feet.

"You're not doing a very good job, young man."

The admiral looked him in the eye and said seriously, his eyes fixed on Horatio, and then he changed the subject: "And it should be called incredible! No one had expected such an effect from the attack ship before.

Who would have thought that you could sneak into the enemy's anchorage, wreak havoc and kill people there, and even destroy the enemy's fleet flagship?
That's an enemy starport. Even a Queen of Glory-class ship would have difficulty accomplishing such a feat against the starport's numerous railgun defenses and the firepower of thousands of ships of all sizes."

"You flatter me, Admiral."

Horatio just smiled, his mouth corners slightly raised, revealing a humble expression: "This is not my own achievement. I thank the entire special operations team for their cooperation and dedication. It was their feint to the east and attack to the west that won me such a precious opportunity.

And the crew on my ship, it was they who showed the most heroic sea wolf spirit at the most dangerous moment. "

Admiral John Jervis looked at the young man in front of him, nodding his head seriously, his eyes revealing admiration and recognition.

"It's time to change the epaulettes. The gold thread is frayed."

In front of the people around him, Admiral Jervis did not read out the commission according to the standard commissioning procedure, but instead directly removed the single large shoulder plate on Horatio's right shoulder from his uniform.

Two brand new golden navy shoulder plates were taken out from a sandalwood box held by an admiralty servant.

On it, three golden skull emblems are arranged in a triangle, which is the symbol of the rank of naval captain.

"In the name of the Divine Emperor, the Imperial Navy Headquarters in the Hazy Star Region has appointed Lord Horatio Cochrane to the rank of Captain of the Imperial Navy and to serve as the captain of the Dreadnaught-class Swift Skyhawk light cruiser and the Imperial-class Indefatigable battlecruiser.

The authority to rule shall take effect immediately upon receipt of this commission by Lord Horatio Cochrane.

The personnel and operation arrangements of the two warships are under the full responsibility of Lord Horatio Cochrane, who is free to deploy and manage them. "

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(End of this chapter)