Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 795 08.794: "Theodora von Valancius"

Horatio was now standing in front of the heavy door of the "Imperial Fleet Dispatch Office".

The emblem of the Gothic Sector Navy was engraved on the door - a double-headed eagle holding an astrolabe and thunder. This was the core of his uncle, Admiral Samuel Hood, who held power in the Admiralty.

The weight of this department's responsibilities is difficult to overestimate.

It not only covers the scheduling, route planning and safety compilation of all Imperial fleets entering the Gothic Sector, but also involves countless charter merchant fleets, civilian transport fleets and even every interstellar route that the Imperial Navy itself can safely pass.

The complexity and precision of its operation is beyond imagination.

Especially for a super-large fleet anchorage and cargo transit planet like Abyss Port, which has complex routes, astonishingly large daily cargo throughput, and requires precise scheduling and resource allocation at all times, the instructions of this office are the lifeline to maintain its operation.

However, this extremely difficult task could not be accomplished by Admiral Samuel Hood alone.

Behind him was a huge team of nearly three thousand well-trained clerks, experienced Imperial Navy officers, and loyal and reliable warrant officers.

They work together in a complex command and dispatch center covering an area of ​​tens of thousands of square meters, handling a large amount of specific affairs day and night to ensure the steady pulse of star sector shipping.

As the head of this huge organization, Admiral Samuel Hood only needs to focus his energy on those key routes that have been screened through layers and judged to be of great strategic significance to the empire and of the highest value, and ensure their unimpeded operation, and he will have made great contributions.

However, this also means that whether Horatio himself can successfully leave the starport, as well as his future direction and mission destination, are now in the hands of his uncle.

To some extent, this is something to be thankful for.

Horatio listened carefully and could clearly make out voices of conversation coming from behind the door.

One of them was the unique, majestic and resonant voice of his uncle Samuel Hood.

The other one belongs to a woman.

The female voice sounded quite old, with a steady and powerful voice and clear pronunciation, yet it also had an innate grace and grace. Just by listening to her voice, one could feel an extraordinary aura.

Horatio thought to himself that it was hard to imagine what kind of woman could have such an impressive voice and demeanor.

But what is certain is that such women must have extremely high social status and influence in the hierarchical human empire.

He raised his hand and tapped his knuckles twice on the hard door.

Benefit, Benefit.

"Come in, Colonel Cochrane!" Almost at the same time he knocked on the door, his uncle Samuel Hood's voice came clearly from behind the heavy reinforced door.

A soft green light flashed in the eye sockets of the servo skull on the side of the door, and the heavy steel door made a low mechanical sound and slowly slid open to both sides.

An office full of classical British charm and beautifully decorated with solemn decoration came into Horatio's sight.

The overall style presents a sense of refinement and heaviness that has been precipitated over the years, similar to the legacy of the "Victorian era" of ancient Terra, but it also incorporates the empire's unique grandeur and skull sacrifice.

In the warm fireplace, carefully selected aromatic flowers and woods are burning quietly, emitting a pleasant fragrance. The flames are dancing, giving the room a layer of soft warm light.

In front of the walls on both sides of the room stood tall and elegant mahogany bookcases, with rows of thickly bound books neatly arranged in the cabinets, with golden High Gothic characters embossed on the spines.

The gaps between the books were filled with parchment scrolls carefully bound with ribbons and printed with the double-headed eagle emblem of the Imperial Navy.

At the end of the office is a magnificent huge curved glazed floor-to-ceiling window.

Outside the window is the "Imperial Fleet Command and Dispatch Center" covering an area of ​​more than 10,000 square meters. At this moment, the blue data light stream is constantly reflecting from the control console below to the French window, interweaving with the warm light in the room.

Looking down from the commanding position of the chief officer's office, thousands of personnel in various uniforms were busy and orderly shuttling between the huge database array and rows of "Thinker" logic engines with flashing indicator lights.

They are like worker ants in a huge ant nest, each with their own duties. Every tiny operation may affect the fate of countless ships in the starry sky.

These people, and the commander-in-chief sitting here, are the key to keeping the huge Imperial fleet running safely, efficiently and smoothly in the Gothic Sector.

If we take into account the Imperial Navy's Gothic Squadron that is carrying out missions in other distant star regions or even across several star fields, the heavy responsibilities of this dispatch center and the complexity of its integrated coordination work will increase by several orders of magnitude.

Horatio's gaze finally fell on the admiral sitting at the head of the huge armchair - his uncle, Samuel Hood.

Admiral Hood saw him come in, nodded slightly, and signaled Horatio to sit down at his leisure.

Diagonally to the side of Samuel Hood, a high-definition holographic image was steadily projecting the image of a lady with an elegant and graceful temperament.

She was wearing an extremely luxurious, gorgeous court dress with a strong Baroque style. The shoulders were filled with high padding, and the wide and solemn skirt was held up high by an exaggerated bustle. The skirt was embroidered with complex patterns made of gold and silver threads.

Horatio vaguely remembered that the last time he saw a woman wearing such a retro and complicated outfit was in his previous world, the planet called "Blue Star", in the portraits of Queen Victoria I and the Tudor Queen known as "Bloody Mary" in the ancient history records. That was in the distant year of 1588 AD.

"Salute to you, Admiral Hood." Horatio stood at attention, clenched his right fist and hit his chest, giving a standard military salute.

Admiral Samuel Hood showed a gentle smile on his face. He raised his hand and signaled a naval captain who was responsible for assisting him in handling administrative affairs, and instructed the servants standing beside him to prepare tea for Colonel Horatio.

"Lady Theodora."

Admiral Hood then turned to the holographic image and said solemnly, "This is the ideal candidate I strongly recommend to you - Colonel Horatio Cochrane.

He is not only a lord canonized by the Empire, but also a rising and hot new star in our Gothic Fleet, and a hero who made great achievements in the Second Damocles Gulf Expedition. At the same time." He paused, with a calm smile on his face, "He is also my nephew-in-law."

Admiral Samuel Hood finished speaking with a smile, then suddenly changed the subject and became serious: "But I must tell you, Lady Theodora, if it was just because of the honors he has won or because of the marriage relationship between me and me, I would never recommend such a young commander to take on this important task."

he went on.

“After all, such an escort mission that requires extremely careful consideration and extremely high comprehensive capabilities of the commander is usually only suitable for senior commanders who have served in the starry sea for decades and have extremely rich escort experience.

The reason why I firmly believe that Colonel Cochrane is competent is that…”

Admiral Hood turned his gaze to Horatio with a hint of approval, “He was the commander of the First Attack Squadron of the Imperial Navy during the Second Damocles Gulf Expedition.

One of the core technologies of the warships that Lord Cochrane once commanded was an advanced cloaking device that was quite similar to the ones used by the alien enemies he had fought before.

Therefore, Colonel Cochrane knows both himself and his enemy. As an excellent offensive commander, he is undoubtedly the most suitable person to deal with those who attempt to use the same tricks to attack us. "

The lady in the holographic image slowly turned around, and her deep and sharp eyes looked at the tall young man who was striding to the admiral's huge wooden desk with exquisitely carved patterns.

There was an obvious look of approval on her majestic face.

"Your Excellency Lord Cochrane," the woman's voice came through the communication system, clear and steady, "Please allow me to introduce myself to you."

She gracefully stroked her right hand across her chest and nodded slightly, her movements revealing the calmness and courtesy of an ancient noble: "I am Theodora von Valancius, the current head of the von Valancius dynasty of wandering merchants."

(End of this chapter)