Chapter 1355 - Forceful Boarding (1/2)

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“There’s no way we can survive that…”

Alexis sighed heavily as he rested his forehead on the console screen. Cold sweat dripped down his cheeks onto the screen panels. Right now, the thought of actually escaping, to abandon his post, was as vile as seawater to a drifting sailor.

Though the temptation was there, the punishment and repercussions of actually deserting was the same as being sent off to deal with the 12 Brown Bear Hypercruisers.

“Father, if we engage them head-on, we will surely be crushed. There is another way… a more… surgical manner in dealing with the enemy,” said Sarila, brimming with hope.

Alexis agreed, “From where I sit, there’s no other way but that.”

“That?” asked Jiang Fei, turning to Sarila.

“We are going to board their ship and attack them from the inside,” she explained.

Alexis wiped the sweat off his forehead. Determined, he returned to his commander’s seat, which was one seat behind the ship’s captain, and opened the ship-wide broadcast system.

“Attention all crew members. As you can see, we are being dropped off here to deal with the enemy. An enemy whose fleet far exceeds our numbers and strength. I’m sure everyone here has doubts on our survival and to that I say… trust me.

“We are going to deal with them my way. Right now, I want the ship to park at the furthest limit of our teleportation system. We are going to board their ship and wrestle it from them! That is all. Good luck and godspeed!”

As Alexis was giving his speech, Sarila pulled Jiang Fei aside to explain their ‘forceful boarding’ strategy.

This strategy is commonly used if enemies possess a larger number of ships and/or more powerful ones. It required sufficient energy to generate enough force to breach through the enemy ship’s shield.

Once the shield was compromised, soldiers could then be teleported aboard the enemy ship. That was one way to forcefully inject one’s soldiers into the ships of your enemies and surgically take them out from within.

Unlike any earthly based warfare, soldiers could never sneak into an enemy’s ship without being noticed. This was because of the phase-shift shield which not only stops physical objects, but also prohibits foreign teleportation.

Forceful teleportation through a phase-shift barrier could result in catastrophic failure. One possible outcome was the complete disintegration of the subject being teleported.

The first hurdle to be overcome was making sure that the enemy’s shield was either compromised or at least slightly damaged. Upon successful boarding, the ‘hitchhikers’ would then find another challenge waiting for them.

Soldiers who successfully teleported in would have to face the ship’s own internal defense system. Turrets and automatons were only to be expected. As they were in enemy territory, assault would be fierce, making survival difficult.

This bit was the real challenge as a single mishap would result in the utter destruction of the boarding squad. They would either take over the ship, or lose every single one of their members.

They would have to fight their way to the bridge, disable the phase-shift barrier, and then entirely take over the ship to escape by teleporting back to their mothership.

In cases where the enemy ship’s captain was desperate, he or she would trigger the ship’s self-destruct mechanism, destroying both themselves and the enemy within.

Forceful boarding should always be the last resort since there was barely any chance of success. Although it was a rare occurrence, all ships were still designed to prevent such an attack, rendering it even harder to execute.

Backed into a corner by his own superior officer, Alexis had no other option. The enemy fleet was too strong for him to attack via conventional means. The only way for him to survive this mission without being branded as a war criminal, was to board the enemy ship and take them out from within.

Jiang Fei’s pulse raced as he realized he was about to partake in such a high-risk mission.

“Sir, we are entering the enemy’s teleportation range. We will be within firing range in 30 seconds,” said the captain of the ship.

“Begin teleportation!” ordered Alexis.

Whether it worked or not, Redstone was done for, and this strategy was now the only hope of survival for Alexis’ fleet.

Alexis turned Jiang Fei and asked, “Fei, are you coming with me?”

Since the ship would be destroyed whether or not Alexis did anything, he would need to join the attack.

“I humbly decline. I do not want to be dead weight to you,” said Jiang Fei.