Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!

Chapter 188 03.0187: ‘The people just need to accept it, but our imperial bureaucrats have a lot to consider’

It’s unknown how much time has passed.

When Horatio opened his eyes again, he found that he was covered with a blanket.

The feeling of the stimulant fading was not pleasant, and he felt like his brain was hung with a lead ball.

Taiwan Novel Network →𝒕𝒘𝒌𝒂𝒏.𝒄𝒐𝒎

He rubbed his temples and slowly turned his eyes.

Farida stood in front of the Emperor's portrait fully armed, leaving only his back.

“Farida…? Are you okay? Uh…” He slowly stood up, swaying his scabbard and patting his trouser legs.

Farida didn't speak, staring straight at the Emperor's statue.

As a time traveler, Horatio knew that it was a portrait of the Emperor in the 30K era when he was still walking on earth.

But... why was she staring straight at him?

And her eyes...

Horatio was not mistaken, Farida's eyes were as bright as those of a hawk, and she looked like her father, Vice Admiral Hood.

"Mr. Horatio, we have arrived at the starport, please be ready to disembark." Her tone was as cold as frost, and her voice became mature due to hoarseness.

She turned around and walked towards the gate. When she passed in front of Horatio, she turned her head to look at him.

That resolute look, the voice that became mature due to hoarseness, the temperament of righteousness and fearlessness.

Horatio thought he had seen the wrong person, but she was indeed Farida Hood, the daughter of the vice admiral, and she was getting more and more like her father.

[What happened to her, it felt like she had become a different person. ]

The two walked out together, without a word, in silence, with only the heavy footsteps of boots on the ground.

On the bridge passage, Commodore Peru and Captain Sterling were waiting for the two.

"Sir." Horatio saluted the Commodore.

"Mr. Horatio, Miss Hood, you will take them back. The Admiralty has sent a guard to escort you."

Then he looked at the girl whose eyes were still red and swollen, but whose eyes were determined, and said in a comforting tone: "The accident is still under investigation, and the Sacred Will will be towed back to the Abyss Port. Everything is still undecided, please don't give up hope..."

Farida said nothing, but saluted solemnly.

Commodore Peru sighed, looked at Horatio, and continued to say to him: "Don't forget, tomorrow."

Horatio nodded.

[Go to see the Inquisitor tomorrow. ]

"Let's go." The Commodore patted Horatio on the shoulder and sighed.

Several senior boatswains blew long and sharp whistles, and the armed sailors standing in two rows raised their guns to their shoulders and saluted the captain when he got off the ship.

——

"Mr. Horatio, Miss Hood is in your care." Coming out of the void elevator for naval officers in the star port, Commodore Peru did not forget to remind Horatio.

"Don't worry, Commodore, I will make sure she returns home safely." Horatio said.

"Also, don't forget about tomorrow's matter."

"I definitely won't."

Then he supported Farida, who was still a little dazed, and walked towards the special car with the Hood family.

Four void blue paint escort shuttles sandwiched the special car in the middle, and each car was full of fully armed guards.

The special car was driven automatically by the machine soul. Horatio took Farida to sit in the back seat. There was only this young couple in the car, no one else.

The floating car slowly rose, and Farida sat upright, turning her head to look out the window. The street scene was prosperous, with both medieval Gothic style and postmodern Abyss Port Metropolis night scene.

It was already midnight, and this long and difficult day was finally over.

"Are you feeling better now?" Horatio sat beside her, took the sword off the shoulder strap, and placed it horizontally on his legs to prevent the sword and the guard from hitting her.

"Yeah." Farida answered very straightforwardly.

It was a bit too straightforward, so Horatio didn't know how to bring up the topic.

"Miss Hood, think positively. You have seen the fleet command throne. It is so high and has bulletproof and fragmentation-proof structures.

The explosion may not have hurt Vice Admiral Hood, but he was trapped by the wreckage. Maybe we will find him tomorrow after cleaning up the wreckage of the lower combat intelligence command center."

Although Farida was silent, her breathing was even, and her green eyes that looked at the city scenery outside never blinked, and she seemed to be thinking about something.

Horatio was speechless. When the effect of the stimulant faded, his eyelids seemed to be hung with lead weights. After taking a nap in Farida's bedroom, he was more sleepy than not sleeping.

Now he just wanted to lie on the soft big bed and have a good sleep.

——

Gothic Sector Admiralty.

Lord Admiral Venuska Katalia watched Horatio's performance in the entire naval battle alone in the Admiralty Office.

She got these top-secret videos first. As the current head of the Gothic Fleet, she had to personally check the career and professional qualities of the descendant of this legendary admiral for the future of the fleet.

Her sharp eyes scrutinized his every move, and her sharp ears captured every order issued by Horatio and the timing of the order.

She watched this young man from beginning to end, from commanding the artillery fort, to fighting against the anti-jump gang, to rescuing the bomb bay crisis, to blockade and interception, and to encirclement and annihilation.

Although Horatio only went to the artillery fort and had no experience in other departments.

But as part of the comprehensive combat command, the macro artillery fort is the most comprehensive test that can best reflect the psychological quality, professional knowledge, correct decision-making, adaptability, and courage of a trainee officer.

This is why every candidate officer must go to the macro artillery array to participate in a naval battle before taking the naval lieutenant examination.

Many people start from the relatively safe rear departments in the core area, but Horatio was sent directly to the gun deck by Commodore Peru, which obviously means a cross-level inspection.

On the desk in front of the Lord Admiral, there is a long consecrated parchment.

The Lord Admiral himself is reading and writing something on the parchment.

Under the candlelight, the title can be vaguely seen as "Recommendation on Recommending the Gothic Fleet Candidate Horatio Cochrane to Obtain the Qualification of Commissioned Officers without Examination".

On the long parchment, Horatio's academic performance, exercise assessment, actual combat experience and other evidence are listed from many aspects, and his military academy assessment transcript is attached, and a leather bag for loading videotapes is used.

It also wrote about his importance as a descendant of Speyer to the morale of the fleet and the public opinion of the Abyss Port Anchorage.

Three names have been signed on this piece of paper.

They are the department's direct officer: Captain Lord Pringle Sterling.

The captain of the ship: Commodore Edward Perroux, the captain of the Doomsday-class battlecruiser Indefatigable.

The responsible officer of the Gothic Fleet Military Intelligence Command: Alexander Hood.

There are at least three senior captains and her own signatures in the vacant places, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Gothic Fleet.

She is considering recommending this legendary descendant for a nomination.

And this letter of recommendation will determine whether Horatio can directly waive the test and get the Imperial Navy Officer's Commission.

If successful, he will be the only Imperial Navy officer in the Gothic Fleet in the 41st millennium who has obtained the signature of the Supreme Commander and waives the test to get the commission.

But before that, Horatio must first pass the approval of at least three senior captains.

——

Alexander Hood's official residence.

The hovercraft slowly landed on the helipad behind Farida's mansion.

Several shuttles also landed nearby.

The guards inside were sent by the Navy to strengthen the defense of Vice Admiral Hood's residence.

They were equipped with heavy weapons and even automatic cannons.

At the outer door of the residence, two dark black Leman Russ tanks belonging to the Imperial Law Department were on duty outside the residence.

They were not only to protect Miss Hood's safety, but also to monitor.

On the sky garden platform where many high-ranking imperial officials lived, there was a patrol every 500 meters.

The Spire District had begun martial law and curfew, prohibiting anyone from going out on the streets late at night. Violators would be arrested immediately or shot on the spot.

Citizens and nobles did not know what had happened, nor did they know why the curfew was suddenly imposed.

In fact, after the news of Vice Admiral Hood's assassination reached the Ministry of the Interior of the Gothic Star District, it attracted great attention from the Minister of the Interior and the entire Gothic Fleet.

Today, a vice admiral was assassinated. Who can guarantee that tomorrow it won't be anyone in the Ministry of the Interior, even the Minister of the Interior?

The Minister himself was in his pajamas and called the senior officials of the relevant departments.

In particular, Jim Hanke, the Minister of Administrative Affairs, who was specially used to deal with such situations and follow the procedures, and his senior staff Sir Humphrey and Chief Secretary Bernard were all called to his official residence for a meeting and discussion.

In the end, the whole news was still concealed from the sky and the sea, and was first suppressed within the senior officials of the Star Region Imperial Government, "selectively reporting", and reporting good news instead of bad news as much as possible.

This is not only because Vice Admiral Hood's life and death is still unknown, so it is not easy to report.

More importantly, several judges of the Tribunal will come to Abyss Port in succession in the near future to conduct investigations.

If the matter is reported hastily, the bureaucrats of the Empire will only cause trouble.

In this regard, their interests are consistent with those of the Imperial Navy.

After all, no matter what, the Imperial Navy is an independent branch under the Ministry of the Interior.

Under the bond of interests, the bureaucrats of the Empire cannot be separated. The official hats turned them into grasshoppers tied to a string.

So the whole incident was trimmed overnight by the Ministry of the Interior quickly and timely, using unimaginable efficiency, just like cutting flowers.

The Imperial Document Court in Abyss Port stayed up all night, and hundreds of clerks were locked in the document court to discuss how to write the press release that can be made public.

They will be confined here until the investigation of the matter is completed to ensure that those who know the whole thing are controlled in a suitable area.

At this moment, the lives of living people and the pain of the victims' families were processed in a digital, formal and theoretical way.

Just like the last sentence said by senior staff Sir Humphrey in the meeting at the minister's residence:

"The people only need to accept the 'facts', but our imperial bureaucrats have a lot to consider."