"Senior," Horatio straightened his back and saluted the Female Sergeant.
"Are you injured?"
"By the Emperor's grace, no," Horatio replied solemnly with a proud smile.
The valiant Female Sergeant breathed a sigh of relief and patted Horatio's shoulder, which was fitted with an iron arm:
"You performed very bravely today, worthy of the name Childer of Loyalty."
Immediately after, she returned Horatio an aquila salute, and the other Childer of Loyalty Marines around them also saluted.
"Thank you."
Whoosh—
A shuttle with a sci-fi appearance and gilded emblems suddenly entered through the opening in the Upper Hive.
The surrounding hovercars and Valkyrie transports all moved out of the way.
The shuttle was also very considerate, specifically choosing a corner to slowly descend, without interfering with the rescue efforts.
The shuttle's vector engines slowly rotated 90 degrees, descending gradually.
After it steadied, two sections of a stepped folding hatch lowered.
Everyone nearby looked uniformly towards the hatch.
"Could it be Rear Admiral Alexander Hood?" two Childer of Loyalty Marines whispered.
"Probably? Besides Rear Admiral Hood, who else would come specifically?"
Tap, tap.
A steady sound of footsteps rang out, and a tall man appeared before everyone.
The middle-aged officer was well-proportioned, and although his face had a few wrinkles, he remained dignified and solemn, his eyes bright and full of spirit.
He wore a naval uniform with a strong Age of Sail style, its edges decorated with golden stripes symbolizing his status.
A soft woolen naval bicorne hat held a pure white plume, and casually draped over the outermost layer was a majestic, luxurious naval officer's greatcoat, blue on the outside and white on the inside. One glance was enough to tell that this person was of extraordinary origin and held a high position.
Sergeant Louise's eyes widened suddenly. She recognized the newcomer, immediately took off her helmet, and respectfully performed an aquila salute.
"Attention, all! Salute Commodore Edward Peru!"
Click!
All Childer of Loyalty Marines uniformly brought their rifles to their shoulders and gave a standard military salute.
The man raised his hand, signaling the end of the salute, and his gaze fell upon Horatio.
"Hmm, Midshipman Horatio Kirkland, nice to meet you," the man greeted with a full, resonant voice, though his words were not as stern as his appearance suggested.
This made Horatio breathe a sigh of relief.
"Commodore, hello!" Horatio smiled and politely responded, "I really didn't expect you to come in person."
"You look so much like your father. When your father was sent to my frigate as a Midshipman with a letter of recommendation, he was about your age. Time flies, and you've grown so big..."
The man's hands were clasped behind his back, his eyes full of reminiscence for the past.
"I am ready to become a member of the Imperial Navy."
"Very good," the man nodded approvingly. "Do you know what you need to do now?"
"Uh... strive to become a qualified Childer of Loyalty cadet!"
"That's not wrong, but I want you to set your goal on becoming an excellent Childer of Loyalty Midshipman."
"Of course, sir!"
"We'll talk about other things tonight. I'll deal with the mess here first."
The man walked to the center of the area and cleared his throat.
"Citizens of the Empire!" the man's booming voice spread throughout the entire block without needing a loudspeaker, like a captain giving orders.
The surrounding crowd, some crying, some furious, some indifferent, all looked towards him.
"On behalf of the Imperial Navy, I express deep regret for today's bloodshed and sacrifice, and strongly condemn the perpetrators! Our valiant Childer of Loyalty Marines fiercely repelled the culprits who caused this heinous incident.
Citizens of the Empire, violence is not a panacea for everything, and the Guild Alliance is a very bad example. The Gothic Fleet will always stand with the loyal citizens of the Empire.
From now on, our Marines will gradually take over the security here. Please believe that whether it is the warships hanging in the sky or the Soldiers patrolling the streets, the Imperial Navy will become the strongest shield for all loyal citizens of the Empire!
Starting this month, the Gothic Fleet will distribute emergency relief supplies to the F-4 Block and ten other blocks in similar situations, to help loyal and law-abiding citizens of the Empire overcome their difficulties.
Our Medical Officer and holy Sisters will provide complete free medical and rehabilitation services to those injured in this incident, and will also provide shelter for children who have lost their parents. Please rest assured, trust His Holy Navy, trust the Gothic Fleet!"
Commodore Edward Peru's speech may not have had flowery words or inflammatory charisma, but it was concise, powerful, and practical. Horatio looked around, and many people were already in tears, kneeling down, reciting prayers and holy names in praise of the Emperor.
"Navy! Navy! Navy!"
Even more people began to shout slogans in support of the Imperial Navy.
"To all the loyal servants of the Empire fighting on the front lines, well done, you've worked hard."
Edward Peru saluted the Childer of Loyalty Marines, rescue personnel, and Sisters present.
"It's no hardship, it's rather troublesome for you, sir, to clean up the Guild Alliance's mess," the Female Sergeant responded solemnly.
"Someone always has to manage Abyss Port. If leaving it to the likes of the Guild Alliance doesn't avoid trouble, then it can only be us," Edward responded with a dignified smile.
Horatio looked at the man. After secretly reading the log of the head of the Fleet Intelligence Department, these words sounded particularly meaningful in his ears.
"Let's go, Mr. Kirkland. I never thought I'd be calling that name for over thirty years. Perhaps I should call you Horatio or Young Mr. Kirkland, I'm afraid I might mistake you for Thomas."
[Commodore Peru actually came to pick him up in person...? What is the background of this Midshipman?]
Amidst the rather astonished gazes of Sergeant Louise and the others, Edward put his arm around Horatio's shoulder and walked towards the shuttle.
—
Rear Admiral Alexander Hood, his mood incredibly irritable after an all-night meeting about the Vegas District incident and learning that Evil Cultists had extended their reach to his daughter, roughly pushed open the study door.
He turned on the power to the chandelier, instinctively scanned the alarm device, and then vigilantly looked around the entire study. After finding nothing unusual,
He lay back on the leather armchair with a sigh of relief, wearily rubbing his temples and closing his eyes to rest.
After a while, he opened his eyes and looked at the holographic star map by the window. The window there was open, and a gentle breeze stirred the sheer curtains.
Suddenly, the man's brows furrowed.
When he wrote his log, he had gazed at the window's position several times. The star map hadn't moved for a long time. Previously, the area directly facing him was clearly the Kronus Expansion, but now it had become the Eye of Terror, centered on Cadia.
[Someone has been in the study!]
The man's eyes widened in anger, and he instantly stood up with a whoosh.
He walked along the star map, his gaze falling on a slightly protruding book on the adjacent bookshelf.
The old butler had obsessive-compulsive disorder; when arranging books, he almost used a ruler to measure the alignment of each book.
And now, this book, which he hadn't touched for a long time, protruded about three millimeters more than the other books on the same shelf. This anomaly, which most people would overlook, was particularly glaring in the eyes of the head of the Intelligence Department.