Chapter 1342: Entering the Combat Zone

While the s.h.i.+p captains were busy communicating with others, officers like Jiang Fei and Alexis would have nothing to do until they were in the combat zone.

“Fei, when we arrive in the combat zone, you must put yourself above others during the battle. Do not act beyond your limits,” Sarila advised Jiang Fei.

“I know,” Jiang Fei replied.

He knew the hazardous conditions of war and would not do something stupid like charging to the front lines.

Like Sarila, Jiang Fei joined the Valsalrian Army to protect Earth. He would not do anything that could potentially end his life before the safety of Earth was a.s.sured.

“Captain, broadcast s.h.i.+pwide coms,” said Alexis.

“Aye, commander. s.h.i.+p broadcast is open,” replied the captain after tapping a few b.u.t.tons on his console.

Alexis walked towards the captain’s seat where the mic and camera were situated.

“Attention to all members of the 7th Fleet, 13th Division. You are not to act of your own accord. You are not to accept any missions or commands unless it comes from me. You are not to accept any communication requests from other parties!” said Alexis, establis.h.i.+ng his three forbidden orders. It was to ensure that all soldiers would listen to and obey only his commands.

After Alexis was done with his s.h.i.+pwide broadcast, the captain turned off the coms and returned to cooperating with the other s.h.i.+p captains.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Fei probed when he noticed Alexis letting out a deep sigh when he was done speaking.

“Let me ask you something,” said Alexis as he turned to Jiang Fei and gestured for him to sit down.

“Do you think I overdid it back there?” he asked.

“Ehm… I’m not sure how to respond to that, sir,” replied Jiang Fei.

In truth, he did think that Alexis had done something redundant. The soldiers under his banner had been loyal to only him. Even without those three forbidden orders, they would only listen to Alexis.

“So you say, but I don’t blame you for thinking that. I believe this is your maiden battle. Know this, in the combat zone, signal and communication disruption is normal.

In situations when communications with me have failed, other s.h.i.+ps will have to listen to and obey the commands of other Fleet Commanders. Orders from these other commanders must be obeyed, and they usually send my soldiers to the front as fodder,” explained Alexis.

“But if the soldiers obey your orders down to the letter, they would not be able to act of their own accord. What if they were to be destroyed by the enemy?” asked Jiang Fei.

“Calm down, boy. My troops are not as stupid as you think they are. They are able to be fluid in battle as the situation develops. Even without my orders, they will survive. That s.h.i.+pwide broadcast was a mere theatrical act for my soldiers to use against the other commanders in case they get captured and put on trial,” said Alexis.

“I am merely protecting my soldiers,” he added.

“I see,” Jiang Fei hummed.

Concurrently, Jiang Fei was just starting to learn how to tell whether commanders were being selfish or selfless, it was hard to distinguish between the two.

Fortunately, selfishness was only prominent among Fleet Commanders, not with soldiers. Otherwise, there might be a civil war between the soldiers themselves.

…

After three weeks on the Hypercruiser, the entire 13th Division had arrived approximately 0.5 lightyears away from the Dommix System.

“Commander, we have arrived on the outskirts of the battlefield,” said the captain.

“Engage all radar systems and deploy the Wayfinder,” ordered Alexis.

He didn’t want to proceed into the battlefield without first confirming the situation.

“Aye, commander!” acknowledged the captain and started to follow his commands.

Half an hour later, the captain returned with a report.

“Sir, the Wayfinder has been transmitting data and it seems the route into the battlefield is shrouded with a magnetic disruption field, like a thunderstorm, sir.”

“Have the Wayfinder fix the disruption. We are not in a hurry. The s.h.i.+p is not to move unless I say so,” said Alexis, smiling from ear to ear.

“Aye, commander!” said the captain.

“Hold there. Make sure the disruption is properly cleared before we go in. I don’t want to see any sort of spark in the route! We want to be at peak condition before we provide support to our brethren!” said Alexis, raising his voice.

“Aye, commander!” replied the captain, with the same smile on his face.

He knew what Alexis was thinking about and configured the Wayfinder to thoroughly ‘clean’ the area, a method that would consume a lot of time.

“Sir? Are we going to waste time here?” asked Jiang Fei.

“Nothing we can do about that,” said Alexis with a wink.

“Understand this… the sooner we arrive, the more enemies we have to face. Let the main attack force thin out the enemy forces first,” he continued.

Before departing from Redstone, Alexis had pulled some strings with the higher ups to get his fleet deployed at the outskirts of the battlefield. He had spent a large enough fortune on this, as he believed that the longer they stayed out of battle, the less casualties his soldiers would suffer.

The 13th Division was running a very thorough cleanup of the magnetic disruption field. So thorough, that it had taken a week just to reduce the disruption field by 10%. Their fleet was still ‘stranded’ outside the Dommix System, leaving the main attack force incredibly frustrated.

One day, the captain came to Alexis and reported, “Commander, we are being hailed by another ally.”

“Patch him through,” said Alexis as he hurried to the bridge.

Even though he was unwilling to enter the battlefield, he was still required to accept communication requests by another ally. That was the rule.

A Valsalrian appeared on the console screen and shouted at Alexis, “Alexis, what is the meaning of this? Why are you still outside the Dommix System?!”

“There seems to be a magnetic disruption field enroute to your location. To prevent substantial damage to the fleet, I must first clear the field,” replied Alexis nonchalantly.

He did not know who this Fleet Commander was but he did know that they had the same rank. There was no need for him to hold back.

“Waste your breath on someone else who cares! Bring your sorry a.r.s.e into the battlefield now!” roared the Fleet Commander.

“Before you continue, I want to make this one thing clear. I don’t serve you, nor do you serve me,” said Alexis with a stone cold glare.

“You–” the commander stammered, clearly agitated.

Just when he was about to lash out again, Alexis ended their communication.

“Continue with the clearing, pay no heed to that commander!” barked Alexis.

…

Three hours later, another communication request was received.

“Patch it through,” Alexis hummed.

A high-ranking Valsalrian appeared on the screen and spoke, “You are the Fleet Commander here to provide support?”

Alexis stood up and saluted the Chief Commander before he spoke, “Aye, Chief Commander.”

“Good. I’m ordering you to enter the battlefield now. Head to x.x.xX,x.x.xX,x.x.xX and provide support to the fleet there!” said the Chief Commander.

“Sir, there is a magnetic disruption field on the route. We will be ripped apart by the storm before we even enter the battlefield!” said Alexis.

Although he clearly did not want to enter the battle, he would not blatantly reject the order like before.

“I don’t want to hear excuses! Obey the order and do your job!” said the Chief Commander coldly before abruptly ending the communication.