Chapter 159, Star Tunnel
In this vast universe, the most important thing to rely on for inter-galactic navigation is the star tunnel.
An interstellar tunnel connects two galaxies, compressing the distance of hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of light years into a journey of a few days, a dozen days, or at most a month.
Spacecraft and starships that have the ability to enter the astral tunnel essentially enter a state of hyperspace after entering the tunnel.
The normal state of a starship sailing in the universe is to sail within the star system at sub-light speed, fly from one jump point to another, then enter the star tunnel, arrive at another star system, and then find the next jump point...
This requires star charts and navigators.
The latter are specially trained psychics.
Only they can distinguish the specific location of the star tunnel jump point in the void of the universe and guide the ships through the tunnel to the other side of the tunnel.
At the same time, the so-called star map also has meaning.
The star map shows many star regions connected by star tunnels. Two adjacent star systems may actually be very different in the physical sense. Perhaps two star systems that are physically close are only a few dozen light years apart, but because there is no star tunnel to directly connect them, they need to jump through multiple star tunnels to navigate between them, so they are very far apart; while two star systems that may be tens of thousands of light years apart in the physical sense are connected by a star tunnel, so they are two close places on the star map.
In the human empire, the physical distance between galaxies is of little significance. Without interstellar tunnels, relying solely on the power of the spacecraft itself, traveling at sub-light speed, communication between two galaxies, no matter how close they are, is unrealistic.
Of course, physical distance cannot be completely ignored. Some monsters can really survive for who knows how many years, slowly flying through the void of the universe, and finally come out.
The territorial divisions of the empire are: the universe, the star field, the star region, and the galaxy. These four structures are all based on the star map. The densely packed star tunnels are like a huge network that connects the entire empire's territory.
There are three interstellar tunnels in the Angry Owl Galaxy. Tunnel No. 1 connects to the Korojia Galaxy, Tunnel No. 2 connects to the Black Arrow Galaxy, and Tunnel No. 3 connects not to the Pegasus Star Region, but to the Shenjun Star Region next door. The Pegasus Star Region and the Shenjun Star Region both belong to the Dragon Eagle Star Region, and are both under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Universe Region.
Wang Jiarong's caravan came from Tunnel No. 1. They had just finished a business deal in the Korojia galaxy.
Originally, her plan for this voyage did not include a remote place like the Angry Owl Star. Didn’t Ye Licia convey her cousin’s needs to her?
After thinking it over, it wouldn't be a big problem to take a detour to the Angry Owl Galaxy, then go to the Black Arrow Galaxy from Tunnel No. 2, then turn back to Koroga III, and then return to the capital, Flying Wing Star.
Running a little more distance and visiting two more planets shouldn't mean a loss - at most I won't make much, so just think of it as supporting my cousin who I used to play with when I was a kid.
It took the fleet five days to travel through the astral tunnel from the Korojia system to the Wrathful Owl system. The first four days were uneventful, and as usual, we could see bizarre scenes outside the window, but in fact, as long as we did not leave the range of the ship and did not launch any detectors, there would be no danger.
But on the fifth day, the navigator on the "Beautiful Girl" reported a piece of news. They detected an abnormal signal in the Star Tunnel. It seemed that there was a fleet following them and also traveling through the Star Tunnel.
This made Wang Jiarong very uneasy.
The tunnel from Korojia to the Wrathful Owl Star is completely deserted and not a busy waterway. Even the Empire is too lazy to build checkpoints at the jump points on both sides.
This situation has been going on for hundreds of years, except for the ruins of the Angry Owl Star.
Apart from her fleet, who else would pass through here?
Going to the Shenjun star area next door?
That was not realistic either. The prosperous hive world of Koroja had a route that went directly to the Shenjun star zone. No one would go to the Shenjun star system via the Wrathful Owl Star. No one would do something that would take a detour and cost more.
So what is the situation with this fleet?
During interstellar travel, you need to be vigilant to any abnormalities.
The empire's space domain is not really that safe.
Pirates are the most common threat, but threats from other aliens are also common.
The Empire calls all non-human races aliens and is committed to exterminating all intelligent races except humans.
Not to mention that when traveling through the Star Realm Tunnel, it is easy to encounter some...supernatural events. For example, a wrecked ship crashed in the Star Realm Tunnel, dozens or hundreds of people missing from the ship during the voyage, or even dozens or hundreds of people being added...
These things have even become commonplace.
Now, after clearly realizing that there was more than one ship following them in the same star tunnel, they had no choice but to be cautious.
After completing the star jump, they did not dare to stay any longer and chose to switch the engine mode immediately, gradually accelerating, trying to increase the speed to the upper limit of sub-light speed, and head towards the Angry Owl Star.
Wang Jiarong knew that Ye Lixia's cruiser was docked in the orbit of the Angry Owl Star. After joining the Quintet, her merchant ship would have strong security protection.
To this end, she also ordered the ship's astropaths - which is also a profession that psykers have undergone special training for - to try to contact the Quintet.
However, the Astropath brought her some rather bad news: they could not contact the Quintet.
The astronomical message had been sent, but there was no response.
This situation further deepened Wang Jiarong's anxiety.
There are only two reasons for not being able to contact them: either their astropathic messages are blocked and intercepted and cannot be transmitted, or the Quintet cannot receive their messages.
Neither one is a good thing.
It takes a certain amount of time for a ship to accelerate its engine after it leaves the warp state and resumes normal sub-light speed travel.
She now only hoped that this acceleration process would pass quickly, and for this reason she had repeatedly urged the mechanical priest who was responsible for the engine work.
At the same time, she also ordered the entire fleet to enter a level one combat readiness state and be prepared to face the enemy at any time.
The "Belle Maiden" was equipped with 11 M-class "Heat Hammer" macro cannons ready to go. The other three frigates were also equipped with 15 S-class "Defender" rapid-fire cannons and 3 M-class "Retribution" cluster laser cannons.
These naval guns, the operators behind them, and the Thinker arrays that serve as fire control systems and navigation systems have all entered their highest state of combat readiness.
The so-called Thinker Array refers to a collection of 'wetware' assembled under the Thinker technology by specially trained psychics or even ordinary people, which, in conjunction with basic mechanical calculators, assist in ship operations and assist in calibrating artillery firing.
But even though all the preparations for the war had been made, Wang Jiarong was still praying to the emperor, hoping that misfortune would not really befall her.
It would definitely be best if nothing happened. As for the current tension and extra preparation, it doesn’t matter if they are wasted.
However, not every prayer will lead to good results.
"They are coming out..." The navigator's voice sounded in Wang Jiarong's ears.
She quickly returned to the main console, and the screen cut to the opposite direction the starship was traveling.
In the void, many ships are gradually emerging.
In fact, the distance between the two sides is more than 50,000 kilometers.
However, this distance is still too close in space.
Through the Thinker Array, the virtual screen in front of them showed the identities of the ships that followed them, crossed the jump point, and entered the real universe.
The green orc fleet!
This can be seen from their exaggerated, chaotic appearance, which looks like a pile of garbage randomly spliced together. Only the green-skinned orcs' warships would grow into this kind of virtue.
However, although it is ugly, the paint job is haphazard, it has no traditional aesthetic appeal, and its appearance is too rough to be a product of technology... However, it is indeed a legitimate interstellar battleship.
"One, two, three, four... twelve greenskin warships... Can anyone tell me why there are so many greenskins here?"
Wang Jiarong was a little out of control.
However, no one could answer her question.
The senior managers of the caravan on the console were not ignorant. The orc ships that appeared later were not easy to deal with.
In the starry sky, there is a most intuitive way to judge the strength of a starship: look at its size.
Of course, it is not 100% accurate, and there are countless exceptions to prove this. However, when the difference in technology level is not that big, in general, the larger the warship, the stronger it is, which is the information that is true in most cases.
At the moment, among these twelve green warships, four are the size of destroyers in the Human Empire fleet; the remaining eight are at least the size of frigates.
The huge, ostentatious cannons on these ships also uphold the style of the green-skinned orcs: caliber is paramount!
Wang Jiarong tried to keep herself calm and gave orders: "The engine group should speed up as much as possible. We must try to get rid of these green-skinned orc fleets before they speed up."
"All fire teams, open fire at the greenskin fleet! Concentrate your firepower on a single target! Inflict as much damage as possible!"
"yes!"
Everyone on the ship knew that this was a critical moment. No one dared to be lazy when their lives were at stake.
Keeping distance and trying to escape is certainly the right choice.
The "Belle Maiden" is larger than the average destroyer, but most of the space is used as a cargo hold. The strength of the void shield and the ship's armor are barely at the level of a destroyer, but its firepower is at most less than half of that of a normal destroyer.
The other three frigates were of normal specifications and only carried some cargo at most.
There is no hope in a head-on confrontation against the greenskin fleet's 4+8 configuration.
Opening fire is just a way to do it when you have nothing to do. The key is still to make sure the target runs away.
And in the case of running at full speed, they certainly couldn't adjust the ship's hull to make it easier for all their firepower to hit the enemy. In fact, if they fired at the back at this moment, at most only one-third of their firepower could be exerted.
However, those green ships had just left the astral tunnel. The energy shields on the hulls had been activated, but it was clear that the power had not yet been maximized.
When the starship just jumped out of the star tunnel, it was relatively vulnerable.
Because of this, three rounds of concentrated firepower directly destroyed a green frigate.
The energy shield of the green starship was overloaded, and in the blink of an eye it changed from blue to dangerous red. A large number of shells penetrated the overloaded energy shield and hit the hull. The armor was shattered and the hull was severely damaged. If you zoom in, you can even see many green orcs flying out of the damaged hull.
This greenskin frigate has basically lost its combat capability. If the greenskins win the battle, they may be able to recover the ship and repair it, but at least in this battle, this frigate can't pose any threat.
Wang Jiarong was somewhat encouraged by the victory, and the morale of the entire caravan was also slightly improved.
However, this was almost the only good news afterwards, as bad news came one after another.
When they turned their firepower to the second greenskin ship, the greenskin fleet had gotten rid of the fragile state when they just completed the jump. This not only meant that the energy shields on their ships began to operate at full power and were not so easily penetrated, but also meant that the weapon systems on their ships began to operate normally.
The eleven green starships that were still able to function normally opened fire at the same time.
Kinetic artillery and greenskin laser cannons all fired fiercely.
The style of the greenskin ships is consistent with the style of their entire race. The number of various types of artillery on the ships is generally much greater than that of human warships of the same level, and the caliber is generally larger. But at the same time, the characteristic that the accuracy is generally much worse than that of human naval guns has also been perfectly inherited.
But the distance between the two sides was too close. At this moment, the distance was at most about 70,000 kilometers, but for a space naval battle, it could still be regarded as a close combat.
The human side will suffer a great loss.
On the four ships under Wang Jiarong's command, blue light flashed around them almost at the same time. That was the appearance of the void shield after being exposed to fire attacks.
In the blink of an eye, the void shields around the four ships showed signs of turning purple, which was a sign of impending overload.
(End of this chapter)
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