Chapter 97 The Night of Arrival
"What are the specific coordinates here?" Calvin looked at the imaging results on the holographic map, crossed his chest with one hand, and rubbed his chin with the other hand.
"Yes." Constantine said, looking at a small dot on the holographic map in the middle of the desert.
As the provider of the mission, he has the obligation to tell the Gray Knights the location and background environment characteristics of the mission clearly.
"The ratio of land to sea on this planet is about 5:4, but the proportion of deserts on the land accounts for an absolute majority of 80%."
"Huh? Such a good proportion. With a few adjustments, it can be inhabited, right? How did this planet become abandoned?"
Calvin quickly discovered this unreasonableness. This kind of native environment that is highly similar to the human home planet Terra is rare in the entire universe.
"It's just a victim of geopolitics. This place is too close to the asteroid belt. The Imperial sector administrators found that the economic value of developing this place was completely disproportionate to the cost of defending against nearby pirates. Two Astartes battles nearby After the regiment's garrison failed one after another, they completely abandoned this place," Constantine explained.
"So the desertification here is natural?" Calvin asked.
"No, in order to prevent the pirates in the asteroid belt from developing this place into a home port, the Sector Governor, with the help of the Grea Forge World, issued a desolation decree, or a desolation agreement, here."
"What is that?" Calvin smelled a familiar smell just from the name.
"A powerful biochemical virus bomb that can decompose more than 90% of the world's organic matter within three weeks."
"Gan... is it so fierce? A biological version of the Extermination Order?" Calvin and his two brothers looked at each other.
"Ahem...Constantine, I think..."
Calvin decided to persuade the other party again, so it seemed that this adventure was not necessary.
They have to re-evaluate whether it's too risky to risk a movie set on their doorstep with a bunch of oily guys just to return a favor.
Constantine also saw the thoughts of Calvin and others, or that a normal person would have such concerns at this time.
He did not wait for Calvin and others to come to a negative conclusion, because once the will is formed, it is difficult to change.
He chose to interrupt the other party's thinking process before his will was formed, adding another layer of bargaining chips to the already agreed deal.
"As long as this operation goes smoothly, we are willing to ensure that the supply of psychic affinity metals to Titan will be increased by 5% on the original basis in the next 100 years."
Calvin and others were unmoved. After all, there were too many things in the house to use. The wealthy Gray Knights are really not short of these supplies.
Seeing that the other party's reaction was not as expected, Constantine did not hesitate. He neatly increased the pressure again:
"I have checked your latest needs for Mars. I have been authorized to promise you that if you successfully complete this mission, we are willing to permanently station a set of gene seeds on the Demos micro-casting world accompanying Titan. We are responsible for the training equipment, equipment maintenance and personnel training costs.”
……………
Calvin and his comrades were silent. They suddenly understood how the influence of these technical geeks on Mars spread throughout the entire empire.
"This is so generous!"
"Promise him!"
Golden and Tariq's voices rang in Calvin's head.
No wonder they were so flippant. Without him, it would just be too much.
So after a brief silence, Calvin had to face the boss from Mars with a professional smile amidst the expectations of his comrades:
"Ah, distinguished Father Constantine! Please be sure to tell me the main points of the mission again!"
The scene in the preparation room once again returned to a lively atmosphere, or maybe even more lively than before...
The black ship quietly and covertly approached the unnamed planet from the direction of the asteroid belt.
Without intending to alert the enemy, neither fixed-point teleportation, which can be used based on large-scale auspicious scanning, nor drop pods, which are used in frontal door kicking operations, can be used.
It was the final decision after everyone discussed to release a Thunderhawk in orbit, and then let the Thunderhawk take the Gray Knights to sneak into the atmosphere and land in a covert manner.
In the desert world, the night is always more lively than the day.
A dune lizard lies quietly on the top of the yellow sand, using its two independently working eyes to enjoy its precious midnight time while on alert.
It is using its belly to absorb the dew that has condensed on the gravel due to the severe cooling. This is the only way to obtain moisture other than traveling to distant water sources.
"Buzz..." The sound of the Thunderhawk's engine swept through the low altitude. But its black paint makes it difficult to distinguish at night.
The frightened sand dune lizard straightened its tail and spread its four slender legs to escape.
But it was too late. In the dark night, a big hand fell from the sky and grabbed it and stuffed it into his mouth.
"What are you eating here? Are you hungry?"
Calvin, who had just operated the jetpack and jumped off the Thunder Eagle with the Mechanic-Priest in hand, looked at Tarik, who landed first and had a bulging mouth, and asked.
Behind Calvin, one by one, the Gray Knights were constantly penetrating the black night sky, descending into this uninhabited desert with the low roar of the jetpack.
"The local desert lizard." Taric said to Calvin in the psychic channel.
His mouth was still chewing, but he clearly didn't enjoy the taste of it.
"Is it delicious?" Constantine asked curiously after receiving Calvin's explanation.
For this kind of question, the other party said he was too lazy to answer. His big eye roll said a lot.
"Then why do you still want to eat?" Mechanic Priest became even more curious.
"He's looking for water." Golden came from behind and answered Constantine's question.
"Looking for water?"
"Well, by eating local creatures, we can obtain the memory of local resources and certain abilities from DNA." Golden explained.
"Then what"
“Then you’ll know where the nearby water sources are.”
"You need this? The Astartes I know don't seem to have this need."
"Then we can bypass these water sources and the pirate troops that may be stationed there," Calvin said.
"Is this so? I've learned a lesson."
Only then did Constantine somewhat understand why, despite the powerful power of war machines such as the Mechanicum's intelligent control legions and Titan legions made of steel, they were still only responsible for auxiliary and logistical positions during the Great Crusade.
This group of Astartes is really the man named the Emperor, a complete killing machine created from the genetic level.
One or two is not impressive, but imagine that when 100,000 of these inhuman warriors descend on the enemy's territory, all you can do is pray for the other party and pray that he will not die. Too ugly.
All their abilities and details exist for war and killing, even details like eating are no exception.
From a purely war point of view, even the sages of the Restoration Order who focus on destruction and destruction may have to give way to three points of courtesy, not to mention that these Astartes in front of them are the most special kind among them.
Against this background, Constantine felt that he had more confidence in the success or failure of this mission.
"Bah, bah, bah!" Tariq finally finished tasting his "appetizer". While spitting out the residue and flesh and bones in his mouth, he planned the preset route on his data terminal.
At this time, the Gray Knights who had silently assembled around them all received the marching route planned by Tariq on their data terminals.
"From here, there is the smell of water vapor. If we follow this route and pass through the middle, we will pass through the death zone. We will not pass through any water sources." Tariq confirmed with them again on the public communication channel.
After he finished speaking, Calvin, as the team commander, checked the status of the team and waved his hand:
"Walk!"
All the Gray Knights formed a fan-like formation in silence and began to march towards the target.
The night had just begun and they had plenty of time.
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