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54.99% Out of Space / Chapter 369: Go Strike!

Chapter 369: Go Strike!

United Nations, Fortress Singapore, Command Bridge

Captain Blake stood before the armored viewports of the bridge, staring out at the city frowning. He turned and looked at the tactical plot table which had the map of their current ongoing conflict being displayed.

Several red icons were blinking currently, which indicated areas that his troops were engaged with the Imperials. The entire UN ground forces had only a single Marine Divison, including all the artillery and support staff, plus another Divison of Self Defense Force trained only in fixed defenses.

For the strength of the Air Force, there were 110 biplanes, the F/A - 1 Cobra, which meant ten squadrons, and a third of the fighters still undergoing upgrades to the Super Cobra model. They had double the numbers of the multi role flying boats, the FB - 1 Mariners, from the original four to eight units now.

As for their helo units, they now had twenty of those beasts, all stationed at the reserve Battalions' holding area on standby to rapidly deploy the Marines to any hot spot. The highly anticipated cargo planes were still in the trial phase and not in mass production line yet. Several problems had come up over the trials, such as overheating of the engines and heavy vibrations of the airframe.

The Navy was in a worse position. Manpower was primarily assigned to the Marines first, then the Air Force. The Navy got the remaining dregs and it showed as their presence was weaker compared to the rest.

Due to lack of manpower, Commander Ford has asked for permission to hire civilian contractors to offset the lack of manpower which also helped to provide jobs to the population. But it was just a temporary stopgap measure for the Navy.

With spring here and the seas once again calm enough, the goblin pirates and raiders will be out in full force. This was the time the Navy was greatly needed to provide a safe zone as the trading season kicks in and they have to protect the Isles merchant ships coming to conduct trade with the UN to provide the Blake the much needed gold and silver for all the projects and government policies.

And because of the lack of manpower for the Navy, they got blindsided by the Imperials in the inland sea. Their only floating service tender in the Source Sea came under attack was almost captured if not for the timely arrival of the fighter squadrons from Orwell's Point.

Thankfully, the Imperial Fleet got beaten back and they retreated off, while PT Boats tow the fixed tender to safety. It also had gained the Navy some good will between the naval and civilian crew who bravely defended the service tender.

This incident had forced Commander Ford to reassign his already small fleet to the Source Sea. Meaning he had to transfer a few of his PT boats and transfer them overland to Orwell's Point and deploy them in the Source Sea, to provide some naval support.

The Navy's sole seaplane tender was already in a bad shape and it now serves as a floating seaplane base based off the Goblin Sea for the Navy's entire two squadrons of Sea Cobras that had yet to receive any upgrades to the 'Super' model.

Shall he ask the Isles for support to hold off the Goblin pirates? Wondered Blake as he tapped his fingers on the side of the plot table. He cast his eyes back to the thick blue dotted lines that depicted the Northern Front.

So far the Marines were holding firm, but the sheer number of Imperials kept slipping through the 285 km long Front. One Divison of Marines, over twelve thousand men of seven Battalions with their backs to the Uncharted Forest was covering the 285 km long defensive line with another two Battalions in reserve were just overstretching the troops.

Nova Command, lead by Colonel Frank had given a plan, that ignored any leakers. The Marines will hit any massed concentrated Imperial troops while letting small numbers to leak past the Front and into the Uncharted Forest.

Blake had given his approval for the plan, which he knew that any small unit of Imperial troops unluckily enough to wander into the Uncharted Forest was very certain to eat up in the cooking pots of some of the monsters that came out of hibernation.

Even the Marines' own supply lines were run by armored gun trucks or done by air. They were all too well versed with the horrors of the Uncharted Forest. As for any Imperials that managed to survive and come within a distance of any settlements or city, the SDF will take care of them. If they were unable too, they have the options of either an airstrike, artillery strike or even the Marine reserve force.

And thinking of the SDF, Blake's expression turned sour. There were too many disciplinary actions among the SDF. Most of the personnel in the Self Defense Force were remnants of the old City Watch, ex Imperial soldiers, mercenaries, cutthroats, thieves and even adventurers. Oh, there might be a few righteous youngsters wanting to protect their homes, but most of the scum were in the SDF.

With barely a season to train the SDF, and no time to even filter anyone, the SDF had too many issues once they were deployed. There were some good seeds in the SDF but they were overshadowed by the bad.

Blake frowned as he pondered very hard at the thought of assigning hardcore officers to ensure strict discipline among the ranks of the SDF, kinda like Judge Dredd or Commissar of old. Hell, the rules of wartime allow officers to execute anyone for cowardly conduct, which barely anyone in the UNMMC does. But if he wants to do this hard line tact, he needs to use non SDF officers, incorruptible to really ensure discipline.

He sighed as he recalled the amount of corruption, abuse of authority, insubordination and many other disciplinary problems that popped up not even two months after the SDF was founded. The worse been the selling of weapons and desertion.

He really needed to deal with the SDF now before the problems take root and affect the SDF for the future. Blake rubbed his face as he wondered who to get to be the bad guy of the UN, "Fuck... Intel has already been doing some shady stuff, I might as well let them be the bad guys..."

-----

The Imperial City of Silverton, City Citadel, Great Hall

Emperor Varacen frowned as he glanced at the map filled with colorful flags and wooden tokens. "Why has the First, and Second Army retreated so far back?"

"My Emperor," A general with his head uncovered by armor stood forward and bowed. "Both Armies have encountered the enemies demonic weapons that fell like rain, killing many of our soldiers. It was till they retreated back to till this far, did the rain of demonic spells ceased."

Varacen's frown deepened, "And yet there is no sight of the enemy?"

"Yes and no, my Emperor," The staff general replied and pointed to the map. "Here, here and here, our soldiers and knights had encountered the enemy. And here, the Grand Fleet too has encountered the enemy."

"And the results? Why are our troops still not advancing forward?" Varacen asked.

"Ahem, unfortunately," The staff general rubbed the sweat beading on his forehead and said bravely. "Our forces were repelled by the enemy's demonic spells and weapons."

"But we found a flaw in the enemy's defenses!" The staff general quickly added before his Emperor could speak. "We found that the enemy was unable to spot small units of our men slipping pass their defenses!"

"Any large force that was gathered," The staff general quickly explained as he saw the raised questioning eyebrow of his Emperor. "was hit by a large number of demonic spells."

"But we found that if we split our forces into small groups of roughly a hundred, they can slip past the notice of the enemy!" The staff general said. "The commanders have already sent word that they are splitting their troops into small units and try to sneak past the defenses and after gathering together, will send a signal to the frontline soldiers and they will make a pincer attack at the enemy."

The Emperor nodded in understanding before he gave out a peat of laughter, "Good, good! At least you all are using your brains! If not, you won't need any brains at all!"

The staff officers all looked at each other and broke out in uneasy laughter with the Emperor's attempt at a joke. Just at this moment, a young noble in ornate armor spoke out, "My Emperor, so far we witnessed the rebel's use of their demon weapons mostly targeted our soldiers on the ground."

"I suggest we make use of our dragons and fly our soldiers across," The young noble said. "This way, we can avoid much of the demonic spells."

Emperor Varacen paused in his laughter as he considered the suggestion given. "Hmm.. yes, that does make some sense! What do all of you think?"

The rest of the staff officers looked at each other again before nodded and agreeing. Emperor Varacen nodded and said. "Good, you, whatever your name is, I shall grant command of all the Dragon Corps and the Third Army! I want you to move the Third across and within the walls of Orwell's Point by the end of the month!"

"Your Emperor, this lowly one is named, Alberto, Alberto Rothschild! You command and I obey!"

-----

United Nations, Far Harbour, Naval HQ, Chief of Naval Ops office

Commander Ford had a deep crease on his forehead as he had been frowning a lot these past few weeks. Reports after reports of operations readiness were piled on his desk, most of them with problems like not enough crew to full man the ships or this and that ship had sprung a leak or an engine failure.

He doubled checked the calculated cost of transporting four PT boats from Far Harbour all the way to Orwell's Point and sighed deeply, as the numbers looked to be cutting into his already very limited budget.

His Goblin Sea Fleet now had only five PT boats in operation with another two down for an overhaul of their engines. The two supposedly ready gunboat corvettes were three weeks late for their sea trials and commissioning.

The UNS Floatin' Wreck, was literally a wreck now, due to its structural beam was not even rated for the use of modern engines and worse, 3" guns! The sail boat converted gunboat could no longer withstand any more stresses to its beam and will literally shake itself apart if the ship ever engages in combat again.

As for the seaplane tender, UNS Matador which the hulls were sold by the bloody Islanders were already old and rotten. It too no longer rated capable to handle the high seas and has to retire as a floating base for the Navy's seaplanes.

Now without the UNS Floatin' Wreck and the transfer of four PT boats, the Goblin Sea Fleet doesn't even have a proper surface ship. It only has five PT boats that couldn't even hit the high seas, only enabling them to operate near the coastline and only supported by two squadrons of old model Cobras to cover a coastline so vast, Ford didn't even want to think about it.

Ford leaned back on his chair and puff out a deep breath. "Without the two corvettes... how the fuck am I going to protect the coast?"

"Fuck it!" Ford stood up and left his office. He nodded to the naval sentries as he walked towards the shipyards where the two corvettes were sitting uselessly on the dry docks. He found the Chief Shipwright arguing with a crowd of goblins at the ramp of one of the corvettes.

"Get back to work you green scums!" The Chief Shipwright yelled. "You do as I say!"

"Toopid Chief!" The goblins yelled back.

"We want pay increase! Or we go strike!"


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
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I'm back from CNY holidays! Plenty of bad news around the world, eps the Wuhan Virus! Keep safe people!

Chapter 370: Internal Problems

Commander Ford frowned and walked up to the group, "What's the problem?"

The Chief Shipwright turned and saw who was behind him and he stifled up and quickly threw a greeting, "Sir!"

He threw a chilly glance at the group of goblin techs who threw up a crude salute before petrifying into attention when they saw who has appeared.

"So?" Ford demanded as he turned his attention back to the Chief Shipwright.

"Sir," The Chief quickly replied. "The goblins are on strike! They are not willing to continue to work unless we met their demands!"

Ford frowned and he turned to the goblins still frozen in their salute pose. "Is that true?"

"Er... Yep, Sir!" One of the goblins with a welding mask over his head replied. "We work overtime, no extra pay! No fair!"

"Ya ya!" Another goblin wearing a pair of goggles added. "Orcs get combat pay in Marines! We techies no overtime pay! No fair!"

"NO FAIR!" Chorused the rest of the goblins together. It seemed like that was somewhat of a slogan to them. "NO FAIR!"

"Hey!" The Chief Shipwright jerked his thumb behind him, gesturing to the ship and glared at the rowdy goblins. "You were supposed to finish her up a month ago! And since you can't finish your work, you, of course, have to work overtime to finish her up!"

"NO FAIR!" The goblins grumbled. "Not our fault if toopid elves no deliver steel metal and parts!"

Ford vaguely understood what was going on between the Chief Shipwright and the goblin techs. "Alright, enough!"

Both parties stopped their argument and quieten down except for the goblin wearing the welding mask, "Big Chief of Shep Chief! We want justice!"

Ford sighed inwardly, before he replied, "Alright before we decided anything, let me get this straight."

"These two ships are unable to be completed in time is due to lack of materials?" Ford asked.

The Chief Shipwright sighed and nodded together with the goblins. "Our parts and materials we ordered from the factories were delayed."

"Ya! And not all come!" The goblins injected from the side. "Lousy quality too!"

"So, why wasn't this issue brought up?" Ford turned to the Chief. "You had so much time to report this incident to me, why haven't you done so?"

The Chief Shipwright's face turned red, "Er... I had... too many other things to work on... The factories are saying other departments are needing parts and materials urgently and I thought we could pay off the workers in the factories to supply us first... but... we got turned down..."

Ford sighed, "First of all, you are no longer in whatever place you came from. This is the UN! Bribes are illegal! And in the first place, you shouldn't even need to resort to bribes!"

"Chief, I don't care how you used to do things before you joined the UN," Ford said in a serious tone. "I do not want such things to be repeated ever again. Do you understand?"

"Ye- yes Sir!" The Chief's face turned pale while the goblins snickered at the scolding he got.

"And if there are any delays in shipment, you are to report it to your superior or failing that, report it directly to me!" Ford stated. "These issues shouldn't ever be a problem if you had reported it earlier!"

"I- I am sorry, sir," The Chief apologized. "It will not happen again!"

"Make sure that is so, or I will fire you and have someone else more competent to take over your duties!" Ford warned. "And for you goblins!"

The goblins quickly hid their glee and giggles as Ford turned his attention to them. "I will not pay overtime this time around."

The goblins hearing that news immediately was crestfallen. "Awww..."

"But, I will give a bonus if you all could finish up all the remaining work within a week!" Ford said.

Hearing that, the goblins peaked up, "Really?"

"Yes," Ford nodded. "But... Both ships must be ready for ship trials within the week!"

"Aye!" The goblins threw another salute. "We get it done in time!"

Ford shook his head as he watched the goblins drag the Chief Shipwright off towards the ships with great energy and excitement. He frowned as he really needed to complain to Blake regarding the priority and tasking of resources. At this rate, the Navy will really be picking up the leftovers of the Air Force and Marines!

-----

Orwell's Point, SDF City Depot

A newly constructed base for the city's militia was sited just a kilometer away from the city walls. Concrete, sandbag, and razor wire surrounded the green tents and the only permanent structure, a three story concrete building that acted as the local SDF administration offices and command post.

The local CO of the SDF was sweating in his uniform as he stared at the Intel Officer seated before him. "I... I can assure you that there are... are no issues with our inventories!"

Lt Tavor smiled as he propped his shiny black combat boots on the table. "Well, then there is nothing for you to be worried about!"

The CO nodded and eyed the four grim looking black uniformed guards of the Intel Division armed with the latest sub gun which he only heard rumors of. "T- Tea?"

"No thank you," Tavor replied in a lazy voice as he glanced at his watch. "I think my men are about done soon with their auditing!"

Just as he finished saying that, a knock came from the door and one of the black uniformed guards opened the door and admitting in another black cladded officer. "Sir!"

The newly arrived officer bent over and whispered into Tavor's ears. The local SDF CO swallowed nervously as he strained his ears, hoping to catch some of the conversations. Tavor's smile grew wider as he listened to his subordinate's report. "Well, well, well!"

"Seems like you have some issues with you record keeping!" Tavor said. "Come, let us see what is wrong with your records!"

Tavor stood up and gestured for the CO to follow him. He strolled out of the office like he owned the place, while the local SDF officers gave ground to him as they wondered what was going on. Tavor followed his subordinate to a small mound where a concrete bunker was buried under the earth.

There were some of his guards and they opened the steel reinforced door for Tavor when he arrived and upon ending, the smell of machine and gun oil assail his nostrils. Rows and rows of rifles neatly racked on wooden shelving lined the interior. Tavor did a quick mental count, as he scanned the guns racks. "So how many missing?"

'Eleven M1 Magelock rifles and twenty Dragon Single Action revolvers," His subordinate replied off a list. "All of them registered to non existing SDF personnel."

"My oh, my!" Tavor shook his head and looked at the trembling SDF CO. "How did this happen under your watch?"

"I- I swear, I know nothing about this!" The SDF CO said. "I- It must be the armorer! He must have done something!"

"Interesting," Tavor sighed as he took the list from his subordinate. "I have here your signature and stamp..."

"N- no! It can't be!" The SDF CO yelled in his defense. "There must be some mistake!"

"You do know those trading firearms without prior approval from High Command and falsifying government documents is a very serious crime?" Tavor raised an eyebrow at the CO. "And you as an officer had sworn an oath when you signed up for this..."

"It's not me!" The SDF CO fervent denied his involvement.

"Well, I am sure we will get to the bottom of this in no time!" Tavor smiled. "SDF Major Lockard Ro, you are now hereby requested to assist us in the investigation of the illegal sale of firearms. You duties will be temporarily discharged and till proven guilty or innocence, you will remain in custody without bail."

"Do you understand your rights?" Tavor asked and when the CO denied to replied, Tavor shrugged and said. "Take him away."

After the CO and those suspected of being involved in this incident were gone, Tavor sighed and turned the newcomer who just arrived. "Well, the position of the local SDF commander is now vacant. You want it?"

Ex Knight Captain Judis, now wearing the khaki brown uniform of the SDF with the insignia of a captain frowned. "So you want me to clean up this shit?"

"Yes," Tavor nodded. "Since your patron is the city governor here, I thought you might like to take up this offer."

Judis sighed, "So where do I start?"

"Well, we start from the top," Tavor smiled. "Find out who is corrupted from the officers and work our way down to the enlisted."

"You do know this would effectively cripple the SDF?" Judis said. "Especially if a large cadre of officers were suddenly removed, it will leave the SDF without any leadership and also bringing down its morale!"

"Of course I know this," Tavor replied in a dismissive way. "But we need to get rid of this... corruption first before the SDF can be useful. If not, we might as well disband the SDF..."

Judis sighed again. "Why did I choose to join the SDF... I shall have applied to the Marines or something else..."

"Haha!" Tavor grinned. "Well, it's because you can't leave your Princess alone..."

Judis growled, "Enough of that, she is my liege and I had sworn an oath to serve and protect her forever!"

"Well, if only the officers here take their oaths as seriously as you," Tavor shook his head. "We won't have this problem!"

"Anyway, clear out any officers and troops that are corrupted," Tavor reminded Judis. "I will try to chase down those missing weapons!"

Judis nodded, "Don't worry, I will find those... traitorous scum and bring them to justice!"

-----

UN, Haven, National Hospital

Dr. Sharon massaged her aching head. Lately, the voices in her head appeared to have stopped, but recently it started back up again. The constant whispers in an unknown language seemed to be trying to tell her something, but she could barely understand what they were telling her.

She had kept a notebook, writing down the pronunciations as much as she could of the words that were spoken. She had shown Magister Thorn, yet he was baffled by the words and her condition as he too couldn't find anything wrong with her using his magic.

She decided to ignore the words and went about her day, tending patients and teaching trainee doctors and nurses on the art and science of medicine and healthcare. She even pushed away from the negative thoughts on the deaths of one of the human Marines which she could still remember.

She sighed, thinking that this planet might be both wonderful and alien, yet the local conflicts were none the less similar to wars human has waged throughout its history. Luckily there was some good, like the marriage between the Captain and the Princess.

"Hmmm... I wonder if Princess can bore a baby between a human and an elf..." Dr. Sharon mumbled to the computer. "Since our DNA shares close to 99.93% similarities, almost the same as chimpanzees..."

"It should work?" Dr. Sharon frowned. "Since we humans and elves both have 23 pairs of chromosomes..."

"The only issue is that both species can't donate blood to each other," Dr. Sharon continued narrating to her computer. "But if we take the blood serum protein called albumin which both humans and elves have, we technically can use it to save lives."

"We could also use plasma from both species after all the red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and other cellular components are removed," Dr. Sharon said. "But the interesting thing now is to observe if a human can impregnate an elf!"

"Hmmmm..." Dr. Sharon's eyes glittered. "It should be interesting to study the effects of interbreeding between two alien species... I wonder how it will turn out in the end?"


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Neobear Neobear

Advance chapters are available on Pat-reon

https://www.*******.com/neobear

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Join the discussion in Discord

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