In the void, a fleet of ships called Angstrom sailed quickly towards the side of the Galen Galaxy. They had just left the subspace. The statues decorating the bows were surrounded by lavender energy. Those things should not exist in the physical universe.
The materials were tumbling in the Geller force field, and then quickly annihilated.
The Quicklegs is a merchant cruiser. It originally served as a Lunar-class cruiser in the Gothic Sector. However, it suffered heavy damage during the Gothic War. After repairs, it was judged that it could no longer serve as a military warship, so it became
A traveling merchant cruiser purchased by House Hoyland.
Captain House stared at the starry sky, looking at a gray planet that was gradually approaching. This was the outskirts of Angstrom. As long as they passed that asteroid, they would be scanned by the large monitoring stations deployed by the forge world, and then they would be identified.
identity of.
The Hoyland family is one of the few merchant families allowed to directly enter the Angstrom system. This involves thousands of years of entangled interests and a secret trade chain - the Hoyland family -
Angstrom-Red Pirate-Hoyland Family.
These almost heretical transactions gave the Hoyland family a near-monopoly position in many markets in the Maelstrom. They could control the prices of many industrial products, raw materials and even food, which made all trade extremely profitable.
How abundant is the trade oil and water in Maelstrom?
Even without the salary and allowances provided by his family, a Hoyland captain could make enough money from the meager cargo he carried privately to retire comfortably and live like a prince.
However, not all ship owners have the opportunity to obtain a lucrative route in the family. In fact, there is also a strict system within the huge Hoyland family. The top level is the blood ship owner, usually a direct member of the family, and the second is called
As the owners of the White Ship, these are the descendants of ancient servants who have served the Hoyland family for hundreds of generations. The history of these small families can even be traced back to the Great Expedition. It can be said that they share weal and woe with the Hoyland family.
The backbone of the Hoyland family controls most of the high-profit routes, and then there are the black sailing owners. They are not only the majority of the family, but also the main "thugs", plundering competitors' routes or fighting with other families.
They are mainly responsible for things like fighting for territory, and the goal of their life-and-death struggle is to become the retainers of the Hoyland family and be promoted to the owners of the White Ship.
The last group is the gray sailing ship owner. This kind of people usually have a name and pay a part of the fee regularly. They can use the name of the Hoyland family to run business in the maelstrom - but the prerequisite is that they cannot be compared with the previous three classes.
When conflicts arise between ship owners, small ship owners generally fall into this category. Their main goal in joining the Hoyland family is to break away from the control of the empire and avoid frequent requisitions.
House is a black sailing ship owner. His father joined the Hoyland family decades ago. After his father died in a pirate robbery, he inherited the ship and his father's contract with the merchant family. Over the years,
He has also made a lot of contributions to the Hoyland family, and he is considered a very promising person among the owners of the black sailboat to be promoted to the owner of the white sailboat.
But even so, it stands to reason that he shouldn't be the one to take Angstrom's route. After all, this involves the family's most core secrets.
But now is a time of war, and House heard that the family seemed to be targeted by the Inquisition, so this more "dangerous" route was left to a capable black sailing owner like him.
However, from the perspective of someone like House, who is used to licking blood from the blade of a knife, this is not troublesome. The Hoyland family has experienced many storms and waves since it lasted for thousands of years, and this is not the first time that it has been targeted by the Inquisition.
The family has deep connections in Terra and even the Inquisition, but this matter is nothing special.
On the contrary, some recent events in the Claremont family concerned him a lot. Hearing that Lord Soshyan had handed over the issuance of military coupons to that group of people, House felt puzzled.
Why?
Anyone with a discerning eye can see how much money there is in this. This expedition will last for several years. Once the military ticket is put into operation, the profit will be immeasurable. It means that you don’t even need to run the ship, you can make a profit just by lying down.
But why was this matter handed over to the Claremont family? They had all been beaten to the point of being left half alive. The Hoyland family was so powerful, so it would be better to leave it to them.
He had also heard some rumors that the slutty bitch from the Claremont family seemed to have hugged the Space Marine's lap, but he couldn't figure out how the other party did it.
The Astartes are notoriously devoid of desires, so it would be useless even if the little girl stripped herself naked and presented him to him.
What did Lord Soshyan think? Did he really want to take action against the family?
It doesn’t look like it is——
"well."
Sighing softly and shaking his head to drive away these distracting thoughts, House realized that this level of things was not something he should consider, and it was best to do his own thing at the moment.
"Check the status of each ship."
Following his instructions, the situation of each ship in the fleet was quickly reported. This fleet has two merchant cruisers, five armed merchant ships, and eleven large container ships, which carry products from the Bloody Skeleton Galaxy.
rare minerals.
"Ship owner, all ships and containers are in normal condition."
"Okay, the whole team maintains the current speed and turns on the transponder."
"yes!"
Those minerals will be exchanged for valuable arms in Angstrom, and this is only part of the voyage. The real promise of wealth is actually in another arms black market. House probably knows that the boss behind that black market is the Red Pirate.
But what the heck, he's just a businessman.
In addition, in the converted cargo ship of this merchant cruiser, there are also his own "private goods", some technological relics and alien artifacts. These can be sold at a good price in Angstrom, and he can exchange these for valuable
Advanced life-support devices, which often contain some technologies that do not meet the "regulations", but are very valuable, are then sold to those hive nobles who are afraid of death at a higher price, with a profit of about one hundred
About fifty times, and he doesn’t have to hand over this part of the profit at all.
"Sir, a signal!"
Suddenly, the scout shouted.
"A gamma-level distress signal, identified as kolj-987821, is a medium-sized civilian passenger ship belonging to the Kerbal Passenger Transport Company."
"Um?"
House frowned. According to navigation rules, all passing ships must lend a helping hand to a ship in distress, but considering the mission they have to perform now, it seems inappropriate.
"Where is the other party?"
"About 500 kilometers ahead of our route! The opponent's outline has been scanned."
Then, an image of a common passenger ship appeared in front of House.
"this--"
If he refuses to save the ship, his reputation will be ruined, and it may even affect the family's reputation if someone else rescues him from behind.
"Can you connect to the other party's bridge? First understand the situation to see if it's an engine failure or something else. If it doesn't work, send a team of maintenance technicians up, or leave a ship behind. The fleet will go first. Delivery is important."
"Let me see if I can get through. The other party has opened a wide area communication line."
The moment the communicator connected to the other party's communication, an unnatural scream resounded through the bridge of the Quick Legs, and quickly spread to other battleships, paralyzing all their Thinker systems in an instant!