"I apologize for Mira's wanton behavior, Commander Renault, but I have no intention of correcting her." Jax raised his glass to Renault, and then drank the wine in one gulp.
Jax is an old man who looks to be over sixty years old. His hair and beard are all white, and the wrinkles on his face are deeper, but his blue eyes are still full of vitality. He wears a captain's uniform with a white background and black edges.
He also wears a large-brimmed hat with an anchor emblem on it, which is a typical captain's attire.
"Ah, I understand," Renault made the same move: "My subordinates are also a group of problem children."
"I originally thought that Mira was attracted to the big guy under your command, but now it seems that she is not interested in men of the same size as herself." Jax poured himself wine again and again and looked at Mira and
Matt Interactive.
Renault turned his head and looked around. Not far away, Mira was surrounding Matt, constantly asking him what he liked, what hobbies he had, if he wanted something to drink, which planet he wanted to go on a date to, what kind of wedding he wanted to have, and what he planned.
What are the names of how many children are born...
Matt was sitting upright with a dishonored look on his face. When Renault looked over, he looked at him asking for help, "When can we leave?"
In contrast, Tychus was chatting happily with several of Mila's female soldiers - who were of normal figure - and looked like they were hugging each other, while Jimmy huddled aside and drank juice silently, looking helpless.
People look very pitiful when they ask questions.
If he wasn't afraid of the ghost causing trouble and brought Tuo Xu with him... Reno thought about how he was frantically ordering food in the bar and turned his head silently.
"Is she serious about getting married?" Although Renault was happy to see Matt's serious expression crack, he still had to be cautious if it involved a life-long event, especially if the other person seemed to be very capable of fighting.
"Hahaha... She is actually a good girl, if it weren't for those eyes..." Jax didn't know what he thought of, sighed and continued to drink.
No, no, it’s definitely not just because of the eyes, right? He is an old father who doesn’t care about his daughter.
Although the two of them are nothing alike.
"Well...Matt is a workaholic, and he has never considered personal issues so far. It would be a good thing if the two of them can make it work." Renault planned to leave this matter to Matt to decide on his own.
However, the current context is a bit strange no matter how you think about it, like parents on both sides discussing their children's lifelong events.
If this doesn't work, we have to talk about business.
"About this 'Sentinel'," Captain Jax changed the topic first: "Isn't it the same thing as 'Reynold's Ranger'?"
Sure enough, the mercenary group that even Nova couldn't find information on was still somewhat capable, but Nova had already given answers to similar questions.
"It's not an organization just for money or politically inclined," Reno said. "It was founded to deal with [threats to humanity]."
"Ah, it sounds like a civilian galactic police organization," Jax continued to drink: "Please continue."
"As we all know, aliens are real, and most of our technology comes from the 'Pioneer Ute'," Renault said: "It follows that there is more than one kind of alien life in the universe, and they
It is basically impossible to treat humans as 'friendly' as Ute."
Speaking of which? With Ute's technological level, it was completely defeated when it did not cause much damage to humans. The reason is still a mystery to this day? The most reliable guess is that there is an alien race that looks very similar to humans.
It once caused huge losses to Utes, which led them to run away when they saw humans.
Moreover, the bugs in Haven and Tarsonis are not the product of natural evolutionary mutations. If they are allowed to spread, their lethality is simply unimaginable.
"In addition, the biggest threat [to humanity] is humanity itself." Thinking of bugs, Renault's expression became serious: "Forbidden scientific experiments? Crazy military actions? And reckless destructive development? For the entire
The future of the sector is fatal, and the duty of the 'Sentinel' is to eliminate these 'threats'."
"Well..." Jax only drank half of the glass this time: "In this case, wouldn't it be better to disclose the purpose and recruit people with lofty ideals? Wouldn't it be self-defeating to bring these mixed mercenaries?"
"What if you do that? First, you will be targeted by some guys who think they are a [threat to humanity]. Secondly, you will be asked to take action by some guys who think someone or something is a [threat to humanity]. Finally, if you do these things without
There is no money to take." Renault spread his hands: "So, in the form of a mercenary group, we take on tasks related to [threats to humanity] and achieve our goals without attracting attention, a win-win situation."
Nova's fallacy is self-evident, but if it is true, others can question: Who defines this [threat to humanity]? How do you make sure that this [threat] is no longer a [threat] after completing the mission?
There is no further explanation in the "standard answer" given by Nova. After all, someone who can see through the "Sentinel" is just a facade, learn its purpose, and finally question the specific implementation form of this purpose will not be so boring.
……Bar.
"I don't have any questions for the time being," Jax did not continue to ask: "However, for my team to join this 'Sentinel', it's not just about winning a stud game."
"Of course, please tell me." Renault was not surprised by this. Winning Mira in poker should only qualify him to talk to Jax. The real request had to be approved by the group leader.
"Why do you think, with the strength of our independent group, we stopped at the Port of the Dead? The daily expenses of five hundred people are quite a lot." Jax poured wine again, "That's because, on this planet, Blackxis (
BlackSith), there are alien treasures.”
"..." Renault was speechless for a moment. As soon as he said these words, the atmosphere of the entire negotiation changed instantly, as if the leaders of the two pirate gangs were discussing where to find the lost treasure or something.
"Your people help us find the treasure, and I will bring them to join your 'sentinel'. Don't worry, I will give you a portion of the money based on your contribution." Jax patted Reno on the shoulder.
"If you haven't succeeded..." Renault frowned: "I didn't bring many people this time..."
"You came to me, you must have read the information," Jax said nonchalantly: "My advantage is the air force. I don't have strong ground troops and ruthless characters, but you do. Isn't this a hit-and-miss relationship?
"
"...That's right." Renault could only nod.
Did he take a fancy to the ground force mercenaries he hired? He could obviously hire them himself... ah.
Rather than spending your own money to hire people to hunt for treasures, now you not only have free thugs, but you can also get the bulk of the treasures - Ginger is still hotter.
————
The surface of Braxis.
Damn it, he was tricked, Renault cursed as he trudged in the blizzard and cold wind.
The old man's battleship is called "Iron Justice", and a large icon of swords and fists is painted on the bow. Just looking at the name, you can tell that he has decided to join the "Sentinel" from the beginning. The subsequent negotiations and
The conditions are all routine.
However, considering that he still follows her despite his age, I should ignore this cunningness for the time being.
The planet Blacksis is a planet that is frozen all year round. Apart from the space station "Port of the Dead", there are only some scientific research stations of unknown forces on the surface, and no one has troops stationed here.
The most troublesome part is that the difference between the surface and the ice of this planet cannot be detected by conventional means, so the "treasure map" Jax produced is meaningless and can only be determined based on the approximate longitude and latitude.
To determine a huge range, and then use engineering power armor to dig down.
The only good news is that both the soil and the rock formations are frozen solid, and there is no danger of collapse at all.
In addition, due to the poor communication signal due to the environment, Jimmy as a scout and Nova as a ghost were unable to participate in the operation. The main personnel of this operation were Reno, Jax, Tychus, Tosh and...
"So brave, pony!" Mira, who was wearing ice blue armor, slapped Matt's shoulder armor vigorously: "I'm impressed by you!"
Matt's expression couldn't be seen through the helmet, but his face probably turned pale: "...If it is really an alien treasure, I have relevant knowledge and can make suggestions to the commander as soon as possible."
"Okay! I know you are worried about me, no need to explain!" Mira continued to shoot.
No, I think he was just avoiding you. Reno glanced at Matt, who was so photographed that he was walking crookedly. After he learned that Jax would be involved in the operation, he volunteered to participate in the front-line operation. He probably felt that as a deputy,
Mira will definitely stay with "Iron Justice" to fight the battle, but the result...
"Mr. Jax, we have been excavating from the surface downwards..." Renault glanced at the huge engineering power armor: "600 meters, but no structures suspected of extraterrestrial ruins have been found. Should we switch to lateral excavation?
"
"No," unlike Reno's pitch-black power armor, Jax's power armor is pure white, inexplicably matching the ice and snow: "It has to dig down at least a thousand meters, and this time the aliens
There are no remains of treasures in the first place.”
"..." This information is too detailed. Is there any unanalyzed information on the "electronic treasure map"?
"Reno, you have to believe in our...Jupiter Empire's...intelligence capabilities." Jax patted Reno's armored arm.
What are those two suspicious pauses? You are neither part of the Jupiter Empire nor did you discover the treasure through intelligence capabilities!
Renault felt more and more that he had been tricked, but since he was here and saw no obvious danger...just dig a hole.
————
The next time passed with the roar of the engineering armor, Mira's one-sided flirtation with Matt, and Reno and Jax testing each other.
The water content, or ice content, of the surrounding soil increases as we go deeper, causing the entire spiral downward channel to look a bit crystal clear.
Tychus was in a daze from time to time, perhaps reminiscing about the female soldiers he met before, while Tosh would open his helmet from time to time and steal a piece of snack that he didn't know what it was.
Boom boom boom - click.
Wait? What is that sound? Due to repeated failed attempts, Renault's mind was a little stiff. He heard a strange noise coming from under the construction machinery drill and did not have time to react.
It seemed like...the sound of ice breaking?
"Hey! Stop!" Renault shouted loudly to the ranger driving the engineering mecha.
The pilot stopped moving, but the mecha was not so easy to eliminate inertia. As the mecha stopped, the terrifying sound that had occurred before suddenly rang out.
Click, click, click—boom!
Covered with ice, the solid-looking icy ground was filled with cracks at an exaggerated speed, and exploded before anyone had time to react.
When falling downwards, Renault looked at the distance that clearly exceeded the safe height and the ground that looked very solid at first glance, and had only one thought in his mind: I hope the shock-absorbing system of this armor works well.
"[Gravity Surge(Огоньпоготовности!)]"
Just as everyone was about to fall to the ground, Mira shouted and fired a strange blue light from her hand cannon. This blue light exploded into a huge vortex about one meter away from the ground, and then created a
The powerful attraction sucked Renault and others together with herself.
After about five or six seconds, the blue light vortex disappeared, and everyone who only fell about one meter was naturally unscathed. The only loss was the engineering mecha that was too heavy to be attracted. Although the driver escaped successfully, the mecha was not injured.
A itself is considered scrapped.
"Pony! Are you okay?" Mira immediately pulled Matt up and shook him repeatedly after landing.
"I, well, stop shaking." Matt was so shaken that he could only speak word by word.
"The content we analyzed from ancient documents is indeed correct!" On the other side, Jax stood up with a tactical roll, looked around and then looked directly at the corner of the underground cave.
"Um...alien?" Renault also turned his gaze in the direction he was looking.
The place where they fell was a huge space with a height of thirty to fifty meters at the top and a radius of several hundred meters. Both the walls and the ground were smooth and noticeable. The direction Jax was looking at was a tower rising suddenly.
, a small iceberg about ten meters high. Halfway up the iceberg, there is a giant iron-black throne, and on top of this throne, sits a tall figure wearing a strange black armor.
When Renault looked over, the eyes of the sharp helmet worn by the figure suddenly lit up with two blue lights.
At the same time as the two blue lights lit up, the armor glowed and changed color at a speed visible to the naked eye, and finally turned into a set of gorgeous armor with a silver base, golden edges, and multiple ice blue crystals inlaid in it.
Then, the "alien" spoke in a strange language that Renault couldn't understand at all but he could understand the meaning:
"[I am Tassadar, High Templar of the Protoss.]"
"[You woke me up specifically because you encountered Zerg?]"
