From Cannon Fodder to Star Conqueror

Chapter 8: The Storm is Coming (Please follow and save!)

"First, he's an imperial spy, then he's a defector."

Commander Adam spoke with confidence, as if he had already painted a picture of Amber, the imperial defector, in his mind.

"So he knows very well how the Empire deals with defectors, especially after learning that the Empire is about to launch a raid."

Upon hearing this, 'Tail Needle' nodded thoughtfully.

"I think I understand what you mean. So, he actually doesn't dare to reveal himself as a defector right now."

"Exactly. I suspect this defector is currently in a kind of wait-and-see situation."

Commander Adam snapped his fingers.

"If the Federation survives the raid, he will immediately side with them without hesitation."

"But if the Empire succeeds in the raid and destroys the Federation's resistance on this planet, then he'll pretend he never defected."

After saying this, Commander Adam looked at 'Tail Needle' with a smile, not saying anything more.

"Hmph, he has a good plan."

'Tail Needle's synthesized voice still carried a hint of disdain. "So, what's your plan for handling this?"

"Naturally, we'll make the most of this 'chick'."

"Won't your people assist him and Margaret? Once they successfully destroy the communications center, we'll just silence them."

Commander Adam made a throat-cutting gesture.

"You mean, silence Margaret too?"

"Exactly. As a senior infiltrator, she failed to spot the defector within the Empire's spy network. That's a dereliction of duty."

Sensing some hesitation from 'Tail Needle', Commander Adam added,

"Besides, isn't she from the princess's faction? Isn't your regent already at odds with the princess's camp?"

Hearing Adam's question, 'Tail Needle' showed a brief change in expression, but his full-face helmet concealed it well.

Being criticized by a defector from the Federation about his country's "factional struggles" felt strange and unpleasant to 'Tail Needle'.

But he had to admit, the fat pig in front of him wasn't wrong.

As the current emperor aged, his control over the Empire had diminished significantly. This had led to an intensifying struggle between the regent and the princess's factions.

Purges, assassinations, and sabotage were becoming increasingly frequent.

The upcoming raid against the Federation, set to occur in three days, had been approved by the Empire's parliament by unanimous vote.

However, it was clear to anyone that both the 'Princess Faction' and the 'Regent Faction', each controlling half the seats in parliament, hoped to gain more prestige from this war to secure more influence in the future "throne war."

With the regent nearly in control of all intelligence agencies except the 'Naval Intelligence Service,'

as a member of the Empire's 'Star Dragon Fang' intelligence group, 'Tail Needle' had no choice but to side with the regent.

Thus, he couldn't miss this opportunity to "rationally and reasonably" deal with personnel from the princess's faction.

"I understand. I'll make the arrangements."

As he spoke, 'Tail Needle' glanced at Major Mars.

"How should we handle this guy?"

"Send him back to his room. By the time anyone notices, it'll be too late."

'Tail Needle' didn't respond. With a flash of blue light from his combat suit, his figure vanished into the air.

The next second, the dazed Major Mars raised his hand awkwardly and saluted, as if controlled by strings.

Then, with a somewhat stiff posture, he left the office.

"This mind control isn't perfect after all."

Commander Adam raised an eyebrow as he watched the awkward movement of 'Major Mars' in the chair.

"But it's just for three days. It'll serve its purpose for now."

In the officer's mess hall, Amber's "outstanding appearance" gave the other male officers a major shock.

The female officers were left dazzled as well.

In just this short time, Amber noticed a string of private messages on his personal terminal.

Some were politely suggesting, "Handsome, let's be friends,"

others were directly saying, "Handsome, let's date,"

and some even sent "battle requests."

Amber couldn't help but laugh inwardly, realizing that his face might just earn him the title of "succubus."

Although it caused a bit of a stir, Amber had to admit that Lieutenant Colonel Dallas's ability to create atmosphere was quite strong.

After just one lunch, the distance between Amber, the "psychic operative," and the other officers had diminished considerably.

Though many still remained cautious, at least they were now willing to speak to him.

After lunch, others had to visit several departments and wait for their final assignments.

Amber, having completed his assignment already, said his goodbyes and returned to his apartment.

As he thought about his "meeting" with Margaret and his "private discussion" with Major Mars, Amber suddenly felt that the upcoming Robert IV landing battle might not be as simple as he had expected.

It might even deviate from the historical trajectory he knew.

With a mind tangled in confusion, Amber walked to the window of his apartment.

To facilitate rapid deployment, the officer's apartments and soldier dormitories were not far from the warehouses and the Gena Facilities.

Through the window, Amber could see several gray-dotted Federal HCPs walking out of the Gena Facility, guided by ground crew waving glow sticks.

HCP, short for "Humanoid Combat Platform,"

these 8-9 meter tall humanoid mechs were an indispensable part of the armed forces of various human factions.

Originally, the precursor to the HCP, the "Outer Space Humanoid Engineering Machinery," was a platform designed for human activities in space, such as asteroid exploration, ship rescue, engineering maintenance, and spaceport transport.

With the help of "Remote Control Systems" and "Dynamic Mass Automatic Balancing Control,"

these mechs could move with the flexibility of a human, completing a variety of tasks in outer space.

As fusion reactors, small superconducting battery packs, and plasma propulsion arrays were miniaturized and widely applied,

the once-outdated "Outer Space Humanoid Engineering Machinery" had a resurgence.

Stronger power, longer operating times, more flexible mobility, and better adaptability to environments and tasks made the "universal" moniker well-deserved.

Soon after, humanity's warlike nature led to the development of its military applications.

The HCP was born.

(End of Chapter)