Chapter 778: Rejection and Reinforcements
On the bridge of the Eternal Seeker, Ryo's main body brought up the star map.
The icon for the Meinhoff system flashed incessantly, with the attached real-time data summary coldly displaying the spread of the infection and the saturation of the defensive forces.
Just then, a communication request from Valerie, flagged as "Emergency," connected. Her holographic projection appeared on the bridge, the chaotic scene of an evacuation point faintly visible in the background.
"Magos, the situation on Meinhoff is spiraling out of control," Valerie's voice came through the encrypted channel. It remained steady, but her speaking speed was slightly faster than usual. "The infected are evolving faster than anticipated, and conventional methods are struggling to contain them."
"Raynor's team plans to establish an evacuation point at the North Pole, but they face a critical shortage of both manpower and transport capacity. The local authorities are incapable of controlling the situation."
Ryo's crimson optical lenses flickered slightly: "Specify the shortages."
"The defensive perimeter is too wide, and the current combat personnel cannot establish a sufficiently deep defensive line. The pressure is particularly immense at night."
"The critical issue lies in transport capacity—the locally assembled transport ships can move a maximum of fifteen hundred people per trip, while the base number of uninfected civilians requiring evacuation is nearly ten thousand. This means at least six waves are required, during which the defensive line must endure sustained assaults." Valerie rapidly reported, attaching rough capacity calculations and time estimates. "Risk assessment indicates that under current defensive strengths, the probability of the evacuation operation failing exceeds seventy percent."
"Therefore, I suggest evaluating the possibility of our direct intervention, utilizing the Eternal Seeker's transport capacity for a single-drop evacuation."
Ryo did not respond immediately.
His logic core instantaneously retrieved the relevant data: The Hyperion, approximately 900 meters long, standard capacity of a few thousand. The Eternal Seeker, over five kilometers long; if reconfigured into a pure transport mode, its temporary capacity could reach eighty to one hundred thousand. A single drop would indeed suffice to resolve Meinhoff's transport crisis.
"Calculations show that direct intervention can efficiently resolve the current humanitarian crisis and garner significant goodwill and trust from the local factions in the short term, creating favorable conditions for subsequent contact." Valerie's voice continued; she had clearly already weighed the pros and cons. "Simultaneously, the opportunities to gather mutation data on the infected at close range, as well as to contact and recover more intact Terran Dominion technological equipment samples, will increase significantly."
"Risks," Ryo's synthesized voice sounded.
"The most prominent risk is the premature exposure of our presence," Valerie listed clearly. "It could draw systematic attention from the Terran Dominion, the Protoss, and even the Swarm, shattering our current observational posture."
"Furthermore, it will inevitably consume considerable resources and potentially draw us passively into the vortex of local political and military conflicts, interfering with our pursuit of core objectives like the Artifact fragments."
"The deepest uncertainty lies in potentially alerting and provoking a targeted response from high-level threats—such as the mastermind you suspect is pulling the strings."
In the brief silence that followed, only the low hum of the bridge equipment could be heard.
Ryo rapidly weighed the options: Valerie had successfully embedded herself within Raynor's team and was the crucial node for acquiring intelligence on the Artifact fragments. Her survival and mission continuity held the highest priority.
But for the Eternal Seeker to reveal itself now was tantamount to stepping into the spotlight.
"Risk assessment module conclusion: The risks of flagship direct intervention outweigh the benefits," Ryo finally stated. "However, your safety and the mission must be guaranteed."
"Then what is the alternative plan?" Valerie asked.
"Deploy reinforcements, but without exposing the mothership," Ryo brought up the ship's internal deployment status. "Form a second ten-man security squad comprised of the remaining 'Test Subject' elites."
"Simultaneously, deploy a full Century (100 troops) of Skitarii to reinforce the ground defenses and sustained firepower in your sector."
"They will board camouflaged transport ships and arrive at your designated secure coordinates in three hours."
"Command of the reinforcements?"
"You have full command authority. Externally, explain them as 'supplemental security urgently dispatched by the company and locally hired escort forces,'" Ryo instructed. "Your core objective is to utilize the reinforcements to assist Raynor's team in securing the evacuation point's defensive line and ensuring the evacuation corridor remains open."
"During this process, collect as many intact or repairable Terran Dominion equipment samples from the battlefield as possible, particularly the various models of CMC powered armor. Do so under the guise of battlefield salvage and repair."
"Understood. The priority for acquiring technical samples is confirmed," Valerie replied. This wasn't the first time she had seen Ryo's thirst for technological equipment, and she was already accustomed to such tasks.
"Additionally," Ryo added, "there are signs of mixing between the infected and Swarm genetic fragments; the threat level has been elevated."
"Five Tech-Priests equipped with specialized sampling gear will be embedded within the reinforcement troops."
"It is imperative to collect samples of the new hybrid variants and handle them under maximum biosecurity protocols. If the situation deteriorates to a critical point, you are authorized to execute a localized 'Purification Protocol'."
"Copy that. Valerie out."
The comms ended. Ryo's gaze fell back on the star map of Meinhoff on the main screen, then shifted to the data stream analyzing the CMC powered armor's structure on another panel.
The decision to send reinforcements was both a necessary measure to protect a critical intelligence node and an opportunity to accelerate the analysis of this strategically valuable technology.
In the Koprulu Sector, a force armed with locally mass-producible technology might be more sustainable than distant deployments from home.
He needed more samples, and a chaotic battlefield provided the perfect cover for acquiring them.
Meinhoff, North Pole region. Hour four since the establishment of the temporary evacuation point.
Biting, freezing winds howled between the rusted factory buildings, whipping up ice crystals from the surface and holding the temperature firmly at negative twenty-five degrees Celsius.
Despite being on the edge of the long polar night, the pale light of the star barely grazed the horizon at an extremely low angle, providing sustained, faint illumination.
The relatively strong ultraviolet radiation contained within this dim skylight became one of the few effective natural deterrents against the infected at this moment.
The evacuation point was set up inside an abandoned mining processing plant that had long since ceased operations.
The metal and concrete outer walls of the compound remained largely structurally intact, and the several sturdy factory buildings within were sufficient to shelter thousands of people.
The Raiders and the local garrison had already purged the area of scattered infected and were now racing against time to reinforce doors and windows and set up weapons, transforming the ruins into a final bastion.
Valerie stood at an observation post on the roof of the main factory building, the freezing air whipping past her hair.
The screen of her data-slate glowed faintly, constantly updating the situational map transmitted from drones and sensors.
The red dots representing the infected hordes were slowly creeping and converging from the edges of the scanning range toward the North Pole region. It wasn't an organized attack formation; rather, it was a dark, blind, instinctual migration—like deep-sea fish drawn from the shadows in all directions by the scent of blood, reacting to the massive life signature.