Horatio held his breath, knowing that Commander Hood was entrusting Farida to him in the form of 'last words'.
"Commander, I implore you to come with us to the Unyielding. The reinforcements arriving now may not be able to…" His voice trailed off.
Finally, it turned into a deflated sigh.
He understood the pride of the Imperial Navy and their ironclad military regulations, so he didn't say anything more.
"Mr. Cochrane, are you asking a Commander, the former Captain of the Sacred Will, to abandon his battlecruiser, forsake his duty, and live in ignominy?" Commander Hood's eyes were filled with fearless resolve, and his tone became serious.
"If I cannot hold it, I will be bound to the ultimate fate of this battlecruiser.
Even if the engines overload, and I sink with the ship, I will not surrender her to traitors! They will get nothing!"
"…" Horatio stood at attention, lowered his head, and saluted the Commander.
According to Imperial Navy law, Commander Hood was the ultimate person responsible for the Sacred Will, a valuable asset of the Imperial Navy.
If this battlecruiser suffered any losses, even if the Commander himself survived, he would face a Naval military court afterwards.
And he would be 100% sentenced to execution by firing squad for dereliction of duty and living in ignominy.
Knowing that death was the outcome either way.
Almost all Naval Officers and Captains would rather die standing than kneel just to live a little longer, only to be disgracefully condemned as criminals and executed.
"Rather die for the God Emperor than cause trouble for the Throne."
When Commander Hood spoke these words, there was no ripple in his expression; from his firm and resolute face, it was clear that he had long prepared himself to face the worst.
"If we cannot meet again alive at Abyss Port, then I entrust Farida to your care from now on, Mr. Horatio Cochrane, Imperial Navy Officer."
Commander Hood looked steadily at the instruments on the command platform.
"Yes, Commander." Horatio saluted him again.
"Godspeed." The Commander straightened his chest and began to take command of the battlecruiser again.
Farida clearly had many more things she wanted to say to her father.
Horatio could understand, after all, in such a critical situation, no one could say whether this was the last time the father and daughter would see each other.
"Farida, let's go. We don't have time to delay, otherwise the fury fighters circling in the void on patrol won't have enough promethium fuel to escort us."
Farida reluctantly took one last look at her father, and being sensible, she followed Horatio down to the bridge below.
Commander Hood took one last look at the two young people gradually moving away.
His sharp eyes revealed a complex mix of emotions.
His distinct, chiseled profile, like a sharpened blade, bulged slightly as he gritted his teeth, and he finally brought his thoughts back to the present.
He understood that he might not be a qualified father, and had failed to bring happiness to his only daughter.
But as an Imperial Army Soldier, the duty bestowed upon him by the God Emperor was far more important in his heart than all his personal family matters.
"Commander Hood will be fine. More and more troops are rushing to reinforce the bridge, and once the Blood Angels cut off power, they will also come to protect the bridge."
Watching wave after wave of armed forces with military police insignia charging up the gangplank to the bridge to fight the mutineers, Farida's heart was still anxious, but with Horatio's comfort, her worry eased slightly.
"You're right, we need to protect these documents. Oh… where are the documents?" Farida had just caught her breath when she was stunned to find that the large briefcase full of blessed parchment that Horatio had been carrying earlier had disappeared.
She looked at Horatio in astonishment, but she knew he wasn't the kind of person who would carelessly lose things.
Horatio squeezed his iron hand, and a mixed brown and reddish-brown liquid coalesced at his fingertips, reforming into a briefcase.
Through the gap in the briefcase's strap, Farida could clearly see the writing on the parchment inside.
Then, in front of her, Horatio again transformed the entire bag into liquid, absorbing it into his iron hand.
"Don't worry, this will be safer."
Although she didn't understand what had happened, there was no time to think further. She nodded, and the group quickened their pace.
As reinforcements joined the suppression, the entire CIC (Combat Information Center) became increasingly chaotic, with laser fire and stray bullets flying everywhere.
The Blood Angels used their sturdy ceramite armor as human shields, forming a phalanx to protect the young Officers.
But very quickly, they encountered a problem: their direction conflicted with the reinforcements rushing to the bridge. While it was safer here, it would block the reinforcements' route to the bridge.
In his mind, Horatio constructed a three-dimensional image using the three-view diagrams from Naval Academy lectures on the design philosophy of the Retribution-class Battleship.
"This way." Horatio quickly weighed the pros and cons. With Blood Angels protecting him, even taking the contested route was better than blocking the reinforcements' path.
Anyway, the important documents were inside his iron hand, so he wasn't worried about them being hit by stray bullets.
"Captain, there's a firefight ahead! Oh, God Emperor…" A dozen Voidsmen-at-Arms manning a roadblock said to Horatio, and then they saw the legendary Space Marines, and all gave the aquila salute.
"We need to pass through. Is the AA-101 docking bay this way?"
"Yes, Captain. Go straight ahead, then turn left and make five more turns, and you'll be there."
Seeing that what the Soldiers said matched Horatio's own memory, it indicated that at least the bridge section of this Retribution-class Battleship had not undergone major internal modifications.
"Hold this position, don't let any mutineers through!"
"Yes, Captain."
The task force quickly moved, and before they had gone twenty paces, they were attacked by mutineers.
The Blood Angels used their jump packs to assault forward, charging into the crowd and slaughtering them.
Horatio, protected by four Astartes, ran out through the gap they had opened, taking Farida with him.
These strange mutineers seemed to be looking for this confidential document, rushing towards anyone carrying a Naval briefcase, killing them, and then destroying the briefcases.
Fortunately, Horatio had hidden the large bag, and without direct on-site command from a mastermind, these strangely behaving mutineers simply equated Horatio with a general target and did not pay him special attention.
Under the diligent cover of the Blood Angels, Horatio quickly returned to the docking bay.
"Captain, clear a path, quickly!"
"Did you get the items?"
"Yes."
"You! Quickly remove these Shark Assault Boats! Make way for the Thunderhawk!"
"Isn't the Thunderhawk out of fuel?" the Blood Angels pilot asked.
"Sir. We extracted fuel from other Shark Assault Boats.
The Thunderhawk is refueled with promethium, you can take the Thunderhawk back now."
"Well done."
"Let's go, battle brothers."
Imperial Navy Voidsmen-at-Arms Officers, piloting something similar to Sentinel mechs, used huge claws and manipulators to push aside the haphazardly scattered landing craft, clearing a path.
Making space for the Thunderhawk to land and take off.
After saluting the dutiful Officers on the platform, Horatio and the Blood Angels warriors once again boarded the heavily armored Thunderhawk Gunship.
The two pilots deftly opened all the switches, and the powerful engines began to roar.
The loyal Imperial Officers and Soldiers on the docking bay saluted the Thunderhawk as it slowly lifted off vertically, watching the bloodletter insignia, amidst a golden-blue flash of fire, soar out of this battlecruiser that had served the Imperium for millennia.