Living as a Salted Fish, No Snake on the Marshal's Wrist

Chapter 65: Battlefield

"What seems to be the problem?" Jun De asked as he stepped into the control room. He had explicitly told everyone not to disturb him while he was talking with Taio Ru.

"We've discovered a strange signal coming from these coordinates." Commander Ma said pointing at a cluster of asteroids.

"What do you mean by strange?" Jun De asked.

"The signal was picked up by accident while officer Tuzi was adjusting the equipment. The signal itself uses an unverified frequency, the message or information being sent also appears to be encrypted." Commander Ma explained.

"It's possible the pirates are using it to communicate secretly. Have officer Yingwu take a look and see if he can decipher it." Jun De ordered.

If it was the pirates they would gain an advantage if they could intercept and understand it.

"Should we recon the area the signal is coming from?" Commander Ma asked.

"No, hold back and observe. If we appear now they might realize we've discovered their location, possibly even their transmission signals. Stay hidden and observe from a distance." Jun De explained.

"Yes, Sir!"

...

Once he finished going over a few things in the control room, Jun De returned to his office and called Lieutenant Wuya.

"This is Lieutenant Wuya. Marshal, good evening."

"You and Lieutenant Laohu need to go pay Taio Ru a visit tomorrow." Jun De said his face grim.

"Has something happened?" Lieutenant Wuya asked expecting the worst.

"He looks tired. Check in on him and bring him some fruit. Look around, make sure nothing is out of place. See if he needs help with anything..." Jun De started listing things to check.

"Understood. We will perform a welfare check." Lieutenant Wuya said after listening to the Marshal's long-winded command.

Normally Jun De was very concise with his orders. However when it concerned Taio Ru he often rambled or repeated himself.

"Has he spoken to you or lieutenant Laohu at all since I left?" Jun De asked.

"No. Would you like us to contact him regularly, perhaps even visit?" Lieutenant Wuya suggested.

"Yes, but not to often. Once a week should suffice. I don't want him to feel like I don't trust him."

"Understood. I will inform Lieutenant Laohu of your instructions. Is there anything else you needed to discuss?"

"No, that will be all. Send me your report after you visit Taio Ru." Jun De said before ending the call.

Jun De sat in his office silently reflecting on his conversation with Taio Ru. "He's exhausted. He won't tell me what's wrong, but something isn't right."

A deep regret set in as he thought about how he left Taio Ru alone on Capital Star. "It was supposed to be safer for him to stay at home. But it's pointless if his health worsens."

Beep!... Beep!...

"Marshal, we've got a visual on the enemy ship." Commander Ma said.

"Have they discovered our location?"

"There is no indication they've noticed us."

"Continue monitoring their movements from afar. Has Officer Yingwu made progress?" Jun De asked.

"He is currently creating a programme to decipher the messages being sent. It should be ready by morning." Commander Ma reported.

"Understood. Inform me of any changes." Jun De said before ending the call.

...

WiiiOooo!* 🚨

In the middle of the night the siren rang. Jun De jumped out of bed and quickly grabbed his military jacket before heading towards the control room.

"Commander Ma, update."

"While following behind the enemy ship we discovered five more ships. They look to be heavily armed and preparing to for an attack." Commander Ma reported quickly.

"Do we know who their target is?" Jun De asked as he took his seat at in the Captain's chair.

"There are no ally ships within the area. However we received intel informing us that tomorrow morning a convoy with a month's worth of supplies will be passing through. We predict their target may be to intercept and rob them." Commander Ma explained.

"Who has been informed of the convoy's route?"

"It's been flagged as confidential. Only commanding officers or relevant personnel should know."

"Prepare a report and have it sent directly to the emperor." Jun De commanded.

"Should we prepare for battle?" Commander Ma asked.

"Wait until they make contact with the convoy. We will position ourselves to attack them from the rear."

"Should we warn the convoy?"

"No, their may be spies on their ship. If we warn them we will be revealing our position." Jun De said.

"Understood."

...

The next morning everyone was in place. Once the battle began Jun De and his crew attacked from the rear. Unprepared the enemy ships fell and were captured.

Unfortunately, before they could board the ship and arrest everyone a self destruct sequence was initiated and the ship along with everyone on board was blown up.

"Do you think they blew themselves up to destroy any evidence left behind by the traitor?" An Officer asked during the post battle meeting.

"It's possible. Luckily we were able to record the encrypted messages beforehand." Another officer noted.

The crew continued discussing the battle while Jun De sat listening. His mind preoccupied with more personal problems.

"Have the lieutenants gone to visit Taio Ru yet? Did he get any sleep? Should I have the doctor pay him a visit next?..." Jun De thought.

"Marshal... Marshal?" Commander Ma called out surprised that Jun De was distracted.

"Yes, have a report sent to the emperor as soon as possible. We will leave cleanup to the convoy and the additional forces on their way. As for us we will continue moving forward." Jun De said. Although his response time was slightly delayed.

...

In the afternoon, Lieutenant Wuya and Laohu finally sent over their reports after visiting Taio Ru.

Marshal,

We conducted a wellness check at 13:00. Taio Ru promptly answered our call and allowed us access to the property. When speaking with Taio Ru it was evident he had been lacking sleep. His complexion seemed pale and his eyes dark from the lack of sleep. When given the fruit, he claimed to have already eaten. However I saw no evidence to support his claim in the kitchen. He quickly had us leave after giving him the fruit.

Lieutenant Wuya

Lieutenant Wuya's written report was concise and include relevant information.

Whereas Lieutenant Laohu's was much more casual.

Marshal,

We went over to Taio Ru's this afternoon to check up in him. I told him it was for personal reasons so he wouldn't feel like he's being smothered by you. He looked a bit tired and seemed less talkative compared to before. His usual happy look when seeing the fresh fruit was also missing. He said he wasn't hungry because he already ate, but that seemed more of a lie. We plan to visit him again in a few days.

Lieutenant Laohu

Reading both reports the two points that stood out the most were that Taio Ru wasn't sleeping or eating well.

"I'll need to ask him about it tonight during our call. It's unacceptable if he doesn't eat or sleep." Jun De decided as he sat in his office reviewing the virtual mountain of paperwork.

...