"Only one minute left …"
The scanning officer's pale face turned ashen. He had already calculated the time it would take for the warship to hit the meteorite belt.
Noam sprang to his feet. "There's still time! Give me the control key! All units, prepare to execute standard evasive procedures … "
"Calm down." Meng Tian swept him a look, and made the final variable conversion.
How could he calm down at a time like this? If he did not act, he would die without a doubt! There was not even a sliver of hope left.
All that could be heard was the scanning officer's continuous countdown. "53 seconds …"
"Attention all. Autopilot offline. Switch over. Manual pilot."
Manual pilot? Everyone started. They felt a wave of icy coldness wash over them. Subconsciously, they moved according to the orders. If they did not move, they would be waiting for death. At this moment, there was no time to think. Everyone instinctively chose to carry out the orders. This was the effect of repeated military training. At critical times, one could not rely on their brains.
"Autopilot offline. Manual pilot online. Complete."
Click. The manual pilot system popped up before Meng Tian.
"Don't stop counting."
The scanning officer was taken aback, and then continued to count with a trembling voice.
47 seconds!
Noam's entire body was trembling. "You're crazy! Autopilot still has the possibility of evasive maneuvers … "
In the command cabin, more than half of the people had the same thought as him. But at this time, the orders issued from the captain's seat were absolute. Even if it was wrong, they would die. If they did not carry it out, even if they survived, their fate would not be any better than dying here.
A soldier's duty was to obey orders.
In a fleet sailing in unknown space, this was the most basic rule. The captain was the king, and had power over life and death.
"Weapon system activated. Twelve secondary cannons at the bow charging." Meng Tian ignored Noam's shouts. Or rather, at this time, she could not hear any other noise. Her voice was calm and clear, so cold that everyone could feel it.
Her gaze locked on the binoculars in the viewfinder. Calm, with calculation. The light of Ability X flashed in her eyes.
"Bow, 12 secondary cannons charging. Five, four, three, two, one. Charging complete."
The weapons officer's confirmation.
"30 seconds …" And the scanning officer's countdown.
* Rumble … * The battleship was shaking. This was the flaw of manual piloting. It was unable to maintain relative stability.
The entire battleship was alarmed. The soldiers who did not know the specifics of the situation quickly followed the training procedures and completed the safety restraints.
However, the command cabin of the battleship was filled with despair.
Because Meng Tian's next order was to accelerate!
Speed up?
At their current speed, the outer layer of the energy shield would not be able to withstand the impact. Did he think that he would not die miserably enough?
However, they were well-trained officers after all, and Meng Tian's orders as the acting captain were still executed.
"Countdown acceleration, three … two …"
The scanning officer recalculated the collision time after the acceleration.
Everyone closed their eyes. Outside the viewfinder, they could already see the meteorite. It looked very far away, but it would only take a few blinks of an eye before it hit.
Boom …
At this moment, the twelve secondary cannons at the bow of the ship suddenly fired rhythmically.
Everyone could feel the warship shaking violently. The accelerating warship was actually flying in an arc!
Every time it fired, a meteorite would explode with a violent shockwave, sweeping away a large number of meteorites. It was dangerous, but it also cleared an area without meteorites.
The warship was still accelerating. It suddenly plunged into the area that was blasted open by the high-energy mineral meteorite, passing through before the meteorites behind could hit it …
However, not all meteorites could be avoided.
Boom boom boom …
Every collision was like being hit by a Zeus shield, causing the warship to creak as it trembled.
At this moment, the command cabin was also in a mess. Fortunately, they were all elites, and they quickly stabilized their center of gravity.
The shaking did not allow Meng Tian to be distracted at all. Her hands were constantly controlling the manual piloting system, leaving a series of afterimages. Every control was decisive and without hesitation …
Dodging, moving at high speed, and taking into account the variables, every time he fired, the twelve secondary cannons, every time he fired, it was to blast away the meteors that were too lethal. As for the others, they could not break the energy shield.
In just a few seconds, everyone calmed down, because they knew what Meng Tian wanted to do. More importantly, they felt the confidence and control of the warship that Meng Tian exuded.
The pilot had the feeling of piloting a mech, and the captain had the same feeling of controlling the warship. At this moment, Meng Tian seemed to have become one with the warship, rushing towards the group of meteorites.
In the face of such a sudden situation, they could either choose to forcefully evade, but the result could be being destroyed by the meteorites, or they could be sucked into the star because of deviating from the orbit. If they accelerated head-on, there was only one way out, and that was to enter warp flight before they were destroyed.
Life and death in seconds!
Everyone held their breath. At this time, even a slight tremble in their hands meant death.
Finally, the long-prepared main cannon fired, sweeping away the obstacles in front of them. This was the last fight. There was an even larger group of meteorites in front of them, and the warship could no longer attack.
"Turn off the energy shield!" Meng Tian said calmly.
The staff at the side were obviously infected by Meng Tian's aura, and did not even use their brains to understand the meaning of this sentence.
The energy shield was turned off, and all the energy was concentrated. The warship instantly accelerated, and with the relative speed, it seemed that everyone could see that the huge meteorite was about to smash them into pieces.
Boom …
The heavens and earth shook, and then the ship stabilized. The voice of the AI sounded, "The ship has entered warp flight mode."
At this moment, everyone's faces were pale. Meng Tian tried her best to calm herself down. She was the captain's assistant, and was executing the captain's authority at this moment. Everyone could panic, but she could not.
"All departments, check the damage to the warship. Congratulations, you have successfully experienced a victorious escape. Thank you!"
Meng Tian's lips curled into a faint smile. Everyone on the warship was stunned. So she could smile … and so beautiful …
"Engine energy is slightly damaged. Controllable. Energy is gradually recovering."
"The port side is slightly damaged. Recommended to be repaired within three hours."
…
Every staff member of the warship was methodically reporting the situation. The captain was the stabilizing force of the warship, and as the captain, he had to be responsible for the entire warship.
At this moment, Noam finally understood why he could only be the first officer, and not the captain.
"Lieutenant Colonel Noam, you'll be in command from now on," Meng Tian said. Don't be fooled by that moment, but she was actually close to collapsing.
"Yes, Captain." Noam saluted. This time, it was from the bottom of his heart.
In interstellar exploration, there was no such thing as the right method, only the right result.
(First update delivered. Comrades, please get a recommendation. Thank you!)
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