Chapter 5 Chapter 4 Gao Rui's cold reception

Gao Rui is a common phenomenon in history: except for the word "Republic" in the country title, there is no aspect that does not implement absolute monarchy.It is because it has the absolute power of a general autocratic regime, and is not subject to the dignity of the emperor under the monarchy: the honor, etiquette, and rules that people usually value. Gao Rui's material level is not high, and when the Galactic Empire abandoned it, nothing was left for it.It has nothing but wordless monuments, ruined buildings.As evidence of the past years, this is something peculiar. Before the arrival of the base, what was practiced here was medieval-like asceticism.Under the heroic determination of the ruler, Gao Yabo, both merchants and priests were subject to extremely strict restraint and prohibition here.Base In his reign, it was difficult to gain a foothold in size.The space station located at the base, the situation can be imagined.

The space station is decaying and decaying, much to the dismay of the Farstar crew.The musty smell created by the decaying hangar made Izzy restless and uncomfortable. Marlowe didn't care about these, what he thought was: "The business opportunity is great." He quietly looked out of the viewing window, and saw another thing in the ruins.He didn't care a bit about the Gory warships that came to meet the Asterisk, although they were small and battered, looking like ugly, clumsy junk.The ships cautiously kept their distance, and nothing changed for a week, and the government kept ignoring Marlowe's request to see him.

Marlowe repeated: "The opportunity is great. Untapped territory, so to speak." Izzy raised his head, with an impatient face, and threw the cards aside: "What are you going to do, Marlowe? The crew is complaining, the officer is full of worries, and I'm full of doubts—" "Doubt? What do you doubt?" "The current situation, and you. What are we going to do?" "What? Wait," said Marlowe. The old merchant breathed out his nostrils, and his face was flushed: "You are going blind, Marlowe. We are surrounded by guard ships above our heads. What if they are going to send us to the eighteenth level of hell?"

"They've been waiting a week." "Maybe they are waiting for reinforcements." Izzy's eyes were cold and sharp. Marlow sat down: "I've thought about this too. But I don't think it's a problem. We came here easily. Although it is not without risk, the risk is not great. Among the more than 300 ships that came here last year, the ones that turned into smoke But three ships, the percentage is too low. This may mean that they have not many ships equipped with nuclear weapons, and they dare not expose them easily. "On the other hand, they may not have nuclear force at all. Even if there is a sliver, it must be kept secret so that we do not detect it. It is one thing to pillage a careless lightly armed merchant ship, but it is another to deal with genuine base envoys. Besides, the appearance of our envoys also means that the base has begun to suspect.

"In general--" "Slow down, Marlowe, slow down." Izzy raised his hands, "You're talking too much, I'm almost overwhelmed. What's your main point? Just say it straight!" "Things are hard to figure out without dissection. We're waiting for each other, Izzy. They don't know what I'm doing, and I don't know what they've got. I'm at a disadvantage+ because I only have one boat, To fight against their entire world—maybe there will be nuclear force, I have no capital to gain the upper hand. Of course I am dangerous, they may have already dug a hole for us to live in. But before the condolences set off, they had this kind of awareness So, what do we have to be afraid of?"

"I don't—eh, who's that?" Marlowe looked up, adjusted the receiver, and the rugged face of the watch monitor appeared on the screen. "Speak, monitor," Marlowe ordered. The squad leader said; "Sorry, sir, the crew let a priest from the base come in," "What?" Marlowe's face turned blue instantly. "Priest, sir. He needs treatment, sir—" "There will be more people needing treatment, squad leader. For this shit. Order everyone to get into combat positions!" The crew lounge was immediately empty, and within five minutes even the off-duty people were seated on the gun positions.In the anarchic lands of the Outer systems, speed is a crewman's greatest virtue, and the Merchant Master's crew excels at it.

Marlowe walked slowly into the cabin, and took a good look at the priest from head to toe.His eyes shifted to Adjutant Dint, who moved aside uncomfortably, and leaned against the on-duty squad leader Dimon with a blank expression. The merchant chief turned his head to Iqi, and pondered for a while: "Well, Iqi, gather all the officers here, except the slump officer and the ballistic officer, and don't disturb everyone. The rest of the crew are on standby. " Izzy obeyed, and Marlowe went into the bathroom to look behind the latch.Pulling the heavy curtain on the window, he spent more than half a minute inside.

When he came out, there was already a file of people, and Izzy followed behind the team and quietly closed the door. He said in a deep voice, "First of all, who let this person in without my permission?" The squad leader on duty stepped forward, and the rest of the people looked sideways: "Report sir. There is no specific person, it's a mutual understanding. It can be said that he is one of our own, and those foreigners—" Marlowe stopped his words: "I agree with what you said, and I agree. Are these people under your command?" "Yes, sir." Then, "After the situation is lifted this time, they will be individually confined for a week. At the same time, you will also be relieved of all command positions."

The squad leader didn't change his expression, but his shoulders drooped a little, and he said with some mournful voice, "Yes, sir." Marlowe snorted, "You can go, go to your battery," The door closed behind him, and there was a commotion. Izzy said now, "Why punish him, Marlowe? You know the Gorys kill priests they take prisoner." I will not allow "violation of my orders, for good or bad motives. No one may enter or leave without my permission." The adjutant Liao protested, "I've been working here for seven days, and I can't maintain discipline like this."

Marlowe said coldly, "I can do it. Discipline is nothing under ideal conditions; discipline is useless if it doesn't come in handy in the face of death. Where's Magi? Bring him to me." Marlowe sat down as they carefully helped the man in the crimson cloak up. "What's your name, Priest?" "Huh?" The red-robed man turned towards Marlowe, his body was stiff, his eyes were blurred, and his left temple was bruised.Before that the man was silent. "Name, you priest?" The priest suddenly opened his arms eagerly for a hug: "My child—my swallow. May the arms of the Holy Spirit of the Galaxy be open for you forever!"

Izzy stepped forward, somewhat surprised, with a hoarse voice: "This man is sick, someone help him to the bed. Marlowe, put him to bed and show him to the doctor. He is seriously injured." Marlow stretched out his arms and pushed him away: "Don't make noise, Izzy, or I'll kick you out. Sign up, you priest!" The priest suddenly clasped his hands and made a plea: "Since you are civilized people, help me escape from the hands of heretics." He burst into tears: "Teach me! These vicious and cruel beasts are chasing me, trying to shame the Holy Spirit of the Galaxy with their crimes——My name is Joe Paoma, a native of Ontario, at the base, and my education is the holy religion Messenger. I have been called here by the Holy Spirit." "I have been tortured at the hands of barbarians. I beg you, for the sake of being the people of the Holy Spirit, protect me and save me!" While he was pleading, the emergency alarm suddenly went loud, and there was a call in the piercing voice; "The enemy appears! Please give instructions!" Every eye automatically turns to the megaphone, With a curse, Marlowe turned on the communicator and shouted, "Stay alert! That's it!" He approached the thick curtain and turned it aside, staring coldly out. enemy!Thousands of Gao Rui thugs surrounded the entire Far Star with loud roars, and the cold and blazing spotlight torches approached sparsely. "Dingt!" The merchant didn't turn around, but the back of his neck was red: "Turn on the external broadcaster and ask them what they want, whether there is a government or any legal representative. Don't make any promises, and don't threaten them, or I will kill them." you." Dint turned and walked out. At this moment, Marlowe became aware of a large hand on his shoulder.He shook it off vigorously, it was Iggy.His voice hissed in Ma Teng's ear: "Marlowe, you must help this man, otherwise how can you maintain dignity and honor! He is from the base, and after all he is—a priest, There are savages out there—did you hear?" "I heard it, Izzy." Ma borrowed the words sharply: "I have more important things to do than protect the priest. Sir, I bear the witness of Sheldon and all the saints of the galaxy. If you dare to stop me, I will talk Fuck your throat! Get out of my way, Izzy, or this will be your last move!" He turned around and strode past: "You flatter the priest! Did you know that according to the agreement, the base priests are not allowed to enter Gao Rui's territory?" The priest trembled all over: "I follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit of the Galaxy, Smilax. If the barbarians refuse to be civilized, doesn't it prove that they need guidance more?" "That's where it goes, Priest! You're violating the laws of Gory and the base at the same time, and legally I can't protect you," The priest raised his hands high again, and the previous panic disappeared without a trace.There were bursts of noisy roars and rumbling curses coming from the ship's external communication system, and the priest's eyes became frantic: "Did you hear that? Tell me about the law, the law made by ordinary people? There is a higher law in the world. The Holy Spirit of the Milky Way said: He who refuses to be saved is not a person. They also said: My old man The old and the old, the young and the young and the young? "Don't you have a gun? Don't you have a boat? Isn't it you who are behind the base? Isn't it the Galactic Holy Spirit in Wei Linyun who is supporting you after all of this?" He stopped and took a breath. But Marlowe ignored him, when the drum noise outside the ship fell silent, and Adjutant Ding walked in uneasily. "Say!" Mag said succinctly. "Sir, they want Joe to take a picture of Priest Ma." "If you don't give me a nickname?" "There are all kinds of threats, there are too many people outside - and they are all crazy. There is a man who claims to be the chief of the district and has the power to direct the police, but he obviously can't make his own decisions." "It doesn't matter if it's up to you or not," Marlowe said with a shrug. "He's the law. Tell them, if the chief is a policeman, or whatever, and comes on board by himself, hand over Priest Joe Paoma to him." Suddenly asked him a gun in his hand: "I don't know what disobedience is. I have never had this kind of experience before. But if someone thinks he can teach me, then I will ask him how to deal with disobedience first!" He turned the muzzle of the gun slowly, and finally fixed it in front of Iqi. The old merchant tried his best to restrain himself, stretched his distorted face, relaxed his clenched fists, his arms drooped, and he only made harsh hisses from his nostrils from time to time. Yiqi didn't care about this anymore, and Adjutant Ding followed his orders.Five minutes after Ding Te left, a thin figure walked out from the crowd.He moved slowly, hesitated and looked back from time to time, obviously worried and afraid.He turned his head twice, only to be forced back by the roar of the crowd. "Okay." Marlowe gestured with his gun in hand: "Galan and Usha, take him out." With a shriek, the priest raised his arms and gestured with stiff fingers, and the large sleeves of his toga fell to reveal his bony arms;Marlowe blinked and gestured contemptuously, When the priest was erected by two people, he became frantic: "Curse this man who abandons the people of the Holy Spirit, who will not save his life as a minion! Deafen the ears that do not hear the supplicants! Let these eyes turn a blind eye to the innocent victims His eyes are blinded! Let this soul betrayed by the dark demons never recover!..." Izzy tightly covered his ears, unable to bear to listen. Marlowe was indifferent, and put away the pistol after lightly tossing it.He said in a steady tone: "After the dispersal, the security guards will be in place. Within six hours after the crowd disperses, full security will still be maintained; after that, double whistles will be stationed for 48 hours, and further instructions will be issued at that time." They went into the giant room together, and Marlowe offered a chair for Izzy to sit on.His sturdy figure is slightly stooped, and his tone of voice is ironic.He looked down at Izzy, and spoke in a low voice. "Izzy, I'm very disappointed. It looks like you've been in politics for three years, and you've forgotten how to live in business. Remember, maybe I'll talk about democracy when I go back to the base, but I'll have to use some authoritarian means to get on board. I Never drew a gun on a crew member, and I wouldn't have done it today if you weren't so unseemly. "Izzy, you have no official position on board the ship. You have come here at my invitation. I will meet you fully—but in private. At any rate, from now on, before my officers and crew, I am 'Sir' not 'Marlowe'. Once I give the order, you have to obey like a recruit. Otherwise, I didn't scare you, and you will be locked up like a recruit! Do you understand this? Hmmm ?” The leader of the political party, Izzy, swallowed his saliva and reluctantly replied, "I apologize." "I accept! Are you afraid?" Marlowe's giant grasped Yiqi's thin fingers, and Yiqi said: "My motive is correct, I can't bear to send people out to be slaughtered like this, it's tantamount to murder!" "There's no way. To tell you the truth, there's something very wrong about this, don't you notice?" "Pay attention to what?" "The space station is located in the depths of no-man's land. Suddenly a fugitive priest appeared. Where did he come from? Is it a coincidence that he ran here? A large number of people gathered, and where did he come from? It's a hundred miles away, but they came in less than half an hour. How is it possible?" "How is that possible?" Izzy replied. "Well, perhaps the priest was brought here as bait and released. Our friend the priest, the sycophant, looks rather confused, and doesn't seem to have recovered his senses." "It's torture—" Izzy muttered in pain. "Maybe! But it's more likely that someone intends to make us show chivalry and chivalry. It's so stupid to protect this person, which violates the laws of Gao Rui and the base. If I protect him, it is tantamount to declaring war on Gao Rui. And the base has no position at all." to protect 'us'." "This—this is far-fetched." "No, not at all," Ma wagged a finger and glared at him. At this moment, the loudspeaker yelled: "Report! Official communication received." "Upload it right away!" Marlowe said decisively, Then, the shiny cylinder clicked lightly in the communication slot, and a piece of silver letter paper was shaken out of it.It can be seen from the paper that this is "a direct telex from the capital, and a note for the commander-in-chief." After a glance, Marlowe gave a faint smile.He threw the ball of paper in front of Iqi, and added: "Half an hour after returning it to the priest, I finally received a very polite invitation to meet with the Grand Commander—we had waited for seven days before, but now we think we have passed the test."