Traveling through time, I'm making pancakes in Warhammer

Chapter 411 Hypoxia

Six hundred years ago

Milky Way, Eastern Frontier

Explorer-class starship, Imo

Chas O'Dayil repeatedly measured the spectra and gravitational fluctuations of nearby stars in the hope of finding a comparison on existing star maps.

But he was ultimately unable to achieve his wish. The few stars that existed emitted a strange and cold light, which announced to Dayl a terrible fact: they had entered an area of the universe that was absolutely unknown to them.

Two months ago, on its way to a new colony, the Imo was attacked by space pirates. Although Dayl successfully broke through the pirate fleet with his superb driving skills, the Imo was seriously damaged as a result.

The propulsion system of the Imo, which helped them escape the pirates' pursuit, was completely damaged. The life support system and circulatory system in the spacecraft also suffered varying degrees of damage. The spacecraft has been drifting in the desolate space ever since.

His efforts were fruitless, so Daryl turned off the star map and most of the devices in the cab to save power, and then left the place.

After stepping out of the cab, the first person he met was Gu Weisa, who had followed him from the beginning. The first thing Gu Weisa said when he saw him was:

"Chas, everyone is starving."

"This is the most difficult time. Please hold on a little longer." Dayl patted Savgu's shoulder. "Although the minimum rations are hard to endure, they will allow us to hold on longer."

Savgu didn't continue the conversation immediately, but instead asked, "Have you located us? Has our distress signal received a response?"

Daryl didn't answer, but his attitude said it all.

So Savic returned to the previous question:

"Shas, how long is longer?" Guvisa said, "One month? Two months? One year or two years?"

Daryl saw that this Guvisa was not asking him a question but making a request, so he asked, "What do you want to do?"

"There are over sixty seriously injured and sick people on the ship. The current conditions cannot provide them with adequate treatment, and the additional food allocated to them is not enough for them to recover. They won't last much longer." Guvisa looked into Dayl's eyes and said, "Unless we can rescue them within a few weeks, they will only suffer from their injuries until they die."

After saying this, the Guvisa finally expressed his thoughts: "Reduce or cancel their food rations, only provide a small amount of water and painkillers, and concentrate resources..."

"No!" But before Guvisa could finish, Daryl flatly rejected his proposal: "This goes against our philosophy. We absolutely cannot do this."

Then he tried to comfort the Guvisa and said, "Don't be discouraged, all difficulties will pass."

But Guvisa slapped his hand away: "This isn't a matter of being discouraged. Even if we're determined now, we still lack food, water, repair materials, and even oxygen. Now it's either some of us will die, or we'll all die!"

"Then why can't you just die first?" Guvisa's continuous questioning also aroused Daryl's anger, so his words were much sharper than usual: "You are so healthy, wouldn't it be better to give up your ration so that more people can survive?"

This Guvisa did not say anything else, but silently lifted the hem of his combat uniform. When Daryl saw the body of this Guvisa, a hint of shock flashed in his eyes.

The body under the Guvisa combat suit could almost be described as a skeleton. As a combatant, no fat or muscle could be seen on his body at this time. There was only a thin layer of waxy yellow skin attached to his bones, with rows of ribs protruding from under the skin, as if they would fall apart at the slightest touch.

"In fact, I did just that a week ago," said the Gulvisa. "I will not let my comrades die before me."

The anger in Daryl's heart dissipated without a trace at this moment. He took off his hat and clenched it tightly in his hand, then asked, "Is this what you want?"

"This is what most of us want. The Kroot meat-eaters disagree. They believe that nutrients should be recycled from the wounded and sick."

"So what do you think, Dalton?" Daryl asked.

"I have just conveyed our thoughts to you," said Dalton Guvisa.

"I'm talking about your idea, not yours," Daryl said. "I want to know, do you agree with your proposal? Let those wounded and sick die?"

Dalton was silent for a long time, then said, "This is the only way to keep more people alive and avoid total annihilation."

"No, this is not the only way." Daryl put his hand on the Guvisa's shoulder again: "As long as you are still willing to support me, just like before."

"I'll support you, Captain, as always."

Half an hour later

Explorer-class starship, infirmary

At this time, almost all the members of the spaceship gathered in the infirmary. When the spaceship departed from the home port, there were more than 400 passengers on board, but now there are only barely more than 300 surviving members, and this number is decreasing further every day.

Before Daryl arrived, the members of the infirmary had already been divided into two factions and were in a standoff. One of the factions was mainly composed of the wounded and sick, who almost covered the races of all the members on the spacecraft, with a total of more than sixty people. Most of them had no strength to stand or speak. Only a few with less serious injuries and the Tau and Guvisa who held the same views as them, as well as a few Nikasar who had not fallen into hibernation, could stand up and confront the other camp.

Even including the wounded, the total number of people on this side does not exceed one hundred.

The other side consisted of almost all the Kroot and most of the Guvisa, twice as many people as the previous side. Members from both sides paused or stood, crowding the medical room where most of its functions had been shut down due to severe damage and lack of resources. However, even in such a cramped space, they still kept their distance from each other, looking at each other silently and hostilely.

When Daryl came to the medical room accompanied by Dalton, the atmosphere between the two sides eased a little. They all looked at the respected captain and paid tribute to him.

"Everyone, I understand your request," Daryl said straight to the point, knowing no one present had the energy to listen to his lengthy speech. "But please allow me to deny your request. Forcing others to die is an unforgivable evil and completely inconsistent with the principles of Tau'av. Please let go of such thoughts."