Counterfeit Hero

For Chekov, the warship was his life. To put it in more vivid terms, this new-style destroyer that many Space Fleet captains envied was his wife!

Hearing reports daily that his wife was being touched all over by someone else, and not just looked at but also felt up, how could Chekov not be upset?

Regardless of what kind of hero this Fatty was, Chekov found him unbearable! For days, Chekov had been waiting for an opportunity, waiting for Fatty to break some component so he could lock him up for the crime of sabotaging military equipment, and then release him at Chuckna.

”Report, Captain, Colonel Tian Xingjian has entered the Power Cabin again.” The Chief Engineer ran up to Chekov to report, ”He is dismantling the power output frequency converter.”

”What?” Chekov was startled. The power output frequency converter was a critical part that adjusted the power of the warship’s main tail injector, controlling speed and enabling emergency maneuvers during combat. How could this part be casually touched?

”It’s the backup system,” the Chief Engineer explained.

”Oh.” Chekov let out a long sigh of relief, then his face turned ashen as he said, ”Can’t that idiot be quiet for a moment?... Tell the Repair Department to send someone to watch him, don’t let him break the backup system. That’s our lifeline!”

”I did...,” the Chief Engineer replied dejectedly, ”the people from the Repair Department were driven out by him.”

”Driven out?! In my warship, he drove my people out?!” Chekov couldn’t control his emotions anymore and roared, ”What the hell is this Fatty trying to do?!”

”Colonel Tian said...” The Chief Engineer cautiously looked at Chekov and said, ”He’s doing some high-tech work and can’t let others steal the technology.”

”Damn it!” Chekov felt his head was about to explode, ”He’s messing with our equipment everywhere, and he won’t let us watch, fearing we might steal his technology?!... The worst part is, you just let him drive you out?!”

In front of the captain who was furious to the point of jumping up and down, the Chief Engineer really didn’t want to nod, but he could only nod.

”I can’t believe this!” Chekov sprang up from the command chair on the bridge and strode towards the Power Cabin.

Looking at Chekov’s ashen face, everyone in the corridor, whether in the dining room, recreation room, reading room, training cabin, or rest cabin, was startled.

”What’s going on?” Everyone looked at each other in confusion, ”What’s that Fatty up to again?”

”Let’s go check, who placed the bet on the Power Cabin?”

”I did. Bet two go crazy! Three and I’ll collect.”

”I didn’t bet on the Power Cabin, I bet on Captain Chekov going crazy.”

”...”

By the time more than a dozen people, including Helen, followed Chekov to the Power Cabin, Fatty had just closed the half-cylinder frequency converter cover. Clapping his hands, he looked satisfied with his work.

”Colonel Tian!” Chekov charged in front of Fatty and yelled, ”What do you think you’re doing? If you don’t understand, I can tell you, this is the Federation’s latest Kro Class destroyer, costing 640 million Leray Yuan to build, taking a year to complete. All the weapons and components are the pinnacle of the Federation’s technology! Do you think this warship, built to defend the country, is a toy for you to dismantle at will?”

As soon as Chekov spoke, the audience, who had been watching for fun, suddenly felt Fatty was a bit too much. For these warriors, the warship was their lifeline, their weapon for combat!

And Fatty, as an Army officer, was messing around in a warship. Did he ever consider the feelings of the ship’s personnel, or take into account the already weak national military power of the Federation? What on earth was he trying to do?

All eyes were on Fatty.

Fatty, feeling extremely wronged, said, ”Colonel Chekov, I’ve told you before, I am helping to overhaul the warship to make it more combat-effective. Although it’s a new-style warship gathering the most advanced technology, in many designs, there are shortcomings or room for performance improvement.”

”Don’t give me that!” Chekov raged, ”You’re from the Army. Do you think you understand warships better than us? What overhaul, with those incomprehensible data and blueprints you gave the Repair Department? You’re committing treason with this nonsense!”

Helen looked at Fatty with a complicated feeling. She didn’t understand why this Federation Hero was such a baffling and obscene Fatty. These days, she had been secretly observing Fatty’s every move, and all his actions were in her eyes.

Treason might be an overstatement, but this Fatty was certainly not a Federation Hero!

”Treason?...” Fatty was stunned by Chekov’s accusation. Just as he was about to speak, suddenly, the red alarm light on the wall spun quickly, and then a sharp, piercing alarm sounded throughout the destroyer. At the same time, the bridge information officer’s shrill shout came through the broadcast.

”Enemy attack!”