63: Space Force reconnaissance fleet

A silver-gray shuttle detached from the battleship,

quickly gliding toward the disintegrating “Lord of the Desert”.

Docking, returning,

less than ten minutes had passed,

when the Marine arrived on the bridge of CAS066, unit 01.

Under the excited gaze of Xi Hai and White Shark,

an earth-yellow woven bag was placed on the command table on the bridge.

Xi Hai picked up the bag and pinched its edge,

the texture feeling slightly rough.

He pulled open the drawstring,

and a handful of golden granules came into view.

“This... is stored in a bag like this?”

Seeing the woven bag,

White Shark, standing nearby, lost his composure.

After obtaining Xi Hai's permission,

he picked up a scanner nearby and, refusing to believe his eyes, scanned the bag.

And then—

Looking at “Nanoscale Dormant Construct” and “Coarse Fiber Woven Bag” displayed on the screen,

White Shark's eyelids twitched a few times, and he cursed, moving his lips:

“A terrible waste.”

...After separating a small pinch of the golden granules,

Xi Hai immediately sent White Shark to the High-Energy Physics Laboratory on the base ship.

Subsequently,

he followed the procedure instructed by night lamp,

using a small spoon to place a few grains of golden sand into the Folded Space opened by night lamp.

Instantly, the “Research” interface on the night lamp panel lit up,

an item labeled “Unidentified Construct” appeared on the slide rail.

Xi Hai dragged it into the research slot,

a flash of white light passed—

“'Asclepius' Type - Emergency Maintenance Nanomechanical Swarm (Dormant State).”

“Research Time: 2 hours (Cannot be accelerated).”

“Estimated Research Progress: 2%~3%”

“Hint: Inputting a greater quantity of individuals helps increase research progress.”

Asclepius,

the deity in ancient Greek mythology who held the Rod of Asclepius, symbolizing medicine, healing, and recovery.

The name is quite fitting for its function.

Seeing this result,

Xi Hai felt a wave of relief—

Fortunately, it was just a nanomechanical unit used for maintenance,

not the seemingly tsundere and cute entity from the multitude stars,

who could actually casually destroy a galaxy—

If that kind of overpowered existence popped up now... Question: Could we win?

Answer: We'd be dead meat.

After closing the night lamp interface,

Xi Hai's attention returned to the front of the bridge.

On the battered battleships below, the “Saints” personnel had all been transferred and confined aboard the forward FG300s,

energy tanks confirmed to be safe were also transported into the cargo hold using shuttles.

After confirming that nothing of value remained on the enemy ships,

the two silver-white FG300s turned around and rejoined the fleet.

Subsequently,

four CAS066s slowly traversed their massive hulls in mid-air, the ruby slightly adjusting the direction of the bow—

Flashing torpedoes left their launchers, and scorching warheads shot out of the cannon barrels.

Immediately, countless bright spots flew toward the massive asteroid ahead,

violently impacting its surface,

throwing up a cloud of dust—

Demolition mining had begun... inside the Node Space City of Ursa Major V12.22.

Just now, this Node Space City had been commandeered by a fleet in the name of the Cloud Military and Political Ministry of Defense,

and the Main Control Tower,

was undoubtedly deployed as the Fleet Command Post.

This fleet was the advance Reconnaissance Fleet dispatched by The Consortium.

Their mission was to scout the status of Ursa Major V12.22, control the entrance to the Void Channel,

then establish a forward defense line and confirm the identity of the invaders,

awaiting the arrival of the subsequent main fleet.

However, while they were still inside the Void Channel,

an extremely violent Void Turbulence struck them—

like a torrent spilling from a suddenly constricted canyon,

surging void energy rushed forward relentlessly,

the star marker used to stabilize the channel shook violently, as if it would disintegrate on the spot the next second.

The fleet was caught off guard by the impact and fell into disarray.

Fortunately,

perhaps because they used a large amount of technology that would be considered cutting-edge even during the Golden Age (Second Era),

the shaking star marker stood firm like a tenacious giant tree in a storm, swaying but refusing to fall,

the generated stabilization field tightly enveloped the channel,

allowing the Reconnaissance Fleet to successfully withdraw.

—Even so,

the impact lasting mere tens of seconds caused immense losses to the fleet.

The hulls of many small ships were deformed at best, or shed entirely at worst,

and the port keels of three Frigates even developed noticeable cracks.

Fortunately, the area where they withdrew was not far from their destination,

after a short period of conventional travel,

they finally reached the Void Channel Node of Ursa Major V12.22—

“Quickly organize damaged warships for docking and repair!”

“Warships with major structural damage have docking priority!”

“What?”

“Can't dock?”

“Those private starships occupying the dock area?”

“You're asking me about this?”

“I sent you to solve the problem!”

“Not to bring the problem back to me!”

“If you can't solve the problem, can't you solve the person who raised the problem?”

“We are currently under Secondary Combat Readiness!”

“Do you know what combat readiness means!”

“If they don't move their damn ships, it's treason!”

“Treason, understand!”

“Just arrest them all and shoot them!”

“In short!”

“Figure it out yourself!”

“Within one hour,”

“I want to see all damaged warships docked for repair!”

“Did you hear me!”

“If you heard me, go do it!”

On the Main Control Tower,

a man wearing the rank of Colonel on his shoulder,

was shouting angrily into the microphone on the communication console, berating the team leader heading to the port—

He was the Commander of this fleet—Colonel Suhart.

After shouting out the final, almost roaring command,

he slammed the communicator shut and heavily sighed.

Right now,

the Void Channel here was closed due to some unknown reason,

the situation inside Ursa Major V12.22 was still unclear,

furthermore, he realized that his communication with headquarters,

had been cut off at some point... Wait!

His pupils suddenly contracted violently,

a terrifying conjecture exploded in his mind:

Unable to leave, communication severed,

along with an unknown method of interception,

this—it might be a trap!

“Report!”

Suddenly,

as if to confirm his suspicion,

the radar operator beside him suddenly spoke:

“14 o'clock direction, 87 degrees bearing,”

“Abnormal energy and heat sources detected approximately 0.7 AU away!”

“Possible fleet engagement detected!”

That location was precisely the direction of the Ursa Major V12.22 star!

Something is there!

Damn it... the fleet is severely damaged right now... The lights from the central console shone on his face,

reflecting a face so dark it looked like water might drip from it.