Stars See Me [Interstellar] | Chapter 137 | The Logic of Chaos | Novela.app

The fringes of the Human Union, the dark reaches of deep space. This was a relatively small star system, H-32580A, also known as Qinghe 16. It contained only one habitable planet: Qinghe 16-I. It was one of the residential worlds currently under Human Union control that sat furthest from the Capital System. Like the planets of the New Solar System, it was located on the extreme outer ring of the Galactic Star-Net. Beyond it lay a dozen more habitable planets, all of which had already been seized by a sudden assault from the depths of space. Consequently, a massive military force now filled its interplanetary space. It was an invasion fleet composed of 260,000 space tactical bases. Approximately 170,000 were flat-topped crystalline cluster platforms, while the other 90,000 were pale spheres. A portion of each type of base had combined with their own kind, following their respective standards to form war arrays, each with its own internal circulation system. As supply ships shuttled between them, the former stacked into hollow crystalline pillars that formed massive, regular polyhedrons. The latter emitted a terrifyingly low temperature, akin to a starless void, and relied on this cold to freeze together like clusters of white grapes, radiating a frigid white mist. The crystalline polyhedrons clearly belonged to the Gah, a silicon-based lifeform. As for those clusters of white spheres... With a single glance, Lei Ting could identify their origin: the Wraiths. Nearly two light-years away, Lei Ting frowned and opened his eyes. "Something happening?" Valianna asked from beside him. "From what I can see, it’s a joint force of Gah and Wraiths," Lei Ting said. "They’ve taken control of the nearest residential planet. To avoid alerting them and causing them to target the civilians directly, I haven't 'looked' at the situation on the ground yet." Valianna looked thoughtful, glancing down at the bridge beneath her feet—the enemy was stationed in that direction. Given that the First Legion was closest to this enemy host, the task of eliminating... no, delaying them, naturally fell to Valianna and Lei Ting. Thus, after nearly two months of marching, the First Legion’s massive fleet had arrived. They were currently organizing themselves around large-scale logistical starships, forming the Human Union’s own space strategic platforms. The fundamental logic of combat in space was entirely different from that on a planetary surface. Currently, the basic tactics of every race that had made a name for itself in the galaxy followed a "naval-style" format. Based on planetary weapons and strategic platforms, they possessed their own complete heavy industrial systems and tools required for various scenarios. The Human Union was no exception. Years ago, when Lei Ting first participated in a real war, his allies had operated in exactly this manner. "All ships, come about. Dispatch several special mecha divisions and reconnaissance teams," Valianna said sternly. "They’ve been here long enough that their defenses must be complete. We need to see the extent of their defensive perimeter and the status of the other planets." Lei Ting did not react, and behind them, others moved to carry out the orders. "Solar Star," Valianna suddenly asked, "can your mental strength perceive their bases?" "Easily," Lei Ting’s voice was as calm as a deep well. "But only the metallic structures within them. The enemy’s defensive perimeter doesn't use metal—if they even have one." "Not surprising. The technological nature of both the Gah and the Wraiths differs from ordinary carbon-based races; they don't require many metallic structures." Valianna frowned as she opened a light screen, casually swiping across the touch panel. "You may have misunderstood me." Lei Ting glanced at the tall, powerful warrior beside him. "Right now, I can make the Gah and the Wraiths lose their space military bases at any moment. Furthermore, since the former mostly contain metallic elements within their bodies, I can also control their lives and actions. "Therefore, I believe 'liberating our residential planets' should be the number one priority on the tactical objective list." Valianna’s movements paused. Right—as long as it was metal Lei Ting could perceive, he could control it... But there was no helping it; war was not a one-man show. Even if the 'Solar Star' could end this at any moment, she still had to let those young recruits be tempered on the battlefield. She had to find a compromise that balanced the needs of the Federation and the Assembly. Moreover, the biggest problem right now was— "Actually, I was wondering: what is the enemy's strategic intent in sending this force here?" Valianna frowned as she spoke. "With you here, it’s impossible for them to win. So why did their commanders send them here to die?" "I have three guesses regarding that." Lei Ting stared into the darkness before him. "First, their original target wasn't the First Legion—at least, not 'the First Legion with the Solar Star.' But I don't think they have the luxury of hand-picking their opponents in a war." "Then, the second possibility is..." Valianna said softly, her expression turning odd. "...that when they set out from the Perseus Arm, the Human Union didn't have a 'Solar Star' yet." Due to the terrifying isolation of physical distance and the differences in racial lifespans, such blunders were common in interstellar warfare. The situation before them was nothing compared to some historical precedents. There had even been a case where an invasion fleet from Civilization A set out for a habitable planet, B, which was still in its early planetary civilization stage. By the time the fleet arrived, Civilization B had already expanded to control a dozen star systems. The moment they discovered the invaders, they lunged forward and beat the vanguard of Civilization A into a scattered retreat... This remained one of the classic war jokes on the Galactic Star-Net. However, while such a guess was pleasant, Lei Ting shook his head. "I had that thought too, but if you think about it... even in the Barren Zones, as long as you're within the galaxy, you can occasionally link to the Star-Net. Furthermore, every war base should theoretically be equipped with a Star-Net relay station. Have they really never contacted the outside world?" If that were truly the case, this massive army would have had to set out nine years ago at the latest. In those nine years, if they had connected to the network even a few times, it was impossible for them not to have heard of the 'Solar Star.' And... "Regardless of how long they've been marching," Lei Ting’s expression grew more serious, "I saw the Assembly’s joint defense maps for this sector years ago. There are no public star-gates here, nor are there any long-term maintained warp-induction beacon fields." If there were no pre-set induction beacons and no star-gates to assist their march... how exactly did the enemy get here? One had to realize that the Barren Zone ahead was not a place that could be traversed by normal means! "Could it be some new teleportation technology?" Valianna’s expression was strange. "No... if that were the case, they wouldn't just be sitting here. After resupplying, they should have continued their forced march to strike deep into our heartland... Attacking fringe systems won't paralyze any of our systems. This definitely isn't their final goal." "Then now... there is only one possibility left." Lei Ting said in a low voice. "This army... they might be unable to stop themselves, even if their staff officers understand better than anyone that this is simply..." ... "...seeking death!!" Inside the Gah core war base, Ruo Yiba’s gold-dusted, jelly-like body vibrated with a noisy, piercing sound. She slapped her support armor and stood up, her flexible limbs splashing brilliant pink light against her exoskeleton. "You are no match for the 'Solar Star'! In this war, your defeat is certain!" Opposite this mediator, a mountain of silver-gray crystalline clusters flickered with faint light, and a noisy resonance rang out. To an ordinary carbon-based being, most races would be unable to accurately receive two-thirds of the audio frequencies in this resonance, let alone identify it as 'language.' But within the automatic analysis of the mediator Ruo’s jelly-like body, it translated into a complete sentence: "That is not for us to consider. The military is only responsible for executing missions during wartime." "You might all die." Mediator Ruo’s mental fluctuations were filled with sorrow. "Dun, how long have we known each other?" "Seven hundred thousand cycles." The crystal mountain named Dun emitted a crisp clinking sound. "I am glad to have a friend like you, Ruo." "I am glad as well—but do you know? Seven hundred thousand rotation cycles of the Gah homeworld, converted to Orion time units, is approximately five hundred years." Ruo seemed to let out a long sigh. "And five hundred years ago, the Human Union was far from having its current status. Five times five hundred years ago, humans were still killing each other on their home planet. Go back another five hundred years, and they didn't even exist as a civilization..." "I have no interest in learning the history of a civilization that deliberately abandoned its origins," Dun replied solemnly. "Fine, one of the latest excuses the Galactic Star-Net uses to attack the Orion people—it seems you really did bring a Star-Net relay station with you." The pain radiating from Mediator Ruo was a hundred times deeper than that of the surrounding Gah, who knew they might soon die. "But, Dun, I want to ask you... why would you provoke a short-lived race like the Human Union? A civilization with such a brief history that has fought nearly every invader in the galaxy with suicidal desperation? Especially when the Gah even had diplomatic ties with them..." "Is this Ruo’s intent, or the Assembly’s?" Dun asked in return. "What difference does it make?" Mediator Ruo asked gloomily. "If it is your intent, I will tell you: we must do this because the Orion people are a cancer upon the galaxy! But I will let you leave this place, for the sake of our friendship... as long as you deactivate the protective power you've placed over those Orion people outside." Dun continued. "But if it is the Assembly’s intent... I must tell you, Ruo, that the evil order will surely be crushed. The galaxy must return to the Great Disorder. Only the collisions within chaos and strife can spark higher wisdom. The weak Assembly cannot be allowed to persist, and the civilization of the Orion people is no different!"