Approximately sixty-three standard hours later, the transport ship successfully reached its destination: the *Crater 303*, the flagship of the 1406th Division of the First Legion.
It was a moon-sized warship floating in deep space, completed and commissioned sixty years ago. During the numerous border frictions between thirty and ten years ago, it had consistently demonstrated the combat prowess expected of it.
Furthermore, surrounding this fully enclosed, black-painted futuristic warship were three squadrons totaling fifteen *Peregrine-class* composite mission spacecraft. These were the most common light vessels in the Federation military, tasked with a multitude of tedious duties including reconnaissance, exploration, and stealth transport.
In the 1406th Division, their roles were similarly focused on reconnaissance and stealth transport, as well as high-speed maneuver warfare in small-to-medium-scale space battles.
"Never underestimate any spacecraft."
So said Warrant Officer Donna, the guide leading the interns to their preparatory work stations. She was a robust woman with sharp, regular features.
"Anything can happen in battle. You never know if an enemy will disguise themselves to infiltrate a defense system you thought was impregnable, nor do you know if a decisive campaign will collapse due to the most insignificant detail," she said. "I believe you all understand how the Third General War ended—at the critical moment, a group of seemingly unremarkable ordinary citizens took over for incapacitated Federation soldiers. At the cost of massive casualties, they followed the instructions of the optical computers to forcibly activate key machinery, buying a vast amount of time for the frontline army...
"During that process, they were spared by the enemy multiple times because they 'didn't even have superpowers' or because 'killing them was useless, a waste of bullets and effort.' And then, the Federation we have today came to be."
She didn't seem very skilled at storytelling; this monologue was likely a pre-written script stored in her optical computer. Her speaking speed slowed as she recited it, but it did nothing to diminish the sense of power inherent in her voice and words.
Lei Ting also knew the story she was telling. It was a tale every Federation citizen of the interstellar era knew by heart. The code name for that pivotal engagement was '35032-Waterblade.' The preceding number was its chronological sequence in the entire war, while the latter was a mark of high honor. Most battles were simply referred to as 'The Siege of X' or 'The Raid on Y'; those with special code names were, without exception, legendary stories that were widely circulated later.
And that group of legend-makers, ignored because of their own weakness, were residents of the planet where the battle took place. When they decided to take over the tasks of the fallen soldiers, moving forward under the guise of panicked refugees, there were over two hundred of them.
By the time the mission was completed, only one person remained to establish communication with the Federation's supreme commander at the time.
And that one person, due to excessive blood loss and a total lack of will to survive, passed away before his own army could reach his side.
"Do not rely on optical computers. Your current standard-issue computers are merely one of your identification markers," Warrant Officer Donna said. "Before we reach our mission objective, train yourselves well within the fleet's operations. If you can't do the job, get out. Do not attempt to link to the external Star Net for assistance, otherwise, we might as well just let the AI do the work. That is all I have to say."
The students, who had already gone through the process of 'assembly, ship transfer, and receiving standard-issue equipment and computers,' were mostly shaken by her cold, hard aura. They responded in unison, "Yes, ma'am!"
"..." Warrant Officer Donna’s brow twitched. "Who told you to speak?"
The crowd fell as silent as cicadas in winter.
Warrant Officer Donna walked slowly, scanning the group with a cold gaze. The students here didn't even fill the transport ship; there were only ninety-two in total. Most of them couldn't last a single round under her stare, and only a third could remain steady while meeting her eyes.
Among them, one was *exceptionally* steady.
Ignoring the normal students, Warrant Officer Donna came to a halt in front of Lei Ting.
"'Double S'?" she asked briefly.
"Yes, sir," Lei Ting answered, looking straight ahead.
"You are now the leader of the combat personnel among them." Warrant Officer Donna patted his shoulder calmly, her gaze unreadable. "In the days to come, let me see what you're capable of."
"Yes, sir," Lei Ting replied, still looking straight ahead.
"Let's go. We will soon rendezvous with the main fleet to conduct border patrol and security work."
As she spoke, Donna led the way through the bridge, past the soldiers standing guard on either side. "Are you disappointed that you might not see any resource harvesting? That is the Seventh Legion's job this year. The First Legion's primary mission is always to prioritize the security of the border. Regarding border issues, we possess the right to unlimited self-defense counterattack fire against the enemy..."
"Whoa..." someone beside Lei Ting whispered in awe. "Unlimited fire rights..."
"You forgot the 'self-defense counterattack' part," another person whispered a correction.
Lei Ting glanced at them sideways—they were two female students from another department, seemingly friends. Based on their neck collars, one was a Beta and the other an Omega.
Sensing his gaze, the two of them smiled and winked at him, making a zipping motion over their lips before falling silent.
Lei Ting: "..."
He pondered for less than a second whether to explain that he wasn't warning them to be quiet, and decided less than a second later that he shouldn't make any noise himself.
Soon, the students were divided into groups and sent to different areas of the ship for practical operations on various systems. Most of the combat students went to the fire control system sub-sector, leaving only a group of four Superpowered Mecha Pilots with Warrant Officer Donna.
"You will be distributed among four different mecha combat squads. They won't all be superpowered units, but they will certainly be closest to the battlefield," Donna said. "Especially you, 'Double S.' You will likely be sent to the second or even the first line. Any thoughts?"
"It is my honor," Lei Ting said. His expression was as calm as iron.
Every legion had its own integrated coordinating artificial intelligence system. Among them were main control AIs hosted on the flagships and auxiliary AIs belonging to other support ships. The name of the First Legion's main control AI was quite unforgettable: it was called 'Xihe.' And its auxiliary system was called 'Wangshu.'
"Those names were given by the Parliament at the time of our founding," Donna said. "Regarding that, I only know that 'Xihe' is the name of a star, and 'Wangshu' is a planet belonging to it... I heard they have their own lore. 'Double S,' do you know anything about it?"
"..."
Great. It was that classic 'old trope' setup again.
"Yes, sir, I do," Lei Ting said helplessly. "One is the Sun Goddess who established the calendar, and the other is the Moon Goddess who drives the lunar chariot. They are mythological figures from the early Eastern civilizations of the Origin System era."
—Xihe, the Goddess of the Sun and Time, the solar mother goddess of early Huaxia's matriarchal society. Simultaneously, she was also considered to be the same great deity as Changxi, the mother goddess of the moon and the calendar.
Her merit in presiding over the cycles of the sun and moon was compared to that of Nüwa. It was the origin of the phrase 'mending the sky and bathing the sun,' often used to describe 'conquering nature' and 'monumental achievements.'
Even after seeing 'Chang'an' and 'Rome,' as well as those other miraculous Star Gates and their wondrous counterparts, Lei Ting never expected to hear the names 'Xihe' and 'Wangshu' here.
These weren't very common terms even for 21st-century humans; aside from a few literary works, they had almost never appeared in Lei Ting's awareness.
Donna and the three surrounding Superpowered Mecha classmates were clearly hearing the origin of these two names for the first time. They marveled, "So the legends were true. You..."
"...I am not a 'Retro-ist,'" Lei Ting said through gritted teeth. "I just happen to read some related books."
"I see—"
Under the meaningful gazes of the crowd, which were written all over with 'Stop pretending, you're definitely a Retro-ist, otherwise why would a normal person read those boring books,' Lei Ting gave up the struggle in despair.
After all, he wasn't lying; he really did read related books. No, it should be said that he even read related academic papers, because most of that knowledge wasn't difficult for him to understand—he had once been one of the research subjects for those historical experts.
Learning about the modern era's understanding and views of 'Ancient Earth' through books, documents, and trending discussions was one of Lei Ting's few forms of entertainment and relaxation.
It couldn't be helped. Although many details of daily life and diet had been preserved, a vast amount of culture, knowledge, and lifestyle materials that were now considered 'ancient relics' had indeed been lost during those long periods of war and upheaval.
Not many people cared about such things during the chaotic times, but now that peace had lasted, the Orion people—whose bloodlines had completely merged the various ethnicities of Earth over the ages—were becoming increasingly interested in the affairs of that era.
Therefore, Lei Ting's label as a 'Retro-ist' was actually quite trendy...
"The matters of the Origin System are truly wondrous." Among the other three Superpowered Mecha interns, the only male spoke up with a sigh of emotion. "A Sun Goddess... Ha, how could a star have a natural ruler? Such primitive, barbaric myths and legends are utterly illogical, yet they possess such a beautiful allure..."
Lei Ting glanced at him—the guy's name was Alan. He had short gray hair and eyes of the same color. He wasn't as tall as the current Lei Ting and loved to show off himself and his perhaps not-so-abundant cultural literacy. He was the only logistics specialist among the four.
Incidentally, Lei Ting had beaten him up on the training grounds.
"Who's to say?" Among the two girls, the one who had just teased Lei Ting laughed. "Didn't they say before that some juvenile Star Beasts parasitic to stars were discovered on the Federation border? Maybe 'Xihe' is a 'god' like that?"
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Stars See Me [Interstellar] | Chapter 47 | The Names of Ancient Gods | Novela.app | Novela.app
