Chapter 14

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Chapter 14: Confidential Mission

3 hours before the departure of the expedition fleet, "South Heaven Gate" space station, Space Force Commander’s Office

"Report!" "Come in!" A middle-aged man, still strong and upright, pushed open the door and walked in. "Hmm, sit down!" The veteran who had just transferred from the Air Force to take on the position of the first Space Fleet Commander in the Space Force, pointed to the seat opposite him. "Xiao Zhao, I remember you transferred from the 38th Army, right?"

"Yes!"

"Who is in charge of political warfare in this mission? How are the soldiers feeling lately?"

"Apart from feeling a bit down because they can’t return to Earth after serving in space for a long time, most soldiers are managing their emotions well. But I will provide individual psychological counseling soon to eliminate these negative feelings as soon as possible."

"Well, I won’t say much about that. I called you here because I received instructions from the higher-ups that a difficult task needs to be assigned to you."

"I promise to complete the mission!"

"This is a classified mission, and only you and I know its true purpose, which for you…" The old general smiled and his expression became somewhat strange, "might be a bit challenging."

"Challenges can be overcome. Commander, what is the task?"

"Ah, well, it’s like this…"

When the political commissar walked out of the office again, he was completely confused. In a sense, that daunting task was indeed quite challenging – my goodness, soliciting is really a first for me! If I actually do it, my reputation may be completely ruined, and it might even go down in history. However, it’s an order and a task that must be carried out no matter what!

"Commander, I don’t understand, why do we have to do this?"

"There are many reasons, but first is the political and social significance…" The old chief stood up, "This is the first time humans are using a peaceful way to make contact with an intelligent alien race. If all goes well, they could become a model for us to colonize other extraterrestrial races, exploring the possibility of humans and aliens merging into one civilization. Of course, there are other models as well. Since we have chosen this civilization as the model for exploring integration, it requires deep mutual trust and communication between both sides, including intermarriage and reproduction, which are essential."

"Exactly, the differences between this race and humans in terms of reproduction are not very big (although there are differences). Therefore, we must explore the possibilities of reproduction and marriage between both sides. And at any time, the merging of ethnicities starts with intermarriage – so there must be a group of pioneers."

"And from a political perspective, marriage and alliance hold significant weight in politics as well. Although it may not have any effect when both sides are at odds, when they are not, any biological creatures tend to lean towards their own kind under the same conditions. If all goes well, they will eventually become our people under our rule. This step is inevitable. Starting with a small-scale trial now will prevent chaos in the future and allow for any issues to be discovered and solved early."

"Then, what is the next reason?"

"Next is the scientific reason. This is the first time humans have discovered a race with minimal reproductive isolation. Therefore, what effects will the combination of human and alien genes have? Will offspring of humans and alien races be superior or inferior? During this process, what damages and benefits will there be for the human body and humanity? These all need a group of volunteers, a group of pioneers to try, and bear the risks."

"Currently, there is already a high probability of side effects such as second-generation sterilization and incomplete embryo development. There may be more negative situations in the future that we need to address. After such vastly different species combine, what kind of mixed-race advantages can emerge is also a question pressing for scientists to know."

"If you do not accept this task, then we will have to secretly or publicly recruit volunteers from society. The country highly regards this project, and it holds significant importance for all of human civilization. Therefore, whether it is contracting unknown diseases, permanent sterilization, or any other consequences, this sacrifice is necessary and meaningful. So, if you don’t step up, the people will have to! Think it over!"

"Also…" the chief’s tone softened, "This isn’t really a difficult task. Our country has nearly 60 million single individuals. In your unit alone, there must be quite a few single elders who don’t have partners, right? This could also help them with their personal issues."

"Hmm…"

"The mice also helped us get information about the other city, streets, and different populations, with photos. I looked at them and noticed they didn’t look very different from human women. If those nosy people online saw this, they’d probably be eager to see it."

"Um…"

That’s true, except for the ears and tails, as well as having slightly more hair on the neck, wrists, and lower legs, there isn’t much difference in appearance from human women. If forced to point out differences, it’s probably due to exposure to the elements and labor, resulting in rougher skin and slightly larger bone structure, typical features of working women.

"Well, I’ll try to arrange it, but it really depends on the soldiers themselves, and remember, no messing around with relationships during missions – that’s our bottom line."

"Hmm, as long as you understand. So, this task is to be carried out during your rest time after completing the planned mission. If anyone dares to do anything during the operation…"

"Shoot them!"

"I won’t say much more, let’s go, the troops are about to set off."

The expedition fleet, or shall we say the exploration and survey fleet, consists of three 075-1 type frigates and one logistics supply ship, totaling about 2200 people including the marine corps. The largest tonnage ship, the "Suqin-class Replenishment Ship", accounts for more than half of them, mainly for various scientific research teams, linguists, sociologists, diplomats, and some civilian personnel allowed to accompany, like journalists and documentary film crew.

This is the first time humans have visited an alien civilization, so it’s important to keep precious video data which can be used as a reference in the future – sadly, they only encountered races with such vast differences in life forms that they couldn’t integrate or intermarry with. Winning this kind of grand prize once is enough, doing it again and again might seem like cheating even on God’s part.

Nico Star.

"Sniff sniff~ Long hands toys, this way, this way~" From far away, those mice received almost no disguise wireless signals, considering that the Imperial second-line forces stationed at Nico Star were mostly old ships, communication mainly relied on searchlights and signal flares. Even if the exploration fleet launched all communication satellites, it was unlikely that anyone would notice them, even if they held a space concert.

The variable absorptive material surface layered with immature optical camouflage was sufficient for the locals to be amazed. Even encountering the opponent’s early centimeter-wave radar could achieve 100% perfect stealth. The only possible reason for exposure was something like hyperspace fluctuations. Humans had not been using this technology for long, and the captives could not provide much new information or clues. Currently, it was only slightly more stable than the Empire’s jump drives, with a fluctuation intensity of around 70%.

The biggest change was that the entity known as the "subspace demon" in the Empire’s lore had been found. It was actually a specific frequency of ionizing radiation in the Dimensional Corridor, and their poor processing technique leading to a subsonic frequency hull resonance during dimensional travel, causing dizziness, nausea, fatigue during jumps, and in the long term, personality splits and mental disorders due to electromagnetic influences and closed environment issues. As for the so-called other alien race not affected, it was likely due to asynchronous subsonic frequency and visceral resonance frequency, among other reasons, preventing them from going mad.

These issues were easily solved for humans. However, just in case, during long-distance jumps, each person wore an oxygen mask-like device that administered highly effective anesthesia, ensuring they slept through to their destination. Humans had automatic navigation capabilities to handle this, a luxury the Empire didn’t possess, and as for the mice…

Their method of dealing was simple and direct. Two bulky and slow-witted mouse trolls with rudimentary intelligence, one with a wooden stick and the other with a sack. If they saw a crew member showing signs of madness, they would hit them with a stick, tie them up in the sack, hang them in a side cabin. If lucky, they would be unconscious until reaching the destination, then recover after a few days. If unlucky and couldn’t recover, they would be thrown out to be frozen mouse meat before the next voyage.

"There, there’s an Imperial ship coming over, sniff sniff~"

"We’ve already spotted them."

It was merely a raft less than 100 meters in length, wooden shell covered in iron plates, not even requiring the use of the three G-class laser guns on the escort ship. The three sets of rapid-fire cannons and small laser guns for close defense could turn it into a sieve within a minute. For a human fleet with three escort ships over ten thousand tons each, the threat level was basically zero. In contrast, the radiation cannon with suspiciously inaccurate aim of those mice had a higher deterrence effect on friendly forces.

"It seems like they’re fighting each other?" Two small imperial ships were chasing another small ship, shooting at each other from a distance of less than 200 kilometers. However, their aim was so off that they might not hit anything until tomorrow morning. "Mouse, what’s going on with them?"

"Sniff sniff~~ the resistance army has captured the imperial people’s ship, sniff sniff~ they bombed the imperial Doge’s palace~~~ now the whole planet is chasing them~~~"

"…" Commissioner Zhao felt that this group of resistance army needed systematic and organized technical guidance and training. With experienced support in intelligence and equipment at this level, they would have been long gone, instead of being chased around like this.

"For the commanders and decision-makers at the feudal level, they have already done quite well." A scholar from the Academy of Social Sciences pushed his glasses and said, "Aren’t we also from a semi-feudal society?"

"Well, we were the exception back then. Look at Earth, besides us and the Soviet Union, who else succeeded? And even the Soviet Union only half-succeeded."

"Old Liu, how do we go support them now?"

"Hmm~~~" The fleet commander pondered for a moment. "Okay, you take the two ships behind ‘011’, ‘012’ you go bring the people over, let’s make contact with the other side in person."

The 075-1 type frigate only had a hull number without a ship name. Since these ships were being manufactured in shipyards like making dumplings, there weren’t many options for naming them properly. Only large starships like the just completed CVN-033 "Beijing" had proper names. Especially since the former was almost a definitively scrapped prototype for civilian use, real ship naming might have to wait for the second generation frigates or destroyers to come out before they could be solemnly bestowed with rank names and ship names.

As for why it was an aircraft carrier, aside from possibly having a fondness, it was probably due to the impression left on the Navy that a large number of unmanned aerial vehicles face-smacked them during training. So stubbornly insisting on the first ship being an aircraft carrier worked out well, since the Americans were building proper gunships, which conveniently led to the construction of an unmanned aerial vehicle mothership. Of course, considering the way of warfare, it could also be called a floating gun mothership, after all, everyone is a rookie at space warfare for the first time, so trying everything shouldn’t go wrong.

"Sister Cui, we’re out of bullets!"

"Hmm, you guys used up all the ammunition already?" the helmswoman looked incredulous, "Um, everyone’s inexperienced, plus the ammo storage wasn’t full to begin with…" But even if it’s only half of the ammo, each gun should have at least 50 shots, right? She counted, and it was only the 20th round, and you’re out of bullets?

"50 shots? Sister Cui, you’re thinking too much. This is not the Empire’s main fleet! Where do you think those pirate military shells and cannons come from?"

Where else could they have gotten those from except from these second or even third-line troops, using training and daily wear as excuses? Isn’t this kind of old-style army, from officers to soldiers, all just in it for the money?

(So, that saying from Taiwan, "Being a soldier is for robbing money, food, and women," is kind of right—too bad, it’s outdated by about 150 years… I guess their military still has an 18th-19th-century organizational structure and flavor… Tsk~ Wearing dragon robes, beggars still don’t look like princes… This kind of old-style army, even with new weapons, is still a mess.)

The over ten-thousand-ton escort ship, like the spearhead piercing the starry sky, quietly appeared near the three pursuing ships. Two built-in weapon stations slowly rose, and after a brief charge, the 40mm heavy pulse cannons scattered a storm of warheads towards the two Imperial warships behind, almost in an instant turning them into drifting space debris.

The prepared scavenger ship rushed up at a God-slayer speed: unable to produce, impossible to have industrial production in a lifetime, they could only maintain a living through garbage recycling. In this business, you had to be faster, more precise, and hit harder when fighting your peers!

[CVN-33: Beijing]

A total mass of 71,000 tons space carrier, driven by six nuclear reactors, equipped with two sets of void thrusters for propulsion, carrying 45 unmanned drones, the drones being battery-powered heavy beam laser guns, with an instantaneous power of 1.6GW, using 20GJ·S batteries that can be rechargeable. After complete release, it can provide intensive long-range firepower coverage, electric-driven Space Displacer, maximum flight speed of 600 km per second, maximum range of 5Ls (single line), the carrier itself does not carry any weapons, acting as a charging station for drones or mobile floating guns when in use.

Based on performance on paper, the instant firepower delivery of this ship is greater than that of American battleship cruisers. Its firepower distribution is more flexible, but its ability to sustain combat is relatively poor, making it more suitable for a tactic of focusing fire on one target at a time.

Aircraft on board need to return for recharging for about 2-3 minutes before they can take off again. Only 4 aircraft can recharge simultaneously, resulting in a lower average firepower delivery compared to battleship cruisers. However, drones can fly out a distance to shoot and have a smaller target area than the mothership, giving them an advantage in range.

The charging power is 0.3 gigawatts, with 4 charging positions and a maximum of 5. The charging efficiency is 50%-60%. Emergency cooling agents can be used to forcefully cool the laser cannon system, but this causes significant damage to the drone weapon system.

As no way has been found to freely jump out of the Dimensional Corridor, the actual carrier aircraft equipped with jumpers is still in the conceptual design stage. Preliminary concept images have been released (because space fighters do not require aerodynamics, the design is no longer a matter of secrecy, as the opponents can see whatever style they want). It has been dubbed online as "the ugliest weapon in history for country bumpkins — look, does it resemble a combination of a construction scaffold and a mixer?" (click on the image).