Interstellar Survival: Invasion

The two ships started moving toward the destination in a line.
About 30 minutes of high-speed travel later, we arrived 50 million kilometers away from the Horsehead Nebula.

”Canyue, we have discovered the enemy ships and a large number of transport ships.
My god, there ’s also a lot of drones, ” exclaimed Dodo in alarm.

”I thought this spot was only guarded by 5,000 people? ” asked Zhang Bao ’er in astonishment.

”Through the long-range heat scan earlier, we were only able to detect life and heat signatures.
But these drones are surprisingly low in temperature, so they had remained undetected by the scan.
They were only noticeable after we got near, ” said Dodo helplessly.

”Dodo, send over the latest intelligence report, ” I ordered.

Soon, a clear image was projected on our ship.
The scene before our eyes was inconceivable.
Floating in the middle of space was a massive fortification.
What we faced was merely a tiny part of the base.

The massive metallic fortification was an assembly of numerous small metallic cubes.
Together, they formed a massive ring-shaped tunnel.
Countless drones moved in and out of the tunnel.
Transport ships of all shapes and forms could be seen coming from afar to unload or load before departing.

”I did not expect the empire to be so technologically advanced.
They had actually built such a massive base here in outer space? ” I exclaimed as I gazed at the sight before me.

”Canyue, right ahead of us, there are about 15 battleships of numerous sizes, roughly 5,000 soldiers, and over 20,000 drones, ” reported Dodo.

Zhang Bao ’er said in astonishment, ”20,000 drones? That is enough to blast through even the strongest of shields.
Just where did the empire get all the material to build so many drones? If they have 20,000 drones in this section alone, do they have, like, millions of them in total? ” 

”Perhaps this is also the reason the league has been itching to go to war with the empire.
The Divine Empire has such a rich supply of iron.
How can the league not drool over it? ” said Old Du, who was similarly impressed.

That was true.
The level of wealth we were witnessing was truly impressive.
But at the same time, it was scary.
How were we supposed to defeat a giant like this?

”There are too many drones here.
If we want to create an opening, we can only lure them away so that Skyhawk can sneak through, ” said Master Crystal.

”Canyue, look above and below the area ahead.
They are relatively lax with only a few patrolling drones.
Can we try entering there? ” said Zhang Bao ’er while pointing at the map.

I looked at where he pointed.
Yes, the two locations were really quite empty with only a small number of patrols, forming a clear contrast with the bustling sector in the middle.

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”No, we can ’t.
I suspect there are a lot of invisible mines there, ” said Dodo.

”How are you so sure? That ’s such a big place.
How many mines do they need to cover the area? This place is 1 lightyear wide, ” argued Zhang Bao ’er.

”I thought the same originally, but after looking at the number of drones and the size of this base, I believe the emperor can achieve anything.
Also, look at those patrols.
They are all moving in some sort of a route.
I believe they are moving through the mines, ” said Dodo.

”Dodo is right.
There must be some mines or other invisible sensors.
The Midstar Army is known as the empire ’s strongest army.
They are worthy of their reputation, after all.
They must be guarding something extremely valuable here, ” said Master Crystal.

”Master, are you referring to the beast-breeding base when you say they ’re guarding something valuable? ” I asked.

”No.
The beast-breeding base is a secret that I doubt even the Midstar Army ’s commanders know about.
There must definitely be something else that ’s important here, ” said Master Crystal.

Upon hearing that, I suddenly recalled the recordings left by Nommo regarding the enormous cloud that was also an energy source.

”The giant dust cloud might be it.
In the old recordings we saw before, the empire seemed to be harnessing energy from the dust cloud, ” I said.

”We ’re at the edge of the Horsehead Nebula.
Theoretically, the dust cloud where stars are born can exist anywhere here.
If someone tells me that the empire is harnessing the energy from the cores of these newborn stars, I will find that completely believable, ” said Baron Sisse.

”But the dust cloud in the recordings is massive.
However, we ’re not seeing the cloud at all from here.
So where are the bases in charge of harnessing the energy? ” asked Zhang Bao ’er.

That was a reasonable question.
We had yet to encounter any traces of the dust cloud.
If the dust cloud was actually here, we should be able to see traces of it from how far we could see with all our probes.
Furthermore, what were these transport ships carrying? This was a massive puzzle.

”Canyue, look at those transport ships.
They all came from afar just to stop in that square for about 10 minutes before leaving quickly.
It is so odd.
Are they transporting air? ” said Baron Sisse as he observed what was happening.

Upon hearing the baron ’s words, we started paying attention and saw that the baron was right.

”Also, look at those enormous floating tubes.
I don ’t see any ships approaching or docking there.
I also don ’t see any drones or battleships resupplying in the base.
In that case, what is the actual point of this base? ” questioned Baron Sisse.

Those questions confused us as well.
We tried to observe more, with Wuzhou and the others scanning repeatedly with our probes, but we still couldn ’t figure out this base ’s purpose.

”This is too weird.
The base is massive, but it ’s almost empty inside.
There are no spots to land at nor are there any stations for one to rest.
What ’s the point of this base? ” I muttered in confusion.

”Regardless, the enemy wouldn ’t have built such a big base for nothing.
Canyue, I believe the issue lies with those transport ships.
They won ’t go in and out for no reason.
I believe these transport ships will be the perfect tool for our diversion, ” suggested Old Du.

”Skyhawk will be performing the leap in 40 minutes.
We don ’t have much time left to prepare, ” reminded Anxashe.

”I think we can consider Old Du ’s suggestion, ” Master Crystal voiced his agreement.

”According to Old Du ’s plan, we will need to attack the transport ships.
But the battleships and drones here are always around to protect them.
It might be difficult for us to withdraw after our attack.
However, it will indeed work as a diversion, ” analyzed Baron Sisse.

”I have an idea.
If we ’re doing it, we might as well do something bigger, ” I said.

”Canyue, stop keeping us in suspense.
Tell us your idea, ” urged Zhang Bao ’er.

”I wish to use our nuclear warheads for the diversion.
We will have our drones carry the nuclear warheads and perform suicide attacks on the transport ships.
Regardless of the result of the attack, several nuclear explosions will be enough to throw them into chaos.
At that time, all three of our ships can take the chance to sneak through, ” I said.

”Using nuclear warheads in outer space isn ’t the same as using them on a planet because they are too destructive when used on a planet.
We ’re in the middle of  boundless space.
The power of the nuclear explosions can easily attract their attention.
Sacrificing a few drones and nuclear warheads to lure their army away? This is totally worth it, ” said Zhang Bao ’er in excitement, voicing his support immediately.

”Doing so, we don ’t even need to throw Fearless and Spacetime into the attack.
All of us will be safe, ” said Old Du, who agreed as well.

”So in the end, it is still nuclear weapons that are useful.
That is the greatest invention of Blue, ” said Zhang Bao ’er proudly.

”Will using nuclear weapons create some sort of irreversible consequence? ” asked Master Crystal through the communicator.

”The space here is so wide.
A few nuclear warheads can ’t even compare with the power of planetary nuclear fusion.
You worry too much, Master, ” said Zhang Bao ’er confidently.

”One can never be too careful.
Master Crystal did nothing wrong.
Dodo, calculate suitable attack points in accordance with the range of the nuclear explosion.
Remember, make sure the explosions won ’t actually reach the base.
We don ’t want any unexpected accidents to happen, ” I said.

Having received the order, Dodo started calculating.

”Canyue, we need to wait for Commander Zhang Xingxing to arrive and tell her the plan.
All three of our ships need to sneak in at the same time, ” reminded Old Du.

I checked the time.
We still had 20 minutes before Skyhawk ’s leap.
Everyone started waiting impatiently for the results of Dodo ’s calculation.

”Dodo, make sure to calculate properly.
According to the plan, we only have one chance at this.
We have already diverted from the plan by attacking with drones instead of our battleships.
If this fails, the entire operation will be a failure, ” I said.
I was feeling extremely nervous.

After another 10 minutes, Dodo ’s robotic voice rang out from the communicator, ”Calculation complete! ”

”What ’s the result? We ’re only 10 minutes away from Skyhawk ’s leap! ” urged Zhang Bao ’er.

”I have determined five attack points.
We will require 20 drones for this mission.
They will move in groups of four, and in each group, three drones will be in charge of covering the one drone carrying the warhead.
Regardless of whether we can destroy the enemy ships, the explosions will still happen at the predetermined spots.
I will also set the order of explosions, creating a situation where each subsequent explosion will happen farther away.
That will make it easier for us to sneak through.
All the drones have been given the correct commands.
We only need the deputy commander ’s order to begin the mission, ” said Dodo, perfectly finalizing the proposed combat plan.

”Dodo, well done! ” I couldn ’t help but praise the android for the job well done.

With everything ready, we waited silently for the signal from Skyhawk.
There were only a few minutes left before its arrival.