Chapter 17 15

I didn't go to Terena's skinny swim party.Spencer.Neither did Reynolds, who was last seen eagerly talking to Sudity.Talking to Kiel, I don't know if Monsignor Edouard succumbed to Terina's temptation. The dinner was not completely over yet, several chairmen of the Relief Fund were still giving brief speeches, and many heavyweight senators were already starting to fidget, Li.Hunter came over and told me in a low voice that the president and his party were about to leave and asked me to accompany them. It's about twenty-three o'clock standard time on Wanxing.com. I thought that this group of people would go back to the government building, but when I passed through the one-time portal, except for the accompanying bodyguards who followed everyone, I The last one was shocked to find himself in a stone-walled corridor, with long windows looking out at the setting sun on Mars.

Basically, Mars is off the Starnet, the oldest human colony in outer space that is deliberately inaccessible.After the pilgrims of the Gnostic Zen arrive at the Master Rock in the Greek Basin, they must enter the Autonomous System Management Station, and then go to Mars by a shuttle boat from Canaan or Europa.It only takes an hour or two, but in a society where everything is really within reach, it feels like a sacrifice and a risk.Apart from historians and agricultural experts who use cacti for brandy, there is really no professional reason to draw people to Mars.In the past hundred years, the Zen of Nautus has gradually declined, and even pilgrims have come and gone less and less. No one cares about Mars.

Except Bajun.Although the administrative center of Bajun is Tianlunwu, and its bases are scattered in various parts of Wanxingwang and other territories, Mars has always been the real hometown of this military organization, and the center is the Olympus Command Academy. A small group of local military dignitaries came to greet the small group of political dignitaries, and I walked up to a window and looked out as the figures circled like colliding planets. This corridor is part of a building dug into the top of Mount Olympus. From where we are standing, it is about ten miles high. From here, it seems that half of the planet can be seen at a glance, and the world It was the ancient shield volcanoes, the distances that made all the way, the old cities built along the cliff walls, and the slums and forests of the Tarsis plateau, in that land that since the first man set foot on the world and claimed to be Since I came here for a country called Japan and took a picture, there are only some small stains in the red landscape that has never changed.

I was watching a little sun rise, thinking it was the sun, and watching the incredible changes in the way the sun reflected the clouds floating from the darkness of the endless mountainside.At this time.Hunter came closer.The president will meet with you after the meeting.He handed me two sketchbooks that an assistant had brought from Government House.Of course you know that what you saw and heard in this meeting is highly classified, right? I didn't take his words as a question. The huge bronze door on the stone wall opened, and the guide lights came on, reflecting the carpeted slopes and stairs, leading directly to the war conference table in the center of a large, dark hall. This place may be a huge Great Hall, sunk in the In the darkness, only a small area was lit, and the assistants hurried forward to lead the way, pulled away the chairs, and retreated into the shadows.Reluctantly, I turned my back on the sunrise and followed our group into the great black pit.

General Mopurgo and three other Bajun generals gave the briefing in person.Those diagrams were light-years away from what was shown on the briefing at Government House; we were indeed in a large space, big enough to hold all eight thousand cadets and staff, but now most of us were dark Both are filled with the highest quality light curtains and football field sized diagrams.In some respects, quite frightening. The same goes for the content of the briefing. We have lost our battle in the Hyperion system.Mopurgo concluded: The best we can do is draw a tie, keep the Ouster's rogue army at the border fifteen astronomical units from the portal, and endure their constant harassment with small ships.Worst case scenario, we are forced to retreat to a defensive position while evacuating the fleet and the population of Hyperion, leaving Hyperion in the hands of the Ousters.

Didn't we promise that we could defeat each other?Senator Korchev, sitting near the front of the diamond-shaped conference table, asked: What about the fatal blow to the rebels? General Mopurgo cleared his throat, but glanced at Admiral Nacita, who stood up.The black uniform of the Cosmos Commander made it look like only a frowning face floated in the darkness.I have a feeling of deja vu to this scene, but I look back at Mena.Graystone, now illuminated by the light of those war charts and color-codes floating above us, was like a visualized sword of Damocles ready to be unsheathed again at any moment.I have put the sketchbook aside and sketched on the light curtain with a light pen.

14 Damocles' Sword (Damocles'Sword): Legend has it that when the Syracuse tyrant Dionysius invited Damocles to a banquet, he hung a sword with a thin thread above his head to show that the power holder was always in danger. First of all, our intelligence data on the chaos is quite limited.Nacita began, and the chart above us shifted.Neither scouts nor long-range reconnaissance can tell us the complete picture of the characteristics of each unit in the Destroyer fleet.As a result, it was obvious and seriously underestimated the actual combat power of this group of rebellious troops. Our only use of long-range fighter jets and torch boats to break through the rebellious army's defense line was not as successful as we expected.

Second, to maintain a perimeter as large as that at Hyperion would require two of our task forces, and it is currently impossible to commit such a large number of ships. Korchev interrupted: Admiral, from what I hear you say now, you have too few ships to accomplish the destruction or defeat of the Ouster attack on the Hyperion system.right? Nacita glared at the senator, reminding me of a painting I'd seen before of the samurai before he drew his sword.Exactly, Senator Korchev. But just a week ago, in our war cabinet briefing, you assured us that two task forces would be enough to protect Hyperion from invasion or destruction, and to crush this Ouster horde in one fell swoop. Jun, what's wrong, General?

Nacita straightened up and was taller than Mopurgo, but still shorter than Wanxing.com's average height. He turned his attention to Greystone, Mr. President, I have already explained the various variables that need to be changed in our battle plan. I need Redo the briefing again? Mena.Greystone rested her elbows on the table, her right hand supported her cheek with two fingers, two fingers rested under her chin, and her thumb rested across her chin, looking tired.Admiral, she said softly.While I believe Senator Korchev's question is very relevant, I also think that what you have raised in your briefing and what you said earlier today is a good enough response.She turned to Korchev and said: Gabriel, we were wrong. With the strength of the Bajun, we can only maintain a stalemate at most. The Ouster is much worse and more ruthless than we imagined. It is also much larger in number.She turned her weary eyes back to Nacita, Admiral, how many more ships do you need?

Nacita took a deep breath, apparently caught off guard by asking the question so early in the briefing.He looked at Mopurgo and the other military generals, and clasped his hands under his stomach like a funeral master.Two hundred warships, he said: at least two hundred, the minimum number. There was a commotion in the whole room.I put down my brush and looked up.All but Graystone were whispering or moving.It took me a second to understand what was going on. The number of warships in the entire Hegemony Cosmic Army is less than six hundred.Of course, each one is expensive to build, and not many planets have enough economic power to build one or two interstellar warships, and even a few torch ships equipped with Hawking space jump thrusters can bankrupt a colonial world.And each battleship has enormous power: an aggressive aircraft carrier can destroy a world, and a fleet of cruisers and space-hopping destroyers can destroy a sun.Everyone thought that the ships sent by the Overlords to Hyperion would be enough to destroy most of the galaxies in the Ten Thousand Stars Network if they attacked through the huge portal matrix of the Overlords.A hundred years ago, less than fifty warships that Nasita now requested were used to defeat the Galnon︱Height fleet and quell the rebellion in one fell swoop.

But the real problem behind Nasita's request is to send two-thirds of the Alliance Fleet to the Hyperion galaxy at one time.I can feel the unease running through the hearts of all politicians and decision makers like electricity. Senator Lei Qiao from Little Renaissance star coughed lightly, Admiral, we have never concentrated the fleet so much, right? Nasita's head turned smoothly as if it was fixed on a bearing, and the frowning expression remained unchanged.We've never had an issue as important as the future of the League of Legends.Senator Rachel. Yes, I understand that.Lei Qiao said: But my question is, what kind of impact will this have on the defense of other parts of Wanxing.com.Isn't this a terrible gamble? Nacita snorted, and the images in the vast space behind him swirled, blurred, and stitched together into a stunning bird's-eye view of the Milky Way from above the zodiac; angles shifted, and we seemed to rush toward a spiral at dizzying speed Shaped arms, and finally the blue grid network of the teleportation network appears. The Balian is an irregular golden core, with many spirals and false feet protruding into the green light cloud of the territory. The Wanxing network seems to be randomly pieced together , very small compared to the Milky Way and these two impressions correctly reflect reality. All of a sudden, the graph changed, and Ten Thousand Stars and the colonized worlds became universes, compared with only a few hundred planets around them. These represent our current fleet strength distribution.Admiral Nasita said.Between and beyond the gold and green, hundreds of small orange dots appeared; the densest place was near a remote planet, which I recognized as Hyperion. And these are the most recent deployments of the Ousters.A dozen red lines appeared, arrows and blue trails showing the direction of movement.Even at this scale, none of the enemy's arrows seemed to invade the territory of the Alliance, only a large number of chaos troops seemed to bend into the Hyperion galaxy. I've noticed that the deployment of the Cosmos usually mirrors the advance of the Chaos, with the only exceptions surrounding the bases and some tricky worlds such as Maui︱Covenant, Brescia, and Qom︱ Riyadh. Admiral, Graystone said without asking any questions about the deployment: I assume you have considered the time it takes for the fleet to react should other points on our front line be threatened? Nacita's frown turned into what might have been a smile, and there was some smugness in his voice, yes, President, if you noticed that the closest scene of the chaos outside of Hyperion zoomed in to A red arrow on a golden cloud, which I'm pretty sure contains the gates of heaven, the valley of the gods, and the star of the boundless ocean.On current scales, the Ouster threat does seem very remote. Our determination of the chaos army is based on the trajectory of Hawking's space jump propulsion measured by listening stations inside and outside Wanxing. In addition, our long-range detection system often updates the size and direction of the chaos army. How often, Admiral?Senator Korchev asked. At least once every two or three years.The admiral replied angrily: You must know that the travel time will take several months, even at the speed of a space jumping ship.From our point of view, the time debt can be as high as twelve years in such a conversion. In the years-long gap between direct detection, the senator pressed: How do you keep track of where the rebels are at all times? Hawking Thrusters don't lie, Senator.Nacita's voice was very cold.It is also impossible to falsify the trajectory of the Hawking thruster.What we see now is the current position of hundreds or, in the case of larger enemy forces, thousands of individual ships.Just like FTL transmission, there is no time debt involved in transmitting Hawking power. Yes, said Korchev, his tone was as flat and cold as the admiral's, but what if the movement of the chaos army was slower than the space jump speed? Nacita actually smiled.FTL, Senator? Yes. I saw Mopurgo and several other military people shaking their heads or suppressing snickers, only the young William of the Confederate Navy.Argenta.Lieutenant Colonel Li leaned forward intently, with a serious expression on his face. If we move forward at a low speed of light, Admiral Nacita said coldly: Then our great-great-grandchildren probably have to worry about warning their grandchildren to guard against the invasion of the chaos. Korchev still didn't give up, he stood up and pointed to the nearest arc of chaotic army blocked by the Balian above the gate of heaven.What if this rogue army approached without Hawking thrusters? Nacita sighed, clearly annoyed at the meeting being interrupted by such insignificant chores.Senator, I can assure you that if the rebels turned off their thrusters now and turned to Starnet now, it would make Nacita blink and refer to his implanted crystals and comlink standard time It will take two hundred and thirty years to reach our borders.That's not one of the factors affecting the decision right now, Senator. Mena.Graystone leaned forward, all eyes turned to her.I store the original sketch in the light curtain and start a new one. Admiral, I think there are really two things to worry about right now. One is the unprecedented concentration of forces near Hyperion, and the other is that we are going to put all our eggs in one basket. There was a murmur of amused murmurs on the conference table.Graystone is best known for his use of tropes, stories, and clichés, all of which are old and forgotten, and which now sound like new.And that's probably what she's talking about now. Are we putting all our eggs in one basket?she continued. Nacita stepped forward, put his hands on the table, stretched his slender fingers, and pressed down hard. The earnest expression was very suitable for the strength of this little man's character; A person who can make others pay attention and obey him.No, President, we don't.He didn't turn around, but only gestured towards the chart above and behind him. As long as the closest chaos army invades the Alliance, we will get a warning from the Hawking Thruster two months ago, which is equivalent to Three years of our time.And to mobilize our fleet units in Hyperion, even if they are deployed widely, and they can retreat within five hours and teleport to any point of Ten Thousand Stars Network in the middle of a battle. This does not include fleet units other than Wanxingwang.Senator Raymond said: All colonies cannot go unprotected. Nacita gestured again.The 200 warships that we transferred to Hyperion to decide the outcome are all already in the Ten Thousand Stars Network, or have space jumping ship teleportation capabilities.All independent fleet units dispatched to the colonies will not be affected. Graystone nodded.But what if Hyperion's portal is damaged or captured by the Ousters? Judging from the commotion, nodding and exhaling actions of the civilians around the conference table, I think she asked everyone's most worried question. Nasita nodded and strode back to the podium, as if the question had been anticipated and glad that the irrelevant chores were finally over.Very good question, he said: This was brought up in the last briefing, but I can elaborate more on this possibility. First, we've increased our teleportation capacity to at least two space hop ships at a time, and plan to add three more when the reinforced task force arrives.The possibility of all five ships being destroyed is very, very small. If the defense force after strengthening the military is considered, it is almost insignificant. Second, the probability of the Ousters capturing an intact portal and using it to invade the Ten Thousand Stars Network is zero.Every person on every ship who passes through the Overlord Portal must go through personal identification and password authentication, and this information is updated daily Couldn't the Ousters have cracked these codes to insert their own data?Senator Korchev asked. Impossible, Nasita was pacing up and down on that small podium with his hands behind his back, and the update of the password was done every day by the disposable line of FTL communication, from the headquarters of the Overlord in Wanxing. Excuse me, I said, startled to hear my own voice.I took a quick walk to Hyperion this morning and didn't notice any codes. Many people turned their heads.Admiral Nacita once again demonstrated his ability to turn like an owl.However, Mr. Silveren, he said: You and Mr. Hunter received infrared laser codes with neither pain nor sensation during the two transmissions. I nodded, momentarily surprised that the admiral remembered my name, and then I remembered that he, too, had the implant. Third, Nasita continued as if I hadn’t spoken, in case the impossible happens, and the Ousters defeat our defenses, capture our portal, and obtain our secure password system, activate All their hard work is still in vain, because all the military traffic goes to Hyperion through Modeya's base. through where?Everyone asked in unison. I'm only in Braun.Lamia had heard of the place name Modeja when she was talking about her client's death, and both she and Nasita pronounced it Mudei. Modeya.Admiral Nacita repeated it, now smiling eagerly, a strangely childish smile.No need to check your communication recorders, gentlemen and ladies, Mordeya is a black galaxy, which cannot be found in all records and folk transmission maps.It is precisely for this purpose that we have hidden this place. There is only one planet that can be inhabited, and it can only be used for mining and our base.Modeya is the last stronghold.In case the Ouster ships do the impossible, break our defenses, and capture our portals in Hyperion, the only place they can reach them is Modeya, which has a considerable amount of automatic fire Tackle everything that comes your way.If the most unlikely situation happens, and his fleet is actually able to teleport to the Modeya galaxy, all external connections will be automatically destroyed, and their warships will be stuck there, and they will not be able to reach the Ten Thousand Stars Network for several years. Yes, Senator Rachel said: But so is ours, two-thirds of our fleet will remain in the Hyperion system. Nacita took a break and stood up.That's right, he said: All the generals and myself, of course, have assessed many times that this is extremely remote and should be said to be almost impossible.We have found such risk taking to be acceptable.In the event of an impossible situation, we still have more than two hundred warships to protect Ten Thousand Stars Network. The worst case scenario is to lose the Hyperion galaxy under the terrible attack of the Destroyer, but the other party has no further battles. strength. However, this is not what we expected.As long as two hundred warships can be dispatched quickly and can be completed within eight hours of the standard time, according to our forecast and the forecast of the artificial intelligence advisory committee, the enemy army of the Destroyer will be completely defeated, and the probability of our troops being intact is as high as 90%. Nine. Mena.Graystone turned to Advisor Elpidus, his image perfect in the dim light.Advisory, I'm not aware of anyone asking this question to the Advisory Board.Ninety-nine percent possible probability, is this number reliable? Elpidus smiled slightly, quite reliable, President.The possible probability is 99.962794 percent.He smiled more broadly.Reassuring enough to temporarily put all his eggs in one basket. Graystone didn't smile.Admiral, how long do you think the fighting will last after you get aid? A week in standard time, President, at most. Graystone's left eyebrow raised slightly.such a short time? Yes, President. General Mopurgo?What do you think of the Overlord Army? We agree, President, that additional troops are necessary and must be done immediately.Transshipment can dispatch about 100,000 marines and ground troops to sweep up the remaining chaos. Within seven days of standard time? Yes, President. Admiral Singh? Absolutely necessary, President. Feng.General Zedat? Graystone asked the opinions of the generals and senior officers present one by one, and even the commander of the Olympus Command Academy, which made him very proud of being consulted.She also got their consensus one by one that they should send reinforcements. Lieutenant Colonel Li? All eyes turned to the young naval officer.I noticed that the high-level senior military personnel looked stiff and frowning, and then I suddenly realized that the reason why Li was here was the invitation of the president, not the permission of his superiors.I recalled that Graystone had said that young Lieutenant-Colonel Lee had the kind of initiative and intellect that a bully general lacked, and I guessed that the man's future would be greatly damaged by attending this meeting. William.Argenta.Lieutenant Colonel Li shifted uncomfortably in his comfortable chair.With all due respect, President, I am just a low-ranking naval officer, and I am not qualified to express my opinion on such an important strategic issue. Graystone didn't smile, and nodded almost imperceptibly.I appreciate that in you, Lieutenant Colonel, and I'm sure your officers here do too.In this matter, however, I hope you will indulge me a little in giving me an opinion on the present question. Li sat up straight, and for a moment, his eyes showed an expression of resignation and despair like a small animal caught in a trap.Well, well, President, if I had to express an opinion, it would be my personal intuitions and these are just intuitions: My complete ignorance of interstellar tactics makes me against reinforcements.Li took a deep breath.This is purely a military assessment, sir, I'm not clear about the political role of protecting Hyperion. Graystone leaned forward.Then on a purely military basis, Lieutenant Colonel, why are you against reinforcements? From the place where I sat half a table away, I could feel the impact of the eyes of those overlord generals, just like the billions of joules of laser light that started nuclear fusion in an ancient nuclear reactor.What amazes me is that Lee doesn't collapse, burst, ignite, and remerge before our very eyes. As far as the military is concerned, Lee said, he has a look of hopelessness in his eyes, but his voice is very steady, the two biggest mistakes a person can make are spreading one's own strength, and putting all your eggs in one as you said, President basket, and in this case, that basket is not even our own. Graystone nodded, sat back, and put the fingertips of both hands together against his lower lip. Lieutenant Colonel, said General Mopurgo, and I found that a word can really be said like a slap.Since we are now privileged to hear from you, may I ask, have you ever been involved in a space war? No, sir. Have you ever been trained for space warfare, Lieutenant Colonel? No, sir, I have no training in that field, other than the required minimum credit courses at the Olympus Command Academy, which are no more than a few history classes. Have you been involved in any strategic initiatives at a slightly higher level Lieutenant Colonel, how many naval ships have you commanded in Maui|Covenant? One, sir. One, Mopurgo snorted, a big ship, Colonel? No sir. Did the military assign you command of this ship, Lieutenant Colonel?Is it because you have military exploits?Or did it fall into your hands because of the war situation? Our captain is dead, sir, and I'm taking command of the last naval battle of the Maui-Covenant campaign, and That's it, Lieutenant Colonel.Mopurgo turned his back on the war hero and said to the president: Do you want to continue to consult us, ma'am? Greystone shook his head. Senator Korchev cleared his throat.Maybe we should go back to Government House for a secret cabinet meeting. no need.Mena.Graystone said.I have decided.Admiral Singh, I authorize you to transfer the fleet units to the Hyperion galaxy according to the necessary number estimated by you and the generals. As ordered, President. Admiral Nacita, I hope to successfully defeat the enemy within a week of standard time after you get reinforcements.She looked at the people sitting around the conference table.Ladies and gentlemen, I don't need to stress to the general public how important it is for us to keep Hyperion and remove the Ouster threat.She stood up and walked to the slope that went up and out into the darkness.Good night, gentlemen and ladies. When Hunter came to knock on my door, it was almost four o'clock in the morning at Wanxing.com and Tianlun Five Center time.I have resisted the Sandman for three hours since our return.Just when I decided that Greystone must have forgotten me and started to fall asleep, there was a knock at the door. go to the garden.inside.Hunt said: "For heaven's sake, tuck your shirttails down." I walked along the dark path, my boots treading softly on the fine pebbles.Lanterns and balls of light shimmered.Because Tian Lun Wu has the dazzling lights of big cities, no stars can be seen in the sky above this garden, but the lights of planetary orbiters flash across the sky, like a never-ending ring of fireflies. Graystone sat on an iron bench by the bridge. Mr. Silveron, she said, her voice low, thank you for coming with me, sorry for the lateness, the cabinet meeting just ended. I didn't speak, I still stood. I wanted to ask you about your trip to Hyperion this morning, she chuckled in the dark.It was yesterday morning.What impression do you have? I don't know what she means by that.I guess this woman has an insatiable appetite for information, no matter how irrelevant it may seem.I did see someone. oh? Yes, Milio.Dr Arendez.he used to be A friend of Mr. Wen Chaobo's daughter.Graystone finished for me.That kid is getting younger and younger.Do you have any new information on her condition? Nothing, I said: I only had a nap today, and the dreams were very fragmentary. Any results from the meeting with Dr. Arendrez? I rubbed my chin with suddenly cold fingers.His research team has been waiting in the capital for months.I said: They may be the only hope for us to understand what happened to those time tombs, and the Jing Demon God According to our forecast, the most important thing is not to bother those pilgrims until they are finished.Greystone's voice came from the darkness, and she seemed to be looking away, at the brook. I suddenly felt an indescribable and incomprehensible anger flowing through my body.Father Hoyt was done.My tone was unexpectedly sharp.Had the spacecraft been allowed to pick up the pilgrims, they would have saved his life.Arendez and his team might be able to save that baby Rachel, though only a few days left. less than three days.Graystone said: Is there anything else?Is there anything you find interesting about that planet, or Admiral Nasita's flagship? I clenched my hands into fists and relaxed again.You won't allow Arendez to fly to Shizuka, will you? No, not now. What about getting the people out of Hyperion?At least withdraw the citizens of the Overlord Alliance, right? There is currently no such possibility. I opened my mouth to say something, but held back.I watched the sound of water coming from under the bridge. Have no other impressions, Mr. Silveren? there is none left. Uh, good night and sweet dreams.Tomorrow may be a hectic day, but I hope I can talk to you about your dreams sometime. Good night, I turned away and walked quickly back to my place in Government House. In the darkness of my room, I called out a Mozart sonata and took three sleeping pills.These drugs are likely to make me sleepy, sleepless nights, let John.The ghost of Keats and the more ghostly pilgrims could not find me.That is to say, it will make Mena.Graystone was disappointed, and it didn't make me sad at all. I think of the sailor Gulliver described by Swift, after returning from the place where the wise horses live, his disgust for humans, the disgust for his own kind, has reached the point where he must sleep in the stable point, because only the smell and presence of the horses could reassure him. The last thing I thought before I fell asleep was: Fuck Mena.Graystone, to his wars, and to his Starnet. There are also dreams of going to his exhaustion.