Age of Cosmic Exploration

Chapter 439: Intention to Approach

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"It has been three days since we have started the superlight speed surveillance engine. With the data compiled from 17 searches, it is confirmed that the alien fleet is travelling at 20 times the speed of light in warp drive. At the same time, we have concluded the actual numbers of the fleet. There are in total about 4,750 spaceships, the largest of them about one-third the size of the Hope, and the small spaceships are slightly bigger than our battleships…"

This message had been sent 17 times after the superlight speed surveillance engine had been activated, and the tone each time was more intense compared to the one before it!

This was such big news! The breakthrough in superlight speed surveillance and communication was something worth celebrating. With the societal and technological improvements, humanity's education system had changed drastically. The most obvious being the education syllabus. The old syllabus had been completely abandoned and preschool education had been taken over by AI robots. The syllabus for primary school had become much more vibrant and its level was equal to the high school syllabus from old Earth. The education for high school was all about the knowledge of a level 2 space civilization, while university included teaching of knowledge for a peak level 2 space civilization and some for a level 3 space civilization.

Just like that, as the general knowledge of the public increased, even high school students were able to tell the importance of these two breakthroughs. Before this breakthrough was achieved, even though humanity had dominated this New Solar System, their claims were actually only limited to several points. The size of these points combined was barely noticeable compared to the actual size of the whole New Solar System. Furthermore, these main points were unable to communicate instantly with one another, and this was a great weakness to the defense of the New Solar System.

With these two breakthroughs, the New Solar System could be better protected. As long as it was within five light years, communication could be achieved instantly. Five light years covered the entire New Solar System, and with the completion of the superlight speed surveillance engine, the defense system of the New Solar System was finally completed. If there was a foreign threat, the human fleet stationed at the outermost first defense line and the still-building third defense line would be able to be alerted. They could even use the super long-range weapons available at the defense lines.

This was a technological breakthrough that could change the way of life of the whole of human society; this was unlike how things were when humanity first discovered the atomic bomb. However, the joyous occasion was instantly shattered by the news of an invasion. This was the first time in decades since humanity had had contact with another space civilization.

The cosmos was no walk in the park, and there was no kindness between different space civilizations. Even among similar races, like back on old Earth, there was continuous fighting for the sake of profit, and this was even more true for races in space.

This was more than a difference in space civilizations, it might be a basic difference in lifeforms. For example, humanity was mammalian, the enemy might be amphibian, or they might not even be a carbon-based organism. There would be difference in societal formation, thought process, spirit, value, morality, and the rest. Other than open war, there was hardly any other way that these two could exist together in the same space.

Take for an example the Blue Race's vassal races. To become the Blue Race's vassal and enjoy the protection the Blue Race provided, the vassal races had to sacrifice a certain amount of population every year to the Blue Race. This was the basic demand for most vassal races. Do you think there is kindness in space?

It had been 31 years since humanity left Earth and arrived at the New Solar System. The things that they had experienced in those 31 years informed them to not expect any kindness in the cosmos. The cosmos was survival of the fittest. Do not expect mercy from any space civilizations that are not human. To survive, humanity had to fight and kill, this was the blood lesson learned from 31 years of travelling in space!

17 scans within three days put a great toll on the energy consumption of the City of Light Moon. This was an exhaustion that would be felt by a level 3 space civilization; it was an amount that couldn't be replaced just like that. However, humanity still needed to perform those 17 scans. The aim was to procure a surveillance result that was as detailed as they could get. This led to a fiery discussion among the human government's higher officials…

"I suggest we initiate the Defense Unit third expansion project immediately! We need to expand the Defense Unit to reach at least 50,000 soldiers and have the first fleet assault this alien fleet the moment they exit space warp!"

This was the ninth military meeting the Barracks had had since the 17th scanning report. The meeting room was submerged in some kind of smog. The air circulatory system sucked out the air and replaced it with more smog. The people inside inhaled the smog like it was some kind of cigar or cigarette smoke. It was a bloodshot-eyed Guang Zhen who claimed the statement above.

A major beside him said instantly, "Commander Wong, if we expand the army now, what about new soldier training? This will only drag down the overall fighting power of the Defense Unit. I agree with the expansion, but that will have to wait until this crisis is over."

Yao Yuan retorted instantly, "No, I believe that is not what Commander Wong meant. We do need to expand the Defense Unit, and the third expansion project has to begin immediately to make sure the number of Defense Unit soldiers is not lower than 50,000 people…"

Most of the people were confused, while a handful nodded as if they had expected this. Among them, Xiao Niao commented, "It's because… this alien fleet doesn't have a mothership?"

"Indeed." Yao Yuan nodded and continued, "The lack of a mothership means that this fleet is not the main force of the civilization. In fact, we can see from the size of the fleet that this is merely a small exploratory unit. This is definitely not the entirety of the civilization. This means that even if we destroy this fleet, it doesn't mean that we have achieved victory. We have to expect the arrival of the main fleet. Therefore, the expansion of the Defense Unit has to be carried out!"

Other people were slowly bought over by this explanation, and Guang Zhen asked in a serious expression, "You've only agreed to one of my suggestions. What about the other? Moving the New Solar System's first fleet to beyondthe New Solar System to ambush this alien fleet. What do you think about that?"

Yao Yuan responded in equal an measure of seriousness, "Theoretically, I have no right to intervene in your combat decisions as the commander of the Defense Unit because the first fleet belongs to the Defense Unit… However, you should listen to the opinion of the strategy department."

Guang Zhen looked at the soldiers around him and said, "Of course, I'm not one to act rashly. To set up an ambush at the exit point of the warp drive was the plan the strategy department came up with. Black Star Troopers will also be involved in this ambush and we will be able to achieve victory with the smallest amount of forces. Furthermore, the battle will be far away from the New Solar System and thus we won't need to worry about endangering the public."

"That was before." Yao Yuan shook his head and said, "That plan was made before we had more details. At this time, we still do not know the size of the fleet. Let's say this ambush is a success and we destroy this fleet, how will that benefit us? We will only end up with another space junkyard and increased hostility from the unknown level 3 space civilization… so we better wait for the next simulated war from the strategy department and see what they come up with."

Guang Zhen didn't say anything after that. The meeting room was silent and the strategy department worked fast with the aid of the AI robots.

"…From the data given by the strategy department, this fleet should belong to a space civilization that is between the early and intermediate stage of level 3. This can be seen from the speed they're travelling in warp drive. In other words, when its fleet comes into contact with ours, be it numbers or power, we have the upper hand in terms of numbers and power. In fact, the advantage we have over them in terms of weapons is huge. After all, they were all designed by a Whisperer…

"Therefore, this concludes that the civilization doesn't pose too big of a threat to humanity. From our information archives, the interaction between level 3 space civilizations doesn't usually lead to a space war unless it is a fight for a Shelter. Therefore, as long as we do not expose our overwhelming number of Homo Evolutis, then just with our current population alone, it won't be that attractive of a reward to the outside threat. Furthermore, we humans are a level 3 space civilizations ourselves. Under these conditions, there is a 90 percent chance that this level 3 space civilization will just have surface interaction with us, probably exchange information and materials. The possibility of a war is very low…

"Since this fleet is mostly likely only an exploratory fleet, the strategy department suggests we approach it with a pilotless spaceship. Based on the interaction, we will then decide what to do next. Before they show their intention, we have to careful of the front that we put up. It's better that we do not show hostility upfront…

"Over."

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