The energy running through his nerves accelerated within his body. As he felt himself gradually rising from the mire, he heaved a sigh of relief, realizing he had regained his mobility. His conscious energy streamed towards the metal hoop restraining him, seeping into the cold metal, seeking the core controlling the hoop. After a while, his conscious energy triggered the controller.
"Click."
The metal hoop that had locked him in place was released.
He moved his limbs a bit, then concentrated, simulating normal energy signals, transmitting them through various monitoring facilities to the artificial intelligence, Monica. Confirming that Monica had not detected any anomalies, he opened the life-support shield surrounding him and step by step, walked towards the language learning machine.
He integrated his thought sensing into the language learning machine, like a newborn, learning the pronunciation and grammar of various languages in the machine. When he had fully mastered all the languages and scripts of the Galactic Federation, he began to delve deeper into a wealth of information in the spaceship's database, all without Monica's knowledge.
Like a sponge, he absorbed human knowledge, understood human culture, and familiarized himself with human social structure. Gradually, the wealth of information fascinated him with the diversity of the human world. He hoped that at the right time, he could silently disappear from the eyes of these people on the spaceship. Once he entered the human world, he would become one among them, indistinguishable yet unique, like a droplet returning to the ocean.
Suddenly, he sensed a consciousness, one that pierced through time and space to arrive before him. It was the consciousness of the first planet in the Cygnus Galaxy. It turns out that planets also have cognitive consciousness, but their frequency is different from that of humans. Only when he entered the antimatter space and the definition of space-time changed could he sense the cognitive consciousness of the planet.
He could feel the first planet saying goodbye to him, like a dying old friend, sending him a final blessing.
In a distant corner of the universe, his hometown, the first planet of the Cygnus Galaxy, was being devoured by a star in the Cygnus Galaxy. This was his first time receiving information from the first planet, and also the last time. It was like a gradually fading echo, finally disappearing completely into the abyss of the vast universe.
The Endless Starship, flagship of the Eastern Fleet of the Galactic Federation. It's over 50 kilometers long, about 20 kilometers wide, and around 10 kilometers high, resembling a flying mountain range. It serves as a moving military fortress and command post. The exterior of the ship is a deep gray metal, smooth and hardened. The towering command tower in the middle of the ship, with its flickering lights, represents the operations of the command center.
Surrounding this mobile fortress are numerous escort ships and fighter mechs. They circle around like bees around a hive, protecting this gargantuan warship.
Inside a command room of the Endless Starship, the Deputy Commander of the Galactic Federation Army, General Hong Poyun, is listening to a report from the independent military intelligence agency. The Chief of Military Intelligence, Colonel Tatiana, with her striking blonde hair, looks extremely grave. She reports, "The front-line situation in the Zeta star system is extremely severe. All our reconnaissance ships sent to scout the Zeta star system have vanished upon entering the star system, leaving us almost completely ignorant of the situation within."
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Everyone around the conference table falls silent, their mood suppressed. Although the Galactic Federation had so far only lost one colony star system, it had been continuously on the defensive in the war against Orion humans. The Zeta star system is 39 light years away from Earth, which means that the safety of Earth is constantly threatened.
Colonel Tatiana continues, "We have deployed tens of thousands of unmanned reconnaissance drones at the edge of the Zeta star system, but we still haven't found any trace of the Orion army, nor can we predict their next move. This situation, where the enemy is hidden and we are exposed, fills us with extreme unease."
The Commander of the Southern Fleet of the Galactic Federation, General Richard, sits to the left of General Hong Poyun. As a representative of the war faction, he speaks in a deep voice, "I still insist that we should counterattack the Zeta star system and expel the Orion humans. Our failure last time was due to insufficient understanding of the enemy. After over a decade of research by our Southern Fleet's strategic department, we are confident we can handle them."
However, Major General Kim Jun-hee of the Military Research Institute shakes his head in disagreement, countering, "General Richard never believes our analysis. The reason the Orion humans defeated us is not because they are technologically superior, but because their fighting spirit and will are stronger. The Zeta star system has been occupied by the Orion humans for twenty years, and we are not clear about the changes inside. If we attack again, we are likely to fail once more."
General Richard's face darkens, just about to retort, but General Hong Poyun waves him off, "The conclusions of the Military Research Institute and the Galactic Federation Military Intelligence are the same. I believe their judgment is the final conclusion; this matter needs no further discussion."
General Richard is furious, but does not speak again, his eyes flickering towards his deputy, Major General Taip. Understanding his meaning, Major General Taip continues, "If we counterattack the Zeta star system, there will be many benefits regardless of the outcome. Firstly, we can test whether the enemy's strength has changed; secondly, we can take the initiative by attacking, keeping the Orion humans' main force tied up in the Zeta star system, leaving them incapacitated for other military actions."
Major General Li Yiru, the commander of the Eastern Fleet, also interjected, "The enemy hasn't launched a larger scale attack for more than a decade, which may imply that they are accumulating strength in the Zeta star system and preparing to hit us harder. If we wait passively, we might miss the best opportunity to counterattack."
General Hong Poyun deeply furrowed his brows, he looked at Colonel Tatiana and asked, "Has the third department of military intelligence discovered any signs of large-scale movements by the Orion humans?"
Colonel Tatiana shook her head, "So far, we have not found any signs. But this does not mean they are not planning something, it's just that we can't know their plans."
General Richard also spoke up at this time, "General Hong Poyun, this is a matter of life and death for our Galactic Federation, I propose to submit the strategy of counterattacking the Zeta star system to the chairman and the Senate of the Galactic Federation, and let them decide whether to fight or defend!"
General Hong Poyun coldly swept his gaze around the room, most of the generals in the conference room, except for a few neutrals, were war hawks.
General Hong Poyun inwardly sighed, President Taylor, the Zhen Dan Corporation, Artificial Intelligence, coupled with the hawkish generals, he knew this was President Taylor's tactic. President Taylor wanted to use the war to push for a constitutional amendment, allowing artificial intelligence to take control of weapons.
General Hong Poyun could never agree with President Taylor's choice, he couldn't create a more formidable enemy just to defeat one.
General Hong Poyun looked at everyone focusing their gaze on him, and solemnly said, "Before answering General Richard's proposal, I would like you all to watch a video sent back by the U3-173 combat spacecraft, and ask Major General Kim Jun-hee of the Military Research Institute to introduce it for us."
Just as everyone showed an astonished expression, the holographic projection in the middle of the conference table was turned on, the binary star system and eight planets of the White Goose Galaxy appeared before everyone's eyes.