Lost Fleet 002

Not far from the sun, space appeared terrifyingly silent compared to the giant star that constantly radiated heat and occasionally unleashed phenomena like solar flares on its surface.

However, in the next moment of silence, a strong disturbance suddenly emerged in space, as if the zipper of a pocket was yanked open, and things that did not belong there were abruptly spilled out into this region.

"Damn it!" a soft female voice cried out in complete dissatisfaction.

The owner of the voice, however, contrasted with it—a tall and slender military beauty. She was filled with an air of bravery, particularly her arched eyebrows which, combined with her bright and clear big eyes, compelled others to surrender to her unique aura involuntarily.

The female officer steadied herself with one hand on a throne-like chair in the command room, the other hand always on a ceremonial sword at her waist. Although the item seemed as delicate and refined as she was, no one doubted the terror she would become once she drew that sword.

With a slight frown of her beautiful brows, the female officer spoke, "All ships, report your status."

"Flying Bear Cruiser, all performance parameters normal, unable to establish communication with the mother star."

"Spear Thrower Escort Ship, all performance parameters normal, unable to establish communication with the mother star."

"Dart Escort Ship, malfunction in the third power chamber, self-diagnosis and repair underway, other performance parameters normal, unable to establish communication with the mother star."

"Insight Reconnaissance Ship, all performance parameters normal, unable to establish communication with the mother star."

"Ruyi City Colonial Base Ship, slight damage to the outer wall of environmental area six, crew vital signs normal, all performance parameters normal, unable to establish communication with the mother star."

A young officer sitting in front of a massive see-through glass-like control panel turned to report to the female officer, "Sacred Falcon Class Battlecruiser, all performance parameters normal, unable to establish communication with the mother star."

Another communications officer spoke up, "All quantum instant communication within the fleet is operating normally; the only issue is our inability to contact any administrative star of the United Empire. Perhaps after we traveled through the wormhole, we arrived in a star region capable of blocking external quantum communication."

No sooner had the officer finished speaking than the huge door to the command center-like cabin opened, and several people entered. The one in the lead was a tall and burly man, at least two meters tall, clad in a white lab coat with silver hair, looking both aged and energetic. His voice, deep and resonant, said, "Have you ever seen a star region capable of blocking quantum communication? Our quantum communications are fast and secure because quantum signals do not travel through the physical universe. Therefore, unless there is something beyond our dimension's understanding interfering on the periphery of this star region, it is absolutely impossible to be unable to contact the mother star while the quantum communication inside our own fleet is unhindered."

The female officer nodded respectfully at the elder and asked, "Dean Mo, then what could be the reason we can't contact our mother star?"

Filled with a trace of excitement, bordering on dancing with joy but still maintaining a semblance of decorum in front of this highly-ranked young female officer, the elder explained, "There's only one explanation: we have arrived in a parallel universe! A place completely different from our own universe. Only by leaving our original material world and coming into a brand-new material world could we experience the failure of quantum communication. Because our quantum original signals cannot cross the existential barrier of the universe to another world."

"What?!" The revelation caused some unrest among the crew, including the female officer. However, she quickly regained her composure. Scanning the cabin, all personnel returned to calm, a testament to her considerable authority.

The female officer asked the elder in a low voice, "Dean Mo, how certain are you about this hypothesis? I need concrete evidence to support this. How could traveling through a wormhole bring us into another universe?"

Dean Mo appeared unfazed, devoid of the panic seen in others. He calmly explained, "As for evidence, I already asked Linyin and her team to collect relevant data. If all goes well, in a few hours, we will have the necessary proof. Even in a parallel universe highly similar to our own, there are still differences in many characteristics. Even if the differences are minuscule, we will be able to pinpoint them. As for the uncertainty of wormhole travel, that's just the nature of it. Before we entered this wormhole, I had already reported to you that many of its celestial features were quite peculiar, and during the transition, we spent significantly more time than recorded in previous travels. What's more bizarre is that the wormhole has now closed."

The female officer glanced at the intelligence officer on the ship not far away, her face somewhat long. The intelligence officer nodded to her, confirming Dean Mo's statement. Wormholes are not visible to the naked eye; they can only be perceived and mapped through instruments. The Sacred Falcon, as the United Empire's latest to enter service Main Battle Ship, not only possesses extremely powerful antimatter engines but is also equipped with warp engines, phase jump devices, and wormhole traversal equipment, giving it the ability to perform various forms of faster-than-light interstellar travel.

The beautiful female officer's mood was far from as calm as her appearance suggested, while someone else's emotions burst forth. A man who appeared to be in his thirties and was dressed in a light pine-colored uniform unlike the female officer's, had his face change dramatically. After hearing everything Dean Mo said, he suddenly grabbed Dean Mo's collar and exclaimed loudly, "Old fool, what nonsense are you talking about?! With the Empire's advanced technology, how could it possibly let us be stranded in some other universe!"

The female officer frowned and scolded sharply, "Colonel Xiao, watch your conduct. If you inflict any harm on Dean Mo, I will have no choice but to detain you in solitary confinement and strip you of your command over the Marine Corps."

Despite her soft voice, it sounded like ice water to Colonel Xiao's ears, so chilling that he immediately let go, apologizing at a startling speed, and quickly bowed his head to Dean Mo, saying, "Dean Mo, I apologize, I was out of line."

Yet Dean Mo remained unflustered, his face unchanged and without any sign of anger, but with a slightly sarcastic tone, he said, "Colonel Xiao is a descendant of the Knight Family of the Twelve Knights of Destiny. How would I, a useless old academic, dare to cross you?"

When the female officer heard the words "Twelve Knights of Destiny", she looked at Colonel Xiao with an even worse expression, as if disdainful that he was a disgrace to that name. Colonel Xiao also felt the female officer's contempt and hurriedly said, "Lanzhou... oh no, Commander Xu, I just lost my head for a moment."

The female officer waved her hand and said, "No need to explain. Please stay on the bridge now and wait with everyone for the Fleet Scientific Research Bureau's final verdict."

Although young, Xu Lanzhou's shoulder insignia—a general's badge—spoke clearly of her status. She was the commodore of this fleet, the only general, and she had enough power to make decisions about any major or minor matters concerning the fleet. At this point, the Marine Commander, Xiao Yu, also sobered up a bit and couldn't help but secretly admire the astute mind of Xu Lanzhou, who was considerably younger than him. By at once stabilizing and partially controlling him, the Marine Corps would not cause any chaos at this crucial moment. Nevertheless, thinking this far, Xiao Yu's expression inevitably darkened. This fellow Knight Family member and female captain—whom one could even call a childhood friend—never trusted him and always kept on guard.

The Marine Corps was the only true combat force within the fleet, and although the number of crew members under Xu Lanzhou's command was more than twice that of the Marines, barely any of them were actual combatants.

Xu Lanzhou issued a series of commands with a clear goal in mind: to stabilize everyone on the fleet and avoid unnecessary panic. Although jumping out of their original universe was a significant event, and as shocking as it was, the fleet's professionalism was exceptional. After a brief surprise, most were able to maintain their standard operating conditions. In fact, for many, joining this exploration fleet was inherently a dangerous venture. They could be attacked by enemies, suffer astronomical disasters, and the mortality rate among exploration fleet members was even higher than that of fleet personnel in wartime. At the very least, they were prepared for this.

"Please summon Master Nan Ma to the bridge," was the last order Xu Lanzhou gave.

The sound of the hatch opening followed, then a shiny bald head came into everyone's view as a jovial man walked in and said to Xu Lanzhou, "No need to summon me; I'm already on my way."

Xu Lanzhou did not bow her head to Master Nan Ma as she had to Dean Mo, but instead gave a very formal military salute. All the military personnel on the bridge did the same, while Dean Mo and others who were non-military bowed their chest to the cheerful bald man, their respect overflowing in their gesture.

The bald man, named Nan Ma, held an exceptional position within the fleet, almost beyond anyone's control.

He smiled and said, "I really don't know if we're lucky or unlucky, to have accidentally crossed into another universe."

Dean Mo became somewhat excited by his words and asked, "Master, is it as I deduced, that we have arrived in a parallel universe? Did you learn this through communication with the universe and star energy?"

Nan Ma scratched the back of his head and said, "That's pretty much the case."

Then he turned back, looked at Xu Lanzhou who was nearly as tall as him and ten times better in appearance, and said, "Captain Miss, I'm very curious. We've left our world behind and arrived in a completely unfamiliar place. The glory of the United Empire and the Chancellor might not shine upon us here. As the fleet's supreme commander, what are your plans?"