In the deep, dark, cold space.

A pale blue planet, slowly rotating, half white; The other half was shrouded in darkness, but in the darkness, there were many orange lights scattered here and there.

In some places, the light is even connected.

That...... It is the light of civilization.

It symbolizes the vitality of this living planet.

However, the protagonist at this moment is not the blue planet below.

Rather, it is in low-earth orbit at a distance of about 574 km from the Blue Planet.

Orbiting the planet below, in the empty space of the universe, a small cylindrical moon with a blue surface repeats its circular motion again and again.

In the silent space, the small blue satellite slowly spins and floats aimlessly, but it is only under the constraints of gravity that it does not completely lose itself.

Even so, it has stopped working, although it is quite beautiful and symmetrical in terms of appearance and structure, but in terms of function, it is not much different from a certain space junk that has just flown away.

It looks very lonely.

But at this moment!

Not far behind, a mysterious device with a head like a cone, a belly like a bream, and an overall structure like a shuttle suddenly appeared behind the small blue satellite, instantly breaking the tranquility in space.

And it's getting closer, getting closer.

until they are less than a meter apart.

In the middle and rear of the shuttle device, a flexible mechanical arm was stretched out, and the three movable metal fingers at the front end were like claws, grabbing towards the blue satellite with a palm larger than the palm of an adult.

The attitude control engine at the tail of the shuttle unit spews out bundles of white gas, bringing the two closer and closer.

"Click~"

The metal claw at the end of the robotic arm accurately grasped the blue satellite in front of it, and the middle and upper part of the shuttle device, like opening a magazine, opened up a box-shaped space large enough to put a basketball, and then the robotic arm carefully put the blue satellite in.

Close the hatch again, retract the robotic arm, continue to adjust the flight attitude, lower the orbit, and bury your head towards the blue planet below.

……

Inside the control hall.

"The satellite has been successfully recovered!"

"Sky Survey One is about to return!"

Bang Bang Bang ~

Bursts of applause rang out, and the scientists excitedly congratulated and applauded each other, their faces full of irrepressible excitement.

……

Also at this very moment.

Zoom out the lens infinitely.

From Blue Mercury, quickly zooming out to the asteroid belt two or three astronomical units away, loose cheese-like meteorites are floating.

From the asteroid belt, which is farther away at high speed to the Cooper Belt at a distance of about 30 AU, some celestial bodies composed mainly of icy material can also be seen here.

Then pull the lens from the Cooper belt to 0.1 light-years away, in an open area about 7,000 AU away from the main-sequence star...... It stands to reason that this is the place with the lowest density of matter in space, almost an "absolute vacuum", and no celestial bodies exist.

But in this space, a celestial body about 550 meters long, about 80 meters wide and high, with a slightly pointed head and shaped like a rectangular piece of wood, is moving forward.

There was also a white flame trailing on the tail.

The overall smooth rust-yellow surface is flashing with red or green signal lights.

Some transparent glass-like square windows on the side and front give out bright yellow light, just like high-rise buildings in the city, showing the vitality of the interior at night.

Obviously, it is not a natural object, but an artificial one!

Those who know the Dark Empire's characters will recognize this as a "frightening-class" transport ship based on the words spray-painted on its side.

At this time.

I don't know what happened, the tail engine of the starship in motion suddenly stopped working, and no longer spewed white flames.

At the bow of the head of the ship, in the brightly lit bridge, there were many figures, and there seemed to be some commotion at this moment.

"The Signals Officer has just reported that they have received a distress signal from the center of this star system!"

"The sender of the signal is none other than our noble and great Emperor Majesty!"

"Your Majesty is in danger on the living planet of this galaxy, and we urgently need to rescue them!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come to offer your loyalty to Your Majesty! We must turn around at once and save Your Majesty! ”

Standing in front of a group of subordinates who were completely covered by black exoskeleton armor and resembled armored men, the tall 'armored man' who looked like the captain of the captain of the captain said in a dull mechanical voice.

The subordinates were stunned by the news and asked questions.

"Your Majesty the Emperor, isn't it already gone with the fleet?"

"Is the distress signal real, Your Majesty the Emperor, is it really still in this galaxy and in danger?"

"Captain Bank, did the signal officer receive the wrong signal, how could such a thing happen?"

"It was originally us who was abandoned, how could His Majesty not leave?"

All sorts of questions rang out, and they were all in disbelief.

"The signal officer has confirmed that this matter is absolutely true!"

Captain Banker said: "Three dark years ago, due to the failure of the antimatter engine of the 'Dreadnought Bank', we were unable to join the main force of the fleet without warning of the opening, and were abandoned by the fleet. ”

"Two of the three antimatter engines were damaged, and the remaining engine, even if it was started at full power, would have no chance of returning to the Empire after 1 million years of travel in interstellar space."

"Now it seems that the main fleet should have betrayed His Majesty, exiled His Majesty to the living planet of this galaxy, and then left in a hurry with the fleet, without even sending a collection broadcast."

As the lowest class of transport ships, and for wartime secrecy, the Dreadnought Bank does not have expensive quantum communication devices, and can only be notified by radio or optical signals.

And as a "Thunder 17" robot specially produced by the empire to serve the war, Bank only slightly manipulated the photonic chip in his brain, and basically guessed the cause and effect.

"Captain Bank, in that case, we must go to the rescue of His Majesty the Emperor at once! Defend Your Majesty's side! ”

"The Fleet of Death has abandoned us, but it is impossible for the Empire to abandon Your Majesty! The time has come for us to make a difference. ”

"As long as we return to Your Majesty, we have a greater probability of returning to the Empire."

"Captain, give the order to return immediately, if you arrive a day late, your majesty may be in greater danger."

“……”

There was almost no process of arguing and questioning, and everyone quickly reached a consensus.

Captain Banker immediately ordered the 'Intrepid Bank' to turn around, slow down, and return to the rescue of His Majesty who was in danger.

Moreover, at their current speed, deceleration and acceleration, and finally deceleration again, and with the power of a single antimatter engine, it would take at least four years to reach the planet of life.

Even antimatter fuel is not enough.

After some discussion, they decided to let the spacecraft 'travel lightly', leaving a small amount of high-value materials behind the millions of tons of various materials stored in the cargo hold, and the remaining 90% were all thrown into space, reducing the overall weight of the spacecraft by 50%!

Then the last remaining antimatter engine was started at full power, and the tail of the ship spewed out a brilliant white flame.

"Your Majesty, please be patient, for a maximum of three years, your most loyal escort will return to you!"