Chapter 22: Survivors
The Wanderer approached the huge wreckage fragments at great speed, and as the distance approached, the ship shook its huge hull and turned around at extreme speed.
The moment the rotation was completed, the tail vent erupted with dazzling light, and the Wanderer turned from a stream of light that quickly streaked across the sky to a dazzling comet.
The overload force caused by the reverse jet pressed Zhao Ping to the seat. The acceleration fluid that soaked the bridge became warm while absorbing a huge amount of kinetic energy. He could feel the smell of blood coming from his lungs, reaching his mouth and nose.
Cursing the fragility of the human body in his heart, he did not relax his control over the ship's attitude. Through the synchronization of the ship's sensing devices, he was able to see everything detected by the Wanderer without having to look through the screen.
He carefully adjusted the ship's attitude, deliberately avoiding the slender-looking metal structures. These seemingly weak things are tantamount to oversized ship slashers with the blessing of speed and energy, and he is not willing to challenge the structural strength of the Wanderer's hull.
Until the ship stabilized in a relatively fixed orbit, a sigh of relief echoed from inside the bridge. He felt watched by many. After such a thrilling voyage, it's hard not to get noticed.
The questions and answers on the bridge gradually resumed, and now that the core area of the wreck had been reached, the necessary exploration had to be carried out immediately.
"Zhao Ping, report on the principles of your navigation technique. The ship you're piloting can't be explained by a regular space voyage. ”
He was ready to be questioned by Jessica, but before he could speak, the alarm broke the peace on the bridge.
More than five cruisers poked out of their bows from different parts of the ruins. The smaller circle of destroyers came from the surrounding garbage clouds, and the Wanderer was encircled in a matter of seconds, and there was no way to escape as the streamer from the hovering battleship drew abstract geometric shapes across the dark universe.
"Everyone, hold on, look at the type of ship is your own people. Slow down as much as possible, and let them know if necessary, I don't want to die at my own hands. ”
Jessica was right, the firepower far beyond the Wanderer's limits was concentrating.
"Identify yourself or you'll be attacked!" , a survivor who has been struggling for days. Although the organization has finally been found, no one will be happy about the dilemma of being bombed into slag at any time.
Zhao Ping carefully showed the broken side of the Wandering in front of the friendly ships, and in this situation, he was not sure that he would be able to escape.
In the unbearable dozens of minutes, Jessica communicated with many people on the other side, and the hull of the ship was detected no less than a dozen times. After layers of security investigations, the other party seems to be finally relieved. The combat boats that carried out patrol control around the perimeter were the first to withdraw, and then the destroyers lifted the encirclement, and it was only then that everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Zhao Ping monitored himself and found that his body was sweating profusely because of nervousness, and it was extremely uncomfortable to be wrapped in a combat uniform, and he couldn't help but slander the inconvenience of the human body in his heart.
Soon Jessica took the only remaining shuttle on the ship to the core area, and the Wanderer was guided by other shuttles to the other side of the wreckage area, and then Zhao Ping saw that the entire core area was an intact dock surrounded by demand garbage.
The survivors used the cover of space garbage to successfully hide the shadow of the medium-sized dock with a shaft length of 15 kilometers, which is really ingenious. He reflected in his heart, there were indeed capable people in the Space Army, and he had underestimated this weak fleet that only belonged to humans before.
Almost immediately, the Rover was put into a state of repair, and the officers and men were allowed to enter the space station facilities that were temporarily docked next to the dock for repairs.
Continuous combat exhausts the soldiers, especially against a powerful and elusive enemy, and the fatigue of the officers and soldiers mainly comes from the mental level. No one went out to relax, and a large part of the officers and men of the Wandering chose to rest on the spot, and the ship became quiet for a moment.
Although Zhao Ping has memories of the past, strictly speaking, he is a completely new individual, and everything around him is full of freshness.
In principle, Zhao Ping despised the human body, believing that it was cumbersome and difficult to maintain, and that it was not as convenient as machinery and could be replaced at any time. If you take into account the battlefield attrition, the machine body has some decisive advantages. But he also had to admit that the flesh had its advantages, such as being able to respond better to emotional fluctuations, and that high-spirited feeling when excited or excited was indeed better than the lifeless uniformity of the machine.
While browsing around the space station, looking around curiously like a baby, he was quietly in the joy of experiencing the "exotic" here.
Such a guy with the expression of a tourist is skewering around, and being bumped into by those depressed survivors will inevitably be stared, but he naturally doesn't care about the opinions of others, so he naturally turns a blind eye.
About eight or nine hours later, Zhao Ping felt tired, and the rations he carried with him were almost consumed, and when he was about to find the nearby scooter track wanderer, a special low alarm sounded, and before he could figure it out, he was pulled into an inconspicuous hidden room by someone nearby, "What's the matter with you?" It's new, and I don't know the rules. If you find out, maybe we'll be doomed together. ”
The speaker was a stocky soldier who didn't know what the branch of the army was. He quickly turned on the power of the concealment room, and a special film to defend against electromagnetic detection was activated. Zhao Ping immediately felt that his connection with the Wanderer had been severed. Just as he frowned and tried to reconnect, five more people rushed in. They helped the Humpty Dumpty soldiers close the heavy alloy door together, and Zhao Ping felt that all the external radiation disappeared after the door was closed, and they felt like they were in another world.
"Let's hope the new cruiser doesn't make a mistake." , while muttering, the short and fat soldier looked out through a special lens, while wiping his sweat, looking very nervous.
Zhao Ping had roughly deduced that there was a problem for the survivors. The robot fleet is not gone, they still maintain control of the area, and will send patrols to inspect every corner of the area from time to time. Survivors will need to avoid the machine patrol units to avoid attracting a concentrated attack from the unmanned fleet. They use this small improvised shelter to cut off all electromagnetic signals and make the machine patrol unit think that there are no humans here. This is the secret of their survival to this day.
None of the people in the room had any desire to talk, and in the cramped and simple room, the dim orange light that came from nowhere made the atmosphere seem mysterious and dull.
Zhao Ping heard Humpty Dumpty's sharp inhalation, and he realized that the machine patrol unit was coming.
Soon, a small clatter came in through the metal frame. The outside has been urgently pumped into a vacuum, and the sound is transmitted entirely by vibration, which sounds far away, but in fact it is very close.
The others shrunk their necks at this time, indifferently coping with the current situation, obviously having experienced it many times.
Zhao Ping came to the observation glass, and through the periscope passive starlight enhancement lens, he saw the once bright interior of the space station, as dark as a ghost domain, and a graceful and slender mechanical multi-legged infantry hovering less than three meters next to the concealment room.
As if sensing something, the multi-legged infantry's head-like main detector spun around at high speed, and the glowing active detector scanned back and forth over the alloy door of the concealment chamber.
"Looks like we're in trouble." Zhao Ping's sudden voice made the other six shiver, and fear echoed in the room with the clearer and clearer clicking sound outside the door.