The New Roman Empire Frontier Fleet cruiser Siegfried advanced at the speed of the fourth magnitude of the Akuberi towards a planet called Taiji.

In fact, "Siegfried" did not fly at five thousand times the speed of light. Its speed in classical physics is only half the speed of light. It's just that it rides the "warp bubble", and the space in front of it is continuously compressed, thus shortening its displacement time, so that it completes the displacement time of 1.7 light years is equivalent to the time it takes to travel at 5,000 times the speed of light.

Faster-than-light flight is not simply a positive and negative hydrogen injection with the Akuberi engine. The process is the mass annihilation of positive and antimatter at high frequencies. Every second, the two nozzles of the Akberi engine eject hydrogen and anti-hydrogen jets, respectively, creating new "warp bubbles" when they disappear, maintaining the effect of faster-than-light flight.

When the previously set "Safety Node" is reached, the Akuberi engine will stop working and the "Warp Bubble" will disappear. The warship can only use ion thrusters and chemical thrusters to carry out ordinary space voyages to the target, and it is not until the crew completes the inspection and maintenance of the battleship that the Akuberi engine is turned on again and enters the "speed of light".

1.7 light years is nothing more than a short journey for humans today. At the speed of Akuberi level 4, it only takes four hours to fly quickly.

At 8:37 a.m. on April 7, 2918, the Siegfried started its Akuberi engine at the last safe point of the voyage, entered a new "warp bubble", and resumed its faster-than-light flight.

Half an hour later, the Akuberi engine stopped running, the "warp bubble" disappeared, and the "Siegfried" ended its faster-than-light flight, and finally appeared in the outer space of the star system where the Taiji planet is located. The battleship flew to the planet Taiji at half the speed of light using only ion thrusters.

"End faster-than-light flight and return to normal!" Feng Jiang Ziyue couldn't wait to give instructions.

Under the swift action of the bridge control personnel, the huge stereo image disappeared, the power was restored, and all the cabins in the ship returned to gentle lighting. The life-sustaining system starts at the same time, the air is changed, and the air pressure is regulated.

When all displays on the console were restored, von Jiang Ziyue continued to order: "Turn off the front armor and remove the space combat suit." ”

The armor of the wedge-shaped bow sticks out, joining together delicately, protecting the jet ports of the Akuberi engine.

Everyone opened their space combat suits, got out, and secured them next to their respective jobs. And then, as usual, continued to work in space combat civilian clothes.

After everything was restored, Feng Jiang Ziyue then ordered: "Contact the Taiji Planetary Security Bureau and find Felix Bridgeman." ”

Sergeant Communications Sergeant Abiji Kumanfur immediately sent a radio signal to the planet Taiji.

Now in front of their eyes is a simple star system "Taixu" and a strange planet "Taiji".

When Chinese astronomers discovered this star system in a space telescope in the 24th century, they were fascinated by its strange state.

On the surface, it appears to be an ordinary system of monostars, with a star twice the size of the Sun and a mass similar to that of the Sun orbiting a solid planet around her.

The most peculiar part is the lonely planet. This is one of the few terrestrial planets discovered by humans before the Akuberi interstellar physical era, where life exists and is suitable for human habitation. Her orbital and rotational cycles are both October and four days (Earth time), with the result that one side of her is eternally facing her sun, and the other side is eternally plunged into darkness and coldness. Therefore, Chinese scientists will give her the name "Taiji" and her star "Taixu".

It is about the same density as Earth, but one-third larger in size, and therefore one-third more massive and gravitational than Earth. For eons of time, she has been orbiting in a nearly perfectly circular elliptical orbit nearly two astronomical units from the star, at the outer edge of the habitable zone of this star system.

"Tai Chi" appears to be a "Mercury" on the surface, with a steaming ocean on the sunny side and a large glacier on the dark side.

The sunny side is irradiated by the sun, and the temperature in most areas is maintained above 50 degrees Celsius, and the temperature in the equatorial region is even close to 100 degrees. The ocean of liquid water is violently evaporated here and then flows to the shade.

Since the shady side is not irradiated by sunlight, the temperature is generally maintained below minus 60 degrees, and the center point of the shady side, which is called the "cold pole", is even around minus 160 degrees all year round.

A large amount of water vapor on the sunny side gradually cools down in the process of flowing to the yin side, and some of it falls to the surface of the planet in the form of rain at the junction of the yin and yang sides, and flows to the sea on the sunny side. As we go deeper into the shade, the remaining water vapor transforms into snow and even hail and falls on the glacier. Glaciers on the shady side are constantly replenished by cooling water vapor, and as a result, they continue to expand, and the edges expand towards the sunny side. When the edge of the glacier enters the junction of yin and yang, the temperature rises and the solid water transforms into liquid water and flows into the sea.

In this way, the planet's water forms a wonderful cycle.

It is precisely because of this peculiar cycle that a "ring of terrestrial organisms" has been formed at the junction of yin and yang of the planet "Taiji". The land here is not forever oppressed by huge glaciers like the shady side, so it is above sea level. Although it is always in a state of dawn and dusk, the moderate temperature and humid air make it full of life.

When the human exploration spacecraft first flew close to the planet "Taiji", it observed the dense forest at the junction of the yin and yang sides. The forest resembles a jasper headband on the planet Taiji, and is inlaid with countless blue "gems" – rivers and lakes. Since it is difficult for most creatures to survive in other parts of the planet for a long time without this biological ring, this beautiful head "headband" is also known as the "golden hoop of the Great Sage".

In the 26th century, interstellar immigrants of mankind established many cities in the forest along the "Golden Hoop of the Great Sage". However, due to the limited capacity of the "terrestrial ring" itself, the scale of "Taiji" has always been very limited compared to other planets. Moreover, many of the mineral resources on which human societies depend for survival are very scarce, and far away from the main activities of human beings, the supply of resources is always seriously insufficient.

So in the later StarCraft Wars, a large number of people moved out, and some cities in the forest were abandoned. At one time, the population of the entire planet was less than one million.

After the formation of the Empire and the Federation, the planet "Taiji" was located in the territory of the Empire near the 135th parallel. Since the "Taiji" planetary government had been secretly supporting Neo-Byzantium in the previous wars for hegemony, the Senate of the new Roman Empire finally agreed that the "Taiji" planet would exercise a high degree of political autonomy under the condition that the imperial consuls would send governors.

However, no matter how strange the planet was astronomyally and geographically, it could not attract the attention of the high-level of the New Roman Empire and the Perseus Commonwealth, both politically and militarily. The Empire did not even have a stationary military base on the planet, nor did it have permanent troops. Located on the outer side of Perseus Spiral Arm (i.e., away from the center of the galaxy), she has limited resources, a low strategic position, and does not appear to have much influence over the economic and political centers of the Empire and the Federation.

Governing the planet is a coalition of mayors made up of the mayors of the twelve cities on the "Golden Hoop of the Great Sage". The Mayors' Union had only economic and administrative power, and the military sphere remained under the direct control of the Empire. There is only one violent agency belonging to the Union of Mayors, the Public Security Bureau, which has a police department and a production security department.

Although the Sheriff's Department is a police department, many believe that it is also engaged in some intelligence-gathering and even terrorist activities related to the interests of the "Tai Chi" planet.

At the beginning of the dichotomy between the Empire and the Federation, the Mayors' Alliance decided to promote the development of the planet with maximum neutrality and openness in response to the dilemma faced by the "Taiji" planet. After political compromise and struggle, the Mayors League finally won the approval of the Imperial Senate and the Imperial Consuls to open the "Tai Chi" planet to visitors from both the Empire and the Federation, and become an economic free port independent of the two parties.

After the Great War of 2890, the Empire and the Confederation were almost completely cut off from commercial and cultural contact with each other. The "Taiji" planet can just become a middleman in the economic and trade between the two countries.

Therefore, taking advantage of the unique natural landscape and free port, the planet "Taiji" has become a commercial and tourist planet. A large number of civilian ships laden with goods from the Federation and the Empire poured here, and the planet "Taiji" also made huge profits.

Currently, the Union of Mayors is working to demilitarize the planet. Their representatives are lobbying and activating in the Imperial capital of New Rome and the Confederation capital Andromeda to get the Empire and the Confederation to reach an agreement on the demilitarization of the "Taiji" planet and even the "Taixu" star system.

For Jiang Ziyue, the planet Taiji is no stranger.

Just over a year ago, a small fleet of thirteen destroyers from the Federation had successfully infiltrated the space around the planet Taiji. Jiang Ziyue, who was commanding the destroyer "Miluojiang" at that time, was not afraid of danger, opened fire before the enemy, directly destroyed the enemy's flagship, and deliberately transmitted radio signals to receive orders, causing a large number of ships to assemble and prepare to annihilate the enemy's suspicious troops, and successfully frightened off the federal fleet more than ten times larger.

After this battle, Jiang Ziyue was awarded the Imperial Golden Order of Caesar and the Imperial Medal of Courage, promoted to captain, and transferred to the captain of the newly built cruiser "Siegfried".

The "Siegfried" could have landed directly on the planet "Taiji", but Captain Jiang Ziyue still acted cautiously in accordance with the military regulations. Although he was only a junior officer in the empire, he was well aware of the current political situation.

From a series of behaviors of the "Taiji" planet, it can be seen that the empire and the federation are actually moving towards détente. The demilitarization of the planet "Taiji" is a wedge - to let a small chess piece that does not determine the overall direction of the whole situation to do a long-term experiment, which is of interest to both the Imperial Senate and the federal government, otherwise the representatives of the "Taiji" planet who are operating in both capitals would have been driven back long ago.

This may be the real reason why Admiral Blake Carrios assigned him and the Siegfried to the planet Taiji. Having someone who understands the situation come can often get twice the result with half the effort.

Nearly two and a half hours later, Siegfried approached the planet Taiji.

Communications Sergeant Abiji Cumanfur also reported: "There has been a reply from the Taiji Planetary Security Bureau: Felix Bridgeman has left the headquarters, leaving only a military-encrypted message. I have downloaded the information attachment. ”

"Decrypt it right away." Jiang Ziyue ordered.

The computer immediately decrypted the information, but it was not projected onto the bridge in 3D as usual. Instead, it is displayed in graphic form directly from a display on the captain's console. Obviously, the Imperial Intelligence Officer didn't want too many people to know the content of the message, and upgraded the access to the reading terminal.

There were only two lines of simplified Chinese characters on the display: Commander, as soon as you receive the message, go to the new Shanghai spaceport and bring as many soldiers and weapons as you can.

It looks like Felix Bridgeman is in some trouble. But Feng Jiang Ziyue also encountered a problem: his cruiser did not have Marine Corps soldiers, nor did he have the power armor for ground combat in land warfare, and many people had been in weightless space for a long time, and it was likely that it would be difficult to walk down to the surface of the planet.

But he still resolutely ordered: "All those who have been on duty for less than a month should assemble in the shuttle cabin, bring all their weapons, and prepare for landing." Joseph, you take command of the battleship in my place, and all firepower is in combat readiness. ”

"Could it be that the Taiji planet has been infiltrated by the Federation Army?" The mouthy Tang Xingyun asked.

Feng Jiang Ziyue unbuckled his seat belt and replied, "I don't know, Bridgeman may have any actions that we need to cooperate." ”

"Captain, why don't you land directly on the planet's surface?" First Mate Lieutenant Joseph Dietrich asked.

"It's too fuel-intensive." Feng Jiangzi said as he flew up and grabbed the self-propelled pole, "And you stay in space and can provide us with fire support when necessary." Omar, you've been out for less than a week, and you're our Sanda King, come with us. Joseph, find someone to replace the navigator. ”

"Okay, Captain." Omar Azai replied and flew out of his seat and followed the captain out of the bridge with the help of his self-propelled stick.

Half an hour later, Siegfried slowed down with a large radiance and entered the low-Earth orbit of the planet Taiji.

Eleven officers and men entered the shuttle cabin wearing bulletproof vests with reinforced armor on top of their space combat suits, wearing simple helmets, and carrying individual weapons such as particle rifles and portable infrasonic cannons and shoulder-carrying missiles.

The so-called shuttle cabin is actually a medium-sized aerospace aircraft with a triangular shape and integrated wings. It is usually embedded in a special groove at the bottom of the middle of the "Siegfried" and is integrated with the mothership. It has a name "Bodhi Leaf".

Jiang Ziyue did not wear a heavy reinforced armored bulletproof suit, nor did he wear a simple helmet, but wore an officer's large-brimmed hat, and only carried a particle gun to get into the "Bodhi Ye". The officers and men saluted the captain one after another.

Jiang Ziyue flew to his seat and ordered while fastening his seat belt: "Set off immediately, target the new Shanghai Spaceport." ”

Lieutenant Azai personally piloted the Bodhi Leaf, unconnecting all ties to the mothership and activating the various attitude jets. Under his skillful manipulation, the "Bodhi Leaf" flew away from the "Siegfried" like a swallow leaving its nest and threw itself into the arms of the blue planet "Taiji".

New Shanghai is located at the junction of the yin and yang sides of the eastern planet "Taiji", on a tongue-shaped peninsula jutting out to the sea to the east. The city is quite large and is divided into three districts according to the degree of sunlight, from east to west are the daylight district, the sunrise district that is always dawning, and the twilight district where it is always night.

She has always been a shining pearl on the "Golden Hoop of the Great Sage". It is not only the largest city on the planet, but also a tourist and leisure city that is famous throughout the Perseus Spiral Arm interstellar. There are all kinds of entertainment venues - casinos with "gambling" signs, brothels under the guise of "clubhouses", nightclubs, dance halls, clubs, amusement parks, golf, folk villages, hotels, farmsteads, beaches, hunting grounds...... There are almost all the entertainment venues that human beings can think of, and they are huge in scale.

The mayor of the new Shanghai himself advertised everywhere, declaring in the more conservative empire: "We have all the healthy recreational facilities for you and your family." In the open and free federation, he stirred and incited: "We don't have fun that you can't find, only fun that you can't enjoy." ”

Both the nouveau riche of the empire and the middle class of the Confederacy loved to come here for a vacation. In both countries, many people, from civilians to government officials, have been to New Shanghai.

Because of this, this bustling interstellar city has become one of the biggest secret battlefields of the Empire and the federal intelligence agencies. Both the Imperial Intelligence Service and the Federal Security Council have sent a large number of spies and agents here. In the midst of the glamour, drunkenness, and money, many officials on both sides have been corrupted and bribed.

At the same time, a lot of important information about the other side also flowed out from here. On the Internet, on radio and television, in print media, in restaurants and bars, on the streets and in the alleys, there are all kinds of rumors of truth and falsehood. Some of them even had secret contacts and negotiations between the Empire and the Federation in New Shanghai. The rumors even vividly describe the detailed scenes of negotiators enjoying wine and bikini services in the sauna while talking about the future of the two countries.

Jiang Ziyue came to New Shanghai once, when he was very young, and came here for a vacation with his parents. Like many tourists, they change their activities and routines every eight hours on average. Swim in the warm ocean of the Sunshine Zone, eat breakfast and dinner in the Chaoyang Zone, take part in various rides, and sleep in a hotel in the Twilight Zone.

When I was a child, my impression of the new Shanghai was perfect. Sun, beach, sunrise and night, gastronomy, video games, roller coasters and Ferris wheels, lion dances, gongs and drums, temple fairs, carnivals and carnival parties...... But when he gradually grew up, especially after entering the society, he learned from many aspects that under the appearance of prosperity and beauty, New Shanghai was a criminal city with mixed fish and dragons and turbulent dark tides.

Those gentlemen with good manners and bright clothes may be engaged in ulterior deeds, and those beautiful and generous, enthusiastic and lively girls may have countless blood, tears and sadness behind them; In the midst of the staggering, it may be a celebration of one evil transaction after another, a celebration of the success of crime; When the smiling face is like a flower, perhaps it is a helpless surrender and submission to power and violence, which is another form of crying......

He now, like many independent-minded young officers, does not have much affection for the planet "Taiji" and the new Shanghai.

Jiang Ziyue and many imperial officers did not understand why the Imperial Senate had always adhered to morality and tradition, but it turned a blind eye to the big dye vat of New Shanghai, allowing it to expand and degenerate. Similarly, the federal government, which prides itself on being clean and orderly, has no restrictions of any kind on the arrival of its own officials in New Shanghai.

The laissez-faire and acquiescence to the new Shanghai is likely due to an ulterior reason.

Under the action of strong gravity, the "Bodhi Leaf" rushed into the atmosphere of the planet "Taiji" at high speed.

In order to reach the ground as soon as possible, Lieutenant Azai did not start the four jet engines to slow down, but quickly maneuvered the aerodynamic control surfaces of the aerospace plane, tried his best to maintain the stability of the "Bodhi Leaf", and allowed the gravitational pull of the planet to pull the plane towards the ground.

The bottom and edge of the "Bodhi Ye" rubbed against the air at high speed, emitting a terrifying roar, causing the plane to tremble violently, and generating a large amount of heat energy at the bottom and edge of the fuselage, which strongly scorched the plane. I saw that the bottom and edge of the dark gray "Bodhi Leaf" were covered with a layer of dazzling firelight, and it fell straight to the ground.

When the altitude of the aircraft was only about 20,000 meters, the lower part of the flat nose cracked on both sides, and two electric hot jet engines with high bypass ratio were pushed out, and the upper sides of the same flat tail were also cracked, and two identical engines were launched. They also turn rapidly at the turn of the gimbal connecting rod, pointing the nozzle downward.

Two miniature fusion reactors simultaneously inject powerful electricity into these superconducting electric thermal jet engines, which run at high speeds.

These electric hot jet engines are derived from the hot jet engines (also known as thermal jet engines) that have long been the cold of the aviation industry.

The invention of the miniature nuclear fusion reactor, the large-scale application of superconducting technology, and the industrialization of metallic hydrogen have enabled the rebirth of the thermal jet engine as an "electric thermal jet engine", which is widely used in the atmospheric space of various planets.

The powerful yet lightweight superconducting motor replaces the bulky piston engine to drive the blade pack of the air compression system to rotate at high speed, eliminating the need for turbines with complex processes, special materials and frequent failures. Hydrogen and oxygen are injected into the combustion chamber, allowing the vehicle to fly in many oxygen-deficient atmospheres and even in space.

A large amount of air is brought in by the first compression fan blades that rotate at the very front of the engine, and a small part is accelerated directly through the outer duct. Most of the air enters the low-pressure compressor, where it is pressurized in the high-speed motorized vane group and then pumped to the vane group of the high-pressure compressor behind it for further pressurization. It is then fed into the combustion chamber and violently burns with the hydrogen gas ejected from the nozzle, explodes, and finally ejects out of the nozzle at high speed, generating a strong thrust.

Under the propulsion of these four electric hot jet engines, the "Bodhi Leaf" quickly stopped falling and hovered in the air. Then, the four engines spun rapidly and were sprayed backwards, propelling the plane to the east at high speed.