On May 18, 2918, the battle in the airspace near the unique interstellar planet "Yi" about 1,500 light-years outside the Immortal spiral arm became the first confrontation between the Perseus Interstellar Federation and the New Roman Empire for the planet "Yi".

Under the leadership of the witty commander Jiang Ziyue, the Imperial Army Task Force, which had superior enemies in front and was blocked by planets, collectively used the Akuberi engine to trigger faster-than-light space fluctuations in the enemy formation, and used the dense "warp bubble" to induce the first artificial "space storm" in human history, greatly disrupting the offensive formation of the Federation tracking fleet and calmly retreating.

Von Jiang Ziyue, the recipient of the Golden Caesar's Order, the highest honor of the new Roman Empire, continued the legend he created last year near the planet "Taiji", causing the Bundeswehr fleet to suffer great humiliation.

When the notification ships sent by both sides entered the faster-than-light state and flew to their respective headquarters to deliver battle reports, Jiang Ziyue gathered his commanders to plan a counterattack against the Bundeswehr fleet that had taken control of the airspace near the planet Yi.

A warrior who has been hailed as a "genius" and a "genius" by his opponents must not run away in order to escape, let alone leave his beloved, albeit once beloved, woman trapped in the enemy line and flee for his life.

So, no matter what, he must launch a counteroffensive as soon as possible, drive out the Federation fleet that snatched the "easy" planet from him, complete the sacred mission entrusted by the Senate and the Roman people, and welcome back the woman he once loved, even if he is at an absolute disadvantage.

However, the cruiser captains gathered in the conference room of the supply ship "Mount Olympus" did not support Jiang Ziyue's counter-attack plan.

"Our strength is less than half of the enemy's, and even if we fight and run, we may not be able to recapture the 'easy' planet."

"The Federation fleet also has more than twenty battleships, and it surpasses us by three times in firepower."

"If you launch a counterattack without reinforcements, I'm afraid the situation is not optimistic."

The captains raised euphemistic objections.

The realistic comparison of forces is exactly what the captains say. This time he retreated from the front of the enemy, which has proved Jiang Ziyue's superiority. But to let a fleet that is completely inferior to the opponent take the initiative to attack the opponent, the captains generally have little confidence.

Jiang Ziyue looked around at these people who had just escaped from the tiger's mouth, and many of them looked shocked.

"Although we are at an absolute disadvantage in terms of strength, if we wait for reinforcements to arrive before launching a counterattack, the enemy is likely to receive reinforcements at that time. Not only will the entire 'easy' planet fall into the hands of the enemy, but the scientists we landed on will also be captured by the enemy. Not a single shot was fired, and they waited for the enemy to become stronger, so that their compatriots were captured and the mission failed. Do you think we still have the face to go back to the Senate and the people of Rome? Jiang Ziyue said solemnly.

His last words touched everyone's hearts. A strong sense of honor was a traditional trait of the new Roman soldiers, and it was almost intolerable for every soldier, especially those officers who had been deeply influenced by tradition, to give up without a war.

A commander's battle plan is often already in place. So as soon as he said this, someone immediately took the lead in agreeing: "Sir, I support a counterattack." ”

The woman's characteristic high-pitched voice made her words seem quite loud. This man was Captain Lota Stoldt, captain of the cruiser Nezha.

The Nezha is the only warship in the entire Task Force 9 to be controlled by female soldiers. In the combat units of the Imperial Army, men and women were usually separated, so there were many cases where the entire battleship was a female soldier, such as the "Nezha". Of course, its commanders are often female officers.

Lota Stoldt's face is very beautiful, but her figure is tall and burly, and her shaved head and wearing the space clothes of the Imperial Army give her a powerful appearance.

Captain Stoddt is Jiang Ziyue's younger sister at the Imperial Military Command Academy, and she usually has a good relationship with Jiang, but her support for the commander's counterattack plan is not due to the personal relationship between the two, but her inner desire to fight.

"Lotta, don't you see where we are?" There are those who insist on opposition. These people are not greedy for life and afraid of death, and their opinions are also rationally analyzed.

"Earlier we were in a desperate situation, and the enemy was victorious. However, allowing us to use the 'space storm' to successfully break through must have dealt a heavy blow to their confidence and self-esteem. "Now the return of the rifle is just enough to pierce the enemy's fragile nerves." ”

The opponent was about to speak, but Jiang Ziyue said in a fully confident tone: "Captain Stoldt is right, we don't have an advantage in troops, but we can seize a tactical advantage. ”

"Tactical advantage?"

"Are you still engaged in 'space storms'?"

"Nope." Jiang Ziyue shook his head and answered his subordinates' questions, "The 'Space Storm' has successfully disrupted the enemy's array, and I think their commander will quickly adjust the ship's shape after discovering us to reduce the impact of the 'Space Storm'." ”

The quick-thinking Lota Staudert continued Jiang Ziyue's words: "If you want to minimize the impact of the 'space storm', you must widen the distance between the ships, adopt loose formations, and even split the fleet into many squads. Commander, do you want to take advantage of this? ”

Jiang Ziyue bowed his head happily and expressed his appreciation to the younger sister who understood his tactical intentions.

"However, the enemy has an absolute superiority in forces, and even if we are divided into multiple small detachments, I am afraid it will be difficult for us to form a superior force locally." The objections are also very valid.

"By tactical superiority, I don't just mean that the enemy's forces are scattered." Jiang Ziyue emphasized, and then solemnly announced his idea: "Instead, a new attack method is adopted, which I call 'faster-than-light raid'!" ”

"Faster-than-light raid?!" Surprising questions were raised.

"Strictly speaking, this type of attack cannot be called faster-than-light. It just attacks as soon as it changes to faster-than-light, and then immediately after entering faster-than-light again. Jiang Ziyue explained, "I think this can definitely catch the enemy off guard." But I need everyone's full support to make the decision to fight back. ”

The confident commander came up with new tactics, which at once aroused the desire of many to fight.

"Commander, what are we going to do?" It was Captain Lota Staudert who took the lead.

"Are you willing to follow me and fight back?" Jiang Ziyue looked around at everyone and asked.

"You are the commander, and we listen to you." The captains began to show a positive and aggressive attitude.

Jiang Ziyue nodded with satisfaction, activated the holographic projector in the conference room, and began to explain and assign various tactical tasks with stereoscopic imaging.

Imperial Task Force 9 will establish a point of advance at a distance of 1,500 astronomical units from the interstellar planet Yi, where the attack will be launched.

Four reconnaissance and communications carriers sent unmanned reconnaissance ships to probe the status of the federal fleet and determine the attack targets and attack routes. And send unmanned communication ships, deployed on the attack line to provide calibration and dynamic information of enemy ships during the attack.

Thirty-one cruisers will then split up and go faster-than-light three to five times in order to communicate with unmanned communication ships and calibrate the enemy's position and direction of attack.

The Imperial cruisers will flank the Federation fleet at a distance of less than 300,000 kilometers, successively changing the speed of light and launching one to three salvos of fire. After that, quickly enter the faster-than-light speed from the opponent's side up or down the side, and return to the forward point, ready to enter a new round of attacks.

Such an attack is based on the loose formation of the enemy fleet, so that the own fleet that changes to the speed of light at close range can quickly develop a local superiority.

And even if the opponent reacts quickly and launches a counterattack, due to the dispersion of the formation, its firepower density is not enough to form a deadly threat with a single salvo. Therefore, you can calmly fly over the enemy fleet and enter the faster-than-light speed to get out of the battle.

However, there are also considerable risks associated with this so-called "faster-than-light raid" tactic.

First of all, the warship carrying out the attack should change the end of the attack line to a position faster than the speed of light for the last time, and set it in a space less than 300,000 kilometers away from the enemy ship. At an effective combat distance of 300,000 kilometers, if the enemy has been prepared for it, it is likely that your own side will be hit head-on when it changes to the speed of light.

In addition, the distance of 300,000 kilometers also poses a great safety hazard for the change of faster-than-light speed. If the operation is slightly improper, the positioning is incorrect, and the spaceship that changes out of space fluctuations to a faster-than-light state is likely to collide with the opponent's warship.

Secondly, after completing one to three salvos, the process of flying over enemy ships is also fraught with danger. At this time, the enemy is likely to have fully reacted, and it is entirely possible to organize a powerful firepower to destroy the own warships flying around it.

Therefore, the most important thing in this tactic is to be "fast", to complete the shooting quickly, to fly over the enemy ship quickly, to enter the speed of light quickly, so fast that the enemy cannot react, in order to achieve as many results as possible.

Listening to Jiang Ziyue's explanation of the unheard-of "faster-than-light raid" tactics, the cruiser captains of the empire opened their eyes one after another, emitting a light of eagerness to fight.

"This is actually a 'hit and run' guerrilla tactic." Jiang Ziyue commented on his "faster-than-light raid" attack tactic, which was quite "interstellar", "But there seems to be no precedent in the history of interstellar warfare, so we can completely defeat the enemy." Of course, victory must depend on the efficient operation of the princes and the vast number of officers and men and the courage to kill the enemy. Do you have the confidence to win? ”

"Yes!" The captains spoke in unison.

Although they had never trained such tactics before, the aggressive nature of the soldiers undoubtedly made everyone full of confidence and anticipation for the new tactics, and put the fear of inferior troops behind them.

Immediately after the combat mission was assigned, the Ninth Task Force was ready for the offensive.

Eight supply ships and four reconnaissance and communications carriers headed by the "Kilimanjaro" set off first to establish a point of advance and carry out reconnaissance activities on the earth and space, which is 1,500 astronomical units away from the planet "Yi."

Subsequently, thirty-one cruisers also left the "Olympus" one after another, preparing to enter the speed of light.

Just as Siegfried was preparing to break away from the Olympus, an encrypted private call request from the cruiser Nezha reached the bridge.

Captain Lota Staudert asks to speak with Task Force Commander Jiang Ziyue.

"Tell me something, Captain Stoldt."

"Commander, while I agree with your counterattack plan, I still think we are very risky." Lota Staudert is blunt.

"It's adventurous. But we can't lose that planet. ”

"And your ex-girlfriend." Lota Staudert added deliberately.

"I don't object to you saying that." Jiang Ziyue said helplessly.

Since last year's fame in a pair of thirteen near the planet "Tai Chi", many people have consciously or unconsciously explored his past, which naturally includes emotional experiences. And Lota Stoldt has a good relationship with him, and the two almost talk about everything, so they are naturally more aware of his emotional entanglement with Chen Weiyin.

"Lotta, I have been ordered to carry out the 'Cleopatra' plan to search for the so-called 'Antnest'." Jiang Ziyue then explained to his former student the original intention of deciding to launch a counterattack, "But Professor Ulf Bernstein told me that the interstellar planet called 'Yi' has nothing to do with 'Antnest'. This confuses me, and the loss of the 'easy' planet makes me feel even more stressed. ”

"If it's all right, why is there still a lot of pressure?"

"I can't tell, Lotta. Ever since Chen Weiyin landed on that planet, I felt that something was wrong. Jiang Ziyue's tone was quite confused.

"I think you're putting too much pressure on yourself." Lota Staudert said in a gentle tone that she didn't even need to use the honorific title "you" that subordinates must use to their superiors. "Why think too much? The mission is to search for 'Antnest', not to control the planet 'Yi'. ”

"I think that's what you said." The other party's words made Jiang Ziyue feel a little relaxed.

"There's something I want to tell you." In the speakers in the space suit, Lota Staudert's voice sounded hesitant. "Before I went to war, I met my mother, and she wanted me to be discharged from the army as soon as possible and find a man to marry."

Jiang Ziyue couldn't hear her voice, but came to ask for advice as a friend, so he teased: "Then you have to have a beautiful hair, not many men will like bald women." ”

"Aren't you bald too!" Lota Staudert retorted harshly.

In the face of Lota Stoldt's rebuttal, Jiang Ziyue smiled and said, "Of course I'm different......"

Before he could finish speaking, he stopped, because he sensed that the other person's tone seemed unusual. It didn't take long for him to understand Lota Stoldt's motive for making a special call.

The ensuing battle will be very dangerous, and any officer and soldier who participates in the counterattack may encounter unforeseen consequences. Captain Lota Staudert understands this, so she takes the opportunity to show her love before she leaves. It's just that she is not good at expressing her emotions, so she has to choose this old-fashioned way.

Jiang Ziyue was stunned, she didn't expect Lota Stoddt to fall in love with her. He hoped that he would be completely wrong, and the other party just mentioned it in passing and asked his friends for advice.

In any case, it is quite unwise to dwell on emotions at this time. So he said earnestly, "On this subject, Captain Stoldt, I think we will talk about it after the battle." If there's nothing to do, let's go here first. ”

"All right, sir. Good bye. Lota Staudert stopped the call in a huff, then ordered in a loud voice: "Go, hurry up!" ”

She can fully understand Jiang Ziyue's purpose in ending the conversation, as a soldier, in the face of the overall situation, personal feelings and happiness are insignificant. But she was still quite unhappy that Jiang Ziyue avoided answering the questions hidden in her words.

The cruiser "Nezha" spewed out a dazzling pale blue tail flame and rushed into the depths of the universe.

"Siegfried" also broke away from the "Olympus" in its unfolded state and flew into the depths of the universe.

About 20,000 astronomical units away, on the pitch-black interstellar planet "Yi", Chen Weiyin and other scientists are carrying out intense survey work.

The landed Imperial expedition stopped all radio transmissions after the appearance of the Federation fleet, allowing them to hide smoothly in the mountains and deep valleys of the planet Yi.

The interstellar space on the outside of Perseus Spiral Arm is extremely desolate, and the surrounding cosmic space of more than a thousand light-years is almost empty, except for this lone interstellar planet "Yi".

Landed New Roman scientists set up an improvised base in a canyon beneath a wave-like cliff. This place was chosen because it was close to the place where infrared radiation was found, and because the Imperial task force had already been driven away by the time they landed, and they had to consider the need for concealment. With the help of the cover of huge cliffs, it is possible to evade the remote sensing of the Federation warship to a certain extent.

Young interstellar physicist Chen Weiyin and fellow scientists are puzzled by this strange interstellar planet.

The atmosphere of the interstellar planet Yi is less than 200,000 meters thick, but it is quite dense and has violent convection. Hydrogen is the majority of the atmosphere, accounting for nearly 95 percent of the volume, followed by helium, which accounts for only 5 percent of the volume. The remaining less than 1 percent of the volume is composed of other gases, which are mainly underground gases from volcanic eruptions.

In terms of the composition of the atmosphere alone, this planet is not uninhabitable for humans.

The planet "Yi" without stars is as dark as hell. The dense atmosphere even hindered the starlight, so that those who landed on the planet could not reach their fingers.

The occasional light comes from lightning in the clouds and volcanic eruptions. Through these fleeting flashes of light, one can see that the surface of the planet is full of jagged rocks.

Judging by the topography and rocky appearance, the planet experienced violent geological movements in ancient times, and was severely eroded by wind and water.

Of course, both of these are easy to understand, and if the planet is really forcibly stripped from around a star by external forces to form an interstellar planet, this process will of course cause major changes in its own internal structure. The strong winds that prevail in the atmosphere can also scratch "scars" on the rocks.

Signs such as pebble-shaped gravel and massive trough-like traces at the bottom of the canyon indicate that there were once rushing rivers on the planet. But the water on this planet is gone, and now there is not a drop of water on the ground, and the atmosphere contains very little water vapor.

What is even more strange is that the traces of the water are still quite "fresh", and most of them have not been affected by wind erosion. This gives the impression that the planet's water has been drained not long ago.

To everyone's disappointment, it seems unlikely that there will be signs of life on the planet's surface. Except for the rocks of various forms, the area illuminated by artificial bright lights is barren. The various detection instruments are also empty. Robots that traveled to areas with life-characteristic infrared radiation detected in space also found nothing.

The landers also had to reckon with a more realistic problem, their supplies were insufficient. Initially intending to make a preliminary exploration, and not expecting the situation to become so bad, the landing team carried only a small amount of supplies. Although the life-sustaining systems of their spacesuits and space planes provide long-term air circulation, the lack of drinking water circulation equipment and food means that they have to strictly limit the amount of water and food they can drink and eat per person.

As the person in charge, Chen Weiyin has already made a plan, if he really can't hold on, he will surrender directly to the Federation fleet at his head. They were all brilliant scientists, and even if they fell into the hands of the Union Army, they would be treated as if they were honored as guests.

Commodore Nicholas Wolfensohn, the Commodore of the Bundeswehr, commanded his fleet, and after being humiliated by his opponents in an unprecedented "space storm", he no longer had the leisure to play virtual golf with his men. He and his men were on high alert, keeping a close eye on the situation in the space around them.

Although judging from common sense, it was unlikely that the Imperial fleet, which was at an absolute disadvantage in terms of strength, would return to kill immediately after escaping, he still did not dare to relax.

Based on the analysis and recommendations of the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant Colonel Gunther Oswald, on the "space storm", he dispersed the fleet. The supply fleet was placed in a planetary synchronous orbit over the eastern hemisphere of the planet Yi, while the combat ships were divided into three loose formations and arranged in three concentric orbits at different altitudes and inclinations.

In order to ensure that the overmass battleships did not affect the tidal forces of the "easy" planet, twenty-seven battleships were deployed in the outermost orbit.

With the help of the strong gravitational pull of the "easy" planet, the Federation warship turned off the ion thrusters and circled around the interstellar planet, waiting for its research ship to arrive.

"Is this what an interstellar planet is called?"

Through the glass window, which had opened the protective armor, General Nicholas Wolfensohn looked directly at the black whirring planet beneath the battleship.

"It felt like a black hole. I've never seen a black hole either. Lieutenant Colonel Gunther Oswald said. He also stared intently at the dark shadow of the planet "Yi".

It is quite difficult to directly observe the interstellar planet "Yi" by relying only on a pair of incompetent human eyes. She doesn't emit light, and she doesn't have enough outside light for her to reflect. So she is completely black before the eyes of humans.

It is only by observing the starlight passing by her that the human eye can discern her outline.

"Could it be that this planet is the legendary 'Antnest'?" Nicholas Wolfensohn asked again. He was just talking to himself, not expecting anyone to answer his questions.

At this time, Gunther Oswald remembered what the commander had said earlier. He said: "Sir, you were previously skeptical of the Empire's exploration of 'Antnest', believing that they only sent such a small fleet to show that they were really searching for 'Antnest'. If your assumptions are correct, I guess this planet has nothing to do with 'Antnest'. ”

"The Empire has announced that their operation is to search for 'Antnest', but only they know what they are actually here for. What can this planet have? Hydrogen? Stone? I really don't know what those high-ranking government officials are? Wolfensohn looked dazed, then looked disdainful.

"What exactly is 'Antnest'? We don't know yet, mastering it can really control the universe? This is a ridiculous idea. Our great federal government still believes it?! ”

"Sir, do you think the Empire is using 'Antnest' to lure us into the Federation?"

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't." Wolfensohn looked helpless again, "You and I led this fleet to run more than fifteen hundred light years, and when we came to this black planet, we were severely humiliated. I think you're right......"

Nicholas Wolfensohn pointed to the dark planet outside the window and said with a little sadness: "She is like a black hole, maybe she will suck all our honor and life into it!" ”

At this time, reports of the discovery of the Imperial reconnaissance ship arrived, and Nicholas Wolfensohn and Gunther Oswald hurriedly left the observation module and returned to the tactical command center of the "Nimitz".

They were given a more detailed report: more than one Imperial reconnaissance ship appeared in the Yi field.