Chapter 2: The Void Funeral
"Today, we are here to bid farewell to our relatives and friends, today, we are here to bid farewell to the heroic warriors, fearless victims, and today, we are here to say our final goodbyes to the heroes of the Brown Star and the heroes of the Brown Star people. β
In the void, countless huge steel battleships once again formed a neat cube array, all the capitals of the ships were facing the same direction, there, a similar battleship hovered alone in the air, through the transparent outer wall of the bridge, you can see a metal coffin placed in the middle of the command platform, an old man in a military uniform, lying peacefully in the coffin, embroidered with a light blue flag embroidered with a brown star pattern covered his chest, black military uniform, blue planet flag, and white flowers covered the coffin, making the old man look particularly solemnγ
A young man stood respectfully on the top of the coffin, his face was calm and indifferent, and he was gently arranging the old man's appearance for the last time.
There was no one else on the bridge, only dozens of autonomous machines lined up in two rows, guarding both sides of the coffin, the cold machinery without a trace of temperature, just quietly waiting for the final order.
"We can't see the future, we don't know where the way out is, we are just exiles struggling in the whirlpool of fate, but despair can't sink us, no one can stop us, seek the last hope in despair, even if our brown star civilization sacrifices to the last man, it will not bow its head in the face of disaster and despair, even if there is only one spaceship left, we will continue to search, until the last moment, or until we find hope, we will not stop. β
The same sound echoed from all the spaceships, and it could be seen that on the bridge of each spaceship, there were one or two people in the same uniform, standing straight on the command platform, solemnly facing the front and facing the direction of the deceased. There is no sorrow, no reluctance, there is only peace on the faces of these people, farewell, and then be sent off, this is everyone's fate, everyone's fate has long been accepted.
"Perhaps, no one knows about our existence now, perhaps, our name will be lost in the long river of history in the near future, perhaps, even if civilization is rebuilt, we will be forgotten by our people, and even they will not know that we once existed, but we do not regret it, when we took over the duties of watchman, we were ready to meet such a fate, the fate that belongs to our watchman. β
The young man finally sorted out the old man's remains, sighed deeply, and carefully pulled up the flag to cover his bloodless face. At the push of a button, the metal coffin lid slowly closes, and with the faint roar of machinery, the sealed coffin is quickly pumped out of the air, forming a vacuum, and from then on, the old man will sleep quietly in it until the end of the world.
"Today, we have lost another comrade-in-arms, a wise and benevolent elder in our watchmen's ranks, which is a loss for the watchers and a loss for the Brown Star civilization. However, we are not as miserable and sad as we used to, and we are even relieved of Him, because he will be personally led by the gods we believe in, to leave this desperate world, to enter the other side where there is no need to flee, away from fear, away from despair, away from the source of disaster, and sleep in flowers and happiness. β
If you look closely, you can notice that the ship facing the deceased is the one named the Jackdaw, and on the bridge, Nina, who is also old, pushes Ryan's wheelchair and stands solemnly, silently sending another old friend away. And not far in front of them, the only girl in a black robe was clasping her eyes tightly and drawing circles on her chest with her fingers while preaching loudly, and the girl's crisp voice followed the invisible waves, passing from ship to spaceship, and into the ears of every captain.
"When the world forsaken us, the gods did not forsake us, when the source of calamity sowed despair on us, the gods brought us hope, no matter what the future holds, the gods will always watch over us, and wherever we go, the moonless moon will be with us, and the Lord will be with us. β
The black-robed girl's hands spread out at her sides, her face radiating a holy glow, and the divine power gathered from the various ships towards the girl beyond the range of the naked eye. At the same time that the surrounding divine power reached a certain level, the girl suddenly opened her eyes, raised her finger in the direction of the deceased in front of her, and now all the captains saw it, and the dark red faint light that came out of nowhere suddenly appeared out of thin air, and fell from the sky to wrap the spaceship where the deceased was located, for a while, even if the spaceships were separated by tens of thousands of kilometers, but every captain could still feel a peace of mind from the heart, like a low and tactful serenade in the middle of the night, so that the heart returned to peace.
"Praise the moonless moon, the will of the Lord, will guide the souls of our comrades-in-arms into the holy place called Parvatiga, return to the eternal resting place, sing praises to the Lord, embrace the Lord, praise the name of the Lord, and one day, we will also have the privilege of stepping into the same world under the guidance of the Lord, and sleep peacefully by the side of our comrades. β
"Click", the tenon buckle holding the coffin was retracted into the ship, and the self-disciplined mechanical figure stepped forward at the same time to lift the heavy coffin, and slowly walked towards a special exit on the side of the bridge.
"At this moment, let us chant the holy name of the Lord and ask for His grace. The girl raised her hands high and looked upward, her eyebrows full of reverence, "In the name of the Lord, in the name of the holy, holy." β
"Holy. "Thousands of captains drew circles on their chests at the same time, ending the farewell ceremony, this time adding new content to the old ceremony, although a little uncomfortable, but it feels pretty good, whether the prayer will be effective, whether civilization can be redeemed, is still unknown, but at least at this moment, everyone's hearts have been calmed and comforted, for the exiles, this is enough, no one will really expect a miracle to appear, at least not expect a miracle to appear immediately, after all...... That's the reality.
The coffin was put into a special exit, all the captains straightened up at the same time, saluted the remains, although the young successor still had a faint reluctance in his eyes, but after hesitating for a few seconds, he still sighed softly, pressed the button on the side, and the next moment, the exit was closed, and the special coffin ejected from the spaceship and flew into the depths of the void.
"Miracles will come eventually, and we will be redeemed. The captains were still standing in place, watching the coffin quickly disappear, and they heard the murmur of the robed maiden Delia, as if to strengthen everyone's faith, but more like to speak to themselves.
And so, a miracle happened.
Under the gaze of all the captains, two figures suddenly appeared in the void out of thin air, and then ...... The speeding coffin hit one of them head-on, and he flew into the depths of the void with his teeth and claws constantly struggling.
The other tilted his head, looking at the tragedy with a confused expression, even though the coffin had already flown away, and made a tiptoe gesture to look, looking at her mouth as if she was happily saying, "Eh, when did you learn to fly?" Ah, I see, you must have learned from Yulia, and said that you are not only interested in non-human creatures, but also do not spare a bird. β
"Uh, what's the situation now?" The sudden change made all the captains stunned, even the young people who had just bid farewell to the old captain had forgotten their sadness, and looked at this strange scene in a daze, and everyone was expressionless, because everyone really didn't know what expression to use to face it.
No, how could a living person be exposed to the void, it took a long time for the captains to react, they should have been spurting blood all over their bodies and their heads were bursting, how could they say cool things as if nothing happened, and even bite their fingernails?
It's not right, now is not the time to think about these problems, now should be the first time to rescue the person who was knocked into the air, right, that is not a stranger, a few months ago I was talking to everyone at the meeting, I haven't seen you for a few months, how did I become so unlucky. Now, whether he is alive or not, whether he is an envoy or a friend of Bishop Delia, he can't let people fly into the depths of the void and not find it.
The captains who reacted looked at the monitor at the same time, where the bridge of the spaceship where Delia was located, and everyone found that the girl in a black robe had been lying on the ground at some point, panting while pounding the floor, as if she had suddenly had some sudden illness, but everyone would not misunderstand, well, it was just a breathless laugh.
The next moment, the scene that made the captains doubt their knowledge of astronautics appeared, the person who was knocked into the air just now, together with the murderer who hit him, flew back against the common sense of mechanics, well, the victim was lying on the coffin, looking at the lively companions with a sad face, and the spacecraft watching in the distance.
Luckily, Delia finally remembered what to do, and a small shuttle flew out of the Jackdaw, finally picking up the two people who were floating in the void.
"Is this a unique way of greeting your Brown Star civilization?" Walking onto the familiar bridge, Shuer patted Delia's head with his hand, pointed to the metal coffin and said helplessly, "Hitting people with a coffin is still a real and chic way of greeting." β
"Hahahaha, that's uncle, you're too unlucky. Thinking of the coincidence just now, Delia couldn't help but laugh, "Who knew you would suddenly appear there, hahahahaha." β
"Seriously, it's not funny at all. Shul rolled his eyes, "I almost got hit by this thing." β
"No, uncle, what are you dragging it back for. No wonder she felt that there was a discord, Delia suddenly reacted, "This is our coffin, and we are going to fly to the depths of the universe." β
"I know. Shuer nodded, and said casually, "But don't you think you should wait until you move to a new home, and let him be laid to rest?"
"Huh?"