Author: 唇亡齿寒 / Lips Gone, Teeth Cold
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 34
In the crimson flame ring of the Flaming Binary, there was a small planet named Milantu. It was only a quarter the size of Old Earth and was located at the Lagrange point of the binary stars, rotating at a very slow pace. It has a thin atmosphere with a high content of hydrogen and helium. Generally, such small planets weren’t suitable for human habitation, but because of the rich metal deposits in its strata, colonists established mines here, creating an artificial atmosphere and ecosystem suitable for human survival, along with a spaceport for ships transporting the ore.
During the First Galactic War, the colonists evacuated Milantu. In the dark years that followed, this gem in the flame ring was forgotten in the passage of time. Technology declined, civilization regressed, until the first group of Earth survivors brought lost technology to the “Unfallen Star”, and the colonists saw the dawn of hope.
Another fourteen hundred years passed, and Joanna Begrel’s fleet, defectors from the Federal Army turned space pirates, arrived here. They discovered that once the abandoned base’s energy was restored, it could still operate. Within forty-eight hours, the artificial atmosphere filled the base’s sky, the ecosystem began to recover, and various plants and animals were automatically cloned and revived by the computer. Even the thousand-year-abandoned mines resumed operation, with machinery extracting tons of ore from the rock layers according to the ancient colonists’ programs. Everything was orderly, as if the base had merely taken a brief nap, rather than being abandoned for a millennium.
Joanna immediately decided to make Milantu the base for her pirate fleet. After some renovation and expansion, the base became a small town, including pirates, their families, and reserve members of the pirate group, with a population of nearly a thousand. Almost every week, black market merchant ships came to Milantu’s spaceport to sell weapons and buy stolen goods. During the off-season, the base would open the mines and rely on selling ore for income. Over the years, they had accumulated quite a bit.
The female pirate leader returned to the Flaming Binary at the end of the off-season. The Lady of the Night passed by the last merchant ship buying ore for the year under the deep red light of the red giant star. The merchant ship sent a message to the Lady of the Night: “Isn’t this the mad queen? We thought you died on Hecate!”
“What? Is this how Old Highway’s caravan welcomes me back?” Joanna, sitting in the command seat, said unhappily to Leo. “Curse him for me!”
“At your command, Captain!” The dutiful AI sent a message back to the merchant ship. “Fuck you!”
The merchant ship immediately fled from the Lady of the Night like a scared rabbit.
“Oh, Captain, look at what you’ve done,” Leo chided. “You scared Old Highway away. He might not come to buy our ore next year.”
“It was you who scared him away, not me!” Joanna wanted to swing the command seat at the AI. Fortunately, the base was sturdy enough to avoid a disaster.
“Dear crew members, the Lady of the Night will dock in five minutes. A large crowd is waiting at the port to welcome us. Finish your work, bring the gifts you bought for your family and friends, and put on a tearful expression! We’re going home!”
After Leonard’s announcement, cheers erupted in the dining hall. Ibb Descartes was so excited he almost jabbed a fork into Alois’s nose.
“Sorry, brother!” Ibb threw down the fork and started waving a napkin to express his joy.
“Are we arriving at Milantu?” Alois calmly forked a piece of potato into his mouth.
“Yes! Milantu! Our base! We’re going home!” Ibb was as excited as if he were on a stimulant.
Alois glanced at Joshua, ensuring he had no intention of stealing his meat, then asked, “Is your family also on Milantu?”
Ibb wiped the tears of excitement from his left eye with his left hand and vigorously patted Alois on the back with his right hand, nearly causing him to choke on the potato he had just swallowed. “Of course! Where else would they be?”
So when Alois disembarked and saw the “family” Ibb embraced, he started boasting about his wide mouth. Joshua, with his mouth shut, boasted about his large eyes. The cat-skin scarf Schrödinger around his neck boasted about both simultaneously.
“Let me introduce you. This is my mechanical teacher, Maxim, but everyone calls him ‘Spider’.” Ibb pointed excitedly at the two people and one cat. “They are the new companions the captain recruited, Joshua Planck and Alois Lagrange, along with their pet, Schrödinger.”
“Welcome to Milantu, newcomers and new cat! Your expressions are priceless!” Maxim’s voice was bright as he shook Joshua’s and Alois’s hands and Schrödinger’s paw simultaneously. Saying “simultaneously” was appropriate because his hands were two mechanical prosthetics, and he had two additional pairs of mechanical arms on his shoulders. With his legs, Maxim had “eight limbs” in total, hence his nickname “Spider”.
“Don’t make that face, Alois.” Ibb looked a little hurt. “Spider lost his hands in an accident and installed six mechanical arms to better repair machinery. He’s the best mechanic in the fleet.”
Alois stiffly nodded.
“It’s okay, Ibb.” Spider Maxim smiled. If one ignored his six arms, he looked like a quiet, intellectual reader rather than a sweaty technician who worked on machines all day. “I love seeing expressions like theirs. It’s exhilarating!”
Alois and Joshua silently exchanged a look, wordlessly saying, “Milantu is terrifying! I want to go back to Hecate, really!”
Joshua understood, nodding. To confirm he wasn’t dreaming, he pinched the black cat on his neck hard. The black cat let out a miserable cry, and Joshua resignedly sighed.
Captain Joanna, upon disembarking, was immediately surrounded by a sea of people, receiving an even warmer welcome than when she returned to the Lady of the Night. She had to punch a few people to break free from the crowd, then climbed onto a transport vehicle and raised her hands. Usually, when the captain made this gesture, it meant she had something important to announce. The bustling crowd immediately fell silent, and the once lively spaceport became quiet, with thousands of eyes focused on the red-haired female pirate.
“My companions,” the captain began. “Not long ago, due to my foolish mistake, I caused trouble for everyone! I’m sorry!”
The crowd burst into laughter. Someone shouted, “It’s okay, Captain, we’re used to it!” This was met with many agreements.
Joanna continued, “Even so, you all risked your lives to rescue me… You are truly my good brothers!”
Another round of cheers. “And sisters!” several girls shouted from the crowd.
“And sisters.” The captain nodded. “Now, we, the Lady of the Night, have finally returned to Milantu. We are home!”
Applause, cheers, and screams drowned Milantu’s sky. The grandeur of this scene was no less than a concert by the Galactic Diva, Alois thought.
To quiet the crowd, Joanna raised her hands again.
“Here, I want to formally introduce two new companions, my fellow prisoners from Hecate.” Joanna keenly pointed out Alois and Joshua in the crowd. “The Mourner—Joshua Planck, and his family—Alois Lagrange, who is also the fourth pilot of the Lady of the Night!”
The crowd’s burning gazes turned towards the two. Alois didn’t know what to do, so he looked at Joshua for help. The assassin calmly raised his right hand, greeting the crowd with a solemn nod, as if he were a leader inspecting his troops.
“Ahaha, two S-class wanted criminals,” Spider said. “The average bounty in Milantu just went up a lot. Congratulations.”…There’s nothing to be happy about in this! Alois thought mournfully.
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