Author: 唇亡齿寒 / Lips Gone, Teeth Cold
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 134
In the thin nebula at the outskirts of the Damoni star system, two armies faced off. Princess Alveira led the Royal Fleet, while Duke Winnet commanded the National Salvation Army. Both were forces arrayed in battle formation, awaiting their commanders’ orders to fight to the death.
“Grisofin is on the left flank, Chast is on the right, and Winnet himself is on the front lines. It seems he’s not planning to leave any escape route for himself.”
On the bridge of the Lady of the Night, Alveira observed the battle simulation map in front of her. “Leo, can you connect me to Winnet before the battle begins?”
“You want to speak with him?” the AI asked. “Do you want to connect directly to him, or send a communication request to his flagship?”
“A communication request. I want to speak to him face to face.”
Leo formally sent an invitation to Duke Winnet’s flagship, “Stella”, to initiate a superluminal real-time communication. A few seconds later, the gray-haired Duke Winnet appeared on the screen on the bridge.
“On the brink of battle, you want to speak with me? Are you asking me to show mercy, my dear niece?”
“Quite the opposite, my dear uncle. I’m issuing you a final ultimatum.” Alveira raised her voice. “And it’s directed at all of you: If you surrender to me now, I’ll spare your lives. Otherwise, you can expect the first executions in the Empire in 740 years!”
Winnet burst into laughter. “Alveira, my child, out of respect for your youth, I won’t kill you. How about I send you to the Maple Pavilion to keep Musaya company? That’s generous enough, isn’t it?”
“Musaya will likely be heartbroken,” Alveira replied without the slightest hint of anger. “Not only do I have no intention of joining her, but I’m also going to kill her dear father. She’s bound to hate me for it.”
Winnet’s expression darkened. “Then we’ll see how things turn out on the battlefield, where strength will speak.”
“I understand, Winnet. ‘Whoever holds power, holds the right to speak.'”
The communication ended. On the battle simulation map, the enemy formation began to stir and advance towards the Royal Fleet.
“Engage!” Alveira shouted, then lowered her voice but spoke with unwavering resolve. “With me!”
Leo broadcasted her every word throughout the entire fleet.
……
Titia climbed into her beloved craft, “Fran”, and gave a thumbs-up to Spider Maxim, who stood on the transport platform. Spider returned the gesture in kind.
“I’ve made some modifications to Fran, increasing its speed and agility,” Spider said through the communicator, “but it also reduced its ammo capacity. Be mindful.”
“No problem.” Titia pulled down her helmet visor. “Speed surpasses legions.” She waved her right hand over a row of illuminated keys, activating them all simultaneously. “Lady of the Night, Fran, launching!”
“Gunners, ready!”
“Adjusting coordinates!”
“Targeting calculations!”
Ibb Descartes sat amidst the swirling data streams, lightning-fast coordinates flashing before him. He easily adjusted each number, directing the ship’s cannons towards the enemy.
“Main cannon energy charging!”
“Hey, are you guys scared?”
Chef Celia had swapped her apron for a combat suit and sat in the waiting room with a submachine gun in hand. Next to her were Pavlov and Schrödinger, strapped to their seats. The cat and dog, sensing the impending battle, were howling in agitation.
“Don’t worry, we’ll win this,” Celia reassured them, whether they understood her or not. “All our comrades are here—Ibb, Spider, Titia, Errol, Udino…” She pressed a hand to her chest. “And the Captain.”
If only your masters were here too.
……
“So this is it…” Alois held his breath, gazing at the white lunar base before him. Tall pillars and graceful domes made the place look more like a palace than a space station. The Northern Cross slowly moved into the base’s dock, guided by indicator lights.
The silence here was overwhelming—not the oppressive darkness of Charon Station, but a solemn stillness, like that of a tomb.
Charon was the underworld, and the lunar base is a grave.
Alois shivered.
The crescent-shaped doors slid open to reveal the dock beyond. It too was vast and empty, with high arches and silver tracks on the ground, indicating it once housed several large ships. Compared to them, the Northern Cross was like a dinghy beside an ocean liner. In a corner, a few small crafts lay abandoned, capable of holding at most four people each.
“There used to be ships here that could travel between the stars,” Joshua said, looking at the empty space in the dock. “The first and second waves of Earth’s survivors left aboard them.”
Alois docked the Northern Cross at the center of the bay. “I bet there’s no air out there,” he muttered. “Do we need spacesuits?”
“Even on Earth, we’ll probably need them,” Casper said eagerly. “After two thousand years, Earth’s atmosphere might have changed.”
“…What’s there to be so excited about?” Alois shot him a look.
After donning their spacesuits, Alois shut off the engine as Leo had instructed, and the three men floated out of the ship through the auxiliary exit. The Moon’s gravity, only one-sixth of Earth’s, wasn’t full weightlessness, which frustrated Alois for a while. In the end, they jumped across the dock like clowns on springs toward the corner.
The craft parked there was so rudimentary that Alois was stunned. It was also silver-white, but compared to the Bard, it was like comparing a child’s clay model to a master’s sculpture.
“It’s not just a caveman’s club!” Alois said in despair. “It’s practically a paramecium!”
“If you don’t like it, don’t get in,” Joshua said as he opened the craft’s transparent canopy and agilely jumped in, taking the pilot’s seat. Casper gave Alois a helpless smile and also jumped into the back seat.
“You can’t be serious! Do you understand how I feel?” Alois shouted. “It’s like being a world-renowned assassin, like the Mourner, and someone paying you to kill a chicken! It’s an insult! Do you get that? An insult!”
Joshua started the engine.
“Hey! You jerk! Wait for me!” Alois hurriedly climbed into the craft, settling beside Casper.
His old school friend still wore that helpless smile. “Just think of it as a life experience.”
Alois slammed the canopy shut, scooting close to Casper and draping an arm around his shoulders. “We haven’t caught up in years, Casper. Remember when we stayed up all night on that field trip…”
A sudden wave of murderous intent surged from the front seat. Casper’s smile vanished immediately.
The craft slowly ascended, soon surpassing the Northern Cross’s height. “Diana,” Joshua called softly. “Diana, open the external passage.”
At the end of the silver tracks on the ground, a white door responded by sliding open, seamlessly blending into the dock’s wall until it moved.
“Who’s Diana?” Alois asked.
“The lunar base’s AI. In Old Earth mythology, she was also the goddess of the moon.”
Beyond the white door was a decompression chamber. As the craft passed through, the door closed silently behind them. With no air in the chamber, another door quickly opened.
Joshua’s heart pounded. He dared not fly too fast, fearing he might miss something, even though he knew there was nothing here. The craft had no display screens, and through the transparent canopy, he saw the black sky and the pale lunar surface ahead. As they rose higher, at the edge of the pale ground, a dark blue planet floated in the void.
Joshua remembered that when he left his home planet, most of its land was swallowed by the rising oceans, with cities turned into underwater ruins and mountains reduced to scattered islands. Now, the polar ice caps had reformed, lowering the sea level and revealing the submerged lands. It took Joshua a long time to recall the map of his homeland from the rugged contours of the continents.
“Do you still remember the way?” Alois asked absentmindedly, his eyes fixed on the blue planet, almost forgetting where he was.
“Of course,” Joshua’s voice was hoarse. “How could I forget?”
He piloted the craft towards Earth, leaving the white lunar base far behind. A faint whisper reached his ears. “Welcome home.”
Though he knew it was just the AI Diana’s pre-programmed response, Joshua was still moved to tears.
After two thousand years, the last survivors of Earth had finally returned home.
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