White Night’s existence was interesting to put it mildly, but it wasn’t their first priority right now. The preparatory work was. That was why Moon skipped over the subject pretty quickly and focused on the environment of the planet. The robot had never been there in person, but the information in its memory proved useful even though it was over a thousand years old. After obtaining the information, Cillin updated the parameters of the base’s virtual simulation training ground so that Cary and the others could adapt to the planet’s environment and improve their mission performance as soon as possible.
Cillin also shared some of the information Moon gave him with Aikenseth. They were in a collaborative relationship right now, not to mention that his crew’s biggest weakness was their small number. There was a good chance they might need to borrow the Free Army’s strength when they carried out their mission on the planet.
Most Hunters were Hunters because they were born travelers who could never settle in one place for long. The Eleventh Squadron was no exception. After being cooped up in the base for so long, Cary and the others were itching to get on with the mission already. The only reason they held out this long was because they were helping out Mo Heng with their space fighters. Now that their babies were almost complete, they spent almost all day and night training in the virtual simulation training ground. Thanks to their genetic rank, they were able to adapt to the simulated environment Cillin had set up very quickly.
For this mission, they would be wearing the armor Xi Mu had created instead of normal protective suits. With luck, they would be able to put their newly minted equipment to good use in their latest mission. Already, they could not wait to get to the planet. When it was finally time, they took off from the base and traveled straight to the agreed coordinates on their starship.
On the way, Mo Heng asked the crew to test out the fighters for debugging and satisfaction purposes. The last thing anyone wanted was for the fighters to malfunction in the middle of the battlefield.
Everyone was ecstatic with their fighters for obvious reasons. The fighters were customized based on the crew’s personal preferences and characteristics, meaning that it was unlike any mass-produced fighters they had ever flown in their lives. Besides the unique design, the materials used to create the space fighters were also incredibly rare. If Cillin hadn’t procured them from the Mist Bodhisattva Empire, the fighters might not have been up to Mo Heng’s satisfaction. Of course, his master had not asked him about the source of these materials. Everyone had their own secrets to keep, and he respected that.
Meanwhile, Wheeze was lying on top of a shelf, closing his eyes and plotting its next move. It was no longer the clueless cat it was when it joined Cillin at the beginning, nor did it have to limit anymore. Today, it could fight in any form it wanted to even if they drew the attention of mad scientists because Wheeze and co. now had the power to crush all of them!
Wheeze was a little annoyed that they had to give away some of the energy ores to the Free Army, but it endured it because they were in a collaborative relationship. It was fine as long as they were the majority of the profit belonged to the Eleventh Squad. There was no way it would allow another party to partake in the pie though. All the other factions in Sector V can eat shit for all it cared!
Cillin briefly explained their course of action before they met up with the Free Army. In particular, he mentioned the area Moon had requested him to protect; the location where White Night was residing. Since he had given his word, the Eleventh Squad would protect her even if they had to give up the energy ores.
Sector V did not have a good reputation in GAL. Once a colonized sector infamous for its criminal activities, all the areas the military failed to suppress after GAL had fallen into chaos had seized the opportunity to expand their power as much as possible. That was why few people would travel to Sector V despite the fact that there wasn’t a corner in the galaxy that hadn’t been touched by war.
The space they were heading toward to carry out their mission was even more isolated for several reasons. One, it basically had no habitable planets. Two, there were minable planets on the edges of the zone, but none so rich it was nearly worth the trouble to make the trip. And three, its space environment was incredibly bad. Anyone who wished to travel in and out of the zone would have to have a good amount of high-end equipment, and high-end equipment cost an obscene amount of credits. Even the rich colonists of Sector V would not waste their wealth exploring an area that had next to zero value, or so it seemed. This was why no one had noticed that ore-rich planet until now. Otherwise, it would’ve been emptied a long time ago.
When the starship reached the coordinates, they found that the Free Army was already waiting for them. The Free Army did not bring any large-sized starships or spaceplanes with them not just because their wealth was limited, but also because a fleet made up of middle to small-sized ships were more mobile. Their vessels were anything but pretty, but they were armed to the teeth and oozing danger. Some spaceplanes were even covered in holes and scars that were obviously caused by cannon shots. Fresh ones, in fact.
“Did you guys fight in a battle on the way here?” Cillin asked Aikenseth on his comms.
“It’s just some annoying flies. It’s no big deal,” Aikenseth replied, though his blood red eyes suggested that he hadn’t calm down completely.
It was at this moment Cillin noticed that Blue and Reysen were standing behind him. “You’re all here? Aren’t you guys afraid that something might happen to your home base while you’re gone?”
Aikenseth smiled but didn’t give him an answer. Cillin was sure they were prepared though, especially since they seemed to travel together all the time.
The Free Army’s business was the Free Army’s, so Cillin moved onto the next topic—a.k.a their mission—and went over some details with Aikenseth. Then, they set off toward the planet in tandem.
Not everyone in the Free Army was happy with the fact that the Eleventh Squadron was accompanying them, however. The people of Sector V naturally distrusted strangers, and the fact that the Eleventh Squad’s starship looked pretty only worsened their doubts. After all, aesthetics meant absolutely nothing in war.
The ridicule didn’t just happen between crew members of a vessel. They were happening between spaceplanes as well. However, they didn’t get far before a furious voice blasted through everyone’s comms,
“Fuck your meowther! Who are you calling flashy and no substance? You guys are the real losers here!”
In a spaceplane, Aikenseth, Blue and Reysen exchanged surprised looks with each other. They did not expect the Eleventh Squad to somehow intercept their side’s transmissions.
Cillin’s voice crackled from the comms after Wheeze was done ranting. “Apologies. One of our crew is an impulsive hothead. That said, I must say that your comms security could stand to be improved.”
Aikenseth wasn’t one to ignore sound advice. He immediately contacted the team leaders of the spaceplanes in question—each spaceplane was carrying a team, and each team was led by a team leader—and ordered them to inspect their communication equipment and network, and activate their security measures. This was just another example that one should never let down their guard.
Wheeze’s rant left many a soldier annoyed as a matter of course, but it also quelled much of the Free Army’s doubts.
In the Eleventh Squad’s starship, Wheeze complained while licking its paw, “Hmph! It’s not like I’m eavesdropping them on purpose. They’re the ones who didn’t even bother to encrypt their communications network.”
The gray cat was already annoyed that they had to share some of their spoils with their “ally”, and just now the Free Army was insulting them practically in their face. Of course it was going to get mad.
Cillin gave it a head rub before saying, “Yes, yes. Now stop wasting time on the Free Army and keep an eye out for anything unordinary.”
“Such as?”
“Such as those who aren’t included in our plans.”
“Those who aren’t included in our plans?”
Wheeze did not quite understand what Cillin was referring to, but since it was his request, it supposed it could exert itself a little.
They already knew this, but the zone’s space environment really was pretty unwelcoming. There were a lot of massive, floating debris, and some of the iron storms were pretty bad. Their travel was inevitably slowed as predicted. Still, the course they were following had been plotted based on Moon’s information—it was one of the easier courses to follow too—so they were able to arrive at their destination point despite the many minor issues they encountered along the way. Suffice to say, the Free Army was very happy that they made it before any other Sector V factions could.