In 1969, the "Apollo 11" spacecraft landed on the moon with three astronauts, opening the era of human spaceflight, and human space science and technology began to flourish.

In 2046, humans landed on Mars and established the first settlement there, which existed for 49 days.

In 2158, the Martian human race exceeded 1,000.

In 2290, the Martian canopy project was completed, marking the official maturity of human planetary transformation capabilities and the beginning of the era of interstellar migration.

In 2584, the first quantum vacuum zero-point energy absorption experiment was successful, which can directly absorb zero-point energy from the cosmic vacuum, marking that human beings have the ability to travel far away.

In 2999, the miniaturization of the vacuum engine was completed.

In 3248, mankind developed a new supermaterial, Barberta I, and the aerospace field, which had been expensive for more than a thousand years, became civilian, and colonization stars began to bloom everywhere.

In 3459, the first space war broke out, and there was a blowout of space warfare technology, and mankind began to unite and establish a federal government.

In 3856, the first artificial intelligence appeared.

In 4123, a robot rebellion broke out. After the suppression of the rebellion, the federal government began to regulate artificial intelligence, and high-level artificial intelligence was no longer allowed.

In 4257, a large-scale rebellion broke out between the mutants and the Kronds, which shattered humanity's dreams of relying on alternatives for warfare, and the war returned to the era of physical practice.

In 4288, the federal government, exhausted by successive civil wars, was dissolved, and humanity returned to the Sengoku period.

In the same year, the second space war broke out, and the space mecha appeared for the first time, but it ended in failure, and it was called a clumsy space toy, a live target in space.

In 4574, the Third Space War broke out, and at this time, space mechs had become the most dazzling darling on the battlefield, replacing the status of fighters and being known as the butcher of space.

In 4638, the Third Space War ended, a new federal government was formed, and mankind once again moved towards great unification.

In 4859, the first warp engine was completed, with faster-than-light jumping capabilities, marking the beginning of the galactic voyage era.

In 4988, humans discovered plankton on a planet, which was the first contact with extraterrestrial creatures.

In 6989, an exploration spacecraft, the Condor, disappeared in the Divine Envoy Group. The last words of the ship's crew before they disappeared were:

"Oh my God, what's that?"

—————————————

Right now.

Year 7255.

Rumble!

In the darkness of space, a streak of light rippled like a wave of water, and then a tattered starship jumped out of the void, rippling an invisible ripple of a billion kilometers in the vacuum. It looked like a scrap that had just been scavenged out of the garbage, torn apart and reassembled, with many parts missing. Almost every part of the hull was covered with craters of artillery fire, densely packed like honeycombs.

However, it miraculously completed a faster-than-light journey, and when the electronic sound of the starship brain's "leap out completed" sounded in the command hall, the entire hall boiled.

"Roar, we succeeded, we succeeded!"

"Finally home!"

"We came back alive."

The controllers in the command hall shouted and shouted.

"Well done, chief!" One of the crew members suddenly yelled.

So everyone stopped and looked at the young officer who was sitting in the captain's seat.

He was not very old, had thick blond hair, and was handsome and straight.

But in the face of such a young captain, everyone stood up together at this moment and gave them their most sincere and warm applause.

It was a heartfelt thank you and admiration for their commander who brought them alive from that dangerous place.

"It's not there yet." Jonny Renault smiled sheepishly.

He wasn't used to it.

After completing the jump, the Abrody will need to fly at normal speed for three days before it can reach its destination.

In these three days, all the crew members finally breathed a sigh of relief, loosened the string that was crumbling in their hearts, and fell into a deep sleep.

They haven't slept well for too long, and some have fallen asleep and never woken up.

After a good night's sleep, Jonny Renault got up.

He walked over to the porthole, looked at the blue balloon that was growing in his eyes, and took a long breath.

It's finally time to get home, and only then can he say that to himself.

In front of others, he must maintain the image of a commander who is cautious and does not speak lightly about success or failure.

This is the Earth, the planet of origin of humanity?

At this moment, Renault looked at the water polo with curiosity and admiration.

Although he had seen the Earth countless times in the picture, when he actually saw it, Renault was still amazed by its beauty.

It was only here that he could see the real grasslands, mountains, horses and white clouds, not the artificial creations everywhere like the immigrant star.

It is a pity that due to the development of human beings to this day, the number has exceeded 500 billion, and the earth has long been designated as a special area, which does not accept immigrants and only provides temporary residence for those who have made special contributions to the new federal government.

After completing this mission, it should be possible to enjoy some time on Earth, Renault thought slowly.

Three days later, the "Abrody" flew into the Earth's orbital line and entered the 12th spaceport, and 26 huge robotic arms reached out like octopuses, clamped the hull anchor chain, and firmly fixed it in the airport.

"Docking complete." Laura's voice came again.

There was a round of applause in the command hall as usual, but the excitement was much lower than when he jumped out.

"A communication request from Earth." Correspondent Daniel Braider said.

"Take it in." Renault replied.

With the communication access, a three-dimensional image of a middle-aged officer has appeared in the hall.

His expression looked a little unruly, and as soon as he appeared, he said, "Jeram, you must explain to me why you never reply to my communication request, and the ...... of the completion of the mission"

Then his tone froze suddenly, and he looked at Jonny Renault with incredible eyes and said, "Who are you?" Where's Jerram? ”

Renault replied, "Captain Jerahm was killed sixty Earth days ago, Colonel Crisp. ”

Although Crisp didn't know him, he knew the colonel.

The executive lieutenant of the Earth fleet, Colonel Sean Crisp, is a haughty and obnoxious guy.

It was he who gave the Abrodius this death mission.

"And what about the co-captain? Where are the other alternate commanders? ”

"They all died in battle."

"What about you? Who are you? ”

"Captain Jonny Reno, Commander of the Second Mech Group, and currently the interim captain of the Abrody."

Colonel Crisp was stunned: "You, a mecha pilot, actually went to command a starship?" It's insane! ”

"Actually, it's not crazy." Jonny Renault replied unhurriedly: "According to the provisions of the Federal Star Defense Act, when all the command staff of a starship are killed, the officer with the highest rank at that time automatically becomes the temporary captain. In the past 500 years, there have been 342 similar incidents, of which nearly 40 percent of the temporary captains have successfully completed their missions. ”

"But they must not be a starship that has been beaten to a thousand punches!" Crisp shouted loudly, even if he hadn't seen the injury report and only looked at it with the naked eye, he knew how bad the condition of the ship was.

Jonny Renault shrugged his shoulders and didn't explain anything more.

Yes, those people must not have come back from such a broken ship.

The Abrodie's true injuries were far greater than what could be seen on the surface. In total, the ship was attacked more than 200 times, and 137 parts of the hull were damaged, of which 16 were critical departments, and 3.4 percent of the hull energy shield remained. The power compartment was severely damaged, and after completing the jump, six of the eight ion engines exploded, leaving only two of them that could still spin, and the life support system was severely damaged, and the ship's personnel relied on the life support system on the mecha to survive. Eighty-two per cent of the energy system has been damaged, and the energy supply is severely inadequate...... That's why Renault doesn't return communications, he has to spend all his energy on flying.

For others, it may be just a string of cold numbers, but for a general who is experienced in the battlefield, when he sees these numbers, he will automatically transform them into thrilling battles in the sea of stars, terrifying rains of fire, and desperate cries of soldiers.

In that desperate environment, even the best starship commander might not be able to drive a starship back.

But now, a mech pilot actually did it.

This is a great irony!

Jonny Reno wasn't trying to explain anything.

He simply said, "Colonel Crisp, I know you're questioning my starship command qualifications, but I don't think it matters anymore if I have the ability to command a starship. The important thing is that there are three thousand one hundred and eighty-two wounded on board this starship. ”

"So many people?" Colonel Crisp was visibly taken aback by the figure.

Although artificial intelligence has been limited as early as 3,000 years ago due to the rebellion of robots, starships are still the most intelligent places, and with the use of a large number of intelligent machinery, a starship usually only has 800 to 1,000 personnel on board, of which more than two-thirds are mecha pilots.

"Including the people on the Red Rain, the Autumn, the Skybull, and the Magro." Renault replied.

Colonel Crisp understood.

Of the five warships sent, only one came back in the end, and everyone else remained forever in the depths of the foreign land.

Inconceivably, the Abrodius was able to rescue the other ship's members.

How did he do it?

The Colonel noticed that none of the other people on the boat interjected when Renault spoke, and they looked at Renault with admiration, which meant that Renault did not roll the dice to complete the trip.

But the colonel was more concerned with another matter, and he asked, "How is the mission done?" ”

"The goods have been brought back."

"Great, I'll send someone to get the goods back." The colonel breathed a sigh of relief.

"Colonel, I think you should send a medical team over first." Renault said without humility or arrogance: "I remember that I just told you that there are now more than three thousand wounded on board, of which more than eight hundred are seriously wounded. Every second you miss can cost a life a chance to be saved. ”

"What did you say?" Colonel Crisp looked at Renault with a distinctly unkind look.

Renault stared at him quietly.

After a moment, Colonel Crisp finally turned around and shouted, "What are you still doing, send a medical team, and get me back again!" ”

The military acted with great efficiency.

It took only fifteen minutes for the medical team to arrive.

The ship's crew was lifted out of the Abrodius, into a specialized hospital boat, and driven away.

They are taken to hospitals everywhere and receive the best possible treatment there.

Doing this well, Renault's heart finally relaxed, and the burden that had been pressed on his heart for dozens of days and nights was finally lifted, in addition to the feeling of relief, there was suddenly a sense of loss in his heart for no reason.

With a wave of his hand, forcibly dissipating the feeling of reluctance in his heart, Renault walked on the bridge to watch the work of the medical team.

He watched as the medic took the wounded soldiers away, each passing by saying "Thank you, sir," and Reynolds returning the standard Union salute of placing his middle fingers together next to his temple and gently swinging them out.

He watched them go, his eyes full of reluctance.

Goodbye, guys, after this time, I won't be your commander again. Renault thought to himself.

The federal government has strict and almost cumbersome requirements for every starship commander, and he is only a mech commander and does not meet the requirements to become a captain, so soon, he will be down from the captaincy position again.

It would be false to say that there are no regrets about this, although Renault loves to drive mechs in bloody combat in space, but piloting a starship is also his childhood dream.

He was once very close to this dream, but it was ruined by an accident......

A burly soldier was carried past Renault on a stretcher.

His body was as strong as a bear, his arms were bandaged, but when he spoke, he was full of breath, buzzing like thunder: "Hey, boss, don't let me go to the hospital, I didn't hurt much." ”

"Shut up, Tycos, your wound is inflamed, and if you don't treat it properly, you'll have to have it amputated!" A slender female officer with aqua blue eyes and short blond hair walked over and said.

Her name is Claire Ka, the medical officer on the starship, a girl who fascinates everyone. It is because of her that many of the wounded in the starship have been able to hold up until now.

In the eyes of the crew of the Abrody, she was like an angel.

Seeing that it was Claire coming, Tycos shut his mouth.

If Tycos is the mountain, Claire is the water, and her beauty and gentleness can melt all strong hearts.

Renault smiled and said, "Don't worry, man, your injuries don't need to stay in the hospital for too long." The Abrodius is going to be overhauled on Earth, and until it is repaired, we don't have to go anywhere, we can take a good walk around the Earth, and see, it will be a rare vacation. And in my experience, this vacation will be at least three Earth months long. ”

"Wow!" Hearing Renault's words, Tycos whistled, "I must find a few girls on Earth." ”

Renault replied: "Believe me, you can't afford to find it, everyone who comes here is either rich or expensive, and there are very few poor soldiers like us." ”

"Maybe some princess will take a fancy to my strong biceps." Tycos raised his arms and struggled to squeeze out his muscles.

It's a pity that before he could continue to show, the medical staff had already savagely pulled him away.

Renault and Claire looked at each other and laughed out loud.

Just then, there was some commotion in the other corner of the starship.

Soon, the commotion began to expand and spread to the deck, stopping the entire transport of the wounded.

Renault had to walk over.

A soldier ran up to him and saluted, saying, "Something is in trouble, sir. ”

"I see, what's going on?"

Without waiting for the soldier to reply, a group of soldiers in black uniforms, bauhinia armbands, and white gloves walked towards Renault, the gendarmerie emblem.

The officer at the head was tall and thin, with an impressive hooked nose and a mustache on his mouth.

"Hell, it's Matthew!" Claire Ka let out an incredible exclamation.

"The road is always narrow." Renault couldn't help but shake his head.

The young officer who was invincible in the distance was striding over, and he was also stunned, and then he was furious: "Renault, you guy is actually here!" ”

He rushed over and tried to grab Renault by the collar, but several soldiers on board stopped him, and the gendarmes behind him stopped him.

"It's incomprehensible." Claire Jia whispered: "You should have rushed up to teach him a lesson, why was he so excited to see you?" ”

"Because he is afraid, like a jackal that sees a hunter, and can only hide his uneasiness with a roar." Renault whispered.

Matthew's mood seemed to have calmed down.

He walked over and stood beside Renault, looking at Renault with vulture-like eyes.

After three long breaths, he said in a sarcastic tone:

"Look, who is this? Isn't this the famous genius of Alpha Academy, Jonny Renault? A genius expelled from the academy, hahahaha! ”

As he laughed, the soldiers behind him also let out a mocking smile with their commander.

Although they don't know what is going on between Matthew and Renault, it doesn't prevent them from patting their own chief's ass.

"Enough, Matthew!" Claire Ka said angrily, "Don't go too far! ”

"Huh? Isn't this the famous Alpha Flower Claire Ka? I'm so sorry I didn't see you just now, are your sisters still following this shameless guy Renault? Matthew spread his hands exaggeratedly.

Claire Jia said angrily, "Since you still remember my sister, you shouldn't forget her habits. ”

Matthew's face changed suddenly.

His neck stiffened, and he struggled to lower his head, then saw that there was an imperceptible red spot on his chest.

It is in the heart.

"No...... Pull! Looking at the red point of light on his chest, Matthew's throat seemed to be blocked by a stone, and he struggled to say the name.

He finally began to regret his provocation.

Nora Ka, Claire Ka's twin sister, is a killer who hides in the shadows forever.

The most terrifying thing about this crazy woman is not her divine marksmanship that can kill a mosquito ten miles away, but her bold character who dares to do anything. In the memories of all the cadets of the 856th class of the Alpha Military Academy, there is nothing in the world that Nora does not dare to do. She and her sister Claire are like the extremes of ice and fire, Claire is always so gentle, considerate, like an angel, and Nora brings nothing but death.

In other words, when Nora's muzzle was aimed at her chest, she really dared to shoot!

Fortunately, Renault also knows this.

He took a step forward and blocked the death passage to Matthew's heart with his body: "Matthew, I guess you didn't come to my ship to taste what it was like to be targeted by a laser mirror, why don't we get down to business?" ”

Seeing the white spots on his chest disappear, Matthew breathed a sigh of relief.

He took off his white gloves, took a paper bag from the soldier beside him, and said: "From now on, the custody of target zero will be taken over by the Gendarmerie Department, which is a document issued by the Gendarmerie Department." ”

The Zero target was the mission of the Abrodius, and it was for it that the four starships and more than 2,000 soldiers remained forever in the dark depths of space.

Renault took the document and flipped through it carefully: "It's true, you can take Target Zero away." ”

Matthew's face once again showed his trademark smile of victory: "In that case, then please ask your soldiers to get out of the way of the fourth passage, and my men will pass through it." ”

Renault finally understood the reason for the noise: "Passage No. 4 is transporting the wounded, and it can't be given to you for the time being, please wait for your people." ”

"That's exactly what I'm trying to say, Renault. Your men have violated Article 124 of Chapter 6 of the Security Regulations, which requires a warship to keep important national strategic goods in a fully enclosed manner. But what are your people doing right now? They were crammed into the cargo hold, with Target Zero! Matthew yelled sternly.

Renault replied: "That's because the Abrodie's living compartment was so badly damaged that I had to transfer all my soldiers to the cargo hold, which was the only place where they could be transferred." And it's a spacious place, and only there can you take care of it centrally...... We didn't have much to do with the wounded at that time, the ship was badly damaged, and everyone was busy tinkering with it in order to save it from the brink of destruction. ”

"I'm not interested in your incompetence and shirking responsibility, I just know that you've violated security regulations!" Matthew yelled without grace: "I will report this to the top, and for now, get out of the passage immediately!" ”

Renault sighed helplessly and leaned to the side.

He did get out of the way, and the red dot of light on the MX748's laser sight from Nora reappeared on Matthew.

Matthew's face turned white.

He had forgotten that Nora existed.

For Nora, provoking Renault is second only to harming her sister.

Looking at Matthew, Renault said, "It's up to you to complain to me as much as you want, but now, before my people leave, I'm honestly standing next to me." Is there a problem? ”

Matthew's face looked like a piece of boiled pork liver.

He glared at Renault viciously: "If you wish, I will wait here." But I remind you that offending the gendarmes is not a good thing. I'll keep an eye on you and find out your every mistake! ”

"I'm the opposite, I wouldn't even see you for a second if I could." Renault replied politely.

This made Matthew angry.

He rolled his eyes, suddenly thought of something, and laughed.

Then he exclaimed, "I don't know how you became captain, Renault." But I guess they don't know that their captain is actually a rapist! ”

This sentence spread across the bridge, and everyone's eyes were focused on Renault at the same time.

————————

An hour later, the Abrody had completed all the personnel transfers, and Matthew was finally able to retrieve the cargo he had been ordered to pick up from the hold: Target Zero.

It was a large metal box, about three people tall, completely sealed, but despite this, it was still perceptible that something inside seemed to be glowing, as the metal box made of Burke Alloy 97 exhibited a reddish spectral response, which meant that it was supposed to be some kind of strong light source inside.

Matthew was not interested in the goods he was going to pick up, he was more concerned about Renault. He confronted Renault proudly as if he had snatched some of a child's favorite toy, but all he saw was a cold, impassive face.

Even when Matthew accused Renault of being a rapist in front of everyone, Renault still had this expression, did not make any excuses, and even had a slight sympathy in his eyes.

There was no thunderstorm, no anger, no angry accusations, and no big fights.

As if everything that happened had nothing to do with him.

This made Matthew feel like he was punching him empty.

What disappointed him even more was the reaction of the people around him.

After a few seconds of surprise and dismay, most people returned to normal and continued to do what they were supposed to do.

Life is precious and not worth staying for gossip.

Besides, everyone is also intelligent, and stupid accusations will only expose the sinister nature of those with ulterior motives.

So Matthew left the Abrody with his frustration.

Before leaving, he glanced back and saw that Renault was explaining the rest of the work to several of the ship's personnel.

The whole time, he didn't look at himself again.

Matthew felt a rage that was ignored and consumed his chest like flames.

He said, "We're not done, Renault! ”

Before hatred burns through reason, the flying car leaves.

When Target Zero was removed from the ship's cabin, Renault knew that his mission was over.

From now on, he is no longer the captain of the ship, but returns to the identity of the mecha commander of the second brigade.

Somewhat reluctantly, he took off the eagle badge that symbolized the captain's identity from his body, and his fingers stroked the operating platform that had been wiped clean and tidy, Renault's gaze was fixed for a few seconds, and then he turned his head away.

Stepping out of the Abrody and into the airport, Renault walked mechanically and numbly as if he were a living dead man.

His heart had remained on that captain's chair forever.

There was a trance in front of me, as if I had returned to ten years ago, back to that vigorous era......