Light Speed ​​War

Chapter 43: Earth Empire

"Dean Zhou, since the marine life civilization on this planet has become extinct, the technological development of the Yama people will no longer be hindered. Therefore, we don't need to stay here any longer and should go somewhere else."

"Yes. But if an interstellar fleet from six light-years away attacks, the Amarans will definitely suffer."

"Yes, that's right. But there are some difficulties. Even if we can successfully intercept their fleet, that fleet civilization will definitely harass the Amarans again. Judging from their speed, they may have already achieved near-interstellar travel or colonized other planets."

"Commander, I understand what you mean. This is indeed a bit troublesome." Zhou Yuan thought for a moment. Indeed, as Commander George said, unless this fleet civilization was also wiped out, they would definitely not let the Amarans go. The key is that the Amarans' technology is not advanced enough, and they certainly wouldn't be able to protect themselves against a civilization that travels at such high speeds. However, for a civilization that travels across star systems, wiping them out is no easy task.

“How about we move away from Planet Ama?” George suggested when Zhou Yuan remained silent.

"I've thought about that too, but I don't know what the Amarans would think? They might think we're taking advantage of their vulnerability."

"Hmm, that's possible. However, it seems there's no perfect solution. Leaving some warships here to guard the area might not be very effective."

"What if we issue a protection statement?"

"A protection statement? I don't understand, what do you mean?"

"What I mean is, we're issuing a protection declaration to this interstellar space, roughly within a 100-light-year radius, declaring that Ama and its star system are under the protection of all humanity. In other words, we're bringing Ama under the jurisdiction of our Earth Empire; Ama is our subordinate planet. If any other civilization invades it, it's equivalent to invading humanity on Earth, thus achieving the effect of protecting them. Of course, all of this declaration is predicated on our absolute strength as its backing!" George and Zhou Yuan both understood that without overwhelming power, other civilizations wouldn't heed this so-called protection declaration.

"However, this also carries certain risks. What if we encounter a more advanced civilization than ourselves, such as the 'Light-Descent Civilization' or the 'Metal Civilization'? How can we provide protection?"

"Yes, what you said makes sense. But think about it, if there were a civilization more advanced than us, they wouldn't bother with a weak planet like Amarr. They would come looking for us even if we didn't seek them out."

“That’s true, but issuing a protection statement would expose us… well, it’s not exactly exposing our location, we don’t actually belong here. Your idea might be right. I need to report to the Earth Federation Fleet Headquarters. Let the Fleet Headquarters decide whether to move away from Ama Star or issue a protection statement.”

"Ok."

Seven days later, George received a confidential document from the Earth Federation Fleet Headquarters, informing him that the headquarters had decided to authorize the Alpha Fleet to issue a protection declaration for Ama. The seven-day delay indicated that the Fleet Headquarters was carefully considering the matter. To George and Zhou Yuan's surprise, the Fleet Headquarters praised the Alpha Fleet, stating that such a protection declaration was groundbreaking and could be emulated by other long-range fleets. As long as the protected civilization agreed to be placed under the jurisdiction of Earth's humans, and if the Fleet Headquarters deemed it necessary and feasible, it would consider approving similar protection declaration applications. Commander George was overjoyed.

In addition, the confidential document included six messages and two attachments.

The first piece of news is that the "one-way energy extractor" has been successfully developed on New Earth. Thus, the "super energy exchanger," which combines the "one-way energy extractor" and the "vacuum energy extractor," has finally been successfully developed.

The second piece of news is that, based on research into the two translucent metallic spheres of the "Metal Civilization," human scientists have invented a superphoton quark cryogenic insulation material. This material can maintain its original properties for extended periods at both very high and very low temperatures. According to calculations, simulations, and numerous experiments conducted by Imperial scientists, it could even remain intact within a star the size of the Sun before its explosion for 30 years. This material is being mass-produced and is prepared for application to various warships and key equipment of humanity on Earth. In other words, once this material is mass-produced and deployed, human warships and key equipment can remain inside stars for extended periods!

The third piece of news, according to George's letter, was that Zhou Yuan's suggestion would be adopted: the Earth Federation would be renamed the Earth Empire. The Earth Federation Fleet, Earth Federation Government, and Earth Federation Academy of Sciences would be named the Earth Empire Fleet, Earth Empire Star Bureau, and Earth Empire Academy of Sciences, respectively. The Earth Empire Fleet's emblem would retain its original design: a glowing circle divided into four parts by two lightsabers. Besides its embossed, shimmering, three-dimensional appearance, the emblem would utilize the recently developed superphoton quark cryogenic insulation material. Because the Earth Empire now possesses a vast fleet system, the Fleet Headquarters implemented a unified naming convention for all fleets. Except for the Alpha Fleet, Beta Fleet, and Gamma Fleet, which retained their original names, the remaining fleets would be numbered sequentially according to their establishment date. However, due to the existence of the three unconventional fleets mentioned earlier, the numbering would start from 4. Therefore, joining the Alpha, Beta, or Gamma Fleets became the highest honor for soldiers, and only those who had made significant contributions were typically transferred to these three fleets—but that's a story for another time.

The fourth piece of news is that the Earth Empire fleet has decided to dispatch dozens of large-scale fleet groups to explore more Earth-like planets that have been observed by the long-range "Sky Eye" in order to excavate more planets suitable for human habitation.

The fifth message indicates that more than a dozen large-scale fleet clusters have been dispatched, with the target being the locations of some low-level civilizations described in the navigation logs of the "Metal Civilization" warships.

The sixth piece of news is that a massive fleet has been dispatched. This fleet will continuously create and utilize stellar black holes or natural black holes along the way to jump towards the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. Humanity on Earth finally wants to go outside the Milky Way as soon as possible.

All dispatched fleets have a variety of missions, such as technological research and development, light speed detection, vacuum energy detection, dark matter and dark energy detection, star formation and evolution, research on special celestial bodies (black holes, white holes, neutron stars, etc.), cosmic evolution, and spacetime laws, while also observing, discovering, and contacting other civilizations along the way. All important activities and plans involving extraterrestrial civilizations, such as forming alliances, or large-scale or total wars, require approval from the Imperial Fleet Headquarters.

The confidential document includes the principles, materials, manufacturing processes and methods of the "one-way energy extraction machine", as well as the preparation method of superphoton quark cryogenic insulation material.

All information and attachments were simultaneously sent to the Gamma Fleet en route to the M42 Nebula and to all dispatched Earth human fleets.

Thanks to the existence of quantum relays, humans on Earth do not need to worry about how far the communication distance is, and due to the absolute confidentiality of quantum entanglement information, communication information is very difficult for enemies to intercept.

In the future, as long as it is determined that the opposing fleet is still controlled and operated by Earth humans, all important information obtained by the fleets, after being approved by the Earth Empire's fleet headquarters, can basically enable interconnection, sharing and mutual use of information among fleets that are far apart. Moreover, this encrypted information can be transmitted and received over long distances and in real time.

Based on this, the Imperial Fleet approved the establishment of a real-time encrypted network between its geographically dispersed fleets, creating a true interstellar mobile internet that would allow members of each fleet to communicate and interact. During their free time, members could use the fleet network for games, training, combat, exercises, learning, virtual activities, and chatting. Of course, each member's online behavior would be closely monitored to prevent any actions that could endanger others or the fleet's safety. Violators would be severely punished, ranging from minor reassignment or demotion to military trials or even expulsion. Absolute freedom was impossible; to enjoy the benefits of this policy, one had to manage their own conduct. Although the policy's penalties were severe, its implementation was met with jubilation and excitement from all fleet members. It greatly boosted their morale, making interstellar travel less tedious. Under this policy, more and more people, especially young people, were signing up for the Imperial Fleet, with recruitment numbers reaching the point where advance appointments were required.

The year 341 of the Galactic Era can be considered a landmark year. In this year, humanity on Earth made numerous significant moves, no longer confined to a few Earths and stars, but yearning to make contact with more civilizations and even wanting to venture beyond the Milky Way. It was precisely because of this confidence that the Imperial Fleet changed its name from the Earth Federation to the Earth Empire, and that Fleet Headquarters agreed to the Alpha Fleet's declaration of protection for Planet Ama. From another perspective, human civilization on Earth was rising in the Milky Way.

The Alpha Fleet had made a significant haul this time. George immediately issued orders to mass-produce the two-in-one "super energy exchanger" and superphoton quark cryogenic insulation material, preparing to arm the Alpha Fleet.

George, Zhou Yuan, Wei Shan, Jones, and other key figures in the fleet hurriedly began meticulously planning the details of issuing the protection statement. This included how the technology would be implemented, how to maintain the statement's effectiveness, longevity, and deterrent power, and considering all possibilities. In Zhou Yuan's televised announcement to the Amarans, they also put considerable thought into how to phrase the message to the Amarans without provoking resentment and ensuring their willing submission to the Earth Empire.

After all, we can't give the Yama aliens the feeling of bullying the weak, especially in the context of communication between different races and civilizations. A single inappropriate word could easily ruin things, or even lead to a major conflict between the two civilizations.