Age of Cosmic Exploration, 3

by Zhttty

This new spacesuit, even with all these built-in accessories, weighed at about 20 kilograms, and that difference could do wonders for its wearer’s dexterity and agility!

  Spotting Yao Yuan’s surprised face, Ivan smiled proudly. "I’m glad you noticed the change in weight, Captain. Previously, that was our biggest hindrance when we traversed planets or asteroids with gravity, because strong gravitational force would weigh us down. However, with this new spacesuit, that worry is effectively cut in half. And this is done without taking out any of the important life support systems. Furthermore, an elastic material is used to pad the suit at its joints, so its flexibility is also much better than the ones we currently have."

  Yao Yuan studied the spacesuit like it was some newfound treasure, which, in a way, it was, before finally asking, "How about its defensive capability?"

  Ivan answered with pride suffusing his voice. "For that, we’ve borrowed much inspiration from the alien plant’s cellular structure. We realized that their hexagonal cells are arranged like a beehive, and the distance between each one was highly calculated to provide the best durability. We used ceramic threads to create a similar pattern, and our lab experiment revealed that this pattern is so durable because it is able to effectively disperse the force at the point of impact. With the exception of a sniper rifle, whose penetration is too strong, other known bullets and projectiles are unable to harm the wearer of this spacesuit. Even the sniper rifle only managed to pierce half of the material."

  "That is indeed great news! Thank you so much for your efforts."

  Yao Yuan almost jumped up in joy. Caressing the spacesuit with a dazed look in his eyes, he added, "Like all new discoveries, let’s give it a name. How about aerospace combat suit prototype 1?!"

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  Chapter105 Arrival!

  The final three days passed in the blink of an eye. Before anyone knew, the Hope had arrived at its destination, a spot about 1,000 kilometers away from the junkyard's outermost perimeter. The time was 4 AM.

  Four hours later, the 12-member exploratory unit, Guang Zhen, a group of scientists, soldiers, and technicians could be found gathered in the Hope’s command central. They were there to compare their notes and work on a plan. There, they also had access to footage from the Hope’s surveillance room.

  "10 mining airships will be deployed in 10 seconds."

  With the completion of a countdown, 10 pilotless airships gently flew towards the junkyard.

  The group of airships had everyone’s attention. Through the security cameras that were attached to each of the airships, there were 10 screens in the room displaying each of the airships' point of view.

  "They will reach the designated location in 20 minutes," Yao Yuan announced.

  The airships moved sluggishly because their initial purpose was for close-ranged mining and gathering. Their singular purpose translated to a simplistic design, which simultaneously meant that they were disposable.

  Their disposability made them the perfect candidates for this mission, as they were extremely replaceable. In comparison, the construction of an upgraded shuttle would take months and a boatload of supplies to complete. No sane person would use such a valuable commodity for this risky gamble.

  As the 20 minutes drew to a close, everyone in the room held their breaths as they witnessed the airships moving dangerously close to the junkyard. Everyone had their eyes glued to the screens to see whether the airships would… pass safely or be destroyed.

  The result was positive.

  All 10 airships entered the junkyard safety. They continued deeper into the junkyard as they bounced smaller scraps out of the way.

  "Nice!"

  Everyone broke out in cheer. Feelings of hope, worry, fear, and everything in between had everyone by the noose moments before the airships entered the junkyard. Now, relief was openly written on everyone’s cheerful countenance.

  "Great, now we just need to order the airships to return…"

  As the sentence was uttered, the screens that provided security feed via the airships went offline one by one… Within two seconds, all 10 screens were off!

  Yao Yuan reacted instantly, yelling at the technicians that controlled the airships, "Switch to long-distanced camera. Rewind to the time when the feed went offline, we need to see what happened to the airships!"

  Soon after, the footage that was taken from the Hope’s long distance camera appeared on the main monitor. There was no sign of the airships being attacked at the time their feed went offline. Even after the footage of the long-distanced camera was fast-forwarded to real time, the group of airships could be seen waddling safely deeper into the junkyard.

  That had everyone in a grip of silence. They looked at one another with worried expressions until some of the scientists started dithering among themselves. Nevertheless, this development wasn’t exactly shocking because losing control of the airships was one of the predicted outcomes. After all, with such a difference in technology, it would not be hard for the alien civilization to obstruct signals or even take over the airships.

  "Check for signal interference! Begin analysis, stat!"

  The few experts quickly went to work. They checked for errors by examining the airships’ signal routing system. Hopefully, they could figure out the reason for loss of control there.

  Sadly, there was nothing suspicious within the routing system. Although, to be fair, the experts couldn’t promise the validity of their result because it was highly possible that man’s technology wasn’t advanced enough to detect the hidden interfering signal.

  That sunk the room into another bout of depressing silence before Yao Yuan ordered, "Send out another 10 airships. Remember to pay close attention to their control signal as they neared the problematic spot. I want to know what exactly went down. Get to work! I don’t want to hear any objections or hesitation, because this must be done for the sake of our future!"

  Many shared Yao Yuan’s determination because they knew of the junkyard’s importance. Unless it was certain that approaching the junkyard would spell the Hope’s demise, they knew this mission had to be done, because the junkyard provided what the Hope needed the most at the time… technology! The junkyard could provide a boost to their technology that would bring them into the 4th or even 5th industrial revolution. It was an indispensable stepping stone!

  Therefore, as long as the mission didn’t seriously harm the Hope, the mission had to be completed… no matter the sacrifice, including the sacrifice of Yao Yuan’s life, or even the whole 12 Homo Evolutis party!

  As the second group of airships left the Hope, Yao Yuan whispered to both Zhang Heng and Chou Yue, "Zhang Heng, Chou Yue, I want both of you to train your power on this new fleet of airships as I do the same. I remember clearly that before the nebula’s sun collapse, I could feel it giving off weak waves of threat. It is my speculation that the Diviner’s power will not be nullified by drastic changes like a distance of 1,000 kilometers… This is up to the three of us now!"

  Zhang Heng nodded obediently, while Chou Yue remained passive. She snuck a glance at Ren Tao and saw him still spaced out. Annoyed, she turned her gaze back to the screen.

  Another 20 minutes passed as the new fleet swam past floating debris to enter the junkyard… "We are approaching the location where control for the previous fleet was lost…"

  Before the technician could finish his sentence, the screens that provided security feed went offline, signaling that control was once again lost. Using the long distance camera, the fleet of airships, similar to the one before it, was shown to continue deeper into the junkyard.

  "The problematic spot is about eight kilometers from the junkyard’s outermost perimeter!"

  The scientists quickly concluded. Similarly, there was no sign of tampering in the signal routing system.

  Yao Yuan turned to the Diviners. Zhang Heng shook his head immediately, while Chou Yu
e followed suit after a short hesitation. Yao Yuan sighed. "I too didn’t feel any warnings of danger, not even an ominous feeling… It was like the airships were destined to lose control; the whole thing felt natural."

  Yao Yuan stopped and kept his further thoughts to himself. After a while, he turned to Ren Tao. "What do you think?"

  Ren Tao rubbed his eyes open and said, "Release another group of airships, but this time only five per group. Is that feasible?"

  Yao Yuan smiled and then nodded, "I too have the same thing in mind. Okay, send another five airships. We need to make sure whether control is lost at the same location every time, or if the 8 kilometers distance changes."

  "Captain’s order. Release five airships. Counting down, 10, 9, 8…"

  Another 20 minutes of waiting time followed. Exhaustion appeared on the faces of many a scientist and technician, but the exhaustion was more mental than physical. The continuous cycle of relief and anxiousness, hope and despair, had taken a toll on their psyche.

  Nevertheless, they held on to witness this new group of five airships lose their control at the same location eight kilometers away from the junkyard’s outer perimeter.

  After that, everyone in the room turned their head towards Yao Yuan, waiting for his next order. They were ready to release another group of airships, but his actual order surprised them all.

  "Start the ship’s engine. Move circularly around the junkyard while maintaining the 1,000 kilometers distance we have now, to a spot 300 kilometers from our current location!"

  After giving his order, he turned to Ren Tao and said conspiratorially, "You must have realized too the actual spot where the airships lost control is not really eight kilometers away from its outer perimeter."

  Ren Tao nodded and replied insouciantly. "Indeed, that is if my speculation is not wrong…"

  "It shouldn’t be," Yao Yuan affirmed. No one else could grasp what the two were saying. It was like they were conversing in their own language.

  "After the Hope stops, release another set of airships. That will confirm our suspicions. And if we’re right, we can proceed with the upgraded shuttle after that," Yao Yuan mumbled as he saw the angle of the footage changing. He added, "And the objective of the first shuttle flight will be to retrieve the bigger pieces floating about the outer perimeter!"

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  Chapter106 Set Sail!

  "Alright, let us revise our information so far," standing at the podium, Yao Yuan said through the microphone.

  "We’ve released five sets of airships with each set having three to five airships. The first three sets lost control when they were eight kilometers into the junkyard, while the remaining two lost control at 14 kilometers. With that data, we’ve constructed a simulation. Could we bring that up now?" Yao Yuan requested of the technician who stood at the control panel.

  The technician nodded and pushed a few buttons on the panel. After that, a 3D model appeared on screen.

  "As you can see, the locations where the airships lost control have been marked with red dots. Even though all five of them are at different depths and locations, they share a striking similarity…"

  Suddenly, a cluster of green dots that were larger than the reds appeared on the simulation. Waving at them, Yao Yuan continued, "Yes, that similarity is this group of spaceship pieces. Based on further surveillance, this group of spaceship pieces consists the larger ones within the junkyard, and they still contain traces of energy. The pilotless airships lose control when they are within 300 kilometers of these pieces."

  Pausing for effect, Yao Yuan measured the crowd before adding, "Sadly, with our current technology, we are unable to tell what exactly caused these airships to lose control. We still need more data and analysis before a conclusive answer can be found. Nevertheless, our next course of action is clear.

  "First, upgrades will have to be done on the shuttle to replace all the auto-pilot systems with manual systems. Since it is highly likely that auto-piloted systems are the ones being tampered with by the spaceship pieces, we will have to rely on manual piloting to ensure overall safety. Only communication, life support, and anti-gravitational systems will remain automated. Speaking of which, to prevent signal interference, the old communicator fitted to the shuttle will also be upgraded to a new version. This is to ensure that constant communication is held between the shuttle and the Hope."

  Yao Yuan coughed. "And that concludes the results from our airship experiment. Our preliminary scouting shows an absence of defense mechanism within the junkyard. Of course, it’s still too early to let our guard down. After all, the airships had barely entered the junkyard when control was lost. There might be traps further in. In any case, we will find out more when the shuttle sets sail at 10 AM tomorrow. Dismissed."

  With that, the meeting for the first scouting operation was concluded. The result wasn’t particularly heartening, nor was it worrying. As Yao Yuan said, more would be revealed with the departure of the shuttle the day after.

  That night, everyone who was involved was plagued by a miasma of apprehension.

  The next morning at around 10 AM, the attendants of the first flights, Yao Yuan, Zhang Heng, and Ying stepped into the upgraded shuttle. Under the Hope’s watchful eyes, they left for the spaceship junkyard.

  All three men wore the new aerospace combat suit prototype 1. The difference was immediately noticeable. The suits applied significantly less pressure on the wearer, making their footsteps lighter.

  Since they were deprived of auto-pilot, Yao Yuan was manually piloting the shuttle towards the junkyard. With his hands on the control panel, he turned to both Zhang Heng and Ying. "Repeat to me our mission."

  Zhang Heng replied instantly, "My main mission is to keep my power open to sense any kind of impending danger. If there is one, I will inform you immediately. Instead of cardinal direction, I will use clock position to relay the information. And if the danger is over or below us, I will say top or bottom."

  Yao Yuan nodded in agreement. The choice of clock position was the result of their discussion from the day before. Since it was not an easy feat determining the cardinal directions in space, they had decided upon using clock position to make the transfer of information faster. The difference of one or two seconds in space could make all the difference. Secondly, the accuracy of the angle was also clearer using clock position direction than cardinal directions. After all, the face of a clock has smaller increments than the face of a compass.

  In a way, the shuttle was the center of their compass. Yao Yuan and Zhang Heng’s directional system was set up with the forward direction of the shuttle as 12 o’ clock. For example, 12 to 6 o’ clock would be on their right, while 6 to 12 o’ clock would be on their left. Vertically, everything above the shuttle would be their top and everything beneath will be known as bottom.

  Of course, this system was not without its flaw. Even though it was more precise than cardinal direction, it was still not accurate enough. However, until they were given a better compass, this was the best they had.

  Ying spoke next. "My mission is to closely examine the metal pieces around the shuttle using my power when we’ve arrived at the junkyard. I am to look for valuable items like weaponry, machines, and robotic parts like computer chips."

  Yao Yuan nodded his approval. He added, "Using both Perceptor and Seeker powers, it is my responsibility to pilot this shuttle. Combined with the Diviner’s power, I will make sure we get to the junkyard and back in one piece. The triumvirate of superhuman abilities will also help me evade all possible dangers in the shortest time possible."

  After the trio went through their respective missions, a voice came through the communicator, "Captain, you are now 700 kilometers away from the junkyard. You will reach your destination in about 1 minute and 42 seconds. The experts suggest you slow down the shuttle’s speed to prevent direct collision with stray pieces."

&
nbsp; "Okay, slowing down. 7 kilometers per second… 6.5 kilometers per second… 6 kilometers per second…"

  With the push of a button, a liquid hydrogen and oxygen fire pulsed from the front of the shuttle, slowing it down. When they were at 50 kilometers from the junkyard, their speed was at around 300 meters per second. They were still slowing down as the shuttle inched closer to their destination.

  Finally, the shuttle was primed to enter the junkyard. At that moment, not only were the three on the shuttle holding their breaths, everyone on the Hope held a collective breath. They beat with one heart. After all, this wasn’t a pilotless airship anymore; there was lots to lose.

  The shuttle was piloted by their captain and also the Hope’s only All-Rounder. His passengers were no less important. Zhang Heng, the Hope’s best Diviner, and Ying, one of the few Seekers.

  Any loss would be a huge loss!

  "Entering the junkyard in 10 seconds, please make all necessary preparations!" the voice on the communicator said. The shuttle was charged with an air of anticipation.

  "Zhang Heng!" Yao Yuan said, in a low voice.

  Zhang Heng hesitated for two seconds before saying, "No signs of danger!"

  "Ying!" Yao Yuan said.

  Without any hesitation, Ying replied as he stared firmly ahead, "I’m already in seeker state… so far nothing worthwhile yet!"

  "Okay… Let’s enter the junkyard!"

  With a pull of the lever, the shuttle lurched into the junkyard. After pushing away some of the floating debris, they were officially in the junkyard!

  "Hope, initiate an overall check on the shuttle’s functionalities!" Yao Yuan shouted into the communicator.

  "…The shuttle is functioning fine. Communication signal stable, nothing wrong!"

  "Alright, keep a close eye on the shuttle’s situation. We are moving five kilometers deeper into the junkyard. Issue an alert if we get too close to any bigger pieces."

  Activating all his powers, Yao Yuan led the shuttle carefully and slowly forward in a bubble of silence.