Super Mothership
Bridge of the Fallen Angel.
“What? A full ceasefire and standby order?” Catherine, who was handling routine fleet training matters, looked up in shock upon hearing the news and turned to Captain Emilia.
Emilia shrugged helplessly. “I heard it was a direct order from the council.”
“Hmm… it’s probably related to the threat issued by the Kara civilization,” Catherine murmured, crossing her arms thoughtfully.
Nie Yun, disguised as the Black Butler, had held a secret conversation with the two commanders—after all, intelligence regarding cosmic anomalies needed to be kept classified. However, the threatening message he had previously sent while impersonating the Kara civilization had been openly broadcasted, so the Fallen Angel naturally received its contents.
“The council might be worried that the Kara civilization will destroy Kara Star, so they have no choice but to compromise and agree to the ceasefire. But are we really just going to give up on Kara Star?” Emilia frowned.
“No. If we were truly giving up, the order wouldn’t be to stand by—it would be to retreat,” Catherine shook her head.
“Well, at least this means our troops will have a bit more time for training,” Emilia sighed in relief.
Catherine, the nominal acting commander, was exceptional in many ways—but her rigorous training demands were nothing short of devilish.
Mecha warfare, artillery battles, fleet combat, sandbox simulations, and electronic warfare drills were all conducted in continuous 24-hour rotations. For some reason, she had an especially strong preference for boarding combat training exercises.
Boarding combat training involved using warships for covering fire, mecha troops to draw enemy attention, and then deploying small assault landing craft to storm enemy ships for close-quarters combat.
Because of the frequent training, most combat personnel had already experienced simulated engagements inside allied ships, making them familiar with one another—even across different ships of the Third Fleet.
According to Catherine, no space fleet currently stationed in the Proxima system was capable of challenging them. The Unification Church was too busy defending its own territory to dare an incursion into Proxima, and the Kara civilization had no fleet to begin with.
Given this situation, a large-scale fleet battle was unlikely. Therefore, training time should be maximized, with the focus shifting to small-scale special operations and planetary assault training.
Although Emilia had some doubts about Catherine’s training methods, there was no denying that the Third Fleet's internal cohesion had improved significantly after multiple cycles of drills.
Of course, not everything was harmonious…
Take today’s boarding combat exercise, for example—where a small strike force from both red and blue teams clashed inside a warship…
—
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Simulated energy beams flew wildly in all directions as red and blue teams exchanged fire in the tight corridors near the AI core chamber.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Sparks erupted as two combat blades clashed fiercely.
Two soldiers, clad in powered armor, pushed against each other, neither willing to back down.
The helmets of these training suits obscured their faces, but each bore distinct red or blue digital numbers for identification.
Suddenly, the blue team soldier marked 666 let out a soft “Huh?” Though his expression was hidden, he seemed visibly surprised…
"Hey! What are you staring at?" The red team soldier growled, gritting his teeth as he pushed against his opponent’s blade. Even in a military exercise, tempers could flare.
"Uh… hey, red 250, didn’t I see you just two days ago? Why is it you again…?"
"Huh?" The red team soldier—marked 250—froze for a moment. Then, after recognizing his opponent’s number, he instantly fumed. "Damn it! It’s you, you sneaky little camper! Talk about bad luck!"
He recalled that in their previous drill, this very soldier had played dead on the ground, sniping him from below in a dishonorable sneak attack.
"You lying in the dirt like a corpse just to get a cheap shot at me—that was beyond shameless!"
Cursing under his breath, he forced his opponent back two steps before firing a few simulation rounds—whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
"Hey, don’t act all innocent!" The blue team soldier—666—snapped back while dodging. "Who was it that hung from the ceiling like Batman, trying to ambush me? What, being Batman makes you special?"
As he spoke, he returned fire—whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Red 250’s face flushed. Letting out a roar, he charged in again.
Clang! Clang! Their combat blades clashed once more, sparks flying. Red 250 glared furiously at Blue 666.
"Ahem! Bro, we didn’t know each other before, but now we do. How about you let me through this time? Let’s not make things difficult. I promise, I’ll make it up to you later," Blue 666 suddenly switched tactics, softening his tone in an attempt to bargain.
The blue team was on the offensive in this exercise, and their objective was to capture the AI core room—which Red 250 was guarding.
"No way," Red 250 shook his head firmly. "Our captain said that if we lose the AI core room today, no one’s allowed on the internet for three days. Bro, I’m a hardcore internet addict. Three days without it? That’s a death sentence! Please, have mercy on me!"
"Oh… is that so?" Blue 666 seemed to ponder for a moment. Then, surprisingly, he sheathed his blade with a sharp clang and stepped back two paces, cupping his hands in a respectful salute.
"You’ve got a point. At the end of the day, we’re all from the same unit, seeing each other every day. Consider this my way of apologizing for that last sneaky shot I took at you!"
Red 250 was stunned. He hadn’t expected his opponent to be so easygoing. Feeling a little embarrassed, he lowered his own blade and gave a small bow in return.
"Uh… well, I wasn’t exactly in the right either. The whole Batman ambush thing… yeah, I guess that was kinda my fault too."
"Hahaha! Good, then we’ll let bygones be bygones. Next time, let’s grab a drink together!" Blue 666 chuckled before turning away, walking off with a dramatic, carefree wave, leaving behind only his elegant silhouette.
Red 250, who had remained on guard the entire time, was momentarily dumbfounded. His opponent had completely exposed his back—his most vulnerable spot—without hesitation.
Instantly, a wave of guilt washed over him. Damn… I really misjudged him. I was thinking like a schemer while he was being a true man of honor…
Just as he was reflecting on this, Blue 666 suddenly paused mid-step.
"Ah, right! Since fate brought us together, here’s a little gift. No need to be shy—catch!"
With a casual flick of his wrist, Blue 666 tossed something black and unidentifiable through the air in a perfect arc.
"Hmm?" Red 250, still lost in thought, instinctively reached out and caught it.
Then, he looked down.
Red 250: "…"
Boom! A flash of blue electric light flickered, and Red 250 collapsed to the ground, his entire body stiff. His face was still frozen in an expression of disbelief.
What happened to letting bygones be bygones?
"You... you bastard! Damn it, you tricked me again!" Red 250's eyes were bloodshot. Nothing was worse than being fooled twice by the same person!
He struggled, but his training armor had already entered "casualty mode," locking all his joints. He was completely immobilized.
"Sigh… still too young and naïve," Blue 666 said in a regretful tone, shaking his head as he stepped past the struggling Red 250 and entered the data core room.
Inside, Blue 666 pressed a black metal box against the data core's main terminal, then stepped back.
"Zzzzt!" A burst of blue electric sparks crackled, and one by one, the indicator lights on the core flickered out…
---
On the Bridge.
"Exercise Alert: The Red Team’s data core has been disabled by an EMP weapon. Immediate action is required to reclaim the room and restart the system."
Hearing the announcement, a Red Team captain slammed his fist onto the table. "Damn it!"
With the data core down, many of their automated defenses were rendered useless. This meant that the defense exercise was basically lost.
Even if they managed to reclaim the room and restart the system, the delay would be long enough for the Blue Team to push into the ship’s core sections.
"Wasn't the data core room heavily guarded? How did we lose it?" the captain demanded.
"Uh… one enemy soldier managed to slip past our main defense lines. Our ace soldier, 250, who was stationed at the last line of defense, was also taken down," an officer replied after checking the combat logs.
"What? Even 250 was taken out?" The captain was stunned.
250 was a top-tier soldier he had specifically borrowed from another unit to reinforce their defenses. And yet, even he had fallen?
…
Inside the computer room, the mechanical bugs within the intelligence core were feasting while the system was temporarily "short-circuited." Meanwhile, Blue 666 stood nearby, letting out a strange "hehehe" laugh before his entire body turned into a silver liquid metal form and slowly sank into the floor.
By the time the training exercise ended, an enraged Red 250 arrived at the computer room, panting heavily—only to find that the enemy had long disappeared without a trace.
"Last one! Done!" Nie Yun clapped his hands.
Through a series of staged exercises and covert infiltration, he had essentially taken control of the intelligence cores of all warships in the Third Fleet, securing control over at least 70% of the fleet.
If he had sent mechanical bugs in directly, it would have raised suspicion. But by using training exercises as a cover, he created plenty of opportunities. Of course, this required ensuring that the exercises proceeded exactly as he intended.
The Gemini people wouldn't just listen to his orders, so Nie Yun had to step in personally. Blue 666 was just one of his alternate identities.
He could have used his superior combat abilities to dominate the battlefield and forcibly manipulate the exercise, but that would have been far too conspicuous. If a "super soldier" suddenly appeared out of nowhere, it would have attracted too much attention. So instead, Nie Yun relied on "strategy and deception"—which, unfortunately for those who encountered him, meant they were in for an unlucky day.
As for Red 250, who had the misfortune of running into Nie Yun twice in a row? That was just pure tragedy...
TL Note- New Translation style, give some feedback....
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