At the Alliance Army's communication center, the equipment suddenly blared with an alarm.
"What?" The operator adjusted her headset. "Are you sure? What's your spaceship's code?"
Dazed, she put down her opticomputer, hung up the phone, and pulled up the surveillance record of the spaceship in question.
After confirming the situation was true, she trembled as she connected with the lieutenant. "Lieutenant, a civilian spaceship has sent a distress signal. They said they encountered space pirates but have now safely arrived at the transfer station."
The lieutenant spat out his tea in shock. "What? Space pirates? And they made it back safely?"
In the records of encounters with space pirates, those who made it back alive was less than five percent, and they were usually ransomed at a high price. Those pirates were fervent criminals, reveling in murder and destruction. No spaceship had ever returned safely from such an encounter.
"Immediately seal all entrances; don't let anyone from that ship disembark!" the captain ordered, then turned to instruct the Alliance soldiers behind him, "Send a squad... no, all soldiers to spaceship #3232, on standby!"
His face grave, he hung up the phone. The lieutenant suspected that everyone on that ship was already dead, and the person who called them was actually a pirate. The pirates must be planning to disguise themselves as Alliance citizens and infiltrate Capital Octoxis to create chaos!
'That's impossible. No one can do that,' he thought, putting on his coat and rushing to the transfer hub in his vehicle.
The entrance was already sealed, with other passengers inside panicking, constantly asking what had happened.
A junior-grade lieutenant jogged over and stood before him, reporting, "Sir, we've confirmed all the people on the spaceship, including the bodies, are Alliance citizens. There's no sign of space pirates!"
"Any other anomalies?" the lieutenant asked sternly.
"Yes," the junior-grade replied with a hint of confusion. "When we arrived, all the surviving passengers were asleep. We found sedatives in the air circulation system, but..."
"But what?" the captain pressed.
"The sedatives were released by a passenger." The reporter's confusion deepened. "A woman, for reasons unknown. After the space pirates boarded, they demanded someone skilled in repairs to come to their ship. This woman went alone, then returned safely and piloted the spaceship back. After arriving at the station, she made the distress call, but she had already left before we arrived."
The captain took a deep breath, "You mean to say, this woman, alone, returned alive from the pirate ship?"
The junior-grade nodded. "Yes, sir. And according to the recordings from the ship's external cameras, she blew up the pirate ship."
The lieutenant, steadying his cap, listened as the report continued, "She also brought back an A-tier fugitive, who we've already sent to prison."
The junior-grade pulled out his opticomputer, enlarging the photos taken by the soldiers. The image showed a barely alive man with twisted limbs, known as "Black Hawk", an A+ physical strength fugitive from the Alliance.
The lieutenant swallowed hard, feeling numb from shock.
"Did we identify the woman?" the lieutenant asked, still dazed.
The junior-grade looked slightly anxious and replied, "She was wearing a helmet the whole time, so we couldn't do facial recognition. We can't find her in our system. We've asked people on the ship, especially the person who went to the cockpit with her, but there's no clue."
"She bought a ticket, right?" the lieutenant asked, "Doesn't the ticket have her identity information?"
"It does," the junior-grade replied with a strange expression. "But it seems she bought a scalped ticket. This is the information and photo we got from the ticket check."
The lieutenant took the opticomputer from the ensign and saw a photo of a toothless, wrinkly-faced, beaming seventy-year-old man.
The lieutenant fell silent.
The junior-grade cautiously asked, "Should we continue the investigation, sir?"
The lieutenant rubbed his face, "No, let's report this up the chain. This is beyond us."
As he organized the details, he felt a sense of awe. The woman must have S-tier physical strength, perhaps a former mercenary with extensive combat experience, to handle such a dangerous situation and protect the people on the ship.
While preparing his report, he couldn't help but worry for her safety, fearing that the space pirates might seek revenge. And if they found her...
Yuka, however, had already changed her clothes in a restroom at the hub and left before the area was locked down.
She disposed of her blood-stained clothes, used helmet, and her Lev in a hidden space, then adjusted her black curly hair. People passing by couldn't help but stare at her beauty, only looking away after a long while.
Yuka noticed a young man mustering his courage to approach her, probably to ask for her contact information.
When their eyes met, his initial intent was overshadowed by her intense gaze, but she quickly softened her expression and smiled at him.
The young man's face turned beet red, gearing up to approach her again, but then he saw the girl turn and walk away.
Yuka was dressed in a light pink dress adorned with handmade white lace and a large pink bow at the back, accentuating her perfect waistline.
The butler praised her, "Master, you look very ladylike now!"
She walked in white leather shoes, making a gentle "tap-tap" sound. Humming lightly, she told the butler, "It's just to blend in at school."
Her research on interstellarnet suggested that a pink dress and a sweet smile were the ideal attire to be low-key yet popular, making it easier for senior students to like her and offer help.
Yuka got into an empty taxi and told the driver, "To UUA, please."
The driver, quite chatty, smiled and said, "UUA, huh? That's the best university in the Alliance. You must be very smart, young lady. What's your major?"
"History," Yuka replied.
"History?" The driver paused for a moment, then said, "Well, that's great too. You can become a historian... uh..."
Yuka laughed softly, resisting the urge to sit cross-legged, and asked the driver, "What's the best major at UUA?"
"Oh, if you're asking me that, then let me be straight with you," the driver said excitedly. "The best department is definitely Combat! If your psychic power is high enough to become a mecha soldier, you'd bring honor to your family! The Alliance would take care of you for life, no worries about food or clothing!"
"And," the driver whispered conspiratorially, "with the Alliance being so safe and stable, there won't be any wars for decades. Being a mecha soldier is all about living the good life now, no need to go to the battlefield."
Yuka nodded, searching on her opticomputer and found that the Combat Department was the one with most competitive students at UUA, which instantly dampened her interest.
She saw a news headline: "89 points! Combat Department student misses the 90-point full grade mark, weeps uncontrollably, running fifty laps around the field in despair. Such a pity!"
The picture showed a handsome young man with golden hair and melancholic blue eyes, who unfortunately seemed a bit off.
Yuka closed her opticomputer as the taxi arrived at UUA. She swiped her opticomputer to pay the fare, then stepped out of the car, standing in front of UUA's entrance.
At two in the afternoon, Yuka hadn't eaten yet. She touched her stomach and looked up at UUA's motto, emblazoned in gold: "Justice, fairness, and truth," shimmering in the sunlight next to a blue flag representing the Alliance.
Not far from her, senior students from various majors were sitting at booths set up by the school.
Vivian Lorez, checking the list of freshmen, complained, "If it weren't for the astracredits for welcoming newcomers, I'd rather have afternoon tea with Donny than suffer here."
Morris Diesel, with his blue eyes twinkling, said, "I don't have a choice. Students of the Combat Department are always proud, even the newcomers. That's why they'd be impolite sometimes, I think."
Vivian, now focused on her opticomputer, smirked, "Morris, who do you think will fall for it this year? This 'Most Popular Dress Guide' has been on our school forum for years, and every year some naive freshmen follow it."
Flicking her brown curls, she said scornfully, "Don't they realize not everyone can pull off a pale pink dress? It looks hideous on anyone with even slightly bad skin condition. And that big, tacky bow – surely no one actually wants to wear that?"
Morris sighed, "Don't be like that, Vivian. I believe someone can turn that ridiculous outfit into something... um..."
Vivian, not hearing him continue, looked up, "What's up?"
Morris, his blue eyes wide and unblinking, stared ahead in awe, "My God, she's a miracle of the Creator, the first pink rose of May. Even elves would pale in comparison to her."
Vivian, frowning, asked, "What are you rambling about?"
Following his gaze, she was momentarily spellbound, murmuring, "Oh my, someone actually made that ugly dress look... no, she's gorgeous. I'll never call pink ugly again..."
Yuka, aware of her beauty, had still underestimated its impact on people. Noticing someone approaching, she blinked and asked the brown-haired girl, "Can I help you?"
Vivian grabbed her hand excitedly, "You're a freshman in the Combat Department, right? I'm Vivian Lorez, your senior. Welcome to the Combat Department!"
Yuka felt a bit puzzled.