The Milky Way is just an ordinary galaxy among the two billion known galaxy clusters in the universe. It has become the primary target for human exploration simply because it is home to the solar system, the cradle of humanity.
With the naked eye from Earth, looking up at the night sky, all the celestial bodies visible are members of the Milky Way. In addition, only three neighboring extragalactic clusters can be perceived, appearing as vague patches of light.
The total number of stars in the Milky Way is estimated to be around 130 billion, forming the vast white river of light seen from Earth.
It is a massive aggregation of stars, interstellar gas, and dust, with the main body resembling a flattened, spiral-shaped giant disk. This giant disk, composed of countless suns and worlds like our own, can be divided into four main parts: the central bulge, the disk, the spiral arms, and the halo.
The central bulge is located at the center of the disk, taking on a spheroidal shape and is a dense region of Milky Way stars, with greater density closer to the center.
However, even at the center of the disk, there are still vast distances between stars, measured in light-years. The number of stars in the bulge accounts for 5% of the total, which is roughly equivalent to 7 billion suns like those in our solar system.
Beyond the central bulge lies the disk, symmetrically distributed around the bulge, with a diameter of about 82,000 light-years and a thickness of about 6,500 light-years.
Within the galactic disk, starting from the edge of the central bulge, the distribution of stars decreases and becomes sparser the closer they are to the edge.
The mass of stars and interstellar objects in the disk accounts for about eighty-five percent of the total mass of the Milky Way.
The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy in the universe, with several spiral arms extending from one end of the symmetrical bulge, which is a cosmic physical effect produced by the rotation of the entire galaxy.
The entire Milky Way is enveloped in a huge "light fog ball" with a diameter of 100,000 light-years, known as the "galactic halo." It is composed of sparsely distributed old stars and interstellar matter.
The brightest members in the halo are the globular clusters made up of countless stars.
For humanity, up to now, this vast and boundless universe is still an endless cosmic enigma.
The solar system where Earth is located is on a spiral arm at one end of the disk far from the bulge, with a distance of about 10,000 light-years from the edge.
Since the Federation broke through the speed of light, invented the ultra-high-speed cosmic flight of positive and negative space, it has been expanding in all directions, exploring more than 500 million galaxies within the galaxy, and selected the most suitable ones for human habitation, developing 1,200 colonial stars.
The expansion of these colonial stars is mainly concentrated on the spiral arms of the disk outside the bulge and the end where the solar system is located, and no spacecraft has ever been able to reach the densely populated bulge. Even with ultra-high-speed cosmic navigation, the distance of 40,000 light-years is still an unattainable distance, which makes people hesitate to act rashly.
The Yangma Star System is the most important relay star system for the Federation to explore the bulge, located in the middle between the bulge and the solar system, with a staggering distance of 15,000 light-years from both.
Losing the colonies in the Yangma Star System is a fatal blow to the Federation's conquest of the mysterious bulge and the center of the galaxy.
So the Federation is willing to pay any price to snatch this important star system back from the enemy. The "Ark Operation" represents such an effort.
After a long wait of two Earth days, the signal from Ark One reappeared on the detection network of the Great Whale.
The crew on the ship cheered and were extremely excited.
The gravity doors of the eight launch bays of different sizes on the side of the ship, which were tightly closed, slowly and firmly opened at the same moment. Two armed space escort ships, each equipped with eight brave and fearless fighters, flew out of the dock like arrows, performing their routine escort tasks with a straight posture. Then, the 50-meter-long, majestic-looking landing work ship steadily drove out of the largest No.1 space dock. The beautiful and extraordinarily wise academician Natalie is one of the many passengers, and more importantly, she is the commander in charge of the overall situation in this action, and all 50 team members on the ship act under her command.
Subsequently, five space tanks that can be used for sea, land, and air appeared one after another. They are the combat weapons with the first-class flying speed in positive space in the Federation, and each has a spacious interior, enough to accommodate two well-trained soldiers. Their highest speed can reach an astonishing three-quarters of the sub-light speed, but unfortunately, they do not have the ability to enter the anti-space for super-light speed flight.
These space tanks are like a group of smart metal fish. Under the strong power of the never-fading positive and negative magnetized nuclear light energy, they glide towards a towering mountain on the seventh planet with ease and ease, because that is the source of the mysterious signal of Ark One.
They were extremely cautious in the process of moving forward, making full use of the shadow area of the seventh planet to cleverly avoid the extremely fierce fatal rays and fierce solar wind of the Firebird Sun. In the cockpit, Natalie, with her beautiful eyes, was shining with a bright and firm light that had never been seen before. This light made her more and more charming, charming, and her spirit was so uplifting that people couldn't help but look away.
Beside her, Colonel Chloe, the deputy commander, stood. This equally resolute and brave woman is also an indispensable deputy in this action.
Colonel Chloe frowned and said, "Academician Natalie, do you really think there is life on such a planet? I think the response of this life detector might be a mistake."
Natalie stared intently ahead, responding calmly, "Colonel Chloe, before any solid evidence, any possibility should not be easily dismissed. We must remain vigilant."
Colonel Chloe nodded slightly, "I hope so, but I still think this hope is too slim."
Natalie looked serious, "Colonel Chloe, we have a heavy responsibility, any subtle clue may be crucial, and we cannot be careless."
The two stared intently, gazing at the gradually clear and expanding Seventh Planet ahead. The gray-yellow mountains, like ancient giants, were silent and majestic; the vast desert, like an endless yellow ocean, undulated; the deep pits, like the wounds of the earth, told unknown stories; and the solidified magma, like solidified history, recorded the planet's past violence. All of this can now be preliminarily observed with the naked eye.
Two space tanks went straight forward, opening the way in front, and the escort ships were like loyal guards, closely flanked on both sides, providing solid protection. The other three tanks followed closely in the upper, lower, and rear positions, forming a comprehensive, unobstructed defense formation.
Natalie looked serious and issued orders in a firm and clear voice, "All personnel quickly take their positions, all detectors must be activated immediately, and a close comprehensive scan of the planet is carried out, including the very important life detector. If any new findings are made, they must be reported at the first time."
Colonel Chloe couldn't help but glance at her, and her eyes clearly revealed an idea, as if to say isn't this superfluous? How could there be life on such a bad planet?
However, this thought hadn't had time to fully form in her mind.
Suddenly, the intercom burst into the staff's shocked exclamation: "My God! The life detector responded, I successfully captured it, running really fast."
In this moment, all the crew members on the ship seemed to be bewitched, and they all became quiet in an instant, each one was stunned, with an unbelievable and helpless look on their faces.
Then, Shanali Wa's urgent but still calm voice gave orders again, "Tank number one and two, immediately pursue the life target at full speed, remember, only paralyzer or condenser weapons can be used, and no substantial damage can be caused to the target. Repeat once..."
The violent and raging day finally slowly came to an end.
The piercing cold, like a cold tide, mercilessly submerged the previous scorching heat; the unceasing cold wind, like a fierce beast, replaced the once collapsing firestorm.
A large amount of gas was continuously released from the depths of the core, some of which, like a runaway horse, was rapidly sent into the vast void, and some, like a homing bird, slowly returned to the ground, joining the surging cold current, making the already extremely fierce wind even more uncontrollable.
He struggled to climb out of the gradually solidifying solution pool, then wearily knelt and sat on the ground, raised his head, and looked up with awe and curiosity at the vast and magnificent night sky filled with countless stars.
A mysterious object, elongated and shimmering with strange light, hung quietly in the deep sky.
An involuntary shiver passed through his heart. In his long and lonely life, he had looked up at the night sky full of expectations countless times, but this was the first time he had seen something so peculiar outside the stars.
He was not trembling out of fear, but simply moved by the wonder of the sudden unknown and the deep inner shock.
He quickly adjusted the energy in his eyes, trying to bring the strange object closer for a more detailed study. At this critical moment, several mysterious openings appeared on one side of the mysterious object, and smaller but similar objects were vomited out, diving towards him with a thunderous momentum.
He reacted agilely, jumping up in an instant, and without hesitation, he turned and sprinted towards the cave at the foot of the mountain, running as fast as he could with all his might.
His strange and keen perception clearly let him know that he had been discovered by the creatures inside those strange objects, and they had even conducted a detailed observation, casting all kinds of strange wavelengths onto him like a dense rain of arrows.
His consciousness extended into the air like invisible tentacles, extremely clearly grasping the precise shape, astonishing speed, and exact location of five thinner objects. His consciousness continued to extend, entering the object like a ghost, and "saw" the scene inside.
With a howl full of shock and disbelief, he suddenly lost his balance and fell to the ground in a mess, his entire body heavily pressing against the cold and piercing rocks.
This was the first time since his birth that he had fallen so unexpectedly without facing any direct danger.
Because he "saw" his unbelievable fellow tribesmen.
Although they appeared more fragile and tender in appearance, they were undoubtedly the same kind as him, and three of them even had the same shape and structure as the women in his tribe who had passed away.
The cold wind became increasingly sharp at this time, like sharp ice knives, mercilessly cutting through his body.
He lay on the ground motionless, his thoughts surging violently like turbulent waves.
He pondered silently in his heart. Of course, he had the ability to escape, but what practical use would it be to flee back to the cave? Death was an inevitable event for him at this moment, and these suddenly appeared compatriots, no matter what their intentions, could only kill him at most. Why not bravely try to seize this last opportunity to explore the unknown possibilities?
The five objects grew larger, like giant birds swiftly flying overhead, and a loud and noisy sound came from one of them, but he didn't understand its meaning at all.
He jumped up abruptly, raised his hands high, and shouted wildly towards them, trying his best to express his strong willingness to cooperate.
Amidst the "rumbling" noise, a tank smoothly landed on a huge boulder about a hundred meters away from him.
His heart was instantly filled with immense joy, and he ran over without hesitation.
However, suddenly, a flash of white light, an extremely sharp cold current was ejected from a launcher of the tank, and the powerful impact knocked him backward. The uncomfortable numbing sensation spread rapidly throughout his nerves at an alarming speed.
A surge of intense anger welled up in his heart in an instant. He had never made any threatening moves towards them from the beginning. Why did they have to deal with him so ruthlessly?
The tank hovering overhead then fired another cold beam of white light, which accurately hit him.
But fortunately, the powerful energy within his body immediately took effect, quickly dissipating the numbing forces. He gritted his teeth, jumped up, and without hesitation, turned and ran towards the direction of the cave.
He roared in his heart: I will never surrender.
The tank swooped down like a raptor, and two bursts of cold condensate were swiftly sprayed onto him.
He stumbled and rolled on the ground in a mess, his whole body instantly covered with a thick layer of white cold condensate.
"Snap!"
The solid condensate shattered like powder, broken away by his powerful energy in an instant, and he then desperately fled again.
This time, he became smarter. His consciousness extended into the enemy's body, and every time the opponent was about to fire liquid and beams, he could sense it in advance, dodging as flexibly as avoiding a firestorm. No matter how crazily the opponent bombarded, they could no longer hit him accurately.
The anger in his heart kept accumulating like a firestorm, but he did not want to hurt the other party. No one could more profoundly feel the value of life than him. Moreover, he absolutely did not want to hurt his own kind, no matter how unreasonable and disgusting the other party was.
The cave is in sight.
Natalie and Chloe, through the night vision window, stared at the "Firebird Star person" below, who moved as quickly as a ghost, evading the attacks of the paralyzing light and condensation gun.
Chloe clenched her teeth and said, "There is no time left, the return trip still takes more than an hour, and now there is only fifteen minutes left at most, use the neural cannon!"
The blood on Natalie's pretty face drained instantly, and she shook her head firmly, saying, "That would make him a fool, we don't have such power."
The neural cannon fires a thermonuclear energy beam that can decompose the central nerves of a living creature, causing permanent damage to the target's nerves, but the body can remain intact.
Chloe said urgently, "Only the beam range of the neural cannon can prevent him from dodging, make a decision quickly! The seventh planet is about to be destroyed, and the Ark One is hidden deep under strange and hard substances, so he has become the most precious living secret. Sacrificing him may save the entire Federation!"
Her words were obviously very persuasive. Natalie clenched her teeth fiercely and said, "Alright!"
He dodged a round of intensive attacks as fast as lightning, leaped down from a huge rock that was fifteen meters high, and landed easily on the gravel-covered ground, then leaped onto another boulder that was no less than ten meters high.
Natalie, who was closely watching his back, couldn't help being astonished. This was simply impossible! In a place where the gravity is two and a half times that of Earth, a person who can jump two meters high on Earth can only jump 0.8 meters here; in other words, on Earth, he could jump at least 25 meters high, because that is almost the same as flying.
The neural cannon might not be able to hit him at all.
At this moment, he, who was located in front of the spaceship, suddenly stopped and stared blankly at the completely collapsed entrance of the cave on the cliff.
Without the cave, how could he find the precious life-sustaining water droplets.
The "Leader One," a main battleship of the Federation with ultra-first-class firepower, crossed the orbit of Mars and flew towards the small satellite of the sacred home planet Earth, the Moon.
Eight escort ships were neatly arranged around the giant spacecraft, which was three kilometers long, forming a protective network and performing the internal space escort mission in a regular formation.
In the event of an emergency or a sudden enemy attack, the "Leader One" is equipped with a total of 1,200 large and small launchers and counterattack devices that can respond effectively immediately. Moreover, the 200 space tanks hidden in twelve docks can all fly out from this super space warship and floating base within fifteen minutes to deal a heavy blow to the invading enemies.
Since the loss of two main battleship-type combat ships in the Yangma Star Battle seven years ago, the remaining eighteen ships of the same class have been re-equipped, doubling the energy of the shields and the firepower of the ship itself. The military expenditure of the Federation has also increased by seven times. However, no one complained, because everyone knew that the Black Prison Legion could launch a second attack at any time, not to mention that this was a proposal put forward by their most respected Chairman Victoria.
The 2,000 crew members on the "Leader One" are all busy working, not only to meet the needs of flight but also because this is Victoria's flagship. No matter where she is, she is always dealing with various affairs of the unprecedentedly large democratic galaxy of the human race, which spans 20,000 light-years.
At this moment, in the hall at the top of the spaceship, which is full of classical charm and has a transparent dome covering the entire 180-degree starry sky, the highest chairman of the Federation, who is affectionately called the "Queen" by the people, Victoria, is wearing a metal semi-circular hood like a big hat. Her brain nerves receive all the information and messages selected and delivered by 50 secretaries at a speed as fast as the speed of light. She keeps issuing new orders and instructions. In the Federation, she is the only one who is qualified to choose "light-speed input," and only her intelligence can reach such an amazing speed.
Her chief military secretary, Brigadier General Joshua, stood respectfully to one side, quietly waiting for this beautiful leader, known as the "most beautiful and sexy symbol" in the Federation, to take a break and listen to his verbal report.
Joshua was not at all impatient, as such an opportunity to enjoy such a beautiful sight was not always available.
While gazing at this top beauty who had no time to be distracted, his heart was beating violently, and his body temperature gradually rose.
Why does every time he sees this great beautiful leader, he feels such a thrilling and intoxicating feeling?
Since the Battle of Yangma Star, she has changed to wearing a dark blue military uniform with red edges. This not only did not reduce her charming and attractive demeanor but instead added a dazzling and heroic spirit, which was both majestic and charming. This has led to men and women in the Federation imitating her, becoming the most popular fashion trend.
Her temperament is unique and never tiresome to watch. Combined with her pure and beautiful face, which gathers the essence of the universe, her soft black hair that falls on her shoulders like a waterfall, her healthy skin that seems transparent and fragile, her slender and well-proportioned figure, her elegant and perfect demeanor, and her clear and bright spirit, she has become the highest ideal of aesthetics and a symbol of beauty in the Federation, becoming a model for the people.
After the maturation of life factor improvement studies, scientists have found inspiration from the transformation of animals to overcome aging and disease, which has then developed into "metamorphosis studies."
Every time of aging and disease, humans can naturally transform and replace their bodies with a new one, gradually approaching the ideal of the strongest and most slender and well-proportioned physique and skin color. In theory, each transformation is an improvement, and for outstanding people, it is indeed the case.
During this process of change, people are not passively undergoing metamorphosis; their own efforts play a decisive role, especially intelligence and cultivation, which directly affect the temperament and beauty after transformation.
What is inside is reflected outside.
Inner beauty and outer beauty are no longer contradictory or completely opposite things, but are becoming consistent.
Therefore, the Federation is the ruling group with the most handsome men and beautiful women in history, followed by leaders from all walks of life. A charming appearance has become an unquestionable objective standard for measuring a person's talents.
Continuous transformation means that even the most unattractive "ugly duckling" can become a beautiful swan if they are motivated, develop intelligence, and cultivate themselves.
In this era where inner beauty is outer beauty, Victoria's pure and beautiful appearance is unparalleled.
Under her wise and charming leadership, the Federation has experienced a golden age for over three thousand years, completely solving all the basic problems of life, such as clothing, food, housing, and transportation. This has allowed humanity to focus its efforts on the development of colonial stars and the exploration of the universe. If it were not for the disastrous defeat of the Battle of Yangma, perhaps in the next millennium, they would be able to advance into the star systems outside the Milky Way.
The sudden appearance of the Black Prison Legion has shattered the peace and comfort of the Federation and has also brought the most severe test and challenge to Victoria's once unshakable regime.
Can her wisdom and decisiveness lead the twenty billion citizens of the Federation to safely navigate through this crisis?
Will the various opposition forces and religions that have long been suppressed and unable to rise take advantage of this rare opportunity to seize the power in her hands? It is really difficult to make a definite judgment at present.
The hood slowly rose, revealing the peerless face of this "queen" who, though without a formal title, holds real power, a face that could rival that of a celestial fairy. Her deep, beautiful eyes, shining with the light of wisdom, glanced towards her confidant, a sweet and touching smile escaping the corner of her mouth as she gently said, "Joshua, your emotions have been fluctuating, is there something that makes you feel aggrieved?"
Joshua was not surprised that this beautiful "queen" could be so well aware of his internal condition, as she had the most advanced, hair-thin detection sensors implanted in her nerves, capable of perceiving all changes in energy in the environment.
She is not only the most beautiful woman but also the most outstanding astronaut and warrior.
Victoria said calmly, "Has someone leaked the news of the emergency meeting, attracting a large number of reporters?"
Joshua barely gathered his wits and reported solemnly, "They are not reporters, but the CEOs of three interstellar corporations."
Victoria frowned her beautiful eyebrows, and it took a long time before she returned to a peaceful and serene state, sighing softly, "If the citizens of the Federation wish to choose her, let Sophia be the chairman! Why are they still holding me back?"
Joshua said emotionally, "The queen must not harbor feelings of loss and negativity because of this ambitious woman. We need your leadership more than ever at this moment."
Victoria was slightly taken aback and said, "This is the first time you have called me 'queen' directly in front of me." Then she smiled lightly and said, "Don't worry! I will deal with them."
Joshua was already used to her commanding presence amidst conversation and laughter, but every time he saw her, his mind was always affected by her every smile and frown, a feeling that is extremely rare in this era that advocates calmness, rationality, and wisdom. When facing other beauties, Joshua didn't know how well he controlled himself.
So there is such a saying: Victoria has no men who hate her. In fact, her biggest rival, the Minister of Outer Space Sophia, who is second only to her in power, is also a woman whose beauty is only slightly less than hers.
Sophia and Victoria belong to completely different types. The former is like an emotionless but highly efficient intelligent system and is also the leader of the largest opposition party in the Federation, the vice-chairman of the Central Committee.
The three major corporations are the Universal Corporation, the Starry Sky Corporation, and the Voyage Corporation. They stand in a tripartite balance among the tens of thousands of enterprises in the Federation, monopolizing one-tenth of the planet's mining, space navigation equipment, and services.
When they join forces, they indeed have enough leverage to exert pressure on the Federal Government.
The CEO of the Universal Corporation is the charismatic and widely renowned handsome man Thomas in the Federation. He is waging a fierce romantic pursuit of Victoria, hoping to win the heart of this beauty who holds a detached and even contemptuous attitude towards matters of love. That would be the ultimate achievement for a man, and he indeed has the qualifications for it.
The CEOs of Star Enterprises and Voyage Enterprises are a pair of outstanding sisters, perhaps due to their particularly excellent genetic factors, which have enabled them to ascend to these two top positions in the business world.
However, the personalities of the two sisters are vastly different.
The elder sister, Emma, is dignified and gentle, living a life of steel-like restraint and discipline; the younger sister, Ella, is the most famous promiscuous woman in the Federation, taking pleasure in playing with and conquering men.
The emergency meeting has become much more complicated with the addition of these three titans of the business world.
As the Leader One flies past the relay base between the Moon and Mars, eighteen short-range warships fly out from the base, joining the escort team, accompanying their great and beautiful leader as they dive towards the lunar space base.