After the rain, altocumulus clouds swept across the land with the wind, and sunlight pierced through, casting the clouds' shadows on the ground. The golden wheat swayed gently in the wind, heavy with water, as it bent its full heads, glistening. Standing on a small hill, Lu Yuan lowered his head, looking into the distance. The wheat brushed lightly against his nose, sending a tingling sensation through him like a current of electricity, itching all the way from his skin to his soul.
He reached out and parted the wheat before him, revealing the brilliant autumn sun breaking through the clouds, unveiling the abundant harvest across the plains.
"Lu Yuan, look! An eagle!" she shouted.
Lu Yuan straightened at the sound, and as the wind blew from afar, it rippled the golden sea of wheat and tousled her flowing hair. In that moment, it felt as if the entire world had paused.
Not far away, on a stone-covered embankment, an eagle spread its wings and soared toward the sun hidden among the shifting clouds.
"Look at that eagle!" she called, chasing through the rain-dampened soil, following the eagle as it disappeared into the sky.
"Wait!" Lu Yuan reached out his hand, but just then, the sky tore open with golden light. The eternal sun poured its warmth upon the earth, radiating with such heat that it seemed to burn every inch of Lu Yuan's skin.
Like the eagle, destined to die in the light of the sun.
...
The sharp cry of an eagle shattered Lu Yuan's thoughts. Of course, there was no eagle near him, ready to prey. He was, in fact, in the belly of one, high above in planetary orbit.
A Condor-class orbital drop ship. Alongside Lu Yuan, hundreds of fully armed paratroopers from the 28th Orbital Paratrooper Battalion were crammed inside, all waiting to become the feast of this metallic bird.
In many ways, there was little difference between a living eagle and a mechanical one.
They are always hungry.
Never satisfied.
In the dim cabin, only a few indicator lights blinked on and off, casting fleeting glimmers across the rows of paratroopers in their drop suits. Despite the visors concealing their faces, Lu Yuan's cold, dark eyes burned beneath, as lethal as the engines' flames roaring outside the ship.
War.
It never stops.
"Alert: Enemy surface-based anti-aircraft defenses detected. This ship is entering high orbit. Drop will commence in thirty minutes." The lifeless voice of the onboard broadcast echoed in the cabin. Lu Yuan stood up, gripping the Paratrooper Honor Dagger, raising his voice for all to hear.
"This mission must be executed with the utmost ferocity and resolve. Crush the enemy resistance and capture the Star Stele Fortress to provide the ground guidance needed for the fleet's return jump! After this battle, we can go home!"
"Paratroopers!" Lu Yuan shouted.
"Does anyone have a last letter they need to write?!"
Silence.
"Good."
Lu Yuan sat down, tapping his gloves, triggering a system check on his combat gear. War was in his blood, but he only had one life to live.
Shaking off a slight dizziness, Lu Yuan knew the tremors were from the fierce battle raging in the planet's lower orbit. Perhaps in the next second, an antimatter annihilation cannon could strike this very ship, turning them all into ash in an instant.
What was truly terrifying was not death itself, but the waiting for death. After years of service, Lu Yuan had numbed himself to many feelings unrelated to battle. Yet, in the moments before facing death, he allowed himself to recall those increasingly blurred memories.
He remembered the night before the expedition, when he told his friend to sell his surfboard. His friend was curious why Lu Yuan was parting with the high-performance, competition-grade board, capable of handling even the ocean's fiercest waves. Lu Yuan had gazed at the expedition fleet orbiting the homeworld and proudly stated that space was his new arena.
Lu Yuan had long lost track of how many homeworld-standard years the expedition had lasted, but he learned early on that war was never a fair competition. The enemy never played by the rules because there were no rules. If you lost, no one would hear your cries drifting in the void of space.
Not all memories are pleasant, and Lu Yuan wasn't sure if he'd ever have the chance to use the money from selling his surfboard to buy a beer. Nor did he want to count how many familiar faces had been turned into gray portraits by this endless war. He couldn't even recall how many times he'd fired the ceremonial gun at a comrade's funeral.
Lu Yuan looked up at the dark ceiling of the cabin. Just a few centimeters of high-energy alloy separated him from absolute zero, gamma radiation, micrometeorites, and engine waste heat—any of which could end his life with ease. He sighed, tapping his forehead but hitting his visor instead, triggering a mission reminder.
Their target was the Star Stele fortress, codenamed BSC93-7, located on the planet "Yuehua," bristling with anti-aircraft defenses. The Star Stele was crucial for pinpointing the fleet's position in the star system, and no doubt, the fortress was crawling with enemy troops. Lu Yuan couldn't be sure he'd survive the first minute after hitting the ground.
His wristwatch beeped twelve times. Despite his visor displaying the time, Lu Yuan still preferred the watch his father had given him before he left. He glanced at the inscription on the watch, silently reciting the words:
"Do not go gentle into that good night."
If only there were a good night to go into, Lu Yuan thought wryly. Like the hundreds of thousands of soldiers aboard the Shi Huangdi, he clung to honor, loyalty, victory, and home to sustain himself through this seemingly endless journey.
The fleet crossed star system after star system, and countless young soldiers fell on distant battlefields.
BSJ20-9, the Orion Star Campaign: the 28th Orbital Paratrooper Battalion, first to drop, 87 casualties; Lu Yuan, promoted to lieutenant.
BSJ21-3c, the Thor Star Campaign: the 28th Orbital Paratrooper Battalion, first to drop, 141 casualties; commanding officer killed in action, Lu Yuan took command.
BSA06-4, the Sentinel Campaign: the 28th Orbital Paratrooper Battalion, fought for months, over half of the battalion lost; Lu Yuan, promoted to captain.
Red lightning, a blue ring, the paratrooper insignia. One bar, three stars, Lu Yuan's rank. He blinked, unsure if the noise in the cabin was the howl of wind or something more mournful. If he survived the night and made it back to the homeworld, Lu Yuan wasn't sure how he would face the families of the fallen, delivering the news that their loved ones were never coming home.
That was how many death notices Lu Yuan had written, for comrades whose bodies would never return from the stars. A number he hoped would never grow.
Before the expedition, the 300 soldiers of the paratrooper battalion had taken a photo together. Afterward, Lu Yuan had removed the holographic image from his office, but even if he returned to the homeworld, he would only find his comrades in that picture, a reminder of the stars and seas they had once vowed to conquer.
Countless battles flashed through his mind, now seeming like fog-covered memories, impossible to grasp fully.
Lu Yuan glanced at the paratroopers beside him, still silent, still believing in victory, still placing their lives in the hands of their commander, ready to tread the most dangerous paths, to shed the most blood.
He suddenly thought of the hibiscus trees outside his home. Every morning, the dawn would cast a golden glow over the flowers, and the wind from the lake would lift the strands of her short hair, dyed violet like pansies. Even the morning light could not dim her beauty. But her face, like the hibiscus petals in the wind, had slowly faded.
"Attention: Drop will commence in fifteen minutes. Repeat, drop will commence in fifteen minutes." The broadcast sounded, and Lu Yuan knew the time had come.
He walked through the cabin, meeting the gaze of each paratrooper, saluting each of them. Holding his helmet in one hand, he shouted over the din, "Brothers, do you know what we're about to face?"
"The enemy!" the paratroopers roared back.
"Do you know what we must do?"
"Fight!"
"Tell me, what awaits us?"
"Victory!!!"
"Tell me, what is the creed of the orbital paratroopers?" Lu Yuan slapped his arm patch, shouting.
"Ubiquitous!"
"Fearless!!!"