Ye Muo had a really productive workout session. He could move much faster with Theodore by his side, leaving a trail of dismembered insects in his wake.
Felix had already returned to the command centre with Norton.
The command console displayed the scene below.
They simply observed from above without adjusting the angle or deploying a tracker to follow Ye Muo. If the insects resembled ever-shifting paint molecules on the canvas of the planet, then Ye Muo was the brush that fixed the paint in place.
Near the end, Felix was shocked to discover that the swarm had even begun to avoid Ye Muo.
They still surrounded him, sure, but whenever he moved, they would intentionally retreat to avoid him.
Felix didn’t even know these creatures were capable of such behaviour.
Ye Muo was also somewhat surprised. Back in Grantz, his father rarely allowed him to engage in such activities. The few times he did so were with Ano or one of the others. Most of the time, he faced king insects that Father and the others had hunted down and kept in captivity.
He had only seen the insects behave like this around the other Grantz.
He landed on Theodore’s mech and returned his sword to its sheath. The blade flicked through the air with a whistling sound. “They’re scared of me as well now.”
Theodore: “That’s right, Xavier. You’ve been growing stronger as well.”
The mothership hovered above them.
Ye Muo looked up.
The camera zoomed in. Felix could now see his face clearly. There was a faint scratch on Ye Muo’s cheek, though he didn’t know when it had appeared.
“Father’s urging me to hurry again.”
Ye Muo withdrew his gaze and straightened. “Let’s go take care of the king insect and head back.”
Theodore forced the data through the rocky ground. It wasn’t exactly an ideal medium, but speed wasn’t needed here. “I’ve locked on to the coordinates. ETA five minutes. We can still make it back for lunch, Xavier.”
……
Lakely felt that he had completely gotten used to this state of affairs.
The mothership’s alarms sounded several more times along the way, only to quickly subside. There were no more full-scale mobilisations after the first time. The fleet no longer treated insect sightings as an imminent threat. Stopping would waste too much time. If the fleet could outmanoeuvre them, they would. If not, the soldiers would take care of them.
The farther they ventured from Alliance territory, the more frequent the alarms became. Lakely felt like he had heard enough alarms for the rest of his life over the past few days. Now, more than ever, he deeply understood why nations were reluctant to open new ship channels as well as why the Alliance placed such importance on annual channel inspections.
This route would likely be unusable without a mandatory signed liability waiver, as it would never pass Alliance inspections. Ship channels that passed muster would be formally integrated into the central Alliance system. Personnel would be dispatched to clear these routes if necessary.
But being with Grantz felt pretty safe and reassuring too. Like he said, Lakely had already grown accustomed to it. And with that, a dull thud echoed from the mothership exterior on his right side.
Lakely’s hand happened to be resting against the wall. His entire arm up to the shoulder went numb.
There were insects attacking outside.
Lakely immediately twisted as far away from the wall as possible. He was wrong! He hasn’t gotten used to this at all!
More collisions could be heard. Dents appeared on the wall with each impact. There had to be quite a bit of force to overwhelm the memory metal lining the inside of the cabin. The exterior, which was reinforced with a percentage of insect crystals, must be even more severely deformed.
It was important to note that memory metal could even repair large-scale bullet holes.
The officer next to Lakely stood up and left alongside the people in front of them.
A few minutes later, the noise outside stopped.
A young woman behind Lakely got out of her seat. She walked over and asked him to move aside.
Lakely stood up. “Sure. Let me know if there’s anything I can–”
He watched as the young woman pounded all the dents out with her bare fist. Eventually, the memory metal kicked in and began to automatically realign itself. She examined her handiwork before giving the wall a few more punches for good measure. Then she straightened up and nodded to Lakely.
“Thank you.” Lakely said earnestly.
The girl smiled at him. “You’re welcome. It’s our first time encountering a tourist from so far away as well. You must be the first tourist from the Alliance. I hope you enjoy your time in Grantz.”
Then she returned to her seat.
Lakely also sat back down with a sense of relief.
Curiously, the insect attacks grew less frequent as they got closer to Grantz.
Perhaps it was due to Grantz’s diligent maintenance efforts, Lakely thought.
Lakely had slept well these past few days and was in good spirits. He gazed out the window.
A certain planet caught his attention. He could see a port, sentry outposts and AI satellite weaponry in its orbit, meaning it was claimed by some nation. There was nothing particularly remarkable about the port or other facilities, which tended to come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but the planet stood out as the only one in the area with such facilities.
Moreover, the planet at a glance was likely unsuitable for human habitation, with limited water resources and a high degree of rock coverage. Any other planet in the vicinity would likely have better conditions.
The fleet continued to close in. Lakely can even see the battered exterior of the outposts. Contact must have been established in advance, as neither the port nor the outpost showed any signs of activity when they were so close by.
Lakely could even make out the insignia imprinted on the port exterior– one of intertwined sword and flame.
Below was a line of text. The letters were complex and unfamiliar, but Lakely managed to decipher it– Here stands old Grantz, where the flag was raised for the first time. May the Grantz flag forever fly.
Lakely’s eyes widened. He couldn’t help but say something.
“Look–”
He whispered as he turned around, only to discover the officer was also intently looking out the window with a sombre expression. His cap was resting on his knee.
Lakely paused, suddenly realising that the entire cabin was eerily quiet. He glanced around, noticing that almost every Grantz soldier was staring outside with solemn expressions.
He looked out at that planet again, this time examining it more closely. The port and everything else visible appeared somewhat worn, with scratches and marks that were hard not to associate with the sharp claws of insects.
Lakely framed the scene in his holomind. He murmured as he zoomed in and found the right angle, “…May the Grantz flag forever fly.”
Old Grantz grew increasingly distant.
The officer beside him finally withdrew his gaze and glanced at him. “Thank you. By the way, did you recognise the script?”
Lakely sat back down. “It resembles some of the ancient texts I learned about in class back in the Keller Federation. The rest was guesswork.”
The officer smiled. “Those writings were left behind by our ancestors as they departed Old Grantz, so they’re considered an ancient script. The modern characters have been simplified.”
Lakely looked at the officer with a curious expression. “Departed?”
“It was a long time ago. Grantz originated from that place. There, the first flag bearing sword and flame was raised, on the land that had borne the initial brunt of the insect tide for millennia. Back then, we lived on this land with nothing, unable to even leave the planet. Every attempt was in vain, until the Grantz were born.”
“The Grantz led our ancestors to seize the first warship from the galactic pirates, treading through their blood and using their bodies to lay the foundation for our flag. That was the beginning of Grantz.”
The officer brushed over much of the details, but his comment still carried such weight and suffering that Lakely could almost smell a cloying, metallic scent in the air.
Lakely turned back after a few seconds to look at Old Grantz, now reduced to a backdrop in the distance. “Am I allowed to take photos of Old Grantz? I actually already took some, but I want to post them. If not, I’ll delete everything. I want to focus on Old Grantz first.”
“Sure. That place is visited by many people each day.”
The officer was blunt. “You’re free to record anything you’re allowed to see. If it’s a person, you’ll need their consent. You can share those recordings or keep them for yourself. However, I thought you would focus on Prince Xavier first.”
“Xavier doesn’t count. My thought process was more something like this: first post, post about Xavier, second post, another post about Xavier…”
Lakely said while pulling out his holomind to record the scenery outside.
The officer watched him. “That sounds reasonable. However, surely you won’t be recording nonstop from now on, right?”
Lakely didn’t even turn to look at him. His attention was focused on the outside world. “Of course I will. I don’t want to miss a single thing.”
He had taken such a big risk to come here. If he had known earlier, he would have asked to start recording from the moment he boarded the ship.
Gradually, more planets that were clearly inhabited appeared on screen. The fleet swiftly passed them by.
Lakely noticed that the fleet hardly stopped at all, even when passing through the territories of other nations.
Soon, the fleet reached their destination and began entering a port.
Lakely, holding the holomind, felt a bit dazed. Was he still dreaming?
This was the longest journey he had ever experienced.
Lakely stepped off the mothership and took a few big gulps of Grantz air. He then turned back to the mothership and raised his holomind. “I’ve arrived in Grantz. I must be the first Alliance tourist to set foot here, ever. This is the mothership that brought me here. Looking at its battered condition, you can tell how much I went through on the way here. I’m so glad to be alive. This is all thanks to the soldiers of Grantz, who even helped me repair a few insect-caused dents near my seat that were too deformed for the memory metal to deal with. Oh, did I mention they did it using their bare fists?”
“Jokes aside, Grantz is a beautiful and fascinating place. I hope everyone can come and see it for yourselves someday. The ship channels opening in the future should be more secure. Or, if you can’t wait that long, feel free to join me and take the official Grantz fleet. Though I didn’t know who they were before I boarded.”
He aimed the holomind at the Grantz soldiers disembarking. “I’ll ask them if they want to be on camera later.”
