BATTLE FOR STARS

After a long while, the two finally stopped. The lieutenant’s uniform was completely disheveled, and the princess’s nightgown had been tossed aside. Both lay panting on the chairs.

“Princess, your studies are almost done. Where will you intern next? Why not join the fleet with me?” the lieutenant asked.

“Hmm… I haven’t decided yet. We’ll see,” the girl replied, glancing at the distant aircraft. She shifted the topic: “By the way, since you’re here, let’s have another aerial chase.”

“Better stick to the simulator,” the lieutenant said.

“That’s not thrilling at all. Real flying is far more exhilarating. I want to see if your skills have fallen behind over this time.”

Soon, the planetary safety center’s computer issued a directive: “Princess and Lieutenant Claudia engaged in aerial racing in KD13 sector. All nearby air traffic, adjust your routes immediately; all flight units vacate the airspace.”

Months later, a small spacecraft arrived at Planet 1573, marking the beginning of the princess’s most important journey to Earth.

-------------------------------------------------------

In the Hill Empire year 2453, the undefeated commander Miao Landon, later known as “the Vulture who Sees All,” had just graduated from the Westvina Military Academy and began his first military internship.

Due to a conflict with Benson, the son of the academy’s dean and a classmate, Landon was assigned to a remote unit. In truth, there was no personal grudge; Landon consistently outperformed Benson in fleet exercises, ranking first, which left the second-ranked Benson bitter. Taking advantage of his father’s position, Benson arranged a “difficult” assignment for Landon.

Landon was assigned to a mine layer under Third Officer Oscar Taiton. To many, this seemed like a simple internship task—familiarizing oneself with the fleet—so being stationed somewhere relatively easy wasn’t bad at all.

Mine layers were among the smallest ships in the Empire’s fleet, yet their role was critical: they deployed anti-spatial-jump mines—“folding mines.”

Spatial jumps were the simplest method for interstellar travel, creating temporary corridors between vast distances. If these corridors became unstable, a fleet could be ejected into unknown space—or worse, obliterated.

Thus, folding mines were strategically placed to prevent enemy ambushes in key sectors. They were generally passive, disguised as meteors or debris, activating only upon detecting spatial anomalies.

Mine layers also collected space “debris,” using magnetic coils to attract metallic materials for later recovery, keeping the sector clear.

Landon, a disciplined man, refrained from criticizing minor nonconformities aboard, understanding that maintaining good relations would benefit his internship assessment.

The mission itself was routine: patrolling previous minefields and verifying the mines’ functionality via computer signals.

On day fifteen of the patrol, Captain Oscar sat with Landon in the command room.

“After checking this sector, two more days and we’ll return.”

“Yes, time has flown,” Landon replied.

“You seem to enjoy this mission, though. For us, it’s routine, but for you, it’s new. After a few years, you’ll probably find it monotonous.”

“Perhaps,” Landon said.

“You won’t likely get bored. Westvina graduates usually start as assault ship deputies, then become fleet commanders. You won’t be stuck on a mine layer like me.”

“It’s still a decent job, at least no frontline battles,” Landon said.

“Yes, the only perk. Mine layers offer little chance of promotion,” Oscar laughed.

“Is this the final asteroid field?” Landon asked.

“Yes. After this small belt, we can return,” Taiton replied.

“This region is complex; we’ll be slower than elsewhere,” Landon noted.

“Just a day or two,” Oscar said, monitoring the automated systems.

Suddenly, a red alert flashed on the screen. “Two abnormal energy readings detected!” the computer reported.

“An enemy ambush?” Landon jumped up.

“This isn’t a frontline sector; we’re in secondary defenses,” Oscar said, issuing commands to ready the crew and deploy more detailed probes. “In my decade of experience, I’ve never seen this.”

“Perhaps my bad luck prediction came true,” Landon muttered.