Cafeteria Conversation
After finishing all the food on the table, the two finally entered a period of post-meal relaxation, feeling quite satisfied with their meal.
However, they knew they would need to eat again soon, so they didn't rush to leave the cafeteria.
Before the food was fully digested, Yue Yuan quickly brought out the military arrangements to discuss with Man Yuemei.
If Yue Yuan is the head of the dictatorial group, then Man Yuemei and Zhu Pete are the two second-in-commands of this group, one controlling external military force and the other controlling internal military force.
Therefore, in a sense, the New Human Government is now a military-political system. However, within this system, the scientific community also wields very high power, making them the highest-ranking group outside of major military matters that concern people's choices.
For this reason, the New Government established the position of Chief Scientist, which belongs to a different system from the military, but is an agency under the Command Department.
After discussing military and political matters with Man Yuemei for a while, Yue Yuan brought up the fleet. "After the expansion, you will still be in charge of the fleet's field operations. However, things are different now. Assuming each Mountain-Class Warship has a full complement of 3,000 personnel, that's 30,000 people. Add to that the 60 Callisto -class warships, each with a full complement of about 1,000 people, plus the personnel on other Escort Ship, and the entire fleet will have at least 100,000 people at full strength. What are your thoughts on the management and command of such a large fleet?"
In the past, a full- Callisto-Class Warship would have required at least 2,000 personnel, but now that Artificial Intelligence technology is more advanced, a full-strength Callisto-Class Warship only needs 1,000 personnel to operate.
The Callisto-Class Warship are warships the size of the Callisto Warship, not warships as large as Callisto itself. They are a warship class specifically defined by humans in honor of Callisto, and are now considered secondary warships.
"Management is not a problem; we can follow our existing system, with a captain and Science Officer," Man Yuemei replied. "Using the Flagship Lyra as the Command Center, we will equip each Mountain-Class Warship with a captain and Science Officer, following the original system. In principle, the captain will take the lead in military operations, while the Science Officer will take the lead in operations with a greater scientific nature."
Each of the Mountain-Class Warship is equipped with several Callisto-Class Warships, as well as other types of vessels, forming a small squadron. Command is naturally conducted according to our military tradition, with all top orders issued from the flagship—a point I need not elaborate on, as Commander Yue is likely already aware of.
"The most important thing now is recruit training. After expanding recruitment, I plan to select the best recruits to board the ships, and then conduct daily training in a mentorship model. Within five years, the New Humans will be fully familiar with the warships. Then, another five years will be spent training the fleet in specific tactics, striving to make the fleet a true combat force before reaching the next destination."
"Furthermore, the Mountain-Class Warship utilize many new technologies and equipment, so we need to be selective in our recruitment efforts. I believe we should reduce the number of purely combat-oriented personnel and increase the number of personnel with special skills and expertise assigned to the ships."
"Especially now that every Mountain-Class Warship uses fusion propulsion and is equipped with Neutrino Communicator, the demand for Engine Crew and communications personnel is even greater."
Man Yuemei spoke eloquently, and to sum it up in one sentence: In the space age, those who are muscular but simple-minded will not get on a ship; everyone on the Mountain-Class Warship must be a talented individual.
It's easy to imagine the enormous cost required to bring a Mountain-Class Warship to combat readiness. It's not just about building the warship; it also involves personnel training and various tactical drills.
"Well, regarding the specific details of this matter, you can convene a meeting later and write down the details of the discussion in a memo, which will be kept at the Command Department." Yue Yuan nodded, indicating that it was good that you had a plan.
Having finished discussing military matters, Yue Yuan had nothing more to say. He had much to say about scientific and social issues, but Man Yuemei wasn't a scientist.
And so, the two of them fell silent.
Normally, they would have left after finishing their meal, but both of them knew they would have to eat again later, so they sat in the cafeteria, waiting for their food to digest.
The atmosphere was quiet for a while, and the two of them just sat there, seemingly staring at each other.
"Uh," Yue Yuan broke the silence after a while, but apart from military and work-related matters, he didn't know what to say, so he just made up a topic. "What do you think of the universe?"
"I never imagined that Commander Yue would care about other things besides work. That's truly rare." This reply was very much in line with the Man Yuemei.
Yue Yuan shook his head inwardly. He had clearly asked about the Cosmic View, but he had received such an answer, so he stopped talking.
Unexpectedly, after only a few seconds of silence, Man Yuemei asked in return, "What is Commander Yue's view on life?"
"It's nothing more than birth, aging, sickness, and death," Yue Yuan replied casually.
Man Yuemei sensed the perfunctory tone and smiled, "That's an old-fashioned idea."
"Drunk on the battlefield, wrapped in horsehide, I will die," Yue Yuan said again.
That's absolutely right. After the military and political center moved to the Lyra, in the event of war, the Lyra, as the flagship, would inevitably be on the front line of the battlefield. If anything unexpected happened, it would surely die on the battlefield.
However, this answer did not seem to satisfy Man Yuemei, so she shook her head, but did not ask any further questions. Instead, her tone changed. "Would Commander Yue be willing to listen to my opinion?"
Hmm, surprisingly, her tone wasn't cold anymore. Yue Yuan looked at Man Yuemei with some curiosity, wanting to see what her expression was like now, but all he saw were a pair of cat-like vertical eyes. Apart from feeling a bit eerie, he couldn't see anything else.
So he nodded. "Of course."
Upon hearing Yue Yuan's answer, Man Yuemei remained silent for a long while, as if it were her usual behavior. She would occasionally turn her head to look out the porthole, seemingly lost in thought or adjusting to the change in her vision.
After a while, she took a deep breath and slowly said, "When I was little, someone once asked my father if he was afraid of getting old. My answer was: No, I want to grow up quickly."
"Later, as I grew up, I saw my grandfather who was nearing the end of his life, my grandmother who was hunched over, and many other elderly figures. At that time, my answer was to cherish my youth, so I joined the army."
"Until later, when the sun was destroyed and we learned of the effects of the Red Gas discovered on Callisto, and humanity began its voyage under your leadership, I asked myself again, and my answer finally became so pathetic: I'm afraid of losing my youth."
"Yes, I've started to envy those of you who live for hundreds of years, but I'm not afraid of death. I just miss my youth. Isn't Commander Yue curious why I used the Life Elixir by any means necessary back then? This is the reason."
Yue Yuan nodded; it was the first time he had seen Man Yuemei like this.
Indeed, if Yue Yuan put himself in Yue Yuan's shoes, he felt he would definitely do the same. Who wouldn't love a strong body and a youthful appearance? Let alone women, men would too.