First Lesson

The screen displayed footage of that lopsided space battle. The three bounty hunter ships had charged through the Fourth Civilization's fighter formation as though no one were there. The Blade-class fighters' basic electromagnetic cannons could not damage their shields at all. Even their infrared laser weapons, lacking sufficient power, could only send a faint ripple across the shields.

In contrast, the three ships' turbolasers and blaster cannons destroyed Blade fighters with a single shot! Thirty-four fighters had been destroyed, along with all thirty-four pilots. Four transport ships had been destroyed, with eight crew members killed—meaning they had not even been given a chance to escape!

"It was only later that the visiting Jedi Knights, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, stepped in to help. Their piloting skills were exceptional. With just one ship, they shot down all three bounty hunter ships. Then they left directly," Clement explained from the side.

Watching the devastating battle, Tang Xiao clenched his teeth as fury filled his heart. Affected by his Force, the small objects around him began to tremble, as if a mild earthquake were taking place.

When the video ended, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Only after a long while did he say, "Bring Feng Yongwang and Guan Yan here."

Once the two scientists arrived, he asked bluntly, "At the current pace, how much longer until the Wraith fighter is successfully developed?"

"We're gradually accelerating progress. Since the two Elite Class computer and engine specialists joined us, our progress has improved further, but it will probably still take another six months." Feng Yongwang glanced at the video, gritted his teeth, and added, "We'll do everything we can, work overtime, even go without sleep, to complete the development."

"Haste makes waste. Maintain a proper balance between work and rest, and proceed at a normal pace. I don't want fatigue to cause errors during the research process. That would be disastrous." Tang Xiao then turned to Guan Yan. "Next, I need your team to work on two areas."

"Go ahead," Guan Yan replied with a nod.

"First, the small Space Shipyard should be finished by now. I need at least one usable light frigate to enter our production line. Second, during this gap, we need to further squeeze out the potential of the Blade-class fighter and improve its Combat Power as much as possible," Tang Xiao said.

Guan Yan nodded. "As for the second matter, we already have a plan. Dr. Feng, you explain it."

Feng Yongwang nodded. "We are currently analyzing the Wraith fighter's weapons systems and should finish soon. The Wraith fighter's main combat weapon is the Gemini missile, an excellent air-to-air missile. Once the analysis is complete, I'll hand the results to Dr. Guan's team so they can equip the Blade-class fighters with this missile."

Guan Yan continued, "We are also developing basic energy shields and compact nuclear fusion engines. The technology in these areas is relatively mature and should be ready for application soon. By then, the Blade-class fighters' energy supply will improve by a whole level, which will also allow us to increase the power of their infrared laser cannons. Equipping them with basic energy shields will be another major boost. It's just..."

"Go on. I'll do my best to resolve any difficulties," Tang Xiao said with a nod.

"We lack manpower. Our team has no spare capacity to take on more research projects. The team currently analyzing light frigates only has six people, which is far from enough. But adding personnel means needing more laboratories, experimental equipment, and facilities. All of that takes time to build," Guan Yan said.

"I'll do my best to meet the manpower and facility requirements. First, tell me about the frigates," Tang Xiao said.

"There are currently two basic light frigates to choose from. One is the Knight-class light frigate, and the other is the Hammer-class frigate. The former is 28.5 meters long and is a fairly versatile frigate, with adequate firepower, speed, and armor. The Hammer-class is 31.4 meters long and focuses more on armor protection and firepower. Producing other frigate-class vessels in the technology database would require more time to adapt the technologies," Guan Yan replied.

"Forget the Knight-class. Begin analyzing the Hammer-class frigate directly. Set aside ships from other technological systems for now. We'll consider them when we have more teams," Tang Xiao decided at once.

"Understood. Then I'll have to ask you, Administrator, to put some effort into the manpower and laboratory facilities." After speaking, Guan Yan withdrew together with Feng Yongwang.

Tang Xiao closed his eyes in thought for a while, then opened them and said to Qi Jian, "Arrange personnel to train on the captured YV-865 Auro class freighter as soon as possible. Train a crew to operate it quickly. Or I can see whether there are any Elite Class pilots available to awaken."

"Yes." Qi Jian immediately agreed. "Also, engineering ships have been assigned to recover the wreckage of the three bounty hunter vessels. So far, we've recovered two usable turbolasers. I plan to install them on a transport ship and use it as a gunboat, to strengthen our firepower at least a little."

"You did well, Qi Jian. You did everything you could. This isn't your fault. We never expected to be found so soon after arriving here. With our battle preparations incomplete, this was the only outcome possible," Tang Xiao said.

"No... Administrator, it was my fault. I never should have sent our fighters to confront the pirates head-on... I was the one who sent them to their deaths..." Qi Jian was utterly despondent, his body trembling.

Tang Xiao walked over and patted him on the shoulder. "Perhaps we'll face even more devastating sacrifices in the future, but this is the road we must walk. Let's grow together, Qi Jian. This is our first lesson. More challenges await us ahead. Perhaps today, one order from you caused dozens of people to die. But perhaps one day, thousands upon thousands will die because of a single word from us. This is our path. Treating human lives as numbers is both a mockery and a helpless necessity."

Tang Xiao opened the personnel list and found that quite a few pilots from the Elite class were already standing by. They were all battle-hardened, outstanding pilots.

However, there was no need to use so many of them yet. Having these people fly Blade-class fighters would truly be a waste of talent. He only awakened one of them to pilot the YV-865 Auro class freighter: a Black female pilot named Glory Judith.

Why a female pilot? And a Black one with such a lovely name? It was not because Tang Xiao had suddenly discovered some peculiar preference. It was because...

She was practically a Black tank! According to her profile, she stood 1.92 meters tall and weighed 172 kilograms—and she was not fat. In other words, that body was all muscle! Her hobby was brutally beating people in flight simulator training, then dragging them to the fighting ring to beat them up all over again...

Tang Xiao immediately decided that Judith could be assigned to a group with Kunto later. If Kunto got any funny ideas, Judith could probably beat him so badly he would not recognize his own mother.

Thanks to kene1988 for the 500 Qidian Coin tip!! Thanks to 6aqc9 for the 100 Qidian Coin tip!!