The deathly silent curtain of space was torn apart by cobalt-blue sublight engines.
The silver-gray hull reflected the iridescent glow of the surrounding nebulae.
As it skimmed past an asteroid belt, countless fine particles of diamond-like stardust scattered in its wake.
"Commander, the seventy-sixth faster-than-light warp jump has been completed."
"We have arrived in the unexplored star system GE-64209, temporarily designated a 'Probe-Class 2' target under the Galactic Empire Space Naming Convention."
"Current location: tributary region of the Del Arm of the Milky Way, galactic longitude 83.27°, galactic latitude -1.15°, 122,000 light-years from the Serenity Star System."
"Stellar classification: G3V main-sequence star, mass 1.02 M☉, metallicity [Fe/H] = +0.18, stellar wind intensity 1.1 times that of the Sea Star sun."
Inside the cockpit, emotionless announcements rang out one after another.
"Matrix, initiate the full-spectrum planetary scanning protocol. Prioritize the atmospheric composition and thermodynamic gradients of every planet."
Jiwei brought up the holographic control panel and issued the command to the artificial intelligence.
Then he turned to the blonde woman beside him and sighed. "I hope we can find 'ONE' this time."
"That sort of thing is entirely down to luck." Mata seemed completely unconcerned.
Of course, Jiwei understood that.
Sea Star had already marked out the possible range of the target planet two years ago.
But the Milky Way was unimaginably vast.
Who knew where the life-bearing planet codenamed 'ONE' was?
That was right.
The two were intelligence agents affiliated with CP5. Jiwei's codename was Ghost, while Mata's was Dancer.
Their original mission had been to infiltrate the Galactic Empire.
Over the years, they had learned to pilot spacecraft and grown accustomed to traveling through space.
Naturally, they had also visited many planets of alien civilizations. The dangers and joys they had encountered there were difficult to put into words.