Failure, of course, was easy enough to understand. It simply meant that, like all the other probes, the ship would plunge into the great silver orb at the center of the stargate and then shoot out the other side.
As for that one successful attempt, it meant going through the stargate and then making the return trip. In fact, the crew from that successful run had already completed their physical examinations and were now waiting in the laboratory's lounge, ready to answer General Yu's questions at any time.
But this so-called half-success was open to debate.
"So the ship made it through, but couldn't come back?" Yu Lian guessed.
Little Bai nodded. Her expression was clearly worried, yet it held a hint of anticipation—and even a faint trace of pride.
...All right, Yu Lian couldn't say how much the girl had grown in terms of technical skill, but she'd certainly improved quickly at making faces.
"Do you have family or friends aboard?" Yu Lian asked.
Thinking about it, the Bai family might be known as the local tyrants of New Shenzhou, but at heart they were still a pioneering family. There was no reason they'd sit something like this out.
Sure enough, Rhodes added, "The ship that hasn't returned is the Lone Ranger, an exploration vessel commanded by Colonel Bai Chengyu."
Yu Lian had heard that name several times. He was Little Bai and Tai'a's cousin, and in his younger days he'd been a fairly accomplished exploration ship captain with experience surveying the New World. After the Leviathan Campaign at Tianshu, he'd returned home and become an officer in the New Shenzhou Guard Fleet. He was quite well regarded among New Shenzhou's pioneers and adventurers.
As for the Lone Ranger, it had been the ship belonging to the Bai ancestor