The Boundary Patrol's spacecraft vanished completely into the depths of the starry sky, leaving behind only silence and several floating metal crates.
There was no time for sentiment or hesitation. Neji signaled for everyone to act at once.
Flame Calamity and Stoneforce were responsible for dragging the supply crates into the observation station. The crates were well sealed and required specific energy keys to open; the keys had already been transmitted along with the star-chart data package. Xuan handled the decoding, and before long, the lids slid open one after another.
The first crate contained neatly stacked silver Energy Crystal blocks. Their quality was average, but the energy was stable and pure—the universal power source they urgently needed. The second crate was packed with tightly sealed nutrient compounds and water recycling units, enough to sustain the six of them for a long time. The third contained basic repair tools and spare parts, along with several simple spacework suits.
Inside the final and largest crate lay a complex device. Its main body was a silver-gray spherical power reactor roughly two meters in diameter, its surface covered in ports and conduits. Beside it were a comparatively compact navigation control core, attitude adjusters, and a set of folded solar sails. This was the Explorer-class single-person escape pod power core and navigation module Ash had mentioned. It did look rather old, with considerable wear on the casing, but the vital components seemed to have been maintained.
"The goods are fine. They're all standard issue." After a quick inspection, Xuan reached his conclusion. "The reactor output is stable. It's enough to propel an object with the mass of this observation station on sublight cruises and short jumps. The navigation module has a built-in star chart and can interface with the route data Ash provided. But...