First meeting

After breaking through the atmosphere, everyone changed into lightweight spacesuits. Then the spacecraft accelerated sharply, heading toward the space above the Ring World.

The Ring World was a perfect circle. Inside it, the star was always overhead, but out in space, their orientation shifted ninety degrees. The Ring World lay parallel to the ecliptic plane, with the Stellar Base suspended above it. Xi Yan struggled to adjust at first.

Yu Shuo, the captain of his personal guard and a career soldier, remained composed, deftly piloting the spacecraft toward the Stellar Base stationed in orbit around the star.

In the game, claiming a star system first required sending a Science Ship carrying a Science Officer to survey it completely. Then, by spending influence and alloys, you could have a Construction Ship build a Stellar Base in orbit. Only then would the system officially become part of your territory.

Stellar Bases came in five tiers: Outpost, Starport, Starhold, Star Fortress, and Citadel. The Interstellar Human Military Junta had inherited Stellar Base construction technology from the United Nations of Earth, and the base currently built in the Cybrex Alpha System was a standard Starport-class installation.

It contained one shipyard, one anchorage, and a small crew quarters module that did not count toward its Starport Districts.

In the game, each Stellar Base upgrade unlocked several building slots for functional facilities such as shipyards and anchorages. Reality was naturally different: as long as the energy supply and the base's size could support them, there was no limit to how many facilities could be built.

As they approached the Starport's perimeter, Xi Yan saw three enormous space warships suspended side by side in a designated anchorage. Each was over a thousand meters long.

The familiar designs nearly brought tears to Xi Yan's eyes.

That familiar red-and-gray color scheme, those elegant, flowing lines, and the gun barrels mounted on top of the ships-his youth was back!

They were the standard humanoid ship models. Whether it was the United Nations of Earth or his own Interstellar Human Military Junta, their Faster-than-Light Warships all looked the same.

The spacecraft landed at the Starport. Through the porthole, he could see a line of soldiers waiting outside in flight suits, with several sub-light military vessels parked nearby.

The hatch opened, and twenty members of his personal guard disembarked first to handle the handover.

"On behalf of all our officers and soldiers, I welcome the Marshal on his inspection visit."

An imposing man approached Xi Yan and saluted him.

"Looking sharp!"

"This is General Ning Zhiyuan, commander of the First Fleet. Those three corvettes are under his command." Xi Yan wore no earpiece, yet Beta's voice reached his ears clearly through his Wristband.

Bone-conduction technology from the year 2200, kid!

Xi Yan nodded and greeted the Asian man, who had only just entered middle age, with a friendly smile.

Just then, two burly white men approached from the other side, saluting Xi Yan from a distance. "Marshal."

"Shoigu and Gerasimov. Those two are always inseparable," Beta added.

An eager smile spread across Xi Yan's face. He opened his arms to them and called out, "My most trusted generals! How have you been?"

For a moment, the two approaching generals looked uncomfortable.

They exchanged a glance, then smiled as though realization had dawned on them. They gave Xi Yan a bear hug before looking him up and down. "It's been a long time. The young Marshal has grown even more impressive."

"Indeed, you look more like Marshal Xi Lie every time I see you." General Shoigu patted Xi Yan's shoulder and sighed. "Having the country entrusted to the young Marshal is truly a blessing for all our citizens."

Screw you. I'd love to feed you both a bullet!

Xi Yan was sorely tempted to pull the pistol from his pocket and make a spectacular scene.

But the time had not yet come.

There would be an opportunity...

"I'm still young and inexperienced. I'll need plenty of support from you generals." Xi Yan smiled sincerely as he shook their hands. "You both served my father for many years. I hold you in the highest regard."

"You're too kind, young Marshal." General Gerasimov smiled as well, then changed the subject. "What exactly have you come to inspect at the Starport today?"

General Shoigu added with a hollow smile, "We don't have much time, so we won't be able to accompany you on your inspection, Marshal."

"Oh, nothing much." Xi Yan smiled.

"I mainly came to see how you two were doing, and to take a look at these three corvettes while I'm here."

The two generals smiled. "Thank you for your concern, Marshal."

"Personally, though, we believe that despite their faster-than-light capabilities, corvettes are still inferior to small sub-light warships. They're too bulky and make easy targets," Gerasimov said.

"So if you'd like to have a look, Marshal, you could inspect our Sublight Warships."

Xi Yan chuckled softly, showing no other reaction.

How could corvettes possibly lose to those little sub-light fishing boats? I'll see for myself what's going on!

"All right. I'll take a look around first." Xi Yan smiled.

Shoigu gestured toward General Ning Zhiyuan. "General Ning knows more about the corvette fleet than we do. Let him give you an introduction."

"Please follow me, Marshal." General Ning Zhiyuan cast a discreet glance at Shoigu before saying solemnly, "I'll show you around our corvette fleet."

"Sorry for the trouble, General Ning," Xi Yan said softly.

Ning Zhiyuan did not reply. He headed straight for the Starport elevator. With a faint smile still on his face, Xi Yan waved a hand, and his personal guard surrounded him as he followed General Ning.

"Rest assured, Marshal, it's perfectly safe here. There's no need for your personal guard to protect you so closely," Gerasimov remarked, slipping in a veiled jab.

"Thank you for your concern, General, but keeping my guard with me is a habit."

Xi Yan's reply was brief. Without looking back, he followed Ning Zhiyuan.

"We have important matters to attend to, so we'll leave you to your inspection, Marshal."

"Of course. With you two working so tirelessly on affairs of state, you're truly pillars of the nation," Xi Yan complimented them.

Shoigu and Gerasimov exchanged a glance and quietly stepped back, their expressions unreadable.

"Did you notice anything?"

"Of course. He knows we've taken quite a bit of power from the former Marshal..."

"But we followed Xi Lie for years. The military is full of our people, and we have so many warships. Even if Ning Zhiyuan sides with him, he won't dare move against us."

"Don't worry. He's just a youngster who became Marshal because of his birth. He'll still have to rely on us."

"He'll still have to treat us with respect, won't he?"

The two whispered to each other. Ahead of them, Xi Yan walked calmly, his expression unchanged.

After they descended by elevator to the anchorage section, the view opened up before them. The three enormous corvettes were docked here, surrounded by a hundred smaller sub-light vessels.

Only twenty of those were under General Veronica's command, which effectively made them his.

Xi Yan walked onto the platform at the edge of the anchorage and stroked the smooth hull through his spacesuit glove. The alloy's chill seeped through the glove into his palm.

Of our entire fleet, only these three corvettes are barely fit for battle. As for the other Sub-light Warships... heh, they're fine for dealing with scattered rabble.

That was what Xi Yan thought.

Against another nation's organized fleet, they'd probably be shot down by point-defense weapons before they even got within range. Nothing but needless casualties.

On a space battlefield, even the most basic combat units were corvettes. Strike craft counted only as part of a ship's weaponry.

Xi Yan had eyes only for those three corvettes.

"Take me inside for a look," he told General Ning Zhiyuan.

"Of course." Seeing that Xi Yan was mild-mannered and easy to talk to, Ning Zhiyuan relaxed as well. "Please follow me," he said with a smile.

In the game, Paradox had made the ship models enormous so players could see their fleets easily. A single corvette was the size of the moon. Ridiculous.

In reality, a corvette was only about the size of several aircraft carriers joined together. The space actually available to the crew was fairly small; the engines, power systems, and weapons took up most of the room.