From Cannon Fodder to Star Conqueror

Chapter 10: Induced Signal Active (Please continue reading! Please save!)

On the static orbit of Robert IV, "Abundance" Spaceport.

As the only civilian throughput port and orbital elevator on this agricultural planet, it handles a large amount of cargo daily. These cargos, consisting of economic crops, meat, and livestock by-products, are lifted by the orbital elevator and then distributed into cargo spaceships docked at the spaceport.

In August, according to Universal Standard Time, it is the harvest season on Robert IV, and the busiest time of year for "Abundance" Spaceport.

At this time, if someone were to stay near the spaceport in space, they would witness numerous cargo ships sliding out from various exits of the spaceport. The light at the tail end of these ships gradually shifts from dark red to blue, indicating the increasing power of their plasma propulsion arrays.

After departing the spaceport, the cargo ships adjust their orbits and attitudes, gradually clustering together like a school of fish in the deep sea. They follow a fixed trajectory, using the planet's rotation to accelerate until they reach the speed needed to escape the planet's gravitational pull. After that, they will split off and head in different directions.

A small portion of the ships will use gravity slingshots to travel to other planets within the same star system or nearby systems. If they were not in this border system but in a more prosperous one, they could use the super-large mass accelerators built by the Federation to shorten their travel time.

Aside from these short-range ships, most vessels will head toward large jump drive arrays in deep space. After waiting in line, they will be sent to other star systems.

The largest ships in the fleet—those equipped with jump engines—will engage their engines at a safe distance and enter subspace travel.

This crucial technological advancement, which has driven human development, is tightly controlled by the ruling factions of major human powers. Even though it is installed on all military ships, it is still relatively rare on civilian cargo ships.

At present, among the endless stream of ships, dozens of fifty-meter-long transport shuttles are continuously shuttling through. These are customs shuttles belonging to Robert IV, which conduct final inspections as the ships accelerate.

Patrol shuttle LHJ-117, under the control of its pilot, skillfully maneuvered through the "school" of ships and docked with a cyan-painted "Fox Weasel" class cargo ship.

As the airlock door slowly opened, the customs officers aboard saw the captain, who had a grin plastered across his face and was rubbing his hands in an overly polite manner.

"Ship ID 6277, Mithril."

"Customs boarding inspection commencing."

"Please open the terminal interface; we need to connect."

Ignoring the captain's awkward smile, the customs officers walked straight into the cargo hold. One of them immediately found the quick access passage inside the ship.

After entering the zero-gravity zone, he grabbed the handles on both sides of the transfer track and "floated" toward the cockpit.

His task was to check the terminal on this ship, to review the original documents for the flight logs and cargo list, ensuring they met regulations.

Other officers followed the captain to the rear cargo hold of the ship.

"Captain Ramos, I've been running this route for almost ten years now. We're old friends, do we really need such strict inspections? Heh heh."

The captain, a man with a face full of wrinkles, smoothly handed over a pack of hand-rolled cigarettes to the leader of the customs officers.

These were genuine hand-rolled cigarettes, a rare commodity for the staff who spent most of their time at Abundance Port and rarely visited the planet's surface.

Captain Ramos, a middle-aged man, skillfully accepted the cigarettes and placed them into his uniform pocket. However, his expression did not change, and his pace toward the cargo hold didn't slow.

"A routine check is a routine check. It's the rule."

"Don't think because we're familiar that I'll reduce the inspection standards."

The captain, lagging a half-step behind, silently cursed under his breath. But he still forced a smile and obediently followed behind.

The routine inspection proceeded quickly. For the dozens of composite cargo holds inside the Mithril, the customs officers only conducted random checks.

Given the enormous throughput at the port recently, the customs staff stationed at Abundance Port had been overwhelmed.

Soon, after completing the inspection with no anomalies found, Captain Ramos prepared to depart and move on to the next ship.

Just as he was about to begin his final inspection of the last cargo hold, the captain, who had been cooperative up until now, suddenly blocked his way.

"Captain Ramos, let's be honest, have we finished the checks yet?"

Seeing the captain in front of him, Ramos frowned and said with some displeasure, "Move aside! This is the last one, we'll be done soon."

"Don't be like that. I can see everyone is working hard, and there are many ships waiting for your inspection," the captain continued to block the entrance to the cargo hold, showing no intention of moving.

His non-cooperation annoyed Captain Ramos.

As a customs inspection leader who had been commanding Abundance Port for years and had disciplined countless captains, he immediately drew his stun gun.

But the next second, the captain handed him a small LED sheet, halting his motion.

The sheet simply stated: "Special cargo from Yashin Base. Inspection personnel should immediately release the ship."

The signature and electronic seal of Commander Adam at the bottom made the LED sheet feel as if it weighed a ton.

After a brief hesitation, Captain Ramos sighed and placed his stun gun back into its holster.

"Fine, let's go."

The customs officers quickly returned to their transport shuttle and detached from the Mithril.

Looking at the cargo ships joining the "school" outside the viewport, Captain Ramos, although reluctantly, had no choice.

If they were in the core star systems of the Federation, customs affiliated with planetary administrations might stand up to the military.

But this was the border, and having a gun in hand was more effective than anything else.

Even the top officials of Robert IV, including the planetary governor, had to smile and bow to Commander Adam.

As a lowly customs inspector, he knew better than to cause trouble.

"This damn pest has finally left."

Inside the Mithril's cockpit, the captain's grin had disappeared, replaced with a serious expression.

He looked at the personal terminal screen on his wrist. The time on the top right corner read 14:15 on August 17th, Universal Standard Time.

"Luckily, we didn't waste too much time."

"Continue as planned. In one hour, discard Cargo Hold 42!"

"Understood, Captain!"

At 15:15 on August 17th, Universal Standard Time, Cargo Hold 42 was "accidentally" detached from the Mithril.

After detecting an obstruction in the flight path, a small engineering shuttle arrived.

After contacting nearby passing ships without locating the owner, the shuttle deployed several carbon fiber cables with electromagnetic hooks to secure the rolling cargo hold.

The small shuttle, following the standard "channel clearing procedure," dragged the cargo hold toward Abundance Port.

At 15:30 on August 17th, Universal Standard Time, in the border system of the Star Dragon Empire, aboard the flagship of the Imperial Royal Navy's 8th Expeditionary Strike Group, the "Dawn Sword" battleship.

The long-awaited message finally arrived.

"General, we have detected the signal from an induced beacon!"

"The signal matches the one provided in the intelligence report!"

(End of Chapter)