VAP - Chapter 121
Chapter 121: The Marshal's Journey is the Sea of Stars (17)
This was a starship heading toward the border star, Cadina.
Cadina Star was an extremely rare, purely military planet. It served as the place where Federation soldiers lived, trained, and manufactured weapons, and was the Federation's first line of defense against the Zerg.
A planet of such importance was naturally not open to the public. Daily supplies were delivered regularly by transport ships via dedicated routes, and the entire process was extremely strict.
However, this starship was different from ordinary supply transport ships.
In the spacious passenger cabin, rows of comfortable seats were filled with passengers, most of whom were well-kept women of a certain age, conversing quietly with one another.
Of course, there were men among them as well, just relatively fewer.
These passengers were all relatives of the border officers, making a special trip to Cadina Star to visit their families. Since a significant portion of them were the officers' wives, they were respectfully referred to as the "Wives' Group."
Yue Du sat quietly amidst the crowd, her head slightly bowed, inconspicuous at first glance.
"How are you feeling now? You're not uncomfortable, are you?"
The chestnut-haired lady to her left asked with concern.
Yue Du returned a polite smile. "I'm fine. Thank you for your concern, Madam Zhan."
"It's nothing. I was merely asked by the Marshal. Please, don't stand on ceremony."
This chestnut-haired lady was the wife of Admiral Zhan Lingqi. She was a Guide, but not a member of the military, working instead for the State Council.
She and her husband were a fully bonded Sentinel-Guide pair, so Zhan Lingqi's mental state was relatively stable.
During the Admiral's rotation on the border planet, Madam Zhan would travel by starship periodically to perform a spiritual combing for him.
—Performing a spiritual combing for a partner, or receiving a spiritual combing from a partner, was the reason most people on this starship had to travel to the border planet.
It was also one of the purposes of Yue Du's trip.
The starship sailed through the vast river of stars.
Yue Du gazed out through the sealed porthole, her vision filled with a blackness so deep it could almost rival the color of her host's eyes, and with the brilliant, eternal light of the celestial bodies. It was a profound and splendid sight, one of incomparable, tranquil beauty.
A long time had passed since they boarded the starship. In about three more hours, they would arrive at Cadina Star.
Yue Du closed her eyes, appearing to be resting.
In fact, her system core was operating at a speed humans could never achieve, analyzing various data and carrying out the work she had been doing all this time.
At this moment, in the cockpit, two Federation soldiers were chatting.
This leg of the journey was very smooth. It could basically be completed safely on autopilot alone. The pilots only needed to watch, without being tense the whole time.
Suddenly, accompanied by a notification sound, a message popped up on the control panel:
Federation mecha signal detected. Code SXJ0001. S-class clearance. The other party is requesting to talk.
This code, and this clearance level…
The pilot on the right only had time to exclaim "My god" before hastily connecting the communication link, announcing loudly, "Marshal, reporting! This is the transport ship Divine Comedy, currently on a mission. What are your orders!"
A magnetic female voice with a rich texture came from the other side: "This is the Federation mecha, Silver Lion. Requesting to dock."
The pilot on the left grew tense. "According to the Federation Security Act, please state your intention for boarding, Marshal."
"There's a rule for that? Fine. I'm here to find my fiancée. She's on your starship."
The pilots fell silent for a moment.
This intention didn't seem to be among the clauses permitted by the regulations.
But this was their top boss, the Federal Marshal!
The code, clearance, voiceprint, and everything else matched, which ruled out the possibility of an imposter. They couldn't just lock their superior out, not unless they wanted to end their careers.
Sheng Xuejiu said impatiently, "Why aren't you talking?"
The pilot replied, "...Received. Command approved. Preparing to dock."
Three seconds later, a pleasant, life-like female voice sounded in the passenger cabin where the officers' families were seated.
"Beep. Announcement: The Divine Comedy is now receiving the Federation mecha 'Silver Lion'. Please be advised."
Yue Du: "..."
Madam Zhan: "..."
The ladies and gentlemen who had been chatting idly: "...?!"
It was just a family visit, what was the Silver Lion doing here?
Who didn't know this was the Marshal's mecha? For a person of this rank to be mobilized, could something have happened on the starship?
For a moment, everyone felt they were in danger.
Madam Zhan wanted to ask Yue Du if she knew what was going on, but she could sense that several nearby Sentinels were on high alert, having already lowered their mental barriers and fully opened their senses.
At a time like this, it probably wasn't appropriate to mention the connection between the Marshal and the young woman before her.
The mechanical sound of a successful ID card verification chimed at the cabin door.
In the silent room, the sound of military boots on the metal floor was exceptionally clear. They passed row after row of seats, finally stopping beside Madam Zhan—she was sitting on the aisle side, while Yue Du was on the side closer to the porthole.
The Federal Marshal, Sheng Xuejiu, raised an eyebrow.
Madam Zhan was silent for a moment, then said calmly, "Long time no see, Your Excellency, Marshal. I'm going to find my two sisters in the back. Could you please look after this child for me?"
Yue Du, the "child": "..."
Sheng Xuejiu replied cheerfully, "It would be my honor."
Madam Zhan was honorably relieved of her duty, and Sheng Xuejiu took her place.
As soon as she sat down, the Marshal leaned intimately close to Yue Du. "I finally get to see you. Did you miss me, my dear?"
Great. Madam Zhan's already flimsy excuse was instantly exposed. The Guides and ordinary people farther away were still in a fog, but the Sentinels with their enhanced hearing realized something was up between these two.
They immediately re-established their mental barriers, turning a deaf ear to the Marshal's affairs.
Even if the barriers couldn't block out all the sound and they were forced to overhear parts of it, they still had to pretend they heard nothing!
Yue Du sighed.
Actually, there was no need to hide it. Besides, everyone sitting in the cabin was a person of status; they were unlikely to spread rumors.
"Yes, I missed you," she said softly.
Sheng Xuejiu's eyes immediately curved into a slight smile. Her Quantum Beast hadn't seen Yue Du in a long time and seemed eager to come out on its own, but Sheng Xuejiu ruthlessly suppressed it.
This was a crowded, enclosed cabin. Yue Du definitely wouldn't let the white deer out; it was too big. And if there was no white deer, letting the long-haired cat out would just be asking for trouble.
Yue Du: "Why did you come over?"
Sheng Xuejiu: "I just happened to repel a wave of Zerg. There was nothing else to do, so I came to find you."
"The Marshal can't easily leave Cadina. You're really willful."
"So, do you like my willfulness?"
Yue Du wavered for a moment between the two choices of crushing her host's mysterious confidence and encouraging her host to continue ignoring military discipline next time, before helplessly admitting, "I do."
Sheng Xuejiu revealed a victor's smile.
After this series of developments, even if the others were slow on the uptake, they all figured out why the Marshal was here.
"Is the Marshal here to pick up that young lady? Coming to pick her up in the Silver Lion?"
"So romantic, so touching! I never would have thought the Marshal had such a side to her!"
—The above were from the sentimental faction.
"Speaking of which, isn't this a violation of military discipline?"
"The Marshal's clearance is very high, so it probably doesn't count."
"It's still a bit reckless, a waste of time and resources..."
—The above were from the rational faction.
"If I remember correctly, that young lady is a Sentinel, right? A freshman from this year's class at the First Military Academy."
"A Sentinel and a Sentinel, both female. That combination is quite rare."
"No wonder the Marshal was never willing to find a Guide. Will this really be okay in the future?"
—The above were from a faction that was hard to classify as either gossipy or forward-thinking.
Yue Du heard everything clearly. In the past, she might have been embarrassed, but after experiencing several worlds, both her expression and her inner self were the very picture of calm.
Honestly.
She was, indeed, a little touched. Mm.
The starship arrived at Cadina Star and landed in the designated area.
At this time, Cadina had just repelled a Zerg attack and was in a relatively quiet period.
Many officers had already received notice that their relatives would be arriving and were waiting outside the landing zone.
The passengers disembarked from the transport ship one after another, embracing the people who came to greet them. Some kissed directly, expressing how much they had missed each other.
Yue Du and Sheng Xuejiu were the last to come out. As for the hugging and pouring out of their hearts, they had already done that on the starship.
Admiral Zhan was patting his wife's shoulder when he happened to look up and see Sheng Xuejiu leading her little Sentinel down the ramp. His eyes widened in shock. "Marshal, what are you doing on the starship?"
Hearing this, the other officers all looked up, their expressions a mixture of astonishment and curiosity.
Yue Du: "..."
So they didn't know over here either.
Sheng Xuejiu said in a breezy tone, "Oh, I was just picking someone up."
Admiral Zhan: "Huh?"
Who picks someone up on the ship? This was clearly a mid-flight boarding!
Madam Zhan shook her head, signaling her husband to say less, then watched the Marshal and the young lady leave.
Sheng Xuejiu first took Yue Du back to her own quarters.
In the military barracks on Cadina Star, ordinary soldiers lived in four-person rooms, while officers of second lieutenant rank and above had single rooms. At the Marshal's level, this was naturally the case as well.
Sheng Xuejiu: "Care for a cup of Kafta?"
Yue Du: "Let me mix that."
"I'll do it—last time you said mine tasted the best," Sheng Xuejiu said firmly.
In the end, both of them went to mix the drinks. They prepared beverages for each other, then suddenly looked up, met each other's eyes, and smiled in unison.
Amidst the light, fragrant aroma of the Kafta, they chatted casually for a while.
The long-haired cat and the white deer were both let out. They were still stacked one on top of the other, pacing slowly back and forth in the Marshal's spacious room.
The cat seemed particularly happy, its fluffy tail held high and constantly wagging back and forth. In contrast, the white deer's reaction was much more reserved. Its relatively short tail hung demurely, unmoving, and only the occasional twitch of its pointed ears betrayed the fact that it was also very happy.
It wasn't until lunchtime, when a robot knocked on the door to deliver their meal, that the two women, reunited after a long separation (not really), were pulled from their focused, private world.
"Marshal, this is today's lunch."
A food trolley was pushed in by the robot.
"This is today's menu."
A list of dishes appeared on the electronic screen on the robot's face.
Yue Du glanced at it. "It's a portion for two."
"Yes, I ordered it yesterday," Sheng Xuejiu said cheerfully. "Your crispy-skinned shrimp. There's a chef here who's skilled at making shrimp, no worse than that place on the capital star."
Yue Du sighed contentedly in her heart.
She was touched once again.
Shrimp, shrimp. She had to eat her fill to have the strength to perform a spiritual combing for her host!
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