Chapter 346: The New Enterprise Launches
Ultimately, under the gaze of countless expectant eyes, the new Enterprise NCC-1701-A and its old captain, James T. Kirk, finally ushered in the moment of their maiden voyage.
A grand "launching" ceremony was held in the orbital drydock. Even though the starship was built in the emptiness of a vacuum and would never touch seawater, humanity's ancient tradition continued, calling this moment symbolizing a new life "launching" (entering the water).
Akira couldn't help but sigh with emotion. Even forty thousand years later in the endlessly warring Warhammer universe he came from, humanity's terminology for a ship's departure had never changed. This caused a faint ripple of sentiment regarding the continuity of civilization to rise in his heart.
As a technical consultant who had made outstanding contributions to this starship, Akira's massive dark-red mechanical body naturally appeared in the viewing area as well.
The streamlined hull of the new Enterprise sparkled under the specialized lighting. The hybrid skeleton of Ceramite and Adamantium endowed it with a calm and sturdy temperament. Compared to the old Enterprise, it had a bit less elegance but a bit more introverted sense of power.
Wearing a brand-new captain's uniform, Kirk stood before the bridge that was about to belong to him, delivering a speech to the Federation and all the spectators via broadcast, his face bearing irrepressible excitement and pride.
Akira calmly observed the ceremony, his sensors recording every detail—the cheers of the people, the flashing lights of the media, the speeches of the Federation high command, and the unique aura exuded by the starship itself, which fused the technologies of two universes.
He was witnessing the continuation of a legendary name, the official curtain fall of an old era, and the beginning of a new one.
At the same time, he was calculating that following this new Enterprise on a preliminary, short-to-medium range voyage would be enough to collect core operational data on the Warp 8 engine, the Stabilized Crystal, the Void Shield, and the Directed Reconstruction System in a true deep-space environment.
These first-hand materials would far exceed the value of anything that could be obtained in ground or near-Earth orbit tests.
"After one joint voyage, the estimated data collection rate will reach eighty-seven point four percent, meeting the requirements for preliminary technical verification and adaptive modification," he evaluated calmly. "By then, the preparations for returning to the original universe will also be basically complete."
He came to this relatively peaceful universe with a clear goal: to acquire knowledge, verify technology, and accumulate capital for future survival and development.
Now, warp technology, matter reconstruction principles, dimensional shield theories, and even the prototype of a quantum scan-based repair system and Genesis technology... these precious harvests had already greatly enriched his database and provided a solid technical foundation for the blueprint of his future flagship.
It was time to consider the return trip.
The strife of the Warhammer universe would not cease because of his departure; he still had unfulfilled missions and challenges he had to face.
The maiden voyage of the new Enterprise was, for him, both a climax of this cross-dimensional cooperation and the impending starting point of his journey home.
He planned to formally bid farewell to Kirk and the Federation high command after this voyage concluded.
However, Akira knew clearly that this return trip did not mean completely severing ties with this technologically advanced and orderly universe.
On the contrary, he already viewed this place as an extremely valuable external technological reserve and research and development center.
Future cross-dimensional exchanges would not only not be interrupted, but would instead become a normalized strategic choice.
The technology in this universe was advanced, the civilization was relatively rational and open, and the scholars were passionate about the exploration and application of knowledge, rather than shelving it or cloaking it in a veil of mysticism.
This environment was an almost ideal hotbed for deciphering and recreating the legacies of the Dark Age of Technology that were already lost or on the verge of being lost in the Warhammer universe.
"A circuitous route of inheritance," Akira noted in his internal planning. "Bring the STC fragments and technological blueprints—which cannot be effectively utilized within the Imperium due to factional infighting, knowledge blockades, or simply a gap in comprehension—here. Utilize the Federation's scientific research power to analyze, recreate, and even optimize them."
He knew deeply that, although it was currently the 31st Millennium and many technologies of the Dark Age were still functioning in the glorious era of the Great Crusade, the deeply ingrained academic elitism within the Adeptus Mechanicus, the rigid worship of the "sacred form," and the extreme fear of "heretek" had already planted the seeds for the great technological regression of the future.
Even if many technologies were discovered, they were often monopolized by a certain Forge World, becoming a political bargaining chip, or sealed away in the deepest archives, reduced to a "memorial tablet" for a few to admire, rather than an applied technology capable of elevating the strength of the entire Imperium.
In Akira's eyes, this inefficient flow and application of knowledge was a massive waste of humanity's legacy from the Dark Age of Technology.
He was unwilling to sit back and watch the achievements of the Great Crusade—in which he had personally participated and for which tremendous sacrifices had been made—gradually wither over the next ten thousand years, ultimately evolving into the terrifying vision he foresaw: rigid, superstitious, and struggling to survive in the quagmire of endless war.
That would be the ending all participants of the Crusade least wished to see.
Therefore, maintaining the connection with this universe and returning regularly in the future, bringing new "archaeological discoveries" for cooperative research with the Federation, became a highly attractive strategic choice.
He realized that the significance of cooperating with this universe went far beyond utilizing external resources to accelerate the enhancement of his own technological strength.
It was more like opening a unique path, one that could provide extra chances for preservation and continuation for those sparks of technology in the Warhammer universe that might otherwise gradually be lost amidst strife and ignorance.
He had already deeply experienced the knowledge barriers and factional infighting within the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Many precious discoveries would ultimately only be locked away in the vault of some Forge World, becoming a symbol of power rather than a stepping stone for progress.
It was different here.
The open minds, rigorous methodologies, and spirit of shared research among Federation scholars made deciphering and recreating those complex, even dangerous, ancient technologies possible.
Just like that set of Auto-Repair STC; although the original version remained mysterious, a practical, feasible research direction based on the principles of matter reconstruction had already been established.
Perhaps, through this unique cross-dimensional channel, some wisdom destined to be obliterated in its original historical trajectory could be systematically recorded, understood, and even developed into new branches.
This preserved knowledge might, at some critical moment in the future, become an unexpected ray of dawn in the darkness, providing humanity with one more choice, one more sliver of a chance for survival.
He had already set the coordinates for returning here and the necessary communication protocols as a long-term task.
When he finished dealing with the affairs of the Warhammer universe and brought new discoveries or difficult problems, this relatively peaceful sector of stars, and these minds adept at unlocking the shackles of knowledge, would still be his important reliance.