Here, there was no war, only prosperity and order.
But they knew that it was the sacrifices and victories on countless distant battlefields like Savannah that upheld this brilliant and peaceful starry sky before their eyes.
Qin Bei Wang's gaze calmly swept over the orbital elevators and the forest of warship silhouettes, finally settling on the increasingly clear azure planet below.
Receiving a medal was an honor.
But for him and the soldiers behind him who had just emerged from blood and fire, coming to this center of power and glory likely evoked complex feelings.
Their battlefield, after all, was in the distance.
The shuttlecraft, following precise laser guidance lines, slowly slid into the docking bay of a dedicated military port on the outskirts of the Capital Star.
In stark contrast to the bustling and prosperous civilian starports on the periphery, the atmosphere here was solemn and quiet.
Most of the berths were occupied by warships with sharp, austere lines and grim paint schemes, along with a few official shuttlecraft marked with the insignias of high-level departments.
The interior of the port was vast but sparsely populated. Only uniformed ground crew and security personnel moved about silently, their footsteps echoing clearly yet restrained on the polished alloy floor.
The hatch slid open silently, a slight breeze from the atmospheric pressure equalization passing through.
Qin Bei Wang stepped out first, followed closely by Zhuang ZhiXuan and the other officers.
There were no welcoming crowds, no flashing media lights—only the uniform illumination inside the port and the low hum of distant machinery.
This return trip was kept entirely confidential, in line with the military's practice of handling frontline commanders' travel to and from the core regions with discretion.
They passed through the docking bridge and entered a spacious waiting hall inside the port.
It was similarly deserted, but the view was exceptionally open.
An entire wall was made of massive floor-to-ceiling transparent alloy windows, replacing traditional viewports, offering an unobstructed view of the starry sky outside and the planet below.
"Wow…"
Several subordinates from remote star sectors or those who had always been junior officers couldn't help but whisper in awe.
They hurried to the glass, their faces almost pressed against it, their eyes filled with shock and curiosity.
Outside was the deep, boundless cosmic curtain, dotted with stars.
Directly below, the azure sphere of the Capital Star slowly rotated, wreathed in white clouds, with the faint outlines of continents visible. Together with the magnificent "Towers of Babel" in orbit and the ceaseless flow of ships, it formed a breathtaking scene.
For many Federal Soldiers who spent their entire lives in garrisoned star systems or frontline bases, seeing the Capital Star with their own eyes—especially from this perspective—was indeed a rare, if not unique, experience.
Watching his subordinates' rare, almost "tourist-like" expressions, a faint, gentle smile touched Qin Bei Wang's lips.
He knew that for many ordinary Federal Citizens and junior officers and soldiers, the Capital Star was a symbol, a center, yet as distant as the stars in the sky.
"There's still time. The medal awarding ceremony is tomorrow. Go ahead, take a good look," he said to everyone in a calm tone. "The view from here is truly different."
With the Commander's permission, the officers relaxed a bit more, gathering by the window to whisper and point, temporarily shedding the tension of the battlefield.
Qin Bei Wang's gaze shifted to his side. Zhuang ZhiXuan hadn't joined the others by the window but stood quietly in place, also looking out at the view, her profile calm and composed.
Qin Bei Wang was about to say something—perhaps, "Aren't you going to take a look?"—but the thought passed, and he held back.
He remembered that Zhuang ZhiXuan, like him, had graduated from the Federation Starsea Academy. Those years of her academic career must have been spent on the Capital Star.
To her, this place likely felt more like a familiar "hometown" than a spectacle to marvel at.
Zhuang ZhiXuan seemed to sense his gaze and the unspoken question.
Without turning her head, still watching the azure planet outside, she spoke in a steady voice.
It sounded like a statement, yet also like a response to the thought in his mind.
"Returning to the Capital Star, even the air smells different.
More… orderly, more dense, and busier."
She paused, turning her face slightly to look at Qin Bei Wang.
"It must feel even more unfamiliar to you, Commander?
After all, this isn't Blue Star."
Her tone carried a hint of understanding.
Qin Bei Wang gave a slight nod, his gaze also drifting toward the beautiful planet below, though his eyes seemed to look through it, toward somewhere far more distant.
"Yes. This place is good, prosperous—the pinnacle of human civilization."
He spoke slowly, a trace of barely detectable nostalgia in his tone.
"But Blue Star… is a different kind of 'good.'"
He described it briefly, as if sketching his homeland in his mind.
"There aren't as many skyscrapers there, no orbital elevators.
The land is vast, the people few.
The sky is clear, and at night you can see the true starry river hanging overhead, not navigation beacons."
"The food you eat, the air you breathe, the ground beneath your feet—all carry the most primal scents.
Not artificially synthesized 'nature,' but nature itself.
Some families have lived there for centuries, less as residents and more as guardians of the land's original state."
He smiled, the expression losing some of the Commander's sharpness, taking on a gentleness more fitting of youth.
"Sometimes, on the bridge, surrounded by endless steel and stars, I suddenly miss the scent of Blue Star's soil after rain, or an afternoon beneath an old tree, thinking of nothing at all."
Zhuang ZhiXuan listened quietly, without interruption.
She knew of Blue Star—one of the few planets in the Federation strictly protected as a "Human Pastoral Civilization Sample," a "luxurious" homeland only the top tier could possess.
It represented not the clamor of the power center, but a near-mythical tranquility and naturalness.
Just as the officers were immersed in the view outside, and Qin Bei Wang and Zhuang ZhiXuan conversed in low voices—
A series of heavy, orderly, and intensely oppressive footsteps echoed from the direction of the hall entrance.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
Each step seemed to strike the smooth alloy floor with an undeniable, weighty rhythm.
Everyone turned to look.
A squad of soldiers was marching into the hall in perfectly synchronized, powerful strides.
They wore crisp, dark green Army service uniforms, a stark contrast to the Naval officers' dark blue uniforms.
Even more striking was their physique—each standing close to or even exceeding two meters tall, with broad shoulders and thick backs. Their dark green military uniforms were stretched taut over knotted muscles, making them appear like moving hills as they walked.
Their stern faces, sharp gazes, and the hardened aura they exuded spoke of rigorous training endured on the ground or in harsh gravity environments.
In the Interstellar Era, starships dominate the skies.
Yet, landing assaults, fortress seizures, planetary surface control... still rely on these steel pillars who stand firm on solid ground, battling amidst gravity and the smoke of war.
They are the elite of the Federal Army, commonly known as the Marine Corps.