Meanwhile, in a high-end apartment in the core urban area of Planet Nova.
Byrne was reviewing the information about Lusaka that Aventurine had given him earlier. The star chart showed that Lusaka, located at the edge of the Przesmyk star system, was considerably far from Nova IV. By a rough estimate, it would take at least three stellar warp jumps to reach Lusaka, with the travel time taking no less than five hundred system hours.
Converting this time into the day-night cycle of Planet Nova, it was approximately twenty-three days. This meant he would be staying inside an interstellar vessel for a very long time. During this period, Byrne would have to endure the spatial turbulence caused by multiple warps and the potential phenomenon of interstellar currents.
Byrne's fingertips slid gently across the virtual panel of his optical computer, gradually zooming in on the star map of Lusaka. The star of Przesmyk was a relatively elderly orange giant; its radiation intensity was weak, which happened to allow Lusaka's super ocean to persist for a long time.
After finishing with the star map, Byrne tapped several times to open a data file. Records showed that the fleet sent to mine Azure Crystals years ago consisted of three heavy transport ships and five escort frigates. They carried the most advanced deep-sea exploration and mining equipment of that time, led by a former senior executive of the Strategic Investment Department, code-named "Iron Anchor" Victor.
After arriving at Lusaka, it took the fleet only a few months to locate the Azure Crystal veins. However, on the third day of mining operations, the Stellaron disaster struck. The entire fleet failed to evacuate in time and was completely swallowed by rising tides, falling silent in the deep sea.
Byrne clicked on the photos and examined them one by one. Rather than photos, they were more accurately freeze-frames captured by various surveillance cameras at the final moments. Currently, the quality of these photos was extremely poor, only allowing one to vaguely discern the outlines of the fleet. These were old Corporation vessels that had become obsolete several Amber Eras ago; based solely on the existing photos, Byrne could not determine the specific location of the ships. After all, modern Lusaka was entirely submerged by seawater, offering no landmarks to speak of.
In one or two of the photos, a vast azure sea could be seen, with golden spray surging across its surface. After scanning the photos, the optical computer displayed a label:
[Suspected Stellaron-contaminated sea area; seawater contains high concentrations of Stellaron energy.]
Seawater from Stellaron-contaminated areas would corrode the metallic shells of mechas and detection equipment, and it would also cause genetic disorders in organic life forms. At best, it caused mental lethargy and physical decline; at worst, the victim would be assimilated by Stellaron energy and become a mindless "Fragmentum" monstrosity. Perhaps it was because the sea containing Stellaron energy had come too fast and too fiercely that Victor's fleet had been unable to escape.
Byrne thought for a moment and then tapped on the next audio file. The first three audio clips were relatively normal, revealing no issues. When the final clip finished loading, a burst of piercing static emerged first. Several seconds later, the harsh noise gradually weakened.
"This is Victor. Calling Headquarters, calling Headquarters! A sudden Stellaron disaster has occurred on Lusaka. Sea levels are rising rapidly, and storm intensity has exceeded warning thresholds. The fleet's engines have been sabotaged; we cannot set sail in the short term. Please send support as soon as possible. Our fleet's coordinates are at Darussel—"
The voice was suddenly interrupted by a violent boom. Accompanied by the piercing sound of the hull snapping and the cries and screams of the crew, the static surged again, swallowing all sound. Finally, only intermittent noise remained, like a sobbing undercurrent in the deep sea, gradually falling into silence.
Byrne frowned deeply, replaying this audio clip repeatedly. His fingertips tapped rapidly on the virtual panel as he tried to restore the information hidden by the noise. The computer worked at full capacity to process the noise reduction, but no matter how he adjusted it, the part concerning the coordinates after "Darussel" could not be clearly restored.
Sabotaged?
After listening to the audio, Byrne's brow furrowed tightly. Previously, he had always felt that the fleet's destruction was simply an accidental encounter with a Stellaron disaster. But now, Victor's words completely overturned that view. The engines had been sabotaged, meaning that behind the seemingly unavoidable natural disaster, there was a man-made calamity.
Who had sabotaged the engines of Victor's fleet? Was it an insider within the IPC, or a spy from another faction? No, perhaps it was factional infighting. After all, the Interastral Peace Corporation was not a monolith; it was filled with internal factions and endless strife. In particular, the friction between the Strategic Investment Department and the Marketing Development Department was common knowledge.
Countless questions circled in his mind, making Byrne feel more and more that this mission was not simple. Aventurine's gamble might not have been a pure search for Azure Crystal mines from the beginning. In Byrne's view, this felt more like a far-reaching game of chess, and he was a chip Aventurine had pushed onto the table.
In Victor's recording, a location called "Darussel" was mentioned. Unfortunately, since the Corporation's planetary database did not contain Lusaka, no information could be found. As for Aventurine's side, Byrne wondered if he knew something. After all, the audio clip and the coordinates were provided by him.
But on second thought, Byrne dismissed the idea. If Aventurine knew, he would have said so in the office. There was no reason for Aventurine to hide such critical information that would help complete the mission. To find the answer, he could only go to Lusaka and ask the "Louvielle" people of the Ship-Nation. However, over a thousand years had passed, and it was hard to say if the current Louvielle people still recognized the name Darussel.
Just then, a new message popped up on his optical computer, simple and clear.
[Master, a lady named Natalie has added you as a contact. Please approve the friend request in a timely manner.]
Byrne opened his contact list and indeed saw a request noted as "Natalie." After approving the request, Natalie's message was sent over immediately.
[Mr. Byrne, please be sure to gather at Berth 7 of Nova Spaceport at eight o'clock tomorrow morning.]
[I have sent the relevant parameters of the exploration vessel, the squad member list, and the equipment list to your computer.]
[Additionally, as a friendly reminder: this mission must prioritize the Azure Crystals. Please try to restrain your personal emotions and curiosity to avoid affecting the progress of the mission.]
Looking at these cold lines of text, Byrne laughed self-mockingly. Even before meeting, based solely on these few lines, Byrne could feel this Lady Natalie's contempt for him. After all, in the eyes of this elite captain, a P25 junior employee like him had probably just gotten lucky at Aratasso and gained Aventurine's favor by chance.
Byrne shook his head, not thinking too much about it. He gave a brief reply and then opened the data Natalie had sent.