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Chapter 224: The Human Federation
🕑 Added 2025-10-07 12:25:05 +0000 UTCChapter 224: The Human Federation
Surface - Human Federation - Mobile City of Jincheng
Brilliant particle beams slapped against the towering alloy outer walls. The dome shield rippled with blue light under the baptism of the energy beams.
In the conference hall, a hololithic projector cast a flickering star-chart over the center of the long table, illuminating the stern faces of the attendees.
"Contact has been established with the unknown void-fleet, Executor Russell," a Fleet Admiral of the Space Force said, submitting his report to the Human Federation council. "Our combat forces had a brief meeting with the space-faring power in wasteland sector 27. They call themselves the Dawnbreakers. Specific information will require a meeting between high-level representatives. The initial choice for the meeting location is the mobile city of Jincheng."
The executors from the various core cities exchanged glances, then nodded to each other. The situation on the planet's surface was critical. A shortage of population and the harshness of the environment prevented the Human Federation from deploying its full military strength. In the repeated, asymmetrical clashes with the Orks, even the elite guard units of the various cities were feeling the increasing pressure. And the Preserver Array, which stored the consciousnesses of their ancestors, had been occupied by the off-world marauders. They had not received a message from it in a long time.
This was no time for secrecy. It was fortunate that they were already gathered here for a conference organized by Executor Russell. This was the best possible outcome.
"Can we identify them? Are they marauders in disguise?" The voice of the Director of Strategic Intelligence, Wade, was low. His crossed legs under the table were slightly tensed, betraying his restrained urgency. Although they had ample video data, they still needed confirmation from an eyewitness.
"I do not believe so," the Fleet Admiral, whose name tag read 'Chang Wei,' replied. "According to the images transmitted by our remaining satellites, their ships are adorned with extremely ornate religious decorations, using a large amount of rare elements such as gold. I do not believe that even in the interstellar age, an unofficial faction would be so extravagant." That was a rare element that could only be born in a supernova. "At the same time, the language they use is somewhat different from the six mainstream languages of the Federation. Analysis shows traces of a combination of Latin and English."
The elements were a little too numerous.
"How interesting. If they are missionaries, then were the previous marauders pirates?" Russell smiled, then turned to another executor, a fellow technocrat. "Bill, do you have a sense of déjà vu? A bit like your old home?"
"I very much hope not," the Executor of Londinium, Bill Hines, said, looking up and sighing. The air purification system in his chest increased its power, blowing a stray grey hair in front of his eyes. As he brushed it away, the body that was mostly replaced with nano-metals was revealed. It was a memento from an orbital bombardment by the marauders twenty years ago.
If he could help it, he really did not want the current human regime to inherit the style of that brutal colonial era. As the aggressor, it was a thrilling thought: sweep all before you, establish hegemony. Even the lowest vagrant in London would puff out their chest at the sound of Victoria's glory. But as the victim, it was a pure catastrophe. They had already been hit once. If not for the Orks suddenly appearing and disrupting things, the various mobile cities would have probably been bombarded to their fill.
"Perhaps this is a necessary stage of expansion," Russell said optimistically, his voice deliberately light. He then looked at his chrono and stood up. "Let's go. Let's see what humanity is like today."
Seeing that the current Chief Executor had made his decision, the other executors also rose. Some vanished in a flash of light, all leaving the conference room in unison. As the last trace of activity faded, a group of small creatures, resembling upright cats, began to move through the empty hall, maintaining the equipment that had been running for tens of thousands of years.
The Human Federation had been founded over 36,000 years ago.
On January 1st, 2110 AD, with one hundred years remaining before the depletion of Earth's traditional resources, humanity concentrated its remaining assets to create several space exploration vessels to solve the energy crisis and to preserve human knowledge in the face of the violent turmoil that would follow. They were crewed by a large number of scientists and skilled workers, placed in cryo-sleep, and, under the control of artificial intelligences and powered by different types of experimental engines, they set out for the depths of the galaxy.
One of them, driven by an experimental warp engine, after a journey of a thousand years, arrived in a star system on the other side of the galaxy, sixty thousand light-years from Earth. After being awakened by its A.I., it began to establish a regime on a local habitable planet. They discovered the technology of an unknown civilization and, in a short time, advanced their technological level to an extremely exaggerated degree, even replicating the existence of the Sol system on the other side of the distant starry sky.
Then, one day, this glorious regime was suddenly lost. The planetary orbits shifted, the cycles of the various planets fell into disarray, and geological activity surged. The entire star system was thrown into an abnormal chaos. Only a branch of humanity, living in mobile cities on the surface, was left to struggle for survival.
This was the origin of the Human Federation.
The original regime, led by scientists, was lost. Their consciousnesses were stored in a massive artificial intelligence collective known as the Preserver, performing unknown calculations day and night. The survivors on the surface, living in their mobile cities, inherited the history and some of the technology of their ancestors, but the geological chaos and the extreme environment made it difficult for them to explore space.
Fortunately, the frequent disasters in the star system had united them. Floods and thunderstorms were just appetizers. Super-earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, abnormal radiation bursts, and asteroid impacts were common occurrences. Under such living conditions, only an efficient, progressive, and strong government could lead humanity to survival.
For tens of thousands of years, they had lived on, stubbornly. Their history and culture had also been greatly preserved in their stable internal environment. But their space exploration technology had not made significant progress in the face of the frequent disasters. In fact, due to their extremely limited living space, their population had always been limited to around four hundred million. It was difficult to support a large-scale space program on a planet with such a harsh environment.
But humanity had never taken its eyes off the sky.
On the landing pad of Jincheng, Russell looked up. The plains were in their fertile period, and the sky was clear. He needed only to raise his eyes to see the silhouette of the great ship in the sky.
One hundred and forty-three years ago, this was a place full of hope. The dome above them had been polished to a shine. After ten thousand years of slowly and painstakingly transporting raw materials into outer space and building protective devices to prevent them from being destroyed by erratically flying asteroids, the port had finally, under the hopeful eyes of countless people, begun to operate.
A space fleet was established. They began to colonize the other two, slightly more habitable, planets in the star system. But it was all destroyed after the arrival of those pirates. When the Federation had excitedly sent a message to their human compatriots, the pirates had killed all the inhabitants of the colony, and then greedily announced that they would be taking over this planet, and had sent in their ground troops.
But the marauders' ground forces were too weak and were easily repelled by the various mobile cities. The subsequent orbital bombardment, however, was something they could not withstand. Until the arrival of the Orks, who had interfered with the space fleet and dragged the entire planet into a long war of attrition.
To this day, the location of their ancestors had been occupied. The pirates had stabilized the lava-scape and sealed off the ancestral site. The Federation did not have the technology to enter the lava region, and their small forces were not enough to reclaim their heritage. Moreover, the planet was plagued by frequent Ork threats, and these warlike races would not let you choose their enemies for them.
'I hope they are willing to communicate,' Russell thought, letting out a soft breath. No matter how relaxed he appeared before his colleagues, he could not deny his nervousness. The Human Federation could not afford another war.
