Chapter 63. The Terran colony disappeared out of thin air
"Still not contacted?" Noah stood next to Shu Ran's console, wrinkles appeared on his forehead. For several minutes they had been trying to establish contact with Starfleet. Noah hopes to notify the relevant person in charge as soon as possible. A decision needed to be made as to what threat the new situation posed to the Federation.
Shu Ran just shook his head and continued to focus on the data.
Noah returned to the command chair thoughtfully. Daisy had reported that communications were back to normal, but apparently that wasn't the case. Then he would have to find another way to contact Starfleet. The flight to Earth is too long, and sending hyperspace messages would be much faster.
"Mr. Nilf, are there any planets inhabited by humans on our route?"
The half-Klingon opened the navigation file and launched the corresponding query. "Lagesh III. A colony of the Terran people. According to the latest data, the population of this planet is close to 30,000. The planet is 1.3 light years away from our current course."
The Andor and Terrans had been at odds with each other for nearly a hundred years before the Federation was formed, and skirmishes continued from time to time. Although the two races now live in peace, they still miss no opportunity to show their superiority to each other.
"Set a course," Noah ordered. That's enough. From there, they can contact Starfleet. He then pressed a button on the console to call Alva Daisy. "Yes, Captain?" Shu Ran responded.
"Daisy, please check the communications equipment again. We are unable to establish contact with Starfleet. Apparently the communications equipment is still damaged."
Daisy sighed. "Okay, I'll take another look and tell you."
"Please hurry up." He hung up the communication.
In terms of the speed of a spacecraft, 1.3 light-years is not a very far distance. The Republic covered the distance in a few minutes. Before they could approach the planet, it exited Wa
p transition and entered an orbit around the planet. It's not a particularly beautiful planet. From space, it appears to be just a gray rock. There are no large forests, no oceans. Basically, it's made entirely of stone. The atmosphere is so thin that humans cannot survive on this planet for long. However, for the Terrans, they are tough. For them, the oxygen content in the air is sufficient. And this planet is rich in mineral resources. To do so, they are willing to endure some inconvenience.
On the bridge of the Republic, Noah stood up from his command chair. "Without communications, we have to establish contact the old-fashioned way. We need a shuttle..."
The communicator interrupted. "Captain, the communications are functioning normally. The diagnostic program found no faults," Daisy explained. "Did you do it correctly?"
Noah felt that everything was not right at the moment. "Ms. Shuran, you heard me. Call the colony."
She did as he asked. But then she shook her head. "Sorry, sir. I couldn't make the connection."
"But the technology should have returned to normal." Noah walked to her side and watched her try again and again, but still failed.
Shu Ran said frustratedly, "The problem is not technical. I can't locate any receivers."
Noah looked towards Jeffrey. "What went wrong here? Was the colony abandoned?"
Still looking at the data, Jeffrey said, "Captain, I can't find any sign of a colony. This planet is completely uninhabited. There's no sign that there was ever a colony here."
Noah's eyes widened. "Did the Terrans dismantle the colony and our data wasn't current enough to take this into account?"
"No way," Nilf retorted. "Our database was updated the day before we took off. And there's no way a colony could disappear that quickly."
"You misunderstand me, Captain," Jeffrey explained. "There has never been a colony on this planet. Settlements of any kind leave traces that cannot be erased, except by erosion or volcanic activity. There is no sign of any such event. This planet has never been It has not been trodden by anyone.”
Noah closed his jaw in surprise. He never expected such a result. "Then we can also rule out destruction from space," he reasoned.
"Yes."
Noah ran his hands through his hair. Another mystery. But he doesn't have time to fix this now, someone else needs to be in charge. "Mr. Nilf, sail directly towards Earth again."
He walked back to the command chair. "Maximum speed."
"Yes, sir."
The planet disappears from the screen, leaving only the stars. Soon after, they entered Wa again
p jump state, speeding towards the earth. Although at their current top speed Wa
At a speed of p 7, it would still take them nearly eight days to reach Earth.
Ingmar cursed fate. Not only was he unable to celebrate his birthday on Earth as he had originally planned, but now he couldn't even celebrate his own birthday. Due to confrontations with the Sindi, destruction, and other strange events, celebrations were not only inappropriate, but impossible to take place at all. It's all the Cindy's fault.
He had just returned to his residence from the storage room. At least he wanted to buy himself a bottle of champagne, but that didn't happen. What kind of birthday is this, where you can’t even raise a toast to celebrate? He was in a bad mood and unhappy with his lot. He was convinced that he must have done terrible things in his previous life to be punished like this.
When he turned a corner and saw Noah and Mi Zhiwa standing at the door of his residence, the situation became worse. They seemed to be looking for him. This was really unlucky for him.
"Hello, Captain. Hello, Ms. Mi Zhiwa," he greeted the two. When Noah turned to him, he saw the captain had a bottle of champagne in his hand. Ingmar's mood improved slightly.
"Hello, Mr. Ingmar." Noah responded. "Seeing as you're not here, we're getting ready to leave."
"Then you came at the right time." He opened the door and invited the two of them to enter. "May I ask what honor it is to have you here?"
"Since it's your birthday today and the current situation doesn't allow us to do more, we at least wanted to have a drink with you." Noah handed him the bottle of champagne.
Ingmar grinned. "Of course I won't refuse. I'm going to get three cups first." Although it is not very elegant to toast with paper cups, due to the damage on the ship, I am afraid that there is no intact glass.
Just when he turned to get the cup, the doorbell rang. He went to the door first instead of going to the cupboard. At the door were Dr. Celia and Shu Ran.
Celia hugged him immediately. "Congratulations, little lunatic."
"Thank you very much." Ingmar smiled, he knew exactly what Celia meant. He was glad she still came to visit him. She was leaving the medical station for what seemed like the first time since that near-catastrophic event. He knew she had a lot to do there. And honestly, she looks terrible. The deep bags under her eyes were the only spots of color on her pale face. Therefore, he was even more grateful that she still came to visit him.
Shu Ran also hugged him. Almost a little hard and a little long. At least that's how he felt. Not because he felt uncomfortable, but because he felt awkward doing this in front of other people. He didn't want to be associated with her. When she released him, he immediately turned back to the cabinet. "I'll get two more cups."
Noah opened the champagne and poured the wine.
"Here's to you, Mr. Ingmar," Noah finally raised his glass. "Happy birthday."
Others also raised their glasses and congratulated him.
"How old are you?" Mi Zhiwa asked after taking a sip.
"Thirty-two," Ingmar answered.
"Thirty-two years old?" Shu Ran repeated in disbelief. "So young? You are still a young man."
Ingmar looked at her a little confused. Why did she say that? She herself...he didn't know, but she certainly couldn't be older than him. "I was younger," he responded.
"Does that need to be said?" Shu Ran blinked. She seemed to realize that he didn't know her age. And this clearly amuses her.
The reunion didn't last long. Soon the cup was empty. Dr. Celia apologized, saying that she had not slept for 75 hours in a row and had taken stimulants. When she had to go back to rest, Noah and Mi Zhiwa also took the opportunity to say goodbye. The captain left the half-full bottle of champagne to Ingmar, but he also emphasized that he must still go to work on time tomorrow.
In this way, Ingemar and Shu Ran stayed in the room. They sat on the sofa and toasted. But the sound the cup made was dull, making both of them laugh.
Shu Ran looked at him from the side. "You really don't know how old I am?" She brought up the previous topic again.
"Yeah." Ingmar hesitated. He really doesn't know. And he had trouble estimating her age. He would have said she was a little younger than him, but she emphasized it so much that it made him doubtful. "I think you're about 29 or 30," he guessed cautiously.
She nearly choked on her champagne and let out a brief burst of laughter. "You're so naive."
"Is that wrong?" he asked uncertainly.
Shu Ran looked at him. "are you serious?"
"Yes," he assured, wondering why she was asking that.
"That would be great. But I'm going to be 38 this summer."
Ingmar raised his eyebrows in surprise. He really didn't expect her to be this big. She struck him as younger. He found it hard to believe that she was six years older than him. "I didn't think you were that old," he said tartly.
"Thank you," she said angrily, swiping him gently in the ribs.
Ingmar smiled. "If you call me half a child, then I can also call you old."
"You're right. 32 years old." She shook her head in disbelief. "You're still a kid."
Ingmar became serious. It occurred to him that he had to ask her something, even as his heart began to race. The timing is as good or bad as any other. And the sooner he knows the outcome, the better. So he took another sip of champagne, just to be brave, and started. "Now that you're so old," he started laughing. "Is there anyone waiting for you at home?"
She saw his sudden nervousness, so she was curious about what he was going to say. Now, a shadow came over her face and her smile dimmed. She looked at him briefly, as if her mind was far away. Then she returned to reality. "No more," she said softly. "No more."
"What happened?" Ingmar said sympathetically, guessing that a drama had occurred.
"I once had a boyfriend. We were together for eleven years, starting in high school," she began. "We even planned to get married, but then my father became seriously ill. I had to take care of him, so there wasn't much time left for my boyfriend. At first, he was understanding and supportive. We tried to manage our time wisely. But then As my father's illness continued for months, even years, the distance between us grew. He became more and more distant. Finally, I found out he had another woman. That was a year ago." She Swallowing hard. Apparently, she has never fully recovered to this day. "Fortunately, my father didn't see that."
Ingmar looked at her tenderly. On the one hand, he felt sorry for her. She must have been through something very painful. He wished he could share her pain. It's just that he doesn't know how. On the other hand, he felt lucky. Glad she doesn't have a regular partner right now.
"That's shameful," she continued thoughtfully. "The worst thing is that I don't know how long it lasted between them. Shortly after my father died, I found out the truth. I had time to make up for it, and I wanted to make up for all the regrets. It's just that he suddenly didn't It was time. But instead of ending our relationship, he continued to cheat on me until I found out the truth. I felt so stupid and so hurt." She looked directly at Ingmar. "And he told the woman he was single. Can you imagine?"
Ingmar shook his head slowly. Suddenly, he felt a little strange. How many lies has he told to women just to get laid? Granted, he was never in a relationship with two people at the same time, but he also told lies. So, he is no better than her ex-boyfriend. A sudden wave of guilt washed over him. But he couldn't show it now. If so, what would Shu Ran think of him? She would definitely never pay attention to him again. And he couldn't stand this outcome.
But Shu Ran was completely immersed in the pain of the past and didn't notice Ingemar at all. "How can someone be so hypocritical and cruel?" she said to herself. "How could I be so stupid to believe him? Why didn't I see through it?"
"Love makes you blind," he tried to explain. “Sometimes we don’t see reality clearly.”
"I don't know..." She shook her head vigorously, as if to shake off these thoughts. "Excuse me. It's your birthday and I don't want to ruin the mood."
"It's okay," Ingmar waved his hand in understanding. "Ending a relationship of eleven years is not easy for anyone."
"Yes, it's definitely not easy. But I still can't let go. I don't know when I will be able to trust others again, or even if it is possible. If there is no miracle, it will definitely take a long time." Shu Ran looked at it affectionately Looking at him. "thank you for understanding."
Ingmar felt uneasy inside again, and he had to control himself not to hug her. It's definitely not the right time to do this kind of thing. He never wanted to come across as taking advantage of her emotional struggles.
"What about you? How's it going?" she asked, forcing a smile. Clearly, she was trying to divert attention.
"Me? Nothing. I'm too young," he said with a laugh. "And immature," he winked.
"You're right," she admitted happily.
"However, if I had listened to my mother, I would have been married long ago, and she would have had grandchildren. Fortunately, she did not interfere in these matters."
Gradually, Shu Ran's mood recovered. They joked around all night and laughed to the point of tears many times. Alcohol lightens the atmosphere. Finally, they managed to finish the bottle.
When Shu Ran finally said goodbye, they were both in a happy mood. She hugged him again and kissed him on the cheek. "Good night and have sweet dreams," she said and went back.
Ingmar just grinned and shook his head. He had never met such a crazy woman.
