"Do you know how the Nebula Refining Station works?"
Standing on the bridge of the fleet flagship "Queror" battlecruiser, because there is still quite a distance from the target, the commander of the Human Federation Navy's Kraken Assault Fleet, Vice Admiral James Drake He had not yet entered the command room, which was protected by heavy armor, but was leisurely admiring the gorgeous nebula outside the window, and asked a question that made many officers on the bridge look at each other.
But anyway, compared to this being known as the "Walking Encyclopedia" in the navy, this was not the first time that they felt the lack of their own knowledge reserves.
As the third generation descendant of the Drake family, James Drake's ancestors were well-known local knights before the United Nations on Earth had hyperspace technology.
Although the changes of the times have changed one noble from another, the good family background and extraordinary adventurous spirit still allowed James's father to take him, who was only twelve years old, on board the ship named "Qiu Ju". "Ulysses' Ark."
Due to his father's connections, even after the establishment of the Federation, Generalissimo Sidney Beauclair still took good care of his father and son. Especially when little James, who was still underage at the time, showed his outstanding commanding talent. After that, the promotion speed was as fast as a rocket, so that the Federation had its first Vice Admiral who was over forty years old.
Shortly after being promoted to Vice Admiral, James Drake was once again entrusted with the important task of serving as the Commander of the Kraken Assault Fleet in the Federal Navy, which was once again in a period of employment. More than five years have passed since then. .
Since he didn't know whether the United Nations on Earth had revoked the hereditary titles of his family's ancestors and father for various reasons during the years since he left Earth, James, who was too lazy to investigate and verify, always regarded himself as a knight. In his spare time, he prefers to be called Sir Drake rather than General Drake.
Moments after Sir raised the question about nebula refining, an officer behind him boldly replied: "Sir, we know that you are not only a general, but also a famous naturalist in the Federation. So don't sell it. Tell us about this 'Nebula Refining', so that each ship can have a deeper understanding of the enemy."
"Haha, since you want to know, then I will explain it to you!"
James, who was flattered by the officers, shook his cane, pointed at the stardust air mass gathered by the Empire Nebula Refining Station in the distance, and said with disdain: "I'm afraid these lizardmen from the Qien Empire are not... You are still living in a dream, and you actually dare to keep the refining station operating at full capacity after the war with the Federation."
"Look at the nebula that is denser than elsewhere. This is the best proof. After being wrapped in this concentration of stardust, even the subspace sensor will never be able to figure out our specific location and scale. We are really desperate. Behavior, even the most basic vigilance is lost for a little profit."
After first expressing his disdain for the empire, Lieutenant General James put down his raised cane. The iron-clad tip of the cane collided with the alloy ground and made a crisp sound, which caused several officers who were not paying attention to desert immediately. In such a state, they listened to the class attentively.
"Unless the nebula refining technology of the Qien Empire is more advanced than that of the Federation, the refining station will definitely consist of the same few steps."
After recalling the relevant information he had read, James explained seriously: "The first is the gathering stage..."
...
"First there's the 'vacuuming' phase."
Haqak and Nadine, who had not yet realized that a catastrophe was about to come, were sitting on the sofa in the lounge. The former was explaining the steps of refining the nebula to the latter who was gradually becoming interested.
"At this stage, the large gravity magnet installed in the multi-functional area of the refining station will attract all the surrounding stardust and gas, whether containing metal elements or not, to the vicinity of the refining station with an astonishing efficiency, increasing the number of stars sucked into the station. The density of the dust air mass facilitates the next step of bonding work.”
“After the multi-functional area transports the absorbed stardust and gas to the transportation area, workers will sort the stardust into different pipes according to different categories, and the inert gas filled in the pipes will carry them to the adhesive Combined area.”
“The bonding area will use high temperature and high pressure to press these powders together, just like a compressor, compressing the huge volume of stardust into pieces, and use unmanned methods such as high-strength pipes in the station or conveyor belts to transport them. Screening in the zero gravity screening area where I work.”
Having said this, Haqak gestured to Nadine with his hand and told him that the size of these stardust blocks was not large, but the amount was very large. Sometimes there would be thousands of such high-density stardust blocks in one second. The dust is sent to the screening area for screening.
"Most of the time, the compressed products are minerals or low-quality alloys. Occasionally, there are rare crystals or solid alien natural gas. They are not dangerous, but sometimes there are dangerous goods such as explosive particles. Regarding this No matter how small the quantity is, they must not be allowed to go to the packaging area, otherwise the entire refining station will be at risk of destruction."
Nadine shook her body pretending to be scared, and then chuckled in disbelief: "The length of the refining station is nearly a hundred kilometers, and the thickest column area is several kilometers long. In some places, the shell alone is dozens of meters thick. , one or two grams of explosive particles won’t have such a big impact, right?”
Unexpectedly, Haqak shook his head and said that there are either no explosive particles in the nebula, or if there are, the density will be very high. Therefore, generally speaking, the weight of stardust blocks containing explosive particles when they appear is calculated in kilograms. , Nadine was so frightened that her face turned pale, and she thought that the power of the explosion was more terrifying than the shells of the Imperial Navy naval gun.
“Finally it’s time to harvest. After we have completed our work in the screening area, there will be orbital elevators and suspended trains to deliver the boxed high-quality minerals and rare resources to the packaging areas and ship parking areas located at both ends of the refining station. , let the transport ships from the empire take away the resources, and various supplies and food are unloaded by workers in the packaging area for consumption by us employees living in the refining station."
Nadine smiled evilly when she heard this, punched Hakak on the chest and said, "That's how you bribed my Miss Paula, right? Who did you ask from the outer ring to bring it to you? Also? Can you bring us something else?"
"My brother works in a colony called Chichaho in the outer ring. It has a population of less than 10 million, but it is the main force in delivering supplies to our refining station. A lot of food and supplies come from them. If Do you still want Miss Paula or something else? When the next transport fleet comes, I will send you a message. I happen to have something you want too."
"Hey, when do you think our days at this refining station will end? I've been working here for more than half a year, and I won't get a penny of overtime pay as promised. The food in the canteen in this multi-functional area is also getting better day by day. It’s expensive, and it tastes worse every day. If this continues, I want to run away with a bucket.”
Just as Nadine and Hakak were chatting wordlessly, suddenly the lights in the lounge turned red, and then a piercing alarm sounded throughout the refining station, and someone shouted on the radio, but Maybe it's because of interference or other reasons, but I can't hear clearly intermittently.
"We are...attacked...not a drill...escape immediately!"
Before Nadine could look at his friend with doubtful eyes, he found that Hakak was already looking at the huge floor-to-ceiling window in the lounge in shock, as if there was something terrible there.
So Nadine turned around and looked in the direction of Hakak, and he couldn't help shouting: "This is the navy fleet!?"
As a large-caliber electromagnetic projectile struck at high speed, it cut through the thick stardust and hit a place not far from the lounge. Through the gleam of light that was cut through the nebula by the cannonball, Nadine, who was shaking all over, witnessed it with her own eyes. A green laser beam was fired from a giant ship, and with a slight turn, it destroyed all several small patrol boats that left the refining station to patrol.
Although they couldn't hear a single sound, the bodies of the two people in the lounge were frozen in place as if falling into an ice cave, for fear that if they looked away, the next cannonball would be their target.
"Gudong..."
After swallowing a sip of saliva, this time it was no longer to moisten his throat. Hakak bravely walked to the locked wine cabinet, punched the glass cabinet into pieces, took out two bottles of good wine and put it in his arms. , then he took Nadine, who was still in the same place, and ran away.
Although he didn't hear what the broadcast was saying, Haqak, who was extremely familiar with the refining station, knew that there were only two places on the entire space station where he could survive.
One is the port where the ship is anchored at one end, and the other is the port where the ship is anchored at the other end.
Hakak, who was dragging his friend with him, ran wildly in the chaotic corridor, knocking down several soldiers and officers in the command section without paying attention, because he knew that now was not the time to argue about superiority and inferiority.
Facing the fleet of the Human Federation as a Qien, there will be no difference between the fate of workers and senior officers!
.bqkan8..bqkan8.
Lewen
