Inside the cabin of a civilian ship:
Sitting by the right-side porthole, Ryan was still using the holographic screen to browse information related to Universe "14."
Outside the fully sealed porthole, the countless stars illuminating the deep cosmos streaked past like meteors breaking through the atmosphere. In reality, the stars remained unchanged, continuing along their original orbits.
This visual effect was caused by the civilian vessel carrying Ryan and the investigators, which used a warp drive to generate a "bubble" around the ship, enabling faster-than-light travel in the physical universe without violating any known laws of physics.
In Universe "14" of Starship Troopers, such warp drive technology had yet to be developed. Instantaneous teleportation technology like that used by the Forerunners in Halo was even further beyond their grasp.
However, humanity and the Arachnid Swarm in the Starship Troopers universe had mastered wormhole detection and the calculation of wormhole entry and exit coordinates.
For instance, the meteor launched at Buenos Aires in the first Starship Troopers movie did not travel across the entire galaxy to reach Earth's atmosphere. Instead, Arachnids used a unit called a "Plasma Bug" to fire plasma projectiles with firepower rivaling ship-mounted plasma cannons. These plasma rounds pushed meteors from their home planet's orbit into nearby wormholes.
The meteors then traversed tens of thousands of light-years in mere moments via the wormholes, drifting through space for months before hitting Earth. This interstellar strike capability relied heavily on luck rather than precision.
Similarly, the Arachnids spread their eggs across the galaxy and began invasions using Plasma Bugs to launch tightly sealed egg clusters into wormholes, spreading them seemingly at random.
Whenever one of these eggs landed on a habitable planet, that world effectively became theirs. The Arachnids' telepathic abilities allowed them to communicate instantly and far more efficiently than humans, granting them a significant advantage in star-system colonization. As a result, their territory was approximately three times larger than that of humanity in the Starship Troopers universe.
As Ryan pondered how to prevent the meteor strike anticipated to occur next year, his brow furrowed slightly.
The intelligence division had not provided an exact date but had narrowed it down to somewhere between July and October 2297. This gave Ryan and the other investigators aboard the ship roughly a year to ascend the ranks, gain influence over the Federal military, and convince them to preemptively defend Earth from the incoming meteors.
During this time, the Human Empire would not be sitting idly by.
Ada had informed Ryan that once the Blood Angels' various companies had completed their relocation and deployment to the New Hope colony on the "14" front lines, they would begin asserting their authority aggressively.
According to the plan, the Blood Angels would move towards human colonies near New Hope in two months. Most of these settlers, located along the frontier between human and Arachnid territories, opposed the Federation's rule, holding naive beliefs in peace and coexistence with other species. These individuals willingly colonized the frontier, driven by hopes that as long as they did not provoke the Arachnids, they would not be attacked.
These idealists criticized the Federation for being too authoritarian and militaristic. They argued that since the galaxy was largely peaceful, there was no need to maintain such a massive fleet at great cost to human lives and resources. Some even advocated for reducing military spending to demonstrate humanity's commitment to peace.
"Ridiculous," Ryan muttered, displaying unrestrained disdain after reading intelligence reports about these so-called pacifists.
In his view, these people were practically throwing their lives away. Moreover, they were easily manipulated by malicious individuals or organizations, often inciting rebellion within the Federation and hindering its military efforts.
That said, having these pacifists and dissenters concentrated in the frontier was advantageous for the Blood Angels' initial unification efforts. By the time the Federation realized the existence of the Blood Angels and the Human Empire, it would already be too late.
Ryan and Maggie's role was to act opportunistically, coordinating with the Blood Angels on the front lines to gradually diminish the Federation's influence over the humans in Universe "14." They aimed to achieve unification with minimal casualties and as smoothly as possible.
As for the Arachnids and other species hostile to humanity?
The Blood Angels and the Human Empire would not waste time on diplomacy. If a planet had no human presence or valuable resources, the Blood Angels' fleet would execute an "Extermination Order," obliterating its surface in short order.
The methods of extermination were varied.
Fleet units could employ ship-mounted high-energy beams, turning planets into "glass" in a manner reminiscent of the Covenant Empire. While this method was less efficient and time-consuming, it was used occasionally for intimidation.
Alternatively, the fleet could deploy several high-yield antimatter bombs to "cleanse" the surface thoroughly. For complete planetary destruction, they relied on Primarch-controlled fleets, equipped with multiple Forerunner-class dreadnoughts.
At the moment, however, Ryan set aside his concerns about the frontier situation.
He raised his right hand, tapped on the screen, and opened a file titled "Federation Overview."
After skimming through it, Ryan gained a clearer understanding of the United Citizens Federation in Universe "14."
The Federation, also known as the Human Federation, governed Earth, the solar system's planets, all colonies, military outposts, and border bases. Initially, it was a parliamentary government established by retired veterans. Its capital was in Geneva.
The Federation's structure was divided between civilian administration and legislative authorities—referred to as the "civil sector"—and the Federation military, which handled enforcement, military action, and law enforcement.
To become a government official, one had to hold "citizen" status, which was unattainable for civilians. Citizenship required military service.
During wartime, the Federation military's supreme commander, the Sky Marshal, held ultimate authority over both the military and the civilian government.
The Federation's creation stemmed from societal collapse in the late 20th century. A group of retired veterans, disgusted by corrupt politicians who had brought humanity to the brink of ruin, organized as vigilantes. Their actions spread across Earth, laying the groundwork for the Federation.
This distrust of politicians, coupled with the veterans' military background, solidified the rule that only those who had served in the military could hold positions of authority.
Over time, military service became the sole avenue for civilians to gain citizenship. However, internal strife persisted despite the Federation's formation. Colonies on the Moon, Mars, and Europa frequently clashed with the Federation military, spurred by remnants of old societal interests.
The invention of the revolutionary warp drive by top scientist Pavel Cherenkov curbed these internal conflicts. Humanity shifted its focus to the galaxy.
In the early 22nd century, the first warp-capable colony ship, Magellan, reached the Alpha Centauri system, marking humanity's first step beyond the solar system.
The 22nd and 23rd centuries saw a colonization boom, with humanity's population growing from less than 4 billion at the Federation's founding to over 160 billion. During this period, humans encountered various alien species in the galaxy. Most were primitive or feudal societies, with only a few comparable to 20th- or 21st-century humanity.
For the most part, these species posed no real threat to the Federation. Some corporations even capitalized on this disparity, offering tailored tourism experiences to wealthy civilians and citizens, such as "explore an alien world" or "hunt exotic creatures."
For a hefty fee, these companies would even stage elaborate "godlike" appearances on primitive worlds, using transports and weaponry to awe the native populations.
The Federation, which championed a "human supremacy" ideology, turned a blind eye to such activities. In fact, they considered themselves merciful for not outright annihilating primitive species upon discovery.
Ryan refrained from commenting on these practices. While both Atlas and the Human Empire shared a "human-centric" philosophy, they did not engage in wanton cruelty or exploitation. Atlas even ran theme parks and zoos in collaboration with other species from mystical worlds, treating them as employees rather than subjects.
Ryan closed the file, distributed assignments to his team, and prepared for rest. Their civilian ship would take at least another week to reach Earth through the nearest wormhole.
Four days later, on September 8th, the solar system of Universe "14" was bustling with activity. Countless spacecraft and warships orbited Earth, while the Moon's equator was encircled by a massive structure resembling a "steel fortress." The civilian ship carrying Ryan and the others had just exited warp space, preparing to dock at a designated port on the "steel fortress" for inspection.
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