It seemed that good life never lasted for Qin Hao. Thirty-three days after he boarded the flagship, Palmer’s research hit a jackpot and invented a new type of helmet that could block off low-frequency sound waves and part of the brain waves. With this new helmet, the human forces would not have to worry about being hypnotized by the insectoids.
In fact, the Coales Valley event was only an accident. The insectoids might have the hypnotizing ability, but they had never used this to their advantage in battles. Those soldiers at the Coales Valley were at the wrong place at the wrong time during the feeding of the higher-order giant beetles by the Shepherd. They had died in vain. Had the command post not built the forward base so close to the insectoid lair, this tragic event would not have happened.
Of course, in future battles, if the insectoids realized how effective their hypnotization ability was against the humans, with their intelligence in using this ability in battles, it would be lethal to the human soldiers. But since the advent of the new helmet, the Federal Army had preemptively averted this possibility.
While mass producing this new helmet and equipping the forces, the 7th Fleet of the Federal Army reorganized their mechanized infantry, which had suffered great casualties in the past battles. Because of the huge losses, the strength of the ground forces had declined. Recruitment was ongoing to enlist new soldiers, but it took time to train and could not replenish the frontline forces in time. So Major General Rice was facing the problem of shortage of ground forces.
“General, I think we should abandon scattered battle tactic and gather out force and land it in one place!”
“I don’t think so. We have not found the core lair of the insectoids so far. Scattering forces were the only way to find the lair and get rid of it quickly. Otherwise, we could never kill all those bugs!”
“But we don’t have the luxury of scattering our forces!”
“What else can we do if not this? Is it a good idea to delay further? The war has become a stalemate, and the pressure on the command post is getting higher and higher. If there is no progress, General Rice would be fired!”
“We cannot do anything without enough soldiers!”
…
A few combat staff were arguing with each other. Rice was taking the heat because of the mass casualty on the frontline. If he could not prove himself by winning a battle, he would be sacrificed as a scapegoat.
The Federal government was also getting a lot of pressure because of the huge soldier casualty. There had been many rounds of anti-war protests from the people. Without winning a battle to make people forget about the sorrow of death, the war on Alpha would have to stop under the pressure from the people.
However, the Federal government knew very well that the Federation’s development had come to a bottleneck. Rare sources were scarce, the Federation’s economy was stagnant, and the people demanded more welfare and resources and a better life, but with the current state of affairs, the Federation could no longer solve these problems internally. So, expansion was the natural and only way.
Sadly, expansion also meant war. And because of the mass casualty, the people started to be antiwar, landing the Federal government in between a rock and a hard place.
The constituents were too important for the Federal government to defy. They demanded welfare and resources, so the government had to solve it. Or else, it would have to go. But the war effort had hit a wall. The only way to pacify the angry people was to find a scapegoat, and Rice, the commanding officer of the 7th fleet, was the best candidate.
That was the reason Rice was facing immense pressure on the frontline. If the government made him a scapegoat, his future would be ruined and he would go down in history as incompetent in the hall of shame.
“Listen!” Just as those combat staff debated fiercely, Rice took a deep breath and gave his order.
“Yes, Sir!” His adjutant quickly took out a pen and started taking notes.
“Send my order to dispatch The Starlight, The Twilight, and The Moonlight cruisers to conduct an intense bombing of Kola region on Alpha!” Rice slowly said.
“Yes, Sir!” The adjutant quickly noted down the order.
“Send my order to all carrier-borne aircraft of the Seventh Fleet to prep for airdrop and taking control of airspace.”
“Send my order to all ground units of the Seventh Fleet to get ready for landing battle once the bombings finish!”
…
As Rice gave his orders, his adjutant noted them down and delivered them to the various command posts. All units of the 7th Fleet swung into action at once. Rice was gambling with the entire ground units of the 7th Fleet for his future.
Private Qin Hao, you have been promoted as a corporal of the Federal Navy for your contribution!
Corporal Qin Hao, please immediately report to your unit!
Qin Hao’s battlefield recorder beeped twice while he was taking a rest. The first message was good news; he was given a fast-track promotion, skipping Private Second Class and First Class to become a Corporal.
But the second message made him feel a little depressed. Only after a few days of enjoyment, he had to return to the barracks filled with the smell of stinky feet.
“I had better enjoy a shower before I go!” Qin Hao sighed. A shower would become a luxury when he was back on the ground. Living in the trench was starting to make him go crazy.
After cleaning himself up, he flung a small backpack on his back and came to the apron where the transport ships docked.
“I’m heading to The Uranus destroyer.” He flashed his transfer order to the crew.
“Get in. The transport ship at Dock Two will head to Uranus. Lift off in an hour,” the crew said.
Qin Hao quickly walked to Dock 2 and got onboard the transport ship. After a while, a few more soldiers had also gotten onboard. Most of them were ground support personnel going to The Uranus on duty. A private like Qin Hao rarely had a chance to traverse between different battleships.
The transport ship lifted off from the Federal Honor on the dot. Before long, it came to The Uranus at the rear. Qin Hao disembarked and hopped on a hovercar heading to his division.
After an hour of the ride, he arrived at the camp of the 106th Division. An air of despondence permeated the camp. Apparently, after the battle on Alpha, this second line forces soldiers were low in morale. They would feel like going on a death march if they were sent to Alpha again now.