Chapter 263: Let’s Go
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Vimm ran in hurriedly, bringing bad news. Hilda furrowed her eyebrows, but she was not surprised. "Is that so? As expected, they have finally made their move."
"You expected it?" Hao Ren glanced at her, perplexed.
"There is bound to be differences in opinion." Hilda shrugged. "I have the majority support from the Assembly of Elders. That is the will of the people. Some may have a different opinion and I knew that they would be opposed to this. It was just a matter of how many. What did they say, Vimm?"
"Looks like members of the Lotto Group are spreading rumours that the migration is a scam. Other dissident groups are also actively inciting the people through various channels to question the truth of the migration," said Vimm as he glanced at Hao Ren in embarrassment. "Simply put, they do not trust the strangers, especially when things appear too good to be true—nobody is going to believe someone could be so generous that they would give out an entire planet to help a bunch of strangers."
Hao Ren thought things would be straightforward after a decision on the migration was reached. Lotto and other dissident groups would lose influence and dissipate as the source of their crisis was solved. There would be no reason for them to linger on. However, he now realised that he was too young and too naive. Just like humans, elves were complicated, intelligent beings—they would overthink things most of the time too. The conspiracy theory spread right after the queen made her announcement. It showed how a religion could set something back. It was a silent cult among the people; even if the world fell apart, they would still be able to stir the pot some more.
But, it was not hard to understand the mind of these dissidents. Who would not question something that was too good to be true, especially if it came from a bunch of unknown alien species. While the struggling, ordinary elves were used to following the queen's orders without question, the same could not be said of the conspiracy theorist groups—it was as though it went against their code of conduct to not bark.
Apparently, Hilda was prepared. "How much intel have you obtained on these groups?"
"Seventy percent." Vimm nodded and said, "They have been maintaining a high-profile for the past month, so we have collected a sizeable intel. Mother, shall we issue an order of arrest?"
"No, a drastic measure will only cause more choas. They may even cook up an absurd story like 'the queen is being mentally controlled'." Hilda shook her head. "Leave it to Felton, it is his job to deal with such situations."
After Vimm left, Hao Ren could not help but look at Hilda. "Need help? Looks like things have turned nasty."
"Thank you, but it is alright. This is an internal affair, I will handle it. If my political consulting team cannot even handle a problem like this, the kingdom would be doomed." Hilda politely declined his gesture of good will.
Vivian walked towards the window and looked down at the crowd in the square. "The impact on these people will be unspeakable. But, only three days, can you make it? For a migration of one billion people, I think more time is needed."
Nonetheless. Hilda was confident as she said, "The Kingdom of Aerym is used to such large scale mobilisation. Three days is more than enough. Many emergency measures and departments have long been in place. As you can see, there is already instability in the society—the longer we wait, the more serious the situation will become. Hence, I need to make sure that the first batch of people arrive in the new home before more dissidents incite more people. If the first batch of migrants arrive safely, things will be easier to handle."
Hao Ren listened and nodded inadvertently, amazed at Hilda's resolution as well as far sight, not to mention her governing body. And honestly, what other preparations did the elves need more of? They were practically as poor as a church mouse, the amounts material and equipment they could keep were limited. They had been living on the breadline all this time. Wherever they went, they went with nothing but a carry-on-bag.
Hilda did not stay in the Royal Steeple for long. She was called to the council and went from meeting to meeting. Hilda and her council would be working the longest overtime in Aerym's history. The entire government shifted into overdrive—there was to be no rest for the next three days, not even a minute.
In the following three days, Hao Ren witnessed the mind-blowing efficiency of the elves.
It was a unique civilisation where even three-year-olds were required to join the constant disaster drill. The word "emergency" was hard-coded into their minds. Just as Hilda said, they kept stock of their materials down to the last three decimals; they managed their equipment by dividing them into different priorities and categories without needing to take stock. Their warehouses were divided into different levels of importance, and their citizens were accustomed to keeping their stuff according to categories of "living necessity", "emergency portability" and "disposability". Such a race did not need another special drill.
Thanks to the expired equipment on the floating isles, Aerymian elves had been on constant "emergency evacuation mode" for the past 1,000 years. When a floating isle gave way, they had no time for preparation. The millions of elves living under the dome had to evacuate to another isle within 24 hours. In this case, Hilda was giving them three days. It was a leniency for the Aerymians and city government.
On day one, reports on material stock and the population were received from all the domed cities. On day two, a temporary migration committee under the Assembly of Logisticians was tasked to determine the total resources of all domed cities and redistribute them to the entire population. All factories on the floating isles began to work overtime to dismantle their plant and machinery as they were going to transfer a sizable amount of equipment to their new home. This was to ensure that they could gain a footing as quickly as possble. Also taken into consideration, was the susceptibility of a social meltdown after the migration. The first thing that needed to be done was to restore governance. Thus, they would need to bring enough telecommunications equipment and ensure enough government personnel were present in every batch of migrants. Hao Ren had passed on the migration experiences he received from Raven 12345 to Hilda and her Assembly of Elders. The experiences were essential, and the migration was not just a rescue operation but, a test for the Aerymian civilisation.
If the government was not capable enough, the one billion migrants would become refugees. Their social order and ability to redevelop had to stand the test or else, chaos would ensue for several years or even decades. Raven 12345 told Hao Ren about one particular case in point: a particular race broke up into 18 factions as unrest bugged their society after migration. The situation was as explosive as it could get. It was said that the inspector-in-charge was slapped with a two-month incentive forfeiture.
Hao Ren was feeling lucky; he was not worried about having his bonus forfeited because he had not received a dime so far.
When would he grow wiser?
Nevertheless, Hilda and her council should be more than capable in handling the situation, Hao Ren thought.
Hao Ren had contacted the captain of 883 the day Hilda made her announcement. The 883 captain assured him that there was nothing to be worried about as everything was going smoothly. According to him, a group of honest and reliable veteran captains, who were acquaintances of his had volunteered immediately after they heard somebody needed help; they were inspired and excited. They were so passionate that they almost threw their cargo out into space to go over there at once. In all honesty, Hao Ren believed what the 883 captain said—almost.
Three days had passed as everyone busily prepared. The big day finally arrived.
The Aerymian island chain was still orbiting the lonely star. A strange sense of nervousness had filled the city under the dome. The migration fleet was scheduled to arrive today. But they were not sure if it was an incredible reality or just a hoax. However, they would soon find out.
Countless elves gathered in the Royal District square on Dawnbreak Island, waiting eagerly. Hilda and her officials were standing on the platform outside the wall. There was no need for any motivational speech. Everyone was holding their breath. Hao Ren stood beside Hilda, looking down at the crowd beneath his feet, sweating; he could feel that their stares were not directed at Hilda, but him. He forced himself to act natural. "They should be here any moment."
"They will be visible when they arrive above the dome," Hilda said expectantly. "It will be breathtaking."
"That I'm not sure but, it will certainly be multifarious," said Hao Ren, twitching his mouth. "They're just an eclectic bunch, who make up a loosely organised fleet. They are the first private transportation and illegal fleet deployed under my approval. Oh wait, let me call them."
Hao Ren had the MDT contact the 883 captain. "Are you here yet?" asked Hao Ren.
The 883 captain replied with a loud and coarse voice, "Almost there. We ran into a little issue with the customs just now; some retarded newbie left behind a piece of military equipment during unloading. We were almost detained by the automatic warning aircraft. We're almost there. One minute before escape from hyperspace. I got to go, there's interference."
Hao Ren turned to Hilda, shrugging as he said, "Almost here."
A moment later, the cruiser fleet outside the dome dialed in. The message was broadcasted all over the city—purportedly to cause excitement. "An unknown energy field has been detected at the edge of the island chain. It's an incredible spatial phenomenon! The fleet is coming! The fleet is indeed coming!"
The square fell into a deafening silence for a few seconds. Then, excitement. It was almost hysterical.
Commissioned by Hao Ren, formed by the 883 captain, the migration fleet of sixes and sevens constituted an army of privately-owned, long-distance, charter transport. They were arriving at the destitute region of the universe. The approaching signal guided the first spacecraft outside Dawnbreak Island while patrol vessels transmitted images throughout the city. The image of the majestic spaceship appeared in the jumbo-sized displays all over the domed city. Emotions in the square almost reached a boiling point.
The first spacecraft that appeared was not 883; it was a large, privately-owned, bright yellow, triangular-shaped passenger spaceship from an unknown civilisation sphere. Hao Ren could see newly-painted Aerymian words at the side of the ship. The words read: "Welcome onboard, Aerymian elves! Star Voyager is the ultimate choice for your holiday travel!"
A second spacecraft appeared above the island chain as a patrol vessel streamed the image unto the ground. The spacecraft had an even bigger line of slogan: "Interstellar Cargo Delivery Service. Fast and Efficient. The Supreme Choice."
A third spacecraft followed closely behind the second one as it emerged amid a flash of light from the hyperspace. This one had the most outrageous paint job. It covered both sides of the fuselage: "Moving? Call Xunda! Xunda Interstellar Travel. Elite Class at an Affordable Price! A New Generation of Hyperdrive, Eco-Technology from the Empire, the f*cking 'Professionally-Trained' phrase was too big to fit in here."
Watching the live broadcast, cold sweat trickled down his forehead. Hao Ren gave Hilda a little nudge. "Could you stop the live streaming?"
Hilda was no less embarrassed. "It is too late. A billion people are watching now!"
Meanwhile, the 883 vessel finally arrived. As it appeared on the screen, Hao Ren almost fainted; the entire fuselage of 883 was covered with advertisement slogans in illuminative banners, which read, "883, An Expert and Household Name in Transportation. Dual-Use, Fast and Professional, Imperial Business Partner. Your Forever First-Choice! We Look Forward to Your Second Visit and Serve You The Best As We Can!"
Four faceted, each line was three kilometres long and illuminated; the blinking slogan words were blindingly bright in space. You would not have found any vessel advertisement bigger than this in the entire solar system...
Hao Ren turned his head around. There was a group of uniformed elves behind Hao Ren and Hilda. They were Hilda's most trusted officials. These "diplomats", who had been preparing themselves mentally for the past three days, now possessed an almost epic sense of pride. These diligent and respectable elves were in full anticipation, prepared to usher in close encounters of the third kind. But, little did they expect to see a bunch of unscrupulous illegal tranporters...
Probably not entirely illegal, after all, this was approved by Hao Ren—sanctioned illegal tranporters, perhaps.
"This is exactly why I said such a reception ceremony was not necessary." Hao Ren sighed. "These are not the serious bunch of guys you've been expecting. Even people like me and the one (Lily) squatting on the floor could be commander chief secretary of the migration operation respectively. So, do you think this diplomatic convoy here is neccesary?"
However, Vimm was the one who formed the diplomatic convoy—he was a diehard supporter. He glanced at Hao Ren and his mother strangely before he turned away and said, "Although I have heard of it, I never expected this..."
Hao Ren glanced at the competing advertisement slogans on the spacecrafts. He wished he had done the same too by projecting the name of his spacecraft on all the Aerymian domes. He twitched his mouth and said, "We're rivals after all..."
Suddenly, the voice of the 883 captain sounded through the MDT. "We're here! Do you see us? We're the pilot and lead vessels. The rest have stopped at the asteriod belt outside the island chain. Please ask them if they're done with the boarding procedures. Where should we go from here? Is there any transfer channel on the floating islands for the spacecrafts to dock?"
A series of questions struck Hilda's officials as they began to snap out of their daze and work on what they had prepared for the past three days. Immediately, someone rose to give the orders.
"Telecommunications, get ready!
"Transmit the guiding code!
"Logistics! Prepare to open Gate 14 to 26..."
It seemed like there should have been as little formalities as possible; the Aerymian elves were not used to it while the veteran pilots could not tolerate any delay in flight. They immediately swung into action, approaching the floating islands, initiating boarding and loading procedures according to plan.
However, there were some inevitable problems: most spacecrafts could not dock themselves directly on the Aerymian floating islands.
These spacecrafts were gigantic and their loading and docking mechanisms were vastly different. The only standardised docking interface was that of the Xi Ling Empire, which Aerym was certainly lacking of. Hence, loading became a problem. They had to despatch smaller vessels to the gate at the edge of each floating isle, loading into and unloading from the mother ships.
It was estimated that it would take at least two days to load up the first batch of people and cargo; considering the highly efficient Aerymian elves and the skilled, veteran pilots of the fleet.
Some of the spacecrafts were equipped with teleportation facilities where the stability of teleportation was within the acceptable range of an elven body. So, the boarding and loading process was much faster for these type of spacecrafts.
Anyway, these problems were not unexpected—both parties had forseen this. The small transport vessels were ready and the logistics department of the domed-city had beefed up their efforts. Despite being the first encounter for both parties, things went pretty smoothly as prior preparation and professional assistance helped.
The captains of the fleet did not just sit by and watch. They knew it was important to engage their clients. Under the lead of the 883 captain, the veteran interstellar pilots arrived on Dawnbreak Island with a variety of space shuttles.
And as they disembarked, they started to give away flyers to anyone they saw.