Chapter 7: Missing: The Don River Incident

The disappearance of the Don River.

At first, the Fourth Fleet didn’t pay it much mind.

After all, the Fourth Fleet was mainly made up of Slavs, and those guys…

Well, let’s just say, everything they do is a bit rough around the edges.

Things that would never happen in other fleets? In the Fourth Fleet…

They’re almost routine.

Just last year, one of the Fourth Fleet’s destroyers had a helmsman who was steering the ship while drinking vodka.

When they left port, he rammed straight into another destroyer. Luckily, the other helmsman reacted fast and barely managed to dodge.

That quick thinking prevented disaster. All they ended up with were a few scratches and some damage to the hull equipment.

But that wasn’t even the craziest part. When they investigated afterward, they found out—

The helmsman who pulled off that emergency maneuver? He’d actually drunk more than the guy who caused the crash.

Hard to believe, but true.

As for reckless space races or docking with collisions, that’s all pretty much everyday life here.

But when several days went by and the Don River was still missing, even the Federation started to get concerned.

Now, a research ship, escorted by eight warships, has already reached the location where the Don River disappeared and is preparing to sweep the Kuiper Belt.

——

Less than a month remained until the Federation’s anniversary celebration.

At the current distance between Mars and Earth, the Fifth Fleet would need about fifteen days to make the journey.

So, including the Qiongxiao, all 128 ships of the Fifth Fleet left Mars orbit for Earth two days ago.

“Did you hear? One of the Fourth Fleet’s destroyers vanished!”

“A destroyer can just go missing?”

“Come on, with the Fourth Fleet, nothing is impossible.”

“Fair point…”

Inside the officers’ mess reserved for the bridge crew.

A few sergeants sat together, discussing the missing Don River.

Not far away, Lin Yu was eating quietly, but a faint frown creased his brow.

He knew all too well how rough the Slavs could be.

Back at the First Federation Advanced Military Academy, a lot of his classmates in the command division were Slavs. One of them was even a close friend.

If nothing had gone wrong, that friend should’ve been assigned to the Fourth Fleet and would be on his way out there now.

Traveling from Mars all the way to the outer regions…

That trip takes nearly a year.

Still, no matter how careless the Slavs are, a destroyer going missing for days is just… fishy.

No matter how you look at it, it doesn’t add up.

Lin Yu tapped his fingertips lightly on his optical tablet, pulling up a holographic projection.

It was the star map of where the Don River was last seen.

The summary about the missing Don River had already been made public within the Federation, so even junior officers could take a look. It wasn’t classified.

“What, are you digging into the Don River disappearance?”

A figure set down her tray and sat across from Lin Yu. It was Serena, head of the bridge analyst team—and his direct boss.

“That’s right, Boss!”

Lin Yu gave a small nod.

“Boss” was what everyone on the Qiongxiao’s bridge called Serena.

Normally, they’d call her “Chief Analyst,” but Serena thought that sounded awful and ordered everyone to just use “Boss” instead.

Mu Qingxue went along with it and, well, that’s how things were now.

“What’s there to analyze? Everyone knows how sloppy those guys are!”

Serena shot a look of disdain.

Then she picked up her spoon and started eating.

But Lin Yu couldn’t help himself…

Wait, what do you mean by “those guys,” Boss? Aren’t you a Slav too?

“Boss, don’t you think it’s weird, though? Losing a destroyer like this is a bit much, isn’t it?”

“A lot of people are guessing the Don River’s captain brought the ship into the Kuiper Belt, got lost, and then lost contact—but is that really all?”

“Even if something interfered with the ship’s equipment or systems, and maybe they couldn’t pinpoint their exact location, they should at least be able to figure out a general direction and get out of the Kuiper Belt.”

“Even if we take it to the extreme and say the ship was hit by something out there, lost power or even suffered heavy damage, then…”

“Couldn’t they send out a shuttle or an engineering ship for help? That’s not exactly rocket science.”

Normally, Lin Yu wouldn’t obsess over something like this.

But for some reason, it felt like a voice inside was warning him—something big was coming, and at the heart of it…

Was the disappearance of the Don River.

That sense of unease only grew stronger with each passing day.

“Not bad, Lin Yu. Your analysis is solid. But…”

“That’s for the big shots to worry about, not us. What you ought to focus on is the Federation’s bicentennial—you know it’s one of the rare times we can shine in peacetime!”

“Especially…”

Serena stopped mid-sentence as if something had suddenly occurred to her, instantly clamming up.

She patted her impressive chest and let out a long breath.

Thank goodness…

The commander hadn’t announced that matter yet. She’d almost let it slip.

Elsewhere—

Inside the Qiongxiao’s bridge.

“Admiral, are you sure you want to send Lin Yu?”

“I’m sure!”

“But—”

Ye Lingwei wanted to protest, but Mu Qingxue raised a hand and cut her off.

“Ling Wei, I know what you’re thinking—the usual stuff about Lin Yu’s rank and lack of seniority. Who cares about that?”

“If everything had to go by seniority, I wouldn’t even be commanding the Fifth Fleet, would I?”

“I trust Lin Yu’s abilities. Even that old dog from the First Fleet wouldn’t stand a chance against him!”

Whoa…

Ye Lingwei honestly hadn’t expected that.

Mu Qingxue’s faith in Lin Yu was on a whole new level.

Sure, both of them disliked the First Fleet’s commander, but you couldn’t deny his abilities…

The guy was definitely top three in the whole Federation when it came to command.

Otherwise, how could he hold down the First Fleet so long?

That wasn’t a job you got through family connections.

“The First Fleet’s representative is Major General Julian Redfield, commander of the Third Mixed Task Force.”

“He and Lin Yu are complete opposites. If Lin Yu is all wild creativity, Julian is straight out of the textbook. Putting those two command styles head to head… that’s going to be something worth watching!”

A smile tugged at Mu Qingxue’s lips, her face lighting up with anticipation.

She truly was looking forward to it. At the same time…

She was also giving Lin Yu a rare opportunity.

A chance to make his mark in front of every top brass in the Fleet.

If he could make the most of it—

This might shave years off Lin Yu’s military career path.

Of course, one caveat remains…

Lin Yu has to actually seize that chance!