Chapter 4: Punch Through This Universe

A soft melody pulled Ventus from sleep. He opened his eyes, taking in the unchanged surroundings of his quarters, and gave a bitter smile. Looks like I’m not going back.

[Administrator, apologies for disturbing you, but there’s an urgent matter requiring your decision.] Qiiji’s voice crackled through the nearby comms.

Ventus ignored it for a moment, rolling out of bed and heading to the bathroom. He ordered the mainframe to set the water to ice-cold, then splashed his face, letting the chill snap him awake.

Bracing himself against the sink, he stared into the mirror at his pale, cold-bitten reflection, jaw clenched. After a long moment, he straightened up, threw on his clothes, and barked, “Mainframe! Lead the way to the bridge!”

“Administrator, sorry for the interruption,” Qiiji said, saluting respectfully as Ventus entered the bridge’s command center.

“Get to it,” Ventus replied.

“The engineering team has set up two mining stations near the gas giant. While you were resting, they sent back two loads of helium-3, now refined. We’re ready to launch more ships—especially transports to shuttle between Dawn Planet and the mothership,” Qiiji reported.

“Go on.”

“And… the recon team sent back their report. They’ve identified 17 potential landing sites. We need to pick one to begin colonization.” Qiiji’s voice trembled slightly as he brought up a holo-interface for Ventus.

“Landing sites? You needed me for this?” Ventus asked, raising an eyebrow.

Qiiji’s tone grew solemn. “Administrator, this first colony could become our capital. I… I didn’t dare make the call myself.”

Ventus nodded, reaching for the interface. He caught Qiiji’s gaze—hopeful, proud, tinged with unease. The man’s fists were clenched, trembling as he fought to contain his excitement. It wasn’t just him; the entire bridge crew shared the same charged energy.

Ventus’s heart tightened. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. Six hundred thousand people… maybe even fifty billion. One tap of his finger would set their starting point.

He studied the screen more carefully this time. The knowledge crammed into his brain during cryosleep flooded out like a burst dam. Combining it with his instincts, he pointed to a site nestled between mountains, a river, and vast grasslands. “Here. Moderate latitude, water nearby, and a 1,000-meter hill for a defensive vantage point. Send 20 marines to secure the area, then start building housing immediately.”

“Yes, Administrator! This is our first colony—our first step into this universe!” Qiiji’s voice cracked with excitement as he relayed the orders.

With the landing site chosen, operations kicked into gear. The cryosleep pods held experts in every field, and the clerks began handling their roles efficiently. Ventus didn’t need to micromanage.

A transport carrying 20 marines and 50 construction workers launched from the mothership, touching down on Dawn Planet. The marines fanned out, clearing wildlife and setting up positioning beacons, while the workers unpacked their mechanized exosuits.

“Beacon signal’s stable, Administrator. We can move the mothership into synchronous orbit,” Qiiji said after confirming the transmission.

Ventus nodded. “Take us into Dawn Planet’s synchronous orbit. Keep the mothership directly above the beacon. Mainframe, assist.”

[Understood.]

The Kushan Mothership’s engines roared to life, their immense power propelling the 37-trillion-ton behemoth forward. It descended into Dawn Planet’s outer gravity well, matching the planet’s rotation speed.

As it neared orbit, the mothership’s sheer mass triggered several 3-to-5 magnitude earthquakes and geysers on the surface below.

Once in position, the ship needed minimal thrust to maintain orbit, thanks to the planet’s centrifugal force. Aligned with the ground beacon, a central hatch opened, and an orbital drop pod launched.

The pod blazed through the atmosphere, air igniting around it like a meteor. Just before impact, its reverse thrusters fired, spewing flames to cushion its landing.

Waiting workers rushed over, cracking open the pod to assemble modular housing made of ultralight materials. The pod’s shell doubled as the building’s outer walls. In under 20 minutes, a two-story structure stood complete.

The mothership continued deploying pods every 10 minutes—housing units, solar and wind generators, water purifiers, and more.

Ventus selectively woke farmers and maintenance workers from the 600,000 frozen civilians, sending them to Dawn Planet via transport. He picked one, a man named Graham, to serve as village chief.

Once the process started, everything ran smoothly. Ventus stretched, standing up, but his mood remained heavy.

Gazing out the viewport at the endless cosmos, he drifted closer, eyes fixed on stars light-years away. That strange dream—the one that might’ve yanked him into this reality—flashed in his mind. A surge of anger flared. Jaw tight, fists clenched, he slammed a fist against the reinforced viewport.

Thud. The sharp pain jolted his brain. He didn’t even notice how feral his expression had become.

Returning to his seat, he snapped, “Mainframe, pull up the data I need. I’ve got work to do.”

[Understood, Administrator.]

He was starting to accept it—he might really be stuck here. If that was the case, moping around would only leave him defenseless when something like a Star Destroyer showed up. His colony would be nothing but dust.

Seeing the fervent hope in Qiiji and the crew’s eyes, he knew he couldn’t let them down. If he did, his grip on this command could slip, and fast.

Human society was a tangled web of interests and loyalties. The mainframe might claim it’d follow even a self-destruct order, but Ventus wasn’t naive. If he tried something that reckless, his crew would likely stage a mutiny before the ship even blew.

Settling into the bridge’s command chair, he opened the colony planning files. He needed to know what challenges lay ahead and how to tackle them.

First priority: building the colony.

In an unknown environment, rapid development and a strong foothold were the best bet.

Pushing aside his doubts, Ventus opened a file titled Interstellar Colony Construction Guide and started reading.

---

[Easter Egg: Image 1 - Homeworld Mothership]