The first space battle in human history had begun—a clash between Earth's two biggest powers, unfolding in the silent void where no one could see.
The enemy was a squad of 10 Python fighters. Liu A'dou was alone in a prototype. He didn't dare act recklessly. If the prototype got destroyed, that was one thing, but losing the data would be a serious problem.
He activated the Force. As soon as they attacked, he'd sense it.
Whoosh—a quick flick of his limbs sent the Type-15 dodging at high speed, then he countered. He lowered the laser gun's power; blowing them up wasn't necessary—just disabling them was enough.
A white beam of light shot out at the speed of light, hitting a Python's wing. Shards from the wing broke a nearby thruster, sending the fighter spinning out of formation.
"Stay sharp—he's really a space fighter," Matthew called. He couldn't believe another country already had space fighters. America knew it was inevitable one day, but this was way sooner than expected. U.S. estimates had said it'd take at least 10 more years before a second nation could build a space fleet. By then, America planned to have thousands or even tens of thousands of space fighters, ready to crush any competition as other countries slowly stumbled into orbit.
But things weren't going as planned. This strange "satellite" was incredibly agile. Matthew ordered, "Spread out! Ring formation—surround him."
The radar dots spread apart. Liu A'dou realized they planned to encircle him. If they succeeded, he'd have no chance to escape. He fired several times in a row, disabling three more Pythons.
"The enemy's really skilled. He keeps dodging," Matthew said to Jack behind him. "You handle tracking. I'll shoot."
"Roger. Negative 3 on X-axis, negative 1 on Z-axis—locked."
Liu A'dou's hair stood on end. He jerked the craft right, but the enemy was already too close. Bullets slammed into the Type-15. Thankfully, they only hit the solar panel. He should've dodged that, but the Type-15 moved sideways, not by rolling, so it was too slow to avoid fire.
That was it! Liu A'dou understood now. The pre-written control program forced the Type-15 to keep a steady orientation. Moving relied on all four thrusters on one side firing together. This kept the craft stable and easy to control during straight maneuvers, but it was terrible for dodging—rolling was much faster. He needed to rewrite the system so the thrusters could fire individually.
He pulled back to open some distance, grabbed the keyboard, and furiously typed. Each thruster needed to work independently so he could dodge without restrictions.
The enemy was closing fast. Liu A'dou could feel them almost on him. His heart raced. His fingers flew like a storm. Finally, he finished rewriting the program just before they closed in.
"All done. The real fight starts now." He flipped the Type-15 over, spinning like a washing machine barrel across space. Most pilots would black out from that kind of spin, but Liu A'dou handled it fine.
He rolled, climbed above the enemy, and fired down.
The enemy's maneuvers got sharper, too. Matthew frowned. This was crazy. Just one fighter had taken out four already. "Don't panic, everyone—stay focused." The words had barely left his mouth when another Python was hit.
How could anyone handle that kind of pressure? Those rolls and spins were insane—no normal human could pull them off.
The Americans were stunned. Liu A'dou wasn't in great shape either—he was almost out of fuel. There was no way he could beat them all. He had only two options: drop into the atmosphere or head deeper into space where humans couldn't chase him. Only that could shake them off.
But both were risky. If he dropped now, he couldn't reach the planned landing site and might crash anywhere. So his only shot was going deeper into space.
He turned without hesitation and fled. While he still had some fuel, he had to escape—if he wasted more time, he'd lose even that chance.
Matthew saw the enemy heading for deep space. "Cease attack." The Pythons were also low on fuel. If they chased too far, who knew how long they'd drift out there? Go too far, and they might never get back to Earth.
"Crazy bastard," Matthew muttered, watching the shrinking dot.
"I think all those spins must've made his head explode," Jack added.
Liu A'dou had fought so desperately just to keep the valuable combat data—this was priceless space warfare intel.
The battle lasted barely 10 minutes, but it left everyone shaken. Over the radio, Matthew said, "Report status."
Five Pythons were disabled and needed towing. None of the pilots were injured, but a few had thrown up in their cockpits. The intense maneuvers and fear of getting hit had pushed the pilots beyond their limits, making them lose control.
Overall, things weren't too bad. But Matthew was still wondering—had the enemy been holding back, or were their weapons simply non-lethal? Either way, they'd clearly met a formidable opponent today. He had to admit the enemy pilot's skills were far superior to his own. But who could they be? Russia, Germany, China, or Japan?
"Second squad, maintain alert. Prevent the enemy from returning to Earth."
"Roger."
First squad would return to Eden first. They'd have to write a full report about this encounter.
"Space warfare really is brutal," Liu A'dou thought. He was now like an exile. The Type-15's fuel was gone. It could only drift endlessly outward on inertia.
What a pity—this expensive prototype, his first space fighter, wasn't coming back to Earth. At least he had to get the computer's motherboard home.
"Type-15, report your status."
"Kunlun Mountain, I used all the fuel to shake them off. Now I'm drifting into deep space. But don't worry—I'll protect the motherboard," Liu A'dou answered calmly. But to everyone else, he already sounded like a doomed hero. How could they possibly bring him back safely?
"Comm delay has started," someone noted. That meant Liu A'dou was getting farther from Earth. Kunlun Mountain had a quantum radio—the same one built by Uncle Ben that had since been copied and modified. But it was huge, only usable at bases and on the Wu Gang. The Type-15 just didn't have room for something that size.
"A'dou, don't panic. Keep an eye on your oxygen levels. We'll find a way to rescue you," the general said.
Even a one-second delay was still a delay. Liu A'dou thought grimly, 'I really messed up this time. How will I get back to Earth?' He had to stop the Type-15 somehow. If he drifted much farther, there'd be no hope.
He used every trick he knew to halt the Type-15 in space. Checking the oxygen, he saw he had 6 hours left. But with only one solar panel working, the cockpit's systems wouldn't have enough power, and the temperature would drop steadily. He had air, but freezing to death would be even worse.
In that moment, the gap between Earth and the void felt like a deadly tightrope—one that no one could see a way across.