Age of Cosmic Exploration

Jerry successfully became a Black Star Trooper. He was now part of the 9th trooper unit.

The unit had a total of 15 members, including himself. 12 of the 15 were newbies. In other words, there were only 3 troopers in his unit that survived the mother nest war. Moreover, according to rumors, only his unit leader, Sub Lieutenant Haweza, was an actual veteran. The other 2 were only slightly more senior than himself.

It was 3 months after the mother nest war. The prominent planet tours had been going on for a month, and it finished carrying about 25,000 people to tour the planet. This was only a small portion of the Hope’s total population, and many who had the required criteria still stood waiting for their turn. Those who didn’t have the requirement could only satisfy themselves with the pictures and videos brought back by their friends or neighbors. They were so envious that their eyes were tearing up.

However, none of the Black Star Troopers had the time to be envious because they needed to use the 3 months to familiarize themselves with the Ultimate Vaccine.

All of the new troopers were injected with the Ultimate Vaccine and Potion X since they were all Homo Evolutis. This would allow them to safely breathe in the new planet’s air and drink its water. However, the benefits came with its own adversities as well. For a long period of time after injecting the Ultimate Vaccine, the new troopers would walk around with bruises all over from constant tripping. Thankfully, they managed to familiarize themselves with the new sensation within the 3 months.

Early that morning, all 15 members of the 9th unit gathered at the hangar. Wearing his space armor prototype 1 complete with a pair of Gaussian rifle and sawblade, unit leader Haweza frowned at the 14 merry-making soldiers before him. He thought about what Guang Zhen, the defense unit’s general and Black Star Trooper’s vice general, told him yesterday.

"Sub lieutenant Haweza, with your experience as an ex US marine lieutenant, I believe you have your own opinion on the current state of the Hope’s military. It’s appalling, I know; any trained military man or woman would say the same.

"In terms of technology and weaponry, we’re miles ahead of Earth’s old military. In fact, any defense unit battalion could rival Earth’s trained armored unit. Alas, combat capability alone doesn’t define what makes a good soldier. Without the necessary discipline, self-awareness, willingness to sacrifice for the greater good, and most importantly, the ingrained instinct to follow orders on the battlefield, can we still call them soldiers?

"The defense unit has its own regime to fix all these weaknesses, but it is slightly unique with the Black Star Troopers. You are mankind’s ultimate military unit, so there can’t be fear or reluctance during danger or combat. You are to make sure that you are as strong as steel! You must be the end to any threat to mankind! You must fight for humanity! You must be feared but mustn’t have fear!

Sub Lieutenant Haweza, I want you to train the troopers with the most severe training possible! Ignore the fact that they are valuable Homo Evolutis, because they are only cowards at the moment! Only after real training can they become mankind’s protectors. So ignore their cries of fatigue and distress and whip them into shape! Don’t hold back and train them to become fearless fighters!"

Haweza remembered distinctly what happened during the combat with the mother nest’s monsters. There were not only deserters from the Defense Unit, there were Black Star Troopers that were afraid to get into the heat of the battle. When he stood behind Guang Zhen as the man executed the scared soldier, all that went through his mind wasn’t Guang Zhen’s ruthlessness but his family back in the Hope, his wife and son. If they fell, his family was going to become nutrients for the alien... He was not going to let that happen!

Therefore, he had to fight. He hated and despised those that didn’t!

Guang Zhen was right, cowards should die from shame!

Haweza calmed himself and ordered loudly, "Listen up, kids, there will be no theoretical lesson, no shooting range or physical training... Today, we, the 9th unit, shall start our field training!"

The 14 people were mentally ready because about half a month ago, units 1, 2, and 3 had started their field training. Of course, those 3 units had more veterans in them. In fact, most of the members were from the Black Star Unit itself. They had no newbies, and the newest member for them had survived the mother nest war, so instead of calling it field training, for the first 3 units, it was more of a body warming.

Actual training started with the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th units. They descended from the Hope to the new planet. They needed to hunt the planet’s animals. Surviving on the planet’s water, fruits, and plants, that was the gist of field training. The news of their training had the members from units 9 and 10 excited, and today it was finally their turn.

Haweza looked at his team with a steely gaze. After a while, he continued, "This is survival training, so rookies, don’t try to emulate what you saw on the actual Black Star Troopers’ combat video; you’re still too fresh. Don’t say I didn’t warn you that this training might be fatal. There are some native species on this planet that are especially strong. The first, second, and third units’ training was to eliminate them, to prevent them from posing a threat to the human capital in the future. Our training objective was to eliminate creatures that were one tier lower than theirs!"

Suddenly, a teen asked, "Sub Lieutenant, but no matter how strong they are, they won’t be stronger than the alien monsters, right?"

Haweza chuckled grimly, adding, "You’re wrong! Half a month ago, our scouting unit found a bunch of monster carcasses. They deduced that about 300 monsters had perished there, including the 3-meter-long sawblade-inspired super close-quarter monster type that was the stuff of nightmares. There were bite marks all over the bodies. Later they found out that this carnage was done by a group of 6 native creatures. Thankfully, there are few of them left, or they would be a bigger threat than the alien monsters!"

All 14 troopers were shocked into silence. However, their expressions were that of disbelief, thinking Haweza was toying with them.

Regardless, 10 minutes later, the transport shuttle for this unit finished preparing. Everyone put on their assigned gear and descended from the Hope to the surface of their new home planet.

Their landing spot was the delta plain, specifically a spot that toed the forest beyond. All 15 troopers stepped out of the shuttle, taking in the view through their helmets.

Haweza spoke into the communicator, "You return to the ship first. I believe we’ll not be needing your service in the coming week."

"... Alright, all the best to you, Sub Lieutenant. You can reach me through the Hope if there’s an emergency."

The shuttle lifted off into the air, leaving behind the 15 Black Star Troopers.

Haweza wasted no time to admire the scenery. He removed his helmet and took a in a deep breath. The remaining 14 troopers tossed him a surprised look.

"Kids, what are you staring at? Remove your helmets, the Ultimate Vaccine enables you to breath in this planet’s air directly, or do you prefer to enjoy the planet through a sheet of glass like the touring civilians? Be men!" Haweza said with a guffaw.

The rest hesitated slightly before removing their helmets. They sucked in the air quickly. The air was moist, mixed with a bouquet of aromas. A mixture of earthiness and dewy freshness. It was a smell that wasn’t present on the Hope, a distinct difference to the sterilized air ‘created’ by the system.

As the 14 troopers took in the air with their eyes closed, Haweza squatted down to find a sliver of purple grass among a bush of weeds. He pulled it up and a pink-colored bulb hung among its roots. He patted the dirt away and threw it into his mouth. He then chewed on it with a satisfied smile.

"Kids, this is going to be our new planet. Treasures are hidden everywhere. The grass that I just pulled is very common on this planet, and its roots grow a bulbous petiole. Analysis showed that it is a good source of carbohydrates and filled with multiple vitamins. It could very well be our staple food in the future."

Haweza straightened himself and looked around emotionally. Then he narrowed them at his unit. "Listen up, kids! The Black Star Troopers are mankind’s most powerful and important military unit, and our existence is to protect humanity’s safety! To do that, we must be fearless, strong, and tenacious!

"Therefore, forget everything about your previous comfortable lifestyle! From today onwards, we will commit to a weeklong survival training and locate plus eliminate the creatures that pose danger to humanity! The Black Star Troopers don’t need cowards! I’ve been given the right to execute anyone that refuses orders during training and combat. His family will be informed that he is a despicable deserter and that he has died from shame!

And now we depart because training has begun!"