At first glance, Lu Tu seemed a bit petty, but in reality, he was more of a "first a scoundrel, then a gentleman."
He possessed a personality that was sufficient for maintaining the status quo but lacked the drive for advancement. If the superiors hadn't been so keen on playing it safe regarding Ship Number One, he wouldn't have been the one to become its captain.
Moreover, his thoughts held a certain representative quality.
The expedition plan itself was an extremely pioneering operational scheme. Although it carried elements of risk, regardless of success or failure, it could be regarded as a miracle in military history.
Anyone involved in this plan was a genuine pioneer. It wasn't an exaggeration to say their names would be written into history books!
From another perspective, the expedition was a brilliant resume that no one could overlook. It was also an intangible political asset. Unless Expedition One perished midway, upon returning to Earth, the future for every member would be bright!
An additional operational plan wouldn't add much merit; it offered almost no bonus. Without this plan, Lu Tu would have no fault, only hard work, and wouldn't lose anything.
Therefore, Lu Tu's attitude was to discuss what needed discussing and report what needed reporting, fulfilling his duties without overstepping a single step.
It wasn't quite being set in his ways, but it did have a flavor of not seeking progress.
Fortunately, this attitude was never mainstream. The attendees spoke freely, with the serious intention of picking holes in the plan. They meticulously reviewed it, gathered all the problems they found, thought of, or raised, and sent them to Ou Zhanpeng for his opinion.
Upon receiving the problem package, Ou, the person in question, went all out. For anything he had already considered, he provided an immediate answer. For anything he hadn't, he answered to the best of his ability with the available resources.
Thus, after several rounds of back-and-forth, a complete operational plan was formed and finally reported to the base under the name of Expedition One.
Ou Zhanpeng's name was prominently listed as the first on the plan!
The base's reply was much slower than expected. It took a full two days for Ship Number One to receive the modified plan.
Expedition One immediately became busy. Everyone, according to their respective duties, went all out to inspect equipment and maintain weapons. Although the plan was approved, with a distance of over twenty million kilometers, even the best plan couldn't be executed. They had to wait for the warship to descend to a suitable altitude before destroying the enemy's base in one fell swoop!
They waited for over a week. On January 16, 2067, the Swordfish rendezvoused with Expedition One.
After a separation of a full year, two months, and nine days, Ou Zhanpeng boarded Expedition One once again.
Tons of supplies were loaded onto Expedition One, and the ship's cabin instantly turned into an ocean of joy!
Those who have never suffered from hunger can never understand how precious food is!
The moment Ou Zhanpeng floated into the cabin, a group of people immediately swarmed him. Lu Tu, without a word, gave Ou Zhanpeng a big hug.
For someone of his more reserved nature, it was an exceptionally rare display of indulgence.
Ou, caught off guard, resisted both internally and physically: "Let go quickly, if you don't let go, I'll get angry with you. What are you doing hugging like this, you big man!"
Lu laughed and let go. A young female astronaut immediately leaned in: "Me, me!"
She not only hugged Ou Zhanpeng but also boldly planted a kiss on his cheek.
"Me too, me too!" A group of female soldiers surged forward, pushing Ling Xiao, who was about to step forward, to the side. They were too many to even get close!
"This is outrageous!" Ling Xiao said indignantly.
Ou Zhanpeng was surrounded by the opposite sex, with no way to dodge left or right without being accused of groping. He was so flustered he didn't know where to put his hands, desperately shouting, "Hey, hey, whose girl is this? Take her away quickly, hurry up—"
Although he had been instructed by Xu Qing, this scene was still too overwhelming!
Several female soldiers, half-jokingly, urged, "Why don't you break up with Xu Qing? You can pick any one of us!"
Ling Xiao's mouth was crooked with laughter. He recorded this entire scene, planning to send it to Xu Qing later if Ou didn't treat him to a meal.
Ou Zhanpeng didn't dare to reply, otherwise, if it reached Xu Qing's ears, it would be troublesome.
He knew it clearly. No matter how playful these female soldiers seemed at the moment, no one would admit to it later. Moreover, there were bound to be Xu Qing's informants in the crowd. Before long, the entire process of him being molested would be sent to Xu Qing's terminal.
Did Ling Xiao think he could manipulate him? Dream on!
Despite the laughter and joking, everyone understood how crazy and risky it was to pilot a small spaceship alone to catch up with Expedition One. If they felt nothing at all, could they still be considered human?
After a while, everyone finally calmed down. They immediately opened the packages and distributed the supplies. The entire living cabin was as lively as during the New Year.
At this point, the Swordfish had completed its historical mission. However, Ou Zhanpeng didn't want to abandon it. Lu also felt that the small spaceship was so fast that it might be useful in the future. So, outside Ship Number One, in a place that wouldn't be in the way, they organized personnel to secure the Swordfish to the outside of the warship.
At this time, Expedition One replaced the Swordfish and was navigating in an orbit just over a million kilometers higher than Callisto. The timing to launch the plan had matured!
But Lu still patiently waited for two more days.
At 8 AM on January 18th, Captain Lu gave the order. The pre-prepared target data was quickly input into the fire control system. The sides of the warship opened simultaneously, and rows of missiles extended their round heads.
Shortly after, the launch order was given. Missiles were ejected from both the port and starboard sides. After leaving the warship, they ignited their engines in sequence. From afar, it looked as if the warship had suddenly unfolded a pair of flaming wings.
Everyone knew this was the most critical battle. Ship Number One had gone all out. In one volley, they fired all eight missile modules, a total of 512 heavy missiles.
Expedition One only had sixteen missile modules in total. With four left on Mars, only twelve remained on board.
At first glance, although more than half were fired in one go, there were still four modules left, and Ship Number One still possessed formidable combat power.
The problem was that the remaining four modules were all various anti-aircraft missiles. Not a single heavy missile carrying a nuclear warhead remained.
Ship Number One had truly gambled everything. This battle was do or die!
The missiles that flew from the warship did not disperse. Instead, they converged and plunged almost vertically towards Jupiter's surface, heading directly for the front of Callisto.
At such a distance, even missiles needed to account for lead time. Otherwise, by the time they reached their destination, Callisto would have already flown ahead. No matter how they exploded, the missiles wouldn't be able to catch up to the satellite.
Before contact was even made, Ship Number One displayed its tactical intention of concentrating its firepower to deal with one base first. However, the alien species occupying Callisto remained motionless.
Although the missiles were fast, a distance of a million kilometers was no trivial matter. It would take at least half a day to reach their destination. What was the hurry?