EVE, I’m such a miner

Chapter 16 The Story of Canopus
  The name of Canopus is different from that of other galaxies. From the name of this galaxy, you will know that there is a story hidden behind this galaxy.

Canopus is not the real name of this galaxy. The real name of this galaxy is Opelia. However, most people do not know the name of this galaxy. Instead, they only know its nickname "Canopus".

Canopus is a lifeless, uninhabited white dwarf galaxy.

Before the emergence of interstellar jump engine technology, the only way for the empire to expand its territory was to send spacecraft to star systems to build star gates. This kind of engineering spacecraft could reach 30% of the speed of light. At this speed, a galaxy 10 light-years away would take 33 years to reach.

The crew of the engineering spacecraft remained in cryogenic sleep chambers throughout the voyage, awakening as they neared their destination.

Later, after jump engine technology became available, some of these ships were retrofitted with jump engines, meaning that decades of slow sailing were a thing of the past. However, none of the older models of engineering ships were built based on jump drive technology, and rumors of accidents to these ships frequently spread.

One of them happened on old man Dalexer's engineering ship.

This engineering spacecraft sets out from the Villore galaxy and has a journey of about 12 light years. The somatosensory voyage time is estimated to only take a few minutes.

The crew consists of five people, which has been greatly reduced compared to the previous situation where dozens of crew members were often required.

Due to the large amount of technical experience accumulated in the war, the actual construction work is mainly performed by drones and robots, and the crew only plays the role of operators and technicians.

Not long after the engineering spacecraft set off, disaster struck from the sky.

Due to the navigator's miscalculation, the spacecraft crashed into the middle of an asteroid belt after flying several light-years away.

The huge asteroid hit the spacecraft hard, and the cryogenic sleep chamber was destroyed. Four people died unfortunately, and only one person survived.

Fortunately, he woke up before the cryogenic slumber chamber lost its effectiveness. His name was Thel Dalekser, the operator of the drone on the spacecraft.

The Gallente Federation was engaged in a long-term war with the United States of Caldarin, but at this time the war had come to an end and peace talks had begun.

There is no short-term return in developing the Opelia galaxy. This galaxy was originally used as a bridge to connect to the Pecalyut constellation.

The Federation was obviously unwilling to take the risk of losing another spaceship, so the Gallente Federation shelved the project. Federation staff noticed the missing engineering ship and discovered the calculation error of the spacecraft, thinking that it was The spacecraft has been damaged, so the spacecraft has been cancelled.

After Dalexer woke up, he found that the primary problem now was how to survive - in order to save space and reduce weight, the spacecraft did not carry any food, but after they woke up, they could grow edible food by running some spherical greenhouses. Plants, but this requires being close to a star to obtain the most basic light and heat. In other words, these greenhouses and seeds are useless in deep space.

Water is another pressing issue, as is oxygen scarcity.

The current condition of the spacecraft is not much better. The asteroid tore a huge crack in the side of the spacecraft and destroyed many vital systems on the spacecraft.

The cargo bay was particularly badly damaged, with broken equipment and asteroid-strewn debris filling the cramped space.

Dalexer used his engineering knowledge to perfectly solve these problems, starting by modifying an energy tank filled with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.

When the spacecraft approaches the destination galaxy, the energy tank will cooperate with the power system to slow down the spacecraft. Touching this energy tank is not a joke, because the fuel is a high-risk flammable substance.

But the patient and cautious Daleks succeeded in producing a controlled chemical reaction that resulted in a supply of water and oxygen.

He then welded together all the shards of glass and metal plates he could find in the spacecraft to collect and store any glimmer of light from distant stars.

This is enough for him to produce food in a greenhouse, connect the greenhouse to the septic tank of the spacecraft, and the problem of fertilizer for the plants is also solved.

This way he gets enough food and oxygen to survive, and Dalexer has established a small ecosystem of his own.

After Dalexer solved the problem of survival on the spacecraft and stabilized, his next step was to adjust the navigation route of the spacecraft.

This collision slightly changed the course of the spacecraft, but in the vastness of the universe, this means that the spacecraft has deviated from its original course to the Opelia system by billions of kilometers.

The power system has been completely destroyed and cannot be repaired. The spacecraft is out of control and will be lost in deep space forever.

Every second of delay at this moment means that the spacecraft deviates further from the route and must be resolved immediately.

Instead of spending precious time building a new power system, Dalexer came up with a unique idea: the spacecraft symbolically carried some combat missiles. He let the missile explode on the solid outer wall of the spacecraft. Through precise calculations of the impact point and explosion yield, Dalexer successfully forced the spacecraft to return to the established route.

Dalexer originally tried to turn the ship completely and return, but found that he did not have enough missiles to do so, and the hull could not withstand another violent explosion.

The boring journey begins, and the spacecraft is still decades away from the Opelia system.

Dalexer spent this time designing and building strange machines with the help of a pile of scrap metal in the cargo bay.

He discovered that the asteroid that hit the spacecraft contained a large amount of extremely rare superphage ore. Due to its unparalleled properties, it made it extremely valuable in the manufacturing of advanced robots and drones.

Perhaps it is the result of years of working and living in a state of weightlessness. Although the environment lacks raw materials and tools, Dalexer has an extraordinary keen intuition for high-tech components. The things he makes last for a long time. Inside, it is still at the pinnacle of creativity and craftsmanship, unparalleled.

The spacecraft finally arrived in the Opelia system, ten years later than scheduled due to the slowdown in the spacecraft caused by the impact of the asteroid and subsequent missile bombardment.

Over the years, Dalexer had figured out a few ways to slow down the ship, and now was his chance.

His main method is to use celestial bodies in this galaxy to help slow down, even if the spacecraft's power system itself cannot be controlled.

Dalexer managed to get some directional thrusters working with the remaining fuel.

Now he began traveling back and forth between planets in the system, using the planet's gravity to slow down the ship, sometimes even dangerously, entering the planet's atmosphere (protecting the ship with a hand-made shield).

Through these novel methods, Dalexer successfully stopped the spacecraft and avoided the misfortune of leaving the galaxy and entering deep space again.

Dalexer is now old. Due to being in a weightless environment for a long time, he is physically and mentally haggard and in poor condition.

But his enthusiasm remained, and now that he had reached his destination, he didn't want to give up halfway.

Although he was delighted to have arrived in the Opelia system, his situation was still dire, with no hope of rescue. His destiny is entirely in his own hands, and the only way out is to complete his established mission: build the Stargate alone.

All of the equipment used to construct the Stargate was destroyed or confused beyond recognition during the earlier disaster.

Dalexer had to put a lot of effort into designing and building new drone and robot factories.

His work was centered around a larger asteroid, conveniently located between a bright white primary star and its tiny, dark brown companion.

On that asteroid, Dalexer built a small assembly factory and residence.

After five years of hard work, with the help of his robot friends, he finally completed the construction of the star gate alone.

This may be one of the few feats in the entire world. Daleks was already over 80 years old at the time. He had gray hair, a wrinkled face, and slightly trembling hands. He accomplished this under such circumstances. Xiang Weiye.

When this arduous engineering spacecraft staggered into the star gate of the Velor system, imagine the shocked expression of the star gate administrator at that time. This mission was considered a failure a long time ago, and all the crew members were killed. Now, The sudden appearance of the spaceship accomplished this incredible feat with one hand, which is awe-inspiring.

Dalexer became the focus of media and public pursuit and attention.

Then he realized what he had planned during his half-century journey - he founded his own company, Seaton Industries.

He died a few years later, his body weakened and his internal organs failing, too damaged to be cloned.

But his legacy still has a profound impact today. Sidon Industries is the largest drone manufacturing factory in the Gallente Federation, and its founder's innovative technology still dominates and controls the entire drone industry.

Compared to Dalekser's long-standing achievements so far, the fact that people renamed the Opelia system Canopus in order to express their respect for him seems so insignificant.

(PS, this is the story of Canopus, the more famous galaxy in EVE)

(End of this chapter)