The morning sun crested the jagged mountain peaks, bathing the great valley of Mining-Star #30 in clear amber light.
A crisp mountain breeze swept across the wide plain, rippling the crimson and gold banners of Taichu Group.
High above the assembled crowd, the Sovereign Aurora hovered silently. Its polished hull reflected the morning sky like a mirror.
Lin Mo stood at the edge of the forward observation deck, his hands resting lightly on the brass railing. He wore the Sovereign Benevolence Robe gifted to him by Matriarch Yun Jin. The moonlight fabric shimmered with a soft, protective silver sheen that shed the biting mountain wind without a ripple.
Beside him stood Grandma Chen, Tie Niu, Master Lu Jian, Tang Xiaomi, and Xing Yao.
Below the flagship, more than two million local miners, blacksmiths, and their families packed the assembly plaza.
Across the wider galaxy, however, the audience was vastly larger.
Through Xing Yao’s synchronized starlight relays, a crystal-clear holographic broadcast was beamed into thirty planetary skies simultaneously.
