Jade Skirt No. 2 Star Harbor wasn't new to Hexia, as her footsteps resonated slightly when stepping on the silvery tal plates. The wide corridors of the star harbor were lined with transparent tal glass on both sides, revealing the vast and dark expanse of outer space.
"The 'Chatter-β168' Refracted Wing Class Starship is about to set sail. Please, passengers, orderly board through the 'C-2' 'C-4' 'C-6' gates." The ethereal chanical voice echoed within the star harbor, and so passengers, dragging their suitcases, walked toward the designated gateways.
The towering interior do of the star harbor, with squads of Autonomous Units patrolling the air in groups of three, occasionally flew by, scanning and checking the safety of the waiting hall. The lights along the corridors flashed green, performing multiple checks and scans of the passing beings and objects.
This ti Hexia's destination was the Purple Distant Grass Star Domain, about 2100 light-years from the Four-leaf Crystal Star Domain and separated by three Federation Star Domains.
In the past, such a distance might take a civilization's entire lifeti to reach, but now, thanks to technological advancents, even ordinary people had the opportunity to travel across Star Domains.
A group of people passed through the long arm corridor of the star harbor and entered the boarding gate of the starship. At this ti, Hexia could also take in the sight of the kiloter-long starship through the windows outside.
Unlike the 'Spectra Wing' class starship she had taken to the Central Star Domain the last ti, this one was an older model, a 'Refracted Wing' class starship. It was the main passenger transport starship within the Federation, and its cost had been reduced to acceptable levels due to mature manufacturing processes. It could perform faster-than-light travel within 5000 light-years using high-speed warp engines, aning it would only take Hexia and her companions around 20 days to traverse approximately 2000 light-years.
This was a significant breakthrough as in the early days of the Federation, traversing 2000 light-years would take about 200-300 days with the warp engines of the ti.
What was more astonishing was the jump travel through the Aijieka Sea, the thod used by the 'Spectra Wing' class starship she last boarded, which could cross tens of thousands of light-years in just one day and arrive directly at the Central Star Domain.
However, this thod of jumping through and out of the Aijieka Sea exerted enormous pressure and impact on passengers, hence the need for extrely ticulous and powerful protective asures. Consequently, the cost of starships capable of this mode of travel was exorbitantly high, with a 'Spectra Wing' priced at about 30-40 tis that of a 'Refracted Wing'.
Once inside the starship, the passengers were guided by Autonomous Units to their respective rooms, since they would be spending 20 days on the starship, which was constructed more like the cruise ships of old.
"Suddenly realized interstellar travel is still quite lengthy," Hexia casually remarked to Efnie upon entering her room.
In the team heading to the Purple Distant Grass Star Domain were seven seniors, including Hexia and Efnie, along with three leading teachers. Notably, Wei Ke from the Tri-Phase Moon Academy was also part of the group.
"You'll get used to it. When I was a kid, I especially loved taking starships with my family because then we could all be together. Dad didn't have to work and could chat with , play gas," said Efnie as she put away her luggage and then lay on the soft, comfortable bed, bouncing slightly up and down.
After a brief rest, Efnie sat up again. The Goldfish Princess was wearing her preferred, bright orange dress today, her golden hair cascading down like a waterfall over her shoulders.
"Tilan, aren't you going to rest for a while?" she asked as she saw the black-haired girl standing by the window, gazing out at the Erald Skirt Planet.
The vast planet with clouds, land, and oceans intertwined, turned slowly, displaying a particularly distant and awe-inspiring beauty.
"A planet looks so beautiful from space," Efnie whispered into Hexia's ear as she joined her by the window.
"Yeah, it's beautiful. But when you're on the ground, it's hard to appreciate that. Sotis you need to step out of that frawork and constraint to see it fully," Hexia replied.
Turning around, Hexia went back into the room, preparing to take a shower.
"Wanna join ?" ca Efnie's voice from behind, causing Hexia to hesitate in her actions.
"Better not," Hexia replied, a bit embarrassed.
"Hehe, Tilan is still so shy. Alright, alright, you go first, I won't tease you anymore," Efnie chuckled behind her hand.
Afterward, the sound of rushing water filled the bathroom, first a shower rinse, then, with the help of her own convenient abilities, Hexia quickly dried off and changed into clean and comfortable pajamas.
"That was quick," Efnie comnted, realizing for the first ti that it took Tilan about 20 minutes to bathe, whereas she herself would take about an hour each ti, partially due to her love for soaking in the bath. After all, as the Goldfish Princess, she enjoyed playing in the water.
After bathing, Tilan climbed onto the bed, pulled back the covers, and crawled in. She intended to spend most of her 20 days sleeping, taking advantage of the voyage to rest properly.
Efnie was no longer surprised by Tilan's habit of sneaking in extra sleep, having co to realize that this girl's only behavior that didn't align with perfection was indeed this.
Efnie later entered the bathroom wearing headphones and her personal terminal, wrapped in a bath towel, grabbing a cup of fruit juice and snacks to continue her bath for over an hour, before finally erging. She then used the room's quiet hair dryer to dry her hair and, like Tilan, went to sleep.
For the first three days, the two mostly stayed in their room, sleeping and watching videos. On the fourth day, they joined the other students and teachers from their group for a communal al in the large dining hall on the third floor.
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