In the vast desert of the planet known as Jedha, a Black Falcon assault craft engaged its stealth mode, blending seamlessly into the surrounding environment, rendering it completely undetectable to the naked eye.
Occasionally, some local alien wildlife roamed the wilderness below, but they were equally oblivious to the craft silently gliding above them.
As the afternoon sun dipped closer to the horizon, its rays no longer directly scorched the desert. The temperature, already not particularly hot, began to plummet rapidly.
Inside the cabin of the assault craft, the atmosphere was particularly tense and solemn.
A total of seven agents from the Survey Department—including Leon, David, and Lucy—were aboard the craft, each dressed in tactical, bulletproof casual wear.
Leon sat on the right side, leaning against the cabin wall, his eyes closed and his breathing steady, appearing to rest.
In reality, he remained on high alert. Despite his seemingly relaxed demeanor, he was ready to respond to any sudden developments at a moment's notice.
David and the other agents were also busy in their own ways—checking their weapons and equipment or exchanging low-voiced information with their colleagues.
Lucy sat across from Leon, her expression somewhat vacant.
However, her cybernetic eyes emitted a faint glow, indicating she was rapidly processing the latest intelligence provided by the Survey Department.
In her field of vision, streams of information, data, and analysis results "jumped" before her. Each time she switched pages, the numbers and images in front of her would update accordingly. Her vacant expression was, in fact, a reflection of deep concentration.
Before joining Atlas and the Core Universe Empire, Lucy had been a master hacker with an exceptionally sharp mind. Now, she was running extensive simulations and preparing for the imminent reconnaissance mission.
Although they had not yet obtained extensive physical samples from Universe 17, Lucy was confident that, in an emergency, she could deploy her hacking skills to disrupt enemy electronics.
Given sufficient preparation, she could even infiltrate enemy defense systems remotely, completely disabling their communications and surveillance networks.
Meanwhile, the Black Falcon assault craft skimmed low over the desert, its auxiliary maglev engines emitting a deep, muted hum—so effectively masked by the stealth mode that it was almost impossible for anyone outside to detect.
Leon opened his eyes and, using the shared pilot perspective from his holographic glasses, saw the outline of a distant city known as the "Holy City."
It had been roughly three hours since they crossed the spatial gate, and though they had encountered no obstacles thus far, Leon knew the current calm was temporary.
The task force assigned to infiltrate the Holy City consisted of forty-three Survey Department agents, divided into six teams. Each team was traveling aboard its own cloaked Black Falcon assault craft, silently closing in on their target.
Their reception and operational handoff would be handled by a joint reconnaissance force that had already infiltrated the Holy City.
This advance unit had been gathering intelligence for some time, preparing to support the Survey Department's deep-penetration efforts.
However, despite the veteran status of these reconnaissance soldiers—who were adept at operating in complex combat environments—their equipment posed certain limitations.
While their nanotech combat suits allowed them to become "invisible" under the noses of enemies, they could not bypass optical camouflage when interacting effectively with local human and alien populations.
Thus, Leon's survey team would take over once they reached the city, responsible for assessing the situation, collecting intelligence, and conducting a thorough analysis of Jedha to gain a clearer understanding of Universe 17's overall state of affairs.
The Special Operations members of the Survey Department, meanwhile, remained stationed aboard a hidden Diana V-class stealth ship in low orbit.
The Diana V-class, designed with comprehensive stealth capabilities, had become a staple of both the Survey Department and the Inquisition, as well as certain Imperial Legions—especially the Alpha Legion.
Renowned for its superior cloaking and advanced counter-detection systems, the Diana V could conduct prolonged covert operations without leaving any trace.
The Special Ops team aboard the ship was on standby, ready to deploy at a moment's notice. If Leon's team encountered unforeseen danger in the Holy City, the Special Ops team could perform an orbital drop and reach them with lightning speed, providing the necessary support.
Whether it was air support or precision strikes, the Diana V could rely on its powerful electronic jamming and advanced fire control systems to deliver effective strikes within minutes, ensuring the success of the survey mission.
In addition to the Diana V-class ship, two Paris-class frigates from the 1st Company of the Thousand Sons Legion hovered in low orbit around Jedha.
Though the Paris-class frigates' stealth capabilities were inferior to those of the Diana V, they were still adept enough to remain undetected by the Galactic Empire's fleet.
Together, these three ships functioned like silent sentinels, safeguarding the mission team and monitoring the Empire's vessels in orbit.
Those vessels were none other than the most iconic representation of the Galactic Empire—the Imperial-Class Star Destroyers.
In the meditation chamber of the Core Universe's Imperial Palace, the golden walls softly reflected ambient light. Samuel Young, clad in a black robe, sat silently on his gilded throne, quickly reviewing the initial reports from Universe 17 on a series of hard-light screens.
The previous day at noon, Samuel had once again offered his own blood as a sacrifice. The skeletal altar had absorbed it all and, upon manifesting fully, had radiated an intense light—successfully opening the seventeenth spatial gate to a new universe.
In the early stages, the joint reconnaissance force had dispatched a multitude of mechanical and biological reconnaissance units, acquiring scattered data.
The area beyond the spatial gate was a vast desert. For now, Samuel had little actionable intelligence to share with the Empire's Intelligence Department to aid in strategic preparations.
However, when the Paris-class frigates and Diana V-class stealth ship ascended into low orbit and secretly detected the presence of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, Samuel immediately recognized the significance of the universe they had entered.
This new spatial gate led to the very universe that countless people from his previous life revered as a science-fiction classic: the Star Wars Universe.
The Imperial-class Star Destroyer was unmistakably the symbol of the Galactic Empire, an iconic warship with unparalleled recognition in Star Wars lore.
It was not just a representation of military might—it exuded an aura of cold menace, a fortress in space designed to project terror across the galaxy.
Massive and imposing, with a silver-gray hull that gleamed under the starlight like a blade, its entire design embodied the violent aesthetics of the Empire.
Both its overwhelming firepower and sheer numbers had made the Imperial-class Star Destroyer the irreplaceable core of the Empire's fleet.
For Samuel, any mention of Star Wars immediately brought to mind this legendary warship.
And next, inevitably, his thoughts turned to one of the most iconic villains in cinematic history—Darth Vader.
The image of the dark lord clad in black, encased in a cold, mechanical shell, his deep, ominous breathing and crimson lightsaber, was a symbol etched in the minds of millions.
Through the Paris-class and Diana V-class reconnaissance data, Samuel had verified that the Star Destroyer in orbit around Jedha was approximately 1,600 meters in length—confirming it as an Imperial-class warship.
Further intelligence from the joint reconnaissance unit, which had infiltrated a city populated by both humans and aliens, corroborated his findings.
That city was the Holy City on Jedha, a significant location within the Star Wars universe renowned for its rich deposits of Kyber Crystals.
Piecing these clues together, Samuel deduced that Universe 17's timeline corresponded to the events of the Rogue One spin-off film.
The Holy City had yet to be destroyed by the Death Star, suggesting that the superweapon was still under construction during this period.
For Samuel, Rogue One was perhaps the most impactful entry in the Star Wars series. Though he was not a die-hard fan, the film's portrayal of self-sacrifice and collective heroism deeply resonated with him.
Now, Samuel's priority was to ensure that the Rebel Alliance maintained its strength against the Galactic Empire and that key figures survived. He even considered providing covert support to their cause.
However, for that plan to succeed, the Core Universe Empire needed to establish effective communication with the Rebels.
Without that, any support would be futile.
Thus, Samuel resolved to send agents deep into the Holy City to establish contact with the local resistance, particularly Saw Gerrera's faction.
Soon after, Leon found himself walking alone through the streets of the Holy City in Universe 17.
This city, surviving under the oppressive rule of the Galactic Empire, was filled with a diverse array of alien creatures in tattered clothing.
Some huddled in corners, while others darted between market stalls, their bizarre appearances starkly different from that of humans.
What puzzled Leon even more were the large numbers of seemingly ordinary humans in the streets. Upon closer inspection, however, he noticed subtle differences—distorted features, cold and violent eyes, and irregular skin patterns hinting at genetic mutations.
It was impossible to distinguish humans from aliens based on appearance alone without gathering samples for analysis by the Bio-Tech Department.
As a veteran investigator who had operated across multiple universes, Leon was no stranger to various species. Yet, the sight of peaceful coexistence between humans and aliens in this city left him deeply unsettled.
In the Core Universe Empire, even with the existence of elite humanoid species like elves and dwarves, xenophobia remained rampant.
To the average citizen of the Empire, any alien civilization was deemed a threat that could be exterminated without hesitation.
"..."
Taking in the scene before him, Leon contemplated the possibility of the Empire adopting certain governance practices from Universe 17.
Though not an extreme xenophobe, Leon was firmly committed to human supremacy. In his view, humanity needed to maintain unparalleled strength and security—capable of preemptively eradicating any alien or Warp threat if necessary.
This mindset aligned perfectly with that of Chris Redfield, his colleague from Universe 15 (Alien), who was tasked with tracking down the Engineers.
Still, Leon liked to think of himself as "relatively moderate" by comparison.
At that moment, Leon reached a crowded alleyway and prepared to continue forward when—
"Young man, welcome to our world."
A voice called out.
Seated on a stone step was a "blind man" in a black robe who had taken the initiative to greet him.
------------------
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