"Minister Walker, what do you need us to do?"
Cao Ge looked at the burly man speaking in front of him, then said, "Eric, we know nothing about the outside world. What we need to do now is restore contact with it, take control of the spacecraft, and then put all our efforts into searching for any survivors who are still alive. Can you help me with this?"
"Sir, this is our duty," the six men said succinctly.
But after these words were spoken, the six men all turned their gazes toward the hatch that led outside, peering through the window made of a glass-like material at the silent world beyond.
"But is there really anyone still alive out there?"
"Since we're all still alive, I believe others can also survive," Cao Ge encouraged.
"John, you are our tech officer. You need to find a way to open this hatch leading to the cockpit," Cao Ge said, pointing to another hatch.
"Yes, Minister. I'll find a way. But given the current situation, it's going to be difficult because the hatch is powered down and won't accept any commands. Unless there's a manual mechanical door," John explained, pointing to the chamber from which they had awoken.
Cao Ge shook his head and said, "There's no manual mechanical door. This door was set up specifically for my convenience in command."
Hearing Cao Ge's words, John was visibly disappointed, but he quickly composed himself and said, "Don't worry, Minister. I will find a way to open this door."
"Mm," Cao Ge nodded.
Having said this, Cao Ge began to assign tasks to Eric.
"Eric, I need you to take Yuval Dean and Burton Babrin with you, crawl out from here, and then open this door," Cao Ge said, pointing to the ventilation duct above them.
Eric held the rank of major, characterized by his hardline manner and large muscular build; a taciturn and quintessentially pure soldier, he was an important military officer assisting Cao Ge's command.
Among the six people present, there were a total of three officers, one of whom was the young man already busy at the hatch, holding the rank of ensign and serving as a tech officer, then there was Eric, with the rank of major and position of head of the action group of the armed department, and lastly a civilian responsible for assisting Cao Ge with administrative affairs.
"Guy Bartoli."
"Minister, what do you need me to do?"
Cao Ge looked at him, then said, "Discuss with Eric and find them a route on the computer to exit through the ventilation ducts. We've lost contact with the outside world and can't do much now. Considering too much will only be of no use."
"All right, let's take action."
"Yes."
Eric, leading his two subordinate officers, and Guy Bartoli, along with his deputy, started discussing the plan of how to exit through the vent.
Cao Ge didn't disturb them and sat down to think. On one hand, he thought about how to complete the mission and, on the other, what he could gain from this world.
The main setting of the movie Elysium Space was on Elysium Space, a massive colonization spacecraft capable of accommodating sixty thousand people.
This was a huge treasure. On this ship lay all the information of the Earth of this world, the most advanced technology, the most advanced equipment.
This technology was the only thing Cao Ge could obtain.
But how could he possibly understand all the technology that took humankind who knows how long to develop?
Therefore, he could only choose what he needed to learn, and even then, it wasn't guaranteed that he would master it.
According to the fragmented memories that appeared out of nowhere in his brain, the spacecraft he was on was capable of traveling at sub-light speed, which was the limit for objects with mass.
Of course, using a warp drive, which isolates an object from the larger universe, is another matter.
Elysium Space solely relied on engine propulsion to reach this speed, and not by warping space.
This was an achievement so groundbreaking that it shook Cao Ge's understanding to its core.
Consider that the Three-Body First Fleet's navigation speed was merely one-tenth of the speed of light, this engine technology not only far surpassed Earth's civilization but also the Three-Body civilization.
But such technology was beyond his grasp alone.
Because engine technology was an immense project, achieving sub-light speed with an engine was beyond his comprehension.
Of course, he could choose to let the system enhance his scientific research capabilities.
But such advanced engine technology would have incredibly extensive manufacturing data, which he could never completely master.
Apart from the engine technology, the spacecraft was equipped with other technologies.
This spacecraft was the crystallization of the peak of human civilization's top scientific and technological achievements on Earth, representing the pinnacle of this world's human technology.
The technologies within it were as vast as the ocean.
Cao Ge shook his head and then stopped thinking about the problem, because overthinking was useless. He had to complete the mission first before he could find time to do as he wanted.
As for what to learn in the end, it would depend on what he could understand.
The current situation was that he didn't know where the spacecraft was, so he couldn't develop a specific rescue plan.
If the Elysium Space, like in the original plot, crashed on the planet Tanis, then he would only need to eject all the hibernation pods as in the original plot to complete the mission.
But if the spacecraft hadn't crashed and was drifting in space, then ejecting all the hibernation pods not only wouldn't complete the mission but would also end it prematurely.
Therefore, the task of opening the doors to the cockpit was crucial.
Even though the main computer was disconnected, as long as the cockpit's power was restored, the protective cover on top of the cockpit could be opened, which was the only place he could think of to observe the outside situation.
Only by understanding his own position could he make the right decision.
Cao Ge nodded slightly at the six people busy at their respective tasks in the cabin; there wasn't much they could do at the moment.
.........
Minutes later, Eric, with his two subordinates, each armed with a handgun, climbed into the ventilation ducts above the ceiling.
Cao Ge looked up at the ventilation duct that was no more than fifty centimeters on a side and then cast his gaze toward Guy in front of the metal platform, who was using a microphone to communicate with Eric inside the duct, directing them forward following the route map on the screen.
Cao Ge glanced at it; the exit of the ventilation duct was about fifty meters away from their cabin in a straight line, but with all the twists and turns inside the duct, it might total over two hundred meters.
After looking twice, Cao Ge then went to the cargo door near the cockpit.
John was engrossed with a tablet computer, crouched in front of the door, swiping continuously.
The screen showed densely packed structures, all part of the design blueprints for the door in front of him.
"How is it? Is there a way?" asked Cao Ge.
John stood up, furrowing his brows as he looked at him, "Minister, I'm doing my best, but there's a high probability it's not possible."
After that, he continued his research, no longer paying attention to Cao Ge.
Cao Ge's brow furrowed deeply as he leaned close to the transparent window on the door to look inside, but it was pitch black, dim and without light, and he could see nothing.
Cao Ge had to get out. Without leaving, he wouldn't be able to complete the mission, and according to the information obtained from the system, if the side mission wasn't completed, the traverse function wouldn't be usable.