The Large Magellanic Cloud, also known as the Large Magellanic System, belongs to dwarf galaxies. Among the numerous satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, it is an extremely famous one, with the largest mass, roughly about one-twentieth of that of the Milky Way.
The Large Magellanic System is the fourth largest galaxy in our galaxy group, next only to Triangulum Galaxy, Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxy. It is also the location of the main star of the Kree Empire, one of the Three Great Empires of the Universe.
The entire Large Magellanic Cloud has been transformed by the Kree Empire into their military base. The Kree Empire's main star, where Supreme Wisdom resides, is heavily fortified.
The Large Magellanic System is generally observed as an irregular galaxy, but it also presents evidence of a bar-shaped structure. Through the astronomical telescopes of the Human race, the Large Magellanic System exhibits a beautiful spindle-shaped arc of light. The brightest nebula located at the end of the spiral arm is exactly where the main star of the Kree Empire is situated.
The Kree Empire has over two thousand star harbours in the Large Magellanic Cloud, half of which are military star ports used to dock the warships of Kree Empire.
However, due to the Kree Empire's continual expansion and colonization over the past thousand years, half of these two thousand star ports are in a stagnant condition, and only about two to three hundred military ports are still extensively active.
The recorded civilization period of the Kree Empire is not as long as that of the Skrull Empire. They are a vibrant civilization, the vast majority of Kree have blue skin. There are also Kree with white or pink skin, product of mixed-race, but blue skin remains predominant.
The ruler of the Kree Empire is named Supreme Wisdom, a civilization created by Kree, a condensed product of knowledge, science, technology, and culture, still ruling the Kree Empire today.
Because the ultimate ruler of this empire is an intelligent life-form, the entire race has essentially reached a level of unity, wherein each Kree is just a component of the vast machinery of the Kree Empire. All Kree people act in accordance with collective consciousness, aiming for utmost devotion and highest efficiency as the ultimate goal of life.
Also just because of the existence of Supreme Wisdom, the protection of its main star by Kree Empire has reached an extremely stringent level. The No.1 Starport of the Kree Empire was specifically set up to resist the impact of extraterrestrial warfare.
The Skrulls and Kree had engaged in a war that lasted for a millennium. Both races, in this war, have developed incomparable interstellar defense technology. Just like the arms race that once emerged on Earth, both sides have reached the apex in terms of the techniques for attacking and defending each other's star ports.
The No.1 Starport of Kree Empire in the Large Magellanic Cloud is located at the end of the Spider Nebula in the newly born star zone of the Large Magellanic system.
This densely clustered nebula, structured like a spider with several arms, was developed into a star zone in the early stages of the Kree Empire's settlement in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
This beautiful and splendid nebula has been floating in the vast and deep universe for thousands of years. Every Kree person holds different sentiments for this place, it's their homeland and where their glory lies.
In the command room of First Star Harbor, a Kree soldier marches through the corridor. After the identity confirming scanner at the entrance recognizes him, the robust mechanical gate opens. He steps in, standing at attention and gives a military salute of the Kree Empire. Then he speaks:
"Sir, the inspection fleet will soon arrive. Reception ships have all been deployed. You may board the ship three minutes from now or before the hatch closes in twenty minutes."
The Kree officer standing before him is quite young, dressed in the uniform of a military officer, with an insignia on his shoulder. The design on the insignia indicates that he is not a very senior officer, but the Kree soldier treats him with high respect nonetheless.
The young Kree officer nods and says, "The commanders of the Accuser Team are coming to inspect the First Star Harbor. The Accuser Team represents the will of Supreme Wisdom and is the leader and vanguard of the Kree Empire. Their inspection requires us to present our best side."
The soldier immediately salutes and says, "Rest assured, sir, starting from a month ago, we have renovated all the old facilities of the star-port, upgraded the smart surveillance system of the star-port, replaced all Kree soldiers with the most advanced equipment, and to celebrate the great birth of the Accuser Team, we have changed all weapon paintwork and spaceship paintwork to festive patterns."
"By the way, has the martial music to be played at the star-port been prepared? We must remember, back in the day, the Accuser Team decisively defeated the powerful fleet of Skrulls amidst resounding Kree Empire's military songs, sending them fleeing in despair."
The young Kree officer lifts his chin and paces around the control room. He says, "Hoffman of the Seventh Star Harbor has always been competing with me for a reserve position in the Accuser Team. Another inspection ship of the Accuser Team has gone there."
"I would like to gain an advantage, and merely refurbishing the star port and changing paintwork is not enough. I believe passionate military music can awaken the Accuser Team's memories of their glorious past, and that is my secret weapon."
The soldier immediately salutes and says, "I will immediately inform the ship to play the martial music as soon as the inspection fleet arrives."
The young Kree officer nods in satisfaction. He waves his hand and says, "Go ahead, I will change my clothes and get ready to board the ship and greet the great Accuser."
In the pitch-black space not far from the Spider Nebula, a bright rift suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was the unique optical phenomenon depicted when a spaceship reached a specified position through a warp.
After the rift dimmed, a Kree spaceship appeared in the cosmos. The fragments of small asteroids glided past the chord windows. Two Kree officers were standing in the main control room. The shorter one began to speak:
"Baitu of First Star Harbor and Huffman of Seventh Star Harbor, whom do you favor more? Since the establishment of the Accuser Team, we are finally getting fresh blood. Ronan, you were also like this, noticed by the Supreme Wisdom for your exceptional talent and became a great accuser."
"I favor Huffman more." This Kree accuser named Ronan sighed and said, "Baitu is too young and frivolous, and doesn't match the Supreme Wisdom's requirement of efficiency-first style; he likes to do useless things too much."
"Me too, to be honest. I originally wanted to follow the fleet to inspect the Seventh Star Harbor, but if only you came, it might give Baitu the impression that we are belittling him. Even if he cannot join the Accuser, perhaps he could still become a fleet commander, and I don't want to offend him."
Ronan frowned and said, "I am not here to see that young guy, Baitu. I have no interest in him. What I care more about is First Star Harbor, which was once our frontline in building the strategic defense system…"
"Even though the Kree Empire's fleet is now all over the universe, we cannot slacken our guard here."
Ronan began pacing around the room and sighed, "The reason why we chose to build First Star Harbor in the Spider Nebula was nothing but its advantageous location in the star zone."
"It has the most supergiant stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud: bright, fiery, youthful, providing the best energy guarantee for our defense system."
"Krees always call it the cradle of stars. Over the past billions of years, numerous bright stars have been born here, and many nearby galaxies are clearly visible."
"Although the strategic importance of this place is no longer as significant with the expansion of the Kree Empire, we must guard this nebula."
"Once it is lost, the defense system jointly established by Reti Seat and Flying Fish Seat will leave a gap, even the marginal star zones of Mountain Case Seat and Drawing Frame Seat might be affected."
"What's even more important is that because of the dense and huge stars, Kree Empire's advanced defense facilities cannot be made to function, and to avoid interfering with normal operations of the stars, traps cannot be set too densely."
Ronan sighed, "I have always been worried about this. This place itself is the front line of the Imperial defense, and the defense here is weaker than other places. I will remain uneasy until we find a way to improve."
The shorter and heftier officer shook his head and said, "Ronan, you are always like this. Why do you worry about something that is impossible to happen?"
"Could you not be implying that someone would dare to attack the First Star Harbor of the Kree Empire?" The short and fat officer snorted and spoke disdainfully, "The whole universe knows that there are no valuable materials in First Star Harbor, nor is its location very important and it does not endanger vital interests. But it is the glory land of Kree, representing the dignity of our country."
"Whoever dares to attack here is equivalent to declaring war on the Kree Empire. They will inevitably encounter violent reprisals from Krees. But an attack on this place cannot pose a significant threat to our core line of defense."
"Put simply, it is a total loss. What benefit would provoking the Kree Empire bring to other civilizations? Even Odin, obsessed with war, would not fight this losing battle."
Ronan nodded and said, "Yes, no officer would want to fight a battle where the input does not correspond to the return. While the Old Star Area is related to the issue of face, to cause trouble here, one must be prepared to sacrifice at least one main warship here."
"But what can they take away by attacking here? What is worth robbing? The Star Harbor? If they can even make it here, why would they need this old star harbor?"
After chatting for a while and reminiscing a bit about the good old days, Ronan said, "Alright, enough chatter, full speed ahead directly to the star harbor. Baitu has always been impatient."
The short and plump officer nodded, and to another soldier nearby said, "Full speed ahead towards the star harbor. When the welcoming ship appears within radar scanning range, be sure to greet them first."
The soldier acknowledged the order and left. Before long, this Kree inspection ship powered up and swiftly flew towards the star harbor.
Not far from the First Star Harbor, after a short flight, the Kree's First Star Harbor came into view.
The first thing that caught the eye was a bright supergiant star. At the outermost orbit of the gravity of the star, there was a star port close to the size and mass of a dwarf planet, with architecture floating in space.
Its overall shape was similar to that of a planet, but the upper half of its shell was a transparent dome, and the bottom part of its base extended out to eight docking bays, each of which further extended out to more docking ports.
This old star port, built during the last era of the Kree Empire, now seems somewhat outdated. The Kree Empire of the Colonial Era no longer uses these old-style star ports which are more material-intensive and have sparser ports.
However, seeing this old star harbor that witnessed Kree Empire's glorious years, any Kree who lived through that era would feel somewhat nostalgic.
Therefore, before approaching this star port, Ronan specifically asked the spaceship to stop. He looked out from the ship's window that offered the best view. He looked at the old star port with traces of years, slowly rotating on the large star's orbit. It felt like a military medal that had gone through vicissitudes.
Ronan stood with his hands behind his back before the window, and spoke nostalgically, "The prosperity of that era is always memorable. I vaguely remember the bustling scene when this star harbor was filled with spaceships…"
"At that time, one after another stream of spaceship engine trails gathered from afar, was like... wait, what is that light?!?"
"Beep——beep—beep! beep! beep!"
"Invasion!!! There is an invasion!!!!! The Anti-Warp Defense System has started... My God, they did not warp here!!! They directly rushed over!!!!!!!!!"
"Star Harbor!!! Defend Star Harbor!!! Defend...."
"Boom!!!!!!!!!!!!"