A starship, no matter how massive, has structural weak points, an energy core, and a shield threshold.
But a solid celestial body, eighty-two kilometers in diameter, slightly modified and accelerated to its limit...
It has almost no weaknesses.
It doesn't need to aim; it just needs to crash toward the target area!
Any fleet attempting to intercept it will face the fate of being crushed by absolute mass!
Imagine: when this disguised, accelerated super meteorite suddenly deviates from its predetermined orbit, crashing toward the densest array of the Stargate Defense Fleet at an incredible speed and angle...
How would the Empire's commanders react?
Would they risk being struck by the wreckage of allied ships and hold their ground?
Or would they be forced to vacate the core defense zone and evade?
Either choice would tear a brief, fatal breach in the iron wall of defense!
And this breach would be the window for the Pluto Fleet to deliver a fatal blow!
Qin Beiwang's heart raced wildly at this insane idea.
The risks were extremely high, the engineering challenges immense, and once initiated, there was no turning back.
But the rewards of success... could reverse the entire course of the war!
He immediately pulled up detailed scan data of the meteoroid and an inventory of the fleet's engineering equipment.
Rapid mental calculations and system-assisted simulations ran simultaneously.
"Zhuang Zhixuan!"
He opened the adjutant channel, his voice slightly hurried with excitement.
"Immediately summon all senior engineers and equipment supervisors!
I need to convene an emergency tactical briefing!"
"Also, order all engineering ships and armed engineering barges in the fleet to enter the highest state of readiness!
Take stock of all our spare engine modules, heavy armor plates, portable shield generators, and... high-energy demolition devices!"
"We're going to give this old friend..."
Qin Beiwang looked out the window at the colossal object, his eyes gleaming with an almost ambitious light.
"...a little makeover."
"And then, send it on its final, and most glorious... voyage."
The emergency tactical meeting was held in a highly shielded briefing room aboard the Kunlun Mountain - Modified.
When Qin Beiwang calmly and clearly outlined the bold concept of transforming the GC-7712 meteoroid into a super kinetic impact body, the entire meeting room fell into dead silence.
Everyone was stunned by the scale and audacity of the idea.
Using a natural celestial body as a weapon?
There were precedents in textbooks and historical combat cases, but they usually involved temporary impacts in asteroid belt combat or using gravitational deflection of minor celestial bodies.
But attempting to temporarily arm and orbitally manipulate a colossal object eighty-two kilometers in diameter, using it as a battering ram for a frontal breakthrough into the enemy's core defense zone...
This was an unprecedented fantasy!
After a moment of shock, intense discussion ensued.
"Commander, theoretically... it's possible."
A senior fleet engineer spoke first, his brow furrowed.
"But the practical obstacles are immense."
The core issue: propulsion. The mass of this asteroid is staggering. According to preliminary scan data estimates, its total mass is comparable to that of a small dwarf planet.
To pull it from its current inertial orbit and impart it with a new course and speed sufficient to threaten the Imperial Defense Perimeter...
We would need to temporarily install at least fifty large shipborne fusion propulsion engines and perform extremely complex coordinated control.
This would require a massive amount of time and resources!"
The propulsion problem was the first major mountain blocking the path of the plan.
Without sufficient thrust, everything else was just empty talk.
The atmosphere in the conference room was heavy.
Fifty large engines, installed and debugged secretly in enemy territory?
It sounded like a fantasy.
Just then, a somewhat low but clear and methodical voice spoke up.
Everyone looked. It was the shipboard senior engineer from the special battleship Zhen Yue — Zhuang Liqun.
He wore thick glasses, and his demeanor was more that of a scholar than a soldier.
"The propulsion requirement calculations are based on accelerating from a standstill or forcing a course change," Zhuang Liqun said, adjusting his glasses and pulling up a gravitational field analysis chart of the Bushman Star System.
"But we may not need to rely entirely on our own engines to brute-force it."
His finger pointed to the Bushman Primary Star on the star chart.
"We can utilize stellar gravity."
"According to predictions, the asteroid's current trajectory will, in approximately 96 hours, enter the edge of a specific potential well within the Bushman Primary Star's gravitational field."
"If we can, at that critical point, utilize a relatively small amount of engine thrust—preliminary calculations suggest thirty high-efficiency fusion engines performing directional pulse jets would suffice—combined with the asteroid's own momentum, we might be able to give it a gravity assist."
"Like being launched from a slingshot, it could break from its current orbit and enter a new, projected trajectory aimed at the flank of the Stargate Defense Perimeter."
He paused, then added an even more ingenious step:
"Not only that. On this new trajectory, we could plan a path for it to perform close flybys past several dwarf planets or large asteroids with specific masses and orbits."
"Utilize the gravitational pull of these celestial bodies for slingshot effect acceleration."
"Each flyby could add significant speed to the asteroid while subtly adjusting its course, making its final impact path even more difficult to predict and intercept."
"The Imperial Defense System would see an asteroid that had unexpectedly changed course and was continuously accelerating."
"Its trajectory would bear the hallmarks of natural gravitational perturbation, making it difficult to immediately identify as being under manual control."
"By the time they react, the asteroid's speed and kinetic energy might have reached a terrifying level, making it difficult for conventional interception firepower to effectively deflect or destroy it."
Zhuang Liqun's proposal was like opening a new window in the darkness!
Utilizing the power of the cosmos itself—the gravity of stars and planets—to accelerate and navigate this colossal object!
This would not only drastically reduce the demand for their own propulsion (from fifty engines down to thirty) but also make the asteroid's movement trajectory appear more natural, harder to identify as a weapon, while simultaneously achieving unexpected acceleration!
The atmosphere in the conference room shifted.
Engineers began rapidly verifying the feasibility of the gravitational slingshot, while tactical advisors started simulating the reactions of the Imperial defense fleet based on the new possible trajectories.
A light flickered in Qin Bei Wang's eyes.
Zhuang Liqun's line of thinking had elevated his wild concept to a more ingenious and potentially feasible level.
"Excellent!"
Qin Bei Wang gave his approval.
"Engineer Liqun, you will take the lead and immediately form a Meteorite Modification and Orbital Control Technology Team.
I need you to deliver the Optimal Orbit Change Plan based on Stellar Gravity and the Gravity Slingshot Effect within eight hours, along with a detailed plan for the minimum required engine configuration, installation locations, and Control Sequence."
"All other engineering departments, provide full support!
Take inventory of all available engine modules, fuel, and control systems!
We need to complete a Surgical-Style Rapid Modification right under the Empire's nose!"
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