At the end of the Saturn campaign, after the Pelican rescue team completed its mission, Umbrella's joint fleet recovered and destroyed the Reaper fighters and destroyers, ensuring no Reapers survived.
At the same time, Serina shared video information of Umbrella's combat with the Reapers with the heads of state and generals of various countries.
This was to make the world's high-level officials aware of the threat posed by alien races, reduce unnecessary internal strife and calculations, and focus on assisting humanity to become stronger and more prosperous.
To this end, Ostrovsky (Andre), the highest-ranking general of Umbrella's private forces, would represent the company in negotiations with various countries in March 2011 to establish the 'United Nations Space Command'.
The United Nations Space Command is abbreviated as 'UNSC'.
The main purpose of the UNSC is to highly unify the armed forces of various countries and establish a large naval fleet to ensure the safety of the solar system and its extraterrestrial colonies.
Umbrella will provide a series of paid technical assistance to the UNSC and, when necessary, will fight alongside the UNSC.
Since most countries with strong armed forces have inseparable arms deals with Umbrella, especially after officials and generals signed non-disclosure agreements, the establishment of the UNSC proceeded surprisingly smoothly.
The general terms are as follows:
① The UNSC will begin building its naval fleet in April 2011 to enhance humanity's interstellar combat capabilities.
② Umbrella's engineering team will assist the UNSC in building ships in the early stages and provide relevant experience.
③ Umbrella is not subject to UNSC jurisdiction, and when necessary, the UNSC must accept Umbrella's proposals and command.
And so on.
For other countries, item ③ was definitely a 'hegemonic' clause.
However, the emergence of the Reaper civilization sounded an alarm, marking humanity's first contact with an alien civilization through war.
Therefore, the United Nations must rely on Umbrella's technology to develop rapidly, increasing the quantity and quality of its fleet, so that Earth and humanity can endure.
Moreover, since most national representatives had signed non-disclosure agreements, the establishment of the UNSC was a matter of course.
While Andre was discussing more detailed matters with the United Nations, William held a sea burial for the soldiers who sacrificed in the Saturn campaign, in Earth's low Earth orbit.
Hapha Time, March 8, 2011, 08:55.
Location: Low Earth orbit, approximately two thousand kilometers from the surface.
The flagship carrier of the Containment Fleet.
Inside the hangar.
The hangar was not as busy as usual; there were no ground crew performing routine maintenance and repairs, nor were there marines conducting running drills.
Even the various carrier-based aircraft and ground armor had been reinforced by robotic arms, as the hangar would be depressurized soon.
All these complex procedures were solely for a solemn funeral held for the fallen soldiers, lying in over six hundred silver coffins, inside the hangar.
In a hundred-person cabin on the upper side of the hangar, a group of officers in Umbrella uniforms stood solemnly.
The officers wore white armbands on their left sleeves, contrasting sharply with the color of their uniforms.
Inside the cabin, apart from the noise of the air conditioning fan, there was no other sound, making the atmosphere even heavier.
William, as the boss, also wore a general's uniform without rank, standing in front of the giant floor-to-ceiling window facing the soldiers.
"Everyone," William said in a deep voice, scanning the crowd.
"The reason Umbrella has developed to its current state, successfully contained anomalous phenomena, and ensured the normal order of society without collapse, is because it was built by soldiers who are resolute, deeply aware of their responsibilities, and always possess a sense of honor in battle."
"I, like you, participated in the Saturn campaign. We successfully survived, but..."
(He turned his head to look at the more than six hundred coffins behind him.)
"Their lives were forever frozen, and even in death, they held the belief of eliminating those cosmic hooligans."
"It is because of them, and our comrades who sacrificed in previous containment operations, that humanity can live in a protected world, and that people online can debate whether alien life exists."
"We are 'survivors,' and we must make it our duty to maintain this spirit and passion of heroic resistance."
"The company will engrave the names of employees who sacrificed for humanity on a monument in the center of Hapha City. Each of them will live on in another way."
"They are immortal."
As he spoke, William stood at attention, turned to face the glass window, and raised his right hand in a standard military salute.
"Thump! Thump!"
All the officers standing behind William also stood with their legs together, straightening their bodies and saluting along with William.
The largest valve in the hangar slowly began to open.
Due to the prior depressurization, there were no anomalies inside the hangar.
When the valve was fully open, everyone could clearly see humanity's home planet, Earth.
Immediately after, the small jet thrusters on the coffins began to work, carrying the fallen soldiers out of the hangar and slowly flying towards Earth.
Eventually, they would all transform into streaks of meteors, illuminating the people and the Earth of this world.
...
After a long time, once all the coffins had left the carrier and entered their designated orbit, the hangar doors slowly closed.
Seeing this, William finally lowered his right hand, then turned to the still solemn officers and said calmly, "Alright, stand at ease and dismiss. You are all elites of Umbrella, and there are still anomalous phenomena on Earth waiting for us to contain."
"Yes, sir." The officers saluted William again, then turned and left the cabin one by one.
William unbuttoned the top button of his shirt and loosened his tie, allowing himself to breathe more easily.
Then, he took out his earphones from his pocket, put them on, turned and walked closer to the giant glass window, looking down at the hangar where ground crew were pouring in.
He asked, "Serina, how are Andre's negotiations with the UN going?"
"The progress is unexpectedly smooth," Serina's voice came through the earphones. "Even the US Secretary of Defense strongly supports the formation of the UNSC. Strange..."
William, with his hands behind his back, heard Serina's doubt and asked, "Did that minister sign a non-disclosure agreement?"
"Yes."
"Hmm, never mind."
Serina didn't pay much attention and continued, "Because of the strong support from the United States and other major powers, the establishment of the UNSC is a matter of course, but there are still many clauses that need to be formulated."
"Also, Boss, did you borrow Pericles' famous quote for your funeral speech just now?"
"Haha," William chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "Ah, I did borrow some."
As he spoke, William no longer looked at the hangar, which was gradually becoming busy again, but turned and left, preparing to return to the Phantom via a Pelican.
As he walked, he continued to ask, "Serina, report to me on the progress of cracking Reaper technology."
"Yes, the technology currently being cracked will be prioritized for the construction of the 'Infinity' project..."
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