Chapter 93 — The Ship That Never Looks Back

Special Orientation Ceremony — Part One

The Central Observation Hall, where residents from all three floors still gathered each month to face the ship's bow and recite the Hai Ming Oath, was more packed today than any Target Orientation Ceremony Khe Lam had ever seen in her life. Rumors of a "special announcement" had been circulating around the ship for the past week, though no one, other than the small group that had planned it, knew exactly what was going to happen.

She stood in the row of seats for the Root Floor, between Vu Khac Dang, Trinh Yen My, Phung Bao Nhan and Ha Dinh Khiem, the whole team had come here together, not knowing what to expect but feeling the unusual tension in the air. Doan Bich Thu sat next to her, her hand holding her granddaughter's hand tightly, her eyes were slightly worried but also filled with a quiet belief in what Khe Lam had told her the night before.

On the opposite side of the hall, the area reserved for the Dome Floor, Khe Lam could see Kieu Trong Nghiem standing with other members of the Education Department, his face solemn but steady. Uong Khac Tram stood with the group of navigators, her eyes occasionally glanced at Bach Van standing near the podium, preparing for her role in what was about to happen.

Farther away, among the crowd of Roots in a simple, unnoticed outfit, Lam Vinh Chi stood quietly, her face partially hidden under a hood, waiting for the moment when she would step into the light for the first time after nineteen years of hiding. Next to her, Chieu Bach Tuyen stood leaning on a small stick, his old eyes shining with an excitement he had never allowed himself to feel during sixty years of waiting.

Than Bao Nghiem, dressed in official uniform, stood in one of the strategic positions near the main exit of the hall, his eyes scanning the crowd with professional alertness, but the officers standing next to him, though no one recognized them, were all people he had silently selected over the past several weeks.

Chuong Khac Dinh stepped up to the podium to speak at the scheduled time, and the crowd's noise gradually subsided into a waiting silence. He stood there for a moment, looking out at the sea of people stretching out before him, three social classes mingling together in the same space, waiting for the same ritual they had performed countless times in their lives, without knowing how different today would be.

"Residents of Origin." He began, his voice echoing throughout the hall through the speaker system, carrying a solemn tone different from the usual ceremonies. "We gather here today, as we have done for two hundred and forty-seven years, to look forward, to recite the oath of our founders, to remind ourselves of the journey we are on together."

He stopped, and in that moment of silence, Khe Lam felt the full weight of what was about to happen hanging in the air, like a held breath.

"But today, I stand before you not just to recite familiar words." Chuong Khac Dinh continued, his voice now carrying a tremor he did not try to hide. "I stand before you to tell you a truth that I, and many before me, have kept secret for more than two hundred years — a truth that is directly related to the very journey in which we still have absolute faith."

Murmurs began to spread throughout the hall, a wave of uneasiness rose in the crowd as they realized this was no ordinary ceremony. In the corner of the room, Khe Lam saw Ton Khac Du standing with a group of officers, his body tensed, his eyes scanning the hall with a wariness that was quickly turning into alarm.

"Please everyone stay calm." Chuong Khac Dinh said, raising one hand, trying to calm the crowd that was starting to stir. "What I'm about to say will be difficult to take in, but I beg you, please listen fully before letting fear dictate your response. This is not a confession to cause panic, but an attempt, however belated, to right a wrong that has gone on for far too long."

Ung Bao Trung, standing to one side of the podium, stepped closer, standing next to Chuong Khac Dinh in a public gesture of support visible to the entire hall, a signal that this was not the lone act of an Elder losing his mind, but a decision shared by many responsible voices in the Council.

Ton Khac Du began to move, giving small signals to the officers around him, but as he glanced around the hall, he realized that the strategic positions he had believed were under his control were now replaced, quietly, by officers who did not respond to his signals. His face paled for a moment as he realized the scale of what was being prepared against him.

"This is an act of rebellion." He shouted, his voice echoing through part of the hall, though not loud enough to drown out the main speaker system. "Immediately arrest those who are trying to destabilize..."

"No one was arrested today, Ton Khac Du." Chuong Khac Dinh spoke through the speaker system, his voice now carrying the last authority he still had, enough to interrupt the words of the person who was once his most powerful right-hand man. "I, as the Elder of the Star Council, order all security forces to remain in position, not to interfere with this ceremony in any way, until I have finished speaking."

A shocking silence filled the hall, thousands of eyes were glued to the two most powerful men on the ship who were confronting each other publicly for the first time in front of all the residents. Ton Khac Du stood there, clenching his fists, realizing he had been completely surpassed, both in terms of procedures and physical force, with no way to intervene without turning himself into an open rebel against the Elder he once served.

Khe Lam held her grandmother's hand tightly, feeling her heart pounding, not because of fear, but because of an extremely tense anticipation of what was about to be said - the truth that she had spent nearly a year of her life tracking down, now about to be announced in front of all eleven thousand two hundred and forty people, with no way to take it back anymore.

"Sorry for the interruption." Chuong Khac Dinh said, turned back to look at the crowd, took a deep breath as if preparing to cross the final threshold and be unable to turn back. "Now, let me tell you about the forty-first year of our journey, about a decision that shaped our entire destiny, that none of you have ever known."

Vu Khac Dang, standing next to Khe Lam, whispered, his voice trembling with confusion and a premonition of insecurity. "Year forty-one? That's not... do you know what he's talking about, Khe Lam?"

Khe Lam looked at him, the team leader who had guided her through eight years of work, who had trusted her unconditionally despite not fully understanding her mysterious "visits to relatives" over the past several months, and she felt a familiar sense of guilt for keeping him in the dark for so long.

"I know." She said softly. "And I'm sorry I couldn't tell you sooner. But you're going to hear it all, along with everyone here."

Vu Khac Dang looked at her for a long moment, a new understanding gradually forming on his face, piecing together all the strange things he had noticed about his student for nearly a year — the tension, the unexplained absences, the strange look in her eyes every time she returned from secret trips. He didn't say anything more, just turned back to look at the podium, waiting with thousands of other people.

Trinh Yen My grabbed Khe Lam's hand from the other side, squeezing it tightly in a silent gesture of support, her eyes filled with absolute trust even though she still did not understand all the details of what was about to be revealed. Ha Dinh Khiem and Phung Bao Nhan stood behind, both unusually silent, feeling the weight of the moment that was happening even though they had not fully grasped its meaning.

Throughout the hall, a strange silence was spreading, not the silence of indifference, but the heavy silence of thousands of people waiting with bated breath, instinctively feeling that what they were about to hear would forever change the way they understood their own lives, about the very ship that had carried them through two hundred and forty-seven years among the stars.