MTLNOVEL Chapter 3: New world
"Any eyes?" Seraphine pondered as they traveled through the cold depths of space, She resided within her cockpit, her arms crossed as the machine auto traveled behind the others leading the way ahead.
"We've received locations on a planet called Terranix ma'am, it seems much slower than before!" The same brown haired lad appeared on one of her monitors once more, soon to be replaced with a map of the solar system with a dot beeping on a specific planet.
"Ugh— all the planets in this solar system are subpar. I can't believe I'm having to degrade myself to this!" She grumbled, her bossy tone reduced to groans of frustration, burying her head against the empty part of her control deck. "I swear when I get my hands on Astra ill—"
"Um, Captain… your mic is on–" The sudden voice caused her to jolt, sitting up right and coughing into her fist as though it would retain the serious, uptight demeanor she once held.
"Elliot when we're back I expect you to unload everything!" She commanded.
"Aw why me—" Elliot complained softly, sinking into the seat of his ship with furrowed brows.
"Should've kept your mouth shut dude!" A man cackled appearing on Elliot's monitor, his fiery red hair matching his personality, and hoarse voice.
"You too Takashi!"
"Aw! Seriously captain?!" He groaned, him too reclining in his chair.
"You're both idiots—" Muttered another, a girl with short frilly gray hair and hazel eyes, her voice soft and indifferent.
"And you can help them as well Fiona!" Serpahine barked, her hands turning into fists on the panel of her controls. "Now is anyone else going to chatter instead of doing their jobs!?"
"No ma'am!" Everyone in the squad said in unison, their voices almost like music to her ears.
"Better!" With a huff of disapproval she shut off her mic, her gaze drifting as something caught her eye. Drifting metal and parts passing them without a care, her eyes narrowed at the sight already having an idea as to whom it may be.
"I can't believe you two dragged me into this…" Fiona muttered, toxin lining her words as she picked up boxes and loaded it off the mecha onto a dusty plain, wiping her brow from the sweat that clung to her bangs.
"You did it to yourself—" Elliot argued softly, putting down the last of the boxes with a loud thud, dust flying into the air at the sudden force.
"Why do we have to park so far from civilization here anyway?!" Takashi roared in a fit of anger before immediately deflating from exhaustion, Fiona rolling her eyes and looking towards Takashi with a judgemental stare.
"Idiot, that's because it's illegal to land your mecha that close, do you know how much force our thrusters emit–" She crossed her arms, her gaze now turning to the journey ahead of them.
"If it was at least a high value planet we could get away with appearing in the middle of town with an hour's notice ahead, they're infrastructure is way more sustainable to our force but…" Her eyes narrow, and a soft sigh escaped her lips, Elliot sat on one of the boxes as she spoke.
"It's a low-value planet," Fiona muttered. "Sustainability's a 7. Barely. Tech's a joke at 2, and accessibility passable—6. Resources? A sad little 4. Giving its overall S.T.A.R scale to a whopping 19–"
"S.T.A.R scale?" Takashi pondered, his brows furrowed overhead just at the mention of it, soon looking to Ellior to explain who lightly waved his hand with an awkward smile.
"I'll explain it later," He assured him.
"Seriously? Did you not pay attention in any of our lessons? This is essential knowledge for an Interstellar police force officer!" Fiona scowled, her disappointment far from hidden.
"Alright everyone!" Serpahine's voice cut through their conversation like a knife, as she walked to the front, everyone silent until she had spoken.
"As you know we've tracked the Anomaly to this planet," Raising her hand and revealing a portable tracking device as a demonstration, she pointed to the mark. "This is where she had descended! Assuming she has no other modes of transport she will be here for a while, most likely gathering supplies!"
"I know this is a first mission for some of you, but try to follow protocol, alright?" She tucks her device away.
"Ma'am yes ma'am!" Everyone saluted in unison.
"In those crates hold the supplies you will be using for today's mission, please use them sparingly, any loss or damages will be taken out of your paycheck for the next four years to fully pay them off." She explained as everyone burrowed through the crates, Elliot's brow furrowing in worry and concern as he watched the sleek device sitting within his palm.
"Four years…" He repeated with caution, looking towards Takashi who picked it up without a care in the world, making his face morph into even more worry.
"Yuuuzzuuuuu!" Astra groaned, holding onto to her drone companion as they walked through the barren wasteland, Yu holding Astra up under her arm as she sweated profusely. "I can't go on anymore! How much longer?!"
[NOTICE!]
[The nearest town from here is about 15 miles ahead!]
"15?!" She groaned, her head hung low in defeat before reluctantly picking herself up, Yu now flying freely ahead of her. "Why is this planet so hot it's so far from the sun!"
[NOTICE!]
[ Solara-6 is known for being one of the first recorded Decastar, exceeding over 10 times the size and power as the sun of the average solar system!]
"Oh, how nice," she muttered, looking down to her black t-shirt and cargo pants, greased with oil and worn out cloth. "I can't wait to get better clothes…"
"Hey young miss!" A voice called out over the soft hum of vehicles approaching, catching her attention. In a gust of sand a man stopped before her, his black sandy hair settling on his face after the sudden stop, his bangs landing just over his brown gaze, his clothing were just as worn out as mine, heavy duty boots pressing down on the pedal of a rusty hover bike.
Bits and pieces of its metal covered in dirt, wires exposed through gaps of its outer shell.
"You shouldn't be out here without a hover bike, you know," He informed me, looking at Astra with a soft smile.
"And why's that?" Astra asked, fanning herself for some semblance of relief as she admired the handy work of the bike.
"Huge sand worms linger around these part's ma'am, any and all vibrations can cause one to leap out at'cha the fact that one hasn't gone after you yet is a full blown miracle!" He smiled, looking up to the path ahead then back at her.
"If ya want I can give you a ride," He stretched out his hand taking her's in a soft handshake.
"The name's Harry, Harry Stalis."