Chapter 125 (1/2)
Boundless space; a blue and green planet floated alone in the endless darkness. A light blue spaceship, which suddenly appeared on the planet’s orbit broke the silent scene.
The spacecraft emerged from a space bubble and the curvature engine’s safety component began to stabilize the turbulence caused by superluminal velocity. The radiator grid of the spaceship emitted a glowing, white light. It looked like it needed some time to cool down before it could sail again. Three of them were sleeping in their rooms. At that moment, a broadcast announcement woke them up.
“So, this is our destination?” Hao Ren asked as he rubbed his sleepy eyes and walked out of the room. He saw the MDT floating in the living room and producing a holographic image. The image showed them a blue and green Earth-like planet. “…The biosphere there is so developed?!”
“Very much Earth-like, with complex life forms and carbon-based ecosystems which have evolved to the stage of mammalian exuberance. Intelligent species groups have not yet emerged. Temperature, atmospheric structure, gravity are suitable for short-term human survival but, the atmospheric oxygen content is higher than the earth’s, thus containing micro-toxicity. A long-term stay there will cause many physiological diseases.” The MDT was relaying the contents of the planetary bulletin downloaded from the ship’s mainframe. “Of course, it’s not a big problem for the three of you. With your current physique, you guys can ignore these effects.”
Hao Ren came forward to keep the MDT. At the same time, he heard a crew member’s voice coming from the direction of the cabin door. “Sir, we’ve arrived.”
Hao Ren opened the door and realized it was the same dark,lean young man, who led them the way before. He was still wearing a slightly restrained smile on his face. “The captain was supposed to personally take the three of you onto the landing,but, he’s in the brig, copying the traffic law. So, I’ll take you to the surface of the planet.”
Hao Ren remained silent.
Such a huge ship could not have, of course, descend directly onto the surface of the planet. Even if it could land, it would have taken too much energy to get back up. Therefore, the three of them had to switch to a small landing craft in order to land. The landing craft, which looked like a triangular plate, needed only one person to pilot. It was ideal for transporting a small number of passengers or small cargo between the planet and the mother ship. The three of them counted their carry-on baggage and followed the young crew member aboard the ‘little plane’. The moment the small craft detached from the mother ship’s garage, Hao Ren finally fulfilled his dream of experiencing the sense of weightlessness. The small craft was not equipped with an artificial gravity device. Once it left the comfortable environment of the mother ship, the occupants inside felt the real sense of being in space.
“Our technology is still primitive. There is no way to install the artificial gravity generator on this little plane,” the young man said with a smile. “It is said that the demoted military fighters and small transport aircraft of retired Imperial servants, were armed with miniature gravity generators. Our captain is trying to get some back but it’s not easy.”
“What are you guys going to do with that stuff?” The MDT floated in the cramped cabin of the landing craft and asked the question without a second thought. “After the demolition of the weapons, they will only be ordinary shuttles which can only accommodate a few people and they don’t even have a hold. Other than the fast speed and stronger shield, there’s nothing else useful. Yet, the price is damn expensive. Other than looking fashionable and trendy, the small gravity generators are useless. The value of price over performance is almost zero.”
“Oh, it is the style value.” The young man shrugged and continued, “Our captain believes that it doesn’t matter whether it’s useful or not. Just buy it. You see, this ship doesn’t even have a passenger license, but still, he’s prepared 20 sightseeing shuttles.”
Hao Ren found it odd and said, “… That uncle is quite interesting.”
The shuttle flew for a while in a weightless environment and began to approach the dense atmosphere of the planet. After a thrilling deceleration, it finally landed smoothly on the point indicated by the MDT: a rocky plateau next to the shoreline.
“So, you guys are leaving now, right?” Hao Ren carried a small suitcase and stepped on the ground of the alien planet for the first time in his life. A thought occurred to him before he could breathe in some fresh air. “How can I get back?”
“I don’t know about that.” The young cabin crew member stood on the shuttle ramp and said, “The order we received was to send you here. The return should be arranged by the Empire.” He shrugged and continued, “We are just a private company and the agent’s activity is a secret that we are not prying into.”
After saying this, the crew member walked back into the shuttle. Then, the shuttle silently lifted up into the sky in front of Hao Ren. It turned into a streamer and rapidly disappeared into the horizon.