Chapter 168 - Change in planets (2/2)
”Yes. We are also sending you the details of the various things on to your wrist bands. It is always best to be able to check these things manually,” added Lucius as he forwarded the information to both their wristbands. ”We will also be in the vicinity to get you to safety in case you are injured, or you request to be withdrawn.”
”Let us talk about the important things about the planet, first,” said Lucius as he began to explain the important things. ”The planet has twice rotations speed of earth. So, one day would be twelve hours. We will be staying here for at most 24 hours which is two days. You need to be ready to stay there at night. Find a safe place. Most of it covered with woods. There were a few humanoid intelligent tribes, but they were all eliminated. So, you would find a few places to keep yourself safe when it is dark.”
”That is the main difference you need to look for. The gravity is about 1.4 times that of Asklepian. So, you need to be aware of that and the atmosphere is quite breathable. Waters aren't that dangerous either,” added Richard.
”Yes, get your suits now. It is actually a bit better than the trial that we had originally planned right?” said Richard pushing the pair of them into an adjacent room. The room was same the one in which they rested for the ride. There were a pair of dark metallic looking suits of armor having a large case with a bunch of panels attached to his back. There were three other people waiting for them seated beside combat suits.
”These three are the evaluators of your performance. They are researchers who have extensive knowledge of various resources that could be found and can determine their value, condition and usability,” said Lucius pointing at the three people sitting beside the combat suits.
”Nice to meet you guys,” said Balthazar greeting them. But the trio kept mum and didn't respond.
”The three of them were appointed by the elder council. They will not talk to you throughout the journey. They are just supposed to evaluate you. You are still a bit infamous in the council due to your decision to leave the family when you joined the armed forces. So, they have appointed the most strict ones they could find,” whispered Richard into Balthazar's ear on noticing his confused expression after greeting them.
”This is a nice combat suit,” said Balthazar as he looked at it. It was quite large and about 7 feet tall. He found it to be a lot simpler than the other ones he had been shown by Evelyn at Asklepian.
”Ya. It is an exploratory suit that we designed recently. Main objective is to explore new planets and moons. It has quite capable communication capabilities and very resilient. Can move through water, but you need to pull out the panels at the bottom of the case on its back for the propellers to work,” explained Richard pointing to the various points on the suit.
”Yeah. Wear it. Go through the manual. It is best if you go through it here and we will answer any doubts you have,” added Lucius.
”Where are the weapons?” asked Balthazar as he put on his suit and started to go through the manual. He was unable to find any details of it in the manual.
”Oh, yes! We haven't yet set that up weapons, yet,” said Lucius. ”It was still an experimental work. We have a pair of guns and strapped to its sides and also four magazines for them,” said Lucius pointing out the locations of the equipment on the case.
”A flare, a crossbow and two blades. These three are reusable. You need to find the cartridge and arrows and can repeat to use them,” said Richard as he brought these tools attached to a belt and strapped it onto Robert. ”Also have a defensive force field generator on the buckle. It will cover your for about 3 minutes. Using it will also trigger a call for help and we will arrive to pick you up. The suit charges with solar power from the top of the case and you don't need to be worried about conserving power. It is capable of running for more than 36 hrs on land. Water travel uses more power.”
”Yes, the belt also has a secondary locator beacon. It is just a redundancy. The other locator at your chest location of the suit. It is best to avoid damage to those parts. The case on your back is the best option you have to block any attacks. It is quite sturdy and you better use that instead of the shield generator if you want to continue on the trial. The case can store all your samples in it too. For this case, it will be holding your loot. It has a space for about 30 litres. You need to empty your cases, there is a switch that would call for a drone which would make trips with your collection. It can also be used if you have managed to capture a living creature. You can check about that in your manual,” added Lucius. ”Try pulling out and putting the equipment from the case, removing the case from your back and check it out.”
Balthazar had already started checking out the features of the new combat suit. He always had a habit of checking the features of any equipment he was using in the military. He considered it essential to be able to use them with ease.
Soon, the ship came to the planet and stopped still, hovering in the air over a small hill in a forest area. Lucius and Richard also donned a couple of combat suits which were different from those of the two. Those were made to protection more than exploration.
”You guys are going to help us?” asked Robert who didn't know that they would be down on the ground with them.
”No. Nothing of that sort. Just making a preliminary check of the surroundings. This is not a planet under our control, and we don't find it comfortable to let you go without checking some basic security measures,” said Richard covering for their appearance in combat suits.
”Also, we are making use of the Price family resources. Need to have a chat and make sure that they cooperate. We don't have a habit of trusting others easily,” added Lucius.
On Lucius' command, the pilot opened the cargo bay doors of the ship. Richard threw down a rope ladder and the four of them went down the ladder and got off on the planet. One of the three researchers started a drone that is used to transport stuff and they had both Balthazar and Robert check if they were able to summon the drone through the suit before giving the approval for its use.
”You two can move in that direction,” said Lucius pointing down the hill. ”We will meet the Price family representatives here.”
The ship which dropped them also got up and moved up higher in the atmosphere above the clouds. A stealth vessel piloted by Salazar moved out of the ship and started to observe them from the sky.