Chapter 557: Unbearable Heat. |
Time went by and the squad kept waiting patiently for the planet to make half an orbit.
Since the Queen was the one making the calculation, it took exactly two hours for them to reach the planet atmosphere right above the ruins coordinates.
"Everyone buckle up." Samir, the spaceship operator, proclaimed calmly while pressing a couple of buttons on his dashboard.
It seems like he was planning on making a manual descent. No one had any issues with that since the spaceship operator couldn't leave the Queen to handle everything lest he gets rusty.
When the situation calls for his assistance, he wouldn't much of a use.
Upon seeing that everyone had their seatbelts on plus helmets, Samir turned off the engines and narrowed his eyes at a holographic screen that was showing the bottom of the spaceship.
"The atmosphere is extremely thin, probably has less than two layers." Samir informed them, "We will be reaching the land in no time."
As he mentioned, it didn't take even a few seconds before the spaceship started blazing through the atmosphere.
However, there wasn't a single shake carried inside the cockpit, showing the steadiness of the spaceship.
He had to do so if he didn't want his squad to get destroyed by the first pirates they encounter.
"Ten seconds before the touchdown." Samir announced while turning on the engines on the bottom side of the spaceship to create a counterforce.
Immediately after they were on, the spaceship speed had been brought down to the minimum, allowing it to descend in a slow manner until it touched the desert safely.
Whoosh!!
A massive sand cloud had been risen from the contact, blocking off most of the cameras on the spaceship's surface.
However, when it was over, everyone couldn't help but marvel at the breathtaking sight of a golden desert, spreading to infinity.
"Damn, this is the true meaning of a deserted planet." Erik whistled, "There is not a single life form in all cameras."
"Boss, besides the ruins, we can turn this planet into a tourist attraction if we managed to build multiple desert-theme entertainment centers in it." Malak suggested.
"Indeed." Felix added with a faint smile, "We can also rent a couple of zones to mining companies who are interested in digging up sand energy stones. With such an extreme environment, there is a high chance of finding at least low-tier sand energy stones."
Everyone nodded in agreement while showing an envious look at Felix. Before they even explored the ruins, Felix was about to make a windfall just from the uniqueness of the planet.
This was the reason why millions of explorations were being carried out in the galaxy by ambitious and adventurous explorers, seeking the abundance of the universe's riches.
Just a single deserted planet was a profitable discovery.
Based on the laws of the SGAlliance, the first to find a planet would belong to him if he managed to create the necessary paperwork for it.
Felix had already got this taken care of since it wasn't much of a hassle. Now, this planet actually belonged to him on paper.
If anyone wanted to step foot in it, he would require to ask for permission from Felix. Otherwise, he would be considered as transpassing.
Felix could sue them if they weren't already outlaw criminals who didn't wear AP bracelets.
"Prepare to disembark." Malak ordered, "We need to finish this as fast as possible lest something comes up and mess up our plans."
Everyone unfastened themselves and started double-checking their suits and helmets for any faults since the atmosphere of the planet lacked oxygen.
The spaceship was able to scan the content of the air easily and let them know.
Upon finding out that everything was good, they formed a line and stood on a moving elevator that took them to the main gate.
The moment they reached it, Malak went forward and scanned her bracelet.
Shshshs!
Smoke emerged from the sides of the gate as it started to open itself slowly.
Behind the gate, there was another one closed shut that wouldn't open up until the first gate gets shut.
This mechanism was used to avoid having the spaceship's gate open up in a vacuum space, propelling everything outside of the spaceship.
After all of them got inside the isolated room, the door behind them got closed and the one in front of them opened up slowly.
"It's so hot!" Erik exclaimed after noticing through the helmet's monitors that the heat degree had surpassed 100C!
Thankfully, they were wearing special anti-environmental hazards suits that Felix got for them.
They were equipped with everything they require, from oxygen tanks connected with their back to water tubes connected to four bottles at the waist.
Plus, those suits were made out of nanobots since the squad would be required to utilize their abilities.
It would be impossible to do so if their suits were made out of fabric as they would get damaged in the process.
Lastly, the suits were capable of adding weight based on the planet's gravity so they wouldn't be losing too much control when they move.
"Alright move out." Malak stepped out first, standing on a long set of moving stairs that were touching the soft sand.
The others followed after her and began surveying the around them with a fascinated expressions.
They could see that there were two suns in the sky. One was nearby while the other was merely a tiny dot., Probably a megastar that was millions of kilometers away from this small solar system.
Yet, still, the heat coming from both of them had turned this planet into an oven, making it almost impossible for anything to live on its surface.
"Shit the sand is f*cking boiling!" Khodri complained while jumping in his place.
Malak didn't feel the heat at all since she had unlocked fire immunity at 15% integration. Though, seeing that everyone was struggling to keep their foot on the desert, she ordered, "Bring out your hover platforms, and make sure to put them away if you get notified about their temperature exceeding the limit."
Just like they received grace from God, everyone stumbled to beam their own hover platforms and jumped on them immediately after they got constructed.
"The sand must be at 130C for us to feel it even though we are wearing those suits." Malissa reasoned while picking a bunch of sand in her hand.
"No wonder there is no sight of any lifeform." Pualani said calmly.
He was the 3rd strongest bloodliner in the squad after Erik and Malak.
He had a tough demeanor to him and that scar on his left eye just emphasized that he was a serious person who shouldn't be messed with.
"Where are the ruins though?" Jones wondered, "I believe we should be only a hundred meters or so away from the exact coordinates."
Everyone wondered the same and they couldn't help but glance at Felix who was hovering above their heads.
Felix smiled lightly and pointed his finger at an empty spot that was 50 meters away from them.
"Didn't you see the digging machines parked in the vehicle space inside the spaceship?" He smiled, "The ruins are clearly buried deep underground and we need to dig the entrance."
"How deep?" Khodri asked what was in everyone's minds.
"It would take the machines at least 12 hours of continuous digging in a 30-meter radius to find out the exact temple's gate." Felix informed, "If you want to get it over with fast, then you better pick your shovels and help the machines."
No one seemed too disheartened by the news as they expected to find difficulties accessing the ruins one way or another.
That's because if all the ruins were exposed in the open without any invisibility dome or some sort of an illusion dome, then most of them would have been discovered by now.
"Damn, digging in such a heat would surely kill us." Khodri complained again. He seemed like he abhorred the heat to the bone.
"That's why we would be working during the nighttime." Malak clapped her hands and ordered, "You have 10 minutes to scout the entire area for any lifeforms existing underground. We don't want to have sand-based beasts popping out from underneath us during our digging."
Felix already knew that the planet didn't have a single soul in it but he didn't inform them about it since he didn't want to bring too much attention to himself.
He already exposed too much Intel and was going to expose even more during the temple.
Better keep some harmless stuff hidden.
As expected, the squad spent more than 15 minutes and their scanners came out empty, making them sigh in relief.
After they grouped up again, all of them were forced to put away their hover platforms as they had been heated significantly.
Since there was nothing much to do in the desert, all of them withdrew back inside the spaceship, waiting patiently for the night to fall.
All of them knew that would be happening quite soon as both the suns were close to set west at the same time.
"Listen up, based on the Queen's calculation, this planet has 8 hours of brutal daylight and measly 4 hours of nighttime." Malak spoke with a serious tone, "So you better bring your A-game so we wouldn't be stuck here for weeks!"
"Understood?!"
"Yes, Captain!"
...
Author Note: Sorry for the delay, there was a power outage that lasted for two hours.
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