The next morning, Arthur stood in his quarters, preparing to leave for planet Trakuun-5.
The mission had been approved overnight. Admiral Kane had briefed him on the situation, the planet where he first arrived, now officially nad Trakuun-5, was facing escalating attacks on its mining operations. The beasts that road its surface had grown more aggressive, targeting the UFE’s extraction sites with alarming frequency.
Arthur thought it might have been the planet’s natural ecosystem reacting to the intrusion. Either way, he would be there for the next week, reinforcing security while taking the opportunity to recover the Elent-M deposit he had discovered previously.
He finished strapping his weapons to his belt, his sword rested in its sleek scabbard on his back, and his sidearm holstered on his left. His rifle and other necessities are already in his dinsional pocket, though nowadays he does not use the standard spatial orb given to all ECHOs.
Taking a final look at his room, Arthur exhaled and stepped out, heading toward the docking bay.
…
The docking bay was a sprawling, tallic cavern, illuminated by blue-white overhead lights. Enormous hangar doors lood in the distance. Engineers and flight crew bustled about, checking ship diagnostics, refueling supply freighters, and preparing for various missions across UFE space.
Arthur walked with purpose toward Theta-09, a sleek, armored transport designed for planetary deploynts. Unlike the Vanguard, which was built for deep-space travel and war, this craft was optimized for rapid descent, maneuverability, and short-distance jumps.
Arthur took his seat inside the cabin as the ship powered up. He leaned back as the ship lifted off the hangar floor with a smooth ascent. Solace Pri began to shrink as the ship maneuvered into position.
Monts later, a wormhole gate flickered to life ahead of them, a swirling vortex of radiant blue and white energy, pulsing like the heartbeat of the cosmos.
…
Arthur gazed out the viewport as the planet lood beneath them.
Trakuun-5 was a world of jagged mountains, sprawling dense forests, and vast plains, all bathed in the glow of its three suns. Thick storm clouds lood in the distance, swirling like a restless beast. The mining outpost, marked by its industrial structures and landing pads, sat nestled in a rocky valley, its tallic walls standing in stark contrast to the untad wilderness surrounding it.
Arthur steadied himself as the ship cut through the atmosphere, shaking slightly as heat friction built up around the hull.
The ship descended rapidly, angling toward the mining outpost. Below, defensive turrets and plasma cannons were positioned around the periter, their barrels scanning the surroundings for threats. The ship hovered over the landing pad before touching down with a controlled thud.
"Touchdown successful," the pilot reported. "Good luck out there, sir."
Arthur rose from his seat, as the boarding ramp lowered. He stepped onto the platform, the hot, dry air of Trakuun-5 washing over him.
The last ti he was here, he had no idea where he was. He had been alone, lost, fighting to survive. Now, he was returning, not as a stranded wanderer, but as a soldier.
…
Arthur stepped off the platform, the dry heat of Tarkuun-5 brushing against his skin. The air slled of dust and minerals, mingling with the faint scent of fuel and machinery from the mining station. His eyes scanned the area, taking in the familiar structures.
His gaze shifted as he saw a figure approaching, a man clad in UFE officers uniform. Arthur instantly recognized the man’s face, a small smile played at the corner of his lips.
Jas.
He hadn’t seen him since his chaotic first arrival on this world. Back then, Jas had been the one to help him understand the situation, introducing him to the UFE personnel at the mining station. He appeared to be in his late twenties, with sharp blue eyes and short blonde hair, but Arthur knew better. Like many UFE officers, Jas was enhanced, his real age should be well over that.
Jas gave a knowing smile as he approached, offering Arthur a firm handshake.
"It’s good to see you back again, Arthur." Jas said, his tone happy. “Who would have thought you would be back here again.”
Arthur shook his hand firmly. "Neither did I, but here I am."
Jas chuckled. "You sure? Or are you here to relive old mories?"
Arthur smiled slightly. "Sothing like that."
Jas gestured toward the main building. "Co on. You just landed, and I’ve been briefed on your arrival."
Arthur followed Jas inside, the cool, filtered air of the base a relief from the harsh outside heat. As they walked, Jas gave him a quick rundown.
"So far, the situation is under control. The attacks have been frequent but manageable. These creatures are getting more and more aggressive day by day." He glanced at Arthur. "If anything major happens, I’ll notify you imdiately."
Arthur gave a short nod. "Understood."
Jas studied him for a mont before asking, "You want to rest first? You’ve had a long trip."
Arthur shook his head. "Not right now. I want to take a look around first."
Jas raised an eyebrow. "Explore the planet, huh?"
Jas gestured toward one of the hangars. "We just got a batch of new shuttles in. Take one. You’ll need it if you plan on covering ground quickly."
Arthur followed Jas to a small side hangar, where several scout shuttles were parked. These were sleek, single-pilot crafts built for maneuverability, equipped with stealth systems and enhanced thrusters.
Jas tapped on the control panel, activating one of the shuttles. The cockpit lights flickered to life, and the system humd softly as it powered up. "She's all yours. I’d say take a mont to familiarize yourself with the controls, but it’s very easy to ride."
Arthur stepped inside the cockpit, letting his technopathy do the work. Instantly, he could feel the shuttle’s systems, navigation, thrusters, cloaking functions, and even the AI-assisted controls. He could have piloted it purely through his connection, but for appearances, he manually ran a quick systems check before activating liftoff.
Jas watched from outside, arms crossed and said with an amused tone. "Try not to get lost out there, Arthur."
Arthur just chuckled hearing that. The shuttle lifted off, hovering montarily before surging forward.
…
The barren landscape of Tarkuun-5 stretched out before Arthur as he accelerated. Towering cliffs, endless plains, and dense patches of alien forests spread beneath him, illuminated by the glow of the planet’s three suns. The wind whipped against the shuttle’s hull, though inside, the ride was smooth.
As he flew, he extended his technopathy outward, subtly checking if anyone was tracking his movent. The mining station’s sensors registered his departure, but no one seed to be monitoring him in real-ti. That was good. He wanted to keep this search private.
He pushed the shuttle faster, weaving between rocky outcroppings and skimming low over vast plateaus. As the scenery blurred past him, he focused on his mory. He retraced the path he had taken when he first arrived at the mining station.
After searching for more than half an hour he finally saw it.
Nestled between two massive rock formations and towering trees was a familiar opening in the ground. The entrance to the cave.
Arthur slowed the shuttle, bringing it to a hover before landing in a concealed area nearby. Activating the shuttle’s stealth mode, the hull shimred briefly before blending seamlessly into the surroundings. It wouldn’t be completely invisible, but unless soone knew exactly where to look, they wouldn’t find it.
Stepping out, Arthur took a deep breath.
The cave lood before him, its dark maw stretching into the unknown. He rembered this place well. It was where he first encountered the Elent-M deposit.
He rembered there was also a guardian protecting the cave inside it. He didn’t want to attract attention, not yet.
Activating the stealth mode of his ECHO suit, his form shimred out of sight. His footfalls beca lighter, nearly silent. He adjusted his visor, enhancing his vision to navigate the cave’s darkness.
Then, without hesitation, he stepped inside and went deeper according to the path he rembered.
The cave was just as he rembered, dark and humid. He reached the place where the tunnel opened into a vertical drop and jumped. When he reached near the ground he activated his thrusters and halted his freefall, and landed softly.
Continuing deeper he reached an opening in the wall of the cave and beyond which he saw again the walls and ceiling studded with purple crystals, their light creating an ethereal glow. And piles of the purple glowing tal ford small hills scattered across the cavern floor.
Arthur stood amidst the glowing cavern, the soft glow of energy radiating from the Elent-M deposits. The faint shimr of the purple crystals overhead bathed the cavern in an otherworldly glow, casting long shadows across the rough stone floor.
He reached out, grasping a fist-sized chunk of the glowing tal, feeling its weight in his palm. It was smooth yet dense, its surface radiating a subtle warmth. Without wasting ti, he connected to the Spear of Heaven’s Guardian AI, his technopathy seamlessly linking to the advanced intelligence embedded within his ship inside his dinsional pocket.
"Guardian, analyze this sample." Arthur ordered, placing the chunk of Elent-M inside his dinsional pocket, transferring it to the ship’s onboard laboratory.
A mont later, the AI’s voice responded, its tone calm and precise. [Analysis complete. The sample is confird to be Elent-M.]
Arthur exhaled slowly, his excitent controlled but undeniable.The implications of this much Elent-M were staggering.
But he wasn’t done yet.
Raising his right hand, Arthur concentrated. A pitch-black substance began to materialize in midair, shifting and expanding like a living entity. The substance coalesced, forming countless tendrils of fluid-like tal, his self-replicating nanobots.
These weren’t ordinary nanobots. They were constructs from the Spear of Heaven, designed with advanced self-replication protocols and made using Alloy-X. Unlike conventional excavation equipnt, these machines worked with absolute precision, capable of reshaping their environnt.
Arthur sent a command through his technopathy, and instantly, the nanobots surged forward like a dark tide. The swarm split into two primary tasks, one group spread across the cavern floor, walls and ceiling, systematically collecting the Elent-M deposits, while the other group moved to reinforce the cavern’s structure.
Massive pillars began forming as the nanobots extracted rock from the cave walls, reshaping and compressing it into solid support structures. Arthur ensured the load-bearing points were properly reinforced to prevent any potential collapse. His calculations were precise, every segnt of rock removed was balanced by a corresponding structural reinforcent.
As the nanobots worked, Arthur observed their efficiency. Within minutes, they had gathered enormous chunks of Elent-M, he started transporting them into his dinsional pocket. The cavern’s original chaotic layout transford into an organized operation, the glowing ore being thodically stripped away and stored.
The process continued for nearly two hours.
By the end, Arthur stood amidst the now-reinforced cavern, the last remnants of Elent-M disappearing into his dinsional pocket. He did a final scan, every last gram of the precious tal had been extracted.
His mind quickly ran through the calculations.
"Approximately 117 million tons." He murmured to himself.
That was an absurd amount. His work was done here.
Taking one last glance around the cavern, Arthur deactivated the nanobots, the dark tide receding back into his dinsional pocket inside the Spear of Heaven. The cave was now an empty shell of what it once was, its secrets taken by the one who had first discovered them.
***
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