Interstellar Survival: Invasion

When I heard that we were going to land soon, I felt my adrenaline pumping, my excitement making it feel as if blood was rushing to my head.
At that moment, our fleet had started to penetrate the thin atmosphere of the artificial planet.
The friction between the ships and the atmosphere created a small number of sparks.

”Countdown starting.
Reduce energy expenditure and cancel our invisibility, ” said Dodo.
After 10 seconds, Skyhawk slowly landed on the ground.

Looking outside from the cockpit, I could see the three stars hanging in the sky.
The white planet did not need another source of lighting because the visibility on the planet was at a level similar to Blue ’s midday.
According to our scanners, the temperature outside the ship was roughly 38 degrees Celsius, and the oxygen level was only about 60 percent of Blue ’s.

”Commander, the fleet has landed successfully.
What is your next order? ” asked Lin Feixue.

The beast planet was so silent that it was unnatural.
Our landing should have created enough vibrations on the surface of the planet for the beasts underground to detect us.
Thus, we were paying close attention to the surface for any signs of the beasts coming out of the ground, and if we could find one, we could even avoid the trouble of digging through the planet ’s steel ground.

The situation on the planet Kelly had landed on was the same.
No signs of life could be detected there either.
We waited in silence for about 10 minutes.
However, the planet was still unnaturally calm.

”Commander, Canyue, there is something odd about this place, ” Old Du suddenly said.

”Old Du, what did you discover? ” I asked.

”I have been observing for a while.
This place feels like a dead planet with no life, ” said Old Du.

”Dead planet? That ’s not possible.
Both Nommo ’s recordings and Dodo ’s scans have indicated that there is a large underground space on this planet.
The beasts should be hidden deep in the heart of the planet, ” I said.

”The planet ’s surface is made of steel.
With our scanning capacity, wouldn ’t we be able to detect life on the other side of the 100-kilometer thick ground if there was any? ” Old Du gave a convincing argument.

”Maybe there are some unknown elements mixed in the steel ground, giving it a similar function as the wall of light to help hide all signs of life, ” suggested Dodo.

Old Du continued arguing, but nobody supported his point of view.

”Everyone, stop arguing for now.
It doesn ’t look like we will find anything if we continue staying on the ship.
I suggest that we send a team out while the fleet stays on standby with all weapons on so that it will be ready to provide assistance, ” said Zhang Xingxing.

Right after Zhang Xingxing said that, I saw Zhang Bao ’er rush out of the weapons room.

”Commander, permission to join the scouting party? ” volunteered Zhang Bao ’er.

Immediately, more people offered to join the party.
Everyone wanted to be the one to leave their name in history.

”There is no need for this.
I have already decided on a suitable team for this, ” Zhang Xingxing said firmly.

Seeing the look in Zhang Xingxing ’s eyes, I knew that this was a crucial moment in her search for her father.
Nobody would be allowed to disobey her at this time.

”Li Canyue will lead the scouting party.
Old Du, Zhang Bao ’er, Anxashe, Dodo, and Sarje will be its members, ” said Zhang Xingxing.
Naturally, us three brothers were very satisfied with this arrangement.

When the others saw how firm Zhang Xingxing was, nobody argued.
And thus, the composition of the scouting party was confirmed.

”Canyue, make sure to keep everyone safe.
We will maintain contact.
Kelly ’s unit will be on standby for now.
We ’ll all be waiting for your scouting result, ” said Zhang Xingxing, emphasizing the importance of my mission.

”Don ’t worry.
I guarantee I ’ll complete this mission, ” I promised with a determined look.

”Deputy Commander, the Kangaroo is ready.
You may leave at any time, ” said Lin Feixue.

The time had come to carry out the mission.
I did not say anything else and only nodded at my team members.
We were old comrades who had fought together for a long time.
We knew each other well enough that there was no need to say anything prior to the mission.
Together, we walked in silence toward the airlock.

The Kangaroo was already ready.
Its six big wheels were filled with treads, letting the wheels grip the planet ’s sleek surface better.
As we entered the Kangaroo, the door closed behind us.
Then, the decontamination procedure activated.
Afterward, the door leading outside the ship opened, revealing the beast planet ’s unique environment to us.

Dodo carefully drove the Kangaroo out of Skyhawk, finally bringing us onto the planet Nommo had arrived on over 100,000 years ago.
A heavy sensation suddenly rose within me.
The surface of the beast planet looked sleek, but the powerful grip of the Kangaroo ’s wheels enabled the vehicle to travel smoothly.
While Dodo focused on scanning the surroundings, we looked around with our eyes.

”Canyue, have you found anything? ” came Zhang Xingxing ’s anxious voice after only a few minutes.

”Reporting to the commander, our scans indicate that this is a planet of pure steel.
Apart from steel, nothing can be found.
No entrance to the underground can be found either, ” said Dodo.

”I still feel like this is a dead planet.
I don ’t know why, but I ’m feeling this very intensely, ” said Old Du.

By then, the Kangaroo had traveled about a dozen kilometers, and nothing of value had been found.

”If this continues, we won ’t be able to find anything.
I suggest we leave the Kangaroo and personally search around, ” I said.

Zhang Xingxing agreed.
”Permission granted.
Be careful. ” The lack of any discovery seemed to have caused everyone to be less cautious than before.

”We will leave together.
The Kangaroo will stay here, ” I ordered.

With my order, everyone started preparing their defensive equipment.
Dodo then opened the door, granting us direct contact with the beast planet.

”Stick with me and maintain our combat formation.
Anxashe will scout ahead.
Zhang Bao ’er will bring up the rear, ” I ordered rapidly.

The ground was extremely hard.
When we were stepping on the ground, we could feel a weak magnetic pull.
The planet ’s surface was untainted by even a speck of dust, but when we actually went outside, the surface wasn ’t as slippery as we had thought since the weak magnetic pull was helping us get a better footing.

”Everyone, split up and search around.
See if you can find anything helpful, ” I ordered.

Following the order, everyone scattered and continued searching.
I walked with Dodo, who was already prone on the ground.
They were constantly rubbing the hard steel ground with their hands, seriously scanning the planet.

”Canyue, this planet is made of regular steel, ” said Dodo.
”The designer seemed to have utilized the planet ’s core to create a big pressurized space to keep all the steel firmly together.
Apart from that, I can ’t find anything unusual about this place. ”

The other members of the scouting party weren ’t able to find anything either.

”Canyue, in my opinion, we should just blow the entire planet up, ” suggested Zhang Bao ’er.

”Absolutely not.
Blowing up the planet will only create unexpected consequences.
It might even be what our enemies are waiting for us to do, ” objected Old Du.

Not far away, Sarje was wandering aimlessly, dragging his iron staff around.
He had obviously also found nothing.
This was our first time conducting an operation with Sarje.
Zhang Xingxing had probably taken his impressive combat strength as a Gando into account when making her arrangements.
He would be very helpful when we decided to actually damage the steel surface of the planet.

I was staring mindlessly at Sarje ’s staff when I suddenly noticed that the nine planets we were assigned to actually made a straight line when they were orbiting the three stars.
Due to the shift in position, the shadow left on the ground by each star was different.
I saw that in the middle of the shadow cast by the staff, a flash of light had appeared for an instant.

I suspected that I was seeing things, but not long after, the second flash appeared.
Unfortunately, both flashes had ended too abruptly, so I wasn ’t able to pinpoint their exact positions.

’There might be a different material there that causes the reflection! ’ I thought in excitement.

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”Sarje, continue roaming around your current position.
Dodo, come with me.
Pinpoint the location of the flash in Sarje ’s shadow the moment it appears, ” I said in excitement.

Everyone gathered around us upon hearing my new order.
Meanwhile, Sarje was still confused, standing there foolishly.

”Sarje, continue walking around with your staff.
Ignore everyone else.
Anxashe and Dodo, look out for a flash of light and pinpoint its location, ” I said.

”Canyue, did you find anything new? ” asked Zhang Xingxing through the communicator.

”Commander, I saw an unknown flash just now.
But we still need further observation to determine the exact source of the flash, ” I replied.

Sarje continued walking around aimlessly, but the third flash did not occur.

”Canyue, were you seeing things due to your exhaustion? ” grumbled Zhang Bao ’er.
He had been staring at Sarje ’s shadow for so long that his eyes had become sore yet nothing had been found.

”Absolutely not.
I am sure I saw two flashes, ” I insisted.

Zhang Bao ’er was about to say more when the third flash finally appeared.
A dazzling flash had revealed itself right behind Sarje ’s iron staff.
The instant the flash appeared, Anxashe darted toward it like an arrow, and everyone rushed over.
Anxashe was already prone on the ground, studying it in great detail.
Dodo got down on the ground to study it too.
After more than 10 minutes, the two finally looked up and helplessly shook their heads.

”Nothing can be found on the ground.
We can ’t determine the source of the flash, ” said Dodo gloomily.

Astonished, Zhang Bao ’er said, ”This is so odd.
Why would there be a flash in the middle of a shadow? Is this due to this three-star system ’s special environment? ” 

”I don ’t believe that something would happen for no reason.
There must be a special meaning behind the flashing, ” said Old Du.

”A flash had appeared thrice in the middle of a shadow.
Canyue, do you remember the two previous positions? ” Dodo asked.

Although I wasn ’t sure of the exact positions, I was still aware of the general area the flashes had appeared.
Dodo used the laser probe to scan the two spots.
Suddenly, I saw their hands trembling.

Zhang Bao ’er also noticed, and he asked with concern, ”Dodo, are you fine? ”