NOVEL NEXT 26 – Eleanore
After my fun time with Kitty I had just enough time to take a shower and clean myself up. That was really a pleasant workout. I'm glad I picked Kitty up.
Naturally, Yuri, Misha and Mio were responsible for cleaning my room afterwards. No matter the mess, these 3 can do anything and not leave a trace behind.
That aside, after I returned to my cockpit and we exited hyperdrive, a large planet was in sight.
"We're here, ojou-sama." (Stella)
"Yeah. Without a doubt, that's Eleanor."
The planet Eleanor, named after the woman that discovered it, is a desert planet in a fairly large solar system with 14 other planets.
Eleanor is about 3 times bigger than Earth and its gravity is about 1.04 times that of Earth.
A single day lasts 28 hours and a year lasts 309 days. The day-night cycle is divided into 12 hours of daylight and 16 hours of night time. The planet is made up of 2 continents and 4 moons orbit the planet and Eleanor itself orbits an orange sun in an elliptic orbit.
The plant-like organisms on this planet are exclusively different types of flowers. They come in all shapes and sizes, some are small and single stemmed, like you'd expect to find on Earth. But others are more like bushes, shrubs and even trees. Palm trees and cactuses rain supreme here.
Organisms obviously don't want to be eaten and try to do everything they can to survive, but many species on this planet have turned the tables by eating animals and even each other. Some use trap systems to catch the animals, while others slowly grow around and strangle each other.
But perhaps the most impressive killer is the species which kills its attackers. When an animal begins eating this species, it will retaliate by excreting small amounts of poison. If the animal eats enough of it, it will collapse where it stands, which, if it doesn't get dragged away by other animals, will give the soil around it more nutrients.
Aquatic plants are almost non-existent on this planet. Instead, life is limited almost exclusively to hard corals. Their rock-like skeletons offer a great deal of protection, but it's sometimes near impossible to tell where one coral starts and the other ends, let alone where coral meets rock. But their bright colors are bioluminescent, which makes these depths come to life at night with an amazing spectacle of hundreds of differently colored lights.
Many of the creatures on this planet have evolved into gliders, so to speak. Most of the fish and aquatic mammals, despite coming in various shapes and sizes, tend to glide through the water without effort, similar to how manta's glide on Earth. However, the surface species are more astonishing.
Similar to the flying squirrels or the vultures of Earth, many of the species on this planet have developed ways to effortlessly move from one place to another by using the winds. But there is one species which shows signs of sentience. These species, a type of bird, love to play and have become masters of flight. Similar to how dolphins play, explore and learn, these species use their intellect and courage to play and sometimes challenge each other to death defying tricks.
This was the setting I envisioned for Eleanor. It’s mostly covered in sand, but it does have an ocean, 2 seas and many rivers as big as the Nile or Amazon.
“Ojou-sama, I’m getting weird readings from the Avalanche. According to the incoming data this planet is claimed… by the Vanderbach Federation.” (Stella)
“What? Impossible. The Vanderbach Federation never traveled this far.”
“Be that as it may, it seems the perimeter and docking request systems all belong to the Federation.” (Stella)
That can’t be right. Eleanor wasn’t supposed to be owned by anyone other than me. This solar system should be entirely under my control. So then why…
“Not much. If we don’t land soon we’ll be left stranded in space.” (Molly)
“In that case, I’m taking over. I’ll turn on the generator until we pass the border. Stealth mode will allow us to bypass any radars. And then I’ll try to land as close as possible to what should be my palace rather than an official docking port.”
“Understood.” (Stella)
Just what the hell is going on here?
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We managed to get in undetected and the landing was successful, however the ship really needs a refuel now. We didn’t manage to exactly reach our destination. But our ship is close enough to a village.
Well, I say close enough, but it was probably 10 kilometers away.
“Listen, girls, we can’t be careless at this point. Alisha, you and me are going to gather some intel. For all we know things might not be as expected. In the meantime, the rest of you stay on the ship and guard it.
Once we figure out where we sit, where we can get fuel and provisions, we’ll calculate the next step.”
“Understood.” (unison)
After giving the instructions, me and Alisha took our first steps on the soft golden sand.
“All right, let’s go.”
When I made up my mind, I kicked the ground and began running to the village.
I accelerate rapidly as if I am totally riding a car or a motorcycle just by kicking the ground twice. The sand really is blown with each step I take.
When I checked the back while running, the figure of Alisha who was scouting the surroundings could be seen. She had such an angle that the sand I was kicking didn’t obstruct her.
Thanks to body strengthening, we were able to queue up in front of the fence that encloses the village in just roughly a minute.
I looked around the fence that is made of logs, apparently it seems that there is no entrance. This reminds me of Tatooine. Instead of something luxurious, it feels like a junkyard.
I thought of jumping over the fence to enter the village, but that meant that we will definitely be judged as an enemy. We went around the village and decided to go to the other side which seemed to be the front of the village.
We hid ourselves to the shadow of the fence and watched the state of the group that wore armor that are occupying the front of the village. Various alien races.
“I wish they would come out early.” (???)
“Yes, no matter how you look at it, they can’t defy us.” (???)
Men who were armed with proton swords and some beat up proton pistols in their hands and were wearing worn-out armor were laughing.
They look like trouble. Can we build a good relationship with the village residents if we get these guys?
When I was plotting such a thing, a number of people appeared from the village.
There are two big men and a little girl.
Both men have armor, a shield, and proton batons.
The girl has clear features but looks slightly young, probably around 12. She had dark blue hair and was wearing a black robe on top of her leather clothes. She also has a metal wand in her hand.
“This village will not offer anything to you! Please give up and go home!”
“I thought you came out to present the young lady!”
“Buhahaha! That’s good! That will be the order!”
Such foolish words were thrown by the group of delinquents wearing armor. The girl and the men on her left and right stiffened their bodies.
One of the goons drew his gun and fired a single bullet. The girl did not try to avoid the projectile, instead the men in her left and right that were holding shields stepped in to protect her.
The metallic sound and dull blows sounded consecutively, and one of the two men got his knees on the ground. Yeah. Even if that gun is cheap, the shield is even more of a rustbucket. It’s not suited to block. The shock will be transmitted through the entire body.
“Haha! It looks like we might get some fun out of this, after all.”
Immediately, the men that are wearing armor become excited.
Yare yare. Watching this further is pointless. Let’s save the day so we can gain the intel we require.
“Alisha, kick them off. I’ll step forward between them and protect the villagers. Handle the rest.”
As I issued my order, I stepped in the dogfight site.
In the next moment, the men wearing the armor were being flipped like bowling pins.