Chapter 23: Planet Mulka

Rayleigh’s hands worked carefully as he unstrapped himself from the seat. He stared dead ahead, his eyes locked on the celestial body before him; an orange planet.

Rayleigh was officially in the K-47 star system, and his ship hovered above an orange planet. It was similar to Mars in a way, except for the deep craters that lay scattered across its surface.

It looked like bombs had gone off on this planet.

A war, perhaps?

Rayleigh remembered the system’s warning about hostiles in this star system. Whatever species or colonies lived on this planet, and whatever they had done to each other, Rayleigh wanted no part of it.

The planet had five moons orbiting it, each carrying a faint glow of its own.

"What sort of planet is this?" Rayleigh breathed. The system chimed in response, a sound that only he could hear.

►[ Planet: Mulka ]

►[ Location: K-47 Star System ]

►[ Planetary Count: Seven ]

Rayleigh nodded, pursing his lips.

"Mulka? Got it. I hope the Mulkans are friendly and willing to help me refuel my ship, or I’ll just start blowing shit up once I get down there." Rayleigh said it with a confident smile, although he had no intention of actually doing that.

"Begin descent protocols," Rayleigh commanded. "Create a flight path that lets us fly under any radar and land us in an isolated location."

►[ Creating stealth flight path... ]

►[ Flight path created ]

►[ Calculating atmospheric entry...]

►[ Descent route confirmed ]

Rayleigh was well aware that his ship was a stealth ship, courtesy of Elias and Nou, but he had no idea about the technological advancement or capabilities of the Mulkans. They probably possessed more advanced radar systems than Earth’s military. Perhaps they even had a radar capable of detecting stealth ships.

►[ Touchdown on Planet Mulka initiated ]

Rayleigh straped himself back on the seat just as the engines ignited, humming as they pushed the ship into its descent. The spacecraft began moving downward, burning through the atmosphere of the vast orange rocky wasteland below.

It was a reasonably smooth ride compared to the takeoff from Earth’s atmosphere. Rayleigh knew better than to expect an Earth-like experience here on Mulka.

The Atlas-9 passed through the clouds, revealing the planet’s surface below. The land was almost entirely covered in orange rock and craters. There were no oceans in sight, and Rayleigh couldn’t see any signs of civilization from the altitude.

The ship continued descending and a few seconds later, the landing systems activated.

The Atlas-9 lowered itself toward the ground before its landing gear extended beneath the spacecraft.

THUD!

The ship touched down.

Rayleigh waited for the engines to power down before unfastening himself from the pilot’s seat. He immediately noticed something strange; his body felt lighter.

He raised one hand, then moved his arm around experimentally through the air; it felt almost effortless.

He stood from his seat and immediately understood what was happening.

"Gravity. Mulka has weaker gravity than Earth."

Rayleigh took a few steps around the cockpit, noticing how his movements felt easier. Even the simple act of walking required less effort than it did on Earth. When he jumped, his body rose much higher than he expected before coming back down.

"Interesting." he murmured.

If Rayleigh’s calculations were correct, a regular human could probably scale something as high as a four-meter wall on this planet with the right technique.

He wasn’t sure whether the weaker gravity would be useful yet, but it was definitely something he needed to keep in mind.

Rayleigh turned his attention toward the ship’s controls. He had actually been searching for something ever since he boarded the Atlas-9.

Now, he finally found it. A small button was located beneath the main control panel and when ayleigh pressed it, asoft mechanical sound came from the ship. Then a voice filled the cockpit.

[Alpha-9 AI System Activated.]

[How may I assist you today?]

Rayleigh could have used this earlier but for some reason, he had chosen to use the Advanced Romulus System to take control of the ship instead.

The ARS had somehow intertwined itself with the Atlas-9’s systems after taking control of the vessel, but it didn’t have a voice function.

Rayleigh didn’t mind. If the ship already had an AI capable of handling basic functions, he was willing to settle for that.

"Alpha-9, is the atmosphere on Planet Mulka safe for human respiration?"

[Analyzing planetary atmosphere...]

[Atmospheric analysis complete.]

[Planet Mulka possesses a breathable atmosphere.]

[Oxygen concentration: Within safe human tolerance.]

[Atmospheric pressure: Within safe human tolerance.]

Rayleigh nodded. "What about the rest of the planets in this star system?"

[Analyzing K-47 planetary data...]

[All seven planets within the K-47 Star System possess atmospheres that are safe for human respiration.]

Rayleigh nodded again. "Good."

He pressed another button and the rear of the ship started to open.

A mechanical whirring sound echoed through the vessel as the landing ramp slowly extended toward the ground, causing cold air to immediately seep into the ship.

"For a planet this color, it’s surprisingly cold."

Rayleigh grabbed a coat and made his way toward the ramp. Before stepping outside, however, he remembered something. "Activate stealth mode." he commanded.

[Stealth Mode Activated.]

A low humming sound came from the Atlas-9.

Rayleigh stepped off the ramp and looked back at the spacecraft. Before his eyes, the ship disappeared; its dark exterior became transparent, blending perfectly with the environment around it until there was nothing left to see.

"Cool" was all Rayleigh could say as he decided to take a look at his surroundings. There was no city or road or anything at all except for an endless wasteland.

"If I’m going to refuel this ship, I need to find someone who can help me. But first, I need to find a civilization."

Rayleigh began walking, once again, noticing his steps were noticeably lighter because of the planet’s weaker gravity.

"Finding something is paramount; a city, a colony, a kingdom... whatever kind of societal system the Mulkans have decided to adopt."

Rayleigh continued walking into the unfamiliar world.

He had no idea where the nearest settlement was. He also had no idea what kind of creatures lived on Mulka but he knew one thing which was the fact that he needed fuel.

"Elias will have a lot of explaining to do if I ever get back."

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