Omid and roughly fifty crew members were poised to descend from the suspended ships. As a precautionary measure, they chose to keep the ships at an altitude of roughly two kilometers from the ground.
This was lower than the cruising altitude that they had been traveling at but they still needed the ships to be at a somewhat accessible distance for them to be able to return if things went south.
So how could they reach the ships at such an altitude?
Well… They were not coming down simply with their power armor.
Omid was once a high-ranked soldier when he was still serving the royal family back on his home planet.
He might underestimate and look down on Noah as a small powerless child but he would never look down or underestimate the ruins of a world.
On the contrary, he would rather overestimate it as much as possible and if he was not limited by time, he would have called down the rest of his crew members who were still in space and even some of the Forty Thieves down to this planet to excavate the ruins.
｢Unit #01, ready for jumping.｣
｢Unit #02 ready.｣
｢Unit #03 ready.｣
.
.
.
｢Unit #20 ready｣
｢Very well. Unit #00, starting the deployment process.｣
In a formidable arrangement, twenty large units loomed silently in the shadows, their uniform appearance adding to their imposing presence. These were true giants of steel, each standing at over 5 meters in height.In terms of how big Mecha could become when Dark Matter was involved in the equation, they were nothing short of being dwarfs. However, they couldn't obtain such high-tech Mecha that could seemingly easily reach hundreds of meters in height or even reach the height of a planet in some very rare cases in the case of Annihilation Type Mechas.
But that did not matter in this case. When it came to actually fighting on the planetary level, then Mechas similar to the heights they held were considered very close to ideal type.
They were extremely standard units that were rarely used by the pirates because each of the units would end up using a great deal of resources just to operate them for a few hours at most. If the rewards obtained did not make up for the usage of resources they would be incurring a loss— something that was the bane of all pirates.
The twenty Mechas were humanoid in form, with a faded green and black color scheme that allowed them to wield natural camouflage on most planets. While the humanoid form might seem useless and even unnecessary for many, this design had not been made without serious thought.
The head segment of the Mecha units contained visual sensors, radar and computerized equipment for analysis in addition to other specialized sensors which gave a wider field of view to the user than their usual vision. There was also an option for 360 view with the usage of carefully implanted image processing machines throughout them.
One of the most important parts of the Mecha was the arms. It came as no surprise that, unless one had special psychic powers, limbs such as hands with thumbs gave a great amount of dexterity and maneuverability.
The maneuverable arms allowed the Mecha to carry hand-held weapons in addition to performing tasks requiring fine motor skills such as picking up objects or the general tasks that a humanoid hand would allow them to do.
Vibroblades or electroblades were integrated into the arms for short-range combat. While the best option would be using laser-type weapons and energy-type weapons, it was sadly something outside of their means of procurement, unless, of course, they were one of the seven prime leaders among the Forty Thieves.
All of the pirates in the assortment of Mechas and those on foot gazed at the Mecha in front of them.
Unit #00. A black and yellow themed Mecha that was nearly three times taller than the ones they were operating.
In a way, the Mecha they had could only be called something akin to a superior version of the power armor that they wielded above their body while what Omid was operating could be called a True Mecha in every sense of the word.
With a towering height of 12 meters, the 6th Generation energy core was made from a mixture of gold metal and dark matter.
The internal mechanisms of the body were covered in golden alloys and circuitry made of diluted gold for efficient conduction of dark energy. Additionally, it was equipped with a large laser spear on the back and energy blaster rifles all over the body. The legs featured a high-speed hover with a gravity-lowering function to improve speed and mobility.
Finally and perhaps most importantly…
A Pseudo Neuro Link connected to the user.
Bulker Night Tornad type Mecha.
Code Name: Scorched
This was the titular Mecha that made Omid who he was today and why he was known as Omid of the Scorched Earth along the Sea of Stars. One of the most dangerous individuals in the galaxy.
Sitting in the cockpit of his Mecha with his eyes closed, Omid bathed quietly in the rising excitement of his body.
His power armor was connected to the interior and thanks to the Pseudo Neuro Link, he could command this Mecha with his thoughts alone without any hindrance or delay in action.
He needed to be extremely focused to bring the right commands when necessary.
This whole endeavor was very dangerous. A part of him, the cautious part of him, was telling him that he should give up on the attack and run with their tail tucked between their legs.
Go back into space, give Morgiana to Cassim, sell Noah to some collections, and sell the coordinates of the planets to whatever noble family or commercial groups he could find for the maximum amount of profit he could muster from those activities.
This was the surest way of staying alive and earning some form of profit. This was the best way to avoid all problems and ensure their survival.
But… Living such a life could be so boring and unsatisfying.
No. That was not really the crux of the matter either.
‘I want to become stronger.’
Why could Cassim reach such a high level and become the leader of the Forty Thieves?
This was undoubtedly because of the ruins he had once explored in the past. After exploring those ruins, his rise to power had been nothing short of a miracle and a legend in the eyes of many among the Forty Thieves.
Was Omid happy staying as he was? Did he truly wish to always be known as nothing more than one of the Forty Thieves? Having to flee every time a big name like Dorothy might be about to intervene? With nothing to his name, receiving orders from Cassim and always being on the edge between life and death with a ragtag group of pirates?
No!
He wanted more. Much, much more!
He wanted to become a legend!
To be known throughout the entire galaxy as one of the strongest and mightiest individuals out there, feared and respected not because he was part of a group but because of who he, himself was!
He was Omid.
Omid of the Scorched Earth.
Today, he would write the first page of his legend in the annals of history.
｢Everyone! Time to depart! Foot soldiers, prepare your hover devices! We will observe the entire zone and find the ruins.｣
His Mecha, Scorched seemed to answer to his own excitement. The head segment shone quietly and analyzed the terrain as the images were directly transmitted to his brain through the Neural Link.
The whole world seemed to have opened to him as a large amount of information was poured into his mind. Thankfully, the layer of security from the pseudo-link protected him from being overwhelmed by too much information.
Once in the past, Neural Link had been the norm for any and all soldiers. But they were quickly abolished because of how dangerous they had been and how low the number of true pilots that could survive out of operating through those Mechas.
Whoosh!
The hover engines blasted large quantities of heat on the earth as they all jumped one after another. This was the start of a new adventure. One that had the potential to tremendously change their entire lives.
***
Meanwhile, standing in the main room of Omid’s ship alongside ten crew members who were specially chosen to keep an eye on him at all times, Noah quietly observed the Mechas flying through the air and departing toward the habitable part of Alpha Centauri.
This reminded him of many memories that he had forgotten through the years of his lonesome existence. Some of which had been buried in his mind even before he was stranded on this planet.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
After all, becoming a Mecha pilot had not been easy for him. Even more so when it came to the models used by the Thirteen Constellations.
Those had been truly painful days. After all… They were not initially only thirteen in number.
“Noah?”
— Noah. Your expression.
Noah touched his face slowly. He could feel the muscles being completely tight. He must have been completely expressionless for an instant there.
‘Heheh. This won’t do. A world without laughs is a boring world after all.’
Lifting the corner of his lips with his fingers, Noah chuckled and looked at the female cyclops alien standing beside him. He still did not remember her name even though he heard it not long ago. He clearly needed to work on his memory which currently disregarded any information that wasn’t absolutely essential.
“Sorry. I was so surprised by those big giants! They look awesome.”
“Those are Mecha. Though they have different names across the galaxy. Many simply call them Space Knights or Knightframe.”
“Knightframe, huh? I like it. It sounds cool.”
Noah laughed to himself.
He liked Mechas.
Even if they were usually associated with the worst and most painful memories in his life.
‘Soon. Just a little more.’
He would soon be able to pilot his own Mecha or Knightframe as the woman called them. He just needed to do a little cleanup first.
A slight golden light flashed in Noah's blue eyes as he lowered his head.
‘Are you ready?’
— Always have been.
Truly, this was going to be a memorable day for them.
***
The Knightframes landed on the ground, more softly than one would have expected with their heavy weight, outer countenance, and all. While not particularly the best at ground warfare, Knightframe all had a means of movement through any terrain that was good enough for them to not be completely useless. They were versatile, ready to be used in any terrain, but they also had their specialties— a story for another time.
｢What is the situation?｣
With Omid being one step behind the rest, four pirates in power armor landed on the ground after he took the measuring equipment out of his Knightframe.
One of the few ways to find the ruin rooted on a planet, housing the vestiges of the Old Empire, was to observe and calculate the repartition of the gravity on the surface through specific geological equipment.
The gravity that affected a planet was never uniform. This held true for most planets and celestial bodies. Though the difference would not vary widely throughout the surface, only a variation of 0.7% between different places, some places could still go even further up the scale. Historically, a variation of more than 2% or more had been spotted on numerous planets, anomalies that often pointed to the existence of ruins.
And such anomalies were what they were after right now, the motive of their search. Things would have been easier with a grand-scale planetary scanner but they had to make do with what they had on their clutches. It had never been easy for them and wanting it to be easy now wouldn’t do squat.
“Scanners ready.”
“Camera Drones ready.”
“Metal Detectors ready.”
｢Very well. Stay in formation. Try finding the lair of any Abyss beasts in the vicinity. This might also be an important clue.｣
Omid, seated in the cockpit of his Mecha, sighed quietly to himself as he fought the surging excitement trying to leak out of his face.
Bringing his hands forward, two handles appeared and he grabbed them both simultaneously. While he could use his mental command to maneuver the hulking mass of metal, that action was very taxing for him. It had the prerequisite of pinpoint accurate and deep concentration, something that would only hinder his progress in the present moment, and for no reason to boot. He needed to have his A-game ready for when the big events started surfacing and straining himself now would only be foolish of him.
｢Noah. You should be seeing what our cameras are recording on the screen right about now. Where exactly were you ambushed when you came for us with Morgiana in tow? Phaeia, allow him to give the command to pinpoint the location for us and guide us there.｣
｢I… I think it was around here.｣
A red dot manifested on the 3D skeleton of the hazardous terrain, the scenes were manifesting and changing in real-time— a boon of the geographical mapping equipment at their disposal. While they did not have access to an online database due to the large distance, the offline system linking them was more than enough for them to make up for it and the mapping equipment helped.
｢Good. Four riders and ten foot soldiers heed my order. Proceed to the marked location and try your luck.｣
｢Yes, sir!｣
Once again, they were all advancing with efficiency and clear and concise orders. Slowly covering the map while leaving nothing unturned in their path toward the location marked.
The crew members that were sent to the location Noah pointed out were slowly inching further and further away from their location, however, Omid was not too worried about them. Even if some abyss beasts somehow showed up to attack them, in the current scenario, they were more than armed and prepared enough to take them head-on and triumph.
They were also holding the gold that Noah had provided them in their presence, cut into smaller pieces and distributed among the crew. While the existence of gold should be more or less present on this planet, the ruins had a gimmick that made them react when Dark Matter and Gold were placed in conjecture in the vicinity of their location.
At the same time, Omid had a timer on his head for this mission. If the search ended without them finding anything in a set time… they would leave this planet with Morgiana.
As much as it pained him to accept defeat, he could not risk his life more than what he was already doing.
｢Continue the search.｣
Slowly, they left the habitable part of the planet and a spike in temperature could be visibly observed almost immediately.
Omid groaned ever so slightly in joy as the temperature in his cockpit rose to a degree uncomfortable for most. As a Frame that had been modified for him to operate, it obviously had the function of absorbing solar energy and sharing said energy with him to supplement his Djinn powers.
The yellow streaks, flowing like rivers of molten magma, on his skin started to pulse and vibrate under his armor as if he were a beast being fed after a long, long time. Since there were literally three suns in this solar system, the effects were far better than anything he could have hoped anywhere else. Even though it was far inferior to the seven suns prevalent on his home planet, it was close enough.
‘Good. I am feeling revitalized.’
Absorbing the energy of the sun in space was dangerous because of all the cosmic radiation that would rampage unobstructed. Even a Yellow Flame like him risked destroying himself while in prolonged contact with such radiation. But things were different when they were on a planet with its own magnetic field and an atmosphere to block and filter the cosmic radiation.
｢Captain! We got a signal!｣
Omid snapped out of his reverie and pushed his Frame forward in strides, his heart once again bursting with excitement and anticipation.
They had finally found the location of the ruins. When someone had all the elements, finding and opening the ruin was not a complicated issue in the least. What mattered was the string of events that would inevitably occur after they entered the ruins.
The Frames as well as the foot soldiers all started running, excitement carrying their feet faster than what would have been possible. Or it was just a placebo effect, who knew really…
｢Call back those who were sent out to find where Morgiana had been attacked. We need all hands here and now!｣
｢Yes sir!｣
The foot soldiers all aligned themselves and when Omid reached the place, his eyes immediately brightened when he witnessed that the energy necessary for the anti-gravity hover increased slightly but quite noticeably.
‘This is it!’
｢Start the Operation!｣
Simultaneously, every single one of them started taking out the equipment they had prepared in advance for this operation, all with the goal of causing a resonance.
At the same time, Omid, who was holding the largest piece of gold in his hand, started injecting his own energy into the golden metal.
‘Please! Please! Please!’
Omid did not have to beg for long as soon, a new chain reaction manifested.
Rumble!
The earth started to shake and quake. Slowly at first but soon, the simple shaking changed into a literal earthquake. Cracks manifested and trailed the ground like branches of an ominous tree and all the pirates started hastily shifting their positions, afraid of being caught in the cracks and losing their lives.
One of them was not fast enough and fell in a crack that seemed to have no end. No one bothered slowing down even as they heard the ear-piercing screams of their comrade in arms. All the Mechas jumped in the air simultaneously, as if on cue. The energy consumption necessary to fight gravity was astronomical but it was better than dying a dog’s death. Not even Omid could complain about their conduct.
The shaking lasted for quite a while as everyone fought for dear life. But finally it came to a stop.
Long sinuous cracks could be seen everywhere their eyes could take in. Of the previous fifty pirates outside of Omid… only forty-five remained, the others had fallen into the cracks, not to be seen ever again.
However, no one mourned for the losses.
All eyes were riveted on the gigantic and imposing gate that was hanging a few meters above the ground. It looked as if it was detached from reality itself and was casting a shadow on all of them, causing them to gulp in both awe, fear, and greed.
The gate was more than 200 meters in height. Rather than a gate, it seemed more like a small mountain. There was no door at first but soon, a flicker sparkled and a white light filled the gate in its entirety.
Omid couldn’t stop himself from gulping.
A Star Gate.
This ruin was definitely not just a small ruin but something far more prominent. In his knowledge, normal ruins were nothing more than underground or aboveground structures, in the sky or even in the depth of the sea. Those may be dangerous but the danger they posed was minimal in retrospect. The rewards they brought were just as minimal as the dangers they posed.
After this came ruins hidden in pocket dimensions and only by going through a Star Gate could one enter their depths— location unknown.
This kind of ruin was classified into ranks depending on the colors of the gate. Going from the red as the lowest to violet as the highest.
The current Emperor of this galaxy was said to have reached his seat after conquering a blue-ranked gate. Just a rank below the highest violet deemed possible.
— He had never heard of a White Gate. Just what kind of rewards could come out of this mythical structure?
｢Captain! What do we do?｣
Omid was trembling from head to toe. His brows were even sweating as his brain tried to work coherently in such an impossible situation.
He was at a crossroads. This was without a doubt the most important decision he would take in his entire existence.
Should he listen to reason and flee immediately?
Or…
Should he throw caution to the wind and give it a try?
The answer to this question should have been evident from the get-go. The most reasonable choice was clear for all to see.
But this was both the beauty and stupidity of living beings.
Sometimes… They didn’t make the wisest choice at their disposal. Even when they knew they might eventually fall to their ruins.
There will always be a little voice singing in their mind.
Perhaps I am different.
Perhaps I am better.
Perhaps I am luckier.
Like so, they would self-hypnotize themselves into making decisions they would normally never make.
This was the power of Greed.
For all his experience and cautiousness — Omid was not above greed. He was, after all, a pirate after all.
｢Phaeia. Kill Noah. He is useless to us. As for you guys. Proceed with me. We are entering the ruins｣
And so, guided by greed… Omid made the worst decision in his entire life.
———
At the same time, far far away, in the space station above Oz, Dorothy, the Witch of Stars, stopped her endless walk and craned her head to the right.
There… a light so bright shone with such luminosity that it was hurting her eyes, causing her planetarium to crumble instantly.
Thankfully, not before she was able to memorize the coordinates of the planet.
When she came to herself, her eyes and nose were leaking blood.
｢Dorothy!? What Happened!?｣
Dorothy groaned as she fought a mighty headache. She felt like something was literally piercing through her brain and sloshing it in a blender.
“I do not know what happened but… I think I found Morgiana’s coordinates.”
She also found the location of the golden constellation.