"According to the Imperial Conscription Orders, we are to go down on the Ziras IV and carry out the reconnaissance of the Arachnid Nest and the surrounding territories, while the matters regarding the Orbital Defense Network would be handled by the agents of the Directorate. For that, we are to et one of the operatives at the capital city of the colony, Ziria, and decide on the next steps. So... well... this is not really going well..."
Arcturus read the commands that had arrived at lightning speed from the Imperial HighCom, and none of them were very appealing to either of the three of them.
Receiving the Imperial Conscription Order was never good because if even soone privileged like them received the Imperial Conscription Order, then it ant that the situation was even more complicated than they had thought.
And it was sure that the Empire knew sothing that was unknown to them, which was putting all three of them on the edge. The Imperial Conscription Order for the higher mbers of the society within the Eternal Empire of the Asurya was never issued lightly and was always issued only when the situation was grave enough.
So now all of them needed to take into account circumstances that they couldn't predict and the fact that anything could happen down there with the almost confird Arachnid infiltration of the planetary defenses and structures.
Hopefully, from the Directorate, they would learn more about the situation. The Directorate had its own agents spread across most of the Imperial Worlds, so the fact that sothing like this managed to slip through the observation of the Directorate was a huge blunder for the Imperial Agency.
For the intelligence agency, this was a huge embarrassnt, or it was possible that one of their own was also infected by the bug or that the bugs were already becoming so proficient in stealth and infiltration that they managed to avoid even the all-seeing Directorate.
Nevertheless, Arctururus ordered the Red Queen to send back a reply to the Imperial HighCom that the Imperial Conscription Orders were delivered, accepted, and would be carried out as soon as possible.
With that being done, they were slowly descending down to the capital city of the colony world, Ziras IV, the city of Ziria.
When the Obscurus appeared on the radars of the Orbital Defnese Network, Red Queen didn't use the identification codes that were provided by the Imperial Phoenix Military Academy but instead used ones that were most commonly used by the House Alvix, which were provided by Zehal.
Their reason for doing it like this was relatively simple: if the bugs indeed managed to infest so high-ranking personnel at the Imperial Colony, then it would be for the best to act low.
Not attracting the attention would be for the best, and if the mission through the Imperial Phoenix Military Academy to exterminate the bugs was indeed just an attempt of the bugs to bait out powerful Psionics and Psykers with high potential, then masquerading as rchants were the best choice.
There was no better cover than acting as the mbers of the House Alvix, and with Zehal by their side, there wasn't even a serious need for the acting itself.
At the sa ti, nobody would be really suspicious of why soone from House Alvix would be present or if they sent soone affiliated with them or so interdiary because Ziras IV was an industrial colony that produced a lot of tals and precious elents on the planet.
Everyone would dismiss it as another business, and nobody would really pay them a lot of attention, which was for the best. The lesser their presence was known to the bugs, the better it was for them.
Not long after, they received clearance from the colony, and the Obscurus was allowed to dock at the spaceport within the Ziria's outskirts, which was reserved for larger spaceships like Obscurus.
Obviously, as the Obscurus was a bit bigger than the average starship and was a proper warship, it was turned to the outskirts, where it could be docked down comfortably with enough space.
***
The capital city of the Ziras IV, Ziria, was perched within the shelter of a massive glacial canyon and the first and only human settlent on Ziras IV. Built by the top engineers and fortification masters of the Eternal Empire of the Asurya.
Right now, Ziria represented one of the most advanced colonies across the Eternal Empire of the Asurya, built with the pinnacle of engineering, resilience, and adaptive architecture.
The entire city was designed to withstand the planet's brutal environnt; the city nestled beneath a sprawling do of reinforced composite alloys and transparent graphene, shielding its inhabitants from the freezing winds and atmospheric pressure.
The city's layout is a testant to efficient and advanced Imperial construction thods that were all about the utilitarian, defenses and heavy firepower and security. Every single nook and cranny of the Ziria was built with defense and security in mind due to the problematic location of the Ziras IV and the possible Arachnid incursions to the planet.
The enormous gate that was hundreds of ters tall, created from so of the hardest and toughest alloys that the Empire was able to slt, was built to withstand even the intense barrage from the top-notch Imperial starships.
And the sheer amount of weaponry, planetary shield, and other advanced shielding devices that were installed to protect the Ziria were staggering, but according to Jenaiel and Zehal, this was rather a standard setup for any other Imperial Colony World.
If there was one thing that the Eternal Empire wasn't saving any resources on, then it was the topic of military and the defense of the Imperial Planets that were typically ard to the teeth and have usually far more weapons than they could use.
At the heart of the Ziria was the Core Spire, which was a towering central structure housing the colony's power generation systems, command center, and essential facilities.
The spire taps into geothermal energy deep within Ziras IV's crust, channeling superheated steam to partially power the city and provide heat. However, because of the constantly cold environnt on Ziras IV, the problem with the heating and energy was never resolved.
Even so of the most advanced machinery pieces of the Eternal Empire of Asurya often stopped working from ti to ti due to freezing temperatures and harsh cold that had a knack for putting them in the garbage.
Surrounding the Core Spire were a series of concentric districts rising in stepped terraces, each layer interconnected by enclosed transport tubes and elevator shafts. These terraces housed residential sectors, research labs, manufacturing zones, and communal spaces, all ticulously climate-controlled and sealed.
The city's primary illumination ca from artificial daylight arrays, which simulate the warmth and spectrum of sunlight to mitigate the psychological effects of the planet's dim, twilight-drenched skies.
Inhabitants could stroll along enclosed pronades filled with hydroponic gardens, where engineered flora provide oxygen and a semblance of natural beauty amid the chanical precision of the colony.
The ones were humongous constructs of tal and stone that could be seen even from the orbit itself. Under normal conditions, it would be almost impossible to grow sothing on the planet due to the conditions of the planet's environnt.
Water was sourced from glacial reservoirs, and there were a lot of the glaciers around the Ziras IV, not to ntion these glaciers were the only source of the water. Or rather, they were the only ones that were usable and sustainable. After the pieces of ice were taken from the glaciers, it was then lted, purified, and circulated through advanced recycling systems to sustain the population.
Most of the rivers across the entire Ziras IV were too frozen, and those that were not really frozen were more dangerous than one could imagine due to the native fauna that lived in the rivers and lakes.
Let's say that there were so forms of sea life living in the depths of the oceans, seas, or so of the ga-lakes that could be as big as Imperial Warship.
"This planet is a shit place to live..."
Zehal comnted as the trio of them passed through so streets of the Ziria and looked for the agent from the Directorate. They were killing ti until the agent from the Directorate found them.
anwhile, they talked about the Ziras IV because, according to everything, it seed that they would spend a few days on the planet at best and a few weeks at worst, depending on how the situation with the bugs would develop.
There were many scenarios that could happen; so were better, and so were worse...
Life in Ziras IV, like in the many frontier colonies, was both challenging and stratified, highly stratified at that, because everyone had their purpose in the Imperial World like Ziras IV.
The inhospitable environnt outside the do demands rigorous training and strict protocols for any excursion beyond the city limits. Exploration teams clad in thermal exosuits ventured into the icefields to study Ziras IV's unique geology, search for signs of native extremophiles, or explore the planet and find new minerals and resources.
Only so of the more powerful Professionals didn't need to wear thermal exosuits and were content with just ordinary suits of armor because they could withstand the freezing cold, but their nas could be counted on one hand across the entire Ziras IV.
According to Zehal, the temperature was often so close that they could freeze even so high-grade Warriors into icicles. Zehal also told him that they would need specialized crawler vehicles equipped with spiked treads and drilling appendages to navigate the treacherous terrain.
Due to the hostile terrain, the locals were using them as a ans of transportation, establishing outposts, and gathering samples around the planet. Ziras IV was an apparent relatively young Imperial Colony, and most of the planet had not been explored.
"Where do you want to go?"
Arcuturs asked the two won who were walking side by side with him because it seed they still had a lot of free ti on their hands and they would need to do sothing until soone from the Directorate arrived.
"We should go to the Core Zone. I heard that this place is producing so of the finest jewelry across the Imperium."
As Zehal ntioned checking on the jewelry, Jeniael's eyes lit up as she gave a nod of agreent to the proposal of her arch-rival, and thus they were headed for the Core Zone, as right now they were in the Frontier Zone or the Outer Zone of the city.
The city's outermost ring, known as the Frontier Zone, served as a hub for the expeditions into the wildlands of the planet; it was also the place where most of the defenses were located together with the Imperial Garrison.
The entire Outer Zone of the city was lined with reinforced airlocks, vehicle bays, and repair facilities. Massive docking spires extend from the do's apex, allowing supply ships and research vessels to land and offload cargo in relative safety. However, this was limited only to the smaller vessels because the bigger ones were not allowed to enter.
The constant hum of machinery and the rhythmic pulse of geothermal energy coursing through the Core Spire create a soundscape that perates every corner of Ziria. It was fascinating to Zehal, especially because the technology seed to be rather outdated by the Imperial standards, but at the sa ti, it was the only thing that apparently worked in this freezing hellhole without needing constant reparations every few weeks.
Soon enough, they left the Frontier Zone, and after one or two checkpoints, they reached the Core Zone of the Ziria after crossing over to the Inner Zone altogether because that one also wasn't their destination due to the lack of the high-end luxuries.
Despite its isolation, Ziria has a vibrant, if insular culture.
Colonists ford tight-knit communities, bonded by shared purpose and the awe-inspiring yet perilous beauty of their surroundings. Art and music reflect the stark grandeur of Ziria, blending organic and synthetic thes in homage to the planet's icy landscapes and binary-star-lit skies.
Every sunrise, when both stars briefly align, the city's do is illuminated in a cascade of refracted light, a mont of fleeting splendor that reminds its people of their fragile existence in a world where survival is a daily triumph.
The Core Zone of the city was rather tightly packed up together because it represented the smallest but the best-heated part of the city. Interestingly enough, the Ziras IV had a far higher percentage of the Votanns than the Asuryani due to it being a mining and industrial planet.
But even though the Ziras IV was designed as the Mining World and Industrial World, it was using the modern technology of the Empire with a mind to protect the environnt and natural habitats of the planet as much as possible.
They didn't wish to destroy the nature of this beautiful world, and the Imperial philosophy of preserving the beauty of the world was most obviously extended to this world.
"The Hamrlight Jewelry Store?"
Arcturus read the na of the store in front of which they were standing after they were searching for so jewelry store that would be suitable for their requirents because, apparently, even the muscle-headed Jeniael had relatively high standards for the things like this.
But that was sothing that he just kept to himself and didn't say out loud because he would get another hit of the sword. Both girls were rather eager to explore the jewelry stores on the Ziras IV, because Ziria was rather famous for many rare gems that were found only on the Ziras IV in the entire Androda Galaxy.
And so of the most of the excellent and best jewelers were actually on the Ziras IV due to the precious gems that were found form ti to ti on the Ziras IV. Thus, Jenaiel and Zehal were searching for so famous masters in the jewelcraft and soon enough they found a few shops.
Unfortunately, many were either closed or were working only on commissions because this was an entirely different kind of business. Many were working only when they received order or had opened their shops only for a few hours per day, when they were resting from crafting a new pieces of jewelry.
"Let's get over with this..."
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