Emergency

2 weeks later...

Within the inner court of the imperial palace, there sits a strangely dressed man. He stares at the starry night as if none matters more than it.

But a light tap soon interrupt his mind and a young lady, with white hair, royal violet eyes, came in front of him.

"You've been staring at the nightsky since last week, is there a problem great sage?"

The Great Sage, renowned people across the globe that possess extraordinary power. It was rumored to be blessed by the goddess of fertility, however, no one truly knows the mystery that lie behind their robes.

What they know is that, they are a powerful people. One that cannot be taken lightly. Even kingdoms of certain region resort to annihilating enemy sages when wars are declared.

The man look at the young lady, awe by her beauty, he regain his conscious in his surrounding then cough to fully return. "I apologize, your highness... It's just that something is amiss."

The look of the young lady gave a confused reaction. Well, that is to be expected. He thought. They may have not noticed it but the Gris's axis slowed by a small amount.

"A calamity... Or perhaps, a miracle?" The Great sage accidentally mutter his mind out, perhaps due to old age, but the young lady remains confused, fortunately.

"What was that?"

"It's nothing, nothing to be worried about, what you should be doing is going to bed! I'll be damned if your father caught us in the middle of the night here! Go!" He shooed the young lady, but due to her stubbornness, she remains in her ground.

Continuous attempt was made by him, but in the end, he gave up. He sigh in defeat as he gesture the young lady towards the bench, indicating her to sit beside him."Come, your highness. I have something to show you."

"Is there something wrong, great sage?" The young lady seem to have noticed his complex look, so she tried to dig to it. However, she was denied.

"No, just come and look at this." He gesture her once more, this time, she complies, and so both of them sat and stare at the starry night. Then suddenly, a woosh resonate, followed by dust to form and materialize something.

A glass.

"What are we going to do with it, great sage?" The young lady asked, seem curious about the magic he just casted.

"Look."

And in front of them, between the sky and them, a glass of some sort that magnify their vision much greater than one that people can finished materializing in front of them.

There, they viewed the glass and what they found is terrifying.

This is the very first time I used it, and not only did it show me what I want to see, it also answered my question. The reason for Gris's axis slowed down.

Something... or rather, someone was using it.

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"Communication team, send message to Theresa Military Headquarter. Give full detailed analysis of the Daedra Region, but keep the information regarding this planet and its populace. Also, send additional mining fleets to the gas planet's moon to increase resources input. We are gravely in need of any penny of those materials specially since we are in deep space with no nearby station." Sterling was focused, as he analyze the content of the holographic tablet in his commander's seat, he is also multitasking, by giving orders and managing the current state of the Outpost.

As of right now, the Outpost had only produced a total of 23.19% of their supposed production amount. Upon calculation, it has been surmised that the fleet will have a negative balance of output if this were to continue. And not only will it reduce morale of his fleet, it could even cause unnecessary death and increase of mortality.

The fleet is practically an entire community, and the commander being the leader of it. If these kind of deaths were to reported, it will tarnish his name surely, and perhaps be demoted to a mere captain.

It has been a week since they started to station themselves at the planet's second moon. However, as of yet, they have only gathered low amount of info due to the weird elements that surround... or rather make up the planet's surface.

The zuporium.

The element was used to be rare in the early days of earth's spacefaring. However, gradually, it becomes more common as human expands.

However, it was use only for fuel. And to humans, it was a toxic substance that can be fatal if left unattended.

I'll have to probably order someone to surface the planet. However, that would be a very terrible idea with this much of information we have. Sterling thought, now starting an argument inside his head. But then, we are being pushed by our current situation. It's only a matter of time before we run out of resources.

Considering the population of his fleet, the resources they carried are available only for 8 months of preparation. He was only able to bargain such amount due to the overwhelming pressure he's currently facing.

Suddenly, Christine shouts his name, "Commander!" For a second, he thought she was just about to report a good news, however, it was quite the opposite. "A call from Earth." She's wearing a worried expression which only means one thing.

A man with obvious complexity written all over his face appear in the holographic screen. He wore a stoick face that emphasize his intimidating aura.

"Father." Sterling calls.