In the training room of the ship, Sora was currently exercising using the equipment for strength. He was basically bench pressing by the way the machine worked, applying pressure as he lifted. There were plenty of safety features so there was no change of injury when working out on the ship.
It had been almost a month since they left Earth and went toward the Sanctum. Since then he has been adapting to living on a ship, getting used to the gravity of different settings by having Maro adjust the ship's settings. Strengthening himself to be accustomed to the various places where gravity varies. Maro said that there would be interstellar structures in the nearby civilizations that they would eventually visit. Basically space stations, bases, colonies, habitats, and such that are basically structures in space where people live. Places where his body will need to learn to adapt to else Sora will feel ill and show symptoms of it.
Other than that, he was mainly learning about the ship and what it could do. So that in the future he would be able to utilize all the features the ship had. Piloting the ship would have to wait until they reached the Sanctum. The way they were traveling was called a Jump which was the commonly used term by the Athalri. It was the concept of hyperdrives and warp, manipulating space to be able to travel far distances in a short time.
Slow and steady but also fun, that's how Sora felt. It wasn't dull for him as it was on Earth. He was learning new things that are quite literally out of this world. He had an assortment of items to choose from the Chef. Which was Sora's nickname for the food machine in the kitchen. There were a lot of things he learned while living on the ship.
First and most importantly, Maro was the master control for the entire ship. Every piece of tech is controlled and connected to Maro. So not only could it use anything at will, it was also able to make changes and adjustments to perform in a more suitable and proficient way. The training room was a good example of such abilities. Besides manipulating the gravity of the room, it also monitored vitals for Sora. Maro could tell what was happening on every part of the ship and was maintaining it. But what made him most happy, was when it added more features to the food machine after a long time of him begging. For some reason Maro was rather reluctant to do anything with the food machine after the first day.
Chef was truly an all purpose food machine that Earth would kill to have. That strange paste was able to recreate proteins such as meat, poultry, fish and such, to even complex liquids and sauces like ketchup and even soy sauce. If it weren't for Maro's strange sudden dislike of Chef, then he most likely would have made the area around Chef into a shrine. Food was a special thing for Sora.
After exercising he went ahead and took a shower. The shower on the ship was like a normal shower, glass case and shower head. But the shower head was the entire ceiling. The handles weren't there but were replaced with a digital panel that he could adjust the temperature manually. All cleaned of sweat, he would go into the kitchen and make himself a cup of cold milk and down it in a single gulp. This was one of the features that he had added to Chef. Temperature adjust for every item. He had cold, cooled, warm, and hot food whenever he wanted. Either at a press of a button or single sentence.
"Its been almost a month now. About 29 days. You said we'll be there around this time right Maro? Do you know much longer?" Sora said while going back to his room and laying down. Usually time was kept based on the rotation of the planet and around the sun. But for space, time was time. The amount of time that passed was 29 days and this was based on the ship's chronometer. Which tracked its own time and several others according to the settings. They should be arriving at the Sanctum any moment now.
Sora ordered an egg sandwich to fill his stomach. Since Maro made upgrades to Chef, he has been taking full advantage of it. Creating recipes, making a list of condiments, and just adding every snack he brought with him. At this point, it was full of different types of foods. Luckily Sora was smart and brought a variety of meats and vegetables. Otherwise he wouldn't have enough ingredient variety to make most of the dishes back home. He now had the flavors of home, away from home.
Whenever he finished his morning routine, the rest of his day would be a variety of things to choose from. First was a little tutoring from Maro. Mainly preparing his knowledge for when he was able to learn to fly and pilot the ship. There were simple simulations that Maro was able to produce but according to it, simulations still would not be able to reproduce the feeling in actual battle.
Combat training was another routine that was to prepare Sora for any combat situations outside the ship. Such as brawls, tactical operations, escape plans etc. This portion had two versions to train in. First was to train in ranged combat, basically using the guns in the armory and practicing his aim. The armory had a small range that was enough to hit a target down a single line. But the targets here were able to move because they were projected holograms. A total of 10 targets moved around while a timer was set. The goal was to shoot all 10 as fast as you can within a set amount of time of 30 seconds.
His first time trying to shoot with the handgun was amateur. He barely hit any targets and grazed most of them. But after several days of practice, his aim had improved quite a bit. Grazes and misses had become hits and bullseyes. And his total number of hits had gone up a decent amount and now was able to hit all 10 targets within the time limit.
The other type of training was close quarters combat. For this, the process was much slower for Sora to get the hang off and improve. The main problem was his physique and his capabilities. While endurance was not an issue, there was still his strength, his reaction speed, flexibility, and overall skill that was almost nonexistent. This was shown by a fight with a combat droid that was meant for training. The droid was able to fight like a normal person and improve with a person's progress. When Sora first tried to fight the droid, all it did was dodge his attacks left and right with minimal movement. Feeling embarrassed and annoyed, he took time out of his leisure to get better.
As of right now Sora was capable of handling a decent fight with the droid while it kicked and punched at him. There were a couple of times where Maro suggested using some basic melee weapons as well. All of those fights ended with him getting beaten, broken bones and bruises. Luckily the ship had state of the art medical equipment that was able heal everything within an hour or so. Lately his body has been feeling much better than when he was on Earth. Muscles and bones never ache now, he didn't have difficulty with anything anywhere, and his body in general was more comfortable overall. He just assumed it was due to the vat's medical solution that healed him just improved his health.
After his meal he laid for a moment to decide what to do. He's been training in combat based activities so far, and wanted to take a break for a day. His motto was to always rest after any type of hard work. Maro was able to make him a type of tablet for him to use and browse some of the entertainment that was available on the internet. It said it was able to download the entirety of the information from the internet, and started to sort it all based on what it was. A good portion of it was every film, uploaded videos and clips, photos and arts. Everything and anything you can find, Maro most likely had. There were also some inappropriate videos but Sora just told him to ignore and delete those types of videos.
But just as he was about to enjoy shows, Maro gave him a notice that they were almost arriving. After putting on some pants and grabbing a jacket, they both headed to the bridge and Sora sat down in the captain's chair. Excitement made him unable to keep still and antsy. A new world, a different planet, and a secret sanctum with who knows what inside. When they first took off he had difficulty sleeping because he wanted to get there already. It took him a couple of days to be able to sleep well. But now they were almost there.
Several minutes after they sat down, the lights from Jumping slowly dissipated and a planet the size of a quarter into view. As they got closer that quarter size planet grew into a large green and blue planet. There was more blue than there was green and in some places started to intertwine. The first human on Earth to visit another habitable luscious world. Around this planet were also 3 moons of different sizes near each other.
As they entered the planet's gravity, Sora was about to brace for reentry into the atmosphere. But surprisingly there was barely any turbulence. There was only a slight shake that you could hardly notice but he didn't think that was it. As they got closer and closer to the surface, he noticed this planet wasn't just green planets. There were some areas of different colors of different environments on the planet. Some were orange, purple, and even pink. It made Sora wonder if the plants and areas on this planet were artificial.
"Welcome to the planet Ayir." Maro said.
"This place is really nice Maro. Can't wait to look around the place and do some exploring!" Sora said as he looked out the window and at the different continents and islands.
"If you wish to explore the wilderness, you may at a later time. We will need to enter the Sanctum first as there are many things we need to begin immediately. We will be approaching momentarily.
Just as Maro said, a moment later a large building was coming into view. A large white building stood in the middle of a valley. There was thick golden lines traced along the edges and corners of it. A large circular platform was in the front of the building. It was more of a flat rounded top building, like a lid of a pot but the center was raised higher. The building shimmered in the light of the sun of this world.
"Yeah. That's about right." Sora said as he stared in amazed. The view he saw now was close to the image he made out about what it was going to look like. And so far it did not disappoint or fall short of any expectations.
The ship landed on the platform and Sora with Maro soon came out from the same entrance they had gone in. The air on the planet was breathable and according to Maro, much cleaner and fresher than Earth's air. He took a deep breath in on the new planet, and took an astronaut-like footstep off the ship. The air was cleaner and felt much better to breathe in. But what took that breath away was the size of the Sanctuary in front of him.
The size wasn't something he could see from above accurately. Now that they were on the ground, he could fully witness how big it truly was. The height was definitely taller than any building in Japan, especially in terms of both width and height. Maro moved forward and hovered in front of him before the building. He walked toward the building where a large circular entrance opened as they approached. It opened like a fault door and slid to the side.
Inside was a world straight out of a sci-fi show. Only the interior had tall buildings inside of it rather than them being outside. Giant machinery were everywhere with various shapes and designs. As they walked into the Sanctuary, things started to turn on and move. Lights turned on by themselves and soon after large thuds, slams and heavy sounds could be heard from all over the place. Eventually the room that was dimly lit became brighter and the building felt like it was coming to life. Like it was waking up from an extremely long slumber.
"On this floor is the production area. It is where all the work you wish to do can be done here. But before that I would like to say one thing. Welcome to your new home, Sora-sama." Maro said.
"Mm! Thank you Maro!" He said while giving Maro a smile.
The two of them went on a little tour of the main facilities inside of the Sanctum. If you ever had dreams of what a lab for inventors of all things, where all the robots, high tech devices and machines, and things that look straight out of a movie, then this place was it. Anything the ship had, this place was multiple times bigger and better. There were medical sections where all the hospital-like equipment was pretty much like a small hospital wing. The training center was incredibly more spacious and had more options available. Maro even said he would be able to take the power armor on the ship for a test run if he wanted to as well. The floors and walls here were made to withstand anything weapon and damage done to the surface. You could set off bombs in the place and it would barely dent and scratch the surface.
The production floor had everything you needed to remake every piece of technology, spare part and supply needed to maintain and survive. But due to the fact that Sora was incredibly incapable of understanding or even get how to use any of it. But just like on the ship, Maro was able to use any of the things within the Sanctum, getting full access and control. So if he really needed to use anything, Maro would be there to help him do it. Right now the ship is going under maintenance and overhaul. With millions of years since it last came back, there was much needed work on it to be at peak performance.
The residential section of the Sanctum was much larger than he thought. Dozens of rooms were available for use with a single suite that was the size of several rooms. While big it was also the same as the ship when Sora first got on, empty with only the basics. Bed and bathrooms, some types of cabinets and closets. But nothing luxurious. There was also a living room that was larger than the one on the ship with a kitchen as well. Only this time instead of another Chef, some kind of stove and oven were also available. Of course they weren't the same gas and electric oven on Earth but unique looking ones that confused him when he first saw them.
"Sora-sama, we have gone through almost every part of the Sanctum. The only place left is the Nexus, where a message from the scientists is left. It was his wish for a new descendant to hear his last words." Just when Sora was finishing up his tour Maro spoke up.
"Like a last will huh? Alright." Sora agreed and followed Maro. The two went to enter the Nexus, a place that was basically the center and hub for the entire Sanctum. They used an elevator to get to it, located under the building. When the doors opened and the Nexus Room started lighting up, a large table in the center started to display a map of the galaxy. There were containers and glass cabinets everywhere in the room. Each one having its own unique item and device. Some looked like metals, guns, devices and strange old artifacts.
Maro moved ahead of Sora and placed itself into a slow similar to the one on the ship. The light on the table changed color from a white to green. The image of the map disappeared and a hologram was being formed above the table. A person was projected in the middle of the room. This person looked like any old man on Earth, with only one difference. A strange star-like symbol was on the center of his forehead. This old man also had long hair that was tied back. His clothes were no doubt an Athalri lab coat, only it had several devices in the coat itself.
"Greetings. If you are seeing this message, it means Maro was successful in finding one of our gene seeds that was able to grow. The fact you are here also means you have chosen to throw away your old life and live a new one here among the stars, on a planet far away from home. I am truly thankful for that. Such a choice was surely not easy." The old man said.
"I am sure Maro has told you what I, and the will of my people, hope for you to do. We merely ask you to revive our people which can be done through various ways. The most typical method would be mate. Impregnant as many women that are suitable for your species as you can. And slowly build back up a new generation of Athalri children. Another is finding gene seeds among the population, and using his dna to clone more Athalri." The old man explained.
In short, Sora needed to bring the population of people with the Athalri gene seed. Either by mating and having kids with other people, or by making a clone of a person after we find a gene seed. After giving a speech about how they failed and messed up, the old man had a look of sadness on him. Before taking a deep breath and continuing.
"There is also one more thing, a personal request from me. In the last few years before the rest of my people died off, leaving me. There was another who was able to survive long enough to the very end."
'Another real Athalri lived? How come Maro never said anything' Sora thought to himself.
"The person was my daughter. She luckily did not get sick until the very end. Her last few moments with me were what pushed me to finish my work. Unfortunately I did not care for the Athalr. I didn't do this for them. My real goal was this." He said and suddenly a wall in the room opened up and showed a hall toward another room. The old man's hologram gestured to him to go over before disappearing, and the lights in the hall lit up.
Reaching the room at the end, there was a large glass cylinder vat in the center of the room. Inside was a strange greenish yellow liquid. But the most girl floating inside of the liquid.