Star Citizen Online: Isekai Edition

Once they transported the captured Infested back to the Xeno Containment Unit at the Headquarters of the Imperial Colonial Defense Forces, together with the most prominent Infested, Colonel-Bashar Azthar Harzan, they were easily free to where they wanted.

After they gave the last of the Infested to the Imperial custody, then they were free to wander off, because their mission had officially ended. Now, until the Cosmic Storm Shroud over the Ziras Star System and surrounding Star Systems has been ended, they had free time for themselves.

Though, as was expected, Zehal volunteered herself for General Velot Rathari as help for the research on the captured Infested in the Xeno Containment Facility. She was rather eager to be a part of the research team that was working on the new form of the Infestation Bug, even though it was far from her own expertise.

But Zehal was always a curious soul, and it seemed that the new evolutionary approach of the Infestation Bug had fascinated her to a degree, so she wanted to work on their research, at least on the preliminary one.

On the side, through this way, she would be able to obtain new extra Credits for the Grand Examination at the Imperial Phoenix Military Academy, which was an added bonus, and she would be able to broaden her horizons.

Xenobiology was far from her area of expertise.

Meanwhile, that left Arcturus and Jenaiel alone most of the time because Zehal spent the majority of her day at the Xeno Containment Facility, where she was an assistant researcher to the main researcher, General Rathari Velot.

Which would look pretty good, because the eldery Asurynai was a well-accomplished researcher within the Imperium. If there was one occupation that nejyoed a lot of respect within the Imperial society, only something blew the powerful professions, it was the researchers.

He was majoring in the research of Xenobiology, with a specialization in Arachnids, but his secondary major research area was Bio-Technology.

The Biological Technology, like the bugs were using, because even though this was rather a particular branch of the technological development, which was mostly useless to the Eternal Empire of the Asurya, it was important to know your enemy.

Even then, the Asuryni could learn a lot about knowing the weak and strong sides of the Arachnid Bio-Technology because the knowledge was key to the victory. Thus the Asruyani were working a lot on understanding the technology of the bugs, and at the same time, it also propelled their own technology by whole decades.

One could say that Asuryani were lucky in this regard, because they were already a species that was very talented and advanced in the aspect of Genetic Engineering and their Biological Research Tree was far ahead of many High-Level Civilizations and High-Level Star Nations.

So when they started researching some of the captured Arachnid Technologies, they were actually able to reverse-engineer some of them and even incorporate their elements into their own technological tree.

Which was rather a staggering achievement.

But it was also staggering luck at the same time, because without their already very advanced Genetic Engineering they wouldn't be able to understand even a bit from the Biological Technology of the Arachnids.

Across the Cosmos, there were not many species that were able to do the exact same thing without the help of their Innate Abilities or some Psionic Skills. Yet the Asuryani were able to achieve this due to their own advanced Genetic Engineering.

Which was rather oddly fitting for the species that was artificially created.

Today it was already ten days since the end of their mission and the cleaning out of the entire Colony, even though the Colony World was still recovering from the large-scale cleaning out operation, as several hundreds of people were arrested or killed.

When the Imperial Marine Colonial Defense Forces and Imperial Colonial Defense Army started the lockdown and cleaning operation across the entire Ziras IV, there has been some fighting across the entire Colony and some parts of the Ziras were even destroyed in the fighting against the Infested.

Even after the ten days, the entire Colony was under the Martial Law and the Emergency State was also still in action. The number of citizens and people on the streets wasn't really that high, as most of the people were still remaining home, due to the Martial Law and Emergency State, and these states would ned in next week or os.

There were still some last works on the repairs and cleaning out after the fights.

During the cleaning out operation, an entire block of the inner area of the city became contaminated as one of the Infested Bugs that was inhabiting the body of Delta-Grade Psionics was mutated and managed to release some poisonous gas into the air.

Or something like that, so due to that, the time that was required for the Martial Law and Emergency State got prolonged, at least, until they finally solved those matters. Of course, this had nothing to do with Arcturus and Jeniael who were given free hand to move across the city.

"So, what are we going to do today?"

Since the morning Jenaiel was following after Arcturus like a dog, to the point where already found it pretty amusing and annoying at the same time. She was rather hyperactive and constantly needed to do something, so it was hard for her to be just in one place and do nothing...

It was somewhat challenging.

And excruciating.

"We are not going to do anything. I am going to rest, drink some hot chocolate and watch the snowfall from the mountain villa near the city. If you want, you can come, but don't cause any chaos and no hunting for the local beasts that are in the vicinity of the city."

Arcturus said because today he was going just to rest. However, he was also moving his things from the hotel to the mountain villa that he had rented or rather they allowed to stay for free because he wanted to get out from the city.

He was never a fan of living in the cities, as everything was crowded together and well... being in some place alone in the silence sounded far better than being surrounded by the sounds of the heavy industrial machinery, factories, and people screaming here or there.

Zehal wasn't really interested in leaving the city because she was working in the Xeno Containment Facility, and apparently, she was performing very well there, much to the pleasure of General Ratheri Velot, who only had praises for her.

Meanwhile, Jenaiel was spending all of her days training as usual, or when she wasn't training, she was bothering Arcturus and trying to convince him to go with her on the hunt, something that he was vehemently against.

And Arcturus, he just wanted to laze around and make use of the hospitality of the Office of the Governor-General Office of the Ziras. He wasn't that much of a training maniac like Jeniael, who was spending all of her free time in the training room, either doing some body training or practicing her swordsmanship.

"You know that the approximate time of duration of the Cosmic Storm Shroud is another three or four months? Probably... who knows, but we are stuck at this planet for a few more months, so I want to relax a bit. And in truth, you should too."

Arcturus said as he was heading toward the vehicle that would take him to the mountainside villa that he allowed to stay, while Jeniael strolled after him carefully and thinking about his words.

"If you say so..."

She said unsurely as she wasn't really used to resting and lazing around... in fact, Jenaiel was probably the most hardworking person that Arcturus has ever met, because the girl was using everything she could do to improve herself.

Jeniael's routine was giving new definition to the words "spartan training", because she was training extra hard, like really, really extra hard every single day until her strength allowed her to train.

Adn even when she wasn't training and she was technically sresting, she was using that time to read and study Martial Arts, various books and studies on the combat tactics and rpacilcale anything that could make her stronger in the long term.

So from this regard it was certainly admirable.

"Come... even in the villa there is a training room and sparring ring, so when you got bored we can train together."

In the end, Jeniael nodded her head to his proposal and they headed toward the villa that was lent to him. It would take them around one hour to arrive there from the capital city of the Ziras IV, as the villa was a bit far from the city.

Arcturus wanted some quieter place where he could spend the next three or four months until they would be on the planet, as he was already fed up with the city.

***

Somewhere near the Ziria, One Hour Later

On the edge of a snow-covered mountainside was an opulently and luxuriously looking mountainside villa constructed in the typical Imperial architecture that was a mixture of anything Gothic, Victorian, Steampunk, and with added futuristic elements.

The blend of classical elegance with futuristic ingenuity. That was the thing that made him fall in love with the Imperial Architecture and its beauty.

Its towering spires, capped with copper domes, glistened under the pale winter sun, while frost clung to intricate iron filigree that wrapped around balconies and arched windows.

The structure itself, built from a mix of dark oak, stone, and burnished brass, exuded a commanding presence against the stark white landscape. Steam drifted from ornate chimneys, carried by the crisp mountain air, as the massive clockwork tower stands sentinel above, its golden gears shifting in a silent, precise rhythm.
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"Well... this is certainly something."

Arcturus muttered as he got out of the vehicle and helped Jeniael exit while he looked around. It was really beautiful and very something that was oddly sitting very well with his tastes to the point where he was even thinking about purchasing this villa.

Well, it wasn't like it was outside of his financial capabilities, because it cost something around several million Universal Credits, like five or six million Universal Credits. Such a number wasn't exceptionally high, in fact, for a villa of this size and style.

It helped a lot that this was the outskirts of the Imperial Space that was under the constant threat of the Arachnids, and in fact, due to the news of the infestation of the bugs on the Ziras IV, the prices of the properties went down by a good number, in fact.

"Well... I've seen better."

He rolled his eyes at her comment, because well... she was from the most prestigious Aristocratic Bloodlien Lineage House of the entire Eternal Empire of the Asurya and the only one with living Beyodner Realm Professionals.

So...

Yeah.

This kind of luxury was rather average and ordinary for the members of the House Luxford.

They passed through the grand double doors, reinforced with brass and adorned with swirling carvings of Phoenix and several other mythical creatures that served as the decorations for the doors, the villa's opulent interior unfolded in front of their eyes.

A sweeping staircase of polished mahogany and gilded railings curves gracefully toward upper balconies, while towering bookshelves line the grand hall, filled with both leather-bound tomes and glowing data-scrolls.

The chandeliers, an exquisite fusion of candlelight and humming plasma cores, cast a warm golden glow, illuminating walls of dark wood paneling inlaid with shifting mechanical motifs. A fireplace, powered by an endless energy core, crackles softly, filling the air with a comforting warmth that contrasts with the icy world outside.

Scattered throughout the villa, clockwork androids with porcelain faces glide silently across marble floors, their brass limbs moving with eerie precision, tending to their duties with an almost human grace.

This villa was a work of one famous Asuryani Architect who got inspired by the Steampunk genre and wanted to recreate the villa and the entire dwelling in this style. To add the realism and comfort, he even ordered specifically constructed bots in the Steampunk style.

So everything within the villa was in this kind of style and previously this villa was supposed to be one of the jewels of the Colony and supposed to attract wealthy Asuryani to the planet, because there were similar locations like this one.

Unfortunately, the bugs came first.

A glass-domed observatory crowned the upper level, where a rotating mechanical telescope scanned the skies and stars, its polished brass components aligning with celestial bodies far beyond the visible spectrum.

Pipes of gilded steamwork snake along the corridors, carrying warmth and energy throughout the villa, their rhythmic hiss forming a steady backdrop to the sounds of clicking gears and the occasional whirring of unseen machinery.

A secret airship hangar, carved into the mountain itself, houses a sleek, retro-futuristic vessel, its elegant brass hull gleaming under the glow of blue energy filaments. This was one of the added features of the villa that the architect created, as the wonder could use the airship to travel around the region.

It couldn't fly far and it was more or like for the relaxation flight if anything else. Arcturus and Jenaiel observed most of the rooms through the holographic display that gave them a view of the entire villa.

Outside, an iron bridge extended toward a mechanical greenhouse. Its glass panels shimmered with frost, housing rare flora from distant lands beneath the protection of artificial sunlight.

Beyond the villa's immediate grounds, the landscape stretched into a vast expanse of snow-draped pines and jagged peaks, while distant steampunk outposts glowed faintly through the swirling mist.

At the villa's edge, there was a secluded terrace, carved into the mountainside, hosting a natural hot spring, where the rising steam danced against the cold night air, offering a haven of warmth amidst the unrelenting winter.

"Well, it's better than I thought. Can I go and select my room? I want the best one so the nerd can only envy me..."

Jeniael muttered as she swiftly disappeared into the depths of the villa to check on the rooms and select the best one for herself.

Zehal would come to the villa several days later, as she got a leave from the Xeno Containment Facility, because they would be doing some analysis of the gathered data through the Colony's Super AI overseeing the Colony.

And that would take some time because they gathered a lot of data.