Passing through the blue light gate, the Milano shot out of the training ground world and into space. The view outside the window abruptly changed from a clear blue sky to a boundless void of black dotted with specks of light, stretching infinitely in all directions.
Star-Lord had seen this scene countless times. Piloting a spaceship away from a planet and into the cosmic void was practically his daily routine.
But for Ethan and the others aboard the Prinz Eugen, this moment held a completely different significance.
"Finally... we've reached this point."
Logan stood behind Ethan, holding onto the co-pilot's seat as he looked out the window.
Although Ethan had said early on that their future goal was to break out of the planet and venture into the universe, back when Ethan was still piloting a sailing warship, and Logan knew this day would come eventually, he hadn't expected it to arrive so quickly.
Betty also felt a complex mix of emotions. She had previously thought Ethan's talk of leaving the training ground and flying into space was merely ignorant boasting.
She hadn't expected to be proven wrong so quickly. Although she now understood how Ethan was able to achieve this, the realization that she had truly left the training ground and was now in space still felt like a shock.
After all, deep down, her image of Ethan hadn't fully shifted from that of a training ground native, even though she clearly knew he was very different from the others.
The rest of the people didn't have many strange thoughts. Except for Mordred and Galahad, the others weren't new to space. They had already experienced their awe.
However, Galahad and Mordred turned into question machines, constantly asking about things they didn't understand. Their previous knowledge didn't include cosmic space. Although they had learned a lot aboard the Prinz Eugen, much of it was just dry information they had heard once without truly grasping the concepts. Now, they were finally connecting that information to reality, which also led to even more questions.
Fortunately, Annette was also on the ship. As the only scientist aboard the Prinz Eugen, she could effectively answer the various questions Mordred posed.
After flying forward for a while, the Milano stopped, adjusted its position slightly, and turned to face the direction they had come from.
Yondu, piloting his fighter, followed closely behind. Seeing the Milano stop, he also adjusted his position and stopped beside it.
Everyone gathered near the cockpit, looking out through the fighter's front window towards the distance.
That was the place they had lived for a considerable time. Even after putting some distance between them, the training ground still appeared very large.
From their position above the training ground in the Milano, they could clearly see the entire training ground's weather distribution. The storm seas, resembling walls, were particularly prominent from this angle, perfectly dividing the training ground into inner, middle, and outer regions.
"So that's what it looks like?"
From this angle, the training ground appeared like a plane, although in reality, the sea surface had some curvature.
"It looks like an ark ship."
Star-Lord had already understood the mission. They were to travel to nearby planets and survey them to see if they were suitable for life.
If they were habitable, all the people on this ark ship would be relocated to a real planet.
Of course, how to transfer so many people was not Star-Lord's concern. He was only responsible for surveying the planets.
"Is that the planet?"
The entire training ground was actually within the gravitational influence of the nearby planet, orbiting it like a small moon.
It was precisely because it was captured by the planet's gravity that the training ground didn't keep flying towards the star and eventually get swallowed by it.
One could say this planet was the savior of the training ground and all life on it. Now, they would see if this savior could truly persist to the end and accept the intelligent life from this training ground to settle there.
As Star-Lord shifted the topic to the current objective, everyone on the Milano also turned their gaze towards the planet further in the distance.
It was a planet that was mostly blue-purple. It wasn't clear yet whether this color was due to unique vegetation on the planet or some component in the atmosphere. They would need to get closer to find out.
The only thing they could confirm for now was that the planet was quite beautiful.
"Shall we head out now?"
"Let's go."
This wasn't the right time to stay here looking at the training ground and feeling nostalgic.
Determining the planet's situation sooner would also allow them to resolve the training ground's crisis earlier. Once this matter was handled, he could do whatever he wanted without any worries.
The Milano adjusted its direction slightly, restarted its engines, and flew towards the purple planet.
Yondu followed closely. At the speed of these two Ravager fighters, they didn't fly for long before entering the purple planet's atmosphere.
"Begin atmospheric composition analysis."
While piloting the ship, Star-Lord instructed Gamora, who was in the co-pilot's seat, to conduct environmental scans of the planet.
At the same time, he was observing the planet with his own eyes.
Although the planet's air conditions weren't clear yet, he could already see the purple color covering almost the entire planet below.
The plants covering the land in the distance were purple, and even the ocean below was purple. This planet had a large amount of liquid water, and from the direction the Milano entered, the area covered by liquid water was considerable, likely occupying about half of the planet.
"What's the situation?"
Gamora reeled off a string of data, which made Ethan feel dizzy. Fortunately, Gamora summarized it in simple terms at the end. "Based on the data observed so far, the planet's atmospheric environment is suitable for human life... I used Peter's environmental requirements as the baseline."
Star-Lord's requirements for a habitable environment were the same as an average Earthling, only his resistance to extreme environments was slightly stronger. For example, an ordinary person would die quickly in a vacuum, while Star-Lord could last for a few minutes longer.
Therefore, an environment where Star-Lord could survive normally was equivalent to one suitable for ordinary humans.
"That's good news."
Suitable air composition solves many problems. Combined with the planet's abundant liquid water, the basic conditions for life are present.
As for food... I wonder if those purple plants are edible?
By this time, the Milano had entered the planet and was cruising in the air at the lowest possible flying speed, while also conducting further scans of the planet's conditions.
"Are there any signs of life?"
This time, Ethan didn't ask Star-Lord, but Logan who was standing nearby.
Ever since entering the planet, Logan had closed his eyes and continuously sensed the planet's life force. As a druid, even a novice one, he possessed the ability to sense life.
"I can feel a very strong vitality, but I don't sense any true life."
Star-Lord didn't know what Logan had done to make that judgment. Anyway, Ethan and his group all possessed some strange powers, so he wasn't surprised by it.
However, after the Milano had flown for a while, it finally moved from above the sea to above the land, and at this point, Gamora's data showed some changes.
"Peter, decrease altitude."
Star-Lord lowered the flying altitude as Gamora instructed. The Milano was now flying at a low altitude, and the dense purple forest below seemed to be right under their feet.
At this altitude, everyone could clearly see that the purple forest was filled with a light purple mist, which looked ethereal and dreamy.
However, the scan results provided by Gamora were not so pleasant.
"The air in this area contains many special components. Since there's no corresponding data in the database, I don't know what effects these components will have."
This wasn't surprising. After all, it wasn't the same universe, and even within the same universe, different planets might have some unknown elements.
"Let's continue flying for now and observe the general situation in this vicinity. Then we can decide whether to land and conduct a ground survey."
The data obtained so far was generally ideal, but Star-Lord didn't rashly land the Milano. Instead, he had the two fighters split up and continue observing in different directions to collect more data before deciding on the next step.
Furthermore, considering that the dense purple forest and thick fog made it impossible to see clearly below, except for the initial descent to collect some data, the two fighters maintained a higher altitude at other times to avoid something suddenly leaping out from below and attacking them.
After over a dozen hours of observation, the two fighters regrouped and ascended back into orbit before stopping.
"Based on the data we just observed, we can definitely proceed with a ground survey. Why aren't we choosing to land directly?"
This arrangement was requested by Ethan. He didn't plan to have the two fighters land and stay on the planet.
"To ensure the fighters aren't attacked," Ethan made a gesture with his finger, "even if they stay here, I have a way to get onto this planet."
Star-Lord nodded. Ethan's suggestion was a precaution, and after hearing the explanation, he also thought it was a good choice.
"So, you'll take us to the ground next?"
"Yes, we'll go down to the surface to take a look. Then the specific surveying work will be your responsibility. I'll just be responsible for protecting you and ensuring I can bring you all back safely if necessary."
If things went smoothly, they might even establish a temporary camp on this planet.
This arrangement sounded fine, and Star-Lord thought so too. He also decided on the members for the first landing party, including Star-Lord and Ethan, as well as Nebula, Rocket Raccoon, Logan, Groot, and Annette.
(To be continued.)