The clouds parted as Samuel's majestic form ripped through the sky at sub sonic speeds. The team had resumed their journey after a night under the stars. They soon left the skies above Angola, entering that of Zambia.
"We've entered Zambian skies. It should take us just a little while to reach Tanzania. We will not be stopping again till we reach our destination. I'm increasing my speed. All of you hold on tight", Samuel instructed as his form changed slightly, giving him a more stream-like appearance. His eyes shrunk into slits as, with a beat of his sharper wings, his new form shot through the sky very well ripping through the sound barrier.
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Deep in the far outreaches of space, on the borders of the Aswan galaxy, a lone planet floated. The planet's name was Nixxelgha. It was a planet that floated out on its own after the gravity tethering it to its star weakened and lost hold over it.
Due to its size, it could very well be considered the Aswan galaxy's own version of Pluto. The Aswan galaxy is ten times bigger than the milky way as well as having twenty times the number of planets, therefore any comparison could be flawed.
Nixxelgha, since losing its tether, has been floating on its own barely keeping to the borders of the Aswan galaxy. Its only saving grace was that, unlike the Milky way galaxy, the Aswan galaxy's planets did not revolve around the star, rather, they just rotated at the fixed point in space of which the star's gravity was holding them.
This is exactly what kept the denizens of the planet from freezing to death instantly the moment they were untethered from their star. Because the planet still had access to the faint traces of light from the star in the Galaxy, the inhabitants had evolved to be able to withstand the colder atmosphere and were able to live relatively normal lives.
Another quality of this planet that kept it in the eyes of intergalactic travelers was the well-spring of Nuronium that was available on the planet. Nuronium is the main component used in making fuel for galaxy traversing ships. With large Nuronium deposits, the planet had a constant flow of income from investors and customers from other planets.
On one of the many loading stations, a lone ship sat; hooked up to the devices, as the ship was being repaired and upgraded as well as the fuel tanks being filled. On the opposite side, two brothers in fur coats stood near the ships loading deck as large crates filled with food and other essentials were loaded onto the ship.
"I can't stand this bloody weather", Caralmus said as he blew warm air into his hands and rubbed them together. "It kind of pisses me off that we are the only ones going through this", Caralcus said as he observed the locals dressed in regular clothing and moving around like it was the peak of summer.
"Let's just hurry up and get out of here. With, the money we won in the casino, we've been able to do much better than we originally planned. With an upgraded ship, we should be able to arrive faster than before. We've also been able to stock up more than enough food and essentials. Now, it's a straight route to those hiding royals", Caralmus said with an evil grin as they entered the ship and promptly left Nixxelgha.
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"We've entered Tanzanian airspace. We'll be arriving at the planned city in a few minutes", Samuel said as he flew across the sky. Their plan was quite simple. In an investigation, you do not go in guns blazing and ruin any chances of getting the information you want. Therefore, in order not to tip off whoever or whatever was causing the anomaly, their plan was to first land in Arusha, the tourist capital of the country. Once there, they'll disguise themselves as tourists to not draw too much attention and have a guide take them on the thirty-seven-mile journey to the base of the tallest mountain in Africa.
Samuel descended as they approached the city and landed in the forest a couple miles from the city. The capsule was dismounted and the others got down from it. Samuel transformed back into his human appearance and stretched out his body. "Let's take a few minutes to prepare and head out towards the city", Sylvia advised.
After thirty minutes, they had all finished changing into the stereotypical tourist outfits they had prepared. "Is everyone ready", Samuel asked as he put on his backpack with a water bottle strapped to it. """Yeah!!""" they responded excitedly. "Alright then, Delgato, you can go ahead", Samuel nodded at Delgato who turned to the capsule. He tapped his watch and spoke into it, "Prepare to stand by. Activate Sentry Mode!!".
The capsule hummed to life as propulsion devices activated under it and it slowly rose into the sky. After rising several meters into the sky, the cloaking mode was activated, turning the capsule completely invisible to the naked eye of a regular man or woman.
"How long can it stay cloaked up there", Sylvester asked. "It runs more on solar power when on standby mode so if nothing happens that drains more of its power, it should be able to stay in the sky indefinitely", Delgato answered.
"Great! Let's go", Samuel said as he turned and led them through the forest shrubbery until they reached the highway. They walked along the highway heading towards the city until they saw an empty minivan, serving the function of a cab, heading up the road. They immediately flagged down the vehicle and it stopped before them.
They entered the cab and it drove off. It was a little cramped but nonetheless, it was an interesting ride. The cab took them the rest of the way until they reached the city. They observed the city's landscape and infrastructure as the cab drove through it. Although not as advanced like their own cities, this city in the middle of Africa had a charm of its very own, with several aspects showing the various cultures of the country.
After a few minutes driving through the city, the cab finally stopped before the gates of a popular touring agency in the city. Sylvia paid the cab driver who thanked her and drove off. "Alright, let's get on with it", Samuel said as they entered the building.
They were welcomed by the receptionist who led them through the entire registration process. Any person who laid eyes on the group could not help but assume them to be very wealthy and try to earn a massive tip. Of course, they were filthy rich and they did exactly that. The price for a tour guide to the mountain was one hundred dollars. Sylvia gave the receptionist two hundred dollars for her trouble and finished the process.
They were then led to a posh waiting room to sit and relax as their driver was summoned. They were then served local fruit smoothies as refreshment. "This place is not bad. I guess it was made special because they are used to receiving foreign visitors", Catherina noted. "You're right", Delgato said as he took a sip of the fruit smoothie.
Half an hour later, a large open concept jeep pulled up in front of the building and the receptionist led the group to it. "Thank you for patronizing our services. We hope you have a safe and enjoyable tour", the receptionist said. The group thanked her as the guide started the car and took off. The car left the city and drove onto the highway, beginning the thirty-seven-mile journey towards the famous Mount Kilimanjaro.