Chapter 2 – April 2047 – Mars Base

──Calm down, Mikako.

First, locate the enemy. Focus your awareness in all directions.

Always keep an eye on the rear, above, and below—blind spots are common there.

I’m doing it. Just like in the lectures. And I’ve experienced it many times in the simulator.

Even with a real Tracer, I’ve trained repeatedly on the lunar surface. I’ve experienced the basic operations firsthand. Real or fake, there’s not that much difference. After all, even in the real one right now, I’m not seeing the outside directly—I’m just watching the images projected on the all-around screen.

But what’s a bit different is the sense of acceleration—something only the real thing can give. Even now, I’ve just launched from the Mars ground base, shooting straight up. The g-force is incredible—so strong it makes me feel dizzy.

I’m already used to the operating booth. The foot pedal movements, the swing of my arms, and the motion of my fingertips in sync with the panel.

This mission shouldn’t be too hard. Only one enemy, and its only weapon is missiles. No counterattacks, so there’s no need for evasive maneuvers. Ultra simple, really. But in a real battle, it probably wouldn’t go this smoothly. Of course, the training will gradually get harder, with more complex conditions added…

Still, according to the mission menu, it’s all combat training.

Isn’t that kind of weird?

Why? Are they assuming we’ll fight the Tarsians?

I don’t know. Thinking about it now won’t help.

Just do what I’m assigned. What I can do.

Yeah… I need to focus on what I’m doing right now.

Elapsed time: 120 seconds… One, two, three…

The launched target should appear any moment now.

Ah! The alarm went off!

Where? Where is it?

Calm down.

Ah! I found it!

Target locked! Fire!

…Please, hit it!

Missiles launched in quick succession from the Tracer’s backpack.

Two from each side, four total. Each one only about the size of a coffee can, but with exceptional destructive power and maneuverability.

The four missiles Mikako fired trailed toward the white dummy aircraft used for training, each tracing a different trajectory. The shape of the dummy resembled a stingray. It’s said its form and movement were designed to mimic a single Tarsian unit—but in reality, information on Tarsians is extremely limited.

The four missiles moved differently to counter the target’s evasive maneuvers. There are over a dozen possible tracking formations used to corner a target through teamwork, but which one to use is left up to the Tracer operator’s experience and split-second judgment.

Mikako was a rookie operator. And this was her first time firing real rounds. The target’s evasion patterns had been simplified for beginners and a single hit would be enough to pass. But if all four missed, she’d have to chase it down using the Tracer itself.

The dummy aircraft fired its boosters and accelerated, trying to escape in a nearly straight line.

The four scattered missiles were drawn toward the dummy’s flight path, converging and lining up in nearly the same trajectory as they pursued it. And behind them, Mikako’s Tracer followed remotely.

The chase unfolded against a red-brown, parched landscape. Mikako had the entire vast Martian airspace to herself. From high altitude, the Cosmo Interstellar 『Nart』battleship looked down, while from the ground, the training base and over a dozen Tracers waiting their turn watched Mikako’s fight—dozens of eyes fixed on her.

But inside the machine, Mikako had no time to worry about the gazes of her fellow operators or instructors.

──Please… hit it!

Like a prayer, Mikako kept her eyes fixed on the screen.

The lead missile locked onto the dummy aircraft. It quickly closed the gap and lunged from behind.

But—at the very moment it seemed about to hit—the dummy twisted nimbly, evading the first shot by the slimmest of margins.

Reading that evasive pattern, the second missile immediately shifted course. It arced wide, trying to circle around and cut off the dummy’s retreat.

To dodge the incoming second missile, the dummy further altered its path, making a lateral slip. As if anticipating that move, the third and fourth missiles charged in like a coordinated ambush.

Mikako’s large eyes sparkled as she stared at the screen.

──Really?

Two missiles struck and pierced through the wing section, which flared out like the fins of a stingray, and continued flying off toward the starry sky. There was no explosion. The warheads hadn’t been loaded.

“I did it! I hit it!”

Mikako couldn’t help but let out a modest cheer.

Flushed with excitement from the successful mission, her cheeks blushed with color.

The image on the screen—captured by the Tracer’s external camera—and the surrounding overlays displaying analysis data and support messages from the onboard computer, weren’t all that different from what she’d seen countless times in the simulator. But the fact that she was riding in the real thing made Mikako’s heart burn with exhilaration.

A calm, composed voice from the onboard computer announced the completion of the mission.

Mikako pursed her lips and let out a gentle breath, fuu.

──I have to head back.

The next trainee was waiting for their turn. She had to promptly vacate the training airspace.

With her fingertips dancing across the touch panel that floated before her as a 3D image, Mikako gave the command to return to base. The Tracer fired jets of control gas from multiple points along its body in sequence to reorient its direction, then tilted its head toward the surface and, like a skydiver, began plummeting straight down in near freefall.

The red terrain and the silver-glinting buildings rushed up at blinding speed.

Mikako wore a faintly lonely expression.

***

“Can you spare me some shampoo?”

The semi-transparent vinyl curtain between them rippled, and a foam-covered arm suddenly extended toward Mikako.

“Eh? You already used up your ration?”

Mikako stopped her shower and turned toward the adjacent stall.

Through the curtain, a faint outline of the person’s body emerged.

Though they weren’t too different in height, Mikako couldn’t help feeling overwhelmed by the well-defined curves of the silhouette.

“I mean, this little bit isn’t even enough to wash half. I know we’re not allowed to be extravagant on Lysithea, but this is Mars, right? We should have plenty of water here. Seriously, no need to be stingy with something like shampoo.”

“Yeah, I get that… Ah, but I have short hair, so I don’t need that much.”

Mikako handed the tube of shampoo to the outstretched hand.

“Thanks.”

The hand slipped back behind the half-open curtain. The sound of the shower stopping briefly was followed by shaka shaka, the noise of shampoo being lathered.

“I’m gonna use it all up, okay?”

“Eh… o-okay.”

There was no other way to respond.

“How’d you do today?”

“All three hits were on target.”

“Wow, no way—were you on Unit Two?”

“Yeah.”

“Man, I ended up in the leftover group. Barely cleared it at the very end.”

“Then… Unit Twelve?”

“Bingo!”

With a flourish, the curtain was flung fully open.

“I’m Houjou Satomi. Things are gonna be rough going forward, but nice to meet ya.”

She brushed the foam from her forehead with the back of her hand as she greeted her.

Mikako, startled, instinctively covered her chest and stared at her neighbor in surprise.

“I’m Nagamine Mikako.”

She gave her name in a hesitant, hoarse voice, clearly flustered.

“Middle schooler…?”

Satomi puffed out her full chest with a smug grin, giving Mikako a thorough once-over.

“I’m not. I graduated this spring. I mean, I didn’t actually attend the ceremony though.”

“Oh, really? Right, you were called up all of a sudden, weren’t you? But did you have enough attendance days?”

“I didn’t, but they made an exception. Still, saying I  『graduated』is just on paper—I didn’t get a diploma or anything, so it doesn’t feel real.”

“Hmm. You might be the youngest trainee, then? Ah—sorry, sorry. I’m seventeen. So I guess I’m your older onee-san by two years. In my case, I dropped out of high school on my own. According to the agent, it would count as either a leave of absence or graduation—didn’t matter. But since I basically already had a job lined up, I figured, who needs a high school diploma anyway?”

Satomi laughed out loud with a high-pitched kera kera.

“Have you made any friends?”

“There hasn’t been time for that… Besides, everyone around me is older…”

“Even if they’re older, the age gap isn’t that big. Among the people I know, the oldest is maybe twenty-one at most.”

“Also… I’m kind of shy around people…”

“Then I’ll be your friend. I might not be all that dependable, but nice to meet you.”

Satomi extended her sudsy hand and, without warning, pulled Mikako’s hand—still covering her chest—for a handshake. Mikako’s now-exposed chest was indeed flat enough that being mistaken for a middle schooler wouldn’t have been surprising.

“But honestly, only having girlfriends around gets kind of boring.”

Mikako didn’t know how to respond and simply smiled to deflect the conversation.

“I joined hoping for something new, like a fresh encounter. But it’s just disappointing. Feels like I was tricked. I had just broken up with my boyfriend after a fight and that’s part of why I volunteered.”

“Eh? Aren’t the male crew members on the other ships?”

“That’s what I thought at first too. One hundred crew per ship. Even if every one of them was a Japanese woman, the allocation wouldn’t technically be a problem. But it’s still weird, right? I secretly asked someone at the lunar base during training and found out—at least from what I heard—there hasn’t been a single male undergoing training yet.”

“Really…?”

“Really. But hey, don’t be too disappointed. Training on Mars is going to last a while, and yeah, it’s mostly old men, but there are some international delegates and some of them are actually pretty good-looking. It’s just… the competition’s fierce.”

“I’m not really… looking for that sort of thing…”

“You’re serious, huh? Totally the honors student type. But seriously, if you don’t enjoy things now, you’ll regret it. Once training ends and you get assigned to Cosmonaut duty, there won’t be any romance opportunities at all.”

“But if there’s no one on the ships, then…”

“Yeah, of course they’ve got captains, navigators, comms engineers and the bare minimum of maintenance crew onboard. But rumor is, they’re all old men. And thanks to automation, most of the shipboard work like cooking and cleaning is done by unmanned systems.”

“So… the trainees are all girls?”

“Exactly.”

“But why?”

“No clue. I have no idea. I’m sure the higher-ups have some kind of reason for it, but who knows what it is.”

“…Feels kinda like we were tricked. It’s complicated.”

“Well, no point thinking too deeply about it, right? I mean, getting to do space tourism for free? That’s already a win. Even the Moon, which they say is becoming a leisure destination, still isn’t easy to reach. But we’re not just on the Moon—we made it to Mars. We’ve experienced zero gravity, one-sixth gravity, one-half gravity. Oh yeah, did you know? After the intensive training ends, there’s going to be a Mars sightseeing tour. We’ll get to see the famous Tarsis Ruins up close.”

“Tarsis Ruins…?”

Mikako tilted her head in confusion.

“You know, the ruins that the name『Tarsian』comes from. Discovered by the first manned Mars exploration team—evidence of an extraterrestrial civilization…”

“Ah! I know! There was a photo of it in our social studies textbook!”

“Yep, that’s the one. Then, allow your big sister Satomi to be your tour guide and give you a full lecture on the Tarsis Ruins. There’s what looks like a city, and fossil remains of small and giant Tarsians… It was the biggest discovery of the century! I mean, it proved the existence of intelligent life beyond Earth, so the whole world lost its mind. It was a huge, huge, huge culture shock. After that, they set up a base camp beside the ruins and began full-scale excavation. That was back in 2039—eight years ago now. I was nine, and you were seven. The broadcast footage from back then is still burned into my memory, even if only vaguely.”

“I don’t remember it…”

“Well, fourth grade and second grade—there’s a big difference. So anyway, the investigation continued on a small scale, and then, based on the interim reports, they organized the real deal—『The First Mars Civilization Research Team』—and dispatched them to Mars. But then, something totally unexpected happened. As soon as they arrived at the base, before they could even rest from the long journey, the team began working full throttle. They poured in a huge amount of personnel and equipment and launched a full-scale excavation. Barely a week had passed when it happened… Right around when the round-the-clock news coverage had cooled down and related footage only aired during regular news slots. A breaking news alert hit—and the footage showed a totally changed Tarsis Ruins. Over half the ruins and the entire base camp had completely vanished. Like a nuclear explosion had gone off and wiped it out in one blast. You remember that shocking footage, right?”

“Sorry… I don’t remember seeing it in real time. Of course, the explosion scene was broadcast over and over, so I’ve seen it after the fact…”

“Well then, you do know about it. Guess I didn’t waste my breath. Not that I mind—since we’re on the topic, I’ll just go ahead and tell you everything that happened afterward too. Based on testimony from the few survivors, it became clear that it wasn’t an accident—it was an act of destruction. A giant Tarsian, nearly identical to the ones unearthed at the Tarsis Ruins, suddenly appeared and attacked the research team. As you know, even the footage that was sealed right after the incident was made public the following year—the one where a group of giant Tarsians is captured hovering above the base. What happened after that… well, you learned it in middle school. Under U.S. leadership, the United Nations passed the Tarsian Treaty, and countries began issuing independent states of emergency as they ratified it. The top priority became the investigation of the Tarsians—where did they come from, and what was their objective? Of course, the worst-case scenario of an invasion was immediately considered, which is why the construction of a global defense system began at the same time. It was rushed, sure, but using the existing space forces of major UN member states as a foundation, the United Nations Space Force was officially formed…”

“I know that part. We learned about it in school.”

Mikako nodded firmly, her expression serious.

“And then, somehow—we don’t really know how—we ended up being selected as members of the Tarsian Exploration Team. We’re going on a journey to find the Tarsians.”

“Since we were chosen to represent the entire world, that’s a huge honor, isn’t it?”

“It is… but it still doesn’t quite feel real, you know? I mean, the Tarsians haven’t shown up even once since that incident. I think it’s safe to say the idea of an invasion is off the table by now…”

Satomi folded her arms and struck a thoughtful pose for a moment, but then quickly resumed speaking.

“Araa, I guess we got a little carried away chatting. We’d better hurry up and get dressed, or we’ll miss dinner. This might be our only chance to eat real fresh vegetables for a while. Gotta stock up on nutrients while we can. Alright, see you in the cafeteria. Let’s sit together, okay?”

Flashing a bright smile, Satomi slid the curtain shut with a swish.

The sound of the shower resumed right away. Wanting to warm up her chilled body, Mikako reached out and turned her shower knob once more.

***

The cafeteria was bustling.

Every table was packed with girls around twenty years old.

About half of them had already finished their meals, but none seemed eager to leave—they were engrossed in lively conversation. Some didn’t join the chatter, instead quietly tapping away at their phones, likely writing messages to family left behind on Earth. It was a scene straight out of a women’s university dining hall.

After holding her issued ID card up to the sensor and receiving a tray with her meal from the counter, Mikako looked around the cafeteria in search of a seat. Groups had already formed everywhere, and she couldn’t find any spot that looked easy to slip into on her own.

As she stood there, unsure of what to do, someone waved her over.

It was Satomi—the girl she’d met in the shower room.

While most of the girls had changed into their issued matching training sweatshirts and looked relaxed, Satomi stood out, boldly wearing a denim jeans outfit from top to bottom.

Carefully weaving her way through the narrow gaps between tables, Mikako moved slowly and cautiously. It was only her second day on Mars, and she still wasn’t fully accustomed to the gravity. If she wasn’t careful, she’d end up bouncing by accident.

Satomi’s tray was untouched—either she had just arrived or had been waiting for Mikako. Sitting across from her, Mikako quietly placed her own tray down.

“Can I ask you something?”

Satomi rested her cheek on one hand as she spoke.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but… you’re kind of stubborn, aren’t you?”

Mikako was baffled as to why Satomi would say something like that.

“…Why do you think that?”

“Well, what you’re wearing—it’s probably your junior high gym uniform, right?”

Satomi pointed at Mikako’s clothes.

“They said we could wear whatever we want, and this is the most comfortable thing I have…”

“That might be true, but I bet the real reason is something else. Isn’t it because… you want to stay the way you were back in middle school?”

“That’s not…”

Mikako started to deny it but fell silent.

She hadn’t consciously chosen it for that reason, but Satomi’s insight hit uncomfortably close to home.

“Sorry—I said not to take it the wrong way, remember? Anyway, let’s eat. All the vegetables are grown right here on Mars. They use frozen underground water for cultivation. But because sunlight here isn’t as strong, the crops grow more slowly than on Earth… The miso-glazed taro and kinpira gobo, even the miso and tofu in the soup—they’re all made locally, apparently. Same goes for the rice. Isn’t it touching? They actually grew traditional Japanese ingredients just for us. Whatever the case, let’s be thankful to the staff. Itadakimaasu!”

“Itadakimaasu”

Before picking up her chopsticks, she quietly took out her phone from her jersey pocket and placed it next to the tray.

“Maybe it’s the gravity, but the rice doesn’t cook quite right, does it? Well, can’t complain too much, I guess,” 

Satomi said as she chewed her first bite of white rice.

“Oh—and sorry if this makes you feel weird again—but are you waiting for a message from a boyfriend?”

She pointed to Mikako’s phone with her chopsticks.

“He’s not exactly a boyfriend…”

“Let’s see, let’s see—give it here.”

Satomi quickly reached out and snatched Mikako’s phone from the table.

The lock screen showed a side profile of Noboru, dressed in a martial arts gi, a towel wrapped around his head.

“Huh. Not bad. Kinda handsome.”

Satomi gave a mischievous grin.

“Please stop!”

Mikako hastily snatched her phone back.

“Classmate? How far did it go?”

“It’s not like that!”

Mikako blushed and denied it firmly.

“So, did you confess?”

“Neither of us did. We were in the same club, and we promised each other that it’d be nice if we could go to the same high school…”

“I see, so he went to high school. But you came to Mars—while your heart stayed in middle school…”

Mikako stopped moving her chopsticks and lowered her head.

“Ah—sorry. I really am a mean girl. I guess I’m just jealous because I don’t have a boyfriend. But having someone waiting for you… that’s something really special. I’ll root for you two, okay?”

“Thank you. Satomi-san, you’re a really honest person.”

Smiling again, Mikako brought the Mars-grown miso soup to her lips.

***

『Noboru-kun,

We’ve been doing drills the whole time here on Mars.

Even so, among the selected members, I actually did pretty well.

I saw Olympus Mons and I also visited the Marineris Canyon.

And of course, the Tarsis Ruins. It was nothing like the photos in our textbooks.

There were only a few places open to the public—like what seemed to be living quarters or maybe a park—but just seeing it up close was so exciting.

It really hit me: the solar system doesn’t belong to Earthlings alone.

Long, long ago—even before civilization started on Earth—they had already built an advanced one.

Near the ruins, there was a memorial tower. It honors the spirits of the members of the First Mars Civilization Research Team, who lost their lives during the Tarsian attack.

Why did the Tarsians do something so cruel?

Was it because we tried to uncover the secrets of the ruins without asking their permission?

If so, then maybe their anger hasn’t settled yet.

Earthlings are trying to uncover every last secret of their civilization.

We’re absorbing the advanced technology they left behind and immediately applying it to all sorts of things.

The Lysithea is full of their tech too.

For example, the sub-light-speed navigation system and its propulsion components. But even more incredible—it’s equipped with an autonomous hyperdrive. We can jump 1.5 light-years in a single go.

Now it’s our turn to use their technology to chase after them.

The day we go out into the far reaches of space to follow them is coming closer with every passing moment.

Maybe the next message I send will be from the Lysithea, headed toward Jupiter’s moon, Io.

We depart from Mars tomorrow.

Little by little, the distance between us keeps growing, Noboru-kun.

The time it takes for my messages to reach you keeps getting longer and longer.

But even once I reach Io, I’m sure my messages will still reach you.

Because there’s a proper relay base on Io…

Well then, until next time.

From your top-of-the-class,

Mikako』