PinkPanther
Stories
3
Chapters
29
Words
105.2 K
Comments
2
Reading
8 h, 45 m
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Eight years—it’s a long time, and yet it can feel short. Especially in the field of science and technology. I’d been to the UN Space Force’s lunar base a couple of times before during my training at the Defense Academy and once more as a graduate student, tagging along as an assistant to a professor attending a seminar. That last visit, less than a year ago, was the first time I ever laid eyes on the newly developed Cosmo-Interstellar Naut warship. At the time, I’d only been able to gaze…-
32.8 K • Completed
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Mikako awoke to the murmur of voices around her. It was bright. She was definitely not inside the Tracer’s cockpit anymore. “Ah, you’re awake. Don’t move too much, okay? You’re fine—no external injuries. Of course, you can get up if you want to.” Satomi, who was sitting by the bed, spoke gently. “Ah... Satomi-san. You made it out safely.” Mikako glanced around as she spoke. She seemed to be in the medical room aboard the Lysithea. Several simple beds were lined up around…
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32.8 K • Completed
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I was a mess in the back seat of the taxi. Confused in every possible way. Confused at being called out in the middle of the night. Confused because my fleet assignment wasn’t supposed to start for a while yet. Confused because my family grumbled that I had just gotten home and was already leaving again. And especially confused because the destination wasn’t the United Nations Space Force Japan Branch in Tokyo, but instead the Saitama Aerospace Self-Defense Force Base. But above all,…
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32.8 K • Completed
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Attack data was flooding the screen one after another. On the spherical map, the current locations of the 500 Tracers and their pilots deployed across Agartha were displayed as green dots. A nearly equal number of red dots were now being stamped over them, overlapping the green ones. Each area where fighting broke out was boxed in and numbered. The numbers rapidly jumped into the double digits and, in no time, hit triple digits. The alarm blared. Seconds after the strike from the sky, a single…
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32.8 K • Completed
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Once it passed, eight years felt startlingly brief. Instead of just waiting endlessly for another message from Nagamine, I searched for and chose the path I needed to walk. But that doesn’t mean I ever forgot about her. I still haven’t let go of the phone I used back then. Well, it’s a phone just for Nagamine, so it doesn’t actually ring anymore. Even so, I’ve kept it charged regularly, and I haven’t once forgotten to renew the contract. That’s why—if things go right—I…
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32.8 K • Completed
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The second email from Nagamine, sent from the outer reaches of the solar system. 『We’re like lovers torn apart—one in space, one on Earth.』 Without thinking, I froze with my finger hovering over the button. Maybe the timing was too perfect, or maybe too cruel. I had just (sort of?) turned Takatori Youko down and this message hit me far too heavily. This was after just one year. I couldn’t immediately grasp what eight years and seven months would truly mean. Nagamine herself…
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32.8 K • Completed
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The point where the Lysithea fleet warped out—〈Sirius Line β〉—was a void space wrapped in darkness, devoid of any nearby star systems. Mikako experienced the moment of warp while lying on the Tracer that was being retrieved and carried into the garage. As the countdown echoing through the ship reached ten, all major power supplies were shut down, and the interior was swallowed by darkness. The container carrying Mikako’s Tracer also came to a stop in orbit. For safety reasons, the…
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32.8 K • Completed
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To be honest, I had no idea how I was supposed to spend this summer. It felt like I had a lot of options, but none of them really stood out. This time of year—like it or not—you start thinking about your future. Parents, teachers, classmates—everyone starts pressing you, 『What do you want to be? What do you want to do?』But there’s no way I’d have a clear answer to that. I mean, I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do with myself… Even under normal circumstances, my head…
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32.8 K • Completed
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【Noboru-kun, Mikako is on Pluto now. The farthest edge of the solar system—it really feels like I’ve come as far as one can go. There’s hardly anything new left to learn here. I’ve learned everything I needed to, and when it comes to piloting a Tracer, I’m ready for anything. What we’re doing here is searching for the Anchor Points. I might’ve mentioned this before, but the return shortcut anchors still haven’t been found. So, UN Space Force staff have been continuing…
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32.8 K • Completed
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【Noboru-kun, I’m sorry for disappearing so suddenly. Right now, Mikako is at the lunar base camp. I really meant to say goodbye properly but the pickup came with no warning at all. The night of the day we took shelter from the rain and walked home together, that agent showed up. He told me I had one hour to get ready—can you believe it? So unreasonable, right? Even my parents were outraged. They said that wasn’t fair. I hurriedly stuffed a change of clothes into my bag and before…
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32.8 K • Completed
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