Chapter 4 – 4 August 2047 – Pluto

【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 the search, and I’m here to assist with that.

There’s no base camp on Pluto yet.

So in a way, this counts as another form of training.

We’re on three-team rotation shifts, each spending eight hours a day outside the Lysithea searching for points. It’s also considered part of our launch training and once we’re out of the ship, we’re free to move around as we like.

Since the Tracers were originally designed as exploration machines, they’re equipped with all kinds of sensors, making them perfect for this kind of job.

Still, I doubt we’ll find anything.

Ah, I’m actually inside my Tracer right now, during my shift. Of course, I’m not slacking off—I’m doing my work properly. Though, to be honest, the one really doing the work is the onboard computer. Mikako is just here keeping an eye on it. So far, no abnormalities.

From this planet onward, there won’t be any more bases, which means no more support. It really feels like we’re finally setting out on a true journey.

After we leave here, our next destination is still a secret.

Near the satellites within the solar system, we’re also conducting surveillance for the Tarsians while searching for shortcut anchors.

But no sightings of the Tarsians have been confirmed yet.

That’s why I’m pretty sure we’ll end up venturing beyond the solar system.

Actually, when we stopped at the Europa base, there was a small crew rotation. I only heard it as a rumor, but apparently one or two ships from the fleet might stay behind here on Pluto as a rear support unit.

I’m still stationed on the flagship Lysithea.

So I guess that means I wasn’t picked to stay behind.

Noboru-kun, honestly… I hope we never find the Tarsians. I don’t want to go out into some unknown, even farther part of space.

I hope nothing happens and the day I get discharged comes quickly… that I can return to Earth soon.

Noboru-kun, will you wait for me until that day comes?】

***

After typing that far, Mikako stopped her hands.

—Noboru-kun, will you really wait for me?

She let out a quiet sigh as she stared at the display screen of the mobile device in her hand, and then casually deleted the last line.

—How many years will it be before I can return to Earth? The agent guy said just two or three years, but even the enlistment date was completely off, so I can’t really trust that. But now that I’ve come this far, there’s no turning back. Even if I wanted to run away, a Tracer can’t make it back to Earth. Maybe if I faked an illness, I could get assigned to the group staying behind. That’s really the only option I’ve got.

“Mikako, slacking off again, aren’t you!”

A loud voice echoed through the booth, snapping Mikako back to her senses.

She looked up and saw Satomi projected across the screen in full size.

“I’m not slacking off!”

“Really? There you are with your phone again. You were emailing Noboru-kun, weren’t you? Even if you hide your phone in a hurry, it’s totally obvious. Should I report you to the commander…?”

“You’re so mean…”

“I’m joking… Look, even if we’re searching like crazy in a place like this, there’s no way we’re gonna find some shortcut anchor that easily. They’re letting us get some fresh air since keeping us cooped up inside the ship all the time would be too much…”

“Satomi-san, is something…?”

Wanting to finish her message, Mikako cut her off.

“Is something? C’mon, it’s time to switch shifts with the next team.”

“Eh? Really?”

She glanced toward the time display in the corner of the screen.

Nearly eight hours had passed since she left the ship.

“You seriously need to get it together. If you don’t get back soon, the landing gate’s gonna close on you.”

“Satomi-san, where are you?”

“I’m in the landing queue. When I saw you hadn’t returned yet, I got worried about my adorable little sister and took the time to call you, even though I’m super busy. You haven’t been yourself lately. Well, I guess expecting you to stay cheerful after coming all the way out to Pluto is asking too much. Anyone would get homesick. But especially you, being the youngest, I just can’t leave you alone…”

“Do I really look that down?”

“You do, you do. You’re in your growing years, but ever since we got to Pluto, you’ve been leaving food on your tray every single time.”

“I just got tired of the ship food…”

“That’s not all. I’ve been wondering for a while now—can I say it?”

“What is it…?”

“Your outfit!”

Satomi pointed her finger.

“Is something weird…?”

“Well, once you’re in the booth, you’re alone. No one’s watching, and as long as it doesn’t interfere with operations, they say you can even be stark naked—but come on, that outfit is just not it.”

“You think so? I just like wearing it, that’s all. No big deal.”

“It is a big deal! Why are you wearing a school uniform? And not just any uniform, your middle school one?”

Satomi’s tone turned sharp, and Mikako’s eyes widened as she looked down at herself. A short-sleeved white shirt and a burgundy tie—it was indeed her summer uniform from middle school.

“If you ask me why…”

“It’s because you’ve left your heart back in middle school, isn’t it?”

“Maybe so. I just can’t bring myself to wear the clothes they gave us.”

Mikako looked down, averting her gaze.

“You’re unconsciously rejecting being part of the unit.”

“I don’t hate it or anything… living on the fleet.”

“But from the outside, it looks like the only time you’re alive is when you’re piloting a Tracer, doing exercises. You’re treating it like your old middle school club activities, aren’t you?”

“Well, even if you say that… I don’t know what to do…”

Mikako lifted her head. Her eyes were glistening with tears.

“You…”

Just as Satomi was about to say something, an alarm blared through the booth.

“What’s going on? It’s sounding over here too. I’m cutting off now!”

Satomi’s image disappeared and the screen switched to a graphic display showing the current positions of the fleet’s ships against the backdrop of Pluto.

『Tarsian incoming! Tarsian incoming! Tracer units, prepare for launch!』

—No way!

『All crew currently in the field, return to mothership immediately!』

—Where from?

—Why so suddenly?

There was no time to think. Mikako leapt into action.

“Where? Where is the Tarsian?”

She questioned the onboard computer.

A red dot appeared on the deployment map.

“Near Lysithea. It’s approaching Lysithea.”

“Where am I?”

A blue dot lit up on the screen.

Close. She was positioned even nearer to the Tarsian than Lysithea.

“Allies?”

Three green dots were scattered across the display.

“Approach the Tarsian at full speed!”

She gave the order and locked her focus on the screen.

No Tracer units had launched from Lysithea or the other ships yet.

Two of the ally units were returning to their ships. But one, positioned almost directly between the Tarsian and Lysithea, had turned and begun heading toward the Tarsian.

“Ah—wait! What are you doing? Are you planning to fight alone?”

Mikako’s Tracer continued accelerating toward the red dot but she was approaching it more from behind and at an angle.

“What’s the time until predicted encounter?”

『Fifty-seven seconds.』

“Ally unit?”

『Twenty seconds.』

“Zoom in!”

The view closed in on the red dot, centering it in the frame, with only the green and blue dots now visible.

“Ah! There’s three of them!”

The red dot that had appeared as one had split into three.

The green dot representing the allied unit dashed forward with bakushin.

『Beginning deceleration.』

The onboard computer’s voice was dry and mechanical.

“Wait—keep accelerating. I’ll take it from here.”

She already knew she wouldn’t make it in time either way.

But still, she couldn’t bring herself to slow down. Mikako reached out and tucked her phone into the side compartment of the booth.

Then she thrust both hands into the control gloves at her sides.

The three red dots and the green dot steadily closed the distance.

—What’s going to happen?

—Isn’t anyone going to come help?

『Launch! Tracer unit, launch!』

Finally, the command from the ship’s bridge came through.

“Ugh, too late!”

On the screen, the red and green dots overlapped completely.

Mikako gasped. She shut her eyes for a second, turning her face away from the screen.

When she turned back and opened her eyes, the green dot had vanished from the display.

—What happened? Did they get taken out?

“Decelerate! Full speed deceleration!”

She shouted, kicking the deceleration into gear with manual controls.

“How many seconds left?!”

The computer recalculated.

『Seventeen seconds.』

The distance had shrunk drastically. Mikako switched to the live video feed.

Three silver-shining flying objects appeared—this was her first time seeing them.

『…Ten seconds.』

They must have noticed Mikako’s Tracer.

The Tarsians, who had been flying in formation, split apart in three directions, each veering onto a separate trajectory.

—It’s okay… I’m still approaching from behind.

Mikako locked onto the Tarsian still flying straight toward Lysithea. She made fine adjustments and slipped in right behind it.

“Stop deceleration!”

She closed in steadily on the silver object.

“Analyze!”

She activated all of the Tracer’s onboard sensors, collecting data on the Tarsian.

One by one, analyzed results appeared on the screen.

Total length, wingspan, estimated mass, surface materials, surface temperature, internal structure…

Aside from what had been gathered from the Tarsis Ruins, almost nothing was known about the Tarsians. Some information on their physical form and biology had been obtained from mummified fossil remains dug up at the ruins. But that was from tens of thousands of years ago—this was likely the first-ever close encounter with a living Tarsian.

—Hey, what did you come here for, just three of you? Are you scouts gathering intel?

『…Two seconds… One second. Distance locked at 1,000 meters.』

—Aren’t you going to attack? Hey… what should I do?

The ally who had charged at the Tarsians head-on had vanished.

What kind of contact occurred between them? Were they attacked without warning and wiped out instantly?

—Should I wait? But if I do, at this rate, it’ll crash into the Lysithea!

The alarm blared throughout the booth.

『All Tracers, surround and attack the Tarsians!』

—So it’s okay… to fight.

Gritting her back teeth tightly, Mikako steeled herself and launched into combat.

“Accelerate! Close in to 500!”

She stared at the distance display, and once she closed in to 750, she made her move.

“Firing six missiles!”

—Hit it!

Tracing a path that looked random at first glance, the six missiles pursued the Tarsian.

But the Tarsian, seemingly detecting the attack, began a sideslip evasive maneuver.

“After it!”

Mikako’s Tracer locked on tight and closed the distance.

“Prepare Vulcan cannon!”

From her left arm, a box-shaped turret extended outward.

The Tarsian skillfully dodged two of the missiles with evasive movement.

Then, it fired red beams at the two closing missiles.

Bathed in the light, the missiles exploded almost simultaneously.

The two remaining missiles that had lagged behind were caught in the explosion and triggered a secondary detonation.

Mikako’s view was filled with white light for a moment, and she lost sight of the Tarsian.

“Where… where did it go?!”

The distance remained fixed at 500.

Mikako glanced around the full-range display screen.

Not above her. Not below her feet.

“Hah! Right behind me!”

Mikako kicked the control pedal.

The Tracer spun like a somersault in midair, performing a half-rotation.

“Found you!”

She shouted, simultaneously pressing the fire button inside the control glove.

The turret burst into flame, bababababa! firing twenty rounds.

At the same time, Mikako performed an evasive maneuver—pressing down on the control pedal and sinking into a curved path while maintaining distance.

—Please hit!

If this were just a drill, the target would’ve been taken out cleanly. But this was real combat, and far too much about Tarsian battle behavior was unknown. Not only had they swatted away all six missiles, but she hadn’t even noticed when one got behind her—that had been completely unexpected.

She stared at the projectiles. The Tarsian had begun to move into an evasive pattern.

—Please reach!

The twenty shots were set with slightly staggered impact points to cover multiple escape routes. If even one hit…

“Next round, ready!”

The Tarsian twitched slightly, as if stumbling.

—Did I hit it?

Its movement wobbled like a drunk driver swerving on the road, and then suddenly, the Tarsian bakuhatsu exploded.

Its silver, gleaming carapace shattered into flying pieces.

“I did it! I hit it!”

But that wasn’t the end.

『Approach! Incoming!』

The onboard computer issued a warning.

A new object was closing in on the Tracer at high speed.

The joy of success caused Mikako to let her guard down, and she couldn’t react in time—she could only stare at the approaching object. Perhaps the Tarsian had ejected it in its final moments—another silver-shining body, slightly smaller, was rushing toward her.

For some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to fire the Vulcan cannon.

At the same time, she didn’t feel as though the thing was trying to attack.

The Tarsian slid in so close it felt like she could reach out and touch it, and then stopped completely still.

Inside the booth, Mikako’s body was rigid.

She was scared. But it was like she was entranced—unable to move.

The Tarsian’s appearance evoked an armored creature—something between a turtle and a crab.

As it faced her directly, signs of transformation appeared. Its shape began to morph. From between the seams of its shell, tentacle-like appendages began to unfurl to the sides. From what seemed to be its head, a neck-like structure nyoki nyoki stretched out.

The outstretched tentacles split at the tips, and each split again, and again—branching out repeatedly until they spread like a web, encircling the Tracer from both sides.

Mikako felt a surge of fear. But instead of acting, her body only stiffened more, frozen.

Once the Tracer was completely enshrouded in the net of tentacles, the pale, protruding head extended outward—aimed as though it were directed straight at Mikako inside the cockpit.

The tip split open. What emerged was a massive, spherical, lens-like object. Mikako instinctively understood—it was an eye. It loomed closer and closer.

The giant single eye stared at Mikako as if trying to see through everything.

—Stop it!

It felt like someone was trampling into her mind with muddy boots.

A surge of disgust crawled over her body like static.

“Noooo!”

She gripped the control gloves tightly and shook them with all her strength.

The beam blade was drawn—bari bari! It slashed through the net of tentacles, and with the momentum, she brought it down diagonally in a kesagake cut.

[「袈裟懸け（けさがけ, kesagake）」 refers to a diagonal slashing motion, typically from the shoulder to the opposite side of the waist, like from the right shoulder down to the left hip.]

The shell, which had appeared so hard, was sliced open with shocking ease, like cutting into fruit. The Tarsian’s body split cleanly in two, spraying a red liquid like blood from the severed cross-section.

Mikako gasped and leapt back with ragged breaths.

The Tarsian exploded into fragments, scattering into the darkness.

“Mikako, are you okay?!”

Satomi appeared on the screen.

“…………”

She couldn’t answer. She switched the display. The Tracer unit was approaching. At the front of their formation, a single Tracer had broken ahead—that must have been Satomi.

“I hadn’t been picked up yet, so I ignored orders and rushed here.”

Satomi’s face popped forcibly into the screen.

“Thanks… but it’s already over.”

“What about the other two?”

“No idea. They vanished somewhere.”

—Where to?

Indeed, once they had split their trajectory, the remaining two had disappeared from view.

“I’m just glad you’re okay. Come on, let’s go back.”

“Yeah…”

As she replied with a still-stiff expression, the alarm rang again.

『Tarsian swarm detected. Tracer unit, return to mothership immediately!』

“What’s going on?”

“Don’t ask me—orders are orders. Let’s go, quick.”

Satomi disappeared from the screen. On the tactical map that replaced her, the green dots flipped around and began heading back to the mothership.

—Fleet battle?

“Returning!”

Mikako muttered as she slumped back into her seat.

『Distance to swarm: 120,000 kilometers. Over 100 units detected. Still multiplying.』

—From the shortcut anchor?

—Did the gate open? So there really is a return shortcut anchor… but not one we can use freely. We’re just being lured in.

“Quit dragging your feet, Mikako. There’s no way we can handle those numbers head-on.”

Satomi once again barged into the screen.

“You mean we’re running?”

“Who knows. That’s for the fleet commander to decide. Now hurry!”

Mikako still had no idea what the Tarsians were trying to do.

One thing Mikako realized was that the swarm likely began moving in response to the report of the Tarsian she had just taken down.

She glanced at the map. The red dots representing the Tarsian swarm were spreading like a cloud, rushing toward the fleet. From a single point in space behind them, more and more were wakuwaku—bubbling into existence.

There was no way to fight this.

『The fleet will avoid contact with the Tarsian swarm. Entering hyperdrive now. All Tracers on active mission, return to the mothership immediately. Hurry back. Warp-out coordinates will be transmitted with encryption. All ships, set warp-in time to T-minus one minute. Beginning countdown.』

—So our mission was to search for the Tarsians, and now that we’ve finally found them, we’re turning tail and running away?

Mikako bit her lip at the contradiction in their actions.

—If we don’t run, we might be able to complete the mission.

And if she completed her mission, she might be discharged—set free.

It was everything she could’ve hoped for. But it didn’t look like that’s how it would go.

Either way, there was no use disobeying fleet orders.

Positioned at the rear guard, Mikako aimed for Lysithea at full speed.

Thirty seconds passed. Lysithea was now directly ahead. Two or three Tracers were already on standby for recovery. She just needed to join the end of that line—she’d make it in time.

Mikako slowed her unit.

『Warning! Tarsian approaching!』

The onboard computer announced.

—Why now?!

She quickly scanned her surroundings.

A Tarsian that had supposedly vanished was now approaching from behind.

At first, she thought it was coming for her—but no. It was aiming for one of the Tracers waiting for pickup.

—No! You can’t!

If the recovery gate got damaged, hyperdrive would be impossible. No—maybe still possible, but if they warped out under that kind of stress, it could cause a catastrophic failure.

—I have to stop it!

“Pursue!”

Firing near the mothership had to be avoided at all costs.

That left her with very few combat options.

Mikako maneuvered around to the front of the Tarsian.

There was only one choice. She drew her beam blade.

She slashed. It dodged. Ignoring Mikako entirely, the Tarsian continued closing in on Lysithea.

—No! You can’t go!

As it passed beside her, Mikako fired a wire into the Tarsian’s back carapace.

Zashuu!—Direct hit. She reeled it in. Closing the gap, she struck from behind.

This time, there was no escaping.

The Tarsian split in two, its body torn into chunks that scattered into the void.

“How many seconds left?!”

She had no time to catch her breath.

She looked toward Lysithea. The last Tracer had just vanished into the recovery gate.

Particles of light were starting to bloom around Lysithea, wrapping around it. The drive engine had begun to engage. When the entire ship was surrounded in those particles, space would distort all at once, and the vessel would be flung to some far-off destination.

“Twelve seconds remaining.”

“I’ll make it. I have to hurry. Ah—my message!”

Mikako reached for the side compartment.

“I have to send it now…”

Jumping 1 to 1.5 light-years away via hyperdrive meant any message sent afterward wouldn’t reach Earth for over a year.

But—the compartment was empty. She glanced around and spotted her phone floating above her.

She reached for it—but her hand didn’t reach far enough.

—Noboru-kun…

—Would he still be waiting, even a year from now?

As light particles enveloped Lysithea, Mikako’s Tracer was brought in and recovered.