Evolve (22)
「Attention all crew members. Takeoff has been successful. As of now, movement restrictions have been lifted.」
The bridge announcement echoed through the corridor. Nadia, who had been roused by the early morning commotion and had spent the whole time in the storage bay, heard it then.
She glanced at Lee Hyun-woo, who was rummaging through supplies in a container. Her gaze soon shifted to Celestia, who had somehow sidled up beside him.
Though the conversation between them hadn't lasted long, Celestia seemed inexplicably happy, occasionally laughing out loud or nodding earnestly with a serious expression. No matter how she tried to hide it, the feelings in her eyes were starting to leak through.
It was the same emotion Nadia had seen not long ago. Her feelings were complicated. It wasn't simply because Celestia seemed interested in Hyun-woo. She had a faint idea of where that interest originated.
Nadia had noticed Celestia's incompleteness ever since she first met her—or more precisely, ever since she'd heard Celestia reveal her story when they first traveled from the town to the mining base Heaven.
"Nadia, doesn't valve number five seem a little unstable? If we leave it as is, the hydraulic system might not work properly. The armored purge timing could be thrown off too."
That question from Kyle, who had been staring intently at the power loader scan results on the hologram display, was when Nadia and Celestia locked eyes.
For a moment, their gazes met in the air, neither one turning away. Then, Celestia approached her with a bright smile. Nadia could tell that their conversation was about something more.
"Ah, dang... But fully replacing it would be too much given our current situation... Is there a good workaround? This isn't really my area of expertise."
"Valve number five is fine from an external perspective. We can just adjust it using the system. Also, Kyle, could you step aside for a moment?"
"Hm? Ah, sure."
Kyle abruptly nodded, recognizing Celestia's presence. He told them he'd get back to his overdue work and left his seat.
"Carry, you go too. Help Kyle."
「( ･o˙ )」
Carry put on a look asking if she was serious. Nadia's answer didn't change.
「( ｡_｡)」
Carry trailed after Kyle, glancing back repeatedly as if she was reluctant to go, but Nadia ushered Carry away, promising she wouldn't take long.
Celestia inspected the power loader, which had become bulkier and more intimidating in design. She exclaimed in admiration.
"Wow, so this is the finished product?"
"Almost."
"Every time, I'm amazed. No wonder Hyun-woo likes you so much."
Nadia's tail twitched for a brief moment. She forced herself to catch it, thinking that wagging it was unbecoming, considering the conversation she was about to have.
"Celestia."
"Yes, Nadia?"
Celestia fixed her gaze on Nadia at the call. Facing Celestia's clear blue eyes, Nadia took a deep breath and opened her mouth to speak—or rather, she would have, if not for the sudden hesitation brought on by a fleeting thought.
'Do I have the right to say this?'
Nadia had planned to say something to Celestia about Hyun-woo—not to trouble him too much, not to project someone else onto him—more of a request than a warning.
But she realized that those words might just ignore or wound Celestia's feelings. Celestia already seemed deeply hurt. Whether it was a past or ongoing pain didn't matter.
Wounds of the heart are often too deep and complex to be eased by a few warm words or a gentle touch.
If that sadness looked simple or shallow on the surface, it was usually because it had not been expressed fully—or simply wasn't something the person wanted to express. Hadn't Nadia herself done the same?
Nadia had hidden her past. The wound from her past never healed, oozing pain that insisted on asserting itself, but the more that happened, the more she hid it. She insisted she was fine. At least, in those moments, she could forget about her problems.
That was likely the same for Celestia. Nadia hesitated as the thought struck her. Her expression couldn't quite capture her tangled emotions. The tips of her ears drooped faintly.
"Nadia?"
Celestia tilted her head. She gazed at Nadia, who had called her only to let her lips tremble in indecision.
Nadia bit her lip. It was obvious that Celestia had feelings for Hyun-woo. Wanting to be loved by someone you love was only natural.
But whether that feeling, or desire, was truly directed at the right person was important. Nadia hoped that Celestia wasn't simply projecting a stand-in big brother onto Hyun-woo. She hoped their relationship wouldn't become strained. The benefit of Myosotis' presence to Hyun-woo was secondary; Nadia just didn't want him to be hurt.
After some deliberation, Nadia finally spoke within the limits of what she could say.
"Celestia, let's protect Hyun-woo together."
"What?"
Celestia couldn't hide her confusion. She seemed unable to follow the conversation. Nadia glared slightly, urging for an answer.
"Hurry up and agree."
"O-okay."
Celestia nodded reflexively. Agreeing wasn't hard—it was a sudden request, but not a strange one.
Those words contained a lot, but that was the line Nadia, the tamed fox, had drawn. For her, Celestia too was now inside her fence.
She could have been much sharper in her words, but she didn't want to face what might happen next. Nadia worried that she might come across as blaming Celestia.
"I know you have worries related to Hyun-woo. But I won't ask what they are. I know it's not easy to talk about."
"..."
Only then did Celestia understand what Nadia meant. She inadvertently drew in a breath and her face stiffened.
It wasn't the shock of wondering how Nadia knew. She had already realized Nadia had noticed. Celestia expected what might follow, so she squeezed her eyes shut.
But for just a moment—startled by Nadia's next words, Celestia opened her eyes again.
"I truly want Hyun-woo's happiness. The only reason I'm alive right now is because of him. He's become too precious to me."
As she spoke, Nadia's gaze wandered. At its end was Hyun-woo. Her hand let go of her tail, which started to wag again, and her stiff expression softened.
To Celestia, it felt like looking into a mirror. It made sense, since Nadia was wearing the same expression Celestia always had when she looked at someone important.
"If Hyun-woo is ever suffering, I think I'd grow to hate whatever made that happen."
"... Don't worry. I feel the same."
"Then I'm glad."
Nadia's tight expression relaxed into a relieved smile. Celestia looked as if she wanted to say more, but Nadia turned away, using her busy schedule as an excuse. She regretted her hasty words, worried she'd overstepped.
"Ah!"
Celestia reached out an arm toward Nadia as she fled, but was left gazing at her empty hand before slowly lowering it.
Nadia quickly called Carry, who was busy pestering Kyle, and climbed atop her. She then ascended to the top of the power loader, out of reach. She was literally playing hard to get, like a fox no one could catch.
Celestia withdrew her empty hand and bit her lip gently. She had already resolved not to waver. Or at least, she thought so. She had truly believed that, up until this very moment.
But now, her resolve felt uncertain. Nadia had probably meant to ask her not to project anyone onto Hyun-woo, but to see him as himself. Nadia had always shown an ability to see through others' emotions, so there was little doubt.
Was she really seeing Hyun-woo for who he was? Celestia questioned herself.
'I...'
Her faith in Hyun-woo hadn't changed. Thanks to him, she'd managed to step out of her past. It was also true that she had done things for him that she couldn't admit to anyone else while he slept.
'... But that was for me, not for Hyun-woo.'
Even though she wanted to say otherwise, Celestia couldn't truly deny it. Those actions were just her own selfishness. Actions meant purely for her pleasure, with no responsibility attached.
If she was truly acting for Hyun-woo, she should have taken the initiative instead of waiting, revealed her feelings openly and accepted the consequences—whatever they were.
The reason she hadn't was simply that she was a coward. She was afraid that, with one mistake, the unexpected fortune she'd barely grasped would slip away.
'If you don't give up, it's not a mistake.'
Celestia recalled what she had once told Hyun-woo. She already knew the answer. She had turned away from it because she never wanted to lose again.
Now that she realized it, only two choices remained—stay hiding like a coward, running in place, or move forward despite not knowing what the outcome might be.
Celestia squeezed her eyes shut. The conversation with Nadia had been brief, but thanks to that moment, she could finally remove the veil covering her own eyes.
With that, her choice was already made. Just as she had always known.
***
「Attention all crew members. We will soon arrive at our operational area, baleum Spaceport. Mission participants, please report to the bridge immediately. Repeating: we will soon arrive at our operational area, baleum Spaceport...」
The bridge announcement echoed from speakers installed throughout the corridors. While not as busy as dawn, there was still a sense of hustle throughout the ship.
I had already arrived at the bridge with Nadia, Carry, and Celestia. Roxy had said he needed a restroom break and ducked out along the way. Essentially, everyone who'd been in the storage bay except for Kyle was present.
Since Kyle wasn't among the landing party, he had no need to join us on the bridge. Just working was enough for him. It might be tough, but he wouldn't be lonely—his whole team was working alongside him.
"Everyone's here. There's about five minutes before we arrive at Baleum Spaceport, so just wait a bit."
Licorice spread out the hologram loaded with the operational plan and continued.
"You all probably got the gist, but we're not planning to land directly. At least the Albatross and the Griffin will stay airborne."
Only Roxy's small shuttle and its passengers would be landing, to prepare for the possibility of a pureblood supremacist raid or an unexpected emergency requiring immediate retreat.
"The Beta Series aren't landing this time either. Is it because of the ECM or whatever?"
"Yeah, pretty much. Even if we can keep them running with their own onboard programming despite jamming, it's different from standard chaff. Their sensors won't escape the blind spot. They won't be able to perceive the environment at all."
"Hmm..."
I let out a subdued hum. I was a little worried that we didn't have enough strength to accomplish much without the Beta Series. I asked, just in case,
"... What about the power loader?"
Power loaders were technically manned, but as robots similar to the Beta Series, sensor malfunction would also be a big problem.
"Not a problem. I'll be piloting manually, not by program."
Nadia gave the answer. Even if the power loader's visual sensors were jammed, she could just pilot it using her own vision, and she sounded confident.
'That's a lot to expect from her.'
Even with Carry, it wouldn't help. Carry's perception of the world was also built from sensors. That meant Nadia would be the only one receiving external information directly.
Sensing my concern, Nadia laughed and put her hand on her hip.
"Hyun-woo, don't you trust me?"
"I do."
"Then you don't have to worry. I'll be sharing my view with Carry, so we'll still be able to use the weapons control system."
Nadia, brimming with confidence, clearly had a plan. As always, she was reassuring. While I nodded, Licorice gave a quiet sigh.
"Anyway, the Beta Series can't be deployed at first. Sharing vision could technically solve the sensor malfunction, but there's no real point."
If you were to share vision, it had to be with someone on site, and that wasn't as simple as it sounded. Just synchronizing someone's viewpoint put a considerable burden on the user.
Unless you set up a dedicated station, any operator assigned to vision sharing would be effectively out of commission. Nadia, thanks to her incomplete original bio-circuit, had dramatically reduced load and could remain combat effective.
"So, the Beta Series can only be deployed after the forces on the ground destroy or shut down the ECM chaff dispensers."
"That's our first objective, right?"
"It's hard to say for certain. We might have to adapt our plan depending on the situation on the ground."
Nonetheless, Licorice added, most scenarios were within her predictions, so she was confident we'd succeed as long as we stuck to the current plan.
"Let's take a look together now. It should be on screen soon. Switching video now."
As Eric manipulated the controls, a live feed from the external camera appeared on the main hologram screen in the center of the bridge. The ship was still some distance away, so the feed was zoomed to maximum. Nearly everyone on the bridge stiffened at the sight.
"Um... Licorice, did you see this coming by any chance?"
"......"
Licorice couldn't hide her surprise—she hadn't anticipated this. We all stared blankly at the ground as captured by the external camera.
At first, we thought there was something wrong with the blurry image. It didn't take long for us to realize it was just an illusion.
When Celestia operated the camera to zoom out, it became clear that the camera was functioning properly.
"What is this, fog...?"
Baleum Spaceport—or rather, the entire large area including the port's property—was covered in an abnormal, dense fog.
The spaceport itself was huge, designed not just for large ships but also to dock interstellar colony vessels. The fact that it was obscured by fog, with only its faint silhouette visible, said it all.
***
**New Names, locations, skills and Techniques:**