[Received. Chief Commander correction directive executed.]
At that moment,
the light inside the star shuttle quietly softened.
The dashboard lights dimmed one by one, while the energy patterns along the porthole edges faintly lit up. A layer of ripples, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, spread across the hull.
Light subtly bent around the star shuttle's exterior. Its once-clear outline began to blur and fade.
The cold gleam of metal, the sharp angles of its structure, and the reflections on its portholes were gradually swallowed by deep space.
There was no roar, no tremor, not even the slightest breath of wind.
The entire star shuttle seemed to have been gently embraced by the universe,
vanishing layer by layer from visible light, radar waves, and energy signals.
Unfortunately, after this journey,
it would likely have to remain half-scrapped on Ifasta's landing pad.
That was the price of forcibly activating something beyond its era without relying on a relic.
Faced with all these things she did not understand, Chie was very sensible. Whenever she encountered something she could not comprehend, she did not immediately ask questions, but silently recorded it instead.
She planned to ask her grandfather once they returned.
Thus, the star shuttle fell completely silent for a while.
Yet compared to them,
Caroline, who was temporarily present as a Data Projection, constantly felt an icy gaze watching them from deep within the ruins of collapsed Mars.
There was no anger in that gaze,
no sorrow,
only an unfathomable indifference.
As though all the destruction before her had been expected from the very beginning.
Her relaxed posture did not change at all. She merely spoke quietly over the Dawn frequency:
"We need to be more careful from here on. The two of us should be fine.
This isn't the first time