Go Find Something to Drink First
On June 6, 11,000,302,502,025, by the standard Mecha calendar, in the early hours of the morning.
The universe was dark and silent. Only the distant stars flickered faintly, while the Tibbers sailed soundlessly through the vast sea of stars.
It had just passed through the last stargate, completing the long, tedious interstellar voyage. After bursting through the gate in an instant, it had arrived in the outer asteroid belt of this star system.
The atmosphere on the bridge was tense.
Various instruments and screens glimmered with a cold light. Some machines emitted a faint hum, while the crew carried out their duties, eyes fixed on their respective control panels, focused and unwilling to slack off for even a moment.
Suddenly!
"!!"
A piercing alarm sounded in the radar officer's headset, nearly making him leap out of his seat.
Fortunately, he managed to hold himself back.
"..."
He pressed a hand to his headset and listened closely, eyes wide as he stared at the screen.
Soon, his face was filled with alarm. He fumbled with the instruments to confirm the reading, then hurried to his feet and loudly reported to the captain—a troublesome little girl who seemed to be daydreaming on the command chair:
"Captain!"
"We've spotted a Mechanical Clan warship!"
"One target, three hundred away!"
He swallowed reflexively. After his Adam's apple bobbed, he continued:
"Radar confirms!"
"They've locked onto us!"
"Their ship is accelerating and turning! They'll be within effective engagement range in three hours at the latest!"
At that, the old man standing beside Annie frowned. Without stopping to think, he lowered his head and looked toward the little girl curled up in the oversized captain's chair, apparently lost in thought.
What made his cheek twitch was that she still had a