Annie's guess had been right. The next two days passed peacefully. They found no sign of any Mechanical race fleet, lone warship, or harassing aircraft, and no other enemies came looking for trouble or tried to intercept them.
With no enemy in sight, the Tibbers continued on its original course, heading deeper into the solar system toward the life-bearing planet called Earth, while keeping watch.
Since they were already in a war zone, they couldn't travel as fast as before. Their speed naturally dropped, and even after two full days of travel, they still hadn't reached Jupiter's orbit, let alone Earth.
So!
With everything peaceful along the way, there was nothing for it: the pilots aboard had to settle for ordinary combat-readiness shifts, and those who were meant to train still had to train.
Right?
That afternoon, after finishing the day's training, the slightly exhausted pilots and trainees gathered in the unusually comfortable lounge. Like a small cafeteria, it was a pleasant place to sit in little groups, chat over drinks, and take a nap, sprawled out or sitting on the sofas and chairs.
It wasn't very big, perhaps only forty or fifty square meters.
A simulated porthole on the pale blue metal wall displayed a slowly rotating nebula, while the plants in the corner swayed gently under the effects of Artificial Gravity.
Unlike everyone on the bridge, who stayed tense as they monitored the surrounding star systems, the lounge was comparatively relaxed, filled with an air of peace and quiet. You'd never guess that they'd finished a major battle just two days earlier, or that they were currently in a star system where humanity and the Mechanical race were at war.
Right?
"Ha!"
"That feels so good..."
The pilot in the red-and-white suit, Li Boli, had completely abandoned any