Clad in cold-weather gear, Levi stood alone on the surface of Proxima Centauri, silently looking up at the sky.
It was nighttime.
Scattered, faint flashes flickered in the cloudless night sky.
He knew those flashes came from the Circumplanetary Defense Network intercepting electromagnetic cannon projectiles.
A rustling came from behind him, followed by a familiar call.
"Father."
Levi's expression shifted slightly, and he turned to look behind him.
Aquitas emerged from the little building before him, bundled tightly in cold-weather gear.
It was an entrance to the Underground City.
"What's wrong, Aquitas?" Levi beckoned to his daughter and asked softly.
Aquitas hurried to her father's side.
Like him, she looked up at the faint flashes that appeared and vanished in the sky.
After a long while, she asked quietly.
"Father, I heard the Solar System Fleet has launched an attack on us?"
Levi was momentarily at a loss for words.
The news was still being kept under wraps.
That was to avoid unnecessary panic.
But as his daughter, Aquitas naturally had plenty of ways to learn about it.
Levi opened his breathing aperture and let out a deep breath of warm air.
The water vapor in his exhalation rapidly condensed, forming a thick white mist in the air.
"Yes."
He lowered his gaze slightly and spoke softly.
"..." Aquitas fell silent.
The atmosphere between them grew tense.
"...So what should we do?"
After a long silence, Aquitas quietly broke the stillness.
Levi instinctively breathed a sigh of relief. He looked helplessly up at the night sky. At some point, a dark cloud had drifted over, hiding the faint flashes above.
"For now, at least, we should stay put in the Underground City."
"Only after we hear from the Academy of Sciences will it be our turn to pilot ships into