The sailing simulation started with Odette II coming out from the dock. Marika asked Rin if she
found any clue regarding on how White Swan ended becoming their practice ship. Rin said she has been
trying to crack the data of Odette II since she was in middle school. She couldn't
figure out the way to open the files which have hidden data in them. She was afraid to open them
carelessly that they would self-destruct, and the designer of the storage were long gone.
Marika was surprised to hear that they were things that Rin could not hack.
Rin said there were files intended to be sealed forever if the creator didn't expect anyone to open it.
She gave up on file compatibility long ago. Marika asked if Rin was well-versed with old and weird
format.
Rin added there were many useful and useless data, noise, and encoded Data of Battle.
She wished she had a more powerful computer to analyze them. HAL-bou is a modified computer that will
exhaust its batteries if it is working at full load, so that's why Rin was connecting it to Odette II supply.
There were many files locked inside Odette II's computer, and if not with proper keys, Rin
was afraid if she would hit a trap. As the files were created, dates were attached. There were even files
with future dates that Rin felt she was made a fool of.
The program of the simulation was to encircle the Relay Station's area of control. Even it was just
a simulation that didn't need the permission from station's office nor the ship needed to give
the flight plan, there were still other space ships incorporated in their simulation.
Marika who sat beside Rin at the EW consoles said the simulation was going smoothly.
Rin wanted some accidents to happen in the simulation so it would look like that they're doing
practice. Marika asked back what kind of accidents did Rin expected.
Suddenly the siren was triggered and the bridge became silent. Both Marika and Rin looked at each other, wandering
if the girl they're looking at did something. Rin asked for report, and Mari answered.
It was a SOS signal from an external source. Rin said if it was a public signal, then they should
let the people at the Station to handle it. She asked the condition and location of the space ship that
send the signal.
Mari said it was a stereotyped distress signal that she couldn't know the conditions, but the ship
name was Black Swan and the location was Garnet A, 30 light years away from them.
Mari added that the SOS signal didn't use FTL communications, but instead it was a normal transmission.
The alarm went silent and all was left is the electrical noise and the sound of wind coming from
the circulator (remind me of a certain Marika's hair gif). The monitors were showing records of the signal was received,
proving that it wasn't a fake.
Rin who saw how the movements in the bridge stopped clapped her hand and ordered her club mates to keep moving
Marika said she would like to inquire info from the station office.
Marika said the signal was not normal as it triggered the alarm. She looked at the displays and asked
why there were so many "Warning" signs on them. Rin replied because it wasn't a real SOS signal.
She who already started to analyze the signal said it had a strong directivity, and the signal used the old
format from the War of Independence.
New ships who didn't recognize the signal would regard it as electrical noise. Rin asked Marika on what the station
had to say about the signal. Marika replied the Control Office and the Army didn't make a move, and she wondered if
they didn't update their info.
Marika was thinking if the reason why the Army and the Control Office didn't took any action was because the signal
was too far away. Or perhaps a passing by Imperial Fleet was going to save the ship.
Rin said if the signal was nothing that all is okay. It's not like Odette II could go for a rescue expedition, and
there were no further information, so she was going to leave it at that.
The Yacht Club finished their simulation. It appeared that the station didn't register any SOS signal.
Rin said the station which had more sensitive antennas that were spread in all direction should had picked up the signal
which came all away inside C-68.
So the only one to catch the signal was Odette II. Marika said she (Bentenmaru) would investigate further more.
Gruelle asked what kind of a ship was that send the distress signal. Marika with a troubled face showed to Gruelle the
display. Gruelle asked back if Marika knew about Black Swan.
Marika answered there are many ships with same name, but there was only one Black Swan. Odette II's data bank did
has some record about her.
Gruelle asked what happened to Black Swan. Marika replied that she went "missing" in the final battle.
The princess asked further more if it was 120 years ago. Rin finally understood and checked the date of the signal.
It was 0079-12-28. It wasn't the Imperial Calendar, but the old Sea of Morning Star calendar.
The colonized planets hated to be dictated by their Suzerain's calendar format that they used their own.
Marika was surprised to see Gruelle knew about the history of her place. Gruelle replied it was a basic
to know about places where she was now.
After some thought Rin concluded that the signal from the bygone wasn't a SOS signal. Marika thought it was a triggered
prank by someone else.
Marika stayed back inside the C-68 and contacted Bentenmaru. Hyakume answered.
She asked if anything was okay. He replied that they were busy, but nothing to be worried about.
The Captain asked if they were supposed to have any job that day. It was not a job that the crews
would like to trouble their captain, but there was an unexpected signal came to them.
Bentenmaru's current position then was farther than Kita no Hate Hoshi (Star of Northern End).
The eighth planet from Tau Ceti is a freezing white planet with thin Oort Cloud.
Bentenmaru was heading toward the source of the signal. Barubarusa who was at Garnett A's vicinity
went for inspecting. Marika was wondering if it was an important job that required other pirate ships.
Hyakume asked if she knew about Black Swan. She said she saw the name for the first time during the
SOS signal.
Hyakume sighed and said it couldn't be helped that young people these days were not interested in the
War or pirates. He added that Black Swan went missing. Marika replied that such info
was in Odette II's data. Hyakume asked if she knew that the only pirate ship that was sank was Black Swan.
Marika said it was the first time she heard about that.
3 days before the war ended, the pirates fought the Suzerain's final weapon.
Marika asked did Bentenmaru participate in the final battle and what actually happened that time,
earnestly. Hyakume said to cut him some slack as it was something happened 120 years ago.
While Bentenmaru did participate, Hyakume asked her if she really thought that there were among the
crews that likes old thing.
Marika asked again who is among her crews is the oldest. He said to spare him that question
because if he spilled it, he would be killed.
Marika, "...Eh?"
Hyakume said Black Swan just went 'missing', but it wasn't confirmed to be sank. Marika's ancestors
needed to prove that Black Swan didn't exist anymore. Marika asked Hyakume to contact her as soon as new info from Barubarusa comes.
Scene changed to Ririka and Marika at the highway. Ririka also had only basic knowledge about Black Swan.
Garnet A was at the end of its lifetime. According to records, two planets and one gas giant had been swallowed by Garnet A.
Once Garnet A system was an Habitable Zone, but now only unmanned Observation Bases were left there.
Setting moved to Barubarusa's bridge. Chiaki asked why the final battle took at Garnet A, instead of Tau Ceti
or other Colony planets systems. Kenjo replied that the enemy, the Suzerain, was planning to use their final weapon.
Her daughter asked again if the Suzerain wanted to make the Colony planets to give up their intention
for independence, the use of FTL missiles on strategic military locations would be easier.
Nora said it would be easier for the 'cute' final weapon to work at Garnet A.
Nora is a Methuselah who lived longer than Barubarusa and participated in the War for Independence. Her home now has long gone and what
left of her race are now spread across the galaxy.
Stellar Slayer was the Suzerain's weapon to inflict fear on the Colony Planets, and as well to demonstrate their military might
to the Empire.
Chiaki asked if the weapon is something that cuts a star, as the name implied.
Nora said originally the weapon was supposed to use the energy from a fixed star and deliver the blow to any location through propagation in the hyperspace network. After that they planned to build a system capable to deliver such energy in case of ship-to-ship battle.
The said network wasn't even created even by the Empire.
Chiaki asked shouldn't it be better to use a living star rather than a burning one?
Nora said a high gravitation Red Giant star would be a better choice to test the weapon because the energy and the network it intended.
Should it succeeded, the Suzerain planned to use a white star or a neutron star as the energy source of the weapon.
Chiaki asked if such weapon was created, why did the Suzerain lose to the Colony Planets?
Nora said the Suzerain could had probably won even before the Empire came intervening if they weren't carelessly putting their resources into the weapon.
The captain daughter inquired further more if the energy network was really the final weapon.
Vice Captain replied that as the Colony Planets were pushing the war and the Empire approached, the test facility
intended to put the weapon for other use - Stellar Slayer: Super Nova Bomb.
They planned to explode the Red Giant into a supernova.
The light from a supernova could turn night into noon. Gamma Ray Burst would destroy every habitable planets
within 30 light years radius, and anything within 50 light years would suffer huge damage.
The Colony Planets who realized about the plan managed to stop it by moving the pirates.
The Empire and even the Rebel Army had sign a treaty saying Stellar Slayer is a no no.
Empire wanted to unite the universe under Love and Benevolence, so they wanted to avoid
any progress toward the weapon because it would be bad politically and mentally.
The official history of Galactic Empire and battles in War of Independence didn't mention about the Suzerain
trying to use such weapon.
Bogues, who is in charge with Barubarusa's Sensor and Observation system reported that
according to the Observation Stations, fluctuations at Garnet A were within the range of its nature,
and no artificial gravitational alteration or unnatural infra red responses were recorded at nearby regions.
He added that the silence was strange. There were no relay stations because there were no habitable
planets nor mining bases. All were left were unmanned Obersavation Stations to monitor the Red Giant and transmit
the data through superluminal communication lines. Bogues added that there were probabilities that
the data from the stations had been rewritten.
After a while, Barubarusa's optical sensors detected gravitational abnormalities.
Watching what happened on Garnet A's poles and equatorial plane, Nora understood the situation.
It was the activation procedures for Stellar Slayer. There was a shadow above Garnet A's Northern Pole.
It was a ship that was larger and heavier than Barubarusa. After matching the data, Nora couldn't believe
what was in front of them. It was the Black Swan.
The shape and mass matched 70 percents from the computer data. Black Swan was believed to be sank bringing together the enemy's
command ship with her. Kenjo Kurihara ordered the Barubarusa to fly to the black ship to confirm her identity.
He said as a fellow pirate ship they should greet them. Morgan turned the ship toward the pole.
The gravitational abnormality became smaller, and Bogues wondered if the one who did it was preparing
to run away. Kenjo soughed that the source of the abnormality was yet to be determined.
Nora said the Black Swan in front of them had a huge hole on the engine section. The missing 30 percents was
because the ship lost her original shape.
Bogues said the gravitational abnormalities moved from their original region. Kenjo couldn't believe such unnatural phenomenon.
The movement of the abnormalities was as if it was targeting Black Swan.
It swallowed the wrecked ship. Black Swan and the 6 abnormalities disappeared. Kenjo ordered the crews to tell Bentenmaru what
had happened, because she hoisted the pirate flag and had the rights to know.