When Naomi peered into the life capsule, the sleeping girl inside stirred. Slowly, her eyelids fluttered open, revealing eyes as blue as jewels.
"...This isn't Perdegius, is it? Where... where am I?" she whispered.
The girl sat up, her gaze sweeping the capsule's interior.
"Thank goodness... you're really alive," Naomi breathed, relief softening her features despite the girl's confusion.
"That's right. More than alive—ya woke up quick as a shot," Osaka drawled from the console.
The girl swayed to her feet, then stepped gracefully toward Naomi. With practiced poise, she pinched the hem of her skirt and dipped into a curtsey.
"...It was you who rescued me? I am most grateful. My name is Serena," she said, her voice lilting with elegance.
Naomi gawked. "...Uh, wow. Um—excuse me, but... are you... a princess?"
"Oh my, so easily discovered? Yes. My formal name is Serena Luxia Valdis. No point in hiding it now. I am the Seventh Princess of the Valdis Empire."
"Er... Princess... if you don't mind me asking, how old are you?" Naomi stammered. She thought Serena looked her own age—or perhaps slightly older. But small talk about weather in space seemed absurd, so age was all she could grasp at.
"You may call me Serena. I am sixteen years old. Or rather... hmm. What year is it now, by the Galactic Calendar?"
"It should be 2325," Osaka answered. "Been cut off from the outside for a while, but our atomic clock don't lie."
Serena froze. "...Twenty-six?! Impossible! How could ten whole years have passed?"
She staggered across the ship's interior, muttering in disbelief. The girl who looked barely older than Naomi—Serena—was technically nine years her senior.
"...Unbelievable. So you're actually older than me," Naomi said. "Anyway, Princess—uh, Lady Serena—why were you in that life capsule?"
"Oh, drop the titles. This isn't a royal court. Just call me Serena. And what is your name?"
"Ah, right. My apologies. I'm Naomi Kousaka—Naomi's my given name, Kousaka my family name. I'm seventeen." Naomi flushed, realizing she hadn't introduced herself earlier.
"Well then, Naomi, that makes you the elder," Serena replied with a sly smile.
"But—you just said you were twenty-six—"
"No! I refuse. I won't admit I aged ten years in my sleep. I'm sixteen, and that's final!" Serena pouted, puffing her cheeks like a child.
Naomi chuckled inwardly. 'Fair enough. I'd hate it too. Guess I'll treat her as sixteen, then.'
Together, they moved to the bridge, where the girl recounted her tale.
"So, why were you drifting in that capsule?" Naomi asked.
"That was... on that day," Serena began.
* * *
Flashback: Galactic Calendar Year 2315, Final Inspection Voyage of the Valdis Empire
The fleet was magnificent. A grand battleship—Celestial—sailed at the center, its silver-white hull gleaming beneath the banners of the Empire. Surrounding it, warships formed an honor guard as they traversed the interstellar void.
"Father, what is the name of the colony we're bound for?" Serena asked.
"Verde-Ash," Emperor Leonus Alexion Valdis replied warmly. "A newly founded agricultural settlement. Remember the smiles of its people, Serena. Our power exists for their sake."
Serena was the youngest of nine siblings—six sisters, two brothers. Yet her father doted on her most, perhaps because they shared a rare closeness. He often took her along on nearby tours, treasuring her company.
But that serenity shattered in an instant.
Sirens wailed through the ship. One of the escort vessels turned its cannons inward.
"Captain! The Schwertta has locked weapons on us! Energy surge detected!"
"What?! Open a channel now!" roared Captain Golbavsky.
"Sir, we've picked up a spatial distortion! Zero range—something's warping in!"
Before the comm line could open, radar officers cut in.
"Captain! Visual on incoming!"
"On screen!"
A violent tremor shook the fleet as spacetime itself warped, slamming an invisible shockwave across the Celestial. From the rift emerged a black warship, its hull bearing the crest of House Neu-Wald.
The battleship Imperdas.
"Duke Glanz... my brother?!"
Despair flooded the Emperor's face. This betrayal was undeniable, yet the fleet faltered—paralyzed by disbelief.
Cannons roared.
One escort, point-blank, fired into the Celestial's flank. Without shields raised during peaceful transit, the battleship took the blow raw. Fire engulfed the bridge in a single blast. Chaos erupted. The escort line broke. The fleet was already collapsing.
The Celestial's defenders burned, shattered by the Imperdas' barrage.
"Serena. Take this. You must survive," the Emperor said, pressing a pendant into his daughter's hands. He kissed her brow, then shoved her into the capsule.
"Father—!!"
The hatch sealed. The tiny pod launched into the void. Serena wept alone, wrapped in the silence of space.
* * *
Present
"My father's brother—Duke Glanz—was born of a concubine. He was never recognized as royalty, nor granted succession rights. Perhaps he hated us for it," Serena said softly.
Her story was ten years old to the galaxy—but to her, freshly torn from yesterday.
"What became of my father after that? Do you know, Naomi?"
Naomi hesitated. "Well... truth is—"
Naomi explained why she was here, and she spoke a little about Osaka as well. Of course, she had no way of knowing about the events that had happened ten years ago in this world. And Osaka, with the long-range comms completely broken, hadn't received any news for over a century.
"I'm sorry... I'm not much help," Naomi said.
"Oh, don't worry. It may be better this way. At least I can prepare my heart for what awaits," Serena replied softly. "Given the circumstances, I understand there's a high chance Father perished in battle back then. Even so... I still cling to the hope that he lives."
Serena smiled, lonely and fragile.
"Ah—sorry to break the mood, gals, but listen," Osaka cut in. "Thing is, I'd calculated oxygen only for you, Naomi. Now with the princess aboard, our consumption's doubled. We gotta hustle, or else—nope, that won't fly."
Naomi's eyes widened. She had completely forgotten. Of course—the oxygen was depleting faster now. Originally, they had only just enough, stretching it with portable tanks. But picking up Serena's capsule had cost precious time. Even alone, Naomi would've been cutting it close.
"Ahhh. This is bad. What should we do? Should we head back to the Spaceship Graveyard and look again?" she asked.
"Nah, hold up," Osaka said. "We might scrape by. See, her Highness's lifeboat ain't standard issue—it's top-class royal gear. Comes with a built-in oxygen system. If we rig that into the Grim Reaper, we'll ease the strain."
"Haah... thank goodness. I really thought we were finished. Osaka, you should've told me sooner!" Naomi sank into her seat, relief flooding through her.
"Now, now, don't get too comfy," he said. "Seriously, this ain't the time to relax. We gotta start right away. Once oxygen levels drop too low, you'll get fuzzy in the head and won't even manage the work. So, we gotta move now, ya hear?"
BEEEP. BEEEP.
As if to confirm his words, a warning klaxon blared inside the ship: OXYGEN LEVELS FALLING.