Onboard Investigation

The passenger ship Emerald III, stranded as if caught on an asteroid, is a vessel registered under the Sacred State of Seagull. According to records, it vanished during its voyage from the Sacred State of Seagull toward the Salius Stellar Province of the Akneria Galactic Federation, carrying 153 crew and passengers, 76 years ago.

"Seventy-six years ago... that can't be right..."

The fact that it's still emitting a faint distress signal means the ship's power may still be functional.

An Emerald III-class vessel could sustain life support for around a century by diverting all its energy to life support during emergencies.

However, for the people remaining aboard to survive, they would need food and water—but it's unlikely the ship carried supplies for a full century.

More importantly, 76 years have already passed.

Even if food and water were available, the chances of anyone surviving aboard the ship are nonexistent.

Most humans would have already died from old age, and even long-lived species would likely lose their sanity, making survival extremely unlikely.

Shin nosuke brings the Cerberus close and scans the interior of the Emerald III.

"No biological signals detected inside the Emerald III."

Seyla reports, though even if the Cerberus is an excellent vessel, its detection capabilities are not particularly outstanding.

It's impossible to fully scan the interior using external scans alone.

"There's a slim chance someone might have survived in cryosleep. Shall we board and conduct an internal inspection?"

Shin Nosuke considers, though in reality, civilian rescue operations don't usually expect such thorough action from rescue ships.

When a distressed vessel is discovered and communication is attempted, if it becomes clear from the response or other indications that survivors are present, it is necessary to take all possible measures to rescue them. However, if no survivors can be confirmed, there is no need for further action beyond recording the progress of the search and reporting it, which fulfills the obligation to assist in distress.

The reason is that boarding a distressed vessel to conduct an investigation would be extremely dangerous, and it is unreasonable to impose such a requirement on the goodwill of civilian vessels.

If, for instance, a dangerous pathogen were spreading aboard the distressed vessel, those who boarded could become infected. Simply entering a ship in distress is inherently risky, and there is even the possibility of a secondary disaster.

Even so, Shinnosuke decided to carry out an onboard investigation.

"Then, before transferring over, let's conduct a preliminary survey using a drone."

Marks pulled out a small drone the size of a palm.

A compact drone capable of both aerial flight using propellers and ground movement via wheels, it could detect hazardous substances such as toxic gases, in addition to transmitting video information.

Furthermore, while it could be operated via a controller, it could also be directly controlled by Marks's thought system, moving exactly as Marks intended.

"Yeah, let's secure the ship's interior safety via drone survey before transferring over."

Shin nosuke docked Cerberus to the boarding portal of Emerald III and connected the boarding passage.

Marks entered the passage, locked the Cerberus-side hatch first, then opened Emerald III's boarding portal and sent out the drone.

"Confirmed: air quality near the boarding portal is normal."

After confirming the air conditions flowing in from the boarding portal, Marks closed the hatch again and returned to the bridge.

"Markus, how's it looking?"

Synosuke called out to Marks as he returned to the bridge.

"There was no issue with the internal environment near the boarding portal."

As he spoke, Marks connected the drone's video feed, which had been sent into the ship, to the monitor.

The monitor displays the interior corridor of Emerald III.

Though the lighting is kept to a minimum, making the interior dim, the ship's energy appears to still be intact.

"The interior lights are working, and the climate control seems fine. Marks, keep recording as you proceed."

"Understood."

Marks guides the drone along the interior corridor.

Beyond the boarding gate, past the corner, a horrific scene unfolded.

"Hah..."

Ciel gasped in surprise.

The monitor displayed a series of corpses lying across the corridor, decades old.

The remains of the crew and passengers of Emerald III.

Some corpses showed no signs of trauma when approached by drone, while others had wounds piercing through the head.

This isn't the result of conflict, but rather an attempt to escape suffering...

A blaster lies nearby the corpse, which has been pierced from the side of the head or jaw upward toward the crown of the skull.

Seyla couldn't bear to look and turned away, but Milena, though wearing a stern expression, also stared intently at the monitor beside Shinosuke and Marks, who remained calm and focused.

No matter how far I advance the drone, all I find ahead are corpses.

Since the drone can't open doors, we can only investigate corridors and rooms where doors are already open, but even so, we'll need to survey a very wide area.

"Wait a moment! Something just moved! To the right, around the next corner!"

Miliena suddenly shouted.

Neither Shinosuke nor even Marks had noticed anything.

Marks immediately directed the drone toward the corridor ahead.

"There's nothing there."

As expected, there were only several corpses at the end of the corridor.

"That can't be right! I'm certain I saw a figure pass by!"

Shin nosuke and the others don't believe Miliena is lying.

They recheck the footage transmitted from the drone.

The drone's camera, previously focused on the corpses lying in the corridor, shifts away from them and turns toward the passage ahead.

"There! Right there!"

"Indeed, something just crossed through."

A shape resembling a human figure clearly passed across the far end of the corridor.

Mark was rewinding the recording and playing it back slowly, but the timing was far too off.

In the next instant that the camera was pointed down the corridor, the shadow vanished beyond the far end of the passage.

But, as Milena said, it was a fact that something had cast a shadow.

"Small, maybe about the size of a child?"

Shinosuke tilts his head.

"No, it couldn't have been a human. There was no sign of body heat, and no temperature change in the surrounding air was detected."

Markus analyzed calmly, yet he himself could not determine what exactly the shadow was.

"We'll have to investigate by transferring. Let's go together, just the two of us."

Shinosuke made his decision, but Milena spoke up.

"I'm coming too."

"What if something dangerous is there? It's too risky!"

Shinosuke shook his head, but Milena refused to back down.

"Even so, I'm going with you! If we don't know what awaits us, my abilities could prove useful. No matter what dangers lie ahead, I won't be deterred. After all, it was I who noticed the anomaly. You can't just exclude me!"

In such a confined space, close-combat weapons like Milina's saber could sometimes be more effective than firearms like the blaster rifle.

Besides, Milina wouldn't back down once she'd made up her mind.

Shin nosuke handed the blaster he had strapped at his waist to Milina.

It was the Peril S27 Blaster, Shin nosuke's trusted personal portable firearm, second only to the Lagza VX67 powder-fired pistol.

"Just in case. You can use it, damage it, even break it—just don't lose it. I'm particular about the grip customization."

"I'll take good care of it."

Milina accepted the blaster with both hands and strapped it to her right hip, opposite to where her saber was worn on the leather belt.