Like a shooting star

Kerberos's bombardment struck the upper hull of Black Rose, while Black Rose's return fire pierced through Kerberos's bow and starboard side.

"Damn! Main and secondary cannons are gone! We're drifting off course!"

Black Rose's main and secondary cannons, mounted on the upper hull, were shattered by Kerberos's powerful ramming-like barrage.

The civilian vessel had been forcibly armed by modifying it, and as a result, it was rendered combat-ineffective after just one strike from Kerberos.

"Fine, whatever. The objective has been achieved."

Velvet turned the ship around and detached from the airspace.

The convoy, protected by the escort fleet led by Ira, was approaching the controlled space of the Salius Stellar Province in the Acnelia Galactic Federation as the first wave of refugees from the Damra Stellar Dominion, with coastal patrol units on alert in the surrounding areas, meaning the escort mission was expected to be lifted shortly.

Though considerable time had passed since Kerberos detached, neither Kerberos nor the enemy ships showed any sign of pursuing.

Even so, Seara and Milliena continued diligently in their support of Ira, who had taken over command from Shinonosuke.

Lina, a staff member of the Salius Stellar District Free Merchant Fleet Association, was monitoring ships navigating through the controlled airspace on a terminal in the office.

She was aware that, according to intelligence from the Federation government and the space forces, the Shinonosuke escort squadron had engaged in combat at the very moment they joined the refugee convoy.

However, after that, information from other escort squadrons became mixed and confusing, leaving the status of the Shinonosuke squadron unclear. Soon, though, word arrived that the refugee convoy was entering the Salius Stellar Region's controlled space.

"The convoy made it safely—this means the Shinonosuke team successfully completed their escort mission. If that's the case, everyone else should be safe too... It'll be fine, they'll be fine for sure."

There was no guarantee that all escort ships would be safe just because the convoy was intact, but she forcibly pushed that reality out of her thoughts, forcing herself to believe Shinonosuke and the others were safe.

At that moment, multiple light points appeared on the monitor.

"They're here! They've come back... AS-DD3-02, A884 from Ira-san, DD3-03, and Dak-san's shield ship too..."

Lina read the identification numbers assigned to each light point.

"DD3-05, Gorgon... Where is Mr. Shinnosuke's Cerberus?"

Cerberus AS-DD3-01 did not appear on the monitor.

Lina's hands began to tremble.

On the bridge of A884, which had been relieved of its escort duty, Seira, Milina, and Ira stared intently at the monitor.

"Mr. Shinnosuke and the others haven't returned yet..."

"We can't give up. We who understand Mr. Shinnosuke best—how can we not believe in him!"

Seira, on the verge of tears, and Milena, bravely holding herself together.

Aira watches over the two while keeping an eye on the monitor.

Now that the mission has been canceled, they could choose to turn back and search for Cerberus, but after such intense combat, their physical ammunition—like missile rounds—has run out, and the energy reserves for their beam cannons are far from reliable.

No matter how much of an escort vessel it is, venturing into uncontrolled airspace with no weapons is far too dangerous.

Just as we were deciding whether to wait here or return to port for resupply before continuing the search, we picked up a single radar contact.

"Could this be..."

The identification number on the monitor read AS-DD3-01—Cerberus.

Seyla and the others noticed Cerberus on the radar as well.

"This... is Cerberus! It's Millina-san, Shinnosuke-san and the others!"

"Yes, it's definitely Shinnosuke-sama!"

Seyla, Millina, and Aira couldn't tell Cerberus's condition from the radar reading.

They had assumed Cerberus had returned safely.

Yet Cerberus was in a state so perilous it was almost miraculous it was still navigating.

Main engine lost, third engine failed, and the second engine damaged, unable to generate sufficient output—navigation was impossible, and maintaining internal ship conditions had become unfeasible.

"Master, it's too dangerous to continue."

With only the faint glow of monitors remaining—emergency lights extinguished, alarms silenced—they had been navigating by that dim light alone. Yet during that time, Cerberus had experienced multiple small explosions, pushing it past its limit.

"Damn it! I've been dragging this along by sheer will, but it's impossible now..."

Cerberus was nearing the end of its life, just as it reached the edge of Akneria's domain.

At that moment, a camera on an unmanned surveillance station along its flight path captured Cerberus's image.

"...Shinonosuke-san? No... this can't be..."

Lina turned pale upon seeing Cerberus's form displayed on the monitor.

The ship seemed unable to maintain its attitude—neither holding steady at the standard galactic horizontal nor even managing a straight course, veering off at an angle.

It looked just like a sunken vessel drifting aimlessly.

The sight was also captured on the bridge of Aila and Zany's ship.

"A884 to Cerberus, please respond. Cerberus, respond, please... Shinonosuke-san, answer us!"

Seyra calls out desperately, but there is no response from Cerberus.

"Hey, that's bad—she's going down! Are Shinonosuke and the others gonna be okay in that condition?"

There's no way she'll be fine! Even if she's not sunk, being in that condition is practically the same—plus, with the engine still running, there's a risk of explosion! We need to head to rescue her immediately. Pirates Killer and Gorgon, stay here and prepare for any emergencies. For the rescue, we'll send A884 and the Shield Ship.

"Understood!"

A884 and the Shield Ship immediately turned around and headed toward the rescue of Cerberus.

On Cerberus's bridge, Shinnosuke and Marks had been fighting against fate until the very end, but even their resistance had reached its limit.

"Comms offline, engine output dropping rapidly, internal temperature rising sharply. We've exceeded critical threshold!"

"This is it. There's nothing we can do—abandon the ship! Marks, after backing up navigation data, prepare the shuttle."

Sinnosuke cut the ship's power and stood up.

"Noted, but what about you, Master?"

"I have something I must retrieve. Go ahead—I'll follow right behind!"

"This is a continuous violation of military protocol! If you keep going like this, you'll really end up retrieving the wire!"

"It's not that serious. If I don't make it in time, just get Marks out!"

With that, Sinnosuke dashed off from the bridge.

"A contradictory order: to accompany me to the depths of the underworld. I'll prioritize the earlier command, as judged by my own discretion."

Having finished backing up navigation data, Marks headed toward the shuttle.

Although flames typically can't occur in the vacuum of space, sporadic flames were erupting from various points on the Cerberus's hull.

Small explosions originating inside the ship were bursting outward, briefly flashing with light.

"Aira, hurry up!"

"I know, I know!"

Aira and the others rushing to rescue Shinnosuke.

Leaving behind the slow-moving shield ship, they head straight for the Cerberus.

(We might not make it in time...)

Just as Aira thought that.

"Shinnosuke-sama! Run away!"

Milena shouted, her forehead eye opening wide.

With Rina and Zany watching from afar, as well as Aira, Celia, Milena, and Dag who had rushed to rescue, the Cerberus was enveloped in a flash of light.

"Shinnosuke-sama!"

"Shinnosuke, Marks!"

"Shinnosuke-san, Marks-san!"

"Shinnosuke-sama!"

The Cerberus exploded, its fragments vanishing like shooting stars, glowing brightly as they scattered into the void.

That was the final glow of the XD-F00 Cerberus.