Descending to Planet Librina

"Librina Orbital Control Center, this is the escort vessel Fubuki, affiliated with the Akneria Galactic Federation's Salius Stellar Province Free Merchant Ship Consortium. I am undertaking cargo transport duties to the ground city of Aldera on Librina. Requesting permission to descend to the planet Librina."

Seira requests permission to enter the atmosphere from the control center located in orbit around Librina.

"This is Librina Orbit Control Center. We have confirmed the request from the Arendera Autonomous City. Permission to descend to the planet is granted. We have sent the atmospheric entry point data. Enter the atmosphere at the designated point and dock at Arendera's port."

"Flurry acknowledges."

With permission received from the control center, Shinnosuke guides Flurry toward the designated point.

"No anomalies detected in the surrounding space."

After receiving Seira's report, Shinnosuke nodded and put on the glass monitor.

"Understood. Proceeding with atmospheric entry sequence for Planet Librina."

Milena raised her voice upon seeing Shinnosuke begin the procedures for atmospheric entry.

"Master Shinnosuke, you're actually going to enter manually?"

It was only natural that Milena was surprised.

Not only military vessels, but spacecraft can generally handle most of their navigation through automated control, and ships equipped with atmospheric entry capability can perform re-entry automatically.

Yet Shinnosuke is deliberately choosing to manually pilot the atmospheric entry.

Yeah, autopilot's fine, but since this is Fubuki's first planetary descent, I want to get a feel for it manually. Don't let the appearance fool you—I've got plenty of experience with planetary landings. I've handled every kind of weather, zero visibility landings using only instruments, and even visual-only landings with minimal instrumentation. I've even done emergency landings during battles with space pirates.

While speaking, align the ship with the penetration point and control the ship's orientation.

"Everyone, please fasten your seatbelts in preparation for atmospheric entry."

Instead of Shinosuke, who was managing the descent procedure, Marks urged everyone to assume the safety position.

Although Fubuki's performance made such danger unlikely, it was still a required protocol.

After confirming everyone's safety, Shinosuke gripped the control yoke again.

"Descent point marked! Fix the bow-up angle at 50 degrees. Begin descent."

Fubuki began its descent toward Librina, raising its bow to assume the re-entry posture.

As Fubuki eventually entered the atmospheric layers, it descended while its hull was exposed to intense heat.

Inside the bridge, despite the exterior hull's condition, it was extremely quiet—only a faint vibration and a steady rhythm of notification tones indicating passage through designated altitudes could be heard.

Amidst this quiet atmosphere, Millena in the co-pilot's seat was intently watching Shinnosuke's movements at the forward-right pilot's station as he maneuvered the ship.

Sinnosuke was making small, precise adjustments to the steering wheel and the lever beside the pilot's seat, fine-tuning the vessel's orientation and descent speed.

(Amazing... to descend onto the planet so smoothly. Master Sinnosuke seems serious, yet his movements and expression are calm and effortless.)

Milena memorizing every detail of Sinnosuke's piloting.

Eventually, the exterior view displayed on the large monitor ahead takes on a bluish tint.

The color of the planet's sky.

"Wah... this is the natural color of the sky... Such a beautiful blue..."

Seyla gasps in awe as this is her first time seeing the planet's descent.

Listening to Seyla's voice, Shinnosuke gradually lowers the ship's bow, reducing their descent speed.

Fubuki is descending above the ocean at the equator of the planet Librina.

Thanks to favorable weather, the monitor displays two shades of blue—the sky's blue and the sea's blue—spreading out before them.

If they maintain a cruising speed within the atmosphere for about an hour from here, they'll reach their destination: the harbor of Aldera.

As Shinosuke guided Fubuki forward, Seira leaned forward, gazing intently at the sky and sea. Seeing her demeanor, Shinosuke gave a wry smile.

"Markus, take over communications control."

"Understood."

"Also, since atmospheric entry is complete, you're free to unfasten your seatbelts now."

Having completed atmospheric entry, Millina and the others rose from their seats, enjoying the view outside through the monitors.

Amidst all this, Seira was observing the surface of the sea by enlarging the footage from her monitor at her desk.

Amazing... the sky is beautiful, and the sea is beautiful too... Wait, what's this?

Seyla, awestruck by the beauty of the sea, noticed an unusual change on the water's surface.

Something dark was bobbing up and down on the sea's surface.

That's quite a number.

Upon closer inspection, it appears to be a massive group of living creatures.

Those are a group of whales that live in the Librina Sea.

Yang, with his background in biology, explains.

"Wait? Those are whales? There are whales in the Librina Sea too?"

Yang nods cheerfully in response to Seira's question.

"Planet Librina is an ocean planet, with oceans covering about 80% of its surface, and a rich variety of marine life thrives there. On planets with seas of a certain size, whale-like creatures tend to emerge and live. Though their shapes vary greatly, their ecology is remarkably similar across the board."

"Completely different stars, yet similar creatures evolved independently?"

"Does it seem strange? But it's not really strange at all. Life forms that arise on planets with similar environments tend to evolve along similar paths, not just marine life. Of course, there are always slight differences. That's how humanity evolved independently on different planets, and through their interactions, the world we have today came to be."

Seyra listened intently, her eyes sparkling with fascination as she absorbed Professor Yan's special lecture.

"It's grand and full of romance. But the whales of Librina are incredibly large, and their herds are enormous too."

"Several species of whales inhabit the seas of Librina, but that one is particularly large. They can grow up to 100 meters in length, and it's common for their herds to number over a hundred individuals."

"Amazing. How can everyone in such a massive herd swim in the same direction without getting lost? Do the Riblina whales also communicate through songs, just like this?"

"Yes, whales from any planet communicate underwater using sound waves. Some of these vibrations fall within our audible range and are called whale songs, but that's just a small part of their full communication system."

As Fubuki listened to Seira and Yan's conversation, she continued navigating through the atmosphere of the planet Librina and eventually arrived at the port of Aldena.