Search for the Space Whale

Shinnosuke and the others began investigating the region of space where sightings of the Space Whale had been reported.

All the reports came from passenger ships and cargo vessels, but these ships never deviate from their regular routes.

That means the Space Whale must have come closer to the ships' flight paths.

Judging from the sighting reports, the Space Whale must be lingering in this area of space. While we can't confirm whether it's the same individual, the characteristics reported in the sightings match, and all occurred in the same region, so it's reasonable to assume it's the same entity. That said, even though sightings are increasing, there have only been a few reports along the usual shipping lanes, where many spacecraft regularly travel. This suggests the Space Whale may actually be hiding in a region somewhat removed from the standard routes...

Yang, having obtained Shinosuke's permission, connects the investigation equipment to Seira's communications control station and squints at the monitor, explaining.

"Then the survey area will be quite extensive. Even though Fubuki's detection capabilities are excellent, having to rely solely on passive detectors will make things tough. It might be impossible to complete within the ten-day contractual survey period."

Active detectors, which emit various detection waves, cannot be used due to the risk of scaring off the cosmic whales.

That leaves the task extremely difficult for just one ship, Fusou.

"We understand that. These kinds of surveys take time, and even if we don't achieve results this time, we're prepared to conduct the survey repeatedly."

Yang and Sanders sat on the equipment storage crates, operating their respective survey instruments.

Fubuki moved back and forth across the designated area, gradually drifting away from the usual flight path.

Although the contract required ten days of surveying, it wasn't feasible for everyone to work nonstop around the clock.

Nevertheless, since every second of the limited time had to be used efficiently, they decided to implement a two-shift system, with each shift lasting five hours, during the night hours—though in space, there is no true day or night.

Shift one consisted of Shinosuke, Milena, and Sanders; shift two of Marks, Celia, and Yan. They ensured adequate sleep time and took care not to accumulate fatigue as much as possible.

For the first three days of the investigation, Shinosuke's team had achieved no results at all. But on the fourth day, Celia noticed a slight anomaly.

"……What was that?"

"Celia, what's wrong?"

"No, it's just… a bit of noise in the communication, maybe…"

Celia checks the communication log, tilting her head slightly.

Sanders and Yan also review the log.

"…This is it! Right here! For less than two seconds, it sounds like a kind of noise… kuku-kku…?"

"Indeed!"

"But it doesn't sound like mechanical interference. It almost sounds like a click, but I've never heard of space whales emitting click signals."

Even Shinosuke tries listening, and it does indeed sound more like a vibration than mere noise.

So faint that an ordinary communications officer might easily miss it, yet it's inconceivable that a ship would be transmitting to Fubuki in this region, far off the normal route, and impossible to have picked up sound in the vacuum of space.

"Did Marks notice it?"

"Yes, Serah reported it first, but we've observed it as well. This isn't noise. It's some kind of communication."

"Serah, can you determine the direction?"

"Yes, roughly—between ten and eleven o'clock."

Shin nosuke looked at Sanders and the others.

"Shall we investigate?"

"Yes, even a faint sign like this needs confirmation. Please proceed."

"Understood."

Shin nosuke nodded, adjusting the course toward the region where the mysterious signal had originated.

"...Cela, Marks, what about your readings?"

"No change so far..."

"Nothing unusual detected from our end either."

Four hours into their investigation upon reaching the target zone, Shin nosuke and the others had found no signs of change.

"Maybe it moved... or perhaps it wasn't a space whale to begin with..."

Sandars nodded in agreement with Shin nosuke's remark, but Seira and Yan reacted differently.

"Perhaps it's neither of those things. Maybe it's hiding somewhere in the region, watching us... I've heard space whales are very curious, but maybe there's something else at play—something that's frightened it, making it hesitate to approach us?"

Yan also nodded in agreement with Seira's words.

"I share Seira's perspective. If the anomaly we just witnessed was indeed a communication signal from the cosmic whale, it might have been attempting some form of contact."

Shinobu tilted his head in response to Yan's words.

"If that's the case, why hide its form? Are we not meant to be its communication partners?"

"No, if that were true, then according to Shinnosuke's theory, the cosmic whale would have already escaped from this region of space. But I simply don't believe that's the case..."

Seyla answers Shinosuke's question, but she seems unsure of her own thoughts.

I think I kind of understand...!

Suddenly, Miliena cried out.

Milena, what's wrong?

No, after hearing the conversation between Seira and Yan, I realized we can't just be searching for the cosmic whale.

Milena starts saying things that deny the very foundation of the investigation.

What do you mean it's not allowed to look for the space whale?

It's communication. The cosmic whale is trying to communicate with something, but instead of another cosmic whale, a spaceship arrives. We don't know if the cosmic whale understands the spaceship, but it doesn't respond at all—it just wanders back and forth silently. Of course it would feel creepy.

"Oh, I see what you mean!"

Shinnosuke and the others had been searching using only passive detectors, avoiding active ones that might stimulate the space whale, but that very caution had backfired.

"Indeed, ordinary space whales might approach out of curiosity, but since we're investigating the unusual increase in space whale sightings in this region, we couldn't ignore the possibility that something stronger than mere curiosity is drawing them here."

Sanders nodded vigorously.

"Then, why don't we try reaching out ourselves? Instead of sneaking around, let's actively use the detector to signal what we're looking for, or simply retransmit the signal we just picked up?"

Sands and Yan also agreed to Shinosuke's proposal.