Within the hyperspace

"Entered hyperspace."

Fubuki plunged into hyperspace, following the Seeker Eye that had been dragged in by gravitational waves.

"What is this space?!"

"It appears to be an abnormal gravity zone."

Enveloped in darkness, this space differs from the weightless cosmos, with gravitational waves flowing in every direction, tossing the ship about uncontrollably and making attitude control nearly impossible.

Shinoseki skillfully manipulated the throttle lever and steering yoke in an attempt to stabilize the ship's attitude.

"Damn it! Marks, where's the seeker eye?"

This was a space so turbulent that even the powerful Fubuki, with its high-output engines, struggled to navigate properly.

A small vessel's seeker eye wouldn't stand a chance.

"Searching for the seeker eye... Found. Bearing two. In a tangle, uncontrollable. Moving away. No communication possible."

Understood! Normal containment won't work. I'm forcing it in.

Shin nosuke aimed Fubuki toward the Seeker Eye.

While struggling to stabilize Fubuki amidst the violent vibrations caused by gravitational forces from all directions, he approached the Seeker Eye.

"Master, match the rotation of the Seeker Eye."

"Got it!"

Fubuki entered rotational maneuvering, synchronizing with the spinning, tangled state of the Seeker Eye.

"The Seeker Eye is firing its thrusters—appears to be trying to stop its rotation."

"Good, it seems to be stable for now. Let's hurry with the containment!"

Fubuki approached the Seeker Eye while opening the hatch beneath the ship's bow.

"Synchronized. Maintain the current maneuver. Containment in five, four, three, two, one."

"Docking!"

Shinobu forcefully docked Fubuki onto the Seeker Eye, enveloping it completely.

...Thud!...

Fubuki forcibly secured the Seeker Eye, as if colliding with it.

"Containment of the Seeker Eye successful. The Seeker Eye appears undamaged, though the docking latch in the internal submarine bay has sustained damage."

"Understood. Marks, confirm the Seeker Eye's status and verify the two crew members are safe, then guide them here."

"Understood."

As Marks exited the bridge, Shinobu began checking the situation for evacuation.

We must find a way to escape from hyperspace.

In the Seeker Eye's cockpit, Alisa and Merisa were slumped over their pilot and co-pilot seats.

"Ugh... Merisa, are you okay?"

"...Yes... somehow..."

"Does that mean the turbulence has calmed down? So we're safe?"

"We were rescued by Shinobuske's Fukubi..."

Though barely conscious, the two were unable to move.

...Gan! Gan! Gan!... Bagon!

Markus burst through the door, having smashed it open.

"Are you both alright? I've come to rescue you."

"...Yes, we're fine... we're okay..."

Markus checked on Alisa and Merry's condition.

"Both are in light condition. I'll take them to Fukubi's bridge."

He lifted both women and headed toward the bridge where Shinobuske was waiting.

At Fukubi's bridge, Shinobuske, accustomed to controlling the ship within the gravity belt, was searching for a way to exit from hyperspace.

"Locations of cracks leading to normal space are lost... or perhaps already closed off... Still, forcing a breakout would be far too dangerous."

Exiting hyperspace was not theoretically impossible.

Even with spatial leap navigation, ships pass through hyperspace to instantly jump to their destination coordinates.

However, it requires accelerating to the necessary speed to enter hyperspace, based on correctly calculating both the jump start and destination coordinates.

Under current circumstances, neither of those can be accomplished.

"This is quite a dilemma..."

As Shinosuke pondered, Marks returned with Alicia and Merisa.

"Master, we're back. The two of them are safe."

"Well done, Marks."

Marks seated the two women at an available chair.

"Please rest here."

"Yes, thank you."

Marks took his position at the central operator station.

"Well then, Master. Have you found a way to escape from hyperspace?"

Marks checked the current status of Fubuki by operating the terminal.

"No, not yet."

Marks appeared to sigh in response to Shinosuke's reply.

"Hah... Master, while I was out rescuing the two of you—while people were actually working—just what exactly were you doing?"

Shinosuke glared at Marks, who looked utterly exasperated.

"Hey, Marks. You really expect me to find a way out of hyperspace that easily? You're being a bit cold, aren't you?"

"Yes, my body surface temperature is..."

"That's not the point! The thing is, if you forcibly exit hyperspace, you could end up anywhere—right in the middle of a space station city, causing a catastrophe, or even straight into a burning star, getting incinerated in an instant. It's not going to be that simple!"

Alysa and Merisa stared in stunned silence at the exchange between Shinosuke and Marks.

At that moment, Merisa noticed an anomaly displayed on the external monitor.

"Shinosuke, look at that—!"

Hearing Merisa's call, Shinosuke and Marks turned to the monitor.

"Hey, what the hell is this... no way...!"

"Yes....It's a space whale."

The monitor displayed a school of space whales.