Within the Sea of Quanta, countless bubble universes drifted like foam, flickering in and out of existence, as though some invisible hand were weaving an eternal riddle.
The Hyperion floated silently amid this vast sea.
Reflected in the shifting light of the Sea of Quanta, the Hyperion's glow waxed and waned.
It looked as though it might be swallowed at any moment, yet it remained firmly in place, like a lighthouse that would never sink.
The ship had clearly been drifting through this strange and dazzling ocean for a very, very long time.
Long enough for everyone on the bridge to think of it as another home.
Beside the command chair sat a young woman dressed in an ornate palace gown.
A feather fan swayed gently in her hand.
Guanxing.
She lowered the fan and looked toward the girl fiddling with something on a holographic screen nearby.
"Bronie," she said, her voice cool and clear. "Have you found Mr. Assassin?"
The girl called Bronie turned around, a lollipop stick protruding from the corner of her mouth.
"Nope." She drew the word out lazily. "But we've got a rough idea of the coordinates."
After a brief pause, she swept a finger across the screen, and a set of coordinates unfolded before Guanxing.
They were not located within the Sea of Quanta, but in another distant dimension.
"He isn't in the Sea of Quanta."
Bronie stood up and brushed off dust that was not there.
"It's a little far away, but I sent over the contingency plan the Captain left behind.
Ai-chan and the system installed on the Hyperion, bundled together and transmitted as a package."
"Bundled together?" Guanxing raised an eyebrow.
"Mhm."
Bronie nodded. "That little cabbage head may be loud and scatterbrained most of the time, but she's pretty dependable when it counts.
With her around, the Captain should be fine."
Guanxing was silent for a moment.
"And then?"
"Then we follow the clues and go find him."
Bronie shrugged.
"As long as we know which way to look, we'll find him eventually."
Guanxing said nothing more.
She simply stared at the world marked by those coordinates.
Was the Captain truly there?
Then she turned, her gaze settling on the figure at the far end of the bridge.
Luna.
The vampire girl, who had grown increasingly quiet of late, stood alone before the observation window, gazing outside.
Moonlight, though no true moon existed here, passed through some unknown refraction.
It fell across Luna's long hair, coating it in a cool, pale glow.
Her profile was so still and quiet that it made one's heart ache.
Guanxing's gaze lingered on her silhouette, pausing for a second on one particularly prominent area.
That damned vampire.
Her eyes unconsciously drifted a little lower.
Then lower still.
"Tch."
Guanxing turned her head away and vigorously waved her feather fan, trying to drive the chaotic thoughts from her mind.
She had such a large chest, and she was so tall.
And there she stood, looking as though she was thinking about the Captain.
Guanxing glanced down at her own thoroughly unremarkable chest.
Then she looked in Luna's direction.
Then down at herself again.
"Guanxing?"
Bronie's voice suddenly rang out.
Guanxing snapped back to her senses, nearly dropping her feather fan.
"Wh-what is it?"
Bronie looked at her, a faintly knowing smile in her eyes.
"What were you thinking about just now?"
"Nothing."
Guanxing kept a stern expression, doing her best to maintain the composed air of a wise strategist.
"I was merely wondering where Miss Fallen Rosemary had gone."
Bronie blinked but did not expose her.
"Rosemary? She left the Hyperion early."
Guanxing frowned slightly.
"Left early? Where did she go?"
"To find the Captain."
Bronie shrugged. "She said that instead of waiting around here, she might as well head over first and take a look.
Maybe she'll find some clues ahead of us."
Guanxing was silent for a moment.
That woman was always like this.
Quiet and unobtrusive, yet quicker to act than anyone else.
"What about Sirin?"
she asked.
Bronie gestured with her chin toward another part of the bridge.
"Sirin..."
She pointed across the bridge. "She's staying aboard the ship."
"Staying aboard? Just sitting around?"
"Mhm."
Bronie nodded. "Magical Girl Sirin is currently using her magical-girl powers to stare into space."
Guanxing fell silent.
"What is she thinking about?" she asked.
"Who knows? Maybe her friends, or maybe the Captain."
Bronie paused.
"After all, that idiot Captain is kind to everyone."
Guanxing fell silent.
She looked toward the far end of the bridge.
Kasumi was quietly tending to her weapons.
Blades, hidden weapons, and all manner of oddly shaped armaments were wiped clean, maintained, and returned to their proper places one by one.
Delta sat in her room with a game console in her hands, her fingers hammering furiously at the buttons.
On the screen, some unfortunate boss was being mercilessly beaten to a pulp.
Her expression was as focused as that of a true gaming addict, completely oblivious to everything around her.
Guanxing withdrew her gaze and once again looked out through the window at the boundless Sea of Quanta.
The Captain, that fool who was always smiling, always gently accepting everyone.
That idiot who was clearly exhausted himself, yet always took care of others first.
She gently waved the feather fan in her hand.
"Let's go."
Bronie blinked. "Where?"
"To find Mr. Assassin."
Guanxing turned around, her gaze sweeping over everyone on the bridge.
Bronie stretched.
"All right, you're the boss, Guanxing. Let's get moving."
She turned and walked toward the control console.
"Coordinates locked. Course plotted. Energy output to maximum."
Her hands flew across the interface.
"Hyperion, set sail!"
Within the Sea of Quanta, the colossal vessel that would never sink slowly altered its course.
It left a long trail through the darkness, like a shooting star.