"Master, we will soon clear the monitored zone."
"Okay—engage the warp drive!"
—Solo warp. The only vessels capable of it are the Galactic Federation military's super-dreadnought battleships, and even they can only warp out within a limited set of zones.
Long ago, back when warp navigation was still being researched, they say a number of large ships were built with experimental warp drives aboard. But the device was enormous, and its energy consumption was off the charts.
During a test run, with problems still piled sky-high, a tiny error crept into the destination coordinates—and the ship plowed straight into a star. The impact blew the star to smithereens... a catastrophe that wiped out an entire star system, or so the story goes.
After that, policy did a complete about-face. Research into shipboard warp was frozen, and one giant Warp Station was built in each star system. Warping became possible only between stations—and so it remains to this day.
But my beloved Lemurias—a small freighter, mind you—carries an ultra-compact warp drive! Apparently it's such an incredible piece of tech that your average engineer couldn't even tell what it is. This is one of the Lemurias's OOPArt-like abilities.
"Warp drive online. Setting coordinates... ... Complete. Gravity canceler deployed. Warp drive has reached critical. Ready to warp at any time."
"All right! Off we go, then!"
"Acknowledged. All systems, all green. Beginning countdown—three, two, one—"
For just an instant I felt a G-force pressing me into my seat, but the gravity canceler's interference kept it from hitting too hard.
The starfield outside the window stretched out into streaks of light. The ship was wrapped in an eerie silence and a faint vibration, as though gliding through a rift in spacetime—
A few minutes later, a gentle reverse-G pulled the world back into place, and on the external monitor spread the glow of an entirely different star system.
"Warp complete. Confirming coordinates... ... We are approximately 6.5 AU from Cardia II, in the Cardia system. Remaining energy: minimal."
"Great! We can reach Cardia II in a little under an hour. We'll refuel once we're there."
We'd shortcut several days' worth of distance. Still—if my 'friend' at the Security Bureau finds out, I'll get an earful.
—Cyril Harsch, Director-General of the Intelligence Division, Galactic Federation Security Bureau. For reasons of their own, this bigwig became my minder—my 'friend.' Most of my scrapes get smoothed over thanks to his protection. Incidentally, he's one of the very few people who knows the Lemurias carries a solo warp drive.
"By the way, Lilith—is our 'cargo' in the hold behaving itself?"
"Yes. Three hours and twenty-nine minutes have passed since the last alert, and it has been perfectly quiet."
"Good, good. Let's get it delivered, and fast! Punch it to sublight!"
"This is Traffic Control. Freighter Lemurias, you are cleared to dock. Opening Dock 17. Do you require a transport drone?"
"Thank you. Just one small container, so one drone, please."
"Understood. What are the contents of the small container?"
"Uh, um... relief supplies." "(Lilith, take care of the container's camouflage.)"
"Understood, Master."
Before long an inspection drone arrived alongside the transport drone. The inspection drone began scanning the small container. —Even with the camouflage running, this is nerve-wracking.
"Relief supplies confirmed. Transporting to Loading Bay D-3."
"Okaay, thanks a bunch~ ♡" I watched the transport drone sling up the small container and carry it off, and let out a sigh of relief.
"Lilith, have we reached the recipient?" "Yes, Master. They are standing by at Loading Bay D-3."
"Thanks. Well then, I'll go finish the handover!"
At Loading Bay D-3, a robed figure was waiting. The face beneath the deep hood was, once again, hidden behind a mask. And a voice-changer's synthesized voice.
"Well, well, nice work! Much faster than expected. No, truly, this job was a race against the clock. I was beside myself over here, I tell you. My, my—splendid, splendid, a real professional's work!"
For all the ominous getup, this was quite the talkative fellow.
"Let me just check it right away. Ahh, camouflaged perfectly—impressive as always! These days the inspections have gotten so strict... and when you think of the trouble and time the paperwork takes, well, you know? Still—that ship of yours, how shall I put it, it's got a certain gravitas, hasn't it."
For all his chatter, he briskly finished the electronic signature and took possession of the container without a single slip. And in a gap in the robe, between his motions, I caught a glimpse of a Holy Paladia Order patch.
(...The Paladia Order, huh. Looks like the body belonged to one of the faithful.)
"Well then, truly, thank you so much! Should fate bring us together again, by all means...!" "Ahaha... (Never again, thanks.)"
The robed figure gave a cheery wave and vanished, 'cargo' and all.
—The Holy Paladia Order. The largest religious body in the galaxy. Whatever world you visit, you'll spot one of their churches. On some planets, converting comes with hefty guarantees for education and medical care, and there's apparently no end to believers who emigrate just for that. In any case, the Order's influence is said to be tremendous. Not that I care, personally.
"Well now, my wallet's nice and warm, so for once I'd love to splurge at a top-tier hotel~. Lilith, could you book a three-star hotel around here?"
"Understood, Master. Shall I also arrange to refuel the special fuel?" "Yes, fill her up, please. As for me—that's right! When in Cardia II, it's the local specialty: lasagna!"
There was a moment there where I broke into a cold sweat wondering how it'd turn out, but in the end the pay was generous—a good job. And surely it made the funeral in time.
Leaving the spaceport, I strolled down the main street with a spring in my step. On a giant screen set into a wall, a gaudy video played, over a distinctly shady bit of narration.
《You, too—find the light of truth in the Divine Star Region. Your journey there will bring peace to the galaxy. The Holy Paladia Order delivers love and hope to all the cosmos—》
On the screen, men and women in white robes clasped hands, smiling amid a cluster of shining planets. "Haah~. The 'Divine Star Region,' huh... And just where is that supposed to be?"
Lilith's voice came through the earpiece. "The 'Divine Star Region' is said to be the birthplace of humanity. Its coordinates have been completely erased from every record. There are even experts who question whether it exists at all."
"'The birthplace of humanity,' is it. For someone like me, who doesn't even know when or where she was born, that's a bit too grand a tale~." Lilith answered with silence.
—A few years ago. When I woke from cold sleep inside the Lemurias, I'd lost most of my memories of the past. About all I remembered were my own name, the ship's name, and the name of the AI aboard.
Even so, I piloted the Lemurias without realizing it and chatted with Lilith as if it were the most natural thing—so there must have been things I 'remembered' somewhere deep down.
As it happens, the one who helped me back then was Cyril Harsch, Director-General of the Intelligence Division, Galactic Federation Security Bureau. Without prying deeply into my background, he arranged the licenses, a place to live, and even the job of 'courier'—everything I needed to make a life in this galaxy.
Still—at words of that sort, 'the birthplace of humanity' and the like, a scene surfaces in my mind for just an instant. (A 'blue planet'... Chikyuu...)
When I ask Lilith about it, she says the information-access permission is locked, so I can't learn the details.
No sense fretting over what I can't know—and what matters to me right now is which shop's lasagna I'm going to eat!
Restaurant after restaurant lines the street, most of them touting lasagna as their specialty—but the taste differs shop to shop. After much agonizing, I deliberately chose the one with no line. This is a gamble. And the verdict on its flavor was————
"Good morning, Master. How did you find the three-star hotel I selected, the Kaleido Court? It is one of the highest-rated hotels on Cardia II for both hygiene and security ranking. For a courier who operates solo, as you do, the safety of one's lodgings is an important selection criterion, after all. Furthermore, every guest room is equipped with the latest-model AI assistant, with abundant supplementary support—though even the 'latest model' is apparently no match for me. What's more, the restaurant's lasagna was rated 'exquisite' in the galactic gourmet guides. Since we were there, a little reward is important, I thought. Incidentally, the bathroom has—"
Lilith rattles on and on, awfully talkative for so early in the morning. For an AI, she apparently has things that are 'hard to say'—and when she does, she prattles pointlessly, that one.
"Lilith? Awfully chipper this morning. Isn't there something 'more important' you should be telling me?" "...As expected of you, Master. You see right through me."
"For the record, last night was a bust. A total bust. So that's what the lasagna's like at a shop where the crickets are chirping... So? What happened?"
"My condolences, Master. I hesitate to say it, as it feels like piling on, but—after refueling the Astrum Cells, the special fuel consumed by the last warp, the account balance is on the verge of running dry."
"Whaat?! That job paid a fortune, didn't it?!" "The price of Astrum Cells on this planet is abnormally inflated... and on top of that, the three-star hotel's bill was higher than anticipated."
After all that fright I went through to haul it—! Well, sure, the three-star hotel and the 'fill her up' were both my calls, but...
"No use crying over it now. I'm heading straight for the Window! Gotta find the next job! Oh, and—keep an eye on the latest local topics around here, would you."
"Understood. I will focus my search on news that seems related to yesterday's 'cargo.'"
Sharp as ever. She's earned the right to boast that she's better than the latest-model AIs. Though she could stand to be just a touch—more, somehow.
At a church on the way to the Window, a funeral was being held with solemn dignity. Perhaps it was the body I delivered yesterday. Rest, now, in peace—.