“What! Luzor! And Richard?”
“Huh? Ehh? Both of you, why are you here?”
Weltall and Stella were both wide-eyed with surprise at the sudden intruders.
Incidentally, it seemed Richard was the one who had called out to her. He too apparently hadn’t expected things to turn out this way, as his usually sleepy eyes were now wide open.
“Ah, well… I saw Miss Luzor hesitating in front of the door, so I called out to her…”
[Ha-ha-ha-ha!]
Then, the handsome man on the monitor burst into loud laughter.
“Weltall. Did they perhaps think you were having a secret rendezvous? Ha-ha-ha-ha!”
“Wh—wha—of course not!”
Weltall flustered. Stella, her face red, looked down silently.
Seeing this, the handsome man laughed even harder.
“Lord Zenon, please spare us your jokes!”
The man on the monitor—of course, Lilian knew him.
Commander of the Lunar Base: His Excellency, Major General Zenon-Kuze.
He was the supervising officer for the exercise.
“Luzor! What are you doing here!?”
Unlike on the observation deck earlier, the voice Weltall directed at her now carried the impatience of a young man flustered by embarrassment—something Lilian immediately recognized.
“Well… how should I put it? As His Excellency the Major General said, I suppose…”
In truth, Lilian had followed the two after overhearing their strange conversation, trailing them out of sheer nosiness.
So Zenon-Kuze’s earlier remark was correct.
She had suspected they were sneaking around. It was completely accurate.
“Y-You mean…! This is slander!”
Whatever he imagined, Weltall’s face was now just as red.
“If a young man and woman sneak off alone to a place where no one goes, of course people will suspect something?”
“Hmm. That is logical.”
Unexpectedly, Major General Zenon backed her up.
“Lord Zenon—no, Your Excellency, please refrain as well!”
Perhaps remembering he was in the presence of a superior, Weltall regained some composure, clearing his throat before turning to Lilian—though his gaze kept darting away nervously.
“It seems there’s been some misunderstanding, but things are not as you think. I merely wished to pay my respects to Major General Zenon. After all, he oversees the exercises.”
“Ah… I see…? But the bridge systems are offline right now—”
The one who answered that doubt was Richard, who had slipped into the bridge as if it were nothing.
“Comms still work, you know? They wouldn’t disable those—what if there’s an emergency?”
“I… suppose that’s true. But never mind that—why is Stella here—?”
If it was just about greetings, there was no need for her to be present.
“Urk… well, that’s…”
“You were promoting her, right, Wel?”
“Hey, Richard!”
Listening to their exchange, Lilian could piece things together.
(Ah, I see. Stella’s sudden assignment to fleet duty and the path to her cruiser command—this must be where it started. Weltall must’ve recognized her talent and pitched her.)
The dots connected.
Zenon was a major general, commander of the Lunar Base.
Even if it was a ceremonial role, he still had enough influence to push through personnel decisions.
(A pretty-faced figurehead commander…)
Zenon-Kuze—a prodigy who rose to Imperial Major General by twenty. From a prestigious family, distantly related to the Emperor himself, even holding a minor claim to the throne. (Though it was said his place in the succession was so low, counting from the bottom would be faster.) Still, as part of the imperial branch, he wielded considerable power and influence.
That was the official narrative.
In reality, his position was one where he neither achieved great feats nor could be carelessly dismissed—so he’d been assigned as Lunar Base Commander.
And while “Lunar Base Commander” sounded impressive, nearly all its military forces fell under the Imperial Mainland Command.
Since Grand Marshal Alfred-Keilinach held supreme authority, any emergency would strip Zenon of control over the base’s forces.
In short—he was a figurehead.
That said, the moon did host cities, mostly luxury tourist facilities, along with shipyards and factories—a crucial hub. So they couldn’t just leave it in utterly incompetent hands.
Still, Zenon’s duties leaned more toward corporate executive than military officer. It was said he’d never done anything resembling actual soldier’s work.
Even in her past life, Lilian had no memory of Zenon playing any major role in the war.
After the Empire’s crushing defeat, internal power struggles erupted. She’d heard he was either sidelined or executed—but by the time she reached her thirties, his name had vanished entirely.
A man so faint in memory.
The only thing she did recall? That he was handsome.
(When politics grew chaotic, the Emperor—some say the Crown Prince—was nearly overthrown. Others claimed Zenon plotted rebellion to dismantle the Empire. Though… the one who dragged him down from the stage was…)
Lilian glanced at Stella, still red-faced and fidgeting.
(…This girl, wasn’t it?)
In her past life, she’d never understood Stella and Zenon’s relationship.
Judging by the present, Weltall had orchestrated this meeting—but how had it led to hostility?
(Well, given that Stella seized military power in that world, it makes sense if she eliminated him as an obstacle… But that’s the worst-case future.)
At the very least, this encounter wasn’t a bad one.
“Actually, Wel, it’s perfect timing. There’s someone else I wanted you to meet.”
Suddenly, Richard—wearing his usual unshakable grin—turned to Lilian.
“She’s quite something. I wanted you to see her too. She and Stella played Ares and Delan like fiddles.”
“What?”
Weltall’s expression shifted at Richard’s words.
But the biggest reaction came from Zenon.
[Oh? Another one you deem noteworthy besides this ‘Stella’?]
“Yes, Your Excellency. Miss Luzor here, alongside Miss Stella, effortlessly crushed Ares and Delan. Granted, it was a simulation—but it was a masterful battle, without a doubt.”
Richard bowed as he reported to Zenon.
“Hey, Richard—seriously?”
As if unable to believe it, Weltall whispered urgently to him.
“I-It’s true!”
Unexpectedly, it was Stella who answered—
her voice slightly shrill, as if tense.
“M-Miss Lilian understood exactly what I wanted to do and matched me instantly! Sh-She’s… strong!”
“Stella?”
Weltall was naturally startled by her sudden outburst.
“I mean—she’s incredibly calm!”
“Calm…? Luzor?”
“It’s true, Wel. I’ll send you the data later.”
[Heh. It seems this year’s crop is exceptionally talented. How delightful. Richard—might I see that data as well?]
“Sir, yes, sir!”
Richard saluted, then muttered “Pardon me” as he tapped away at his tablet.
[Good. I’ll review it later. Now, regarding Weltall’s matter—]
A split second.The transmission flickered.
[What!? Tiberius is—runaway—]
Then—snap—the monitor went dark.
“What the—!?”
“Wel, look—the instruments!”
“This is insane! Tiberius’s main system just—booted on its own!”
Weltall’s voice was thick with shock—understandably.
Tiberius’s core systems, externally controlled, had activated autonomously. That was impossible.
But that wasn’t the only problem.
“What’s going on? It’s not responding! Richard—anything on your end?”
“No good. The system’s fully online. Can’t cancel it!”
The two scrambled across the bridge’s control panels, but the cause remained a mystery.
Stella, meanwhile, clung to Lilian in a panic, flustered beyond words.
Lilian said nothing to her—but she understood what this meant.
(It’s finally… happening.)
She alone knew: Tiberius was preparing to warp.
And this was the beginning of the Tiberius Incident. The trigger for the interstellar war between Earth and the aliens. She knew.
Yet she wouldn’t stop it. Couldn’t stop it.
Because this “accident” was necessary.
Still, one question lingered.
(It’s… earlier than before.)
The warp was happening sooner than she remembered.
Maybe her memory was flawed. Maybe, even in her past life, it had been this soon.
But that didn’t matter now. What did matter was what came next. Tiberius’s fate: a journey of 300 light-years.
A dazzling light engulfed everything.
“No way—is this a warp!?”
“It won’t stop!”
Weltall and Richard fought helplessly against the controls.
“D-Daddy!”
Stella’s scream.
The light peaked—
And then—
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The warp completed.
There must have been a few more impulsive blasts inside the ship. The ship shuddered slightly—an effect of warp brakes, automated thrusters stabilizing the hull post-jump.
Combined with artificial gravity, the vibration was brief.
“…The Horsehead Nebula.”
All systems were back online. Beyond the reinforced glass of the bridge, displayed on the main monitor—
A cosmic vista.
Stretching seven light-years—a colossal dark nebula.
True to its name, a shadow like a horse’s head, cast by interstellar gas and dust lit by distant stars.
But Lilian knows. Beyond the monitor. She doesn’t know how many hundreds of light-years away it lies, but that nebula… is the enemy’s stronghold.
And soon, they will come from there.
(Ah… they’re here.)
For thousands of years, that nebula has—whether by some bizarre coincidence or by design—barely changed its shape.
It births countless supernovae, engulfs dying stars, and drifts through the cosmos like a dark nebula, looming over them as if watching.
And beyond its shadow—or perhaps within it—they are there.
So, she can’t help but shout:
“Battle stations! Activate the radar!”
The enemy is coming.
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