Volume 1 — Chapter 3: Space Dash — The First Mission

The Space Dash had finally awakened.

After sixteen years of silence, the legendary spacecraft was alive again.

Lights illuminated the enormous command room.

Holographic displays floated above the consoles.

The engines were slowly returning to standby.

Navigation systems were active.

Life support was functioning.

Communication systems had begun reconnecting with the outside world.

And in the center of it all stood a ten-year-old girl.

Hina Amamiya.

She stared at the captain's console with a strange expression.

She still didn't understand why the ship recognized her.

She didn't understand why the system called her Captain.

She didn't understand why her hand had activated a spacecraft that had supposedly been abandoned sixteen years ago.

And most importantly...

She didn't remember ever being here.

Ren stood several meters behind her.

He looked at the enormous holographic display.

The words were still there.

CAPTAIN: HINA AMAMIYA

Mio slowly approached the console.

"Are you sure the identification system isn't malfunctioning?"

Astra answered immediately.

"Negative."

Mio looked toward the holographic artificial intelligence.

"Could the database be corrupted?"

"Possible."

Mio frowned.

"But you said her identity was confirmed."

"Correct."

"Then how?"

Astra paused.

"That information is unavailable."

Everyone became quiet.

Ren crossed his arms.

"So you don't know?"

"I do not possess sufficient information to answer that question."

Kai looked at Sora.

"That's the first time I've heard an AI say that."

Sora nodded.

"Me too."

Hina looked at Astra.

"Do you know me?"

Astra turned toward her.

"Yes."

Hina's eyes widened.

"You do?"

"I recognize your biometric identity."

"But do you remember me?"

Astra paused.

"I possess records associated with your identity."

Hina stepped closer.

"What kind of records?"

Astra displayed several encrypted files.

"Captain authorization. Crew registration. Medical information. Mission permissions. Command access."

Hina stared at the files.

"But I don't remember any of that."

"I understand."

"Do you know what happened to me?"

Astra's expression remained calm.

"No."

Hina lowered her head.

The answer hurt more than she expected.

Ren noticed her expression.

"Hina."

She looked up.

"You don't have to remember everything right now."

"But this is my ship."

She looked around.

"At least... that's what it says."

Ren smiled slightly.

"Then we'll help you figure it out."

Hina looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because we're lost too."

For the first time, Hina smiled.

A very small smile.

"Okay."

---

The others began exploring the command room.

Kai was fascinated by the control systems.

"This technology is incredible."

Sora moved toward another console.

"I don't even recognize half of these interfaces."

Mio examined the navigation system.

"The Space Dash's navigation computer is far more advanced than the systems used in our academy."

Aika looked at the scientific scanners.

"This equipment is incredible too."

Nana nodded.

"It could analyze an ecosystem remotely."
Ren watched them.

They had all forgotten their fear for a moment.

They were students again.

Young people seeing something amazing for the first time.

But Ren couldn't forget one thing.

The ship had disappeared sixteen years ago.

And now it was here.

Perfectly intact.

"How can a ship survive for sixteen years 

without anyone maintaining it?"

Kai answered while studying the engine display.
"It shouldn't."

Sora shook his head.

"Maybe the automatic maintenance system kept it running."

"Even so," Kai said, "sixteen years is a long time."

Mio looked toward Astra.

"How long was the Space Dash supposed to operate?"

Astra answered:

"The original mission was scheduled to last approximately three years."

"Three years?"

"Correct."

Mio looked surprised.

"So why was it still here sixteen years later?"

Astra didn't answer immediately.

"Historical mission data is incomplete."

Ren looked at her.

"Again?"

"Yes."

Mio exchanged a glance with Ren.

Something about the ship's records wasn't right.

There were gaps everywhere.

Important information was missing.
But nobody knew why.

---

A communication signal suddenly appeared.

INCOMING TRANSMISSION.

Everyone turned toward the main screen.

Mio moved quickly to the communications station.

"Someone is contacting us."

"Who?" Ren asked.

"Identification..."

She waited.

"Space Exploration Headquarters."

Ren's expression became serious.

"Answer."

The main display changed.

A man's face appeared.

He was wearing the official uniform of Space Exploration Headquarters.

"This is Space Exploration Headquarters. Identify your vessel."

Ren stepped forward.

"This is the Space Dash."

The man immediately became silent.

His expression changed.

"The Space Dash?"

"Yes."

"That is impossible."

Ren frowned.

"We know."

"Where did you find that vessel?"

Ren looked at the others.

"We didn't find it exactly."

"Explain."

Ren began describing everything.

Their original mission.

The mysterious planet.

The strange radar readings.

The unknown signal.

The failed hyperjump.

Their loss of coordinates.

And finally, their discovery of the Space Dash.

The headquarters representative listened carefully.

When Ren finished, the man remained silent.

Then he asked:

"And the girl?"

Everyone looked at Hina.

She stood beside the captain's console.

"This is Hina Amamiya," Ren said.

The representative stared at her uniform.

His expression changed again.

"That uniform..."

Hina touched the torn sleeve.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Ren noticed his hesitation.

"You recognize it?"

The representative took a breath.

"The Space Dash uniform was discontinued sixteen years ago."

Mio immediately spoke.

"We know."

The representative looked at the girl again.

"How old is she?"

"Ten."

The man became even more confused.

"Ten?"

"Yes."

"Then how..."

He stopped himself.

Ren noticed.

"How what?"

The representative shook his head.

"Nothing."

Astra suddenly spoke.

"Headquarters representative identification confirmed."

The man looked at Astra.

"Astra."

"Yes."

"You're still operational?"

"Correct."

The representative seemed genuinely surprised.

"After sixteen years..."

Astra remained silent.

Ren looked between them.

There was clearly history here.

History nobody was explaining.

---

The headquarters representative finally said:

"Regardless of how this happened, the Space Dash is currently active."

"Yes."

"Then we have to determine its status."

Ren nodded.

"What do you want us to do?"

"We want you to return to Headquarters."

Mio looked at Ren.

Ren shook his head.

"We can't."

"Why?"

"Our ship is still damaged from the failed jump."

The representative frowned.

"Can you repair it?"

Kai answered:

"Probably."

Sora added:

"But it would take time."

The representative considered the situation.

Then he looked at the Space Dash.

"Perhaps you should remain with the vessel."

Ren nodded.

"We thought so too."

"Then I have another proposal."

The screen changed.

A registration document appeared.

SPACE DASH EXPLORATION TEAM

Ren stared at it.

"What is this?"

"An official exploration team."

Mio looked surprised.

"You want us to operate the Space Dash?"

"Yes."

Ren hesitated.

"We're students."

"So was the original Space Dash team."

Everyone became silent.

The representative quickly continued.

"The academy's advanced students are trained precisely for situations like this."

Ren looked at Mio.

Mio looked at Kai and Sora.

Aika and Nana exchanged excited glances.

The idea was frightening.

But it was also exciting.

They had a legendary ship.

They had access to technology far beyond their academy.

And now they were being offered the chance to operate it officially.

Ren looked at Hina.

She was still standing beside the captain's console.

"Hina."

She looked at him.

"What do you think?"

She looked at the Space Dash emblem.

Then at the others.

"I don't know."

She paused.

"But this ship wants us here."

Ren smiled.

"That's good enough for me."

The headquarters representative nodded.

"Then it's settled."

The registration screen appeared.

SPACE DASH EXPLORATION TEAM

STATUS: ACTIVE

The names of the crew were entered.

Ren Kisaragi.

Mio Takahashi.

Kai Moriyama.

Sora Fujita.

Aika Hoshino.

Nana Mizuki.

Hina Amamiya.

Hina stared at her name.

Something strange happened.
For a moment, she saw another screen.

Another list.

The same names.

But the image disappeared almost 

immediately.

She blinked.

"Did you see that?"

Ren turned toward her.

"See what?"

"Nothing."

She didn't know why.

But her heart was beating faster.

---

The headquarters representative continued explaining their situation.

"Your first assignment will be simple."

Mio opened the mission file.

"Simple?"

"Yes."

The destination appeared.

Everyone expected a planet.
Instead, they saw a large orbital structure.

ORBITAL STATION SD-01

Kai blinked.

"A space station?"

The representative nodded.

"Correct."

Ren looked at the coordinates.

"That's not the planet."

"No."

"But our original mission was to investigate a planetary signal."

"That was the original mission."

The representative explained that Headquarters had changed their orders.

The Space Dash would first travel to the station.

They needed to retrieve scientific equipment, repair a communication relay, and deliver updated navigation data.

Nothing dangerous.

No unknown planet.

No hostile environment.

No deep-space anomaly.

Just a routine assignment.

Sora smiled.

"Finally, something normal."

Kai laughed.

"Don't say that."

"Why?"

"Whenever someone says something is normal, something goes wrong."

Aika smiled.

"He's right."

Nana nodded.

"Definitely."

Ren laughed quietly.

Even Hina smiled.

For a moment, the atmosphere inside the command room became warm.

They were no longer frightened students lost in space.

They were becoming a team.

---

After the communication ended, Ren gathered everyone.

"All right."

Everyone turned toward him.

"We've been officially registered as the Space Dash exploration team."

Kai raised his hand.

"Do we get new uniforms?"

Sora immediately added:

"More importantly, do we get better food?"

Mio laughed.

"That's what you're worried about?"

"I'm twelve. Food is important."

Aika crossed her arms.

"Scientists need proper nutrition."
Nana nodded seriously.

"Exactly."

Ren laughed.

Then he looked at Hina.

"And our captain."

Everyone turned toward her.

Hina looked nervous.

"I'm not sure I'm really a captain."

Astra spoke from the console.

"You are."

Hina looked at her.

"How do you know?"

"Your authorization level is the highest aboard this vessel."

Ren smiled.

"Then I guess you're our captain."

Hina looked at everyone.

Nobody seemed to be joking.

They accepted her.

Even though she was only ten.

Even though she couldn't remember her past.

Even though they didn't know why the ship recognized her.

She took a deep breath.

"Okay."

She sat in the captain's seat.

"Let's do our first mission."

---

The Space Dash left the area surrounding the station.

Mio entered the coordinates.

"Route confirmed."

Kai checked the engine.

"Engine output normal."

Sora checked communications.

"Communication with Headquarters stable."

Aika and Nana prepared their scientific equipment.

Ren stood behind Hina.

"Ready?"

Hina nodded.

"Ready."

The ship accelerated.

Stars moved across the windows.

The journey to the station was calm.

Too calm.

Hina watched the stars.

She had the strange feeling that she had seen them before.

She couldn't remember when.

But they felt familiar.

A voice appeared in her mind.

"Look at the stars, Hina."

She blinked.

"Who are you?"

Ren heard her.

"What?"

"Nothing."

She looked forward again.

---

After several hours, the orbital station appeared.

It was enormous.

Multiple docking rings surrounded its central structure.

Mio carefully guided the Space Dash toward the assigned docking area.

"Docking corridor confirmed."

Sora activated the automatic system.

"Docking sequence initiated."

The ship slowed.

The station approached.

Docking complete.

Everyone relaxed.

Kai sighed.

"See? Nothing went wrong."

Sora laughed.

"I told you."

Ren shook his head.

"Don't celebrate yet."

They left the ship.

Several Headquarters personnel were waiting.

One of them stared at the Space Dash.

"It's really operational."

Another whispered:

"After sixteen years..."

Ren heard the words.

He looked at them.

"What's wrong?"

The officer immediately straightened.

"Nothing."

Mio noticed the same thing.

The people at Headquarters were nervous.

Not because of them.

Because of the ship.

---

The station's personnel showed them the equipment they needed to collect.

It was a simple assignment.

A navigation module.

Several scientific scanners.

A communication relay component.

Nothing unusual.

Aika was especially interested in the scientific equipment.

"This technology is incredible."

Nana examined one of the scanners.

"It could map an ecosystem in minutes."

Kai looked around.

"Why does the academy have older equipment?"

Nobody answered.

Ren noticed the question too.

The Space Dash was clearly far more advanced than anything they had been taught to use.

But if this ship had existed sixteen years 

ago...

Why had the academy's technology remained so far behind?

It was only a question.

For now.

---

Before leaving, Hina suddenly stopped.

She looked back at the station.

Something felt wrong.

Ren noticed.

"Hina?"

She didn't answer.

"Hina?"

She finally spoke.

"We should go."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

She looked toward the station.

"I just feel like staying here is a bad idea."

Mio looked at Ren.

"We've completed the mission."

Ren nodded.

"Then we'll leave."

One of the Headquarters officers approached.

"You're leaving already?"

Ren nodded.

"The captain wants to return to the ship."

The officer looked at Hina.

For a second, something like fear appeared in his eyes.

Then it disappeared.

"Understood."

Hina noticed.

But she said nothing.

---

The group returned to the Space Dash.

As soon as Hina entered the command room, Astra appeared.

"Welcome back, Captain."

Hina sat down.

"Prepare departure."

"Understood."

The systems began activating.

Then—

BEEP.

A new message appeared.

Everyone turned toward the screen.

NEW MISSION DATA RECEIVED

Mio moved toward the navigation station.

"Another mission?"

Astra answered:

"Yes."

"From Headquarters?"

"Confirmed."

The new coordinates appeared.

Ren looked at them.

"Where are they?"

Astra scanned the destination.

"Unknown."

Mio frowned.

"Unknown?"

"Correct."

Kai looked confused.

"How can Headquarters send coordinates that aren't identified?"

Astra answered:

"The mission file contains insufficient destination information."

Ren looked at Hina.

She was staring at the coordinates.

Her expression had changed.

"Hina?"

She didn't answer.

A strange memory had appeared.

A dark corridor.

Red lights.

An alarm.

Someone holding her hand.

A voice whispering:

"Whatever happens, remember these coordinates."

Hina suddenly grabbed the edge of the console.

Ren rushed toward her.

"Hina!"

She looked up.

"I..."

She breathed heavily.

"I remembered something."

"What?"

She looked at the coordinates.

"I've seen them before."

Mio approached.

"Where?"

"I don't know."

"Are they dangerous?"

Hina shook her head.

"I don't know."

Ren looked at Astra.

"Can you identify them?"

Astra processed the information.

"No."

"Can you find out where they lead?"

"No."

Ren frowned.

"Why?"

"The coordinates do not correspond to any registered destination in my available database."

Mio looked at the screen.

"Then what are they?"

Astra answered:

"I cannot determine that."

Silence.

Ren looked at the stars outside.

The first mission had been simple.

The station assignment was complete.

They could have returned to normal academy life.

But their situation was no longer normal.

They had the Space Dash.

They had Hina.

They had an artificial intelligence whose memories ended in the past.

And now they had mysterious coordinates that nobody could identify.

---

Hina slowly placed her hand on the captain's console.

"Astra."

"Yes, Captain?"

"Accept the mission."

Ren looked at her.

"Hina, are you sure?"
She nodded.

"I don't know why."

She looked at the coordinates.

"But something tells me we have to go."

Ren smiled.

"Then we'll go."

Mio adjusted the navigation system.

"Coordinates entered."

Kai prepared the engines.

"Engine ready."

Sora activated communications.

"Communication with Headquarters maintained."

Aika and Nana checked their equipment.

"Scientific equipment ready."

Ren looked around the command room.

Everyone was ready.

He looked at Hina.

"Captain?"

Hina took a deep breath.

"Space Dash."

The ship began accelerating.

"Let's begin."

The Space Dash moved away from the station.

The stars stretched across the windows.

The mysterious coordinates remained on the main screen.

Nobody understood them.

Nobody knew where they would lead.

Nobody knew why Hina remembered them.

And nobody suspected the greatest secret of all.

The people standing aboard the Space Dash were connected to the ship's lost history in a way that even Astra could not understand.

Her database showed them as authorized passengers.

It did not tell her the whole truth.

It could not.

Astra's knowledge belonged to the past.

She had no records of the future.

She did not know that the crew currently aboard the ship would one day become the very people whose disappearance would create the legendary mystery of Space Dash.

She did not know that history had already begun moving toward the same event.

And she certainly did not know why Hina Amamiya had become captain.

Hina herself didn't know.

She only knew that something inside her recognized the ship.

Something that had been sleeping for a very long time.

---

The Space Dash accelerated into deep space.

Astra announced:

"New mission beginning."

The main screen displayed:

SPACE DASH EXPLORATION TEAM

MISSION STATUS: ACTIVE

DESTINATION: UNKNOWN COORDINATES

Ren looked at his teammates.

Mio was focused on navigation.

Kai and Sora were monitoring the ship.

Aika and Nana were preparing their scientific equipment.

Hina sat silently in the captain's seat.

They were young.

They were inexperienced.

They were supposed to be students.

But now they were something else.

They were Space Dash.

And this was their first true mission.

They didn't know that one day, people would tell stories about them.

They didn't know that their names would become connected to one of the greatest mysteries in human space exploration.

They didn't know that Headquarters was hiding secrets.

They didn't know that the academy had not told them everything.

They didn't know that future missions would become far more dangerous.

For now, they only had one objective.

Explore the mysterious coordinates.

Find out where they led.

And uncover whatever was waiting beyond the stars.

Hina looked through the front window.

The endless darkness of space stretched before them.

She whispered:

"I wonder what we're going to find."

Ren stood beside her.

"Whatever it is..."

He smiled.

"...we'll find it together."

The Space Dash continued forward.

Far behind them, the orbital station became smaller.

Ahead of them was nothing but darkness.

And somewhere within that darkness waited the first real mystery of their journey.

The mission had begun.

The legend had begun.

But the truth...

The truth was still sixteen years away.

To be continued...

End of Chapter 3