Airi gently placed her hand over Jackie’s, drawing her attention.
When their eyes met, Airi smiled—wide, childlike—
formed a little heart with her fingers,
and cheerfully started a countdown.
The drone reacted instantly.
It drifted closer, hovering just above face level,
slowly rotating to find the perfect angle—
like it knew a full “kawaii explosion” was about to happen.
“We’re already here, exiting hyper in… [☆▽☆]”
The drone slid slightly to the right, catching the panel light
so it reflected beautifully in Airi’s eyes.
And right as everyone’s attention locked onto her—
she began the countdown, perfectly timed:
“Go~!”
“Yooon!”
“Saaaaan~!”
“Ni!”
“Ichi~! ♡”
The moment the ship dropped out of hyperspace, space itself shuddered—
and the drone compensated with a subtle corrective jerk,
stabilizing the shot like hundreds of thousands were watching live.
“We’re out!”
The lens softly defocused, then snapped back—
glowing faintly, like it shared the excitement.
Hyperspace fractured into amber streaks,
and the ship slipped smoothly back into reality.
Dick instantly switched to host voice.
“Well, well, well, my dear gremlins… we made it.
Holy cosmic shit… didn’t think I’d live long enough to end up here,
back when I started this whole damn story a month ago.
And of course—greeting us is object
A0620-00 A…
Or as you all know it on Reddick™—
the black hole Deep Throat™.”
He glanced toward the viewport, noticing a small star barely visible against the glare of the accretion disk.
“And somewhere nearby, its understellar companion A0620-00 B…
— better known as Suckalia.
Heh.”
Jackie stepped up to the front viewport,
pressed her face so close it left a warm fog of breath on the glass,
and stared at Deep Throat with that look—
like a child seeing the ocean for the first time.
The drone obediently followed her…
—and smacked straight into the glass.
Soft—%BONK%.
But loud enough for Dick to glance upward,
like he was asking the universe to take this idiot back.
The drone jerked back,
did a small, nervous spin—
like it was trying to say: That was intentional. Artistic move.
Then it smoothly repositioned to the side,
a thin line of light flickering to life as it locked focus on two things at once:
- the massive, glowing accretion disk;
- Jackie’s face, in close-up,
where the reflection of the black hole shimmered in her eyes
like a perfectly framed dramatic shot.
It slowly pulled back,
drawing a wide cinematic sweep from her profile
to the burning ring of Deep Throat™—
like a professional cameraman…
still pretending he didn’t just hit the glass five seconds ago.
Dick looked at Jackie.
“Baby… don’t stare that hard.
Like that philosopher said… uh…
the one who talked about moms like he was in Game of Thrones…
Hell, forgot his name.
Anyway!‘If you stare long enough into a black hole—the hole stares back at you.’
Creepy as hell.”
The accretion disk burned in Jackie’s eyes. Her hair trembled slightly from gravitational disturbance…
or excitement.
She whispered, not looking away:
“Dick… heol…
His name was Nietzsche.
And… yeah… “staring into the abyss…”
not a hole…
But this…
Omo… this is breathtaking…
So much power… so much force…
I can’t look away…”
Airi stepped closer and gently touched Jackie’s shoulder—
that warm kind of gesture that can sober even someone who stopped being sober a long time ago.
“Jakkīi-nyan~, ꒰ღ˘‿˘ற꒱❤⃛
The ship has a protective shield.
Radiation from this quasar won’t harm us.”
She smiled—a little playful, a little caring.
“Demo… o[〃＾▽＾〃]o
We’ll be landing soon.
I won’t let your body feel any discomfort…
but your eyes… will.
When the ship maneuvers, your body won’t feel it.
But what your eyes see—they will feel very strongly.
Your brain gets confused…
and that’s when it turns unpleasant.”
She smiled again—that warm, almost nanny-like smile.
“So sit down, ii ko ni ne? (..◜ᴗ◝..)
Hold on tight, breathe slowly.
Everything will be alright.”
Jackie nodded—quick, obedient,
like her “perfect student for idols” mode just switched back on.
At Airi’s gentle cue, she lowered herself into the pilot seat.
And immediately—as if it had been waiting for permission—
the drone floated down from above
and settled onto her knee.
It did it so carefully,
it looked exactly like Oliver the cat deciding: Yeah. This is my spot now.
Jackie instinctively placed her hands on either side of its body,
careful—like she was holding something alive.
The drone let out a soft chirp:
peepee…
—not an alert, but the quiet approval of a machine
that just found its “comfort zone.”
Then it turned its lens toward the glass,
switched to wide-angle,
and started filming space from Jackie’s lap—
like a house cat recording a family video,
completely unaware it was broadcasting to half the galaxy.
Shiori gave a short nod—her version of approved.
She took her place beside Dick.
Airi stepped up to the navigation terminal—
graceful, yet completely at home.
“Chakuriku o kaishi shimasu… [￣▽￣]ノ”
Shiori leaned slightly toward Dick, her voice barely audible under the hum of the engines.
“Dikku-san…
When I first arrived on this planet,
I was just as overwhelmed.But after a hundred times…
you get used to it.Let Jakkī-san enjoy this…”
Dick nodded.
And for once—
there was a rare smile on his face.
No sarcasm.
No exhaustion. Just… care.