Of course, it wouldn't be as simple as flying straight to the Sun with the members present. We may be nearly twenty people in our little core group, but Rewera declared that she wouldn't let me go if I didn't take an escort from the castle.

For the first time, the maid leader herself declared her intent to travel with me. She argued that the floating city is like a reflection of Arkaim, so if I'm staying on there, the Maid Corps should be coming as well. Since my return, they have received extensive schooling in utilizing the Imagination Engine, so they should be a force to be reckoned with.

"Thirty-seven combat maids and twelve support maids. With this, we can finally contribute to Your Majesty's fight." Tallying the numbers as they board the shuttle that Exla lowered to the courtyard, Rewera speaks in a proud tone.

Kleihn's technological expertise is an outlier, but the others do bring some useful skills for the journey, such as cooking and operating the easier-to-control devices on the ship. Surely, they can learn how to fire the turrets in case we encounter enemies in space. If nothing else, they can be eye candy.

We're flying into the belly of the beast, so I'm putting their lives at risk. But whether it's up there with me or down on the ground away from the fighting, there's no way to avoid danger. If something happened to them, I would blame myself endlessly either way; however, it's easier to protect them if they're near me.

"Shuttle A12, we're ready to receive you." When we fly up to the main hangar in Alverost's spaceship, Exla's voice calls us over the speakers. I'm sure she's having fun reciting all those sci-fi lines, but I think it makes sense to have communication standards in these situations. Although she's remotely controlling the vessel that we're flying on, so it's not even necessary to talk to us.

This is the first time I find myself in the extensive hangar, and when I step off the shuttle, I see the countless fighters and bombers stacked up in bays ready to be launched. The former have a triangular design, resembling arrowheads with the cockpit located near the ends of the ships. The latter look like fatter versions of the fighters. Coming from someone so focused on designs, Alverost appears to have slapped those together for functionality over form.

But there are also a few unique ships, both smaller and larger ones, parked in the very back of the hangar. Those must have a specialized role or could be Alverost's hobby. There's no sign of any mecha, though, so the one I destroyed over Arkaim must have been a one-time design.

"What's this? What are those? What's that?" Kleihn runs past me and asks while pointing at everything around her with glittering eyes. She's not addressing me in particular, but I do feel compelled to reply to her.

"You can take anything that isn't fixed to the floors or the walls apart. Just put them back together afterward." I pat the gremlin maid's short and spiky green hair, careful to avoid the welding goggles she wears in place of a maid's frilly bow. Her large animal ears twitch under the sensation, and she turns to me with widened eyes.

"Really, Chaos-sama?" She asks for confirmation, and I nod in affirmation. When I do, she jumps up and down in joy before running off into the hangar with an ecstatic expression. Being a gremlin, Kleihn has an exceptional affinity to machines, with the ability to analyze them while taking them apart. She can tell how things work with one look at how the parts fit together and is unexpectedly good at explaining it to others afterward.

She should be able to school the other maids in how to operate the fighters and bombers, although we don't have much time for them to learn about it sufficiently before we'll reach our destination.

"Why aren't we teleporting there with Flann?" Senka asks me this very valid question while she walks down the ramp among the maids.

"Because we don't know what we're getting into." I reply right away with a glance at my half-sister. She's as emotionless as always, not even raising an eyebrow at the question. "Flann may be able to see where we're going, but she doesn't understand the technology. For all we know, we could end up getting teleported right into an airlock or a containment room."

"Fair enough." With a shrug, the doll girl turns away and heads for the bridge as if she already knows the layout of this ship. When she arrives at the bulkhead leading out of the hangar, it opens automatically to reveal Exla on the other side.

"Everybody, come with me. I'll show you to your quarters." Raising her hand to get everyone's attention, the cloud girl declares with visibly suppressed excitement. She must be having a lot of fun with this. "I need to talk to you on the bridge afterward, senpai."

"Huh, why can't we do it now?" I ask, tilting my head in wonder. The bridge, although more like a command center with over consoles, isn't a very private place.

"Well, it's official business, so I'd like to do it in its proper place." With these mysterious words, Exla turns away to guide the band of maids to their rooms. Our trip will only take a day there and another back, so it's not a journey that requires so much preparation. I think the cloud girl is just indulging in her hobbies.

"Kleihn, come along now." Rewera calls out to the gremlin maid, who is lost in wonderland and doesn't even hear the maid leader. "If you don't come, you won't know where your room is."

"It's fine." I raise a hand to stop Rewera. "I'm sure she's not going to stay in her room for even a moment."

Looking at me for a second, the maid leader then shifts her eyes to the gremlin maid. She's running from one side of the hangar to the other, close to tears because of the overwhelming amount of new technology surrounding her. I'm sure that she will have figured every single vessel out by the end of the day, and will be able to come up with new designs by tomorrow.

"As you wish, Chaos-sama." With a bow and a rare wry smile, Rewera agrees to give Kleihn free rein.

"Make sure to listen to Exla's explanations well. Knowing the girls, they won't, so you'll have to teach them all over again afterward." I stop the maid leader from leaving with these words. She turns to me with a neutral expression - the one she puts on when listening to instructions. "Especially the safety measures and how to wear pressure suits."

"Pressure suits?" Rewera wonders with a slight tilt of her head.

"Space is a dangerous place. There's no air, so if you get thrown outside the ship and don't wear a suit, you will die." With a serious look on my face, I explain the dangers that await those who haven't mastered the Imagination Engine. I know that some people are alright in space because they already did that before. But until I can be sure that the maids are ready, I will have them be prepared to put on suits at any moment - if not outright make them wear one at all times.

"Understood, Chaos-sama." The maid leader bows before me to confirm my order. She's the most diligent of the Maid Corps, so I'm not worried that she will hammer this fact into their brains by the end of the hour.

"Alright, you come with me." I gesture at Rolan and his group. Since they're already wearing spacesuits, I'll show them around the most important places on the ship. Luckily, everything is relatively concentrated around the bridge - the rest of the flying city appears to consist of growth vats, housing blocks, training facilities, and storage spaces for the devils, which we won't be using. "And don't separate from me. You'll get lost in here."

The core group is gathered on the bridge. Asoko and my children are each sitting at consoles on one side, and my girls are on the other. I'm in the elevated captain's chair, looking at the main screen the way a commander would. It shows a graphic that projects our travel route, although there isn't much to see since we'll be going on a nearly direct line toward the Sun.

"I called you here to make an important decision, senpai." Exla appears to have taken on the role of the helmsman, sitting in the swiveling chair right before me. Her console has switches none others have, including levers and even a small steering wheel. I don't know how useful that is on a massive ship like this, but maybe the command center can be detached in an emergency.

"What is it?" I ask, shifting my gaze to the cloud girl.

"The name of this ship. We can't keep calling it Mu-City 02." She replies while waving her hands around her in a grand gesture.

"I don't think we called it that even once." I reply with a raised eyebrow.

"I think you should be the one giving her a name." Exla refers to our temporary troop carrier for the attack on the Rhodos station as if it were a woman. But that instantly gives me an idea.

"Queen Pelomyx." I declare, knowing that I'm going to develop an unhealthy attachment to this ship that we captured from the enemy. After all, I have to honor her name and can't let it be destroyed in battle now. Rewera, who has been standing behind my seat all this time, shifts her position with an audible rustle of her clothes.

"The DSF Queen Pelomyx, then?" Smiling warmly at my decision, Exla confirms with me.

"DSF?" Tilting my head, I try to figure out what that's supposed to mean, but the moment I ask, the answer becomes apparent. "Ah, Dominion Space Force, huh?"

"This is the first ship in the force, but surely, more will be added down the line." Crossing her arms, the cloud girl asserts with confidence. She has no doubts that we'll overcome this doomsday event and live to thrive afterward. "The Queen Pelomyx has an energy-mass conversion bay. It's big enough to build two destroyer class ships a day."

"That will have to wait for after this battle. It will take more than a day for anybody to learn how to steer a ship, let alone operate it well enough for battle." Scratching my chin, I consider the implication of having a 3D-printer that can churn out several spaceships a day. It's safe to assume that the Rhodos station has several such energy-mass conversion bays. Even if Areteniha started now, she would be able to meet us with a whole fleet.

"Well, for now, let's toast on the naming of The Queen Pelomyx!" Changing the subject, Exla turns around to her console and speaks into it.

A moment later, the doors to the bridge open automatically, and a dozen demon maids enter carrying trays of tall and slender glasses filled with a sparkling yellowish liquid. Given the occasion, it's most definitely champagne.

"This is from my personal vineyard on the Dark Continent." The cloud girl announces proudly while the maids walk between us and wait for everybody to take a glass. Keiza heads straight for me, her mousey appearance sticking out between all the beautiful demon girls.

"Chaos-sama." She holds out her tray toward me while avoiding my gaze. I know that the dragonewt maid is quite cute underneath her gray bangs, and she only ever asserts herself when she's clad in flames. Taking the glass from her tray, I pet her hair with a smile.

"Thank you, Keiza." With these words, I turn away from the furiously blushing maid and look across the room. Everybody has a drink now, although I spot Tokomaha sniffing hers with suspicion while Korenga already finished hers. She can understand the language we're using, but most likely didn't get that this is in celebration of naming the ship we're flying on.

With a wry smile, a maid with several glasses left on her tray goes over to give her another one. It was good thinking, as the moment she comes into range, the Black God takes a glass and downs it in one go as well. I wonder if she even has time to taste the champagne, but it brings a smile to my face.

"To The Queen Pelomyx!" Exla leads the toast while raising her glass. Those who understood the contents of our conversation do the same, while those that had some trouble following it only do it upon observing the others. Among them is Tokomaha, who glances around with a skeptical look on her face.

"To The Queen Pelomyx!" I repeat after her and drink from my glass. This is the first time since coming to this world that I've had a sparkling drink. It's also the first time that I've had champagne, but even I can tell that this tastes pretty good.

Moments later, everybody has finished their drinks, and the maids begin to clean up the glasses. Exla gestures at everybody to sit down in their various seats as if giving out their roles in the command center. I think she should be the executive officer, but she appears to like her position as the pilot. Considering she's the only one who can do it, she'll most likely have to take on several jobs at once.

"Now, captain. Please do the honors." Sitting down in the helmsman's seat and looking forward, the cloud girl speaks in a ceremonious tone.

"Alright, Helmsman Exla, take us to space." I play along with her and put on a commanding air while pointing forward.

"No, no, not yet. First, you have to ask for the status of everything." Looking over her shoulder, Exla objects to my jumping the gun.

"Alright, alright." I raise my hands. I was never big on sci-fi, so I don't know much beyond what I may have glimpsed on television in my previous life. "All stations, status report."

"Sensors are clear." Hestia announces from in front of a console that features several screens, including a large circular one that must be a radar. She's playing the sensors operator then, although I have no idea when Exla taught her what to do.

"Engines green." Tahiri is next, acting as the chief engineer even though she should be the last person fiddling with the technology. If she unleashes her lighting, everything will short-circuit.

"Weapon systems ready." Uten and Saten declare in unison, sounding very happy about the existence of weapons on this ship.

"Everybody strapped in and awaiting command." Tokomaha, most likely in the capacity of the tactical officer, announces while looking straight ahead. As the person who can single-handedly provide an entire army's worth of landing troops, that's a fitting role for her.

"Route plotted and ready to go." With unexpected seriousness in her demeanor, Senka contributes to the little game. Her stitched fingers fly across the keyboard before her, and the big screen changes from the graphic displaying our flight path to show the exterior of the ship. It's either an external camera feed or an actual window.

"Helmsman Exla, punch it." Finally, I get to say my line. Acting as if the previous hiccup never happened, I raise my finger and point ahead toward the sky above.

The cloud girl presses a few buttons on her console and pushes a lever forward. With a barely noticeable jolt, The Queen Pelomyx begins to move. The outside view is shifting, with the clouds coming closer but then disappearing underneath us. We're quickly gaining in altitude.

Space, here we come.

"This is..." Rolan mutters while staring at the main screen. We have left Earth and the Moon behind us now, and it displays a rectangular cutout of space with the bright sun before us. Exla put a filter over it to dim its luminosity, and a screen could never be as bright as the actual sun, so we can look at it without burning our retinas.

"Incredible." Gram completes the leader's sentence. Everybody is captivated by the view, except for Aurelia, Exla, and me. Each of us has been to space before, and while I do enjoy the scenery, it brings back some memories.

Tokomaha stood outside the planet's atmosphere, but she was too busy worrying about the Moon to have enough time to look around. She's looking at the screen with her mouth hanging open. The same goes for Korenga, although she was on the side of the Moon facing Earth - and in Black God mode.

I see a hint of anxiety in Kamii's gaze when she realizes that outside is a hostile environment that will kill her in seconds. Exla has been using the 3D-printer meant to print ships or spare parts to make custom spacesuits for everybody that needs them. They should be done in a few minutes, and then I'll be able to breathe more easily.

"From here, we can't see the solar storm yet." Senka mutters while staring at the small monitor before her. She appears to be putting different filters over what we see on the main screen to determine what we're dealing with. "It must be traveling within the corona of the Sun."

Uten and Saten are leaning over her backrest to watch her work, fascinated by the moving horror doll and her suspiciously quick operation of the console. I noticed it earlier already, but she's doing it as if she's completely familiar with the system.

"It's going to be a few more hours before we come into contact with the approaching storm. Exla will inform us when the time comes." I walk up behind Senka and lift her off her chair. Her body goes limp like a ragdoll, but she turns her head to glare at me. It causes me to smile at her apologetically for interrupting her work. "I need to talk to you."

Most people are still captivated by the view outside, so they don't notice me walking out from the bridge. Uten and Saten understand that I want to be alone with Senka, so they stay behind and fiddle around with the keys on her console.

"What did you want to talk to me about that we had to be alone for it?" As we walk down the corridor outside the door from the bridge, the doll girl asks me while still in my arms.

"Your origins." I squeeze her to my chest and nuzzle my face into her hair. She shows no reaction to my implied question for a moment, but then sighs.

"If you want to know whether or not I'm an Old Human: I'm not." Senka realizes that seeing her use the technology of this spaceship with apparent ease is the reason for my sudden interest in her past. "I'm also not a reincarnated person, and neither am I an alien lifeform."

"Then, what are you?" I turn her around in my hands to face her.

"A deus ex machina." She replies with her head tilted, a sarcastic grin on her slit mouth. "I was added to this world as a convenient tool to tell you about all kinds of things that would be hard to find out otherwise."

For a moment, I stare at her with a frown. But when her grin fades and gives way to another sigh, I realize that this must be a difficult topic for her.

"I used to be a human in a universe with superhumans and magic-like abilities. Not through technology like in this one, but phenomena unexplainable through physics." For the first time, she goes into detail about her past, and I listen quietly so that I don't miss a thing. "I died, and through a grudge, I came back to life with some neat new abilities."

She's talking about the fact that she can ingest blood to kill somebody remotely, move stealthily like a ninja, and use telepathy to speak to people. I always thought that it was a strange combination of skills for a person who looks like a beautiful doll that was maimed by a troubled mind.

"That universe ended, but I continued to exist. I became something else." Staring at me with her big blue eyes, Senka speaks as if she's about to reach the conclusion of her story. A few seconds pass with our eyes remaining locked to each other's before I blink in confusion.

"Wait, that's it?" I ask with an eyebrow raised in disbelief.

"Well, you can read-" Senka begins to reply, but suddenly, an alarm sound plays through the invisible speakers inside the ship. The regular white light is replaced with red emergency illumination, causing the doll girl and me to look around, alerted.

"All hands to battle stations! Enemy fleet on an intercept course!" Hestia's voice drowns out the alarm.

"Captain to the bridge!" Exla adds hastily before the feed cuts off.

"We'll continue this later!" I shoot Senka a quick glare before putting her under my arm and running back the way we came. When we enter the bridge, I find that all those who can't survive in space are wearing spacesuits now. It would appear that the 3D-printer made it just in time for a battle.

The big screen has been changed from the outside view to a three-dimensional display of our position in relation to the approaching enemy fleet. I don't know how far they are from what's shown, and the numbers don't tell me much either. But I guess that it's close enough that it warrants the alarm.

"What are we dealing with?" I put Senka down and quickly sit in the captain's chair. It's an ironic role since I'll be the one to head into battle first, but I suppose when I do, Rewera can take over. Asoko and my children will be accompanying me, as will Aurelia and Exla - all those who could otherwise assume a leading position when I'm not around.

"Two carriers, four battleships, and sixteen destroyers. They're the automated Venus fleet." The cloud girl replies while the graphic zooms in onto the enemy ships. I see Senka working at her console, quickly analyzing each ship class by cycling through them one after the other. Maybe she's coming up with a countermeasure already.

"Automated, huh? So I don't even have to feel bad for destroying them all." Not that I would have if they had been operated by Alverost's devils or even humans specially trained for the task, as in the spherical battle station above Zohigal.

"They were made as a precaution against any attempts to go to the Rhodos station. Maybe somewhere around the world, a civilization could have reached that level of technology without their knowledge after all." Exla explains while pointing at the big screen. "This is only a small detachment patrolling halfway between Earth and Venus. The full power of the Venus Orbital Fleet is a hundred times that."

I blink my eyes at this revelation. Even if the new civilizations of Earth reached the spacefaring stage again, they would start with simple satellites and manned rockets. That small detachment is already overkill against that level of technology. What were Alverost and the others expecting to prepare a hundred times that?

"Bring it on." I put on a fearless grin. With everybody that is on board this ship, I don't feel like we can lose. And according to Exla, The Queen Pelomyx should be the most advanced vessel that Alverost ever built. After all, it was his last-ditch effort to free Zenlith and regain control over the world. If he had brought the Venus Orbital Fleet, things would most likely have ended differently, though.

"Let those robots see the overwhelming firepower of The Queen Pelomyx!" Uten and Saten declare in excitement. The maids and a contingent of Tokomaha clones have already gathered in the weapons control center. They can remotely operate the revolving laser turrets and long-range railguns from a safe place just underneath the bridge.

"They're outside our effective range." But Exla puts a damper on their tension, causing them to blink their eyes a few times. "At this range, they will use-"

"The enemy is scrambling fighters!" Hestia interrupts the cloud girl.

"That." Exla gestures at the angel girl's statement. "They will first determine what we came here for. If we can't provide the correct answer, they will attack."

"And I assume you don't have it." I cross my arms with a thoughtful gaze at Hestia. Her spacesuit comes with a cover for her wings, which consists of segmented armor plating sporting boosters all over. I think those were made with movement in space in mind. "Then we'll bring out our own fighters."

I stand up from the captain's chair and look at the fallen angel and Aurelia in turn. They both understand what I mean and nod with confident smiles. Asoko and the twins stand up from their seats as well, cracking their knuckles in anticipation.

It's time for a space battle.