Ghrahen, that’s the name of this ship.

In the year 2050, Abcren kingdom calendar, this ship is launched into space to trace a signal from a faraway planet.

With its newly discovered warp drive technology, this ship can move as fast as light.

Still, that planet was 200 ly away from us, so this ship went on for some generations.

Five years ago, when the distance was reduced to 20 ly, a tragedy happened. It was a regular mining trip on a planet, then suddenly, monsters attacked. There were so many that they passed through the defense line and occupied the ship. The crews onboard the vessel didn’t stand a chance against those attackers. They decided to take off to stop the incoming monsters.   

Even though monsters stopped going on the ship, lots of those remained. That’s why assaults happened for days on this ship. They don’t care the target is a human or robot; they attack anything that moves.

I, Mekaro, an engineering robot, saved myself by sheltering in the kindergarten center with Stella, a newborn baby back then. Because this place is somewhat far from where those monsters attacked, it’s safe.

Time passed, Stella grew to a kid. Girls at her age must be getting ready to go to primary school. I don’t even know which part of this ship still managed to hold on until now.

Stella has gotten close to me as I stayed with her. She thinks I’m her childhood friend or something.

At the moment, I’m standing behind Stella, and she’s looking at the stars out the window. For some reason, she stopped talking to me four days ago. I guess that she is coming to her age. But as I look at my data again, the rebellious phase is for teenage girls, not kids. If that so, Stella is feeling depressed about something.

I want to help her. Though assisting children is a job for childcare robots, there’re none of them right here. Also, an engineering robot's duty is to fix stuff and protect the ship. Humans are also essential parts of this ship. Protecting them counts as preserving the ship.

But, how do I help her?

Talking? She isn’t in the mood right now.

Improving her mood? How?

Giving her some motivation? Sounds good. I have a plan in mind.

——————

Stella was sleeping on the bed when I went in with a naginata on hand.

I approached her slowly. She woke up because of my noise and shadow.

“Eh? Mekaro? What are you doing here? You’re scaring me...” She started to get scared.

“So, are you talking or not?” I used a threatening voice.

“Wha- what do you mean? Wa- wait, you’re coming closer! Stop! Ah, no! Somebody help me! There’s something wrong with Mekaro!” 

Stella tried her best to run away, but a five years old girl can’t outrun a robot like me. I chased her to a dead-end. She leaned against the wall and looked at me.

“Wait! Mekaro! Please stop! I don’t want to die...” She said with a frightened face.

“I just want to chat.”

“Yes? But you were chasing me...”

“It’s because you haven’t talked to me for days, I got worried, so I looked for a way to ask you.”

“Ah... I’m sorry... I mean... I’m scared.” She calmed down a bit.

“Scared of what?”

“My parents, they are the captains of this ship. And they wanted to lead this ship to its final destination. You said that when they died, their last wish is for me to continue this journey... I’m scared that I can’t do it...”

“Oh, Stella! You’re currently a kid! Of course, you can’t do it! Also, this ship has gotten very close to the goal. I’m pretty sure that if we redirect it, we will certainly reach that planet when you grow up.”

“I- is that so?”

“Yes, I promise, now then, we should change the atmosphere a little. Do you want to do anything?”

“I think... This ship's name is Ghrahen, right? If I’m going to continue its journey, I want to know more about it. Let’s explore this ship!”

There’re monsters on the ship! But wait, they can’t have got to this part of the ship. Maybe a bit of exploring won’t hurt.

That said, I held Stella’s hand and led her to the door of the kindergarten center. She got excited because she could finally leave the place.

The moment that door opened, a sandworm dropped down from the ceiling. It rushed to us with a mouth full of teeth. 

I immediately closed the door and turned to Stella to check on her, but she wasn’t there.

I went to the sleeping room to find her and saw that she was sitting on the bed, warped around a blanket, trembling.

“Ah...”

After that, she got even more depressed.