Fly Me to the Moon River (The Groovy Space Race)

Photonchord

"This is IRL Among Us!" Michiru whispered excitedly as she dragged Saki down the long, metal halls of the Photonchord Space Station.

"Please! Michiru! This is serious!" Saki whispered back, squeezing the younger girl's hand fearfully. There was an alien on the loose, and they had to get from the containment area to the navigation section of the ship before the alien got to them! Saki's silver eyes pierced the darkness, searching for colors or clues that would point to evidence of them being stalked. Ibuki's words rang in her head.

"Saki. Are you sure about this? You don't have to take Michiru if you don't feel ready, or if you don't want to." The human Space Captain was secretly worried. The reason Michiru wasn't assigned more tasks in the day-to-day upkeep of the station was because none of them trusted her. She was a good kid, but that was it, she was a kid. But that meant Michiru had nothing to keep her entertained, so someone had to keep an eye on her. Saki volunteered, since Noa was busy training Kokoa and Hayate with Towa that day, and she flashed back to what Ibuki told her once Michiru whined enough that Ibuki finally gave her blessing for Saki to be her minder.

"Look after her like a little sister, Saki. I know you've always wanted the chance to be a big sister!" Ibuki's words and smile were kind, even when Saki doubted herself. The reminder made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside at the time, but it rang hollow now.

Some sister I am! The Vesperian shook her head, white hair flickering in the dark. She was but a sentient clump of light particles—a literal Photon Maiden—but she was solid enough for Michiru to drag down the hall by the hand. If only I knew how to get her to take this more seriously!

Something growled behind them, and Saki glanced over her shoulder to see long, black pincers scrabbling down the hallway towards her and Michiru. The only thing that kept the alien from overtaking them was how short its many legs were, but they worked terrifyingly fast.

"Woah!" Michiru cried out as well when she looked over her shoulder too.

Wait! Saki got an idea at the same time, catching a glimpse of one of the many monitors lining the walls...

"Howdy, howdy, howdy!" A cheerful voice chirped and a friendly face flashed on one of the many screens. The ship's AI navigation and self-repair system—the One Star—was activated by Saki influencing the electricity and light particles to forcibly turn on the screen remotely.

"Lumina!" Michiru cried excitedly as the screen flickered on, and Saki sighed in relief too.

"We need help locating the runaway alien, and making sure we don't run into it while we try to get out of here! And warn the others!" Saki pleaded.

"No worries! Already done and done!" Lumina's face appeared on several more monitors. "Space Captain Ibuki knows, and should be along shortly as reinforcement. The others will stay behind in navigation and set up another containment chamber!" Although Saki and Michiru couldn't see it, Lumina's face lined every monitor in the hall, and she found the escapee alien. It looked like a scorpion the size of a small dog, not large enough to be lethal unless one was struck by the tail too many times, but far too large for anyone to feel safe around it.

"Port!" Saki heard Lumina from the left, and although she could not see the screen with the AI's avatar, she could see the gold and white light, dazzling bright, that represented the AI's voice. Saki's silver eyes widened, and she tightened her grip around Michiru's hand again.

"Come on!" I see the way! Lumina is going to light the path for us with her voice, and my Synesthesia!

"Woah!" Michiru cried out as Saki tugged her down a different hallway than expected.