"Thank for you choosing to fly with Oberth Aerospace today." "We departed from the Bangkok airport on... 2068." "The accident with the Alnair 8 suborbital passenger liner focused public attention on the problem of space debris." "Abandoned artificial satellites." "Tanks jettisoned from shuttles." "Refuse generated during space station construction." "This debris is traveling around the Earth at speeds approaching eight kilometers per second." "Should this debris collide with a spacecraft, it could result in a terrible accident." "And so, to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again, ...as well as for the sake of further space development, ...disposal of this debris has become a necessity." "This is a story of the people who live in such a time as this." "Outside the Atmosphere" "GO-S09, routing from exposed area to Bay Five." "Main umbilical, connection complete." "I'm in space..." "I finally got a space assignment!" "Next stop, Technora Corporation office block." "Zero-G..." "Satellite orbit..." "Astronauts!" "Oh, right." "That's our mascot character..." "Excuse me!" "I am Ai Tanabe, newly assigned to Second Department, Debris Section!" "Age 20, single, Japanese!" "I look forward to working with you!" "Um..." "At least learn where things are in the company." "This is Control Section." "Huh?" "It is?" "Oh, I'm sorry!" "Claire, we'll wait until we get instructions from INTO to deal with that plate." "Understood, sir." "I'm really sorry..." "Thank you." "Good grief..." "You must be a new recruit for the Half Section." "Half Section?" "No, ma'am, Debris Section." "Like I said, Half Section." "If you're looking for Half Section, take the company elevator all the way to the bottom." "What were you thinking, Tanabe?" ""Control Section" is written there as plain as day!" "You could've said something, you know..." "That's what you get for trying to make a grand entrance!" "Say, wasn't that the guy who gave the speech at our company welcoming ceremony?" "Right, he's the department manager." "One point deduction, looks like." "It's not like my workshop grades were all that great..." "Look out!" "Sheesh, this is why you're at the bottom of the class." "Maybe, but she came in second at the Technora company dance competition, remember?" "Dance?" "Sure, you remember." "The one where you're supposed to express your Technora company spirit through original dance." "Only two of us entered." "Oh, really?" "Who in their right mind would sign up for something that embarrassing?" "I'm amazed you entered!" "Look, I joined by walking in off the street and I've got no connections, ...but I wanted to try to go into space, so I signed up for it." "See you later, Tanabe." "Aerospace Section is to the left, so this is my stop." "Maintenance Section, too." "I guess this is goodbye for now." "That's the elevator that will take you down, Tanabe." "Come on, I'm not a kid!" "Be careful." "Of what?" "If you run into any drama queens or dirty old men, don't fight back." "'Cause you always act before thinking." "She doesn't pay attention to her surroundings, either." "I don't?" "No, you don't." "See you at lunch, then." "Remember, Debris Section is downstairs." "Lay off!" "Debris Section is all the way at the bottom..." "All the way at the bottom..." "All the way at the bottom is Debris Section." "Yep, this is it, all right." "Starting today, this is my workplace." "Let's do it!" "Excuse me!" "I've just been assigned to Second Department, Debris..." "Section?" "I-I've made a mistake!" "Pardon me!" "But this is Debris Section..." "Um..." "I'm sorry to keep bothering you, but where is Debris..." "I've had it up to here with their "Half Section" crap!" "Dammit, Chief, how come we always play second fiddle to Control Section?" "!" "Well, they have a bigger staff than we do." "Those guys don't even use spacesuits!" "An astronaut..." "A real astronaut...!" "Huh?" "Who are you?" "Diapers?" "Hey, don't blow people off when they're talking to you." "M-My name is Tanabe!" "I'm a new employee." "You are?" "Come to think of it, Human Resources said something about us getting somebody new..." "Note:" "Senpai is term of respect given to an elder, mentor or a more senior person." "Hey, I'm your senpai." "What's the big idea, running away from your Senpai?" "B-But, well, put something on down there!" "Down where?" "I am wearing something." "But they're diapers!" "All astronauts wear diapers!" "You should know that!" "Stay away!" "Please." "Say what?" "!" "Who do you think you are, rookie?" "!" "But..." "When you're out in the field, this is what you wear!" "I'm gonna knock some real-world sense into you, so get ready!" "But couldn't this be thought of as sexual harassment?" "Sexual harassment?" "!" "You aren't going to sue, are you?" "Chief, call Legal Affairs at once!" "Please, don't go public with this!" "Something's on me!" "Get it off!" "Hey, what's the big idea?" "!" "Hey!" "For the last time, no cigarettes!" "Hey, come back!" "Come back!" "Over here, miss, over here." "This is Philippe Myers, assistant section manager for Debris Section." "In other words, he's the top dog here." "I look forward to working with you, sir." "Of course." "Same here." "And I'm the supervisor (assistant), Arvind Lavie." "I'm number two around here!" "It's a pleasure to meet you!" "Oh, this?" "This is for the sendoff and welcoming party at General Affairs later." "Really?" "The important thing is that you're a company girl now, so make sure you remember the pecking order, okay?" "Excuse me?" "Greet the most important person first." "R-Right." "Still, I'm glad you're here." "It's been three years since our last newcomer." "To be honest, there's no money to be made in collecting debris." "So our section's performance rates at the bottom each year." "But it's like that at the debris sections of every other company, Chief!" "We're the bottom of the barrel." "You see this room?" "It used to be a cargo bay." "Anyway, don't expect to move up in the world." "The work's hard, it's dangerous, our budget is a joke, and then there's the diapers..." "Hachi!" "What if she quits?" "!" "If that's enough to make her quit, we're better off without her." "Even if there's no money in it, it's a job that needs to be done." "Oh, you're not out of the astronaut academy, huh?" "Um..." "Fee Carmichael." "I captain the debris recovery ship Toy Box." "Yuri!" "This is my first mate, Yuri Mihairokoh." "Pleased to meet you." "That's Edelgard Rivera." "She's a temp staffer." "She takes care of the office work for us." "She's a temp?" "I wish they'd send us temp superiors like her, too..." "Fee!" "Criticism of your superiors...   should be used in moderation." "And last but not least, that's Hoshino Hachirota." "We call him Hachimaki." "Like a hachimaki headband?" "It fits." "Get off my case!" "I didn't give myself the nickname!" "Come on, play nice." "I'm teaming you up with her, after all." "Why?" "!" "She works EVA, too." "Go over to Materials Section and get her fitted for a spacesuit, okay?" "What's "EVA" stand for again?" "I thought I was an extravehicular activity worker..." "It means the same thing!" "O-Oh, of course." "I look forward to working with you." "Geez, I can't believe these general hires..." "Okay, all done." "You can go now." "But I still haven't..." "If we custom-made every spacesuit, we'd run ourselves into the red." "Customizing parts of them is good enough." "We have one-size-fits-all spacesuits in the next room, so go put one on." "Yes, ma'am!" "Hey, wait!" "Ma'am?" "We can't have you leaving your oversized garbage lying around." "Yes, ma'am." "I'll take it off your hands." "How does it look?" "Just great!" "Nice body!" "Okay, we'll run face panel tests next." "You know how to do that, right?" "Yes, sir." "I learned that during our workshops." "All right, let's start with axis alignment." "Try setting your artificial horizon to Earth." "Yes, sir!" "Man, this is all Control Section's fault..." "Hey, Hachimaki." "Hey." "What are you guys gonna do about that debris that everybody's talking about?" "Beats me." "Sounds like the top brass are still fighting it out." "Okay, time for your next stop, diaper girl!" "Come on, Senpai, don't shout it out!" "This is the real thing..." "Well, that oughta do it." "Senpai, that's one more than what's on our list." "Having an extra won't kill us, right?" "We can't!" "We have to do this by the book!" "Of all the stupid..." "It's on the next shelf over!" "Please return it to where you got it!" "You're taking things too seriously." "You don't take them seriously enough!" "Yeah, yeah, yeah..." "You work real hard and be serious enough for the both of us, okay?" "Oh, right." "Maybe I'll put in some food, too..." "Is everyone else like this?" "Huh?" "I always thought that astronauts would be more amazing." "That they'd always be restrained, and brave, and earnest..." "In this day and age?" "What are you talking about?" "This is 2075, you know." "Things aren't like when man first set foot on the moon." "Hell, they changed the instant you managed to join the company." "Well, you have a point..." "But it's kinda different from..." "Okay, we'll need these, too." "What's that?" "What, you've never seen a porno mag before?" "That's not what I mean!" "Why would we need something like that?" "!" "We need it." "Depending on the job, men and women can be together for days at a time." "If we don't take matters into our own hands, it could lead to trouble, right?" "Here." "This one's for you." "What a disaster..." "Unlike you guys, I'm stuck with cigarettes, animals, magic tricks, ...and a guy in diapers with a knack for sexual harassment." "I'm not surprised." "That's Half Section for you." "Half Section?" "Now that you mention it, someone in Control Section called them..." "They say that our Debris Section plan got held up somehow, ...so they only have half the personnel they were supposed to." "They're a section with only half a staff, so "Half Section."" "And they're supposed to be half-trained, half-assed, ...half-cocked, half-hearted, half-crazy, and..." "I'm gonna hang in there!" "Oh, really?" "They're not gonna beat me!" "Not Half Section, and not even diaper man!" "W-Well, give it your best shot." "Yeah, let me at'em!" "I'll do it myself, I'll do it myself!" "Pipe down." "Don't tell me you're still mad about earlier!" "Of course I am!" "You hit me as hard as you could!" "Hachimaki, all our departure paperwork is finished." "Right." "Stop horsing around, Tanabe." "Hurry it up." "You heard her." "We're really going out into space?" "We can't do our job if we don't go out into the field, right?" "But I just got here today!" "I don't know anything about ships!" "In that case, you'll be fine." "This ship has been flying for over 30 years." "What?" "!" "The DS-12 is that old?" "!" "Toy Box." "No self-respecting sailor calls his ship by its number!" "Somebody help me!" "DS-12, this is ISPV-7." "Comm system multi-channel check." "You copy?" "I copy." "DS-12, this is ISPV-7." "This is an abort indicator test." "I copy." "Check nominal." "I knew it, they're different when they're on the job..." "Hey, rookie!" "Go get a barf bag and stand by!" "I'm already taking motion sickness medicine!" "Seven, this is DS-12." "Power source switchover complete." "Avionics and all electrical systems are nominal." "IMU orientation determination..." "Please rest assured, sir." "We will dispose of the plate as waste debris." "Yes, sir." "Main umbilical, separate." "Separation complete." "You copy?" "I copy." "Taking free." "DS-12, this is Seven." "Establishing datalink via Navstar." "Datalink confirmed." "We will be making orbital plane change using ME to reach transfer orbit..." "What do you think?" "Cool, huh?" "It sure is!" "It's way prettier than looking at it on a shuttle!" "S-Senpai, this, uh..." "What is it?" "Oh, that broke off this time?" "THIS time?" "!" "Well, this ship is a heap, after all." "Are you kidding me?" "Wouldn't that get us into trouble?" "Vega Corporation uses an elephant in their logo, right?" "So why not make one using our own logo?" "To show our love for our company." "Brilliant, Chief!" "I'll take that idea and run with it!" "It's a company banquet, after all." "We have to pay attention to these things." "In that case, let's make a Mr. Nora out of recycled paper!" "Great idea!" "We're contributing to society!" "The Debris Duo..." "For us, spacesuits are our uniform." "Become so familiar with it that you can put it on even if you're half asleep." "You copy?" "It means, "Do you get it?" You copy?" "I understand." "I mean, I copy." "Are you two ready?" "We'll be coming up on the plate soon." "Plate?" "Our debris for this job is a memorial plate that was sent up 20 years ago, ...asking that the children of Mananga be allowed to live in peace." "Its orbit intersects that of an artificial satellite." "Your first job is to scrap it by dropping it towards Earth." "Scrap it?" "You mean we're not retrieving it?" "Debris that can't be used as raw material gets dropped and burned." "But it's a plate that's a message of peace!" "As if something like that could ever create peace..." "The desire to create peace and cherish it is what will bring peace to the world!" "Maybe a diaper man like you wouldn't understand that, Senpai." "Geez..." "Would you listen to that naive crap you're spouting, rookie?" "When it comes to doing what's right, there's no senpais or rookies!" "And anyway, you..." "Okay, that's enough of that." "Tanabe, I can understand what you're saying, but this is our job." "That plate may be important, but so is that satellite." "But we don't have to scrap it..." "Orders from the bosses." "Somebody has to do the job." "Getting rid of debris in orbit is vital to space development." "Understand?" "Yes, ma'am." "I understand, but..." "It's just not right." "There's no love!" "Debris collector ship DS-12 has arrived at target point." "T minus 58 minutes to contact between the plate and the INTO satellite." "INTO is starting to get pretty jumpy." "The disposal order has been sent." "I'll check each stage of the operation during our regularly scheduled communications." "Very well." "Um, Senpai?" "I'm a little scared..." "Like they say, the best time to learn to swim is when you're drowning." "Don't say that!" "I don't wanna drown in space!" "Do you think she's going to work out?" "Well, she's taking workshops, and we'll be in trouble if we don't make her useful ASAP, right?" "I guess you're right." "It's just a drop, and Mr. Hoshino's with her." "So, what's this satellite that the plate is gonna collide with?" "Didn't you read the mission profile?" "I didn't get the mission profile!" "Oh, you didn't?" "It's INTO's Dario-14." "Dario?" "But isn't that a..." "Yep, a military bird." "It monitors the Earth from space, ...and keeps an eye out to see if some country somewhere is misbehaving." "So if some country tries to expand its military, INTO will come storming in, right?" "They talk about keeping the peace and liberation, but they're really just looking out for..." "STOP!" "What the hell do you think you're doing?" "!" "You rank amateur!" "But it's a military satellite, Senpai!" "It's a tool for war!" "We can't scrap a symbol of peace to save something like that!" "What are you saying?" "One's a functional satellite, and the other's a plate that's just floating there!" "How can you compare the two?" "!" "There's nothing to compare!" "Which is more important, peace or war?" "!" "Listen up!" "We're debris collectors!" "We get rid of the plate as part of our job, and that's that!" "Then the satellite ought to be hit by the plate and be destroyed!" "What the hell are you saying?" "!" "If we did that, it'd just make more debris!" "H-Hey, wait!" "My feet..." "I'm drowning!" "Geez, at least learn your suit's halt code!" "Hey, we got work to do!" "Even if this is our job, it's just not right!" "I thought astronauts were supposed to be free of countries and gravity and all that other stuff!" "Give the noble daydreams a rest, you preachy rookie." "Astronauts are wage slaves just like any other!" "It's because of that that everybody calls you the Half Section!" "You've got to set your goals higher!" "Complete!" "Target point reached." "But this is INTO's logo..." "This is the memorial plate." ""In 2055, peace was preserved in Mananga through the efforts of INTO."" ""An evil regime was opposed in order to establish a foothold for freedom and justice..."" "Big talk, considering that they're the ones who started the conflict in Mananga in the first place." "What the heck is this?" "This is a symbol of peace?" "This is just INTO propaganda!" "Well, it's true that they can't afford to have this brought back, not now." "Hell, our country's in INTO now, too, so I guess it can't be helped." "I'm sorry about what I said." "Please go ahead and drop this thing." "Hey, that's your job, too." "Forget it." "You just sit there." "You copy?" "I copy..." "DS-12, this is ISPV-7." "Please report operation status." "We've cleared up through phase 9." "Standing by for de-orbit burn." "Um..." "Senpai?" "It's been 15 minutes." "We're way behind schedule." "Oh, I'm sorry." "You're going to do it, aren't you, Senpai?" "Rookie." "Yes?" "Why'd you come into space?" "Well, um..." "When I was getting close to graduation time, I started to get curious." "I wanted to learn what my limits were." "What kind of person I was." "How big a mark I could leave on the world." "So I..." "But I guess I'm not cut out for space..." "What did I come here for?" "What did I hope to accomplish?" "All I did was prove that I'm earthbound right down to the core." "Tanabe." "Tanabe, you read me?" "Fee-san?" "Watch the plate as it's going down." "Pretty..." "The children of Mananga are seeing that." "The course it's on should take it right over Mananga." "And with their weather today, they should have a nice, clear view of it." "If it can bring happiness to the children of Mananga, ...even if only for a brief moment, regardless of the ulterior motives of the people who built it," "...even a piece of debris like that has some value, don't you think?" "You waited for more than 15 minutes so you could do this?" "Rookie." "Y-Yes, sir?" "We're heading back to Toy Box." "You copy?" "I copy!" "ISPV-7, this DS-12 Phase clear." "DS-12, this is Seven." "Dario-14 orbital clearance confirmed." "Mission complete." "I copy." "Now engaging return mode to head back to Seven." "Hachimaki-senpai!" "What do you mean, "Special Excess Allowance"?" "!" "Give it a rest!" "If you're out in space for longer than your maximum time allowed, you get extra pay!" "You got paid, too, didn't you?" "Is that why you waited for more than 15 minutes?" "!" "What other reason would there be?" "You mean you didn't do it to give the children of Mananga a shooting star of hope as a present?" "!" "What's that sap you're spouting, diaper girl?" "Don't you talk down to me, diaper boy!" "Is that any way to talk to your sepmai?" "!" "Senpai doesn't make a difference!" "Don't you have any tact in you?" "!" "Give your superior enough time to have a smoke in peace, okay?" "Then stop pointing your finger at people!" "Oh." "Sorry about that..." "But those two things are..." "Totally different?" "Of course they are!" "Don't you get it, Senpai?" "!" "Who do you think you are, you rookie?" "!" "Next Time" "Like a Dream" "What's that?" ""Idea Notebook for Obtaining a Spaceship of My Own."" "Excuse me?" "Apparently, he had it even before he joined the company." "Senpai!" "This is one time when running away or failing isn't an option!" "It ain't an option!" "Can I really do it...?"