Chapter 2

**Chapter 2** is the second chapter of the *Astra Lost in Space* manga. In the compiled volumes, it is the second chapter of the first volume, and the second chapter of the McPa Arc.

## Synopsis

Group B-5 responds to Zack's assertion that they are 5,012 light-years from Planet McPa with utter disbelief; Zack believes that they were somehow sucked into a rift in space-time. Kanata asks the group for suggestions as to how they can escape their predicament. Quitterie reasons that finding the globe and get sucked into it again would return them to where they previously were, but Ulgar coldly dismisses the idea; Charce agrees with Ulgar, saying that they have no means of finding it. Luca suggests that the teachers might be testing them to see how they react to an unexpected situation, but Aries disagrees. She points out that, had Kanata not ordered her to reactivate her helmet, she would've otherwise died, and that the school has no reason to place their students in direct danger.

When Funicia, through Beego, mentions that there is no one to pilot the ship, Quitterie remembers that Zack has a space pilot license. Confirming her assertion, he says that he has examined the ship's specs; he has determined that their new ship is capable of faster-than-light travel and refueling by scooping up space dust. When the party expresses joy at being able to go back home, Zack is quick to contradict them, reminding them that they are three months from home, even traveling at faster-than-light speeds, and that they have barely enough water and food to sustain themselves for three days in space, let alone three months. Ulgar mocks Zack's words, daring him to state more explicitly that they are going to die, leading Kanata to physically the two to prevent a confrontation. Asking everyone to calm down, Kanata tells them the story of the ill-fated hiking trip he and several students went on when he was younger; after his teacher fell off a cliff and died, it was his group's unity in the face of hardship that kept them alive. He says that they cannot allow themselves to get divided and asks that they all work together.

Having heard Kanata's tale, Zack nominates Kanata to be interim captain, and everyone else agrees. Aries' mind drifts to her childhood: several of the neighborhood boys had played a game with their ant-grav shoes, in which they would jump a long distance from one circle scratched in the dirt to another without touching the ground. She asks Zack how he determined their location; when he responds that he synced the ship's computer with a list of around 62,000 known habitable planets on it. She then asks him to try finding a planet that has both food and water within three-days' travel of their current location. Checking over the list, Zack is surprised to find one such planet, Vilavurs, that satisfies all the requirements; it is only 164 light-years away, within the three-day radius. Further investigation leads the group to the realization that they can hop from one planet to another, using a total of five planets along the way to reach home. The strategy mirrors the way Aries completed the anti-grav jumping game: drawing new circles on the ground in front of her and using them to span the gap between the first and last circles.

Their spirits lifted, the group makes preparations to return home. Before they depart, Aries asks if the ship has a name, at which point Zack notices a plate next to his seat at the front console bearing the words "Per Aspera ad Astra." He briefly explains its Latin meaning; hearing that the word "astra" means "stars," Kanata decides to name the ship "Astra" and the crew begins their trip to Planet Vilavurs.