The name parsec stands for "parallax of one second of arc." One parsec = 3.262 light years.
2015 A.D. Perseus Arm, Milky Way Galaxy (12,000 parsecs from Earth)
The fourth wave of enemy photon torpedoes is approaching!
ETA, 20 seconds!
Full speed evasive maneuvers, on the double!
Full speed evasive maneuvers!
Abandon ship!
We are abandoning ship.
Repeat, abandon ship!
One more!
We've got room for one more!
You said you had room for one more?
Yes, sir!
Then get him on board!
No, Admiral!
You fool, get out of here!
B-But...
Listen! You're too young to die!
You have to live... You've got a mission ahead of you!
"Papa, make sure to come home for my 8th birthday!"
Noriko...
"Papa, make sure to come home for my 8th birthday!"
Forgive me.
Episode 2
In 15 minutes the ship will arrive at Space Station One the Silver Star.
Please refrain from smoking.
Your stewardess on this flight was Ohara Natsuko
and your pilot was Murakami Fujio.
Ah... Onee-sama.
Good morning.
That is the Exelion, a cutting-edge space battleship.
It's smaller than I expected.
Don't look away!
Ah, yes!
Listen, in the vacuum of space your sense of distance and size can grow distorted.
Be sure to keep that in mind.
Okay!
Hm?
That's a Soviet machine.
The Straight Path of Sincerity
Welcome to Silver Star.
I'm the Exelion's new captain, Tashiro Tatsumi.
This is Jung Freud, from Moon Base.
She's a genius in space combat.
I believe you've heard of her?
Yes, I'm aware of who she is.
Allow me to introduce Amano Kazumi and Takaya Noriko.
The best Japan has to offer.
Do try to get along.
How do you do.
Is this your first time in space?
No, I've been here three times before on vacation.
I see. You should be fine, then.
Can you hear me in the back?
Your soon-to-be new home, the space battleship Exelion
is currently under construction at a very rapid pace.
We expect to have it fully equipped by the end of February
whereupon we will launch a full-scale attack on the space monsters.
At that point, you will all become full-fledged members of the Top Squadron.
If we lose this battle mankind will have no future.
You have 7 months until then. Use that time wisely and train yourselves.
First off, you'll have to get the hang of movement in space.
Go to the moon, orbit it once, then return here.
Don't forget to stay in pairs.
Near the moon, you will experience strong acceleration.
Don't let it throw you.
First group, move out!
Noriko, here we go!
Roger!
Distance, 270.
That should be good enough, right?
Yes.
Fixing position.
Switch off your markers, both of you.
What are you trying to do?
I challenge you to a fight!
Onee-sama!
Linda's carrying our dummy markers ahead. Hers, too.
So, you've got everything taken care of!
I could take you both at once
since you've no real space experience.
No need to worry about that.
Onee-sama!
Here I go!
Giacobinid Meteoric Attack!
So, just what I'd expect of the Rose Queen.
Not bad at all!
Just be careful.
Every rose has its thorns.
Where are you, Onee-sama?
Sekiun style, Omni-directional defence, slanted aim stance.
Perfect defence, no opening given...
But! If you won't give me one, I'll just make one myself!
Ready to yield?
Oh, I don't know about that.
Inazuma Reversal KICK!
You're pretty good, Genius.
Of course I am, they don't call me that for nothing.
Onee-sama!
What's wrong? Are you done already?
Hold on a minute.
What is all this?
Where did she go?
What?
It's a space monster's corpse...
In a place like this?
My papa...
My papa was... killed by this?
By such a creature?
Papa!
Noriko...
Papa...
Welcome home, Papa!
You remembered my birthday!
Of course. You've turned 6 years old today, Noriko.
Your father came home at the speed of light.
Going AWOL during a training exercise.
Entering a military facility without authorization.
Interfering with a top secret enemy artifact.
Any one of these should get you both confined to the brig!
But we can't train you if you're in jail.
I've asked the Captain to keep this incident quiet.
But listen, you're both on probation.
One more screw-up like that
and you'll go straight to the brig.
Understood?
Yes!
When I was a child my papa was always in space.
Even when he came to Earth, he hardly ever came home.
But he'd always come home once a year just for my birthday.
And he would say to me...
"Happy birthday, Noriko."
He'd always go straight back to work after that, though...
Anyway, I'm so relieved.
It wouldn't matter for me,
but if you got thrown in jail...
it'd be such a huge loss for our force.
Oh, I get it now!
So that's why they pardoned me too!
Excuse me, girls.
It's my fault you both got a scolding from Coach, right?
I'm really shy around others and you know, one thing leads to another.
Still, Amano-san, you really are something.
I heard you were good...
but I never expected you to be that good.
Being on the moon is nice! It makes my breasts lighter.
But here it's worse.
My bra gets so tight, my shoulders get so stiff
and on top of that, my breasts are on the verge of sagging.
Don't you think so?
Oh, yes, it's a strange way to apologize
but I'd like to invite you both to my birthday party.
It's on the 12th of the month after next.
Eh! That's the same birthday as mine!
Really?
Well, that's perfect timing, then!
We can throw a party together! A big one!
By the way, that coach is totally hot.
I love that atmosphere of tension he has.
Say, when's his birthday?
It was 2 days ago.
Neptune Orbit
What do you think, Ohta-kun?
I think it certainly merits further investigation.
Indeed.
The object is coming from the direction of the Perseus Arm...
Uh... It's approaching our Sol System at 99.8% light speed.
We expect it to just barely infringe on Neptune's orbit, but...
such speed, for such a large mass, is quite unusual.
I'd like for you to find out what this object is.
Can we get an image of it?
Uh... Due to a strong Doppler-Lorentz shift...
I'm afraid that's impossible.
Which means we'll have to catch up to it and see it for ourselves.
Do we have any light speed battleships near Neptune?
No battleships, as such.
Training Vessel Spiegel
But a vessel is out for training around the asteroids.
Sub-Light speed Booster
If you used its external boosters
Moby Dick #1
Moby Dick #2
you could accelerate two machine weapons up to sub-light speed.
We'll send Amano and Takaya.
Hmm? Well, putting Amano aside...
wouldn't Jung be a better choice for the other pilot's seat?
Amano and Takaya are both candidates to pilot Gunbuster.
I'd like to use this as an opportunity
to let them experience light speed travel for themselves.
All right.
We will control your acceleration timing.
Just hang on tight and endure the g-forces.
The moment you depart,
I'll set out from Silver Star on a sub-light speed recovery vehicle.
I should catch up to you one minute later, by your clock.
Now, our target is traveling at near light speed.
Don't let ether flow throw you off course.
You'll have 10 minutes to complete your mission.
For every minute that passes out there, 3 months pass by on Earth.
Be careful, or you'll end up like Rip van Winkle.
Moby Dick #1, Moby Dick #2, prepare to separate.
Noriko!
If you get back on time, you should arrive on the day right before our party.
I'll be looking forward to it.
Right, I won't let you grow old alone!
Don't grow into an old woman on us.
Whether I do or not is up to you.
Commencing countdown.
18, 17, 16...
15, 14, 13...
12, 11...
10...
9...
8...
7...
6...
5...
4...
3...
I didn't know the ether flow was so violent...
Time for secondary propulsion...
6...
5...
4...
3...
2...
1...
Zero!
Target acquired.
It's flying in front of us, right on schedule.
I acquired both of you.
20 seconds to contact.
Target recognized.
Can you tell what it is?
A spaceship?
It's man-made.
Wait, I see a name.
Coach! It's from Earth!
The Luxion?
No! Don't let Takaya go near it!
Noriko!
Coach! Noriko's going aboard the Luxion!
There's still air in here.
Inside this ship
only 2 days have passed since the battle!
Papa!
Amano, I'm retrieving you.
Stand by and prepare for deceleration.
I'll go find Takaya.
If I'm not back in 3 minutes,
forget about us and decelerate immediately. Understood?
Papa!
Papa...
She's heading for the bridge.
The main bridge...
Papa!
Takaya...
No!
Takaya, we're leaving!
Coach...
We'll smash through the hull!
Roger...
Amano, prepare for retrieval!
They won't make it...
Coach!
Get us in, quick!
Decelerate!
A... Amano?
Yes?
How late were we?
12 seconds.
I see...
Exelion Casting-off Celebration
Welcome aboard the Exelion!
Welcome back.
You kept me waiting for so long!
We set out next week.
It must have been rough on you, about your father.
But cheer up.
6 months may have passed for all of you,
but we were just there, barely an hour ago.
Let her have some time to herself.
Papa, it's been 6 months since my birthday, but...
let's have a party today, just the two of us.
After all, papa...
you came back to me, just like you promised.
When I grow up, I'll go into space too!
That way, I can always be with you, Papa!
To Be Continued
Next Episode Preview
The sea of space is my sea!
10,000 parsecs from Earth, the girls played a game of "dare."
But I get caught by Coach and get a serious scolding.
Because of that, I get stuck swabbing the laser cannon lenses.
Ooh, my back aches!
There, I get to know a nice guy.
While enjoying the mood under the nebulae, there's a sudden attack!
My first real battle! With a destructive californium nuclear warhead!
Oh, God, please forgive me for my inappropriate attitude!
Next time on Aim for the Top!...
Episode 3
First Love, First Sortie.
Inazuma Kick!