The two of them bickered back and forth, completely forgetting that Valentina was still standing there. She sighed helplessly and quietly walked over to the observation window, gazing out at the vastness of space.

  The control room of the new ship was far more spacious than that of the old one. Its flattened circular design resembled a flying saucer, giving the ship an overall shape reminiscent of the letter ?. This layout allowed those inside to easily take in a panoramic view of space, increasing the chances of detecting even the smallest anomalies.

  At that moment, the ship had already left Saturn far behind. The planet named after the god Saturn stood out against the cosmos with its massive ring system—nine continuous rings and three broken ones. Its pale yellow atmosphere appeared far gentler and more serene than the violent atmosphere Valentina had seen on Jupiter the day before. More than 140 moons orbited the planet, scattered like black pepper sprinkled across a fragrant fried egg. The distant remnants of sunlight from the Sun stirred a nostalgic feeling – like a family meal once shared in warmth and happiness, now forever out of reach. That gentle light, once the source of life for all things, had ultimately burned away everything it had ever nurtured.

  Valentina found herself recalling the times she and Tuan had gazed together at the shimmering light of the Big Dipper. To the universe, that light might have been nothing more than a candle flickering in the wind; but to her, it had been an entire sky filled with stars.

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  After a moment of contemplation, Valentina suddenly spoke.

  “A Light In the Endless Night. A single ray of light in the dark abyss. A lighthouse guiding the way through eternal darkness. We could abbreviate it as ALIEN. I think that’s the most fitting name. We’re both extraterrestrial beings searching for distant civilizations in the universe – and a lighthouse carrying hope back to humanity. Isn’t that name obvious?”

  Arnaldo and Tuan fell silent at once. They looked at each other, then reflected on the name Valentina had just proposed.

  “Oh! That’s unexpected,” Arnaldo exclaimed. “The lighthouse imagery really does suit our mission.”

  “That’s brilliant, Vale!” Tuan said excitedly. “The ALIEN Squadron! An alien squadron! Just hearing it sounds insanely cool. It totally crushes the name Ultra Galactic Squadron I just came up with. You’re seriously a walking dictionary.”

  Tuan ran over and slapped Valentina hard on the shoulder, nearly knocking her over. Still, being praised by both of her teammates filled her with quiet joy.

  “Then it’s settled,” Arnaldo said. “I’ll have Freya update the ship’s name.”

  With that, Arnaldo opened the logo design software and entered the new name. Freya suggested several stylized designs for the three of them to choose from before imprinting the name onto the ship’s exterior. They admired the result together, each of them feeling deeply satisfied.

  “Alright,” Tuan declared proudly. “Now our journey truly begins.”