The Space Probe is Unbelievably Adorable

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"Come on, come on!" Ritsuka grumbles.
"You can't possibly be spending all those weird gems you earn by beating up monsters on getting more Servants again!" Gudako half-mutters, half-growls exasperatedly.
"Just you wait, sis! I'm gonna get a new SSR! I can feel it!"
Gudako scoffs.
"Yeah, yeah, keep tellin' yourself that. Imma go back to the institute."
Now I REALLY gotta get a new SSR, just to throw it in her face.
"See ya later, sis. Don't freeze."
"Won't."
Ritsuka inserts more SQ and presses a few buttons again. Once again, he gets nothing of value.
"Come on!"
"Senpai, you seem to be getting frustrated," Mash says quietly, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, "so...maybe you should stop for today?"
"Just one more, Mash! This one's gonna work! I just know it!"
Mash sighs.
You said that about the last fifty.
"Alright, Senpai...one more."
Ritsuka inserts more SQ and presses those few buttons, breath held in anticipation. A message flashes on the computer.
Spirit Origin detected. Rarity: Super Super Rare. Class: Foreigner.
"Okay, so...who's it gonna be? Abigail again? Or maybe Hokus—"
Mash's shield glows for a second, and when it fades, a little boy with blond hair, pale blue eyes, and a long yellow scarf is standing in front of it. Mash goes and picks up her shield. Ritsuka kneels down and smiles.
"I...ask you..." the small child hesitates, "Are you worthy...of being...my Master?"
Ritsuka pauses. The child looks at him, nods, looks around and blinks.
"Where am I? Who are you?"
"Well, my name is Ritsuka Fujimaru, and I'm your Master. It's really nice to meet you! What's your name?"
"Voyager..." the child mumbles.
Okay, it's nice to meet you, Voyager!"
Voyager nods, smiling.
"Who's the girl with the pink hair?"
"Oh, that's Mash, my kouhai and friend."
Voyager nods.
"And...where am I?"
Ritsuka smiles.
"You're in a place called Chaldea. We're in Antarctica."
He perks up.
"Can I see the stars from here?"
Ritsuka laughs.
"If there's no blizzard outside, then yeah. It's really beautiful."
"Yay!" Voyager shouts, his pale blue eyes sparkling. Ritsuka laughs again.
Awwwww, he's so cuuuuute!
"But it's noon, so you're gonna have to wait until nighttime."
"Okay..."
Voyager looks around, a bit anxious. Ritsuka immediately enters 'Protective Big Brother' mode.
"What's wrong, Voyager?"
"Are there...other people here?"
"Yeah, there are. I have a lot of Servants, so I'm sure you'll have a lot of friends."
Voyager looks down.
"I'm not very good at making friends...I'm shy with new people..."
Ritsuka hugs him.
"It's okay. I have plenty of Servants who are shy. It's okay, okay? Promise."
"...will they want to play with me? I really like to play."
"There's bound to be someone who will want to play with you. What do you like to do?"
Voyager immediately perks up.
"Well, I like to color, I like to do science, and I like music."
"Oh, cool! What kind of science?"
Voyager looks super excited. He runs around the summoning room with his arms outstretched like an airplane.
"Space!!"
Rirsuka smiles.
He's Voyager 1. Of course he loves space. But damn, he's so insanely cute.
"Hey, Voyager."
He stops running for a second.
"Yes?"
"I kinda want you to meet someone."
He looks down and clutches his arm, a bit worried.
"...who?"
"Another Servant of mine. His name's Chiron, and he's really cool. He can shoot a laser beam from a constellation. And he's really smart, too."
"That's so cool!!"
Ritsuka picks him up and puts him on his shoulders. Voyager smiles.
"Alright, c'mon, little spaceship, let's go meet him."
"I'll come with too, Senpai," Mash calls. Voyager beams like a star.
"Thank you! Yay!!"
They exit the summoning room and head over to the observatory.

Some of the 'child' Servants are taking an art class in the observatory. Chiron trots around, looking at what they've painted.
"Pancakes, huh? It's really nice, Abby! It's so realistic, I can almost smell them."
"Thank you, Mr Chiron!"
"Ah, are those the portals you use to access the Gate, Gil? They're almost glowing, and you contrasted the golds really well."
"Yes, they are those portals. Thank you so much, Teacher."
"Hm...a view out one of the portholes of your submarine, Captain? It's very detailed. Great job!"
"...thanks..."
Ritsuka and Mash walk in.
"Chiron! I'm so sorry to interrupt, but we need to talk quickly."
Chiron turns.
"Ah, Master. Who's the little one on your shoulders?"
"...my name is Voyager..." Voyager mumbles.
Mash taps Ritsuka on the arm. Ritsuka turns to her.
"Mm?"
"I'll be going, Senpai. I have a routine check-up."
"Okay. See ya, Mash."
The other three kids gather around Chiron: Abby and Gil closer to Ritsuka, Captain a bit father back, fidgeting with his twin ponytails.
"Oh, is he shy?" Chiron asks. He smiles. Ritsuka puts Voyager on the ground.
"Come here, child," Chiron says calmly, "it's okay, promise. What's your name?"
"Voyager," Voyager mumbles again, a bit louder.
"'Voyager', huh? Well, it's nice to meet you, Voyager! My name is Chiron."
"Mr Ritsuka said you can shoot a laser from a constellation?"
Chiron laughs a bit.
"Yes, yes I can. Sagittarius, to be exact."
Voyager nods.
"That makes sense, because you're a...you're a..."
"A centaur, just like the constellation."
Ritsuka smiles at Voyager.
"Well, I should be going."
Voyager clings to him like a scared child.
"You'll always be here if I need help...right, Mr Ritsuka?"
Ritsuka hugs him.
"Yes. And if you need me at any point, I'll be in my room, and Chiron can contact me, okay?"
"Okay..."
Ritsuka steps away, and Voyager looks at the other three children.
"Who are you?"
"My name's Abigail!"
"And I'm Gil! It's nice to meet you, Voyager!"
"...just call me 'Captain'..."
Voyager looks around.
"This is a...a...a space-look-at-place, right?"
Chiron chuckles. Voyager backs off a bit.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"No, no, dear child! It's just funny how you described it. Yes, this is a 'space-look-at-place', or an 'observatory'."
"Oh, okay."
He looks around.
"Do any of you want to play?"
Gil smiles.
"Sure! What do you like?"
"Well, I like coloring, I like music, and I like space. What about you?"
"I like a lot of things, too many things to list," Gil replies.
"I like having tea parties and reading," Abigail replies.
Captain stays silent.
"And you, Captain?" Chiron asks.
"...exploring, engineering, and the ocean..." he whispers.
And roleplaying...
Voyager tilts his head.
"I didn't hear you, Mr Captain."
"...just...just call me 'Captain'. And I said...I like exploring, engineering, and the ocean..." he whispers, a bit louder, as if he's embarrassed. Voyager looks at Chiron.
"You were teaching...painting, right?"
"Yes I was, dear child."
"Can I learn?"
"Of course!"
As Chiron turns to step towards the easels, Captain taps him.
"Yes, Captain?" He asks quietly.
"...where are the connecting blocks? I kinda want to design another ship..."
Chiron smiles and gently throws his head to the side.
"Over there."
Captain nods, and goes over to the side. Gil and Abigail sit down and start chatting about a novel they're both reading. Voyager smiles at Chiron, and then looks at the easel.
"Is there black paper?"
"Yes, there is. Let me get it."
Chiron pulls out the black paper, attaches it to the easel, and then Voyager starts painting. Chiron gives him some tips, but mostly lets him do what he wants. It's art, after all. There is no right or wrong. After about twenty minutes, there's planets and stars strewn about the paper, in pretty purples and reds and oranges and pinks and yellows and whites and blues and greens. It still looks like a young child painted it, but it's really beautiful.
"I'm done, Mr Chiron!"
Chiron looks over.
"Ah, yes! That's very good, Voyager! It almost feels like I'm there!"
Voyager smiles, his eyes twinkling. He looks around, and walks over to Captain.
"Hello, Captain. What are you playing with?"
"...just building..." Captain says quietly as he snaps another piece onto his mini submarine, his attention focused solely on that. It's extremely realistic, with a rotating periscope, twin engines, and portholes that allow him to look inside its hollow interior. One could easily imagine it sailing through the real ocean.
Voyager looks at it, curious.
"What's that?"
"A submarine. It goes underwater."
Voyager smiles.
"That looks like fun!"
"...yeah..." Captain murmurs as he pulls out his conch shell horn.
"What's that?"
"...a shell. I can play it like a horn. See?"
He blows into it, and a surprisingly pretty sound comes out: it's commanding, but also almost kind, in a way.
"Woah! That's so cool! Can you play it again?"
"Sure."
He blows into it again.
"Woah..."
Voyager sits there for a moment, almost mesmerized.
"...you're Voyager 1, so you're a whole lot more recent than any part of my Spirit Origin..." Captain mutters, and then looks at Voyager.
"What's outer space like?"
Voyager snaps out of his head and perks up, his eyes glowing in excitement.
"Space? Well, it's really big. There's a lot of planets and stars, and it's really pretty. I don't know everything about it, but that's part of what makes people like it: it's hard for people to understand."
Captain nods.
Honestly, I'm starting to like this kid.
"Sounds like the ocean. It's so beautiful. Trust me, you haven't seen 'beautiful' until you've seen a thriving coral reef up-close. It's deep, too, and we really don't know that much about it. It's one of the perfect places for exploration."
He holds up his little submarine.
"That's why humans invented this: so that we could see what goes on down there. The most interesting life-forms live in the deepest depths. I swear, they don't even look like they belong on Earth."
"That's part of the reason humans created me!" Voyager states proudly, "To see what they had never seen before!"
"Explains your curiosity."
Captain picks up his little submarine and starts to examine it, looking for flaws or something of the sort. Not that there are any, obviously.
"Hey, Captain?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you show me your...your special ability?"
"...we Servants have many. Which one?"
Voyager closes his eyes and tries to think.
What's it called?
"Your...super-duper-bestest ability. Like how Mr Chiron can shoot a laser from Sagittarius."
Captain blinks.
"...you mean my Noble Phantasm?"
"Yes!"
A smile pokes at Captain's lips.
This kid is honestly so cute.
"Well, I can't show you it here, but I guess I could show you it in the simulator."
"Okay!"
Captain picks up his mini submarine and walks over to Chiron, who's just reading.
"I'm gonna show Voyager my Noble Phantasm. So...we'll be in the simulator, I guess."
"Yes, okay."
Chiron smiles.
"You seem to really like him, Captain."
"Yeah. Yeah, I do."
Captain turns away.
"C'mon, Voyager. I'll show you the way to the simulator,"
"Okay!"

"So...yeah. Here's the simulator."
Voyager looks around it.
"It's...really, really big. Do Servants fight in here?"
"Mhm, they do."
Voyager nods.
"Okay. Can you show me your Noble Phantasm?"
"Yeah. Give me a second. Get ready to start swimming, okay? I'm gonna summon a bunch of water."
"...okay? It's safe, right?"
"Yes, it's safe. My Noble Phantasm will protect us. I can summon it without water, but I much prefer summoning it in water. Get ready, okay?"
Voyager takes a deep breath.
"Okay. Wait, can I hold your hand?"
Captain freezes for a second.
What? Oh, of course...
"Yeah, just so that you don't get washed away. Ready?"
"Ready."
Captain puts his horn to his lips and blows. This time, instead of just making a pretty sound, water rushes around them: flowing water, like a mini ocean. Voyager gasps and holds his breath, and Captain closes his eyes. As he chants, his appearance and voice shift, as if there's multiple versions of him.
"Set sail!" "Target spotted!" "Central hub, all green!" "Internal engine at max!" "Safety protocols at maximum!" "Rolled omelette's on." "Good, commence rapid ascent! Our Sea God's halberd, Great Ram - Nautilus!"
A submarine appears around the two, mechanics creaking. Captain runs up to take the helm. He flips a couple switches and nods. Voyager wanders around and takes a look out a porthole. He can see the water flowing around outside, and can easily imagine seeing fish and seaweed and other ocean things out one of these portholes.
Pretty!
"This is your Noble Phantasm?"
"Yeah, my submarine. If you want, I can de-summon it and the anti-flood internal system can take care of the mini ocean I created."
"No, I want to explore it first. If...if that's okay, of course."
"Yeah, it's okay."
Voyager full-on hugs Captain. He freezes.
"Thank you, big brother!"
"...'big brother'?"
Voyager smiles at him.
"Yes. I really like you, Captain, and I do see you as a big brother of sorts."
Oh my god...so cute...
"Thank you...Voyager."
Voyager nods and skips off.

(Time skip!)

"Okay, I'm done exploring. Can we go?"
"Yeah, sure."
Captain snaps his fingers, and the submarine de-summons. The water disappears. Captain partially retreats into his head, and Voyager taps him on the shoulder.
"Captain?"
"Mm?"
"...who exactly are you?"
"Hm? Oh, who am I. That's...a long story."
Voyager looks at Captain with the cutest puppy-dog eyes in the history of ever.
"Tell me?"
Captain nods.
"Yeah, sure, but why don't we go get some food or something? I'm a bit hungry."
"Okay."

"Hey, Captain? Where are the sweets?"
"There's seven carts over to the left. There's cake, cake pops, and cupcakes in every flavor under the sun, cookies in every variant imaginable, puddings and stuff of the sort, caramelized fruits...basically, the fact that there are Servants from so many different placed on Earth means that we have a lot of food variety, and they're all spectacularly made. Personally, I enjoy loukoumades, melomakarona, kheer, and gulab jamun."
"...Greek and Indian?"
"Yeah. Don't worry if you can't identify what something is on sight: they've got labels with their name in their original language, as well as the two main languages used here in Chaldea: Japanese and English."
"Okay!"
Voyager blinks.
"...I don't really know what any of the things you listed are, but I like sweet things!"
"Maybe you'd like pie. Do you like pie?"
Voyager tilts his head.
"What's 'pie'?"
"Why don't I show you?"
And so they walk over.
This kid is too cute.

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