Chapter 48

Chapter 48 is the forty-eighth chapter of the Astra Lost in Space manga. It is the eleventh chapter of the fifth volume.

Synopsis
In the Imperial Palace, the leader of the faction that had assassinated Seira is summoned by King Vix on an important matter to the throne room. The leader, Mark Vix, is secretly excited and believes that the king will designate him the heir to the throne. Mark, who is motivated by greed for the valuable treasures that the Vixian kings supposedly keep in secret, recalls how difficult it was to get Seira assassinated and Aries put together with the students of Group B-5 in order to create the accident. His only concern had been the Genome Control Act, but he believes that luck played in his favor as the king appears to be a shell of his former self. He relishes at being king, even dubbing himself "King Mark".

A sudden commotion interrupts his thinking, and King Vix demands to know what is happening. The police burst into the room, and the lead detective announces that King Vix is to be charged with the illicit production of clones and murder, and wants the king's cooperation in the investigation. The outraged king exclaims he has never killed anyone, and the detective clarifies that it was attempted murder, confusing the king further.

The detective explains that one week ago, an unidentified spacecraft came into orbit around Astra, and sent an interesting message to the authorities claiming they were the Astra (ship), formerly known as Ark XII. The stunned look on the king tells the detective everything he needs to know, so he continues. The crew was the students of Group B-5, who were alive and well despite everyone believing they were dead. In order to prove their authenticity, they even provided a sample of their DNA in the message to the authorities. He continues by saying although the king has absolute power in Vixia, it is no match to the power of the world government, and the king must comply with the request. The king quickly realizes that Charce has to be behind this.

Mark attempts to quietly leave the room, but the detective mentions that he has a few questions for him, as the authorities had received a tip-off that Mark was suspected to be part of the group that assassinated Seira. With the king and Mark arrested, another detective asks the lead detective, Detective Grace, what exactly the Imperial District is. He replies that a can of worms has been opened and that the king had been guarding the key to the secrets in the Imperial District. Although the world government had a lot of power in watching the king, the king still had enough power within Vixia to start a succession war. While he laments the fact that when the secrets are revealed to the world, there will be an age of chaos on the world, he feels that the world will be better off as they enter a new era.

A news broadcaster details the dizzying turn of events to the public. Apparently not only have the students of Group B-5 survived, but they also claimed to be illegal clones and have submitted the names of their creators to the authorities. All of the creators are arrested except for Emma, who is considered innocent in the affair, and Marco Esposito, who is to be questioned at a later date. The Astra will land at Mousanish Spaceport later that day.

Aboard the Astra, the students receive a reply from the authorities, which says that the originals have been arrested and they await the landing of the Astra. Everyone erupts in celebration, as their 146-day journey in space is finally over. They share a group hug and recall all the memories of their journey, and each person details their most memorable memory from the journey. Zack mentions that it was the time they nearly lost control and crash-landed onto Planet Shummoor after the meteoroid strike, while Quitterie says that it was the time they had crash-landed onto Planet Icriss, thinking that was it.

Yun-Hua remembers the time she sang to the sick students on Planet Shummoor, with Paulina thinking about the time she had realized that she wasn't looking at Earth on the deep space telescope. Luca tells them that his best memory was when Ulgar put a gun to his head and made him strip, earning a rebuke from Ulgar. Ulgar explains that he was the time Kanata rescued him the tsunami on Planet Arispade.

As the crew gets more emotional hearing everyone's confessions, Aries fondly recalls the time that Kanata carried her back onto the Astra while they were in deep space, while Funicia says that her favorite moment was when Kanata carried her on the parachute after rescuing her from the Tree-poline on Planet Vilavurs. Finally, Charce recalls the moment that Kanata sacrificed his own arm to the wormhole to save Charce from committing suicide back on Planet Icriss.

The entire group thanks Kanata for his role in helping them get back home safely, and they all embrace him. Kanata protests, saying that it was a group effort and they all made it home because of that. With each person's individual contributions and the fact that none of them had gone missing, they were all able to make it home safely. Aries asks what his most memorable moment was, and Kanata replies that it is finally getting to land back home on Astra.

As they pilot the ship back to Mousanish Spaceport, they stare longingly at the view of their home, and Kanata mentions that this is the most beautiful planet of all of the planets they visited. Despite the fact humanity tried to bury the wormholes' existence, he believes that if used correctly, space exploration can advance forward decades, and the world will grow and evolve.

Aries thinks about how humanity had rebuilt the world and truly achieved world peace after the initial chaos, but sadly only on the backbone of lies. With the truth out there now, they feel like they can be more confident in facing the future. Despite the fact the future has a lot of unknown factors, she believes that if they all help and encourage each other, there will be always be a light to help guide them through the darkness.

As they approach the spaceport, the crew is in awe of all the people that are waiting for them to land, including seemingly a massive amount of media. All of them soon turn their attention to how they will conduct themselves once they land. Aries is even able to spot her mother on the ground. Kanata congratulates them on successfully finishing camp and asks them to all meet up after school ends, to which everyone cheers in agreement. In Aries' final entry in her diary, she writes the motto for their journey, "Per Aspera Ad Astra" (Through Hardship to the Stars).