Chapter 36

Chapter 36 is the thirty-sixth chapter of the Astra Lost in Space manga. It is the tenth chapter of the Icriss Arc and, in the compiled volumes, the eighth chapter of the fourth volume.

Synopsis
Group B-5, still on Icriss, has finished gathering supplies for the next leg of their journey. As Charce, Kanata, and Luca re-enter the Astra with several baskets of food, they are approached by Paulina; she thanks them for helping take care of her during her recovery aboard their ship. In a serious tone, she asks them to grant her one more request: to let her see the final resting place of her fallen crew.

As Zack pilots the ship toward the location, Paulina tells the others that she knew where they had died, as it was the place their signal was lost but was prevented from visiting by the intense emotions she felt after losing them. She mentions that she considered visiting anyway as a way of committing suicide, briefly deluding herself into thinking that being killed by whatever killed them would allow her to join them in death, but eventually decided to enter cryostasis instead.

The ship lands close to the location, barren and seemingly devoid of any harmful species. As they walk to the specific point where the signal was lost, Paulina comments to Charce on the differences between their spacesuits: her bulky, classically constructed suit is much less advanced than their sleek, thin-crust suits. He explains the suits are called crust suits and are state of the art, leading them to surmise that technology most likely advanced considerably while she was asleep.

They finally discover the space rover from her ship, heavily damaged, overgrown with plants, and upside down. As they examine it, Luca discovers one of her crew's dog tags; when she sees it, Paulina immediately grabs it, examining it more closely. Abruptly, an odd, sound fills the air; to her horror, she recognizes it and screams at everyone else to run away. Ulgar pulls a stunned Luca out of the way as a massive drill-shaped plant erupts from the ground beneath their feet. Once fully above the ground, it begins attacking those closest to it with a number of thick tendrils that emerge from the upper portion of its body, stabbing them into the ground as they dodge and jump out of the way. As more of the plants emerge from the ground, everyone begins running for the Astra except for Paulina, who Kanata notices is staring at her fallen crew-mate's dog tag, hanging far out of reach on the uppermost point at the top of the plant.

After thinking for a moment, he tells Ulgar to take Paulina back to the ship. He has taken one of Luca's lances from Vilavurs with him for the sake of self-defense; he uses it as if pole-vaulting, launching himself over the plant and grabbing the dog tag as he passes over the point at its peak, much to the amazement of Paulina and the others. Landing confidently on the ground behind the plant, he sprints back to the rest of the group and returns the dog tags to Paulina. She thanks him for retrieving them, and he thanks her for noticing the imminent attack by the plants and warning them. Thanking the rest of the crew for helping her find a token from her own crew, she offers up a final, tearful prayer to her fallen crewmates, vowing to be the living proof of their existence in their stead.