Starship Operators

Starship Operators (スターシップ・オペレーターズ, Sutāshippu Operētāzu) is a light novel series written by Ryo Mizuno. Six volumes were published by MediaWorks (now ASCII Media Works) between 2001 and 2005. A 13-episode anime adaptation produced by J.C.Staff was aired on TV Tokyo in Japan. Starship Operators is licensed in English in the United States by Geneon.

Plot
Starship Operators is about the 73rd class of the Defense University of the Planet Kibi. As they are returning home after the maiden voyage of the Amaterasu, they find that their home planet, Kibi, has been taken over by one of the Henrietta region's super powers, Henrietta Alliance of Planetary Nations.

The original command crew all abandon ship, as per the conquerors' demands. Left alone on the ship, the cadets decide to keep their command and fight on. To this end, they have decided to ask Galaxy Network to fund the operation of Amaterasu as a fleeing self-governed nation in exchange for letting them broadcast the ship's adventures live - as a reality TV program.

The novel's storyline also features Amaterasu finding its way through space to reach the control zone of another super power, the Henrietta Independent Federation, for protection.