If Mark can’t do it, I’ll give up
It was a different story compared to when the ship was a spaceship frigate, as it had been sealed and stored, so the engines had been shut off and it had cooled down completely.
We’ll need to start the auxiliary power to get the necessary electricity.
“Kasumi, I’m sorry, but could you take care of Maria’s team until she gets back?”
“Yes, but what shall we do?”
“I asked Maria before, but this ship hasn’t been maintained very well, has it?”
“Yes, it’s no wonder it could break down at any time in this condition.”
“We haven’t decided which dock to take it to yet, but we’ll have to get it into a dock, won’t we?”
“Yes, that’s the only option left.”
“Then, even if it’s just temporary, I’d like to at least get it to the point where it can go anywhere within the capital airspace.”
“But that’s impossible here.”
“Ah, then let’s go to Bismuth. We can borrow the facilities there and do a basic maintenance check.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“Alright, then let’s move out as soon as possible. Meyrica-neesan, start it up.”
“Understood. Rani, you’ll take the helm in place of Kate.”
“Yes, Meyrica-neesan.”
“Then, let’s head to Bismuth for now.”
“Destination, Space Colony [Bismuth]. Departing at normal travel speed.”
“Departing for Space Colony [Bismuth] at normal travel speed.”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
Upon arriving at Bismuth, Kasumi and the others began the maintenance using their own connections to borrow materials and tools.
I’ve been in frequent contact with Maki-neechan, who’s at the headquarters of the Coast Guard on the capital planet Diamond,
The question is where to put the ship in the dock.
It’s not like an amateur like me can easily arrange a dock.
Although the bigshots at the Coast Guard probably anticipated this and assigned this task, the diligent Maki-neechan is desperately searching for a dock.
Even being in the general affairs department, which has connections everywhere, it’s not an easy task.
After all, in the case of the Coast Guard, everything is done by requesting the military for maintenance, so they’ve never handled this kind of paperwork before.
And in this case, they’ve already requested the military to maintain one ship.
The military’s maintenance department, which is already stretched thin, can barely handle the one ship they’ve planned for, let alone another one.
The military’s general affairs department would usually outsource the maintenance work to the private sector in a situation like this, but they’re not cooperating at all.
It seems they’re not interested in helping me, and they’ve been complaining about it with every call.
“It’s impossible for amateurs like us to arrange a dock. What were the higher-ups thinking? They must have known it’s impossible for us without any connections. Aren’t they being unfair? Nao-kun.”
It’s pure complaining.
And the tone has reverted to the old days, even in a public place.
In this case, I can only try to soothe her.
“If we had connections, that would help, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, having connections, but they assigned this job to us, the orphans, knowing full well we don’t have any.”
“Then, can I try asking someone as a last resort?”
“Eh? Nao-kun, do you have connections?”
“Yeah, it’s a long shot, but I have a friend from my academy days who works at the Casbel Shipyard, so I can ask them.”
“Casbel Shipyard? That’s a major company. Impressive.”
“That’s why I said it’s a long shot. Don’t get your hopes up.”
I said that and cut off the communication for now.
But I wonder where he is now.
It would be better to follow the proper procedure in a situation like this, so I remembered there was a contact window with the military’s public relations department.
I immediately connected to the military’s public relations department and requested that they put me in touch with Mark.
In the evening of that day, a transmission arrived at the bridge addressed to me.
“Acting Captain, there is a transmission from Ensign Mark-Casbel of the First Fleet Transport Escort Squadron, addressed to the Acting Captain.”
“Ah, from Mark, huh. That was quick. Go ahead and patch him through, would you?”
“Yes, connecting the call now. Please proceed.”
[Nao, why did you suddenly contact me? What’s going on?]
“Ah, Mark. It’s been a while, though not that long.”
[It hasn’t even been a month since we parted ways at the spaceport. But you sound lively. I was worried.]
“Sorry, sorry. I actually had something I wanted to consult you about, and I’m in a bit of a hurry.”
[Ah, I’m on standby right now. I was surprised when the military public relations contacted me, but they said it was for personal matters, so I waited until now. Is it an urgent matter?]
“Well, you could say it’s urgent. You see, I suddenly have to do a major overhaul on an old ship. And on top of that, it’s a destroyer-class ship that’s no longer in use in the kingdom. So I’m at a loss as to where to get it maintained. As an orphanage alumni, I don’t know anything about private docks, so I don’t know where to ask for help.”
[That’s understandable. Normally, even someone who isn’t an orphan wouldn’t know how to deal with something like that.]
“Even our general affairs department was complaining that it’s impossible, so I figured I’d ask you as a last resort. What do you think?”
[Is it urgent?]
“Ah, I’ve been ordered to complete the maintenance within three months.”
[That’s tough. I don’t know the details directly, so I’ll ask my old man, but his reply won’t come until tomorrow or later.]
“Ah, no problem. By the way, where is Mark now?”
[still on a training voyage. be docking at the Space Colony Bismuth tomorrow. You know, the pirate hunt that was requested from over there – combining that with training. Nao should be nearby too. Wasn’t Bismuth the home port of the 3rd Patrol Fleet?]
“No, Bismuth is the home port of the 3rd Mobile Fleet. The patrol fleet has its home port on the planet. But I’m at Bismuth now, so maybe I can meet up tomorrow.”
[That works out well. When they dock, they’ll get three days of leave on rotation. I’ll contact you once they dock tomorrow, where should I reach you?]
“Then contact me here, the space destroyer Shunmin.”
[Just radio over like that, will it be okay? Won’t your superiors give you a hard stare?]
“It’s fine. There’s no one above me here.”
[I see, then until tomorrow.]
The radio cut off with that.
“Acting Captain, who was that just now?”
“Ah, that was my classmate Ensign Mark who I was close with.”
“He mentioned being on a training voyage.”
“Ah, we only graduated last month. Normally they’d be assigned to a fleet and put on whatever ship has an open slot for practical training. For some reason, my case was irregular.”
“And that irregularity seems to be continuing.”
“Yeah, I’ve never heard of someone being promoted in just a month. And to be put in command of a ship, even if it’s a small one – I question the common sense of whoever made that personnel decision.”
“That’s criticizing the top brass, isn’t it?”
“Can’t be helped. More importantly, if it goes well I may get a timeline for the dock work tomorrow.”
“Eh, you mean that person just now…”
“Ah, he’s from the Casbell Manufacturing family. Said his uncle is the president. His father is some bigwig too. Since he said he’d ask that bigwig, if it doesn’t work through him then this job is impossible. If it’s no good tomorrow, I’ll head to headquarters and surrender.”
“But if you did that, it would impact the Acting Captain’s record…”
“No need to worry about it. If it’s impossible I’ll just say so. If someone has to take responsibility, then the one in charge should take it. In this case, since there’s no captain, that would fall to me.”
“Ahahaha. You jest. Well then, let’s wait expectantly for tomorrow’s results.”
“Sister Meyrica, you heard right? If I get a call tomorrow, I’ll be heading out to the colony, that’s okay right?”
“You’re the Acting Captain, so you’re free to do as you wish.”
“In this case, should I treat it as leave? Or will it be an official outing?”
“From what I heard, it would likely be an official outing. But you do have leave saved up, Acting Captain. To avoid getting scolded from all sides later, it may be better to take it as leave.”
“Thank you. I’ll do that then. Please take command here tomorrow.”
“Understood. I’ll assume command starting tomorrow morning. I look forward to your results.”
“Thanks, well it depends on luck. Don’t get your hopes up, just wait. Speaking of, it’s about that time. As rushed as this is, if we make a mistake from overdoing it, it’s all for naught. Let’s wrap up today’s work. Pass that along to the ship.”
Currently, everyone on the ship is dividing up maintenance tasks.
The Maria team I’ve assigned to Kasumi is all working on maintenance around the engines, while the rest are cleaning and doing other work where they can lend a hand.
I was cleaning around the captain’s chair on the bridge.
The sealed emergency supplies of unknown age we found when we captured this ship have been immediately replaced with new ones.
The power suits too – the quartermasters complained, but I had them replaced with new ones.
The captain’s power suit is a bit different, and the acting captain can use the captain’s suit, or so they said.
On that first day, we all got along cleaning the place up together.
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expect the higher ups to try and pull shit once they realize the so called “misfit brigade” might actually be able to do the impossible tasks given to them
Thanks.