The next day, I received a radio call from Mark at 9am.
As expected of a military man, he keeps to a regimented life even on leave.
Though I had also woken up early to clean my quarters, a routine forming, Emily transferred Mark’s call to the captain’s room. Without much conversation, I decided to head out.
Sister Meyrica was already stationed on the bridge as promised yesterday, so I entrusted command of the ship to her. I caught a shuttle doing rounds in the space ship docking area and took it to the colony.
The shuttle terminal, a sort of entrance to the colony, was crowded with people. But I quickly spotted Mark, and we headed to a nearby cafe space.
It was still before 10am, so there were plenty of people out and about. But the cafe space was relatively empty.
We were promptly shown to a seat by a server.
“It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve seen Nao, but it hasn’t even been a month yet.”
“It gives me that feeling too with you, Mark. You seem to have a different vibe about you.”
“It’s Nao who’s changed, not me. My life is pretty much the same as it was in school days. Anyway, about that request from yesterday, my old man knew something about the Coast Guard too. He said two new ships are being added to the Coast Guard, and one of them is the one we built.”
“Ah, we snatched the profits from the pirates who hijacked it.”
“What’s that all about? Anyway, the thing is, they said there aren’t any openings at proper dockyards because it’s such a sudden request.”
“I see, so it’s not possible then. Sorry to bother you with this trivial matter.”
“Hey, wait, hear me out. The thing is, they asked if we’d be okay with using a dock that’s not exactly considered proper by general standards.”
“Anywhere is fine as long as the dock is usable.”
“Hey, you can’t just decide that on your own, you know.”
“Ah, you’re right. There are legal issues too. Let me check with the office staff first. What kind of place were they talking about exactly?”
“You know, those ship dismantling yards. The docks there are actually better maintained than some shipyards, and the management is top-notch. I’ve known the owner since I was a kid, he’s also a friend of my old man.”
“If it’s that place, then I’m relieved.”
“But I can’t just decide that on my own. How should we confirm it?”
“I’ll call my sister Maki at the Coast Guard headquarters right now. Sorry about this.”
I called up Maki on his mobile.
“Big sister Maki, it’s Nao. Is now a good time?”
[What’s up?]
“Just wanted to confirm something about that dock we talked about yesterday. Are there any conditions on that?”
[What do you mean?]
“My friend here says the ship dismantling yard dock might work. Is that okay?”
[In this case, anywhere is fine as long as it’s usable. Ideally, a place that can issue first-class maintenance certificates would be best and avoid any complaints.]
“Got it, I’ll work it out with them. I’ll call you back once it’s settled.”
[Alright, I’ll be waiting.]
“Mark, they said anywhere is fine. But just to confirm, can that place issue first-class maintenance certificates? Apparently that would make it immune to complaints from anywhere.”
“I think it should be able to, but where exactly were you confirming this with?”
“The boss of my office staff.”
“Huh? Not the captain?”
“That ship doesn’t have an actual captain yet. At most there’s just an acting captain, but they’re mostly just for show.”
“Hey, you shouldn’t be criticizing the higher-ups so openly like this, even around here.”
“It’s fine, he’s not that important. Anything else you need to confirm?”
“No, I’ll go ahead and ask about that certificate question with my dad. He should be available right now.”
…
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
“Okay, I’ll just contact them directly then. Thanks!”
“I just talked to my dad. About that issue, he says there shouldn’t be any problems with the legal paperwork. He even said Casbel Shipyard can provide a supporting letter if needed. I’ll have to contact the dock directly, but my dad will also call them right away. By the way, dad said some funny things about that place.”
“Funny things?”
“Yeah, earlier I mentioned their management has top-notch technical skills, right? Well, my dad’s friend who owns the place is apparently a bit of an odd character. He’s selective about the jobs he takes – he flat out refuses any boring work. That’s why my dad has a hard time getting him to take on regular jobs. That’s why the business is always in a crisis. But dad said they do ship dismantling work for us as a way to help out, and the owner says he’d rather do that than boring work. Though, once he finds something interesting, he’ll really go all out with his craftsman spirit.”
“Huh? Ship dismantling? What’s that all about?”
“It’s about ships where the inside and outside are different. Basically, even if the inside is built with the highest technology, the outside looks like a junker. Dad was boasting that the owner used to work with him to build the famous ‘Millennium Falcon’ ship back in the day. It had the shape of an old cargo ship on the outside, but inside it was the fastest ship in the kingdom. And they built it by scavenging parts from scrapped ships, can you believe it? He’s picky, but you can trust him with even unreasonable jobs like this one.”
“That’s a relief. I’d like the results as soon as possible. Will he contact me?”
“Hey, are you sure it’s really okay? Shouldn’t you check with your acting captain at least? I won’t say anything bad, just ask about it here while I’m waiting.”
“It’s fine, because I’m the acting captain of that ship.”
“Huh? Nao, what did you just say?”
“I know, I can’t believe it either, but I’m the acting captain of the space destroyer ‘Shunmin’. I was suddenly told that the other day.”
“That doesn’t make sense. You’re still just a lieutenant, right? What world has a lieutenant as an acting captain? Even for a small ship, the captain would at least have to be a commander, and the acting captain should be a lieutenant commander. I know it’s the backwater Coast Guard, but that’s just not possible.”
“Oh, I agree. It’s really surprising, isn’t it? I mean, it’s barely been a month since we graduated from school. And to be promoted all of a sudden, just because we defeated some pirates, feels a bit too much, you know? Besides, my men beat me, and I was just growing up.”
“Promotion? What’s that? I don’t really understand what Nao is talking about. Did you really get promoted?”
“Well, I don’t really get it either, but I was promoted just the other day. Well, when I say ‘the other day,’ it was just a few days ago. I was decorated and got a promotion as a bonus. And the entire crew got it too, so the country’s really generous, huh?”
“What do you mean ‘decorated’? I haven’t heard about that… Come to think of it, Dad seemed like he wanted to say something too, maybe it’s related to the new ship… Well, forget about that, what exactly happened in the past month?”
“Well, a lot of things. But, it’s not something we can talk about openly. Anyway, Mark, you’re off today, right? I’ll give you a tour of the ship. Come along. We can talk about some sensitive stuff on the ship.”
“Is it okay? Just bringing me in without permission. Don’t we need to get clearance or something?”
“Who are we supposed to get clearance from? Right now, there’s no one on that ship higher up than me. I know I’m just a figurehead, but I’m the acting captain of that ship.”
“Oh, I see. Well, that makes sense then. I’ll make it in time for the evening shift. I’ll come along. We can’t talk about this here anyway. I’ve had enough for today.”
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reliable friend nao’s got there
Thanks for the treat.
lol they built Millenium Falcon xD