We’ve talked about this.
I returned to the inner ship hangar lobby with Mark, where we had just arrived.
I quickly found an inner ship that would take us to my ship, circling around the military vessel.
The two of us then boarded the inner ship and returned to the aerospace destroyer [Shunmin].
I first guided Mark to the ship’s bridge.
“Ah, acting captain. Welcome back. Shall I return the command to you?”
“No, that’s fine. I’m sorry, but I need you to handle it today.”
“Understood. Then I will continue… Oh, I didn’t realize you have a guest.”
“Ah, this is Mark, an ensign and a friend from my time at the military academy.”
“Ensign Mark-Caswell. Pleased to meet you.”
“I apologize. I am Meyrica, currently in a deputy captain-like position on this ship. I belong to the Capital Space Defense Fleet, stationed on the aerospace destroyer [Shunmin]. I’m an ensign. Nice to meet you, Ensign Mark.”
“How polite. It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.”
……..
Mark seemed surprised by Meyrica’s greeting.
It seemed he had not entirely believed what I had told him.
But having been trained as a military officer, he handled the superior officer’s greeting well, though he froze up afterwards.
I hope he reboots soon.
“Mark, are you okay?”
“So it seems the story about you being the acting captain was true after all.”
“What, you didn’t believe me?”
“Of course not. Who would believe a story like that?”
“I guess you’re right. I was a bit skeptical too.”
……..
Ah, Mark seems to have frozen up again…
“Hey, Mark, why don’t you try sitting in the captain’s chair?”
“Is that alright for me to do?”
Good, he seems to have rebooted.
“Yeah, this old tub doesn’t mind. By the way, I recently commanded an aerospace frigate.”
“Is that so? Then I guess it’s fine for me to sit here.”
Mark happily sits in the captain’s chair.
Seeing him like this, I’m truly impressed that he’s become a proper space military officer.
It’s only natural, isn’t it? As a man, no, as a military officer, one eventually dreams of becoming a captain, even if it’s just an old destroyer.
The captain’s chair holds a special meaning, I think.
“But still, it’s quite the dream, having your own ship to command. Anyway, about that story earlier, what was that all about?”
“Ah, in our previous operation, we had to deal with pirates on our own, so…”
Since he kept pressing me, I went ahead and explained the details of that incident, with the understanding that it was to remain a secret here.
The Third Princess had said she would put it in the official gazette once the fuss died down, so it’s not that big of a secret anyway.
It’s just an embarrassing story if it gets too widely known.
“So I’m not sure if that was good luck or bad luck.”
“Ah, but I think it was a good experience.”
“Of course it is. It’s not every day that a newly commissioned officer like you gets to command an aerospace frigate, let alone within a month. No one would believe it. Oh well, still, that’s quite an impressive feat. A classic case of not knowing what will turn out to be fortunate. Your fellow classmates were sympathizing with you when they heard you were assigned to the Coast Guard, but look at you now. Thank you, I’ve had my fill of this.”
With that, Mark started to get up from the captain’s chair.
“Ah, that’s right. The communications equipment here should be able to reach anywhere. Why don’t you try contacting that dock you mentioned earlier? You said you’d get in touch with them, right?”
“Ah, yes, let me see if I can connect to them here.”
Mark brought me his information terminal, which had the contact information written on it.
“Kasumi, can you connect this for me?”
Kasumi, who was at the communications station, came over.
“First Officer, could you show me something?”
Kasumi approached the captain’s seat as she spoke.
“Mark, is it alright if I show her this?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
“Thank you, Ensign Mark.”
“Sorry, the fate of this ship is riding on this. Connect it for me.”
“Alright, I’ll connect it here, acting captain.”
Kasumi operated the captain’s console to establish the connection to the dock.
“Ensign Mark, it’s connected, so please go ahead.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Mark then started talking to the other party.
He had mentioned knowing someone there when I spoke to him on the colony, and it seems that was indeed the case, as he began with greetings after such a long absence.
After finishing his conversation, Mark turned to me.
“The boss there says he wants to talk to the person in charge of this ship. Is that you, Nao?”
“Huh? Ah, yes, that’s me.”
Meyrica, standing nearby, chimed in, “There’s no one else, is there?”
So I stepped forward. The person on the other end sounded more like a boss than just a dock operator.
“So, are they telling you to get this ship serviced?”
“Yes, our people will help too, but we need to do a first-class maintenance in three months.”
[Do you have any money?]
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
“Huh?”
“I’m asking if you have a budget. This is a government job, so it really depends on whether there is a proper budget or not.”
“Ah, yes, we have a budget of 30 billion gold.”
“Can we use all of that as we please?”
“Regarding that, I’ll send our office staff over to you, so please ask them.”
“I see. Lastly, can we use refurbished parts for the repairs?”
“Yes, you can use whatever you like, but I do have one request.”
“A request, huh? What is it?”
“Well, we have some people here who really enjoy tinkering with machines. Could they help out as well? It would be great if you could train them.”
“You want me to do that in three months?”
“Preferably, but…”
“Well, we can discuss that after meeting them. When can I meet them?”
“I’ll arrange for our staff to come over immediately. If we can get a provisional contract signed tomorrow, I can head over there right away with the ship. Though the repairs aren’t complete yet, so it will take a couple of days for the ship to be able to travel at full speed.”
“Alright, got it. Since this is a request from the young master, I’ll take the job. I’ll send the staff over right away.”
“Thank you very much. I’ll contact them immediately and have them head over. We’re in the capital, so they should be able to get there today or tomorrow.”
“Alright, I’ll be waiting then.”
The talk with the boss was settled.
He accepted the job.
Mark, who had been listening nearby, had a rather tired look on his face for some reason.
“Mark, why don’t we rest a bit in my room?”
“Your room? Does this ship have one?”
“I’m currently using the captain’s quarters. Let’s go rest there. I’ll show you the way.”
“Yeah, that’s an opportunity I wouldn’t normally get. I’d appreciate that.”
“Yeah, this way.”
I got up from the captain’s chair and led Mark to the captain’s quarters.
Before leaving the bridge, I called out to Meyrica, who was in command.
“Ah, Sister Meyrica. Mark and I will be in the captain’s quarters. And could you please summon Chief Maki? I’d like to talk to her in the captain’s quarters.”
“Understood. I’ll have someone bring you some tea later.”
“Ah, how thoughtful of you. Thank you.”
We immediately entered the captain’s quarters.
There was a simple reception set, so I had Mark sit there, and started talking to Chief Maki, who had just been contacted.
“Mark, sorry but could you wait here for a bit? I’m going to send our office staff to that boss we were just talking about.”
“Ah, don’t worry about me.”
“Thank you. … Big sister Maki, ah, I keep slipping back to calling you ‘sister’. Chief Maki, can you hear me?”
[Yes, acting captain.]
“About the dockyard matter, the talk went well. I apologize, but could you head over there right away and sign a provisional contract? The location is, let’s see…”
“It’s in the industrial park just outside the center of Nihonium.”
“Ah, I see. I’ll send the address to your terminal, so please head there immediately.”
[Understood. I’ll head there in a high-speed craft right away.]
[Captain, Captain! Can I go with them too?]
Someone interrupted me as I was talking to Chief Maki.
That lightheartedness could only be Maria, but she should be in training right now.
Could she be playing hooky?
“Huh? Why are you here, Maria? What about your training? Don’t tell me you escaped or something.”
[How mean! No, it’s not like that. My training was finished in one day.]
“What? How?”
[It’s because I was the only student with Kate. It was easily completed. I even got a completion certificate, and I’ve already given it to the Chief.]
“I see… Well, okay. Chief Maki, I’m sorry, but could you take Maria with you as well?”
[Understood. How about Ensign Kate?]
“Ah, Kate is there too, huh. That’s perfect. ”
[Ensign Kate, the acting captain wants to talk to you.]
[Hi, it’s Kate.]
“Kate, could you go with Maria to introduce yourselves to the dockyard on this ship?”
[Sure, but why?]
“Of course, to stop Maria’s rampaging. If she starts to run wild, you can even try choking her or breaking her arm or leg. But don’t kill her.”
[Captain, that’s way too much! I’m not some monster with three legs!]
“As long as you don’t go on a rampage, that’s fine. And I’m not the captain, I’m the acting captain now. The harsh captain you’re talking about isn’t here. Anyway, Maria, please behave yourself until Meyrica and I get there, okay?”
[Understood. I’m not completely satisfied, but I’ll promise, Acting Captain.]
“That’s settled then. Chief Maki, you guys will probably be working at Nihonium, so start preparing to move as well. Get the provisional contract done as soon as possible.”
[Yes, understood. We’ll depart from here immediately.]
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All caught up. By the way, are you TL the LN, or WN?
Thanks.
It’s obvious since there are illustrations, you know…