Morning glory No. 5
I was prepared for the cold reception at the base, but that was also a cause of fatigue.
The prefab building we’re using as our base already had a classroom set up.
They had taken all the furniture out of the spacious room and set up desks.
I first had everyone get off the bus, then led them into the classroom.
After thanking the bus driver who brought us, I entered the classroom.
Everyone was seated, but for some reason, the enthusiastic Dominic called out an order as soon as I entered.
“Acting Captain, entering!”
Hearing that, the newly assigned ensigns, though scattered, stood up and saluted.
“Salute the Acting Captain!”
I returned their salute and had them sit down.
I hadn’t expected to have to give a speech to the new recruits so soon, so I couldn’t do it as impressively as I would have liked, but I managed to get through the basic greetings.
After that, I left the room, leaving it to Meyrica-nee-san.
It seems Meyrica-nee-san and Maki-nee-chan were able to get things organized, so we’re done for today.
The staff members went to guide them to their assigned rooms.
The rooms they were assigned were, of course, repurposed from a decommissioned ship.
I would have preferred not use such luxurious rooms, considering the future, but it seems they managed to prepare well.
I was surprised when I heard they had dismantled individual crew cabins from a ship under demolition and moved them here just this morning.
But then, the company president was boasting that they could prepare anything, given that they were actively dismantling a luxury liner.
I later heard that the president had even offered to let them use a first-class cabin, since there were extras, but Meyrica-nee-san politely declined.
It was probably a good call, as those kinds of luxurious accommodations might make it hard for them to adjust to regular living later on.
My life changed drastically from that day.
I’ve become incredibly busy.
I was already busy before, but the paperwork is endless.
On top of that, I have to take care of the trainees.
I’m not directly involved in their training, but I have to compile the assessments from the various supervisors to create reference materials for the future.
Even as I’m working hard, Maria and the others keep pushing more paperwork at me.
Various proposals keep coming up, and I have to review and approve them.
Some of them make me wonder if I really should have approved them, but I’ve developed the habit of not worrying about the aftermath.
So, even a month after the docking, I haven’t set foot on the ship.
Instead, I’ve heard that Meyrica-nee-san and Maki-nee-chan have been checking on it occasionally, but I haven’t heard of any problems so far.
The latest report I’ve received is that the engine replacement is complete.
The initial estimate was 15 billion Gold, but apparently, they were able to do it for 10 billion Gold.
Apparently, Maria and the others managed to salvage the engine from a nearby decommissioned ship, and with the help of the foreman, they were able to get a good discount.
Maki-nee-chan seems satisfied with it, so it should be fine.
However, can an engine replacement really be done in just one month?
I’ve heard that the frigate that went into the dock around the same time hasn’t even finished its engine replacement yet.
Oh, and even after we arrived here, there were still occasional inquiries from the military shipyard about the issue with Butcher’s main engine, but those have completely stopped. That’s a little worrying, to be honest.
I’ve provided some cover-ups to the dock personnel, and it seems the dock manager is aware of and complicit in my deception.
But it’s still a bit concerning that it just suddenly stopped at a certain point.
Well, I don’t have the time to dwell on it too much. The main time thieves are not just Maria, but also the petty officers like Kasumi and Aoi, with their constant proposals.
I’ve been approving them, as long as they stay within budget, but what surprised me was the complete overhaul of the bridge control systems, along with the engine system changes.
The proposed budget for this was 5 billion Gold, which made me quite concerned. I called in Kasumi and questioned her directly.
However, Kasumi said that they’re salvaging all the replaced components from the ship being demolished, so they can do it cheaply. But I’m still worried if this ship will really be able to fly in just two more months.
Well, I’ve entrusted it to them, so I just have to grit my teeth. But I’m honestly glad to see them working so proactively.
I’ve been regularly summoning Maria to explain the progress.
Perhaps because she’s completed the major task of the engine replacement, Maria now seems much more relaxed.
She is in a really good mood every day because she is free to do what she loves most.
“Acting captain, the engine conversion is finished. The work on the bridge is also about to be completed, according to Kasumi.”
“I see, so after that…”
“I’d like to start working on the armaments soon.”
“Eh? You’re going to change the armaments too?”
“Since I changed the engine, the old ones won’t work anymore. The power transmission is completely different, you see.”
“In that case, can we prepare for it now?”
“Hehehe.”
“What’s with that lecherous laugh?”
“If we order new ones now, they won’t arrive in time. And more importantly, it won’t fit the budget.”
“You’re right…”
“But you see, Acting captain, we have them right here.”
“Eh? But this is a shipyard that dismantles military ships, isn’t it?”
“They do dismantle military ships here, but lately, there hasn’t been much of that kind of work.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“Ah, the Acting captain didn’t know?”
“Know what?”
“I mean, even cruise ships were armed, you know.”
“Huh? Is that so?”
“It’s only natural that cruise ships are armed, with pirates roaming everywhere. Not just the one in front of us, but most cruise ships are heavily armed. And we’re allowed to use them freely. So, we’ll be using a laser cannon that can serve as the main gun, one in the front and one in the back.”
“Is the budget okay?”
“Yes, 300 million gold will be more than enough.”
“Alright, then.”
“And you know, Acting captain, the ship’s appearance will look a bit off without something else. How should I put it? It will look incomplete. So, can we also add some torpedo launchers?”
“I don’t mind, but you don’t have any torpedoes, do you?”
“But we do have plenty of them!”
“Where?”
“Right here! The foreman says they have a hard time processing them, and the ammunition depot is getting crowded, so they want us to take them off their hands. They even said they’d be willing to let us have them for a gold per unit.”
“Wait a minute. That’s starting to raise some issues…”
“Don’t worry, I’ve already confirmed it with Chief Maki. It’s not entirely free, but she said it’s fine if we buy them at one gold per unit.”
“It’s true that they’ve become almost obsolete these days, but one gold per unit? Alright, submit the requisition. That’s all, right? I’m busy, so…”
“Ah, one more thing!”
“What is it?”
“Can we also mount the Asagao (morning glory) No.5 on that ship?”
“Asagao? I didn’t approve that before, did I? Ah, I did allow it for the hovercraft. Well, as long as you submit the requisition along with the other stuff, it should be fine. Is that everything?”
“Yes, that’s all for now.”
Maria left the room, looking genuinely happy.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
Maria left the room and went straight to the bridge of the space destroyer ‘Shunmin’ that was docked.
On the bridge, Kasumi was adjusting the newly replaced navigation system.
“This place has changed a lot, hasn’t it? It’s like being inside a luxury cruise ship.”
“Ah, Maria… Lieutenant.”
“Drop the formalities, it’s fine now.”
“You’re right, it is fine now. But it might be troublesome if the captains were here.”
“That’s true.”
“I’ll use the formal and informal styles depending on the situation. Anyway, what do you think of it? It’s only natural, right? Everything here is from that ship called the ‘Kingdom One’ luxury cruise ship. There’s nothing left of the old stuff.”
“You’ve really gone all out, haven’t you? Is it okay?”
“It’s fine, I got the proper approvals. But you seem quite excited. Did something good happen?”
“Hehe, I got the approval for that.”
“That? Could it be…”
“Yes, the approval for the Asagao No.5.”
“Eh? Isn’t that going a bit too far?”
“No, it’s fine. The foreman gave it his full approval. Moreover, I improved the Asagao No.4 together with the foreman, so it’s definitely safe. And having that is a huge advantage, even in areas affected by Ultzait where we can’t normally use weapons. With this, we’ll never lose to pirates.”
“That’s true, but… isn’t that a railgun? Didn’t they say it was a lost technology?”
“Well, it turns out there were documents about it at the foreman’s place. Apparently, it was still used quite recently in the Dorf people’s village. It solved a problem I had been struggling with.”
“But doesn’t that require a lot of power?”
“That’s no problem. We’ll be installing a dedicated generator for it.”
“Eh? Even with the engine already enlarged, where are you going to fit that?”
“Hehe, that’s also taken care of. I got approval to convert the entire engine block area into the engine room, so there’s plenty of space. Well, we’ll use part of it for storage too.”
“And what about those torpedoes? What about the launchers?”
“There were some modified launchers at the foreman’s place, so we’ll be using those. You know, there are plenty of surplus space torpedoes here.”
“So you secured them as storage. But is it really okay? Won’t this get us in trouble if it’s found out?”
“Don’t worry, we’re just really lucky. It’ll be fine, I’m sure of it.”
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I have to agree that destroyer-class should be able to launch torpedoes 🙂
I know right. As a main destroyer in World of Warships, I approved this upgrade.
they’re basically giving their small destroyer a unsc style main gun and also adding in torps? yeah that’s gonna be a nasty surprise tbh like imagine a major pirate group thinks they’re safe to approach or flee and all of a sudden a mac gun basically just puts a end in their shields and then torps either take it down then pummel hull or if shields fell from railgun fully pummel hull.
i approve of this pocket cruiser fun