Challenge to the fastest
[Captain, first of all, there’s no problem. If we can reach eight light speed with no issues, then let’s go straight to ten light speed. I’d like to see how far we can push it today.]
“Boss, I’m the Acting Captain. Understood, we’ll do as you say. Meyrica, please.”
“Understood… Helmsman, change speed to eight light-speed.”
“Changing speed to eight light-speed, roger.”
“Incredible. We can reach eight just like that. Meyrica, any abnormalities?”
“No abnormalities detected in the visible range. Engine room, any changes?”
[Engines are running smoothly, all green here.]
[Acting Captain, then shall we try for ten?]
Wow, he called me the right title for the first time.
Seems like today is going to be a good day.
“Understood, boss. Meyrica, change speed. Maximum speed of ten light-speed.”
“Roger that. Changing speed to ten light-speed.”
“Changing to ten light-speed, understood.”
The speed accelerated from the likely kingdom-fastest eight light-speed to ten light-speed in the blink of an eye.
At ten light-speed, this ship could be the fastest not just in the kingdom, but in the surrounding area as well.
“Incredible. We reached ten light-speed just like that.”
[Ah, but the engines still have some margin. What do you think?]
“What do you mean?”
[Acting Captain. We’re monitoring the engines here, so let’s push it as far as we can go. We’re at 100% output now, but we should take it up to around 120% to be sufficient as a combat ship.]
“Understood. From here on, we’ll increase the speed by one light-speed at a time, keeping safety in mind. Is that good?”
[Yay! So you are the Acting Captain after all. We can talk!]
“Maria, stop your idle chatter and get back to work.”
[Meyrica is as strict as ever.]
“Maria!”
[Okay, roger that.]
“Meyrica, let’s continue the test. Speed to eleven light-speed.”
“Understood, changing speed to eleven light-speed.”
“Changing to eleven light-speed, roger.”
………
………
………
“Understood, changing speed to fourteen light-speed.”
“Changing to fourteen light-speed, roger.”
“Incredible, but I guess this is the limit.”
[Yeah, that’s about it. We probably could push it a bit further, but even if we could, it would only be for a moment. The engines are starting to exceed the acceptable range for vibration and heat, so let’s stop here.]
“Understood. Meyrica, let’s reduce the speed back to ten.”
“Roger that. Changing speed to ten light-speed.”
“Ten light-speed, understood.”
“But to think we could reach fourteen light-speed…”
[Ah, that’s probably thanks to the Scarlet Metal alloy on the hull. It minimizes the impact of cosmic radiation. Anyway, I don’t plan to make a catalog, but let’s just say the top speed of this ship is ten light-speed. Even at 120% output in combat, around twelve light-speed would be the reasonable limit.]
“Got it. Maria, summarize that in the report later.”
“Understood.”
[As for the dimensional warp test, we probably shouldn’t push the full extent of its capabilities.]
“Right. Let’s just test up to level 2 for now. We at least need to confirm it’s usable, so we’ll return at level 2.”
[A little more wouldn’t hurt, but that’s fine. I heard Kasumi or one of the girls set the system to handle up to level 10, so we’ll have to test that eventually.]
The return trip through dimensional warp was also uneventful.
The ship was docked again with the help of a tug, and the final inspection for the overhaul was completed.
The armaments have also been completely replaced, so we need to independently test whether they’re functional before the deadline, continuing to impose on them here a bit longer.
“We don’t mind. More importantly, I’m preparing the Class 1 Maintenance Certificate. Was there anything else the guys at HQ wanted?”
“If possible, I’d like to get that. With a letter of recommendation from the Casbell Shipyard, there won’t be any complaints from the headquarters.”
“Ah, that’s probably for the best. I may have gone a bit overboard this time. With the letter, there shouldn’t be any issues.”
Hearing this from the boss, Maki uncharacteristically exploded in anger.
“So you were aware of it! Don’t mix work and hobby!” she shouted.
But being an adult, she soon calmed down and smiled, asking the boss for the letter of recommendation as well.
As for the payments, we’ve been settling them as we go, so the only thing left is the office-related expenses.
I had them prepare the audit report excluding those, and submitted it to headquarters.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
Since the final test voyage, we’ve been going out into space almost daily to test the various armaments.
The test firing of the main laser cannon and the side pulsers went smoothly, so as far as I’m concerned, the maintenance work on this spacecraft is complete.
The rest is just Maria and her friends’ hobby.
But, this is quite a predicament.
Even if it was my own mistake, the fact that the [Morning Glory 5] turns out to be a rail gun is something else.
In this kingdom, that’s probably considered a lost technology.
They might even call it an outdated weapon.
To have such an antiquated armament is quite concerning.
But that naming, though. Can’t they do something about that?
Even if it was my own misunderstanding, if weapons are named things like [Sunflower] or [Morning Glory], you can’t really blame someone for getting confused.
In fact, I mistook it for the [Sunflower 3] that saved me before.
And the space torpedo launchers will definitely invite some comments as well.
The military has been retiring those two generations ago, and even here in the Coast Guard, they’re not used that often.
Well, the old space frigate [Akkeshi] did have those armaments.
But to have newly installed them after a full overhaul, I’m honestly worried about what they’ll say.
Pondering these things, I return from the voyage that included my first overnight stay.
The assigned positions, even with the new recruits, have been working remarkably well, so if I’m to take charge of this ship going forward, I’m thinking of applying to keep this crew configuration.
As we were in this state, a radio call comes in from the office at the dock.
It’s from big sis Maki.
“Acting Captain, there’s a radio call from Chief Maki.”
“Patch it through.”
[Nao, acting Captain. We’ve received new orders from headquarters.]
“New orders? What is it? Aren’t we still in the middle of maintenance on this ship?”
[That’s a bit tricky. The other day, we received a letter from the Caswell Shipyard, so I’ve already submitted the first-class maintenance certificate to headquarters. Considering the chain of command, your final report as acting Captain hasn’t been filed yet, so it’s hard to say the previous orders are complete. But if you’d like, I can take care of that as well.]
“I see, if that’s all done, there’s no point in me holding it up here. Please go ahead and do that. But what are these new orders from headquarters?”
[Yes, there’s a request from the royal palace for the acting Captain to meet with them. They also want to inspect the [Shunmin] that’s under maintenance. So the order is to head to the Farren Spaceport on the capital planet Diamond as soon as possible.]
“Alright, go ahead and respond that I’ll be heading to the Farren Spaceport from here. I’ll arrive in about 5 hours.”
[Understood. I’ll relay that you’ll arrive in 5 hours.]
[As for the previous report, since you’re going there, perhaps you can give the oral report directly. The paperwork should all be complete by now.]
“Ah yes, that’s probably better. Understood. Please await further instructions from me after that.”
“Sis Meyrica, as you heard, I’ve been summoned to make an appearance, so we’re changing course. My apologies.”
“Understood. Changing course, target Farren Spaceport on planet Diamond, maintaining current speed.”
“Course change, target Diamond, Farren Spaceport, maintaining speed, understood.”
I can’t help but have a bad feeling about this, but I wonder if it’ll be alright to show this ship to the royal personnel.
It’ll just have to play out as it may, but I wonder who it is that wants to meet with me.
Could it be that princess I met during the decoration ceremony?
I have no idea, but I suppose I’ll just have to go with the flow.
Still, why does my life always seem to be so haphazard?
At least before Tecchan dumped me, it wasn’t quite this chaotic.
No, no, thinking about that is futile.
I’ve changed my mindset to focus on something more pleasant.
I’ll think about that famous line.
You never know what kind of scene might unfold in the end.
I want to prepare various situations, so that when the time comes, I won’t be at a loss for that important line.
–As Nao ponders these things, the [Shunmin] heads towards the Farren Spaceport.
Fortunately, no one on the bridge can see what Nao is thinking. If they could, they’d probably be utterly bewildered.
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