The Captain’s Cooking
“Welcome back, Captain, and well done, Captain Ford and Chief Sardar. How did it go? May I hear your report here?”
“Yes, Your Highness. The inspection we had planned has been completed. I will submit a detailed report later, but the results were better than expected. In the speed test, we confirmed up to Level 10 in interdimensional travel. This means we can consistently achieve Level 8 in normal operations.”
“That’s impressive. Level 8, you say? Captain, what does this mean exactly?”
Captain Ford then carefully explained to Her Highness the significance of Level 8.
“I see. So within the kingdom, we can reach anywhere urgently within two days. This is truly remarkable.”
“Yes, Your Highness. You can easily make personal visits to the nobles in each star system as you’ve been considering, and most importantly, you can make day trips to most places around the capital. This is incredible.”
“Captain, do you have any other reports?”
“Yes, regarding that ship, there are no issues with its performance and facilities, except for one point.”
“What’s the point of concern?”
“While the room prepared earlier for Your Highness’s residence should be fine, there is no seat for Your Highness on the bridge. This needs to be addressed urgently.”
“Eh? Even my cruiser doesn’t have a seat for me on the bridge.”
“True, but Your Highness will be boarding that ship to command the [Interstellar Criminal Police Organization], so a command seat on the bridge is necessary. The best location would be behind the captain’s seat I used this time. However, the chair itself can’t be ordinary. It doesn’t need to be as luxurious as the one in Your Highness’s mansion, but it should be at least an admiral’s seat or equivalent to a luxury liner’s captain’s chair. Otherwise, the captain’s seat would be superior.”
“Given the reported speed, I might spend more time on the bridge. Let’s consider that modification. Any other reports?”
As I was about to report on the armaments, Chief Sardar took over.
Chief Sardar seemed quite fond of the Morning Glory No. 5 and reported on it excitedly multiple times.
“Chief Sardar, what about the other armaments?”
Her Highness, apparently unable to keep up, prompted for the next topic, but Sardar continued unwaveringly.
Chief Sardar was truly consistent.
This time, he started talking about the recently abandoned photon torpedoes.
He explained that even without radar, torpedoes could be launched, just without tracking capabilities.
Therefore, tactics that don’t rely on tracking are crucial.
This applies not only to photon torpedoes but also to the Morning Glory mentioned earlier – they’re weapons that only travel in straight lines.
The same goes for laser weapons.
So, it’s not that weapons traveling in straight lines are inherently bad.
It’s all about tactics, he insisted.
As he began to expound on the essence of these tactics, others started to give up listening.
It was at this moment that I first thought, “So this is the kind of person Chief Sardar is.”
I recalled that I had barely met him during the previous test period.
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“Chief Sardar, I understand the importance of tactics. Thank you. By the way, I’m curious about something. When Captain Ford mentioned the ship’s equipment and performance earlier, did he mean there were issues with other aspects?”
“Yes, Your Highness. That ship is missing a few things.”
“Missing things?”
“Yes, one is the absence of a shuttle. It wasn’t a problem during this test as we only entered and exited on planets, but given that our targets are pirates, this could be fatal. We need to prepare one urgently.”
“Captain Ford, from your tone, it seems there’s more?”
“Yes, it’s about the personnel. First, the ship only has the minimum crew necessary to operate. We absolutely need internal security staff in the future, and more importantly, the lack of personnel to maintain daily life is glaring. During the test period, half of our meals were combat rations, and while we did eat meals prepared in the ship’s kitchen facilities, that’s the biggest problem.”
“Um, was the food inedible or something?”
“No, it was actually quite delicious.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“To be frank, the person who cooked those meals is the problem.”
Ah, that’s me.
I got tired of eating simple meals every day, and I didn’t want to eat them myself.
Captain Ford had loaded plenty of ingredients during resupply, and since there was no one else to cook, I caught some trainee crew members and cooked together.
They complained about then too, but I wonder if it was really that bad.
I even had some of the guys I saw at Bruce Orphanage help out, and they didn’t complain either. I wonder if someone like Captain Ford tattled.
I quietly looked around, and everyone except Big Sis Maki was frozen.
“Captain, you… you can cook?”
This was the words they finally managed to squeeze out.
“Yes, I’m from an orphanage, so I was made to cook from a young age. Chief Maki, who’s from the same background, should be able to cook too.”
“No, that’s not what we…”
“Well, fortunately, there were others from the same orphanage on that ship, so I was able to manage by using the juniors the same way I did back at the orphanage to prepare meals for everyone. Above all, eating only simple meals affects the morale on the ship, so whenever time allowed, I did the cooking.”
“Ferman! This is urgent. Please arrange for people who can cook on the ship. You’re right, this was our responsibility on the ground. Let’s start considering the necessary personnel immediately. Is there anything else you noticed?”
“Um, Your Highness.”
“Chief Sardar, is there something about the armaments?”
“It might not be strictly about armaments, but the ship has a catapult installed and storage space, yet it’s a waste that there are no escort fighters.”
“Escort fighters? But even if we look for them now, can we manage? Moreover, there’s the issue of purchase costs…”
“Your Highness, I might have an idea about that.”
Chief Sardar, who interjected, went on to explain.
Apparently, there was a new carrier-based aircraft development project in a research lab cooperating with Chief Sardar, but it was canceled after completing several prototypes.
The completed prototypes were pre-delivery to the military and were currently stored in the Royal Shipbuilding Research Institute, causing storage issues.
“Can these prototypes fly? No, let me rephrase. Are they usable?”
“They’re unarmed, so they can’t be used as is. Modifications are necessary. However, since they were completed aiming for official adoption, they should be able to fly.”
“Then let’s acquire them.”
“But, Your Highness, these prototypes don’t have pilots. We’ll need to prepare pilots ourselves…”
“That is troublesome. …Alright. We’ll think about that. For now, let’s secure those escort fighters. May I ask you to handle this?”
“Leave it to me. I’ll secure them right away. However…”
“I understand. We’ll handle the transfer of management for the prototypes, which are royal property. Chief Sardar, please secure the actual items.”
“Understood.”
“Are there any other matters to report? …If not, we’ll adjourn here.”
With Her Highness’s dismissal, I left the room with Big Sis Maki.
Then, Big Sis Maki took me to another room.
“I’m sorry, we don’t have a sign with the workplace name yet. This will be the grand office for managing the ships. Your room is in the back too, Nao. I’ll show you now. So, come in.”
I was led into the room, almost pulled by Big Sis Maki’s hand.
The room lined with office desks had not only Maki’s subordinates that I’d seen before but also nearly half were unfamiliar faces.
“That’s right. This office will manage not only your ship but also Her Highness’s cruiser. People have been dispatched from the Royal Property Management Department.”
“Eh? Will those people also work under you, Big Sis Maki?”
“Yes, according to Her Highness’s explanation, since most of the work is related to [Shunmin], they’ll nominally be my subordinates. But there’s a chief over there too, so we probably won’t interact much for work. More importantly, this way. This will be your room, Captain Nao.”
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Thanks for the treat.
things slowly coming together for the crew