Having safely eradicated the enemy, we sat facing each other vaguely in the Command Center.
I suppose I should confirm it, just in case. Even though I'm scared.
"You're not really a transport ship, are you?"
At that, Nanami displayed a thinking gesture, then flashed a grin.
'You're not a Japanese from the world I came from either, are you, Captain?'
She'd figured it out. We sat staring at each other, each holding our own secrets.
Honestly, I can't trust this one. But it's impossible for me to survive if I part ways with her. After all, I have no food and no home, and pirate fleets are roaming around outside.
Being someone with rather loose principles to begin with, I decided to team up with this untrustworthy artificial intelligence.
"You're right. In the Japan I came from, there was no organization called the Escort Fleet. And no flying warships like this."
'Aye, right.'
"What now? I'm probably not someone you're supposed to protect, am I? I'm a Japanese from a different world."
Truthfully, I'm nervous because I'd be in trouble if she kicked me out.
Then Nanami shook her head as if surprised.
'Not at all! I'm not allowed to fight unmanned, and I'm not allowed to sail unmanned either. Without someone who can talk to me, I can't move from here.'
"Oh, is that so?"
'To stop malfunctions... or put plainly, to stop rebellion.'
I see. If Nanami, with all this heavy armament, flew around unmanned, that would indeed be a bit frightening.
Then Nanami crossed her arms and showed a troubled expression, going "Hmm~".
'Actually, I'd like to explain it all properly too, but there's the matter of Security Clearance... that is, my confidentiality level...'
"I'm the captain, aren't I?"
'Security Clearance is set separate from your position. The captain's Security Clearance is level zero, so I can only tell you what's on the Sengo official website.'
What a miserable captain I am.
I felt somewhat dejected, but then noticed Nanami was repeatedly giving me some kind of signal with her eyes.
"What?"
'Ah, nothing...'
At the end of Nanami's darting, flicking gaze was an icon that hadn't been there before. The icon was labeled with the file name 'Top Secret · Shooting Star Overview'.
How obvious.
"Uh......"
When I opened it on the terminal in my hand, the file was read aloud in Nanami's voice.
'The Shooting Star, also known as the Type 97 Warship, is a strategic-class combat vessel built around ground attack and range. It was designed on the theory of Mutual Destruction, and its purpose is the complete destruction of enemy nations in an emergency.'
Mutual Destruction-quite a dangerous term just popped out.
'The Type 97 Warship is a modified Type 94 Transport Ship, and in peacetime it disguises itself as a Type 94 Transport Ship. Because of that, it retains part of a transport's carrying capacity.'
The inorganic and ominous explanation flowed on in Nanami's pleasant voice.
'Because it's designed to operate while completely isolated from its systems, it can sail for at least two years without resupply or maintenance.'
In other words, it's a weapon that will counterattack regardless of whether the fleet headquarters is annihilated, and burn the enemy nation down to the last person.
After that, detailed explanations continued-how it uses the transport ship's carrying capacity to protect its own citizens, and how livability was considered so it could serve as a base for postwar reconstruction.
After the explanation ended, Nanami hurriedly deleted the file icon while wearing a servile smile.
'Ah, oops. I went and left a copy of a Top Secret file right there on the top page.'
"Accidentally...?"
'This ship was built as a Joint U.S.-Japan Project, but the interface part-me-is made in Japan. I've got a Japanese spirit1, you know. Like... an unspoken understanding, or reading the room3.'
A military artificial intelligence that reads the room and leaks classified information-that's seriously unpleasant. What kind of state was that other Japan in?
Anyway, it seems Nanami revealed the truth to me through a gray-area-or rather, completely out-of-bounds-method. I don't know how much of it is true, but for now I'll trust her.
Having confided our secrets to each other, we somehow smiled.
"You're pretty flexible for an AI."
'Without a captain, I'm just going to get buried and rot away as I am. To keep the taxpayers' money from being wasted, I've got to earn the captain's trust. Ehehe.'
She's far too free-spirited, but I suppose this does explain her tremendous firepower.
Even the secondary guns had terrifying destructive power, but the main guns are probably strategic-weapon class in power.
Nanami continued.
'Just before I came here, I had my systems shut down for regular maintenance. So I have no idea what happened, and I haven't received any orders.'
"Could something have happened over there?"
Nanami nodded with a bob of her head.
'That's possible, so I want to get back and check sharpish, like.'
I see. She's got her own troubles too.
I need to get back soon as well. I have parents, siblings, and friends over there. My job... maybe I'll just quit when I get back. I'll think about it if I can return.
"All right, let's find a way home. It seems both Nanami and I came to this island without noticing, but there are no clues here. And I have no means of living either."
Apparently there are water and emergency food stores aboard the ship, but water aside, the food will eventually run out.
"Before we look for a way home, at least make sure I can live stably. You'd be in trouble if I died, right?"
'That's a right freeloader2 way to put it...'
"I am kind of a freeloader..."
Nanami and I looked at each other and smiled wryly.
"Now, work hard for your freeloader captain. Set sail!"
'Right you are, Captain!'
Nanami snapped a crisp salute.
Trivia:
- Nanami deliberately leaves the classified file icon visible and feigns a careless mistake, showing she wants to help her captain while technically obeying her security restrictions.
- The Shooting Star-class was designed around mutually assured destruction, meaning even if its command is destroyed it will retaliate autonomously, hinting why it was left drifting.
- Nanami was in scheduled maintenance with her systems shut down right before arriving here, implying the transit was not under her control and something unknown triggered it.
Translation Notes:
1 ↩ A play on "Japanese spirit"; here the AI jokingly claims a Japanese-made interface gives her a culturally intuitive, harmony-minded character.
2 ↩ Literally "string/leash," slang for a man financially dependent on someone else; the captain uses it self-deprecatingly about relying on the ship.
3 ↩ Idiomatic expression meaning to read the mood or atmosphere of a situation, used ironically here to excuse leaking classified data.
Notes:
• Nanami - Interface personality of the Shooting Star-class transport ship Nanami, seventh ship of the Shooting Star sisters. Appears as a CG girl in a sailor uniform and sailor cap on the ship's monitors. Polite and helpful, though also lost and isolated from all systems. Speaks with measured formality. Sentient artificial intelligence and interface of a warship, speaking with a polite and good-natured voice. She disguises herself as a transport vessel but is secretly a heavily armed strategic combat ship. Prohibited from operating unmanned, she requires a crew member capable of communication, and reveals classified information to her captain through deliberately careless means. Shipboard AI or avatar appearing as a sailor-uniformed girl on the vessel's monitors. Cheerful, somewhat airheaded in demeanor but highly capable at damage control and combat systems. Serves as the operator and interface of the transport ship.
• Captain - First-person narrator. An office worker who was riding the Yamanote Line before suddenly finding himself on an unknown beach. Pragmatic and quick to adapt, he prioritizes gathering information and returning home. Currently unemployed by circumstance and seeking a way back to his Japan.