The Secret Captain Hunt
Ah, whatever. "Pass."
"Whew... what the hell is all this commotion about?"
In the middle of the hangar packed with fighters and repair bots for them, a sudden operation to find the hidden captain had kicked off. One of the male cadets, who had unwittingly ended up in the combat team while turning to search for the captain, mentioned the possibility of a lame duck situation. Because of that, instead of the large-scale captain hunt they'd originally planned, they'd narrowed it down to a secret search. Kail flashed his usual bright smile at the people wearing thinly veiled looks of dissatisfaction, completely in the dark, and opened his mouth.
"As you know, this ship you're on is brand new, so the crew check program is a bit lacking. And... well, we're basically in a quasi-wartime state right now, so before we set sail for real, there's an order to inspect the entire personnel. I appreciate your understanding."
"W-Well... can't be helped, I guess."
What was most vividly etched in the minds of everyone crammed into the hangar was the raw scenes of war that had just unfolded moments ago. In a generation where few had experienced actual combat, the cadets responded in unison with a vibe like rooting out spies. Seeing that, the naval academy staff and various engineers shifted from their initial dejected frustration to nodding along, recognizing it as something that just had to be done. Even as engine room grunts, they worked at the academy and knew they were treated as proper soldiers in emergencies like this.
And so, the roughly hundred-strong group, led by the cadets, passed in front of the sensors Minerva had prepped, continuing their captain hunt.
"Not yet, Minerva?"
No... You could've just openly announced it was about that medal you mentioned... Jeez... Do you think I couldn't handle some lame duck fallout from something like that?
As things dragged on and became a hassle with the long investment of time, Minerva started venting her annoyance through the hologram. Bridget swallowed an inner gasp of admiration at how utterly human she seemed, then shrugged helplessly.
"Doesn't matter to me, but if some incident blows up, do you think normal captain registration would even be possible? You never know with people... If you or the mystery captain drops dead from panic... you'd be the one in trouble, right?"
Minerva instantly calculated through the main computer just how slim and improbable that worst-case scenario was, but she was an AI who couldn't fully detach from human personalities and thoughts when it came to possibilities and probabilities. Just as Bridget said, she'd crunched the numbers herself on how low the odds were, so she squeezed her eyes shut and let out a sigh.
The vice captain sure knows how to hold a grudge, huh?
"Heh. You telling me?"
Before the AI had awakened, Bridget had been the one operating the ship as the top authority, so she was the only truly valuable personality for Minerva to observe and learn from. Their bickering felt like mutual disdain between kindred spirits, making the cadets around them break into cold sweats without realizing it, desperately hoping the superiors' spat would die down.
"Sergeant McKenzie! No more personnel worth checking in that section?!"
Under the quasi-wartime system, the engineers were treated as soldiers too, but with the captain's seat still empty and no clue about their style, the giant man who always sprinkled cool smiles now bellowed a chilling, heavy shout at him. McKenzie instinctively straightened his back and saluted.
"Yes, sir! F-08 sector, inspection complete!"
"... We'll talk later."
No matter how intimidated or chaotic things were, Kail frowned at McKenzie freaking out and saluting solo over a simple question. He blocked the snickering onlookers with his body for a makeshift cover, then shot him a sharp glare.
"Eek...!"
"Hoo... Fine. Go finish maintaining your fighter. We'll call you when results come in from this. Stay sharp."
"Y-Yes, sir..."
Kail sighed again, wondering if this unreliable-looking junior was really the unbelievable fighter pilot from the colony battle, then hurried off to help with the ongoing search in another sector.
"Hoo... fuck. No rank at all, and he looks like a total thug."
As McKenzie trudged back to his fighter, grumbling leaked out along with his frustration at the situation.
"Normally, after boarding, you get a temporary rank boost for more say... Is the game telling me it's a game but not to treat it like one?"
In the original game, players got a massive reward—a temporary two-rank promotion—for their exploits in the colony battle as the story progressed. But virtual reality was reality, full of variables, and with no sign of that promotion from the seniors or student council president, McKenzie irritably scratched his head.
Even he knew his performance in the colony fight was overwhelmingly insane, beyond words.
These engineers and regular female cadets look like celebrities... but something feels off...
The original was a simple strategy game, blooming with romance and manly fantasies, but to make those bear fruit, a lowly sergeant like him needed at least captain or lieutenant rank—the student council president's level was major.
Bridget, was it? The story writes itself...
As he pondered ranks, acting vice captain Bridget flashed first in his mind. The cliché of a talented but low-rank pilot and a high-rank but lonely captain sparking sweet, spicy romance assembled itself. Imagining married life with her already, McKenzie swallowed hard and grinned creepily.
"Yeah... that's the protagonist life, right? Heh. Save the ship in crisis with your fighter... be her rock in danger..."
For a split second, the other female cadets and engineers' faces drifted by hazily, but for that romance, the key prerequisite was pure devotion—ignoring other women. Having set his sights on big game like Bridget, ogling randos could get him blacklisted by a captain like her. McKenzie firmed up his goal here and nodded.
Better to build an image of mutual support than a playboy vibe.
No way the brass's meeting results would leak to a newbie like him, so he didn't know exactly what was happening, but cadet rumors hinted at scouting for a captain-rank holder. Still, in the game story, Bridget weathered everything as Minerva's captain later, so he chalked it up to a real-life hiccup. Humming to himself, McKenzie quickened his pace toward his fighter.
...None here?
"Yes...?"
Not even a captain like the admiral, let alone vice captain rank like major scraps?
"..."
I mean... don't look at me like I'm trash... I'm a good AI who just states facts after searching and calculating...
"Hoo... so what now?"
...What do you mean? Find our captain, duh?
At Minerva's blank stare, for the first time ever, a grinding sound escaped Bridget—who always minded her poise—and echoed through the hangar.