Departure Preparations
Whaleshark 1 ran with tireless diligence. There was nothing quite so pleasant as maintaining a steady speed no matter what the wind was doing.
"Gah! Boiler number five has failed!"
"Put out the fire, now!"
Granted, one of her six boilers did break down mid-voyage, but the ship had been loaded with enough spare parts to build a whole new one.
"It's nothing! We just swap out a pipe. There are plenty spares — go on, hurry back!"
And with no fewer than seventy-two sailors working the engine room, the repair was done in the blink of an eye, and the voyage continued on.
The ship never stopped, so apart from the engine crew, nobody even knew there had been a malfunction.
Krrrrrr
Whaleshark 1 carved through the waves, trailing a long white wake behind her where her screw churned the sea.
"To think the day would come when we cross the ocean on machinery alone, without a single sail."
"It really is remarkable."
Thirteen days after crossing the Pacific, the sailors were resting at Baepyeong.
"What! There was a breakdown?"
"Why are you so surprised? We fixed it right away."
"S-still...."
Only afterward, when they heard the story from the engine crew, did quite a few of them get the fright of their lives.
"No! Enough of that nonsense — get below and go do your laundry! You reek, all of you! Haneul-nim will be at the next port!"
For the men who spent their days down in the engine room greasing machinery, wrestling with heat, and shoveling coal, the smell that clung to them was truly foul.
"Ah! Now's not the time for this!"
The way down was as long as the ocean they had just crossed — would they actually arrive looking clean?
Still, after scrubbing the deck and oiling the ship through another busy day, the sailors set sail once more.
"When is she getting in?"
"You've been saying that for thirteen days now."
"The sea really is enormous, isn't it...."
Today marked the thirteenth day since the telegram arrived saying the ship had departed from Baepyeong.
The telegram takes a day to arrive, so she must have left exactly thirteen days ago, right? But does it really take this long?
"I want to see it too, that's all."
Huge warships would be coming later, after all — that's why I'd built the port so generously, so roomily.
Standing out here alone in this empty stretch, I was bored out of my mind.
"What on earth did they build and bring over?"
"You saw the drawings, didn't you?"
"I did see them. Still, the real thing is always different."
From what I remember, they'd drawn one big, blobby squid of a thing?
They said it was a cargo transport, didn't they?
The hull was so wide it didn't exactly look sleek — more like a length-to-beam ratio of about one to five?
"Wow.... there it is...."
"Hm? What do you see?"
"Not the ship...."
Are they out of their minds? So this is why the early Industrial Revolution had such horrible air pollution?
"See that black thing over there?"
"Huh? What is that? A rain cloud?"
Have you ever seen a rain cloud rise in a straight line like that? That's black smoke from burning coal.
Incomplete combustion, most likely. Is the blower broken or something? Why is it so pitch black?
"Don't tell me that's coming from the ship?"
"Uh.... looks like it?"
Wow.... environmental damage.... Sorry, Earth. I'll plant lots of trees, so cut me some slack....
"Oh? It looks like it's thinning out a little, though?"
"Something probably broke."
"Eh? Broke? We're allowed to ride something like that?"
"By that point in the voyage you just fix things as you go, out at sea."
That's why even in the modern era, ships always carry at least two engine crews....
"Wow.... the steam too — it's honestly a little terrifying."
"Ah, the white smoke is steam."
"Right. It's a ship that boils water to move."
Still, it's impressive. Only eight hundred years after the first steam locomotive, after all.
Hm? Compared to the original timeline, that's awfully late, isn't it?
WHOOOOOOOONK
"Why is the horn like that?"
"Pahaha. What is that? Isn't that the sound of a duck quacking?"
"It really is, isn't it?"
If it carries all the way here from that distance, up close it might actually be a little frightening.
Ahh, but the ship is finally coming into view. Black, but not bad-looking at all?
Isn't the horizon several kilometers away? It's closing in faster than I expected.
"Is the ship just big? Or is it actually fast?"
"Hard to say? It's my first time seeing one too."
When would anyone in real life get to see a warship like that, anyway? Even before I came here, I only ever saw them lying in a hospital bed, through books or the internet.
It took about ten minutes to get this close, actually.
"Insane."
"What is this thing?"
"It's huge!"
I thought the Horned Whale was big, but this — counting the sheer width of the hull, you could probably stuff about four of them inside?
It's a transport, so it is broad, but it doesn't look clumsy at all. The proportions are maybe one to five?
"Wah! It's the young lady!"
"Fweeee—"
"The young lady saw me!"
"No, me! She's looking at me!"
What is wrong with these wretches?
Miners fresh out of a coal pit would be cleaner than you lot.
I specifically made sure the port had baths and running water so you'd all wash up — didn't I?
Fine, fine. I'll wave back since you're so happy about it.
A gentle wave
"Look! I told you! She waved at me!"
"All of you, get lost!"
"Hey! Don't push!"
"Ah! Aaah!"
SPLOOSH
Ah.... this is a disaster....
"Oh! Me too!"
"Let's go!"
Where's the discipline.... They're just hurling themselves off and swimming over, and honestly, it's terrifying. Terrifying!
Not that the boys themselves scare me. I'm scared someone else might witness this spectacle.
"Young lady, we're here!"
"Wahahaha!"
"To think I'd live to serve the young lady myself!"
"We love you!"
Yes, yes, you cursed wretches. I love you all passionately too.
While I was busy enjoying a fan meeting with a crowd of beggars at the harbor, the ship slowly glided in and came to a stop.
So painfully cautious was her approach that I nearly grabbed hold of her and pulled her in myself.
With the ship fully anchored, I climbed back aboard with my swarm of beggars for a proper tour.
"Oh? The deck is wood?"
"Ah — no, ma'am. It's steel plate underneath. It was too slippery, so they laid planking over it."
"Ah, of course."
They'd be oiling everything all over the place — one slip and someone could go straight over the side. A sensible precaution.
"The ship's prettier than I expected. Well built."
I'd been picturing one big blobby ray, but at this level, she really is a whaleshark. They named her well.
"Fewer turrets than I expected?"
"The caliber matters more than the count, though I'll admit they're a bit small for my taste."
"Really? I heard the mountings couldn't bear the weight, so they had to make them smaller...."
They called them turrets, but nothing so grand — just hemispherical shields raised up out of thick steel plate.
With all that smoke, a fully enclosed turret would suffocate somebody to death, so they'd left the rear open, apparently.
Each turret carried two guns, with nine turrets along either side. Thirty-six in total.
The caliber was a touch smaller than a handspan of mine?
"I heard you're using explosive shells?"
"Yes. My uncle drew up the basic design, so they weren't difficult to complete."
Seeing that, I'm reminded how many master craftsmen run in that family.
Building ships, steam engines, and now shells too.
They said the new detonating compound passed its trials as well, though at current capacity they can't mass-produce it, which is giving them headaches.
"Still, the explosive shells are a bit lacking in punch...."
"We'll use whatever the situation calls for, I suppose."
Small caliber and black powder as the charge — not exactly powerful, but more than enough for Europe's wooden ships.
More than anything, all that ballistics work that man did to stabilize his projectiles had proven useful in a dozen other places.
They say glider research is in full swing over there too.
"It's going to be a long voyage, so we'll need to stock up plenty this time."
"Yes, ma'am. We'll prepare nothing short of ample."
"We may need a lot of shells."
"Hmm.... then we should carry spare barrels as well."
Oh? Small caliber actually pays off here, doesn't it? If a barrel wears out, they can swap it right there on deck?
But speaking of which....
"How long are those boys planning to keep that up?"
"Who, ma'am?"
"The ones bowing their heads into the deck over there."
"Mm, probably until tomorrow."
It's only lunchtime, isn't it? These kids have more stamina than I gave them credit for.
Everyone who'd leapt into the water earlier had gathered and was pounding their foreheads into the planking.
"First, let's get them washed. The ship has plenty of hot water and soap, doesn't it? What on earth do they mean, they haven't done laundry?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"I said, why are they all so filthy?"
"W-we did wash...."
Ah.... so it was simply a gathering of beggars after all.
"How often do you wash?"
"Once every three or four days...."
"You work somewhere covered in dust and grease — you should be washing every single day?"
"Yes...."
Three or four days might fly for someone working from home. Not for these men.
"And laundry?"
"Once a week?"
"Not enough clothes to change into?"
"We're issued three sets each."
Unbelievable. They live like absolute pigs.
"Change your clothes daily. Wash daily. Do your laundry. Right now!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
It wasn't this bad on the wooden ships, was it?
Hold on.... I don't recall seeing those boys wash much either.
Is it the grease and coal that makes them filthier here? Which should make them even easier to scrub down, no?
It's just habit, isn't it....
"Very well! We are instituting a week of hygiene inspections!"
"Inspections?"
"I'm going to hold evening roll call!"
"What's that?"
Ah.... so they don't even have that here?
"It means that every night before bed, I'll go around your quarters checking whether you've cleaned properly and washed yourselves thoroughly."
"Understood! We'll have everything ready!"
Do prepare well, my friends.
"Evening roll call begins now!"
"What was it she called it?"
"No idea."
"Does anyone here know?"
What does the officer academy curriculum even look like?
Do they never do so much as a headcount?
"When I am speaking, who is chattering!"
"Our apologies!"
I'll have to introduce proper drill instruction....
That's what's missing from these boys. Later, I'll have to pay a personal visit to the academy and teach them a lesson they won't forget.
"Starting with the first room."
"Sir — ma'am — yes, ma'am!"
Two men to a room, hm? Not bad, though a snorer would make things miserable, no?
Ooh, and they've built the bunks as stacked berths! Space efficiency really is the same in every era.
Individual lockers and even desks — quite respectable, actually.
"Oh? The room's cleaner and nicer than I expected."
"Thank you, ma'am!"
I compliment the room, so why is your face going red....
"Then why are you filthier than your room?"
"Ma'am?"
"When did you last wash?"
"I washed today, ma'am!"
Washed today, and still the boy looks grimy? Is he just naturally that dark?
Swish
"Eh?"
"Gah!"
He startled because I touched him; I startled because something pitch black had come off onto my hand.
"How do you wash and still have grime coming off like this?"
"I washed properly!"
"Did you use soap?"
"I washed with w-water, ma'am!"
Well, yes, water is the medium, obviously. You can't exactly wash with sand.
"Just water?"
"Yes!"
"Why?"
"I forgot to bring soap!"
So? Couldn't you borrow some, or go back for it?
"How far is the bath from this room?"
"Right next door!"
Mm.... a whole new species of blockhead, this one.
"Go next door right now and wash again."
"Again, ma'am?"
"Scrub down hard with the soap until no grime comes off."
"It stings my eyes too much...."
"Then close your eyes and wash, can't you?"
"Ohhh!"
Hm.... aren't they all roughly this hopeless?
"Let's wash this one later. Next room."
Here we go....
"Come in, ma'am!"
"Hello. Nice to meet you."
Hm? This one washed properly? The boy looks smooth and clean, and he's tidied his room well too.
"Oh. This room is spotless — and so is its occupant."
"Thank you, ma'am!"
Shall I have a look at what clothes the boys are issued, then?
CLUNK — cascading crash
"...."
"Ah...."
What now. So we have a master of the hiding game among us.
Why is there garbage stuffed into your personal locker? If you were going to tidy it anyway, shouldn't you have just carried it out and thrown it away?
Did he never clean normally, and just cram everything in the moment he heard I'd be inspecting?
"Whew...."
"...."
"Is this room a trash bin?"
"No, ma'am!"
"Then why is garbage falling out of your wardrobe!"
"I'm sorry, ma'am!"
"Clean it up this instant! And what is this! Unwashed laundry, isn't it!"
It was an absolute catastrophe.
The skipped cleaning was only the beginning. Since the inspection moved room by room in order, the boys in the back had made a pact among themselves: dump all the laundry on one poor soul and let him take the fall alone.
Which is how I came to notice a name written on one of the shirts.
"All of you. Assemble on the deck!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
I no longer trusted myself to inspect another room, so I called everyone up.
Four hundred-odd sailors gathered on the deck in the dead of night.
"I tell you to wash cleanly and keep things clean so you won't fall ill — is that really so distasteful to you?"
I asked them honestly.
"No, ma'am!"
"We are truly sorry!"
"You answer well enough. Will you do better from now on?"
"Yes!"
Hm.... they've spent their lives aboard sailing ships washing in seawater, so adjusting to all this can't be easy. Perhaps I should give them a little time.
"And from here on, you'll be calling on many countries. If you show up with filthy faces, what does that make me look like?"
Because honestly, the state of you right now? I'd be embarrassed to show you to anyone.
"Gah! Unthinkable!"
"Heavens, no!"
"That never crossed my mind!"
"To think I was risking my life on such folly!"
What is with these reactions? Isn't this a bit much?
"You are my face to the world, so keep yourselves presentable — understood?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"We begin this instant!"
"Excellent! Tonight, we pull an all-nighter!"
Where on earth did these boys catch fire from?
RRRUMBLE
And just like that, in the middle of the night, a cleaning party broke out.
That's a good thing... right?