Overnight Leave (1)
Freesia accepted the call from her aunt without a moment's hesitation. It had been so long since they'd last spoken.
"Not at all. I was just resting. Are you sure you're not the busy one, Aunt?"
Freesia usually had plenty of free time outside her official duty hours, except for cases like the recent asteroid belt search operation. Of course, unofficially she was swamped with piled-up paperwork. Still, no matter how many late nights she pulled, she could hardly be busier than her aunt, who ran an entire massive conglomerate.
"Tomorrow?"
It was the weekend, so nothing major should be scheduled. Inside the supply port she could move freely, but heading down to Nord required submitting an official leave request, even for a battalion commander.
"Just for the day? Or until the day after?"
"Just a moment."
Freesia pulled out her military terminal, double-checked that she hadn't missed anything urgent, and confirmed her schedule was clear. She immediately forwarded a leave request to the personnel officer. They would handle it without issue.
"It should be fine as long as nothing unexpected comes up."
"You're coming to get me? I can head over to you instead…"
"One second."
Freesia checked the departure times for both military and civilian shuttles heading from the supply port down to Nord. The military shuttle left at 9:30 GrST and arrived at 10:30 in the nearby city of Vinsr. Civilian shuttles, on the other hand, ran on irregular schedules depending on their destinations.
"Um, where are you right now, Aunt?"
Melanie had seen right through her niece's intention to adjust her sleep schedule and match her aunt's time zone. She shook her head firmly, leaving no room for argument.
Melanie's older sister—Freesia's mother—had always done the same. Even when exhausted from military service, she would force herself to adjust for jet lag and take civilian shuttles just to be considerate of her family.
"Mom used to do that too?"
When even her aunt put it that way, continuing to insist felt childish. Freesia reluctantly chose Vinsr, the most convenient option.
"I'll arrive at the station around 10:30."
The moment they settled on a meeting place and the call ended, an alert chimed on Freesia's military terminal. Her heart skipped a beat, but when she saw the message that followed, a bright smile bloomed across her face.
"Hmm? What are you all doing here?"
When the battalion's—practically the entire formation's—most senior figure appeared, the three guards and their sergeant who had been huddled together with personal weapons snapped to attention and saluted sharply.
"We were waiting for you, Commander."
"For me?"
"Yes, ma'am. You mentioned you would be taking the military shuttle departing at 9:30 for Vinsr."
Frederic nodded in understanding. The guard duty on weekends mostly consisted of watching the bridge entrance. He'd wondered why these soldiers were fully armed and gathered like this. It seemed they were preparing to escort the battalion commander.
Inside the ship it might be different, but once outside, even within the supply port, the commander required protection.
"She hasn't come out yet, has she?"
"Not yet, sir."
Daisy, who had been yawning widely and rubbing her eyes while wondering where everyone was going, suddenly noticed the three soldiers, one sergeant, and even the Master Chief Petty Officer. Her face drained of all color.
"M-Master Chief?"
"If you're tired, why not have another orderly take over?"
"But it's the commander's first time going out. I should be the one to accompany her. I can sleep after we return from the station."
Just then, the captain's quarters door opened.
"Ah, you're here…?"
Daisy froze mid-sentence the moment she saw Freesia, who had dressed up to the nines. The same went for the waiting guards and even Frederic.
"Oh my. What brings the Master Chief here?"
"I was just passing by. Though I almost didn't recognize you. Heh heh."
It was true. Freesia was already pretty with her usual light, natural makeup, but seeing her fully done up was on another level. With a bit of exaggeration, she could have walked a runway. Her elegant outfit also made one realize just how young she really was. After all, she was only two years younger than Captain Amelia, her first adjutant.
"I heard you're heading to Vinsr."
"Yes. I'm meeting someone on Nord."
"I see. I shouldn't keep someone as busy as you. Will you be departing right away?"
Freesia nodded. Normally, Daisy and the four marines currently present should be relaxing on their day off. Instead, they had geared up with personal weapons even on the weekend just to escort her to the shuttle station. Rather than waste time here, the kindest thing she could do was board quickly so they could return to the flagship and have some personal time.
The sooner the commander boarded, the sooner they could head back for maintenance on their own gear.
When Freesia hurried to the station, boarding procedures were already in full swing. It made sense—nearly several hundred personnel from the 2nd Search Battalion were stationed at the supply port alone. Adding the system defense forces operating out of the port brought the total well over two thousand. Even if only five percent of them went on overnight leave to Nord, that was over a hundred people. Factor in civilians, and the number multiplied several times over. To ensure on-time departure, boarding had to begin much earlier.
Most of the leave personnel were enlisted soldiers standing endlessly in long lines, waiting their turn. That didn't apply to Freesia.
The boarding counters were divided into enlisted, non-commissioned, and officer sections. With over two thousand people, the enlisted counters were packed despite multiple windows being open, but the officer counter was relatively quiet. A few second lieutenants tensed up at the appearance of the port's highest-ranking officer and tried to yield their places, but Freesia gently reminded them it was against regulations and waited her turn. She didn't have to wait thirty minutes like the enlisted; only one or two people were ahead of her. In less than five minutes, it was her turn.
After confirming her personal details and service number, the attendant verified there were no issues and transmitted her leave pass to her military terminal.
"Your return time is by 20:00 GrST tomorrow evening. The return shuttle departs Vinsr Military Station at 18:00 GrST."
"Understood. Thank you."
After finishing the boarding process, Freesia gathered Daisy and the guard soldiers who had worked even on their weekend. It was only a few steps, yet here they were escorting her on their day off.
"I'll board first, so you all head back now."
The military shuttle was scheduled to depart at 9:30. The current time was 8:40. There were still fifty minutes left. The three guards glanced between Freesia and their squad leader. Captain Grace had strictly ordered them to stay until the shuttle actually departed…
But the commander herself had told them to go rest. Surely that was fine? Besides, it was the weekend and they really wanted to relax.
When Daisy and the squad leader hesitated, Freesia sent a payment code to Daisy's terminal with an understanding smile.
"It might look bad if you return right away, so use this to grab something simple to eat and kill some time before heading back. Don't wait around here."
They had probably all eaten breakfast, but what soldier didn't like snacks? At the suggestion of grabbing a treat before returning, the three soldiers struggled to keep the grins from spreading across their faces.
They had heard the stories. Near the end of the asteroid belt search, the commander had bestowed grace upon the bridge crew. Now that same grace was descending upon them.
"Eh? This much?"
Ooh, just as expected! The three soldiers' anticipation soared. The only difference from last time was that the "grace" given to the bridge crew had been limited to the military canteen, whereas this time it was civilian shops.
"Don't feel awkward about it. Buy whatever you want. And if anyone says anything, tell them I gave permission. Since I sent the payment code, no one will complain."
Just as Freesia said, with the commander's own payment code in hand, no one would object if they bought a few snacks on the way back. If the commander said it was for their hard work, what could anyone do? If they had a problem with it, they could bring someone higher-ranked.
"I'll check when the payment was made, so hurry back and rest."
With Freesia continuing to urge them, Daisy and the squad leader finally saluted sharply and left the boarding area. Of course, they waited until she had actually boarded the shuttle.
Once outside the boarding gate, Daisy raised the terminal containing the payment code high with a whatever, let's go for it attitude.
"Kids, what do you want to eat? Tell me everything you want!"
A short while later, Freesia was sinking deep into her seat inside the shuttle when a loud alert sounded. She pulled out her terminal, read the message, and let out a helpless laugh.
Yeah. It was about time they started craving burgers.
She pictured her subordinates noisily devouring hamburgers for a moment, then leaned her head against the window, looking forward to her long-awaited date with her aunt.