10. Going to See the Received Spaceship 3: Introduction of Senior Personnel

Stepping out of the shuttle, which seemed tailored specifically for me, stood a woman.

"Welcome, Mr. Yamada. I have been awaiting your arrival. I am Maria, the avatar of Agirakana’s administrative AI, Core."

"Nice to meet you. I’m Yamada."

"Since time is of the essence, let us have a meal. The primary members of Agirakana will be joining us—please make yourselves at home. If you would follow me, this way."

……

"This is the Captain's Office. The previous captain was absent, so the room remained sealed and unused. But at last, the room’s rightful owner—the one who will be its master—has been found."

The room led to by Maria was about the size of a school classroom, apparently the entrance. Beyond it lay the dining hall for formal gatherings. Ordinary meals, she said, were taken elsewhere. The formal dining hall was roughly the same size as a school classroom—a long rectangle—but with a ceiling that soared four meters high. At the center stood a long table, already occupied by four women. The moment I entered, all four rose simultaneously. All were women. Mid-forties, perhaps, with the air of senior administrative staff.

The woman at the far end stepped forward and announced, with a loud voice, “Captain. We’ve been waiting!”

The other three echoed in unison:

“Waiting for you!”

“Why, Amanda, so eager. Mr. Yamada isn’t the Captain yet.”

“Apologies. Maria Core.”

“For now, Yamada-san will do. After tomorrow’s certification ceremony, it’ll be either ‘Captain’ or ‘Your Excellency,’ I suppose. With more large vessel captains coming on board, ‘Your Excellency’ might be more appropriate. But Amanda-san is a major general, so ‘Your Excellency’ would’ve been suitable all along. We’ll need to think of something fitting, won’t we?”

“The lower ranks—colonel and below—can just be addressed by rank, don’t you think? Only generals and above get ‘Your Excellency.’”

The woman seated beside Amanda.

“Hmm, yes, that works. Then I’ll issue the announcement right away. ….

Yamada-san, please take the seat over there. I’ll be across from you. Ain, you’ll sit to Yamada-san’s left.

Now, the meal’s being brought in, so the four of you who haven’t introduced yourselves yet—please take turns introducing yourselves.”

"Then, if you'll permit me. I am Amanda, commander of the Aerospace Fleet. My rank is major general. Though I should mention—'Aerospace Fleet' is something of a misnomer these days. Currently, we're only active with three squadrons, plus nine more recently awakened from stasis. Still, with a new captain aboard, combat restrictions should be lifted, dormant vessels revived, and construction of capital ships made possible. So, we're looking forward to that."

"I am Eris, commander of the Ground Combat Force. At present, I'm overseeing security within Agirakana and maintaining small detachments aboard the Aerospace Fleet's vessels. In the coming months, however, we plan to gradually awaken dormant personnel and form an assault unit designed for planetary conquest."

"I am Dora, commander of the Survey Division. Currently, my primary mission is resource exploration in the star systems near Agirakana. Twelve survey vessels are currently operational."

"Then, lastly—Floris."

"Floris, commander of the Supply Division. Currently, my primary focus is resource collection from the Agirakana vicinity, based on survey division findings. Once combat restrictions are lifted, I'll oversee fleet expansion and maintenance."

"Then, if you don't mind—bring the meal, please."

A few waiters? rolled in a cart and set large trays before each person. On the silver trays: fried fish? thin slices of meat, salad? and soup. A meal reminiscent of airline in-flight cuisine. Knives and forks, likewise styled. And in transparent glasses, bubbles rising—carbonated water, presumably.

“I’m sorry to say this, but normally we just take nutrient paste through a tube at irregular intervals—we don’t eat like people on Earth. This meal is a reconstruction of what the old inhabitants of Arsen used to eat. In fact, it’s our first time trying it too. That’s why we’ve all undergone digestive system reinforcement procedures before attending this dinner.”

Maria said it lightly, as if brushing off a minor detail. The nature of the “digestive system reinforcement” was unclear, but it was certainly nothing as simple as swallowing over-the-counter stomach medicine.

As Maria spoke, I reached for the food set before me.

Fish fry? Was it whitefish? The sauce was something resembling tartar sauce. Not bad. Next, the thinly sliced meat—pork with ginger stir-fry? Not bad either. The salad was something resembling potato salad. This was good. The soup was consommé. Also good. Unfortunately, no bread or rice. Carbonated water? It was exactly that—carbonated water. Overall, the taste was… questionable. The others were struggling with knives and forks, but still eating.

“Seems like this first attempt didn’t go quite as planned. The flavor’s a bit off, and using cutlery isn’t exactly intuitive, is it? How about you, Yamada?”

Maria—now you’re throwing it at me?

Since this could affect my future meals, I’ll be honest:

“Exactly as you said—I just don’t connect with it. The taste was… borderline. The salad and soup were enjoyable, though.”

"Exactly as expected. From now on, we’ll be preparing meals using ingredients sourced by Ain and the others in Japan—so you can rest easy. I imagine the dedicated automated cookers are already functional, so we should be able to serve something passable. Do keep your expectations in check, though."

"Thank you for going to such lengths."

It seemed, honestly, to have gone well.

"I found the knife and fork rather awkward to use—hard to eat with, really. But the taste? Quite enjoyable, actually."

Amanda, the space fleet commander, offered her thoughts on the meal.

"Our culinary traditions are quite behind Earth’s, especially Japan’s, it seems. In the coming months, we’ll likely see more lunch meetings hosted by the captain, so we’ll need to adapt gradually. For now, our infrastructure on Earth isn’t fully developed, so we can’t import ingredients on a large scale—but we’ll manage step by step. Especially you, Ain. We’re counting on you."

Understood.

Also, regarding Ain, I plan to assign him as Lieutenant Yamada’s secretary going forward—no objections, I assume?

It would be my greatest pleasure to have Ain in such a role.

Then it’s settled. By the way, Eris, Ain used to be your sergeant, didn’t he?

Yes. Sergeant Ain was assigned to the Ground Combat Special Operations Unit.

In that case, Ain is hereby promoted to second lieutenant effective today, and appointed Head of the Captain’s Secretary’s Office. Eris, please assign three female non-commissioned officers under Ain’s command. Agreed? And the eleven remaining personnel on Earth will continue to operate under Ain’s authority, as before. I will personally oversee and maintain the Captain’s Office.

Understood.

Thank you.

I’ll be able to issue such orders only until today, so tomorrow onward, it’s Yamada’s responsibility. Do your best.

Yamada, if you have any requests, just tell Ain—he can probably handle most things. Right now, it’s not possible, but once you become the captain of Agirakana and lift the restrictions imposed by the Agirakana Core, conquering Earth would be a breeze. Eris, you could easily deploy your ground forces, couldn’t you?”

“Yes, we’ve already mapped out strategic objectives and tactical hubs via our probes and personnel stationed on Earth. With a single assault ship fully equipped and ready, we could achieve full control in about a week.”

Eris replied with dead seriousness, despite Maria’s comment sounding more like a joke than anything else. Her eyes weren’t smiling, though—these people.

No, no, no. Who in their right mind would conquer Earth? Then I’d be the Demon King. A full-scale planetary invasion? Really?

By the time, it seemed everyone had finished eating—face-to-face introductions were evidently concluded.

"Then, tomorrow's ceremony, please take care of it."

With that, Maria took the other four—excluding Ain—back with her.