Arcanum - Chapter 166

“After you.” They spoke out to use instructing us to climb down. The command deck was surprisingly basic compared the outside appearance, no computers at all.. Just lights buttons, levers and headphones attached to the walls.

“How is the recharging process going?” High Admiral Ruri asked out loud to her large command crew all standing up saluting her.

“Captain Engineers report an estimation of 6 hours.” A male student notified her.

“Very well.. Back to your posts.. Tell the rest of the fleet to remain on stand by and no active weapons.” She ordered looking a little disheartened. “Ohh and let the entire crew know that we have VIP’s on board.” She added.

“Yes Captain!” they all replied in unison taking a seat putting on their headphones. “Let’s head to my quarters.” She instructed us and began walking towards a door.

“Hey Ashley.. They don’t have computers here.” I asked him.

“Yes.. Paul brought back computers from your world… that’s why Atlantis has them.” Ashley whispered to me.

“Oh….” I replied in shock.

“Their systems are bit more rudimentary the light represents things like engineering failure or.. hull breech and stuff…. and the headphones are a directly line to different parts of the ship to receive and send messages.” He added.

“Like a cup and string?” I questioned.

“Huh?..” He looked at me thoroughly confused.

“Basic principle of how sound can travel through a string to someone listening.” I explained to him.

“Ahh yes yes… exactly like that.” He nodded.

“It’s hard to imagine that such a primitive ship can even fly or even have such devastating weaponry.” I commented to Jay.

“That’s the power of magic.” Ashley smiled.

It felt so weird being in such a militaristic setting, each crewman we passed would stop what they was doing entirely stepping aside saluting their captain and us, waiting for us to pass before carrying on with what they was doing.

“This is it.” High admiral Ruri notified up placing her hand on what seemed to be a normal metal wall of the ship. Without even speaking the words of a spell the wall opened up for her revealing the captains quarters.

“Added a few new things I see.” Ashley commented walking in.

“Being Captain of a Titan ship isn’t as exciting as you might think sadly..” She answered taking out a bunch of scrolls and books.

“Would your chaperons like a tour of the ship?..” She smiled.

“You trust them?..” Ashley questioned her offer.

“A friend of yours is a friend of mine, and like I said before you’re doing me a favour so I should repay in kind.” She smiled.

“Well if you can ensure their safety then if they want.” He reluctantly agreed.

“I’ll have my personal security guard and my second in command escort them.” She offered giving us a look as if asking for approval.

“Well… it’s up to you guys.” Ashley offered.

“Umm High Admiral Ruri.. We’d rather not get you in trouble of cause hassle.” Jay answered her after we looked at each other for a few seconds unsure how to answer.

“Nonsense I insist..” She insisted walking towards a nearby phone and began speaking into it. “I’ve asked for your escort to come.. Don’t worry you’ll be in safe hands.” She smiled. “Feel free to enjoy any of the recreational activities we have on the ship or the food.. I’ve made it top priority to serve good food to my crew.” She smiled.

“Captain you called for me?” A male voice called out from the entrance flanked with two guards in black uniform and a sidearm attached to their hip.

“Ohh Officer Jun.. Please come in.” She asked him.

“Yes Captain.” The young adult male walked in taking a slight pause in his step when he noticed Ashely.

“Everyone this is second in command Officer Jun Ono.. He will be escorting you around the ship your escort and tour guide.” She informed us.

“But Captain is it safe for you to be left alone?” He questioned her order.

“Jun.. Ashley and I are good friends you have nothing to worry about.” She calmly replied to him with a slight smile.

“As you wish Captain.” He nodded walking towards us holding a hand out to shake our hands.

One by one we shook his hand introducing ourselves and began a tour of the ship, he seemed genuinely friendly harbouring no sort or rivalry to Atlantis students.. “Come along let’s get this tour started.” Officer Jun issued us to follow.

“So students of Atlantis?” He questioned curiously as we began making our way through the ship.

“Yeah, just first year freshmen.” Helen answered.

“Right right.. So where would you like to visit?” He asked as we made our way downwards towards the main body of the ship.

“So what’s life like on board this ship?” Daisy asked.

“During Peacetime pretty mundane.. Drills, simulations and combat practice. Most days we just spend time flying around as a symbol of peace and safety. The assistance we helped with you yesterday was the only real action we had in months.” He answered.

“What happened last time?” I questioned.

“Weirdly enough a little like you guys Dark Elves tried to invade a major city of ours, it was a little far so the trip depleted over 60% of our runes we was lucky we have enough left to reach Atlantis to be honest.” He informed us.

“How long does it take to recharge them?” I questioned curiously.

“If we sunk all our resources into it then maybe a three or so months… but we need to maintain combat effectiveness so we can barely charge 5% a week.” He answered.

“It takes that much?” I questioned his calculations.

“Yup and that’s after rerouting half of our students to recharging the runes.” He added.

“You guys were also attacked by Dark Elves?” Helen questioned.

“Yup although quite a few months before you guys.” He explained.

“Did you guys get any information on why they attacked?” Jay questioned.

“The information we managed to extract from survivors speak of a manifesting darknessness deep underground..” He answered.

“Wow something that even frighten Dark Elves.. What could possibly do such a thing?” Helen began to ponder.

“Your guess is as good as mine but there hasn’t been any Dark Elves sighting since.” He replied.

“The mess hall is just behind this door.” He said turning the large circular door handle and began opening the large heavy bulky door.

The mess hall was truly staggering in size several floors filled with crewmen all having fun and socializing, I would go as far to say as it felt more like a cruise ship then a military ship.. “Why are uniforms differently coloured?” Jay questioned.

“Ahhh white like mine and High Admirals Ruri’s represents the Captain and officers in Command. Red represent gunners and operators of weaponry, Orange uniforms are Engineers, Yellow colours are the Cook, red and white represents Medical, black is security and lastly this badge represents crewmen on the Command Deck.” He answered pointing at his badge.

“Woah.. Aspa is very different to Atlantis..” I commented.

“Ahh yes our structure is a little different.” He answered taking us deeper in the mess hall towards delicious smelling foods.

“So do you have like… Casters or fighters?..” Jay questioned.

“Of course we do, we also have a lot of normal individuals as well, unlike the other institutes you guys only enrol Arcanum users right?” He questioned.

“I guess so.. So what do what would someone like me do?” Grace questioned.

“You’re a ranger right?… I saw you hand over a bow and quiver.. Your heightened Elven sight and aim would best be served in the gunner position.” He answered.

“Ohhh then what would I do?..” I questioned curiously.

“Position for casters are more board, so you could be an engineer using magic to fortify or charging the many magical runes that keep the ship operational. You could even support the gunners by powering up the spell crystals, or if you can do healing the Medical team.” He explained.

“If you don’t mind me asking what were those large spike was you shot into the barriers?” Jay questioned.

“Those are our Anti Shield Weaponry, they are made with a mixture of metals making it super heavy and strong. Unlike spells which dissipate after use doing little to no damage to strong shields… This type of weaponry is designed to put constant strain on the shields with each spike pilling in more and more pressure till the shield eventually breaks.” He answered taking a seat on a table issuing us to sit as well.

“Officer Jun nice to see you.. Are these the VIP guests Commander told us about yesterday?” A young male student in a yellow uniform asked.

“Yes they are Kosuke please give us Six orders of your finest.” Jun smiled.

“Coming right up!” He smiled giving us all a bow of respect.

“Umm sorry for being such a pain… but I’m a vegetarian..” I notified him.

“She means she doesn’t eat meat.” Jay instantly explained to them.

“Ohhh okay…. I’ll try and think something up.” Kosuke smiled and walked off.

“So you don’t eat meat?… may I ask why?” Jun questioned.

“It’s my religion.” I answered.

“Ohh understandable, I won’t pry further.” He nodded.