Episode 39: The Ghost Ship is a Wrecked Ship
The ＜The Tree＞ group was running alongside the drifting ship in a small cutter. Seen up close, there were signs of destruction on the gunwales and other parts of the ship, but overall, it gave the impression of being relatively new.
“It doesn’t look very old,” Eve (she) observed.
“Yes, Ma’am. I’ve conducted a brief destructive inspection, and it doesn’t seem like much time has passed since its completion,” ＜Ringo＞ replied.
“Hee. So, it’s a so-called state-of-the-art ship, huh? I wonder if we can use it to estimate the level of technology.”
As Commander (Eve) and ＜Ringo＞ were discussing while observing the exterior, Utsugi and Erika, unable to contain themselves, began tugging at her hands from both sides.
“Big sis! Hurry!”
“Big sis! Let’s climb! Let’s climb!”
“Ah, yes, yes. Just wait a moment.”
She understood their eagerness, but this was also training. It was necessary to follow the proper procedures.
“＜Ringo＞?”
“Yes, Ma’am. First, we will circle around to confirm there are no dangers. Ichigo, take the helm.”
“Yes!”
With a “vroom,” the engine increased its RPM, and the cutter began to move along the side of the drifting ship.
“Ooh~”
“It’s all beat up!”
“Over time, barnacles and other crustaceans should have adhered to it. It doesn’t seem to have much attached. As a ghost ship, it has a short history.”
Akane (she) was hitting on a good point, but her conclusion was off. She really wanted this drifting ship to be a ghost ship. She wondered what kind of story she was influenced by…
“＜Ringo＞… This joint assist movement is amazing. Is it a preset?”
“No. I am supporting it now. In order to perform motion assist at this level, it is necessary to have a human-level motor nervous system locally.”
And Olive (she), was also busy squatting and dancing since earlier. She was quite impressed with the performance of the protective suit.
“How unique…”
The Doll Machine (Communicator) used as the base, and the Brain Unit that was Deep Merged, should all have had no individual differences. The fact that all five of them had different personalities was interesting, contrary to her initial expectations.
Originally, she had planned to implement thought guidance and behavior control by ＜Ringo＞ at a fairly high level. The reason she decided not to do that was largely because she had quickly bonded with these younger sisters.
Immediately after the initial imprinting, differences in personality began to emerge, and by the next day, there were enough differences that she could distinguish the five of them just by their attitude. Seeing this, she wanted to educate her younger sisters within external stimuli (daily life).
There was plenty of time. Even if it took some time to complete, there was no particular problem.
“Turning the bow,” Ichigo (she) announced, steering the cutter.
Ichigo’s maneuvering took them around the bow of the wrecked ship in a wide arc. The opposite side didn’t show any major changes either. The overall impression was still that of a relatively new ship. The crew of this ship must have been very frustrated. What kind of circumstances led to their annihilation?
“Alright, were there any problems?”
“No major damage was observed. No signs of artificial destruction were detected.”
“There weren’t any skeleton sailors either!”
“There wasn’t a one-armed captain either!”
“Your conclusions are strange…”
Well, she wasn’t expecting anything from Utsugi and Erika anyway, so that was fine. While patting Akane (she) on the head for giving a reasonable opinion, Commander (Eve) turned to look at Olive (she).
“With this protective suit, I could win in a fight against a skeleton captain.”
That’s not it.
“The ship’s log, huh? ＜Ringo＞, can you read it?”
“Yes, Ma’am. There are some unknown words, but mostly. It was helpful that I learned about it in Telek Port City.”
The five sisters rushed into the ship in search of skeleton sailors and wraith sailors. The five Doll Machines (Communicators) were also accompanying them, so there would be no danger even in the unlikely event. They had also thoroughly investigated every corner with drones in advance.
“Have you deciphered it?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Shall I explain it simply?”
“Yes, please.”
The captain’s cabin was mostly undisturbed, making it ideal for information gathering. He must have been quite meticulous, as the ship’s log remained.
“About two months after departure, it seems the first problem occurred. The paddlewheel’s power plant malfunctioned. Since there was no prospect of repair, it is recorded that the Tone Mug was transferred to the accompanying ship. The exact meaning of Tone Mug is unknown. Only the reading is known.”
“Hmph. Well, maybe it’s the power plant’s fuel. They transferred it because they had no use for it on this ship.”
“Yes, Ma’am. After that, they continued sailing smoothly for about a month, and then they ran into a storm.”
“A storm, huh…”
Come to think of it, ＜The Tree＞ had also been hit by storms several times. There had been wind, rain, lightning, and even hail. According to ＜Ringo＞, it was probably a large cumulonimbus cloud, something called a typhoon or hurricane. She had said something about updrafts, but she had tuned it out. She wasn’t interested in meteorology.
“Since they were not equipped with weather radar, it would have been difficult to avoid, especially after sunset. This ship was also caught in the storm’s range just before dawn, unfortunately.”
“Hmph…”
“The damage to the hull didn’t seem to be a problem, but the anchor was damaged, and they were swept away and separated from the main fleet. After that, they couldn’t find land and were adrift, encountering another storm. The main mast was damaged, and the warehouse was flooded, contaminating a considerable amount of food. Ultimately, most of them died of disease or starvation.”
“Ugh… that’s hell…”
“The loss of drinking water was fatal. And probably, scurvy also developed.”
“Scurvy?”
“Yes, Ma’am. It is a vitamin C deficiency. If you don’t eat fresh food and spend several months on preserved food, you will develop a vitamin C deficiency and symptoms of scurvy will appear.”
“Hee…”
In the end, the captain’s regrets, resentment, and complaints against God were written. Fortunately, there were no bodies in the captain’s cabin, but they were probably somewhere inside the ship. She didn’t feel like actively searching for them.
“That’s the story of how this ship drifted. After the disaster, they never managed to confirm land even once.”
“I see. They got separated from the main fleet and were wiped out… … So, that means there’s a main fleet somewhere?”
“Yes, Ma’am. At least, it hasn’t been observed within ＜The Tree＞’s surveillance range, but it must be somewhere. The purpose of this fleet was also written, shall I explain it?”
“Yes.”
When she agreed, ＜Ringo＞ prefaced with “Well then,” and began to speak.
They were a fleet dispatched from some kingdom. Their purpose was to discover the continent believed to be far to the south. It was a large fleet consisting of three large survey ships, two battleships, and four cruisers. The kingdom that dispatched this fleet seemed to be focusing on military affairs to the extent that it prided itself on having no enemies around. From the description that they departed from the southern islands that had been occupied and fortified, it was predicted to be the peninsula nation.
The country’s name was the Repuytari Kingdom. It seemed to be treated as one of the hegemonic nations of the continent.
Several years ago, it was discovered that the nation to which the castaway they had rescued belonged was the hegemonic nation of the continent far to the south. The fleet was dispatched to investigate and, if possible, establish contact. At least, they were able to reach it alive from that Southern Continent. If it was a place they knew existed, they would eventually find it. It seemed that the captain predicted that they wanted to take the initiative to make contact from their side and gain an advantage.
Since no land continued to the south had been found, they would have to proceed solely by sea. He boasted in his log that it was a great achievement that no one had ever accomplished before. They packed enough preserved food for a year, and the crew’s quarters were made spacious so that they would not be stressed even on a long voyage. There was also a description that Tone Mugs could be used to safely prepare hot water. It was still unidentified, but it seemed to be something that could be used as a heat source. And so, while riding the ocean currents and heading south smoothly, they were struck by tragedy.
“Hmm… Riding the ocean currents, huh? Does that mean there’s a possibility that another ship or something might approach ＜The Tree＞ again…”
“Yes, Ma’am. It is highly possible. We also need to investigate the ocean currents. Let’s prepare the survey equipment as soon as possible.”