Both of them were in a state of disbelief when they left the Poseidon Church.
Leaving the pomp and circumstance when they came, the two of them need to walk back by themselves, but who is Vanya? Of course he didn't want to treat himself badly after finally getting rich, so he decided to rent a carriage on the roadside and return to the military port.
Meledo stood in front of a window on the second floor of the church and watched the two people leave, still squinting his eyes.
Kejia, the archbishop of Fleming Harbor, stood respectfully behind him and couldn't help but ask: "Poseidon is above, and the waves are blessing you. Austin is just an ordinary soldier. Why does His Majesty the Pope value him so much?"
Meledo did not look back and said calmly: "You don't need to speculate on the intentions of God's side."
After saying that, he turned and walked towards the door. There was already a carriage waiting for him at the back door of the church. Now that the war on the front line was tense and the papal edict had been completed, there was no need to waste more time here.
Before boarding the carriage, Meledo suddenly paused and looked back at Kejia, who came to see him off: "Austin will be active in this area for a long time, keep an eye on him."
"Poseidon is above, and the waves are blessing you." Kejia made a wave-like movement with his right hand.
Contrary to Austin and Vanya's expectations, Brigadier General Ted was waiting for them at the gate of the military port area.
Seeing the two people getting off the carriage, Ted immediately greeted them and asked a little eagerly: "What did the church do?"
"Report sir! This is a normal baptism process!" Austin responded loudly.
"You know shit! Do you know what the normal baptism process is?" Ted cursed. If he had a beard, his beard would definitely fly up.
Next, Vanya described the baptism process they had experienced in great detail.
After hearing this, Ted's expression relaxed. He scratched his bald head and murmured: "What on earth are these gangsters doing? They have been mysterious all day long..."
"Report sir! I think my transfer order this time is also related to the church." Austin stated his guess truthfully.
"Nonsense! Could it be related to me?" Ted cursed again, "But we really don't know the specific situation. I have just reported it to the military department. You can still perform your duties normally until the military department's instructions come down. "
"The Navy seems a little hostile to the church?" Austin asked quietly after watching Ted leave. He hadn't felt this way before when he was in the Army.
"The Navy is like this. No one believes it except the people in the military department."
"Where is His Majesty the King?"
"Well, maybe you can believe it?" Vanya answered vaguely. After all, she was only promoted to major today, and she has half-stepped into the circle of upper-level officers. It is difficult to grasp these dangerous topics.
"Brigadier General Ted asked me to tell you to contact your subordinates." While the two were chatting, a colonel ran out of the military port. "They are waiting in the conference room now. Please hurry up."
After that, he saluted without any delay and left quickly, as if he had endless things to deal with quickly.
According to the newly issued "New Ship Training Specifications", a new warship should have a crew of 24 to 30 people, including 1 captain, 1 first mate, 1 second mate, 1 boatswain, and 10 sailors. name, 10 gunners, and several other personnel. Among them, the captain has the rank of major, the first mate has the rank of captain, the second mate has the rank of lieutenant, the boatswain has the rank of staff sergeant, the sailor gunner has the rank of private, and the rest of the personnel have no rank. The sailors and gunners recruited must have naval combat experience and serve as combatants in boarding battles or landing battles. The remaining personnel are selected according to the specific conditions of each ship, including doctors, chefs, technicians, etc., and generally are not awarded military ranks.
The mandatory 24 people are directly assigned by superiors, while the remaining places for other personnel are recruited and paid by the captain himself. Of course, you can also choose to join the military department, but that requires a longer application process.
There were not many people in the conference room, only the first mate, second mate and boatswain were present. The rest of them could get to know each other when they got to the ship.
After Vanya walked into the conference room, she immediately raised her arms, and the three people under her command followed her directly to Old Scarface's tavern. Vanya did not brag that night. The junior naval officers at Fleming Harbor She is indeed very respectable in her class.
Austin is just the opposite. From top to bottom in the navy at Port Fleming, except for Vanya and Ted, basically no one knows his exact situation.
So after he walked into the conference room, what awaited him was sudden silence and cold scrutiny.
After the laughter and laughter of Vanya's group completely disappeared, the atmosphere finally reached a freezing point.
Austin stood at the top of the long table. Standing in front of him were weather-beaten professional soldiers - the same as the group of people in the Sicilian ground artillery company headquarters, except that their faces had more traces of sea breeze erosion.
Such a scene reminded him of the first day he was promoted to captain. At that time, the people below were all good brothers who had climbed up from the battlefield like him. They had finally climbed from private to lieutenant alive. Austin could even recall it. their expressions.
Then there was a trace of sadness on his face - his brothers suffered heavy casualties, but the ordinary soldiers under his command were better, and they saved their lives in the quick and fatal beheading action of the enemy's God's Favored Ones.
"Hello everyone, my name is Austin, Austin Doug. I am now the captain of the August Lion of the Royal Navy's new First Fleet. From now on, we will be comrades in arms." Austin saluted and deliberately concealed himself when introducing himself. past experience.
The people standing below also saluted, but still no one spoke, and their scrutinizing eyes became more obscure.
"We will be working together for a long time in the future. I hope I can at least know your names, otherwise many things will not go on." Austin sternly looked into the eyes of the captain among them.
"Sir, my name is Oliver Jones, first mate of the August Lion, with the rank of captain."
The first mate, who had been staring at him, spoke reluctantly. After finishing speaking, he looked straight at Austin's face and asked, "I heard that Major Austin had been serving in the Army before and was recently transferred to the Navy due to some matters. Yeah?"
He said the words "army" and "some things" very seriously, as if he was afraid that Austin wouldn't understand what he meant. He was shorter than Austin and could only look up at the latter, but the momentum he showed at this time made him Just like the military police questioning corrupt officials, it feels condescending.
The second mate and the boatswain also cast their gazes over. At this moment, Austin seemed to feel that the captain in front of him was breathing heavier.
Suddenly, there was a burst of chaotic footsteps outside the door of the conference room. Then, Vanya's head stuck out from the door and said loudly: "I almost forgot to mention that Austin is my friend since I was a child. How about you, Yupi?" A point of attention.”
After speaking, there was another burst of chaotic footsteps, and the corner of Austin's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Hearing this, Oliver subconsciously reached out and touched the back of his neck, and then Austin noticed that there was a scar like torn linen on the back of his neck.
"Eight years ago, I was the second officer of the high-speed destroyer HMS Mary Rose of the Sixth Fleet of the Royal Navy. The new captain was an aristocrat who knew nothing. One night he held a party on the ship, which attracted the passing enemies. Army, only three of us survived on the entire ship at that time, and this scar was left at that time, so now they all call me Yuskin." Oliver said calmly.
The second mate and bosun standing behind him swallowed, seeming to recall the thrilling scene.
The second mate is a stout middle-aged man who looks younger than the skinny first mate Oliver. He takes off the knitted hat on his head, revealing his scarred bald head. The brown-skinned bosun is younger and looks to be about the same age as Austin. His left eye has no energy. If you look closely, it seems to be a delicate glass ball.
"To be honest, we don't want inexperienced gentlemen to command a battleship. The place they should go is the salon and teahouse. In this era, you don't necessarily have to rely on military exploits to become a new noble."
Austin shook his head and took out a necklace from his pocket. An irregular metal piece hung on the silver chain.
"It is true that I am from the army and have no naval combat experience." He pressed the necklace in his hand heavily on Oliver's chest, and the tip of his nose was almost touching the latter's cheek. "But I am also a person who has been on the battlefield. I am a soldier. A junior officer who climbed up step by step, this thing is the shrapnel that pierced my lungs during the battle on the Sicilian beach. I spent three days in a coma in the field hospital in exchange for the position of commander of the Sicilian Ground Artillery Company. I don’t understand things. You can learn, and you can treat me like an ordinary soldier in this regard."
Oliver didn't make any move at first, but after hearing the word "Sicilia" he immediately looked at Austin.
"Sicilian Ground Artillery Battery? The Sicilian Artillery Battery that fought on Omalde Beach?" the three shouted in unison.
Austin nodded. His reputation in the Meletni Kingdom's army cannot be said to be immortal, but at least it is at the level of infamy. Moreover, his experience is absolutely difficult to fake and no one dares to fake it. Five months have passed since the Battle of Omalde Beach. There were countless people greeting him in different ways behind his back.
Fortunately, this "reputable reputation" was only spread by word of mouth in the army and was not reported, otherwise he would have been assassinated by extremists. This also led to the fact that junior officers like Vanya and Oliver had only heard of his name and deeds, but did not know his appearance.
It was a little hard for Oliver to accept that there were a lot of rumors in the army about the newly transferred Major Austin. Some say that Austin is a noble kid who got into trouble in the Army and was sent here to avoid the limelight; some say that Austin is an informant planted by the Poseidon Church in the Navy; some say that Austin is sent by guys from the Army to disgust people... In short, there are all kinds of things. versions are available.
Due to the confidentiality of the transfer order, few people actually know the complete reason - Old Scarface only knows that Austin came here after suffering a defeat. In fact, the first example above was spread by the waiter of their tavern after adding jealousy.
The three first officers thought a lot, but the only thing they didn't expect was that Austin was such a person, so they fell silent again.
"I do have no naval combat experience, and I am still learning naval related knowledge, but now that the situation is like this, I hope you can help me, at least let me grow faster in practice and become a truly qualified captain. "Austin scanned the faces of the three of them seriously, "I think the military also knows my situation, and the initial mission won't be too complicated."
Of course, the military department has considered his situation. The people sent to him are all absolute veterans in the Fleming Port Navy. They hope to use the old to bring the new, upgrade the warship command ecological industry, make it bigger and stronger, and create greater glory.
"This is Second Officer Martin, no surname, and this is Boatswain Seeley Papamia." Oliver sighed. To be honest, this was a little better than he expected. At least the person in front of him had real experience. Those who have been baptized by the fire of war are not weaklings who are ignorant and responsible. Originally, they had already written a joint protest letter, but now it seems that they can leave it alone and wait and see what happens next before deciding whether to submit it to the military.
"I hope you are really a soldier and really worthy of the people under you." The second officer remembered the sad look on Austin's face before and said coldly while shaking hands.
Austin's expression immediately became serious and he answered word for word: "I will do my best to prove it."
