Chapter 117 03.0116: "Flying Cathedral"

On an Imperial Navy cruiser that carries more than 15 crew members (excluding contract workers), is 5.3 kilometers long, 2 kilometers wide at the fin, and nearly 3 kilometers high, there will be no more than 20 candidate officer vacancies.

(ps: The navy of the same class of ships has more people than the merchant ships, because there is no warehouse, but a large number of armed forces)
Responsible for the daily management of warships and acting as lieutenants in the Star Army are a relatively large number of special warrant officers. A navy's capital ship has hundreds of warrant officers managing all aspects of the warship that are the responsibility of the navy.

A Warrant Officer is the highest rank a seasoned, professional, and technical seaman can achieve. They are appointed by a charter recognized by the fleet, not a commission from the Sector Admiralty.

In addition, the naval medical officer on the ship holds a lofty status almost that of a naval captain.

Midshipmen generally have a higher status than all warrant officers, and while becoming familiar with the specific operations of a warship, they prepare for their promotion exams.

The starting point for these young naval officers is the destination that others will never reach.

At the next level up are the managers of each department, the true elite of the Imperial Navy, commissioned officers, a total number of no more than 50 people.

The candidate officers were all young people or even teenagers, the youngest being 12 years old, and the oldest only in their 20s.

According to the Imperial Navy Officer Regulations, a naval candidate is a trainee officer who has not yet received a commission from the Star Region Admiralty.

As long as you pass the lieutenant exam, you can obtain the commission and officer status granted by the Star Domain Navy Department and become a formally commissioned officer.

Although they are trainee officers, they enjoy the same treatment as commissioned officers on the warships. They are paid wages and bonuses at the level of naval lieutenants, have their own single cabins, enjoy rich officer food rations, spacious and luxurious officer baths, and clean and hygienic officer toilets.

They are respected equally as officers by crew members, non-commissioned officers and warrant officers and are not allowed to disobey or offend. Violators will be publicly hanged.

Such a scarce candidate officer position can only be obtained by families like the Hood family, which are officers in the Imperial Navy or middle and high-level nobles, and have the means to send their children directly to this position.

Most people are like Horatio who came up from the Faithful Academy, or they are prep students who worked really hard and got in, and Archie needs to take this path.

The main task of the reserve officer is to learn and practice on the ship, master various techniques and management methods, and manage the crew under his charge during battle.

Then go to Sepura-Mundi to take the lieutenant exam of the Star Region Navy Department and get the official commission. There is an irreplaceable reason for such a tedious and tortuous promotion rhythm.

Battleships are the largest weapons of war in human history and are very expensive to manufacture. In order to prevent cowards and idiots from blowing up the entire ship due to their poor command.

The fair and strict naval lieutenant examination and the practical assessment system of candidate officers are particularly important and necessary.

Horatio, who has just become a reserve officer, will board the battlecruiser directly, command the crew, and face his first official void battle.

Actual combat is always the best training and test.

According to the division of combat tasks, Vice Admiral Hood was responsible for the security and stability of the planet Abyss Port in the Admiralty's War Situation Room, while Commodore Edward Perroux piloted the Doomsday-class battlecruiser "Indefatigable" and led three frigate squadrons to patrol in the void.

As the ground needs support, the Indefatigable is temporarily moored at the starport, and officers at all levels are returning one after another to prepare to participate in the void battle.

In the Imperial Navy, a battlecruiser is usually a cruiser with a firepower turret added to the top.

The same is true for the Doomsday class. It was converted from a Moon-class cruiser whose spinal navigation tower was blown off in battle. Two spinal lance cannons were added to the original spinal navigation tower. The number of crew members is also 3500 more than that of the Moon-class (excluding contract workers).

Although a battlecruiser without a navigation tower is theoretically not suitable to be the flagship of a cruising fleet, Commodore Peru just likes to drive this powerful void monster alone to cruise in the vast void and hunt down the enemies of the Emperor.

Horatio and Farida boarded the huge battleship from the starport, and the sailors lined up to salute him, holding navy-type (shorter than infantry-type and longer than carbine-type) laser guns.

When entering from the side, the first thing Horatio saw was an extremely large statue of the emperor, which was hundreds of meters high. On both sides were sculptures of past captains that were sixty to seventy meters high. The wide road paved with red carpet was large enough for all 15 crew members to participate in the ceremony.

The Imperial Navy literally built a massive flying cathedral on a cruiser.

"Wow, this is really impressive," Farida couldn't help but murmur.

"Didn't your father serve as the captain of the Retribution-class battleship? Haven't you ever been aboard it?"

Farida blushed and stammered:

"Maybe... maybe, but I was very young at that time and I don't remember much."

"Isn't this your first time on board a ship?" Horatio glanced at her and chuckled. Farida's face instantly turned red like a ripe apple.

"No! Report to the bridge quickly!" Farida puffed her cheeks and walked forward in a daze, moving her hands and feet in sync.

"Um...you've taken the wrong road. The bridge is over here." Horatio said to her with a smile.

Farida's shoulders arched upwards like a cat with its fur standing on end.

Steam was coming out of her head. She bit her pink lips lightly, her face flushed with shame, and walked back again in a daze, her eyes both shy and resentful.

Horatio snorted a laugh.

The two took the officer elevator directly to the bridge.

It was the first time that Horatio had seen such a wide platform, which looked at least two kilometers wide. The command bridge was divided into three floors, which expanded outward in the form of concentric circles, adopting the layout of the sacristy of a church or monastery.

Behind the command throne is the huge statue of the Emperor, with the back of His head and shoulders facing the command bridge. Behind the statue is a huge golden statue of an eagle hung by iron chains.

Unlike the small-scale trial runs of the cadets before, the command bridge before them was filled with commissioned officers and chartered warrant officers. They were carrying out various tasks on the giant ship in an orderly manner, coordinating and cooperating with each other, and preparing for sailing with the standard of a real fleet battle.

The Fleet Inspector's eyes were as sharp as an eagle, his right hand always resting on his bolt pistol, keeping a close eye on everyone's movements. His responsibility was to ensure that this warship served the Emperor.

Commodore Edward Perroux sat in the command throne as captain, with a neural plug connected to the back of his head. Lieutenant Stirling stood upright beside him. As the first adjutant, he was responsible for making operational recommendations to the captain and implementing specific instructions.

Lord Captain only exists on light cruisers and above. He is not only the first mate, but also the head of the command department.

This department is the most important part of a warship. Its duties include but are not limited to serving as the warship's staff, issuing combat alerts, managing bridge affairs, executing the captain's orders, managing the upload and issuance of orders from the captain and superiors, sending specific combat orders, managing the ship's entire document archive, writing the captain's log, managing the daily operation of the entire ship when the captain is not on duty, and having the highest damage management authority...

The command department consists of at least one lieutenant, one captain, and two lieutenants.

Above Horatio's head was the aviation command bridge, above which was the observation bridge and the duty bridge, and beneath his feet were the deputy combat situation room bridge, the spare command bridge, the armored bridge, the officers' quarters and the lounge.

"Captain, Midshipman Horatio Cochrane reports to you!"

Horatio put his feet together and saluted Brigadier General Perroux, who was wearing a uniform and a bicorne hat.

During wartime, all addresses are no longer honorifics, but are addressed directly by specific positions or ranks.

"Midshipman Farida Hood reporting to you."

"You did a great job today, young men. But now, the enemy is trying to escape, and our ship will be ordered to pursue them. These evil dogs must pay the price today. I'm sorry for not letting you rest. Our ship lacks a candidate officer who can take up the post immediately, so I let you come."

"I'm always ready to fight, Captain," Horatio replied.

“Me too,” Farida continued.

"Very good, Lieutenant Officer Cochrane, you will be in charge of the two heavy macro guns (the third and fourth macro guns) of the second group of the port macro battery, as well as all the personnel of the macro gun crew.

Midshipman Hood will serve as your deputy in command, take good care of her, and instruct her carefully in all aspects of naval rules and regulations."

"Yes!" Horatio saluted.

"Midshipman Hood, since this is your first time on board a ship and you are too inexperienced, you must learn from Midshipman Cochrane. He is very good."

Farida glanced at Horatio.

He smiled wickedly and looked at her with a look that said, 'See, you still have to listen to me in the end.'

"Yes, Captain!" Farida glanced over, stood at attention and saluted in a standard manner.

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(End of this chapter)