Chapter 118 03.0117: "Two Special Candidates"

"Official Candidate Cochrane, I will perform my duties as an adjutant conscientiously and live up to the name of the Imperial Navy." Farida also had a blank expression on her face, and even saluted Horatio with a serious look.

[This girl is really two different people in front of others. When facing her superiors, she suddenly turns into the image of a capable female soldier.]
Looking at Farida like this, Horatio recalled her cold and aloof image when he first met her as a huntress.

[I can only say that he is worthy of being a student trained by Arbitrator Javert. His attitude towards doing things impartially has a rigid feeling that is cast from the same mold.]
Horatio teased in his heart and returned the greeting to Farida.

"By the way, Officer Cochrane, this is a gift from Thei. She liked the specimens you sent her very much." Brigadier General Edward smiled and signaled Lieutenant Sterling to hand over a gift box.

"Open it and take a look?" said Brigadier General Edward.

Now that the captain has said so, it would be bad not to open it in front of him.

As Farida looked at the gift with disgust and resentment, Horatio opened the gift box.

Inside was an exquisite Terrachron pocket watch, made of gold, very exquisite, with the emblem of the Imperial Navy on the surface.

"Thank you very much. When I return, I will pay a visit to Miss Thei in person to thank her." Horatio smiled and thanked Brigadier General Edward.

Farida curled her lips. She knew Horatio had to say this, after all, the man in front of him was the captain.

After explaining his duties, Horatio immediately took Farida downstairs in the elevator.

After the blonde girl left, some officers who were influenced by the untouchables finally relaxed their brows.

"Captain, report on the arrival of officers at all levels."

"The personnel are ready and we can set sail."

"Engine officer, start the plasma engine and allow full speed. We can't let the Angel get too far away from us."

"As you wish, Captain." The lieutenant in charge of the plasma engine in the power department responded, and then the ship started.

There was a sudden violent tremor in the officers' elevator.

Farida was about to walk out of the elevator and had just taken a step when the violent acceleration caused her to lose balance and fall backwards.

Horatio grabbed her arm and held her steady.

"Thank you..." Farida came back to her senses from her shock and said, looking into his eyes.

"Follow me closely, and ask me directly if you have any questions." Horatio put on his bicorne hat, put his hand on the hilt of his sword, and strode forward.

"Yes." Farida regained her serious military demeanor.

Except for the soft armor under his uniform, Horatio, like all the naval officers on the ship, only wore a uniform without any hard armor.

Even so, at his request, the Whip of the Immaculate Angel was delivered to his destination by the Interior Ministry attendant on the ship in case of emergency in subsequent battles.

Horatio led Farida through a narrow passage guarded by armed sailors. The crew were busy and hurried along the corridor.

But when they saw Horatio and Farida, who were alternate officers, they had to slow down, stand on both sides and bow their heads to salute until the two passed in front of them, and then they could continue on their way.

According to the Imperial Navy's military regulations, any crew member who bumped into an officer would be punished with at least 13 lashes. The same applies to not saluting an officer.

Neither Horatio nor Farida saluted in return, not because they disrespected the crew members, but according to naval regulations, on a warship, only officers saluted each other. When a sailor or crew member saluted an officer, the officer could not salute in return in order to maintain his dignity.

The Imperial Navy has a strict hierarchy, and these systems are supported by brutal punishments.

On the ship, the captain is the king with all power, the naval inspector is the "archbishop" sent by God, the lieutenant is the prime minister of the cabinet, the commissioned officers are nobles, and the alternate officers are knights.

If there is another general, then that general is the emperor and the king has to listen to him.

At the same time, the rule makers believed that the crew was sloppy and messy, vulgar and wild, and that they could not be treated like gentlemen with courtesy, but could only be governed by punishment. In order to maintain the awe of the crew, the Admiralty required officers not to return the courtesy in front of the crew, not to indulge, and to maintain dignity.

The only people on the ship who have the authority to punish naval officers are the naval inspector, the captain, and the general, but this situation rarely occurs.

Most of the rules of the naval code of discipline applied to the crew rather than the Imperial officers: officers were rarely punished except for serious misconduct, but sailors could easily be flogged, imprisoned, or executed.

This is enough to reflect the navy's strict hierarchy, complicated rules, and "relative fairness" - fairness within the official establishment.

The two men boarded the ship's vehicle for officers, which was spacious enough to accommodate several officers and their entourage.

The seats inside are all made of mahogany and have leather cushions, which are very elegant. There are high-end wines, beverages, food and cigarettes for the officers to enjoy.

There were some candidate officers on the bus, some of them were very young, and like Cui Si Ke, they were all immature children.

These midshipmen were usually the children of the captains, and were sent to the ship as midshipmen in their teens to inherit the mantle. But they would not become officers faster than Horatio, a loyal midshipman.

These were not children promoted from the Naval Academy, and they could only take the lieutenant exam at the age of 18. Horatio only needed to stay on the ship for 6 months to get a letter of recommendation from Captain Edward Peru to take the exam.

There are also some who are in their twenties, who probably failed the exam several times. The Navy Lieutenant Exam is probably one of the most difficult exams in the entire empire, with a pass rate of only 13%. Many people took the exam several times before they passed and received the commission.

The young men looked at the blonde icy beauty beside Horatio.

Some people recognized her as Lieutenant General Hood's daughter and started whispering.

"That's the daughter of the Hood family." A candidate officer said to the person next to him.

"She is even more noble and beautiful than the rumors say, but I always feel that there is something strange about her temperament, but I can't tell what's strange about it." Someone said with a frown.

"Although she is beautiful, I really can't arouse any interest in her. How strange." Another candidate officer sighed and shook his head.

“I don’t know what happened, but after she got on the bus, I felt like vomiting…” A young candidate officer covered his mouth and lowered his head.

Farida's face was expressionless, her brows were tightly furrowed, showing her temperament of an icy beauty to the fullest. She closed her eyes and leaned back on the sofa to rest.

She was used to people whispering about her. The untouchable nature had made her suffer from disgust since she was a child, and no matter how beautiful she was, everyone would stay away from her when they saw her.

"Who is the candidate officer next to her? I've never seen him."

"God Emperor, don't you know him? Horatio Cochrane, the descendant of Admiral Speyer, his father is the Chief Lord Captain Thomas Cochrane."

"Ah?! He's younger than I thought. I thought he was in his twenties. He's really young and promising."

Farida heard the whispers of the candidates, opened her eyes, and raised her eyebrows at Horatio beside her, as if saying, "Look at how you are being flattered."

Horatio looked at her teasing and resentful eyes and shrugged helplessly: "I just did my best to complete the task assigned to me. That's all."

Farida snorted softly and closed her eyes again to rest.

"The port side macro artillery array has arrived."

Horatio could see how depressed Farida was at that moment.

He stood up with a smile, and extended his hand to Farida in a decent and gentlemanly manner.

"We're at the battery. Come in, Officer Hood." His tone was gentle.

Farida raised her head with a gloomy face, looked at the warm and brilliant smile of the black-haired young man, bit her lip lightly, and put her hand on him.

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(End of this chapter)