Chapter 30 02.0030: "The Value of Birth"

"This is Captain Thomas Cochrane's child, the only descendant of Admiral Speyer?"

"Yes, he is."

"All officers of the 'Swift Eagle' salute the son of Thomas Cochrane, the only descendant of Speyer!"

Dozens of officers stopped talking and stood up to give Horatio the Sky Eagle salute.

It is almost impossible for a group of naval officers with star domain organization to salute a dirty kid wearing battle-damaged Ministry of Justice bulletproof armor.

Such a grand ceremony made other officers passing by look at the dirty boy and whisper to each other, saying things like "Hey, that's Thomas Cochrane's son" and "God-Emperor, the only descendant of Admiral Speyer has been found." Many naval officers could not help but stop here, and some officers who admired Admiral Speyer very much also spontaneously joined the salute.

Generations of Gothic fleet naval personnel have been influenced by the legend of the Gothic War since childhood. The legendary stories of Ravensborg, Abridal and Speyer have accompanied them since they grew up.

They are heroes who enjoy the highest reverence, supreme legends engraved on the Gothic War Monument in the Terra Palace.

"Huh?" The officers' actions caught Horatio off guard: "Uh... that..."

He didn't know what to say, so he decisively returned the Sky Eagle Salute to everyone.

"We are officers on your father's ship. Your father was an outstanding naval captain. We are deeply sorry about what happened to him. We didn't have the time to say many things to him." The leading lord captain said with a solemn expression, maintaining the Sky Eagle salute.

"If there is an afterlife, with the grace of the God-Emperor, we still hope to work with your father! May his soul return to the Golden Throne."

A group of officers took off their navy silver-rimmed bicorne hats and nodded solemnly in silence.

"My father is the only one...dead...?"

Horatio realized something in an instant. A naval warship is a tightly knit whole, and once the captain dies, the officers usually also suffer heavy losses.

But the many people in front of him clearly did not look like they had just experienced a fierce battle.

"My father, how did he die?" Horatio asked.

But the whole place was silent, no one said a word.

Finally, only the captain spoke up: "I'm sorry, none of us knew. After we returned to port to rest, some time later, the Admiralty notified all officers on the ship that Captain Thomas Cochrane had died, but they did not tell us what happened."

[The cause of death is kept secret...] Horatio pursed his lips. It seemed that he would not be able to get any more useful information from here.

However, as the first mate of a warship, the second in command after the captain, the Lord Captain stepped into the threshold of a senior officer, but he was not informed of the situation. How serious a problem did his father get into? ?

An inexplicable feeling of panic swept over Horatio.

"My father, is he a very powerful man?" Horatio asked after a moment of silence.

"He is the most outstanding, boldest, and most tactically imaginative captain I have ever seen, bar none." The Lord Captain said solemnly, giving the highest evaluation:
"The 'Swift Eagle' is a dreadnought MK2 light cruiser, but under your father's bold and innovative tactics, we defeated and paralyzed the traitor's large cruiser with torpedoes at the cost of minor casualties, and even achieved a glorious record of surpassing the two lord captains in terms of tonnage of prisoners captured. He is like Admiral Speyer in the world."

Horatio was dumbfounded.

Fighting across levels, or even across two levels, not only did they win, but they also suffered minor casualties???
This is a rare legendary battle in the entire history of human naval warfare.

"If he hadn't died, I believe he would have been able to create achievements that are no less than those of the Hood family and continue the great achievements of Lord Speyer."

When the captain said this, he bowed to Farida Hud on the side to express his apology for the offense.

The fact that he dared to say this in front of the members of the Hood family was enough to prove his recognition of Captain Thomas Cochrane and also demonstrated Admiral Speyer's own reputation in the Gothic Sector.

"Thank you." Horatio nodded with a wry smile. "If you need any help in the future, you can always come to us. Although we cannot repay the kindness and benefits your father has brought us, we hope to help his descendants in the future."

[Navy connections?!]
Horatio was very grateful. It seemed that his father, whom he had never met, had left him a good hidden fortune.

The Lord Captain nodded again to Major General Alexander Hood's second mate, and the crowd dispersed and went their separate ways.

The captain walked forward and knocked on the double doors labeled 'Navy Successor Office'.

"Come in."

After pushing open the door, the office was filled with smoke and the smell of cigarettes. Two burly officers were talking.

"Horatio Cochrane?" A middle-aged man in an officer's uniform put out his unfinished cigarette, stood up from the guest chair, and nodded to Station Lady Farida Hood and the captain.

He was strong and well-trained, with sharp cheeks that looked as if they had been shaved with two files, giving him the charm of a veteran.

The other person sitting on a chair and saluting was a brigadier general. From the nameplate on his desk, it could be seen that he was the chief officer of the Naval Loyalty Department.

"Yes, sir!"

"I'm Pringle Sterling. I'm the Lord Lieutenant of the cruiser Indefatigable. I served on the Indefatigable for five years in the early years with your father. Your father was the former Lord Lieutenant, and he became the Lord Lieutenant in the third year. He is truly worthy of being a descendant of Speyer, the youngest Lord Lieutenant." The man spoke slowly.

Then he turned to the chief officer and smiled, "Then, his father was recommended by His Excellency Edward Peru and was commissioned by Sepra-Mundy to become a naval lieutenant commander and command a frigate. He was like a duck in water, commanding a warship independently and making a name for himself in the Gothic Fleet."

"Yeah, what a pity." The chief officer nodded and looked for something in a pile of documents.

Then the man sighed deeply, "But who knew he would fall like a meteor? His death is a great loss to the Imperial Navy and a major blow to the Cochrane family.

He is a rare living fountain in naval warfare theory. If he could leave behind his writings, the Imperial Navy could have trained more innovative officers like him in the future. What a pity. "

"How did my mother die?" Horatio asked.

"Your mother was also a hero, a battle sister of the Holy Rose Convent. She died while fighting against the plague on the ship."

"Can battle sisters get married?" Horatio was a little confused by the amount of information.

"It depends on the order. If it's the Holy Rose Order, it's fine. These nuns don't get along with the state religion. They preach their own religions and have their own personalities. But the Navy likes the teachings of the Holy Rose Order. Justification by faith is in line with our style."

Horatio had some impression that the Battle Sisters seemed to be divided into two major organizations, but he was not clear about the specific divisions and differences.

[I'll learn about this later, maybe ask a battle sister.]
The chief officer took a deep puff of his cigarette, pressed the butt into the boat-shaped ashtray, then took out a document wrapped in brown paper, handed it to Horatio, and said:
"This is your admission letter from the Zhongsi Academy. After a meeting, the Navy Department has decided to allow you to enter the Fleet Maritime Department to be trained as a candidate for fleet command. However, the rest of the journey will depend on you.

The rules cannot be changed, even if you are the only living descendant of Speyer. Some things must be explained to you in advance so that you can be mentally prepared. "

"Let me tell him, I graduated from Zhongsi College." Captain Pringle said.

"You are 16 years old this year, right? This age is a bit old for the Fleet Maritime Department. Most of the people in your department start training from the age of single digits, and the candidate officers who go directly to the ship are also this age."

"When selecting commanding personnel, many considerations must be weighed. If you fail to perform your duties well, it is very likely to cause irreversible impact on the entire ship or even the entire fleet."

Horatio's heart skipped a beat.

"I can do it." He immediately straightened his chest and said solemnly.

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(End of this chapter)