Isaac and Nimi arrived on her vessel shortly after they saw Odin board the Eagle.
"I wonder how Eagle is doing, I hope nothing too bad has happened." Isaac said.
"Liebling, I am sure she is okay. Her vessel is still sailing along with us, so I know she is still okay." Nimi said.
Isaac looked at Nimi with a skeptical look on his face.
"Liebling, come on. You worry way too much for one man. Come. Odin can handle it." Nimi said as she dragged Isaac by the arm.
"Alright. Alright. Fine." Isaac said as he stopped looking at the Eagle and followed Nimi below deck.
"So, what's on the to do list, little lady?" Isaac asked.
"Me." Nimi said in a joking tone.
"Ha ha. Very funny. Not right now, we have actual work to do." Isaac said.
"I know. I just wanted to joke a bit. Um... let's see." Nimi said as she focused on herself.
"I've been feeling slow as of late." Nimi said, suggesting there was more, but didn't want to overwhelm Isaac.
"Boiler room it is." Isaac said as he and Nimi made their way towards the stern of her ship.
"Liebling... It's a stupid question, but how did you learn about Kansens in the first place?" Nimi asked.
"Well, unlike some of the other countries, the Union made sure that the people knew that Kansens existed. It was more of a morale kind of thing to see the girls doing what they do, and having the sailors back them up. But the first time I really delved deep with Kansens and repairing their vessels was when I signed on as a private contractor for the military. After some of the Kansens from the Royal Navy came to the Union for repairs, I was able to prove my worth. That and my would be degree from MIT paved the way for me becoming one of the best private sector Mechanics that the Union had." Isaac said.
"To think...Back then I was sailing under the Kriegsmarine while you were repairing and building my enemies. And now... you and I share the same bed as lovers." Nimi said softly.
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Isaac said as they walked deeper into the ship.
"Liebling... how are you doing? You're always so focused on us and for the soldiers. You never take time for yourself." Nimi said as she held his arm.
"The time I take for myself are the nights I spend with you and the others who have my rings. After all, I could think of nowhere else I'd rather be than with those that have stolen my heart." Isaac said as the finally reached the boiler room.
"Really?" Nimi asked, sniffling a bit at the sentiment.
"Of course. You girls have truly become my everything. There ar days where I feel like giving up. But that feeling goes away the moment any of you walk into the room. You all give me hope." Isaac said as he sat on the floor in front of the boilers and began rummaging through the toolbox that was sitting next to the first boiler.
"Nimi, would you be able to point to wich one you feel is giving you problems?" Isaac asked as he looked at the pressure gauges of each.
"The second one and the fifth one feel like they aren't putting out the heat needed to produce steam in the most efficient manner." Nimi explained as she pointed to the two in question.
"Hmm. The pressure gauges seem to be malfunctioning then, because those two are saying that the steam pressure is within optimal range." Isaac said as he tapped the gauges, seemingly knocking the pins loose and revealing that the boilers were underperforming by half.
"Well... that aint good." Isaac said as Nimi laid against his back.
"See? I told you." Nimi said, sticking out her tongue a bit to tease him.
"I didn't doubt you, ya know." Isaac said as he turned the shutoff valves to both boilers, allowing him to open the hatches and begin inspecting what was wrong.
Some time later, the light sound of footsteps drew Isaac's attention away from the boilers and towards the hallway leading to the rest of the ship.
"Are we expecting anyone?" Isaac asked as Nimi shook her head.
"Worry not, Shikikan..." Shinano's voice was heard from the hall.
"Ah. Shinano. What brings you down here?" Isaac asked.
"Odin said that I had to wake up... but I'm still a bit lonely, so Odin said you would be here." Shinano said.
"Are you sure you want to be down here? It is a bit dirty in my opinion." Isaac said as Nimi looked at his oil and fuel stained outfit.
"Hmm. That is a bit... concerning..." Shinano said as she entered the room and began walking towards Isaac.
"Shinano... I'm filthy." Isaac said as Shinano sat on her knees behind him.
"I can see, Shikikan. It matters not to me, however." Shinano said as Nimi looked at her.
"Ah. This is the second time we have met, young one. It makes me happy to see that you are well." Shinano said softly as Nimi slowly scooted next to her.
"I think I remember... a lot has happened." Nimi said as Shinano looked down at the Ironblood destroyer.
"I can sense your worry. Do not fear. This is the correct course of action. Once this vessel is back in shape, the voices will silence themselves." Shinano said.
"How can you be so sure?" Nimi asked, looking for answers now.
"Dreams do not lie, young one. If this one sees it, then the hands of fate have already begun to move." Shinano said.
"So... you have magic?" Isaac asked as his hand slipped, slamming the back of his hand into the steel wall of the boiler.
Shinano refused to answer the question, looking at Isaac's hand as he pulled it out, bleeding from the knuckles.
"Are you okay, Liebling?" Nimi asked.
"Yeah. Just some cuts. One of the bolts came loose inside the boiler and it was throwing off the alignment of the fuel nozzles. So instead of projecting the fuel onto the fire, it was dousing the pilots and preventing anything more than a slow burn." Isaac said
"Is it the same for both of them?" Nimi asked.
"I believe that to be the case. I won't know for sure until we fire them up to see if they work." Isaac said as Shinanao sat and watched intently.
"Does this spark interest?" Nimi asked.
"No... but I must learn. Too many ships of the Sakura were lost due to lack of training in such simple matters. I will not allow myself to become one of them." Shinano said as she watched Isaac work.
"I had heard about that actually. A lot of your ships were scuttled due to lack of damage control training." Isaac said.
"Indeed. Far too many men lost their lives in vain due to the Sakura's inept training." Shinano said softly as her tail gently wiped the sweat from his brow.
"Shinano... I said I'm filthy. Now your fur is going to be full of grease and oil." Isaac said as he wiped down his hands with a rag and wrapped his cuts.
"That too is alright, Shikikan. I can always have you make up for it later tonight." Shinano said softly as she rested her tail on her lap.
Isaac looked at Shinano and Nim, who were both smiling softly.
"Well... I guess there's no avoiding it if you're going to say something like that." Isaac said as he closed the toolbox and picked it up.
"Alright little lady, fire em up." Isaac said as the two boilers he had worked on roared to life.
"Wow... I can't remember the last time my boilers worked so well..." Nimi said softly as she watched the flames dance inside the window of the door.
"Alright, where to next?" Isaac asked as he cleaned his hand to help Shinano to her feet.
"My radar has been a bit funny too. Too much interference." Nimi said as Isaac nodded.
"Might just need to be cleaned. After all, we have been stationary for a few weeks before Leaving New Guinea, so maybe something made a little home up there." Isaac said as Nimi shook.
"It better not be a spider..." Nimi said softly.
"Really?" Isaac asked.
"Yes!" Nimi cried.
"You're a warship, capable of turning a building into a pile of molten steel, but a tiny arachnid is enough to terrify you?" Isaac asked as he put a hand on his hip.
"They... just look creepy." Nimi said as the three of them headed towards the top deck.