Author note: Ahahahaha, my computer returns, and so do the updates. And I'm guessing you were not expecting this story to update!
Truthfully I wasn't either, initially, but working on Agincourt helped me realize why I was having trouble with this one before, and I' going to try to update more stories so I'm not spending too much time gaming when I could be writing.
This chapter should help give some understanding to max, but also helps truly begin the mystery of his being, so I hope you enjoy it after so long!
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Belfast let out a light sigh as she finished repairing her clothing and making sure her outward appearance was immaculate. On her bedside table was the folder of the various contractors now working on the island, and over the last six days since they had arrived she had been pouring over them and had made a number of guesses over the last few days to the commander.
They had all, much to her hidden annoyance and surprise, been incorrect. She still had another week to figure out who it was to earn her day with the admiral, and it was easier as there were only so many left to look over, but it would also now become harder because the Ironbloods contractors were arriving sometime during the day alongside their marines and shipgirls. It wouldn't be harder because they were arriving though, but because the base would likely become so much busier she would have fewer chances to actually watch the contractors work from a distance to discern if they were viable to be the one the commander was interested in.
"I suppose I shall simply have to be more careful in who I guess," Belfast said to herself as she checked over her clothing one last time and, pleasantly accepting of her appearance, left her room to begin her day by heading to the Commanders office to make sure there were no sudden documents of importance that had popped up overnight. Once that was done she would assist her sisters in preparing breakfast for the commander and the other royal ships, a simple yet fulfilling morning little different than any other.
Except when she entered the commander's office, she found him sitting at his desk with a book in hand.
"Ah, good morning Belfast."
"Good morning commander. I am surprised to see that you have awoken before your usual time. It is not even four as of yet."
"I have been catching up on work that was behind, and managed a good night's sleep. In fact I have been sleeping quiet well these past few days," the commander said as he marked his place and put the book on his desk. "Do you know why that is, Belfast?"
"I would not presume to assume as to why," Belfast said with a bow as she stepped fully into the room and gently closed the door behind. In barely a second she found the folder she was worried about seeing on the commanders desk, but did not budge from her place.
"Hmm, that is safe I suppose, though hardly fun," The commander said as he stood up from his chair and looked out the window over the still dark waters. The sun not yet having even started to glow upon the horizon. "Having production model ships, marines and sailors here on the base helps allow us to keep patrols going even while not every faction is here, and once all the factions are here, we will be able to keep up almost two dozen convoys protected at all times. But what truly is making things easier is the maintenance division surprisingly. Before the contractors arrived we would get dozens of minor maintenance complaints on a daily basis. The Bulins simply could not keep up with them all. Now we have none and we can focus on what we actually need to work on. Hunting down the Sirens and taking the fight to them."
"I was unaware we had a location of their forces as of yet," Belfast said as she walked up to the desk and picked up the folder, opening it to find the folder empty.
"We do not, not yet. I expect that will change rather shortly however. The Ironblood forces will be arriving later today, and while I do not like the direction their researchers have taken in many facets of their development, it cannot be argued they are very well equipped for sniffing out the Sirens."
"You do not expect incidents to occur once they arrive then?"
"Oh no, I am expecting incidents. We have many on a daily basis, but most are rather minor at this point. Royals and Unions have little professional difficulty with each other, and while I am allowing fraternization very little of it seems to have been attempted as of yet."
"That is not entirely correct, sir," Belfast said as she put the folder down. "I have been spoken to by a number of sailors and marines over the past few days that have clearly been looking to get close. My sisters have had similar occur."
"Hmm, some people have more mental fortitude than I expected then. Has anyone else been talked to in that way do you know?"
"Other than a marine who attempted to ask her highness where her mother was and if she needed help finding her, no," Belfast said, causing the commander to look at her blankly.
" . . . .I admit, I am surprised I have not heard of that already, because I expected that man in the infirmary."
"Her highness did not explode upon her, as the marine was a woman. Though she was very displeased for many hours and made that fact very clear."
"Yes, I can see that," the commander said with a nod before turning away from the window and back to Belfast. "I am planning a reconnaissance patrol for tomorrow to the nearby island chain to make sure they are clear of Siren elements. If you have any suggestions for whom to send from the Royals, please tell me later today."
"I will mention you are looking for volunteers then," Belfast said with a bow.
"Thank you. There have been no emergency missives today, so you are free until the morning truly begins," the commander said as he sat down, then perked up. "Ah, and you do not need to worry about breakfast or lunch for me today. A package of biscuits and pastries from my mother arrived last night, so I will be eating them for much of the day."
"That is hardly healthy sir."
"No, it isn't, but I will not let home baked goods go to waste when they come from my own mother!"
"I understand sir. Then I shall return later," Belfast said with another bow before she turned and politely left the room.
The walk from the command building to the Royal Dormitories was not a long one, but it allowed Belfast to consider a few things in her mind. She knew there had been many maintenance issues on the base during the past years when the Crimson Axis was their enemy, but she had not expected there to be so many that the commander would praise simple mechanics and technicians as he did. Was it because of the individual he was interested in? Was he trying to drag her attention away from them, or was he very honestly simply happy about the base being able to proceed as intended without maintenance causing extreme issues to the base and those upon it?
It was a difficult thing to tell as she had not found any major issues of concern with the bases maintenance, at least not in the Royal Dormitories. She and her sisters kept everything clean and in proper working order after all, so nothing had any chance to go wrong that she was aware of.
It was barely a moment later as she entered the royal dormitories that she heard a muffed bang alongside a cry of surprise and shock from the direction of the kitchen.
Inwardly cursing her own thoughts, yet letting nothing show upon her face or outward appearance she headed to the kitchen, and found a scene she was not expecting.
The kitchen was a disaster area. There was pastry splattered over a counter as well as all over Edinburgh, the oven was smoking and being fanned by Glasgow, and across the kitchen Sheffield was cleaning up another counter that appeared to be covered in reddish brown liquid that seemed to be pooling around an electric kettle. Or what once was an electric kettle.
"Oh my, are you alright?" Belfast asked as she moved into the kitchen to assist in cleaning everything up.
"B-Belfast, everything exploded!" Edinburgh said as she looked to Belfast, looking like she was about to start crying at any moment.
"Exploded?" Belfast asked. She could make assumptions as to what her sister meant, but doing such was not proper.
"It happened over about ten seconds," Glasgow spoke up with a sigh, making it clear she was giving up on the morning going well. "The mixer began going out of control, the oven began making a strange noise, and then the kettle began boiling far faster and fiercer then it should have. All three of them then catastrophically broke down as the lights above flickered and went out for a second before coming back on just before you arrived."
"Oh dear, that sounds like a situation," Belfast said as she looked at the oven still smoking. "Is the oven alright?"
"No idea," Glasgow said with a cough as she fanned at the smoke, trying to dissipate it.
"We will need to clean those up promptly," Sheffield said as she walked over to Belfast. "Repairs will be needed to be undertaken. The kitchen is not properly usable like this."
"No, it cannot. Then, I shall set that up and then return to assist," Belfast said in agreement as she quickly stepped out of the kitchen and headed down the hall.
Only to then hear another noise from the kitchen, alongside Edinburgh loudly complaining.
"Now the sprinkler!?"
"Oh dear. This is quiet the issue," Belfast muttered as she continue down the hall to the closest phone to make a call.
Perhaps she could request only a few of the maintenance division's contractors to come and deal with the issue allowing herb to see if he was the one the Commander was interested.
And hopefully they could do it promptly.
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"Hey ya Coat wearing emo!"
Max looked up to see Emily sitting down across from him at the table, a big smile plastering her face. "Must you keep referring to me like that?"
"Until you stop wearing the freaky super-agent coat, yeah, I must!" Emily declared with a stupid grin. "So, have ya heard? The Ironblood Shipgirls and other forces arrived today at the crack of dawn."
"So the base will be more busy, so?"
"You're not worried they'll cause issues?" Emily asked in surprise. "I know a lot of royals do not like em a whole lot, and I'm sure when the Sakuran's arrive there will be issues with the union for sure. Probably will be more than a couple fistfights.
Max simply shrugged as he ate his food.
"So what, you only have a grudge against the royals then?"
"They're the only ones worth holding a grudge against," Max replied without looking up from his food. "The other nations did what they felt was best and it was a war, can't fault them for that, the royals . . . . it's personal." Max shook his head as if to stop the train of thought and went back to his food.
"Right, fair," Emily said before looking at her food, then back at Max. "Look uh, can I get your help after were done eating?"
"With?"
"I'm redoing the plumbing in a section of the Union Shipgirl dorm. I've gotten all the plumbing revealed without any issues, but I just need some help moving all of the piping in and getting it in place. They kind of want their baths working by tonight or tomorrow at the latest, and there's no way I can pull that off without a little bit more muscle to help out."
"And you don't want to hand the job over to the main maintenance group because it looks better if it's mostly you, I take it?" Max asked with a sigh.
"Almost. I want to make our group look better. I've heard a rumour that we're all getting things done so fast the main maintenance group might need to be disbanded and sent back to the mainland, or wherever they come from."
"And you are assuming it would be the main group sent back, not the ragtag bunch of individual mechanics and the like that we are part of?" Max asked with a shake of his head. "Do you realise how optimistic and petty that sounds?"
"Considering how much work all of us have been doing compared to the main group, I think it's more than optimistic!" Emily declared with a smile. "So, am I getting your help or not?"
"Fine, not like I have anything better to do after I finished my job this morning early," Max said with a shrug as he tossed a piece of breakfast sausage into his mouth and then stood up, making Emily realize his plate was now empty.
"Ah, wait I still have food!"
"I'll meet you at the maintenance building," Max said with a lazy wave.
"I said wait damn it!"
Xxxxxxx
"I told you to wait."
"And I told you I'd meet you here," Max said with a shake of his head as he and Emily walked into the building, Emily more than a bit visibly upset with him for making her speed through her food at the rate she did.
"You could have waited."
"I could have, but that would have meant an increased likelihood of having to sit near royal marines. Some had entered and were eyeing our table as it had space," Max explained simply.
Emily stopped and stared at him for a solid minute in utter shock. "You sped out of the cafeteria just to avoid a couple of Royal Marines?!"
"Yes."
"Jeez, I get disliking the royals, but that is a bit much, isn't it?" Emily asked as she ran back up beside Max and began leading him to the left side of the maintenance area were a halftrack truck was sitting with its bed filled with various pipes and materials.
"Not for me it isn't," Max said finally as he stopped and looked at how full the truck was. "Just how much piping are you replacing?"
"Um, about half the old piping in the Union dorms. Just the main pipes though. All of them are easily over thirty years old, going back to when the base was made at the start of the great war and if they aren't replaced now they'd cause flooding in the dorms in the next year or so, at best."
"So it's entirely pre-emptive then?"
"No, I originally went to fix a water leak in the hall outside their communal baths and discovered the problem when fixing it. At my suggestion they put in a secondary request to inspect and fix the rest of their piping to stop it from happening again."
"I see," Max mumbled as he looked at the truck and grimaced. "Do you know how to drive a Halftrack?"
"Not specifically, but it can't be any harder than a regular truck," Emily said with a noncommittal shrug.
Max raised a hand as if wanting to say something, but then suddenly hung his head. "You know, just, do some research you idiot."
"Huh, what is that supposed to mean?!"
"I mean, if you had even asked a single person who knew about halftracks, you would know that they drive nothing like a regular truck!" Max exclaimed before shaking his head and holding out a hand, palm up. "I'll drive. Hand over the keys."
"Hey, hold that thought Max!"
Both Max and Emily turned to see the Head technician, Davion, approaching them. "Sir, is something wrong?" Max asked.
"You finished your job this morning, right?" Davion asked.
"Yes, I did," Max answered, not liking where this was suddenly going. "I was about to help Emily with her job as she needed another pair of hands."
"Sorry, but I'll have to disallow that. "You are the only one not marked as on a job and we have another one that has come up, I need you to go do it."
"Is it important, or can it wait?" Max asked, knowing he had agreed to help Emily. "And what is the job anyway?"
"A massive electrical surge sent the appliances in a kitchen into overdrive before frying them all. The job is to find the cause, as well as fix the electrical therein so it does not happen again. As for location. The Royal navy Shipgirl Dormitories."
Max stiffened in an instant, his responding tone rough and slow. "I would prefer to not, if at all possible."
Davion just looked at him for a moment. "That isn't an option I'm afraid this repair needs to be done, and you're the only one open. I'll send your phone a link for it to make it fast, so hurry and get going."
Max grumbled but complied, turning and leaving while muttering to himself something about Royals.
Davion shook his head and turned to leave, but saw Emily looking at her own phone. "Something wrong?"
"Sir, there is no ticket for maintenance at the Royal Navy Shipgirl Dormitories."
"It came in quickly so I haven't had a chance to make it public yet, that is all. Not something to worry about," Davion said simply as he turned to leave Emily to her work.
"Sir."
Davion stopped, Emily's tone strange. "Yes?"
"As someone from the Woad islands, I am well versed in the Royal Navy pulling strings and screwing with those under them. I would suggest it not become a common thing for both their, and your sakes, sir," Emily stated as she climbed into the halftrack and then closed its door, driving out of the maintenance hangar.
Leaving the Head technician there scratching the back of his neck. "Well bollocks, did both of them realize then?"
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Max stood a few dozen meters away from the front doors of the Royal Navies Shipgirl Dormitories and had to hold himself back from visibly scowling. The union navy dorms had been simple and effective in their design, at least from a distance when he had seen them. The Ironblood dorms he had been to as well had been simple, utilizing their factions known coloring, but essentially being built for its use first and foremost, with looks as a secondary or tertiary thing. The main Azur lane buildings also were the same, rigid and solidly built to look professional, and little else, while the inside had comfort beside function, with form being secondary.
This did not appear to be the case for the Royal Navy's shipgirl Dormitories.
The Buildings was not designed like a dormitory, but more as if it was some noble's manor. The exterior was covered in details and finery. From the manicured gardens around the buildings foundation to the windows of varnished hardwood and silken curtains, all the way up to the roof of solid tiles with small intricately cut gargoyles, mostly of small animals.
The very sight of such an excessively pompous and grand structure being on a military base sickened Max and made his stomach roil against him. He was used to seeing such display's but they still angered him, as did the thought of what the inside of the building would look like if the outside was any indication.
"May as well get this shit show on with," Max muttered as he walked straight up to the main door and, upon seeing no doorbell, and instead a classic Bronze doorknocker shaped like an anchor, used it to rap on the three times. In merely a minute of waiting the door clicked and opened revealing an extremely busty woman in a maid outfit that Max Recognized as both the Commanders own secretary, and some sort of leader among the Royal Navy's Shipgirls, one Belfast. In the days since arriving Max had heard many people, both contractors and enlisted personnel, talking about a variety of the Shipgirls on the base, sizing them up, rating them and the like. Belfast had been on the list, very high on most of them, but Max failed to see it himself. Her breasts were pointlessly large, with a choice of clothing clearly meant to garner attention to them, just like most of her outfit was designed for both mobility and to be a target of attention. Her eyes were interesting though, solid and clear, but very calculating as she looked at him. "Maximus Grey of the Maintenance division. I am here to look into an electrical issue in the kitchen that was reported."
Belfast, her expression unchanging simply nodded. "That is correct, thank you for coming, please come inside," she said as she stepped back into the doorway and then to the side, allowing Max to enter. As he did Belfast closed the door behind him and then silently stepped up to his side, holding out her hands with her palms up as if expecting to be handed something.
"Well, where is the kitchen?" Max asked, ignoring Belfast's gesturing and finding it surprising that she was so unaffected by his ignoring her.
"Your coat sir. I shall stow it in the closet and we shall be off to the kitchen," Belfast explained, stepping slightly to the side to reveal a large closet with a number of jackets hanging within.
"No, where is the kitchen," Max said simply as he looked away from the closet, and Belfast.
"Sir, your coat will only-"
"My jacket is my toolbox," Max said as he opened and parted one side of his coat. "If you will not tell me where the kitchen is, then I'm leaving and you can submit a new repair ticket."
Belfast seemed visibly taken back for but a second before composing herself and lowering her hands, folding them over the front of her dress and slightly bowing her head. "Very well then, please follow me sir."
Max said nothing as he followed Belfast away from the doorway and down the hallway, giving him a chance to look around at the furnishings inside. The floors appeared to be hardwood with carpets over them, but aside from that the inside of the building was far from as gaudy as he expected. There were a large number of windows, providing ample natural light within, and the light that nung fo mthe ceiling at regular intervals were simple yet elegant, far from overblown. Very quickly he noticed that the centre of the building had a huge garden with the building surrounding it. It was nice, but the brilliant white gazebo and seating area underneath it soured it for Max and brought his thoughts back to the job at hand. "Is it just the one kitchen with the issue? And precisely what happened to it?"
"It is the main kitchen used by the royal maid Corps that is with issue. Something occurred and caused all of the appliances to fry themselves after working far past their operational limits," Belfast explained before turning her head to glance at Max with a single greyish blue eye. "Was the repair ticket not read before you came here, sir?"
"No, I just like to make sure people don't leave information out so they can then blame people for not doing a job they didn't know about," Max almost hissed before lightly shaking his head and muttering under his breath. "Not like I wanted to take this job in the first place."
"I see," Was all that Belfast said as she turned her eyes back forward and came around a corner wide, having seen her sister Edinburgh coming around, not paying attention to what way she was going. "Edinburgh, please be careful."
"wha- oh Belfa-!" Edinburgh then screamed as she almost ran into Max. She twisted a bit to stop herself from doing so, but then fell to the floor instead.
Only to find her own wrist be held by Max, stopping her from hitting the floor. "You might want to watch where you are going," Max then said bluntly as he pulled Edinburgh to her feet.
"Um, y-yes, I apologize," Edinburgh said nervously, finding Max's directness and tone to be a bit jarring.
"Just watch where you are going," Max repeated as he let go of Edinburghs wrist and moved to pass around her, but stopped halfway. "oh, and try not to use anything electrical in this place until my work is done."
"Oh, you are here to repair the kitchen?" Edinburgh asked. And upon receiving a nod, smiled. "Oh good, we have to use the secondary kitchen right now, and it was hard to clan everything up in there, thank you!" Edinburgh said before she ran off.
" . . .the kitchen was cleaned up?" Max asked as he looked to Belfast.
"Of course. It would not do to leave a mess in the area you must work."
"You didn't remove the broken machinery, did you?" Max asked, expecting the worst.
"We removed the smaller appliances that broke due to potential danger if they were operated accidentally."
"Gods dammit," Max muttered as he took a few steps, ending up ahead of where Belfast stood. "Well, are we going? If you all got rid of what broke I'm going to have my work cut out for me to figure out what went wrong."
"The oven is still in the kitchen. It could not be easily moved," Belfast added as she resumed leading Max to the kitchen, hearing him mutter something along the lines of small mercies.
It only took a short minute more to arrive at the kitchen, and its sight was odd. It was large with three evenly spaced ovens on one wall, shelves and cabinets on three of the walls, and two large islands in the middle of the room with a pair of large industrial sized sinks on the wall opposite the ovens. The counters and islands were spotlessly clean, as was the floor, and the only reason max could tell which oven had gone ballistic was because the left most one had red tape on it.
"Which outlets were the removed appliances connected to?" Max asked as he walked straight into the kitchen and took off his coat, laying it out on the one island and making it clear just how full of stuff it was.
"The outlet on the other island, and the one on the far side beside the sinks I believe," Belfast answered quickly as she watched Max take out a small almost screwdriver like tool, walk over, and stick it into the outlet. "Should you not be checking the oven first?" she asked as his tool beeped, telling her it was not actually a screwdriver.
"I don't tell you how to prance around tossing biscuits onto plates or how to make tea, don't tell me how to do my job," Max replied rudely as he moved over to another outlet and checked it with the same tool. "If you have no more information to give me, then stay out of my way while I work."
"Very well, I shall be by the doorway in case you need anything sir," Belfast said with a polite bow as she took a step back and went to the door.
"I'm not some royal shit-faced noble who needs to be waited on. Just let me do my fucking job," Max grumbled loudly as he checked the next outlet and then went over to the oven and continued looking for the cause. As he did he could feel Belfast watching like some kind of hawk, her eyed never straying from him, but any time he glanced over she looked completely calm and as if she wasn't watching him. It was beyond unnerving.
Almost an hour later, after checking every outlet, appliance and connection in the kitchen, including pulling the broken oven, and the three working ones out from the wall, Max had a pretty solid idea of what was going on. But did need to confirm his findings. Glancing to the side he saw Belfast still standing in the doorway as still as a coatrack, her eyes seemingly shut and making her look as if she was napping while standing up. "Hey. Are these ovens a model you are familiar with?"
Belfast's eyes slowly opened to look right at Max. "We have used them since they replaced the old ones,"
Max let out a sigh. "Not what I meant. Fine, where is this buildings mechanical room? I need to see the fuse box and if there is a transformer."
"The mechanical room is at the back of the building in a room to itself. I shall show you the way," Belfast said as she took a step back and shifted her body, gesturing out into the hallway.
"You do not have to follow me," Max grumbled in annoyance as he walked over to the doorway and out, only to find himself face to face with another two Royal navy shipgirls. These two however were not dressed as maids, but as nobility. Both women were blonde, while one was wearing an outfit that looked like it had been sown together from pieces of flag, while the other wore an outfit that was moderately more like an officer's outfit.
"Good afternoon Belfast, may I ask who your friend here is?" the softer looking of the two women asked with a smile, while the other seemed to be looking at ma, silently judging him.
"Good day, May I introduce a technician from the Maintenance division, Maximus Grey. Sir Maximus, may I introduce Ladies Hood and Prince of Wales," Belfast said, formally introducing the three of them.
"Hello, now please excuse me," Max said quickly as he tried to pass the two women, only for Prince of Wales to move to partially block his passage.
"That is hardly a proper or polite greeting, sir," Prince of wales said coolly. "And it is not proper to wear sunglasses indoors either."
Mas looked at Prince of Wales for a simple moment before letting out a sigh. "I don't care. I have work to do, and you are impeding it, please let me pass.
"There is no need to be so standoffish," Hood spoke up with a noble smile on her face, her hands clasped in front of her. "Could you please let us see your face in full sir?"
"No."
Both women found themselves staring in shock at Max's reply.
"Do you realize who you are speaking to?" Prince of Wales asked slowly.
"Shipgirls masquerading as bullheaded nobles," Max answered instantly, shocking them further. "I have no times for noble bullshit, and unless you have information pertaining to fixing your dorms electrical issue, I have no time for you either as I have work to do,"
The two women were so shocked Max was able to slip between them and the wall and head down the hall.
Checking the nameplates on doorways he passed Max found the mechanical room a minute later and stepped inside, flicking the light on without a care for what had just previously occurred. The mechanical room held not a single ounce of the pomp or regalia that the rest of the dorms did. The floor was concrete, the walls uncovered, and the lights were a simple number of florescent bulbs in fixtures evenly spaced around the ceiling. The fuse box was easy to find, affixed to the far wall just a meter or so away from the hot water tank, a very large hot water tank.
"I would highly suggest you meet and properly apologize to Ladies Hood and Prince of Wales when you are done your work,"
Max turned away from the fuse box to find Belfast standing in the doorway, ever as stoic as she had been before. "I see no reason to do such a thing," Max said as he opened up the electrical box and began looking over the fuses.
"The reason is simple. You were less than properly polite and it is only proper to-"
"DO NOT TEL ME WHAT IS PROPER!" Max suddenly yelled as he slammed the electrical box shut and turned to face Belfast, interrupting her completely by his sudden outburst. He then, seeming to realize what he had done, turned back and reopened the electrical box. "I am not part of the royal navy, I am not beholden to your pointless Nobility crap that only causes suffering, so don't expect me to act like I am."
"From your name alone I had assumed you were from our territories. Are you saying you are not?" Belfast asked, seeming unperturbed by the tone Max was using.
"That is what I just said, yes," Max stated as he pulled a pair of gloves out of his pocket and put them on.
"I see . . . have you discovered the cause of the electrical surge?" Belfast asked, seeming to change the focus of the conversation.
"Yes, finally," Max grumbled as he began fiddling with some switches on the fuse box. "The wiring in this place is way beyond what it needs, and so are the fuses. These fuses would be used for a factory full of heavy machinery, not a dormitory full of normal kitchen appliances. Simply put, the wiring and fuses allowed too much power to be sent. Not sure why yet, but I should be able to stop it from happening again if . . . dammit!" Max suddenly exclaimed as a loud spark arced away from the fuse box as he jumped backwards.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, damn fuses are finicky at that size is all," Max said as he shook his head. "I need to head back to the maintenance bay and get new fuses, the proper ones for the building's needs"
"How many do you need to acquire?" Belfast asked curiously, causing Max to tense slightly, not liking where this line of conversation was going.
"About five dozen or so. There are a lot of lines in this building, and it would be safest to replace them all."
"And then the repairs are complete?"
"Technically. Though once I replace these fuses I should go outside and check the transformer. It might be able to tell me why the surge happened in the first place," Max explained a he closed the fuse box.
"I see. Then I shall accompany you to help transport the equipment you need to finish," Belfast said simply.
"I do not need help carrying fuses," Max stated as he walked over to the door to leave, only to find that Belfast was blocking the door completely. And not moving. " . . . . You aren't going to take no for an answer, are you?"
"That I am not." Belfast said with an ever so slight smile. "As a Maid I must be of service, especially as you are directly helping myself and the other maids in repairing the kitchen."
"Fine, whatever, just don't fall behind," Max finally said after a few minutes of silence as he walked over to the door and past Belfast to retrieve his coat. Belfast simply nodded as she followed him back to the kitchen, and then out of the dormitories and away towards the Maintenance buildings.
They were not what she expected. Instead of a simple building it was almost hidden underground like a bunker, but inside it was more like an aircraft hangar only full of massive towers of shelving instead of planes. There were few people within, and Belfast followed Max in and over to the shelving's, his finger tracing over nameplates as he walked and then abruptly stopped and pulled out a box the size of his entire torso.
"Ah, perfect, these one should do!" Max exclaimed as he put the box on the ground and pulled out a fuse that looked almost as large as his hand. And unlike the ones in the dormitory, it also looked sleeker and less industrial. He held it for a second, seeming to feel it in his hand, going so far as to flick it with his finger, before he placed it down on the ground beside the box and then did the same to the next one. And the next, and the next.
After the sixth fuse Belfast took a step closer to him. " May I ask what you are doing and if you require help sir?"
"No I do not need help," Max said instantly as he continued doing what he was.
"then, may I ask again what exactly you are doing?"
"Checking the fuses to make sure they are fine. Sometimes transport can damage them, as can just sitting about. It would be pointless to change the fuses only to put a bad one in."
"Of course, I understand. Will we require another case to carry them?"
"No, this crate looks to be all good. I just need to mark it and we can-"
"Ah, there you are Maximus."
Max and Belfast turned to see the head technician waking over with a hand in one pocket and two people hidden behind him as he approached. The first, Admiral Hipper, came out from around the technician, her expression odd, while the one with her looked to be another Shipgirl from the Ironblood if her outfits color scheme was anything to go by. It also shows off ample thighs and cleavage, but still managed to mark her as someone who likely had some skill with machinery.
Max ignored the head technician for a moment and glanced first to Admiral Hipper. "I did not think we'd meet again so quickly."
"Well, Adalbert wanted to meet you," Admiral Hipper said with a noncommittal shrug, keeping her gaze not entirely locked upon max's.
Following her words, the other woman stepped forward and offered a hand. "Prinz Adalbert, you the one who fixed our holotable?" she asked with a simple grin.
Max nodded as he got up and very slowly moved to shake her hand, gripping it gingerly. "I am", he asked, as he looked her over for a half second. Her outfit was sort of like his in a way. A huge coat wrapping hr body that was covered by overalls for the most part. Though they were oddly tight, and oddly loose in the strangest places, and with the way she was showing off a sports bra and little else, made it difficult for Max to know where to look.
"Cool, and you're from the Maple dominion, right?" Prinz Adalbert asked as she let go of Max's hand and put her hands into pockets on the waist of her overalls.
"Yes," Max confirmed, making Belfast raise an eyebrow, though he did not notice with her behind him. "Do you need something from me then?"
"Yeah, sorry, I just want to know how you got the one module in the table to work. It's pretty finicky. The dark one with the yellow light. You recall it, yeah?" Adalbert asked.
Belfast found it strange but said nothing as she watched Max scratch his chin.
"Yeah, it was near the center of the underside, a few of the wires were plugged in wrongly, and I had to fiddle with its calibrations a bit to make it boot properly, otherwise it would have messed with the whole tables boot operations."
"You never mentioned that yesterday," Admiral Hipper accused suddenly.
Max just shrugged. "I figured that fell into part of it being put together wrong by the ones who set it up first. It was just a couple of wire replacements and a little calibration. Nothing major."
Prinz Adalbert glanced at Admiral Hipper, who merely shrugged. "See? I don't get the big deal about one module when it works."
"I guess it's just, complicated," Prinz Adalbert said with a light sigh. "Sorry for taking up your time. Maybe sometime we can talk shop?"
"I guess, you a mechanic too then I presume?" Max asked, his tone odd, as if he was cautious.
"Yeah, though not full time or anything, and mostly what I work on is our rigging. Probably a bit different than what you deal with."
"Probably, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be interesting," Max said with a simple nod as he looked to Admiral Hipper. "I take it everyone arrived alright then?"
"Yes, but why do you care?" Admiral Hipper asked a bit standoffishly.
Max simply shrugged. "I don't, but you looked like you were both dreading it and looking forward to it yesterday, so I figured I'd ask."
"Ah, w-well, no one asked you, but thanks, I guess," Hipper said before turning and walking off, forcing Prinz Adalbert to give a wave and follow her out toward the doors of the hanger.
"Was that everything?" Max asked after a few seconds of silence before turning back to the box of fuses.
It took the head technician a second before he realized that Max was talking to him. "Oh, yeah, they just wanted to ask you a question. About what they did I guess? Odd question huh?"
"Not really," Max shrugged as he began holding fuses and putting them aside. After a minute he let out a sigh and looked back at the head technician who was still standing there. "What is it?"
"Sorry, just surprised with how pleasant you seemed with those girls. Ironbloods are so standoffish and violent."
"They are easier to deal with than Royals who constantly try to trick people with fancy words and hide their intentions behind filigree and tea at every turn," Max spat as he began putting the fuses back in the box.
"Well that is a rather rude thing to say considering the present company, don't you think?" the head technician asked, sounding slightly insulted himself while Belfast looked utterly unaffected by both their words.
"No, I don't," Max said as he stood up with the care of fuses in hand. "I never asked this maids help or for her to accompany me in the first place, she just refuses to leave me to my work. And you, are the one who forced me to take this job ticket when it should be obvious I was against doing so, and hid it from anyone else specifically so I would be given it."
The head technician swallowed awkwardly. "That is quite the assumption."
"Hardly an assumption considering that ticket still has not appeared on my phone," Max said as he tuned and began walking away from the head technician who, surprisingly, did not chase after him.
The walk from the maintenance area back to the Royal dormitories was almost blissfully silent, but as they approached the building itself Belfast spoke up. "So, you hail from the Royal Maple dominion then. May I ask why you had said you did not hail from our territories?"
"Because I am not from the Royal island of tea drinking pompous fops, that is why," Max said angrily as they reached the main doors, only for Belfast to speed ahead of him and open them both for him.
"Be that as it may, while I do somewhat understand where you are coming from, it would not be proper to insult the entirety of the royal territories as you have been. Many will take exception to it."
"Let them," Max grumbled as he walked down the halls, a smallish purple haired girl moving down them jumping to the side and keeping her distance before whispering something to Belfast as he went.
Belfast merely nodded and then swiftly caught up to Max. "I would also suggest you not storm through hallways and properly greet those you met as it is only polite."
"Not my problem," Max stated as he reached he mechanical room and forced the door open with his foot, the door not having been fully latched when he left it.
"And how, may I ask, is it not your problem when it may cause friction between yourself and others you may need to work alongside?" Belfast asked as she followed him in and then proceeded to open the fuse box as he put the case of fuses down.
"Because I have no love for the Royals, and I do not care who knows it. They deserve every ounce of hate they receive," Max stated seriously as he picked up a fuse and moved to put it into the box.
"And what have we done to earn your ire so?" Belfast asked as she picked up a pair of fuses and handed them to Max, who grudgingly took them while refusing to look at Belfast.
"Take a look at history and it should be clear," Max growled in reply as he continued to swap out fuses.
After a few seconds of silence Belfast, having had enough of being run in circles, used a hand and put it in front of the fuse box. "Mister Grey, I have been nothing but cordial to you, and while I am used to some amount of friction between those who were one my enemy, you are not. You are a citizen under the Royal Flag, and I am trying to discern the reason you acted as you did to Ladies Hood and Prince of Whales so that I can keep them from causing you issue down the line. I would ask you to stop trying to act tough, and answer my questions honestly; otherwise I may be forced to report your actions directly to the Commander!"
Few people had ever seen Belfast angry, or even raise her voice, and most that had did not do things to have it occur a second time but much to her surprise, Max's only response was to look at her as his hands still moved to replace a fuse, even with her hand in the way. Of course it was hard to say if he was looking at her in shock or outright anger with how little his glasses allowed to be seen of his eyes. He said nothing as his hands worked, and as soon as he finished the fuse in his hands with a click he finally let out a breath that seemed to be held. "Why do you care?"
Belfast blinked in surprise at his question. "I already told you."
"No. I don't mean so you can fulfill some bullshit maid roleplay, I meant why do you, the all-powerful cruiser Shipgirl with enough firepower to level a small city on you own, care about the history, opinion and judgment of a weak and pathetic little engineer like me?" Max clarified as he bent down and picked up another fuse and began getting to work slotting it in. " I am nothing but a pathetic little human, a speck of dirt compared to you who can summons explosives from thin air, tear through steel with your bare hands and unleash hell across kilometers of space if you so choose to. Why should you, any of you, care about the opinion of one weak little human you could kill as easily as you breathe?"
Belfast found herself taking a step back away from Max as understanding dawned in her eyes " you, are afraid of us?" she asked in shock and surprise.
"Of course I am," Max said as if it was a natural response, grabbing another fuse and setting it into the box. "I'd have to be crazy not to be afraid of entities that can rend steel with their bare hands and can fire 28 cm guns as if it were pistols."
"I, utilize Mk 23 guns, they are sixteen inch, not-"
"Not you, the other one. Adalbert," Max said with a shake of his head.
" . . . . How, do you know that?" Belfast asked calmly, though her tone was curious, and her gaze fixed on Max.
"I just do."
"Prinz Adalbert's Class of ship were never constructed in the great war and only exists as she is now. She has never to my knowledge, even in the last war, been anywhere near the Maple dominion," Belfast stated, noting out the corner of her eyes that there was a shadow outside the door to the mechanical room. "In fact, I do not believe she has even had a public appearance like many of us Royals, or the Eagle union have done. So how do you-"
"When I shook her hand," Max said as he continued to work, not looking at Belfast, and allowing her to note that the back of his neck had sweat showing on it. He then shook his head and took a deep breath. "All it takes is a touch and I can understand a machine. Why do you think people call me a Savant, like I'm some sort of neurotic genius?"
"Her hand was gloved."
"Doesn't matter, still knew all her capabilities, like some kind of freak, the only freak that still understands how insanely powerful all your kind would be if you ever chose to turn around and fire backwards."
Belfast wanted to be angry at even the insinuation that she would betray anyone, but seeing the way that Max was occasionally shuddering as he worked she instead chose to take a step back and change the flow of the conversation a bit. "So you know what some of us are truly capable of. So does the navy."
"They also think they have you on a leash," Max countered as he pulled out a fuse, the last new one from the box, and set about replacing it.
"Then why, if you are afraid of us, are you being so rude to many of us? And why specifically us in the royal navy, while you were somewhat cordial to the girls from the Ironblood."
"Because Honesty is the only way to stay alive," Max said grimly. "You tell someone you honestly dislike them, they stay away from you and let you keep your distance. You accidentally almost get a look up a skirt, you tell the girl and apologize immediately so she doesn't consider you scum and blow you to smithereens," Max said as he pushed one last time into the fuse box and then threw its switch, letting the box begin to hum calmly. Then, with a nod he closed it.
"And the reason why you are so rude to us of the Royal Navy?" Belfast pressed as she watched Max don his coat, having taken it off to change out the fuses.
"April seventeenth, 1962," Max said grimly as he turned to leave and managed to pass through the doorway.
"The Fall of Hudson Harbour."
Max turned to his left to find a Shipgirl standing a meter or so from the door. She was tall with an impressively sculpted body and an outfit that marked her as knowing it. A short black skirt, black leggings, a red top that hugged her body tight and allowed much cleavage, including a small portion of her black bra, to be visible. Her hair was a long pink in color but did little to hide her pointed ears, while on her waist on a thin belt was a sword sheathe. She looked at Max with an odd gaze, a mix between Solemn and insulted.
"Ah, Lady Duke of York, I apologize, I should not have left the door to this room open," Belfast said with a curtsy as she came up to and stood in the doorway of the mechanical room.
"Thou have no need to apologize when it is I at fault, though I admit to being more interested in this man here, who mine own sister declared ridiculously rude to herself and Hood," Duke of York exclaimed as they found Max's stare oddly piercing, even without being able to see his eyes. "Thou dislike the royal navy because of choices we made that distant day past then?"
"In part," Max said darkly.
"The choices made that day were not made with haste or ease. We chose to protect the convoy leaving the port with the materials used to create wisdom cubes, and those same were used to form the PR Shipgirls who helped end that war barely a month past that time," Duke of York explained solemnly. "T'was not easy for us to do, especially when our enemy began striking the shoreline and the docks as if to mock and enrage us."
"bah, as if you care when your forces bombed further inland yourself," Max scoffed as he turned to leave, only to suddenly find Duke of York's sword hovering beside his head, flat side parallel to his cheek. He hadn't even heard her draw it.
"What are thee speaking of? We fired only upon the sirens to goad the beast to follow, to limit damage to the city if all possible."
"Bullshit. My father told me himself that a shot from one of your ships went far inland to where he was fleeing with me when I was barely two years old. The shot killed my mother and crippled my father for life!"
"What, that is impossible," Duke of York stated as she lowered her blade to the side as a memory began to surface. "Wait, no, the only shot I took in that battle that was inland-"
"So it was you?!" Max interrupted with a roar as he spun around to face her.
"Whom was your mother? The only time I fired inland was at-" Duke of York tried to explain again, right before an ear splitting klaxon began echoing though the whole building in wails.
"The Raid Alarm," Belfast said seriously as she turned her gaze to a still furious looking Max. "As a non-combatant you need to head to your designated safe zone while we head out. Where do you need to go?"
"Back to the maintenance hanger. It's apparently reinforced," Max said as he turned back around and began striding down the halls at just shy of a full sprint.
"I shall escort you," Belfast aid as she was suddenly right beside him, effortlessly keeping up, while Duke of York began to pull ahead of them both, blade at the ready and hair flowing behind her as if fire itself. "How likely do you think that this is a drill?"
"Highly unlikely with how little time has passed for those whom have contracted with our Adonis," Duke of York said as she turned the corner first and nearly lunged at the double doors in the Foyer, throwing them open and filling the air with the sound of Gunfire as she ran out.
A second later Belfast came out, followed by Max, and the scene above them was one of Dark black jets flying through the sky with roaring engines that left glowing yellow trails as they dodged AA fire, while the sound of lasers and cannon fire could be hears from the islands edge.
"Go, I will provide covering fire so they target myself instead of you," Belfast stated as she summoned forth her cannons upon her wrists and began aiming them high.
Before Max could respond though a crash echoed from nearby and all three of them turned their gaze to a Siren fighter that was crashing through the air.
Right toward all three of them.
"Move your hides!" Duke of York screamed as the three of them moved to get away only for the Fighter to soar above them so close the heat of its flame could be felt before slamming into the Open doors of the Dormitory and exploding, sending all three of them backwards from the blast.
While for Max, consciousness left him.