I leaned back as I mulled over what I had been told, ignoring the chair's ominous creaks of protest. On some level, I knew I couldn't be anywhere near home. There was no long-standing tradition of summoning your warships as attractive women the last time any of my crew had checked. But a part of me had hoped I was. Instead, I was forced to confront the fact that I wasn't in Britain. I was likely not even on Earth if Rin was to be believed.

"…sei."

All of this was before I even considered why I was here. I was pulled from my final rest, from the world I knew, and from peace with and by mysterious means to act as, of all things, a teacher. I had experience with training recruits thanks to my inherited memories but I got a sense that naval gunnery and boatmanship was not the subject at hand.

"… ensei. Please pay attention."

Actually, for that matter, why did this 'President' pick me? If we take her ability to pull the spirits of ships and their crew as a given, something I was more than willing to do considering the situation, then why did she pick me? I was proud of my abilities, but surely a training or teaching ship would be better tasked with the role of a teacher. Or an actual teacher. Not, well, a battleship.

"Nelson-Sensei!"

My name being called pulled my focus back to the elfin girl sitting in front of me. "My apologies, Ms. Nanagami. You have given me quite the conundrum to puzzle over."

Rin took my indiscretion with ease. I would bet that what I've told her probably shook some of her beliefs as well. I got a sense that she was used to strange things, but an adult woman claiming to actually be a ship was likely up there. She didn't even believe me until I started pulling out anti-air cannon ammunition out of thin air.

"I understand," Rin answered with a shaky smile, "I don't doubt you are the person the President told me about, but your story is fantastical. If any of what you claim is true then I think the President was hiding more from us than we thought."

I nodded in agreement. Whoever this President was, she clearly kept her cards close to heart. I didn't hazard a guess as to why she did it. There could be plenty of reasons and I was beginning to suspect her disappearance was not voluntary.

"Is there anything you need me to explain again?" Rin asked.

I shook my head as I answered, "No, I believe I have enough for now."

There were a lot of questions left but I had enough information to proceed. I had been brought to Kivotos, an Academy City. I was specifically in the General Student Council building, the closest thing to a central government that this place had. The city had ground to a halt thanks to the President's sudden disappearance and now the GSC was desperate to maintain control. Rin, the Vice President, was left with some information that predicted the arrival of a Teacher who would help resolve the situation.

It was a mystery to me how exactly the President predicted I would be the one who answered. I shouldn't even exist in this world. But, somehow, she knew my name, some details of my hull, and even my looks when I had none previously. Just more questions I had on my list for me to reexamine once I had a moment to myself.

"If you have no further questions," Rin said as she stood up, "then I must apologize. I'd like you to follow me for now."

She made her way back towards the door of the office, walking at a determined speed. I let her walk past before I got up and fell in behind her and to her right, ducking to get under the door of her office. She continued to speak as we entered the hall, "There's something I require your help with."

"Of course," I answered as we approached the elevator, "What is it?"

"Let's just say that it's a grave matter… one that could determine the very fate of the academy city." With that ominous statement, the elevator arrived and opened its door. I stepped in and looked out the full window. The sight of the sunlit city outside the windowed elevator was breathtaking. The view was different from the elevator and I could see many of the skyscrapers closer. They were clean, well maintained, and minimalist in design. Kivotos was beautiful for someone like myself, whose last memories of London and Britain was one of war and post-war reconstruction.

My fascination must have been visible on my face. As the elevator descended, Rin waved to the city outside the window. "Welcome to Kivotos, Sensei. Kivotos is a massive city, home to thousands of different academies. This is where you'll be working from now on. It's bound to be very different from the place you call home. You might find it difficult to fit in at first…" She paused to give me a small confident smile, the first such smile I've seen from her thus far, "but something tells me that you will adjust in due time. After all, you were chosen by the General Student Council President."

Although she said that, I still couldn't help this nagging feeling in my chest. Something I feel like I should have remembered. But she was right. That was something I'd have to save for later as the elevator reached its destination.

The lobby of the GSC building is a storm of activity. White suited Students ran from door to door, carrying everything from documents to tablets. Some other Students dressed in police vests and hats tried to keep the peace. And in the middle of it all was a throng of people at the front desk, demanding to see the President. Rin tensed up the moment we walked out of the elevator, the stress visibly increasing in her steps.

Our entrance into the lobby did not go unnoticed. A girl spotted us immediately and stormed over, annoyance clear on her face. She had long purple hair, done up into two high pigtails accessorized by the strangest triangle hair ties I had ever seen. She was dressed in a prim, immaculate black blazer and miniskirt with a formal white button up shirt and bright blue tie. The white hoodie thrown over her ensemble did help make her appear more casual. Above her head floated a black halo, with a single blue line bisecting it around the middle band. At her side were a pair of slick black and blue plastic-clad SMGs.

I didn't need my crews' memories to know another administrator when I saw one. She even had a small ID badge tagged to her lapel. Purple eyes glared at Rin as the girl shouted as she got within hearing distance. "There you are, Acting President! We've been waiting! Get the real President in here already!"

The purpette? Plum-haired? The purple-haired girl slowed her pace as she approached and finally noticed me. Confusion crossed her expression as she looked me up and down. "Huh? Who's that Adult with you?"

Her confusion went unnoticed as several other girls, seeing her walk over, took that as a signal to make their presence known as well. They spoke up to voice their complaints almost at the same time.

"I've been waiting to see you, Chief Officer." The next girl to speak up first caught my attention for one key reason. She was the only person in this room that I did not tower over. She had loose raven-black hair that almost reached her ankles. She wore an almost standard black sailor uniform with red trimming were it not for the long cut on the side of her skirt that exposed her garter and underwear bands. I couldn't imagine that being standard issue. A red cross-like halo floated above and behind her head. I could spot an ornate rifle accented with gold filigree on the handguards slung behind her back.

But the most intriguing thing was the massive wings growing from her back. She had to have as much difficulty fitting through doors that I did, although for horizontal rather than vertical reasons.

Although I wonder if she could fly.

"I'm here to meet with the General Student Council President. The head Prefect has terms she would like to discuss." The last girl to reach us was a strawberry blonde with much more conventional low pigtails, accessorized by red hair ties and a ribbon hairband. Sharp yellow eyes looked at Rin from behind black glasses hanging off her pointed ears. She was dressed in a pleated white collared shirt and black miniskirt, and carried a truly massive bag of what I presumed to be medical supplies from the needles and gauze. The red broom handle of a pistol could be seen tucked behind her back while a bright blood red crosshair-like halo hung behind her head.

The armband, however, was what truly caught my eye. Red with black markings and white accents. For a second a storm of burning anger and shame ripped through my heart and my vision swam. I felt my breath catch and I had to force myself to remain calm as the details of the arm band became clear to me, the white accents being text and the ear like points that jutted up. Just something that looked similar.

If anybody noticed my moment of discomfort, they didn't show it. I was still doing my best to ground myself when Rin muttered something under her breath next to me. "Well… This timing is rather inconvenient."

"Hello, guests that represent neighboring academies' student councils, disciplinary boards," A dead smile was plastered onto her face as she stepped forward to address the new girls, "and those who otherwise have too much time on their hands."

That was certainly not a diplomatic way to put it. "I am well aware why you irksome—I mean, important representatives have come here today. You're here to blame us for the fuss happening in the academy city. Isn't that right?"

My attention was forced away from the armband and down at Rin. She had to know that what she said were fighting words, right? There was no way anybody would hold back after heari-

"If you're well aware, then do something!" Right on cue, the purple-haired girl stepped forward until she was within arm's reach of Rin, pointing a finger in her face. "You represent the General Student Council after all! Thousands of academy districts are in panic! Our academy's wind generator shut down just a few days ago!"

The blonde stepped forward as well, concern etched on her expression as she spoke, "There are also rumors a student under the Federal Corrections Bureau's custody has escaped."

"There has been a sharp increase in the number of thugs attacking our students on their way to school. Public safety is not being properly enforced." Another girl stepped out from behind the raven-haired and winged girl. She was slightly taller than the other girls with long white hair and red eyes. Like her taller companion, she had a wing, albeit single, sticking out of the side of her head. Unlike the other girls, her uniform didn't seem as embellished or personalized; with the only thing that seemed to be added-on were the insignias on her upper sleeves. It was a plain ensemble of dark and light greys which made her outfit quite similar in colour to my own. A lilac crosshair halo floated behind her head, a theme I was beginning to key on.

The raven winged girl nodded in agreement, a grim frown on her face, "Illegal distribution of tanks, choppers, and other unknown weapons have increased by over 2000 percent. At this rate, ordinary school life in Kivotos will be a thing of the past."

I blinked at that. Illegal distribution of tanks? What type of place was Kivotos that tanks were both readily available on the black market and also possible to acquire in numbers? Numbers that would warrant their placement in a list of illegal goods that have increased in the four-digit range?

"And what is the General Student Council President doing during such a sorry state of affairs? I demand to see her right this instant!" I'm sure she meant well, but the purple-haired girl seemed to say the magic words to set off the crowd. Other Students seemed to step forward behind the representatives, making their demands known.

I couldn't see her face, but I could see Rin's shoulders shaking either in anger or stress. As the other students began to shout their demands louder and jostle more and more for her attention, I decided I had enough. It was best to intervene before Rin said or did something unwise.

I stepped up next to the stricken Vice President, the movement drawing attention from the representative instantly thanks to my height. A twist of my will and a silver bosun's whistle found its way into my hand. I brought it up and, with the consolidated skills of dozens, I blew two long sharp notes that cut through the clamour of the lobby. As the lobby's attention focused on me, I gave the crowd a smile brimming with confidence as I tucked the whistle back into storage. Well, no time better than the present to make an impression.

"Representatives, Students!" I said, projecting my voice with as much strength as I could muster, "We ask that you give your Acting President a moment! We understand your concerns, but you must allow her the time and space to respond so she can help you!"

The room stilled entirely, partially from my words and partially from how I was able to rattle the windows. I'd have to take note of that. Full projection when your lungs were partially steam turbines could get loud.

The purple haired girl was the first to recover her wits, pointing a gloved finger at me even as she craned her head up to match my gaze. "I've been wondering about you for a while! Who exactly are you and why did you exit the elevator with the Acting President!"

"Yes," The raven-haired girl nodded in agreement, "I don't believe I've seen you before. You don't seem like you're from Kivotos."

"I would think that the Prefect Team would have noticed anyone who could shout like that…" The blonde muttered, still rubbing her ears from my earlier raised voice.

"You have our utmost apologies." I said to the blonde before turning to the rest of the crowd, giving them a brief wave. I could feel it, the eyes of the Representatives, the Students, the GSC staff, and even Rin were on me. Memories of countless officers of every class worked for me to keep my body language and tone perfect. "Thank you for listening, and our apologies for our impropriety. We are Nelson. We have only just arrived in your city to discuss employment, only to find it in turmoil. Fortunately, the Acting President was able to meet with me and explain the current situation before hoping for our immediate help."

"Hold up." The purple haired girl seemed to have calmed down, but the glare she was shooting at me spoke enough of her trust in me. "Employment? What are you doing here in the first place that would need the Acting President to meet with you?"

I smiled. The pieces were lined up, unwittingly by some and purposefully by others. With the question asked, I went for the true and most impactful answer. "We were hired to be a Teacher for Kivotos by the General Student Council President," gasps from the onlookers could be heard even as I pushed ahead, "and as far as your Acting President or ourselves could tell; our contract was one of the last acts the President did. We are still trying to determine the extent of the position but know this!" A pause for dramatic effect, turning to look at as many as I could in the crowd, "What is known is that the beating heart of our role is to help all of you, which we intend to do starting now."

My announcement seemed to have mollified the crowd. Many of them left after my impromptu speech. Perhaps I answered their questions or calmed their fears. Or perhaps they were off to provide the latest in scuttlebutt to their home academies. Either way, the lobby was now significantly quieter. It was just myself, Rin, a few staff members, and the Academy representatives.

"So why couldn't the President meet Nelson?" The purple-haired girl asked Rin with much less strain in her voice.

"The President is not here at the moment." Rin admitted, expression solemn and voice tight, "To be frank, she's gone missing."

The representatives all responded with clear shock and surprise. However, the raven-haired girl's response caught my attention. "So the rumors were true..." If she had heard it then no doubt the more opportunistic elements were acting as if it was true.

The purple-haired girl frowned before speaking. "If she's missing, then how do you know she hired her?"

A reasonable objection. Rin seemed to be in a much better mood when she answered, with much of the tension having left her while I distracted the crowd. "I was provided a dossier by the President and told to expect help to arrive. I can confirm that Nelson was personally selected by the President to act as a teacher for Kivotos."

"The President chose her? The one who's now missing? Things are making less and less sense…"

I laughed, shaking my head in amusement, "You could imagine my surprise when I arrived at the office with almost no information about the job only to find my employer missing." And the fact I was a living breathing person. Not quite the time to mention that though.

"It must've been quite stressful Nelson-Sens-" The purple-haired girl agreed before pausing, shock crossing her face. "Ah! Sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Millennium Science School's Student Council treasurer, Hayase Yuuka."

The raven-winged nodded her head, a faint trace of a smile on her face before introducing herself. "Trinity General School's Justice Task Force Vice Chairwoman, Hanekawa Hasumi."

"Hinomiya Chinatsu from Gehana's Prefect Team. I'll be in your care" The blonde introduced herself, politely bowing.

The last girl with the white hair coughed in her hand, awkwardly scratching the back of her head before talking. "Morizuki Suzumi from Trinity General School. I'm not really a representative, I was just here to give my report about the attacks against students."

I nodded along with each introduction, logging names to faces. Most of these Students were fairly high up their respective Academy's chain of command, so it would be good to make a good impression with them now. "As you heard previously, I am Nelson. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintances."

"I see you have decided to switch back to 'I'." Rin said, expression calm and cool again, "Are you certain you have no need for further speeches?"

I waved off her joke with a smile before replying, "Oh pish posh, there will be plenty of time for lectures in the future. But to the matter at hand, you told me there was something urgent that must be handled. Am I correct in presuming it has to do with the problems brought up by our esteemed guests?"

The academy representatives all turned to look at Rin at my statement, delivered with the same easy tone I used to return her banter. Rin met my gaze head on, back straight, as she nodded in agreement. "Yes. Allow me to cut to the chase. The General Student Council has no authority because the top administrator of Sanctum Tower has gone missing. We had been searching for a way to bypass the need for verification, all to no avail... until recently."

The admission hung in the air for a moment and I watched as the gears turned, spun, and clicked into place before all the girls turned their heads as one back to me. I ran my hand through my hair, sighing as the answer was clear. "I assume you refer to my arrival."

"That is correct. You are the answer to our problems."

"Ms. Nanagami..." I said slowly, piecing together the best ways to respond tactfully, "It is not my intention to be rude, but how am I the answer when I have just arrived?"

"You were selected to serve as the advisor for a club that was formed by the General Student Council President. The Federal Investigation Club: Schale. This isn't your average club—more like a type of extrajudicial organization. Since it's a federal club, you'll be allowed to register students from any of the academies in Kivotos." Rin answered matter of factly, as if she didn't just tell me the most insane thing I had ever heard of.

I was beginning to understand that Kivotos was somehow run by the schools and academies found in it, but I failed to see how what she described was a club. It was effectively another branch of the central government. The shocked expressions of everyone else present cemented that this was decidedly abnormal.

"How the president was able to create an organization with this much power, I have no idea." Oh good, literally everyone finds this weird. I won't need that bit of common sense challenged. "The Schale club room is about 30 kilometers from here. The building is currently empty, but we had to put something in the basement at the president's request. It's my job to take you there."

Rin pulled out a device and tapped something onto it before speaking. "Momoka. I need a helicopter to take us to the Schale club room." Seconds later, a hologram popped into existence. I stared at it, trying to keep the shock from showing. The level of technology present in this city was astounding and anachronistic, somehow having holograms while still somehow using wooden stocked weapons.

The girl in the hologram had short pink hair tied up into two massive pigtails. Above her head, a halo made of pink-bordered green stars bobbed in time with her head. I spotted a pair of horns on her head and a long lizard-like tail peeking out from under her GSC uniform. A white hoodie much like Yuuka's gave her a much more casual appearance. That, and the bag of crisps she was actively eating as she spoke.

"The Schale club room? That's over in the outskirts. Things are kinda crazy right now..."

"What do you mean "Crazy"?" Rin asked slowly, her tone cooling several degrees.

Momoka didn't seem to notice or care as she continued. "A suspended student escaped from the Corrections Bureau and is wreaking havoc. It's a battlefield over there right now!"

"What?" If Rin's tone was cooling before, now it was ice-cold. The stare she was giving her subordinate was equally arctic.

"They rallied all the thugs in the area and are destroying everything in their path to get revenge on the General Student Council. I hear they even got a Crusader Tank!" Momoka remained unfazed at the events she was describing, the stare she was receiving, and the general chaos of the situation. She continued, apparently oblivious to Rin, "They must be trying to occupy the Schale building because they know the General Student Council controls it. Maybe they think there's something valuable inside."

I calmly took a step back along with the other academy representatives as Rin fell dead silent and still. If glares could melt metal, then the device in her hand would have been vaporized. Instead, it just continued to exist in defiance of Rin's wrath and allowed the pink haired girl to finish delivering the final blow.

"Oh well. The city's already a dump, so I don't think it'll make that much of a difference." The sound of someone knocking on the door could be heard, and Momoka visibly cheered up. "Oh great! The food I ordered is here. I'll talk to you later!"

The line went dead with a *click* and Rin was left staring at the device as Momoka's visual representation vanished. I was silent. The academy representatives were silent. Rin was silent. Then, a sharp *SNAP* echoed out as the device cracked from the grip pressure Rin was putting into it.

"Deep breaths, Ms. Nanagami." I said, walking closer to gently push the offending device out of her line of sight. "In, hold, and out."

Rin looked up at me with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'm fine… It's just a minor setback. No problem at all."

"Of course," I answered placatingly lest she destroy something else, "I am certain we can accomplish the task with other methods."

Rin nodded and, in doing so, something behind me caught her eye. Following her stare, I turned my head around and saw the academy representatives looking at the two of us with a mixture of curiosity and pity. One that was slowly morphing to concern as Rin's smiling expression turned from lifeless to scheming.

"Wh-what?" Yuuka asked, slowly taking a step back as Rin walked past me to face the representatives, "Why are you looking at us like that?"

Rin slowed to a stop as she stood in front of the group, the cold smile now firmly in the 'evil manager' territory. She spoke, her voice sickeningly sweet as she addressed them, "It's so reassuring to have you trustworthy academy representatives here with us."

Oh dear. I got a sense where this was going.

"We are going to need your help to bring peace back to Kivotos. Let's go."

With that, Rin actually grabbed Yuuka by the scruff of her hoodie and started marching towards the exit; dragging the hapless girl behind her. Yuuka's protests of "Wait, what? Where are we going?" fell on deaf ears as Rin strode ahead with a calm measured fury.

The other academy representatives and I were all left standing in the lobby, watching the two. After a second, Chinatsu sighed and looked at me. "We… should probably go after them, should we."

"We should." I confirmed, nodding with as serious an expression as I could muster. "But we should strive to address the positive! At least we run no risk of our helicopter being shot down."

I was mildly concerned from the moment when Rin mentioned the helicopter. After all, whoever heard of a ship riding a helicopter? Those things were death traps in normal circumstances and we were decidedly not in normal circumstances. At least I don't have to worry about crashing helicopters today.

AN: Nelson's speech is one of the things I had to settle on. In the original Japanese, she uses the Pronoun 余 (yo) which is a rather archaic pronoun used by nobles. Some of the resources I found stated the closest English equivalent would be the Royal We. This is also then made somewhat more head scratching by the fact that Japanese, as a whole, does not use pronouns in every sentence.

So I settled on just having her be so polite as to be stilted in speech, with the occasional tendency to lapse into Royal We when giving speeches.