26 Chapter 7. Inspector or Is the Inspector Coming to Us!? Part 3.

Here's a chapter for the power stones

***

They assigned me a ship.

Not entirely to me - I'm the captain of my land-based gang, and I'm supposed to be called an inspector. So, the ship wasn't exactly assigned to me, and my crew, who don't know anything, poor souls, weren't assigned one either, of course. However, they did assign a team with a ship, which would serve as our taxi to wherever we needed to go - that they did assign. It's almost standard practice here because someone has to transport individual squads, right? So they assign this "service."

They didn't skimp on me; they assigned a very decent vessel. It can carry a decent amount of cargo, accommodate my crew and the crew, and has space for training, even a couple of catapults, may Agni forgive us, are also available.

And in terms of firepower - pirates would probably run away from such a ship rather than try to rob it. It's a huge black-and-red iron vessel, armed and with powerful sturdy walls in part protruding above the deck, which I don't know what it's called. Big pipes are sticking out of it, which are only emitting light smoke at the moment, probably warming up. The ship works like most here - on steam. Although I'm sure, most of the coal here is used - it's a hassle for the benders to power each vessel themselves.

All of this was commanded by a man in his forties, with a name uncommon for these parts - Uli. Captain Uli. Going back to titles: I can give orders to Uli himself, but not to his team, like a vassal of my vassal, and so on.

I understand why it's done so that the particularly clever ones don't start telling us how to steer the boat, but I don't complain. I don't plan to go where I don't know anything... okay, correction: I don't plan to go where I don't know anything and where my actions could lead to bad things.

And now we're loading supplies on board, with all the gear - my poor fellows were given swords they're seeing for the first time in their lives - oh, why me - and now they're carrying supplies onto the ship. I, on the other hand, didn't hesitate to go to the local store to buy a cloak over my uniform. A proper heavy cloak, why not? With a belt and even a hood, so all I have to do is wrap myself in it, put this wonderful piece of clothing on my head, and roam wherever I want. In the cloak, I looked even more impressive: my already broad shoulders became even wider, and overall, I added quite a bit to my solidity. Luckily, without going overboard, my figure didn't become too massive. Yes, solid, but it still felt flexible and even somewhat graceful.

Well, according to my inexperienced eye in the mirror.

The next step was to talk to our captain Uli, because I need to whip my poor fellows into shape against pirates, let's call it that. And even though I set the course, the task "go, let's find pirates" falls under the heading of "What nonsense." And if I order it, he'll be obliged to do just that, but it's better to agree peacefully than to have confrontations or thoughts of my madness for no reason.

He was in the cabin or whatever it's called, without a helmet, which lay somewhere on the table. He was looking important, puffing on his pipe and examining maps, clearly thinking about something of his own. The man was about forty years old and didn't come from an aristocratic family - I don't believe that I now separately note this, but it can help in the preliminary assessment.

That's where my great analysis ends.

"Captain Uli," I nodded, quickly folding my hands in a traditional gesture.

"Hmm, what?" the captain tore himself away from the maps, turning his gaze to me, then grabbing the helmet and putting it on himself, as if it were nothing, continuing, "You must be Inspector Aki, I suppose?"

Hmm, yes, I never bothered to inform anyone of my full name. Let it be Aki, not Akimaru, I prefer it that way even if it sounds less official to me, without it, who would ever shorten it, because it's not proper?

"Yes, that's correct," I replied, removing the helmet myself. As I understood it, only rookies liked to wear these steel pots and were proud of it. Those who had been in the army for at least a year tried to take them off as quickly as possible, and those who had served for a good ten years... hated it.

Most likely, the captain keeps it in the cabin just in case the higher-ups come, because otherwise, he can walk around with his head uncovered - nobody from his crew would report him.

And you need some kind of psycho to report on such a thing. Only in person can the higher-ups give you a smack on the head.

"Hmm," the captain gave me a pensive look, "what are your orders?"

"None, I came to talk," I replied, sitting down on one of the available chairs.

"Well, let's... talk," the captain sat down in the spot he had previously jumped up from.

Old grump. I can't say the words were objectionable, but the tone clearly showed how he felt about all of this. He considers it another nuisance. It seems I'll have to fight this stamp for a long time.

"Well, here's the thing, they gave me twenty green soldiers in my team," I imagine how it sounds coming from an eighteen-year-old guy, "they don't know anything, haven't been anywhere, and they're just in the mood for adventures and sightseeing. So, I wanted to ask if we could make a little detour and sail for a couple of months in pirate-infested areas?"

"Ask?" Uli injected a hint of irony into his voice.

"Yes," I nodded, not taking my eyes off the slits in the helmet mask he still hadn't removed, "by the way, can you take off the pot? I won't mind."

Waiting for the captain to take off his helmet, still exuding sarcasm with his entire demeanor and scrutinizing me. Not in the sense of looking but rather trying to understand what kind of fruit I am and how they eat me.

"So, I can technically order it," I shrugged, "but I don't want to. I'm sure you have a place where it would be good for you to stop by along the way."

The captain, looking into my eyes intently, puffed on his pipe, pondered, and said:

"Inspector, huh? You look like the most standard one, but your behavior is different."

Understood, it's a questionnaire, like tell me about yourself so I can trust you.

"I have connections here, but different ones," I smiled easily, "General Lee needed a proper inspector who would at least not forget about his job."

"Hmm," he puffed on his pipe again, "my son got married and settled on his wife's native island. On Kyoshi Island, maybe you've heard of it? I'd like to stop by there on the way."

Yeah, I understand why he's looking at me like that. The land is not unambiguous. It's considered neutral by the decree of Sozin himself, but many could perceive such a moment ambiguously. But I don't care, we'll go.

"So, I think the detour will be even longer?" I smiled.

"It turns out that way," the captain smiled cunningly in response, "weather conditions, underwater currents, thought it would be safer this way. Hmm, can we make it official?"

"Only nominally," I slightly nodded, didn't feel like drinking at all, unpleasant memories immediately resurfaced, but I didn't want to refuse either, "I need to keep an eye on my newly formed squad to make sure they don't forget anything."

"That's true too," Uli clapped his hands, stood up, and approached a safe, took out a bottle of something decent and two shot glasses, and quickly poured them evenly.

He took out snacks straight from the table, local sausages, clearly not very suitable for elite liquor, but we're not at a reception, so I'm fine, and the captain, I think, is too.

"Do you happen to play Pai Sho?" I decided to clarify, just in case.

"Mm, not my game," the sea wolf shook his head, "maybe cards?"

"Well," I sighed, "cards it is then. Do you know how to play poker?"

Yes, there's almost classic poker here, just like classic cards. Of course, they're stylized, and instead of a joker, there's a Lord, but that doesn't change the essence of it.

The deck of cards was found right on the same table as the captain - interestingly, there was anything business-related there at all - a decent poker set, and from there, he took out the chips. We haven't decided to play for money yet, so we'll play just for chips nominally.

"I do, who doesn't know how to play here," the captain chuckled, deftly flicking the chips between his fingers with one hand.

***

Poor guys - they're poor guys even in Africa. I drank a little more than I originally planned, so I was in a good mood, but they managed to spoil it. How you can lose a box of food in the process, I don't know, but I had to yell at everyone, including the quartermaster, because the food box is very important in our plan.

The general, of course, allocated with a quadruple reserve, but Uli and I calculated that even with cunning, it won't be enough for our long journey - it's just not enough. Along the way, we'll have to stop somewhere and negotiate with the locals somehow, thankfully the general allocated gold for expenses, and personally, I'm still well-off financially - that pouch from the master is still almost full. And then, out of nowhere, we somehow managed to lose a box of supplies - there are no other words for it. It would be nice to leave it as it is, let them go without food for a couple of days, and see how they react next time.

But, praise Agni, we found it, although maybe the pale quartermaster took it from his supply, but in the end, we weren't left empty-handed. So now it's just a matter of loading up and setting sail. There weren't any special problems - we're not going on a journey, there were no farewells from well-wishers, no tearful goodbyes or other visitors, so we dispersed to our cabins right away - by the way, I had one all to myself, while my squad - barracks style, divided by gender, of course - and we sailed off. I still need to gently enlighten my crew about pirates, as they're already dreaming of carefree inspecting and a couple of heroic victories.

Why did they give me so many greenhorns? Not so much in skills, that's forgivable, but in their attitudes. I'll have to go through another stressful period and keep an eye on them to make sure they don't mess up out of ignorance. There won't be any major incidents, they're not kids of the 21st century, but the first murder is still the first murder.

I'll need to buy more alcohol supplies. The currency is international, and in any outcome - it'll come in handy, it definitely won't hurt. Of course, I believe the ship's medic has alcohol for disinfection, but it definitely won't be enough for any psychological assistance, so to speak.

And I need to keep a closer eye on them to make sure there's no hanky-panky going on - knowing these poor souls, things could end up not so well. Starting from pregnancies, and ending with some drama out of nowhere.

Alright, we'll figure it out, not the worst starting point - we can manage just fine.

Hi, now for every 200 power stones there will be a chapter.

patreone com paracetam0l