"Our solution is that after the incident, Military Prison Farida Hood will decide whether to remain in the Navy or the Department of military supervision.
If she chooses to stay in the Department of military supervision, we will assign her to the Gothic Fleet's Disciplinary Squadron, and then from there to the Fleet Security Committee.
This way, she will be back here.
What do you think of this solution? We will let her make another choice."
Horatio knocked on the Lieutenant Commander's office door.
If he didn't go in soon, his suspicious appearance would be mistaken for a eavesdropper by the Guards nearby.
"Come in," Commodore Peru's voice came from inside.
"Acting Lieutenant Horatio reporting for duty."
As soon as he entered, he saw three Naval Military Supervisory Committee members in white uniforms sitting on one side of the sofa.
But unfortunately, the beautiful blonde girl was not among them.
This left Horatio feeling somewhat disappointed.
Sitting in the middle was a Military Monitor in her thirties, a genuine Red Rank, on par with a Commodore.
Her slender, heroic brows were tightly furrowed, creased sharply in her brow, like a female graduate student being lectured repeatedly by professors but remaining silent, even looking a little wronged.
Matching the description, she appeared to be the Military Monitor who had taken Farida to the Department of military supervision.
Even though he knew the main fault wasn't hers, this was still a kind of fated encounter, and he naturally didn't show a good expression.
When saluting, he only formally saluted the Lieutenant Commander and Commodore Peru, merely nodding briefly to the Commissar members, then ignoring them as if they were air.
Commodore Peru stood on the balcony, his back to the room.
Lieutenant Commander Elphinstone's previously stern face melted like a glacier, immediately replaced with a smile as he returned the salute.
His daughter, Lina, sat at a nearby desk, recording the conversation, and also nodded expressionlessly to Horatio.
"Let the Hood Family decide on this matter; we will not make that decision. But the insults and unfair treatment the Imperial Navy has suffered, we will remember! This matter will not be easily put behind us.
Please remember, esteemed Commissar members, our Imperial Navy Gothic Fleet never gives in to force, nor does it fears being forced!"
"Force? Who is tougher than that traitorous bandit leader? Even that bastard Abaddon would be forced to retreat, so what does an Inquisitor count for?" the Lieutenant Commander snorted coldly.
The Military Monitor's face was solemn, her abdomen slightly sunken, as she sighed deeply: "Then we shall take our leave, Your Excellencies."
She stood up, saluted the three, and then, relieved, scurried out with two stern-faced Commissar members.
From this situation, it seemed that this incident had already damaged the relationship between the Imperial Navy and the Abyss Port Department of military supervision.
But Horatio knew that such ordinary personnel transfer disputes would not escalate too much in the end.
It wouldn't even reach the Star Sector Security Department; at most, it would be a war of words between the Gothic Fleet's Disciplinary Squadron and the Gothic Fleet headquarters.
Because captains needed Commissar members to ensure morale and maintain discipline for their warships, and also to handle the unpleasant dirty work of executions.
These men and women, after all, sat in the third position to the captain's left, and the fleet would not completely break with them.
However, the Department of military supervision sent a special commissioner to mediate and 'seek peace' with such humility.
The Gothic Fleet had actually regained its standing, delivering a severe warning to those who dared to challenge the fleet's real power, ensuring that its interests would not be further harmed.
After all this commotion, the Saint Hammer Inquisitor named William Carter, who wished to investigate the Gothic Fleet, which had been twisted into a solid adamantium plate by this incident, would likely return with a bruised nose from hitting a wall.
"So, has the investigation progressed?" the white-wigged Lieutenant Commander asked with a smile.
"Yes, Your Excellency Lieutenant Commander, here is a list that the Military Intelligence Department and the Security Committee can begin investigating."
His daughter, Lina, very sensibly stood up, re-adjusted the golden monocle clipped to her eye, and walked to Horatio's side.
The young girl's delicate brows were slightly furrowed, her clear, large eyes on her small, cold face fixed intently on his, the monocle adding a touch of cool intellectual mystery to her gaze.
As she stood before Horatio and took the document, she whispered:
"After you leave, wait for me at the corner of the road to the right of the exit for ten minutes. I have something to ask you."
Horatio's heart skipped a beat at her words.
Although the person opposite was just an assistant clerk girl with no military rank, Horatio felt a heavy weight in his heart, as if he were about to be interrogated.
He swallowed, his throat suddenly feeling a bit dry, and quietly replied:
"No problem, Miss."
Lina took the document and walked towards her father, handing it to him.
"The personnel on this list include high-ranking priests of the Ecclesiarchy, noble scions from the Upper Hive, and wealthy merchants from the Merchant Guild. These individuals all seem to be members of a 'club.' Lieutenant General Hood's informants discovered that these people regularly visit a private club to participate in certain activities."
The Lieutenant Commander frowned, and Commodore Peru stood behind him. Both looked solemn, discussing the information in the document in low voices.
"The circle involved in this list is quite extensive."
The Lieutenant Commander let out a long, heavy sigh, pointing to the information inside and saying to Commodore Peru: "We must use the highest-grade military reconnaissance and listening devices to monitor the communications of these dignitaries, while also ensuring we are not discovered."
"The Military Intelligence Command will secretly establish a special task force starting tomorrow. The intelligence officers seconded to it will be placed under Level 1 closure measures (Level 1 Containment Measures) for the foreseeable future, staying confined within the Navy Department Fortress to minimize the risk of our investigation intelligence leaking."
"I will also establish connections in the Middle and Lower Hives to link these personnel clues as quickly as possible."
"I'll go arrange it now." Commodore Peru saluted the others in the office and then strode out.
The Lieutenant Commander continued to examine the document.
"By the way, Mr. Horatio Cochrane, I hope Miss Hood's matter won't affect your work too much. The Navy Department is handling it, and the Department of military supervision has already made some concessions."
"Of course it won't affect it, thank you for your concern, Lieutenant Commander."
"Furthermore, I happen to have a task here that requires the Special Operations Division to execute." The Lieutenant Commander looked up at Horatio:
"Some tabloids are printing and spreading false rumors about this incident, and they are getting worse, even claiming that the fleet is undergoing a bloody political struggle just for sales. This has severely impacted the Navy Department's public relations work, forcing us to constantly respond and be led by public opinion.
I suspect this is also a cunning plot by the forces behind the scenes to distract us and waste our energy.
I have already dispatched many Navy Guard teams to seal off these rumor sources, but these small printing factories are hidden in various nooks and crannies, difficult to locate, and especially prevalent in the Vegas District, where there is a mix of good and bad people and a lack of control.
Can your Middle and Lower Hive intelligence network locate these dens and hand them over to the Navy Guard for handling? It would be even better if you could clarify whether this is an organized and premeditated campaign of public slander (defamation) or just gossip driven by profit.
Once this matter is dealt with, the Navy Guard will be able to dedicate more energy to participating in and assisting the Special Operations Division's potential military operations.
Additionally, a portion of the Star Sector Navy Department's stability maintenance funds has already been allocated to the Security Committee.
I plan to allocate 160 million from it to the Special Operations Division as operational funds. For a new department in its nascent stage, this should be more than enough for daily activities.
You can use the excess to acquire new resources for the Special Operations Division, and if it's not enough, just ask for more. What do you think?"
"Thank you for your cultivation, sir! The Special Operations Division has just been established, starting from scratch, and the higher-ups indeed don't know what we actually need. If every item had to go through the administrative process for approval, we might only be groping in the dark during investigations and miss valuable opportunities. We need to save time; everything must be fast."
"No problem, efficiency is paramount. The Navy Department is also in a race with other departments on this matter.
If you need other resources, as long as the Fleet Security Committee has them, you can come directly to me, and I will give you special approval, saving the time of the application process to get things done."
"My deepest gratitude, Lieutenant Commander!"
Horatio breathed a sigh of relief; he had been worrying about this very morning.
Firstly, Secretary Bernard had discovered this problem: the newly established Special Operations Division only had a framework, and many of its duties and responsibilities were quite vague, lacking corresponding administrative authority divisions, and without the 'green pass' often enjoyed by key departments to accelerate administrative processing.
After some matters were reported to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the bureaucrats there did not give special treatment to the Special Operations Division's applications.
They were all squeezed into the regular document processing channels like other ordinary departmental files, waiting indefinitely for civil servants from the relevant departments to handle them.
In the eyes of the rigid Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Special Operations Division was just an ordinary new sub-department of the Navy Department, and its submitted applications did not have a higher processing priority than those from other departments.
However, Horatio's side needed to race against time in the investigation competition. As a result, after submitting the applications, he could only fret while looking at the Ministry of Internal Affairs' 'pending' approvals.
However, the Gothic Fleet Security Committee is a multi-departmental joint agency.
It is simultaneously subordinate to the Gothic Fleet, the Gothic Fleet's Disciplinary Squadron, and also has administrative jurisdiction and guidance over the Abyss Port Department of military supervision First Bureau, which is the Naval Military Supervisory, making it one of its superior departments.
Since the Fleet Security Committee is willing to share resources and give the Special Operations Division an administrative green light, many things will be much easier to handle.
Perhaps even faster than their counterparts in the Naval Military Supervisory. In this regard, he trusted the actual power held by the Fleet headquarters.