Summary
While Chiaki poses as Marika, the Bentenmaru searches for the ghost ship in the midst of a stellar storm. Marika and Grier are eventually kicked off the bridge – the Hakuoh Academy rules forbid students from working more than eight hours – and while eating supper Marika notices the similarity in their situations, both wanting to be taken seriously but still treated differently by the adults. The next morning she isn’t happy to discover that the rest of the bridge crew pulled an all-nighter without her, but Coorie rebuffs that things aren’t so bad they need their teenage captain staying up all night.
In the past Serenity has sent out seventeen search teams looking for the ghost ship, which left behind search buoys that have this region covered extensively. The Bentenmaru was able to gather the accumulated data by transmitting Grier’s name, genetic information, and authorization code, which worked even though the last search team was sent fifteen years ago and Grier’s only thirteen. Their probes have also picked up a fleet of ships in the vicinity, undoubtedly after the same thing they are.
The probes pick up a large anomaly and the Bentenmaru makes a hyperspace jump to its location but discovers that it’s moving. But the other ships have followed them, and are scanning the area from multiple directions. Marika orders the ship to turn around and break through the rear group, which has only two ships, firing a dispersal shot to damage their sensors. The ships were from Serenity, and Grier asks to contact them. Marika refuses - since Grier is, of course, on a practice cruise with the yacht club right now that would give away the Bentenmaru’s trump card too early. Meanwhile, it’s time to outwit the fleet and claim the prize first!
Thoughts
Yep, this is more like it. Nothing says pirates like a treasure hunt (OK, there are plenty of other things that say ‘pirates,’ but that’s one of them), and this time there’s no stage show in sight (except, um, the stuff Chiaki’s doing; not that she’s having fun or likes wearing the uniform or anything…). The stakes are real and much higher this time, and it really gave Marika a chance to flex her skills and show her crew how she handles herself in a tight spot and her ability to take a long-term view of the situation . It’s not anything new – it’s well-established that she’s capable of making quick and sound decisions, but unlike on the Odette II they’re outnumbered and the opponents aren’t small-fry. It shows how much she’s growing into her role, and thanks to her enthusiastic declaration that they’ll act like pirates and outsmart their opponents, how much she’s really starting to enjoy it. The crew certainly appreciates it.
Of course, that doesn’t mean she isn’t running into other problems. One thing I like about this show is how it accounts for the fact Marika’s age and inexperience. In episode seven it was the consequences of her taking on the responsibilities of a full-time job (that requires heavy travel no less) on top of trying to maintain her more typical commitments, not realizing just what she was getting into; now it’s how her age affects the way she’s regarded by others. She’s old enough to take on greater responsibilities, and as her reactions show, quite willing to do so, but she’s still bound by rules and expectations that don’t apply to the adults. Like just about every teenager she wants to be taken seriously but still needs to earn that respect, which isn’t always easy, especially when it involves being excluded from things that, as captain, she feels she should be part of. To be fair to the adults, she is trying to handle a lot for a fifteen-year-old and it’s quite sensible for them to see that she doesn’t push herself too hard, and they can clearly see that she’s gaining her sea legs (so to speak).
And as for Grier’s personal information working (and probably what would make the ghost ship “come to [her]” as she claims) despite her existence post-dating the last search team; methinks there’s a certain…redundancy in Serenity’s royal family.
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