Carnifex

17/6/468 AC, Kamakura, Yamato

"Kurita did request, in his last will and testament, that we continue to support the ronin as much as possible," Yamagata said.

"I know," Saito agreed, "and it's hardly that grand a request. The problem is that nobody here has made or designed an elevator for an aircraft carrier in decades. Many decades. And the ronin need their elevator now. Between design, tooling up, and actual production, we're looking at half a year to a year."

"And no one makes elevators like this anymore, do they?" Yamagata asked, rhetorically.

Saito shook his head in the negative. "The nearest thing to what the ronin need—or, in any event, could use—is a side mounted elevator the Federated States put on some of their amphibious carriers. The ship, however, is not designed for that."

"Could it be modified?"

"I have sent a naval engineer to enquire. There is also one other possibility that gets them an elevator quickly and gives us time to have one custom designed and built."