It had been three days since the fire and Poppy had only been back to the port to meet with Private Intercept so he could escort her to the university. On her free time Poppy was spending her time at the café listening to Smooth Silk sing.
On one of the days that Poppy had got to the port to meet with the private she found a group of deer soldiers using a winch to drag the Crystal Palace out of the water. Poppy found the master shipbuilder a large deer. He was standing off to the side as the dockhands moved the witch. Poppy asked the buck what was happening. He told her that an out of water inspection was needed to help reveal any damage that had not previously been seen. Poppy asked him how long it would take to make the repairs to the ship. He told her he was unable to determine how long it would take to finish the repairs but had figured it would be at least a week.
Finding the young pegaus private the two ponies started their trot to the university. Poppy enjoyed the walk with the private. He was rather shy but talkative when it came to his interests. The two enjoyed the sights and sound of the town, as it reminded them of their homes in Equestria.
That night, as they left the university after having just finished their day at the university and were leaving through the gate where the large buck at the gate gave them both a nod before he closed the gates behind them. Outside the gate Poppy was surprised to find Captain Compass waiting for them.
“Good evening Mrs. Poppy. Private.” The captain said.
“Something we can help you with Captain?”
He nodded at Poppy. He told the private to leave to witch the private gave a salute before heading back to the base.
The captain asked Poppy if there was somewhere they could talk and so Poppy suggested they go to the café where Smooth Silk would be halfway through her set.
Poppy had still said nothing to anyone about the note or what the dead griffin had told her and now those warnings rang clear in her head. The two ponies found a table outside where they both took seats. The look on the captain's muzzle worried her as he sat in silence. He seemed to be thinking about something. Not wanting the awkward silence to go on, Poppy spoke up.
“Is everything alright captain?” She asked.
“There still has been no word from Equestria on reinforcements. Seargent Storm Surge said even with the cable's messages can take days, but I am concerned that with every day we wait here our crew is in more danger.”
Poppy's concern at the news was evident as her ears drooped a little but perked back up when she thought about spending more time in Dear Hollow.
“Mrs. Poppy?” The captain asked.
Poppy's mind had drifted and suddenly she realized that the captain was trying to get her attention. The captain cleared his throat which finally snapped her out of her thoughts.
“Sorry?” Poppy said embarrassed by her daydreaming.
The captain just smirked at her.
“What?” She asked. Her surprise was gone. Now replaced with a feeling of indignation at his expression.
“Oh nothing. Just I knew I looked good, but you were staring, and someone might get the wrong ideas” He said smiling and chuckling to himself afterwards.
Poppy’s face turned bright red with embracement. How could he be making such jokes when the situation of his crew being so dire.
The captain continued to laugh at her. His laugh was loud and deep causing her cheeks to grow even redder. Poppy clamped her ears down as her anger came to a boil. She was just about to let him have it when the waiter came over to their table to take their order. It only took that one interruption for Poppy to realize they were in a very public place and probably yelling at him here would cause more embarrassment for her than him. Poppy calmed herself taking a few deep breaths before trying to change the subject to one that was more imperative.
At this point Poppy knew the cafe's menu rather and the waiter recognized her. Ordering the usual mocha with an extra shot, the griffin then turned to Captain Compass he ordered a black coffee. The griffin nodded at both ponies before scurrying off to place their orders.
The captain picked up the conversation again. “Mrs. Poppy, I fear that any reinforcements will take too long to arrive for us to be able to do any good for our missing crew members. According to the mastership builder the Crystal Palaces repairs will be done within the next few days, and I want to be sailing within the day.”
“So, what can we do without help from Equestria theirs just five of us left?” She asked.
His face became stern as he explained his plan.
“Mrs. Poppy, I know what I am going to say may sound strange and even illegal, but I promise my plan will work. Let me explain before you say anything, ok? Poppy nodded her consent. Her curiosity peaked.
So, you and I are the only officials of the empire in Dear Hollow and that grants both of us some latitude in what we can do in the absences of any pony else. You, Mrs. Poppy, are even in a more unique position than me. As a government official of the empire need you to use that power to do something and I need you to say yes. I know you may not like my idea, but my crew needs you, and you may be there only hope. I am going to get right to the point of want I want you to do. I need you to sign orders for the ship to go out and attempt to rescue the missing crew.”
Poppy’s mouth was agape at such an idea. Poppy's mind reeled at the idea that she could order such a thing. Her first thought on the matter was she did not have that type of power and she said as much to the captain. The captain did little to appease Poppys concerns instead he went into how a new crew would need to be hired but poppy still seemed to be stunned at his suggestion that she could order the Crystal Palace on a rescue mission. To her it sounded like he was telling her that she had the authority to create her own army.
As Poppy thought about what to say at the captain's suggestion the waitress came back over. She placed the captain's drink down first before placing Poppy drink down in front of her.
The captain was staring at her expectantly. Trying to buy herself some time to speak Poppy lifted her mug to her lips and took a long slow slip. When she had formulated the right words, Poppy set down the mug and spoke to the captain.
“Captain, I don’t know about this. Just the idea of me creating orders without approval seems wrong.” The captain nodded at her in understanding.
“Yes, I understand, but it is perfectly legal. In fact, I knew you would question it so I brough along my copy of military code.” He said as he floated out a book from his saddle bag. Poppy watched as he set the book down on the table. The book was old and well word. The cover read Military Legal Code Cir. 2501. Poppy watched as the captain thumbed through the pages with his magic until he came to the page he was looking for, turning it towards her he pointed out the line he wanted her to read. The line read Military Chain of Command. Wartime Order. In a war zone where lack of military command results in no orders a ranking government official can take charge of routed military or militia personnel. The law did seem to imply that she could take charge and it bothered her that the law implied that they needed to be in a war zone. The fact that she was sitting in a peaceful café seemed to contradict the idea of being in a war zone.
Still the captain did not see an issue with her concerns. He explained that Dear Hollow was at war with the pirates and that there was an official declaration of war some years back to help mobilize its forces. He went on to say that the military code did not say that the empire had to be at war only the unit was in a warzone.
The two of them paid their bill and got up. Before leaving the café Poppy popped her head into the café and waived at Smooth Silk. The mare waived back.
The two Equestrians headed back to the shipyards. The café was on the far side of town from the naval base, so it gave Poppy time to think as they made their way back. The clip clop of her hooves against the cobble stone path help to steady her raging thoughts. The closer they got the more she convinced herself that she could do this, and it would all be ok. Still no matter how hard she tried the voice in her head told her to talk to someone about his plans.
Back at the ship, which had been mostly repaired and now sat in the water as final repairs were made, the captain showed Poppy to the ship's stateroom. The walk through the ship's interior revealed that most of the external damage to the ship's hull had been repaired but the interior was still a mess. She watched as a group of griffons helped to lower a large support beam in place to help support the wait of the main deck above. The griffins were using their strength to hold the beam in place as three dear used hammers to place large iron rivets into it.
The state rooms condition mirrored the state of the ship itself with the interior still torn apart and workers going about to fix the most critical damage. The captain ordered the room cleared and it was not long before every create had scampered out of the room. Poppy followed the captain over to a writing desk located against one of the ships bulkheads. Looking at the top of the desk over Poppy noticed several framed photos. The first photo Poppy noticed was of a purple unicorn filly. Poppy recognized the filly's cutie mark as belonging to Princess Twilight Sparkle. Poppy carefully set the photo down before picking up the second photo.
The captain had begun leafing through some of the drawers in the desk. Ignoring him for a moment, Poppy looked at the photo in her hooves. While the first photo had been framed in a near bezeles frame this frame appeared to have been made by a child. The frame was red and covered in little macaroni noodles. The photo itself showed two ponies. The first one was a little filly with a white coat and two-toned mane and tail. The other pony, a stallion, was holding the little filly. He had a white coat and had a blue mane. Poppy recognized both ponies as Princess Cadences family. Setting the photo down Poppy turned her attention to what the captain was doing and just in time to see him grabbing a letter opener in his magic. Using his magic, he jammed the spear shaped metal into one of the locked drawers. Poppy looked at the captain watching with a concerned expression as he broke into the Princesses desk. He noticed her concerned expression and tried to reassure her as he broke the lock with one swift jerk of the letter opener. He then quickly rifled through the contents before pulling out several official looking sheets of paper. He sorted through the papers till he found a blank sheet with the princess's letterhead. The captain quickly jotted something down. Once the Captain had finished writing down some orders, he hoofed them to her and told Poppy to sign. She did so but with significant concern and hesitation. The voice in her head screaming at her that something was wrong. At that moment she decided to talk to Smooth Silk about what was happening.
That afternoon when the captain went to go recruit a new crew from the town's population Poppy made her way into town. Stopping at the café she found Smooth Silk chatting with a few customers near her piano. When the mare noticed Poppy come in, she excused herself from their company and trotted over to Poppy. The two took a seat near one of the cafe's large windows. Poppy explained what the captain was doing and that he had her sign the orders. Smooth Silk listened to Poppy stories with a mix of concern and curiosity. Once Poppy had finished talking Smooth Silk sat silent for a moment pondering on what to say to the concerned mare in front of her. After a few minutes of silence Poppy asked her again what she should do. Finally, the unicorn spoke.
“I agree with you Poppy that something is very wrong and if I were you, I would talk to Seargent Storm Surge. He is a good stallion and I have known him for many years if any pony were to know what to do it would be him. Poppy trusted Smooth Silks instincts and agreed to the Seargent when she got back to the base.
The conversation between the two mares changed after that to happier thought and after a time Poppy had to get back so the captain would not know she had left and to give her time to talk to the Seargent. Poppy excused herself but not without making plans to see the mare again that night.
The lights outside the café were already lit by the time she had walked back to the base. The guard at the gate greeted her before opening the gate. Poppy asked him if he knew the where abouts of the Seargent. He told her that he was most likely at the Officers club. Poppy nodded her thanks to the guard before trotting off to the officer's club and Seargent Storm Surge.
The officer's club was a rather dumpy looking building and would have been perfectly at home in some seedy part of Canterlot or Las Pegasus. Inside the building Poppy found officers from all over the Imperial Protectorate. Looking around she spotted a Pegasus seargent drinking a glass of what she could only assume was Wild Pegasus. The Stallion was surrounded by a group of dear officers as he wildly gestured about while telling some type of war story. When Poppy approached the seargent he noticed her and asked her to sit. She refused and asked him if there was somewhere they could talk. Sensing that it was serious he grabbed his drink and gulped down the last of its contents before gesturing with one of his wings to a seat in the rear of the building. Poppy took a seat at the small table opposite the stallion.
“Now what is the issue Mrs.Poppy?” The sergeant asked.
“It's Captain Compass. I think that something is wrong. I don’t have any hard evidence, but several people have warned me about him and now he wants to go rescue the missing crew without orders or help from Empire.” It just all makes me nervous, and I felt like you should know.” The seargent nodded along, his attention fully focused on her. When she was done telling him her fears about the captain, he told her that he had his own suspicions about the captain and how the Crystal Palace always seemed to never be near pirate attacks and that there might be a breach in Imperial Security. The two continued discussing the captain and eventually the Seargent came up with a plan to be on the Crystal Palace when it left port the next week.