//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5. Earning Respect 
// Story: A Ship-of-the-Line 
// by KonceptKarma 
//------------------------------//

	As the battered ERS Resplendent sailed away from the remnants of the battle, Carronade stared at Gallant. The look in his eyes as he shot that sailor, he couldn't quite put his hoof on it, but he knew it wasn't good. 
Gallant noticed the unicorn staring at him, "Is there a problem Carronade?"
"No sir, it's just..." Carronade hesitated.
"It's just what?" Gallant asked flatly.
"Nothing, it's not my place to question your methods, captain." Carronade looked at his hooves.
"Carronade, look at me," Gallant placed a hoof on his shoulder "not only are we sailors on the same ship, but you're my friend. If you have a problem with something I've done then by all means tell me.
Carronade contemplated holding back, but he managed to eek it out, "Why did you kill him?"
"Why," Gallant sounded surprised, "we have enough problems without having to care for a wounded enemy." 
"I know that, but did you have to shoot him?" Carronade knew his question sounded stupid, but he wanted to hear Gallant's explanation.
"Put bluntly, no I didn't. I could've marooned him on some deserted island, or dumped him in the sea perhaps. In which case he would've still died, only much slower." Gallant's explanation was emotionless, and blunt. Carronade could only nod in response. He began to slowly trot away, but another question suddenly entered his mind.
"Captain, what are you going to do about the information?" A hint of urgency entered the unicorn's voice.
Gallant winced at being called captain, but turned to answer, "We must report the news to the princess immediately. If the Ciervans do indeed plan on going to war with Equestria, she must be alerted to the news so preparations can be made. We must make for the mainland as soon as we can."
That was easier said than done, the ship was damaged from the battle, the crew sustained heavy losses, and their captain was dead. What's worse, Gallant didn't think of himself as a captain, he knew he wasn't. Just because Mainsail said he was captain didn't mean the crew would listen to him. To them, he was some impudent cabin boy who suddenly became too big for his britches. Even so, the captain gave him a mission, to get the ship back to port safely, and that's what he was going to do. 
The nearest port to them was the city of Casco, on the island of Hispantlerla. There, they could contract a local shipwright to conduct repairs on the Resplendent. The crew could also use the time to recover from the battle. As they moored themselves off the coast, Gallant decided now was the time to speak to them.
"Everyone listen up," He called out from the helm, slowly the crew turned to face him, "I know right now that you think I'm not fit to be your captain. To be honest, neither do I. Even so, Captain Mainsail entrusted me with both yours and the ships safe return to Equestria. As such, swear upon my name, and my life, that I will see it through. When we return you are welcome to no longer see me as your captain. I very much understand your reasoning, but until then, I ask that you at least lend me your ear when I ask something of you."
One of the crew decided to speak up," Why should we listen to what you have to say?"
Gallant couldn't help but sympathize, but retaliated anyway, "Because if not me, then who?" The crew looked around at each other, expecting someone to step forward, but no one spoke up. Knowing he'd made his point Gallant turned away, and walked towards the stern of the ship. After a minute, Carronade trotted up next to him, he leaned on the railing next to him.
"How do you think that went?" Gallant asked.
"Pretty good considering," Carronade nodded, "they'll probably listen to you now. They don't respect you, but they'll listen."
"That's a start, I suppose." Gallant shrugged. 
Gallant personally didn't want to go ashore, but it was his responsibility to get the Resplendent repaired, and Casco's shipwright was reportedly one of the best. The crew pulled themselves from the longboats onto the busy docks. Gallant was astounded by the sheer number of people out there. His home town of Caballito paled in comparison to the size of it all. As Gallant looked around with great curiosity, he noticed a dark red earth pony eying the crew, mouthing numbers off as though he was counting. Gallant turned away from him towards Carronade.
"Carronade, we have a problem." Gallant whispered to him.
"What is it?" A look of worry spread across his face.
"I think they're here." He continued.
"Who?" The unicorn asked.
"Whoever wants us dead," Gallant wanted to yell, but controlled himself, "look over my shoulder. The dark red earth pony standing in the crowd, you see him."
Carronade glanced over, he noticed the pony, and was careful not to make eye contact, "Yes, I see him."
"He's counting how many crew are left, someone must have noticed that the Eqeustrian man o' war hasn't been sunk." Gallant looked over his shoulder at the red pony, who had just turned away and began to walk off. "Quickly, let's follow him" Carronade nodded, and the two trotted off in pursuit. 
The two pushed and shoved their way through the crowded streets, careful not to draw too much attention to themselves, but not to loose sight of their target. The red pony ducked into an alleyway, and they followed him down it, but were careful to check and see if he hadn't turned around or stopped. The alley turned a corner, and ended behind a general store. There, the red pony stopped and began to speak to two deer. 
"I counted about 90 men." The red pony conveyed.
"What, why so few? How could they have still sailed with so few crew members?" One of the deer began, he had a thick Ciervan accent.
"Keep in mind, this is the Equestrians were talking about here, the unicorn crew members can man the guns alone, and the pegasi have flight. They don't need as many crew as we do." The other deer finished, the same accent evident in his voice.
"Right, either way, thank you for the information. Tell your captain that he is to storm the ship, and eliminate the remaining crew. We can't take any chances, even if there are so few crew left." The first deer ordered.
"Right," The red pony began, "but what do I tell him about the captain?"
"What, you mean Mainsail is still alive?" The second deer interrupted. 
"No. Mainsail wasn't with them, the captain is some stallion that didn't match his description." The pony answered.
"Interesting." The second deer started to think.
"What's on your mind Ardid?" The first deer questioned.
Ardid pondered in thought for a moment, "I believe this means Mainsail is dead. Their morale must be destroyed, so now is the perfect time to strike. Don't you agree Gamberro?" 
Gamberro nodded in agreement, "Yes, I believe so. You," He pointed towards the red pony, "tell your captain we are storming the ship tonight at midnight." 
"Right, and their captain?" The red pony asked.
Ardid waved his hoof dismissively, "He is no threat, clearly just some fool they promoted after Mainsail died." With that, the red pony nodded and began to walk away, by that time, Gallant and Carronade had heard everything they needed to, and began to hurry towards the dock.
"Did you hear that?" Carronade asked panicked.
"Yes Carronade I did. It was the Ciervans after all. Did you hear that one's name, Ardid, just like that sailor said." Gallant huffed as he pushed his way through the crowd. 
"What do we do?" The unicorn managed to push his was up next to Gallant.
"We need to warn the crew, and the repairs will have to wait." Gallant kept pushing. 
Back at the docks, the crew were still unpacking the longboats. Gallant leaned into Carronade's ear.
"Get everyone back in the longboats quietly, we need to get back aboard the ship." He whispered. Carronade nodded, and began ushering the crew back into the longboats. The crew huffed and grumbled, but listened. A few of them cursed under their breaths, for they clearly didn't like taking orders from Gallant. Back aboard the Resplendent, Gallant began to explain.
"Everyone, there's a problem." He yelled. The crew looked around at one another, then back to Gallant. Clearly wanting an explanation. 
"What's the problem?" One finally piped up.
"The Ciervans who planned the attack on us are here in Casco," The crew looked surprised at this, " they plan on raiding the ship tonight."
"How are we supposed to believe that?" Someone yelled out.
"Because," Carronade interrupted, "we followed someone who appeared to be counting how many of you lot there were. When we followed him, he met up with that Ardid fellow, and they talked about attacking us. I heard it with my own ears." 
Gallant nodded to Carronade, "They're going to attack us tonight at midnight. They think we aren't prepared for it, but we will be. Tonight, we're going to send a message to those damned Ciervans. That the crew of the ERS Resplendent is not going to fold over and sink into the sea. When they storm this ship, let's send em' to Tartarus with a storm of lead and steel. Now who's with me?"
All at once, the crew called out, "Aye!"