//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9. Beacon of the Counterattack 
// Story: A Ship-of-the-Line 
// by KonceptKarma 
//------------------------------//

	"What is wrong with you?" Gallant and Carronade stood at the bow of the ship, he was clearly displeased with his friend's action.
"She said she'd only help us if I agreed to take her with us," Carronade did his best to explain his position, "what choice did I have?"
"What choice? You could have said no." Gallant put emphasis on the 'no.' 
"Then what? She's the only shipwright who the Ciervans haven't paid off." The unicorn countered.
"Oh really," Gallant began, "how many places did you check?"
Carronade rubbed the back of his neck in reservation, "Um, just hers." 
"M hm, and who told you that she was the only one?" He continued.
"She did," Carronade answered, "but I don't see the problem with that. She seems like an honest mare."
"She's a businessmare," Gallant yelled, "she'll say whatever she needs to in order to get a sale!" 
"Normally you'd be right, except that she is doing this for no pay." Carronade corrected.
Bested, Gallant backed down slightly, "Either way, she's one more pony that I have been charged with taking back safely with no say in the matter." 
"She said we didn't have to look after her." Carronade attempted to make a point, but it was quelled by Gallant.
"You can say I don't have to look after her all you want, but her being on this ship means she's under my care," Gallant turned away to return to his cabin, "don't go over my head like that again Carronade. You may be my friend, but you're still part of the crew."
Keel had already began work on the damaged starboard hull of the Resplendent. She'd never worked on a ship as grand as this before, much less with a few of materials as she had currently. The crew gave her the captured gunboat to dismantle and use as materials to patch the hull. She wanted to go into town and get new, high quality materials, but Gallant told her that returning to town after Stark's blunder was an impossibility. The Ciervans would be out in force searching for them, and he was surprised that warships hadn't already been sent out to sink them. Keel hammered and sawed away at the gunboat's remaining hull. With the use of her magic, she could bend the lumber to her will. It was something she's practiced on ever since she was a filly. She also managed to fuse the new pieces together with the old pieces on the Resplendent's hull. To finish it off, she cast strengthening spells on all the patched areas, to refresh the hull's integrity. She then painted over the patched sections so the colors matched up perfectly. By day's end, the Resplendent was back to her former glory. 
As Celestia's sun set, Gallant mustered the crew on the main deck. 
"Gents, I know that you're all tired, hungry, and worried. Both you, and I want to head home. However, before we do, there is something that must be done." Gallant pointed towards Casco's night scape, "Hiding somewhere in that city, is the man responsible for all this. I can't tell you for a fact if the entirety of Cierva wants us dead, but I know of one Ciervan in particular who does, Ardid. On the other side of this island, there is a plantation where a deer named Canalla lives. He knows where Ardid is hiding, and I want to know where Ardid is hiding. What I'm about to propose to you, is a dangerous operation. It will require all of you to pick up the slack left behind by our fallen comrades. In return, we take revenge on the man who sought our destruction. Now, who's with me?"
At once the crew called out, "Aye, Captain!" 
"Get that anchor up gents, the Resplendent's going to war!" Carronade yelled out. 
In the dark of Luna's night, the Resplendent slipped out of the port of Casco, and out to sea, but held to the coastline, waiting for the indication of the plantation. As they rounded the island in search, a lit property came into view. The crew doused the lamps, and cloaked the ship in complete darkness. They dropped the anchor into the moderately shallow water, with the starboard guns pointed directly at the property.
"Is it the plantation Captain?" Carronade asked.
"Bring me a spyglass." One of the crew handed Gallant a spyglass, and he scoped out the property. "I see four small fields, and a large house in the back of the property. It's the plantation." 
As the crew prepared themselves to go ashore, Gallant called a strategy meeting with Carronade and Stark.
"Here's the plan," Gallant lay out a basic map he drew of the property, "Carronade, you're going to take a group of riflemen directly towards the south gate, and cause a distraction. As you're doing this, Stark is going to take the crew's remaining pegasus, and lead a flanking maneuver down this road to the east, and through the east gate. While you two and your squads keep the guards busy, I'll take a small regiment of the crew's best swordsman and storm the house from the west. Hopefully the guards will be too distracted by your attacks to notice us. It's a pretty basic plan, but it may work."
"May work is better than nothing." Stark reasoned. 
"Aye, if it works for you it works for me." Carronade agreed. 
The crew split into their three groups for the attack, as they took the longboats ashore, Gallant couldn't help but feel as nervous as he did when the privateers first attacked. Only this time, they were the ones attacking. As they ventured through the thick jungle surrounding the plantation, Gallant could suddenly hear the cracks of musket fire. Carronade's group had started the attack. As the looked closely at the plantation, he could see the Ciervan guards rushing towards the commotion with weapons readied. The plan was working. As they drew closer to the west gate, Gallant could hear the clanging of swords. He looked again to see Stark's group had successfully broken through the east gate, and had gotten the guards caught in a pincer. Carronade's group had also charged the south gate, completely trapping the unprepared Ciervan guards. By the time they reached the west gate, there was no one in their way to stop them. Gallant's group stormed the house in full force, it seemed only a few armed guards were stationed inside. Gallant bolted up the stairs to the second floor, finding the bedroom, and kicking the door open furiously. Inside was a deer, he'd obviously heard the noise, and had taken refuge under his bed. Gallant trotted over, and pulled him out from underneath it.
Pointing his cutlass at the deer's throat, he calmly asked, "Canalla, I presume?"
"No entiendo." The deer squeaked out in Spanish.
"I know you speak English!" In an instant, his calm demeanor turned to a look of rage, "Now I'm not going to ask you again, are you Canalla?"
The deer cowered, he obviously wasn't strong willed, "Yes, yes I'm Canalla! What do you want?"
"I want Ardid, now where is he?" Gallant growled.
"What?" Canalla looked surprise by the question.
Gallant firmly pressed his hoof against Canalla's throat, he began to gasp for air, "Where is Ardid?" 
"Alright, alright I'll tell you, just don't kill me," He gasped as Gallant released his throat and motioned for him to talk, "Ardid is hiding in Casco, he takes refuge in an inn called La Caja Fuerte. He stays on the top floor in room 20. Now are you going to let me go?"
"No, not exactly." A grin hit Gallant's face.
"But you said you'd let me live." Canalla's eyes widened.
"I am going to let you live, but I can't just let you go and warn Ardid before I get the chance to kill him now can I?" Gallant took the hilt of his sword, and smacked Canalla straight in the forehead. The deer slumped over, unconscious. He motioned for one of his crew to grab the deer, and they trotted out the front of the house. By this time the battle had long since ended. All of the guards lay strewn across the plantation, with not a single of his crew along with them. The operation was a complete success. The crew packed up into longboats, with one more than they'd set out with. 
They didn't have time to celebrate however, Gallant could only assume that Ardid kept a close eye on Canalla and the plantation, and he'd soon know of the attack. They had to act fast. Before the sun had risen over the horizon, the Resplendent was anchored back in Casco, almost exactly where it was before. Upon threatening Canalla for further information, he revealed that La Caja Fuerte was on the eastern edge of the city, close to the shoreline. Gallant and a few crewmen took a longboat out into the harbor to survey, from the boat, they managed to spot the inn. It was a fairly run down looking building, with the words 'Caja Fuerte' plastered on the front. When the longboat returned with the information, they began to devise a plan.