The same day they landed, they held a proper funeral for Captain Mainsail. Surprisingly few people attended, namely the crew of the Resplendent, and Princess Celestia. Even though she only stayed for a few minutes, Gallant could tell she was more hurt than most. Before he could get a chance to speak to her, she left. Leaving the crew alone to mourn their captain. Even though most of them had already mourned their captain from a week ago, they attended to pay their respects all the same.
That night, the crew retired to a tavern close to the docks. They drank cider, and acted like idiots, while the more seasoned crew told stories about Mainsail's great adventures as a captain. Even though Mainsail personally didn't like the stories, Gallant loved them. The grand tales of fighting pirates off with a stare, battling giant rogue waves in hurricanes, and of course the mystery behind himself and Celestia. These stories were all so grandiose that anyone who didn't know the captain probably wouldn't believe them. Gallant took it all in a laughed to himself. He planned on living by the captain's motto from now on. The time you spend on land is the time you take a load off.
The next day, Gallant asked Keel to rebuild the battering ram for him. Only this time, it would be a permanent addition. He'd seen what she could do in an hour, so he only could imagine what she could do with a week. He also promoted Carronade to quartermaster, now that he officially was a captain he had the authority to do so. They also re-outfitted the ship with new guns, and new sails. The crew also was reinforced with more men, who at first were skeptical of their captain, but upon hearing the story from the other crew quickly changed their attitude. By the end of the week, the ERS Resplendent was back at full fighting strength.
The day Gallant met with Celestia was a fairly quiet one. The crew were all relaxed up and ready to head back out to sea, they just needed their orders. Celestia sent a carriage for him, and upon arriving at the small colonial house she was using, couldn't imagine the princess living there. Gallant was ushered into the house's office, where Celestia was waiting for him.
"Your highness." He bowed his head.
"Captain Topsail." She acknowledged.
After a moment's awkward silence, Gallant broke it, "So, you asked me to report to you."
"Yes, I did," She started, motioning for him to take a seat at the table in the middle of the room, "you see, the Ciervans have not taken the course of action we thought they would."
"Meaning what exactly, your highness?" He asked.
"Meaning that after uncovering their operation, we thought they'd quickly back down. However, upon revealing our awareness of said operation to them, the Ciervans declared war." Celestia sighed as she spoke. Gallant could tell she wanted to resolve this peacefully.
"Pardon me your highness, but that still doesn't quite explain why I'm here now." Gallant pointed out.
"Of course, the reason I called you here is a fairly simple one. I'm reassigning the Resplendent." Celestia got to the point.
"To which fleet?" He asked.
"To her own fleet." She said bluntly, "The Resplendent is going to be the figurehead of our counterattack. As it was the ship that the Ciervans specifically targeted, it'll be nice to see that same ship leading the attack that crushes them."
"Understood your highness, but who's going to command the fleet?" Gallant asked, having already formulated an answer.
Celestia gave him a serious look, "I am." That was not the answer Gallant was expecting, he expected her to say Flareluck, or someone like that, anyone but herself. He wanted to say something, but held his tongue, although his face couldn't quite hold in his curiosity.
"You look like you have something to say captain, do you?" She asked.
"Um, well, aye I do." Gallant fumbled, "No offense meant but, why you?"
Celestia only smiled at him, "Captain, I've led more armies to war than you could possibly imagine. I haven't always wanted to do so, but I've done it. The reason Equestria is where it is today is because of all those wars we've fought. I can tell you this much as well, this time, I want to lead my people to victory. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's cowardice towards your enemies, and what the Ciervans have done is cowardice. The Resplendent will become the flagship of our message to the Ciervan Empire. No one harms my people and gets away with it. The Resplendent will become, the Hunter."