"Mr. Gardener!" Montoya exclaimed, delighted to see his old shipmate. "Doctor! How pleasant to see you well!" the young man replied, his voice carrying over the crack of sails and rigging. "In fact, it is lieutenant now. And, should you wish to oblige me immmensely, you could call me captain, being in command of this here fine vessel!" "Captain Gardener it is, then - And what a prodigiously fine little ship she is!" "Indeed she is, although some may call her a yacht, rather than a ship, not being ship-rigged... But a wonderful sailer, nonetheless." Gardener said with a smile. "Bah, you sailors and your jargon!" he said, shaking his head. "How is the wind for Celestia?" "As sure as your hand during surgery, Doctor! Hop on board just this moment and we will be right off. Been lying to here for long enough now!" Montoya had long since had enough of the fighting on Isla de Medio, or Isla de Victoria, as the Eslandians seemed to call it, and as the field hospital was established and would function without his participation, he had written to Cooke to have transport arranged. And while it had taken some time, Cooke had arranged for the Pioneer, under the command of his former midshipman, now Lieutenant, Gardener, to pick up Montoya on its way to Celestia. As it happened, the Pioneer was despatched to bring supplies and mail to Major Allcocks expedition on Celestia, whereafter it be at Allcocks command to support the expedition in any way he may wish. Montoya was happy to leave. Eslandian and Marderian wounded alike all seemed confident on victory, and the battle would be bloody. He was tired of war, and rumours of both Marderian and Garveyan (on the side of Eslandola) reinforcements suggested an escalation of the conflict. Soon, it would be full blown war. The diplomatic grapevine was buzzing with tension. The Pioneer is a yacht, a swift and manoeuvrable fore-and-aft rigged vessel type recently developed in Altonia. Adept at sailing close to the wind, low draught, and easy to handle even by a small crew makes it perfectly suited for running communications both inshore and on the open seas. Several of the type has been commissioned by the Crown for the National Surveyor, the service in charge of charting the territorial waters of Corrington. Apart from small-arms, it is unarmed, not intended for warfare. On board, in the cabin, young Gardener asked Montoya a curious question. "Who was that fellow?" "Who?!" "Did you not notice the man behind the bushes? A native, it seemed..." Montoya was leaving from a small pier just outside the Fuerte Unido city wall. He wouldn't be sad to see the island disappear below the horizon, once more devoting himself to the natural sciences. ___________________________________________________________________________ A fun build, and one of my favourite landscape builds ever. Rigging the yacht did obscure most of the build, though, which is why you get a "ship-free" picture. The yacht is a class 2 F, under the current nomenclature, and may or may not be licensed. If the greenies want the property licensed, let me know. C&C is, as always, welcome.