It was time for everyone to gather, and as expected, Bill saw a teenager with curly blonde hair, wearing glasses on his face and another pair around his neck.
"First!" greeted the young man as he stepped onto the deck.
Bill replied to the greeting, and Ricky said, "No surprise! Oh yeah, Sasha is running a bit late, but she'll be here soon."
"Uh-huh," Bill replied and asked, "Did she train this morning?"
Hearing this, Ricky laughed and quickly headed towards the stairs: "She trains every morning! I'll dash to my cabin and be back soon."
With these words, Ricky disappeared inside the ship, and Bill approached the railings, leaning forward.
There was still a whole hour before departure, but he knew that everyone would arrive early, and indeed, before Ricky returned from the lower deck, Bill saw Rance and Fia heading to the dock. They both had rather large backpacks, which Bill didn't expect since they had loaded the ship the day before, but noticing the pots and pans, he guessed these were likely recent purchases.
There were already kitchen supplies on the ship, but since there were only five of them, Bill didn't spend much on the kitchen.
By the time they reached the gangway, Ricky had already returned on deck in his new Cloak of Justice with a lieutenant's emblem on his shoulder. Bill thought the cloak looked stylish, but he was a bit surprised that the Sailors didn't issue service ribbons—only emblems to denote rank and awards for outstanding achievements.
Shaking his head, Bill approvingly said, "You look great," and then turned to Rance and Fia, greeting them just like Ricky.
After a brief exchange of greetings, they went to settle in, as Ricky had already done, and soon returned to the deck.
As they came up, Ricky shifted from small talk to discussing their new mission.
"So, Captain," Ricky said.
Ricky and the others alternated how they addressed Bill. For personal matters, they called him by his name, but for business topics, they used his title.
"You want to sell finished products, and I understand that. Considering our commission and the fact that we can use ships with sea stone hulls, there's a great opportunity here.
But I wondered: how are you going to find the islands to do business with?
I doubt we can afford Eternal Logposes for every backwater island... but the plan seems to rely on those very small islands for sourcing materials."
Nodding, Bill looked at Rance and Fia and replied, "Good question.
As you know, navigation is the biggest problem in sea travel. Heck, sometimes, even if you've been to a place, you can't find it again once the Logpose shifts!
I have a partial solution to this problem, but I'll explain when Sasha joins us."
Nodding in response, Ricky settled for the moment, and Rance added that he had a few questions too, to which Bill replied they would discuss everything once everyone was on board.
The group had already discussed how they would manage the ship. A night watch was necessary, but since there were only five of them, there couldn't be more than one person on watch at night.
To address this, Bill had created an improvised locking mechanism to keep the wheel steady, and each of them would take turns on night duty. Except in the case of a storm, one person could easily maintain the ship's course.
After talking for a while, Bill checked his watch and realized it was already around ten in the morning—time to set sail.
Naturally, he scanned the hundreds of heads at the pier and noticed a sharp-faced blonde with a sword.
"There she is," he said, seeing she wasn't alone.
Behind her followed their parents and many other captains and acquaintances from the island.
Bill had seen many of these people only at the graduation party, and while he wanted to chat with them, he simply didn't have the time. When Sasha approached the gangway, Bill and the others waved to their parents, though they didn't step down to greet them, nor did Aramaki and the others come aboard. Bill wondered if his sisters would be sent to his mother's kingdom, realizing that if it happened, he probably wouldn't see the two little twins for many years.
As Sasha stepped onto the deck, he gave a final farewell wave and addressed everyone. First, he looked at the girl who had just boarded and said, "Just in time, Lieutenant Commander." Then, turning to everyone, "We have something to discuss, but first let's set sail."
"Rance, make sure the clothes and equipment are still in the hold. Fia, I assume you've already checked the kitchen?"
Seeing her nod, he continued, "Good, then go with Ricky and ensure the cannons are secured. Sasha and I will unfurl the front sail and raise the anchor."
For ordinary sailors, raising the anchor could take hours due to its weight and the need to be careful not to damage the ship. But for this crew, it was no problem, and by the time Rance, Ricky, and Fia completed their tasks, Sasha and Bill had finished theirs too.
Bill stood at the helm, with Rance as his lookout, as they navigated out of the port and headed into open sea. The "Border Breaker" was a ship designed for hunting smugglers and pirates of the New World. It wasn't the fastest ship in the maritime fleet, but thanks to its light cargo, it practically glided over the water.