[center]
[h3]Strategist
Landing Pier, Eastern Harbor[/h3]
[@Paradox Witch][/center]

Strategist shook her head at her Master's annoyed remark. "I'd merely thought it'd be best if you knew out the gate." she added, deliberately avoiding chipping in an apology despite her remorseful tone. "However, I'll take further care in adjusting such [i]'exchanges'[/i] in future."

[quote]"Well! Anyway, that helps a lot, actually. I was going to set up a workshop, but workshop creation isn't really my thing, and lucky us, we're still right by the water! Love it when a plan comes together. So, how about you summon that boat of yours and we hop on it, get a lil' bit of water distance between us and the docks, yeah?"[/quote]

Strategist leaned a hand on her uniform's beltline as she added, "Well, we'd likely need a landing ground where we can access the mainland, as well as to scavenge for supplies and whatever resources we can obtain that we couldn't get from town -" 

[i]'Assuming said town survives by morning!'[/i] she sullenly reflected.

"But yes, I believe that discretion will be the better part of valor for tonight." Strategist concluded, her ponytail 'twitching' slightly in the breeze. At that, the Servant began to retrace her steps back across the gang-plank and back onto the deck of the small motor boat they had disembarked from earlier, listening to her Master as the Servant began to prepare the boat for departure. She screwed her face up slightly at the mention of her Master's companion's preference for dried oregano. "I'm sure my quartermaster can provide her with some of the genuine stuff in the place of the oregano; no need to deceive her further."

[i]'Speaking of...'[/i] she observed when a ten year-old girl and a horribly-disfigured mask both showed up. Judging from the former's age and her question to her Master, this had to have been Mary, while the latter- What on God's great Earth is that ... [i][b]thing[/b][/i]?!

Snapping out of it, Strategist closed the hatch containing the small boat's primitive coal-fired engine and cleared her throat when Carly urged her to depart. "Yes, I think it's well past time we left. However, we'll need to get out into the open ocean first, and I'd rather not do anything that can be easily observable; too many possible eyes at this time of morning, for all I know." 

She beckoned the trio on-board. "So, if we are all done bickering, we'll get going."

[hr]
[b]13 Nautical Miles Later ...[/b]

It would be 13 nautical miles of navigating the small steam ship out to sea - thirteen nautical miles of Strategist having to internally hold her proverbial lunch in as her ship pitched about in the Japanese Sea's waves - before she would finally bring her ship to a slower speed.

"This will do nicely." she added to Carly. She lifted up what appeared to be a gas lantern with a shutter on its front to her shoulder height, before she took a hold of the shutter mechanism, aimed it out towards what appeared to be empty water and began to rapidly open and close it. To someone completely unfamiliar with what the Strategist was doing, the actions would have seemed utterly nonsensical. 

That is, until a pinprick of light could be observed responding in kind. Out of the darkness, a mountain of steel and iron began to slowly take form in the pre-dawn gloom ...

[center][img]http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/great_britain/battleships/dreadnought/dreadnought_ogrady.jpg[/img][/center]