It always surprised Ricardo just how much paperwork went into running a Marine vessel; the regimented lifestyle, the backbreaking manual labour, the life and death struggles against threats from both pirates and nature itself were all downsides that the average citizen was likely aware of or could easily imagine a marine having to deal with, but few people thought about the sheer amount of [i]paperwork[/i] involved. From the general admin such as supply requests, crew payslips and reports written to his superiors, to the large pile of new and updated bounties he had to acquaint himself with, not to mention the personal letters to his family he was expected to pen, Ricardo’s office was always just one gust of wind away from being a blizzard of scattered papers.

At the moment however he found himself with a rare moment of peace. Rather than the scratching of quill on parchment the only sounds that filled his cabin now were the gentle creaking of wood in time with the rocking of the ship and the gentle lapping of wave on the hull; there was of course also the sound of men and women moving about on deck, but he had long since learned to tune that out so long as everything sounded in order. They had arrived in Loguetown the night before and Ricardo had already completed what work he needed to do leaving himself with nothing else urgent to occupy his attention for once; now was usually the time when he would be getting ready to set out again or preparing for a brief stint of leave, but this time he had been ordered to wait until such a time as he was summoned. For what he still didn’t know, but the order had come from those above him and it was his duty to follow, not to ponder why.

A knock at the door interrupted the peace as a moment later a member of Ricardo’s crew poked his head into the officer’s cabin. “Sir; Vice-Admiral Haramitsu has called a meeting on the other Marine vessel at port. He wants all officers to attend.”

“Thank you, private. Was that all?” At a nod from the marine Ricardo stood from his desk, straightening his jacket before following the man out the door and onto the deck of his ship. The cumulative noises of people, both on the ship and on the dock they were moored at, were more apparent now that he was outside; the sounds of footsteps on wooden planks and creaking ropes was joined by a general susurration of voices that could be heard in any town or city.

Stepping down the gangplank, Ricardo made his way towards the other Marine vessel docked alongside his as he thought to himself. Loguetown was no different from any other island in East Blue, aside for two things, and was as lively and active as any other port Ricardo had visited. The two things that set Loguetown apart however were the Marine Headquarters and its proximity to the Grand Line. Give how many travellers passed through this place on their way to the world’s most dangerous ocean, more than a few of which were pirates with lofty goals, it was inevitable that the Marines would set up a base here to keep the peace.

And speaking of keeping the peace… Ricardo boarded the other ship and walked towards the imposing individual that he knew to be the Vice-Admiral Haramitsu. [color=fff200]“Captain Ricardo Borja, reporting as ordered Vice-Admiral.”[/color]