Count Curzon stood on the quarterdeck of the San Martin peering into the gray haze of the morning; he knew that the pirates had established a base along the Nylian coast and he intended to find it and pay them a visit. Still his heart skipped a beat when the lookout cried out that he had sighted sails to the east, this was going to be the acid test of his hastily reformed navy and he could not afford a defeat. He signaled to the other two captains to prepare for battle. As he did so he felt no small amount of pride, titanic efforts had been made to repair the L'Apertif in time for this cruise and the brand-new San Louis was crewed with the best sailors from the Western Fleet. In the distance he heard the pirate's picket boat fire a cannon-shot, no doubt to advise their friends that visitors were about to call.
