Exodus

[Fish]

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835 AS

June 8
Saule walked unannounced into the dock where the Exodus had been sitting. It was still covered front to back in scorch marks, unpainted patches, welding streaks several meters long, and holes made by Core battleship cannons. But there it was, as finished as he wanted it to be. "Hi baby," he said in a high-pitched voice, as if he were talking to a gigantic puppy or a kitten, running his hand along a jagged welding line in the hull of the Nephilim. The Sabah shipyard workers made hushed remarks about him and laughed among themselves, but Saule never gave a shit what anyone else thought. At least, not when they had expended their usefulness, like these workers had. He commanded his crew to their stations and waltzed onto his ship.

The ship's warning alarms blared, indicating to the ground crew that it was being powered up and that they should stay clear. The shipyard workers scattered and frantically began closing the blast doors. Saule entered the final commands, and the ship's engines exploded to life. The Exodus roared, bucked, and shook like a vicious and angry behemoth. Saule pushed a crew member who was trying to stabilize the ship away from a console. "Let her!" he shouted, dragging the man along for a forced waltz, twirling him at the end before letting go of his hand and letting him fall to the ground.

This wasn't the unfinished ship of three years ago. This one was complete. A barely tamable monster in its own right, but Saule had been its master three years ago when it was at its most angry, and now that it was tamed, he would command it once more.

"New... York..." he mumbled, entering commands into the console. The crew glanced at him, then at each other. Saule noticed. "What?"

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