Exodus

[Fish]

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June 22
Saule was sitting in some seedy bar on Bethlehem Station. He had hoped his appearance would be enough to discourage any would-be solicitors from approaching, but a few tried their luck anyway. Some of them were even sober. "Take the piss," was all he would say to them, and some of them tried to hit back with remarks about Bretonia. Saule wasn't here for the drinks or the company, he was here for something which was important to him - freedom, but everyone in this bar looked like they would laugh at the mention of the word. The Zoners in this system were either in denial, or they were numbing themselves with alcohol. Liberty's government had a tight chokehold on the system. "Protectorate," they had called it. "Take the piss," Saule said harshly, to himself this time. He felt angry. His knuckles turned yellow from gripping his glass so hard. The bartender noticed, "Bro, you good? Don't break my glass." It brought Saule back, and he laughed. The bartender was from Liberty, and she had been nice to Saule ever since she got here, but she wasn't afraid to speak up. It reminded him that not every Libertonian in Pennsylvania was an "invader," and it reminded him of the people he came here for.

They came to Pennsylvania days ago aboard a shuttle, leaving the Exodus in Cortez after his crew begged him not to take the entire colony ship through house space, after encountering a Liberty Navy patrol just moments before he began entering jump gate coordinates into the ship's nav. He wanted to show the house government that he didn't give a damn about their laws and that he would take his giant ship and slowly impulse right past their capital planet if he wanted to. He wanted them to see every scar, every giant gun, every fearless crew member on the Exodus. Every fiber in his body demanded he bear his fangs. But he knew he had to control himself, because he was playing the long game. Getting this right was very important to him. The seed had already been planted, he just had to make sure it grew roots and had a chance to sprout.

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