Chapter 55

It was in its way the most magnificent

and terrible spectacle, with all the

adjunct of sound, throughout the War.

The perfect hush of the just-ending night

was suddenly broken by the first gun,

and in an instant all the thunderers,

big and little, were in full chorus,

which they kept up without intermission

for several hours.

.

—Walt Whitman, Memoranda During the War

.

MIKHAIL

My heart pounds a staccato symphony in rhythmic tempo with the beating of my wings. Get the ship. Get the ship. Get the ship. Get the ship. This mantra is now as familiar as the sound of my own breath. Steal a ship. Tell the Emperor where I am. Find Ninsianna. Smite the evil bastard who took her.

That emotional part of me which the humans wounded sulks and reminds me I need to complete the mission. Who need……