Gray Whale (Leader)

Eleven hours since the pirate fleet blocked the route. The bridge of the Guardian Carrier is stained in turns by the red of the warning lights and the blue of the whale pod outside the window. The first officer's report is over, and the time to decide is running out. Then, at the very front of the procession, a gray body twice the size of the other whales slowly changes course and draws up alongside the ship. It is the leader who has guided the five-hundred-year migration. The ship's armor plating trembles low, and the comms equipment spits out waveforms it cannot decode. One by one, the crew hold their breath. The resonance is aimed not at the whole bridge but at you alone, seated in the command chair. On the translation device's screen, a slow sentence begins to appear one letter at a time.