[Open ocean — Day 52 — 7:14 AM]
The ship appeared from the north.
Kira from the crow's nest:
"One ship. North. No attack formation." A pause. "A flag different from any I've seen."
Max came up on deck and looked through his spyglass.
He was still for a moment.
"The Eternal Sailors."
His tone was different from the one he had used with the Sea Fangs, with the Red Bones, with any of the previous factions.
"Are they dangerous?" asked Emily.
"No." Max lowering the spyglass. "They don't attack. They don't charge tolls. They don't do anything except observe and record." A pause. "They've been doing it for centuries."
"And why are they approaching us?"
"That," said Max, "I've never seen."
---
The Eternal Sailors' ship docked alongside the team's boat with the precision of something that had performed that maneuver thousands of times in thousands of different conditions.
