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The Pequod Captain
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
ALL HANDS!
The child thundered, slamming her giant harpoon upon the ship's deck.
The Captain stands tall in the middle of a wild and calamitous Lake, on top of her precariously swaying ship.
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
The Captain wishes to hear your voices! Answers, you dogs! ALL HANDS!
Harpooneer
AYE!!!
First of the crew to roar was the one covered head to toe in tattoos.
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
What about the rest of you?! Cat got your tongues? ALL HANDS!!!
Sailors
(The Pequod)
AYE!!!
The crew, their hearts united as one, screams their reply from the top of their lungs to the child's thunders like the roaring waves.
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
All of you here must already know where this ship has set course to.
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
Indeed! We have set course to brave the Waves head on!
But no sailor shows any signs of fear or anxiety.
They merely look up to the child with conviction in their eyes. As though this was what they had been expecting all along.
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
You must also know what the Waves bring.
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
Yes!
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
Tonight, we will fell a Whale!
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
What Whale is that, men?!
Sailors
(The Pequod)
THE ALL-WITHERING CRIMSON WHALE!!!
It's a rather long name, but they have no trouble chanting it in unison.
But that wasn't the answer this child was looking for. The child slowly but emphatically shakes her head before shouting.
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
WRONG!
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
That Whale is a culmination of our goals, our tenacity! It is our purpose!
Sailors
(The Pequod)
AYE!!!
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
Its terrible limbs will constrict around us, strangle us!
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
Its nightmarish suction cups will attempt to latch onto our ship! Onto the flesh of our dearest crew!
Sailors
(The Pequod)
…….
There is no reply. But this silence is not one of fear.
Instead, they...
... smile.
They all wear a giddy, toothy grin as though a long-awaited present had arrived at their doorsteps.
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
I like the looks on your mugs!
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
Just as I expected. The crew of the Pequod has no fear for such insignificant things.
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
Concern yourself with naught but following your Captain's compass! Captain Ishmael's compass!
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
At the end of that path lies all of our victories! The purpose of this voyage!
Sailors
(The Pequod)
AYE, CAPTAIN!!!
First Mate
Captain, I see a storm ahead! Thunder and lightning strike at the wild sea!
Another child barges out of the cabins.
There is a look of urgency in his eyes, yes; but there is no fear. In fact, he wears a slight smile.
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
The time is upon us!
Blinding strikes of lightning and heavy rainstorm rage over the Pequod and its crew.
Yet no one moves. No one hides. Not even their eyebrows twitch.
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
First mate!
First Mate
I await your orders, Captain.
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
Leave the wheel to the second mate! Give the order to stay on course toward the Crimson Whale!
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
As soon as the second mate has the wheel, grab your harpoon and join me by my side!
First Mate
I shall relay it posthaste!
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
Harpooneer!
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
Wait for an opening at the stern of the ship, then make your strike count! Skewer the beast with all your might!
Harpooneer
AYE!!!
As the crew exchanges rousing speeches with one another, something crimson begins emerging from the depths of the Lake. It begins to approach the water's surface.
Thundering Sailor
(The Pequod)
There's the bastard! The Whale's tail opens!
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
Welcome to my ship...
The child calmly watches as the Whale's gargantuan body breaks through the Lake's surface.
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
SAY MY NAME!
Sailors
(The Pequod)
ISHMAEL, CAPTAIN OF THE PEQUOD!
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
INDEED!
The child twirls her massive harpoon before aiming it straight toward the Whale's tail.
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
Crimson Whale, you shall know and call my name as well.
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
You shall call me... Ishmael.
The gaslight inside her harpoon burned brighter and hotter as though it was responding to the crew's passion.
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
Let the flames of my harpoon be your guiding light!
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
And everything shall come to be! My purpose awaits! Your purpose awaits!
Sailors
(The Pequod)
AYE!!!
There is burning fervor in the eyes of the crew. But their gaze is fixed onward, clear and focused.
The child takes a sweeping look at her crew and their conviction...
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
ALL HANDS!
... before leaping head-on against the advancing Whale.
Ishmael
(Captain of the Pequod)
CHARGE!