The glittering blue carried us far, and behind us, the shoreline sank beneath the horizon. Black arms of smoke reached out as if drowning until those too slipped away.

We were safe again.

From the bridge, I stared down at the filthy decks of my ship, somehow admiring the trashy mess of it. The windows here were shattered, the floorboards were ripped by shrapnel, and with the wind, I could really breathe in the brine of the air.

"Imsi," Cassandra said. "The last soldier has been killed. Shall I disable the dungeon?"

"Do it," I said. "And let out the rebels as well. Those armored panic rooms are probably stuffy by now."

"Confirmed."

I grinned to myself, and I could feel my shoulders shake with invisible laughter. The utter madness that had just transpired lit a fire within my trash can heart, and my spirit raged for more--for there was so much more to take.

I looked upon my ship, my blank slate of progression, a now de facto mobile headquarters for the mission to fucking-kill-Marianna. I already envisioned bulking out the hull, decorating it with cannon emplacements and enchanted ammunition, staffing it with recycler-based dungeon mobs, and doing all the day-to-day battleship things.

I shivered in anticipation.

The rebels spread out along the decks, all 100 meters of it, enjoying the moment of peace among themselves. Vil and Lara were out there. He looked for me--spotted me at the bridge--and shot me a thumbs-up. I returned it. A manly one.

The adventurers were there too. The knight walked shakily on the fake leg I had made him, and the healer helped hold his balance. The mage and archer laughed at a lame joke passed between them, and to honest, I wanted to laugh too. To laugh with them. After all, they saved my ass from the sudden tank bombardment with their protection spells.

Considering it, I figured it would be a good time to take stock of my crew since most of the rebels were out on deck now. Some I hadn't seen since we left the village, and I was curious who survived and who hadn't since then.

Crew:

4 Rebel Leaders

9 Rebel Officers

1 Doc Jackelope

1 Blacksmith

1 Blacksmith's guard

11 Old Ladies

7 Old Dudes

13 Children

16 Miners

7 Farmers

4 Rebel Marksmen

21 Rebel Fighters

1 Rebel Caster

2 Medics

4 Adventurers

1 Cow Shit Farmer

"And no Jessie," I said to myself.

I felt kinda bad, to be honest. I had accused her of a lot, called her names, treated her kind of poorly in general, and she went ahead and sacrificed herself for the cause.

"Hey," Jessie said behind me. "You wanna hit me with this whip?"

A damn shame she didn't die back there. My perfectly chaste trash can body didn't need any sexual tension, and she just wasn't really my type.

"Dude, I'm tryna get off here," she said.

"Poor Jessie." I clicked my tongue sadly. "She done went an' asploded."

"I'm right here. Hello?" She was fucking naked! "Dude, are you giving me the silent treatment because I stole your tank? It wasn't even your tank! It was mine before you stole it!"

"Goddamnit, Jessie, put some clothes on."

"Aha! You do see me." She wagged a finger in front of my face. "You had me thinking I had been cursed with an invisibility spell again."

I groaned and stomped away. I couldn't deal with this right now.

"Bro, come on..." she whined. "I need the release."

I walked out. "I have a headache," I said.

She followed me like a sad puppy. "Also, I need my own quarters."

The ship coasted forward through the glistening blue without any next destination in mind. It was our cute little momentary peace before the war broke out.

Soon, I thought, I could find Jenna and save her before it happens.

After all, I had a ship now. What could possibly get in my way?