Katahwunahk Ehcsacsi1, Aihah Vush
2 May, 1935
13:00 hours, local time
Bacs Zervahli had never thought himself a war hero, or any other kind of hero, for that matter. He had lost his right eye as a result of wounds received when his ship, the sinker WDKD Saidom Vubee, had been depth charged and destroyed at the outset of the 2nd Cataclysm, and the patch he wore certainly gave him a heroic visage, but he had spent virtually the entire war in the custody of the Leberite SIB. Even considering his inability to walk without a cane, the majority of his scars could not be seen with the eye. As he sat contemplating his ordeal of 15 years ago, he cast his eye out over the assembled throng, and felt Tenjah's hand take his and lightly squeeze it. Bacs smiled, grateful for his wife, and turned to kiss her cheek. It was she who had helped him readjust to civilian life when he had returned, held his home together in his absence, and soothed him when he woke in a cold sweat from the nightmares that still hadn't quite gone completely away. She was his life, and he never missed an opportunity to thank God for her.
Fanfare blared, and the crowd cheered. It was time. Bacs rose from his chair, taking his cane when Tenjah offered it, and made his way to the podium. As a former sinkerman, Bacs had difficulty reconciling his place at the launching of the Vushicskah Fa's new flagship--WDN 58 Lufeer--but as Kah-Ahnto'nee Nahcs, of course, christening the Lufeer and setting him asail was certainly Bacs's duty.
Cameras flashed, newsreels rolled, and seemingly every newspaper reporter in the New Warsaw Pact leaned in as Bacs delivered the speech he had prepared. Time took on a surreal quality, both slowing to a crawl and speeding to the infinite, leaving Bacs feeling like a drowning man with no drive to breathe, watching the event more than participating. In an instant, he saw his hand strike a bottle against Lufeer's massive bow and time snapped back to its normal flavor. The great ship was released from his moorings, a band played the Darshek March, and every Wochik watched as the most powerful vessel in the history of the Ivoah Sea took his first taste of brine.
1 - Pronounced "Cat-ah-woo-knock ess-ass-i" (for "Ehcsacsi," start to say "assassin," and just leave off the n). In English, Ehcsacsi Shipyard, named for industrialist Glinu Ehcsacsi, head of Pardek-Nahkh Kotchfa.
