"Not abandoning you—leaving. Walking away from this life while I still can, while I still have a reason to walk toward something better."
The crew absorbed this in silence. Grevik was the first to speak.
"You found your sister," he said.
"After all these years."
"I did." Elisabeth looked at Maureen standing nearby.
"And I'm choosing her over this. Over the Darkwhale and the fleet and everything we've built together."
"We understand, Captain," Grevik said, and around him the crew nodded.
They weren't happy—losing Elisabeth meant losing the protection and success she'd brought them—but they understood in the way people understood when someone they respected made a choice for personal reasons rather than strategic ones.
"The ship is yours," Elisabeth continued.
