The Celestial Seas: Chapters 5–8

by T. A. Chan
In a futuristic, spacefaring version of Melville's Moby-Dick, Ishara Ming is a ship captain with a misfit crew vengefully hunting the Ballena — a legendary sentient spacecraft that haunts space.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–8, Chapters 9–16, Chapters 17–22, Chapters 23–30
15 words 8 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. inflection
    the patterns of stress and intonation in a language
    I immediately realize I’ve messed up the inflection on the last word when Stag hides his wince half a second too late.
  2. hubris
    overbearing pride or presumption
    “Human hubris,” Stag says, twisting his ring around his pinkie. “Always trying to play god. Creating new forms of artificial life, seeing how far we can push—”
  3. vestige
    an indication that something has been present
    Although Halo System is now governed as a singular entity and not multiple nations, the Alliance name stuck around, a vestige from the Great Expansion era, where the Alianza Latinoamericana was the first to discover the Halo star system during the search for new habitable worlds.
  4. habitable
    fit to be lived in
    Although Halo System is now governed as a singular entity and not multiple nations, the Alliance name stuck around, a vestige from the Great Expansion era, where the Alianza Latinoamericana was the first to discover the Halo star system during the search for new habitable worlds.
  5. autonomous
    free from external control and constraint
    Autonomous spacecrafts collecting data for research, self maintaining mobile space stations providing refuels and resupply to wayfarers, signal-boosting MOBIS serving as communication anchor points to expand intra-system network.
  6. wayfarer
    a traveler going on a trip
    Autonomous spacecrafts collecting data for research, self maintaining mobile space stations providing refuels and resupply to wayfarers, signal-boosting MOBIS serving as communication anchor points to expand intra-system network.
  7. periphery
    the outside boundary or surface of something
    A glimmer flashes in my periphery, and my gaze lands on a tray heaped with golden exoskeleton claws.
  8. elliptical
    rounded like an egg
    Among the sea of gaudy advertisement is an elliptical matte-black display swaying back and forth, as if pushed by an invisible current.
  9. divvy
    separate into parts or portions
    I double-click my tongue, muting her haggling, and divvy up the rest of the purchase list among the four of us.
  10. chide
    scold or reprimand severely or angrily
    Guilt sinks its fangs into my conscience, chiding me for wasting time chasing empty hope when I should be fixing the Dorado.
  11. mitigated
    made less severe or intense
    “The overload may cause additional damage,” Enza warns. “However, the risk may be mitigated if you’re placed in suspension.”
  12. wraith
    a ghostly figure, especially one seen shortly before death
    The whale swam into view, and a gasp escaped my lips.
    The Halo Ghost. The Silver Wraith. The Ballena. None of the names did it justice.
  13. exude
    release in drops or small quantities
    Its shell exuded a luminous blue-white glow, and its streamlined body and fanned fluke mimicked the leviathans that populated planetary oceans.
  14. streamlined
    designed to offer the least resistance while moving through air
    Its shell exuded a luminous blue-white glow, and its streamlined body and fanned fluke mimicked the leviathans that populated planetary oceans.
  15. leviathan
    a massive sea creature
    Its shell exuded a luminous blue-white glow, and its streamlined body and fanned fluke mimicked the leviathans that populated planetary oceans.
Created on Sun Oct 04 20:02:39 EDT 2026 (updated Thu Oct 15 17:20:14 EDT 2026)

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