The Celestial Seas: Chapters 9–16

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. nominal
    insignificantly small; a matter of form only
    Time flows on. Slowly, the radiation levels lower back into the red orange range. “Everything’s nominal,” I say. “So the drop must be happening somewhere further down the timeline.”
  2. overlay
    put something on top of something else
    His hands move deftly through the air and across the holos, bringing up another map with several yellow X’s scattered across. Then he overlays the two maps.
  3. qualm
    uneasiness about the fitness of an action
    Augustus already made it clear he has no qualms dabbling on the wrong side of the law.
  4. lodestar
    something or someone that serves as a model or guide
    Even thinking about drifting apart from Quinn sends a pulse of panic through me—she’s been my lodestar in the tumultuous years after the accident.
  5. tumultuous
    characterized by unrest or disorder or insubordination
    Even thinking about drifting apart from Quinn sends a pulse of panic through me—she’s been my lodestar in the tumultuous years after the accident.
  6. cheeky
    offensively bold
    Sonia elbows Augustus in the ribs with a cheeky smirk.
  7. testament
    strong evidence for something
    Dark shadows bruise the skin beneath his eyes—a testament to the long hours he spent building the bomb.
  8. serpentine
    resembling a snake in form
    The third bears a serpentine form, similar to the Leviathan we encountered.
  9. figment
    a contrived or fantastic idea
    “What if everyone is right, and you’re simply a figment of my imagination?”
  10. levity
    feeling an inappropriate lack of seriousness
    Just like that, the momentary levity evaporates, replaced by a gutclenching heaviness.
  11. retroactively
    after the fact
    “You sure? I thought you could only track retroactively with the augments.”
  12. stanch
    stop the flow of a liquid
    A jagged cut runs up to her elbow, a layer of coalesced blood stanching the wound.
  13. debriefing
    a meeting in which someone reports on a mission or task
    A somber heaviness hovers over the deck as everyone gathers for a debriefing.
  14. corroborate
    support with evidence or authority or make more certain
    “Maybe...” She pulls out her electro-slate and enters a note to herself, probably a reminder to investigate any recent nearby wrecks and see if the timeline corroborates.
  15. inscrutable
    difficult or impossible to understand
    Stag’s brows draw low, Sonia’s fiddling with a spare TOG flechette in her hand, an inscrutable gleam burns in Leo’s eyes, and Quinn twirls the end of her braid around a finger.
Created on Sun Oct 04 20:03:46 EDT 2026 (updated Thu Oct 15 17:20:25 EDT 2026)

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