Even in the virtual world of the Sybil's systems, Carter could tell he was covered in sweat. Though, to be fair, sitting that close to a star for as long as they had, most people would consider it a miracle if that was the worst of his issues.

  They'd set up a few extra temporary generators to handle the heavier demands on their shields and atmosphere controls. Even then, they'd burned through several of the temporary generators. Who knew sitting that close to what is essentially a constant massive electromagnetic storm would wreak so much havoc on a ship? Aside from every sane person in the universe, that is. Carter still remembered John's thoughts on the subject when he'd brought up a similar concern. "Why let a little sanity get in the way of an otherwise great plan? This'll be something you can tell the grandkids about!" Of course, sitting that close to all that radiation, shields or not, might have resolved the issue of grandkids, even if Carter's solitary nature hadn't done that already.

  Still, Carter couldn't deny the efficacy of the strategy. The last time they fought a similar force, they'd sustained considerably more damage by this point. However, given the fact that they were already seeing multiple incoming jump signals appearing, this fight was far from over.

  The second destroyer was already down, and the second battleship's shields were failing when the first of the new vessels appeared in local space. They poured on the firepower to take out the last ship from the first wave before Carter stopped to assess their new situation.

  Looking at the data, it was clear they were even more outnumbered than their last major fight. This time, there were four capital class ships, split evenly between battleships and cruisers, and a half dozen of the destroyer class. Carter shook his head. "Well, they're really stepping up their game, aren't they? Just how many lives are they willing to sacrifice to get their hand on this ship?"

  John shook his head. "That's not our problem, lad. All we gotta do is make sure we walk...er fly out of here, and they don't!"

  Carter looked over at the visibly excited pirate with a raised eyebrow. "And make sure we get some information on just what the hell is happening out there, right?"

  At least John had the decency to look somewhat chastened. "Aye, that too, lad. That too..."

  A call from Alen was patched through. The younger man looked at Carter and the AI behind him on the bridge. "Well, they've certainly got the two of us outgunned. How do we proceed?"

  Carter looked over at the girl, who seemed to be crunching some numbers, before turning to Carter and Alen. "If we stick to the plan, I believe everything will play out in our favor."

  Carter turned to Alen. "You heard the lady! Let's see if we can't make some trouble for our guests, eh?"

  Alen nodded in agreement. "Then we'll follow behind, picking off any large-scale munitions they send your way while you act as the spearhead."

  Carter nodded. "Alright. Let's show our friends why you don't pick fights with ghost ships!"

  -

  As they appeared, it was clear to Jerome that the fight was not going well. Somehow, the Sybil had managed to take out all four ships from the first wave in just over a minute. That much destructive power boggled the mind. What the hell was going on here?

  Even Captain Luise seemed troubled, as evident by the slight waver that accompanied the anger in her voice as she shouted out her commands. "Hit them with everything we've got! All ships, open fire! Don't stop till their shields are down and they're dead in the void!"

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Jerome thought running was a better survival mechanism, an idea apparently shared by the first ship the Sybil bore down on, as once it became apparent where the Sybil's attention was directed, they turned and activated their FTL drives.

  The Captain swore and opened a channel to the evidently inaccurately named ship, the Fearless. "If you turn and run now, I'll see to it you're hunted to the ends of the galaxy!"

  The Captain of the Fearless didn't seem too phased. "Maybe, but we'll survive longer being hunted than we will by fighting that monstrosity!"

  As the ship fled, Captain Luise swore, then opened a channel to the entire fleet. "Listen up, you useless meat sacks! The boss will be putting a hit on that particular ship and crew, the likes of which will make it impossible for them to ever set foot in civilized space again! Anyone stupid enough to pull off something similar will get the same, and I promise you, their deaths will be long and painful to serve as an example for any other cowards hiding in the fleet! However, if we take down that ship today, every man, woman, and child who stood and fought will have their future secured! Now, let's show them why we pirates are so feared in this galaxy!"

  Jerome wasn't sure about the whole "meat sacks" thing, but the Captain's inspirational speech seemed to have the desired effect because soon all the ships were firing on the Sybil. Their shields were holding firm, but even that behemoth could only take so much damage. Sooner or later, the sheer amount of firepower being directed at it would take its toll. Assuming no one else turned and ran, they should be able to outlast and outgun the Sybil. So why didn't he feel confident about the outcome of this battle?

  -

  Miles had gone from sweating up a storm to freezing as the cool circulating air did its thing with his sweat-soaked shirt. Still, after sitting in the boiling heat of the bridge for so long, it was a nice change of pace. At least, that's what Miles told himself as he shakily rubbed his shoulders to try and generate some heat.

  Not long before the temps started surging, "the girl," as the Captain dubbed her, told Miles to come to the bridge "just in case." Usually, the danger out in space was the ship getting too cold, but Miles realized what was happening when he'd walked into the bridge and saw the giant flaming ball that must have been an extremely close-range scan of the nearby star.

  Being fried to death on the metal surfaces of the deck plating didn't sound like a fun way to die, but thankfully, just as the heat had been getting near unbearable, they'd micro-jumped out of the pan and into the fire. And by fire, he meant firepower.

  The amount of ordinance blasting against the shields was enough to make him start sweating for a different reason. Even Carter's usual cocky grin that remained fixed in place as he was hooked up to the Captain's chair had been replaced by a look of grim resolution. The first ship they tried to chase down jumped away, taking heavy damage in the brief moment their shields were down before the FTL drives kicked in, but not enough to stop them from escaping. The Captain muttered to himself almost too quietly to be heard. "One down, twenty more to go..."

  Looking at the screens, Miles knew "twenty" was an exaggeration, but there were still a solid dozen ships out there. How did they plan to deal with that kind of numerical advantage?

  Looking around, Mile's attention was caught by the intimidating Erik. The smile the large alien directed his way was probably meant to be reassuring, but all it did was make Miles question the warrior's sanity.

  Erik Gave Miles a wink. "No worries, kid. We've gotten out of tighter spots than this!"

  Vanessa turned her head to regard Erik. "Really? Of what events do you speak? I do not recall facing such odds in the past."

  Caught in a comforting lie, Erik grinned and shrugged. "Well, maybe they weren't quite this bad, but it felt just as rough at the time, so that counts!"

  Before Vanessa could poke more holes in his logic, the girl turned to Erik and Vanessa. "The passageways should be cooled and safe to walk now. You might want to get to the boarding pods and be ready to take the fight to them at a moment's notice."

  Erik visibly cheered at that. "Now you're talking my way, robot lady! We'll get moving!"

  The girl tilted her head as if about to explain that she was not, in fact, a robot, but then seemed to think better of it and just nodded. "Good hunting!"

  As the large alien stood and started to pass Miles, he looked down and grinned again. "Listen, kid. Sometimes things are as bad as they look, but if you grin like a maniac and kick those things right in the teeth, sometimes it's you who's left smiling in the end! Don't worry, I'm betting there's a lot more trouble in your future!"

  As Erik walked away, Miles wondered if that was meant to be comforting. Still looking over at the Captain, the corner of the man's lips twitched into an echo of its usual cocky grin. Maybe not all hope was lost...

  Of Men and Spiders book 1 is now available to order on amazon in all formats! PLEASE,* if you enjoy my stories and want to help me get back to releasing chapters more regularly, take the time to stop and leave a review. It's like tipping your waiter, but free!

  here on Amazon. If you like my work and want to support it, buying a copy and leaving a review really helps a lot!