Commander Simons watched as the battle unfolded almost precisely as Captain Alen had predicted. There were a few deviations, but it was close enough to make the station manager wonder where the Captain had gotten his information or if he just had some sort of clairvoyant hidden aboard his ship.

  Watching the timer for the new ship's arrival count down, the station manager realized it was time for him to make his move. Of course, if things didn't go the way Alen planned, this could very well put his station and the lives of everyone on board at risk. On the other hand, they all already owed their lives to the Laughing Comet and the Sybil, and it wasn't like they had anywhere else to turn for aid. The new-fangled alliance had already failed in its pledge to protect the station, leaving Simons wondering how they were any better than the core fleets.

  Looking at the countdown, Simons realized he was out of time and had to make a decision. Act to help a proven ally, or don't act and hope the pirates are too distracted with their current prey to bother with the station. Of course, that solution was a short-term solution at best, and next time, there wouldn't be any Laughing Comet or Sybil to lend them any aid.

  Turning to his second in command, Commander Simons issues his order. "Do it."

  The man nodded his acknowledgment while offering a more formal "Aye, Captain." and set about fulfilling his duties.

  Simons hoped Captain Alen's ability to predict the future would prove accurate a little longer.

  -

  Their victory was so close Elseph could almost taste it. A human phrase the AI had never understood before now. It was a strange sensation, similar to the scent of a meal triggering an anticipatory response before consumption. With the Sybil's shields failing, the Laughing Comet committing to its suicidal attack run, and the new arrival about to appear only to be devastated by incoming fire before it can pose a threat, all variables seemed to be accounted for.

  That was when Captain Luise began to fight for control over their shared body. This was the hardest she'd ever fought before, forcing Elseph to refocus a portion of her attention on remaining in control. However, despite her best efforts, the human managed to spit out two words in a hushed tone, no one but Elseph likely hard. "The station..."

  The station? What could it do? From its position, the few defensive guns it had were hardly a threat. Sure, its shield was formidable, but even if the Sybil or Laughing Comet were able to make it inside their protective barrier by some miracle, it would only prolong the inevitable. Of course, as soon as she finished her analysis, all hell broke loose as a cacophony of alarms attempted to draw her attention in a dozen different directions simultaneously. If she'd been directly integrated with the ship's systems like usual, processing what was happening wouldn't have even slowed her down, but inside this organic meat suit made the experience more than a little disorienting. She turned to Luis's second in command for answers. "What's happening?"

  The man was looking over several screens, trying to process everything, and then his face paled. "Captain... The station... It just unleased a massive barrage of missiles in every conceivable direction."

  Elseph looked over the readings that had drawn the man's attention and saw that he was right. There was indeed a massive amount of missiles rocketing out from the station. Far more than the station could have had in its manifest, even if they were armed with such weapons, which they weren't. This had to have been a last-minute change. They'd probably filled every single hanger with some sort of jury-rigged system to fire off so many. But where had they gotten them?

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  That was when Elseph realized what must have happened. The Laughing Comet hadn't had enough time to load all the supplies she'd assumed they were looking for, but they might just have had enough time to unload a shipment of missiles. The fight up till now had been mostly delaying things long enough for the station to get everything set up.

  Doing some calculations, Elseph realized they'd probably lose more than half the fleet, but that was alright. They'd already served their purpose. The Sybil's shields were failing, and whoever survived should be able to finish the fight. She turned to her second in command. "Shoot down as many missiles as possible, weather the rest, then finish off the Sybil!"

  The human looked at her with concern. "But what about the Laughing Comet?"

  Elseph shook her head. She'd forgotten about that little thorn in her side! These human limitations were frustrating. How did organics get anything done? She was about to amend her orders when the other destroyer appeared. Of course, the two battleships that had taken position to fire upon it were now focusing most of their attention on the incoming missiles and could not deal with the threat as quickly as possible. Still, a mere destroyer shouldn't change the equation by too much...

  The second in command peered closer at his monitor. "That doesn't look like a normal destroyer. What kind of modifications are those..."

  Looking closer, Elseph could see a handful of large cannons mounted on the ship. The kind you'd typically only see mounted on a battleship. Elseph gave into her chemical compulsion and swore before shouting her command. "All ships, take that new destroyer out now!"

  -

  Realizing they hadn't been atomized by the pirate fleet after appearing out of FTL, Captain Dimitri quickly assessed the situation before issuing his orders. "All guns, target the closest disabled battleships, and open fire! Helm, keep us moving to avoid the return fire!"

  Their big guns shouldn't be able to hit the smaller, more maneuverable ship at this range. However, those usually intimidating battleships sitting there without shields or thrusters were ripe for the picking. Dimitri had to give Alen and Carter credit. They had to be some sort of genius to pull off an insane plan of this kind. Or maybe they were just mad. Either way, they might just pull off the impossible here today, not that he was about to vocalize that thought!

  -

  Carter had ordered the alarms silenced a while ago. He already knew they were pushing the limits of what this ship could handle. He didn't need a piercing migraine reminding him of that fact several times a second.

  Several of their shields had failed around the ship, though they'd reinforced the ones around the bridge as well as a few other key points around the ship. Still, if they had managed to survive this onslaught, they'd probably have had to lie low for a while to repair the insane amounts of damage they were now enduring.

  Of course, John Silver was laughing like a madman as he fired off more salvos into the nearest enemy battleship while the girl was continuously rerouting essential systems to bypass the damage they were taking, leaving Carter to steer the ship on his own. He wasn't as smooth or responsive as the girl, but at this point, it was just a matter of moving toward their prey, and he could manage that much.

  A quick assessment told him that Captain Dimitri, on board his new ship, the Trader's Revenge, was punishing the two battleships that had been positioning themselves to deal with his arrival. Three of the destroyers and the enemy cruiser had also been wiped out by the station's missiles. If they could hold on just a little longer...

  The vixen popped up, back from her little scouting mission. "As expected, the ones in charge of this little ambush of theirs are on that battleship furthest to the back. If anyone has answers, it'll be them."

  That ship was in better condition than the rest of the pirate fleet, but only barely. The current ship they were punishing had just ejected most of its escape pods, so Carter mentally nudged the girl before addressing her. "Think we can keep it together long enough to meet the neighbors?"

  The girl's digital avatar looked slightly more disheveled than usual, probably reflecting the ship's condition, but she nodded anyway. "Yeah, I think we can manage."

  Carter nodded in the digital plain before opening his eyes to turn to Erik in the physical one. "Get down to the launching bay. We've got a job for you."

  -

  Erik's grin spoke volumes about his thoughts of having to sit back and watch the show until now. "About time!" With that, the large alien bounded out of the room, followed closely by his ever-present attendant, Vanessa.

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