The Askari woman lay on the deck, stone dead, blood flowing from the exit wound.

  Eli stood his ground. Gami stayed at his side. Pirates moved in from all directions, taking up positions around them. The buccaneers stared at the pair, some in disbelief, others with fury. A handful looked pleased.

  “Dancing Phantom is mine now!” Eli declared, lunatic glee in his eyes.

  “You don’t have any claim!” one of them shouted.

  “Neither did she!” another countered.

  “My ship!” Eli bellowed.

  “No, it’s my ship!” another cried out, several others showed their willingness to back him up.

  “The mourners will weep until their eyes bleed!” Eli yelled.

  “The mourners will tear out their own eyes!” one of them countered.

  “The mourners will disembowel themselves!” Eli roared.

  A few dozen cheered. There were shouts of joy. One voice cried out, calling for the war slave to be the new captain.

  Someone fired a shot at a pirate that was leaning against a railing. He fell, slamming into the lower deck. The sound of this impact was like the peel of a bell to the pirates, signaling a fresh call to ultraviolence. They exploded into a frenzy.

  “Come on!” Eli shouted to Gami above the insanity going on around them. He went low, started moving in the direction of Cavalier. She mirrored him. Together, they worked their way across the bay, gunning down any pirates that looked like they were going to take a shot at them. Stray shots flew over their heads. Crys of pain and battle joy drowned out their footfalls.

  One pirate stabbed one of their former crewmates over and over again with a long knife. Another fired wildly at anything they caught sight of, indiscriminately gunning down dozens. On the fly, Eli was able to pick out no less than five factions, all of them vying for power.

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  Eli was shocked when his ship suddenly took off. Had one of them gotten aboard? It flew low, came in over him and Gami. The boarding ramp came down.

  “Hop in!” Tarl ordered over the com link.

  They holstered their weapons and grabbed ahold of the ramp, hauling themselves up. The ship started moving and the ramp began to rise before they had even gotten onto their feet. One of Tarl’s bodies ran over, helping them inside as the ramp moved back into place.

  ***

  Eli and Gami made their way to the cockpit. Tarl had already piloted the ship out of the hangar and was maneuvering through the asteroids. Dancing Phantom was listing and starting to burn.

  Tarl spoke, “Nothing targeting us. Tractor beams aren’t powered up. No one is pursuing us. I guess that we’re in the clear.”

  Eli nodded, “Good. Take us out of the asteroid field. We’ll figure out our next destination from there.”

  “I guess that you can add a failed attempt to take over a pirate ship to your list of exploits.”

  Eli took a few moments to think up his response, “I gave the problem the opportunity to figure itself out.”

  “That’s one way to see it,” Gami stated, “Come on, let’s go talk to our guest. I think that I know where you’ll want to go next.”

  ***

  Eli, Gami, and one of Tarl’s butar stood in front of the room that had been repurposed as a holding cell.

  Rotek was standing at the bars, looking at them belligerently. They had already informed her about the fate of her ship. She kept her cool.

  Those eyes, it reminded him of that time in Iraq when they had gotten bored one night while waiting to roll out. They had cut open some chemlights. They let the glowstick fluid drop into a ditch full of stagnant water. The drops burst into fluorescent puffs, silent fireworks bringing them a few little moments of joy.

  Gami spoke, “Rotekalanochala Morloth: there are quite a few bounties on her head, most of them for acts of piracy. But one stands out. It’s a bit of a trip but more than worth it.”

  “Well, Gami, don’t keep us waiting,” Eli said, naked greed on his face.

  “She’s wanted by the Pygram Central Authority. Reward: one million Work Hour Credits.”

  Eli felt like his eyes had turned into dollar signs. Even Tarl looked pleased with the figure.

  “I’d say that we just made that little fiasco worth it,” Gami proclaimed.

  “We won’t have enough fuel to make it there,” Tarl advised, “We’ll have to do some jobs on the way.”

  “That’s fine with me,” Eli said, still grinning, “Set course for the best hyperspace lane. I’ll contact my brokers and see what’s available. My friends, we just hit the jackpot!”

  They began to walk away. Their movements were light and full of pride, despite their injuries.

  Rotek called after them, “They’ll start a new religion with you at the godhead. The eternal throne is yours, Eli,” her words got louder, sounded more violent, “You’ll become a thing of legend. Billions of pilgrims will come from across the universes!” she was shouting in such a rage that her words became somewhat distorted, “Your temples will stab the sky!”