“Mori, by Sarilla’s calculations, our destination: Gelia, is 23 Terran days away,” Sister stated factually as Morrigan leaned over her command console on the bridge. Her gaze cast over the crew; Shepard, Luisa, Sarilla, Avery, Gunnar, as well as Xol and Nora who had accompanied her, most of whom wore expressions of uncertainty once again.

  “Due to our need to avoid Federation territory, the trip takes an additional four days,” Sarilla stated, “I even had Sister run her own calculations but… it’s the best we can do.”

  Morrigan rubbed her eyes tiredly, having not realized how early she and Nora had been up as the stress of leadership set itself upon her shoulders, “What are our options for a different supply point?”

  Shepard hummed in disappointment, “Well, given the reports we've received over the past weeks, our options are very limited.”

  Morrigan looked at the short elderly admiral with scrutinized inquiry, “What do you mean?”

  “As you know, most CoU occupied worlds are intermixed within the Federation territory. Since we spent more time terraforming planets than expanding our reach, the contested zones of the Federation and CoU are closely knit together over five systems clustered closest together, where as, as far as we know, the Eskarii reach covers the outer fringes of the quadrant… the Marmuro’k are a whole different story since we know very little about any other planet but their home world,” Shepard explained before glancing at Xol.

  Xol let out a thoughtful hiss as he raised three of his four meaty fingers on one hand, “Not many, but Marmuro’k are many,” he stated, making sure that everyone knew that the Marmuro’k still had numbers over the quantity of planets they claimed.

  “That doesn't answer my question though,” Morrigan sniped.

  Sarilla cleared her throat, leaning forward with clear intentions of delivery bad news, “We really don't have any options. There might be one or two space stations we can try on the border of the Terran territory but… even that runs the risk of being caught by the Federation.”

  Morrigan hung her head and sighed. Even if they rationed, they wouldn't have enough supplies to make it to Gelia. Some how, she needed to find a way to ensure the Archangel survives as well as those who live in it.

  “Nothing from the other Inquisitors?” she asked, not expecting much help from that end of their mission either.

  Avery chimed in on this to her surprise. The man looked restless as his leg bounced nonstop as he sat in his chair, “Actually, we pulled information from the archives, well, Sister did. Apparently, it’s standard operating procedure for each ship’s A.I. to download any new information upon return to the Void Star.”

  This piqued Morrigan’ curiosity as she looked up from the console, “According to the records, Inquisitors Danafor of the Trickster’s Sleight, Silas of the Ebony Heart, Tsambikos of the Lightning Strike and Caeti of the Prosecutor’s Ire, were all deployed during the Federation raid, each launching expeditions to various positions throughout the galaxy.”

  Morrigan began to feel hopeful from the good news, “Can we find them? Any locations?”

  Sarilla however, shook her head as Shepard took a step forward, “Sadly no, they were generalized locations with no set time frames of dispatch. Not only that, but it would be dangerous to broadcast any long-range messages since the Federation has expanded their reach, reducing our odds of finding them by visuals alone.”

  Morrigan nodded in understanding, as much as she desired to ignore the well-trained logic. She pulled one of her cigars out and lit it, taking a deep drag from the cigar, and she dug the knuckle of her thumbs into her forehead in an attempt to push the stress out of her mind, letting out a soft plume of smoke as she sighed.

  “Okay,” she said before looking back up at her crew, “First priority is keeping the ship stocked with food and supplies. Until we find a way to get a steady supply chain going, we need to start rationing, today…”

  She saw Nora fidget continuously out of the corner of her eye as the conversation took place, looking around to see the exhausted looks on the bridge crews faces, Shepard too noticed and was first to speak on it, “You have something to say, Nora?”

  Shepard did not see the glare Morrigan gave her. She knew what Nora was about to offer as a solution, and as much as she hated the idea, it wasn’t a bad one given the alternative of starving in space.

  Nora’s eyes shifted to Morrigan, who gave her a defeated nod, before she clasped her hands behind her back with a wide grin, “Wellllll, I know one way we can survive out here,” she said playfully, her tone telling of her excitement.

  The bridge crew, having apparently forgotten who Nora was, looked at each other. Morrigan sighed as she flicked ash onto the console, taking another drag to steady her irritation as she watched Nora.

  Nora bounced on her heels before turning towards the open viewing glass, staring into the void of stars glinting all around them, “Me and Mori had a long talk this morning and I’ve noticed the issues at hand, ya know-lack of food, being all alone, bored out of our minds,” Nora mused as she stepped up towards the glass, breathing heavily on the glass to create a light layer of frost that crackled at the sudden shift in temperature and carving a heart into the frost with her nail. “I know how to thrive in space, living on what you find and can manage to take,” she stated as she watched with a happy smile as the frost slowly melted down the window.

  Morrigan watched the look of recognition register on Shepard’s face, “Mori mentioned you were born a pirate, that’s what you’re suggesting? We become pirates?”

  “Yeah, that’s exactly what she’s suggesting,” Morrigan interjected with distaste. Despite the fact that piracy increased their survivability, becoming associated with a group she quickly grew to hate sat wrong with her. After everything she knew now, how the pirate king abused her beloved girlfriend, as well as her sister, and did things across the entire spectrum of cruelty throughout the galaxy, she wanted nothing to do with that kind of life.

  Come on, little goddess, it’s a good idea. You lead this ship, you get to set the rules and think about all those little Federation soldiers you get to kill, Apollyon hissed in the back of her mind. All the while Nora turned back to group with a sharp smile as she clapped childishly.

  “Got it in one! And you even have the eye patch!” Nora giggled at her own offensive humor.

  Even Morrigan couldn't help but snort in amusement as the bridge broke into amused chuckles, Shepard too brushing off the offensive remark and focusing on the humor.

  “You do have a point, child,” Shepard remarked as she emphasized the word child.

  “You do have a point as well. We don't need to be like ordinary pirates, we can even just stick to Federation controlled ships and planets,” Morrigan thought back to the deity in her head.

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  There you go, actually thinking for a change. I couldn't be prouder.

  “Dick,” Morrigan responded as she snorted again, this time a small smile breaking across her lips.

  “What do you think about this?” Luisa asked Morrigan, turning to her with the look of disbelief on her face despite having just laughed at Nora’s joke.

  Morrigan sighed, running her tongue across her teeth as she hung her head, “Honestly, I can’t say I’m a fan but it’s not a bad idea…” she paused as she ran mental calculations and began forming various ways to go about committing piracy.

  Nora’s face fell at the length of time her love left the comment linger, the feeling of rejection apparent on her face before Morrigan spoke up, “Its not my decision, and before you point out that I’m the Inquisitor, what I mean is; this is not just my way of life we’re changing…”

  She looked up into Nora’s eyes from across the large room, her visage encapsulated by the stars as she saw the warring curiosity in her girlfriend’s expression before she stood up straight and looked around the room to everyone else.

  “First, we will vote. As the leaders of the departmental groups aboard the Archangel, you will decide whether or not we hold a ship wide vote. I may be able to make the call but, everyone deserves a say in this… So, all in favor, raise your hand,” Morrigan said, opening to floor for any arguments.

  No one raised their hand, except for Nora who threw her hand up with childlike enthusiasm as everyone but Xol and Shepard looked nervously at one another.

  “Awe, come on guys,” Nora whined which earned an amused chuckled out of Shepard as she stepped forward.

  “I have done many things in my lifetime, most of which can be considered high crimes to most bodies of government. From flying for the Federation to switching sides to the Inquisition, I can say I have done many things however, I have yet to mark being a pirate off my bucket list,” Shepard said, eyeing Nora and shooting her a genuine smile as she raised her hand.

  “I mean, I’m just the driver, so what the hell,” Avery commented as he casually raised his hand immediately after Shepard.

  Gunnar let out a sharp laugh before he raised his hand, “You can’t have a pirate ship without cannons, so I’m in.”

  Sarilla silently raised her hand as well, having no comical input though the look on her face shared her uncertainty with the group.

  Luisa however, looked very nervous when all eyes fell on her. She mindless picked at the undersides of her nails hard enough to be heard throughout the silent bridge, her eyes darting to each face that expected an answer from her.

  “Um… I mean, I find it hard to believe you’re okay with this. Those Eskarii, they are part of my people, and so are humans for that matter… we’re not going to prey on the innocent, are we?” she asked with a level of heartbreaking concern.

  “We don’t have to!” Nora exasperated, exhausted with the stigma around pirates. Luisa shrank at the response, obviously feeling singled out and vulnerable by the position the vote left her in.

  Morrigan understood Luisa’s concern and even felt the same way until Apollyon pointed out a fairly agreeable game plan.

  “Nora, it’s a valid concern,” Morrigan said sternly. Predictably, Nora shivered at the tone of her voice and grinned savagely.

  “Sorry,” she said sheepishly, casting her gaze at Luisa as if she had shamelessly been caught picking on a kid.

  Morrigan shook her head, refraining from smiling as she addressed Luisa, “To answer your question, no. I’ve given this… some thought. My plan is, if those who live aboard the Archangel agree, to target anything profitable that is under Federation control. I am aware this does affect those who do not truly side with the Federation however, this is about survival. In this war, the Federation is our enemy through and through, we don’t get the luxury of vetting each and every person we come by wearing a Federation uniform nor casing each planet or ship for outliers…”

  Morrigan paused, becoming skeptical of her own plan as she said it. She wondered how much different it made them, biasedly stealing and possibly killing an unknown number for the sake of survival, then she remembered that it truly was war they were in. The Federation struck first, even at the beginning, and now they moved to conquer the galaxy and it was their job to stop that from happening.

  “Truth of the matter, Luisa, this is survival. I chose not to drain Iriath II dry because they experienced far worse cruelty than most. Doing so, risks us starving to death. With the Federation spreading and the CoU dwindling, the only option is to try and hope for friendly planets to requisition from and that’s barely an option in this area of space. More importantly though, we have a duty to fight the tyranny that is slowly spreading across our homes, to safeguard the freedoms of those who have no interest in the Federation and to secure as much peace as possible; if that means being called the bad guys, because it will happen-even by some aboard our own ship just in order to survive and see our mission through… then so be it, we will become pirates.”

  “Damn, Mori. A little shotty as far as speeches go but you hammered the point home,” Avery commented as he slow clapped, eliciting a round of low chuckles from around the bridge.

  Morrigan's cheeks turned red from embarrassment as she pursed her lips and gave him the middle finger.

  Luisa chewed on her lip as she mulled everything over in her head, “As long as we don’t stray from who we are… I guess it really would make sense for us to do this,” she commented in a lighter tone before slowly raising her hand.

  Nora squealed in delight as she sprinted across the bridge and wrapping herself around Morrigan, kissing her cheek hard before cheering, “This is going to be so much fun!”

  Morrigan patted her head for her to calm down and pulled her close before looking at all the group leaders, “Next step, I’m going to need you all to coordinate with your department heads to collect the votes. Sister, open up the ship wide channel.”

  “Certainly,” Sister responded cordially.

  As soon as Morrigan heard the feedback of the communication channel opening up, she began speaking, “Attention all crewmembers, this is Lord Inquisitor Morrigan. As you may know, the situation on the Void Star has left us without a home to return to. Given the recent events on the planet on Iriath II, we will be unable to resupply and our next destination is the Eskarii home world, Gelia. That being said, I am issuing an immediate call for rationing, as the journey to Gelia is far beyond our supply levels. I know it sucks… but the truth is, even with rationing, we still do not have enough supplies to make it however, I, as well as your department leaders have come up with an alternative solution to our supply issue to ensure none of us starve out here in space…”

  She paused, letting the crew absorb what she had to say as Nora bounced and squeezed her excitedly, “What I am proposing is not something you all will agree with; therefore, I urge you to spend the next 24 hours thinking about the proposal. Come this time tomorrow, a vote will be cast and collected by your shift leaders on whether or not the Archangel and everyone aboard will commit to piracy against the Federation.”

  Though she could not see, she knew in her heart that everyone aboard the ship stopped what they were doing to listen to the closest speaker, many of them murmuring to one another about her proposition, arguments of degrees of acceptability being had amongst the approximate 55,000 crewmembers that kept the Archangel alive and running, many of which Morrigan had never met.

  “We are in a dire situation and it’s only a matter of time before we all begin to suffer. Not only that, but our mission, our purpose as crewmembers of an Inquisition ship is to ensure the safety of everyone throughout the galaxy and protect them from the Federation’s deadly influence. This means we need to survive. We need to live long enough to regroup and find a way to free the Void Star before we too just become memories lost to the stars… therefore, I leave the final decision up to you. This decision will put us in more dangerous situations, one way or another, and puts the Archangel at constant risk but increases our chance at surviving the trials to come. Take the day, think it over, speak to your coworkers, your shipmates and leave your votes with your direct superiors. Your voice will guide our future.”

  Morrigan cut the communication and noticed the looks of approval around her. “I’m glad to see you growing as a leader,” Shepard noted with a smile, “That was very good, Mori.”

  Everyone nodded in agreement as a blush creeped up her cheeks once again, fully reminding her of her childhood hatred of giving speeches in school.

  “Ugh, I need to punch something,” she retorted, enticing laughter from her closest teammates aboard her ship as she touched her comm bead, “Sigurd! Meet me in the gym on deck 12, that's an order.”

  There was a loud popping noise before the Irish accent she became so familiar with responded, “Well damn, you got it… sorry dove, looks like we’ll have to finish later. Aye, seems like the lass upstairs is lookin’ for a fistin’…. No, no not like that! Like this!” Sigurd said to someone, having forgotten to disconnect before responding to his company, earning a wry smirk from Morrigan as she stepped into the elevator with Xol and Nora in tow.

  “I heard that and I am so not missing out on watching!” Nora cackled as Xol grunted his agreement while the elevator door closed.