Carter walked out of the room disappointed. "Well, that didn't tell us anything useful."

He was getting so used to the girl popping up out of nowhere that he didn't even jump when she spoke up at his side. "He may have told us more than you think."

Carter looked over at the girl. "Well, that sure was ambiguous. Care to explain?"

The girl tilted her head. "Well, it's just speculation right now, but the name of the ship he mentioned, Cervo Redites, could be a hint. I'm guessing he mispronounced Cerva Reditus, which is from an obscure dead earth language and more or less translates to 'Return of the deer.'"

Carter shook his head. "That sounds like a bit of a stretch, but even then, it's not ringing any bells. So this guy likes deer and dead languages. That still doesn't tell us much about who it could be."

The girl shook her head. "What do they teach you in school these days? Only two hundred years ago, there was a famous flagship named the 'Golden Hind,' hind being another word for a female deer. It belonged to the most successful pirate in the history of the void. He amassed a huge armada of pirates and apparently considered himself quite the gentleman privateer, always showing off his wealth and influence to his guests and enemies alike. Sound familiar?"

Carter tipped his head in acknowledgment of the point. "Okay, yeah, that definitely sounds like this Boss character we keep hearing about, but it's not like this Captain from two hundred years ago is still alive. Not all of us get to download our consciousness into a giant ghost ship!"

The girl shook her head. "I'll agree it's not the man himself. His death is a matter of public record, and even if it was faked, there's no way he'd still be around today. However, that doesn't mean he's not involved. Running an empire like that took considerable resources, and there's a better than even chance he had a shipyard or two under his control..."

Carter finally saw where this was going. "So, if someone stumbled across a hidden trove of ships and weapons, they'd have half an empire ready to go. They'd just need warm bodies."

The girl nodded, grinning as if a slow student finally figured out a math problem. "Exactly. However, it would take a sociopath to think about forging another pirate empire instead of just selling everything and letting the next hundred generations of your family live in lavish comfort. Some people just prefer power to money, I suppose."

Carter chuckled. "I'm not sure an insane AI that runs an infamous ghost ship known for driving people crazy and devouring their ships should be talking about sociopaths, but otherwise, I see what you're saying. Still, I can't help but feel like there's something else going on here like we're missing an important piece of the puzzle..." He shook his head. "I guess that doesn't matter at the moment. At least this gives us an idea of what we're up against, even if it's all speculation at this point.

The girl nodded. "Speculation built on observation and eyewitness testimony, but I suppose you're right."

Carter sighed. "Now we just have to figure out how to draw him out of hiding!"

Alen still felt awkward sitting in the Captain's seat of the Laughing Comet, doubly so when Commander Reid walked up and saluted him. "Sir, repairs are complete, and we have a full complement of ammunition and supplies. We're ready to go at your command!"

Alen saluted back, allowing Commander Reid to change to a more relaxed stance, before turning to the helmsman. "Set a course to rendezvous with the Sybil. We've got supplies to drop off and crew to pick up. Though I'm sure knowing those two, they're perfectly comfortable even on the Sybil."

There was some chuckling from the bridge staff. Erik and Vanessa's penchant for getting into and out of trouble, as well as their enjoyment of situations that would terrify any sane person, were well known. However, they'd saved more than enough crew members in one way or another to earn themselves a warm welcome wherever they went despite their well-earned reputations for insanity. Alen, in particular, enjoyed their company as the two of them didn't treat him very differently than they had before he was Captain, which admittedly had its own complications, but it allowed the young Captain to forget about the newly acquired burdens of command for a while. A night drinking with Erik was one way to relax after a rough fight, even if the life expectancy of such a night was on par with the suicide missions the large alien liked to take on.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The helm's man nodded. "Aye, Captain!" He then turned to activate the console to take them into FTL when suddenly alarms began blaring on the bridge.

Commander Reid was already in motion, his years of experience eliminating the slight hesitation Alen still felt at times, and he began reading out the source of the alarms. "Captain. It looks like there are multiple short jump arrivals coming in near the station's perimeter. Their arrival points are far too close to be a friendly visit. I'm guessing they're coming in hot, looking to loot and run."

Pirates, looting a station this close to core world territory? They were certainly getting confident. Or were they coming for the Laughing Comet? That didn't seem too likely. They were always careful to cover their tracks, and attacking them at a station like this was asking for far more trouble than they were worth. Then again, it was probably far less trouble than attacking them when the Sybil was around. Of course, that didn't really matter at the moment. The real question was, should they run or stay and fight?

A quick glance at the rest of the crew showed they were in high spirits. After all, this was a destroyer for hire, and fighting pirates was what they did for a living. Having made up his mind, Alen turned toward Commander Ried. "Get us ready for a fight."

The Commander grinned and turned to start issuing orders to get the shields up and the guns ready. Meanwhile, Alen turned toward the communications officer. "Contact the station and offer our services for the usual price." It's not like they were going to refuse right now. "Then contact the Sybil and let them know we might need backup soon."

A moment later, three destroyer-class ships arrived out of FTL. Between the station's defenses and the Laughing Comet, it was feasible they'd come out on top, though the odds weren't quite as much in their favor as he'd have hoped. Still, it's not like the local authorities would sit back and do nothing, and even if they did, the Sybil was more than capable of handling this mess. Backup would be on the way, so it was really more of a waiting game. If the pirates were smart, they'd turn around and leave once they recognized this fight wasn't as one-sided as they'd hoped. Then again, in Alen's experience, most pirates weren't as intelligent as he'd like.

A moment later, the comms officer looked up. "Transmission from the new ships coming in."

Alen nodded. "Put it through, but continue with what you were doing."

The comms officer nodded, and a rather rugged individual appeared on Alen's screen a moment later. The guy definitely looked like the sort who acted first and thought second. How do these people get command of a squad, let alone an entire ship? Then again, Alen wasn't one to talk. Instead, he nodded affably. "This is Captain Alen of the Laughing Comet. How can I be of assistance?"

The guy gave Alen a once over and didn't seem too impressed with what he saw. However, the Laughing Comet definitely warranted respect regardless of who the Captain was, so he stayed at least somewhat polite. "Listen, we're just here for the station and the smaller merchant ships. We'll let you leave without a fight, but this is a limited-time offer."

Alen smiled as if pleased. "A very generous offer! After all, if we were to stand and fight, there's no guarantee we'd win." Reminding the pirates that there was no guarantee they'd win either. "However..."

The pirate narrowed his eyes. "However, what?"

The comms officer gave a thumbs up, indicating the station had taken the offer. Alen nodded and turned back to the screen. "However, we've just received a rather lucrative offer to defend the station you came for, and I'm pretty sure we could tie you up long enough for reinforcements to arrive. So how about I return your offer. We'll let you leave now without a fight, but this is a limited-time offer."

The pirate narrowed his eyes, evidently not liking Alen's response. "I'd hoped you would've been smart."

Alen shrugged. "Well, there seems to be a lot of foolishness going around. Please, feel free to be the smart one here and leave while you still can."

The only answer Alen got was the screen turning black as the pirate hung up. Alen sighed before turning to Commander Ried. "You don't suppose he's gonna take me up on that offer, do you?"

Ried grinned in response before turning and continuing to get the ship ready for a brawl.