Piloting a ship used to be exciting, but after years of seeing it done and then doing it himself, Carter found the whole experience got old after a while. However, piloting a ship from the ship's perspective was...more intense. Or perhaps overwhelming was a better word. It felt like his consciousness was being stretched over several lightyears, as to his mind, the ship itself extended far past its original dimensions.

It hadn't taken Sybil long to trace Carter's escape pod back the way it'd come, and for the first time since he'd encountered the ghost ship, it was finally on the move. Thankfully, he only had to approve the maneuvers and didn't need to manage anything while the ship was in flight. If he had, they'd be in real trouble.

As the ship exited FTL, Carter felt a wave of relief as reality returned to the state he was more familiar with. He reveled in the silence of motion and perception. However, the silence was broken by the girl making a report: "Captain, we've arrived at the origin point of your escape pod's trajectory. However, there is no sign of your ship in the area."

Carter shook his metaphorical head to return to the subject at hand. The lack of sign of his ship wasn't surprising because the last he'd seen of it was when the pirate ship swallowed it whole as his little escape pot launched into the void. Thankfully, he'd been beneath the notice of such a vessel, or Carter suspected his story would have ended a lot quicker. "What about other vessels in the area? Any signs of a larger pirate vessel passing through recently?"

The girl nodded. "Yes, and it looks as if the ship wasn't well maintained. Based on the radiation remnants in the area, I can probably get a heading."

Carter smiled. "Alright then. Let's get a move on, see if we can catch these guys before the trail goes cold!"

The pirate seemed to like the idea. "A ship that size will probably put up a decent fight with us still in our weakened state!"

The vixen also seemed to feel the need to offer her own input. "Are you sure you're ready for such a fight, Captain?" The word Captain seemed to stick in her throat for a moment. "I didn't think you'd be so eager to encounter pirates again after your last few engagements with them..."

Carter shook his head. "If it was just me and the small arms left on the ship, probably not, but I think it's about time to see what the most notorious ghost ship in the galaxy can do, don't you?"

The vixen seemed at least somewhat placated by his response. "Just don't try to hold us back or get in our way. We'll take care of any cockroaches that get in our way."

The pirate's face was like a schoolchild's on Christmas day. "Aye! It's been too long since the stars last witnessed our main guns firing! Let's remind everyone why we're the most feared ship in the galaxy!"

After giving the necessary approvals, Cater decided to disengage from the ship for the next jump. That wasn't an experience he needed to go through twice in one day!

-

Alen was having a nice dinner with his family. He'd taken his parents out to eat at a nice restaurant to celebrate his recent promotion. They were kind of embarrassing him by bragging about their son, the new Captain, to nearby tables, but he knew it was just their way of expressing their excitement, so he didn't mind too much.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Finally, the waiter brought out the food. It was on a covered silver tray, just like in the movies. The tray was positioned right before Alen, and the waiter pulled off the lid with a flourish. The steam covered Alen's sight briefly, but whatever it was smelled delicious.

However, once the steam cleared, a foot was sitting in front of Alen in the center of an elaborate garnish. A human foot. He looked up at the waiter in disgust. "What is this? I can't eat a foot?"

The waiter looked bored as if fielding such complaints was an everyday occurrence as he answered. "Sir, it is this restaurant's policy to serve a foot to anyone who has recently lost theirs! If you refuse it, we will kindly ask you to leave!"

With horror, Alen looked over the table's edge toward his foot. His new pristine uniform was marred at the bottom, where blood was seeping through. As he carefully pulled up the pant leg, what was revealed was the stump of his leg.

Alen sat up screaming, only for Erik to slap him on the back and laugh. "Ha! Those pain meds really do a number on ya, don't they? Guessin' you had some fun dream?"

Alen, who was covered in a cold sweat, shook his head. "Fun isn't the world I'd have used..."

Vanessa, who was looking out the lone porthole, spoke up. "Something just appeared out of FTL. Something big."

Erik worked his way over to the porthole to try and get a better look. Despite the escape pod being designed to seat five comfortably, the space was somewhat limited with Alen laid out and Vanessa and Erik's unusual frames, so it took some maneuvering. "Is it ours or theirs?"

Vanessa, who'd shifted to the lone console, looked at the readings. "It's hard to say, but it's not a ship registered with any local authority, so that doesn't bode well."

Alen, who was debating whether he should just take more pain meds and pass back out, decided he wanted to know more. "What's the ship's make and name?"

Vanessa looked over at the human with her usual indecipherable expression. "It is of an unknown configuration. Its designation is Sybil."

-

The girl appeared behind Carter. "I believe we've discovered the vessel that attacked you, but it appears we weren't the first to encounter them."

Carter, who'd been using a urinal, jumped, making a bit of a mess. "Gah, not in here! What the hell is wrong with you?"

The girl looked him up and down as if inspecting him but showed no sign of reaction before answering. "You said you wanted to be informed "right away" once we found them. I'm merely complying with your orders, sir."

Carter zipped himself up and glared at her. "Well, from now on, unless it's an emergency, it can wait until I'm not in the middle of using the restroom! Alright?"

The girl nodded and answered, "Yes, sir." though Carter detected just the slightest of smirks. She was messing with him. Of course, being a projection, she could easily control something like that. So what, she wanted him to know she was messing with him? Was this her weird way of making friends?

Realizing he probably wouldn't figure out what motivated the ancient and insane pseudo-AI, Carter set the matter aside as he remembered what she'd actually told him. "So what? Is the ship already destroyed, or do we have more trouble than we anticipated?"

The girl tilted her head. "A little of both, really, though perhaps not in the way you were thinking."

As he washed his hands, the girl brought up a projection revealing two heavily damaged ships. "There are two large ships that both seem dead in space. There are escape pods in the nearby vicinity, and debris indicates that at least two additional spacecraft were utterly destroyed. We appear to have stumbled upon the aftermath of a battle with no clear victor."

The pirate appeared on Carter's other side. "Looks like we missed a right good scrap we did! I wonder if any of the survivors have a good tale or two to spin for us?"

As Carter dried his hands, he addressed the other two bathroom occupants. "How about we take this to the bridge before the last of you show up? It's already crowded enough in here as is!"