Carter looked across the battlefield and cursed. Things just got a lot more complicated. He knew Sybil would want to salvage the pirate vessel for parts to effect repairs, and it probably had his ship stored in its hold anyway. However, there was a good chance the other vessel would try to claim salvage rights as they were the ones that had fought the pirates, and it looks like they spent a fair bit doing so in hardware and blood. Not that they were in any position to issue demands, but if Carter just took the ship from them because he could, how much better than a pirate would he be?

Around him stood the three Sybils. While they maintained silence, Carter could all but read their thoughts. The vixen wouldn't care about the plight of the other sailors and would say to take the ship. The girl would be pragmatic and say that while their livelihood may be at risk, their lives were not, so Sybil's need was greater. The pirate would likely say something like, "To the victors go the spoils!" or something equally un-pirate-like, despite his appearance. So, with his fourth vote and the tie-breaking power he'd negotiated for himself, Carter was the deciding factor.

However, an alert popped up on the screen before any discussion could begin. The girl broke the silence. "It seems one of the pods is trying to contact us. What would you like to do, Captain?"

Carter sighed. The job of Captain was not nearly as much fun as he'd imagined. "Answer them, I guess."

The vixen scoffed. "You'd better have more conviction than that when you speak with whoever that is! You'll ruin centuries of reputation if not!"

Carter sighed. As self-serving as her words were, she actually had a point. Like it or not, he was the Captain of the Sybil. While the ship had been a powerhouse in its day, after centuries of sitting alone in the void, it was outdated and weakened from neglect. Until it got back on its feet, reputation was about all it had. He nodded more confidently. "Put it through."

The person who appeared on screen was an older man who, despite looking a little worse for wear, had an aura of authority that made Carter suspect he was the Captain of the second vessel. The man seemed almost surprised to see Carter. "So the Sybil does have a flesh-and-blood crew, eh? Well, I am Captain Dimitri of the Trader's Vigilance. I also claim salvage rights to the pirate vessel, as we were the ones who disabled their ship!"

So there it was, just like Carter expected. He didn't have to look to the Sybils to know their thoughts. Instead, he answered. "I am Captain Carter of the Sybil. I would like to acknowledge your claim, Captain. However, that puts me in a rather tricky spot. You see, we're here because the pirates took something from us. A small trading vessel that is likely in their hold. We will be retrieving that vessel as it is ours by right. Also, we spent considerable resources getting here. Given your current state, we could probably offer you some much-needed assistance. How about a compromise?"

Before Dimitri could respond, a series of warnings appeared across the screen. Behind him, Carter heard the girl announce, "Several vessels incoming, Captain. They're coming in hot, likely expecting trouble."

Carter cursed. "Are they pirates or government?"

The girl shook her head. "There are no identifying frequencies, so I'm guessing pirates. They all appear smaller than us but outnumber us three to one. We should run."

Carter agreed that would be the smart thing to do, but he'd just be condemning all these men to death if he did that. After a moment's thought, he turned to the girl. "Hey, when you cannibalize ships, do you have a way to grapple them to the Sybil? And if so, can you use thrusters while grappled like that?"

The vixen answered dismissively: "Of course, but there's no way we can use FTL like that. I'm afraid you'll just have to say goodbye to your old ship."

Carter grinned. "Oh, that's not quite what I was thinking..."

-

Elias didn't like that they were rushing to save Belegose from his stupidity. The egomaniac was always picking stupid fights just for the rush of it, and now he'd apparently done so with his whole ship. If it were up to Elias, they'd just have left the idiot to hang, but the boss was right. He might very well spill too much info too soon and screw up their timetables.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

With a grin, Elias comforted himself that at least this would likely be the last time Belegose was in command of anything. Once they got him back, the boss would probably put a bullet between his eyes for putting the plan in danger like this. But with a sigh, Elias acknowledged that they had to save the idiot first, which brought him back to the here and now. Hopefully, the idiot had at least managed to weaken his opponent first, giving them an advantage in the coming fight.

Thomas appeared in front of Elias. "We're approximately sixty seconds from real space appearance. Tentative scans indicate three ships in the area, two badly damaged. The last is capital class, but with our three vessels combined, we should be more than a match for them if it comes to a slugfest."

Elias nodded to Thomas. "Very good." He then turned to the gunnery officer. "Start firing as soon as we appear. If we're lucky, they'll waste time trying to contact us, and we'll get a full barrage or two out on them in the meantime."

Thomas saluted and disappeared. He was as emotionless and efficient as ever, likely relaying orders to the rest of the crew as needed. Few pirate captains could boast the assistance of an AI on their ship, but this was just one of the many perks the new organization offered those who showed promise.

Thomas reappeared. "Ten seconds, captain!"

Elias nodded and pushed the button to address the ship. "All hands at the ready!"

Thomas made the final countdown using the same system. "Five, Four, Three, Two, One, We have real space!"

However, alarms began blaring all over the bridge before anyone could start firing. Thomas looked wild-eyed for the first time Elias could remember. "Sir! We have incoming!"

-

Carter watched as the first ship barely managed to veer out of the way of the pirate vessel the Sybil had just catapulted at it. However, right behind the first, the second ship hadn't been so lucky. The sheer mass of the wrecked ship plowed right through any shields the ship had possessed and impacted with enough force to cause significant structural damage to both vessels.

Somehow, by luck or skill, Sybil had managed to hit the bridge directly. With one ship out of position and the second out of the fight, Carter nodded to the pirate and the vixen. "Do it!"

-

Thomas didn't waste time saluting as he reported, "Sir, the bridge of the Shark's Tooth was lost in the impact. The ship is out of the fight for now."

Elias wasn't about to give up with the loss of just one ship. "Return fire! I want that ship wiped from my void! Thomas, see what you can do to interfere with their systems!"

Thomas started to salute, then stopped, locked in place as if frozen. Elias looked at the AI. "Thomas, did you hear me?"

The AI smiled. Thomas never smiled, let alone grin like some deranged idiot like now. Then, the regular lights all went out, bathing the bridge in the glowing red light of the emergency backups. His voice sounded wrong when he spoke as if he was struggling to keep from laughing like some maniac. "Caaaptaaain! They're coming for you, caaaptaaain! Your ship is theirs! Your blood is theirs! Your meat is theirs! The Sybil is coming for you! And they are hungry!"

One of the other officers interrupted the AI's ramblings. "Captain! Our shields are down!"

Then, one of the screens popped on, then another, and another. Soon, every screen on the bridge showed an image of a pirate. Not one of their men, but rather, someone who looked like something out of some old drama Elias might have watched as a kid. The pirate laughed. "Avast ye scallywags! Arm yourselves and fight as if you are fighting for your very souls! The Sybil is upon ye, and we will have blood!"

Suddenly, the screens went black, and the regular lights returned. Thomas looked normal, if a little worse for wear. "Captain! I've regained control, but the enemy has an AI unlike any I've ever encountered!"

A glance at a display told Elias that they'd lost a few guns while their shields were down, but not nearly as many as he'd worried. However, there were now far too many unknowns in this fight. It was time to cut their losses. With a curse, Elias turned to the crew. "Helm, get us out of here! We have to report this mess to the boss!"

-

Carter watched as the two remaining ships retreated. The girl shook her head. "You're lucky that worked. If they hadn't had an AI, or it had been more experienced, or if they'd just decided to call our bluff, this could have gone very differently. We might have won in a fight with those two ships, but with our depleted reserves, there was no guarantee."

Carter grinned. "Well, if we were ever going to replenish your reserves, we would have had to take some risks eventually, and now you have a whole pirate ship to feed on, minus one bridge!"

As Carter was busy patting himself on the back, another call came through from the escape pods. With a sigh, he turned to the girl. "Put it through."

As the image of the Captain popped up on the screen, Carter shook his head. "Listen, I know you had a claim on that ship, but if we hadn't done what we did, you all would have been next! Besides, it's still salvageable for parts. But don't think I'm giving you that second ship! Our generosity has its limits!"

The Captain shook his head. "That's not what I was calling about. Do you have a functioning medical bay aboard that ship of yours?"

Carter narrowed his eyes. He didn't particularly like the nature of that question. "Why do you ask?"