After the news of more arrivals and what that implied, Carter turned around and looked at the girl. "How long until they get here?"

The girl seemed to be expecting that question. "We've got considerably more notice this time, but that's only because of the size of the distortion. Unfortunately, that same distortion makes it harder to be sure, but our best guess is they seem to be arriving in waves, with the vanguard arriving in maybe thirty minutes, give or take a ten-minute window. We'll be able to more accurately estimate as the time draws near."

Carter nodded. "How long will it take to decouple the ship you're cannibalizing?"

The girl took a moment to consider this. "Well, in order to recall all drones safely, the whole process would take close to five minutes, though obviously, that'll depend on what parts they are currently involved in removing."

Carter nodded. "Alright, take what you can get, but be ready to drop what you're doing with plenty of time to spare so we can cut and run. I'm not looking to commit suicide today!"

Erik, who seemed pretty calm despite the news, looked up with interest. "What about our crew mates drifting out in their escape pods?"

Carter looked at the larger alien and tried to figure out what was going on in his head. Would he get violent if Carter said he was just gonna leave them to their fates? Not that he wanted to just leave them out here to be butchered, but taking an entire crew onboard this ship was just asking for a hostile takeover. On the other hand, was he so monstrous he'd just leave people to the same fate he'd come so close to experiencing not so long ago?

Carter started to open his mouth to say he was sorry, but the girl cut him off. "Captain. You might want to speak with the rest of the crew before making a decision like that."

Right, despite how they were behaving in front of their "guests," he didn't have unilateral control. He looked over toward the viking alien. "I'll ask you to remain in the dining hall for a bit. I need to head to the bridge for now, and I'll decide after speaking with the crew."

For once, Erik wasn't grinning, but he didn't argue either, and he nodded to Carter. "Fair enough, I suppose. Just don't take too long and leave us out to dry while you make up your mind."

Carter simply nodded and took his leave.

As he walked onto the bridge, the vixen and the pirate were already there, and the girl walked up behind him. With everyone present, Carter dove right in. "Alright, so you all know what's happening and what's at stake. What are we going to do with the people in the escape pods?"

Predictably, the vixen didn't seem overly sympathetic. "We weren't the ones who put them in those pods. We have no responsibility to stretch out our necks to save them."

Also, predictably, the pirate seemed to be on the other side of that equation. "These lads fought the good fight and deserve another chance to fight again! I say we take them on as additional crew!"

With that, it came down to the one Carter had been wondering about. The girl hesitated a moment as if giving this careful thought. "...There is some risk with taking so many people onboard...and I'm not big on the idea of letting so many people see the inner workings of the Sybil at one time...but I can't bring myself to leave these people out here to die, either... I vote we take them in."

That put Carter in an odd position. He'd all but decided these people were too much of a risk to take on, and with his tie-breaker authority, he could say they were just going to cut and run, and the others would go with it. However, he found himself hesitating, if only because he questioned any decision that would leave him siding only with the vixen regarding how they were going to treat other people. After a little bit of consideration, he shook his head. "Alright, fine. We'll take on anyone who can make it in time, but we'll have to take some precautions, such as limiting their access to the ship, etc. We can work out the details after we're clear. It's not like they're in any position to argue..."

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The captain nodded. "That seems more than fair. I will relay your offer...thank you."

Carter couldn't help but notice that he seemed somewhat subdued. However, that was easily explained by his being in one of the furthest groups of escape pods, unlikely to make it in time. It was difficult to look a man in the eye and know that he could likely measure his remaining time in minutes rather than years. All Carter could offer was a half-hearted "Good luck, Captain." before ending the transmission.

Carter looked over at the three Sybils. "How much will we be able to get from the pirate ship before getting out of here?"

The girl appeared to be looking through various charts. "Well, not all of it will be immediately available, as it'll need to be processed and installed, but we should get enough to restore the Sybil to roughly seventy-three percent of operational capacity."

Carter nodded. "And how much will be immediately available?"

The pirate seemed to see where he was going with this and grinned as he answered. "Enough to give some pirates a serious black eye and bloody lip, boyo!"

Carter's grin mirrored the pirate's. At least he could do this much before running away. "Then what say we do just that?"

-

Elias scowled. He was in charge of leading the vanguard to "restore his lost honor." What good was honor if your ship was dead in the void? He knew the real reason he was leading the vanguard. In a three-on-one fight, he'd lost an entire ship in less than a minute. His competency was being questioned, and he needed to either prove himself here or lose his position as a strike team leader. Hell, he might even be demoted out of his captaincy. Not that anyone could typically remove a captain from his position on a pirate vessel without some bloodshed, but this was a new era, and the old rules no longer applied.

Not that it mattered. Elias wouldn't give his opponent the opportunity to perform the same stunt as before. Every ship was under orders to immediately raise shields and take evasive action upon reentering realspace. He would win the fight methodically this time rather than using brute force. If they were stupid enough to hang around, that is.

As soon as they appeared in real space again, Thomas immediately gave the same warning as last time. "Captain, we have incoming!"

Elias couldn't believe his luck. Not only were they still here, but they were stupid enough to try the same trick twice! He turned to the helm calmly. "Evasive maneuvers." Then, turning to communications, he added, "Tell the other ships to begin firing as soon as they have a clear shot of the main vessel!"

However, Thomas didn't seem like he was done. "Captain, they're adjusting course! It's the Sybil, not a dead vessel!"

The Sybil? Were they trying to actually ram his ship? Elias turned to the helm with more urgency. "It's too big to match our maneuverability! Just take us out of their turning radius!"

The helmsman seemed rather focused. "Trying to captain!"

Elias could only stare in horror as the large vessel loomed closer and closer despite his helmsman's best attempts to turn away. However, it started to look like they'd squeak past by the skin of their teeth, and the other ships were pouring on fire even though it seemed they were unable to break through the Sybil's shields. Still, once the immediate danger of being rammed was passed, they could easily stay out of the larger ship's reach and add in their own munitions, forcing the larger ship to fight a four-on-one battle with reinforcements approaching or retreat.

As the two ships passed within spitting distance, alarms started blaring. Looking at his console, Elias could see the two ships had passed close enough that their shields were overlapping, sending powerful feedback into each other's systems, creating dead spots where shields should have been. It was an insane maneuver spoken about by the occasional seasoned captain that took such a degree of precision maneuvering and a lack of self-preservation that it hadn't seen use since the AI war half a century ago!

Realizing what was about to happen, Elias shouted, "Rotate the ship now!" but it was too late as the Sybil opened fire on the unshielded portions of the ship.

All Elias could do was ride out the storm. It seemed every alarm aboard the ship was screaming, and his ship felt as if it was being shaken to pieces as the Sybil poured an ungodly amount of ordinance onto their exposed side. A part of him wanted to run for the nearest escape pod, but doing so would only ensure his loss of command.

Then, almost as soon as it had started, it was over. The shaking finally stopped as the Sybil flew past. Elias turned to one of the few officers still seated at their station. "Status?"

The officer's hands flew across the screen. "Sir, floors two and three on the port side are in ruins. Total losses. Floor one is evacuating personnel to vent the atmosphere to try and control several fires. We're more or less dead in space."

Elias's eyes narrowed. "And what of the Sybil? Are they coming around for another pass?"

The officer shook their head. "No, they seem to be headed for an escape jump. I think we're clear."

Elias settled into his seat as the remaining officers retook their positions. At least this wasn't a total loss; however, this wasn't exactly going to "restore his honor" either. As he watched the Sybil reach a safe distance and jump out of real space, he cursed the supposed ghost ship silently.