As Carter walked down the hall, carrying a tray, he decided to take stock of their situation. "So, how long before the battle suits and guns are ready for use?"

The girl made a show of looking over her figures while she walked, even though Carter knew she already had the answer. "The guns will be ready in a day or two. The suits will take longer, maybe a week, give or take a couple of days, depending on potential complications."

Carter shook his head. "I'm surprised it'll be that quick. How do you even know how to fabricate a battle suit? That's not exactly something people just throw together on the fly."

The girl shrugged. "I've taken apart more than a few over the years to use their components. It was a simple matter to store some schematics. Honestly, they would be ready more quickly, but my selves have a few ideas on possible modifications we wanted to try out."

Carter shook his head. "Your selves... I still can't wholly wrap my head around the fact that you three are somehow both the same person and different people. It just doesn't make sense."

The girl shrugged. "Well, I don't exist this way for your sake, so you'll just have to accept me as we are."

Carter chuckled. "Oh, I do. It's just sort of a little brain teaser to contemplate from time to time. For instance, do you feel anger when the vixen and I argue?"

The girl seemed to stop and think for a moment. "I remember the anger as though I felt it, but this form does not actively feel it. It's more like remembering a long past anger, even if it is actively being experienced by my other self."

Carter shook his head. "Yeah, see? That doesn't make any sense to me. How can you both feel something and not feel it at the same time? I mean, I guess it doesn't matter. It is what it is. It's just hard to wrap my head around, is all."

They walked silently before Carter turned to the girl again. "So, have you put any thought into a name yet? Or, for that matter, has the vixen? Obviously, you know John has."

The girl seemed contemplative for a moment. "I have... It's a weird idea to name myselves as if we are different people...but at the same time, there's a sort of satisfaction to it. It kind of reaffirms the memory of who we were...in a way."

Carter nodded. "Well, no rush, so long as me referring to you as 'the girl' doesn't earn me your wrath!"

The girl chuckled. "No, I won't smite you for it any time soon. Even 'the vixen' has decided to give you a pass on it...mostly."

Carter raised an eyebrow. "Mostly?"

The girl's smile was quite self-satisfied. "Mostly."

As he approached the door he'd been heading to, Carter decided to leave that particular headache's investigation to another time. "Well, so long as you're thinking about it. Anyway, it's time to see what I can learn from our guest."

The girl gave him an appraising look. "Are you sure you're up for this? You don't strike me as the type to get your hands dirty this way."

As he shook his head, Carter's smile had a definite edge. "Oh, I might not do anything like this under normal circumstances, but that doesn't mean I'm incapable, given the wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time. Let's just say this isn't my first rodeo...or my second."

The girl shrugged. "Alright. Do as you will. Just remember, you can't really trust anything you learn this way."

Carter smiled sadly. "Oh, I know, but it gives you a good place to know where to start looking. Now, if you don't mind, I kinda gotta do this myself. I think someone else has already played the bad cop long enough."

With a curt nod of acknowledgment, the girl disappeared, leaving Carter alone in front of the door. He took a moment to set his face straight, opened the door, and walked in. At first, the room had been pitch black, so it took him half a moment to adjust when the lights came on. However, any discomfort he might have experienced paled compared to the room's occupant, who had been stuck in this darkness for the last several hours. Right now, she was curled up in a corner, covering her eyes in a vain attempt to block out the light.

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The pirate captain who'd led an assault on the Sybil no longer looked like a captain. Her clothes were in tatters, and she looked more than a little worse for wear, as though she hadn't been sleeping or eating well. To be fair, sleep might have been difficult with that chain binding her hand to the wall, though at least it was long enough to give her some range of movement. She didn't so much as acknowledge the presence of another person in the room. Was she already somewhat catatonic? Or was this just some ploy?

Deciding he wouldn't learn anything just by looking at her, Carter set down the tray with a single container. He then made a show of lifting the lid, revealing some of the mint paste. Next to it, he put a spoon and a canteen of water. Then, with his foot, he nudged the tray toward the woman sitting on the floor. "I understand you've been eating nothing but the unflavored, unprocessed stuff. I figured this might be a nice change of pace for ya."

The ex-captain looked at the tray with annoyance before finally speaking. "Do you think I'm stupid enough to fall for that trick again? You just want me to get my hopes up just to laugh when it's nothing but another illusion."

Carter considered trying to convince her or even telling her to sniff the food, but then he decided to take a more pragmatic approach. He reached down, grabbed the canteen, and, with a flick of the wrist, splashed the woman with a healthy dose of water before setting the canteen back on the tray.

The woman's look of indignation rapidly changed to one of realization. She reached for the tray and started gobbling down the contents, not even bothering with the spoon as she scooped up handfuls of the paste. Carter watched for a moment before speaking again. "You know, I could make sure you get the more edible stuff more often. There's even a few other flavors, though I'll admit the mint is the best."

The ex-pirate paused, hand half raised to her mouth, her suspicion evident in her expression. "Yeah? And what do I have to do to get the 'good stuff.' Since I got here, none of you made a single demand or even asked any questions. You've just been screwing with me, making every day a living nightmare."

Carter shrugged. "Yeah, that Red can be a real piece of work, can't she? The two of us don't exactly see eye to eye on a lot, but neither of us particularly approves of people boarding our ship intending to take it over. I think she just wanted to take out her frustration and boredom on you, and I was inclined to let it happen, as I wanted you to know there are consequences to screwing with us."

Carter then took a seat on the bench that was just a little too far away for the woman to reach with her manacled hand. "However, I could see to it you get a little more peace and quiet and better food if you're willing to give me some information."

The pirate sat up a little straighter. "Yea? Well, I'm not sure what the hell I can tell ya. You already spaced my entire crew, took my ship, and have me in a cell. There's not a lot else I know about out there. If I did, I wouldn't have tried to board what was clearly a floating death trap."

Carter nodded. "Yeah, I get that. Lucky for you, all I wanna know is the source of your misfortune." As the ex-pirate started to speak, he held up a hand. "Before you landed on my ship, that is. You see, I got in a scrape with three pirate ships not so long ago. I gave them a bloody nose, and they ran, but then they came back, and this time with a half dozen ships and more on the way. See, that's a little more cooperation and coordination than I'm used to pirates having. Now, if you were part of that group, I doubt you would have bothered trying to raid this old derelict with such a small crew. On the other hand, I'm guessing whatever's going on might have contributed to you being in such a sorry state. So, I guess I'm asking, what can you tell me about what's happening out there in the pirate world right now?"

The ex-pirate paused a moment as if choosing what to say, then apparently decided she wasn't likely to end up any worse off for opening her mouth now. "There's some new big shot on the scene, going around telling all the pirates they can either join up or get out. He's even offering new hardware to anyone who agrees to become his lapdog. Anyone stupid enough to say no ends up like my crew or worse."

Carter thought for a moment. "This big shot have a name?"

The ex-pirate shrugged. "Probably, but I don't know it. Most just call him 'the boss.' All I know is saying no was just about the dumbest thing I ever did. He wouldn't even take me in once I changed my mind. Said an example needed to be made. I thought I hit rock bottom, then I found this hell hole!"

Carter smiled in commiseration and nodded again. "Yeah, that's a run of bad luck, alright. Well, I'll tell you what, for now, I'll see to it that you eat better and maybe get something more comfortable to sleep on. If you think of anything else, well, maybe we can find a way to come to an agreement where you eventually get off this nightmare. I'm not saying you'll get your ship back or anything like that, but I'm sure there's a backwater world you can disappear on, where you can get a free drink or two with stories of this old ghost ship."

The ex-pirate's glare was something to behold. "I hope you don't expect me to be grateful or anything."

Carter shook his head and gave her a lopsided grin. "Nope, wouldn't dream of it. But so long as you're willing to work with me, I'll work with you. Otherwise, I let Red take back over managing your stay here on the ship. I'm sure she's got plenty of other ideas she'd love to try out, given the chance."

With that, Carter stood up, opened the door, and left, allowing the door to close again behind him. He figured that given some time, their guest might think of something else useful.

After the door closed behind him, the girl appeared again. This time, her eyes contained a hint of laughter. "Red?"

Carter shrugged. "What? She hasn't picked a name yet, and I needed to call her something."

The girl's expression didn't change. "I'm sure she understands...mostly."

Carter sighed. "Yeah, that's about what I expected."