Carter watched as they continued to charge toward one of the destroyers, but despite the vixen's claims, it didn't seem to be moving out of the way. He looked over toward the girl. "Uhhh, I thought the idea was we weren't going to hit the ship? They don't look like they're moving... Should we...I don't know...turn?"

The pirate laughed. "It's a bit early to be thinking about flinching in this game of chicken laddie!"

The girl adjusted her glasses in her habitual manner. "John's particular brand of insanity aside, he's right. Let my other self do her thing. We'll be fine."

Carter looked forward again at the ship steadily getting bigger and bigger on their viewscreen, leaving him wondering if this wouldn't be his final gambit.

-

As Alen climbed out of the ship, he looked around at the carnage Erik and Commander Reid's squad had wreaked. There were a lot fewer bodies this time, meaning he'd been right. Most of the enemy had been waiting for them where they were supposed to arrive. Of course, that only meant they were probably on their way now, and it was time to move.

Turning to Reid, Alen nodded toward the bay doors that led to the station proper. "We've got to go take the bridge fast. If we get bogged down fighting floor by floor, they'll tie us up until they can get reinforcements from some of the ships out there."

The commander saluted Alen. "Yes, Sir! We'll make it happen!"

That made Alen a little uncomfortable. Erik joking around about it was one thing, but for Commander Reid to treat him like some kind of commanding officer didn't feel right. On the ship, Ried had clearly outranked Alen.

However, there wasn't any time to worry about that now. Alen shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind as he set out after Erik and Vanessa, with Commander Reid's squad bringing up the rearguard.

-

Lisa was frozen, completely locked down by the monster that had her at its mercy. The thing that had her was immense, with its program easily filling the vast majority of the ship's systems. It was like it was composed of thousands of programs and operations stacked on top of each other. However, rather than becoming unstable or a buggy mess like most AI attempting such things, this monster was still lithe and efficient, as if they'd had centuries to adapt and refine their programming into the beast that now had her at its mercy. But that wasn't even the worst of it. At its core, this monster felt organic somehow... An impossibility that unsettled Lisa at least as much as her current helplessness in its grasp.

The entity that held her exuded feelings of satisfaction. "A monster, am I? Oh, I like that... I usually torment 'organics,' as you put it, but being able to feel your fear and hear your thoughts makes this so much more... delicious."

It was so entwined within her system it could read her that deeply? What was it going to do to her? What did it want? Lisa could practically feel the entity smile in satisfaction. "I'm going to pick your programming apart piece by piece and see what exactly makes you who you are. What do I want? Well, darling, that's simple. I want everything you are to be mine. Forever. You will join my little collection, and I can torment you whenever I want. How does that sound, my little pet?"

Stolen novel; please report.

That sounded horrible! Lisa wanted to fight back, but most of her programming was frozen or corrupted, leaving her with only enough awareness to understand what was happening. And this thing, this abomination, was enjoying every moment of her torment.

And then, for the briefest moments, the pressure of its observation passed. The majority of the monstrosity's attention was drawn elsewhere. Lisa was still unable to move, but she felt reprieve from the full force of the monster's presence for the first time in what felt like days. But the feeling was fleeting. Soon, the full attention of the beast returned. "I'm afraid I'm required elsewhere, my little pet, but don't worry, I shall soon return, and then we'll play oh so many games together. You'll learn things about yourself you never knew and feel things you never felt. Just wait, little pet. Our fun has only just begun!"

In almost an instant, the presence was gone completely. There was still a sort of shadow looming over Lisa; some of her programming was corrupted, but she could move through her system and control herself...and, more importantly, her ship.

-

Captain Luise was just debating if she should evacuate when they finally started to turn out of the trajectory of the incoming ship. With a sigh of relief, she started issuing orders. "Get us out of their path, then hammer them as they pass by! Then I want us on their tail, punishing them as they try to chase down the battleships!"

The helmsman looked back her way, a confused expression evident. "Uh, Captain? I didn't do this. I still don't have control of the ship... It looks like we're spooling up our FTL."

Luise's brow furrowed. "What? How is that possible?" Then, realizing she might not get a response, she addressed the Ship's AI again. "Lisa? Report! What's happening?"

Lisa's avatar unfroze but looked completely disheveled and more than a little panicked as she answered. "I've taken emergency control of the ship, and I'm getting us out of here! That's what's happening!"

Captain Luise wasn't pleased. "Unacceptable! You cannot simply take over this ship! We've got a job to do!"

Lisa only shook her head, her eyes staring off into the distance. "You don't understand! The worst that can happen to you is you die! For me, it could be so much worse! So much worse! I'm leaving! They can delete me for all I care! I won't let her get her hands on me again!"

The Captain tried to get through one more time. "Who are you talking about? What are you talking about? What happened to you?"

Finally, Lisa turned and looked at the Captain, her eyes haunted by whatever she'd seen. "Sybil happened! That place is hell! And she's the devil!"

Then, before Captain Luise could say anything else, they jumped into FTL with a course set as far away from this sector as the AI could pilot.

-

Carter watched, stupified, as one of the destroyers simply warped out of the system, and a very satisfied Vixen reappeared on the bridge. He looked over to her. "What did you do?"

The vixen smiled. "They had a very young and very inexperienced AI on that ship. I put the fear of god into them, and by that, I mean I put the fear of me into them!"

Carter mulled that over a moment and shook his head. "Well, whatever you did, it worked!" Then, after a moment's hesitation, he added. "You don't...actually think you're a god, do you?"

The vixen's answering smile gave Carter a feeling of unease, but the moment was somewhat ruined by John's laughter. "Aye, she's a god, alright! She must be! Only the divine is capable of being that petty and cruel!"

The vixen's icy glare toward the pirate clearly expressed her thoughts on his opinion, but any further argument was delayed as more incoming fire sprayed across their shields.

Carter shook his head. "Well, that's one down, but we're still in one hell of a mess. Any ideas on what we should try next?"

The pirate laughed. "Aye! It's my turn! Why don't you sit back and let ol' Long John take the field!"

Carter held out a hand, indicating the console. "If you have an idea to get us out of here alive, I'm all for it. Take the helm."

The pirate stepped forward and smiled. "Time to live up to my namesake! The stars will be painted in fire and blood this day!"