Bernard the Blade watched in disbelief as one of the other destroyers just up and ran from the fight. They hadn't even taken any direct hits. It just seemed like the captain panicked and ran. This assault group was supposed to all be hardened veterans of many space battles, but clearly, someone had seriously misjudged this Captain Luise.

Shaking his head, the Blade looked back toward the Sybil. It didn't matter. They still had the advantage. It'd just get a little more bloody than they'd planned, that's all.

He was just about to issue new commands when the main display was taken over. Rather than show the space battle, it showed some clown dressed like a theme park pirate with a manic gleam in his eye who immediately launched into a tirade. "We've already broken the back of one of your warships, and another has fled the field of battle! Is this all the fight you pissants have in you? When I saw what you'd brought to take us on, I finally expected a good fight, but now I see yer all just a bunch of young pups barely weaned from your mother's teats! Well, grow a backbone and fight back, you lilly livered cowards! We won't run! We won't hide! We want to see everything you've got! LET THE STARS WITNESS YOUR STEEL, BLOOD, AND GLORY! THEN DIE LIKE MEN! BECAUSE THE SYBIL IS COMING FOR YOU, AND YOU BEST NOT BE FOUND WANTING!"

There was a moment of silence as the man on the viewscreen let that last bit sink in. Then, as if spitting out the words in disgust, he added one final thought. "Hopefully, at least one of you lot will be worth remembering after all that's left of your ships is their charred lifeless husks floating through the void!" Then, without waiting for a response, the screen switched back to the unfolding battle. The whole display was laughable. What did they think they would accomplish with a bluff like that?

That was when Barnard the Blade noticed his second-in-command looking at him questioningly. He figured he might as well hear whatever the man had to say. "What?"

The man hesitated a moment before speaking. "Well, Captain, like the man said, one of our destroyers is already severely damaged, and another had already run from the fight. Should we pull back and regroup?"

Bernard looked at the man with contempt. "What are you an idiot? Don't tell me that clown's speech got to you! We've got the upper hand!"

Then, with a bit more thought, he grinned. "I say we beat them at their own game! Full speed ahead, let's make as if we're gonna ram them, then hit them with everything we've got when they flinch!"

His second-in-command paled. "What if they don't flinch?"

Barnard sneered. "Then we'll make them choke on the 'charred, lifeless husk' of our ship! Even if their ship is bigger than ours, they won't get out of a head-on collision in any condition to fight! They'll either flinch or die with us when the battleships finish them off!"

-

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Carter watched as the last destroyer turned and started heading toward them head-on. "Are...are they going to try and ram us now?"

John laughed. "Aye, it looks that way! Perhaps someone out there had a bit of backbone after all! Let's play their game and see what they do. Cease all firing and cut life support anywhere there's no air breather present! Pour everything we got into the front shields, and let's meet them head-on!"

Carter looked over at the girl. "And what happens if they don't swerve? Should we send the vixen over again?"

As he stood looking forward with an even wider manic smile than usual, John shook his head. "No! Let them come! I called them out, and this is their answer! Let's see the cut of their jib!"

Carter wasn't sure he liked the sound of that. "You know we could die here, right? Not just me, but this ship and yourselves included!"

The pirate laughed again. "Aye, we might! And wouldn't that be a fine way to go!"

Carter wasn't sure if John was brave or suicidal. It seemed the man rode a fine line between the two. Still, he couldn't see any other way out of this mess, so Carter just strapped himself into his chair and looked ahead, watching the two ships close the distance.

-

Woods watched as the Sybil matched their angle and sped up to meet them. His eyes flickered to the rapidly dwindling number representing the distance between the two ships as they accelerated toward each other. Less than fifty kilometers.

The captain was seated and grinning. Was he hoping to die today? A glance back told him there were only forty kilometers to go.

A glance at the readout showed the enemy ship had nearly all its energy pushed into its forward shields. Were they planning to just ride out the impact? Even at their size, that wouldn't end well for them, but it wouldn't matter to Woods. He'd be dead. Only twenty-five kilometers left.

Looking over at the helmsman, Woods could see several beads of sweat forming on the man's forehead. The captain was leaning forward, still grinning. Ten kilometers.

Realizing the captain would happily kill them all, Woods shouted out. "Hard to port! Now!"

The captain shouted in response. "No! Keep going!" but the helmsman had already pushed the controls to their limit. The inertia dampeners did their best, but several crew members lost their feet as they were thrown to the side. A moment later, the alarms started blaring.

-

Carter almost sighed in relief as the destroyer finally swerved at the last moment, but a moment later, they, too, repositioned, leaving Carter grasping for his seat. The momentum of the two ships still carried them toward one another, and they almost collided anyway. They came so close that the corner of the Sybil's reinforced frontal shield impacted the destroyer's side shield as they passed by one another.

The pirate shouted, "FIRE!" seemingly to himself as the ship opened fire at his command. The shield burn caused by the near impact left the destroyer open to all sorts of abuse as cannons, missiles, and even smaller countermeasure guns all tore into its unshielded flank.

As soon as they pulled past, it was evident that the destroyer was out of the fight, as any surviving crew would be busy putting out fires and effecting emergency repairs for the near future.

John laughed again. "Now, that was a good fight!"

That was when the ship shook hard. They'd been hit by something large. The screen lit up, showing the battleships in the distance. They were far enough away that so far, their larger caliber guns hadn't been very effective, but now that the destroyers were all more or less out of the fight, they were opening fire with abandon, covering the entire area of space so speed and maneuvering meant little when it came to avoiding the massive projectiles headed their way.

The girl stepped forward and adjusted her glasses again before speaking. "I guess that means it's my turn..."