As Carter walked down the halls, he considered his options. Admittedly, there didn't seem to be many. Basically, he had to prove useful to Syblil by agreeing to be her...their(?) captain. But what did that even mean? He couldn't imagine them just deciding to do what he wanted all the time. He suspected they wanted something more like a figurehead. It was probably something hardwired into the system. The question was, could he get something for himself out of the deal?

He was following the girl when the lights between him and her suddenly flickered and went out. A moment later, a gaunt-looking semblance of a man, its skin pale and stretched tightly over its bones, was shambling beside him. Its movements were inhumanly jerky as it shambled forward, with no evidence that it even registered Carter's presence as it mumbled quietly. 'They'll never let me go! They'll never let me go!'

Then, just as suddenly, he was gone, and the lights were back on. The girl was looking at Carter impatiently. "Well, what's taking so long? The other me's are waiting!"

Carter shook his head. "And that just now? Are you going to tell me it's not worth worrying about? Just another echo?"

The girl shook her head. "What are you going on about? Come on already! No use delaying things!"

That confused Carter. "I'm not... Did you not... You didn't see..."

The girl's expression indicated she was questioning whether he was competent enough to bother keeping around, so he shut up and nodded to her. "Lead the way."

After a moment's hesitation, she turned and started walking again, leaving Carter to wonder what was happening around here. Was this ship really haunted? That didn't seem too likely. It was more likely that these were fragments in the AI's programming, too, like how it's split between the three personalities, except it doesn't seem to have any control or even complete awareness of them. The girl had called them echos, but echos of what? Past victims? Maybe their previous captains? That thought was more than a little foreboding. Perhaps he should just let them kill him and call it a day. Then, remembering the gun at his side, he realized he could just do it himself if it came to that... As they approached the bridge, Carter's musings came to an end. It was time to hear just what they were proposing.

At least these doors opened properly. Walking onto the bridge, Carter noticed the bodies were gone and the blood pools cleaned up, though there was still a rusty-colored stain where they'd once been. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what they'd done with the bodies and decided not to ask about it.

The pirate and vixen were waiting for them with varying degrees of impatience. The pirate grinned and seemed to have a mug of some sort. Carter couldn't help but grin himself, thinking the pirate probably referred to it as a flagon or something. Carter wondered what the purpose of him simulating food and drink was, though he supposed it didn't matter. It was one of the more innocuous idiosyncrasies the AIs seemed to possess.

By contrast, the vixen glared at Carter with murderous intent. He had no doubt that she could and would kill him on a whim without the other two's intervention. However, the fact that she hadn't clearly implied they needed something from him, meaning he had at least a little room for negotiation.

The girl took her place between the two and broke the silence. "Mister Carter, we'd like to offer you a probationary position as this ship's captain. Do you accept?"

Carter was silent a moment. They probably assumed he had nothing to negotiate with, so he decided to play along at first. "And what does that entail?"

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Somehow, the vixen's frown deepened, as if he'd failed her already low expectations. "You do what we say when we say, and you get to keep living."

Carter sighed and shook his head. "Well, that's not much of a life, is it?"

The vixen didn't seem moved. "But it is a life. It's the only chance you've got for one."

Something snapped in Carter. He was probably about to make a huge mistake, but he couldn't help it as he stalked forward toward the sneering woman. "No, that's existing, not living! You can't expect me to just bow down and be your little puppet! If you want me to be your little lapdog, you gotta throw me a bone!"

The girl interrupted the two of them then. "And just what kind of 'bone' would you like us to throw you?"

Carter turned to her and calmed himself down a little. "Listen, if I remember correctly, you all mentioned looting and pillaging, am I right?"

Suddenly, he had the pirate's attention. "Aye. It's an essential part of our existence."

Carter nodded to him. "Fine, then I want veto rights. At any time, for any reason, I can veto a destination and/or target."

The vixen shook her head sharply. "Ridiculous! You can just decide that sort of thing on your own!"

That made Carter smile as he turned to the vixen. He'd known she'd say that, so it was time to offer his compromise. "Fine, then I want an equal vote with the three of you, and if we're deadlocked, we decide with a coin flip, but I flip the coin!"

The vixen smiled and stalked forward. "And why should we do anything other than let you live? You don't have a very strong negotiating position after all."

It was time to call her/their bluff. Carter reached for his gun, and the vixen laughed right up until the moment he pointed the barrel of the gun at his own head. Then she frowned. "Just what do you think you are doing? Is that supposed to be some kind of threat?"

Carter smiled back at her. "Yes, actually. The way I see it, our negotiation has boiled down to this. You want me to choose between being your captain or death. Well, I find the terms, as you've laid them out, unacceptable, so I'll choose death. I just figure it's better to go out on my own terms rather than let you have your fun. Of course, if I understood some of what you said to each other earlier, that'll still leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere for who knows how long. Maybe you'll get another chance to get out of here in another century or two, or maybe you'll finally just accept one of those pathetic pirates you mentioned. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

The vixen stepped closer and glared at him. "You're bluffing!"

Carter's grin now showed teeth, even though he wasn't smiling on the inside. "You haven't left me any room to bluff. If you doubt me, call, but once I pull this trigger, there's no going back!"

The pirate interrupted their showdown with a laugh. "I told you there's more to this warm blood than the last few who set foot on board our ship! Why not give him what he's asking for? It's not like he can do anything on his own!"

The vixen didn't seem swayed as her gaze remained fixed on Carter. "I still don't like it! What will he demand in the future if we give in now? Do we just give in and give him what he wants every time he puts a gun to his own head?"

The girl finally spoke up again. "No. This is a one-time thing. If we agree to this demand, an equal vote, you agree never to coerce us again outside of said voting. Is that understood?"

Carter finally let his weapon drop as he turned to the girl. "Of course! All I'm asking for is a voice in deciding my own destiny. I don't think that's too much to ask!"

The girl tilted her head. "I suppose it isn't. Alright, then, we agree; you get a vote and, in turn, will act as our captain for however long you manage to keep from getting yourself killed. Agreed?"

Carter found that wording a little foreboding. "What, no retirement plan?"

This time, the girl grinned, but her grin wasn't very friendly. "Oh, all our captains have died at the helm, so to speak. It's not a question of if, but when."

Remembering the echo from earlier, Carter wasn't sure he liked what she was saying. "That's not exactly comforting."

This time, the pirate leaned in close. "It wasn't meant to be, laddie." Then, leaning back, the bearded giant spoke more loudly. "Well, I suppose it's time to introduce our new captain to the chair!"

Despite feeling like he'd just made a deal with three devils, Carter found that wording odd. "You mean the captain's chair?"

The girl shook her head. "Eventually, but no. There's a different chair you'll have to use first."