Captain Smith met with the representatives of the Stellar Banking Group, just like he usually did this time of the month. This was not what he'd had in mind when he'd become a pirate, but as Captain Drake had pointed out, a steady income over several years was worth far more than one lump sum robbery, and it kept the core patrol off their backs.

Still, dealing with bankers like this made the pirate somehow feel...dirty. Not that he was above robbing and stealing, but the way these men did it in the open while acting like they were moral and superior to all those around them was...irksome.

Still, the money was good enough that Smith decided against shooting the overblown windbags. The left banker, whom Smith refused to learn the name of, handed the captain a data pad. "Here's this month's payment. Now, is there anything else mister..."

Smith frowned. "Captain."

The banker frowned. "I'm sorry?"

Captain Smith glared at the man. "My title is captain, not mister. I don't care if you learn my name, but you will pay me the respect my position is owed."

The banker's smirk didn't show much respect. "Of course, my apologies. Will there be anything else, captain?"

Captain Smith seriously reconsidered shooting the arrogant man, but Captain Drake would probably frown on anything like that. It would likely cost him several months of payment while he and the bankers renegotiated their "protection fees" for operating in this system. Still, it might be worth it if the next man would be even a little less insufferable.

That was when the alarms on the bridge started going off. The two bankers started looking a little nervous. "What does that mean?"

Smith was already ignoring them. "Ericson, what's going on?"

Ericson, who was reading through the alerts, turned to his captain. "Warp signatures, several of them. Looks like they're trying to pin us in. One of them looks big, like a capital ship of some kind..."

Smith was incredulous. "Who the hell would be stupid enough to pull something like this? Get them on Coms immediately!"

Belatedly, Captain Smith noticed the Bankers bleating something or another. "Captain, what is going on? This is most unprofessional!"

Smith turned toward the two of them long enough to snarl. "Shut up and let me do my job of protecting your greasy asses, or I'll have you spaced to save our assailant the effort!"

Smith heard one of them mutter something about filing a complaint, but so long as they weren't pestering him any longer, he didn't care. At that point, Ericson spoke up again. "Got an answer to our hails. Patching them through now."

Smith walked over in front of the monitor, doing his best to look as stern and pissed off as he felt. The screen turned on a moment later, revealing a woman with striking red hair. He scowled at her as he spoke. "I am Captain Smith of the Jackel's Hunt. Who the hell are you, and what the hell do you think you are doing here?"

The Lady in question nodded affably as if meeting him over tea. "Greetings, Captain Smith, I'm Lucy, Lucy the Red. I'm here to lighten your load a little." She paused a breath but continued before Smith could get a word in. "Metaphorically speaking, that is. Technically, none of those ones and zeroes weigh anything." Then, looking past him, she added. "Oh, and I'll also take those two well-off-looking gentlemen off your hands. I'm assuming they're not part of your crew, correct? I'm sure they'll fetch a nice ransom based on how they dress..."

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Smith was fed up with this nonsense. "Captain Lucy, was it? Do you have any idea just who you're picking a fight with right now? If you turn around and leave right now, I'm sure we can work this out, but if you pursue this idiotic course of action, you'll soon find yourself at war with someone who will hunt you to the ends of the galaxy!"

Lucy turned her attention back to Smith and tilted her head as she smirked. "It's just Lucy, not Captain Lucy, thank you. And no offense, Captain Smith, but I think my battleship trumps your little pirate cruiser."

Smith shook his head. "Are you new around here or just an idiot? I'm not the one you should be worried about. I'm here on behalf of Captain Drake, the man who rules this section of space with an iron hand. If you cut into his profits, he'll hunt you down like the dog you are!"

Lucy laughed before answering. "I'm counting on it! What's more, I have a message for you to deliver to him. Tell Captain Drake that I'm done playing nice. If he insists on coming after my family and me, I'll come after the one thing he truly loves: his money and power. You tell him that Lucy the Red is back, but this time, she's coming for the sad little empire he's built up over all these years!"

That left Smith speechless. This woman not only knew who Captain Drake was, but she was intentionally picking a fight with him? The man even the Core Patrol had ceded control of the region to? Then he remembered what she'd called herself, Lucy the Red. Since the disappearance of the original Lucy, several people had tried to pick up the monicker, but all were laughed out of business or just plain crushed. He'd assumed this to be just another upstart trying to play off the original's fame, but what if...

All Smith could say was, "You're insane!"

The smile Lucy flashed him did nothing to dissuade his claim. "If this galaxy thought I was scary the first time, they haven't seen anything yet. Captain Drake picked the wrong fight, and I will burn down his empire around him. Now, off with you. Go deliver your message...after dropping those two kind gentlemen in a shuttle, of course."

The screen went blank. Instantly, the two bankers were upon him, clutching for him like he was some sort of savior. "You can't turn us over to that woman! We have a treaty with Captain Drake! You must protect us! With your very lives if need be!"

Well, at least there was one bit of silver lining to come out of this mess. Smith turned to Ericson. "Get these two loaded onto a shuttle and space it. They're her problem now!"

As the two men were hauled away, babbling and screaming, Smith sat down and considered what this all meant as he stared at the battleship on screen. This mad woman was starting a war.

-

Charlotte watched Lacy's interaction with some confusion. When She's contested against one another, it was simple. They fought, and the winner gained the benefits. Sometimes, it was a frontal assault, and sometimes, they were sneaky, but the contest of wills was usually over quickly when one was determined to be stronger. But these humans battled with constant, minor skirmishes with words exchanged frequently.

Lacy explained the words were used to elicit reactions. The idea was to make people fight where and when they wanted while they, in turn, tried to make the opposite happen. What happened before the battle determined the outcome as much as the battle itself. To a certain extent, this made sense, but a She who was faced with a conflict at an undesirable time or location would simply try to avoid or delay the conflict rather than "double down," as Lacy explained. Words would do little to influence that. But of course, humans were more chaotic than the She were, and so were more unpredictable. Lacy seemed to be an expert at taking advantage of that unpredictability.

Speaking of unpredictableness, Scott, Cleo, and Alice were certainly causing Charlotte no end of confusion. Scott seemed to think Cleo was a potential threat, but rather than remove said threat seemed interested in keeping her around. Perhaps this was partly due to the pheromones Charlotte detected both parties releasing when they interacted.

On the other hand, to use a human phrase, Alice seemed to think of Cleo as a friend. In turn, Cleo seemed to live up to that expectation, treating Alice with more affection than she did Scott. In some ways, the pirate had even accepted Alice more quickly than the girl's mother, though even Charlotte could detect that much was left unsaid.

Still, at this point, the only thing for Charlotte to do was continue to help Lacy while keeping an eye on Scott, Cleo, and Alice. However, if things started to go badly, one other course of action was still available to Charlotte...