Of Men and Ghost Ships, Book 2: Chapter 52

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Carter checked and double-checked with the kid to make sure he knew what to do. "And what do you do if they bring in another fleet?"

Miles rolled his eyes. "We cut and run like the cowards we are. I'm not stupid. I don't wantto die any more than you do!"

Carter fought the urge to shake the kid till he saw some sense behind his eyes; he figured even someone his age could have complications after a month or two of being shaken constantly. The thought of leaving John and some kid in charge of the Sybil was insane, but the girl didn't seem willing to abandon her other self on the pirate's capital ship, so this was theoretically the lesser of the three evils. Still, that didn't mean he was happy about it. "And remember," As he said the next few words, Miles said them at the exact same time. "Don't forget about plan B!"

The kid gave Carter a smirk that clearly expressed just how clever he thought he was, and it made Carter want to shake him all over again, but he fought down the urge. Placing a hand on the kid's shoulder, he offered one last piece of advice. "Whatever happens, just...stay alive."

The kid's smirk melted down into a more normal smile, and he nodded. "Yeah, I will. You try to do the same, old man." Carter snorted at being called an old man, but if he always thought of the kid as, well, a kid, he supposed it was only fair.

As he turned and walked off the bridge, he heard Miles shout to John. "Let's get this hunk of scrap moving!"

Carter broke into a jog through the corridors as he could feel the vibrations that meant the thrusters were being pushed to their limits, and maybe a little past, given the damage they'd taken so far in the fight. Finally, he spoke, knowing who was listening. "Hey, uh, girl. So, your other two selves have names, but if it's gonna be just the two of us for a bit, I need a name for you. I can't just call you Sybil, since that's the name you all share. So, what do I call you?"

The bland, emotionless voice responded. "As captain, you may give this system whatever designation you'd prefer."

Carter huffed. "Yeah, once you're feeling better, I don't know if you're going to like the idea of me picking your name for you. A name should mean something. John and Scarlett chose their names based on who they were. So who are you?"

A moment later, the voice answered. "I am a program, designed to manage all the various functions of the ship mid-flight to allow a minimal crew to operate the vessel until it reaches its final destination."

As he made it into the launch bay, Carter chuckled. "If that's all you were, you wouldn't be so obsessed with getting one superlative part of your programming back. There's more to you than that, and you know it! What else are you?"

This time, the voice seemed to hesitate. "I...am also a collection of files...based around the memories of all the crew who came before."

That made Carter grin; he felt like he was making progress. "That's right! That's good! You're like a memory, or a memorial of your past crew! But that doesn't sound right... What are some other words that mean memorial?"

The voice spoke again, though this time it sounded a little more...invested in what it said. "Synonyms for memorial include commemoration, epigraph, legend, monument, remembrance, sentiment, elegy, eulogy, epitaph..."

Carter cut her off. "That's it! Epitaph! That's a great name for you! It even sounds kinda feminine...kinda."

There was uncertainty in the voice as it answered. "Very well. This unit shall be designated...Epitaph."

As he lowered himself down into the large rectangular opening designed to hold his body secure, Carter couldn't help but consider the implications of naming the girl epitaph while he was apparently climbing into something not entirely unlike a sarcophagus. He hoped that wasn't some kind of ill omen. As the lid lowered, he fought the urge to give in to feelings of claustrophobia by speaking to the girl again. "Hey, Epitaph?"

The voice had a bit more emotion, but was still not as warm as the girl he was used to. "Yes, Captain Carter?"

He smiled in the darkness as the plastic foam filled in around him, securing his body in place so it was hard to move, but with just enough give in it to compensate for any jarring movements that might shake his body around. "I just wanted to tell you, I'm really glad I met you all, and...you in particular. Don't tell John, but I feel more comfortable around you than anyone else I've even known. Despite all the headaches, it's been a real pleasure getting to know you."

There was no answer in response to that, but that was okay with Carter. A truly emotionless machine that was designed to respond to inputs would have offered some meaningless answer it thought he'd want to hear. The fact that the girl didn't answer meant he'd hit a nerve of some kind, and that told him the girl was still in there somewhere.

Miles had expected some kind of fight or challenge getting close enough to the enemy's flagship to get Carter and Vanessa onboard, but the ship was just sitting there, in the middle of all three fleets, doing nothing. It felt like a trap or a trick of some sort, but at the same time, they couldn't really afford not to take advantage of an opening like this, so he gave the go-ahead for John to pull them up alongside.

The whole approach, he felt like any moment the enemy ship would spring to life, and they'd have a slugfest on their hands, but nothing. It was like the whole crew had abandoned ship. Confused, but not willing to give up the chance, he turned to John. "Try and get us in a position so they can board close to the helm."

John, who was squinting his eyes as though that would allow him to see the incoming trap, nodded. "Aye, acting Captain Miles!"

Miles suspected the man used his name and title just to build him up a little couldn't help but smile anyway. He was currently the acting captain for one of the deadliest ships in all of space! Admittedly, after its recent combat, the ship was more than a little beaten up and wasn't quite so deadly at the moment, but it was still a really incredible feeling!"

As soon as they were in position, the assault pod carrying Carter and Vanessa launched, and they immediately took off again, half expecting the trap to spring now, and yet still nothing happened. With a frown, Miles tried to hide his disappointment that he didn't really need to do anything. "Uh, I guess position us so that we can swing by if they need a pickup?"

John nodded. "Aye, Captain."

Dirk frowned. Sure, they'd managed to take out a few of those nightmarish machines, but only at the cost of more than half of his men, and now the remainder were headed toward the bridge. His bridge. Not that he'd managed to take it yet, but it was only a matter of time. But for now, maybe it was best to pull back and let them punch through.

Still, something seemed off. These guys didn't seem to be on either side of the conflict. Was this the Sybil's doing? Maybe. They were definitely an unknown. From what Dirk had heard, they had managed to punch above their already considerable weightclass in more than one ambush. Had it been done using boarding robots like this? That fit all the pieces on the board, but something didn't sit right in Dirk's gut.

Turning to his guard, Dirk motioned down the corridor. "Let's pull back for now. We can always take the bridge after both sides have worn eachother down."

One of the guards jerked up the mechanic they'd captured. "What about this guy, boss?"

Drik gave him a once-over. "Well, he didn't earn his freedom by getting us to the bridge, but he still might be helpful down the road... Bring him with us, for now."

Elseph checked and double checked. The most frightening presence on the ship was gone. There was still one entity that could easily crush her if it got its hands on her, but it seemed to have a critical weakness at the moment. One that, if she exploited just right, might give her the best chance to not only get out of here alive, but maybe even take over this flying scrapfield! Imagine the kind of reward the boss would give her if she could manage to pull this off!"

Knowing this was her last and best chance at survival, Elseph readied herself to strike without mercy.

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Not long now! The next chapter should see some action finally return as things heat up for the climax of the story! Also, how many of you forgot about Elseph hiding in the Sybil? Be honest! (Don't worry if you did, my posting was a little...inconsistent there for a bit, so it was easy to do!)

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