The kelafi pirate who Captain Starforged thought he had taken out was barely hanging on to life. He was slowly coming back to consciousness when Captain Starforged noticed, and pointed his gun at it expecting it to make a move.


    He opened his eyes and looked at Captain Starforged. The kelafi pirate felt a stinging pain in his stomach where he had been shot. After hearing Captain Starforged’s threat, he spoke to him telepathically. "Human, I''m not long for this world. Do you intend to finish the job?"


    "I want some information." Captain Starforged slowly approached the pirate while pointing his gun at the pirate’s head. “You contacted others didn''t you?"


    The voice in pirate’s head was slow as if thinking itself was a strenuous task for him. "Yes. We are the 12th division of the Crimson Tide under the command of Captain Raging Crimson. Even if you manage to escape today, our fleets will hunt you down to the ends of the galaxy."


    Captain Starforged was familiar with the Crimson Tide. They were a large fleet of pirates under a single banner. However, they didn''t have a single central leader; they were more like a group of allied crews who agreed to work together in order to ward off the wraith of the military. Most mercenaries wouldn''t take jobs to take on any single ship under the Crimson Tide banner because they feared the rest of the fleet would target them. The arrival of the Crimson Tide certainly complicated things, but Captain Starforged knew that retaliating here wouldn’t paint a target on his back, since it was one of their ships who attacked first. Furthermore, if the crew could get ahold of AGI, they would take out this ship, thus the ire of the Crimson Tide would fall on the AGI itself.


    "Tell me where the signal jammer is located. And also, how many of you there are?" Captain Starforged had his finger hovering over the trigger.


    It might have seemed like a threat, but the pirate was in immense pain from the laser wound in his stomach. Death seemed like a mercy to him at this point, yet the pirate wouldn’t give in so easily.


    The pirate snarled at the captain. "Where do you think?” There are over a hundred of us on this ship. You have no chance of getting out of here."


    "I think you''ll be surprised."


    "Are you going to shoot me now, or just leave me here to die?"


    "I can''t have you get up and trying something. We''re already in a tough enough situation." Once Captain Starforged shot the pirate through the head was done interrogating him and returned to Rodriguez and Morgan.


    Morgan walked into the kitchen just in time to see the tail end of the interrogation. "How merciful."


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    "Don''t know what you''re talking about. I don’t have a shred of mercy for the enemy."


    Morgan and Rodriguez had been working with Captain Starforged for a few years now, so they knew how he operated. He certainly didn''t like leaving loose ends, but he also wasn''t the person who enjoyed leaving people to suffer. Finishing them off instead of letting them slowly die was the only mercy Captain Starforged could offer someone.


    The trio continued to move around the tables and chairs in an attempt to make a barricade. Unfortunately, they wouldn''t make very good cover, but they could slow down the enemy. They set a couple up right in front of each door and scattered the chairs around the room. They hunkered down inside the kitchen, cutting off the entrance to the room using multiple tables, and they used the walls and the island as cover as they waited for the siege to begin.


    ***


    While Captain Starforged, Rodriguez, and Morgan set up the barricade, Rebecca explored the back half of the ship. She was searching for a terminal she could use to hack into the ship’s internal systems. Rebecca ducked behind corners, and slipped into other rooms to avoid being seen by any patrols. There weren''t very many of them, but she knew if she was seen, then there was no way she could win in a firefight. Even with a gun, she would be no match for one of these pirates. She felt a lot more comfortable using her fists, and that''s why she chose gloves over the various guns that were on the Appalachia.


    After a few minutes of wandering and hiding, Rebecca came across a couple of people who looked like they were working on a panel in one of the hallways. One of them was obviously a kelafi pirate. The pirates each wore a red overcoat over a black shirt and pants with a laser rifle slung over their shoulders and a pistol on their hips. The pirate that Rebecca saw was no exception.


    The other person working on the panel was an ophthalian, or fish person, wearing a red jumpsuit. The ophthalian was unarmed and wore a collar around its neck that Rebecca had seen before on the black market. It was an explosive collar often used by Crimson Tide pirates to keep slaves in line that also doubled as a shock collar.


    Rebecca clicked her tongue. She hated the idea of anyone being forced into slavery. She then looked around to see if there were any other patrols on their way, but didn''t see or hear anything. Rebecca then decided to sneak up behind the pirate to attempt to knock it out, so she slowly crept around the corner.


    There were only a few feet between her and the pirate, and it''s back was turned toward her to look on the panel which was on the opposite wall that Rebecca was creeping along. Once she got within a couple of feet of the pirate, Rebecca rushed toward it, and struck it in the head with her fist.


    Rebecca could feel bone breaking under her fist, and her punch felt a lot stronger than she had expected. She also felt some kind of force or shock come from the gloves that was likely the cause of the extra force behind her punch.


    As the pirate fell down, she proceeded to get behind the Ophthalian and cover his mouth before he noticed to prevent him from screaming.


    Rebecca whispered in his ear in an attempt to calm him down. "Shhh, my name’s Rebecca. I''m one of the intruders, but I''m not going to hurt you. If you answer my questions I''ll be able to get you out of here. Do we have a deal?"


    He nodded and once Rebecca removed her hands from his mouth he relaxed and introduced himself. "My name is Bar-moon, and I would be more than happy to assist you. “He stated while standing up and bowing to her while placing his right hand on his chest.