“Why do they want me?” I asked, worried.

  “They didn’t say,” replied the captain. “Not that it matters—we’re not handing over any of our crew to pirates. Delvaston, reply saying that we don’t have anyone on board who matches that description.”

  “Aye, ma’am. Sent.”

  “Droth, how’s that course coming along?”

  “I’ve got something plotted, but it’s not likely to succeed.”

  “Give it to Cathka anyway. Cathka, be ready to get us out of here at my command.”

  “Aye, ma’am.”

  A couple minutes later, Ensign Delvaston informed us they had responded.

  “They say they’ll have to judge that for themselves and to drop our shields and prepare to be boarded.”

  “No chance of that happening. Cathka, take us out.”

  “Aye, ma’am.”

  As we accelerated away, the captain gave a brief summary of the situation over the intercom. Within thirty seconds, though, Delvaston called out, “We’re under fire!”

  The captain got back on the intercom. “Engines, give us everything you can!”

  “Aye, ma’am,” the lead engineer replied.

  I was worried. We could only run the engines at full power for 2-3 hours at most, so we had to get out of range within that long. If we did, our ship was likely faster than theirs even at normal speed, but we wouldn’t be able to recharge the reserves until we dropped to a slower speed, making it a risky proposition.

  I was broken out of my thoughts by Ensign Delvaston informing us that we had taken multiple hits, draining part of our shields.

  The next few minutes were tense as we attempted to escape past the enemy ships. Unfortunately, things were looking grim when Ensign Delvaston exclaimed, “Captain, we’re taking too many hits—I don’t think we’re going to make it!”

  The captain growled, a sound that would be worthy of a dragon. “Officers, any ideas are currently more than welcome. Even if we allow them to board us, they almost certainly will either try to capture us or take us out.”

  Her declaration was only met with silence—none of us had any ideas what to do.

  “Captain,” I finally said. “Perhaps we should consider if there’s a way to hand me over that will allow you all to escape.”

  The captain stared at me, assessing. I wondered what thoughts were going through her head.

  “Are you sure, ensign? I have a responsibility to my crew, and that includes you, but I won’t stop you from sacrificing yourself if I’m confident that means the rest of us can escape.”

  I took a deep breath before responding. “I’m sure, ma’am.”

  Her assessing gaze returned for a few seconds before she gave me a firm nod.

  “Okay, people. If we can’t come up with a plan to save us all, we need a plan that allows us to survive while Ensign Juniper attempts to take their ships over from within.”

  That got a chuckle from everyone but only slightly improved the somber mood.

  Something strange occurred to me at that point. “Captain, what are they planning to do after capturing me?”

  “What do you mean, ensign?”

  “They can’t go to Abos—they have to know that we’ve already contacted the admiralty, and there will certainly be at least a destroyer waiting for them there, if not more. So how are they going to escape?”

  She paused at that. “That’s a good point. I doubt they already know a route back to imperial space besides that one, so the only possibility is that they intend to sail the deep black hoping for another exit.”

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  Her analysis made sense, but something else niggled at my mind. I let the unformed thought simmer as I pondered how to get the crew away safely.

  “What about an escape pod?” suggested Lieutenant Droth.

  “Elaborate,” commanded the captain.

  “Well, what if we send her out in an escape pod, then flee while they’re retrieving it?”

  “Even if one of the ships went after the pod, the others could still focus on us.”

  “What if we sent out four escape pods?”

  The captain shook her head. “No, they would just scan them for life signs and quickly determine where she was.”

  The lieutenant visible gulped. “What if… we asked for volunteers?”

  “You mean send four people instead of one so they couldn’t tell where she was?”

  She nodded, clearly distraught by the idea but holding firm.

  The captain sighed. “Anyone have a better idea?”

  Her question was met with silence. After a full minute of no more ideas, she turned on the intercom.

  “Crew, we are in dire straits. The four pirate ships attacking us will overwhelm us before we can escape, and while they demand we relinquish Ensign Juniper, I doubt that will stop them. She, the brave soul that she is, has volunteered to allow herself to be captured that the rest of us might escape, but I fear that will not be enough. Our only plan is to send her along with three other volunteers out in escape pods, forcing them to track down four separate pods. Now, this is a huge decision, but we lack time to consider other options. If anyone is willing to volunteer for capture or worse in order to give the rest of us a chance, please contact me.”

  It only took a few seconds for Isa to volunteer, quickly followed by Jara and Ani. The fact that my friends were willing to take such a big risk for the ship alongside me brought tears to my eyes.

  “I salute Ensign Juniper, Specialist Dalgado, Private Eskivon, and Specialist Golgoriani for their bravery. Their sacrifices will not be forgotten.”

  She then sent each of us to a separate escape pod. It hit me that I might never see anyone from the ship again, a depressing thought only overshadowed by the fear of what would come for me.

  Once I was in the escape pod, I only had to wait a few minutes before I was launched, leaving me without any means of knowing what was going on. Sure, the pod had weak sensors, but they weren’t strong enough to tell what was happening in any detail.

  It was probably a half hour or more that I drifted before something changed. I wasn’t sure what it was that I noticed, but I knew my pod had been retrieved. I stood up, drawing my pistol and waiting for the doors to open. When they finally did, there was no one in front of me.

  Instead, within a second of the doors opening, a cylindrical object flew into the pod. My eyes widened as I registered it too late, and before I could react, a pulse burst out, wreaking havoc on my nervous system and stunning me. I was dazed, but not fully unconscious, so I noticed when someone stepped inside.

  “Finally, we got the bitch,” grumbled a voice that seemed to belong to a man, though with the effects of the stun grenade, I was having a hard time telling for sure. The same voice then ordered someone to “get the cuffs on her.”

  A few seconds later, I felt myself being grabbed and lifted, then my arms were wrenched behind my back and some sort of cuffs hooked around my wrists.

  “There, she’s cuffed,” a second voice said from right behind me. My vision was too blurry to make out any details.

  “Get her into the cage with the others,” the first voice said, and then I was tossed over a shoulder and carried somewhere else.

  I might have blacked out for a few seconds, or maybe I just wasn’t able to pay attention, because it seemed like suddenly I was being lowered onto a hard surface.

  “We’ll deal with the four of you later,” the first voice said as a clanging sound echoed through the area, followed by a click and footsteps walking away.

  “Dax!” cried a voice that sounded familiar. Isa, maybe? A voice meant she was alive.

  I tried to speak but I didn’t have control over my mouth parts yet. Or any other parts, for that matter.

  “She’s just stunned—give her a few more minutes,” another voice said—I thought it might be… someone. Fighter person. Jara?

  “But—”

  “She was probably hit by the same thing the rest of us were. Look, Ani’s already regaining control of her body—Dax will probably catch up in another ten minutes or so.”

  I heard a sigh and a soft thump. I knew they continued talking, but I let my mind relax for a bit, processing the words feeling overwhelming.

  Eventually, tingles started to spread across my body, starting with my fingers and toes. They quickly turned painful, and I let out a grunt.

  “Dax?” Isa called.

  “Ahthogo,” I managed to get out, clearly indecipherable.

  “Shh, let yourself recover,” she said from closer by.

  Over the next couple minutes, waves of pain and discomfort flickered through my body until I was finally able to sit up. Another minute or two later, and I was able to talk, albeit slurring my words a bit.

  “Where are we?” I asked.

  “Dax! I was worried,” exclaimed Isa, ignoring my question.

  Thankfully, Jara responded. “We’re on one of their ships. Don’t know which one, or if it matters.”

  “Have they said anything?”

  She shook her head, then seemed to regret it—probably still somewhat feeling the effects of the stun grenade they used on her. “No, just threw us in this cage and told us to wait.”

  I finally took a look around my surroundings. We seemed to be in a cargo hold, but alongside the normal crates and such were a handful of metal cages, including the one we were in.

  The cage was built into the ship, almost like a jail cell. There were metal bars separating us from the cage next to us, as well as from the path in front of them. The only feature inside the cage was a basic toilet sticking out of the wall behind us—I figured they didn’t want their prisoners making a mess.

  The existence of the cages, though, was concerning. “They’re slavers,” I said, to which the others nodded.

  “That’s what I figure,” agreed Jara.

  “What do we do now?” asked Isa. “These cuffs are antimana shackles, so we don’t even have access to spells. I don’t want to know what they plan for us.”

  Ani groaned. “What’s there to do? We’re fucked.”

  “Actually,” I said. “I have a plan.”