Digging through the reports, Carter was shaking his head. The repairs were going slowly. He looked over at the girl. She was putting on a brave face, but he could tell she was more than a little distracted by the loss of one of her personalities. Hoping that a bit of distraction might help her process things, he nodded to the graphs. "So, what kind of timeline are we looking at for getting this thing spaceworthy? Or better yet, combat worthy?"

The girl looked up, taking a moment to refocus on the here and now instead of whatever world she'd been lost in. "Well... we don't really have the raw materials we'd need to fix half the systems we need just to be functional in any real sense of the word, and there are no derelict ships nearby that we can feed off, so we'll have to cannibalize our own systems to get up and running. I could start with the outer systems that were most heavily damaged in our last fight, but we'll be looking at a significant decrease in both defensive and offensive capabilities..."

Carter sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Well, I really don't like the sound of that, but it's not like we have any options. You might be able to sit around indefinitely, but sooner or later, those of us who are still organic crew members are gonna run out of supplies."

The girl looked thoughtful. "Well, we can still grow algae and insects for a virtually indefinite period. Certainly far longer than your lifespans would require."

Careter felt himself grow mildly nauseous at the idea of returning to the paste-based diet he'd lived on for too long already. "We'll call that plan B, or maybe even plan C... Either way, let's shoot for other options in the meantime. Besides, we don't want to be caught with our pants down..." He looked over at the girl and cringed a little at his own crude analogy, "Uh, figuratively speaking, that is."

The girl, who might look like she was in her mid twenties, but in reality was older than more than a few celestial bodies, smiled devilishly. "Well, if you find the idea of seeing me pantless that unappealing..."

Rolling his eyes, Carter shook his head. "You know what I mean. We got a not-so-small armada looking for us, and if they find us as we are now, we're sitting ducks." Then, after a minute, he added, "Besides, I've already seen you with your pants down. Remember that thin, worn shirt you were wearing the first day I came aboard?"

The girl looked scandalized. "That is NOT what I look like without pants on! I was specifically trying to look as gaunt and creepy as possible! I'll have you know my real simulated tushy is far shapelier than that!"

To emphasize her point, the girl started to unbuckle her simulated pants. Carter laughed and held up a hand to stop her. "I believe you! I believe you! But before you go putting on a strip show for me, we've got a ship to get up and running again!"

The girl hesitated, then went back to her usual cheerful self, albeit with a slightly flirtatious edge to her grin. "Probably for the better. I know how much your captain's salary is, and you don't make nearly enough to keep me living the life to which I've become accustomed!"

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Carter narrowed his eyes in accusation. "Last I remember, you weren't paying me anything!"

The girl started to offer another witty response when her expression became serious. "We've got incoming. Two destroyer-class ships and several smaller-class vessels just warped in the system. Our scanners are still too damaged to give any specifics."

Carter's own grin disappeared as he answered. "We can't take them in a fight right now, can we run?"

The girl shook her head. "No. We could try, but there's no way we could outpace them in either sublight or FTL speeds right now."

Carter sighed. "That just leaves repelling boarders, or bluffing... Might as well try the latter, as it won't cost us anything and we'll be no worse off than before. Also, get everyone else to a secure location while I buy time."

With a nod of her head, the girl projected a screen ahead of Carter as he waited for the other side to pick up the call, all the while going through different scenarios he could think of to use as a bluff. Whoever they were, they'd be able to see the battle damage easily enough, so threatening them probably wouldn't work. Maybe he could make it seem like they weren't worth the hassle. A radiation leak leading to a probable core meltdown? That'd buy some time, but depending on how patient and/or sadistic these guys were, they might hang around for the show, then attack when the fireworks never blew... He was no closer to a decision when the other side accepted his hail, and he abandoned all thoughts of bluffing.

With a grin born of a combination of relief and happiness to see the other man alright, Carter greeted the new arrivals. "Alen! Good to see your ship still in one piece! How the hell did you find us?"

Alen nodded, grinning like the man who'd just shown up to save the day should. "I could ask you the same question! When we went back and checked the battlefield later, it was clear things had gotten more out of hand than we'd planned. I was worried they'd finally managed to take you out of the fight for good! As for how we found you, we bribed some people to keep an eye out for you. One of the probe scouts got a reading on your ship and sent us the location."

Carter sobered up. "Well, they definitely hit us harder than we'd anticipated, and we paid a price for that, but we're not ready to call it quits yet. We've either got a rescue to organize or revenge to plan. Either way, we're gonna need some raw materials to get back in fighting shape. I don't suppose you'd be able to help with that, would you?"

Alen's face looked more than a little self-satisfied as he nodded. "Actually, we took in a couple of wrecks from the battlefield. Figured you'd need them after the mess we went through. We decided to bring them with us, because if our guys found you, it's just a matter of time before someone else does, too. Though our own ships could use some repairs if you've got any left over..."

A glance at the girl told Carter all he needed to know. He nodded. "I'm sure we can arrange that. And maybe an upgrade or two as well!"

Alen glanced to his side before acknowledging. "Alright, we'll bring one of the derylicts alongside now so you can get started on repairs. Once that's done, we'll plan out the next steps."

A couple of pleasentlies later, they ended the call for now so they could get started with the repairs. Carter turned around, only to see the girl grinning at him. He narrowed his eyes at her. "What?"

The girl turned and started to walk away, before looking back at him over her shoulder. "You could learn a thing or two from Alen. He brought gifts!"

Knowing she was putting on a brave face, Carter smiled and nodded. "Fair enough. I guess I'll just have to make sure we get twice as many 'gifts' for you next battle. Or maybe just one. How would you like the Cerva whatever served up?"

The girl turned back, more than a bit of murder in her eyes. "I want it on a silver platter, so I can personally shred every last bulkhead to pieces!"

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