With Mairead’s hands full keeping Gyrfalcon from exploding, it fell to the others to rig the ship for tow. Remi, Slavko, and Isi climbed out onto the hull lugging hawsers, attaching the heavy lines to hard points spaced out across the ship’s nose. Xuilan remained on board, monitoring their progress while coordinating with the Corsair vessel Mako, the ship assigned to do the actual towing. It was grueling work, as the carbon nanofiber cables had a disturbing habit of entangling themselves if they weren’t kept under tension. Once they clamped each hawser line down, Slavko shot the free end over to Mako, where their crew would catch the hawser and attach it to their own hull, repeating it several times to give them redundancy. With that completed, they then balanced the load, distributing the strain evenly around Gyrfalcon’s center mass. It took hours checking and rechecking their calculations for each line, and by the time they finished, tempers were fraying.

But with the last line secured, the load double- and triple-checked, Remi stood on Gyrfalcon’s hull and surveyed their efforts. No captain worth their salt relished being towed to port like some novice dirtsider, but if they were being forced to endure the ignominy, then by Terra, they’d see it done properly. Having even a single line snap under the strain would put both ships in danger, and Gyrfalcon had been through enough. She was a good ship, the best, and it pained him to see her like this, but with a war on it was hardly the first time she'd been damaged, and somehow he suspected it wouldn’t be the last.

Bringing up his helmet radio, he commed his pilot. “Xuilan, get me Mako’s captain,” he ordered.

“Aye, Cap’n,” she answered, “patching you through now.”

A handful of seconds passed before he heard Captain Taneka’s voice in his ear. “Captain Hadad,” she said politely, “ready to get underway?”

“Just making my final checks,” he confirmed. “Unless Mairead says otherwise, we should be ready for transport in twenty minutes. What’s our ETA looking like?”

“Assuming all goes as planned, we’ll dock with Freya in about three days,” she informed him. “How long before she’s ready to sail again?”

He bristled at the question, despite himself. “Two weeks, maybe longer,” he grudgingly admitted. “But don’t worry, we’ll be back kicking Yīqún ass soon enough.”

“That’s good to hear,” she said in obvious relief, “we need every ship we can spare.” The captain sighed heavily, suddenly sounding as exhausted as he felt himself. “Better get back inside,” she told him. “I don't want to hang around one second longer than I have to.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” Remi answered. “I’ll call you when we’re secured.”

“Copy that, Gyrfalcon,” Captain Taneka said, her tones now clipped and formal. “Mako, clear.”

Remi took one last look, satisfying himself they were ready, before sparing a glance up at the stars. It was a view he never tired of, out here in the black. All that space, and all those worlds.

Pity they all belonged to somebody else.

Shaking his head, he began trudging along the hull with magnetic boots as he carefully made his way back to the airlock.

Mairead had the ship at minimal power, not trusting the systems until she could tear them apart and inspect them herself. She’d slung a hammock in engineering and camped out, refusing to budge until they were safely moored alongside Freya. Xuilan practically slept at her station, watching the lines like a hawk in case one let go. Not that he was any different. Other than the occasional catnap, Remi was also on the bridge, waiting for the hammer to fall. Isi hovered over all of them, keeping them supplied with food and beverage while they remained at their posts. The only one with nothing to do was Slavko, but with everyone else pushing themselves to collapse to nurse Gyrfalcon to safety, he was at his station as well, keeping an eye out for unfriendlies.

They're a damn fine crew, Remi thought to himself.

The conjoined twins Gyrfalcon-Mako were an ungainly beast, forced to travel at a snail’s pace. Unfortunately, with things being tight as they were, no ships could be spared for escort duty in case the Yīqún made an appearance. Mako would do their best to protect them, but if the situation grew too hot, they’d cut the lines and haul ass, leaving Gyrfalcon to its fate. If it came down to that, he’d try to sucker the drones in close… and then order Mairead to blow the ship.

It wasn’t ideal, but there it was. He didn’t blame Captain Taneka. If it were him, he’d make the same call. Only the ruthlessly cold-blooded survived in the deep black, and you knew there’d come a day when you were forced to cut your losses to save yourself. Truth be told, Remi preferred it that way.

At least it was honest.

Thankfully, no Yīqún drones or Troika armadas hindered their journey, and as promised, three days later, Mako cast her lines free as Freya took over the reins, reeling them in and securing Gyrfalcon alongside the old girl. When Xuilan announced they had hard dock, the entire crew let out a sigh of relief. She was in the Tinkers' hands now. Gathering the crew on the mess deck, Remi gave them their marching orders.

“All right, once we’ve checked in and handed her off to the engineers, consider yourselves on stand down for twenty-four hours.” Grins broke out all around at the news, with each of them already making plans. Slavko clapped Isi on the back in his excitement, only to groan in disappointment as Remi delivered his next set of instructions.

“But at twenty-four hours and one minute,” he continued, “I expect to see you back here ready to work and sober as a Knight. I catch any of you staggering back in here stinking of rotgut or tweaking on No Doze, we’re gonna have a big problem.” He glowered at each of them to drive the point home. “We’ve got an enormous job ahead of us getting Gyr up and running, so you enjoy your downtime. You’ve earned it. But after that? We work. Questions?”

Everyone shook their heads. They all knew the drill. “Okay then, your assignments after stand down. Mairead, you already know what needs to be done.” She nodded in agreement. “Slavko, replace the missiles we fired. That’s your first priority.”

“Copy that, Cap’n,” he shrugged.

“Isi, food and any other supplies you think we need. If you stumble across something we haven’t had before but think we should check with me first.”

“You got it, Cap’n,” the purser agreed.

“Xuilan, update your charts, dig up any new intel on the war, et cetera, et cetera. Standard procedure.”

“I’ll get right on it, Cap’n,” she assured him.

“And once you’ve got those jobs knocked out, if I haven’t given you something else to do, take your cues from Mairead. As long as we’re in spacedock, her word goes. Understood?”

More nods, though they were all anxiously looking toward the airlock, forcing him to chuckle. “All right, all right, let’s get her turned over to the Tinkers, and then the clock starts. Let’s do this.” Slinging a duffle over his shoulder, he led the crew out of the airlock and onto Freya proper, where a welcoming committee awaited them… including a pair of familiar faces.

“Oh, bloody hell,” he swore, as Maggie Al-Hajjah glared back at him. Beside her stood the boy Diggs, several inches taller since the last time they’d crossed paths, a tool belt around his waist and wielding a massive wrench he was smacking against his open palm. The look in his eyes was just as savage as he remembered.

“Well, look who just landed on our doorstep,” Maggie growled. “I’d say it was good seein’ your murderin’ hide, but that’d be a lie.”

“Maggie,” he spit out, as if he were chewing on ground glass.

“Son of a…” Mairead sighed, rolling her eyes before breaking ranks and going to the other Tinker. “Maggie, this doesn’t have to be a thing, does it?” she pleaded.

The older woman spared her a look. “Mairead. Still sailin’ with the pirate, I see.”

She put her hands on her hips. “And you’re not?” she fired back. “You’re chief engineer of the biggest pirate ship of all, so how’s about we call a truce? Tinker to Tinker.” She spat on her hand and held it out to her.

Maggie gave Remi a final scowl, before spitting on her own palm and clasping hands. “We’ll fix your boat,” she grunted, thoroughly vexed at the necessity. “We need every fightin’ ship on the line, so don’t you go thinkin’ I’ll sabotage Gyrfalcon again,” she warned him. “I’m a woman of my word. She’ll get the best care we can give her.” She stepped forward, invading his space. “But if you step outta line on my ship? I will end you.”

“I’m. Just. Here. For. Repairs,” he told her, fighting the urge to strangle her with every word. “Nothing more.”

“Right,” she drawled, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Diggs here’ll be keepin’ an eye on things for me,” she informed him, before flashing him an evil grin. “You remember Diggs, don’t ya?”

His eyes traveled to the boy. “Vividly,” he answered.

“Jesus Christ on a fucking raft,” Slavko groaned. “Cap’n? Requesting permission to go get shit-faced?”

Remi took a long, controlled breath as he forced himself to reel it back in. “Gyrfalcon is all yours, Maggie,” he said stiffly. “I’m certain you’ll give the job your best effort.”

“I always do,” she avowed, before turning her head and spitting into a battered pot.

Seething with anger, Remi forced himself to walk away, striding down the corridor as the others fell in beside him. “That could have gone better,” Xuilan observed.

“Cap’n, you knew she was Freya’s chief,” Mairead sighed. “We could have, you know, had a plan for this.”

“... I was hoping the old bitch was dead,” Remi growled.

“After what she’s survived?” Slavko just shook his head. “You’d have to drive a stake through her heart, and even then I’m not sure it’d take.”

“She’s not a vampire,” Isi said reproachfully, speaking up for the first time. “She’s just, you know, grumpy.”

Mairead snorted as they stepped through the companionway when Remi came to a halt. “According to my chronometer, it is now 16:37 hours,” he announced. “The clock begins now.”

Five seconds later, he was alone in the corridor.

With a shrug, Remi headed deeper into the old battleship, the administrative section his final objective. It had been a while since he’d been in this part of Freya, but the memory came back to him easily enough. Half an hour later he arrived at his destination, as a Yeoman looked up from her desk.

“Captain Remi Hadad of the Gyrfalcon, here to see the Admiral,” he informed her.

“Just a moment,” she told him, rising from her chair and going to the closed hatch behind her. She tapped on the bare metal and stepped inside, only to emerge a few seconds later. “The Admiral will see you,” she told him.

Nodding his thanks, he stepped through the portal as it closed behind him. Admiral Van Aalst turned around from the sideboard and held out a tumbler of amber liquid. “Here, I figured you could use this.”

“Thank you, sir,” he said with a grateful nod, taking the glass and letting the alcohol dance across his tongue, savoring it. “That’s good stuff,” he said with an appreciative grin.

“‘Rank hath its privileges’, and all that,” the Admiral chuckled, taking a tumbler of his own and waving Remi over to the sitting area. “How long will Gyrfalcon be in the body shop?” he asked him, taking a seat.

“My engineer says a couple of weeks,” Remi explained, sitting down across from him. “Could go longer, though.”

“And how was your reunion with Maggie?” he grinned.

“Charming,” he said through gritted teeth, before taking another swig.

“Just remember, she is my Chief Engineer,” the Admiral reminded him. “A damned good one, in fact. So whatever issues you two have, don’t let it become a problem.”

“You should tell her that, sir,” Remi grumbled.

“I’m telling you,” the Admiral snapped, leaning forward. “For one thing, she’s not a Corsair. You are. And being completely honest? I need her more than I need you.” He leaned back, eying Remi over his glass. “We clear on that, Captain?”

“Yes, sir,” he said tightly, “crystal clear.”

“Don’t take it personally,” he said with an airy wave, “you’re a good ship’s captain. I wouldn’t have tapped you for the Earth mission if you weren’t. But you have to know how hard the Yīqún have hit us, and by the Troika before that. Maggie and her crew have performed miracles to keep our ships flying, turning them around faster than I would have thought possible. Yes, she’s a pill to deal with, no argument, but given the numbers she cranks out? If she started doing repairs in the nude while screaming like a mad banshee, you wouldn’t hear a peep from me.”

Remi sighed, nodding. “I get it, sir. If anyone knows how good she is with a wrench, for better or worse, it’s me.”

“Good,” he smiled. “Well, enough about that. How’s the crew holding up?”

“They’re good, sir. Solid,” he said with no small amount of pride.

“I’m glad to hear that.” The Admiral paused for a moment, sizing Remi up. “So… after they declare Gyrfalcon space worthy again, you’ll be going back to the fight. How do you feel about that?”

“I’m not sure I follow,” Remi answered carefully. “I mean, it needs to be done. Only…” He paused for a moment, debating his next words with care.

“Only… what, captain?” the Admiral prompted.

Throwing back the rest of his glass before setting it aside, Remi leaned forward, throwing caution to the wind. “Only we’re spinning our wheels out there, Admiral. They’re drones. We can kill a hundred, a thousand, a million, and they’ll just pull back to some out-of-the-way corner of the galaxy, make a million more copies of themselves, and suddenly we’re right back where we started.” He looked his commander dead in the eye. “Admiral, we’re losing this war.”

The older man looked away. “You’re not wrong,” he said quietly. Rising to his feet, he went to the sideboard and retrieved the decanter, carrying it back with him. Filling both tumblers once more, he set the bottle on the table, taking a long drink before staring into his glass. Remi remained silent while the Admiral seemed to wrestle with something.

“What would you say to another ‘Special Assignment’, Captain?” he asked point blank. “As it happens, something’s landed on my desk, something that requires… discretion.” Their eyes met once more. “It’s a longshot, captain, another longshot, I should say. But if it pays off, it might just end the Yīqún threat once and for all.”

“And if it doesn’t pay off?” Remi prompted.

“Oh, well, then you’ll be dead. Of course, so will the rest of us. You’ll just die a little sooner.”

Remi took a long pull on his drink as he mulled it over. Finally, he set down his glass.

“Sounds like fun,” he smiled.