Phillip was outgunned, outnumbered, out of time, and out of ideas.

For the moment.

He kept Varna in his sights while the men behind him steadied their rifles. If Phillip fired, they would kill him before he could turn. If he surrendered, they might kill him anyway. The standoff offered no obvious path to survival, but it bought him a few seconds to find one.

“Put down the weapon,” Varna said, “or I’ll have my men kill you now.”

Phillip slowly lowered the pistol while assessing the positions around him. The three men behind him were too far away to reach before they fired, and Varna’s own weapon remained trained steadily on his chest. No one appeared distracted enough to exploit.

Not yet.

Phillip set the pistol on the deck and pushed it toward Varna. It slid several feet, caught against a raised seam in the bulkhead, and stopped. Varna glanced down at it suspiciously before stepping around his men.

“Careful with that,” Phillip said. “I forgot to put the safety on.”

Varna looked at him, then bent and picked up the pistol. Its weight surprised him. He turned it once in his hand, studying the frame and mechanical controls. “This seems primitive.”

“Probably an antique now. You might be able to auction it off and make a few bucks.”

“Perhaps I’ll start a collection.” Varna straightened his arm and aimed the pistol at Phillip’s head.

“You still have the Serpis to deal with,” Phillip said.

Varna did not lower the weapon, but he did not fire. “What do you know about the Serpis?”

“I know it wants me dead.”

“Oh, really?” Skepticism sharpened Varna’s voice. “Why?”

“Five hundred years leaves room for some strange memories.”

Varna studied him for several seconds, then motioned for two of his men to move forward. They seized Phillip by the arms. He allowed them to, keeping his body loose and his attention on Varna.

“So if I kill you,” Varna said, “would the Serpis consider that a favor and leave us alone?”

“I doubt it. Tell him you intend to destroy the ship, though, and he might help.”

The suggestion caught Varna off guard. His expression changed only slightly, but Phillip saw it. “You are surprisingly well informed for a man five centuries out of date.”

“It wasn’t hard to work out. You hijack a naval ship carrying weapons so dangerous that the crew has standing orders to destroy them rather than surrender control. You fire one at Nirenda to create panic, blame the attack on whoever is convenient. Then sell the rest? Destroy Artemis to erase the evidence.”

Phillip watched Varna’s face as he continued.

“Fleet Command recovers some wreckage, declares the crew dead in the line of duty, and celebrates the tragedy rather than admitting it lost five antimatter warheads.”

Varna stared at him. For a moment, he seemed almost pleased that someone had recognized the shape of the plan.

“Perhaps things have not changed so much in five hundred years,” he said. “That still leaves me with the question of what to do with you.”

“Does it?”

Varna raised one eyebrow.

“The Serpis won’t come out if you kill me,” Phillip continued. “And after our little conversation, I don’t think he intends to let any of you leave this ship alive.”

“You are presenting me with a no-win scenario.”

“Just laying out the facts.”

“How generous.” Varna lowered Phillip’s pistol. “Take him to Engineering. If the Serpis intends to sabotage the ship, that is where it will act.”

The men holding Phillip shoved him forward. Varna followed behind them while the remaining pirates stayed near the intersection.

“Get back to the bridge,” Varna ordered them. “Find out what he did and restore control.”

“You may have trouble with the door,” Phillip said.

“Then cut through it.”

The other men moved off, and Varna’s group forced Phillip down the corridor. Within several minutes, they reached the entrance to Engineering. Varna keyed his headset.

“Reyes, open the doors. I believe I have found something that may draw out our problem.”

The locks released, and the heavy doors slid apart. The guards pushed Phillip inside.

Engineering occupied a vast compartment extending across several decks. Pipes, conduits, work platforms, and heavy machinery formed a three-dimensional maze above and below the main floor. Narrow walkways crossed open spaces between engine housings, while access ladders disappeared into shadows overhead.

Phillip looked into the pipes and dark recesses surrounding them. “This is a bad idea.”

He could imagine G’Dahn moving through the compartment unseen, using every level, vent, and blind corner against anyone foolish enough to enter.

“Shut up.” One of the guards shoved Phillip to the deck and struck the back of his head for emphasis.

Phillip accepted the blow and stored the debt for later. Varna stepped around them, scanning the machinery and shadows.

“Hello!” he called. His voice carried through the compartment. “First, let me say what an honor it will be to kill one of your species. You have certainly lived up to the reputation.”

He made a slow circle around Phillip, waiting for some reaction from the machinery above.

None came.

“It is unfortunate that no one will ever know,” Varna continued. “Although perhaps I have found something even more valuable than your corpse.”

He stopped behind Phillip.

“If you are listening, I want you to know that I have your specimen.”

Phillip looked up.

“From what I have seen,” Varna said, “I would guess he is one of your avatars.”

That word echoed a little more than the others in the room. Phillip watched Varna despite himself. Was he bluffing? Had he heard the term in some rumor, or did he actually know something about the Serpis and the program behind Phillip’s memories?

“I’ve heard the stories,” Varna continued. “Perhaps proof of this is worth more than anything else aboard the ship. What would the Concordat pay for evidence of Serpis infiltration? Espionage seems too small a word for something on this scale.”

Phillip forced his attention away from the questions Varna had raised. They were a distraction. There would be a moment to act, and when it arrived, he could not afford to hesitate because Varna might possess answers.

The ship shuddered. A transition wave passed through the compartment as Artemis returned to normal space. Varna and the pirates staggered beneath the sudden nausea and disorientation.

Phillip did not. He had been waiting for it.

He swept the legs from beneath the nearest guard and threw himself toward the cover of an engine housing.

Varna fought through the nausea quickly enough to understand that Phillip had moved. He raised the pistol and tried to bring it onto target.

Before he could fire, the wall behind them erupted.

A violent explosion tore through the engineering compartment. Heat and compressed air struck the group like a physical blow, throwing men, tools, and loose equipment across the deck.

Phillip disappeared into the blast.

Next Chapter: XVIII