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Red Abby shook her head. “I’m not very generous. Any of my men will tell you that. But when it comes to realism, I’m a past master.”

Worf and I kept moving, inch by careful inch. And still no reaction from the pirate. Finally, we removed ourselves to a position from which we didn’t think we could be spotted.

“I see,” Jaiya said. “Then you’ll stand down your weapons and drop your shields, so we can inspect our new vessel.”

“I’ll do nothing of the kind,” Red Abby replied evenly.

“But you’re outnumbered,” he pointed out. “And outgunned.”

“And I’ve got a big, beautiful vessel, remember? One you wouldn’t covet unless you appreciated its tactical capabilities which are more than enough to send your people to their respective makers.”

The pirate looked at her for a moment. “You know, I’d heard you could be stubborn on occasion.”

“You heard right,” Red Abby assured him.

“Even when the odds are five-to-one?”

“All that means,” she said, “is I’ve got five times as many targets to choose from.”

“I see,” Jaiya responded. “Then, as they say, the ball is in my court. Do I wish to mar that beautiful vessel by blowing big, ugly holes in her hull and perhaps take a few lives into the bargain? Or do I grant you safe passage for the time being?”

“That’s the choice,” Red Abby agreed. “But as you consider it, consider something else as well. If the situation becomes a violent one, your vessel will be the one I’ll go after first.”

The pirate’s eyes narrowed slightly. “A threat?”

Our captain smiled grimly. “A piece of information I thought you should have. Certainly, if our positions were reversed, I’d want to have it.”

“I’ll take that into account,” said Jaiya. And without another word, his image vanished from the screen, to be replaced by the forbidding spectacle of the five mismatched fighters.

Astellanax looked at Red Abby, the muscles rippling in his temples. “What do you think they’ll do?” he asked.

She shook her head. The bravado she’d displayed for the pirate seemed to melt away before my eyes, revealing the worried creature underneath.

“I don’t know,” Red Abby answered at last.

She was being honest, of course.

As you all know as any captain knows it’s impossible to determine an adversary’s intent without reading his or her mind. One can guess, perhaps even point that adversary toward a particular logical progression. But one can never say for sure.

For what seemed like an eternity, the pirates hung there in space, neither attacking nor retreating. Sheel muttered something under her breath. Dunwoody drummed his fingers on his console.

And still the pirates didn’t make a move.

Then, all of a sudden, Jaiya’s ship peeled off. The other vessels followed him, one after another. And in seconds, they were gone.

Sturgis turned to Red Abby. “You did it, Captain.”

She nodded. “He believed me when I said I wasn’t going to give up without a fight. The only thing he was going to win was a cloud of space debris, and it would have cost him a few ships to obtain it.”

I glanced at Worf as we yielded our posts to Thadoc and the morning shift. The lieutenant was smiling. But then, he was a Klingon, and they appreciated bravado almost as much as a good battle.

“Resume course,” Red Abby said. “Steady as she goes, Mr. Thadoc.”

“Aye, Captain,” the helmsman replied, working his controls.

I regarded Red Abby. Until that point, I had thought of her mainly as a means to an end, and not a particularly pleasant means at that. But after seeing her stand up to Jaiya and his pirates, I was forced to look at her in a new light.

I was also very much relieved. Had the pirates boarded the Daring as they had threatened to, Jaiya would almost certainly have recognized Worf and myself. And he wouldn’t have hesitated for a moment to make the most of such valuable captives.

Worf and I entered the lift at the rear of the bridge and let its doors close behind us. As I programmed the mechanism for the deck where our quarters were located,