The alarm blaring from the speakers on the bridge of the Emperor Turian's Revenge was unfamiliar, but Laura knew it couldn't mean anything good for her captors. They started shouting at one another in their alien language, throwing looks at Korgan as he strode forward to see what was going on.

Laura kept herself still with an effort. Dakar turned away from her, pulled in by whatever emergency had gripped the pirate crew. The last thing she wanted to do was remind him that he had a prisoner to keep an eye on. Instead, she tried to work out what was happening from the little she could see from her seat.

The screens were too far away for her to make out anything, but the confusion and anger in the voices of the pirates was clear. One of them hauled at the wheel, turning the Emperor Turian's Revenge toward their base. Another to yanked the controls from his hands with an angry shout, steering them back on course.

Rorax. It's got to be Rorax, she thought, taking a slow deep breath and trying to keep her calm. This wasn't a time to get overexcited — if she had a chance to do something, it would be a short window of opportunity. She didn't want to ruin it by acting too soon, or being too distracted to notice her opportunity when it arrived.

Part of her thought that she was being stupid. There was no escape for her, not anymore; where could she go? Even if she could somehow get away from the half dozen alien warriors holding her prisoner, she'd be stranded on the surface of Mars without a helmet for her spacesuit. And winning a fight against them wasn't going to happen. In their humanoid forms, they were all bigger and stronger than she was, and skill could only take her so far.

If one of them shifted, she'd stand no chance at all.

Don't think about that, she told herself firmly. If I don't fight, there's no way I win. And fuck it, I'm not going to go out quietly no matter what the odds are.

The fight for the controls of the ship was over, Korgan pushing the struggling aliens apart and roaring commands. He sent two of his men up onto the deck and Laura had to suppress a smile as they left. That left four enemies on the bridge with her. Still more than she could handle, but the odds were getting better all the time.

If only they used weapons, I'd have a chance to steal one. But the dragon shifters didn't need weapons. If their strength and speed weren't enough, they could breathe flame that would cut through steel. A human couldn't match that. Of course, I don't need to, she thought. Fighting them on their own terms is a losing game.

Korgan pulled up a display on a larger screen, and at last Laura could see what was happening. The image focused on the exit from the pirate lair and as she watched, a ship burst out of the cavern, smoke trailing from its deck. Another followed, so close that the two ships nearly crashed into one another, and neither slowed down as they headed for the horizon.

Laura bit the inside of her cheek to keep from grinning. Probably none of her captors would notice, but she didn't want to take the chance. But the chaos amongst the pirate ships could only mean that Rorax had figured out some way to strike back at their captors and that made her want to shout for joy.

Korgan snarled something angrily at the crew, glancing at Laurabefore pointing back at their original course. The helmsman snapped something back at him, clearly unhappy, but obeyed. The Revenge swung around a pillar of red rock and headed on toward the rendezvous.

Laura didn't manage to look away before Korgan turned to face her, and he caught the look of triumph in her eyes. She looked away quickly, but not fast enough to stop him striding over and snarling into her face.

"Whatever's happened back there, I'll fix it when I get back," Korgan said. The quiet menace in his voice sounded strained now, as though a deeper, wilder anger was about to break through. Laura could see he wasn't used to losing control of a situation like this.

Don't push him, she told herself firmly. You don't need his attention, let him rant and move on.

"If there's anything for you to come back to," she heard herself say aloud. Shit.

For a moment, she thought he was going to hit her, but he restrained himself with a visible effort. There are advantages to him thinking I'm worth a fortune, Laura thought as he straightened up with a snarl.

"It doesn't matter," he said, and she thought it was as much for the crew's benefit as anything else. "With the ransom, we'll be able to rebuild any damage my idiot brother does back there, and the only warriors he drives off will be the weak ones I don't need. This changes nothing!"

This time Laura bit her tongue, fighting down the urge to tell him that there was no ransom. Whatever was happening to his pirate camp, Korgan would have to repair it without a treasure trove of supplies.

But the ransom was all that was keeping her alive. As satisfying as it would be to see Korgan's reaction when he found out that she'd ruined his plan before he'd even met her, it didn't outweigh her desire to survive. So she kept quiet, and after a long pause, Korgan growled wordlessly and stormed off the bridge. One of the remaining aliens followed, leaving her alone with the pilot and Dakar.

We're still heading towards the rendezvous, and that's where I'll die if I don't do something before we get there, she thought. Rorax would be on his way, but she couldn't count on him catching the Revenge and coming to her rescue. Unlike the Bradbury, the Revenge was too big to hide in the dust, and Rorax would be able to see it for sure. But there were four dragons above deck waiting for him, and this ship was fast. She wasn't certain he'd be able to catch up with it, and if he did, he'd be exhausted by the time he had to fight the crew.

Even if he managed that, she wasn't sure it would matter. Dakar would kill her rather than let her go free, she could see that in his cold angry eyes. No matter what happened outside this room, Laura had to keep herself alive.

All right then, she thought, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. The lack of hope was, in an odd way, liberating. She couldn't win, so anything she managed to achieve was a victory. Two aliens, both bigger than me, both murderous bastards. No way I win a fair fight, so let's start an unfair one.

Diving off her seat, Laura was past Dakar before he realized she was moving. The big alien was still turning to follow her when she wound up and threw all her weight behind a punch to the back of the pilot's head.

A human would have gone down instantly to that attack, and might not get back up again. The alien shouted something as he staggered into the controls, catching himself weakly and turning to lash out at his attacker.

Laura ducked under his uncoordinated punch with ease, ignoring the pilot for now. It wasn't him she was after. Grabbing at the controls, she threw all her weight against them, knowing she had at best a moment.

That was all she needed. Whatever safety features the ship might have had before the pirates modified it, they were long gone. Nothing stopped her aiming the ship for the nearest rock and crashing into it.

The impact sent a shudder through the ship and threw everyone from their feet. Laura was the only one who had braced herself for the impact, and the alien she was fighting went flying forward. She saw him try to catch himself on his wings, but the bridge wasn't large enough. He hit the front viewport with a heavy crunch, and lay still.

Wheeling, she turned to face Dakar. He'd fallen into a control console, and was struggling to get to his feet as she rushed towards him. Blood poured down his face from a scalp wound, and his right leg didn't seem to be supporting his weight, but the hatred in his eyes reminded her not to underestimate him. If he recovers, I'll stand no chance, she thought, slamming into him with all her strength. It felt like punching a brick wall, but the force was enough to send him back to the floor.

"I'll grind your bones to dust, human," Dakar gasped as he grabbed for her, but Laura jumped back and his fingers closed on thin air. Beneath them, the ship shuddered. One of the thrusters failed and it lurched sideways, settling. The crash had done more damage than Laura had expected.

"Big words," she said as they both steadied themselves. "Couldn't keep me in my chair, what makes you think you can get your hands on me now?"

He roared at her taunt, throwing himself at her. But his balance was shot and his aim poor — she stepped aside and swung a punch into the side of his head. The alien stumbled into a bulkhead, trying to catch his balance. Laura was on him before he had a chance, slamming a kick into his injured knee and sending him howling to the floor. Another kick to the head dazed him, and another was enough knock him out. Letting herself relax, Laura slumped over his unconscious body and struggled for breath.

This was as far as she'd planned, and it had worked better than expected. Now it was all up to Rorax.