Ashley's shout echoed through the engine room, and Kosar leaped away from his hiding place without thinking. How she was giving him that warning was less important than following it.

A split second later, fiery death blasted through the space where he'd been standing. A plasma lance, capable of cutting through a ship's hull, burned instantly through the wall. It would have punched a hole in him, too, if not for his mate's warning.

That's another one I owe you, Ashley, he thought. Something I'll repay you for after I'm done shouting at you for coming back to this deathtrap of a ship.

He didn't know how she'd gotten back, and there wasn't time to worry about it now. The pirates came rushing in, two bursting through the doorway even as the echoes of the plasma blast's roar started to fade. Here to check their kill.

Kosar slapped the barrel of the first pirate's gun aside as he fired, the heavy bullets chewing into the walls instead of his body. The second had to maneuver for a clear shot, and Kosar wasn't about to give him time for that. Pulling the gun from the first pirate's grip he threw it hard enough that it punched through the second's armor where it struck. The human dropped like a stone, impaled.

More were coming, and his only chance was to act fast. To overwhelm them before they could get their numbers and weapons to bear on him. Spinning towards the doorway, he pulled the first pirate around with him, and the first bullets from outside the room slammed into his human shield.

"Cease fire!" Someone shouted outside. "Don't risk hitting the stardrive — the boss'll skin us if we do."

Kosar grinned a feral smile and threw the limp body out of the doorway.

"Come and face me," he called to his opponents. "Come and die."

Outside he heard shuffling and whispered disagreements as the pirates tried to decide who should go first. It was tempting to rush them while they argued, to get in amongst them and try to finish this, but he knew he needed patience. In here they'd be reluctant to use their guns.

If he stepped outside he'd be met with a deadly hail of fire. Better to wait for them to come to him.

He eyed the cooling hole where the plasma lance had burned in. I have to be careful. They aren't stupid, and they still have a few tricks up their sleeves. That would have killed me if it wasn't for Ashley's warning.

Kosar's heart soared at the thought of her, and at the same time terror scratched at the edges of his mind. His mate was on the ship! As wonderful as it felt to be near her, it also meant that she was in deadly danger. The plans he'd made to overload the stardrive were abandoned, now — no matter the risk, he couldn't kill his own mate. They had to win.

Two of the pirates warily stepped into the doorway. Instead of rifles they carried batons, energy crackling at the tip. Crowd control weapons that could take him down without risk of destroying the prize they'd come to claim.

But they were weapons that meant coming within arm’s reach of an angry shifter, and that was enough to make the men nervous. Rightly so. The two of them paused to get their bearings, and that was their last mistake.

With a mighty roar, Kosar threw a metal tool locker at them. His muscles strained under the weight of it, but he didn't care about the pain. All he cared about was getting past them to his mate.

The pirates started to react with inhuman speed, but it wasn't enough. One ducked aside, the other raised his arms to block. The heavy console slammed into them both regardless, smashing them back out into the corridor.

They hit the deck, twitching under the weight. For a moment, there was silence outside and then a gun barrel poked around the doorframe, firing wildly. Kosar grinned, ducking out of the line of fire. A moment later the gun was dragged back out of sight and he heard his attackers shouting at each other.

"Let go of me," one man said. "That fucker killed Gunnar."

"And the boss'll kill us all if we shoot up that room," his calmer companion answered. "Go in there and get your revenge in person."

"You first, Captain," the first one hissed back. Whatever discipline the pirates usually had was clearly breaking down.

Kosar laughed, a huge echoing sound in the space of the engine room. "Cowards! I'm waiting for you. One at a time or all at once, let's finish this."

He wasn't sure if he could back up that challenge. If they all rushed him at the same time, he'd be in trouble. But how many of them could there be out there? He'd killed seven of them now, and Ashley must have dealt with at least one if she'd taken control of the bridge. So, six more at most. I can do that. I have to be able to do that. There's no choice — I'm not letting my mate die here.

He glanced up at the camera in the corner of the room. Was Ashley watching him? He smiled, hoping that Ashley would see, and braced himself for the next round of the fight.

But no one came through the door.

Perhaps they've had enough. It was possible. These were mercenaries, fighting for profit. Perhaps if they understood that they couldn't steal what they were being paid for, they'd decide to save their lives instead of risking them for a paycheck they'd never see.

But they didn't seem to be leaving either. A whispered conversation was going on in the corridor outside, quiet enough that Kosar couldn't make out any of the words. The pirates were up to something, and he had no choice but to wait for them to make a move.

He felt himself weakening, the wounds he'd taken sapping his strength, and hoped that they didn't realize how much they'd injured him. Rescue was still too far away, and if they waited long enough he'd have to risk rushing them. But outside the engine room, where they could use guns freely, the enemy would have a much better chance.

"Kosar, is it?" a voice called from outside. "We seem to be at a stalemate, so let's make a deal."

That was a cultured voice, a carefully businesslike one entirely unlike the mercenaries. It had the tinny ring that told him the speaker wasn't on board, that he was having his voice relayed by radio. Kosar's lips peeled back in an angry snarl. That had to be Ashley's 'Mr. Johnson,' the human behind all of this. Of course the man was too much of a coward to come and face his enemies in person. Fingers itching to rend and tear, he waited for the human to continue.

The pause dragged on uncomfortably long before the human spoke again. "I know you don't want to die here, Kosar, but I'm not stupid. You'd die for your cause if you must. I don't think you're willing to let Ashley die for it though. In fact, I'm willing to bet that you won't. So here's the deal. I will let the two of you leave the ship unharmed, I'll even pay Ashley a bonus for her trouble. You get your girl, she gets paid, and we all walk away from here happy."

Before Kosar could respond the ship's speakers came to life again.

"Fuck you," Ashley snarled, her voice echoing in the corridors of the Grace of Herendar. "I've got a counter offer for you — get the hell off this ship. We've already won: Kosar's got the engine room, I've got the bridge, and we can hold out until the rescue ships arrive if we have to. By my count, you've only got six of your men left aboard. Bring it."

Kosar's heart soared with pride at his mate's words, wanting to hold her tight. The two of them would stand against anything.

But it didn't seem to faze Mr. Johnson.

"My dear Ashley, I'm afraid you're mistaken," he said, though under the cultured accent Kosar could hear frustration and anger. "There's no victory for you here. If it looks like I'm not going to get my prize, the Black Sail will simply destroy the Grace and you along with it. You might be able to deny me my prize but there's no way for you to survive to enjoy your victory. No, if you want to live you'll take my offer. Be a rich survivor rather than a corpse who wouldn't compromise."

Kosar growled angrily at the threat, turning it over in his head. The Black Sail was still fully crewed, and the Grace of Herendar had no weapons with which to defend itself. If Mr. Johnson was truly willing to destroy the stardrive rather than let anyone else have it, there wasn't much that they could do to stop it.

So be it, he thought with a sinking feeling. I accepted that this would likely be my death when I stayed aboard. I wish Ashley hadn't come back... but she made that choice, too. Perhaps it's fate that we die together?

At least her brother will be fine. I managed to do that for her.

"I told you, no deal," Ashley said. "You won't talk us into it, and you may as well give up on trying."

"I'm sorry to hear that you're not going to be reasonable," Mr. Johnson said. "That means I shall have to take more direct action. Captain Radcliffe, take the plasma lance. The bridge door won't keep you out for long."

Kosar roared with rage, reacting instantly. A threat to Ashley was one he couldn't allow to stand. Moving as fast as he could, he leaped through the doorway, swinging a fist into the surprised face of the nearest pirate. With a horrible crunch of breaking bone the man flew backward, blood spraying across his companions.

His only hope was to act quickly, too quickly for the humans to react. Unfortunately, they'd been smart and spread out, covering the entrance. Even with the shock of his attack, they were already responding.

One fired a burst that just barely missed Kosar. Another, more careful, brought his gun up to aim. He was the threat, the one Kosar needed to focus on. Ducking low, trying to stay out of the line of fire, Kosar charged at the humans. If he could reach them before they hit him, he had a chance.

He nearly made it.

The first shot thudded into his shoulder, and his scales turned most of the impact. A second snapped past his ear, deafeningly loud. Close enough to strike, his hand lashed out to knock aside the barrel of the gun, and the third bullet chewed up the ceiling above them.

But before he could take down his target, a shock baton slammed into his side, driving him back. The world spun around him, blood loss and the electricity combining to put him off balance, and somewhere he heard a cultured laugh.

I've played into their hands, he realized. This was what Mr. Johnson had planned, drawing Kosar out with a threat to Ashley. But what else could he have done? If he didn't beat them here, then he was sure the human would make good on his threat and burn his way onto the bridge.

If he was going to save Ashley, he had to win this fight. No matter the cost.

Another baton struck his leg and he tumbled to the ground. On the way down he grabbed the leg of his nearest foe and was rewarded with a snap and a scream. With a savage snarl, he pulled the man into the way of the gunmen, trying to buy a few more seconds to recover. To rejoin the fight. To save Ashley.

At least if I die here, she's safe, he thought. They'll have no need to kill her, and I'll have died defending the stardrive. My duty is done.

It was an awful compromise, but if it kept his mate alive he'd take it.