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"He is so fucking dead." The digitized voice came over the communication system and people cheered. "When he gets back here I'm going to wring his neck and-- Oh, he's already dead."

Will smiled and Murray relaxed. He'd been trying to establish communication with the Golly for long enough they'd all gotten worried something had happened to it.

"Asyr," Will said.

"Hey, Will. Sorry I couldn't help earlier. Anders had Peterson and that asshole Lewis jump me while I was keeping him from killing Crimson, and after we dealt with them, we had to figure out where the comm system was shut down from. It's a good thing Anders isn't returning, because the captain isn't pleased with him right now."

Everyone was back to work. They had three more consoles functioning, but not manned. Will didn't want to have any of the Sayatoga's crew close to computers, not after the last time. That man was in restraints, and it had taken Aliana pulling the two guards off him to keep him alive.

"Explain." He'd known he hadn't been in on most of the plan for a while now, either Anders's or Crimson's, but it would have been nice to know they had backup.

"I guess I can spill now. The short of it is that Crimson left me instructions before he talked with you. I was to make sure Anders found out about the job so he could invite himself along. The captain knew, of course. Crimson opened a channel, and I slipped in. I did some shuffling of orders in the system to help with the chaos, but my main job was to help Crimson find his man and help when Anders eventually double-crossed him. After that I was to help you settle things, but Peterson and Lewis happened, as well as the blackout. Pat's pissed that Perry saved my life when he walked in on the two of them trying to kill me. She's certain he's going to ask for favors, if you know what I mean."

"Breathe," he said, grinning. Asyr needed to work on her definition of "short". He'd worked out Alex had expected Anders to come, but not that he'd arranged for to happen. For the captain to agree to it meant Anders had worn his patience completely with his antics.

The boards' lights flashed, changed colors, flashed again.

"System's responding!" Viv yelled.

"Yep," Asyr said, "all unlocked. I don't want to sound impertinent, but with Anders dead, who's in charge?"

Will raised his hand.

"You?" The disbelief in her voice matched that of Will. She cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-- Sorry, err, sir. It's just that..."

"Yeah." Considering who was on the bridge, he hadn't expected to keep the role once Crimson left it.

"Unless you need me for something, I'm going to go through the rest of the system. I saw some nasty stuff in there set up to make your life impossible down the line. I have to remove them. Just holler. I'm plugged into the internal comm system.

Following her silence, Murray turned in his chair. "Navigation's fully functional. Where do you want us to go?"

"Stay." They couldn't run just yet. He circled a finger in the air. "Scan."

Lolie sat at a board. "As far as I can tell, there's nothing around us--" She glared at Murray. "--Captain."

The pilot rolled his eyes and Will raised an eyebrow, which made him turn and look at his board. He'd have to watch that one.

"The shuttles that were thrown out when Anders voided the hangar are still drifting away from us, sir."

"Remote?"

Lolie looked at her board. "I have no idea. I think they might be the ones to ask."

"So? Who knows how to remote control those shuttles of yours?" Aliana asked.

The woman who'd stood for the bridge crew raised her hand. "I'll do it." She took a step toward the boards and stopped as guns were pointed at her. "It's a fairly complex system. I don't know if I can just tell your officer what to do."

Will watched her. He believed that of all of them, she wouldn't cause trouble, but her use of the term "officer" reminded him he had something more important to deal with first.

"Later."

She nodded and rejoined the others. The conversation was agitated, but hushed, until she silenced them.

Will looked at the others on the bridge. The two guards weren't important right now. It was after this they might be a problem. Everyone else had started this job as Anders's people. He had a good idea who would fall where, but he needed to be sure.

"Who stays?" he asked.

"I'm staying!" Murray hurried to say. "Sir, Captain. With Anders dead, it's best if I don't go back." Will nodded. Murray had enjoyed making use of Anders's protection, and had pissed off a lot of people who hadn't been able to make him pay. He wasn't sure if he was going to let the man stay. That eye-roll concerned Will.

"I'm going back," Karl scoffed. "Someone's going to have to keep everyone in line back on the Golly."

"You?" Barbara scoffed. "You think you can take Anders's place? Don't make me laugh. You've been scheming against him ever since he let you in. You think we didn't know? You better stay here, because you certainly don't deserve the Golly."

"Oh, you think so? How about I show you right now what I deserve?" He took a step toward her.

She raised her fists. "Oh, bring it on. Anders wanted you dead anyway. I'll be happy to make it happen."

Will waited until Karl's fist was raised, and when he spoke, he made his tone firm, but he didn't raise his voice. "Enough."

The two of them immediately froze. Tim had picked up his rifle and Aliana put a hand on the butt of her gun. Murray, Lolie, Vivianne, and the rest of the bridge crew tensed, waiting to see if this would explode.

Will had to fight the urge to look around in amazement. One word and he had everyone's attention. He, who was usually ignored by Anders's people on sheer principal, now had to be obeyed. Oh, how he could have fun with that.

He kept his gaze on the two of them until they stepped away and dropped their fists. "Leaving?"

"Yes!" they answered in unison, and then glared at each other.

Will nodded. He'd have to put them on different shuttles, otherwise they would... He smiled. What problem of his was it if they killed each other once they left the--his ship? He had to start thinking about proper management of the resources he had.

"Sir?" Tim said. "If you don't mind, I'd like to stay. I know I've never given you a reason to trust me, but I'm worried that if I go back, I won't live long. Contrary to what it might have looked like, Anders never forgave me for helping Crimson survive his stay with us. Zeph might feel the same."

Will nodded. He'd suspected as much; Anders hadn't been the forgiving type. It didn't mean he could drop his guard around Tim, but he thought he could trust him to do what he was told.

Tim moved next to his chair, and Viv joined him. Will looked at Lolie.

"I'm sorry...sir. I can't stay. My loyalty is to Captain Meron." Barbara glared at her and Lolie returned it. "Above that of Anders."

Will nodded. Basically what he'd expected. Zeph would stay too, for the reasons Tim had given. Unlike Tim, Zeph had never tried to get back in Anders's good graces.

"Sir?"

Will turned to face the woman he was now confident had been the Sayatoga's first officer.

"What about us?"

He looked her over, then the others, finishing with the guards. "Fine." He headed for the controls to see what he needed to deal with.

"Sir, please," she pleaded, "we're not--"

"He said you were--"

"Stop." He looked at Aliana and waited for her to get over the surprise. It had become so natural for her to be his spokesperson she did it without thought, and he let her.

But he was a captain now. He couldn't rely on someone always translating for him; people would misunderstand who was actually in charge. He had to be the one to make sure he was understood. He looked at the woman as he lined up the words--more of them than he had in a long time, possibly ever.

He breathed slowly. "Everyone is safe." A breath. "No one will be hurt while I decide who stays." Another breath. "No one who leaves will be hurt." He hoped his closed fists kept the shaking from being noticed. "The crew who leave will go to the closest station." He let out a breath and waited.

"Thank you, sir." She opened her mouth as Will started to turn, so he stopped. "Sir, may I explain something about how the Sayatoga works?"

Will nodded. Letting someone else talk for a while would give his nerves time to settle. Aliana placed a hand on his shoulder and he felt better.

She indicated the board. "This is going to be easier if I can show you."

He studied her. She didn't look like she was planning anything, but he didn't know her. The guard, Will thought as the lead one was reaching for his gun, but stopped when he noticed. He was scared. Now others had noticed him and were looking at him.

She moved away from him until Barbara grabbed her shoulder.

He looked like he was considering fighting his way out. None of Will's people had their weapons out. They were waiting for a command. When this was over, when he was alone in a room with Aliana, he'd feel giddy over the power he had.

"Talk," Will said.

"I-- I want to stay, sir." The words said one thing, the body language said he wanted out. Or, Will realized, that he didn't believe he'd be allowed to stay. He lined up a few words.

"Everyone is safe. Everyone."

The man nodded and relaxed a little. Now Will needed to test how much the man trusted him. He extended his hand. "Gun."

The internal debate was quick an in complete silence. Will could hear individual breaths. Slowly the man reached for the gun in his holster, pulled it out and gripped it by the barrel, before offering it.

"Tim."

Tim took it and placed it on the control board.

Will motioned to the woman to approach. She moved cautiously, watching everyone, including the guards. His display had impressed, at least on her, that he was indeed in charge of the people here. If she'd had any plans, he was confident she had abandoned them.

"Sir," she said as she sat in the chair Will indicated, "I promise that nothing I'll do will jeopardize your command. According to Sayatoga regulation, until you fire me, I work for you now."

Will wasn't certain why she pointed that out, but he nodded.

"Could you ask them to take a step back?"

Will looked around. His people were quite close, and had expressions that warned anyone that if they considered ill actions, they would suffer. Even Karl and Barbara were there.

Will smiled and made a shooing motion. Except for Aliana, they all stepped back.

The woman relaxed, and he indicated for her to go on.

She brought up a file that contained a lot of text. "The Sayatoga is a wholly independent corporation owned solely by its captain." She looked at Will and nodded at his wide eye. She hadn't said a name, but a title. "Yes, when he created the corporation, Gregory Overgaard used that exact wording. He never noticed the loophole that created. Mister Overgaard was always an overconfident man, but to be fair, until he was replaced, no one threatened his position. You are only the fourth--" She paused. "--fifth, if you want to count the man who was just here, captain the Sayatoga has had in its entire existence, and all the changes have happened in the last twenty objective years."

"Legal?"

She frowned. "Yes, this is legal. The charter was signed and logged with SpaceGov." She smiled. "I expect that if anyone had bothered reading it, they would have requested a change, but SpaceGov receives so many contracts to approve they can't be expected to read them all."

Will nodded.

"As the legal owner of the corporation, you decide how the profits are distributed."

"Profits?"

She brought up a list of names. "These are the prisoners who are officially held on the Sayatoga. Because we specialize in the most dangerous criminals, we are also paid the most." She paused at Will's frown. "SpaceGov pays prisons based on how dangerous their prisoners are."

"Wait," Murray said, "are you telling me that you people get paid without having to actually work?"

She looked offended. "We do work! The ship needs to be maintained, we need to make sure the prisoners stay alive. That is work."

Aliana chuckled. "Clearly you haven't seen what we need to put in to get paid."

The woman looked around the bridge. "I believe I do know how much work you do put into it, but the bottom line, sir, is that the Sayatoga brings in money, which is currently used to, in part, pay me and the crew." She straightened. "I can't speak to the portion of the guards composed of previous residents. Your predecessor had rather unorthodox ways of ensuring their loyalties, but for the rest of the crew, and the bridge crew that's left, so long as our salaries are paid, you have our loyalty. You seem more level-headed than the previous captain." She looked where Anders had killed some of them. "Or the man who wanted to take his place."

Will wasn't sure he believed her entirely, but he'd give any new crew a chance to prove themselves. He didn't see a reason not to do so here.

"All good," he said, and the tension on the bridge went down. He took the gun off the board and walked to the guard. "Good?"

"Yes, sir," the man answered. Will handed him back his gun.

He turned to the bridge crew. "Work?"

There was hesitation, then a man stood. "Yes, Captain."

Will motioned for the control boards and he headed there, followed by the others. The only person who refused to relinquish his position was Murray, and the woman sat at the console next to him.

In no time, things were running smoothly enough Will could sit on the edge of the captain's chair. "Shuttles, in," he ordered.

Aliana stood next to him and smiled. "So, now what are you going to do, Captain?"

That was the question, wasn't it? What was he going to do with his ship? His ship. Shit.

Aliana caught him before he slid to the ground. He had a ship and a crew. And all legal. That meant he didn't have to run if he didn't want to. He could do anything he wanted. Well, not anything. The ship was too big for piracy, and he had no idea if it even had weapons, but that was all he knew.

He smiled when he realized he didn't have to make a decision right away. It would be months, even years, before anyone noticed something was wrong here. If they even did. Things had been done strangely for awhile, and no one seemed to have noticed.

No running, no hurry. That meant he had time to prepare.

"Call Golly." How many of his people would join him here? Doc wouldn't, but Perry? Anna? Pat and Asyr wouldn't, but there were more. How was he going to convince his captain--the captain of the Golly to agree? That was who he'd have to convince. He no longer had a captain, he was one.

"Golly's Yacht," Murray called, sounding official, "this is the Sayatoga. Please inform Captain Meron that he has a communication from Captain Williams."

Aliana tightened her hand on his shoulder and beamed at him.

"Captain Williams," came Captain Meron's voice. "It's a pleasure to speak with you. How can I help?"

Will opened his mouth and realized he was going to have to line up a whole lot of words for this conversation.