I know what you're thinking. Reanimation begins with a scream.

  But no, I didn't die. I probably should have, but I didn't. Now I understood why aiways didn't do the stunt I had just pulled by embracing the sea of information around us. My heart had nearly exploded. Then it had seized up suddenly. Lucky me, @bitchfrog had been able to shock me back to life.

  In the back of my mind, I registered the ship jumping forward as I woke up under a warm blanket in the medical bay. The DEAD drive was spinning into action, a cool whir as the drive activated and fired.

  I held up my fist. "Dark energy annihilation drive!" I tried to yell. It came out in a whisper, but it got @bitchfrog's attention.

  "Glad you're okay," she said, her green eyes staring down at me. She grabbed my arm, checking my pulse, and looked at the charts. "Do you know what happened to you?"

  I flicked my hand, brushing off the question. "I looked for the way out." My words weren't coming as quickly as I liked, but I was feeling almost normal. Just tired and thirsty. "And I found it. How are we doing?"

  "I sent @foxcutter to the cockpit to help the others as soon as you came. He's physically fine, but I think he should take some time away and talk with someone. I didn't push him on it, but there's some trauma there."

  That was good to know, but I was more interested in finding out if Oblivion was going to blow us up anytime soon.

  "Boom?" I phrased my question elegantly.

  She frowned. "The Pharaoh has been taking damage. Oblivion is jumping with us, each time seemingly closer. They've been arguing about the constant jumps versus heading toward the nearest station at DEAD speed. I could hear it all the way over here."

  I nodded. "Too predictable. Against other ships, no problem. Oblivion's not another ship. They're somehow faster."

  I was grateful @auroraloon had figured out what I was trying to communicate before I passed out. I did say, jump, jump, jump. That was pretty clear. Most importantly, she was sticking to it. She said she knew Oblivion, so I trusted she also understood the best way to flee.

  "How many jumps have we made?"

  "Three. Maybe four," replied @bitchfrog. "Or five? I don't know."

  I chuckled. I didn't mean to. I think it's refreshing that humans don't have a perfect memory.

  "I was kind of busy keeping your heart from stopping," she explained.

  I reached over for her hand. She took it and angled her head at me curiously. "Thank you," I said. "I need to get back up there."

  "Oh no!" She pushed me back down onto the bed when I tried to sit up. "You have to stay here."

  "Do you want to live or not?" I asked, incredulously. I watch her face get frustrated. "I promise I'll rest when we're out of this."

  "You're not going to blow up your heart again, are you?" She waved a finger at me in a manner I felt was very disapproving, especially considering that I had just saved us all by doing exactly that a few minutes ago.

  "I will do whatever it takes to keep us alive," I said in the most serious voice I could muster.

  Was I absently thinking about how the Puppy Eyes setting in my ocular lens could look like an exploding heart when focused on someone who was deeply attracted to you? Yes, I was. Because I wondered if @sundial was out there alive. The thought of my exploding heart fit perfectly with the way I felt.

  But our work to escape wasn't done yet. I had to make her sacrifice worth it.

  I peeled myself off the bed again, and this time @bitchfrog didn't stop me. My Infiltrator armor had stayed as the pilot suit. @bitchfrog had unzipped the front during her resuscitation of my body. I reached instinctively to zip it with my hand and then realized I probably didn't have to. My feet hit the ground as I swung off the bed and instructed the suit to take shape. I smiled as it zipped itself, the nanobots responding to my command.

  "Where are Rufus and Doofus?" I realized I hadn't seen them since I returned to The Pharaoh. They were supposed to be guarding the humans and the ship.

  @bitchfrog looked like she knew she was going to get in trouble for something.

  "Come on. I have to get up there. It's not a hard question."

  "It wasn't my idea," she stammered. "They're in the workshop. @zerogstar and @auroraloon were tinkering with them."

  "What?!?"

  "They were bored," she said, holding her hands in the air blamelessly.

  I rolled my eyes and stalked off to the bridge.

  We were in the middle of a jump, a fairly calm moment all things considered. Monitor the distance from Oblivion. Determine when to shut down the DEAD drive. Shut it down. Fire weapons and evade as necessary. Plot course. Activate DEAD drive and jump again.

  In the moment they noticed me, I observed the mood that was playing out amongst them. @zerogstar and @dustcaller were where I had left them, and @auroraloon had stayed in my pilot seat, as ordered, to fly the ship. The three of them appeared to be working as a tight trio, well coordinated, each waiting on the other. They were in the primary spots: navigation, piloting, and weapons.

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  @foxcutter had taken the seat where @auroraloon had been. He was passively following along, and I wondered what was going through his head. Now that I was here, I wanted him back in the infirmary, but I decided I would let him stay, mainly because @awesomdog looked irritated. In a fight like this, I didn't want any irritation on the bridge, and I could sense an underlying tension in the room. Besides, @awesomedog wasn't part of this crew and wasn't supposed to be on The Pharaoh in the first place. He was also in the last remaining seat.

  "How many jumps have we made?" I asked as I entered the cockpit. I knew they would have an accurate answer.

  They looked at me in surprise.

  "@kittyboy! Finally!" @awesomedog barked, making sure his voice was the first to be heard. "You're letting a Burner fly the ship? And your crew is going along with it? Tell them to stop this madness! We should warp to Sovereign Starbase. Rendezvous with the fleet. They'll take care of that ship."

  @auroraloon glared at him and then looked expectantly at me. I knew there was no way she was giving up that seat, not to @awesomedog at least.

  "Not dead," I said with a slow nod, instead of answering @awesomedog's question. "Almost, but not quite."

  The room was quiet and felt out of rhythm. I needed to restore the balance and establish harmony.

  "We're glad you're okay," @zerogstar said, cutting into the silence.

  I was still nodding, watching them all. "@awesomedog, thank you for your service and for hauling me off. I might have died if you hadn't acted quickly." He smiled, waiting for me to finish, expecting me to acknowledge that he was right and that we should follow his plan.

  I disappointed him. "Burner? Darksider? I don't care. @auroraloon knows Oblivion and has followed my orders, even though she has no reason to, other than her own survival. @awesomedog, I'd like you to go to the medical bay. Please have @bitchfrog check you over."

  "What? Why?" he asked.

  "We can't take chances with this virus," I explained. "I'm sure you seem fine. And you've been helpful. But I need to make sure we're all safe."

  I was being logical, and @awesomedog couldn't deny that. Besides, this was my ship, so I would be the one giving orders. He stood up with a surprising little pouty face. As he did, so too did @auroraloon. She motioned for me to take the pilot seat.

  "No," I said. "You keep flying. I'm spent, and I need to concentrate."

  I shook @awesomedog's hand as he approached. He didn't like it, but he shook back like a good doggy and headed down the hall.

  "What the hell were you doing?" @auroraloon asked me as I took my place on the bridge.

  "No time to explain," I said. "How many jumps have we made?"

  A headache was mounting beneath the surface. I rubbed my temples to try to scrub it out, but it was slowly intensifying. I guess Machine mode has its consequences on the human body.

  @zerogstar responded. "We've jumped six times so far. A few times Oblivion was able to fire on us. They hit us three times, but the damage was marginal. @dustcaller was able to take out most of their missiles before they could hit us. Shields have held, but the starboard side is compromised. We can't afford to take a hit there."

  "Noted. Well done, team."

  "It's just that they're gaining ground," @zerogstar added with concern. "How is that possible?"

  I stared at the console at my station and pulled up star charts, overlaying them with our course from Dactyl. My head thumped. "Valkyries are special for a reason," I replied. "Eventually, they will catch us."

  But I had a plan.

  "Prepare to reverse course," I instructed, trying to push back the headache. "Let's head back to Dactyl." Maybe I just wanted to be close to @sundial, but I swear that wasn't the reason. "Take us back to the terrordactyl storms."

  @zerogstar and @auroraloon exchanged a glance. It seemed the two of them had bonded since I left. I reminded myself to press them about whatever they had done to Rufus and Doofus.

  "Are you sure?" @zerogstar asked.

  "Are you going to bleed and shake again?" @auroraloon added in a snarky tone. "Because I'm pretty sure the next time will kill you."

  "Yes," I said to @zerogstar. "And I hope not," I said to @auroraloon.

  "773," @auroraloon mouthed back, her eyes wide, a little smile on her face.

  She was telling me that it would be my 773rd death if I tried my Machine mode again. I couldn't hold back a chuckle. I was glad to see the mood in the cockpit had already improved since I sent @awesomedog away. No wonder @sundial found @awesomedog bothersome. Being his apprentice must be tough. She should join us as part of The Pharaoh crew. We were the fun kids.

  "Cut the engine," I ordered. "Let's do this."

  @foxcutter sat there like he was sleeping, but the others nodded. @dustcaller was silent as well, but on his face I saw focus and determination.

  We fell out of warp, and almost instantly Oblivion was on us. Its speed was a marvel. This time, they fired lasers, the same three blue beams that had cut their way through the meteorites, and now they were carving at the belly of The Pharaoh. The ship wailed in response.

  Sirens sounded. The shields couldn't take this kind of force.

  But @auroraloon expertly maneuvered us to protect the starboard side and our DEAD drive. If they took that out, we'd be done for.

  "Get us out of here!" I shouted.

  I tried to sound calm, but there was no denying how terrifying it was to sit there helplessly while my crew tried to respond. It was smart of Oblivion to switch to lasers. @dustcaller was disappointed and seemed eager to blast any missiles they fired.

  I held back a squeal as I watched The Pharaoh take damage from the lasers. To some extent, the ship would be able to repair itself with drones, but it wouldn't be able to do that while we were at warp, and we needed to warp away before repair was no longer an option.

  The hull had to hold. I held my breath and rubbed my eyes.

  Finally, the DEAD drive fired, and we were off again.

  "That's how it's been." I was surprised that it was @foxcutter who said it. "A bit of calm. Total panic. A bit of calm."

  My headache was getting worse. I squinted and took a moment to explain my plan. Where to start?

  "Okay, I'm going to say this once. No questions, please." Their eyes found me, with looks of patience and concern. I felt like someone had driven a thin spike into the top of my head. "I planted a catnip virus on Oblivion back at the starlab."

  "What?!?" @auroraloon interjected.

  I held up a hand and continued, massaging my temples some more. "It uploads a little bit at a time," I said, slow and clear, "every time Oblivion activates its DEAD drive. It was the only way I could load it undetected. I don't know how long it will take. I have no idea how many times Oblivion has activated its DEAD drive."

  I took a deep breath, in and out, my hand still raised to stop anyone from interrupting. "If we can stay far enough away, and keep jumping, eventually my catnip virus will take over the ship."

  I lowered my hand.

  "What happens then?" @auroraloon asked.

  "The ship is mine," I replied, trying to sound confident.

  "Fuck me," @auroraloon exclaimed. "Maybe you'd make a good Infiltrator after all."

  "Thank you." I smiled as I grimaced. "Let's hope it works."

  "Why are we going back to the terrordactyl storms then?" @zerogstar questioned. "Shouldn't we focus on jumping and jumping and jumping?"

  Pain. Stabbing stupid pain in my brain. "We should, but you saw what just happened. The only way we can gain distance is to use the storm against Oblivion. We can fly through faster. It will buy us time for more jumps."

  There. That was the plan. I couldn't do any better than that.

  "But you'll die," @dustcaller said, matter-of-factly. "And then we'll die."

  He wasn't wrong.

  "That's why I'm not going to be the one flying the ship this time."

  If they weren't panicked before, that certainly did the trick.