The ship with some ship humans encounter a very frightening problem as the pirate ship comes barrelling toward them. The pirates are humans, too. -- Anon Guest
Edges are dangerous. People or things either get cut by them or fall off them. They have ways of causing harm. The same remains with the Edge Territories. Here there be hives of scum and villainy. Here there be pirates.
Here, also, there be Humans.
Everyone venturing into the Edge knows that it's best to have a Human on board. More than one for preference. What's less frequent is the Humans who decide to not be friendly. Humans could also decide on a life of piracy.
The Humans aboard the Seeking Phalanges recognised the attackers as fellow Humans with the Surrender or Die message. They had a handful of minutes to prepare. Most of which was spent in getting the rest of the crew into lifepods. "In case things went [BIRD SPECIES] up," as one of the Humans said.
They only had their own livesuits and whatever weapons they could grab. They only had a minute to find somewhere to lie in wait and start trouble. They had no more time to plan than that.
No more plan than two words and a shared culture. "Die hard?" said Human Steve, checking the seals on their livesuit.
"Die hard," agreed Human Pat, readying hir weapon.
Which, the rest of the crew would later learn, was a uniquely economical code for: "Get into the obscure places, set all the traps you can, and do everything possible to [EXPLETIVE] these invaders' day."
Like their code, Steve and Pat were surprisingly economical with their chosen battlegrounds. They adulterated the ships' air in very specific ways. They employed ordinary shipboard chemicals. They removed the filters from the air recycling system. They messed with the lights, the sound system, and used the maintenance spaces to get around.
Word got out about it.
The only proof against a Human attack, is another Human motivated to keep you safe.
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