Episode 606: Fireworks, Part Four
Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Special Features.
We wait an entire day.
There’s no whistling up a taxi to take the rest of the crew back to Equinox, either. We’re parked in a restricted area. Mr. Sullivan is apparently security conscious as well as manipulative. We aren’t idle. As long as we’ve got Cortex access, we’re using it to look for alternatives, for jobs. We find a couple of prospects that would net us enough money to get us back to base par. One involves doing business with a man named Niska, whose reputation is somewhat unsavory. Quite nasty, actually. The other job is carrying lithium to a Naval outpost. We’re unflagged but the Navy will be willing to give us a flag for the job. Which, once installed, we can’t really get rid of. More importantly, once installed, the Feds will be able to override our controls and fly us in … anywhere they want to. That doesn’t sit well with any of us. So we’re going to have to stick around and wait on Mr. Sullivan’s convenience.
Joshua: We can take you back. Nothing saying we all have to sit out here waiting.
Nika: Uh-hm. And the only ten-minute window he has to see her is the half-hour in which we are headed back to the docks and coming back here.
Joshua: That’s quite possible.
Nika: Because he’s frakkin’ with ya.
Joshua: All right.
Nika catches Kiera’s eye and her drawl is out.
Nika: Just about now? I wouldn’t piss on your father if he was on fire. (a beat) I’m going to take a nap.
Rina: Nap sounds good.
Joshua: So we’re waiting a little longer?
Nika: Mm-hm. It’s her father. I really don’t want to cut her off from her father.
Kiera: Been there. Cut that.
Joshua: Okay.
Nika: You were the one who wanted to come. If you have decided otherwise, speak up. Otherwise I am not going to making the decision to go ahead and let us leave your father.
Kiera: Go ahead and sleep. I’ll wait here.
Nika: Then I’m going to take a nap.
Thursday, 26 Nov 2522
We stay. Night falls. Morning dawns. We wake up stiff and sore. Lagniappe is a comfy shuttle, but with six people in it, it’s a little tight.
Arden: (wincing) I don’t want to sleep in the car with you all, ever again.
Rina: The feeling’s mutual. At least we have the head.
It’s got a little sink and we’ve got water for drinking and washing up. After a day and a night in the shuttle we could all use a little of both. At the twenty-four hour mark, Kiera has had it. She comms the Receptionist on her father’s ship.
Kiera: Tell him we’re going. I’ve waited for you for a day and a night. And that is all you’re going to get.
Receptionist: He’s definitely going to see you today, he just needs to find the time.
Arden: He needs to find the time.
Rina: Shh!
Arden: Sorry. I’m going to go outside and scream at a rock.
Joshua: Not, you’re not. It’s way too hot to go outside. It’s a hundred and sixty degrees.
Kiera: Okay. Let’s go back. (to receptionist) Tell him I’ve given him a day and I’ve given him a night. Mountain and Mohammad. Tell the mountain that he may come to Mohammad on this one. Tell him exactly that. (to Nika) Take off, Captain.
Nika: Okay. Spin her up.
Receptionist: Hold your position please.
We see a ship coming in to land. Nika won’t take off if the other ship is in our flight path. So we wait some more. The ship lands right next to the facility. It’s a very nice ship. A jetway extends from the facility to the ship as protection from the elements outside. We get hailed by the receptionist.
Receptionist: Mr. Sullivan is scheduled to depart the planet in two hours but he’ll meet you onboard the ship if you can be there in one hour.
Kiera: We’re right here. I think we can make it.
Receptionist: Very well.
So after a day and a night, Mr. Sullivan is going to make us wait another hour. Sure. Why not? But there’s a more pressing problem than lost time. We didn't bring vac suits on this trip, not realizing they'd be necessary. If we’re going to make that meeting, we’re going to have to travel the half-klik between the ships on foot. In 160-degree temps.
Not pissing on him. Not a drop. Even if he was on fire.
Kiera looks down at the nice clothes she's donned for this meeting.
Kiera: (through her teeth) Y'all stay here. Matter of fact, drop me off. I'm walking to the ship. If he wants me to get back there, he can drop me off.
She reaches for the airlock controls.
Joshua: No.
Nika: Maybe he doesn't want you to 'get back there'. Maybe you should rethink that.
Rina's already right behind Kiera. Come hell or high water, she's backing her friend up. Right now, given the temps, it's hell. Joshua keeps her from stepping outside.
Rina: I'm backing her up.
Joshua: I'm walking. I'm going with her.
Rina: Me, too.
Joshua: She's asking for me—well, she's not asking for me, she's asking him for me. It's the whole purpose for this damn thing. So … Stay. (off Rina's look) Please?
Rina: (relenting) Then here's a list of everything that's wrong with our ship.
And damned if the woman doesn't fish a list out of her coveralls and hand it to him. She plants a quick kiss on his cheek as Joshua tucks the list safely away in his pocket and scrambles down to the dirt to catch up with Kiera.
It's a grueling walk across the burning landscape. Joshua and Kiera both survive it, but both are suffering the effects from the heat. Joshua's come out a little stronger in that department and the heat's affected him less than it has Kiera. Still and all, they're both conscious and talking when they reach Mr. Sullivan's ship, soaked in sweat and panting hard. They stand in the shade under the ship, gaining some measure of relief from the sun, and look for a way in or a way to contact the people inside. Kiera marches over to the airlock door and bangs on it with a rock. They wait. Sweat. Pant some more.
Eventually, the door of the building the ship is docked to opens up. Kiera and Joshua leave the shade of the ship and shuffle across the sand to the door. It's nice and air conditioned inside. Eighty degrees and it feels like Heaven. The receptionist is waiting for them.
Receptionist: He's going to be going pretty soon. So do go on ahead into the ship as soon as possible.
The Receptionist leads them to the ship and once aboard, into a rather cushy lounge area. Joshua and Kiera sit down.
Receptionist: Can I get you a drink or anything? Water?
Kiera: Yes, please.
Joshua: Water's good.
Receptionist: (pouring) Lime? Lemon?
Kiera: Both. I want both.
Joshua: Lime.
The water arrives in frosted glasses and it goes down like God's own promise. Kiera's father walks in, clean, cool, smelling freshly groomed. Businesslike. Unlike Joshua and Kiera, who've spent the night sleeping in the family car.
Mr. Sullivan: You're dressed like that? Really, Kiera. You need to know that appearance and impressions are important in this business.
Kiera: I'm sorry. Should have occurred to me that I would be walking across the blowing hot sands, Father. My attire was much more professional before I stepped foot off the ship. My apologies.
Mr. Sullivan: Well. Are you going to introduce me to your young friend?
Kiera: Yes. Joshua Drake, this is my father, Jonathan Sullivan.
Sullivan walks up and shakes Joshua's hand.
Mr. Sullivan: Mr. Drake.
Joshua: Sir.
Mr. Sullivan: So, the people at the starport tell me the ship you came in was … in need of some work.
Joshua: Yes, sir.
Mr. Sullivan: It's made of swiss cheese or something. So they tell me. I'm not an engineer.
Joshua: That's about right, sir. Swiss cheese. (off Kiera's look) Well, it is.
Mr. Sullivan: Sho Je Downs isn't the worst place you can spend some time, but it's pretty close.
Joshua: Excellent. We're looking for jobs as fast as to get off.
Mr. Sullivan: They do have an excellent golf course down there. Do you golf?
Joshua: I can't say I've had the occasion. Perhaps someday. I have nothing against the sport.
Mr. Sullivan: It's cave golfing. It's a little bit different because you can hit it off the walls, so it's still a challenge.
Kiera: My hand's messed up a little bit so golfing is not one of the things I can do right now. Maybe soon.
Mr. Sullivan: So I assume you're going to want some money but I'm not in a vaguely giving mood for that.
Kiera: No, actually, we wanted some information.
Mr. Sullivan: Oh, that's right. Yes. You didn't give me much to go on.
Kiera: No, I actually didn't want to give you too much.
Silence as the two Sullivans step back from the opening salvo. The battle is on.
Mr. Sullivan: I've only got a few minutes. This ship is taking off soon.
Kiera: Oh I know. We've got policy to keep each other waiting, but since you seem to have a place to be … ?
Mr. Sullivan: You're welcome to join me. I'm heading back to the Core, so if you want to come, this is your chance. You don't have to stick aboard that ship. Mr. Drake, I'm sure we can find accommodations for you on board if you want to come too.
Joshua: I see.
Kiera: I'd feel like I'm abandoning the crew, Father. You know we don't leave things unfinished.
Mr. Sullivan: Oh, we don't?
Kiera: Did I or did I not finish medical school? I am a very capable doctor.
Joshua: She's quite good.
Mr. Sullivan: (sighs) If my goal for you consisted entirely of you being able to support yourself, yes, then you can consider your mission accomplished. You've done so well. But if you'd paid maybe a little attention to what life is like at home, you'd realize there's more to it than simply providing for yourself. How you do it is also important. But … this is something you've had trouble understanding.
Kiera: I'm a bit hardheaded but we agree on that. So.
Mr. Sullivan: I take it you're rejecting my offer to take you back. (a beat) Londinium's a different place. You might like it now. People who used to silently hate each other now openly hate each other.
Kiera: They did that at the pool all the time.
Mr. Sullivan: Well, not with shouting matches and blows.
Kiera: So now it's made the magazines?
Mr. Sullivan: (dismissive) No, no, no. With the issues between the Tories and the Wu Ba and all that, it's quite interesting now to see them all go together.
Kiera: That's not reassuring at all, but okay.
Mr. Sullivan: I know you seem to be not interested in the aristocratic quiet culture. But it is less that now.
Kiera: The excitement eventually may draw me back but right now I'm trying to prove something to myself, Father.
Mr. Sullivan: All right. So what is this information?
And the next round of sparring begins.
Kiera: He needs to know about his family, if he has one.
Joshua: I'm formerly a—I'm a Blue Sun product. Which is why I believe she's asking you.
Mr. Sullivan: Blue Sun product.
Joshua: Their … Borrowing division.
Silence.
Mr. Sullivan: You went to the Academy.
It's not a question.
Joshua: Yes, sir.
Mr. Sullivan: (pleased) Ahh. Well, well. This is more interesting. (a beat) So … (pause)
Joshua: Yes, sir?
Mr. Sullivan: Interesting.
Kiera: Interesting. Mm-hm.
Mr. Sullivan: Excuse me a moment.
Joshua: (not surprised) Of course.
Mr. Sullivan leaves the room. Kiera and Joshua trade a look: We're boned. You can almost hear "The Girl From Ipanema" playing. Well, at least it's not on banjos. Mr. Sullivan returns a moment later, rubbing his arm a little bit, and talks to Joshua.
Mr. Sullivan: So. You're from the Academy.
Joshua: I was, yes.
Mr. Sullivan: And you were—you're a Borrower?
Joshua: Yes, sir.
Mr. Sullivan: Yes. I've some familiarity with that. So—
Kiera: How is she doing, by the way?
Meaning the woman he'd hired to impersonate Kiera to disavow her kidnapping by the underworld. By presenting them with his 'real daughter' in refutation of their claims, there was no need to pay their ransom. Or admit publically that he'd lost control of his daughter and that she'd gone AWOL and fallen in with a bad crowd.
Mr. Sullivan: I heard the Academy had suffered some … ah, changes, losses, surprises …
Joshua: Yes?
Mr. Sullivan: I supposed you could give me a DNA sample so we can run a check and see if we could find your parents.
Joshua: In theory I know a name.
Mr. Sullivan: I will tell you that much of the intelligence database was destroyed in the Colchester Event.
Joshua: Yeah. I'm familiar with that.
Very familiar.
Mr. Sullivan: So I can't promise you we'll be able to get anything but I am intrigued by this turn of events.
Joshua: That's good. I wouldn't want you to be bored.
Mr. Sullivan: (to Kiera) So what brought you in contact with a …Borrower?
Kiera: Serendipity, Father.
Mr. Sullivan: This makes me wonder if … someone else … arranged for this.
Kiera: So you think they chased me down to the Rim, planted him so that he would bump into me.
Joshua: It seems to be a general running theory every time somebody needs me, I'm a plant for somebody else that—
Mr. Sullivan: You must confess, it does look—
Joshua: Oh, I completely understand the thinking.
Kiera: The last time I checked in on me, I thought we effectively moved me to charity work. On a different planet.
Joshua: (to Kiera) Do I want to know this conversation?
Mr. Sullivan: Oh, I don’t think it's a social thing. It's probably one of our competitors possibly. Possibly they've arranged for this …
He looks speculatively at Joshua then cuts to Kiera.
Mr. Sullivan: But he wouldn't just come out and say it. Anything else unusual on your crew that you would like to tell me?
Kiera: Not a thing. They're an unusual group of people but nothing as stand-out as him.
Mr. Sullivan: The only intact records we have are in our special computational wing so it will take a couple of hours to get our things. I suppose I could delay my flight for this unexpected interest. (to the air) Captain, we're going to be a few hours late.
Captain: (from somewhere) Yes, sir.
Mr. Sullivan: Yes, find out what the lightspeed calculations are. It just has to get to Sophie and back.
Joshua: Really? Huh.
Mr. Sullivan: All right. Let's take a sample. Would you mind if I take a scan as well?
Joshua: I get scanned and sampled all the time it seems, these days. So ... (shrugs)
Mr. Sullivan: Oh, well then you should be fine. Let's go back into the facility.
Joshua: Okay.
Kiera and Joshua follow Mr. Sullivan deeper into the building. They make their way down to a pretty serious-looking lab facility. It brings memories up for both Kiera and Joshua. It reminds Joshua of his days at the Academy and for Kiera, there's a bit of lustful drooling over the high-end equipment as she walks past. They come up to a full-body scanner, something considerably more high-tech than even what Joshua encountered on the IAV Aceso. It barely hums when Mr. Sullivan turns it on and at his wave, Joshua lies down on the scanner bed.
Joshua: That's some serious equipment, there.
The scanner immediately sends back results. Holographic displays shimmer and float. Kiera examines them with a critical eye. She immediately indentifies the marks Blue Sun had left on Joshua's brain and body.
Kiera: Those lesions are still there. Hm.
Mr. Sullivan: I've been in the business aspect of this for so long, I don't know if I can make sense of all … (peers at holos) … all the strange … surgical things … that they've done to you. But I'm sure our surgeons will. So, we'll leave you here to be scanned for a bit. Kiera? Join me. Have some lunch.
Kiera: (slowly) Sure. Can we have some food send down for him?
Mr. Sullivan: Of course. Not until he's done with the scan, of course.
Kiera: Of course.
Joshua: Sure.
Mr. Sullivan takes Kiera to a rather nice little commissary and they sit down at a table.
Mr. Sullivan: Well, Kiera. You may have found a way to bring something to the bargaining table.
Kiera: (narrowly) You realize you can't keep him.
Mr. Sullivan: These Academy people … I don't know what you know about them. Has he exhibited any unusual talents? Or traits?
Kiera: Define, Father.
Mr. Sullivan: Things that would be difficult to explain. Psychic abilities.
Kiera: Better than average guesses But Igot intuition. You know that.
Mr. Sullivan: Yes. This would be something more than that. (pause) The Academy was doing a number of experiments. Mostly with Blue Sun and the Alliance working together.
Kiera: Trying to awaken psychic abilities and … ?
Mr. Sullivan: Well, or heightened psychic abilities. You know, all the stuff that everybody's been working on.
Kiera: Hm.
Mr. Sullivan: Overall, I'd say it was a pretty big failure, but this … Joshua. Has he exhibited unusual behaviors? Psychotic behaviors?
Kiera: No, he's never been psychotic.
Mr. Sullivan: (pleased) That's excellent. That means he's stable. Mot every other experiment I heard about has been unusable because of the psychoses.
'Kiera: You can't keep him.
Mr. Sullivan: What do you mean, keep him?
Kiera: You were making it sound like you were about to add him to the payroll.
Mr. Sullivan: Well, as I say, you may have earned your way back into the business, Kiera. Joshua Drake could be a great value to us if we could … get the right … get him in the right places at the right time.
Kiera: You do realize we are a passenger ship that can't take passengers.
Mr. Sullivan: Oh, no, let's not talk about this ship of yours. That's irrelevant at this stage. This is a thousand times bigger than that. It's a ship. They'll just go on their own way. You and Joshua and I—
Kiera: I—
Mr. Sullivan: Have a new future.
Kiera: Like I said. You can't keep him.
Mr. Sullivan: Listen. Of course, you are right that we would want him, you know, consenting to this. That'll make it much easier. (a beat) It's not essential. There are various chemicals and other things that can make him more cooperative. But it would be better if he were on board with this. But ….
She can see the wheels turning in her father's head. Damn. The idea's really taking hold with him and Kiera knows she's got to get herself and Joshua free of it.
Kiera: Okay, let's go back to square one. We want to know about his family. So he wants to stay on the ship—
Mr. Sullivan: (to self) He wants to know about his family. We can use that as a means of keeping him with us.
Kiera: He's got a fiancée on the ship, Father. He is not leaving that ship.
Mr. Sullivan: Hm. Well, if she's aboard the other ship … (thinks) … I suppose … He's dedicated to her?
Kiera: Very.
Mr. Sullivan: Well. Okay. They'll see each other.
Kiera: I can tell you that when that ship takes off, we're going to be on it. That's set in stone.
Mr. Sullivan: Oh is it?
Kiera: Yes, it is.
Mr. Sullivan: I can keep that ship from taking off. As long as I want.
Kiera: Uh-huh.
He just might. He's a powerful man on Sho Je Downs and there's no telling the extent of it or the number of people he's bribed, bought, or blackmailed to do his bidding.
Mr. Sullivan: So. Maybe you need to figure out a way to chip away that stone.
Kiera: Maybe we do. So. What are you wanting him to do that doesn't involve going back home? Because my intention was to find some info and go home.
Mr. Sullivan: Go home?
Kiera: For me. Which is that ship.
Mr. Sullivan: I'm confused. I don't get the game you're playing here. So you get hold of this very valuable asset.
Kiera: Yes.
Mr. Sullivan: You bring him to me. And then you say, You can't have him. Well, what do you want for him?
Kiera: What do I want for him?
Mr. Sullivan: You're being too subtle for me Kiera. Because you clearly contacted me regarding him for this very meeting to happen. What am I missing here?
Kiera: Actually, you're missing that last little step, Father. Humanity. He's my friend. I thought I'd help him. I didn't realize I was offering valuable assets.
Mr. Sullivan: Yes, yes, yes. Friend, friend, friend. Okay. So how much do you want? I'll pay extra for the friendship.
Kiera: You'll pay extra for the friendship?
Mr. Sullivan: Yes, yes. He's got great sentimental value. Yes. I understand. What is that? Twenty percent more?
He is adamant. Kiera knows this. How to get him to leave them alone?
Kiera: All right. I've got an asset. I'll loan him to you for one job. He comes back with me. Fix the ship. I'll give him to you for one job.
Mr. Sullivan: (incredulous) One job?
Kiera: (narrowly) Think about it carefully. One job. Fix the ship. Get it back into shape. He's yours for one job. AND the info. About his family. (off his look) Oh, c'mon. It's so easy for you to get. You know you've got it.
Mr. Sullivan: Oh, I'm sure we can track it down.
Kiera: It's easy for you to get. You know you got it. Duplicate copies are always kept. More than duplicate copies are kept on the corporate level.
Mr. Sullivan: Hm.
Kiera: One job. And we'll discuss others. Because I don't know how stable he is. (a beat) He hasn't been under in a long time. If he ever ever was at that level.
Mr. Sullivan: Hmm. Alternatively, I could just hold on to him.
Kiera: You could.
Mr. Sullivan: And put you back on your ship.
Kiera: You could. And it takes off and I die. You're rid of me. I can see a win-win.
Mr. Sullivan: Oh you wouldn't die. You'd just be stuck here. To think about this deal a little longer.
Kiera: Well, this is the first time I've come up with something you're really interested in. If you just take it, where's the fun in that? That doesn't teach me anything. It makes me not bring you any more cool toys. Because if I bring you cool toys and you always take them, even though I fairly bargained for them—
Mr. Sullivan: It's not really a fair bargain.
Kiera: I don't know.
She privately thinks: Other than the fact that you will die. If she—or worse, Joshua— dies, Rina will kill Sullivan. Saving her father's life by seeing nothing happens to Joshua … well, that's got to amount to something. She keeps the thought to herself however.
Kiera: How many of these people do you know wandering around?
Mr. Sullivan: Well, from the Academy?
Kiera: Mm-hm. That are stable. I got one.
Mr. Sullivan: You just said you didn't know if he were stable.
Kiera: He's been pretty stable for the past year.
Mr. Sullivan: Yes.
Kiera: Probably because he's in love with that woman.
Mr. Sullivan: An individual job is really not what I'm looking for. I don't have a particular need for espionage people, to be quite honest. We have people for that.
Kiera: So … ?
Mr. Sullivan: I'd be more … interested in tests, perhaps.
Kiera: How damaged would he be by those tests?
Mr. Sullivan: Oh, I'm sure he'll be fine.
Kiera: He'd have to agree to them.
Mr. Sullivan: (sighs) Yes. I'm sure we can find something of value to him that will make him agree.
Kiera: Probably fix the ship. Where his fiancée is.
Mr. Sullivan: If that's all it would cost.
Kiera: If you fix his ship with his fiancée, then he would probably go for it. I'd like a little money in the kitty, but that's me.
Mr. Sullivan: Why don't you … convince him … that this is in his best interest.
Kiera: How long will the tests be?
Mr. Sullivan: A few weeks.
Kiera: Can I supervise? Or at least be a part of?
Mr. Sullivan: I don't think I'd want that part of the bargain. You don't want to have that information. Honestly.
Kiera: And why not?
Mr. Sullivan: That information can be very dangerous to you. I wouldn't want to endanger you. You are my daughter.
This, from a man who refused to pay her kidnappers their ransom demand, who instead hired a Borrower to impersonate her to make them think they'd grabbed the wrong girl. He doesn't want to endanger her? Yeah. Right.
Kiera: How would I know he's not being hurt then, if I can't watch?
Mr. Sullivan: Oh, he will probably be hurt, but … not broken beyond repair.
Kiera: Not broken beyond repair? Okay, let's start out by telling me what you're planning to do. What do you want to find out?
Mr. Sullivan: The work at the Academy was sloppy.
Kiera: I could tell from that scan. They basically did brain lesions.
Mr. Sullivan: Well, the surgery's okay but the behavioral techniques were incredibly sloppy. They probably tried to implant subliminals, things of that nature. It's not the way to go. I'm more of a neuro-physics kind of guy. I'd like a physical response. So we need to induce these abilities. Test under proper test conditions—
Kiera: Are you going to put him in a fugue state, see what you can find?
Mr. Sullivan: We'll ID it with a battery of tests of some kind and once we ascertain the mechanisms responsible for his behaviors, then we won't need him anymore. We can duplicate it ourselves. And then you can have him back.
Kiera: What will I get back?
Mr. Sullivan: You'll get back your friend.
Kiera: Will he still be my friend?
Mr. Sullivan: I don't know how much he likes you.
Kiera: I don't think he'll like me much after this.
Mr. Sullivan: He might like you somewhat less unless you can convince him that this is, you know, good for him and for what he believes in.
Kiera: I still want to be here. You're going to do the testing here.
Mr. Sullivan: Ah, no. I don't think we can do it here.
Kiera: Where are you doing it?
Mr. Sullivan: Well … I'm going to have to think about it.
Kiera: I still want to go with him. The ship is going to want to go with him. They're gonna want to be there.
Mr. Sullivan: You did such a good job convincing me that this would be a good job, I'm sure you can convince them that they don't need to do this.
Kiera: When you release him we're going to need a way to get back to his fiancée and his friends. They need to be somewhere nearby.
Mr. Sullivan: We'll give him a ticket to wherever he wants to go.
Kiera: They're gonna wanna know where.
Mr. Sullivan: I appreciate that.
Kiera: You don't understand how stubborn they are. They will be there.
Mr. Sullivan: What can they do? They can be stubborn but there's nothing they can do about it.
Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Special Features.
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