Episode 313: Trade Off, Part 2
What?!
Nika’s on the bridge and she has no idea Valerie’s aboard. Arden is passing through for his quarters and sees Valerie stepping out.
Arden: Okay, what are you doing here?
Valerie: (warily) Thanks for the concern.
Arden: I’m sorry. (Not!) It’s been a long 24 hours. How did you get here?
Valerie: (O-kaaay) I drove.
Arden: You know we went out to the place you were staying.
Valerie: Yeah. I heard the gunfire. I called you like, four times, and you didn’t respond.
Arden: Kind of busy. People trying to kill me. Friends taken hostage. And you’re offended?
Valerie: Maybe I had some information for you.
Arden: You have information for me?
Valerie: Well, I’m not telling now.
Arden: I’m going to my room.
Arden goes to his quarters and his door locks with a loud clack! Obviously, a match made in heaven, these two. Valerie wanders to the bridge and Nika, in the middle of getting us clearance to leave and pre-flighting without Rina via engineering, is understandably kinda busy. Nika spares her a glance.
Nika: Please secure yourself to quarters and stay there. Until we burn atmo.
And Nika turns back to the console without looking to see if Valerie follows her orders. Meanwhile, Rick is watching our patients in the med bay. He’s there when Joshua comes to.
Joshua: Rick?
Rick: Yeah?
Joshua: Why am I tied up? Why are you here and why am I tied up?
Oboy. How to say it?
Rick: Well…you… Apparently, they said some code words and managed to… reprogram you? I’m not sure what you did while you were reprogrammed but—
Joshua: Okay, okay. I think I can—that’ll be enough for now.
We get our clearance, we burn atmo out of Meridian and pulse. Next stop, Pericles Station. ETA 13 December, eleven days hence.
02 Dec 2520
En route to Pericles Station
Rina’s still in need of surgery for her deeper injuries and since Arden’s not present, Valerie takes up the task. Meanwhile, Nika secures the bridge and goes to the med bay’s ward room where Rick is keeping an eye on things there. Nika’s position as Captain has her juggling a lot of balls: A strange woman is on our ship and practicing medicine without a by-your-leave, Arden is holed up in his quarters, and two of her crewmates are in serious trouble. One of them, possibly more than serious. While Valerie is operating on Rina, Nika interrogates Joshua.
Needless to say, she’s a little pissed.
Nika: What is the last thing you remember?
Joshua: The bridge…? The..the….
Nika: Remember Bullet? Brain?
Joshua: Wait…
Nika: Only-If-It’s-Your-Fault?
Joshua: What?
Nika: (razor sharp) We’re treading on that territory now.
Joshua: (gets it) Yeah…yeah.
Nika: What happened?
Joshua snaps.
Joshua: The fact that I’m tied down here—give me a minute please, Captain!
Nika gives him that minute and Joshua pulls himself together.
Joshua: …I don’t know. I…remember the bridge. I remember Blue Hand guy stepping out and that’s it. And waking up with Rick wheeling me into med bay tied down. So I’m guessing something bad really happened, but at least the five of you are still here. Like…Faria, and like…
The pieces are falling into place.
Joshua: Is …Everyone’s alive? Did I kill someone? Did I kill anyone? (a beat) Did I kill anyone?
Nika: ….No. Barely.
Joshua: Why would you keep me on the fucking ship, then, Captain?
Nika: Because it was pretty damn clear from the moment he stepped out that you were not in control of your own actions. Which does, in fact, make you a threat to us, but—
Joshua: Yeah. That’s the taking-me-off-the-ship portion of it.
Nika: But at this moment…
She turns to Rick, who’s standing by.
Nika: Go ahead and let him loose.
Joshua: You are a crazy person.
Nika: (grimly) Yeah. I’ve been told that before.
Joshua warns off Rick, re: his straps.
Joshua: Don’t even think about it. No, you’re thinking about it. Don’t even think about it. Don’t. Do. It.
Rick gives the man what he wants and leaves Joshua tied down. He goes into the next bay and finds Valerie pulling off her bloodied gloves, surgery completed.
Valerie: You’ll be fine. I don’t know what hack’s been doing surgery on you before, but all those sutures had to be redone.
Hearing this, Nika sighs and unties Joshua.
Joshua: You are a crazy person.
Nika: You. Check her.
She points toward Valerie who’s just walked in.
Joshua: How am I supposed to do that, Captain? Like…
Nika: (Exactly!) How are you supposed to do that, Joshua?
Joshua: You look fine! Surgery looks great!
Nika: Did I say check her surgery?
Joshua: No. (lightbulb!)…Ahhh.
Yup. We’re just one big happy family, yessir.
Rick: I don’t know if I support him being freed, but since I control all the guns at the moment and they’re in my bag. We don’t know about Valerie, but it just took a code word for him to turn off and become someone different at the moment. We don’t know if Valerie has that information, too, or if she works for them. So, I would prefer not to have to fight two people. Though I do have a grenade launcher at the moment.
Nika: Oh I’m sure Rina will be thrilled.
She turns to Joshua.
Nika: Go to your quarters, Joshua.
Joshua: Yes, ma’am.
Rick: (To Valerie) Not that I don’t trust you as the person you are, but I wanted to talk to you.
He asks Nika to fill him in on what he’s missed. She does and Rick turns to Valerie again.
Rick: How did you get out of there without them following you?
Nika: Well, they were a little busy shooting at us.
Valerie: A few minutes after the gunfire, there was a knock at the door, and then the door got opened.
Nika: By?
Valerie: By some thugs and a guy with blue gloves on.
Nika: Yeah.
Valerie: And they found me. And they told me to tell you that they are willing to do a trade for what you want at some hydrogen plant or something like that.
Rick: That’s already happened, so how did you leave?
Nika: So, you were the one who left the picture?
Valerie: (puzzled) No.
Rick: I’m sure it was them.
Valerie: I didn’t get a picture. they just said at the H2 plant.
Nika: Okay. How long have you been here?
Valerie: I got here…um….
Nika: After the gunfire.
Valerie: Yeah, after the battle at the bridge. I came the next day.
Meaning she got here after we left for the hydro plant.
Rick: So they weren’t watching you at that point, but were watching you up until then?
Nika: Well they left us a message on the ship.
Valerie: Yeah, and then I … I had nowhere else to go.
Rick: Yeah.
Valerie: I call the MP and …
Nika: Why did you tell Arden the first time that you hadn’t contacted him?
Valerie: What first time? You mean…today? You mean yesterday?
Rick and Nika together: No.
Nika: Two weeks ago.
Actually, by now it’s been more than two weeks. Arden first sought out Valerie on Meridan on November 11th , making it exactly three weeks. But who’s counting?
Nika: I’m getting a headache.
Valerie: Why would I contact Arden? He’s been nothing but a hassle and he’s expressed no concern whatsoever—
Nika: Yeah and you left a message from you that said basically: You got me into this, get out here and get me out.
Valerie: Now that, I sent.
Nika: So. They used you as a lure.
All right, already! Does it matter? We’re already here. Arden and Rina are either holed up in quarters or unconscious and any further discussion must be tabled until everyone can participate. Rina wakes up on her own a few hours after lift-off and Rick goes to Arden’s quarters to get him to come out.
Nika: Is he still pouting?
Rick: Why is he pouting?
Nika: Right now your guess is as good as mine.
Rina: Is his name Achilles, or something?
Rick knocks on Arden’s door again. Come out and talk to us. Why? Because we need to have a group conversation and we need you there because you’re part of the group.
Arden: Be there in a moment.
Rick moves on to Faria’s quarters, to tell him about the grenade launcher. Bless me Father for I have sinned…. We all gather at the table in the passenger lounge and wait for Rick to join us. Arden takes a seat, in a bathrobe and sporting a five-o’clock shadow…and the sharp aroma of whiskey.
Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot. What is going on with Arden?
There is a brief flurry of activity as Faria joins us and Eliza decides to retreat to Rick’s botany bay. Rick passes us with a duffel bag bulging with weapons on his way to the gun locker belowdecks. Arden stops Rick to give him his pistol to lock up. Once the dangerous items are properly stowed, Rick hauls back up the stairs to join us. Joshua takes a seat at the table, as does Rina. Her arm’s taped and bandaged instead of slung, a blessing, and though she moves creakily, she’s getting around on her own power, thank you. Seeing Arden pass his gun to Rick reminds her of her own missing gun. Damn. Lost it again.
Rick: Don’t worry about them taking your gun. I got a grenade launcher.
Rina: Sweeeet. You’re gonna have to show me how to play with that later.
Nika: (under her breath) Jesus.
And now that we’re all properly present and accounted for, Nika addresses Valerie again over the messages she’d send…and didn’t send. So, let’s see if we’ve got this straight—Valerie didn’t send us that weeks-ago message that she needed to talk to us?
Valerie: I didn’t send you any messages until after you came and visited me. Or stalked to me at the clinic.
Arden: (pissed) The only reason we came to see you was the message that you know nothing about, was sent to us. We thought you were in trouble. Forgive us for trying to help you.
Valerie: So when I’m actually in trouble, your ab—
Arden: Oh, just shut up.
Valerie blinks. Hell, we all blink at Arden.
Valerie: But…you led them to me, right?
Arden: No.
Joshua: (softly) Actually, they led us to you. If you’re going to be fair about it.
Arden: They were using you as bait.
Valerie: Well, I don’t want to be….
Joshua: (instantly pissed) Yeah, well none of us wanna be fucking anything, okay, so why don’t we just—
Arden: That’s not true.
Joshua: No, I think pretty much at this point—
Rina rolls her eyes and swats Arden with her left hand as usual. Unlike the usual, she’s got a broken finger on her left hand and it’s in a hard splint. Arden’s arm and the splint connect mighty damned hard.
Arden and Rina together: OW!
It takes a moment to get everything sorted out. It does and we settle.
Joshua: Look, I don’t want to hear it from you. To be honest, I really don’t want to hear it from you, Valerie.
Valerie: What have I done?
Joshua: You haven’t done anything. But—
Nika: Then quit shouting at her.
Valerie: I don’t even know who you are.
Joshua: Yeah. I don’t know who I am either. So that’s pretty much settled.
Rina nurses her finger. Arden rubs his arm. We all stop and breathe.
Nika: We have her to deal with now. She needs a safe space to go. Because otherwise they will continue to use her as bait to get us to come wherever they want us.
Valerie: Well, the Shepherd says you’re going to Ariel.
Underneath this, Arden and Joshua have a short exchange.
Arden: Could I get a coffee cup?
Joshua: You want some coffee?
Arden: Yes. Without the coffee.
Joshua: I’ll get you a cup, then.
When Joshua hands him the cup, Arden pulls a flask of whiskey from his robe and pours himself a drink, watching the larger conversation unfold in front of him.
Valerie: Is that right?
Nika: That’s our intention, yes. Do you have someone you can stay with?
Valerie: I have friends.
Nika: Will they keep you on the down-low?
Valerie: I don’t….?
Arden: On the ‘down low’?
Valerie: Oh, you mean ‘in secret’.
Oh, the holes in Core-side vocabulary…..
Nika: Yes. Will they keep your presence there quiet?
Valerie: I…hope so, but I’ll tell you I’m a little baffled by what’s going on.
Nika: Yeah, well. That makes the six of us….ten of us…however the hell many are on this boat.
Valerie looks over at Arden.
Valerie: We were….boyfriend and girlfriend in grad school and medical school.
Arden: Yeah. (And?)
Rina: (softly) Oh boy….
Valerie: And that ended. And then I don’t hear from you for years. Then you show up with this crazy neurological disorder with some sort of terrorist and I end up—
Rina: Watch it, bitch. I still have one good hand left.
Nika: Hey!
Valerie: I’m sorry. A…what do you call yourselves? Dirt Devil? Browncoats? Whatever?
Nika: (placating) In any case…
Valerie: So anyway, you show up with some person wanted by other people and I end up being dragged to Londinium, I think, on some crazy thing and subjected to who knows what—I only have vague memories of the whole experience. I think I was on one of its moons.
Nika: For which you have our abject apologies, for all the good that’s worth.
Valerie: And then you show up again and I’m apparently in some kind of drugged haze and I wake up in some Parliamentarian’s house. And he’s nice to me for a few weeks and we decide to come out to the Rim. For business apparently. And then you show up again saying that I called you there. You’ll understand that I feel a little bit like you are probably connected to my experiences here.
Arden: You understand that we were trying to help you and we’re sorry we got you into trouble—
Valerie: If I don’t seem grateful for your help…?
Arden: If I don’t seem like I care….?
Valerie: You certainly don’t.
Arden: ‘Okay. Well, fine.’ are my feelings on the matter.
Nika: Arden.
Valerie: If you feel any responsibility on the matter—maybe your crewmates feel responsibility.
Arden: Why should they?
Valerie: Because they are responsible.
Nika: (putting foot down) Our responsibility is the reason that we came when we got the first message and which is why—
Arden: She doesn’t get that, though.
Nika: Which is why you also need to lay low somewhere for a while.
Valerie: Yes, I will try. I …. I thought out on the Rim I would be relatively…
Yeah. She trails off.
Rick: Well, there’s a good chance there’s no laying low from Blue Sun.
Valerie: What do you….do you mean the tofu company?
Rick: Yes, I mean the tofu company.
Rina: I keep telling people tofu’s evil. Nobody believes me.
That garners Rina a look from Valerie. The crew, however, already knows her antipathy for tofu.
Rick: (to Valerie) Are you a robot?
Valerie: What?
Rick: Are you a robot?
Rina: We can cut her open and see.
Valerie: Do I look like a robot?
Arden: Do you really want me to answer that?
Nika: Arden!
Arden: What?
Arden takes another sip from his coffee cup. Rina leans over and murmurs.
Rina: You gonna share that whiskey?
Arden: No.
Rina: (very very quietly) Oh, fuck you.
Joshua takes up the conversation.
Joshua: Nothing that happened to you was done out of malice on our part.
Valerie: Okay.
Joshua: I mean, that doesn’t—
Valerie: If I thought it was done out of malice, I would not have come to this ship. I’m not a complete idiot.
Joshua: I’m just trying to make—
Arden: So why did you come to this ship?
Joshua: Arden.
Awkward silence. Then:
Nika: Because she called for help and we actually came.
Valerie: You came looking for me.
Arden: Right, you said, ‘Go away, I never want to see you again’.
Valerie: I called again, because—
Arden: After saying you never wanted to see us again.
Nika: (really taken aback now) …wow…
Valerie: After a bunch of people started showing up on my security tapes and—
Arden: Not that I knew of. We didn’t know anything about that.
Joshua: (off Nika’s look) Don’t look at me.
Valerie: I called you over. Apparently you did come to my apartment to talk about it.
Arden: We did.
Valerie: Then you ran away.
Nika: Not exactly.
Ran away? We got our asses kicked. Her apartment window overlooked the bridge like a box seat at the opera. Didn’t she see the fight?
Arden: Actually, I swam away. Because they were shooting at us and it was the only way to get away.
Valerie: Okay. (a beat) You know, I’m a doctor. I don’t do a lot of shooting. That’s more of your business. From what I’ve heard, you’ve cold blood killed some doctor in Osiris.
Arden: It’s not going to be the last one, either.
Joshua and Nika together: Arden!
Arden: (pissed) What?!
Joshua: Give me the coffee cup.
Arden: I’ll share, but I’m not going to give it to you.
Rina: (to Arden) Maybe if I sat across the room, you wouldn’t be reading my mind.
Because, really, no love lost between her and Valerie, nope. Arden slides the coffee cup over.
Valerie: I’m trying to explain—
Joshua: And I’m trying to explain to you that as much as you feel that things out of your control have happened to you to eff up your life, I’d like to explain that we’re just as pretty much being effed up by things out of our control. And unfortunately those things have some sort of random side effect. It’s like a hurricane or a tidal wave or a tornado. It’s something we don’t have any control over and we’re sorry that it happened.
Valerie: Okay. Are you going to do something about it?
Nika: Well, that’s what we’re in the process of attempting to do now.
Valerie: Fine. That’s why I’m on your ship.
Arden: Joy.
Valerie: And now that you have a competent doctor, you can space this bozo and we don’t have to worry about him anymore.
Arden: Yeah. Now that you have a competent doctor you can space me. That’s fine with me. Just drop me off at the next planet, I’ll be fine. I know! I can find work at Pericles. That’s good.
Joshua: Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!
Arden: What!?
Nika: Now you can stop reading my mind.
Okay, that tears it. Joshua’s really pissed now. He points to Arden and Valerie.
Joshua: You shut up. And you shut up. We’re going to have a fuckin’ civil conversation at this table—
Arden: I didn’t d—.
Joshua: (shushing) Nuh, diih, diih, diih, diih, diih. You keep your mouth shut. (finger at Arden) You keep your mouth shut. (finger at Valerie) And we’re going to have a civil conversation for at least five minutes.
Arden: I’m gonna keep my mouth shu—.
Joshua: Nuh, diih, diih. You can be part of this conversation when I hear civil words.
Nika: Stop, stop…..Stop.
Arden: I am saying civil words. I haven’t cursed yet. Unlike you.
Rina growls a sigh and says to Joshua and Nika.
Rina: I have duct tape in my pocket.
Arden: How do you make tape out of ducks?
Rina: (soft and sweet) I can demonstrate on you if you like.
Rick rises from his chair.
Rick: I’m gonna get up…and come back with the grenade launcher. (mimes shooting a couple of rounds)
Grim humor, sure, but the ensuing laughter does much to ease the tension. Arden catches Joshua’s eye.
Arden: Can I have a real cup of coffee, then?
Joshua: Yes, you can have a real cup of coffee.
Arden: (heavily) Thank you.
Nika: (to Arden) As long as you stop drinking the whiskey. Cuz you’re an obnoxious drunk.
Rick: (intones) Obnoxious most of the time. Not even when he’s drunk. Anyways….
Arden: (to Nika) What do you care? Really? What do you care?
Nika: I do care.
Joshua gets that coffee and Rick drags us onto a less controversial topic.
Rick: So we’re going to Pericles Station and then what are we doing after that?
Joshua: We have another passenger aboard. Going to Ariel supposedly.
Rick: Where’s Ariel at?
The Core.
Arden: Once we’re back in the Core and we drop off the music teacher I think we ought to check out to Rubicon. (A beat) So….what else is there to converse about?
And things wind down as tempers cool, momentum for acrimony lost. Valerie slowly speaks up.
Valerie: So, I don’t want to get snapped at, but can I ask something semi-professionally?
Arden: You can ask.
Valerie: Can we go to medical?
Rick: She’s part robot.
Arden: (sighs) Yeah. Okay. Fine.
Rina: (Twitch!) Alone?
Arden: One assumes she meant alone. Why? Do you want to go to the medical bay?
Rick: The ship is not that large. That’s cool. I’m not that worried about the robot killin’ us.
Nika: (to Arden) Go ahead.
Arden escorts Valerie to the med lab and once the door’s shut behind her, Valerie pulls up her hair and turns her head to the side.
Valerie: Have you ever seen one of these?
She has a wire sticking out behind her ear.
Jump to:
Part 1 | Part 3 | Part 4
Go back to: Stealing Away Home | Go foward to: Libertas
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Back to Season Two: Hitting Our Stride
Back to Season Three: Things Fall Apart
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