Episode 420: GULag, Part Two

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Whoa. That's weird. The big mountain man with the creepy eyes has zeroed in on Joshua like a mountain lion stalking its prey. Everyone freezes. Roskov continues to stare at Joshua with that unsettling gaze. Arden continues with the introductions.

Arden: Roskov.
Roskov: Pyotr Andreyevich Roskov.
Nika: The man who runs the GULag.
Roskov: I don’t think he runs it, I think he—
Rina: Oh. We’re saved.
Joshua: I can’t say we met. And I speak a little bit of Russian. Joshua Drake.
Roskov: That name is not familiar to me.
Nika: Such as it is.
Joshua: Yes, there is something. I am .. I am aware enough to know that when something like this occurs, it has some sort of meaning. I’m just not sure what that is. But you are from the GULag, my captain says.
Nika: Divine Providence sent us rescuers from the GULag.
Joshua: (taking the hint) God works in mysterious ways, so I’m told by all the Shepherds that I’ve ever run into.
Roskov: (quietly) Undoubtedly that is true. But perhaps that is why you were sent to me.
Joshua: Perhaps.

Roskov looks at the ship.

Arden: I don’t think we should stay here for very long.
Joshua: We need to finish burying Yurgei. Not technically our comrade but—
Roskov: You are wounded. My men will help you.

Roskov’s men hop to it immediately, grabbing shovels from the Cat and getting right over to the grave.

Joshua: Praise be! There is a God and He provided shovels.
Rina: Spasiba.
Arden: Roskov. We probably shouldn’t stay around here for very long. Cuz the ship is irradiated.

Roskov looks over to one of his men and says something in Russian. Rina catches it: check it out. The man pulls a huge Geiger counter from the Cat. The Geiger counter is twice as large as needed for the job.

Rina: Of course. Everything in Russia is bigger and better.

Roskov’s man cranks it up to get it going, starts taking readings.

Rina: See? Is good. Does not need power. Batteries never run out.
Nika: (off her look) Irina.
Joshua: She’s not ever going to want to leave the planet.
Nika: Let’s leave her there.

The man with the Geiger counter looks at the readings and starts getting agitated, saying in Russian: You dragged us all the way out here and there’s nothing? Just a heap of radiation and more mouths to feed?! Again, Rina catches every word. She doesn’t miss Roskov’s reaction, either. The giant looks at the man with a steady expression, one that says he’s not accustomed to being talked back to. He says to him, quiet and terrible:

Roskov: Go to the Cat.

Nika’s not a small woman or easily intimidated but even she starts edging away from the menace in his tone. The man with the Geiger counter throws his hands in the air in disgust and stomps through the snow to the Cat. Hell, Joshua’s already in it. Although it’s a little odd: Joshua doesn’t remember getting in it, exactly. Huh. How’d he get in the Cat?

Joshua: At least it’s warm in here, I guess.
Nika: Glad I’m not the only one dealing with insubordinate brats.

Joshua slips out of the Cat to witness the burial of Yurgei, which Roskov’s men are still attending to. Roskov slips a rather ornate Russian Orthodox cross from his clothing and holds it over the body, says a few prayers. The men devise a makeshift cross for the grave and cover Yurgei with the dirt.

Joshua: He deserved better, but then again, don’t we all?

We trudge back to the Cat. It’s a tight fit with everyone in there. Nika sits in Arden’s lap for the three hour ride back. She’s not sitting on the mountain man. She doesn’t know him, thanks. At the end of the journey, we crest a ridge and see in the distance what appears to be a dome in the snow. Geodesic. Glass and steel.

Joshua: That’s fascinating. What did you say the name of this was?
Roskov: Seriy Ogohn GULag.
Joshua: Yes. What does that mean? Do we know?
Roskov: Gray Fire.
Joshua: So, if I may ask. What’s your plan for us?
Arden: That sounds ominous.
Joshua: I think that’s a fair statement.
Roskov: We’ll tend to your wounds.
Joshua: Okay.
Roskov: As best we can.
Joshua: Certainly.
Roskov: And then you will tend to ours. One of you is doctor, right?
Arden: I can do medical work.

Some of Roskov’s men look up in surprise at Roskov’s statement. Nika’s thought is: how did he know that?

Roskov: I have patient who needs treatment.
Joshua: So we’ll help you out and you’ll help us out an then … go from there.
Roskov: And then, yes.
Joshua: Okay.
Roskov: I’m afraid our apparent mobility is somewhat illusory. We are not possessing of spacecraft or airships.
Arden: Do you have a way of contacting the outside world?
Roskov: We do. Of sorts. Of limited contact with—
Arden: You’re not a friend of Potemkin, are you?
Roskov: Potemkin?
Rina: Joseph Potemkin.
Roskov: Not familiar.
Arden: Good.
Roskov: Is he … ?
Arden: A very bad evil man.
Rina: He’s the shestiorka who put us on the ship. In this condition.
Roskov: Oh yes. Here is story.
Nika: He is the Anti-Christ.
Joshua: Regardless of his status as the Anti-Christ or not, he does have—whether you believe our story or not, let’s say it’s true. He put us through hell and back, just for revenge, which he’s not quite finished yet, and your Snow Cat just left a big path—which I don’t know how long it will last. The wind and the snow might wipe it clean before long. But if it doesn’t, it may not be …
Nika: Then we’ve brought trouble to your doorstep.
Joshua: Which is nothing new for us, it seems.
Rina: Absolutely.
Joshua: But we appreciate your taking us out of the cold. For whatever reasons those might be.
Rina: At least we’ll die warm.
Nika: So if we can make contact with the outside world and get out of here so we don’t bring them to your doorstep, it would probably be better.
Rina: How would they know we’ve left?

Roskov looks concerned for a minute, then:

Roskov: Yes of course. We will get in touch with authorities. They will verify your story. You will be fine.
Joshua: (tongue in cheek) Cuz we all know that the authorities are the answer to everything.
Roskov: Is little more complicated than I make it seem, but …
Joshua: It always is.
Roskov: We’ll do our best. We are not exactly, um…how shall I say…The officials of Novaya Rodina.
Nika: Not exactly a problem for us.
Roskov: Except our assistance might not be deemed appropriate by authorities.
Arden: I won’t tell them if you won’t.
Joshua: Let’s get settled and then worry about all that.
Rina: (softly) What is it exactly that you make here?
Roskov: We make titanium.
Rina: How do you refine the ore?
Roskov: Mm. It is unpleasant process.
Rina: Dierma, do they have you dig it up by hand?
Roskov: No but it is … there is much hard work.
Rina: Yes, it is.
Roskov: We haven’t been as productive as we once were. We’ve had some damage to facility.

As we can see, several of the triangles in the geodesic dome have been broken and shattered and the wind whistles right through them, limiting its utility as a shelter. Broken as in, like, … a prison riot? Or industrial accident? Could it have been both? Bad design? Hard to say.

We drive closer and we see there is not gate or fence or anything like a normal containment device to keep the prisoners in. There is no need for fences or barbed wire. The environment is harsh enough to argue against a jailbreak—it’s too harsh. A jail break on foot would condemn an escapee to death by exposure. There is not gate but a hole that we drive into and it eventually leads us down into a strip mine. It’s a tiered pit with the dome installed over it. Or maybe the dome was installed first and then the strip mine dug. It’s hard to tell.

At least it’s warm from all the machinery and such. When we pull to a stop at one of the buildings in the cliff face of the mine, a man walks out to meet us. He’s dressed in somewhat cleaner garments, looks like an official, actually. When he comes closer we can actually see the name Seriy Ogohn embroidered on his shirt.

We all disembark. When Roskov gets out, the man talks to him in Russian. Rina listens in and catches every word.

Official: So. Did you find the ship?
Roskov: Da.

Roskov points to us.

Arden: (murmurs) Could someone tell me what he’s saying?

Rina and Joshua translate for him, keeping their voices low.

Roskov: Ship is radioactive.
Official: Okay then—
Roskov: But I have need of these, so I will be taking them with me.
Official: Yes, he’s going to take them with him.

These aren’t the droids we’re looking for. Seriously, Roskov has that effect on the man.

Roskov: Some of them are wounded and will need access to the commissary.
Official: Of course, of course. We will— (he switches to English)— Welcome to Seriy Ogohn. It’s a work facility. Your ship crashed. I hope…. did everyone survive?
Joshua: Most everyone.
Official: Most everyone. Ah, I am saddened at your loss. I am Posen, the Director. You’ve met Roskov and ah, he is one of our guest workers.
Arden: Guest workers?
Posen: Yes. The people here have to work to pay society for their—
Arden: Oh.
Joshua: How many people are there? How many guest workers do you have?

Posen looks over at one of his men.

Posen: I think one hundred and thirty.
Arden: He mentioned something about a medical problem?
Posen: Oh. Yes. We had … yes we have a person who is injured.
Arden: Do you have a sick area? A sick bay?
Posen: Yes. Foreman. He’s, ah, he is in infirmary. I will lead you there. At one point this infirmary was well stocked, but since we’ve been abandoned, we’ve fallen on hard times.

He leads the way and we follow him.

Arden: When the Core went down?
Posen: Well, yes. That and when the … I guess the Alliance stopped …
Joshua: Caring?
Posen: Yes. I mean in many respects …
Arden: I don’t think the Alliance ever really cared.
Posen: The Alliance maintained facilities here and when they stopped, ours was one of the first facility to receive virtually no funding or anything of that sort.

And let us not forget the native Novaya Rodinans clashing with Alliance at the New Sevastopol base and declaring it independent. One of the first places to declare their independence from the Core, in fact. April of 2520, was it? Not that long ago, in fact.

Posen: Perhaps that is why Foreman was injured. He was with the Alliance, an officer of the Alliance.
Arden: I will do what I can for all your people.
Posen: Yes, of course.

The walk to the infirmary takes us through a drab and dreary industrial facility—harsh and dirty. The infirmary itself has to fulfill several roles, the morgue being one of them. Still, it is light years better than our surroundings when we woke up this morning and we are grateful. Arden is relieved to find there are proper medical tools and drugs, though not abundant. It will take a little while to see what he’s got to work with—all the labels are in Russian, with a smattering of Chinese thrown in.

Arden: Is there a Russian dictionary around?
Joshua: I’ll help you with that.
Arden: You know what this is? I doubt it. It’s a drug.

He holds up a vial. Yeah, it’s going to take a little while. Arden inspects the one patient installed in the infirmary and sure enough, it’s a gentleman in bad shape. Abdominal wounds from a shiv. Nasty. The patient is stable, thank goodness, so Arden does the appropriate amount of care. When he’s done, he gets down to taking care of the rest of us. Does this facility have any rabies medication or meds for radiation sickness? The mention of rabies garners us some odd looks.

Arden: We had some bats on our ship. Don’t ask.
Rina: Tā mā de big bats.

At Posen’s look askance, Joshua tells him the story of how we got here. Then:

Joshua: You can believe it or not if you want.

Roskov motions Joshua to come aside with him. They leave the infirmary and walk to the Director’s office.

Roskov: I see that you are injured as well. We’ll need to take care of you.
Joshua: The doctor’s currently busy.
Roskov: There is something about you that is different from normal people.
Joshua: (here it comes) Yes. You got the … I find your situation very interesting, the fact that there’s a prison director that doesn’t seem to be directing all that much. You are clearly in control.
Roskov: When the supplies stopped coming in from civilization he was faced with insubordination from guard. I brought order back.
Joshua: Yes, I can see where that would—.
Roskov: Nature hates a vacuum.
Joshua: Yes. Yes, it does.

What’s this leading up to, anyway?

Joshua: So what’s your story? Why are you here?
Roskov: I am being punished for ... what is my crime? I have committed of course, many many crimes. Murder. Conspiracy …
Joshua: (quietly) Conspiracy to commit murder? Your real crime was insubordination? Or rather …?
Roskov: I was a … threat … to people.
Joshua: Sure. I understand that.

He does, really.

Roskov: You said you were … ah … intended to bomb Norelsk.
Joshua: Yes.
Roskov: Those are who sent me here. So perhaps this Potemkin you speak of is an ally of mine. If he wished ill on them and they wished ill on me, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Joshua: Well, I’m sure he had his reasons, whatever they were. However, his methods are poor at best.
Roskov: He failed.
Joshua: He failed. He’s sloppy for one thing. His sadistic need to torture us basically kept it from—it maybe gave him some pleasure but if he’d killed us or knocked us out completely, just let the ship fly straight there, he would have gotten what he wanted.
Roskov: You are assuming, of course, that he’s finished with you.
Joshua: No, I don’t think he’s finished with us. I’m just saying that when you aim a dirty bomb at a town, I assuming you’ve got some strong reasons to want to do it and I would just assume those strong reasons were a little stronger than his need to get revenge on the four of us.
Roskov: Perhaps. I don’t know what you speak of.
Joshua: I don’t know either. It’s kinda funny. I wasn’t there for the original offense, so … I’m sort of a tagalong. So’s our other friend, our Irishman. He’s an even bigger tagalong. Completely blameless.
Roskov: I am religious man, so I believe things happen for a purpose.
Joshua: Okay.
Roskov: Perhaps no matter how careful this Potemkin was, if he was serving a Divine Purpose, it would send you to me.

Joshua chuckles softly.

Joshua: I don’t mean to laugh, but I’m …I’ve for a long time, well not for a long time but I’ve skirted the edges of faith for a while and it just strikes me as funny. The thought of Potemkin serving a Divine Purpose … He would … I don’t know. Maybe he wouldn’t. I just know the man is—.
Roskov: He does not need to know that he’s served a Divine Purpose.
Joshua: That is true. We are all tools of the Divine in some way whether we know it or not.
Roskov: Exactly. But now that you are here, I believe things will change for us both.
Joshua: For the good or for the worse.
Roskov: Those who would end up here, myself included, have made many mistakes in life.
Joshua: Yeah. Who hasn’t.
Roskov: And some may learn from their mistakes. But in a place like this it is very difficult … to … grow.
Joshua: This is a place for punishment, not a place for—
Roskov: But perhaps now that you are here and I have someone that I can trust—and I can trust you, is that not right, Mr. Drake?
Joshua: (smiling, despite) I think that depends on what you want to do.
Roskov: No it does not.
Joshua: That’s an awful big assumption, sir.
Roskov: But it is correct. With you and me … these, ah, bars will not a prison make, as they say. We will be able to … grow … from these experiences. I will find what motivates you. I do not think it is revenge on Potemkin.
Joshua: No.
Roskov: We may yet have need of him … to accomplish our goals.
Joshua: Our goals?
Roskov: You will see. You will soon see.
Joshua: That actually is a little frightening, if I have to be honest.
Roskov: Yes. And you must be honest with me. Your fear is understandable. So that is why you must trust me. As I trust you. Absolutely.
Joshua: (um …? ) All right then.
Roskov: Your friends will try to dissuade you. But this … but I believe you have learned that friendship is secondary to purpose. Have you not learned that before? Does that not ring familiar to you? Deep in you? Where you live?

Oh ai ya tien ah! This is too creepy for words. Joshua keeps it together, however.

Joshua: (firmly) That lesson has been learned once. And unlearned.
Roskov: Mm.
Joshua: I think you will find it hard to relearn it, to have me relearn it again.
Roskov: There is no need. Go to them. Allow them to try to dissuade you. Perhaps you are already believing yourself dissuaded. You’ll come back. Is good.
Joshua: Yeah. I’ll be leaving now.
Roskov: Before you go, Joshua. Though you may feel distaste for things you have done in your past, you must understand, with me, there is no judgment. This is a place without judgment and it is a place with purpose. When you are filled with purpose, everything is right, is it not, my friend?
Joshua: I think it depends on the purpose.

Roskov leans closer and his eyes … his eyes glitter avidly.

Roskov: It does not. It does not matter.

And then they dampen down to something approaching normal again.

Roskov: Let us go. And be sure to have your own wounds tended to as well, but we need Foreman. Do not let him die.
Joshua: I don’t want anyone to die.
Roskov: If you must assist Doctor …
Joshua: I’ll do whatever I need to. Yes, I will assist him to the extent that I can.
Roskov: Very well. That is all I ask of you. Do all that you can.

Joshua finally leaves and rejoins his crew in the infirmary.

Joshua: How goes it, Arden?
Arden: Work, work, work.
Joshua: Do you need assistance?

Foreman’s going to need surgery. Whoever took care of him when he was first brought in did a piss poor job of patching him up—just shoved whatever was hanging out and sewed the wound shut. Sloppy, sloppy, and like as not kill the patient. But Foreman is not dead yet.

Going through the supplies, Arden finds that there is medicine for what ails us, though the rabies meds will need to be fabricated with what’s on hand. The radiation tablets can be taken immediately but it will take a while for it to take effect. Nika’s medical allergy is going to present a challenge and as far as Joshua’s Flomoxipan? That’s pretty much impossible. He’s four, five days off them and it doesn’t look like he’s going to be getting more anytime soon. Arden treats us for the rabies and the radiation, tells us to get our rest and take plenty of aspirin, and then preps Foreman for surgery.

Nika’s off to the side watching everything. Arden hands her a hospital gown.

Arden: Put this on. (off her look) Just cuz. Easy access.
Rina: Well, some things are getting back to normal.
Nika: (eyeroll!) Rina, just because he gets the occasional, it doesn’t mean it’s like a regular thing.
Rina: Men are very simple in that regard.
Nika: Whenever the urge strikes me as opposed to, you know … he’s not my beck-and-call boy. (chuckles)
Rina: Whatever floats your boat, Captain. (sighs) Right now I wouldn’t mind floating my boat in a big vat of vodka.

Surgery begins. Everyone quiets. Joshua assists.

It takes an hour and a half of surgery before Arden closes Foreman up. The patient is on the mend. Foreman is on the road to recovery. We install him in a bed to recover. Roskov had ducked in and out several times during the surgery, lending credence to his apparent concern for the man’s welfare. Arden doesn’t blame him, Foreman’s wounds were nasty.

He’s not the only one wounded. We all are to some degree. Rina and Nika are pretty much on the mend. Joshua, however, sustained some pretty hefty damage. Arden turns to Joshua next.

Arden: Lie down on the table.
Joshua: Aye sir.
Arden: Hand me the rusty saw …

Bedside manner. Arden has it. He puts Joshua under and gets to work. To give her something to do beside morbidly brood over everything that can possibly go wrong during surgery on the man she loves, Rina takes to inspecting the infirmary and the environs immediately beyond it. She notices a couple of things. While there is power, there is no ventilation other than open doors. There are ventilation shafts…but something’s not running properly. Quite a lot isn’t running properly—there’s a considerable amount of disrepair. There appears to be some sort of limited power, maybe a back-up emergency generator instead of a power plant. She knows that these sorts of places usually have geo-thermal power plants, but it doesn’t appear to be in use. So there is no heat.

No heat, little to no power. She eyes the computers and equipment in the infirmary—dark and dead. Just the lights seem to be running. Rina would have to see the generator or power plant to see what’s the matter with it before she can get the power flowing to the computers or anything else. It’s not something she can reverse-engineer from the infirmary itself.

Speculation on possible solutions to the problem do the trick—she’s still absorbed in the task when Joshua is moved to a bed to recover from surgery. He’s still out for the count when the crew is invited to dinner at the Commissary. We make our patients comfortable and go. We’re sitting at what amounts to the captain’s table on a cruise ship—Roskov mans one end, Posen the other, and we take up the places between them. Posen is eager for news.

Posen: What is the prognosis for our … ah … Mr. Foreman.
Arden: He’s on the mend.
Posen: Ah, that is good news.
Arden: Whatever accident happened to him, from previously, I hope doesn’t happen again. Because … well. You understand.
Posen: Yes. I suspect it won’t. There were certain disciplinary actions taken after that. I suspect no one will try that again.

Is that fear lurking in Posen’s expression as he says that? Roskov is looking serenely majestic at his end of the table.

Arden: I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.
Posen: We have some … um… I don’t wish to pry, but I notice you are in prison garb. Was it a prison transport you were on, are they starting the restarting the system here?
Rina: Restarting the what?
Posen: The prison system.
Arden: We were kidnapped by an old enemy who knocked us unconscious, left us in this prison garb, and then put us on a death trap called our ship to die horribly in the Black.
Posen: But you heroically salvaged enough of the vessel to land just outside of a prison. Seems appropriate.
Arden: I don’t know if we saved the vessel or not.
Posen: Well, enough to land. It does seem a … I mean … It’s a somewhat fantastical story—
Arden: Notice the radiation burns. (points)
Posen: I believe that you are injured.
Arden: Yes. He put dirty bombs on the ship with us. Four of them. I wouldn’t lie. (off Posen’s look) It really doesn’t matter.
Roskov: It does not. We are all together now.
Arden: And that is how we wound up here and I would really like to get out of the dirty coveralls.
Roskov: Posen, let us not badger our guests. They were injured. We rescued them. Give them some peace.
Arden: Of which we are very thankful for.
Posen: If you are what you say and were not prisoners but the crew of some ship, does that mean you have perhaps an engineer or a technician aboard?
Arden: We have someone who fills that role. Why, what’s the problem?
Posen: Well, we’ve had some personnel issues. We’ve lost some of our primary people in that regard. And there’s been some … you may have noticed that we’re running on back-up power right now. It’s not a very good system. I want to be able to get the power plant back online, the transmitter.
Arden: You mean, the transmitter to call the outside world?
Posen: Well if you wish to be rescued …

He lets the sentence hang. Arden gives Rina a pointed look. Rina’s staying quiet, watching and noting everything in the conversation. She’s also noticed that Beglan hasn’t said anything about being a technician, either. Before she can say anything, Arden interjects:

Arden: Yes, we have an engineer. She’s sitting right there.

Rina kicks him under the table.

Arden: Hey… you’ve never been shy about crowing before.
Posen: Would you mind looking at our power plant?
Arden: No, she won’t mind.
Nika: I’ve been asleep for two days and Arden gets delusions of grandeur.

Rina is not amused but she keeps her answer short, sweet and polite.

Rina: Sure.
Posen: It would be useful. We’ve had trouble doing all sorts of things that electricity’s good for. As a result, it’s very cold.
Rina: So I’ve gathered.
Arden: She’s a wizard with things mechanical.

Posen actually gets up and takes her to the machinery in question. Rina eyeballs it. It’s not in great shape. It doesn’t look as if it ever had any good maintenance and based on what she can discern of its condition, it’s been a couple of months since it stopped running. Even so, she believes she can get it running again. It would take time. How much time? Days. How many days? Not sure. She would have to collect tools and parts before she can start repairing the thing. When do they want her to start working on it? Well, they just got here. Why not sleep on it? All right. Posen and Rina go back to the Commissary and rejoin the rest of the crew.

After dinner Rina sits at Joshua’s bedside until he wakes up. Which he does before too long. Arden takes up a seat in the background in case anything happens and Nika walks in shortly after.

Rina: (quietly) How are you?
Joshua: I’m okay. How’s Nika?
Rina: Doing better. (a beat) We’re still screwed.
Joshua: You have no idea. You have no idea.
Rina: Well, then why don’t you give me one?
Arden: Do you two need a room?
Rina: (to Arden) No.
Joshua: I wish I had an idea. I don’t know what’s going on. Roskov’s …
Rina: Is it me or did he just do a Jedi Mind Trick on the Director of this prison? When we arrived.
Joshua: To be fair, Roskov does have leadership qualities.
Rina: Yeah. So did Rasputin. Look what happened to him.

Actually, Roskov bears an uncanny resemblance to the historical person.

Rina: See? I knew it.
Joshua: Clearly the Director is brutally afraid of Roskov, which really doesn’t surprise me. I’m brutally afraid of him and he hasn’t threatened to shiv me or anything else yet. (murmurs) Although he threatened to ‘put me to purpose’. It really wasn’t a threat, more like a promise …
Rina: Look at it this way. Potemkin put us to purpose.
Joshua: He knows. He knows. I don’t know what exactly he knows. But he knows. He … he senses something about me or he knows something about me.
Rina: Could be a confidence game. He’s just pretending to get you to spill your guts and then inform him.
Joshua: That’s possible. But honestly? I don’t think he’s fishing for information. I think he knows what he wants to know.

Joshua trails off. He can sense Roskov coming. Actually sense him coming.

Joshua: Holy crap.
Rina: What?
Joshua: Nothing….
Rina: (off his look) Let me guess. He’s standing right behind me, isn’t he?
Joshua: He’s coming.
Rina: How many days are you off your drugs?
Joshua: Four.

The Russian walks through the infirmary doors a couple of beats later and bee-lines for Joshua.

Roskov: You’re awake.
Joshua: Yes.

Roskov bows slightly to Rina, Nika and Arden.

Roskov: Ladies. Doctor. You have my gratitude for rescuing Mr. Foreman. You see to it that he does not die. Again.
Rina: Again?
Roskov: Well, he was dying.
Joshua: Nobody wants anybody else to die.
Roskov: Of course not. We want no one to die but … if Foreman dies, then will be more death. It will be very unfortunate. It will be bad for morale.
Joshua: I’m sure he’s going to be fine.

Roskov walks over to Rina. He’s over twice her height so he towers over her handily. Roskov looks down at her narrowly. She looks back, not backing down but not challenging either.

Rina: (respectfully) Grandfather.
Roskov: Your accent is … almost native. You were raised in enclave?

For the record, she’s told no one about that part from her past. Tchotchkes are not very well received outside their enclaves by even other Russians and she’s also endured a significant amount of flak from mainstream Core-siders over it. Called on the carpet now, she can’t escape giving the man an answer.

Rina: Yes.
Roskov: Ah,yes. I didn’t know they let people out of these places.
Rina: Generally they don’t.

And she clams up.

Roskov: You seem … uncomfortable. Is there something I can get you? I’ve told the men they are not to trouble you ladies. If anyone does, tell me and they will be punished.
Rina: (very quietly) Thank you.

Nika stirs.

Nika: How many people are here?
Roskov: I think they said … 130, 125. Is hard to tell the exact numbers. We have parties out looking for food constantly and sometimes they don’t return for days.
Rina: So…how long have you been … cut off from supplies here?
Roskov: Months. Time doesn’t really pass in the way you’re used to. Although if you are spacers, perhaps it does. Days can turn into weeks.
Rina: Was it during the warm season or the cold season?
Joshua: There’s a warm season?
Rina: Yes.
Roskov: Probably more than one season. I don’t know what the day … what was the day of the Long Quiet? Relative to now? How long was that?
Rina: I don’t have it right off the top of my head but it was at least two years—almost two years ago.
Roskov: So it’s been several. Probably a few years. And we only have cold seasons here.
Rina: Well, there’s cold and then there’s colder. So …
Roskov: Yes.
Nika: So you’ve been cut off from supplies for a couple of years?
Roskov: We’ve received the occasional thing. There were villages nearby we were able to barter supplies from. And then when the villagers became more stingy we had to take some supplies from them. They left. Those that survived. And … it is not to say we were well supplied before they broke it off but I would say self-sufficient.
Nika: Forgive me for just being blunt about this, but did you just, like, take over the prison from the … ?
Roskov: Take over? Yes, I suppose we did. But we were not … This is a prison. You—
Nika: Don’t mistake it for a judgment in any form. I’m just trying to get a picture of the situation.
Joshua: Oh this isn’t a place of judgment. I’ve already been notified of that.
Roskov: I am not ashamed. Of what I have done.
Nika: Honestly, I don’t really care. Were there sides and did you take over from somewhere and that’s why we have the situation that we have that you’re cut off entirely from the supply line.
Roskov: We were .. We took control after we were cut off. But you were right that it is unlikely that asking for help would bring help.
Nika: And that’s really what I was seeking in terms of information, there.
Roskov: And so you see, it is a somewhat desperate choice—
Nika: So all of you have opted that this is the place that you should stay? I’m getting the impression here that as a work camp or whatever this place originally was, that this is not the… that all of you were not here by choice. So … now you choose to stay?

Um…

Nika: I’m not familiar enough with the Novaya Rodina culture to—
Roskov: We are many kilometers from anywhere else. So we can’t just leave, as you speak.
Nika: Okay.
Roskov: It is a prison, in that regard. We don’t have enough fuel to make it anywhere else.
Rina: (softly) That’s why it’s a GULag. Out in the middle of nowhere.
Roskov: Your ship, perhaps, gives some hope. But it is good that that hope will be extinguished. Hope, in many respects, is worse than despair.
Rina: Huh. Where have I heard that before?
Roskov: But let me say this: there is … Do not think that a rescue will come for you from authorities.
Nika: No. That wasn’t…mostly I was trying to sort out if at some point … if … the poten— … (finding the words) … for us to leave, if we were to offer you a way out, would you want it?
Roskov: I … I have been waiting for some time … for… something. And then it offered me Joshua.
Joshua:I guess it had. It is.
Roskov: And you brought it to me.
Nika: I don’t know if we can get you out of here. The ship is … (embarrassed laugh) … as you saw, the ship is not precisely flyable. But at the same time—
Joshua: That’s not what he wants. That’s not what he wants, Captain.
Roskov: Perhaps you should work on those projects of yours. Yet, people die here. Will give you hope. Keep you alive.
Joshua: (to Roskov) We’ll be talking, I’m sure.
Roskov: It’s your job to … how shall I say, ah … push your crew, right? to their limits? To find their limits? Is that not right, Captain? I am not ship Captain. I am still learning these … leadership roles. I am more advisor than anything else.
Nika: Hm. Good. You said you had projects?
Roskov: No. You have projects.
Nika: Fine. I have projects?
Roskov: Yes.
Nika: Okay. Good.
Roskov: Very well. Good evening then to you. (a beat) Joshua. Come with me.

He rises.

Roskov: This one will be fine, Doctor. Don’t fear for him.
Joshua: (to us) I’ll be right back.

He leaves with Roskov. The door shuts. Nika looks at her remaining crew.

Nika: Clearly, I’ve missed something.
Rina: (grim) You ain’t the only one. There’s something about that man.
Nika: Aside from the fact that he’s pretty much a sociopath?
Rina: That’s the big one on my list.

They both stare at the door where Joshua left with Roskov … and wonder. Meanwhile, Joshua and Roskov find a quiet place to talk not too far away.

Joshua: Where are you from? I don’t—where are you from?
Roskov: (unfazed) I’m from here. Well, not from here but from … (gestures) … planet. I was in Brotherhood. Before I … ended up here.
Joshua: All right.
Roskov: And where are you from? Your story, I think, is more interesting than mine.
Joshua: I thought you already knew my story.
Roskov: No. I just know your soul.

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