Last Voyage of Delilah, Episode 101: An Auspicious Start, Part 3
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(30 Minutes Previously …)
As Valentine takes inventory of his inheritance, the stowaway is gathering himself for one last push to win free. The violent shaking of the ship has stopped and he thanks God for that, but the sounds the ship is making—though less dire than before—still won't let him relax. He wants out of the container so he can fix the multiple imminent failures that he can hear in the engine room making all his alarm bells ring.
That and his bladder is getting pretty insistent he evacuate.
Grinding sounds predominate. Grinding is bad. Usually the parts that would rub against one another do so silently, gears meshing right along. Usually a grinding sound presages grav rotor failure, which would be really bad. It leads to all sorts of failures that really don't bear thinking about. But that isn't all he hears. Poco listens intently, eyes tracking what his ears tell him, his fingers tracing the air of their own volition. Here's the starboard coil and … and there's the port coil … ohhhhh no. No. He's got to get out of the damned box and start fixing things.
Warring with his need to fix things (and take a piss) is his paranoia. He snuck into the container before the shooting started and he hasn't been able to see Thing One of what's gone on. All he has are his ears to give him the sit-rep. Is it safe to come out? Is the ship as empty as it sounds? Or is there a platoon of Feds hovering outside the very box he's in, waiting to pepper him with bullets and haul his ass off to justice?
Though to his way of thinking, there's little justice in doing that.
Still, he gathered that SOMEBODY got shot. So there's at least one trigger happy individual who MIGHT still be out there waiting for another target to shoot at.
Thinking a little more, he remembers being loaded—if somewhat inexpertly—and subsequent vague sounds from outside the container, possibly people talking. He remembers lifting off in a hurry after that, which was also accompanied by gunfire. Not a shot fired since then.
Poco decides to quietly get out of the crate. By undoing some bolts holding the container plating down and a steady push he thinks he can create a gap large enough to slip through. The bolts are accessible from the inside and he tries undoing them with his fingers. They're screwed down tight and the head of one slips out of his grasp, its sharp corners slashing the heel of his hand. It's a bad cut and bleeds like a stuck pig.
Figures.
Poco rummages around the container and finds a spare article of clothing. He tears it into a makeshift bandage. He tries again, this time using his multi-tool from his pocket. He gets out of the container.
Looking around at the cargo bay, he decides that it looks just as ramshackle on the inside as it does the outside. In other words, not so good. So … where's engineering. Hmm … overhead and aft.
Poco starts climbing the ladders and stairs for engineering.
As for Engineering … Vikki is doing her best to keep things from blowing up. Genius inventor she may be but she's not an engineer per se. Especially since this is the first time she's been on a ship in anything approaching an engineer capacity. Her trip out to Persephone was on a nicer ship in better repair and she was strictly a passenger.
At the moment, she's putting in a fix to keep something from … well … breaking … and it's not exactly working. Sparks fly. More smoke. And—
Vikki: Yikes!
ERRRRRRRRRT! KRSSHHHHHHHH!
Yeah. Not working well at all.
The sound of this latest breakage can be heard throughout the ship. Poco hears it and climbs faster. Valentine and Tian hear it a deck above. On the bridge console, a light starts blinking.
Valentine: Ms. McAllister, we will have this conversation in a minute. I have to go see what just … broke.
Rachel: (drawls) Yeah, I reckon it's somethin' important cuz the light's flashin'.
Valentine: (come again?) The light?
Rachel: Darlin' the only light I can understand, all the words've rubbed off.
Right. Of course. Why is he not surprised?
Valentine goes down a deck and crosses over to the catwalk to engineering. He sees a man coming up the stairs toward him. Valentine assesses him with a sharp eye. He doesn't look like Triad. He does look injured, sporting a crudely bandaged bloodied hand. Valentine has no time to wonder where he came from or if he was crew that he'd somehow missed. He intercepts the man and cuts to the chase.
Valentine: Who are you?
Poco: The guy who's gonna keep you from dyin'.
Tian: (catching up) What?!
Valentine: Are you an engineer?
Poco: Yeah.
Valentine: Great. Get to work. (a beat) To be honest, I feel sorry for you.
That last gets delivered to Poco's back, cuz Poco's already hustling across the bridge. Whew. He thought it would be harder to talk his way into engineering, but nope. Of course, he has to survive the trip across the bridge first. It's shaking like a drunk with the DTs. He steps through the hatch to find Vikki cringing at the sparks and coughing on the smoke but gamely trying to keep things going.
He gets his first good look at the engine room, compares it to the sounds he'd heard.
Poco: (to self) You know, I think it really is worse than I thought.
Valentine: (from behind) It always is.
Poco: It's worse when it's running.
Poco fishes a cigarette from his pocket and leans over to light it on a small fire burning merrily away on … something. He takes a long grateful drag on the cancer stick and squints through the smoke at a piece of equipment. He nods fatalistically.
Poco: Yep.
Valentine: That's pretty much what I said.
Poco: (points, snaps fingers) That ain't broken.
Valentine: That may be the only thing on the ship that is.
Poco: (drags on cig) Yeah, no. I decided to start making a list of the things that weren't broken.
Vikki: Short job.
Tian: What for?
Poco: (looks around) Where's the trained monkey you had in here?
Tian: What?
Valentine: Are you talking about the former engineer?
Poco: Yeah! Fresco. (drags) Or whatever his name is.
Valentine: Yes. He got shot. By Triad.
Poco: (drags) Well, that may improve matters.
Valentine: For who?
Poco: (blows smoke) The ship.
Valentine: That good, was he?
Silence is the only reply Poco can give.
Vikki: A little help here? (coughs)
Poco: Right. (squints at Vikki) You an engineer?
Vikki: Not … really.
Valentine: (to both) You have a name?
Poco: Just call me Poco (drags)
Valentine: (flatly) Poco. And you're Vikki, right?
Vikki: Uh-huh.
Poco: (to Vikki) Good to meet'cha.
He shakes her hand, swapping the cigarette to his mouth to do so. He turns to Valentine.
Poco: So where're we goin'?
Valentine: Anson's World. I would like to make it to Anson's World. I've never wanted to go there but I would like to make it there. So if you could, make sure that this ship stays in shape so it can at least get there.
Poco: You realize in this condition, it is nowhere near a shape.
Valentine: I understand. I just looked through the whole thing. I'm fairly well aware.
Poco: Does it get … (looks, nods upward) … better?
Valentine: No. This is, in fact, one of the better areas.
The room is choked in smoke and various bits of it are on fire.
Tian: It's kinda scary.
Vikki: (at the cigarette) Don't you think there's enough smoke in here?
Valentine: I was about to suggest, don't mention Freddie. Don't call him trained monkey. Don't mention anything when my pilot's around, because she might punch you.
Tian: They were friends.
Poco: Whatever. (drags, coughs) All right.
Fully briefed on the important stuff, Poco turns around and gets back to work. The place, in short, is a frightful mess. Right off he sees something improperly repaired, something that he thinks he can jimmy loose … He's got an injured hand, so he's going to need help.
Poco: Mr. Slick?
Valentine: Yeah?
Poco: Could you hand me that big damn pry bar over there? (points)
Valentine fetches the big damn pry bar. Poco uses it to lever off that jerry-rig … and fails. That sucker's jammed in there pretty good. Huh. Poco chomps down on his cigarette and tries using both hands. Vikki steps in to help. They both haul on the pry bar and SNAP! the part breaks in two and …
FZHHHHHHHH!
… everything in the engine room stops. Emergency lights flicker on. Or try to.
Up on the bridge, Rachel feels the sudden drop in power as the lights go dark and she lowers the stairs to investigate.
Tian: What the hell?
Vikki: What happened?
Rachel: What's going on?
Valentine turns and sees Rachel at the door. He waves her in.
Valentine: My passenger and Mystery Product—the engineer, Poco.
Rachel: Where'd the hell did'ja come from?
Valentine: Not sure.
Poco: Crate.
Vikki: Which one?
Valentine: He said he could fix it but …(sighs) … I'm not sure that this ship is all that fixable.
Poco turns back to the job at hand. He nods at Vikki and points.
Poco: Hand me that light over there.
Vikki: (hands it over) Here.
Valentine: Poco. You can start by telling me what broke and is it fixable?
Poco: (drags, grumbles) Coil.
Vikki: (looks, sees) Coil? What's it made of? Copper?
Poco: Yeah. Coil fused because some monkey used … wood? I think?
Poco fishes the offending piece free of the coil, holds it up. Yup. Wood.
Vikki: (no way!) What?!
Poco: To separate the … yeah …. (drags, blows) … the injector out. Which that, in case you didn't know, will catch on fire.
Vikki: Aw, geez …
Valentine: From a practical standpoint. One: is it fixable? Two: what's it mean in the short term and what's it mean in the long term? Are we going to run out of air? Is the ventilation system working on this thing?
Poco: No. The air/breathing thing ain't workin'.
Valentine: (evenly) So what can we do? What can you do? What can anyone do, really?
Tian: I could patch you all up.
Valentine: That's not going to help any.
Tian: That's all I got.
Valentine: I understand.
Poco: (mumbles) I could use a patch up.
Poco turns the makeshift separator in his hands.
Poco: If we had a … We need a part.
Vikki: Is it hollow or is it solid?
Poco: What? Which?
Vikki: The coil.
Poco: It's a solid coil.
Vikki: (thinks) … solid ….
Valentine: So you're saying we need a new coil?
Poco: Yeah, they don't make'em anymore. (catches up) No, you don't need a new coil. You just need a new separator and then we need to fire the engines up.
Vikki: The separator needs to be non-flammable.
Poco: Preferably.
Vikki: Okay, there's tons of metal lying around here. I'm sure we can come up with something.
Poco: (drags, blows) Probably.
Valentine: Is there anything in the cargo?
Vikki: Yes, I was about to say … I've got some tools I can use.
Valentine: Pull it out. Do it.
She's got repair equipment packed in her container. Nothing so fancy as a shop lathe but she's got some tools that might help make that part.
Rachel: You know, Pipes'd used some of the stairs, before.
Poco: Yup. (drags, blows) I see it over there. There's some beautiful work down in here. And then there's some hack job on top of that …
Delilah's a big ship and even with all her pinhole leaks, she's got enough air to last everyone several hours. Vikki gets right to work fabricating that separator. There is no power to run any tools, much less life support. Luckily, one of Vikki's items is a small power generator sufficient to run her tools. Valentine keeps tabs on everything and spies Poco loafing and smoking yet another cigarette.
Valentine: Vikki's making that part, so tell me what you're going to do.
Poco: Well … (drags) … I figured I might smoke this cigarette til that part came in.
Valentine: That is one thing you could do, yes. Anything else you can do? Securing the power supply up to the place? Do we even have some sort of battery power on this thing?
Poco: Well, the battery's what's runnin' all this … fancy lightin'.
He blows a stream of smoke at one of the flickering emergency bulbs.
Valentine: Can we take it off the lighting to help us breathe for a little while?
Poco: It's not enough.
Valentine: That's why I'm asking.
Poco: But … (another drag) … I can start and get everything prepped and realigned, you know, ready for primary ignition.
Rachel: Well, I was reckonin' since nothin's spinnin', it might be time to start maybe fixin', if you know what you're doin'.
Poco: I would actually prefer to be breathin' … (drags) … than fixin'.
Valentine: Let's get us to the point where we actually have air and then we can worry about fixing things. At some point in the future, if the ship survives that long, we can worry about it then. Til then, we'll all talk as little as we can.
Poco: Can deal with that.
Valentine: Also, if you could, put out that cigarette.
Poco: (drags) … Why?
Fire uses air we need to breathe. Poco stubbs the cigarette out and tucks it back in his pocket. He turns to Tian and shows her his hand.
Poco: So, you got any superglue?
Tian: Let me stitch that up.
Poco: Stitchin'? That's fancy.
Fancy, maybe, but Tian prefers to get the job done right the first time. She leads him to the ship's infirmary, takes one look, and leads him right back out again all the way to the cargo hold. She opens up her Clinic in a Can and sutures him up there. Poco looks around and takes it all in.
Poco: This here's pretty fancy, too.
Tian: I'm going to stitch you up … (sets the first stitch) … using real small stitches.
Poco: Wow …(watches) … Purty…
Tian: When's the last time you had a booster?
Poco: A boo-what?
Without missing a beat, Tian jabs a hypodermic into Poco.
Poco: What the hell? (holds up his hand) Every time?
Tian: No, that's antibiotics, just in case. I don't know what you got in that cut.
Poco: Oh.
In short order, Tian's got Poco's hand stitched and bandaged.
Poco: Everything fixed up here?
Tian: Yeah, I got you bound up real good. Stitched up, taped up, and stabbed in the butt.
Poco slides off the table and gets back to the engine room. Valentine walks in as Poco leaves. He watches her a moment as she cleans up the debris from stitching their new engineer up.
Valentine: That's good work.
Tian: Thank you.
Valentine: You're welcome.
Tian: I should think so, after twenty-odd years of doing it.
Valentine: We could talk later why're you here and not perhaps somewhere more appropriate for your skills.
Tian: I'm starting to wonder just how sketchy this group is that I'm doing this job for, though. I'm wondering how or why the Triad knew about the medicine to try to take it.
Meanwhile, Vikki patches her generator up to use the residual heat off the cooling engine to run her tools. Fabricating is nothing new to her and she meticulously makes a separator out of metal to replace the broken one. When Poco comes back from getting his hand stitched, it's pretty much ready to be installed.
Poco, Vikki, and Rachel huddle around the coil as the part goes in.
Rachel: D'ya want me to hold the flashlight, Poco?
Poco: … Sure …
Vikki: I got small hands. I can get in there.
Poco: … Nah … (works on it) … 'm all right.
Putting the separator on the coil is a tricky business due to the engine still spinning. It would be too easy to have a finger or a shirt sleeve get caught up in the works. Once the gears grab hold of you, you're toast. Vikki grabs Poco's ankles, ready to pull him out, just in case. He has to take a break every now and then to smoke another cigarette. Once it's installed, we have to reboot the launch sequence. When it's finished rebooting, our engine doesn't quite purr like a kitten (more like: llama), but our engine's running again.
The power ripples through Delilah and the lights come back up.
Everyone gathers in the engine room to congratulate Poco. Valentine claps him on the back and there are nods and handshakes all around. Why not celebrate? We've got air! Rachel slips away first, heading for the bridge. Valentine sees her pulling a fade and stops her.
Valentine: Nope! No.
Rachel: We got'ta git somewhere, son.
Valentine: It can wait five minutes for you to come back down here and talk with us.
Rachel: (grudging) Fine.
Poco's got a celebratory cigarette going and he takes a long drag on it. He blows the smoke aside and jerks a thumb at the engines.
Poco: As much as I'm enjoying this symphony of disaster, can we talk somewhere where we can hear each other?
Valentine: I agree.
Valentine knows just the place. The galley deck is the farthest from the engine room one can get and still be inside. Once everyone's gathered there, Valentine inspects the Tiki bar and finds that it still has some alcohol stashed under the counter. Nice!
Rachel: All we got is warm. Anyone want a slightly warm beer?
Poco: I'll take one.
Vikki: Okay.
Rachel tosses the cans their way and appropriates one for herself. Tabs popped, sips taken, Valentine addresses his crew.
Valentine: So … Welcome aboard Delilah. (beat) Let's take a minute to introduce ourselves so we know what's going on here. You're Rachel McAllister, is that right?
Rachel: Yeah.
Valentine: Pilot. She's the one who knows this ship. (to Poco) You're Poco and I don't know where you came from.
Poco: I'm a friend of Fresco's. He invited me aboard.
Rachel: Who the hell is Fresco? What criminal is that one? I don't remember Fresco.
Valentine: To be honest, I would not be surprised if this ship just spontaneously generated you out of rust.
Rachel: Is he that gimp from Bellerophon who came on?
Poco: Yeah!
Rachel: And I rolled him for two poker games and then he left?
Poco: Yeah.
That's the ticket, yeah. Fresco. Bellerophon. Valentine isn't fooled but lets it slide.
Valentine: And you are an engineer of some sort?
Poco: Of a sort, yeah.
Rachel: So, where you been hidin'?
Poco: Uhhhhh …
Valentine: To be honest, I don't care.
Poco: Excellent!
Valentine: As long as you didn't destroy anything while you were hiding.
Poco: No.
Valentine: Good enough.
Poco: I didn't destroy anything while I was hiding.
Rachel: Why were you hiding? If indeed Fresco invited you on, it would have been okay. You'da been assigned as a crew member.
Valentine lets Rachel hash out the finer points. He's already made up his mind on Poco and has moved on.
Valentine: Vikki? Remind me of your last name again?
Vikki: Tikhonova.
Valentine: And you are?
Vikki: (nods at Tian) Her partner.
Valentine: If you would clarify a little more. What do you do?
Vikki: I'm … the mechanical inventor of the two person team that IRP is sending out to the Rim.
Tian: She's the repair person for all the mechanical crap.
Valentine: And you're a doctor and you're …?
Tian: Grace Tian.
Anatole: I am Anatole Chang, 2nd Earl of Morrow.
Valentine: He is a freeloader, who's coming along with us to escape—.
Poco: (no, really?) A freeloader?! Escaping?!
Anatole: Escaping persecution from the hands of unsavory criminals.
Valentine: Right. I'm Valentine Quick. I … am the Captain and Owner of this ship for at least one more stop. Maybe two.
Poco: Congratulations.
Valentine: No. Let's not go there. There is nothing to be congratulated on.
Poco: (sarcastic) She's a fine hunk'a ship.
Rachel: She is!
Valentine: She is. No, no she's not.
Rachel: You know, Pipes could make her do some amazin' things. Rev her up an' … Hawwwwww! (mimes taking off)
Valentine: I appreciate that you love her, because it's clear you love this ship. But … she's a hellhole. And I say that with all … grace. So here's the thing that we need to talk about real quickly before everybody goes back to whatever it is they're planning on doing for this next two-day trip is: We've got some Triad.
Anatole: There are more than one Triad actually.
Valentine: We've got multiple groups of Triad, it seems to me. Maybe they don't talk to each other. I'm not sure.
He turns to Anatole.
Valentine: So, you had Triad. (turns to Rachel) Or at least you had Triad. Or you may be associated with this now he is.
Anatole: No, they're not. I'm not.
Valentine: (pityingly) You really don't know who you got in bed with, do you?
Rachel: They're not my Triad.
Valentine: (to Poco) And how are you?
Poco: I'm good.
Valentine: You're good.
Maybe he is. Maybe he isn't. Valentine has no way to prove it, is or isn't. He moves on. He points at Anatole and Rachel in turn.
Valentine: Here's the thing that concerns me more than the Triad that maybe chasing him or possibly chasing you—
Rachel: Not chasing me.
Valentine: —You said that they were after your supplies. That right?
He looks at Tian pointedly.
Tian: That's essentially it. They tried to jack the truck.
Vikki: Yeah.
Valentine: So my concern is, if they want these supplies for something, then it's quite possible that they'll have a welcoming party whenever we land on Anson's World. Assuming that the Triad has some presence there. I know next to nothing about Anson's World.
Anatole: Anson's World is supposed to pretty … ahmmm … (makes a sketchy gesture)
Tian: Anson's World? Is that where we're supposed to be going?
Valentine: I hope that's where you're going because that's where we're going.
Tian: (remembers) No, that's where we're going.
Poco: Did we get on the wrong flight?
Valentine: You might wish you had.
Tian: Anson's World won't have that much of a Triad presence mainly because it's private.
Anatole: Was.
Tian: Or was a private moon. Many years ago.
Valentine: All I wanted to say was we might want to keep an eye out when we land. And I'll say it right out: I know nothing about this ship. I have no desire to stay on this ship. If I could scrap it right here and now, I would. (off Rachel's look) I'm sorry, but I would.
Rachel: Break your Daddy's heart.
Valentine makes no comment about Lazarus' heart. His silence speaks for him.
Poco: You ain't … You're gonna scrap the ship, though?
Valentine: Right here and now? No.
Poco: I mean, not here nor never. Not unless you got bales of money floatin' around somewhere away up here.
Valentine: I was hoping—I was told that I might be able to find somebody on Beylix who would look the other way, with the right amount of inducement.
Poco: A ship like this? Gonna need triple that.
Valentine: Right. But … (sighs) … Here we are. We need to make the best of what we got. I saw that there were some passenger quarters a deck below. If you want to take a look around and settle in the passenger quarters, go right ahead.
Rachel: Just changed the sheets, just Mortimer an' myself.
Poco: Mortimer?
Mortimer, by the way, is the rat she'd whistled up before take-off, a grey dock rat of uncertain parentage. It's currently sitting on her shoulder, half cloaked by Rachel's tawny hair. The rat is obviously a pet and she strokes Mortimer with a loving fingertip as she speaks. Vikki seems charmed by the rat. Poco merely watches it from behind his cigarette. Tian suppresses a shudder of distaste. Valentine just shakes his head.
Valentine: I tried not to ask about that. Now that you've all seen the rat, I won't promise that everything will run smooth. So … Welcome aboard.
Poco: Well … (drags, blows) … I figure I'll take a bunk down near … what we just walked past was welded into place there. At least it was welded down.
Rachel: Whyn't I get y'all some good sheets. I don't think you wanna be sleepin' on the sheets the crew been sleepin' on.
Everyone stirs, breaking up now that the meeting is over.
Vikki: So how long have you had this ship?
Valentine: Let's see here … (studies his watch) … So I arrived on Persephone a little under than a day ago.
Vikki: So where's … I'm sorry. It's none of my business.
Valentine: You're welcome to ask. I won't promise any answers.
Vikki: It's … You don't seem to know very much about this ship and so that tells me you're not familiar with it. Which means you probably aren't the owner … ?
Valentine: I'm the owner. I just inherited it.
Vikki: (softly) Inheritances happen when people die. I'm sorry.
Valentine: No. Don't be. This ship is just my father reaching beyond the grave again, as is his wont. That's neither here nor there.
Vikki: You didn't get along? (off his look) You don't have to say anything. I'm sorry.
She is, really. Tian clears her throat.
Tian: Since the topic has come up … Ms. McAllister, I'm very sorry.
Valentine: That, I'm in agreement with. He seemed like a nice man.
Rachel: There's not much I can do about it.
Tian: He was gone before he hit the ground.
Rachel: Do you think so?
Tian: I know so.
Vikki: Wait. (cluebat!) Where's Freddie—You mean he's not here? We left him back there? (sighs) All right, then.
Rachel: (softly) He never did get any of his Dad's skill, but that wasn't a way for him to die.
Valentine: That's agreed.
Tian: At least it was very fast for him. He didn't even see it coming. He didn't feel it.
Rachel: All right, then. That gives me some sorta peace.
Vikki: (shaken) I think I'm going to need another one of these.
She holds up her empty beer can and Rachel tosses her another.
Rachel: Anyone else for a second?
Poco nods and gets one tossed to him. Rachel turns to Tian.
Rachel: I'd like to avenge his death if it's possible. I wanna know why were they after you?
Tian: We ran from them in the truck.
Valentine: The question in my mind is why they went after you. How hard is it to check the cargo you came with?
Tian: Oh I can open up the cargo for you if you want. Why?
Valentine: I want to know if there's something in there that they are smuggling.
Tian: All right. Come on. Let's go pry those containers open.
Valentine: I don't know why they are after—
Tian: Free medicines and vaccines.
Valentine: Right.
Tian: Vaccines for the plague are free, anywhere you walk in.
Valentine: So if they're smuggling something I want to know what it is. Because that tells me how much we need to escalate this.
Vikki: They could have picked any ship. Why did they have to pick ours?
Tian: What? They didn't pick ours. They picked us. They knew that truck was leaving that building. They had to. It was the only way to head it off like that.
Vikki: So who tipped them off?
Tian: I have no idea. That's why we're going to see what's in the cargo.
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