Editing Last Voyage of Delilah, Episode 211: Crucible, Part 2

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Valentine steps over the corpse of the Reaver he's killed and steps into the chamber the other Reaver ran into. Squinting through the gloom, he sees something move … <br><br>

It's a Reaver on top of Tian!<br><br>

He runs over and hauls the (now-dead) Reaver off her and she swings wildly at him. Valentine jumps back and narrowly misses getting skewered with her knife.<br><br>

'''Valentine:''' (soft, calm) Whoa there, Doctor. Please don't stab me.<br>
'''Tian:''' (breathes, shakes head) …. no …<br>
'''Valentine:''' What do you mean, no?<br>
'''Tian:''' Uhn … Get … get Mary Ann up first … and then you're gonna need to get behind me to get me up. My leg is broken …<br>
'''Valentine:''' Okay.<br><br>

Looks like she's got a good grip, but Valentine gets Tian to her feet first. He gives her a brief hug to let her know she's safe. She goes stiff all over, her jaw locking, her breath squeezing out as a whine.<br><br> 

Oooooookay, then. Maybe not so good a grip.<br><br>

Valentine eases her against the wall so she can stand and gets to work freeing the other four survivors hanging from the hooks. They seem shell-shocked, moaning in the flat tones of the deaf, but otherwise able-bodied. They clutch each other for support and comfort. Valentine turns back to Tian.<br><br>

'''Valentine:''' (soft) Tian.<br>
'''Tian:''' (shaky) What?<br>
'''Valentine:''' Are you here with me?<br>
'''Tian:''' … Mostly … (breathes a laugh) … Survival trumps agony.<br>
'''Valentine:'''  Okay. I need you to take Mary Ann and the others.<br>
'''Tian:''' How do we get out of here? How many of us are there?<br>
'''Valentine:''' Five. I've not found anybody else yet. The shuttle is up that way … (points) … Get everybody up there. I've got something I gotta do. You can do this.<br><br>

His voice holds nothing but utter conviction that she can. He turns around.<br><br>

'''Valentine:''' Mary Ann? Hold her.<br><br>

When Mary Ann doesn't respond, he takes her hand and gives it a firm squeeze.<br><br>

'''Valentine:''' Mary Ann. I need you. <br><br>

Mary Ann is starting to hyperventilate, starting to panic. Tian pushes off the wall and gently puts her hand on Mary Ann's arm. <br><br> 

'''Tian:''' Look at me again. Look. Mary Ann. ''Look at me''. We've got to move. No matter how scared you are, we have to move. Staying still is worse.<br>
'''Valentine:''' Mary Ann. It's going to be okay.<br><br>

Valentine continues talking, calming Mary Ann down enough to help Tian walk out of here. Tian hears something in the background, a woman's soft voice talking. As Valentine helps Mary Ann support Tian's weight so the woman can walk, Tian points in the direction of the soft voice.<br><br>

'''Tian:''' Val. I heard somebody.<br>
'''Valentine:''' Okay. Start heading toward the shuttle.<br><br>

Valentine goes off to investigate.  He finds another nook, filled with bodies and gore. In the center of it sits Nuri. The girl is alive, conscious, and in one piece … but he can't exactly say she's uninjured. She's methodically cutting herself with something like a small sword. Cutting and talking to herself. If that isn't gruesome enough, she seems perfectly lucid.<br><br>

'''Nuri:''' (to self) I have to stay awake … I have to stay awake …<br><br>

Approaching her very carefully, Valentine calls her name.<br><br>

Back on ''Delilah'', Rachel hears something hard and small tapping on the bridge closet door. It's Orson Beam. She ignores him. She hasn't time for him right now. She's got an escape to engineer with Poco, some way to save the ship. <br><br>

He keeps tapping. It's a little sad, really. Besides, she doesn't have any power to fly the ship right this second anyway. Sighing, she creeps back to the closet, all the while keeping an eye on the REaver pounding on the bridge windows, and whispers at the door.<br><br>

'''Rachel:''' What?!<br>
'''Beam:''' (whispers back) Open the door. (taps some more)<br>
'''Rachel:''' If you stay quiet, they won't find ya.<br><br>

More tapping. Rachel creeps back to the comms console.<br><br>

'''Rachel:''' (husks) Poco. Engines?<br><br>

Poco is in the thick of the engine workings and though he's got the comms working well at his end, he doesn't answer. Of more immediate concern is the fact that there's Reavers on the ship, banging on the ship, inside the ship and tearing it apart. Even if he gave Rachel the power they needed to take off, they'd be taking off with Reavers '''on board''' and their danger wouldn't be significantly lessened once off the ground. <br><br>

Cuz, Reavers, man. Reavers!<br><br>

How can he force the Reavers off without killing himself or Rachel? If there was a way to shunt the flame of the thruster burn into the interior compartments … Rachel will be safe enough in the cockpit but what about the rest of the crew? If they're in the main compartments of the ship while he flames the decks out, they'll fry too. Despite his very healthy drive for self-preservation, Poco is reluctant to kill Tian, Valentine, Nuri, and Vikki …<br><br>

Speaking of whom …<br><br>

Vikki is at that moment running through the swamp with one of the adult passengers and two kids in tow. She can hear Reavers on their tail, some distance back, too far to see and be seen … but too close to hope they won't be found and eaten. <br><br>

So she's running, keeping the rescuees moving, trying to find some way out of this mess. She's left her bag aboard ''Delilah'', is down to just the tools she might have had in her pockets and her wits. Vikki's scared but for the sake of the people with her—especially the kids—she hides it as best as she can. Only one of the children can actually hear. A blessing. The other two can't hear the hideous baying of Reavers on their tail but even so, there's no disguising the fact that they're out there. Her charges are well aware that the Reavers are the reason they're in this mess. <br><br>

That mess thankfully does not include hard injuries, nothing more than some scrapes a bruises. It does include thigh-high water, reeds, mud, grasses. More salt marsh and less bayou, actually. The entire time she and the settlers are making their way through it, Vikki's keeping track of the Reaver's progress behind them. The Reavers can't see them but she's fairly certain they're using their ears and noses to track them. Sloshing through a salt marsh isn't a silent business and as for their sense of smell? Vikki doesn't want to lay odds that it isn't somehow as keen as bloodhounds. <br><br>

Something from her years of reading surfaces: bloodhounds and dogs of that sort can't smell through water. If there were some way she and the others could go underwater without drowning … <br><br>

Vikki starts grabbing sturdy reeds as she passes, hollowing them out with her multi-tool as she pushes the others onward. Breathing tubes, she thinks. She'll turn them into breathing tubes. They can use them to duck underwater to hide from the Reavers. All she needs is a nice reedy patch of similar reeds to hide in … Once the Reavers pass beyond them, she and the others can double back to the ship. <br><br>

That's assuming there aren't more Reavers at the ship already, in which case going back to ''Delilah'' is a death sentence. And as for the crew she's left behind? <br><br>

No, better not think of that right now. She's got three lives and her own to take care of right here. As the day fades into night, Vikki hollows out those tubes as she herds the others with her, looking around for any advantage she can find. <br><br>

Light. A light twinkles in the distance deeper inside the marsh. Maybe half a mile. <br><br>

Memory comes back to her: Orson Beam had said that there was another settlement farther up the marshland river and at one time, Valentine and Tian had meant to investigate it. Could this be the same settlement? They might have hard shelters. They might have guns. They might even have working comms to call for help.<br><br>

She has no way of knowing how big the settlement is or how well armed the people there are. She can't even balk at the fact that she may be leading Reavers right to them. At the moment, this settlement is the best chance they have of surviving and she starts pulling her charges toward it. She has the tubes. If the Reavers get too close, she can still duck under the water until they pass, then continue for the settlement once the coast is clear.<br><br>

That's exactly what they have to do. The Reavers come too close and Vikki quickly gets everyone under the water. The kids are rather adept at it, approaching it almost like a game—hey, how long can you pretend to be a clam and do this?!—but the adult has more trouble. Nevertheless, she gets everyone under the water and they wait …. and wait.<br><br>

Is that vibration through the silt and the mud from Reaver footsteps drawing near? Are those splashes from them plowing through the water? Is that the river current they're feeling or the forward swell of water pushed in front of a Reaver a split second before they're found? And that's not even counting all the other things that might want to eat them. There are crocodiles in the water that would find humans mighty tasty. <br><br>

It's dark and looking up through the water shows them precious little. Perhaps the gleam of the stars in the night sky above. Meridian's moon, Burnet, is a narrow crescent, barely visible. As the last thing one sees before dying, it's not too bad.<br><br>

The Reavers come close. Then move on. No one dies.<br><br>  

Once the sounds of their passage fade away, Vikki cautiously gets her party moving. They start to panic but she manages to calm them down. This time they have a direction and a plan: follow the light to the next settlement over and call for help. She and the others slide through the water to minimize the noise and keep their reeds at the ready in case they have to hide again. Using a combination of her rough neighborhood background and her eternal optimism she gets everyone into the settlement in one piece. <br><br>

Whew! Made it!<br><br>

Valentine, meanwhile, has to find a way to get through to Nuri. Right now, talking to her is like talking to a brick wall, immutable and immovable. Oddly enough, this creates a brief flashback to Poco, wrangling over capacitors needed to bring more power to the casino decks: <br><br>

''Poco pissed me off when he sold the new tech weapons out from under me. But it was when he stood his ground with me afterwards that I came to respect Poco, even if trust was hard to come by.''<br><br>

Valentine and Poco are walking through the dust and debris of the remodel and arguing the terms of Poco's fee.<br><br>

'''Poco:''' Three rounds of beer, right? That was the promise?<br>
'''Valentine:''' No. No, it wasn't three rounds of beer. It was '''a''' round of beer and three sets of capacitors.<br>
'''Poco:''' I'm pretty sure you said ''one'' set of capacitors and three rounds of beer.<br>
'''Valentine:''' God, Poco! Why does it always have to be so much ''work'' with you? Why can't it just be simple? Why can't I just give you an order, "Let's go down and let's just share a beer and get three sets of capacitors"? You're always playing the angles.<br>
'''Poco:''' (smokes cigarette) … Well, cuz if I didn't, one day when you're out in the Black and you gotta be sharp, you're gonna be dull.<br>
'''Valentine:''' Excuse me?<br>
'''Poco:''' (slowwwwwwwly) … One day …  when you're in the Black …<br>
'''Valentine:''' Okay, yes, I heard you the first time. So this is your way of ''honing my edges''? Making me a better person? <br>
'''Poco:''' I don't know of a … ''polite'' … way of sayin' this, Boss, but—<br>
'''Valentine:''' Just go right ahead.<br>
'''Poco:''' You know … (drags, blows) … You're greener'n the tits on a nine-year-old whore.<br>
'''Valentine:''' You could have found a better way to say that, yes … (thinks) … but I kinda like it anyway. And this was the best way you could come up with? Rarely or never following orders is the best way to do this.<br>
'''Poco:''' Naw, that's not entirely fair. I usually do in the vicinity of what you request.<br>
'''Valentine:''' If we're being liberal with the term vicinity, yeah, I guess. So I should think of you as another obstacle to get past to get tougher. But you're right, generally. When we really needed you, you've been there. Mostly.<br>
'''Poco:''' I mean, the point of the matter is, is that most folks out here are loookin' to stab you in the back.  And they may actually turn you around before they do it. Or they may not. So unless you got a real high desire to die … ?<br>
'''Valentine:''' Not particularly.<br>
'''Poco:''' Then you need to learn that this is how it is out here. That pirate letting us in the cave just because he likes us? <br>
'''Valentine:''' He's using us for what he needs and we're using him for what we need. <br>
'''Poco:''' And if he could sell us out to the highest bidder? He'd kiss Mama Bear goodnight and do her.<br>
'''Valentine:''' That's something to think about. (a beat) All right. Let's go get three capacitors and two rounds of beer.<br>
'''Poco:''' All right. Fair enough. <br><br>

Somehow Poco's School of Hard Knocks gives him the resolve to try again to get through to her.<br><br>

'''Valentine:''' Nuri. It's Val. <br>
'''Nuri:''' I can't.<br>
'''Valentine:''' (leans closer) I'm sorry, what? <br>
'''Nuri:''' I can't sleep.<br><br>

She draws another line on her arm with the blade. Valentine gently stills her hand.<br><br>

'''Valentine:''' All right. Let's not do that again. (a beat) You're feeling them, aren't you? You're really struggling with it. <br>
'''Nuri:''' No. There's something not right here.<br>
'''Valentine:''' Yes, ''none'' of this is right. None of this is right, Nuri. But let's not sit here. <br>
'''Nuri:''' (louder) I'm afraid I'm going to fall asleep.<br>
'''Valentine:''' I'm not going to let you fall asleep, Nuri. ''I need you''. You can't fall asleep while you're helping me. I need you. (a beat) Come with me. Help me out. And let's get out of here.<br>
'''Nuri:''' … As long as I can feel something … I'll be alive … But if I stop … <br>
'''Valentine:''' Then don't stop, but ''come with me''.<br>
'''Nuri:''' It happened before. They all stopped. Ones that the fear … They just stopped … (gasps) … It has to be pain. Pain's the only thing that can save us.<br>
'''Valentine:''' Tell me what you need to do. Tell me what I need to do that's necessary.<br><br>

The gears are turning in Valentine's head. This is creepifying as hell, but …. He knows she's a Reader, of sorts. It's not impossible that she got a look into the Reavers' minds. Is that who is she talking about? If not these Reavers, then who? What does she mean this has happened before? <br><br>

Nuri lunges for Valentine with her blade, nicking him with it.<br><br>

'''Valentine:''' Ow!<br>
'''Nuri:''' ''Don't resist it.'' Feel it. It's such a—It's how we ''live''. That's how we live. By feeling pain … (a beat) … Giving pain.<br><br>

Valentine understands it then. He grabs her by the wrist and he's not gentle about it. He actually roughs her up a bit. He drags her with him. <br><br>

Tian limps up the ladder into the shuttle with Mary Ann's help. They get the others aboard with them but contrary to Valentine's direct order, Tian does not take off without him. Valentine sees it's still docked to the Reaver ship and hollers up the ladder for her to go. Tian hollers back for him to get aboard.<br><br>

Nuri is moving too slow in Valentine's hands. He risks letting her go so he can scramble up that ladder and tell his recalcitrant XO to take the hell off in the shuttle and dock with ''Delilah''. <br><br>

'''Valentine:''' This is an order.<br>
'''Tian:''' I can't fly this thing.<br>
'''Valentine:''' You damn well can. Press that button. It's pretty much all automated anyway. You're going to fly it.<br>
'''Tian:''' You gotta be kiddin' me. Dammit, I'm a doctor. Not a pilot!<br>
'''Valentine:''' You need to leave. This is not going to work unless you leave. Get everyone—<br>
'''Tian:''' Where?! And leaving you here?<br>
'''Valentine:''' This "here" won't be here for much longer. ''Get out of this ship''. And ''Delilah'' will be emptied shortly. So be ready. When the moment comes. Dock with ''Delilah''.<br> 
'''Tian:''' (unsure) … Okay … Okay …<br>
'''Valentine:''' I trust in you to do this.<br>
'''Tian:''' Crap, I can't do this.<br>
'''Valentine:''' (steely) ''Tian.'' You damn well hell you can.<br>
'''Tian:''' (sighs) Go. I'll lock it behind you.<br>
'''Valentine:''' Good.<br><br>

She follows Valentine to the hatch, her hand on the controls.<br><br>

'''Tian:''' You didn't find anybody else?<br>
'''Valentine:''' No.<br>
'''Tian:''' Liar.<br><br>

Tian shuts the hatch on him and turns around to those on the shuttle with her.  Can Mary Ann fly this thing? Mary Ann admits she's not sure she can and her attention trails off along with her voice. Tian taps the woman smartly on the cheek.<br><br>

'''Tian:''' Mary Ann. ''Focus.''  If you can't get us off the ground, we're all going to end up dying. We have to get back to the other ship so we can save Val.<br><br>

Will Mary Ann fly the shuttle? More importantly, will Mary Ann fly the shuttle back into danger—which ''Delilah'' carries—or fly off, dooming Valentine and Nuri? Tian curses. She doesn't have the time to convince Mary Ann to do her bidding.  Instead, Tian throws herself into the pilot's chair. She'll fly this damned thing or die trying. The shuttle is damaged. This should be interesting. Tian starts flipping the switches and is rewarded with the sound of the engines spinning up.<br><br>

Speaking of engines … Rachel is still waiting for the engines to spin up. She hears nothing from the engines but from the bridge closet, she can hear Beam moving around. <br><br>

'''Beam:''' (whispers through hatch) I think I hear something coming.<br>
'''Rachel:''' (whispers back) Don't talk.<br><br>

Stay quiet. Don't give away his position. <br><br>

Before she can get far with this, there's screaming and pounding from the Reavers on the far side of the closet walls. Rachel freezes and goes still. There's more pounding. The closet hatch rattles alarmingly. Then there's screaming. Beam is screaming in mortal terror … then in mortal agony … then …<br><br> 

Nothing. <br><br>

Rachel crouches at the door, still as death, as the Reavers do with Beam as they will … and she prays that they stay on their side of the hatch. She waits. No Reavers break into the bridge. She creeps to the bridge console and checks the engine status. Nothing spinning up. She eyes the Reaver pounding away on the glass overhead.<br><br>

It roars. It pounds. The glass holds. <br><br>

Valentine prays Nuri is still where he left her as he climbs down the ladder again. She is and he takes her in hand and goes to the bridge. The bridge is stripped clean of the normal readouts. It's very limited—a radar screen, a comms. Everything else is bare bones. Barely enough to fly the ship. There are no labels.<br><br>

'''Valentine:''' Nuri. I need to call them back. How do I do that.<br>
'''Nuri:''' … They'll just kill you …<br>
'''Valentine:''' (Yup!) They might.<br><br>

Nuri slowly reaches over, almost like in a dream, and presses a button.<br><br>

'''WAAAHHHHHHHHMMMMMMWWAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHH!'''<br><br>

An odd deep klaxon goes off, earsplittingly loud. Everyone hears it. Valentine belatedly looks for the hatch to the bridge and closes it as best he can. He peers out the bridge window.<br><br>

'''Valentine:''' (to self) Tian, please please be off this ship. Why the hell aren't you flying already? <br><br>

On ''Delilah'', Rachel looks up as the klaxon's call penetrates the hull of the ship. Deep in the engine room, Poco hears it, too. He also hears the noise of their tearing up the engine room suddenly stop. There's one last ''clang!'' as something heavy hits the deck. A second later, he hears the unmistakable sound of the Reavers leaving. Once they're gone, Poco extricates himself from ''Delilah's'' workings, Baron-first. On the bridge windows, the Reaver has actually managed to crack the glass but when the klaxon sounds, it looks up, then scowls at Rachel … and scurries off.<br><br>

On the shuttle, someone taps Tian on the shoulder and points out the windows. She looks and sees eight or nine Reavers returning to their ship. They'll be here any minute.<br><br>

'''Tian:''' Oh my God …<br><br>

She tries again to get the shuttle to undock and fly out of there. Fear makes her freeze. The knowledge that everyone on the shuttle is depending on her makes her move. She pulls forth every memory she has of Rachel flying ''Delilah'' and tries to match it with the shuttle's controls … <br><br>

And somehow, by some miracle, she manages to take off. The shuttle gets free of the Reaver hull and takes to the sky … and Tian takes up the comms and starts screaming for help from ''Delilah'', from anyone who can hear her. Static hisses from the cockpit speakers, then:<br><br>

'''Rachel:''' Tian, is that you?<br>
'''Tian:''' Oh,''thank God!'' Help! Val's stuck me in here and I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing and I don't know if I can dock.<br>
'''Rachel:''' Okay … What's lit up in front of you, girl?<br>
'''Tian:''' Uhnnn … (looks, sees) … The yellow light to the left of the yoke. The … two green lights immediately above the … I think it's the throttle lever … umm …<br>
'''Rachel:''' Leave that throttle lever alone. Gently bank it toward … (sighs) … well, we're upright. Go ahead and bank it toward us. You're gonna have to land it on the top, girl.<br>
'''Tian:''' … Okay …<br>
'''Rachel:''' Does the autopilot still work?<br>
'''Tian:''' Uhn … sorta, yeah. That's how I got it in the air.<br>
'''Rachel:''' Why don't you let it take over?<br>
'''Tian:''' It hasn't done it so far … ! Something's wrong, the electronics are … some things are … ''there's a bunch of stuff winking'', okay?<br>
'''Rachel:''' Okay, you're coming off my port side, right?<br>
'''Tian:''' Which side's port? Left? Yes.<br>
'''Rachel:''' Good job. Gently roll it in … <br><br>

Tian hauls on the yoke and the shuttle goes wide.<br><br>

'''Rachel:''' ''Gently''. Power the engines down. You need to start bringing it on down. It's a short hop—<br>
'''Tian:''' You said ''Don't touch the throttle''!<br>
'''Rachel:''' You're gon' have to power it down a little bit, girl, else you're gonna slide right off the top.<br>
'''Tian:''' …. ''omigoddddddddddddd ….!'' … okay … (steers) … okay …. (steers some more) …. okay ….<br><br>

On ''Delilah's'' bridge, Rachel is rubbernecking out the bridge windows trying to catch sight of Tian and the shuttle. Ah! There she is. Tian's voice is high and thin on the bridge speakers.<br><br>

'''Tian:''' ''Holy Crap, Rayyyyyyyyyyyy ….''<br>
'''Rachel:''' (calm) All right, now come around in a slow circle … So you can line up good.<br>
'''Tian:''' But it's going like this …<br><br>

The shuttle turns and wobbles. Rachel puts all the calming influence she can in her voice, without a shred of doubt in it. If that young'un hears anything other than utter confidence, she'll crash that shuttle and kill everyone on her.<br><br>

'''Rachel:''' It's okay. It's okay. Just hold it steady. Come on in. Bring the throttle down a little … Just a little bit more ….<br><br>

Rachel's voice is a balm on Tian's nerves. Following the pilot's instructions, Tian brings the shuttle in a wide arc around to ''Delilah's'' top hull, eases back on the throttle while working the yoke … and  ….<br><br>

Lands the shuttle on the topside docking port! <br><br>

Holy Crap, indeed.<br><br>

On the Reaver bridge, Valentine counts the seconds, giving the Reavers enough time to reboard their ship. He tracks their progress through the bridge windows and when he can no longer see them, he turns around to ask:<br><br>

'''Valentine:''' Nuri? Can you tell when they've come on board? Can you tell when all of them are here? Tell me when and show me what I need to know to fly this thing. Cuz it doesn't look anything like ''Delilah'' except for all the broken … things.<br>
'''Nuri:''' Where are we going?<br>
'''Valentine:''' (firm) We're going to crash the whole damn thing. <br><br>

Wait. While they're still aboard?<br><br>

'''Valentine:''' There's going to be a lot of death. (off her look) A lot of ''pain''.<br> 
'''Nuri:''' (quietly) That's okay.<br>
'''Valentine:''' I was hoping you'd say that.<br><br>

Nuri goes still and looks … ''elsewhere'' … then:<br><br>

'''Nuri:''' That's everyone, I think … (a beat) … Well, there's some … far away. But …it'll be a while before they get here.<br>
'''Valentine:''' We're not waiting for them. They missed their chance to die painfully.  Unfortunately. For us. (gestures at console) All right. I'm going to ask you to look over my shoulder and point me to the right places. This is the yoke, that's easy enough.<br><br>

He grips the yoke. <br><br>

'''Valentine:''' But I need to power this thing up. (points here and here) Is that it? Or is that it? Cuz they both look like they do the same damned thing.<br><br>

Nuri puts her hand on Valentine's shoulder, against the neck. <br><br>

'''Nuri:''' Just …. just start.<br><br>

She sinks her fingers painfully into his muscles. Valentine reaches for the wrong switch and she digs deeper, drawing blood. Valentine grunts, stifling a yelp. He doesn't pull away. He needs to get the ship in the air and he needs to keep her focused. If accomplishing both tasks requires pain, so be it.<br><br>

And so begins a strange dance with Nuri leading Valentine through the steps. Pain is the melody while adrenaline fuels the rhythm and their hearts the beat. And by that combination, Nuri remains lucid and Valentine learns to fly. But he means to crash this ship and kill the Reavers. Chances are good he's going to die.<br><br>

On ''Delilah'' the crew is reunited on the shuttle and Rachel takes the pilot's chair from Tian. She undocks the shuttle nice as you please and takes to the air. ''Delilah'' is too damaged to fly. If they're going to survive this, they're going to have to leave and leave fast. The shuttle is the fastest ride they've got. <br><br>

Through the cockpit window, they see the Reaver ship power up and rise into the sky. It heads off toward New Bruges, rising higher and higher … and it looks as if it's going to stall out. On the Reaver ship's bridge, Valentine hauls back on the yoke, coaxing the ship even higher in a parabolic arc.<br><br>

'''Nuri:''' Do you have a target in mind?<br>
'''Valentine:''' The ground. The mission. That's where to go … ''Ow!''<br><br>

Nuri's pinched his neck again. Valentine flies on. At the apex of the trajectory, she gives him a gentler squeeze. <br><br>

'''Nuri:''' (softly) Is this how you want it to end?<br>
'''Valentine:''' I want them ''dead''. And this is the way to get it done.<br>
'''Nuri:''' There's a … escape pod back there.<br>
'''Valentine:''' (quickly) Is there an autopilot on this thing? <br><br>

Valentine uses his belt to tie the yoke in place and jams the throttle with a piece of pipe, then grabs Nuri and hustles them into the escape pod. The pod is small. The space is tight. As Valentine closes the hatch, he sees the Reavers coming for him in the corridor.<br><br>

He dogs the hatch down, yanks the manual pod release, and—<br><br>

'''''BOOOM!'''''<br><br>

From the shuttle, the crew watches in horror as the Reaver ship crashes mightily into the mission. The ground shakes, the shock wave rocks the crew despite the distance, and everything goes up in fire, hot and hideous … <br><br>

There's no coming back from that.<br><br>

'''Tian:''' Oh my God, that's Val! <br><br>

Rachel sinks back into her chair, heartsick at losing Lazarus' boy. A tear glistens on her cheek as she banks away from the mission. Vikki's voice chirps from the comm.<br><br>

'''Vikki:''' Um … guys? Come pick us up?<br><br>

Rachel stiffens, galvanized, then thumbs the comm.<br><br>	

'''Rachel:''' Vikki, honey, can you give me beacon? C'mon, keep talkin' to me, honey, so I can get you, darlin'.<br><br>

Vikki has her hand on the beacon switch and flips it, her mouth running a mile a minute. Behind her in the settlement's radio shack, the inhabitants are craning their necks looking at the massive pillar of fire and smoke rising to the heavens.<br><br>

'''Vikki:''' Sure—omigod, did you see what happened to that Reaver ship?<br>
'''Rachel:''' Yeah. I saw it.<br>
'''Vikki:''' Wow, they augered in at… wait … omigosh, you don't think it's—wait. No. I don't have a map in front of me but … wow …<br>
'''Rachel:''' (faint) It's all right, honey, keep talkin' to me.<br><br>

Vikki finally catches the supreme weariness in Rachel's tone.<br><br>

'''Vikki:''' Wow, okay, so … wait. What, what about—are you—are you okay?<br>
'''Rachel:''' I'm fine. Keep talkin'.<br>
'''Vikki:''' Are you—yeah, I'm, I'm, I'll keep talking. So tell me all about—I mean, you …<br>
'''Rachel:''' You see me out here, darlin'?<br>
'''Vikki:''' … Yeah …<br><br>

Vikki sees light glinting off the shuttle's hull. She also sees two PDF ASREVS flying in low to investigate the crash site. <br><br>

'''Rachel:''' Honey, there's no landing in the swamp. I'm gonna have to hover.<br>
'''Vikki:''' All right, just lower the ramp. We'll come out to you.<br><br>

Which is what they do, actually. The settlement is less village and more like a dump on piers. Rachel hovers the shuttle over a rickety boat dock and lowers the boarding ramp. Vikki hustles her charges aboard, shouting her thanks to the villagers for their radio as she rides the ramp.<br><br>

'''Vikki:''' Thank youuuu ….!<br>
'''Rachel:''' C'mon, darlin', get on.<br><br>

The ramp moves under Vikki and the young woman climbs all the way aboard. The hatch shuts, the seals hiss, and Rachel flies them out of there, away from the fireball that marks Valentine's last act. Vikki steps out of the airlock and into the cockpit to meet Rachel, sees the pilot's face, and deflates like a popped balloon.<br><br>

'''Vikki:'''  … Tian and Nuri and … and, and … ?<br>
'''Rachel:''' They're in the back. (waves her aft) Go on.<br><br>

Tian steps into the cockpit and Vikki ambushes her with a hug.<br><br>

'''Vikki:''' (squeaks!) Oh my gosh, you're okay! (sniffs) Uhnnn, what's that smell?<br>
'''Tian:''' Vikki, I need you to go take care of— <br>
'''Vikki:''' Omigoshwhathappenedtoyourleg?<br>
'''Tian:''' It's broken. I need you to take care of the passengers. Everyone's traumatized, all right? So be gentle with them.<br>
'''Vikki:''' Yeah, yeah, okay. C'mon, kids! Let's go back and  …<br><br>

She ushers the two kids and adult with her aft. Of all the people evacced out of New Bruges, only seven are still alive. Currently they are squeezed in like sardines aft of the cockpit, in various stages of injury and shock, huddled in the seats of the shuttle's passenger bay. Vikki and Poco go from one to the other offering what help they can. Tian shuts the cockpit hatch on the scene and takes the copilot's chair.<br><br>

Rachel flies the shuttle for the nearest city. She lands in Brisbane and the crew takes the survivors to the local hospital. The injured are cared for. Tian's broken leg is set.<br><br>

'''Doctor:''' We'll have to keep everybody under observation. Who's in charge?<br>
'''Poco:''' In charge? Ain't nobody in charge of this herd of cats.<br>
'''Tian:''' (softly) Me.<br>
'''Vikki:''' Wait. Where's … where's Val?<br>
'''Tian:''' ''Vikki''. Shut it.<br>
'''Vikki:''' (groks!)  … Oh.<br><br>

As Vikki's eyes go wide and fill with tears, Tian firms her chin and addresses the doctor.<br><br>

'''Tian:''' That would be me. What did you need?<br>
'''Doctor:''' We need the names of the passengers and the names of the crew for the records.<br><br>

Oh. Routine paperwork. Fine. Tian can do that, sure. There are a lot of forms to fill out, but she completes them. Arranges for post-Reaver counseling sessions. Dots the I's. Crosses the T's. When she's done, she looks around the room. The mission survivors have been taken to the recovery ward. Poco, Vikki, and Rachel are lingering with Tian. Rachel is staring out the window. Tian looks at Poco and Vikki.<br><br>

'''Tian:''' I need the room.<br><br>

Poco grabs Vikki by the arm and drags her with him toward the door. <br><br>

'''Tian:''' Shut the door.<br><br>

Poco pulls the door shut on the way out. Tian looks at Rachel. <br><br>

'''Tian:''' I don't really think it would do any good to rehash exactly how this went sideways, do you?<br>
'''Rachel:''' What do you want to say, Tian? Go ahead.<br>
'''Tian:''' All I need to know is if you can take me on as Captain, the way he wanted, until we can get somewhere where we can land.<br>
'''Rachel:''' Yeah.<br>
'''Tian:''' You sure?<br><br>

Rachel's voice is faint and she speaks more toward the window than to Tian. <br><br>

'''Rachel:''' It's all about him anyway. I'm done. That boy, if he doesn't survive, I gotta go tell his momma. I don't know how I'm—<br>
'''Tian:''' Well, that's going to be our next trip. And frankly, at the bottom of it all? You're the one who has to live with what's happened.<br>
'''Rachel:''' It was all for him.<br><br>

Rachel looks at Tian, eyes and face filled with  … sorrow? acceptance? Something deep is there but Rachel is too proud to reveal everything. And somehow, it's not entirely clear who she means by "him".<br><br>

'''Tian:''' I understand that.<br>
'''Rachel:''' The ship was for him. It's all for him.<br>
'''Tian:''' I understand that.<br>
'''Rachel:''' I don't know these people.<br><br>

Rachel tips her chin at … the hospital? the crew? Tian?<br><br>

'''Rachel:''' I'm tired of strangers dictating my life. The one thing I was afraid of, what I told Laz, when he looked me in the eye and said "I wanna give him this ship, gonna give him Delilah" and I said to him, "Laz, this ship?", I knew that if something went wrong, I was gonna have to go back and tell his damn mother that he was dead. That was the ''last'' thing I ''ever'' wanted to do and no matter what I did, that's exactly what happened. And now I gotta go back and—<br>
'''Tian:''' That's my job.<br><br>

In the military, the commanding officer does that duty for the fallen's bereaved family. The military way is what Tian knows. But Rachel isn't military and she cuts Tian off with a cold fire in her eye.<br><br>

'''Rachel:''' It ain't your job to tell Del her son is dead.<br>
'''Tian:''' Yeah, it is.<br>
'''Rachel:''' She don't know you from Adam.<br>
'''Tian:''' That's exactly why it's my job.<br>
'''Rachel:''' All Del's gonna do is basically slam the door in your face. Shhhhoot, she's not gonna know who you are.<br>
'''Tian:''' She's not going to listen to you anyway, so why put yourself through it?<br>
'''Rachel:''' Because …. I know her. Because I got history. Because ''Delilah'' took her husband and now took her son. The woman deserves to have somebody who's been a part of it tell her what happened.<br>
'''Tian:''' All right.<br><br>

Tian looks at Rachel and knows there's no gainsaying her. There's something here, a good piece of the story she doesn't know … or has any right to know.<br><br>

'''Valentine:''' Plus she's really going to need her casino money. She can't go long without that.<br><br>

Tian's head whips around and freezes as she sees Valentine standing in the doorway. Rachel takes one look at Laz's boy and turns and bonks her head against the window. <br><br>

Bonk. Bonk. Bonk…<br><br>

'''Valentine:''' I even [[Last Voyage of Delilah, Episode 211: Crucible, Part 2# OUT TAKES AND AD LIBS |brought Nuri back]] with me.<br><br>

Quick as a flash, Tian overcomes her paralysis and flings a hospital water pitcher at his head. Valentine ducks.<br><br>

'''Valentine:''' Whoa, whoa, whoa, there.<br><br>

At the window, Rachel murmurs, a smile tugging at her lips.<br><br>

'''Rachel:''' I can tell Del it wasn't ''Delilah'' killed him. It was his XO.<br><br>

Valentine gives Tian a careful hug. Fighting back tears, Tian hugs him fiercely back.<br><br>

'''Tian:''' I am so glad to see you ... (chokes a sob) … You don't know how so ''gorram glad'' I am to see you …<br>
'''Valentine:''' Glad to see you, too.<br><br>

He turns around and gives Rachel a look.<br><br>

'''Valentine:''' Woman, don't ever disobey an order I give you.<br><br>

And he gives her a hug. Rachel makes no sound but clings to him—oh, so tight!—and shakes. Shakes like a leaf. With the shakes, words start spilling out of her.<br><br>

'''Rachel:''' I would'a died to tell your momma that you're—why the hell did you?—<br><br>

As bridges are mended in the hospital room, Poco's grumbling in the waiting room over ''Delilah''.<br><br>

'''Poco:''' Look at her. All banged up and I—just fixed her, gorrammit …<br>
'''Vikki:''' (upbeat) We can fix her. <br><br>

More grousing from Poco. More optimism from Vikki. Valentine steps in. Vikki freezes and her eyes go wide. <br><br>

'''Valentine:''' We're going to put her back together and we're going to keep flying. And I'm going to bring us through these times. If you don't think we can make it—If '''''I''''' can make it out of a completely destroyed Reaver ship, I can make it and we can make it out of anywhere.<br>
'''Tian:''' Hey, I'm not the one who turned us back around to intercept the Reavers.<br>
'''Valentine:''' We're not going to point the fingers-o-blame, here. <br><br>

Valentine taps his chest.<br><br>

'''Valentine:''' The blame always stops here. (turns) Hi, Vikki.<br>
'''Vikki:''' ''You're alive‼!''<br><br>

It's like a dam breaking—she runs right up, throws her arms around him, and plants a big smacker on him. Hands, lips, body fully engaged for one hot beat … and then she breaks away with a blazingly bright smile.<br><br>

'''Vikki:''' ''Now'' we're even.<br><br>

And Valentine thinks:<br><br>

[[Last Voyage of Delilah, Episode 211: Crucible: Valentine's Flashback to Parth|"I didn't realize what I was feeling until Parth when I watched Vikki literally making something out of nothing. She was smart, yes, but it was more than that. She just refused to let setbacks even dampen that smile of hers. It was then that I realized I might be falling for her, even when I couldn't...or shouldn't."]]<br><br>

He comes back to the present to hear [[Last Voyage of Delilah, Episode 211: Crucible, Part 2#OUT TAKES AND AD LIBS|Poco grousing]].<br><br>

Repairs will cost money. Money we don't have.  Vikki's convinced she can make something out of the scrap we've got. Poco and Rachel bring up the idea of getting Mary Ann to help us sell the surf records. Valentine vetoes the idea, saying the time isn't right for him to say anything about them to her yet.<br><br>

Nuri, meanwhile, stands to the side, watching the reunion: the hugs, the kisses, the hissy-fits. When things settle down, she approaches Tian with a strange stare … and it's one that Tian recognizes.<br><br>

Oh no … the Reaver, the one Tian killed aboard that ship. It's in Nuri's eyes as she leans in close and whispers.<br><br>

'''Nuri:''' ''You've seen it''. <br><br>

And Tian can only stare back.<br><br>

Dear God in Heaven, what have they done?<br><br>




<br><br><br>

==='''''OUT TAKES AND AD LIBS'''''===

'''(On seeing Valentine is alive:)'''<br>
From the corridor, Poco grumbles querulously.<br><br>

'''Poco:''' He didn't even bring any beer.<br>
'''Valentine:''' (over his shoulder) They got beer down there. (points)<br>
'''Poco:''' The nurses are lyin' to me …<br><br>

'''(On Poco complaining about repairs:)'''<br>
'''Poco:''' So … seven years later, once ''Delilah's'' repaired …<br>
'''Valentine:''' You can do better than that, Poco.<br>
'''Poco:''' Six and a half years.<br>
'''Vikki:''' Oh, c'mon. You're gonna have help.<br><br>

<br><br><br>
Jump to: [[Last Voyage of Delilah, Episode 211: Crucible|'''Part 1''']] | [[Last Voyage of Delilah, Episode 211: Crucible, Part 2|'''Part 2''']]
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