MILLICENT: Millie shakes her head. “I’m with Noma, I think. We’re locked up. I broke into Tormod’s room and he locked me up. He wants me to look through Nikau’s deck. There’s. There’s a message there for me. And Noma was working with him. He convinced her, I think, not sure how. But then she betrayed him. Don’t know how that happened either. Just. A lot to parse.”
ALEJO: Alejo nods, trying to follow along.
TUELLER: Tueller interrupts “I became king of the Maitri, by the way.”
TUELLER: “I abdicated shortly afterwards. It was a thing.”
TUELLER: Three months into his import/export business, Tueller started to notice that their supply of hydroxyl silicon fluids, extracted from Titan and typically used by humans for engine maintenance, were heavily in demand by a certain sect of Aect gangsters. Tueller went to investigate, wondering if the highly toxic chemicals were being used by the Aect guild to kill off their rivals. That was some business he’d want a piece of, after all. Tueller came upon the Aect all riotously drunk, cannisters of engine degreasers dangling from their hands. He made a note to up the price for silicon-based lifeforms.
TUELLER: And to come up with a catchier name.
—
STORY: Millie. After making landfall god knows where and quickly shuffled into an underground base, you’ve been in this cell four days. They’re treating you well enough, but it’s a bare room, just a cot with a thin mattress, a blanket, and a table and chairs. They slide food under the crack twice a day for you, and there’s a sink and toilet in one corner. You’ve been playing over the meeting with Chandra in your head – after Siobhan’s disappearance, when he put the three of you in a room and waited for one of you to confess, and you were the first to volunteer – what was the look on Ryo’s face? Relief? Had he betrayed you already? Had Calixta? You turn the questions over in your head.
STORY: Of course, whether or not Calixta betrayed you, she’s in the same boat you’re in – if the muffled singing from next door is any indication. She’s got a nice enough voice, but you can only hear “Goodnight Irene” so many times before wanting to strangle your neighbor.
STORY: At least the guard you befriended snuck you a book. Too bad it’s terrible and you’ve read it four times already.
STORY: You’re generally unaware of the time, but it feels like night. You’re tired, anyway, when the door locks engage and click open, and Chandra steps in, taking a seat at the table as the door closes behind him and is reengaged.
STORY: He looks at you, a mixture of pity and disappointment on his face. “Have a seat, Millie.”
MILLICENT: Millie sits, posture perfect, tries to look comfortable. Folds one leg over the other. “Good evening, Chandra.”
MILLICENT: “At least, I think it’s evening.”
STORY: “It is. Nine pm. I thought we were on a first name basis.”
STORY: He tilts his head. “I thought a lot of things that turned out not to be true, I suppose.”
STORY: He places one hand gently on the table as if to start speaking, then stops and takes out a pack of cigarettes, removing one and lighting it. He leaves the pack in the center of the table, an invitation he knows you won’t take.
STORY: “Why’d you do it?”
MILLICENT: Millie shakes her head. “You know why.”
MILLICENT: “At least I thought you did.”
MILLICENT: “I know it must be a whirlwind, surrounded as you are by sycophants and servants, but do you think you would feel comfortable waiting three days for answers involving the fate of the galaxy?”
STORY: He raises an eyebrow. You’ve got a point. “You’re right. I apologize for that. There were… pressing issues that aren’t relevant right now.”
MILLICENT: “Thank you. I don’t play background character to anyone. I think we might share that feeling.”
STORY: “I looked into you, you know.” He takes a long drag.
STORY: “You really don’t.”
MILLICENT: “Did you?”
STORY: “Mm.” He nods in confirmation. “You surround yourself with… interesting men.”
STORY: “I’m curious why you treat me like a villain when you travel with Tueller Ya’Makasi. Surely his body count outweighs mine tenfold.”
MILLICENT: “I’m sure it does. I know where his heart is at and what he’s capable of. I can’t say the same for you. And as for your villainy? You kidnapped my best friend. Stole her away from me like she was property. She’s not.”
STORY: “I couldn’t agree more.”
STORY: “I’m not entirely sure what she is, anymore, but I thought I knew.”
STORY: “But she could have left anytime she wanted.”
MILLICENT: “I find that hard to believe considering my own circumstances.”
STORY: “She didn’t betray me, Millie.”
STORY: “At least not until recently.”
STORY: “Tell me, did she enlist you, or the other way around?”
MILLICENT: Millie eyebrows raised.
MILLICENT: “Interesting.”
STORY: Calixta finally remembered a different song, and has started on Cole Porter.
MILLICENT: “Oh thank god. It’s been days of Lead Belly.”
MILLICENT: “Chandra. Tormod. I don’t think I’m going to play this game anymore. You can tell me what you’re planning now. Make your pitch, your best offer. I promise to review it with an open mind. If you don’t intend to do that then I’ll content myself to the vocal stylings of whatever banshee you’ve locked next to me and bid you a chilly farewell. I’m guessing I’m worth more to you alive as leverage to my crew and you’re probably afraid what Noma will do if she finds out if I’m dead. I’m sure you can make my stay here unpleasant, but I doubt you’re prepared to do much more than that.”
MILLICENT: “So, cards on the table, if you please.”
STORY: He shifts back in his chair, taking another long drag.
STORY: Let’s have FA + Influence please!
MILLICENT: /roll 2d6 + 1 I’m going to use my close up
STORY: josh rolled 9 + 1 = 10
MILLICENT: ooooh yeah
MILLICENT: That’s the stuff the close up is for
STORY: He exhales and leans forward. “Fair enough. I’ve cracked the crypto on this deck of yours, but the data itself is… well, there’s a lot going on in there, and who knows which of it is relevant. There’s a note for you, incidentally. I suppose Manaaki figured you would come looking.”
STORY: “Which makes you the right person to go through what’s on there.”
STORY: “I can put you in a room with that machine and give you…” he looks at his watch. “Three days to find out what it says.”
STORY: “What happens next depends on that answer. Do we sell it? Use it? I don’t know what’s going on any more than you do, Dr. Breedlove. I make use of opportunities when I see them.”
MILLICENT: “You said you wanted my help to pull us forward. What’s your plan? How will we, how did you put it, stand next to the civilizations of the universe, not behind them?”
STORY: “Beg, borrow, and steal.”
MILLICENT: “Sounds familiar.”
STORY: “I’m sorry you thought I had some kind of grand scheme. I improvise, Millie. When there’s leverage, I use it, and I pull us forward. When there’s an opening, I take it. When there’s an opportunity, I steal it.”
STORY: “You could join me. Or you could sit in this cell.”
MILLICENT: “Why did Noma join you and what caused your recent disagreement?”
STORY: “Why’d she join me?” He shrugs, putting out his cigarette. “I suppose I convinced her. I thought I had. As for why she betrayed me, ask her yourself. Though she probably won’t like you calling her a banshee.” He stands. “I’ll send someone to ask after you in a few hours, when you’ve thought it through. I could use your help. Goodnight, Millie.”
MILLICENT: “Goodnight, Tormod.”
MILLICENT: “The banshee crack was directed at my next-door neighbor.” Millie gestures toward the cell with Calixta in it. “Noma has an unusually beautiful voice, when she cares to sing.”
STORY: He nods. “I see. She didn’t tell you.” He walks to the door and taps on it, and the locks clunk, the door opens, and he departs.
STORY: Alejo!
STORY: Your cuff has a smudge on it, one that’s distracting you from the veal, which is… fine. It’s a decent enough cut of meat, though you find yourself wishing whoever prepared it had used a little more care in the work. You look over to Tueller, who is halfway into his third glass of wine. The candles flicker, there must be a draft somewhere.
STORY: You’re both seated at a huge table in the dining room of an ornately decorated Victorian mansion, dressed in finery and looking very 19th century. Dinner sits before you, and wine, and no one else. You sit opposite each other.
STORY: You’re not entirely sure how you got here, but that doesn’t really bother you.
STORY: There must be a storm outside – the wind is moaning against the house. It’s very dark inside.
ALEJO: “How’s your veal? Not as good as the wine, I take it.” Alejo tries to wipe away the smudge.
STORY: It smears. Grease, maybe. It’s dimly brown.
TUELLER: “I’ve had better on both counts. Both are vat grown.”
TUELLER: “But good enough for me.”
TUELLER: Tueller raises his glass, gingerly.
ALEJO: Alejo nods absently, trying his napkin at the smudge before noticing Tueller’s raised glass. He stops, smiles, and raises his own.
TUELLER: “I wasn’t toasting. I was just drinking.”
STORY: As you *ting* them together, there’s a thunderous knock on the front door. It echoes through the empty, dark house.
ALEJO: Alejo shrugs off Tueller’s comment and looks at the door. “Expecting company?” He asks this reflexively, without any great sense of whether he was expecting company.
TUELLER: “No.” Tueller goes and opens the door.
TUELLER: Taking no special care in doing so.
ALEJO: Alejo remains seated, watching.
ALEJO: He goes back to trying his napkin at the smudge, while keeping a casual eye on the door situation.
STORY: It’s three rooms away, Tueller, but you do eventually find it. There are no electric lights in this house, all the illumination is from the moonlight outside or the occasional wall sconce. There’s no one but the two of you inside, from what you can tell.
STORY: You open the door and the wind immediately rips it out of your hands and slams it all the way open. A very wet, very windswept Millie stands outside in a soaking wet gown.
TUELLER: I guess i’ll just continue at this without thinking its weird at all.
STORY: Yeah, it doesn’t seem weird.
TUELLER: “Doc! Come inside. What the hell are you doing out here like this?”
MILLICENT: Millie shivers and looks around. “Looking for a towel. Have you seen such a thing?”
STORY: Her crinoline makes it complicated to get inside, but she eventually shoves it through the doorway.
TUELLER: “Depends on how picky you are, a fancy girl like you,” Tueller says teasingly.
STORY: Alejo, you hear movement behind you. Something stepping across the threshold between the dining room and the adjacent servant’s area.
ALEJO: Alejo puts his napkin down and looks over his shoulder.
MILLICENT: “Any port in a storm, you brute.”
MILLICENT: Millie snatches his napkin and dabs at her face.
TUELLER: “Closest towel of any size is in the kitchen, I’d guess.”
MILLICENT: Millie looks around to find a kitchen-looking door
STORY: Nothing there, Alejo. Shadows.
ALEJO: He stands slowly, picks up one of the dining room candles, and turns to get a better look.
STORY: Millie and Tueller, you wander around for a while. Let’s have Assessment + Mettle from one of you
MILLICENT: /roll 2d6 + 1
STORY: josh rolled 3 + 1 = 4
STORY: Millie, you find the kitchen – but the bad news is by the time you do, you and Tueller have been separated.
STORY: Tueller, where do you end up?
TUELLER: The wine cellar.
STORY: Alejo, you approach the doorway with a candlestick in hand, creeping, and see flickers of movement in the adjacent room. What do you do?
ALEJO: Alejo shields the candle light some and moves quietly to the corner of the entry way. He’s being stealthy but not particularly on guard. More curious than ready for a fight.
STORY: As you approach the doorway, something steps out – freezing you in place with fear.
STORY: Tux stands before you, looking pallid and expressionless, staring at you with bloodshot eyes. He lifts a finger and points to you, and as he opens his mouth to speak, a bloom of blood opens on his chest and spreads until he is covered in it, dripping, and he is seemingly pulled toward you, his feet dragging on the floor behind you as he opens his hand into a brutal claw and grasps for your face.
STORY: What do you do?
ALEJO: Alejo drops the candle, terrified. Transfixed. He stumbles backwards. He tries to avoid the claw before screaming, “Tueller!”
STORY: Millie, you hear Alejo scream from a nearby room.
ALEJO: “Jesus! Tueller!”
MILLICENT: Millie runs in
MILLICENT: Well, tries to anyway
STORY: You do so, and slam into Alejo in the doorway. He drops the candle, and it goes out.
MILLICENT: “Are you okay?”
STORY: You both scramble for it and look around the room. You’re alone.
MILLICENT: “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
ALEJO: Alejo screams when he bumps into Millie. He bounces off the nearest wall before recognizing her. He’s in tears, shivering. “Millie? God, Millie.” He’s breathing hard, as though he’s just finished a sprint.
ALEJO: “What . . . Hi.” He tries to regain some composure.
MILLICENT: Millie grabs him into a hug. “Hey, you’re okay. You’re okay.”
STORY: Her corset makes the hug a little stiffer than either of you would like, but it’s comforting.
ALEJO: He lets her hug him for a moment, and then returns it, vigorously. “Millie! I . . . Hi.” He hugs her tighter.
MILLICENT: “You’re okay! You’re okay. Are you okay?”
ALEJO: He nods and shakes his head all at once. “I feel like it’s been so long. It’s so, so good to see you. There’s so much I need to tell you.” He pulls back just a bit and looks at her. Then he pulls her close and hugs her again. “I’m . . . not okay. No. Tux. He was . . . here. He . . . ”
STORY: Tueller!
STORY: You poke around downstairs, having found yourself luckily lost in a place full of wine.
TUELLER: Tueller grabs a bottle off of a nearby shelf and turns to walk it back up, not even bothering to check the label.
STORY: You start to head upstairs and see a flicker of movement down the hallway, towards the servant’s quarters.
TUELLER: “Hey Doc?”
TUELLER: Tueller heads that way.
STORY: It’s particularly dark down there, with none of the wall sconces lit and this section of the house mostly underground.
STORY: You peer into the inky blackness and think you catch some movement between you and a window across the room, 20 feet away.
TUELLER: “Hey Doc? Find a towel?”
TUELLER: “Sorry to lose you.”
STORY: The door you passed through slams shut behind you.
TUELLER: “Damn.” Tueller looks back, then continues on. “Shit like this doesn’t happen on spaceships.”
STORY: Lightning strikes and briefly illuminates the room – and with it, the slack, white face of Nandini.
STORY: The room is again plunged into darkness. That couldn’t have been it. That couldn’t have been her.
STORY: You don’t think you see anyone over there.
TUELLER: Tueller reverses the bottle in his hand so it’s more of a club.
TUELLER: More tentative, “Hello?”
TUELLER: He makes his way over, warily.
STORY: The room is silent.
STORY: Until.
STORY: A low, ragged croaking voice comes from the darkest corner.
STORY: “Tuuuuuuul…”
STORY: “Tuuu…”
TUELLER: Tueller’s attacking the fuck out of whatever makes that noise.
STORY: You rush the corner and slam the bottle towards the voice. It shatters against the wall.
STORY: Lightning again, and you think for a second someone is standing behind you.
STORY: Then darkness.
TUELLER: Tueller spins a roundhouse kick at the spot behind him.
STORY: Air.
STORY: Millie! Alejo!
STORY: There are sounds of a scuffle from somewhere downstairs. Glass smashing, and sounds of effort. A fight?
MILLICENT: Millie looks at Alejo, releases him. “Tueller?”
ALEJO: Alejo lets go of Millie and steps back, looking towards it. He looks back to her and nods. “It’s so amazing to see you.” He starts in the direction of the sound moving with, he assumes Millie.
MILLICENT: Millie runs with him
STORY: You both rush downstairs, as quickly as you can.
STORY: Tueller, something comes thundering down the stairs, maybe more than one something. Then the door you came through opens – a silhouette there starts toward you. What do you do?
TUELLER: Tueller kicks again.
STORY: Alejo, someone inside this room is attacking you!
ALEJO: Alejo steps between whatever it is and Millie, blading his body and preparing for the fight.
MILLICENT: Millie doesn’t help, flailing behind Alejo and yelping.
STORY: Alejo, Tueller kicks you in the jaw.
STORY: Lightning strikes and the room is briefly illuminated, and the three of you see each other.
STORY: There’s a little blood on Alejo’s lapel.
ALEJO: “Watch out Do….” Alejo nearly drops but catches himself. “Fucker! T!”
MILLICENT: “Oh come on!”
TUELLER: “Oh shit Ejo.”
ALEJO: He stands and holds his jaw. “Jesssuss.”
ALEJO: He moves it, trying to sort out how bad it is.
STORY: It clicks. Hurt, and there’s a cut on the inside of your mouth from your teeth, but everything seems to be still in place.
MILLICENT: Millie checks his jaw with her hands. “It’s not broken, but you’re damn lucky.” She feels her fingers, tacky with blood. “Now I really need a towel.”
TUELLER: “Sorry, man.”
TUELLER: “I…saw a ghoul, I guess.”
ALEJO: Alejo nods and half smiles. “Yeah. Me too. I just turned into a blubbering mess, though, so good on you to . . . you know. Kick it.”
TUELLER: “Who’s yours? Mine was…well, the obvious one.”
ALEJO: Alejo blows a puff of air out of his mouth. “Tux,” he finally says, quietly. “Sorry you saw her,” he adds after another beat.
TUELLER: “Doc, how about you?”
ALEJO: “Fuck is going on?” Alejo looks at Millie. Then he smiles. “And fuck are you wearing?”
MILLICENT: Softly, “Oh! Of course there’s a her.”
MILLICENT: “Sorry, just. Catching up.”
MILLICENT: “I haven’t seen Nikau, no. I’m guessing that’s what this funhouse is going to spit at me.”
STORY: Heavy footsteps directly above the room you are in. Another loud peal of thunder. Something dragging on the floor above.
TUELLER: “In the study. Let’s go.”
ALEJO: Alejo straightens up, collecting himself. He looks around for a weapon of some kind and follows close.
TUELLER: Tueller grabs the Doc, not unkindly, and basically carries her with them.
STORY: Millie, as you run, you feel like something’s following you.
STORY: Pursuing the three of you. You badly want to keep running.
MILLICENT: “Hmmm.” Millie twists until Tueller shifts her over his shoulder and she looks behind them.
STORY: You’re almost too scared to look.
STORY: But there’s nothing back there, as far as you can tell.
MILLICENT: Millie swallows and thinks about her feelings, examines where they’re coming from. Are these intrusive or I dunno, diegetic?
STORY: They feel legitimate.
STORY: The three of you reach the study and find it empty.
STORY: What do you do?
MILLICENT: Millie puts her hands on the boys’ arms.
MILLICENT: “Let’s take a beat.”
ALEJO: Alejo moves towards the nearest door that they did not enter through. He takes up a watchful position, though he stays close enough to keep Millie and Tueller well within sight.
MILLICENT: “I can’t answer the following questions: 1) how did I get here? 2) what’s the date? the time? 3) what am I so scared of? 4) where are we?”
MILLICENT: “Can either of you?
ALEJO: Alejo squints into the darkness. “I . . . don’t know. No. I guess I can’t.”
TUELLER: Tueller shrugs.
TUELLER: “Not really, no.”
MILLICENT: “There are others. Why am I wearing this dress? Whose house is this?”
TUELLER: “Not mine. The wine’s not good enough.”
MILLICENT: “But I think the point is, this doesn’t feel, ah. Like a physical problem. Like a kicking kind of problem.”
TUELLER: “Feeling a little attacked here, Doc.”
ALEJO: “Sure as hell feels . . . it feels, though.” Alejo shudders.
MILLICENT: To Tueller, “Good. Intended.”
MILLICENT: “So, let’s do a little thinking before we kick anything else.”
TUELLER: “Hrmph.”
ALEJO: “It was a good kick, buddy. I vouch for it.”
ALEJO: “Got a plan, Doc?”
MILLICENT: “Test the bounds of the game board. Make sure we aren’t doing whatever whoever brought us here wants us to do. I think that starts with jumping at shadows and dead figures.”
MILLICENT: “That starts with charting out this house, looking for an exit or someone else.”
MILLICENT: Millie looks at the boys.
TUELLER: “So we split up and see who haunts us?”
ALEJO: Alejo looks at her skeptically, but he finally smiles. “Alright. But I don’t think we should split up.”
ALEJO: “I feel like . . .” He shakes his head, trying to remember something. “I feel like I just found you.” He looks at Millie.
ALEJO: He shrugs. “But, if you think splitting up is best . . . ” He looks away.
MILLICENT: “I didn’t say we should split up. Let’s stick together. I don’t want to lose you boys again.”
STORY: Lightning, thunder, and a window blows open and the candles in this room all go out.
STORY: Rain pours in, and it’s loud.
STORY: The storm outside is raging.
ALEJO: Alejo instinctively turns and moves into a fighting stance near Tueller, guarding his blind spot.
TUELLER: Tueller also goes on the defensive, keeping himself pressed up against Millie so she doesn’t get lost.
ALEJO: “Damn it, I’m not this jumpy.” He tries to shake off the fear.
STORY: One of you closes the window, and when you turn back Millie has vanished.
TUELLER: “Dammit Doc, you there?”
ALEJO: “Fuck me!” Alejo feels around for her.
STORY: Millie, you’re upstairs looking into a mirror. Lightning flashes and you catch the face of Dr. Manaaki behind you. When you turn, no one there.
MILLICENT: Millie’s voice quakes. “I knew this was coming.”
MILLICENT: Millie looks into the mirror. “Nikau, I loved you almost as much as I respected you. I wish I could have done something to show you some hope.” She swallows. “But even though I didn’t, I refuse to take responsibility for your death. You gave up. I never gave up on you. Or on the dream we shared, of humanity taking its place in the stars. So you can appear in as many mirrors as you like, jump out from behind as many doors as you can find.”
MILLICENT: “I won’t take responsibility for your death.”
MILLICENT: Millie waits, staring into the mirror.
STORY: After an excruciatingly long moment, Tux steps out from the open doorway. You see him in the mirror. He looks pale, drained, and doesn’t speak, just looks at you sadly.
MILLICENT: “Hi. You neither. I really liked you, but you insisted on coming along.” She sighs. “I really liked you.”
STORY: He turns and walks out of the room.
STORY: You’re alone again.
MILLICENT: Millie sighs shakily. Shakes her head, grits her jaw, starts examining the house, room by room.
STORY: Alejo, Tueller, what are you doing downstairs?
ALEJO: “We need to find her. Or figure this house out. Or both.” He points in a direction, questioningly. “I don’t know what’s through there. You?”
TUELLER: Tueller shrugs and heads that way. “Let’s see.”
ALEJO: Alejo lets him lead but stays close behind, watching their backs.
ALEJO: “This seems so familiar,” he mutters this as they move.
STORY: You pass a grandfather clock and see someone standing behind you in the reflection.
STORY: It’s gone as soon as you glance behind you.
TUELLER: “…we know a Grell.”
TUELLER: “One who…might have issues with us.”
TUELLER: “This does seem familiar, now that you mention it. To that dream bullshit.”
ALEJO: “The kid.” Alejo nods slowly. “Yeah.”
ALEJO: “Or maybe it’s whatever was stealing stuff through the jump relays. Only now it’s sending stuff.”
TUELLER: “Uh, so how do we get out, if this is a juvenile Grell’s intentional or un- way to get back at us.”
ALEJO: “If it’s him, then . . . At least when it was Teka, she was here. Let’s look for him. Or something controlling this.”
TUELLER: “It’s much less well-designed than before.”
TUELLER: “Sorry Erwin.”
TUELLER: “Hey, Erwin! You out here!”
TUELLER: “In here? Wherever here is?”
STORY: You wander from room to room, looking for something or someone. Millie, you hear them as they pass the stairwell near the room you are searching.
TUELLER: “Errrrrr-wiiiiiin?”
ALEJO: “Kid, this you? Buddy?” Alejo calls out behind them, as they keep moving.
MILLICENT: Millie enters the room they’re in. “Oh Erwin! That makes sense!”
TUELLER: “Does have that Grell flavor, don’t it?”
ALEJO: Alejo jumps a little when she enters. “God damn it! Why am I so fucking jumpy!” He collects himself. “Hi.” He smiles at her.
STORY: Alejo, as you look over at Millie, you swear you see Tux standing over her shoulder for a moment. He’s gone just as soon.
STORY: It’s ruining your nerves.
TUELLER: “Oh hey, Doc. You see anyone who’s death you feel responsible for?”
MILLICENT: “Just Nikau and Tux. I gave them both a talking to.”
ALEJO: “Ohh, fuck me,” he mumbles. “Tux! Tux, just get out here!”
ALEJO: Alejo steps around behind Millie, ignoring her and staring into the darkness. “You hear me! Come out already!”
MILLICENT: “If either of you sees a jacket, please grab it for me. This is less fun in wet gown.”
ALEJO: Alejo slips his off and hands it backwards without looking at her.
ALEJO: He’s still staring into the darkness.
TUELLER: “I’ll let the both of you take the lead on this. I do not support being made to feel responsible for Tux’s death. Tux did what he wanted, and died for it.”
TUELLER: “Not badly, but before his time.”
STORY: “Now’s your time.”
STORY: A voice behind your ear, Tueller, whispered.
STORY: You spin around and there’s no one there.
STORY: All of you are on your last fucking nerve. Ready to jump and run.
TUELLER: “Okay, guys, you definitely need to talk to him because I just make people fucking worse.”
MILLICENT: Millie slips into the jacket and takes a couple deep breaths.
ALEJO: Alejo turns to him and frowns. “That’s not true, T. Just not true. You’re one of the few people who tried to make me better.”
ALEJO: He takes a deep breath and looks around, jittery.
TUELLER: “…sure, but I don’t think I’m going to make Erwin feel better.”
MILLICENT: “No, but I think that might be a good use of time.”
TUELLER: “And if he gets really mad…”
TUELLER: “He’ll turn into exactly what his adopted father feared most.”
ALEJO: “If it’s him, we need to find him,” Alejo says this with more resolve.
MILLICENT: “Come out, Erwin.”
ALEJO: Alejo moves into the darkness a little. “Erwin, this you, pal?”
MILLICENT: “This fun house schtick, it doesn’t impress. And it’s not you.”
TUELLER: Tueller is just trying to center himself to keep his emotional state as steady as possible.
STORY: The three of you look around the room you’re in, a smallish bedroom. There are no lights beyond the moonlight and the occasional flash from the storm outside.
TUELLER: Trying to counteract the sense of panic.
STORY: Millie, you catch sight of Tux again, in a mirror. He’s standing near a wardrobe and gone a moment later.
ALEJO: “Erwin, if this is you and you need to blame someone, blame me. Let Millie and Tueller go. Let yourself go. This isn’t on you.” Alejo keeps inching forward.
ALEJO: “It certainly isn’t on them.”
MILLICENT: Millie smacks Alejo on the back of the head. “It isn’t on him, either.”
ALEJO: “Kid? You hear me?”
STORY: Lightning strikes again. When your eyes adjust, Alejo’s gone.
STORY: Alejo, you’re in the kitchen again. You hear a knife being removed from the block behind you.
ALEJO: Alejo turns quickly. “Kid?”
ALEJO: He swallows hard, trying to keep his wits.
STORY: No one there.
ALEJO: “Erwin? That you?” Alejo moves towards the sound he heard, slowly.
STORY: A sound of movement from behind you again.
STORY: You turn and see Tux standing opposite you, on the other side of the kitchen island.
ALEJO: He takes long deep breaths. He turns, more slowly this time.
STORY: It’s almost too dark to see him. He’s watching you, silent.
ALEJO: Alejo swallows hard. Loud. “Tux,” he says, his voice quavering.
ALEJO: “You stubborn, beautiful asshole,” he adds quietly. “God damn you. I miss you.” He moves closer to the island.
ALEJO: “Why’d you have to go do hero shit?”
STORY: He looks like he’s struggling not to cry.
STORY: Millie, Tueller, you hear voices downstairs.
TUELLER: “Come with me, Doc.”
MILLICENT: Millie follows Tueller.
ALEJO: Tears are streaming down Alejo’s face. “Why? You should’ve let me. Let . . . us. Damn it.” He wipes at his face. “I miss you.”
STORY: Tux stands there, still and silent, watching you, Alejo.
STORY: He’s got a knife in his hand, a big one. But it stays at his side.
TUELLER: “Whatever we find I promise not to kick it unless you tell me to, Doc.”
TUELLER: “No matter how much I want to.”
MILLICENT: “Good man.”
TUELLER: “No, but I try.”
ALEJO: “Erwin. Tux. Whatever this is. It’s not my fault. Tux was always his own man. Brave in his way. He gave his life for something huge. I believe that. I believe it with every fiber of my being.”
MILLICENT: “You know, Tueller, you are getting better. We both are.”
TUELLER: “It doesn’t take much to be better than I was.”
MILLICENT: “No, that’s fair. But it takes a lot to make yourself better.” Millie stops jogging through the halls and grabs Tueller’s arm. “I don’t know if I’m going to get a chance to say this later, so I’m going to take my opportunity.”
ALEJO: “I miss him. I hate that he’s dead. I wish I’d fucking ordered him to stay on Peregrine. I do. But he’d have done what he was going to do. Because I believe he knew it was bigger than him. Than me.”
ALEJO: Alejo looks at the phantom. “I was captain. I am. Captain. So I take responsibility. And if you need to kill me for it. Do it. But let Tueller and Millie go. Let them make his death mean something.”
ALEJO: Alejo moves towards the phantom, shaking.
MILLICENT: “I believe in you, Tueller Ya’Makasi. You are capable of good things, not just great ones. As long as you shake yourself out of this self-loathing funk. Or start asking for the help you need.”
MILLICENT: Millie pushes him. “I’m way smarter than you too, so you’d better believe all that.”
TUELLER: “Uh. Okay, Doc.”
TUELLER: Tueller is clearly embarrassed.
ALEJO: “Tux . . . I loved you.” He continues slowly moving towards the phantom. “I will always love you.”
STORY: Tux’s face shifts, and he turns halfway away from you. “Gross.”
STORY: He looks down at the knife in his hand and then back up at you, agape. And it’s Erwin’s face looking at you now.
STORY: “Oh shit.”
ALEJO: Alejo stops. He tilts his head. “Hiya, Kid.” Alejo smiles softly.
TUELLER: “You wouldn’t happen to know where you are, in real space, by the way, Doc?”
TUELLER: “On the off chance we make it out of this dream world.”
MILLICENT: “Not Sol, on my way somewhere with Chandra. He says he has Noma. I believe him.”
STORY: Erwin puts the knife on the counter. Then, looking at your cravat, he points. “Did. This is me?”
ALEJO: Alejo nods.
ALEJO: Alejo lets out a huge sigh. “I’d give you a huge fucking hug right now, except I know you hate being touched.”
STORY: “Is there… anyone else here?”
ALEJO: “Yeah,” Alejo nods, “Millie and Tueller.”
STORY: “Huh.”
STORY: “Shit. I guess I’m still pretty mad at you guys.”
ALEJO: Alejo nods. “It’s alright, Erwin. I’d be mad at us too. I am mad. At a lot of things.”
MILLICENT: “He wants me to decrypt the deck. I might. I’m going to talk to Noma first, if I can.”
MILLICENT: “Where are you idiots?”
TUELLER: “Coming for you.”
STORY: “Sorry. I haven’t been doing my training.”
STORY: Erwin hears Millie speaking in the other room, and suddenly you’re both in the kitchen with Erwin and Alejo.
STORY: All standing around this kitchen island.
TUELLER: “Keep alive.”
STORY: Erwin slouches, scratching his temple.
STORY: There are electric lights in the ceiling, and they turn on.
ALEJO: Alejo sees Millie and Tueller and waves at them. “We’re okay. Now.”
TUELLER: “Well, this has been productive, at least! We know Millie’s still alive!”
STORY: They weren’t there a second ago, but they also didn’t just appear or anything.
STORY: But they’re there.
TUELLER: “Hi Millie.”
TUELLER: “Hi Erwin. So sorry about everything.”
STORY: “Yeah. Bad dream, sorry. I guess I should wake us up.”
ALEJO: “Wait, wait. Can you wait just a moment?”
TUELLER: “Just a second…the Doc and I were chatting.”
TUELLER: “Erwin, this power of yours is really amazing, even if it has some less great expressions.”
ALEJO: Alejo looks at him, pleadingly. “Yeah, we can use this, if you can . . . are you alright to keep this up for a minute longer?” he asks Erwin.
STORY: He shrugs. “Sure.”
STORY: “I’m gonna get a sandwich.”
ALEJO: “Thank you.”
STORY: He opens the fridge – one that was not there a minute ago, but still was definitely always there – and pulls out a tomato sandwich, sitting on the counter to eat it.
ALEJO: “We should keep this short. I think being in here isn’t great?” Alejo trails off. Then he goes to Millie and hugs her again, suddenly and without a lot of warning. “It really is you, isn’t it? You safe? You alright?”
ALEJO: He squeezes her hard and then lets go and steps back.
ALEJO: He looks at Millie and Tueller and then realizes that they were in the middle of probably the same conversation. He grimaces a weak apology. “You . . . probably both . . . were already figuring this stuff out. Sorry. I just . . . god it’s good to see you.”
MILLICENT: “Hi.”
MILLICENT: “I’m just.”
MILLICENT: Millie shakes her head. “I’m with Noma, I think. We’re locked up. I broke into Tormod’s room and he locked me up. He wants me to look through Nikau’s deck. There’s. There’s a message there for me. And Noma was working with him. He convinced her, I think, not sure how. But then she betrayed him. Don’t know how that happened either. Just. A lot to parse.”
ALEJO: Alejo nods, trying to follow along.
TUELLER: Tueller interrupts “I became king of the Maitri, by the way.”
TUELLER: “I abdicated shortly afterwards. It was a thing.”
TUELLER: “Loll took over and went back to Mait.”
TUELLER: “As I said, it was a thing.”
MILLICENT: Millie pokes Alejo in the chest. “Also, you’re going to take me out for fancy dinner once this is all over. It’s good to see you too. Six courses and a wine pairing.”
TUELLER: “Oh that sounds great.”
TUELLER: “I know a great place.”
ALEJO: He smiles and laughs. “Yes. Please.”
MILLICENT: “Oh hi Erwin it’s nice to see you too. I always liked you, thanks for doing this.” Points at Tueller. “Not you, get your own dinner.”
TUELLER: “Oh.”
STORY: “Gross.”
ALEJO: Alejo’s smile widens. Then he looks down. “Kahn. Is he . . . ?”
ALEJO: He looks back up, meeting Millie’s eyes for the reply.
MILLICENT: “He’s alive. I went with Tormod, who captured him. No extra robot limbs or anything.”
MILLICENT: “It only took six hours of surgery.”
ALEJO: Alejo tips his head back and lets out a huge sigh. “Oh, fucking thank god.”
ALEJO: “Thank you, Millie. Thank you.”
MILLICENT: Millie nods. “Ship’s doctor.”
MILLICENT: Millie holds up a hand.
STORY: Through the sandwich, “This guy’s a bad guy, right?”
TUELLER: “Yeah, Tormod’s a badguy. If you want to give him bad dreams we’ll not complain.”
ALEJO: Alejo looks back at Erwin. “Real bad.”
STORY: “But I mean.”
STORY: “If he’s a bad guy, why does he keep not killing you guys?”
STORY: “He’s got three of you with him now?”
MILLICENT: “Hang on.”
MILLICENT: “He says he wants what we. What I want.”
MILLICENT: “He wants humanity to take their place with the other galactic civilizations.”
ALEJO: “Millie, he . . .” Alejo shakes his head. “He might want that, so long as he’s running humanity.”
MILLICENT: “The fact that he’s beaten us to the punch a couple of times doesn’t necessarily make him an enemy, it might make him useful.”
MILLICENT: “He’s controlling what used to be a black ops rogue mercenary group and a, sorry, group of religious fanatics.”
MILLICENT: “He’d have to get up pretty early to make himself worse than both of them put together.”
ALEJO: “He’s a monster, Millie. Believe me when I say that. I’m not saying he can’t be useful, but do not let his pretty speeches fool you. He’s got a penchant for getting what he wants, even from the smartest people the galaxy.”
MILLICENT: “What has he done, Alejo?”
ALEJO: “Don’t let him . . . just don’t trust him.” Alejo is still shaking his head, his jaw no longer sore and now set tight.
ALEJO: “Long story very short, he cares only about loyalty. A long time ago, he,” Alejo shakes his head again, “he wanted me to kill a kid, a kid that he made a . . . I don’t know what you’d call it, a mentee? He made the kid my mentee and then fucking wanted me to kill him. To prove my loyalty.” His fists are balled up tight. “He’s not a good person, Millie. He’s brilliant. But he’s only after what he wants. Nothing more.”
ALEJO: Alejo looks away. “I don’t know what his game is now. But it’s a game. It’s always a game. Always. Just don’t get sucked into it.”
STORY: Erwin clears his throat.
STORY: “Why hasn’t he killed her though?”
ALEJO: “Them.”
STORY: “Right, or Kahn? Or Noma?”
ALEJO: Alejo shrugs. “He needs her. I assume?” He looks at Millie.
MILLICENT: “He wants me to find out what the relays do.”
MILLICENT: “I suppose he wanted Noma to decrypt them. And Kahn to keep us both honest.”
ALEJO: “Kahn might be more complicated for him.”
STORY: “He only picked up Kahn after you left him. That part of his plan?”
MILLICENT: “Wait, you left Kahn?”
ALEJO: “Yeah. I did. And Kahn’s probably the only person in the galaxy who will ever understand why I did. I mean, he’s gonna be real pissed. But he’ll also get it.”
ALEJO: “Bottom line with Kahn and Chandra is that Kahn worked for him. And helped me take him down. So, there’s that.”
MILLICENT: “That doesn’t explain anything.”
ALEJO: Alejo looks at Erwin. “You still okay? How long can . . . we keep this up?” He looks around. “I don’t want you to get stuck here or anything.”
STORY: Erwin looks around, trying to read something in the environment you can’t see. “Couple more minutes before I wake up.”
TUELLER: “Well, this definitely seems like it’s a setup to bring us all together, honestly.”
TUELLER: “Why did Kahn live? So we’d come for him and Millie.”
ALEJO: Alejo nods in agreement with that.
TUELLER: “Which of course we’re doing, but I’m a former member of a major criminal organization and this is a honeypot.”
TUELLER: “And we’re the bears.”
ALEJO: Alejo nods again.
TUELLER: “So anything you can do, Doc, to make this trap less effective when we get there would be really welcome.”
MILLICENT: Millie shrugs. “I tried. I got caught.”
ALEJO: “We might have an inside guy that he doesn’t know about.”
ALEJO: “Doc, you meet Ryo?”
MILLICENT: “I did. He was my way in to getting caught in Tormod’s quarters. He said he’s afraid of what Tormod’s up to.”
ALEJO: “I’m sure he is.”
MILLICENT: “He was working with Calixta.”
ALEJO: “He’s our insi–” Alejo stops in the middle of that sentence.
ALEJO: He just looks at Millie. Flat.
MILLICENT: “When we got caught I took the fall. Mostly to shield her. I thought she was the one singing next door, but I think that might be Noma.”
MILLICENT: “I’m in a jail cell.”
ALEJO: “So . . . wait. To shield her. She’s working against him?”
MILLICENT: “He brought Ryo, Calixta and myself to a room and demanded to know who did it. I did the math. He needed me alive, but he might have executed them. So I took the blame.”
TUELLER: “Noma helped Tormod by pretending to be Calixta to sell her out?”
MILLICENT: “No, that’s preposterous.”
ALEJO: “Huh?” Alejo looks at Tueller very confused.
MILLICENT: “After I took the fall I was thrown in a jail cell. I heard singing next door. I thought it was Calixta, but Tormod indicated it was Noma.”
TUELLER: “But you indicated to Tormod that you thought Calixta would be next to you.”
TUELLER: “That doesn’t sell her out as your accomplice, only that you would think he might think she’s an accomplice.”
MILLICENT: “I didn’t use any names.”
STORY: Erwin clears his throat. “Waking up soon.”
STORY: “Like, now.”
STORY: “Last words?”
MILLICENT: “I said she was a banshee for the singing. I think she still should be safe.” Fast, “Thank you so much for this opportunity, Erwin. I like you, kid. I hope to see you soon.”
TUELLER: “Good morning, Millie.”
TUELLER: Tueller smiles, a rare use of calling her Millie rather than Doc.
ALEJO: “We’re coming for you, Millie. You, Noma, Kahn. That deck. All of it.”
STORY: Erwin rolls his eyes. “You guys should just get it over with and kiss.” And the three of you, simultaneously, open your eyes.
STORY: Back in your own sleeping quarters.
ALEJO: Alejo sits up straight. “What are you doing, Cali?”
TUELLER: “I hate the fucking Grell.”
TUELLER: To himself.
MILLICENT: Millie yawns. Sits up. To her next door neighbor. “I always thought you hated Lead Belly.”