ALEJO: “Doc, how’s the deck going?”
MILLICENT: “We just got out of the research rooms. On our way to the prize.”
ALEJO: Alejo waves to Jenny. “Let’s see if we can catch up to the idiot. I’ll take point. You got our backs.”
ALEJO: To Millie: “I think Tux is headed your way. Try not to shoot him. Punching his dumb ass is okay though.”
MILLICENT: To Tueller, “Let’s keep our eyes peeled for Tux. He might have slipped away to try and get the deck.”
STORY: The four of you haul ass towards the Earth exhibit, a long hallway with various small rooms on each side focusing on major Earth scientists and historical figures. You come in from opposite ends, seeing each other as you all run for the door you all know holds Minaaki’s room, close to the middle of the long hallway.
STORY: A figure emerges from the room, looking exhausted but smiling, and holding a small tablet-sized black case. Tux looks up, noticing the four of you running for him, and grins at Millie. “Got it.”
Chapter 59
STORY: Millie, you type the command, and the prompt hovers for a second, not executing.
STORY: Then the console shuts off.
STORY: “Captain Soto. I have detected a virus in your onboard systems. Shutting down nonessential consoles.”
ALEJO: “Thank you. Please shutdown, however. We need manual control.”
MILLICENT: “Okay, look. I didn’t really want to make this a confrontation.”
MILLICENT: She says this to the air.
STORY: Tux looks positively panicked, and rushes downstairs. You hear him calling for Erwin.
TUELLER: Tueller sits down and closes his eyes.
STORY: “I’m sorry, Captain Soto, you do not have permission for that command. Please speak to your system administrator to address.”
Chapter 58
MILLICENT: “I’m pretty sure that Tux is about to do something monumentally stupid.”
TUELLER: “Well it is a weekday.”
ALEJO: “’Course he is.”
MILLICENT: “I don’t have any details. I practiced some extreme restraint. He asked me to help him with something, fine, no problem, and not to Alejo, which I, using my extreme restraint balked at. Then he clammed up.”
ALEJO: “Yeah, he’s keeping shit from me too. He’s worried I’m gonna shoot him in the head. Which, sometimes does seem very tempting.” He takes another drink.
TUELLER: “Hey, are you guys exes?”
TUELLER: “You seem like exes.”
TUELLER: “Like, you seem more like exes than Loll and I, and we’re actually exes.”
ALEJO: Alejo shrugs. “I crewed his ship.” The evasion is not lost on anyone.
Chapter 57
STORY: “Tueller, please. We have to trust each other. I need to be able to trust you.”
STORY: “…Tueller?”
TUELLER: “Trust goes both ways, Sprite.”
Chapter 56
STORY: “Your business partner, Sergio Ndrangheta.”
STORY: “I need him.”
TUELLER: Tueller perks up.
TUELLER: “In what sense?”
STORY: “Intact.”
TUELLER: “In what sense intact?”
TUELLER: “He’s already missing a limb.”
STORY: She looks at you patronizingly.
STORY: “He is CJH section chief on the Ark. I can’t simply send A-Sec to pick him up. I need you to bring him to me.”
TUELLER: “I’m not trying to be difficult. I’m asking…do you need him compromised, or just standing in front of you?”
STORY: “He’s already compromised. I simply need him present.”
STORY: “Will you help me?”
TUELLER: “Oh, sorry, I didn’t know our help was ever in question on this.”
TUELLER: “Of course.”
STORY: He makes sure there’s enough space between you two and Millie before lowering his voice conspiratorially. “I want to talk about how you blew it with the doc.”
STORY: “How bad was it?”
ALEJO: Alejo sighs in answer. Then shrugs. “Complicated.”
STORY: Tux throws back his head and laughs. “What isn’t with you?”
ALEJO: “Yeah. I know.”
ALEJO: “I’m trying to reform.”
STORY: “So does that mean…” He points to her and himself, questioning.
SWEET: “He’s asking if you mind if he takes a shot at it, buddy.” Sweet says as he walks past them.
ALEJO: Alejo does a double take as he walks by. “Uhm. I mean. . .” he hesitates. “Sure,” he finally says, unconvincingly.
STORY: Tux tilts his head to you. “That doesn’t sound like enthusiastic consent, Soto.”
ALEJO: “I mean, she’s remarkable. You’re remarkable. So . . .” He swallows. “Makes sense.” He keeps his gaze forward.
STORY: Tux tries to make eye contact with Sweet.
STORY: Pointing between Alejo and Millie, mouthing, “WHAT HAPPENED HERE?”
SWEET: Sweet points at Alejo.
Chapter 54
STORY: Sweet, you find the stairway you took up to the control room earlier! But! You encounter a seven foot tall Minotaur who is blocking your way – seemingly camping the stairs up.
STORY: Alejo, you follow Millie’s directions and your gut and end up across a long hallway that terminates in a set of stairs, upon which sit a man you can assume is Millie’s minotaur.
STORY: Sweet, you do not see Alejo and Millie; Alejo and Millie, you do not see Sweet.
MILLICENT: Whispering, “Ink doesn’t work.”
ALEJO: Alejo gives her a wide-eyed stare. “Surprising,” he finally whispers back flatly.
Chapter 53
STORY: Loll turns to face Sweet. “Sweet. I met this man.” She gestures to Tux. “He is ridiculous.”
STORY: “But he is a good man, and this child obviously knows nothing. He needs his father.”
STORY: Erwin, from the corner, “Hey!”
STORY: Loll continues, ignoring him. “I believe you can help Millie. And I will be here to help you when you return.”
SWEET: “Okay.”
SWEET: Sweet’s smile returns like it never went away.
SWEET: “Okay, dear.”
SWEET: His smile is up like a shield and his expression gives nothing more away.
STORY: “Now.”
STORY: “Who can make a hole in your spines?”
Chapter 36
TUELLER: “We’re doing all this, but if Loll says stop, we’re bugging out of here for as long as we need to, no pun intended.”
TUELLER: “The pun was on ‘bugging.’ They’re insects.” Tueller explains.
TUELLER: “Not sure that was clear.”
MILLICENT: Millie nods. “I have no problem adhering to Loll’s wishes and I got your joke.”
MILLICENT: Millie smiles, trying to be encouraging. “Very funny!”
TUELLER: “Please don’t patronize me just because you’re eight times smarter than me.”
Chapter 28
MILLICENT: “So, on the one hand the grell have the capacity to turn a large part of the galaxy into the third act of a horror movie. On the other hand the nahar have imprisoned an entire sentient race, used them to develop their technology, and literally eat them.”
STORY: Zura and Vorlou look at each other, the first time this has happened since you entered the room. They both nod. Vorlou: “More or less, yes.”
MILLICENT: Millie looks to Tueller. “I just want to be clear that solving a moral dilemma of two entire races isn’t what I had in mind when I proposed this job.”
MILLICENT: “This is outside of the scope of our original task and I intend to invoice accordingly.”
Chapter 27
TUELLER: Tueller rolls around and punches it hard, holding onto spines like it’s a pommel and pummeling it as he goes.
TUELLER: He snaps off a spine and stabs it into the neck of the lusus and drives it deep.
STORY: Tueller basically rides this creature as it flails around the room, punching it with unnatural force in the spine until he stabs it and it stops bucking him and settles, dead, on the ground.
TUELLER: Punching it with his glove into the general region of the brain.
STORY: You’re surrounded by dead fish.
STORY: Tux stands. “Shit! That was amazing!”
ALEJO: Alejo sort of just collapses to the floor, in a half sit, half just faint. “Well damn. That actually worked.”
STORY: Jac taps on Tux’s console. “You got an alarm there.”