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Still in the damn box and still in Scarran space. For now.
Eventually, the Hynerian and the Traskan find what, and who, they have been searching for. It wasn't quite so simple as that. Things are never as simple as that. There had been Charrids and Kalish and Scarrans to avoid and various other parts of the plan to implement, but eventually the pair had found the correct room and the box within it. And then, of course, there had been more people to avoid and a bit of hiding behind said box.
Noranti (the Traskan) stood up slowly. Rygel (the Hynerian) floated up beside her.
Noranti looked down. "Is that him?" she asked. In the box below them lay a sleeping Stark.
"Yes. Yes, it is. Open it up." Rygel would have denied until his dying day that he was anxious about the well-being of the figure in the box. He would have been lying.
Noranti gave a soft "Oh..." and began fiddling with something on the case.
But of course it can't be that simple. Behind them, another Stark walked down some stairs.
Rygel grunted as he and Noranti raised the lid on the case. It opened with a whooshing noise. Stark lay unmoving, eyes closed.
"Stark... Stark! Are you alive?"
Stark opened his eye. "Rygel?"
"Oh, you lunatic," Rygel said. If anyone else had said it, the tone of voice would have been described as fond. But Dominars were not in the habit of being fond of former slaves. At least not when there were witnesses.
"You... you're green," Stark said, looking up at Noranti. Which was an odd thing to say, even for him. He wasn't sure why he said it. Perhaps it was because he had been hoping that there might have been someone blue outside of the box instead even if he knew that was almost impossible.
Noranti smiled down at him. "How lovely of you to notice."
From the stairs the bioloid Stark called out, "is nothing sacred?"
Another "Ohhh" from Noranti. The lid to Stark's box banged shut. Within the box, the no longer sleeping but still trapped Banik tried very very hard not to panic. He didn't entirely succeed, but at least the confines of the box kept him from flailing too much.
The Bioloid Stark walked over to them. "You wanna deal with Stark? You're gonna have to deal with me." He bent down and grabbed Rygel by the throat, lifting him up and choking him.
"Oh! Let go!"
"You pompous little Dominar of Nothing... I'm gonna rip your tiny little heart out."
Noranti pulled a knife from somewhere within the folds of her skirts and threw it. The Bioloid version of Stark died, if such creatures do die, with that knife buried in its eye socket.
**
They let Stark out of his box then. Noranti had to help him out of it. After a moment, she also had to support him when legs unused for who knew how many solar days proved not up to the task of standing quite yet. Rygel looked on, frowning deeply. Stark found that oddly comforting in its familiarity. Rygel was always frowning around Stark, after all.
"I'm sorry," Stark said as he stumbled. "Sorry, sorry. Who are you?"
Noranti smiled indulgently and patted his arm. "Utu-Noranti Pralatong."
"Oh. I'm Stark."
"She knows who you are, you frellwit," Rygel said. "She just helped me to rescue you, didn't she?" She'd done rather a lot of the work, but Rygel needed most of the credit. He was Rygel after all.
"Right. Of course. Sorry."
"Stop apologizing!" Rygel snapped. "We need you to get us off this frelling base. You've been here before, haven't you?"
"Sorry," Stark sad reflexively. "I mean, I'll stop. Apologizing. And yes. I was here. A long time ago. How did you know that? Who else is here?"
Even Rygel had the decency not to tell Stark that Scorpius was here, and mercifully Noranti wasn't feeling talkative at the moment. "Nevermind that. Do you know how we can get back to D'Argo's ship?"
"D'Argo's here? I thought he was...never mind. Must have been another him. There have been others of everyone else, why not him? Even another me..." His voice trailed off as he stopped to stare at the body of the bioloid him. He shook his head violently and turned back to Rygel. "And yes. I think so. We can get to the ship. I think. Probably."
"Then start going the right frelling way!"
"I missed you too," Stark muttered, then managed a crooked smile for Rygel. "This way," he said, flapping a hand towards the corridor. "Ships should be this way."
"Stark," Rygel said as they rounded a corner. "What do you know about elevators? And walk faster!"
**
Elevator access had been taken care of eventually.
Elsewhere on the base, the human held his bomb. "Ryge? Are you in Lo'Lah?" he commed.
He turned the bomb and pressed something on it.
Rygel, Noranti and Stark had somehow made it safely to the ship.
Rygel commed back. "Yes Crichton. We're safe."
The human's bomb lit up. He dropped it in the elevator shaft where it fell rapidly out of sight.
The base didn't stand a chance against the unexpected force of the bomb.
Stark had thought himself finally safe here inside D'Argo's ship. When the bomb went off he curled himself into a tight ball and tried to shut out the deaths he could feel all around him. Not so safe after all.
[A whoooole lot of this is borrowed and adapted from transcripts of episode 4.21 "We're So Screwed: La Bomba." The middle bit is all me.]
Noranti (the Traskan) stood up slowly. Rygel (the Hynerian) floated up beside her.
Noranti looked down. "Is that him?" she asked. In the box below them lay a sleeping Stark.
"Yes. Yes, it is. Open it up." Rygel would have denied until his dying day that he was anxious about the well-being of the figure in the box. He would have been lying.
Noranti gave a soft "Oh..." and began fiddling with something on the case.
But of course it can't be that simple. Behind them, another Stark walked down some stairs.
Rygel grunted as he and Noranti raised the lid on the case. It opened with a whooshing noise. Stark lay unmoving, eyes closed.
"Stark... Stark! Are you alive?"
Stark opened his eye. "Rygel?"
"Oh, you lunatic," Rygel said. If anyone else had said it, the tone of voice would have been described as fond. But Dominars were not in the habit of being fond of former slaves. At least not when there were witnesses.
"You... you're green," Stark said, looking up at Noranti. Which was an odd thing to say, even for him. He wasn't sure why he said it. Perhaps it was because he had been hoping that there might have been someone blue outside of the box instead even if he knew that was almost impossible.
Noranti smiled down at him. "How lovely of you to notice."
From the stairs the bioloid Stark called out, "is nothing sacred?"
Another "Ohhh" from Noranti. The lid to Stark's box banged shut. Within the box, the no longer sleeping but still trapped Banik tried very very hard not to panic. He didn't entirely succeed, but at least the confines of the box kept him from flailing too much.
The Bioloid Stark walked over to them. "You wanna deal with Stark? You're gonna have to deal with me." He bent down and grabbed Rygel by the throat, lifting him up and choking him.
"Oh! Let go!"
"You pompous little Dominar of Nothing... I'm gonna rip your tiny little heart out."
Noranti pulled a knife from somewhere within the folds of her skirts and threw it. The Bioloid version of Stark died, if such creatures do die, with that knife buried in its eye socket.
**
They let Stark out of his box then. Noranti had to help him out of it. After a moment, she also had to support him when legs unused for who knew how many solar days proved not up to the task of standing quite yet. Rygel looked on, frowning deeply. Stark found that oddly comforting in its familiarity. Rygel was always frowning around Stark, after all.
"I'm sorry," Stark said as he stumbled. "Sorry, sorry. Who are you?"
Noranti smiled indulgently and patted his arm. "Utu-Noranti Pralatong."
"Oh. I'm Stark."
"She knows who you are, you frellwit," Rygel said. "She just helped me to rescue you, didn't she?" She'd done rather a lot of the work, but Rygel needed most of the credit. He was Rygel after all.
"Right. Of course. Sorry."
"Stop apologizing!" Rygel snapped. "We need you to get us off this frelling base. You've been here before, haven't you?"
"Sorry," Stark sad reflexively. "I mean, I'll stop. Apologizing. And yes. I was here. A long time ago. How did you know that? Who else is here?"
Even Rygel had the decency not to tell Stark that Scorpius was here, and mercifully Noranti wasn't feeling talkative at the moment. "Nevermind that. Do you know how we can get back to D'Argo's ship?"
"D'Argo's here? I thought he was...never mind. Must have been another him. There have been others of everyone else, why not him? Even another me..." His voice trailed off as he stopped to stare at the body of the bioloid him. He shook his head violently and turned back to Rygel. "And yes. I think so. We can get to the ship. I think. Probably."
"Then start going the right frelling way!"
"I missed you too," Stark muttered, then managed a crooked smile for Rygel. "This way," he said, flapping a hand towards the corridor. "Ships should be this way."
"Stark," Rygel said as they rounded a corner. "What do you know about elevators? And walk faster!"
**
Elevator access had been taken care of eventually.
Elsewhere on the base, the human held his bomb. "Ryge? Are you in Lo'Lah?" he commed.
He turned the bomb and pressed something on it.
Rygel, Noranti and Stark had somehow made it safely to the ship.
Rygel commed back. "Yes Crichton. We're safe."
The human's bomb lit up. He dropped it in the elevator shaft where it fell rapidly out of sight.
The base didn't stand a chance against the unexpected force of the bomb.
Stark had thought himself finally safe here inside D'Argo's ship. When the bomb went off he curled himself into a tight ball and tried to shut out the deaths he could feel all around him. Not so safe after all.
[A whoooole lot of this is borrowed and adapted from transcripts of episode 4.21 "We're So Screwed: La Bomba." The middle bit is all me.]
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