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A Prison Cell on the Hynerian Palace Planet
“We can’t overpower the guards if they never come back. We haven’t got any help from the outside that we know of. Maybe we can pick the locks?” Jothee suggested.
“I tried that already,” Chiana said. “That lock’s unpickable.”
“How do you know?”
“High-tech eyes, remember?” Chiana said, pointing to her right eye. “These locks were designed by a genius.”
“Thank you,” Rygel said, a tiny hint of smugness creeping into his tone. “I was the one who designed the locks. It’s hardly a surprise that my fahrbot cousin hasn’t upgraded in all this time.”
“The Dominar speaks! You haven’t said a word since you dumped your marjools.”
“What, pray tell is there to say” Rygel asked, resigned now. “It is over. I spent 130 cycles enduring the Peacekeepers and the Uncharted Territories and it was all for nothing.”
“Such are the risks, Dominar.” Everyone in the cell jumped at the sound of that familiar and unwelcome voice and then froze again as the cell door opened.
“No…” Rygel breathed out.
“It can’t be,” Jothee said.
“What the frell are you doing here?” Chiana asked, taking an involuntary step backward.
And Stark, breaking his self-imposed silence, let out a scream and flung himself toward the figure at the door. Jothee grabbed at one of his arms, pulling him back.
“No. No no nononono he can’t be here this isn’t right this is too much HOW IS HE HERE?”
“I was invited,” Scorpius said, baring his teeth in what might have passed for a smile on another face.
Stark flailed ineffectively in Jothee’s grip, sputtering incoherently. Jothee just held on to him tighter.
“Not even my traitorous cousin would sink so low,” Rygel said.
“Ah,but he would and he did,” Scorpius corrected. “And now here I am. And you, Dominar, are coming with me. Guards?”
The scuffle that ensued was brief and achieved nothing. Rygel was taken away. The other three were left behind. Stark had retreated to his corner once more, twisting his hands together and muttering to himself. He wasn’t sure how long it had been now. It was hard enough to keep track of time in here to begin with.
“Stark,” Chiana said, crouching in front of him and waving a hand in front of his face, “we need you here. You here?”
“I can’t be anywhere else. Of course I’m here. There’s nowhere else to be. We can’t leave. We’re never going to leave. We’re trapped and now-”
“And now we’ve got to deal with Scorpius?” Chiana finished for him. “I know. But we will. We always have before. We’re getting out. Just…try and stay with us, yeah? We can’t carry you and run at the same time. Rygel, sure, but you’re too tall.”
“You could leave me.”
“Don’t make me slap you,” Chiana warned. “Nobody’s getting left behind.”
While all of this had been going on, Crichton and Aeryn had been mounting a rescue attempt. With the baby,naturally, because they weren’t about to leave him behind with Noranti. Of course, they hadn’t known about Scorpius anymore than their imprisoned shipmates had. But Scorpius had known about them and had been waiting. Crichton would never be able to resist the bait of rescuing his friends. The announcement of their impending execution had, in fact, been aimed at luring the human out of wherever he may have been hiding. So Scorpius expected Crichton. Crichton and Aeryn hadn’t expected Scorpius. Scorpius hadn’t expected the baby but he was taking full advantage of the situation. Jothee, Chiana, and Stark certainly hadn’t expected Crichton and Aeryn to be shoved into their cell, yelling threats at Scorpius and demanding their son back.
“Damn it, Scorpy, if you do anything to him…”
“The child is safe for the time being, John. How long he remains that way is up to you.”
More yelling ensued. More threats. Scorpius shut the door in their faces, with Crichton holding Aeryn back in a very similar manner to the way Jothee had restrained Stark earlier.
“Nice to see you guys,” Crichton muttered. “Rather be doing it from the other side of that door.”
“Yeah,” Chiana said with a snort. “We were hoping for that too.”
“At least they didn’t get Buckwheat,” Crichton offered.
“Yeah they did. Our old ‘friend’ over there came by a couple arns ago and some guards sedated Rygel and took him away. They said to say our final farewells to him.”
Stark let out an involuntary whimper at that reminder. Crichton grit his teeth and turned back towards the cell door. “Where’s Rygel?”
Scorpius was, to the surprise of nobody in the cell, still lurking in the corridor and listening. “Gone for good I’m afraid, John. I wouldn’t concern yourself with him.”
“You know I had something like a dozen chances to frag your ass in the last few cycles. Right now I really wish I’d taken one of them.”
“Yes, John. You probably should have. We will speak more later.”
The echoing of his boots, along with the fading voices of the Hynerian guards accompanying him, meant that Scorpius had moved on for the moment. That didn’t stop Crichton or Aeryn from yelling after him. Eventually they quieted down.
“Frell,” Crichton said, slumping against the wall. “What the frell is he doing here, anyway?”
“He said Bishan invited him,” Chiana said, disgusted. “But that’s all he’s said. Not like he’s gonna reveal his evil plans to any of us.”
“He might to me,” Crichton said with a sigh, covering his eyes with one hand. “Lucky me.”
[NFB for distance, NFI because of prison cells and life generally being extremely shitty for the saddest alien. Adapted mostly from “The Beginning of the End of the Beginning: Dungeons and Dominars.”]
“I tried that already,” Chiana said. “That lock’s unpickable.”
“How do you know?”
“High-tech eyes, remember?” Chiana said, pointing to her right eye. “These locks were designed by a genius.”
“Thank you,” Rygel said, a tiny hint of smugness creeping into his tone. “I was the one who designed the locks. It’s hardly a surprise that my fahrbot cousin hasn’t upgraded in all this time.”
“The Dominar speaks! You haven’t said a word since you dumped your marjools.”
“What, pray tell is there to say” Rygel asked, resigned now. “It is over. I spent 130 cycles enduring the Peacekeepers and the Uncharted Territories and it was all for nothing.”
“Such are the risks, Dominar.” Everyone in the cell jumped at the sound of that familiar and unwelcome voice and then froze again as the cell door opened.
“No…” Rygel breathed out.
“It can’t be,” Jothee said.
“What the frell are you doing here?” Chiana asked, taking an involuntary step backward.
And Stark, breaking his self-imposed silence, let out a scream and flung himself toward the figure at the door. Jothee grabbed at one of his arms, pulling him back.
“No. No no nononono he can’t be here this isn’t right this is too much HOW IS HE HERE?”
“I was invited,” Scorpius said, baring his teeth in what might have passed for a smile on another face.
Stark flailed ineffectively in Jothee’s grip, sputtering incoherently. Jothee just held on to him tighter.
“Not even my traitorous cousin would sink so low,” Rygel said.
“Ah,but he would and he did,” Scorpius corrected. “And now here I am. And you, Dominar, are coming with me. Guards?”
The scuffle that ensued was brief and achieved nothing. Rygel was taken away. The other three were left behind. Stark had retreated to his corner once more, twisting his hands together and muttering to himself. He wasn’t sure how long it had been now. It was hard enough to keep track of time in here to begin with.
“Stark,” Chiana said, crouching in front of him and waving a hand in front of his face, “we need you here. You here?”
“I can’t be anywhere else. Of course I’m here. There’s nowhere else to be. We can’t leave. We’re never going to leave. We’re trapped and now-”
“And now we’ve got to deal with Scorpius?” Chiana finished for him. “I know. But we will. We always have before. We’re getting out. Just…try and stay with us, yeah? We can’t carry you and run at the same time. Rygel, sure, but you’re too tall.”
“You could leave me.”
“Don’t make me slap you,” Chiana warned. “Nobody’s getting left behind.”
While all of this had been going on, Crichton and Aeryn had been mounting a rescue attempt. With the baby,naturally, because they weren’t about to leave him behind with Noranti. Of course, they hadn’t known about Scorpius anymore than their imprisoned shipmates had. But Scorpius had known about them and had been waiting. Crichton would never be able to resist the bait of rescuing his friends. The announcement of their impending execution had, in fact, been aimed at luring the human out of wherever he may have been hiding. So Scorpius expected Crichton. Crichton and Aeryn hadn’t expected Scorpius. Scorpius hadn’t expected the baby but he was taking full advantage of the situation. Jothee, Chiana, and Stark certainly hadn’t expected Crichton and Aeryn to be shoved into their cell, yelling threats at Scorpius and demanding their son back.
“Damn it, Scorpy, if you do anything to him…”
“The child is safe for the time being, John. How long he remains that way is up to you.”
More yelling ensued. More threats. Scorpius shut the door in their faces, with Crichton holding Aeryn back in a very similar manner to the way Jothee had restrained Stark earlier.
“Nice to see you guys,” Crichton muttered. “Rather be doing it from the other side of that door.”
“Yeah,” Chiana said with a snort. “We were hoping for that too.”
“At least they didn’t get Buckwheat,” Crichton offered.
“Yeah they did. Our old ‘friend’ over there came by a couple arns ago and some guards sedated Rygel and took him away. They said to say our final farewells to him.”
Stark let out an involuntary whimper at that reminder. Crichton grit his teeth and turned back towards the cell door. “Where’s Rygel?”
Scorpius was, to the surprise of nobody in the cell, still lurking in the corridor and listening. “Gone for good I’m afraid, John. I wouldn’t concern yourself with him.”
“You know I had something like a dozen chances to frag your ass in the last few cycles. Right now I really wish I’d taken one of them.”
“Yes, John. You probably should have. We will speak more later.”
The echoing of his boots, along with the fading voices of the Hynerian guards accompanying him, meant that Scorpius had moved on for the moment. That didn’t stop Crichton or Aeryn from yelling after him. Eventually they quieted down.
“Frell,” Crichton said, slumping against the wall. “What the frell is he doing here, anyway?”
“He said Bishan invited him,” Chiana said, disgusted. “But that’s all he’s said. Not like he’s gonna reveal his evil plans to any of us.”
“He might to me,” Crichton said with a sigh, covering his eyes with one hand. “Lucky me.”
[NFB for distance, NFI because of prison cells and life generally being extremely shitty for the saddest alien. Adapted mostly from “The Beginning of the End of the Beginning: Dungeons and Dominars.”]