"The kid has the artefact?" "Luke had it with him when he died." "The young brother has found it." "Kill him, Quentin!" "You have to!" "There are good people here." "If you try to assimilate, they will meet you halfway." "I will do as you ask." "Now, these visions of yours, if they are somehow connected to..." "If?" "I'm not like you." "I'm an alien." "And you made me afraid of that!" "Razor rain." "Razor rain!" "Everyone move!" "Sukar!" "Sukar!" "Sukar!" "Little Wolf." "What we must do is for the good of all." "Good morning, Defiance." "This is Alak Tarr on Raider Radio broadcasting from the top of the Arch." "You just heard an Earth pop cover from Semma Cru." "Next up," "Lokyulo Dwoken with music for a stormy night on Casti." "Looks like rain." "Good excuse for us to hang up here and make out." "You smell amazing." "Alak, it's Mayor Rosewater." "You know why I'm calling." "Yeah." "I listened to your album." "Wanted to disinfect my record player after." "Listen, you little punk." "I'm the damn mayor." "Play Shiny Happy People or you're fired." "And don't forget to update the weather." "Did you just hang up on the Mayor?" "She was giving me attitude." "I had a weird conversation with your mom yesterday." "She was talking about a bathing ritual." "Oh." "That." "She said it was a ceremony for newlyweds." "It's just some stupid old custom from the home world." "The whole family together in a bathtub?" "It's something the higher liros still do." "Look, I know it probably sounds bizarre." " We're all supposed to be naked?" " No!" "Not really." "The women wear these beads." "You didn't think I'd have a problem with that?" "It's just 20 minutes out of your life." "Yes, it'll be weird, but you'll be fine." "I promise." "Ah, it's getting nasty out there." "Just finished rain-proofing the school roof." "The principal's so grateful, she kissed me on the lips." "At least I hope it was a "she."" "You can't tell the difference with those Liberata." "What are you doing?" "Did you remember to pack your socks?" "You know how grumpy you get when your feet are cold." "I'm going to the Badlands." "Sukar's in danger." "I had a vision." "You coming or not?" " What's the problem, boss?" " Nothing." " Nicky." " Rafe." "Hello." "So sorry to drop in at such an early hour." "I was taking baked goods to the prisoners at Camp Reverie." "Outreach." "And then, my roller just died." "And you need me to check it out." "Oh, no." "I hailed the Sensoth garage." "I just need somewhere to wait out this ghastly weather." "Well, make yourself at home." "Quentin." "Good morning, love." "You know I never could get a handle on those darn rollers." "My man, Birch, usually drives me." "Unfortunately, Birch is in Iowa visiting family." "You know, that man has eight brothers and sisters." "If you ask me, that's not a family." "That's a litter." "He has allergies." " Jered." " I'll get it." " I've got this." " Mm-hmm." "Mrs Tarr..." "What a nice surprise." "I thought that you were here for your husband's weekly collection." "He's out of town." "I'm here to secure your professional services for my son." "I want to make sure it's handled properly." "As you may have heard, my son is marrying Christie McCawley." "I..." "I've heard." "I want Alak educated with regard to the eccentricities of the human female libido." "Making love to one of you is enormously complicated." "We're really not complex." "What about this G-spot?" "It's one of your major erogenous zones, yet it took your own scientists centuries to confirm it even existed." "It's not mysterious if you know what you're doing." "Exactly why Alak needs you." "When Christie recounts the events of her wedding night to her father, he'll understand that he married his daughter into the highest possible..." " You're laughing at me." " Trust me." "No human girl is going to ever want to talk wedding sex with her father, especially when her father is Rafe McCawley." "You've insulted me." "You have to admit, it's just a little bit funny." "We have a saying, "Seeming is being."" "Treating me like a fool makes me one." "And I am no one's fool." "Wait." "Please." "I'm sorry." "You caught me off guard." "Do you think it's easy for a woman of my marusha to come here?" "I didn't mean to insult you, so I'm not gonna let you walk out of here mad." "Please, let me buy you a drink." "There is a storm coming." "I don't have time." "Just one drink." "And then we can talk about Alak." "Come on." "I saw those mountains in my vision." "We're close." "We don't want any trouble." "You don't belong here." "Not now." "Little Wolf." "I thought you might come." "Sukar is dead." " How?" " The sky opened and took him." "I'm so sorry, kiddo." "We are preparing the sinking ritual." "You are welcome to attend, Little Wolf." "But your human must go." "Nolan, look." "You say the sky took him." "You mean the storm." " Razor rain." " Yep." "Everyone in town thinks it's a normal rainstorm." "We got to warn them." "Let's go." "I can't." "I'm staying for Sukar's sinking ritual." "You can come back for me when the storm passes." "I'll be all right." "Little Wolf is safe in our care." "You have my word." "Be careful." "Sukar has left us." "His spirit has flown to join Irzu." "Sukar's flesh will melt away." "His bones will remain to adorn this place." "But we will keep him alive in our minds and in our hearts." "His belongings must precede him." "This broth is his purification." "It will spare his bones and return the three elements of his body to nature." "Through this body flows the path to Irzu." "Do we have to talk about this now?" "We're not leaving this arch until we talk about this." "Look." "You humans think too much." "Okay, you worry about everything, you're way too hung up on your bodies..." "And Castis are better?" "Okay, you don't want to do the bathing ritual, just tell my parents no." "How about you tell them no?" "How about you're the one who talks to my parents, and I'm the one who spins awesome tunes?" "Yep." "Alak, we have an emergency." "I need you to patch me through to the entire town." "You're on." "This is Lawkeeper Nolan." "The cloud approaching Defiance is a razor rainstorm." "For those of you who have never experienced razor rain, you can expect sudden barrages of metal shrapnel, fragments of the dead ships floating in the Arkbelt." "The squalls are unpredictable and can form anywhere at any time." "The metal fragments can easily slice through exposed skin and conventional clothing." "Stay indoors." "Okay, Lambert, I need you to supervise the temporary shelters at the All-Faith." "Yes, ma'am." "Tommy, put together a strike team for any emergency repairs." "Irzu must have sent him back to us." "Are you blind?" "It's a curse." "The broth melts the flesh." "This is not our Sukar." "This is impossible." "This new planet is impossible." "Little Wolf." "Irzu's path flows through us both." "There's work ahead." "We have to act quickly." "You must follow me." "I cannot wait." "I must go alone." " Wait, where are you going?" " Defiance." "Shtako." "Bring it on!" "Come on!" "I am not scared of a little rain!" "I am hot shtako..." "Hey!" "Come on!" "Ah, Quentin." "How are those allergies, hmm?" "You want to tell me what's going on?" "My roller broke down." "And don't tell me that your roller broke down." "Oh, all right." "All right." "I'm looking for Birch." "So he's not in Iowa visiting his eight brothers and sisters." "Last time I saw him, he was on his way here to break into your house." "Birch had an interesting theory." "He thought that your son, Luke, rest his soul, was involved in the Volge attack, that Luke and Ben Daris were actually working together." "He came here to search for evidence." "When he didn't return, well, you can imagine my concern." "That's quite a set of balls you got there, Nicolette." "Coming from you, now, that is a compliment." "If somebody broke into my house, I certainly would know about it." "Oh, I don't doubt that." "Were I to guess," "I'd say that you walked in on Birch, and you killed him." "Oh, lighten up." "That was a joke." "The look on your face." "Honestly..." "Do you think there's somewhere here that I could lie down just for a bit, hmm?" "Pilar's sewing room." "Upstairs." "You know where it is." "Of course." "What are you doing?" "Wait!" "Stop!" "Gather as much cable as you can." " Quickly!" " I don't understand." "Just do it!" "Get the hell out of my store!" "Sukar!" "No." "No!" "Please, please!" "Don't!" "Keep them out of my way." "Wrap it and keep pressure on." "I need to call the lawkeeper." "No!" "Hey!" "No!" "You can't just go around attacking people." "I'm getting Nolan." "This is a test of faith for both of us." "You came with me for a reason." "To make sure you didn't hurt anyone." "Into the roller." "Now!" "Why did you come into the woods today?" "I had a vision, you in danger." "I had the same dream." "You appeared to me before I died." " How is that possible?" " You have visions that come true." "You witnessed my resurrection, you saw my wounds heal." "How can you still deny Irzu?" "Finally, there is another like you, another who's been chosen." "You are no longer alone." "We have a mission." "The question is, can you accept that our mission is a holy one?" "Can you dare to believe that you were chosen, that you are special?" "Come, Little Wolf." "Perhaps you can keep me out of trouble." "The old lady knows." "She knows everything." "You know what you have to do." " No." " Come on, bro." "Just like Birch." " Squeeze her neck." " No!" "All right." "You want to tell me what the hell happened to Birch?" "The truth." "He broke in." "He was looking for that thing." "The thing you threw away?" " You did throw it away, didn't you?" " Tell him you got rid of it." "Yeah, I threw it away." "But Birch was really sure it was here." "He attacked me." "I fought back." "I didn't mean to fight him so hard." " What'd you do with him?" " Dante's Drop." "No one will ever find his body." "And I scrubbed the living room from top to bottom." "What about Nicky?" "She's got no proof, so we're fine." "Quentin, the son of a bitch broke into our home." "Your sister could have been here, could have been injured." "A man protects his home and his family." "I'm proud of you, son." "This is Raider Radio broadcasting from the top of the Arch, riding out the razor rain." "We're gonna slow things down now with some Old Earth jazz." "This one's from a human named Artie Winston, recorded in Las Vegas long before it became a prison." "I hope he's safe up there." "The Arch survived the terraformers." "There's nothing to worry about." "You obviously don't have a child." "He's practically an adult." " He's a baby." " He's getting married." "I've had plenty." "Was it really such a bad idea?" "Christie doesn't want her fiancé with a prostitute." "I just want Alak to be happy." "This whole time we've been sitting here, you've talked about Datak, Alak..." "But never yourself." "I don't want you to get me wrong." "I love my life." "I love my boys, both of them." "But?" "Sometimes I do feel like I'm living in service to them." "And I want things, too." "When was the last time that you did something just for you?" "My home world." "I was quite good at..." " Never mind." " Tell me." "The closest word in your language would be poetry, I think." " You wrote poetry?" " In Casti, it's not written." "It's spoken or sung." "So like a performer, an actress." "I even had a small, loyal following." " Until..." " Until what?" "My father disapproved." " Can I hear one?" " I don't remember any." "Then write a new one." "Do something that's not for Datak or Alak." "Do something that is just for you." "Do you want to dance with me?" "May I have another drink, please?" "Of course." "Looks like the town's secured." "We need to find any stragglers and get them to safety." " Tommy!" " Tommy?" "Shtako." "I zigged when I should've zagged." "How bad is it?" "Doc Yewll will patch you up good as new." "Tommy." "Hey!" "Come here." "Doc?" "Doc!" "Where the hell is she?" "Doc!" "Doc?" "Doc." "Were you in the storm?" " Sukar attacked me." " Sukar?" "He started tearing apart my equipment." " I tried to stop him." " You sure it was Sukar?" " The Spirit Riders told me he was dead." " Well, for a dead guy, he kicked the crap out of me pretty good." "Grab the oxygen, squeeze every five seconds." "Fragment passed through clean." "Your Irathient was with him." "She dressed my wound." "Irisa was with him?" "Why didn't she stop him from attacking you?" " Doc, why didn't she stop him?" " Lost his pulse." "CPR now!" " Is he gonna make it?" " Only if his luck changes." "Ah." "Now that the rain is easing up, I can be on my way." "And I think my roller problem has resolved itself." "It's amazing how that happens, isn't it?" "Mm." " Taking a souvenir?" " Oh, this." "Yes." "I found a stain on this pillow by the day bed." "Looks almost like blood, doesn't it?" "That's it, you're done." "Get out." "I know whose blood that is, and I know something happened here, and I want to know what." "You're right." "Birch is dead." "I don't take kindly to trespassers, so I shot him once in the head and once in the chest." "That's what I do to people who threaten my family." "You know, Rafe, I believed that you had killed him." "But if you had, we both know you would never admit to it unless you were protecting your family." " Quentin!" " Shut up!" "If you really want to know what happened to your mother, come and see me." "You show up here again, and I will bury you!" "Oh, look." "I cut my finger upstairs." "Might I have a bandage?" "No?" "Oh, well." "Never mind." "What'd she mean about Mom?" "Nicolette Riordan is a miserable, old bitch who likes to cause trouble." "You stay the hell away from her." "You hear me?" "Yeah." "The rain's let up." "I'm going home." "Christie, wait." "Look, I'll..." "I'll tell my parents no about the bathing ritual." "I'll say it was my call, and I'll leave you out of it completely." "Thank you." "I think my dad will be cool." "And your mom?" "Uh..." "What..." "Get out!" " But the Mayor said..." " Get out before you get hurt." "Okay." "He's breathing on his own." "That's good." "Okay, so let's go back to the beginning." "You're certain it was Sukar you saw?" "Positive, and Irisa was with him." "He must be holding her hostage or something." "Didn't look that way." "We just need to know what Sukar was up to." "What did he take?" " Ark-Brain interface." " "Ark-Brain"?" "A lot of my gear is salvaged from Arkfalls and repurposed." "The module Sukar stole lets me talk to my medical equipment." "Is it strong enough to contact an Ark fragment in orbit?" "No, not enough power." "Listen." " I don't hear anything." " Yeah, that's the point." "Dead air." "Could Sukar hook up this gizmo of yours to the radio equipment in the Arch?" " And boost the signal?" " Yeah." "There's already a powerful transmitter." "And the Arch makes a fine antenna." "If Sukar is sending a signal into space, he must think that there is something there to receive it." " Oh, shtako." " What?" "What is it?" "There's an Ark fragment at the top of the razor rain funnel." "Sukar is using my component to connect to the ship's propulsion systems." "Looks like he's managed to get the thrusters online." "Why would he do that?" "I don't know." "But the ship's on a direct course for Defiance." "If it hits, we're all dead." " That is the final adjustment." " Now what?" "We wait, Little Wolf." "When the time is right, we flip the switch." " Step away from the equipment." " Put the gun down." "The gun's staying exactly where it is." "He's bringing down a huge chunk of Ark right into the town." " Is that true?" " I don't know." "Irzu is a guiding spirit." "His path flows through us." "If for some reason, he wishes to destroy Defiance, it is for the greater good." " It is time." " Sukar!" " stop!" " No!" "Nolan!" "That one was a warning." "The next one goes through your head." "Stop it!" "Oh, you're just gonna stand there?" "There's wire on the table." "Tie him up!" "Do it!" "He's trying to kill us all." "I don't believe that." "Tie his hands." "No!" "No!" "It flows through both of us." "What are you doing?" " Finishing it." " I can't let you do that." "Shoot me if you have to." "He had faith, and so do I." "It's changing direction." "Sukar saved Defiance, and you killed him." " I'm so sorry." " You killed him!" " Is he gonna wake up?" " No." "He's in a coma." " And he's not coming out of it." " Then what am I doing here?" "Doc figured out what was driving Sukar." "You need to understand." "It wasn't an Irathient god." "It was a bunch of microscopic robots." "The Earth term would be "nanites."" "The razor rain fragment that impaled Sukar was a piece of Ark-Brain." "The Ark-Brain was aware that a big chunk of the ship had fallen out of orbit and was on a collision course with the town." "It acted on its primary mandate." "To preserve Votan life." "Only tool that it had available was Sukar's body." "So the brain sent out the nanites to repair the tissue damage and construct the device that saved the town." "Tiny robots?" "If they repair tissue damage, maybe they'll fix whatever's wrong with him." "They went dormant once the town was saved." "I need to prepare you." "Sukar's brain is shut down." "His spine is severed." "You need to accept that he's gone." "If you're so smart, can you explain my visions?" "How I saw Sukar die in the rain?" "Well, it wasn't because of some ooga-booga Irathient god." "Doc." "Ease up." "We have to think of Sukar now, kiddo." "Doc has drugs that'll help ease his passing." "Help him onto Irzu's path." "You don't believe in his god." "You don't believe in anything." "And if either of you touch him, I will cut you with one of my blades." "Do you understand?" "Do you understand?" "We'll give you some space." "It's nice." "The tea?" "Having a secret." "Something all to myself." "Thank you." "Can you imagine if..." "Datak could see us right now?" "Kenya, listen to me very carefully." "If my husband ever found out that we've been together, he'd kill us both without hesitation or mercy." "It's his loss." "I would've given him the two-for-one deal." "Come here." "It flows through us both." "Take good care of him." "Always, Little Wolf."