"VIRUS" "I cannot believe this is happening to me again." "But this time, dear D'Argo, it is by your own choice." "Barely." "The approaching Marauder's ident signal says it's definitely not from Crais's command carrier." "There are other ways to deal with the Peacekeepers." "Let's try Crichton way." "Crichton's way !" "If we are going to attempt this Rygel, it means no ThroneSled !" "We are ready now, Pilot." "Understood." "Identify yourself !" "Regiment, assignment." "Identify yourself." "Lieutenant Aeryn Sun." "Ustar Regiment, special duty assignment." "And you ?" "Larraq." "Captain." "And my assignment's none of your business." "Having some trouble with your Marauder, Captain ?" "Cesium fuel leak." "We're lucky we found you." "You think ?" "Awful big ship for one little girl." "I can handle big." "Ease your weapon, Lieutenant." "That is an order." "Smart move." "Captain." "What are you doing aboard my vessel ?" "Captain." "Emergency situation." "My team and I are on a Priority Red One mission." "We need your boat here to complete it." "Therefore, under Article 414 Decca," "I hereby assume command over it, your crew," "and you." "Well, I think not." "What the frell ?" "You need my help," "I suggest you ask nicely." "Captain." "Delvian." "And a quite attractive one." "So you recaptured them out here on a New Technologies training flight ?" "New tech has been experimenting with Leviathan mastery without the use of control collars." "How are you controlling this ship without a collar ?" "Neural control on the ship's pilot." "We control him, he controls the ship." "Yes, I heard they'd been working on that." "But every test flight so far, they've lost the Leviathan and the crew." "Well, so far this test flight has gone without a hitch" "Till you came aboard, Captain." "Tell me, what precisely is your mission ?" "You don't have the clearance to know anything about my mission, Captain." "But let me make it simple for you." "I've got one crate, and I've got to get it back into Peacekeeper control without delay." "One crate ?" "You see how simple it is ?" "Well, you of course are welcome to travel back with us, however..." "No, no, you see, you don't read me." "This is urgent." "I'll give you a set of co-ordinates to a base." "We can be there in twenty arns." "Twenty arns ?" "But that would mean that the base is out here in the Uncharted Territories." "It's a new Gammak base." "Secret." "Need to know only." "But since you'll be taking me there," "I guess you need to know." "And yes, it is here, in the Uncharted Territories." "Hey !" "You damage the Captain's prize and he'll have both your heads on jinka poles." "Whatever you say, Doc." "Hey, what's this ?" " May I approach ?" " Get as close as you want, darlin'." "The Captain's ordered me to attend to you." "There's proper food waiting in the Centre Chamber when ... when you're ready." "That boot-shine Captain got a non-reg server like you aboard ?" "Guess he's not as big a nerfer as I thought he was." "What'd he pay for you, sweetheart ?" "Not much, I'm sure." "Sergeant," "I want to check the contents." "Now." "We've been out here in the Uncharteds for nearly a full cycle looking for that thing." "That's a long time for me to hang with just my Captain and these two." "Nearly a whole cycle ?" "Well, that is a long time to be ... to be searching for something." "I'm sure your ..." "your Captain's prize must be very valuable." "That's not for you to concern yourself with honey." "Would you like..." "Oh !" "I'm sorry" "It's not a problem." " Really !" " No problem at all." "Food in the Centre Chamber ?" "Got it." "Now leave us." "Too easy." "They certainly don't pay much attention to rank, do they ?" "My people will follow every one of my orders instantly, and without question." "I ask them to spit out of their eye, I expect them to drop dead trying." "But make them stand up just because I walk into a room ?" "Come on." "I respect them too much for that." "You've never interfaced with Special Ops before ?" "I've heard of you." " Everyone at regiment level has." " Oh yes." "What is it that you call us ?" "Black ghosts." "Is that supposed to be an insult ?" "'Cause you know," "I kinda like it." "Insult, definitely." "Actually, I did see one of your type once." "I was on a transfer barge." "I was changing troop ships and I ..." "I only saw him for a couple of microts, but I recognised the unkempt uniform," " and the undisciplined attitude." " Must have really offended you." "And just think," "Now you're going to sit down and eat with one." "Alright." "Enough is enough." "This sham is over." "I say we storm them now." "No, no, no." "This is working." "They think I'm a Peacekeeper Captain." "Well certainly the uniform is convincing." "Yes, we're glad the Peacekeepers left it on board." "You look very, fetching !" "John, D'Argo is right." "Perhaps we should take them now, while we still have the element of surprise." "Moya's in the final stages of pregnancy." "We have twenty arns before we're anywhere near that base." "I say we learn as much from these guys as we can." "Aeryn's supposed to be grilling Larraq right now." "And what is going to happen when Aeryn gets sick and tired of pretending to take your orders ?" "John, the closer we get to that base, the more dangerous it is for all of us." "And what if it's not the only base ?" "I may be naive, but flying around in the Uncharted Territories, ignorant of what the Peacekeepers are doing out here ?" "That to me seems dangerous." "Well I can tell you one thing for free." " I will not be chained up again." " Fine." " And I'm not having that door locked." " Fine." "Just stay out of sight." "We'd best get Rygel in harmony with this." "Rygel !" "Oh, he's used his hidden escape route." "Beautiful." "Let's go find Sparky before he screws this thing up." "Yeah, let's find him before you screw it up." "I'll take this tier." "D'Argo, come on." "Crichton, get out of there !" "D'Argo." "D'Argo." "I guess you're pretty lucky I came along when I did, eh Captain ?" "If you ever lay hands on me again, I will have you up on charges." "D'Argo, you did well." "Too well." "You ever fly anything a little sexier than a Leviathan ?" "Let's see." "I started flying scrub runners at fourteen cycles." "Half a cycle later, a KL 80 and an 81." " and Prowler Attack School at sixteen." " Sixteen ?" "Why'd you wait so long ?" "I had to." "My feet didn't reach the pedals." "So, you said that you'd been out here in the Uncharted Territories for almost a full cycle ?" "Looking for whatever that thing is in the crate ?" "And the sooner I get it into somebody else's hands, the happier I'll be." " Don't ask, 'cause I'm not going to tell you." " Why, 'cause you'd have to kill me then ?" "Just stay away from it, okay ?" "That's a stasis gun, isn't it ?" "Came in handy on this trip." "Well, that's for capture, not killing." "Look, you said that this base we're heading to is a Gammak Base." "That's science military, right ?" "Are you sure that it's wise to take whatever that thing is." "Science military's perfect." "Let them deal with it." "Ow!" "Watch where you're cutting !" "Easy for you to say." "How dare you sneak up on me like that !" "I should make you wear a bell 'round your neck." "Keep your fantasies to yourself, frog boy." "Fantasies ?" "About you ?" "Ugh !" "Why, I never." "I've seen you looking at me" "You want to be a pervo, you gotta practise subtle." "But don't get your shivvies in an uproar." "Like I care." "Thorrn, status !" " Yeah, Rhed." "I'm going to check out the cargo bay." " Proceed." "Okay." "Roger that." "What are you doing down here anyway ?" "Me ?" "You're the one who's supposed to stay in his cage." "Well, Pilot said they were bringing something onboard, and I thought I'd come down here and see if I could ..." "You're here for the same reason I am." "To see if there's anything inside worth snurching." "Snurch ?" "I don't snurch !" "I ..." " Procure." " Look, in the interest of not getting caught, I'll agree to half whatever we procure." "Half ?" "I was here first." "But I have the, ah, the key." "Okay, half." "Open it." "What, me ?" "Don't you want your half of whatever's in there ?" "Well, your half's in there too." "I'm ... not very practical." "Aye, aye, your royal frogness." "It's hot !" "What is that ?" "Do you recognise the species ?" "Even if I did, I wouldn't admit it." "Well, whatever it is, it's still alive." "Hey Thorrn !" "The Captain's after us." "Better get down to the ca ..." "Holy dren !" "How did that..." "Captain !" "It's Rhed." "You'd better get..." "A single shot in the cargo area." "Weapons fire ?" "This charade is definitely over." "Pilot, open these doors now !" " What's he doing ?" " Shhh !" " I've had enough !" " Rygel !" "One down." "Spread out." "If it moves, shoot it." "What is that ?" "What is going on here ?" "It's escaped." "What has escaped ?" "She's dead." "Somebody suffocated her." " It has escaped." "What exactly is "it", Captain ?" " Over there." "Aeryn, no !" "Step back from him, now !" "What are you so frelling afraid of ?" "Captain ?" "Peacekeeper Command sent us out here on a fugitive recovery." "The fugitive we're after is a virus." "When we finally isolated the virus, it was using that creature as a host." "An intellant virus ?" "We caught the virus when it was still in its single infection stage." "Meaning it can only infect one host at a time." "Unless it gets a chance to lay its spores." "Spores ?" "Yeah." "Give it an arn inside a single host it can lay a couple of million spores." "It does that and this whole end of the galaxy's in some serious frelling dren." "Right, then." "That virus was inside the creature, now it's somewhere on the ship." "Not somewhere, it's inside someone." " The virus isn't airborne." " It can only move from one host to host." "You have to be really close to whoever's got it." "Start talking, Thorrn" "What happened ?" "I don't remember." " Captain ?" " Chiana !" "Lower your weapon..." "Captain." "Chiana ?" "On your feet, now." "What happened here ?" "I was walking past and I ..." "I saw Rygel." "He opened up that crate." "Somehow he ... he got it open." "Who's Rygel ?" "The Hynerian prisoner." "The Peacekeeper came in." "He, he attacked." "He knocked him down." "He stole his weapon and shot the other one." "Rygel ?" "The virus can make a host muscle fire all at once, increasing strength." "Thorrn !" "Is that what happened ?" " It could have happened." " Where'd this Rygel go ?" "The shaft." "The access shaft." "He could be anywhere on the ship." "We've gotta find him before the virus has time to incubate or transfer to another host." "How the frell did one of your prisoners get loose ?" "Let me get this straight." "Rygel has been possessed by some Mensa member virus, that's going to lay eggs, that's going to infect all of us in like, an arn, if we don't find him ?" "That's about it." "Great." "Well I think under the circumstances, our little masquerade is over." "Under the circumstances, those commandoes are primed to shoot at anything they do not trust." "The only thing that is over is our chance to take them by surprise." "This is a disaster, Crichton." "It is a grave misfortune that that uniform did not fit me." "Always a party." "Come on, stick with me." "You'll be safer." "What is going on ?" "Surrender yourselves !" "More of your prisoners have escaped, Captain." "We don't have time for this." "You get into a fire fight, there may be noone left to find the Hynerian." "We need them." "We take them down, fast." "Let's do it, now !" "Ka D'Argo !" "Zotoh Zhaan !" "There is a situation aboard this ship which you are unaware of." "A situation which threatens all of us." "We have an intellant virus aboard." "It is using the Hynerian as a host." "He has escaped and is hiding somewhere in the ship." "If we do not find him, isolate him before this virus has a chance to lay its spores, then we all die." "We have to work together on this deal." "We search fast and thorough, in pairs." "Nobody goes it alone from this moment on." "The virus's best defence is moving from one host, to another one." "Nobody's watching, until nobody knows who it's in." "Then it waits and lays its spores." "There's no way of testing for its presence ?" "Well the host's body will show signs of higher acidity, but only after the virus has left." "So while the virus is inhabiting, there is no way of telling, until it's too late." "You see the Hynerian, you hit your Comms and stay away from him." "No physical contact whatsoever." "Believe me, you do not want this thing choosing you to incubate its spores." "Right, then." "Let's do it." "Pilot ?" "Yes, Captain." "Report." "My DRDs have checked all tiers and passageways." "No signs of him." "I suspect he's still in the access shaft system" "Concentrate your search there." "As you wish, Captain." "Shall we shaft it ?" "When the virus moves from one host to another, doesn't the original host remember being infected ?" "The virus leaves behind a mild hallucinogenic which disrupts the host's short term memory system, leaving them a little dizzy and confused, but they remember nothing of the experience." "My people had an experience with an intellant virus once." "An entire exploration colony was destroyed." "My mother had family there, but even the Delvian High Council couldn't do anything about it." "Sorry to bore you." "Come on, Pip !" "When you first found this thing, why didn't you kill it when you had a chance ?" "That wasn't the mission." "The mission was to capture one alive." "That's what my team and I have spent the better part of a cycle doing out here." "Well, what's left of my team." "Why would anybody want this thing alive ?" "Study it." "Tame it if they can." "When you release a cloud of intelligent, controlled viruses among your enemy, a few arns later their entire army's now working for you." "Alright." "Capturing one, is clearly a suicide mission." "It was a challenge." "A challenge ?" "A challenge that has cost you three members of your crew." "Four." "And it may cost a lot more than that before we capture it again." "You first." "You have the weapon." "You first." "We've got to find Rygel soon." "The arn's almost up." "How does a damn virus get to be so smart, anyway ?" "What's it do ?" "When we find Rygel, if we find Rygel, we'd better, find some way to kill the stinking virus without killing him." "We've found him !" "Location !" "Centre Chamber." "On the way !" "Stay away from me !" "Stay away from me !" "I'm not coming out of here until you tell me what the yotz is going on !" "Well, he is trapped but you don't have a very clear shot." "If..." "I miss, it takes this Stasis Gun several microts to recharge." "We don't have several microts." "Why not just use a regular pulse rifle ?" "No !" "No !" "I've got to take him alive." "What the yotz are you going to do with that ?" "Certainly sounds like the Hynerian." "It's supposed to." "That's exactly what the virus does." "Listen to me !" "Let me explain !" "I wasn't the only one there !" "Listen to me !" "I know the guilty party and..." "Hit him" "He's down." "Alright, let's get him out of there into the containment box down below, now." "I must formulate some sort of antibody that'll kill the virus without killing Rygel." "This is why you should be in the Transport Hangar working with your apothecary and not in a locked cell." "And what if you don't ?" "You might kill Rygel." "You might think your magic pill worked, and then Rygel's up walking around the ship, coughing up the spores, cats and dogs living together." "No, no." "Our only chance is to talk to the Peacekeeper," "Science Officer." "What's her name, the one with the nice lips." "Hassan." "If anybody knows about an antibody, it will be her." "And D'Argo, forget about the use of force." "Do you think you can make Hassan tell you about the antibody ?" "Name me the Peacekeeper you've met who'd give a royal dren if you stuck a charged pulse rifle to their head." "But John, we are on a direct course for the Peacekeeper base." "And I would rather not be locked in a cell when we arrive." "And I say, we need to find out about the base." "We have the time." "Let's use it." "Let's not blow it by going around the ship waving guns about." "The antibody, is top priority." "Look, as soon as I leave here, I'm going straight to hot lips." "Trust me." "I came to see if you needed a hand." " Doesn't look like you do." " No." "I reckon not." "Right, then !" "So, what happens to the Hynerian once the virus has been leached out of him ?" "He doesn't know this, but he's already spoken his dying words." "It's not a pretty process." "You know, I talk about the challenge of bringing in this fugitive virus, but, numerically speaking, I'd have to say it's winning." "You know this may sound funny, but, you ever think about going Special Ops ?" "Me ?" "I've seen you in action." "What are you doing in Ustar Regiment ?" "You're being wasted there." "You're wasting yourself there." "Plus, I ..." "I like the idea of having you nearby." "Bad timing." "Let's just get this assignment closed down." "No, it isn't that." "Look, I know you've got your Captain to consider, and High Command's going to have plenty to say on the subject." "But if you and I get some time at the Gammak Base, maybe we can sit down, talk about it." "Captain !" "Lieutenant." "This is quite a collection of herbs and spices." "Who uses them ?" "No one, now." "I have no idea, who was aboard prior to this technician." "Well, it's a fascinating accumulation from so many different worlds" "They believe that the virus is still inside Rygel." "Yes, but they also think there's no test to be certain." "Pilot said you wanted to see me ?" "Yes." "Tell me, how are you feeling ?" "I'm fine." "Any dizziness ?" "No." "Well, yeah, a little, but, how did you know that ?" "Here, lick this." "What ?" "That's your bed cover." "Is everybody aboard this ship, kinkoid ?" "This material contains litmus fibres." "Now just lick it !" "Like I said." "You had the virus in you." "What ?" "Are you tinked ?" "When the virus leaves its hosts, it leaves behind a telltale acidity." " Don't you think I'd remember if I had some sort of..." " No, no, you wouldn't." "If the virus is no longer in Rygel, then it must be in somebody else." "Pilot, you reported an increase in speed." "Yes, Lieutenant." "The Captain is accelerating our approach towards the coordinates given to me by Captain Larraq." "Is that the case, Captain ?" "It is, Lieutenant." "I want us at that Gammak base and that bug off my ship as fast as possible." "I couldn't agree more" "What are you doing accelerating ?" "I am doing exactly what a commander in my position would do." "These commandoes are not stupid." "I'm doing my part." "You do yours." "Get the damned information." "It's... a rather large galaxy, Captain." "How did you ever manage to find something, as tiny as a virus ?" "Perseverence." " Larraq, about the Gammak Base we're.." " You must be a very, patient man." "Very, methodical man." "I'm a good tracker." "Oh, I'd say... a great tracker." "Captain ?" "The Maintenance Bay." "Lieutenant Hassan, she's dead." "Executed." "The Stasis gun is destroyed." "Nobody move !" "No !" "The virus is still loose !" "I believe it's in Crichton." "Oh, no !" "What's going on ?" "Don't move !" "Are you people crazy ?" "What's everybody looking at ?" "What's everybody lookin' at !" "The virus." "John, it's in one of us." "Move yourself away !" " Shut up !" " Stay back !" " Drop your weapon now !" " Shut up !" "Shut up !" "All of you, shut up !" "Somebody talk to me." "The virus was inside of you and now it is inside one of them." "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." "What do you mean, the virus was in me ?" "It wasn't ever in Rygel." "It was in Chiana." "She passed it to you." "I don't remember a thing." "And you won't." "Neither will you, John." " It's part of the virus's defences." " Wait, wait, wait, wait," " What's this 'John' dren ?" " That topic is off at the moment, Captain." " If indeed you are the Captain." " Stop." "Just shut up." "The virus was inside Chiana ?" "Her body's acidity was abnormally high." "That is the sign" " Can the virus re-enter someone after it's left them ?" " No." " Good." " Chiana, over here." " Hey, wait a second." "Who are you ?" " Off topic, Captain, remember ?" "Okay, so the virus is inside of one of you, and you've all got guns." "Great !" "We will shoot at it if it starts shooting and kill it where it stands." "That's only mildly comforting, Aeryn, since the virus'll probably start shooting first." " I say we cut the odds and smoke 'em all right now." " Yeah ?" "How do we know it isn't in you ?" "Maybe what you really want is to cut the competition." "How do we know it isn't you Captain ?" "Twisted as it sounds, what we have right here is exactly what we need:" "guns in a lot of hands, pointed in every direction." "What about that freezo gun you had ?" "You destroyed it !" "What we need is some way to kill the virus, now, while we've got it trapped here." "Yes, an antibody." " Zhaan said that she could make one." " You willing to try that ?" "I'm willing to try anything." " You realise I don't have the components I once did." " Just keep working, Zhaan." "I figure with such high acidity, I need something that will adjust the body's alkaline levels, and bump up each species' natural immune system." "Yeah well, whatever it is, you're taking it first." "Lighten up." "You didn't do it." "Well you did, but ... it wasn't really you." "Ready." "I know." "Me first." "How will we know it has worked ?" "An acid-based lifeform would have a noticeable reaction to this level of alkaline, even if it doesn't kill it." "Well, you all saw the components that I put in." "Right." "Over here." "Okay." "Who's next ?" "I will." "Told you." "Do it !" " It's the Luxan !" " It's him." "Do it now !" "Put that weapon down right now !" "Put your weapon down !" "Shoot him now !" "What are you waiting for ?" " I am telling you to drop your weapon !" " Alright, do it !" "Come on, just do it." "So we can prove it's him and we can kill him." "Come on." "Eenie," "meanie, minie." "D'Argo." "Pilot !" "I've been monitoring." "DRDs are searching." "Cut him off." "Don't let him off this tier." "Closing access points," "Now." "Larraq ?" "Not exactly." "But this shell of his is going to get me onto that Peacekeeper base." "Stay back !" "I learned a lot from the time I spent inside you." "You fugitives want to stay away from that Peacekeeper base as badly as I want to get there." "So here's what we're going to do." "You're going to let me into that Marauder ship without, any, interference." "And then you're free to blast yourselves as far from here as you want." "If the virus is allowed to spawn, it could contaminate thousands of species, before it's able to be contained again." "I'm sorry." "Is that a problem ?" "Crichton, you just do what you have to do !" "This Larraq guy, he really liked you." "A lot." "Aeryn !" "No !" "No !" "God !" "You go !" "Go after him !" "The virus can't reinfect you !" "Go !" " Go !" " No !" "Zhaan !" "Chiana !" "Larraq is headed towards the Transport Hangar." "Zhaan," "I need you down here, Tier Seven, hamman side passageway." "Come on, quick !" "Hurry !" "Hurry !" "The Transport Hangar." " Pilot, seal the outer transport doors." " No !" " Pilot, is that ship still leaking cesium fuel ?" " Yes." "Then let him go." "Pilot, standby for Starburst." " Moya is in no condition to Starburst." " Not full Starburst, just the first stage." "And I want this ship nose to tail where she is, one hundred and eighty degrees, right now !" "On my command ..." "Now !" "Boom !" "Relax." "You'll soon be back to normal." "Will I ?" "Well, I don't think I'll ever recover from that infernal inferno contraption." "There aren't enough cold towels in the universe for a start." "Perhaps we should lock you up in a refrigeration unit for a few arns." "At least then we won't have to listen to your incessant whining." "Oh, such sympathy" "Of course, I should expect nothing less from you." "You can expect less than nothing from me." "You conspired to open that crate." "Anything that happens to you now you brought upon yourself." "I'm sure he has learnt his lesson, D'Argo." "I see you have removed the chains from your cell." "And I will take great pleasure in destroying them." "If there is one thing I have learnt from this fiasco it's that I will never be chained up again." "I pray that will be the case." "You can pray all you like." "I was expressing a fact, not a hope." "I understand your pain, D'Argo." "It must have been a difficult deception to carry out." "Difficult ?" "Difficult ?" "Any deception where I end up boxed on slow bake like some ugarian table spud is an outright failure !" "'Course I knew from the start that Crichton'd never pull it off." "Really ?" "Yet you let him lock you in your cell while an unknown amount, of Peacekeepers were allowed on board." "Very interesting." "Perhaps next time we will follow a plan of your devising." "Yes, perhaps we will." "Next time." "I pray there will never be a next time." "Welcome back." "You know, for a while there, Zhaan wasn't too sure you were going to make it." "What's happened to the virus ?" "It's dead." "So is Larraq." "He stabbed me, didn't he ?" "Yeah." "You got lucky." "He missed your heart." "Closer than you think." "So, the Peacekeeper Base" "We're getting as far away from it as we can." "It's ... it's still out there." "It's ... it's still out there." "We don't know why." "What are you doing in here, anyway ?" "Oh, I just wanted to..." "You know ... be there ..." "Thank you." "Don't mention it." "Why would I ever mention it ?"