"Previously, on "Dark Matter"..." "There's only one way off this rock, and that's by shuttle." "And what would you want in return, Nyx?" "We're not leaving you behind." "It's a bad idea to have a cop on board this ship." "Tell me what it is you're after." "Like I said before, it's valuable." "That's all you need to know." "If you want the people who are really responsible, you have to keep me alive." "You're the one who pulled the trigger." "For now, that's good enough." "When I fight, it's like things slow down." "I can guess my opponent's moves." "Again." "How about a break?" "I fight by instinct, by feel." "If I repeat the moves too much, it works against me." "So, you feel any better?" "Now that you've taken care of Jace Corso?" "I cannot allow myself to be satisfied by one small act of revenge." "Why not?" "Because there are so many more that are necessary." "You never consider just letting it go?" "Putting it all behind you?" "No." "What about you?" "You never speak of your past." "Is it because you let it go?" "Put it all behind you?" "No." "Time to go back in." "I know this is hard on you." "It's hard on everyone." "But it's our responsibility to use the gift we've been given." "We are changing things for the better." "Not just for us, but for everyone." "Stand by for FTL." "Stand by for FTL." "You can't leave." "Watch me." "We'll find you." "He'll find you." "Hello, Two." "You wanted to see me?" "I found evidence that Arax was using the subspace link when he was in control of the ship." "He deleted the comm logs, but by tracking the power usage I was able to identify specific times that the array was active." "Is something wrong?" "No, I just couldn't help but notice." "New look?" "I thought this was more appropriate for everyday wear on the ship." "More like an ordinary Android?" "Perhaps "Ordinary" is not the right word." "No." "Probably not." "The ability to pose as human could prove useful, so for now, I've retained the upgrade." "But while I'm on the ship..." "You just want to be yourself." "Precisely." "I've kept the outfit just in case." "You want to tell me more about this comm?" "The delete function makes it impossible to replay previous transmissions, but it does leave behind fragments of data." "I was able to piece together an image of the person Arax was speaking with, and run it through facial recognition." "Who is she?" "Her name is Alicia Reynaud." "She's corporate elite." "On the boards of half a dozen companies, all of which are at least partly owned by Ferrous." "I'm guessing she didn't get that far by playing by the rules." "You think she's the one who had my friends killed over this?" "It's possible." "Well, if she wants it that bad, she must know what it is." "Let's just go find her." "Get some answers." "I doubt she'll be volunteering any information." "We'll insist." "It might not be as easy as that." "Her headquarters is practically a fortress." "And well out of range of our current fuel reserves." "We would need to restock before we took on something like this." "What do you suggest?" "An op, like the kind we used to pull." "All right, now you're talking my language." "Good old-fashioned heist?" "Huh?" "So, who are we knocking off?" "Actually, I was gonna ask for suggestions." "I might have something." "Before I got nabbed, I hitched a ride on a freighter." "Takes a regular route in a system nearby." "I know where it stops." "So?" "Well, I did a little snooping around while I was on board." "Highly valuable cargo." "Small crates, lightweight." "Easily transported." "Okay, what are we talking about?" "Shadow." "What's that?" "Are you kidding?" "Protase 130?" "Stop making me ask "What's that?"" "Shadow is, uh, the street name." "It's a synthetic hallucinogen." "A party drug." "It's the latest thing." "Do we really want to get into that?" "It's a quick and easy score." "Which is exactly what we need." "Or am I wrong?" "Drugs?" "Technically illegal, but the GA's been looking the other way." "And why do you think that is?" "It's what people want." "It's what the corporations want." "It keeps people pacified, distracted." "Look, you are not the only one on this ship that doesn't want to be a pawn in the system anymore." "But one step at a time." "We need the money." "You know what, Three and Four don't want you on this op anyway." "Then why do you care what I think?" "We've been down this road." "I'm not doing it again." "If I tried to turn you in, I'd be arrested myself." "I'm not sure that would make a difference." "They'd kill all of you." "You know I couldn't be a part of that." "Not good enough." "If you're gonna stay on this ship," "I need to hear you say it:" "you're okay with this." "Otherwise, we let you off at the nearest station." "Their shields are disabled, but likely only for a short time." "They're firing back." "We'll draw their fire until you're on board." "Roger that." "Here we go." "You sure about this?" "You worry too much." "I've been practicing." "Wow." "Seriously?" "Learned that one the hard way." "Nice." "What do we got here?" "Stun weapons." "Decent charge capacity, if you don't boost the levels too high." "Take 'em." "Seriously?" "We don't want to kill anyone if we can avoid it." "That should keep them out of this area for a little while." "Storage compartments are that way." "I'll go down here." "I'm pretty sure there's an infirmary." "I'm with you." "You know this ship pretty well." "I told you, I already cased it." "What the hell is this?" "Hey Nyx, what is this place?" "Hey, I said, what is this place?" "Who are all these people?" "This is my brother." "Two, come in." "Looks like we got what we came for." "Haul as much as you can back to the "Marauder"." "I'll meet you there." "Roger that." "You better start talking." "I'll explain everything once we get back to the ship." "Now you want me to trust you?" "I didn't lie about the drugs." "You got your score." "It looks like you might have left out some details." "I couldn't take the chance you'd say "No."" "All these people here are prisoners, and I swore I'd get my brother out of here." "They've cut us off." "Blow the door." "Either shoot me or help me." "But whatever you're gonna do, you'd better do it soon." "Milo?" "Milo, it's me, Nyx." "Milo, we're getting you out of here." "I knew you'd come." "We got to move." "Come on." "Two, come in." "We're on our way." "Plus one." "It's a long story." "Think we're about to have some company." "Fire it up." "Go!" "Doors!" "Ah!" "Flying straight is not an evasive maneuver." "No, but it's the fastest route." "They're targeting our FTL drive, trying to disable us." "Android, we're in." "Get us out of here." "Gladly." "They got away." "For now." "Nyx was with them." "It was the "Raza."" "We should have seen this coming." "And why didn't we?" "Good question." "Start talking." "When we were children, we were taken from our home planet, along with over a hundred of our people, subjected to an experiment on board that ship." "What kind of experiment?" "We were drugged, put into pods that linked our minds." "The experiment was designed to see if the collective human consciousness could solve problems better than computers." "Who did this to you?" "Originally, it was a corporation called Electus." "Originally?" "Hey." "Several years ago, a group of us rose up." "We killed the Electus crew, took the ship." "I don't get it..." "If you took the ship..." "The leader of the rebellion was a man named Hansmeed." "He convinced most of us that our survival depended on continuing the experiment." "He said it would be on our terms." "Let me guess, ended up being on his." "I couldn't accept it, so I escaped." "I've been waiting for a chance to go back and get him." "Please." "He needs help." "He's in rough shape." "At normal recreational levels, Shadow's not that addictive." "But it looks like they've been pumping this stuff in his system for months." "I mean, maybe even years." "Coming off's not gonna be easy." "You have to take me back!" "No." "You don't understand." "I have to go back." "That's just the drug talking." "Just... just give it a chance to leave your system." "Get your head clear." " Okay." "I'm gonna start an IV, get some fluids going." "That'll help the process along." "You didn't think this was worth mentioning before you brought him on the "Marauder"?" "I didn't have much time to think." "We had to get out of there." " She lied to us." " It's her brother." "We got what we came for." "Oh, you're taking her side now, huh?" "I'm just trying to understand." "Anyway, we all have issues with our past, right?" "So, what are we going to do with them?" "You don't want them on the ship?" "Fine." "We'll sell off the cargo, give Nyx her fair cut, and drop them off the first chance we get." "I am on board with all that except giving out shares to liars." "So, um, nothing for you, then, huh?" "Hey!" "I haven't lied." "Recently." "Hey." "What you doing down here?" "The Android asked me to run a diagnostic on the "Marauder", see if it took any serious damage." "Cool." "What are you doing?" "Oh." "I need this." "It's for, uh, Nyx's brother." "To wean him off." "Afraid if he goes cold turkey, he'll have a seizure." "Oh." "Okay." "Yeah." "You guy still got like a million bars' worth down there, so, I mean, you'll get your payday." "I wasn't worried about that." "Oh." "Okay." "Um, I got to..." "Hey, we're approaching the rendezvous location" "Devon's black market contacts gave us." "What's he doing here?" "He is flying the "Marauder"" "over to the ship with the drug dealers on it to make the trade." "And you're going with him as backup." "I can fly the "Marauder"." "Four can be my backup." "He's a better pilot." "Gear up." "If it makes you feel any better," "I think she's just doing this so I'll be complicit in the deal." "It doesn't." " Here." " Thanks." "Look, you don't understand." "I can't stay." "Me being here, I'm putting you in danger." "Their powers have grown since you left." "Mostly because of you." "Exactly why they won't just let me go." "Look." "Here." "Just rest." "The ship we jacked just dropped out and opened fire." "We're changing course and heading back." "That's impossible." "How did they find us?" "There go our buyers." "Son of a bitch." "Six, our shields are still damaged from the last encounter." "We can't take much more of this." "All right, get the "Raza" out of here." "We'll take the "Marauder" down to the planet." "Whoa, whoa." "Hang on a second." "The atmosphere is dense and highly toxic." "I can see that, but it should make us untraceable with sensors." "You're not seriously gonna leave me here with this guy, are you?" "He's right." "We're not gonna leave you behind." "You can come back for us when it's safe." "I've already changed course." "Your call, "Marauder"." "Good luck." "I want to know what's really going on." "How the hell did your friends find out where we were gonna be?" "They're not our friends." "I swear." "It's actually getting worse out there." "Extremely high acid content." "That rain will melt the flesh off your bones in under a minute." "Whose brilliant idea was this again?" "Look, if we'd tried to dock, the "Raza" could have been blasted out of the sky." "Or we could have made it on time." "It wasn't worth the risk." "God, I hate being blind." "Sure, they can't see us, but we can't see them either." "When the "Raza" returns, they'll scan for the other ship, and then they'll send us a subspace communication to let us know if the coast is clear." "Assuming they make it on time." "They'll make it." "In the meantime, all we have to do is sit tight." "We'll be fine." "Do you ever get tired of being wrong?" "Electus discovered that some of the people on our planet had a genetic mutation." "It gave them enhanced levels of what they call C.P.A." "Cognitive Predictive Ability." "Everyone has it to some degree." "Most people call it "Intuition."" ""A gut feeling."" "Like when you feel someone behind you before you turn around." "It's a long way from a gut feeling to accurately predicting where a ship is going to appear in the galaxy." "Well, that's where the machine comes in." "That room you saw, with all those people." "They're linked together to form a collective consciousness." "It's horrible." "It's like drowning in an ocean of a thousand voices." "You can't block them out." "So they give you the drugs to make it easier." "Well, it also helps the Seers access their subconscious minds, and link them to the collective." ""Seers"?" "It's what they call themselves." "The Seers go into the machine, and then they feed them data, huge amounts." "The galaxy is awash with information." "It's everywhere." "It's just a matter of tapping in." "And if you analyze enough data, you can predict the future?" "It's calculating probability." "Nothing more." "So they knew I was on this ship." "They have my criminal records, known associates." "And they calculated the most likely place you'd go to sell the drugs." "Why didn't they see us coming when we attacked their ship?" "I saw it coming." "But I manipulated the data stream within the collective." "You can do that?" "Milo is the most talented Seer they have." "They're working with old data." "They're making calculations based off of previous behavior patterns." "They thought you would abandon Nyx, not help her." "Well, if that's true, they probably don't think we'll go back for Three and Six then." "Except you did help us." "That'll affect the model." "What do they want?" "They want Milo back." "Based on our sensor analysis, the "Marauder" will not hold up in the atmosphere of that planet for more than 24 hours." "We have to go back." "If the Seers predict we're gonna do that, they'll be there waiting for us." "Our shields can't handle another battle." "We can try to shore things up best we can." "We could try a lot of things." "Sell the drugs somewhere else." "Get the shields repaired." "In time?" "If what Nyx says is true, they'll likely anticipate our next move, whatever it is." "I don't see how they can know what we're going to do, because even I don't know what we're gonna do." "I just want to apologize for not telling you the truth." "I understand why you did it." "He's your brother." "Yes, and he's all I have." "But he can't stay here." "Sending him back will only make them stronger." "I never said we should send him back." "You mean drop us on a planet?" "They'll hunt us, and they won't stop." "Maybe we can stay one step ahead of them, but we'll always be on the run." "So what are you asking of me?" "I'm asking you to talk to Milo." "Get to know him a little." "While we have time." "Why?" "I'm hoping you can help me convince the others to let us stay." "He's not physical like me." "He's not a fighter." "But he can detect patterns, manipulate information, see things that other people won't see." "It could be useful." "If you stay on board, they will come after all of us." "The "Raza" is capable of fighting back." "Are you asking us to destroy the Seers?" "I'm asking you to make them think twice about ever coming after us again." "The "Raza" crew's next course of action has been determined." "I've reconfigured the shields the best I can without any new parts." "How much can they withstand?" "Not more than a few direct hits." "So not enough to go head-to-head with that Seer ship again." "The "Marauder" can only stay hidden on that planet for another ten hours." "If the Seers think we're going back for Six and Three, they'll be there waiting for us." "If they think we'll leave them there to die, they'll probably be at the next station we try to dock at." "There's no point in second-guessing yourself." "Do you think if I do the opposite of what I want to do just to outsmart them, they'll be able to anticipate that?" "I believe the old saying is, "Damned if you do."" "They can't read my mind." "No." "If I may ask, what are you going to do?" "I don't know yet." "But I hate being predictable." "Two, you're anything but predictable." "This is all your fault." "I made a judgment call." "If I had to do it again, I would." "What is it exactly you're hoping to do down there?" "I'm hoping the only real damage was to the internal power coupling." "If it's something on the outside of the ship, we're screwed." "Great." "One of the last fresh pieces of fruit on board." "I'm not hungry." "Now, Nyx wants us to fight the Seers." "That would be unwise." "Because you already know the outcome?" "Because I know how powerful they are." "If I showed you a history of my home planet..." "Given enough time and enough data," "I could tell you what would most likely happen there." "I'm gonna leave the rest for you." "Based on what you've learned, what do you predict will happen on board this ship?" "Two will go back to rescue Six and Three, even if it means risking the "Raza."" "I already know that." "Tell me something I don't know." "One of you will betray the others." "That's already happened." "I'm not talking about the past." "I'm saying it'll happen again." "Sometime in the near future." "This better work." "I don't want to die stuck on this rock with you." "But if it was with someone else, it'd be okay?" "Yeah, that'd be better." "Well, since there is a chance we're gonna die together, just so you know, for the record," "I'm not buying it." "What are you talking about?" "Oh, this whole" ""Tough guy, always in it for himself" routine." "Shut up." "I think you know taking our chances down here to protect the "Raza" was the right call." "In fact, I think if you'd been in the pilot seat, you would've done the exact same thing." "Not a chance." "You're just looking for an excuse to be mad at me." "I don't need an excuse." "I got a damn good reason as it is." "All right, you want me to say it?" "I'll say it." "I'm sorry I turned you in." "It was a mistake." "Didn't know who I was." "Now I do." "If you're expecting a "Thank you,"" "you can forget about it." "Well, the hull's obviously taking damage faster than we thought." "We can either stay down here and wait to die, or we can take our chances up there." "This time, I'll let you make the call." "Let's get the hell out of here." "Hey." "I brought someone to meet you." "This is Five, another member of our crew." "Hello." "Hey." "Come." "So, how are you feeling?" "Much better now, thanks." "It must have been terrible, what was happening to you on that ship." "You'd be surprised what people can get used to." "Do you mind if I ask you a question?" "About the future?" "Yeah, sort of." "See, all of us are trying to figure out what we should do next." "Not just about you, but everything." "And what do you think?" "I think we could make a difference." "But that's crazy, right?" "'Cause we're just a bunch of misfits on one ship, and most of the time, we can't even get along with each other." "Well, you'd be surprised about that too." "What do you mean?" "Well, all our predictive models suggest that a major paradigm shift is coming." "And the most likely scenario is all-out corporate war within the next six months." " Oh, my God." " I know." "It sounds bad." "But you have to understand something." "It's times like these, when longstanding patterns are disrupted, that things become more fluid." "That's when a small group of people, or even a single individual, can change the course of history." "Five, where are you?" "I'm with Nyx and Milo." "Good." "I need you all on the bridge." "All right, no sign of the enemy ship." "But I am detecting an FTL window." "I'm picking up the "Marauder"." ""Raza," come in?" "Six, this is Two." "We read you." "Nice to see you guys." "No time for tearful reunions." "Get your asses back on board." "Copy that." "For what it's worth, I'm never really gonna forgive you for what you did." "Didn't expect you would." "And I don't really trust that you're actually one of us." "I know." "But I'm willing to give you a shot to prove it." "Our shields are nearly depleted." "We can't take much more." "The "Marauder"?" "Uh, they just docked." "Bay doors closed." " We can jump." " And then what?" "They'll just find us again." "What else can we do?" "Trust me." "Give me a channel to the Seer ship." "Very well." "Channel open." "This is the "Raza."" "Our shields are down." "If you hit us with another shot, you will destroy us." "Turn over the cargo you stole from us." "I don't think so." "I'm told you already know what's gonna happen, but just in case, let me lay it out for you." "We're gonna keep this bit of cargo, and you're gonna let us go." "And then you're gonna go on your merry way, and never bother us again." "Why would I do that?" "Because..." "I'm about to take the one thing you really want out of the equation." "No." "If you kill him, we will destroy you." "We're ready to jump to FTL." "I just want to show you that there's no point in continuing to come after us." "But if you do, the next time you see us," "I promise you, we will be ready." "I know you don't have any friends to turn to." "You can't hide." "We will find you." "Do you really want to make an enemy of the "Raza"?" "Turn over the young man." "And the cargo." "The rest of you are free to go." "Two, don't do this." "I already know you won't pull the trigger." "You will do as I say." "I'm sorry." "He was right, I wasn't gonna pull the trigger." "Yeah, I know." "I had to take the chance that he might think I would." "I have to go back." "No." "Nyx, there's no other way." "What?" "Nyx, what?" "I can't let them send you back." "They're not sending me anywhere, Nyx." "I'm choosing to go." "What other choice do we have?" " We can fight." "We will." "Both of us." "What are you talking about?" "I meant what I said to Five." "Okay?" "This crew has a role to play in what's coming." "The future of the galaxy is in the balance, and what happens aboard this ship could tip the scales, okay?" "That's why I can't just let you sacrifice yourselves." "What about you?" "I can change things." "From the inside." "I can... feed them false conclusions." "Maybe I can convince others to join me." "We've already had one rebellion." "Who says we can't have another?" "That's not possible." "Don't underestimate me." "You're just saying that to make me feel better." "It's time to go." "Man, they are gonna be pissed that we are only sending back half the cargo." "We got to get something out of it." "They probably know we're gonna short 'em." "They just want Milo back." "We rescued him once." "We can go after him again, another time, when we're good and ready." "Next time, they're gonna see us coming." "Yeah, how do you fight an enemy that knows the future?" "Look, I'm sorry, but knowing we're coming doesn't necessarily mean they'll be able to stop us." "I'm sorry I didn't get to analyze the history of your planet." "Would my knowing what will happen change the outcome?" "Sometimes it does." "I factor that in." "What will the Seers do next?" "Short term, they plan to acquire more ships." "Enslave more people." "Eventually, they plan to build an entire fleet." "If they get that far, they'll be unstoppable." "I heard what you said to Nyx." "About leading a revolt?" "You don't really believe it's possible." "No." "No outcome is a certainty." "However small the odds are," "I have to try." "Chances are greater that they will eventually turn you to their side." "Well, this is my only choice." "No." "There is another way." "How we doing?" "The "Marauder" has returned." "We're docked." " Any comment about the size of the cargo?" "Negative." "Good." "Let's jump." "You should know, we're aware you manipulated information in the data stream to influence our conclusions." "It's all right." "I forgive you." "But don't try it again." "I'll be watching." "Now, rest up." "You go back in with the next shift." "I know you don't believe it right now, but one day, you will see." "This is for the best." "We are the future." "Open it." "You want some company?" "Up to you." "I guess I do." "Thank you." "For what?" "Taking the time to get to know Milo." "I know you didn't have much time." "For being my friend." "Shall we continue?" "Ah!" "Ah!"