"These visions of yours, if they are somehow connected to..." "If?" "They are real!" "I'm not like you." "I'm an alien." "You are the Chosen One." "Chosen for what?" "Can you accept that our mission is a holy one?" "Where have I ever belonged?" "I am throwing my hat into the ring as candidate for Mayor of Defiance!" "It's over." "Yes, I suppose it is." "There would be no Defiance without Mayor Nicolette Riordan." "She believed a mining camp could become a real town." "A real community." "We all have our stories." "I was working as a janitor scrubbing floors at the Darby building." "Nicky saw me one night and she said," ""Honey, you're scrubbing that floor like it's the most important job of your life."" "Then she made me her new assistant." "I was a nobody." "Nicky treated me like an equal." "She had a way of making you feel like you were the most important person in the room." "I'll miss her." " Amen to that." " Hear, hear." "Hear, hear, indeed." "Nicolette was, as you humans say, "A tough act to follow."" "Yet follow it we must." "Which is why I hope to restore the tradition of wise leadership, accept the help of our friends at the Earth Republic" "and avoid the tragic missteps of these past few months." "To Mayor Nicky." "To Mayor Nicky." "I just want to kick him in the TUN-gaz." "Assuming you could find them." "I mean, this is a wake." "There's no place for politics." "Kick his ass in the debate tomorrow." "A couple of shots to the gut and you'll hear the hot air rushing out all over town." "Politics is war by other means." "Or so they say." "Colonel Marsh." "Talk to me." "What's up?" " I gotta go take care of something." " Okay." "So, what are you doing here?" "I came to pay my respects to another old soldier." "So, this election of yours is gonna be a close one." "I like my chances." "You know, if you accepted our endorsement, it would cut Datak Tarr off at the knees." "Yeah, and there's always a price with you people." "I prefer to think of it as a quid pro quo." "We would protect you from any and all your enemies." " Vini?" " Hmm." "What enemies?" "I would hate to see this town torn apart by alien barbarians." "We're pretty good with alien barbarians." "It's kind of our thing." "Ms Rosewater, Defiance could use a friend like the Earth Republic." "Good luck with that." ""I took her hand in mine and we went out of the ruined place," ""and as the morning mists had risen long ago when I first left the forge," ""so the evening mists were rising now." ""And in all the broad expanse of tranquil light they showed to me," ""I saw no shadow of another parting from her..."" "Hey!" "You don't want to hear the rest of this?" "Well, come on." "Irisa!" "No!" " What's wrong?" " Oh, I can't feel my legs!" "I'm glad to see you're up and walking around." "I don't need to be here." "I already told you, I'm fine." "You told Tommy you couldn't feel your legs." "I said not to call him." "Yeah, and if I hadn't, he would have blown my head off." "You got that right." "So, what do you think's going on with her?" "If I had to guess, I'd say it was a psychosomatic reaction..." "She seems fine now." "What do her tests show?" "Nothing unusual so far." "Right." "So you're gonna run some more?" "If she lets me." "She's not exactly the easiest patient, you know." "I'll talk to her." "Can I help you?" " That tickles." " I thought you liked that." "I do." "Normally." "It's just..." "Maybe this isn't such a good idea today." "What's wrong?" "I'm sorry." "I have to go." "Stahma." "I'm supposed to be helping out at the campaign tent." "I need to get back before I'm missed." "You just got here." "What's happened?" "If this is about this..." "Everything is not about this or us or you!" "There is a limit to what I can share with a prostitute." "I'm sorry." "Oh, do you think it bothers me that you look down on me?" "It doesn't." "I should not have said that." "I'm upset." "My mind was elsewhere." "So why don't you get your body to go join it?" "Get out." "And I'm gonna be a very generous prostitute and I'm only gonna charge you for half the hour." "What is it, Stahma?" "I can't tell you." "Yes, you can." "If I tell you, I'll only put your life in danger too." "Now you're gonna have to tell me." "It's his damn pride." "To lose the election would be a ve-o-nu-va-NA-wo." "A great shaming." "Promise me no one will know that this came from me." "Promise!" "He's planning on having her killed." "Having who killed?" "Your sister." "He wouldn't dare." "Datak has too much invested in this town to risk getting caught." "Castithans aren't like us." "They'll kill in order to avoid humiliation." "Who gave you this information?" "A client." "I can't say who." " Don't be ridiculous." "Come on." " I'm gonna need to talk to your source." "I'm sorry." "This person risked a lot to tell me this, so please respect that." " Okay." "Is your source credible?" " Yes." "All right." "Then we have to take it seriously." "We move the debate." "You can broadcast from the Arch." " I can't hide." " Market Square is too exposed." "And what am I supposed to do?" "Have Datak tell everyone I'm too afraid to face my own people?" "No, what you're not supposed to do is stake yourself like a goat..." " The debate stays as scheduled." " ...where he can get you." "I trust you with my life." "You will keep me safe and we will beat Datak Tarr." "Murder my opponent?" "A novel approach to victory, to be sure." "Just so we're clear." "Anything happens to Amanda between now and the election, anything at all, she slips in the shower," "chokes on a chicken bone, it doesn't matter." "I will come to your house in the dead of night, press a pillow over your face, and then I'll empty my gun in it." "And they say humans lack a sense of poetry." "Raiga." "Hey, little man." "You sent for me?" "You disappointed me at your wedding." "I was wondering what you intended to do about this." "Look, Dad, I'm really sorry." "It meant a lot to Christie and I was just trying to act like a good husband." "I was wrong to shame the man who gave me life." "I have disgraced the Shanje Liro." "I beg your forgiveness." "My forgiveness must be earned." "My arm is your will." "Your arm is my will." "Now get up." "I've got an important job for you." "The shaming ritual?" "Are we back on Casti or what?" "Did he make you get down on your knees?" "Did you shake your ass like a Liberata scullery maid?" "Yeah, and it's not funny." "My dad's a RA-thi NU-ve YEN-kit-so." "I'll say." "You still looking for a way into his crew?" "You serious?" " I think I know a way." " It's a sweet life." "Enormous respect." "My dad needs me to do something for him but it can't be traced back to him, so I can't do it myself." "If you do this, my dad will be grateful." "What is it?" "Something bad." "I'm bad." "Damn right, you're bad." "I'm a scary-bad motherfucker." "You are a RA-thi NU-ve YEN-kit-so." "Welcome to the 2046 Mayoral debate." "I am Councilwoman Bailey Riggs, moderator." "I want to thank you all for showing up on this soggy day." "Challenger, Mr Datak Tarr." "All right!" "Yay!" "Incumbent Mayor Amanda Rosewater." "Yeah!" "We look forward to hearing everything you have to say." " Cover for me." " Where you going?" "I have to do something." "We're on high alert right now." "The debate's about to start." "Why do I even try?" "Sure you can hit her from up here?" "Yeah." "All right, I gotta go down to the audience." "Remember, right between the eyes." " A scary bad motherfucker." " Scary bad motherfucker." "My opponent does not recognise that this town does not have the wherewithal to deal with a Volge attack, nuclear reactor bombs, hell bugs, razor rain." "If we'd have let the Earth Republic assist us, all of these disasters might have been averted." "Now, we are part of a larger community." "Mutual security is in everyone's interest." "With the Earth Republic at our side, this town will only prosper and grow." "I truly believe that this is what's best for this town." "Well, I'm glad he got that off his chest." "Mr Tarr is such a big fan of the Earth Republic, it makes me wonder how many of their towns he's actually visited?" "Like Cedars, where people stand in line for a loaf of bread." "Or New Las Cruces, where miners' wages have been cut and Echelon enforcers are sent in if they object." "The Earth Republic doesn't give a damn about us." " That is utterly false!" " Oh, let me finish." " The Earth Republic cares about..." " Mr Tarr, stop interrupting." "And why should they care?" "They don't live here, we do." "And we have miners that make a decent wage, and bread that doesn't break the bank, and we also have the security of knowing that if we screw up, it's our own fault." "Which means we also have a chance of fixing it." "Not a bad deal, if you ask me." "Gun!" "Gun!" "Gun!" "No!" "It was a paintball gun!" "You killed him!" "It was just supposed to be a prank!" "No, no, no." "Listen, listen!" "I demand to know what actions you're taking against the lawkeeper." "The weapon was a toy!" "Yeah, well, it looked like one helluva a real weapon, pointed at the Mayor's head." "It could just as easily have been a real gun." "Nolan had no choice." "The lawkeeper never asked him to drop the weapon." "He just fired." " Nolan received reliable intelligence." " What sort of intelligence?" " That there would be juvenile mischief?" " It was an accident." "I'll tell that to his parents." "One that would have never happened if the kid wasn't stupid enough to pull a weapon, real or not." "Hell, I woulda shot him, too." "I wonder if the lawkeeper would've pulled the trigger if Kupak Kurr's skin was a few shades darker." " Mr Tarr, that is inflammatory!" " How dare you pull the race card!" "You hired an Ark hunter." "A scavenger who'd never worn a badge in his life." "He has saved this town on numerous occasions." "I move that he's stripped of his badge and arrested." " Agreed." " As long as I am Mayor," "I stand by Lawkeeper Nolan 100%." "We stand by the Mayor." " Thank you." " Agreed." "Let the record show that the lawkeeper has the unwavering support of Mayor Rosewater." "I messed up." "I so messed up." "I should never have left my post." "Kiddo, if you had been there, you would have taken exactly the same shot I did." "If one of us has to take the heat for this, it's better it's me." "I have to ask, though." "Where did you go?" "You think Datak set you up?" "Probably." "Didn't make me shoot to kill, though." "I did that." " Don't." " I could have winged him." "You draw a gun, you aim to kill." "Yeah, I taught you that." "You really gotta stop listening to me." "I'm an idiot." "Did you know?" "Did I know what?" "When you asked me to get one of my friends to paintball Amanda, you knew that the lawkeeper was gonna be there." "Did you know he was gonna shoot?" "What a brave boy." "The courage it took to look your father squarely in the eye and question his motives." "Some sons would fear their father's wrath." "But not a son of the Shanje Liro." "Not a son of the House of Tarr." "Your mother is correct." "I'm proud of you, my son." "Come." "Let's finish this unfortunate business." "Mr and Mrs Kurr..." "I offer you my deepest condolences." "Sir, I know nothing I say can bring back your boy." "I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am." "...welcome into our homes." "As a town council member who cares deeply about the safety and well-being of our citizens," "I felt compelled to share information I've just discovered about our lawkeeper, Joshua Nolan." "The reckless killing of Kupak Kurr was not the first time he's taken an innocent life." "There is a trail of wrongful death in this man's wake, beginning in the Pale Wars." "Datak-chupping Tarr." "Our lawkeeper participated in a series of war time atrocities including the Yosemite massacre, where 98 human and 112 Votan civilians were slaughtered." "Nolan and the 11 others in his platoon were brought up in front of court-martial." "I think that this is my fault." "In transcripts, his superior officer described Lieutenant Nolan as, a quote "killing machine."" "But let's not take his word for it." "Let's hear it from Nolan himself." "Here is the recording from his trial." "This is how he defended himself." "We're out there every day putting our asses on the line." "Why?" "To protect all you armchair generals..." "Did you or did you not ignore a direct order from your superiors?" "...protect you from the haints and the I-rath death squads." "From every greasy alien piece of trash that came down in the Arks and tried to wipe us off the face of our own planet." "So, yeah, if some 12-year-old fur ball with a cold fire blaster comes at me or one of my buddies," "I'm not gonna waste time worrying if he's just some poor kid..." "You are out of order!" "who just last his daddy." "I'm gonna put two in his chest and another in his head just to make sure." "Following his tainted military career, he admittedly spent years as a roaming scavenger." "Whatever crimes he committed then, there's no record of." "But there is a record of the town council meeting this afternoon." "Where Mayor Rosewater declared, and I quote," ""I stand behind Lawkeeper Nolan 100%."" "A lawkeeper whom she never vetted, yet happily gave a gun and badge to." "A decision that ended up in the killing of an innocent boy." "I thank you for your time." "It's been a good ride." "I'm not letting you resign." "I'm not resigning." "You're firing me." "Then you're gonna publicly disavow me." "You're gonna say that I'm a loose cannon, that I'm fit for fighting off Volge marauders, but not fit to uphold the law." "I'm not gonna say anything like that." "You heard my words on the radio." "Everyone did." "That was who you were, it's not who you are." "Does it matter?" "This town was built on new beginnings." "I'm going on the radio to defend you." "That is exactly what Datak wants." "My military file is sealed." "The only way Datak could've got his hands on that is if he's in bed with the Earth Republic and your good buddy Colonel Marsh." "I know how this game works." "You go public, you'll be seen as doubling down on me and I am a bad bet." "I'm not debating this." "They're counting on you to get emotional." "And if you do, you're gonna lose the election." " Chup the election!" " Really?" "Yes." "If Datak wins this election, he's gonna kick open the doors to Colonel Marsh and his E-Rep goons." "And a year from now, you won't even recognise this place, and it certainly will not be one you want to live in." "I care about this town." "I'm not going to be the thing that kills it." "You're leaving." "Do the right thing." "Enough!" "Bring him over here." "Paintball gun, huh?" "I didn't know Nolan was gonna shoot." "It was supposed to be a joke." "Well, I guess the joke's on your dead friend and my daughter for marrying a little pecker-head like you." "And me for allowing it." "I'm so sorry." "If I could go back and do it over again..." "You can't." "Look forward." "Because if you disappoint me for a second time, if you again act in a manner unworthy of my baby girl," "your marriage will end, and I do not believe in divorce." "Capisce?" "Good boy." "Stahma!" "Stahma!" " You're a liar." " Did anyone else see you come in?" "You and your husband set Nolan up to kill that kid so that my sister would take the fall." "What happened was a tragedy." "I'm gonna tell everybody." "The election is over tomorrow." "Nothing you say can change the result." "I'm not looking to change the results of the election." "I'm looking to hurt you." "I am going to tell your husband everything about you and me." "Kenya." "He already knows." "He doesn't care." "No." "You wouldn't do that." "You wouldn't tell him everything." "He has no idea that you've been chupping his favourite whore." "It's gonna destroy your marriage." "It's gonna ruin your social standing." "What was that phrase?" "It would be a great ve-o-nu-va-NA-wo." "This will end very badly for you." "Why, Stahma?" "Why are you like this?" "Your husband is so cruel." "You're capable of a lot of things, and you just let him dominate you." "I love him." "And not in the way a human female clings to an abusive lover." "I love Datak because of his cruelty." "It's proof of his strength, his willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals." "We are a team." "I treasure that." "You're pathetic." "And you're alone." "Hello, Lawkeeper." "Or should I simply call you Joshua?" "Seeing as you're no longer wearing a badge." ""Killing machine." "Butcher of Yosemite" is a good one." "Take your pick." "They both work." "Is this a re-enactment of your frontier mythology?" "As you can see, I have no firearm." "Ah, a fair fight?" "Well, it's hardly my default." "But seeing as you're leaving..." "I'm going to enjoy this." "I'm done with this town." "No GYAAN-du-ra to finish the job!" " Just like old times." " Are you sure about this?" "This town's played out for us." " Hey!" "Hey, what's wrong?" " I can't stand." "Okay, all right." "Doc?" "Doc!" "Doc!" "Get her on the table." "She just collapsed and started screaming." "Flip her over." " Darn." "What are you doing?" " Anesthesia." "I need to operate." " No way." " Back off." " What the hell is that?" " Votan parasite." "It attacks the spinal nerves." "I need to get it out now or she'll be permanently paralyzed." " All right." "What do you need me to do?" " Wait outside." "No." "I'm not leaving her." "You have done your job." "Let me do mine." "Wait outside!" "You're gonna be fine, kiddo." "Everything's gonna be fine." "Become." "Doc!" "Where is she?" "Where's my daughter?" "Irisa!" "Irisa!" "Portions of McCawley's mining claims were deeded to the Irathients in perpetuity." "It has since been determined by Mayor Datak Tarr that such claim is invalid, the Irathients not being the aboriginal inhabitants." "A bold interpretation." "This document strips Rafe McCawley of his gulanite mines and returns them to the city, who, by right of possession deeds the land to the Earth Republic." "I haven't won the election yet." "I imagine you have stuffed ballot boxes stored somewhere." "Right there, that's your percentage." "Generous." "Tip of the iceberg." "To a profitable future, Mr Mayor." "Rynn." "I saw what Nolan did to Sukar." "Can you think of a reason why I shouldn't kill you?" "I'm at a loss."