Log 0007

[keeps_a_cool_head]

[In Zero, Scorpius does what he does best: he plans. Giving him space and time to think through what he wants and how to get it is one of the unintended gifts of his cell space, and he appreciates every moment of it.

After several days, he addresses the Barge]

A question to my fellow shipmates;

When an inmate commits a grievous crime, who is to blame for it? Obviously the inmate must share some, but what percentage is attributed to them and what percentage is attributed to their warden, who may be unfit to command them? A warden may fail just as easily by not admitting to something that could be most assuredly out of their control.

And what of inmates who aren't paired and no one has taken the time to explain to them the rules?

My apologies to Alex Summers. While it was certainly my intent to hurt him, he had done nothing to harm me and was simply in the correct place at the correct time.



[Private to Crichton]

Of course, John, we all know that you are the one fully to blame.

More like Alex will follow. You cannot hope to save them all.

In a few days' time they will be forced to release me. What has changed between the time of my entering this cell and the time of my leaving it? As a deterrent towards behavior, Zero leaves much to be desired.

I am willing to entertain ideas of a deal between us.

Comments

[no_talent_hack]

And it would be pointless to ask you what those plans are supposed to be?

[keeps_a_cool_head]

Complete annihilation of the Scarran army.

Which I imagine means next to nothing to someone unfamiliar with their species. But there are many pieces in place to achieve this, and one of them happens to be on this ship.

[no_talent_hack]

[Well, that's more honest than he was expecting, if indeed meaningless.]

And somehow beating up random wardens is going to get it for you?

[keeps_a_cool_head]

Not random wardens, no.

Very specific wardens. Some inmates. An occasional pet or two. It all depends.

[no_talent_hack]

[HA, SCOTT, he knew someone was going to go after the pets eventually. He's both surprised it didn't happen sooner and that it's being threatened so soon after that conversation, but he's not even a little surprised by the threat itself.]

So it's about timing, that's all?

[keeps_a_cool_head]

No.

It is, as ever, about John Crichton.

[no_talent_hack]

John Crichton? I'm new, I don't know him.

[keeps_a_cool_head]

I suggest you introduce yourself to him, should you get the opportunity. He is a...fascinating individual, and wise beyond his years and the limitations of his species.

[no_talent_hack]

[He has met Crichton, of course, but only briefly. It certainly hasn't been enough to know the cause of this little... obsession, or whatever it is. Something to do with the painting he saw in the art gallery?

Despite himself, he's starting to become curious about all this. He hopes it's for the right reasons.]

Okay, so, tell me. If I can't convince you, can you convince me?

[keeps_a_cool_head]

Not without knowing you better, and knowing what ideals you hold. And even then, our morals may be fundamentally opposed to one another.

For instance, if you are the sort who believes violence of any sort is inherently wrong no matter what the reason, I could not envision convincing you of anything.

[no_talent_hack]

Th-that wasn't a question... I was offering you a chance to talk...

[keeps_a_cool_head]

To what purpose? If I am not fully convinced I can convince you based on how little I know of who you are, why should I waste the energy?

[no_talent_hack]

You seemed to want to a minute ago. Scarran army, John Crichton...

[keeps_a_cool_head]

I answered your questions honestly. Nothing of what I have told you you could not simply glean from Crichton himself.

[no_talent_hack]

Oh yeah? I appreciate your honesty, then.

Okay, so what does Crichton have to do with using the Barge on the Scarran army?

[keeps_a_cool_head]

During his travels, John Crichton was first launched through a wormhole; a hole in time and space that provides almost instantaneous transportation across the galaxy to those who know its secrets. It was this encounter that brought him to the attention of several prominent species, one of whom was a race of creatures who possessed far greater knowledge of wormholes and were reluctant to share it.

But they did share it with Crichton, and he's kept this knowledge from me ever since, knowing that I wish to weaponize it to gut the Scarran army down to its last pathetic lieutenant.

I don't wish to use the Barge at all. I wish to escape it, with this knowledge intact.

[no_talent_hack]

[Again, it's more complete information than he's expecting. It could be a lie, but something -- his new brain? his luck? -- tells him that it's not, or at least mostly not. The funny thing is, it really does make sense, for what little he knows about the situation. He gets, now, why Alex was beaten, why others are being threatened. He wouldn't be surprised if Scorpius had sent Crichton a more... direct message, too.

The real question will soon become, who does Crichton care more about: his friends or the Scarrans?]

So why them?

[keeps_a_cool_head]

Why who?

[no_talent_hack]

The Scarrans.

[Not that it really matters. There's some reason, obviously, and it's one Scorpius must think is a good one. The Scarran army killed someone, or a lot of someones, or they're going to in the future. Or they're protecting something Scorpius wants. Or maybe he's like Hinata used to be, and he's doing it because he just can't stand to see their society go on. The reason doesn't really matter, but it matters to Scorpius, and that's an important piece of the puzzle if Hinata wants to work on this particular challenge.]

cw; rape, death

[keeps_a_cool_head]

[Scorpius closes his eyes, thinking over the question. Because it's all of the reasons Hinata is supposing and more, and it's something he hasn't even shared with Crichton. Not really, anyway. It likely does not matter to John, matters to no one except Scorpius]

Many reasons. But I suspect you're interested in the most personal and pressing.

I am half Scarran, by my father's side. My mother was Sebacean.

At the time of my birth, the Scarrans were curious about whether Sebaceans made for good breeding stock. Sebaceans are cleverer than Scarrans, but they suffer from a condition known as the Living Death, wherein if they are exposed to extreme heat, they fall comatose and eventually die. Scarrans are a species that produce and love heat. Their idea was to create a hybrid race that had all of the brains of Sebaceans but did not suffer from heat delirium and had the strength and loyalty to aid the Scarran army.

During this process, many Sebacean women were kidnapped and impregnated. But the results were not as the Scarrans had hoped: no children or mothers survived the incubation or birthing process. Infants roasted their own mothers from the insides and then suffocated. Mothers due to the stress and the agony of birthing larger children simply perished by the dozen.

Only I survived, out of 91 attempts. The project was scrapped and it was decided that Sebaceans had no value even as breeders for Scarrans. An ambitious project but ultimately foolish and deadly.

They kept me alive for experimentation purposes and at the age of 12, I escaped.

That is why the Scarrans.

cw; rape, death, human experimentation

[no_talent_hack]

[As with the art gallery, Hinata manages to summon up an expression that shows more horror than he actually feels. Some of what Scorpius says isn't far off from things SHSL Despair themselves tried to do: the breeding, the torture, the murders. The rest... some of it is novel, at least, enough to actually disturb him. Experimentation, too, still seems to be a button that can be pushed, and the frisson of distress he feels when Scorpius says the word excites him as much as it makes his heart sink, in the part of his soul that's still excited to be able to feel anything.

And he knows, he still knows, that even when the reason is something like this, it doesn't matter. He still can't go and torture people into letting him commit genocide.

Can't he? the dark voice says. Shouldn't he? Hinata grits his teeth against it.]

That's... that's terrible. [It's sincere -- even if he's seen it all from the other side, that doesn't make it not terrible.]

I can see, now, why you'd want to... I get that much.

[keeps_a_cool_head]

[The amount of fluctuation of Hinata's heat signature is a fascinating subject to Scorpius, who sits and watches with curiosity. It's not an excuse he offers, nor does he beg understanding. He is this way because he is this way, and that's the end of it]

There is at the moment a very real threat that the Scarrans will overtake Peacekeeper space. Peacekeepers - Sebaceans - are the only ones with a large enough army to hope to stop them. But they are outnumbered ten to one. For them to succeed, I need the help of John Crichton.


So Alex Summers is only the tail end of a very large, very expansive story, I'm afraid. I had hoped to convince John through reason, but he sees things in a...different way than I do.

[no_talent_hack]

[He has ideas about this -- chief among them including talking to John Crichton -- but he keeps quiet for now, processing. He knows what he feels, or at least what he believes: that an excuse for murder is still, at heart, an excuse. Here's where his uglier side tempers him, though: the original Hinata might have charged ahead with that, but something inside him whispers: do you really think he wants to hear any of that now? That he'll listen? And he knows that's true.

After a long moment, he sighs, running a hand through his hair.]

Whatever Crichton or I or anyone thinks, you've still got one big problem: has anyone ever escaped from here before? Doesn't it make more sense to try and graduate, if you know that's a reliable way out?

[keeps_a_cool_head]

None to my knowledge, no. Therein lies the most difficult aspect, and one I haven't figured out yet.

[The slight tone of resolution indicates that Scorpius is primarily concerned with other things first, and had hoped the rest would fall into line behind it]

After so long of working towards one goal, switching paths seems abrupt and not yet necessary.

[no_talent_hack]

Why wouldn't you take the path that you know can work? That could avoid all this conflict?

[Because he has no interest in avoiding it, obviously. Even he knows it's an amateur question to ask.]