IRISA: Previously on Defiance...
(HEAVY BREATHING) ALAK: This could be a nice little side gig for you.
But if you stir up trouble,
I swear...
I will drop your skinny ass off the top of this arch!
What you've done to me
cuts against the very grain of who our people are.
(SWISHING)
Get off him. Irisa!
If you think you can just swoop in here,
and take credit for my accomplishments...
Consider yourself lucky I didn't send you to the front to die.
What would you say, then, to a gentleman,
who is looking to...
(SPEAKING OTHER LANGUAGE)
A local club.
Caters to more specialized tastes.
(WOMAN SINGING IN CASTITHAN)
(SPEAKING CASTITHAN)
Jalina. Favi Tarr.
Alak's not home yet, is he?
He is working late.
Favi, you have something on your neck.
White makeup.
That's just baking flour.
Of course it is. I see that now.
You won't say anything?
About baking flour?
What a boring conversation.
Thank you, Jalina.
Sleep well, Favi. I'll see you in the morning.
Where are you going at this time of night?
When I was a child, I was sworn to serve this family.
My work, as humans say, is never done.
(DATAK GRUNTING)
JALINA: Datak Tarr!
Oh! Datak Tarr! (MOANING)
My master is Datak Tarr! Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
What do you think you're doing?
Saying your name. (BREATHING HEAVILY)
Well, I know who I am. (CHUCKLES)
I thought you'd like it.
What, hearing my own name over and over again?
Do you think I'm some kind of egomaniac?
No.
(SPANKING)
Good girl. (LAUGHING) Oh!
I should be getting back.
Stahma will be angry if I am late.
Now there's a name you can say.
Go on. Stahma?
Yes. Say it. Stahma.
Stahma. Look at me.
Stahma. You are Stahma.
Stahma. I am, Stahma!
You are my husband! (COT THUDDING)
Oh! Oh! Stahma!
JALINA: Okay. Stahma!
(GRUNTING)
That hurts a little. Yeah?
Ah! Stahma! Stahma! Stahma!
Stahma! Stahma!
(GLASS SHATTERING)
(GASPING)
(BOTTLES RATTLING)
(STRUGGLING)
(GASPING)
Jalina.
(GASPING)
(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)
I checked out the crime scene.
Looks like she was attacked in the alley,
dumped in the trash bin.
Somehow she survived, and crawled her way back here.
She came to my door crying for help.
I was so drunk, I slept through it.
I'm gonna kill whoever did this.
I'd worry less about revenge and more about covering your ass.
Oh, you don't think I did this?
Jalina was sworn to our home since she was a child.
I adored her.
That's one word for it.
Anyhow, what I think doesn't matter.
Imagine what Nolan will think.
Oh no. No. No!
He'll have me back in Camp Reverie before sun fall.
No, we have to get rid of the body now. (TAPPING TABLE)
We?
There are two types of friends in this world.
The kind that helps you hide a dead whore,
and me.
She wasn't a whore,
she was a handmaiden.
Potato, potahto.
I am not going back to Reverie.
Well, I can't manage this by myself.
You're a professional criminal.
I have faith.
(DOOR OPENING)
(DOOR CLOSING)
(INDISTINCT TALKING)
(GASPING)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
(SPEAKING IRATHIENT)
(SIGHS)
(SPEAKING ENGLISH)
Sukar is missing.
The Spirit Riders tell me that
he has strayed from Irzu's path.
I've lost my taste for religion.
Will you help me find him?
He's better off far away from me.
That's probably true.
Suit yourself.
What? That's a good likeness.
You know him? Of course, I know him.
He is here in town with me.
Initial here...
And here.
Very nice.
I'll whip this over to the Darby Building and have it stamped,
and you will receive your keonite by the first of the month.
Thank you very much. That's my pen.
Cai! (CLEARS THROAT) Hey.
I'm just about wrapped up here.
We can take the night coach back to Cedars
and have your papers signed in the morning.
Any word on Sukar? None yet.
I'm going to see a pow tanning trader.
Okay. Ah-ha.
Hello?
Who's your little friend?
This is Irisa.
She might be touched by Irzu, or perhaps she is just crazy.
Ah, well, charmed, I'm sure.
My name is Cai, short for Mordecai.
You have Reimlu's face.
Well, I've been complimented on my...
Generic good looks.
Do you recognize me? No. Should I?
Look at me, carefully.
Okay.
I'll meet you back at the land coach.
Hey, hang on, you're not gonna leave me here with the weirdo?
Have fun.
Thanks.
Okay, Smile Factory. Um...
I'm pressed for time here so if there's anything
I can help you with, anything that's not gonna be
awkward or uncomfortable for both of us,
please feel free to shout it out. But not too loudly.
People will be inclined to stare because you are strange.
I'm still trying to figure out what this means.
While you're thinking, it would really reduce my anxiety level down to a four
if you weren't staring at me as though you were trying to eat me.
I don't mean to be rude.
I'm confused.
How do you know Rynn?
I handle legal work for I-rath itinerants.
When the Earth Republic seized the McCawley mines,
they had to negotiate for rights ceded to the Spirit Riders.
Do you have memories about coming here on the Arks?
I was born in Tallahassee.
I respect the badge and all, but
I really have work to do.
No. Please, wait. Ow.
Do you have visions? Okay, that kinda hurts. What is wrong with you?
Lawkeeper.
Favi Tarr.
I was told I might find you here.
My handmaiden, Jalina,
failed to return last night after running an errand.
Missing servant, huh?
STAHMA: It's unlike her and I'm worried.
Hmm.
You look like you know something,
you're not telling me.
Rafe's servant, Bertie, disappeared some time back.
She turned up a few days later, none the worse for wear.
That's reassuring. What happened to her?
Wish I could help.
I'll look into Jalina. I'll need to question your staff later.
I'll inform the handmaidens. Thank you.
Irisa.
I get it. It's a picture of me. But...
It begs the question, why are you drawing me?
I need a word with you. If you don't mind.
(SCOFFS) Twist my arm.
This has been fun.
What are you doing?
Stahma's handmaiden has disappeared.
Kind of like Bertie.
I don't know anything about Stahma's servant.
Look, kiddo. I can't protect you if you keep me in the dark.
Amanda swears she shot you.
I saw the blood. Yet, you seemed fine.
You can't just keep going on and pretending everything's okay.
Everything is okay.
DIEDRE: (OVER MICROPHONE) Okay, Defiance, I hope you brought your party slippers
because Treasure Doll is here bringing you,
Casti power pop from the hot new band,
"Strength in Numbers"
available only on Tarr Traxx.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
Oh, lunch looks delicious.
You guys would forget to eat if I let you.
Oh Christie, I forgot.
You left this here yesterday.
Who gave this to you?
I bought it at the market.
It's a Castithan Kyerupavo.
It's a courtship gem.
I thought it was pretty.
It was hand-crafted on Casti.
Nobody would sell it on the street.
Are you calling me a liar?
I'm not hungry.
(SIGHS) I am so sorry. I didn't think.
It's not your fault.
I can't believe I keep lying to him.
I am a horrible person.
Stop.
You are doing this to understand his people.
You're making the marriage better.
You're the good guy here.
I feel guilty because.
I love it.
I love the feeling of wearing someone else's skin,
it make me feel...
I dunno, um, powerful.
You get to be someone else.
Someone sexy.
Look, if you don't invent yourself,
someone else will do it for you.
Do you know what a reindeer is?
Like the animal?
During the war, reindeers were
prostitutes that snuck onto E.M.C. bases
to deliver gifts.
My mom was one.
She would take us from one base to another
to sell herself to the soldiers and...
One night,
I heard a soldier negotiating price
and the number was getting really high.
And at first, I was happy
and then I realized... (CHUCKLES)
My mum was selling me.
How old were you?
Thirteen.
Did you go?
I didn't have a choice.
So that night,
as soon as that soldier fell asleep,
I bashed him in the head with a big rock and ran.
When I ended up here,
I acted high-class
and they gave me a job at the NeedWant.
Now I'm on the radio,
and pretty soon I'm gonna marry someone rich,
like your husband.
Someone who treats me like a princess.
(CHUCKLES)
Everything you see here?
It's my own invention.
(WHISPERING) Because anybody can be
anything.
If they want it bad enough.
I believe you.
Damn right, girl.
I'm your treasure doll.
(CHUCKLES)
Jalina was special to me.
Yeah, I can see that.
She was only seven when we purchased her from her parents.
Yeah, I never knew her well.
I met her around the house.
She was kind. Smiled a lot.
In that weird way you people have.
She was such a spirited child.
So much imagination.
She and Alak used to put on little puppet plays
of the stories from the holy scrolls.
Hold on.
(PANTING)
I bought this for her.
It was the only piece of jewelry she owned.
She cried the day I gave it to her.
She said, "It sparkled like Sulos."
Yeah, whatever.
Come on. Just a little further.
I wanna thank you for helping me.
Oh, don't flatter yourself.
I'm only doing this
because I need the weapons you promised me.
Understood.
(DISTANT ROARING) Whoa!
I think this is far enough.
She didn't deserve this.
Yeah, well, what happened to Jalina shouldn't happen to anybody.
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
If you make plans, count me in.
Plans?
Yeah. To find out who did this. Make 'em pay.
I appreciate that, old friend.
I'm not your friend.
But you are family. That counts for something, I guess.
(SNARLING)
(SCREECHES)
Viceroy Mercado.
Glad to see you've extended your stay here in Defiance.
In polite society, it's customary to knock
before entering.
The mayor and I have an understanding.
I bet you do.
Pottinger is on urgent Earth Republic business
in the Dakota Reach.
What do you want, Amanda?
I want to know what my boss did to make you so angry
that you sent him to do a job that any clerk could do.
He entered the room without first asking my permission.
Niles Pottinger looks great on camera.
He's articulate and he's not afraid to crack skulls
in a tough frontier town.
Someone in your position should be kissing his boots.
Instead, you treat him like a plague-carrier.
Why?
(CHUCKLES) I've always liked you.
Even back when you were mayor
and repeatedly kicking the Earth Republic in the teeth,
I knew you were acting on principle.
You've got character.
I value character.
And you think Niles Pottinger lacks character.
Based on what? That's a need-to-know, I'm afraid.
What if I do...
Need to know?
Then you've already gotten too close.
(CHUCKLES)
Look, why are you telling me this?
Are you trying to drive a wedge?
As I said, I like you.
You introduced me to that private club.
Which, by the way, was fantastic.
Glad you enjoyed it.
My superiors consider Pottinger to be a necessary evil.
I think Defiance would do just fine with someone else in that chair.
A woman perhaps.
One with experience.
(SCOFFS) This woman...
Would she be expected to do whatever the Earth Republic tells her to do?
You'd look great in our uniform.
And what would happen to Pottinger?
When he returns, you'll help me finish his career.
He trusts me. I can't betray him.
It's not who I am.
As I said,
character.
You have my permission to leave.
(SCOFFS)
(SIGHS)
(GASPS)
She's dead.
(GROWLING)
How?
I bedded her last night and woke to find her dead
with her eyes carved out of her skull.
I have to ask...
Was it you?
Of course not.
I loved her as much as you did.
I'm sorry. A stupid question.
We must tell the lawkeeper.
No. No, I would be blamed.
I suppose they would send you back to Camp Reverie.
Don't bluff me.
You had your chance to frame me and you chose not to take it.
No.
No, we will handle this internally.
As a family.
(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
I want you to play these at the top of the hour every hour.
I know the drill, boss.
And I'm sorry about the gem.
I didn't mean to cause trouble.
Do you know where she got it?
It's not my place.
Deirdre, I'm your boss.
Y'know, you're the only person in this town
who calls me by my real name.
(SIGHS)
You deserve to know.
Christie's running with a weird crowd.
I think she's in over her head.
(INDISTINCT TALKING)
IRISA: Cai.
I have to talk to you before you leave.
I don't see her. Do you? Who?
Rynn. She was supposed to meet here.
We have an appointment tomorrow in Cedars.
It's about picking up a stipend for her is-su.
She wouldn't have missed this unless there was something wrong.
(MAN GRUNTING)
The ticket clerk said he thought he saw an I-rath go into that alley.
Why would she do that after she bought a ticket?
Tell you what, I'm gonna go down there and I'm gonna take a look.
What I need you to do is stay right there,
and keep anybody else from coming down the alley.
Should I have a gun?
Keep him away from me.
(SIGHS) I, uh, I talk a lot when I'm nervous.
You don't seem to have that problem.
No.
I hope your boss is good at this.
He's my father.
But you're pure-blood.
When I was younger, he saved me from a bad situation.
He raised me.
Ah.
My parents got me out of Florida before the nukes.
I was raised in a kibbutz by humans.
Hebrew's my first language.
Betcha I'm the first Irathient Jew you've ever met.
I think we're connected.
You don't feel that? Uh, I'm flattered. Really, I am, but, uh...
I'm kind of seeing somebody in Cedars.
We're not entirely exclusive,
but we do have an understanding.
Her name's Gwyneth.
NOLAN: Got something here.
Boot scuff-marks, some blood.
Signs of a struggle.
Wouldn't be Rynn if she didn't put up a fight.
Yeah. It wasn't a fair fight.
She was drugged.
The poor girl.
Promise me.
When you find the ones responsible for this,
the ones who took Jalina's eyes...
Gentlemen.
There is a killer hiding in this town.
A killer who finds it amusing to rip the eyes
from the head of an young woman. We're gonna find him.
And we're gonna find him tonight.
I'm giving you each scrip,
walking-around money.
Spread it about, grease informants,
buy rounds of drinks, whatever it takes. I'm counting on you.
We're not doing this for you.
GIEMO: We're here for Stahma and Alak.
Your presence offends.
I don't think you truly understand the nature of offense.
Let me show you.
Hey, hey, hey! Put that thing away!
STAHMA: Enough!
This is a night for truce.
A night for our family to come together
and avenge the death of one of our own.
This is a night for Jalina.
Are we clear on that?
You're right, of course.
My apologies.
I will spill their treasonous guts on the floor some other day.
RAIGA: (GRUNTS) Good luck trying.
(DOOR OPENS)
Why isn't Alak playing his part?
Where the hell is my son?
(CASTI MUSIC PLAYING)
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
Can I speak with my wife?
Your wife?
Well, isn't this awkward?
Love the costume.
What are you doing here?
Looking for you.
Is this supposed to be funny? No.
How would you feel,
if I went out dancing with my face painted human pink?
I'm not pink.
You're mocking my culture.
It is a...
I came here to please you. To please your family.
At home, I feel human.
Awkward and ugly.
This is... is no improvement.
I came here for you!
You shouldn't be embarrassed by the way that I look.
I'm beautiful like this.
Strong, like Stahma.
Wha... I don't want you to be anything like my mother.
I... I married you,
not some freak in a costume.
That courtship gem, it didn't come from the market place,
it came from that Casti-transvestite.
You lied to me. You want to talk about lies, Alak?
Of Defiance, killer of Skevur,
and God knows who else!
We'll talk about this when we get...
Don't touch me. I'm staying here.
(CROWD MURMURING)
(DOOR OPENS)
Doc Yewll.
Lambert. What's with the sunglasses?
I couldn't find my regular doctor, so I...
I need eye drops.
Okay. Well, let's take a look.
Well, actually I'm in a hurry,
I have students waiting...
Pink corneas.
Casti eyes.
They're contact lenses.
You know, I have to keep them in for the first few days.
They stopped making contact lenses
30 years ago.
I bought them on the black market.
They harvest them from cadavers.
It's for fun.
You know, a kink.
Whatever floats your boat.
Here you go. And, Doc, I'm a schoolteacher.
I'd appreciate a little patient-doctor confidentiality.
Mum's the word.
You can pay me for them later.
(GRUNTS)
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
It's been over an hour and we've got bupkis.
(BEEPING)
Doctor Yewll. Yes?
DOC: Check out Professor Lambert. The school teacher?
You sure? Yes.
I appreciate the tip. Thank you.
Is there a lead?
You remember our friend, Lambert...
Yeah. From the town council?
I'm going to pay him a visit.
(GUN COCKING) I will have justice.
Come on. Hurry up.
Breaking and entering. Nice.
I don't require a chaperone.
Yeah? Well, I think you do.
Wow. A lot of books.
Lambert was once a university professor.
I believe he taught philosophy.
Yeah, I think I remember that.
Books... You know, there was a point in history
when every human on Earth thought
paper and ink were becoming obsolete.
Humans are foolish, yes. For once, I agree with you.
Hey... Hey, Lambert.
We got a couple of questions for you.
What the...
Wigs.
Hey!
(GRUNTING)
Please, don't kill me.
Hey, the Janus symbol.
I don't know it.
It means our friend here is a Votan cross-dresser.
We go to the club, you know. Dress up.
Pretend to be Votan.
It's for fun. It's a kink.
The eyes. Where did you get them?
I... I bought them from a doctor.
A doctor?
The corneas come from cadavers.
What doctor?
I hate to keep you alive for this, honey.
But the cornea stays a lot fresher this way.
(RYNN PANTING)
NOLAN: I found it in the alley where Rynn disappeared.
See anything interesting?
Midazolam.
A paralytic?
Very good.
This particular paralytic thickens the blood,
which makes it ideal for delicate surgery.
You should be looking for a doctor,
specifically one with surgical skills.
One like, oh, I don't know, you, for example.
I'm not the only doctor in Defiance.
You are the biggest liar I know.
Stop, you're making me blush.
Here is a list of the five other surgeons in town.
You know, ever since you were released from Camp Reverie,
you've been a little squirrelly.
I'm an Indogene. I'm squirrelly by nature.
In fact, I'm not even gonna charge you for this visit.
How crazy is that?
Whoo!
(CASTI MUSIC PLAYING)
Sorry about your husband.
He's a true Castithan. Beautiful but cruel.
He's a jerk.
He's just being true to his nature.
His people are conquerors.
Alak does not want to conquer me.
Well, not personally, no. But it's a struggle against his DNA.
Castithans are better suited for survival than humans and they know it.
They are the next draft of dominant life on Earth.
Yet, how frustrating it must be
for these elegant, streamlined creatures
that grotesque humanity stubbornly endures.
Well, this is our planet.
A human planet. We were here first.
Well, ask the Irathients how that argument worked out for them.
The Castis conquered their home planet and renamed it "Casti."
It's just a matter of time before the same thing happens here.
Are you drunk?
Indeed.
If that's how you feel about Castis,
then why are you even in this bar?
Why admire them?
Why dress like them?
Just because the asteroid's coming to kill the dinosaur,
doesn't mean the dinosaur can't pause,
and acknowledge the asteroid's beauty.
It's in our nature to want to be other than we are.
It's what makes humanity great.
We are creatures of incredible curiosity.
We envy the flight of birds and we build wings.
Born earthbound, we reached for the stars.
Never be ashamed of trying to be better than what you are.
And cherish the moments you get to spend
in a place like this.
You can be anything you want here.
You're brave.
You're strong. You're confident.
Every eye here is fixed upon you.
Would you do me the great honor
of joining me on the dance floor?
You don't recognize me, do you?
No.
Isn't that the point of coming to these things?
(WHIMPERING)
(COUGHING)
(WHIMPERING)
Drop the blade. (GROANS)
No!
(GRUNTS)
Irisa. Move!
(GROANING)
(GROANS)
Why did you take her eyes?
Money. (PANTING)
Money?
Those dress-up freaks will pay top scrip for authentic Votan parts.
And there are only so many cadavers.
Money to do what? Huh?
What could be worth it?
Whores? Gambling? Blue Devil, perhaps?
I have a family.
A daughter with polio.
When they let that Indo doctor out of prison,
I lost my office, most of my patients.
(SNIFFING) I did what I had to do.
(SCREAMING IN PAIN) Please...
Don't kill me.
Easy, Datak.
I promised the wife.
(SCREAMING)
Go. I'm okay. No.
Go!
Hey. Keep pressure on it.
(GROANING) Oh, hey, Nolan.
This is what you call your "citizen's arrest."
Our friend here had a little accident.
Running with scissors... Bad idea.
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
Guess he missed you with those scissors.
I got lucky.
(GROANING)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
And the boys don't have the cars to get home.
So my stars and moon
I'm so sorry, Alak.
What she's doing. It's not right.
No, it's too much.
Burn my son.
Up in flames we go, you fire breather.
I shall dance.
(CHUCKLING) I don't want your money.
Smoke rise, trying to survive inside your arms...
I want to be your princess.
It's time we seize the ship.
(GASPS)
(COUGHS)
What was that?
(PANTING)
(SINGING) I have infinite potential.
Your love can set it free.
Give me something to be proud of.
Give me something more than me.
I want bigger, sleeker, faster...
(MERCADO CONTINUES SINGING) Take this child of evolution
(SIGHING)
And raise him to the sky.
Set free his inner beauty.
Teach this boy to fly.
And when I ascend in glory.
The gods will know my name.
We will blow apart this fiction.
That all are built the same.
Take this child of evolution.
And raise him to the sky.
Set free his inner beauty.
Teach this boy to fly
(MERCADO SINGING IN CASTI)
I want your arms to hold me.
I want love to overwhelm me.
Irzu said she'd kill you if I told you the truth.
Let her try.
One rule.
(SOBBING)
We live or die together.
(MERCADO CONTINUES SINGING) I want love...
To overwhelm...
Me