The quintet of men in their black and red battle armor and dark faceless helmets scanned the area, pulse rifles held at non-threatening port arms position, but ready to fire at the first sign of an ambush. Around them were the huge metal racks and baskets that stored surplus parts for whatever the place manufactured during the daylight arns. The storage facility was like a large maze of racks and bins; and eerily silent this time of the night cycle. His booted foot shifted slightly and he heard glass grind under his heel. A smile appeared on his sallow face; the human was taking no chances with this impromptu meeting he'd asked for with the military scientist.
Somebody had taken the precaution of preparing the meeting area by smashing out most of the lights. The few that remained made sort of a path that the half-Scarran judged to have ended close to the exact center of the immense warehouse. The path of lights halted abruptly there and Scorpius assumed that he was to wait at that spot for the outlaw group to make contact with him.
Idly he pressed down with his boot heel and felt more of the thin glass shards disintegrate into fine grit.
"Oh my, somebody is going to be quite upset with all this vandalism in the morning," he murmured to himself in cynical humor.
"Sir?" asked one of his commando guards after the low remark.
Scorpius waved the comment and the trooper's question off.
"Nothing," he said, than turned to the squad leader. "Scan the area for life signs," he ordered on a hunch.
"At once," answered the sergeant, who then directed another man to perform the procedure.
A private held up the triform-shaped hand scanner and made several passes around the area. The device made an error sound and the soldier made several adjustments before giving up and smacking the machine a few times on the side with the flat of his hand.
"Problems, private?" Scorpius asked with some amusement in his voice. How like these low-intellectual grunts to think that hitting a finely tuned sensor instrument would make it work properly.
The private straighten up almost to attention after realizing he had earned himself Scorpius' full interest.
"No, sir," the young Sebacean began, "Well... yes, sir," he changed his answer to almost right away. "There seems to be something blocking the scanner from functioning properly"
"Ah!" replied the leather-clad half-breed. "Could it be a class-five alternating static field interfering with your scanner"
The trooper made some quick adjustments on his tool and then looked up in surprise.
"Why yes! It is, sir!" he exclaimed, "There is a static wave present. How did you know?" he then asked in awe.
"Because setting up several static generators inside the building is exactly what I would have done," he explained. "Crichton is no fool. He and his group are not taking any chances that we can find them until they're ready to reveal themselves"
He took several steps away from his escort, scanning the darkness around them but not even his Scarran sight could detect anyone hiding close-by.
"It matters little that the scanners are impeded," Scorpius said to his men. "We came here to negotiate in good faith with whatever Crichton wanted to see me for, and we shall do so."
He glanced around the warehouse once more and then called out into the darkness.
"John? John, I'm here," Scorpius shouted out. "I give you my word you have nothing to fear from my escort. Braca assigned them for my protection and they have strict orders not to harm you... or anyone in your party"
The words echoed in return to him from deep inside the large structure, but nothing else answered back. He held up the strange metal and glass game piece that he recognized from Crichton's Earth game called Chess. If he remembered right, it was the piece that represented the Black King, and it had accompanied the simple message that he meet with the human here, at this time and place - alone.
Crichton had to know that Scorpius wouldn't travel without a guard unit anymore then he would meet the Peacekeeper commander without his friends as back up. What the human meant by alone was without a Peacekeeper Command Carrier or Commandant Grayza in tow.
The woman had been hard to distract from discovering the meeting, Peacekeeper Command still had Grayza and Scorpius both under review for the ill-fated summit with the Scarran Emperor, Staleek. They seemed to be waiting to see what the Imperium would do next after tangling with Crichton and his crew, and their act of destroying the Crystherium Utila plant, which the Scarran Ruling Caste needed so desperately. Scorpius had bought himself some time with Peacekeeper Command by convincing his higher ups that he could still salvage his wormhole project - with Crichton's help. Grayza had made a similar promise that she could hand John Crichton with his knowledge over to Command for interrogation and extraction. It had become a sort of race between the two Peacekeeper commanders to see who would win their way back into the graces of High Command - and who would probably face execution for failing.
PK Command seemed to have a winning hand no matter which way the race turned out.
It didn't advance matters any that the Scarran Imperium would also soon have a reward on the heads of Crichton and his crew... if they didn't already.
"Come now, John," Scorpius called out next. Allowing a slight hint of wariness to creep into his voice. "Need I remind you that it was you who called me here? Come out so we can get to the business at hand"
Again no one answered. "I'm growing tired of this game, John" Scorpius warned. "I know you're here. You would not have gone through all that trouble to get a convert message to me... and not show up"
This time there was the muffled sound of something striking the floor a short way off in the darkness.
Scorpius snapped his head around in that direction, but was unable to pinpoint the exact location of the disturbance. By the way his guards looked about in various other areas, they had failed to determine a direction also. The noise had sounded as if it had been deliberately obscured in some way to avoid indicating a positive locality.
The half-Scarran scientist smiled - the game was now afoot it seemed. The noise was obviously meant to be a lure of some type. Possibly a clue as to where the actual meeting was to take place.
Scorpius made a silent hand gesture, commanding his men to search for the source of the sound. Immediately four of the commandos peeled off to investigate the area. Leaving Scorpius and the squad leader still standing alone under the lights.
"Never fear! My men will not harm anyone they find," the half-Scarran called out in reassurance.
Several microns passed with no other sounds or communications from the troopers. Finally, the team leader began to comm his men only to have none of the four answer him over the link.
The sergeant nervously fingered his pulse rifle. "I don't like this, sir," the man commented. "It has to be a trap"
Scorpius held up one hand to halt the statement, and the soldier's building unease. He sniffed at the air and bared his teeth slyly.
"No, sergeant... none of your men are dead. There's no blood in the air... yet. Something else is going on here. We will wait and see what Crichton has in mind"
Just as the PK scientist finished his explanation, several of the closer lights that had led the group to the center of the warehouse blinked out with the sound of breaking glass as something smashed them. Within microts, Scorpius and his man were left standing alone in a sole circle of light.
"Someone knocked out those lights. Find them, but do nothing to harm them!" Scorpius ordered the remaining man.
More afraid of the Scarran half-breed than whatever awaited him in the darkness, the sergeant slinked off to carry out his orders. As the lone commando disappeared from sight, Scorpius closed his eyes and let his senses wander the area. He had an intuition that whatever was neutralizing his men wanted them safely out of the way before approaching him. If that were the case, he had no choice but to sacrifice his guard to fulfill the provisions of whatever was out in the darkness.
A few moments later, the vibration in the air that was the sergeant cease to register on his senses. Meaning the man was no longer mobile and had apparently met the same fate as his comrades.
Scorpius waited a few more microns for his senses to tell him the unseen opponent was near, but they revealed nothing to him. Disappointedly, it was more a primal instinct that warned him that whatever had hunted his men was close-by.
"I know you're here," he called out again, "Whoever you are." Neither Scorpius's tone nor the tempo of his voice did anything to betray his slight uneasiness with the situation. It was then that he began to realize that his instincts were warning him this was something other that one of Moya's crew out there in the gloom of the warehouse.
Perhaps Crichton had found himself a new ally in the short time since they separated? The scientist could feel cold predatory eyes watching him at that very moment.
Scorpius always made it an instinctual habit to appear as if he were always in control; to do anything else within the life he had led thus far might invite disaster... or worse. This moment was no different than any other he had faced. He had no choice now but to hold his ground and see what unfolded in the next few microts.
"It's a mystery why you didn't kill my men when you are so clearly able to. But I have to assume that by not doing so, that you want something from me. Show yourself and tell me what it is," he invited.
A slight noise from behind him told Scorpius he had guessed the wrong direction his visitor would come from. Still, he made the turn in that direction look casual and he was just in time to see a black shape separate itself from the shadows. The form took a few steps forward until he could just see it was a humanoid shape wearing a long pitch-black garment of some sort. The half-Scarran took note that his vision could barely detect a heat signature from the stranger and he wondered for a moment if it might be a machine in humanoid form.
"Greetings," Scorpius said with a slight bow of his head, but never taking his eyes off the lurking being.
The figure remained silent as if studying the scientist. Finally, one more step brought it into the brief circle of light. The being titled it's head upward slightly and Scorpius found himself gazing into a Sebacean-like face under the obscure black hood of a cloak.
There was no mistaking the clear look of hatred in the piercing silver-tinted blue eyes there.
"Did Crichton send you?" Scorpius asked, ignoring everything else.
In response the man let his cloak fall loosely open to reveal the gunmetal-colored armor beneath. Scorpius didn't need to read the icons or glyphs etched into the metal to know what manner of creature he now faced.
His face twisted into a sardonic smile, despite what he thought were ominous circumstances now.
"A Shrike Enforcer," he announced with no apparent sentiment. It appears he had been wrong; he had walked into a trap set by the Black Syndicate. Apparently the Scarran Imperium had decided to have him assassinated after all and had given the duty to one of the underworld criminal groups.
"Tell me... what Syndicate House are you with," he asked casually, as if he weren't staring his own death in the face. "I find I am oddly curious to know if the Emperor thought my death worth the services of a High House assassin? One might find that precaution a compliment, would they not"
The corner of the Shrike's lip turned up in a slight sneer for a split microt. Scorpius found the flash of emotion interesting and upgraded his evaluation of the Enforcer. "Perhaps my death is indeed important to the Imperium if a Master Shrike was dispatched instead of a collared assassin," he thought to himself.
He held up the chess-piece and added, "How did you know to send me this? And how did you get it? The strategy was most brilliant... I will give you and your masters that much. A well-played move... pun intended"
The Shrike's eyes now squinted in contempt.
"I am with no House, Scarran," the assassin finally replied, somehow making his dry dispassionate tone still hold a strong hint of venom. "And had I been sent to eradicate you, you would be dead all ready."
Scorpius almost blinked in surprise, but caught the gesture before he could give anything away. He'd never heard of an Enforcer that didn't belong to one Syndicate House or another. There was no such thing as a "freelance" Shrike in the Imperium. Unless this one had gone rogue! The thought burst upon him like a ray of light.
The incidents of Shrikes breaking from their Houses were rare and they were always hunted down and destroyed when it did happen. He now realized that somehow this one had gotten free and joined up with Crichton and his crew. And they were using the killer's skills as a safety precaution before arriving at the meeting with him. How wise and ingenious, Scorpius thought silently with a growing hint of admiration for the outlaw group's prescience.
The half-Scarran allowed himself to now inwardly relax with the knowledge that he probably wasn't about to be eradicated by the Syndicate assassin, at least for the moment.
"Then can you tell me why I am here?" he asked the cloaked man.
"Someone wishes to see you, Scarran," the Shrike replied. He almost spat the racial name out as if it were a vile oath. Scorpius smiled at having found a weakness he could exploit in the Enforcer so quickly. He obviously despised Scarrans. It also went some way to confirming his theory that the Shrike was a rogue. The Syndicate would have a high reward out on the Shrike's termination, so the assassin would probably go out of his way not to draw unwanted attention to himself if he were smart. And that most likely meant not leaving a trail of dead Peacekeeper commanders behind him.
"I am only half Scarran," Scorpius said as a further test, after filing away his mental observation.
"That is half too much," replied the Enforcer in a near dead tone.
"Be that is something I cannot help at the moment, I would then be most grateful if you would take me to whomever summoned me here," the half-breed replied with a scheming grin. "Unless you plan to alter your task and kill me anyway"
The Shrike's lips turned upward in a grin that did not touch his ice colored eyes. "There yet maybe a time for that," he said in a barely audible whisper that held the hint of something unhinged.
The scientist filed the comment away also along with the sudden observation that the ex-Enforcer may not be too mentally stable after all. The way his emotions ran the gamut of extremes the assassin just might be balance on the edge of sanity. If that were the case the Shrike was going to be more unpredictable than he first assessed. Scorpius found that despite the minor impediment, he had a sudden twisted interest in the way the Shrike must be complicating life for Crichton and the others... it had to be very amusing.
The Shrike turned away without another word and Scorpius followed him into the dark aisles.
Scorpius trailed behind the Enforcer through a number of twists and turns among the racks of boxes and machine parts. The half-Scarran tried again to read the Shrike's heat signatures but was mostly unable to just as before. He smiled to himself again as he figured out why.
"That's a very interesting garment you have. Acquarian silk is it not?" he asked almost idly.
The Shrike barely turned to acknowledge his question, choosing the let his continued silence show his contempt for the being he was escorting deeper into the warehouse. Scorpius chuckled lightly to himself. He knew he was right. He'd heard that some of the higher Syndicate Houses equip their Enforcers with the expensive rare silk cloaks. While being almost indestructible and silent for a silk fabric, the material and weave also masked body heat signatures. A very useful attribute when you might have to send your assassins out after other Scarrans, who could see body heat signatures. The cloak also gave him a lead as to where the Enforcer might have originated from... should he decide to look into it sometime later.
The Shrike finally stopped at a large steel door set into the building's wall on a rail. He lifted the latch and shoved the door aside, revealing a workshop.
"Inside," the Enforcer instructed as he stepped to one side of the doorway.
Scorpius made a tiny mock bow and followed his instruction. Stepping through the door he found himself standing before Ka'D'Argo and his leveled Qualta-rifle.
"I have brought the Klaz-kik'," the Shrike announced as he rolled the door closed behind them.
Scorpius allowed himself a smirk at the Enforcer's use of the Scarran slur for "half-breed"
"Perfect pronunciation," the Peacekeeper scientist quipped with a hint of sarcasm.
"What of the rest?" asked the Luxan of the assassin.
"Neutralized"
"How many did you kill?" inquired Rygel as he floated into view besides D'argo.
"None... as instructed"
The Hynerian snorted. "That's a first," he retorted. The Shrike made an obvious point of ignoring the small being for the moment.
Scorpius took a slow non-threatening step forward.
"I assure you, I came only with my bodyguard detachment," he told them. "It would not have been wise with the current situation with Grayza to travel without them"
'Still after your mivonks, is she?" Rygel asked with a gleeful sneer.
Scorpius regarded the Hynerian ruler for a instant and then replied with a dismissing smile,
"Amongst other things... but that is a discussion for later, Dominar. Right now, I want to know why Crichton summoned me. Where is he"
D'argo gestured with his Qualta-rifle for the half-breed to keep his place.
"First things first," the Luxan warned. Turning to the Shrike, he asked, "Did you search him well before bringing him here"
"No"
D'argo rolled his eyes in disbelief. "Why the hezmana NOT!" he demanded irately.
The Shrike cocked his head. "My instructions were not to touch the Scarran, no matter what," he supplied.
The warrior exhaled sharply in exasperation at the reply.
"I meant not to kill him or use anymore force then was necessary to bring him here securely!" D'argo shot back.
"Be more specific next time," the Enforcer answered indifferently.
If the curiosity about why the human had called him there weren't picking away at his mind like Halozian Fire-ants, Scorpius would have enjoyed the humorous parody being played out before him. He did however make another mental note that the Shrike appeared to dislike D'argo almost as much as he did Scarrans.
The Luxan obvious had no love for the assassin either, but past experiences with the warrior told him that D'argo liked few other beings at the best of times anyway.
"Search him then!" D'argo barked.
"As you wish"
Berret stepped forward to comply with a maniac grin suddenly on his face. It was then that the warrior decided the hasty order had been a mistake. The Shrike was more than several times stronger than a normal Sebacean, and it was obvious he had no intention of being gentle with Scorpius in the least.
They needed the Peacekeeper scientist in good health and unharmed if they wanted to secure his help with restoring Aeryn and John.
Berret "accidentally" twisting or breaking a few of his limb while frisking the half-breed would not help them toward that end in the slightest.
"No! Wait!" D'argo countermanded. "Shrike, you stay where you are. Rygel... you search Scorpius"
"Why me?" the Hynerian immediately complained. "Let Chiana's nik-nik do it"
"Because I want you to do it... NOW, DO IT!" bellowed the Luxan in building frustration.
Scorpius exhaled and rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"By all means... somebody get this over with and search me so that we make get on with whatever you called me here for," he spat. "And I am quickly losing my patience... and I want to know where Crichton is now"
"In a few microts," D'argo told him. "Rygel"
The warrior's Qualta rifle drifted over in the Dominar's direction as he used it to indicate that the small being should get on with the weapon pat down.
The sword rifle settled for a moment longer on Rygel then was really necessary, giving the Hynerian ruler the impression that D'argo might decide to shoot the Hynerian Royal out of sheer annoyance if he debated the matter any longer with him.
"Oh... all right," Rygel muttered and then moved his thronesled closer to Scorpius. "Hands up," he instructed the Peacekeeper commander.
Scorpius lifted his arms and quietly endured the search.
"He's clean," Rygel announced a moment later as he moved back away from the half-breed. "But don't forget the single shot pulse rod he keeps inside his coolant system," the Hynerian warned.
"He'll be dead before he can get to it," the Luxan supplied as he lowered his rifle toward the floor.
"That is for certain," Scorpius heard the Shrike hiss lowly from behind him. The comment was pitched just loud enough for only him to hear. The half-Scarran chose not to give the assassin the satisfaction of reacting, and instead focused solely on D'argo and Rygel.
"I have no intention of trying anything," Scorpius assured them once more. "I am only interested in why John Crichton called me here"
"See that it stay's that way," the Luxan added.
It had been decided that Rygel would be the best crewmember to tactfully explain the situation to Scorpius without portraying the groups' need in too badly a light.
D'argo was still of the opinion that their story could do nothing but reveal their weakness to the half Scarran scientist... but he also agreed that they didn't have much choice and letting the Hynerian Dominar handle the negotiations was the best option. Just as it had been the best play to let the small ruler arrange John's prior fake surrender, which led to the destruction of Scorpius' wormhole project and a Command Carrier.
Berret for his part mostly ignored the talks, as they held no personal interest for him. Instead his mind drifted back to their departure from Moya a few arns before and the few parting words he'd shared with Chiana before the negotiation group boarded the Transport Pod to head for their rendezvous.
The Nebari girl had quietly assured him that she had faith he would complete the task with a minimum of violence.
The words had sounded plainly hollow to his ears... but somehow they still seem to re-enforce his determination to hold the urge to slaughter his opponents in check when the moment came to take out the half-breed's bodyguards.
Chiana plainly had had little doubt though she attempted to hide it, that given the chance, he wouldn't have been able to stop himself from killing. Rygel and Stark supported that theory stridently, while D'argo didn't seem to care who he killed as long as it wasn't Scorpius or the female Kalish that might have accompanied him.
As it turned out, no Kalish of any gender had accompanied the half-breed, and the five commandoes had fallen easily to his skills.
He had to admit even with the Nebari's attempt at encouragement, it had been hard to curb the desire to eradicate the soldiers. Every instinct he had screamed at him to kill them as he hunted each man through the darkened warehouse. The voice in his head pushed for him to finish off his prey each time he took one down, but he fought the yearning with Chiana's words; bribing it further with the promise of what was to come when he left to hunt the Syndicate. He succeeded in only rendering the guards unconscious one way or another.
Though he had to also admit - some of the ways he accomplished that end were none-to-gentle for the soldiers.
The half-breed had been the hardest prey to restrain himself from. Just the mixture of the hated Scarran heritage in his features was enough to make the ex-Enforcer's blood boil with thoughts of revenge.
His condescending superior attitude alone was almost enough to make Berret willingly forget his promise to Chiana and bury both brace blades in the half-Scarran's throat.
Berret had wanted to slash that smirk off Scorpius' face... starting from the bastard's knees and working his way on upwards.
The Luxan had warned him to be wary, as the half-breed was a master manipulator and was much stronger than his appearance would lead one to believe. Berret found he liked that attribute about the abomination... should he decide to eradicate Scorpius at some later point - he didn't want it to be over with too soon.
No Scarran, half-breed or not, deserved an easy death as far as the ex-Enforcer was concerned.
While Berret's thoughts had wandered, Rygel had finished laying out his explanation of John and Aeryn's predicament and the assistance the crew was asking him for. The ex-Enforcer's attention came back to the group as Scorpius crossed his arms over his armored chest and began to pace slightly back and forth.
"So as usual, Crichton has found himself in trouble... and now you need my help in getting him out of it," Scorpius recanted.
"Well, if you put it that way... yes," replied the Dominar reluctantly. "We can use your help in finding the reconstruction process"
Scorpius turned and looked at the group with deep interest in his eyes.
"And what is to prevent me from just hunting you down and taking Crichton remains and the machine you stole"
D'argo's weapon snapped back up and centered on the half-Scarran's chest. "Then you don't leave this room alive," he snarled. There was a sound of ringing metal from behind Scorpius and the Luxan's attention shifted there. "Shrike!" he bellowed, "Do not...!" The muzzle of the Qualta rifle abruptly raised up a bit to point over the half-breed's shoulder, to somewhere at the rear him.
Scorpius turned in time to see the Shrike less than a half pace behind him with blades raised to cut him down.
Berret froze in that position, eye's blazing with silver fire... but he did not strike.
Instead, he un-cocked his arm slowly and let the blades coil back up into his brace. He muttered a low curse that not even the half-Scarran could make out and drifted back in obvious agitation into the corner of the room he had occupied just a microt before the outburst.
For all his visible reaction, Scorpius could have been watching bacteria in a test tube rather than almost being killed. D'argo rolled his eyes, half in annoyance - half in relief, as he relaxed his combat stance, while Rygel floated over to the Peacekeeper scientist.
"It would be best that you keep your thinking out loud to a minimum, so we don't have anymore 'misunderstandings'," advise the Dominar. "Chiana's pet can be unpredictable at the best of times." Rygel could tell by experience that Scorpius was processing new information in his head and attempting to find ways to use it to his advantage, so he added, "And in case you were thinking that your pulse armor would have protected you... you were wrong. I've seen those knives of his cut through blast-tempered steel doors like they were paper"
Instead of alarming the half-breed, the new information seemed to interest him even more in the assassin.
Rygel was at a loss to figure out why, but he felt the threat might be enough at any length to keep the PK commander on his toes from now on, and less likely to cause trouble.
A few microts later, Scorpius clasped both hands together and gave the crewmates a grin that would have been at home on the faces of most politicians the universe wide.
"Of course, as the Dominar said... I was merely thinking out loud," he offered. "The fact is... taking the wormhole knowledge I need by force is no longer an option at this point. Past attempts at coercion have failed, and it is obvious that I need Crichton's willful cooperation to succeed. I will help you find the process for the machine on the single condition that I am allowed to plea my case for the wormhole technology to John as soon as he is back together and well again"
"We cannot guarantee he will listen or even give you the time," replied the Luxan warrior, "But we will let you make the attempt to speak with him in return of your help"
"That is all I ask," Scorpius said graciously.
Berret tried to give the talks his full attention for the moment, but something was now picking at his instincts. The atmosphere in the warehouse had subtly changed in some way he couldn't consciously identify and it was making him increasingly edgy.
"I'm glad we got that settled without bloodshed," Rygel put in, "Especially my own"
"Good," said Scorpius. "I will make arrangement to have the machine and your two comrades' remains transferred to my new Command Carrier immediately.
D'argo shook his head sternly. "No. You will perform the work aboard Moya at a secured location of our choosing... with your Command Carrier nowhere near. We're not that trusting. You can send for whatever equipment you think you need from your ship before you leave with us for Moya"
Scorpius only smiled. "That is agreeable also. I have no such issues with trust," he answered slyly. "I will however need Sikozu's assistance so I will send for her also if that is all right"
"By all means... bring your Kalish tralk if you need to," Rygel sneered.
The uneasy feeling Berret had was growing constantly, without realizing it he'd found that he'd drifted further back into the shadows made by an assortment of tool racks in the room. He focused more on his hearing and he thought he might have heard a noise that did not belong outside the rolling steel door to the workshop.
"Whatever," D'argo was saying, "Just make it quick. We will not be hanging around this sector any longer than absolutely necessary"
"I will have the things I need here within the arn," Scorpius assured him.
Berret cocked an ear toward the doorway. The scrap of boot leather gave the intruder away a microt later.
Before he could warn the others in the group, the steel door rolled open with a crash and a squad of Peacekeeper storm troopers poured into the tool room with leveled pulse rifles at ready. Several soldiers shouted orders at the group not to move as an officer walked in behind his unit, pushing a bound and gagged Chiana before him. Not willing to be left behind on Moya while insisting she could help, the nearly healed gray girl had been left on watch at their hidden transport ship.
As he cleared the doorway, the officer shoved the Nebari girl hard and she tripped and fell to the floor with a muffled grunt.
"Chiana!" D'argo cried and made an attempt to rush to her aid, only to be halted by the upraised rife of a trooper who indicated that the Luxan was to drop his weapon. D'argo led the Qualta rifle fall from his hand as he realized the odds weren't in his favor. He scanned the room quickly and noticed that the Shrike was nowhere in sight. "The bastard assassin fled and left us here to our fates... the coward!" the warrior thought to himself in a growing rage.
Rygel turned on Scorpius as the soldiers moved in to search him for hidden weapons.
"You lying frellnik!" he shouted at the half-breed. "You brought more men to trap us after all"
"They're not mine," the scientist protested just as he was being searched as well.
"Then whose are they?" D'argo demanded to know in a growl.
"They're mine," said a voice from the doorway. The captured group turned at the same time as a female figure stepped in to join them.
"Well, well, well... what do we have here?" asked Commandant Grayza with a smile.