Piper Tanaka (0:00)

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Can't dodge the dawn Red light shines on and on and on and on and on but it's not the sea that's coming for me and it's not the storm no, it's not the storm so come sing me no songs Though once we go we are gone and gone and gone When I go to sea Fear for me Fear for the storm Fear for the storm Six months into the second Galactic war and this is still more often than not the nightly sounds of San Ramos. This time our attackers are not a dwarning invasion, but our fellow humans, the regime that took power in the military coup of 2180. Their forces who once swore to protect us now target bridges, schools, water treatment plants and hospitals. But no corner of the city is safe. Regardless of whether or not you identify with the pro revolutionary forces that have been dubbed the Rooks. On the ground here, names of the dead. Maria Garcia. David Smith. Tony Wang. Susan Wang. Zhang Wei. Ramesh Kumal. Repress. With Chuck Weathers, a special report. Just who are the anti state perpetrators of the Iris case files? Propaganda. An inside look on what makes these deviants. All right, I'm your udders. Mimi, you're obviously next. Here you go, girl. Bottle time. Nope. Gilda, Katya. Get out of here. Come on. Babies only. That's right, Mimi. That's a good girl. BA is right. It's a train wreck. It's a train wreck. Hitting a bus crash. Tonight on Free Press with me. And we're back. For those of you just joining us, I'm Piper Tanaka. Not my real name. And I'm the mysterious woman known as Kestrel Colvin. So mysterious. Reyna Sakamachi is in the booth. And we've been taking a mini hiatus, you know, to keep things fresh and fun. And undetectable by the feds. And undetectable by the feds. But here we are Signal intruding on your evening regime propaganda. And here you are, rock and roll fans, hopefully along for the ride. Oh, to those of you being surveilled, please feel free to pretend the dial broke. And without further ado, we present the third installment from Juniper Liu's new documentary, San Rising to the Moment. I'm sitting here with Sinatrapathi, formerly the captain of the Rumor and the Iris, now an organizer in the Central Middle neighborhood of San Ramos and sometimes known as Saint Sana. What? Arkady told me about it, she said there's shirts. You know as well as I do that nobody on San Ramos has new clothes. We've been relying on donations since the start of the regime's bombing campaign. Speaking of which, I need to take a moment and thank all the brave pilots at Fly With Seoul for their incredible work getting us supplied, even in the face of the worsening drone attacks. It really means the world to us. Absolutely. So, about these shirts. Oh, God. People are looking at your success back when you blew up the lab on New Jupiter, when you orchestrated the evacuation in San Ramos and then decided to stay. And something about that seems to really resonate with them. Why do you think that is? If I'm being totally honest, I get that people want someone to look up to. I know when I was younger, I certainly had my heroes. But to raise me up above everybody ignores all the other people I had at my back. This remarkable team who in so many ways made it all possible. I want them to get credit because every one of them absolutely deserves it. But even more than that, I worry putting me on a pedestal lets the person doing the veneration off the hook, if that makes sense. To sigh and say, I could never do what she did. Because you can't know that, you know, unless you find yourself in that exact situation, you'll never know what you would have done. That's not false modesty, by the way. I think we've done good things. I just also think, especially now, any train of thought that leaves you helpless isn't worth boarding in the first place. Maybe you couldn't do what we did, but you can do something else. You should do something else to act like I, or even the rest of the team, much as I love them and amazing as they all are, to act like we're so different from you doesn't help anything. You just need to find what it is that you can do. And then you need to do that thing with every fiber of your being, and not just because it's the right thing to do to take some tiny corner of the problem and get your hands dirty. See the on the ground ways you're helping. It's good for the soul. We need food, water, shelter to survive. But we need a purpose. A cause to really live. If you don't know where to start, donate to someplace being hit hard right now. If you're already donating, volunteer. And if you're under the thumb of the regime, Maybe get a little forgetful about turning in that neighbor. Incoming call from computer. Accept call. Maybe do what you can to stay informed without informing. Computer, pause radio. Ah. I just. I wanted to hear her voice again. I understand it must be difficult. Yeah. Thazia, what's going on? Anyone else on the line? Where are you? The one spot in Mirzakhani with a decent signal. Line is secure. Enough small talk. Did other Violet get my proposal about completing Tripathi's mission? A plan which, given the intense secrecy of Captain Tripathi's work. Would conveniently hinge on first recovering your missing captain. Am I wrong? If the assignment was so classified that even you and other Violet don't have the details. I'm guessing it was something important. My team knew her the best. And that puts us in the best position to your team. And not a squad of trained operatives. Look, San Ramos is getting slammed. Supply lines are collapsing. The fact that we have more people barely matters when we've got worse weapons and less money than the regime. And oh yeah, their drones are knocking our ships out of the sky every day. I get that you don't want to leave it up to us. But I don't think you guys really have a choice. Yes, well, consider this your briefing. Thank you, Thasia. Thank you. On February 17th, we mount an assault on the regime's three largest weapons manufacturing facilities on Rosado. We already have a ship prepared to head that way with orders to strike. But the factories are surrounded by a wall of well armed drones. Captain Tripathi had a credible contact who promised us a window. A way to temporarily slip past them. Unfortunately, this contact would speak to nobody but Captain Tripathi. We do not even know this human's name. You need to find the individual. Likely first by recovering your captain. And open that window. You're saying we have two weeks? Slightly less. Because our forces are arriving within drone hitting distance at noon on the 17th. I can approve for you a budget of 10,000. And a ship. A Cairo of Terra 7. It's en route to Krej right now. Be careful, Akai. You're sending us into a battle zone with a fruit Bat. Those things don't even have a pea shooter. If a drone pings us. If a drone pings you, you'd be dead. No matter your weapons. I did say be careful. What if we need to break her out of some high security complex? Then I would suggest you use your creativity. Yeah. Thanks, Thasia. We'll get the macaroni art going. That was shitty. You can't exactly lend us a battleship right now. We'll figure something out. Do you wish to fight me on anything else? No. Thank you. 14 days. If you fail, it is vital you tell us so we can call our people off. But also, we cannot fail. Right. Arkady Patel out. Computer. Arkady Patel to Violet Liu. Attempting connection. Hello? Hey. Hey. Have you heard the piece? Juniper's documentary? I have heard every iteration of every piece more times than. Okay, nobody locked you in a room and forced you to listen. To listen. Yeah. Thazia said yes. We've got two weeks, moderate funds and a ship with zero weaponry. Wow. That's. Zero weapons. Yeah. Campbell can't be away that long. He's gonna hate that. Think he'll understand, though. He really is holding the city together by his fingernails. Especially since. Yeah, we can tell him if you want. I'm interviewing him for a follow up piece tonight and I'll break it to him in person. And in case you're feeling weird about this, I'm gonna go ahead and be the one to say I shouldn't be going. I'm the only reporter left here who knows how to work the comms equipment. Yeah, that tracks. Thanks. Hey, Violet. Mm? Is this my cue to clear out? You don't have to. Yes, you do. Junie, please go away now. Happily. Violet, I get that you've got family there. And I get you're doing good work with Dr. Robinson. And I get that the work is still desperately needed. Christ. I'm not trying to take away from that, but. By any chance. Two weeks is a long time, but. Is this an invitation? It's not a costume party, Liu. Hey. We don't know what we're getting into. The odds will need disguises at some point. Fair. You said we. Arcady. You know my answer is yes, right? I mean, I didn't know is a strong. It's good to hear. I have really missed being in the same galaxy. Me too. So what's new with you? You know, things have been tight since we stopped getting relief drops, but we're holding up the last package the hospital got had some hemodynamic implant monitors, so I can at Least test a theory. That's great. Sorry. They are. They run on the warmth of your blood. And they report a burst of health data every five hours, including a person's exact location. They were developed for dementia patients, but I was thinking it could save us time sifting through rubble. When someone goes missing after an attack. Our lives are so depressing. I hear that. I finally got in touch with Julio's nurse friend. They put me on some hopefully better meds for as long as the stockpile lasts. That's great. Turns out the shit the regime had me on during the war can give you vivid and alarming hallucinations. So there's some personal puzzle pieces sliding into goddamn place. Jesus. That's horrible. Didn't they test it? Yeah, on us. The number of medical regulations that breaks. I could. I could punch someone. Remember, pinky tucked, thumb out and under, lead with the middle and index knuckles. Hey, full marks. Okay, I need to start packing, and you need to let the others know I've got a mint plant on the windowsill. I've been. Well, growing is a strong word. It's mint. It does what it wants. But I can bring that along. You know, for her. Good luck. Hey. Love you. I love you, too. Talk to you soon. Violet. Lew, out. Okay. Okay, step two. McCabe, where's Brian? If you were able to look me up on the scheduling chart, you could have used the exact same tool to find him. Oh, no. I just followed the sound of your loom making an incredible goddamn racket. I'm weaving scarves. We're getting another shipment of refugees from Elyon, and I don't want them to be chilly. Judging by the heap of winter wear to your left. I got into a rhythm. You can't even clap on the beat. It's a nice feeling every now and then to step away from work and just create. Hey, you create all the time. Mostly goddamn Byzantine spreadsheets. But, you know, we're getting off topic. Where is Brian? Yes. On the scheduling chart. McCabe, believe me when I say this right now is not a teaching moment. Just tell me where he is. What makes you think I know? That chart tracks more than 100 staff over both their tasks and their free periods as they tend to what's become basically an entire city of refugees. So why would you waste your time on a face to face conversation when one look at the handy resource I made specifically for this purpose would actually. Please. Like Brian has his shit together enough to keep it current. Like you wouldn't instinctively cover for your buddy? He's teaching a an adult intro to Dwarnian class in auxiliary building C. Why do you need him? It's a long story. For the record, in case you think acting cryptic makes you look cool, it mostly makes you very annoying. Yeah, well, I need to do something to keep the mystery alive, given how long we secretly monitored all your conversations. Got it in one. Remind him this is board games night. So, about Emre. It sometimes gets equated to family or household. And that's not wrong. It's just not complete. So imagine, say, three to 10 adults, and they can be in any combination of romantic relationships with each other or not, and they decide to form a unit. They live together, they pool their finances and raise children together. It's sort of a very small commune, minus the hippie flavor. It's so common that the default word for home, as in dwelling. Brian. Kind of in the middle of something. Dude, I talked to Thazio. Okay, everyone, look over your readers for a few. I know we don't have enough anymore, so if you could pair up, triple up, make some buddies, we're all gonna be here for a while. Modest budget, two weeks. Absolutely pathetic ship on its way to Krej right now. You in? You're asking me? Like, in case there's a medieval Dwarnian themed scavenger hunt? It's no fun when you say it. Are you sure that I'm, you know. I don't know, actually. So if you could do your thing and use some words when the stakes are this high. Should I really be on your crew? One, you saved all our butts on New Jupiter. Two, this is a war, and you're literally an award winning code breaker. It was summer camp, and I was 11, and I only got second place. Wasn't that just because Susie Strathers was the counselor's niece? Or Katie? The fix is in. Your students are grown ups. They can do without baby Dorney and vocab for two weeks. Dude, demystifying the language and with it the art and literature is the first step towards forging a lasting cross cultural bond. I know, Brian. I've seen you drunk before. Do I need to remind you why we're doing this? No. Also, we need Krej's best flying, especially now. And that means Krej needs their husband. Kind of manipulative to play that card. Am I wrong? No. So are you in? Does Krej know we're going yet? I thought you might want to be there when I tell them. Well, in that case. Come on. They're in a Three way call with Max and Swarnch. Swarnsh, Dorian diplomat. Max is in auxiliary building E. If we hurry, we can probably catch Krej after. How do you know all that? It's on the scheduling chart. Right. So out of nowhere, another mission with Violet. How you feeling? How is that a question? Obviously I hate that we have to do this, but I'm, you know, glad she'll be there. That's great. Good. Good. It's gonna be two weeks of quality time. Sharing a room, close quarters, intense pressure, nowhere to go. And I'm in love with someone who is awfully goddamn settled on a planet so goddamn full of my own personal bullshit that I could never live there. Long term, it's okay to be nervous. I mean, depending on where Krej is, we could all be reunited today. That's great, but it's a lot. I may be a little. But it's good. It's fine. Does my hair look. What? Nothing. Lets go find Max. Hey, gun. Swarnch. Yeah, back it up, buttercup. Listen to us. Orange Kressh, with all due respect, the Dwarnian Federation has made it 100% crystal that they don't wish to be involved in any intra human skirmishes. We know, but you're not listening. Commander Gavins, can you. Do you think the IGR forgot they won a war with you the second they crushed the Rooks? We. That's priority one. Even if the human governments won't admit it, the Dwarnian Federation has no doubt the attempted attacks on Heimdala were a conspiracy between Vashran Reshthreb and the igr. We remain committed to peace. Hope that commitment's a comfort when the regime attacks. If they try, the Dwarnian Federation will swat them like a fly. See, but that's the whole thing about flies. It doesn't matter how many you swat, there's always more. Buzzing. Isn't even one Dwarnian life too many to lose over this? Look at Commander Gavitz. He lost his partner and his purpose. Now he's got nothing left but the roar of the laser cannon. Do you want that for any of your people? Of course I don't. But that's not. Also. Just want to remind you that the reason the regime was able to grab up power in the first place and squash everybody down till now is because your government attacked the humans way back when. You're already involved, like it or not. My government? Do you think the Dwarnian Federation listened to the Nevath priest? Do you think they Listen to us. Now, I took this meeting because I care. But if you're asking me to get the Federation on the side of the rooks, I'm telling you, I cannot make that happen. It's an honor to talk to my favorite stunt pilot. And to a decorated war hero. I'll pass your message along. Thanks. Swaranch out. So how are the kids? How's crewmate Jeter and First Mate Patel? Why'd you imply Julio's dead? Cause it helps sell the whole story. Hardened warrior, shell of former self. Out where the action is, one lone tear slides down the grizzled cheek. The next time you need someone to impersonate a commander and lie to royalty. I mean, royalty, I guess, but to the Nevas, Swarmsch is more of a religious leader. The next time you need someone to lie to the space alien Pope. Yeah. Would you rather we pull an actual, factual military person out of the fray just to talk to whatever politician I can get on the horn? I'm telling you, your average Dwarnian knows nothing about human culture but the great big honkin movies. We gotta lean into that. You said the Nevath were different. They settled in high altitudes. They eat roots, and the rest of Dwarnians look down on them. They still get the same downloads. They live in the mountains, not the past. The more we tell them a tale, the more they'll believe us. Oh, can you get a stooge? Stoogy? What? Kresh, just call Brian. I can do this. I can do this. Stodgy. It's a thing that kills you kind of slowly. A stogie. A cigar. Yeah, not where the kids can find it. Goats are humans. Barnyard humor. The number of times. Come in. Hey, Max. Any luck? Are those crewman Jeters mellifluous tones I hear over the transom? Hi. Hey. Greg Swanch is a dead end. I do think they care. Carrying hearts without acting hands gets us jack shit. Okay, like things I need embroidered on a pillow. Stat. What brings you this way? Kurum and Jeter. First Mate Patel. Thasia approved the mission. Our temporary ship's headed your way as we speak. A fruit bat? How soon do we start? How soon can you stop by San Ramos and then scoop us up? I'd say a day. I'm not that far out. Seriously? That's awesome, bud. Does that include time to sleep? Chill, Daddy. O, don't be such a square. We have two weeks. We need every hour we can get. Okay, but how sleep deprived do we want our one pilot to be? Crewman? Cheater. My beloved and very handsome, unlawfully married husband. This smacks of hypocrisy. Flight conditions have gotten rough with the drones out there. It'd be easier with a backup pilot. That reminds me, I've got to make one more call. Attempting connection. Attempting connection. Park. Thazia approved the mission. How do you. Why else would you be calling? Fair. Are you? Aye, man. Really? I thought I was gonna have to do a whole thing. Uh. Look, you should probably know. You're dating Sanaa. I do know. She said. She told me she was going to tell you. I didn't realize she'd gotten the chance before. Yeah. Look, I have to ask. And for the record, I hate asking just as much as you'll hate answering. I find that hard to believe. Are things going to be weird between you and Campbell? No. Are you sure? Yes. Park, for the love of God, don't make me ask follow up questions. He'll be glad. At least one of the people she's with will be there. We've talked about it. Shit. How the hell could that go? Well, that sounds like a follow up question. Yeah, retracted. I'll send you the details. Right. Jensen. Park out. Just what the hell is going on? Hey, McCabe. Shouldn't you be weaving for another 10 minutes? You. That's right. I read the scheduling chart. Did you honestly think I'd never find out about your mission recovering Captain Tripathi? Or did you just think you'd be able to get away before I put the, in retrospect, obvious pieces together? Look, I was gonna tell you. When? Once. You were lifting off without me. Hang on. Was that park on the line? Is park going? Park, who barely spoke to Captain Tripathi the entire time we lived on the Iris 2? Park, who can actually drive a spaceship? There are other pilots. Why him? That's not for me to say. Seriously? Even now you're going for cryptic? You know, if neither of us were included, you could say you still don't trust us on some level and I'd understand that. I wouldn't be thrilled, but I would understand. But this? It. Is it because I pulled a gun on you? You know that's water under the bridge. We've talked about this. I wasn't in my right mind. Then why do you think I don't care about Captain Tripathi? I caught the tail end of Juniper's piece. Do you think I don't care about the war effort? Do you just not want me around? Because you're thriving, okay? What? Because here you've got all your systems and Your charts and your color coding and your loom. And out there on Martineau, you had to shoot and kill your. That won't happen again. I only had one best friend. Don't be flippant. Why are you protecting your copyright? I've had some time to think about the difference between doing well and barely scraping by. The world we live in. It's so hard to function in anything other than survival mode when someone actually manages it. Disrupting that is like shooting a stained glass window. I'm not made of glass. Like shooting an endangered rhino. Is that better? What did you do to the door? Weightlifting is good for long term emotional health. Do you think maybe you just don't want to admit that wherever you're going, you will definitely need a sniper. Park's got years of field training. Yes, and also zero depth perception. Did you forget how many eyes he has? If we really need it, I can always. Oh, did your therapist sign off on that? Julio knows. It's complicated, McCabe. I'm sorry, but it's done. You've got work. It's hard to do remotely about that. I added up all the off time I've accrued since we moved here, and Max said that if I don't take at least a short leave of absence, he'll have me locked out of my software. You're okay here. You might not be okay out there. I don't think that's a guarantee for any of us. Yeah, you can't disqualify me for something that's true of literally everyone you know. Well, you can, but it wouldn't be fair. Welcome aboard. We're gonna find her, right? We've done impossible before. Not without her. I know. Hey, wanna help me bug Krej about trip logistics? I'll start a spreadsheet. Your ship's supposed to touch down any minute. Thought I might find you out here. What? Saying goodbye to the goats like some kind of sappy shithead? I mean, you are here. Professional opinion, Julio. Do you think I'm well enough to do this? And none of that Socrates, the answer is in another question bullshit. Give it to me straight for once. Yes or no. In that case, you're completely cured. No more mental health problems ever again. Just the free and clear from now on. I'm expecting my trophy any day. Such an asshole. I find it's important when I'm working with someone to meet them where they are. It's a process. You know, all of us out here, we have to work on doing better every day. I can hear you sometimes let down the armor, share a little more of yourself. Yeah, it blows. It feels more vulnerable, sure, but it's a huge first step. You can't live your life in battle forever. It's not fair to you or the people around you. But you know that already. What do you think? I think at this point, the longer I sit around, the harder it's going to be to be okay. She's out there. She's out there somewhere. I would caution you to try to stay realistic. The odds of finding her or even reaching any kind of external closure, it may have to come from within. That's the hell of it. Do you hear something? You better go. Hey, Julio. Yeah? Don't let Gilda nose in on Mimi's bottle time. She's a goddamn menace. Call me if you need to. I'm serious. If we're doing this on other Violets dime, my billing rates are often charts. Thank you. Bye. Ar Katie. Greetings, humans. We come in peace. Now clear the way so I may embrace my husband. Husband. Husband. Spouse. Spouse. Spouse. Brian. Arcady. Okay. Park. Violet. Hey. Hi, sir. Hey, Arcady. Hey. Missed you. Come here. I. You can put down all your bags first if. Don't worry about it. I missed your hugs. Might as well stock up while we can. It's gonna be a fast two weeks. Yeah. Chef shooter McCabe. I want to hear about everything. Where do I. Later. We are lifting off. As soon as we've got all your stuff, let me climb off of crewmate Jeter, and. Just kidding. You're on your own. I'm never coming down. Can someone grab the other side of my loom? Got it. Cringe. I love this, but you're not light. Yeah. Okay, let's switch. Woo. Arcady, Violet, can you grab my stuff? The two striped bags and the extra oxygen? Yep. Do we have everything? Checklist says yes. Let's get cracking. Crash, buddy, what did you do to the inside of the ship? Oh, yeah. Well, I had some down time and some paint, and I thought, we're gonna be up against some grim stuff. Might as well do it in style. This is the plaid room. Are you familiar with plaid Krezh? Nope. I worked without a reference, and turns out I got it super wrong. For the record, I like it. It's very lively. Craige. Nah. I can do it back if you hate it. I got more paint somewhere. I'm glad you're here. I'm glad you're all here. We're glad you're here, too. First Mate Patel. Huh? What? Dude. Captain Patel. Captain Patel. Yeah, well, let's not get used to it. Okie doke. Blokes, tether your things to the floor because we are going airborne yesterday. And wait till you see what I did to the cockpit. It's a tribute to our majestic namesake. Now, if you. Incoming call to Arcady Patel from Unknown Number. Incoming call. Computer, accept call 5. 5. 4. 2.5. 4. 2.5 what? 5. 5. Can you trace where it's coming from? I can try. Luck. Do we think code? Definitely five. Well, it wouldn't be a mission if it didn't have some strange sounds for Cream and Jeter to play. Play and play till Burrows and Brainstem. Hang on. You guys hear it too, right? 5. What? 4. It's a pretty long sequence to never go higher than 7. Coats don't generally like that. 6.5 repetition too. Brian, Krish, by any chance did you bring that little toy piano I kept asking you to throw out? What do you think I am? Panel at your elbow, bud. Computer, replay message five. Five, four. 2.5, four. 2.51. Computer, pause. Okay, assume middle C is one and each point five is a half step. So we've got five. Five. Four. 2.5, four. Two point five one. Computer, continue message five. Five, five. Six point five five. Computer, pause. Oh, my God. What? That's Landers. Never Stand down, the protest anthem from Cresswind Landing. It's her favorite song. That's. What does that mean? For one, that's compelling evidence she's still alive. It also means we know where to start looking. Computer, set target coordinates to Creswind Landing. Let's go rescue Sinatrapathi. This episode features Ray Tay as Juniper Liu Sharafina Tay as the voice William Miracle as Chuck Weathers Julia Morizawa as Piper Tanuka Lucille Valentine as Kestrel Colvin Rukmini K the Sai as Sanathrabati Ishani Konitkar as Arkady Patel Ella Womersley as E L L A Vri Kaiser as Thassia and Cindy Chu as Violet Liu Jackie Andrews as RJ McCabe Jamie Price as Brian Jeter Brie Lafever as Krish Nate Dufort as Max Gavins Rain Corbin as Swarnsch Aaron Caetano Saez as Julio Written by Jessica Best Directed by Lauren Grace Thompson Production coordination by Eleanor Hyde Sound design by Jeffrey Nils Gardner Opening credits Music is Fear for the Storm, written by Jessica Best and Essie Winters and performed by Chiron Starr with Aaron Bauman on vocals and harmonies arranged by Jamie Price. Landers Never Stand down was written by Jessica Best and arranged and performed by the Mildred van der Graaffs. The closing credits music is rocket science by Amber Devereux of Tin Can Audio, the fable and folly network where fiction producers flourish.