3.06 Rethink

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Strange Case of Starship Iris

Episode 3.06: "Rethink"
Release Date: September 25, 2025
Host/Writer: Jessica Best
Main Cast: Ishani Kanitkar (Arkady Patel), Cindy Chu (Violet Liu), Brie LeFevre (Krej), Jamie Price (Brian Jeter), Jackie Andrews (RJ McCabe), Chris Choi (Jinsun Park)

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Overview

In "Rethink," tensions and questions about the future mount aboard the Starship Iris as the crew readies for a high-stakes rescue mission. With Sanaa's fate hanging in the balance, the characters are pushed to examine not only the mission, but also what might come after the fighting stops. The episode explores themes of survival, longing, found family, and the uncertainties of peace after war, punctuated with the show’s signature humor and emotional vulnerability.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Mission: Urgency and Preparation (02:01–05:47)

• The crew receives an urgent communication regarding Sanaa, revealing a biometric opportunity to bring down the regime’s defense drones.
• They invoke "Code Indigo," emphasizing the severity and urgency:
  Arkady: “Blue, highest level of urgency. And purple—rendezvous soon.” (03:21)
• Assignments are handed out: Krej is prepped for peak piloting, McCabe is told to rest for sniper duty, Violet is encouraged to prepare medically.
• The pervasive stress of leadership and responsibility is evident as Arkady insists on double-checking equipment and neglects rest:
  • Violet: “I sleep better when you’re there.” (05:09)
  • Arkady (teasing): “What am I gonna do without you taking up three-quarters of the mattress?...” (06:04)

2. Downtime: Dreams for the Future (06:50–15:01)

• As the crew waits, they discuss potential life after the mission. Krej and Brian propose starting another ship as a search-and-rescue operation post-war.
• Arkady, wary and overwhelmed by the present danger, struggles to imagine a future and resists discussing life after the regime:
  • Krej: “The future's coming either way. You’re gonna have to make choices and live with them sooner or later...” (15:01)
• Arkady admits to struggles with the idea of permanence and feeling out of place in peace:
  • Arkady: “I wasn’t made for peacetime. I won’t...” (11:26)
  • She dreams of a garden—something rooted and peaceful—but recognizes she can’t want it anymore after all that’s happened.
• Krej and Brian gently, humorously, push Arkady toward envisioning a “stupid little dream.”

3. Relationships Under Pressure: Arkady and Violet (16:17–29:32)

• Violet urges Arkady to model healthy behavior for the crew and presses her to take care of herself:
  • Violet: "As captain, you set the example... If you don't slow down and take a breath, then it won't feel natural to any of us." (16:48)
• The two share a rare moment of vulnerability, finally airing out the anxieties, unresolved tension, and wishes for their relationship after the war:
  • Arkady: “If tomorrow goes right.… What’s next? What the hell are we supposed to do next?” (18:13)
  • Violet: “We’ll need to rebuild... an act of hope and radical creation.” (18:42)
• The discussion shifts from the general future to their specific relationship, highlighting both their longing and fears:
  • Violet confesses: “I can’t do long distance for the rest of our lives. ... I want to start building something, and I don’t think we can do that with all of outer space between us.” (21:04)
  • Both struggle with trust and the scars left by trauma and war, with Violet expressing resentment at having choices made for her, referencing her life under the regime.
    • Violet: "Given where I'm from... I don't love it when other people make big decisions for me." (23:13)
    • Arkady: "Don't compare. ...We're all dealing with it on pretty much the same machinery, right?" (28:09)
• They reach a tentative peace, agreeing to communicate more honestly and support each other's healing.

4. Humor and Found Family (throughout; especially 06:16, 13:15, 23:23, 30:24–31:29)

• Crew banter (ship-naming, pets, “go suck an egg”):
  • Arkady (to Krej and Brian): “Does anybody want to guess how far down this one lives in the bucket of shit to think about after noon tomorrow?” (07:33)
  • Violet and Arkady debate the legitimacy of the phrase "Go suck an egg": (29:32–30:32)
  • Crew on pet plans: “Krej maybe isn’t 100% clear on what a dog or cat is… Yesterday they were talking about teaching it to say curse words.” (16:01)
• The humor serves both as comic relief and a display of their deep, familial bonds.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Code Indigo and urgency:
  "Blue, highest level of urgency. And purple—rendezvous soon." — Arkady (03:21)
• On exhaustion and leadership:
  "As captain, you set the example for your crew... If you don't slow down and take a breath, then it won't feel natural to any of us.” — Violet (16:48)
• On future dreams and self-doubt:
  "I wasn't made for peacetime. I won't." — Arkady (11:26)
  "Life's not in the habit of listening to your fluffy little dreams." — Arkady (13:46)
• On loving across distance:
  "It's like being haunted and being the ghost at the same time, and I can't stop it. ... I'm so tired of it." — Violet (21:04)
• On consent and control after trauma:
  "Given where I'm from and what I've seen, I don't love it when other people make big decisions for me." — Violet (23:13)
• On moving forward, together:
  "Trying's a start. Can I. Can we?" — Arkady (29:02)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Urgent Mission & Crew Assignments: 02:01–05:47
• Crew Dreams: Ship Naming & Futures: 06:50–15:01
• Arkady & Violet’s Relationship Talk: 16:17–29:32
• Comic Relief & Found Family Moments: Scattered, highlights at 06:16, 13:15, 23:23, 30:24–31:29
• Closing Hope: “Do I think it’s possible? Not right now it isn’t. No. But I think maybe we’ll do it.” — Arkady (31:38)

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Tone and Style

The episode is rich with the series’ trademarks: dry wit, deeply messy characters, and an emphasis on authentic—often difficult—communication. The language is candid, sometimes profane, always intimate, with humor interwoven with vulnerability.

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Takeaway

In "Rethink," the Starship Iris crew is forced to look ahead even before their immediate crisis is resolved. Dreams of safety, home, and love feel both impossibly far and achingly close, and the honest, hard conversations about trust and healing are as urgent and necessary as any mission against a regime.

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End of summary.

Transcript

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[B]

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[A]

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[B]

Get [e-mail] LinkedIn Campaign Terms and conditions apply. 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.

[A]

Gone When I go to see don't.

[B]

Fear for me Fear for the storm Fear for the storm.

[A]

You can. You can get here before noon tomorrow. We are gonna do our absolute damnedest good. And listen, have the regime's defense site on your screen ready to go. There's a thing biometric in my eye. We think I can log in long enough to bring it all down. The drones, at least. You've gotta get here. We will. We will. You want me to go get park or call Campbell? Both would be great. But in the meantime. Arkady. Arkady, Is it really? Can you say something? You'd say. Christ, Sanaa, I can barely. Words are a little. Goddamn. Are you okay? Trying to be. How is everyone? We're good. We're good. We're on our way. Hey, let's call it a Code Indigo, huh? It's her, right? I mean, tell me it's her. It's her. With a biometric login to the regime's defenses and the exact coordinates of where she is. There are a number of other possibilities. The right computer program trained on her voice.

[C]

McCabe, do you know what a Code Indigo is?

[A]

What?

[B]

Code Indigo. Captain Tripati had a system of the different levels of danger involved in a mission. Color coded Right. The IGR never managed to crack it. All we knew is that teal is blue and green.

[A]

Well, indigo is blue and purple. Blue, highest level of urgency. And purple.

[B]

Rendezvous soon. It's her.

[A]

Yeah. So we fly as fast as we can, as safe as we can. And in the meantime, we do everything in our power to be ready at go time. Krej, we're gonna need your best flying. That means you're off duty. Parks on. For the next six hours. McCabe, you heard the end of that clip. Someone's coming for her. And we are sure as hell gonna need a sniper. You're off for nine hours. Try for a healthy number of REM cycles. Violet. Ditto with a doctor. No way none of us get at least a little scraped up. Brian, go do whatever it is you need to do.

[C]

On it.

[A]

Good. And dismissed. All of you. Yeah, exactly. Out you go.

[B]

Are you dismissed, Captain?

[A]

Violet. Hey. You're asleep on your feet. After you in a minute. I need to take stock of our weapons.

[B]

And you've taken stock twice. Nothing's changed. They didn't go anywhere. We're in space.

[A]

I just. I need a sec.

[B]

We'll need a captain, too. When we land on the planet. When whatever happens, happens.

[A]

I know.

[B]

Do you want the rundown of what sleep deprivation does to the body? Hallucinations, hypertension, heart disease, hippocampal cell death, and that's just the H's.

[A]

That was very good. Very alphabetical.

[B]

I'm not joking. And if I can't argue this from the standpoint of your own health, which should be more than enough. I sleep better when you're there.

[A]

Me, too. Not. Obviously. I sleep better when I'm there. But you.

[B]

You could take this somewhere else.

[A]

Oh, hi, Park.

[B]

Hello. And goodbye.

[A]

I. We do need to check on the others, though. Make sure they're resting. Arcady, you can set a timer for five minutes. If I'm not back, I'll owe you.

[B]

Owe me what? What?

[A]

Triple dish duty.

[B]

We're all eating ration slices out of the package. We don't have dishes.

[A]

Damn, nothing gets by you.

[B]

Two back massages?

[A]

I'd do those for free.

[B]

Well, you drive. Whatever's the opposite of a hard bargain.

[A]

A soft.

[B]

A soft bargain. Thanks.

[A]

You really sleep better with me.

[B]

I really do. What?

[A]

Just. Damn. What am I gonna do without you taking up three quarters of the mattress? Genuinely not sure how somebody so short can even do that.

[B]

Maybe you don't have to.

[A]

No, you're right. I'm getting soppy. Must be all the hippocampal cell death. Set a timer. I'll be back soon. Yes. You resting? I was. Wait, really? You said to rest? Why? What's happening? Yeah. Great work. As you were.

[C]

I mean, I just. I don't know if we want to take the plunge on it though. I thought the Iris 4 had a nice ring to it.

[A]

Evening, Krej. Brian.

[B]

Hey, Captain Dell.

[A]

So when I said off duty before the most important mission of our lives. You heard? Hang out in the kitchen, eating. What is that smell? Did you put protein singles down the toaster?

[B]

The crunch makes it almost taste like food.

[C]

Sorry, dude. We're gonna try and catch some Z's in a sec. We just got kinda keyed up. Needed a snack.

[B]

Maybe Captain Patel can help us.

[A]

What's the problem?

[C]

Naming ships.

[A]

What?

[B]

It's like naming a baby bigger than that. Because if you get it wrong, your spaceship can't go apply to get it changed.

[A]

Does anybody want to guess how far down this one lives in the bucket of shit to think about after noon tomorrow?

[C]

You don't think it's time to maybe start considering what's next?

[A]

The mission?

[B]

I believe my extremely good looking husband means after that.

[A]

Or maybe we need to focus on how we're about to put our whole crew in danger so that we can get our captain out of danger and save the goddamn.

[B]

We got time.

[C]

We can do both. Hey.

[A]

Yeah?

[C]

When this is all over, if this is heading in a direction where it could someday be over. What do you want?

[B]

I. What?

[A]

What do you want?

[B]

The US ship of our own. Real good reason to fly it. Let's say medium peril. No cowering in the cockpit, but no falling asleep in the there either.

[A]

Smuggling?

[C]

If we really do bring down the regime and what comes next is any shade of reasonable, sooner or later most of our old cargo will wind up totally legal. Good for like humanity. Not great for the profit margin.

[B]

We were thinking something on the line of search and rescue. We go anywhere and crewmateor can remotely teach his pals on Mirza Khani. Until we find a replacement.

[A]

Huh?

[B]

Huh? What's huh?

[A]

You've talked about this with each other?

[C]

Well, yeah.

[B]

Who else will we talk to about it?

[C]

More to the point, have you maybe not been talking about the future with Violet?

[A]

I mean, Jeter as your captain? I order you to shut it.

[C]

You don't have to tell us.

[B]

Yeah, feel free to skedaddle from your feelings. But. But between you and me, I've seen the vents in this ship and they're small.

[C]

Have you talked to anyone?

[A]

Does shut it have some secret extra meaning in Dwarnian.

[B]

No, no, no, no. You're.

[A]

You're right.

[B]

You're right. Zip that lip at a clip.

[A]

I.

[B]

Not a slip on the ship. Pip, pip.

[C]

We overstep sometimes. We should probably intra ship harmony. Especially without anyone to smooth things over.

[A]

Thank you. You're welcome. Good night.

[C]

Sorry for pushing.

[A]

Understood.

[B]

Absolutely. Wow.

[A]

Really?

[C]

Have a good night.

[B]

Bye.

[A]

It's just.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

I can't exactly go. Hey, Liu. How do you feel about leaving your family and your work in San Ramos that you love, that means a lot to you? In order to follow me out into the wilds of. I'm not sure yet. Just because.

[B]

Because.

[A]

Changed my mind. How big are the vents?

[B]

Think the term is dinky.

[C]

Oh, crap. The person you'd normally talk to about this stuff is Tripathi.

[A]

I mean, you're leaving out the part where we drink a lot first, but you're not wrong.

[C]

Does Violet want to talk about it?

[A]

Do you think she might have tried to bring it up, but you can't just spring that on a person. It's hard to. She shouldn't go with me, though. I don't even know what I'm supposed to do. Just the thought of going to the same job every day and coming home to the same goddamn place every night for the rest of my life.

[B]

Ooh, you'd hate it.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

What about taking care of the goats on Mirzakhani? Seemed like that was treating you okay.

[A]

Because I knew it was temporary. I can't do that forever.

[B]

You could come with us.

[A]

No, I couldn't. Because the things I can do, the things I can do, well, they're not. I wasn't made for peacetime. I won't.

[C]

Oh, is this the I'm a living weapon speech? I've seen you drunk, too, you know. And you're good at stuff that isn't all that. Captaining, hacking.

[A]

What kind of search and rescue needs a hacker?

[B]

The cool kind.

[C]

The kind that'll be. Probably still have to get around plenty of regime nonsense like the minefields of yore and stuff. Not to mention online attacks from regime loyalists and old enemies and mafia folks. We'd be sitting ducks out there.

[A]

Christ, Jeter. How were you thinking you were going to deal with this alone?

[B]

We weren't.

[A]

You weren't going to do it alone, obviously.

[B]

I mean, we did just ask you. We're asking McCabe, too. We need the trigger finger, but, yeah, typing fingers. Oh, so nice.

[A]

Wait, so your entire plan, your whole goddamn future, hinges on me saying yes?

[B]

What is that we figure we only need to get you or Dr. Liu on board for sure, and the other will follow.

[A]

You're telling Violet about this?

[C]

No, you.

[B]

You're telling her you'll make the case her way better than we could. Give her the old guppy eyes.

[A]

What the.

[B]

I don't know. Most of your Earth animals have eyes. Make a guess.

[C]

Honestly, our main worry was that you two already had a plan together.

[B]

Which, in hindsight, of course, you haven't had one single teeny talk about it. Classic.

[C]

We are going to need a doctor, though. I mean, search and rescue. Without a medical professional. That's search and band aid.

[A]

Brian. Krej, you are out of your goddamn minds. Sanaa, as Captain park is, whatever park does.

[C]

Sounds good, right?

[A]

Suspiciously good.

[B]

Nothing up my sleeve except my armpit.

[A]

It's not going to happen that way, you know.

[C]

Yeah. Citation needed.

[A]

Dude, I thought we'd all spend the war sitting around sharing goat cheese, remember?

[C]

This is kind of different.

[A]

Life's not in the habit of listening to your fluffy little dreams. Ooh.

[B]

Okay. Ouch.

[C]

Arcady.

[A]

I was gonna have a garden.

[C]

You have one on the ship?

[A]

No, not like a hydroponic pod. I was gonna raise herbs and hot peppers and fruit trees and vegetables and shit you don't even need just like, some random ass flowers you grow because you can.

[B]

Dr. Liu would love that.

[A]

I used to think when I was on Creswind, I barely even bought it, that you could get something out of dirt like that. But I'd plan and replan my little square. And then we won. And then shit got so, so bad. And then the war and the seven sevens and everything after. And now when I put my boots on a planet, I can never stop feeling just a little. Trapped.

[C]

I hear that.

[A]

And that that is best case scenario with shit like this. To realize you can't want it anymore. That you're too. Whatever. Too goddamn tired, for one thing.

[C]

Okay, but, like, the future's coming either way. You're gonna have to make choices and live with them sooner or later. Also, not to put too fine a point on it, without a hacker out there, we will die.

[A]

Kind of manipulative to play that card.

[C]

Does that mean it's working?

[B]

Of course it's working. We are criminal masterminds.

[A]

Krej, is your shirt on backwards?

[B]

All a matter of perspective, my good friend.

[A]

I. You know, I'll need. Give me a minute to decide what I. Violet.

[B]

Time's up.

[A]

Right. I'll see you folks later.

[C]

Think about what we said.

[B]

Oh, we should get a Dog or a cat? Give it a little wheel to run on.

[A]

Go to sleep.

[B]

Both of you take turns collecting the eggs.

[A]

Do you get the sense KREJ maybe isn't 100% clear on what a dog or cat is?

[B]

Yesterday they were talking about teaching it to say curse words.

[A]

From what I remember, cats already know those. They just. It implied.

[B]

Hey.

[A]

Sorry about the timer.

[B]

I'm not mad about the timer.

[A]

But you are mad.

[B]

A little, yeah. I've known you, what, seven months? I wish it was easier to convince you to take care of yourself. I've told you all the health risk. What, do I need to sing them like an opera?

[A]

I know I should, but right now I. As captain, there's so much else I have to worry about.

[B]

And as captain, you set the example for your crew. If you don't slow down and take a breath. Then it won't feel natural to any of us. Like it or not, you set the tone. And I don't think I've seen you relax since we set foot on the ship.

[A]

The more I think about it, I don't think Tripathi ever fully relaxed either.

[B]

Then that's something she'll need to work on when we find her. After we. You know, the rest. Rest. Get it?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Do you want to set the alarm or should I?

[A]

Violet.

[B]

Yeah?

[A]

I think it would be easier for me to relax if first we had a little talk.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And I don't even know where to start. It's like, shit. The questions are so big that they're barely even questions. And there's a million angles. Hell, there's so many angles it's some kind of Escher nightmare. And I tell myself it's not time yet. And it isn't time yet is the thing, but not even having a direction to point to is screaming, screwing me up. And the more we don't talk about it, the bigger this bullshit is. And the more angles until it's not even a shape. It's just this impossible thing. Do you see what I'm.

[B]

No.

[A]

Yeah. Literally. How could you? I just. What are we gonna do tomorrow? If tomorrow goes right, if we save Sanaa and we disable the drones long enough to make a real attack on their weapons. If the impossible happens and we actually win for once, what's next? What the hell are we supposed to do next?

[B]

Yeah, that's a good question. We'll need to rebuild. And not just put back what used to be there. It'll have to be such an. An act of hope and radical creation.

[A]

Oh, I meant I meant selfishly. I meant us. You and me. I. All of that, too. Making something that's never been made before when all of us who are still even left are absolutely goddamn spent. Of course there's all of that. But also, I'm sorry, but I can't stay in San Ramos for any real length of time. I think if I. I think I need to keep moving. I think if I stop, there's way too much behind me. It'll catch up. And I'm not even. This is so goddamn presumptuous, even talking like this. Talking like you want to cash out in the same place. But you were there on the ground when I freaked out on Krejge. Maybe you already kind of know it wouldn't work out for me there forever, so. The thing is, Brian and Krej are trying to get another ship going, if you can believe that. Search and rescue. They'll need a doctor and a hacker to hear them tell of it.

[B]

Arkady, are you asking me to join your crew?

[A]

And obviously, I would never try to get in the way of the work you're doing.

[B]

Oh, wait.

[A]

Do you want to? You're this. This important doctor on San Ramos.

[B]

I could be an important doctor anywhere. I. That sounds terrible. That sounds so arrogant, but you know what I mean. Every place in the universe is hurting. Are you breaking up with me?

[A]

No.

[B]

Because I don't think I can do long distance for the rest of our lives. You know, Everything makes me think of you. I'll see some exposed rebar, and I'll think about that time you defended yourself with only construction supplies. Or I'll see a piece of rock shaped exactly like a mushroom. And suddenly I have a million questions for you. Like, did you ever see that fungi that looks like human hands? And what would you say it means about the universe? And I live in a war zone, so I see rubble all the goddamn time.

[A]

I think about you, too. So much.

[B]

It's like being haunted. It's like being haunted and being the ghost at the same time, and I can't stop it. And sometimes we get to see each other. And that's great. It's wonderful. And that good feeling lasts a week or two, but in the back of my mind, I always know you're leaving again, or I'm leaving again. And then you're just out there where anything could happen to you. I miss you all the time. And I'm so tired of it. I'm tired of everything always being in pieces around me. I want to start building something, and I don't think we can do that with all of outer space between us. I can't. I can't do that to either of us.

[A]

Wait. Are you breaking up with me?

[B]

Why didn't you ask me to come with you?

[A]

Didn't think you'd say yes.

[B]

Why not?

[A]

I don't.

[B]

Arkady, what do I need to do to prove that I'm serious about you? Look, I know you've been through so much. In a lot of ways, you've been through more than I can imagine. You have your scars, and I try to respect that. I really do. But this relationship can't be me constantly jumping through hoops trying to prove something you refuse to believe, no matter what.

[A]

I. I said I love you first. You did.

[B]

And I'm not.

[A]

Do you think that was easy for me?

[B]

That's not what I'm saying.

[A]

What, then? Try harder. Try better.

[B]

Trust me. Just trust me a little. You've been distant since the start of the mission.

[A]

I'm not distant. I'm here all the goddamn time. I'm just exhausted.

[B]

You love telling me how smart I am, Arkady. Give me a little credit for picking up on the subtext when it's here all the goddamn time. You've been so sure I had one foot out the door.

[A]

You should. You should be out there saving lives, doing great things, spending time with your living family.

[B]

I think I. You know what? I shouldn't say that. I shouldn't. Never mind.

[A]

Yeah, Leo. Great. Let me just really marinate in whatever the hell that just was.

[B]

It isn't what I want to. It's not fair.

[A]

Fair doesn't count for shit if it's true. Tell me. Don't dress it up in a lot of words. Waiting is worse than.

[B]

Well, it's given Where I'm from and what I've seen. I don't love it when other people make big decisions for me.

[A]

What are you getting at?

[B]

I think. I think you know.

[A]

Yeah, you're right. That isn't fair. I do one thing you don't like, and suddenly I'm them. The people who killed Alvi and took Sanaa and leveled San Ramos.

[B]

Yeah, Arkady, it isn't fair. But that is where my brain goes when someone takes a choice like that away from me. Someone I'm supposed to trust. Someone I want to trust. It is. It is absolutely terrifying. And it brings back. I know I don't talk about this much, but from the coup until, like, seven months ago, I lived right under the thumb. I wasn't shooting or getting shot. And I never had to worry about food. I'm not trying to take away from any of that. But every single day I understood that the regime could do whatever it wanted to me. Shape my life however they wanted, put me in any situation they wanted. And that if I said the wrong thing or did the wrong thing, or if I said or did the right thing in front of the wrong people, they could go after every person I cared about. This hits a nerve for me. I'm sorry, but you want honesty. It does. It just does.

[A]

You know, you can talk about it more. I mean, I tell you about my.

[B]

Shit, yeah, but this isn't. It's not on the same planet.

[A]

Who cares? If it's screwing with you this much it matters. Okay?

[B]

Are we still fighting?

[A]

Yeah, we're still goddamn fighting. How can you tell me to open up over and over and over and not even mention.

[B]

How in the universe does it not.

[A]

Go without saying that it happened? Okay. That it's still in your head? Uh, yeah. That's the kind of shit you tell your girlfriend.

[B]

It's not in my head all the time.

[A]

Then you tell me when it is.

[B]

I just did. And you yelled at me.

[A]

I didn't know. Okay, maybe I should have, but I didn't. And on top of your anxiety. Yeah, I'll say this for the lifestyle, maybe I've been shot at more than you, But I've had years where I was free to say exactly what I thought of the people doing the shooting. Bullets aside. There's a kind of safety in that.

[B]

Bullets aside.

[A]

Uh huh.

[B]

You wouldn't be saying bullets aside if you saw what a high powered round of ammunition can do to a person's innards.

[A]

Maybe. But I've seen what it does to the outards. And so have you since meeting me. Because of meeting me.

[B]

I'm glad it happened. I really am.

[A]

We didn't ruin your life, despite what.

[B]

Chuck Weathers would have you believe.

[A]

So it's agreed then, that you need to.

[B]

To trust me when I say that I love you. That it matters.

[A]

I. We're still on that.

[B]

We're still on it until you answer me.

[A]

I'm trying. I am. Then everyone showed up again and I thought, I don't know, the brain resets, you know, Recalibrates. If you told me back when we were on the rumor that. That I was gonna get to date you, Shit, I would have. I don't even know. After the denial phase, I would have danced a stupid little goddamn jig.

[B]

I'd like to See that?

[A]

No, you wouldn't. I'm a shitty dancer now.

[B]

I'd really like to see it.

[A]

I can't. I can't take it for granted, okay? I can't get used to it. There's a lot of reasons, good reasons, for you to hightail it back to San Ramos when this is over.

[B]

And I'm telling you I don't want to do that without you.

[A]

Think about what that really means.

[B]

I have. I have thought about it.

[A]

Okay?

[B]

Okay?

[A]

Yeah. And you're gonna tell me your shit.

[B]

Even when it's nothing?

[A]

It's never nothing.

[B]

Even when compared to you.

[A]

Don't compare. I'm serious. Don't compare. Even if you think your shit can't stack up to mine? Look, a lot of things can happen to a person, a nearby, a near infinite amount of things. But we're all dealing with it on pretty much the same machinery, right? And that machinery is all we've got. It's what we are. Even if the input was worse, there's only so many ways the machinery knows how to react. If something happens that creates a hard output, your system has to deal with it same as anyone's. No matter what brought it on.

[B]

Huh?

[A]

Yeah, See?

[B]

I'll try. I can try.

[A]

Trying's a start. Can I. Can we?

[B]

Of course. Hang on. That's better. I can try. And we can take advantage of my newfound freedom and tell the regime to go to hell.

[A]

Go to hell, regime.

[B]

Take all your bullshit and go straight to hell.

[A]

Regime. Go suck an egg.

[B]

I'm sorry, what?

[A]

Go suck an egg.

[B]

I've never heard that before in my life. What part of space is that?

[A]

From every part with English speakers. Because it's a common saying.

[B]

What is it, like a scrambled egg or.

[A]

No, in the shell.

[B]

That would make it harder to get your mouth around it.

[A]

That's the point. It's an insult. Like, go to hell.

[B]

Is this a prank?

[A]

Ask Jeter.

[B]

He studies medieval Dwarnian epic poetry, not made up phrases nobody's said since the dawn of time.

[A]

Ask anyone.

[B]

I am not asking anyone. I refuse to wake up absolutely any member of the crew for this conversation.

[A]

Go suck an egg.

[B]

I'm sure if you say it enough, it'll sound like a real thing.

[A]

If I was gonna invent a phrase, why would I invent this one?

[B]

Is it a raw egg? Like, if you suck on it, the pressure cracks the shell and then you've got a mouthful of goop.

[A]

It's any kind of whole big egg, a hard boiled egg, a duck egg, a dog egg.

[B]

Oh, Jesus.

[A]

Who's gonna break it to Krej that a dog is not a chicken?

[B]

To be fair, I'll owe you five backrubs. If you can name a single fact about any creature from Krezh's side of space that isn't a Dwarnian.

[A]

Eels.

[B]

Not a fact.

[A]

Jellied eel tastes better than it sounds.

[B]

That's subjective.

[A]

I think jellied eel tastes better than it sounds.

[B]

I can't fact check that.

[A]

Maybe not. But it is true.

[B]

Do you think it's even possible, finding Sina before they do and getting all of us out of there alive?

[A]

Do I think it's possible? Not right now it isn't. No. But I think maybe we'll do it.

[B]

Yeah. See you in the morning.

[A]

See you.

[B]

There's whiskey in the jar. Oh.

[A]

This episode features Ishani Kanitkar as Arkady.

[B]

Patel, Brie Lefever as Krish, Jamie Price as Brian Jeter and Cindy Choo as Violet Liu. Jackie Andrews as RJ McCabe, Chris Choi as Jinsun Park. Written by Jessica Bust directed by Ella Watts.

[A]

Dialogue cut by Lauren Grace Thompson.

[B]

Production coordination by Eleanor Hyde.

[A]

Sound design designed by Jeffrey Nils Gardner.

[B]

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.

[A]

The closing credits music is Rocket Science by Amber Devereux of Tin Can Audio, the fable and folly network where fiction producers flourish.