Previously on Defiance...
Who are you?
You can call me Irzu.
I can't lose him. What will it cost me?
You must become my weapon.
_
I have a way to get out of this place,
but I can't do it alone.
As Mayor, my job is keeping Defiance peaceful
and productive.
Now you could help me accomplish that.
So you're accepting the position of Chief of Staff.
Here's your payment back, Vizu.
Mom, did you order Skevur beaten?
You lack the strength and brutality
to do what is necessary.
The family business belongs to me.
I say we get down to Lima,
we swap it out for a bigger boat,
and head straight to Antarctica.
- Defiance. - What?
I have to go to Defiance.
State your name.
Sergeant Fry Poole.
I've been stationed in Defiance for three months now.
So tell me, Sergeant,
how does it feel to get the stasis net back up?
Getting the stasis net back up is awesome.
Don't say "Awesome."
Getting it up is important.
"Getting it up," really?
Getting the stasis net back up was a major accomplishment.
But in the end it's...
But in the end it's just a barrier.
A wall.
Anyone or anything comes down that pass,
they gotta deal with us,
me and my brothers and sisters in blue.
We're ready to lay down our lives to defend this town.
Nice work, Poole.
Let's get some B-roll, and we're done.
Contact, two klicks.
Net Control, we've got an unscheduled inbound.
Affirmative. Confront and contain.
Why are we stopping?
Last chance reality check.
Now, kid, we could turn it right around,
park our asses on a nice beach somewhere.
Tasty drinks, gnarly waves.
I told you I need to be here.
Drive another 2,000 miles, you might tell me why.
Another 2,000 miles, I woulda shot you.
No, we all know you prefer the blades.
Now, what are you doing?
It's called looking before you leap.
Yeah.
The E-Rep have dug in pretty good.
We have to keep going.
Even got the stasis net back up.
Sorry, kid, I'm calling an audible.
It's too hot.
Whoa!
What the hell are you doing?
Hey!
They're in range.
Easy, easy.
Now stop!
All right, okay.
Turn off the ignition and step out of the car, sir.
Sorry about that. Just hit the wrong pedal.
Hello, Captain.
I take it you're the ranking officer here.
Looks that way, and everyone calls me "Berlin."
Well, Berlin, I'm Nolan.
Nothing back here but dirty laundry.
We travel light.
You're about to get lighter.
All right, okay, big guy.
Here you go.
You'll get it back when you leave town.
Let me see the knives.
This is a Barth thrower. Are you two from AngelArc?
Uh, we were there visiting.
Yeah, strictly as tourists, passing through.
What brings you to Defiance?
Well, it's funny you should mention that.
It's a homecoming of sorts.
You see, I used to be the lawkeeper there.
Yeah, before the occupation.
Hmm, Nolan.
Should have put it together. I've heard of you.
And I've heard of Berlin. I've always wanted to visit.
So the Irathient must be...
Irisa.
I've heard of you too.
Arms up.
She, uh... she really doesn't like to be touched.
I'll be gentle.
Up.
Ah-ah.
Ah.
You know, I'm not half bad at reading Irathient.
Give it back.
Irisa, no!
Hey, hey, on the ground!
All right, all right, all right.
Irisa is a real pretty name.
It'll look good on the arrest report.
See, it's good to be home.
Raiga tells me you've sold 200 copies
of the new Semma Cru record on consignment to Cedars.
Yeah.
Make sure you get that package to the land coach
before it leaves.
Got it, Mom.
Well, it's off to market.
The Zhurizo lilies are in,
and Favi Grizhal promised me the first blooms.
Mom, do you have to sit so close?
Oh.
You children.
So particular about your space.
Since when does your mom care about your record business?
That shipment to Cedars, it's just records, right?
- What else would it be? - I'm not stupid, Alak.
I grew up hearing my father
talk about your father's family business.
And not just gambling. Loan sharking, drugs...
Okay, relax.
I think you're helping your mom run things
while he's in prison.
That's not true.
Alak, I want to believe you, but you're running away.
I'm not! Okay?
Stop picking at me.
You know, sometimes you can be
such a human.
Is that our fanatic?
Will he make an effective weapon?
Will he kill for us?
His name's Karulot, and he's gaga for God.
His brother died in the battle of Bloody Kansas,
so he joined the Soldiers of the Way.
Got tossed in here for shouting "Death to the Sutso"
one too many times.
A genuine true believer.
I think it's time our young friend
put his blade where his mouth is.
This might actually be fun.
_
Lovely morning for it, Favi Tarr.
Indeed.
Business is good.
Yeah, yeah.
About that...
I'm sorry, but effective immediately
you're out of the Adreno business.
The Blue Devil is popular.
Eh, too popular.
Some of my men are getting hooked,
creating incidents.
Makes the E-Rep look bad. I can't have that.
If I step aside,
other dealers will seek to replace me.
Is this becoming an argument?
I merely suggest, to borrow a human phrase,
it is better to deal with the devil you know.
If I wanted a devil,
I'd let your husband out of jail.
Wait a minute, there's an idea.
I could order his release.
I could have him back here by sundown.
Nestled in your loving arms,
poised to reclaim his lost criminal empire.
Sound like a plan?
I would fear for his safety.
Would you?
There are soldiers in town
who served under Colonel Marsh.
They'd love nothing more than to avenge his murder.
Hmm.
So you think it's safer if I keep him under lock and key?
For now.
What would you like us to do with our existing Adreno stock?
Have it brought to my office.
Oh.
Oh, come on, that's bull shtak.
She assaulted an Earth Republic officer.
After you tried to cuff her.
Yeah, that's what we do to potentially violent criminals.
Why don't you just remand her into my custody?
Hell no.
What, I promise you, she's not gonna hurt anybody.
Take it up with the mayor and let go of my arm.
Thank you.
Hey, hey, hey, come here, come here!
Take it easy on her.
Hey!
Her name's Irisa, by the way.
I know.
We've met.
Tommy, I'm gonna explain this later,
but right now I need to go see this new mayor.
Keep a close eye on Irisa, all right?
- Yeah. - Watch out.
She looks like more than you can handle.
You can't veto the proposal.
It's a public Shaming Rack. It's barbaric.
You're gonna make an enemy of the Casti clerics.
Instead why don't you open it up to a public hearing?
All right, the Indos and the I-Raths will hate the idea and...
And do our dirty work for us.
Love it.
- Mr. Mayor? - Yes, Berlin?
The former lawkeeper is here to see you.
Thank you for seeing me, Mr. Mayor.
Appreciate your time.
Nolan?
Amanda.
Where the hell have you been?
What the hell are you wearing?
What, you don't approve?
No, I approve.
I very much approve.
I run the NeedWant now.
What does Kenya think about that?
I don't believe I've had the pleasure.
Joshua Nolan, meet Niles Pottinger,
our provisional mayor.
So is this the notorious "No-Man" Nolan?
The Butcher of Yosemite?
Relax, Mr. Nolan.
You're very welcome here.
Well, you can tell that to your men.
They threw my traveling companion in jail
after they put hands on her at the stasis net.
Irisa's here?
Yeah, she's here with me.
I found her three weeks ago in AngelArc.
When you two left town last year,
you left behind a bit of a mess.
Politically embarrassing mess and a few lingering questions.
Nolan, this is your jacket right here,
but hers is sealed by Colonel Galen Marsh himself.
Why?
Your guess is as good as mine.
You know the Army.
The market.
Hey.
Hey, hey.
Hey, lie still.
That's it, come on.
Hey. No, no, no.
Look at me. That's it.
That's it.
I know, I know.
Look at me.
It's all right, it's all right.
Got you.
We've got two dead.
Make that three dead.
And someone disabled the surveillance cameras
covering the square.
What are those things?
Someone just used a shrill bomb on civilians.
Shrill bomb?
Weaponized parasites.
Another gift to the Pale Wars.
You only use shrill if you wanna terrorize.
Make a statement.
So maybe they're not finished.
Maybe they wanna reinforce that statement.
I'll give the lawkeeper
all the men and assistance he needs.
Actually that's not gonna cut it.
Hey, Amanda, I've got this.
Come on, Tommy.
You didn't even know what this weapon was.
We need someone who can track this killer fast,
and we happen to have
a world-class tracker right here.
If he wants his daughter out of jail,
let's make him earn it.
Your ex-lawkeeper, a war criminal.
He helped us beat the Volge.
He tracked Buster Bullwin across the Storm Divide
and presented Starren Dahrti with the head of the man
who murdered his sister.
He'll find our bomber.
Generally when someone tries to play me,
it ends very poorly for them.
Even if I have the town's best interests at heart?
It seems I've forgotten to file
young Irisa's arrest report with New York.
Find my bomber before he strikes again,
and we'll see if my faulty memory persists.
You've got 24 hours.
Berlin.
I'm not the man for this job.
That happens to be a matter of opinion,
and I think yours is wrong.
Nine months ago, I shot an unarmed kid right up there.
Nobody in this town wants to see me wearing a badge.
Get over it.
Now where do we start?
Shrill spores grow underground.
The deeper, the darker, the better.
The first place I'd look is the mines.
- Okay. - Hey, Amanda.
You forgot to pin my badge on Nolan's chest.
Knock it off, Tommy.
Now like it or not,
Nolan is more experienced and a better tracker.
You do as he says.
So what's the play, Boss?
You go back to the lawkeeper's office.
You guard Irisa with your life.
Those E-Rep goons still could try to pull a fast one.
Tommy.
What?
I'm gonna need your gun.
You're angry.
You think?
You disappear for nine months,
never say good-bye, never tried to get in touch,
- not even a postcard. - I can't reach it.
No!
No, I have moved on.
I have a different life now.
Tommy, I've done terrible things.
What terrible things?
Did you tell Nolan?
No, it could hurt him.
Well, he loves you, Irisa.
When he looks at me, he sees a human girl.
A human girl. That's so pathetic.
When I look in the mirror,
there's something inside me, Tommy!
Something awful and dangerous!
And I have let it out.
Tell me.
You have to trust somebody.
When I get out of this cell,
I'll take you to the mines.
I'll show you everything.
How'd you manage to lose your mines?
The E-Rep seized them.
Now they run the whole enterprise at a loss.
Why would they do that?
They want to get the Gulanite out of the ground fast
in case things heat up with the Votanis Collective.
Pottinger started to pay my miners a fortune.
They were so blinded by greed,
they ignored the unsafe working conditions.
Some of them were hurt. Some of them were killed.
And yet here you are swinging a pick alongside 'em.
Where else was I gonna go?
That symbol up there.
I've seen it everywhere down here.
What is it?
That's Casti for "Rise,"
as in "Rise up."
People are starting to wake up, but it's too late.
No way we're getting the E-Rep out of Defiance
without bloodshed.
You should have never brought Irisa back here.
Well, she insisted.
Hmm. Daughters.
Shrill are mean little suckers.
Don't know why anyone would want to take them.
Take 'em? What do you mean, take 'em?
Yeah, someone made off with some live shrill a few days ago.
This wouldn't happen to be someone you know, would it?
People come down here all the time.
Kid, somebody let off a shrill bomb
in the middle of town.
Yeah?
Well, I hope the blast took out some of those E-rats.
Josef, listen, I know you're angry.
But three people were killed in that explosion,
and they were not soldiers.
They were ordinary people going about their day.
So if you know who did this,
you best tell us.
Bradley Weddle.
Bradley Weddle. Where is he now?
Hasn't shown up for work since he took the shrill.
He hasn't been home either.
I remember Weddle.
You know where to find him?
Oh, I got a good idea.
Tell our friend to aim for the heart.
The mayor wants to see you.
Come on.
Move along.
I've been in this shtak hole for nine months now,
and this is the first time you've seen fit to question me.
Why now?
Well, something's come up
that's made me curious about your scientific history.
In particular your work with Colonel Marsh,
which apparently involved an underground spaceship
and a certain young Irathient woman
who is currently residing in my jail.
Colonel Marsh was a crackpot.
He was convinced that she was the key
to some ancient Votan prophecy.
Classic end of the world conspiracy nut stuff.
Wanted me to cut the kid open, see what makes her tick.
And did you?
Under great duress.
What did you find?
Nothing.
Look, I've told you everything that I know.
Well, you haven't told me
about the safe hidden in your office.
I don't recall a safe.
What's in it?
Right hand.
Hey!
No.
Think of something nice, like Christmas.
No, no!
Looking for company?
A drink oughta do it.
And you can pile on the ice. I'm on the clock.
Bradley Weddle been in yet?
He usually comes in around 5:00.
Stumbles out around 3:00. Is he our bomber?
He stole two cases of shrill
and didn't show up to work today.
Oh, we'll keep an eye out together.
So Kenya?
She's gone.
What do you mean, gone?
I have a lot to catch you up on.
So here I am, almost a year down the road,
and I keep telling myself
that I'm just holding down the fort for Kenya,
but all along I have this terrible feeling that she's...
Dead?
Am I wrong?
She's run away before. Lots of times.
And those times did you move into her place
and dress up in her clothes?
Hmm.
In case you didn't notice, I lost my day job.
Onto brighter things.
Do you like what I've done with the place?
I do.
I really do.
Running the NeedWant has its attractions.
There's no council meetings to attend.
No speeches to give.
No complications.
Just sex and money.
A down-on-his-luck scavenger
and a lovely lady who takes pity on him.
What form do you see this pity taking?
I don't know. What form do you propose?
Once you catch the bomber,
why don't you come back here,
and I'll thank you properly.
Little help!
Is that Nolan?
Isn't that Nolan?
Where'd he come from?
He's the one that shot that Casti boy.
What's he doing back in town?
How'd he get back into town?
We need to find that bomber fast.
That camera, what's it hooked up to?
There's a whole rig. I'll show you.
Did you deliver the blade?
That psycho cut off my jekking finger.
Pottinger's about to leave.
The plan's off!
Shtake pohako. Give it to me.
I said give it to me.
Let me in there. Let me in there!
Back up!
_
On the ground!
Get 'em in the cells!
It seems I owe you my life.
I can't abide a man being murdered
by a cowardly blade in the back.
You Castithans are big on honor.
"Seeming is being," and all that.
Like I said, it seems I owe you my life.
Oh, I don't require your gratitude.
No, but you gotta admit you wouldn't mind it,
what with your parole hearing coming up.
Timing is everything, isn't it?
How lucky am I that you were at hand
when the rather less lucky Mr. Karulot attacked?
Of course now we'll never fully understand his motives,
will we?
May I ask you something, Mayor Pottinger?
By all means, fire away.
What would you say of a man
who could persuade another man to kill,
then sacrifice that man to achieve a goal of his own?
Well, I'd, um...
I'd call him resourceful
and dangerous.
And yet let us say that the hard lesson
of imprisonment also taught him to respect his place
in the larger scheme of things.
Such a man might be useful on the outside,
working for the Earth Republic, would he not?
Working for a man such as yourself.
Such a man as you describe,
indeed he would be... he'd be of great value to me.
In ten years when his sentence was up.
We're done here.
Well, you do have the whole town wired,
don't you, sparky?
It's what the mayor wanted.
Ah.
I'm old enough to remember hacked email,
GPS tracking, surveillance drones.
Where does it end?
It ends when we get all those things back again.
Ooh, you be careful what you wish for, E-Rep.
You're a real happy cowboy, aren't you?
Did you really just call me a happy cowboy?
It's written all over your face,
the way you carry yourself.
That jokey tough guy shtick.
I bet you watched Star Wars
a few hundred times when you were a kid.
You know, we've been through a long, bloody war.
Some of us have developed this thing
called a sense of humor...
Bull shtak.
To help us stay sane.
You're not trying to paper over
your nasty wartime past.
We all have that.
You're trying to hide the fact
that you like where it dumped you out.
Driving around in that busted-ass roller
with your hot Chewbacca,
chupping whores.
Oh.
Shooting people who cause you trouble.
Call that hand cannon strapped to your side a blaster,
and you've got the complete picture.
You're living your fantasy,
and it only took ten years of an apocalyptic war
and the near destruction of the Earth's surface.
Well, this is all very entertaining,
if a little facile given that we've just met.
Admit it, you like the world just the way it is.
A playground for a man who'd rather not grow up
than face the fact that this doesn't work
for most everybody else.
What about you, Captain?
What made you swallow the E-Rep company line hook and sinker?
When I was eight,
a gang of VC deserters came into my home
and killed my mother and my brother.
There was nothing I could do
and no one I could call.
Now when people see the E-Rep flag and my cameras,
they know that they can walk the streets and feel safe.
If this is the price to pay for civilization
or salvaging whatever's left of it,
then, yeah, I'm down with it.
Here we go.
He ducked behind a blind spot.
That's Skevur's trailer.
The lawkeeper must know about the shrill I sold you.
He's not even Lawkeeper.
Just calm down and get the roller.
This is almost over.
Skevur!
Long time no see.
I've nothing to hide.
That's quite the smoking gun you've got there.
Nothing to hide, eh?
So you're proud of killing people with a bomb
that eats away their insides.
It wasn't intended for them.
Who then?
I've got nothing to say.
D-4, Skevur.
Two empty wrappers.
That means a second bomb. Where is it?
Could be anywhere.
Where is it?
_
What the...
Stahma!
Run! Run!
- Shrill bomb! - Stop!
Stahma, bomb.
Out of the car.
- Shrill bomb! - Stahma.
Go!
Ah.
Get out of the way, get out...
All right, okay.
Safe.
Welcome home, Nolan.
Thank you, man.
Good job.
I have those land coach bids, if you don't mind.
Happy to look 'em over.
In the long run I think the town saves money
by building the vehicles in-house.
But the franchise fees provides infrastructure and...
security.
What you do in your free time is none of my business.
I appreciate your discretion.
What happened?
The lawkeeper caught the bomber.
Saved a lot of lives.
Drinks are on the house.
Seems Nolan knows what he's doing.
You were right.
Thank you.
Mom, are you okay?
I'm fine.
Thanks to the lawkeeper.
Skevur did this, and you let him.
You're the one who had him beaten.
My son's weakness forced me.
This time you will make things right.
You alone.
Sorry you had to cool your heels in there
for a little while.
Not your fault.
For a change, huh?
We should probably find some lodgings.
I'm going out. Don't wait up.
Where are you going?
I made Tommy a promise.
Tommy? Tommy's good.
You're an idiot.
We like Tommy. Very, very nice young man.
Don't care!
Nice boy. Good prospects.
Please, don't.
I'm sorry for what I did.
Let the lawkeepers have me.
You tried to kill my mother.
You left me no choice.
_
No!
You don't have to be like your father and mother.
You can show mercy.
I beg you.
I...
_
Congratulations, Nolan.
I would very much like it if you stayed on as Lawkeeper.
Sorry, pal. You got the wrong guy.
Let me talk to him.
Nolan!
Nolan, wait up.
I am not gonna work with the E-Rep,
and quite frankly I don't understand how you can either.
There's an argument to be made
for having one hand on the wheel.
Yeah, and there's an argument to be made
for walking away from a bad situation.
Hey, that's not who you are.
I saw you watch those bomb victims die.
You care. You can't help yourself.
Don't tell me who I am. You do not know me.
Of course I do.
You wanna keep Irisa safe.
Wearing this badge will do that.
Look, I know what it's like to have power,
and I know what it's like to not have power.
Having it is better.
The E-Rep are here. They're in the town.
They're not going anywhere, and they have the power.
The British occupation of India was a blip in history.
Come on, give me a break! The British occupation of India?
A blip! But this was St. Louis.
And today it's Defiance.
And tomorrow it could be something else.
But it'll always be our home.
And we have to do whatever it takes
to protect it from anything or anyone that threatens it.
I'll think about it.
You'll do more than think about it.
You haven't really changed very much,
you know that?
I'll be inside.
Drinks are on me.
♪ There's gotta be a record of you someplace ♪
♪ Gotta be on somebody's books ♪
♪ The lowdown, a picture of your face ♪
♪ Your injured looks ♪
♪ The sacred and profane ♪
♪ Pleasure and the pain ♪
♪ Somewhere your fingerprints remain concrete ♪
♪ And it's your face ♪
♪ I'm looking for ♪
♪ On every street ♪
♪ A lady-killer ♪
♪ Regulation tattoo ♪
♪ Silver spurs on his heels ♪
♪ Says what can I tell you ♪
♪ As I'm standing next to you ♪
♪ She threw herself under my wheels ♪
♪ It's a dangerous road ♪
♪ And a hazardous load ♪
♪ And the fireworks over liberty ♪
♪ Explode in the heat ♪
♪ And it's your face ♪
♪ I'm looking for ♪
♪ On every street ♪