Episode 17

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This article is in need of imagesYou can help Damselfish in Distress Wiki by adding images. Help is available if needed.*(Remove tag when article is improved)*Jellyfish Man??

The captain cages his prisoners, then he uses a scanner on them to get the details of their lives: Scypho is upset by how much is there, the captain is unsurprised by how little there is about Pezci, though he does offer condolences. When she asks him how he knows her, he claims he's with the Dohrnii tribe, who's allied with the Planifron tribe, and he would see her when he went to trade meetings. Scypho says he can't be Dohrnii because he's not a jellyfish. Shin states he can if he wants to. Telling them he's keeping them, he leaves before Scypho can warn him. Shin comes back, shouting there's a giant barracuda head in his submarine. He formulates a plan to kill the monster, and then bring them and it to the Dohrnii tribe, but they have to help kill it. Back where they started, Shin supplies them with spearguns, telling Scypho his handcuffs will paralyze him if he tries anything. Pezci claims she doesn't know how to use it, causing Shin to scoff. While the chamber fills with water, Shin converts his uniform into a dive suit, including a diving mask. When the door opens, the passage is dark.

## Cast of Characters

* Pezci
* Scypho
* Shin

## Synopsis

The captain brings the floating bubbles into the chamber with a soft whoosh, passing in front of a large video screen high on the wall that bears the same crescent symbol as is on his hat. He lines them up so that they hover over a pair of oval disks on the floor, guiding them in by pointing with a pair of ring bedecked fingers on each hand. While the man watches, vertical metal bars slide into place with a "shing!" around each bubble, then he reaches into his jacket and pulls out a device that sort of resembles a camera. Concerned and angry, Scypho demands to know what it is, and the man tells him not to worry, it doesn't hurt. Aiming it like a camera, a light flares, and the intense flash causes Scypho to cry out in pain. Smirking, the man adds, unless you look directly into it.

The unit beeps and bings and a holoscreen pops up with a name at the top. Humming, the captain reads it out, reciting Scypho Pelagii, black sea nettle of the Chrysaora tribe in the Medusae order. He reads Scypho's employment history, saying there have been a lot of jobs, but nothing worthwhile. Getting to his criminal record, he mentions there were a few minor petty theft felonies, and one impersonating a tax collector. Scypho is dismayed to hear all this, thinking he'd erased all traces of it. He asks how the man knew all that, and he's told the scanner tells all about the subject by finding all available information from the wavenet … and reading bio stuff.

The man walks over to stand in front of the other cage, and he scans Pezci as well, getting a little squeak out of her. Reading the scanner, he quotes, Pezcada Murder Razorfin, three spot*(sic)* damselfish of the Planifron tribe in the Osteichthyes order. Stumped, he comments there's very limited data, but he guesses he can't be surprised, the Planifron aren't the kind to use the wavenet that much. Something distressing catches his eye, and he mutters and turns to Pezci and offer condolences for her tribe. Smiling, she tells him it's okay. She says it's not that big of a deal, they were happy in the end. The man is taken aback for a moment, and then he remembers who they were and comments of course they were.

Pezci takes the opportunity to say that more importantly, she doesn't recognize him at all, but he seems to know a lot about her tribe. Speaking as if it were obvious, he points out the Dohrnii tribe has a long history of alliance with the Planifron. Then he offhandedly mentions they can call him Shin. He continues, saying he went to a lot of trade meetings, which is where he saw Pezci. Surprised, Pezci asks him if he's with the Dohrnii tribe, and with a laughing face, he affirms he is, then says she was the wimpiest and most pathetic fish on the training grounds, and he could never forget her. With a skeptical look, Scypho tells him the Dohrnii are a jellyfish tribe, and Shin doesn't look very jellyfish to him. Still waving the scanner around, Shin claims you don't have to be a jellyfish to belong to a jellyfish tribe, and Scypho disagrees, snidely saying that's kinda how the categories work. Shin snobbishly states that maybe he laughs at the categories, and Scypho says with annoyance that you can't laugh at the categories. Tired of arguing, Shin uses the scanner light like a lash, causing Scypho to cry out again, and telling Scypho no more talking, he's in charge here. Shutting down the scanner, he tells them they will stay in the cages until they reach his home city. Scypho takes careful note of where Shin places the scanner in his jacket.

Just as Shin steps through the hatch, Scypho suddenly calls out to wait, and tries to say there a giant— and the hatch slams with Shin walking away smiling smugly. A security monitor drops down in front of him and shows him something that's making distinct munching noises.

Back in the dungeon, Scypho is sulking while Pezci seems to be just floating aimlessly. On the other side of the room, the hatch slams open and Shin storms in, shouting that there's a giant barracuda head in his ship. Scypho snarks an "oh, really?" at him, and Pezci apologizes, telling Shin they were just trying not to get eaten. Somewhat mollified, Shin offers that they *are* territorial. Calling out wait, Shin turns back saying this could be his big chance. He slides a small touchscreen out from a side wall and starts tapping wildly. Something he sees excites him, and on the little screen he's looking at security feeds from around the ship displaying the giant head and the smaller barracuda swimming about, he declares this is perfect. He tells them to imagine what the Dohrnii will think of him when he brings home two prisoners and a giant, *slain* barracuda monster. He asserts they'll be so happy with him.

He stops and looks back over his shoulder at his prisoners thoughtfully. Grinning maliciously, he tells them he's decided they're gonna help him fight those things. Pezci is beginning to panic and losing her mind, and she can only laugh questioningly. The captain releases them from their cages and uses the rings to take them with him. Scypho goes along for the ride keeping an eye on Pezci, but she is trying to swim out of the bubble chanting "no,no,no." Back at the chamber they were first trapped in, the ceiling grate opens, creaking again, and all three drop in quickly, with Shin landing with a thunk. He goes to a wall switch, and a panel opens with a shooo!, exposing a plethora of spearguns of all different sizes and colors. The sight of all the weapons does nothing to improve Pezci's fearful mood. He tells them he's giving them the simplest spearguns in his arsenal, you just pull the trigger and it fires and reloads automatically. Choosing one for each, he tosses them over, and the guns pass into the bubbles with a plop. Shin presses another button that starts the process of filling the room with water. Scypho catches his speargun and is ready to use it instantly, while Pezci hardly reacts to the hers at all. Scypho questions giving weapons to prisoners, and Shin tells him the cuffs will be his protection, because if they resist or try to attack him, the cuffs will inject a paralyzing venom into their wrists.

With the water level rising, and the return of the percussive noises they heard while the chamber was draining before, Pezci, nearing hysteria, announces she doesn't know how to do this, which fits with what she said about forgetting her self-defense training when she woke up that day.. Shin pulls down the brim of his hat and a clear diving mask appears. At the same time, gloves cover his hands, and his cuffs seal his jacket to the gloves. Shin scoffs at her, saying this is baby stuff for a Planifron. She's not convinced. Scypho is now wondering, with that dive mask, if Shin is a fish, a jellyfish, or an alien. The badly battered hatch leading out to the way they had come in creaks, swinging inward slowly, exposing the darkened passage. Sounding somber, Shin wonders that the fish cut the lights, then much to Pezci and Scypho's consternation, he happily says, "More drama."