"Any last words?" asked Arrakis.

"I'm—"

"Kidding," Arrakis mocked, "I couldn't care less about your last words."

"At least tell me why—why are you doing this?"

"Doesn't concern you."

"It's all I'm asking," Finn tried not to let his shaking body be heard in the trembling waves of his voice. "Tell me what I've done to deserve this."

"Nothing," said Arrakis, a minor hint of contrite rue escaped through his words, "you are just as unfortunate as me."

"What do you mean?"

"All of this is not about you. It's about your father."

"My father?" Finn asked, frantic with confusion.

"Let's get this over with." Arrakis tightened his clutch around the gun's grip when Finn begged him to—

"Wait! Please, wait." He took one deep breath, and settled with his most important question; "How—Why my father?"

"I understand you are a councillor's son. Beloved and important, yes? People will care when you die, that's why I'll frame my father for your bloody murder. He'll be punished, hated, thrown out of office, and publicly executed."

"Why do you want your father punished?"

"He doesn't deserve the throne. He's more monster than I could ever become."

"How bad can someone be for you to judge them as such?"

"Bad."

"But wait! Wait—My father is not on the council. He's just an engineer."

"Does he work for Kepler Space Program?"

"Yes."

"That's good enough for me. As long as he has power and the law on his side." Arrakis put his finger on the trigger. "His people will not accept my father's act. Your death will return some fairness to my life."

"Why me?"

"Stop asking so many questions!"

"Please!"

Arrakis paused for a moment. "So many reasons. It's true, I could have chosen any high member, but you won the golden ticket when you started snooping around for clues about the lost ship."

"It exists," Finn muttered, nearly feeling surprised, "and you know about it! Are the passengers alive?"

"Something beyond your imagination lies hidden in the shadows of the universe. You don't want to know the real threat. I'm probably doing you a favor by shooting you."

Finn had more questions, but he worried about nothing more than Lena, and he knew she was in desperate need of the antidote. As much as Finn wanted to know everything, it hardly mattered anymore.

"Alright," Finn said in a sigh as the drop of a tear melted an insignificant portion of the snow between his knees. " I'm ready."

"About time."

Looking up at the stars, Finn thought about his brother Levi, and that soon he would no longer be alone. He thought about becoming stardust, and that the galaxy within himself would go out with him.

Arrakis sighed quietly and leaned his finger against the trigger.

"Stop!" called a voice, too familiar to be mistaken.

"Dad?" Finn turned around as Arrakis lowered the gun. Christopher stood within the range of a few feet, the village glowed faintly behind him.

"The engineer," noted Arrakis. "Here to join the show?"

"Dad, what are you doing here? How—"

Before Finn could ask, the pistol's heavy slide bashed his jaw. "Quiet!" ordered Arrakis.

"Step away from my son!"

"In a second," said Arrakis and aimed at Finn's heart.

"Right now, or this will be the last thing you will ever do!"

Arrakis' thin mouth curled into a horrible smile. He made a ponderous turn to face the father and said, "Are you armed?"

Christopher, balancing the rage that gripped him and the precaution he felt towards the gun pointed at his own chest now, bothered not to answer, for he clearly was not armed. Though he felt confident that his anger could shoot a man.

"You're making this really easy for me," Arrakis unlocked the safety of his gun.

"Dad, get out of here," cried Finn, his head in the snow, his vision blurry.

"Drop the gun," said Nathan, emerging as he walked the last steps of the hill while carrying an automatic rifle. Along with him came Hajo.

"You guys are seriously messing up my plan!" Arrakis criticized.

"It's over," Christopher said to Arrakis, but quickly quailed beneath the stone-hearted look Arrakis was giving him.

The terror-stricken sound of a gunshot traveled so far that Lena, being helped by Day, shrieked of fear for Finn's life. More shots followed. 

Arrakis wailed for a moment as he fell next to Finn, his hand put pressure on a fresh wound only two inches away from the gash Lena had made when stabbing his thigh.

"Why does everyone take their anger out on my already injured leg?" Arrakis complained vociferously in immeasurable torment. His pistol lay in the snow with him.

Finn's head rose to look past Arrakis. Nathan lowered his gun and shortly after hurried to prevent Arrakis from picking up the pistol.

"You're going back to Pluviam," Nathan said to Arrakis. "Where you'll be imprisoned. If you're lucky."

"And who are you to give me orders?" Arrakis spat, cowering beneath Nathan's squint.

While Nathan handled Arrakis, Christopher made two small steps back. He pulled down the zipper of his jacket and looked down at his chest, as an abruptly extending stain colored his white shirt red. Like spilled ink, it grew, and Christopher felt dizzier and more staggering.

"Dad!" cried Finn, watching his father pass out.

Hajo squeezed both hands against Christopher's chest. "He's hit!"

"No!" screamed Finn from the bottom of his lungs, his throat quivering and aching. He tried to get up but couldn't. "Where's Day?"

"He's taking care of the girl," answered Hajo in distress.

"Go get him!" Finn shouted.

Nathan wanted to cut Finn loose, but with intense dismay, Finn refused to be freed. "Go help my father!"

"I can't leave you tied with this criminal!" against Finn's will, Nathan cut the rope.

"You have to save my father! You have to carry him to the healing lodge!"

"What about this guy?"

Nathan aimed his gun at Arrakis, not to shoot him, but to be the alpha. Finn raised his voice. "I'll watch him! Please, just go!"

"Not a chance! I'm not leaving you with him. I don't trust either one of you."

"There is no time to argue! Give me the gun!"

Despite the hate Nathan felt toward Finn's suggestion, Nathan was left without a choice. "I'll come back to you as soon as I can."

"It's the circular building! Please hurry!"