Deceptions [The third installment of the I’m Frelling With Your Minds Series.]

 

Author:  LeatherGirl

Summary:  As in my other stories, the title says it all.  The truth is only the beginning.  Then again, don’t believe everything you read!
Spoilers:  Every episode up to ACN, Mind Games, and Illusions
Category:  Drama/Action/Adventure
Rating:  PG-13
Disclaimers:  I do not own Farscape or anything associated with Farscape.
Archiving:  anywhere-please ask first
Author’s Note:  Once again, I have written a long story filled with several different twists to lead to the final portion of this series: Revelations.  Be forewarned:  what seems to be the truth is not.
Thanks to Janet DeClute and JilaCosa for beta-reading my story! J
*Feedback greatly appreciated.*

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Life in the Uncharted Territories had never been easy.  John Crichton knew that first hand.  The troubles he had suffered in the past two cycles had been more than any one could bargain for.  His shipmates often looked upon him questioningly, their eyes displaying the suspicions they dared not speak.  He had seen horrific deaths and worse, had killed under the same circumstances.  Torture beyond even human imagination had been tolled upon him. Tears of agony shed during times of defeat.  The trust of his shipmates betrayed.

 

John ran a shaking finger across the cool metal surface of the pulse pistol.  He had ended so many lives with that pulse pistol.  His forehead was dotted with beads of sweat.  Tears welled in his exhausted, blood-shot eyes.  His hair was mangy.  One look at him and one would wonder if there was even an ounce of sanity left inside this man.

 

Contemplating his life, John sat in the center of the game room on Antarus.  The room where a matter of five solar days earlier, he and his fellow shipmates had been enjoying themselves for the first time since John could remember.  They had been laughing, smiling.  The haunting laughter echoed throughout the room.  John gazed up at the stars above him.  He yearned for the familiarity of Earth’s night sky.  Everything he had become accustomed to in the Uncharted Territories was contributing to his insanity.  The uncertainty of the next day’s arrival, the unsettling thoughts of those who constantly hunted him down, even the warm, welcoming interior of Moya all were another weight on the scale.

 

John had managed to sneak onto Antarus unknown to Moya and the crew as they slept.  Thankfully, no one would hear the blast of the pulse pistol once he fired.  No one would discover him immediately.  John could die in peace.

 

John nervously wrapped his finger around the trigger.  His heart rate quickened, his breath grew more ragged.  That’s right, life was uncertain and though he could not find his way home, at least he could end his life when he desired.  John raised the pistol to his temple, praying that he would not somehow screw up.  A million memories flashed through his mind, mainly of his true home on Earth and the people he so adored.  But the latter of the memories carried those he had come to love and care for in this strange new place.  Regret seeped into his conscience but John had already made up his mind.  His death would save Moya and her crew the trouble of Scorpius.  His stomach was rattling as his shaking, sweating hand grasped the gun more firmly.  John squeezed his eyes shut and pictured one last person to comfort his distressed mind…Aeryn.

 

*****

 

Pilot anxiously pounded on the controls as he tried to remain calm.  Nearly an arn earlier, the DRDs had informed him that John’s module as well as the astronaut himself had gone missing.  Somehow, neither Pilot nor Moya had sensed his departure from the ship.  Bearing in mind this was nearly impossible to begin with, Pilot madly searched for any signs of sabotage to the systems.

 

The rest of the crew had been silent for most of the sleeping cycle.  Pilot had noted sounds of crying in both Aeryn’s and Chiana’s quarters.  He also had observed scuffling in D’Argo’s quarters.  Zhaan’s quarters remained silent.  Rygel’s quarters had occasionally released a strange unidentified bleeping noise that Pilot did not find the need to investigate.

 

All of the aliens aboard Moya were still in mourning after Talyn’s fiery death but none more than Pilot and Moya themselves.  Pilot was constantly checking systems and maintaining Moya to the best of his skills.  Somehow, he felt that if he kept busy and constantly monitored their situation, he could push the pain away.  But Pilot could feel everything Moya was feeling.  The pain just wouldn’t cease.  Though Pilot lived for Moya, he could not take much more of the pain she was experiencing.  The loss of her child was almost too much to bear.  Moya was beginning to display signs of stress, her exterior skin growing faint in color and her general health deteriorating.  Moya could no longer jump into immediate starburst if called upon.  All of her resources were low.  Antarus had done all he could to comfort her, supporting her when she needed him most.  He never left her side as they trekked further into the Uncharted Territories.  Pilot was grateful for that even if Moya was vulnerable.

 

Pilot took a deep breath displaying his exhaustion.  Several more arns would pass before any of the crew would awaken.  Zhaan was usually the first one.  Pilot hesitated the thought of contacting her over John’s sudden disappearance and decided against it.  He remembered all too well the argument that had exploded between the two nearly a weeken ago.  They had not spoken to each other since, avoiding even the sight of one another.  For that matter, the rest of the crew had been acting the same.  Both Pilot and Moya, through their grieving, had noticed the separation of the crew.  D’Argo and Chiana no longer conversed, Rygel basically stayed in his quarters-he even skipped a meal, and Zhaan wandered around the ship in a daze, often ending up in the Apothecary to concoct some new miracle drug.  Aeryn had been completely avoiding everyone, including Pilot.  And John was acting even more bizarre than ever.  He didn’t seem to care if anyone else noticed, either.  He had filled his entire room, floor and walls, with a strange writing that sometimes repeated itself.  The utensil he had been using to write with had stopped working the day before, sparking even more strange behavior from the human.  Just that evening, Pilot had observed the human staring intently at the writings, muttering to himself.  All of a sudden, John snapped his fingers, walked out, and headed for Command, demanding to see the schematics of Moya once again.

 

Two excited DRDs relayed information back to Pilot, revealing the severed fluid lines to the surveillance system in the docking bay.  Pilot relaxed slightly but pressed on.  He knew the only place for the human to go would be Antarus.  There was no place else in the vast area of space they were currently occupying.  Nothing else except the war.

 

Another arn passed.  Another signal attempt to Antarus failed.  Pilot was growing weary of his search.  He was beginning to consider informing the rest of the crew.  Pilot tried to contact the large Leviathan once more before resorting to that step.  Surprised, Pilot received an answer.  Antarus was sending him signals of worry and uneasiness.  Pilot grew curious.  Why would the ship be experiencing such emotions?  There were no signs of enemy ships within the scans.  Antarus sent a frightening sound wave to Pilot.  Pilot switched his controls on to listen to the sound wave.

 

Silence.  Then ragged breathing.  A pulse blast burst loudly into an interior room aboard Antarus.  A loud thud followed.  More silence.

 

Frightened, with several scenarios running through his mind, Pilot decided now was the time to contact the crew.

 

“Officer Sun, Ka D’Argo, Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan, Chiana, Rygel!”  Pilot exclaimed.  Silence followed.

 

“Wake up!”  Pilot urged the crew.  He heard sounds of cursing and angered growls.

 

“What is it, Pilot?”  Aeryn asked bitterly with only a small hint of worry in her voice.

 

“I’m afraid something’s happened to Commander Crichton.  He somehow boarded Antarus without my or Moya’s detection.  We just received a disturbing sound wave from Antarus.  I fear something’s happened to the Commander.”  Pilot explained quickly.  He could hear urgent shuffling from all of the crew’s quarters.  Whether they were divided or not, they still cared enough to find out what was going on.

 

Barely dressed in adequate clothing, D’Argo, Zhaan, Chiana, Aeryn, and Rygel gathered into Command to listen to the sound wave.  All five of the aliens wore wearied expressions and looked beyond stressed.  Talyn’s death had taken its toll on each of them.  The sound wave played once again.

 

“Pilot, prepare a transport pod…NOW.”  Aeryn stated.  She headed for the docking bay with the others following reluctantly and silently.  No one wished to speak to the other.  They had a common goal, to discover the fate of John Crichton.  Each crewmember had a unique bond with the human, whether he or she dared to admit it at all.  The fact that he could have done something utterly unheard of in the Uncharted Territories was bearing down on them.  He could have been stopped.  They could have helped him.  But each alien had his or her own agenda now.

 

Once settled in the transport pod, the crew grew even more silent than before.  Being confined to one small space was not a good idea.  So to keep one’s mind occupied on the ten-micron trip over to Antarus, each alien thought back to the day before.

 

SEVERAL ARNS EARLIER

 

Numerous ships streamed throughout the atmosphere of the commerce planet.  A thunderstorm was currently rumbling in the large city’s wake, threatening to silence communications until the electrical storm diminished.  The city boasted a large structural concept, all the building built from the natural stone resource of the planet. This one city consumed the entire planet, as small as it was, and the only resource the desolate place could offer was fresh water from the daily storms.  All other resources available through the planet’s merchants were imported from other systems.

 

Zhaan, D’Argo, and Aeryn stood by a merchant’s stand, observing the oncoming storm in silence.  They had decided to travel to the planet for supplies.  And information.  Each individual had his or her own agenda.  Unfortunately, the storm would cut their visit short.  With the knowledge that they had only two more arns before it would be too late to escape the storm, the shipmates split up.

 

Aeryn walked briskly along the stone pathways of the section in which they had landed the transport pod.  She did not even care to notice the feared looks of bystanders who observed her PeaceKeeper persona.  She knew they were even more fearful, now with the onslaught of war.  There were too many things troubling her to worry about these aliens.

 

The inhabitants of the planet were short, stocky, and bore thick, wrinkled gray skin.  Their faces featured large, bulging black eyes, two small nostrils, and long, curled mouths that hid numerous sharply pointed teeth.  Rough tufts of brown fur spiked out of the head and down the back.  They wore only robes for clothing.  And moved extremely slowly.

 

Aeryn was frustrated.  She had encountered an entire group of the stinky creatures waddling toward their destination.  She could not get past them.  Scanning the crowd gathering in the center of the market place, Aeryn’s heart skipped a beat.  She immediately drew herself up against a wall behind a merchant’s stand.  She slid her eyes over to the sight that had alarmed her into hiding.  Two PeaceKeeper officers were patrolling the crowd.  She did not need to be seen today.  Not with all the things running through her mind.

 

Aeryn slipped further into the shadows of the sunny marketplace and waited until the officers were out of sight.  She had heard them talking as they had passed by.  Most of what they said had been the usual PK chatter.  But one thing remained in Aeryn’s mind of what she had heard.

 

“Not long now, before the extra forces arrive.”  A PK officer had informed the other.  Aeryn knew that Moya would have to leave this place soon…even starburst to get far enough away.  Unfortunately, Aeryn also knew that Moya wasn’t in the best health to do so.

 

Letting out a sigh, Aeryn reentered the marketplace, her eyes following the path of the PK officers who had disappeared by now.  Her emotions were a swirling mass of confusion at the moment.  Everything she was going through was accumulating, and the longing feeling to be amongst her species once again was overwhelming.  John Crichton slipped into her mind.  If it hadn’t been for that…that human, she’d still be in the PK military.   If it hadn’t been for John Crichton, Aeryn could have died a PK perhaps in the war, fulfilling her duties.  Damn that human.  Why did he have to consume her thoughts as much as he did?  Love was not an option in her life.  She wasn’t trained for it, nor did she desire it.  But still, that human had changed her in ways that no PK promotion could.  And Aeryn was too stubborn to admit that he had helped change her for the better.  You can be more.  Aeryn thought of the day they had first met.  She had felt something for him even then.  She knew John felt the same.  She had seen it in his beautiful blue eyes.

 

Aeryn shook her head with irritation.  She was still angered by the comment John had made about PeaceKeepers.  Even though it hadn’t been meant to be personal, she took it close to heart.

 

Aeryn tried to clear her mind.  Her mission on this planet was to find amnexis fluid to refresh Moya.  She knew the risk of buying something so rare and questionable could bring more attention to her than she needed, but Aeryn also knew that even living on Moya at the moment was a great risk.  Moya’s deterioration in health had captured Aeryn’s attention.  The loss of Talyn had affected Aeryn almost as much as it had Moya.  Aeryn had found herself yearning to live on Talyn with Crais before his death had occurred so suddenly.

 

Traveling through the market place, Aeryn spotted a merchant stand near the end of the mass that stood out from the rest.  She was intrigued by it.  She approached with caution, scanning the noisy crowd with her weary eyes.  Once stationed in front of the stand, Aeryn took in the amazing merchandise around her.  New PK technology at its finest.  Aeryn had stumbled upon new weaponry that even the cowardly inhabitants of this planet were willing to risk a PK to see.  If it had been any other time, the PK officers she had seen earlier would have blasted the merchant away and confiscated the stolen merchandise.  But now with a war brewing, this merchandise could be handy to anyone and could even have been smuggled by PeaceKeepers as a trap to lure Scarrens or other enemies happening by the area.  Aeryn smiled and silently ran her hand across the face of a large gun, similar to her Pulse Cannon.  The owner of the stand stepped closer from his perch behind a stone wall in the stand and peered at Aeryn with interest.

 

“You like?”  The creature’s husky voice broke the silence.  Aeryn nearly jumped out of her skin, realizing the creature had been there for quite some time, watching her.

 

“Where did you get this?”  Aeryn asked in her sternest PK voice.  She held up her own weapon as if to threaten the creature.  It only smiled.

 

“PeaceKeeper war not over.   Only beginning.  Must be ahead of enemy.”  Came the answer.  Aeryn frowned, not gaining much information.

 

“Do you realize the trouble you are asking for in carrying such advanced weaponry?  It is punishable by death.”  Aeryn stated, threatening the creature by raising her gun to its head.  The creature blinked, barely scared by her threat.

 

“PeaceKeepers do not control Uncharted Territories any longer.”  The creature responded with a huge grin.  Without waiting for Aeryn to react or respond, he disappeared back around the wall he had been hiding behind.  Aeryn frowned worriedly at his statement.  The PeaceKeepers no longer held a steady hold on the Uncharted Territories?  Did this mean that the PeaceKeepers were losing the battle?  The thought somehow frightened Aeryn.  Somehow, knowing the PK existence out here was permanent comforted Aeryn throughout her time on Moya.  Now with the uncertainty of her race’s future, she felt displaced.  Who would be the constant patrol of order now?  The Scarrens?  A shiver ran down Aeryn’s spine.  The memory of her last meeting with a Scarren still remained fresh in her mind.

 

“Stop!  Turn to face us.”  A stern voice ordered behind Aeryn.  Aeryn stiffened but held fast to her weapon.  She turned to see three PeaceKeeper officers pointing weapons at her and glancing at the weapons behind her.  Once the officers saw she was also a PeaceKeeper by the uniform she was wearing, they lowered their weapons and stepped forward.

 

“Sorry, we thought you were the owner of this stand.  Clearly, you are as concerned as we are about the confiscation of these weapons.”  The superior officer of the group stood tall in front of Aeryn.  All three officers were male and quite daunting.  Aeryn stood at attention and addressed them as though she were still in the ranks.  Unfortunately, her act wouldn’t carry through.

 

“Are you not the defector Aeryn Sun?”  A young, well built officer asked, standing behind his superior.  Aeryn’s heart dropped to her knees.  She dared not show any emotion in her face and paused before answering, thinking of the best way to handle the situation.

 

“We have heard of you.  Fortunately for you, High Command has authorized your reinstatement.  All PeaceKeepers not already fighting in the war have been commanded to keep a watch for you.  The PeaceKeeper Resistance is in great need of a warrior of your status.”  The ranking officer informed Aeryn.  Surprised by the turn of events, Aeryn felt her heart skip joyously.

 

“Reinstatement?”  Aeryn swallowed the words.  She could not believe her ears.

 

“Yes.”  The superior officer confirmed.

 

“Is our situation that grave?” Aeryn asked, squinting her eyes in suspicion.

 

“The battle has grown much larger than anticipated.  The war has spread even into the boundaries of the Uncharted Territories.  Both the PeaceKeepers and the Scarrens wish to acquire the ownership of the Uncharted Territories.  The Scarrens also wish to steal our technology for their own benefit.  They are a great enemy.  We have lost many inter-battles already.”

 

Aeryn remained silent for a moment.  She took in what she was hearing with concern.  Divided on her feelings, she was unsure what to do, or who to join.  She could remain on the run from the war and all the enemies she had gained and be with the man she was growing to love or she could join once again with her own kind and fight to the death…what she was trained for.

 

“Give me a solar day.  I will inform you of my decision then.”  Aeryn stated and watched as the PK officers nodded in agreement and then headed off down the pathway.  She drew in a deep breath and released it slowly.  Time had come for her to decide her fate.

 

*

 

D’Argo had found more piles of dung on the lonely street to step in than he could ever imagine.  Why did he always end up on the short end of the bargain?  His day was going bad enough as it was.  His mind carried memories of his son, before the devastating murder of his wife.  The family had had such wonderful moments together.  Even with the controversial bonding of the two, D’Argo and Lo’Laan had been quite happy.  Their son had been quite young when she had been killed.  D’Argo wondered what his son would remember of that sickening day.  He barely wanted to remember the day himself.  All these thoughts brought D’Argo to the same conclusion; his son would not understand what had happened nor would he be too eager to see his father.  Jothee had probably been told so many lies.  Jothee’s statement ran through D’Argo’s mind once more.  “Even if I had a father, I would not want to meet him.  He is a disgrace to my family’s honor.”  D’Argo tried to erase those words from his mind.  There had to be some way he could convince his son he was not the wretched Luxan he had been made out to be.

 

For many weekens now, D’Argo had his head in the clouds.  He had not been very talkative to anyone aboard Moya.  And when he did have a confrontation with any one of his shipmates, the conversation ended in a bitter argument of some sort.  Then there was Chiana.  D’Argo had loved her at one time.  But now he had lost respect for the tralk.  He figured she didn’t even have any respect for herself.  How could she?  And what made matters worse was that every time the two had argued, they ended up having sex.  They were still physically attracted to one another.  But all that had ended a weeken ago.  D’Argo figured he could confide his troubles in John even with the current status of the mood on board Moya.  Everybody was mad at each other.  But when he had encountered the human in his quarters, muttering to himself and acting extremely bizarre, D’Argo knew he would have to find solace somewhere else.  He was losing his good friend…to madness.

 

D’Argo entered the yard where the transport pod had been docked.  He set down the sack he had been carrying.  He leaned against the side of the transport pod and dug into the sack.  Inside were a few fresh rinds of Mocrates he had bargained for in the market place.  Mocrates were large, spiked purple fruits that came from a system not too far from his own home world.  D’Argo remembered eating the sweet seeds inside as a boy.  He had been happy to find the fruit once again.  D’Argo picked up one of the fruits and prepared to sink his teeth into it.

 

“Ka D’Argo.”  A familiar voice addressed him.

 

D’Argo could not believe his eyes.  He turned fully to face the Luxan standing before him.  It was his son, Jothee.

 

“Jothee!  I have been searching for you since the day I…never mind.  How did you get here?” D’Argo asked with thrill in his eyes.  He stepped up to Jothee to give him a hug.  Jothee wore a stern expression, staring at his father with a mixture of hatred and fright in his eyes.  D’Argo noticed his son’s lack of enthusiasm and then remembered the comment Jothee had made about him.  D’Argo reclaimed the distance between the two and looked at his son thoughtfully.  Jothee had grown to be a handsome young Luxan.

 

“I have a message for you.”  Jothee stated.  He badly wanted his father to pay for his mother’s murder, but knew this would not happen.  He had an ultimatum for his father instead.

 

“A message?  What are you talking about, Jothee?  What’s going on?”  D’Argo asked, sensing the suspicious nature of his son.  He could sense something was not right.

 

“A message…from a certain PeaceKeeper Captain.  If you truly believe you are worthy of being my father, you will listen and act on this message.”  Jothee said, boring his eyes down on his father.  D’Argo felt a twinge of sadness in his heart.  The look in Jothee’s eyes was regrettably carrying the same rage he had carried within himself for many cycles.

 

“I understand.  What is the message?”  D’Argo inquired half-heartedly.  He figured the message had to deal with Scorpius somehow, even though he knew he was dead.  And it had to do with John Crichton as well.

 

*

 

Zhaan wandered the marketplace preoccupied, her mind concentrating on other matters.  She thought of the tense past few weekens on Moya.  Regret.  Anger.  Satisfaction.  Zhaan shuddered at the last thought.  She had felt great satisfaction in arguing with Crichton.  And she had seen it in his eyes as well.  They had both become callous.  The cause was unknown, or perhaps unwilling to surface.  Yet, Zhaan did not seek restitution.  She only wanted things to be as they once were.  Deep down, Zhaan knew this would never happen.

 

Zhaan continued on past the numerous stands of herbs and interesting food items and headed for one booth in particular.  The booth had sparked her interest the microt she had entered the marketplace.  Several vials of bluish liquid stood amongst the stand’s other merchandise.  Zhaan approached the booth and looked at the vials with great interest.  The liquid in these vials assisted those who ingested it in soothing the mind.  But the use for this medication was not to help Crichton; Zhaan had the vials in mind for herself.

 

A creature emerged from behind the vials, startling Zhaan.  The foul creature was another inhabitant of this planet.   Zhaan let out a sigh of relief and inquired about the price of the vials.  The creature grinned mischievously.  Zhaan was about to wish they had brought Rygel along.  Without warning, the creature scurried away and out of sight.  Zhaan searched behind the vials for any sign of the creature with concern on her face.  She then sensed a being behind her.  Zhaan turned quickly to face the being.  Her jaw dropped.

 

“Stark?”  Zhaan whispered, though her voice was barely discernable.

 

The glowing figure before her very much resembled Stark.  But Zhaan knew it wasn’t really him.  She was only imagining him, as she had imagined him several solar days ago in her chamber during meditation.  Unfortunately, the creature in the booth had seen him too, so now Zhaan had to come up with a new answer to comfort herself.  Half of her wanted to drink one of those vials immediately to rid her mind of this illusion.

 

“Zhaan, you are in trouble.”  Stark stated calmly.  Zhaan blinked.

 

“You must leave this place.  Leave this solar system.  Get Moya and the others as far away as possible.  When they are safe, then you must leave them.”  Stark ordered.  He reached forward and placed a shimmering hand on her shoulder.  Zhaan almost flinched at the warmth of his touch.  Just how much of what she was seeing was real, she couldn’t discern.

 

“Why?”  Zhaan asked softly with a furrowed brow.  Stark suddenly began to diminish before her eyes.  Zhaan cried out and then he was gone.  Gone once again to leave her all alone.  Zhaan felt coldness at heart.

 

*

 

Chiana and Rygel were enjoying their current raid of the food cubes in the galley.  As usual, they had been left aboard Moya while the others went down to the commerce planet to gather supplies.  Even though the two didn’t have any spats between them, they remained silent and cautious of the other’s actions.  Chiana observed Rygel’s usual disgusting eating habits with a keen eye.  Rygel stared back at her, wondering what the Nebari girl was planning to do.

 

“Well, if it isn’t my two favorite snurchers!”  Crichton stated loudly as he entered the galley.  Chiana and Rygel nearly choked on their food with surprise.

 

“Crichton?  What are you doing here?  I thought you were going down to the planet with the others.” Chiana asked curiously, tilting her head.  Crichton smiled and took a seat across from them at the table.  He grabbed a food cube and munched it with a blank expression.

 

“Nah, I decided I’d have more fun sticking around here with you guys.”  Crichton stated sarcastically.

 

“Well, since Aeryn sticks to your side like frog boy over here sticks to his throne sled, I figured you’d be on the commerce planet.” Chiana retorted.  Crichton frowned at Chiana.  The three became silent for quite a while.

 

“How many frelling commerce planets…no wait, inhabitable planets are there out here?  Gees!  Earth is the only inhabited planet for billions of light years, yet here, we can go to whatever planet we want within a solar day’s trip to shop for daisies.  What’s up with that?”  Crichton muttered, chucking an unwanted food cube back towards the container.  Chiana wore a confused expression while Rygel huffed impatiently.

 

“Frelling ignorant human.  What do you expect coming from such a primitive race?”  Rygel muttered.  Crichton straightened, looking sternly at Rygel.  Rygel leaned back fearfully, noting how quickly Crichton had transformed to anger.

 

“Crichton, what’s your problem?”  Chiana confronted him.  Crichton looked at her with the same expression, which she took as an invitation to piss him off.  But before she could say anything, Crichton stood up.

 

“My problem?  What’s my problem?  Well, let’s see here.  My brain’s been the prize of the universe and turned into mush on several occasions, everyone on this ship is driving me and each other insane, I can’t find a way home, and I just can’t seem to find the equivalent of a frelling pen around here!”

 

Surprised by Crichton’s outburst, Chiana and Rygel remained silent.

 

“Got anything better than food cubes?”  Crichton asked suddenly shifting to a soft tone and sitting back down.  Chiana and Rygel glanced at each other questioningly.

 

“Ah sure, Raslac.”  Chiana stated, slipping a flask out from her hiding place under the table.  She handed it over to Crichton.  Crichton took a whiff of it, then chugged down a mouthful.  He allowed the liquor to sting down his throat and nodded to Chiana in thanks.  Chiana nodded once back, mimicking his motion.  Crichton stood up, patted his belly, gave them a look they could not interpret, and headed out of the galley as quickly as he had come.

 

Chiana looked to Rygel, who seemed busy eating once again.

 

“What was that all about?”  Chiana asked in bewilderment.

 

“Like I said before, he’s from a primitive race…don’t expect much.”  Rygel replied dryly.

 

Chiana glanced back at the doorway and drifted into deep thought.  She was beginning to realize more and more that her welcome on Moya was wearing thin.  Maybe she’d get her wish sooner than later to leave and join up with Nerri.

 

*****

 

BACK TO THE PRESENT

 

The docking bay aboard Antarus was extremely quiet.  Crichton’s module sat nearby, deserted.  Aeryn, D’Argo, Chiana, and Zhaan stood near the transport pod, each carrying a gun in their hands.  Rygel hovered behind his shipmates, glancing around at the ship’s interior.  The puzzled expressions on their faces soon began to grow into worry.

 

“Pilot.  What’s going on here?  Antarus’ docking bay has…transformed somewhat.”  Aeryn asked, looking around at the shifted walls.  The docking bay was now much larger than before, and held a non-biomechanoid quality to it.  In fact, there were strange symbols forming near the entrance to the hall.  None of the crew standing before the symbols could decipher them.

 

“What kind of transformation?  Antarus appears to be normal on Moya’s sensor scans.”  Pilot replied over the comms.

 

Aeryn glanced at the others with a raised brow.  “Fine.  Just keep us updated on any more communications from Antarus.”  Aeryn ordered and then ended the conversation with Pilot.  She did not want to have any more confrontations about miniscule things.

 

“Let’s split up.  Chiana, you head for quarters.  D’Argo, you go to Command.  Zhaan, check out the den…in fact, you can see the dead pilot for yourself and tell us what you think happened to it.  Rygel, you stay with me.  I don’t trust you going off by yourself.” Aeryn ordered.  She received no complaints and the group then split off down the hallway.

 

Rygel hovered close to Aeryn, glancing nervously around at the ship.  Ever since he had seen strange holo images and heard annoying bleeps from his jewels, he had been on edge.  He no longer trusted this Leviathan.  Unfortunately, he seemed to be the only one.  All of his shipmates had grown accustomed to the ship over the past few solar days. Aeryn and D’Argo had re-entered Antarus on several occasions to explore more of the ship and Crichton had mysteriously been traveling over to the ship unannounced.

 

“Do you think Crichton’s dead?”  Rygel inquired.  Aeryn swiftly spun around and had her pulse pistol planted heavily into Rygel’s throat.  Struggling for air, Rygel flung his little arms around in panic.  Aeryn loosened her hold when she realized she was showing too much emotion for the man she was supposed to be mad at.  She stared into Rygel’s frightened eyes with a stern glare and then let go of him altogether.  Rygel rubbed his throat tenderly and moved on behind Aeryn.

 

“Pilot informed me that Crichton had been visiting Antarus for quite some time now.  We can only assume he’s in that silly room he came to like so much.  He called it the ‘game’ room.  I think we’ll find him there.”  Aeryn said, trying to fill the uneasy silence that had settled between the two.  Rygel nodded in agreement, even though he knew Aeryn wouldn’t turn to see his gesture.

 

The two traveled down the hall, reaching the game room in a few microns.  Aeryn paused at the closed door and almost turned on her comms to order the door to be opened.  She then realized she was not on Moya and the pilot on this ship was definitely not going to be carrying out any more orders.  She manually opened the door and pointed her gun into the vast room, prepared for anything.  Unfortunately, she was not prepared to see Crichton lying sprawled out on the floor, a pulse rifle within a finger’s reach of his outstretched hand.  Rygel gasped and stayed where he was.  Aeryn lowered her weapon and raced over to Crichton.  When she arrived, she saw blood dripping from his forehead.  A slight scratch on his forehead was evidence of something that had gone terribly wrong.  Aeryn was close to tears and her heart felt like it was about to explode.  She leaned over Crichton’s still body and peered into his pale face through her tear-strained eyes.  She felt movement from his chest.  Aeryn reared back suddenly to see Crichton was very much alive.

 

“Crichton?  Crichton, can you hear me?  What happened?”  Aeryn asked.  Silence.  Aeryn shook Crichton gently.  His eyes fluttered.

 

Stars.  The beautiful shimmering sparkles of light in the dark sky above soothed his mind.  Those stars were clinging onto the last strings of his sanity.  Crichton had witnessed these stars in the night skies of Earth, in the darkened atmosphere aboard Moya, even on the planets he had visited.  More planets than he would have ever dreamed inhabitable.  The wonders of space were at his fingertips but he had lost the fire to pursue those mysteries.  Yet those stars were always there.  Beaming down on him.  One of those stars was home.  And it was quickly fading away.

 

Without a nanomicrot’s notice, Crichton sprung up and had his pulse pistol pointing straight at Aeryn.  His breath had become erratic and he could barely keep his head up.   He placed his free hand on his forehead and moaned.  Aeryn grabbed a hold of his shoulder to support him.  Lowering his weapon, Crichton looked at her for a moment, wondering if she would decide to give him some lecture.  There was only concern in her eyes though Crichton could sense the anger she was feeling for him.

 

Crichton nearly blacked out once more, but held his consciousness at bay for a micron to consider what had just happened.  The feelings within him burned deep.  The dream he had experienced shook him to the core.  If it indeed had been a dream…the blood on his forehead was mystifying enough.  Envisioning his own suicide was terrifying to him.  Suicide had never before been an option in his life.  There was so much more to life than to end it that quickly on some selfish act of desperation.  The dream rattled him with such vivid detail.  The images now haunting his mind would not disintegrate quickly.

 

Just as he was about to speak, Zhaan, D’Argo, and Chiana entered the room, whisking past the stunned Rygel.  Zhaan knelt near Crichton, checking his forehead.  Crichton winced once again and then shied away from his concerned shipmates.  He struggled upwards and stood as best he could.

 

“Can’t a guy get any solitude around here?  Gees!”  Crichton said, holding his head in his hand.  The all too familiar headaches had returned.

 

“Crichton, what the yotz is wrong with you?  We thought you were dead.”  Rygel remarked, hovering over to join his shipmates all standing before Crichton.  Crichton searched the troubled faces of his comrades and came to a realization that the anger everyone had been carrying around had not gone away.  He still felt it himself.

 

“What are you talking about?”  He asked.

 

“Antarus sent some kind of sound wave that sounded like you ending your life.  That and the erratic behavior you’ve been displaying lately, we decided to have a look.”  Chiana said angrily.

 

“What, so you could gloat over my body and steal whatever I had left of value?  How considerate.”

 

Rygel grunted and Crichton sent him a sideways glance that dared him to take his sarcasm any further.

 

“For your information, I was defending myself.  I saw something, I fired, and suddenly, I woke up to Miss Sunshine over there.  Got a problem with that?”  John asked, looking to each alien firmly.

 

“That doesn’t make sense.  What did you see?  Another hallucination?”  Aeryn asked.  She was ridiculing his recent visions of Scorpius.  Fortunately for John, those visions had stopped the microt the chip had fried.  What had taken the place of those visions was much worse but John wasn’t ready to reveal this to anyone.

 

“Forget it.  Just, please.  I’m sick of this dren.  Why can’t any of us get along anymore?  Was it something I said?”  John raised his voice.  He almost smirked at his last statement, but he was serious.  It was about time somebody confronted the madness.

 

“John, no one is angry at you.  We’re just concerned.”  D’Argo stated eerily.  The crew looked to him with raised eyebrows.  D’Argo was unusually calm.  John sent him a bewildered look.  Zhaan let out a slight shocked noise.

 

“Speak for yourself.  I have not forgotten our argument, John, and I am still unable to bring myself to even look you in the eyes without feeling intense rage.”  Zhaan stated, staring into John’s hazy eyes.  John cocked his head at Zhaan.

 

“Nice to see we feel mutual on the subject.  Anyone else care to share their concerns?”  John asked, searching each and every face before him.  John nodded with a quick smile.  “Thought so.”  He then pushed his way through his former friends and headed out of the game room, rubbing his head gingerly.  D’Argo smiled smugly.  Chiana huffed and left as well.  Rygel hovered, glancing around at the ship, as if he could hear phantom voices calling his name.  Zhaan glared at the others then proceeded to leave the room.  Aeryn watched the others slowly retreat from the room.  Each shipmate was making sure to cast angry glares at everyone they were mad at as they left.  Soon, Aeryn was alone in the large room, to gaze upon the stars.  Something as simple as a few million dots of light in the darkness only confused Aeryn.  How could anyone just stare at them for hours?

 

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Aeryn looked back down from the stars after a few microns and focused her attention on something on the floor.  She stooped down to examine it.  A droplet of blood…Sebacean blood.  Aeryn knew this because it was more darkly tinted than human blood.  Puzzled, Aeryn narrowed her eyes and glanced around the room almost afraid she would not be alone.  She straightened and once again, looked around the room.  A funny feeling was beginning to flutter within.

 

A shuffle to her right caused Aeryn to immediately activate her pulse pistol, pointing it in the direction of the noise. She peered toward the darkened walls of the room seeing nothing.  Had it been her imagination?  Aeryn couldn’t be sure.  She stepped closer.  Was that movement she just witnessed?  Aeryn’s pulse pistol whined as she switched it to the next level.  Whatever was in the room was definitely not going to come out alive.  A flash of flesh crossed Aeryn’s vision.  She fired instantly.  Guts and green oozing blood splattered everywhere.  The thing was no longer.  Aeryn had literally obliterated it.  In fact, as Aeryn stood above the sloppy mess, wiping away what had splattered onto her face, she realized she had just destroyed any chances of figuring out what the thing was.  Aeryn dared not to examine the remains any further…the smell was horrible enough.  Questions hung in her mind as she backed away, still on guard.  How did that thing get on board Antarus?  If it had already been on board, why hadn’t Moya, Pilot, or even Antarus detected it in the first place?  Confused and exhausted, Aeryn exited the room, still armed with her trusty pulse pistol, watching every little darkened corner within range of a blast from her weapon.

 

*****

 

Zhaan passed through the halls of Antarus barely watching where she was headed.  Her head hung low as she thought of her most recent vision of Stark.  What had he meant by urging her to leave her friends behind?  Was there something more to the 11th level that was possibly threatening to the others?  Zhaan had realized since she had entered this next plateau of the Seek, she had become more irritable, stern, and even callous.  There was a chance she wasn’t quite to the 11th level yet, but that didn’t explain how Zhaan had gained the powers she had now.  If she wanted to move something, she only had to imagine it.   The object would move.

 

Zhaan approached the pilot’s den and already noticed the stench from within.  She entered cautiously and took in the horrible sight of death.  Zhaan scoured her lips as she stepped closer.  Once she arrived at the carcass, Zhaan observed the alarming number of DRDs surrounding the pilot, armed and ready to do what was necessary to guard the creature.  Zhaan smiled briefly, as if to let the DRDs know she meant no harm.  But she knew now she could affect others simply by emotions.  All she needed to do was feel calm, and so would the DRDs.

 

As Zhaan leaned closer to the dead pilot, the DRDs retreated respectfully.  They did not fully let down their guard, but they somehow knew they could trust this Delvian.  Zhaan stepped up to get an even closer look and steadied herself on the control panel.  Something caused her to look down.  Letting out a gasp, Zhaan discovered what had caused the death of the pilot.  A small bleeping noise somewhere behind her made Zhaan turn to observe the den around her.  She wrinkled her brow with concern.  Somehow, the den had grown larger.  The walls were much further away than earlier, and had taken on a more metallic glow.  The pathway to the exit had also extended, hovering over a much deeper pit into the midst of the ship.  Something strange was going on.  Uneasiness flooded into Zhaan.  The DRDs zoomed back into defensive mood.  Zhaan backed away quickly, cursing herself silently for allowing fear to overcome her.

 

“Aeryn, D’Argo?  Anyone there?”  Zhaan asked into her comms.  The comms crackled briefly before Zhaan heard one voice she wasn’t expecting to hear.  Pilot.

 

“Yes Zhaan?”  Pilot asked.

 

“Pilot, I believe you have been listening this entire time, haven’t you?”  Zhaan stood away from the control console and kept a weary eye on the room, hoping to catch a transformation in action.

 

“I was only concerned for the well being of Commander Crichton.  Is everything alright?”  Pilot asked with concern.

 

“No, Pilot, I sense something isn’t right.  I found the reason for this pilot’s death.  His life line to Antarus had been intentionally severed.”  Zhaan answered.  She paused listening to Pilot gasp.  “Pilot, do you sense any life forms besides the crew on Antarus?”

 

“No, Moya’s scans show only you and the rest of the crew.  Who would do such a thing to that pilot?  PeaceKeepers?”  Pilot retorted, his voice turning sour with hatred.

 

“Most likely.  Pilot.  Inform the others that we must get off this ship as soon as possible.  Before we find out what is wrong and it’s too late.”  Zhaan ordered.  She did not want to get into any confrontations with the rest of the crew at the moment.  Pilot would have much better luck.

 

“I will.  Moya and I both feel it would be better if you were all back aboard as soon as possible.” Pilot stated.

 

“Thank you, Pilot.”  Zhaan said and ended the transmission.  She felt somewhat better after talking with Pilot.  Perhaps it was because he had talked to her without any anger.  Either way, Zhaan knew she was losing her place among the crew.  What Stark had said was beginning to make sense.

 

*****

 

Crichton walked through the halls of Antarus with a strange new emotion burning within.  Acceptance.  An unusually calm and content look set on his face, his pulse pistol securely fastened to his right thigh, and a strange humming rising from his throat.  Crichton had accepted his fate.  One way or another, his death was creeping up on him.  He knew it the moment he had escaped from Scorpius one last time.  The dreams had not stopped.  The visions had ceased, but the voice had remained.  It no longer actually spoke.  It only laughed and ridiculed him.  Crichton accepted the fact that Aeryn would not be in his future.  He accepted that Earth was a faint dream, fading faster than the thought of happiness.  Crichton had accepted his life, as it would be.  And he didn’t want any part of it.  He was beginning to realize why he had dreamed such a horrible act in the first place.

 

Rygel had passed by him once, saying something about strange noises and changed rooms, but Crichton had not noticed him.  He just kept walking.  His destination unknown.

 

He should have arrived at the Command by now.  Crichton snapped out of his cloud of doom in time to realize he had been walking far too long to have not seen a hint of any room at all.  Where was he?  Crichton stopped his trek and slowly turned in a circle, observing the environment around him.  There was something vaguely familiar about the interior structure around him.  The walls no longer held a Leviathan form to them.  In their place were strange, broken metallic sections morphing with biomechanoid material.  Crichton observed all the transformations he had seen with new interest.  Why hadn’t any of the others mentioned anything?  Surely they had noticed as well.  Crichton rubbed his chin thoughtfully.  He heard a silent whooshing noise behind him and spun to surprise whatever may be creeping up behind him.  Nothing.  He swore he had seen the wall move, though.  Just a little.  Crichton shook his head vigorously, as if to rid it of any hallucinations he might be experiencing.  With that, Crichton continued on to find Command.

 

Another noise disturbed Crichton as he had begun to let his thoughts wander.  He spun around.  He had seen a flash of something that time.

 

“D’Argo?”  Crichton called out, somewhat in a softened voice.  He released the pulse pistol from its holster.  The weapon whined in the silence as he switched the power on.  A little too loud, he imagined, to surprise his prey with.

 

After a few microns of silence, Crichton began to believe he was alone.  Perhaps it was Scorpius.  John chuckled out loud at that thought.  Crichton was about to place his weapon back in its holster when Aeryn came charging through from the opposite direction of the supposed noise he had witnessed.  Crichton almost instinctively had pointed his gun at her, but he noticed she barely had seen him as she whisked by angrily.

 

“Aeryn!  Wait up!”  Crichton shouted, holstering his weapon and rushing after her.  He caught up to her and briefly grabbed her arm.  Aeryn stopped abruptly and stared into Crichton’s eyes with intense anger.  Crichton felt a twinge of fear within and wondered what had brought on this transformation in her.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“Oh, you’ve decided you want to talk now?  I never will be able to completely understand you.”  Aeryn stated sharply.  Crichton looked at her with a wrinkled brow of question.  Aeryn noticed the wound on his forehead.  It had stopped bleeding by now but still looked pretty nasty.   Crichton seemed to have completely forgotten about it.

 

“What is up with you Aeryn?  PK PMS?  Really.  I did not upset you that bad, did I?  Of course, then again, I’m a male and you’re a female.  Our sexes like to confuse the other all the time.”  Crichton admitted, going off on a tangent.  Aeryn’s blank look caused him to stop his ranting.

 

“Maybe you would like to tell me what’s wrong with you first?  You deliberately surrender yourself to your deadliest enemy, come back stranger than ever, and then delve even deeper into craziness, the like of which I have not seen in even the most severe cases of transit madness.  And you just tried to frelling kill yourself! Our species are beginning to show more and more differences by the microt.”  Aeryn played back.

 

Crichton paused, taking in what she said with some heart.  He knew everything she spoke of was true.

 

“Do you love me?”  He blurted out in a sudden tone of seriousness.  Aeryn stepped back in surprise.  She looked deep into Crichton’s darkened eyes, searching for a reason behind his forward question.  He only looked as surprised as she did.  She opened her mouth, yet nothing would come out of her throat.  She searched within herself, trying to find the right feelings to drive her answer.  She found only a dull pain.  A flash of the offer she had been presented with traveled through the back of her mind.  The future was fading for her on Moya.  She saw no reason to torture this man any further.

 

“I don’t know.”  Aeryn stated dimly.  Unsure of her answer, she glanced down at the floor, as if not to allow Crichton to see the lie in her eyes.  She heard Crichton let out a long breath, slightly shaky.  She could almost hear his heart breaking.  She slowly raised her head to look at him and saw a single tear forming in his right eye.  Yet his face held a steady look of seriousness.  Those blue eyes.  She felt almost captivated in them.  But her heart was in so many places.  She had lost Talyn, and she was losing Crichton to madness.  Soon she would lose everything she had come to hold dear.  It was time she reclaimed her life as a PeaceKeeper.

 

Aeryn turned to leave but was stopped by a harsh grasp on her arm by Crichton.  Aeryn glanced back at his reddened face to see an unsettling evilness rise over the exhaustion and innocence.  For once, Aeryn felt fear from him.  She could not discern what might have caused him to snap.  Maybe he knew what she really felt for him.

 

In a slow and steady tone, what Crichton said next would haunt Aeryn.

 

“Leave then.  Leave only with this in mind.  I love you.  I always have and always will.  Even in death.”

 

Aeryn turned to face him but he released his hold of her and stalked off down the hall.  Tears began to stream down her face.  As her vision blurred with tears, Aeryn sniffled and took a deep breath.  She tried to compose herself.  She couldn’t have the others see her like this.  Aeryn stole one more glimpse at Crichton before he disappeared out of sight.  With a whisper, she admitted, “As will I.”

 

Aeryn collected herself and turned back towards the direction she was headed.  She too, began to notice the transformation of the ship as she continued on.  But that was only the least of her concerns now.

 

*****

 

Chiana had finally caught up with Rygel.  She had noticed his paranoia earlier and was relieved to find that she wasn’t the only one on the ship with anxiety.  Rygel was hovering close to the transport pod, glancing around nervously.  He didn’t even notice her approach.

 

“Hiya, Frog boy!”  Chiana stated with false smile.  Rygel threw a strip of metal in her direction.  Surprised, Chiana ducked and watched as the metal flew over her head and clanged to the floor denches behind her.  She straightened and looked at Rygel with a glare.  “What was that for?!”

 

“I…I’m sorry.  I thought you were a spirit.”  Rygel stated in a frightened whisper.  Chiana glanced around, trying to see if she could witness what Rygel was talking about.  She looked back to Rygel with a frown.

 

“Spirits?  Honestly, Rygel.  You’re beginning to sound like Zhaan.”  Chiana giggled nervously.  She knew he had some truth in his words.  She felt the presence of something herself.  Especially after she had witnessed that chamber morph into a solid wall right before her eyes a quarter of an arn ago.

 

“You know they’re here.  This ship is haunted.  No wonder the crew abandoned it.  Where are the others?  We have to get off this ship now!” Rygel demanded, maintaining a low voice.

 

Chiana was about to question him further when D’Argo entered, a distant look on his face.  He was lost in thought, not realizing he had entered the room.  He almost walked right past them when he finally noticed them.  He stopped to observe the heightened fear on their faces.

 

“What the frell is wrong with you two?”  He asked in a gruff voice.

 

“Well, since I’m not talking to you, I’ll convey my answers through Rygel.  Tell him, Ryge.  Tell him about the ship.”  Chiana ordered.   She looked to D’Argo with a look of triumph, as if she had won some sort of argument.  D’Argo raised an eyebrow and waved his hand out.

 

“Don’t bother.  I don’t want to know of any of Chiana’s dren.  Let’s get off this ship.  If I have to find one more detour in this maze, I’m going to blast my way through with my Qualta blade.”  D’Argo snarled and headed into the transport pod.  He stuck his head back out just as Chiana was giving Rygel a look.  “Has anyone seen Crichton?  He needs to come with us.”

 

Chiana cocked her head curiously at D’Argo.  She saw a look of regret pass over his face.

 

“What do you mean?  I thought you were mad at him.”

 

“Chiana, Zhaan’s mad at him, Aeryn’s mad at him, but not me.  I have no meat with him as he would say.”  D’Argo stated reassuringly.  Chiana could see right through his lies.

 

“D’Argo, everyone’s mad at him.  Even I am.  We’re all mad at each other.  We hate each other.  Rygel, tell him.”  Chiana said with a smug smile.

 

“Shut up bitch.”  Rygel stated fearfully, partly listening to them, partly listening to the phantom noises he feared he was imagining.

 

Chiana tightened her lips but realized Rygel had only proved her point.   D’Argo laughed and stepped back into the transport pod.

 

“Attention everyone.  Moya and I both think you should come back aboard.  There are signs of ships entering into the far end of Moya’s scans.  It may be the war.”  Pilot said over the comms.

 

Zhaan entered into the docking bay just as Pilot finished speaking.  She smiled briefly at the lie Pilot had come up with, figuring the crew was already there waiting.  She approached Chiana and Rygel.

 

“Are the others aboard the transport pod already?”  She asked Chiana.  Chiana looked to her with anger and then looked away.  Zhaan let out a frustrated sigh.  Aeryn then entered into the bay.  Her eyes were slightly reddened, and she wore an unusually harsh expression.  It reminded Zhaan of Aeryn, as she was when she had been a PeaceKeeper captured on Moya.

 

Aeryn did not acknowledge any of her shipmates outside the transport pod.  She instead walked straight into the transport pod, her actions urging the others to follow.  Zhaan sensed Crichton was not there yet.

 

“Let’s go!  I don’t know about you but I sure as hezmana don’t want to find out what this ship is transforming into!”  Chiana said and darted into the transport pod, not daring to look back at the ship behind her.  Rygel quickly followed in pursuit.

 

Zhaan stood silent.  She reached deep within and closed her eyes.  A vision began to stream into her mind.  She could see Crichton in the vision.  His face showed an increasing loss of control as he madly dashed throughout the changing ship.  He was lost.  Zhaan could feel his fear and loneliness.  She briefly felt pity for the man.  His harsh words from not so long ago burned back into her mind.  Zhaan almost decided to leave him there.  No, I mustn’t do that!  I’m a priest…a peaceful being.  I care for all living beings.  I cannot do this!  She struggled with her inner demons.  Finally, Zhaan let her shoulders droop and she imagined a clear hallway, leading through the gully of the ship to the docking bay.  Crichton turned in the vision to see this hallway.  A momentary look of relief spilled across his face.  Zhaan opened her eyes and smiled.  She still had some control.  She then stood and waited for him to appear.

 

Several microns passed.  Zhaan was beginning to grow slightly worried.  Crichton suddenly appeared, his shirt drenched with sweat, his face pale and showing signs of madness.  Zhaan was almost shocked by his appearance.  She instinctively reached a hand out to him as he approached, but something inside stopped her.  She felt anger for him rise once again.  Zhaan’s eyes turned stone cold.  Crichton finally noticed Zhaan, standing with a smirk on her face; her hands folded one on top of the other in front of her.  He did not like the look she was portraying.  It spooked him.  He instead ignored her, not daring to make eye contact and brushed past her to enter onto his module stationed near the transport pod.  Zhaan’s eyes traveled along, watching him pass.  She looked back at the ship one last time, almost with a scolding expression.  She turned and headed into the transport pod.  Both the transport pod and the module fired up and headed on their way out of the docking bay.  Silence held heavy within the pod, and silence became less outside in the ship.  Antarus was changing faster than ever.

 

*****

 

Pilot listened to Moya intently.  He felt at ease when she was communicating with Antarus.  The two ships had become infatuated with each other.  Pilot was beginning to feel more at peace in the past few arns than he had ever felt in a very long time.  Moya was content so he was content.  Now if only the crew could resolve their differences and share in the joy of the bond between Moya and Antarus.

 

Confusion.

 

Pilot looked to his controls.  He listened to Moya.  Why had she felt confusion?

 

Distress.

 

Was Moya thinking of Talyn again?  Pilot tried to talk to Moya, but she was too busy getting into an argument with Antarus.  Pilot wanted to listen to them but was disrupted by the arrival of the transport pod and Crichton’s module.  The crew had returned, thankfully with Commander Crichton.

 

Sadness.

 

Pilot now had full attention of Moya once again.  She was sending him feelings of intense sadness.  Antarus had abruptly stopped talking to her.  She wanted to know why.  Pilot could not find an answer.  Antarus had discontinued any and all communications.

 

Pilot figured he would at least get some answers from the crew.  He tried the comms.  All he heard in response were a few grumbles and muffled curses.  Offended, Pilot realized he would have to deal with things on his own…as usual.

 

*****

 

Rygel sat in Command, with the one jewel that had displayed lies to him settled in front of him on the strategy table.  Chiana ventured in and began to play around with the controls.  A sudden image flashed onto the view screen, startling both the onlookers.  Chiana took a step closer with her jaw dropped.  The image was of Nerri.  He was talking to her.  But she couldn’t hear him.  He was injured, with blood seeping down the side of his face.  There was a battle going on behind him.  He was in danger.  Chiana’s heart almost shattered to see her brother in such a helpless situation.  She knew he was talking to her.  How the transmission got to them in the first place was of no concern to her.

 

“Chiana, it’s not real…” Rygel started but Chiana wouldn’t allow him to finish.  She held a hand out to silence him.

 

“Pilot?  Can you enhance this transmission?  I need to hear him.”  Chiana stated, her voice shaking.  A blue tear traveled down her cheek as she stepped closer.  She dared not to let her eyes float away from the screen in the case that this was the last transmission she would ever receive of Nerri again.

 

“Chiana, there’s no transmission being sent.”  Pilot stated, looking at her with confusion from the clamshell.  Chiana cocked her head.  Nerri’s eyes looked so helpless and lost.  She couldn’t shake the image from her mind.  She had to do something.  Pilot was about to mention something when Chiana stopped him.

 

“Pilot, the transmission is right there!  Even Rygel sees it!  Find the source!”  Chiana ordered angrily.

 

Rygel looked to Pilot and received the same look of despair.  They did not want to dwell on the issue for much longer.

 

“Chiana, there is nothing there.”  Rygel stated confidently, even though he was seeing the transmission as well.  He knew after all the things he had seen lately, that this too had to be some sort of deception.

 

“Rygel!  Shut your frelling mouth!”  Chiana was even closer to the view screen now.  She raised her right hand as if to touch the view screen when the image vanished.  Chiana blinked and started back a few steps full of emotion.  Tears began to spill down her cheeks more freely.

 

“It was real.”  Chiana cried, turning to Rygel.  “You saw it.”

 

“Chiana, I don’t know what I saw.  In fact, I’m not sure anyone knows what they’re seeing.  I have something to show you that is real.  Pilot, you should see this too.”  Rygel stated.  Pilot waited expectantly for Rygel’s next course of action.

 

The jewel in Rygel’s hand began to bleep.  Rygel jumped with more fear than surprise, allowing the jewel to fall to the floor.  Chiana scooped up the glassy jewel and let it slide around in her grasp.  She admired its beauty in silence.  The jewel suddenly began to singe her fingertips.  Chiana cried out and dropped the jewel, stepping back a few steps to regain her balance.  As the jewel settled onto the floor, a holo image began to flash above the jewel.  Rygel and Chiana leaned forward in shock, observing the play of images before them.

 

“Just as I had witnessed before.  Only this time, he moves and talks.”  Rygel stated in a grim voice.

 

“What is this Rygel?”  Chiana asked sternly, her voice quivering.  She straightened and began to back away from the jewel fearfully.

 

“Talyn is alive.”  Pilot concluded in shock.

 

*****

 

D’Argo searched the ship, looking for Crichton.  He felt an urgent need to talk with him.  Why?  D’Argo didn’t even know the answer to that one.  D’Argo thought of his son and smiled.  Jothee would be proud of his father when he accomplished the mission.  Once the mission was finished, D’Argo and Jothee could be together again.  It would be the moment for which he had been longing for so many cycles.  Time enough that he got his life back.

 

Crichton was in his quarters, just standing there.  The writing was all over the walls, all over the floor, even on the bed…anywhere a marker would mark.  Did I do this?  Crichton wondered.  Of course you idiot!  Crichton ridiculed himself.  He was the only human here and no one else sure as hezmana knew what math symbols or English were.  Maybe the dream of zapping his brain into mush hadn’t been that farfetched after all.  Then the sleepless nights of mulling over a theory began to pour back into his mind.

 

“My theory!”  Crichton shouted with excitement.  He smiled and rushed up to an unfinished line and began to laugh.  He laughed so hard he fell to the floor.  Crichton sat up and beamed at his work.  He had finally done it.  He had solved the problem.

 

“Crichton?  What are you laughing about?”  D’Argo asked entering into Crichton’s quarters with an odd smile plastered on his face.  Crichton’s face dimmed at D’Argo’s arrival.  He stood and flattened himself up against the wall, trying to cover up as much writing as he could with his body.

 

“What are you hiding?”  D’Argo asked curiously, his smile growing larger.  Crichton shifted nervously.

 

“Nothing, D’Argo, nothing at all.  Why don’t you go back to your quarters now and have a little fun with Chiana.”  Crichton suggested.  D’Argo laughed.  Crichton began to laugh too but grew serious in time to watch D’Argo lunge towards him.  D’Argo pinned Crichton up against the wall and brought his face to within a dench of Crichton’s.

 

“I was only kidding.”  Crichton said in a small voice.

 

“You and I are going to go on a little trip.  We need to turn Moya around and go back to the commerce planet now.”  D’Argo demanded.  Crichton looked into D’Argo’s glazed eyes and frowned.  He did not want to be a part of any game D’Argo might be playing.

 

“If this is some sick attempt to drop me off on a planet and abandon me, I’m not going to participate!”  Crichton stated flatly.  D’Argo grew confused but strengthened his grip.

 

“There’s someone down there you should meet.”  D’Argo explained.  Crichton searched his crazy companion’s face.  Fear began to take precedence over his own insanity at the moment.

 

“What’s going on D’Argo?  Talk to me, man.”  Crichton demanded.  Something wasn’t right.

 

“If you do not come willingly, I will have no choice but to force you.”  D’Argo charged.  The fake smiles had melted away.  Crichton’s eyes grew wide.  The Luxan was about to enter hyper rage any microt.

 

“D’Argo, let’s talk about this!”  Crichton said, trying to calm him down.  In response, D’Argo threw Crichton across the room.  Unfortunately for Crichton, when he hit the opposite wall, he blacked out.

 

*****

 

Zhaan stood in her Apothecary looking uninterestedly at some herbs she had currently been working with.  Aeryn entered the Apothecary and received a cold glare from Zhaan. The look did not bother her but she kept her distance just the same.  She was educated about Delvians and knew one could never fully trust the species.

 

“Pilot has something he wants us to see in Command.”  Aeryn announced.  She waited for Zhaan to respond but got only silence.

 

“Did you hear me?”  Aeryn asked.  She was growing impatient.

 

“Yes, I heard you.”  Came the stark reply.

 

“Good, be there.”  Aeryn urged and turned to leave.

 

“You no longer care for the human, do you?”  Zhaan asked carefully.

 

Aeryn turned back around slowly and observed Zhaan’s strange expression.  Zhaan looked straight at Aeryn.

 

“I do care for him.  I just can’t be with him.”  Aeryn said, startling even herself for answering.  A brief memory of Crichton professing his love to her flashed across her mind.  She then peered at Zhaan with new interest.  “Don’t try to pick a fight with me, Zhaan.  I already know how you like to argue with Crichton.  You won’t win this one.”

 

Zhaan smiled mischievously.

 

“Why are you leaving Moya?”  Zhaan asked.  Aeryn stepped back.

 

“What?  How could you possibly know about that?”  Aeryn demanded to know.

 

“I feel what one feels.  I know you’re leaving…and that you are angry with Crichton.  You despise him as much as I do, don’t you?”  Zhaan stated, leaning forward, trying to get a rise out of the ex-PeaceKeeper.  Aeryn was only growing impatient with this nonsense.

 

“Pilot has something important to show us in Command. Whether you’re there or not!”  Aeryn sent Zhaan an intense glare and immediately exited the room.  Zhaan frowned and followed.

 

*****

 

A constant throbbing awoke Crichton.  He rubbed his forehead.  He brought his hand down to see dark blood smeared over his fingers.  Alarmed, he rubbed his sore forehead once more and realized the blood was at the source of his aching head.  He had seen something rush towards him in the game room.  That something resembled too closely his nemesis, Scorpius.  Crichton couldn’t shake the memory of Scorpius’ evil grin plastered on that crinkly, leathered face.  What had he been screaming?  Something about wormholes no doubt.  Crichton shook his head slightly and figured he must have hit head to head with Scorpius.  But when he looked around, there was no one lying around beside him.

 

Crichton was all by himself in this large room aboard Antarus.  He had been there thinking hard for arns when the vision of Scorpius had returned.  Several weekens had passed since he had last had any visions of Scorpius.  So when Scorpius returned so suddenly, Crichton had been taken by surprise.  He thought it was the real thing.  He then thought of the frightening vision of suicide.  Had that been real as well?  That would explain the blood.  He probably had missed miserably.  Maybe I hit my head when I fell.  Crichton concluded.  Only now, lying on the floor, did he realize that it all had probably just been another mind game.

 

He glanced up at the dark vastness of space above him.  Millions of stars twinkled through the darkness.  Stars calmed Crichton.  He concentrated on those stars.  Crichton felt himself begin to grow drowsy.  Before he knew what was happening, he drifted into unconsciousness.

 

Crichton awoke feeling no pain.  Not even exhaustion.  He felt, for once, pretty damned good.  He peered up from his slumber on the white floor he was presently laying on.  A white mist enveloped him, deceiving his true location.  Was it a dream?  Crichton pinched himself.  That didn’t even hurt.  Now he was beginning to worry.

 

Crichton helped himself off the floor and traveled around in a tight circle, daring not to move too far in the blinding mist.

 

“John.”  A rasp voice stated his name.  Crichton could barely make out a figure approaching him through the mist.  When he finally recognized who it was, a shiver crawled down his spine.

 

“You’re dead.” Crichton stated with his head cocked to the side.  A feeling of dread washed over him.  Standing before him in perfect health was Scorpius.

 

“I’m only in your subconscious, really.  You’re dreaming yes.  But the answers to all your questions are revealing themselves in this dream and you may not wake if you do not accept them.”  Scorpius stated, grinning.  Crichton quivered at that smile.

 

“Why you?  Why not my mom or dad or…somebody I actually like!”  Crichton complained, not taking the situation as seriously as Scorpius had hoped.  Scorpius stepped closer.  Crichton held up a finger.  “Don’t!  Don’t even think about it!”  His eyes burned with angry fire.  Scorpius stopped in his tracks with a look of surprise.

 

“Fine.  But I must warn you, what I’m about to tell you will shock you.  You need to believe me.  If you can do that, then you will see the true danger for what it is.”  Scorpius said.

 

“Danger?  Why would you of all…things warn me about danger?”  Crichton bit at the words.

 

“Because I am something you fear.  For you to believe in the impossible, you must be confronted with it, not eased into it.  Your mother would have no success.”  Scorpius explained.  Crichton hated to admit the truth in his words.  He nodded, motioning for Scorpius to continue.

 

“The entire crew…has been affected by something.  I cannot disclose to you what it is.  I can only tell you that you are all sinking deeper into paranoia and insanity.  The things that the crew wants most to believe are coming true and they are sacrificing everything to get what they want.  They’ll do whatever it takes, you understand.”  Scorpius said as if to imply something to Crichton.

 

“What are you exactly saying?  That I’m not alone anymore?  I’ve got an entire support group for the society of Crichton’s madness?  They’re all going crazy, too?”  Crichton asked, letting out a bewildered laugh.  He wasn’t about to believe everything this Scorpius was feeding him.

 

“Why do you suspect D’Argo wants you to accompany him to the commerce planet?  He believes his son is there and the only way to be reunited is to sacrifice you.”  Scorpius revealed.

 

“Sacrifice me to who?”  Crichton pushed further.  Scorpius smiled.

 

“Again, the answers will be hard to accept.  Officer Sun, for example, believes she has been reinstated.  She is readying her Prowler as you sleep.  Chiana may be leaving as well, believing her own brother has contacted her for help.  Zhaan and Rygel are both ready to lose their minds as well.  Zhaan believes she is seeing Stark and Rygel believes he knows what’s really happening.  And you, Crichton, are the worst off.  You believe you didn’t kill yourself.  Or at least that you didn’t attempt to.”  Scorpius grinned at Crichton.

 

Crichton grew angry.  He charged at Scorpius with his teeth clenched and his face reddened in anger.  An unseen force smacked him back down to the floor.  Crichton tried to move, but found his attempt useless.  He glared up at Scorpius, who leaned over him looking somewhat amused.

 

“How do I know you’re not just another clone of the chip?  Maybe you somehow got it to work again?  Or maybe you have captured me once again and I’ve gone completely insane.  Is that it Scorpy?”  Crichton spat into Scorpius’ face and grinned.  Scorpius blinked several times and daintily removed the spit from his face with patience.

 

Scorpius surprised Crichton once more.  Standing just to the side, slightly behind Scorpius, was his mother.  She was healthy and smiling brilliantly.  Scorpius vanished.  Crichton sat up and looked to his mother with wonder and confusion in his eyes.

 

“Mom?”  He asked in a weak, defeated voice.  She knelt down and placed a gentle, warm hand on his chest.

 

“It’s me, John.  I’m here.”  She stated dreamily.  Crichton relished her warmth and held onto it dearly.  He knew of nothing else to hang onto any more.  His whole world was spinning wildly out of control.

 

“What’s going on mom?  Am I dreaming?  Is any of this real?”  Crichton asked, wiping away the sweat forming on his forehead.

 

“What that man said is true.  No matter how much you hate him, you must believe him.”  His mother cupped her hands on his face and gave him a loving glance.  Crichton missed her so much; his heart began to ache…he had lost so much already he couldn’t bear to lose anything more.

 

“Why Mom?  Why?  Crichton asked, beginning to have that same old feeling of being lost all over again.

 

“Everything that has been revealed to you, you already knew.  Nothing in your subconscious can be invented without some truth behind it.”

 

Crichton’s head began to spin.  Was his body trying to wake from this nightmare?  He placed a hand on his mother’s shoulder, as if to confirm she was physically there.  Crichton needed more answers.

 

“You’re not making any sense.  How could I know any of these things?  I didn’t know Aeryn was reinstated.  Why couldn’t you have told me she loves me, instead?  I know she does.”  Crichton stated softly.   He thought of Aeryn’s crushing answer to his question earlier.

 

“You may not be able to understand yet how you know.  But when you do, then you will have the power to do something much greater than you could ever have imagined.  In the end, you will save yourself.  And in doing that, you will save all those you cherish.”

 

With that last statement, his mother faded right before his eyes, dissipating into the mist.  Tears began to fill his eyes.  Crichton did not know how much more of this dren he could handle.

 

The mist grew thicker.  Crichton was beginning to think he would never wake up.  He assumed he was spiraling faster and faster into the madness that would finally consume his sanity.  His vision began to darken with flashes of light.  Crichton felt himself fall back to the floor.

 

Crichton opened his eyes and observed his surroundings.  He found himself back in the game room once again.  Had everything else been a dream?  Was he still in the world of his imagined suicide?  Was that abomination still waiting to take place?  Crichton was beginning to wonder when this nightmare would end.  I’m still aboard Antarus dreaming my heart out, getting some breathing room from the others on Moya.  That’s it.  But Crichton knew he couldn’t lie to himself forever.

 

The stars were sparkling just as brightly as they had earlier above him.  Crichton raced the scenarios through his mind of what might have happened to him.  He came up with nothing.  Instead, he took advantage of the peaceful feeling he was experiencing and gazed upon those stars.

 

He was nearly asleep when he realized it.  Crichton focused his drowsy eyes onto a small cluster of stars straight above.  Could it be?  Crichton denied all possibility.  Yet, he peered closer.  Sure enough.  Those stars resembled a constellation he had observed on Earth many nights.  Crichton glanced wearily around the room for any sign of life.  Nothing.  He looked back up to the constellation.  It was almost exactly as he would see it from Earth.  Ok, who’s picking away at my brain now?  He wanted an answer.  Still, he was captivated.

 

Crichton observed the constellation, as memories flooded his mind of home and the warm feeling of being amongst family, familiarity, and most of all…safety.  His heart ached for all those he cared for on Earth that he now had lost.  His memories brought him back to that one night he and his father had had the whole backyard to themselves to observe the night sky so long ago.  Jack had pointed out every constellation to him.  He had named every little star and galaxy making up each one.  Every little star….

 

Crichton jumped up from his slumber and snapped his fingers.  That constellation was Scorpius.  And the heart of Scorpius was a star named Antares.  He had to warn the others.  John stood up and bolted out of the room.  To his dismay, the moment he stepped out of the doorway, he began to fall into darkness.

 

*****

 

“Pilot, what is going on?”  Aeryn asked, standing in Command.  Rygel and Chiana cowered nearby, staring intently at a jewel now placed below the view screen.  Zhaan stood as far as possible from the others, observing their every move carefully.  D’Argo entered the room with Crichton flung over his shoulder.  He carelessly allowed Crichton’s limp body to fall to the floor at his feet and he stood at attention.  Crichton groaned in his sleep.  Pilot appeared on the clamshell.

 

“What happened?”  Crichton asked groggily, waking up and helping himself up off the floor.  He veered away from D’Argo’s sneer as he came face to face with the Luxan.  Crichton backed away slowly and took shelter behind a console in the opposite side of Command, eyeing D’Argo carefully.

 

“Rygel has discovered something unimaginable.  I believe you all will want to see this.”  Pilot answered and punched a few controls.  The view screen flickered.  An image appeared before the crew that made them each forget about their own problems momentarily.  They remained silent as the image began to play.

 

The first image was of Talyn.  He was much larger than when they had seen him in that fateful transmission.  This alone proved the previous transmission of his death was false.  The image flickered once more to reveal a whole new play of events.  What Talyn was doing in this transmission was another shock.  He was leading a band of PeaceKeeper Prowlers into battle.  Crais came into view.  He appeared to be speaking directly to them.

 

“I have gathered more Prowlers.  Talyn is ready to fight.  I believe he is willing to go into battle now.  He’s proved himself to be quite an intelligent and strong warrior.  I request reinstatement for both Talyn and myself.  I have dreamed of the day this ship would be born and now that I have raised him to be what he is destined to be, I believe we are ready.  Moya and the others think he’s dead.  They will not interfere.  We may proceed as planned, Scorpius.”  Crais stated.

 

The last word hung in the air, stinging Crichton’s ears.  He swallowed hard.  Scorpius was alive.

 

The holo image dissipated finally, leaving a heavy silence in its wake.  All of the crew had finally realized the foolishness they had been drowning in and snapped back to reality.

 

“Destroy those jewels of yours Rygel.  Do it now.”  D’Argo stated in a dark voice.  His threat was enough to motivate Rygel.  Rygel scooped up the jewel and raced out of the room to gather the rest of the jewels to shove out an airlock.

 

“Talyn’s alive.”  Aeryn stated joyfully, though her face displayed torment.  She did not know what she would do now.  She was beginning to realize how foolish her recent actions had been.  How could she have possibly given up on Moya and her shipmates so easily?  No PeaceKeeper High Command would take her back.  In fact, she didn’t want to be taken back.  She could be so much more…no she was so much more.  Crichton had proved that to her many times.  Aeryn glanced at him, for the first time noticing he was not all too well.

 

“This is frelling insane!”  Crichton screamed at the top of his lungs.  The crew turned their startled attention to him.  He was red in the face and he began to walk towards the view screen.  “Scorpius is alive!  Everything we’ve come to believe in the past solar day has been a lie.  Everything!”

 

Aeryn and D’Argo stood to face Crichton.  Zhaan looked down shamefully, taking in his words.  Chiana tried to remain unnoticed, frightened by Crichton’s sudden outburst.

 

“Crichton, calm down.”  Aeryn said sternly.  Crichton gave her a look that ran chills down her spine.

 

“I will not calm down, Aeryn.  I’m sick of this crap.  I’ve been the fun toy for this frelling universe for far too long and I’ve had it.  I don’t even know what’s real anymore.  How do we even know that message was real?”  Crichton said in a loud voice.  He stood below the view screen to face his shipmates.

 

“John, please.  I beg you.  I realize what you are going through.  None of us have been ourselves lately.”  Zhaan reasoned.  She thought of Stark once again and the visions she had experienced.

 

“Zhaan. What, you decided to care suddenly?  Please, spare me.”

 

“Crichton….”  Aeryn began but was interrupted by Crichton.

 

“What Aeryn?  What could you possibly say that would matter anymore?  You don’t frelling care either, do you?  You’re as heartless as Scorpius!”  Crichton exclaimed.  Aeryn’s lips grew tight and she glared at Crichton with unforgiving eyes.

 

“If you don’t calm down, I will make you calm down!”  D’Argo raged.  Crichton stopped his shouting and took a few deep breaths.  He thought hard of all the confusion he had witnessed.  He wasn’t even positive if he was truly alive and standing there before his shipmates.

 

“Listen, we all have to stick together here.  We need each other.”  Chiana reasoned nervously.

 

Crichton looked around at his shipmates with a cooled expression.  They all wore serious expressions.  Rygel zoomed into the room with a relieved expression.  He noticed the tense atmosphere right away.

 

“What the frell is wrong with everyone?  I’ve gotten rid of the frelling jewels already.”  Rygel announced.  Crichton looked to Rygel with sorrow in his eyes.  He had come to a realization that none of them would like to acknowledge.

 

“We’ve fallen into a trap.  None of us could see it coming and there’s nothing we can do to escape it.  I believe Scorpius and even Crais are involved somehow.  Antarus is not who we think he is.”  Crichton stated.  His shoulders tensed with the thought of things to come.  No one said anything further.  The crew took his words to heart, believing them and realizing them for the first time.  True to Crichton’s words, Antarus was already displaying his true form through the view screen.

 

Each being aboard Moya was beginning to feel ten fold the fear they normally felt living in the dangerous Uncharted Territories.  Nobody yet realized the things they had been presented with in the past solar day had some truth to them.  Their future was in jeopardy.

 

THE END
Well, for now it is.  The final edition to the series, Revelations, as the title implies will satisfy all those questions you may be asking.  At least I hope it will.  Who knows what may happen!  (I do but I’m not telling!)