Fallen Angels 1/?
Author: Jaime
Summary: DK finds Moya, he has trouble dealing with the changes in his best friend
Disclaimer: Farscape and all its characters are property of the PTB (mainly Rockne O Bannon and the Jim Henson Company). I’m merely borrowing them and will return them (more or less) in the same way I got them. “Fallen Angels” is property of Aerosmith and used with love.
Archiving: I’ll send it where I want it, anyone else, just ask me.
Thanks To: Bronwyn, Joanne, Cariel and Fight, my wonderful fic monsters, for all their support, I don’t think I could do this without you guys. Also to Ricky (AKA Da Froon), because, even though he can’t read this, he is still an amazing inspiration.
Feedback: Yes Please! But I do have a fire extinguisher next to my computer in case of flames.
There’s a candle burning
In the world tonight
For another child
Who vanished out of sight
And another heart is broken
Another prayer in vain
There’s a million tears
That’ll fill a sea of painSometimes I stare out my window
My thoughts all drift into space
Sometimes I wonder if there’s a better place
Tell meWhere do fallen angels go?
I just don’t know
Where do fallen angels go?
They keep fallingWell the times is frightening
Can’t ignore the facts
There’s so many people
Just slipping through the cracksSo many ashes are scattered
So many rivers run dry
Sometimes your Heaven Is Hell
And you don’t know why
So listenWhere do fallen angels go?
I just don’t know
Where do fallen angels go?
They keep fallingCan you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Somewhere out there
There’s a shining light
And I got to be with you tonightAnd with all we’re nowhere
We still pay the price
Yeah the Devil seems to get his way
In downtown paradise.
Part 1: Over My Head
I don’t know what to do
I think that maybe
I’m in over my head
Stuck in the red
Something they said
Makes me think that
I’m in over my head
- Lit; Over My HeadThe crew of Moya, such as it was, was in an uproar. John and Aeryn were down on a commerce planet getting some much-needed tools to repair John’s module. However, everyone else was gathered in command trying to decide a course of action.
No one had thought much of the magnetic abnormalities when Pilot first reported them. When he reported the formation of a wormhole, some became nervous. When a ship emerged from the mouth of the wormhole, everyone panicked. And when a radio transmission was picked up from the ship proclaiming itself the Farscape Discovery all hezmana broke loose.
It was decided that Pilot would scan the ship for life forms and weaponry. When no weapons were picked up, and a life form with an energy signal almost identical to Crichton’s was scanned, it was reluctantly agreed that the ship would be brought aboard. Silently, though, everyone was cursing Crichton and Aeryn for turning their comms off while meeting with the dealer. So they all rushed to the docking bay to meet the visitor, even though they knew that if the pilot truly were from Crichton’s planet, he or she wouldn’t understand a word they said. D’Argo brought his qualta blade, and several armed DRDs were also present, just in case the pilot was hostile.
When they got there, the ship was waiting for them, but the pilot had yet to emerge. While waiting, they took in the appearance of the craft. It had the same general appearance of Crichton’s module, which was being stored in another hangar. The one major difference was that it was much larger than the Farscape One, it looked like a being could live on it if needed. Everything else was the same though, from the coloring to the designs on the rear part of the craft.
Suddenly, a door opened in the front part of the ship. From out of the darkness a very disheveled man appeared. He was wearing clothing much like the flight suit that John was wearing when he first came aboard Moya. He took a tentative step forwards, looked straight at them, and fainted.
*********************
When he awoke, he was certain that everything that had just happened to him had been a nightmare. Thinking he was losing his mind, Daniel looked into the eyes of one of the most beautiful, bluest women he had ever seen. When his common sense kicked in and told him that people aren’t blue, he panicked.
*********************
Zhaan, who was standing over the human when he woke up, saw the mystified look on his face turn to fear. Thanking the Goddess that they had the foresight to inject him with translator microbes while he was unconscious, she attempted to calm him down. “Hush, hush my child it is alright, I mean you no harm.”
“Who... who are you?” The human managed to stutter out.
Sensing that he was calming slightly, she smiled. “I am Pa’u Zotoh Zhaan, however you may call me Zhaan, and you are aboard the leviathan Moya. What is your name?”
“Daniel...Daniel Knight.” Confusion registered across his face, “why...how can I understand what you’re saying?”
Zhaan smiled, remembering Crichton’s initial confusion over the translator microbes. “They are translator microbes. It showed up on your med-scan that you did not have them, so we took the liberty of injecting them into you while you were asleep. They colonize in your brain and allow you to understand anything anyone says in any language.”
Daniel sat and digested this piece of information, until he remembered something else, “we?”
“My shipmates and I, introductions will be made later. You must rest a while though, you are still recovering from the shock and a slight concussion.”
“Zhaan, what happened? I mean, all I remember is getting hit by this wave of energy and the next thing I know, I’m here.”
“All I know is that we saw your ship emerge from the wormhole and brought you aboard.”
“A wormhole?? What do you know about wormholes?”
Unsure about how much to divulge about Crichton, she simply answered, “Very little, I’m afraid. There is another member of our crew who would be better at answering your questions. However, he is not onboard right now, so until he returns, can you please tell me what you were doing when you were taken through the wormhole? What planet is your species from?”
“I’m a human, from a planet called Earth. I was testing a theory that me and my friend John came up with. He...John disappeared just over a year ago while testing the same theory. I was trying to find out why and how it happened. That’s when I got hit by the pulse and that’s how I got here.”
Zhaan had heard enough, there were too many similarities for it to be coincidental, and the pain with which this man spoke about John told her that he was speaking the truth. She decided that this human needed to know what happened to John Crichton a cycle ago. “Your friend, is his name John Crichton?”
Shock instantly registered across Daniel’s face. “I didn’t tell you his last name! How do you know his last name?? What aren’t you telling me??”
“He lives aboard this ship with us. We picked him up much in the same way we did you. It was him that I spoke of before.”
“He’s alive?! And here...right now? This is too good to be true!”
“Well, as I said before, he is down on the planet and has his communicator turned off. We do expect him back shortly though. Would you like me to show you around the ship while we wait for him to return? I can tell that resting is out of the question right now,” she said with a knowing look on her face.
******************
DK was in silent awe of the ship. From what Zhaan had told him, Moya was alive. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever expected such marvels. And to know that John...his John had been living here for the past year was even more unbelievable. While he was processing this, he realized that he had stopped paying attention to Zhaan, who had by now stopped and was staring at him strangely.
“Is everything alright Daniel-”
Putting up a hand to stop her, “please, call me DK, its what everyone back on Earth used to do. And yes, I’m fine, just a little overwhelmed, that’s all.”
“Perfectly understandable, Crichton was much the same way when he first came aboard.”
“Could you please tell me about him? What kind of life has he had out here?”
Not wanting to broach a subject that could quite possibly be very difficult for DK to hear, she simply replied “I believe I should leave that for John to tell you. But, we have arrived at his quarters, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind you going in. Besides, you need to stop and rest. I will be back momentarily so that we may resume. But please, do not touch anything you do not understand, it is a lesson that you will need to learn.” And with that, she left him alone.
DK walked around the nearly bare room, still in shock that John really did live here. He came across John’s IASA recorder and noticed how far into the tape it was cued. Rewinding a few seconds, he then hit the play button and was overcome with emotions when Johns voice, a voice he never thought he would hear again, drifted out.
“... one step forward, two steps back. It finally seemed like we were making progress after the whole Crais and Talyn ordeal, but then we almost killed each other, literally. God, I still can’t believe that I fired a weapon at her, insanity or no insanity. But then she opened up to me during the whole Velorek ordeal. Now I guess I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. I’m...” The voice was cut off by a female voice “John...” and then the recording went dead.
DK stopped and stared at the recorder. What had John gotten himself into? Who was this woman he spoke of with such fondness in his voice?
Deciding to forego the recording for a while, DK resumed his exploration of the room. He sat down on the bed and looked at what could be called the night table. On it were several small, cylinder shaped cartridges along with a pistol of some sorts, but it was unlike any gun he had ever seen. It was small, black and lean, but it had an air of danger. What would cause John to keep such a weapon near him at all times? Things were just getting weirder and weirder, and DK wasn’t sure if he liked the direction it was going in.
***********************
Zhaan had taken the time while she was alone to inform the others of what she had learned of the identity of their new guest. D’Argo was still wary of DK’s intentions, Chiana seemed surprisingly interested in him, and Rygel was complaining about having another useless mouth to feed. None of them however, quite knew how to break the news to John, who would no doubt be profoundly affected by the new arrival. Zhaan didn’t want to leave DK alone for a long time, so she told the others that she would bring him to command shortly.
Upon re-entering the room, she noticed DK sitting on John’s bed, staring at one of his pulse pistols. He looked up as she entered and asked “does everyone carry these things?”
Remembering John’s initial distaste towards violence, she had an idea where the question was coming from. “Yes, or some form of weapon. As strange as it may sound, it is necessary to protect ourselves at all times-” The rest of her explanation was cut short as her comm was activated.
“Zhaan?” It was Pilot, and that could only mean one thing.
“Are they on their way?”
“Yes” came the reply.
“We’re on our way.”
****************************
DK could hardly believe it, he was going to see John again. He nearly floated into what Zhaan referred to as ‘command’, and stopped short at the creatures he saw there. One was huge and had tentacles and tattoos all over his head. Another was a short green being on a hovering chair, who could easily pass as Kermit the Frog’s relative. The third was a greyish girl who looked to be no older than twenty. She had a rogue sense about her, which made DK wary. Also, there was a crustacean-like creature visible through some sort of video monitor.
The tall one with tentacles was the first to react to his entrance. He looked straight at him and said “I take it you are John’s friend DK from Erp?” When DK nodded dumbly, he continued. “I am Ka D’Argo, a Luxan. This is Chiana, a Nebari,” he said as he pointed to the gray girl. As he was gesturing towards the green one, he was interrupted by it.
“I am Dominar Rygel the Sixteenth of Hyneria, ruler of over 600 billion subjects and-”
He was cut short by D’Argo’s “ENOUGH!”, which properly silenced the Dominar. Continuing, “you have already met Zhaan, and this is Pilot,” he said gesturing towards the view screen. “He is symbiotically joined with Moya and helps control all of her functions.”
Pilot nodded his head and said “Moya and I welcome you...DK.”
“Thank you Pilot” was DK’s awed response, because frankly, it was all he was able to say.
Zhaan stepped in again, “DK, we feel that we should not make John aware of your presence until he is back on Moya. This will be rather difficult for him to accept, and we feel it will be easier if you are standing right in front of him.”
Before he could protest, the view screen came to life. This time, it was Johns image with a beautiful woman behind him. The most puzzling thing was that the woman was human. What the hell is going on?? he silently wondered. That thought was put on hold as he took in John’s appearance. It really was him, all the doubts DK had flew from his mind with one look at the view screen. Immediately another thought struck him, and he motioned for Zhaan to join him. “Can he see me? Because I thought I was to remain hidden.”
Sensing the human’s nervousness, Zhaan tried to ease the tension slightly. “No, he can not. We can see him, but he can not see us.”
“Oh...” He was still staring at the view screen when John started talking.
“Howdy folks! Did you miss us?” Laughter was evident in his voice.
Zhaan stepped in to speak with him “Welcome back John, Aeryn. I take it your trip was a successful one?”
“You bet it was! We got what we needed to fix my module, so sooner than you know, she will be flying again. All we need to do is go back with the transport pod to pick them up. In fact, things went so well, that our Miss Sun decided to let me fly back to Moya.”
This time it was D’Argo who stepped in, “Aeryn, are you sure that was wise?”
The woman behind John, Aeryn they called her, spoke up. “It was the only way to shut him up. Besides, he has flown the Prowler before with no harm done, and I wanted to see it for myself-”
She was cut off when the cabin of the ship started to shake slightly, a stricken look on her face. John, meanwhile was laughing, enjoying himself completely. With a now strict look on her face, Aeryn turned to John, “you do that one again, and I’ll knock you out and fly back to Moya myself.” But with one look at him she lost her resolve and a small smile was seen spreading across her face. Then, catching herself, she re-focused her attention back to everyone else. “We’re just about there now, see you all in a couple of microts.”
Before the connection was severed, Zhaan spoke up. “Before you go back down to the planet, could you please come up to command so we may discuss something that has just come up?”
A look of worry crossed both of their faces, but it was John who spoke. “Is everything alright up there?”
Trying to reassure him, she said, “everything is fine. Do not concern yourselves, we will see you shortly.” And with that, the connection was severed.
Zhaan turned to DK and said in a calm voice, “do not worry, he will be here shortly”.