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Time: The future…
Disclaimer: I didn’t create Farscape, didn’t create the characters, and don’t make a plug nickel off of it.
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Colonel Jack Crichton looked around the dimly lit living room and, for a moment, felt older than his years. The days since the discovery had been long and weighed heavily on him. But after three years of days that had weighed heavy, he hardly noticed it anymore.
He paced, trying to ease the tension that kept him from sitting and relaxing. He moved slowly from chair, to sofa, to windows…each spot contained a memory. Memories that had kept him going for three years, kept him from losing hope.
Jack turned slowly and looked at the small box that rested on the coffee table. He stared at it, then closed his eyes. He thought back to three weeks ago, when the shuttle had first detected the disturbance. He could remember DK jumping up and down frantically, yelling that it was the same kind of disturbance that had manifested three years ago, on the day John disappeared.
It was a small disturbance, and had only lasted a few minutes. It disappeared as fast as it had three years ago.
Then, the shuttle found the box. Not that they had much choice; it had collided with the shuttle, almost as if it had been targeted.
Jack remembered rushing to Mission Control, not believing what DK had told him. When he arrived, he saw on the big wall screens what the shuttle astronauts were showing.
Written on the lid of the sealed box was FOR: COLONEL JACK CRICHTON.
It was John’s handwriting.
The box had been scrutinized for days before an attempt was made to open it. Nothing they had could penetrate it, and the alloy it was made from couldn’t be identified. When they opened it, all they found was a small tape recorder and a few micro-cassettes. Technicians examining the recorder found several unknown pieces of technology incorporated into it. But it took them days to figure out why it didn’t work.
Jack almost laughed. Who would have thought, he wondered. It was so simple, we missed it. It just needed a pair of double-As.
Slowly, Jack went to the coffee table, opened the box and took the recorder out. He stared at it, then opened it, picked up the first of the micro-cassettes and slipped it in. With growing hesitation, Jack pushed the play button.
“Hey, dad, it worked. DK’s and my theory, it actually worked…sort of. Look, I know this is crazy. I mean, you’re never going to get this message, but I just…wanted to let you know that I’m alive.” There was noise in the background, whirring and chirping, then John’s voice again. “Whoa, hold still, hold still. Don’t know where I am. Technically, I don’t know how I got here, but I’m not going to stop trying to get home.”
He pressed the fast forward button. “And there’s life out here, Dad. Weird, amazing, psychotic life. And in Technicolor. Hey Dad, you know those rattlers in the stomach we talked about? Well I got ‘em now.”
Jack stopped the tape and took it out. He stared at it, then picked up the last tape. Slowly, carefully, he slipped it in and pressed play.
“Give me a minute, will you? This is important. Dad, hey. It’s me. Look, things are going to hell out here. All the knowledge that was in my head, Scorpius has it. I have to stop him, Dad. He’s not going to stop with the Scarrans. Once they’re out of the way…with wormholes, he could go anywhere. If he finds Earth…” John’s voice trailed off, and Jack didn’t have to think too hard about the images that must have been running through his son’s mind. “Earth would be helpless against the Peacekeepers.”
Jack heard footsteps and a woman’s voice, speaking a language never before heard on Earth. “I’m almost finished, babe. Just…sending a message to Dad.” More of the strange language, then footsteps walking away.
“That was Aeryn, Dad. I don’t think I would have survived without her. Not that it’s been a cakewalk with her. But I love her, and I’d be lost without her. If we survive this, then I’ll…” John’s voice caught in his throat, and Jack could see him fighting back tears. “I’ll be able to come home when this is done. God, I can’t wait for you to meet Aeryn.”
There was a moment of silence. When he continued speaking, John’s voice was quiet. “Well, I have to go, Dad. Time to save the universe. You once told me that every man gets the chance to be his own kind of hero. Well, I know what kind of hero I am now. You did good, Dad. I love you, and I will see you again.”
“This is John Crichton, somewhere on the other side of the rainbow. Off to save the universe.”
Jack tapped the stop button and returned the recorder to the box. He stared at it, then returned to his aimless drifting. After a few minutes, Jack went to the back door and stepped out into the yard.
Stepping away from the house, Jack looked up into the star-filled sky. He wondered for a moment if any of them had been visited by John. He inhaled deeply and felt a tired smile crawl onto his face.
“Keep your head down, son. And if you can’t come back to us, we’ll find a way to come to you. We’ll come to you.”
Jack stared into the cool night air a minute longer, then slowly returned to the house.
