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Written by: LeatherGirl
Archive: 9 July 2001
Summary: This is way too big to summarize. Read it and be entertained! And if you're familiar with my writing style, the title is more than enough to summarize this fanfic!
Rating: R for mainly strong language, a little sexual content, and some violence
Category: Drama/Action/Adventure
Spoilers: Everything up to Eat Me, S3.
Disclaimer: I wrote this fanfic purely for entertainment with no intentions of making a profit off of Farscape, Jim Henson Productions, Channel 9, and the amazing creators of this show or anybody else involved. When you have fun creating, money is no object. Ka'ru is a fictional character of my own creation. As for the many scientific impossibilities found in this fanfic, frell them because this is science FICTION after all!
Author's Note: This fanfic has to be the largest writing project I have ever challenged myself into producing. I actually felt further away from Farscape than I have been in the past when writing fan fiction, thus making it even more difficult to breathe life into the well-known characters. Real life issues also strayed me away from this fanfic, many of the issues dealing with inner struggle. I bring the final piece to you as my heart and soul. Please read it as a whole and respond with feedback. Even though completion and joy of writing is satisfying by itself, feedback is the ultimate satisfaction in order for me to truly see if my efforts paid off.
Thanks to the following beta-readers for helping me out: pkbarb, jilacosa, and johryn.
Special thanks to the creators of Farscape for a unique look into the world of a universe we may never know.
This story was somewhat inspired by Stephen King's latest novel, Dreamcatcher. If you loved The Stand, this one is even better!
Day one. John sat with his arms folded and resting on the tabletop in what he had claimed as his quarters. The lighting within was dim. Settled before him on the table was the flight recorder from his module. The day had been a long, stressful and incredible ride he would never forget. His head was spinning with questions. Most of all, his heart yearned for home.
John had just recorded a message to his father on this recorder. Something he would do often in the treacherous upcoming months aboard this Leviathan.
Everything he had encountered in the past day had been extremely wondrous and frightening at the same time. Excitement thrilled him as much as the adrenaline still pumping through his veins.
He had been on another planet today. Another planet. Just wait until Dad heard about this! He'd probably have John sent to get a head CT and make sure nothing was rolling loose in his skull. Of course, that was if John was ever going to make it back to Earth...in one piece.
John had made alien contact. Several alien contacts. He was bewildered. Hell, he was even presently seated on a living space ship. He had been injected with translator microbes to enable him and others to understand the infinite languages spoken in this part of the universe. And exactly how far away was he from Earth anyway? Definitely far from the Milky Way. Probably light-years from the furthest visible light source via the good ol' trusty Hubble.
A frown formed onto John's face. He had also made an enemy. Of course, who was to say the alien beings he was trapped with at this moment weren't his enemies as well? Instinct. John had a feeling about them. But he also had a feeling about the Captain Crais he had encountered today. The man...if that indeed was what he really was...had accused John of murdering his brother. The mistaken run-in passed through John's mind. John had no control over that. This Crais was a vengeful soul.
The various events paraded through his mind like a movie. Being sucked through a wormhole, caught in another world's war, witnessing more than his home planet could ever dream of seeing, standing on another planet, meeting other intelligent species, using his theory a second time.... The theory! John bolted upright. He had proved it after all! It had worked! Unfortunately for him, the only reason he hadn't really acknowledged that when it had occurred was simple. No wormhole had formed the second time. And no wormhole meant no returning home. John didn't even want to think about what his father and DK must be going through at this point in time.
How long would he be stuck in this place known as the Uncharted Territories? Would he ever see home again? Would Captain Crais really hunt him down? And would that little green slug Rygel actually steal all his stuff?
John looked back at his recorder and felt the day's stresses and bruises settling in. He was truly exhausted. As he turned to make way to what resembled a bed near the wall to his right, John stopped cold. His heart skipped a beat. The being standing near his bed was not who he had originally seen in this memory. John stood and came to face his sly grinning nemesis. Scorpius was back once again in his mind.
*****
D'Argo charged through the hall on Moya, his face set in anger. The large Luxan living aboard the ship had had many setbacks in his life. For eight grueling cycles, he had been a prisoner aboard Moya when she was a prisoner ship under PeaceKeeper control. His crime: murdering his wife, Lo'Laan, a Sebacean. The truth came to be that Lo'Laan's brother had killed her in a rage against her marrying another species and not one of her own. D'Argo was falsely imprisoned and separated from his son, Jothee. He had been searching for the boy since his freedom two and a half cycles ago. Once he found his son, under the unusual circumstances that had come to play, D'Argo pushed Jothee away. Jothee in turn found attraction to D'Argo's love interest at the time, Chiana, a Nebari. This spun off a disastrous effect in all three lives involved. After the upsetting affair was revealed, D'Argo became temporarily suicidal. Jothee decided to leave Moya, to prove to both himself and his father that he could do better in life. Chiana struggled to resolve the differences now set between her and her former love. And D'Argo strived to resolve the inner turmoil within, unsure of whether he wanted to love again.
Chiana was not far behind D'Argo in the hall, chattering incoherently fast. The Nebari had come to Moya as a prisoner. Her life changed drastically and she became free aboard this ship. After being labeled as a tralk and a skilled snurcher by the crew, Chiana had to work her way to respect. Though she had been aboard for two cycles now, Chiana still struggled. She was young but had a good heart. And she was desperately trying to speak with D'Argo without being brushed off. Of course, after the incident with Jothee, Chiana couldn't blame D'Argo for not wanting to be around her anymore. Still, they had to live with each other and to do that, they had to communicate and get along.
Recent events had brought them closer since her escapade with Jothee, but Chiana still sensed things weren't going to go back to normal. Chiana was determined to change that. D'Argo had to forgive her. After all, he had treated her like a child, underestimated her, and even pushed her away while searching for his son.
Rygel appeared ahead of the two, floating in his throne sled with his chin held high. Former Dominar XVI of over 600 billion Hynerians like himself, Rygel had been imprisoned. He had fallen asleep on his throne, only to be impersonated by his cousin. Bitter ever since, Rygel's ultimate goal was to reclaim his throne, and destroy his cousin.
Rygel had finally come to terms with living on Moya with the crewmates he secretly cared for. He was beginning to realize the benefits of living with a bunch of criminals. They often came upon treasures and money that begged for proper handling and ownership. Rygel was the perfect little Dominar to take on the job. And keep everything for himself.
D'Argo eyed Rygel suspiciously as the Hynerian approached. D'Argo slowed to a stop. Rygel stopped his throne sled before D'Argo and looked up at the sneering Luxan with a bored expression. Chiana caught up to the two and smiled. Opportunity awaits.
"Out of my way, Luxan." Rygel demanded. D'Argo crossed his arms and stood tall with a grin.
"D'Argo, while you're here...." Chiana began with a nervous laugh. D'Argo allowed his gaze to fall onto Chiana for only a microt before looking back to Rygel.
Rygel backed his throne sled only a few denches. He looked from Chiana to D'Argo. He shook his head, muttered something under his breath, and redirected his throne sled to pass by D'Argo. D'Argo trailed Rygel with his eyes as he passed. Rygel ignored the Luxan and sped up once he had gotten back into the open hall. His third stomach was rumbling, announcing that it was time to eat once again.
D'Argo was about to take a step forward when Chiana stepped in front of him. She placed her arms on his chest to stop him and smiled briefly at the touch. D'Argo sent her a chilling look and she lowered her arms. But she steadied her gaze into his eyes, realizing that somewhere within, the sweet D'Argo she had loved and continued to love had not disappeared.
"What do you want, Chiana?" D'Argo asked in defeat. He lowered his arms to his sides and waited impatiently for Chiana to speak.
"I want you to talk to me, D'Argo. I know you. You're sweet, gentle...and you listen. So please, listen to me now. We need to talk about...things. We need to resume our lives, try to forgive the past, and move on with the future. I love you, D'Argo, I always have. Even if you don't love me, I need you to at least respect me. I've always been able to take care of myself. But I've become so much stronger...so much more caring because of you." Chiana stated with tears beginning to float in her eyes.
"Do you regret what you have done? Do you realize the pain you have caused me?" D'Argo barked. Chiana shrunk back.
"Yes, I haven't even begun to forgive myself, D'Argo. I never meant to hurt you." Chiana stated in a small voice.
D'Argo opened his mouth to reply. Suddenly, Moya jolted, sending both Chiana and D'Argo into the wall nearby. Chiana cried out and D'Argo grabbed a hold of her as the ship began to shake violently.
"Pilot! Aeryn, John! What's going on?" D'Argo yelled into his comms.
"We've come upon some kind of force field...I'm not certain what it is. Moya's scans are going fahrbot." Pilot shouted back.
"I can't see the stars beneath us." Aeryn's puzzled voice stated on the comms.
At that moment, Moya came to an abrupt stop. Chiana and D'Argo remained stationary, arms held out ready to embrace the walls in the event of another shaking episode.
"What the frell was that?" Chiana demanded to know. The two stood up and looked to each other in question.
"I think you better come to Command, D'Argo." Aeryn's confused voice urged over the comms.
Stark and Jool appeared in the hall to the left. They slowed as they approached Chiana and D'Argo. The four joined together and headed towards Command. Jool was her normal impatient, whiny self. Stark was on alert, his face set in concern.
Stark had come to live with the crew only recently, as well as Jool. He had survived many unspeakable tortures and had even been dispersed at one point. Thought dead, Stark returned unexpectantly. He indeed had come back from the dead, to warn the crew of danger. After several distressing events, Stark became a permanent member of the crew, only to lose his one true love, Zhaan. He now reigned as a spiritual replacement, tuned in to Zhaan. Yet he still retained his unusual insane personality.
Jool was one of the Interons John brought back from the Ice planet where he had had surgery on his brain. The same place that Aeryn had died not too long ago and had been brought back to life by Zhaan. Jool survived the process that unfroze her and became a member of the crew, whining and unappreciative of her spared life. She had talents that could be useful to the crew, but cared not to share them.
"Does it ever get boring around here?" Jool asked, not getting an answer nor expecting one. She whipped her red curly hair around, a strand whisking across Chiana's face. Chiana veered away in disgust, glaring at Jool.
"I sense some strange energy waves in this region. Perhaps we'll know more once we can see what's out there." Stark suggested. Stark began to lead the group as he eagerly wanted to see what all the commotion was about. Anything he could do to keep his mind off of the recent loss of his love, Zhaan, was welcomed.
Rygel appeared ahead of the group near the split in the hall. He glanced at them for a moment and proceeded forward out of view, towards the opened doorway to Command. The group quickly caught up and entered Command as well. John was already there, standing next to Aeryn, staring out the view screen in awe. Pilot's image was displayed on the clamshell and Rygel had joined the two to look as well.
"What is it?" Jool asked without a care for an answer. She stopped behind John and crossed her arms. The others stopped in a line along with Aeryn, Rygel, and John, to stare out the view screen.
Before the crew, existed the usual vast black canvas of space out the view screen. Only the numerous sparkling distant stars that normally painted the view were diminished to a few distant lights. The direct space below and far all around them was littered with swirls of light surrounding perfect cylindrical black holes. The swirls consisted of dust, gases, minerals, and even unlucky ships and their inhabitants, breaking apart under the incredible crush of gravity. These swirls were far between each other, and some were even pulling onto each other, the stronger winning the fight. There were seven such swirls in Moya's direct view. Never before had any of the crew encountered such an awesome sight.
"Black holes." John stated in a small, wondrous voice as he stared on. He was awestruck: controversial black holes in his very line of sight. The scientists back home would have died for an opportunity like this. Black holes were mystical and little was known about them. The one thing that was absolute was the fact that if you could see a black hole in person, you were in deep dren. John's stomach began to flutter. He backed away and pointed at Pilot.
"Reverse! Starburst! Do something or we'll be sucked into one of those black holes!" John ordered. The rest of the crew grew anxious.
"What are you talking about? You've seen this before? Are they dangerous?" Jool asked with fear seeping into her voice. She too began to back away.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Crichton. There's a force that is pulling at Moya. We're slowly being pulled towards the closest of these 'black holes'." Pilot announced fearfully.
"What are black holes, John?" D'Argo questioned with urgency riding his voice.
"Pilot, you have to get us out of here now!" John ordered. "Those black holes can disintegrate anything. They suck in all light and matter around them. We have to move now!"
The look on his face was nearly enough to motivate Pilot and Moya. Moya began to back away from the chaos.
"We've already passed one since we've encountered these things. Maybe you're mistaken." Aeryn charged, looking at John. John titled his head at her and scoffed.
"Aeryn, you don't understand...these things are...." John stopped, once more looking out the view screen.
"What is that?" Chiana asked with a quiver in her voice.
A large ship passed above Moya, rambling her and everyone within slightly. The ship was of unfamiliar technology and obviously out of control. It careened towards the nearest black hole to Moya. The crew leaned forward with fear in their eyes. The ship was violently thrashed into a spin and exploded near the edge of the black hole. The large shards of the ship and its contents merged with the matter already spinning into the black hole.
The crew leaned back and allowed the sight to sink in. They then turned to John, ready to listen.
"That ship. We didn't even see it coming. Pilot, are your scans still working?" Stark pondered. Silence came from Pilot. The crew waited for a few microns as Pilot checked the scans and communicated with Moya.
"No." Came the surprised answer from Pilot. The crew once again turned to the human. Doom spread across his face.
"The ship was headed straight for that black hole. That's one thing. But we still should be veering towards it ourselves right now."
"But we're not." Jool stated the obvious.
"And I want to know why." Aeryn finished.
"Maybe they're not strong enough. Maybe...." John became silent, the scenarios running through his mind on how any of this could be possible. The crew looked to him impatiently. They were scared and in the hands of someone they considered inferior to them. They did trust the human, but they still had their reserves about him.
John suddenly looked up and snapped his fingers. He looked to Pilot.
"Pilot, was there a solar system here at one time? Can Moya at least detect that? Anything at all that could be the result of all the matter we see out there?" John asked.
Pilot looked to his console before him in his chamber. He depressed a panel and tapped a button. After a long pause he looked up.
"Nothing but empty space." Pilot responded.
John's face drew serious and he turned slowly to look back out the view screen. His shipmates stared at him in question, some glancing back and forth between him and the black holes. Aeryn stepped forward to face John. She brought up a hand and grasped John's chin. She turned his head to face her, his eyes glazed over in worry and dread. John's eyes settled onto Aeryn.
"What is it?" Aeryn demanded an answer.
"There's only one explanation. Those black holes...are remnants of failed wormholes. Someone's been attempting to create wormholes...and are screwing up badly." John answered. Silence fell amongst the group and they all faced the view screen once more. The swirling mass of matter around the black holes held an eerie feeling. Now the only question was who was trying to create the wormholes turned black holes?
*****
The spinning spirals of colorful light were already dimming. A few even dissipated, blending in with the black canvas of the surrounding space. These mysterious black holes were collapsing into themselves fast.
Moya hovered at a somewhat safe distance, stationary and quiet. Her senses warned of high levels of radiation?even higher than a Leviathan ship could handle for long periods of time. Though in slight distress, Moya was faithful to the crew she sheltered. She remained in place, awaiting orders.
"So what you're saying essentially, is that we're frelled." John stated in a bewildered voice. Seated on the console in front of Pilot in Pilot's den, the human was desperately trying to rationalize the wormholes. Pilot was annoyed. John was annoyed. And Stark was annoyed.
"Would you get to the point please? Any more of this nonsense and I'll be joining Zhaan much sooner than I had planned!" Stark screeched as he raced across the pathway to Pilot and John. His face was reddened in anger...well, the left side that wasn't covered by his metal mask anyway. John straightened his posture and glared at Stark.
"We are not going anywhere Stark. You must study your opponent before you head into battle. Thought you would have learned that one by now." John barked. He turned to Pilot who was busily communicating with Moya.
"You're sounding more and more like a PeaceKeeper." Stark insulted John. John slowly turned his head to glare at Stark with narrowed eyes. Stark felt no fear. He was merely as sane as the human on all accounts.
John opened his mouth to reply but quickly recanted. He turned back to Pilot.
"We're not frelled, Commander. If we were, we would be as you call it...space dust by now. Moya's senses indicate that these black holes of yours are dissipating and collapsing inwards. They're essentially harmless now." Pilot assured the distressed human. John's shoulders drooped and his face displayed frustration.
"Pilot." John stated and leaned forward to point to a pulsing green control before Pilot. "Those radiation levels are enough to poison both you and Moya. And once that radiation seeps in, it'll kill all of us, too. And my anatomy sure as hell ain't designed to enjoy those kinda rays of sunshine."
Pilot gave John the usual strange look of misunderstanding. John could almost see the thought pass through his large shell head. You are the strangest creature I have ever met.
Stark stepped forward to remind the two he was still there, fretting over their current situation. He leaned onto the console with his hands and looked at Pilot with his one wide eye.
"I demand you to turn around immediately and get us out of here!" Stark ordered.
John frowned as he allowed his foot to swing back and forth over the console. He observed Stark in silence. The first time John had met the Banik Slave was back when he was imprisoned on the Gammak Base. John shivered. The painful experience of the Aurora Chair remained like an opened wound in his memory. Stark had dealt with the chair far longer than John had and in fact seemed quite insane the first day they met. Soon, John discovered Stark's anatomy allowed for extreme pain and suffering. In fact, he could even ease other's pain and did so when John had been extremely weak from the effects of the dreaded chair. After several bizarre and harrowing events over two cycles, Stark was now here with him on Moya, living the life of a fugitive. John looked down, trying not to think of the other being he had met at the base and listened to Stark and Pilot argue.
"Maybe you would like to take a venture outside to help things along." Pilot was saying. John muffled a laugh. Stark sent him a glare.
"We must do something!" Stark cried.
John hopped off the console and faced Stark.
"Cool it. We all signed on knowing the terms. You can't step out on this one. It's all the way or nothing. And nothing means going out there, into space." John stared straight into Stark's angered eye. He took a deep breath. "Listen, why don't you go get something to eat or meditate or do whatever it is that makes you calm and rational. Pilot and I have things under control...for the most part."
John flashed Stark a smile. Stark seemed to calm down slightly. He looked to Pilot who nodded in confirmation and then looked back to John. A suspicious look passed through Stark's face before he turned and left Pilot's den. John turned back to Pilot and released a deep breath.
"D'Argo and I will inspect the fluid lines in maintenance bay 3 to see if we can't cross-reference the Defense Shield for some long-term protection." John stated in a calm voice, forming a plan as he spoke. Pilot nodded with worry blanketing the fear both he and Moya felt. John turned half way and looked back to Pilot. He smiled once more. "Don't worry, Pilot...we've been through worse."
The human marched off leaving Pilot with Moya and the controls. Somehow, Pilot sensed this was only the beginning of the worst.
*****