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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!
"Radio waves, that's what you call these common frequencies?" Pilot asked, tilting his head with interest as he maintained systems on the console before him. Several DRDs were situated around Pilot, communicating with each other. "They're hardly anything to pay attention to."
John stood before Moya's navigator. He had decided to speak with Pilot in person to figure out the best course of action to take next. He nodded his head in response to Pilot's question.
"Pilot, I'm well aware that there are billions of radio waves traveling through out space from various sources. I'm just being cautious because there are certain radio waves from Earth out there that we don't want our enemies to hear."
"Of course, Commander Crichton." Pilot obeyed with a sigh and began the painstaking process of analyzing some of the signals they were receiving. John began to visibly relax.
"Do you think the Scarrans are aware of us by now? I know it was a pretty wild ride back there but hey, come on." John pondered.
"I'm not sure." Pilot answered truthfully.
Aeryn entered into the den. She carried a large pulse rifle upon her right hip. John took a quick glance at the weapon and then to Aeryn's serious expression. Stepping forward to meet her in front of Pilot, John cocked his head.
"What is it now?" Aeryn asked him impatiently.
"What's with the big weapon?" John asked, his eyes sliding to the weapon as he spoke. Aeryn stared into his blue eyes for a moment before answering. She loved this person with such intensity that she was frightened. Perhaps this was why she was having doubts with her future.
"Precaution. It's a necessity around here if you haven't noticed." Aeryn answered and stepped around John to approach Pilot.
"Anything more on the Scarran ship that followed us through the wormhole?" Aeryn asked Pilot.
"Nothing. The ship appears to be dead in space. Perhaps the inhabitants did not survive the wormhole." Pilot suggested. Aeryn shook her head.
"I don't think so, Pilot. The Scarrans are an extremely dangerous race. The blast of a pulse rifle will not penetrate their thick skin. We cannot trust that they are not aware of our position. Regard them as if they are armed and ready to strike, Pilot. How much longer can the defense shield last?" Aeryn said.
Something Aeryn said sparked an immediate flash of memories in John's head. He became unaware of everything else happening around him. He was whisked into a world of the past once again.
The glaring light of a wall-mounted light box illuminated Scorpius' hideous face. John could barely recall this memory from anything he had experienced. His mind had suppressed the experience with the Scarran who had interrogated him and tortured him many monens ago.
Using a familiar long metallic rod, Scorpius pointed to a few illuminated x-ray images on the light box. The specific image he was acknowledging flashed. The negative image was of a dreadful Scarran. The image seemed to sneer directly at John. A small tingle of fear rolled through John's stomach. Scorpius smiled and began to speak. John could not hear the words escaping from his nemesis' mouth. He only saw another image appear on the light box. A pulse rifle. Scorpius pointed to the weapon and a sudden red X appeared over the pulse rifle. Scorpius pointed back to the Scarran. The image of the creature flashed with red highlights. The Scarrans' skin radiated heat. It was an extremely tough type of skin that resisted the blast of a pulse rifle. Ah ha! John connected Aeryn's words with Scorpius' through these images. The blast of a pulse rifle will not penetrate their thick skin. John was then immediately transported to another place and time.
A crested ridge of mud surrounded a murky puddle. John could see his own present day reflection in the wavering surface of the water. His reflection looked worried. John heard a shriek of excitement and glanced up. His worry was justified. Two small boys were running straight towards him, shrieking and carrying Tonka trucks under their arms. John knew these boys. And he knew what they were about to do. John reared away from the puddle as fast as his feet could carry him. But he knew he was too late. The boys smashed into the murky puddle, spraying mud in every direction. John flinched, closing his eyes. He quickly reopened them to see the boys happily charging their trucks through the shallow puddle. They can't see me. The mud didn't even touch me. John stumbled backwards a few steps.
A solid body was standing behind him. John nearly fell to the soft blanket of grass beneath him. He whirled around to see what had stopped him. His worry solidified and a flutter of anger returned within. Scorpius. He should have predicted his appearances by now.
"What are you doing here? Better yet, what am I doing here?" John sneered into Scorpius' expression of curiosity.
"Tell me what I need to know and I'll disappear." Scorpius offered.
"For good?" John joked, knowing this Scorpius was in for the long haul. Scorpius flashed a quick smile.
"You look so...innocent here. So weak...so...defenseless. How do you humans ever survive childhood?" Scorpius questioned, stepping towards the two boys splashing in the mud. He looked sincerely perplexed by the notion.
"Get to the point, Scorpius. What do you want?" John inquired, stepping in front of Scorpius as if to protect the boys.
Scorpius stepped around John and approached the boys once again. John rushed over to revert Scorpius' attention. Unfortunately, when he arrived at the creature's side, John saw something swirling on the surface of the puddle. The playful boys did not even notice the two strangers or the image appearing on the puddle's surface.
John faced the image and began to realize what it was that Scorpius really wanted. A strikingly beautiful image of the Milky Way began to appear. John almost couldn't believe his nemesis hadn't already retrieved this knowledge from his mind at some point in the past. First wormholes, now this...the routine was getting old.
A sweet, heavenly voice interrupted John's thoughts and he turned his attention towards the small white townhouse nearby. Scorpius began to fade from view. The two boys glanced up from their trucks.
"Boys! Time for lunch!" His mother called out.
John's jaw dropped open slightly as he eagerly took a step forward. His mother. John could barely recall what she had looked like before the cancer. That frail frame of his mother's face painted with death had always plagued his memories. Excited, John began to smile.
"Mom?" John called out, his eyes tearing with joy. He could see wisps of blonde hair flowing from around the corner of the house. She was just about to walk into view.
Almost as instantaneous as this memory had come to play, John was whisked back to the present. He glanced around at the golden glow of Pilot's den and then to Pilot and Aeryn.
"Moya's amnexus fluid levels are at twenty five parts." Pilot was saying.
"How long Pilot?" Aeryn asked impatiently. John glanced at the two, seeing that they hadn't even noticed the human stepping out of reality just moments ago. John was beginning to think he was losing his mind again.
"Two arns. At the most two and a half." Pilot remarked, knowing this wasn't sufficient. "The defense shield...."
"Two arns?" John exclaimed, realizing the severity of the issue Aeryn and Pilot had been speaking of. The defense shield had to last longer than two arns.
"Two arns will do, John. Pilot, keep me informed of any changes." Aeryn ordered and began to head out of Pilot's den.
"Wait, Aeryn, Pilot." John said and reached for Aeryn's arm. Aeryn turned to face him with an impatient expression.
"Did you guys notice anything...strange for a micron there? Anything at all?" John asked, looking from Aeryn to Pilot and back.
"Like what?" Aeryn asked, urging John to get to the point.
"Moya and I haven't sensed anything peculiar besides this new system." Pilot responded.
John studied their faces. They had no clue. He shook his head, let out a chuckle and held up his hands.
"Nothing. Everything's fine. I'll be in Command if you need me." John lied. He brushed past a perplexed Aeryn and left Pilot's den.
Aeryn looked to Pilot. Pilot shook his head. Aeryn nodded in agreement. A DRD left from Pilot's side and rushed past Aeryn to catch up to the human. Aeryn then turned and left Pilot's den as well. Both of the aliens expected strangeness from the human. But in this cycle alone, they couldn't dismiss anything out of what they considered normal from the human being.
*****
Crais arrived on Talyn shortly after exiting Moya. He briskly walked into the Command of Talyn, the entrance doors closing behind him. Red and orange lights flashed around the former captain. Talyn bleeped intensively before allowing Crais to speak. A slow grin began to spread upon Crais' face as he listened to his ship. The bond between the two beings was unbreakable. Even if the neural transponder that physically linked the two were ever to be severed, the emotional bond would remain nearly as strong as that of a mother and child. Unfortunately, this natural bond wasn't as strong between Talyn and Moya. But each encounter between the two ships was strengthening their bond.
"Talyn, I know this Scarran ship frightens you. But you have proven that you are a strong, confident young gunship. Do not be intimidated." Crais comforted Talyn. He smiled warmly upon thinking of how well Talyn had matured since Crais had first taken the ship from his mother.
Talyn flashed a few more lights and bleeped. Crais wrinkled his brow.
"What sort of message?" Crais pondered. Instantly, upon the small view screen directly in front of Crais, a transmission appeared. Crais straightened his posture and grew angered.
Ka'ru's angered face appeared in the transmission. Crais tilted his head slightly, trying to recall where he had seen the menacing Scarran before. The Commandeer was speaking but the transmission was weak, thus sound was affected. The image flickered momentarily and began to repeat.
"Is Moya receiving this message as well?" Crais asked. Talyn responded with a single bleep. Crais nodded once.
"This creature is our enemy, Talyn. He purposely sent this transmission to frighten both you and Moya. They are quite alive after all. Talyn. Prepare to fire upon the Scarran battle ship!" Crais roared.
Talyn's unique frag cannon began to spark with orange streaks of pulse activity. The young gun ship turned to face the enormous Scarran ship hovering in space just a metra away. The enemy ship began to move slowly forward. Talyn was provoked. He sped forward, nearly knocking a surprised Crais to the floor within.
"Talyn, do not charge! Stand your ground! Protect your mother!" Crais ordered, grasping the console to station himself as the ship charged on. Crais was shocked by the massive size of the Scarran ship.
A large blast of orange fiery light charged from Talyn's frag cannon. The blast instantly struck the face of the Scarran ship and enveloped across its body. The ship itself did not falter. Instead, it came to a halt and remained still.
Crais stood tall, staring with question out the view screen before him. Talyn began bleeping and flashing lights constantly. Crais took a step forward in wonder. He knew exactly why the blast hadn't affected the enemy ship before them. A sinking feeling began to burn in his stomach.
"This is not good, Talyn. Now we have given them a reason to explore that new system. They want to know what we're trying to protect." Crais stated. Talyn instantly became quiet. Crais wanted to believe it was because Talyn understood him. But he knew better. A small shaft opened far off on the right side of the battle ship. A litter of tiny specks began to protrude, flying in formation. The specks that numbered in a thousand grew larger as they traveled closer to the front of the Scarran ship. Once there, the specks, now visible as small maneuverable fighter ships, hovered in formation beside their mother ship.
"Talyn, link me to Pilot now." Crais stated. He stared on as Talyn carried out his order. This day was getting worse and worse by the micron.
*****
John stared out the massive view screen of Command. He was seated on a console, his legs swaying beneath him. Chiana leaned on one side of the console, in his company. D'Argo was behind the two, cleaning his Qualta Blade to pass the time. Jool sat on a stool by the Strategy table, wrapping a curl of her orange hair around her finger repetitiously. Stark was situated on the opposite side of the room, seemingly enveloped in a conversation with himself. Rygel had returned from the Galley, finding that being alone on this ship wasn't very exciting. He hovered in the center of Command, observing the swirling galaxy before them with a puzzled expression.
"You know, there's probably some little boy in his backyard on Earth right now, gazing up at the stars through a telescope. Yeah, he's probably eating a Snickers bar, maybe even taking a break from catching fireflies in a jar. And low and behold, three alien ships appear in the viewfinder. 'Damn', he's thinking, 'I gotta clean that lens more often or I'm really seeing close encounters of the third kind'." John states, looking dreamily at the glowing beauty he had yearned to reach for two and a half cycles and counting. Chiana giggled.
"Even when you don't make sense, you're amusing." Chiana commented.
She tipped her head up to look at John. John glanced down at her and they shared a friendly smile. John then gazed back to the wondrous galaxy. Even though his stomach was fluttering with excitement, John couldn't help but feel somewhat bitter. Here he was, facing his home after countless nights of wondering whether he'd ever see it again. Home was at his fingertips at this moment and there was not a single thing he could do about it. His focuses had changed as well as his goals, though. In recent times he was more concentrated on the creation of wormholes than where they could lead him. Yet the irony of it all burned deep. John stifled the laughter that wanted to explode from within. Anger easily blanketed this laughter, unfortunately. John allowed himself to ponder a little longer about his Earth.
"Better yet, some scientist and his buddy are zooming in on us and alerting the entire frelling government. SETI is most likely the first to know, though. They'd really have a hay day with this one. Maybe they're sending us a friendly hello right now. Heck for all we know, my dad could be watching us sit here like duck decoys." John shook his head. D'Argo glanced up from his Qualta blade with annoyance.
"Does he ever shut up?" Jool muttered, still captivated by her hair.
"No." Rygel, Chiana, and D'Argo stated simultaneously. Jool looked up in surprise. John glimpsed at his friends and shook his head. He turned his attention back to the galaxy.
"I never thought I'd actually get to see the Milky Way from the side lines. Damn she's beautiful." The human stated with awe.
"I have to agree with you for once." Rygel stated. "It may be a simple galaxy, but it does have beauty."
"Thanks Buckwheat." John nodded at Rygel with appreciation. Rygel only grunted in response.
Aeryn entered Command at that moment. And just as she arrived, a bleak image replaced the galaxy on the view screen. The crew leaned forward. Aeryn stopped in her tracks. A hideous looking Scarran appeared within this dark image. Unfortunately, no sound was playing from the mysterious message. The creature was sneering as he spoke. The image then disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Pilot's image materialized on the clamshell.
"Moya has just received this transmission from the Scarran ship. It's weak, but I believe it serves its purpose." Pilot stated. Aeryn whipped her head around.
"And what is that?" She demanded to know.
"To provoke Talyn and Moya into a confrontation. They are frightened of this ship. Talyn is already preparing to attack." Pilot informed the crew. D'Argo stood with alarm. Stark let out a small cry of fear and backed into a dark corner. Jool only huffed with frustration.
"Don't let him fire, Pilot! Stop him!" Chiana urged. She straightened from the console she had been leaning on and looked to see John's worried expression mirroring her own. John slid off the console he had been resting on.
"It's too late!" Pilot yelled. An image of Talyn firing upon the Scarran ship appeared on the view screen. The blast didn't even appear to harm the ship.
"A defense shield." Aeryn uttered with realization.
"Wait, what is that?" Stark questioned, walking out of the shadows to peer at the images playing on the view screen before them. He noticed the small convoy of ships beginning to exit the Scarran battle ship.
"Reinforcements?" Rygel asked in fear, already knowing the answer. He gulped hard. The crew began to gather in the center of Command to observe the new play of events.
"Frell." Jool stated with a shaky voice.
"Pilot, we need to get out of here. Starburst or something!" Chiana said with anxiety seeping into her voice.
"Moya won't leave Talyn. And he's definitely not going to stand down." Pilot recanted.
"What can we do?" D'Argo asked.
"Contact them." John said.
"What? Are you frelling insane? Maybe I shouldn't ask that." Rygel blurted. The crew, including Pilot, looked to John as if he were.
"Zhaan appeared to me while we tumbled through that wormhole and she told me to trust my instincts." John stated. He then realized that statement really dug himself further into a hole. Seeing Zhaan while they were tumbling through that wormhole had been outrageous enough. He shook his head. "Never mind. Just do it, Pilot, trust me."
"Trust you? Is that what we should do?" Aeryn raised her eyebrows.
"Come on, we have to stay focused." Chiana stepped in. Aeryn glared at Chiana.
"Fine. Pilot, contact the Scarran battle ship." Aeryn replied in defeat. D'Argo questioned Aeryn's sudden defeat.
"Aeryn, you know this means death, don't you?" D'Argo asked. Aeryn looked to him and then straight at John.
"Zhaan told me to listen to John." She stated. John tilted his head and allowed a small smile to play onto his face.
Pilot commenced in communicating with the enemy ship. Talyn immediately intercepted the signal and Crais' voice could be heard in Command.
"Contacting the Scarran ship is the last thing you want to do." Crais ordered.
"Why did you allow Talyn to fire upon them?" Aeryn charged.
"The Scarrans provoked him. There was nothing I could do." Crais said.
"What do you propose we do with the frelling army out there? We're dead before we even think of star bursting." Chiana snipped.
"Pilot! Tell Moya she has to go towards the galaxy. It's our only chance." Stark suddenly interrupted them all. He stepped further into the light, his eyes reddened and his face drawn of color. John walked up to Stark, his eyes set in anger.
"Nobody..." John barked, accenting each word. His advance frightened Stark. "...Goes near my galaxy, understand?" The human stood tall. Stark quivered slightly but stood his ground. He stepped away from John and stretched his arms out to the rest of the crew. He turned in a circle as he spoke.
"We all saw her. When we were sucked into the wormhole. She was there. She talked to us. She told us what needed to be done. We should obey her wishes." Stark reminded the crew. They were silent with realization and fear.
"Zhaan." D'Argo confirmed softly.
"So what do we do?" Jool begged for a reasonable answer.
The crew glanced from one to the other as they stood in a half circle before the view screen. They were for once, at a loss for words. There wasn't much they could do. The mesmerizing galaxy before them was proving to be more of a headache than even John wanted to admit.
*****