Air Date: March 17, 2000
Written by Richard Manning
Directed by Andrew Prowse
Transcript by Xenajules2
Edited and put on-line by Bluey
Episode 2.01 - Mind the Baby
PROLOGUE
The underside of an alien vessel. There are lights flashing along an array amidship.
Pilot comms: "The Sheyang vessel is about to fire."
Inside Moya, Chiana and Rygel are clinging to bulkheads.
Rygel: "Starburst! Starburst now!"
Pilot: "Moya can't. She isn't ready."
Chiana runs across Command: "Zhaan...Zhaan do something!" She grabs Zhaan's arm.
Zhaan: "D'Argo. He can help him."
Chiana puts both hands on Zhaan's face: "No, no, no.!"
Zhaan: "He can talk to them"
Chiana: "No. Listen to me. D'Argo...D'Argo is gone."
Rygel: "No D'Argo. No Aeryn. No Crichton."
Chiana hurries over to a console: "Just us, okay? And in a few microts we'll be dead too."
Zhaan: "No! D'Argo
CAN save us. He can. He...he has to save us."
The lights along the array under the Sheyang vessel join in the center and explode towards Moya.
Pilot: "They're firing!"
Zhaan speaks into her comm: "D'Argo. We need you!"
A ball of fire hurtles through space and strikes Moya.
Chiana is thrown from the command console and slammed backwards into a wall. Pilot's face disappears from the clamshell viewer. Rygel is knocked backwards as well, while Zhaan falls to her knees beside a console. The lights are flickering wildly.
Rygel: "Uph!"
Chiana: "Zhaan!"
Zhaan: "D'Argo!"
Her cry for D'Argo continues to echo as Chiana screams....
D'Argo can be partially seen through some slats or bars. He is lying down.
John: "D'Argo. Shake it off. Come on back. Get off the canvas. You can do it."
John is sitting on the floor near D'Argo, with his back against a post.
John: "Rise and shine! Up and at'em! Break through. Man this is gettin old. Least you can do is talk in your sleep."
Suddenly, D'Argo startles awake and half sits up: "What would you like me to say?"
He is looking around in a panic, alarmed and breathing heavily.
John: "Oh! How about, great to be back?"
D'Argo: "Was I away?"
John: "Sure as hell were! Days. I don't know how many. I kinda lost track of time. Do you know who I am? ..." John continues talking, but D'Argo interrupts him.
D'Argo: "Yes, I recognize you John, but I do not recognize this place. Am I dead?"
D'Argo sits up and grabs John by the shoulders.
John: "No"
D'Argo chokes John, in a panic: "Am I dead?!"
John: "No. You're not dead."
D'Argo throws back his head and laughs: "I, uh...I thought we were dead. Why aren't we?"
John: "Aeryn. She finally managed to scoop us up, brought us here. Some...asteroid. Abandoned mining camp, factory, I don't know. Something like that."
D'Argo: "Where is she?"
John: "She's in the prowler, grocery shopping. This rock gets a nine on atmosphere but only two on food and water."
D'Argo: "We have a lot to thank her for."
John: "Yah."
The outside of an asteroid mining complex...
Aeryn's voice: "Prowler to Talyn."
Crais: "What delayed you?"
Aeryn is sitting in her prowler. It is perched on a piece of the asteroid mining facility. She is in a gray tank top and has on a headset.
Crais comms: "You were supposed to check in two arns ago."
Aeryn: "I can't always get away on schedule. Don't forget I have to give Crichton a reason for my absence."
Crais is standing on Talyn's bridge: "He still has no knowledge of our...arrangement?"
Talyn is floating in the asteroid field.
Aeryn's voice: "None."
Crais: "It might facilitate matters if you explained to him."
Aeryn: "No."
On the bridge...
Crais: "Eventually, you'll have to."
In the prowler...
Aeryn: "Only when it's too late for him to interfer.
She turns off the comms and sighs, putting her hand to her forehead.
END OF PROLOGUE
ACT ONE
The asteroid mining facility. Inside...
John: "You sure your memory's okay?"
D'Argo: "How long was I without oxygen for?"
John: "Long enough to scare the hell outa me."
John walks up to where D'Argo is sitting and gives him a friendly punch in the arm.
John: "What's the last thing you remember?"
D'Argo: "Space. Kronite. Gammak base aflame. Magnificent sight."
John: "Absolutely." John is pacing around, jumping up on things, generally nervous.
D'Argo: "Did Moya get away?"
John: "Moya did. But Talyn..."
D'Argo: "Talyn?"
John: "Yep. Moya's baby."
D'Argo shakes his head: "Awful name. What happened to him?"
John: "Crais happened. He made off with the baby."
D'Argo yells: "We should never have let him live!"
John: "Yeh, I know."
D'Argo: "What happened to the Command Carrier?"
John: "It's still in the area. Aeryn's spotted mauraders...checking the asteroid field out, but they hadn't seen us yet."
D'Argo: "So now we have to evade Scorpius. And then we have to find Crais, remove him from Talyn. Who the yotz named him Talyn?"
There are footsteps and movement behind D'Argo.
Aeryn rushes up, breathless: " I did. After my father."
She tosses something to John, walks over and starts checking out some containers.
John: "Aeryn. Check out who finally woke up from his little siesta."
Aeryn: "Yes, I have eyes, Crichton."
D'Argo: "I have eyes as well, and they're very pleased to see you alive."
Aeryn almost smiles at him, then turns and hurries off with the empty containers.
John: "Hey, yo! What'sa matter. Some problem?" He catches her at the end of a row of crates.
Aeryn: "All I managed to find was a little water. I'll have to keep exploring."
D'Argo joins them: "Look. If this asteroid is unsuitable, then we should all leave."
John: "Good idea. Change of scenery."
Aeryn: "No. This is the only asteroid I've seen with structures that'll hide you from the maurader patrols."
John: "Yah, but... D'Argo's awake. We get out of the asteroid, we signal to Moya, she comes and she picks us up."
Aeryn: "We don't even know if Moya's in range and we can't outrun a Command Carrier, so we have to remain hidden until the carrier withdraws."
D'Argo: "What if it never does?"
Aeryn: "Well, Scorpius can't look for us forever and he can't even be certain that you survived."
John: "Aeryn, Scorpius wants me pretty bad. His patience may outlast our prowler's fuel."
D'Argo: "When the prowler's fuel runs out, we starve. As John once said, I would rather go down on a swing."
John: "Swinging. You wanta go down swinging."
D'Argo: "Swinging."
Aeryn: "The only reason we'll starve is if you don't stop this useless discussion and let me keep searching for food."
D'Argo: "This discussion...."
At the same time...
John: "Aeryn, D'Argo..."
Aeryn yells at them: "Stop it! Both of you! If not for me, you'd both be dead, alright? So stop fighting me!" She stalks off.
John hands D'Argo the container of water as they watch Aeryn leave.
Moya is flying through open space. All of her running lights seem to be on.
Inside, Chiana sets a plate down in front of Rygel.
Chiana: "Rygel. Eat!" She holds up a food wafer.
Rygel waves it away: "I can't eat."
Chiana: "What, you...you can't eat?"
Rygel shakes his head "no" : "Mm um."
Chiana feels his ear: "What? Any fever?"
Rygel: "Umm!"
Chiana: "or dizziness? Or secretions that are even abnormal for you?"
Rygel: "I'm not sick. I'm simply not hungry. Ask Pilot why?"
Chiana: "Bad news, Pilot?"
Pilot: "Moya is returning to the asteroid field where she last saw Talyn."
Chiana: "What?!"
Rygel: "There, you see?"
Chiana: "Is Moya unclear on... on the concept of why we ran away?"
Pilot: "She insists on searching for her offspring despite the risk."
Rygel: "A Peacekeeper Command Carrier is slightly more than a risk."
Pilot: "Moya and I have chosen a course that should allow us to reenter the field undetected."
Chiana: "Even then, we're flying back in unarmed, defenseless."
Pilot: "We aren't entirely defenseless."
Rygel: "Hah! As good as. All we have is that antiquated defense screen we took from the wreck of the Zelbinion."
Chiana looks over at the defense screen: "This pile of dren? I...Is it even functional?"
Pilot: "I'll have the DRDs give it a thorough going over."
Several DRDs can be seen working on the defense screen.
Pilot: "Moya doesn't understand your distress. Besides Talyn, we might also find Crichton, D'Argo and Aeryn."
Chiana: "If they could've gotten out, they would've by now."
Chiana leaves command.
Scorpius' Command Carrier is at the edge of the asteroid field. Inside...
A PK tech opens the cooling mechanism in Scorpius' head and changes a cooling rod. The one she removes is bright red. She replaces it with a blue one and pushes a button. The apparatus spins itself back into his brain.
Lt. Braca enters: "All patrols still report nothing, Sir. Uh, no signal from the leviathan offspring. No trace of Crichton..." Braca is clearly disconcerted by the sight of Scorpius' cooling apparatus burrowing into his brain. "Nothing."
Scorpius: "I comprehend the meaning of "nothing", Lieutenant. After Crichton ejected from the transport, it may have been a mistake to pull back and allow that rogue prowler to rescue him."
Lt. Braca: "You had little choice, Sir."
Scorpius: "Oh, true. He would have chosen to perish, rather than be saved by us. But..."
Scorpius grabs Braca by both shoulders and pulls him close: "...the prowler eluded capture...and continues to."
Lt. Braca turns his face to the side, to avoid looking head on into Scorpius' face.
Lt. Braca: "In a field of this size, we may never find it."
Scorpius hisses: "Time for a change of tactics."
Aeryn's prowler is circling in the asteroid field, approaching the hovering Talyn. Inside...
Crais is on Talyn's bridge, addressing the infant leviathan: "Ta...lyn! Stop this senseless behavior! Your mother has gone! Do you understand? Moya has abandoned you."
Talyn makes the internal lights flicker.
Crais: "What are you doing?" A noise begins to build. "Power down your engines at once! Leaving the protection of the field right now is suicidal. I know you detest all this hiding..." Talyn is making a low pitched 'beeping' noise in response to Crais. "You're a gunship, a warrior. You want to move, to fight. But you're not yet strong enough to take on a Command Carrier."
The door to the bridge opens and Aeryn enters. Crais walks over to her.
Crais: "He's going berserk. Talk to him!"
Aeryn puts her hands above her head and runs her hands along a ridge on the ceiling.
Aeryn: "Talyn. What's the matter?" Talyn 'beeps' in response. "Show us."
He 'beeps' somemore.
Aeryn: "There's no reason to be afraid...I'm here. So is Crais. Talyn, we want to help you. Please. Let us see what's upsetting you."
Talyn turns something on and a static noise is suddenly heard.
Crais walks over to a console: "Communications."
Aeryn: "Broadband transmissions. Random noises mixed with distortion spikes."
Crais: "Scorpius."
Aeryn: "Talyn, these signals mean nothing. They're intended to alarm you and to make you run." She is again touching the ceiling ridge while talking to Talyn.
Crais: "Talyn. Do not play into the hand of your enemy. Remain right where you are. You're...brave enough to do that...aren't you?"
The engine noises start to descend rapidly and the lights dim perceptibly.
Aeryn: "Very good, Talyn."
Crais: "Talyn...excuse us for a moment."
Aeryn walks past Crais, towards the front of the bridge. Crais follows her and stands leaning near her, his hand behind her head.
Aeryn: "D'Argo's regained consciousness. He and Crichton are eager to leave. And don't suggest that we simply abandon them, because that was not part of our arrangement."
Crais: "We...can't leave...just yet. Talyn is still too immature. No weapons. No starburst. And...he continues to ignore my commands."
Aeryn: "You can't command a Leviathan, you can only persuade."
Crais: "Talyn is part Leviathan, part Peacekeeper. He was designed to take orders."
Aeryn turns around to face Crais, still inside the curve of his arm.
Aeryn: "Why don't you let me talk to him? Alone."
Crais shakes his head: "No. I'm willing to share command of Talyn, but I will not relinquish it."
John: "Again?"
D'Argo: "Yah."
They are sitting side-by-side on some abandoned machinery.
John: "1...2...3..." As John speaks they each shake a fist two times. On "3", D'Argo again 'throws' his fist, John holds his hand out flat.
D'Argo laughs: "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Again I win!"
John puts his hand around D'Argo's fist: "No, I win. Paper wraps rock."
D'Argo: "No. Paper can not possibly beat rock."
John: "It does. Paper beats rock."
D'Argo: "Rock rips through paper."
John: "D'Argo, that's not how it works. Paper beats rock!" John shakes his hand in emphasis.
D'Argo: "That is unrealistic."
John: "Well, it's the rules. And it's not supposed to be realistic, it's supposed to be entertaining."
Aeryn enters as they are arguing.
D'Argo: "My coma was more entertaining."
John: "It's a kids game." He sees Aeryn walk past and stands up: "Aeryn. Good hunting?"
D'Argo gets up too: "Should we give you a hand?"
Aeryn: "No need."
John: "No. It's no problem."
Aeryn: "No, I say, I don't need any help." She is bustling around, getting ready to leave again. John grabs her by the arm and spins her around.
John: "You know what? I think you do."
D'Argo: "I'm certain you do."
Aeryn: "This is ridiculous." She turns to go again. Once again, John grabs hold of her arm.
John: "You know what? I have a question. How many times have we saved each others' lives?"
Aeryn gives her head a little shake: "I've lost count."
John: "Safe to say, more than once?"
Aeryn: "Sure."
John: "Right. And how many times have you and I been close?
Aeryn glances over at D'Argo, then back at John but with a confused look on her face. She shrugs her shoulders and whispers: "Just the once."
John looks down at his feet and clears his throat: "No". He puts a finger behind his ear and whispers back: "No, no, uh, not that kind of close."
Aeryn looks up and says loudly: "Oh, uh, friend close?"
John smiles through gritted teeth: "Yes."
Aeryn: "Um...(she clears her throat and looks down, trying to think)...M..more than once."
John: "Yah. Right. Well. Whatever our relationship is,...we should be at a place where we can trust one another."
Aeryn stares at him, not speaking.
John: "I think you're holding something back."
She still doesn't respond, only inhales.
John: "Look me in the eye...look me in the eye. Tell me that I'm wrong."
Aeryn looks at him briefly and turns and walks away.
D'Argo sighs as she walks past him.
Aeryn walks to some pillars and stops, leaning against one, her back towards them: "You're not going to like what I have to say."
John is biting the skin on his thumb: "Umm. Maybe not."
Aeryn turns around to look at him and sighs: "In order to save your lives, I had to make a deal with Crais."
D'Argo: "WHAT?!"
John: "Slow down. Stop. You had to what?"
Aeryn: "By the time I'd retrieved you, Moya had gone, you were both about to suffocate. And then Crais signaled me from Talyn with the coordinates to an oxygen-atmosphere asteroid."
D'Argo: "This asteroid."
Aeryn: "I never would have found it on my own. Not in time, anyway."
John: "Back up. What's your end in this deal?"
Aeryn: "When Moya left, Talyn got upset. Stopped obeying Crais. I agreed to help calm Talyn down. Teach him to start obeying Crais' orders."
John: "Oh, right, ha, ha,...that makes sense. You're...you're helping Talyn obey the guy who KIDNAPPED HIM!" John ends on a scream.
Aeryn yells back: "I didn't have another choice!"
D'Argo: "You should have let us die!"
Aeryn: "No. I couldn't have."
D'Argo: "That off-spring has weaponry. And you've put that weaponry within the grasp of Crais."
Aeryn: "Oh, what would you prefer, D'Argo? That Scorpius gets Talyn, or destroys Talyn? Right now, even Crais' control is better than no control at all."
John: "Right now?! I mean, when exactly is that going to change, Aeryn? After...Crais has brainwashed him, he's gonna give him back?"
Aeryn: "I told you you wouldn't like what I had to say!"
John: "I don't!"
D'Argo: "Neither do I."
Aeryn: "Yah, well it's all we have."
D'Argo: "No, it isn't." D'Argo 'tongues' Aeryn on the neck and she drops like a stone. John and D'Argo look at each other.
END OF ACT ONE
ACT TWO
D'Argo steps in front of John as he hurries over to the prone Aeryn.
D'Argo: "All right. We can not allow Crais to remain aboard Talyn. Do you agree?"
John: "Absolutely." He takes Aeryn's pulse pistol. "She's gonna be pissed when she gets up though."
D'Argo has his qualta blade: "It was a time-saver. You look after her while I go and break Crais' neck."
John: "D'Argo, you couldn't break wind right now. I'm goin."
D'Argo: "I owe Crais."
John steps up, into D'Argo's face: "You think I don't owe him? Shoot for it."
D'Argo breathes in and they both make fists.
John: "1...2...3"
D'Argo throws paper. John throws scissors.
John: "I'll see ya." He heads off as D'Argo watches him leave.
Aboard Moya, Chiana is in a corridor. The sound of Zhaan's chanting can be heard. "Meesacorsalyn, kailyn, kailyn."
Chiana gets to Zhaan's door: "Zhaan? It's me."
Zhaan is standing up in her room, her hands in the air, chanting, oblivious to her surroundings.
Chiana: "Hello?" She comes and stands right in front of Zhaan. "I...it...it's me. Chiana. Look, I...I hate to disturb you while you're so busy. Well, not that I understand what you're doing. I...I...I mean I understand it's part of the Delvian Seek thing, so you can become a priest again...or...something... But I don't see how it works. Not that it's my business."
Zhaan folds her arms across her chest: "You have 30 microts."
Chiana: Moya's got some fahrbot idea about going back to the asteroid field to look for her baby, even though we're sure to get captured by Peacekeepers, and I don't have to tell you what happens then. So, I was wondering if you could talk to Pilot so he could talk to Moya to convince her that this bad idea is, well, a bad idea. Did you get all that?"
Zhaan: "Yes."
Chiana: "So, you'll do it?"
Zhaan puts her hands back up in the air: "No."
D'Argo is busily rearranging things in the mining camp.
Aeryn: "You've killed all three of us now. Without Crais and Talyn's help, we'll never get out of here alive." She's sitting on the floor with her back against a pillar, rubbing her neck.
D'Argo sets down an empty cannister, with a loud 'clang': "Do you really think that Crais would return us to Moya once Talyn is under his control? His word is worth next to nothing."
Aeryn: "He no longer considers himself a Peacekeeper."
D'Argo: "Or so he claims."
Aeryn: "I believe him. He knows Scorpius would have him executed."
D'Argo: "Oh, then his conversion doesn't mean much, does it?"
Aeryn: "Well, perhaps not. But he is a fugitive just as we are, which means that his goals and ours may no longer conflict."
D'Argo hunkers down next to Aeryn: "If he has deserted the Peacekeepers, then his loyalties lie only to himself, which makes him more dangerous, not less."
D'Argo stands up and walks away.
On Talyn's bridge, Crais is at the controls.
Crais: "Locking scramble, security three velka. Please confirm."
On his Command Carrier, Scorpius replies: "Scramble confirmed. Proceed."
Crais: "The gunship is still..."
Scorpius comms: "Not my concern. Where's Crichton?"
Crais: "Officer Sun won't tell me yet."
Scorpius begins to pace.
Crais comms: "Building her trust is time-consuming, as is building the gunship's trust."
Crais, on the bridge: "The latter task is made no easier when the gunship is panicked by your spurious transmissions."
Scorpius gets up and walks over to the highbacked throne-chair and sits down in it.
Scorpius: "Your progress report was overdue. I concluded you were incapacitated and I attempted to retrieve the gunship."
Crais: "Then it is among your concerns."
Scorpius comms: "As a means to recovering Crichton, no more."
Scorpius is in the throne-chair: "Deliver Crichton to me, and I will allow you to keep the gunship."
Crais: "Demonstrate some of the formidable patience you're always bragging you possess."
Scorpius: "My patience is formidable, Crais. But it is not infinite."
Crais is addressing Talyn, who is still floating in the asteroid field.
Crais: "Talyn. You heard Scorpius. You are not his concern. Merely a tool he can use or barter away. This is how the Peacekeepers treat their own...you, me, Officer Sun... But we are alike now. Orphaned from all we ever knew, we have only one another to rely upon. You must believe me. Trust me."
Suddenly, with pulse pistol in hand, John Crichton appears in the doorway to Talyn's bridge.
Crais hears a noise and turns around: "Crichton?"
John: "Uh...I know...s...sorry. You know, I shoulda called, but I was in the neighborhood, thought I'd drop in, say 'Hi'" He steps down onto the bridge. "How ya doin?"
Crais: "Where's Officer Sun? Have you harmed her?"
John: "You're asking
ME if I've harmed Aeryn? That's a winner, Crais." John sidles past Crais to check out a control console. "Do Sebaceans have a word for "Chutzpah"?"
Crais: "What do you want, Crichton?"
John: "Oh, a couple of things. Your head on a platter for starters."
Crais: "I'm unarmed. You can kill me easily. Be warned, however. Talyn regards me as a friend."
John: "Interesting. I heard that you had a long way to go in that department."
Crais: "I have. Nevertheless, I believe he would react badly to my death and retaliate by killing you."
John: "Oh. Well, but if you're dead, he's outta your clutches. A fair price to pay, I'd say."
Crais: "Consider this. Neither of us wants to see Talyn in Scorpius' hands."
John: "Okay? I give. What do you want, Crais?"
Crais: "Simply to escape. To travel deeper into the Uncharted Territories. To re-examine my path."
John: "You want to have a mid-life crisis? Fine. Uh...just...ditch the firm, head off to Maui, shack up with the supermodel. But, you do not get to keep the Porsche! You don't get the keys to Moya's baby."
Crais: "Talyn... Intruder."
Two ceiling mounted guns engage and turn to target John. The door to the bridge closes.
John runs behind Crais, grabs him and puts the pistol to his head.
John: "You're about to lose your head. Now tell Talyn to put away the toys."
Crais raises his arm level with the floor: "Talyn." The guns retract and disengage.
John: "Now open the hatch."
Crais gestures with his arm and the door reopens.
John pushes, then pulls Crais towards the hatch: "We're gonna go for a little drive."
They leave the bridge.
Rygel is dozing in his thronesled when it begins to fly backwards. When it hits a wall, he is startled awake.
Rygel: "Wha...wha...Pilot! What the yotz was that?"
Pilot: "Moya is accelerating."
Rygel: "I know that. I felt it in all three stomachs."
Pilot: "She heard a transmission from Talyn. He's in the asteroid field, apparently in great pain. I'll try to find out more."
Chiana comes over to Rygel and grabs the thronesled: "Moya's in full lunatic mother mode."
Rygel: "She'll blunder right into Scorpius' bad teeth."
Chiana: "Uh...that uh...that module thing of Crichton's is still operational."
Pilot, hearing this, is aghast.
Chiana: "We could let Moya go on without us."
Rygel: "Hmm....we could. Not that any planet in this vicinity was very hospitable."
Pilot groans.
Chiana: "Pilot and....Pilot and Moya didn't abandon us during Zhaan's trial."
Chiana groans: "We can't ditch. We have to stick."
Rygel: "Stupid though it may be."
Pilot breaks in over comms: "There is a transport pod available, should you not wish to accompany us."
Chiana: "What? Leave you and Moya? No. We...we couldn't. Could we?"
Chiana gives Rygel a slap.
Rygel: "No. Oh, we'd never consider such a thing."
Pilot: "Eh!"
Scorpius and Lt. Braca are walking through the Command Carrier.
Scorpius: "This transmission can only be one thing. A Leviathan distress call."
Lt. Braca: "Then if Moya is anywhere in the area, she should come running."
Scorpius: "But the gunship has not emerged from the asteroid field. If Moya joins her off-spring in concealment, we have gained nothing."
Moya slowly enters the asteroid field.
Pilot: "Nearing the origin of Talyn's transmission, but there's no sign of Talyn. He may have fled further into the field."
Rygel: "Any other ships around?"
Pilot: "None. Wait! A prowler."
Chiana: "Has it seen us?"
Pilot: "Apparently. It's changing course to intersect with ours."
Chiana: "It's been a thrill, your frogness."
Rygel: "May your afterlife be almost as pleasant as mine."
Pilot: "This is odd. The prowler has not initiated any communications."
Chiana: "Not sending word home?"
Pilot: "No. In fact, it's manuevering as if it wishes to dock."
Rygel: "You don't think...?"
Chiana: "No. It couldn't be. Pilot, let it dock." Chiana runs off towards the docking bay.
Pilot: "Chiana, but don't you...?"
Rygel: "Chiana....?"
A prowler flies into Moya's docking bay. Chiana is just inside the hanger door, hiding. She has a rifle pointed towards the door. As the door opens, two male figures appear...John with Crais in tow, his hands behind his back.
John: "Yo, Chi! What up?"
Chiana yells: "Stay where you frelling are!"
Chiana and John look at each other for a few microts.
Chiana: "How do I know it's you?"
John: "You wanta check my birthmarks?"
Chiana stands up and comes out of her hiding place: "Yeah, maybe. Uh...why didn't you signal?"
John: "Cause the bad guys might be listenin."
Chiana nods slightly: "Okay, so...so what're ya doin with him?"
John looks at Crais and pulls him closer (he has an arm around his neck): "What? This guy?" John gives Crais a big, noisy kiss on the forehead: "I'm puttin this guy...back in his cell!"
John shoves Crais forward. Crais stumbles to the floor of the hanger and lies there.
John smiles at Chiana. She looks at him as if seeing him for the first time. She drops her rifle and leaps high into the air and literally flies across the room to land in John's arms.
John catches her: "Whoa!"
Chiana is laughing excitedly as John circles around, holding her and laughing with her. They bump into Crais who is still lying on the floor. A DRD runs over to Crais and starts ramming into the top of his head repeatedly.
Chiana: "You survived!"
John: "Hey! Don't I always?"
John comes up to Zhaan's open doorway. She continues to stand, hands in the air, chanting.
John: "Hey Blue!" When she doesn't respond, he peers into the room, then enters.
John: "Zhaan." He walks closer and looks into her face: "Hey darling, can you hear me?"
Zhaan: "Certainly I can hear you, John. I can always hear you."
John: "Uh huh." He looks behind him, at the wall, to try and see what she's looking at.
John: "You okay?"
Zhaan: "Perfectly."
John: "You're not...surprised to see me?"
Zhaan: "Not at all."
Chiana has come to the doorway and is looking in at them.
Zhaan puts her arms down: "I apologize for shouting at you, John."
John laughs: "That's okay. Um... when exactly was that?"
Zhaan: "On Litiagara. I accused you of not being there for me. I realize now that...that wasn't true."
John: "Liti..." he looks over at Chiana "...gara. Don't think that I've been there, but I'm here now."
Zhaan: "Yes, your spirit is with me. The flesh is unimportant."
John: "No. It's kinda important."
Zhaan just looks at him.
John laughs: "Whoa! Oh, ho, oh...I'm not dead!" He looks over at Chiana: "She thinks I'm dead." Chiana smiles.
John looks back at Zhaan: "I'm real."
Zhaan: "Yes John. You always will be to me."
Zhaan reaches out and touches John's face, then pulls him closer and presses her ear to his.
John: "Oh!" He staggers and falls backwards.
Zhaan puts her hands back up at her sides and resumes looking off into space.
John groans and gets up, rubbing his ear. He staggers over to Chiana.
John: "What do you...help?"
Chiana: "Pilot thinks nothing's wrong. She's resumed the Delvian Seek."
John: "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Did you...what, did you tell me this is supposed to be normal?"
Chiana: "Oh, you tell me. You've seen more Delvians than I have."
John: "You think that's a help?"
D'Argo is attempting to play "Rock/Paper/Scissors" against himself. He keeps throwing the same thing with both hands (scissors) and grumbles to himself: "Tied."
Aeryn is sitting against a pillar. She sighs: "We're low on food. I'd conserve your energy if I were you."
D'Argo: "For what purpose?"
Aeryn: "To live longer."
D'Argo: "If I am to die on this asteroid, I would rather it was sooner than later. Besides, if I die, you can eat me."
Aeryn: "You don't look ripe to me."
John hollers: "Somebody call for a taxi?"
D'Argo stands up: "Crichton! You succeeded."
John: "I'm one for two. I'll give you the details on the way back." He goes to Aeryn and grabs her arm to help her up.
Pilot comms: "Crichton! You must return now. Moya's made contact with Talyn."
John: "Where is Talyn?"
Pilot: "About to leave the asteroid field."
John: "We're on the way, Pilot!" All three start grabbing supplies to take to the prowler.
Lt. Braca follows Scorpius through a door: "Theres no mistake, Sir. The gunship is leaving the asteroid field and Moya is pursuing."
Scorpius: "Follow them. But stay well clear of their sensor range. They must not see us until they are too far from the asteroid field to hide again."
Lt. Braca: "But we won't be able to catch the Leviathan if she starbursts."
Scorpius sits in the highbacked settee: "She won't because her offspring can't. On my signal, cripple both ships. Commando units will take Crichton alive, but I care for no other prisoners, clear?"
END OF ACT TWO
ACT THREE
Talyn flies away from the asteroid field. Moya is following close behind him.
Rygel is on Command. John enters, with D'Argo right behind.
John: "Sparkee! How's my favorite Hynerian?"
Rygel turns to look at him, but cannot speak. He gasps for breath. "I....ah..."
D'Argo: "Even I am pleased to see you."
Rygel continues to gasp. He attempts to cough but only a strangled choking noise emerges.
D'Argo holds up one finger: "Are...uh, are you not well?"
Rygel continues to gasp and choke.
Crichton: "Got a frog in your throat? You need a Hynerian Heimlich?"
John goes over behind Rygel and grabs him under his armpits. He lifts him up and shakes him.
Rygel gasps a couple more times, then says: "Fine. I'll be fine." He takes one normal breath and looks up...and sees Aeryn entering Command and starts to gasp again.
He manages to get out: "Slight...case...of the intons."
John: "The what?"
Aeryn: "It's a Hynerian airway seizure caused by very strong emotions."
Rygel continues to gasp, but John laughs: "I didn't know you had strong emotions in you, Sparky."
D'Argo: "Other than, uh...greed, of course."
Rygel: "A simple reaction to the shock of seeing you again."
John pats Rygel on the head and puts him back in his thronesled.
Pilot: "It is good to have you all back aboard."
John: "We missed you too, Pilot."
Aeryn: "Very much. What's Talyn's status?"
Pilot: "Highly distraught. He continues to flee and won't even acknowledge Moya's signals."
Aeryn: "Pilot, I might have a little more luck. Is Moya willing to let me try?"
Pilot listens for a moment: "Moya consents. You may proceed."
Aeryn: "Thank you." She begins to walk: "Talyn. This is Aeryn. Please answer." She walks past D'Argo and behind John and stops, folding her arms across her chest.
Aeryn: "Talyn, you don't have to run from Moya. She only wants to protect you."
Pilot is listening intently to Aeryn.
Aeryn: "Look, Talyn, I know you're confused. You've heard so many voices...."
Aeryn is standing near a control console: "But you know that I care about you. At least let me know that you can hear what I'm saying!" She starts pacing again.
John grabs her by the elbow: "Hey. You might want to give it a rest. Poor kid's confused. He doesn't know who to listen to."
Aeryn: "Moya's still trying to catch him, which can't be helping matters."
John: "No. Look, I'm gonna go have a chat with Pilot." Aeryn hunkers down to wait as John leaves Command.
Pilot is already talking as John enters the den: "I'm sorry Commander. Moya refuses to allow Talyn to get further away."
John: "Look, look, look. Does she not realize that by chasing him, she's making him more nervous?"
Pilot: "She's convinced she can still get through to him and talk him down. Having found him, she's terrified at the thought of losing him again."
John interrupts: "I know. I know. It's her kid. It's her kid. I know that. I know that. Maybe Mom really does know best." He starts back down the catwalk, then turns back towards Pilot.
John: "There's no sign of the Command Carrier, right?"
Pilot: "None...yet."
Zhaan is sitting in her quarters, indian style. She is holding a crystal in front of herself, at arms length and moving it back and forth across the front of her body. Everytime the crystal crosses in front of it, a large bell, sitting several feet away, rings.
Aeryn walks up to the open door: "Zhaan?"
Zhaan glances in her direction: "Hello Aeryn. Come in."
Aeryn walks in and comes to sit next to Zhaan: "Crichton said you were chanting. Are you finished yet?"
Zhaan: "I'll never be finished. This is a different phase of the Seek."
Aeryn nods. "Fine. Well, I just wanted to see how you were."
Zhaan: "I love you."
Aeryn: "You what?"
Zhaan: "I love you"
Aeryn jumps up and hurries to the other side of the room: "Oh, yes, I did hear it the first time and you know what? I...I...I..."
Zhaan: "I love all living beings. The Seek has reopened my eyes to...the wonder of the spirit. I am now going to devote my life to enlightenment." Zhaan continues to ring the bell.
Aeryn: "Oh. Well, I think that's um...really selfish, actually."
Aeryn comes back to sit next to her: "You know, before you bliss off completely into oblivion, you might want to have a little look around you, because Moya and Talyn are in danger."
Zhaan face has lost its peaceful look. She puts the crystal down for a moment and glances at Aeryn. Then, she picks it up, sets her jaw firmly and begins to move it rhythmically again.
Zhaan: "Worldly concerns do not interest me now."
Aeryn: "Oh, really? Well then, don't give me any dren about how much you love me."
The crystal's movement stops in mid swing. Zhaan closes her eyes: "Love, in its most rarefied sense..."
Aeryn interrupts: "To rarefied for me. I'm just an ignorant warrior who believes..."
Aeryn stands back up: "...love means you're willing to fight and die for your fellow living beings." She stomps out.
Zhaan watches her leave, then turns back towards the bell. She takes a deep breath to calm herself and picks up the crystal. She slashes it in the air several times, causing a discordant, crashing noise to issue from the bell. She puts the crystal back down in her lap and sighs.
D'Argo is sitting on the floor, holding his qualta blade balanced on its tip. Crais is in a cell across from where he is sitting and comes to the bars to talk.
Crais: "You're an atypical Luxan, Ka D'Argo. You left your military service to raise a family upon...a rural planet."
D'Argo: "Spare me your disapproval."
Crais: "I don't. I lived upon a farming community until the Peacekeepers conscripted me."
D'Argo: "My wife was a Sebacean. Tell me you approve of that."
Crais: "No. I find it repellent. That reaction...the concept of irreversible contamination...was instilled in me by the Peacekeepers. As such, it needs to be questioned, re-examined."
D'Argo: "A containment cell's a fine place for reflection."
Crais: "True. P'au Zhaan achieved much during her incarceration. But I...cannot stay here. Talyn needs me."
D'Argo: "Too frelling bad."
Crais laughs: "Your hatred of me, though well earned, blinds you. I can keep Talyn out of Peacekeeper hands, and I will."
D'Argo: "You're not getting back aboard Talyn. Get used to the idea. Re-examine it."
Crais laughs again: "I shall. Before you were... arrested, were you happy?"
D'Argo: "Happier than you can ever imagine."
Crais: "Then I envy you."
D'Argo doesn't respond.
The Command Carrier continues on its course. On board...
Lt. Braca: "Both Leviathans are decelerating."
Scorpius: "Either they have no plan whatsoever, or they're about to implement one. Which isn't immediately apparent. Our wisest move in both cases is the same. Overtake and engage."
The Command Carrier is surrounded by a swarm of smaller vessels, moving with it towards the Leviathans.
Chiana runs onto Command, followed closely by Aeryn.
Chiana: "Well, don't take your time or anything."
Aeryn: "You're sure it's the Command Carrier, Pilot?"
John hurries to a command console.
Pilot: "Yes. Closing fast. Firing range in six thousand microts."
John: "Scorpius. He just can't live without me."
Pilot: "Talyn sees the carrier. He's powering up his main cannon."
A cannon emerges from within Talyn and swivels to a horizontal position.
Rygel: "Excellent. Have him aim dead amidships. Right in Scorpius'..."
Pilot: "He's aiming for Moya."
Suddenly, Talyn fires his cannon and Moya appears to be hit. Everyone on Command is sent flying.
John jumps to his feet: "What the hell is he doing?"
Pilot: "Talyn says that was a warning shot. He's sending Moya a demand."
Rygel: "What's he want?"
Pilot: "A captain. Talyn's afraid. He doesn't know what to do about the approaching Command Carrier."
Chiana: "Oh! Like we do?"
Pilot: "He insists he needs guidance."
John: "Ouch! Let's get that boy some guidance before he becomes a full-blown Menendez Brother."
Aeryn: "I'll go at once." She heads off the bridge.
Pilot: "Talyn demands that we send over Crais."
John: "What?!"
Aeryn: "He said he wants Crais?"
John: "He can't have him! Pilot, get that boy on the phone!"
Pilot: "He's unwilling to discuss it further. He says he'll fire upon us unless we agree to return Crais now."
Aeryn: "Pilot, evasives." She goes to Moya's manual flight controller.
Pilot: "Moya won't. She doesn't believe he'll fire."
John: "Pilot, let's get that defense screen up, just in case mama's wrong."
The defense screen surrounds Moya's outer hull.
Pilot: "Done. But it may not hold."
Talyn fires again and this time hits Moya dead-on. The defense screen shatters and disappears.
On Command, everyone ducks as the shot hits. The wiring for the defense screen blows up, throwing sparks and debris everywhere. John pulls Chiana down to the floor, protecting her from the explosion.
END OF ACT THREE
ACT FOUR
Sparks and smoke are flying out of the remains of the defense screen mechanism.
John helps Chiana up off the floor: "Man! Haven't you people ever heard of fuses?"
Pilot: "Moya's unhurt, but the defense screen is out."
Chaina looks at the smoking wreck: "No. Really?"
Pilot: "And another shot would do Moya considerable harm."
Aeryn: "Scorpius will be upon us in no more than five thousand microts." Aeryn begins to walk off Command: "I'm gonna take Crais to Talyn."
John: "And then what? We leave Talyn in Crais' control?"
Aeryn: "His and mine. I'll stay aboard Talyn with Crais."
John: "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! For how long?"
Aeryn: "For as long as necessary to protect Talyn. He's very intellegent John. Once he matures, he'll no longer want a captain."
John: "Yah, Aeryn, in the meantime..."
Aeryn: "I'll be there to mitigate any damage that Crais does."
John: "Crais is never gonna go for that."
Aeryn: "Yes, he will. He's already offered to take me with him."
John crosses Command to stand toe-to-toe with Aeryn: "And you'd do that?"
Aeryn: "I don't have another choice."
John: "There are always choices, Aeryn."
Aeryn: "The only other choice is death for everyone, Talyn included."
John: "Well I'm not gonna let you go with him."
Aeryn: "There isn't another solution."
John: "There has to be."
Aeryn: "We're out of time." She turns and leaves.
John: "Aeryn."
She stops with her hand on the Command door frame.
Crais' cell door opens.
John: "Your nephew wants to see you."
Crais clears his throat loudly: "I knew he would...eventually." Crais comes to the door of his cell. "Officer Sun...make your choice."
Aeryn: "I want to go with you."
Crais: "Crichton...this is a beneficial turn of events for all concerned. With the happy exception of Scorpius."
John: "Crais...I don't like this plan and I never will. So you better behave yourself with Talyn...and Aeryn."
Aeryn looks up when she hears him say this.
John: "Cause if you hurt either one of them...." he turns to look Crais right in the face"...I'm gonna hunt you down."
Crais smirks at this: "You hunt me down."
John laughs too.
Crais: "That would complete the symmetry nicely, wouldn't it?"
Crais and Aeryn are walking together towards the transport hanger where her prowler is parked. John follows a few paces behind. At the door to the hanger, Aeryn stops while Crais continues on, into the hanger. He stops a little way in and turns to look back. John catches up with Aeryn and stands behind her. Aeryn turns around to face John.
John: "Last time we stood here, we didn't say good-bye."
Aeryn, with tears in her voice: "And it wasn't good-bye, as it turned out."
Their hands meet in mid-air, palms touching and they inter-twine their fingers. Aeryn looks at their hands, while John continues to stare at her face. Crais has a look of disbelief on his face, watching them.
John: "Here's hoping history repeats itself." He smiles a tiny smile with one corner of his mouth. Aeryn continues to look at him for another moment, then turns and walks into the hanger. John continues to stand, looking into the hanger, as the door closes and the prowler exits Moya.
Crais and Aeryn enter Talyn's bridge.
Crais: "Talyn...we have returned. We are prepared to guide you out of danger. Take you far from the domain of the Peacekeepers."
Aeryn: "Maneuver very close to Moya and her starburst will carry us all to safety."
Talyn is making loud, low beeping noises. A smoke or mist rises from the floor and in the center of it, a snake like object with prongs extending from its end, appears.
Aeryn: "What is that?"
Crais: "It is the 'Hand of Friendship'." Crais has his hand on the back of his neck.
Crais: "It's the greatest honor it can bestow."
Aeryn and Crais both step nearer to the 'Hand'.
Crais: "Talyn...who's it for?"
Talyn makes a long series of beeps. Crais looks up and closes his eyes. Aeryn looks disturbed.
Crais sighs: "Thank you. I humbly accept."
Crais turns his back to the 'Hand'. He rips open his tunic and pulls his braid out of the way as the 'Hand' extends towards him.
Aeryn: "No, Talyn."
The 'Hand' continues to approach Crais' neck.
Aeryn: "Talyn!"
The 'Hand' rears back and strikes! It hits Crais in the back of the neck and he screams. The snake retracts, leaving a circular device imbedded in Crais' neck. There are streams of blood pouring from the puncture sites.
Aeryn: "Talyn! What's happening?"
Crais looses consciousness and falls face forwards to the floor.
Aeryn: "Talyn! What have you done?!"
Aeryn walks over to look at Crais' neck as he sputters awake.
Aeryn: "What is that?"
Crais gasps for breath a couple of times: "A neural transponder. A direct interface with Talyn. His senses...his propulsors...his weaponry...I command them all."
Aeryn: "You command him?"
Crais has his hands out in front of himself, staring at them as if he's never seen them before.
Crais: "Every system. It's indescribable. It's a pity you can't experience it."
Aeryn: "Crais...we were going to share command of Talyn..."
Crais interrupts: "Talyn chose otherwise."
Aeryn: "He needs both of us."
Crais: "No. We no longer need you. Talyn can only have one master. You may return to Moya."
Aeryn: "I will not."
Crais: "You must. He and I are of like mind on this."
Aeryn: "Crais, take that thing off."
There is no response.
Aeryn: "Take it off." She moves closer to Crais and pulls her pistol, aiming it at his neck.
Aeryn: "Take it off or I will!"
Talyn's ceiling mounted guns come to bear, aiming at Aeryn. At the sound of the guns, Aeryn glances up at them. Crais whirls around and knocks her pistol from her hand. They begin to fight hand-to-hand. Aeryn lands several good blows and Talyn fires his cannons at her. She dives behind a console to evade the blasts. As Crais approaches her, she lunges out and Crais is knocked to the floor behind a console. While fighting over the remaining pulse pistol, Aeryn is finally knocked to the floor in the doorway, where Talyn has a clear shot at her.
Aeryn, from the floor: "Talyn! I'm not the enemy."
Crais climbs to his feet, breathing heavily: "We know that. But you cannot stay aboard here. You have fifty microts to get back to your prowler, before we open that passageway into space."
Aeryn is wounded and having trouble crawling up and out of the bridge. She gasps and moans as she struggles.
Crais: "Good health, Officer Sun."
Aboard Moya, Chiana, D'Argo, Rygel and John are waiting.
John: "Pilot? Why hasn't Talyn tucked in close? We need a starburst damn soon."
Pilot: "In ninety microts, the carrier will be in range to fire."
Rygel: "Then, what's keeping them?"
Pilot: "The prowler has just emerged from Talyn."
D'Argo: "Who's aboard?"
Pilot: "Officer Sun. She's asking to return to Moya."
John: "Pilot. Get her aboard, fast!"
The Command Carrier's cannon swings into view. Onboard...
Peacekeeper: "Forty more microts."
Lt. Braca: "Charging all frag cannons. Boarding parties, standing by."
Scorpius: "Fire when at optimal range."
Crais comms: "Scorpius! My final progress report."
Scorpius: "Stay that command."
Crais is on Talyn's bridge: "The gunship is secured."
Lt. Braca and Scorpius are listening to Crais' transmission.
Crais: "And I am resigning my Peacekeeper commission effective immediately."
Scorpius: "Crais...cease this nonsense."
Crais: "As for Crichton, he is dead. I killed him with my bare hands. My brother is avenged. Here ends my report....Captain."
Scorpius snarls: "Fire upon both Leviathans."
The frag cannons open fire!
Crais concentrates...and Talyn goes into starburst for the first time. He rapidly disappears.
Chiana: "Starburst?"
The crew, gathered in Moya's command watches as Talyn disappears.
Chiana: "I thought Talyn wasn't ready."
D'Argo: "He obviously learns a lot faster than we thought."
John: "Pilot. Is the prowler aboard?"
Pilot: "Yes. Prepare for immediate starburst."
The familiar sight of Moya preparing to starburst appears, then vanishes, as she does.
Aboard the Command Carrier....
Scorpius: "Lieutenant...."
Scorpius is pacing in front of a ramrod straight Lt. Braca, while tossing a silver ball into the air and then catching it: "Your tactical expert claimed....the gunship's ability to starburst would not mature for an arn. Send him to me...so I might educate him."
Lt. Braca: "Yes, Sir." Braca starts to leave.
Scorpius: "Start searching for Moya on her most probable starburst vectors."
Lt. Braca: "Not the gunship, Sir?" He stops and starts back towards Scorpius: "After all, with Crichton dead...."
Scorpius interrupts him: "Crichton isn't dead! That's merely Crais' small attempt to take revenge upon me."
Lt. Braca: "How can you be so sure?"
Scorpius: "If Crais had killed Crichton, he wouldn't tell me. Crichton is alive!"
Scorpius tosses the silver ball to Lt. Braca who manages a two-handed catch.
Scorpius: "And I will find him!"
Scorpius snarls and stalks over to the red, highbacked chair and sits down, very upset.
END OF ACT FOUR
EPILOGUE
Zhaan is sitting in her quarters, looking dejected. D'Argo comes to her open doorway and stops with a hand on the frame.
D'Argo: "If you are gonna sit there in a coma, you could at least smile."
Zhaan turns to look at him: "Sweet D'Argo." She turns her head away again: "I was just thinking."
D'Argo slowly enters her room: "Part of the Seek?"
Zhaan: "No. Aeryn was right. As much as I wish to immerse myself in the Seek and in the next level of existence..."
D'Argo continues into her room and sits down across from her.
Zhaan: "...I cannot abandon you all. I will slow down the Seek."
D'Argo nods: "The next level will always be there. This one will not."
Zhaan smiles: "Then we must cherish it while we have it. And we must cherish each other."
D'Argo smiles and nods.
John and Aeryn are sitting together on the floor. She has her back to him, sitting between his legs, as he plays with a loose tendril of her hair.
Aeryn: "I failed."
John: "No, you did everything you could."
Aeryn: "In other words, I failed."
Pilot: "Officer Sun...."
Aeryn lifts her head up...she and John are sitting in front of Pilot's console, in the den.
Pilot: "Talyn told Moya he was choosing Crais of his own volition"
John: "Yah. For what that's worth."
Pilot: "He'll contact her from time to time and let her know he's okay."
John: "Well, they say they'll call home, Pilot, once a week. Never do."
Pilot sighs.
Aeryn leans back, against John: "Talyn will be all right, won't he?"
John stops playing with Aeryn's hair and wraps his arms around her: "Well...he's young...and he's gonna make mistakes. But he'll learn. And, if Crais ever mistreats him, he'll bounce him."
Aeryn: "Maybe Crais won't mistreat him."
John: "Hmmm."
Aeryn: " He could've killed me, you know. He could've killed all of us and he didn't."
John: "Yeah. Maybe he just needed to save the energy for starburst."
Aeryn: "Or maybe he's changed."
John laughs derisively.
Aeryn: "Well, you do believe people can change...don't you John?"
John glances down at her and laughs.
Aeryn: "Well?" Aeryn laughs.
John, still laughing: "Well...you have."
Aeryn: "Mmm?" John gives her a quick little kiss on the forehead.
John: "Mmm....I have."
Aeryn: "Mmm?"
John sobers up: "But Crais...?"
END OF EPILOGUE
