Air Date: April 19, 2002
Written by Rockne S. O'Bannon
Directed by Rowan Woods
Transcript by Xenajules2
Edited and put on-line by Bluey
Episode 3.21 - Into the Lion's Den: Part 2: Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Previously on Farscape (voice of Crais):
Scene One: from "Fractures", Moya is flying through space. John addresses the crew: "I don't see another option." switches to...
Scene Two: from "Into the Lion's Den, Part One", outside shot of Scorpius' Command Carrier and the many smaller vessels surrounding it. Switches back to...
Scene Three: from "Fractures", John addressing the crew. John: "Scorpius has the knowledge from my brain, and I'm not going to let him shaft the Universe with it." Aeryn stands there implacably, listening. John: "I'm going to stop Scorpius."
Scene Four: from "Into the Lion's Den, Part One", John and Aeryn enter the Command Carrier. Scorpius spreads his arms wide and says: "Welcome. I grant you John, and your companions, full diplomatic rights, immunities and courtesies whilst aboard this vessel." A long red carpet is visible, lined on either side with armed Peacekeepers. As Scorpius is speaking John, Aeryn and Crais are seen walking down the carpet. As he passes, Crais makes eye contact with a female Peacekeeper.
Scene Five: from "I-Yensch, You-Yensch", Lt. Braca sets two I-Yensch bracelets on a table. Scorpius: "Those wearing the bracelets will feel each other's pain." Braca, who is wearing a bracelet, puts the other on D'Argo's wrist.
Scene Six: from "I-Yensch, You-Yensch", Rygel headbutts the top of Lt. Braca's head. Braca and D'Argo both cry out and recoil. They turn away and both hit their heads on the wall and fall to the floor. Rygel: "And if one is killed?" Scorpius: "Both will be dead."
Scene Seven: from "Into the Lion's Den, Part One", While walking together towards Scorpius, John says to Aeryn: "Let's test the jewelry." Aeryn takes his thumb and twists it viciously, causing John's knees to buckle and him to cry out in pain. At the head of the carpet, Scorpius also cries out and grabs his own hand. The Peacekeepers nearest him bring their weapons instantly to bear on John.
Scene Eight: from "Into the Lion's Den, Part One", Scorpius tells John: "The rift between us is finally bridged." He holds his hand out to John.
Scene Nine: from "Into the Lion's Den, Part One", Lt. Loral tells Crais: "Scorpius stole your command. I knew he squeezed you out of power." Crais: "What else do you know?" Lt. Loral grabs Crais and they begin to kiss.
Scene Ten: from "Into the Lion's Den, Part One", Henta tells Aeryn: "You could have come back." Aeryn: "I didn't want to come back."
Scene Eleven: from "Into the Lion's Den, Part One", Talyn is entering the hangar bay aboard the Command Carrier. Lt. Braca, Lt. Loral and Crais are among the Peacekeepers watching him. Lt. Loral: "He is magnificant." Crais: "He's harmless. His weapons have been deactivated." Lt. Loral hands Braca an instrument: "That ship's biologics are on minimal auto-support. All his other systems are dead."
Scene Twelve: from "Into the Lion's Den, Part One", John and Co-Kura Strappa are looking at a translucent computer screen. John: "These are design specs, right?" Co-Kura: "To create an external field stabilizes a wormhole before entry."
Scene Thirteen: from "Into the Lion's Den, Part One", Commandant Grayza tells Scorpius: "Your project has cost us dearly ... and yielded nothing."
Scene Fourteen: from "Into the Lion's Den, Part One", Scorpius joins John in the lab. He puts his hand on top of John's head and says: "The equations we need are in here." John pushes his hand away and jumps up: "Don't touch me!"
Scene Fifteen: from "Into the Lion's Den, Part One", Scorpius holds John's head, smashed against the table top: "You give me what I want, or I swear, I will keep you alive, so that you can witness your homeworld's destruction."
And now, on Farscape...
PROLOGUE
Many smaller ships fly around and near the Command Carrier.
In Scorpius' quarters, he slams and holds John's face against the top of the table where a projection of planet Earth is visible.
Scorpius: "Look at it! You listen to me, John. I don't care about your homeworld... your entire species. Live... die... means nothing to me. What interests me is that they... matter... to...
you!"
John: "You think holding a fricking gun on my planet is gonna motivate me to help you?"
Scorpius: "I... have run... out... of... time!" He hauls John upright by his collar. The projection of the earth disappears.
John: "Huh! Don't stop. Grrrrrr! Let's see how much pain you can take."
Scorpius slams John face first into the table again. John screams loudly.
Scorpius: "That Commandant bitch will return here anytime. I... must be able to report success or... she's going to scrap my wormhole project and soon the Scarrans will... rule... half... this... galaxy!"
John, face down and bleeding on the table: "Oh, Grasshopper. You're
so screwed!"
Scorpius screams! He picks John up and flings him up the steps. John lands on his back near Scorpius' communications console. Scorpius comes and kneels over him.
Scorpius: "If
I am screwed, John. Things around here are going to get very ugly."
John makes a fake kiss at Scorpius who taps him on the cheek. Scorpius stands up and starts to walk out of the room. John hits the back of his head against the floor as hard as he can, twice, until he hears Scorpius' grunt of pain.
In the Officer's lounge...
Crais is sitting alone, at the bar. John and Aeryn enter the room, talking....
Aeryn: "But if Grayza's going to stop the experiment in a few days, then we have already succeeded."
Crais turns his head slightly, to listen.
John: "No. Scorpius is in Captain Queeg mode. Somebody stole his strawberries and he's not gonna let his pet project die."
Aeryn: "How's he planning to stop Grayza?"
John: "We're talkin about Scorpius. You prepared to bet against him?" John walks over to Crais.
John: "Bialar. You look tense. Let's take a little steam in that restorative chamber."
Crais looks unhappy, but he gets up and follows John.
D'Argo, Jool, Chiana and Rygel are together, in the healing chamber.
D'Argo is standing with his arms folded across his chest: "So we're agreed. We stay no longer. We go."
Rygel: "Agreed."
Jool: "Agreed."
John slams into the door and opens it. He walks over to the group, followed by Aeryn and Crais.
John: "All right folks. Gather round. New deal. This whole Commandant Grayza strong arm routine... changes everything."
D'Argo: "We agree."
Rygel: "This could all get nasty, very quickly."
John: "Absolutely, but it might not be nasty enough to put a spike into Scorpy's wormhole project once and for all."
Chiana: "Well the scuttlebutt on the ship... is Grayza's got Scorpius' mivonks in one hezmana of a vise."
John looks at the group: "Are we all on the same page here? We came to permanently sabotague Scorpy's project. Now, I've been trying to kill it from the inside, but we have run out of time. We have one... option left. Only one.... we blow up the Command Carrier."
Chiana laughs. Everyone else looks worried.
END OF PROLOGUE
ACT ONE
In the Command Carrier's healing room, the group is gathered.
Jool: "Blow up... the Command Carrier? The
entire Command Carrier?"
John: "All of Scorpy's data is on this ship. He's retro'ed the entire damed hull into a repeated necessary to stablize a wormhole. This boat
is the Peacekeeper wormhole project."
Rygel: "But, this carrier's huge. Over a metre long."
Chiana: "Is it possible to blow up the whole ship?"
John: "It's armed to the teeth. We can blow the munitions store. Or, we can stick a banana in the tailpipe. I do not care how we do it, but we do it."
Chiana laughs and claps her hands.
Aeryn: "There are over fifty thousand men, women and children aboard this ship."
John and Aeryn look at each other for a tense moment.
John: "Then we find a way... to get 'em off before we blow it up."
D'Argo: "John. There's no
way that we..."
John: "Is this
not what we came here to do?" John looks at each of the group in turn. "Crais. You commanded this ship. Can we destroy it?"
Crais shakes his head: "It's possible. I'll need to see the specs on any modifications Scorpius' made, and any redistribution of power and fuel since I was in command."
John: "Good. We have a start and... we will find a way to get the people off. Guys. We can do this. And we have to try."
Rygel: "I did see what the Scarrans were able to do. Even if by some... (he laughs) wild miracle, I manage to regain my throne, I won't hold it for long if the Peacekeepers have this technology. I know what horrible destruction wormholes can wreak. Nobody should wield such power... nobody."
In the hangar, near Talyn....
The Public Address system can be heard faintly, in the background: "All available tech units to the docking bay..."
Crais walks through the hangar. A male Peacekeeper coming the other way puts a hand on his shoulder and stops him.
Crais: "I'm on my way to the Leviathan Hybrid."
Peacekeeper: "Not anymore, Sir."
Crais: "The hybrid is dead. There is no reason to deny me access."
Peacekeeper: "Scorpius' orders are my reason."
Crais backs up and walks away. The tall Peacekeeper watches him go.
John is sitting in the lab, staring into a computer screen....
The scene switches to black and white and we see the canvas topped truck with John and Harvey seated on crates, beside it, playing a game of chess. A lighted lantern sits on another crate, beside them. There are flashes of light and the sound of gunfire and mortar shells. "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again" plays plaintively in the background.
Harvey: "This is all very pleasant John, but, ahh... shouldn't we be working? Or at least, well, pretending to work."
John: "Would he do it?"
Harvey: "Huh? Oh, would Scorpius actually attack earth? If you fail in delivering the wormhole answers. Pffh." He sees something and reaches across the chessboard to make a move. After he does, he laughs.
John reaches out and knocks his own king on its side.... checkmate.
The blue flicker of the translucent screen is reflected in John's eyes.
A shell hits near the crates where John and Harvey are sitting.
Harvey: "Would he set out on a 60 cycle mission... to destroy an insignificant planet. Huh! Though I wouldn't over-underestimate Scorpius' resolve for retribution, John."
They are now playing checkers.
Harvey: "If he feels he's been..."
John starts to make a move: "No. Wait" He reaches the checker piece he just moved.
Harvey: "Hey! Took your hand off!" He gestures at the board. John takes his hand back and Harvey picks up a checkerpiece and starts jumping John's pieces. Another shell hits nearby and the light flares. John and Harvey are now playing a hand of cards.
Harvey looks skyward, then back at John: "Got any threes?"
John reaches into his hand and tosses a card out onto the table.
Harvey happily grabs it up: "Uh huh. Yes! So, tell me John. If you do develop wormhole trap, and gain the ability to return home, would you really destroy that information?"
John: "Got any sixes?"
Harvey: "Go fish! Ah hah!" He throws his arms up in the air and jumps up just as another shell lands nearby. "Hurrah!" He looks around, nervously and gingerly sits back down.
John is still staring into the computer screen.
Co-Kura Strappa: "Crichton? Crichton? Crichton, you're no longer writing on the tablet." He puts a hand on John's shoulder.
John has a black pen in his right hand and is drawing or writing something on his left hand.
Co-Kura: "Crichton? Crichton? "
John continues to draw on his hand. The blue light shines on his face and on the weird symbols. John turns his hand this way and that, looking at them.
Co-Kura: "Oh by Jensat, look what you've done! I... I think you've unlocked the fifth level coupling anomalies."
John continues to twist his hand around, while looking at it: "So that's how it works."
Co-Kura: "I must get these figures plugged in immediately."
John: "We're close."
Co-Kura: "Yes. Oh, yes." He hurries away.
John continues to stare, fascinated, at his hand. "I can do this." He looks into the computer screen and sees a wormhole forming there.
Lt. Loral is with Crais, in his quarters. She walks over to him and kneels down in front of him, looking up into his face.
Lt. Loral: "Disarming him was the final step towards his resurrection. Your experience with Talyn... will be invaluable... to making that happen. We must get you back aboard Talyn."
Crais: "They'd never let me stay with him."
Lt. Loral stands up and puts her hand on the back of Crais' head: "We don't know that." She trails her hand down the line of his jaw.
Crais: " Not unless I have something to trade."
Scorpius is standing in his quarters as Braca comes to the doorway.
Lt. Braca: "Sir." He is followed two armed and helmeted Peacekeepers who have Crais held between them, his hands secured behind his back.
Braca whispers to Scorpius: "Talk to Crais." Scorpius nods and Braca gestures to the soldiers. They bring Crais forward, into Scorpius' quarters, and up to the bottom of the steps.
Scorpius sits down and asks: "You have something for me?"
Crais, breathlessly: "Yes. A demand."
Scorpius: "Get him out of here! Get him out of my sight."
Crais, as the soldiers attempt to drag him away: "I demand that I suffer no repercussions for any of my actions during exile. I demand assurances that the Leviathan hybrid will be resurrected, that I will be leader of that project, working along side of Lt. Loral." The soldiers have him nearly to the door.
Scorpius comes down the steps: "Stop. Let him speak."
The soldiers ease up on their grip and stop pulling Crais away.
Scorpius: "You... ah, have something comparable I assume."
Crais nods: "More than comparable."
Scorpius: "Any deal you strike with me may not prove enforceable once Commandant Grayza returns."
Crais: "If you delineate my requests in an Executive Order, signed while you were still in command of this vessel, High Command must honor it, no matter what dishonor you may endure."
Scorpius: "I accept your terms."
Braca's eyes swivel madly between Scorpius and Crais.
Scorpius: "Release him." The soldiers let go of Crais and step back.
Crais looks up and shakes his head. He begins to walk towards Scorpius as he talks: "Scorpius. Crichton has no intention of helping you." Crais circles around behind Scorpius: "He has determined that there is only one way to stop you and your experiments with finality." Crais leans in towards Scorpius' ear: "He is conspiring with some of Moya's crew, to destroy... this Command Carrier."
END OF ACT ONE
ACT TWO
Aeryn walks down a corridor and enters an planetary terrain reconstruction area of the ship. She glances around at the different groups of Peacekeepers and stops near a statue. She hears a child's voice... crying.
Child: "Help! Let me go!" There is a young Peacekeeper girl lying on the ground under a tree. Two young boys are holding her, with one of them poised to hit her.
Aeryn: "Hey!" The boys flinch at the sound and quickly run away. The little girl slowly sits up.
Girl: "Help. Help." Aeryn walks over to her.
Aeryn: "Got an injury."
Girl: "Yes."
Aeryn: "Let's have a look." She kneels down in front of the girl.
Aeryn: "Huum. All right." She takes a squeeze bottle out of carrier on the girls belt and squeezes some liquid from it onto a cut on the girl's palm. "Well, this may sting a little. When I was your age, do you have any idea how many times I was ambushed when I wasn't ready?" The girl doesn't answer, just looks at her. "Let me see." She holds out her hand and begins to count by holding out fingers on one hand, then the other. She gets to ten, then flashes all her fingers again, and again. From behind them....
Henta: "Cadet. At service now." The girl quickly stands up, facing her.
Aeryn: "Henta."
Henta reaches over and takes the girl's injured hand in hers. She looks at Aeryn, then back at the girl. She pulls back a riding crop like stick and strikes the girl's bleeding palm. Both the girl and Aeryn winch, but neither makes a sound.
Henta: "Let it bleed. Let it scar. You're wanted. Go." The girl turns and hurries off.
Aeryn looks hard at Henta.
Henta: "Don't make her soft, Aeryn." Henta turns to go.
Aeryn: "There's so much you don't know, Henta." Henta stops for a moment, then continues away. Aeryn turns back and sees Crais approaching.
Aeryn: "What are you doing here?"
Crais: "We need to talk. There's a problem. Follow me." Crais leaves and Aern turns to follow him.
Inside the Command Carrier....
D'Argo comes down a corridor towards Rygel and Chiana. He hurries over to them.
D'Argo: "We secured the information about the ship's modifications."
Chiana: "We got word on the lifepods."
Jool comes out of a side corridor and joins them: "Great. Let's get the information, get it to Crichton and get the frell outta here."
D'Argo turns around to face forwards down the corridor... and finds himself face-to-face with some Peacekeeper soldiers. He turns around, and there are more soldiers right behind the group. The others glance behind them. Their faces fall.
In the lab, John has his nose almost on the computer screen. Co-Kura Strappa is standing right behind his shoulder.
Co-Kura: "The equations... they're flowing from you like a Multeran Soltin." (John is writing continuously on his hand.) "This is wonderful, Crichton." Co-Kura hurries off, making happy, whimpering noises.
Scorpius enters through an archway near John: "It seems your subconscious has blossomed. Despite yourself... you are delivering the secrets that will allow me to succeed. But, ah... no more distractions John. Your plot against this ship has failed. Your friends... are in custody."
John glances over in time to see Crais enter, between two Peacekeeper soldiers. Suddenly, John jumps up from his chair and hurls himself at Crais, bringing him down to the floor. As he pulls back to strike him, the soldiers grab his arms and pull him away, screaming...
John: "You are dead! You are a dead man, Crais!"
Scorpius joins the soldiers in subduing John, wrapping an arm around his throat.
Scorpius: "If Grayza insists that they all complete their sentences as prisoners, then so be it."
John: "No. No, no. I forced them to do it. I demand you let 'em go and keep..."
Scorpius: "You will demand nothing! You give me my wormholes or, I swear,
I will kill them all."
Scorpius releases John as do the soldiers. He sits on the step glaring down at Crais who is still lying on the floor.
Somewhere in the ship.... in a holding cell...
Jool is pacing: "We didn't actually do anything. I mean, all they have is our intent.
Chiana: "They're Peacekeepers Jool. They're not into justice. They're into enforcement." She walks over to D'Argo who is sitting on the floor. She touches his knee and gets down on the floor beside him. "Hey. Come on. We've been in worse scrapes than this."
D'Argo: "I was a Peacekeeper prisoner for eight cycles. And I think that I spent every, single solar day trying to escape."
Rygel: "Last time, it took me a hundred and thirty cycles to escape."
Jool: "A hundred and thirty cycles?"
Rygel: "Huh. I was lucky." He sighs.
Aeryn and Crais are sitting on a circular object in the now quiet generator room. John enters.
John: "You wanted to see me?" Aeryn stands up. John spots Crais and starts towards him. Aeryn moves between them and puts her hands on John's chest.
Aeryn: "No. Stop it. It's safe to talk here, and you need to hear this."
John yells: "I need to kick his ass. He sold us out!"
Crais: "You can't destroy this ship by simply throwing a few switches."
John: "So you set 'em up."
Crais: "No, Crichton, I did not. I needed the distraction, so that Scorpius would believe that the plot against him had failed. I kept Aeryn safe, because I need her."
John: "You should come up with a newer line."
Aeryn: "And you should listen to him, now."
John and Aeryn lock eyes, staring at each other.
Crais: "All that I have cared for have gone. My parents taken away from me, my brother dead. So now, I live... I plan... I do... all in the service of my own interests. In that, I believe I am not unique in the Universe."
John: "Snap this up. I gotta get back."
Crais: "Despite all of this, I understand the power of the technology..." He stands up and turns to face John. "...that Scorpius is attempting to harness. I understand the horror that will wash over this galaxy if... anyone wields this weapon. And, last of all, I now know that I am the only individual capable of stopping him."
John continues to stare for a couple of microts: "Have fun." He turns to go.
Aeryn grabs his arm, to stop him: "Listen. We all were on the same team. We all want this ship destroyed."
Crais: "And the only way to do that... is with Talyn."
Aeryn: "Crais is proposing that he and Talyn starburst while still inside the Command Carrier hangar."
Crais: "The Carrier will collapse upon itself... outer decks first, central core last."
Aeryn: "It will take at least half an arn for the ship to fully implode."
John: "Giving the crew time to abandon ship." Aeryn nods. John moves in very close to her and looks her in the eye: "Tell me... you believe this."
Aeryn: "Do you have a plan to destroy the ship?"
John glances at Crais: "Not yet."
Aeryn: "D'Argo and the others are probably in a holding cell, and I can find them."
John: "Where do we meet up with you and Talyn?"
Crais: "You don't. Starburst in a confined space, where the energy can't dissipate, will be the hero's death that Talyn deserves."
John: "You're gonna die?"
Crais: "I will need a... ah, significant distraction... to keep Scorpius occupied." He starts to walk away.
John calls after him: "Crais!" Crais stops walking and turns back towards John. John looks at Aeryn once again: "I'll get you one." He turns and leaves in the opposite direction.
John comes into a corridor. There are Peacekeepers walking through it, past and around him. The public address system is making announcements. John pauses, thinking.
Still looking thoughtful, John enters a hangar and walks over to a prowler. He stands by it for a few microts, then pats it twice on the nose and walks quickly into the lab.
John: "Yo, Harrison! Get your shoes on. We're goin on a little trip to my module."
He goes over to Co-Kura Strappa and pats him on the shoulder and starts back out the door.
Co-Kura doesn't move: "My dear Crichton!"
John comes back to him, taking off his glove. He holds the hand he has been writing on under Co-Kura Strappa's nose, waving it back and forth.
John: "You smell this? Wormholes." He holds his thumb and forefinger together. "We are
this close. But you gotta get Scorpy to call off the watchdogs."
Co-Kura looks at him in alarm. John leaves the lab with Co-Kura on his heels.
Co-Kura: "Crichton? Crichton? Crichton!"
Crais and Lt. Loral are walking rapidly down a corridor.
Lt. Loral: "What's happening?"
Crais: "Nothing."
Lt. Loral gives him a 'look': "You forget how well I know you. I can tell you're about to do something."
Crais: "You do know me very well."
Lt. Loral looks at all the various Peacekeepers that are around them in the corridor. She takes Crais' arm and leads him into a corner.
Lt. Loral: "If I suspect you're conspiring against Scorpius, I must report it."
Crais looks over her head, at the crowd in the corridor: "Loral. If you suspect anything, you must report it. Do not be disloyal... to Scorpius in any way." He steps past her, back into the mainstream of the corridor.
Lt. Loral: "Tell me..."
Crais strikes her hard across her face, knocking her to the floor. He stands over her, pointing down at her.
Crais: "Tell Scorpius it's not going to work. Next time he sends someone to spy on me... send someone I
care about!" Crais stalks away.
Lt. Loral: "Oh!" She feels her cheek where she was struck. A female Peacekeeper kneels beside her.
Crais continues down the corridor, a determined look on his face.
Aboard Moya, somewhere in space...
Co-Kura Strappa is in a hangar bay with some Peacekeepers. They are looking at the module, checking it out. He comms: "Crichton. Crichton? We must hurry. Scorpius said we must not stay on Moya long."
John is in the den, with Pilot. He comms back to Co-Kura: "Yah, yah. I'm on my way."
Co-Kura goes back to checking things off on his clipboard. "Could you check the stablizers?"
In Pilot's den....
Pilot: "Moya understands. She says it is best this way. Talyn was always destined for a violent end. This then, at least, will be a noble one." John nods. "We... may never see any of you again."
John reaches up and feels the edge of Pilot's head: "Pilot. Just be ready to starburst if you don't see us haulin' ass toward ya."
Pilot sighs.
John puts his hand under Pilot's chin and raises his head: "You give Moya my love."
Pilot: "And, her love to you... as well as mine."
John rest his forehead on Pilot's shell, his eyes closed. After a few microts, he opens his eyes and leaves the den. Pilot watches him go.
Onboard the Command Carrier....
Aeryn is walking down a corridor carrying what appears to be a coil of rope, slung over her shoulder.
In the lab, Scorpius stands watching out over a hanger bay.
Co-Kura Strappa: "Check the nose cone."
He is standing next to the Farscape One module. John in standing inside it. There are Peacekeepers busy making modifications to it.
Scorpius sighs and walks away from the window.
John: "Co-Kura. Make sure those sensors are far away from the head strut."
Co-Kura: "Touch one toward the side."
Scorpius comes into the bay: "I allowed you to get this... primative ship. How is it going to get me what I want?"
John holds up his left hand with the thumb and little finger held down where Scorpius can't see them: "Read the middle finger, Scorpy. I have a thought, forming in my head, as to why this primitive ship, with no shielding, allows me to survive wormholes. I'm gonna check it out." He sits down in the cockpit.
Scorpius yells out: "Which pilot is ready for deployment?"
John: "Whoa, no. No, no. Nobody flies it but me. One of your bozos screws up and 'bye-bye birdie'."
Scorpius leans over towards the cockpit: "You could die, John."
John: "Yes. I could die. If I don't kick this project in the ass before Commandant Cleavage gets back, she's gonna execute me anyway, right?"
Scorpius half nods and looks away.
John: "What? You worried if I turn to silly putty, so do you?" Scorpius continues to look at him. "Why don't you come with me? Come on, Grasshopper. Come with me. You spent your life in search of wormholes. Let me introduce you to one, up close and personal." Scorpius continues to think for a microt. "Unless, of course, you're too scared."
The Farscape One module flies out of the Command Carrier and manuevers around the throng of support vessels, heading towards a wormhole that is visible, a short distance away.
John is piloting the module and he comms: "Co-Kura? How are the sensors reading?"
Back in the lab, Co-Kura looks at an instrument: "All sensor data flowing at maximum."
In the module, John checks on his passenger: "All right, Scorp. You ready to rumble?"
Scorpius: "Oh yes, John."
Back on board the Command Carrier, several Peacekeepers are looking upwards, watching monitors giving out sensor data from the module. They can hear John's voice over a loud-speaker: "We are approaching optimal attitude."
Co-Kura comms him back: "All data still flowing."
The module is flying near the mouth of a large wormhole. John comms: "Entering the wormhole in ten microts, on my mark."
Co-Kura: "Check your drag co-efficient, Crichton."
The module enters the wormhole and it is suddenly very quiet.
John talks to Scorpius: "Alright. What do you think?"
Scorpius: "This is without description, John."
John: "It's a real Kodak moment."
Aboard
the Command Carrier, Crais walks alone down a corridor. There are Peacekeepers all around him, but they are all standing still, listening to the conversation between John and Co-Kura that is being broadcast over the P.A. Crais moves silently amongst them, pausing now and then, appearing to also be listening.
Co-Kura: "Sensor readings are starting to oscillate. Crichton, we're detecting ranthax flux."
In the module....
The module begins to shake and the noise level increases.
Scorpius: "What is that, John?"
John: "I don't know." He messes with some buttons.
Co-Kura comms: "You're approaching the zone of possible instability."
The module is being tossed and turned now, in the wormhole.
John: "Alright, buckle up back there. We got a little problem."
In the lab, Co-Kura Strappa hurries over to another monitor.
The module is flying through some serious turbulence.
Scorpius: "What is causing this, John?"
On the Command Carrier, everyone seems to be listening to the transmission. The prowler pilots and soldiers in the hangar are all standing, staring towards the lab. However, when Crais enters the room and attempts to walk past a prowler, the Peacekeepers spring into action immediately. The Peacekeeper that kept Crais away from Talyn previously stops him again.
Peacekeeper: "You may not know it Sir, but my orders have been changed by Scorpius himself. He said if you tried to board the hybrid again, I was authorized to shoot to kill."
The module is still riding in the turbulence.
Co-Kura: "Sensor readings, they're all in the danger zone. Do you read me? Crichton? Commander Crichton, do you read me? Do you read me?" There is no answer.
END OF ACT TWO
ACT THREE
The module continues to twirl and spin within the wormhole.
Co-Kura: "Can you read me? Crichton?" He turns to the technicians who are standing at terminals and screams: "Get me readings! Are either of them still alive?"
In the hangar...
Peacekeeper: "I'm going to enjoy this command."
Crais: "Not as much as me."
He holds up his hand, showing the Peacekeeper the grenade he has been holding in his palm. There is a red light on the top of the grenade that is blinking. The Peacekeeper does not react before Crais tosses the grenade onto the floor behind him and it explodes among the soldiers. There is quite a bit of smoke from the grenade. While the soldiers are milling around, confused, Crais engages the one in command as Aeryn swings down on a rope and lands on a couple of soldiers. Crais knocks out a couple more with a rifle butt and suddenly he and Aeryn are the only ones left standing.
In the module, John comms: "Co-Kura. We are experiencing heavy instabilities. Attempting to recover."
Co-Kura stops dead in his tracks when he hears John's voice again.
The module is still in the wormhole.
Scorpius: "What is causing this, John?"
John: "Flying through wormholes ain't like dusting crops, farmboy. It takes a little finesse."
Finally, the module straightens out and the ride smoothes.
John: "Okay, Co-Kura. We are stabilizing."
In the lab...
Co-Kura: "Sensor reading confirm that."
In the docking bay, near Talyn...
Aeryn reaches out and puts her hand on the side of Crais' face: "Now you go." She taps him lightly and turns. Crais watches as she leaves, then he heads towards Talyn.
In the wormhole...
The module is riding the middle of the pipe.
Scorpius: "I've never felt this... connected, John."
John: "You're not going all mushy on me back there, are ya?"
Co-Kura comms: "The wormhole appears to be experiencing wave fluctuations. I... I strongly recomend that you fly clear and return to the carrier."
John glances back towards Scorpius: "Right."
Crais is onboard Talyn, looking around the bridge, with a flashlight. It is quite dark. Talyn makes a low noise
Crais: "Yes, Talyn. I'm here."
Crais squats down.
He sighs: "No need to be afraid. Talyn, the firing mechanism on your cannon... was taken from you... by the Peacekeepers. (Talyn makes a responding noise and the bridge lights begin to come up.) The rest... have been captured. And Moya... Moya will soon be enslaved..." (Talyn reacts quite loudly to this.) Crais: "...unless... we do something. Something radical. You and I... together."
John reaches up to help Scorpius down from the module. Scorpius is a little bit dizzy and needs help to stand.
John: "You haven't got your wormhole legs yet. Don't worry. First time is the worst." John gives Scorpius a friendly slap on the shoulder and walks away. As Scorpius stands there, leaning against the module, Crais' voice booms out over the loud-speaker.
Crais: "Scorpius. I am just making my final... good-byes."
Scorpius: "Where are you, Crais?"
Crais: "I am standing in your heart and I am about to squeeze."
Scorpius: "Braca."
Lt. Braca, climbing the steps in Scorpius' quarters, stops and turns to listen.
Scorpius: "Find the source of this transmission, and arrest that fool."
Braca hurries over to Scorpius' desk and picks up an instrument.
Braca comms: "It's coming from the hybrid, in the... gamma hangar on level twelve."
Scorpius listens to Braca's comms while he walks.
Braca: "The hybrid's powering up."
Scorpius stops in his tracks on hearing this. He turns... slowly, until he is facing John who is on the other side of the glass, in the lab, sitting on a desk and watching
him.
Crais comms again: "You are the most repellant of creatures, Scorpius."
Scorpius growls quietly and begins to walk away.
Crais: "You weren't born into Peacekeepers. You weren't... conscripted against your will. You chose to be one."
Scorpius broadcasts: "I want the bay doors sealed. All prowlers scrambled. That hybrid must not get away!"
Lt. Braca is staring at the instrument he holds in his hand: "The hybrid's building to maximum power, inside the hangar."
Scorpius stops and turns.
Braca: "I don't think he's planning to escape."
Crais: "The last time I left... this ship...
my ship... I did so under a veil of secrecy.
You forced that situation.
You took away
my command. You
stole my life from me. Well this time Scorpius... I am not leaving quietly."
Scorpius: "Somebody find that fool and get him out of that ship!"
In the hangar, Talyn begins to fly up from the docking bay. The wind drives the Peacekeepers that are in the bay backwards. The whole carrier begins to shake. In Scorpius' quarters, Lt. Braca is forced to grab a wall for support. Scorpius looks towards John again, seeing that he is still sitting, calmly watching.
Scorpius walks over to the lab window and leans against it: "Somebody get that traitor off that ship!" He makes a growling noise.
John: "I suggest you hang onto something."
Scorpius turns away from John and sees Co-Kura. He growls at him, causing Co-Kura to cry out in alarm and sink to his knees. Scorpius shoulders him aside and strides out of the lab.
In the docking bay...
Talyn is floating above the bay, writhing with building energy. Inside, on the bridge, Crais stands. The internal lights are full on now.
Crais: "Talyn." Talyn answers him with several sounds.
Crais: "Starburst."
Talyn brings the tips of his tails together and a bright light builds, both inside and out. It travels down the length of his body and he goes forward, bursting through the wall of the Command Carrier. Debris flies everywhere and Peacekeepers are thrown about. In Crais' quarters, Lt. Braca falls onto the desk. Co-Kura Strappa falls and John is thrown backwards on the desk he is sitting on. In the holding cell, the prisoners yell out. Rygel, face to the bars, smiles and laughs. John goes immediately to check on his module. The loud speaker begins sounding "Emergency. Emergency."
D'Argo moves to the door of the cell.
Chiana cries out: "D'Argo!"
D'Argo tries the door: "He's done it. It's going down."
All over the ship, Peacekeepers are screaming and running in all directions. From outside the Command Carrier, flames can be seen in several places as well as smaller vessels fleeing. Escape pods begin to fly from it, faster and faster.
In his den, Pilot speaks: "Yes, Moya. I see it."
More and more escape pods exit the carrier as more flames are visible.
Pilot: "I see it."
END OF ACT THREE
ACT FOUR
Some of the pods run into each other or other vessels as they escape and are destroyed.
In the holding cell...
D'Argo stands at the door to the cell and calls out: "Let us out!"
Jool screams and the bars that form the roof of the cell start to fall in on the prisoners.
D'Argo cries out: "Ahh!" and Jool screams again. Rygel cries out: "Ahh! Ahh!" There is a blast of flame and the upper bars drop some more, then even more. D'Argo is trapped between them and the door. So are Chiana, Rygel and Jool.
Chiana: "Crichton! He's done it! He's done it! He's killed the ship!"
Rygel: "Yes! But he's also killing us! We're still frelling trapped!"
Jool screams through the bars: "I... want... out!!!!!"
Aeryn is standing, listening, while all around her, Peacekeepers are fleeing for their lives.
(A mighty chorus of music begins to swell, Wagnerian in tone and scope, with Requiem as its theme...
"Salva me. Salva me. Fons pietatis. Salva me. Salva me. Ingemisco tanqum reus.")
A statue breaks and topples into a lake, inside a terrain simulation. A huge metal chunk falls from the ceiling and joins it in the water. On the grass, people are running and screaming everywhere. Aeryn joins them and helps show the escape routes.
Aeryn: "Let's go! Move it. Evacuation procedures now!"
In the Officer's lounge, Scorpius watches his crew's frantic attempts to abandon ship. He flings open the double-doors and walks out into the corridor. Directly across from him is a wide flight of stairs. As he watches the fleeing Peacekeepers, something gives way and a massive flood of water breaks through above and cascades down the stairs towards Scorpius. Furniture and bodies are swept away by the newly formed waterfall, but Scorpius stands at its foot, unmoved and unmoving. Slowly, he walks forward, into the torrent, and it slows. He begins to climb the stairs, through the water, There are occasional explosions and flashes of light. Scorpius pauses and turns back to look at the destruction behind him.
John runs back into the lab and finds Co-Kura Strappa at a computer terminal.
John grabs him: "We have to go."
Co-Kura refuses to move: "No! I must save our data."
John grabs his arm and flings him across the room: "This ship... is dead. The wormhole experiment is over, Co-Kura. It's for the best."
Co-Kura: "You had something to do with this." He screams and runs at John, attacking him and trying to strangle him.
Co-Kura: "Nooo!"
John overpowers him and pushes him backwards down on a table.
Co-Kura: "But you wanted this too!"
John: "More than you knew."
Co-Kura: "To stabilize a wormhole. To tame it, to tame its power would have been the greatest scientific discovery anyone could imagine."
A huge burst of flame shoots into the lab. John wrestles Co-Kura out of its path.
John: "It is not... just... science! It is never... just science. It's a weapon. It kills. And I will
not let the Peacekeepers have it." More flames and explosions. "Do you understand me?"
Co-Kura: "Yes. I understand. But you still hold the knowledge in your mind."
John shakes his head: "Then I'll have to be very, very careful."
There is another huge explosion and John releases Co-Kura.
John: "Can you get to an escape pod?"
Co-Kura shakes his head vigorously and John starts to leave. Co-Kura jumps up to follow him.
Co-Kura: "Commander! Other than you, there's one recepticle which holds... significant data pertaining to wormhole research. If he lives, Scorpius will find me... force me to tell him what I know." Co-Kura is sobbing. John shakes his head and closes his eyes.
John: "Damn! What're we gonna do about that?"
Co-Kura: "Only one thing to do."
Scorpius now stands at the top of the stairs, water falling from behind him and washing over his feet and down.
John straps Co-Kura into an apparatus.
Co-Kura: "The Aurora Chair will erase all wormhole knowledge from my mind."
John: "Yah, but... Co-Kura, the chair won't wipe what I know, and, if it could, I don't know that I could do what you're doin. You're a brave man."
Aeryn is running through the inside of the Command Carrier. As she runs, she calls out: "D'Argo?"
D'Argo: "Aeryn!"
Aeryn: "Chiana?"
D'Argo: "Aeryn! This way!"
Rygel: "Down here!"
Jool shrieks.
Rygel: "Down here!"
Aeryn finds their cell just as an explosion causes the front of the cell to buckle and melt.
Jool: "We're gonna be Boolite goo, real soon!"
The entire ceiling is collapsing on them. D'Argo tries to hold it up.
Rygel: "Extend the bars... the bars."
Jool shrieks again.
Aeryn: "Now Chiana, let's go."
Chiana crawls carefully out through the broken bars and jumps down.
Scorpius staggers through the doorway and back into his quarters. Lt. Braca is still there.
Lt. Braca: "Sir!"
Scorpius uses his comms: "Attention Personnel. This is Scorpius. The Command Carrier is collapsing in on itself. Priority One escape procedures for the entire ship, are now in effect."
Another explosion rocks the room and Scorpius is flung sideways. He lands on top of Braca, in a chair.
Scorpius, breathing heavily: "Braca. Come with me!"
Scorpius picks up Lt. Braca and hauls him along, out of the room.
Aeryn, walking through a corridor, comms: "Crichton, are you still with Co-Kura?"
John: "Yah. Aeryn, you okay?"
Aeryn: "Yes. The others are attending to business and then they'll be seeking transport."
John: "Do not wait for me. I'm gonna get to the module. I'll meet you back at Moya."
Co-Kura, who is sitting, strapped in the Aurora Chair: "Crichton. It would have been nice to know it could have been done." A blast of fire comes into the room.
John: "Yah." He makes a final adjustment and turns on the chair. Co-Kura cries out as it begins its work. He continues to scream as strings of equations, looking like DNA particles, appear on the Aurora Chair screen. John closes his eyes, but keeps the chair turned on.
D'Argo rushes into Scorpius' quarters and activates his comms: "Pilot? Pilot, can you hear me?"
On Moya, Pilot comms back: "D'Argo! Is that you?"
D'Argo goes to another console in Scorpius' room: "This Command Carrier is blowing to bits and we can not get an escape pod off. I need transportation out of here now!"
Pilot: "What do you want me to do?"
D'Argo: "Patch me through to my ship."
Pilot: "Doing it now." Pilot depresses a control on his console.
In Moya's hangar bay, the Luxan ship comes to life. The interior and exterior lights come on and steam or smoke comes out from the open hatch, with a "whoosh".
D'Argo comms: "Voice activation... on."
D'Argo jumps and cries out as there is a small explosion and something hits his hand. On Moya, the Luxan ship closes its hatch.
D'Argo: "Weapons and defense shields, activate." The interior lights begin to blink on and off and the ship makes several beeping noises.
D'Argo: "Prepare for rescue retrieval."
The ship exits Moya and opens its wings. It flies to the collapsing Command Carrier and right into the midst of the flames.
Aeryn continues through the corridors of the Command Carrier. She is running in the opposite direction from the fleeing Peacekeepers. She rounds a corner and someone follows her and points a weapon at her.
Henta: "Officer Sun! Drop your weapon."
Aeryn stops and lays her gun down on the floor.
Henta: "You did this, didn't you?" Aeryn slowly turns around to face her. "You and your fellow traitors. There are fifty thousand of us."
Aeryn: "We gave you enough time. Most of you will survive."
Henta: "Most."
Aeryn: "I know that by destroying this ship I am saving millions of lives, Henta."
Henta stares at her for a microt: "Too bad you can't save yourself." She prepares to fire....
There is a blinding flash as an explosion hits and Henta's face appears to melt from the heat. Aeryn shields her own face with her arm as Henta falls, face down towards the corridor floor. Her back, from hair to feet, is in flames. She looks up at Aeryn, as she gasps for breath, and then collapses. Aeryn stands there for a moment, then she turns and continues up the corridor, at a run.
D'Argo is also running through an interior corridor, dodging explosions and falling debris.
Pilot comms him: "D'Argo. Moya's scans are rising to critical. If we're not away from here when the Command Carrier implodes, it will destroy Moya!"
D'Argo: "We're on our way, Pilot. Give us sixty microts."
John walks into the hangar by his module. Pieces of the Carrier are breaking off and falling all around him and there are flames everywhere.
Scorpius appears out of the flame and smoke, walking toward John.
The Wagnerian chorus rises once again (
" La crimosa dies illa. La crimosa dies illa. Qua resurget ex favilla. Qua resurget ex favilla. La crimosa dies illa. La crimosa dies illa. Judicandus homo reus. Requiem aeternam, Amen").
John: "Looks like our partnership is over."
Scorpius: "John Crichton. Commander John Crichton. Generations will know that name. Because of you... very soon now, the Scarrans will destroy us."
John: "One evil at a time. That's the best I can do."
The ship displays more pyrotechnics as its destruction continues.
John: "Tell me. Ghandi. You still goin after Earth?"
Scorpius:
"To what purpose? Vengeance against you? The only vengeance I cared about is no longer within my grasp!" He gasps and shakes his head. "While holding two lights, depress 3-1-7, then release."
John removes his I-Yensch bracelet: "Hold two. Press 9-1-1 and release."
Scorpius removes his as well.
John holds the open bracelet in his hand holds it out towards Scorpius. He half-smiles, half-grimaces as he says: "We were close."
John throws his bracelet down and Scorpius follows suit.
John: "If we're gonna get off this boat, now would be a good time." He turns around and heads towards his module.
Scorpius: "I may not be getting off this ship, John."
John leans against his module and waits.
Scorpius: "Good-bye Crichton." He turns and walks back into the flames.
John calls after him: "Scorpius!" Scorpius just keeps walking away.
Aeryn arrives at the prowler bay and comms: "Crichton? The others are on D'Argo's ship. I've taken a prowler and I'm leaving now."
John: "On my way. Aeryn?"
Aeryn stops climbing into the prowler and listens: "What?"
John: "Fly safe."
END OF ACT FOUR
EPILOGUE
Moya is once again flying in space.
D'Argo and Rygel are in the galley...
D'Argo: "We all knew the time would come when we'd split up. In the beginning, I would never have even believed it could take so long."
Rygel: "Don't think I'm gonna miss you. Any of you. I'm not. Well, maybe a little bit."
Chiana is there as well, sitting leaning up against a wall.
D'Argo: "What are you going to do, Chiana?"
Chiana: "I think I might... I might try to find the Nebari Resistance."
D'Argo bows his head.
Jool is with Pilot, in his den, but she appears to just be leaving....
Pilot: "Should we manage to reunite you with your people... will you be leaving us?"
Jool stops walking, near the door. She begins to cry: "From what I can tell Pilot, I won't be the only one leaving Moya soon." She walks the rest of the way to the door and leaves the den. Pilot sadlywatches her go.
John and Aeryn are sitting near one another, on Command. They have their backs to the main viewscreen. There is a dark blue field with stars behind them. John holds a pen and is writing on his arm, continuing the equations he began on Scorpius' Command Carrier. He appears to be copying them down, onto some kind of brown paper. He glances over at Aeryn who closes her eyes and bows her head, without saying a word.
(
A variation on La crimosa plays quietly in the background)
END OF EPILOGUE
