It had been nearly a whole cycle since the Peacekeeper Wars. Since the birth of John and Aeryn's small son, D'Argo.
Nearly a year of running planet-to-planet transports for varying types of cargo, mostly legal, to make ends meet. .
Nearly a year of never having to utter the words 'Scarran' - 'Wormhole' or 'Scorpius'.
Nearly a year for John, Aeryn, their son, and the remaining crew of Moya to enjoy peaceful, quiet and above all Peacekeeper free lives.
And nearly a year, apparently, was too much to ask.
A seemingly unremarkable afternoon, one like many that had come before it, saw John Crichton striding down Moya's main hallway, humming under his breath. He had just put his son down for a nap, and was making his way to the bridge to join Aeryn. They were currently making their way back from a long delivery to Janox, a large commerce planet where they usually found the most business from wealthy business owners looking to ship their wares to farther reaches of the galaxy.
John didn't mind the work so much, it certainly wasn't as exciting as the life he had grown begrudgingly accustomed to in his first four years out here, but it kept food on the table and certainly wasn't as lethal. However, John knew that it was taking its toll on Aeryn. Although she would never admit it, Crichton could tell that some small part of her missed her old life. She was born a soldier, after all, and when John would wake in the middle of the night to find Aeryn standing by the window, gazing out into the infinite darkness of stars, he knew what was going through her mind.
Even John had to admit that there were times when he wished some of it back, but the thought of his wife and child being in any danger immediately pushed all notions of nostalgia from his mind. To keep them safe, he'd sacrifice the world.
He had done it once before.
Upon entering the bridge John laid eyes on Rygel and Chiana to his left, busying themselves with one of Moya's systems that had been giving them trouble, whilst Aeryn stood in the centre of the room, leaning over Moya's navigational controls, double checking their speed and coordinates. All was well and normal. John sidled up behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into him and moving in to place a kiss to her neck. Aeryn smiled, running her hands down her husband's strong arms. "How is D'Argo?"
John released her and moved to stand beside at her side, his gaze drifting to Moya's main view screen and the wide expanse of stars it currently displayed. "Little tyke is down for the count, he sleeps like his old man…" John said, smiling at the mere thought of his son.
"How are we doing up here?"
Aeryn gestured towards the navigational controls, "we're right on schedule, we should arrive on Janox in two solar days."
"Good to hear baby, we'll be able to find Hunnan, that cheap bastard, and finally get the rest of our money." John said, crossing over to Moya's essential systems console and checking the status of the leviathan.
Suddenly Pilot's voice flooded the cabin: "Crichton, we've just received a long distance transmission. It's directed to you and Aeryn specifically."
"Where did it come from Pilot?" Aeryn queried, crossing her arms over her chest.
Pilot's voice answered in his cool, even tones. "I'm unable to pinpoint an exact location, Officer Sun, however, taking into account the strength and erosion of the transmission, it must have traveled a great distance to reach us."
"Well shall we see whose calling us long-distance then?" John asked, his expression causing Aeryn to raise an eyebrow and grin as she stepped up beside her husband moving her attention to the large view screen in front of her. Little did they both know that what they were about to witness would change everyone's lives irrevocably.